"Once upon a time,
Something happened to me,
It was the sweetest thing
That could ever be;
A fantasy, a dream come true.
It was the day that I met you."
-Unknown
Ari
"Oh, Ari, look what I got you!" Aunt Kaori giggled, skipping into my room and placing a long blue box on my bed.
"What'cha got?" I asked, putting my book down and standing up, walking across the room to her.
"Isn't it beautiful?" Aunt Kaori sighed, holding up a knee length baby pink dress. It had tank top sleeves and the bodice was covered with little white and pink flowers. It wasn't exactly my style, but it was cute.
"It's nice." I nodded. It looked like it had been stripped right off a baby doll.
"Try it on!" She urged, jumping around. I nodded, unable to say no to her enthusiasm. I took the dress in my hands and retreated into the bathroom, stripping down and pulling the dress over my head, careful not to let the cross that was forecer around my neck catch on the delicate fabric. I walked out and my Aunt gasped. I caught my reflection in a mirror and laughed. If I was out to look like a fairy princess the dress would've been perfect. Though I had to give her credit, it was cute. Aunt Kaori and I didn't exactly see eye to eye on clothing but I loved her to death. She took me in as if I were her own daughter, and if modeling a few frilly dresses made her happy then I would do it with a smile on my face.
"You're beautiful, Hon." She smiled and I laughed again.
"Thanks, aunt Kaori." I smiled back and glanced down at my watch. "I gotta go or I'm gonna be late for work." I said, hugging my Aunt before returning to my bathroom and changing. I rushed out of the house, not wanting to be late. I came around a corner and barely stopped myself from running into Yuki Sohma.
'Damn, that was a close one.' I thought to myself. The last thing I needed was to transform in front of Yuki and have to find an explanation for that.
"Hey, Yuki." I smiled and he smiled back.
"Good afternoon, Miss Ari. How have you been lately?" Yuki asked.
"Great, actually. I just got a job at the cafe a few blocks from here." I said and he looked interested. I always liked Yuki. Not in the crazy fan girl way that half the school liked him, but he was always nice to me so I was nice back to him.
"That's great. Congratulations. My cousins and I learned matrial arts from the dojo near there," He explained.
"Awesome, me too!" I grinned, about to say more when I was interrupted by an orange haired boy storming up to Yuki.
"Dammit, Yuki, I told you to wait for me!" He snapped.
"You should have been ready to go when I was, and don't raise your voice. You're being terribly rude to Miss Ari." Yuki scolded and orange haired boy suddenly noticed my presence. His face turned red and he looked away.
"Who's your friend?" I asked Yuki.
"This is my cousin, Kyo Sohma. He'll be coming to our school starting tomorrow." Yuki said, a hint of disdain in his voice.
"Oh, nice to meet you, Kyo. I'm Ari." I said, holding out my hand. He stared at me a moment before shaking my hand and nodding. Some people may have thought him rude, but I figured he was just shy.
"Miss Ari, weren't you rushing a moment ago? I hope my cousin and I aren't holding you up." Yuki smiled.
"Shit, gotta go. Thanks. See you tomorrow. Later guys!" I said, getting around them before running to work.
...
Kyo
...
"You are an idiot." Yuki said once Ari had run far enough away that she couldn't hear him.
"How's that, Rat boy?!" I yelled.
"She was being nice to you and introducing herself and you couldn't even say a word. You were very rude." Yuki said, rolling his eyes as we continued to walk.
"Just shut up!" I snarled, face turning red again. I wasn't used to people being that nice to me. I didn't know how to react. It didn't help that she was drop dead gorgeous, making it even harder to talk.
"Come on. Let's get what Tohru needs and get back to the house." Yuki said, crossing the street to the grocery store and going in.
(the next day)
"Don't worry, Kyo, it's gonna be fine. I'm sure you'll love the school." Shigure cheered as we finished eating breakfast. I glared at him.
"Really, Kyo, it's a great school." Tohru smiled. I didn't look at her, not wanting to glare at her too.
"We're going to be late." Yuki said, looking at his watch.
"Have a nice day! Go make friends!" Shirugre smiled and I knew he was talking to me. 'Yeah, who'd want to be friends with me? They'd have to be mental," I thought as we left the house.
(later)
"I hate this school already." I groeled as we walked into the school, though half of my was scanning the crowds of students for Ari.
"Don't think like that! I bet you'll make loads of friends!" Tohru cheered, smiling broadly at me. I admired her optimism, but it's effect was lost on me.
"Let's find your classes, cat boy." Yuki said, taking my schedule from me and looking it over. "This way." He said, walking off. I snatched my schedule back and followed him, glaring at the world as I walked.
"Here we are! You have the same first block class with me and Yuki." Tohru smiled as we walked in.
"I'll be back. I have something to take care of in the main office." Yuki said before walking off.
As soon as I sat down I was surrounded by girls, interrogating me about Yuki. 'Just ignore them. Just ignore them. Just ignore them,' I chanted in my head.
"Hey, give him a break! Back off!" a sharp female voice snapped. I knew it wasn't Tohru but I was too busy trying not to lose it to check who it was.
I got up, fully intent on getting the hell out of there, when one of the girled latched onto my arm, saying something I didn't hear.
"Leave me alone!" I yelled, forcing her off me and running for the closest exit; the window.
...
Ari
...
"Morning, Ari." Uo said, catching up with me and walking beside me. We'd known each other since I moved in with my Aunt. She only lived a few blocks away from my Aunt's supersized Barbie dream house.
"Morning." I said back, "So how'd you do on that English paper?" I asked her.
"B+" She grinned.
"I got a B, which is pretty amazing because I wrote it during lunch on the day it was due." I laughed as we walked into first block class.
"Who's the newbie?" Uo asked and I turned my attention to the orange haired kid surrounded by Yuki's fan girls. I recognized him.
"That's Kyo Sohma, Yuki's cousin." I said.
"Oh, you know Kyo?" Tohru asked, coming up to us with Hana at her side.
"Yeah. I ran into him and Yuki the other day on my way to work," I told her, turning my attention back to Kyo.
"Poor guy," Hana sighed, watching the fan girls swarm him.
"I can't take this," I said, stepping forward. "Hey, give him a break! Back off!" I snapped. Most of the girls jumped or flinched, but their determination didn't waver. Kyo jumped up and went for the door when one of the girls grabbed onto his arm.
"Hey, wait up," She smiled.
"Leave me alone!" He yelled, pushing her off and running for the window, diving out of it for dear life.
"Kyo!" tohru and I both yelped at the same time and ran to the window to see if he was okay. I knew I could make that jump, but I wasn't so sure about him. Sure enough, he landed gracefully and took off.
"Now look what you did!" I snapped, handing my bag to Uo. "Please put this outside, and his stuff too?" I asked and she nodded. "Move it." I ordered and the two girls blocking the open
window cleared the way instantly. Before someone could stop me I jumped from the window, catching myself on a tree branch and flipping in the air before landing softly on the ground. I saw a flash of orange high in a tree a good distance away from me and took off, looking up when I got to the tree to find Kyo Sohma perched at the very top.
"That was one hell of a jump." I commented and he jumped, not expecting anyone to follow him. His eyes widened when he saw who had come to get him.
"What are you doing out here?" He asked and I laughed.
"That's a fine way to thank the person that came out here to check on you." I said as I easily climbed the tree, reaching Kyo in seconds. He looked shocked at my climbing abilities.
"You were the one who yelled at those girls." He stated. It wasn't a question.
"At your service." I nodded.
"You didn't have to do that. I can take care of myself!... that's not what I …uhh," He said, struggling for words.
"You're welcome." I said and he nodded. "Let's get back to class. Your first day probably isn't the best day to skip."
"You're right." He sighed. I leaped from branch to branch, easily reaching the bottom. Kyo just jumped down, landing in a cat like fashion.
We walked in silence. I wasn't one that felt the need to fill every silence with useless conversation. Besides, the silence was nice, not awkward at all. Kyo seemed like he was going to say something a few times, but never did.
"Follow my lead." I said once we reached our first block class. I grabbed my bag and handed him his, walking in to Mr. Takani half way through the roll call.
"Miss Ari, you are late again!" Mr. Takani snapped. I wasn't exactly his favorite student.
"Sorry sir, just showing the new student around. Lost track of time. It's completely my fault." I lied smoothly and Mr. Takani believed me.
"Whatever, just take your seats." He said. The only free seats were the two at the very back. I gave Kyo a quick victory grin before grabbing my notebook and opening it to a clean page.
...
Hope you liked the first chapter!
-Rosetta