Pandemonium

Disclaimer: I do not own Fruits Basket.

Chapter Posted: June 14, 2006
Brief Summary: Mitsu meets her parents and makes a date
Warnings: none
Story Notes: I really like this chapter. But that's just me.

A/N: A little bit longer, but still not what I was hoping for. The content is nice, though. Enjoy! R&R

-Recap:

My parents were coming to visit, and I knew they'd want every day to be chock full of entertainment. They were nice, if a bit over-protective and strict. Sometimes, though, I felt like I needed it.

So I put on a movie and lay down on my couch. Within an hour, I was fast asleep.

-Chapter Four: Agitation
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My life is singularly uninteresting. I have only a few close friends, Shigure is the only author I work with (at the office they told me that he causes me enough stress for ten other novelists), and my family... is the traditional strait-laced family that one would read about in books.

And I tell you that to tell you this: you wouldn't want to hear about my life. I could tell you about all the things that make up my daily routine and all the things that I use to occupy my time, but this story is about something much bigger. Something darker. Something that might once have been akin to love. So I'll leave all that other stuff out, and tell you only what pertains to this singular tale.

Things really started, you might say, during one of the days of my parents' visit.

My mother had fixed something for us, since I'm a deplorable cook, and after dinner we all had gathered in my small living room. My father sat stiffly in my armchair, while my mother sat beside me on the couch. It was all I could do not to squirm.

"So Mitsuru," my father said sternly, looking my straight in the eye. I gulped. The man had to be the most intimidating thing on the planet. "It looks like you've been doing well for yourself since we last spoke."

I nodded. "Y-yes. My job is going well, and I'm fairly happy with my situation. There's really not much else I could think to ask for."

"Oh that's good, dear," my mother said absently. She patted my arm in a gesture of affection. "But what about dating? Have you met any nice men? You really need to settle down, Mitsuru; what are you going to do with yourself if you don't go on and get married?"

'Pursue a career maybe,' I thought bitterly, though I didn't dare say it out loud. Though it didn't surprise me that all that came from the same woman who told all her friends that I hadn't been dating and I had cut my hair short because I decided to be a lesbian. She was very kind, but she never did have the most sense.

"I haven't really been seeing anyone," I said to them, wringing my hands nervously. "There was a guy flirting with me at this restaurant last week, but he was the waiter so I figured he was just being friendly."

"My friend Mizuki has a nice son I could set you up with," my mother told me, beaming. "I'm sure the two of you would get along very well."

I felt a headache coming on, and had to quell the impulse to roll my eyes. "That's really alright, you don't need to do that. I mean really– I don't want to be set up."

"Oh, but Mitsuru..." my mother said with a pout. I should have known that they'd come to see me just to chastise me about my lack of relationships.

"Your mother's right," Dad said suddenly. "And we just want to see our little girl taken care of. You know what stress does to you, Mitsuru; we don't want you getting hysterical all on your own."

"That's right," my mother said, clasping my hand and scooting closer. "Come now, dear, isn't there any man you might be interested in at least dating casually?"

For some reason, the image of Ritsu leapt unbidden to my mind.

"No!" I announced, standing up quickly. My mother looked at me in confusion. "No man, not right now. If you'll excuse me, I um..." I looked around frantically for an escape. "Have to use the restroom! I'll be right back!"

I rushed into my bathroom and slammed the door. Where had that come from? Sure he was beautiful, but not exactly in the most attractive way ever. And I barely knew him! And he certainly wasn't anything close to the man my parents were so kindly imagining for me. I sighed and splashed a bit of cool water on my face. I had to go back out there and face them sometime.

My parents were still just sitting there quietly when I walked back into the living room. I cleared my throat to get their attention and smiled nervously once their faces had turned towards me. "So... What were we saying?"

Two hours later they were finally gone. I changed into some comfortable pajamas then turned on the television for some mindless evening entertainment. Eventually I found some soap opera to watch, though it wasn't exactly the most stimulating thing I'd ever seen. And once the heroine starting raving about her own man-trouble, I was inconsiderately thrust right back into the middle of my parents' complaints.

And once again, I thought of Ritsu. He really was good-looking, and though the way he would occasional go into hysterics was a bit disconcerting, it was also... kind of cute as well. And it distracted me from going into hysterics of my own.

I wished I had remembered to ask for his number– the poor boy was probably too shy to ever call me, and I wouldn't have minded doing something with him again. No, that wouldn't have bothered me at all...

I had my cat, though, so I wasn't really lonely. Fuu and I got along just fine by ourselves. Or at least that's what I told myself, over and over, everyday. With a heavy sigh, I clicked off the TV. After brushing my teeth and washing my face, I climbed into bed. If I was lucky, maybe the following day would be just the day I needed.

But of course, I'm never lucky.

I went about my schedule the same as always for the next week, even managing to edit the manuscript I had gotten from Shigure, never suspecting that anything out of the ordinary would happen. To my immense surprise, however, I got a phone call during my lunch break that nearly knocked me off my feet.

I was happily eating some chicken-flavored ramen when my cell started shrilly ringing. I didn't want to be interrupted, but for all I knew the call might have been vitally important.

I was absolutely stunned when I heard who was on the line.

"Hello?" I answered politely.

"Um... h-hello," the voice said. "I was... was hoping to reach Mitsuru-san. This is S-Sohma Ritsu."

I dropped the chopsticks I had been using and my mouth hung open in shock. "Oh... Hello! This is she! I'm... I'm very surprised to hear from you. Surprised, but... But it's a good surprise."

"I don't mean to disturb you," he said nervously.

"Don't worry; you're not disturbing me at all. I'm only eating... I mean I just finished eating lunch. So I'm completely free to talk."

"Well... that's good." I could hear the worry and apprehension in his voice. Feeling a bit nervous myself– for reasons that may have been attributed to sudden, unwanted attraction– I still wanted to put him at ease.

"I was hoping to hear from you, actually," I said.

"No, you... You can't mean that. I'm... I'm sorry for ever calling! I should have known that–"

"It's true!" I told him urgently. "You're a very nice person, and I..." Here my face turned a little red. "I really enjoyed spending time with you."

"Y-you... did? No one's ever said that before."

For a moment, there was just awkward silence.

In a sudden, rash decision, my mouth went off on a mad little spree. "Why don't we do it again sometime?"

Of course, immediately after I said that the first thing that ran through my head was 'Dear God what have I gotten myself into now.'

"I don't know... I-I..." He took a deep breath. "Alright! That sounds fine! I mean..." I could hear the downtrodden look through his voice. "I'm sorry. I was trying to... to be confident."

I laughed. "And you did very well! You still want my help don't you?" I was determined to give whatever help I could, though I seriously doubted that I– as in need of help as I was– could help anybody.

"I'm sorry I'm burdening you!" he said worriedly. "But... I would truly appreciate any help you could give. I don't want to be ashamed anymore."

"Well, we are friends, after all. How about we do something together, um... Maybe tomorrow?"

"O-okay. That..." He sounded embarrassed. "I think I would like that."

I thought quickly. A public place would be easy and convenient, but if he wanted to wear a kimono again I was afraid he might feel awkward and embarrassed again. "Well... How about dinner? I could cook something!" Sure... If I wanted to kill him. "How about I give you the address to my place and we can, um..." It wasn't a date, really, so I was pretty sure it would feel weird havinghim over. Beggars can't be choosers, though. "We can hang out and have a nice dinner! Um... Or lunch, I guess, I've you'd rather."

"Oh, I... Th-that sounds fine, Mitsu-san, it really does." I was pleased to hear just "Mitsu". "But whatever is good for you; I don't really have m-much else to do... Except classes, b-but... Um, not in the evening."

"So dinner then?"

"I-if you're sure that–"

"Great! I'll be looking forward to it."

I gave him my address, and we talked for another twenty minutes or so. He was much calmer over the phone, I noticed, and I was glad for the chance to get to know him a little better. Even if I can't cook worth anything, I could always order something from somewhere or get something frozen. I felt compelled to help him, for whatever reason, and something about him interested me greatly.

I was almost sad when we had to say goodbye.

"Well... I should be going," I said finally, though with some reluctance. "I'll see you tomorrow, right?"

"I... I guess so! G-goodbye, Mitsu-san. It was..." He sounded so cute when he was a little embarrassed. "It was a pleasure talking to you."

I smiled to myself. "The same goes for you. I'll see you soon. Goodbye... Ritsu-kun."

"Goodbye."

End A/N: Yah! I enjoyed this chapter-- for whatever reason. THANK YOU everyone that reviewed chapter three. I love you all so much! (showers you all in her happy star sprinkles) Thanks, I really mean it. This update was quick, huh? Whee! Heh heh heh. Chapter five won't be as soon, I'm afraid. But... well, thanks for reading this chapter and I'll start work on the next as soon as I can. Bye!

ILB