Fruits Basket Fan Fiction ❯ Western Rose ❯ Kyou and Tohru meet ( Chapter 1 )

Disclaimer-Fruits Basket does not belong to me.

"Oh, but if you were a dancer for my troupe, I would certainly have to call you Midnight Rose, darling, because you truly are divine!" Ayame cooed at his favorite barmaid.

Tohru laughed softly with a slight blush. "You know my fiancee would never approve. He is a doctor after all. I mustn't do anything sorrid to tarnish his reputation." she told him.

The baretender, a dark haired man by the name of Shigure, nodded.

"Which makes you wonder why he approves at all about you as a waitress as this bar." he told her.

She sighed. "He doesn't really approve, but he knows that you are all like family to me and I have to support myself somehow until we're married." she told him.

Her best friend, an adorably boyish young man, embraced her affectionately.

"We're the only family you have left. You know we love you." he told her.

Tohru smiled. "Thank you, Momiji. I appreciate that." she said.

Shigure shook his head in frustration.

"Yes. It is really a shame what that outlaw did to your parents. For having claim to never killed anyone, the Crimson Haired Bandit certainly changed his mind there at the end. It's still hard to believe to this day." he said.

'There's still a part of me that doesn't think he pulled the trigger. I know he was a dangerous outlaw, but I was there! I saw into his eyes and I just know he didn't mean for it to happen." she told them.

Momiji took her hands in his.

"Let's not talk about such unpleasant things anymore. It's your lunch hour, right Tohru? Let me treat you to a meal, please." he pleaded with her.

Tohru smiled. "You know I can never say no to you, Momiji. Of course you can. I'll be back soon, okay?" she asked the others.

Shigure smiled. "Okay. Be safe!" he told her.

As Tohru and Momiji walked away, they waved at the arrival of the town sherriff Yuki, who had once been a member of the Crimson Haired Bandit's gang. Having spent some time in prision for his crimes, he had reformed and joined the right side of the law. It had taken him some time to earn the trust of others, but his ardent protectiveness over the innocent Tohru had sealed his favor.

There wasn't a citzen in the small town that didn't adore the young orphaned teen, who had lost her parents in a confrintation with the Crimson Haired Bandit. To them, he was the scorge of their existance and the most protective of all were those closest to her, the baretender Shigure, best friend Momiji, sherriff Yuki and her legal guardian since that fateful day, the very friendly owner of the local girls dance troupe, Ayame Rose.

Then of course there was her fiancee' Hatori, the respectable doctor. Tall and handsome, Tohru had become the envy of all the women in town for claiming the mysterious dark haired physician as her own. Since she was only eighteen and becuase he was building his practice, they had not yet been intimate, nor had they even kissed or shared tender embraces very often.

Momiji often inquired about their romantic status out of concern, but she reassured her closest friend constantly that she was sure that Hatori was just being respectful and waiting until their wedding night.

"I respect him for that. It just proves how much he loves me." she had told him.

It was also a well known fact that Hatori was just as envied as she was. Many men in the town had fallen in love with Tohru over the years just based on her sweet, open personality and patient kindness towards others.

That included her best friend Momiji, who had known her since they were ten years old and with whom she had shared her first kiss. It had been an innocent, chaste kiss, but it had sealed his heart to hers forever with mutual affection.

Shigure and Ayame, who had been best friends their whole lives, were older men and considered her to be like family. Ayame had assumed guardianship of her once her parents had died, and often bemoaned the misfortune of her beauty not being showcased as one of his dancers.

That was one of the few things in her life Hatori vocally disaproved of. It was well known that the women of Ayame's dance troupe were scantilly clad ladies that hid their assets beneath frilly dresses of Ayame's own design, the long haired tailor basking in the limelight of being their benefactor. He was used to dressing and undressing beautiful women, and he knew that his Tohru's lovely blossoming figure would be perfect for his group.

What kept him from being arrested was Tohru's friendship with the local sherriff Yuki, another one of her many admirers. Having been there when the gunshot had gone off, he felt as though it was his duty now to protect her from those that might wish to harm her.

He had never been a very trusting soul and he knew that his former associates were still out there and could strike at any time. He had heard rumors that his former partner Hatsuharu was roaming the countryside in search of their former leader, wanting to finish what they had started so long before...

The Crimson Haired Bandit indeed, Kyou thought, as he rode into town on the back of his horse. I've always hated that infernal nickname. My hair isn't even red, it's orange, he fumed. The nickname had only stuck becuase it was easier to say and more memorable, and allowe dhim to hide his true indentity. To the few that knew him, his name was Kyou, a young man on the verge of turning twenty four and wanting to turn his life around.

He had given up his life of crime that terrible day, the day that he had wrestled with his rival Hatsuharu and had ended up with a permanent limp on his right side. The prisioners they had taken had suffered a much worse fate and he knew he would be forever blamed for it. He was the Crimson Haired Bandit, after all, the most fearsome outlaw in the country.

Since that time, he had never been able to have any kind of normal life, having to keep a low profile to avoid being caught for crimes committed in his teens and living off the savings he's acquired doing honest work over the years. The limp was a asset in that way, that it made employers feel sorry for thr mysterious drifter they'd pay under the table because they felt sorry for him.

It was also an asset in the romance department, making women want to claim him as someone to take care of. He admired the new breed of women that took care of themselves and didn't depend on men to support them, as was common in his day.

It was probably the main reason he had become an outlaw, to support his mother whose husband had died at an early age. Too proud to take jobs that she felt were beneath her when Kyou needed her most, he had takne up the slack and had taken his father's place.

He and his rival Hatsuharu had that in common, only Haru had a tendency to want to keep his windfalls for himself and eventually he and his young cousin Yuki had had to join Kyou's group permanently.

Perhaps that was why he still felt so guilty to this day about that little girl having been orphaned that day, remembering how she had returned his stare with wide, inocent eyes when he had desperately wanted to take her into his arms and protect her from harm.

She hadn't seen which of them had fired the gun, so there was no doubt that she blamed him and he blamed himself as well. To this day, he knew he would still do anything to avenge their deaths on their true murderer, his former partner and rival Hatsuharu. Dismounting from his horse as they stopped at the edge of a pristine blue lake with a sharp wince, Kyou sighed as he resigned himself to his fate of searching forevermore...

"Tohru, what's wrong? You look like you just saw a ghost." Momiji commented.

The dark haired beauty sitting across from him at the saloon table had nearly choked on her lunch when she had noticed a familiar pair of eyes find hers from within the crowd on the street. The young man tha thad caused her condition was a stranger though, a drifter with a disfiguring limp.

"Oh no, I'm fine. I just thought I saw someone I knew. My mistake." she told him.

Momiji reached across the table to kiss her across the cheek. "I don't know what to think about you sometimes, Tohru Rose, but I love you anyway." he said with a smile.

She blushed. "You're sweet. Thank you." she replied.

Finishing their meal in silence, Tohru couldn't help but glance through the crowd again to find that strange man. She felt sorry for him for that terrible limp, the pain of it registering in his face and those dark, dark eyes that were so familiar...

"So tell me what you think of these new costumes I created, Shigure." Ayame asked his friend as they sat at the bar.

Shigure smiled as he carefully inspected the two new costumes that rested on padded hangers in his hands. They were both of similiar material, one naughty, one nice. The naughty one was a gorgeous black satin and lace dress that opened up to reveal a form fitting matching corset and frilly panties with black lace garter belt and fishnet stockings. The other was a white frilly satin dress that opened up to a white lace corset and matching panties with a white lace garter belt and white lace stockings.

"Well, I know this black outfit would look fantastic on your lead dancer Rin, but I have a sneaking feeling the white one is intended for Tohru." Shigure said.

"Oh yes! I designed it for her honeymoon with Hatori. Poor frigid man...I know he won't be able to resist her in this ensemble. He's just lucky she's such a honorable girl. I raised her well, after all." Ayame boasted.

Both men jumped, startled all of the sudden, at the appearance of the newcomer in the bar who had grown impatient and had slammed his fist down on the bar.

"Where the hell is the bartender?" Kyou demanded.

Shigure laughed nervously. "I'm sorry about that. I'm the bartender. What can I get for you?" he asked him.

"Something strong to make me forget the pain in my leg and my troubles." he replied.

Shigure cocked his head at him. "Injuried leg, huh? What happened, were you on the wrong end of an agrument or something?" he laughed.

Kyou narrowed his eyes at him. "You could say that. Just serve me my drink already." he told him.

Ayame smiled at him. "I don't believe we've been introduced. My name is Ayame Rose. I am the owner of this fine establishment and you are?" he asked.

"My name is Kyou." he said.

Ayame nodded. "Well then, welcome Kyou. I can set you up with a room if you like if you would do me the pleasure of entertaining one of my ladies." he said.

"Is she one of them?" Kyou asked, pointing to the girl that had just walked in with her escort.

"Heavens no! This is my young charge, Tohru Rose. She doesn't work here as a dancer, but I'll be happy to introduce you. Come here, Tohru sweetheart. I must introduce you to someone." Ayame said.

Slowly letting go of Momiji's hand, she stopped in her tracks as their eyes met across the room. "I...I know you." she whispered to herself.

"Did you say something, Tohru? Kyou, this is Tohru. Tohru, this is Kyou." he told her.

She held out a hand for him to shake with a smile. "Hello. It's nice to meet you." she said.

Ayame was so proud to be introducing his lovely adopted daughter that he didn't even notice their mutual gasp as their hands touched, confirming for them both that somehow they had known each other before. Kyou cleared his throat before speaking again.

"Yes. It's nice to meet you too, Tohru." he told her.

"Oh dear, another man's fallen under Tohru's spell as always." Shigure teased.

Tohru laughed. "Don't be mean. We were simply introducing ourselves. Please don't let me disturb you, Kyou." she told him.

He reached out to grab her wrist before she walked away. "Wait. Are you one of the waitresses? Because I'd rather leave my tip to a pretty girl." Kyou said.

Tohru laughed. "Yes. You can sit in those booths over there and enjoy the floor show. It's about to start." she told him.

Oh yeah, this is right up my alley, the leather clad outlaw thought to himself as he skulked into the darkening saloon and made himself comfortable in the best viewing place possible. His hearty addiction was that of the female form, and to ogle the ladies of the designer Ayame's dance troupe was a sweet treat indeed.

He was especially fond of their lead dancer, a dark haired nymph named Rin. She was bold and gorgeous, with a mane of shiny midnight back hair that caressed her rounded backside and a body so curvy he was almost in tears.

He knew whenever she saw him in the audience, she would disrobe that much quicker, giving him teasin glimpses of her womanly treasures as she danced before him. He almost enjoyed the chase more than the capture in this instance, but his prey this night instead was the man a few booths away.

It had been several years since he had seen the man they called the Crimson Haired Bandit, his former partner and rival, but he knew he would recognize Kyou's short orange hair anywhere. He snickered when he thought of their last heist, knowing the gun had gone off due to his own doing, killing his prisioners and injuring his obstinate leader. If Kyou was to stand and have some kind of noticeable impairment, he would know for sure, but...for now, his attentions were riveted by the captivating Rin and her many talents, he thought with a smile...

"You've got a lot of nerve showing your face in this town." a familiar voice told Kyou.

Kyou narrowed his eyes at the disembodied voice that had spoken to him from within the pitch black of the darkened room. "Am I supposed to know you?" he asked.

The stranger laughed as he sat down across from him in the booth.

"I'm sure it will come to you soon enough. There's no rush. You wouldn't want to interrupt the floor show, after all." he told Kyou.

As if I'm really interesting in the floor show, Kyou snorted. The only thing in the smoky, overcrowded saloon that he was interested in were the attentions of the very pretty Tohru Rose. He couldn't even remember the last time he had felt such an instant connection to someone, an overwhelming desire to make up for the time they had lost. But that thought was ridiculous! The two of them had never even met before!

That didn't explain why her eyes had seemed so familiar, why he had felt so drawn to protect her from harm...it made no sense whatsoever. He glanced for a moment at the floor show where the owner Ayame came out to bask amongst the affectionate attentions of his ladies before his attention was once again brought back to the table by his unwelcome visitor.

"Perhaps I need to refresh your memory, Kyou. I think you and I should step outside and talk." the voice said.

Kyou frowned. "And if I refuse?" he asked.

The other man chuckled. "I don't think that would be in your best interest." he told him.

Frowning, Kyou stood up to make his way outside only to be stopped by Tohru, who was looking up at him in concern.

"I'm sorry, Kyou. I didn't mean to take so long to get to your table. I hope you didn't leave me a tip. I certainly didn't earn it. I didn't know you would be leaving so soon." she told him.

Kyou smiled. "You did nothing wrong, Tohru. I promise I'll leave you a very generous tip next time." he told her.

On impulse, he leaned in towards her and brushed his lips across her cheek, avoiding her startled look as he quickly exited the saloon. Touching her cheek where he had kissed her, she didn't even notice Momiji walk up next to her.

"Tohru, your customers are getting restless." he told her.

"What? Oh yes, of course. I'm sorry." she told him, returning to her job on the floor.