Third chapter is up - really, I have no life.

Thanks to all those who reviewed and voted for Chapter two: OcGoddess, AliaraGen, animeprincess32, buyokitty, UltimateShipper2008, Murasaki-sama, Ratava100d, German Mickey, snoopykid2991, SMOKe13 and Hiro Sohma

Standard Disclaimer: I do not own Fruits Basket.


Chapter Three: Conceited

Monday afterschool, the gang headed to Shigure's house. This was now a drill for them as they entered their third day of learning.

"I've never been so excited to learn before, this is a first!" Manabe said, trying to start a conversation from the silent group. The rice ball and her friends were in the front, silently whispering to each other, Yuki was to the left of him, concentrating on where he was walking, Kimi was quite down today since every guy she flirted with said they didn't like her, Momiji and Haru were in the back as Nao and Machi were to the right of him.

"No one likes Kimi, everyone hates Kimi! Why doesn't anyone like Kimi?" She demanded.

"Probably guys don't like you because you have a loud mouth." Kyo though in his head, but he didn't say it out loud. Instead he said, "You can't force someone to love you, and you always can't expect things to be the way you want it to be." While saying this, he took a small glance at Tohru. Yuki saw this small action and laughed quietly to himself. Kyo apparently heard this and demanded an answer.

"What the hell rat boy, what are you snickering about?!"

"You know why I'm laughing. It's about something you did."

He snickered even more when Kyo's face started to blush a little.

"You guys are sharing a secret?" Manabe joined the conversation. "Tell me, tell me now!"

He jumped up and down like a child, causing everyone else to stop and stare at him.

"Stop acting like a baby Kakeru." Machi stated, looking away from him as she was embarrassed by his actions.

"Kimi wants to know the secret too!" She followed the actions of Manabe and she too, started to jump up and down.

"For the last time, there are no secrets!"

"Correction on that Kyo that was the first time you said that." Momiji said with pride.

"Why you little brat, I'm going to get you!" Kyo turned around and gave the poor bunny a noogie.

"Wah, someone - Kyo is picking on me!"

"Your whiny voice irritates me!"

"Kimi likes Momiji's voice! Kimi thinks it's cute!"
"I think you're cute too!"

"Are you saying Kimi is cute? Kimi is flattered!" Her downcast mood went away and she went back to being her perky self.

"Hey, why don't you guys keep on moving?" Uo hollered as she, Tohru and Hana were already starting to walk. The others followed their lead.

"Chibi-suke, Kimi thinks you need to talk more!"

She ran over to him and gave him a bear hug.

"Get off me, stop calling me that and get away from me!" Nao yelled. He pushed Kimi away from him and brushed his uniform off, mumbling to himself about crazy girls these days.

"You hurt Kimi's feelings! Now apologize to Kimi!" She demanded.

"I am not going to apologize to a whiny, conceited brat like you!"

"You hurt Kimi's feelings; you're calling me a chair!"

Nao stared at her. It looks like Kimi didn't know what conceited meant, and she though it was a chair for some reason.

"Wait a minute, maybe you think of Kimi as a chair because you want to sit on Kimi?"
She made a puppy pout face at him which disgusted him.

"HELL NO!"

"What! Are you saying you don't like Kimi?"

She was on the verge of tears when Momiji popped up from behind.

"Don't worry Kimi; I still think you're cute!"

Momiji held out his hand and grinned at her.
"You want Kimi to hold your hand? Kimi is happy!"

She delightedly grabbed onto his hand, and she left it that way all the way to Shigure's house. No one realized this until they arrived at the home, in which Manabe blurted it out.

"I see secret lovers! Momiji and Kimi are holding hands!"

Everyone turned their heads to their direction with their mouth hung open.

"All you guys are jealous because you didn't have the chance to hold Kimi's beautiful hand!" Kimi shot at them.

"Who would want to hold hands with you?" Nao snorted.

Yuki rolled his eyes. Man, couldn't he see that someone was already holding her hand? He could have said something else.

When everything settled down, Shigure entered the room. This time, only Ayame was there to wheel the white board in.

"Hatori is busy today." Shigure told them. "Now, today's word is conceited. Does anyone know what it means, and can you use it in a sentence?"
Nao's mouth hung open. "Just great, Kimi's going to find out what it really means now... what else could go wrong?" He thought in his head. To his horror, Kimi shot her hand up.

"Kimi knows what it is!" Shigure raised an eyebrow when she said "what it is" instead of "what it means." "Conceited is a chair and you can say it in a sentence by saying: "Nao said that Kimi is conceited!"

Nao's mouth dropped open; he wasn't expecting an airhead like her to remember that! Everyone else in the room gave him the: 'Good-luck-with-dealing-with-Kimi' face. He slapped his forehead in annoyance.

"Uh no Kimi, you are wrong."

"Kimi is wrong?" She blurted. "How is Kimi wrong?"

"You see Kimi," Shigure started. "Conceited is another word for being self centered..."

"Or, you can say it as: You think you're all that." Manabe added on. Nao shot him a glare that Manabe took as a joke.

"You think Kimi is self centered?" She faced Nao with a hurt look on her face. "Kimi thinks she is the most beautiful girl on this whole planet!"

"And you just said you're not conceited?" Nao thought in his mind. He really wanted to tell her this, but decided not to.

"Okay, you can pick on Nao later Kimi," Shigure told her. "Now, you guys can do your assignment! Same as usual - write up a story that revolves around the word 'conceited.'"

It was Nao who started things off this time. He took out a piece of paper and a pen and started writing. He passed the paper around the group, and finally it was done. He took back the paper and read it aloud:

"A great king of a land far away in the East had a daughter who was very beautiful, but so proud and haughty and conceited, that none of the princes who came to ask for her hand in marriage was good enough for her. All she ever did was make fun of them.
One time the king held a great feast and invited all her suitors. They all sat in a row, ranged according to their rank -- kings and princes and dukes and earls and counts and barons and knights. When the princess came in, as she passed by them, she had something spiteful to say to each one.
The first was too fat: 'He's like a big blueberry,' she said.
The next was too tall: 'What a toothpick!' she said.
The next was too short: 'What a dumpling!' she said.
The fourth was too pale, and she called him 'white shower.'
The fifth was too red, so she called him 'cherry face.'
The sixth was not straight enough; so she said he was like a green stick that had been laid to dry over a baker's oven. She had some joke to crack about every one. But she laughed most of all at a good king who was there.
'Look at him,' she said; 'his beard is like an old mop; he shall be called Grisly-beard.' So the king got the nickname of Grisly-beard.
But the old king was very angry when he saw how his daughter behaved and how badly she treated all his guests. He vowed that, willing or unwilling, she would marry the first man that came to the door.
Two days later a travelling fiddler came by the castle. He began to play under the window and begged for money and when the king heard him, he said, 'Let him come in.'
So, they brought the dirty-looking fellow in and, when he had sung before the king and the princess, he begged for a gift.
The king said, 'You have sung so well that I will give you my daughter to take as your wife.'
The princess begged and prayed; but the king said, 'I have sworn to give you to the first man who came to the door, and I will keep my word.'
Words and tears were to no avail; the parson was sent for, and she was married to the fiddler. And for the rest of her life, she lived in sorrow – all because she was not wise enough to see the true beauty behind the faces of the prince. All she saw something that she didn't like to see something she didn't want."

Shigure applauded. "What a beautiful and conceited story!"

"I have never thought someone could be that conceited!" Ayame said with disgust.

"I know someone who's conceited." Yuki said, looking at Ayame. Everyone laughed except for the clueless snake.

"Why are you guys laughing?" He asked. Begging everyone to tell him, but no one did. Not even Shigure.


Okay, so time to vote for the next chapter: D

- Dicker: A bargain.

- Doodle: To draw or scribble idly.


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