Disclaimer: I don't own anything to do with 'Fruits Basket', except this fanfic and my own characters.

Author's Note: First 'Fruits Basket' fic. About a girl called Natsu Amaya, [own character], who is pursuing a career as a journalist. Living far from home, she meets the Sohma family.

Hi there. I put the rating up to PG-13, just in case. Anyway, thanks for reading. Friendly feedback is greatly appreciated.:) Enjoy!


Chapter Three: Human Nature or Animal Instincts

"Where shall I put Miss Amaya's things?" asked Yuki.

"Thank you so much, Yuki." I was pleasantly surprised. It meant that I wouldn't have to see Ms. Yamaguchi again. "You didn't have to, you know."

"That's okay," he replied. "It's a good job I went alone, though."

"Why's that?"

"They have new tenants."

"I don't understand."

"Rats."

"Lucky you moved out of there then, eh, Natsu?" added Shigure.

"Yeah," I said distractedly. I was thinking about the rats Yuki mentioned. Wasn't it strange how I hadn't even come across a single rat? It was only yesterday that the flat was still mine. Then again, maybe the rats appeared because Ms. Yamaguchi was being so mean. They do say that everyone gets their comeuppance.

"Um, Shigure, her things?" said Yuki still holding my belongings.

"Oh, right. You can put them upstairs, of course. Put them in my room for now." Yuki and I both gave Shigure a questioning look. "What's wrong?" He asked. Then he glanced at Yuki. "Natsu, can move her things when we sort out the sleeping arrangements?" Then his eyes were on me. "Natsu, there's nothing wrong with that, hmm?"

"I – I don't really know. It's up to you. It is your house."

"Miss Amaya, I'll put your things in Tohru's room. I'm sure she won't mind."

"Thank you."

"You're welcome." He smiled. Then he made his way up the stairs. "Oh… Miss Amaya?" I looked towards Yuki. He had stopped mid way.

"Yes?"

"I don't know how long you are staying with us, but while you do it's your house too. So don't think you have to agree with everyone because you're staying here, okay?"

Yuki said it was my house, too? Shigure looked as shocked as I did. What a nice gesture. I guessed it was something to do with the incident with Tohru. Since then he seemed to be more welcoming. I was at a loss for words, so I simply nodded in response.


It felt quite strange sharing a house, which was partly because I had been living alone in the flat. Not that I've never shared a house before. Certainly, when I was living with my parents I shared the family home with them and my siblings. Besides, this was totally different. The Sohmas had taken a risk in letting me stay with them. They didn't know me, and I didn't know them. We were perfect strangers. I couldn't help but wonder why they let me stay. Perhaps they were just genuinely nice people.

In the kitchen I saw Yuki. He was busy spooning rice into some bowls.

"We were about to grab some lunch. Will you be joining us?" Yuki asked.

"Sure," I replied. "Thank you."

"Is there anything you want me to do?"

"No, it's fine," he told me, "but thank you for the offer."

Yuki had said it was okay, so I went and sat down at the table and waited for the others. Kyo entered the room first. He sat down opposite me. I looked in a different direction, not wanting him to think I was staring at him. Also, I didn't know what kind of reception he'd give me now that I was going to be living here. For some reason, however, Kyo kept staring at me. Every time I glanced at him, he quickly looked away. As I considered whether I should confront Kyo about his behaviour, Yuki and Shigure walked in. Yuki sat beside me and Shigure sat next to Kyo.

"Where's Tohru?" I asked breaking the silence. They all looked at me. "Did I say something wrong?"

"Of course not," Shigure started, "Tohru just went to the doctor's."

"Is she all right?"

"It's nothing to worry about, Miss Amaya," Yuki intervened. "Shall we eat?" It was more of a request than a suggestion.

No one spoke while we ate, except for Shigure who asked Kyo to pass the salt. Everyone concentrated on the meal and for good reason too. The meal was delicious. Tohru had cooked before she had gone out… I hoped she was all right.

As I was reaching for the jug of water on the table, I noticed Shigure elbow Kyo. With my hand on the handle of the jug I gave them both a quick look. They both looked at me and then at each other. Then they continued with their meals. I poured some more water into my glass and lifted it towards my mouth.

"Are you a virgin?" Kyo burst out suddenly. There was silence, all eyes were on Kyo. His face went scarlet. My glass was still raised and the rice Yuki was about to eat fell back into his bowl. Shigure and Yuki glanced at me briefly, no doubt to see my reaction.

"That's certainly an ice-breaker," Shigure grinned.

Kyo glared at Shigure.

"I'm sorry," Kyo snapped "what I meant to say was do you have a boyfriend?"

It wasn't an ideal apology, but it was an apology just the same. Maybe he just made a mistake and also felt embarrassed. He was a few years younger than me. It was probably his hormones. Surely, Kyo was just trying to make conversation.

Anyway, whatever it was, I decided to answer Kyo's question. He seemed quite angry, but I don't think it was aimed at me. Besides I didn't want to provoke him and fuel the situation.

"Well… Kyo," I started slowly, "I can't say I've met many people that –"

"Don't you know 'curiosity killed the cat'?" Yuki interrupted and pointed his chopsticks at Kyo.

"Do you want a piece of me, Rat-boy?"

"Not really," replied Yuki

"Don't get smart with me."

"I was simply answering your question," he stood up. "Would you care to step outside?"

"Bring it on," Kyo said unfalteringly.

Kyo followed Yuki outside.

"What are they going to do?" I asked Shigure.

"Have a fight, most probably," he said calmly.

"Shigure, we've got to stop them."

"Don't worry, it's nothing new."

"I don't want them to fight because of me," I stood up and rushed after them.

Kyo and Yuki were a metre apart. They both looked angry, it looked serious.

"That's just too bad," Kyo folded his arms and paused briefly, "because I'm taking you down." He lunged at Yuki.

Kyo threw a series of punches at Yuki, but Yuki dodged them all. This time Yuki's fist flew towards Kyo, but Kyo blocked it.

Stop it, please," I shouted, but they didn't take any notice. I would have to get between them somehow. Suddenly there was an opening as they paused for a moment to catch their breath. Now was my chance. As I stepped forward, someone grabbed my arm. I turned round to face Shigure.

"Natsu, I'll fix this," he told me.

Then letting go of my arm, he walked over to Yuki and Kyo.

"Guys, do you think this is really necessary?" began Shigure. "Natsu thinks you're doing this because of her. You both know that's not the case."

They weren't fighting because of the incident at the table…? Why were they fighting then?

Shigure continued "So why don't you just give it a rest for now?" He went behind Yuki and placed his hand on his shoulder.

In reaction Yuki swung round and hit Shigure right in the face. Kyo stopped in shock at what happened. Shigure regaining his balance looked at Yuki and Kyo.

"Maybe I deserved that?" Shigure said slowly.

The he came over to me. His lip was bleeding and it was my fault. If I hadn't insisted on stopping Yuki and Kyo, this wouldn't have happened.

"I'm sorry, Natsu," he sighed. Why was he apologising to me…? Shigure continued past me, but as he did I grabbed his hand. He turned back to face me. I reached into my pocket and pulled out some tissues. Then gently I dabbed his lip with them. When I was about to move my hand away from his face, Shigure put his hand over mine.


"I'm sorry, Shigure," I began, "if I hadn't insisted then –"

"It's okay. It's not your fault. So stop blaming yourself."

"Why did they fight then?"

"Yuki and Kyo?" he let out a little laugh "They're always like that. Believe me. You just witnessed your first Yuki and Kyo fight."

"You mean it's normal."

"Sure."

"But why…?"

"They just don't see eye to eye. Like a cat and rat."

"You mean mouse."

"No, not at all," he said. "You see, a cat chases a mouse and the mouse tries to escape the cat. A rat on the other hand isn't as afraid of the cat as a mouse is."

"Right… I think."


I thought I heard Tohru. So I had a look in the laundry room. Tohru was sat on the floor. On her lap was an orange cat and beside her were some clothes.

"Hi Natsu," she greeted me.

"Hi," I replied distantly. I had wanted to ask Tohru if everything went all right at the doctors, but I didn't want her to think I was prying.

"I was just doing the laundry when I had this little visitor," Tohru explained, perhaps because of my vague expression.

"I didn't know you had a cat."

"It's a stray, but it comes here occasionally."

"Oh…."

"What is it?"

"I thought you were talking to someone. Maybe I just imagined it."

"Of course you didn't."

"I didn't."

"I was talking to Kyo" The cat hissed as Tohru said this.

"Kyo…?" Now I was really confused. "Where is he?"

"The cat's called Kyo too."

"I see, because of the orange fur."

"You don't think it's strange?"

"Think what's strange?"

"That I was talking to a cat."

"What's so strange about that? Animals deserve the same respect as humans."

Tohru smiled. As she stood up she held Kyo in one arm and in the other she picked up some clothes.

"Please excuse me, Natsu. I'll catch up with you later."

"Sure," I smiled. Then Tohru hurried out of the room with the cat and the clothes. I didn't know why but something seemed rather odd about what I had just witnessed. Tohru had said she was doing the laundry, but when she left she gathered the evidently soiled clothing and took it away with her. Then again maybe I read too much into things, a useful quality if I still had my job… Anyway, maybe Tohru just changed her mind. In any case it wasn't really any of my business.


"That's good," said a tiny voice from behind me.

I turned my head to see Kisa. She was looking over my shoulder at the drawing I had done.

"Thanks, Kisa. I'm glad you like it. I haven't really had much time for drawing lately."

"Can I have a look?" Shigure asked looking up from his newspaper.

"I guess. It's not very good, though."

"You're right," he sighed. "It isn't very good."

"Is it that bad?" I felt disheartened.

"Are you kidding? It's hilarious."

"It is…?"

"I'm guessing that's Yuki and Kyo. You've got them down to a T."

"Do you think they'll be offended?"

"About what…?" Yuki asked, upon entering the room.

There was a brief silence, the atmosphere was tense. Yuki's eyes were on Shigure, but Shigure took no notice. They hadn't spoken since yesterday's incident. As Yuki watched Shigure close the newspaper and leave the room, I folded the drawing and hid it in my sleeve.

"Natsu drew a picture" Kisa told Yuki with a smile.

"Kisa, don't you remember we decided that it wasn't very good and we were going to throw it away?"

"Throw it away?" Yuki looked puzzled.

"I like it, Natsu. Can't I keep it?" Kisa asked me.

"I'll draw you a new picture Kisa. I promise."

"Please excuse me if you think I'm being out of line, but why don't you let her have it if you're just going to throw it away?" Yuki joined in.

"It's not suitable that's why," I stared at the table.

"Why did she see it in the first place then?"

"It's not like that," I said in frustration. I looked up at Yuki now. I had sounded a bit irritable and I thought he may have taken it the wrong way. To my surprise, he was smiling. It was like he found winding me up quite amusing.

"Can I see for myself?" He was persistent.

I thought about this for a moment. The drawing wasn't malicious, and showing him would prove that it wasn't anything terrible. Then again, he was one of the main features of the drawing.

"Okay, Yuki," I said pulling the drawing out from my sleeve, "but please don't take this the wrong way." I handed him the folded piece of paper.

I don't know why I said that. Surely he must have some sort of a sense of humour. He did seem to find provoking me to be rather funny.

Yuki opened up the drawing and just gawked at it. His face was expressionless. It didn't look too good. I wanted him to react in some way. Then suddenly he gave me a sharp look.

"I'm sorry, Yuki, I –"

He burst out laughing. Kisa started laughing too.

"I told you it was good," she said smiling.

"You like it…? You're not offended…?"

"Why would I be? I would never wear a tie with a shirt like that, but Kyo's expression is perfect."

I didn't believe what I was hearing.

"Can I have a copy of this too?"

"Okay."

"One question," he said.

"Yes?"

"Why has Kyo got animal ears?"

"Well… it's not literal. It was just to illustrate an idea."

"What was that?"

"Well, earlier," I began to explain, "I saw Tohru with an orange stray cat. She told me she had named it after Kyo."

"Yes, Kyo is definitely a stray," Yuki commented. Something about his tone made me almost certain that he wasn't talking about the cat.

"Also," I was hesitant, "the way you two were fighting was like cat and mouse."

"So, am I the mouse?"

"Figuratively speaking," I started slowly, "but from what I've seen I think Kyo's definitely more cat-like than you are mouse-like, so I decided you didn't need the ears."

"Thanks, Miss Amaya, I shall take that as a compliment," he beamed.

"Yuki…?"

"Huh?"

"Please call me Natsu."

"If that is what you prefer."

I nodded in response.

"Then Miss –" Yuki paused, "Natsu... I will definitely try."


"Yuki, could you please do me a favour?"

"What is it?"

"There's a spider in the bathroom," I paused. "It's embarrassing but I have this fear and –"

"Do you want to show me where it is?" Yuki smiled.

"Thanks."

He followed me to the bathroom. When we got there I stepped aside to let him go in first.

"Natsu, where did you see the –" began Yuki as he made his way through the door. "Shigure…?"

"Yuki, what are you doing in here?" asked Shigure.

"I was about to ask you the same thing."

"Natsu…?" they chorused.

On that cue as quick as I could, I pulled the bathroom door shut and barricaded it with a chair.

"Natsu," Shigure called "could you open the door? It seems to be jammed from this side."

"It isn't jammed Shigure, she locked us in."

"What?"

"Natsu, what's the meaning of this?" enquired Yuki.

"Isn't it obvious?" I called back.

"Not from this side." Shigure replied. "Maybe if you let us out, we can sort this out with you."

"You don't need me to sort this out. It's between you two."

"Between me and Yuki…?"

"Why can't you both just forgive and forget?"

There was a brief silence.

"You shouldn't concern yourself," said Yuki.

Why did he say that? They had involved me the day that they had offered me a place to stay. They showed me kindness for which I was grateful. All I wanted was to repay their kindness. The truth was if I hadn't been staying then Yuki and Shigure wouldn't have fallen out. Helping them resolve this was the least I could do. Well… that's what I thought.

"I'm sorry," I breathed deeply "and thank you, all of you for letting me stay here, but I don't think it's going to work."

Most of my life I tried not to interfere in the arguments of others. Even to the extent of not backing my mother for the fear of my father's reaction. It was his house and therefore his rules. I was only young so my mother didn't really want us getting involved, but I had felt so… weak. He mellowed since then, but I had promised myself that if there was something I could do to help, I would at least try. Perhaps I took that to extremes. Having your say in family matters is different. You have a right. The Sohmas, however, weren't my family. From their point of view I was probably interfering…


"Natsu, what are you saying?" Shigure called through the door.

They waited for a response.

"Natsu…? Are you still there?" He called again.

Yuki pressed his ear against the door.

"I think she's gone."

"Great," Shigure sighed. His stomach growled and then he transformed, "Why did you have to say that to her, eh?"

"Say what?" Yuki looked down at the dog that was now sitting before him.

"That she shouldn't concern herself," he explained. "Couldn't you tell she was already upset?"

"Natsu is a nice person, but in reality our family issues don't concern her."

"She's staying with us Yuki. Do you expect her to just walk around like she's tip-toeing over broken glass?"

"You should have thought about that when you offered her a place to say."

"You were fine about her staying before." He paused. "If I remember correctly you did bring her things here."

"Maybe I'm not fine about it now."

"What is it with you Yuki, huh?"

"Your attitude," he glared. "To put it politely, all you saw in Natsu was a chance to get some ac –"

Just then the door opened and at the same time Shigure transformed back.

"Man, Shigure, put on some clothes," Kyo looked disgusted. Shigure gave a sigh of relief. If it had been Natsu, there would've been a lot of explaining to do. Then he noticed Yuki. "What are you two doing in there… together…?"

"It's nothing," Yuki spoke firmly.

"Have you seen Natsu?" Shigure asked Kyo, as he put his kimono back on.

"I think she went out," replied Kyo.

"Do you know where?"

"How should I know? I'm not her keeper."

"Kyo… please," his tone was serious.

"I'm serious, Shigure. I don't know where she went, but she left in quite a hurry."

"I'll check if she took her things," Yuki said to Shigure.

"I don't know why you two are even bothering," began Kyo. Yuki stopped in his tracks. "If she wanted to go, why don't you just let her? It all makes better sense."

Shigure and Yuki both gave Kyo an inquisitive look.

"The transformations…," explained Kyo. "I guess we were just lucky with Tohru." Shigure and Yuki glanced at each other.

"We can't expect everyone to accept us or trust us, nor can we trust everyone else… including Natsu."

"You don't know that, Kyo," Shigure told him.

"Neither do we know otherwise," Yuki intervened "but…" Yuki pulled out a folded piece of paper from his pocket. He unfolded it and showed it to Shigure and Kyo.

"Natsu's drawing," Shigure said quietly.

"Is that supposed to be me?" Kyo pulled the drawing from Yuki's hand and examined it. "It's not bad… but it could do with a few improvements."

"…this is as good an omen as any," continued Yuki. "We are already cursed. That we can't do anything about, but we still have two choices. "We can push Natsu away or we can take a risk and gain another friend in this lonely world. What will it be?" Yuki held his hand out palm faced down. He gave Shigure a knowing smile.

Shigure placed his hand on Yuki's.

They both looked at Kyo.

"I guess so," Kyo paused. "Tohru's a good judge of character and she said she likes her." Kyo placed his hand on Shigure's. "Besides, if it goes wrong, we've always got Hatori."

"Kyo…," Shigure and Yuki spoke together, both troubled by his comment.

"Now…" Shigure sighed, "if only we knew where she'd go."


"Kisa… what are you doing here? Were you following me?"

"Please come back."

"Kisa, it isn't working. I'm just disrupting everyone."

"No you're not. You're our friend."

"Friends don't live together in the same house," I paused. "Families do." I looked at my watch. It was getting late. "You should get back, Kisa. They'll be worried."

"Not without you," she shook her head defiantly.

"Kisa…?" The voice was unfamiliar to me. Kisa and I both looked in the direction of the voice. A man dressed in a suit and with short hair, apart from the longer locks which came down the side of his face and over one eye, started towards us.


That's all for now. I hope you liked it.

Bye for now,

Lady Leonhart 15/06/04