Enjoy
"So, uh...my grandfather just called this morning and told me that renovations have just ended," Tohru explained to his Sohma clients.
"Wow! That was quick," said Yukari.
"Well, the exterior walls haven't been completed yet, but he DID tell me that it was ready for living in now...which is why...I'll be leaving you tomorrow. Anyways, I have a couple announcements before I head out: #1. Make sure to eat the salted fish in the refrigerator before it expires; #2. You're almost out of soy sauce; #3. The non-burnable trash day changed recently, so please be careful; #4. Uh...#4 is...oh, THIS: the address to my grandfather new house." Tohru handed the boys a folded-up paper. "I'll leave it with you in case you want to check on me from time-to-time."
"Well, we were honored to have you," sighed Shizuka. "Thank you for everything you've done."
"No, thank YOU! And don't worry, your secret will die with me!"
"Have fun in your new home."
"Thanks! I won't get discouraged at all! So, I'm off to pack my belongings..." And so, she left to head upstairs.
"...Aren't you gonna stop her?" the elder Sohma asked.
"No, he only said he'd stay here until renovations are done," said Yukari.
"Ugh, a stranger like her being here was an exception, NOT the norm," Kyomi groaned while lying on the floor.
In his room, Tohru looked at the picture of his mother. "Who am I kidding? The Sohmas and I can NEVER become family."
(Flashback)
"Alright, class, PLEASE sit in a circle and we'll play the 'Fruits Basket' game," instructed Tohru's teacher.
"You're the apple," a boy in the middle said to a boy. "You're the banana," he said to a girl. "Cherry! Pear! Peach! Riceball!" The boy pointed at Tohru to be the "rice ball'.
Even though rice balls weren't really fruit, Tohru liked the title and hoped that he would be able to play...but, sadly, that never happened as NOBODY called the "rice ball".
(End of Flashback)
"*SIGH* I was NEVER the brightest lightbulb," he whispered. "Obviously, the rice ball could NEVER join the fruits basket."
"Hello, everybody," Tohru said to his family in his new home; the family consisted of his aunt, grandfather, and two cousins. "Thank you for having me."
"It's good to have you here, Katsuya-san," said the grandfather.
"That's 'Tohru', grandpa. Katsuya's my father."
"Well, I guess he's gone," sighed Yukari.
"Yeah, the way he left seemed kinda lackluster," said Shizuka. "But at least is left...plenty on melancholy behind."
Yukari returned to her garden...thinking about "him" as the wind began blowing.
Kyomi laid on the roof...thinking about "him" as the wind began blowing.
"I think everybody finished eating breakfast this morning," The former Sohma family housekeeper was in his room looking at a bunch of books related to the girls he served. "Maybe I should've said something to them before I left...but I'll at least get to see Kyomi-chan and Honda-chan at school."
"Hey! Aren't you finished unpacking?" yelled his female cousin from behind him.
"WHA! No, no yet!"
"Sheesh, why couldn't we move into a bigger house...so I wouldn't have to share my room with you?"
"Katsuya-san, we need you downstairs, please," called the grandfather from downstairs.
"His name is 'Tohru'," corrected the cousin.
"Um, what the problem, everyone?" Tohru asked as soon as he returned downstairs.
"There's something we need to discuss, so I think we should do it NOW," said the aunt. "Tohru-kun, is it true you've been living in an all-female house? I had a private detective investigate."
"WHAT?! You were an actual Harem King?!" gasped the female cousin.
"W-Why did you have a private investigator?" asked Tohru.
"Well, my son's dream is to be a police officer; therefore, we can't have someone with a criminal record in our family," said the aunt. "I heard your mother was extremely violent when she was YOUR age. And you know what they say: "Like mother, like daughter.' Or...you know what I mean."
"All long as you live in this house, you better not behave so indiscreetly," said the female cousin.
"Tell me, Tohru-kun: You didn't try to...take advantage of and of those girls, DID you?" asked the male cousin.
"Uh..." began Tohru, "...w-well, I—"
*SLAP*
Just then, the male cousin was slapped in the face by the grandfather. "Is there ANYTHING you know how to do aside from taunting and jeering? Katsuya-san, please don't think TOO badly of them...they're all just unpleasant people."
"D-DAD!" exclaimed the aunt.
"You're not helping!" yelled the male cousin.
"Either way, I can still put up with them rudeness," said Tohru's grandfather. "But YOU don't have to stay here and put up with their unpleasantness if you don't want to."
"B-But..." Tohru began grabbing his arm.
"Oh, no, I not trying to kick you out, I just don't think 'putting up with things' suits you, Katsuya-san. You father told me that you'd be the happiest living somewhere you could spread their wings. So, I think you need a better place to stay than here. If there's any other place you want to live, then go, Katsuya-san."
"W-Well...I don't know if I deserve to 'need more'...m-my mother loved me very much...and I have two wonderful friends...and Sohma-chan's family was very nice to me," said Tohru blushingly. "You've given me a roof over my head again, so I have to show my gratitude. I...I AM grateful. And that's why...I CAN'T stay here!" Tears began rolling down his eyes. "I...I wanna go home! I don't want to miss the Sohmas anymore. I want to get to know Sohma-chan and Kyomi-chan better...to eat with them and to talk about lots of things! I...I NEVER wanted to leave them after all! I want to go home! To Sohma-chan! To Kyomi-chan! And even Shizuka-san! But...is that TOO selfish? Does it prove that I'm too soft on myself...?"
"...Of course..."
"Huh?" Opening his eyes, Tohru noticed a silver-haired girl standing right in front of his with a worm smile.
"Come home," Yukari whispered.
"S-Sohma-chan!"
"Who the hell are YOU?" asked the aunt.
"What a babe!" gasped the male cousin.
"W-What are YOU doing here?!" asked Tohru in—
*YANK*
Suddenly, he was lifted off the floor by...
"KYOMI-SAN!" Tohru exclaimed.
"Time to go," the orange-haired punk said as she carried him over her shoulder by the ass.
"We're sorry for intruding," said the silver-haired girl. "The door was open, so we let ourselves in. I'll take care of Honda-chan's things upstairs."
"W-What are you even doing here?" gasped the aunt.
"We're here to fetch Honda-chan."
"Oh! So, YOU are from the house where Tohru-kun is the Harem King."
"You!" Yukari suddenly pointed his finger at Tohru's male cousin, and with a flick of his pointer...
*FLICKER*
...knocked him to the ground. "Don't EVER call him 'Tohru-kun' again, you fuck!" she hissed.
"Wait! Wait a second!" yelled Tohru a little while later. "How did you even find me?"
"YOU'RE the one who left us your address," said Kyomi. "And yet, we STILL couldn't find it on the first look. And you made me go with the goddamn rat-bitch! Why the hell do I feel so on edge the second you leave? Shit! THAT puts me on the edge even MORE!"
"They BOTH came for me? Even with all the fighting?"
"You know, you never should've left if you told them that you didn't WANT to!"
"WHAT?! HOW DID YOU KNOW?!"
"We heard the whole thing!" the Sohma punk yelled. "*SIGH* Aren't selfish requests okay sometimes? If someone asked for selfish stuff every day, it would piss me off. But in your case...it's okay to complain, or be selfish, or get discouraged...every once in a while."
The moment Kyomi finished talking...
"Whoa! Why are you crying!" she yelled.
"...I...I wanna...go home..." Tohru weeped. "I wanna go home! To where all of you live! I WANNA GO HOME!"
"...*SCOFF* Come on!" the orange-haired punk yelled as she grabbed his arm and began pulling him off. "Let's go home!"
"Hey! K-Kyomi-chan! C-Could you—"
Suddenly, he felt someone gently grab his free hand.
"Let's go home," said Yukari with a warm smile.
And with that, Tohru felt confidence again with his smile.
*CLAP* *CLAP* *CLAP* *CLAP* *CLAP* *CLAP* *CLAP* *CLAP* *CLAP*
"Congratulations!" cheered Shizuka later that evening. "The handsome prince charmings just captured their beautiful princess!"
"Hey! You're making us sound creepy!" Kyomi groaned as she began to walk off.
"And I believe it's, 'The handsome prince charmings just rescued their beautiful princess'," said Yukari.
"Um, I-I'm home..." said Tohru nervously.
"I can SEE that! You can leave all the fallouts to me," said the elder Sohma.
"NO! I can't! I think I've already caused enough trouble!"
"Hey, don't worry. After all, since you're back...the efforts of those two girls, who stole your memo and ran off, won't be in vain! I gotta say: I haven't seen Yukari-chan go to pieces like that!"
"W-WHAT?!" the silver-haired gril gasped. "That's not...pieces...?"
"You're lying!" snapped the Sohma punk. "I could tell your face was screaming—"
*KICK*
Yukari suddenly kicked her in the face. "That's YOU face," Yukari growled.
"ARGH! YOU RAT-BITCH!" Kyomi screamed as she and the silver-haired girl got into another fight.
"So, you wanna keep staying here, Tohru-kun?" Shizuka asked Tohru, causing to proudly say, "YES!"
End of Volume 1
Well, thanks for reading! (It's just sad that I'll have to put this series on ice for now.)
As you all know, R+V resumes tomorrow and all throughout March. Until then...
Later
