Trapped on a Ferris Wheel:
A Fruits Basket fanfic by Sweetboxer (Also posted on media as Kyou's Birthday Surprise)
Author's Note: There was supposed to be some sexual content in this fic, but (a) It didn't fit the story, (b) It was very poorly written, and (c) I wouldn't be able to publish it here, so it has therefor been cut from this fic!
It was a peaceful morning at the Sohma house. The sun was an orange-yellow ember that made the dew on the leaves and budding flowers glisten, sparkling with the hope of a brand new day. Tohru popped her head out of the kitchen door to see Yuki and Shigure for the first time that morning, although she was the first in the house to wake. That's work ethic for you. With the sweeping, scrubbing, cooking breakfast and whatnot, all she had time for before breakfast was a glass of water, half a glass if you count the fact that she stopped in mid-gulp to unload the laundry. But she was done with all of that now, or at least enough of it to put on standby until after she was done with her morning meal. She raised her gaze to those sitting at the table, and with all the perk of a 5 year old child in a toy store, she spoke,
"Good morning, everyone!".
"Yes, good morning, Miss Honda." Yuki responded.
Shigure swallowed his mouthful of food quickly and responded to her in the way only he could,
"Ah yes, but it certainly dims in comparison to this fine meal!"
Tohru nodded and smiled, "Why thank you, Shigure, but where's Kyou?"
Shigure sighed "Probably sulking on the rooftop, as usual." He snuck another bite into his mouth, "You'd best not bother him, not today at least. He should be smelling breakfast right about– "
He was inturrupted by the orange-haired boy storming in with his eyes to the floor. He said not a word as he snatched the plate from his place at the table. Then he turned back around and headed for the roof .
"Umm, Kyou?" Shigure uttered.
"WHAT!" Kyou whipped back to face Shigure and shouted this in an anger greater than usual, that seemed to Tohru to this time have an underlying sadness.
"You forgot your eating utensils." Shigure calmly stated.
Kyou lowered his head, "Oh..."
As he started to walk back to the table, Yuki couldn't help but chuckle, "Stupid Cat."
"DUMB RAT!" Kyou screamed as he lunged for the Prince, stopped, of course, by an uppercut to the chin. After peeling himself off the floor, being unwilling to spend any more time in the presence of anyone, Kyou retreated to the roof, leaving his meal behind.
"What's wrong with Kyou?" Tohru asked, dumbfounded. She looked at Kyou's meal, still miraculously intact, more or less. She made a mental note to deliver it to him after she was done eating.
"Oh, don't mind him," Shigure sighed as he brought his coffee mug to his lips "He gets like ths a few days every year. It seems the term 'Happy Birthday' doesn't apply to him."
As usual, this sudden announcement sent poor little Tohru into panic mode, "It's his birthday! I didn't even get him a card! What do I do! What do I do! I know! I'll make him something! But wait! I don't have time to make him something! I have to mop, and dust, and sweep and–"
Yuki interjected calmly, "Calm down, Miss Honda. It's two days from now. You have plenty of time." Yuki, one of the only failsafes used to abort Tohru's panic mode, did his job splendidly.
Tohru sighed, "Well that's good, but what do I get him?" Tohru pondered this all day, as she cleaned, ate, and rested and as she was making that night's beef stew, it came to her...
"What?" Kyou said, as he rolled over on the roof to face Tohru, who was holding a brightly-colored ticket in front of her."You want to what?"
"Id like you to come to the amusement park." Tohru said with confidence and a smile. "It'll be lots of fun!"
Kyou looked up and asked "Where did you get the money to take us all–"
Tohru interrupted, "Well, actually, my overtime check only covered you and me so, I thought you might want to go with me tomorrow, since it is your–" At this point, Shigure overheard them and decided to eavesdrop, hanging onto the ladder, just out of sight.
Kyou snapped back at her, "SHUT UP! I'M NOT GOING!"
Tohru muttered back, "But...I did this for you..."
Kyou responded with a scowl, "Who cares! Take that damn Yuki instead"
Tohru backed away looking dejected and uttering apologies quietly. Kyou had rolled over so that his back was to the ladder, he heard Tohru's apologies, followed by Shigure and Tohru screaming and the both of them tumbling down the ladder, and then silence. He silently cursed himself ... for being such an idiot...for being himself. Now, because of him, Tohru was probably going to go with Yuki to the amusement park instead of him. He couldn't help but think that his attitude was pushing the two together. How would he ever make her see how much he liked her if everything he said and did pushed her away. These thoughts tortured him until he fell asleep, feeling, above all, utterly screwed.
The next morning Kyou was on the roof as usual, when Shigure joined him.
Kyou looked at him, "...What the hell do you want, dog?"
Shigure looked very serious as he said "Miss Tohru is leaving in two hours. Alone."
Kyou scoffed, "So?"
Shigure nodded, "Hmm, yes. I'm sure she'll be fine, but..."
Kyou lifted his head, showing a faint concern, "But what?"
Shigure put one hand on his heart and raised the other in a poetic pose, and in a dramatic voice said, "But I hate to think of what could happen to our poor Tohru skulking around that park, alone, heartbroken, and vulnerable to any attack by some lust-crazed monster, not to mention getting a cold from the frigid night air!"
Kyou blinked twice, then with a determined look on his face he shouted, "That's it; I'm going!"
The next day Hatori was the one to drive them to the amusement park. Tohru's hair wafted in the breeze from the open car window. Kyou found himself stealing glances at Tohru while she looked out the window at the beauty which was nature. Kyou's fingers began almost involuntarily moving towards Tohru's hand, which sat in-between where both of them were sitting. Slowly, the fingers started crawling, wanting desperately to feel the warmth of her grasp. They were almost there...almost...SCREEEEEETCH!
The car made a sudden stop and Kyou went flying up against the back of the driver's seat.
Tohru gasped, "Oh Kyou, Are you ok!You should really wear your seatbelt!"
Pissed off beyond measure, Kyou gathered himself up off the floor, stuck his head out the window and screamed at the car that cut them off. "ASSHOLE!"
Eventually, they reached the park. Tohru got out of the car and gazed in awe before calling Kyou to join her, "Kyou! Let's go on the Ferris Wheel!" She beamed, "We can see the whole park from there!"
"Fine, fine." Kyou said showing hints of a smile.
At the top of the Ferris Wheel, the cab stopped. Tohru was amazed at the size of the park and how small everyone looked. Then her knees buckled and she put her hands to her head.
Kyou, obviously worried, ran up to her. "Tohru? Are you okay!"
"I'm fine, " Tohru said, "Just a little dizzy. We should be going back down soon, anyway."
It soon became apparent to them that the ride was broken, when a man with a megaphone said 'Please remain calm. We are experiencing technical problems. We'll have you down in about three hours!" .
Tohru, upon hearing this, curled up into a ball. Three hours! This is my fault! I ruined your birthday! I'm sorry! I'm sorry, Kyou!"
"Tohru..." Kyou, overcome with compassion, embraced the jumble of worry that was Tohru. "Gahhh!" Tohru yelped as Kyou transformed with a cloud of orange smoke. That didn't stop Kyo from saying what he had to say. With a sigh, the orange neko spoke, "Don't apologize. I might not look it, but...I'm having a good time...really.
Tohru sniffed and wiped the tears from her eyes, "But we could be here for hours..."
Neko Kyou smiled, "Look at me, Tohru. I'm a cat. If the wheel starts moving now, how are you gonna explain this little magic trick, huh?" He mumbled the last part, "Besides... I like being alone with you..."
Tohru perked up, "What?".
Neko Kyou, now on the defensive, nervously sputtered out, "I-I didn't say anything!"
"I heard what you said..." Tohru smirked, and she picked Kyou up and hugged him with the force of a vice.
"Gakk! C'mon! Haha! Put me down!" Neko Kyou half-laughed as he squirmed in her grip, before she set him down.
And right there, he transformed back.
After he re-clothed himself, he turned to Tohru and said, "Ever since the curse started, whenever a zodiac member had a birthday they'd have a special celebration with all the rest of the zodiac members, except...
Tohru gasped, "Except the cat? Oh, just like the story!"
Kyou sighed, "Yeah. Once, on Yuki's birthday, I waited outside until after midnight, when everyone started leaving, and there was that damn Yuki, the last one, with so many presents, Aya had to help him carry them. But I didn't care about the presents as much as the party. I wanted to be accepted. And you do accept me. That's why I'm having fun." His eyes watered a bit.
"Kyou..." Tohru wiped away the single tear that had trailed down his face and paused when her gaze locked on his eyes, their faces parallel. Kyou pressed his luck and leaned into her mouth. There it was, his first kiss. Not as elegant as he'd imagined, but he'd also half imagined he'd never get one. But what was this now? Hands were sliding through his hair, pulling his head forward. It seemed that she wanted it just as much. The kiss seemed to last forever, and yet mere seconds minutes later there was a distant whirring? A cherry-picker? Yep, two hours early. And soon they were free to explore the park, again.
Tohru looked up into Kyou's eyes, "So, what's next?"
Kyou smiled, "How about one of those roller coasters? I've always wanted to go on one."
Tohru looked up at the leering coaster and started to feel weary, "Sure, I guess."
The End OR To Be Continued(Whatever I feel like doing)
Read and review please! I'll need ideas and maybe a beta if I expect to write another good chapter anytime soon. Or let me know if you like it just the way it is. No flames please. If you don't know what a beta is, basically it's a person who I send the chapter to before putting it up on the site. They can edit the chapter to their heart's content before sending the edited version back to me. You'll get partial credit for the chapter, of course, when I put it up. Email me if you feel like you have an idea for me and / or want to beta for me...Until then, Happy Reading!