A/N: Hi everyone! I'm actually really sorry for making the previous chapter SO EFFING LONG! But I really appreciate everyone who took the time to read it. :P Like I said before, it was because that chapter was when everything is gonna start happening.
In a Fruits Basket - Chapter 5: Getting Used To It!
Recap:
Did I just start a friendship with Kyo?
...
"Thank you, Miss Nadeshiko." Yuki smiled, eyes closed, his head slightly tilted.
I liked that smile. There was a gentle, caring feeling to it. I've never seen him smile like that.
I rubbed my eyes as I got out of bed. I kicked my blanket to the foot of my bed. I heard the birds chirp from outside. It was a cute little tune, that gradually got louder as the other birds joined in. I... I hated it!
"Gosh! Shut up! I'm trying to sleep, you stupid birds!" I yelled, throwing one of my pencils outside of my window.
The birds that were sitting on the branches of the tree outside immediately scattered, then flew into the distance.
"What's this damn pencil doing out here?!" I heard Kyo yell. From the looks of it, he was probably practicing martial arts.
"Hey, Kyo!" I sang from my window. "G'morning!"
"Whaddya mean, 'g'morning'? It's almost lunch! Took you a while to get up." He yelled back from outside.
"Why? Are you worried, Kyo?" I shouted, waving my finger at him.
"This is pointless! Just go eat already, idiot!" He went back inside.
"Wait, Kyo," I called out sweetly.
"Yeah?" He walked back outside, and looked at me.
"Could you bring in my pencil while you're at it?" I grinned evilly.
"Stupid girl!"
I'm really glad it's the weekend. I'm so exhausted. I finally came downstairs and looked around.
"Good mor- I mean, afternoon." I yawned.
"Oh, hello, Arya. You sure got up late." Shigure said, a bit concerned.
I waved my hand, and shook my head. "Naw."
"Arya's more of a night person," Mai explained, then set a plate down on the table.
"What's for lunch?" I asked, plopping myself down beside Yuki.
"Let's see... Some nice skewered fish, some tempura," she listed them, then finally set the last plate down. Steamed leeks. She smiled. "And some leeks from Yuki."
Shoot! Why'd you have to make some?!
"Gah!" Kyo gasped.
"Now, eat up!" She smiled again.
Kyo stared at his plate, then burst out, "Are you crazy? I hate leeks!"
Mai flinched, and nearly toppled over. I almost dove trying to catch her.
"And onions, and miso... Am I leaving anything out?" Shigure asked, focusing on his newspaper.
"Hey, miso's okay as long as it's soup!" Kyo replied.
"Okay, sorry, we didn't know!" Mai hissed.
"Well, now you do!" he shouted back.
"You're so picky!" she argued.
"Leeks, onions, miso! Not too hard to remember!"
"Ugh, y'know, you can drive me crazy!"
"You're already crazy!"
Wow, they're so alike, it's scary. No wonder they argue so much. I sighed. I looked at Yuki and mouthed out, "Do something."
Yuki nodded, then took his chopsticks. He twirled them around, took the leeks, then shoved it in Kyo's mouth.
"Just eat," he said calmly. Kyo leaned back, then tensed up. His eyelids slowly closed. What the heck? Is he sleeping?
"Ah, thanks, Yuki." Mai laughed a bit.
"Um, Yuki, Kyo's already passed out," Shigure chuckled nervously.
"Passed out? Over leeks? For real? I thought he was joking!" Mai exclaimed, and ran up to him.
She examined his face, and without thinking, lifted him up a little. She put her arms around his back to get more support.
Poof!
He transformed into an orange cat. She screamed, "I forgot! Sorry!"
I exhaled, "Give me his clothes. He'll change in his room."
I bent down and took his clothes. His scent drifted into my nose. It smelt of grass and smallest hint of... mint. I forced myself not to sniff again. I shook it off and then put it into the laundry bin. I went to his room and got out his brown pants, black shirt, and teal sweater. His room was surprisingly normal looking. He had his white, fist bandages for his martial arts sitting on his bed. He had his desk, a bookshelf, maybe a few clothes out of place here and there, but other than that, I didn't expect it to look so normal.
Not saying he isn't normal, but then again, he is the cat of the Zodiac, but no, I'll still accept it! I slapped myself. What am I thinking? I don't sound like myself. I pulled my hair. This is stupid, I better go. I placed his clothes on his bed, then went downstairs.
"So, you put Kyo in his room?" Yuki asked, sitting in the living room.
"Yeah, he's got his clothes and everything so when he wakes up, he won't be naked for all of us to see." Mai shivered. "Yuck." She sat beside Yuki. "But honestly, what you did before Yuki was insane! I didn't know Kyo hated leeks that much!" She began to laugh.
Yuki looked over. "He needs to learn some manners."
"Ever heard of 'manners', Mai?" I remembered when I said those words to her, before we got here. That seemed so long ago.
"Yo!" Kyo shouted, coming downstairs. He was dressed up in the clothes I picked out for him. He stepped into the living room and stood in front of the t.v. "What the hell happened?"
"You passed out over some dumb leeks. Now move please, I can't see the screen," Mai orderd, not making eye contact.
"And oh yeah, you transformed," I added.
"Damn rat! It's all your fault, you shoved those nasty leeks into my mouth!" Kyo yelled.
"I hope you learned something, you stupid cat. Now move, Mai can't see," Yuki replied softly.
Kyo growled, "Why don't we take this outside?" He rolled up his sleeves. Suddenly, the earth shook.
Shigure entered the room and giggled, "My, my, she's here early."
"Who?" I asked curiously.
"Do you still want to take this outside, you stupid cat?" Yuki teased.
"Hold on, what's going on here?" Mai asked, her voice rising to a yell.
Kyo began to panic. "Aw, hell! She can't be here!" He was about to run away, but Shigure grabbed his shirt. There was a soft knock on the door. Mai stood up, and began to walk. "Are you crazy, Mai?" Kyo screamed, "Don't open it!"
Mai ignored him, and slid the paper doors open and gasped, seeing a small girl leaning on the door. "Uh, hello there?" Mai asked sweetly.
"Are you... Mai?" The girl said shyly.
"Yes, what do you need, sweetie?"
"Kagura Sohma... That's my name. Kagura Sohma."
I could see my sister's brown eyes widen, after realizing how cute Kagura was!
She's even cuter up close! I walked up to the door. "Kagura... Sohma?"
"Please- I- I heard that Kyo was here and... please, tell me it's true. Is he?" She begged, hunching her shoulders over. It made her look even tinier!
I didn't know how to answer. I knew what was going to come, but my sister didn't, and she was oblivious. Mai smiled, "Yes, he's inside! Please come in!"
As Kagura stepped into the house, I pulled Mai aside. "Why the heck did you do that?" I mumbled in her ear.
"What do you mean?" she asked innocently.
Kagura stared at the room, and when her eyes met with Kyo's she almost burst into tears. She gasped, "Kyo!"
Kyo snapped his head back, with sheer terror in his eyes. He yelled back, his voice trembling, "K-Kagura!"
He had no where to go anymore. Kagura ran up to him, chanting his name over and over until she was next to him. She whimpered, her eyes big and concerned. "Why did you run away for so long? You didn't call me or send a card. Did you forget?"
I snorted. "Kyo, you better -"
"Who said I forgot?" Kyo snapped, "Maybe I didn't want to!"
"Oh darling..." Kagura whimpered, then burst out, "BUT I MISSED YOU SO MUCH!" She took Kyo by the collar, and swung him around. She released him, sending him through the doors.
Mai looked like she was about to pass out. "What the heck- why- how- did she-? What just happened?" She stammered.
Yuki sighed. "Yes, hard to believe but, she's actually two years older than us. She's your age, Mai."
Mai choked out. "Sh-she's my age?" She burst into screams, with her hair flailing around.
"What a temper!" I added, laughing a bit.
"Well, that's just a way Kagura shows her affection." Shigure chuckled nervously.
"Hi, Kagura. I'm- " I began. We all sat down in the living room after Kagura finished beating up Kyo.
"Arya Nadeshiko, I know," she said.
"Wow, you know our names?" Mai asked and timidly smiled, still shaken after witnessing Kagura's temper.
"So Kagura," I smiled, "You're a Sohma, aren't you?"
"Yes, I am! I'm a member of the Zodiac." She replied.
"And by the looks of it..." I said, "You... You really like Kyo!" I muffled my laughter with my sleeves.
"Hey!" Kyo pressed a bag of ice to his lips. He had a bruise where Kagura punched him. He pouted and looked away.
"Yes, we are in love!" Kagura sighed.
"'We'?" Kyo shouted, "Who said 'we'? She was talking about you!"
"No silly, we are getting married after all."
"No! We never planned it!" he snarled.
"You mean you don't remember?" She smiled, "When we were kids, you asked me to marry you!"
"Only because you were going to kill me if I didn't!" Kyo snapped, then shuddered at the memory.
"Congratulations," I said sarcastically.
"Shut it, Arya!" Kyo said, shoving a fist near my face.
"Mai," I heard Yuki's voice from outside. I dropped the laundry and leaned in. I pressed my ear against the wall.
"Yes?" she asked. I heard her footsteps.
"Are you still going out to shop for dinner?" he wondered.
"I am."
"Oh, then I'll come with you."
Mai gets to spend time with Yuki! What'll I do? Kagura's going to come any second to help me with-
"That's not Kyo's shirt, is it?" Kagura asked, peeking through the door.
"Oh, no! This is Yuki's. I haven't even started on Kyo's yet," I replied, startled.
"Don't worry, I'll do it! If it's okay with you."
"Uh, sure!" I said. Good, maybe I could catch up with Yuki and Mai.
"Kyo!" She sang and ran outside. "Okay, take everything off!"
I wore my brown, leather jacket and slipped on my sneakers. I rushed outside, and nearly tripped getting there.
"Psst!" I suddenly heard from the forest.
"I must be imagining things." I ran a hand through my short hair. "Did I just hear a bush call me over?" I said, pretending to not notice Kyo.
"Dammit, Arya!" He hissed. "Just tell me, where's Kagura?"
"She's still doing your laundry." I smirked.
He yelped, "My shirts!"
"Better go get 'em, Kyo," I teased. "Or you'll be shirtless forever... which, I don't think Kagura will mind, actually."
It was late and I ended up having to stay home to help clean up after realizing Kagura set the house on fire. When we finally got the kitchen back, Kagura told us to leave the rest to her. We all finished dinner, but, there were two plates, untouched. I picked them up and heard a small voice. It was Mai.
"They must be starving," she whispered. She took Kagura's plate. "I'll give this to her."
"Ugh! Why do I have to give it to Kyo?" I asked, clenching my teeth.
"Fine, we'll both give it to Kagura, but after that, I'm going to sleep." She snapped.
"Kagura?" We both said in unison. She was still working on the doors. Her stomach grumbled.
She looked back at us. "Hi," she said softly.
Mai sat down and put her arm around Kagura's shoulder. "You didn't touch your dinner. Do you still want it?"
Kagura stayed silent, yet her stomach growled once more. Mai giggled. "I'm guessing that's a yes."
I passed her the plate, and smiled. Kagura laughed softly. "Thank you."
"Hey, lookie lookie!" I heard Kagura say, as she was cutting out paper. I was already on my way to give Kyo his dinner.
"It's a cat, how cute!" Mai replied. Their conversation continued. Their voices faded as I got to the kitchen.
I got Kyo's dinner, then made my way up to the roof. That's where he always was. I cleared my throat and in my best Kagura voice, I called out, "Kyo?"
Kyo yelled, and threw his arms up. His strange, maroon eyes widened in fear. "Damn you! I thought you were-"
"Kagura?" I laughed, and climbed up. I carefully crawled towards him. "You going to hide here all night?"
"Until she's gone, yeah." He grumbled.
"Here," I said, and gave him his plate. There was an awkward silence until I began, "So, Kagura was worried sick about you, how you were gone in the mountains training."
"Yeah. I trained a lot and stuff," he replied, throwing a piece of the riceball in his mouth.
"Cool, imagine if I tried to do that!" I grinned.
"You?" He smirked. "My Master put me through hell up there! I don't think you'd be able to handle it!"
"A Master? What's he like?"
"He's a Sohma, but he never treated me like the others do and he trained me ever since I was a little kid! It was like an adventure everyday, y'know?"
"Then maybe you can teach me!" I joked and poked him in the stomach. I tried to ignore the fact that his stomach was rock hard! "You're training to beat Yuki, right? I saw you practice today, too."
He gave me a weird look. "You did?"
"Not like that, it was just a coincidence! Y'know, when I threw the pencil out the window, yeah?" I added quickly.
He nodded. "Oh, speaking of which..." He stuck his hand in his pocket, then tossed the pencil at me. "There."
"Uh, wow." I gasped in surprise. "You actually got it. That's so nice of you. Thanks!"
"Don't get used to it," he said, then smiled a bit, "but hey, it was no problem."
The weekend was over and Kagura left the house. I personally thought we made a pretty good impression on her. She seemed to really like us. It also seemed like Kyo was much more relaxed without getting beaten up every five minutes.
I rushed out the doors of my next class. I was running late after accidentally sleeping in. I went into the library to catch my breath.
"Arya! There you are!" Mai called out in a whisper.
"Oh, hi Mai." I waved.
"Over here." She beckoned. "Some teachers want to see us at the office."
"Alright," I said, and followed her.
"You wanted to speak with us, sir?" I said when we arrived at the doors of the main office.
"Arya, Mai, the phone's for you." One of the teachers said and passed me the phone.
I pressed it against my ear. "Hello?"
"Ah, Arya!" I shaky voice greeted me from the other end.
"Yes?" I asked.
"This is your grandfather!"
"Grandpa, hi! How are you?" I said sweetly. I felt a sudden connection, as if I knew him my whole life.
"Good news, you and Mai are welcome to move back with us. Our renovations are done."
