Note: I do not own anything Fruits Basket related!
"Goodbye, Mom!" Tohru Honda called as she departed from the tent, giving a short wave to the picture of a woman with light, orange-ish hair. The woman in the picture was smiling widely, obviously quite happy as she flashed a piece sign, her arm crossed over her shoulder as the picture was taken. Tohru smiled at the simple picture. "Take care of the fort while I'm gone. I'll be back later tonight!" Tohru said before she completely disappeared from view of the tent, arms crossed over her chest as she held her bag against her. Though it hadn't even been a year since the tragic accident that had killed her mother, Kyoko Honda, Tohru appeared to have not been too pained from the loss, going about her days with a smile that never seemed to end.
"Huh?" Tohru spoke to herself as her head tilted to the side, expression a confused emotion as she stood on top of a small cliff. Though trees blocked some of her view, an old-fashioned house was visible through the foliage. She hadn't known someone to be living in the area, and as she made her way down the somewhat steep hill, nearly tumbling down after stepping on some loose dirt, white painted figurines caught her attention. Mesmerized, the long-haired girl approached the front of the house, staring at the twelve little animals - each representing a different animal, except for one that was missing.
"Do my eyes deceive me or is there a pretty, young high school girl on my porch?" A voice suddenly cut through the once-silent atmosphere, with an almost cocky tone that portrayed pleasure. Startled, as well as embarrassed, Tohru took a few steps backwards in a single swift motion. Her cheeks flushed a deep scarlet, flustered at having been caught gazing at someone's else's belongings on their front porch.
"I'm so sorry! Please forgive me! I didn't mean to barge in! I was just looking!" Tohru babbled, before blinking at the man in front of her, who had begun to laugh in light amusement. Now that she had a good look at him, she could see quite clearly that he was handsome, and young, though obviously older than her, no doubt out of college. Her head bent in shame, though she had quickly looked back up as who she assumed to be the home's owner began to speak to her.
"These little things? I was just letting them get some sun to dry. I can't think that someone such as yourself would be interested in them." he said, smiling softly in a friendly manner.
"Oh, no! I like them!" Tohru said, become flustered once again even though her upbeat emotions swiftly turned to a more depressing tone of voice. "Except..." As she began her sentence, pausing momentarily, the man had tilted his head, expression his confusion as to what Tohru was beginning to refer to as he waited for her to continue. "Except... The cat is missing."
The man was surprised at Tohru's words. "The cat?" He echoed before finally seeming to understand what exactly she meant. "I assume you've heard the old tale then."
"Oh, yes! My mom used to tell it to me when I was younger..." Tohru trailed off slightly before smiling at her memories, going on to explain the story to the complete stranger.
"God told the animals, 'Tomorrow I shall hold a banquet, and you musn't be late.' Now, the rat was a deceiving and enjoyed pulling pranks and so he told the cat that the banquet was to be held the day after tomorrow. On that day, the rat rode on the back of the ox and was the first to arrive. The other animals followed after. Except for the tricked cat, who was in his bed, sleeping soundly. Oh, Tohru, why are you crying?" Though she was curled up against her daughter on the bed, Kyoko raised her head, looking at her daughter quizzically.
"The poor cat!" Tohru sobbed before jolting upright, a flicker of excitement in her young eyes. "I know! I won't be a dog anymore! I'll be a cat, too!"
"Whatever makes you happy, mommy is tired..." Kyoko muttered before leaving her daughter to sleep.
"I like cats that much!" Tohru concluded with finality.
"Oh? I wonder how he'd react if he heard that..." The man in front of her seemed to space out momentarily before Tohru drew him back.
"What?" Tohru had wondered, confused at what the stranger had meant.
"You just keep looking more and more like a pedophile..." A new voice entered the conversation, and was joined with a thud, as well as an annoyed and pained noise from the owner of the house.
"What's in that bag of yours? A dictionary?" he said, rubbing the top of his head in an attempt to make the pain dull.
"Actually, two..." Tohru finally looked up at the newcomer and was surprised to see that it was Yuki Sohma. The Yuki Sohma - the most popular boy in school and commonly referred to as 'Prince Yuki.' Surprised, Tohru jolted back, the pink returned to her cheeks.
"Miss Honda? Are you alright? I hope my cousin didn't do anything."
"Oh, yes! He was a perfect gentleman!" Tohru blabbered quickly, obtaining a smile from Yuki.
"I'm Shigure Sohma, Yuki's cousin." The owner of the house finally introduced himself and Tohru bowed swiftly.
"I'm Tohru Honda. Pleased to meet you!" She said before Yuki had begun to talk to her once again.
"Miss Honda. Why are you here?" He asked. His eyebrows had furrowed slightly in confusion and Tohru looked away, embarrassed at the sudden attention and not wanting to admit that she was living in a tent for the time being.
"Oh, I, uh, I live nearby..." Tohru said, avoiding saying where she actually lived.
"Nearby?" Yuki had echoed, not knowing anywhere near that held a house or an area that had been rented out recently.
"I'm going to be late for school! It was nice to meet you!" Tohru interrupted, bowing in a farewell as she began to turn away. Shigure waved slightly, smiling.
"Wait, Miss Honda. Since you're here, why not walk together?" Yuki asked, easily walking over to Tohru to stand by her side. Tohru quickly nodded and agreed to the proposal, even though she felt nervous and flustered. Prince Yuki! Wanting to walk to school with her. She didn't know what to say, and definitely had no idea how everyone would react as soon as they saw her enter school with Yuki Sohma at her side - especially the obsessive Prince Yuki fan club girls.
The walk ended soon enough, and Tohru was immediately overwhelmed with fan girls as soon as Yuki had went his own way. Questions were fired at her, filled with anger at having disobeyed a rule that was meant to apply to everyone in the school, even if they were not part of the club - no one may approach or speak to Prince Yuki Sohma if not accompanied by at least one other member.
"It was just a coincidence!" Tohru pleaded, but the girls were merciless. Thankfully, Uo and Hana, her two best friends had jumped in. After repeating Tohru's words with a much more threatening tone of voice, Uo had managed to scare off the fan girl's and Hana's electric look to her had added it as well.
"What were you doing with the prince?" Uo questioned as soon as the fan club girls had run off, frightened.
"It really was just a coincidence." Tohru insisted, and Uo huffed but agreed to it - for the moment, at least.
The day went by with little more trouble, and before Tohru knew it, she had finished up her work and was heading back to her tent with the dark night overhead with thousands of glistening stars. Her steps were uneven, indicating the drowsiness that she was feeling at the moment and she was blinking more than normal in an attempt to keep herself away.
"Hey, Mom..." Tohru said in a greeting to the picture of her mother with a yawn entering the words unwillingly. "I know, I should go to sleep, but I still have homework that I have to get done..."
A moment later, Tohru exited the tent, startled to find two shapes in front of her. Immediately she was flustered, although speechless. She had no idea what to say, how to explain her current situation to Yuki and Shigure. It was not helping however that Shigure had burst out laughing, clutching at his stomach as he bent over, eyes closed and cheeks beginning to turn red.
"Shigure." Yuki said disapprovingly, although it didn't cease Shigure's laughing fit.
"I, uh..."
"Done now?" Yuki interrupted, glancing over at his cousin as Shigure finally managed to get a hold on himself, nodding in response though his expression still radiated his amusement.
Only a few moments later and the three of them had returned to Shigure's house. Tohru explained everything to the pair, starting with how her mother had died and she had gone off to live with her grandfather on her dad's side. Soon after, her grandfather had informed Tohru that his daughter's family was coming to live with them and that some renovations were going to need to be done. She had told him that she had a friend to stay with, purely because she couldn't stop going to school. But Uo lived in a one-room apartment and Hana already had a large family. Tohru hadn't wanted to be a burden, and believed that she could survive on her own for a few months.
"You really shouldn't be staying out there. It's dangerous. Rock slides, you know?" Shigure was saying. "You could stay here in the meantime..."
"Oh, no! I couldn't do that! I don't want to intrude! Really, I'm fin-" Tohru had begun, waving her hands to go along with her words.
"Hear that?" Shigure interrupted as a lone howl sounded through the night.
"What is it?" Tohru asked, confused.
"There's been another rock slide." Shigure answered simply and almost nonchalantly.
"How close?" Yuki asked his cousin, receiving only a small, knowing smile from Shigure.
"Oh, no! Mom!" Tohru darted forwards as the three of them had reached the location where the rock slide had occurred - right where her tent had been. Her hands scrabbled feebly at the dirt, wanting to reach the photo of her mother desperately, shaking her head as Yuki attempted to keep her from digging. "She'll suffocate!" she argued defiantly.
"Why don't we come back tomorrow when it's light outside?" Shigure suggested, and Tohru finally agreed to the proposal. Not long after and Shigure had given Tohru a room on the second floor of his home, setting up a temporary bed for her.
As she laid down, Tohru's eyes had immediately closed and when she spoke, it reflected her drowsiness. Before she knew it, she was explaining to Shigure what exactly could be worse than having just lost her home. He listened silently as she went on to talk about how every day she would tell her mother, 'Be safe!' right before she left for work. Tohru admitted her reasoning for feeling partially guilty for her mother's death, saying how on that one day she had been too tired to wake up, and so when her mother left, she hadn't told her 'Be safe!' as she always did. Soon after having finished the short tale, Tohru had fallen asleep and Yuki had joined Shigure.
"Keep an eye on her while I'm gone?" Yuki was asking. Even though it was a question, it was more-so a demand.
"Going to get her things?" Shigure guessed automatically, though he sighed. "Do you want some help? You shouldn't be going out alone."
"Who said I was going alone?" Yuki flashed a sly smile before he turned and left the house. Behind him, the soft scurrying of what one would assume to be mice and rats followed after him.
I'll try to upload a new chapter once a week~!