Yay! Here's the first real chapter :D Yes I don't know about boats, and yes I pawned my ignorance off onto the characters (sorry Sohmas and Tohru!). None of which I own. Or ever will own... Also, sorry this chapter is a bit boring until the end (I think anyway) but there has to be one of those long, set-the-mood type ones...
--
Ten little Indians...
Tohru stood on the deck of a small fishing boat and looked around at everything eagerly, but, instead of seeing anything, just ended up making everything spin in front of her eyes.
"Be careful," Kyo said with a laugh, bonking her playfully on the head, "you'll make yourself dizzy. What's so special about this place, anyway? It's just a gloomy little town." And it was. It was cloudy, foggy, and the town of Devon itself was tiny, but that didn't stop Tohru from getting so excited that she was almost Momiji-like.
"This is so nice of Terri-san to invite us. Is she nice? What's the island like?" All the Sohmas had talked when they arrived in Devon, but none of them could remember this Terri person. Kureno said he remembered some sort of American maid (and she had to be American, since she used Ms. and Mr. in place of -san) but couldn't remember anything about her.
"The island is nice," Yuki said for what must have been the third time that hour. "It's big, and we'll be the only ones on the island, since it's private property."
"I just can't remember a Terri-san..." Hatori mused quietly, lighting a cigarette. "I think at least one of us would have remembered her, and if she is a maid like we think, then how did she get to own the property?" He shook his head and moved his arm to take a drag of his cigarette, but before he could...
"Tori! Don't you know those things'll kill you?!" Shigure grabbed the cancer stick out of Hatori's hand and took a drag of it himself. The angry response Hatori had been ready to say was interrupted by a taxi pulling up in front of the dock the boat was tied to. Ritsu stepped out of the obnoxiously yellow car and started to walk toward the boat, but his progress was hampered by the heavy suitcase he was carrying.
"Here, let me help you!" Tohru, of course, ran to help Ritsu carry his suitcase to the boat, and with only a little difficulty (mostly including Ritsu apologizing for being late, and apologizing for making Tohru waste strength by helping him) they managed and the ten were all on board at last.
Ryoa-san, the owner of the fishing boat, had noticed all of the commotion from under the deck where he was waiting for the last member of the Sohma's party (Ritsu) to arrive. He looked at the ten and asked in a gruff voice, "Is everyone ready to go?" They all nodded, except for Akito- She was looking at everyone with a Why Am I Here With These People kind of look.
Ryoa did all the necessary things to get ready to sail (things that Tohru and the Sohmas didn't have the first clue about) and soon they were on their way to the island.
"Ritsu, what took you so long to get here?" Shigure asked, knowing full well what was about to happen.
"I'm sorry! I didn't mean to be late! I didn't know where to tell the taxi driver to go, and I kept remembering things at home I forgot, and..."
"You are a horrible person, Sensei," Haru said with a shake of his head. He and Rin were watching Ritsu, who seemed to be debating throwing himself off the side of the boat, and leaning up against the railing.
"He knows I'm joking. Right, Ritchan? You're not going to kill yourself." Shigure ambled over to him and put an arm around his shoulder.
"Maybe it would be better if I did," Ritsu sniffled, getting only a roll of the eyes from most people.
"No! Don't!" Tohru exclaimed, almost at the exact same time Akito snapped:
"You're not going to die, so be quiet." She couldn't take his yelling anymore, and he obviously wasn't going to die any time soon.
Ritsu calmed down just as Indian Island came into view. It might have been the gloomy weather, but the island seemed... Foreboding in a way. It was rock cliffs all around, except for a small, clear hill that sloped down to meet the water. The house itself was visible, too, but it didn't look much better. The black walls were big and awkward looking, like they might collapse in at any time, and they looked run down and old (which they were). The windows looked surprisingly new and clean, and everyone wondered again, What kind of person owned that house?
Everyone (again, Akito was the exception) thanked Ryoa as they carefully got off the boat with their suitcases. "I'd plan on staying a few extra days here, if I were you," the old fisherman said as he prepared to go back to the mainland, "there's a storm coming. A big one. I can feel it in my bones. Someone with a strange American name paid me to take you ten out here, but no one could pay me enough to brave coming back to this island in a storm."
Before anyone could protest or argue, he was gone.
"Well, that sucks," Rin said as the party trudged their way up the hill to the house. "This Terri person better not mind us all staying here."
"The house will be big enough for all of us, I'm sure," Kureno commented.
"Is it just me, or is it... Different here?" Kyo couldn't remember the island very well, but he remembered it being brighter, and less desolate looking. There were hardly any trees anywhere, and the few flowers growing along the path they were following looked dead.
"Gloomier," Yuki agreed with a nod and an apprehensive look around.
"There's the house!" Tohru, even though the place was (much) different than she imagined, she was still excited when they reached the top of the hill and the door was only a few yards away.
Knock... Knock... Knock-knock-knock-knock-kno-"Stop it." Hatori grabbed Shigure's hand to stop it from knocking on the door another time. "No one's going to answer, just see if the door is open."
"But no one's answering and I'm reallyhungry." The truth was, they all wanted something to eat, but Shigure was the only one who would whine about it. Shigure sighed dramatically and turned the handle. The door was unlocked, so he pushed it open and stepped inside. "Hello?" He called, but no one answered. "Hey! A note!" With the air of someone who had just found a key clue to a mystery, Shigure picked up a sheet of paper on a table by the door as Haru flicked on a light switch, illuminating the room. Shigure read the note out loud:
"Terribly sorry, but if you're reading this it means I'm not back from my business trip yet. On the back of this paper is a diagram of where everyone's room should be. Feel free to make yourselves at home. There is pleanty of food in the pantry (pointed out in the diagram) and I should be back by tomorrow morning."
"I guess we're on our own tonight, but I could make dinner," Tohru offered almost immediately, and everyone else agreed. After all, who would want to make dinner for ten people besides Tohru?
"I can take your stuff up to your room, then." Kyo took her backpack while Shigure made another comment about being hungry, Tohru set out to find the kitchen.
As an afterthought, Rin called out to her, "Don't get lost!" She shook her head. "That's something that girl would do."
--
Went out to dine...
"Dinner's ready!" Tohru came as the savior of an awkward silence in the parlor. It was strange for any of the family members (except for Kureno, maybe) to be in the same room with Akito without her making snide remarks or getting violent, but she was being quiet. After they settled into their rooms, they all met in the lounge to wait for dinner.
Dinner, if anything, was more awkward than before hand had been. Rin was on the edge of her seat, trying to be as far away from Akito as possible (who she had the misfortune to sit next to)- Her hair was still short- a memory of last time they had "gotten together." Akito was taking a sick sort of pleasure out of her discomfort and was smirking slightly. Yuki and Kyo were glaring at each other from across the table, as was Shigure at Kureno- Who still didn't understand why Shigure hated him so much. Ritsu was constantly dropping things, Hatori and Haru were silent, and Tohru could feel the tension in the air.
Finally, it seemed, dinner was over and the ten moved back to the lounge. They all sat silently, staring at each other, thinking that it was really strange and awkward to be sitting in the house of a person they had no memory of. Tohru was again the one who broke the silence, "Um, would anyone like some tea?"
They agreed, and Tohru hurried out of the room. She wouldn't say it, but she really just suggested tea to give herself something to do. The atmosphere was worse than when she had been in between Mayuko-san and Shigure-san at her parent-teacher meeting. She breathed a soft sigh of relief when the other nine were out of sight, and hoped that their host would arrive soon.
"Hey, I have one of those in my room." Haru spoke for the first time since when he asked Hatori to pass the salt at dinner. He was pointing at a plaque hanging above the fireplace with a rhyme engraved on it. In fact, everyone had one in their room, too. "It's not exactly happy."
Ten little Indian boys went out to dine;
One choked his little self and then there were nine.
Nine little Indian boys sat up very late;
One overslept himself and then there were eight.
Eight little Indian boys traveling in Devon;
One said he'd stay there and then there were seven.
Seven little Indian boys chopping up sticks;
One chopped himself in halves and then there were six.
Six little Indian boys playing with a hive;
A bumblebee stung one and then there were five.
Five little Indian boys going in for law,
One got in Chancery and then there were four.
Four little Indian boys going out to sea;
A red herring swallowed one and then there were three.
Three little Indian boys walking in the Zoo;
A big bear hugged one and then there were two.
Two little Indian boys sitting in the sun;
On got frizzled up and then there was one.
One little Indian boy left all alone;
He went and hanged himself and then there were none.
"Morbid," Hatori agreed with a small frown. They sunk into silence again, almost everyone was staring at the poem, all except Kyo, who was messing with something behind his chair.
"Here's the tea!" Tohru's voice was apprehensive as she re-entered the room holding a tray of tea.
"Let me help you with that, Honda-san." Yuki smiled and hurried to help Tohru, who was about to drop the tray. "Maybe it would have been better to let everyone pour their own tea?" He suggested as tea spilled out of the cups when he took the tray from her.
"Oh..." Tohru said after a moment, frowning- The sensible thing to do had occured to her too late- As usual.
"Guilty-"A shrill, female voice erupted from somewhere behind Kyo's chair. He jumped and swore, turning around."You're all guilty, horrible monsters. Meddlers, deceivers, twisted, sadistic monsters- Every one of you deserves to-" The voice stopped and Kyo turned back around, holding a CD in his hand.
"Wh-What was that?" Tohru asked. Her eyes were wide and she was staring at Kyo. In fact, everyone was staring at Kyo.
"Hey- I didn't- I just put this CD in the CD player," he defended himself angrily. "I thought it was for us since it was just sitting- Hey, did Ritsu faint?"
Everyone was now looking at Ritsu who was slumped over in his chair. Hatori stood up. "Will someone get a glass of water?" The doctor asked as he walked over to Ritsu.
Shigure did a mock salute and ran out of the room. "Ritsu?" Hatori tapped Ritsu on the shoulder and when he didn't stir, Hatori did it again. Frowning, Hatori took his pulse and then practically jumped away from him. "My God," He said, eyes wide, "he's dead."
One choked his little self and then there were nine...
--
Yeah, the cause of death will become apparant in the next chapter, so hold tight until then!