Calico
Chapter One: Curse the Planning
By Takara-Star
Disclaimer: I do not own Fruits Basket. It belongs to Natsuki Takaya.
"NO! STOP! Please…I BEG OF YOU…don't do THIS!"
Words like this from someone like me have no effect whatsoever. I can't tell you how much pain I endured; how much torture I experienced, both physically and mentally. No words could give it justice. Being looked down upon, beaten, harassed, assaulted…even I can't fully fathom my experiences. Being the most despised…the most pitied thing in this family…what else can I say except… that it tears me apart.
Tohru's eyes stared in horror and in shock at the thing that she was wearing. Then to her bridal consultant who was smacking her gum, lipstick gooey.
"Looks good on ya, toots," said Roxy, the consultant.
The dress was simply…hideous. It was white on top, with a super plunging neckline just past her belly button. Then, under that, a bush of multicolor feathers that extended from her hip to mid thigh. Hideous? Yup. "Roxy-san…um, it's not, um, my style of dress."
"Oi," said Arisa, rolling her eyes. "Roxy, all you've picked out for her are Las Vegas stripper outfits."
"I know," said Rin glaring at Roxy. "Are you trying to make her look as cheap as you'd be on your wedding day?"
Roxy narrowed her eyes at them. "I ain't cheap."
"You certainly look it," Arisa scoffed.
"You're treadin' on thin ice, blondie," Roxy said, throwing her gum into the garbage.
"It looks like a featherless chicken's wedding dress," said Arisa with a snicker.
"I don't think even a chicken would wear that thing," Rin added, grimacing.
Tohru's eyes widened. She could tell things were about to go wrong. Very wrong. "Uo-chan…Isuzu-san...," she murmured worriedly.
Hana sighed. "Arisa…Rin…she's not worth it."
Ignoring them, Arisa exclaimed, "Are you trying to make her look like a prostitute?"
"Uo-cha-"
"Are you insulting my designs?" Roxy asked, giving them a glare.
Arisa laughed as if the consultant were the biggest idiot on earth. "No, I'm complimenting you…these are simply the nicest stripper outfits I've ever seen in person." Arisa crossed her arms with a fake, mocking, smile.
"They're wedding gowns!" Roxy exclaimed, raising her fist. "Nothin' more, nothin' less."
"They are not!" Rin yelled.
"Are too!" Roxy yelled back.
"Are not!"
"Are too!"
"Are not!"
"Are not!"
"Ha ha," said Arisa, smugly teasing Roxy. "You said 'not'."
Getting angry, Roxy inadvertently pulled off her bright pink wig, revealing a buzz cut underneath. "GET OUT!" she screamed.
Arisa bit her lip, holding back laughter. "Ooh… Yes, yes. We're leaving…after we get Tohru out of this thing!"
"Grr…" Roxy said, picking up her wig, and stomping out of the room. Then she mumbled, "Why can't I ever make any money?"
Hana looked at Arisa and Rin seriously. "You two…you really exasperated the life out of that woman." She walked over to Tohru, and unzipped the hideous dress. Tohru stepped out of it, and placed it on its hanger. Arisa then handed Tohru her dress. She slipped it over her head, and said, "Um, er…finding a wedding dress is hard work."
Kisa, who had been a quiet little angel the entire time, until now said, "Onee-chan…what about Ayame oji-chan?"
Arisa cocked her head curiously. "You mean the long haired dude who is Yuki's brother?"
"Uh-huh," replied Kisa with a nod.
"Well, good thinking, kiddo!" Arisa said, patting the girl's head. Kisa smiled up at her sweetly.
"I wonder why we never thought of it before," Hana said, opening the front door.
"We probably should have gone there in the first place," Tohru said with a nervous laugh, and walking out.
"Yeah," Arisa added. "He could also do our bridesmaid dresses, and the flower girl dress too."
Kyo picked up the phone and dialed the number that was on the brochure. His job, was finding a nice place for Tohru and him to stay after the wedding. Oh Joy. Kyo was looking forward to everything, but, his job was, um, awkward for him. And needless to say, he wasn't having much luck finding a nice hotel. The people who made the reservations were completely unreasonable idiots.
"Hello," Kyo said into the phone. "Yes, I would like to make a room reservation…" His face became confused. "How old am I? 19…yeah, the room is for two people…" then his eyes turned angry as the person on the other line said something else. "Whaddya mean 'pervert' ? Look you…" Kyo's face became even angrier as he listened. "I'm getting married! I am so NOT a liar! What is it with you people? Don't you want our money?" Kyo found himself becoming enraged. "You listen to me, bozo! I am NOT that kind of guy! I'm only doing what most guys do for their fiancé before they get married!" Click! He slammed down the phone, and slumped down on the couch. He called ten 4-star hotels today; and for what? Each of them accused him of being a 'pervert'.
Kazuma smiled, pretending to read the paper. "Let me guess…you need help."
"Yes," Kyo said, tossing the phone and the brochure at Kazuma. He easily caught them in his hands. He looked at the brochure that said:
Sakura Bridge Hotel: A lovely place to relax; no matter where you're headed, or trying to get away from.
"This is the place you want?" Kazuma asked curiously. The brochure was pink; and it honestly didn't look like something Kyo would pick.
Kyo sighed in exasperation. "The wedding is mainly for the bride isn't it?"
Kazuma pondered this. "Yes…that's true. If it were up to us men, things would be much different."
"Exactly. But…I'm doing this because I know she'll like it," Kyo said, looking out the window.
"And that's why we guys become such saps when we're in love," said Kuunimitsu, popping his head into the room
Kyo stood up in an irritated fashion. "Kuunimitsu!" Kyo said, gritting his teeth. "Stop eavesdropping!"
"Yes, Kuunimitsu; it's not polite," Kazuma said with a chuckle. "But you are right. We do tend to get rather sentimental when we're in love, don't we? It's like all we care about is making the woman happy."
Kyo blushed. "Sentimental? I'm not-"
"Just admit it, Kyo. You've become a sap!" Kuunimitsu teased.
"You, out. Now!" Kyo pushed him out of the room. When Kuunimitsu was finally gone, Kyo sighed and turned to Kazuma. "Shishou…I'm begging you. Call them now, and just get it over with. I'm exhausted." He slumped tiredly onto the couch.
Kazuma chuckled again, and dialed the number into the phone. He talked to the person on the other line for a few minutes, then said 'thank you' and hung up. "There we go," he said smiling. "One elaborate suite."
Kyo groaned. "Thank you. This is just so…awkward."
Kazuma looked at him curiously. "What do you mean?"
"This…making plans for after the wedding," Kyo said, blushing. "It's just so…weird. I never really had a chance growing up to notice girls 'cause I was practicing martial arts morning, noon, and night. It's somewhat a good thing, I guess. But I still feel like I'm weird."
Kazuma suppressed a laugh he felt rising up in him. "Uh…well, I don't think you're weird. It is actually a good thing, I think. At least you don't have a problem with disrespecting girls in such a way. There are a lot of guys who do, though. Also you've never really had interest in other girls, so, you only have eyes for Tohru-san."
Kyo rolled his eyes. "Whatever. I guess that's ONE way of putting it."
"Probably the reason the hotel people called you a pervert is because of how young you are. There aren't many people at your age getting married," Kazuma said, folding up his paper.
"I know," Kyo said grumbling. "But I hear it all the time. Shigure…that idiot. You know what he did a few weeks ago?"
"No, tell me."
Flashback
"Tohru!" Kyo called, knocking on her door. "Are you ready yet? We need to go see Akito now."
"Okay!" Tohru said back. "I'm almost done."
Tohru opened door, and Kyo froze to look at her. She was wearing a red dress. The dress was slightly off shoulder, with a low neckline, but not plunging. It was velvet.
"Um," Kyo said, trying to find words. "I-is that dress new?"
"Y-yes…I didn't have a dress that was actually, um, suitable for going to see Akito and getting permission to get married. Um, er, that is…Uo-chan, and Hana-chan bought it for me," She replied, blushing.
"It's, uh, different to see you wearing something like this. It looks really nice," he said with a small smile.
"It does?" Tohru asked, surprised.
"Yeah, it does. I like it."
Suddenly, a voice called out yelling, "Don't worry Tohru-kun!" It was stupid old Shigure. He grabbed Tohru's arms, and pulled her away from Kyo.
"Wah? Wah?!" exclaimed Tohru.
"I will save you from the malicious sicko, Kyo the Ripper!"
End Flashback
"Ummmm…" Kazuma said, trying to find the right words to say back to that little story Kyo just told.
Kyo rolled his eyes, and shook his head. "Yeah, and I gave him a knock on the head he'll never forget. Tohru did the most surprising thing as well…"
"What was that?" Kazuma asked, curiously.
"She slapped him. But, it was one of those instant reactions. It left a red mark the size of her hand. But, after word, she kept apologizing like crazy. But I was impressed, though," Kyo said with a smile.
Kazuma chuckled. "I should say so."
Tohru stared out her window. Rain. It had been so sunny earlier, while she and her friends were out shopping. She had scheduled an appointment with Ayame the next day to get measured for the dress he was going to make for her. The biggest surprise? He was going to do her dress, the bridesmaid dresses, and the flower girl dress for free. She was glad the price was taken care of for the dresses. Now she could spend a little more money on other things for the wedding.
Tohru continued to stare out her window, when something caught her eye. Underneath one of the trees, was a cat. A beautiful calico cat. It's orange, white, and black markings were absolutely perfect, and patterned; instead of being jumbled up. Tohru jumped up, realizing that it was probably cold and hungry. She quickly ran out of her room, accidentally knocking Kyo's juzu beads off of her dresser.
She went into the kitchen, and poured some milk into a bowl. As she poured it, she watched the cat from the kitchen window. Then she walked outside and set the bowl on the ground. But, when she looked up, the cat was gone. She stood there dumbfounded. It was there just a second ago. She stood in the rain pondering this. Could cats really move that fast?
"Tohru, what are you doing?" Kyo called from the porch; breaking her train of thought. She turned to him with surprise.
"Um…"
"Get over here. You're going to catch cold if you stay out there. And what are you doing with that bowl of milk?" He looked at her curiously.
She picked up the bowl, and walked over to him; blushing and soaking wet. "There was a pretty calico cat out here. I thought she might be hungry. Then she just vanished. I've never seen a cat disappear as quickly as she did." Tohru set the bowl down on the porch.
"And you stood out in the rain, thinking about it like a ditz?" He teased. He pulled her into a hug, even though she was soaked. "She might come back. You never know."
"I hope she does. She seemed so sad, Kyo-kun," Tohru replied, closing her eyes, and resting her head against him. "And lonely."
"I can believe that," he replied quietly. I believe it because you know what it feels like to be lonely. Then, breaking away from the hug, he said, "Let's go in and get you dried off."
"Okay."
True happiness? The only thing that EVER gave my life meaning was Kasuke. He accepted me. He loved me. He saw me as a person- even though, in actuality, I was ugly, and horrifying to gaze upon in what I really was. He was constantly telling me he loved me, and how beautiful I was. He always told me that some way, some how, we'd break the curse; so that one day he could truly hold me. Just as we were going to run from this cursed family, it all came to an abrupt halt as we tried to run. His last words to me were, "You remember where to meet, right Sara? I love you. I'll see you soon." Who'd have ever thought we'd fail?
A/N: Welcome to my new fanfiction, Calico. I'm getting excited about this one as well. Lovely Circumstances was a great success, and I hope everyone enjoys this new one. Again, this story contains spoilers. Just a warning, if you don't already know them.
God Bless!
-Takara-Star