Shigure, as any Fruits Basket fan would know, was a novelist. Not just any novelist, but a romance novelist. When he was working on his latest story, he had come down with a bad case of the most feared illness a writer could get: writer's block. The poor novelist was in dire need of inspiration! How was he to go about finding this inspiration? By tormenting his editor? No, he had tried that the previous time. At the bathhouse? Nah. At the womans' side of the bathhouse? Maybe next time. While tormenting Kyo and Yuki? Yes. It was easy and conveniently in the comfort of his own home.
Tohru was still a bit sleepy when she woke at exactly six o'clock to the sound of her unforgiving alarm clock singing its terrible song. She had stayed up late the night before finishing her homework, which she had started in the late evening, thanks to her part-time job and her commitment to cooking and cleaning for the Sohmas. The girl changed into her school uniform after dropping her pajamas into the hamper. She combed her hair and tied it back with two blue ribbons, one over each ear. The dark house itself seemed to still be asleep when she tiptoed down the cold wooden stairs to the kitchen. She took out a large mixing bowl and "just add water" pancake mix. Tohru poured about half of the box into the bowl and then shuffled to the sink to add water to the mixture. She walked over to the drawer by the stove and took out a metal whisk. She turned the whisk in a counterclockwise circle in the bowl, stirring the mixture. Tohru opened a lower cabinet and took out a cast iron frying pan. She placed it carefully on the stove and turned the knob, turning it on. The girl heard the footsteps of someone approaching.
"Good morning, Yuki-kun!" Tohru greeted. A grey-haired boy came in. He was wearing his school uniform, complete with tie.
"Good morning, Honda-san," he returned. "Oh, you're making pancakes?"
"Yes, I am! You don't like pancakes!" she began to panic.
"Oh no, I love pancakes," Yuki assured.
"I'm glad," Tohru breathed. She turned to the stove and dabbed cooking oil on the pan with a paper towel.
"Mornin'," mumbled the voice of another person who came in. His hair was an incredibly bright shade of orange that it seemed to wake the room up, but he himself seemed very drowsy. Usually the bright, happy color of his hair seemed to match Tohru's spirit more than it's owner.
"Good morning, Kyo!" Tohru exclaimed.
"Make me some coffee," Kyo murmured to her.
"Oh, yes, of course!" Tohru answered in an apologetic way.
"Honda-san. Don't. Make him do it himself," Yuki countered, pouring himself a glass of orange juice.
An awkward silence took the atmosphere.
"N-no, it's okay," Tohru said, filling the coffee maker with water. Kyo turned to Yuki and smirked.
"Good morning!" sang a happy voice. Shigure, the novelist, came in. Okay, scratch that. He skipped in.
"Why are you so happy?" Yuki and Kyo asked together, both annoyed.
"Is it a terrible crime to be happy in the morning?" Shigure questioned, attaching an innocent look onto his face.
"It should be," Kyo whispered to himself. He secretly gave himself a cookie on the inside for being so cool.
"How are you this fine morning, Tohru-chan?" the novelist asked.
"I'm doing well!" she answered cheerfully.
"That's good," he said with a smile, patting Tohru's head.
Kyo was preparing his mug for his coffee and watching the actions of Shigure carefully.
Yuki was sitting down at the table, sipping his juice and monitoring his perverted cousin.
After quickly glancing at both Kyo and Yuki with two blinks of the eye, making sure that they were both watching him, Shigure bent down and kissed Tohru on the cheek.
Kyo slammed his spoon down onto the counter and stood up. There was no more need for coffee; he was wide awake.
Yuki spat out his orange juice.
"What the hell are you doing?" Kyo and Yuki screamed at the top of their lungs.
"Just greeting our cook," he answered simply with a small smirk on his face, shrugging and walking to the table.
"Find a new greeting," Yuki said in a murderous tone.
Kyo said nothing, but cracked his knuckles.
Now this was inspiration.
"Eat this, 'cause you're not having breakfast!" Kyo yelled before throwing a punch at Shigure, which was dodged.
"Aw, don't be like that!" Shigure charmed, barely evading Yuki's kick. "Tohru-chan must be that important to you," he said, just loud enough for Yuki and Kyo to hear. They stopped in their tracks. Another awkward silence possessed the scene.
"Die, Freak!" Kyo shrieked.
When Shigure published his book, the feedback from his fans was immense. They had praised how realistic his book was, especially the rivalry between the characters "Yuito" and "Kyuuya" and how they were constantly fighting over the beautiful "Teruha."