Fruits Basket Prompts

26. Hold My Hand

27. "Hold my hand. You're going to be fine."

It was the day before the New Year. For the first time after leaving Tokyo, Kyo and Tohru were back for the New Year's like they had promised.

Kyo hadn't wanted to come, insisting that his cousins were loud and the kotatsu at their tiny apartment was much more comfortable than some rowdy banquet, but Tohru knew better. She knew he still didn't feel at ease around the main estate. It gave him anxiety; it made his skin crawl.

So for his comfort, Tohru had asked Yuki if their get-together could take place somewhere outside the main estate, and Yuki had immediately agreed because he too wasn't a fan of the air around the estate. Tohru was relieved since she wasn't only saving Kyo but a few other zodiacs of the emotional turmoil as well. Therefore, their get-together was settled at a local restaurant in a private room on the night of the New Year's.

Kyo agreed to come without any protests after that. Everything was good and all.

However, when Shigure called and asked Tohru while they were at Kazuma's if they could meet for lunch with Akito at the Sohma Estate since Akito wouldn't be joining the banquet, Tohru sweat-dropped, not because she didn't want to meet up with Akito, rather she was thrilled about that, but Kyo was with her, and he surely wouldn't leave her alone with Akito. She knew he trusted her judgement with people, but he wasn't at ease around Akito yet, not after what happened one and a half years ago with the cliff incident. While Kyo blamed himself for leaving Tohru that day in the rain, that didn't justify Akito carving up Tohru's arm with a knife, no matter how much Tohru tried to convince Kyo that it was only a defence mechanism for Akito.

Despite his discomfort with the main estate and Akito, when Tohru asked him for courtesy if they could meet up with the older couple, he said yes. She already knew he would say that for her sake. Maybe this would be a good thing. Kyo would learn to face another thing in life, she told herself. Therefore, she let Shigure know that they would be seeing each other in a little while.

So here they were, standing in front of the large gates of the Sohma Estate.

Tohru observed Kyo's anxious expression. His lips were pressed in a thin line, his brows furrowed together, his unfocused eyes glaring at the threshold of the entrance, and his hands buried deep in his coat pockets as if that would stop her from seeing how they were shaking. She almost felt bad for bringing him here.

"Kyo-kun?" she called out, and he almost flinched.

"Yeah?" He tried to smile for her as he now looked at her with a much softer expression.

"Are you okay?" she asked.

He nodded almost immediately.

She sighed. "You're not okay."

"I am, Tohru. I got this," it was more like he was saying it to himself, "I-I can't be held back by something that happened so long ago. I promised to move forward," he paused briefly, "With you."

Tohru's heart fluttered. She was loving the way he has been trying so hard to move on in his life after the day he confessed his true feelings to her outside the hospital. She was quite proud of him, and she let him know of that very often to motivate him to go further. Though he would still sometimes try to avoid things that he could, like meeting up for a banquet here with all the former zodiacs who used to look down on him, being anywhere near Akito, trying out alcohol, eating leeks, and onions in his miso soup-two of were going to come to happen today, and one of them was sure to happen on his twentieth birthday since Hatsuharu vowed to make Kyo chug down at least a few bottles of alcohol.

"That's right," she said, holding out her hand, even though it was freezing, "Therefore, hold my hand. You're going to be fine, Kyo-kun."

Kyo didn't hesitate for a single second before taking out his clammy hand and grabbing Tohru's small one in a heartbeat. Tohru still felt his hand tremor lightly, but as she led him on inside the estate, his nerves calmed down considerably.

While they were walking towards the main house while chatting normally to keep his mind distracted, Tohru felt Kyo grip her hand tighter all of a sudden, halting them to a stop. She stopped talking and followed his gaze towards a small empty area surrounded by dark trees. Even though she had never seen it before with her own eyes, Tohru could immediately tell this was where the cat's room used to be.

Even without looking at Kyo's expression, she knew what was going on in his head. "You're never going in there."

Kyo flinched and tore his gaze from the empty area to Tohru.

And just by meeting his gaze, Tohru perceived that her guess was right. His thoughts were spiraling a mile per second. She squeezed his hand tighter. "The curse is not coming back. You're not the cat anymore, and you were never a monster, to begin with, and you will never be." His hands trembled, and she knew what exactly the bad part of his brain was telling him, that whatever she was saying was a lie. "You are you, Kyo-kun, no matter what anyone says. Just believe me."

He let out a deep, shuddering breath and nodded his head. "Sorry for being like this. I'm such a sap," he mumbled, forcing a smile on his face.

"Never be sorry for facing your inner demons. Just know that I'm with you in every step," she assured him, bringing his knuckles to her lips. "I love you."

This time, he gave her a genuine smile. A soft, simple one. "I love you too. Thank you for choosing me."

Tohru shook her head and placed her free hand on his cold cheek, stepping closer to him before pressing a gentle kiss on his lips, trying to pour all her infinite love into that brief contact. "I will always choose you over everything and anything for the rest of my life, Kyo-kun. Because you are what's most precious to me, and I don't intend to let you go."

A tear slipped past his eye.

Tohru chuckled lightly. "You really are such a sap," she said, brushing off that stray tear with her thumb.

Kyo chuckled too. "You rubbed off on me too much."

"Don't blame it on me. I think you were always this emotional, and I just opened it up." They both started to walk again, hand-in-hand.

"Isn't that the same?" He raised an eyebrow in amusement.

Tohru hummed thoughtfully. "We will have to think about that."

"Dork," he let out and kissed her cheek, making her giggle.

"Ah, finally, you lovebirds are here. I thought you guys would never get here," Shigure exclaimed dramatically when he spotted the couple.

Tohru greeted him enthusiastically while Kyo rolled his eyes.

"I heard a maid gossip that you guys were romancing in front of the ex-cat's room? Good job burning them," Shigure said, giving Kyo a thumbs up for being so smooth.

"It's good to see that you are still eavesdropping on others' conversations," Kyo commented sarcastically.

"People with a dull sense of humor won't understand the sweet fun in eavesdropping on such intriguing exchange of words. Because how else would I get to know that they were so jealous and badmouthing Kyo-kun again? However, I know it's all because they can't have a sweet life partner like Tohru-kun in their lives. Even I'm envious sometimes. Life in the countryside must be blissful with your beloved..." Shigure continued gossiping while guiding them towards the meet-up room.

Tohru hadn't even noticed anyone nearby when she and Kyo were talking in front of that place. Then again, whenever Kyo was around, he was all she could pay attention to most of the time.

Tohru stole a glance at Kyo again. This time, he seemed normal. He was even replying to Shigure's question with a casual smile, and Tohru knew that he was going to be just fine as they would meet Akito and have lunch together in a few minutes. And even if he wasn't fine, it would change nothing. Because she was going to hold his hand tight. She always will.