Chapter 6: Introductions
Disclaimer: Not mine, well you should all know this by now, but I'm just telling you, again.
A/N: My superbly long chapter rocked last time, right? Well, this one will be about 2/3 of the size of Chapter 5, but I promise I will try to write a Five thousand word (or as many as I can use) chapter for the dance! Ok? Now on with the show!
Friday morning came, sky still grey and ground still white. Two members of the Sohma household were up early. One sat at a desk, many pieces of paper crumpled at his side, pencil shavings in the waste bin beside him, the other in the kitchen, preparing breakfast for the house.
Tohru hurried around the kitchen, collecting ingredients for omelets, and Ayame sat at Shigure's desk, drawing kimonos for Hana and Uo which were to be worn to the Sohma New Year's party.
Just as Tohru finished putting breakfast out, Ayame appeared in the doorway, flourishing a rather large piece of paper from his right hand.
"I finished it," Ayame cried.
"Finished what? And why are you still here," Kyo asked, a forkful of eggs paused in midair, halfway to his mouth.
"The designs for Miss Honda's friends' kimonos," Ayame exclaimed, plopping the paper down in the middle of the table.
It showed two kimonos. One was dark purple with silver stitching, and the other was black with hot purple stitching.
"This one is for the blonde one," Ayame said, his finger on the purple kimono.
"Oh, I'm sure Uo-Chan will love that," squealed Tohru, peering curiously over Yuki's shoulder.
"And this one," Ayame moved his finger to the black kimono," is for the dark haired one."
"Oh! I think that suits Hana perfectly and it's in her color, too," said Tohru, now sitting next to Yuki.
"Would you three all like to come to the shop today," Ayame asked, looking at Kyo, Tohru, and Yuki in turn with a pleading expression on his face.
"I would love too," said Tohru enthusiastically, looking at Yuki and Kyo with the same pleading face Ayame had on a minute ago.
"I'll come," said Yuki," But only to make sure that this moron," he pointed at Ayame, "Doesn't do anything stupid to Tohru or her friends."
"I guess I'll come. I mean, the Yankee will be there and I kinda want to see her again," said Kyo.
"Excellent," squealed Ayame, causing him to get very odd looks from the rest of the table.
"Do. Not .Do. That. Again," said Yuki, looking daggers at his brother.
Ayame scurried out of the kitchen without another word.
By eight a.m., Kyo, Yuki, and Tohru were all sitting in Ayame's shop watching him pull fabrics and sewing supplies down from the shelves in the shop.
Nine o'clock came and it brought Uo and Hana to the shop. When the bells on the front door jingled, Tohru sprung to her feet and raced to greet them, almost trampling Ayame, who was picking up a bolt of black silk, in the process.
"Hi guys," she said enthusiastically, hugging her friends in turn.
"Hi Tohru," said Hana.
"Hey kiddo," said Uo, looking over Tohru's shoulder at Kyo, who waved.
She waved back, smiling.
"Ah, excellent," said Ayame, almost unrecognizable from behind his pile of fabrics, thread, and needles.
"You remember Ayame, I think," Tohru said, looking at her friends with a smile.
"Yep. I couldn't forget someone with white hair who was wearing a dress, said Uo, a sarcastic smile creeping across her face.
"Indeed," Hana agreed, nodding at Ayame.
"Um Tohru," said Ayame, "My assistant isn't here today, so I was wondering if you'd like to pull on one of the dresses and help out?"
"Oh! I'd love to! Let me find one, and I'll be right back," Tohru said enthusiastically.
So, Tohru picked out a blue and white maid's outfit, and returned to the front of the shop where Ayame was showing his design ideas to Uo and Hana.
When Hana and Uo had their measurements taken, they sat down on the couch next to Kyo.
"Hey Yankee," said Kyo, putting his arm around Uo. She leaned her head on his shoulder, watching Ayame and Tohru work on her kimono.
After about two hours, Uo's kimono was finished. It was twice as lovely in real life as it was in the drawing Ayame had shown them.
"You can try it on now," Ayame said to Uo, unzipping the back if the kimono and gently lifting it off the mannequin.
He handed the kimono and the matching headpiece to Uo and shooed her into the dressing room. They waited in silence for a few minutes before Uo came out, dressed from head to toe in purple. It accented the blonde in her hair very well.
Kyo stared at her, speechless. Tohru clapped. Her friend looked excellent in the kimono. Uo twirled around, looking at the kimono from all angles in the mirror next to the dressing room.
"I like it," she said, "How much do I owe..."
"Oh you don't owe a thing," Ayame said, cutting Uo's last few words off, "Nor do you," he said, looking at Hana.
Hana looked taken aback, and then said, "Why don't we owe you anything? These are custom-made. Surely we owe you something."
"Nope, these are gifts for the both of you, and nothing either of you says will change my mind," Ayame said defiantly, now starting on Hana's kimono.
Uo changed back out of the kimono and hung it on a rack by Ayame's desk, and sat back down next to Kyo. He put his arm around her again. She did not protest. She actually liked this. She knew that some guys could be jerks, but Kyo was different. He was kind and cared, no matter what his exterior showed.
By the time Hana's kimono was finished and she had tried it on, it was one thirty.
They bid Ayame goodbye and left his shop, heading for home.
"Um... Do you mind if I walk you home," Kyo asked Uo.
"No, I don't. It would actually be great, that way you can meet my parents," she said with a smile.
"Um...alright, I guess."
"Don't worry! They aren't aliens or monsters; actually they're quite the opposite. They'll probably love you."
Kyo gulped, nervous about his first encounter with Uo's parents. What would they be like? Would they accept him?
"Can you please not tell them about the curse?"
"I won't. I have enough common sense to keep that to myself."
They walked down a street that was lined with brick-front townhouses and turned down a path that was marked 61 Osiko Drive.
Kyo followed Uo up the front steps and watched her unlock the door. She opened the front door to a nice front hallway. It had many cherry wood pieces and some expensive looking artwork.
"You can go into the living room. I'll go get my parents and put my kimono away," Uo said.
"Alright," Kyo said, still amazed by all the expensive looking material in the house.
He walked into the next room and sat down on a couch that looked as though it had been molded out of plaster. Luckily, it wasn't. It was actually quite comfortable.
Uo trundled downstairs a few minutes later, two people who must be her parents behind her. Kyo jumped up, hands at his side, and bowed as Uo and her parents entered the room.
"You must be Kyo," said the blond woman who was undoubtedly Uo's mother. She had the same wavy blond hair and dark grey eyes as her daughter, "I'm Asari Uotani."
"I'm Kyo Sohma, pleased to meet you," he said shaking her hand.
"And I'm Kigiri Uotani," said the grey haired man next to her, shaking Kyo's hand.
Kyo bowed, "So pleased to meet you Uotani-san."
Uo's father let go of Kyo's hand and sat in a chair across from the couch and motioned for Kyo to do the same. Kyo backed down onto the couch he had been sitting on before. Uo put her hand on his. Kyo gulped.
"Arisa has told us all about you," said Uo's mother, looking at Kyo.
"Really," Kyo glanced at Uo, and then directed his attention back to her parents, "Is that a good thing ?"
Uo's father laughed jovially, "Of course it is, son, why wouldn't it be?"
Kyo gave a nervous laugh. Uo smiled at him.
The conversation between the four lasted for an hour, ending with Uo's parents inviting him to have dinner with them. Kyo agreed.
"Do you mind if I use your phone, Uotani-san? I have to call home and tell them I won't be home for dinner," Kyo asked politely, directing this at Uo's father.
"Go right ahead, there's a phone in the hallway. Meanwhile, I'll start dinner."
Kyo walked into the hallway and spotted a white telephone on the wall. He picked it up and dialed the ten numbers for Shigure's house.
Shigure picked up the other end on the second ring.
"Shigure Sohma speaking."
"Shigure, it's Kyo, I'm at the Yankee's house," he said in a whisper, " tell Tohru I won't be home for dinner."
"Alright. I guess I'll see you later then."
Shigure hung up.
Kyo put the phone back on the cradle and went back into the living room where Uo was sitting.
"You want to go upstairs and see my room," Uo asked, standing up.
"Sure, why not," Kyo said, turning and following Uo across the living room and up the stairs.
He noticed many pictures of Uo as a child and some family pictures that lined the wall on the way up the stairs. They reached the second floor landing and made an immediate left turn. Uo opened the door to what Kyo presumed was her room. She led him inside. The walls were painted a dark blue and there was sparse furniture in the room. A solitary desk sat in a corner, a laptop closed on top of it. Uo's bed sat in the center of the room, three pillows and a duvet on top of it. A closet was directly across from the bed, it was open, revealing her school uniform and other assorted items of clothing.
"This," Uo flung her arm out in a manner that suggested she didn't care, "Is my room. Kind of boring, eh?"
"Not really. My room is worse," he said, laughing.
"I guess I can't argue with that, can I?"
They sat down on her bed. Uo put her hand on his again. Kyo looked her square in the eye. She really did have some nerve. She hugged him. He hugged her, and transformed. Uo petted Kyo. He was so happy and he knew that she was happy, too.
He sat in her arms for five minutes before, poof! Kyo was sitting in Uo's lap, completely naked.
"Oh, god, please warn me next time you're going to do that," said Uo, covering her eyes while Kyo got dressed.
There were footsteps on the stairs; Kyo threw his shirt on hastily.
"Arisa, dinner's ready."
"Alright mom, be there in a minute."
Dinner passed in a flurry of conversation, mostly about the new school year. When they had finished dinner and cleaned up, Kyo decided to leave. Uo followed him to the front door.
"I guess I'll see you tomorrow night," she said, smiling.
"Yeah, I'll be here at 7:15 to pick you up," Kyo said, pulling on his jacket.
"7:15? But the dance doesn't start until 9," Uo said, confused.
"I wanted to take you out to dinner with the others before the dance."
"Alright, so I will see you at 7:15."
"Yup," Kyo leaned down and kissed Uo gently on the lips, "See you tomorrow," he said with a wave.
He opened the door, walked out, closed it, and began to walk home. It was flurrying. Kyo looked up at the snowflakes.
'Maybe I should take a bus,' he thought, wearily.