A/N: Hee, this is my very first story, hope you guys like it! Constructive criticism is greatly appreciated!
Disclaimer: I, Adellabella, do not own nor claim to own the anime and/or manga of Fruits Basket nor any of its characters. I wish I did though, but then again who doesn't? Please remember that I am a (wannabe) author, my imagination works in strange ways. If any of my story's plotlines seems similar to any of your stories, it would have been purely coincidental. And though I would apologize for it, I will not change anything. This story will follow the timeline of the anime, because I am too lazy to include the drama in the manga and because Akito's transsexual-ness confuses me. *smile* This applies to all chapters of the story.
RE-CONSTRUCTED & RE-POSTED ON: 04/29/10
Note: I noticed so many inconsistencies with the original chapter! *sigh* Like the fact that Akane didn't get Hatori's clothes while they were still outside but then I mentioned that Hatori used his clothes to cover himself inside their apartment. I'm so glad I decided to edit the first few chapters! Also! Akane's attitude is slightly inconsistent with the way she acts in the later chapters, so I'll be changing the way she acts here. Anyway, I just wanted to point out to the readers that I do notice my own mistakes. :) I'll be re-constructing the next few chapters and then post them again. Thank you guys for all of your patience!
Enjoy!
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Chapter 1: Saving the Seahorse
It was around ten o'clock in the evening.
A young girl no older than twenty-five was taking a walk through the park, her hair whipping around her face as another cool gust of wind hit her rosy tinted face, wincing slightly as a stinging sensation came to her eyes. That idiot…she sighed to herself, thinking about the past occurrences she had had with her older brother.
"Can you get some stuff for dinner Kane-chan? I forgot to buy groceries." A young man asked as he washed his face in the bathroom sink. The young woman, Akane or as her older brother, Ruo, referred to as 'Kane-chan', appeared at the bathroom door.
"Idiot, I thought you were supposed to be the older one here?" the young woman retorted with an annoyed look on her face, her wild red hair dripping wet from her previous shower, "Including going out to get food alone in the dark when the younger one forgets to do so?"
"Well I was busy doing…doing…" Ruo tried defend himself, keyword, tried.
"Doing?" the redhead egged him on as she glared menacingly at the man as he wiped his face on one of the white towels hanging on the long rack, "Come on then, what is it you have been doing during all that free time you had, huh?"
Ruo shifted his eyes nervously from side to side when he couldn't think of a legitimate excuse, "Aww…come on Kane-chan, please? Like you said, I'm the older one here, you have to take care of the elderly." he countered with a sigh and a woeful look on his young face.
"You're 3 years older than me Ruo, how old can you get?" Akane replied while placing her hands on her hips and raising an eyebrow questioningly.
"Please?" Ruo begged as he clung on to Kane's leg, his damp hair wetting her pants. Akane buried her fist playfully in the dark brown hair clinging to her legs, causing the man to bite at it jokingly.
"Fine, fine. I was going to go for a walk anyway, but you'll be stuck with instant food," she reluctantly agreed while shaking the unwanted arms latched around her trapped legs.
"That'll be fine Kane-chan! Thanks you!" Ruo exclaimed in a sing-song voice while beaming at his younger sister, the smile turning into more of a triumphant one rather than a thankful one. Akane paid no heed to it though and punched his lightly on his exposed shoulder as he stood up from the floor.
"Your welcome, Onii-chan." she replied with a small smile on her face.
The young girl sat down on one of the park benches and let out a big sigh as she thought back on the conversation with her older brother.
He seems more of a child than I do…
The young woman had dropped of the grocery bags at their apartment and left for the park right after eating, the cold November air serving as refreshment from her apartment. "He really needs to grow up…" she giggled to herself before letting a yawn escape her pink lips. Akane glanced at her watch and gaped when she saw that it was nearly 11:30. The redhead finally stood from the bench and it was just then that she realized that she was the only one in the area.
"Kinda scary…" she observed as she looked back to the direction heading to the apartment. She shivered as the breeze picked up and started blowing her red hair in all directions.
God, it's so cold. I can't even imagine what it will be like during winter…she thought grimly, tugging her jacket around her body. Ah, but the luck of the Irish. Sadly, Akane isn't Irish for when she started to take the first few steps towards the road back to her and her brother's apartment, it had started raining.
Hard.
"Godamn you!" she shouted at the sky as the fat raindrops kept falling on her already wet face, drenching her already soaked body. She took a moment to realize what she had just said and chuckled at her little joke. A rather loud strike of thunder followed suit after Akane's outburst, causing the angry woman to glare even harder at the dark sky.
"What have I done to you!?! I've been a good girl! I haven't lied!" she shouted at the dark sky, stomping on the cemented floor, a small puddle gathering in a pothole splashing back at her angrily.
Much…
"I haven't stolen!"
Well that slice of cake in the refrigerator looked really delicious…
"Cheated?"
Poker game last week…
"Ah, screw it…" she mumbled at her subconscious as she started running further down the cold, wet road. As she crossed the street to get to the side her apartment building was on, two bright blinding lights suddenly shone through the thick rain, shocking the woman to stillness as the lights approached her quickly.
"Motherfu-" Before she could even register what was about to happen nor finish her rather un-lady-like statement, she felt a body collide with hers and push her out of the way of the screeching car driving down the rest of the road before turning at a corner. Akane sat up instantly from the ground just as she had hit it and searched for the person who had saved her life, and probably her brain from exploding due to too many curse words.
But instead of meeting the eyes of her savior, she saw…
Nothing?
"Where'd they go?" she thought aloud as she stood up from the wet ground, paying no attention to her soaking coat clinging to her legs or to the rain calming down lightly.
Where the hell did they go? She didn't even notice anyone approach her to push her out of the way of the car; she did notice though, the white shirt, black pants, necktie, shoes and socks lying on the ground next to her feet."Where did these come from," she asked nobody in particular, picking the now wet articles of clothing from the floor. She blinked questioningly as she noticed something small and dark fall out of the folds of the clothes.
What the…
Akane was more than shocked to see a small seahorse gasping for breath on the dark road. "What the heck is a seahorse doing here!?!" she exclaimed pointing at the small creature accusingly, taking a step back from the scene.
"Wa…ter…" the seahorse wheezed out.
"D-d-did you just talk?" she stuttered out the question nervously, taking another step backwards before tumbling to the ground, the clothing falling out of her arms and back to the road. Akane stared at the poor creature then laughed to herself silently. "Silly me, animals can't talk, that's just stupid. Must have been my mind playing tricks on me." she said quietly, trying to convince herself more than anyone else.
I need a life.
"Wa…ter…" the seahorse wheezed out again, its curly rail twitching ever so slightly
"Hah! You did talk, I'm not crazy!" she smiled smugly to herself before focusing her attention back to the seahorse on the ground. She scooped up the small gasping animal in her hands then nodded determinedly. "Water! Right! Sorry, umm…Mr. Seahorse!" she exclaimed, reverting back to her nerve-racked state. Akane placed the seahorse in her lap and shrugged of her shoulder back, pulling out a conveniently placed thermal of water.
She then opened the cap and dropped the seahorse in, holding the body of the bottle while grabbing the scattered dirty clothes around her. The drenched woman ran to her apartment building and entered its lobby's door, appreciating the immediate warmth the room provided her with. Some of the attendants rushed to get her some towels and hot tea, but Akane pushed them away and headed straight for the elevator.
A soft ping was heard signaling the arrival at her floor. Akane stumbled out of the elevator and ran down the hallway, hastily glancing at each corner while looking for the room she had already so many times entered.
807…808…809…There! 810!
Akane shoved her hand down the pocket of her soaked jeans, fumbling with the soggy material. Finally, she pulled out the key hanging from a bell keychain, the soft tinkling soothing her bristling nerves. After pushing the door open and entering, she immediately ran to the kitchen sink, clogged it with the metal cap and filled it up with water. She added some kitchen salt into the rising tap water and then finally, poured the contents of the water bottle—including the seahorse—into the sink.
"Akane? Is that you?" the faint voice of Ruo asked from the living room.
"Yeah! It's me Ruo! I'm in the kitchen!" she shouted back as she stared, no, glared at the seahorse floating gently in the water. Her hands gripped the sink's corner so tightly that her knuckles turned white from the death grip, the clothes she had found now lying forgotten on the sink's counter.
"Why is the carpet all wet? Did you just get back now? It's raining you know, you could catch a…" he trailed of as he eyed his sister hunching over the sink. "What are you doing Kane-chan?" he questioned the young girl as he raised an eyebrow at her turned body.
"It talked to me, Nii-chan…"
"What?" he asked leaning over to his younger sister.
"It talked to me, Nii-chan! The seahorse! It talked to me!" Akane shouted with huge eyes as she looked back at the older man, her grip on the sink loosening. "It talked to me!" she shouted with panic, her death grip transferring itself to her brother's t-shirt.
"Seahorse? Are you alright, Kane-chan?" he asked as he patted her hands comfortingly while peeking over to the sink.
"Are you coming down with something? And what is a seahorse doing in the sink?" he asked, placing his hand on her forehead then his free hand to his own, comparing each of their temperatures.
"Nii-chan! I'm not-" she exclaimed while swatting away her brother's hand, but was interrupted as a loud 'poof' erupted from the sink. And there, standing in the middle of the Yoshikuni siblings' kitchen, was a man.
A very hot man.
A very hot naked man.
"Oh my God."
A loud thud was heard as the young Akane fainted and landed on the kitchen's marble floor. Ruo then proceeded to step over his sister's non-moving form and approached 'The Mysterious Man from the Sink'.
"Hey, the name's Yoshikuni Ruo." the older Yoshikuni introduced as he held his hand out to the irritated looking man.
"Sohma Hatori." he replied, snatching his clothes from the sink's counter to cover his…umm, areas with it. He was very thankful that he did not have to bow, due to his state of…well…his state of Nudity.
Yup, that's right. Capital 'N'.
"Nice to meet you! I'll go get you a towel." Ruo replied with a toothy grin on his face. He then left for what Hatori guessed was the restroom.
Is this guy on something? I just transformed in front of him and he's still making introductions? Hatori thought as he stared at Ruo's retreating form. A minute later, Ruo reemerged from the kitchen's door, now holding a white towel in his hands.
"Here you go!"
"Oh, thank you." Hatori said mutely as he wrapped the towel around his waist. "Excuse me, but may I use your restroom? And will she be alright?" Hatori questioned the other man as he eyed the knocked out woman.
"Oh don't worry about her!" he replied while nudging his sister's backside a little with his foot. "She's just peachy!" he said, laughing lightly at his sister's innocence, "Just go into the living room, first door on the right. There are extra towels in the cabinet above the mirror."
"Very well, I appreciate your hospitality." Hatori replied, shooting another scrutinizing gaze at Akane, but nonetheless left the kitchen to search for the restroom. As soon as Hatori was out of hearing range, Ruo stepped over his little sister's form, crouched down and started poking at her face.
"Hmm…I guess I found my new source of entertainment." He said quietly as he stood up and laughed to himself quietly. "It's about time you get a love life sister dear." He said to himself as he left the kitchen and sauntered over to the living room couch, leaving his poor defenseless and wet sister on the cold kitchen floor.
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My head. Akane groaned incoherent mutters as she stirred slightly from the carpeted floor. Oww…
Why is there a carpet? I fainted in the kitchen…Nii-chan must have transferred me then. Akane winced as a dull ache echoed through her head while shifting in the soft confines of what seemed like a blanket. I wonder what happened to that seahorse guy…At the thought of said seahorse guy, Akane pushed herself up from the blanket wrapped around her body. The first thing she saw were the two men talking over some hot tea.
"She was in the middle of the-" Hatori then stopped talking as he noticed the now awake and curious girl. "Good morning, Yoshikuni-san." Hatori nodded politely to the young woman lying on the floor. Akane nodded to him in return. Thankfully, he was now clad in a grey shirt and black pants.
"Oh, you're still here…" Akane said as she felt heat suddenly rise to her face as she recalled the earlier incident. She glanced at the clock hanging over the door, blinking dumbly as the hand ticked from one spot to another. 1:30.
"I take it that's not a good thing?" the mysterious man replied with his eyebrow raised slightly.
"No! It's not that, it's just that I thought you would leave after…you know…" she said as the blush rose to her face, the heat even spreading over her ears. She had nearly forgotten that her older brother was there and very much aware of what was playing before his very eyes. That is, of course, until he decided to interrupt Akane's little 'blush-fest'.
"Oh, my dear baby sister! This is Hatori Sohma. He was just telling me of your little 'deer-in-the-headlights' episode." Ruo said with a look of satisfaction as realization appeared on his little sister's face.
"That was you? Oh, thank you for saving from what seemed to be a very bad way to go." she said as an unhappy sigh passed through her lips. Akane's flat expression left just as quickly as it came, though, as it was suddenly replaced with a look of embarrassed guilt."I'm sorry for being so rude to you before. It's just not everyday I find a seahorse on the road and then it suddenly turns into a man." Akane apologized, bowing timidly before fixing her gaze onto her hands resting comfortably on her lap.
A naked man at that…Akane's redness increased as she mentally slapped herself for letting her thoughts drift away to pervert land.
"Well, I have to admit you have a very colorful language." Hatori replied as he looked at the blushing woman, taking another innocent sip from his tea. "As for the seahorse incident, I already discussed it with your brother while you were asleep. I will be picking you up and bringing you to my home to explain everything. You will also have to meet the Head of the Sohma Family." he explained briefly, looking at Akane with a hard look.
"Well, that's how she is Sohma-san. I told her before that it is so unbecoming of a young woman, but does she listen? Never! Do talk some sense into her Sohma-san!" Ruo exclaimed, referring to Hatori's earlier statement, with a pitiful expression on his face.
He reminds me of Ayame…Hatori thought with a small smile playing on his lips.
Is he turning gay…Akane thought grimly as he continued to comment about her 'unbecoming habit'. "Nii-chan! Stop it!" she scolded through gritted teeth as she glared at his older brother's giggling form.
Wait, giggling?
Akane double-checked if what she saw was correct, and it was. He really was giggling.
Yup, definitely turning gay…maybe that Hatori dude…Akane's thoughts trailed of as a deep blush crept onto her pale face. Hold it right there! Those thoughts are not going any further!
…
Well…they would have had a lot of time to… Akane shuddered to herself, a deadpan expression appearing over her pale face. "Disturbing," she muttered to herself, throwing a few head slaps to shake the image out of her head. Ruo and Hatori exchanged a look as they watched the redhead knock her head a few times and mutter things along the lines of 'disturbing' and 'not thinking about it'.
Ruo sighed loudly, earning himself the attention of his younger sister. "Why must I be cursed with a crazy, self-loathing, schizophrenic sister?" he asked, turning to give Hatori a sad smile. "You have it easy, Hatori-san."
"What was that?" Akane bit back at her brother, glaring at him through green eyes. "I didn't quite catch that." Ruo sighed, more loudly this time, then patted Hatori on the knee.
"Plus, you don't have to live with a deaf person," Akane's fist found its way to Ruo's head, bonking it hardly as a vein throbbed angrily on her temple.
"Shut up, idiot."
Hatori watched silently as the two siblings argued. He smiled gently, fighting off the name that just seemed to re-appear in his head all the time. Kana…He frowned lightly before pushing the name back to the corner of his mind then looked over to the Yoshikuni sibling's once more, interrupting their small quarrel.
"Excuse me, but I better get going. It's almost two o'clock." Hatori stated glancing over to the wall clock.
"Hatori-san," Ruo called the attention of the doctor just as he stood up. "Why don't you stay here for the night? It's still dark outside and it is still drizzling. I can just lend you some clothes in the morning and we can just go to your place together." Ruo continued as he looked at his little sister. "We don't mind, right Kane-chan?"
"Y-yea, it'll be fine." she agreed, forgetting the earlier argument with her brother and allowed a small smile to grace her face.
"Alright then, if it's alright with you." Hatori replied studying the faces of both siblings.
"I assure you, it's just fine! We can all sleep here in the living room, I can just sleep on the couch since we only have 2 futons." Ruo said as he walked over to a cabinet beside the bathroom.
"No!" Hatori suddenly exclaimed. The Yoshikuni siblings looked over at each other and then warily looked at the dark haired doctor. "The…circumstances of my…condition," Hatori explained slowly as he cast a quick glance at Akane then fixed his gaze back to Ruo.
"Oh! Right, silly me for forgetting," Ruo exclaimed, slapping his head with a 'pft', "Kane-chan will sleep on the couch instead!" Ruo concluded while giving his sister a bright smile. "Okay?"
Akane rolled her eyes at her brother. We could've just slept in our own rooms and allowed him to sleep in your room or on the couch…the redhead thought idly to herself, but nevertheless, agreed. "Yeah, okay."
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Akane pulled off her comforter and grabbed the two pillows that had fallen to the floor. She walked back outside of her room and dropped it carelessly on the couch, positioning the pillow so that her neck wouldn't get stiff from the arm rest in the morning. She looked over to her brother as he emerged from his room, now sporting two of his own pillows and blanket.
"I'll just take shower, Nii-chan," Akane said, eyeing her still damp clothing, "I feel icky."
Ruo chuckled at her sister's words then waved her off, spreading the blanket over the two futons. "Alright, alright." Akane then retreated back to her room, picked out her night clothes, and then went back outside to where Hatori sat formally on the now ready futon.
"I'll just be a minute," she said to the doctor then entered the bathroom. She placed all of her belongings in the sink, making sure the surface was dry. She then proceeded to strip herself of her still slightly damp and extremely cold clothes and placed it into the dirty clothes bin.
The young woman went through her nightly routine and closed the hot running water once she had finished washing off all traces of soap left in her hair and body.
Akane slowly stepped out of the shower, once making sure all the steam has disappeared and put on her pajamas. She wiped some fog off of the mirror and studied her reflection.
She looked thoughtful as she gazed into the mirror. Her red hair clung to her face, neck and back, still soaking from the hot shower she took. The green eyes shifted from feature to feature, scrutinizing each carefully.
"Akane-chan, do you know where your name came from, darling?" a woman asked, pulling a small girl of three onto her lap. The small girl's green eyes looked at her mother's, smiling brightly as green met green.
"Nope, what does it mean, mama?" the child questioned while shifting in her mother's lap and leaning back against her chest. Akane closed her eyes as her mother's voice drifted through the wind, the soft lullaby-like tone comforting the child greatly.
"It means deep red, just like your beautiful hair," the woman replied as she stroked her daughter's uncontrollable hair. Akane's eyes opened wide and looked back at her mother and smiled proudly.
"Eh? But you have pretty red hair too mama! So I'll be Akane One and you'll be Akane Two!" she stated as she turned in her mother's lap and threw her hands around the frail woman's neck. The young woman just smiled and laughed at her young daughter's logic.
"Go play with Ruo-chan now, dear," she said, lifting the girl from her lap and setting her back on the ground. When Akane peered over to her brother then looked back worriedly at her mother, she the little girl slightly towards Ruo's direction. "Go on."
"Will you play too, Kaa-san?" the little girl questioned staring intently at her mother.
"In a bit…"
"Okay then!" Akane smiled as she ran over to where her brother was making sand castles.
A few months after that, their mother died of cancer. Akane was four years old and Ruo seven. They continued to live with their father, who didn't exactly have time nor the money to spoil his children. Their father was just so devastated, and everything just went downhill from there.
The two siblings had understood their situations though, since their mother was the one who had a steady source of income and ever since she passed away, he was struggling to financially support himself, moreover the two kids.
Once Ruo had turned of legal age though, he asked their father whether it would be alright to bring Akane to his apartment with him once he got a good paying job.
He agreed, and promised to contribute as much as he can without having to starve himself. They do visit each other on occasions, mostly when they visit their mother's grave.
Akane hadn't noticed the small tears forming in her eyes as she reminisced about her mother. She quickly wiped them away as she heard someone knocking on the bathroom door.
"Kane-chan! Hurry it up!" Ruo shouted through the other side of the door.
"Just a second!" she then brushed her teeth and gathered the rest of her belongings. When struggled to push open the door, smiling gratefully at her brother as he pulled open the bathroom door. The smile died down though as he shot her with a serious look.
"You were thinking about her again, weren't you?" Ruo asked, giving his sister an accusing stare.
"I miss her, is all," Akane replied guiltily, suddenly taking a huge interest at the floor and at her feet. Ruo's gaze softened slightly as he studied his sister's slumped expression.
"We can visit her right after we meet this Akito guy, if you want." Ruo offered, ruffling his sister's wet hair. Akane swatted it away and raised an eyebrow at him.
"Akito?" Ruo nodded and shook the small droplets of water on his hand.
"The head of the Sohma family. They treat him like a God or something, I hear."
"Oh, okay." Akane replied shuffling her feet on the carpeted floor. As the two were enveloped in a pregnant silence, Akane sighed and looked up at Ruo, giving him a small smile. "Thank you, Nii-chan."
"No problem, kiddo."
The two siblings then went to their respective makeshift beds and snuggled in, the two laughing softly when they noticed that Hatori was already asleep on his own futon.
"Goodnight, Nii-chan."
"Goodnight, Kane-chan."
End Chapter 1
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A/N: I'm pretty proud of myself! Woohoo! Well, that's the first chapter. Hoped you all liked it and once again, constructive criticism is greatly appreciated. Review please!