Disclaimer: I do not own Fruits Basket.
Easily Amused: Cheesy 80's Movies Killed Elvis
A great actor once said in a movie "Elvis didn't die, he just went home!" Sure, the movie was about men in black suits who rid Earth of the scum of the universe. And sure, the actor was Tommy Lee Jones but I am quite the believer in such a theory. I don't go around saying that to everyone. I mean, let's face it. New Orleans would kick me out of the city if I went around saying Elvis is still alive. And I know he isn't. But I do believe that are things beyond what you see everyday. For example, love. You can kind of see love all over the place. Mothers love their children, well most of them do. You see couples disregarding the rules of PDA because they supposedly love each other. And then there's the other kind of love. The can't eat, can't sleep, change the stars, boom! it just kind of happened love. You didn't plan on ever asking the guy out and never did. You just spend time with them and then the BOOM! theory pops in. It just kind of happened.
What am I saying? Love? Me? I'm not capable of enacting such a thing. I'll give my life's savings to the first guy who can love me, which is obviously true love because I have exactly five bucks to my name in that account. Yes, I have a spending problem. Listen to me, babbling on about Elvis and money. As of right now, i'm laying awake in a hot room. I don't even know if the stupid air conditioner works. Maybe it's the hundreds of blankets Becky persuaded me to take for the night. She thought I needed the security. Security? Yeah, right. Security was about to give me a heat stroke. I get up out of bed and walk down to the lobby for a late night visit with Jim. Jim is the night watchman and just so happens to have a Japanese wife that makes a killer cup of tea. She sends Mr. American Jim with a big thermos full of the stuff. You can imagine my surprise when I woke up one night to find the middle aged man and was even more surprised at the fact he would share such a tasty treasure.
It was colder outside than I had expected. Luckily, I learned from the Sohma household that a robe is needed whenever you step out of your room. Otherwise, you risk a nice flashing of your chest and a star spot on Girls Gone Wild!: Japan Edition. And of course, Jim was right there at the front door, resting against the brick wall. I poked my head out of the murderous rotating door. I hated that stupid door.
"Well hi there kiddo!" I wish this man could've impregnated my mother to have me instead of my own father. A little mean, perhaps. But at least Jim would be there half the time. "I take it you came down for some tea?" I gave a corny kiddy grin and held out the complimentary plastic cup from the bathroom I had so diligently hidden for the occasion. We sat there in silence for awhile, Jim keeping a lookout and I, getting quite sleepy from the tea's drowsy like effects.
"What does your wife put in this stuff? It always manages to put me to sleep." Jim smiled.
"Sake and ginger."
"Sake?" I repositioned myelf on the large planter that served as a chair for my late night visits.
"Japanese alcohol. Keeps me awake though. Not like American alcohol." I curled up on the cold stone.
"I can handle American alcohol though. Did you know I have never gotten drunk in my life?" Jim chuckled and shifted his weight. He wasn't a heavy man, quite muscular on the contrary.
"Aren't you under age?"
"I come from a family of rednecks and yankees. It's alcohol during the holidays on either side of the states. As long as i'm supervised by them, they don't really care. I haven't given them a reason to distrust me, yet."
"Yet?" I cringed under Jim's fatherly gaze.
"Well....I have a problem. And I can't tell my family about it."
"Well i'm not family."
"This is true." I was slowly starting to feel the affects of the sake. My senses were at full alert now. I think I was getting a Japanese buzz. "Well....I think i'm falling for this guy. But he's way older. It's legal and i'm turning 19 in like a month but still. And he has a small problem. It's fixable...but only if he obliges. And I don't think he will."
"Okay..." Jim was trying desperately to understand me. "You know, my father fought in WWII...and when I brought home my wife for the first time, he went ballistic. He was still affected by the loss in the bombing of Pearl Harbor."
"But your wife wasn't even alive then. She had nothing to do with it."
"I know that. You know that. My wife knows that. But my father....didn't. At least not for awhile. The point is, I took her anyway. So he could see that she wasn't a spy conspiring for another Pearl Harbor. If you love this guy like I think you're saying you do...you'll do both him and your family a favor by telling them."
"I don't even know if he loves me. I don't even know if I love him. Sure, the attraction's there. Lord knows I want nothing more than to just strip him down and m-"
"THE point is...you should let them know anyway." I stood up and stretched, not even realizing how much better I felt to get these things off my chest.
"Jim...as always...it's been a pleasure. I look forward to tomorrow night and your wife's tea." Jim gave me a hard pat on the back.
"Just invest in sleeping pills, Dusty."
"Those things are addictive. I already have a problem with Pixie Stix. I don't need to go into rehab for sleeping pills also."
"So is alcohol."
"So smart..." Jim and I parted and I finally felt like I could get a good night's rest.
"Rise and shine sleeping beauty!!" Sunlight flooded my senses and Becky's overly eager voice wasn't helping my run in with a Japanese alcoholic beverage. My head was pounding like a hammer on a nail and the last thing I wanted was to be woken up. "I swear, Dusty. You sleep in until the strangest hours." She tugged at my blankets, revealing my penguin pajamas. What? I like penguins, it's not a crime. I moaned and swatted at a form that I perceived to be Becky's.
"It's my vacation. Let me sleep it away if I want." I heard Becky sigh as I grabbed the covers and pulled them over my head.
"Fine. I'll just tell that Kyou guy to come back later." Wait a minute...I kicked off my covers and ran into the bathroom to change. It was weird that Shigure sent Kyou this time. The kid wanted nothing to do with me and the feeling was quite mutual. So it's quite understandable how curious I was to know what he wanted.
Kyou's eyes widened when I made it through the evil rotating door. Which I can understand, considering my hair was still wet from my five minute shower and I had chosen a white tank top for my attire. It wouldn't have been so bad if I hadn't packed a black bra in my suitcase. Damn Victoria's Secret and their annual sales! Damn them! I pulled my jean jacket over my shoulders in hopes of easing Kyou's nerves. I wanted to receive a thank you from the guy. I mean, the jacket was easily clashing with my old workout sweats. It wouldn't have been so bad if they were gray or black but these sweats were baggy and red! Red, of all colors. I shoved off the jacket. Ha! Take that cat boy!
"I've been thinking about what you said. About showing more tenderness towards Tohru. I was wondering if you....you.. could..maybe....help me?" My brain scattered in millions of pieces. It was endearing that the guy wanted my help but something didn't make sense right now.
"Whoa. Wait a minute. Shigure didn't send you?" He rubbed his toe in the cement.
"Well no.."
"So then where's Yuki?!"
"Hell if I know." Oh no. No no no no no no no. It was Lifetime all over again. Only this time there was no good looking cop to help me and then later sleep with me to complicate things. Or were they always a detective? Either way, I found my legs leading me to the Sohma house at a very fast pace. I blame the speed on my gym detentions that seemed to add up quickly when I wouldn't dress out. I found Yuki almost immediately in front of the house, holding his sides. And something inside me snapped. My blood was boiling and my hormones were racing. Call it a Cajun temper, or PMS. But I was going to meet the asshole that was doing this to Yuki and he was going to pay. Not Mel Gibson payback. I was going Stone Cold Steve Austin on this one, folks. Yuki spotted me and made an effort to console me before I made a serious mistake. My eyes darted to the side of the house. There had to be another way inside.
There was the room. In all its lonely glory. But there was no Akito. It was empty. I gathered up more courage than I thought I had and stepped inside of the room, only to be knocked down by a strong force. It was the sick guy! How could someone who looks so ill have so much pent up strength? Well there ya go, Dusty. You just answered your own question. I quickly got up to my feet and felt the blistering pain of a backhanded slap to the right side of my face. I'd feel that one later. The blow was a good one for it knocked me to the floor. I curled up into a tight ball, covering my face from the glass pitcher he threw at me. Geez, this guy was going crazy. I screamed as the glass made impact with my leg. I'd feel that later also. No, I take that back. I was feeling the son of bitch right now!! Akito was quickly on top of me, his hands wrapping around my throat. I kicked and tried to yell out for help. But I was becoming dizzy and little red, blue, and yellow spots were forming in my eyes.
"Another LaFayette will not destroy us again!!" His eyes were so crazy, so real. I had been taught in self defense class that you should knee a guy in his crotch but the opportunity wasn't open for me. He was sitting on my stomach, which didn't help my defenses at all. The weight was suddenly knocked off me and I turned over on my stomach, glass scratching at my hands and elbows. I could feel blood seeping from my leg but my vision was returning and the blow to my face was a slap so I didn't expect too much damage.
"Enough Akito!" Shigure. I knew that voice. My body ached but I was thankful to be alive. I finally stood up, noticing that Hatori, Ayame, and Tohru had somehow made an appearance when I was on the floor.
"You bastard..." My voice was dangerously low. I wanted to rip him apart by now. Not only had he hurt my friend but he had also endangered my life. Unless you are St. Peter promising me a V.I.P spot in heaven, then no one does that. No one. "You BASTARD!" I ran forward, managing a single claw mark down his cheek. My coach had always called girls dangerous. He swore he would never interfere in a fight with a girl because they would end up clawing your eyes out. I didn't believe it until I wanted to do it myself. Shigure was stuck in between me and the heartless monster. I just couldn't understand how he could stand up for Akito.
"Hatori! Ayame! Get her out of here!" The arms of both men snaked around my waist and I could tell I was being pulled out. I struggled until I was free of their grip. But I didn't attack. My head was creating its own beat and my cheek stung.
"That damn curse was placed on your family because of someone like you. But you don't want it to go away do you? You like the power!!"
"Hatori get her out of here!!"
"You strive for that power. You get off on controlling people by violence. You like the fact that you're head of the household. You're sick, you know that? A sick coward!!" Hatori softly tugged at my sleeve and I took that as a subtle gesture to get out of the room. I followed unwillingly.
I let out a small yelp as Hatori doused my leg in some medical chemical and picked out the last shards of glass. He never was the gentle type.
"Would you hold still?"
"Would you refrain from trying to kill me?!" He deliberately yanked out the last tiny piece with little sympathy. I had no major injuries. The worst was the glass but it didn't need any stitches. Just alot of hydrogen peroxide and gauze. How would I explain this one to Becky? "Next time, i'll just hire the actual wrestler to do the job. Maybe then I could be invited back over here again."
"That was a brave thing to do. A little stupid, but brave nonetheless. I wish I could've stood up to him like you had." I watched Hatori's back tense up and couldn't help but feel bad for the Doctor of Doom.
"You could've also. Things didn't have to end up the way they are."
"Possibly." There was some movement from behind the door and Hatori quickly excused himself. I watched Shigure walk in, eyes deep in thought. I braced myself for the lecture of a lifetime. I half expected my mother to pop behind him, waving her finger around like a madman, er, madwoman. But instead, I received an ice pack to my cheek in the most gentle way I had ever seen. I winced at first, the cold mingling with the sting is enough to throw any girl off for a moment. Even beaten to a bloody pulp, I coudl recall a line from 'Pretty Woman' that fit my scenario almost perfectly. Julia Roberts had just been hit across the cheek and wondered if guys were taken back in the locker room and taught how to hit a woman just right on her cheek. I was starting to contemplate the same thing. But something else was bothering me. The nights I had spent at the Sohma house, I had heard every slap that Akito delivered upon Yuki, yet Shigure was right across the hall and acted like it was nothing. My mind wandered back to the night that he kissed me. He told me to go back to sleep after I heard the beating. That means...
"You knew..." His eyes popped back up to mine and I ripped the ice pack from my face. "And you did nothing about it."
"Dusty..." I hopped off the counter top that Hatori had originally placed me on.
"No...just wait a minute. You knew exactly what was going on inside your house and you did nothing to stop it. Yuki...that's your flesh and blood." I felt like an angry Frenchman, ready to fight to the death with tricky sword fighting and the occasional witty remark.
"So is Akito." Touchet little man. I did not see that one coming from a hair away. Of course I knew Akito was his family, but still. That didn't take away from my point, if I even had one. I was ready to burst out on him like Molly Ringwald did with her rich boyfriend in 'Pretty in Pink'. And why am I referring everything to 80's movies?! And then it hit me, in all my weird glory, Elvis didn't die from a heart attack. Nor did he go home.
"Cheesy 80's movies killed Elvis!!" I would regret this outburst, I could tell already. But I have a point to this folks, just bear with me. Shigure peered over at me like I was a complete nutbag. And I probably could be considered one by now. Not only had I blindly run into a fight but I was also depicting my lovelife through the King himself.
"Pardon?"
"I have always based my feelings on Elvis. Everyone believes that he's alive. That there's something else. Like love. There's something else to it than chocolates and sweet nothings. And at first, I thought that me falling for you was just a figment of my imagination, like Elvis wasn't really dead. And then I came to grips and realized that the King's death....a.k.a my crush on you was real. But then it turns sour, and I thought that it was the kiss that had done it....Elvis' heart attack. But no. It was the monster in this house that did it....a force greater than a mere kiss." That was it. Akito was the eighties movie!! Perhaps only my mind can understand such odd comparisons but I thought maybe Shigure could understand. I mean, Japan has seen 'Pretty in Pink' also, right? He rubbed his chin, analyzing me like some understated psycho. I felt like I was Norman Bates in a hospital. No, i'm so much more than Norman Bates. I should at LEAST be a Micheal Myers. I was desperate though. I wanted this man to understand just what going on in this head of mine. Hell, I could hardly comprehend my brain, who was I to think Shigure would get it as well?
"I think you need some sake." My arms collapsed to my sides. He didn't get it. It was hopeless. I was a hopeless situation that could only be handled with alcohol. But hey, no complaints here.
"Yea..." My voice was high and strained. It's funny, but in every romantic comedy, there's always alcohol. I never said this one would be any different....
"And then WHOOSH! My top flew off and landed right on the windshield of a truck!" I plopped down onto Shigure's lap, relishing in my drunkeness. I could feel no pain and I intended to keep the feeling up as long as possible. I knew that in the morning, I would be ashamed of all the nocturnal activities that would go on tonight but I also knew that Shigure wouldn't remember a single second of it. The boy was just as drunk as I, if not worse. We had somehow made it to his bedroom, a place I had never personally ventured to, which was littered with manuscipts and drawings of his characters. I laced my legs over his arms and tucked my head into the large sleeve of his writer's kimono. Sake was beginning it's sleepy affects on me once more.
"Aww....quitting the party oh so soon?" His fingers trailed down my thigh before being brushed off by my hand. To tell you the truth, I wasn't drunk at all. I had spit out most of my sake when Shigure wasn't looking. Tricky? Incredibly. It was then that I noticed a drawing of myself near the bed. It had been the time I was singing and checking out my shoulder. So it was him who spied on me!! The art was almost near perfect except that he forgot the beauty mark on my left shoulder. Not that I expected him to see it at all. But that perverted little peeping Tom!! I softened at the fact that he actually took the time to draw me.
"You got my bad side." He fell towards the mattress, clinging the piece of paper to his chest until he actually made impact with the bed.
"I didn't know you had a bad side. All I saw was pure beauty." My eyes began to become blurry with unshed tears. Jesus M. Christ! I sat up and hovered over him. That had to have been the most wonderful line i've ever heard from a drunken man! Come to think of it, that was the ONLY line i've ever heard from a drunken man. But regardless of that fact, my heart still melted. And I was almost as surprised as him as I planted a kiss on him. I felt a soft finger run over my bruised cheek.
"Did it hurt?"
"Well it didn't tickle." I was honestly trying to keep the situation light.
"I'm so sorry..." I was quickly sobered up of any alcohol lingering in my system. And then...well...the rest was all a blur. All I know, is that when we embraced, there was no puff of smoke, and no mutts. And that it would probably cause a huge stir up in the morning.
Easily Amused: Cheesy 80's Movies Killed Elvis
A great actor once said in a movie "Elvis didn't die, he just went home!" Sure, the movie was about men in black suits who rid Earth of the scum of the universe. And sure, the actor was Tommy Lee Jones but I am quite the believer in such a theory. I don't go around saying that to everyone. I mean, let's face it. New Orleans would kick me out of the city if I went around saying Elvis is still alive. And I know he isn't. But I do believe that are things beyond what you see everyday. For example, love. You can kind of see love all over the place. Mothers love their children, well most of them do. You see couples disregarding the rules of PDA because they supposedly love each other. And then there's the other kind of love. The can't eat, can't sleep, change the stars, boom! it just kind of happened love. You didn't plan on ever asking the guy out and never did. You just spend time with them and then the BOOM! theory pops in. It just kind of happened.
What am I saying? Love? Me? I'm not capable of enacting such a thing. I'll give my life's savings to the first guy who can love me, which is obviously true love because I have exactly five bucks to my name in that account. Yes, I have a spending problem. Listen to me, babbling on about Elvis and money. As of right now, i'm laying awake in a hot room. I don't even know if the stupid air conditioner works. Maybe it's the hundreds of blankets Becky persuaded me to take for the night. She thought I needed the security. Security? Yeah, right. Security was about to give me a heat stroke. I get up out of bed and walk down to the lobby for a late night visit with Jim. Jim is the night watchman and just so happens to have a Japanese wife that makes a killer cup of tea. She sends Mr. American Jim with a big thermos full of the stuff. You can imagine my surprise when I woke up one night to find the middle aged man and was even more surprised at the fact he would share such a tasty treasure.
It was colder outside than I had expected. Luckily, I learned from the Sohma household that a robe is needed whenever you step out of your room. Otherwise, you risk a nice flashing of your chest and a star spot on Girls Gone Wild!: Japan Edition. And of course, Jim was right there at the front door, resting against the brick wall. I poked my head out of the murderous rotating door. I hated that stupid door.
"Well hi there kiddo!" I wish this man could've impregnated my mother to have me instead of my own father. A little mean, perhaps. But at least Jim would be there half the time. "I take it you came down for some tea?" I gave a corny kiddy grin and held out the complimentary plastic cup from the bathroom I had so diligently hidden for the occasion. We sat there in silence for awhile, Jim keeping a lookout and I, getting quite sleepy from the tea's drowsy like effects.
"What does your wife put in this stuff? It always manages to put me to sleep." Jim smiled.
"Sake and ginger."
"Sake?" I repositioned myelf on the large planter that served as a chair for my late night visits.
"Japanese alcohol. Keeps me awake though. Not like American alcohol." I curled up on the cold stone.
"I can handle American alcohol though. Did you know I have never gotten drunk in my life?" Jim chuckled and shifted his weight. He wasn't a heavy man, quite muscular on the contrary.
"Aren't you under age?"
"I come from a family of rednecks and yankees. It's alcohol during the holidays on either side of the states. As long as i'm supervised by them, they don't really care. I haven't given them a reason to distrust me, yet."
"Yet?" I cringed under Jim's fatherly gaze.
"Well....I have a problem. And I can't tell my family about it."
"Well i'm not family."
"This is true." I was slowly starting to feel the affects of the sake. My senses were at full alert now. I think I was getting a Japanese buzz. "Well....I think i'm falling for this guy. But he's way older. It's legal and i'm turning 19 in like a month but still. And he has a small problem. It's fixable...but only if he obliges. And I don't think he will."
"Okay..." Jim was trying desperately to understand me. "You know, my father fought in WWII...and when I brought home my wife for the first time, he went ballistic. He was still affected by the loss in the bombing of Pearl Harbor."
"But your wife wasn't even alive then. She had nothing to do with it."
"I know that. You know that. My wife knows that. But my father....didn't. At least not for awhile. The point is, I took her anyway. So he could see that she wasn't a spy conspiring for another Pearl Harbor. If you love this guy like I think you're saying you do...you'll do both him and your family a favor by telling them."
"I don't even know if he loves me. I don't even know if I love him. Sure, the attraction's there. Lord knows I want nothing more than to just strip him down and m-"
"THE point is...you should let them know anyway." I stood up and stretched, not even realizing how much better I felt to get these things off my chest.
"Jim...as always...it's been a pleasure. I look forward to tomorrow night and your wife's tea." Jim gave me a hard pat on the back.
"Just invest in sleeping pills, Dusty."
"Those things are addictive. I already have a problem with Pixie Stix. I don't need to go into rehab for sleeping pills also."
"So is alcohol."
"So smart..." Jim and I parted and I finally felt like I could get a good night's rest.
"Rise and shine sleeping beauty!!" Sunlight flooded my senses and Becky's overly eager voice wasn't helping my run in with a Japanese alcoholic beverage. My head was pounding like a hammer on a nail and the last thing I wanted was to be woken up. "I swear, Dusty. You sleep in until the strangest hours." She tugged at my blankets, revealing my penguin pajamas. What? I like penguins, it's not a crime. I moaned and swatted at a form that I perceived to be Becky's.
"It's my vacation. Let me sleep it away if I want." I heard Becky sigh as I grabbed the covers and pulled them over my head.
"Fine. I'll just tell that Kyou guy to come back later." Wait a minute...I kicked off my covers and ran into the bathroom to change. It was weird that Shigure sent Kyou this time. The kid wanted nothing to do with me and the feeling was quite mutual. So it's quite understandable how curious I was to know what he wanted.
Kyou's eyes widened when I made it through the evil rotating door. Which I can understand, considering my hair was still wet from my five minute shower and I had chosen a white tank top for my attire. It wouldn't have been so bad if I hadn't packed a black bra in my suitcase. Damn Victoria's Secret and their annual sales! Damn them! I pulled my jean jacket over my shoulders in hopes of easing Kyou's nerves. I wanted to receive a thank you from the guy. I mean, the jacket was easily clashing with my old workout sweats. It wouldn't have been so bad if they were gray or black but these sweats were baggy and red! Red, of all colors. I shoved off the jacket. Ha! Take that cat boy!
"I've been thinking about what you said. About showing more tenderness towards Tohru. I was wondering if you....you.. could..maybe....help me?" My brain scattered in millions of pieces. It was endearing that the guy wanted my help but something didn't make sense right now.
"Whoa. Wait a minute. Shigure didn't send you?" He rubbed his toe in the cement.
"Well no.."
"So then where's Yuki?!"
"Hell if I know." Oh no. No no no no no no no. It was Lifetime all over again. Only this time there was no good looking cop to help me and then later sleep with me to complicate things. Or were they always a detective? Either way, I found my legs leading me to the Sohma house at a very fast pace. I blame the speed on my gym detentions that seemed to add up quickly when I wouldn't dress out. I found Yuki almost immediately in front of the house, holding his sides. And something inside me snapped. My blood was boiling and my hormones were racing. Call it a Cajun temper, or PMS. But I was going to meet the asshole that was doing this to Yuki and he was going to pay. Not Mel Gibson payback. I was going Stone Cold Steve Austin on this one, folks. Yuki spotted me and made an effort to console me before I made a serious mistake. My eyes darted to the side of the house. There had to be another way inside.
There was the room. In all its lonely glory. But there was no Akito. It was empty. I gathered up more courage than I thought I had and stepped inside of the room, only to be knocked down by a strong force. It was the sick guy! How could someone who looks so ill have so much pent up strength? Well there ya go, Dusty. You just answered your own question. I quickly got up to my feet and felt the blistering pain of a backhanded slap to the right side of my face. I'd feel that one later. The blow was a good one for it knocked me to the floor. I curled up into a tight ball, covering my face from the glass pitcher he threw at me. Geez, this guy was going crazy. I screamed as the glass made impact with my leg. I'd feel that later also. No, I take that back. I was feeling the son of bitch right now!! Akito was quickly on top of me, his hands wrapping around my throat. I kicked and tried to yell out for help. But I was becoming dizzy and little red, blue, and yellow spots were forming in my eyes.
"Another LaFayette will not destroy us again!!" His eyes were so crazy, so real. I had been taught in self defense class that you should knee a guy in his crotch but the opportunity wasn't open for me. He was sitting on my stomach, which didn't help my defenses at all. The weight was suddenly knocked off me and I turned over on my stomach, glass scratching at my hands and elbows. I could feel blood seeping from my leg but my vision was returning and the blow to my face was a slap so I didn't expect too much damage.
"Enough Akito!" Shigure. I knew that voice. My body ached but I was thankful to be alive. I finally stood up, noticing that Hatori, Ayame, and Tohru had somehow made an appearance when I was on the floor.
"You bastard..." My voice was dangerously low. I wanted to rip him apart by now. Not only had he hurt my friend but he had also endangered my life. Unless you are St. Peter promising me a V.I.P spot in heaven, then no one does that. No one. "You BASTARD!" I ran forward, managing a single claw mark down his cheek. My coach had always called girls dangerous. He swore he would never interfere in a fight with a girl because they would end up clawing your eyes out. I didn't believe it until I wanted to do it myself. Shigure was stuck in between me and the heartless monster. I just couldn't understand how he could stand up for Akito.
"Hatori! Ayame! Get her out of here!" The arms of both men snaked around my waist and I could tell I was being pulled out. I struggled until I was free of their grip. But I didn't attack. My head was creating its own beat and my cheek stung.
"That damn curse was placed on your family because of someone like you. But you don't want it to go away do you? You like the power!!"
"Hatori get her out of here!!"
"You strive for that power. You get off on controlling people by violence. You like the fact that you're head of the household. You're sick, you know that? A sick coward!!" Hatori softly tugged at my sleeve and I took that as a subtle gesture to get out of the room. I followed unwillingly.
I let out a small yelp as Hatori doused my leg in some medical chemical and picked out the last shards of glass. He never was the gentle type.
"Would you hold still?"
"Would you refrain from trying to kill me?!" He deliberately yanked out the last tiny piece with little sympathy. I had no major injuries. The worst was the glass but it didn't need any stitches. Just alot of hydrogen peroxide and gauze. How would I explain this one to Becky? "Next time, i'll just hire the actual wrestler to do the job. Maybe then I could be invited back over here again."
"That was a brave thing to do. A little stupid, but brave nonetheless. I wish I could've stood up to him like you had." I watched Hatori's back tense up and couldn't help but feel bad for the Doctor of Doom.
"You could've also. Things didn't have to end up the way they are."
"Possibly." There was some movement from behind the door and Hatori quickly excused himself. I watched Shigure walk in, eyes deep in thought. I braced myself for the lecture of a lifetime. I half expected my mother to pop behind him, waving her finger around like a madman, er, madwoman. But instead, I received an ice pack to my cheek in the most gentle way I had ever seen. I winced at first, the cold mingling with the sting is enough to throw any girl off for a moment. Even beaten to a bloody pulp, I coudl recall a line from 'Pretty Woman' that fit my scenario almost perfectly. Julia Roberts had just been hit across the cheek and wondered if guys were taken back in the locker room and taught how to hit a woman just right on her cheek. I was starting to contemplate the same thing. But something else was bothering me. The nights I had spent at the Sohma house, I had heard every slap that Akito delivered upon Yuki, yet Shigure was right across the hall and acted like it was nothing. My mind wandered back to the night that he kissed me. He told me to go back to sleep after I heard the beating. That means...
"You knew..." His eyes popped back up to mine and I ripped the ice pack from my face. "And you did nothing about it."
"Dusty..." I hopped off the counter top that Hatori had originally placed me on.
"No...just wait a minute. You knew exactly what was going on inside your house and you did nothing to stop it. Yuki...that's your flesh and blood." I felt like an angry Frenchman, ready to fight to the death with tricky sword fighting and the occasional witty remark.
"So is Akito." Touchet little man. I did not see that one coming from a hair away. Of course I knew Akito was his family, but still. That didn't take away from my point, if I even had one. I was ready to burst out on him like Molly Ringwald did with her rich boyfriend in 'Pretty in Pink'. And why am I referring everything to 80's movies?! And then it hit me, in all my weird glory, Elvis didn't die from a heart attack. Nor did he go home.
"Cheesy 80's movies killed Elvis!!" I would regret this outburst, I could tell already. But I have a point to this folks, just bear with me. Shigure peered over at me like I was a complete nutbag. And I probably could be considered one by now. Not only had I blindly run into a fight but I was also depicting my lovelife through the King himself.
"Pardon?"
"I have always based my feelings on Elvis. Everyone believes that he's alive. That there's something else. Like love. There's something else to it than chocolates and sweet nothings. And at first, I thought that me falling for you was just a figment of my imagination, like Elvis wasn't really dead. And then I came to grips and realized that the King's death....a.k.a my crush on you was real. But then it turns sour, and I thought that it was the kiss that had done it....Elvis' heart attack. But no. It was the monster in this house that did it....a force greater than a mere kiss." That was it. Akito was the eighties movie!! Perhaps only my mind can understand such odd comparisons but I thought maybe Shigure could understand. I mean, Japan has seen 'Pretty in Pink' also, right? He rubbed his chin, analyzing me like some understated psycho. I felt like I was Norman Bates in a hospital. No, i'm so much more than Norman Bates. I should at LEAST be a Micheal Myers. I was desperate though. I wanted this man to understand just what going on in this head of mine. Hell, I could hardly comprehend my brain, who was I to think Shigure would get it as well?
"I think you need some sake." My arms collapsed to my sides. He didn't get it. It was hopeless. I was a hopeless situation that could only be handled with alcohol. But hey, no complaints here.
"Yea..." My voice was high and strained. It's funny, but in every romantic comedy, there's always alcohol. I never said this one would be any different....
"And then WHOOSH! My top flew off and landed right on the windshield of a truck!" I plopped down onto Shigure's lap, relishing in my drunkeness. I could feel no pain and I intended to keep the feeling up as long as possible. I knew that in the morning, I would be ashamed of all the nocturnal activities that would go on tonight but I also knew that Shigure wouldn't remember a single second of it. The boy was just as drunk as I, if not worse. We had somehow made it to his bedroom, a place I had never personally ventured to, which was littered with manuscipts and drawings of his characters. I laced my legs over his arms and tucked my head into the large sleeve of his writer's kimono. Sake was beginning it's sleepy affects on me once more.
"Aww....quitting the party oh so soon?" His fingers trailed down my thigh before being brushed off by my hand. To tell you the truth, I wasn't drunk at all. I had spit out most of my sake when Shigure wasn't looking. Tricky? Incredibly. It was then that I noticed a drawing of myself near the bed. It had been the time I was singing and checking out my shoulder. So it was him who spied on me!! The art was almost near perfect except that he forgot the beauty mark on my left shoulder. Not that I expected him to see it at all. But that perverted little peeping Tom!! I softened at the fact that he actually took the time to draw me.
"You got my bad side." He fell towards the mattress, clinging the piece of paper to his chest until he actually made impact with the bed.
"I didn't know you had a bad side. All I saw was pure beauty." My eyes began to become blurry with unshed tears. Jesus M. Christ! I sat up and hovered over him. That had to have been the most wonderful line i've ever heard from a drunken man! Come to think of it, that was the ONLY line i've ever heard from a drunken man. But regardless of that fact, my heart still melted. And I was almost as surprised as him as I planted a kiss on him. I felt a soft finger run over my bruised cheek.
"Did it hurt?"
"Well it didn't tickle." I was honestly trying to keep the situation light.
"I'm so sorry..." I was quickly sobered up of any alcohol lingering in my system. And then...well...the rest was all a blur. All I know, is that when we embraced, there was no puff of smoke, and no mutts. And that it would probably cause a huge stir up in the morning.