I do not own Fruits Basket; just my OCs and the plot of this story.

Enjoy!

~ Insert Title Here ~

~ Chapter Three ~

The air was tense and awkward as Shoko sat at the dining room table, fidgeting with her fingers idly. Her parents sat across from her, both wearing serious looks on their faces. As she watched them anxiously, she couldn't help but notice how they had distanced their chairs away from each other. Like they didn't want to be near one another, but ultimately decided that they both needed to be present for this occasion.

"Shoko," her mother began, looking directly into her daughter's eyes, "your father and I have been thinking things over...and we've come to the decision that it is best that we make some changes."

The brunette girl blinked, glancing from her mother to her father. "What sort of changes?" The ten year-old asked softly.

Here, her father decided to take over the explanation, speaking gently, but bluntly, "Shoko, we're getting a divorce."

The moment the words hit Shoko's ears, the girl frowned. "Oh."

The news didn't come as a huge shock to her, she found, but the reality of the situation stung a bit. Sure, maybe she'd been expecting something like this for a while now, but now that it was really happening, Shoko felt a bit betrayed.

"We think that it's for the best," Hideko added.

'Of course you do,' Shoko thought dejectedly, her brow furrowing.

There were words on the tip of her tongue, but she held them back. She wanted to ask, 'Why? Why aren't the two of you enough for each other? Why do you want to tear apart our family? Why didn't you just try harder to fix things?' There were so many answers that she wanted, but she didn't have the will to ask for them. She had a feeling that the adults would just gloss over the truth anyway, to try and protect her from the 'adult problems'.

"Is there anything you want to say?" Her father's voice was still quiet and gentle. Shoko couldn't help but feel the slightest bit annoyed by it, irrationality aside.

But she pondered over his words, thought about her own wishes and hopes, and finally came to a single definite answer; maybe it was best if she just let it happen. Maybe she was better off not knowing why.

She spoke in a firm and deciding tone.

"No."

Three days is a long time to live in perpetual fear of being confronted. Three days is way too long to be worrying over something like this. Three days more, and she was going to go absolutely insane.

But really? Three days?

Why hadn't he done something yet? What was he waiting for? Was he doing this to her on purpose? Wearing her down mentally and physically?

Shoko didn't understand. She didn't understand at all. It had been...yes, three days, since she had witnessed the shocking sight of Yuki Sohma turning into a rat upon being plowed into by a hasty Shoko Murata.

And he had done nothing since.

Absolutely nothing.

Wasn't he worried that she would tell someone? Do something? Anything?

He was acting like it had never happened.

And yes, she herself had been the one to tell him to do as such, but she hadn't been expecting him to actually do it, let alone start ignoring her. It was maddening, in the worst way possible.

On top of that, against her better judgement, Shoko had begun thinking deeper into what had transpired that day. Beyond the point of denial now, and moving into perturbed acceptance, she found herself wanting answers.

Answers she was damn sure would make her question the sanity of the world around her.

The only way she was going to get those answers was to confront the person who refused to confront her. And just how in the world was she going to do that, exactly? Walk up to the boy and demand he tell her why he turned into a rat?

That seemed rather simple, but how does someone even ask something that ridiculous without seeming like a whack-job? You can't, that's how.

Yes, she was in a really strange position indeed.

Why the hell did fate decide that she was a prime target for this insanity? Where had she gone wrong in life?

It was times like these where Shoko contemplated the effectiveness of repeatedly smashing her head against her desk.

At least the pain would distract her.

"Oi, why're you zoning out so much?"

Nami's voice, loud and insistent in the brunette's ear, had Shoko jumping in surprise. "Hah?"

"Don't 'hah' me, you haven't been listening to a single thing I've said! Idiot, what's got you so wound up?" Nami was giving her a narrow-eyed look, her arms crossed over her chest and her foot tapping lightly against the floor.

Shoko felt a mild surge of guilt, realizing that during her inner musings, she had missed what her friend had been talking about.

"Sorry, I was just thinking. What were you saying again?"

Nami rolled her eyes and shook her head. "Never mind that, I want to know about this thing that has you acting like a space cadet. It must be pretty serious."

Shoko blinked, raising a hand to scratch at the back of her head. "It's really not that important," she muttered, glancing down at her school shoes.

"Bull," Nami retorted bluntly, causing the brunette teen across from her to flinch slightly. "If it has you zoning out that often and for that long, then it's obviously not something trivial. What is it?"

"Geez, you're so demanding," Shoko mumbled out, "why do you want to know so much, anyway?"

"Because my best friend been acting not like herself for the past three days, and I want to know why. Is there a problem? Family issues? Financial difficulties? What is going on with you, Shoko?" Nami's tone left no room to argue. The girl was rather intimidating when she put her foot down, and while Shoko normally was able to resist that intimidation, even be the one to douse it at times, she knew there was no way around it this time.

She had to tell her friend the truth. Or, some of it, perhaps. Just enough to get the blue-eyed girl off of her back.

"It's...Yuki Sohma." Oh, how difficult it was to get those words out there.

Nami's reaction was just how Shoko expected.

The dark-haired girl gave her friend a look of utter confusion, her brow furrowing. Then she looked thoughtful, her mind processing the name and finally, her lips began to curve up in her trademark smirk. Shoko could practically see the conclusion Nami's mind had conjured up.

"Wait...wait, Yuki Sohma? The prince? Him?" A laugh bubbled up from her throat. "He's the one that has you so distant-looking?"

"It's not what you think," Shoko muttered, her voice defensive.

"Suuure it isn't," Nami crowed gleefully, "my, my, I never knew you had a thing for royalty, Shoko! This is hysterical!"

"How is it funny?" Shoko growled, hackles rising. "And I told you, that's not how it is! I'm not...attracted to Yuki Sohma! I'm not!" But the world was transpiring against her, it seemed, because she felt her face begin to heat up, a testament to her embarrassment at Nami's teasing. She was not blushing because she found that rat-boy attractive!

Nami, being the girl that she is, obviously didn't believe the words coming from Shoko's mouth.

"Denial~!" The dark-haired teen sang, smirking all the while. "You're blushing, Shoko! Haha, you really do like him, don't you?"

"No! And I'm only blushing because I'm frustrated at your idiocy! Damn it, I don't like anyone!"

Nami wasn't listening at this point. She was convinced that her friend had a thing for the prince of Kaibara, and Shoko knew she wasn't ever going to live this down. Whether it was true or not.

Somewhere, though, Shoko was glad that she didn't have that demanding Nami on her case anymore. Because that meant she wouldn't have to tell her friend that Yuki Sohma apparently had the ability of turning into a small rodent.

Frowning at Nami's antics, the brunette released a soft sigh of relief.

She was safe for now.

And only at the expense of her dignity, too.

For the rest of the day, every time Shoko saw Nami in class or in the hall, the girl would smirk at her. It wasn't long before the honey-eyed teen felt the intense desire to start wringing her neck whenever they met.

"Damn her," Shoko growled in irritation as she settled into her desk. It was the last class of the day, and thankfully, she didn't have this one with Nami. The dark-haired girl surely wouldn't survive until the end of the day if she had, Shoko thought darkly.

It was during the brunette's morbid thoughts of how she would murder her best friend that someone decided to walk up to the unoccupied seat next to her.

"Hello," a feminine voice spoke up in a cheery, friendly tone.

Shoko turned at the newcomer's greeting, and her eyes locked onto a slightly familiar visage - she had seen this face before somewhere...

Ah. Shoko suddenly remembered. This was the girl that Yuki Sohma had been waiting for a few days ago by the front doors. She recognized those bright blue eyes, just a few shades lighter than Nami's. The comparison made her want to scowl, irritation toward her friend flickering.

That's when she realized that she had to answer this stranger's 'hello', and she inclined her head slightly toward the other student, replying, "Hi."

The girl beside her beamed, and Shoko blinked in response. This girl, whoever she was, was awfully happy for some reason.

"I'm Tohru Honda," the girl introduced herself, all the while smiling politely, "would it be alright if I sat here?"

Shoko toyed with the idea of telling this Tohru Honda that the seat was already taken, so she could stew in her own annoyance alone, but ultimately decided that something like that would be too mean to do to someone she hardly knew, especially when said someone looked so sincere and polite.

So she merely nodded, and mumbled, "Uh, sure. I don't mind."

"Thank you!" And with that, Tohru Honda placed herself down upon the chair next to Shoko's, smile still in place. After a moment of semi-awkward silence - well, it was awkward to Shoko - the blue-eyed girl next to her suddenly asked, "What's your name?"

Shoko briefly wondered what this girl wanted. Why was she sitting next to her? Was she friends with Yuki Sohma, and if so, was that why she was here? Did that prince say anything to her about Shoko?

"Sh-Shoko Murata," she replied hastily, glancing away from Tohru. She inwardly cursed the stutter, trying to push away the feeling of growing unease. There was no reason to be wary of this friendly girl, right?

Tohru smiled - did this girl ever not smile? - and said, "It's nice to meet you! I hope we can get along."

Shoko merely blinked in response and nodded. As far as she was concerned, there was no reason for them not to get along, unless the girl brought up Yuki. Then there may be some minor complications.

When the class teacher began the lecture, all traces of conversation died out. That was fine with Shoko - more than fine, actually. It meant she could mull over her thoughts undisturbed. And she did indeed mull over her thoughts.

She wasn't sure why Tohru had wanted to sit next to her and introduce herself, but she had the distinct feeling that Yuki was somehow related. Whether or not that was a good thing, Shoko wasn't sure of, but for the moment, she was going to treat it normally. No need to get worked up over something that may be nothing.

Still, she was still somewhat curious on the matter. It wasn't everyday that someone she hardly knew came up and asked if they could have the seat next to her. Now that she thought about it, the action was strange, but not exactly unwelcome.

Shoko decided then that she didn't mind Tohru Honda. The girl was friendly enough, and didn't seem to have any ill intentions or underlying motives. If anything, the other brunette struck her as being a tad bit ditzy. And polite. Nothing bad there.

The honey-eyed girl scribbled something down in the notebook in front of her, casting a sidelong glance at the person next to her.

Tohru was focused on what the teacher was saying. She didn't seem to notice Shoko's discreet observation.

Yeah, this girl was hardly anything to watch out for.

Shoko turned her attention back to the front of the classroom.

By the end of the day, Shoko felt quite tired. She was about ready to go home and take a nice long nap.

As she was heading out of the building, she heard running footsteps from behind, and Nami suddenly popped up beside her. On the dark-haired girl's face was that familiar smirk, and Shoko felt her skin crawl as she anticipated the words about to leave her friend's lips.

"Yo! Did you see the prince at all this afternoon?"

There it was. Shoko knew that Nami wouldn't let this lie. Even if it wasn't true, she'd be hearing teasing remarks about how she like-liked the prince of Kaibara High for weeks.

She was already dreading it - she should have just kept her mouth shut, Nami's intimidating glower be damned.

"No," Shoko replied shortly, trying to send the message that she didn't want to hear anymore with her tone.

Nami of course ignored the warning. "Aw, how disappointing! I bet you were sad all afternoon! Don't worry though, there's always tomorrow to ogle at our dear prince!"

Shoko wanted to punch Nami. Hard.

Instead she just snorted derisively and said, "I'd sooner shove my head in a bucket of ice water."

Nami smirked wickedly - but wait, when was that smirk not wicked? - and opened her mouth to make some sort of comment, but it was at this point that a voice that Shoko had recently become acquainted with called out her name.

She turned to watch as Tohru Honda approached her and Nami, blinking in mild confusion. What did she want now?

"Shoko!" Tohru stopped a few feet away from them and bowed, before rising back up and fixing the two girls before her with a smile - was it weird that Shoko was already getting used to seeing that facial expression on this girl?

"I was wondering if you'd want to have lunch with me and a few friends tomorrow?" The girl looked hopeful, and her gaze flashed briefly at Nami before she added, "Your friend can join us too!"

Shoko blinked in surprise. An invitation for lunch? Well, this was unexpected.

"Er..." Shoko fidgeted, unsure of how to reply. Nami seemed a bit confused as well, glancing from her to Tohru a few times.

At Shoko's silence, Tohru seemed to become almost frantic. "Oh, do you already have plans? I'm sorry! I didn't mean to impose, I just thought- you don't have to if you don't want to either, please don't feel obligated just because I offered, I didn't know that you might already be doing something-!"

"No!" Shoko's outburst had Tohru falling silent and Nami glancing at her in surprise. "No, I mean...I'm not busy at lunch tomorrow. I-I would love to join you and your friends - Nami, how does that sound? We can have lunch with Tohru and her friends, right? You don't mind?"

Nami looked at Shoko. For once, the dark-haired girl had a look on her face that she couldn't identify. Finally, she replied in a voice that was uncharacteristically quiet, "Yeah, it's fine with me."

After both girls agreed, Tohru recovered from her apologetic rant, and beamed brightly at the two of them. "Great! We have the same before lunch class, right? We can just eat in the classroom!"

Shoko offered a small grin, and nodded. Tohru seemed elated at the response, clapping her hands together enthusiastically before suddenly blinking as if something just occurred to her.

Shoko watched as Tohru turned to face Nami, looking apologetic again, and said, "Oh, how silly of me, I forgot to introduce myself! I'm Tohru Honda!" The girl bowed.

Nami blinked, blank faced. "Nami Katsura."

"Nice to meet you, Nami!" Tohru smiled happily.

"Yeah..." Nami replied, and Shoko felt a flash of concern toward her friend - Nami wasn't normally this tight-lipped. Was something wrong with her?

Tohru suddenly gave a slight jump, and looked around frantically. For a moment Shoko thought that she had lost something, but then the girl looked toward them and bowed again. "I'm sorry, but I have to go! I'll be late for my job!"

Shoko and Nami watched as the girl turned on her heel and made a beeline toward the road. She called back over her shoulder, "Sorry! I'll see you tomorrow at lunch!"

And then she was zipping away - Shoko noticed that she looked both ways before crossing the street, something that she herself needed to do more often.

When she was out of sight, Nami decided to speak up. "Who was that?" Her voice was void of all mischievousness, it lacked its usual humour, and Shoko found herself wondering why.

"Her name's Tohru," Shoko replied, bewildered, "she told you her name, remember?"

Nami looked at her, and shook her dark-haired head. "No, I mean...how do you know her? I thought you didn't like to socialize with others here much."

Shoko blinked at her friend's words, and then a sheepish look crossed her face. "I didn't approach her, if that's what you think," she muttered, "she kind of introduced herself and then took the seat next to me in class. I'm not exactly sure why."

"Huh," was Nami's reply.

Shoko looked at her friend, wondering why she seemed so distant all of a sudden. Where was that boisterous girl that she knew?

"Is something wrong, Nami? You're acting a bit different..."

Those words from Shoko was all it took for the dark-haired girl to suddenly put on a grin. Nami put her hands on her hips and said, "Hah, nothing's wrong! Everything is just peachy, peachy I say!" Her blue eyes cut to Shoko, and that smirk was back. "The one we really should be worrying about is you." She placed her hands on Shoko's shoulders and leaned in close, face contorted in mock concern - but her eyes glittered mischievously. "After all, this poor girl hasn't seen her dear prince in hours! Oh, the turmoil! You must be so anxious to see him, you poor thing!"

Shoko immediately recoiled away from Nami, face becoming irritated once more. "Bugger off," she snapped, "And stop spouting that crap!"

Nami crowed with laughter, and as she did, Shoko stared at her with a mixture of severe annoyance and lingering concern.

Nami seemed to be back to normal now, but Shoko wasn't entirely convinced. The transformation from reserved to outgoing had come too quickly - almost like it had been forced.

Was there something actually wrong with Nami?

This train of thought derailed epic-ally when she felt Nami wrap an arm around her shoulders and whisper in her ear, "Shoko loooves prince Yuki Soh-"

"SHUT IT, KATSURA!"

Whoop! Done! :D

What did you think? Good? Bad? Average? Please let me know with a review! If you don't, I'll...do something! Yes, I'm not sure what yet, but watch out! :O

'Kay, so here's where I thank the people who reviewed/faved/followed last chapter:

- ShigureAyameHatoriFanClub

- calicat197

- deidaralover1234

Thanks again for that, guys! :) It means a lot!

Mm, that's all for now, folks! See y'all next chapter!

~TheAzuraStar