I do not own any of the content relating to the original Fruits Basket. I do, however, own Venus, Ashlynn, and Silver, and any other content related to them as well.
Chapter 1
The bell rang in the background, drowned out by the chattering students. It sounded like a train bell click-clacking along in the rain that pounded the windows, not willing to let up.
"The subway has rolled through! You are excused!" the teacher yelled over the noise. Every student stuffed their books and accessories into their backpacks and rushed out the small door the teacher held open. "Ashlynn, Emily hold on a moment please."
"It's Silver!" Emily snarled. The teacher made no notice of her remark. Silver folded her arms across her chest and followed Ashlynn to the teachers desk.
"You two are doing exceptionally well in this class." he said as he handed them back their US History tests. Both read '100% Excellent job' in red ink at the top. Big surprise there. They had an A on every history test they took. "I would like both of you to switch to AP US History starting tomorrow. I have already arranged it and your new schedules should be in the office now." he looked up and shifted his thin-wired glasses, smiling. The three bowed slightly and Ash and Silver left the room silently.
"I don't want to be in AP Ash, I hate history." Silver said after they got a ways away from their history classroom, greatly emphasizing the 'hate' part of her statement. She gazed at her test and threw it in a trash can as they walked by it.
Ashlynn just laughed and slightly shook her head. "I guess there is no way of getting around it. At least we have a nice teacher, right? Or maybe we should start failing?" Silver looked at her for a moment, then turned away and smiled at her friend's sarcasm. They stopped at their lockers; Ashlynn on the left, Silver on the right. In the distance the chant of the Yuki Fan Club could be heard.
"Oh God he's coming…" Silver grunted as she yanked open her locker. It wasn't actually Yuki she despised, it was his little "Fan Club" that made her want to murder someone. Yuki quickly brushed past them and stopped at his locker, the locker on Ashlynn's left. They both glanced at him and he glanced back and smiled. They went back to grabbing their books needed for homework; Algebra 2, English Language, Chemistry and US History.
"Ashlynn, since it's raining, do you think Venus would come out to pick us up?" Silver asked.
"She might. Go ahead and ask her." Silver pulled out her cell phone and typed in the message, 'hey V, you mind picking us up? You don't have to if you don't want to.' Yuki was watching her quietly.
"What?" she snapped as she turned to look at him, clicking her phone closed.
"Venus?" he asked. Clearly, he didn't know Venus. Then again, most didn't.
"It's only my bestest buddy in the world." Silver said, a smile tugging at the corner of her mouth.
"I see." he said as two other boys walked up, one the same age and grade as Ash, Silver, 17 and one the same age as Yuki, 18. One had white and black hair and grey eyes and the other had bright orange hair and dark orange-like eyes.
"Haru, Kyo." Ashlynn and Silver nodded to them both. Silver's cell phone buzzed and she whipped it out in the blink of an eye.
'Sure, I will come. Right now?' the message said.
'In a bit. We have to get our new schedules.' Silver put her phone back in her pocket.
"Was that her?" Yuki asked. Silver nodded.
"Well think it's about time for us to get going now Silver, come on." Ashlynn tugged on Silver's arm, pulling her away from the lockers.
"Sheesh calm down." Silver giggled slightly.
"To the bathroom then office." Ashlynn said as they began to walk.
"I hope it's alright if we tag along." Yuki smiled. Ashlynn nodded, smiling at the thought of Venus cracking a joke right at that point about the boys coming with them and the bathroom.
"Alright that's fine." Silver said, though not thrilled about it.
"Give me your brush." Ashlynn said. Silver dug in her navy blue Jansport backpack, pulled out her silver brush, and gave it to her. Ashlynn began to unbraid Silver's long, silver hair as they walked towards the bathroom. She brushed it until it was sleek and soft to the touch, then she put it back into two pigtails, tying a black bow at the end of each. They took a quick stop at the bathroom then picked up their new schedules at the office, which now identically matched Yuki, Haru and Kyo's schedules.
"So… Who was this Venus person you mentioned earlier?" Kyo asked as they exited the building and stood under the overhang to stay out of the pouring rain.
Just at that moment a midnight black Ford F-350 came racing into the parking lot and screeched to a halt before the group.
"You're about to find out." Ashlynn snorted. The V10 diesel engine turned off and the door opened and Venus hopped out. She strutted over to the in her black leather combat boots, black fishnet stockings, black leather skirt accessorized with chains, black leather corset with crimson laces, black leather elbow-length gloves and black sunglasses. Most of her hair was black. The top layers were teased out the back in all different directions and the bottom layers were much longer, about to her waist, and straightened. Her bangs were pure white and ate up the left side of her face. A single white stripe ran horizontally across the left side of her head.
"Yo." she spat out as she slung her arms around Ashlynn and Silver.
"Yo yourself." Ashlynn said.
"What's up with orange top over there?" She gestures at Kyo. You could just about see the veins popping out of his head.
"Kyo." he said.
"I'm sorry did you say something orangey?" she said as she walked up to him. She stared him directly in the eyes as they were the exact same height. Kyo clenched his fists and scowled at her. He opened his mouth to say something when Venus interrupted him.
"Well I guess not so we're going now." Venus said. "Yuki, Haru, Orangey. Goodbye."
"H- how did you know our names?" Kyo sputtered.
"That's for me to know and for you to not find out." Venus said as she waved her hand over her head and climbed back into her truck.
"Maybe you could come over for dinner tonight?" Ashlynn shrugged and suggested. Suddenly Venus was at her side. The boys gaped at her.
"What did you just say?"
"They're coming over for dinner, aren't you?" The boys looked at each other and shrugged, nodding.
"Why did you- what is your- oh fucking a…" Venus said and stormed off to her truck. She got in and slammed the door shut.
"Well isn't she a big ball of sunshine." Kyo said sarcastically. Silver backhanded him.
"Shut UP!" she yelled at him. Her light blue eyes went black as she stormed off to Venus's truck, got in the passenger seat, and slammed the door.
"I guess that's my cue to leave." Ash gave them directions to their house. She waved as she piled herself and her things into the back seat. Venus immediately put her truck in gear and sped out of the parking lot, tires screeching. In the blink of an eye they were gone.
"What did you go and invite them over for?" Venus said through clenched teeth. Her hands gripped the steering wheel and her body was rigid.
"I was just offering, being nice." Venus said nothing. "I know, you're not one to play nice-" Venus snorted, "-but still… You're in that house alone all day. I figure you might want to…" she waved her hands around, searching for the right words, "I don't know… socialize." Venus turned in her seat to glare back at Ash. She turned her eyes back to the road.
"Don't even." She said. Ashlynn shook her head.
They turned a sharp corner and continued driving down the narrow road in silence. A few minutes later, they turned down their driveway. Venus reached up and pressed a button on her dashboard. She raced around to the back of the house and screeched to a stop inside the garage. She pressed the button again and the garage door snapped shut. They all got out and went into the house.
The door opened into a small room with another door to the left. The room had dark cherry wood floors that stretched throughout the whole house. In the room were a washer, dryer and cabinets full of laundry detergent, dryer sheets, laundry baskets and assorted bath towels. There was a small window that looked out onto the covered parch walk and into the front yard and the forest beyond that. Through the door on the left they went. Beyond that door was a pantry on the left, and straight ahead was the kitchen which bore an island in the middle with a electric stove. At the far left of the kitchen was the nook which looked out into the backyard. It also had a door that led to the patio.
They exited the kitchen with the dining room on their right and the great room on their left. The dining room had a walk-in closet with thing from napkins to candles to who knows what else. It also had windows with sheer white curtains tied back with silver tassels. Those looked out onto the covered porch walk and beyond. The great room had sliding glass doors leading to the patio, a firewood-burning fireplace, and a huge entertainment system stocked with all the latest things. On the other side of that closet, across from the great room was the foyer. Past those rooms were stairs leading to the second floor.
Ashlynn walked past the stairs with a crawl space closet, past the den on her right, a small closet on her left, a bathroom next to that, and into her bedroom. On her right was her walk-in closet, on the left wall was a door leading to the patio, on the far wall were windows covered by forest green velvet curtain, next to the closet door was her bathroom with a sink, toilet and shower/jet tub. She threw her green backpack into her closet, shrugged her uniform onto the floor and flopped onto her bed. 'I'll just take a short nap before the boys get here' she thought and immediately fell asleep.
Venus and Silver went up the stairs. Straight across from the landing was an area open to the great room below. To the left was a walk which put the open area on the right and another area open to the foyer below on the left.
Venus went to the right, stormed into her room and slammed her door shut. Her bed, dressed in lavender silk sheets, a black silk-covered comforter, and black and lavender silk pillows, was tucked into an indent in the wall that was straight across from the door. The wall behind it had a window that was painted black. In the black paint was silver that shimmered in the candlelight. Abstract. It took no specific form, but it was mesmerizing in the way that it seemed to be alive. On the right, tucked into an odd corner, was a silver metal desk. On it sat her black touchscreen laptop, a variety of novels, lit candles, a fish bowl housing a black Crowntail Beta fish named Rei, and many different drawings scattered all over. To the left of the door, was her bathroom which contained a separate toilet, a shower, two sinks, jet tub, and a walk-in closet with a generous amount of room.
She shucked her combat boots off and crawled under her covers. She was pissed that Ashlynn had just invited people over like that. Without asking more or less. She fumed about this for a few minutes. The painted wall above her bed seemed to become wild, more alive. It seemed angered as it writhed around on its flat surface. Venus inhaled a deep breath of cool air, calming herself. The wall seemed to slow its motions as well. She closed her eyes and was engulfed in silence and darkness.
Silver walked across the cast iron-railed walk, past the loft, and into a smaller hallway. The door on the right and at the end of the hall were locked. She opened the door on the left, walked in and shut the door behind her. Her bed was tucked into the corner on her right, a walk-in closet on her left, a window on the far wall and a door on the wall past the closet hid her bathroom with a shower/jet tub, sink and toilet.
She tossed her over-stuffed backpack next to her bed and went into the bathroom. With a simple wave of her hand, steaming water poured out of the tub faucet. She poured cherry blossom-flavored bath salts into the tub. She pressed a button next to the faucet and the jets went on with a whoosh, sending the scented water in relaxing spirals and white bubbles began to form. She took off her shoes and school uniform and slowly lowered herself into the hot water. She exhaled slowly as she began to untie her long silver braids. She hung Ashlynn's black bows over the edge of the tub and submerged herself beneath the surface covered in bubbles.
8:00 pm
Ashlynn stood in the kitchen, finishing the final touches on dinner. Silver was scuttling back and forth between the kitchen and dining room putting utensils, napkins and cups on the table; her black Converse making no noise on the wood floors. As she finished her final task, folding the napkins and placing them next to the square black plates, the doorbell rang.
"Silver, could you get that please!" Ash called from the kitchen. Silver went to the door and peeked through the peephole. Yuki, Haru and Kyo stood waiting for someone to answer. She yanked the door open, staring at them with her large blue eyes. They stared back.
"Come in." She said flatly. They all brushed past her, slipping off their shoes and hanging their coats on the iron rack next to the door. They stood in the foyer waiting for instruction. Silver rolled her eyes, "Follow me." They followed her into the dining room where they each took their assigned places; Ashlynn at the far end, Yuki and Kyo sat on one side with an empty chair between them, Haru and Silver on the other side, and an empty chair at the head; Venus's chair. Kyo and Haru at Venus's end, Yuki and Silver at Ashlynn's end.
"Silver could you go get her please." Just as she said that, Venus appeared in the doorway. "Or not. Venus, since you didn't help out with dinner, you get the pleasure of serving the food." Venus folded her arms and disappeared into the kitchen. She reappeared a minute later with the food balancing on a tray in her left hand. Without saying a word she placed food-covered plates in front of each person. The curtains in the dining room were now shut, muffling the sound of the pounding rain outside.
Placed before them was rice, chow mien, pork, steak, other various items and a special bowl of fried rice for Silver. "What would you all like to drink?" Venus asked as she took her tray into the dining room pantry. She reappeared with glasses for everyone on her tray and drifted into the kitchen. She returned with the tray and glasses. She placed a glass of milk in front of Kyo, a glass of steaming Earl Grey tea in front of everyone else and a glass of red liquid in front of her plate. Kyo gaped at her, utter shock on his face. He wondered how she knew what he wanted.
"You need to learn to conceal your emotions better Kyo-Kyo." Venus said. Kyo's face went blank as he turned to his food. Ashlynn glared at Venus with a 'don't even go there' look on her face.
"So…" Haru said as he shoved a huge amount of noodles in his mouth. Silence set in as everyone began to eat. Kyo began to slurp at his milk. Venus reached over and smacked the bottom of his jaw, slamming his mouth shut.
"Kyo-Kyo where are your manners?" Venus said disapprovingly.
"Stop calling me Kyo-Kyo!" Venus patted his head and took his milk.
"Now now, no more happy food if you can't behave." She teased. Kyo jumped up from his seat and went after Venus. Without realizing what happened, Venus had her knee in Kyo's back and her left hand pressing his face into the floor. Her right hand held his glass of milk. Ashlynn stood up.
"Venus!" she yelled. Venus poured the milk on Kyo's head.
"Oops, looks like I accidentally spilled!"
"Damn you! You stupid-" Venus smacked his across the face. She sat back in her seat looking very pleased with herself. Ashlynn shook her head. Kyo climbed back in his chair and angrily shoved food into his mouth, glaring at Venus through his peripheral vision.
"What is that?" Haru said, referring to Venus's drink. He picked it up, sniffed it and gagged.
"It's… ah… V8." Venus replied as she turned her sunglasses-covered gaze upon him.
"Don't they have an expiration date on these things? It smells horrible." He swirled the contents in the glass.
"How do you know it isn't supposed to smell that way?"
"Well it smells rotten to me."
"Your mom smells rotten to me…" She muttered under her breath.
"That's just plain disgusting." He said as he placed the glass back in front of Venus.
"You don't have to drink it, so mind your own business." She picked up her glass and chugged it. Haru looked totally repulsed as he watched her drink. She placed the empty glass back on the table.
"OK lets just get back to dinner." Ashlynn said. "No more unnecessary interruptions, Venus"
They all continued to eat as the minutes ticked by.
"What time is it?" Venus asked. Everyone had finished their meal and was letting it settle before desert.
"Almost 10:00" Yuki replied.
"Fuck!" Venus yelled. She slammed her utensils down and ran upstairs. She returned a few moments later still wearing her leather gloves and sunglasses, but now she had changed into black leather short-shorts and a sleeveless, collared, silk lavender button up vest that had a 'K' embroidered in a silver scrawling font on the left side of her chest. Underneath it was her name embroidered in small white print. At the time, her shirt was only buttoned up half-way, revealing part of a black bra. She also wore black leather stilettos with silver metal heels and her hair looked exactly the same.
"Off to work, sorry I have to leave." She said as she strutted past the dining room to the garage.
"You're not sorry." Ashlynn said.
Venus poked her head around the corner. "You're right. I'm not." And then she left. The others sat in silence as they listened to Venus's truck start up and peel out of the garage and down the road.
"Well good she's gone." Kyo remarked. Suddenly he froze as a steak knife sailed right past his head and stuck in the wall. "Holy shit! What the Hell was that?" he said as he looked back at the knife stuck in the wall. He turned back as Silver stormed out of the room and up the stairs. Ashlynn had buried her face in her hands. Her shoulders were shaking.
"Are you alright?" Yuki asked from his seat.
"I'm… fine… don't… worry." She said through gasps. Turns out she was trying not to laugh. Kyo looked (and was) completely confused. "Really, I'm fine." she said once she could breathe. "They just have a hard time…" She searched for the right word.
"Getting along with others? Controlling their tempers? Acting normal?" Kyo was throwing out random suggestions while Ashlynn glared at him.
"Yeah. Because having orange hair is totally normal." She spat out. "They just have a hard time adjusting to having other people in the house. Actually, Venus is just like that all the time. Been that way since we met her."
"What way?" Haru asked.
"Oh you mean how she acted tonight?" Haru nodded. "She's always been like that. Automatically hates people. No matter who it is. She doesn't trust people. She still doesn't trust us often. She'd rather be on her own than have the company of others. Sometimes she just disappears and doesn't come back for a long time. We don't worry about her though, she can take care of herself quite well.
"Sounds like someone else we know" Yuki shot a glare at Kyo who was trying to yank the steak knife out of the wall, but it held. Ashlynn went over and plucked it out off the wall with a simple flick of her wrist. Kyo sat back down in his chair and pouted.
"Pouty-puss." Ashlynn snorted. Kyo made a motion to get up and launch himself at her, but she waved the steak knife before him and settled back into his seat. After a bit of silence she said, "Movie?"
"Sure, why not. We have nothing better to do." Haru and Yuki got up and followed Ashlynn to the great room. She yanked open the large doors beneath the 60" plasma screen TV and gestured for the boys to pick a movie.
"How are we supposed to pick one! There have to be at least a hundred movies in there!" Kyo exclaimed as he wandered into the room.
"One hundred and forty two to be exact." She folded her arms in front of her. "I guess I'll pick one then." She pulled out Robin Hood: Men In Tights from the 'R' section (Venus just had to alphabetize them) and slipped the disk into the DVD player. The three boys sat on the long couch parallel to the TV, and Ashlynn sat in the love seat that was placed at an angle next to the other couch. She picked up the remote from off of the coffee table and pressed PLAY.
3:45am
The movie had long since ended and the four had fallen asleep where they sat.
Ashlynn, who had ended up sprawled across the seat, woke and stretched in a cat-like manner. The boys awoke as she let out a deep sigh. Silence again.
"So how long have you three lived here together?" Yuki spoke up. Haru leaned in with his elbows on his knees, hands folded together, and his chin resting on his knuckles. Kyo was listening too, but tried really hard not to show that he was. Venus really got to him.
"Well…" Ashlynn didn't seem to know what to say. "Silver and I have lived here our whole lives, but we were drifters. We wandered from city to city trying to make a living. It was going well, but we had to move from one house to another quite often. One day we lost everything. That was when Venus came in. She helped us out and now we have this house."
"She doesn't seem to be the type who would help others."
"Err… about that. We actually did something for her, so now as payment she has to help us. She says that it's according to her customs."
"Must have been one Hell of a deed you did for her in order for her to house you like this."
"Yeah it was. She brings the majority of the income. We help a bit too, but we still don't understand how she does it all herself."
"So, are you from this country? Or are your origins from elsewhere?"
"Silver and I are actually American citizens, but we were raised here. Venus on the other hand, I have no idea. Sometimes I wish I knew myself. Sometimes I think she is from another-"
"I'm from Italy, but I grew up in Romania. Though I did travel back and forth quite a bit." Venus said, her accent practically rolling off her tongue. She had appeared just about literally out of nowhere, causing Kyo, Yuki, and Haru to jump in surprise. Ashlynn stayed perfectly still. They hadn't even heard her drive up.
"Isn't that like, a part of Rome?" Kyo asked. You could just about literally see the steam coming off of Venus's head as she fumed.
"No!" She yelled. "Those are two completely different places!" She threw her arms up in the air and paced back and forth as she vented. "Romania is its' own country! Rome is a city in Italy!"
"Tough day at work?" Ashlynn asked. Venus flopped on top of her in the chair and sighed. "Venus, go put some more clothes on. It's not appropriate to be dressed like that in front of guests."
"Fine." She got up and stomped up the stairs. She came back down the stairs a few minutes later wearing black pajama pants, a red v-neck tank top, her leather gloves and her sunglasses. Her finger and toenails were painted black and her hair was wet.
"Why is your hair wet?" Kyo asked.
Venus stuck her face in his, "What? You've never heard of a girl taking a shower?"
"I'm… I just… how in… how could you take a shower that fast anyways!"
"Shut up…" Yuki and Haru sighed. "Just do us all a favor and… leave!" Venus yelled in his face.
"Venus! That's not polite!"
"You should know me better." Venus turned to Ashlynn and smirked. "I'm not one to play nice." she said, semi-quoting her friend from earlier the previous day.
"She is right though, it is about time for us to leave. Especially now that there is a break in the storm." Yuki said.
"Alright if you must." Ashlynn said. Venus followed Ashlynn to the door. The three followed as well and put on their jackets. Venus's lip was pulled up in a snarl as Kyo walked past. She growled a him. Kyo was about to retort, but Yuki grabbed his jacket and hauled him outside.
Ashlynn waved as the boys walked down the driveway. As soon as they rounded the corner, she slammed the door shut and turned to Venus.
"What the Hell was that all about!" She yelled. Venus's fists curled until her knuckles turned white. Her long black-coated nails dug into her skin. To the point where blood was drawn. Her nostrils flared as the scent filled them.
"Nothing…" she scoffed.
And with that, she stomped upstairs into her room, slamming the door as hard as she could without breaking it.
Downstairs, Ashlynn sighed as she flopped onto the couch where the boys once sat. She tuned over and lay face down, recoiling at the scent. It smelled like… a bunch of animals? She shook her head and sat up, crossing her legs. 'Venus must have had one of her many pets in the house recently...' she thought. She leaned forward, resting her head on her folded hands. The silence was overpowering. She got up and went into the kitchen to get some tea. A cup for herself, and another for Silver who she knew would still be up. She made her way upstairs with the steaming liquid.
A dim light filtered from beneath Silver's door. Ashlynn lightly knocked. There was no response so she quietly opened the door. Silver lay on her bed with a Fullmetal Alchemist manga in her hands and headphones in, no doubt listening to Avenged Sevenfold. Ash set the tea down on her bedside table and sat on the edge of her bed.
Silver didn't look up. Ashlynn sighed and stretched as she stood, careful not to spill her cup of tea. She walked out of the room, closing the door softly as she went. She continued downstairs and into her room. The bed called to her and she went to it. She covered herself in her blankets. 'I hope the boys got home alright. Oh, school in the morning… damn' she thought and she fell asleep. The cup of tea sat steaming on her bedside table, not a sip taken from it. The house sat in silence, all except the pounding of the rain.