Chapter 03: The Mouse and the PussyCat

She was used to being stared at. She was used to being treated like a freak. Perhaps, it was because she was poor, or that because she was an orphan. Perhaps because she was not as pretty as her other classmates were.

She never liked their measuring looks, but she had to get used to it.

But now, as she entered her classroom, she had to fight valiantly the urge to go back home. Their gazes were anything but welcoming.

"Stop it, Honda Tohru!" she scolded herself. "They're just staring at you because you are a transferee. You are a new face in the room. They're just curious."

"Hey you!!"

She looked up and saw a bunch of girls blocking her way to her seat. She recognized them as some of the girls who were screaming out her master's name awhile ago. She could sense trouble. "Yes?"

"What is your relationship with Prince Yuki?" A girl whose hair was in pigtails demanded.

"P-Prince Yuki?" she choked.

"That's right!" A shorthaired girl snapped. "By any chance, are you his girlfriend?"

Her eyes widened. "N-No!"

"Then why did we see you together this morning?" Another girl demanded.

"I-I..you're mistaken.."

"Hey, stop ganging on her!" A male voice bellowed.

The girls immediately were silenced. Tohru turned to see who her savior was.

An orange-haired boy was standing behind her.

"Gomen nasai," whispered the girls as they retreated to the far side of the room.

Tohru bowed down gratefully in front of him. To this, her savior burst out laughing.

"W-What's so funny?" she cried.

"Nothing. It's just that it's my first time to experience having someone thank me that way," he explained.

She was speechless.

"Well, be careful next time." He was about to walk away when she spoke.

"Domo arigatou, M-Mister..?"

"Kyou. My name is Kyo," he replied.

Lunch time…

Tohru gasped when she saw her master waiting for her by the doorway of the classroom. He had not seen her yet, which was evident by the way his deep mauve eyes scanned the room.

She could see the Yuki-obsessed girls staring daggers at her way. She gulped. Maybe she better hide from Yuki, just so she could avoid another encounter with them.

"Honda-san! There you are!" said Yuki, his eyes lighting up.

She felt all the heads in the room turn towards her, all wanting to know whom did the Prince address.

"We must make haste before the bell rings," he said. "I hope you do remember that you promised to eat lunch with me today."

"O-Of course I do!" she cried. "But-"

"She's going to eat lunch with me," interrupted another male voice, which now was familiar to Tohru's ears.

It was Kyo.

"Says who?" said Yuki coolly.

Tension-filled silence followed. Tohru looked back at the two men worriedly. Do they know each other?

"Why don't we just eat all together?" she suggested cheerfully.

To her dismay, her suggestion only fueled the fire between her master and her classmate.

"Kyo! Oh Kyo, there you are!" called a female voice.

Tohru's jaw dropped. Kagura Sohma was running towards them in full speed. Or rather, towards Kyo.

Kagura pulled Kyo out of the classroom. "Let's eat lunch together at home!"

"I don't want to! Why don't you just go home?" he barked.

She pulled his collar menacingly. "You're going to eat with me, buster!" Her face then broke into a sweet smile again. "Come on, Kyo! The food is waiting for us!"

Ass he and Yuki watched Kyo get dragged away, she heard her master mutter, "Baka neko."

Where the hell is that stupid cat he kept talking about when he sees Kyo? Well, come to think of it, it's rather peculiar that the cat at home and that guy have the same name.

"Yuki-sama?" she prompted.

He turned to her expectantly.

"I.." She looked at the girls in the classroom. "I can't eat lunch with you. I-I'm not hungry."

"Are you sure?" he asked suspiciously. "You didn't eat breakfast today. You might get sick."

She couldn't help but smile at his genuine concern for her health. "I will be fine, Yuki-sama."

Her eyes widened when his finger pressed lightly on her lips.

"Ssh," he said gently. "I forbid you to call me by that name. From now on, you must call me without the honorific suffix."

"But-"

"No buts. Do not refuse me, Honda-san." He eyed her classmates who were watching them in interest.

"Are they bothering you, Honda-san?" he asked.

She forced a smile. "No! They are very…kind." She couldn't dare tell him about the girls that ganged up on him awhile ago. She also couldn't tell him how uncomfortable she was with their prying eyes.

"I understand." Yuki patted her shoulder. "Just tell me when someone does, and I'll take care of that person," he promised, his firm voice made loud enough for all her classmates to hear.

It was a gravely serious warning from the Prince.

From then on, her classmates started to be friendly towards her. Of course her female classmates were still aloof, but at least the ganging updidn't occur again.

Indeed, the words of the High School Prince were the law of the studentry.

Tohru was surprised when she found Kyo sitting at the roof of the Shigure residence. "Kyo!" she called.

The boy turned to her. His face lit up. "Tohru!"

She was puzzled. He knows her name? She then shrugged. He must have heard it when the teacher called on her to recite. But still…why is he here?

She voiced out her questions. To this, the guy laughed.

"What?! You're laughing at me again?!!" she cried. "Do I look like a clown?"

"No. And if you are, then you must be the prettiest clown I've ever seen!" he said.

She felt her face turn red with his frank compliment. No one has ever said that she was pretty, even in jest.

"So what are you doing here?" she asked, shifting the topic away from her aesthetic characteristics.

"I live here," he said simply as he jumped off from the roof with ease.

How did he do that? His graceful movements reminded her of a cat.

Kyo lives here? And they have a cat named Kyo?

"He's a Sohma unfortunately," said Yuki as he and Shigure walked towards them. Her master didn't look pleased catching her with Kyo.

"He is?" she echoed.

"Kyo is Yuki's cousin," explained Shigure.

"Oh!" she gasped. But they treat each other like enemies…

Shigure read her mind. "They've had their differences since childhood, and until now…" he sighed. "..they haven't gotten passed that childhood stage yet."

Tohru looked at Kyo and Yuki back and forth.

Ah, the wonders of the Sohma clan never cease to amaze her. And this rivalry was just the beginning of uncovering the mystery. She could feel it.

tsuzuku

You must be puzzled why I still try to stay faithful to the basic FB plot. This is for the sake of my friend, fireblaze, whom I currently am initiating to the world of Fruits Basket and Yukiru fandom. I changed just a few details and perhaps the ending to my liking.