Disclaimer: I don't own Fruits Basket and I never will, so freaking get over it.
A/N: Dear god, you people don't believe me when I tell you that Kazuma and Hanajima are a couple! Fine don't take my word for it! Just wait until volume 15, chapter 89! Then you'll see! THEN YOU'LL ALL SEE!
Onto chapter 5! (This is a really long chapter, by the way.)
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Tohru awoke to the smell of cake. It's my birthday today! Tohru jumped out of bed and got dressed humming happily to herself.
She made her way downstairs to explore the fresh smell coming from the kitchen. She walked in to find Yuki and Kyo talking and fumbling through cookbooks attempting to make cake. It was working pretty well, considering the wonderful smell. To Tohru's surprise, they weren't arguing. Thank you god for granting my wish! They've finally stopped fighting!
They both turned around. "Happy birthday Tohru." Kyo gave her his most sincere smile.
"Yes, happy birthday… Tohru-kun…" Yuki said after.
"Thank—UWAHHH! Yuki-kun, you're finally calling my by my name! I—I'm so happy!" Tohru laughed elatedly.
"Oi! We got you some gifts!" Kyo took off his oven mitts and pushed her into the dining room.
Tohru walked in to find it decorated with balloons and streamers. In the middle of the table she saw two gift bags. "Oh, this is too much! You went through so much trouble just for me!" Tohru blushed.
"It's the least we could do Tohru-kun. We owe you more than you will ever know!" Yuki picked up the bags and handed them to her.
"DRESSES!" Tohru got a girly sparkle in her eyes. "They're so wonderful! Can I try them on?" She bounced up and down excitedly.
"Do whatever you want Tohru. They're yours." Kyo smiled and opened the bathroom door.
Yuki and Kyo sat at the table while Tohru came out to model each of her dresses. They all laughed every time she imitated a catwalk. Last, she tried on the pink dress. She walked out blushing. "Um, it's a tiny bit big…" She shyly walked out to reveal the low cut.
Both Yuki and Kyo inhaled sharply. Yuki turned to Kyo to see his mouth hanging open and his face completely red. It must look better on her than he had imagined. I'd have to agree though. Yuki smiled. "I think it's fine Tohru-kun. It looks really good on you!"
Kyo got up and his hand fidgeted with something in his pocket. He walked up to Tohru and stood intimately close to her. He fingered her hair and said softly. "You look… beautiful." For a second he seemed like he was about to say something else, but then thought better of it and walked away.
Tohru stood there like a statue for a few minutes. She eventually recovered and her face turned scarlet. She just stood there for a frantic second and then a silly grin showed through her blush. "I think I'm going to wear this today!" Tohru snapped the tag off and skipped off to throw it out, humming all the while.
"She's in love alright…" Yuki laughed softly and propped himself on his shoulder.
A few minutes later the doorbell rang. Kyo, Yuki, and Tohru all rushed to see who it was, but Shigure beat them there. He opened the door and to Yuki and Kyo's horror, Ayame waltzed in with Mine by his side. Hatori and Mayuko trudged behind them mumbling something about idiots.
"TOHRU-KUUUUUN! Aya brought a gift from all of us: Hatori, Ayame, and yours truly, Shigure! THE MABUDACHI TRIO HAS SHOWERED YOU WITH THERE LOVE! (And Mine too)" Shigure sang as Mine took a handful of heart-shaped confetti and sprinkled it over Tohru.
Ayame pulled out a fluffy dress that was obviously made by him.
"I HAD NOTHING TO DO WITH IT." Hatori made clear.
"Won't you try it on, Tohru-chan? WON'T YOU?" Mine got the insane gleam in her eye.
"No, I'm wearing this dress today!" Tohru giggled happily.
There was a short pause as everyone stared at Tohru as she blushed and stared at nowhere in particular. They were amazed at the facts that she was wearing something so low-cut and that she had just refused something without apologizing for it fervently after.
Hatori broke the silence. "Mayu and I bought you something as well." He handed her a wrapped box. She unwrapped it to find a snow globe with a dragon in it. Tohru smiled up at Hatori as she read the card that was attached. Thank you for melting away the snow that had once filled my heart. It read. Hatori smiled back.
"Mayuko-sensei, what are you doing here?" Tohru asked. "I mean, I don't mean to be rude, I'm glad you came but, I wasn't expecting you!"
"Hatori asked me to come. And plus, we have something to tell all of you after." Mayuko smiled. "Happy birthday kiddo."
Tohru smiled back, and then stopped. "Now that I think of it, I don't remember inviting ANY of you here! Why… I mean what—?"
"That would be our doing, Tohru-kun." Tohru whipped around to see Hanajima and Uotani stood at the door and Uotani held a small wrapped package. "We planned a surprise party for you!" Hanajima finished.
"Tohru! This one's for you." Uotani handed her the package. "We really don't have that much money to spend so…"
"OH NO, I LOVE IT!" Tohru unwrapped an elaborate photo frame with roses and vines tangling around the glass. In it was a picture of the three of them and Kyoko. "It's beautiful. I love you both!" Tohru hugged them both and fought back tears.
"We love you too Tohru."
"Yes, you are very precious Tohru-kun."
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One by one, all of the people came. Tohru was overjoyed at the fact that so many people had shown up just for her.
Surprisingly, Ritsu came wearing men's clothing.
"Wow, Ritchan-san! You look very handsome!" Tohru greeted him at the door. "What brought this on?"
Ritsu blushed. "Well, you see, Gure-nii said that Mitchan might show up… and I don't want her to think that I'm a cross-dresser or anything like that…"
"I understand!" Tohru laughed and winked at him.
And sure enough, Mitchan came storming through the door. "SENSEI! THE MANUSCRIPT!"
"Ah, yes, that. Well, I have it, but I'll only give it to you after the party, because I know you'll run away with it if I give it to you now. So sit down and have some sake!" Shigure forced her down.
"Hey! Who brought the alcohol?" Kyo grabbed the bottle of sake.
Shigure and Ayame pointed to each other.
"SENSEIII!" Mitchan sobbed.
"There, there, you can tell me all your troubles, and I'm sure I'll sympathize." Ritsu comforted her.
"Oh, I almost forgot." Mitchan sniffed. "Here you go, Tohru-san. Happy birthday." She handed Tohru a few books. "I pulled a few strings and got these for you before they were released in stores. I think you deserve them. Just make sure Shigure does his work!"
"Thank you so much!" Tohru accepted them graciously. "And don't worry, I will."
The doorbell interrupted the party. Shigure walked in a moment later with Akito and Kureno behind him. The whole room went silent. Everybody stared at the people who had just walked in.
"K-Kureno!" Uotani broke the pregnant silence.
"Kureno, do you know this girl?" Akito asked Kureno with the usual cold tone of voice that sent shivers through everyone.
"No, she must be mistaken. I have never seen her before."
Akito didn't seem completely convinced, but dropped the subject anyway.
Uotani looked close to tears and she looked frantically up at Kureno. He shook his head, and she went quiet.
"Well, well, what do we have here? A party for our little Honda Tohru? So, why was I not invited? I came only because I heard about it from someone." Cold looks were thrown at Shigure, but he seemed unfazed. Akito advanced on Tohru. "After all I've done for you, monster, you don't even care to inform me, you wretched little monster!" He reached out and grabbed her throat.
Hanajima held Uotani back from attacking Akito. There was something sinister and bizarre about this person's waves. This man was hiding many secrets. He was cold and not someone to be trifled with. He… he… why did that word not match… his… waves? There was something wrong with it.
"ENOUGH!" Kyo yelled out. Both him and Yuki stood protectively between Akito and Tohru. Kyo clawed Akito's hand off Tohru's neck. Tohru fell to her knees gasping and clutching her throat.
"You have some nerve, nekotsuki. How dare you defy me? Don't you remember what you have done, you monster?" Akito gazed daggers at him. Kyo flinched and fell silent. Akito turned to Yuki. "And you, my little rat. You are also showing nerve, my little pet…" Akito fingered Yuki's hair. "I long for when you will return to my side…" Yuki also shrank back, sheer terror playing through his eyes.
"I'll be leaving now. I'm thinking of throwing a party of my own, and I assure you Honda Tohru, YOU WILL NOT BE INVITED." With such a threatening and loathsome echo of his words hanging in the air, Akito turned on heel and walked out closing the door with a clack.
Kureno hesitated for a minute. He turned to Tohru. "I'm very sorry, Tohru-san." Kureno bowed low to Tohru. He shot one last longing look at Uotani and followed Akito out.
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Complete silence and fear came next. Even Ayame managed to stay completely quiet.
"What was that all about?" Mitchan muttered quietly.
"So this is Sohma Akito?" Mayuko breathed.
"This man… he is a lie. There is something very wrong with this man… something too sinister to be put into words. I think this is the first time in a long time that I've been so… frightened." Everybody looked at Hanajima as she spoke quietly. "I think Arisa and I should leave now." She got up, bowed, and started walking out. She stopped a second and turned back around.
"Oh yes, and if we ever find out that this Sohma Akito has hurt Tohru-kun in any way, I will blame every Sohma in this house. So you all had best take good care of her." With that she walked out, followed by Uotani who was wiping tears from her eyes.
"I should probably leave too." Mitchan stood up. "Oh and Ritsu-san, I hope to see you again soon." She leaned down and whispered something that sounded suspiciously like "Call me." in his ear. Winking, she left, leaving Ritsu a blushing mess.
"I think that's the flirtiest I've every seen her!" Shigure laughed.
"I don't see anything funny." Came a cold reply from Hatori. He took Mayuko's hand and stood. "I think now is the time to tell you all, that Mayuko and I are going elope. Now if even a WORD of this leaks to Akito, I will personally kill whoever is responsible." He looked sharply at Shigure, but Shigure didn't have his usual conniving look on his face that he got after her found a juicy piece of information he could report to Akito. "We're going to need your help to cover up for us when we go. We're going to Kyoto to get married. Please, please don't say anything to anyone."
There was more silence; until Mine casually said "You'll be needing a wedding dress won't you?"
Everybody smiled and nodded their approval. Hatori and Mayuko looked at each other and smiled.
It must be nice to love someone so much… Thought Tohru, although she knew she was avoiding her own undeniable feelings.
And so, Tohru's birthday party came to an end.
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YAY! The party is over, but don't get excited yet, this fic is FAR from over. There is much to do, yes, much to do.
Also, just a heads up, I'm thinking of doing a doujinshi out of this. If I ever get around to doing it, I'll email every single person who commented on this fic to give them the URL for where I'm posting it.
I have another chapter coming up and I'm going to write it like RIGHT NOW, so I won't have interviews now. Got to get to work while those creative juices are still flowing! See you in chapter six (which is going to be VERY, VERY fluffy, as a warning to you all)!