Fruits Basket

For Justice, Romance, and Good Health

OPENING NOTES: Oh don't you love slow updates? Yes, I know you do. Anyway, this chapter shows the final stage of Case One, and then, well, read the Author's Note to find out about my good news. I just LOVE writing awkward friendly scenes between two lovers, and funny humorous scenes between friends. Well, just read and enjoy!! :D


Case One: Yuki and Machi

Part Five: Yuki

"Yuki, where are you going?"

Tohru Honda looked up from the almost-clean floor she was sweeping and stared at Yuki Sohma, who was halfway out the door.

"Ah. Honda-san… I forgot to tell you; I'll be out this afternoon," Yuki said, smiling at Tohru. She smiled back.

"Okay. Be safe, Yuki," she reminded him. Yuki waved and was about to go out the door when Tohru asked, "If you don't mind me asking, are you going out on a date with someone?"

Yuki sighed and answered, "Well, yes, I am. I'm going out with Machi Kuragi and we're going to a café near town."

"Oh… That's nice…"

"If you're so disappointed, then I would love to do the honors of asking Kyo to take you out as well," Yuki said, grinning. Tohru blushed.

"No, there's no need for that Yuki…" Tohru muttered shyly, sweeping the floor. She didn't want anyone to go to the trouble of asking Kyo to take her out. Besides, Yuki's 'asking' might not turn out to be successful, anyway.

Tohru was left alone in the room and she continued sweeping the floor. Suddenly, the doors from the hall opened and she accidentally bumped into the person who entered.

Hoping it was Kyo; she looked down and found a dog instead of a cat.

"I'm sorry, Shigure-san!! It was an accident!" she said frantically, not wanting to be a bother to anyone else.

Shigure the dog stood up, saying nonchalantly, "Oh no… I was about to go out to visit Akito. Ah well, I'll go outside, anyway. When I transform back, I'll change behind the trees…"

Tohru watched as the dog grabbed his yukata from the floor and trotted off outside. He broke off into a run, looking for a certain young man getting ready for a date.

As Yuki set off to fetch Machi from her house, he didn't notice Shigure the black dog follow closely behind.


Meanwhile, at Ayame's shop, Hatori Sohma had just arrived to see, well, Ayame. He entered the doors and looked around, seeing the beautiful dresses, elaborate designs, and intricate patterns surrounding him.

"Ayame?" Hatori called out.

The back doors opened to reveal Mine Kuramae, who was Ayame's assistant, seamstress, and girlfriend. She smiled at Hatori and said, "Oh, Hatori-kun. Ayame is just upstairs in his room if you want to see him."

"Ah, yes… I'll go see him," Hatori replied politely, smiling back and entering the back doors, which led to stairs going to Ayame's room. He walked up and saw a door that screamed the snake spirit's flamboyant, vivacious attitude all over it.

Before he could knock, it slid open and out came Ayame, dressed in his fur coat as if there was a very important event going on that day. He expressed slight surprise at Hatori being right outside his door and then grinned, saying, "Tori-san!! I didn't expect you to be here!!"

"Ah. Well, if that's the case, you clearly forgot about the final stage of our plan for Yuki and Machi," Hatori said.

Ayame blinked. "Oh. I forgot," he said. Hatori resisted the urge of rolling his eyes while Ayame added dramatically, "But this is a wonderful occasion! My dear brother Yuki will be able to find true love with our help! We-"

"Yes, that's nice, Ayame," Hatori cut off impatiently, "Now, I think I'm thirsty."

Mine entered from behind Ayame and announced, "There's some tea ready downstairs if you two want some."

Hatori sighed as Ayame led him downstairs; talking about how successful the plan was going to be. Mine giggled and nodded, thinking that their plan was very clever.

Hatori couldn't help but agree as well. Their plan was proving to be successful.


"Yuki, you're early!"

Yuki had just arrived at Machi's house. He rang the doorbell and she came outside, all prepared. She was wearing a simple white skirt topped off with a purple blouse. Her white bag had her phone, her wallet, and a lot of unimportant things because of her unorganized packing. Yuki thought she looked perfect.

"Yeah, I decided to come early. The café gets a lot of customers today, so maybe if we come early, then we'd get a good table," he said, taking her hand and leading her into town.

They walked to the town square, since it was pretty near Machi's house. Their trip on the way was awkwardly quiet because the two of them had no idea what exactly to say to each other.

Machi noticed Yuki carrying a small folder and she wondered what was inside. Suddenly, Yuki said, "We're here."

She looked up to see a simple, classy café and came to the fact that Yuki was good at choosing places for dates. He obviously knew that she wasn't the type to want to eat out at a fancy fine-dining restaurant or a romantic beachside bar.

"Oh, this is a nice place!" she told him, picking an outside table with a green umbrella covering it from the sun. Yuki smiled as they both sat down and felt comfortable in their spot.

Yuki ordered a Caramel Vanilla Cappuccino while Machi ordered a Chocolate Cinnamon Frappe. However, they both argued on the cake they wanted to share.

"Machi, you should try their Oreo Cheesecake. It's delicious," Yuki suggested.

"But then I think this Blueberry Chocolate Cake looks good, too," Machi said.

"You can try that next time."

"I'm sure I want a Blueberry-"

"The Blueberry Chocolate Cake doesn't have cheese in it, and I want Oreo Cheesecake, which has cheese in it!"

"Well, I want a cake with blueberries, and Oreo Cheesecakes don't have those!"

"Then let's get a Blueberry Cheesecake; it has both blueberries and cheese…"

"Oh. Right. That's settled then."

The waiter stared at them for a bit before going off to take their order and when he had gone, Yuki and Machi looked at each other, laughing.

Machi spoke first. "I didn't know you like cheese."

Yuki gaped at her and retorted, "Well, I didn't know you like blueberries!"

"I didn't say there was something wrong with liking cheese!"

"Yeah, sorry… I'm just a big fan of it…"

Machi giggled, which annoyed Yuki. After a short while, their orders came and they both shared the Blueberry Cheesecake, which tasted absolutely heavenly to Machi. Yuki came to the conclusion that it wasn't as good as Oreo Cheesecake, but liked it as well.

He finished his cappuccino and asked for water. He looked at Machi and saw that she was very content, sipping her nearly-finished frappe. Deciding that it was the right time to do so, he brought out the morning and night sky paintings he had made the night before.

He set them on the table and said, "Machi, do you remember what I told you last month?"

"The comment that my face looked like Mogeta's?"

"No, not that!" Yuki said agitatedly, shaking his head at that memory, "The one about the skies?"

"Ah, that! Yes, I remember," Machi replied curiously, blushing slightly at her mistake. She looked closely at the paintings and saw that they were of the morning sky and the night sky, realizing that this was the surprise. "Oh Yuki… You really wanted to fulfill that promise you made for me, didn't you?"

"Of course I did. Now, why don't you start destroying the sun and the clouds?"

Machi snorted as she grabbed a green crayon and made a huge, gaping, crooked line across the sun. Yuki drew numerous orange zigzag lines on a pack of clouds and they went on destroying the morning sky in their picture.

Yuki grabbed Machi's unfinished frappe and poured some of its contents on the night sky, making a brown moon. Machi laughed as she crumpled the two pictures.

"Where are you going to put those? Don't tell me you're going to post them on your wall!" Yuki said, laughing.

"On my wall? Good idea," Machi said pensively. The rat spirit stared at her as if she sprouted a third eye and she added, grinning, "No, I was just being sarcastic!! Well, maybe I'll keep it with me in one of my bedside drawers…"

Yuki smiled, glad that she liked his little surprise and asked the waiter for the bill. He paid with his money and they walked out of the café, holding hands. Machi was talking about how Kakeru chased her around the park when they were seven when Yuki swore he could've seen a black dog follow them.

He ignored it and thought he must have been imagining things, deciding to listen to Machi's story. As they left the town square, the dog turned into a human right then and there, and Shigure Sohma ran quickly into an alley to change. He cursed loudly as it started to rain and, all dressed, decided to go to Ayame's shop, which was apparently the closest sheltered place he knew.


A block away, Yuki and Machi had the same idea. They were both soaking wet, unlike Shigure, who had an umbrella, and were both running towards the closest covered bus stop.

"I didn't know it was going to rain today," Yuki muttered, relieved that they were able to find a covered bus stop, "And it just so happens that I hate going into the rain…"

Machi nodded, attempting to dry her wet hair. After a few minutes, a bus hadn't passed by and the rain hadn't stopped, so Yuki decided that they couldn't wait there in the cold any longer.

"We need new, dry, clothes to change into but then we both didn't bring any clothes. We also need to shelter ourselves somewhere less cold and wet, and both our houses are too far from here. The closest place I know is Nii-san's shop so we have no other choice…" Yuki told Machi, shivering in the cold.

They both ran off as fast as they could towards Ayame's shop, splashing puddles on the way, much to Machi's joy. She smiled contentedly when she splashed another puddle, ruining her now extremely dirty skirt.

Suddenly, she slipped and fell. Yuki helped her up and said, "If you weren't so enthusiastic in splashing those puddles then maybe you wouldn't have-"

Machi grabbed Yuki's neck impatiently, feeling herself lose balance. Yuki was caught by surprise and almost fell down with her when he pulled her up at the last moment, taking extreme care not to let his body any closer to hers for fear of turning into a rat. "Machi…"

"Thank you for helping me up. Thank you also for the nice date… I really enjoyed it. Don't worry, though, I'm still having fun because it's not exactly over yet, is it?" she said sheepishly in an attempt to apologize for her negligence.

Yuki smiled at her and held her hand, saying, "No, it's not over yet. I advise you not to splash any more puddles unless you really want to lose all flawlessness from your legs…"

Machi blushed and realized how close they were. Yuki noticed this and decided not to waste the chance. Their lips met and formed their first kiss, very soft and gentle. He pulled back, not wanting to risk his curse being revealed any longer. Machi's face turned a darker shade of red and she mumbled, "Umm… We should be going into your brother's shop now or else we'll both get sick…"


"Aaya!! Look, look! They're kissing!!"

Ayame swiftly turned and ran to the window beside Shigure. "You're right! They are kissing! Oh, they stopped…"

"I believe it would've lasted longer if it wasn't for the curse," Hatori commented behind them, not wanting to go to the window, "And please don't invade their privacy any longer, it's not right…"

"Well, they're in the middle of the road on a rainy day, so-"

"Yeah, whatever! Our plan is a success: they're in love!!" Shigure said impatiently, jumping up and down with Ayame.

Hatori rolled his eyes while his two friends squealed like girls. "Can we act a little bit more mature here? Don't get me wrong; I'm happy for Yuki and Machi, but let's not get carried away…"

Ayame laughed and decided to greet the couple at the door. He ran to open it even before they were able to ring the doorbell. "Yuki! Machi! You're both here- oh, what a surprise!!"

"How can it be a surprise if you knew we were standing at your door without ringing the bell?" Yuki asked, shaking his head.

"Well, I saw you out the window, of course!!" Ayame answered cheerfully.

"I see… B-but wait!! What did you see out the window?"

"You, of course!"

"I know that but-"

A new voice interrupted the brothers' banter. "Aaya, Tori, and I saw everything, Yuki! Oh Machi, I congratulate you for winning the heart of the prince-"

"I've had enough of you two…" Yuki cut off, sitting down tiredly on the couch, "Please, let Machi use the shower and get her dry clothes. I'll go after her."

Machi was about to protest and say that Yuki needed it first when Mine ushered her into the bathroom with a towel and clothes. Hatori entered the room and stared at the overjoyed Ayame, the amused Shigure, and the agitated Yuki, instantly deciding to leave the room once again.

When the door closed, Shigure winked at Ayame and ran after Hatori, yelling, "HATORI!! WAIT FOR MEE!!"

The door closed once more and Yuki realized he was alone with his brother. Ayame sat down beside him and, for once, was quiet.

"Nii-san?"

"Yes, my dear Yuki?"

"Am I right in saying that you, Shigure, and Hatori planned for all this to happen?"

"For all what to happen?"

"You set me and Machi up together," Yuki said softly, "Shigure somehow met Machi at school as a dog and spied on us. Hatori called, persuading me to take Machi out on a date and give her a gift. You managed to convince Mayuko-sensei into pairing me and Machi up for junior-senior day, and don't deny it because I saw you talk to her before we bumped into each other."

Ayame laughed. "Wow. I believe we have underestimated you. You figured out our plans. Well, they succeeded, didn't they?"

"I didn't really need your help for me and Machi to get along, but I have to admit; it did speed up our relationship faster than it was supposed to progress."

"Yes, I know. We're brilliant, aren't we?"

Yuki made no comment. He stared up at Ayame, who had just finished making tea while they were having their conversation.

He got a cup and drank, feeling a whole lot warmer than before. When he set down his cup back on the table, he realized that Ayame was gazing out the window at the rain the whole time.

"Nii-san… Is there something wrong?"

"No, not exactly," Ayame sighed, tearing his gaze away from the window and towards Yuki instead, "I just feel slightly envious of you. You're able to run around in the rain like that, while I've never done that ever before in my entire life. I wonder sometimes how rain feels like in a human body, not in a snake form…"

Yuki looked at his brother and said, "It's not much, really, but if you don't mind feeling the dampness of clothes against your skin, then it's quite refreshing."

Ayame sipped from his cup and put it down as Machi entered the room in her new clothes. "I guess so…"

Yuki's stare averted from Ayame to Machi, and he said, dumbstruck, "You look very pretty in those, Machi."

"Of course she does. She looks absolutely stunning since she's wearing clothes made by my own hand. Simple blue blouse and skirt, with laces gracing the fabric subtly…" Ayame said fondly, proud of his work.

Machi sat down, taking Yuki's place on the couch beside Ayame while Yuki took a shower. She got a cup of tea and sipped from it, enjoying the warmth it brought.

Ayame spoke to her. "Ah, Machi, I'm quite happy Yuki has chosen a fair maiden such as you to be his partner in life. He is quite a lonely person though most don't know it."

"I know that he's lonely," Machi said timidly, blushing at the 'fair maiden' comment, "And he knows that I'm lonely as well, so I guess that's why we're friends…"

"I see. You're very lucky. Yuki is not only handsome and intelligent, but kind-hearted as well, and he truly is more than worthy to be yours," Ayame said sincerely, smiling encouragingly at Machi, "Well, Yuki and I haven't exactly been close during our childhood, since we were separated and quite mindless of each other's existence but we've been closer recently, and have learned a lot about each other. He really is a pure-hearted person."

Machi now stared at Ayame with new eyes, thinking that he was not just Yuki's brother, the flamboyant, vivacious, costume shop owner. He was one who truly cared about Yuki and knew more than what most people thought, only showing his real, serious thoughts to those who knew how to get it out of him.

She nodded and said, "I'm sure Yuki and I will be good friends, and I won't let you down. I'll take care of him as much as he'll take care of me because I really lo-"

The shy, Atelophobic girl stopped abruptly and looked down at her feet, embarrassed that she poured out so much of her thoughts to someone she barely even knew. Ayame grinned.

"Don't worry; I won't tell anyone else about this conversation. I understand you perfectly well, since I have doubts about my love as well," he said truthfully, thinking about Mine.

"Secrets again, huh?" Machi said quietly. Ayame stared at her as if he didn't know what she was talking about. "I know that you all have a lot of secrets. All the Sohmas I've met always hide something and keep secrets, and I've always pretended never to realize. To me, Sohmas are mysterious, walking enigmas, but ever since Yuki has been kind to me, I've always tried never to peep and pry…"

Ayame sipped from his cup. "You're a clever girl. Yes, I guess my doubts about love are because of the secrets I've been hiding. Ah- here comes Yuki."

Machi instantly stood up as she saw Yuki looking dazzling with black jeans and a frilly white polo shirt. "Y-Yuki…"

"Ah, Machi, we have to go already; it's getting late," Yuki said, walking briskly over to her and leading her out the door.

"But wait, my dear brother! Don't you want to stay for dinner?" Ayame asked. He paused and added jokingly, "Or don't you want to stay forever?"

"No, Machi was planning to sleep over at the house tonight and we wouldn't want to get caught in the rain again," Yuki explained, rolling his eyes at the thought of staying with his brother forever. Shigure and Hatori entered the room and the rat spirit noticed Ayame looking slightly disappointed at being alone for the night, since Mine was going to stay at her parents' house for their wedding anniversary. He added, "Well, why don't you sleep over too?"

Shigure's head snapped up at this suggestion and he exclaimed happily, "Haa-san, stay over at my house too! We'll have a wonderful night!! You, me, and Aaya!!"

"But Shigure… Ayame and I stayed over at your house already last Sunday-"

"Aww, come on, Tori!! It'll be fun!!" Ayame cut off excitedly. He and Shigure started jumping up and down around Hatori, who shook his head at their childishness.

He gave up and muttered dejectedly, "Fine. Let's all go to Shigure's house. I have my car so I can drive you all and-"

His two friends cheered and he sighed, leading the way out the door to his car. Machi voiced out her concern, "But Yuki, how are we all going to fit in Shigure's house tonight?"

"Well, Hatori can sleep in Shigure's room, you can sleep in Honda-san's room, and I guess I'll let Ayame sleep with me in my room…" Yuki said slowly, predicting that the night was going to be a long one. He added contentedly, "And Kyo will be alone as always."

Machi stared at Yuki, still not understanding why he and Kyo Sohma hated each other so much. Well, there were a lot of things she didn't understand about the Sohmas, and those were secrets, mysteries, and hidden things that she didn't want to find out about.

Yuki smiled as he got on Hatori's car. As long as Machi was with him, he was happy. Everything would be fine.

Achieving justice, obtaining romance, having good health, and accomplishing a happy ending were a few things Yuki didn't expect to do this early in life. Those were things he wouldn't have the need to do if Machi never existed. Those were things he would never have done if it weren't for the Mabudachi Trio.

Or maybe not.


Author's Note: GO BLUEBERRY CHEESECAKE!! Yay! It's finally finished!! Actually, it's not. There's going to be a Case Two: Kureno and Arisa Introduction, and another new plot comes. Good news too: I already have about five more cases planned after the second one. PLANNED, my dears. Yes, the updates will get slower since I'm still planning the cases, not writing them. Anyway, please REVIEW and/or FAVORITE and/or ALERT. Thanks!!

-Pasta W 19. :)