The Replacement

The Secrets Out
Disclaimer: I do not own any fruits basket though I do have some fruits in a basket.

Sorry this update has taken so long my phone was cut in half so I didn’t have internet but now that I am back up and running here it is the chapter you have all been waiting for…not really but here it is anyway
Enjoy!

It had been a long morning and a school day that seemed to never end. His thoughts were cloudy as he walked silently along the tree lined path. The sun was already beginning to set behind the trees as he turned down the dirt road heading towards his home.

In truth he had been aching and yet fearing going home every day since the incident that occurred the previous week. Every time he saw that boy he wanted nothing more than to be pushed against the wall and kissed just like the time before, well maybe a little bit more than just a kiss.

That thought alone scared him more than anything else.

He looked up at the pink and orange sky as the sun began to set completely and the thoughts of ‘the incident’ flooded back into his mind as it had previously done a hundred times before that day and the day before that.

BEGIN FLASHBACK

He looked into those eyes that so often held the hate and anger and was started to see that there was neither, but in it's place was something that he couldn't quiet put his finger on, something that seemed so unnatural and yet at the same time something that seemed like the most natural thing in the world.

Yuki suddenly felt the urge to leave, to run as far away from him as possible but something rooted him to the stop, something kept him from leaving from fleeing those eyes that seemed to be penetrating him to his very soul. In a move so sudden that even the nezumi couldn't see, or maybe he just didn't want to give himself the chance to flee, Kyou had pushed him against the wall both of his hands on the shoulders of Yuki.

Those beautiful amber eyes looked deeply into the violet orbs before him. They were so close that he could feel Yuki's breathing on his skin, on his face, so close to his mouth. He was resisting the urge to kiss the nezumi but the closeness was quickly diminishing his resolve. Achingly slowly he leaned forward, closing his eyes as he felt the soft lips come into contact with his own.

He had read in a number of Shigure's novels that when that kiss happened, that first unbelievable, mind blowing kiss happened that you saw stars fly before your eyes, if that was true then Kyou was seeing stars, planets, and galaxies flashing before his eyes. The kiss was soft, gentle, and exploring at first before Kyou began to intensive it. Slowly opening his mouth and requesting entrance to the forbidden cavern that was Yuki's.

The nezumi was in a state of nirvana as he felt the gentle licking of the necko's tongue requesting entrance. He didn't know why he opened his mouth, why he wasn't fighting the feelings inside of him, but he did know that at that moment he didn't care. Yuki melted into the feelings as the tongue began the dance of time with his own. Surprised momentarily at exactly how rough it felt then dismissing the feeling, after all Kyou was a cat.

Kyou was surprised but happy as the arms he was holding slowly moved up and rapped around his own neck, playing in the soft hair at the base and sending shivers up his spine. He pressed his body against Yuki's and pushed him against the wall depending the kiss.

Before he knew it the magical moment had ended and the kiss was broken. He leaned his forehead against Yuki's as they both struggled to catch their breathing. Kyou was the first to speak as he looked into the hooded eyes of the rat before him.

"I...I think I've fallen for you Yuki." He said simply and from the bottom of his heart. Yuki's head shot up as the apparent fear showed in his eyes. Quickly pulling his arms from the neck and shoving Kyou as hard as he could away from him. He took a fighting stance as anger flared in those beautiful eyes of his as he stared down at Kyou who had fallen do to the shock of Yuki's actions.

"What the hell are you talking about? I'm not like that you fucking queer! I'M NOT LIKE YOU!"

Before Kyou could say anything Yuki had ran away and up the stairs into his room, slamming the door behind him and collapsing on the floor in front of it. He pulled his legs put to his chest and let the tears fall freely. I'm not like him; he thought as he sobbed quietly to himself, I won't ever be like him!

The truth was that Yuki was terrified at the feelings that Kyou had awoken inside of him. He didn't want to believe them and yet he almost felt that he couldn't deny them either. And so he clung to the one small piece of sanity that he had left, the fact that he didn't want to be like him and the fact that he wouldn't. At least this is as much as he thought.

END FLASHBACK

Yuki sighed as he approached the wooden porch, barely glancing up at the roof and catching a look at the puff of orange hair before it disappeared out of site. His heart skipped a beat and he rushed inside, his face flushed and rushing up to his room.

He slid the door closed quickly and closed his eyes, sinking to the floor onto his knees and breathing deeply. When had these feelings began? He thought to himself as his thoughts jumbled together. Was it all because of that kiss? Had that kiss sparked something inside of him?

He had told himself so many times before that it was all the baka neko’s fault and that this wouldn’t be happening if it wasn’t for him. As Yuki lay there on the floor in font of his bedroom door he admitted to himself completely that it wasn’t Kyou’s fault and that these feelings had been there long before Kyou had ever done anything to him.

Yuki ran his hands through his hair as the same thoughts that constantly troubled his mind as of late flooded back. He didn’t want to be like him! He wasn’t like that stupid cat, he wanted to like girls and to live a normal life away from the family that he could never escape and away from the cats teasing gestures.

I’m not like him! Yuki screamed in his mind, breathing heavily as he tried to argue with himself. His breathing began to slow as a realization dawned on him. He laid his head down on his knees as slowly opened his eyes to stare at the darkness.

Suddenly all the confusion that had been troubling his young mind, all the worrying, the pain, the fear that he had been experiencing since the kiss was washed away. Yuki half smiled to himself as he breathed in a sigh of relief. He didn’t want to be like Kyou that was for sure, but he did want to simply be with Kyou.

All this fear that he had been happening, all this anxiety was because he was terrified he would never again feel those feelings he had had when Kyou had been kissing him. The way his lips and tongue had felt had seemed so right and he never wanted to loose that feeling.

Before he knew what was happening a plan of action had been set in his mind. He was going to find Kyou that very night and get him alone. There would be no turning back from that point. Yuki had to make his intentions known and he just hoped that this time Kyou wouldn’t push him away.

“Yuki are you alright? What’s wrong?” Came a deep voice next to his ear. Yuki yelped and nearly jumped out of his skin as he looked into the concerned face of Hatsuharu. The nezumi had been in such a deep thought it had never occurred to him to check and see if his room was empty when he entered, nor did he hear the soft feet as they had moved across the room because Haru was devoid of his normally loud black boots.

“H…Haru what are you doing here?”

“I’m here for the night don’t you remember? Tohru invited me for dinner.”

It felt like Yuki’s heart was beating in his throat as he tried desperately to make sense of the events that had just taken place. Quickly he recovered and stood, straightening his shirt he had completely forgotten that Tohru had invited Haru to stay for dinner that evening. With this new development he wasn’t sure whether tonight was going to be the night to talk to Kyou, but as this thought crossed his mind a pang in his heart told him that he couldn’t wait.

Yuki looked into Haru’s face as Haru grabbed a hold of Yuki’s shirt in greeting. His face remained placid as it always was though Yuki could see the concern in the ushi’s eyes as he looked almost longingly at his cousin. The nezumi pulled away slightly, smilingly politely as he did so.

“I am fine Haru; it was just a long day that’s all.”

“Are you sure you look feverish.”

Hatsuharu took a step forward and placed his hand on Yuki’s forehead, checking for warmth. The blush that had been there previously was still there as Yuki blushed deeper with the thought that Haru might find out what was going on. He pulled away and bowed his head slightly in apology.

“Sorry I really feel fine, just a little over heated is all. I would like to change from my school clothes now though if you wouldn’t mind.”

A smirk came to Haru’s mouth as he leaned against the wall, crossing his arms over his chest.

“Oh I don’t mind at all, go right ahead.”

Yuki turned and started to slip of his tie before pausing and turning to look at Haru who hadn’t budged toward the door at all. He narrowed his eyes slightly as Haru’s eyes locked with his own. The two stood there in a defying staring contest.

Slowly Hatsuharu lowered his eyes and nodded in defeat. He turned from the wall and opened the door though stopped just before he had completely left. The ushi turned his head over his shoulder and gave Yuki a dark almost possessive look.

“I’ll be waiting down stairs. Don’t take too long I might have to come up and get you.” He said playfully, though Yuki knew that if it came to that the fun Haru would quickly be replaced by a black Haru and that was something that he didn’t want to mess with at that moment.

The door was closed and Yuki finally found solitude in his room. He slipped off the tie along with the rest of his school clothing and flopped down onto his bed wearing nothing but boxer briefs. He wished he could lay there forever and day dream about a certain neko though he knew that if he took too long Haru would make good on his promise so after quickly dressing in a pair of nice black pants that were slightly tight around the butt and thigh area and a long sleeved velvety purple shirt he left the room.

Yuki stood at the top of the stairs and took a deep cleansing breathe. Tonight was either going to be a really good night or a really bad night, he wasn’t sure. One thing he did know was that it was going to be memorable.


Haru sat down on the floor in front of the table thinking about what had just transpired with Yuki. Something seemed to be on his mind and he wondered why he wouldn’t tell him. Tohru had seemed to be in a good mood earlier at school so he doubted that anything had happened there. The student council seemed to always be on Yuki’s mind though he never let it get to him like that so that couldn’t be it. Maybe Akito had asked to see him. That sent a shiver through his spine and made him decide to leave well alone.

The door slid open from the outside and Haru looked up to see Kyou walking in with a towel hung over his head drying his hair. He must have been outside training as usual, Haru thought as Kyou looked up and stopped dead in his tracks.

“Oy what the hell are you doing here?”

“I’m here for dinner or did no one bother to tell you?”

A clattering from the kitchen sounded through the room and soon a very busy looking Tohru appeared at the door, smiling one of her goofy looking grins.

“Ah Hatsuharu-Kun when did you get here? I’ve been here for a while and I didn’t notice you.”

“I was waiting for Yuki in his room for a while.”

Neither of the two seemed to notice a slight change in Kyou’s eyes at this or the little twitch at the corner of his mouth. Kyou looked up at the stairs longingly as Yuki came down them. Their eyes met momentarily and a blush crept into both of their cheeks.

“Well why don’t you just go home already!” Kyou yelled as he stormed past the three of them and up to take a bath before dinner. Haru stood up and smiled at Yuki as Yuki took a seat beside him. Tohru looked worriedly up the stairs at Kyou but didn’t have time to check on him because she had to get back to the kitchen to finish preparing dinner.

“Yuki are you sure everything is okay?”

“Yes Yuki what in the world could be bothering you?” Came a teasing voice from the hall as Shigure appearing wearing his usual yukata. Yuki rolled his eyes as Shigure took a seat at the end of the table and sniffed the air, getting a look that said he was simply in nirvana.

“I’m fine, let’s just drop it.”

Hatsuharu looked at Yuki a bit more before he shrugged his shoulders deciding it best to drop the subject at that particular moment. The three of them sat in silence for what seemed forever before Tohru finally called for dinner.

Kyou appeared down the stairs and sat adjacent from Yuki as Tohru put the food on the table and took her seat beside Kyou. Tohru was her excited talkative self as she tried in vain to create a conversation between the five of them. By the middle of the meal it was clear that none of them were going to talk that much and they were more content to eat in silence.


As Tohru cleared the table Hatsuharu offered to help her while Shigure disappeared off to his study. Yuki took this as the perfect opportunity to make his move. While Kyou was beginning to stand up Yuki cleared his throat and looked up at the auburn eyes neko.

“Do you mind if we talk a bit in private for a moment?” Yuki asked with hopes that Kyou would at least agree to speak with him. It appeared for a moment that Kyou was going to yell at him or rebuke him in some way, though he retrained himself and simply nodded.

The nezumi stood up and left the room heading outside and slipping on his shoes. Kyou followed in suit as Yuki made his way silently through the forest. The stars shown brightly above them along with the bright full moon. He wasn’t sure he knew what he was going to say but something had to be said.

Yuki stopped as they approached his garden and he could feel Kyou watching him from behind. He knew his eyes were on him and this made his pulse quicken. He was so nervous he thought he was sweating everywhere on his body.

The whole time Kyou stood there remaining silent looking at the solemn silver haired nezumi. Crickets could be heard in the distance playing their age old tune as Yuki seemed to loose some of his nerve. He wasn’t sure where to begin or what to say to try to explain what he felt.

“Well what do you want?”

The silence was finally broken and Yuki shut his eyes at the harshness of the words. He rubbed his arm as he looked around taking a deep breathe he turned and looked into those auburn eyes that had for so many nights haunted his dreams. It was now or never, though he still didn’t know what he was going to say.

Before he had even a moment to react to what came to his mind he was in action. Yuki moved swiftly to Kyou, wrapping his arms around his neck and pressing his lips to his in a soft yet chaste kiss.

Kyou’s eyes were wide in shock as he felt the soft lips that he had only barely tasted touch his lips once more. It was a dream come true though never in his wildest dreams did he ever imagine Yuki being so direct with him. He had expected for Yuki to pummel him, to beat him near to death, to yell at him till he was deaf but never to kiss him.

Yuki pulled away slowly and opened his eyes to look into the neko’s. He was terrified he was going to see rejection in those orbs but what he saw was confusion.

“Why did you do that?” Kyou whispered into the night air, they were so close that Yuki could feel his breath on his lips when he spoke.

“I…I’ve been wanting to do that again ever since you did it the first time. Kyou…I…I’m sorry for pushing you away like I did. I just wasn’t ready I was scared. But I know what I want now, I’m not scared anymore.”

“And what exactly is it that you want?”

“This…” Yuki said and reached up and pressed his lips against Kyou’s in another chaste kiss, though this time Kyou responded, wrapping his arms around Yuki’s slender waste and pressing him against him as the kiss deepened and became passionate.

Their tongues dueling for dominance as Yuki ran his fingers through his hair. He was elated that Kyou hadn’t rejected him that he wasn’t going to push him away and that they could finally be together.

All good things must come to an end though as he soon found out when an angry scream tore through the silent night and a yelp came from Kyou as he hit the ground. Yuki knelt down at Kyou’s side as blood began to drip from the open wound on the back of his head.

Kyou was unconscious and loosing a lot of blood as tears came to Yuki’s eyes. He looked up into the angry gray eyes above him as Haru made to hit Kyou again.

“Haru why would you do that?” Yuki whispered as Haru made the move to attack Kyou again now that he was down. This made Yuki snap, everything that had happened boiled to the surface and he stood up with anger pulsing through every vain in his body, completely prepared to make Haru pay.