Cosplay Heroes

Chapter 1: Prequel

Author: Look! I changed the layout a bit! I always try to though, so it can be different every time. Okay, so yes I've begun a new story, I already had it in my head and most of it on paper, so I pretty much know exactly where I'm going with all this:D!

I made this first chapter quite long by my standards, but maybe not yours... So could you tell me if the lenghth is good? Thanks in advance:D

As always any constructive critism is very much appreciated, so please, feel free to review to tell me how it was! But well, please don't be too mean, because this is just the beginning, I promise it'll pick up, okay? ;)

Arigato!

Sara Jacobs, a bubbly, 15-year-old brunette, waited outside in the cold winter air for her childhood friend, Matthew Hughes to come so they could walk to school together. She was singing a song she had heard yesterday on the radio. Her sister, Amy, a quiet, cute little girl, listened to her sister's song. Her sister was 12, so she had just started out at Sara's school. She was a bit shy, but a very warm person. Sara quit her humming to look down at her sister with a smile.

"So Amy, any exams today?" she asked pleasantly. Amy looked up, blushing.

"Wha… What did you say?" Amy replied.

"Do you have any exams today?" Sara asked again. Amy nodded.

"Yes… Mrs. Bodnar, the math teacher, you know… She's giving us a test on some geometry… I'm sort of nervous." Amy answered timidly. Sara laughed sarcastically.

"But Mrs. Bodnar is such a softie! She always makes these sissy exams that NO ONE fails!" Sara exclaimed, patting her forehead. She then remembered that her sister had a lot of trouble at school. Amy was looking at the ground with red cheeks and fiddling with her winter coat's zipper. Sara smiled, and patted her sister's head.

"Don't worry, Am. I helped you study last night, remember? You did well! I'm sure you'll do fine." Amy looked up at her sister after her response. They shared a smile.

"Thanks." Amy said, simply.

"Hey guys." Matthew said, as he opened the front door. He was looking as cool as ever, with his longish brown locks covering his ears and his piercing green eyes. He held his lunch bag in his mouth as he zipped up his coat. At Sara's school, he was one of the really cool guys. All the girls loved him, and all the guys respected him. He was friends with Sara, considered an average, sort of geeky person at their school, because they were close childhood friends. Sara could not think of someone who was a better friend to her. He looked from one girl to the other.

"Shall we get going, then?" He asked.

"Sure, let's." she smiled at him. He smiled back. He also waved out to Amy, who shyly waved back.

"So Matt, did you finish your English project last night?" Sara asked her friend. He sighed.

"Sort of… I was talking with Ann most of the night." He said, Ann being his current girlfriend. Sara laughed.

"You never do your work! Even cleaning comes before your schoolwork!" She told him. He chuckled.

"I really hate it, okay!" He yelled back at her. She laughed at him, and he blushed, embarrassed that she knew him too well.

"So… We're going to pick up Zach?" He asked when they had sizzled down.

"Yep!" Sara replied. Zachary Smiths was another friend of Sara's, but more recent than Matthew. They walked up to his door and Matthew went to sit on the porch swing with Amy. They chatted about some geometry while Sara waited at the door. She thought about the day she met Zachary, in 7th grade.

…

"Hi, I'm Sara Jacobs! You seemed sort of lonesome, so I thought my friend Matthew and I would come and sit with you." She shouted, as she dragged Matthew along. Matthew was trying to squirm free. The boy with the long light blond hair and the blue eyes looked up with pink cheeks.

"Oh. That's… Nice of you." He replied, going back to his book as Sara and Matt sat clueless before him.

"Whatcha readin'?" She asked innocently. He blushed and tried not to look up.

"… The Complete Analysis of Human Psychology…" Sara and even Matthew's jaws were hanging open, "Volume… 12…" He stuttered. She looked at him sadly.

"Let me be your friend, okay? I think you need it." Sara told him. He sniveled, and began to cry in his book. Matthew was staring at this, extremely confused, but Sara was by his side, hugging him.

…

She recognized that the boy had a serious problem back then… What kind of handsome kid reads books about psychology instead of socializing and cries when someone tries to befriend him? She didn't know, but she did know he needed a friend. Matthew, Zach and Sara were known in the school as the Weirdo Trio, because they didn't seem like people who would get along because they were all so different, yet they did. Zachary then interrupted Sara's thoughts as he walked out the door of his home in the same calm manner he always had.

"Hello, Sara, hello Matthew." He said, as he looked to each one. They both gave him a nod. He walked up to Amy.

"Hi, Amy." He said, as he bent down to be at the same height as her. Amy had a huge crush on him (he was quite handsome, after all. Also he had been very well raised by his parents.) so she replied with a quick wave and flushed like a madwoman.

"URMM…ahem... I think I'm…I'm… I'm going to walk alone now. Bye Sara, bye guys…" Amy told them. She quickly ran away. Sara smiled at this, as she watched the two boys' confused faces.

There is one thing that these teenagers dohave in common, despite their different characteristics. Sara had been a huge fan of anime and manga ever since she was little (and was in fact very talented at drawing it…) and soon presented it to Matt and Zach. They were instantly intrigued. One day, she found the manga Fruits Basket and was baffled. They were so much like them! Zach was sort of like Yuki, Matt was very much like Kyo, and well, Sara liked to think she was a bit like Tohru (although she totally stank at cooking and cleaning.). They then discovered that they could pretend to be their favorite Fruits Basket characters at cosplay conventions. They had been going for almost three years together now, and it got more fun every year! This year, they had even gotten their favorite teacher, Mr. Klein, to be Shigure! It was going to be so much fun, and it was going on tonight!

"Guys! I cannot wait for the convention tonight! It's going to be sooo cool!" Sara exclaimed, pumping a fist in the air, as all three slowly walked towards the school. Zach smiled.

"Yes, it will be pleasant, I'm sure." He said.

"Maybe we'll see that hot girl who played Misha from Pita-Ten again!" Matt said. Zach blushed. Sara punched Matt in the shoulder, asking him if everywhere he went wasn't just to try to pick up girls. He patted her head and said maybe. Zachary had to restrain her from killing Matt.

"So Sara, did you finish making Mr. Klein's costume?" Matthew asked. Sara nodded.

"Yep! He is the perfect Shigure, I'm telling you. When I asked for his measurements, he told me that I'd have to marry him to know about that.giggle Isn't he great?" She told them. Matt frowned and asked what I thought was so great about him, he was just a great big pervert that made us do homework. Zach simply laughed and said that Mr. Klein definitely was like Shigure.

The trio was obsessed with Fruits Basket. They knew mostly everything about the manga, including what was to come and they knew more spoilers than Natsuki Takaya probably did herself. They even created an after-school club called FF (Furuba Fanclub). There were only a couple of members, but they were just as obsessed as them.

The gang was now at the FF meeting after school. Tonight was a big night for the club, because all the members were invited to participate in the cosplay convention. It was always one of the biggest nights for the club, excluding of course, the release of any new books.

"Alright everyone! Let's settle down!" Matthew said, as he stood on the podium. Many girls swooned as he spoke. Sara knew that about a quarter of the girls who joined the club had done it just to see Matt. It sort of pissed her off, because she wanted people to join FF to… Be a part of FF, not to drool over Matt. Anyway. Nothing could be done about that. She walked up to the podium. She tapped the microphone.

"ahem As most of you know, tonight is the cosplay convention. If any of you would like to attend, You will have to be someone other than Tohru, Yuki, Kyo or Shigure. Tohru will be played by me, Yuki by Zach, Kyo by Matt and specially this year, Shigure-san will be played by Mr. Klein. Please folks, let's welcome him in." Mr. Klein walked into the room and some of the students clapped. Mr.Klein was a well-liked teacher, after all.

"Hiya kids! I don't know much about this Shigure character… But I honestly hope he's at least half the charmer I am, right ladies?" He asked, winking. He actually was quite the good-looking teacher, most girls couldn't help but giggle. Even Sara. Zachary laughed politely and Matt frowned asking Zach what the heck was wrong with this perverted man.

"giggle Well umm, thank you Mr. Klein. So will anyone participate?" Sara said, as she went back to the microphone. The room was silent. Sara sighed. It was always like this.

"Well, that's okay, I guess… Until next time, then!" She said. Every one walked out slowly.

"Oh uhh… Thanks again Mr. Klein for doing this for us… It's really nice of you." Sara told her teacher. He smiled down at her.

"It's fine Sara. I just hope I'll need your help to put on the costume… So you can… Mhmm hmm hmm… Yep, that would be nice." He said, rubbing his chin. She blushed.

"You what!" She yelped. Matthew came beside her and grabbed her head protectively.

"You know, that could be considered harassment by some people.." Matthew told him. Mr. Klein smirked.

"What? What could?" He replied. He smirked again, and walked away, mumbling something and chuckling.

"…I don't like that guy. He's pervy. I'm afraid he might rape you." Matt told her, very seriously. She laughed. They all said their goodbyes and went their separate ways to get ready for the convention.

"Zach, Matt, you guys look fantastic as always." Sara told them when they arrived at the convention. Zach blushed and Matt thanked her for them both.

"And… You look very pretty too, Sara." Zach suggested. Sara was happy he said that.

"Thanks! Hey, check out Mr. Klein! He looks so cool!" She said, welcoming Shigure with a gesture. He looked quite like Shigure, actually. Even Matt told him he looked nice to which Mr. Klein responded:

"Sorry Mr. Hughes, but I'm actually straight. I'm flattered that you find me so attractive that you would change your sexual orientation for me, but you know…" He said, flapping his hand from one side to the other. Matt tried to kill him, but some security guards stopped him. Mr. Klein then started flirting up Chii and Freya from Chobits in half a millisecond.

"That guy kills me! What the hell is wrong with him! Can't he see those girls are like… Half his age!" Matt yelled. Girls all over were watching Matt and Mr. Klein. Some glanced at Zach, too.

"Haha… Matthew, I don't think he much cares…" Zach replied.

"It's… Wrong. I'm the one who does all the flirting, usually." Matt said. They all laughed.

Then, it was time to take the pictures. That meant the end of the evening. Sara straightened up her blouse.

"Well guys, that sure was fun." She told them. They all nodded. They stood on the elevated area where the photos were to be taken.

"Ah! Mr. Klein, will you do this again next year?" Sara asked before she eased into her photo stance.

"Of course!" He smiled cheekily. Matt rolled his eyes and Zachary laughed.

'This is fun. I love this. I wish it could last forever…' Sara thought, though obviously, she knew that it was about to end.

"Alright, everybody smile please." The photographer demanded. They all smiled and soon enough the flash came. But strangely, everyone disappeared except the group of four. They were standing in what seemed to be a huge white room.

"What's this?" asked a puzzled Mr. Klein. He looked around and suddenly vanished.

"MR.KLEIN!" yelled Sara. What on earth was going on? She began to sob. Zachary and Matt sat down with her and she held their hands.

"Guys… I'm scared…" She shivered. Zach hugged her.

"I don't know what's going on… But I have a feeling everything will be alright." Zach said. The hand that Sara was holding on her left, which was Zach's, disappeared slowly.

"NOOO!" she screamed at the top of her lungs. She yelled loud and fell into Matt's arms.

"Please, just hold me… Don't even say anything, I don't want you to go too…" She said, and her nails dug into his back. He blushed.

"Umm… Okay." He said. Slowly, he began to disappear.

"IDIOT! I told you not to talk!" She yelled at him.

"Sorry… I'm sorry…" He said as he vanished. She felt hopeless. Her breathing changed, and she felt herself beginning to choke. She fell to her knees, and felt as if she was coughing up her heart. She tried to vomit, but she could not.She fainted, for the pain was excruciating. She had lost everything in the blink of an eye, literally. What would she do now?

End of chapter 1:Prequel