Disclaimer: You think I own any of this? (dies laughing)
Note, 1: This is one of my first attempts at writing the Fruits Basket characters. Please forgive me if anyone seems too out of character. Advice is always appreciated; just don't be mean or uppity about it.
Note, 2: I don't like curse words. Nor am I certain that my parents would allow me to type them. Therefore, all swearwords will be written as follows: -CENSORED-. The strongest words I'll ever type out in this fic are: dang, shoot, and crud.
Note, 3: Yes, the long-awaited first appearance of Tohru has finally arrived! Now they get to play together... maybe... almost... Anyway, please read and enjoy! (-)
Verisimilitude
Nine: In Which Tohru Visits
A few weeks later, on a Friday, the Sohmas were used to having Kyoko come over and Kyoko was relatively used to not being able to hug the kids. The doorbell which Hatori had just installed yesterday rang, and Shigure, the oldest one currently in the apartment, answered it.
"Hello, Honda-san," Shigure greeted her.
"Good morning, Shigure-san," Kyoko replied with a nod, as the teenager allowed her entrance.
"Who's the little dolly?" asked Shigure, indicating the adorable six-year-old clinging to Kyoko's pant leg.
"This is my daughter, Tohru," Kyoko said, smiling.
Tohru shyly looked up at Shigure, saying, "Hi!"
"Ah… cute," Shigure grinned. "But, ah, why is she here? Ain't the little bundle of joy supposed to be at school or something?"
"Her whole school was going on a special field trip today," Kyoko began to explain. "She was too scared to go at the last minute, so I decided to bring her with me to work. I hope that's alright…?"
"Erm… I, ah, hafta go now… I… guess it's okay, so long as she doesn't hug anyone here," Shigure said awkwardly. "Umm… yeah. Bye, Honda-san, Tohru-kun." He shouted to the bedroom, "Honda-san is here, so I'm leaving now!"
"'Bout time!" a loud voice, more than likely Kyo's, shouted.
"Behave yourselves, young'uns!" Shigure continued teasingly.
"Just shut up and leave!"
"Be nice, Kyo-kun," Kyoko warned.
"…Whatever…"
As Shigure left the apartment, jogging to school, he pulled out his cell phone and dialed a number.
"Hey, Ha'ri?" he said into the device. "I think we might have a problem…"
-
"Who's that?" Kyo demanded as he, followed closely by his three cousins, joined Kyoko and Tohru in the living/dining room.
"This is Tohru," Kyoko smiled.
"Tohru-chan!" Momiji shrieked in delight, lunging forward.
Kyo grabbed the blonde by the back of his shirt collar, and Yuki and Haru each seized an arm.
"Get back here, twerp!" Kyo yelled.
"But I wanna play with Tohru-chan!" Momiji exclaimed, swinging his legs wildly in a vain attempt to free himself. He eventually stopped moving.
"You can put Momiji down now," Kyoko pointed out.
Tohru beamed as Momiji was set back down. "Hello, Momiji-chan," she said with a smile.
"Hiya!" Momiji squealed, running up to Tohru but stopping about eight or nine inches away. "Honda-chan told us all 'bout you! Well, maybe not all, but lots and lots! Will you be my best friend?"
Hatori burst into the apartment at that moment. Apparently, the banging of the door did not affect (effect?) Tohru, however, because…
"Yes!" Tohru squealed back. She impulsively leaned forward and…
"No!" Haru yelped, running forward to try and stop the impending hug. Sadly…
POOF!
POOF!
Yuki and Kyo glanced at each other—a distraction would be very welcome at this point in time. So, they'd have to make a distraction.
"Stupid!" Kyo shouted at Yuki, swinging an intentionally misaimed punch at the other boy.
"Am not, either!" Yuki shot back, catching on to Kyo's plan. As desired, Kyoko immediately set to trying to pull them apart and scolding them.
Hatori used this opportunity to usher calf-Haru and bunny-Momiji into the bedroom, tossing their clothes in after them. Then he shooed the dumbstruck Tohru into the bathroom.
"Tohru-kun," began Hatori, slightly out of breath. He knelt down and put both hands on her shoulders. "What did you see?"
"A… a… bunny…"
"Oh, shoot." Hatori looked at Tohru and said, "You can't tell your mommy about this, okay? You have to be very quiet, now…" …While I erase your memory…
Tohru didn't even attempt a reply.
"I'm kinda new at this," Hatori continued, "so you might feel a little sick afterward. I'm going to make sure you don't remember the past few minutes, okay?"
"…Eh?"
"Just sit down and relax," Hatori ordered quietly.
Tohru sat down stiffly on the floor.
"Close your eyes."
Tohru stared wide-eyed at the teenager.
"It's okay; I'm not going to hurt you. Close your eyes," repeated Hatori.
Tohru closed her eyes. Hatori put a hand on her forehead and, a few minutes later, Tohru was sleeping. She awoke when Hatori gently shook her shoulder.
"Tohru-kun," Hatori said, helping her to sit up. "How do you feel?"
"M—my head hurts," commented Tohru. "And… and my tummy, too."
"That's why you came in here," Hatori coolly stated. "You said you felt sick."
They left the bathroom a few minutes later.
Kyoko, who'd just managed to pull Yuki and Kyo apart, looked over and asked quickly, "Tohru, are you okay?"
Hatori answered for her, "She was feeling a little sick so I took her to the bathroom. She'll be fine, but you should probably take her home and let her rest a little. I'll take care of the kids."
Kyoko picked up Tohru, hugging the sweet-faced little girl, and said, "Okay. Thanks. …Sohma-san?"
"Hm?" Hatori mumbled, setting up the boys' schoolwork.
"I don't mean to be nosy, but why are you here? Shouldn't you be at school?"
"Shigure called me," answered Hatori. He continued with a smooth fib, "He reminded me that I have to take our cousins to the dentist today."
"Hey! I thought that was tomorrow!"
Hatori gave Kyo a warning look.
"Oh. Yeah. Right," Kyo quickly agreed. "Today."
"We'll see you Monday," Hatori told Kyoko.
"Of course. Say 'good-bye', Tohru," Kyoko smiled at her daughter.
Tohru, looking a bit dazed as she wondered who those three strangers were, said, "Bye…."
By the time the Hondas were gone, Haru and Momiji had changed back and were dressed again. Hatori ordered Haru to begin studying with his two cousins.
"And I don't want to hear a word out of anyone," Hatori said firmly. "I'll be back in a minute to help you. Momiji, back in the bedroom. We need to talk."
Momiji sat down timidly on his bed, and Hatori sat on the edge of the bed across from the bunny's.
"That was very bad, Momiji," Hatori started. "You know better than to hug a girl."
"I'm sorry," whispered the blond boy, watery-eyed.
"You should be. …Don't try crying and pouting… you know that doesn't work on me. …Momiji…. Oh, for Pete's sake! C'mere," Hatori sighed.
Momiji immediately leapt into the teen's open arms.
"You can only hug guys. But try not to get too used to that, either, or when you get older, people might think you're a little weird."
"Why?" Momiji sniffled.
"Because the world is insane." Hatori petted his cousin's hair a bit before saying, "Stop crying. You have studying to do. Even if my high school career is falling to pieces, at least you can get smart."
"Okay." Momiji slid off Hatori's lap. He suddenly jumped up again and kissed Hatori on the nose. "I love you, Ha'ri!" That said, the bunny scampered off to his work.
Hatori sighed. What was he going to tell the teachers at school?
He suddenly felt sick? Well, that was true. The bottom had just about fallen out of his stomach when Shigure had told him that Kyoko's affectionate daughter was at their apartment.
His cousin had gone crazier than usual? No. Everyone knew that Shigure was just about as mad as they got.
Oh, here was a good one—he had to protect the family secret from being revealed to the insane world!
Another sigh. Maybe I should drop out…
…No way! That would be a bad influence on the kids…
"…okay? Hello?"
"WAAH! Ha'ri's DEAD!!"
Speaking of the devils, there they were. Waving small hands in his face, calling at him to wake up, proclaiming his sudden death…
"I'm fine, Momiji," Hatori assured him. He looked pointedly at them. "And why aren't you studying?"
The quartet glanced at each other before sprinting out of the room. Hatori smirked slightly. He may be failing rapidly at high school, but he was still the king of his castle!
Or apartment, if you want to get technical…