Fruits Basket Fan Fiction ❯ The Other Side of Fruits Basket ❯ Sohmas and Hondas ( Chapter 3 )

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I could feel the words stabbing my heart. No way, I thought as I couldn’t believe it. I couldn’t even believe why I was even feeling the way I did. She has a fiancé, no big deal is what I told myself, but deep down I could hear the words echoing inside my head.

“No, Tohru’s mine!”
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Kyo began to stand up from the sofa. His fists were clenched as he got ready to strike Falcon down . To the cat’s dismay, Yuki and Haru held him down tightly. They didn’t want any damage in a house that wasn’t Shigure’s. Falcon couldn’t help but smirk at the sight of the orange head. To cause him to almost lose it, Falcon pulled Tohru closer to himself. The dumbfounded girl couldn’t help but blush a little. The attempt to make Kyo jealous was a success. Kyo roared and tried to get the two boys off him. Before anything could happen; however, Ryoko quickly bonked Falcon and Kyo on top of their heads.

“WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING?!” she shouted, her voice angry and sharp. Ryoko pulled Tohru away from Falcon. Her index finger was held high and she began waving it in front of Tohru’s face. “Now listen up, Tohru. Don’t stand next to him, you may get pregnant.”

Falcon stole a glance at Ryoko and made a disgusted face. “Hey,” he said rudely, “I can hear you.” He turned back his attention towards the three boys in front of him. He gave a smirk and pointed to himself. “Let me reintroduce myself. I am Takahashi Falcon and the same age as you boys. I’m a gold medal in the kendo competition and an ace student. However, I also attract gang members causing me to get into a lot of fights. This reputation has given me the name ‘Pretty Boy Delinquent.’” he introduced.

Ryoko rolled her eyes. “More like ‘ladies’ man’ or ‘pimp.’” A glare was immediately shot back towards her.

“Sorry to disappoint you, orange face,” Falcon began, “but Tohru isn’t really my fiancé. I just wanted to see your face.” A chuckled escaped from his lips. Kyo and Yuki couldn’t help themselves but clench their fists tightly. The only thought that processed through their brains was “This guy.”

Tohru quickly clasped her hands together, looking like she achieved something. “I remember now. You are Falcon-nii, right?” she asked. The whole room was completely thrown off. All this time, Tohru was trying to figure out who the person who was holding her so tightly was. Kyo turned his head away so that Tohru didn’t see his crying face. “You mean she didn’t hear anything of what we said?” he thought to himself, a bit disappointed.

Haruka finally stood up from the sofa and began pushing everyone outside towards the back yard. She began saying things such as “It’s getting hot and stinky in here” and “The living room can only hold so many people.” She turned towards Ryoko, Yuki, Kyo, Falcon and Tohru. “Boys, run towards the shed and get the tables and chairs ready. You two girls get all the utensils set up,” she ordered, already shooing the high school seniors.
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“For a minute there, Takahashi-san got me thinking that he really WAS Tohru-kun’s fiancé,” Haru said as he watched Hiro and Kisa play with Michiru’s daughters.

“No~ Tohru belongs to Kyo and only Kyo!” Momiji retorted, disagreeing with the whole idea of Falcon and Tohru being together. Of course, Ayame was blurting out some nonsense about MAN’S ROMANCE that none of the adults could understand.

“Sohma, huh?” mumbled Chiharu. Finally, just like how a light bulb would always go ding, Chiharu realized why that surname sounded so familiar. “Now I got it! You were that one trio in Kaibara High School! The… Mabu… Mabu… whatever trio,” she exclaimed, quite proud of herself.

“Now that you mention it, Onee-sama, they do seem awfully familiar,” Haruka said, glancing at Ayame and Shigure, “Especially you, Ayame-san.”

It was Ayame’s turn to light up. “Eh… now I remember… Chiharu-san was my fashion club rival in my third year of high school!” he shouted, pointing towards the blonde fashion designer. He began writhing in pain, messing up his neatly brushed hair. “Oh what painful high school memories.”

“Then that means… oh my goodness! You guys were the ‘Queens’ of Kaibara High,” gasped Shigure, shocked himself.

“WHAT THE FUCK?!”
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I heard the adults cursing to themselves as if they remembered a horrible past together. I shrugged it off, concentrating back to my work. After a while, I finished setting the plates down only to be greeted by a swift gust of wind. It seemed like Falcon and Kyo-kun were competing on who would be able to put down the most chairs the fastest. “Please be careful you two…” I urged, mostly worried about the poor chairs that were being thrown onto the ground. Yuki had to go over towards the fallen chairs to set them back up again.

Falcon turned his attention towards me. A chuckle escaped his panting mouth. “You should be telling that to butterfingers over here!” he shouted as Kyo-kun dropped the chair he had a hold on.

“ME? BUTTERFINGERS?!” Kyo shouted aloud, “Look who’s talking!”

I continued to watch the two of them bickering. They threw down their chairs and started to make their way towards each other. If it weren’t for Ryoko interfering and putting their minds back to their work, the two would have been fighting. “Kyo-kun… Falcon-nii…” I mumbled, a bit worried.
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“I’m glad everyone is getting along so nicely!” Michiru exclaimed happily as the children reported all of their activities towards their mother. Because Michiru was so captivated by the children’s reports and Kisa’s sheepish look, the mother didn’t notice the expressions being tossed back and forth by Kyo and Falcon and the anguish looks her sisters and the older men were sharing.

“Now I hope my cooking satisfies everyone’s hunger. It’s been such a long time since I’ve cooked and I hope Ryoko explained why,” Michiru said as she set the table with a pot of curry and yakisoba. The delicious aroma lifted everyone’s spirits and the whole table was talking again. “I see everyone has met Falcon-kun. That’s good,” Michiru commented, “Falcon-kun, do you still remember Tohru-kun?”

Falcon nodded his head, he had a sly smirk on his face and wrapped his arms around Tohru’s shoulders. Tohru was taken by surprised and dropped her chopsticks. “Geh?! Fa…Falcon-kun?”

Falcon smiled and placed his index finger on Tohru’s lips. “Shhh. Why don’t you eat Tohru, it’d be a shame if your wonderful body were to lack nutrition,” he said as he picked up piece of beef with his chopsticks and popped it into her mouth. This movement caused chills down Kyo’s spine, but they weren’t happy chills. The cat quickly rose up from his seat and the two boys were now engaged in a glaring contest.

Haruka pried the two away from each other, giving them both death glares that even themselves couldn’t match. Chiharu set her cup of coffee down as she glanced around at everyone. She inhaled silently and gave a smile to Michiru. “Say, Michiru, did you know that Ayame and Shigure here were our pals from high school?” she asked. In an instance, words such as “EH?!” and “NO WAY!” came popping up. Michiru was surprised as well. “Really? I haven’t noticed,” she said bluntly. Shigure could feel himself sinking into a void.

“Ah, yes, Michiru-san,” Ayame said, nodding his head, “I didn’t notice as well until Haruka-kouhai reminded me.”

Haruka gave him another one of her glares. “Don’t call me your ‘kouhai.’”

“Wow, I didn’t know Shii-chan and Aya-chan knew Michiru, Haruka and Chiharu-san and they went to the same school, too,” Momiji exclaimed in awe.

“That’s right and not just any school, it was your very own Kaibara High School that we were best buds at!” Chiharu and Ayame exclaimed happily, putting their arm around each others shoulders. Yuki grimaced, along with Kyo, Ryoko and Falcon, the same thought processing through their minds: “Great, they’re gonna talk about their childhood.”

Propping up her hands up with her elbows, Chiharu placed her chin on the supporting back of her hands. “Well you see, it was when Michiru had entered her first year of high school. Haruka was in her third year of middle school and I was in my second year of high school. Your uncles, Shigure, Ayame and Hatori were in their third year of high school. They were considered in Kaibara High School as the Mabudachi Trio or the “Kings” of Kaibara High. But anyways, back to us three beautiful sisters. Haruka was popular even in Kaibara High because of her being related to Michiru and I. Because of our social status and our dazzlingly good looks, we were branded as the “Queens” of Kaibara High - even though Haruka technically didn’t go to the high school, yet.” Stopping for a second to sip a fresh drink from her cup, Chiharu continued, “But it wasn’t because we were branded as kings and queens that fate led us to each other. You see, Michiru was one of the best violinists the school had and she was staying late at school so she could rehearse for the big concert the following day…”
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10 years ago in Kaibara High School…

Hatori looked up from his book. He was waiting for Ayame to finish a student council meeting he had going on and it seemed to be taking forever; however, that wasn’t why he looked up. A beautiful melodic tune captivated him. It was a song of a violin. He set his book down and , unbeknownst to him, walked carefully towards the music room. He looked through the window to see a girl with long blonde hair. Her skin was as white as an angel’s and her blonde curls were hiding behind a hair clip. Her delicate fingers strummed through the violin’s hairs as she used her free hand to gently make the most melodic tune Hatori had ever heard of. He was deeply captivated by it.

“HATORI!” cried a familiar voice. The beautiful scene painted before him suddenly had stopped and Hatori swiveled his head out of the window. He could feel his face burning up. He looked to the right of him to see Ayame carrying two bags, the other one probably his own. “There you are, Hatori. When I got back from the classroom I didn’t see you, I got very worried,” Ayame scolded. Noticing the look on his friend’s face, Ayame raised an eyebrow. The cool, aloof Hatori seemed rather nervous, an expression Ayame had never seen in his entire life. “What’s wrong, Hatori?”

Before Hatori could answer to his friend, the door slid open to reveal the angel Hatori had watched. She stood a few inches shorter than them and her hair’s blonde curls were free from the hair clip that imprisoned them. Hatori was definitely captivated by her sparkling, blue eyes. “I thought I heard voices,” she said in a very timid voice.

Ayame scratched the back of his head. “I’m terribly sorry if this brute ruined your practice for you, Kouhai,” he said.

Hatori glared at Ayame, causing Ayame to apologize to his precious friend. The two of them could hear giggling as they were fighting with each other. They looked towards the girl, a dumbfounded expression on their faces. “No, no. I was actually very glad that someone was listening,” she said, “it made me feel that my music really was beautiful.”

Hatori couldn’t help but smile softly. Her voice seemed so frail, SHE seemed so frail. He patted her head softly. “Yes, the music you made was very beautiful.”

Thanks to Ayame being there, it didn’t take long for the three of them to be acquainted with each other. Hatori was introduced as the “President of the Student Council’s bodyguard” and “Ayame was introduced as the President of the Student Council.” Nevertheless, Michiru called them both senpai.

It was at the next day that the two sisters and Shigure were introduced to each other after the big concert. “Onee-sama, this is Hatori-senpai and Ayame-senpai,” Michiru introduced as they faced each other. Haruka, who was taller than both of her sisters by an inch, had a protective look in her eyes and she pulled Michiru closer to her. “Did they do anything bad to you, Michiru?” she asked.

Michiru shot a disarming smile at her younger sister. “Don’t worry, we only met yesterday when I was rehearsing after school.”

“That’s worst, Michiru!” Chiharu retorted, “After school is the hour for men to act like beasts. Who knows what they could have done to you!”

“Onee-sama! Don’t talk so rudely about our senpais!”

A cough stopped the girls from arguing and they turned to see a rather irritated Hatori. They stood still and Hatori didn’t waste anytime introducing Shigure. The conversation rolled on and on and all six of them shared a moment that seemed to have lasted forever.

Five weeks later…

“I’m sorry, Senpai, but I like someone else.”

It was the fifth time someone had confessed to Michiru and turning them down one by one left Michiru feeling guilty. “What if they decide to commit suicide, Onee-sama?” Michiru asked Chiharu as they walked towards a lunch area. Michiru had just finished discussing about her fifth confession and already Chiharu was ready to snap that boy in half.

“Don’t worry. It’d do the world good if a vulgar being like him were to die. I mean, seriously I will only accept a high-class prince to whisk my little sister away!” Chiharu explained, shouting off her expectations to whoever was listening. “Besides, Michiru, what do you say to the boys you turn down?”

“I like someone else,” Michiru said, bluntly.

It took Chiharu ten seconds to explode like a volcano. “WHO WHO WHO?! Gasp, don’t tell me you like HATORI!”

“Now, what about Hatori?” came a familiar voice.

Behind the girls stood Hatori and Shigure. “Senpai!” Michiru exclaimed, happily smiling at the two. “Did you two hear anything we said?” Chiharu asked, rather suspiciously.

“Not at all, Chiharu! We only heard Hatori’s name, didn’t we Hatori?” Shigure said, turning his head towards the friend beside him.

“Where’s Ayame-senpai?” asked Michiru as she took a seat besides Hatori.

“He’s busy with student council work. He was begging me to come over and help him, but I declined the offer,” Hatori replied, he also wanted to say ‘because you were going to be there waiting for me,’ but he knew he’d feel rather embarrassed if Shigure was cracking up loudly and Chiharu would not hesitate to shonk his eyes out with her chopsticks.

“So, another boy confessed to Michiru today,” blurted out Chiharu.

“Again? Man, what number is this one?” asked Shigure.

“The fifth one.”

“Hey, Onee-sama, that’s so embarrassing. Don’t talk about this in front of Shigure and Hatori-senpai!” retorted Michiru.

Hatori suddenly had a sullen look on his face as the conversation carried over. He was scared that someone would snatch Michiru away from him. He was scared, but he couldn’t get the courage he needed to confess to Michiru. Besides, everyone did branded him as the “boyfriend who didn’t confess.”

Two months before Christmas…

Shigure knocked Hatori down on the floor. “Shigure, what is the meaning of this?” asked Ayame, scared that his friends close to him were fighting.

“Coward! A coward like you doesn’t deserve Michiru!” Shigure shouted, his fists and jaw were tightly clenched. Those words struck at Hatori’s heart. He was a coward. He was. He watched as Shigure lowered his head, turning his back towards Ayame and Shigure. “I’m going to confess to her. I don’t care what happens. I like Michiru a lot, also.”

“Michiru.”

Michiru swiveled her head to see one of her classmates calling to her. “Yes?” she asked politely.

“One of our Sohma-senpai wants to talk to you.”

“Okay, then. Thank you.” Michiru walked towards the area her classmate pointed at. There she saw Shigure standing patiently against the wall. He was looking around, trying to calm a certain uneasiness he was feeling and that uneasiness quickly rose as soon as he saw Michiru. “Hello, Shigure-senpai,” she greeted casually.

“Um, Michiru, can we go talk behind the school. It won’t take too long, I promise,” Shigure said. He was very glad that Michiru agreed. The walk was silent and Michiru was curious on what Shigure wanted to talk about. His face was very flushed as Michiru looked up to see him. “The truth is Michiru… I…”

“I’m sorry, Senpai,” Michiru interrupted, now realizing what this was about.

The cool wind pass through the two people. Michiru could feel the unshed tears in Shigure’s eyes and she closed her eyes tightly. Her hands were now clasped together, regretting the words she had said. “What…? What are you talking about?” he asked, sadness in his tone of voice.

“I’m sorry… Senpai, but I’m in love with someone else. I can’t say who, but… it’s not you,” she replied. She heard Shigure’s knees dropping to the ground. She wish she could take back the words she had just said, but it was the truth. She bowed down. Her eyes still shut tightly. She didn’t want the tears to escape. “I’m sorry… I’m so sorry, Senpai…” Without hesitation, Michiru took off, her blonde curls floating with the cold wind as if laughing at Shigure.

“I’m sorry.”