{Fru!t$ B@$ket} //Ep!l0gue// ~Ten'$ A Cr0wd, But Twelve'$ A C!rcu$!~

~//By 0k@m!k0 G!nk!b@//~

//Fruits Basket characters (c) themselves; Hikari and Chohko Sohma, and the plot of this fanfic (c) OkamiKo Ginkiba (me!)//

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//Subd!v!s!0n 1#// ~Bl00d I$ Th!cker Th@n W@ter~

//(Listening to: "Owari nai Yume {A Never-Ending Dream}" [Inuyasha])//

The girl approached the area slowly, drinking in the calm landscape as she leisurely strolled down the path. *It hasn't changed a bit -- none of it has.* She sighed contentedly, letting memories flit through her mind like birds. *Even the air feels the same.* There was just something about this place that always made her feel tranquil, as if nothing dire had ever happened to her, and nothing ever would.

"It's hard to believe it all, isn't it? That it's really been a whole year?"

The girl nodded in agreement with her younger companion. It *was* hard to believe - and not just the quantity of time it had been since she last set foot anywhere near here.

"I still don't know how you convinced me to come *here* of all places. You know I can't stand this place."

The older girl sighed, this time agitatedly, and broke her previous silence with a click of her tongue. "Tch, I didn't *ask* to bring you along. And it's not like you'd be happier anywhere else, anyway. You're such a stickler!"

"No, I'm a perfectionist." The younger smiled when the girl rolled her eyes. "I didn't exactly want to get stuck with *you* all summer, either. And like I suggested before, we could always go to the ma--"

"There's no way in hell."

"You're impossible!" The other crossed her arms sulkily. "It would be much easier if we just went there. He's really not that bad if you just listen to him. Neither you nor any of the others seem to understand that, except maybe--"

The girl cut her off with a groan. "I can't believe I'm being lectured by someone who's barely half my age."

"Well, if you wouldn't behave like a twelve-year-old, you wouldn't be lectured by one. You're *way* too juvenile -- aren't twenty-two year-olds supposed to act like adults?"

The older girl threw up her hands. "If I didn't know we were cousins, I would never believe we were related. We have absolutely *nothing* in common."

"Blood is thicker than water, dear sister," she said dryly.

"Whatever. This conversation is closed."

"Dually agreed. We can't very well argue the whole way there."

They walked in silence.

"Maybe we should stop and get a gift for them on the way...?"

The older girl sweat-dropped. "It's not like they ever bring *us* gifts when they visit. And if they don't let us in I can just beat the door down."

"But then they'd be irate! Do you know how *annoying* they can be when--"

"Do you know how annoying *you* can be?"

"Actually, I prefer the term 'incommodious'--"

"Aghhh! We'll stop somewhere! Just shut up!"

The younger girl fell silent with a victoriously teasing smile at her sister, and the two continued on into the town.

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//(A-N: Hello, everyone! I am pleased to announce the arrival of my first Fruits Basket fanfic! I'm not really sure where I'm going with this story, so any ideas or suggestions would be much appreciated! Also, if you have any questions or comments, feel free to shout 'em out! Reviews are loved, even the one-word or critical ones, so send 'em right this way! Remember, anyone who sends in a Review gets free virtual Pockey! ^^;.)//

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