AN: Hello...I AM SO SORRY! I APOLOGIZE TO THE READERS! I APOLOGIZE TO MY FELLOW FANFIC WRITERS! I APOLOGIZE TO ALL FANS OF FRUITS BASKET! I APOLOGIZE TO THE WORLD! Real life aka school, work etc. attacked me from all sides. If anybody is still interested then please know that I am not abandoning this story. However, it still might be a while (not three years!) but I would like to finish writing the rest of this fanfic before I put it on this site. I hate leaving things halfway done so I promise that I will finish this fanfic. If you want to read it, that'd be great. If not, that's okay with me. When I first started writing this fanfic I was kinda obsessed with reviews (it's more than alittle embarrassing to admit that!) but really, that shouldn't be an author's motivation to write. Thank you all very much for your time!
Oh and I promised Emby that I would give something to her as a prize for being my hundredth reviewer. I'm sorry for the extreme delay, bestest buddy! I'm dedicating the rest of this fic to her. (Sorry, that's not a really cool prize.)
If anyone is wondering, the only reason why I'm editing this chapter is because I had written it in script form (whoops!). Haha, I didn't know it was illegal at the time.
Disclaimer: I claim that I do NOT have ownship of Fruits basket.
It's 6:30 p.m. the sun was setting and the night was approaching. Each star began to shine upon the sun's descent. Hatori, Hatsuharu, Yuki, Kyo, Tohru, and Ayame were eating dinner together, gathered by the table. Shigure was talking on the phone in his office.
"Alright… I understand…ah ha ha ha don't worry I'll leave as soon as I can," Shigure placed the phone onto its receiver.
In the dining room; Tohru was sitting at the table with Kyo to her left and Yuki at her right. While she was eating, her mind filled with thoughts.
"Hatsuharu, Hatori and Ayame are here because Shigure invited them to come over today. He said that there was something important he needed to discuss during dinner… I wonder what?" Tohru sipped a bit of her tea but then, with a small squeak, dropped her cup onto the table. It was still very hot.
"So Yuki I've heard from a very reliable source that as the new student council president you gave out your first official speech today, congratulations. Although, I really wish I could have been there to lend you my support…." Ayame reached across the table and adjusted his younger brother's crooked tie.
"Who could have told him about that?" Yuki thought to himself as he brushed away his brother's hands.
(AN: it was Kakeru Manabe, the vice president, see manga volume 9 for details.)
"It was amazing! Absolutely incredible! I believe he talked about how good it is to give the school all of our money for remodeling funds…or something of that sort…" Tohru became lost in thought once again as she tried to recall the details of Yuki's speech.
"Yes, it was amazing. Good for you, Yuki," Haru placed a hand on his first love's shoulder.
Kyo rolled his eyes. "Geez, it wasn't that great,"
Tohru, immediately blushing, turned towards Kyo. "Oh, it's just that I could never get in front of an audience,"
"Really? Why's that?" Yuki shrugged off Haru's hand and turned towards her.
Kyo grew quiet as he waited for Tohru's explanation.
"Ah, uh I guess I could but um I would just get stage fright," Tohru shuttering a bit as she twiddled her thumbs.
"Which is understandable for some. I, however, would never let such limitations prevent me from speaking before others. Remember my first speech, Hari?" Ayame attempted to drag Hatori into the conversation. That man was far too quiet.
"Sometimes I wish I could suppress my own memories," Hatori muttered into his cup before he realized he just said that out loud. "Uh, yes I remember."
"Was it when you were student council president?" Yuki, driven by curiosity, looked at the snake directly.
"Eh?" Ayame realized that he had his younger brother's attention. "Why yes it was!"
Right when he was about to rant on for hours or days, Shigure opened the door and made himself comfortable at the end of the table.
Shigure helped himself to some dinner. "Miss me?"
"Hello Shigure!" Tohru beamed at him. She was worried that his food was going to get cold.
Ayame flung his arms towards him, almost rising to his feet. "Well of course I did! How could you just shamefully leave me all alone for so long! Oh, Shigure! Every time you leave my side I am nothing but an empty shell. My urge to see you strengthens and-"
"Finally you came back!" Kyo made sure to cut Ayame off before anything exhausting/annoying started.
"Ss-so who was on the phone?" Tohru wasn't sure whether she should be asking. She didn't want to pry.
Shigure's eyes became more distant and his expression darkened. "Akito."
Shigure glanced at all the people at the table to see their reactions. Everyone had immediately stopped talking and paid attention to him. It was certainly amusing.
"I suppose I need to leave," Hatori assumed that Akito was ill.
"Oh no, that won't be necessary. She only wanted to know if you were all here," Shigure brushing off Hatori's concern with a wave of a hand.
(AN: everybody knows that Akito is a girl in this fanfic.)
"Well here we are!" Kyo felt himself becoming more and more impatient.
"So what exactly did you need to tell us?" Yuki put on a brave mask.
"Yes out with it, Gure! If you're going to make an announcement you must be quick to start and quick to finish," Ayame tapping the table with a regal hand. "Not skipping any delicious details of course…" he added with a wink.
"This is about the "other" zodiac spirit's the ones that couldn't completely possess us," Shigure picked up his chop sticks and filled his mouth with ramen as he spoke.
Hatori and Ayame already knew what he was talking about. But Yuki, Hatsuharu, Kyo, and Tohru were all very lost and confused. Actually, Hatsuharu felt indifferent to everything so he was just in a daze.
"Eh?" Tohru tilted her head in confusion.
"What exactly do you mean by 'couldn't completely possess us?'" Yuki, raising his eyebrows, looked at Shigure carefully.
"Yeah that makes no sense," Kyo ignored the fact that he had just agreed with the rat.
Hatsuharu also turned his attention towards the dog.
"You see, every twelve generations some or all of the zodiac spirits get tired so they can't completely possess our bodies and so they spilt themselves apart go into more than one person," Shigure slurped up the rest of his noodles.
"I guess even spirits get tired," Tohru thought to herself. "Do they really?"
"So what that's supposed to mean?" Kyo demanded a better explanation.
"What Shigure means is. There could be two people possessed by the dog spirit. Although it isn't essential for them to be the same age or gender. He or she could be older or younger," Hatori clarified.
"So there might be a girl version of Sensei?" Haru startled them all when he suddenly spoke.
"UGH!" Kyo shut his eyes in an attempt to block out the disturbing image.
"Don't even say disgusting things like that!" Yuki sent a glare in the cow's direction.
"But that's-" Tohru couldn't quite finish her sentence.
Shigure, evidently amused by Hatsuharu's remarks, merely chuckled.
"Nor is it essential for all of the zodiac spirits to possess other people there could be as many as two full sets of zodiac members. However, these particular spirits are the dog, dragon, snake, rat, ox and the cat," Hatori continued as if there had been no interruption.
"The cat too!" Kyo thought excitedly. "So why haven't we seen these people before?"
"I thought that members of the zodiac (expect for Shigure and himself) are supposed to live inside the main house. Even if they didn't live in the main house shouldn't we have seen them on New Years for the zodiac banquet?" Yuki felt a bit skeptical of this new information.
"Well it's just that these other zodiac members are also known as the "rejected zodiac." They are no longer allowed in the main house and so they aren't able to attend the zodiac banquet," Shigure explained with a low sigh.
"Rejects, huh?" Kyo smirked.
"I'm so sorry," Tohru glanced at Kyo in concern.
"So what's the difference? I mean, from us and them," Haru asked.
"The others will each be directly related to each other. Even though Yuki and Aya are brothers they are only two members of the zodiac. All of the other zodiac members will be siblings. Also, their parents would have died either before or a short time after they were born," Shigure noticed how tense the atmosphere was in the room and began contemplating a way to lighten the mood.
"Wow, mom I just made a new discovery! I'm so happy! And it looks like Yuki, Hatsuharu and Kyo didn't know about it!" Tohru excitedly thought. "Um, so when are we going to meet them?"
"Tomorrow morning," Shigure grinned.
"EH? TOMORROW!" Tohru jumped to her feet.
"WHAT?" Kyo slammed his fist onto the table almost denting it.
"But why do we have to leave so soon? The least you could have done was given us more time to pack," Yuki shook his head at Shigure's antics.
"AHHHH! THAT'S RIGHT I HAVEN'T PACKED A SINGLE THING!" Tohru entered into panic mode.
"Calm down Tohru you have all night," Shigure lifted his hands in a placating manner.
A million thoughts rushed into her head (all the things she needed to pack and do before tomorrow!) however, a certain one caught her attention. ".…BUT I HAVE TO WASH THE DISHES FIRST!"
Tohru scooped up all of the garbage into her arms and rushed into the kitchen trying her best not to trip on anything on the way there.
"…Um, calm down…" Shigure feebly called after her.
"Hmm, I see. It all makes sense now," Hatori kept an expressionless mask as he gazed at the dog.
(AN: When Shigure called Hatori, Ayame and Hatsuharu, he told them all to pack a suitcase filled with things that would last them for a whole week.)
"If we leave tomorrow that means we're spending the night," Haru concluded. "I want to stay in Yuki's room."
"I, too, will join you," Ayame elegantly rose to his feet.
Ayame and Hatsuharu both decided it was a good idea to sleep in Yuki's room and so they headed up the stairs.
"Hey wait a second! I didn't give you permission to-" Yuki rushed after them.
Yuki was standing on the bottom of the steps. Hatsuharu was on the last step and Ayame was already half way towards Yuki's door.
Haru casually looked over his shoulder when he heard Yuki's voice. "Don't be upset. I can sleep on the floor,"
"And I'll sleep with you!" Ayame turned completely around when he heard Yuki's voice.
"No…never…I won't allow that." Yuki did not want to share his bed especially with him.
Ayame felt surprised that Yuki actually denied his generous offer. "What's this? Who else on earth besides myself would comfort you if you were to have any nightmares!"
"I would." Haru declared.
"What are you talking about? I don't have nightmares," Yuki felt his temper rise.
"Maybe telling a story will help Yuki with his sleeping problems," Haru suggested.
Kyo had left the dining room and stood next to Yuki, placing his hand on his shoulder. "Or maybe getting him a nightlight or a teddy bear,"
"Are you asking to be punched, stupid cat! Why are you even here, stupid cat?" Yuki kept his lips firmly pressed together to keep himself from shouting.
"I'M GOING UPSTAIRS! AND STOP CALLING ME STUPID YOU (BLEEP) RAT!" Kyo moved his hand away from Yuki's shoulder to his neck while shouting and spitting at his face.
"There's no need to fret, little brother. I, THE GREAT AYAME SOHMA, will provide a story that will bestow upon you the sweetest of dreams as you peacefully fall asleep laying at my side," Ayame opened his arms wide as he descended the staircase.
"He'll be up all night as long as your stories are," Kyo removed his hand from the rat's neck and sneered at the snake.
"I don't need a story, a night light, a teddy bear, a blanket or anything else because I don't have nightmares!" Yuki clenched his fists and felt his cheeks grow hot from anger and humiliation.
"Nobody said blanket," Haru joked in an attempt to calm him down.
"But Yuki if you're having issues with sleep perhaps you should ask Hari to give you some medicine for it," Ayame truly felt concern for his sibling. "Don't worry, I, who's number one affection for my little brother, will fetch him with the speed of a thousand cheetahs!"
Ayame rushed down rest of the stairs with the speed of a thousand cheetahs but was abruptly stopped by a hand tightly gripping his shoulder.
"Hold it," Yuki stopping his brother. "Do not bring Hatori into this."
"I didn't know you had such terrible sleeping problems," Tohru had just finished cleaning up the mess in the dining room and washing the dishes in the kitchen. "I'm sorry I didn't even realize it. All this time I've been living in the same house with you and every single night you've been suffering. I'm sorry I should have done something. I feel so horrible…I'm a terrible person, the worst imaginable!" she hung her head in regret.
"There's nothing for you to apologize for Miss Honda because I do NOT have sleeping problems nor nightmares…" Yuki let go of Ayame and put his hand on his forehead as if he was about to faint. "Ugh, this is wearing me out I'm going to bed."
Yuki went up the stairs passing Hatsuharu and Ayame along the way. He slammed and locked his door hoping that they would just give up.
"Wait for me dear brother! I told you that I'm going to sleep with you!" Ayame rushed after him.
Ayame screeched like a banshee while pounding on the door with all of his strength and might.
Yuki cracked his door just enough to stick his head through. "Go.sleep.in.Shigure's room."
"Ah ha ha normally I would. But Hari's in there right now and I need the extra sleep," Ayame winked at him.
By this time, Kyo, Hatsuharu and Tohru were all upstairs.
"Eh?" Tohru noticed that sometimes he and Shigure talked about things she didn't quite understand.
"Will you guys just knock it off already!" At this point, Kyo just wanted to go to bed.
Yuki, ignoring his brother's yaoi statement, closed the door. However, he accidentally forgot to lock it giving Ayame and Hatsuharu a chance to go inside. When the door had completely shut, Tohru faced Kyo.
"Um, uh well good night Kyo," Tohru nodded at him.
"Yeah sure," Kyo suppressed a yawn.
It was 9:00 P.M., everybody had just finished taking a bath and packing their things.
Inside Tohru's room; she was on her bed looking up towards the ceiling.
"I wonder what the other zodiac members are like? I guess I'll find out tomorrow but I can't wait to meet them. Isn't this exciting mom? I'm sure that there are many fun adventures in store for us!" Tohru was so excited that she couldn't sleep.
In Yuki's room; lying on his bed, Yuki was sandwiched between Ayame and Hatsuharu. Ayame was telling a story, Hatsuharu was supposedly listening and Yuki was trying to pay no heed to them but it was too hard…he couldn't sleep.
"This is going to be a loooong night," Yuki pressed the ends of his pillow on his ears in an attempt to drown out the noise.
Hatsuharu, noticing the distressed look on Yuki's face, scooted closer to him and wrapped his arms around his waist.
In Kyo's room; he was laying down on his right side on a futon.
"What are Shigure and Akito planning now?" Kyo felt suspicious of this trip. "Why does Akito want us (and Tohru) to visit these other zodiac people? And why now of all times? …Will the other cat have beads too?" he stared at his wrist.
Kyo closed his eyes in an attempt to relax.
In Shigure's office; Hatori was sitting up next to Shigure, who was reclining on his stomach on the floor. He was reading one of his smuttiest books. They had been trapped in a long awkward silence until…
"Shigure. What are you and Akito planning?" Hatori shot a stern look sideways at the dog.
"Planning? I'm sure that I have no idea what you're talking about," Shigure put on the most innocent look imaginable complete with a set of puppy dog eyes.
"Don't lie to me. What's going to happen tomorrow when we meet the "others?" And is Akito going to join us later?" Hatori never fell for Shigure's antics.
"Well aren't you full of questions," Shigure stated with a huff as he turned a page in his book. "Hmm…I wonder what's got you so worried." He didn't bother to look at the dragon directly. He already knew what he was thinking.
"Do not avoid the subject," Hatori shifted himself so he was facing Shigure completely.
"I don't know what I do to deserve such distrust!" Shigure, with a sigh, closed the book and placed it down on the floor and looked over his shoulder in Hatori's direction. "I mean it's not like that…Hatori, you already have a general idea of what my motives are so I don't understand what's the point in being so baffled? What happens tomorrow and everything else in our lives is based on Akito's decisions. You should know that more than anyone."
"It's alright if you won't include me in your plans because regardless of what happens I will neither support nor stop you," Hatori rubbed his temples as a headache came upon him. "Be careful." He suddenly stopped and became very still. "You might break someone if you're reckless either that, or you'll end up hurting yourself."
"Thank you for the warning. I'll keep that in mind," Shigure picked up his book again and flipped it to the most recent page he read. "But, at this point, there is nothing that is going to hurt me. And as for breaking people, I don't think it'll do anyone any harm just by having a little fun."
An: Well here it is the chapter written in the opposite of script form. If you liked what you read, thank you so much! If you would like to review, please share comments, advice, and constructive criticism. (Keep in mind that I did not ask for flames haha.) I hope that you all have a swell day.
Here's a quiz question to see how much you know about Fruba:
"Who was Hatsuharu's first love?"
A. Himself.
B. Yuki Sohma.
C. Kisa Sohma.
D. Saki Hanajima.
