Fruits Basket

For Justice, Romance, and Good Health

OPENING NOTES: Hey. In case you're wondering, this fic takes place a short time after the Sorta Cinderella play. Oh yeah- this fic is mainly based on the manga so if you haven't read volumes 15 onwards, then I suggest you don't read this. If you want spoilers, though, then it's up to you. Anyway, I know the introduction was really short so that's why I tried to make this chapter as long as possible.

Hopefully, everyone enjoys this. I do not own Furuba because Natsuki Takaya does. Now, read!! :D


Case One: Yuki and Machi

Part One: Shigure

Shigure Sohma walked into the dining room, instantly seeing Tohru, Kyo, and Yuki eating their breakfast. He yawned to make his presence heard.

"Shigure-san! It's time for breakfast; aren't you hungry?" Tohru said immediately as soon as the dog spirit walked inside, "We're going to be late so if you get hungry, your breakfast is just here."

She bolted upstairs to get her bag, which she had almost forgotten, while Yuki and Kyo stood waiting for her, trying not to look at each other. Shigure innocently ate his breakfast, not really feeling very hungry, but getting rather excited for what he was about to do that day.

Kyo impatiently went outside, not wanting to stand next to the rat spirit any longer. A few minutes later, Tohru ran back to the room and exclaimed, "I'm sorry for making everyone late; let's go!!"

She grabbed Yuki's hand and waved a hasty goodbye to Shigure. When nobody was in the room, he sighed, pushed away his bowl, and stood up, wondering how to turn into a dog as soon as possible.

He and Ayame hurriedly made plans to get Yuki and Machi together, which took one day. They urged Hatori to be more helpful, but the poor dragon spirit insisted that the plan would turn out to be a failure, regretting his affirmative response when they asked him to join their plans the previous night.

Anyway, one thing that they forgot to clear out was how to turn Shigure into a dog in order to be able to follow Yuki to school that day. One thing was clear: he couldn't hug Tohru because she would end up rather surprised and Yuki would end up suspicious. Another thing was that he couldn't make himself sick, hurt, or weak on purpose just to turn into a dog. That would be rather masochistic.

Then it hit him. All he had to do was go to the school, look for an unsuspecting (and hot) high school girl- then hug her! Well, he'd have to hug her from behind, turn into a dog, pick up his clothes, and run away, though. Shigure felt proud of himself. He was able to find a way to help Yuki and check out high school girls at the same time.

"High school girls! One two three! High school girls! All for me!" Shigure chanted to himself as he went out of his house and set off to do his task.


Meanwhile, in the Ayame costume shop, Ayame was making a dress. He finished and lifted it up, looking at the finished product. Suddenly, Mine Kuramae entered and squealed. The snake spirit turned around and grinned at her amazed expression.

"Ayame, that is one of the best you've ever made!" She said, grabbing it and scanning it from sleeve to hem.

"I know. Thank you."

Ayame stood up and patted her on the head, smiling fondly at her faint blush. He went out of the room and swiftly grabbed his phone from his pocket, flipping it open. He selected an ever-too-familiar cell number and smirked as an ever-too-familiar voice answered.

"You were supposed to call Shigure twenty minutes ago."

"What kind of greeting is that, Hatori?" Ayame said, laughing.

Hatori growled, "It's a greeting that has 'Why the hell are you calling me?!' written all over it. Now, put down the phone and call Shigure."

"You must have gotten up on the wrong side of the bed. Or maybe you just need to get more sleep," Ayame commented, "I just wanted to say good morning!"

"Listen, I'm not part of the first stage of the plan so we're not accomplishing anything for your brother by doing this. Now, put down the phone."

Ayame smiled, ending the call, and selected another familiar name. The phone rang for a few times and then was answered by none other than the spirit of the dog.

"Aaya!! What took you so long? Is someone there keeping you busy?" Shigure said, feigning hurt and concern.

"Of course not, my dear Shigure. Only you are truly worthy enough to keep me busy, and none other."

The two laughed at their small conversation and Shigure replied, this time with a slightly more serious tone, "Anyway, kidding aside, what really took you so long?"

"Well, I had to finish this beautiful piece that I was making for Mine. I haven't made her something for a long time."

"I see. You have terrible timing. I was about to hug a hot high school girl from behind to turn into a dog but then you called."

Ayame laughed, knowing very well about Shigure's obsession with high school girls. He pushed aside funny memories and said, "So, were you able to find a picture of Machi Kuragi in Yuki's stuff?"

"It was easy enough. I just went through his school bag and found one of the whole student council. Apparently, they all signed the back of the photograph so I saw that the shy, pretty girl beside Yuki is Machi Kuragi," Shigure answered triumphantly, eyeing a girl on a bike, whose mini skirt just flew up due to a sudden hump on the road. She screamed, pedaling as fast as she could away from the guffawing high school boys nearby. Shigure chuckled.

"Good. Just look for the girl and lead her to Yuki or something. Make sure something interesting happens between them."

"Why can't I do this as a human?"

"Because Hatori said it wouldn't work and that Yuki would kill you."

There was a small pause before Shigure said, "Right."

After a while, the two ended the call and Shigure went on choosing a high school girl. After a few minutes, he wasn't able to find the perfect girl yet and thought that high school girls these days weren't as pretty as before.

Shigure Sohma, the black-haired, dark-eyed, 178 cm-tall dog spirit of the Zodiac, spoke too soon. A group of hot girls suddenly walked by, giggling and gossiping to each other. Most of them noticed Shigure standing by and whispered to each other instantly when he winked and flashed them a smile.

He walked away, behind a tree to avoid their glances. Not taking his eyes off them, he took off his jacket to make it easier for him to pick up his clothes later. He waited for his chance. One of the girls dropped her bag and told the others to go ahead as she picked up her things. Shigure smirked, slowly walking up to her and hugging her quickly, turning into a dog. He picked up his fallen clothes and ran off before the girl could turn around in surprise.

Shigure sighed in relief as the girl didn't notice him scamper behind the tree. He put his clothes next to the slightly hidden, ground submerged roots of the tree, not wanting to carry them around the whole time.

In case he would turn into a human again, he brought with him his coat. Then, he ran off to find Machi Kuragi.


Yuki Sohma went out of the classroom to take his lunch break, telling Tohru, Kyo, Hatsuharu, and Momiji that he had to talk to a few members of the student council. While they walked off to their usual eating place, Yuki went to find Kakeru Manabe, Machi Kuragi, Kimi Toudou, and Naohito Sakuragi.

He soon found Kakeru, Kimi, and Naohito in the council room, eating lunch and talking loudly.

"Yun-Yun!!" Kakeru greeted, "What's up?"

Yuki gritted his teeth and hissed, "Don't call me that! Anyway, where's Machi?"

"Machi? She most probably might be wandering around the school at this time," he answered. Kimi and Naohito started arguing about something and he whispered, "She broke another box of chalk again. You should talk to her and give her the files from yesterday; she's depressed."

Yuki nodded, getting the papers from his table and setting out to look for Machi. He looked out the window and saw a group of junior boys playing Frisbee, a teacher scolding two students, and a pretty girl petting a dog under a tree.

Wait- a pretty girl petting a dog under a tree? He stared back at the girl and recognized Machi. She was kneeling down and looked like she was feeding the stray dog. He was instantly reminded of her gentle kindness and felt sad that people whispered behind her back. Remembering the files he was supposed to give, he ran off to the school grounds.


"Machi! Why did you push off this box of chalk from the table?" a girl reprimanded, staring at the broken pieces of chalk, "You know you shouldn't do that because every single time there's new chalk, you have to break it!! Seriously!!"

Machi looked down at her feet, ashamed that she wasn't able to control herself. Yuki was already trying to help her and was very kind to her yet she couldn't do something as simple as not breaking chalk.

"I'm sorry…"

The girl sighed and said softly, "It's fine but this time, I'm not buying the new chalk. You are. And use your own money, will you?"

"Y-yes…"

She was then left alone in the room; the girl and her friend had gone off to eat. She then started cleaning the mess she made and after doing so, promptly ran off to eat.

The council room was most likely filled with all the council members except her but she didn't feel like showing her face to anyone that day. Machi decided to eat outside under a small tree or something, so she went to the school grounds, thinking about Yuki Sohma.

When she went to a rather hidden and decent tree, she sat down and started eating her food. Suddenly, she heard a soft running sound. Turning around, she saw a dog bounding towards her.

The dog was big and black, and the thing that was strange about it was that it had a coat draped over its back. Machi screamed and edged away from the dog, which was now sniffing the grass. It barked and eyed the sushi Machi had in between her two chopsticks. She noticed this and whispered, "You want this? Alright, I'll give it to you, but then you'll have to leave. People will think that I brought you here to school as a pet, which isn't allowed unless I have special permission…"

She held out her hand with two pieces of sushi in it. The dog sniffed her hand, hungrily ate the pieces and sat down devouring the food while Machi laughed at its cuteness. Suddenly, she heard someone calling her name.

"Machi!"

She turned and saw Yuki Sohma running towards her with papers in his hand. He stopped right before her, panting, and said, "Machi, I was looking for you and then I saw you from the window… What are you doing with that dog?"

"I was just feeding it because it seemed hungry," Machi replied, smiling as the dog finished its food. It stared expectantly at her while Yuki laughed.

"It now thinks you're its new friend. You fed it and now it's asking for more," he explained as Machi looked confused at his laugh.

Yuki stared at the dog, which looked a bit familiar to him. Its black fur, huge shape, and cute, deceiving face…

He snapped out of his thoughts when Machi patted the dog on the head and said, "But I don't have any more food. The last pieces here are for me, and I don't want to give them away."

The dog first seemed to understand, but then whined, staring at Yuki and Machi with puppy-dog eyes. They both laughed, thinking it was very cute, but the dog looked like it was rather annoyed.

Yuki picked up the coat on its back and said, "You remind me of this dog I have at home. It loves using puppy-dog eyes as its weapon and acts like a human." The dog stared inquisitively up at him while he stared down at it suspiciously.

Machi stood up, thinking that it was time to go. She finished off her food and said, "Anyway, where are the papers you had to give to me?"

"They're here."

He handed them to her and Shigure the dog looked at them mischievously. He jumped up and grabbed the files, running not too far off. Yuki and Machi stared at him as he wagged his tail, papers in mouth. They both ran off, beginning a wild chase as he led them towards a small group of trees on the outskirts of the school grounds.

Yuki said softly, "Come on, little dog… We need those papers and we don't want to be late for our next class…"

Shigure felt like screaming "HELL NO!" back at him but held back, barking instead and running off to this tree with big roots. He easily jumped over them and then wagged his tail successfully as Yuki and Machi tripped over them, falling to the ground.

He walked nearer as he saw the position they were in. Machi was sprawled on the ground, while Yuki was beside her, also lying down. He noticed their close position and edged himself away from her, for fear of turning into a rat.

Machi blushed. "C-can you help me up?"

Yuki stood up hastily and helped her up carefully and self-consciously. Shigure decided to give them the papers and set them on the ground before him. Yuki snatched them and eyed the dog distastefully.

"I thought that the dog I have at home is the worst in the world, but you can actually match up to him if you try hard… Very hard," he muttered as Machi giggled. Shigure felt like shouting out indignantly but just glared at Yuki.

"I would like to see your dog. He seems really… interesting," Machi said as they both walked back to the school building. Shigure followed, wanting to hear more.

They both started talking about the chalk incident a while ago, while Shigure listened, realizing that Machi Kuragi had Atelophobia, the fear of perfection. Yuki realized that the dog was still following them and put the coat over it, Machi saying, "Run off and find your owner; we have to go back to class."

Shigure grinned while the two ran off, leaving him. He then ran off towards the exit and slipped outside, panting. Before he could turn into a human, he went behind the tree he was hiding behind and found his clothes.

Suddenly, there was a small poof as he turned into a human, naked. He quickly put on his clothes before anyone could see him and walked off as if he just happened to pass by the school.


Hatori Sohma sighed as he tried to call Shigure for the third time. As he listened to the phone ring, he almost ended the call but decided to wait, remembering that the third time's almost always the charm.

Coincidentally, Shigure actually answered, "Haa-san!"

"Shigure," Hatori said, relieved, "I was thinking that you might have gotten caught when you didn't answer my calls."

"Have more faith in me, will you? Doubting my abilities is always a mistake."

"Yes, whatever," Hatori said. He heard a small beep and realized that someone else was calling him, "Wait, I have another call."

"Tori-san!!"

"Ayame. Shigure's on the other line. I'll put you on, just wait."

There was a small click and Shigure found Ayame joining them in a three-way conference call.

"Gure!!"

"Aaya!!"

Hatori grinned and continued, "Shigure, explain what else happened. So how did it go? Did Yuki actually recognize you?"

Shigure laughed and said, "Surprisingly not. He looked suspiciously at me in a few awkward moments but then I don't think he knew it was me. Machi's actually a really nice girl too. She has Atelophobia but is absolutely in love with dear Yuki."

"Atelophobia?" Hatori said, slightly surprised, "You mean the fear of perfection?"

"Yeah."

Ayame said, "My dear brother's helping her cope, hmm? She really must appreciate him so much."

Hatori chuckled. "It's a surprise she isn't scared of the ever-so-perfect Yuki. Why do you think they call him the prince?"

"Because he's my brother!"

"Anyway, I saw lots of high school girls!!" Shigure said excitedly. Hatori rolled his eyes while Ayame smirked. "Machi fed me sushi that she prepared by herself. I heard her tell Yuki. She's good, but not perfect enough, though. Hopefully, she'd be a great housewife."

"Housewife? She has Atelophobia, Shigure. People who have that have the tendency to destroy things that look too… perfect," Hatori explained patiently, "What else happened?"

Shigure answered, "Well, I did snatch these important council papers and they had to chase me around the school grounds."

"You snatched important council papers?"

"That isn't part of the pla-"

"I know, I know," he cut off, reaching his house and opening the door, "But they tripped over a huge tree root and they both fell. It would have been brilliant if they had kissed."

Ayame laughed while Hatori commented, "I'm not surprised you made something like that happen. Don't forget that Yuki could have turned into a rat, though..."

"Well, he didn't, and what happened already happened."

"You are such a sly dog, Shigure-kun…" Ayame said coquettishly, grinning as Shigure replied, "I know, Ayame-chan. You want me to trip you over a tree root the next time we see each other? I must say, my kissing abilities have improved a lot-"

"Okay, that's enough. You're making me sick," Hatori cut off, before Ayame could reply an even more seductive answer, "Now, when Yuki reaches home, what happens then?"

Shigure frowned. "Well, I just have to act that nothing extraordinary happened to me. The high school girls, the sushi, the papers, and everything…"

Ayame added mysteriously, "And so begins our next part of the plan."

He and Shigure laughed while Hatori asked, confused, "Wait- I don't know about this part. What's going to happen?"

"Ah, Haa-san… We'll tell you all about it. The good thing is that you're the one carrying this plan out, so you better make it good."

"Why do I have a bad feeling about this?" Hatori asked himself as his two friends started explaining the next stage of the plan.

Soon after, the three ended the conference.


Author's Note: I really wonder if someone's actually reading this... I don't think so... Well, if people start reviewing, then maybe- just maybe- I'll be happy. ^_^ So please review and/or favorite and/or alert!! Anyway, I would like to thank Kumajirou17 for supporting me in this project, and also congratulations to Corsiva Vyrae for finding me in fanfiction. She was searching all over FF just to look for me... XD Well, I just want to tell everyone that since Case One is Yuki and Machi, there will be Cases Two until Seven or Eight. :)

-Pasta W 19.