Disclaimer: I do not own Fruits Basket or any of it's characters, but I DO own any of the characters you haven't heard about so BUGGER OFF! *hisses and glomps her charries*
Warnings: Expect some shounen-ai and (possibly) some mild Yaoi. (If this isn't your thing, then don't read it. If you flame me it will prove just how juvenile you are and, your inability to read.) Also, there will be some angst, romance, and (probably) some tragedy (but not 'til WAY later).
Pairings: Kyou/Tohru, Yuki/OC, and Hiro+Kisa (one-sided). I'll add others as they come.
Summary: There was never really a question of why the Sohma family was cursed, they just were. But what happens when people seeking the curse come for them? Can the youngest members of the Sohma family uncover the secrets before it is too late? (Crappy isn't it?)
Harakiri: I am now officially depressed. T_T I just killed my favorite character!!!! WAAAAAAAAAAHHHH!!!!!!
Kyou: Pull yourself together!
Yuki: Hai. You ARE the author of this fic, you know.
Kyou: Yeah, and if you don't work on it then we'll NEVER get any peace!
Harakiri: Hai, hai, *dries her eyes and blows her nose* Anyways, here's the official first chapter of "The Ties That Bind". Hope you enjoy it, minna-san!
Glossary:
Ohayo (gozaimasu)- Good morning
Minna(-san)- everybody (everyone)
Ushi- ox
Onna- woman
Aa- informal way of saying 'yes'
Aijin- (according to my sources) darling
Genkan- the lowered entryway into any home or apartment where you take off your shoes and either stay in your socks, bare feet, or exchange them for house slippers
Nezumi- rat
Baka -stupid, idiot (~~more commonly known as that)
Neko- cat
Nani- what
Ryu -dragon (also known as tatsu but I think that's only when referring to it as part of the junishi, I'm going to stick with ryu though)
Hebi- snake
Honto really, truly (I usually use it as 'Really?!', though that might not be entirely correct)
Himitsu- secret
Uma- horse
Tora- tiger
Chibi- little, tiny
-chan-an honorific usually used for girls and children, but can be used for guys by lovers, close friends, or as an insult, it shows familiarity
-kun-an honorific typically used for guys that shows familiarity, but I have heard it used for girls too (Example is Shigure's Tohru-kun)
-san-an honorific used mostly as Mr., Ms., and Mrs., but I also use it for adults in general, it shows a higher level of respect if you use it (hence using it for adults ^^; )
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The Ties That Bind ~ *Chapter 1-Meeting the Family*
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*Tick* *Tick* *Tick* *Tick*
It was a beautiful morning. The sun was just rising and a light fog was on the ground, but the birds were already singing and the morning dew glistened with what little rays of sunshine there were. The air was sweet with the smell of freshly watered flowers, thanks to the light showers from the night before, and all was peaceful.
*Tick* *Tick* *BRIIIIING!* *Ohayo gozaimasu, minna-san! It's a lovely 6:30 in the morning! If you're not already up, you should be…* *BANG!*
Inside the house the sound of an alarm clock being throw against the wall could be heard. It was the same thing every morning. Downstairs Sayuri was already awake and making breakfast. As she cooked the rice she had her hand resting on her slightly bulging tummy and rubbed it every now and again as if she were reassuring herself that it was there. She stepped away for a moment, really not needing to stand watch over the rice cooker, and went to the foot of the stairs.
"Rinji! Rinji, wake up! Yuki will be here soon to pick you up and you don't need to be late!" She frowned as she was greeted with silence. "Don't make me come up there, ushi~chan." She grinned as she heard noise coming from up the stairs. 'Ha! Gets him every time.' Satisfied that she had gotten his attention she went back into the kitchen to watch the rice.
Upstairs, a young man had just rolled out of bed. His white and black hair was ruffled from sleep and his gray eyes were rather dazed looking. "Don't call me ushi-chan, onna…" he mumbled. He yawned and stretched, smiling happily when his back popped. He then leaned down and grabbed a pair of pants that he had discarded the night before and quickly put them on so he would no longer be naked. 'I really don't need Yuki walking in here with me wearing no clothes. He should've been a teacher, what with all the lectures he gives.'
While he pondered over why Yuki was so against him sleeping in the nude, he went to the closet and grabbed his uniform shirt. Finally, he gave up on questioning Yuki's weird peeves and decided it was time to officially get dressed. Soon he descended the stairs, book bag in hand, and made his way into the kitchen.
"Ohayo, Rinji-kun. Did you sleep well?"
"Aa…" he replied, still half asleep. Sayuri smiled and set a bowl of cereal in front of the tired boy before giving him a kiss on his temple.
"That's good. I hope you enjoyed your visit."
He nodded. "Hai. Any time away from Yuki and his annoying lectures is good." He then picked up his spoon and began eating his bowl of supposed-to-be-good-for-you sugary cereal. Sayuri sighed and shook her head as she sat down next to him.
"He's just worried about you, that's all." The young man snorted and continued to eat his cereal. "Alright, he needs to be a bit less of a stiff and pull the stick out of his ass every once in a while, but he really does care about you."
Rinji grabbed the bowl from the table and tipped it back so he could down the milk that was left. After he set the bowl down he turned his gray eyes to the woman's back and smiled softly. "I know he does, Sayuri, but you have to realize hearing the same thing day in and day out does get rather annoying."
She smiled and wiped the milk moustache off of Rinji's face using the sleeve of her oversized, gray yukata and gave him another small kiss. "Yeah, yeah, I know."
"I hope I'm not interrupting anything…" The two sitting at the table turned to find a man standing in the doorway to the kitchen. He was rather tall and very handsome with dark brown hair that slanted over his face at a sharp angle and had beautiful dark blue eyes.
Rinji smiled at the man with a mischievous look in his eyes. "Nah, you weren't interrupting anything, Kano. I was just trying to steal your woman, that's all." Kano smiled and walked over to the two of them and wrapped his arms around Sayuri.
"Really now? That makes at least ten times now, Rinji. You still haven't learned?"
The young man laughed. "What can I say? She's a wonderful lady." Both men laughed as she blushed and they laughed even more when she glared at them.
"You're not funny!" She crossed her arms and turned her face away from them with a pout on her face. Kano smiled lovingly and gave her a tender kiss.
"Now, now, aijin, don't be like that. We're just playing."
She smiled. "I know, but it's just…" He put a hand on her stomach and kissed her again.
"Hai, the baby. Don't worry about it." She smiled and leaned into him letting a sigh of contentment escape her lips. Rinji smiled at the two of them, glad that Sayuri was truly happy. Seven years ago, when he was ten years old, he was sure that she would never smile again. It was so sudden when Shigure died that she was in shock. Her papa, who she loved dearly, had been sick for a long time and had never told anyone, and then he died. As if that wasn't bad enough, her childhood friend and the man she was in love with, Junsui, died that same year. It was to be expected, though, since he was the family head and all.
She became severely depressed and everyone was worried that she might do something drastic, but luck was with them. Two years after both her father and Junsui's deaths, she met a man by the name of Takeshiro Kano who fell in love with her and who she fell in love with in return. After a year and a half of dating Kano had proposed to her. No one thought she would, at first, at least not so soon, but she did. After that, everything was just fine and, recently, they came to learn that she was pregnant.
'Now they'll have a family. I hope it's a boy.' He watched the two of them for a bit longer before he coughed. "Alright, now this is getting a bit too mushy for my tastes." Sayuri giggled and just snuggled deeper into Kano's embrace and Rinji stuck his tongue out at her. Kano laughed.
"That's enough you two. Oh, I think your ride is here, Rinji." On cue there was a knock at the door. Rinji grimaced, but got up and headed for the door.
"Well, I guess I'll see you guys later."
"Ja ne, Rinji-kun!"
"Hai, sayonara Rinji."
At the genkan, Rinji put on his shoes then he opened the door and stepped outside. "Ohayo, Yuki-san. I'm ready to go." He shut the door and made his way to the car without another word.
Yuki sighed and pushed his gray hair out of his violet eyes. Despite him being 48 years old, he still was beautiful, almost exactly as he was when he was younger. The only thing time had given him was a few lines around his eyes and nothing more. While most people would be happy to look that good at that age it annoyed Yuki to no end. He sighed again and made his way to the car where the young man waited patiently and then entered on the driver's side.
"So, did you enjoy your visit?" Luckily for Yuki his voice had deepened a bit more, but his voice was still soft and it was almost drowned out by the roar of the engine coming to life. Fortunately, Rinji had good hearing.
"Hai." 'Just keep your answers short and maybe he'll get the hint…' The nezumi felt like sighing once more. It seemed that the young ushi was in one of his moods again.
'Well, at least he doesn't have a 'Black' personality like Hatsuharu…' Thinking about the former ushi of the Sohma family brought a tingling sensation to the back of the nezumi's eyes. He had always felt bad about not being able to love Haru the way he wanted to be loved, but that didn't compare to the guilt he felt when Haru died 17 years ago.
Haru had come to visit, mainly to see Yuki's daughter, Kumiko, who he adored, and Mitsumi, Yuki's wife, had suggested that they all go on a picnic by the river. They all agreed and had set off for the river. After they had finished eating, Kumiko went down and was playing at the water's edge when she suddenly slipped in. Yuki was more than ready to jump in after her, but Haru had beat him to it.
He swam after her and had managed to get her and bring her back to shore, but before he could get out he was swept back into the river. Yuki wanted to go after him, but Mitsumi stopped him and told him to call for help while she calmed Kumiko down. He had done what she said and several police officers and emergency crews came to find the ushi, but it was all in vain. They found him a few hours before nightfall washed up on shore several miles downstream, cold and no longer breathing. Ever since that day, Yuki had done nothing but regret all the things he'd said and done to Haru over the years.
'There's nothing I can do now. Especially if I couldn't do anything then.' He glanced over at the young man sitting next to him. When Rinji had been born, his parents had been less than thrilled to find out he was cursed so, when they abandoned him, Yuki took him in. Kyou had been furious with him, saying that taking in the young ushi couldn't help Haru and wouldn't make-up for anything that the kuso nezumi had done, but Yuki did it anyway. 'Even if the baka neko was right, I couldn't just leave him.'
He slowed the car and came to a stop in front of an all too familiar building. "You did your homework, right?"
Rinji rolled his eyes. "No. I stayed up all night and played Monopoly with Sayuri." He waved his hand in a defensive gesture when violet eyes narrowed and formed a glare. "Yes, I did it. Sheez, can't you take a joke?" He grabbed the door and went to shut it, but stopped as Yuki spoke.
"I'm working late today and can't take pick you up today, so Eikou is going to get you."
"He's in town?" Yuki nodded.
"Yes, for the week." He quirked a brow as Rinji started laughing. "…I won't ask." The ushi grinned and shook his head.
"It's better if you don't. Well, I'll see you later tonight, then?"
"Hai. Have a good day."
"Hai hai." Rinji shut the door and started to head for the main building and Yuki smiled slightly as he was grabbed in a headlock by Kyou, who proceeded to give the young man a noogie. Kyou looked pretty much the same too, except his once orange hair was now streaked with silver and he, too, had lines around his eyes and some around his mouth. He was still as… "vibrant" as ever, though.
"Baka neko…" After making sure the ushi got inside, the neko following closely behind, he revved up the engine and headed off to work.
*******
'We're going to be late…again!' The man sighed as he looked at his watch for what seemed to be the thousandth time. He was beginning to become VERY impatient. "Amaya, are you done yet?"
"Almost, Reizo-ryu-chan!" He glared down the hallway then sighed. She would never change. He glanced to the side, intent on not looking at his watch seeing as it would dishearten and frustrate him even more, and gazed at his reflection in the mirror. He had short dark brown, almost black, hair that fell over one side of his face and covered one of his beautiful jungle green eyes. His face was more often than not set in a stoic mask, but it would sometimes break into a smile. Not often, though, and almost always only for Amaya.
"That girl…Ama-!" He stopped as the girl, or young woman rather, came running down the hallway and tackle glomped him. "Finally. Let's go."
"Hai!" Careful not to hit him in the face, Amaya jumped onto his back and got a piggy-back ride all the way to the motorcycle that was waiting outside, only getting down when she had to get her shoes. Once she had been deposited on the back of the motorcycle she pulled out a scrunchie and pulled her long, silver hair into a ponytail. "Are we going to be late?"
"Probably." Once he made sure Amaya had a helmet on, Reizo put one on himself and hopped onto the bike. He glanced over his shoulder to see a pair of gold eyes gazing at him. "Nani?"
She grinned happily and shook her head. "Nothing. Let's go!" Reizo shook his head and started the motorcycle. He waited for Amaya to wrap her arms around his waist then he set off. The two of them had been living together for about two years now. Most of the family was opposed to it, but he never really saw a problem with it. They were both cursed, he the ryu and she the hebi, and neither of them wanted to live in the main house, so what other choice did they have? 'Besides, its not like I'm going to rape her or anything.' He shook his head as his thoughts kept going from one subject to the next. Soon they came to a red light and he stopped, putting his leg out to keep them up. Amaya followed suit, not really liking being suspended at an angle, and received a whistle of appreciation from the car next to them.
She giggled and waved to the guys in the other car who promptly received a glare from Reizo. As soon as the light turned green they sped off like a bullet. She giggled again. It was so much fun teasing Reizo, though he didn't appreciate it much. 'Well, that just means he'll have to go ahead and ask me out then.' Try as she might, Amaya hadn't been very successful in starting a relationship with the oh-so serious ryu. 'He probably just sees me as a little sister or something. How depressing…' She sighed and buried her face into Reizo's shoulder. 'I really hope it's just because he's shy.'
Finally they got to her school and stopped. She took off her helmet and pulled out her scrunchie, letting her silver hair cascade down her back. She hopped off the motorcycle and grabbed her bag.
"See you later, ryu-chan!" She giggled at the annoyed look on his face and gave him a hug. "You know I only call you that because I know it annoys you."
"Aa, I know." He smiled slightly as she giggled again. Her happiness was too infectious, but it could be a good thing. "Oh, before I forget, Eikou is coming to visit today."
Gold eyes suddenly lit up as the good news was shared. "Really?"
"Aa, and he's coming to pick up Rinji after school."
"Honto?!"
"Aa…" If anyone didn't know any better, they could have sworn that Amaya was in love with the uma, but she was only that happy because they never got to see Eikou that often, what with him living in the mountains and all. "Now, don't give him any trouble if you see him…"
"Who me? Why would I give him trouble?" She smiled sweetly and put her hands behind her back while clutching her school bag. If only it could fool Reizo, but it didn't.
"You know what I'm talking about. No matchmaking."
She sighed. "Fine, fine. I'll leave him alone about Tomeo, okay?" The ryu nodded, obviously satisfied with that answer. Suddenly a bell rang and gold eyes widened. "Ah! I'm late!!!!" A cloud of dust was left in the young girl's wake as she sped off to class in hopes of getting there before her teacher got TOO upset.
Reizo sighed and shook his head. When was she ever going to learn? He smiled and then revved up the motorcycle once more and took off. In all truth, he hoped she'd never change.
*******
"Sohma Shinrai, you get back here this instant!" A peal of childish laughter could be heard all throughout the family compound. It echoed off of walls and through the gardens, which confused the adults that were pursuing the said child. The child, Sohma Shinrai, was currently hiding under the window of the current family head who also happened to be his bestest-best friend in the whole wide world. He giggled as the adults sped by his hiding place still looking for him.
"What did you do this time?" He looked up to see the solemn face of the Sohma family's tora, Kisa.
He grinned and said, "Hi-mi-tsu." then proceeded to climb into the room through the window. Once inside he could finally see his friend. "Kizoku-chan!" He squealed happily and hugged his friend who squeaked in surprise.
"Shinrai-chan? Why are you in here?" The young boy pulled back and ran his hand through his shaggy black hair.
"Well, I kinda put some frogs in the bathroom and Nariko-san wasn't too happy about that." Kizoku giggled and hugged his best friend again.
"Silly, Shin-chan." Kisa smiled at the two boys and shook her head as Shinrai recalled, with much detail, his newest prank. 'He has a knack for story telling…just like Shigure.' It was true that Shinrai was quite similar to the previous inu, especially in appearance, but not much. In fact, all of the newest members of the junishi were much like their predecessors, but still quite different.
She chuckled quietly as Kizoku's pretty blue eyes widened as Shinrai told of his narrow escape from Nariko-san. Those two were really something, especially Kizoku. It was so nice to see such a happy child, especially since he was the family head. He and Junsui were nothing like Akito. Both of them were kind and gentle, although, thanks to Shinrai, Kizoku had a habit of getting into trouble for causing mischief, but Shinrai would always get blamed for it anyway.
Kisa quietly made her way over to the two of them and knelt down beside them. "Well, Shinrai, it seems you have been naughty. Why don't you stay in here with Kizoku until I come back, alright?" The chibi inu nodded.
"Hai, Kisa-chan!" He glomped and cuddled his best friend and buried his face into Kizoku's dark red hair. Kizoku blushed, but didn't pull away as the inu snuggled him and began to fall asleep. Kisa chuckled again and ruffled both boy's hair.
"I'll be back soon." She got up and began to walk out the door, but was stopped by Kizoku's tiny voice.
"Ahm, where are you going, Kisa-chan?" She turned and smiled at the young boy.
"I'm just going to visit Momiji at his company and maybe Hiro-kun if he's available."
"Ah, ok. Will you tell them 'Hello' for me?"
She nodded. "Hai, and I will for Shinrai-chan, too." Kizoku smiled happily and cuddled up with the other boy and fell asleep as well. She tip-toed out of the room and shut the door quietly so as not to wake them and to not draw the attention of the head hunting Nariko. 'Maybe I should go see how Kagura is doing, as well?' Her mind began to wander as she thought of her family and how they were all doing. It had been so long since she had seen most of them. She decided she would stop by the family graveyard, first, and visit five of them before she left to find Momiji…
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So, you've met most of the family thus far and seen what most of them do. I would've included more, but it was kinda getting dragged out as it was. And, yes, the ending was crappy, but it was the best my mind could think of. So, you like it, hate it? And what do you think of the newer members that you've seen? Oh and I'm sorry if Kisa's OOC, but I'll just attribute it to the fact that she's much older now and so many things have happened that she's just changed. Oh, I'm gonna have a helluva time with Hiro... -.-() Anyways, click the little review button in the corner to tell me what you think. ^^ And Kano is NOT a Trowa clone! Well…ok, so I got the basic design from Trowa, but…! *gets smacked with a brick and passes out before she can rant*