Hatsuharu Sohma: [after tripping Kyo] If I hadn't had tripped you, you wouldn't have stopped now would you.[Addressing the audience] By the way what I just did was very dangerous. And if it had been anyone but Kyo they probably would have been hurt pretty badly, so don't try it at home.
Kyo Sohma: Don't try it here and who are you even talking to?
Don't Try This at Home
Chapter 1
They're Animals!
It was a beautiful day as the young boy emerged from his tent in the woods. "Look at that beautiful sky!" he exclaimed to himself, so happy to see such an amazing morning. He turned his big, blue eyes to the heavens with a smile on his face, brushing his brown hair out of his eyes. It was definitely time for a haircut.
He poked his head back inside of his little, yellow tent, and he said goodbye to his mother, a picture in a simple wooden frame. She was smiling a big, cheesy smile. "See ya later, Mom. Take care of the house while I'm gone, Okay? I'll be back!" and with that he set out through the woods to start off the day.
Hello, my name is Tohru Honda. I haven't always lived in a tent. Up until last May I lived with my mom. It was just the two of us, but then the accident… After I lost mom I began secretly living here on my own. It's not exactly comfortable, but it's alright, and it's what I have to do. Like my motto says: Never give up!
As the boy walked along the path out of the woods he watched the nature around him. It was a peaceful morning in the forest, the tree rustling quietly in the breeze, and the grass swaying along with them. If Tohru was quiet enough, he could walk beneath twittering birds without disturbing them. As he walked down his normal path the boy noticed something he hadn't seen before: a cute little house. He went down the small hill to explore a little, his curiosity getting the better of him.
When he reached the bottom of the hill and came out of the bushes he spoke as if his mother was with him. "Look at this, Mom. Did you know there was a house here? It seems so peaceful." he pointed this out to himself as he peeked in through the open, sliding doors, becoming more curious the longer he stayed. "It must be nice."
As he was about to walk away something else caught the boy's attention. They were little rocks painted like the different zodiac animals. "How cute! The twelve animals of the Zodiac!" There's the rat...the cow...the tiger...the rabbit...the dragon...the snake...the horse...the goat...the monkey...the rooster...the dog...the boar...
"My word! Do my eyes deceive me, or is there a strange, young boy standing on my porch?" His head snapped up. Standing in front of him was a dark haired man, with dark brown eyes in a tan-colored kimono. Suddenly the boy realized that this was kind-of an awkward situation, and that it was probably a little odd of him to be standing in front of a strange person's house.
He started to freak out a little, waving his hands in front of his face haphazardly, trying to apologize for his intrusion. "I'm sorry! I'm so sorry! I was just looking, I didn't mean to barge in without permission!" He was red in the face at this point.
"It's alright." the strange man said, chuckling slightly. "I just set them out to dry, no harm done, but I find it hard to believe that these silly little things could attract your interest." The boy started to calm down, This man seemed really nice.
"No, I really like them. I don't think they're silly at all."
"Yes, well. I must admit, I'm particularly fond of them myself."
Tohru looked a little closer and noticed something about them. "Oh, but I should have known." His voice dropped in disappointment, "You left out the cat."
"The cat?" The man looked up at the boy curiously. He snapped out of it, though. "Ah, I take it you're referring to the old folktale of the Chinese Zodiac?"
"Uh-huh! My mom told it to me when I was little." The boy stood there for a moment as a an old memory surfaced in his head.
His mother spoke in a soft voice, telling the story of the Zodiac. "A long, long time ago, God decided to invite all of the animals to a banquet. He sent out word for all of them to come to his house the following evening, and 'don't be late.' he said. When the mischievous rat heard the news he decided to play a trick on his neighbor, the cat. He told the cat that the party was the day after tomorrow. The very next day all of the animals lined up for the celebration, and the rat led the way riding all the way there on the back of the cow. Everyone had a wonderful time, except for the foolish cat who missed the whole thing." As his mother finished the story she looked down to see her young son with tears in his eyes. "Hey, why are you crying?" She asked him tenderly as he continued to cry, tears streaming down his face.
"Because that poor cat, he must be so lonely." He stood up with determination on his face, and tears still falling down his little face. "I know, I won't be a dog anymore, I'll be a cat, too."
"Funny, I wonder what she'll say when she hears she has a fan." The man spoke, startling the boy out of his trance.
"She?" The boy asked, curious as to what that could possibly mean.
"You were born in the year of the dog. I knew there was something I liked about you. I mean, aside from your handsome face, which would go well wi…" He was cut short by a heavy, blue bookbag falling right on top of his head, making his hair messier than it already was.
They boy looked up into the prettiest face he had ever seen. She had beautiful, purple-blue eyes, and the most amazing, shoulder-length blue-grey hair. "Please forgive my cousin, Honda-san. He's a bit of a flirt, but he's harmless. In general it's usually best to ignore him." Tohru recognized the girl right away, because she was the prettiest girl in his entire school.
Yuki Sohma! Oh, mom, I don't believe it. The princess of my high school, Yuki Sohma, is standing right here before my very eyes, and I'm standing in front of his house.
The boy was taken aback and speechless, and he felt even more out of place than he had before. Yuki's cousin was kneeling on the porch, rubbing his sore head after being hit by the bag. He turned to ask his younger cousin a question as Tohru stood there, speechless. "What do you have in that bag? A dictionary?"
Yuki answered in her sweet, soft voice. "No, I have two of them."
The man leaned back against the post he was sitting next to and got back to business. "So, you're one of Yuki's classmates from school. Let's start again. I'm Shigure, her older, and much less violent cousin." He told her as he raised a hand as if to point himself out.
"Hi, it's very nice to meet you." Tohru said politely.
"And what brings you to our home this morning, Honda-san?" Yuki piped up from the open doorway.
Tohru wasn't quite sure how to answer. "Haha, well you know, I live… nearby…" he finished his sentence a little unsurely. He was suddenly aware of the fact that he lived in a tent, and probably on the Sohma property.
"You do? Where at?" The girl asked curiously.
"Uh… Right!" He only answered the girl's first question.
The two cousins looked confused at Tohru's sudden nervousness.
"Okay, I think I'll just be going now. It was nice to meet you." He bowed courteously and turned to leave, but didn't make it very far before he was stopped by Yuki.
"Wait, Honda-san! Since you're here why don't we walk together?" She looked so cute standing there he couldn't refuse.
Before he knew it, they were walking down the street together, and on the way they ran into the Yuki fan-club boys, and just like Yuki fanboys were prone to do, they just had to dance, marching and spelling out exactly what they were singing with their bodies. It was all very weird not matter how you looked at it. "L O V E, we love Yuki, Yuki, Yuki! La la la la la la la la love, la la la la la la la la love!" They stood on the corner of the street looking so proud of the little chant they had made up, but Tohru and Yuki just kept walking, and totally ignored them. "YUKI!" They screamed in indignation.
When they reached the school the fan-club had something to say about it. The stood in front of the sole boy, and cornered him in the hallway. "Okay, start talking!
The blonde leader spoke up first, and his two henchmen followed suit, their hair standing on end as they spoke out of anger. "What was that all about, Tohru?"
"Why were you walking to school with Princess Yuki? Details, and they better be good!" The redhead was next.
"It… It was just a coincidence." Tohru defended himself from the boys.
"For your sake I hope That's all it was. Huh!" The dark haired boy shouted to him all uppity, and snooty like.
The leader spoke again " Every boy in Kawaia High class 1-D knows Yuki Sohma's the best looking girl in school." He slowly got bigger and stood straighter as stars gleamed in his eyes.
"And she's intelligent." The redhead now had stars in his eyes as well.
"And great at sports." The dark haired boy finished before they all got evil looks on their faces.
"And for your info we are the Princess Yuki fanclub. We've got first dibs, brother, so you better stay clear!" The leader looked like pure evil as he continued, an ominous, purple aura surrounding him.
"Hey!" A deep voice came from behind the other boys. It was a very tall boy with long, blonde hair that he always wore over one eye. It was the yankee of Tohru's grade, Uotani, who also happened to the brunette's friend. The black uniform the school gave to the boys never suited him, because it was too formal, so instead he added his own delinquent flair and left all the buttons undone and he left the white school tie out of it completely. He looked more dangerous that way, he'd say when someone mentioned it.
"WHAT?!" The boys turned around, and stopped dead in their tracks when they saw who it was.
"He said it was a coincidence, now get lost before those big noses of yours get bruised." The boy defended Tohru, and the fanboys were scared out of their minds just looking at the expression on the other boy's face.
"Now, hold it, Yankee! You're not going to scare us with that street-thug talk." Just as their leader finished speaking a dark-haired boy with black hair, and mysterious eyes emerged from behind the tall blonde. This boy was Hanajima, who also happened to be Tohru's friend.
He spoke with a soft, mysterious voice. "One more word and you'll all get…" (we leave out the next word for its vulgarity) "... with electric shocks." And with that the fanboys took off sprinting down the hallway out of fear.
Tohru approached the two boys. "Thanks. I didn't think they'd ever leave."
"Were those catty little boys bothering you? Aww…. Hana, don't actually shock anyone, okay?" The blonde boy took Tohru into a big, protective hug. The boy called Hana had little electrical bolts coming out of his head.
When they got to cooking class Tohru couldn't help but tell his two odd friends about his morning. It had already been a long and eventful morning. "You know, the truth is, I was so nervous walking with Yuki this morning. I couldn't talk to him, no, I couldn't even look at him."
Hana was gutting a fish when he said "I sense strange electric signals coming from that girl." They were making some sort of stew, and letting Hana have the knife was a good choice, but it was scary just how efficient he was with the sharp object.
"Here we go again, Hana's electric report." The blonde boy seemed almost irritated.
"Strange how?" Tohru seemed genuinely curious.
"I don't know. She's different." Hana said while cleaning the knife he had been using, and put it back in its protective cover.
The blonde boy moved his hair away from his eyes for just a moment. "Well, I admit, she does seem to have an air of mystery about her, and there are some weird stories floating around too. I hear one of those fanclub boys tried to ask her out once, but she just pushed him away, and I mean that literally. Right in the hall. Then she left him on the floor and ran off." As he explained his story Tohru imagined the whole situation in his head.
"Like I said, I sense strange electric signals." Hana finished the meal and they started dishing up bowls of rice, and portions of everything else they had made.
"Um. Let's talk about something else?" Tohru decided to change the subject.
"How's that job of yours going?" The blond turned to him.
"Oh, fine, I guess, Why?" Tohru addressed the blonde.
"I don't know. You've been putting in a lot of hours lately. A lot more that usual." He seemed concerned about Tohru and the amount of hours that he spent at his part time job.
"Yeah, sure." Tohru seemed nervous about this subject.
"You're having trouble saving up for tuition, aren't you?" The blonde suddenly deduced this out of nowhere.
"No, it's just, well, yeah…" Tohru admitted it.
"That's odd. I didn't think tuition here was that expensive, and I don't remember you having to work this hard before, unless...something else has changed." Hana spoke up, holding his rice bowl up to nose level.
"No, everything's the sa…" He was cut off by Uo.
"So what is it? You in some kind of trouble? You owe somebody? Your grandfather's giving you enough to eat, right? He isn't taking your money?" He looked as if he were ready for action in case someone needed to be taught a lesson.
"nuh uh." Tohru smiled and denied all accusations.
"I know, I worry too much, but seriously, if you need me to rough someone up for you, you just say the word, got it?" He would protect Tohru through anything.
"Okay!" He agreed. Uo is gonna kill me when he finds out, but how can I tell my two best friends that I live in a tent. I can still remember how tough it was on Mom after Dad died. She had to work so hard just to make ends meet, but she never seemed to mind. She always had a smile. Tohru thought about his mom as he thought, memories running through his head about her smiling about her first paycheck, and then the crash. It's hard to believe that someone so smart and so strong could be taken away by an accident. After it happened there were a lot of people I could have stayed with, I guess. I chose to live with my paternal grandfather. He was always so nice to me, but he's retired now, and living on his savings. I didn't want to be a burden, so I promised him I would work to pay for my tuition myself. After four months the house needed some renovations and grandfather went to stay with his daughter and her family until the work was done. He asked me if I had a friend here I could stay with. I told him yes, but Uo lives in a one-room apartment, and Hana's got such a large family. I couldn't ask them. They've got enough to worry about. I would just be in the way. That's when it hit me. If I could somehow live on my own for a while then everyone would be happy.
As classes ended for the day, Tohru went back to his locker to grab his things, and he ran into Yuki. "Oh, Yuki, it's you! I mean it's… hi…"
"It seems we're beginning to make a habit of bumping into each other." She giggled slightly as she spoke.
They started to walk home together and they got to talking, unlike the morning when it was so quiet. "It was nice meeting your cousin this morning. He was funny, and those little Zodiac figurines he made were really cute." Tohru tried to make small talk with this.
Yuki took the bait. "Ah, yes, but I thought I overheard you saying something about how you wish there was a year of the cat."
"It's an idea I had when I was a kid. Silly…"
Yuki seemed to talk more to herself in this moment than any other. "Cats. Useless, foolish creatures." This took Tohru by surprise. He didn't expect to hear something so harsh out of this beautiful girl's mouth. "Tell me, Honda-san. How familiar would you say you are with the history of the Chinese Zodiac?"
"I know the stories my mom used to tell me."
"Did you know that it was originally nothing more than a simple calendar? A mathematical system to mark the passage of time. Only later did people begin to use it for things like astrology and fortune-telling."
"Oh…" Tohru didn't expect this from her, and she was acting a little strange. "I guess the story about the animals isn't true then."
"No, I'm not really sure how or when the animals first came to represent the years, but I don't believe they were there from the beginning. What I do know is that in no time of the history of the Zodiac has the cat ever been included. So you see, the cat has been shunned by society for thousands of years, but as the story is told it still yearns to be accepted, like I say, a truly foolish animal."
"Sounds like you really don't like cats." Yuki turned to face the boy with a smile on her face.
She plucked a leaf from the wind and spoke pointedly at the boy in front of her. "I noticed it this morning, that you're starting to look a bit pale. You should really take better care of yourself. Perhaps we'll bump into each other again tomorrow." With that she turned and walked away, leaving the young Tohru speechless.
Wow. she really is mysterious, but I'll pretend I didn't hear that pale remark. I can't afford to let anything bring me down. I've got too much to do. Besides, Mom probably had it much, much worse.
He went to work after school, cleaning a medical building after hours with a bunch of other people. The boy changed into his blue uniform, and wrapping a handkerchief around his head before he arrived, the sun just beginning to set behind him. He cleaned all evening, taking out trash and mopping floors for the next day's business hours and hardly stopping for a break. On one of those rare break he allowed himself to have, Tohru was standing in the corner thinking, when a man came out of a room and stumbled over the garbage he left in front of the door. "What… Hey, you gonna let this trash sit here all night?" He was pulled from his thoughts.
"Oh, sorry!" Like my motto says: Never give up, no matter what life throws your way! He got right to work, and worked harder than ever before, running around the place, mopping, taking garbage out, and wiping things down. Before long he was headed home, or at least to the closest thing to it, home was still a tent after all, for the time being, not expecting the meeting that was about to happen.
Yuki and Shigure had just finished a meal that they had eaten at a restaurant and were headed home on the path. Shigure decided to make things interesting. "If we keep eating out like this all the time I'm going to have to buy a bigger robe."
"Well, then why don't you do the cooking?" Yuki retorted sarcastically.
"Why? Every time I make dinner you complain." The man shot back.
"Pickled radish and curry is not dinner. It's disgusting. I think one complaint is more or less justified."
"You know, Yuki, you've got a good head on your shoulders, but I just don't think you're cut out for housework. Let's get a housekeeper!"
"No." That ended that discussion effectively. As they walked they noticed something odd. Yuki noticed it first. "Hold up. Honda-san?"
Tohru was entering the tent, and he was exhausted. "Hi, Mom. I'm home. I know, it's late, but I can't sleep yet. I still have a paper to write. I'm just going to go down to the stream and wash up a little, okay?" He held up a small rag, and turned to leave the tent. As he emerged from the tent standing in front of him were Yuki and Shigure. He looked up to see their two surprised faces looking down at him. And the brunette probably looked the same to them. Suddenly Shigure started laughing hysterically.
"Shigure, don't you think you're overdoing it?" Yuki chastised her older cousin. Tohru looked like he might faint from embarrassment.
Yuki and Shigure escorted the boy to their home, and Shigure was still laughing. When they reached the house they all sat around the table in the living room. Yuki started interrogating the boy with concern. "So, you've been living in that tent by yourself?"
Tohru answered sheepishly "Uh-huh."
Yuki was concerned. "For how long?"
"I don't know, just over a week."
"Well, that explains it. All of this land is Sohma property. It seemed odd that we'd suddenly have a new neighbor." Yuki spoke over her cousin's hysterical laughing spell.
Tohru was embarrassed, and he was starting to tremble. "I'm sorry, but please, can't I stay there a little while longer? It's only for a few more weeks, then I'll go. I don't have much money, but I can pay you. Please let me stay?" He was flushed, and starting to look more sick.
Shigure snapped out of his laughing spell, and injected himself into the conversation. "Those woods aren't too safe. You've got wild animals, landslides, the occasional weirdo prowling around. It's not a good idea for anyone to be living out there alone."
"So, you're done laughing?" Yuki interjected.
"Don't you worry about me, I'm already used to all of the bugs, and if I can stand up to them I can stand up to…up to..." He stood up to prove his willingness, and ability, but he collapsed.
"Tohru!" Shigure was worried, and Yuki went to him to feel his forehead.
"A fever…"
"Ice! I'll get ice! It's… uh.." Shigure went to go get ice, but when he turned to open the door to the kitchen he was stopped short when he saw the mess in there. There were garbage bags piled to the ceiling, the sink was overflowing with dirty dishes that had been in there for weeks and in fact, he didn't even know if the fridge worked any more, that's how long he hadn't been in the kitchen. He wouldn't be able to get to the ice even if he wanted too, and he wanted too.
"Huh, and you call the woods unsafe?" Tohru inquired when he saw the mess in front of Shigure. He was astounded at the clutter.
"Well, relatively speaking." He turned to the younger boy and held up a finger as he spoke in order to emphasize his point. Just as he finished speaking they heard a wolf howl in the distance. Shigure looked off in the distance his eyes slightly glazed over. "There, you hear that? There's just been another landslide somewhere."
Tohru was surprised that the man knew what the wolf was howling about. "Really? But how do you know that?"
"I guess you could say its instinct." He answered nonchalantly.
"Was it close?" Yuki looked to Shigure for an answer as she held a first-aid kit and was about to attend to Tohru.
"Hm, close to the ten… ehh… I mean, not at all!" He finished his sentence in a sing-song voice, holding up his hands defensively.
They all left the house to check it out and see where the slide was, and what the damage was, walking through the dark forest, carefully stepping over fallen logs. When they got to where the landslide had happened, they found the tent buried by mud, trees, rocks, and dirt. The only part of the tent they could see was the very corner of it, sticking out like a bright yellow marker.
Tohru started panicking. "Oh, this is terrible! Mom's picture was still in there! I have to get her out! Mom, Mom! I'm coming!" He started digging, trying to get the picture out of the mess of tent and mud, collapsing of exhaustion after just a few moments of digging.
"Please, calm down, you already have a fever." Yuki came up behind him and tried to console him.
"But Mom… What am I going to do? If I don't get her out soon she'll be… she'll be hurt."
He was panicking. All he wanted was the picture. He just needed the picture of his mother.
"Don't strain yourself. We'll come back when it's brighter. I think your mom's probably glad it wasn't you in there, and I think she'd be upset if you got hurt now, don't you?" Shigure spoke soothingly to the young boy.
They went back to the house, both Yuki and Shigure each carrying half of Tohru because the boy could barely stand on his own two feet and Shigure found a bed for Tohru to sleep in for the night. "There. Isn't that better? And Yuki's still looking for some ice, if you want it."
"I'm sorry." Tohru said unexpectedly.
"Huh, you must be tired. That's a lot to happen in one day."
"Mm hmm." He had his eyes closed, and was half asleep. "I… I lost my home again."
"Are you okay?"
"Yes. It's sad, but not as sad as other things."
"Like what?"
"Like not telling Mom 'be safe' on the day she died. I said that every morning, 'bye, be safe.' Except that day, I didn't say it. I had a test, so I stayed up studying almost the whole night. When it was time for Mom to go to work I didn't wake up. I couldn't tell her, 'be safe', and she never came home. I used to think about quitting school, working. Mom told me she didn't finish school, but she always wished that she did." That's why I need you to stick with it, so you can tell me what it feels like to hold that diploma in your hand, and then maybe you can have the life I never got to have. He opened his eyes slightly, and closed them again. "When she said that, that's when I knew why she worked so hard. It was all for me, and with everything she did, I couldn't even get up long enough to say goodbye when she was walking out the door, not even that one little thing, and then she was gone. So now I have to finish high school like Mom wanted me to, no matter what. I have to hold that diploma in my hand. I have to. For her. I can't give up just because of a fever like this." Once he was finished he fell asleep.
Yuki spoke softly after a moment of silence. "It's amazing." Shigure looked up at her. "He always seems so cheerful at school. You'd never guess he's been suffering like this for so long. When I was young there were so many times I wanted to run away from Sohma house, but I never did. I could always find some rationalization to stay. The fact of the matter is I just wasn't strong enough or I could have left. I could have lived in the woods by myself in a tent. I could have done what he did."
"You can call it amazing, but I don't think the word does it justice." Shigure agreed, nodding his head.
"No, no it doesn't." There was a lull in the conversation where both cousins just stared at the strange boy sleeping in their house, both consumed in their own thoughts for the moment
"Do you mind keeping an eye on him? I'd like to go out for a while." Yuki said suddenly, standing up.
"What? Where? You're not going to try digging out that tent? You are, aren't you? Do you want me to come with you? It won't be an easy job for you alone."
Yuki turned around slowly. "You're right, but I don't think that I said that I was going alone." She opened the doors and left, eyes glowing and rats the rats, barely distinguished from the darkness itself, following in tow.
"Be safe, Yuki." Shigure turned and waved her goodbye.
Tohru. Tohru. You've got a fever again. You don't have to push yourself so hard. You don't have to do things the way I did. You can just be yourself. Do things your own way one step at a time. You'll get there. I promise. "Mom?" Just be yourself, you'll be fine. He woke up looking into his mom's face. This was a little out of place, so he sat bolt upright. "Mom, you're here, but how did you…?"
"Good Morning." He heard a familiar voice come from the open door. "How are you feeling today?" It was Yuki.
"Um, I guess, I…"
Yuki laid two bags on the porch in front of Tohru. "I've brought your things for you. I think this is all of them if you'd like to check?"
"Yuki, this must have taken you all night."
Yuki chuckled slightly. "Don't be silly."
"So then, how did you… I mean there was so much!"
"It's a secret." This took Tohru by surprise.
"Oh…"
"I know the place is dirty…" Yuki started, whiplashing the conversation so that Tohru was confused.
"What?"
"And I realize the idea of living with two strange people might seem a little awkward, but there is an extra room upstairs. You're welcome to stay there if you like."
"NO! NO! NO! Out of the question!" The boy protested.
"We're not that strange…" Yuki said, a slight pout in her voice.
"No, I didn't mean it like that!"
Shigure came out of nowhere behind him. "Of course it won't be free. I do intent to pay you for your services."
The young boy was astounded. They were both in on it! "For my services?"
Shigure got way to excited. "As our brand new housekeeper!"
The two cousins took the boy's bags and started walking to the stairs. "We'll just take your things to your room now. I assume your references will all check out?" Shigure joked.
Tohru spoke up. "Wait! I can't let you do this, not after all of the trouble you've gone through already. Please, it's too much!"
Yuki turned her head around to face Tohru. "Honda-san. We're doing this because we want to. You don't have to worry that it's causing us any trouble, and besides, where else can you go?"
Tohru thought about that for a minute and realized that the girl was right. "Well, if I'm going to stay here I'll work for room and board, and that's it. I don't want any money, and I want to know all the rules of the house. I…"
"Relax, it's alright. You can do things your own way here. The only thing you have to do is be yourself. Fair enough?"
Just be yourself, you'll be fine. That was alright with Tohru.
Yuki and Shigure went for a walk, and Shigure started to worry. "I don't know. Do you really think it's a good idea having a boy in the house?"
"Naturally, now it occurs to you to worry, but I wouldn't. We'll be okay as long as he doesn't try to hug me."
Little did they know that just above them, in the trees, was an orange-haired mess waiting to happen.
"All's well that ends well, I guess, but I'm still not sure how I ended up in Yuki's house, or borrowing some of Shigure's clothes. It's like being in a dream." Tohru was standing in Shigure's clothes, which drowned him because they were so large.
Yuki was opening the window in Tohru's new room. "I apologize for the smell. We've had this room closed off for some time. It's probably best to keep the windows open for a while." As she spoke the ceiling started creaking and making awful noises before it finally gave way, and the roof came tumbling down into the room. Someone came through the hole in the roof in front of Tohru. She had bright orange hair, and orange-brown eyes. Her hair was so long that the tips of her hair brushed her lower spine, and it was braided. She was wearing a black, v-neck t-shirt, and Khaki pants. She was also rather angry-looking.
When she started speaking, her voice was filled with malice, and something similar to hate. "Yo, time to pay the piper, rat girl. I'm here to collect." She was rubbing her right shoulder as if warming up to pitch a baseball or something like that, and she looked quite threatening.
"Funny, I would have thought he'd send somebody bigger." Yuki looked rather amused as she spoke. Shigure was downstairs wondering what was going on. It sounded like Yuki and Tohru were dancing up there or something.
The orange-haired girl growled a little, and said "That's right, you better get your tough-talk out of the way while you can, cause I'm about to wipe that stupid little smirk right off your face!"
They were about to fight, so Tohru took a step forward. "Wait, don't fight!" Then he tripped over a broken piece of wood from the ceiling. She fell right on top of the orange-haired girl.
The girl screamed before a cloud appeared, accompanied by a poof sound, and then they were a tangled heap on the floor.
Shigure popped his head around the corner "Yuki, what were all those crashing sounds I just heard? Kyoko's not here is she?"
Tohru stood abruptly. "I'm so sorry, are you alright? I…" She cut short when she was holding up an orange cat. "Ah, I turned her into a cat, I'm so sorry, I don't know how it happened, but we're going to help you, okay?" He was panicking, wondering what the crap was going on and having no way to fix it.
While he was freaking out over the cat Shigure was trying to cut in. "Um, excuse me?" and Yuki just looked pissed off.
He continued his freak-out session. "Hurry, we need to get him to a doctor right away!" Just then a piece of wood fell from the ceiling, and it hit Tohru right on the head. As it hit him he fell over into Yuki. Another poof happened, and suddenly there was a rat…
Oh, Mom, I think this must all be a dream. Everybody's turning into animals!
…
Tohru went bolting down the stairs as fast as he could, carrying the cat that had been the orange-haired girl and the rat that had been Yuki in his arms. As he was coming down the stairs, Shigure was at the door, getting mail from a very cute, female post-woman whom he was trying to flirt with. On the second to last step, Tohru tripped over his own feet and fell into the older man, knocking him into the post-woman accidently. Suddenly, there was the same cloud and poof noise as before with Yuki and the angry girl, but this time Shigure was gone! In his place sat a big, black dog that was holding Shigure's clothes in his mouth. The woman at the door looked startled, and stared down to see the big, black dog with a bunch of clothes in its mouth and watched it like it was odd, but not too odd to leave screaming. When Tohru picked himself up off the ground and noticed that there was a dog standing where Shigure had been a few moments ago, he picked up the dog, and once he had all three animals in his arms he basically screamed at the poor woman. "Call a doctor, or a vet, or anybody! Oh! Mrs. Postman! It's terrible! You see? They're animals!
The woman smiled at the boy and reached in her bag. "Well, uh, yes, they certainly are! Here's your mail."
Tohru was still determined to prove what he meant. "No, No, we've got to do something!" The dog stood up on its four legs and took the mail from the woman carefully in its mouth, surprising both of the still-humans.
The postman laughed. "I wish my dog was this smart." She turned and left. "Good day!"
Tohru shrunk to the floor with despair.
"Dammit! How am I supposed to come up with an excuse if both of you transform, too?" An angry voice snapped, hissing. Tohru turned around in surprise to hear voices when the only ones in his general vicinity were three animals.
"Don't you dare try to blame this on us, you stupid cat!" The rat was talking from on top of the dog's head.
"Go ahead! Say that again!" The cat was hissing, and taunting the rat.
"Stupid… cat…" The rat taunted right back.
"Why you little…" The cat looked like he might murder the rat, which wouldn't have been odd under normal circumstances, but these animals were once human so…murder was out of the question.
"Cut it out, both of you!" The dog interjected into the argument, sounding a lot like Shigure. Tohru went white from shock. You mean they talk, too? The cat continued to hiss, refusing to say anything else. "Anyway, it's too late for excuses. We might as well tell him the truth." The dog turned its head toward the astounded boy, and started introducing himself, and his cousins. "Tohru, I'm a dog. Yuki here, she's a rat. That's Kyoko. Don't let her temper scare you, she's got a bit of a chip on her shoulder." The cat was facing the wall, and she kept turning around to hiss at them.
"So this is normal?" The young boy seemed very confused, and honestly, nobody would be surprised that he was.
"Strange choice of words, but yes. Our family has lived with this curse for generations." The dog explained. "We transform into the twelve animals of the Chinese Zodiac." The orange cat turned around angrily. "Sorry, the twelve animals, plus the cat. Anyway, whenever our bodies come under a great deal of stress, or when we're hugged by a member of the opposite sex we transform. After a little while we change back. The only thing is, uh…" Just then there were three poofs and they were all human again, but…they weren't wearing any clothes! "...We're naked…"
The boy turned around quickly, distressed and trying hard not to see anything he shouldn't see. Thank goodness there had been clouds of smoke or steam or whatever it was that hid Yuko, Shigure and Kyoko otherwise, Tohru would've really seen more than he wanted too. He was blushing like crazy, but the other three seemed used to it and just picked up their scattered clothes and got dressed quickly. After the three Zodiac members were dressed they all made their way into the living room where they continued their discussion.
Shigure seemed to be the leader of this discussion, and so he was the one that started talking first. "Well, we must seem pretty strange to you at this point, huh?"
The boy sat across the table from the older man looking astonished, and rather embarrassed. "Eh… but it's not your fault if your family's cursed." His mind raced as he thought about the situation. A family curse! I guess that would explain a few things. If Yuki turns into an animal whenever a boy hugs her that must be why she pushed that fanclub boy in the hall. She didn't want him to find out her secret.
"Tohru, didn't you say you used to wish you could be a cat?" Shigure butted into his thoughts, and yanked the boy from them.
"Yeah! Uh-huh!"
"What's it like seeing the real thing?" Yuki sat quietly behind her crazy, older cousin, watching the situation play out without uttering a word.
Tohru looked to the open door to his right, and realized something amazing. Right! It's the cat from the Chinese Zodiac, like in the story! He lit up immediately knowing that the cat was right in front of him. It was like a dream come true! A strange dream, but it was still a good thing nonetheless.
Shigure continued, "Yes, it's hard to believe, I know, and I agree the phrase 'cat-like reflexes' doesn't really apply to her, the way she let you fall on her like that." He spoke critically, but joyfully as he smiled and waved his hand in the air like it was no big deal. "But she is a cat, albeit clumsier than most. Surprising, really, considering the amount of martial arts training she's had. I'm sure she'd tell you the same thing herself if she wasn't so busy brooding like a child."
All the while Tohru was watching Kyoko as she fumed, and got angrier and angrier through every one of Shigure's words, until finally she exploded, and yelled at him, standing up and facing the trio. "Ugh, WILL YOU SHUT UP! I told you it's not my fault! If you want to blame somebody, blame him!" She pointed at Tohru. "He shouldn't even be here!"
Yuki finally spoke up, interrupting Kyoko. "Leave him out of this. Who we choose to allow into this house is really none of your concern. You're the one who doesn't belong here." She brushed her bangs out of her eyes, and looked to the carrot-top with malice.
Kyoko officially lost it, and her fist came down on the solid wood table, breaking it clean in half. One half tipped up and the edge hit Tohru right in the forehead with a clunk, breaking the skin and causing blood to run down his forehead. Tohru didn't even have time to react or say, "ow" before Shigure was on him.
"Oh, Tohru, you're bleeding!" Shigure said worriedly. The young boy started to panic a little.
Yuki stood and walked over to Kyoko, backhanding her when she got to her. Tohru was suddenly more worried about them than himself. Shigure started again on a conversation piece. "I knew that Kyoko was reckless with her temper, but to act like this…"
Yuki looked murderous as she confronted the other girl. "You're still as stupid as ever, and I'm going to prove it to you by giving you exactly what you want, only this time I won't hold back!"
The other girl came at Yuki, fists curled, ready to fight. "Okay, sissy rat!"
Tohru was freaking out. "No! Yuki!" Shigure held out a hand to turn the younger boy's face around so that he could clean the little wound on his forehead, placing a Band-Aid over the cut.
"Don't worry; this goes back a lot farther than just today. Those two do nothing but fight whenever they see each other." The two girls were throwing punches, dodging punches, and Kyoko looked like she was trying a lot harder than Yuki was and Yuki was calmly avoiding every attacking being thrown at her.
Tohru was worried about them, despite what Shigure said. "But, um, shouldn't we stop them?"
"No, it's okay." He finished putting a bandage on Tohru's head, and turned to watch the last of the fight. "It'll all be over in a second."
The two boys watched the girls fight, and at long last, Yuki made her move. She dodged Kyoko's kick, and was suddenly an inch away from her face. She ended the fight with a powerful kick, which sent her opponent flying through the fragile, sliding, wood-frame, paper door, and into the yard, head over heels and right into a rock face-first. The purple-eyed girl put her foot down, and turned out to the cat. "I told you I wouldn't hold back. You should have listened."
Tohru was pale, and was beyond the point of worry. "She sent her flying…" Shigure wasn't even worried about the girls, but instead was concerned for other, more material things. He spoke in a sing-song voice. "Yuki, try not to destroy the house, okay?"
Yuki replied calmly. "I really didn't mean to put her in the yard. She should learn to keep her guard up." She turned to Tohru, and remembered the table. "Honda-san, You're hurt."
Tohru wasn't worried at all about himself. "Oh, its fine, really, I'm okay. But I, uh, I'm not so sure about her…"
Yuki rejected his claim. "No, the only thing she's bruised is her ego." Kyoko was out in the yard, facing away from the others, and she felt awful. She was embarrassed, and hurt and was trying her best not to let it show.
Shigure didn't help the mood. "I'm guessing your dreams of being a cat are pretty much shattered at this point?"
Tohru was trying to be considerate in his answer, but he also felt sincere. "Well, I don't know… I wouldn't…" Kyoko got up and ran off. "Say that…" He looked at the girl that was still present. It's hard to believe, Mom. All the boys call Yuki a princess, but I didn't think she could really be so, so noble. I just thought it was because she was cute and good at sports, but this, I've never seen her act like this at school.
Just as he finished his thought it reminded him of what he was supposed to be doing. "SCHOOL! Oh-no, I'm late, I'm late, I'm late, I'm late!" He ran around the house getting his uniform on, and running out the door. "Sorry! Thanks for everything! I gotta go, I gotta go!"
Shigure interrupted, and spoke over his hysterics. "I'm not so sure you want to go in that uniform." Tohru stopped short, and looked down at himself, and he remembered the night's adventures. His uniform was covered in dirt and scuff marks and Tohru was pretty sure it was torn in some places too. He couldn't go to school like this! "Ah, suddenly he remembers his adventures in the woods."
He tried to be optimistic. "I don't know, it's not that bad. Maybe no one will notice."
Shigure raised an eyebrow at the boy, stating the opposite. "Oh, I think they will."
Tohru was suddenly very realistic, and he turned and bowed to his elder. "You're right, but I promised Mom, I have to go to school."
Shigure replied, "Fine, don't let me stop you. A promise is a promise." He suddenly put his hand on his chin, as if he just had a thought. "Which reminds me, I will have to tell Akito about everything that's happened this morning."
Tohru had no idea who that was. "You have to tell who?"
This seemed to pull Shigure from a thought. "Oh, sorry, he's the head of the family."
The young boy looked slightly confused. "So, then, I guess this Akito, he must be someone really important, huh?" Yuki was standing behind Shigure looking put-off at the mention of Akito's name.
Shigure continued their conversation. "Well, he is to us at least, and after all we did just give away the big Sohma family secret."
"Oh, right." Understanding crossed the younger boy's face. "That does make sense, but I really am late, Goodbye!" He turned and left the house to go to school.
Shigure waved goodbye "Be safe!"
Yuki stood behind him looking murderous. "Since when have you been so talkative about our family matters?" Shigure looked dejected. "You're planning on erasing Honda-san's memories aren't you? Just like in the old days."
Shigure turned around. "That's not my intention. This isn't like before. Too many people knew about us back then. It couldn't be helped."
Yuki turned to go back up the stairs. "Fine, I'm going to school." She went to ready herself for the coming school day.
Later on in the school Tohru was standing between his two best friends, Hana and Uo, waiting for his uniform to be washed while bumming around in a borrowed sweat suit. "Thanks again for letting me use the washing machine."
Uo looked at him with a skeptical look on his face. "Believe me, I did us all a favor. Now, how did you say you got so dirty?"
Before he could answer, the three crazy fanclub boys all came out of nowhere with their crazy chant. "L O V E, we love Yuki, Yuki, Yuki! La la la la la la la la love, la la la la la la la la love!"
"So, Tohru, how come the dirty clothes? Did Princess Yuki give you the ditch?" The blonde leader teased the boy, and laughed along with the other two. Hana stepped in then, and threatened to shock them all with electric waves of some kind or another, and they all took off down the hall, Hana chasing them.
Uo stood next to Tohru. "Good grief, those boys give me a headache. Their princess doesn't show, so they have to bother someone, but why you I wonder?"
Tohru was suddenly nervous. I can't imagine what they'd do if they knew I was staying at Yuki's house. I think even Uo and Hana would be upset if they knew. "Oh well, silly, silly. I had better go change now."
Uo looked over at his friend and wondered what was going through his head.
Tohru went to change, and when he came back out of the dressing rooms he found Yuki standing outside waiting for him. "Hello, Honda-san."
"Oh, Yuki! Hi…"
"So, did you tell them? Your friends, about this morning?" Tohru though she was talking about the cut on his forehead so he just spouted out the first words that come to him.
"Umm, I told them I tripped…" And then he realized that Yuko was talking about something else entirely, and feeling stupid he quickly changed course. "OH! Your secret! No, no, I didn't. I promise I won't tell a soul. Mom always said it's not right to gossip. Oh, but you don't know me that well yet."
Yuki tried to interject, but failed pretty quickly. "No, really…"
Tohru continued, getting right up in the girl's face. "I swear! I'll write it in blood if you want. Cross my heart and hope to die! Whatever it takes for you to believe me. I'll swallow a thousand…" Just then Yuki was coming at him.
She pushed him right up against the wall, and put her hands on each side of the boy's head. "That's not what I meant." She paused. "I'm sorry. I do believe you when you say you'll keep our secret, but it doesn't matter. We still might have to erase your memory. It won't harm you, it's something like hypnotism. You'll simply forget everything you saw this morning. I know this, because this isn't the first time someone has learned about us.
"It happened when I was seven years old. I was playing with some other children in the garden behind our house." She continued with the story about how they were playing a game, and they were having a great time, laughing, and running around, until one boy tripped over a rock and landed on her, turning her into a rat. "After that we had to erase every one of those children's memories." She spiraled into deep thoughts and memories about herself asking Akito questions. Akito? Am I really that strange? Am I so strange that we have to hide it from everyone?
Akito answered harshly "Hm, yes, you are that strange. A human that turns into a rat? What do you think they would do if they knew? Really? You're a freak. They wouldn't come near you. They'd hate you."
Would Tohru hate me? Would he think I'm a freak? Suddenly Yuki was pulled from her thoughts, and she hadn't even noticed that she had stood upright, away from Tohru. "Yuki? Are you alright?"
"Hm, but I can't go against Akito's decision, whatever it is. I can't stop him no matter how much I might want to. That's why I'm sorry." She started walking away. Tohru chased after her.
"Wait!" He bumped into her, turning her into a rat, once again, with a big poof. "I am so sorry! Really, I didn't do it on purpose!" He was up against the wall, facing it with his hands balled into fist above his head. He felt so bad for turning Yuki into a rat again. "Uh, I'm such an idiot! I wasn't even thinking!"
Yuki was much calmer about the whole situation. "It's alright, just as long as no one else saw." Tohru lifted his hanging head in slight surprise.
"Oh… Okay…" He picked up the little rat and held her in his hands. "What I wanted to say was: Thank you for being concerned about me, but really, its okay. I'm fine. I'm not scared, so don't worry. I mean, I completely understand if you and your family don't want anyone to know about your secret. That's why it's called a secret, right? So whatever you decide is fine with me. I want you to do whatever makes you feel the most comfortable." I don't really like the idea of losing my memory, and I don't want to forget meeting Yuki, but he's done so much for me without asking anything in return, so I guess if that's what I have to do… "You can erase my memory, but afterwards, promise you'll still be my friend?" Tohru smiled, wanting to show Yuki that he was completely okay losing his memory of the morning, but he didn't want to lose his new friend.
Suddenly there was a poof, and Yuki was a girl again, and Tohru was quickly averting his eyes. He was surprised at how short a time she was a rat. Earlier he had been a rat for quite some time. This time was much shorter. Yuki quickly stood to dress herself. "Sorry, the amount of time before we change back varies a bit."
"It's okay…" Once the girl was once again presentable they turned to face each other, and Tohru was astounded at the girl's tie knotting skills. Her uniform tie was a mess. Tohru chuckled a little. "Yuki, where did you learn to tie a tie?" Yuki looked down in embarrassment.
"I guess I've never been very good at this sort of thing." Tohru laughed again, and went to help the girl fix her tie, completely forgetting exactly where the tie was situated on the girl's uniform. It was directly in the center of her chest and the boy realized at his hands touched the fabric of the tie. And now he had the hide the fact that he'd forgotten and then remembered that he was knotting a tie mere millimeters away from Yuki's boobs.
"Don't feel bad, nobody's perfect. Good thing you have me here." He expertly fixed the tie around the girl's neck, covering his awkwardness with light conversation so that Yuki wouldn't focus on where his hands were. (And for the record, Yuko knew exactly where is hands were and chose to ignore them.) Akito's words ran through Yuki's head and realized that Akito was wrong all those years ago. You're a freak, they wouldn't come near you. They'd hate you.
"Honda-san… it really didn't bother you to see?"
Tohru answered obliviously, finishing with the tie and getting hands away from Yuki's chest as fast (and not obviously) as he could. "Oh, don't worry; I closed my eyes in time."
"No, I didn't mean that." Yuki was suddenly rather embarrassed.
"Huh?" Now the boy was just confused.
Yuki left it alone and changed subjects. "So, can I walk you to class?"
Tohru answered happily. "Uh-huh!" Yuki was so excited to finally have a true friend, one that didn't care about the curse, and one that wanted to be around her no matter what. But afterwards promise you'll still be my friend? He had said that, and he knew things were going to get better from there.
They started walking toward Tohru's classroom quietly, only breaking the silence when Yuki said two simple words: "Thank you."
Tohru didn't know what for, but answered anyways. "No problem." Then it hit him. "Fixing ties is my specialty!" Yuki simply laughed at the boy's innocence and obliviousness.
Meanwhile, Shigure sat with Akito at the main house, and had told him the whole story. He was waiting for Akito to make his decision. Akito sat quietly in his loose kimono, holding a small, white bird on his finger for a moment before making a decision. "I believe I will trust Mr. Honda, for Yuki and for Kyoko, even for myself. This may be a great opportunity." Shigure nodded solemnly, and took his leave.
Yuki and Tohru went straight home from school that afternoon, and when they arrived there was no one in sight, so they both yelled out to see if anyone was home. Yuki said "I'm back!"
Tohru was a little more specific. "Hello! We're home from school!" When no one answered Yuki went to Shigure's office, "Shigure?", but when he opened the door no one was there, so he figured, "He must have gone out."
Tohru was at the base of the stairs, ready to go put his things away. "I'm gonna go put away my bag."
Yuki answered cheerily, "Okay!"
When Tohru gut up to his room he walked in to see a ladder in the middle of the room, and an orange-haired girl on top of it, taping the ceiling she had broken that morning. When she came down she saw Tohru looking up at the paper and tape. "Don't freak out, it's only temporary. You can call someone to fix it better later. This'll at least keep the rain out until then."
"Yes, thank you." He was surprised to see her there after she ran off that morning. I did hope I'd get to her again after she ran off, but I don't think she likes me very much.
The girl pulled him from his thoughts. "Hey!"
"I'm here!" He was startled and nervous. Kyoko was holding, or more like squeezing the crap out of the roll of tape.
"I'm not very good at controlling my temper. When I get angry I… I don't know, maybe I don't have enough training. I just… I can't stand losing to that damn Yuki, so about this morning, it wasn't… what I mean is… I'm so…" When she turned around to talk to Tohru he was turned around, and Shigure interrupted their conversation, yelling to anyone in the house that was within earshot.
"I'm home! Yuki, Tohru, are you here? And Kyoko, I hope you're not doing something stupid, and tearing up my house again!" Tohru turned around with a smile on his face at the return of his host, but the interruption just pissed of Kyoko and she took off down the stairs at an angry, fast, stomping pace.
"Oh, forget it!" She was at boiling point. Tohru tried to stop her, but she just kept going until she had slammed the front door behind her.
"Wait! Please don't go." He tried, but it was too late. She was gone.
Shigure had watched it happen, and he spoke up once Kyoko was gone. "She'll be back. It's not like she has anywhere else to go, but never mind her. Can you come in here for a second?" and he went through the door to the front living room.
Tohru followed. "Uh, okay." He turned to the door once more, as if to see if the girl would miraculously come back. When she didn't he turned and followed Shigure.
When the three remaining people in the house were all sitting around the table Shigure announced his news of the day. "I had a little talk with Akito today. He's decided that as long as you can keep our secret you can stay here."
Tohru was relieved. "Oh, good. So then there's no punishment?"
Shigure was rather confused by the question. "Punishment? Why would we…? You can keep the secret?"
"Yes!" That's great news! I won't have to lose my memory! He was so excited, but Yuki looked a little sad.
Shigure was walking through the house after their discussion, headed to his office, but was stopped by Yuki. "Shigure. It all seems too easy, doesn't it? I can't help but think Akito has something else in store for us."
Shigure looked back at Yuki over his shoulder. "I don't know." He suddenly turned a full turn and was now facing the young girl. "But don't worry so much, everything's going well. Enjoy it! For now let's just trust Akito to do what's best."
Yuki looked skeptical. "Excuse me." Tohru caught their attention. "Uh, I'm sorry to interrupt, it's just that you've been so nice to me. I hope it's no trouble." Shigure smiled, and Yuki looked surprised.
Yuki answered for the both of them. "Uh, no…" She looked confused, but then her face brightened a bit. "No, of course it isn't."
"Make yourself at home, okay?" Shigure tacked that on at the end, and they gained Tohru's confidence.
He was happy to be where he was. "Okay!" It looks like everything's gonna be okay, Mom. Even after everything that happened this morning the Sohmas have still invited me to stay in their house. I guess this will be our home for a while.
The next day was kitchen cleaning day for Tohru. When he walked in he was astounded at the mess, even though he had seen it a few days earlier. It was just as bad…if not worse! Yuki just looked embarrassed about the whole thing.
Tohru was optimistic though, as usual. "Well, it's not gonna clean itself!" He put on a smile, and was ready to get to work.
Yuki offered to help. "I'll help you. Just tell me what to do!"
Shigure opened the door behind them just then, and rejected the idea of Yuki helping. "You'd better not. The closest thing Yuki's ever seen to a mop is that haircut of hers. I think she'd just get in the way." Yuki looked slightly upset at that comment.
Tohru also rejected it. "That's alright! I'll take care of it. We did all make a deal that I would do the housework in exchange for my room. I wouldn't be earning my keep if I let you two help me!"
Shigure took his leave. "Well, I can see we're in good hands. I'm going to go find Kyoko, and I'll be out with her for a while. We should be back by lunch time."
"Sure! Just leave it to me!"
"In that case I guess I'll go out, too." Yuki said with content.
"Fine, I'll be done when you get back."
When they had both left he tied a handkerchief around his head, and started doubting a little, but only for a moment. "What was I thinking? I don't even know where to start, but Tohru Honda never gives up!" With that he reached in front of him, and started with the garbage. He whirred around the kitchen and cleaned with ferocity, and a speed like you've never seen before. He cleaned dishes, took out garbage, mopped floors, wiped windows, and started the lunch by putting it on the stove. When he was done there were clean dishes by the sink, rice cooking in the rice maker, and a pot of stew boiling on the stovetop. He finished just in time for lunch. "And that's that." He said to himself with finality.
Just then Yuki walked into the kitchen, and almost didn't recognize it. "Huh? Amazing! If I didn't know better I'd think I walked into the wrong house." She walked over to the rice cooker. "Since when do we have a rice cooker?"
"I found it in the trash." He seemed rather excited about that. "And I found where the trash is supposed to go!" Pointing to the garbage in the corner where the trash pile had traditionally started, but had gotten buried under the mess that the kitchen had become. Yuki was shocked to find out they had had a trash can in the first place. "Oh, by the way, I hope you've got your appetite, because lunch is almost ready!"
Once lunch was ready they laid it out on the table, and started to eat. Yuki took her first bites and was amazed. "Mm, It's delicious!"
"You think so? You don't think it's too bland?" Tohru was skeptical of his work, and Yuki's words.
"It's perfect! The best lunch I've ever had."
"Don't be silly." The boy protested lightly.
"That reminds me." Yuki suddenly changed subjects. "I wonder where Shigure and that stupid cat ran off to."
"I don't know. He said they'd be back by lunch time."
"Well, shame on them. It's rude to let a meal this good get cold." She took another bite.
Tohru was once again lost in thought. It's so strange. I guess I still haven't gotten used to the idea of living here, but here I am having lunch with Yuki. "Oh, yeah. You went out for a while, too, didn't you? Where'd you go? Shopping?"
Yuki answered, "Oh, no. I just went out back to my secret base."
Suddenly Tohru was very excited. "What? You have a secret base? You mean like a fort, or an underground hideout? That sounds so exciting!" He had it in his head that a secret base was some elaborate thing.
Yuki knew better. "I don't think it's quite as elaborate as what you're thinking, but I'll tell you what. Next time I'll take you with me."
Now Tohru was so excited his hair was standing on end. "What? Do you really mean it? I'm going to a secret base! I've always wanted to see one in person." Now he was talking so fast he was barely understandable. "The neighborhood boys had one when I was a kid, but I was never allowed. I can't wait to see…" Just then the door slammed open, and Shigure and an angry Kyoko were there.
Shigure was yelling at Kyoko, but she just yelled right back. "Stop! Kyoko, just listen to me!"
She was very upset, and went straight for the other side of the room to the other door to escape Shigure. "I don't want to hear it! You think it's fun jerking me around like that."
Shigure was chasing him, and the weird part about all of this was that he was in a suit and tie. At first Tohru couldn't pay attention to what he was saying because he looked funny to the boy with his hair combed back nicely and wearing a suit. Tohru shook his head, finally concentrated on what he was saying. "Now, hold on, it wasn't… Okay, it was a little bit fun, but that's not why I did it. It was for your own good! And don't forget it was Akito's decision." He stopped in the middle of the room.
"Shut up! I don't give a damn about Akito!" he stopped half-way through the door.
Tohru tried to lighten the mood a little. "Oh, are you hungry? I made you some lunch."
Kyoko wasn't in the mood for a lighter mood though. "Shut up!" She slammed the door as she left.
Shigure made another point clear, but didn't set the best example. "Kyoko! Don't take this out on Tohru! And use the front door next time! And take off your shoes!" Shigure quickly took off his shoes after the fact.
Yuki pitched in. "You're setting a fine example." It was a rather sarcastic comment.
Tohru looked up at Shigure in a suit. "This is the first time I've seen you in a suit. It looks good on you."
Shigure bent over to emphasize, and get a little closer to Tohru's face. "Hm, you don't say?"
Yuki was feeling sarcastic, so she but in again. "You look like a butler."
Shigure then spotted the food on the table. "Ah, lunch is ready." He stood and went to sit down.
"Yes, but shouldn't we see about Kyoko?" He was worried about the cat.
Shigure smiled and took of his coat before sitting down. "Oh, her? She just needs to let off some steam. She's angry that I made her take an entrance exam."
Tohru was confused. "An entrance exam? For what?"
"Funny you should ask." Shigure answered nervously. "As of today Kyoko is officially the newest student at your school. Oh, and he's also going to be living with us from now on, too."
Yuki was suddenly furious. "Don't you take a single bite. Get out!" She looked ready to tear her older cousin's head clean off.
Shigure actually looked nervous. "Eh-heh, well, I had a feeling you'd be upset. You see, Kyoko pulled a bit of a vanishing act on us. She just up and disappeared for four months, and do you know where she disappeared to? He was up on a mountaintop, training."
Tohru was once again confused. "What kind of training."
Yuki wasn't confused. "Let me guess, he's been meditating under waterfalls and fighting bears."
Shigure scratched his head. "Well, I'm not so sure about that part. The point is, Kyoko really wants to beat Yuki." He glanced and Yuki, and Yuki looked away.
Yuki muttered. "Stupid cat…"
Tohru just tried to figure it out in his head. So, Kyoko spent all that time trying to beat Yuki, and Yuki really doesn't seem to like Kyoko at all either. This is just like the old story. After the rat tricked the cat, the cat must have been angry for a long, long time. Maybe that's why Yuki and Kyoko don't get along. I don't know… And somehow I get the feeling she wouldn't want to talk about it with me.
A few days later Kyoko started school, and all of the boys had questions, and were gathered around her at her new desk. "I wonder if she could tell us anything about Yuki."
"So cute!"
"Not as cute as Yuki!"
"Where is she?"
"I think she's amazing. Oh, wow. Oh my goodness."
"What do you think? Is she really princess Yuki's cousin?"
"I'll bet she knows everything about her."
Kyoko was very uncomfortable, and became more so the longer she sat in the midst of the throng of boys wanting to know everything. Tohru stood back, and watched from a distance. "Poor Kyoko. She looks so scared."
Hana stood next to him, and spoke mysteriously. "They're the same."
Uo and Tohru were confused. "Huh?"
"Her electric signals are exactly the same as Yuki's." Another electric report from Hana. "I don't know, but there's something about them that's almost inhuman."
Tohru started to freak out that Hana would figure out the secret. Uo saved it though. "Hana, that's just rude." Yuki walked past them, and Uo called his attention. "Uh, hey. Question. So this new girl, is she really your cousin or what?"
Yuki turned around to address Uo. "Yes, that is the rumor going around. I'd prefer to leave it at that." She turned back around and walked away.
Suddenly there was a commotion on the other side of the room where Kyoko was, and the fanboys were yelling at her as she walked away. "Hey, I thought we were talking!"
"Wait, come back." One boy tried to hug her shoulder, and she lost it. She turned around and pinned the boy on the ground. "Hey, what are you doing?"
Tohru was worried about it, and he yelled across the room. "Kyoko! I don't think that's a good idea!" Kyoko was beyond hope, and she had a crazy look in her eyes.
Everyone was freaking out, and eventually she blew a lid. "Leave me alone!" she took off for the open window, and threw herself out of it to get away from the crowd of boys. She landed two stories down, just like a cat, and started running as fast as she could.
The fanboys went crazy over the situation. The leader was impressed. "Amazing! That proves it. She's definitely related to Princess Yuki."
The dark-haired boy was amazed. "I can't believe she jumped."
The redhead was crying slightly. "Hey, aren't you forgetting about me? I did just get my arm ripped off!"
Uo, Hana, and Tohru were all watching from the other window, and Uo was laughing. "That was hysterical. She looked like a cat trying to get out of a bath." Yuki was behind the crowd, facing away from the window, annoyed, and not interested. She went to the door, and left, slamming it behind her.
Tohru felt bad for Kyoko. "Poor Kyoko…" She really is like the cat from the old story, Mom. She must feel so alone right now, but who knows, maybe… maybe one day we can be friends. He thought to himself while he watched Kyoko run away.
Here it is guys! My first genderbend story! This is a re-hash of the Fruits Basket series with the genders of the main characters switched! (Only in the process of switching their genders I had to work on switching other character's genders to make the story work!) I hope you enjoyed reading this as much as I enjoyed writing it. I also want to thank my beta reader ZareEraz for the inspiration that started this story and for editing it for me! Remember to review, and constructive criticism is also welcome. Thanks everyone!