Fruits Basket

For Justice, Romance, and Good Health

OPENING NOTES: I liked writing this chapter because it was fun to write about the Yuki Club's conversations. They are just so addicted to him. O_O Anyway, I hope you like Yuki's and Machi's junior-senior day as much as I enjoyed making it. Furuba isn't mine, by the way. :)


Case One: Yuki and Machi

Part Four: Machi

Machi Kuragi walked through the school halls, trying to avoid being noticed, which was rather hard since it was Friday, the day when students were practically everywhere. She looked at her tattered brown leather watch and realized that she was early for school. With nothing else to do, she decided to go to the bulletin board and see the latest happenings in Kaibara High.

The shy, quiet girl felt a sinking feeling in her stomach when she saw it was junior-senior bonding day. If she ended up getting paired with a bully, then the rest of the day would be torture. She tried to make her way through the crowd of Yuki fan girls, who were hoping to be partnered with the school prince. As she passed through, she overheard their conversation.

"Oh my gosh! Is it just me, or did I not get paired up with Yuki?!"

"Silly girl, I'm paired up with Yuki!"

"No, you're not."

"AAAHH!! I prayed a novena last night so I could be partners with the prince but… I'M NOT!! WAHHH!!"

"Well, I dreamed of him holding my hand while eating cheeseburgers in the school grounds!"

"What the hell?! But it just has to be me!"

"Well, it isn't, you wannabe!"

"Hey, you're not paired with him either."

"So who's paired with him, then?!"

Machi tiptoed behind the crowd to look at the paper posted on the bulletin board while the fan girls searched for Yuki's name in silence.

Screams ensued.

"YUKI SOHMA'S WITH HER?!?!"

"No way!"

"There has to be some kind of mistake!!"

"You have got to be kidding me…"

Machi couldn't find her name and wondered who could have been partnered with Yuki. She hoped it would be a nice girl or guy, not a snooty fan girl. Her heart did a back flip when she found her name right beside Yuki's.

She quietly slipped away from the hall and into the bathroom, trying not to get noticed by the bunch of fan girls. She knew that if they saw her, they would instantly blame her for getting paired up with Yuki and threaten her to treat him well. Nobody would want to go through that.

Looking at herself in the mirror, Machi wondered what kind of cracked up nut job would partner her with the school prince. She had half a mind to walk up to the principal and demand a reshuffle of partners when she realized the advantages of spending a whole day with Yuki. Nobody would dare bully her while he was around, and whenever he would stay with her, her Atelophobia would somehow go away. She recalled this warm feeling inside of her whenever he was beside her and smiled.

Machi walked out of the bathroom and went to her classroom quietly, contemplating on whether Yuki would be happy about getting paired with her or not. She remembered his kind eyes and sincere smile, and was sure that whether he was paired with her or not, he would never change his nice personality.

As the school bell rang and students started piling into the classroom, she concluded that today was going to be a good day.


Yuki Sohma looked up from his quiz, finished, and realized that it was almost recess time. He glanced at Tohru on his right and saw that she was working hard to finish in time. Kyo, who was on Tohru's other side, looked like he could crumple the paper and throw it out the window. Arisa Uotani was behind Kyo, and was doodling something with a red marker at the back of his chair. Saki Hanajima, who was behind Tohru, slept peacefully.

Their teacher, Mayuko Shiraki, banged her hand on the blackboard. "Everyone, pencils down!"

A girl in front had the nerve to mutter, "We're not even using pencils…"

"Just put down your pens, alright?!" Mayuko barked, glaring at the girl, "Now, pass your papers!"

Yuki passed his paper, confident that he aced the test, and stood up with everyone else as the bell rang. They were dismissed.

He noticed almost everyone get out of the classroom excitedly and wondered what it was that made everyone look forward to that day. He was about to ask Tohru when Kyo grumbled, "Great… It's junior-senior day and I'm with that cow."

Tohru grinned as she took both Yuki's and Kyo's hands, saying, "I'm with Momiji! Isn't that exciting?"

Yuki nodded and said, "I forgot it was junior-senior bonding day today. Do you know who I'm with?"

"Ah… I think you're with Machi Kuragi-san," Tohru replied, smiling at Yuki's both surprised and slightly pleased reaction, "I'm sure you're going to have a good time too."

"Yeah…"

While Tohru and Kyo went off to find Hatsuharu and Momiji, Yuki set off to find Machi. He knew that she most probably wasn't in the council room and decided to go the tree in the school grounds, where he had seen her pet the stray dog.

Yuki glanced out the window and saw the same pretty girl under the tree, this time without a dog, and ran off to meet her.


Machi had no idea what compelled her to do so, but she went to eat by herself under the same tree. She knew that students were required to eat with their chosen junior-senior partners but she had a feeling that Yuki was going to find her there. Soon enough, she saw the handsome, kind-hearted school prince run towards her.

"Yuki!" she called out to him. He waved and sat down next to her, enjoying the shade of the tree.

He smiled at her and said, "I'm sorry I'm late. I forgot that it was junior-senior day, and I didn't even check the bulletin board. Honda-san only told me you were my partner."

"I see," Machi answered, drinking from her soda can. She licked her lips and added, "Everyone wanted to be your partner. There was a small group of girls at the bulletin board this morning and-"

"Don't mind them. All I know is that right now, you're my partner and there's nothing they can do about that."

Machi smiled as they both ate in silence. They watched as students walked around the school grounds and just sat quietly, backs against the tree, feeling the soft breeze blowing.

"Yuki?"

"Yeah?"

"Do you consider me a good friend?"

Yuki turned to look at Machi. He frowned, closing his water bottle and putting it in his bag. Then, he smiled and patted her head, saying, "What kind of question is that? Of course you're a good friend."

"Really? Even if I'm lonely and insecure?" Machi asked, looking at Yuki in surprise, eyes wide.

"The more you make me like you. We're good friends, all right? Everyone else's opinions don't matter. Besides, we're both lonely and insecure."

Machi blushed as Yuki held her hand. Suddenly, she heard him gasp softly. She turned and saw that he was looking at her watch.

"Why is it so battered?" Yuki asked, holding up her wrist to look at it.

"Well… It was given to me by my mother when she still appreciated me as a daughter, and I've treasured it ever since," Machi explained quietly, "It accidentally got caught up in a huge pile of mess while I was… um… messing up my room…"

Yuki removed the watch from her wrist and gave it to her. He then opened his bag and got a blue watch. He put it around Machi's wrist and adjusted it to make it fit. Machi looked at it and gasped.

It was a cute Mogeta watch that looked brand new. "Oh no, I can't take this!"

"Of course you can. My cousin Kisa got me one and told me that I could do whatever I wanted with it because I was very kind to her, apparently. Well, I don't use it much and I think it suits you better," Yuki said, grinning at Machi's shocked expression.

"You really are so kind, Yuki… Thank you," she managed to mumble, blushing.

The bell rang and recess was over. They both got up and walked back towards their classrooms happily. Machi instantly sat down on her desk as soon as she went inside and…

She realized that she was still blushing.


Later, it was lunch break and the bell rang once again to signal this. Machi went out of the classroom as soon as possible, wanting to eat with Yuki once more. Before she could make her way out of the door, someone held her back.

"Hey, you!" Hatsuharu Sohma yelled in Machi's scared face, "You're Yuki's partner, right?"

A few people stared but most already went outside. When Machi didn't answer, Hatsuharu was about to yell again. He was stopped by Momiji Sohma.

"Haru… You're black again. Please don't get mad at Machi; she didn't do anything wrong," Momiji said brightly, pulling Hatsuharu away.

The ox spirit fumed and answered impatiently, "I was just asking her if she treated Yuki well a while ago."

Machi blinked. "O-of course I did."

"Well you better be nice to him again or else!!"

Hatsuharu stormed out of the room while Momiji stared after him, shaking his head. He turned to Machi and explained, "I think he's mad that he got paired up with Kyo. He could've been with Tohru or, well, Yuki. Please understand."

"Oh. Yes, I don't really mind…" Machi replied softly, imagining Kyo and Hatsuharu fighting, Tohru and Momiji attempting to restrain them from behind. Whoever came up with the pairings did a totally wack job with it.

As soon as Machi walked down the hall towards the council room, she saw Naohito speed off the opposite direction, Kimi chasing after him. She stared at the two, who were rounding the corner and blinked. Yeah, whoever came up with the pairings was probably on drugs.

"Hey Machi. How's life?"

She turned and saw her half-brother, Kakeru Manabe. "Kakeru."

"Well, my dear little sister, I shall tell you why I am miserable. It all started with the wack-o pairings that were posted on the bulletin board this morning," he replied monotonously, "A total nightmare."


A few minutes ago…

Yuki Sohma went into the council room, wanting to finish some work about the school's environment program. He waved hello to Kakeru and sat down.

"Hey Yuki," Kakeru started, looking up from his food, "I've heard that you and Machi got paired together. Was recess fun?"

"Ah. Well, yes, Machi and I did get paired up. Recess was great. Who did you get partnered with?" Yuki answered curiously.

As if by cue, the council room doors opened and revealed Kimi Toudou, who had a less than pleased look on her face.

"KAKERU!!" she shouted, glaring at said person, "Naohito-chan ran away from me!!!"

Kakeru grinned sheepishly and suggested, "Well, why don't you chase him? Chibisuke can't run that far."

"But… But he's my partner… He's not even supposed to run away…"

She started crying and Yuki said to Kakeru, "Umm… If Kimi is Naohito's partner, then who's yours?"

Kimi's head jerked up, not having seen Yuki when she first entered. "YUN-YUN!! If only you were my partner!!"

"But Kimi, we're both seniors. As are you and Kakeru, but he's indicating that you're his partner even though you say you're Naohito's," Yuki answered, confused. Kakeru laughed.

"DON'T LAUGH!" Kimi yelled.

"Not laughing…"

Yuki said quietly, "Can somebody explain? I'm confused."

Kakeru sighed and explained, "Originally, Nao and I got paired up. If you add the juniors and the seniors together, the sum would be an odd number so someone gets left out."

"Apparently, it was me!!" Kimi whined, "But then everyone loves me, so it isn't fair!"

"Yeah, yeah, we all know that," Kakeru muttered, annoyed, "Well, she approached Mayuko-sensei about it and then it resulted in a trio instead of a pair. She joined Naohito and me; there was no other option."

Kimi said, "But then Naohito and Kakeru aren't treating Kimi the way she wants to be treated, so Kimi's sad!!"

Yuki grinned, saying, "Anyway, Kakeru, that means you have room for improvement. Why don't you improve and treat Kimi the way she wants to be treated? Besides, you're both partners. While you're at it, treat Naohito like a king too…"

"Shut up, Yun-Yun!!" Kakeru grumbled, trying not to mind the fact that he was grouped with two people who you wouldn't really call 'sweet, hot girls'.

Suddenly, someone entered the door, panting. It was Naohito Sakuragi. He closed the door and locked it, saying tiredly, "Yuki. Have you seen Kakeru or Kimi?"

He turned and realized that Kakeru and Kimi were both in the room and screamed, opening the door again and bolting away. Kimi raced after him, shouting, "NAOOO-CHAAAN!!!"

Yuki laughed while Kakeru rolled his eyes, walking after them. "See you, Yun-Yun… If I survive…"

The door closed and Yuki sighed, running a hand through his hair. He decided to finish working on the paper for the Kaibara environment-friendly program and wrote down a few notes on his ideas.

Just when he thought nothing get more peaceful, the door opened once again. He groaned, not bothering to turn around and see who entered. "Who is it?"

"Hello Yuki. It's me, Machi."

"Oh! Machi!" Yuki exclaimed, putting the papers into a folder and standing up, "I've been waiting for you here. What took you so long?"

Machi looked down at her feet. "I'm sorry… I was just talking to Hatsuharu and Momiji when I left the classroom. Then, I talked to Kakeru in the hall a few minutes ago. Do you know what happened to him?"

Yuki snorted. "Oh. That. Well, since the juniors and seniors added up together to make an odd number, someone got left out. It was Kimi. She had to join Naohito and Kakeru to form a junior-senior trio."

"So that's why he wasn't looking so happy a while ago…" Machi realized, smiling, "Oh- and may I ask about Hatsuharu and Momiji?"

"Yeah, sure," Yuki replied, remembering that Machi was classmates with them.

"A while ago, Hatsuharu was acting a bit… unsociable and angry. Momiji said he was 'black again'. What did he mean by that?"

Yuki laughed. "Well, you see, when Haru's in a bad mood, he turns black. When he's nice and friendly again, he turns white. It's a personality thing."

"I see. I was just curious…"

"Yeah, I understand. The Sohmas are a weird bunch," Yuki said, smirking.

Machi smiled. "Not really. I find your family rather intriguing. A bunch of people with different personalities- it's cute."

"Cute?"

"N-never mind…"

Yuki finished cleaning up his desk and said, "So… shall we eat?"

Machi smiled. "Sure."

The two walked off to the tree once more.


"Machi, can I ask you something?" Yuki said, packing up his leftover food and cleaning the place around the tree before they went for their last classes for the day. Machi looked up at him and shrugged.

"Sure."

There was a small pause. Yuki remembered Hatori's words over the phone. Just make sure to be kind to the girl and invite her over to the house or something. Do some special activity with her that she would enjoy… Whatever she likes, whatsoever that may be. Give her a gift; that's effective as well.

"Do you want to go out with me tomorrow?"

This time, it was Machi's turn to pause. She blinked once. Twice. Thrice. Yuki quickly added, "You don't have to go if you don't want to. But then I'll treat you to a nice café nearby. You won't have to use your money for anything; it's all on me, and-"

"Of course I want to go out with you tomorrow," Machi interrupted, smiling at Yuki's surprised reaction, "Tomorrow would be a wonderful day for us to spend together; I don't mind."

They both stood up as it was nearing the end of lunch time. Yuki grabbed Machi's hand and they both ran off before they could be late.

"You know, Machi… I have a surprise for you tomorrow. Be prepared," Yuki whispered as they reached her classroom. Machi stared at him blankly and he winked.

As the class started, Machi couldn't get one thing out of her mind: Yuki.


Author's Note: See? I told you Yuki was going to follow Hatori's advice. Oh yeah, most of the Mabudachi Trio won't be appearing until the latter part of the next chapter, which is the final part. This chapter and the next are mainly focused on Yuki and Machi, since Case One IS supposed to be about them getting together, anyway. If you really want to know, Case Two is going to focus on getting Kureno and Arisa together while Case Three is... well... Let's just say it's going to be really funny. So stay tuned!! And PLEASE review and/or favorite and/or alert!! :D

-Pasta W 19. :P