Title: Laughter
Chapter One
Disclaimer: I do not own Fruits Basket…obviously. Nor do I own, the song "Tears"…though I do love it.
Yuki Sohma was at a loss for words. Something he rarely was. He wasn't sure how he was supposed to reply to this question. Usually he would reply with a quick, but sincere 'no'. But, this was not like all the other times. This girl standing before him was different. One look at her would tell you that.
The girl had thick, frizzy golden-brown hair that was pulled back into a thick braid that ended past her shoulder blades. Her eyes were big and brown with golden flecks, framed in thick eyelashes. She was much shorter than Yuki was, even shorter than Tohru and her skin was light tan. She was dressed neatly in the school uniform, but it looked to be a size too big. Maybe she had recently lost weight? Yuki didn't know.
He knew her name was Satsu Oshiro and that was about it. Even though she had been in his class for the past three years. Yet, he had never really spoken to her before. Maybe a morning greeting or a few words while waiting to leave school, but that was about it.
And now, she was standing before him, with a nervous, yet pretty smile on her face. He'd never been so close to her before and could see her features more clearly. Her face was structured nicely and Yuki had to admit she had pretty eyes. Her eyes were quite expressive, making it easy for someone to tell how she was feeling.
Yuki had remained silent for the past five minutes, unsure of how to respond. The hope in her eyes was dying as if she had anticipated this. At last, she spoke up.
"I apologize for bothering you, Sohma-san. Forget I asked." She began to turn away, but Yuki stopped her.
"No, I was just surprised, Oshiro-san. I had no idea you thought of me in that way. I'm afraid to say that I do not know you very well. Perhaps, we could hang out some before I gave you my answer."
This was something she had certainly not expected. Something in her eyes told him that a small part of her was silently wishing for a quick rejection so she could move on. But the rest was screaming, 'Thank you.'
"That's good, Sohma-san. I would really like that." Satsu bowed deeply and then entered the classroom for the last block of the day. Yuki followed shortly entering just as the tardy bell rang.
"Why are you late Sohma-kun?" Tohru asked him instantly, before he was able to sit down.
"I was just making a new friend, Honda-san. I believe we might have a guest for dinner though."
"Really? Okay, that's great!" she replied, beaming. For some reason, during that class period, Yuki felt his attention constantly being drawn to the brunette across the room. She seemed to be intensely concentrating on something in her hands, which were in her lap. He also noticed the slight bop of her head as if she was listening to music. It took him a few minutes before he noticed the white cord winding up to her ear.
'She's not even paying attention.' He thought amazed. The Sohma found this quite odd considering she made good grades, but she wasn't even listening to the teacher.
Behind him, Kyo was eyeing his cousin suspiciously. He had suddenly taken an extreme interest in a girl in this class. The cat vaguely remembered seeing her around school, but he had never wasted his time talking to her. What he wanted to know was what Yuki found so endearing about this girl. From the few blurry mental images he had of her face, Kyo knew she wasn't ugly. But, she wasn't extremely beautiful either. And he also knew that Yuki knew nearly as much about her as Kyo himself did.
After School
Satsu Oshiro was not sure if she had actually made the right decision. Secretly, she had been hoping that the 'Prince' of Kaibara High would just outright reject her. Instead, he offered to get to know her better. And now, having been invited to dinner at his home, she was walking home with him, his cousin, Kyo, and Tohru who basically acted as a live-in maid.
Tohru was talking animatedly to Kyo and Yuki, leaving Satsu to reflect on her day.
She had an earphone in her right ear, leaving the left one free to halfway listen to their conversation. She tapped her fingers in time against her thigh to the music playing in her ear. It was one of her all time favourite bands, X Japan. And one of her favourite songs, "Tears".
♪
Loneliness, you silent whisper
Fills a river of tears through the night
Memory, you never let me cry
And you, you never said goodbye
Sometimes our tears blinded the love
We lost our dreams along the way
But, I never thought you'd trade your soul to the fates
Never thought, you'd leave me alone
♪
Time through the rain has set me free
Sands of time will keep your memory
Love everlasting fades away
Alive within your beatless heart…
♪
Satsu had been absorbed in the song and didn't realize that Yuki was trying to get her attention. That is, until she tripped over a particularly large rock.
"Damn," she muttered. The other three halted and Yuki held out his hand to help her up. "Ah, thank you."
"No problem. You were spacing out; you must not have heard me." He replied simply.
"Sorry." A sudden blush crossed Satsu's features and she quickly withdrew her hand. She then proceeded to dust off her skirt.
"It's quite alright. I was asking what your favourite food was. Honda-san wished to know."
The brunette looked past Yuki at Tohru who was staring at her, seeming greatly interested in her reply.
"It's a Greek dish," Satsu began, "I like gyros."
"Gyros?" Tohru said the foreign word carefully.
"I…know how to make them. I could teach you if you like, Honda-san." She offered, not sure what had possessed her too. But, the other girl's eyes widened at the prospect of a new dish to learn.
"I would love that! Could I call you Satsu-chan?"
"If you wish."
"Thank you and you can call me Tohru-chan!" The turquoise-eyed girl giggled at the look on Satsu's face. Kyo rolled his eyes and sighed.
"I'll go with you two on your shopping trip then. You shouldn't be walking around town alone." He said this statement as if it was some horrible punishment. But Tohru knew he wanted to.
"I'll come too." Yuki decided. Tohru smiled widely and giggled.
"We can make a double date out of it!" She suggested. Satsu smiled slightly and shrugged. Yuki glanced at the uncertainty in her eyes and shook his head.
"Maybe another time, Honda-san. For now we'll have to look for ingredients. After we explain everything to Shigure though."
"Okay." But, she suddenly brightened, "Let's go everyone!" She exclaimed after taking off into a run. Kyo was quick to follow. That was expected, everyone knew they were in love with each other.
But, Yuki and Satsu remained behind. And Yuki took this as an opportunity to ask Satsu about her life.
"Oshiro-san, what music were you listening to a little while ago?"
"Please, just Satsu-san or anything else you wish. I was listening to X Japan. It is sort of an old band, but I still love them. Especially, 'Tears', that song causes me to become so emotional." She stopped and handed Yuki an earphone. "Here, listen. The pianist, Yoshiki wrote it about his father committing suicide. I knew it was about death...but I didn't know that. I promise it won't depress you too much." A small smile grew on Satsu's face as Yuki accepted the earphone. He inserted it and waited for her to find the song on her mp3 player.
The intro was soft, full of strings playing the melody beautifully. And then the vocals started.
♪
Doko ni yukeba ii
Anata to hanarete
Ima wa sugisatta
Toki ni toikakete
"Wherever we go is okay,"
You said
Now what may have been
Has been stopped by time
Naga sugita yoru ni
Tabidachi o yume mita
Ikoku no sora mitsumete
Kodoku o dakishimeta
On that night that was too long
I had a dream where you left me
Staring at a foreign sky
I hugged my loneliness
Nagareru namida o
Toki no kaze ni kasanete
Owaranai anata no
Toiki o kanjite
My fallen tears
Are piling up on the winds of time
At the end
I feel your breath
DRY YOUR TEARS WITH LOVE
DRY YOUR TEARS WITH LOVE
DRY YOUR TEARS WITH LOVE
DRY YOUR TEARS WITH LOVE
♪
The two continued their walk to Shigure's house, listening to the song in silence. It ended as soon as they entered Yuki's home. Tohru and Kyo were seated in the living room talking to Shigure. Satsu removed her shoes and pocketed her mp3. She glanced over at Yuki who smiled and gestured for her to follow him into the room.
"Ah, another high school girl!" The novelist exclaimed, clearly pleased. He jumped up and walked over to the shocked Satsu. "I'm Shigure Sohma, owner of this home and Yun-chan's and Kyon-Kyon's older and much more handsome cousin!" He grinned suggestively at the girl before him. She stared at him for a minute before laughing loudly in his face.
"Hahahahahahahahahahahahahaha…y-you're funny!" Satsu stuttered out, clutching her stomach.
"Tohru-kun, she's laughing at me…" Shigure whined, crawling over to Tohru.
"Ano…Satsu-chan?"
"What the hell is her problem?" muttered Kyo, hanging his head. But, Yuki seemed to be the most surprised of them all.
'She laughs as if that was the funniest thing she had ever heard. Not afraid to hurt anyone's feelings either.' In spite of himself, Yuki felt the urge to chuckle, but fought it off.
"We should get going," Tohru said at last to the other teenagers. Satsu had calmed down, and let out a sigh.
"Good idea."
"Where are you going?" Shigure asked, becoming his normal immature self.
"Satsu-chan is going to teach me how to make…uh…gee…rows…?" Tohru stumbled over the last word and embarrassed flush growing on her cheeks.
"Gyros, they are a Greek dish. My favourite."
"How exotic! I am going to call Aya right now and tell him what a wonderful girlfriend his brother has."
"I'm not his girlfriend." "She's not my girlfriend."
"Then, why is she here?"
But, the two didn't reply. Shigure looked to Kyo and Tohru. Both did not know either. "I see." An awkward silence followed. "I'm still going to call Aya and Hatori so they can meet you!"
"That will be fun!" Tohru exclaimed joyfully. But, neither Yuki nor Kyo looked thrilled at the idea. Satsu merely looked indifferent on the matter. Until it seemed something sparked her memory.
"Wasn't Hatori-san that man who visited during a festival in our first year? The one who was smoking and is sure to develop lung cancer? Then again, nearly everything gives you cancer these days." It almost sounded as if she was thinking aloud.
"Yes, that's our Ha'ri! A medical doctor, but he smokes. What an oxymoron!" To Shigure's surprise, Satsu seemed to know what an oxymoron was and laughed.
"Quite." But the other three teens were grossly left out, judging by the bewilderment on their faces.
"You four better hurry up and leave before it gets too dark!" The novelist suggested, rising to his feet.
"You're right, Shigure-san!"
And soon enough they all departed.
Later that night
"Ha'ri, Aya, this is Satsu-chan, Yuki's 'friend'," Shigure explained with a wink. Satsu bowed, her hands clasped behind her back. Ayame beamed widely at her and nudged Hatori, who noticed that Yuki was eyeing his brother and Shigure with wary eyes.
'He thinks something bad is going to happen.' The dragon's eyes wandered to his two friends who were talking excitedly to each other, ever so often glancing towards Yuki. 'I cannot blame him though.'
"You shouldn't smoke." Satsu said indignantly. Hatori looked upon her as if a rock had spoken.
"Excuse me?"
"During my first year at Kaibara High, you came to visit and you were smoking! You took five seconds off of everyone's life." She explained, her eyes gazing up at him. He shrugged and looked away.
"I think I'll live with the guilt." As just as she had done with Shigure, Satsu began to laugh. This left the doctor unsettled, not being used to have someone so openly laugh in his face. Yuki was chuckling softly at his cousin's expression. Tohru found herself giggling as well and Aya and Shigure had begun cackling at their friend. But Kyo remained silent, finding nothing funny.
"What the hell…"
Even Later
That night, Satsu sat on her bed, reflecting on the past day. It had been quite eventful. She picked up her brush from her bedside table and proceeded to brush out her hair that she had unbraided only moments ago.
"I never expected such kindness from Sohma-san…" she murmured to herself. After detangling her hair, Satsu walked into her bathroom and found her smoothing spray. She lightly sprayed the previously unused spray over her hair. Satsu slowly began to comb it through, all the while thinking and musing about her afternoon.
"I do wonder why he answered how he did though. A simple 'no' would have been much easier." The brunette paused in her spoken thoughts and sighed, "But everything happens for a reason, even though the truth may be hidden."
That very moment, but across town, Yuki was laying in bed as confused as she. He, himself, did not know why he hadn't flat out rejected her. Sure, she was different than the other simpering girls who were usually giggling whenever he entered the room. But, she wasn't the only girl. There was Honda-san, Hanajima-san and Uotani-san. But, Satsu-san was different. And yet, he didn't know how she was different yet. Maybe it was the fact that she did have feelings for him, but didn't act upon them. Or was it how little he knew about her? Or, maybe, it was her laugh. Never before had Yuki witnessed someone laughing so unashamed, so carefree.