Fruit Salad
Author's Note: This is an alternate reality, where the cast of Inuyasha is playing characters from Fruits Basket, and the characters will be out-of-character (they will have different personalities). My lil cousin Cindy demontamer thought up of this idea! Yes, this is an Inuyasha-version RIP-OFF of Fruits Basket! . My two fave animés! Later on, things will change. More violence maybe, same amount of drama and friendships will develop.
This will be written from the narrator (moi) and Kagome's point of view (cast as the lovely Tohru Honda of this story).
Guide to reading this fanfic:
Normal text (like what you are currently reading) means I, the narrator, am telling the story.
Italicized and bold (like this) means the story is from Kagome's point of view (and if there are quotation '' marks around it, it's a stroll down memory lane…).
Plain Bold just means I (or a certain character) want your attention.
Plain italicized (usually with single quotation marks) means characters' thoughts. Eg: 'I wonder what school would be like with no homework…heehee'
Disclaimer: Fruits Basket belongs solely to the talented Ms. Natsuki Takaya and Inuyasha belongs to the brilliant Ms. Rumiko Takahashi. I have…a massive sticker collection! shrugs shoulders
(recap of last chapter): We met Kagome and her little brother Souta, who have been living by themselves in a tent for a week, but now that tent has been buried by a landslide! It seems like they are always faced with hardships, from the death of their parents to having to support themselves. Kagome ran into the handsome and popular classmate, Sesshoumaru Kishuro, and his lecherous but friendly cousin Miroku.
Chapter 2: The Kishuro House
Kagome blinked her eyes open. She saw Miroku standing over her.
"Sesshoumaru's looking for some ice right now. It's probably fatigue. You've been pushing yourself too hard."
Kagome said weakly, "I'm sorry…again." She held Souta's hand; he was curled up and asleep beside her.
"We lost our home again. Our castle…"
Miroku studied her. "Does it hurt?" he asked.
"No, we've been though…worse." She had a sad, forlorn look in her eyes.
"You poor children. Tell me about it."
" ' Come home safe.' Why couldn't I just tell her that? The morning my mom died in the accident…I had a quiz. Souta was tired from his test for self-defense class as well. I stayed up all night studying, and we both overslept. That was the only morning we didn't tell her, 'Come home safe.' We always did—except that once."
Kagome closed her teary eyes, reliving the pain of losing her dear mother… her best friend.
" I…after the accident, I considered not going to high school and just working full time. But mom would have said…"
"I only graduated from junior high. I missed out on a lot of opportunities because of it. So I want you two to go to high school and have fun for me."
"She wanted a better life for us. She worked so hard, and…I forgot to tell her to come home safe. I didn't see her back as she left for work. But it's not too late! Even with my grades andour house being blown away…I know I can still make it up to my mom." Kagome had a determined look on her face.
An image of her cheerful mother with short wavy hair and tempura batter all over her face popped into her head.
I can't bring her back…
"...but we can live the life she wanted for us. She wanted us to finish high school…so we'll graduate…for her."
That's my goal.
"This is no time to…lose to…a fever…"
Sesshoumaru came in the house. "Is she asleep?" He asked Miroku.
Miroku turned to look at him, and nodded. "Were you listening?"
"I'm surprised," responded Sesshoumaru, "at school she's so carefree. You'd never imagine the life she's lived. It's incredible, really."
Miroku asked, "Incredible? How?"
Sesshoumaru remained silent for a moment. Then, he said, "Losing both parents and still havingthestrength to care for her brother aloneis admirable enough, but she does it with a smile on her face. I would probably just roll over and die in that kind of situation. Living in out the woods with only your younger sibling?" He grimaced.
"Well, you are spoiled," said Miroku jokingly, "but your spirit is different from Kagome's. There's really no comparison. And if you think that's incredible…then you really don't appreciate Kagome-kun."
Sesshoumaru looked at Kagome. "You're right. Take care of her. I'm going out."
Miroku looked surprised. "Where? Don't tell me you're going to go dig up her things? Should I go with you? It's too much to do alone."
Sesshoumaru chuckled. "Alone?" He stood in the doorway, with a mysterious smile, and a huge pack of dogs suddenly appeared behind him. "I never said I was going alone."
"….be careful," said Miroku.
Kagome's mother stroked her head. "Kagome, you have a fever again. You don't have to push yourself so hard. Be yourself, and do things at your own pace.
Someday, you'll catch up."
But…this time, if I don't push myself a little…Souta-kun will have to bear all the responsibilities.
Kagome woke up sweating. 'Oh no! How could I fall asleep? I have to go rescue mom!' she thought frantically. Souta was still curled asleep next to her, in the same position, with a slightly worried look on his face.
Sesshoumaru came in through the door, and brushed a little speck of dirt off his shoulder. "Morning. How are you feeling?" he asked Kagome.
"I-I-I…muh….g-g-good morning Kishuro-kun!" said Kagome, embarrassed because she had major bed-head.
"Here. Your picture," said Sesshoumaru, handing her a framed photograph.
"Huh?" was Kagome's only response.
"The rest of your things should be in these bags. Could you make sure?"
"Eh? HOW! You dug though the huge landslide by yourself?" Kagome was taken aback.
"No, of course not," said Sesshoumaru.
"Then…how did you--?" started Kagome.
Sesshoumaru had amysterious littlesmile on his face. "It's a secret."
"Well…thank you. Thank you so much!" She bowed down low to show her gratitude.
'Mom, I'm so glad you're safe' thought Kagome, hugging the treasuredphoto of her mother. Souta hugged Kagome.
Sesshoumaru cleared his throat and said, "I know this place is a little dirty--"
He cleared his throat again when the siblings stared at him, completely lost.
"--and the idea of living in a house full of guys might seem a little awkward, but there are extra rooms upstairs. You're welcome to stay with your brother if you like."
"N-No! No! No! Out of the question…" stammered Kagome, flustered at such a generous offer.
Sesshoumaru raised an eyebrow. "We're not that strange…"
"No, we didn't mean it like that…" started Souta.
Miroku appeared from behind. "Of course, it won't be free. I do intend on paying you for your services."
"…...?"
"Kagome, you are officially our new housekeeper! And Souta will be my personal assistant!" Miroku beamed.
"We'll just take your things to your rooms now." Miroku started carrying their belongings upstairs. Sesshoumaru grabbed a few bags also.
"Wait! We can't let you do this! Not after all the trouble you've gone through already!"
He turned to Kagome and smiled.
"Nonsense, you would be earning your keep. And we're doing this because we want to. Don't worry about causing us any trouble. Besides, you don't really have anywhere else to go now do you?"
"Oh…" This startled Kagome. Realization finally dawned on her.
'Grandpa won't be back for a couple more weeks, and the tent is completely destroyed…Souta deserves a good shelter, we can't go sleep on street benches…'
She finally said, "Okay, but only if you let us work for room and boarding only! And Souta-kun and I can share a room. You don't need to pay us a penny! And I want to know all the rules of the house!"
"Relax, it's all right," said Sesshoumaru gently, "you can do things your own way here. The only rule: be yourselves."
"Hmm…is it really such a good idea to have a female in the house?" pondered Miroku.
"Naturally, it occurs now for you to worry." Sesshoumaru rolled his eyes. "But I wouldn't worry about them. As long as she doesn't hug us, it'll all be fine."
A figure in the trees rustled, watching and listening, but they didn't notice.
XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX
Kagome and Souta borrowed Sesshoumaru's clothing. Touring the whole house, they finally entered the guestroom.
"Nee-chan, are we really going to LIVE here?" said Souta eagerly. He was glad to have left the woods, which were kind of scary at night.
"Yea, I guess." Kagome couldn't believe it herself. 'I can't believe it, I'm in the Prince's house, wearing his clothes…' They were so lucky, choosing to pitch their tent on the property of the Kishuros.
Sesshoumaru opened the windows. "I apologize for the smell. We've had this room closed off for quite some time…it's probably best to keep these windows open for a while…"
A large crack sounded above on the roof. A few wooden boards broke and fell.
There was a cloud of dust. A figure with silver hair like Sesshoumaru's leaped down, landing gracefully on all four limbs like a cat in front of Kagome and Souta.
The boy, who looked around Kagome and Sesshoumaru'sage,had on a dark red T-shirt, cargo pants and was barefooted. He had large amber eyes that had diamond pupils like those of a cats'. A necklace of large, shiny black beads and ivory fangs hung around his neck.
He cracked a knuckle and sneered at Sesshoumaru.
"Feh. I hear you're long overdue for a beating, girly-boy! I'm here to give it to ya!"
Sesshoumaru smirked and turned, leaning on the window. "You can't even beat up a little girl. Maybe I should just put you out of your misery."
The stranger was a little irked but smiled in return. "That's right, you better get that tough talk outta the way, 'cos I'm about to wipe that stupid smile off of your girly face!"
He suddenly lunged forward, about to attack Sesshoumaru.
"WAIT! Stop! Don't fight!" exclaimed Kagome from behind.
She raced forward, trying to prevent any violence, and slipped on a piece of wood from the broken roof!
"Nee-chan!" cried out Souta.
Kagome fell forward, and grabbed onto the new arrival.
Sesshoumaru's eyes widened in terror.
"WHAT THE----" said the new guy, startled. He started falling down too, and then
POOF!
A cloud of bright red smoke covered the room.
Kagome fell down hard onto the floor, still holding on….
"Sesshoumaru, what were those crashing sounds I just heard? Inuyasha's not here is he?" Miroku came into the room, frowning a little.
Kagome exclaimed, mortified, "I'M SO SORRY! ARE YOU OKAY! I--"
She stopped as she lifted up her hands to discover…a white puppy with cat-like eyes and a cat-like tail…A DOG? A CAT? A DOG-CAT? Whatever it was, it looked really annoyed.
"AAAAAAHHHHH! I TURNED HIM INTO A CAT-DOG THINGY! I'M SO SORRY!---"
"…um, excuse me…" said Miroku, trying to explain. He scratched his head little.
Kagome didn't hear him. She went on, "But we're going to help you, okay?"
She passed the creature to Souta. "Hurry, we need to get him to a doctor right away!"
She ran to get a phone, when SMACK! A piece of wood dropped on her head. She wobbled dizzily, her head was throbbing with confusion, panic and now pain.
"Nee-chan!" Souta cried out, but he was still holding the animal.
"Higurashi-san!" exclaimed Miroku and Sesshoumaru.
"Ugghhh…." moaned Kagome, as she fell into their arms.
POOF! POOF!
The hybrid creature in Souta's arms escaped while Souta was gaping at the scene before them.
This time, there were pink clouds and lilac clouds of smoke. A rat with purple eyes popped out of Miroku's robes, while a fluffy little white terrier dog came out of Sesshoumaru's.
Kagome stared in shock.
Oh mom! This must be a dream right? WHY IS EVERYONE TURNING INTO ANIMALS!
"Oh my gosh! We have to get help!" Kagome grabbed the dog and the rat. Souta grabbed the cat-dog again. They dashed down the stairs frantically. "Call a doctor! Or a vet! Or anybody!" said Kagome.
The neighbourhood mailman rang the bells on his bike. He held a letter in his hand for Sesshoumaru.
"Someone's here! Quick, give me the cat-dog!" said Kagome in a rush.
"Hello there!" greeted the mailman cheerfully.
"MR. MAILMAN! It's terrible! You see?" Kagome lifted her hands to show him the rat and the cat-dog. "THEY'RE ANIMALS!"
The mailman grinned and said, "Yes, they certainly are!" He also has a part-time job at the zoo… 'Is that a newly discovered Kadrowl? Wow! Cool!' He patted the InuMao on the head lightly.
"Well, here's your mail!" He held out a letter to Kagome.
Souta shook his head and waved his hands around wildly. "No No NO! We've got to do something--"
The fluffy little dog grabbed the letter with its teeth.
The mailman chuckled heartily. "I wish my dog was as smart as the one you got here. Have a nice day!" He waved and hopped on his bike to continue delivering letters.
"DAMMIT! HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO MAKE UP AN EXCUSE IF THE BOTH OF YOU TRANSFORM TOO!" yelled the InuMao angrily.
"Don't you dare try to blame this on us you stupid… thing!" retorted the dog with the rat on its head. The dog sounded just like Sesshoumaru!
The feline dog's fur spiked up, it was reaaaallllyyy pissed off. "GO AHEAD! SAY THAT AGAIN!" it challenged.
"Stoooopiiid thhhiiinnnggg" replied Sesshoumaru's voice again tauntingly.
"WHY YOU LITTLE!" the cat-dog let out a ferocious mewing growl and lunged forward.
The rat jumped forward. "Cut it out! Both of you!"
Souta stuttered, "Y-You m-mean they TALK too?"
The rat looked at the frightened siblings and sighed. "Anyway, it's too late for excuses now…We might as well tell them the truth."
"Kagome? Souta? I'm the rat. Sesshoumaru here, he's the purebred dog." He glanced to the cat-dog, which was still boiling with anger. "That's Inuyasha. Don't let his temper scare you. He's got a bit of a chip on his shoulder."
"S-so this is normal?" asked Souta.
"Strange choice of words, but yes," answered Miroku. "Our family has lived with this curse for generations. We transform into the twelve Chinese zodiac animals. But like you mentioned before Kagome, the tiger is replaced by the wolf demon, and the ferret replaces the rabbit."
Inuyasha hissed at the rat.
"Sorry, the twelve animals PLUS the inu-mao. Anyway, whenever we are hugged by a member of the opposite gender, or when our bodies come under a lot of stress, we transform. After a while, we change back…Only thing is---"
POOF! POOF! POOF!
"---we're naked."
"AHHHH!" screamed Kagome, covering hers and Souta's eyes.
The end of this chapter. Tune in next time, when hopefully the guys will get some clothes on! And what's this about a family curse? Changing into animals?