It was a boring day, and there wasn't much to do. Machi was slumped on the floor, thinking of ways to pass time. She could look out the window… but that was just as boring as sitting on the floor. She could sing a song… but that was too stupid. She could go visit Yuki… yes. That seemed like a reasonable idea. But for some reason, she just couldn't bring herself to do it. She had never been to his house before. And if she did go, she would have to be around that orange-hair guy. Which would be very awkward considering she would come to visit Yuki, the person he hated most. But finally, after much thought, she decided to go.
It took a long time getting to his house. It was somewhere in this forest place and it was well hidden. But she finally got there, and knocked on the door. It was one of those old-style sliding door houses. Like the traditional ones. Just as she was caught up thinking about traditional Japanese houses with sliding doors, a girl answered the door. She had fairly long brown hair, and deep brown eyes. She looked familiar… "Hello, would you like to come inside?" the girl asked.
Machi stepped into the house and looked around. Yep. Exactly the type of house she had pictured. "Er… is Yuki hear?" she finally asked. The girl blinked, and looked as if she were trying to process the question in her brain. "He went out for the day with Kyo-kun and Shigure-san," she said. Machi frowned, who was Shigure? And who was this girl? "I guess I'll be going then," Machi said. What a waste of time. "Oh, no…. please stay!" the girl said, "They're not going to be back for quite a while and… well… it's a little lonely," she admitted.
Machi sighed. "All right, I'll stay for a little while longer. Who are you?" she asked, "You look familiar." The girl hesitated a while before saying anything, like she was wondering if it would be okay to give her name to a stranger. "Tohru Honda," she finally said, "And… who are you?" Machi thought a while. Tohru Honda… Tohru Honda… didn't she go to the same school? "Machi Kuragi," Machi said, simply. Tohru nodded, and sat down at the table. "Would you like to sit down, Kuragi-san?" she asked. And Machi sat down, without answering.
"Are you in the student council, Kuragi-san?" Tohru asked. Machi nodded. "Do you live here?" she asked Tohru. Tohru hesitated, and fidgeted uncomfortably. "Well, er yes. You see, I was living in a tent before and… it sort of collapsed. And the Sohmas happened to live nearby and they helped me and let me stay here," she explained. Machi nodded understandingly. Interesting. "Are you in love with Yuki?" she asked, bluntly. Yuki had better not be cheating on her…
"Er… no," Tohru said uncomfortably, "Are you his girlfriend?" Am I his girlfriend? Machi wondered, all of the sudden. She had never really thought of this. She had just sort of… assumed they were together. "Well… sort of… Not exactly," she said. Tohru nodded, a little confused.
"Oh yeah… who is Shigure?" Machi asked. Tohru looked confused for a moment, probably wondering how she knew about him. "You mentioned him earlier," Machi reminded her, "When you told me Yuki wasn't here today." Tohru's face lightened like a light bulb went on in her brain. "Oh, um yes! That's right!" she said, "Well, he's Yuki and Kyo's older cousin. This is his house. He's a novelist." Machi wondered for a while what kind of books he wrote, and then decided she might as well ask her.
"What kind of books does he write?" she asked, and Tohru ran up the stairs. Machi sat bewildered. Why did she just run upstairs? Her question was soon answered however, when Tohru came running back down stairs, with a book in hand. "He lent me one of his books, but I haven't gotten around to reading it yet," she said, handing it to Machi.
A Summer Colored Sigh: We can't go back to that summer, but we can always remember… a naughty love story unfolds
Machi almost gagged. This wasn't a book! This was trash! What kind of person would write something like this? Machi decided it was defiantly time to go. "I better be going now," she said, suddenly. Tohru looked a little surprised, and then a little sad. "Oh… alright then… thank you for coming by." Machi felt sorry for her. She would have to tell Yuki that was no way to treat someone, leaving them alone for the whole day. "I'll come back," Machi promised. Tohru nodded, and thanked her. And with that Machi went out the door and headed back home. What an interesting girl, she thought.