Disclaimer: Still don't own Fruits Basket. But I do have a lot of really cute pictures of Shigure! Hahaha. He's cute for a drawing!
A/N: Hey, just wanted to thank you again for the reviews. Keep them coming, I love them! And any time you have a suggestion, I'm always open to them. Even flamers are okay by me! I LOVE reviews. The next chapter will be from Rika's viewpoint. Just a warning.
Rika was telling a story about when she and Ayame were twelve.
"And then, if you'll believe it, he turned into a snake!"
Shigure laughed hard, slapping his knee. Yuki shook his head in exasperation and Kyo looked appalled.
"He went right up that girl's shirt and got himself that money, and now, here we are, a troll with a diamond for a bellybutton for each of us. I love those little plastic dudes."
Once the laughter stopped, they heard the knocking that could have been going on for quite a while. "Shigure? I know you're in there. Come on, open up! I wanna see Rika!"
Tohru opened the door and Ayame came flying in. "Tohru! Lovelier every time I see you." Tohru blushed and heard Yuki yell, "Shut up Ayame!"
"Little brother!" he cried, moving toward the living room. "How are you? Rika! It's been so long, too long! Have I shown you my latest creation? It's gorgeous, you simply must come by the shop and see it. I can't wait to show you off to my customers." Rika and Ayame continued to chatter.
With the high-pitched and excited voice of Ayame, Rika's constant giggling and Shigure's loud declarations of love for some vague rock group they used to love, it was no wonder that Yuki would get annoyed. Tohru saw this with worry and saw that Kyo was watching them with a kind of horrified surprise. Now would be a good time for some kind of distraction, she thought.
"Would anyone like a snack?"
Yuki looked at her gratefully. Kyo just kept watching in bamboozled wonder. "Maybe some jelly rolls Miss Honda?" he said. Tohru smiled and went to the kitchen. Shigure, Ayame, and Rika's voices were muffled when the kitchen door closed. She was just about to pour some of the jelly when she heard the kitchen door slide back open.
Rika stood there and she was smiling at her strangely. "Just came back to see if you wanted any help with those jelly rolls."
"Oh! Well, I'm doing fine, thank you though."
"Yeah sure. I think I'll help you anyway. Kind of want to talk to you."
Tohru felt a little nervous. Rika must have sensed something, for she looked at her and said, "Don't worry. Just wanted to ask you a few questions."
Tohru didn't feel much less nervous.
"How do you like living with these guys? Obviously having to put up with Shigure's strangeness must be trying, but other than that, how's it going? Has Akito done anything?"
Tohru shivered a little from a sudden cold at the mention of Akito's name. "I love living with the Sohmas. They've given me so much and I'm so thankful. And Akito hasn't been that bad really.
"You're really good at making these jelly rolls."
Rika laughed. "Thanks. I make them a lot. They're a good snack to have after a long day of work."
"What do you do for a living?"
"Well, on Monday through Wednesday, I'm a waitress. Thursdays and Fridays I'm a masseuse, and on Saturdays I work in a chicken plant nearly all day long."
"Why do you have so many jobs?"
"Well, I after my mom was gone, I was put in foster home after foster home. When I was twelve, I learned you could only take care of yourself and I ran away. I got caught up in a gang, but once I graduated from high school I had to get all those jobs and I had to keep food on the table and with being so busy, I just really didn't have time for that kind of thing. So I guess I'm not really in that anymore." Rika stopped and looked a little surprised. Tohru was about to ask what was wrong, but Rika interrupted her. "You know, he was right. You do get people to open up with the littlest effort. He mentioned that in his letters you know."
Tohru vaguely wondered who "he" was, but was too busy blushing over the complement to really notice. "Oh no! I just ask a lot of questions. I'm nosy more than anything else." Rika laughed.
"You're so jumpy! That's not really the right word, but I don't know what it is right now. Come on, let's go out there and pry Yuki off Ayame. I'm sure he's said something by now to make Yuki want to kill him."
The two of them went out there and Yuki was indeed getting angrier and angrier. His purple eyes were blazing with anger. Ayame was going on happily about something or other, not realizing that Yuki was only taking offense in what Ayame was saying. Shigure was watching with some kind of sick amusement and Kyo seemed to have vacated the room to avoid the danger.
"Ayame! Why don't you come into the kitchen with me for a little bit!" said Rika. "I need your help. Tohru, I'm sure you can entertain these two in his stead."
Yuki smiled even more gratefully at Rika and she winked at him. Tohru watched this and then sat down. Ayame and Rika left the room.
"Are you okay Yuki?" asked Tohru. Kyo came back in silently and sat down beside her.
"Yeah, I'm fine. He can be so…" he just trailed off and clenched his fists.
"I don't think he really knows what he's doing. My mom always said that people could have so many differences that they don't really see that what they're doing might seem wrong or upsetting to another person. I'm sure Ayame was just saying all those things to make you laugh or something."
Yuki only nodded, but he looked a lot more at peace than he had before.
