Author's Note: Well- to all my devoted readers, I have a very sad thing that I regret having to tell you. I will NOT be updating my Harry Potter fanfiction- not now, not EVER. There is no real reason- except- I just don't feel like it. Besides- I would much rather devote my time and energy to this and my other Fruits Basket fanfiction. I do hope you'll understand. Now- I'm going away for the rest of this week- since we're off school tomorrow and Friday for some national holiday, so I want to give you one last chapter before I leave for Okinawa.
:CHAPTER SPOILER ALERT! If you don't want to know what happens in advance in this chapter, just move along:
Okay- just so you know- this chapter is SOOOO long- I just went on a real typing jag! Also- Jennifer dresses Tohru up in "a traditional American teen outfit" (Think "Whores on Ice" meets "The Osbournes") and Jennifer FINALLY finds out about the Sohma family curse! And it's all 'cuz Kyo just HAD to get Jennifer ALONE on the roof- such a silly, hormonal boy!
BUT I'M TELLING YOU ALL NOW! One of my very best friends in the world said she wanted to contribute something to the chapter, so I said I'd let her design the outfits that Tohru and Jennifer wear to the dance. Not a big deal, right? WRONG! I was SOOOO wrong in giving her that job! I think I had an ANEURYSM when I saw the sketch she drew of the outfit she wanted Tohru in. She said she always wondered what the public's reaction would be to Tohru wearing "different" clothes. I said "DIFFERENT? Yeah, I guess clothes from 'Circus Circus' can be called DIFFERENT!"
((sighs)) but, I had given her my word that I would use her material, so here goes nothing. Kill her. Spare me. I write this story, which you love so much . . .
Disclaimer: You know the drill
Chapter Twelve: I think it's time we told you something. .
Friday after school, Jenny and Tohru were very excited about the dance. They had gotten Yuki to agree to go, and they made plans to meet Momiji, Haru, Uo, and Hanajima at the dance.
Since they had not thought about it before, Jenny and Tohru were very worried about what they were going to wear.
"I have a very nice skirt I like a lot," Tohru was saying, "maybe I could wear that!"
"If you want, I could do your hair," Jenny told her.
"You know, you do have SIX HOURS to get ready. I think you can give it a rest," Kyo stated.
But they ignored him, and moved on to the subject of shoes.
When they finally arrived home, Shigure said he had some good news.
"They've found your suitcase, Jeni-kun!" Shigure announced happily, "They delivered it today."
"Oh, that's wonderful!" said Jenny, "Where is it?"
Shigure grinned, "Oh, don't worry- I took the liberty of unpacking all of your clothes for you, and I must say, you have the most adorable outfits!"
"Oh-um" Jenny blushed, "Thank you, Sohma-dono,"
Pervert! Kyo thought, He probably just wanted to go through her panties!
Honestly-Shigure just looks for things to do besides his work! Yuki was thinking.
"Oh, Tohru!" Jenny remembered, "I have the best shirt in my suitcase! I think you would like it- you can wear it to the dance if you want!"
So the two girls rushed up to Jennifer's room, and slammed the door shut.
"Ah, high school dances," Shigure said wistfully, "If only I could go. I still remember our own dances, with all of those high school girls in their most provocative clothes, dancing around and rubbing their-"
Yuki kicked him hard in the shin as he was walking by and said, his eyebrow twitching dangerously, "Keep those sorts of stories in those filthy books you write."
Around six thirty, Kyo called up the stairs, "Come down already! You haven't left that room all day! Haven't you picked out something to wear yet! We're going to be late!"
"I thought the dance didn't start until eight," Shigure asked Yuki.
"It doesn't, but we thought we could go out for dinner before we headed over to the dance. You can eat leftovers."
Shigure sweatdropped, but perked up when Jennifer's voice called out, "Okay! We're ready!"
"About time!" Kyo said impatiently.
Tohru came down first. She had OBVIOUSLY borrowed Jennifer's clothes, and all three boys silently wondered just what sort of things Jennifer did in America . . .
Tohru looked around that the boys' shocked expressions and said nervously, "Jeni-kun said this was a traditional outfit for an American teenage girl to go dancing in. Does it look weird?"
Tohru- the picture of innocence and saint of the house- wore a silver, one shoulder tank top that ended a few inches above her navel, with a long-sleeve black fishnet mesh shirt over it. It was paired with a short crimson skirt with two chains hanging from it, and black stockings with even darker black, thigh-high leather boots that laced up the sides. On her neck glistened a silver choker with a pink heart in the center, and silver armband gripped her upper right arm. Her hair was pulled back, in a very high ponytail, held by a long metallic silver ribbon that hung down her back.
"You look . . .wow," Yuki said breathlessly, giving her one of his rare smiles, as he tugged nervously at his collar.
"Are you hot, Yuki?" Tohru asked in concern, noticing the way he tugged at the collar of his coat.
"Boy is he ever," Shigure commented so only Yuki and Kyo could hear. Yuki glared at Shigure.
"Jeni-kun! Come on downstairs!" Tohru called standing next to Yuki.
Jenny had to admit- her outfit was nothing like her usual clothes. Normally, Jennifer just wore a few plain, long skirts she had bought her first day with Tohru and a t-shirt.
Now, she came down the stairs in a black sleeveless top, and a wine-colored mega-mini skirt. She wore black thigh-high stockings and black stilettos. Her long, mahogany hair hung down in loose waves and curls, and her makeup was done expertly. Kyo's mouth dropped open and his eyes grew wide as he looked her up and down. Wow . . .he thought absently.
"Doesn't she look nice?" Tohru asked, smiling.
The others snapped out of their shock and agreed.
"Oh, yes," Shigure complimented, "very nice, Jeni-kun"
"C'mon!" Kyo said harshly, "Let's get a move on!"
"You…That is…"Jenny said, "um…you don't…like it?"
"Ah!" Kyo breathed, realizing what he had said, "No-um-I mean, y'know…that's not what I meant…You, uh…you look…cute…"
"The cat's right," Yuki said, glancing at his watch, "We are going to be late if we don't leave now."
So the group set out and had dinner at a nice noodle shop. Kyo, however, found it hard to enjoy his meal. He kept getting distracted by a group of boys sitting one table over who kept eyeing Tohru and Jenny. But the others didn't really notice, and Kyo didn't want to cause a scene, so he just ignored it as best as he could.
Once they arrive at school, Tohru immediately spotted the others and went over to say hello to them.
"Hey, I heard you turned down Seta," Uo said to Jenny, "I kinda figured you would- but I never thought you were going with orangey over here."
"Yes, the news was rather wide-spread after it happened." Hana added.
"The why are all the fangirls still mad?" Haru asked calmly.
"Aw- don't worry about them," Uo encouraged Jenny, "there was nothing you really could have done that would have made them happy. Whether you went with him or not, they'd be mad, one way or another. C'mon- let's just get inside and have fun!"
Loud music pulsed through the speakers and colored lights flashed all around. The gym looked even more crowded than usual with all of the students dancing in the middle of the floor. Not knowing what to do next, Jenny just followed the others. Uo led the group onto the dance floor, and began to dance. Tohru, Hana, Momiji and Jenny gladly followed her example, and they all began to dance as well. Yuki just smiled, and stood a bit apart, not wanting to accidentally bump into a girl, and Kyo did the same, keeping an eye out for Seta. A few people called out her name and said hi, and Jenny waved back and smiled.
Jenny was actually starting to have a good time until Momiji pointed out, "Hey, isn't that the guy you were talking about?"
Looking over, the whole group of friends nodded and said, "Yeah, that's him."
It was Seta, standing about twenty feet away. Well, he certainly didn't have any trouble finding another date, Jenny thought, noticing a girl from her class holding onto Ryotso's arm. But that was the least of her worries. More and more students around them started muttering and looking over at her and Kyo- they had all undoubtedly heard that Jenny was Kyo's "date".
Oh, no! Jenny thought panicked, this is bad! This is really bad! We shouldn't have come! Maybe there's more to this whole dance thing than I thought. What do I so? What do I do!
Kyo, too, had noticed the growing crowd, and he felt like an animal backed into a corner.
Damnit! He thought angrily, This won't end well- not unless I do something and fast. Crap- maybe taking her to the dance wasn't the best idea- I should have just beat the crap out of Ryotso and been done with it! What can I say? What do I do!
Kyo looked over at Jennifer, and his heart skipped a beat.
Wow, Kyo thought in awe, She's really scared! Damnit! Now I'm really pissed! If anyone wants to scare her, they're gonna have to answer to me! This is it- my chance to prove myself! I better take action quick, or we could be in trouble.
Kyo grabbed Jenny's hand and took her onto the dance floor, away from the crowd. Turning to her, he took one of her hands in hers, and placed his other hand tentatively on her waist, leading her in a slow dance.
Jenny looked in shock up at Kyo- who gave her a playful wink. Jenny smiled back, and placed her hand on his shoulder as she danced with him.
Amidst the crowd of muttering onlookers, Kyo and Jennifer danced slowly, looking into each other's eyes as though they were the only two people in the room. Kyo couldn't help but notice just how much smaller she was than him, or the way his hand felt on her waist.
Wow- he's so much taller than me, Jennifer thought in wonder, And I love the way his eyes are sparkling right now- they look like rubies! He's so nice to dance with me like this, just so Seta-san will leave me alone. Sohma-bocchan is so nice to me…
The dance ended, and on the spur of the moment, Kyo leaned over, dipping Jennifer low. Jenny's eyes flew open, but then she laughed, the sound falling on Kyo's ears like bell chimes.
Kyo let her up, and as he walked her back to their group of friends, he whispered in her ear, "Relax, okay? You're letting your nerves get the best of you and now you're all worked up over nothing. Just try and have a good time."
"You see, Jeni-chan?" Tohru asked when Kyo and Jennifer got near, "There's nothing to be worried about!"
"well- there might be something to be worried about," Uo corrected, pointing over to Seta. Seta, his date, and several other boys were walking over to them, each wearing a distinct smirk that told Jenny that whatever was about to happen would not be good. Kyo moved in front of Jennifer, ready to do whatever was necessary to protect her.
"Glad you made it," sea was saying, "I wouldn't miss seeing you for the world."
But from the moment Seta started walking over, Jenny began thinking, Okay! This is my chance! This is just like the fights I saw at St. Mary's, and Seta is just like any other American jerk! I can't be scared of him! I've gotta stand up for myself! I can't ask Sohma-bocchan to protect me all the time! Right now, I've just got to take matters into my own hands.
"why?" Jennifer cut in, before the others could speak, "To get one last glimpse of what you're missing?"
All of her friends looked at Jenny in shock. They had ever seen her this way before- her face was set in a defiant smirk, and everything about her glowed with boldness and confidence. Usually, Jenny tried to ignore mean comments, and even Seta faltered for a minute, but he quickly regained his composure.
"You wish you could have come to the dance as my date," Seta sneered, "Besides, You'll never be like y girl Shuriko, here!"
Seta's date, Shuriko, gave Jenny a haughty look, but Jennifer wasn't about to back down.
"What- trampy clothes, a snotty attitude and enough plastic in her body to start a Tupperware factory? You're right. I'll never be like that."
"Hey!" Shuriko cried indignantly.
Uo and some of the other girls laughed, which attracted the attention of more and more people.
"Actually, I wanted to commend you, Seta," Jennifer went on, cutting off the other girl, "It seems your standards have actually gone up. But tell me- how many hours did it take you to teach this nitwit to breathe and walk straight at the same time?"
More people had gathered around them, and they laughed at the crack about Shuriko, who was notoriously stupid.
Seta's face flushed.
"You're just jealous that I'm here with her instead of you." Seta bit back.
"Actually, if memory serves, it was you sniffling and wiping your nose after I turned you down," Jenny replied coolly, leaving out the fact that Seta had only been wiping away the blood after Kyo had kicked him in the face.
This caused even more laughter by the ever-growing crowd of watching students.
"Why you-!" Seta started, advancing on Jenny But Kyo quickly stepped in, putting himself between Seta and Jennifer once more.
"That's enough, Ryotso," Kyo said strongly, "Get out of here."
"What's the matter?" Seta taunted, "Why do you want me to leave so quickly? Afraid to take me on? You talk tough, but I'm willing to bet that talk is all you're made of. I could knock you out in one punch."
"YOU SHUT UP!" Jenny screamed from behind Kyo, "Kyo-kun's way stronger than you, and a whole lot nicer about it, too! You just think you're so strong and mighty because you've picked on a couple of girls, but if you think you could ever beat Kyo-kun, you must be dreaming!"
"Awww," cooed Seta, "You have your girl fighting your battles now, Sohma? How sweet. But you must be pretty weak, then, to have to be backed up by a girl. You really are a little pansy, aren't you? You're probably about as strong as a marshmallow!"
"You wish!" Kyo shouted, launching himself forward and punching Seta as hard as he could.
"Kyo-kun!" Jenny cried out, trying to go forward and help him, but two of Seta's friends held her back. Elbowing one in the throat, and kneeing the other in the groin, Jenny escaped, and made her way to Kyo. This was pretty difficult, since the crowd of students was growing larger by the minute as people pushed and shoved to see Kyo and Seta fighting.
Kyo had tackled Seta to the ground, punching every inch of him that he could. He heard Jennifer call out his name and he stood up. Landing one last kick in Seta's stomach, Kyo made his way through the thick crowd, grabbed Jenny's hand, and ran.
The two ran upstairs, through the hallways, up another flight of stairs, and finally burst through the door, out onto the roof.
It was silent and peaceful- except for Kyo' and Jenny's panting and gasping for breath. After she got the stitch out of her side, Jenny looked around admiring the view.
Kyo had no such plans.
"What was THAT all about!" Kyo asked her incredulously.
"Huh?" Jenny said, "Oh, that,"
"Yes, THAT!"
"Well, I remembered what you said," Jenny told him, "about how you couldn't always protect me. So I stood up for myself.
"Yeah, but Seta-"
"Oh, please," Jenny said, waving Kyo off, "I've dealt with sixth-graders worse than Seta Ryotso."
Jenny laughed at the look on Kyo's face.
"Come on," she said, "Don't look so surprised. Seta's just really a spoiled little boy- anyone can see that."
"Then…why…" Kyo began.
"You mean., why did I have such trouble turning him down?" Jenny shrugged, "because I knew the fangirls would hate me no matter what I told him. Either way, I was afraid they'd mug me on the way home…"
"That's not it" Kyo clarified, "Why haven't you told anybody else off like that? I mean, no offense, But Ryotso's not the first one to pop some nasty remark at you, y'know."
"Oh," Jenny chuckled, "Well- I guess…because it's not nice. I guess I could have told people off when they said something mean about me, or laughed behind my back, but…it just wasn't worth my time. I made an exception for Seta, though. Somebody needed to tell him off, and as soon as possible."
Kyo sighed and rested his back against the wall, sliding down and sitting down to sit on the floor.
"Yeah, you're right about that," he said, shutting his eyes, "but man- this whole thing is going to take FOREVER to settle down. And I know I said to stand up for yourself, but I also said to stay out of trouble!"
"I'm sorry…" Jenny said softly.
"What for?" inquired Kyo.
"I'm sorry…if I embarrassed you. I didn't mean to, but I just couldn't stand hearing that jerk SAY those things about you! He knew that you were strong, but he was just trying to make everyone else think you weren't. And I guess I didn't help, since I'm sure guys don't like having a girl stick up for them. I didn't want to cause trouble. You saved e from Seta-san, and even went to out with me and danced with me in front of everyone- and all I did to show my gratitude was embarrass you in front of the whole school. I just wanted to start defending myself. I mean…I know that, one day, there's going to be a time when you won't be there, so…I…I want to be…stronger…"
Jenny flopped down next to him, looking blearily at the ground, as though hoping the answer to all of her problems would be written there.
"Hey," Kyo said, "For one thing, you didn't embarrass me, okay? I don't care what all those brainless girls say. This whole thing was so Seta would stay off your case, right? Well- now he will. And for another thing, you're pretty strong already. Haru's still aching from that punch you served him a couple of days ago. And don't ever think-" Kyo added with a gentle note in his voice, shifting his hand so it rested on top of hers, "-that there will be a time when I won't be there. I'll always be there, okay?"
"Okay…" Jenny breathed, looking astounded up at Kyo.
"Especially the way you've been affecting this school," Kyo continued in his regular harsh tone, "Pretty soon I'll have to protect everyone else from you."
Jenny laughed, but stopped suddenly.
"What was that?" She whispered.
Kyo gasped, realizing what it was, and stood up, "Someone's climbing the stairs to the roof!"
They looked around, panicked, but the roof was bare- there was nowhere to hide. Jenny and Kyo made a mad dash for the door, but the skidded to a stop in front of it as someone on the other side turned the knob. Thinking quickly, Kyo pulled Jenny to him, and they stood as quietly as possible behind the door as it swung open.
"Coulda sworn they ran up here," a thick voice said.
"No way. It's as still as death up here and almost as cold. C'mon, shut the door and let's warm up downstairs," another voice suggested.
"But still…" the first boy wavered.
"Even if they did come up here, Sohma probably jumped off with that Maiso chick and ran off a long time ago." The second voice said convincingly.
"Yeah…I guess you're right…"
And the door creaked shut.
Kyo and Jenny let out a breath of relief, and Jenny took a step back from Kyo, her cheeks still red from how close she had been to him.
Suddenly- the door flew open again, hitting Jenny in the back- hard. She vaulted forward- right into Kyo's arms.
In a puff of smoke, Kyo transformed, and Jenny landed on her knees on the asphalt.
"Oww…" she moaned, rubbing her head where the door had hit her.
"K-Kyo-kun?" Jenny stammered, looking around and wondering where he could have gotten to.
"Jeni-kun!" Tohru exclaimed, peeking around the door. "There you are! We found you!"
There was Haru, Momiji, Yuki, and Tohru looking at Jenny peculiarly while she knelt on the floor.
Jenny felt something rustle in her lap and looked down- something was moving around under what looked like a pile of Kyo's clothes.
An orange cat poked its head from under Kyo's empty shirt, and blinked up at Jenny. Jenny blinked back, picking up the cat and holding it up to her eye level.
"This is…" She said softly, her eyes growing wide, "This is…that cat…This is the cat from…the other…night…But…Kyo Sohma-bocchan…"
"Maiso-san," Yuki said heavily, crouching down beside her and placing his hand on her shoulder, "It's time we told you something important."
My Two Cents: EEEEEEEEEEEEEE squeals I almost can't believe it! I practically fainted! No-wait-I didn't, because I knew what was going to happen…haha…BUT YOU ALMOST FAINTED, DIDN"T YOU? I know you did… I was just writing the last chapter, and my friend Sam was like, "So- when's she gonna find out about the curse, anyway?" I was in shock…I had TOTALLY forgotten about the curse, to tell you the truth, so I was thinking, Yeah, it's about time she finds out. Now then- let's see how this all works out shall we? Don't forget the three R's! Read, Review, and Repeat!