Chapter 15: Alternate Ending- Life and Death
Author's note: Here's the alternate ending! Actually, I like this one better then the first one, and it was my original plan; I just couldn't bare killing Yuki off! So, I'm pretty much going to say this is the original ending. Egad I blew it before. Ah well, you decide which you like best! Brother bonding, as well, if you can say that XD. Oh, and most of the italics are Yuki's thoughts, unless I said otherwise.
"Why isn't he getting better? Kyo beat him in battle, he should be fine!" Tohru cried as she gently held onto Yuki's warm hand. It was slightly shaking, but she was positive half of that was from her own hand. "This shouldn't be happening, he didn't win, he lost!"
"Yes, he did, but do you really think it was even a fair battle?" An eerie voice came from the door and everyone turned around to see the only person who could have such a cruel voice: Akito. He stood there with a smirk, leaning against the door frame. "I mean, is fighting against someone who is sick really fair?"
Akito walked in the room, still slightly smirking at the scene. Everyone's faces were so pale and dull that it looked like someone had just died.
'Not yet, at least,' Akito thought bitterly.
"Now that Yuki lost to an unfair battle, I'm afraid to remind you that he's still going to die. That was what the curse said," Akito reminded with a smirk, looking at the boy in the bed. "He was too sick to fight fairly; you waited too long."
It was true… at the beginning of the past 6 months, Yuki had already turned 18, and now he was at the bad end of his 'curse'. He was much weaker, more than ever, and none of this seemed to occur to anyone. It was thought that as long as he was still alive, the battle could still be fought, and fairly. The curse never said otherwise.
"How careless you all were, hm?" Akito said, trying to hold back a laugh; everything seemed like a joke to him. "Then again, I should have told you about all this almost a year ago, when I found out. It slipped my mind, I guess. That's what you get when you disobey me." He then shot a despicable look at Tohru. He knew that they were together when he decided to take a visit to the festival, since he couldn't the previous year. That was only a few days after he informed Yuki about the curse, and he was thinking of telling him that he had so little time. After all, Yuki was his and only his, as that was established years ago. "This new Rat better be obedient. "
"Why was that never explained?" Shigure quietly asked as he slowly looked up at Akito with fire-burning eyes. "It never said that we had a certain time limit, other than what would happen when he was 18 ½." Akito stared at the dog menacingly before laughing bitterly.
"You have to read between the lines," he replied. "Not everything's going to be so easy to decipher. Life and death is a pretty big subject that you should have been more careful about, anyways."
'He's ridiculing us,' Shigure thought as he narrowed his eyes. Akito looked at all the people in the room before starting to turn around. Before he left, he looked over his shoulders, where only his now emotionless eyes could be seen.
"Isn't it March?" he asked, and though you couldn't see, his mouth formed a slightly saddened smile. Even though Akito despised how Yuki betrayed him and fell in love with Tohru Honda, he was still the Rat, and Akito did care in some way that the gray haired boy was going to die, considering Yuki was his... But Akito wouldn't let anyone know, or see, it. Without saying any more, Akito quickly left the room to get away from the whole situation that he had practically caused.
The only one who started moving around was Hatori, who was checking over Yuki. Everything still felt so empty, after the news they just received. A sigh escaped the doctor's mouth as he looked up at the rest of the people in the room.
"I would say that he doesn't have much time," Hatori said solemnly. After a few silent moments, he continued in a slight whisper. "He might not even wake up before he-he dies." Tohru still held onto Yuki's hand as tears silently fell from her eyes and onto the sheets. She couldn't believe that everything Yuki, and Kyo, worked on for so long didn't change anything.
"I-I'm going to call Ayame," Shigure said softly while he slowly got up. As the phone started ringing, Shigure started to get nervous. How was he supposed to tell him that his brother was going to die? The ringing suddenly stopped and Ayame's vivid voice answered, though with all the thoughts in his head, Shigure barely heard his cousin even say anything.
"Ayame," Shigure started, trying to keep a civil voice. He promised himself that he'd act as normal as he could when talking to Ayame. Now, it was harder to do then he thought. So much harder.
"Ah, 'Gure-san, how is everything?" Ayame asked happily. "How did the fight go, hm?" Shigure paused and held his breathe.
Yeah, it was harder to do than he thought.
Yuki slowly, yet painfully, opened his eyes to the dimmed room. Even though there wasn't much light, it was still harsh enough to burn his eyes. He looked around at his surroundings, noticing that he was in his room, and saw Tohru's head on the edge of his bed, fast asleep. Though her eyes were tightly closed, Yuki could tell that Tohru seemed, in a way, a little upset. However, before he could concentrate more on Tohru's slightly concealed mood, Yuki suddenly felt a sharp pain shoot throughout his body. He stifled a yell, though the pain was so horrible that it felt as if his body was being shred into two. It then slowly began to subside, leaving Yuki breathing heavily.
'What was that?' he thought tiredly. His eyelids started to get heavy, and just as he was about to unwillingly close them, the door of his room opened. Though at first he was unable to recognize who came in, as the figure got closer to his bed, Yuki could see that it was Hatori.
"So you're awake," he said as his eyes slightly grew wider from surprise. He then pulled out his bag, which was right next to the bed, and looked through it. Hatori took out a syringe and looked at its label. As this was going on, Yuki barely felt the bed shuffle and become lighter.
"Hatori-san?" Tohru's voice, the one thing Yuki was glad to hear, came from the side of his bed, where she was just asleep. Though he couldn't see her from his position anymore, and considering his body was still in pain from earlier, he couldn't find the strength to look at her as he wanted to. "Yuki-kun, you're awake!" She took his limp hand into hers, and held it comfortingly.
Why are they so shocked that I'm awake…?
Yuki wanted to ask so many questions, like why he still felt so ill when he already lost to the Cat, but he found that nothing would come out of his mouth but air. Now he was really starting to worry…
"Now, Yuki, you might feel, or already have felt, a sharp pain going through your body," Hatori began as he looked at Yuki. Something about the way the doctor looked bothered the silver haired boy, just as Tohru's had. "I'm going to give you something that will make you go a bit numb so you won't be able to feel it. This might make you a little drowsy, as well, but this should help you." Hatori gently inserted the needle into his arm, and Yuki slowly started to feel his body go numb. He didn't care about whether that was good or bad, all he cared about was why he was still like this.
As Hatori started putting his thing back in his bag, Tohru shifted over so that Yuki could see her clearly. He saw that her eyes were bright with tears, though she had a smile on her face.
"I'm glad you're awake," she whispered to him, her voice quivering slightly. Yuki wanted to ask her what was wrong, but since he was unable to find his voice, he could only look at her with questioning eyes. Tohru looked over at Hatori, who gave her a tiny nod after looking at the younger boy, and she turned back to Yuki, her smile now fading.
"Yuki-kun," she whispered slowly. "T-The fight, it wasn't fair… you w-were too sick…"
Now he understood. It made perfect sense that he was too sick for it to work out correctly. That's why he felt so ill even though he had lost. Although, it still confused him as to why the curse didn't say even that he had to be somewhat healthy. Talk about unfair.
So this is it… All that work was for nothing, then.
Yuki used all the strength he had and squeezed her hand gently to show that everything would be alright, even if it wasn't the truth. It was the only thing he could do now. However, tears started to flow down her face and she tried to blink them away. She didn't want him to see her like this; she wanted him to feel as good as he can before… before the 'curse' ended…
The door then slowly opened and a silver-haired head popped in. Ayame fully entered the room, his face expression undistinguishable. Tohru and Hatori quietly left the room so the two brothers could talk. Ayame knew what kind of condition Yuki was in, since Hatori had told him just before he went in to see if everything was still alright. The Snake kneeled next to Yuki's bed, as the younger boy's eyes wondered to face him.
"Hello dearest brother," Ayame said with a tiny smile. He had never thought that a day would come where he would be in this kind of situation. Never in his life did he contemplate that his younger brother would die before him. Now, he didn't even know what to say; for once, he was completely lost for words. "I-I, um… well, I know that wasn't… really there for you when you were younger. I j-ju..st want to say, I'm sorry. You must really hate me for that, but I didn't mean to do it. If I could take it back, I would." He took a breath to help him even his cracking voice. As odd as it was, Ayame just couldn't find the words he needed to say. Everything was just scrambled in his head. However, he didn't have
"I-I don't… d-don't hate you…" Yuki whispered with slight strain. Though it took him a lot of strength to practically force his voice to be used, he needed to say that. Sure, Yuki almost always got annoyed with Ayame, but he never hated him. They were brothers, after all, and the fact that the snake was trying to make up for all the times he ignored Yuki, made the younger boy appreciate him. Although shocked that Yuki had even said anything, Ayame soon felt a smile cross his face.
"Ah, little brother, let's have some nice quality time together!" Ayame said, and even though he would never be enthusiastic about anything for a while, he wanted to at least brighten up the mood as much as he could. "Should I tell you tales of my high achool years? Those were such joyous occasions!"
'Oh God' Yuki thought, but, as much as he avoided these talks, he didn't mind it now. 'No, I don't mind at all.'
It was now almost midnight, and no one in the Sohma house could do anything but pace around worriedly. Hatori suggested that there was to be one person with Yuki at all times, and Tohru was now sitting next to his bedside, watching as Yuki started up at the ceiling. She hadn't said much since she came in, but they both appreciated the comforting silence. Yuki was just glad she was there with him. He wanted to talk to Tohru, and tell her how much he loved her, but it was hard for him to do so when no sound would come out of his mouth, even after he forced his voice to be used earlier with Ayame.
"Yuki-kun," Tohru's small voice brought him to look away from the ceiling and towards her face. The numbing was starting to go away, and his body ached with pain. However, that didn't stop him from moving around to see Tohru. "I-I wanted to tell you be-before…" Tohru paused, unable to say the word that was floating in her mind: Die. It was such a small word for such a big ordeal. "I love you Yuki-kun, and I always will." Unable to keep the tears in, Tohru covered her face with one hand and started to silently sob.
'I must look pathetic,' she thought, but what got her to stop crying was the hand that she felt against her own free hand. Tohru looked down at her hand, then back up to Yuki. He had a sad look in his eyes, but he was smiling, as well. Yuki then took his hand and wiped the one remaining tear away from her eyes. Even though he couldn't speak, Yuki's mind was racing, repeating the words 'I love you' over and over again. He wanted to kiss her so much, but he was starting to get even weaker. In fact, his whole body not only became weak, but pain shot through him, as if burning hot needles were being jammed into every inch of him. The pain must have showed in his face, as Tohru's eyes widened in fear.
"Yuki-kun, I-I'll get you help," Tohru said reassuringly. As she was about to get up and get Hatori, Yuki reached for her hand.
"T-Tohru," he was barely able to get her name out, as tears from the intense pain filled his eyes. Tears also started filling Tohru's once more, and she held on tightly to Yuki's hand. She could sense that he was in exquisite pain, and she wanted to get help for him, but Yuki didn't want her to go. He could feel the insides of him burn up, and his vision started to get unfocused. Everything that he could see was getting bright, almost too bright for Yuki to even look at.
'I have to beat this,' he thought as he clenched his teeth from the pain. 'I have to… for Tohru, for everyone.' However, he couldn't help the fact that everything was now getting dark…
"Yuki-kun?" Tohru's voice came through; however, he couldn't help the fact that everything was now getting so dark…
Tohru could feel Yuki's hand go completely limp in her own, and she felt her heart skip a beat. A frightened gasp escaped her lips when she realized that Yuki was dead. She couldn't think clearly, and she started to feel dizzy, but was able to hold her composure. What she couldn't hold were the tears that were coming from her eyes like waterfalls. Tohru just let out all she could; all the pain and sadness she already felt.
Tohru buried her face at the edge of the bed, crying her soul out. She barely heard the door open and hands coming gently down on her shoulders. Every part of her was numb with grief that nothing seemed to come clearly. The only thing she felt was pain, and she wanted it to go away. She wanted everything to be just a dream, and she wanted to wake up the next morning and see Yuki smiling at her like he always did. But deep inside, she knew…Yuki was never going to come back.
Tohru kneeled down next to Yuki's grave and laid the flowers by the tombstone. It had been only two weeks since he died, yet to Tohru, it seemed so much longer than that. The funeral was full of sobbing people, some family and some from high school. Yuki's fan club also showed, and kept their composure through out the service. Most of it was a blur to Tohru, however.
"I'll always love you Yuki-kun," Tohru said quietly as she stared at his name on the tombstone. "There will always be a place in my heart for you. Always."
He was always going to be with her wherever she went, and that was what made everything so comforting. She would never forget him in a million years, and she would never want to. As Tohru headed away from the grave, a picture of Yuki smiling flashed through her mind and she, too, gave a smile back.
Fin
Author's Note: Ahaha, I finished in less than a week! I know I said that I'd have it up between 2-3 days, but the 4th day is good enough. Yes, I'm aware that it says it's the 18th, but it's 2:30 AM now so, Saturday is still here for me! Anyways, first off, when Akito said "Isn't it March?" He's telling how Yuki was now 18 ½ and that he was going to die (I read that Yuki was a Virgo like me mwahaha so yeah, March would be at that point of… death).
Well, I can't believe I actually did it! To be honest, I almost chose to write this as the official ending. However, I was about to start, and I just couldn't. I never killed off a character. Ever (well, until now). Truthfully, I really almost cried because I'm just that sensitive XD It's normal. And now, my last reviewers-answering-thing:
inu-yuki lover100- I'm actually going to post a new Fruits Basket story in a few days, it's not completely Yukiru but it's hinted that they're together. Thank you so much for the review!
crimsonsun37- I agree, the scene was awkward, I didn't explain much about the whole thing T.T I'm bad at endings lol. We'll just say as he left the house, an anvil dropped on his head mwahaha. Well, thanks so much for the review!
sanka- I agree with you on so many levels it's not even funny (well, maybe XD). When I finished that chapter, I thought it felt so out of place and, I don't know, weird. But I had to put it up, because I hadn't updated in almost 2 weeks and after I posted it, I refused to read it .;; I didn't mean to make Shigure afraid of Akito O.o. I worked on the thing with the second paper for days because I didn't know what to exactly do. And I'm pretty bad at endings, I'm sorry .;; Hopefully this one is better, since this was the plan from the beginning. Thanks for your reviews.
MegTao- Thanks you so, so much for the review! I'll be posting another Fruits Basket fanfic in a few days, and I'm working on 2 others. And I'll definitely read your story ASAP XD
Yugata Tenshi- It was fast wasn't it .;; I love writing things with Ayame, he's fun to use (and we're similar, as scary as that is lol). Thanks so much for the comment!
whiterose-kiss- Ah, I've been to one of those computer places, but I couldn't get on (it was confusing O.O) But they can be helpful! Hopefully this chapter-ending-thing has a bit more Yukiru, because that couple rocks XD Thanks for the comment!
MisstressSango01- Hmm, sequel… I'm not sure I will. I don't know what I would write, and I'd get lazy on it (haha, hopefully I wouldn't XD) I'm sure your story is good, I'll have to check it out as soon as I find time in the day (I'm loaded with things to do XP). Thanks so much for the nice review!
White Haru Sohma- I love your new penname (and old, too, mine's all weird lol) XD Haru is the best (…er, one of them at least) Hoipe you liked the alternate ending! And I'm going to be posting a new Fruits Basket story in a few days, and I'm working on two more, maybe three if I get the courage to put it up (it's an AU one XD) Thanks so much for your reviews!
Like I said, if anyone has questions, just Email me (address is on my main page by the penname and all that) Thanks for all the reviews, I've never had over 100 O.O Let's get to 150 XD! Well, I'll be posting a Fruits Basket story in a few days, slight Yukiru hinting, but it focuses on the brother-ness mwahaha! On one last note: Yukiru is an awesome couple, and Yuki's pretty darn sexy. See you in the next story XD