A/N: This is, the last chapter of Fruits Basket and I think when more people read it, it will reach more than 1,000 hits hopefully. I should tell you that I have re-done all previous chapters for reasons to show more hints of Rainie's true form so if you want to read it all over again with the extended parts, feel free!
Thank you to (in no particular order):
Kagaya-mitsukai, hermonine, I'm-So-Loveable, Lillith 06, Dimly, Skelex, grandmas and BlackRose2009 for reading and reviewing the past few chapters.
Onto read the last chapter of A Basket of Passion Fruits!
Chapter 9: One Last Visit
The next morning, things seemed to be back to normal as they all sat together. It seemed like everything was going back to normal, until Rainie proposed something. "You want to what?" Yuki said, interested in Rainie's answer.
"You heard me. I want to go and see Akito – one last time; I have some things to say." Kyo, Tohru and Shigure looked up from eating.
"I don't think that's such a good idea, I mean…" Shigure advised her and put down his chopsticks. "…don't you think it is best for you two to stay hidden? Let him have the idea that you two are still in your forms and lost in the forest. But it's not forever; he's…going to die soon."
"I know I should but wasn't there a time when he was with someone? I know…he got forced to break up with that person."
Rainie stared at Shigure. "He's going to…die?"
Yuki nodded. "Yes, when Akito was placed Head of the Sohma Family, he was also placed with a different curse – Akito is to die young sometime this year."
The Zodiac Rat looked at Shigure and Kyo. "It will be better once he's gone." Kyo said quietly.
"What?" Tohru asked.
"He gets in the way." He mumbled. Tohru looked at Kyo for a few seconds thinking and then turned around at Rainie.
"Me too, I'm with Rainie on this." Tohru spoke up. "I think Akito should be ok with each of us being together, it's not fair too."
Kyo stood up. "But you know you can't!"
"Thanks Tohru-kun!" Rainie said happily, both girls smiled at each other. "Let's go after breakfast, ok?"
Shigure sighed. Only 24 hours ago, they have decided to keep Kyo and Rainie – in the house for the next two weeks and when it was all clear, they could just go back to school and get on with their lives. Rainie told them everything about her curse and revealed past.
Everyone understood immediately but when Shigure told him that Akito and Hatori left shortly after and once told this, Rainie seemed to be in deep thought and very quiet until now. The Zodiac Dog stood up. "If you want to go, then that's fine but I'm still coming with you to be making sure everything is ok. I'll go call Hatori and tell him we are being expected.
--Main Sohma House--
Entering Akito's chamber, they noticed the Head Sohma sitting outside, back against the wall, a bird stood on the edge of his finger and flew away. "So, what brings you four here?" Akito asked, his red kimono hung loose as he walked over and kneeled in front of them, the four teenagers gazed at the floor avoiding eye contact with him. "Don't worry, I won't get mad." He told them, putting his fingers onto the wooden floor.
"We want to ask you for permission to be together; Yuki and I, Tohru and Kyo." Rainie told him.
"I see." It was all he could say, his fingernails gripping the wood and leaving scratch marks. Akito watched them for a while before bending over in front of Rainie and letting out a quiet chuckle.
"What makes you think you can get away with it? Huh?" Akito yelled, tightly gripping her hair. Hatori and Shigure tried to pull his arms from further hurting Rainie but it wasn't working. "Do you think I would let you do something like this so easily? You're wrong!" Yuki looked up in horror along with Tohru and Kyo, he knew he couldn't do anything however, Akito was hurting his girlfriend.
The rat stood up and grabbed his arm from her. "Get off of her!" He demanded.
"Yuki…" He heard Rainie say. "I can handle this…" Yuki had to believe her; he loosened his grip from Akito and sat back down, the Head Sohma laughed at this.
"Do you really think you can trust her words, Yuki? You're just going to leave her like this?"
"I have to trust her."
"And you believe it?"
"Yuki trusts me, Akito." Rainie said quietly, though the pain of him grabbing her hair tightly was hurting her. "When you love someone, not only do you show affection and care for them, you also must trust their words." She explained. "Didn't you ever love someone Akito? Someone who you wanted to be with but couldn't because of your curse? Someone like Sayaka?" Akito's eyes widened and he suddenly let go of her.
"H-how did you know…about her?"
"Her name is Sayaka, wasn't it?"
Akito stopped and then froze. "How did you know?" He asked and suddenly grew angrier. Akito grabbed her hair pulling it even harder. "I asked you a question so answer me!"
He remained quiet as Rainie continued to search his eyes for any objection but found none. "I saw it in my dreams when I first lived here, I just never said anything. "Your eyes tell me you used too but she died. You don't have to say what happened. I had a dream a few weeks back." She told him. "You and Sayaka were in love once, right? Before you became the Head of the Sohma Family, you were a kind and caring person."
She paused as his grip loosened. "You saw Sayaka everyday secretly but when your parents found out before they died, they ordered a hit on her. A day when you were about to propose but instead when she was driving to your place, a car smashed into hers and killed her."
Rainie looked up at his eyes; they were filled with sadness and guilt than anger. He trembled; Akito sank to the floor and banged his fist hard. He was being quiet, too quiet now but only because his past had caught up with him and made him a fool.
--Flashback: Two Years Ago: Akito's Past Life--
He remembered it so clearly…
A teenage boy of about fifteen leaned against a wall holding a small box in his hand and was patiently waiting for his girlfriend. Akito was that boy; his long, silky black hair blew in the soft summer breeze. The sun shone brightly and the atmosphere seemed comfortably around him.
It was only just yesterday when he last saw his quiet beauty, Sayaka Hinano and had told her he was bringing something special for her. She had jet-black hair and jade eyes, same age as Akito and described as a gentle character. He could just imagine Sayaka's face at the sight of the box; she would have so many questions about it, how speechless and happy she would be when she saw it.
He looked at his watch once more; 2:49, she was late. 'Strange', he thought. 'She's never late.' A drop of water splashed onto his head, then another…and another. Akito turned his gaze up to the sky and noticed it was starting to rain. Why? He watched the weather report and predicted sunny.
Akito waited for a few more hours and after a while, he gave up and walked home. He was angry and wondered why she had stood him up. 'It better be good a reason why she left me out in the cold. It's very unlike her.' Akito pulled out his phone and began to call her, only it went straight to voicemail.
What he didn't know was that somewhere nearby, Sayaka had been killed…
--End of Flashback--
"She had green eyes…and black hair just like you." He said quietly. "That's why when I first met you, I thought you were Sayaka so at first, I started treating you as I would have treated her but when I remembered that day and being told of her death, that's when I became cold and…" He stopped and looked at everyone in the room. "You may all go. Go to the people you love. Leave me to die in peace."
"No, Akito." Rainie called. "We'll all help you instead. You're not going to die without enjoying the rest of your life. Won't we?" She looked at everyone else for a moment. Somehow, Rainie's spirit had grown stronger, Akito had noticed. Why was she helping him?
"I'll help." Yuki said quietly. "I won't normally say this, but if Rainie is helping, so will I."
"Me too." Tohru replied. "There are still a lot of things for you to do."
"I'm in too." Kyo, Shigure and Hatori said in unison. Rainie looked at the three boys and mouthed a thank you to them.
Akito let out a small smile. "Thank you. But for today, I would like to be alone, you may go – all of you." They all nodded and left, approaching the gate.
"Rainie." Hatori called before saying goodbye to them.
"Hm?"
"Thank you." He said and smiled. "Now, we can all finally be happy." He told her and walked away with Shigure, Kyo and Tohru behind him. However, his answer left her confused. All…be happy? I don't understand.
"What do you mean, Hatori?" She asked.
Yuki nodded; a big cheery smile on his face. "I think Hatori means that he knows that everything is going to go every well from here on." He told her. "Hey Rainie?"
"Yeah Yuki?"
He held up a key to her. "I have a spare key here for my new apartment back at the . Do you…want to move in with me?" He asked. Move in with Yuki? She thought and then looked back at him; Rainie couldn't hold her happiness any longer.
"Yes!" She hugged him instantly and took the key. She looked back at his face; he seemed to be looking at the sky. "Are you ok?" Rainie whispered.
Yuki nodded at Rainie. "Yeah, everything is okay and it's going to be forever." Rainie raised her eyebrow at the Zodiac Rat wondering what he could mean but before she could answer, he kissed her once again and then hugged her again.
They let go of each other and began walking towards the others, hand-in hand. Because thanks to Rainie and help from Tohru, the curse, had been broken…
--Ten Years Later--
"Daddy!" A little boy around the age of three with purple hair came running presently towards an older-looking Yuki who had just come from work; her face sparkled with the delight of his presence.
"Hey there Kazumi! Where's your mother?" He asked his son and picked him up.
"Right here!" An older Rainie put her ebony hair into a ponytail and smiled at her husband's arrival. "Welcome home." She told him and gave him a soft kiss on the lips before they all walked into the house together…
A/N: Yay! Finished – forever, never again! Lol, sorry but I suddenly lost interest in it a few months back (February) and really wanted to get it done. Well, I hope you enjoyed reading my first completed and second story written. Please feel free to give me a score out of 10 of what you thought as you review for the last time. There will not be a sequel and right now, I do not plan to write anymore Fruits Basket stories.
But please, feel free to check out my profile for other stories written by me (I have one Beyblade story called Secret Desires. My Naruto story, Mysterious Blue, is being re-written and I may be releasing a Dynasty Warriors story too.) Thanks for reading.