Disclaimer: I don't own Fruits Basket. But I have a fruit basket from my Aunt in Cebu City somewhere around here…
Claimer: I own my OC and this plot, okiez?
Chapter 1
Tohru Honda blinked sleepily as sunlight poured into her room. She sat up and stretched, getting rid of any cramped up muscles. She pulled off the blankets and stood up, the hem of her bright pink kimono swishing around her ankles. She stood in front of the mirror and pulled on her clothes (Not the uniform) and the customary bow in her hair.
"Miss Honda, are you up yet?" called a voice.
Tohru felt a smile come to her face and her cheeks go red. It was a sunny day, she woke up happy, her hair cooperated with her, and now the first thing she heard that morning was Yuki's voice! Things couldn't have been more perfect.
"Yes, I'm awake Yuki-kun!" she called, tightening her bow. "I'll be down in a minute and cook breakfast!" She stepped away from the mirror and opened the door, revealing a one Yuki Sohma leaning against the wall. He was smiling gently to her, as he always did.
"Good morning Miss Honda." he greeted cheerfully. "That stupid cat isn't up yet and Shigure has been on the phone since 8 this morning, so I thought I'd have breakfast with you."
The two teenagers traipsed to the kitchen and started making breakfast.
"No, no, Yuki-kun. I'll cook. You just rest." insisted Tohru as she fried the bacon.
Yuki shook his head. "No Miss Honda. You're always cooking for us, so I'll help you this time." Yuki took Tohru's hand and helped her with slicing some vegetables. At the feel of Yuki's hand over hers, Tohru ceased complaining.
Suddenly, Shigure came in, the phone cradled between his chin and shoulder. "Of course I wouldn't mind you here Ya-chan!" he exclaimed.
There was a pause.
"I know Aya and Ha-chan would love to see you! And so would Kyo and Yuki and the others!" Shigure sounded delighted.
Another pause.
"Yes, okay. Goodbye." Shigure hung up and looked at Yuki and Tohru, and his happy smile turned into a smirk. But for now, he would forego the perverted remark on what Yuki and Tohru were doing while he was on the phone.
"Guess who's visiting!" he said excitedly. Yuki looked quizzically at Shigure for a few seconds before he sighed exasperatedly. "Ya-chan! Yasu Hirashi!" he exclaimed happily.
Apparently, this Yasu was a very important person to the Sohmas, as Yuki grinned widely and ran upstairs to tell Kyo. When they came back down, they were both rambling on about Yasu, and weren't even fighting!
Tohru smiled. Yasu must be a very interesting and nice person if she managed to make two totally opposite beings like her. But she was a little curious. Finally, she voiced her question.
"Gure-san, who is Yasu?" she asked.
Shigure grinned widely again before answering. "Yasu Hirashi is a very close friend of mine, Ayame's, and Hatori's. She was orphaned at an early age, so she grew up with us. At first Akito didn't like it too much, but she changed her mind after Yasu saved her life."
Tohru looked amazed. "She managed to save the head of the Sohma family?" she asked. "How?"
Yuki answered her. "Yasu was about 16 I think. At the time, Akito's father was the head. He had gone out on some business, leaving his daughter alone. Akito had a seizure, and Yasu performed CPR long enough to keep her breathing before the ambulance got there."
Kyo stopped rocketing around and added his own piece. "In gratitude, Akito's father allowed her to stay and treated her like a member of the Sohma family." he said.
Tohru nodded and settled to observe the Sohmas reactions to the news that Yasu was coming. Kyo was chattering nonstop, Yuki was eating calmly though a huge smile was on his face, and Shigure was grinning like a lunatic.
Tohru smiled. She couldn't wait to meet Yasu.
xxx
On a train speeding from the city towards the countryside, a young woman with long black hair and eyes in different shades of green sat on a seat far away from the door. Her multi-colored gaze was set on the window, focusing on the passing scenes.
'It will be good to see the Mabudachi again.' she thought. 'I wonder if Aya-chan is still trying to get close to Yuki.'
The woman laughed to herself as she thought of the last encounter the young rat had with a certain snake that she witnessed.
A 19-year-old Ayame had been trying to convince an 8-year-old Yuki to hang out with him and the Mabudachi. There was screaming, crying, pleading, and there would have been bloodshed had she not intervened and promised young Yuki that she would be there.
"Last stop: Okinawa." rang the cold metallic voice on the speakers. The woman smiled and pulled on her lilac jacket over a white form-fitting t-shirt and slightly flared denim jeans. She grabbed her black sports bag and got up to her feet. She thanked the conductor on her way out, and then jumped down to the platform.
'Okay, Gate 2…ah, there it is.' the woman thought absentmindedly. She walked over to a gate at the far end of the station and handed her ticket to the guy at the booth. "Yasu Hirashi." she said in a monotone. The guy nodded and let her pass.
Yasu smiled at her surroundings as she walked to Shigure's house. Except for a few new houses and shops, everything looked exactly as it did when she left 6 years ago. She smiled warmly at a few people who recognized her.
But as she passed the Main House, the warm feeling that washed over her at being home dissipated. She clearly remembered her last encounter with Akito, and wasn't eager to repeat that. The female head had made it clear that while her father approved of Yasu being an unofficial Sohma, she did not.
"Okay Yasu. You're just going to pass it. You're not going in." she reassured herself. All the same, she broke into a sprint when she passed it. Finally, she reached Shigure's house.
She grinned, and raised a hand to ring the bell. There was the sound of scuffles, then a distraught Shigure opened the door.
"Ya-chan!" he cried excitedly. He grabbed her bags and dragged her into the house. "Boys and Tohru!" he called. "Yasu's here!"
Instantly, two teenaged boys with a girl in tow hurried into the living room. The boys flung themselves around Yasu. "Yasu-san!" they cried.
Yasu laughed and hugged both boys. "I missed you guys too, but I can't breath!" she laughed.
Blushing with embarrassment, Yuki and Kyo released Yasu. "So, how's my favorite sparring partner?" she asked, ruffling Kyo's hair. Then she turned to Yuki. "How's the base?" she queried.
"I'm fine!" Kyo piped up. "And so is Rat-boy's base." Yuki looked ready to hit Kyo, but restrained himself since Yasu was there.
Suddenly, Shigure slapped himself on the forehead. "I almost forgot." He pulled Tohru to the front. "This is Tohru Honda." he said. "She lives with us and knows about the curse."
Yasu smiled and shook Tohru's hand. "I'm very pleased to finally meet you Tohru-chan. Yuki has been writing to me a lot about you. So much that I couldn't wait to meet you."
Tohru grinned and bowed while Yuki blushed. "I am very pleased to meet you Yasu-san. Shigure-san has told me so much about you."
"Good things, I hope."
Shigure suddenly smiled widely. "I'm going to call Haa-chan and Aya-chan. I'm sure they will want to see the Female Mabudachi back home."
Yasu grinned. "Bring on the munchkins."
xxx
Momiji, Ayame, Haru, Kisa, Hiro, Ritsu, and Kagura were hanging out in Hatori's house, much to his displeasure. Momiji had invited them to come over, and the noise of collegiate and high school kids slightly annoyed him.
RRRRING
Hatori said a silent prayer for the disturbance and went to the kitchen for the phone. He picked it up. It was Shigure.
"Hey Haa-chan. Wanna come over?" Shigure asked.
Hatori sighed. Some distraction. "Why?" he asked. "Did Yuki beat Kyo again?"
Shigure snickered. "No, better. Ya-chan's back!"
Hatori nearly dropped the phoned. "Are you sure? You better not be kidding me Shigure." he said.
"I'm not. Come over in a few. I'm sure she'd like to see every one else. Especially you." teased Shigure.
Hatori blushed lightly and thanked him then hung up. He walked back to the living room and said the two magic words that sent every one else scrambling to his car.
"Ya-chan's back."
xxx
"YASU-CHAN!"
Yasu smiled at the barrage of kids running from Hatori's car and towards her, crushing her underneath hugs.
"I missed you!"
"Are you staying?"
"Where did you go?"
Yasu grinned at them. "I'll answer your questions, but please, let go. I can't breath."
The kids all got off her, revealing Hatori standing above her, smiling gently.
"Haa-chan!" Yasu cried. She stood up and flung her arms around Hatori, and a few seconds later, where the doctor previously stood was a 2 inch tall seahorse.
Yasu giggled and picked up the seahorse, and then walked into the house with the other kids. Shigure greeted the other members of the Zodiac, then grinned at the tiny seahorse in Yasu's palm.
"What were you two doing that made Haa-chan turn into a seahorse?" he asked pervertedly.
"It was a hug old man." retorted Hiro, who was very protective of Yasu as he was with Kisa. "Nothing more."
Shigure frowned at the retort of old man, but said no more.
Later that evening, in the dining room, they all enjoyed Tohru's cooking, then they begged Yasu for a story, like she used to tell them when they were younger.
"Come on!" Yasu laughed. "The last time I told you buggering lot a story, you were kids! You're teenagers now."
"Pleeeeeease, Yasu-nee-chan!" begged Kisa in a soft voice. She made her eyes water and stuck her bottom lip out. "I'd really like it if you told us a story."
Yasu sighed. She could never win against Kisa's pouty face and watery eyes. "Fine." she sighed. "Let's go to the living room, and I'll tell you a story."
Complying, the Sohmas plus Tohru went to the living room.
xxx
Yasu looked at all the expectant faces around them, and then began her story.
"Long before the Zodiac came into existence," Yasu began. "God invited thirteen animals to a banquet at his palace. The rabbit, the boar, the tiger, the dragon, the dog, the rat (Kyo clenched his fists), the ox, the snake, the sheep, the horse, the rooster, the monkey, and the cat."
Yasu smiled at the slight shock then the small smiles that graced the faces of the Sohmas. She was telling the history of their curse.
"The rat, who was very bitter rivals with the cat, decided to play a trick on him." Yasu glanced at Kyo, and for a second their eyes met. The message was clear; "Can I go on with the story? You might not like it."
Kyo looked back at her, and his eyes gave the answer; "Yes."
"The rat told the cat that the banquet was to be in two days. But what the cat did not know was that the party was actually to be on the next day."
"On the night of the party, the rat arrived first. God noticed that the cat had not come, but decided to deal with it later. To reward the animals who had gone to his palace, God put their images into the Heavens as the twelve Zodiac signs."
"The rat got an extra reward, since he was the first one to arrive. He had one wish, and could do anything with it. When the cat found out, he was angry, and all the animals made fun of him because he was the only one who did not get his image in the skies."
"The cat was angry, and explained to God what had happened. He gave the cat a wish as well."
"Meanwhile, the rat had wished all the animals to be locked into human bodies, and to only come out when a member of the opposite sex hugged them. The animals were sad, but the rat had been given a heavenly power. Nobody could stop him."
"The cat took this as a perfect way to take revenge. He wished that he had the power to remove the curse, but only when the animals apologized to him, and meant with all their hearts. Or when his human host was content with his life. So content, that the curse did not matter."
Yasu was about to end the story formally, when she saw all of them, minus Hatori, were asleep. Kisa and Hiro were curled up in her lap while the others were scattered on the floor or in chairs.
"They had a long night, eh Haa-chan?" Yasu asked amusedly.
"Apparently so." the doctor said, hilarity evident in his voice. "Who should we let sleep in the rooms?"
Yasu pondered it for a bit. "There are five rooms. Kisa and Hiro can stay in one, Momiji and Haru in another, and as much as I hate to do this, Yuki and Tohru, Kyo and Kagura."
Hatori looked at the sleeping people. "Yeah. Ritsu, Ayame, and Shigure are way too heavy for us to move."
Kisa, Hiro, and Momiji were easy to move. They were light. The bigger problem was Haru, Yuki, Tohru, Kyo, and Kagura. Thankfully, they managed it.
After moving the kids, Yasu changed into her pajamas and offered for Hatori to stay. Seeing as it was very dark, and no doubt everyone at the Sohma Main House was now asleep, he accepted. Yasu dug out some of Shigure's clothes for him, and the two fell asleep on the couch (No pervertedness please. You are not Shigure).
"Goodnight Ya-chan, and welcome home."
"Goodnight Haa-chan."
xxx
A/N: Wow, my first chapter is 16 pages long! Hope that was good enough for you guys.
Well, I think there should be enough hints in this story as to what the pairings are. At least I hope there are…
BTW, I decided to go with the manga, so our Oh-So-Ever-Beloved (I'm being sarcastic) Head of the Sohma House is a girl. A bitchy one at that…
Please review! And if you really want to help, add criticism and suggestions for pairings. I already have Yuki and Haa-chan's pairing up, but I'm still undecided on Kyo and Shigure. I am a BIG ShigurexMii fan, but if you guys don't want, I won't post. Also, I don't know whether to make it KyoxKagura or KyoxUo-chan.
Jaa ne,
Little Wolf Girl