Disclaimer: Still don't own Fruits Basket.

A/N: Here's the third and final installment of this fic. I have really enjoyed writing it, and I thank you all for your lovely reviews.

WARNING: I came through with the citrus, just like I promised, so be warned that there is some semi-graphic content. This is the edited version of the lemon, but I really didn't have to edit that much out to make it appropriate for Fanfiction.net. If anyone has any objections to the content, I'm happy to edit it further as opposed to getting it pulled from the site. Please email me if you have a concern about that or if you would like a link to the unedited version. I swear I don't bite. ^_^

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A Battle Lost

By: Mizaya

Kyo stared at his hand, still woven together with Tohru's on the middle of the bed. They hadn't moved all night, and although he figured he would have a stiff neck from lying in such a weird position, he didn't much care. It wasn't a night he would trade for anything in the world, and nothing could have made it better.

Well, nothing except getting rid of that internal reminder that screamed "Eighty-seven days" in his head.

An insistent scratching made him raise his head and stare at the door. The cats wanted in, no doubt. They could wait, though. He wanted to stay with Tohru in bed all day if he could, although he knew that was an improper thing to think about.

"What's that sound, Kyo-kun?"

When he turned his head back towards her, she was using her free hand to rub at her eyes, blinking them open. "Just the cats," he said quietly. It felt a bit strange now, being awake with her in the bed during the light of day. Suddenly shy, he unwound their fingers and let go of her hand. "Did you sleep okay?"

Tohru surprised him when she took the opportunity of having both hands free to encircle his arm and snuggle close to it, pressing her face against his bicep. She looked so happy when her smiling eyes met his. "I slept very well. Thank you for staying with me, Kyo-kun. I only had pleasant dreams."

Her faint blush reminded him of his own dreams, but he speculated that Tohru's were nowhere near as graphic as his own. A teenage boy sleeping in a bed with the girl he loved was bound to have impure dreams, even if the girl was as sweet and innocent as Tohru. It made him feel like a lecher all over again, but he didn't mind as much after she revealed that she felt somewhat the same as he did.

Moments passed as Kyo reached over and began disheveling her already mussed bangs, sweeping his finger side to side and making her giggle softly. When he couldn't take it anymore, he leaned his head in and kissed a bared part of her forehead. "I meant what I said, Tohru," he told her seriously.

The faint pink that had tinged her cheeks was now bright red, but when she beamed at him it went away, as if it were a symbol of her feelings resolving. "I meant what I said, too, Kyo-kun."

Before he turned beet red himself, Kyo put his feet on the floor and pulled her out of bed by her hand. "Come on. Let's go feed them before they scratch a hole in the door."

Tohru insisted on feeding the cats herself, even though Kitty Pants hissed at her jealously and made sure she remained in between Kyo and Tohru at all times. Meanwhile, Kyo went to take a shower and get ready for the day. He was lonely even being away from her for a short time, and he couldn't help himself from stopping her in the hallway as they passed and kissing her before she went to take a shower herself.

"What are you looking at?" he angrily asked the female cat as he began to make breakfast. Her brother was sleeping in the middle of the kitchen floor where a patch of sunlight warmed the tile for him, but she was sitting on the counter, staring at him with an evil expression. She didn't flinch at his words, only continued to stare. He decided to work around her.

When Tohru reemerged in the kitchen, Kyo was just finishing the natto and rice. They ate breakfast in good spirits, laughing at various things that she said or had happened at school. This time when they washed the dishes together, Kyo let his hands trail over hers on purpose. It was as if someone had given him permission to do all the things he had only ever dreamed about.

The majority of the day passed by in short order. Kyo fixed some things around the house that Kazuma probably hadn't even realized were broken, like the back screen door. His Master was a wise and fair man, but his head really was in the clouds at times. Tohru spent most of the day doing math homework and studying for a history test that was coming up after break. Kyo had actually done all of his school reading and homework before they left. He took pride in the fact that he was a good student, even if he never bragged about it like that damn rat.

When he felt that the house was in order, Kyo sat next to Tohru and pulled out a book from his pocket. If Tohru was startled at his reading, she made no sign of it. She only continued to go over her class notes and smiled when Kyo grasped her hand under the table. Not looking up for fear of blushing, the only evidence of his distraction, if Tohru cared to notice it, was the fact that it was suddenly taking him ten minutes to read one page. She was a hindrance to his concentration for sure, but a welcome one.

"Wanna go for that walk now?" he questioned abruptly. They had just enough time to go and be back before it got too dark. He wanted to show her something.

"That sounds like fun."

Kyo waited for Tohru while she went and got her coat. The cats stayed at his feet, looking up expectantly, but he frowned at them. "Oh, no, you don't. You're not going anywhere."

If Tohru was confused as to why he shut the cats in the house, she didn't mention it. She seemed to be smiling permanently, even more so when he took her hand and led her away from the house, into the surrounding forest.

"I think this is the prettiest day since we've been here, Kyo-kun."

It was a nice day, he had to admit. The air was still biting cold, but the sun shone uninhibited on the tree line and there were scattered winter flowers coloring the path. Without the sounds of any other humans around, he suppose it did seem nice, but he had grown up in the place, so it was only comforting and familiar to him. "Yeah," he said to her. He shook his head at his lacking conversational skills and tried again. "Er, the weather always seems to be nicer up here. Even at a slightly higher elevation than Shigure's it makes a big difference."

"I never thought of that before. Thank you for explaining it to me, Kyo-kun." Tohru leaned her head on his shoulder and sighed. She seemed wholly content and so was he. They were almost to the spot that he had never taken anyone to before.

The clearing seemed to pop out of nowhere. One minute they were on a forest path, the next in an open patch that was bare except for some grass and an arrangement of rocks in the middle. Some birds that had been pecking at the ground flew off with an echo of flaps and cries when they came near.

"Wow, Kyo-kun, this is beautiful! Did the animals move the rocks to be in a circle like that? Or maybe you found it this way?"

He had to roll his eyes at her, although he did it with a smile. "Stupid girl." He lightly tapped the top of her head with his fist for emphasis. "Shishou and I moved them there like that. We used to come here to meditate."

"Ah!" Tohru's eyes lit up and she walked hesitantly to the rim of the rock circle, made up of ten fair sized boulders that housed a space the size of a large table.

"Go in and sit down."

Stepping gingerly between two of the rocks, Tohru sat down cross-legged in the middle. Kyo followed and sat across, facing her. In the meantime, she had shut her eyes tightly and scrunched her face up into a grimace.

"What are you doing?" he inquired.

One eye peaked open at him. "I'm trying to meditate, Kyo-kun. Isn't that why you brought me here?"

Kyo laughed at her until she gave up, instead shooting him a confused expression. "That's not how you meditate. Meditation means full relaxation of the mind and body. You were on your way to a brain hemorrhage or something, frowning like that." His mirth died when he thought about the real reason he wanted to bring her here. "I have to talk to you," he said earnestly.

"What is it, Kyo-kun?"

All night, as Kyo had laid awake thinking, his mind had been centered on this issue. Once they shared that second kiss, after she had admitted indirectly to liking him in return, he had known that there was nothing he could do. At one time he had planned to keep his feelings for Tohru hidden, because of his curse and his fate. It had pained him to say it, but he had meant it when he told her he would be there for her when she found a boyfriend. The previous night had totally shattered that illusion, though, and now he had no choice but to love her openly, and also tell her of his fate. It was a battle lost.

Reaching forward, Kyo rested his hands on her knees to get her attention. "Tohru, there's something that you don't know about me. It's even worse than my…other form." His head turned away by instinct, because it would hurt to see her crushed, but he made himself look back before he continued. "I have to go away, Tohru."

She didn't say anything. She only looked down at her lap long enough that he explained further.

"Akito. He's going to lock me away after graduation, just like Shishou's grandfather. It's the destiny of the cat. To keep my evil away from everyone."

Her arms engulfed him before he knew what was going on. The tell-tale explosion and cloud of smoke told him that he had transformed into a cat, but his real attention was on the girl who was sobbing into his orange fur.

"I know already, Kyo-kun," she wept. "Akito-san told when we were at the beach house. I'm so sorry I kept it a secret. Please forgive me."

Frozen didn't begin to describe how he felt. She knew? All that time, he had been so worried about it, and she already knew?

"Are you angry with me, Kyo-kun?"

Pushing upwards, he nuzzled her cheek with his feline head. "No, why would I be angry with you? If anything, I'm pissed at Akito. I bet that bastard explained it in a really crappy way." He hated the Jyuunishi God at that moment, more than ever. No one had the right to hurt Tohru.

Tohru lifted her body from his and wiped away an errant tear. She was smiling, at least. "It's okay, Kyo-kun. I talked to Kazuma-san about it, also. But you don't have to worry. I'm going to break the curse!" Her hands formed fists and she looked so hopeful and determined that there was no way he could destroy her dreams, even if they would come crashing down at some point.

Her shriek and a recognizable tingle told him that he had transformed back into his human form. Tohru looked away and he was sure they both blushed while he rushed to throw on his clothes and bracelet.

"That wasn't all I wanted to tell you." His voice signaled that it was safe for her to turn around and she did so. "There's something else. I-I ruined everything for us when I kissed you."

She didn't hesitate in bounding to his side and shaking her head emphatically. "No, no, Kyo-kun, don't say that!"

He was resolved, though. "Yeah, I did. Now I have no choice."

"I don't understand." Her voice cracked and she appeared to be on the verge of tears again, so he braced his hands on the side of her head, drawing her face near his.

"Before, I loved you secretly." Kyo inhaled, trying to hang on to sanity in her presence. "Now that I kissed you, I can't hide it anymore. I'll want to be with you all the time. I'll want you to be my girlfriend."

Tohru's big brown eyes almost shimmered. A rosy hue crept across her face, lighting up her cheeks and the bridge of her nose. "When…when Kyo-kun kissed me, I didn't know what it meant, but I spent all yesterday thinking about it, and…and I want Kyo-kun to be my boyfriend, too. I love you."

Stunned. He was stunned. He had expected her to panic and apologize and stumble over a response, not tell him with such conviction that she wanted what he wanted. It sent a pang to his heart that was painfully pleasurable. "I love you, too, Tohru."

Closing the gap between them, Kyo kissed her again. Their kisses before had been tentative and fairly chaste. This one was the polar opposite. Kyo didn't hold back at all. He pressed her mouth hard against his and almost immediately began caressing her lips with his tongue, moaning when she let him delve into her mouth and explore it better. It sealed their fate for him. As long as he could be by her side, he wouldn't hold back anything anymore. His heart would never let him.

Out of breath and completely flushed, Kyo finally separated himself from her. "We should go back," he wheezed. "It's almost dark."

The next couple hours seemed to go by in a hypnotic haze. The arrived at the house just as it was becoming too dark to see, and since they were both famished, decided to make dinner together. Kyo peeled and chopped all the vegetables while Tohru did everything else. Despite his attempt to be helpful, he figured that he was more of a bother, seeing as he stopped her every five seconds to kiss her temple or her nose or her lips, or just to touch her back with his hands. Their talk was nonsense, just moronic giggling and reminiscing about memories they had together. However he described it, it was perfect.

When time for bed came around, Kyo just pointed to his room. He didn't think it would be possible to pull off sleeping in the same bed at Shigure's, so he was sure as hell going to insist on it now. Tohru wore her cute blue tank top and shorts pajama set again, and Kyo decided to go with just his boxers. That way he wouldn't be too hot to slip under the covers with her.

As soon as they were settled in the bed, Kyo wrapped her hand in his again and sidled as close to her body as he could get without transforming. Face to face as they were, their breath was mingling together between them and warming his chest. His unoccupied hand slid up to her neck and he brushed the backs of his fingers against it before leaning in to kiss her.

Starting slowly, Kyo dipped his tongue into the gap between her lips and searched out her teeth, running up and around them before mingling with her own tongue. Tohru flattened her palm out on his shoulder and responded to his actions, eventually crossing over to invade his mouth. As the kiss progressed, the vehemence increased and soon Kyo found himself with a very pressing problem. He had to tear himself away and flip onto his back, panting at how much the kiss had turned him on.

"Kyo-kun, did I do something wrong?"

He rolled onto his other side to face away from her and hide his aroused state. "No," he said tightly, through clenched teeth. "Just hang on a minute."

A minute didn't really help, though. He could feel Tohru rustling around on the bed and his brain did evil things to his body to punish him for turning away from her. His problem was definitely getting worse. "I think I shouldn't stay here tonight," he bit out.

Tohru sat up on her knees behind him and leaned over his torso to see his face. She pressed her wrist against his forehead and spoke into his ear. "Are you sick? You feel hot, and your face is red. Maybe you're coming down with a cold."

Sighing, Kyo sat up on the bed, too, still with his back to her. "Yeah, I do feel hot, but it's not because I'm sick."

"Eh…?"

The silence in the room was overwhelming. He didn't want to come out and tell her that she made him horny as hell. It would spoil whatever bond they had made over the day, and it would be pretty hard to explain to someone like her. Damn his hormones!

A ticklish sensation on his back from her hair indicated that she was leaning forward. Kyo hunched over to cover his lap. "I understand, Kyo-kun. That feeling…it is like being too hot."

"Huh?" His back straightened. He forgot about masking his condition at her words. Staring at the wall in awe, he continued to listen.

"When Kyo-kun kisses me, it makes me feel hot, too. It becomes hard to breathe. Is that what you mean?"

"Yeah," he whispered. "But that means I should stop, because it makes me want to do things that we shouldn't do."

The feeling of her hair whisking across his back stopped when she settled beside him on the edge of the bed and took his closest hand in hers to press it against her heart. Kyo glanced at her out of the corner of his eye, puzzled.

"But I want to share my love for you like that. Mom always told me that when you find that special person, when you fall in love, that it's okay. She said that if you do that at the wrong time, with the wrong person, that it can be a bad experience, but if it's the right person, and you love them and are ready, then it can only be good." She pressed the back of his hand closer to her heart so he could feel the beating. "See, Kyo-kun? My heart is telling me that it's right. Is your heart telling you that it's wrong?"

Tohru never ceased amazing him. "Nothing about you is ever wrong." He took his hand back, bringing hers with it and mirroring what she had done, holding it to his chest. "My heart says that you're always right for me."

Their lips met again once more in the middle. Kyo renewed his fervent tasting while he let his hands arrange her back on the bed in her previous position. He trailed his hand up her arms and down along the neckline of her top while propping his body up with his elbow. His agitated state didn't bother him anymore, because he knew it didn't bother her.

Kyo left her mouth in favor of following the course of his fingers along her neck and collarbone, while his hands went instead to her waist, slipping under the thin shirt to feel at the soft skin of her stomach. Tohru was stroking his hair, and when he reached the crease where her ribs met the smoothness of her small breasts, he looked up at her questioningly, only to have her brush his hair away from his eyes and nod at him. Kyo reverently lifted the fabric up and over her head, tossing it to the floor next to the bed so he could continue on his journey.

Hefting the underside of one breast, Kyo circled it with his kisses, spiraling inward until he reached the tender pink bud it displayed. He took it into his mouth and gently began suckling on it, increasing his veracity when she squeaked a response and held his head to her bosom. His other hand worked her other breast, massaging it with his palm while his fingers rubbed her nipple into a taught peak. After a minute he switched, kissing a line directly across from one to the other.

With his mouth still occupied, Kyo moved his hands in opposite directions. One went back to holding him upright on the bed, the other voyaged down her body, skipping over her pale blue shorts to rest on the outside of her farthest thigh. He tried not to move too fast in sliding it up her leg and into the garment, still on the outer part of her leg. She didn't flinch or tell him to stop, so he kept going, until he felt her cotton panties. He hooked one finger inside them and skimmed along the edge inwards until he could feel her heated center. Then she did flinch.

"Tohru?" He removed his mouth from her breast to look up at her. Her eyes were closed and she was inhaling heavily. "Is that all right?"

"Yes. It feels…nice."

He grinned and scooted up a bit to focus his kisses on her mouth again, while his hand, which had leapt away from her body at her jerk, now went to the waistband. He divested her of both her shorts and her underwear in one motion, and then went back to his initial activity of seeking out her pleasure. Sex hurt a girl the first time. He knew that much at least, and it was only fair that she get some enjoyment so she didn't look back on the night with pain.

It was guesswork for him, really. He had a basic idea of how to touch a girl, but knowing something and practicing it were two entirely different things. Tohru's hands had left his hair in favor of his chest, and he took care to observe when she unconsciously moved them, knowing that he was paying attention to the correct places. Their lips broke apart when it became too hard for either of them to breathe, Tohru because she was reaching the pinnacle and him because he was having a hard time controlling his body when it strived to be where his fingers were at that moment.

"Kyo-kun!" Tohru's mumbled exclamation was accompanied by a grasping of her hands on his shoulders. She had remained almost motionless the whole time, so he knew what her actions meant. He had actually given Tohru an orgasm. It was a bit hard to fathom. He removed his hand, which caused her to shudder, and pulled the blanket back over her whole body, ultimately collapsing beside her.

"Thank you, Kyo-kun. I've never felt anything like that before."

He blushed and kissed her shoulder. "I'll do better next time. I wanted you to enjoy yourself before we…you know."

She giggled. "But I'll enjoy that, too. I'm ready if you want to try it now."

"It'll hurt. I have to tell you that," he intoned with a scowl. "I'm going to get it over with quickly so you don't have to be in pain long. After that, it won't ever hurt again."

Tohru nodded again, still with that big smile. He kissed her while he removed his boxers and settled in between her legs, locking his arms on either side of her body to maintain the space between their torsos. "Are you absolutely sure?" he asked one final time.

"Yes, Kyo-kun, I'm sure."

He went in swiftly, wincing swallowing her whimper with a kiss and his own groan of pleasure. The tightness made his body literally shake with anticipation, but he waited until her tenseness faded before sliding out and thrusting in again, over and over. He had no idea how long it lasted with his reality altered by the sensations, but he didn't think it was very long. A lifetime of waiting fled in a few seconds of intense physical pleasure when he went over the edge. He had never known anything so spectacular before.

The uncontrollable release dissipated and left him trembling in its wake. When he could move again, he fell on the bed beside her. This time she pulled the covers up around him. "Now I get to thank you." His voice demonstrated his exhaustion. "Are you okay?"

He wrapped his arm around her when she snuggled close to his side. "It wasn't bad at all," she said honestly. "Once the pain went away, it started to feel good again. I love to make you happy. Maybe…we can try again when you're ready?"

"I love to make you happy, too." Everything was like a dream. "I would like to try again if you would. Just let me know."

"Okay, in a little bit. Kyo-kun?" He met her eyes when she didn't say anything else. They sparkled with emotion. "I'm so glad that this happened. I haven't felt this happy in a long time. I don't mean to sound ungrateful for what Kyo-kun and the other Sohmas have done for me, but this is the happiest I've been since Mom left. I love you, Kyo-kun."

"I love you, Tohru, and I understand. You don't have to feel guilty. I haven't been this happy since my mom left, either. It's nice to have someone."

"I think so, too." Her voice was a tired whisper.

Whether or not Tohru had been serious about trying again, he wasn't going to wake her up to ask. She fell asleep so peacefully at his side. His own angel. Just like the night before, he stayed awake long after she did. When the clock showed that it was midnight and that internal timer told him there were eighty-six days remaining, it wasn't the same at all. This time, instead of signifying eighty-six days until his life was over, it signified eighty-six days spent living. To him, Tohru was life's breath.

--The End--

A/N: Thank you so much for reading! Feedback is always appreciated.