Never What It Seems

Chapter 7

By Kaden Cegali

Disclaimer: Don't own Fruits Basket, no matter how much I wish I did.

A/N: Ok, so sorry for this taking so long. It wasn't my intention to take this long. Hope you enjoy it. PLEASE READ AND REVIEW. Reviews are nice, no matter what they are. I like them, and I'll try to respond to them, if I can. Anyways, this is my second week of my promise, and I've kept it so far. I'm not sure which story will be updated next, but it'll either be this one, or The Underserving Love. Thanks to all who have read this story and reviewed. I appreciate it. Now, on to the chapter.


Sitara arrived at Shigure's house before noon the next day. The previous day had been spent doing her original job to get her mind off of what she would be doing the next day. She investigated Akito and everyone around him, as well as avoiding Hatori at all possible times. She wasn't sure she could talk to him just yet without giving into the urge to deck him for that weak attempt at an apology.

It had been easier said than done. The doctor seemed to be everywhere that Akito was. She later found out from a small, cute, if not annoying, little blonde boy that Hatori was Akito's personal doctor. When asked about Akito, the brown-eyed child became a bit somber and muttered something along the line of the head of their house being very sickly, which was news to Sitara. There had been no medical record of the head in any of her data, so she had assumed that he was almost perfectly healthy, aside from the normal sicknesses.

She had spent the better part of the day asking questions of the people who lived around the house. None of them seemed to be suspicious, but they also probably just assumed that she was trying to learn more about him for other reasons. She didn't learn much, other than the fact that Hatori didn't seemed at all bothered while he talked with Akito, which wasn't the case with almost everyone else who had to interact with the head. It seemed as if a dark cloud descended on those who had to converse with him, and she couldn't blame them. Akito seemed very rude, as well as self-centered.

I wonder what his deal is. He seems like such an asshole. Wonder why Hatori doesn't just slap him once in a while. He's much older than he is. I know for a fact that I would have. He's so accommodating to the brat, it makes me sick.

Which brought her to her other problem. She had tried to ignore the doctor and her thoughts regarding him, but she just didn't seem to be able to. So, here she was, in the worst possible place she could have thought to be. Even her brother's stepmother's house wasn't as dreaded as this. Resigned, she reached up and raised her hand to knock on the wood. As she did so, the door flew open and she came face to face with the object of her anxiety.

Shigure smiled broadly as he saw the girl in his path. He threw his hands in the air and almost hugged, before he saw the look on her face. He chose to ignore it, even as a vague thought came to his mind, telling him that she looked much the same way that Hatori did when he had to deal with his antics. He pushed it aside and ushered her in.

"Sitara-chan! What a wonderful surprise! And just as I was about to go and find you myself! How was your day? Fun? How do you like your new home? To your liking, I hope?"

She had to stop him by holding her hand up, else he would have continued talking without giving her a chance to answer. She stopped herself from correcting him and telling him not to call her -chan. When he paused and looked at her curiously, she shook her head. "Stop. It's fine living here. My day hasn't been the best. And why were you looking for me?"

Shigure's smile never wavered. "Why, because we need your help, Sitara-chan!"

She quirked an eyebrow at that one. "We? And…who exactly is 'we,' Shigure-san?"

"Me and 'Gure-san, of course!" She jumped at the new voice, which came from behind Shigure. A man around the same age as Shigure and herself with long silver hair and golden eyes. Sitara couldn't help but stare at him, his coloring and manner was so odd. He draped himself on Shigure, but the dog didn't seem to mind, so she didn't comment on it.

"And who might you be, sir?"

Shigure slapped his forehead and nodded to the other man. "What was I thinking, not introducing you to him before? Sitara-chan, this is Ayame Sohma. He's a friend of mine and Harii's. Aaya, this is Sitara Sohma, the newest edition to our little closed family."

Ayame immediately disentangled himself from Shigure and stepped in front of him to smile down at her. He grabbed her hand, causing her to inadvertently tense up. But all he did was kiss her hand and release it. "A pleasure, m'lady. Now, you must come in and let us tell you what we need your help for. I'm sure that you will be interested."

I doubt that. Sitara said to herself, but smiled as she was helplessly dragged inside by the silver-haired man. She looked around, reacquainting herself with the house and its inhabitants. When she was seated and facing the two who had somehow convinced her to come inside, the girl who she remembered as Tohru came bustling in with a tray of tea.

When she saw Sitara she stopped. "Oh…S-Sitara-san! I didn't know you were coming by! I must make some more tea."

Sitara raised her hand once more. It seemed the only way to stop them, aside from slapping them silly. "Don't worry. I came in unannounced and I don't want to bother you, seeing as how I'm not going to be here long."

"Oh, don't worry about that! Kyou-kun and Yuki-kun will be home soon, so I need to be making more anyways. Just enjoy yourself while you wait." With that, the girl was gone, back into the kitchen. Sitara couldn't help the sigh that escaped.

She glared at Shigure as his laugh rang out. "Don't worry about it, Sitara-chan. Tohru-kun is always like that. She likes to do that kind of stuff. Now, before we forget, we must get you to help us."

They aren't even going to ask me why I came here in the first place. But she knew she wouldn't get it out until they were finished, so she just sat back and listened.

Seeing that their audience was listening, both men looked at each other, having already planned this out the night before. When they turned back to her, their eyes were gleaming. Ayame was the first to speak.

"We need your help with helping Harii. It's-"

She held up her hand, shaking her head at the same time. "No. I'm on my own mission to help the guy, but since he's intent on wanting me to not talk to him, I doubt anything I try is going to help, so give up that venture now. The man doesn't want to be helped."

The two men shared a knowing smile. "Ah, but we know something you don't. Harii doesn't really want you to ignore him or the other way around. He doesn't like such a bad approach to things."

"Except that he told me in a damnable letter he wrote for me when he forced me to stay in his office since it was raining so much. And he was seriously mad at me when I insulted someone obviously important to him because I thought he was wrong. Besides, there isn't much you can tell me that I don't already know. He told me more than you would think." As soon as the words left her mouth, she immediately shut it and put her hand over it. She had told Hatori she wouldn't tell anyone what he had told her, but these two just made her want to tell them.

"Hm, so there is something we didn't know. We didn't know about that letter. But, nevertheless, I am sure that he doesn't mind. After all, he did mention you when he came and complained earlier," Ayame put in.

She shook her head. "Complained is the word that tells me he doesn't want to talk to me again. Which means that I can't help him. So, just forget I even came here." She stood and began to turn around.

"Wait! How did you want to help Harii? It's odd that someone such as yourself would want to help someone you just met. What would make you want to do this?" Shigure's questions stopped her and caused her to face them once more, this time with a hard expression on her face that took both men aback.

"You want to know why I want to help? Because he's miserable and delusional and I can't stand either. He seems like he'd be a pretty good guy to talk to, but he's so damned hung up on this girl, Kana, and whoever the jackass is who half-blinded him, that he can't see anything in front of him. That's why."

Shigure raised an eyebrow, very interested in her response. He pushed himself up to a standing position and put his hand on Ayame's shoulder. "May we be excused for a moment?"

Confused, Sitara nodded and the two men left, walking into the kitchen. As soon as he was sure that she couldn't hear them, Ayame launched into his speech. "She is absolutely perfect for him, 'Gure. Stubborn, and with a will to overcome even the hardheaded dragon that our friend is cursed with. We must get her to help, no matter what. She s the key to his happiness!"

Shigure smiled and nodded. "Yes, I know she is, Aaya. But now we have to convince her and Harii that. And to do that, we have to get her to go along with our plan."

Ayame bobbed his head enthusiastically. "Yes! But how? Both are stubborn, and she's convinced that he never wants to see her again and vice versa."

"But she could be more stubborn than him, so maybe her want to help him will be stronger than his aversion to an awkward situation. And, we are two of the best people to convince her."

They exchanged a look before smiling and walking back inside the room. They saw that Tohru had already made the tea and had laid it down, along with some rice balls. Sitara was just looking at all of the food, her mouth watering, but she didn't want to seem rude, so she kept to herself. She glanced up as they entered and seated themselves once more. Shigure was the first to speak.

"Now, Sitara-chan, we would like your help in convincing Harii to let go. He is our friend, and we believe that you would be the best person for the job."

"Perfect, in fact. You simply are the only person who can help him, and if you don't, poor Harii could be stuck as he is forever!" came Ayame's overdramatic input.

Sitara looked at the both, confusion clouding her eyes. How much do they know about Hatori-san's life? They say they are friends with him, but are they that trustworthy?

Shigure could see her thoughts flit across her face as easily as if she had spoken them aloud. We must get rid of that doubt once and for all. Harii said he had told her everything about us, but he obviously hadn't told her about Akito being the one who wounded him. So maybe… "Sitara-chan. Harii did tell you about the, uh, well…" he acted as if he tripped over his words, looking down to hide the smirk that formed on his lips when he thought about how he was playing with her.

Sitara took the bait, her brows scrunching together. "The what?"

Ayame caught on, and played his part well. "Why, you know. About him…he did tell you everything, yes? The secret of our family? Of why this part of the family is so enclosed and how very few are allowed to come in here?"

She blinked. She knew what they were talking about, but she didn't want to say it for fear that she may have misjudged what she thought they were hinting at. "He told me a secret, but he never mentioned anyone else that was included in the secret. But what he did tell me included twelve people and…abilities they had," she replied tactfully.

Ayame fairly jumped up and cheered. So he had been right and Hatori hadn't lied. She knew. "That's wonderful. And it also makes this much easier. You see, Sitara-san, we are part of that secret. Let me give you a demonstration."

With that said, he did stand and hugged the woman, causing her to squeak in surprise when smoke surrounded them both. She coughed until the smoke finally cleared. When she was able to see, she had to hold back a scream at the sight of a snake lying in her lap, looking up at her with the same golden eyes as the man who had hugged her.

"Wha…what the…?"she began, but couldn't continue.

The snake seemed to smile at her, but she shook her head and dismissed the thought almost immediately. There was no way a snake could smile at her. Then again, there was no way a man could turn into a snake or a dragon, either, so she supposed it could be possible.

"Don't be surprised, Sitara-san! And don't be nervous. I assure you that I am a perfectly safe, as well as admirable snake," Ayame said, his snake form moving underneath his clothes to rest on her legs directly. She had to resist the urge to throw him off, but she didn't know what would happen if she did. When she looked up at Shigure, he was smirking at the snake and shaking his head.

"Aaya, you should have warned her before you did that. You almost terrified the girl to death."

"Nonsense. There would be no reason for her to be scared of me. Right, Sitara-san?"

"N…no. You just startled me, is all," she sputtered.

The snake looked at Shigure with triumph. "See? Now, as I was saying, you are perfect for this job. Not only do you have an urge to help Harii, you know one of his biggest secrets. As you can see, I am the snake, and 'Gure here is the dog of the zodiac. So don't be frightened."

Seeing that the girl wasn't going to reply, Shigure instead cut in. "Now will you agree to listen to our proposal, Sitara-chan?"

"Call me Sita," she said absently, not wanting to here her full name by these people who knew nothing about her.

Shigure beamed. It was going better than they could have imagined. It seemed that this woman was, indeed, the ideal choice for their little plan. "So, I take it that you are in?"

Sitara nodded. "Yes. Now, tell me this plan of yours." The sooner this strange urge to help this man get over his problem is over, the sooner I can get back to my actual paying job.

"Great! Now-" Before Shigure began to relay their plan to the willing woman, smoke arose from Ayame and Sitara felt something much bigger on her lap than the snake.

She gasped. Shigure held his breath. Ayame said, "Oh dear. I do believe you should probably close your eyes, Sita."

She did without hesitation this time.