Author's Note: Hmm… I'm not sure how exactly this story will go… But I hope it's interesting… And… I think Ayame is out of character… I'm trying to get him back into character, but it doesn't seem to be working… Come to think of it, Mine's out of character too… Argh…
Title: Ayame Sohma
Rating: PG
Spoilers: Episode 20 of the anime… and some other stuff…
Summary: Mine is Ayame's best friend. Will she be able to handle knowing his secret?
Disclaimer: I don't own Ayame (*sigh*), Mine, or anything else in Fruits Basket.
Setting: This story takes place after episode 20.
*** = setting change
*~* = begin flashback
~*~ = end flashback
italics = emphasis
italics = thoughts
~Mine~
Ayame and Mine were preparing to leave Shigure's house.
"Yuki," Ayame said in one last effort to connect with his brother. "When will you be visiting again?"
Yuki didn't say anything.
Tohru piped up, "Oh, Yuki-kun, we have to see Ayame-san's shop again! It was so nice last time!"
Yuki nodded. "I don't know when I will have the time, though."
"Okay," Ayame replied. "But if you don't come, I'll be forced to come here all the time…"
Yuki's eyes widened and he nodded repeatedly. "Don't worry. I will, I will."
Ayame grinned. He and Mine said their goodbyes (Ayame: "Until next time, Gure-san!" Shigure: "I'll miss you dearly, A-ya!") and exited Shigure's house.
***
Ayame was lying in bed, half-awake. He couldn't seem to fall completely asleep. He started thinking about Yuki again. Why wasn't I a better brother to him? It's all my fault. It's because of me that Yuki can barely tolerate me. The only reason that he will even speak to me is because of Tohru. She's helping him in a way that I never could.
He sighed and rolled over onto his side. His thoughts drifted to his assistant. Tohru's helping Yuki like Mine helped me. Mine… she understands me. I wish I could let her know about our family secret. Things would be easier then. But only if she accepts it.
A blast of cold air hit Ayame. He got up and padded over to his window, which he had forgotten to close earlier. He shut it, then went back to bed, shivering slightly. It's cold, he thought, getting back under the covers. Ayame didn't like the cold. As a cold-blooded creature, Ayame the snake would become weak if the weather was too cold. That was why he always made sure the temperature in his shop didn't get too low. If it did, he would turn into a snake, possibly in front of Mine. He didn't want her to find out and possibly go insane, like Momiji's mother had. It would change everything. Even if Hatori erased Mine's memory, Ayame would still know how Mine had reacted. And there was also the wrath of Akito to think about. Besides, he didn't want Hatori to have to erase anymore memories. It would just remind him of how he had had to erase Kana's memory.
Hatori was a good friend. But he wasn't the same as Mine. Hatori had his own problems. Mine was always there for Ayame. Ayame felt a little guilty that when he and she talked, they usually talked about him instead of her.
Why couldn't he fall asleep? Ayame started playing with a strand of his long hair. He let his mind wander for a moment. He thought about what he should say to Shigure the next time they met, which dresses needed to be altered, why Haru was always getting lost… Finally, he came across a very vivid memory—the first time he had cried in front of Mine.
*~*
"Tencho, what's wrong?" Mine asked, concerned. She had just come back from a short vacation that Ayame had urged her to take.
Ayame had been in the middle of sewing something. Now he was staring off into space, and his eyes looked moist.
Mine apparently knew that this change in Ayame's demeanor could only mean that something was bothering him, so she sat down beside him. "Are you all right?"
"Yuki…" he whispered.
Mine tentatively put a hand on Ayame's shoulder. "Tencho?"
Ayame looked at her. "I'm a bad person—a bad brother."
"No, you're not," Mine said, trying to reassure him. "After all, you hired me when no one would give me a chance."
"But Yuki—he's my brother…" Ayame put his head in his hands. He felt Mine slide her hand over so that her arm was around his shoulders. He tensed. "You promised," he said in a soft voice.
Mine pulled her arm away.
Ayame had only wanted to remind her that she couldn't hug him, but for some reason, there was a tone of regret in his voice. "You promised," he said again, this time so softly that only he could hear. He realized that he wanted to be comforted, but he couldn't let her hold him, because then she would discover his deep, dark secret. That thought, along with the idea that he had failed his brother, caused the tears to start flowing.
"Tencho?" Mine's voice penetrated the shield of whitish-silver hair. "Are you—?"
She never finished her sentence, for Ayame fell quite suddenly onto the floor.
"Tencho?!" Mine knelt down next to him and brushed away the strands of hair that covered his face. "You're crying."
Ayame was crying—no, he was weeping. He was thinking that it wasn't fair that the one person who could comfort him couldn't do it in the way that he wanted her to. He wanted to be hugged, to be held. But that stupid curse ruined everything.
Mine gently lifted Ayame's head and put it on her lap. She had promised not to hug him, but she would do anything else that she could to help him.
"Mine…"
"Shh…" Mine stroked Ayame's hair. "I'm here. I'm here, Ayame." It was the first time she had called him by his first name.
Ayame looked up at her. "Thank you," he said quietly.
~*~
Ayame smiled. Mine was so kind. And she hadn't told anyone that he had cried, which was good. Ayame Sohma, crying?
Ayame buried his face in his pillow. If he pretended that his pillow was Mine's lap, then maybe he could go to sleep after all.
***
Mine entered Ayame's shop the next day, ready to work. She closed the door behind her and paused. She could hear something. Someone was singing.
She looked around and followed the voice to one of the back rooms. "Tencho?" she said, surprised.
Ayame was sewing lace onto a dress. He was singing—humming the parts that he didn't know the words to—and looking very happy. "Good morning, Mine!" he said, standing up and grasping her hands. He pulled her around the room so that they were doing a little dance, and a strange one at that.
Mine laughed. "Why are you so cheerful today?"
"It's a wonderful day!" Ayame exclaimed. "Don't you ever just have those days where you feel great and you don't know why?"
"Well, I suppose so, but—"
"Hello?"
Mine and Ayame both turned at the sound of a man's voice. They blinked. The man blinked and cleared his throat. "Hello, sir!" Ayame said, releasing Mine. "What can I do for you?"
Ayame led the man out to the front, listening intently to the man's instructions. "Yes… yes… I'm sure we can do that… Great! It should be ready in a few days!"
Meanwhile, Mine had taken over sewing the lace onto the dress that Ayame had been working on a few minutes ago. She inspected Ayame's stitches. It was rare to find a man who was gifted with a needle. Ayame was that kind of man.
Ayame flounced back into the room. Mine looked up at him. She thought that Ayame's flashiness manifested itself physically. Ayame had the most peculiar golden eyes. They were strange, but they looked nice on him. And his hair was a strange color too. Mine used to wonder if he dyed it, but she had never found his roots to be a different color from the rest of his hair, so she had to believe that it was naturally like that. And besides, Ayame had said it was his natural hair color. There was no evidence to disprove his claim. Why would he lie to her about such a small matter, anyway? And yet, the possibility was still there.
Ayame Sohma had secrets, and Mine was dying to know what they were. But she wouldn't pry; if he wanted her to know something, he would tell her. She was his friend, not a spy. She hoped that, eventually, he'd be able to tell her everything.
***
Six months after that day, Ayame decided to take a few days off of work. In fact, he decided to close the store for a week. Yuki had come to visit three times in that time, twice with Tohru, and once with Tohru, Kyo, and Shigure.
Ayame was happy. The weather wasn't too cold, his relationship with his brother was getting better, and he had lots of business. Actually, that last one was one of the reasons why he was taking a break. Too much work and not enough fun for Ayame.
Ayame decided to yet again visit his dear friend and cousin Shigure. He showed up at Shigure's house at six o'clock in the morning and sneaked in. Kyo was up and about, so while he looked in the refrigerator for some milk, Ayame headed for Shigure's room.
He knelt down next to Shigure's bed and started poking Shigure.
Shigure groaned and moved away from the source of the poking.
"Gure-san…"
"Huh?"
Ayame poked Shigure one last time, causing him to sit up in bed.
"A-ya?! What are you doing here?" Shigure asked, surprised.
Ayame grinned. "I was bored again."
Shigure got a mischievous look on his face. "Let's go surprise Kyo-kun and Yuki-kun!"
***
"Boo!"
Kyo jumped straight up in the air, nearly hitting his head on the ceiling. He whirled around, facing Ayame and Shigure, who were grinning like fools.
Kyo sweatdropped. "Do you two live to torture me?"
"Possibly."
Tohru, having heard the commotion, rushed down the stairs. "Ayame-san!" she said, stunned. "I didn't know you were coming today."
"It was a spur of the moment thing," Ayame answered, suddenly at her side. He bent close to her. "Did you not want me to come?"
"Oh, no, no!" Tohru assured him. "I was just startled, that's all!" She looked past him. "Yuki-kun, you're up!"
Ayame turned around. "Yuki! My darling brother!"
Yuki, who was most definitely not a morning person, was standing behind Ayame with his eyes wide open. "What are you doing here?"
"It was a surprise! I came for absolutely no reason at all!"
"…"
"Oh, come on, Yuki-kun," Shigure said, grinning as usual, "A-ya's not so bad."
Yuki glared at him.
***
Ayame said in a singsong voice, "Yuki…"
"Yes?" Yuki turned to look at his older brother, who had decided to join the household for breakfast.
Ayame struck a pose. "I think I'll walk with you to school!"
Kyo nearly choked on his breakfast. Tohru cast a concerned glance in his direction.
Yuki's voice had a dangerous edge to it. "What?"
"Yeah, it'll be fun! I've never seen your high school!"
Shigure sighed contentedly at the thought of pretty high school girls. "I'd love to go with you, but Mit-chan will be hounding me again today…"
***
Yuki, Kyo, Tohru, and Ayame (impeccably dressed, of course) approached Kaibara High School. They didn't notice the girls of the Yuki fanclub following them.
"Who is that?"
"He looks just like Yuki."
"He's gorgeous!"
Girls inside of the school pressed their faces up against the windows and girls outside pushed each other to get a better view of the light-haired man walking next to the famous Yuki Sohma.
Ayame looked around and laughed heartily. "This place is great. And the students are just like the students I knew back in the day," Ayame said, noticing the stares that he and Yuki were getting.
Kyo was getting nervous. Too many people were staring in their direction, it seemed. Tohru, who was standing just in front of him, waved at someone. "Hatsuharu-san! Momiji-kun!"
Ayame heard her and looked where she was looking. "Oh. That's right. They're here too."
"You!"
They all turned to see Makoto Takei standing in front of them, looking uptight as usual. "Who are you?" he asked Ayame. "You're not a student here!"
Ayame said grandly, "Who am I, you ask? Why, I am the incredible Ayame Sohma, cousin of Hatsuharu, Momiji, and Kyo Sohma. Oh, and by the way, brother of Yuki Sohma."
That got the attention of quite a few girls (and maybe some guys).
"You—you're related to Yuki?" Makoto asked, stuttering.
"Of course! Don't you see the resemblance?" Ayame pulled Yuki close to him.
Yuki narrowed his eyes. "Let go of me," he said darkly.
Ayame moved away from him. Suddenly, a large group of teenage girls was gathered around Ayame and Yuki. Tohru, Kyo, Haru, and Momiji stared at the crazy girls for a moment. Kyo walked away, deciding to go to class instead of risking accidentally bumping into a girl and changing into a cat.
Ayame, on the other hand, was relishing the attention. "Yes, girls, I'm Yuki's brother. Hmm…" He paused and looked out at the crowd. "Can you all do something for me?" Everyone leaned in close to listen. Ayame pulled out a pack of business cards. "Take some and give the rest to all the boys you see." He smiled, and several girls swooned. "I expect to see you all at my shop in the next few weeks! Well, after it reopens on Monday, of course. If you come, I'm sure you'll be pleased with my work!" He laughed pompously. "Well, of course you will! I am me, after all!"
Makoto yelled at him, "No soliciting!"
Ayame's response was to hand him a card.
Yuki's eye started to twitch. He said aloud, "Excuse me, but I'll be going to class now. I don't want to be late."
Some girls moved aside to let Yuki pass. Relieved, he made his way safely over to where Tohru, Haru, and Momiji were standing. "Come on," he said, walking toward the school building. "If something happens, it'll be nii-san's own fault."
Meanwhile, the principal of the school was heading toward the large clump of students milling about outside. "What's going on here?" he asked, pushing his way to the center of the crowd. He caught a flash of long, silver hair and—without knowing why—suddenly felt a chill go down his spine. He pushed through the mass of students and finally spotted the man standing in the middle. "You!"
Ayame turned to look at the principal. "You know, that's what he said a little while ago," he said, gesturing to Makoto.
The principal said in a hollow sort of voice, "Ayame Sohma."
"That's me." Ayame struck a pose, mostly for the benefit of the girls.
"I thought I was rid of you forever." The principal fell to his knees. "But now you've come back to haunt me." He started twitching, much like Yuki had a few minutes earlier. "Your hair's longer, you're taller, and your clothes are different, but it's you."
"Nice to see you too."
The bell rang. The students rushed off to their classes.
"Why?" the principal continued. "Why me?"
Ayame stared at him in puzzlement. "What's wrong?" He stepped forward.
The principal looked up at him in fear. "No! Stay away! Get back!" He tried to crawl away, but because his gaze was locked on Ayame's face, he moved away on his backside. "You—I wanted you to cut your hair long ago, but apparently, you never took my advice."
"Why would I want to ruin these magnificent tresses?" Ayame looked at a lock of his hair. "I like my hair the way it is. I mean, just look at it! And feel it! Isn't it nice? The trick is to use the right shampoo and conditioner—"
"Uh—uh huh." The principal was still trying to get away from Ayame. "And you talk the same way—like you did at that meeting."
"What meeting?" Ayame pondered for a moment. "Oh, that meeting." He chortled. "That day was so fun."
"Not for me, it wasn't."
"Well, I'll be leaving now. Wonderful to see you again!" Ayame walked off, oblivious to the fact that the principal was curled up in a little ball on the ground, mumbling incoherently to himself.
***
"Welcome home, Yuki-kun, Tohru-kun, Kyo-kun," Shigure greeted the three teenagers as they entered the house. "How was your day? Anything happen at school?"
Yuki was standing at the doorway. "Not too much. A few things before school with nii-san, but otherwise nothing." He was about to go to his room when he remembered something. "Oh, the only other thing was that the principal was found on the ground outside talking to himself. He appears to have had a nervous breakdown."
***
"Mine! Mine, are you home?"
It was afternoon. Ayame had decided to pay his assistant a surprise visit (AN: He seems to be doing that a lot, doesn't he?). At the moment, he was standing in front of Mine's apartment door, trying to find out if she was even there.
The door opened slightly and Mine's face appeared. "Tencho?"
"Mine! Can I come in?"
"Um… Okay." Mine opened the door wider to let him through.
Ayame entered the apartment and looked at Mine. Her hair was down in soft waves over her shoulders. She was wearing a plain blue outfit. "Mine, you look nice," Ayame said.
Mine blushed. "Thank you."
Ayame smiled, then headed for the living room. "I just came over to tell you about the very interesting adventures I had today."
Mine said, "Tencho, I have to tell you something before you go in the—" It didn't do any good, because Ayame was already in the living room and had discovered what Mine wanted to tell him.
"Oh. You have company." Ayame stared at the dark-haired man sitting on Mine's couch, who stared back at him in confusion.
"Mine-san? What's going on?" the man asked.
Mine smiled apologetically. "Satoshi, this is my employer, Ayame Sohma. Tencho, this is Satoshi Takemura."
Ayame tried to smile, but couldn't quite manage it. "Nice—nice to meet you," he said, extending his hand. Satoshi shook it.
"You too."
Ayame seated himself in a chair. "Am I interrupting something?" he asked, looking like he wasn't going to leave even if he was interrupting something.
"Well—" Satoshi started to say. Mine interrupted him.
"Oh, no, tencho. Satoshi and I were just talking."
"Ah." Ayame propped up his chin on his hand. "So…"
"So."
An uncomfortable silence fell over the three of them. Mine finally spoke up. "Do you want something to eat?"
"That would be nice," Satoshi replied.
"Fine," Ayame said.
"Okay," Mine answered, going to the kitchen.
Ayame stared at Satoshi for a minute. Satoshi finally noticed and asked him why he was looking at him.
"What are your intentions toward Mine?" Ayame asked.
"Eh? I don't think that's any of your business…"
"Mine is very important to me, and if you hurt her…"
"Is that a threat?"
"I'm not a threat-making person." Ayame was oddly serious for once. He didn't sound as carefree and jovial as he usually did.
"Then what are you saying?"
"I'm saying that you are not to hurt Mine in any way."
"You're asking me not to hurt Mine?" Satoshi asked.
"No," Ayame replied. "I'm telling you not to hurt her."
"Here are the snacks," Mine said, coming into the room with a tray of food. "What's going on?" she asked, seeing the solemn looks on both men's faces.
"Mine, I think I'll go now," Satoshi said, standing up. "And I—I don't think we should see each other anymore. It's just not working out."
Mine blinked. "Oh—okay."
"I'll show myself out." Satoshi left.
When she heard the door slam shut, Mine sat down heavily on the couch. "I don't understand. Why—why did he—?" She looked up at Ayame. "Tencho, what happened between you two?"
Ayame's golden eyes focused on her. "I'm sorry, Mine. I'm afraid I was rather harsh to him."
"What did you say?"
"I told him not to hurt you. The way I said it may have sounded like a threat." Ayame sighed and moved over to the couch. "Are you all right?"
Mine looked down at her feet. "I think so. We were only casually seeing each other, after all." She smiled at Ayame. "What did you say you came here for?"
"Oh. I wanted to tell you about my day."
"All right." Mine tucked her legs in underneath herself and prepared herself for Ayame's story.
"Well, I woke up early this morning, and I was bored, so I went to Gure-san's house. We scared Kyon-kichi and then—"
***
"Well, then the principal showed up and guess who it was? Yeah, the same one who wanted me to cut my hair back in my own high school days!" Ayame was back to his normal self. "I guess he took a job at Kaibara High after I left school. He was acting very strange, though. I'm not sure why…"
Mine smiled softly. "You did all that in the morning?"
"Yep. Just wait till you hear about lunchtime!"
***
"It's getting late," Ayame observed, glancing at the clock. "Maybe I should go."
Mine looked out the window. "Tencho, it's starting to rain. And it's cold," she said, finally noticing that the temperature had dropped.
Ayame wondered what he was going to do. The cold would most likely cause him to turn into a snake. Because it had been quite warm in the morning, he had brought only a light jacket. It wasn't enough to keep him warm enough on the way home. Darn those weird freak storms.
Mine looked at him. She knew how Ayame disliked the cold. "I don't think you should go out in this weather. Do you want to stay here for the night?"
Ayame stared at her. "Here?"
Mine nodded. "I don't see why not. You can sleep on the couch, I suppose."
Ayame smiled gratefully. "Thank you, Mine. Oh, but I don't have a change of clothes," he said.
"Well, I don't have anything that will fit you," Mine replied. "You're much taller than I am."
"I guess I can make do," Ayame replied. "I'll just have to sleep in my clothes." (AN: *gasp*)
"I'll go get you some blankets."
TO BE CONTINUED…
Author's Note: Eh? Huh? Wha? Weird…
BIG THANK YOU TO: lostlight, Azn ChibiSweetpea, Emmi-chan, Neko-P, Silent Sage, Pseudonym Sylphmuse, Chi-san, White Meteor, Lauren, and all the anonymous reviewers!
Replies to:
Neko-P: Yeah, I'm not sure why I didn't write more for that part… Sorry! I kinda wanted to move on to the next chapter… *grin*
Dark Phoenix: I should have known that, but I didn't… And plus, the hugging thing is part of my plot, so yeah… But thank you for taking the time to point that out!
Everyone else: Thank you so much for reviewing. I'm kinda proud of this fic. I'm trying to make it really good. Your comments are really encouraging!