Disclaimer: I don't own Fruits Basket, but I own my OCs (hence, the entire Hirugashi family).
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Kyo walked down the path by the lake at the Sohma family Lakside house. The sun sparkled on the water's surface and he kicked a rock that was on the path in front of him. It landed in the water with a soft plunk and he stared at the ripples speeding away from their center point. It had been two weeks since Yuki and Tohru had started going out, and he had felt miserable since then. Especially since that damn rat rubbed it in his face whenever he could, putting his arm around Tohru's shoulders, giving her little kisses on her cheek whenever Kyo was around...it made him sick.
"You damn rat! I'm gonna kill you!"
Kyo jumped when he heard a female voice yell that from not too far off. He ran over to a grove of trees and stopped when he saw two young women standing there. One had blonde hair and green eyes, and the other had black hair and brown eyes.
"What are you so worked up about?" the blonde said, tossing her shoulder-length hair.
"You'd better stop talking about me that way, Shizuka!" the black haired girl said, her brown eyes feirce with rage.
"Oh really, Umi? Why shouldn't I talk that way about you, baka neko (stupid cat)? You can't even earn your place in the zodiac." Shizuka replied. Umi lunged at her, and after a short battle, Shizuka grabbed Umi's arm and threw her into the lake. She surfaced, coughing and she stared straight at Shizuka.
"This isn't over you damn rat!" she screamed as Shizuka walked away into the woods. She swam to the shore of the lake and pushed herself on to the land. She shivered as she stood up. Kyo ran over to help her.
"Daijobu (Are you all right)?" he asked her. She looked at him, startled, and nodded. Her eyes were wide, as if she was afraid of him. She started to back away, but he held his hands up to show that he meant her no harm.
"It's okay, I won't hurt you." he said, being as gentle as possible. She stopped moving and looked a little uneasy, as if she was debating on whether or not to trust him. He reached out his hand to her. "It's okay. I'll help you."
Umi felt scared. Why was this man trying to help her? But she also felt like she could trust him, although she didn't understand why. She reached for his hand and grabbed it.
"I'm Umi. Umi Hirugashi." she said quietly. Kyo smiled.
"I'm Kyo Sohma."
Umi smiled back, and then sneezed. "Gomen ne (I'm sorry). I'm a little cold after being thrown into that lake." she said, chuckling. Kyo laughed.
"I guess you would be. C'mon, my family's lake house isn't too far away."
Umi smiled and followed him, not knowing what laid in store for her.
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Shigure sat at a small table in the living room of the Sohma Lake Home, sipping tea. He looked up to see Kyo walking in with a black haired girl who was soaking wet. He noticed right away that the girl looked very thin, pale and worn out, as if she was in the midst of a struggle. He stood up.
"Ah, Kyo-chan. Who's your friend?"
"This is Umi. Umi, this is my cousin Shigure."
"It's nice to meet you, Shigure-san." Umi said, bowing and shivering. She sneezed as she straightened herself back up. "Gomen ne." she said, covering her nose with her hand.
"Oh my, are you cold? Would you like a blanket?"
"Uhmmm..." Umi said, and looked at Kyo. Kyo's eyes went soft.
"I'll go get you one, Umi. You just wait here."
"Um...o-okay."
Umi walked over to the small table and knelt on one of the blue floor cushions. Shigure sat across from her. He cleared his throat, and tried to spark up a conversation.
"So, Umi was it?"
She nodded, and turned her head towards the window.
"Um...do you live around here?"
"My family has a summer home near here."
"Ah, must be nice there in the spring..."
"I suppose," she shrugged. "The head of my family gets sick a lot though, so we can't go outside much."
"Oh really? Sounds alot like Aki-..."
"Who?"
"Ah, never mind."
"Okay." she said as she continued to stare out the window
Kyo walked into the room, carrying a red fleece blanket. Umi looked at him and smiled warmly, and Kyo felt himself blush. He draped the blanket around her shoulders, and when she grabbed it to pull it around herself, their hands touched very breifly. But it was long enough for Kyo to feel how soft and smooth her skin was. He felt his cheeks getting redder than they were before. He saw Umi's cheeks turn pink and then they pulled apart.
Tohru and Yuki walked in soon after. Tohru saw a black-haired girl sitting at the table across from Shigure-san and next Kyo-kun.
'C-could she be a new member of the Zodiac?' she thought, walking over to the table.
"Oh, hello!" Tohru said, sitting by Umi. "I'm Tohru Honda. What's your name?"
"I-I'm Umi. Umi Hirugashi. It's nice to meet you."
"It's nice to meet you too!" Tohru replied, smiling. Umi smiled shyly. Yuki looked at her and also smiled.
"And I'm Yuki Sohma."
Suddenly, Umi felt intense hatred towards this guy. She didn't know why, she hadn't even gotten to know him yet. But there was something about him that she hated instantly. She smiled politley.
"It's nice to meet you."
"So, Umi-san. Where do you live?" Tohru asked, smiling in that goofy way that just made people open up to her.
"I live in Tokyo, not too far away from another big estate."
"Really? Do you know who it belongs to?"
"No. The only time I see it is when I walk by it after school or grocery shopping. I haven't gotten a chance to read the nameplate yet."
Umi pulled the blanket tighter around her shoulder. She felt dizzy and sleepy. Her eyes were slowly closing.
"Pardon me if I seem rude, but I'm really sleepy." she said, feeling her eyes close.
Umi's head gently rested against Kyo's shoulder. Everyone grew tense, ready to see Kyo transform. But, much to everyone's surprise, he didn't. In fact, was he blushing?
"Kyo, why don't you lay her down on one of the futons upstairs? It seems like she needs her sleep."
Kyo nodded. He liftedUmi up in his arms and gently carried her upstairs. She snuggled closer to his body, and he looked at her, and wondered what her family life was like. She was so lightweight and fragile. He noticed large bruises on her arms and wondered if she was being abused at home. He gently laid her on the floor as he got a futon out of the closet. He heard her stir and she sat up.
"Did I fall asleep?" she asked, yawning.
"Yeah, you did. It's okay, though." he replied.
Umi sat up. "Why are you helping me?" she asked, a tone of curiosity in her voice. Kyo stood up. Why WAS he helping her? Just as he was about to answer, he heard her slide to the floor very slowly. He turned and saw that she had fallen asleep. He chuckled, and spread the futon out on the floor. Umi's body was so delicate and she was so fragile that he was very careful when he lifted her up and placed her on the futon, covering her with a blanket. He then quietly walked out of the room, closing the door behind him.
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Umi tossed and turned as she slept, if you could even call it sleep. Every time she tried to catch some Z's, her dreams were always flooded with the voices of her family.
'You're so worthless Umi. You know everyone hates the Cat.'
'Why are you trying to act cute, baka neko? It never works. People will still hate you.'
But this time, while the voices of her mother and sister were shouting in her head, other voices, softer and kinder, were whispering in the background. She couldn't hear what they were saying, but she knew that those people didn't hate her. She knew that these people cared about her, and she wanted to hear them.
But then she saw a horrifying image. One that she knew would keep everyone away. She sat up in a cold sweat, eyes wide open and gasping for air. Placing a quivering hand on her forehead, she looked around. This wasn't her room, or even her house! But then she remembered that she had been taken in by a family called "Sohma" for a little while. She looked down, and saw a red blanket around her. Lifting it up to her face, she took a deep breath, taking in the scent of the blanket. It carried the scent of Kyo.
'This must be his own blanket!' she thought, still holding the blanket to her face. He had a very comforting smell, but she also smelled something familiar to her, although she didn't know what it was. She pushed the blanket aside and stood up, wandering out of the room and down the hallway. Walking down the stairs, she heard the people talking. She slowed down to listen.
"Do you think she even has a home somewhere?" (Yuki)
"Well, she did say that her family had a summer home around here." (Shigure)
"Yeah, but as I was carrying her upstairs, I saw a lot of bruises and scarson her arms. I wonder if she's getting abused." (Kyo)
"That's awful!" (Tohru, Shigure and Yuki)
"Well, it was just a guess!" (Kyo)
"Even though it's a horrible thing to think of." (Yuki)
"What'd you say to me, rat boy?" (Kyo)
At this point, Umi walked over to them as silently as she could. But Kyo must've heard her, because he looked up when she was still far away from the room.
"Hey. You okay?" he said to her. She stopped and looked at him.
"Yep. I'm fine! I think I sould be going home now, my parents might be worried about me." she replied, smiling.
'Yeah right. They're probably only worried about dinner being cooked on time.' she thought.
Kyo stood up and walked over to her. "Are you sure? You can stay here if you like." he said, his eyes pleading. Umi smiled sadly.
"Sorry. Maybe I'll come back sometime soon."
"Do you need me to call your parents?" Shigure asked from the other room.
"Well...they can't be reached right now. You can call my sister, though."
"Okay. What's your number?"
After Umi told Shigure her sister's cell phone number, she and Kyo went in and sat down with Tohru and Yuki.
"So Umi-san, what are your hobbies?" Tohru asked. Umi blushed
"W-well...I don't have too many...but I like cooking and reading."
"Really? I like to cook too!"
"That's nice. Maybe we should make a snack for everyone."
Tohru nodded. "Are you two hungry?" she asked Kyo and Yuki. They nodded and the girls walked into the kitchen where they heard Shigure talking on the phone.
"Yes, she's quite all right...She's making some food with Tohru-kun...You can pick her up whenever-...oh, I guess you can come now...Okay, I'll see her sister soon then? Goodbye." he turned to Tohru and Umi. "I just talked to a cousin of yours, Yusuke I think he said his name was. He said he'll be sending your sister over right away." he said to Umi, who nodded sadly. "Don't worry, I'll watch for her."
"Well, I guess that I should go wait for her." she replied, walking back into the living room.
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Shigure stood in the entryway, waiting for Umi's guardian to arrive. A few seconds later, the door flew open and a white haired, brown-eyed twenty-six year old woman walked through the door.
"Where's Umi?" she asked, walking past Shigure and seeming to catch his glance.
"She's in the living room. You're her, guardian, I presume?"
She nodded. "My name's Cerla (pronounced Ser-la)" and her voice had a slight British accent.
"It's very nice to meet you Cerla-chan."
"Yeah, yeah. Whatever. Now, where's the living room?"Shigure had just pointed down the hall when Cerla began to walk down the hall, her long hair flowing behind her. He sighed and shrugged. If she wanted to be rude, then so be it.
Cerla stormed into the living room, and stared straight at Umi. "What are you doing here! You were supposed to be home ages ago!"
"I know…I'm sorry Onee-san."
Cerla sighed and nodded. "It's okay." She said, sitting next to her and giving her a hug. "You know I was worried about you. Why didn't you come home?"
"Well, Shizuka threw me in the lake, and I came to this houseand took a nap."
She nodded towards Kyo, who blushed. "He helped me get here."
Cerla glanced at Kyo and nodded. "Thank you for helping my little sister. I'm very grateful. Now we must be getting home Umi. I have to start dinner."
Shigure shook his head in protest. "Nonsense. You can eat here."
Cerla shook her head. "I have another sister waiting for me at home. Maybe some other time."
"Oh, all right then" Shigure said, a hint of sadness in his voice.
Cerla nodded, helped Umi up, and they both walked out the door.
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"What were you doing there? You know that house belongs to those AWEFUL Sohmas." Cerla said as she drove Umi home in her black Suzuki Aero.
"I know…it's just that…they were so nice to me. And Tohru-chan wasn't a Sohma. She said her last name was Honda." Umi said, staring at her lap.
Cerla sighed impatiently. "But still…that house…our family's against them. We can't go against our family whether we like it or not."
"I know…but why does it have to be this way? Why can't we just work together?"
Cerla sighed again. "Well, Umi…it's all in the past now. Let's just get home and have Yusuke-kun look at your leg, okay?"
"I suppose…but…"
"But what?"
"Why do we have to compete with them to break the curse?"
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A/N: Well, do you like it so far? I hope you do. My friend (a Shigure addict) came up with Cerla, so I don't own her. (Darn!) Well, I'll update as soon as I can! Sayonara!
-Half-Breed Ghost-