D/C: I don't own Fruits Basket.

Hello, and welcome to the final chapter of my story! Ahh...so cheesy. Anyway, thanks for the reviews you've sent last time, and as promised, here's a fast update! I shall leave you to read now. Enjoy!!

Missing Pieces

Chapter 4:

"Here you go, Tohru-chan. Would you like some more onigiri?"

"No, thank you, Shigure-san."

Shigure sat down next to Hatori at the living room table, and watched along with the others as little Tohru Honda sipped at her glass of orange juice. To her left sat Kyo and his guardian, Kazuma Sohma. The atmosphere in the room couldn't have been heavier. Everyone seemed to know what was about to happen next, and they all didn't seem to like it. Tohru was blissfully ignorant...according to her, they were only here in Shigure's house to wait for Yuki, so that they could all go and have a nice breakfast at her house.

"Tohru, we have something to tell you," Kazuma said, and Kyo shifted restlessly at his side, but he ignored him. "You found out Kyo's secret today; you found out that he turns into a cat when he's hugged by a girl."

"That's really unfair," she interjected, looking rather upset. "How could I hug him if he keeps turning into a cat?"

While Kyo blushed, Kazuma just smiled wearily. "I know it's unfair, but there's really nothing we can do about it," he told her. He sighed. "What you must know here is that no one is supposed to know about this. It's a secret."

Tohru's eyes widened. "Oh! I see! You're worried that I may tell people about Kyo-kun!" she exclaimed. She thumped her chest. "I promise not to tell anyone!"

Shigure let out a low chuckle. "If only it were that easy, Tohru-chan, but we can't allow you to walk around knowing Kyo's secret," he said softly. He turned to his silent companion. "Hatori, I think we should get on with this."

"Yes, you're right, Shigure," Hatori agreed.

"No!!" Kyo protested, slamming his hands against the wooden surface of the table. Tears were brimming in the corners of his eyes, and he seemed to be shaking. "You can't do that! You can't erase Tohru's memory! Tohru is...she is my first friend! You can't do this! Don't...don't punish Tohru...this was my fault. It was all my fault."

"Kyo..." Kazuma whispered.

Tohru was looking scared now. "E-erase my memory?" she stammered. "Why would you want to do that? I don't want to forget anything...please don't erase my memory..."

Shigure reached forward and ruffled her hair. "Don't worry, Tohru-chan, no-one's going to erase your memory," he told her.

"Don't lie!" Kyo exploded. "Don't lie to her! You're going to erase her memory and you know it! Well, I won't let you! I won't let you touch Tohru! Come on, Tohru; let's get out of here."

"Kyo," Kazuma said sharply, but the boy wasn't paying any heed to him. He was scrambling up from the floor and walking around the table to Tohru. Kazuma sighed, and he, too, got up to his feet. He was at his side before he had even managed to reach the little girl, and was hoisting him up over his shoulder. "That's enough, kid."

Kyo thumped furiously against his shishou's chest. "No! Let me go! Let me go!" he yelled.

Kazuma looked down at the two adults. "I shall take him out so you can finish this quietly," he told them, and they nodded solemnly. He then smiled at Tohru. "Good bye, Tohru."

"No! Shishou, I hate you! Let go of me! You can't do this! You can't...!" Kyo was yelling, but Kazuma had already left the room and slid the door shut after him, and his words were faint now...disappearing altogether.

Tohru looked fearfully at the other two men. "What's going to happen to Kyo-kun?" she asked anxiously.

"Nothing, nothing; don't worry about Kyo," Shigure assured her, but she continued to look doubtful.

"Tohru Honda-kun," Hatori said, speaking to her for the first time since he'd met her. "Would you come here, please?" The little girl, not daring to disobey the formidable-looking doctor, quickly hurried to sit down next to him. He raised a hand to her face, and she recoiled slightly. "Don't be afraid. This won't hurt."

"Am I going to forget Kyo-kun and Yuki-kun?" she whispered.

Hatori didn't say anything. He placed a hand again to Tohru's forehead. There was a flash of light, and it was all over. The girl fell back against the cushions, unconscious, a small trail of a tear staining her left cheek. Hatori reached out and wiped that tear away. "Gomen, Tohru-kun," he said softly.

-

Yuki was panting by the time he reached Shigure's house. He had heard that Hatori was called there to perform a memory modification on a little girl...and he was almost certain about the girl's identity. Maybe if he got there in time, then he'd be able to do something...to stop Hatori from doing what he was about to do. But when he got there, he realized he was already too late; he could see Kazuma Sohma walking out of the house, holding something...or someone between his arms. Shigure and Hatori were talking to him, and he was able to pick up what they were saying.

"So unfortunate; I wish we didn't have to do this," Shigure was saying.

"So do I, Shigure-san, but it can't be helped; she found out the secret," Kazuma replied.

"Remember, Kazuma-san, you just place her next to the door, ring the bell and leave...we don't want Tohru-kun's mother to suspect anything," Hatori said quietly.

Yuki felt the blood rush up to his face. Tohru-kun...Tohru-kun...Tears welled up in his eyes, and he stumbled forward to the other three Sohmas, who all turned to look at him in surprise. "Tohru-kun...what did you do to Tohru-kun?" he choked.

"Yuki-kun!" Shigure exclaimed in surprise. "What are you doing here? Why aren't you in the Main House? Akito-san will be terribly worried about you!"

Yuki didn't reply. He walked up to Hatori, and gently tugged at his sleeve. "Hatori-neesan, what…what did you do to Tohru-kun?" he said hoarsely.

Hatori sighed gravely. "Yuki, you must understand; I did what I had to do," he told him, and Yuki's eyes grew wide and terrified. He released his sleeve. "Yuki, I'm sorry…but she found out. She hugged Kyo. She found out about the curse, and I had to do this."

Yuki looked around at the girl…at his only friend, and he felt tears rolling down his cheeks. He looked fiercely at Hatori. "Do it to me, then!" he yelled. "If you did to her, then I want you to do it to me! If you don't, I'll just go to her house and get her to remember me! And then you'll be in trouble with Akito, and…!"

"Yuki-kun!" Shigure said sharply.

"Do it, Hatori!" Yuki cried, ignoring Shigure completely. He wasn't thinking rationally now. He just knew that he didn't want to have through the whole experience of having his friends forget him all over again. He didn't want to feel miserable again. "I want to forget her! If she doesn't remember me, then I don't want to remember her either! And you know what? I want to forget Kyo, too! Since he did this! This was his fault! His fault!"

"Yuki…" Hatori said quietly.

"Do it! No one will know!" he sobbed. He clutched onto Hatori and cried into his crisp grey jacket. "Hatori, please…"

It happened in an instance. Hatori had gently placed his hand on Yuki's head, as if to pat him…and before the other two men realized what was happening, there was a flash of flight, and Hatori was scooping the boy into his arms before he fell to the ground. Shigure and Kazuma stared at him in horror.

"Hatori-san, do you know what you've just done?" Kazuma said worriedly.

"Hatori, you'll get into trouble! Akito won't like this at all!" Shigure said urgently.

"Kyo," Hatori called out, disregarding their comments. "I know you're watching. Come here right this instance."

"Hatori-san, you can't!" Kazuma cried out in alarm.

The Juunishi dragon continued to ignore him resolutely. Kyo, indeed, seemed to have been watching from behind the sliding door of the sitting room, and now he stumbled out from behind it and trudged over to them. He looked meekly from Kazuma to the girl between his arms, and then to Hatori…and finally at Yuki. He met Hatori's gaze, and as if to tell him that he'd understood everything, he nodded.

"Very well, then," Hatori said. He knelt down to the ground. Cradling Yuki's frail body in one arm, he beckoned to Kyo to approach him, which the kid did without hesitation. "Are you sure you want to do this? Yuki made his choice. You're not obliged to do it."

"Kyo, I absolutely forbid you to do this," Kazuma said sharply.

"Shishou, if I don't do this, I will continue to hate you for what you did for as long as I live," Kyo said without looking at him, and the man made a sharp intake of breath. "Hatori, I want to forget Tohru."

Hatori didn't falter. Just as he'd done with the other two kids, he easily erased the cat's memory. He turned to Shigure as Kyo fell against him. "Shigure, help me take the kids inside," he said briskly, and Shigure quickly landed next to him and was pulling Kyo into his arms. Kazuma was still standing, rooted to the spot. "Kazuma-san, I suggest you take Tohru Honda to her home quickly before her mother starts to worry. Hurry up."

"Hatori-san, how could you?" he said hoarsely.

"I don't know about you, Kazuma-san…but kids really shouldn't suffer, should they? I did it once to Yuki; I'm not about to do it again."

-

Five years later, when Yuki crossed Tohru in the hallways of high school, for a fleeting moment, he thought he recognized her from somewhere…and so did she…but then they walked away from each other. He didn't give her a second look…but she, on the other hand, was too taken by his good looks to turn away as quickly as he did.

And when Kyo crashed in through the ceiling, and saw her…he thought she was familiar, but he, too, brushed those suspicions aside.

And there was no Kyoko to tell her daughter that she'd met those two boys as a kid.

Ignorance was bliss…sometimes.

-

A/N: Done! I know, I know; abrupt ending. But I like it. I thought it was bittersweet, ne? Well, anyway, before I close this off, I'd like to thank all those who read and reviewed my story! Thanks!

- S. N. B.