BETTER OFF ALONE
A Fruits Basket Fanfic
Written by Miyu, Vampire Princess
AUTHOR'S NOTES:
On the heels of Hana To Yume, Fruits Basket chapter 90, is my take on how
Tohru's parents -- Kyoko and Katsuya -- met and fell in love. Frighteningly I
must've been channeling Takaya-sensei when I thought of this because my original
idea wasn't too far off from her story. *scary* The story is told from Kyoko's
POV.
Chapter 2 - Falling
"Kyoko!"
I heard my name...and I vaguely recognized the voice. But my mind was in such a haze. My body was stiff, frozen and cold. I had the feeling of falling, that strange semblance of floating. Nothing but air, wind in my face. It was like riding my bike. It was...freedom.
"Kyoko?"
All I could think of was 'it's finally over'. Life as I knew it was gone. My ignorant parents. My so-called friends. Gone. Disappeared, just as I had wished. Now it was time for a change.
"Kyoko, wake up."
My life would be so much better now. I could live my dreams. I would find someone to care for me. If I could let them. Years of independence had made me quite self-sufficient. Did I really want to bother with someone else? Oh sure, why not! It would be the biggest change, but probably the best. Perhaps I would be the one caring for them. It is a give and take process, right?
"Open your eyes. Onegai."
Wake up? Open my eyes? When had I closed my eyes? When had I fallen asleep? Was I dreaming?!
"Huh?"
I moved to bolt upright, my usual reaction to sudden awareness. And while my body moved, my muscles contracted, tightened. One of my legs felt cramped while the other...well, I couldn't feel it. Was it there?! My eyes snapped open, my head pounding with my heartbeat. My vision spun in circles, the world moving around me at a very fast pace. My stomach did somersaults, bile rising into my throat. I opened my mouth to speak, but closed it immediately as the taste of vomit spread into my mouth.
"Whoa! Don't move so--! Hey, wait a second!"
The familiar voice tried to calm me, but it was already too late. I managed to roll sideways -- at least I think it was sideways -- before I spewed. Food I had eaten just yesterday spilled onto the ground along with a blood. Lots of blood. My body went into panic mode again, while my brain tried to think logically.
"What's...going on?" I managed to ask, my stomach churning again.
Sturdy hands grabbed me by my shoulders. I let them pull me back, lift me. Strong arms encircled me. I let them hold me. The world came into focus only for a second. That's when I saw him. Katsuya Honda. He held me against him, on his lap. It should've been warm, at least, that's what I thought. Instead it was damp, wet. Then the world went fuzzy and I closed my eyes again.
Gods the pain. Inside and out. I don't think I'd ever been beaten so badly. Damn it!
"What are you...doing here?" My brain was still trying to make logical sense of what happened.
"I came looking for you."
Okay...so that was him on the bridge. My memory was still hazy but I remembered that much. "You scared the shit out of me," I admitted.
"I didn't mean to," he replied, tightening his hold on me. I moaned as pain shot through me again and his hold relaxed. "I just didn't want you to fall over the edge."
"Why would you care?"
I could hear his smile in his voice. "I told you before, I have an interest."
"In me?"
"Hai."
I managed a weak smile. Was it really a smile? It didn't feel like it. "You have a funny way of showing it."
"And you fell off the bridge," he answered sadly.
"Is that why I hurt all over?"
"You're right leg is definitely broken," he explained. "I think you may have cracked your collar bone...maybe sprained your wrist." He paused, one hand pushing hair out of my face. It stuck to me like glue, but it eventually moved. "And you hit your head pretty hard. I've already called for an ambulance."
"Seriously?"
"Hai." He adjusted me in his hold. That's when I realized he was damp and wet because he pulled me out of the water. He came in after me! Well, damn.
"Don't call my parents," I muttered.
"Why not? They should know--?"
"They won't care."
"You truly believe that."
I tried to nod, but my head wouldn't move against his shoulder. "H-hai."
Sirens came from a distance and I felt myself being lifted. Katsuya was standing. "The ambulance is coming."
"Arigato," I said, wanting the darkness of sleep to take me away. Away from the pain.
"For what?"
"For caring."
I felt a light pressure on my forehead, heard his voice mumbling something my
mind couldn't comprehend. The sirens got louder and I kept floating. More voices
entered my hearing range, but I couldn't make out what they were saying.
Darkness was descending on me. The pain ebbed little by little. And little by
little, I allowed myself to be carried into sleep.
I awoke to murmuring. It sounded like a man and a woman arguing. Neither voice was familiar. Slowly, it all came back to me. The bridge. The fall. The pain. I hissed as my body remembered as well. Instinctively I tried to move, opening my eyes to examine the world around me. Pain rushed through me and I moaned aloud.
"She's awake. Got tell, Katsuya."
"She shouldn't be here. You told him no more strays!"
"She is not a dog."
"Could've fooled me. Damn yankee trash--."
"ENOUGH!" A sigh. "We are through arguing. Get your brother, please."
Another sigh. "Hai."
I struggled to sit up as an old man came into view. Well, all right, he wasn't exactly old, but he was older than me. Balding as he was, his smile reminded me of Katsuya. My mind finally processed the conversation I had heard as I was waking up. Was I at his house? Man, he was nuts!
"Shouldn't I be at a hospital?" I asked aloud without realizing it.
The old man chuckled. "You were. Two days ago. Here, let me help you." He helped me to sit up a little, then sat down in a chair across from where I was half laying, half sitting up. A bed? A futon? Whatever it was, it was comfy. "How are you feeling?"
"Okay...I guess," I answered carefully, testing my limbs to see what worked. My arms were free, although one was connected to something. I could feel both of my legs now, but the one still hurt like hell to move. I could wiggle my toes at least. It was a relief. "Where am I?"
"The doctors at the hospital said it was all right to bring you home."
"Home?"
"My son, Katsuya, insisted." The old man shook his head. "He always had the bad habit of bringing home stray animals. This is the first time he's ever brought home a person." He paused, then said, "Let alone a young woman." He smiled. "You'll be staying with us until you feel better."
"I can take care of myself," I answered, muttering.
The old man chuckeld again. "I'm sure you can. You have to pretty tough to take a fall like you did. Those rocks are pretty nasty under that bridge."
My eyes widened and I tried to sit up some more. The effort was futile and my head disagreed, sending the world spinning around me. I fell back onto the make-shift hospital bed. "I can't believe he told on me."
"Well, everything seems to have turned out all right," the old man replied. "Are you hungry? Thirsty?"
My throat suddenly felt raw. "Water...would be nice."
"I'll bring you some water."
"Ano...do my parents know about me being here? About the accident?"
The old man stood, and someone else walked into the room. Katsuya? No, it was female. Shorter. Wrong color hair. There was more muttering and the old man sighed. He nodded to something and the young woman left. Then he turned to smile at me. "The hospital called your parents. They were okay with us taking you in for a short time."
"They would, those lazy bastards."
"They care more than you give them credit for, I'm sure."
I sniffed, smiling. Kind of. "I don't know. I think you might actually care more than they do. Or I'd be at home. With them."
"I'll be back with your water."
I'm pretty sure I fell asleep after he left. I dreamed only of Katsuya. It was kind of odd. And when I woke next, he was there, smiling. He told me about the hospital. The hassel they gave him over taking me home and the call to my folks. Judging from what he said, I suppose the old man may have been right. But so was I. It was nice of him to allow Katsuya to bring me home. To help take care of me. I wasn't sure how to handle this...niceness. I was gratefull, dno't get me wrong! But I wasn't used to people being nice to me. It took some getting used to.
And my manners certainly needed work.
I spent another day on the futon and then managed to move around a little. I could at least go to the bathroom without help, thank the gods. It was something Katsuya's sister and I never liked. Actually, we just didn't like each other. She thought I was a bitch. I thought the same about her. I guess that made us even.
Katsuya's father was everything I wished my father had been. He was very patient. Very giving (and forgiving) to his children. His wife had passed away from cancer a year ago, so things were a little different and he was still adjusting, but he appeared to be doing fine. He took me into his home, treated me like one of his children. It was...wonderful. Wonderful to feel needed. Wonderful to feel...loved.
I helped around the house when I could. I washed dishes, did laundry. It felt strange doing such domesticated things, but I didn't mind. It was my way of paying back what couldn't be paid for with cash. Saying 'thank you' just wasn't enough.
I rarely saw Katsuya during the day. At night, we'd watch TV, play board games, or I would attempt to walk around the neighborhood with him. If all else failed, we'd sit on the back porch, on an old rug, under a large tree, and just talk. He liked rock music, especially American rock. I found that fascinating. He was always dressed so handsomely. Although I learned quickly he wasn't afraid of getting diry, even in the nice suits. He liked being outdoors. He enjoyed traveling. He wanted to someday travel to America. He even offered to take me with him.
"I never asked...how did you learn my name?"
"Your student I.D. It was in your pocket when I pulled you from the river."
"You could've just asked."
"True, but you were unconscious. I needed a name for the hospital."
"Ah, sou ka."
Spending time with him was great. Like something I'd longed for for a long time. It was...comfortable.
Too comfortable.
My independant nature wanted to assert itself. It didn't like Miss Domesticated. It didn't like being cooped up inside a house. It didn't like the way Katsuya and his family had come into my life and taken it over. Had they really taken it over? I suppose they did. Without trying. Without knowing. But I knew now and I began to dispise myself. Not them, but myself.
The week ended so quickly. Katsuya's father invited me to stay longer. The school semester was only four more weeks. But I had no interest in going back to school. And even if I did, I didn't think it would make much difference. My grades were poor. Aceing tests wouldn't pass me through now, but I has it on good authority that my teachers were going to pass me because they didn't want to deal with me any more. It was sad. Not surprising, but sad.
"You're not stupid, Kyoko," Katsuya had told me one night under the tree. "You're just unmotivated."
"Like you."
"Yeah, like me."
I didn't want to leave. I wanted to stay and take care of Katsuya's father. I wanted to take care of Katsuya. I wanted to travel with him to America, and all over the world. But I got scared. The big, bad yankee got scared. I realized, without thinking, that I was falling in love. And not just with Katsuya, but his family as well.
Dangerous. Very dangerous.
So when the week was over, when I was able to walk without help from those stupid crutches, I did the only thing I could do.
I left.
~TO BE CONTINUED~