Disclaimer: I do not own Fruits Basket
English
Japanese
French
Thoughts
Chapter 10
Plans
Part A
Secrets
Richard Leer was a smart man, so when Ayu led him back to her room, and called everyone else to see him and hear what he had to say, he was slightly worried. He knew that he was going to have to answer where his brothers were although he did not want to because it was not anywhere good.
The first two to arrive, at the same time, were Shinji and Toji. It was Shinji who spoke first. "Who is this stupid looking guy?"
"Shinji…" said Toji. "I'm sorry for his behavior," Toji bowed at Richard, "But, I will re-ask his question. Who are you?"
"My name is Richard Leer. I'm an Elite Master Agent from the Australian Agency."
"Pleased to me-."
"What rank are you?!" Shinji shouted.
Richard blinked, "Huh?"
"What rank?" Shinji said, "I want to know how that agency considers us."
"Oh," Richard said, "I'm third. What are you?"
Shinji deflated. "Not tellin'."
Richard smirked briefly, then turned to the door. There stood Elle, Lily, and Jenny. "RICHARD!" Elle shouted. She then hugged him, separated, and said, "Where's Romulus?"
"He's coming next week. On June 1st."
"YAY!" Elle said. Ayu had never seen Elle so happy.
Rachel and Ren (Elle's sisters, in case you forgot.) stood in the doorway. Ren was yawning and sitting in Rachel's arms. "Hi, Richard," Rachel nodded to Richard.
"Rachel," he nodded back.
"Richard-nii," yawned Ren, "I'm glad you're back."
"I better get you back to bed, eh, ma petite soeur?"
"D'accord, Rachel," Ren yawned, falling asleep already on Rachel's shoulder. She said, "Bonne nuit!"
Elle said, "Bonne nuit! Vois-tu en matin!"
Rachel said, "Just so you know, Elle, tell me what happened in the morning. Jenny will tell me if you don't." Elle nodded. With Ren now asleep on her shoulder, Rachel turned and walked out of the room, closing the door with a click.
Elle turned and noticed that everyone had arrived while she and her sisters were speaking. Yuki was in a daze and Kyo was slightly grumpy. Haya and Sada were already wide awake. Only Mika and Tatsuya seemed as if they had already been awake. Momiji was half asleep.
All were sleepy and Richard knew this. But still, he was unprepared for the question Elle asked. "Where is Romulus and Remus?"
Richard decided to tell the truth. "They were injured on the last mission we went on."
Elle gasped. Jenny asked for her, brow furrowing, "How are they?"
"They'll be fine. Remus has a broken leg and Romulus has a punctured lung and a few broken ribs. They'll be fine, but it'll take a while for them to recover."
Elle nodded and fell silent. Ayu asked, "What were they doing that would make Elite members in the Australian Agency get so banged up?"
"We went on a mission. We were looking for something, but met some people who were looking for the same thing. We fought but we were out numbered. I called in a retreat order and a pick up when Romulus punctured his lung because he was trying to be too heroic and when Remus was being too stubborn, fighting three guys at once, and broke his leg. The idiots," Richard rolled his eyes, "I had to carry the two stubborn fools all the way to the helicopter landing site, while fighting at least 20 guys, with no help."
Ayu nodded, knowing Richard could not tell her more because it was confidential in his agency and she was the head of a rival agency.
"Anyway," Richard said, "I have come here on business." He knelt in front of Ayu, grabbed her hand, and pressed it to her forehead. He released it, then said, "On behalf of the Australian Agency of the Leers, we hereby give you, Lady Ayumi Honda, and your agency, the Japanese Agency of the Hondas, our aid during your recovery from Syphos' recent attack."
Ayu thought this over for a minute and said, "We humbly accept your services."
Richard rose, and said, "Okay, I'll tell our head as soon as possible that you accepted our invitation."
"Thank you," Ayu said, "Anyway, can you tell me what you may know of Tohru's whereabouts and ways to get Kira back?"
Richard said, "Yes, I can tell you now that you have accepted our help," Richard smiled, awing Ayu by the happiness he was showing. His smile was perfect. "But, I probably won't explain it well. It'd be best if Remus explained things about the curse, He was the one who helped Kira find the information last year," Richard paused, "Actually, Remus could explain almost everything better than I could. You can wait for him. He ought to be here soon. Sometime this week, Romulus will take longer but…" Richard shrugged.
Ayu sighed, "Fine, then," she waved her hand, "Go away. I want to sleep." Everyone left and went to sleep except for Romulus who went to his dorm. He looked out his window, at the moon.
Part B
Miri's Plan
The next day, Miri decided to go talk to Ayu about some serious business, a.k.a. her old rival. She knocked on the door of Ayu's dorm and heard Ayu shout, "Come in!"
She opened the door to find Ayu sitting at her desk, a chair in front of it. "Oh, it's you Miri," Ayu said, surprised, "Well, sit down," Miri sat in the wooden chair. "So, Miri, what is it?"
"Ayu," Miri said, "I may have an idea of how to get back my dear rival."
Ayu's brows furrowed, "I wasn't expecting you to come up with a way to save your 'dear rival', but if you have an idea, shoot."
"Well," Miri frowned and whispered it into Ayu's ear. After a few moments, she pulled away.
Ayu frowned, "How do you know that code? It's Kira's."
Miri smiled, "Se-cr-et!" and pressed a finger to her lips.
Ayu sighed, and said, "Fine, whatever. I'll approve it, I hope it succeeds."
"Thank You Ayu," Miri said. She moved to get up but was stopped by a motion of Ayu's hand.
"Just one question before you leave," Ayu said, "Why do you care so much if Kira gets back or not?"
Miri considered if she should tell Ayu the truth. She said, "Because, I slightly miss my rival. We really inspired each other to get better when we were little. I also want to kick her butt to make her pay for making us go looking for her. Does that answer your question Lady Ayu?"
"No," Ayu said, "But I doubt I'll get any other answers today."
"And you doubt correctly," Miri smirked and left the room.
Ayu sighed, rubbing her eyes. The things I have to deal with, she got up and sat on the couch, wanting to take a nap and watch some TV, and if Miri's plan doesn't work, I fear for us all...
END OF CHAPTER 10
Sorry for the extremely long wait! I got distracted and had writer's block. Anyway, please review! I'll try to update soon!
Translation of parts in French:
"I better get you back to bed, eh, my little sister?"
"Okay, Rachel," Ren yawned, falling asleep already on Rachel's shoulder. She said, "Goodnight!"
Elle said, "Goodnight! See you in the morning!"