Disclaimer: I do not own Fruits Basket I only own Rika and things added.
Next chapter has Haru! Woo! I can't wait!
It was the last day of the year and everyone was cleaning around the house. Tohru was outside beating rugs. Yuki was cleaning the doors and I was sweeping.
"Dammit! Can't you do anything right?!" Kyo asked, holding the TV, after Yuki pushed too hard and made a hole in the door.
"You're the last person I need to hear from right now." Yuki said.
"What's that supposed to mean, you trying to start something?" Kyo asked.
"Quit horsing around you two." Arisa said dusting.
"Who asked you ya dirty bitch?!" Kyo shouted. Suddenly the duster was wrapped around Kyo's mouth.
"You gunna talk to me like that after I came here to help you out of the goodness of my heart?"
"I…Um.. I'm sorry about that." Yuki said once Tohru had gotten finished fixing the door.
"Oh it's okay. It was just a little tare it's easy to fix." Suddenly Shigure walked by
"I think I'm going to wet my pants." I raised an eyebrow. He opened the bathroom door but Saki was cleaning.
"Didn't you see what the sign said?" She asked. ""Closed for cleaning""
"Uh.. right well.. uh"
"It's closed for cleaning." She repeated.
"I just need a minute." He said.
"Did you know the flow of electrical waves through our bodies can be compared to the flow of water?"
"Eh.."
"Over 60% of the human body is made up of water. In other words if you were to round up, people are water." She said. "Many people fail to realize this considering the body's solid appearance but nonetheless on the inside we are accentually a liquid. Water is continually flowing through us it streams through our veins and it sustains all parts of our body. The head, the heart, the stomach, the kidneys, the blad-" Shigure closed the door. I chuckled.
"Why don't you just go outside?" He turned to look at me giving me a look. "What? You're a dog. Need me to hug you?"
"Actually-" He said smiling coming to walk over.
"Too bad." I said with a smile. "Perv." He pouted then sighed before walking over to his office room. He opened the door.
"Shigure, I need the last 500 pages of your book. I already had to make the excuses to the print shop to get them to wait until today! I mean we can't release the book with the last half of the pages blank it would be-!" He shut the door again.
"Who was that?" I asked.
"My editor." He said walking past me.
"Don't you think you should give her the 500 pages?" He shrugged. I followed him into the living room where Kyo and Yuki were moving a bookshelf.
"Shigure!" Yuki said.
"You're just in time, give us a hand!" Kyo said.
"Put your backs into it!" Shigure said helping.
"Hey! Shigure!" His editor said.
"Mi! Come grab that end!"
"You should be working on your manuscript!"
"Come on hurry!"
"Right!" She said coming over.
"Rika it would be nice if you helped too ya know!" Kyo said. I sighed but went over to Yuki's right and moved my arm under his to hold onto a shelf while reaching around to Kyo's side to grab the side of it.
"Ya know, it would have been easier to just take everything off first!" I said.
"Too late." We started moving it.
"Heave ho, Heave ho, Heave- Huh?" Suddenly Shigure was gone. "He's gone!" His editor said letting go. The three of us gasped as the bookcase became heavier. "Where is he?!" She said running off.
"Hold on!"
"You're gunna drop it!" Kyo shouted.
"Timber!" Shigure said from outside. Suddenly it started falling backwards and onto me. I gasped as it fell also breaking the door.
"Rika!" Suddenly Kyo grabbed my arm and pulled me from behind it. He let go once I was safe and turned to Yuki.
"It's your fault! Your end fell first! Ya damn rat!"
"Really? Your eyes must be as weak as your arms stupid cat."
"Um excuse me but is everyone okay?" Tohru asked.
"What's that supposed to mean?!" Kyo said to Yuki. "That's it let's go!" Suddenly Arisa used the duster thing to pull Kyo to the ground. "Why does it always gotta be me?"
"Now get off your ass and start cleaning it up." She said.
"Shigure!" His editor shouted as Tohru fixed the door and Yuki and I cleaned up the books while Kyo fixed the light.
"There. Good as new." Tohru said.
"Shigure! Shigure? Shigure!" Kyo lost his balance and fell through the new door.
"You clumsy idiot!" Arisa shouted.
"It's not my fault! Ahhhh!"
Tohru, Arisa, Yuki and I fixed the door again while Kyo sat on the porch.
"If you're not helping you could at least get out of the way." Yuki said.
"You're the last person I need to hear from." Kyo said back.
"Tohru maybe you'd better go on and do your shopping." Arisa said.
"Oh good idea." Tohru said standing up. Suddenly Shigure came over.
"Shopping? Great but you'll need someone to help carry your things, I'll go too." He said before he was lassoed over to his editor. "Oh Tohru I'm sorry, something's come up." He said getting dragged away. "You'll have to find someone else to go with you."
"I'll go-" Yuki and I looked at each other.
"Why don't we both go?" I suggested with a smile.
"So Miss Honda, what are you going to make?"
"New Year's cakes."
"Uh.. New Year's cakes?"
"Uh-huh, I just hope I picked out ingredients everyone likes."
"Oh.. Shigure, Kyo and I will be going back to the main house tonight." He said with a pained expression. "I'm sorry. I really should've explained earlier; it's sorta a Sohma family tradition. I uh.. U guess it was just such an obvious thing to us that we'd be going, that we completely forgot to mention it.
"That's alright." Tohru said. "But in that case I guess I'm getting a little too much huh?" She said putting something back. Suddenly two kids who were running around were running straight for Yuki not looking where they were going. "Oh Yuki behind you look out!"
On the walk home Yuki was in my coat pocket while Tohru and I carried the bags.
"I'm sorry about this." Yuki said. "I was supposed to carry your things for you."
"Oh no, no I don't mind, really it's no trouble at all." Tohru said.
"Don't beat yourself up over it." I said looking down at me. He was looking up. I smiled, he was so cute!
"Mii! Give me back my kite!" Shigure said chasing after his editor who was running away with a kite.
"I am not giving you this until you're done!" She said. Shigure stopped running but she continued to run away from the house.
After all the cleaning we all sat down to eat.
"Thank you for this food." We all said I unison. Shigure had just put some noodles in his mouth when his editor opened the door out of breath.
"Shi-gu-re.."
"Well hello Mii. You look tired. Come in have a seat." He chuckled and she made sobbing sounds.
"Arisa would you give this to Mii for me." Shigure said with a smile handing her a package.
"It wasn't very nice to make Mii run around all day when you had the manuscript finished." I said.
"I know but it was all good fun." He said. I rolled my eyes and walked into the kitchen.
I helped Tohru with the dishes and Saki came over with more bowls.
"Oh New Year's cakes, they look delicious." She said.
"You think so?" Tohru asked.
"I do. But I have to wonder if that will be enough for the five of you."
"Oh no, I just made enough for Rika and me. Yuki and the others are gunna be spending New Year's at the family estate." She explained. I nudged her arm.
"That just means more for us." I said with a smile, she smiled back.
Soon Arisa and Saki left and Tohru and I went back inside.
"Okay, it's almost time to go." Shigure said.
"Don't you two think you ought to get ready?"
"Yuki, Kyo.. We're going to be late."
"Shut up." They both said. "I'm not going."
"Oh Tohru Rika it's terrible, neither one of these two want to go with me back to Sohma house." Shigure whined.
"Damn it! Quit whining you're supposed to be an adult!"
"Um, you're not going back?" Tohru asked sitting down next to me.
"I haven't been to that place in four months I'm not gunna go there now just of some stupid New Year's thing." Kyo said.
"I had my reasons for leaving home they'd seem almost meaningless if I went back tonight." Yuki said.
"Why do you have to be like this?" Shigure asked. "You've both gone every year before now haven't you? You see, New Year's is a big night for the Sohma's. It's the one holiday that the entire extended family gets together to celebrate."
"That does sound big." Tohru said.
"Just getting through all the introductions can be an event in it of itself. But I'd have to say the real highlight of the evening is the Zodiac banquet."
"A banquet?" Tohru asked putting her hands together.
"Yes and it's probably the most important of the Sohma New Year's celebration. As the name might imply it's a banquet that only member of the Zodiac are allowed to attend. The Zodiac member of the New Year preforms a dance. This year it's Momiji's turn. Ah but nothing can compare to the beautiful dance Yuki did three years ago."
"I wish I could've seen it." Tohru said.
"I told you never to talk about that." Yuki said after throwing food at Shigure's face.
"Right."
"It all sounds so wonderful." Tohru said. "A Zodiac banquet just like in the old folk tale."
"It doesn't matter to me." Kyo said. "I mean it's not like I can even go to that stupid banquet anyway."
"What?" Tohru asked. "But why not?"
"It's been a long standing rule that the cat isn't allowed to attend and I suppose that's in keeping it the old folk tale as well isn't it." Shigure said.
"I'm sorry." Tohru said.
"Ah it's nothing you gotta be getting all upset about." Kyo said. "I don't care, it's not the reason I'm not going back if that's what you think."
"I think he's afraid he'll get hurt with Kagura being so excited to see him." Shigure said to Tohru and me.
"Shut up!" Kyo shouted, hearing him.
"In any event, if we go back to Sohma house tonight we'll have to stay until the third won't we? SO for three days we'd be leaving Miss Honda and Rika here all alone." Yuki said. Kyo looked at him a bit confused. "Stupid cat, did you just realize that?"
"Don't call me stupid!" Kyo said grabbing Yuki's shirt.
"Then don't act stupid, stupid."
"Please wait you two." Tohru said. "Thank you for worrying, but you don't have to, we'll be alright." The two looked over to her. "It's funny but just knowing that you're both thinking about us well… I'm so happy, and I want you to be happy too. So you should go and enjoy yourselves. I mean this is your family's special night and you'll get to see your parent's for the first time in a while right? I'm sure they're all looking forward to seeing you. Promise, I'll be fine." She said bringing her hand to her chest. "I'll take great care of the house while you're gone. You are talking to the girl wh- ahh! The bath water!" She said getting up and running to the bathroom. "I left it running again!"
"If that doesn't inspire confidence, nothing will." Shigure said. I chuckled.
"Don't worry; I'll keep an eye on her. You should really go. They're your family. Don't take them for granted. I don't mean to sound depressing when I say this but they won't always be there. They could be gone at any moment."
"Okay." Yuki said as he and Kyo stood up. "I'll go back."
"I guess I've got no choice." Kyo said.
"If it's what you two want."
"And when you say it like that and all."
"Try to be careful. Watch out for all the crowds."
"Don't talk to strangers or take candy from strange men." Shigure chuckled at me.
"We'll be fine; there won't be many people out right now." He said.
"You be careful too, make sure you look all the doors." Yuki said.
"Okay." Tohru said with a smile.
"Be safe!" We said together. She looked at me and smiled bigger. They left and Tohru stood next to me waving. Once they were out of sight we went back inside and went into the kitchen to make us each a cup of tea.
"I'll be right back." She said running upstairs. A few moments later she came back with her picture of Kyoko. She put it on the table and we sat in front of it. "Hey mom." She said. "It's New Year's." I could see tears forming in the corners of her eyes. I put and arm around her shoulders.
"Hey Kyoko.." I remembered staying up late with Kyoko and Tohru until midnight every New Year's. The three of us would count down the seconds until the New Year's bells would chime. I sniffled slightly. She had been the best mom and family I could have asked for. Suddenly the front doors opened and we looked up to see Yuki and Kyo, out of breath, standing there.
"Oh it's you, you startled me." Tohru said. "But why are y-" Yuki reached over and caught a tear and showed it to her. She got up. "Oh no, no! I wasn't crying, really!" She rubbed her eyes. I quickly wiped my eyes too and looked away. "It's just well… you know it's the holiday season and all and you know how they say people can get a little emotional this time a year. You know due to the holiday spirit I mean. Oh and did I mention we were listening to country music? A sad song, a sad, sad song." The two suddenly collapsed. "Ahh! What's wrong are you alright?"
"We have to watch the first sunrise." Yuki said.
"Yeah, I wanna have some more of those New Year soba noodles." Kyo said. The two opened their eyes and looked up at us.
"Don't cry.." Yuki said looking at me. I looked away.
"I wasn't crying. I had some dust in my eye is all." I said. Kyo chuckled.
"Right, dust…" he said.
We all got up on the roof. Tohru sat to Kyo's left, I next to her and Yuki next to me.
"So you talked to Hana? Tohru asked.
"We sort of ran into her along the way." Yuki said.
"Is that right? But uh are you sure this is okay?" She asked. "I mean what's the rest of your family gunna think? They won't mind that you stayed here will they? I don't want you to get into any trouble over us."
"It's no trouble." Yuki said. "We'll just go back sometime before the third and visit with everyone."
"Oh okay." She said. I moved over a bit and leaned against Yuki, my head on his shoulder. He looked at me.
"As long as I'm not hugging you it's fine, right?" I asked with a small smile. He smiled back, a light blush on his face, nodding.
"Hey look you guys, the sun is coming up!" Tohru said excitedly standing up. "Have you decided what to wish for yet?" She asked. "I've got mine all ready to go." Suddenly Kyo got up.
"This year I'm gunna beat that damn rat!"
"Ah you're wishing aren't you?" Yuki said. I giggled. Yuki smiled looking at me. "That is a cute giggle.." I felt my cheeks heat up but smiled watching the sun rise.
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