DISCLAIMER: Fruits Basket is the property of Natsuki Takaya. I am just a hopeless fan who is using her work to weave a story! I do own Izumi and the Aoe family, though. Well, I still have nothing but oh well….
Wow, the summer heat makes me incredibly lazy! It's been so hot lately and band camp approaches ever nearer, so I'm scared! I might update less often when I have band camp and school, but I will try to maintain this twice-a-week-ish thing we have going right now!
Aria's Star – Waii, you're so considerate! –Adores you-
B.C. Company – Nice new pen name! Wow, thank you! I'm honored that you enjoy my story!
CaliCallMePrincess – Wow, your review was so long! Thanks for your input! Would you mind emailing me? I wanted to email you about it but your email doesn't show up, so I couldn't! Mine is viewable, but mine is AnnieJalota at gmail dot com. I hope I get an email from you soon!
CallaRose – Yeah, Mitsuo and Mikuni don't know why Tohru is there. They do like her, but because they don't really know that she might be gone or anything they don't see a need to protect her. My note right before the chapter might help to clear things up – let me know if it helped!
Chiratsuku – Oh yes, Akii is going to be one angry guy when he finds out about this whole ordeal!
Crazylovestory89 – Haha, his sons don't know yet! But imagine what they'd do…especially since they're becoming attached to her….Thanks for reviewing!
Pie Luving Hobo – Haha, you've got one wacky imagination! Ha'ri wearing spy clothes….that'd kind of be odd for him, trying to act normal and wearing spy clothes with all sorts of neat gadgets…lol. The last chapter was unimportant, so it's alright! I think I will start doing summaries though, in case my dull chapters aren't imprinted in people's minds…lol.
Sana ChiChi – Haha! Well, Mitsuo and Mikuni may make a move and they might not! That's for you to find out!
Togetheritsumo – Thanks! Thanks for reviewing, too!
Ultimate-Furuba-Freak – Wow…a floccinaucinihilipilification ….I don't know if I even spelled that right! I have no idea how one would pronounce that word – tell me how to pronounce it! I wouldn't want to be called worthless and not know it! Lol. AHHH! YOU CANNOT KILL A FAVORITE AUTHOR OF YOURS WITH YOUR KATAKA! –Hides from you-
Okay, it seems there are some people who are confused as to who Tohru is with; she's with the kidnapper's family. I didn't bother explaining the Aoe family much because they're not so important. If you'd prefer that I do, let me know in your reviews and I can extend on them in future chapters! Basically Tohru is with her kidnappers, the Aoe family. She was kidnapped by a man named Izumi Takamiya, who works for Reiji, the "Master" of the house. Mitsuo and Mikuni are Reiji's two sons, and Reiji obviously has a wife (there's hardly any of her, so I was too lazy to name her; she's just going to be Mrs. Aoe). Reiji and Izumi are working together to blackmail the Sohmas using Tohru as bait. They want some of the Sohmas land. Basically, it's like one rich family competing against another; the Sohma family is richer. I don't really know what kind of business the Sohmas have, but I know that Reiji's business is fruitful, though it only gives wealth in the form of money as opposed to money and land. Hope that kind of helps!
Oh yeah, I am including the last paragraph of the last chapter to help you guys remember what happened; if you would prefer chapter summaries instead of the last paragraph from now on, let me know in your reviews! I'm also going to be putting a disclaimer from now on because it looks like fun!
RECAP:
Izumi's eyes twinkled with delight. "This is going to be fun….ne?"
"Just go when the dark of the night calls to you. Good luck." With that, Reiji flashed Izumi a smile and left the room, leaving Izumi with his supplies and a mission to complete. Unfortunately for the both of them, the Aoe family members would only complicate their plans. Tohru, who was a mere pawn to Reiji in this plan, was going to be put in a very dangerous, complex position. Would she live to see the Sohmas or die of shame from being shoved into the deathly business of the Reiji's?
Missing Princess
Chapter 5: The Sounding of the Bells
Izumi double checked that he had everything. He looked at his watch and smiled; it was midnight, and surely by now the Sohmas would be asleep. He clambered down the stairs and made his way to the black car that was waiting for him outside. He stepped into it and the driver sped off, nearing the Sohmas house quickly. The car came up in front of the forest somewhat slowly so as to not wake anyone up. "I'll be back soon," Izumi said softly to the chauffeur. The car would wait in front of the forest while Izumi completed his mission.
Izumi tied his golden hair back in a ponytail and tied a black bandanna over his mouth and nose. Nobody would be able to recognize him if they saw him this way, though he would remain out of sight anyways. He strolled carefully through the forest under the light of the full moon. He made sure he didn't step on twigs or dry leaves so that he wouldn't wake anyone or anything up. He stopped in front of the Sohma house and wondered where he would put the letter He prowled around the house, and he saw a bedroom window open. Perfect, I can just drop it in there! Slowly and carefully, he shot an arrow up onto the roof and climbed up soundlessly. He made his way over to the bedroom window and carefully pulled the letter out. He peeked into the bedroom and saw a gray-haired teen – Yuki, of course – fast asleep. Ahh, how unsuspecting of him!
Izumi saw a desk near the boy's bed. He climbed in through the window and set the letter carefully and quietly on the desk. Yuki stirred in his sleep. Izumi crouched low in front of Yuki's bed, hoping the boy didn't wake up. When he was sure Yuki was still asleep, he crawled over to the side of Yuki's bed. He took a small, palm-sized object from his pocket and hid it underneath the bed.
Shigure hasn't really been sleeping and he heard a soft "plunk" sound on the roof. He peeked out of his window and gasped. A golden-haired man clambered quietly into Yuki's room. Is he a robber? Moments later, Izumi clambered out of the window and jumped off of the roof, landing on the grass soundlessly. Izumi looked around, making sure nobody had seen him; he didn't notice Shigure peeking from his window. He sighed a breath of relief, untied his bandanna, and walked back into the forest to his car. Shigure had seen Izumi's face, though he couldn't make out much since it was too dark where he was standing. Nonetheless, he made out that Izumi had blue eyes, golden hair, and was pale skinned. He went in and came out too fast to have stolen anything, and he wasn't carrying a bag or anything, either. There is nothing valuable in Yuki's room, anyways…so what was he doing in Yuki's room? Shigure pondered a little bit before deciding to go back to sleep. If the man left anything, Yuki would be sure to inform them of it in the morning.
After waking up and putting on a knee-length yellow dress, Tohru decided to do some more exploring; the mansion was so big that she had been looking around the whole past week and she found new things every day! Tohru was walking around the hallways around noon when she bumped into Mitsuo. "Ohaiyo gozaimasu, Mitsuo-kun! Sorry for bumping into you!" Tohru had half-expected Mitsuo to transform into something, because that's what usually happened when she bumped into someone at home. She remembered that only the Sohmas transformed….the Sohmas….oh how she missed them….
"Ahh, ohaiyo Honda-san! Don't worry about it." He smiled kindly at her. "How does your head feel today?" As far as anyone except Izumi and Reiji knew, Tohru had been found unconscious. She had been hit in the head, and Izumi, Reiji's "business partner," brought her to the Aoe mansion "since it was the closest place he could think of." Thus, Izumi was a "hero" to the unsuspecting Aoes.
"My head…?" Tohru said, touching her head. "Oh! My head feels normal, like it always did!" She smiled sweetly at Mitsuo, and his heart melted. He even blushed a tiny bit.
"That's great to hear! Well, I have work to get back to, so I'll see you later!" She smiled at me! Yes!
"Ja ne!" Tohru merrily waved at him and continued exploring the house.
"Tohru-kun!" Mikuni called from across the hallway.
Tohru turned around. "Ohaiyo gozaimasu, Mikuni-kun! Do you need something?"
Mikuni ran up to her. "Would you like to try horseback riding with me today? I can teach you how if you like!"
Tohru considered the thought for a moment. "But I'm afraid to ride by myself!"
"I can ride with you, if you like! You can sit in front of me!"
Tohru was excited because she'd never ridden a horse before. "Could I really? Yay!"
Mikuni was happy. "Let's go, then!" He grabbed her hand and ran off to the stables with Tohru trailing behind. He picked a beautiful horse that was white and was the gentlest horse in the stables. For the rest of the afternoon, Mikuni rode around, teaching Tohru how to do some things and letting her try them. Mitsuo stared at him from the window, and Mikuni noticed and laughed. Mitsuo pulled off his glasses and stared angrily at him for being so close to Tohru; of course, Mikuni hugged her and just leaned his head on top of hers, smirking. I'm going to win her heart before you do!
Mitsuo nearly snorted and gave him a look back, sticking his tongue out at him. As if!
Tohru wondered why Mikuni was hugging her and was leaning on her. She blushed a little bit from his embrace. "Um…ano…Mikuni-kun, are you tired?"
After flashing a victory sign at Mitsuo, Mikuni brought the horse to a stop. "Not really, but we can stop riding. That's enough for today, I think." He smiled and jumped off the horse. He patted the gentle creature before lifting Tohru off of it.
Tohru patted and stroked the horse appreciatively and gave it an apple. "Thanks for riding with me, Mikuni-kun! I learned a lot today! Maybe tomorrow I'll be able to ride by myself! I'll go back to my room now to rest, okay? Ja ne!" Mikuni smiled at her and bid her farewell before she pranced off happily to her room. Mitsuo stopped her as she was walking by.
"Ah, Honda-san!"
"Oh, konbon wa, Mitsuo-kun!"
"Konbon wa! I was wondering if you would like to hang out with me tomorrow, since I have nothing to do on Fridays!"
Date! Tohru wondered. Tohru blushed a little. It was written on her face that she thought he was sort of asking her on a date.
Mitsuo, of course, flushed – he had intended for it to be like a date. "It-it's not like a date! Just hanging out together as friends!" He added when he saw her expression. He didn't care if he lied –he just wanted her to say yes so he could rub it in Mikuni's face.
"Alright, I will spend tomorrow with you, then!" Tohru was oblivious to the fact that Mitsuo had flushed deeply. She wondered what she would do tomorrow with Mitsuo. Oh well, I will have to figure out some other way to get home….maybe Mitsuo-kun and Mikuni-kun will help me! I will ask them tomorrow! Good night, Okaa-san! With that, Tohru was lulled into a deep, peaceful sleep.
(Before anyone gets confused, this is the morning after the night Izumi put the letter in Yuki's room – what you read was Tohru's day, now we're going to look at the Sohmas' day!)
Morning came, and the sun shined brightly through Yuki's bedroom window. He opened his eyes slowly and sat up, rubbing his eyes. He threw the bed sheets to the end of the bed and swung over to the side. He was just about to get up when he noticed a letter on the desk.
Walking over to his desk, Yuki picked the letter up, wondering how it had gotten there; he certainly didn't remember putting it there. Picking it up, he saw that it was addressed to the Sohmas….he nearly dropped the letter when he realized whose handwriting it was in. Tohru! Tohru wrote this! I'd never forget to open it if she wrote it! How did it get here! Surely she didn't put it here herself! Yuki carefully opened the letter. He sat down in his chair, put the contents of the letter on the desk, and read Tohru's letter first.
He put down her letter when he had finished reading it and thought about everything she had said. She is obviously somewhere with a wealthy person, but it doesn't seem like she knows she has been kidnapped! Yuki looked at the rest of the contents of the letter and picked them up gingerly.He was horrified to see the seven pictures. What on earth! Why is she dressed so elegantly! Well….she's adorable… He flushed when he thought of that. What am I thinking! Why are there pictures in this letter, anyways? He decided to read the other letter in the envelope, hoping it wasn't from Tohru. He hoped that this other letter would explain something about her kidnapping. Yuki read the letter with wide eyes:
Dear Sohmas,
Hello there! Nice to meet you. My name is Reiji Aoe. You might be wondering why you have this letter and how it got into one of your rooms. I can assure you nothing was stolen; my servant Izumi just placed this letter somewhere in your house. I don't fear telling you my name because the life of your little princess is probably worth more to you.
You might be wondering where your little princess is and if she's alright. I can assure you she is perfectly healthy and happy…but she won't be if you deny my request. My pictures should be proof enough that she is alive and well. As members of the Sohma family, I am sure you know that you have quite a bit of land. I'm requesting that in exchange for the lands beyond the mountains and the mountains themselves in your little onsen resort, you can have yourprincess back.
You might think that you can kidnap her from me, but I'm afraid that it's completely impossible to know where I live. If you reject my request and don't comply to my wishes, then you can just say goodbye to your princess – permanently. There are plenty of open spots for female prostitutes in my date club, and I'm sure that some of our customers will be happy to – oh, how should I say this – break her in. If, however, you do want your little princess back, then put one flag for every zodiac member on the roof of your house and the Sohma estate. One flag stands for one person who agrees to exchange the land for Tohru. You will need a flag for the cat and Akito, as well. You can't just put flags up for anyone, either. I assure you that I will know if someone's flag was put up against their wishes. I will need to see at least 12 of 14 flags up there, and one of then will have to be Akito's. The colors need to match the color of the smoke that you guys have when you transform.
Shigure, for example, would have a blue flag up. Yuki would have a pink or a purple flag, and Kyou would have an orange flag. The rest I'm sure you know. 12 flags need to be up in one week's time. If all goes well, I will send you another letter. Good day.
Signed,
Reiji Aoe
Yuki was shaking with anger and fear when he put the letter down. She was bait! Some rich family was using her as bait! Yuki collected everything and ran downstairs to show Shigure and Kyou. The rest of the family needs to be informed of this letter today itself!
Hatori acted as if nothing out of the ordinary was happening. He observed Akito closely, and he drifted away into thoughts while being bent over his work. Akito walked by, and Hatori gave him a scrutinizing stare.
Akito felt the stare, even though he had his back turned to Hatori. "Why are you shooting daggers at me, Hatori? Why do you have to stare at me? Just do your work, it's not like I bothered you or anything!" Akito got upset with Hatori and stormed outside to go sunbathe on the porch in front of his room.
I wonder if he's really behind Tohru's kidnapping, Hatori wondered. It doesn't seem like he's trying to sneer at us and rub his victory in our face. He's not even acting unusually….oh well….
Missing Princess – Chapter 5: The Sounding of the Bells / END
Oho! It turned out to be an okay chapter….In chapter 6, you will find out how Shigure, Kyou, and the others reacted to the letter. I might put that out soon if I get the initiative to write….the summer heat really kills me! -Whines- Oh yeah, this chapter is called The Sounding of the Bells because it's the chapter where Shigure and Yuki figure something out that has to do with Tohru. It's also the declaration of war between Mitsuo and Mikuni! Mwahahahaha! I am rather strange….Somebody tell me how the story is going – is everyone liking it? Am I moving way too slow? Should I spice things up more than I am already trying to do? I appreciate everyone's input! See you in chapter 6!
Oh yes, before I forget, I try to have at least 10 people review before I put up another chapter….so you have been warned! Lol.
Ja ne!
- ( Tohru-tan ) -