Disclaimer: I don't own Fruits basket, but Julian, and Trent are mine! Pairings: There aren't any romantic pairings in this fanfic, at least not yet A/N- Occasionally, in specific lines of dialogue, there will be words in brackets. These words are simply thoughts, and are not spoken aloud.
"Something can be learned from this." Julian stated as she braced her hands on her knees and bent over slightly so she could stare into Shigure's face, an amused grin on her face.
"And what would that be?" Shigure muttered from where he was sprawled on the floor of the grocery store, bags of chips and pretzels scattered across the floor. They'd appeared in the grocery store when Trent had changed dvd's for whatever reason, and Shigure had been unable to stop himself in mid-run, crashing into the metal rack of snacks that had been standing at the end of aisle 5. Had been. It wasn't any longer, since it was lying on the floor on its side.
"Why, I would have thought it would be perfectly clear. We shouldn't run in grocery stores. Because things like this happens." She announced, cocking an eyebrow at him as she grinned.
"Do I need to remind you it was you who'd been running first? "He mummered under his breath as Julian extended a hand to help him to his feet. 2 little girls ran around the corner then, bumping into Julian as they ran off in giggles.
"Uh..." She managed to exclaim as she lost her balance, slamming into Shigure. There was a puff of purplish/black smoke, but Julian ignored it as she felt her wrist snap as she tried to brace herself with her hand.
"Yeeoowww!" She screeched, her voice sounding several octaves higher than normal as a store clerk hurried around the corner then.
"Oh! Are you all right, miss? Let me help you...is that a dog?" The man asked as he helped Julian into a sitting position, glancing over her shoulder to see a large black dog sitting there.
"Uh...you...bad dog! How'd you get in here?" She said, tears of pain pooling in the corners of her eyes as she forced a smile, whacking the dog lightly on the head with her good hand. The dog whined and backed away as Julian allowed the clerk to help her to her feet, her teeth gritted against the pain in her wrist.
"I'm terribly sorry. I...just don't know what got into him. Shi-chan is normally such a well-behaved dog." She ground out between gritted teeth, her vision swimming as she grabbed onto the tie around the dog's neck. Thank God the clerk hadn't seen that too. It would be really difficult to explain why the dog was wearing a tie if he had.
"It's ok...huh. I wonder where those clothes came from?" The clerk said as he glanced down at the rumpled suit lying on the floor, scratching his head.
"(Oh no) I...I wouldn't know. Must have been what I tripped on. Well, I should take Shi...I mean, my dog and leave. Have a nice day." Julian said as she hurriedly turned away, screaming silently as se hurried from the store, pulling the dog after her. She released the hold she had on the tie when they were out side, turning to head to the left. She must have been going in the right direction, since "her dog" didn't say anything or act weird. She mechanically forced her legs to move, her teeth gritted against the pain in her wrist, which had already swollen to twice its normal size.
"Shi-chan?" The dog questioned her once they were on the path that lead to the house, trotting by her side as the black silk tie it wore waved back and forth with every step he took.
"It's better than spot, isn't it?!" She hissed as she turned to face him, tears streaming down her face.
"I su...what's wrong? Did I...did I hurt your feelings?" he asked her, a blank look on his furry doggy face. (If dogs can get blank looks, that is.)
"No! I broke my wrist when I fell!" She snapped as him as she used her uninjured arm to wipe off her face.
"Oh! I didn't know. We'll call Hatori when we get back to the house. He can set it for you."
"SHIGURE?! Have you forgotten we've been gone? If we've been gone for a long period of time, I'm sure Hatori is probably already there!" She hissed as she rolled her eyes.
"You've got a point." The dog replied as he tilted his head to the side.
"This is a fine kettle of fish we've gotten into! Now I have to explain why you're a dog too! And then they'll know I found out the big Sohma family secret! And Hatori will have to tell Akito! Things couldn't GET any worse! "She exclaimed, throwing her injured arm up in exasperation.
The dog sat and stared at her for a few minutes until there was a puff of purplish/black smoke again. Shigure stood there when it cleared, butt naked except for the tie. Whole lot of good IT did!!!
"Aghhhh!!! Things CAN get worse! "Julian wailed as she clamped her eyes shut.
"...And you said being cursed was better than being ordinary."
"So I was wrong!? Sue me! And get YOUR naked butt off the path! No one wants to see that!" She yelled. She could feel tears forming in her tightly closed eyes as she stood there, her good fist squeezed in to a fist. And those weren't tears of physical pain, either. Well, maybe they were...but they weren't from her broken wrist. THAT she knew beyond the shadow of a doubt.