Disclaimer: I do not own Fruits Basket, its plot, characters, etc. but I do own my any OCs and my own plot/changes to the original plot.
The Cultural Festival was only seven days away. Things had been pretty hectic at school. But everyone was doing their part to get ready. Rika's class, 2nd year C-block was doing a bunch of games with cheap prizes. She asked the class president if she could help out Tohru's class. Since her student president was really nice he let her go help them. They were helping out with the refreshments. Rika stood at the back of the classroom while Yuki was talking to the class.
"I'm pleased to announce the health inspections have been completed... and we've been given permission to open our rice ball stand. All that's left to decide is what flavor rice balls we'd like to sell. Any suggestions you may have on the matter would be more than welcome."
"Well, what if we tried making Three-Flavor Rice Balls?..." Tohru said standing up. "We can use three different ingredients, and it'll be like getting three Rice Balls in one! It could be fun!"
"How nice. A fine idea." Yuki said.
"Ewww... I think you mean, ''how disgusting.''... No way!" A girl said.
"Like if you had salmon, and miso, and pickled plums all mixed together?" Another said.
"That'd be the sickest thing in the world." The first girl said looking sick. Rika walked over and put a hand on the desk. The two looked up at her and jumped, their eyes widening. Everyone knew that she was Tohru's older sister and that she looked out for her. "W-What are you doing here?! You're not in our class!"
"You're not even in our year!" The second girl said.
"No but I volunteered to help this class. So we'll be working together for a while, huh?" Rika said with a smile but with a glare in her eyes. The two gulped and Rika stood up and looked to Tohru and smiled. She smiled back.
"I say we make it a ''Rice Ball Battle.''" Kyo said.
"A battle?" One boy asked.
"One-on-one. One round. No holds barred." He stood up. "And even if they get bloody noses, or pull each other's arms off, they have to fight for the prize- Rice Balls!"
"No way." Everyone said and Rika pushed him back into his seat. He glared up at her.
"Settle down would ya?"
"Hmm. What about... a 'Hit-or-Miss'?" Yuki suggested.
"Interesting..."
"We'll have a special offer. Anyone who buys three rice balls can choose a fourth for free. Only, we'll have some ''misses'' mixed in, that we can make with some strange ingredient, or something."
"That's a great idea!"
"Oh, sure! So you're all just gunna follow whatever dumb idea he says?!" Kyo said.
"You can't call us 'followers' for knowing a good idea when we hear it."
"Yeah, your idea was too weird!"
"How so?!"
"Who wants to get all bloody over a couple of rice balls?"
"Aw, don't get mad Kyo-Kyo."
"Hey, don't call me Kyo-Kyo!"
"What's wrong with that?"
"I am so calling you that from now on, Kyo-Kyo." Rika said with a laugh as she pat his head. He glared at her.
"I have a student council meeting to attend, so if you wouldn't mind handling the arrangements for building the stand?" Yuki said to the vice president.
"Sure, just leave it to me!" She said.
"Ah, hold on! There was still something I needed to ask you."
"Yeah, right, me too Yuki, I have a question about the stand..."
"Yuki, I have a question..."
"Aw, look!" Rika looked next to me at Kyo who suddenly was covered in cats.
"Whoa, how did they get in here?"
"And so many!"
"How cute!"
"Kyo... Oh no..." Tohru said.
"Ah!" He got up and went to the door. "Damn it all!" He shouted leaving. Yuki sighed.
"Strange boy..." Saki said.
"Yeah, like you're one to talk." Arisa said. "You're pretty strange yourself, you know...But he does have one hell of a violent temper. I'll give you that."
"Yes, he's quite rowdy."
"The complete opposite of the prince. Hard to believe they're related." Arisa said.
…
The next day Tohru and Rika were making Rice balls in the kitchen.
"What the hell is this!?" Kyo shouted. "You tryin' to turn this place into a rice ball shop?"
"Oh, well good morning! ..." Tohru said. "You're up early, aren't you?"
"No... This is when I always get up." He said picking up a rice ball.
"Ah! Kyo!" Rika bit her lip to keep from laughing as he bit into it. "That's a- a leek rice ball." He made a face and spit it out.
"Why would you even make this crap?!"
"Well, we're going to try a ''Hit or Miss'' stand, remember?" She said. "So that one's a ''miss''... I can make something else for you, if you have any ideas."
"I dunno... Salmon or cod's okay, I guess... Ah, forget it! I'll just make some myself. Geez!" He said going over to the rice maker and making a rice ball.
"Wow, Kyo! That's amazing!" He looked up and blinked. "The way you make rice balls! You're really talented! Incredible! I had no idea!" Rika smirked seeing a blush on his face.
"Well, when I was out training I had to make all my own meals and stuff... I just make the plain kind, nothin' fancy."
"Even so, I'll bet if we found someone who had devoted their whole life to the art of rice ball making and asked them, they'd still say they admired how well you do it."
"I think you're overdoing it." Rika muttered.
"Where the hell you gunna find somebody like that?" He shouted. "I mean, c'mon! That's gotta be the dumbest thing I ever heard." He started laughing. "''Art of rice ball making''..."
"Maybe the reason you don't see it, is that it's stuck to your back..." She said. He turned back and looked at her from his place in front of the table. "What I mean is... a person's admirable qualities... They're just like, say, a pickled plum on a rice ball... In other words, the person's the rice ball, and the plum's stuck to their back! So, all over the world, you could have rice balls made with all sorts of wonderful ingredients, all different flavors, and shapes, and colors... But since they'd be stuck in the middle of everyone's back, someone could have a plum and not even know it! They'd look at themselves and think, ''I'm so plain, nothing but white rice,'' even though it isn't true. Because turn them around and sure enough- there it is! There's the plum! So if someone is jealous of somebody else, well then... It's probably because it's easier to see the plum on someone else's back than it is on your own! Yep, I can see it. I can see it very clearly, Kyo. You don't know it, but you have a great, big plum on your back. Yuki's admirable in his way... And you're admirable in yours!"
"That was the cutest analogy I've ever heard." Rika said with a chuckle.
"Okay, now that's definitely the dumbest thing I ever heard!" Kyo said his face going red. "And what's so great about a stinkin' plum, anyway?!" He Shouted.
"Oh, I'm sorry... We can change it to salmon if you want... Excuse me, I guess I left the kettle on the stove. " She said getting up.
"Hey. You've got one too... I mean, stuck to your back... ...there's a plum. I- I can see it." Kyo said.
"You can see it?" Tohru asked.
"Yeah, but it's really small, like a baby plum." She smiled.
"Baby plums are delicious!" She said with a big smile.
"No, it's way, way, tiny!"
"Right."
"No I mean it's not even a baby plum."
"Okay." Tohru said still smiling.
"I mean you can hardly even see it." He said. She went to get the kettle off the stove. Rika walked over to him.
"You're all red Kyo-Kyo." He snapped his head to look up at her.
"Don't call me that!"
"Would you let Tohru call you that?" He was quiet for a second.
"Of course not!" Rika chuckled
"Of course… Kitty." He glared.
…
The day of the Cultural Festival Rika was in Tohru's classroom helping set up.
"Hey, what are you doing? It's still crooked." Kyo said.
"No one's gunna notice something so small, Cat-lover."
"Yeah, you're just being finicky."
"That's right, Cat-lover. It's only gotta last one day."
"What's the deal with all this ''Cat-lover'' crap?!" Kyo said getting up. "You trying to make fun of me or something?"
"Ah, we got you figured out. You talk tough, but deep down you're just a gentle guy who loves animals."
"Awww..." The three guys said.
"Hey! Knock it off, will ya! For the last time those weren't even my cats!" Kyo snapped. Rika chuckled.
"Oh sure they just magically appeared in your lap."
"Shut up! They did you know!"
"Hey, it happens all the time. Just give it up man."
"Alright guys, knock it off." Rika said.
"H-Hey Rika Senpai." One guy said blushing. The other two smiled and waved slightly. Rika smiled back and they all blushed. She rolled her eyes.
"Oh, Yu-ki!" Rika looked over to see two girls who just came into the classroom.
"Hello."
"Guess what? We have a surprise for you, Yuki. It's a present." The girl with brown hair said.
"All the senior girls chipped in and bought it. We thought it would be the greatest thing if you could wear it today!" The other said.
"Uh, wear...?" He asked.
"Ta-da!" They held up a white dress with peach colored part over the white with a white sweater and bows on it. "A one-of-a-kind festival day costume, just for you, Yuki!" Yuki's eyes widened. Rika walked over to Tohru.
"Should I be concerned?"
"Uhh.."
…
"Hi!"
"Rice balls! Rice balls!"
"Buy three, get one free!"
"Thank you!"
"Wow! They're selling like crazy!"
"We're on track for first in the food category!"
"I think we have all the delicious stuff Tohru and Rika made to thank for that!"
"Oh, no, don't be silly!"
"And I just love these cat shaped ones..."
"Thanks, but I don't think they're really what's attracting everyone to our booth, you know?" She said and we looked over at Yuki in the dress.
"That's it! Stop! No more pictures!" One of his fan girls said.
"Yuki doesn't like it! Yeah, that goes for you too, sister!"
"Good point. He's definitely an attraction."
"Uh-huh."
"I suppose we couldn't ask for better advertising, huh?"
"Uh-huh." Yuki looked over to us for a moment before quickly looking down.
"Oh... I hope I haven't done anything to make Yuki mad at me." Tohru said.
"He does look upset." Rika said. "I don't think it's anything you did."
"Ah, don't worry about it." Kyo said, sitting in a chair, eating a rice ball while reading a comic. "My guess is, it's more embarrassment than he can stand, having to dress up like that... I mean, he's already got a big enough complex over that girly face of his."
"Yuki!" Rika looked over to see a little blond boy with brown eyes come running and jump on to Yuki's shoulders. "Yuki, you look like a girl!"
"What the hell?" Kyo said. "What is that little brat doin' here?"
"That's someone you know, then?"
"Momiji. You're not to go running off by yourself." Said a man dressed in a suit with his jacket over his arm. He had black hair that covered his left eye. "Yuki. Kyo. I see you're both looking well."
"Hatori!" Yuki said.
"Who is that?" A girl asked as a group formed.
"He's so cool!"
"Hi there, I'm Momiji Sohma..." The blond boy said taking off his hat. "and this guy here with me is Hatori Sohma..." He said motioning to the man. "And yeah, we're two of Yuki and Kyo's relatives!"
"Oh, how cool!"
"Oh, is that right?"
"That's right."
"But never mind Momiji, what's that bastard Hatori doing here?" Kyo asked.
If they're related, I wonder if they're part of the zodiac too. Rika thought.
"All right... now take a deep breath." Hatori said holding a stethoscope to Yuki's chest.
"Hatori's a doctor." Kyo said.
"So why is he here?" Tohru asked.
"Couldn't we have found a better time for this?" Yuki said sounding annoyed.
"We did. We had an appointment." Hatori said. "You should know you can't skip your monthly check-up."
"Check-up? Yuki, why would you need a check-up? Is there something wrong?" Tohru asked. He looked at her.
"Sort of..."
"Are you okay?" Rika asked. Yuki looked up at her.
"Yuki's bronchial tubes are fairly sensitive..." Hatori answered. "He used to suffer from frequent asthma attacks when he was a child... It's a condition he's gradually growing out of... But we like to be sure... I'm assuming you're Tohru Honda and you're… Rika?" Hatori looked at her and seemed to stare at her for a moment as if in shock. Rika raised an eyebrow and glanced down at herself. Were her clothes messy? Did she have something on her face? She looked back up and met his eyes for moment before he looked to Tohru as she spoke.
"Uh... yes! Nice to meet you." Tohru said.
"Indeed... I didn't expect you'd be such an ordinary girl." He looked back at Rika. "Well... on the other hand."
"I make up for all her ordinariness. " Rika said with a smirk.
"Don't! You can't climb on the stand!" A girl said as Momiji was standing on the rice ball stand.
"What do you think you're doing you little runt?!" Kyo said grabbing Momiji's shoulders.
"Excuse me; I think they need my help." Tohru said. They went over and tried to get Momiji off the stand.
"Now you stay here! And sit still!" Kyo said to Momiji.
"Waaa! Somebody! Kyo hit me!"
"Is everything okay?" Tohru asked as the girls came around the curtain.
"Ah-h! You're Tohru!" Momiji said. "Right? Tohru Honda!" He pointed to Rika. "And Rika! Did I get it right?"
"Uh-huh. That's me." Tohru said and Rika nodded.
"Now me! Guess who I am!"
"You're Momiji."
"Ah! You remembered my name! I'm so happy! Tohru, Rika, let's be friends, okay?"
"Sure!"
"Hey, Tohru... so you guys already know about the whole zodiac thing, right? Right?"
"Uh... right."
"That's great! I can hug you!"
"Hold it, lover boy!" Kyo said grabbing Momiji's head before he could hug Tohru.
"But they don't mind if I transform in front of them! Do you?"
"Do you even know where you are?" Kyo said.
"Kyo! You're just trying to keep Tohru all to yourself because she's so cute! You probably hug her every day!" Rika chuckled.
"What? Hell no!" Kyo said, letting go, his face red. "Who would wanna do that?!"
"Me!" Momiji said jumping and hugging Tohru.
"Was that an explosion?" Someone asked.
"What's the matter?" Someone pulled the curtain back.
"Hey, what's with the rabbit?"
"Where'd Momiji go?"
"Hold on, aren't these Momiji's clothes?" A girl asked picking up the clothes from the ground. "They are!"
"No way!"
"That's weird! He's not running around here naked, is he?"
"And what's with the rabbit?!" Someone asked again. Rika tried not to laugh at the scene. She reached down and picked up Momiji. He looked up and her.
"Where did it come from?"
"No kidding this is weird!"
"Could it be any weirder than me?" Yuki said suddenly. "It's freakish, a boy in a dress..." Everyone suddenly directed their attention at Yuki.
"Don't even say that!"
"You're the greatest!"
"Ah man, if you were a real girl, I'd be all over you! Heh, I mean... you know..."
Poor Yuki. Rika thought. He does look rather cute in that though.
…
Kyo, Tohru and Rika, with Momiji in her arms, quickly made their way to the roof.
"You little brat! Do you know what you almost did?!" Kyo said.
"You are going to be grounded for one week." Hatori said.
"What'd I do?" Momiji asked. "Rika, they're scaring me!" Rika pet his head gently.
"Leave her alone! It's your own damn fault!" Kyo shouted.
"I'm very disappointed in you. We're only lucky Yuki was able to distract everyone." Hatori said as he walked over to them.
"Yeah. He just had to bat those pretty eyelashes a couple times—" Kyo was cut off as Yuki hit him.
"Next time, I'll send you flying off the roof."
"Damn rat..." Kyo said holding his face.
"Momiji, you really do have to be more careful." Yuki said.
"Indeed. You'd do well to heed that advice... Now, I think it's time we went home." Hatori said.
"Aw, come on! I wanted to talk to Tohru and Rika some more." Rika blinked as he was suddenly on top of her head.
"Yes, it would be a shame if you couldn't stay a bit longer." Tohru said.
"Take a moment, then... I'll give you that long to say your goodbyes." Hatori said.
"Ha-ri, you're so dull." Momiji whined.
"You heard him! Go home!" Kyo said.
"Oh yes. I almost forgot something very important..." Hatori said. "Yuki, Kyo. Stand over there, please."
"What?"
"I want you both to give me a simple answer to this question. What is the last letter of the alphabet?"
"Z?" Saying 'Z' made it look like they were smiling and Rika laughed as Hatori took a picture of them.
"Akito wanted me to take a picture of you while I was here. That should be a very nice shot..." He looked at Rika again. Their eyes met and she held his stare for a moment longer before he picking up Momiji. "So long, then."
"Bye-bye!" Momiji said waving, looking over Hatori's shoulder.
"Hatori! Come back here!"
"This is terrible..." Yuki said. "I can only imagine what Akito will do if he sees a picture of me like this..." He said before taking off the white sweater.
"No, Yuki! Don't! It's cold out here! And your asthma... !" Tohru said.
"Anything would be better than wearing this stupid outfit..." He said unbuttoning the dress.
"But... just think of all the compliments you were getting."
"It is not a compliment for a man to be called ''cute''."
"I'm sorry... I guess I was going to say I thought you were cute, too..."
"Eheh. Me too." Rika said rubbing the back of her head. He looked at them.
"Miss Honda, Rika... I'm sorry you had to see me like this... I must seem pretty foolish to you... And I was, I guess... I suppose I should have just told those senior girls 'no'."
"Um, you know I don't think it's as bad as you think. I know I always liked it when my mom told me I was cute. It one of the ways she told me she loved me. It always made me so happy... It was just another way my mom showed her affection... and... and you know, thinking about it, I really miss hearing her say it, too... And so, it just means that everybody likes you, and... I guess I'm not being very helpful, am I?"
"Well... I don't know... Hearing you, when you put it like that, it does make me feel a bit better... I suppose I can wear this thing a while longer, as a favor to the seniors... But... uh... ...before I put it on, do you think you can give me a hand? One of the buttons is snagged in my hair."
"Oh, sure. I can see how a dress like this might be a pain, putting it on or taking it off..."
"But if you tried it on, I'll bet this dress would look good on you..."
"Well thanks... but I don't know about that..." Tohru said. "I guess I've never really been one to wear this sort of thing."
"You'd be cute." Yuki said. "In fact, I'm sure of it... You'd be very cute, Miss Honda." Rika smiled at them
"Did you get the camera back?" Yuki asked.
"Don't even start! It wasn't any use." Kyo said.
"Listen. Miss Honda, Rika," Yuki said.
"Oh! Yes?" Tohru asked. Rika looked over.
"It's about Hatori... If you ever see him again, I think it's best that you avoid being anywhere alone with him."
"Oh? Why is that?"
"It's just... It's not that Hatori himself is a bad person or anything... But still... I told you how, when I was young, I transformed in front of all those other children... All of their memories had to be erased, and the person responsible for that- that person was Hatori. That's the reason why I'm concerned... I thought I should warn you about it now..."
"He kinda gave me the creeps." Rika said.
"Tohru Honda of Class 1 -D... Tohru Honda of Class 1 -D, please come to the first floor conference lounge." The loud speaker said.
"Is that... me?" She asked.
"What for, I wonder." Yuki said.
"Anyway, I guess I'll be right back." She said before leaving.
"Yuki." Rika said. He looked at her. "Would you be offended if I said you looked really cute?" she asked with a smirk. He looked away slightly and Rika saw the tops of his ears going red. Kyo snickered. "What are you laughing at Kitty-Kyo-Kyo?"
"Don't mash the names together!"
"Alright Kitty. What are you laughing at Kyo-Kyo?"
"Don't use them both!" Rika laughed then turned back to Yuki. She reached over and fixed one of the bows.
"Do you think something like this would look good on me?" she asked quietly.
"It doesn't seem your style." Kyo said.
"And suddenly you're a fashion expert?" Rika asked as she looked at him with a smirk.
"No! I'm just saying you have more of a… a Haru style." He said. Rika blinked.
"Haru? What's that?" she asked tilting her head.
"Hatsuharu. He's our cousin." Yuki said.
"Does he transform too?"
"Yeah he's the-" Rika held up a hand.
"Wait! I don't wanna know! I wanna guess when I meet him!" Rika said with a smile. Yuki smiled slightly.
…
Later that night after Rika had finished getting ready for bed Tohru pulled out a piece of paper and handed it to her.
"What's this?"
"We have to go to the main house and see Hatori tomorrow."
"What for?"
"I think he just wants to talk to us. Momiji will be there too."
"That's reassuring. Well we'd better get some rest then." Rika said.