Disclaimer: Neither Fruits Basket nor the Fruits Basket characters belong to me. They are the property of Natsuki Takaya.
I will take credit for the plot and all original characters. As they are all mine!
Thank you Steff7, Liviania, na-chan, Kyo-obsessedru2, Dark Inu Fan, andBlack-wingedAngel Sami for reading and reviewing. Your support encourages me more than I can say.
Chapter 5 Meanwhile Back in San Diego
Momiji's first month in San Diego passed quickly as he did his best to familiarize himself with the new surroundings and to find a place to live. His father's San Diego office did have corporate apartments and he could have chosen one to live in, but they just didn't suit his temperament. He perused all the newspapers and checked out a lot of homes and finally found the perfect place. It was a small bungalow on one of the less frequented beaches with 3 bedrooms and 2 baths. He thought the extra rooms might come in handy if any of his cousins decided to visit or if he were to entertain friends or business colleagues. The bungalow itself was built of a faded rose stone and the interior boasted a southwest décor that he absolutely loved! The Americans did things on a large scale. The whole land was immense. He loved standing on the second floor balcony and looking out over the ocean or back toward the city lights, depending on his mood. It had been an interesting month. San Diego has so many wonderful places to explore and he was endlessly fascinated by his fathers import/export business. He had met many new people and was beginning to feel like he belonged in this country. There was a freedom about the place, an invitation to be anyone you wanted to be. For the first time he was beginning to understand the lure of this huge country.
Friday morning, about 3 weeks after he had arrived, he went into the office late and there was a memo on his desk stating that a Kristin Taylor had called. The message read; "Hope you recovered from your headache, Sohma-san. Call me if you would like someone to show you the sites." He grinned. So the stewardess from the plane had taken him up on his offer to call sometime. He had wondered at the back of his mind from time to time if she would. She had really been cute with her bouncy blonde hair and large teal eyes. The eyes had reminded him of Tohru in the color and size. That was probably why he had given her his business card.
He looked at the mountain of paper in his in box and sighed. First he would have to get through all that and then he could think about having fun. It probably wouldn't hurt to call her and make arrangements to meet her for the evening meal. He turned to his phone and dialed the number she had left.
"Hello" said the voice on the other end of the line after three rings.
"Hello, may I speak with Kristin Taylor-san, please."
"Sohma-san, it must be you, I can't think of anyone else who would ask to speak to me in quite that way unless it was one of my roommates."
Momiji chuckled. " I suppose that is true. I am not quite immersed enough in American culture to know what is acceptable phone etiquette."
Kristin laughed in turn. "That was perfectly alright Sohma-san. It made it easy for me to figure out who was calling. How has your stay in San Diego been? Have you gotten acclimated yet?"
"It's been wonderful. I've settled into my office and found the perfect place to stay while I am here. There are so many sites in this wonderful city that I've barely scratched the surface. I love America already."
"That's great! I wasn't sure if you would return my call or not since it's been so long since we met. I'm glad you did."
"I couldn't resist the temptation to speak with the first American I met on my way here, especially since you are quite cute."
"Sohma-san! Are you always so irrepressible?"
"Irrepressible…let me get my dictionary, I don't know that word." There was a short silence after that comment. "Hmmm…ah…yes I am!"
"Did you seriously have to look that up in the dictionary?'
"Well, not really. I asked my secretary what it meant. She is very helpful when I need to know what unfamiliar American words mean."
"That seems so funny to me, but then, I have to ask my friends who immigrated here from Japan what some of their words mean. I can speak and understand a little Japanese, but I'm not very skilled yet."
"I think you must be very skilled in the language. But I don't have much time to talk right now. You should see my in-basket, it's about 12 inches high and I have to work my way through it. What I did call about was to ask if you might have time to have dinner with me tonight?"
"I don't have a flight until tomorrow morning, so if we are not out very late, I do have the time. Shall I meet you somewhere?"
"Yes, please. Do you know where Sushi Taisho is?"
"Of course, it's one of my favorite restaurants. What time?"
"8:00 p.m., if that won't be too late."
"That will be fine. I will see you then. Sohma-san, would you not like to see the pictures that my friends and I took on our recent vacation? It was a wonderful trip and we saw so many new places."
"Hai, that would be good. It will give us something to break the awkward silences."
"Somehow, I think you are seldom at a loss for words. Bye for now."
Momiji placed the receiver back in the cradle and smiled. "Kristin-san, I think you are never at a loss for words either." He was looking forward to seeing her again tonight. He had not established any firm friendships as of yet and it was lonely at times.
The day flew by quickly. Between returning phone calls and working through the proposals and invoices in his in-basket, it was 7:00 before Momiji even realized it. "Sohma-san," came the voice of his secretary.
"Yes, Hayashi-san?"
"It's 7:00. I am going to begin shutting down and locking up."
"It's already that late? Thank you for your hard work today. We made quite a dent in the pile of work that was waiting for us this morning. I need to leave as well as I am meeting a friend at Sushi Taisho at 8 p.m."
"You better hurry Master Sohma or you won't make it."
"I know." Momiji hurriedly rummaged in the small closet back in the corner of his office for a clean shirt and jacket. Five minutes later he was saying good night and walking out the door.
Kristin looked at her watch. It was still 15 minutes before the scheduled time, but she had been so afraid she would be late. She sat on a barstool and watched the door.
Momiji walked in the door of the restaurant and glanced around. Kristin spotted him and waved. He's even better looking than I remembered and I remembered him being very good looking.
Momiji waved back, he had been afraid he might not recognize her after all this time but the teal eyes triggered his memory.
"Kristin-san, it is a pleasure to see you again."
"Thank you Sohma-san. I am happy to see you again as well."
Momiji walked to the front desk and gave his name. "Right this way sir, we have your table ready for you."
"Miss Taylor, shall we?" Momiji offered her his arm, which she took without hesitation.
The table looked out over the end of the street to the beach. The lighting was warm and the atmosphere pleasant.
"Miss Taylor, I have a request."
"Yes, Sohma-san."
"Please call me Momiji. I have a feeling we are going to be good friends and we are in America so I would like to do as the Americans do."
Kristin smiled hugely. "With pleasure, Momiji. In return I ask that you call me either Kristin or Kristi. My best friends call me Kristi."
"Kristi…" Momiji tried the name out. "I think I like that name. I shall call you Kristi, if that is okay."
"Please do." The two ordered their meal and then talked for a few minutes over a glass of white wine while they waited for their salads and appetizers.
The waiters were very unobtrusive and came and went without interrupting the conversation. The food was excellent and the quiet atmosphere was conducive to conversation. Eventually the talk came around to where Kristi had been for the last three weeks.
"My friends and I took a long car trip up the West Coast. We visited Northern California, Oregon, Washington State, and British Columbia, Canada. It was gorgeous. You will really have to make that drive before you return to Japan. And it was so much cooler than Phoenix. That's where we make our home."
"Phoenix, Arizona?" Momiji asked in surprise.
"Why yes. I didn't tell you that was where I lived did I?"
"No you didn't. It seems to be quite a coincidence. Right before I left Japan, one of my cousins gave me a business card with the name of a company in Phoenix. It was called AJ's Fine Foods and was in the Import/Export business. I looked them up on the computer at work and found out they were one of our clients."
Kristin's eyes widened in surprise. "You've got to be kidding. It's even more of a coincidence than you realize."
"Oh, how so?"
"One of my roommates, Tori Tanaka, works at AJ's Fine Foods. She is one of their buying agents. Mostly she works with the East Coast clientele."
"That is truly amazing."
"Here let me show you some of my pictures and you can see what each of my roommates look like. I have three."
"That must be fun! I would love to see the photos."
Kristi pulled out her photos that she had developed at Wal-Mart just a day or two before returning to San Diego. Many of them were scenic vistas, but there were also quite a few featuring her and her roommates.
"This is a group photo that we conned one of the other tourists to take for us. On the end is my roommate Risa Uotani, next to her is Tori Tanaka, then Saki Hanajima, and on this end of course is myself."
Momiji stared at the photo. The name wasn't familiar, but the face had frequented his dreams for 10 years. Tori Tanaka had to be either Tohru Honda, or her twin sister.
Kristi went on to show her other pictures as he held on to the group portrait. She figured he kept it so he could match up the faces with the names.
Momiji was suitably impressed by the scenery and made the appropriate comments. Saki Hanajima, Arisa Uotani, and the third person just had to be Tohru Honda even if she was going by a new name. Those two wouldn't be here if it weren't Tohru.
"Wow Kristi, there are some spectacular sites up the West Coast. I would very much like to take that trip. Tell me, do you and your friends ever come to San Diego together?"
"It was great Momiji. I'm not sure how long you are here for, but it is worth the time. As for my friends and me coming to San Diego, They usually come every other month. The airline provides a corporate apartment for its employees that have to spend a lot of time away from home because of their flight schedules. When I have a free weekend, they come visit me here. All three of them have regular Monday through Friday schedules so it is easier for them to make a six hour drive here than it is for me to make it back to Phoenix at times. We love the beach and usually spend our weekends there."
"Really, then I have a suggestion. I am leasing a bungalow on this wonderful beach and it is much too big for just me. I was hoping I might make some friends and have people visit from time to time. Do you think you and your friends would be interested in a weekend in a beach bungalow?"
"For sure! But are you sure it won't be too much trouble?"
"Kristi, why would I find four beautiful women too much trouble? I think I would really enjoy having company and could even arrange a beach party for some of my colleagues here in San Diego that weekend. Oh, listen to me…I couldn't possibly do that without asking each of you to help out. Let's go back to Plan A, you and your friends come visit me."
"I don't know…I like Plan B. I'm sure we wouldn't mind helping you out with a party for your coworkers. We love stuff like that and it would only be one night of the weekend, right?"
"That's true, but when would we arrange it?"
"Let me check my Day-timer."
"Day-timer?"
"It's a little black book that allows me to keep track of all my appointments and schedules."
"Oh, you don't use a palm pilot or something comparable"
"Actually no, you see I like writing things down on paper with a pen. It helps me remember them better. Let's see…yes just as I thought. In three weeks Risa, Hana, and Tori are coming to visit."
"Great. That means I have time to hand out invitations and plan a menu, and entertainment. I'll have Hayashi-san help me with the planning."
"Then I will let my friends know what to expect on their next visit. This will be so much fun."
"Yes it will. I'm so glad you decided to call Kristi."
"Me too, Momiji. However; it's getting late and I have to be at the airport early tomorrow for my flight."
"Forgive me, Kristi. I am being inconsiderate in keeping you so late."
"It's quite alright Momiji and not inconsiderate at all. I have thoroughly enjoyed getting to know you tonight."
"Thank you and I've enjoyed chatting with you too."
"Did you drive here?"
"No, I actually took a taxi. It's easier."
"Then may I give you a ride home? My car is outside."
"Certainly, if it's not too much trouble."
Somehow or other, Kristin was not surprised when the valet brought up a bright yellow Mazda Miata. She just shook her head.
"I should have known, you don't do anything halfway do you Momiji?"
"Nope, not if I can help it. Life was meant to be lived."
Momiji dropped Kristin off at her apartment and then headed home. The night had been full of surprises.
"Be surprised at everything!"He remembered telling Tohru that and laughed at himself. Some things were very surprising. He sat out on the balcony and gazed at the sea. His thoughts were busy but quiet. The world was a very small place. How suprising it had been to actually meet a person who was the roommate of the very person he had come to America to find.
As he went to bed that night, he gazed at the group portrait Kristi had told him he could have. She had duplicates she assured him and this way he could recognize everyone when they came to San Diego in three weeks. Tohru was only a state away…what is she like now he wondered.
A/N: That's it for now. Tell me,is it good, is it bad? Did it drag., was it interesting? I really would appreciate some feedback on this chapter as it was a bit different writing this one. Thank you for reading.