Disclaimer: Yes... once again, I don't own Fruits Basket.
A/N: Okay, don't kill me for like, never updating! (cowers) I've been having a lot of computer issues, school issues, a social life, drawing mania, and yes, the dreaded writer's block. Yeah. I'm really sorry, I'll try to update more often! Now, since we changed computers, I don't even have Microsoft Word (because my dad lost the disc! (growl)) so I'm doing everything on WordPad. You don't appreciate spellcheck until it's gone. But on the bright side, I don't have to deal with the annoying squiggly lines.
In one, synchronized motion, all the males pulled the chairs out for the females, and several murmurs of thanks echoed. Kyo took the seat next to Tohru and crossed his arms, huffing. "I don't get why we had to do this stupid stuff anyway. Tohru's home cooking is better than any shit these people could make!" he growled.
"Whatever. I really need a drink…" Mayuko rubbed her forehead. "Sake…" she murmured.
"Now, now, don't get too drunk Mayuko." Shigure teased. "Remember what happened LAST time we went drinking with you?"
Mayuko blushed and slapped Shigure with the menu she was holding. "DON'T YOU DARE SAY A WORD ABOUT THAT!"
"Oh, I remember!" Ayame laughed. "Oh yes, that was quite… exhilarating. You even had HATORI staring long and hard with his eyes wide open."
"I WAS NOT." Hatori protested firmly.
The younger ones in the group and Kazuma just watched them go at it with confused expressions on their faces.
"I'm not sure I WANT to know." Yuki mumbled.
"But of COURSE you do!" Ayame laughed. "Another wonderful opportunity to get to know what your brother and his friends do when they are drunk!"
Yuki raised an eyebrow. "Aren't you ALWAYS drunk, anyway?"
Ayame ignored him. "Well, one night, we went for a drink and I think Mayu was depressed or something, because she chugged more than most of us could handle. Then, we managed to drag her staggering drunken stupor to my shop, where Mine got a hold of her. And then… get this… she…"
"WOULD YOU SHUT UP!" Mayuko yelled again now turning on Ayame and temporarily forgetting Shigure, giving him the opportunity to blurt out the rest of the story.
"She dressed up in one of Ayame's dresses, served us tea, and then did a strip show for us." Shigure laughed, earning two smacks over the head with Mayuko's menu.
An utter silence followed, the rest of them staring at the four with eyes wide as saucers.
After the long pause, Uotani and Manabe burst out laughing, Rin scoffing slightly, and Tohru looked down into her lap, beet red.
"What the…" Kyo's mouth hung open, and even Kimi was sent into silence.
"I did NOT need to know that." Yuki muttered. Hanajima and Haru remained as passive as ever and Hiro and Kisa blushed wildly and looked down as well.
"SEE WHAT YOU'VE DONE?" Mayuko stood up and turned on Ayame and Shigure, who were just chuckling in recollection. "YOU HAVE FOREVER TARNISHED MY NAME IN FRONT OF MY STUDENTS!" She roared. Hatori could swear he saw smoke coming from her ears.
The waiter came along and tapped Mayuko on the shoulder. "Excuse me, miss. You're going to have to keep it down, you're disturbing the other customers."
Mayuko blushed deeper and sank back down into her chair. "Sorry…"
The waiter cleared his throat. "Anyway, what would you like to order?"
It was a Chinese place. Tohru looked down into the menu a moment before looking up. "I would like the fried rice without the shrimp, and some sesame chicken." The waiter nodded and scrawled it down.
Everyone else took their turns to order and waited in silence for the meal to come, still in shock from the previous conversation.
"So, Hatori…" Manabe broke the silence. "Was she good?"
Hatori blushed and gave Mayuko a fleeting glance before looking away in silence.
Manabe, Ayame, Shigure, and Uotani burst into laughter again at his lack of response, and Rin smirked. "So you liked it, eh?" Manabe teased.
"… It's not just that…" Hatori said slowly. "I'm just afraid to say anything."
The others turned to see Mayuko glaring daggers at him, an aura of flames shooting from her. The laughter immediately faded.
"Damn, how long do we have to wait for the food?" Kyo muttered, scowling.
On cue, the waiter arrived at their table and set dishes on the table.
Several murmurs of "thank you" echoed as the waiter left and the group dug in.
Yuki turned to Machi who was picking delicately at her food. "Do you like it?" he asked her lightly.
She gave a slight nod in response, and Yuki smiled. "I'm glad." He said with a pat on her head. She blushed silently.
"Hey, Tohru?"
"Hm?" Tohru looked up at Kyo to see him staring worriedly at her.
"Are you okay? You look kind of... sick..." Kyo reached up and stroked the side of her face, making her heart hammer. "But you don't have a fever..."
Tohru furrowed her brows, scratching her arm. "I don't know I..." she scratched her other arm. "I..."
"Tohru? What's wrong?" Kyo's eyes darted to her arms, which were now as red as her face.
Tohru looked at her plate. "Oh no!" she exclaimed, making the rest of the group go quiet and look up at her. "They forgot to take out the shrimp... I'm allergic!" She whimpered slightly.
"They WHAT!"
Everybody's gaze flipped to Kyo, who had suddenly stood up, fuming.
"It's not a big deal... Kyo-kun..." Tohru nervously muttered.
"It is too! Where's that damn waiter!" Kyo said, eyes narrowing.
Once again, on cue, the waiter came over to ask how things were going.
"Things are going terribly! How could you mess up her order!" Kyo roared at the slightly sweating waiter.
"Um... I believe I did write down no shrimp. I apologize, the chef must have made a mistake." He stammered in reply.
"That's it..." Kyo said, rolling up his sleeves dangerously. "I'm going to give that chef a piece of my mind."
"Kyo-kun!" Tohru gasped.
"Kyo..." Kazuma warned, but he had tuned the rest of the world out.
Yuki sighed, realizing that this was going to be another one of Kyo's stupid outbursts.
Kyo stormed into the kitchen. The others sweat-dropped as they heard violent shouting and punching coming from inside. "Excuse me." Kazuma said, getting up. Another series of shouting and punching was heard until Kazuma emerged from the kitchen straightening his tie, and pulling a scowling Kyo out by the ear. "We're leaving." Kazuma annouced calmly, obviously used to dealing with Kyo's temper.
The rest, who were shocked, appalled, and in fits of laughter (well, Manabe, anyway), silently nodded and got up to leave, while Shigure stayed behind to take care of the check.
"Stupid cat, you always get us into trouble!" Yuki growled.
"Just shut up and get driving!" Kyo yelled in reply.
They piled into their appropriate cars and set out.
"We're going to have to stop at a pharmacy to buy some allergy medicine for Tohru." Uotani said as they turned out of the parking lot.
Yuki nodded. "I think I saw one on the way in."
They drove to a pharmacy and parked. "Why doesn't one of you go with her, just in case something happens while she's there." Yuki suggested. "And plus it's late, you never know what kind of shady people are hanging around."
Before anyone could volunteer, Kyo gave a gruff "I'll go" and glared around, daring anyone else to say anything.
Uotani looked at Hanajima, who nodded. "All right. Take care of her Kyo."
Kyo blushed. "It's not like you're giving her away to be married!" He muttered before helping Tohru out of the car.
They walked silently down the aisles, Tohru scanning the medicine aisle for allergy medicine. She found one and plucked it off the shelf, and turned to Kyo.
"I'm sorry." He said quietly, shuffling his feet. "I ruined it for all of us."
Tohru's face broke into a warm smile. "It's okay, Kyo-kun. You were just sticking up for me. Just try not to act so rashly next time."
Kyo raked his fingers through his hair, his eyes remaining on the floor as a blush grew on his face. "Yeah... it's just that... when it comes to you... I just kind of... lose it. I don't know, you're so..." dear. Kyo stopped himself before he could finish the statement.
Tohru's smile only grew. "I understand... I think..." she reached up and took his hand, which was still running nervously through his orange locks. She laced her fingers in his and pulled it down. "I noticed that you have a nervous habit of running your fingers through your hair." She giggled. "Come on."
A brightly smiling Tohru and a deeply blushing Kyo walked to the counter, never releasing their hands.
Meanwhile, there was the usual commotion in the car.
"Kimi wants to sit in the front with Yun-Yun!" Kimi wailed at Manabe, who was currently occupying the passenger seat.
"No! Yun-Yun and I aren't done discussing dirty magazines yet!"
"WE WEREN'T DISCUSSING DIRTY MAGAZINES."
The bickering continued, and the others, who were used to it by now, just sighed.
"I... I want to sit in the front with Yuki." Everybody looked back at Machi, surprised at her sudden assertiveness. "That is... um... if it's alright with you." Her voice got softer, and she blushed, noticing that everyone was staring at her.
Manabe blinked. "Okay." He said, opening the door.
"HEY! WHY WON'T YOU LET KIMI SIT THERE, BUT LET MACHI SIT THERE?" Kimi whined even more.
Machi silently exited the car and as the passed each other, Manabe paused to put a hand on Machi's head. "Don't fall too deep for him. Your prince is hiding a lot." He whispered.
Machi's face turned red and eyes widened, but Manabe got into the car as if nothing had happened. Machi also got into the car and sat next to Yuki. She glanced up at him, still blushing. Yuki looked at her for a moment before his face broke into a genuine grin, one that he mostly reserved just for Tohru. He suddenly felt shy, and had a fluttering feeling in his chest as he looked at her blushing face. A blush grew on his own face as he looked forward. "I... I'm happy you wanted... to be near me. I... like being near you too..." He said quietly. For the first time, the Prince had failed to articulate his words in a perfectly graceful manner. Machi also turned her gaze forward, the blush not leaving her face.
"I... I'm happy too." Yuki heard Machi whisper, almost drowned out by the chaos going on in the back seats. He smiled wider and ran his fingers through his hair nervously, feeling awkward for the first time. Before, he had just really liked Machi. A bit of a crush, he guessed. It was easy to tease and flirt with her. But now, he realized, he was really falling in love with her.
"Hey, Tohru and Orangey are back!" Uotani commented. The two piled in and they started home. As they drove, one of Yuki's hands crept over and laced itself with Machi's. Without protesting, Machi let her fingers and his fingers intertwine as they sped along the dark highway, the stars winking down on them.
"Hey Yun-Yun?"
"Hm?"
"Are we there yet?"
"MANABE!"
I loved this chapter! I'm so proud of it, I hope you guys enjoyed it too! Now I'm going to write more fics, and read over this one again to refresh my memory and hopefully come up with more ideas. Some suggestions would help. I'm thinking of doing a Haru/Rin segment, Hana/Kazuma segment, and bring Kagura into it and pair her with an OC. We'll see.
