Chapter 1: Lost in Translation

Disclaimer: Nopers. I sadly don't own Fruits Basket, or any of its bishionen…sobbeth. T.T I DO own Kasey Watson and Raye DeWinter. I will update on a…semi regular basis. I'll try not to get side tracked with my other stories…much. But, on with the fic!

I straightened out my tank top and jeans and looked approvingly at the mirror. I nodded in satisfaction and left my room, picking up my suitcase on the way. In the hallway mirror, I couldn't help but fluff my light chestnut hair. It's always been one of my habits. Looking into mirrors. There's always something imperfect that I feel compelled to change.

This time it was my bangs that were falling into my line of vision. Then I examined my much-to-light-for-my-features eyes. They had a strange habit of changing colors on me. One minute they were a light mint green, the next they were a bright blue, or my friends often said they had a gray tint to them. But nonetheless, I stared into them, my gaze unwavering. They were the only perfect things on my entire being in my opinion. But my friend Kasey often said otherwise. I have a slim form, and I'm a bit tan, as are most girls who live near the coast. So nothing really out of the ordinary. My hair is strikingly dark compared to my mother's, especially since she's blonde. So I guess I look like my dad, little that I remember.

Shrugging off these observations, I walk downstairs and see my mother, age 42, sitting in front of the Shopping Channel. She's cursing at them for having such unimaginably high prices for French clothes that are OBVIOUSLY knock-offs. And I guess I agree. But I peck her on the cheek for good measure.

"OH! Mon' Cheri! You're leaving for zis Japan already? Mon' Petite let Ma'ma' take you to ze' airport! I'm so proud of my baby girl! She'z going to Japan! And to study abroad no less!" she says, with that beautiful, flowing French accent of hers. I have one too, but I only use it when I'm a) nervous, or b) panicking, or possibly c) totally po'd. Mom's blue eyes are so pleading but I shake my head.

"Sorry Ma'ma'! I have to meet Kasey on my own! I'm not a little girl anymore! For God's sake mom, I'm what, 22? I think I can manage a 3-year trip! Don't worry, I'll call once we get there and tell you everything's ok!" I reassure her, I mentally cringe at the childish way I address her. I really should call her Mother, and not call her what I did when I was in diapers. She sighed and draped her arms over me.

"Oh Raye…mon petite…I know…I should let you go now…but PROMISE your mother that you'll call her? I don't know what I'd do wizout you!" she pleads. I nod and smile, trying desperately not to be late…again. Kasey says that's one of my biggest shortcomings. I have no sense of direction, nor time. As I pry her off of me I smile, though I want to hit the woman for being so darn clingy. I mean, I understand she loves me, especially since I'm her only daughter, and her little boys are with my father, but COME ON! Does she HAVE to keep me here FOREVER! I feel like a dog on a leash. A very, very short leash.

As I wave goodbye in my hot little black Toyota truck I sigh happily. I love this truck. It has a HUGE sound system, little cup holders, leather seats, a nice truck bed in the back, four-wheel drive, the works. It even is personalized because I have little fuzzy black dice hanging from the rear-view mirror and a stuffed snake wrapped around the heads of the seats. It may seem strange for a girl to love both cars and reptiles so much, which may be why my dad loves me so darn much. He's an American, in case you haven't guessed. So that explains why I don't like to use my French dialect. But my mom is close to me too…it's just she's a bit overprotective. My two little twin brothers, Kal and Marcus, are only 13 and live with dad in the no tan zone of Ohio. I thankfully, live in California.

I just love the sound my truck makes when it goes over our gravel driveway to our mansion in Beverly Hills. Oh yes, our house. As I look back at it in all its white 'look at me' marble, and it's decadent landscaping, I swoon. How can I put it? Mom's loaded. But that's because her father, my Grandpere', is a French ambassador and has been since she was little. I love the old guy. He's so nice it makes your teeth hurt. And he doesn't get on my case for being hyper, bubbly, and a bit tomboyish. Unlike many others in our French family. The French seem to like the saying "Seen, but not heard." That doesn't apply to me very well. My friends and family within a mile radius can hear me. It's a talent of mine. But I seem to still need a E-Z Japanese translation book. I've tried to tell Kasey that they talk English over there too, but she doesn't believe me.

"Wow…here already…" I say. I was zoning off again, thinking incoherent thoughts and babbling nonstop. That's also a habit of mine. When I'm excited or nervous, I babble. I try to park my darling baby truck so no one will hit it, and tell the man that is by the 'boarding cars' to be careful with it. He just smiles and nods, taking my precious keys. Sighing, I go into the airport to meet my friend Kasey. As I don't see her, I go to the clearance line.

"Gawd, this line is SO long…" I mutter, expecting no answer. Instead, I hear a cynical voice that has a feminine flair to it answer in a biting, yet caring tone.

"Well, it wouldn't BE so long if you'd move instead of zone out! You are SUCH a space case Raye!" Kasey says as I whip around. Kasey has long, curly deep brown hair, and stunning, yet clear silver eyes. Her eyes remind me of ice. The kind you skate on but can still se through, and you see fuzzy things under it. Her eyes are like that, only the fuzzy look only appears if she's thinking about something deeply. Her body is really slim and she has on a blouse and jeans. Her suitcase is already on the little conveyer belt thingy, in front of mine and she smiles at my shocked expression at her sudden appearance.

Her smile is really odd. It can't really be called a smile I guess. More like a smirk. Or a very WEAK and PUNY smile. It's like it just barely lifts at the edges. But I'm basically the only person who can make her smile. Her parents haven't seen her smile since the day she introduced me to them. They told me later she seemed so happy and proud of me. No clue why. If it were me, I would dread the day I brought a friend like me home. But I am once again zoning out.

"Mayhap Kasey…but I sure do know how to have fun, non?" I say, throwing in some French for good measure. She seems to like my French talk. It's so weird. Especially since I don't see anything that special about it. I mean, about 40 MILLION other people speak it. So why so impressed?

"Yeah, now let's go before we miss our plane Fluff-for-Brains!" she says commandingly, but gently and lovingly. I smile and nod, following, but not before making sure the guards get our stuff and put it on the chute to our plane. Grandpere' had his luggage in Africa once, but he was in Russia! It was amusing, since he had on a short-sleeved business shirt and slacks on. It was freezing there too.

As we waited for our plane to board, we decided to people watch. And we are truly strange, since we like to make up histories for people we see randomly. I picked out a guy that was slumped over his newspaper and was taking a long, almost sad drag from his cigarette, or as I call them, cancer sticks. This seemed to remind Kasey of her OWN cancer sticks, and she lit one and began to smoke. I pointed to him.

"That guy just went through a heart-wrenching devoice. His wife left him for a Spanish cur named Fernando, and he caught them having a candle lit dinner in their apartment. His wife, her name is May, is a sleazy harlot named Hannah. They met on a cruise for singles about three years ago, and got married five months later. They have two kids, both boys. And the mother is keeping them because they chose her. he is now escaping the country and will change his name to James instead of his real name, which is Lars, because he is Hungarian! His broken heart has been drenched in alcohol and cancer sticks. And now he is trying to see if they are in the wedding announcements! The poor, poor dear!" I say, explaining his heart breaking past. Kasey laughs and puffs out a huge gray cloud of smoke. I wrinkle my nose.

"Ya know…you're a walking hypocrite! You're going to medical school, and you KNOW cancer sticks make you die, yet you still smoke them! 'Do as I say, not as I do', huh?" I say accusingly. She smiles again and shrugs. She likes how I get so worked up over her health.

"Yeah…but I'm not a doctor. I'm going to be a psychiatrist, remember? And you should really become a writer instead of a Graphic Artist. Or do something else, like clothes design, and put your talents to GOOD use! Okay…my turn. See that girl over there? The one with the romance novel?" Kasey said, pointing, "She went to a ballet school in New York, but fell madly in love with her dance partner. From there on in, they could only have awkward silences and their dancing was forced, because he didn't feel the same way for her. and now the poor thing has come to California, seeking a place to stay with her parents who live in Beverly Hills, maybe her parents are in your mom's country club, but they refused. They refused to give her a place to stay because they told her to become a lawyer and she wanted to be a dancer. So now she is going to Germany to find another dance school and to find her true love, which was a German boy she knew in high school, and he is one of the dance instructors at the school she got accepted to!"

"Oh yes, and she got in because he begged them to let her in. but that's because he's loved her ever since his first day of high school. And now when they meet again, they'll fall in love again and marry and live happily ever after!" I giggled, finishing up for her. She nodded and smiled.

"Flight A36 now boarding. Flight A36 to Japan is now boarding," the PA said. We got up and flashed our tickets to the ticket man and went to our seats in the plane. I got the window seat and looked out lazily. I felt my eyes start to droop after thirty minutes of airtime, and I remember Kasey watching the in flight movie. No one can say I can't sleep anywhere. No matter how uncomfortable the situation is, if I'm tired, I sleep. It's kind of helpful if I'm nervous or upset. But other than that, the flight was a blur.

After some turbulence as we landed, I woke up and found myself in Japan. Kasey was smiling and puffing away at one of those evil cancer sticks again. She must have gone through a zillion of em when I was sleeping. She gets nervous when I sleep. But that's because I have SLIGHT asthma, and could stop breathing if I have a horribly bad dream. But no biggie.

We got off, collected our things, and found a sign with out names on it being held by a man I hadn't seen in years. I ran to the chauffer and gave him a hug, his gray hair shifted and he returned the gesture.

"Hello Ms. DeWinter! It's been a while. Your Grandfather sent me to escort you to your hotel. He said you're staying at the Uremia Manor Hotel. Very nice choice, if it's not too bold," he said.

"Oh James! Why are you so formal? You've known me since I was born! You were always Grandpere's BEST butler!" I say happily. He smiles in return, the old guy is like a second grandpa, I swear.

"You're right Raye. Now, let's go. I'll have to leave for France after you're dropped off, but when your Grandpere visits, I'll come too!" James says with a warm old smile. I nod, if not a bit unhappy. James won't get to stay with me like usual. Grandpere must be having some big shindig at his mansion again. We ride in the limo, James getting our things for us. Kasey is even more uncomfortable now, as she's never liked my Grandpere's way of 'over elaborating things' as she calls it.

We unpack the minute we get to the hotel and then go out walking to sight see. Being as we're going to be living on these local streets, it wouldn't be a bad idea to get to know them. We still have to find a house or apartment too. We can't live in a hotel for three years.

"HEY! Look at these little charms! I'm getting a dragon!" Kasey says happily. I roll my eyes, no surprise there. She was born a few months before me, and was born in the December of the Year of the Dragon. I was born in the June of the following year, so I'm the Year of the Snake. This also makes her 24, while I'm still 23. she's very much like an older sister to me.

"HEY! A SNAKE! Ahhhh! I want it, I want it, I want it!" I swoon, seeing the most adorable little snake charm for your cell phone and a snake barrette for your hair. I pay the man at the register and place it in my hair, and put the charm on my cell. Kasey does the same with her dragon charm, but she got dragon earrings. We stroll past people in the back streets, and everything is so amazing here. The cherry trees line the one side of the road and there is a low lying stonewall there too. It's all so cute! Just as I peer into the window of a shop that has a snake wrapped around a girl on the over banner and a rose with a single word 'Ayame' on the lit sign, I hear Kasey gasp and fall to the ground. As I spin around my eyes widen in fear.

"KASEY! Oh Mon' Cherie'! what are we going to do! You're having a heart cramp, aren't you?" I say in a rush of words, my nervousness making me speak a bit of French. She nods, gasping for air. I can see tears brimming her eyes, but she won't let them fall, as stubborn as she is. I look around frantically, but brighten as I remember my own advice. All people in Japan speak English too! I grab a passing man's coat sleeve and look at him hopefully.

"PLEASE! Can you tell me where I can find a doctor? My friend is sick and she needs help!" I say desperately. He looks at me like I'm an alien. And then he goes and spouts out one long line of Japanese at me.

"Do you know English?" I say desperately. He shakes his head.

"Ie."

I'm guessing that means no, so now I'm in an even bigger panic. Now I'm in a foreign country, no butler, no English-speaking people around, and my friend is having a minor heart attack! I can feel myself cry, and people gather, thinking this is street acting. Are they really that blind?

"Oh Merde! Ja teste', Mon Cherie! Hold on! Tre' mien? Jes' Oui ou da more'?" I say worriedly. Like I said, I talk in Old French when I'm upset and nervous. Suddenly a man steps from the circle. He has long silver hair and understanding gold eyes. He lays a hand on mine and looks at me worriedly.

"Is she going to be okay? Do you need a doctor? I can take you to my cousin Hatori, he can help your friend. Mine'! call up Hatori and tell him I'm bringing in an emergency and to push everything else aside for a while!" he ordered in a soothing and commanding voice. His very being seeped of confidence and control in this moment. A woman with glasses, brown hair, and a French maid's dress nods and runs inside the 'Ayame' store. I look at the man with teary eyes as he takes Kasey and lifts her up, but I notice he doesn't let her lean into his arms. He just holds her, suspended in the air.

"Ari..Ara…oh god just stink the Japanese way of saying it. Merci beaucoup ma Cherie!" I say, depending on my French for a thank you. I hope he understands French as well as English. He smiles broadly and his golden eyes seem to sparkle.

"You're welcome." He says simply. I'm a bit taken back at how he knows three whole languages. He's pretty amazing as far as first impressions go. I now notice how stunningly beautiful he is.

He's like the beautiful people in Roman portraits and statues. Utterly flawless. But then I remember Kasey and I go back into worried mode as he leads me to a car as the 'Mine' girl waves us off. He waves absently and starts to drive with enthusasiam to a gated house. I hope his 'Hatori' person can help Kasey through her mini heart attack.

An: Mwah haha haha! I leave you on a cliffhanger! Mwah ha! Next chap Kasey's problem will be addressed and explained, and Raye will discover the Sohma family secret along with her friend! - - review please! And I will try to update soon!