I put the two chapters together for two reasons;
1. To save me time
2. Because chapter 2 didn't have a lot of the origioal furuba characters in it, and since this is a fruits basket story, I assume you want to see Tohru and the Sohmas at some point, right?
I know, they haven't been around much yet, but that'll change here real soon, so just hang in there.
Chapter 2
I took a deep breath of fresh air as I exited the school building. The first day was finally over.
As far as first days go, it wasn't so bad, other than the glares I'd gotten from the orange head, whose name I still didn't know, it was actually kind of nice.
"I have to go to work." Said Tohru, I had almost forgotten she was there. "See you tomorrow Kairi-san."
"Bye." I answered, and she walked off across the street and around the corner, out of my line of vision.
Then something cought my eye. I turned to watch, though the scene didn't registered for a few moments. Yuki and the orange-head were arguing from across the school yard. Yuki looked calm, where as his the orange-head waved his fists around and yelled at Yuki, though I couldn't make out the words from clear over across the yard. They were starting to attract quite an audience.
I was debating on weather I should walk over there or not, when the orange-head lashed out at Yuki. I was shocked, but Yuki blocked his punch and threw him to the ground with what looked like little effort.
"Wow." I said to myself. "I didn't know he could do that."
The orange-head was back up on his feet, kicking and punching at Yuki with full force, but he kept blocking his blows.
I continued to watch in fascination, till I suddenly remembered the concept of time.
"Oh crap I don't have time for this! I need to get home before my aunt leaves." I realized that I was talking to myself, and that passers by were watching me with a weary eye. Ignoring them, I left the school yard and headed towards the woods.
I hiked through the woods, singing under my breath. In my mind I could hear my music box, playing the tune as I sang.
"I was so happy when you smiled,
Your smile breaks through the clouds of gray,
Far from the sunny days that lie in sleep"
It was the song my mother had sung to me when I was a child. It held a lot of bitter-sweet memories. I imagined her joining me in singing.
"Waiting with patients for the spring
When toe flowers will bloom in new again
Knowing there's more beyond the pain of today.
All though the scars of yesterday remain,
You can go on living as much as your heart believes.
You can't be born again, all though you can change.
Let's stay together always."
A slight rustling in the bushes broke my trance. I wasn't alone. Someone was here with me.
I looked around, and, to my surprise, spotted the orange-haired boy not a hundred yards behind me. I hadn't even noticed him until now. Sometimes I get really out of it, and I don't notice what's happening around me. He looked ragged, bleeding from the lip, clutching his arm as if it were sprained and wobbling a bit as he walked.
I walked up to him. He seemed just surprised to see me.
"What are you doing here!" he demanded.
"I'm walking home." I said. "And why are you so rude to me! I mean I know you got your ass kicked but-"
"Shut up!" he yelled, flustered. "What do you know about it anyways!"
"I saw the fight." I said. "You weren't half bad, but I guess you lost anyways, huh?" Why am I trying to be nice to him! I mentally screamed at myself. If anyone else had talked to me like this I would have let them have it!
"It's none of your damned business!" he grumbled, pushing past me.
"Are you okay?" I asked. "Do you need help getting home?" Why am I doing this!
"I don't need your help!" he declared, slipping in the mud and falling to his knees.
I shrugged and bent down to help him up, "My name's Kairi."
He pushed my hand away and pulled himself up. His cheeks were red, and his face had a smear of mud on it to go along with the blood. "I'm Kyo." And with that he ran, or at least tried to run, down the other path, leaving me alone with my thoughts.
He's kinda cute when he blushes like that. I thought.
"Damn it! Why am I thinking like this! He was a total jerk to me!" I yelled. "If I start turning into one of those girls who goes all crazy every time she sees a cute guy I swear I'll kill myself!" Though even after I said the words, I couldn't make the feelings go away. I felt, I don't know… attached to him in some way.
Since I couldn't make those feeling go away, I shoved them into the deep corners of my mind, hoping that if I left them there long enough they'd go away.
I walked in the door and found my aunt sitting at the kitchen table looming over some photographs. Her blond hair draped over her shoulders, shielding her eyes.
"How was your day Hon?" she asked.
"It was okay." I shrugged. "I'm gona go change out of this damned thing, I'll be right back."
"'Kay." She said, not looking up from her work.
I ran upstairs to my room and flopped down on my bed. The room seemed foreign, and showed no hint of my taste. As did most of the bedrooms I've had sense I came to live with my aunt. We moved so much re-decorating was pointless. The walls were white and the floor was covered with plush-green carpet. I had a few posters hanging on the walls, but I hadn't had a chance to unpack the most of my things yet. My silky blue comforter draped over my bed, and the small wooden dresser sat in the corner, already over-flowing with cloths. The book shelf stood taller than I did. Piled high with manga and my faveoite paperbacks, it seemed to loom over the rest of the room. Already my desk was covered with papers and other random junk. I could hardly see the computer under all the crap.
I wouldn't have it any other way.
I noticed my cat Miko lying in my chair. I walked over and stroked her calico-colored fur. She purred and rubbed against my hand for a moment before jumping off the chair and going downstairs, probably to eat.
I threw off the uniform and changed into some black jeans and an anime t-shirt I had gotten at a convention a few years before. Many of my aunt's photography jobs involved taking pictures of cosplayers at anime conventions, and I often tagged along on these little "missions". I liked anime.
I pulled the still-wet cloths out of my book-bag and draped them over the tub in the bathroom. Catching a glimpse at myself in the mirror I noticed that I still had on my glasses. Not bothering to take them off, I headed down stairs to the kitchen.
My aunt was still sitting there when I arrived. I walked over to the fridge and pulled out a soda. Opening it, I asked, "What are you working on?"
She sighed. "Just another magazine layout. I have to be in Tokyo tomorrow for the meting. Come," she waved me over, "Tell me what you think."
I looked over her shoulder at the pictures. They were of Mt. Fuji, Tokyo tower, and various other tourist's spots around Japan.
"Looks nice." I said, taking a gulp of soda.
"Thanks. How was school?"
I shrugged, "It was okay."
"Were people nice?" she asked, re-arranging the pictures.
I thought back about the cold glares I had been giving by my peers that day. Especially that Kyo boy. "Not really."
"Make any new friends?" she only sounded half interested in what I had to say.
I smiled, remembering Tohru, Yuki, Hana, and Uo. "Yeah. I did as a matter of fact."
"Well, it's about time." She said, a hint of sarcasm in her voice, "I was beginning to think that there was something wrong with you, and you'd be stuck all alone with the cat for the rest of your life."
I rolled my eyes. Why was she always teasing me about that zodiac cat bullshit? Why couldn't she just let it drop?
"I've got homework." I grumbled, taking my soda up stairs. My aunt said something to me as I walked up the steps, but I wasn't listening.
"Damn I can't concentrate worth a crap tonight!" I yelled, throwing my book down on the floor. Heck, I could never concentrate when it came to studying!
"Oh well!" I sighed, flopping down on the bed, "I do well enough in school without studying anyways."
I laid there for a moment, listening to the music on my stereo. I felt restless. I needed to get up and do something.
"I think I'll go for a walk." I said pleasantly to myself. I could hear the rain pounding lightly against the window, so I grabbed my umbrella and headed down the stairs.
"Where are you going?" my aunt asked. She was sitting on the couch in her bath robe, flipping through the channels on the TV.
"I'm going for a walk." I said, sliding open the door, "I'll be back soon." I quickly slid the door shut before she could object and was on my way, big black umbrella protecting me from the rain.
My aunt and I had never been very close. Her name was Aiko, though I almost never addressed her by name. When I had been younger, me and my mother lived with her family. After she... after she lifted my curse, the family shunned us. She became ill and passed on. I guess it was just too much for her, supposedly it takes a lot of energy to lift a curse as strong as mine was. The Nomura's wanted nothing to do with me, so I went to live with my father's sister.
I felt a tear in my eye, and held it back as hard as I could. Crying meant weakness, a weakness I didn't want to admit I had.
It's okay Kairi. I heard my mother say. You can cry, its okay. There's noting wrong with being sad.
"I miss you mom." I said, touching the silver locket. As long as I had it with me, it was as if my words could some how reach her, where ever she was.
I continued walking, exploring the paths through the forest and humming under my breath. Then something caught my eye. There was something lying on the ground, half-hidden by brush.
"What is it?" I asked myself as I walked towards it. I pushed the leaves back and revealed a bracelet, made with round black and white beads. For some reason, it looked slightly familiar. Where had I seen a bracelet like this one before?
"Cool." I said, picking it up. I felt a chill run down my spine as I did so, but I ignored it. I slipped it around my wrist.
"Finders keepers." I said with a slight grin, turning to head back to the house.
Then it hit me, a sharp pain. Right in my chest. I dropped the umbrella and hit the ground on my knees, clutching my heart. I screamed, but the pain refused to go away.
I screamed again, "Damn it! What the hell's going on!" I hadn't felt pain like this before in my whole life. Even the pain I felt when the curse was lifted was nothing compared to this. My eyes filled with tears and my vision went blurry. Fire was being forced through my nerves. I closed my eyes and screamed a wordless cry of pain.
As my eyes flew open, the pain was gone, just as suddenly as it had came.
"What's going on?" I asked myself, worried. "What's happening to me?" I had almost expected to hear the wind answer me. When it didn't, I picked up my mud-stained umbrella from the ground and went home.
Chapter 3
"It's alright, my little monster," Akito said. "I'm still here. I really love you. Even if you are a monster. I will always love you."
I woke up screaming. Nightmares, I often had them. But, usually, they had something to do with my past. Nothing in this dream seemed familiar at all.
"Akito, who is that?" I asked myself. "I've never known anyone by that name…" I tried, but couldn't muster a face, or a memory to go with the name.
I looked at my alarm clock, 5:34. Plenty of time for breakfast. I ran down stairs and began to wip up some pancakes.
On the counter I found the note from my aunt. She had left before I'd gotten up, and would be gone for about a week. She'd left enough money for food if we ran out.
After I finished eating my half-burnt pancakes, I dumped the dishes in the sink-not bothering to wash them- and went upstairs to the bathroom to take a shower. The warm water felt good on my cold body.
I changed into my uniform and went down stairs to make coffee. Because I wasn't in a hurry this morning, I had time to actually make it, not just use the instant stuff. I watched in silence as the dark brown drops fell through the filter, filling up the pot underneath them. The small lake of coffee caught the drops as they fell.
I wonder, if it were me falling like that, would there be anyone to catch me before I hit the bottom?
I poured myself a mug and drank it in one gulp, the warm liquid scorching my throat. I poured some of it into my portable mug, snapped on the lid, grabbed my bag and left for school. Outside, it was sprinkling slightly, but not too bad. I was still mostly dry when I arrived at school.
"Good morning Nomura-san." Yuki greeted me as I walked into homeroom. I was early, and he was the only other one in the room.
"Good morning." I said with a smile. Caffeine always puts me in a good mood.
An awkward silence fell between us, during which some of the other students in the class came in. Some of the girls were glaring at me, obviously jealous that I was talking to Yuki. A group of them walked over to us.
"Good morning Yuki-kun." The blond one, who I guessed was their leader, said. Then she turned to glare at me, and I could have swore I saw fire in her eyes. "WE are the Prince Yuki fan club!" she informed me.
"Prince Yuki?" I said, trying not to laugh at the goofy nickname.
"Yes." Another of the girls informed me. "And if you think-"
"Hello Yuki-kun." Tohru said. She, Hana, and Uo came up to us. The other girls scampered away as Hana looked at them with her lightless eyes, visibly shaken.
They're not the only ones…
"Good morning Kairi-san!" Tohru said.
I took another drink of my coffee, only to find there were only a few drops left. "Hey." I reached over to sit the mug on my desk, and as I did so, my sleeve rose up, reveling the black and white bracelet I had found the night before. I'd forgotten I was still wearing it.
Tohru took one look at the bracelet and gasped, face riddled with a shocked expression. Yuki wore a similar one, though his wasn't quite as extreme.
"What's wrong with you two?" Uo asked. "And by the way, where's orange-top?"
"He's sick." Yuki said quickly.
"Um, Kairi-san, can I talk to you?" said Tohru. "In private, this is kinda important."
"Sure." I said, following her out of the classroom. She made sure to close the door behind her. As she did so I saw the others watching us.
"What's so important Tohru?" I asked.
"That bracelet. It's mine." She said. "I lost it the other day, could I have it back please?"
"It's yours?" I questioned skeptically.
"Yes. And I really need it back."
"Where did you lose it?" I asked.
"At school, I don't remember." Said Tohru, her voice sounded a bit frantic.
"I found this in the woods by my house." I said, beginning to get frustrated with her. I didn't know why either. It was just a bracelet, why was I getting so worked up about it?
"Yes, I lost it in the woods!" she said.
"You just said that you lost it at school." I pointed out. "Don't lie to me Tohru. I hate it when people lie to get something from me!" Now I was really angry, why was I getting so worked up?
"I'm not lying! I really need that bracelet back!" she begged.
"I can tell when someone's trying to bull shit me, and it's not working." I said.
"I'm not!"
"Whatever, just leave me alone." I walked back into the class room and sat at my desk just as the bell rang. When Tohru walked in, Yuki gave her a hopeful look, but she shrugged. The teacher began her lecture.
I hate liars. I thought to myself. But why am I so mad about this? It's just a bracelet! I'm messing up my first real friendship over some stupid bracelet? Why does it matter so much to me?
I avoided Tohru, Yuki, and the others for the rest of the day. I even went as far as to eat lunch in the bathroom to keep away from them. When Yuki tried to approach me after school let out, I darted away as fast as I could. He didn't even try to catch me. But I didn't stop running. I ran all the way home, tears falling from my eyes and down my cheeks. I screwed it up. They'll never want to talk to me again, all because I wouldn't give Tohru that damned bracelet!
I burst though the front door and collapsed onto the floor, sobbing. I was angry. Angry at Tohru for lying and at myself for acting the way I did and at the world for giving me this cursed life.
I reached to pull off the beads. I'd give them to Tohru, if she wanted them so badly she could have them. I'd apologies and ask her to forgive me.
But as I reached to pull them off, I found my self not wanting to. I just couldn't bring myself to do it.
"I'll wear them for the rest of the day, and give them to Tohru tomorrow." I reasoned. "I won't see her until then, why shouldn't I wear them?"