Nose in the book, rapidly walking, vaguely aware of the dangers of such transport. I'm in a subway, thankfully far enough from the metal colossuses (colossi?) not to have my eardrums perforated or my mortal flesh flattened by the oncoming trains. I spy... an up-escalator in my peripherals. Weighing the dangers of machinery and reluctance to put manga-book away, and reluctance wins. At least I'm wearing sensible shoes. I fail to remove my nose form said book--one of the many Fruitsbasket mangas-- and climb up the escalator. Somewhere ahead, the sun is shining, so much brighter and warmer than the illuminations of the subway.
I emerge, blinking rapidly, into the sunlight while the escalator whirrs gently beneath my rubber-soled sneakers. Gah! Pupils dilating, thin haze of red veils my surroundings. On second thought, give me electric lights and cool, shady crevices any day. The top of the escalator approaches (or rather, I approach it. Being on a moving staircase and all). I skooch the backs of my feet off the step until my heels dangle. I enjoy doing that, letting the upcoming step rise to meet my heels and lift me. The film of red has long since cleared, and I can see high garden-boxes around th entrance. The garden-boxes lead to a wall, over which strange knocking noises are emitting, sounding like someone brainless repeatedly thwapping their head on a wooden board....or possibly like basketball. I return my gaze to my book, just in time to completely miss seeing the basketball soar over the wall and garden-boxes, rebound off the arm of the escalator and knock my world darkens, my heels fall off the step and my toes follow suit.
Dimly, it registers that I am falling, and I wrap my arms around my head. Must remember, in karate class they said not to put your arms down or you'll break them... well, what do you know, time really does slow down when you fall over...huh, that's odd...Then my back hits the jagged metal step, and I hear several things crack. My momentum is too great for me to rest in my current position, so my feet flip over my head and I feel several more things crack. Fiery, insistent pain. Those liars at karate...my arm is surely broken, I think, before the adrenaline fails and the full load hits me. At this point, "ow" is a serious understatement. I reach, with my as-yet-unbroken left hand for my pocket, where my phone is. I can feel myself shaking, going into shock. Tears threaten as I grasp the phone and bring it close to my face. It is, unsurprisingly, spattered with blood. I unthinkingly react to the blood and scream my hardest. That is, I inhaled, fully intending to scream, then stopped as several cracked and battered ribs made themselves known. Bravely (I thought) ignoring the pain, I use my semi-lungful of oxygen to scream for help. The pain that action caused made me forget all reasoning and scream for all my worth. Which redoubled the pain. It might have been funny if I hadn't been the one experiencing it. Or maybe not. I'm not really the type to laugh at another's suffering any more than my own. Not unless it's really funny (and they're laughing, too).
The world blackened and swam in front of my eyes as I reached the top step. My hair--long chestnut locks I've been meaning to crop for a while now-- got caught in the edge of a step, and I scream for real, trying desperately to extricate myself. A face appeared in my line of vision, with shock-lines tightened around the eyes and pale cheeks. Equally pale hands tugged gently on my hair, lifting my head and pillowing it on a sweater. I opened my mouth to thank the heavenly helper, but a moan came out. I abruptly shut my mouth and squeezed my eyes closed so nothing would escape them, either. I thought of the book, crazily, the cover and soft pages still encasing my thumb. My friend had lent it to me...my friend...my thoughts blurred and dimmed...my friend... I wrenched my thoughts back into focus with some effort and opened my eyes. The kind person with the soft, fluffy sweater was staring intently at my face, as if pondering a weighty problem. He--it was a he?-- started when my eyes opened, scrambling back. I managed a small smile at that--did I look that bad?-- and hoarsely voiced a questioning noise. The boy--I'd dubbed him Sam in my head, short for Good Samaritan-- looked at me apprehensively and pondered a while longer. I considered tapping my fingers impatiently, but decided not to risk it.
"I need to call 911," Sam said slowly. "Can I leave you here?" He looked at me. I racked my brain. Surely my cellphone...reflexively, I looked at my right hand. Ooh... not a good angle on that arm. I wrenched my gaze to my left, and saw my phone. Breathing shallowly, I raised my arm and thrust the phone at him. I heard the beep-boop-ding! of the buttons and sank into a fluffy pink corner of my brain to escape from the pain. I was safe now, I felt. The book had not been bled on... the book... Lovely fluffy pink cloudzzzzzz... spiralling...voices..."fell down the esc-uh-.."...."broken rib.....nd concussion?"... siren sounds...poky bed...sharp poke in the arm.Ow!..silence...whispering...faces...Sam?... my family...pillow...BOOK.
***
No pain. That's what opens my eyes. Warm sunshine, cool breeze and painless motion. And something disgustingly slimy in my mouth. I cough, gag, spit it out, then straighten up. Huh, I'm outside. Weirdest hospital ever. Why is everyone staring at me? Including that gray-haired guy with the handful of slimy stuff--eww, it's green and disgusting. O...kay.... Walking away now.
I turn to go, but the gray-boy speaks. For a second, it doesn't register, then my brains kicks in.
"You'd better get Tohru some new leeks, stupid cat," in a low voice. Leeks? I think. I almost turn around, but instead lower my shoulders defensively and run like mad!
I don't know where I'm going, I'm wearing strange clothes and the back of my neck feels suspiciously light, runs my inner observist. I stop running after a while and climb a tree, sitting in its branches. I realize with some surprise that I'm hardly tired. Hmmm... maybe I should fall down escalators more often. Health benefits! Reminded of another change the elevator incident has wrought, I reach behind my ear and feel for my hair. It's hardly long enough to pull in front of my eyes, but when I do see it, I get a nasty shock. No longer a sun-kissed brassy color, my--newly shortened, when did that happen?-- hair is now a glaring orange. Shocked, I put my face in my hands, racking my brain for cases of hair color change through shock. Maybe the shock had turned my hair white, and my parents had dyed it orange in an attempt at humor? If so, they were misled. I'd rather have white hair--any color, really-- than orange. I don't hold anything against the color, exactly, but the bright, sunny color against my pale, peaches-and-cream skin makes me look ill and fragile. Not exactly the effect I hope to convey to the world. A strange sensation in my hands niggled in my brain. I felt my face for real. I had eyelashes and eyebrows! My eyebrows in--I found myself thinking--my previous body were so pale as to be invisible, and my eyelashes had been short and wimpy, much to my dismay and despair. I found other changes in my face, the thinner lips, the thicker, sharper nose, the pronounced cheekbones. Thoroughly freaked out now, I hugged my knees to my chin, inconveniently forgetting I was in a tree. The thin branch pitched me off, and I sailed through the air. Instinctively, I curled my legs and outspread my arms, somersaulted and landed lightly on my feet.
"Awesome!" I whispered, then laughed loudly, remembering the weightlessness, the ease of my "flight." I sobered quickly and climbed back up to my perch, sitting down carefully this time.
Nestled cozily back on my branch, I settled myself down to have a serious think. I started humming, as I normally do while concentrating. I was gratified to find that my voice, at least, was still my own. Quickly establishing that I was alone (., ., ^_^), I proceeded to practice my singing, abandoning my train of thoughts to focus on the notes. First "Im Abendroth", then "Voy con Corazon." I love songs in different languages! No one ignorant can understand a thing you're saying! Then the gray-haired guy appeared again, right in front of the tree.
"Kyo!" he shouted. "Come home or Tohru will worry." I fell off the branch again; the guy had come from nowhere! Apparently he recognized me... maybe he was some sort of freaky stalker. Watching him warily, I arranged my feet so I could run off at the slightest provocation and waited for him to do something.
"Kyo." he said again, "I really don't care what you do, but Tohru is worried, and she's too simple to worry well. Come home." I just looked at him. Tall, wiry and slender, he didn't look threatening, but I couldn't underestimate him. Right now he was at least 6 feet away, so I could kick him if he advanced. Taking a chance, I opened my mouth and asked, " Do I know you?" He rolled his eyes.
"Did you fall out of a tree and not land on your head, stupid cat?" he asked. I took a step back.
"Why are you calling me a stupid cat? I'm not a cat, I'm a dog, if anything, a dog and a Leo, but not a cat." I was babbling, I knew, but the guy was acting like he knew me... and didn't like me. I'd never met him before in my life! He frowned and stepped closer, too fast for me to back up.
"Kyo? Do you have a cold or something? Your voice is lower." he remarked. That last comment pushed my temper past its limits, all my fear and confusion turned to righteous anger.
"All right, listen up, gray-guy. I don't know who you are, or who you think I am, but I am not a cat, I am not 'Kyo', whoever that is, and I can reach all the way up to high C on a scale, so this 'Kyo' of yours must be a bleeding soprano." I inhaled deeply, having said the entire past quote on a single breath. Gray-guy pulled a thoughtful face, after a look of utter shock at my outburst.
"Well, whoever you are, you don't have anywhere else to go, do you? Come with me, I'll give you a place to stay, and you can run away whenever you feel like it , but... please, meet Tohru. She..." He didn't elaborate, and he didn't look like he was lying, so I took him at his word.
"Lead me to your place, then." I said. He turned around and started walking. I followed behind for a few steps, then made a decision and sped up 'til I matched his pace. If I was going to trust him, I'd trust all the way. He started slightly, then smiled faintly and slowed down a tad. I belatedly remembered my manners and voiced thanks. He nodded and didn't say anything. I took this to signify end of conversation. To fill up the awkward silence, I hummed. And finally worked up the courage to sing. I had just finished "Si Tugierra Tus Alitas" when we reached the house. It looked...like a gird. Paper screen after paper screen, no sturdy door or window that I could see. Struggling for something to say, I blurted, "Wow! This is...pretty interesting! Were you going for the Japaese look or something?" I heard a strange sound behind me, and turned around in confusion. The guy was doubled up.
"Does your stomach hurt or something?" I asked, worried. The strange sound got louder. Gray-guy lifted his head, and I realized he was laughing. I laughed a bit, at my own misconception, but got worried again when he didn't stop.
"Are you...okay?" I asked after a bit. He straightened and wiped his eyes.
"You do know we're in Japan, right?" he asked.
"Whaaaaaat?" I cried. The shout echoed through the woods surrounding us. Gray-guy stopped laughing.
"You... didn't know?" he asked, cautiously, like you talk to an inmate at the insane asylum who hasn't yet proven if they're a dangerous lunatic or just gibbering harmlessly. I lowered my voice.
" Sorry, did you just say we're in Japan?" I asked again. He edged away, still in doubts to my sanity. I sat down, curled up and moaned. My thoughts whirled. Was I kidnapped, healed and hair-dyed, from the hospital? Had gray-guy done it? Where was my home?West... I had to go west. But a corner of my brain was screaming for attention, crying out above the clamor: What about this situation looks familiar? Think, girl, think. Japan, gray hair, Tohru, Kyo. for goodness' sakes, orange hair! stupid cat! These clues point to...
"Fruitsbasket." I whispered. I sat up straight, ready to test my theory. "Yuki!" I called. Gray-guy-- no, Yuki-- started and turned. I nodded proudly, a scientist with a proven theory, then slumped, a confused teenager far from home. After a minute period of self-pitying sniffles, I felt a tentative hand touch my shoulder. I tensed, looked up and wiped my eyes. Yuki was looking at me with confused pity in his eyes. I stood up and sniffled again.
"Sorry 'bout that...you have any tissues? I have a terrible cold." I said. I didn't, but my pride is something that forbids me from crying in front of strangers and 'fessing up to it. No, I save that for my friends.
I walked into the house behind Yuki. Luckily, no one was waiting for us. Yuki said, "Kyo's....not here, and you look like him, so I guess you can have his room. At the end of the hall." I nodded, then yawned. Shuffling along the floor, I finally reached the door and peeked in. A normal room, by my standards, it had stacks of books on the table and sheafs of paper on the floor. Feeling slightly like Goldilocks in the bears' house, I pulled a cover off the bed, curled up on the floor and closed my eyes. No way was I sleeping on some strange guy's bed! My breathing slowed, and as I drifted off, my last thought was of home. Until someone screamed, that is.
I yawned, opened my eyes, pushed my hair out of my face. Then I dimly registered that my long hair was unbraided, --I always braid it or tie it back before sleeping, less hassle-- I wasn't in my bed and a girl was screaming at me. I screamed back. (What the heck, she started it.) I was pleased to hear that I was louder than her. Yuki and...--Shigure?-- came running. Shigure stopped with his mouth open when he saw me, as did Yuki. I stopped screaming and watched them, trying to predict their moves. My family would probably call the police if they found a strange girl in their house. My family... I reached up to my hair, felt it. Long, chestnut locks. My face, as I touched it, was my own. I stood up, and found a disconcerting imbalance. I was short! Shorter than Yuki, though in my own body, I would've been taller. I still wasn't quite myself, it seemed.
"Yuki..." I trailed off, unsure of what to say. How did you tell someone your looks had changed overnight? I looked out the window. Still night. A second-story window, so if I jumped I'd have to brace myself. Yuki stepped close, frowning. I stepped back.
"You are... the person I asked over?" he asked. I nodded. "You've changed." he remarked. Understatement if I've ever heard one.
***
Tohru handed me a cup of tea. I sipped it, tried not to make a face and asked for some milk and sugar. I'm not picky, but I have a terrible sweet tooth and I like my tea squishy with sugar. ^_^ Tohru looked at me funny, opened her mouth as if to speak and closed it. I chewed my tea, then set it down and looked at Shigure and Yuki. They looked back. I took a fortifying sugar cube, a deep breath, and started my story at the beginning.
"I was born in August..." I began, then saw their expressions. I laughed. "I'm just kidding you all. The relevant part of this story probably begins when I fell down the escalator. I was reading..." I paused. It's not exactly polite to tell people they're figments of someone's imagination, or that their private thoughts are in public display for free at local libraries. "...a manga." I continued. "And a basketball hit me on the head and knocked me over. I didn't hit my head, but I think I broke my arm and cracked some ribs. And there was..." I swallowed dryly, "blood on my cellphone from somewhere." I started breathing faster, noticed it and tried to calm down. "A guy ran up, freed my hair from the machine, called 911...then there was a weird swirling and he"--I pointed at Yuki-- "was shoving slimy stuff down my throat. And calling me Kyo." Sigure laughed.
"How could you mistake her for Kyo?" he prodded Yuki. I couldn't help agreeing, as I was confused, too.
"I mean," I continued, "Kyo has orange hair, orange eyes"--I pictured him in my mind's eye-- "actual eyebrows..." I trailed off. My face felt funny, and everyone was staring again. Dreading the results, I raised my fingers to my face and felt...high cheekbones. Thin lips. Kyo's face. What's a girl to do? I screamed. Tohru made an odd 0x0' face, and started talking high-pitch, rapid-fire worry-gabble. Yuki stared. Shigure's jaw dropped. I thought furiously. (I'd stopped screaming, and was curled into a reassuring ball. I crunched on my tea, pondering.) If imagining Kyo's face had made it change, could I do it with other people. I stared back at Yuki, focusing. Tentative, slow, but there, my features shifted. I raised a hand to feel my face. Full lips, large eyes. I grabbed a lock-- long gray hair. Yup, it worked. Now to get back to normal. I started to picture my own face. And drew a blank. I started to panic. I'd had blue eyes, hadn't I? Bluish-grayish-green. And...long hair. Concentration battled fatigue and strain. Strain won. I stood up, walked away from disconcerted stares, aimed for the doorway. Too late, I realized I'd had nothing to eat since the train's pitiful "Morning Meal."
But surely the tea... my short-term memory protested.
Not fully digested yet, my stomach replied sagely. No good at all to us right now.
That makes sense. I thought. And fainted.
***
When I awoke, I did not have the large head-bump I was expecting, having literally tumbled head-first to the ground. Nor was I stretched out on the cold floor. Instead, I was comfortably arranged on a cushy mattress with a patterned blanket. And it was light out. I sat up, felt a wave of dizziness and determinedly swallowed it and sat up. Stumbling slightly, I set off to see if the Sohma household would deign to feed a hungry, thirteen-year-old shapechanger. I pulled my hair. Long and chestnutty again. Changing course, I aimed for the bathroom. I recognized the face in the mirror, I realized with , good. I leaned forward, imagined, for variety's sake, Tohru's face. After an unpleasant second or two, a ditzy, sincere face stared back at me. Disconcerted, I regained my face, then concentrated on my hands. They looked familiar, but were missing a few freckles and scars. Quickly, I reminded myself of how I had looked, tall and slightly elfin--a browned body and delicately pointed ears. Then I stopped looking in the mirror and walked down to breakfast. And bumped into Tohru as she was walking up the stairs. She slipped, her eyes widened in shock, and her tray took its leave of her fingers. Trusting in the quick reactions of my body, I slammed my arm into the opposite wall to support her back and snagged the tray to keep it from falling. I helped Tohru regain her feet and inspected the tray. It looked like rice, with seaweed.
"Are you alright?" I asked her. She smiled, a happy, trusting expression. I took another look at the tray and my stomach gurgled hopefully. "Are these for me?" I asked, salivating. She nodded and I dug in. "MmmMmm...! These are onigiri, right?" I questioned, my mouth full.
After inhaling the onigiri, I looked up at Tohru apologetically. "These are really good, but I'm afraid I'm still hungry." She looked stricken.
"I'm sorry-" we both started at the same time. We laughed. She completed, "I'm sorry. I should have realized, you did miss dinner." I shook my head.
"It's entirely my fault. Sorry to trouble you."
"No trouble!" she assured me. "I'm happy you're here. Although I'm worried about Kyo...." She frowned.
"Don't be." I said. "I mean, it's okay to worry, but don't make yourself sick over it. From what I've observed, the guy can take care of himself. He can fight very well, yes?" I thought of Kyo, felt a tentative feature shift and stopped suddenly, concentrating on my own face. When I regained control, I looked Tohru in the face. She looked like she was about to cry. I grimaced. I hadn't meant to draw tears. Man, why did I have to remind her that the guy might get into a fight.
"Anyway," I said awkwardly, "like this, the best thing you can do is to try to have fun, and have something to tell him when he comes back. He wouldn't want you sad, would he?" She smiled, then started crying wholeheartedly.
"Shoot!" I cursed, "I'm sorry, are you okay?" She raised her head, still smiling through her tears.
"I'm so happy!" She replied, "I hardly know you, and still you comfort me and catch me." She put a determined face on. "I will be happy. I won't wallow in self-pity, I promise." I smiled back.
"Now, any chance of food?" I asked plaintively. She started.
"I'm sorry! I forgot. Let's get food right away!" And with that, we walked down the stairs and into the kitchen. While she busied herself at the stove, I sat on the counter, and watched. After a bit, she turned to me.
"I'm Tohru. I'm afraid I didn't catch your name, what is it?"
"I'm... Nao, that's the closest thing to my name." I said. "That means 'obedient' or something, right? It's pretty accurate, actually. I'm not much of a rule-breaker. My real name means "pleasant girl", but I don't know if that translates, so you can call me Nao-chan." We smiled contentedly at each other, and I looked at her cooking-pan. "Any chance of fried egg and rice?" I asked. "That's my favorite."
"Sure!" she replied. Then a clatter of footsteps behind us alerted us and we turned as one girl. Yuki stood in the doorway, gray hair rumpled and eyes blinking sleepily. His eyes widened when he saw me, and he stumbled. I wondered why. Was there a smudge on my face or something?
Still not averting his gaze, he walked forward and leaned on the counter I was sitting on. Disconcerted, I skooched back, forgetting how small the counter was. I fell off derriere-first, thought 'Here we go again', did a semi-flip and ended up in a handstand. Then I lowered my legs and hopped to my feet, so I ended up doing a semi-back handspring. I'd never been a gymnast, so the sudden acrobatics were as surprising to me as they were to Tohru and Yuki, with mouths agape. Observing their expressions, I laughed.
"One way to wake up in the morning, isn't it?" I joked. Yuki walked away from the counter, removing a milk carton from the refrigerator. Still gazing at my face, he prepared his breakfast. I was beginning to get uncomfortable over the scrutiny when he broke the silence.
"I have a couple questions, if you're okay with it." I started.
"Mmm...sure."
"First-- is that your real face?" he asked.
"To the best of my remembering, this is me." I answered, gesturing "fom head to toes".
"Next...how old are you?"
"You're not supposed to ask a woman her age." I remarked. "I'm 13. I was born in the Year of the Dog. You?" He stared.
"I'm 16. I was... born in the Year of the Dog, too."
"How is that possible?" I asked. "Wait. What year is it?"
"____" he replied. I blinked.
"Sorry?"
"____." I gave him an (o.0)' look.
"You know that you're making bleeping sounds, right?" He looked confused. I had a sudden realization.
"Do you have a computer?" I asked. He nodded.
***
Sitting in front of the computer, I attempted to reach a site where I'd once found a Fruitsbasket manga. The screen displayed : 'Server does not exist'. Hmm...so the story kept the characters in the dark. Interesting. Well, to tell people they don't really exist is not my cup of tea. With a quick mindflash, I typed in my own name and pressed 'SEARCH'. And...a manga came up. With a rather bad picture of my face on it. Hardly believing it, I opened the file. And read a chapter. Huh... that was last year, the first time I was in New Zealand. Slightly numbed, I read the first chapter. My thoughts in seventh grade, displayed on the screen. Suddenly shocked, I closed the site. How could this exist? I don't even know what I'm thinking most of the time. This...felt wrong. Embarassing, and painful. Suddenly bemused, I smirked. Wondered why anyone would want to write about me. I spend most of my time reading, anyway. I closed the laptop, curled up on the chair and rested my forehead on my knees to have a serious think. I'd just learned how bad it felt to find the invasion of privacy. I couldn't tell Tohru and the others. Seems like...the only thing to do was to do my best and wait to go back to my world. Quashing the thought that I might never return, I raised my head, just in time to see Yuki enter the room.
***