Disclaimer: I do not own Fruits Baskets or any of the characters involved in it. I merely wish to portray my own ideas through the characters. Meaning: I no own, so you no sue.

Author's Notes: Hi! Soooo sorry this was out so late! I wasn't feeling well at all today but pulled myself together to finish this. I have to try and finish up the next three chapter's by the 2nd of September when I start college again so look out for those as I'll try my hardest to finish them up. Ok few notes, Fruits Basket is originally in Japanese so learning English would be learning a second language and in Japanese Grammar the verb usually goes at the end of a sentence. Also I don't know if Hatori's power is linked to being cursed but it is in this story. Also all the stuff about Kyo's training I'm making up, I'm no martial artist but Kagura is supposed to be helping him so I tried to work on what I thought was the problem. Anyway thanks to all of you who continue reading and reviewing! Thanks and I hope you enjoy! Ja!

Wish for you on a shooting star

Chapter 22: Benkyo! Benkyo! Benkyo! (Study! Study! Study!)

Tohru rubbed her temples and let out a deep sigh. "So, first subject, and then predicate with a verb in the middle marking where the predicate portion starts?"

"Do you need a break Honda-san?" She shook her head.

"No, no. English Grammar isn't my best. I know the meanings of the words and kind of know how to throw them together, but I still have trouble remembering to put the verb in the middle and not on the end."

"Learning a second language is always hard, but it can help you in the long run," he said handing her a glass of juice.

"Thank you," she said downing it and leaning back towards the fan trying to cool the stiflingly hot room. "Not just for the drink and the tutoring, but for everything. And…and I'm sorry." She leaned over, her face hidden behind her hair but Yuki still saw a tear trickle down her face.

"Honda-san, are you ok? I'm sorry if I upset you."

"No, no it was nothing that you did. I don't know why I'm thinking like this or why I feel the way I do."

"Honda-san? What are you sorry for?"

"That I never returned your affections. I know it's stupid and that you are in love with Kagura-chan. But I feel sorry for hurting you the way I did, I felt like it was a dream and everything that was going on wasn't real. But then after the hospital it was like I woke up and I was too afraid to confront you to apologize. But I'm sorry, I'm really sorr-" She was cut off by a sob as she tried to wipe the tears from her eyes, but to no avail.

"Honda-san…" He took her in his arms and held her as close as he possibly could. "I know it hurt, it hurt worse then anything I ever experienced. But it was something that had to happen. I wouldn't want you to lie to me, especially about your feelings. You can't help who you fall in love with, and sometimes people get hurt along the way even though you don't want them to. But you can't help it. And if you and Kyo hadn't fallen in love, I would have never noticed Kagura for the woman I love." Tohru blushed at how open Yuki was being with his feelings.

"Really," she said looking up at him her eyes still watery with unshed tears.

"Really? And because of your love, we may finally be free. You have given all of us something special, something none of us have felt in a long time, if ever, you gave us hope and a chance at a normal life."

"But I didn't do anything," she said feeling embarrassed.

"Sometimes people don't realize that all the little things they do everyday really affect others. Just being friends with us, all of us, accepting and even embracing us and our curse, is more then even some of our family members would do." Tohru nodded thinking back to some of those people, Momiji's mother, Kyo's mother, Kanna.

"Do you think they'll remember?"

"What do you mean?"

"If Hatori's power is from being a member of the curse, do you think it will wear off when the curse is broken?"

"I…never really thought of that."

"Do you think, do you think they would finally accept them if they no longer had the curse?"

"I don't know. I mean I know Kanna didn't mind the curse, she was more afraid of Akito. But Momiji's mother, she was more upset about the curse."

"Do you think it would be better…if they didn't remember?" Tohru turned away to look out the window. "Some of the things, some of the reasons people turned out the way they did was because they lost someone close to them like that. Momiji is always so cheerful and Hatori is withdrawn, and Kyo…" She paused wiping her eyes. "They all became who they were because they lost that person, do you think if those people came back they would change, or would it just complicate the lives they've built for themselves after forgetting?"

Honda-san…" Yuki was at a loss for words, she made sense but he didn't know how to respond to her inquiries.

"What I'm really asking is what will happen if they remember? Do you think things will still be ok?"

"Tohru-san," he said grabbing her attention. "Everything happens for a reason. I don't mean to be disrespectful but even your mother's death happened for a reason. Because of that you met us and were able to help us. If they do remember and come back, it will happen because it's supposed to." Tohru smiled as she wiped the tears away and turned back to Yuki with a smile.

"I suppose you're right. Thank you Yuki-kun." She slowly got to her feet with the help of the nearby wall. "I'll be right back; I need to use the restroom." Tohru slowly walked down the hall to the bathroom, which was becoming a more frequent trip for her as the days went on. As she washed her hands she looked out the window she wiped the cool water over her face and over her stomach. "You hot too," she asked quietly. "You really should come out, it's much cooler," she said in a joking voice. She looked down surprise as she felt a kick.

"I was just joking, wait until my tests are done, please," she said before laughing at herself in the mirror. "Even if the baby can hear me I doubt it can understand me." She got a serious look on her face as she stood there in thought. "I wonder what you will be. A little Kyoko or a little Kazuma," she said to herself with a soft smile on her face at the names she and Kyo had picked out.

She stepped out the door and made her way back to dining room table as it was found to be the coolest place in the house that day. She giggled at the memory of the picture Kisa had drawn for her. She had drawn a little red headed girl in a school uniform holding hands with a cat and a rice ball and said that's what she hoped her daughter would look like. She entered the room and saw Yuki leaning back against the wall staring out the window. A sudden thought flashed intro her head of a little brown haired boy with violet eyes and the strength of both his parents held within his tiny body. Tohru couldn't help the giggle that escaped and caught Yuki's attention.

"What's so funny Tohru-san?"

"Nothing, Yuki-kun."

"Kyo you need to focus," Kagura said as she stuck out her hand to grasp his and pull him to his feet. "You have the techniques, you have the skills, and you have the strength. Your speed could use improvement but your problem is you don't focus."

"What are you talking about, I watch every move you make and block out your distractions, and how am I not focusing?" She walked over and sat under the shade of a tree and motioned for him to follow. She pulled a bottle of water from a cooler sitting under the tree and handed one to him before getting one for herself. She took a long cold swig enjoying the cooling effect of the water on her parched throat.

"You watch, and you keep distractions out but that's not focusing." He looked ready to say something but she cut him off. "You watch, watching means you see what happens. When you focus you can watch my moves and eventually predict them if we spar enough and learn how to clock them. It's like when you watch someone cook. You see what they're doing as they're doing it but you don't know what they're going to do next. But when you learn to cook you know what they're doing as they're doing it and know what to expect. I know that's probably a bad example, but I'm not much at explaining as I am showing."

"I am trying to focus but when I think you're going to do something you do something else and I have to try to find a different way to block or attack and then you go back to what I though you were going to do and my tactic is all thrown off."

"You're thinking too much."

"What?"

"I know it's hard to believe, but you think too much. It's like me throwing a punch strait at you. Instead of just blocking with your hand as a first instinct, you ponder over which would be the best move. In the long run it takes too long and even though you could have easily avoided or blocked the punch you didn't. Yes it's good to think and even size up your opponent when you haven't sparred with them before. But when fighting a known opponent you should have some feel for how I move. Fighting is about knowing what to do when something is thrown at you, but knowing isn't just thinking, it's listening to what your body is telling you to do."

"I know what you're saying but hearing what to do and actually doing it are two different things."

"Ok, how about this," she said and leaned forward to kiss him but he quickly rolled away and ended up behind her and grabbed her hands pinning them to her sides.

"What the hell was that?!"

"Your instincts."

"What the fuck are you talking about?"

"Your instincts. You know that when I lean forward to kiss you I tend to leave myself open to behind attacks and you know the best way to dodge me. You know all of this in your head but your instincts were what warned you of what I was going to do before I did it and got your ass moving."

"Yeah but what the hell were you thinking?! What about Tohru and Yuki?"

"What? You thought I was serious?" When he didn't answer she started getting very pissed. "Kyo you pervert!!" Kyo quickly let go and rolled to his feet to get out of harm's way, meaning Kagura's way. He moved to the left as her foot swiped to his right, but she caught his leg as she brought that same leg down under his feet and pinned him down. "See, instinct," she said with a smirk.

"Ok, but why is it so hard for me to apply it to regular sparring?"

"What do you think of when you spar?"

"Of becoming better, of how to beat the person, of how to block my weaknesses-"

"No! You think of all that before a match, not during! When you're in a match the only thing you should be thinking of is one step ahead of you. Take everything one at a time and try to predict the next move or if you can't then you need to try and find the best way to block."

"But then I won't be prepared!"

"You will be if you do all that other shit before the match!!! You have to be mentally ready to fight not wondering about all that other stuff! It should be just you and the other person!" Kyo sighed and grabbed the water taking another swig.

"It's hard not to think. Even when I try to block things out they just slip in."

"So you're more of a distraction then anything else."

"Yeah."

"Is there anytime when you can't think of anything, when you're just caught in the moment?" He immediately blushed. "Not like that you pervert! Seriously."

"When I remember that night in the rain when I transformed, when Tohru still came after me."

"Think of that night before your matches. Just clear your mind." She sat there letting him think a moment before interrupting his thoughts. "So you ready for another round?"

"Yeah."

Kagura lay on the grass, her body aching, her breathing erratic, and a smile plastered on her face. A face loomed over her over, a triumphant smile plastered on his face, as he held a hand out for her to grab. She took it as she was hauled to her feet.

"You did it Kyo! You finally beat me." Kyo was still breathing hard but couldn't wipe the smile off his face.

"I did, didn't I…" Both of them walked over to the tree in a daze and fell under it reaching for their waters. "Are we still up for tomorrow though? I do have two weeks to still improve."

"I'll help ya for the next week, but then you should really try to spar with Yun-kun."

"Yuki?"

"Don't sound so stressed, you should be fine if you fought anything like you did today. Isn't kind of interesting how Tohru's tests are on the same day as yours."

"You mean I didn't tell you?" She shook her head no. "I asked for that day, so we could help and support each other and celebrate on the same day. For better or worse that we did it. Even if she fails or even if I don't become a teacher we still tried."

"That's so romantic; I didn't know you were like that." Kyo blushed and looked away.

Kyo walked into the quiet house and took off his shoes walking into the living room to see Tohru with a book in her lap and her head down in dreamland. He smirked and walked over to sit beside her. He took the book from her lap and put something in the book to keep its place before setting it aside and leaning in to kiss her soft lips. Her eyes immediately fluttered open and a blush sprung up on her cheeks as she awoke. He pulled away softly and looked up with a smile at her startled eyes.

"Morning book worm."

"Goodness, what time is it? I was just studying."

"Shh. It's only eight, and if you're tired you should rest. It might actually be better to try and study in the evening with this hot summer weather starting."

"But if I stayed up all night-"

"You would sleep all day. But it would be better for you to rest during the day when it's the hottest anyway. If you want you could even bring your bed downstairs where it's cooler in the day."

"But it would seem a bit lazy wouldn't it?"
"No, it might be better for your health. You could always ask Hatori when he gets back from the hospital." Hatori had been making weekly visits to the hospital with urine samples and taking other tests to make sure her health was still up. "It's just something you could do; you don't have to if you don't want to."

"But I don't want to keep Yuki-kun up."

"Yuki-kun?" Tohru blushed a bit at him noticing how she called him in a more familiar way but continued.

"Yes, he does still have to go to school."

"Well why not try having the work your having problems with laid out somewhere for when you wake up and then after that you could study on your own and put away anything you have trouble with for the next day?"

"I guess that could work. I just don't want to inconvenience anyone."

"You're not any inconvenience." He leaned forward and kissed her on the forehead and pulled her as close as the curse would allow. "Tohru don't feel ashamed to ask for something. You're allowed to be a bit selfish, you're pregnant. You're uncomfortable, moody, hungry, and probably tired. And you're allowed to be." She looked ready to protest but he put a finger to her lips. "You are." He slid an arm around her back and pulled her to sit in front of him even though she tried to protest. He knew when she was sore because she would try like hell to hide it. But she was becoming less and less objective about it. His hands moved over her back pushing and rubbing especially on her lower back.

Tohru had to fight the urge to lean back against him. He always knew just what she needed even when she didn't say it. "I love you Kyo."

"I love you Tohru." He leaned and kissed the nape of her neck. "So how was your study session?"

"Math is getting a bit easier to understand but English is still hard. I just hope I'll be prepared when it comes time. They said I could bring one page of notes per subject, front page only when it comes time."

"Yuki is pretty good at English; I think you'll be ok. Just try going over the notes he gives you and take it easy. If your overwhelmed just take a break and try again."
"You seem different. How did your spar go?"

"I beat Kagura," he said calmly.

"What," she said turning to face him quicker then he could react. "You beat her? That's great!" She hugged him even though she knew he'd probably be mad about turning into a cat. With a poof she was hugging an orange cat but she was still so happy. "You'll make a great teacher! I'm so happy for you!" Kyo found it in himself to smile even though he was once again turned his small orange cat form that he had hated for so long. She quickly started apologizing though as she realized what she did.

"Tohru I don't care really," he said responding to her apologies. "I just can't wait for next week; I'll be going after Yuki!"

"Yuki? Really? Wow you're training is really paying off. What made you change all of a sudden?" Kyo smiled before leaning in and kissing her.

Author's Note: Ok like I said I'm going to try and finish this before classes start again but I don't know when. I have a pretty full work schedule this week but I'll try my damndest! (Is that a word?) Anyway thank you to all who enjoy this and continue to review! I hope you enjoyed! Ja!