Disclaimer: I don't own Fruits Basket.
Epilogue
Tohru Honda bustled around the kitchen, gathering spices and pots, rice, chicken, and soy sauce, preparing dinner for a family she was sure would be simply ravishing when they arrived at the dinner table. As she stood by the kitchen sink, filling a saucepan with water, her brown eyes flitted upwards, to the photograph sitting in the windowsill above the sink. His orange hair, and determined glare brought a smile upon the young woman's lips. Her Ying.
Turning away, she set the saucepan on the stove, and turned on the heat, humming softly to herself, the smile that Kyo's picture brought to her still lingering as she continued her preparations.
It had been almost eight months since Kyo Sohma had committed suicide. Though Tohru thought of him every day, she no longer felt the pain bubble up inside her when his face flitted across her mind. Instead, her mind tripped back across memories, bringing back to mind a fateful day in a hospital bed, when Tohru, half dead, had heard words she had never expected to hear from Akito.
"He's never really gone. He's still inside you. Everything you hold of his, each memory, that's his spirit inside you. Ying and Yang, two becoming one. He's a part of you, Tohru…And if you die, if you give up, then he'll be gone forever…"
Even if the words had been selfish, even if Akito had spoken them only for her own benefit, they had had the needed effect on Tohru. She had fought, struggled to keep Kyo alive within her heart, to reunite Ying and Yang… And she had succeeded.
The sound of voices and the sliding open of a paper door brought Tohru out of her comatose. She took a few steps forward, peering out into the room that held the table, to see Haru, Momiji, Kisa, and Hiro arriving, all of them talking among themselves, slipping off their shoes. Tohru bounced cheerfully into their presence, ruffling Hiro's hair (to his disgust), and asking them cheerful questions about their day.
Haru shrugged when it came his turn for the questions. His dark brown eyes kept traveling to the staircase, and his answer came in an offhand, absent minded sort of way. "It was okay, I suppose. We rehearsed our graduation ceremony. It was cold."
Tohru's eyes lit up at this, and she remembered that Haru and Momiji would be graduating in just a few short weeks. "Oh! I had forgotten… You're graduating soon. I can't believe it…" Her voice trailed off, and she just smiled at them.
"Neither can I!" Momiji's hands grasped Tohru's, and his almond colored eyes stared down into hers enthusiastically. He was taller then her now, and his face more mature. Even his voice seemed to have deepened in the few short months since school had started – he was even wearing the boys uniform now… It looked really good on him. He was becoming almost like another Yuki- though, perhaps, less prince-like.
Hiro and Kisa, remained silent. Hiro was holding Kisa tightly, both wrapped in an embrace that seemed both intimate, yet comfortable at the same time. They were together now – there was no denying it anymore, no hiding it. Ever since Tohru's near death experience, they had not left each other's sides, which if course, suited Hiro just fine.
Footsteps were heard at the top of the stairs, and the appearance of Yuki interrupted Tohru, Momiji, and Haru's discussion of the graduation ceremony. Yuki looked older, his glasses perched on his nose, a suitcase held in his hands. He had been packing these last few days to leave for a university to get his degree and become a teacher. He had promised he would get a job at the high school when he was finished, so that he would be near Tohru, who wasn't quite ready to move out of Shigure's house yet, instead, Shigure had employed her as full-time housekeeper for the Sohmas, which suited her just fine.
As Yuki approached the bottom of the stairs, Haru was already there. Yuki all but dropped his suitcase as the two reached out to each other. It seemed for a moment as if they would simply embrace, but in a last second decision, they decided to go for the gold, and their lips met.
Yuki was the one who ended the kiss, a small smile on his lips as he picked his suitcase back up in his other hand, seeing as the hand it had been in before was now clutched in Haru's. He set it down gently by the table, smiling lightly at Tohru, who, face turning rather red, smiled back.
"Have you seen Shigure today?" Asked Yuki after a hearbeat of silence. His voice went rather cold at the dog's name, he had never quite forgiven the dog for all the harsh things he had said after Kyo's death.
Tohru's head shook vigorously. "No. I haven't seen him all day, actually… He's been gone since I got up."
The young man's brow furrowed, but only for a moment. Then he simply shrugged. "Do you need any help with dinner, Miss Honda?"
"No, thank you. Actually, it's just about ready. If you could set out the plates…" She suggested, voice trailing away, for Yuki had already removed his hand from Haru's and went about setting plates on the table.
Just as everyone was sitting down, and Tohru was about to serve the food, the door swung open. Everyone looked up, as Shigure stepped in, carrying a small bundle in his arms.
Time stood still.
Tohru dropped the porcelain bowl full of rice she was holding, and the whole thing broke on the floor. No one even flinched. Their eyes were fixed on the bundle in Shigure's arms. The bundle that was now moving, awoken by the crashing sound.
A bundle that was crying.
A hand shot up through the blankets, and Tohru's breath caught in her throat as she saw the oh-so familiar bracelet made of red and white beads on the baby's wrist.
Everything seemed to slow as her arms reached outstretched, reaching for the child that Shigure held so close. He gave it up obligingly, and she cradled it gently in one arm, the other moving the blankets away from the baby's face.
It's crying ceased, but Tohru could feel her own teardrops slowly making its way down her skin. The baby had wispy, fiery orange hair just starting to grow out of its head, its eyes, which seemed to have just opened, were a soft amber, just like Kyo's hand once been.
"Oh…" Breathed Tohru, and she reached her free hand out to gently stroke the baby's face, lips quivering. The baby cooed, and its tiny hands shot up, catching Tohru's wrist. It grasped it, one hand clutching at the pale white scars that still spelled out Kyo's name, and it smiled.
Tohru tugged her wrist from the child's grasp, gasping slightly. "This baby…" She whispered, "This baby is…"
"The new cat. A baby girl." Shigure replied, his quiet tones made to match her own. He watched his child taken into Tohru's arms, and he could only hope, only pray that she would accept her.
"A girl?" She questioned. "What's her name?" She asked on second thought, eyes never leaving the baby girl's smiling, angelic face.
"Asu…" He answered softly. "Her name is Asu…" As if sensing the next question, he added, "Her mother rejected her. Akito wants you to have her, Tohru. If… you want her."
"Asu…" Repeated Tohru. "Akito wants… me to have her?" But the question remained: Did she want her? Did she want the child that was supposed to replace Kyo, the only one who could ever hold her entire heart? Could she make room in her heart for this little baby, and raise her the way she needed to be raised? Tohru closed her eyes for a moment, and shook her head gently, beginning to hold the baby back out to Shigure.
"I.." She began.
But then, Asu began to cry. Tohru's eyes snapped open, and for a few moments, she looked striken, then slowly, she pulled the baby back in with a mother-like tendancy, cradling her, her voice singing to her softly.
"Yes… I'll keep her. " She answered, and she smiled down at the child in wonder. Her Asu… Her little Asu… Her hope for tomorrow.
Take My Last Bow (The End)
A/N: AHHH! I can't believe its over! WAHHHH! This is so sad… I'm gonna miss this story… A lot. By the way, Asu means tomorrow. I thought it was well suited for the new cat baby. Kind of like Tohru and Asu's own hope, which was instilled into tomorrow... anyway. This all makes me very sad, but… I still want your reviews. HEY! DO YOU WANT A SEQUEL? TELL ME YES OR NO IN YOUR REVIEWS! YAY!