A/N: This is a non-curse fic. Kyo/Saki, please enjoi!

Disclaimer: I don't own Fruits Basket.

0—For the Means of Research—0

"You can't be serious." Lines of dread formed beneath Sohma Kyo's eyes as he watched the female advance towards him swiftly. Her violet hues were focused on him and solely him, laced with determination.

"Why would I feel the need to lie?" Hanajima Saki responded, her hands seizing his wrists with surprising strength. "Don't fret; this is for research purposes only." She began to scoot in closer to him.

"Gah!" He leaned back as far as he could. He tried his best to keep his blush at bay. "Why can't you do this with someone else?" he demanded fiercely, incredibly flustered by this sudden attack.

She paused. "Tohru-chan likes Yuki-san. I couldn't have used him," was all she said before leaning in once again.

"What about Hatsuharu or Momiji?" He asked almost desperately. It wasn't as if she repulsed him or anything, in fact he thought that the Goth was quite attractive; however, this wasn't about that, the fact of the matter was that he wasn't going to kiss her just to help her out with a project she was working on!

She paused. It was true. It was all for the sake of her reviews. She wrote a progressing romance story online, as a way to practice for her true goal, which was to eventually write a collaborative novel with Sohma Shigure, Kyo's cousin and her favorite author. She had an incredible knack for it, and always got the highest review counts; however, her views have been plummeting recently due to a romance story that lacked romance! So here she was, trying to figure out what all the fuss was about; her target at the moment, Sohma Kyo.

"Both Hatsuharu-kohai and Momiji-kohai are virtual strangers to myself. You are my only option." She continued to lean forward.

"Come on H-Hanajima," He stuttered nervously, "we haven't even gone out on a d-date yet." He was trying a joke to see if it would change the atmosphere. Mission accomplished, for she instantly withdrew from him, but it didn't seem to work for long, for when the next words left her mouth, he was shell shocked.

"Alright. If a date is mandatory for a kiss, then I believe that we shall go on one." She walked over to the sliding doors, pulling them open and pausing when she noticed that the orange haired teen wasn't following. "Are you coming Sohma-kun?"

He twitched at the honorific. It sounded so…out of place on her lips. "Just Kyo is fine. You make me sound old when you say it like that."

"Ah." She nodded, and pulled out a small notepad from her dark sleeve, scribbling a few notes before shoving it back in it's place. "Well then, come along 'Kyo'. My next chapter has to be up by tomorrow morning."

His mind was reeling. This wasn't how he had intended on spending his day.

0—Break—0

From the standing point of pedestrians, the sight of the two teens sitting in a secluded booth was a sign of a date, two teens mutually liking each other and on an outing to see if anything could happen. The female, though she appeared to have the gothic Lolita thing going on, was attractive, and she was running her pale fingers along the male's tanned arm. The male was blushing and whispering something to the female, the audience assumed he was too embarrassed to say it any louder. Perhaps it was a love confession?

Reality wasn't anything like that scenario.

Kyo lightly jumped at the sudden tingling in his arms, and blushed when he glanced down to see Saki doing just that. "Oi, what do you think you're doing, Hanajima?" He whispered. There wasn't any use in advertising his thoughts to the public who seemed to be watching them so intently.

Violet hues locked with crimson. "I am doing what I usually witness in soap operas. When on dates, the female's will gently make physical contact with the male of their choice to make him flustered before swooping in and stealing a ki-." She had been leaning forward as she said all of this, and just as she came in range, he lifted up a menu, his face smoldering by now.

"We'll be having none of that anytime soon, Hanajima." He responded, his eyes flickering over the selection on the selection of food. "We haven't even eaten just yet."

"Ah." She dropped his arm and lifted her own menu, glancing at its contents before setting it down once again.

The orange-haired male lifted a brow at these actions. "You aren't going to eat? I told you that I'm treating; you don't have to worry about paying for any of it. I may not be a complete gentleman, but I'm not a complete jerk either."

"Oh, I am already aware of your qualities, Kyo." She responded with a deadpan expression. "I already know what I want."

"Oh…" A sweat drop appeared at the back of his head before he once again looked down at his selection. He too already knew what he wanted but he didn't have the nerve to put his menu down and face the female who sat across from him. His whole experience with her was…alarming. He glanced up over the edge of the thin notebook, his eyes fastened to the female who was currently tightening the ponytail at the bottom of her braid. He found himself staring, mesmerized somehow by the sight of…

"Hello you two!" A perky brunette hopped up to them in their table, giggling into the palm of her hands, her large chocolate brown eyes remained on Kyo as she greeted them, sending the oblivious Saki a small glare. "What can I get for you today?"

"Dango." They answered in unison. The teens glanced at each other in surprise at the small moment, before the waitress was stepping in yet again.

"Alright. What can I get you to drink?"

"Herbal tea would be nice." Saki replied, handing the young woman her menu with her trademark blank expression.

"Just give me some water, ne?" Kyo closed his eyes as he leaned his chin on his hand, passing the woman his own menu without looking at her.

She huffed at her dismissal before glaring at the psychic once again before bouncing off in mock happiness.

"I see that we have one thing in common." Saki said, lacing her fingers together as she leaned forward. "We both like dango it seems. An interesting thing that we have alike."

He frowned beneath his hand and found himself scowling at her from across the table. "Why are you suddenly to chatty? You usually don't give a damn."

No change in her expression. "Well, it seems that during dates, people usually engage in small talk so as to not allow tension to swarm around uncomfortably. I was attempting to remedy that."

"Well, you weren't helping much." He scoffed, with a harrumph, folding his arms over his chest and avoiding her gaze.

They sat in silence for a few moments, the dull roar of the people around them filling the taciturn pair with sound.

"Do you do this often, Kyo?" Saki asked with a calculating gaze focused on him.

A sweat drop appeared at the back of his head when he realized that she held that small notepad in her hands again. The author was ready to take notes. "Well…"

"I'll take that as a negative." She began to scribble some characters on her paper before her intense gaze fell upon him once more.

"Whoa, wait a minute there, who ever said that this was my first date?" He fidgeted a bit under her gaze, but his resolve was concrete.

"Your hesitance spoke volumes." She responded, blinking up at him blankly. "If you cannot answer a simple question like that, then it is obvious that it has not happened before, or perhaps it did, but it was not a pleasant experience."
"You can say that again…" He winced at the thought of all of the times that Kagura had dragged him along with her to the mall or to go eat at a fancy restaurant. He wouldn't call them dates, seeing as to how he came unwillingly—just like now. At least she isn't snarling at me one minute then staring at me lovingly the next. He thought with a hint of relief. He'd take Hanajima over Kagura any day.

She blinked at his words before opening her mouth once more. "Your hesitance spoke—."

"I didn't mean it, baka." He snatched her notepad out of her hands and gently hit it on the crown of her head. "When people say 'you can say that again' they don't mean for you to literally say it again. It's just a common saying!"

Her eyes regarded him blankly for a few short moments before she nodded absently, her face changing from an emotionless mask to one that held thoughtfulness. "Ah. It seems that there are still many things that I still have yet to learn before I can complete my life's goal."

Kyo cringed. He knew what her goal was perfectly well, and he still couldn't help but be surprised, and even a little disgusted at the thought of her wanting to write a…romance novel *shudder* with Shigure. His cousin had been soooo pleased when he heard that Tohru's friend was a fan of his work. He had even been inspired to write a whole other chapter in a few hours without being forced to by Mei. Damn perv! He thought with another shudder.

"Here's your meal!" the waitress placed the food on the table, lingering a bit in attempts to catch the eye of the orange haired male—who was too busy making faces at the thought of Shigure's job—before sighing to herself, shooting the Goth who sat across from said male a glare and walking off.

"All right, this looks pretty good!" Kyo closed his eyes and slapped his hands together. "Itadakimasu!" Before separating his chopsticks and plowing into the rice while grabbing a dango stick with his free hand.

Saki observed this behavior before picking up her pencil once more and writing a note or two in her yellow notepad. She set it back down a short while after before gingerly picking up one of her own dango sticks and eating a couple right off the bat.

They ate in surprisingly comfortable silence; neither of them seemed to mind too much. Kyo for the prospect of keeping the deal he had made with the Goth delayed. He would have to k…Kiss the girl. Not that she was revolting or anything, but really, who just went around asking for a kiss for the means of research?

And Saki? She was just naturally quiet. It didn't bother her one bit that almost more than half of the females present in the room were glaring at her. All she had to do was send them her impassive stare and they'd flinch before ducking down and turning to mind their own business.

He was done right when she was starting on her third one, confident that the large amount still sitting on her plate would slow her down for a good while; enough for him to relax at least. His arms slid across his chest and rested there as his crimson eyes flicked away briefly to watch the bustling streets directly outside of the café.

"I have finished my half," The Goth said a short moment later, dabbing at her lips with a napkin.

"What are you talking about, you hardly took a—?" Kyo's eyes widened to massive proportions when he glanced back down to the plate; there was nothing left but the sticks! She must've shoved dozens in all at once! How did she manage to do that without me noticing? He thought, his eyes skittering all over the table in attempts to avoid the psychic's concentrated gaze.

"We are done and it is getting late." She climbed to her feet, "I assume that all that is left now is to walk me to my home, ne?"

Kyo shrunk back into the booth, lines of dread forming beneath the corner of his right eye. "W-Well, what about the m-movies, are you in a mood for—."

Her pale hand came down on the teen's shoulder, her hair and his alike flying everywhere due to her psychic waves. Her violet hues were surprisingly eerie and he couldn't help but shiver in response to the sudden closeness, out of fear or something else, he didn't know. "You are not suggesting another activity in attempts to get out of this deal, are you, Sohma Kyo?"

"O-Of course not…!"

"Good." She stepped away and picked up the check. "Since it this was my idea, I suppose that I can pay for the food this one time. Though do not expect this to be so for future reference." Saki moved away and briskly made her way over to the register, ignoring the glare that the female sent her for being the one who dined with the "hot tough boy".

Man, what do I do in a situation like this? He wondered, rubbing at a particular spot at the back of his head. I've seen her house before; Tohru mentioned it once when we were on this side of town and it isn't far from here at all…I'll have to be—be—!

"I have paid, let's go." The ebony gloved hand wrapped around his arm and used it to guide the stiff male out into the cool May air.

What to do, what to do, what to do, what to do? Kyo's hand was rubbing at that spot even harder than before as he was practically sweating bullets at the thought of what was to happen in a matter of minutes. What if I'm electrocuted by her psychic powers or something? What if I get ten years of bad luck? What if—.

"We are here." She stated calmly, interjecting through his thoughts.

"EH? No way, we just left the café!" He glared up at the plain house of hers and silently cursed the café's location to Saki's house.

She turned herself towards him; her vacant stare forcing it's way to his pointedly. "So I suppose that you are to take dominance in this situation, seeing as to how I'm the inexperienced in this."

I've got no choice in this it seems, I am a Sohma and I will honor my word. Kyo's face was burning brighter than his eyes, and he glared at people who were passing by rather slowly. "Alright." He bit out, "Just…just close your eyes."

Saki's eyes slid shut and she stood there with her head angled upwards towards his expectantly, ready for whatever was to come next.

Damn this is embarrassing. He reached out and tentively grasped her by her shoulders, his eyes inevitably moving down to land on the contours of her raspberry colored lips. They were full and pouty, perfectly kissable lips that were worthy of just that from the firm lipped Sohma.

He slowly moved in, her unusual sweet aroma mixing and blending with his own spicy male scent that came to him naturally. He leaned the closest that he could, faintly touching her soft pale cheeks before moving in and brushing his lips against her own. He found that her lips were incredibly soft, softer than her cheek. His lips meshed against her own a second later once she started to clumsily respond, releasing a small groan at the feel of her soft body press up against his defined one.

Hands reached up and dove into his mess of orange locks just as his fell to her waist, tugging her all the more closer, attempting to mold her to him. He all but lost it when he felt the tentative touch of her tongue touch the crease of where their mouths met, and immediately pressed her forward so that her back was against the gate to her house. He opened his mouth to hers, his own tongue sweeping in and sliding against the contours of her mouth, her tongue held captive. He relished in the sweet taste of dango from her and smirked against her lips when he heard her release a soft gasp.

"Saki-neesan… And a Sohma. What a surprising pair." The sound of the monotone voice brought Kyo to his senses, reminding him that he was not somewhere private but in a very public place.

He all but pushed himself away from Hanajima, his cheeks as bright as they could be as he turned from the gasping Saki to her little brother, Megumi. The young man stood there with a blank expression on his face, taking in the sight of his flushed sister and the male who stood before him with a calculating gaze.

"Ah, this is for research, ne?"

Kyo nearly collapsed head first to the ground. How was he able to figure the true situation out when he has only taken one glance?

"H-Hai…" She placed a hand above her heart before glancing up at her helper with heavy violet orbs. "Arigato Kyo, I believe that this should help me enough to write another chapter." All too soon her flustered expression was erased and she was once again composed in the way that she usually is; even her cheeks were free of any blush!

Unreal…He thought as Megumi followed his sister into their house before firmly closing it in his face. I can't believe that she can just walk away from this as if it were nothing! He spun on his heel with an angry mutter to himself.

He couldn't help but feel slightly used! But that was sort of interesting; how quickly her straight face turned to something like that. He absently licked his own lips, still being able to taste her. Perhaps I should conduct some research of my own. He paused and glanced back towards the Goth's house with a satisfied expression when he saw the curtain drop from the room he was certain to be hers. And this time, she will be my test subject.

0—For the Means of Research/END—0

A/N: I know that they were a little OOC, but I really like this pairing! Please leave me a review; thanx for reading!