"So when did you start living in the tent?" Yuki asked
We were sitting at the table in their dining room and Shigure was still being an ass and laughing in the corner. I really don't see the humor in this situation.
"About a week ago," I said quietly, then I shot an annoyed glance at Shigure, "Jeez, its not that funny"
"Never mind him. I thought it was strange," Yuki said, "This whole hill belongs to the Sohma family, we didn't sell or lease any land"
"Please," Tohru begged, "Let us stay here for a little while longer? After the renovation is finished, we'll leave strait away. Although, I don't have much. . . but I can pay you! Please!"
I looked at her, worrying, she was getting all pale and glassy eyed.
"Its dangerous there! The ground is loose and there are pervert's wandering around, a girl can't live in a tent for that long, let alone two." Shigure said suddenly serious.
"Done laughing at our expense?" I asked statistically
"No problem!" Tohru shot into a standing position, "I'm already used to the insect's! I have the energy and the drive!"
Then she slid to her knee's in a feint, I caught her and pressed a hand to her forehead. She had a fever!
"Tohru!" I said worried, "You've been pushing yourself too hard again!"
"First, I'll get some ice!" Shigure opened the door to his kitchen, "Ah. . . where is it?"
The place was a total mess, piles of garbage bags cluttering it up. It was a fire hazard if I've ever seen one. How did they even use their kitchen?
"Oh jeez," I muttered, "And you think the wood's are unsafe"
But he wasn't paying any attention to me, he was looking out the window with a serious expression on his face, "uh-oh, look's like its going to landslide. The last storm made the soil soft and loose"
"How would you know?" Tohru asked
"Mmm? This is called a wildlife ability" He said, trying to look insightful and serious, and failing.
"Idiot" I muttered, "Well? Where is it?"
"Maybe. . ." Tohru looked at him, "Could it be near our tent?"
"It can't be that coincidental" he said
"Then where is it?" Asked Yuki
As it turn's out, yes, yes it can be that coincidental. Our tent was completely covered in mud and plant's. Tohru gasped and rushed foreword.
"No! Mom's picture is still in there!" She started clawing at the mound of dirt on top of the tent.
I pulled her away into a hug, "Tohru, I know, but you still have a fever! Kyoko wouldn't want you to hurt yourself, I'll come back with you in the morning to dig her out okay?"
We got her back to the house, reluctantly, and into bed. I knelt down next to her and held her hand, like I used to when she had nightmare's.
"I'm sorry," She said, "Now. . . I've lost my house again"
"Oh Tohru. . ." I murmured
Shigure sat across from me on her other side, "You fell really bad don't you?"
"No, because I know there are worse thing's"
"Like what?" He asked, "Tell me!"
"I didn't tell her to be careful on the road, the day of the car accident" She said.
I blinked back the tear's pricking my eyes. She was going to tell them about the accident, I cried when I thought about it for too long.
"Because I had a test, I studied until morning and overslept. I couldn't get up, only that morning. I usually. . . every morning I would say it, only that day. . . I didn't want to attend high school, I wanted to work. But mom said, 'I only finished middle school, but I wanted to be in high school. So you must try the high school life for me' I knew she always worked hard for me. But I didn't tell her to be careful, I didn't even watch her leave."
By now I could feel the tear's creeping down my cheek's, I used my blue bang's to hide my eyes. I gripped her hand in both of mine and listened to her speak.
"I"m so stupid! Even if I failed, or the house got blown away, I really don't care. The most important thing is mom, so at least. . . I'll finish mom's wish and enter high school and finish it. I cant lose to a little fever."
A handkerchief was put in my lap, I sniffed and wiped at my cheek's, "Sorry, you must think I'm a big crybaby"
"Not at all, is she asleep?" Yuki asked
"You heard?" Shigure asked
"I'm shocked" He said, "At school, she's always very happy. As if pain and suffering don't ever come close. She is tough"
I took the ice pack from him and wrapped the towel around it, sticking it under her pillow, he has no idea just how tough Tohru really is.
"I wanted to leave the Sohma family. . . but I still end up staying on Sohma family land. If I really hated this life I should be like Miss Honda and live in a tent or go to some unknown place. I am so naive. . . right?" Yuki said
I shook my head and crawled underneath the cover's with Tohru, "I think we're all a little naive in some way's, its what keep's us human"
They might have said something, but I was out before my head even touched the pillow.
~LINE BREAK~
I was up before Tohru, Yuki had dug out all of our thing's while we were asleep. I had managed to find a shirt and a pair of pant's that weren't filthy, the shirt had Domo on it and my pant's were ripped at the knee's. Poor Tohru's thing's weren't so lucky, they were covered in dirt. While we were waiting for Tohru to wake up he asked me about all my book's about animal anatomy.
"oh, those" I blushed, "I want to be a vet when I graduate. Silly right?"
He shook his head, "No its not, I think it's a good choice" He looked at the door that hid Tohru, "Are you and Miss Honda related?"
"As good as" I said, "Tohru and Kyoko, her mom, saved me from myself" When he looked confused I elaborated, "I met Tohru in middle school, my mom and I had just moved to town, and I was an idiot then. I was so angry at everything, and everyone. Blaming everything bad in my life on anybody else but myself. I was such a bitch!"
Yuki's startled expression made me laugh, he obviously not used to girl's using foul language. Good thing he never met my mother.,"But then, this adorable girl is looking at me with these big brown eyes asking me to hang out with her at lunch. Me, being the sucker for cute things that I am, I was sunk."
I sighed, "I don't know what I would do without that girl, Arisa and Saki too. I'd probably be in some gang, or in a ditch."
Then a much more pressing matter filled my mind, "And now, we need to find somewhere else to stay"
The door behind me slammed open, revealing Tohru a sleeping kimono. She looked confused, and slightly panicked. I didn't blame her.
Yuki smiled at her, "Good morning Miss Honda, how are you feeling?" he asked
I stood and felt her forehead, "Your fever is gone, that's good. Hey, Yuki got all our thing's out of the tent for us!"
Yuki held out the photo of her mom, "Take it, your photo. Like Miss Cho said, all of your belonging's are dug up, make sure they're yours"
"What!" She shouted,"Yuki, you dug up all that dirt? How is that possible?"
You smiled secretively, "It's a secret"
Okay, creepy. . .
Tohru didn't seem to think so, she bowed deeply, "Oh thank you! Thank you so much!"
His next words surprised us both, "Mmm, then I'll take both your belonging's upstairs"
"Ah?" We both said in surprise.
"This house is pretty dirty, and has only boys living here. But there's an empty bedroom on the second floor. Until renovations are finished, you can stay here" Yuki offered.
"No!" Tohru turned red, "No, I object!"
I was speechless, why on earth would he offer such a thing. He barely knew us!
"Object. . . ah, that room has a lock" Yuki assured us.
Now I turned red, "She didn't mean it that way-"
"Tohru, Amanda, do you like house chore's?" Shigure's voice came from behind us.
Tohru and I jumped clutching each other, scared out of our whits.
"For example, the cooking and cleaning kind of thing" He said happily
"Yes, we do. Why?" I asked
"Welcome to the Sohma family!" He took our meager belonging's from Yuki, "Because the room has always been locked go open the window, ah, we need to get some key's made. Yuki lend Tohru some of your clothes"
"Oh but you've done so much. . . I can't bother you with housing!" Tohru said panicking.
"We've already made so much trouble though," I said, "We don't want to intrude!"
"Miss Honda, Miss Cho. We suggested this, its no trouble at all" Yuki said
"But-" We said
"Besides, you don't have anywhere to go do you?" He said
That shut us up, we really had nowhere else to go. Unless we wanted to be reamed by Arisa. Saki would just give us that. . . look. Ugh, I shuddered just thinking about it.
"For not making anymore trouble, would you please tell us the rules and traditions of the Sohma family?" Tohru asked
"Yeah," I said, "We wouldn't want to make anyone uncomfortable, this is your house"
"That's okay" Yuki said, "Tohru, all you need to do is be yourself. Be at ease in this family, you only have to be yourself"
I smirked, not missing the way he only addressed her. And called her by her first name, I tucked that scheme away as he gave her some of his clothes to wear. I would have, but my clothes wouldn't fit her. I was bigger around the chest and hips. Once she was done Yuki lead us to the room we were supposed to share.
"Its still musty in here, I'm going to open the window's" Yuki moved to open the windows
Then the weirdest thing happened, the roof exploded. I instantly moved so I was in front of of Tohru so I could protect her from whatever caused the roof to explode.
"Yo!" A boy our age stood in front of me, he was wearing a tight black Tee and a pair of cargo pants. He had the orangest hair I've ever seen, and the most well defined shoulders, I could feel my cheeks heating up in a blush.
"You've been waiting for me, haven't you rat-boy?" he said
"Why. . . every time you're here, you make a mess" Yuki said, "Haven't you had enough? You're so weak!"
Uh-oh, Yuki was taunting this guy? Was he crazy!
"Bastard. . . I'll make you fell like I felt last time, I'll pay you back!" He fisted his hands in front of himself, "Lets go!"
"Please. . . please wait!" Tohru lurched foreword, knocking me off balance and right into carrot-top's back.
"Oh jeez!" I gasped, "I am so sorry! Are you. . ."
In my hands was an orange. . . "Cat. Your a cat." I blinked, nope, still there. "Did I. . . break him or something?"
"Oh no! This is my fault! We've got to take him to the hospital!" Tohru wailed, "The doctors will cure him!"
I just sat there stupidly, staring at an orange cat that was once a boy. Then a piece of wood fell and landed on Tohru's head, making her fall and land on Yuki and Shigure. There were two more poof's of smoke and a dog and a rat were in their place.
"Holy shit!" I said
Tohru scooped them up and bolted down the stairs, I followed at a slower pace with the cat-boy in my hands. The delivery man was waiting at the bottom of the stairs, Tohru ran up to him screaming. I just sat on the stairs, dazed.
"THEY"RE ALL ANIMALS!"
"Ah yes, they are animals. The Sohma's raise pets?" He tipped his hat up, "A total of 1600 yen please"
The dog took a wallet to the man, "Ah ha ha ha! What a clever dog, thank you for your business!"
Then he was gone, and the cat jumped out of my arms.
"Ahhh! You guys changed too, you can't blame this on me!" the cat yelled, it sounded like carrot-top.
"You let your guard down first, you stupid cat!" the rat yelled, it sounded like Yuki.
Then the dog barked, "There is no other way, why don't we just tell them?"
Oh god, I think I'm gonna puke.
