Zypher-sensei: After three disappointing flops, I'm back again with an all-new Fruits Basket fanfic! It's still the same title but I changed the story… a bit. This time, I'm going to go through with it 'till the end. (…I hope.) Well, it depends on the readers of course. So, here's the summary of Chapter 1.
Summary: It's the first day of school and the troubles are just starting. Kyo is haunted by his nightmares and the gang discovers a spy in their midst.
Notes: TheItalicizedparts are Tohru's thoughts except for the first two paragraphs (Kyo's nightmare.)
Disclaimer: I do not own Fruits Basket
Winds of Change
Chapter 1: First Day
"If you really can beat Yuki by the time you graduate high school, I'll stop calling you a monster. I'll even let you join the zodiac. But in the case that you don't beat him, I'll put you in confinement until you die, because if you can't beat him then you really are nothing but dirt. Hahahahaha…."
"You're a monster! You're a monster! She died because of you!"
"I'm not a monster… I'm not a monster!" Kyo awoke in bed. His recurring nightmare haunted him once again. He heard the voice of Akito, the head of the Sohma family who never accepted him. They had made a deal this summer: if he can beat his cousin Yuki, he will be welcomed to the family. The second voice was that of his father, who is ashamed and maybe even afraid of him. His father abandoned him, blaming him for his mother's death.
"Its not my fault," he whispered to himself. He sat up in bed, scratching his head. His orange hair was still very untidy from sleeping.
The doors of his room burst open. Tohru came in running, her black hair waving behind her. Her blue eyes met Kyo's, looking worried. "Kyo, are you okay? I'm sorry, I didn't want to barge into your room like this but I heard you from the hall, shouting in your sleep. Did you have a bad dream? Are you okay?"
"Um… don't worry. I'm okay," Kyo lied. He was avoiding Tohru's eyes; he didn't want to worry her. "It was just a dream."
"Oh, okay… I'm sorry if I disturbed your sleep. Well, you better come down for breakfast before Yuki eats your share." Tohru's worried expression turned into a smile. She turned towards the door and went downstairs. 'I just hope he really is okay,' Tohru thought to herself.
When Kyo finally came down, everyone was already seated on the floor around the table for breakfast. Yuki and Tohru were talking while Shigure was reading the morning paper.
They were living in Shigure's house; a two-story building situated within a Sohma family property. Yuki and Kyo are his cousins who decided to live with him. Tohru however, isn't part of the Sohma family. She camped out within the property when she had nowhere to go after her mom died and her grandfather's house needed renovations. When Shigure met her, he asked her to live in his house. Now, the Sohmas treat her as a member of the family.
"Well, well, look who finally decided to come down," Shigure said, Peering from behind the newspaper and taking a sip of coffee. "You better start eating. You don't want to be late for the first day of school."
"I'd rather not go," Kyo said lazily. He sat down next to Yuki. "What's for breakfast?"
"Pancakes!" Tohru said cheerfully, passing the plate to Kyo.
"I hate pancakes!" Kyo complained. Kyo had a long list of food he was allergic to (or he just simply hates). On the list, pancakes were second next to leeks.
"Just eat it." Yuki shoved a pancake into Kyo's mouth. He and Kyo have always been rivals. Much to Kyo's despair, Yuki would always win whenever they fought, but that doesn't stop him from trying.
"Why you! Do that again and I'll kick your sorry butt!" Kyo shouted when he had finally swallowed the pancake.
"I'll see you try," Yuki said roughly in his soft voice. They stared at each other, anger burning in their eyes.
"Now, now, kids play nicely," Shigure said, his eyes not leaving the paper. Shigure always jokes around but once he gets serious, he can give the best advice.
'Yuki and Kyo are getting along worse as usual. I hope they don't break anything.' Tohru always hated this rivalry, but she can't really do anything about it. These two guys just hate each other. "Um… I think we better get to school." This was the only thing that she could do.
Yuki turned away, grabbed his backpack and stood up. "Let's go Ms. Honda," he said, smiling to Tohru. He grabbed her hand and they started walking towards the door.
"Hey, wait for me!" Kyo sipped the last of his juice and grabbed his backpack.
When Yuki opened the door, the three of them stood there, frozen. Shigure stopped reading the paper and with raised eyebrows he asked, "What is it?"
There outside in the orchard, was a man wearing all-black clothes, dark glasses and a cap on his head. He was standing behind a bush, holding a camera in his hands. As soon as they saw him, he ran as fast as he could. Yuki tried to run after him, but Tohru held him back. "It's too dangerous."
"Who was that?" Yuki asked Shigure. "Why was he taking pictures of the house?" There was only one obvious reason. That man must've been spying on them. Apparently, there's something about them that caught that man's interest.
"It must have been just a tourist passing by and we must have scared him away," Tohru suggested, even though she wasn't sure herself.
The three of them stared at Shigure, waiting for an answer. He had dropped what he was reading and he was looking unusually serious. "Tohru may be right, but we can never be too sure. I will go to the main house today; I'll consult Akito. For now, you three better get to school."
Kaibara High looked busy even from the outside. Some kids were playing pranks on each other while others were gossiping with their friends. The big clock in front of the school read 7:40.
The thought of the mystery man lingered on Tohru's mind. 'Who was that guy? Was he really just someone passing by?' She doubted it. After all, the man looked weird and suspicious. Plus, he was carrying a camera and she was sure she saw it flash, taking a shot of Shigure's house.
"I think we should tell Momiji and Hatsuharu about this," Yuki said. Momiji and Hatsuharu are also members of the Sohma family, so what happened that morning also concerned them. They also go to Kaibara High; they're just one year behind Tohru, Yuki and Kyo.
"What?" That was Momiji's reaction when Tohru told him about what happened that morning, his brown eyes and mouth were wide open. They were in the hallway just outside his class. "Who was it?"
"We don't know," Kyo said, wishing he knew the answer. He was leaning on the wall, looking out the window.
"Shigure's not that famous for his writing so why would anyone be following him?" Hatsuharu said jokingly, stroking his black and white hair. He had this tough-guy attitude that masks his kind nature. To him, this was no big deal. Like Tohru, he thinks it was just someone passing by.
"Wow, Shigure's a big star. He's got stalkers now! I wish I was that famous." Momiji started to dance. He often acts younger for his age; that annoys Kyo. Tohru was really surprised when she found out he was only one year behind them.
"Both of you, this is serious especially to a family like ours…" Yuki broke off. Their talk had reached what he was trying to avoid.
"So you think this is all about the you-know-what?" asked Momiji who stopped dancing and looked at Yuki.
Everyone fell silent, not looking at each other. It all comes down to one thing: their family secret that only Tohru knew about. Could someone have found out about the one thing they have been protecting all their lives? The silence was broken by the sound of the bell; classes were about to start.
"I'll see you guys later then." Tohru smiled to Hatsuharu and Momiji. She, Yuki and Kyo started walking to class.
"Bye Tohru!" Momiji shouted, waving his hand.
"Let's go kid," Haru said grabbing Momiji by his shirt. They both went to inside their class.
"Waahh! I still want to say goodbye to Tohru," Momiji wined.
Nobody spoke on the way to class. The hallways were slowly emptying, leaving Tohru, Yuki and Kyo by themselves.
'A lot of things have happened, mom, and the day hasn't even started yet. There's no telling what else will come our way today. I hope it won't be as serious as what happened this morning.'
Zypher-Sensei: So, it seems the family secret is out. What is the family secret? Of course, those of you that are following the manga or have seen the anime know what that is. That's it for the first chapter see 'ya guys next time!
Chapter 2: The New GirlThere's a new girl in Tohru, Yuki and Kyo's class. What's weird is, she knows a little too much about Yuki. She even becomes a member of the Prince Yuki Fanclub.