Crimson Threads
Once again, I'm going skip my homework... jeez... they need to give out less homework these days... I mean.. it's Spring break! come on! Well, enough ranting, I'm sure you don't want hear my plan of revenge, so here's the next chapter!
:DISCLAIMER: I do not own the rights to Fruits Basket, but I do own Mike, Ari, and Mayra.
Mike's Confusion
"How much longer will it take for them to get here?" Ari droned
Ari, Mike, and Mayra sat with their luggage in the baggage claim area. "Oh, come on, Ari," Mayra said. "If Haru's driving them, they could be anywhere!"
Ari laughed at Mayra's joke. Mike was totally oblivious to the joke. "I'm confused." Mike complained.
The two girls giggled. "Well, it's your fault for not trying to read Fruits Basket." Ari said in between giggles. Mike's so cute when he's confused, Ari thought. Meep! Did I cute? I don't like him anymore. He's just like a big brother. Ari finally calmed down.
"Hey guys, I'm going to get some food for us. I have a feeling that it'll take a while for them to get here." Mike got up and went over to the food court area.
Mayra giggled, and got Ari's attention. "What's so funny?" Ari asked.
"You're so oblivious, it's so funny!" Mayra giggled.
"To what?" Ari was confused.
Mayra leaned over to whisper into Ari's ear. "You know that Mike likes you, right?"
Ari eyes widened in shock. "No way. I mean, I'm the crazy one, and you two are the popular ones, and I-"
"Trust me on this, Ari. He really likes you." Mayra said.
"Yeah right, you're trying to make me freak out. I don't believe it." Ari went back to drawing pictures of the three of them as chibi characters.
"Ari! Mayra! Mike! We're so sorry it took so long!"
The two girls turned around to see a girl running up to them followed by two men and two boys. Mayra squealed in happiness, because one of the boys had bright orange hair. Kyo was Mayra's favorite character. Mayra resisted the urge to hug him, after all, first impressions were everything to Mayra. The two girls could recognize the other three easily. The other boy was Haru, and the two men were Hatori and Shigure.
"Are you Tohru?" Mayra asked.
"Yes!" the girl replied. "Are you Mayra or Ari?"
"I'm Mayra, " Mayra held out her hand. As Tohru shook hands with her, Mayra introduced Ari to her. The two girls explained they already knew who everyone was. Tohru and the Sohmas were confused, but the two girls promised they would explain eventually. Mike came back with food for the three, and Ari introduced the Sohmas to him. The three took their luggage and made their way with Tohru and the Sohmas out of the airport.
"Sorry once again," Tohru bowed her head, "that we were late. Haru drove us, but we got lost."
Kyo scoffed. "Next time, we're letting someone else drive. Or that dumb cow will get us lost again!"
"Shut your trap, stupid cat," Haru said. "Or I'll ask Tohru to make leeks for dinner!"
Ari was getting bored of their arguing, "Stop arguing, you lovebirds. I'm sure Kagura would be mad that Kyo was already moving on!"
"Shut up!" Kyo secluded himself from the conversation.
Tohru explained to them how he was going to admit his love for her, but never got to. Mayra was saddened by the story, and went over to talk with Kyo. "Kyo? Are you okay?"
"Shut up."
"I'm sorry Ari made you mad, but she doesn't like people arguing. That's her way of making directing their anger at her instead of at each other. I don't know how she can handle it, but she's very good at it." Mayra felt like she accomplished nothing, so she started to go back to the others, who were loading the luggage into the car.
"It's okay."
Mayra looked back at Kyo. "It's okay. I mean, I know that Tohru wouldn't want us to argue, but that damn cow won't stop getting off my case!" Kyo muttered to himself.
Mayra smiled and pulled him into a hug. "I hope we can be friends!" She then pulled him over to the others, who were ready to leave. They all piled into the car (a/n: don't ask how 8 people can fit into the car, just let it be) and drove to Shigure's house.
"Hey Mayra, Mike! I think we're here!" Ari squealed.
Tohru smiled. "Welcome to our house!"
They all unloaded the luggage into the house, and Ari insisted she would unpack her things by herself. Mayra said the same. Tohru wanted to help, but then gave in to the girls' pleas. Luckily, there were a lot of rooms they could have, so everyone had their own room. Ari and Mayra had their rooms right next to each other, and Tohru was next to his. Shigure, Kyo, and Mike had the bottom floor. Ari unpacked her things. She kept all her Fruits Basket things in her closet. It could be bad if the Sohmas found out about the series. Ari changed into new clothes, and went downstairs to the kitchen, where Tohru was making dinner.
"Hi!" Ari said.
"Oh, hello, Ari!" Tohru replied. "Are you done unpacking already? That was fast!"
"Yep! Can I help make dinner?" Ari asked.
"Oh, that would be too much! I mean, You just came here, and it's your first night!" Tohru continued rambling, but after some persuasion, Tohru let Ari help. They talked about the Sohma curse, about how Ari, Mayra, and Mike would adjust to school, and everything else that came to mind.
Hatori, Shigure, Haru, Kyo, and Mike were out on the porch. Mike felt a bit uncomfortable, not knowing any of them. He just continued listening to The Who, while the others talked.
Shigure noticed Mike was all alone, so he tried to strike up a conversation with him. "What are you listening to?"
Mike looked at him, and took off his earphones. "The Who."
"Oh..." Shigure didn't know what else to talk about, since he had no idea what "The Who" were. "Ummm... well, how long have you known Ari and Mayra? It seems like you've known them for a while."
Mike sighed, "I've known them since second grade. Those two are my best friends. But..." Mike paused. "Oh, never mind."
Shigure could see what Mike was going to say. "You like one of them, don't you?"
"No. They're just friends." Mike confirmed.
Shigure and Mike talked for a while, until Tohru called everyone to dinner. Tohru and Ari had made pizza. Tohru insisted to make tonight a night to make the three feel welcome. So, Tohru and Ari made an American pizza. Everyone had a grand time, until Hatori made an announcement.
"Ahem. I'd like to inform everyone that Akito has found out about Ari, Mayra, and Mike coming here. He wishes for them to visit him tomorrow."
"Hatori," Shigure said, "are you sure he just wants to talk to them?"
"I'll be there the whole time," Hatori assured. "If anything gets out of hand, I'll stop him."
Mike was confused. I really should pay attention when Ari and Mayra try to teach me this stuff, he thought. "Who's Akito?"
"He's the head of the family." Shigure stated. "Which reminds me, how does Ari and Mayra know so much about us?"
"You should know, Shigure," Ari said, "or should I call you, Natsuki Takaya?"
Hatori was confused. "Shigure, what is she talking about?"
Mayra sighed. "Shigure's a manga-ka, or to you people who don't understand, a person who creates manga."
Mike sighed, "Finally! Someone who actually explains things!"
Ari laughed at Mike's comment. "Nice one Mike. But seriously, Shigure has been writing a manga called Fruits Basket under the name of Natsuki Takaya." She glanced at the nervous dog, "And the story is about the Sohma curse."
Kyo scoffed at the girl's crazy story. "Yeah, right. I'm sure you have the book."
"I do! Every single English copy! And I have all the DVDs, and I collect wall scrolls, posters, plushies..." Ari ranted on and on while all eyes were on Shigure.
"Shigure, is this all true?" Hatori calmly asked.
"Well, the story more about Tohru, and her story is so beautiful, I just couldn't help it!" Shigure explained.
"You stupid dog!" Kyo yelled. "Now the whole world knows we exist!"
"Not quite. There are many more manga that are fantasy. They seem just as real as this story. So, people just think the Sohma curse is just fantasy." Mayra said.
"Shigure?" Ari asked. "Since you're 'Natsuki Takaya,' can you autograph my books?"
Everyone laughed at Ari's comment. The rest of the night was pure fun. Mayra took out her PS2 and pulled out both of her DDR mats. They had a DDR tournament, and in the end, Haru came out on top. After that, Hatori and Haru left, and everyone else got ready to sleep.
Ari and Mayra were in the bathroom, brushing their teeth. "Wow, I didn't know Kyo was so cute in real life!"
Ari laughed, as she finished up in the bathroom. "Is that all you can think of?"
"Well, you have to admit, it's true!" Mayra said.
"You really should make a Kyo fanclub."
Mayra cracked up, then her face became serious, "I'm scared. I mean, we have to see Akito, you know, the evil guy? What if he attacks us?"
"Mayra, Mayra, Mayra, you know that I'll scare him with my insanity before he has a chance, right?" Ari laughed.
"Ari, come on! This is serious! Remember what happened to Hatori? And Kisa! Don't tell me you're not scared."
"I am scared. But, I think deep down, he's just scared that no one cares about him except Shigure, Hatori, and Kureno. I wanna prove him wrong! I want to show him that he's loved. I'll do it even if he doesn't want me to." Ari said.
Mike had come upstairs to talk to Ari. He was going to ask her to teach him all about the Sohmas. He overheard Ari's last statement. He smiled. She really is special. I'm so lucky to have her as a friend. The two girls came out from the bathroom, and saw Mike there.
"Hey Mike, what are you up here for? Did you need something?" Ari asked.
"Um, yeah. I was wondering if you guys could try to teach me about the Sohmas again? I mean, I want to feel as comfortable here like you guys are. And tell me how life here is."
"Sure!" the girls said. They pulled him into Ari's room. and they all spent the night talking about the Sohmas. They fell asleep on the floor.
Mike woke up in the middle of the night. He saw that Ari was still on the floor, and apparently, Mayra had already went back to her room. Mike sighed. He got up, and carried Ari into her bed. He looked at her, and smiled. She looks so peaceful. I wish I could admit that I do like her. no, I don't like her... I love her. She's everything to me. He went back to his room, and had his first peaceful sleep in the past two weeks.
Awww... that's so sweet! Well, I'll continue writing the next chapter! Please review!
Review Responses
NikaPheonix: thanks for the review! I'll keep writing!
See ya next time!
Sarah-chan
