Chapter Title: Smiles

Chapter Description: A person comes and stops Rin from killing Yuki and after a conversation with Kyo, Yuki realizes that perhaps his chance with the woman he loves is gone. Shigure helps Rin see that maybe her life isn't over and Yuki gets a life changing call from Tohru.

A/N: Wow. I pumped out this chapter quickly. Don't get used to it. I kind of feel like the story is moving too quickly though… what do you guys think about that? Should I take it slower? I think I should take it slower… but I wasn't about to go change this entire chapter after I re-read it and thought too much was going on. I'm sort of lazy like that. Well, enjoy reading that, and please review. Nothing makes me happier than a good, old-fashioned review. Actually, I tend to give people who review virtual cookies. And who doesn't love cookies? Especially of the virtual variety.

Disclaimer: I do not own Fruits Basket, because if I did then I would have made the thought of Shigure and Akito together somewhat believable.

oOo

"Rin!" Tohru yelled as she ran over to where the horse had Yuki pinned. "What's going on?!" She yelled from a safe distance. Having been involved with the Sohmas for so long she finally realized when to not get involved in a fight between two family members.

"He. Ruined. My. LIFE!" She yelled as she hit Yuki across the face repeatedly.

"It's not his fault." A monotone voice said from the doorway. All eyes went over to Hatsuharu, who had entered the room unnoticed. "Stop taking it out on him."

"I'll take it out on whoever I want to!" Rin yelled as she got up and jabbed Yuki in the side with her foot. Yuki, who had been taken completely by surprise, grunted with pain. Tohru ran to his side and embraced him.

"Are you okay?" She whispered into his ear as Rin and Haru stared each other down. Yuki nodded his head, praying that Tohru wouldn't let go of him.

There was a crashing noise and Tohru let go of Yuki. Their attention turned to Rin, who had thrown a nearby pot at Haru. She missed, and its shattered pieces were sprayed across the floor.

"How could you?" Rin screamed at Haru, before dissolving into tears and falling to her knees. "How… could… you?" She asked again as Haru took her in his arms and carried her over to the couch.

"Go to sleep." He ordered her, which only caused Rin to sob harder. Though he didn't want to, Yuki got up and walked over to Hatsuharu, who was walking away from Rin.

Haru looked tired. There were bags under his eyes. His usual demeanor was gone. He looked somewhat like a zombie when he walked, something had happened that had really shattered Rin, and from the looks of Haru, it had hit him pretty badly as well.

"What's going on?" Yuki asked his cousin with great concern. Even though the curse had been broken, he still felt close to the people who had once been part of the Zodiac with him. Especially Haru. He and Hatsuharu had a long history, and Yuki considered him to be one of his close friends. "Why is Rin sobbing? And why does she blame me?"

"We split up." Hatsuharu said, shocking Yuki and Tohru. "I'm sorry, but I have to leave. Shigure will be here in about five minutes to pick up Rin. Just let her cry it out until then." And then he left.

Yuki and Tohru were dumbstruck.

"But I thought…" Tohru began saying, then stopped.

"What?" Yuki asked her curiously. "Finish your thought."

"Well, I was under the impression that Hatsuharu was kind. But leaving Rin like that…" Tohru stopped, seeing that Yuki was staring at her. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said anything."

Yuki mentally slapped himself for making her feel embarrassed. That was definitely not his intent. If only she knew that he stared at her for her beauty and her charm…

"No, no." Yuki said, attempting to force a smile on his face. "Don't worry. I think that he might have gone Black or something; I'll call him later and find out what really happened. This is very out of character for Haru. You try to comfort Rin. I'll go get Kyo from wherever he is." Yuki said as he left the room.

Tohru quietly walked over to Rin, who had stopped sobbing. She was curled up in a little ball on Yuki's couch; tears were still streaming down her cheeks. "What happened?" Tohru asked Rin as she kneeled down next to the couch.

"He… he doesn't love. All… all of that and… and he doesn't love me." She said shaking. "He told me… he told me this last night. I tried so hard to ignore it. But… but I had to come over."

"Why?" Tohru asked the girl who had formerly been the horse.

Rin stretched out her body and stood up, looking tall and regal. Her hair had begun to grow back, and it swayed along with her movements. "Because it's Yuki's fault that Haru is in love with him."

oOo

"Why are you lying there in my room? You've missed quite a bit." Yuki said as he entered his sleeping quarters. "Miss Honda seems a bit shaken. Shouldn't you care about that a bit?" He asked, then added with a bit of a bitter tone, "Or have you become bored with her already?"

Usually Yuki would have expected a snappy comeback, or even the beginning of a fight but Kyo did nothing. He was lying on Yuki's bed, arms under his head, staring at the ceiling. He seemed serene and contemplative. He seemed to be exactly the opposite of what Kyo usually was.

"No reaction? At all? That's very odd. Are you sick or something?" Yuki said as he sat on the opposite edge of the bed. Kyo made no movements, he did nothing to even acknowledge Yuki's presence. "It's a bit out of his way, but I think Hatori would come over here if we needed him to."

"Don't call Hatori." Kyo said. For some reason Yuki was almost relieved when his relative said something. He wasn't worried for Kyo, but for what Tohru would have to go through if something happened to Kyo. She'd be crushed. It was almost sickening how much she loved and cared for the stupid cat. "I'm not sick."

"Then why are you sitting in here moping?" Yuki asked, hoping that the answer would be something that would hurt Tohru.

"I…" Kyo began, but stopped and sighed. Yuki had to restrain himself from laughing. He never thought that Kyo was even capable of thought, let alone the deep thought that he seemed to be in. "I love Tohru." He finally said. Yuki turned his head and stared at him for a moment. Kyo moved his arm and grabbed something out of one of the baggy pockets of his cargo pants. He threw it over to Yuki. Yuki caught it, but just barely. As soon as he saw what it was, his throat filled with bile.

"It's…" He began but couldn't get the words out.

"A ring." Kyo said, his eyes closing. "I want to ask Tohru to marry me." Yuki opened his mouth to respond, to give him his congratulations, but nothing came out. "I know it's soon, and that we're both young, but I love her. I don't want to ever be with anyone else. It's kind of crazy, and it's happening really fast but… I just want to let Tohru know that I mean all of this. That she's my entire world now, and I never want to let her go."

Yuki managed to say something. "When?"

"I don't know. Soon. I just need to find the right moment. I want to get married next month, hopefully. I want us to be married by new years." Kyo said with a happy sigh.

"You're serious about this, aren't you?" Yuki asked, somewhat surprised. "You really do love her." He said, not really believing it. No, he believed it. He was trying to convince himself that he didn't. If he didn't believe that Kyo really loved Tohru then it made himself feel better about loving her himself.

Kyo got up and looked Yuki in the eyes. "I have never been more serious about anything in my entire life. I love Tohru…" He said trailing off into thought. The two of them sat in silence for a moment, then Kyo reverted back to his normal self. "What are you doing sitting around, you damn rat? What in hell was going on when I was sitting in here?" He asked.

"Well, apparently Hatsuharu and in split up. Rin came in, tried to kill me, then Haru came and she settled down. Shigure should be here any minute to take her home." Kyo stared at Yuki blankly.

"Then what was the huge crash?" He asked.

"She threw a pot at Haru." Yuki explained. "And she missed."

Suddenly the door to the room opened, letting in a beam of light. Yuki hadn't even noticed how dark the room really was until Shigure opened the door and let the sunshine in.

"Oh! My dear, former boarders bonding together in a dark room! You little lovebirds are just so darn cute! But I wonder what Tohru'll think when she sees her little love muffin with another man…" Before Shigure could say anything else Kyo's foot had already collided with his face.

"Shut up." Kyo said as he left the room.

"What did I ever do to him?" Shigure said with a pout.

"Don't play innocent Shigure. You're picking Rin up, right?" Yuki said. It was odd that Hatsuharu had chosen Shigure to pick up Rin. He knew that Shigure liked Rin alright, but he never thought that they were all that close.

Shigure smiled as if he knew some deep dark secret, but Yuki knew that he was probably just playing around. "Yes, I am here for a job. And I must perform that duty!" With another smile, he was off. Yuki shook his head and got up off of the bed. He just needed to focus on getting through the day. Once this was over he could just order a pizza, do his homework and go to sleep.

oOo

"So what's the story morning glory?" Shigure asked Rin once they had been on the road and driving for a few minutes. "Why the long face?"

"Please Shigure, not today." She replied, annoyed. Rin was fond of Shigure, and she always had been, but with all the stuff she had going on right now, the last thing she needed was Shigure to attempt to seduce her. Again.

Shigure frowned. That girl just can't tell that we all actually care about her. He thought to himself. "Well, if you need anything you can always come to me. You know that." He said honestly.

"Oh really?" Rin spat. "Aren't you the one who's with Akito now? Aren't you the one who's screwing the person who tried to kill me?" She yelled. Shigure silently pulled over to the side of the road. "What are you doing?" She said angrily before Shigure grabbed her face between his hands.

"Whatever happened with you and Akito, whatever happened with Hatsuharu, whatever happened with anyone in the Zodiac. It's all in the past. Understand that." Rin pulled away from Shigure's hands and turned to face the window.

Rin thought about his words. But how could she? How could she forget how Akito had tried to kill her multiple times? How could she forget about Haru's kindness? Even his name made her feel sick to her stomach. How can I forget? She thought. How can I forget how in love with him I am?

Shigure sighed and shook his head. "People love you. You just haven't realized it yet. Yeah, maybe Haru doesn't love you like that, but he's not the only cow in the sea." A small laugh escaped Rin's lips, and Shigure knew that she had heard what he had said. He got back onto the road and continued to drive.

oOo

"Well thanks for having us over." Tohru said with a huge smile. "I put the instructions for the food on the kitchen table. Don't lose them!"

"I won't." Yuki said smiling. He had to cherish this moment. This would be the last time he'd really smile until the next month when Tohru would visit. And maybe then she'll be a married woman. He thought to himself.

It was the first time it really clicked.

Tohru might be married. She might be married to Kyo. Not to him. And if they did get married, that would mean that he would have to move on. He would need to find someone else. But he knew there would be no one else. There'd never be anyone else.

"Yuki, are you feeling okay?" Tohru's voice ripped Yuki out of his thoughts. Her sweet smile brought him back to earth and Kyo's glare made him come back to reality.

"Oh yes, of course. I was just thinking about all of the things that I need to do tonight." He said trying to think of the first lie that came to mind.

Kyo continued to glare at Yuki, but spoke civilly. "Then we should go and leave you to whatever you do. We'll see you soon." The way that Kyo said 'we' as if he was speaking for Tohru made Yuki sick. And the fact that Tohru was nodding her head and going along with it made him even sicker.

"Keep in touch." Tohru said happily as she grabbed Kyo's hand. "We'll get together soon, I promise." She said as the two of them left Yuki's apartment.

Yuki watched them exit and sat on the couch, head in his hands. How could he have ever let her slip away? How could he have ever…

"I thought they'd never leave." He heard a voice say from the doorway. Hatsuharu was standing there again, and again, he was unannounced and uninvited.

"What do you want?" Yuki said exasperated. Couldn't Haru see that he was upset?

Haru came over and took off his jacket. He was still wearing the same coat that he had worn the first time that Tohru had met him. White and ornate with a fur collar. It was completely over the top, just like Haru, to an extent. Always trying to break the rules and push the boundaries. He sat down next to Yuki and he noticed again how tired he looked. He had been over a few times because he couldn't sleep, but it had been a while since he had come. It looked like he hadn't slept since.

"I guess I owe you an apology." Haru said as he looked over at Yuki. "I'll pay for that pot." He added.

"The pot doesn't matter." Yuki said truthfully. It had been a housewarming gift from Kakeru that he absolutely hated, but put up anyway because he cared about his friend. "What matters is what you did to Rin. What happened?" Haru leaned back and looked up at the ceiling.

"I split up with her. That's it." He said, but Yuki wasn't quite sure that was the whole truth.

"Then why did she come here with the intent to kill me?" Yuki asked Haru, challenging him to not tell him the truth.

"I have no idea." Haru replied, looking Yuki square in the eye. Yuki sighed, and stretched. "So why were you so upset when I walked in? Did Kyo do something?" Haru asked. He had always known what Yuki was feeling, no matter what the circumstance. It was almost like Haru was physic when it came to Yuki.

"No… yes… I don't know." Yuki said with a sigh.

"When you do, tell me, but until then, I'm going to sleep. I really doubt Rin is going to want me in the house tonight." With a quick wave he walked into Yuki's bedroom and closed the door. Before he could even think Yuki's cell phone rang. Unwillingly, he picked it up.

"Yuki! Yuki!" Tohru's voice rang out. "Yuki! I have the most amazing news!"

"What is it?" He asked with a smile. He could only imagine what had happened. Maybe she saw a cute dog, or the perfect flower. She tended to do this a lot, call him for some strange, small reason.

"Kyo just proposed to me!"

Yuki's smile died.