What does it take to say ?
Plot:
What does it take to say "I Love You" ? The courage to say these three little words is more often than not, hard to find, especially if you know you'll condemn yourself to a lifetime of alienation – so the thought of confessing to his fiery nemesis has never occurred to Sohma Yuki; it had never been a n option. But it seems like as if the new school year has somewhat restricted these options. New student Ueda Tatsuyoshi seems to be intent on becoming very close friends with the neko; has the time come for nezumi to profess his feelings at last, or lose the one he loves ?
Disclaimer: I do not own any part of Natsuki Takaya's "Fruits Basket", but I am the legal owner of this plot and any characters featured in it.
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Walking along the quiet path out of the forest, Kyo grumbled to himself and kicked a stone harshly. He hated the rat, he hated everything about him: his pretty, pale face with those luminous violet eyes, the soft, sleek silver hair, the calmness he exuded, and the soothing timbre of his speech – everything he had loved about the nezumi, he now decided he hated. Everything that reminded him of Yuki in the years after their friendship ended, he'd taught himself to hate. Yes, he hated Yuki, Mr. I-am-oh-so-perfect.
So absorbed by his mental reiteration, Kyo didn't notice that he'd come to the back gate of the school until he nearly collided with it. Every day he came to school this way when Tohru didn't walk with him; it was better this way, no rabid fan girls, no screeching Kagura or psycho-Haru to attack him, and no Yuki. He had peace.
Slowly, he opened the gate and trotted inside, checking left and right if anyone had seen him – he did not want people to know his morning entry route.
"What are you doing sneaking around here ?"
Shit.
Looking around for the voice, Kyo was relieved to see one of the minor administrative staff walk towards him. This end of the school was still pretty deserted, so the admin's voice had echoed quite a bit.
"Just getting to school." Kyo mumbled in reply to the admin, and started off at a quick trot.
"Hold on a second, young man !" The admin called after him. Reluctantly, Kyo stopped.
"Hnn ?"
"I need you to do something for me ?" Kyo's eyebrow rose, " You're in the fourth form, correct ?"
"Yes…" Kyo answered cautiously.
"Oh good ! We have a new transfer student from Osaka, going into your year, so if you wouldn't mind…" The admin trailed off significantly, but Kyo was in no mood to show some new sop the school grapevines.
"You should go and ask the Student Body President, " He replied civilly, and turned to leave again. This time the admin let him go.
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Yuki arrived at school a little later than he'd intended; he'd been waylaid by a group of girls and had to duck into a rather embarrassing section of the news agency to avoid them. With quick steps, he walked towards the Administrative building.
"This is Ueda Tatsuyoshi, from Osaka prefecture. Ueda-san, this is Sohma Yuki, our Student Body President."
Both boys bowed to each other courteously. As they straightened, each covertly eyed (as in looked at, not check out) the other.
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Tatsuyoshi was a very pretty boy, Yuki had to admit, but there was something about him, that also made him very handsome. Perhaps it was the slight angularity of his jaw line, or the not too delicate, yet still small nose. Or maybe it was the eyes: they were not as wide as Yuki's yet framed by lovely, long eyelashes. His build was slender, like Yuki, but from the way he moved, one could tell he had muscle – and he was tall too. Not as tall as Kyo or Haru, but Yuki's head came only to his brows. He had dark green eyes and shining indigo hair, similar to Haru's style, but not as wildly styled.
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"What school did you attend in Osaka ?" Yuki asked Tatsuyoshi politely.
"The International School, it was situated not far from the coast."
"Ah."
There was no awkward silence since the hallways were jammed with students extricating belongings from their lockers, but nevertheless, Yuki felt slightly uneasy with this newcomer. There was something about Tatsuyoshi that screamed 'trouble !'.
"I have never been to a purely Japanese school, "Tatsuyoshi remarked as he glanced around curiously, noting the loose socks that were customary to the girls' uniform and the bleached hairs, "In the International School of Osaka the majority of students came from overseas."
"Truly ?", Yuki inclined his head at passing students who smiled and greeted him, "Did you learn in Japanese or a foreign language ?"
"English, but students were encouraged to participate in Japanese Cultural Immersion and Integration class, where everything was taught in Japanese."
"Ah."
As they reached the class room – Tatsuyoshi shared classes with Yuki for his first day at Kaibara High- Yuki was met by a smiling Tohru and scowling Kyo. After quick hellos, Yuki introduced the new student.
"Tohru, Kyo, this is Ueda Tatsuyoshi from Osaka. Ueda-san, this is my friend Honda Tohru, and my cousin, Sohma Kyo."
They bowed to each other politely; Tohru with a kind smile on her, and Kyo shot the newcomer an appraising look, immediately noting Ueda's physique (ie. Sizing him up, like many guys do to each other).
"Have you ever been to Tokyo, Ueda-san ?" Tohru asked curiously, as they marched into the class. They still had more than ten minutes before lessons began, but already students were filing into seats.
"Hai, a few times, but only brief visits. My family has no great love for the city." Tatsuyoshi replied politely.
"A stinking, foul, congested hole…" Kyo muttered under his breath. Tatsuyoshi looked at him.
"You don't like the city much either, do you ?" He asked the neko, a slight smile playing on his lips.
"No kidding, " Kyo replied, not at all worried about first impressions. Tatsuyoshi laughed.
"So what do you prefer ? Mountains and rivers, or perhaps desert and dust ?" The indigo-haired boy questioned the Sohma cat jokingly, who in turn raised his eyebrows at him, and replied in an unimpressed, slightly Yuki-like way.
"'Desert and dust' ?" He intoned sarcastically, but then laughed as well.
"You're an odd one." Kyo said, smirking," like martial arts by any chance ?"
"Karate, judo and tae kwon do black belt." Tatsuyoshi boasted. Kyo looked at him with raised eyebrows once again.
"Betcha I can beat ya, black belt and all." He challenged.
"You're on!"
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Yuki gaped at the speedy camaraderie they established. There they stood, smirking like idiots at each other, their eyes burning with identical fires of anticipation. Already, they had started a conversation on the merits of karate versus judo, and the various techniques they practiced for each style.
Yuki's eyes narrowed as he heard Kyo laugh, and a burning sensation spread its way through his body – he knew he was jealous.
Meanwhile, Tohru stood next to him and grinned at the duo.
"Isn't it wonderful that Kyo-kun's making friends with Ueda-san ?" She commented happily, completely unaware of the scowling Yuki beside her, " I have never seen Kyo-kun so comfortable with someone so fast."
No questioning that this statement made the frown on the nezumi's face deepen.
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Thank you for all the wonderful reviews, minna ! And as promised, I have finished chapter two and uploaded it for your viewing pleasure. Me being evil, of course, I have also finished chapter 3, so RR, my dears !