Onigiri and Neko

By ArtikGato

Disclaimer: *sigh* I don't own Fruits Basket. I don't even legally own the episodes that I have because I made copies of the DVD's...

Author's Notes: This is my first Fruits Basket fic, so be gentle, kind reviewers. Sorry if I make anyone out of character. I've seen the first two DVD's and the last DVD of the series, so there is a big chunk of episodes missing...but I just couldn't resist writing this fic!! ^^''' Just to warn you, this is a Kyo x Tohru fic, which is my favorite pairing in all of Fruits Basket... and by the way, the title just means "The Rice Ball and the Cat". (Tohru is represented by the Rice Ball and, obviously, Kyo is represented by the Cat)

and now...

Onigiri and Neko

            It was a warm spring day. The sun was shining, the birds and bugs were flitting through the air, and the animals were out playing. Tohru looked up from her breakfast, concerned.

            "Why hasn't Kyo-kun come down to eat breakfast yet?" she wondered out loud. Both Yuki and Shigure sweatdropped and looked a little nervous.

            "Kyo is...sick today," Shigure answered.

            "But it's sunny! And he never misses a meal...it must be a pretty awful sickness," she said, concerned for the well-being of one of her best friends. She began to gather together a few plates of breakfast to take upstairs to him.

            "Miss Honda, no! If you take his food to him, he--er, you might catch what ever it is that he's got!" Yuki protested.

            "But Sohma-kun, if Kyo doesn't eat then he won't get better!" she protested.

            "Oh, this has been happening for years. Trust me...you don't want what he's got," Shigure replied. "Anyway, it is a beautiful day out. I was going to suggest that we should all go for a walk or a nice picnic or something and leave Kyo here to rest and get better on his own."

            "What?! But Kyo is sick and he might need my help! I can't just leave him here and go have fun!" Tohru exclaimed.

            "It would be in your best interests..." Shigure said, but sighed, knowing that all of the arguing in the world could not have made that girl leave the Sohma house once Kyo, Yuki or himself was sick, even if the sickness was only a head cold. Besides, they were making Kyo's "sickness" sound like the black plague or something. It wasn't all that detrimental to his health...Shigure was actually quite worried about Tohru.     

            "Maybe I should stay behind, then," Shigure said, sighing. He was so looking forward to flying his kite and forgetting about his new book that he was writing...

            "Yes," Yuki added.

            "No no no! You both shouldn't have to stay here just because I'm staying! Besides, if I actually did go with you, I wouldn't be able to concentrate on wherever we went because I'd be too worried about Kyo-kun!" Tohru replied. With a sigh, Shigure gave in.

            "All right, Tohru. If you insist, we will go off without you. Just be careful, and don't go up to Kyo's room. You really don't want to get the...disease he has," the writer replied. Yuki glared at him, but sighed as well.        

            "Yes, please be careful. Don't let that damn cat do anything to y-owch!" Yuki exclaimed, as Shigure elbowed him in the ribs. Tohru just smiled.

            "Kyo wouldn't do anything to hurt me. Besides, if he did, though he wouldn't, he couldn't because of the Zodiac Curse, right?" she asked. Yuki and Shigure fidgeted, but didn't say anything.

           "She's right. She'll be fine." they reminded themselves all the way through the rest of breakfast, their preparations, and as they were walking down the road to enjoy the afternoon sun in their own personal ways. "She'll be fine. Kyo's Kyo. He would never hurt her," they chanted in their heads as she smiled at them brightly and waved after them.

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            Kyo sighed. He hated the springtime. He sighed again, staring out of the window at the blue sky. He felt as if it should be raining, to match his lack of energy. There was a difference, though. This lack of energy was self-forced, while the rain drained his energy. He was forcing himself to be tired for a reason. There was suddenly a knock on his door.

            "Kyo-kun? Can I come in? I brought you some breakfast," Tohru's voice was on the other side of the door. Kyo jumped, panicked. "Not Tohru!" he thought. "But I just can't resist..." he thought. He said nothing, hoping she might go away.

            "I'm coming in, Kyo," she said, worriedly, and opened the door, to find him halfway out of the window in a dazed panic. "Kyo!" she exclaimed, setting down the tray on a nearby bookshelf and taking a few steps forward. He sighed, stepping back into the window and onto the floor below it.

            "Now what?" he thought.

            "Is everything all right?" she asked through the white cloth she had tied around her nose and mouth to protect her from "harmful germs".

            "No," "Yes," His skin was red, as if he was blushing or red with fever.

            "Oh! Kyo, you look like you're burning up!" she exclaimed, taking a few more steps forward, but he stopped her by making for the window again.

            "I'm just a little overheated. And I'm not sick, so please leave!" he exclaimed.

            "But you're sick, and I can't just leave you here!" Tohru exclaimed.

            "I'm not sick, damnit!" Kyo exclaimed.

            "Then why are you staying cooped up in your room when it's a perfectly sunny day outside?!" she demanded, knowing Kyo was not the type to stay in his room longer than necessary. He turned away as she removed the white cloth bandana from her face.

            "You wouldn't understand," he replied. She smiled, and sat down on the closest piece of furniture to her, Kyo's bed.

            "Maybe not, but it couldn't hurt to talk about it, could it?" she asked, cheerfully.

            "A lot. It could hurt a lot." he replied.

            "Awww, come on!" she exclaimed, patting the spot next to her on the bed. "Come and lay here and it'll be just like old times, like we always used to talk!" she invited.

            "She wants me to be beside her, but the truth is I'd rather be on top of her..." he thought, then shook his head furiously to rid himself of the perverted thoughts that had just crossed his mind. He was trying hard to suppress them. He growled and suddenly grabbed his head, holding it as if in pain.

            "Kyo!" Tohru exclaimed, jumping up and rushing to him as he sank, not quite to his knees but he was no longer standing up straight. He held out a hand to stop her.

            "Don't come any closer to me right now," he managed to say.

            "Why?" she asked.

            "..." he didn't look up. "You know how cats...having mating seasons?" he asked, ashamedly, his cheeks darkening to an even redder red than before.

            "Yes," she said.

            "Well, I'm a cat too. At least, half cat. And right now...I'm in heat," he choked on almost every word, not believing that he was telling this to Tohru Honda, his best friend, a girl he cherished and even loved. He gulped, fearing the worst, but to his amazement she didn't back up a few steps or run. But why would she run? She had seen his true form as the Zodiac Cat, and she hadn't run from him. She had run to him, and transformed him back into a human.

            "Kyo...I'm sorry. I never thought of the Zodiac Curse like that," she said. He looked up at her. Her eyes were shining with genuine pity for him. He hated seeing her like that.

            "Don't pity me. Just leave me alone right now," he replied, red eyes flashing angrily.

            "But Kyo-kun, I can help you..." she said.

            "How can you help me?!" he demanded.

            "I can help you distract yourself and forget about it! We can watch TV, play a game, go for a walk..." she suggested. He shook his head.

            "No...you don't understand. You don't know what it's like...all these wants, urges, desires... it's too much. I just can't seem to resist any more. That's why I locked myself in my room," he answered.

            "Kyo..." she replied, but didn't finish. He looked over at her.

            "As beautiful as she is, as much as I love her, she can't help me. Because of my curse I can never hold her, kiss her, I can never touch her or love her the way I want to. But if I am a cat, I can do things I can't do as a human...and she can transform me..."

            He suddenly stood up straight, surprising her, and walked over to her. She watched him, but didn't back up, or tremble; she was not afraid of Kyo in the least.

            "I wanted my first time to be with someone special...like Tohru. But that isn't possible."

            "Kyo?" she asked, softly.

            "If I'm going to transform, I might as well make the most of it...in a few seconds, it'll all be over anyway. Then I'll be a cat, with no restrictions or boundaries that exist for humans..." he thought. He took her shoulders in his hands and gently pushed her backwards until her back met the wall, tilting his head closer and closer to hers. Strangely, she was unafraid of this, just watching him with a great deal of concern on her face.

            "Tohru..." he muttered, not so low that she couldn't hear him. "I'm sorry..." He hesitated, then moved his lips to her lips, wrapping his arms around her slender body. He felt her jolt, but his eyes were closed so he could not see her reaction. "Please, for once, please let me finish this kiss. Let me hold her in my arms without transforming. I wish this curse could just go away, just so I can hold her, embrace her...just be near her..."

            "Kyo-kun?" Tohru asked, when their lips parted. He was too fixated on the kiss to acknowledge anything else in the world but her. "You...you're not a cat!" she exclaimed. He backed up, surprised, and looked down. It was true, he was not a cat! Somehow, he had not transformed during the kiss, though each and every time before Tohru Honda had hugged him he had transformed. But this time the familiar cloud of smoke did not rise, and he did not take on his familiar feline body like always. Had his wish been granted?

            "I'm not...I'm not a cat!" he exclaimed, looking down at his hands. Tohru made a sound of sheer joy and threw her arms around him in celebration. When he didn't transform this time either, it finally sunk in that he was not transforming. "I'm not a cat...I didn't transform...does this mean that the curse has been lifted? Tohru...is this a dream?" he asked, pinching himself on the arm to feel pain.

            "I hope not," Tohru replied, as she squeezed her arms tighter around him, and he her.

            "Tohru..." he murmured, her head buried in his shoulder. He was in a state of pure rapture from the knowledge that he was no longer cursed, so he was beyond rapture with the addition of Tohru, an angel in her own right, with her arms wrapped around his neck and his arms wrapped around her waist. She looked up at the same time that he looked down, and they just stared into each other's eyes. Hers were brimming with happiness and trust, and love. His were full of love too, but another emotion as well: lust. He was finally realizing just what her presence was doing to him.

            Their closeness, her smell, the feeling of her warm skin under his fingers, the softness of her hair, the taste of her lips, all of them were making him wild right now.        

            "Tohru..." he said, a little more urgently. He wanted to warn her, but couldn't. His lips suddenly found their way to hers again, and they were again kissing, with much more passion and intensity than before. "If this is a dream, fate is cruel..."

            "Kyo..." she murmured when they broke their kiss again, eyes hovering only a short distance apart from eachother.

            "Tohru...I'm still in heat," he whispered. "and I want to so badly to make love to you," she swallowed. "I know we shouldn't. I don't even know if you return my feelings. But, Tohru, I love you. I always have," he said. Her eyes widened, and tears of happiness began to roll down her cheeks. For the first time she was being held, being embraced by a boy. She had shared her first kiss with him just now, and she knew without a doubt in her mind that she loved him. He was a Sohma...this was a dream come true, but it was better than any dream or daydream she had ever had before.

            Now she knew the reason she had stayed behind and let Yuki and Shigure go ahead of her. She took a breath to reassure herself.

            "Kyo," she whispered, "I love you too. And because of your curse...I never thought that could happen. But Kyo, I am so deeply in love with you now... Kyo..." she let him dip his head and kiss her neck playfully, and she let him move her off of the wall and push her down onto his bed and climb on top of her. She returned his kisses with that much more passion.

            "Are you sure?" he asked her. He didn't want to hurt her, but he knew that she would be hurt deeply by what he was doing, and had already done, and what he was about to do. They would both be hurt. The road ahead of them was a mystery, but Kyo knew well that the deepest of loves also contain pain and sadness. He didn't want to be the person to cause Tohru pain or sadness, not the angelic Tohru. She nodded, eyes closed.           

            "Yes, Kyo. Yes." she replied in a whisper. She wanted to be as close to him as she could, and now she was already so much closer to him than the Zodiac Curse would have normally allowed. Above all that, she wanted him to be happy, no matter what.

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            "I hope Tohru-kun is okay," Yuki sighed, staring up at the clouds. He was lying on his back in the middle of a grassy field. Shigure sat a few feet away, contentedly flying a kite with the kanji word "inu" written on it.

            "Just remember that Kyo is Kyo, and he would never do anything to hurt her." he replied.

            "But it was really dangerous to leave her alone in that house with that damn cat...today," Yuki replied. Shigure nodded, grimly. Each year, every member of the Sohma clan with a curse on them that made them transform into an animal, zodiac or not, was exempted from their curse for one full day. The day was different each year and varied from person to person. Today was Kyo's day, though the cat had doubtlessly forgotten about that. This was one of the few aspects of the curses Tohru Honda was still unaware of...they hoped.

            Today was a particularly bad day for Kyo to have his one day where he could touch and hug someone of the opposite sex without transforming into a cat, because it was late spring, and with late spring came Kyo's yearly "sickness". It only lasted for two or three days tops, but during that time he was just like a cat in heat (well, technically, he WAS a cat in heat...). That was generally the time he would leave for the mountains to "train", which meant locking himself in Kazuma-sama's air-conditioned dojo for the three days he was in heat and beating the crap out of punching bags to distract himself.             Unfortunately for him, this year it had been raining, and Tohru, being the kind yet naive person she was would not allow him to leave in the rain, as he was a lot more prone to injury when it was raining. So, he had had no choice but to stay, and lock himself in his room, hoping that Tohru would buy the excuse that he was sick and she should leave him alone. Obviously, he couldn't hit the road and head for Kazuma-sama's dojo with his messed-up mental state, so he had opted to stay home.

            "Tohru-kun, I hope that you heeded our warning and stayed out of Kyo-kun's room," Shigure said, in a serious tone, unlike his usual manner.

            "If that damn cat does anything to Tohru, I will kill him," Yuki growled, for the first time in a long time truly wanting to fight. Shigure saw this, and sighed, but then grinned in his usual manner.

            "Yes, I do hope that she heeded our warning, as Tohru-kun could hardly resist Kyo-kun. He really has become a handsome young man...not that you haven't, Yuki, but--" Shigure continued, in an almost taunting manner.

            "That's enough, Shigure!" Yuki exclaimed, jumping to his feet in rage. Shigure just grinned.

            "But I'm sure that Tohru-kun has enough sense to resist him. After all, she has resisted me for years and I am quite hard to resist..." he boasted. Yuki glared at him, flaming red battle aura surrounding him. He charged, but instead of striking the older man, he grabbed his kite string from his hand, pulling on the kite and bringing it to the ground. He was quick to rip the kite into tiny pieces, much to the protest of Shigure.

            "Yuki-kun, you are so mean!" Shigure exclaimed, mock tears running down his face. Yuki sighed, annoyed.

            "Tohru-kun, please be careful..."

Owari

^^''' Not too OOC, right? I think it's a little disturbing, but that's my opinion. It's Midnight!! Agh! On a Thursday! I'm supposed to be asleep...ja ne, minna! *yawn* zzzzzzzzz...