A/N: Thanks for reviewing and reading! I had so much fun with that chapter. Hatsuharu is one of my favourite characters! Anyway here's the next one! Please enjoy and keep reviewing!
In a Fruits Basket - Chapter 10: The Same
Recap:
"Well, maybe that's it." Haru shrugged his shoulders. "When they see you two... Their perspective on things change." ...
"Never again, Black Haru."
"I'm not even-"
"I know. I'm just calling you by your nickname." I said, and stepped closer to him, and purposely made my shoulders touch his chest.
Poof!
"Aah... Aah..."
I rolled my eyes. "I can't believe you're still -"
"A-achoo!" Kyo sneezed into his tissue.
"Sick." I sighed. I wrinkled my nose. "Um, ew, throw that snot rag away!"
He threw his tissue in the garbage and sniffed. He yelled with a clogged nose, "I hate being sick!"
"Well, you're looking better than last week, carrot top," Arisa commented.
"So, Yuki," I began, facing him, "how many valentine cards did you get today? Maybe a thousand?"
"Actually, I'm not sure. They all ended up in the garbage anyway," he answered softly.
I gasped, "You threw them away?" Phew! I'm glad I didn't put mine in his locker!
"Uh, no, actually, someone else did," he told me.
"Coo-coo chicks," Saki said randomly. "Those girls were all coo-coo chicks."
"Sure," I said, a bit confused. "Oh yeah!" My eyes lit up. "Saki, Arisa, here are your valentines chocolates."
"Oh hey, thanks." Arisa smiled, holding it between her fingers, "I still owe you from last year."
"Thank you so much, what would you like in return, Arya?" Saki asked.
"No, I don't want anything! I'm just glad you like 'em." I smiled.
"Hey, Arya?" Someone called out. I spun around, finding my face inches away from another. Messy, brown hair fell over the boy's black eyes.
I jumped back. "Oh! H-hello, Riku-san." It wasn't like me to use formalities, since I never used them back home.
This boy was in my class. He was the kind of student who rarely talked and who sat in the back. I've only heard him speak once or twice, because we were partners for a quick class activity. He was very smart, actually. After that, we didn't talk much. I usually tried to greet him in the halls, but he'd simply wave back.
"Hi Arya." He grinned. He paused. "Your name's so pretty. I could say it all day if I could!" He sighed.
My jaw dropped and my eyebrows rose so high, they disappeared under my bangs. "Riku-san... What are you saying?" I asked. This is was so sudden.
"It's fine, I don't need formalities. Riku is fine." He smiled.
I nodded slowly. He seemed so different! I blushed a bright pink. "How's... Ku-kun?"
"Uh yeah!" His face flushed, "I don't mind if you want to use 'kun'! What ever you think is best, Arya-chan!"
"Just Arya, Ku-kun," I mumbled. My eyes dropped to the floor.
"Oh, right! Sorry, sorry."
"So, 'Ku-kun'," Arisa started, staring at him. She cracked her knuckles. "What did you come here for? 'Cause if you're going to bother our Arya -"
"Oh no," he said, "I just wanted to give her this." He passed me a card with chocolate taped to the front. It was simple, made out of striped pink and gold paper.
"Thank you," I said softly and popped the chocolate in my mouth. It was mint chocolate. I hate mint chocolate. I forced myself not to gag and quickly swallowed it, then read the card a loud.
"Happy Valentines Day." I looked up and saw Ku-kun watching me. He nodded his head, as if to tell me to continue.
"Remember that day when we were partners during class? I didn't know you that well before and I'm guessing you thought I was pretty shy. After that, you still managed to smile and say hi to me. I feel bad for not saying it back to you so... Hi. Happy Valentines.
-Riku"
It wasn't the best Valentines card, and it didn't even rhyme. But I thought it was sweet. I smiled warmly, "Hi, Ku-kun."
I saw a blush spread across his face. He stuck his hands in his pockets. "Who says guys can't give out valentines, yeah?"
"Thanks," I said. "I feel bad. I don't have anything for you -"
"That's totally okay! No worries. I'm just glad you accepted my card. See ya." He walked off, with a small smile on his face.
"I guess he was cute." Arisa shrugged.
"Yes, with normal electric waves, too," Saki added.
"But I don't trust him yet." Arisa shook her head.
"Wait a second!" Kyo snapped his head towards us. "Is today... Valentines?"
"No duh, Kyo," I said. "We all kind of talked about it for the last -"
"I'm going home!" he hollered. He paused. "Wait, home's dangerous too." He bit his lip.
I mumbled, "This boy's crazy."
"A journey! Yeah! I'll just... go some place far away where no one can find me!" He raced out the door.
I ran up to the window and waited. Yuki joined me. Finally, we saw Kyo outside of the school. He skidded to a stop, when he noticed a brown-haired girl standing by the gates.
Yuki and I said together, "Kagura found you, Kyo."
"I'm here for valentines, silly." Kagura smiled. "It's a very important day for lovers to be together."
"You're not gonna find any lover in this house," Kyo grumbled.
"It's so nice to see you again, Kagura," Mai said and rushed up to hug her. She asked, "So did you manage to give Kyo chocolate?"
"I tried to," Kagura replied, "but for some reason, he just won't take them. Watch." She pulled out a heart-shaped chocolate, inside a glass box that was tied with a crimson ribbon.
"It's beautiful!" Mai gasped.
Before Kagura ranted on about her love for Kyo, he cut in, and stood up. "Just keep it! What man in his right mind would eat that girly, sugary crap?"
"So, you don't even like the fact that you get free chocolate from admirers?" Mai raised an eyebrow.
"I hate chocolate!" he announced.
"Well, I heard Arya got one from a boy in your class. She's not a big fan of chocolate either, but she still accepted it." She giggled, snapping her fingers. "Yuki, what was his name, again?"
"Riku," Yuki replied softly, "Yamamoto, I believe."
I felt my face flush. "He's just a friend, nothing more!" I exclaimed.
"Is he good-looking?" Shigure asked.
What are you, a school girl? I wanted to shout. Shigure began to giggle with Mai. I ignored them and turned to the others.
"Hopefully, Kyo's the only one here who dislikes chocolate?" I asked, biting my lip, hiding the valentines I had behind my back.
"Miss Nadeshiko?" Yuki began, "I would love some chocolate."
"Okay!" I smiled and passed him one.
"Thank you very much," he said.
I gave one to Shigure too. "Here you go."
"Aw really, for me? Thank you." He beamed.
"And Kagura, I have one for you too," I said, facing her.
"Thank you!" Kagura grinned and hugged me tightly.
"I have some more for Momiji, Haru and Hatori," I added, placing them on the table.
"And I have some cards for you guys! I made them myself," Mai said and passed out the cards. They all thanked her.
"You girls are so sweet." Shigure sighed.
Yuki spoke up, "You two really didn't have to go through all that trouble."
"It's fine, we had fun!" Mai smiled. She turned to Kyo, who was facing the other way. She sang, "Kyo? I have one for you too-oo!" She waved the card in his face and she added in the same musical tone, "And Arya's got chocolate for you."
"Fine." Kyo grumbled and swiped the card out of her hands. "Thanks."
"So, you're going to accept the chocolate?" Mai questioned.
"I just gotta eat it right?" he mumbled, then took Kagura's chocolate. "So!" He shouted, "I'll eat it!" He took huge bites of the chocolate and forced it down his throat.
I sighed. "Okay. Happy Valentines."
"Hey Yuki! Kyo!" I called out. "I finally got them printed!"
"What?" Kyo asked, walking in. Yuki followed.
"The pictures I took during New Years!" I smiled. "Would you like to help me put them in a photo album?"
"I think Shigure would have one in his office. I'll go get one," Yuki said and left the room.
I went through the pictures. There were many of me with my sister. There was another, of Mai eating noodles. I laughed to myself. Then there were two photos with me beside Yuki. There was one with him smiling and me blushing a beet red. The other was one with Yuki staring at the board game and was oblivious at the fact that I was making a stupid face behind him, sticking out my tongue and pulling one eyelid down with my finger. I started to regret it and wished I didn't do that, but hey, they were memories. Then, there came one that caught my attention.
"Hey, Kyo!" I teased, waving a picture in his face, "Remember this one?"
He yelled, "When was this taken?"
"Mai had the camera with her! You should keep it," I said.
It was a picture of Kyo and I during the game Brain Teaser. I laughed softly. My hand was slammed against the red button from the game and I had a small smirk on my face. Kyo was in the middle of pulling his hair, his jaw wide open in surprise. Probably when I answered another riddle correctly.
"No way in hell am I keeping that picture!" he shouted.
"Harsh!" I winced dramatically. I smiled. "Come on, it's the only picture I have with you!"
"Whatever!" He pouted.
I threw it at his face. "Keep it! My extra valentines gift to you."
"That was a month ago!" he snapped.
"I don't care," I replied plainly.
He stuck the picture in his pocket. "Happy?" he asked coldly.
"Very." I smirked.
"Pencils down. Time's up everyone," the teacher called out. I smashed my pencil against my desk. Our final exams were finished. I passed him my exam, and let out a long sigh. It's done.
"So, how'd you do?" Yuki asked, walking up to me.
"I think I did well!" I smiled. "I answered a lot of questions and it wasn't as hard as I thought! Thanks for helping me study. I couldn't have done it without your help!"
He smiled back. "Oh, I don't know about that."
"Arya," Arisa walked up to me, "so, you did good, huh? I'm so proud of you." She patted the top of my head.
"See, Arya? I knew you could do it if you tried." Saki grinned.
"Thanks, you two!"
I was exhausted after work. It seemed so simple, just cleaning up a few rooms, but today, I knew I had to work harder. I still hadn't paid for last month's class field trip. I didn't tell anyone yet. I dragged my feet up to the door and before I even touched the door knob, it already opened for me.
Momiji peeked out the door. "Arya! You're home!"
"Momiji!" I exclaimed.
"I just got here too, come on! This way! This way!" He grabbed my hand and gave his widest smile. "Mai's already home too! It's my first time in Shigure's house. Isn't it exciting? Hello everyone!" He called out, waving his hand in the air.
"It's a trip to a hot spring!" Momiji informed us. "I call it, 'me-and-Nadeshiko-super-relaxing-hot-spring-steam-trip'!"
"That's a little wordy," Mai laughed, "and expensive."
"You don't have to worry about money, Mai!" Momiji said, "I've been saving up my allowance! It's my White Day present to you!"
"Thank you so much." Mai and I smiled.
"And guess what?" He exclaimed, "Kyo and Yuki are coming too!"
"Why don't you try asking before you start making plans for everyone?" Kyo snapped.
"Wow! You're a generous bunny, aren't you, Momiji?" Mai teased, pinching Momiji's cheek.
Momiji smiled and giggled, "Yup, yup!"
"Speaking of money..." Shigure began and faced me. "Arya, I hear you didn't pay last month's dues towards your class field trip fund. I got a call from your grandfather and he said he'd pay for you if you needed."
"What? No, don't let him!" I quickly replied, "It's just, I bought some things last month and I couldn't pay the money on time. It's okay though, I'll earn enough by the end of the month by my job. I already told the teacher everything. He understands."
"Arya," Mai began, "you should've told me. I could work with you and earn some money for you too."
"Sure, thanks, Mai," I said.
"So hey, you're going on a class trip, huh?" Momiji asked, leaning in.
"Oh, I don't know," I replied changing the subject.
"Wah-!" Kyo slammed his hands on the table in front of me.
"What, what?" I asked nervously, moving back.
"Water," he said through clenched teeth. "Hot bath. You go." He twitched, his knuckles turning white from tightening his fists.
"S-sure," I replied, giving him a confused look.
"Dibs on the bath first!" Mai sang and shoved me on the bed.
"Hey!" I called out, grabbing my towel and running up to the bathroom door. It slammed in my face. I heard the water start to run. Darn, she beat me to it. I guess I'll just have to wait until she's done.
"It's 'cause she was so damn happy about it! How could we know she was broke?" Kyo yelled from the room.
I secretly hid, and pressed my ear against the wall. I've noticed that I eavesdropped a lot lately.
"She could've been like Mai and just made homemade cards, saved her money to buy some clothes or something, but hey, she decided to spend it on chocolate! Talk about stupid!" He went on. I heard a small thump come from the room. It sounded like skin hitting something solid. It was Kyo's fist against the table.
Stupid? Are you calling me stupid? I wanted to walk in, but I stayed put.
Then, I heard Momiji's cute, little voice, telling the three the story of the Foolish Traveler.
"Are you guys excited? I can't believe we're actually going right now," I stated, rubbing my eyes. I was so thrilled, I barely got any sleep last night. And even worse, I was never a morning person.
"Yeah, I guess. But it's just a hot spring, it's nothing you gotta get so worked up about," Kyo grumbled.
"I haven't been at the hot spring in a long time," Yuki replied.
"Well, I'm excited, Arya! I am!" Momiji smiled, rocking back and forth on his seat. We all stared out the window, on our way to the hot spring.
"Miss Nadeshiko, you're not looking well," Yuki said.
I let out a yawn. "Naw, I just couldn't sleep! I'm so excited. Thanks for coming to keep me and Mai company."
"Arya, there's still a long way to go before we get there. Rest a bit! Wanna sleep on my shoulder?" Momiji smiled.
"I don't want you transforming, but thanks," I replied and rested my head on my hand. My eyes were heavy and moments later, I drifted off to sleep.
After we arrived and got startled by the crazy hot spring lady, we unpacked our things. Mai and I closed the door in our room. Mai began to unbutton her shirt.
"It's so pretty here!" she said. "I can't wait to just relax..."
We both turned away as we began to undress and get our towels. I wrapped my towel tightly over my bare body, making sure it was secure.
"Ta-da!" I sang and held out the picture of Kyoko, inside a plastic wrap. "There, we're all set." When we got outside, we already saw Momiji and Kyo in the spring.
"Hey, there! How's the water?" Mai called out, waving.
"It's great! Come join us, come join us!" Momiji beckoned.
"And be in a hot spring with three boys?" Mai laughed. "Tempting, but I'll have to pass, Momiji! I'll see you later."
Mai and I went to the other side. I lightly tapped the surface of the water with my toe, sending ripples around the pool. It was so warm. We slowly went into the water, feeling the warmth embrace us. I let out a long sigh and hung my head back.
"Hey, Arya! Mai!" Momiji yelled from the other side. "Let's sing a song!"
"The frogs in the pond are calling... Momiji, yes, it's true! Again, Mai! Again!" Momiji said behind the wooden walls.
Mai laughed and continued singing with Momiji. I joined in too after. Mai giggled as she sang. Suddenly, her head began to sway and she fell into the water. She didn't move.
"Mai!" I exclaimed and I pulled her out of the water. Her mouth spilled out water and she began to choke. "Gosh, Mai!" I hissed, then dragged her out of the water, wrapped her in a robe, and brought her to the hot spring lady.
"I'm sorry, world! I can't believe I allowed one of my guests to faint in our hot springs! It's all my fault! I-" Meshyou, the hostess, screamed, running in circles.
"No, no! It's fine!" I exclaimed to the hot spring lady, "We'll just let Mai rest here for a while. Thank you." I bowed to her. I walked out of the room, and saw Yuki and Kyo just leaving their room. They were also dressed in their robes. Kyo rolled up his sleeves.
"How's Mai?" Kyo asked.
"She got dizzy from the spring, but she'll be okay," I replied. "We'll just wait for her before we eat dinner."
"Sure." Yuki smiled. "Oh right, I have your White Day present." He pulled out a small present, wrapped in white paper with a red bow across it.
"Thanks, Yuki." I smiled and opened it.
It was a long piece of ribbon. It looked like liquid silver, as it danced and swayed when I unfolded it. I never did much with my hair, since it was already so short. I still tried my best to tie the ribbon around my head, then made a small bow at the side. I didn't like how the colour clashed with my hair dye, but I shrugged it off. The ribbon was beautiful, though.
"Looks nice on you, Miss Nadeshiko," Yuki said, pleased with my reaction. I thanked him again, then turned, seeing Mai enter the room. She leaned against the wall, with a tired look on her face.
"Mai, how are you feeling?" I asked, placing a hand on her forehead.
"I'm starving," she simply replied.
Dinner was quite interesting after meeting the head chef. We finished up our food and spent the next hour just relaxing. I sat down in my room and put my feet up on the small stool in front of me. I took a random book on the table next to me and skimmed through the pages.
There was a small knock on the door.
"I'm decent," I joked. "You can enter."
"Arya, what are you doing?" Momiji asked and sat on the floor beside me.
"Hi Momiji. I'm reading - sort of," I said and craned my neck forward and tilted my head so I could see him.
"I thought you were with Mai," he said. "She's in the hot spring again. We wouldn't want her fainting again."
"Oh, no, I believe she's with the hot spring lady," I replied, waving my hand.
"That's good," he said and stood up, then plopped himself on the arm of my chair. "Kyo and Yuki are playing ping-pong. When Mai's done, why don't we all play together? It'll be fun!"
"I'd love to." I grinned.
Kyo swung his paddle, hitting the ping-pong ball so hard, it flew past Yuki and made a dent in the wall.
"Out again." Yuki sighed.
"Shut up!" Kyo said and served once more.
"I'm getting bored!" Mai exclaimed, "All we're doing is watching Kyo serve. He's not even doing it properly!"
"Shut up!" Kyo growled and shot a glare at Mai. "Like you could do any better!"
Mai walked up to him and hissed at him, "Is that a challenge, carrot top?"
"What did you call me?"
"Carrot. Top." Mai smirked.
"I'm gonna beat the crap out of you in ping-pong, and when you lose, don't go crying to Arya," Kyo said through clenched teeth.
"Guys, you really need to get along!" I sighed, "How about we get some team play?"
"Yeah, Yuki and Arya on one team, and Mai and Kyo on the other!" Momiji exclaimed, pointing a finger in the air. "Oh! And I'll be the referee!"
Kyo and Mai pouted, and turned away from each other. "I'm not being on the same team as him." They said together, with the exception of Kyo saying "her".
"Seems fair to me," Yuki said. "Come on, it'll be fun."
"Arya! I will destroy you!" Mai snarled as she served.
I laughed, as I hit the ball back to her. "I'd like to see you try."
Who knew ping-pong could be this intense? We've played for about an hour already, and Yuki and I were winning. Kyo sent it back, hard enough to let it bounce, but also come fly at us with amazing speed. I barely missed it, but luckily, Yuki was able to help and save it. Momiji's head nodded side to side, as he watched the ball bounce back and forth on the table.
"Mine!" Mai said, as she swung her paddle.
"That's yours, Yuki!" I exclaimed. Yuki grunted as he returned the ball. Kyo let out a battle cry as he aimed the ball at Yuki's face.
"Got it!" I said, blocking the ball, then hitting it back. It was a light hit, though, and it slowly bounced back to our opponent's side.
Mai had a serious look on her face, as she readied her paddle, moving her arm back to swing. Then, as the ball approached her, she swung her arm, but to everyone's surprise, she missed!
She watched as the ball passed her, and hit the floor. She gasped, "I can't believe I missed it!"
I burst into laughter, "Yeah, nice one, Mai!"
"What the hell, Mai?" Kyo shouted, pulling his hair. "You suck!"
"Kyo!" Momiji interjected, "That's so mean!"
"Oh, I suck, huh?" Mai argued back, jabbing her finger at Kyo's chest.
Yuki placed a finger over his trembling lip, then quietly left the room to go outside.
"Hey, where did that damn rat go?" Kyo asked, turning his head.
"He probably left to get some fresh air." I shrugged.
"Kyo, how about I face you?" Momiji suggested, "I never got to play yet!"
"Fine then," Kyo said, accepting.
"Arya, could you referee for us?" Momiji asked nicely.
Mai was already heading out to find Yuki. I gave him a small smile. "Later, I promise." They both nodded, then I followed and caught up with Mai.
"There he is," Mai said, pointing at the dark figure. As we got closer, she called out, "Yuki what's wrong?"
His back was turned, his shoulders were hunched and were slightly twitching. A muffled laugh escaped him. "Funny," he murmured. "That was funny."
Mai giggled, "What, me?"
"Oh, that was hilarious, Mai. The way you swung and missed." He laughed a bit more, then let out a long sigh. "That was a good laugh."
"Well, I'm glad you're happy!" Mai replied, smiling.
"Mai," he turned to face us, "I never gave you your White Day present yet." He passed her a present similar to mine, wrapped in white and a red bow.
"Thank you!" Mai said and opened it. She had the same ribbon as mine, but in pink. A soft, pastel pink.
"When I saw this, the first thing I thought of was you," he said, then looked at me. "Same goes for yours, Arya."
"Thanks," Mai and I said together.
"Arya!" Momiji sang, "It's 'later'! Come referee!"
I sighed, then told the two, "I can't keep them waiting. See you."
They both nodded. Before I completely left the room, I got a glimpse of Yuki pressing his lips against Mai's ribbon. "I'm just joking," I heard him say. Mai laughed along with him.
Hours passed and everyone went back to their rooms. I was peacefully sitting on my bed, and was interrupted by the sound of giggling.
"Make some room!" Mai exclaimed, as she entered our room, linking arms with Momiji.
I let out a loud, "Holy crap!" I just dodged a body slam from Mai, as I rolled off the bed and onto the floor. Momiji and Mai landed, bursting into laughter.
"You guys are mad." I sighed to myself. "Where were you guys?"
"Mai and I decided to explore beyond the springs!" Momiji grinned, standing on the bed.
My eyes widened and I pleaded, "Momiji, don't jump on the bed! You might hurt yourse-"
"Yeah, but we almost got lost!" Mai laughed. She played along, standing up too.
"Oh, but I saved us! Mai was like the princess... and I'll be her prince!" he commented, his eyes shining with excitement.
"Listen, if you keep this up, you'll hurt yourselves!" I scolded them.
"Lighten up, Arya!" Momiji said and planted a light kiss on my cheek.
I turned a beet red. "What?"
"I finally convinced Mai to play with me! We fought imaginary monsters -" Momiji said.
"And Momiji was the brave knight!" Mai added. "I forgot how fun it was to play 'pretend'."
"Stop acting like kids." I laughed. We all let out a long sigh and fell back on the bed. I rolled onto my side, so I was facing Momiji. "Shouldn't you be in your room?"
"Naw-aw." Momiji shook his head, then grabbed a pillow. He pressed it against his chest, and buried his face into it. "I'm sleeping with you two tonight!"
The next day came and we were all waiting for the bus to arrive and take us back home.
"So, did we all have a relaxing trip?" Mai asked all of us. She was wearing Yuki's ribbons in her hair. She sort of looked like Tohru.
I had mine tied around my wrist. "Yes, we did." I turned to Momiji. "Thanks, Momiji."
"Anything for you two!" he said.
"But hey, Momiji," Mai said, "we won't be seeing you in a while after this. School's coming up. Are you starting your first year in middle school?"
"Nope!" he replied, smiling. "This spring will be my first year in high school! And as it turns out, I'll be going to the same high school as you! That's right! Me and Haru both!"
Mai began to question his age, then burst into surprised screams. "You're the same age?"
Kyo stepped in, shoving a fist in Momiji's face, while Yuki had to explain everything to us. Kyo snapped, "Why didn't you tell us you and Haru were going to the same high school?"
In the middle of the chaos, I just slapped my forehead. Aaaand, that's the end of our relaxing hot spring trip.
