Disclaimer: I don't own anything associated with Fruits Basket.

Note: Warning! There is sexual inappropriate-ness. This story is also hosted on Wattpad, same title, original characters, slightly more Western details. Please help support that too! Slightly OOC- Tohru has more spine!

Chapter 1: First Impressions

She had been rejected from three off-campus housing facilities, two sororities, and one fraternity. It was her last ditch attempt to find a place to live, before resorting to begging strangers for a spot on their couch. It was not her intention to find a place two days before her first day of college. Blame it on her traveling circus, ahem, the Sohmas. She had been in the forested recesses of Japan – Sado Island, to be exact, for the majority of the summer, for Ayame's wedding; the perpetual bachelor was no more! He had found a sweet girl who liked to play dress up as much as him. No internet access, no contact with the outside world, no online orientation. We were in our own blissful bubble of natural wonder, were Ayame's exact words. It was a wonder how she even got to this small town with her not-so-keen sense of direction. When the driver yelled Shinshu University, she stumbled off the bus, into rural Nagano. Her eyes took some time to adjust to the muted green surroundings after being in the dank bus for an hour.

Now, she was standing on the porch of a yellow one-story home with potted plants, hanging plants, creeping vines, and a elfin creature, you name it. She knocked. After a few moments, a white-haired woman peeked out the side window. The moment she saw Tohru, she smiled, as though she recognized her.

"Hello, what can I do for you dear?"

"I'm wondering if the 35000 yen bedroom is still available. I saw your ad in the visitor center."

"Oh dear, you've come just in time. Come in, I'll show you the space."

She took her down a small corridor to a spacious room with pastel décor, old embroidery works of art hanging on the walls.

"It is fully furnished, and you have your own bathroom. Also a private door. Perfect for you social students." Tohru swore the woman winked at her when she said the last sentence.

"Also, the kitchen and living room is available for your use. Follow me." The kitchen was homey. An expansive spice rack on the wall, fluffy buns on the counter, flowery seat covers. It was a summery storybook home. The exact remedy she needed after jagged cliffs and lush forests.

"I don't allow smoking or partying in the house. You can use the garage if you need to store any extra stuff. You can also eat with me. I cook three hearty meals a day and make snacks too."

Tohru sighed dreamily, her new home, a cozy bed and breakfast. This was too perfect.

"I'll take it." She said, with the finality of a serious bidder.

The white-haired woman clasped her hands and said, "This will be a wonderful arrangement. My name is Miyako, by the way."

...

Tohru wrote her a check and took a bus to campus to deal with her late registration. She saw the other students moving into the high rise dorms. Teary-eyed parents, siblings, and freshmen unpacked their vans. It was unfortunate that her "family" were not here to send her off. They had waved her off in Honshu.

At seven, she went back to Miyako's with her luggage she had left in the visitor's center. When no one answered after the first knock, Tohru pounded the oak door louder. Finally, she heard heavy footsteps approach. "Coming, coming," said a gruff masculine voice.

The door opened swiftly, and she looked directly into a wide expanse of smooth, chiseled chest. She moved her gaze up to an equally perfect face with sparkling obsidian eyes. Oh Kami, it was Shigure. They made brief eye contact before he turned to finish his phone conversation, him not registering who he had just seen. Most likely due to her hair being a static ball atop her head, and her hunched form.

Assuming it was some relative or friend of Miyako's, Tohru shuffled into the foyer hastily. She dragged her stuff into the room. There were several boxes on the bed, in the closet. They hadn't been there before.

"Hello dear. I hope it's okay with you, that you will have a roommate." Miyako said behind her.

Trying to hide her shock, she stuttered, "What did you say?"

"Shigure came by an hour after you left. He's desperate for housing, and I couldn't reject him."

"Do you have another room?"

"Sorry, I only have two bedrooms."

I was first, she thought to herself. This was unfair. Co-ed living was not what I signed up for, especially with her ex-landlord, master of smut! But if he stayed out of her business, things would be fine. Otherwise she would be sleeping on the couch in the living room. Or she could attempt bribery…

"Can I pay you a hundred more?" To get rid of Shigure…

"I've already reduced your rent by $150."

This was a deal the penny saver in her could not resist.

"It will be no problem. Uh, there is another bed, right?"

She and Miyako rolled in matching tatami mat. She moved it furthest away from the other mat, so the "cooties" over there couldn't jump over, the child in her said. She began unpacking and putting stuff in half of the closet and in the nightstand.

Someone taped her shoulder. She turned to the right. No one. He was on her left. "Gotcha."

Extending her hand, she offered a handshake and a smile. "Nice to see you."

"You didn't tell me you were studying at Shinshu!"

She nodded. He looked at her quizzically. "Why are you not living in the dorms?"

"I came too late after the wedding."

He nodded and then flopped on his bed, still in the nude. She pretended not to notice his flat stomach rise and fall with every breath when she turned to answer him. She quickly turned away, feeling that her cheeks were red from embarrassment. "Why are you here?" Aren't you supposed to be at home, hiding from the crowds, writing?

"Inspiration, my flower."

...

The next two days she did two things. Sleep and shop. Planning to buy everything from school supplies to bedding materials, she had only packed one suitcase and her trusty backpack. Home in a bag.

Miyako cooked dinner the night before school. Soba noodles with fresh vegetables. After thanking Miyako for the tasty meal, Tohru returned to her bedroom.

Tohru was on her laptop at midnight watching a movie when he came in through the door to the outside. He had a girl with him. She immediately turned her head back to her computer. What was she doing here? Was he already chasing skirts? It had been two stinking days! This was awkward.

"Who is she?" The raccoon-eyed raven beauty asked Shigure, rubbing her body along the length of his.

He responded, his voice rough with sexual need, "She's my roommate. Don't worry though. Huh, Tori, can you go study in the living room right now?"

Oh, they were going to have sex. She hid her revelation and bumbled, "S-sorry, I can go out." He had an amused look on his face. Probably thinking she was some loser freshman. To top that off, he didn't even remember her name in his current state of arousal.

Anger boiled inside her as she brought her stuff into the living room. She was the one doing him a favor, why is my face strawberry red? I might as well move into the living room now. But I don't want to give up so easily though. She had to learn more about his habits. It was true, she had lived in his house for three years, but it had been so big, they rarely came in contact. She hadn't known the magnitude of his sexual freedom…

...

On the second night of school, Shigure ate dinner with them. Miyako had several dishes out - eggs with tomatoes, shredded daikon salad, and steamed fish. Tohru told herself to learn more about Miyako's secret recipes when she was free. Taking the near empty ketchup bottle, Tohru squeezed the last of it out onto her cheeks. It gave a loud whistle of air that sounded awfully like someone passing gas. Shigure laughed wholeheartedly. Since then on, he called her Squirt, much to her distaste.

For dessert, they had blueberry mochi, much to Tohru's dismay, since she was allergic to blueberries. He didn't let up on her after her confession, teasing her mercilessly. "Mmmm, you are missing out."

Judgment Day never came because he was so infrequently home, an exception was weekends, when he brought his female friends over. He had so many, she lost count. Tohru had wanted to permanently move into the living room, roll the sofa bed in, but Grace's living room was so cluttered and lived-in, that Tohru didn't want to ruin anything sacred. So for now, she slept on the red sofa during weekends.

One Saturday evening, she forgot her book in the bedroom and tiptoed in, hoping he was either sleeping or listening to music so loud he couldn't hear her. His feet were crossed at the ankle on his desk, his toes dancing in tune to the loud music blaring in the bedroom. She had to cross over to her desk.

He had that smug look of the bridge troll who did not let the three Billy goats pass.

"Excuse me," she mumbled under her breathe, hoping that her nonchalant gaze would allow her passage. She knew he could hear her. He had heard her conversation with her mom the previous night. He had no shame. She repeated herself again. Firmly. With an ahem.

"Password."

"Open sesame."

"Incorrect."

"Physalia physalis."

"No."

"Look. I've had a long day. I really don't want to do this. Play games. Please." If groveling was what she had to do behind closed doors, let it be.

"I'll let you go, but because my legs are cramped."

"Thank you, my lord," she muttered under her breathe. He heard her this time, smiling smugly. He really liked to tease.

He continued to play his music. Gathering her books to study, this time she made no civil efforts to pass through his area. She laid a clean towel over his bed, and crawled over. She threw her towel to her bed. She did not want to come back to his hard gaze about why she had "contaminated" his bed. Despite being very messy, he didn't like others touching his stuff unless they had washed their hands. What a hypocritical guy.

Also, why hadn't she noticed that he was so childish before?

During the second week of school, they had passed each other in the campus coffee shop. He had noted that she was sitting with a guy in the back. He filed it into his brain, just for fun. He prodded his new literary friends and nudged in her direction. "That's my roommate."

"Ohh, you gonna smack that? Why does she have grass stains all over her?" One of them duly noted after squinting to see her better.

"You wish."

She wouldn't let you near her with a 30 foot stick. His friend called out, while the others howled with laughter.

She had heard the laughter and was willing to bet it was about her since Shigure had eyed her with a look of disapproval. Her face flushed with hurt. When she got the courage to look up, she saw him gesturing a ketchup squirt bottle. Of course he would choose to reveal that intimate knowledge. Losing her appetite, soon after he left, she found a reason to leave her coffee companion.

...

Several days after that incident, she saw him again. She had been at the drinking fountain (the best one of campus), when she heard high-pitched laughter from the men's bathroom. She watched, as Shigure strolled out with a different girl, a lazy satisfied smile on his pouty lips. Her dark eye makeup was smeared, and she breathed hard, her large breasts following suit. Tohru's eyes fell to the girls parted lips, noticing a sticky whitish substance around the orifice. Her eyes widened, a look of complete astonishment, before they narrowed quickly and she walked off. Her heartbeat thrumming in her ears, cheeks burning.

...

It was past midnight midweek. It had been a month since school started, and Shigure still had buckled down yet. But it wasn't like he was here for grades. Tohru wondered what inspiration he needed. Maybe a college setting for his next novel?

It was these times that lays were easy to get, so he didn't waste any evenings. Loose girls were everywhere in the house parties, especially freshmen girls wanting to test their flirting skills and test drive their bodies. He had just finished up with a French exchange student with a solid 10 body before quickly muttering some excuse for her to leave. Sex was the language they shared. He was spent after two orgasms, sleepy. Wondering where his squirt was, he scowled. This better not be a common occurrence. He didn't care where she was, per say, but if she came home noisily, through the window, like the last time when she forgot her keys, she better be ready to answer him. He walked into the kitchen to grab a coke. He saw the small light in the living room. She was sitting on the ground, snuggled against the sofa, her head on the sofa, dozing softly.

He scoffed. If he was a gentleman, he would have gathered her in his arms and carried her to their room. But that was not him.

He shrugged and left.

However, the hot stuffiness of their room, he could only think about her small body curled against the sofa. Why did it matter to him? Why was it nagging him?

He didn't see her for the next three nights. Was she out with that guy? He wasn't worried or anything, just wondering.

When he finally saw her, he questioned her with his eyes. She did not look at him, Medusa.

"Where have you been?"

"Library."

"Alone?"

"No."

She was fed up. He obviously didn't care for her; he didn't even know her name, let alone any of her interests. His only purpose in her life was to pester her, make her feel worthless and stupid. Kudos, you got what you wanted.

...

"I was with a friend. We studied together." Why do you care? So you can mock me? Make fun of me, the ugly duckling hanging out with the swan? Not everyone is afraid to be next to one! She told herself.

"Don't stay out too late."

Those words lingered. She had made him out to be a villain in her mind, why had he said those words? It made her think twice about him. Maybe there was something beyond the pretty boy looks. She'd give him the benefit of the doubt.

But then she reminded herself: Don't be a softie. She had been cut deep when she had seen him at the coffee shop with his friends. He could have simply ignored her, but he chose to embarrass her, give everyone a terrible first impression of her at the small college.

It had been one month, one week, four hours, thirty seven minutes since starting school.

...

A/N: Thank you for reading! I hope you like it so far. I have the whole story outlined. Warning much angst in the future. Teehee. Please review. It makes me oh-so-happy. My favorite timeline is back.

If anyone is a Japanophile and would like to help poor me out, I would greatly appreciate it!

Wondering why Shigure is back in college? And yes, he is robbing the cradle. Hee-hee.

BTW, from now on, this story will be nicknamed WIWU. Is that cute or what?