Note: Hi all! The story that dear SeraphAngel-chan wrote about Ayame and Miine really inspired me to write something of the same thing! Well, obviously not the SAME plot and all, but with the coupling of Ayame and Miine! So, this is my first shot on an Ayame and Miine story! Please be gentle! ^_^ Oh yeah BEWARE of OOC Ayame and Miine and seriousness in this fic!
Strange It May Seem
Chapter 1 - Golden Eyes
It was late in the afternoon and rather hot. The summer heat was itching its way around her body, making her feel exhausted. If she didn't leave the heat soon, she was going to pass out. Kuramae Miine walked through the park, carrying a large, brown paper bag in her arms. With one swift move, she swiped her arm on her forehead, wiping away the beads of sweat that formed around her eyes and nose, carefully lifting her glasses up to clean away the heat from her face. 'Perfect timing, Miine to be buying groceries on a hot summer day,' she thought. The brown haired girl, only twenty (Note: I dunno, I'm guessing her age), quickly walked across the small street and approached the apartment building, where she lived in on the second floor. She sighed, feeling the air conditioner brushing her hair once she entered the front entrance. Being old and rusted, the air conditioner blew once, then died again. Miine walked pass it without disappointment, feeling relieved that she was able to get rid of the heat from the slight air that came out of the machine, though not completely. She made it in front of her door, without passing out and unlocked it. As usual, she was welcomed by her cat, Akina, her short, fur rubbing against her leg the moment Miine stepped inside. Akina, a one year old siamese kitten, followed her to the kitchen to put away the groceries she bought. She was just removing the orange juice from the bag, desperate for something cold to drink, when her phone rang unexpectedly. Miine went to the living room, her phone standing on her small coffee table and answered the phone before the third ring rang out.
"Moshi moshi?" she spoke.
"Ah, yokata! You're home Miine!" came a desperate sounding voice on the other line. "I tried calling you before, but no one answered. I need you here right now!" She could hear excitement in his voice, but Miine wasn't sure if it was that.
"Tencho! What is it?" Miine, after almost trying not to pass out from the heat felt her eyes widen in alarm. She has never heard her tencho this desperate or excited before. She picked up a small piece of paper and, without bothering to find out what it was, began fanning herself with it, no matter how small air was coming out of it. Summer this year, was the hottest out of the other years here in Japan.
"No time to explain, just get here! Oh, I am so excited Miine! We got a lot of work to do in our hands!" Before Miine could ask anymore, he had hung up the phone. Sighing and turning back around towards the kitchen, trying not to stumble when Akina got in her way, she quickly put away all her groceries in their right cupboards. She quickly poured orange juice on a glass and drank it quickly, before putting it away in the refrigerator. Without bothering to change into her work uniform, since it was supposed to be her day off and since it was too hot anyway, she walked out of her apartment, locking the door before she left and made her way towards the store. She fixed her white dress, revealing her clean shaven legs to all the people that she walked by and was unaware of the stares men were giving her. Miine didn't care much. She was set on one goal and one goal only and that was to help her tencho anyway she can.
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"Ah, not there!" With a desperate attempt to keep the store running and convenient for the customers, he was ready to hire anyone who walked by the store and wasn't planning on buying anything- all of which were women. One girl, one who didn't know the difference between left and right was starting to irritate him, but before he could tell her off with a kind gesture, he heard the front door opening and a very familiar woman with round glasses and curly brown hair enter. "Miine! I'm so glad you're here!" He approached her, trying to hold the willingness of wanting to hug her so much because of her presence and smiled. Miine smiled in return, but he couldn't quite let go of the feeling that Miine didn't look well. "Miine, daijoubou?"
Miine smiled her best smile and nodded. "Hai!" It was even hotter in this room, but she knew better than to tell her tencho to turn up the air conditioner more. Ayame Sohma had trouble coping with the cold and Miine did not dare to ask why. For years, she never questioned him. He was kind enough to lend her work when she needed it the most and she did not want to jeopardize that. "I'll be all right, tencho. What-" Before she could ask, a man in his early twenties bumped his way through the door that was blocking and approached Ayame standing behind the counter. Miine just watched.
"Yes, I would also like this hemmed as well," the man spoke.
Ayame smiled and nodded. "Hai!" He glanced at Miine. "Come, Miine! We need to start work now!"
Forgetting that she was not supposed to be working today, Miine went to the counter, while at the same time, watched the dark haired man leave the store without acknowledging her. No longer could take the patience, Miine glanced at her tencho and eyed him curiously. "What's going on? Who was that man?"
Careful not to hug her, Ayame grabbed her arms and started bouncing up the down. Miine just went along with his excitement, the questions still running in her mind, waiting for Ayame to answer her question. "He is the owner of the club downtown! Somehow, he found out about my store and wants to purchase as many as we have and more if we make more!"
"What club, tencho?" She didn't need to ask that question, because she knew already what he was going to say. She knew she'd seen the man before. He was the same man she met her first day working for that club. Miine never told Ayame, but she used to work there as the custome designer for the drag contestants they held every summer. The name of that club was-
"Ringo Club!" He let go of her arm and jumped up and down, clapping his hands excitedly. "Yosh! Let's start working on it!" He grabbed her hand and led her in the back of the store, where stacks of papers were stacked together on a table. Fabric was everywhere, all with different types, silk, satin, cotton, on another table opposite to where the ordered forms were stacked and some were strewn on the floor. Miine was still thinking about that man, wondering why he never recognized her, when Ayame's loud voice startled her once again. "Miine! So, what do you think? These are the fabrics Ringo-san chose for the contestants next month."
"Next- month?" Miine's eyes widened. She had forgotten that every summer, the contest was held every July. The woman smiled when she noticed Ayame's desperate face and nodded. "Don't worry, tencho! I'll get working on it right away!"
Without thinking, Ayame, thankful for her generosity, wrapped his arms around her smaller and shorter form and pulled her in for an embrace. Water fell from his eyes dramatically and he scrunched his face in a sad manner. "Arigatou, Miine!" he said excitedly, before clouds of smoke engulfed them. Miine didn't know what happened then, after getting the mysterious smoke that appeared out of nowhere away from her view, her tencho disappeared out of sight. She looked down and found his pink-red robe, the one he usually wore everytime he went to work and the white pants made of silk, were on the floor. She looked around curiously, wondering where Ayame went off to. "Tencho?" she called. She walked around the counter, unaware that something small and white quickly edged its way past her and towards the back room.
"Um...Miine, could you please pass me my clothes on the floor?" a voice spoke from the back room.
Startled, Miine jerked her head up to the room. "Nani?"
"The clothes on the floor, could you pass them to me please?" he repeated.
Miine, without bothering to ask him what happened, despite the questions running through her mind about the incident just now, picked up Ayame's clothes from the ground and slowly walked to the back room. She was shocked to find him standing there, his back to her, nude, his long flowing, white hair untied behind his back, which now reached up to his...Miine quickly took her eyes away, blushing. Yes, she has worked with this man for years now and never has she seen him in THAT form before. She knew he was beautiful, even far more beautiful than the models she sees on television. Keeping her head turned away from Ayame, Miine handed him the clothes, which he took gently and stepped out of the room. There was still questions running in her mind about what happened. Where did that smoke come from? How did her tencho end up in the back room?
"You can look now, Miine, I'm decent," came Ayame's voice from behind. Miine jumped and turned around to face him. His golden eyes were no longer holding that ernest expression, nor did his voice keep that excited tone that defined Ayame Sohma. He had on his serious mask and his voice was as low as ever, turning into a more cold tone.
"Tencho...what- what happened?" Miine asked, brushing away the thoughts of Ayame Sohma being serious and cold.
Ayame walked pass her, without a word, then turned around, his face now back to normal. He smiled at her, his hands clasped behind him. "Whatever you saw Miine, it was a trick I did, which I learned from one of my cousins," he lied, trying to make a straight face. He knew that if Miine found his snake form slithering across the room, he was in big trouble and he couldn't take the chance facing Akito and face Hatori of having to erase the memory of yet another person. He knew better than to give Hatori a hard time, what with his experience with his first love and all.
The front door opened once again, to reveal someone they didn't expect to see. Tohru and Kyo walked in, Kyo with his angry face and Tohru, with her smiling once. Ayame spread his arms wide open and smiled at his customers. "Ah, Tohru-kun! Kyon-kichi! It's a surprise to see you here!"
Tohru smiled and waved, while Kyo just turned his face away, taking a deep breath. Ayame could tell the orange haired cat was trying to hold his temper because Tohru was there. It was interesting to see Kyo 'calm' for once, without him having to blow up everytime he called the teen 'kyon-kichi.' It made him wonder, however, why he was here in the first place. "Kyon-kichi, why are you here, anyway?"
Tohru was the one to reply for Kyo. "Kyo-kun wanted to see the store too!" They approached the counter together. Tohru noticed Miine-san standing there, her eyes searching Ayame. She didn't know what happened between them, but she chose to close her mouth. "Konnichiwa, Miine-san!"
Miine stepped away from her stupor and looked up, replacing her curios expression into a smile. She joined Ayame behind the counter. "Konnichiwa, Tohru-chan!" She felt more sweat from the heat dropping down at the side of her face, which she quickly wiped away with her forearm.
Ayame raised his hand to introduce the orange haired teen to his wonderful assistant. "Miine, this is my cousin, Kyon-kichi!" he said.
"Hello, Kyon-kichi!" She raised her hand for a greeting. The orange haired teen shook her hand back and said, "Actually, it's Kyo, my name's not Kyon-kichi," he explained as calm as possible, taking a swift glare towards Ayame. The white haired man just grinned. Miine nodded, smiling. "Hai, Kyo-san. Konnichiwa!"
"Tohru-kun! Where is Yuki-kun?" Ayame asked, looking over the two teenager's shoulders, hoping to see his younger brother behind them.
"He had to do some things after school," Kyo explain briefly. He grimaced at the thought of standing up for the baka rat!
Ayame rested his chin on his hands and frowned dramatically. "Really?" He sighed. "I wished I was a better brother to him!" Dreamy eyes began to form on his face and the white haired man stayed like that, with his chin rested on his folded hands, until Kyo cleared his throat to break the silence. Ayame blinked and opened his eyes again. "Was I daydreaming again? Hm..." He glanced at something behind him. Tohru and Kyo both turned to where he was looking at and noticed a single and simple white dress with red swirls around it perched on a seat near the window. Ayame went to it and picked it up. "Miine! We got work to do! What do you think, Tohru? What should I do with this dress?" He showed the white dress to Tohru. Tohru blinked and thought for a moment of what to say. She was interrupted, when Ayame spoke again. "Miine! You think this dress goes with green or blue sweater?"
"Green! Red and green always go together, ne Tencho?" Miine replied quickly.
"How about we try it on Kyon-kichi?" Ayame replied. He turned to Kyo, who was beginning to feel nervous. "Ne, Kyon-kichi? What do you think?"
Kyo backed away and glanced at Tohru for help. Before the girl could figure out a way out for Kyo to be humiliated, Miine and Ayame were already there in front of him, with the dress in hand. "Since you have orange hair, red definitely goes with you!"
"Yes, definitely!" Miine replied, clasping her hands in front of her, smiling.
They both took another step, cornering Kyo in the counter. "Or maybe if we add orange to it as well and make it red and orange, it would go for both the shade of your hair AND the actual color of your hair!" Ayame replied, shoving the dress on him. Kyo struggled, but before he had a chance to release himself from the torture, the dress was suddenly on him. Miine and Ayame stood back and glanced at each other. "Ne, Miine? I think it suits him well, don't you think?"
Kyo glanced at Tohru for help.
"Ano...Ayame-san? Miine-san?" Tohru said with her small voice.
Both the two, who were named, 'eccentric' turned themselves around Tohru, unaware that Kyo magically escaped from the dress and moved as quickly as possible to Tohru's side. Kyo grabbed Tohru's hand and began walking away, towards the entrance. "It was nice meeting you, Miine-san, but we remembered we had homework, so we're gonna go now. Ja!" With that said, Kyo dragged Tohru out the door, never to be seen again.
"I think he LIKED the dress, Miine!" Ayame spoke, going back around behind the counter. "Ah!" He snapped his fingers happily and walked to the counter. "I think we better start working on the dresses!"
Miine nodded and joined him on the table in the back room. They both seated themselves across from each other, each taking a fabric in their hand and began working their magic in matching the colors of the fabric and planning out on what types of dresses the contestants would go for. Ayame and Miine worked all night, glad that no more customers were coming in, asking to make dresses for them (well for Miine anyway).
"Ah! I think we lost track of time, Miine! We better close the shop and get on home," Ayame replied, standing up and stretching.
Miine looked up, entranced with the essence of the fabric in her hands, while she worked. "Is it that time already, Ayame-san?" she asked, calling him by the name she rarely used. She glanced at her watch and read that it was already ten past ten. The brown haired girl fixed her round glasses on her nose and smiled up at Ayame. "I am not tired, tencho, but if you are, then you can go on home ahead of me and I can lock up for you after I finish the sleeve of this dress!" She stared into Ayame's odd, golden eyes and was surprised when she noticed his concerned look. Never in a million years has Ayame been worried about her. Ayame worried mostly about himself and would, rather dramatically of course, cry about why he was so 'beautiful' in everyone's eyes and everyone would get jealous of that.
"Are you sure?" asked Ayame, with uncertainty in his voice. "I would gladly stay behind and help you."
"Iiee, tencho, I have so many ideas working on this dress and I would rather be the one finishing it. Don't worry, I won't stay up long!" She gave him a reassuring smile.
Ayame was still unsure, but when he noticed the determination in her eyes, the white haired man couldn't help but be proud of that. Nodding, he picked up his things and turned around, taking another swift glance behind him to make sure she was all right, as if she was going to disappear from his sight and left the building quietly, making sure his noise wouldn't lose Miine's concentration. He couldn't bare to lose her. Not even one bit. She was as important to the store as she was to him. She was the most valuable person in the store. She had the knack for every fashion, knew the right colors and knew what not to wear everytime he asked how the clothes looked on him. Miine listened when he complained about Yuki and was always there when he needed her. Ayame blinked and pasued just in the corner of a street. He remembered now that their birthdays were nearby. It was a coincidence that both their birthdays were only a day apart. Ayame wanted to give something 'special' to her this time, with all the hard work she's been giving the store. He figured she needed something she can ACTUALLY use and keep, instead of giving her another necklace, which broke everytime she used it. Miie would apologize when she did and Ayame promised her that he would get something else. Yet, every year, he broke his promise. Miine was either hurt and kept the feelings all to herself or wasn't offended by it at all, because she would rather make him happy than anyone else. He shrugged, brushing the thought away. Ayame skipped happily down the street and headed back home to Sohma family estate, thinking about all the money they were going to earn once the dresses were finished.
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She had lied.
Ayame glanced at his watch. It was already seven in the morning, yet Miine Kuramae was still inside the store, her head resting on the table sleepily, her eyes closed in a dream. Small fabric was strewn on the floor, all with different collages of color and her arms were propped up on the table, one hand holding a needle sticking up and the other holding the same fabric she was working on last night. He was impressed with the work she has done with the dress from last night. She had finished the right sleeve she was working on last night and was already starting on the left one. Ayame noticed her glasses folded on the table. He smiled and leaned down. "Ohayo gozaimasu, Miine!" he spoke in her ear.
Miine sprang up, startled by the voice, her hair all disheveled and glanced up at Ayame, who was, as usual, smiling. "Oh! Tencho! I..." She looked around sleepily on the work in front of her. Ayame had no idea that Miine was quite pretty without her glasses.
"Did you work all night, Miine? Why didn't you tell me?" Ayame moved in front of her, examining her face curiously.
"I was going to...I mean, I closed the store if you were wondering but I..." she stopped short, when Ayame held up his hand to shush her. He walked up the girl and kneeled down, taking her hands in his large once. Miine looked down, curious about where he was going with this, while at the same time, admiring how smooth his hands were.
"Miine..." His face was serious for a while, then it broke into fits of sadness. Large drops of tears crept from his eyes and he began to weep dramatically. "OH! MIINE! YOU ARE SO KIND! YOU WANT TO MAKE THIS BEAUTIFUL STORE SUCCESSFUL!" He cleared his throat, noticing the way Miine was flinching when he screamed and decided to tone his voice down. "Gomen nasai, Miine."
Miine shook her head. "It's all right, Ayame-san! I would do anything for tencho!"
Ayame cried even more, resting his head on her lap. "OOOh! Miine! I'm so glad I hired you!"
"Ohayo!" came a familiar voice.
The white haired man suddenly sprang up, his face suddenly returning back to his normal and unusual self. "Ah! That sounds like Gure-san!" He helped Miine on her feet, who was still tired from last night and walked to the front counter, with his assistant following behind. The moment she entered, Shigure, a man whom she met only once, was curious about how he was looking at her. His eyes widened for a minute and his pupils grew even larger at the sight of her.
"Ah, Aya! Were you cheating on me!" Shigure pretended to frown, nodding his head at the the girl with no glasses.
Ayame glanced over his shoulder at Miine, then back at his cousin. "Oh, of course not, Gure-san! Never in a million years!"
Both men ran to each other, much to Miine's confusion and lifted up her hands to fix her glasses, but when she did, it wasn't there. She had forgotten that she removed her glasses when she started to feel sleepy last night. She wanted to go back and get her glasses, but before she could, Ayame had his hand on her shoulder, turning her around to make her face Shigure. "Doesn't she look kawaii without her glasses, Shigure?"
Miine blushed. Did Ayame-san just compliment her? She looked up, Ayame's cousin, Shigure examining her.
"Hai, hai! She's much cuter with that white dress she has on!" Shigure's eyes travelled from her face and all over body. Miine blushed an even beet red.
Ayame looked at her as well and stared. Miine looked down, not wanting to show both the men, who were staring at her for the longest time, how flushed she was. She had noticed that the red coloring on her face had already reached her neckline. Miine knew if she stopped flushing, they would certainly see where the blush led to. After what seemed like an hour of staring, Ayame and Shigure tore their eyes away from her and looked at each other again to continue their conversation they had last night. Ayame had told Shigure about what happened yesterday at the store, about how Ayame 'accidentally' hugged Miine and turned into a snake. "You're lucky you didn't get caught, Aya," Shigure spoke quietly. He looked over his cousin's shoulder and noticed that Miine wasn't there. With a sigh of relief, Shigure looked into his cousin's eyes and leaned closer to him. "What are you going to do if she finds out about your secret?"
Ayame shrugged. He had no answer to that question. If Akito DID find out about him transforming in front of her, then he would immediately send Hatori to remove her memories. That would mean, Miine would forget everything about the store and about him. Ayame would lose the most valuable person in the store.
Seconds after, Miine trudged back into the front desk, putting her thick, round glasses back on her face. She was unaware of a roll of tape that laid on the floor, that the girl, startled about the item on the floor, thinking it was something else and was tripping forward. She wanted to reach for something to hang on to and the only thing close enough in front of her was Ayame. Miine yelped and wrapped her arms around him. Her glasses fell off her nose and the last thing she remembered was falling on the floor, without any broken bones. Miine opened her eyes, her vision still blurred, but could still see what was in front of her.
"Oh dear, isn't this a wonderful predicament," hummed Shigure, watching as Miine backed away, apologizing to her tencho about her clumsiness. She felt her glasses on the floor as she backed as far away as she could behind the wall and put her glasses back on. "And here it is," Miine heard Shigure say again. She didn't know what he meant as she squinted her eyes, feeling the vision coming back to her and jumped when something white and small was staring at her. Miine felt her spine tingle.
"Na-nani?" She stared into its familiar, golden eyes. "Are- are you...?"
The snake felt his sweatdrop. He turnned his head and glanced up at Shigure. "Gure-san, can you please carry me up on the counter?"
Shigure kneeled down, picked up the talking snake, while Miine stared, shocked and confused and put the snake on the counter, just as it said.
"You...you..." Miine couldn't believe her eyes. Is that really... HIM?
"Hai, hai!" Ayame replied, not bothering to let Miine finish her question. He grinned. "Gure-san, oh, what on earth am I going to tell her now?"
Shigure whispered something in his ear.
"Oh! Hai!" Ayame turned his head back at Miine, who was slowly getting up. "You see, Miine, I am a snake and our family, the Sohma, have the Jyunishi curse. I turn into a snake whenever someone of the opposite sex embraces me. You see... Oh Miine! How bad of a man I am!" Ayame cried dramatically, his face turning into a pretend frown. Of course, he didn't want anyone to know that he was definitely sorry for lying to Miine all these months. Now all he's going to expect from her is a face of revulsion of knowing that her tencho turned into a tiny little snake.
Miine didn't say anything for a while, until Shigure cleared his throat to snap her out of her reverie. The girl looked back up, both man and snake looking at her. "I... I think I better get working on that dress again, tencho!" Miine spoke finally, putting her smile back on. A snake, huh? she thought. So, she wasn't dreaming when Ayame suddenly disappeared when the white haired man hugged her out of impulse and then appeared again in the back room instead. She glanced over her shoulder. The snake was gone and was replaced once again by the same man she knew and admired.
"Is there something you need for me to do, Miine?" came Ayame's voice once again. "Don't I have a lovely body?" Ayame moved from side to side, with his back to her, careful not to show her more than he intended. He wanted to tease her, make her see that she wasn't dreaming.
Miine jumped and blinked. She has been staring at Ayame's body for a long time that she hadn't noticed Ayame's cousin staring at her amusingly. The girl turned away and went back into the room.
"What are you going to do now, Aya?" Shigure asked, after Miine disappeared behind the room.
Ayame sighed, his shoulders sagging. "I guess I have to talk to her, ne, Gure-san?" He glanced at Shigure, who was handing him the clothes. Ayame quickly changed back into them and sighed. "Well, right now, we don't have time for that. We have to continue with the dresses Ringo-san was asking for!" He turned and pushed Shigure out the door. "Gomen, Gure-san! Until then, we will meet next time!"
Shigure nodded and smiled. "Don't forget me, Aya!"
"How can I forget?" Ayame grinned. With that said, Shigure turned and walked away, leaving Ayame to stand alone. He turned the sign on the door to 'closed' and went back to the counter, picking up some important things he needed to make the dresses he started on yesterday. He stopped and glanced at the door where Miine had disappeared to. Huffing, Ayame thought about what to say to Miine. Would she be able to understand?
GoodGurl: Woo! Finished! I hope you like! I know that Ayame is out of character and so is Miine, but I think (for me) that it's important that once in a while, Miine and Ayame have those serious moments. So, what do you think? I was just guessing with their ages. It's been a long time since I saw Fruits Basket and I'm just guessing with their birthdays too and to make the plot more interesting, I was thinking of having their birthdays just a day apart so to make the story going. ^_^ Anyway, what now? How will Ayame explain to Miine? How does Miine feel about this? I mean, come on, he has been secretive about him being cursed all these months yet, the dear kind Miine, chose not to ask and of course she chose not to ask after that 'incident.' Stay tuned!
Strange It May Seem
Chapter 1 - Golden Eyes
It was late in the afternoon and rather hot. The summer heat was itching its way around her body, making her feel exhausted. If she didn't leave the heat soon, she was going to pass out. Kuramae Miine walked through the park, carrying a large, brown paper bag in her arms. With one swift move, she swiped her arm on her forehead, wiping away the beads of sweat that formed around her eyes and nose, carefully lifting her glasses up to clean away the heat from her face. 'Perfect timing, Miine to be buying groceries on a hot summer day,' she thought. The brown haired girl, only twenty (Note: I dunno, I'm guessing her age), quickly walked across the small street and approached the apartment building, where she lived in on the second floor. She sighed, feeling the air conditioner brushing her hair once she entered the front entrance. Being old and rusted, the air conditioner blew once, then died again. Miine walked pass it without disappointment, feeling relieved that she was able to get rid of the heat from the slight air that came out of the machine, though not completely. She made it in front of her door, without passing out and unlocked it. As usual, she was welcomed by her cat, Akina, her short, fur rubbing against her leg the moment Miine stepped inside. Akina, a one year old siamese kitten, followed her to the kitchen to put away the groceries she bought. She was just removing the orange juice from the bag, desperate for something cold to drink, when her phone rang unexpectedly. Miine went to the living room, her phone standing on her small coffee table and answered the phone before the third ring rang out.
"Moshi moshi?" she spoke.
"Ah, yokata! You're home Miine!" came a desperate sounding voice on the other line. "I tried calling you before, but no one answered. I need you here right now!" She could hear excitement in his voice, but Miine wasn't sure if it was that.
"Tencho! What is it?" Miine, after almost trying not to pass out from the heat felt her eyes widen in alarm. She has never heard her tencho this desperate or excited before. She picked up a small piece of paper and, without bothering to find out what it was, began fanning herself with it, no matter how small air was coming out of it. Summer this year, was the hottest out of the other years here in Japan.
"No time to explain, just get here! Oh, I am so excited Miine! We got a lot of work to do in our hands!" Before Miine could ask anymore, he had hung up the phone. Sighing and turning back around towards the kitchen, trying not to stumble when Akina got in her way, she quickly put away all her groceries in their right cupboards. She quickly poured orange juice on a glass and drank it quickly, before putting it away in the refrigerator. Without bothering to change into her work uniform, since it was supposed to be her day off and since it was too hot anyway, she walked out of her apartment, locking the door before she left and made her way towards the store. She fixed her white dress, revealing her clean shaven legs to all the people that she walked by and was unaware of the stares men were giving her. Miine didn't care much. She was set on one goal and one goal only and that was to help her tencho anyway she can.
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"Ah, not there!" With a desperate attempt to keep the store running and convenient for the customers, he was ready to hire anyone who walked by the store and wasn't planning on buying anything- all of which were women. One girl, one who didn't know the difference between left and right was starting to irritate him, but before he could tell her off with a kind gesture, he heard the front door opening and a very familiar woman with round glasses and curly brown hair enter. "Miine! I'm so glad you're here!" He approached her, trying to hold the willingness of wanting to hug her so much because of her presence and smiled. Miine smiled in return, but he couldn't quite let go of the feeling that Miine didn't look well. "Miine, daijoubou?"
Miine smiled her best smile and nodded. "Hai!" It was even hotter in this room, but she knew better than to tell her tencho to turn up the air conditioner more. Ayame Sohma had trouble coping with the cold and Miine did not dare to ask why. For years, she never questioned him. He was kind enough to lend her work when she needed it the most and she did not want to jeopardize that. "I'll be all right, tencho. What-" Before she could ask, a man in his early twenties bumped his way through the door that was blocking and approached Ayame standing behind the counter. Miine just watched.
"Yes, I would also like this hemmed as well," the man spoke.
Ayame smiled and nodded. "Hai!" He glanced at Miine. "Come, Miine! We need to start work now!"
Forgetting that she was not supposed to be working today, Miine went to the counter, while at the same time, watched the dark haired man leave the store without acknowledging her. No longer could take the patience, Miine glanced at her tencho and eyed him curiously. "What's going on? Who was that man?"
Careful not to hug her, Ayame grabbed her arms and started bouncing up the down. Miine just went along with his excitement, the questions still running in her mind, waiting for Ayame to answer her question. "He is the owner of the club downtown! Somehow, he found out about my store and wants to purchase as many as we have and more if we make more!"
"What club, tencho?" She didn't need to ask that question, because she knew already what he was going to say. She knew she'd seen the man before. He was the same man she met her first day working for that club. Miine never told Ayame, but she used to work there as the custome designer for the drag contestants they held every summer. The name of that club was-
"Ringo Club!" He let go of her arm and jumped up and down, clapping his hands excitedly. "Yosh! Let's start working on it!" He grabbed her hand and led her in the back of the store, where stacks of papers were stacked together on a table. Fabric was everywhere, all with different types, silk, satin, cotton, on another table opposite to where the ordered forms were stacked and some were strewn on the floor. Miine was still thinking about that man, wondering why he never recognized her, when Ayame's loud voice startled her once again. "Miine! So, what do you think? These are the fabrics Ringo-san chose for the contestants next month."
"Next- month?" Miine's eyes widened. She had forgotten that every summer, the contest was held every July. The woman smiled when she noticed Ayame's desperate face and nodded. "Don't worry, tencho! I'll get working on it right away!"
Without thinking, Ayame, thankful for her generosity, wrapped his arms around her smaller and shorter form and pulled her in for an embrace. Water fell from his eyes dramatically and he scrunched his face in a sad manner. "Arigatou, Miine!" he said excitedly, before clouds of smoke engulfed them. Miine didn't know what happened then, after getting the mysterious smoke that appeared out of nowhere away from her view, her tencho disappeared out of sight. She looked down and found his pink-red robe, the one he usually wore everytime he went to work and the white pants made of silk, were on the floor. She looked around curiously, wondering where Ayame went off to. "Tencho?" she called. She walked around the counter, unaware that something small and white quickly edged its way past her and towards the back room.
"Um...Miine, could you please pass me my clothes on the floor?" a voice spoke from the back room.
Startled, Miine jerked her head up to the room. "Nani?"
"The clothes on the floor, could you pass them to me please?" he repeated.
Miine, without bothering to ask him what happened, despite the questions running through her mind about the incident just now, picked up Ayame's clothes from the ground and slowly walked to the back room. She was shocked to find him standing there, his back to her, nude, his long flowing, white hair untied behind his back, which now reached up to his...Miine quickly took her eyes away, blushing. Yes, she has worked with this man for years now and never has she seen him in THAT form before. She knew he was beautiful, even far more beautiful than the models she sees on television. Keeping her head turned away from Ayame, Miine handed him the clothes, which he took gently and stepped out of the room. There was still questions running in her mind about what happened. Where did that smoke come from? How did her tencho end up in the back room?
"You can look now, Miine, I'm decent," came Ayame's voice from behind. Miine jumped and turned around to face him. His golden eyes were no longer holding that ernest expression, nor did his voice keep that excited tone that defined Ayame Sohma. He had on his serious mask and his voice was as low as ever, turning into a more cold tone.
"Tencho...what- what happened?" Miine asked, brushing away the thoughts of Ayame Sohma being serious and cold.
Ayame walked pass her, without a word, then turned around, his face now back to normal. He smiled at her, his hands clasped behind him. "Whatever you saw Miine, it was a trick I did, which I learned from one of my cousins," he lied, trying to make a straight face. He knew that if Miine found his snake form slithering across the room, he was in big trouble and he couldn't take the chance facing Akito and face Hatori of having to erase the memory of yet another person. He knew better than to give Hatori a hard time, what with his experience with his first love and all.
The front door opened once again, to reveal someone they didn't expect to see. Tohru and Kyo walked in, Kyo with his angry face and Tohru, with her smiling once. Ayame spread his arms wide open and smiled at his customers. "Ah, Tohru-kun! Kyon-kichi! It's a surprise to see you here!"
Tohru smiled and waved, while Kyo just turned his face away, taking a deep breath. Ayame could tell the orange haired cat was trying to hold his temper because Tohru was there. It was interesting to see Kyo 'calm' for once, without him having to blow up everytime he called the teen 'kyon-kichi.' It made him wonder, however, why he was here in the first place. "Kyon-kichi, why are you here, anyway?"
Tohru was the one to reply for Kyo. "Kyo-kun wanted to see the store too!" They approached the counter together. Tohru noticed Miine-san standing there, her eyes searching Ayame. She didn't know what happened between them, but she chose to close her mouth. "Konnichiwa, Miine-san!"
Miine stepped away from her stupor and looked up, replacing her curios expression into a smile. She joined Ayame behind the counter. "Konnichiwa, Tohru-chan!" She felt more sweat from the heat dropping down at the side of her face, which she quickly wiped away with her forearm.
Ayame raised his hand to introduce the orange haired teen to his wonderful assistant. "Miine, this is my cousin, Kyon-kichi!" he said.
"Hello, Kyon-kichi!" She raised her hand for a greeting. The orange haired teen shook her hand back and said, "Actually, it's Kyo, my name's not Kyon-kichi," he explained as calm as possible, taking a swift glare towards Ayame. The white haired man just grinned. Miine nodded, smiling. "Hai, Kyo-san. Konnichiwa!"
"Tohru-kun! Where is Yuki-kun?" Ayame asked, looking over the two teenager's shoulders, hoping to see his younger brother behind them.
"He had to do some things after school," Kyo explain briefly. He grimaced at the thought of standing up for the baka rat!
Ayame rested his chin on his hands and frowned dramatically. "Really?" He sighed. "I wished I was a better brother to him!" Dreamy eyes began to form on his face and the white haired man stayed like that, with his chin rested on his folded hands, until Kyo cleared his throat to break the silence. Ayame blinked and opened his eyes again. "Was I daydreaming again? Hm..." He glanced at something behind him. Tohru and Kyo both turned to where he was looking at and noticed a single and simple white dress with red swirls around it perched on a seat near the window. Ayame went to it and picked it up. "Miine! We got work to do! What do you think, Tohru? What should I do with this dress?" He showed the white dress to Tohru. Tohru blinked and thought for a moment of what to say. She was interrupted, when Ayame spoke again. "Miine! You think this dress goes with green or blue sweater?"
"Green! Red and green always go together, ne Tencho?" Miine replied quickly.
"How about we try it on Kyon-kichi?" Ayame replied. He turned to Kyo, who was beginning to feel nervous. "Ne, Kyon-kichi? What do you think?"
Kyo backed away and glanced at Tohru for help. Before the girl could figure out a way out for Kyo to be humiliated, Miine and Ayame were already there in front of him, with the dress in hand. "Since you have orange hair, red definitely goes with you!"
"Yes, definitely!" Miine replied, clasping her hands in front of her, smiling.
They both took another step, cornering Kyo in the counter. "Or maybe if we add orange to it as well and make it red and orange, it would go for both the shade of your hair AND the actual color of your hair!" Ayame replied, shoving the dress on him. Kyo struggled, but before he had a chance to release himself from the torture, the dress was suddenly on him. Miine and Ayame stood back and glanced at each other. "Ne, Miine? I think it suits him well, don't you think?"
Kyo glanced at Tohru for help.
"Ano...Ayame-san? Miine-san?" Tohru said with her small voice.
Both the two, who were named, 'eccentric' turned themselves around Tohru, unaware that Kyo magically escaped from the dress and moved as quickly as possible to Tohru's side. Kyo grabbed Tohru's hand and began walking away, towards the entrance. "It was nice meeting you, Miine-san, but we remembered we had homework, so we're gonna go now. Ja!" With that said, Kyo dragged Tohru out the door, never to be seen again.
"I think he LIKED the dress, Miine!" Ayame spoke, going back around behind the counter. "Ah!" He snapped his fingers happily and walked to the counter. "I think we better start working on the dresses!"
Miine nodded and joined him on the table in the back room. They both seated themselves across from each other, each taking a fabric in their hand and began working their magic in matching the colors of the fabric and planning out on what types of dresses the contestants would go for. Ayame and Miine worked all night, glad that no more customers were coming in, asking to make dresses for them (well for Miine anyway).
"Ah! I think we lost track of time, Miine! We better close the shop and get on home," Ayame replied, standing up and stretching.
Miine looked up, entranced with the essence of the fabric in her hands, while she worked. "Is it that time already, Ayame-san?" she asked, calling him by the name she rarely used. She glanced at her watch and read that it was already ten past ten. The brown haired girl fixed her round glasses on her nose and smiled up at Ayame. "I am not tired, tencho, but if you are, then you can go on home ahead of me and I can lock up for you after I finish the sleeve of this dress!" She stared into Ayame's odd, golden eyes and was surprised when she noticed his concerned look. Never in a million years has Ayame been worried about her. Ayame worried mostly about himself and would, rather dramatically of course, cry about why he was so 'beautiful' in everyone's eyes and everyone would get jealous of that.
"Are you sure?" asked Ayame, with uncertainty in his voice. "I would gladly stay behind and help you."
"Iiee, tencho, I have so many ideas working on this dress and I would rather be the one finishing it. Don't worry, I won't stay up long!" She gave him a reassuring smile.
Ayame was still unsure, but when he noticed the determination in her eyes, the white haired man couldn't help but be proud of that. Nodding, he picked up his things and turned around, taking another swift glance behind him to make sure she was all right, as if she was going to disappear from his sight and left the building quietly, making sure his noise wouldn't lose Miine's concentration. He couldn't bare to lose her. Not even one bit. She was as important to the store as she was to him. She was the most valuable person in the store. She had the knack for every fashion, knew the right colors and knew what not to wear everytime he asked how the clothes looked on him. Miine listened when he complained about Yuki and was always there when he needed her. Ayame blinked and pasued just in the corner of a street. He remembered now that their birthdays were nearby. It was a coincidence that both their birthdays were only a day apart. Ayame wanted to give something 'special' to her this time, with all the hard work she's been giving the store. He figured she needed something she can ACTUALLY use and keep, instead of giving her another necklace, which broke everytime she used it. Miie would apologize when she did and Ayame promised her that he would get something else. Yet, every year, he broke his promise. Miine was either hurt and kept the feelings all to herself or wasn't offended by it at all, because she would rather make him happy than anyone else. He shrugged, brushing the thought away. Ayame skipped happily down the street and headed back home to Sohma family estate, thinking about all the money they were going to earn once the dresses were finished.
*****************************
She had lied.
Ayame glanced at his watch. It was already seven in the morning, yet Miine Kuramae was still inside the store, her head resting on the table sleepily, her eyes closed in a dream. Small fabric was strewn on the floor, all with different collages of color and her arms were propped up on the table, one hand holding a needle sticking up and the other holding the same fabric she was working on last night. He was impressed with the work she has done with the dress from last night. She had finished the right sleeve she was working on last night and was already starting on the left one. Ayame noticed her glasses folded on the table. He smiled and leaned down. "Ohayo gozaimasu, Miine!" he spoke in her ear.
Miine sprang up, startled by the voice, her hair all disheveled and glanced up at Ayame, who was, as usual, smiling. "Oh! Tencho! I..." She looked around sleepily on the work in front of her. Ayame had no idea that Miine was quite pretty without her glasses.
"Did you work all night, Miine? Why didn't you tell me?" Ayame moved in front of her, examining her face curiously.
"I was going to...I mean, I closed the store if you were wondering but I..." she stopped short, when Ayame held up his hand to shush her. He walked up the girl and kneeled down, taking her hands in his large once. Miine looked down, curious about where he was going with this, while at the same time, admiring how smooth his hands were.
"Miine..." His face was serious for a while, then it broke into fits of sadness. Large drops of tears crept from his eyes and he began to weep dramatically. "OH! MIINE! YOU ARE SO KIND! YOU WANT TO MAKE THIS BEAUTIFUL STORE SUCCESSFUL!" He cleared his throat, noticing the way Miine was flinching when he screamed and decided to tone his voice down. "Gomen nasai, Miine."
Miine shook her head. "It's all right, Ayame-san! I would do anything for tencho!"
Ayame cried even more, resting his head on her lap. "OOOh! Miine! I'm so glad I hired you!"
"Ohayo!" came a familiar voice.
The white haired man suddenly sprang up, his face suddenly returning back to his normal and unusual self. "Ah! That sounds like Gure-san!" He helped Miine on her feet, who was still tired from last night and walked to the front counter, with his assistant following behind. The moment she entered, Shigure, a man whom she met only once, was curious about how he was looking at her. His eyes widened for a minute and his pupils grew even larger at the sight of her.
"Ah, Aya! Were you cheating on me!" Shigure pretended to frown, nodding his head at the the girl with no glasses.
Ayame glanced over his shoulder at Miine, then back at his cousin. "Oh, of course not, Gure-san! Never in a million years!"
Both men ran to each other, much to Miine's confusion and lifted up her hands to fix her glasses, but when she did, it wasn't there. She had forgotten that she removed her glasses when she started to feel sleepy last night. She wanted to go back and get her glasses, but before she could, Ayame had his hand on her shoulder, turning her around to make her face Shigure. "Doesn't she look kawaii without her glasses, Shigure?"
Miine blushed. Did Ayame-san just compliment her? She looked up, Ayame's cousin, Shigure examining her.
"Hai, hai! She's much cuter with that white dress she has on!" Shigure's eyes travelled from her face and all over body. Miine blushed an even beet red.
Ayame looked at her as well and stared. Miine looked down, not wanting to show both the men, who were staring at her for the longest time, how flushed she was. She had noticed that the red coloring on her face had already reached her neckline. Miine knew if she stopped flushing, they would certainly see where the blush led to. After what seemed like an hour of staring, Ayame and Shigure tore their eyes away from her and looked at each other again to continue their conversation they had last night. Ayame had told Shigure about what happened yesterday at the store, about how Ayame 'accidentally' hugged Miine and turned into a snake. "You're lucky you didn't get caught, Aya," Shigure spoke quietly. He looked over his cousin's shoulder and noticed that Miine wasn't there. With a sigh of relief, Shigure looked into his cousin's eyes and leaned closer to him. "What are you going to do if she finds out about your secret?"
Ayame shrugged. He had no answer to that question. If Akito DID find out about him transforming in front of her, then he would immediately send Hatori to remove her memories. That would mean, Miine would forget everything about the store and about him. Ayame would lose the most valuable person in the store.
Seconds after, Miine trudged back into the front desk, putting her thick, round glasses back on her face. She was unaware of a roll of tape that laid on the floor, that the girl, startled about the item on the floor, thinking it was something else and was tripping forward. She wanted to reach for something to hang on to and the only thing close enough in front of her was Ayame. Miine yelped and wrapped her arms around him. Her glasses fell off her nose and the last thing she remembered was falling on the floor, without any broken bones. Miine opened her eyes, her vision still blurred, but could still see what was in front of her.
"Oh dear, isn't this a wonderful predicament," hummed Shigure, watching as Miine backed away, apologizing to her tencho about her clumsiness. She felt her glasses on the floor as she backed as far away as she could behind the wall and put her glasses back on. "And here it is," Miine heard Shigure say again. She didn't know what he meant as she squinted her eyes, feeling the vision coming back to her and jumped when something white and small was staring at her. Miine felt her spine tingle.
"Na-nani?" She stared into its familiar, golden eyes. "Are- are you...?"
The snake felt his sweatdrop. He turnned his head and glanced up at Shigure. "Gure-san, can you please carry me up on the counter?"
Shigure kneeled down, picked up the talking snake, while Miine stared, shocked and confused and put the snake on the counter, just as it said.
"You...you..." Miine couldn't believe her eyes. Is that really... HIM?
"Hai, hai!" Ayame replied, not bothering to let Miine finish her question. He grinned. "Gure-san, oh, what on earth am I going to tell her now?"
Shigure whispered something in his ear.
"Oh! Hai!" Ayame turned his head back at Miine, who was slowly getting up. "You see, Miine, I am a snake and our family, the Sohma, have the Jyunishi curse. I turn into a snake whenever someone of the opposite sex embraces me. You see... Oh Miine! How bad of a man I am!" Ayame cried dramatically, his face turning into a pretend frown. Of course, he didn't want anyone to know that he was definitely sorry for lying to Miine all these months. Now all he's going to expect from her is a face of revulsion of knowing that her tencho turned into a tiny little snake.
Miine didn't say anything for a while, until Shigure cleared his throat to snap her out of her reverie. The girl looked back up, both man and snake looking at her. "I... I think I better get working on that dress again, tencho!" Miine spoke finally, putting her smile back on. A snake, huh? she thought. So, she wasn't dreaming when Ayame suddenly disappeared when the white haired man hugged her out of impulse and then appeared again in the back room instead. She glanced over her shoulder. The snake was gone and was replaced once again by the same man she knew and admired.
"Is there something you need for me to do, Miine?" came Ayame's voice once again. "Don't I have a lovely body?" Ayame moved from side to side, with his back to her, careful not to show her more than he intended. He wanted to tease her, make her see that she wasn't dreaming.
Miine jumped and blinked. She has been staring at Ayame's body for a long time that she hadn't noticed Ayame's cousin staring at her amusingly. The girl turned away and went back into the room.
"What are you going to do now, Aya?" Shigure asked, after Miine disappeared behind the room.
Ayame sighed, his shoulders sagging. "I guess I have to talk to her, ne, Gure-san?" He glanced at Shigure, who was handing him the clothes. Ayame quickly changed back into them and sighed. "Well, right now, we don't have time for that. We have to continue with the dresses Ringo-san was asking for!" He turned and pushed Shigure out the door. "Gomen, Gure-san! Until then, we will meet next time!"
Shigure nodded and smiled. "Don't forget me, Aya!"
"How can I forget?" Ayame grinned. With that said, Shigure turned and walked away, leaving Ayame to stand alone. He turned the sign on the door to 'closed' and went back to the counter, picking up some important things he needed to make the dresses he started on yesterday. He stopped and glanced at the door where Miine had disappeared to. Huffing, Ayame thought about what to say to Miine. Would she be able to understand?
GoodGurl: Woo! Finished! I hope you like! I know that Ayame is out of character and so is Miine, but I think (for me) that it's important that once in a while, Miine and Ayame have those serious moments. So, what do you think? I was just guessing with their ages. It's been a long time since I saw Fruits Basket and I'm just guessing with their birthdays too and to make the plot more interesting, I was thinking of having their birthdays just a day apart so to make the story going. ^_^ Anyway, what now? How will Ayame explain to Miine? How does Miine feel about this? I mean, come on, he has been secretive about him being cursed all these months yet, the dear kind Miine, chose not to ask and of course she chose not to ask after that 'incident.' Stay tuned!