Chapter One: The Strangest Day
Tohru crawled into the tent. There, I, her best friend, more or less like her twin sister, laid, coughing.
My name is Arcadia Rhinestone.
Kyoko Honda and Chuyuki Rhinestone: They were best friends so it was only natural that Tohru and me, Cady, (my nickname) became friends too.
Tohru slipped out and went to the stream to wash up. She came back in a began to work on her paper when I sat up.
I was having another coughing fit.
"Cady, you okay?"
"Yeah. I'm fine. I don't think it's that bad. You?"
"Well, let's see." Tohru felt my forehead. "It's not much but it's a slight fever. We'll see if the school nurse can give you some medicine tomorrow. Okay?"
"All right."
Kyoko and Chuyuki: They were walking down the street and were both killed in a car accident.
Tohru and me stuck together. The funerals were Kyoko's then Chuyuki's. Tohru took me in when her grandfather let us stay. But, when Tohru's grandfather needed to do some renovations, we secretly lived in a huge tent together.
Tohru gave me a pill. It was some cough medicine to help me.
I drunk it down with a bottle of water.
"Thanks, Toto." I said.
"No problem. Get some rest."
"Right."
"Did you finish your math homework?"
"Yeah. I-" I coughed again. "I did."
"Good. You've been really blowing it in math lately."
"Sorry. Numbers aren't really my calling."
"That's obvious."
"Tohru, you need sleep too."
We only called each other by our real names whenever we were serious about something.
"I will, Arcadia. I'm almost done with this."
"Okay. Don't overwork yourself, okay?"
"All right. How's work?"
"It's good. I have a show in three days."
While Tohru was a cleaner in an office building, I was a performer in a club across the street. I was a singer for her band, Asylum Sanity. I was a good singer but things were getting harder, what with more crowds coming in as well as my sickness.
I drifted off.
I woke up as Tohru stepped out. She stretched in the morning sun.
"Oh, morning, Cady. Did ya get any sleep?"
"Yeah. I did. I'm feeling better but my throat feels like hell."
Tohru laughed.
I got dressed in my uniform. Mine was only a little different than Tohru's. Rather than the typical girl's uniform, I wore the boy's uniform.
I had short black hair with brown highlights and big green eyes. And with my virtually flat chest, I was very often mistaken as a boy.
I then grabbed our bags. I passed Toto's bag to her.
"Bye, Mom!" Tohru and me said at once. "See ya later!"
We laughed as we walked down the path, arm in arm.
Since we were kids, we'd always been stuck together. We had the same class, same foods, same everything…except…
While Tohru favored the Rat because it played that trick on the Cat, I favored the Cat because I felt sorry for it. I wanted to prove to the Cat that…no matter what, it had a friend.
Yeah. I know what you're thinking now but no, I'm not entirely as friendly as most people would think a Cat person would be. I'm a little like our friend Uo. Anyway…
We were walking down the path when Tohru stopped.
"Cady, look." I followed Tohru's gaze and saw a nice looking house. "Let's go check it out!"
"Toto!" I shouted as Tohru ran down the hill. I had reached my hand out to no avail. "Mom, what am I going to do with her?" I looked up at the sky as I said it then ran down the path.
Tohru was looking at rocks that were painted like the zodiacs.
"Tohru," I said as I grabbed Tohru's arm. "This is a bad idea! What if some weirdo lives here? You can't fight off anyone to save your life-"
"My, my." A voice said. Tohru and me looked up to see a man in a tan bathrobe. "Do my eyes deceive me or is there a young girl and her boyfriend here on my porch?" An anime vein slapped onto my forehead. "Hm? Did I say something?"
"I'M A GIRL TOO, DAMMIT!" I shouted without thinking.
Tohru calmed me down. I was shaking with anger. I glared at the man.
"Sorry." He said, laughing. "You kinda looked like a boy. You're wearing the same uniform as my younger cousin so immediately I assume-"
"That's what ya get for assuming something." I said with a snap.
"You'll have to forgive her. It's something she made up when we were kids." Tohru said, bowing.
"What's that?"
I explained. "If you assume something, you make an ass out of you and me."
The man cracked up laughing. "You really are funny, sweetheart. In any case, I'm surprised these rocks caught your attention. They're such silly little things."
"Oh, they're not silly at all." Tohru said politely.
That's so you, Toto. I thought to myself.
I inspected them myself. I let out a sigh. "I should've known."
"Hm?" The man said.
"You left out the Cat." I said, pointing to the rocks.
"Uh-Ah, I see. You're referring to the old folktale."
"Yeah. I've always wanted to be the Cat rather than the dog."
"Same here." Tohru said cheerfully. "Except I wanted to be the Rat."
I glanced at Tohru, giving her the evil eye.
"Sorry, sorry. I know."
"Hmph." The man said. "I wonder what he'd say if he hears he has a fan."
"He?" Tohru asked. Maybe it's something we'll find out later. I wonder what-What the hell am I thinking! This guy could be a major pervert and I'm wondering if we'll be friends?
"I see. So you're both Dogs. I was wondering why I liked you so much I mean aside-"
A bag was dropped on the man's head.
He rubbed his head as the boy spoke.
"Please forgive him, Miss Rhinestone, Miss Honda. He's a bit of a flirt but he's harmless other wise."
I glanced at Tohru who I swore had her heart in her eyes. Tohru had a crush on Yuki but was smart enough not to join the Prince Yuki Fan Club. I made her dodge it by making up something.
"Um…Cady…I'm thinking about joining the fan club-"
Tohru was then hit on the head gently with a rolled up magazine that I was reading. "Don't be stupid, Tohru. He doesn't like fan club girls."
"HE DOESN'T!"
I let out a long, annoyed sigh. "No. So you better just stay away from those girls. They're bad news, trust me."
"Coming from my best friend who picks fights with boys."
"Not my fault they don't know what's what."
I let out a sigh.
"Let me start over." The man said. "I'm Yuki's older, much less violent cousin, Shigure Sohma."
"Oh! Hello," Tohru bowed. "My name is Tohru Honda."
She elbowed me. I then bowed as well, reluctantly.
"Hey. I'm Arcadia Rhinestone. Please call me Cady though."
"So what brings you two to our home?" Yuki asked.
"Oh…well…we live…nearby…" Tohru stuttered.
They both stared in confusion. I spun Tohru around and put my hand on her back.
I faced Shigure. "Well, we need to get going. We have school so we'll see ya around."
I pushed Tohru forward when Yuki spoke up.
"Oh, wait, Miss Rhinestone, Miss Honda. We should walk together."
"Oh…uh…okay." Tohru said.
I glanced at her and she shot me a pleading look. I let out a sigh and shrugged.
I really like Tohru after all. I usually played the role of the eldest sibling so I took pity on the girl. It probably didn't help that I was a couple inches taller than her (Maybe two or four inches).
We walked beside Yuki. They were absolutely silent.
It didn't bother me much but every chance I had to glance at Tohru to make sure she was okay, she was bright red and looking down at the street.
Tohru, you can't get a guy to go out with you if you do that the whole time. Geez.
We got to school after we passed the Prince Yuki Fan Club girls.
I hate them…so…much!
Tohru and I waited outside the classroom. I told Tohru that I needed to use the bathroom.
On my way back, I saw something.
The girls were ganging up on Tohru. By the girls, I mean the she-devils, from the fan club.
"Hey!" I said as Uo stepped up next to me.
"WHAT?" They all shouted.
Uo glared at them as they quivered in fear. "She said it was a coincidence. Now you better get moving." She said.
"Before those pretty little noses of yours get bruised." I finished.
They jumped. They were about to say that they weren't afraid of us when Hana stepped in.
"One more word, and you'll all be - with electric signals." She said dully.
They made a break for it.
"Thanks, you guys," Tohru said. "I didn't think they'd ever leave."
"Were those catty little girls bothering you?" Uo asked as she pulled Tohru into a hug.
I saw Hana looking intensely down the hall. "Hana," I said. "Don't actually shock anyone, okay?"
She snapped out of it and smiled at me. I could always snap her out of her little electro-wave-nonsense. I didn't really understand it but Hana was fond of me and Tohru. Tohru didn't get it when she explained but I understand that she could work some magic from the "Other Side" (as she called it) to help her sense things and send electric shocks towards others.
Tohru gave them the run down of what happened, nixing the part where we were in a tent. We've been keeping a secret for four months. We weren't about to let it bust because of some boy.
I started coughing again. Someone rubbed my back.
"Cady, you don't look too well." Hana said.
"Hey, she's right." Uo said, feeling my forehead. "Let's get you to the nurse's office. You could use some medicine."
I nodded. The four of us went to the nurse's office. She gave me some day time medicine and cough drops.
"Thanks." I said before popping one of them in my mouth.
On our way down the hall, Hana said that Yuki's electric signals were strange and Uo said how she saw him literally push one of the fan club girls when they tried to give him a hug.
When she said that, I started to laugh.
Through my giggles I had said, "So…he actually…shoved her…because…she tried to hug him?"
Uo nodded and we both cracked up. I wiped my eye.
"I know it's rude to laugh at that but it's just too good." She said.
After school, Tohru and I walked to the show lockers. I was feeling better but I made sure to keep taking my cough drops.
"Oh, Miss Honda, Miss Rhinestone, hello." Yuki said as he slipped on his shoes.
"Yo." I said, waving to him.
"Oh…Yuki…it's you. I mean…hi." Tohru mumbled.
"It seems we're making a habit of running into each other." He said, partially laughing. I knew by the way he was staring at Tohru that he had a little bit, if only a fraction, of affection towards her.
"Toto," I said. "I gotta get to work. We have rehearsal. I gotta do a little overtime. I'll see ya at home. Okay?"
"Okay." I winked at her when Yuki wasn't looking. She just blushed and nodded.
I ran out so fast I didn't even realize how close I was to the club.
I walked in and was greeted by the band. My drummer, Kain, was not very social able.
Of course, as soon as I got on stage, I was glomped by my lead guitarist, Aido, to the point of falling on the ground.
Mai on bass, helped me up but Aido just wouldn't let go.
Aido was a hugger and loved to glomp me every chance he got. I swear, one of these days, I'm going to get him for it.
We all went over the ten songs we were going to play. We did microphone checks and made sure everything was set up.
It got late and I walked home.
As I was walking down the path, I felt awful. I was staggering every which way as I walked down the path. I saw Tohru crawling into the tent.
She crawled back out and saw me.
"Hey, Cady!" She said, cheerfully. "Welcome home."
"Hey, To-"
The rustling of leaves in the darkness stopped me. I dropped my bag and looked around.
Left…Right…Above… I turned around. Behind… No one. There was no one else nearby. So then…where is-
"Ah-mph!" Tohru tried to shout but her voice was muffled.
I turned and saw that someone had grabbed Tohru and covered her mouth. He was a tall, broad man, with a square jaw and was largely built. Tohru struggled under his grasp.
"Tohru!" I shouted.
"Give it up, kid." A voice said behind me. It was a deep voice. "She's our girl now, little boy." He whispered.
I whipped around and kicked him in the face. I fought the man with all strength. Just when I thought I had him, I felt a sharp pain in my side.
"ARCADIA!" Tohru shouted.
I had been stabbed in the left side of my body.
"Shut up!" The man who had Tohru said as he tightened his grip on her.
She let out a yelp of pain. In that instant, my body moved by pure instinct.
If there was one thing I cared about more than anything, even if I had to go through pain…it was my friend, Tohru…no. It was my sister.
I glared at the man in front of me. He lunged at me to stab me again. I grabbed his wrist with the knife in his hand. He struggled but he couldn't escape now. My grip tightened and I heard the loud, sickening crack as his wrist bones shattered.
"AH!" He shouted in pain.
He drew back and I kicked him against a tree. I lunged for the guy who had Tohru. I then kicked his face hard while grabbing Tohru's shoulder and pushing her away. She ran to the sidelines.
"Let's get outta here." The one I was stabbed by said.
They took off in an instant. I coughed a little. Warm liquid oozed in my mouth. I scoffed and put my fist to my mouth, wiping it. "Bastards…"
I coughed harder this time. Tohru came to me as she called my name. She held my shoulders and slowly lowered us both to the ground. I kept coughing then began to wheeze.
"Arcadia, you're sick and injured. You need to rest."
"I agree." A soft voice said. "You should come with us." We looked up and saw Shigure and Yuki. "Miss Rhinestone, please? You're hurt." Yuki said, holding his hand out to me.
"Come on, Cady. Let's go."
I looked at Tohru. I couldn't speak now. I just nodded and coughed again. She helped me up and she helped me up the path. Tohru couldn't hold me up so Yuki helped me.
Tohru put the gauze on my side after she'd cleaned my wound. I slipped on the PJ's Yuki leant me.
Yuki handed me some medicine as I walked out, leaning on Tohru.
Tohru had explained everything to them. I took the medicine and drank some water.
Yuki set up the blankets in the living room.
"Here. You two can stay here."
"Are you sure we're not a bother?" Tohru asked.
"Yes. I'm quite positive. I'm sorry about the tent, Miss Rhinestone, Miss Honda."
"Toto, what's he talking about?" I said, looking at her.
Tohru glanced at me then glared at Yuki. He apparently realized something. Tohru told me that there was a landslide and how it got our tent. I was shocked but I knew running out to dig it up would be pointless. Tohru laid me down and pulled the blanket over me.
"Arcadia," She said seriously. "You need to rest."
"Tohru…" I whispered.
My eyelids became heavy and I was consumed by the darkness.
I opened my eyes to the dim sunlight that came into the room. I saw a photo. It was of my mother. I grabbed it as I slowly sat up.
"Cady, you're up!" Tohru said, running in.
"Miss Rhinestone, do you feel any better?" Yuki asked me, following closely behind.
"Eh…yeah. How did Mom's picture-"
"Yuki and Shigure let us stay here. In exchange, we've gotta cook and clean for them. Isn't that great!" Tohru said, hugging me.
"Miss Rhinestone, after you get dressed, I'll show you to your room." Yuki said, handing me some clothes.
"Oh, okay." I said. "Thank you, Yuki."
"Anytime." He said.
He then left and Tohru showed me to the bathroom. I changed. I was wearing Yuki's shirt and pants. I then remembered that it was Saturday, meaning no school today. At least I wouldn't have to explain my injury to everyone.
I walked out and Tohru took Yuki's PJ's out of my hands.
"How about I cook and you clean?" I suggested to Tohru.
"That'd be great. Let's face it, my cooking is nothing compared to yours. You'll still help me out right?"
"Of course."
I then followed Yuki. He showed me a cozy room that was adjacent to the guest bedroom.
"This will be your room." I heard the ceiling creak. "Forgive me if it's a little stuffy. We've had this room closed off for a while."
The ceiling creaked harder this time. "Hey, Yuki?"
"Hm?"
"Is Shigure on the-"
I was interrupted when someone crashed through the ceiling. He stood up. He was wearing a pair of tan cargo pants and a black shirt. He had orange, soft looking hair, tan skin, red eyes, and looked very well fit in comparison to Yuki's frail, sickly look.
"Yo!" He said, rubbing his shoulder. "Time to pay the piper, Rat Boy. I'm here to collect."
"Funny. I would've thought he'd send someone bigger." Yuki said.
As he leaned against the window sill, I was really shocked to see something in his eye I'd never seen at school: annoyance.
"Yeah. You better get all your tough talk out of the way cause I'm gonna wipe that little smirk right off your little face!"
The boy lunged for him. I wasn't going to stop them. I just sort of shrugged, thinking to myself, "He trashed my room. I haven't even stayed here for two minutes in all reality and he trashed it."
"Stop, wait!" Tohru said, running in. "Don't fight!"
Tohru slipped on one of the boards and fell on the guy. Yuki and the guy both were in complete shock and fear now.
*POOF!*
Tohru was on the ground and me and Yuki stared at her.
"Yuki," Shigure said. "What were all those crashing sounds I just heard? Kyo's not here. Is he?"
Kyo. That must be the orange top's name.
Tohru got up. "I am so sorry! I-" I saw an orange cat in her arms. I stared at it as I raised my eyebrow. "NYAAAHAA! I TURNED HIM INTO A CAT!"
"Um…Tohru…wait…" Shigure was trying to think of something to say after Tohru kept freaking out.
I was about to calm her down when she stood up.
"HURRY! We need to get him to a doctor or something before-"
A plank of wood fell from the ceiling and hit Tohru's head.
"Tohru!" Shigure and I said.
"Miss Honda!" Yuki said.
She fell on Yuki and Shigure.
*POOF! POOF!*
I looked to see that Shigure had transformed into a dog and Yuki transformed into a rat.
A/N: To those who have already read this, I fixed the quotation marks. Yay-e! But, this fanfic was finished long ago and i just redid this chapter to give it quotations, that's it. To my fans, sorry if you got all excited but...yeah. Sorry. However, in regards to this disappointment, I may just make a little fun One-Shot. Just give me who you think it should be. I am willing to do Storm Hawks, Vampire Knight, Fruits Basket, maybe Claymore, or even a cross-over. Just give me your thoughts on which anime/manga and the characters you want and I'll do it. *Bows* Sorry for all the trouble.
