Time Will Tell

1 (One)

The Rain

Shigure sat calmly out on the verandah, newspaper in hand, listening to the peaceful trickle of collecting rain pour from the sky. He adjusted his thin framed reading glasses quickly, scanning the bold black text, trying to find an article of interest. His concentration was disturbed almost immediately by a loud, disruptive crash and a roar of anger.

Somewhat annoyed, he put his newspaper down, snapped off his glasses, and slid the door to the house open. "There ya go, damn rat! Don't mess with me!" Kyo yelled angrily, curling his lip with dislike. Yuki pushed himself up fro the ground slowly, wincing, and got to his feet again. "You're up for more? Didn't getting smashed into a dresser teach you the first time?"

"Stupid cat..." Yuki muttered softly, turning his head away.

"Don't think I can't hear you, moron!" Kyo roared, stomping his foot onto the ground.

"You just got lucky that time, Kyo, but next time it will be your ass that's smashed into a dresser." The retort seemed strangely calm.

"I've seen and heard enough, you two," Shigure interrupted. "Kyo, I know how you get on rainy days, but it's not an excuse for breaking my house, or my new dresser, to be specific."

"He got lucky. It isn't like he could ever hit me again if he tried," Yuki spat, kicking the remnants of the wooden dresser across the floor.

"You wanna try it and see?" Kyo shouted, waving a clenched fist into the air, as if to protest.

"Stop, you two!" Shigure cried again. "Leave my house if you're going to fight!"

"It wouldn't be worth my time," Yuki muttered. "I've had enough of you for today." He whipped around casually and strode up the steps, slamming the door to his room closed.

"What's eating his ass?" Kyo asked. "He never acts like that after we fight."

"We should probably leave him alone for a while," Shigure advised. "That is, unless you want your ass smashed into a dresser." He smiled warmly and walked back out onto the porch, leaving Kyo standing alone with the gentle trickle of rain echoing softly in his ears.

------

Yuki sat in his room, his knees pulled closely to his body, his chin resting upon them. He sighed deeply, listening to the rain peacefully bat on the windows and rooftop. There was a sharp knock on his door and he looked in that direction.

"Come in."

The door slowly swung open and Tohru entered the room, closing the door quietly behind her. "Yuki, can I talk to you for a second?" she asked uneasily, clasping her hands together.

He smiled cheerfully at her, his lips curling into a heart-melting grin, and patted a vacant spot on the bed. "Sure, sit down if you'd like."

She smiled back at him, still with a sense of uneasiness, and took a seat next to him. "What do you want to talk about?" he asked her.

Tohru swallowed audibly, setting her gaze elsewhere. "Well, lately, you seem to be acting weird," she managed to say. Yuki nodded only slightly. "I don't mean that in a bad way or anything, though!" she wailed. It seemed to be a signal of her nervousness.

"No, it's okay, I know what you mean," he replied, closing his eyes. "I'm sorry for worrying you, if I have."

"Do you want to talk about it?" she questioned, looking at him with concerned eyes. His gaze met hers, and their eyes locked momentarily.

"It's not as if I'm going to keep it from you," he told her, managing to produce a weak grin. He shifted position, his long legs hanging off of the bed. "It seems to be hard for me to say, since I haven't yet put it in to words."

She nodded, waiting for his reply.

"It's just that I seem to be confused about how I feel. It's as if I have so many emotions locked away that no one knows about. And that's nothing different from what I'm used to... But I have romantic feelings. It's complicated," he tried to explain. He reached his hand up to her face, brushing her chocolate coloured hair behind her ears.

"Get your ass down here, Yuki!" Kyo shouted, stomping up the steps and interrupting Yuki's explanation. Yuki stood up, opening the door to his room.

"What is it, Kyo?" he asked rather irritably.

"Shigure wants you to clean up the dresser that you broke when I kicked you in to it," Kyo responded.

"What? Why do I have to? You're the one who caused it to break by kicking me in to it in the first place!"

"So? It's your ass that broke the damn thing. Now clean it up or else Shigure might go crazy on us."

"You're an asshole," Yuki muttered, turning back to Tohru. "Please remember," he whispered, referring to their earlier conversation, "It's nothing you need to worry about." He lept down the stairs, leaving Tohru sitting alone on his bed.

------

Kyo walked to his room, closing his door, a feeling of emptiness gnawing away at his stomach. He collapsed onto his bed, snatching up a photograph taken roughly a month ago, his eyes sweeping upon the picture. His throat instantly seemed to tighten and he fought away tears that burned in his eyes, blinking them back frantically. He held the picture close to him, as though it were dear, clutching on to it with a strong sense of desperation, and closed his eyes, admiring the blackness that engulfed his thoughts.

------

Yuki grabbed part of the broken dresser, holding it in his hands, his fingertips tracing the smooth texture of the wood. "Hey Shigure," he called.

He heard fast footsteps and he appeared, a newspaper in his grip. "Yes "

"What do I do with the dresser?"

"Just throw it in to the garage," he replied carelessly. "Perhaps I'll put it back together one of these days." He winked, a sheepish grin plastered upon his lips, and trotted back on to the porch.

Holding the broken wooden pieces of the once stable dresser, Yuki opened the door to the garage, entering the dark and musty room with a sense of reluctance. He smelled something similar to mold in the humid air, wincing unnoticeably, and flipped on a light. A dim brightness flickered through the area, revealing moldy walls, steps, and ceiling.

"Auuuugh!" he wailed, his eyes wide with horror, his stomach churning. He threw the wood down on the floor and it bounced back up due to all of the mold covering the ground. He turned his head away and vomited all over the steps. "Shigure!" he screamed, wiping his mouth.

A face appeared at the doorway. "Yes?" he asked.

"What the hell is wrong with the garage!" he roared. "Why is it like this!"

"How should I know? It's not like I bought all of that mold in there and covered the walls with it," he responded. "Oh, and by the way, thanks for vomiting on the steps. I'm sure that will help all of that mold grow." He smiled calmly and once again walked away.

Yuki slammed the door to the garage after exiting, savoring the clean air that he tasted. He still felt sick after the mold ordeal, shaking his head to clear his mind. He would never again, he decided, enter that hellhole.

------

The gentle patter of rain on the windows lulled Kyo to sleep, causing his eyelids to feel heavy and his body immobile. He slowly held the photo in front of his face, causing his lips to curve in to a weak smile. "How long will I stay here?" he wondered to himself. "Will I just waste away in here?" He shook his head in what he figured to be shame.

Suddenly, Kyo felt rain on his face and glanced at the ceiling to see if there was a hole in it, but finally realized that he was crying. Instead of denying it, he squeezed his overflowing eyes shut, causing the tears to roll on to his cheeks, his body shaking furiously with sobs. "Why?" he whispered to himself. "Why do I have to stay this way?" Not long after, sleep came upon Kyo, tears still in his eyes and dripping from his face, the picture still lying gently on his chest.

A/N: This is my first Fruits Basket fic, so reviews are appreciated. Even if they're harsh, that's fine too. I need whatever I can get to figure out how to make this story better. There's going to be lots happening in upcoming chapters, I can guarantee that. I know I didn't get much across in the first chapter, but as said, there's going to be lots going on soon. Trying to truly write each character's personality is proving to be difficult for me, so if I'm not doing as well as I should, just let me know. Thanks, reading and reviewing is always appreciated.

-Mal