Fruits Basket
"Jyuunishi XIV"
Written By: Andrea MacFarlane
Email: luthien_anwamane2003@yahoo.ca
Rated: 14A (Later Chapters with become R for graphic violence and sexually explicit scenes)
Teaser: There's another jyuunishi?! Ever wondered why none of the jyuunishi are birds? Ever wonder why it's always the Sohma family members that are cursed? In ancient texts it is said that Buddha called forth fourteen animals, not thirteen, while the cat was fooled by the mouse, there was another animal unable to attend the celebration. With it's beautiful song, the canary was also invited to attend, but the day before the celebration it was captured by a human and imprisoned in a gilded cage. The canary implored with the human but to no avail and missed out on the celebration. Days later the canary managed to escape and made it's way to Buddha, begging to be allowed into the zodiac. But the new year had already begun and there was nothing Buddha could do for the poor creature. So as punishment for keeping the canary in a cage, Buddha set a curse upon the family of the man who had caged the canary. A man with the name of Sohma.
____________________________________________________________
Chapter 2
Night was beginning to fall and still Aya had not been caught. She wondered if Akito even cared that she'd gone missing. As Aya lay back in the tub she rubbed her eyes until pin pricks of light marred her vision. She watched them dance and fade before her eyes, knowing that she could do nothing else. She'd been in the bathroom for close to two hours now, the water had become quite cold around her but there was nothing she could do. Her feet and legs were so badly scraped and bruised from running away that when the hot water had hit the broken skin and cleaned her cuts she found she couldn't stand on them. A shiver passed through her and she gripped the edge of the bath. Maybe if she stayed in it all night without these other Sohma's noticing she could be free from it all. But the thought of dying frightened her and she began to cry involuntarily.
***
Busy with food preparations for dinner Tohru was unable to hear the sounds coming from upstairs, and both Yuki and Kyo, as usual, were busy arguing. It wasn't until Tohru yelled from the kitchen to ask one of them to get Aya for dinner that Kyo perked up.
Yuki, perceptive in most cases, eyed the cat with suspicion. "What's the matter-" His eyes widened when he realized why Kyo sat ummoving, if Aya had been unable to walk to the bathroom how would she have been able to walk out again? Not even bothering to stop to hit Kyo, Yuki leapt from his seat on the floor and raced up the stairs two at a time.
When he reached the bathroom he yanked open the door to see a small shivering body draped in wet golden hair. As her tear stained face turned to him his heart wrenched and he found himself moving forward, ucaring as to her current state of undress. Perhaps it was when she held her arms out to him or when he looked in her eyes and saw that she didn't care that he saw her like she was, only that she was grateful he had come, that Yuki decided never to let her return to the Sohma Main House even upon pain of death.
Aya had been startled by the sudden appearence of one of the household members but at the same time she was grateful, it meant she wouldn't die just yet. She knew that Yuki was a good person and knew that if she didn't ask him for the help she needed he might be too embarassed. So she held out her arms to him, not really caring that she wasn't wearing anything, just wanting to get warm. Her whole body was shaking from the cold water and she just wanted to get out.
Yuki reached down and slid his arms around Aya, picking her up from in the bath and soaking his shirt at the same time. He was amazed at how light she was. Grabbing the towel that had been left for her with one hand he placed her precariously on her feet and continued to hold her up as he wrapped it around her.
Her hair had become untangled and it's golden mass stretched right down to just above her knees. Without bunchedand tangled hair to hide her eyes he could see their silver colour clearly. Something about them made him exceedinly melancholy, as if they harboured a dark secret.
"Yuki-kun..."
Aya's soft whisper brought Yuki back to his senses and he picked her back up carrying quickly to his room and setting her down on his futon. "Daijobou desu ka?" he asked after he'd pulled several blankets out from his closet and draped them over her.
"Hai."
"Yuki-kun! Aya-chan!" Tohru called from the bottom of the stairs.
When Aya tried to sit up to go down Yuki placed his hand on her shoulder and pushed her back down. "You aren't wearing anything and I won't have you catching a cold just to get some dinner. I'll bring some up for you in a bit."
A protest was on her lips but it quickly died at the steely determination Aya saw in Yuki's yes.
***
Tohru pursed her lips together in concentration as she carried four plates of food into the eating area. She spotted Yuki at the bottom of the stairs, not seeing his wet shirt because of the lack of light in the hall. She smiled happily as she set down the plates, being careful not to spill any when she put it down in front of Kyo. It was then Tohru noticed that Yuki was glaring at Kyo and Kyo was refusing to meet his gaze.
"Ano...what's going on?"
Before she could respond Yuki had darted into the room and she watched him lunge for Kyo. For once the cat's agility saved him, but the floor where he had been sitting was splintered and Tohru screamed in suprise.
"Matte Yuki! I forgot! It was an accident!" Kyo yelled in defense as he desperately tried to protect himself from Yuki's blows.
Tohru being Tohru, did the only thing she could think of to get Yuki to stop. She ran towards the two struggling figures and threw herself onto both of them. The familliar poofs ensued and she soon found herself holding both a struggling cat and mouse.
When they both realized Tohru was holding them they stopped moving all together and hung limp in her arms. Yuki was the first one to speak, "She could have died from that baka neko! You should have known she wouldn't have been able to get out on her own."
"AHH!!!!!!!" Tohru cried as she dropped both Yuki and Kyo. "Aya-chan! You left Aya-chan alone?!?"
Kyo looked as if Tohru had just kicked him across the room. Without another word he grabbed his clothes in his mouth and ran up to his room.
***
Aya heard all the commotion downstairs and she hated not knowing things, so she climbed out of Yuki's warm bed and opened his drawers until she found what she needed. When she'd finished dressing she heard the light sound of movement outside the door before another door down the hall slamed shut.
Cracking open the door she peered out and upon seeing nothing she tread as lightly as she could, biting back the pain as she inched closer and closer to the stairs. She sighed in relief when she grabbed the railing and began to make her descent very slowly.
When she reached the bottom of the stairs she heard two voices speaking heatedly to each other. Half towards them there was a rather lous poofing noise followed by Tohru yelling out in suprise and then apologizing profusely. Aya knew exactly what had happened, Tohru must have hugged Yuki, and the noise earlier must have been Kyo.
Before she even turned the corner Yuki had appeared with eyes burning before her. When those same eyes recognized her they softened considerably just before his eyebrows knitted together. "I thought I told you not to come down, you're only going to injure yourself more." he said quietly as he came towards her prepared to carry her again.
"Iie!" Aya screamed without fully realizing why she'd felt so frightened in that moment. But it registered after she saw the hurt expression on his face. In the darkened hallway she'd mistaken him for Akito.
"Gomen...you just..." guilt overwhelmed her and adding to the pain in her legs and feet she could do nothing but crumple quite ungracefully to the ground.
Tohru took that moment to pop her head around the corner and she jumped forward to drop herself on the ground and fuss over Aya. "Ahh! You should be lying down, it was my fault you got hurt!"
Aya laughed through her tears at Tohru, the girl would die of a heart attack at an early age. "Iie, Honda-san, it's my fault, I should have made you stop, but I just couldn't bring myself to stop. I thought that if I stopped they'd catch up, they'd take me back." And with that said a fresh wave of tears racked Aya's thin frame and she curled herself into a ball on the floor.
She heard Tohru begin to cry as well and she couldn't believe it. No one had ever cared for her feelings, and this girl seemed to try and care for everything all at once!
This time when Yuki reached for her Aya made no protest. She soon found herself clinging to Yuki as she continued to cry. It was ubearable, never had she been allowed to cry and now it was all she could do.
***
"Let her run for a bit, it's always better to catch a moving target Hattori, makes the victory that much sweeter." Akito murmured from his spot on the floor. Ever since Aya had left all the birds that usually hung around the Main House had vanished and Akito found he only had the falling cherry blossoms to gaze upon.
"We'll make her pay though, for taking my pet, Honda Tohru will pay. So will the others. You owe me your lives and yet you take what is mine."
Hattori kneeled silently as he listened to Akito, but deep inside he was relieved Aya had escaped.
***
Shigure mulled over the girl that had recently come into their household, he could remember Hat-chan saying something about a golden haired child many years ago, for the longest time Shigure had thought he meant Momoji, but when Hat-chan said it was a girl Shigure had been confused. Hat-chan had said something about not being able to examine the child even when she was sick because...and that was where Shigure's memory went blank, he couldn't remember. After a few hours of trying to coax his brain into revealing the knowledge he sought Shigure gave up and started on his next novel to try and clear his mind.
***
"Why were you being locked up in the Main House?" Yuki questioned Aya after he'd brought her back upstairs, calmed Tohru down and made sure Aya wouldn't burst into tears again. Though he had to admit, her wearing his black silk shirt and grey silk boxers was quite suprising, now it was a great big problem. She'd only pushed a few buttons into place and with her sitting on his futon like she was he was having a great time trying to keep breathing.
Aya shrugged and averted her gaze from his. "I doubt you'd believe me if I told Akito was really a vampire and he was using me as his food supply."
Yuki held his hand to his forehead in frustration. She kept avoiding his questions, he didn't understand why it seemed she was protecting Akito and the others at the Main House but not saying anything. It was also frustrating because he found himself severely attracted to someone who he thought was probably one of his cousins. He almost wanted to strangle her when she avoided another question. But touching her long slender neck was definitely out of the question. His mind kept retreating back to her nude form and the room began to get warm.
Quite abruptly he turned on his heel and marched out of his own room, taking a note from the neko's book he headed immediately for the roof.
____________________________________________________________
End Note: Well, why exactly is Hattori glad Aya escaped? What will happen when Tohru tells Kyo to apologize to Aya and he refuses? Aya is able to walk again, but where is she going when she borrows one of Tohru's dresses and just leaves? What will Shigure remember as he works on his writing? All these answers and more in the next installment!
"Jyuunishi XIV"
Written By: Andrea MacFarlane
Email: luthien_anwamane2003@yahoo.ca
Rated: 14A (Later Chapters with become R for graphic violence and sexually explicit scenes)
Teaser: There's another jyuunishi?! Ever wondered why none of the jyuunishi are birds? Ever wonder why it's always the Sohma family members that are cursed? In ancient texts it is said that Buddha called forth fourteen animals, not thirteen, while the cat was fooled by the mouse, there was another animal unable to attend the celebration. With it's beautiful song, the canary was also invited to attend, but the day before the celebration it was captured by a human and imprisoned in a gilded cage. The canary implored with the human but to no avail and missed out on the celebration. Days later the canary managed to escape and made it's way to Buddha, begging to be allowed into the zodiac. But the new year had already begun and there was nothing Buddha could do for the poor creature. So as punishment for keeping the canary in a cage, Buddha set a curse upon the family of the man who had caged the canary. A man with the name of Sohma.
____________________________________________________________
Chapter 2
Night was beginning to fall and still Aya had not been caught. She wondered if Akito even cared that she'd gone missing. As Aya lay back in the tub she rubbed her eyes until pin pricks of light marred her vision. She watched them dance and fade before her eyes, knowing that she could do nothing else. She'd been in the bathroom for close to two hours now, the water had become quite cold around her but there was nothing she could do. Her feet and legs were so badly scraped and bruised from running away that when the hot water had hit the broken skin and cleaned her cuts she found she couldn't stand on them. A shiver passed through her and she gripped the edge of the bath. Maybe if she stayed in it all night without these other Sohma's noticing she could be free from it all. But the thought of dying frightened her and she began to cry involuntarily.
***
Busy with food preparations for dinner Tohru was unable to hear the sounds coming from upstairs, and both Yuki and Kyo, as usual, were busy arguing. It wasn't until Tohru yelled from the kitchen to ask one of them to get Aya for dinner that Kyo perked up.
Yuki, perceptive in most cases, eyed the cat with suspicion. "What's the matter-" His eyes widened when he realized why Kyo sat ummoving, if Aya had been unable to walk to the bathroom how would she have been able to walk out again? Not even bothering to stop to hit Kyo, Yuki leapt from his seat on the floor and raced up the stairs two at a time.
When he reached the bathroom he yanked open the door to see a small shivering body draped in wet golden hair. As her tear stained face turned to him his heart wrenched and he found himself moving forward, ucaring as to her current state of undress. Perhaps it was when she held her arms out to him or when he looked in her eyes and saw that she didn't care that he saw her like she was, only that she was grateful he had come, that Yuki decided never to let her return to the Sohma Main House even upon pain of death.
Aya had been startled by the sudden appearence of one of the household members but at the same time she was grateful, it meant she wouldn't die just yet. She knew that Yuki was a good person and knew that if she didn't ask him for the help she needed he might be too embarassed. So she held out her arms to him, not really caring that she wasn't wearing anything, just wanting to get warm. Her whole body was shaking from the cold water and she just wanted to get out.
Yuki reached down and slid his arms around Aya, picking her up from in the bath and soaking his shirt at the same time. He was amazed at how light she was. Grabbing the towel that had been left for her with one hand he placed her precariously on her feet and continued to hold her up as he wrapped it around her.
Her hair had become untangled and it's golden mass stretched right down to just above her knees. Without bunchedand tangled hair to hide her eyes he could see their silver colour clearly. Something about them made him exceedinly melancholy, as if they harboured a dark secret.
"Yuki-kun..."
Aya's soft whisper brought Yuki back to his senses and he picked her back up carrying quickly to his room and setting her down on his futon. "Daijobou desu ka?" he asked after he'd pulled several blankets out from his closet and draped them over her.
"Hai."
"Yuki-kun! Aya-chan!" Tohru called from the bottom of the stairs.
When Aya tried to sit up to go down Yuki placed his hand on her shoulder and pushed her back down. "You aren't wearing anything and I won't have you catching a cold just to get some dinner. I'll bring some up for you in a bit."
A protest was on her lips but it quickly died at the steely determination Aya saw in Yuki's yes.
***
Tohru pursed her lips together in concentration as she carried four plates of food into the eating area. She spotted Yuki at the bottom of the stairs, not seeing his wet shirt because of the lack of light in the hall. She smiled happily as she set down the plates, being careful not to spill any when she put it down in front of Kyo. It was then Tohru noticed that Yuki was glaring at Kyo and Kyo was refusing to meet his gaze.
"Ano...what's going on?"
Before she could respond Yuki had darted into the room and she watched him lunge for Kyo. For once the cat's agility saved him, but the floor where he had been sitting was splintered and Tohru screamed in suprise.
"Matte Yuki! I forgot! It was an accident!" Kyo yelled in defense as he desperately tried to protect himself from Yuki's blows.
Tohru being Tohru, did the only thing she could think of to get Yuki to stop. She ran towards the two struggling figures and threw herself onto both of them. The familliar poofs ensued and she soon found herself holding both a struggling cat and mouse.
When they both realized Tohru was holding them they stopped moving all together and hung limp in her arms. Yuki was the first one to speak, "She could have died from that baka neko! You should have known she wouldn't have been able to get out on her own."
"AHH!!!!!!!" Tohru cried as she dropped both Yuki and Kyo. "Aya-chan! You left Aya-chan alone?!?"
Kyo looked as if Tohru had just kicked him across the room. Without another word he grabbed his clothes in his mouth and ran up to his room.
***
Aya heard all the commotion downstairs and she hated not knowing things, so she climbed out of Yuki's warm bed and opened his drawers until she found what she needed. When she'd finished dressing she heard the light sound of movement outside the door before another door down the hall slamed shut.
Cracking open the door she peered out and upon seeing nothing she tread as lightly as she could, biting back the pain as she inched closer and closer to the stairs. She sighed in relief when she grabbed the railing and began to make her descent very slowly.
When she reached the bottom of the stairs she heard two voices speaking heatedly to each other. Half towards them there was a rather lous poofing noise followed by Tohru yelling out in suprise and then apologizing profusely. Aya knew exactly what had happened, Tohru must have hugged Yuki, and the noise earlier must have been Kyo.
Before she even turned the corner Yuki had appeared with eyes burning before her. When those same eyes recognized her they softened considerably just before his eyebrows knitted together. "I thought I told you not to come down, you're only going to injure yourself more." he said quietly as he came towards her prepared to carry her again.
"Iie!" Aya screamed without fully realizing why she'd felt so frightened in that moment. But it registered after she saw the hurt expression on his face. In the darkened hallway she'd mistaken him for Akito.
"Gomen...you just..." guilt overwhelmed her and adding to the pain in her legs and feet she could do nothing but crumple quite ungracefully to the ground.
Tohru took that moment to pop her head around the corner and she jumped forward to drop herself on the ground and fuss over Aya. "Ahh! You should be lying down, it was my fault you got hurt!"
Aya laughed through her tears at Tohru, the girl would die of a heart attack at an early age. "Iie, Honda-san, it's my fault, I should have made you stop, but I just couldn't bring myself to stop. I thought that if I stopped they'd catch up, they'd take me back." And with that said a fresh wave of tears racked Aya's thin frame and she curled herself into a ball on the floor.
She heard Tohru begin to cry as well and she couldn't believe it. No one had ever cared for her feelings, and this girl seemed to try and care for everything all at once!
This time when Yuki reached for her Aya made no protest. She soon found herself clinging to Yuki as she continued to cry. It was ubearable, never had she been allowed to cry and now it was all she could do.
***
"Let her run for a bit, it's always better to catch a moving target Hattori, makes the victory that much sweeter." Akito murmured from his spot on the floor. Ever since Aya had left all the birds that usually hung around the Main House had vanished and Akito found he only had the falling cherry blossoms to gaze upon.
"We'll make her pay though, for taking my pet, Honda Tohru will pay. So will the others. You owe me your lives and yet you take what is mine."
Hattori kneeled silently as he listened to Akito, but deep inside he was relieved Aya had escaped.
***
Shigure mulled over the girl that had recently come into their household, he could remember Hat-chan saying something about a golden haired child many years ago, for the longest time Shigure had thought he meant Momoji, but when Hat-chan said it was a girl Shigure had been confused. Hat-chan had said something about not being able to examine the child even when she was sick because...and that was where Shigure's memory went blank, he couldn't remember. After a few hours of trying to coax his brain into revealing the knowledge he sought Shigure gave up and started on his next novel to try and clear his mind.
***
"Why were you being locked up in the Main House?" Yuki questioned Aya after he'd brought her back upstairs, calmed Tohru down and made sure Aya wouldn't burst into tears again. Though he had to admit, her wearing his black silk shirt and grey silk boxers was quite suprising, now it was a great big problem. She'd only pushed a few buttons into place and with her sitting on his futon like she was he was having a great time trying to keep breathing.
Aya shrugged and averted her gaze from his. "I doubt you'd believe me if I told Akito was really a vampire and he was using me as his food supply."
Yuki held his hand to his forehead in frustration. She kept avoiding his questions, he didn't understand why it seemed she was protecting Akito and the others at the Main House but not saying anything. It was also frustrating because he found himself severely attracted to someone who he thought was probably one of his cousins. He almost wanted to strangle her when she avoided another question. But touching her long slender neck was definitely out of the question. His mind kept retreating back to her nude form and the room began to get warm.
Quite abruptly he turned on his heel and marched out of his own room, taking a note from the neko's book he headed immediately for the roof.
____________________________________________________________
End Note: Well, why exactly is Hattori glad Aya escaped? What will happen when Tohru tells Kyo to apologize to Aya and he refuses? Aya is able to walk again, but where is she going when she borrows one of Tohru's dresses and just leaves? What will Shigure remember as he works on his writing? All these answers and more in the next installment!