Friends of a Rice Ball
DG32173 & Aniasin
Sarah: :P I hope there are still people reading this. I mean, I think the first chapter is a little … bland … compared to what I usually write. (shrugs) ah, well, if there's anyone still reading, thank you! Also, we've got a guest to do the disclaimer for us today.
Kyo: why do I have to do this?! Why can't you get sissy rat boy over there to do it instead?! (points at Yuki)
Sarah: (grins) well, I suppose we could embarrass you this chapter, right Aniasin?
Aniasin: Let's see…. We could always…
Kyo: fine! I'll do the disclaimer! Those girls don't own anything except Sari, Casey, and this blasted story!
Sarah: thank you Kyo! (glomps Kyo)
Kyo: (turns into a cat) yeah, yeah, whatever. Now leave me alone!
NOTE
(Authors note)
"Talking"
'Thinking'
Scene change
POV change
Memory
Scene change
Chapter 2
Completely Unexpected
Sari grins at her sister as they stand on a hill overlooking Sohma Shigure's house. "Well, might as well go pay them a visit. We did come all this way, and I don't feel like turning back without visiting for a while," she says.
"Sure," Casey agrees, "Maybe they have some water. I'm thirsty."
The two girls move swiftly and silently through the forested area between them and the small house. Sari knocks on the door, and then they wait. "Coming!" they hear Tohru call from inside. The door slides open to reveal Tohru in a cleaning outfit. She blinks in surprise at first seeing them, then yelps in joy as she hugs them both. "Sari-chan! Casey-chan! We weren't expecting you to come over today!" she cries out.
Sari and Casey grin, returning the hug. It's been nearly two weeks since the Hinori sisters came into their daily life. Today is Saturday, and only around eight in the morning. "That's why we came," Sari explains, smiling brightly at her best friend. "We didn't want to give Carrot-top or Mouse a chance to prepare for our arrival." At this, Casey has to suppress a burst of laughter.
Sari has a habit of randomly nicknaming people soon after she meets them. She had decided to call Kyo 'Carrot-top' for two reasons: one, his hair is the same shade of orange as a carrot, and two, he hates the nickname. She really likes teasing people she considers friends and getting on the nerves of those around her. She also nicknamed Yuki 'Mouse' because he seems to attract rats and mice wherever he goes; another reason is that she found out about his fondness of cheese and hatred of cats. She also noticed that Kyo attracts cats wherever he goes. This is the first time the Hinori sisters have come to Shigure's house, wanting to time it so, as Sari said, the guys won't be ready for them.
"Tohru-chaaaan! What's with all the noise?" Shigure asks, coming in the room. He spots Casey and Sari instantly. "Oh! We have visitors! How completely unexpected!" he exclaims.
"Shigure-san, these are Hinori Casey and Sari," Tohru says quickly. "Casey-chan, Sari-chan, this is Sohma Shigure, Kyo-kun's and Yuki-kun's older cousin."
Casey and Sari examine Shigure as he examines them in turn. Suddenly, Sari scowls and Shigure pales. "I knew I recognized your name," Sari growls. "You're that perverted guy who kept sneaking up to our house when we last lived in Japan to peep into the bathroom window while Casey or I showered!" she exclaims, punching him into the wall across the room from them. "I told you next time I saw you I'd punch you into a wall!" she yells as the man slowly and painfully picks himself off of the floor.
"Oh brother…" Casey slaps her forehead and shakes her head, "You would be the one to remember that." She blushes with embarrassment as the memory came flooding back into her mind.
"EH?!" Tohru exclaims, wondering what Sari and Casey are talking about.
Shigure painfully rubs his jaw where her fist connected with his skin. "I'm surprised you still remember that," he comments. "It's been nearly six years, after all."
Sari scowls. "AND?!" she yells. "I BET YOU'RE JUST AS PERVERTED NOW AS YOU WERE LAST TIME WE SAW EACH OTHER!"
"Oh god, no!" Casey yelps as she leaps back, eyeing Shigure suspiciously.
"Eh-heh-heh, can ya keep it down?" Shigure chuckles nervously. If Yuki or Kyo found out about his past 'excursions' to the Hinori house, they'd assume he still does such stuff and beat the hell out of him. "I'm not like that anymore," he continues sheepishly.
"Better not be! Cause if you do anything like that to To-chan, you'll have dug your own grave!" Sari retorts furiously.
"Anything like what?" a tired male voice yawns from the doorway to the next room.
"Nothing, Kyo!" Shigure says quickly … a little too quickly for Kyo's taste.
The cat scowls at him. "Better be nothing," he mutters just before yawning again. Casey lowers her head so that her face could return to normal color.
"Sheesh, lazy Carrot-top; it's almost eight thirty and you're still tired?" Sari teases.
Kyo's head snaps towards her direction in surprise, seeing Casey right next to her. "What are you two doing here? And stop calling me 'Carrot-top'!" he yells.
"Aw come on." Casey whines teasingly as she pouts, "You don't like your nickname?"
"NO I DON'T!!"
Sari grins. "Don't gotta," she replies. "And we're here to visit To-chan," she continues, smiling innocently at him. She turns to Tohru. "Show us your room, To-chan!" she says excitedly.
"Alright," Tohru agrees, heading upstairs at a run. Sari and Casey are right at her heels. As they hear Tohru's bedroom door slide shut, Kyo and Shigure both breathe sighs of relief. Something about Sari and Casey puts them on edge, but they don't know what.
Tohru's Room
"Woah … that's a big bed!" Sari says, whistling her appreciation. Casey just stands there, jaw dropped.
"Isn't it nice? Shigure-san got it for me soon after I moved back in from Grandpa's," Tohru says, sitting on it.
Sari sits next to her while Casey curls up in a corner of the room. "It's so soft!" Sari exclaims, flopping on her back. "So comfy!"
"Yeah, it is," Tohru agrees. Then she cocks her head to the side and looks questioningly at Sari. "Was what you said about Shigure-san true?" she asks sari. "About him looking through the bathroom window when one of you was showering?"
Sari scowls. "Every word was true," she growls. "The last time I caught him, before Mama took Casey and me to the States, was nearly six years ago. I was stepping out of the shower and glanced out the window. I saw him standing there watching me. When he realized I saw him, he bolted before I could get dressed to chase after him. I wrapped a towel around myself and opened the window to shout at him to tell him that next time I saw him, he was going to be punched into a wall. Three days later, Mama packed our stuff and took Casey and me to America. Today is the first time I've seen him since, and I don't go back on my word."
Casey sighs. "That pervert," she mutters. Her face flushes again.
"He better not be trying such a stunt with you, To-chan, or I'll kill him!" Sari says angrily.
"And I'll help!" Casey pipes up from her corner. She lazily stretches curling her fingers and toes before curling back up into a ball.
Tohru stares at her. "How can you move like that?" she wonders.
"I don't know." Casey replies as she goes into a back bend with her hands and feet on the ground at the same time, "It's just me." She falls back onto the ground happily.
"Every joint she has is double-jointed … I think she even has joints where no one else has any," Sari puts in.
"Oh, okay," Tohru says, her eyes twirling.
Suddenly, Sari's and Casey's stomachs growl, causing both girls to blush. "Eh-heh-heh, we haven't had breakfast yet," Sari says embarrassedly.
"I'm hungry!" Casey pipes up as she lies across the floor staring at the ceiling, "What's cooking?" she adds as she sits up, smelling something interesting.
"ACK! THE TOAST!" Tohru yelps, running out of the room and downstairs at breakneck speed, Casey and Sari hot on her heels.
In the kitchen, Tohru grabs a potholder and turns off the stove. She opens the stove door and pulls out charcoal cinnamon toast. "Aww, man, I burnt them!" she whines.
"Don't worry, we'll make more," Sari says, trying to cheer up the brunette. "And I'll make my special scrambled eggs too, the ones you really love. Casey can make the sausage and bacon."
Tohru nods sadly. "Okay," she says softly. She hates wasting food by burning it. But now, with Sari's scrambled eggs and Casey's bacon and sausage to look forward to, she can make more cinnamon toast with more ease.
One hour later
"Mmm! Something smells absolutely delicious!" Shigure says, walking into the kitchen while following the heavenly aroma of cooking food.
"Breakfast is almost ready," Sari replies. "Let Carrot-top and Mouse know. By the time you get back with them, we'll be ready to eat."
Yuki groans as he enters the kitchen, "Don't worry, I heard you." he replies, still unsure of whether he likes to be called 'Mouse' or not…
Suddenly Kyo comes bursting in, "HOW MANY TIMES DO I HAVE TO SAY 'QUIT CALLING ME CARROT TOP' BEFORE YOU ACTUALLY DO?!" he yells angrily. Apparently he doesn't like his nickname very much.
"Aw, shut yer yap and sit down." Casey says sternly as she turns around, brandishing a metal spatula at the boy. Kyo quickly takes the hint and sits down opposite of Yuki. The three girls pile the food on three different serving platters and set the platters in the center of the table. Everyone serves themselves and starts eating. In seconds, Yuki, Kyo, and Shigure start trying to hog all the eggs and bacon and sausage. The Hinori sisters are fantastic cooks!
"Oi! Save some for the rest of us, you pigs!" Sari yells, grabbing at the bacon and sausage. She almost never gets to eat Casey's meat dishes. For all that her sister is a fantastic chef, the girl is a complete vegetarian! And she prefers cooking vegetarian dishes to meat dishes. One thing Casey had managed to make Sari come to enjoy is her Tofu Meat dishes. You can't even tell they're made of tofu, they taste exactly like the real thing!
"Eww…" Casey mumbles as she shudders. She absolutely detests meat in allforms save for by products. Now tofu on the other hand, the girl can eat some tofu!
"Don't you want some bacon or sausage, Casey-chan?" Tohru asks curiously. "It's going fast."
Sari hears this and starts choking on her bacon.
"Uh…Tohru…I may cook meat but I'm a vegetarian…" Casey replies as she looks at the food in disgust.
The room is suddenly filled with silence … silence except for Sari's choking. Finally, she manages to swallow her bacon and starts chuckling. "The only 'meat' she eats is tofu!" she laughs. "Of course, she makes her tofu meat taste and look exactly like the real thing … only way you know it's actually tofu is if she's eating it."
Casey laughs as she finally cleans her plate. She stands and goes to the sink, washes her dishes, and promptly goes to the couch and plops down on it.
"Ahh … it's so soft …," Casey sighs as she curls up in a small ball and immediately falls asleep. Her soft snores could be heard by all.
"Uh …?" Kyo, Yuki, Shigure, and Tohru say as one. How can that girl fall asleep so fast?
Sari checks to see what the others are doing. Everyone else is watching Casey. Sari smirks and snatches the last of the bacon and sausage and eats it. "Well, I'm done," she says when she's done, taking her dishes to the sink and washing them as well. Sari grins as the others discover that the remaining sausages and bacon had vanished while they were watching Casey. Sari goes into the living room, flops on the couch next to her sister, and grabs the TV remote. She turns on the TV and starts flipping channels at hyper speed.
"How can you keep up with that?" Kyo demands.
Sari glances at him then turns back to the TV. "I dunno. I just can," she replies, continuing to flip channels.
A few hours later
Casey yawns as she wakes up. She smacks her lips as she blinks a few times to adjust to the light. She looks around dumbfoundedly before…
"OM MY GOSH!!" She leaps to her feet, "I CAN"T BELIEVE I FELL ASLEEP!!" She groans as she fights a wave of tiredness and dizziness at the same time. She was surprisingly weak for having just ate. Well, that could be because she's only had five hours of sleep in four days!
"Sari, I think I'm gonna…" Casey groans as a cloud of smoke blinds everyone's vision.
Lying on a pile of clothes was a reddish brown wolf with red eyes. The wolf whimpers as she looks up at Sari miserably …
Sarah: hehehe! We are so evil! Who's the wolf? And where did Casey go? Wait for chapter 3! (laughs)
Aniasin: Yes we are … and proud of it, darn it!
