Heyy… There…

Hows life? ...

Sara: I don't think it's worki-

Me: I KNOW (T.T)

Well guys, I'm back! It's already like.. december and I know its been foreverrrrr. Im sorry! *bows repeatedly*

I'm not gonna take up too much of your time. I hope you enjoy this chapter! =)

Chapter 18-

"Okay guys! Here's what we're going to do. I'm going to assign each of you a certain task.. I mean.. if that's okay with you guys…" Tohru asked timidly, her eyes shifting back and forth from one face to the next.

They nodded assuringly, encouraging her to continue. She had called the 3 Sohma's for—as she had said it— an 'urgent meeting'.

"I'll be doing most of the planning, so leave the food and guest list to me. Shigure and Kyo, You're going to be working on decorations. Is everyone okay with that?"

The 3 guys nodded again.

"Alright, so we'll begin tomorrow, first thing in the morning! Everyone be ready okay! It's going to be great!"

Faintly, they could hear Sara opening the front door and entering the house.

"I'm home! I hope I wasn't gone too long…" She called out while putting on her slippers. She walked in on the rest of the members of the house sitting around the kitchen table, all staring at her.

"Ah.. is something going on?" She questioned. They all shook their heads. "We were just talking, thats all." Tohru smiled, as the rest of the group continued to stay silent. Sara's eyebrow went up in suspicion.

"O..kay then." She spun on her heel and headed towards the stairs. "I'll be up in my room then!" She waved to them and left.

Everyone sighed in relief after she had left.

"I'm so excited!" Tohru clapped her hands together.

"You're such a caring friend to remember Sara's birthday, Tohru! The world needs more people like you~" Shigure commented before the group dismantled and went to resume their activities for the day.

"Uh, Miss Honda? I hope you don't mind me asking, but what can I do to help?" Yuki inquired while helping her set the table for dinner.

"Oh! Right! Well, your job is kind of special. I have a strong feeling that you can handle it better than anyone else can…" Tohru replied. Yuki nodded and anticipated what she would say next.

"I hope you're okay with this! To keep Sara-chan away from home, you need to take her out on a date!"

~~ The next day~~

Sara was sitting on the floor of her bedroom, drawing in her sketchbook to pass the time. Tohru had woken up early as usual, leaving a note saying she was going out to do some errands. Which left Sara alone in a house full of sleeping boys who had no intention of waking up anytime soon.

She flipped back a couple of pages and found the doodle of Yuki- drawn by her before she was magically transported into Fruits Basket. It was a flat drawing, with a bit of shading and neatly drawn eyes. It really looked like the mysterious and distance prince from the manga. Step by step, she carefully redrew his eyes, added more detail to his hair, and changed the emotion her drawing represented. Before she knew it, Sara realized that instead of fixing the artwork, she had recreated it completely. The drawing she saw now was not what she expected. His eyes looked softer, his hair looked more natural, and the most important part-Sara thought- was his smile. The smile that wasn't there in her original drawing. It was like she was looking at two completely different people.

Things really do change once you get to know someone for real… I just never realized it until now. She thought.

Absorbed in silence for so long, Sara jumped when she heard a knock on her door.

"Come in!"

Yuki slowly slid open the door, and saw Sara sitting on the floor working on something.

"Good morning, Miss Tamura. Would you like to have breakfast?" She looked up at him and smiled.

"Sure!" She said as she looked down at her sketchbook. Yuki eyed the drawing and noticed that she was drawing a person or character of some sort.

Is that…?

"What were you drawing?" He asked her politely. Her eyes went wide as she quickly shut her book and put it away. He'd probably never talk to me if he found out I was drawing him. He'd think I was a creep!

"Oh.. nothing. Just doodling." She laughed, passing him on her way out the door.

He followed her down the stairs. Was she drawing me? He shrugged.

The first thing Sara did as she entered the kitchen was open the cupboard and take out two bowls. She turned around to face Yuki, who stood at the entrance of the room, and asked, "Are you okay with cereal? Or should I make something else for us to eat?"

Knowing that she didn't really feel comfortable with any sort of cooking, the boy shook his head no, and said that cereal was fine.

The two sat at the table seated opposite of one another. Yuki had opened the windows earlier, allowing a cool breeze to drift through the kitchen. It was a quiet, peaceful breakfast.

Clearing his throat, Yuki broke the silence and looked up from his bowl — which, after consuming the cereal had now been reduced to a bowl of sugary flavored milk — at the brunette sitting across from him. Their eyes met and Sara raised her eyebrows a little, curious about what he was going to say next.

"Is something wrong Yuki?" She questioned a couple seconds later, after he had failed to let a single word escape his mouth.

"No.. I.. I was just wondering if.." He paused. After all, it was the first time he had ever asked a girl out. Yuki didn't think he could do it.

"Nevermind…" He murmured. More silence.

Sara looked down at her bowl. Today is my birthday… maybe I should go out for a while. But no one even knows it is. And I can't just tell them that it is… that would be so awkward! But if i go out by myself, then Yuki will be home alone..

"So do you have anything planned for today?" Sara asked as she picked up both their dishes and placed them in the sink.

Yuki blinked a couple of times. I'm going to do it..

He took a deep breath.

"Actually, yes. I was going to ask you if you wanted to go out with me today."

Sara spun around to face him, her eyes wide.

"Wait… Me?"

Yuki and Sara walked down the sidewalk, side by side. It was a rather chilly day, but the sun shone brilliantly and seemed to balance it out.

Up until now, no conversation had been made between the two. It felt extremely awkward for the both of them. Sara nervously pulled the sleeves of her comfy pink sweater down past her mittens.

Yuki glanced over at her. "Cute" He shyly smiled.

"Hmm?" the brunette looked up at him with her big green eyes.

"Y-your gloves… they're really cute."

"Thanks!" She beamed as she held out her hand, showing off her white My Melody mittens.

Sara and Yuki came to the end of the street and were welcomed with a mob of people waiting to cross the street.

"There's a lot of people out today, huh?"

"It seems like it." Yuki replied. He pulled his hand out of his jacket pocket and slid into into Sara's hand. "So make sure you don't get lost, okay?" He smiled at her. Sara blushed and nodded.

Everything she does is so cute… He thought.

They let everyone else go in front of them, avoiding any possibilities of Yuki bumping into someone and transforming.

"No wait! More to the left!" Tohru called out to the amber eyed boy standing on the 3rd to last rung on the top of a ladder. Kyo did as he was told. He adjusted the decoration and moved it to the left.

"You moved it too far. Bring it back to the right a little bit!"

He clenched his teeth but silently continued.

"Kyo-kun, its too far to the right now!"

Kyo snapped. "Why don't YOU just come up here and do it yourself?!" He fumed, dropping the decoration. It landed with a soft rustle on the wood floor in front of Tohru's slippered feet. She looked down at the fallen ornament with a look of regret.

"I..I'm sorry Kyo-kun… I didn't mean to upset you" She muttered before scurrying off into the kitchen, keeping her eyes glued to the floor.

The boy sat on top of the ladder in silence, wishing he could take back his actions. "Damn it" He cursed under his breath, punching the wall in front of him.

"Oooh… isn't this one so pretty?" Sara pulled out a mint green dress from the rack. It was knee length and had a black collar.

"Really pretty." Yuki said, looking at her.

"Do you really think so?" She asked excitedly, looking in the mirror and holding the dress up against her body.

"I hope I'm not boring you or anything. Guys really don't like to shop, right?"

Yuki laughed a little. "No, it's fine. I don't mind."

"After this, we should go get some lunch! How about ramen? Should we get ramen?"

"I don't see why not" Yuki replied, smiling.

The two spent the rest of the day aimlessly wandering around from place to place, smiling and laughing and reveling in each other's company. Before they knew it, the sky had transformed into a masterpiece of pinks, oranges, and reds, and the day had come to an end.

They walked side by side towards the bridge leading out of the downtown area, Yuki was next to the railing, and Sara was on his left. In her left hand, Sara held a cute kitten plush that Yuki had won for her at the arcade. If she had continued to try to win, she would have ended up feeding all her money to the machine.

"I can't believe the day has already come to an end!"

Sara turned her face towards him, looking up and smiling.

The natural light of the sun was gently hitting her face, highlighting her every feature, from her perfect skin and wavy chocolate tresses to her small pink lips and deep emerald green orbs.

It wasn't until recently that Yuki had noticed a change in his overall character. He caught himself staring at her during class, wondering what she was thinking, feeling happy in her presence. It was a feeling he'd never experienced before. It made him feel light headed and excited, like a child. A small, happy child who didn't have a clue about his future or the cruel, cruel world around him.

It seemed to him like for his whole life, he had been floating amongst the stars, all alone, nowhere to go, and nothing to feel. And suddenly, after meeting her, there was a force pulling on him, bring him back down through the clouds and to earth, giving him a destination. A place he could truly be happy.

"We should hurry up now! Tohru and the others are probably worried we're not back yet!" Sara exclaimed, breaking him out of his trance.

They walked quickly from street to street, trying to escape the cold night that was about to befall them.

"Thank you for today Yuki. It made me feel really special!" She laughed. They had already reached the forest path leading to Shigure's house. Yuki smiled warmly at her.

Sara stopped walking mid-way, and turned to face him. Yuki stopped and faced her, too. Just as he was about to ask if something was wrong, Sara took a step towards him, and quickly put her arms around his neck and pressed the side of her face on to his shoulder. Yuki almost fell backwards from the shock and her sudden gesture. He looked down at Sara, who was hugging him tightly, and only hesitated for less than a second before wrapping his own arms around her petite waist, pulling her closer.

So this is what it feels like… to be held close by someone you care for…

He decided to hold on as long as he could before transforming. He only had a second. Yuki closed his eyes and buried his face into her sweet smelling hair, feeling the warmth of her body mingling with his own. His heart felt like someone had lit a thousand fireworks at once and left them to explode into his entire body.

And before he knew it, the seemingly eternal moment was over. Yuki could feel himself changing and the warmth leaving his body, and the next thing he saw was the front of Sara's winter boots.

"You don't need to apologize, Miss Tamura." The little mouse spoke up before Sara could even open her mouth.

"But Yuki.. did you notice how long it took for you to transform?"

If he were to be honest, Yuki didn't notice anything else happening during those few, quick seconds. He nodded anyway.

*POOF!*

He didn't take any more than a couple seconds to put his clothes back on, afraid he might just turn into an ice cube out in the cold.

Straightening himself up, Yuki cleared his throat, signaling that it was OK for Sara to turn around now.

The lavender haired boy remembered something like this that had happened a while ago with Sara. When she had accidentally fallen on top of him, but he didn't transform immediately.

"I've been a little curious about it myself in fact. It's happened before, too..."

They stood in silence again, trying to process what had just happened. Sara stepped closer. Yuki pulled her by her shoulders and pressed her gently against his chest. He released her and they both anticipated Yuki's transformation.

Nothing.

They waited some more. Still nothing.

"I didnt..." The boy started. Sara covered her mouth with her hands, letting out a surprised laugh.

"What does this mean?" He asked, completely taken aback. Even though he had always been hoping something like this could happen, that maybe one day he could be...normal, he never believed it would come true. And yet it did, and Yuki really didn't know what else to feel apart from true happiness and passion for the girl in front of him. She jumped up and down in excitement.

"I can't believe this! You're not transforming! Well I mean, you are, but not all the time! This is so amazing Yuki!"

As she spoke, he had mustered up enough courage to hug her again. Just as he was about to lean in, he heard a crackling noise behind him. He sharply turned around and spread his arms out, in order to shield Sara from anything that might be lurking in the forest.

"Yuki?" She whispered. There was another shuffle and the two could just make out the silhouette of a person slowly disappearing into the depth of the woods.

"Did you see that?!"

Yuki slowly nodded his head in reply.

"We should go now…" He took her by the hand and they both ran back to the house.

"Tadaima…" The two called out as they took off their shoes.

"Is anyone even home?" She walked over to the light switch "I don't see anyone's shoes out-"

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY SARA-CHAN!"

The brunette jumped out of surprise. She looked around at everyone, wide- eyed. Almost all the members of the zodiac and Tohru were crowded around the table in the living room. Momiji was sitting on Haru's shoulders, Kisa was clinging on Tohru's arm (as usual) with Hiro not too far away, and Kyo was face down on the floor being traumatized by Kagura, who sat on top of him.

In the center of it all, on the dining table meant for four, sat a beautifully decorated, single layer chocolate cake, with the words "Happy Birthday Sara" written on it in pink cursive letters. 16 candles were lit and lined up along the edges of the rectangular cake.

Sara covered her mouth with her hands.

"Is this all for me? You guys knew it was my birthday?"

She never thought that she could feel so moved by such a sweet idea and extremely cliche scenario. It nearly brought tears to her eyes.

"Of course! How could we forget!" Tohru exclaimed.

Ayame stepped out of the crowd and cheerfully led Sara over to the table where her cake was placed. Yuki kept an eye on his older brother, but stayed silent and followed them instead. Tohru skipped over and carefully placed a cute plastic tiara on top of the birthday girl's head.

They sang, and laughed, and ate cake. Each person at the party handed Sara a present, which was either wrapped in decorated paper or put into a gift bag. She accepted them all with a smile. Sara was surprised to see the other members of the zodiac. Even though they had only met once or twice before, they still cared enough to show up and celebrate her birthday with her.

Sara looked over at everyone enjoying themselves. She smiled a little before exiting the room. Sara climbed up the staircase and sat on the very top step. It wasn't because she hated parties and noise or anything like that, but she just felt like sitting peacefully for some time. To reflect and to think.

She heard a faint 'poof' from downstairs, which was proceeded by an "I'm sorry!" from Tohru, and a "Get that damn rabbit off of her!" from Kyo. Sara couldn't help but giggle.

These people… they're my friends. No, closer than friends. Almost like family…

When did this happen? Its almost as if… as if I've lived here my whole life. But I haven't. I have another life. I have another life...

I have a mom, a dad, friends, best friends whom I've known for more than half my life...

Yet, here I am, in a place where I thought it was impossible to exist, with people who haven't known me for more than a year that care about me so much...

She felt the tears beginning to form.

Which life can I really call my own? Which one makes me truly happy? Where do I belong?

Sara didn't particularly like to think about these things, because when she did, she only caused more confusion and created more unanswerable questions for herself. And why go through all that trouble when you can just continue to exist like you normally do?

There was a soft click from the hallway behind her. She turned her head and found Yuki coming out of his room with a small, pink striped bag in his hands.

"Yuki?" She called out after quickly wiping her cheeks.

He jerked his head towards the sound of her voice.

"Oh.. Miss Tamura. What are you doing here?"

"I could ask you the same question" she laughed. He walked over to the staircase and sat down on the top stair, adjacent to Sara.

"What have you got there?" She asked pointing to the bag.

"Its for you." He handed her the bag. She accepted it with a smile on her face.

"I hope you like it" Yuki said as Sara took a sparkly silver box out of the bag. Carefully, she undid the pink bow that was wrapped around it and opened the lid.

She gasped the moment the box was open.

Inside lay a delicate silver chain bracelet with an amethyst gem hanging off of it. She lifted it and put it up to the light. It had a brilliant sparkle and Sara was convinced it was probably the most beautiful thing she'd ever seen.

"Oh, Yuki! This is gorgeous! Thank you so much!" She wrapped her arms around him briskly. They looked at each other and grinned.

"There's still one more piece…" He said, reaching into the bag and pulling out a small pouch. He gave the pouch to Sara with care. She loosened it's knot and peered inside. There was something twinkling at the bottom. She turned the pouch over and a small snowflake shaped crystal gently fell onto her palm.

"I didn't know if you would like it or not…"

"Yuki! I love it! But, why a snowflake?"

"Snow… like Yuki. Its a charm. You can attach it to the bracelet I gave you if you'd like."

She nodded happily and proceeded to do just that.

"This is definitely the best thing ever! I don't know if I'll ever be able to thank you enough!" Sara exclaimed after she had put on her new bracelet. She turned to face him.

"I'm glad you liked it." Yuki held Sara's hand and looked into her eyes. He slid closer to her. "Happy Birthday"

He was down to a whisper. The atmosphere had suddenly changed. Sara felt her face heat up and her heart beat faster the closer he came to her. He began to lean in, resting his hand on the wall behind her. Their faces were only centimeters apart now. He slightly tilted his head and came even closer to the side of her face.

"...Princess" he sighed against her skin, his lips nearly touching her neck. Sara was sure she had melted inside. She brought her arms up and wrapped them around his neck. His face was the darkest shade of pink she'd ever seen on him.

"..Prince" she whispered into his ear, softly stretching out the 'ss' sound at the end. Yuki shut his eyes and lightly shivered, feeling the chills she sent down his spine. Their proximity, the words they exchanged, it all just felt so right, like this moment was never going to end.

But sadly…

"HEY GUYS COME DOWnstairs… for… presents…" Momiji paused and widened his eyes. The couple pulled away from each other faster than humanly possible.

"Was I… interrupting something? Sara- chan! Are you two dating?!"

Sara vigorously shook her head.

"No, not at all! It's nothing like that yet, Momiji! It's fine!" Her voice shook from the nervousness she had felt earlier.

"We'll be down in a minute!" She called as the zodiac rabbit skipped away.

Those two are perfectfor each other! Momiji thought, thrilled about what he'd just seen.

Sara let out a sigh. She slowly turned her gaze towards her partner, his eyes were downcast and hidden by his lavender hair.

"When you were talking to Momiji… he asked if we were dating…" Yuki began hesitantly.

"I.. I did." Sara reddened and anticipated what he was going to say next.

"And you said thats its nothing like that… yet…" He looked up at her now, searching her face for a reaction.

"Because I… I…" She couldn't finish. She was interrupted by Yuki.

"Miss Ta-" He paused. "S- Sara.." Sara's eyes widened. He used my first name?!

"I've wanted to say this for a while now. I don't know how many nights I've stayed up just thinking of this moment. Thinking of you. I never thought a day like this could ever come. A day where I tell the world's smartest, cutest, most kind and most beautiful girl, that I've fallen hopelessly in love with her." He gazed at her in a way that no one ever had before.

Sara covered her mouth with her hands and tried to blink back her tears. Yuki swallowed hard. He continued, his voice beginning to shake a little.

"I've never felt this way about anyone before, and I don't know if I'm doing this right, but...will you be my girlfriend?

Yuki tried as much as he could to hold eye contact with her, but it was just too much for him. He turned his head to the side, letting his hair cover most of his face. He didn't think he'd ever felt his face hotter than it was right now.

"Oh my gosh… Yuki… I never thought you felt like this about me. I was so scared to tell you my feelings because I didn't want us to lose what we had." Sara put her hands on his shoulders, causing him to look up at her again.

"Yes" She replied, before slowly leaning in and giving Yuki an affectionate peck on the cheek.

"Sara-chan! Open mine first! Open mine! It's this one! Look at the cute wrapping paper! It has little bunnies everywhere!"

Momiji stood up from his place in the circle that everyone sat in and ran around Sara holding her wrapped present in his hands.

"Okay, Okay!" Sara laughed.

"Just give her the damn present already!" Kyo piped up, clearly annoyed with all of Momiji's yelling and running around. Haru sneakily stuck his leg out in front of the young boy, tripping him. Momiji began to sniffle.

This is going to be a long night… Sara thought, sweat dropping. She could feel someones eyes on her. She looked up and over at Yuki and caught him staring at her. Yuki's face lit up and the corners of his lips curved upwards when she met his gaze, and Sara could feel her heart beat start to quicken. She blushed and quickly averted her eyes to look down at her lap. She could hear him softly laughing—she only blushed harder.

So this is… a change in my life. A really big change… Sara swallowed nervously. I've fallen in love. I've fallen in love and the person I love… loves me back!

I don't know if this is the right thing to do… but I really hope it is. And I really hope I don't mess things up. And I really want this to last forever.

"Sarika? There's something important I need to discuss with you…" Shigure suddenly announced, holding a telephone in his hand. Everyone in the room fell silent. Yuki and Kyo were surprised he had used Sara's full name.

Sara looked at the older man with confusion. He gestured for her to come out of the room and into the hallway. Sara apologized to everyone else and began walking towards the sliding door.

The stupid dog must really be serious for once in his life. Did something happen? Yuki hurried over to Sara's side. Sara noticed the discontent on his face, and she took his hand and gently squeezed it to reassure him.

They both exited the living room and walked down the hallway into the kitchen, where they saw Shigure waiting for him. Shigure looked at Sara, and then at Yuki, and squinted his eyes in suspicion. "Are you two…?" Yuki blushed and Sara bit her lip nervously.

"Alright. So anyway…" Shigure began, putting aside his new discovery for just a moment.

"I received a phone call earlier. It.. It was from Akito, the head of the Sohma family." Yuki clenched his fists after hearing Akito's name. He already didn't like where this was going.

"He wanted me to wish you a happy birthday, Sara."

"O-oh… Thank you" She croaked.

"Is that it? Is that all he said?" Yuki questioned, determined to make sure that Shigure didn't hide any other details from him. After all, this was involving his girlfriend.

"I'm afraid he did say more. Sara…" The zodiac dog turned to face her. "Akito said he's been interested in you for quite some time. and that he's been waiting to meet you."

"No! He can't see her!" Yuki interrupted.

"He wants to talk to her, and Tohru as well. He said it won't be anything more than a talk…"

Yuki was getting angry now. Sara put her arm on his shoulder and slightly tugged him backwards.

"It's okay. I'll do it."

"You can't! You dont know what he's like!"

"Akito is allowing you to be there with her, Yuki. He had mentioned something like 'Yuki would give everything to protect this girl and keep their little secret..' so I'm guessing that's about…" Shigure trailed off and pointed back and forth at the two.

"How could he possibly know? No one knows yet! It literally just happened!" Sara exclaimed. She looked at Yuki, frightened now.

"Akito always has his ways…" Yuki mumbled.

"So… will you meet him? I have yet to ask Tohru. She just seemed so busy with everything right now, I thought I'd tell her later." Shigure urged. Sara looked down at the floor, and then up at Yuki, before finally giving Shigure her answer.

"I… I'll talk to him…"

Yuki shut his eyes, fearing the worst. However, it was her decision, and he respected that and promised to stay by her side throughout the whole thing.

"We'll be going to the Sohma estate in two weeks time, then." Shigure declared. He gave the couple a look of encouragement before letting out a sigh and returning to the party going on.

"It's not safe… No matter what you may think, Akito won't go easy on you. And now that he's found out about...us… it'll only make matters worse. Are you really sure about this?"

Sara took both his hands into hers and looked into his eyes.

"Yuki. I'll be fine. I know your experiences with Akito have never been good, but trust me. Nothing will happen to me. Nothing will happen to us. Everything will be okay"

Yuki put his arms around her waist and brought Sara in for a hug, earning a delighted laugh from her as she brought her arms up to hug him back.

Yuki tightened the hug, wishing it could last longer, knowing that he would transform any second now.

"I'll always keep you safe"

"I know you will, Yuki."

*POOF*

And now we bring this chapter to an end.

So whaddya think? Its been a while since I've written. I apologize. I've just gotten busier with school and everything (I hate growing up )X ) so I haven't been able to write.

If you liked this chapter, please rff! I will love you forever xx

Also, I've hit 100 reviews! Thank you all so much! I can't even begin to tell you all what your feedback means to me. It really makes me feel so happy inside! :)

That's all for now! See you next time!

Sara: Bye byee! ^-^