I decided to delete the other Fruits Basket story because of the lack of responses and it made me lose interest in the topic, sorry if anyone particularly liked it. I'll be redoing it with a different twist to it this time. This time, I'm using characters from the Pokémon Special Manga. I've come to really like the characters and the relationships in it, better than the anime and I really wanted to make a story with them in it. Everyone has one partner Pokémon in this story and I'm using the ones that the characters originally started out with. Hope you enjoy! No flames please. If you don't like it, don't say anything.
Disclaimer: I do not own Pokémon, Fruits Basket, or this song
Pokémon Fruits Basket: The Beginning
I was so happy
When you smiled at me
With a smile that melts away everything
Spring is still far away
And the cold earth is still wet
Was waiting for the day when the first grass sprouts
For instance, even today is painful
Even is yesterday's wounds are left behind
If I open up my heart that I want to believe in
I can't become someone else
But I can protect it
Let's stay together
Forever...
"Wow, it sure is sunny today."
A sixteen year old girl with shining crystal blue eyes was looking up at the sky from a forest.
She had dark blue hair that was bunched up in big pig tails and she also wore star shaped earrings.
Crystal Nagareboshi was standing out on her front porch, looking up at the clear blue sky.
"Bye mom!" Crystal called over her shoulder as a woman with dark blue hair came to the door.
"Have a good day, sweetie." her mother said as Crystal started towards school.
On her way to school, she looked over to the other side of the street to see an entrance to the large forest.
The forest seemed to have a very mysterious atmosphere surrounding it and it always perked Crystal's interest.
She glanced at her watch and looked up at the sky. 'I still have enough time to walk around. I've always wondered what was in it's a shortcut.'
Crystal looked around in awe at the beauty of the seemingly peaceful forest as a small breeze blew through her hair, giving her a soothing feeling.
Crystal had lost her father due to an illness when she was very young and was left with only her mother to take care of her. It had been rough at some points but managed to stay together and happy.
As Crystal walked down the dirt path, she spotted a house at the bottom of the hill.
"What's a house doing deep in the forest?" Crystal said curiously while raising an eyebrow.
She decided to investigate and slowly went down the hill before she got to the front of the house.
The sliding door was open and Crystal peeked inside, but decided it would be rude if she went inside and stayed outside on the porch.
'It seems so peaceful here.' Crystal thought to herself when something caught her eye.
She looked over to see an assortment of Pokémon ornaments on the front porch, basking in the sun.
There was a Pikachu, Tauros, Raikou, Lopunny, Gyarados, Arbok, Rapidash, Flaaffy, Infernape, Staraptor, Mightyena, and a Piloswine.
"Wow! These are so cute." Crystal said in awe.
"Eh?"
Crystal flinched and slowly looked up to see a man with dark blue hair that covered his right eye and also wore a blue robe with a light blue shirt on top. He also wore samurai looking pants and socks and had red and black wrist bands. He was currently holding a newspaper while looking at her puzzled. He also had a Hoothoot perched on his shoulder.
"I didn't think there would be anyone around here." the man said looking at her suspiciously.
"I-I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to barge in like this! I was just curious." Crystal stammered while waving her hands in front of her.
"Neh. I don't mind." the man said shrugging. "I just set those out to dry in the sun. I would assume kids like you would find these kinds of things boring though."
"Hoot! Hoot!" his Hoothoot hooted.
Crystal shook her head. "Not really. Those are really well made."
"I see. I'm glad you feel that way, since I'm fond of these myself." the man said as he sat by the ornaments and unfolded the newspaper he was holding.
"These represent the twelve Pokémon of the Chinese Zodiac, right?" Crystal said as the man looked up from his newspaper at her.
"Yeah. I thought I'd make those for fun." the man said.
"Oh! I heard of a story that went along with the Pokémon of the Chinese Zodiac. But, I thought there was also a Meowth." Crystal said as the man looked up at her in surprise. "I remember my mom telling me the story about how the Meowth was left out of the Zodiac when I was younger."
"A long time ago, Arceus called all Pokémon together for a banquet. Before the banquet, the Pikachu decided to play a trick on the Meowth, saying that it would be granted good luck if it were to pull one Ninetails' nine tails. Believing this, the Mewoth went over to the Ninetails and pulled on of its tails. Enraged, Ninetails cast a 1000 year curse on the Meowth, causing it to be unable to attend the banquet. On the day of the banquet, the Pikachu rode on the Tauros' back and arrived in front of the meeting place. After that, the Raikou, the Lopunny, and so forth had a fun time there until morning, except for the Meowth, who was ashamed of its curse to attend."
Crystal remembered how she always felt sorry for the Meowth. But now she knew it was just folklore and wasn't too crazy about the story anymore.
"Heh. I wonder what he'll think when he hears this." the man said with a small smirk.
"Who?" Crystal asked, overhearing the man's statement.
"Nevermind." the man said as he continued reading his newspaper.
"Hey, Falkner... Oh, I didn't know we had a visitor."
Crystal looked over and gasped when she saw a boy with spiky black hair and red eyes and also wore a kind smile.
"Good morning, Nagareboshi-san." the boy said curtly.
"R-Red Sohma?" Crystal cried in shock, seeing how she found out where Red Sohma lived, her high school's "prince".
"You know her?" Falkner asked as Red nodded.
"Yeah, though we're not in the same class." Red said.
"By the way, my name is Falkner Sohma. Red-kun's distant cousin." Falkner introduced himself.
"Oh, pleased to meet you. I'm Crystal Nagareboshi." Crystal said bowing. "But you could call me Crys for short."
"Nagareboshi-san, what are you doing in a place like this?" Red asked curiously.
"Ah, well, I was always pretty curious about this forest and I wanted to take a look." Crystal said.
Red gave a surprised expression while Falkner nodded slightly as Crystal glanced at her watch and realized she should hurry to school.
"Well, I'd better be going now. It was nice meeting you." Crystal said bowing before starting to walk off.
"Hey, Nagareboshi-san." Red called.
"Hai?" Crystal said looking over her shoulder.
Red just smiled. "Shall we go together?"
Crystal just stared at him blankly. "Eh?"
"L-O-V-E-M-E! Red!" three fan girls exclaimed while posing for Red. (the three fan-girls are all OC's since I couldn't find anyone who matched fangirl descriptions)
But Red just walked right by them without acknowledging them with Crystal walking beside him, much to their shock.
"AHHHH!" the fan girls cried.
"Nagareboshi-san! Explain yourself!" a girl with blue eyes and had black hair that was tied up into long flowing pig-tails.
Crystal sweatdropped while taking a few steps back as she was being confronted by her school's Red-fan club members.
"Yes! Why were you coming to school with Sohma-kun? Explain!" another girl demanded who had short pink hair and amber eyes.
"It was just a coincidence." Crystal said.
"Well for your sake, that's all it was!" the third girl said who had long violet hair that was tied up in a long ponytail with a red bow on the top and also had pink colored eyes.
"The fact that there are no girls who don't understand 'Kanto high, Junior, Class A, Red Sohma' shows that he truly is amazing." the black haired girl said.
"Is a super genius!" the pink haired girl said with stars in her eyes.
"Is a super athlete!" the violet haired girl said with a dreamy look on her face.
"Even we, who are members of his fan club, aren't able to get close to him!" the black haired girl said while giving Crystal a smug look.
Crystal was getting annoyed by the fangirls' attitudes and was just about ready to give them a piece of her mind, when suddenly she felt a tug on her arm.
"Leave her alone! She said it was just coincidence!" a girl with blond hair that was tied up into a long ponytail and had amber eyes said coming to Crystal's side.
"Stay out of this shortie!" the black haired girl shouted, causing the girl to shrink behind Crystal.
"I-I'm sorry..." she mumbled as Crystal sweatdropped.
"Yellow..." Crystal sighed.
Suddenly, a girl with short black hair with a white bow and cold dark blue eyes came up and looked at the fangirls with a dark, expressionless look.
"She said it was a coincidence." Marley said sternly, causing the fangirls to get a little creeped out, before they high-tailed it out of there.
"Thanks, Yellow, Marley." Crystal said with a relieved smile.
"Are you okay, Crystal?" Yellow asked in concern as Crystal nodded.
During cooking class, Crystal was thinking about her walk with Red.
"Sohma-san is so popular; it felt weird walking by his side like that." Crystal mumbled to herself. "But I wasn't able to have much of a conversation with him."
"He is kind of strange." Marley said while cutting a fish.
Crystal thought about if for a moment and realized that Red did act a little out of the ordinary.
"Well, he does seem very secretive, that's for sure. And he doesn't really talk about himself, either." Yellow asked while stirring the stew. "Before this, when a senior girl asked him out and tried to get near him, he pushed her away. She must have been shocked."
"It's strange that there would be a person who puts up a barrier like that these days." Marley said as she put down a bowel of rice in front of Crystal.
"Thanks." Crystal said as she tasted the rice.
"Hey Crystal, did you find another family to stay with for your class project yet?" Yellow asked as Crystal's head drooped as a look of hopelessness came over her face.
Yellow sweatdropped. "I'll take that as a no."
"Do you know how hard it is to ask someone 'can I join your family for a few weeks?' A little embarrassing if you ask me." Crystal let out a sigh of exasperation. (Each student is given a different project)
"You could always stay with me and my uncle." Yellow offered as Crystal shook her head.
"You and your uncle live in an apartment; I couldn't burden you like that. Besides, I know how all your families operate."
"Make sure you pick a good family." Marley said.
"If I can find one, that is. And I'm not going to fail this project." Crystal said.
"Crystal, don't you have to work part-time today?" Yellow asked.
"Yes, that's right." Crystal said.
Yellow sighed. "Crystal you've been working so hard for as long as I can remember. Don't you think you should slow down?"
Crystal shook her head. "If I want to get into a good college, I have to be willing to work hard."
"Just don't overdo it again." Marley said.
Crystal let out a sigh but nodded.
After Red closed his locker, he looked over and was surprised to see Crystal standing there.
"I just came here to say thank you for this morning." Crystal said.
"Oh, no problem. Why don't we walk home together?" Red said.
'Oh boy...' Crystal said to herself.
"I hope Falkner wasn't rude to you. He can be a little downcast at times." Red said while walking with Crystal.
Crystal shook her head. "No, he was kind enough to let me see those Pokémon figurines of the Chinese Zodiac."
"You mentioned something about the Meowth, right? The one in the folklore of how the Pokémon Chinese Zodiac came to be?" Red asked.
"Yeah, what about it?" Crystal asked curiously.
"How do you feel about that Meowth?" Red asked facing forward.
"When I was little, I guess I felt kinda sorry for it. But it's just a story, I know it didn't actually happen so..."
"Well, then I guess you won't mind me saying that that Meowth was an idiot."
Crystal looked up at Red in shock. Did Red really just say that?
Red was still not facing her as he continued. "Meowths are idiots... They have bad qualities."
"The Chinese Zodiac contains twelve Pokémon and twelve alone. It's balanced as it is. If another was put into it, it would be put out of balance. Originally it was used as a numeric device or as a watch... Afterwards, it became a form of fortune telling. It had nothing to do with Pokémon. Although I'm not too sure myself how and when Pokémon got involved in the story. But Meowths never belonged in the Zodiac from the beginning." Red said the last part quite bitterly.
"Do you really hate Meowths that much?" Crystal asked, a little taken aback from what Red had just told her.
Red turned around quickly with a smile on his face that Crystal didn't understand which made her a little uneasy at how quiet he was for a moment as the wind blew leaves all around them.
He then reached out and caught one of the falling leaves and spun it by the stem.
"Well, it was nice talking to you. See you tomorrow." Red said with a smile before turning and walking away while tossing the leaf to the ground.
Crystal stood staring after Red in shock, not really understanding what just happened.
'He really is secretive...' Crystal thought before continuing her way to work.
At the lab, Crystal got all the Pokémon test results and placed them on a desk.
After she did that, she swept all of the floors and checked on all of the Pokeballs that were in the storage room.
"Crystal, how is it going?" a man in a lab coat with graying hair asked coming into the room.
"I'm almost done, Prof. Oak. I just need to clean the windows, run a few more tests, and..." Crystal said before Prof. Oak cut her off.
"Now, now, you've been working hard all afternoon. Why don't you go home a rest up." Prof. Oak said putting a hand on her shoulder.
Crystal looked down before nodding. "Okay..."
"Ugh. If I eat this much everyday, I'll need a new robe." Falkner said rubbing his stomach while walking through the forest with Red towards the house as the sun started to set.
"We should make the food ourselves next time." Red said.
"Yeah, but you always complain about my cooking."
"If pickled radish goes in my curry, of course I'm going to complain."
"You're smart, Red, but you like such spicy and salty food. Besides, you always end up burning any dish you try to make." Falkner said as Red sweatdropped.
Falkner stopped and looked over too to see Crystal rushing through the forest.
"Nagareboshi-san?" Red said in surprise.
Crystal glanced at her watch as she hurried her way through the forest. 'Shoot! Mom's going to be home soon and it's my turn to cook.'
As she ran through the forest, she failed to notice a couple of glowing eyes watching her from the shadows.
Suddenly a swift figure shot out from the bushes and landed in front of Crystal.
Crystal gasped as a growling Houndoom stalked towards her, a scar evident on its face.
"E-Easy there, I'm only trying to get home." Crystal said backing up slowly.
The Houndoom snapped at her before leaping towards her, barring its fangs.
Crystal turned and ran as fast as she could, but the Houndoom was clearly faster and gave chase towards her.
The Houndoom pushed off the ground with sheer power, tackling Crystal in the back, sending her flying forward and off the edge of a steep ledge.
"AAHHHHHHH!" Crystal cried as everything started going hazy.
Before she lost consciousness she could have sworn she heard a electric attack being cast and a sharp howl of pain followed.
"Ah!" Crystal cried as she snapped her eyes open to find herself in a brightly lit room.
"W-Where am I...?" Crystal mumbled.
"Ah, you're awake. Good."
Crystal turned to her side to see Falkner sitting next to her.
"Where am I?" Crystal asked.
"You're at my house. A Houndoom had attacked you and knocked you off a steep ledge. You really shouldn't be wandering around the forest alone. It's pretty dangerous especially at night with wild Pokemon wandering around as well as some shady characters. The ground in this area is weak as well so it's prone to have some landslides." Falkner explained. "What were you doing out there in the first place?"
"Well, I was using the forest as a shortcut to get back home. I'm sorry if I caused you any trouble." Crystal said as she tried to stand up but felt a sharp pain in her ankle and collapsed back down on the mattress.
"Easy there, you twisted your ankle after the fall you took and you have several bruises. Be thankful that nothing was broken." Falkner said putting a hand on her shoulder.
"Oh good, you're okay."
Crystal looked up to see Red come into the room with a tray.
"Here, I'll help wrap your ankle." Red said as he bent over and gently wrapped Crystal's ankle with a cloth.
"T-Thank you." Crystal said blushing slightly as Red nodded. "By the way, what did happen to that Houndoom that had attacked me?"
"Don't worry, we took care of it. Just be careful next time you take a 'shortcut.'" Red said as Crystal's cellphone suddenly rang.
"Hello?... What?" Crystal gasped as Falkner and Red exchanged worried glances.
Crystal hung up and tried to run towards the door but collapsed due to her sprained ankle. "Mom!"
"Nagareboshi-san!" Red called coming forward.
"I'll go get a heat pad." Falkner said as he opened a sliding door that led to the kitchen, only to find a giant trash dump, making Falkner sweatdrop.
"Ah..." Falkner said with a bleak expression.
"Have you two ever heard of cleaning?" Crystal said sheepishly as Red carefully helped her up.
"We just never get around to it..." Falkner said squinting at the dump.
"What's going on, Nagareboshi-san?" Red asked.
"My mom... She... She got into an accident! I have to go see her!" Crystal cried.
"In your current condition, the best thing to do is rest." Falkner said as tears started forming in Crystal's eyes.
"But-!"
He came over to Crystal and put a hand on her shoulder. "You can go see her tomorrow. But right now, you need to rest. You're mother would be worried about you if she found out you got hurt."
Crystal looked down at the ground before nodding as Red looked at her in concern.
He then glanced over to Crystal's bag and noticed a piece of paper sticking out of it slightly.
"Right now, Red-kun is looking for some medical herbs." Falkner said by Crystal's bedside in the house.
"I'm sorry..." Crystal mumbled under the bed sheets.
Falkner shook his head. "Don't be, just be a little more careful next time."
"But mom..."
"What about your father?" Falkner asked.
"... He died when I was really young. My mom is the only family I have left..." Crystal said closing her eyes.
Falkner's hard expression softened. "Is it painful?"
"No... There have been more painful things in my life." Crystal said subconsciously.
"Like what?" Falkner prodded.
"... Seeing my mom struggle to raise me all by herself... Working so hard at her job everyday to make sure to sustain our family... Watching her suffer alone..." Crystal said as Falkner listened intently to what she had been bottling up for a while now.
"That's why... I'm trying my hardest to keep up perfect grades so I can get a scholarship to go to college and why I have a job. So that I could pay my own tuition. My mom has been so supportive through all of it..." Crystal said before drifting off to sleep.
Falkner looked down at her with an unreadable expression as he listened to the wind blow outside.
"That's pretty amazing."
Falkner looked over to see Red holding an ice-pack.
"No wonder she studies so hard at school. She's usually in the library doing homework of reports. I hardly ever see her just having fun with her friends. Who knew she was suffering so much underneath it all." Red said with a grave expression.
Falkner chuckled. "To call it 'amazing' would be rude to Crys."
Red smiled and looked over at Crystal's sleeping figure. "That's true."
"I'm going out for a bit."
"Where are you going?" Falkner asked as Red held up a piece of paper.
"To the hospital." Red said with a smile.
Falkner looked at him in surprise before nodding. "Hurry along. Visiting hours are almost up."
OOOOOOO
Crystal dreamt of lying in her mother's lap as her mother petted her head, telling her to never give up.
"... Just do your best, Crystal.."
Crystal opened her eyes with a start and sat up in her bed and was surprised to see an envelope sitting on top of the blankets.
"What's this?" Crystal mumbled while rubbing the sleep from her eye.
"Ah, you're awake. Good morning."
Crystal looked up to see Red smiling at her from the sliding doorway, holding a piece of paper with his Poliwhirl at his side.
"How are you feeling?" Red asked.
"Uh, yeah... What's that you're holding?" Crystal asked, still slightly sleepy.
Red handed her the paper and widened her eyes in shock to see that it was the permission slip for her class project.
"I talked some things over with Falkner," Red said as Crystal looked at him with an expression of disbelief. "Even though this house is dirty and there are only males, there's an empty room upstairs."
"I also went to the hospital to visit your mother and she said it was okay with letting you stay here for your project. Since it seems like you couldn't find another house to stay at." Red said.
Crystal stood up in shock before shaking her head.
"I can't possibly do that!" Crystal cried.
"There are locks on the doors." Red reassured.
"No, no, it's not that! It's just..." Crystal said.
"You don't mind doing housework, do you?" Falkner said suddenly coming up from behind her with a stoic expression.
"Wha?" Crystal jumped.
"For example, cleaning and cooking?" Falkner asked folding his arms.
"No... I don't mind..." Crystal said sweatdropping.
Falkner took the permission slip from Crystal's hands and signed it.
"Welcome to the Sohma home." Falkner said with a straight face, handing Crystal back the permission slip. "Later today, you can get your things and we'll help you move in."
"HOOT! HOOT!" Hoothoot chirped happily.
"You can't seriously be doing this. I mean, it's like I'm intruding and..." Crystal said as Red waved a hand.
"Nagareboshi-san, we're doing this because we want to, so don't think you're intruding on anything," Red said. "On top of that, you don't have another place to go, right?"
"Well, that's true... but after those three weeks are up, I'll move right out!" Crystal said.
"Deal." Red said with a smile.
"Is it really okay for a girl to stay here?" Falkner asked as he walked around the house to the room Crystal would be staying in.
"I wouldn't worry. Nagareboshi-san doesn't seem like the clingy type." Red said.
"Whatever you say." Falkner said, still not too reassured.
As the two walked past a certain tree, they failed to notice someone standing in it, watching them with a grin.
'I never though of myself being in this position. Ending up living in Red Sohma's home.' Crystal thought to herself as Red showed her her room.
"It's definitely moldy because the room has been shut tight for a long time." Red said while opening a window. "It'd be a good idea to keep the windows open for now."
Crystal suddenly heard a crackling noise coming from above her and glanced up to see cracks forming on the ceiling.
"Uh, Red-" Crystal was cut off when someone suddenly came crashing through the ceiling, sending plaster and wooden boards flying everywhere.
Red whirled around to see rubble come crashing down as Crystal backed up against the wall.
Downstairs, some rubble fell from the ceiling, making Falkner look up from his reading.
"Hm?" Falkner mumbled sheepishly.
Back upstairs, as the dust cleared Crystal noticed a boy about her age with an Aipom on his shoulder land in the middle of the floor from the giant hole in the ceiling.
"Yo!" the boy said with a cocky grin as he cracked his neck while facing Red. "I was getting tired of waiting for you mouse-boy. Let's go!"
"Oo-aw! Oo-aw!" the Aipom said with a bring-it-on look on its face.
The boy had messy black hair with his bangs jutting out in front. He was wearing a baggy black shirt and yellow pants with a black stripe along the sides. He also wore a pair of goggles around his neck. (There's a reason why he doesn't have his cap, it's not because I forgot it)
Crystal also noticed he had shining golden eyes that seemed to sparkle in the sunlight.
"Why must you break things whenever you come?" Red said glancing up at the hole in the ceiling as a mad-mark appeared over the other boy's head.
"DON'T CHANGE THE SUBJECT! 'Cause I'm about to wipe that stupid smirk of yours right off your face!" the boy shouted as he lunged towards Red, winding up to punch.
"Hey! Cut it out!" Crystal said coming forward, but accidentally tripped over one of the fallen wooden boards.
The boy looked around too late to see Crystal fall on his back as Red gasped.
"AHH!" the boy cried as a small explosion erupted and a puff of smoke came out of no where, causing Aipom to go flying.
"Red-kun, what were those crashing sounds just now? It's not Gold, is it?" Falkner said coming into the doorway with a dull expression on his face.
"Gomen! But you really shouldn't fight and... Hm?" Crystal said as she noticed something strange as she lifted up her arms.
She looked up to see that she was holding up a Meowth, who did not look happy in the least.
"WAH! What just happened? What is this?" Crystal cried in shock as she shook the Meowth back-and-forth in disbelief at what just happened.
"Hold on... Let us explain..." Falkner said as Red glared at the Meowth with a mad-mark over his head.
"We should take him to the Pokémon Center! Yeah! They'll know what happened to him!" Crystal said causing the Meowth to sweatdrop as a loose wooden board fell from the ceiling.
It hit Crystal directly on the top of her head, causing her to fall forward, right into Falkner and Red.
"Oh dear..." Falkner said as two more small explosions occurred as smoke engulfed the room.
Crystal blinked dully for a few seconds before noticing a Pikachu and a small Staraptor in Red and Falkner's place.
After staring at them for a moment, Crystal felt dizzy and put a hand to her forehead.
'I must be dreaming... Everyone is turning into Pokémon!' Crystal shouted to herself.
"Sir! The strange signals have appeared again!"
"Is it coming from the Sohma family property?"
"Yes sir."
"Hmm... Interesting. Continue your investigation."
"Roger."
"I want to know exactly what the Sohmas are hiding."
To be continued...
I decided to make a Pokémon version of Fruits Basket because I have really come to love the characters in the Pokémon Special Manga and I couldn't seem to fit them in my other fanfics, so I'll put them in their own fic. Hope you've enjoyed it so far. I'm trying to make it a little more exciting than the original Fruits Basket story, where it's mostly drama. Please Review!
Nagareboshi means "shooting star" which I thought was a perfect last name for Crystal.