Fruits Basket Fan Fiction ❯ Jelly Buns For Ritsu ❯ Jelly Buns For Ritsu ( One-Shot )

Again, another one-shot. Sorry, I just couldn't help it; I was watching Furuba for, like, the 1,000th time, and I thought-`Hmm, not many people do cute little one-shots for Rii-chan-san.'-and here I am! And, I mean, come on! Even Akito has more then my monkey, and Kureno just one page more of fics! I just had to supply one more for Rii-chan! Anyway, working on my other fics, so don't worry and yeah. Disclaimers!

 

Shigure: Ro-chan doesn't own the characters of Fruits Basket. Although…it would be amusing if she did. *snickers*

 

Kyo: What the hell is that supposed to mean?! Huh?!

 

Shigure: Oh, nothing. Nothing at all.

 

Ro: Kyonkichi would be mine and Yun-yun would be the one cross-dressing! *cheers*

 

Kyo: O___O

 

Shigure: Yes, like I said: amusing.

 

Enjoy, su!

 

 

 

 

Jelly Buns for Ritsu

 

 

 

13 years ago…

 

 

“Class, this our new student Sohma Ritsu-kun,” the teacher said, looking down at a girl with short-ish honey colored hair and darker matching eyes as she gazed down at the ground uneasily. “Um, please make him feel at home.” She added, adding emphasis to the `boy's' gender.

 

The class looked curiously at the eight-year-old, wondering why a supposed boy would wear girl's clothing to his first day of school. Finding that they couldn't understand it, they began to whisper cruel things to each other about the new boy.

 

“Why would he wear a dress if he was a boy?”

 

“I don't know, maybe he thinks he's a girl.”

 

“Nah, it'd be way too obvious if he tried to use the bathroom.”

 

At that comment, all the children in the room began sniggering. The teacher glared at them to stop, but that was all she could do and she looked back down at the poor boy hiding behind her skirt (although not close enough to touch her) with sympathy, despite not understanding herself.

 

“I-I'm sorry,” the little boy mumbled, looking down even more. “I-I'll try to dress like a-a boy more.”

 

The teacher smiled at him. “Not at all, you're unique, and that's all that matters. Now, why don't you take your seat now? Mako-chan, would you please raise your hand for Sohma-kun to see you?” She called to a girl in the back who wasn't paying any attention to the front. The girl raised a lazy hand so that she was seen, but kept her attention firmly on what she was doing. “Sohma-kun, you may sit down now.”

 

The boy gave a shaky nod and stepped out from the protection of the woman's skirt to take the `Walk of Shame', as he would forever call it, to his desk in the far back.

 

Once he had taken his seat, he kept his gaze down and did his best not too hear the scathing comments directed at him while the teacher lectured or the curious look of the girl next to him.

 

`I wish I didn't exist,' he thought with tears in his eyes.

 

 

*

 

 

“Hey, stop messing with Rii-chan!” Kagura yelled as she chased off the older boys picking on Ritsu.

 

“Shit, it's Kagura.” One of the boys cursed as he let go of Ritsu's dress and turned to run from the younger girl.

 

“How the hell does a girl two years younger than us have the power to beat us up?” another asked as they made a mad dash for safety.

 

“That's right, you better run,” the boar yelled as she shook her tiny fist at the fleeing boys. Suddenly, she turned her attention to the crumpled monkey and helped him up. “Rii-chan, why do you let those boys pick on you? I'm tired of saving you all the time,” she whined, placing her tiny hands on hips.

 

Ritsu sniffled, not meeting her eyes. “I-I'm sorry. I don't mean to cause you any trouble,” he said quietly.

 

Kagura rolled her eyes at him. “That's what you say all the time. Just try to stand up for yourself more, and maybe dressing like a girl less might help. Your Kaa-san and Tou-san might get less worried if you do.”

 

“S-sorry,” he mumbled again. “I'll try.”

 

“Okay then, as long as you try,” she said, not believing him, as she turned to run off. “Now try to run into those boys again, `cause I'm not saving you twice in one day. Later!”

 

Ritsu didn't wave back at her as she ran off to play, just kept looking down. `I wish I wasn't born.'

 

 

*

 

 

“Where are your girl clothes, huh?” one of the boys taunted as he pushed Ritsu to the ground. “I thought you liked wearing dresses, huh?”

 

“I-I'm sorry, I'll wear them again if you want,” the monkey said, trying to get up again. He was stopped by a punch to the mouth and fell to the ground again.

 

“God, what a wimp! How can you say that and call yourself a guy?” the second boy said, looking at Ritsu with disgust.

 

The third boy spat on him, laughing meanly as the brown haired boy started to cry silently. “Yeah, you're disgusting!” he taunted, getting ready to hit him also.

 

Ritsu closed his eyes, expecting the blow to hit, but was surprised to hear a cry of pain that wasn't his own. Curious, he opened his eyes to see the boy who was getting ready to hit his clutching the back of his neck as the other two look around wildly in fear.

 

“Ow,” the leader cried as what looked like a marble pelted him hard in the forehead. “What was that?!”

 

“I don't know—ow!” the second boy cried as another marble flew at them and hit him in the eye. A few more marbles flew at them, hitting the bullies of course, and they had enough. “C'mon, let's just get out of here and finish with him later!”

 

The other two agreed and ran after their comrade, getting hit in the butt by a few more marbles as they ran.

 

“What…was that…?” Ritsu asked no one as he sat on the ground dumfounded, unaware of the bloody, fat lip he'd been given by the bullies.

 

“`That' was my Super Marble Sling-Shot Attack,” a voice behind him said, some rustling coming from the tree behind him. Ritsu turned just in time to see girl around his age jump down from the tree branch holding the object that had been his savior. So that had been the one to save him from being beaten… “Oh no, I left my sketch book in the tree!” she said with wide eyes as she looked back up at the branch she'd come.

 

“U-um, let me get it,” Ritsu offered shyly to the girl as he climbed the tree before she could decline. There was some shuffling on his part before he fell from the tree clutching what apparently was the girl's sketchbook. “O-ow.”

 

“Oh, are you all right?” she asked, rushing over to him to make sure he hadn't hurt himself.

 

“Y-yes, I'm f-fine,” he winced, sitting up shakily. “U-um, your sketchbook, I, um, got it for you,” he added awkwardly, handing her the book.

 

“Thank you. I save you, and you save my book,” she said, smiling at him as she looked over her book to make sure it was alright, and Ritsu looked down in embarrassment. Her eye twitched slightly all of a sudden. “Although, I would have liked it to be unharmed when you rescued it,” she added darkly.

 

“Ah, s-sorry! I didn't mean to ruin it when I fell, please forgive me for doing that, especially after you rescued me and—” Ritsu stopped his freak-out when he heard the girl giggling at him. “U-um, why are you laughing at me?”

 

The girl let out another giggle before looking at him with bright eyes. “I'm sorry, I was kidding. I didn't know you would bug out like that,” she said, smiling warmly at him. “You're Sohma Ritsu-chan, right? I'm Tsubasa Shiori, but you can call me Shii-chan.”

 

With that, she offered her free hand to Ritsu, her sling-shot tucked safely away in her back pocket.

 

Ritsu took it unsurely, his face slightly red; well, as long as she didn't try to hug him. “It's n-nice to meet you Tsubasa-san,” he said quietly, letting go of her hand suddenly. “Um, thank you for saving me, I'm sorry to put you through so much trouble.”

 

“I told you, call me Shii-chan!” she said, frowning at how polite he was. “And it was no trouble; those guys have been picking on everyone, you were just the last straw.”

 

`Oh, so that's the reason,' he thought, disappointed. He was about to apologize again, but just about jumped back in shock when a soft piece of fabric came in contact with his throbbing lip. “Wha-wha-wha—”

 

“Hold still, I'm trying to get the blood off Rii-chan,” she said in annoyance, gently wiping the blood off his swelling lip. As soon as it was done, she turned her attention to his face and began to wipe off the dirt he didn't know was there. “There, now you look just as cute as you did before those jerks beat you up. Don't you think so?”

 

 

Ritsu said nothing as he stared at the strange girl who had rescued him. Why was she being so kind to a worthless person like him? He wasn't even worthy enough to be cursed by the monkey in the Chinese Zodiac, much less to be worthy enough of a stranger's kindness. As he thought these things about himself, his honey-colored eyes began to water over with tears, and he started crying, alarming Shiori greatly.

 

“U-um, Rii-chan? I'm sorry, did I hurt you? I didn't mean to—”

 

“Why?” he asked, interrupting her.

 

Shiori blinked. “H-huh?”

 

“Why are you being nice to me? I'm completely worthless, and I dress like a girl all the time too. Why would you be so nice to someone who can't even stand up for themselves when they need too?” he cried, tears spilling down his pale, eight-year-old cheeks. He would have continued, but a small hand on his cheek stopped him from doing so.

 

There was a bit of an awkward silence between them, for Ritsu anyway.

 

“Because I like you,” she said, shocking him. When it looked like he wasn't going to say any more, Shiori grinned and handed him the handkerchief she'd used to wipe the blood and dirt from his face. “Here, you can have that as my thanks for saving my sketchbook from that evil tree. Looks like you need it more than I do.”

 

“But—”

 

“Shiori-chan, where are you sweetheart?” a woman's voice called out, grabbing the girl's attention.

 

“I'm coming, Kaa-san,” she yelled back before looking back at Ritsu. “I'll see you at school Rii-chan. Bye.”

 

With that said, Shiori ran off to meet the owner of the voice that had summoned her, leaving a confused Ritsu holding a dirty handkerchief. Slowly, he regained himself and brought it up to wipe away the tears still on his face.

 

“Thank you,” he said to her disappearing figure.

 

 

 

The next day…

 

 

Ritsu sat quietly at his desk, waiting for class to start and for the teacher to stop the other kids from making fun of him. He was still looking at the handkerchief that strange girl, Shiori, had given him when the bell rang and everyone began to shuffle to their seats, throwing a few paper balls at his head as they went. He was wearing a dress again, but more out of nervousness at seeing her again than fear of the bullies. And just when would he see her again? With as big as this school was, it was unlikely it would ever be again. Which saddened him somewhat, yet left him a little relieved as well. It would be best if they didn't run into each other again.

 

“Sohma Ritsu-san, right?” a girl's voice asked him, startling him from his thoughts. He looked up, expecting to see his savior again, despite the voice being deeper than hers, only to find the girl who sat next to him during class. He was sort of relieved. “I'm Tsubasa Makoto, my younger sister, Tsubasa Shiori, asked me to give this to you,” she said, holding out a piece of paper for him.

 

Ritsu gulped, but took the paper from the scary looking girl any way, his stomach dropping at the mention of the now apparent sister of hers. “U-um, thank you. I'm sorry to have troubled you for bringing it to me,” he mumbled loud enough for her to hear.

 

Makoto raised an eyebrow. “No trouble. My sister just wanted to give you a drawing of hers. Now look at it, I'm going to sit down.”

 

Ritsu nodded as the scary girl took her seat next to him, eyeing him so that he'd look at the aforementioned drawing on the paper. Taking the hint, he nervously turned it over to see what was on it.

 

He blinked when he saw a cute drawing of him holding hands with the girl who'd helped him yesterday, although he was dressed like a girl. It was actually very good, considering it had been drawn by a 2nd grader, and the detail wasn't too bad either. The drawing-Shiori was grinning up at him while the drawing-him was looking down at the ground, looking strangely like he didn't want to be there. It was almost like a photograph.

 

“Read the note on the back,” Makoto hissed at him, making sure the teacher didn't hear her while she was lecturing.

 

He gave a shaky nod and turned it over to read.

 

Dear Rii-chan,

 

I hope my nee-san has given this to you; she likes to be mean to me sometimes. Anyways, I hope you're feeling better, if not, I snuck one of my mom's jelly buns into your desk while my nee-san and were talking in your classroom this morning. I know she probably knows I did, so she may try to steal it from you, but don't let her. I gave it just to you, so eat it quick!

 

Your friend,

Shiori

 

P.S. Call me Shii-chan!

 

 

Ritsu smiled down at the letter and quickly put the drawing away, checking to make sure there was indeed a jelly bun in his desk. Upon finding it, a warm feeling entered his stomach.

 

`Thank you Tsubasa-chan,' he thought, closing his desk and turning his attention to the teacher.

 

Makoto watched him smile, and smiled herself. Her younger sister always did like to make people feel better…

 

`I hope they become friends,' she thought.

 

 

 

*

 

 

Three years later…

 

“Yay, Rii-chan you graduated!” Kagura cried, giving her timid cousin a hug to show she was happy.

 

“Yes, it's quite a surprise considering I thought you'd want to be home-schooled instead after your first day,” Shigure said, patting the monkey on the head.

 

Hatori whacked his now college bound friend in the head. “Tact, Shigure,” he hissed.

 

Ritsu blushed, his honey-brown hair, now long enough to touch his shoulders, hanging in his face. “I-I'm sorry, maybe I should start home-schooling anyways. I'm just not cut out for public school,” he muttered, though everyone heard.

 

“Rii-chan, don't say that! You were brave to stay here as long as you did!” Kagura cried while Shigure and Hatori exchanged looks. “You have to go to junior high, you can't back down now!”

 

“No, I think it might be a good idea for him to go into home-schooling,” Hatori said, his cool voice easing into the conversation. “It might give him some time to get used to himself.”

 

“But Hatori-san—!”

 

“No, no, Kagura. Ha'ri is right; Rii-chan just isn't cut out for public schooling. You saw how badly he was bullied while going here because of his cross-dressing,” Shigure interrupted.

 

Ritsu looked down even more. “I'm sorry I'm such a burden,” he said.

 

“Ah-now Rii-chan, that's not what we—”

 

“Ritsu-sa~an!” a voice called out to him as a girl ran up to him. It was Makoto. “Ritsu-san, there you are! I was looking all over for you.”

 

“I'm sorry; I didn't mean to make you—”

 

“Oh stop with the `I'm sorry' 's, I'm only here to give some thing from Shii-chan anyways,” she said, pulling out what was obviously a drawing from her bag; this one, however, appeared to have been colored with colored pencils unlike the one that had been given to him two years ago, which had been colored with messy crayons. Makoto gave it to him, and he ran his fingers over the smooth colors. “There's a letter on the back of that one too.”

 

Ritsu nodded and began reading, Shigure and Kagura looking over his shoulder curiously while Hatori just raised an eyebrow at the frowning girl.

 

 

Dear Rii-chan,

 

Congratulations on graduating! I hope you do well at Junior High next year, so please be brave till I get there. Mako-chan is going to a different school than you, so you won't see her for a while. Oh yeah, I gave Mako-chan a jelly bun to give to you, so make sure she doesn't eat it. Wait for me, I'll get there as fast as I can with my sling-shot.

 

Your friend,

Shiori

 

P.S. What have I told you about calling me Shii-chan?

 

 

Ritsu smiled down at the letter, surprising everyone there since he didn't do it often. Shigure gave him a sly smile, already interpreting what the letter meant to the little monkey, and Hatori was just as curious as before; Kagura was disinterested now. She'd already heard the whole story from Ritsu.

 

“Shii-chan is such a brat, there's no way I'd eat someone else's gift,” Makoto complained, thrusting the steaming, wrapped jelly bun in Ritsu's face. “Here, and don't say sorry again. It was my pleasure.”

 

“Thank you Makoto-san,” he said doubtfully, taking the bun from her so she could leave. She nodded, turned, and left the four Sohma's to their devices.

 

“Ooh, let me see what your sweet heart has drawn for you!” Shigure cried, snatching the picture from Ritsu before he could protest. Hatori and Kagura crowded in to see as well, much to the monkey's horror. The dog blinked in surprise. “My, this is good for a 6th grader. Is she your girlfriend Rii-chan?” He asked.

 

Ritsu turned red and shook his head quickly while attempting to grab it without ripping it. “No, Shiori-san isn't my girlfriend!”

 

Shigure blinked at him again, allowing Ritsu to take his present back; the picture had been another drawing of them holding hands, but this time Ritsu had been wearing boy's clothes and he'd been looking up at them nervously while the drawing-Shiori was standing closer to him, but still grinning like in the one from two years ago. “Shiori? I thought you just called her Makoto. Are you dating two girls without Akito or us knowing?” the dog teased, causing Ritsu to turn redder.

 

“Don't be silly! Rii-chan would never be brave enough to date a girl!” Kagura protested for him, Hatori silently agreeing with the boar. “Besides, that was Makoto, Shiori-chan's older sister. She was in Rii-chan's graduating class for the last few years.”

 

Shigure raised an eyebrow this time. “Going after younger girls, Rii-chan, how could you!” he exclaimed.

 

“I-I'm sorry, but I w-wasn't going out with her,” he protested.

 

“He was only teasing, Ritsu. No need to get nervous,” Hatori reassured, having hit Shigure in the head again. “Now let's go; we need to talk to your mother and father about having you home-schooled now.”

 

Ritsu nodded, following the other three out and not looking back as Shiori ran out to look for him.

 

`I wish I wasn't so pathetic,' he thought.

 

 

*

 

 

Five years later…

 

 

Ritsu was standing on the bridge over a large river, his face rattled with bruises and cuts. He'd been bullied again; this time, however, it had been by members of his own family. They'd caught him wearing girl's clothes again, while visiting his parents' hot spring, and had beat him for being a cross dresser after his parents had left. Wasn't it enough that they'd gotten on their knees and begged for forgiveness? Did they really have to hit him while he screamed he was sorry too?

 

Right now, he felt even more pathetic than he ever did before. He couldn't do anything right, and on top of that, his parents were always apologizing for him. He had tried to stop dressing like a girl while at home, but every time he finally got out of those clothes, a relative would come for some relaxation time and ridicule him for what a failure he was and he would right back into the dresses that had been the cause of most of his problems in the first place, which in turn only made his life worse. He was useless, he knew, and he had nothing to make up for the curse he had been born with unlike the other juunishi. He was sick of how pathetic his life was, and he wanted it to end.

 

So here he was now, ready to end his life by drowning himself in a river not too far from the hot spring resort his parents ran, and he couldn't find the strength to do it. What the hell was holding him back? What was it that made him tremble with hesitation?

 

“It's Sohma Ritsu-chan, right?” an eerily familiar voice asked from behind him, startling him from his thoughts. He snapped his head around to see someone he hadn't thought about in many years. “I'm Tsubasa Shiori; call me Shii-chan for short.”

 

Ritsu stared at the older looking Shiori in shock, having not expected her to be here. “Sh-Shiori-san? What are you doing here?” he asked, the tears he had forgotten were spilling from his eyes stopping in his surprise.

 

Shiori blinked before his question sunk in and she began to pout. Her little face had grown more womanly since he had met her for the first, and, what he had hoped then, last time. He remembered her sister, Makoto, showing him Shiori's school picture when they had been in 6th grade, but he had only looked at it once, not really wanting to see her ever again; her eyes had a more almond shape to them instead of the roundness of youth when she was little, and her face was loosing the chubbiness she'd had as a child. Had she really grown into the girl standing in front of him? It was so hard to believe.

 

“I thought I told you to call me Shii-chan,” she groaned, sounding a little annoyed as she ran a hand through her hair; the hand, he noticed, was too pale for his liking. “Jeez, how could I ever expect you to change, even after three years? And I'm betting you still call Mako-chan `Makoto-san', too.”

 

Ritsu was silent, the shock of seeing someone he would have rather forgotten having not worn off yet. “What are you doing here?” he asked suddenly.

 

Shiori blinked, not expecting him to sound so angry with her. “Am I not aloud to visit my favorite model?” she asked innocently, her eyes telling a different story.

 

Ritsu, despite being so meek and mild-mannered, actually glared at her, catching her off guard and making her take a step back. “Why would I be your model? For anything?!” he seemed to hiss at her.

 

Shiori looked at him with hurt eyes. “I thought you knew. Didn't Mako-chan tell you that I use you when I paint my portraits?” she asked, the hurt making him feel guilty for snapping the way he had.

 

“I don't see Makoto-san anymore; not since sixth grade graduation. And I don't plan to see her again, much less you,” he answered her, his depression kicking in again. “I don't want to see anything anymore.”

 

Ritsu turned away from her, facing the running water below and leaning slightly over the edge of the bridge. He hadn't noticed how cold it was before, but now that he thought about it, the air was unusually frigid and there seemed to be a thick fog hovering around. It was the perfect weather to commit suicide, so why did he still hesitate? Why was he still trembling so badly when he leaned over more? He wanted this, right?

 

“I'm such a coward,” he muttered, his head hanging as he clutched the railing that was the only barrier between him and the afterlife. “I'm trying to save the world from my pathetic existence and I can't seem to do it. I'm a coward and I disgust myself.”

 

“Ritsu,” Shiori whispered sadly, placing a cold hand on his bruised cheek when she'd walked up next to him. She saw all cuts and bruises and her face became angry, murder glaring out at him from her eyes. “Who did this?” she demanded, the air suddenly too cold for him to bear.

 

Ritsu shivered, extremely uncomfortable with her close proximity and the raw hatred on her face. Normally, he'd have pushed her away, but he didn't seem to care right now. “My relatives,” he said softly, trying to figure out why her hand was so cold instead. “They hate it when I dress like a girl, and this time they got really violent.”

 

“That's a horrible thing that they did to you!” she said loudly, attracting his attention to her again; he was surprised to see the disgust there and thought it was meant for him. Again, he hung his head. “How disgusting, to hurt someone because their insecure and scared. Don't they know it only makes it worse?”

 

Ritsu was silent for a moment before his quiet voice interrupted her angry rant. “I'm sorry,” he whispered loud enough to stop her numb. “I'm such a pathetic life form, and I'm such a terrible burden to those around me, even my parents. And now that I'm trying to relieve them of my pathetic presence, I can't even find the courage to do that. I'm a coward, and a weak one at that.”

 

If Ritsu had chosen that moment to look up at Shiori, he would have seen the horror and hurt etched onto her face by his words; but he didn't look up, and he was left thinking that her silence meant she agreed with his claims. “I have nothing to make up for how useless I am like the rest of my family and I'm about as average as a normal person in everything I do. I'm always apologizing for things I haven't done and things I'm unable to do; it only makes it worse that my parents are so ashamed of me that they've been apologizing for me since the day I was born. They don't need this and they don't need me, especially since I can't stop wearing girls' clothes. I make myself sick!”

 

“Ritsu…” Shiori's quiet voice drew his attention from the rushing water below. He was surprised to see tears in her eyes and he immediately felt guilty for sharing his feelings with her. It was a bad idea to even think she'd want to listen to him complain the way he had.

 

“Shiori-san, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have told you those—” Ritsu was interrupted from his apology when she threw her arms around his waist and cried into his dirty shirt. He was shocked when he didn't turn into a monkey.

 

“Don't you dare apologize,” she said as sternly as she could in her emotional stress. “You don't have anything to apologize for, it's all their fault that you feel the way you do, so please don't say you're sorry for something that's not your fault!”

 

He stood there in silent shock as Shiori said all this, his chest tightening at her words, and his instincts screaming for him to push her off him and run; whether it was over the bridge or back to the inn his family ran, he didn't seem to care. “Let me go Shiori-san,” he said more calmly than he felt, considering he still wanted to jump off the bridge they were on.

 

Shiori shook her head against his chest. “No, because if I do, you'll jump off the bridge and you'll die, and I don't want you to die,” she protested, her voice muffled. He raised a hand to try and push her off, but he stilled at her next words. “I don't care what you or your family thinks, you're not pathetic and you are always welcome around. If they think you're useless, that's their problem, but if you start believing that too, I'll get mad at you. It doesn't matter if you can't find anything you're good at right now, you're still in high school, it's normal for you to not know what you're good at, and even if you don't find the meaning to your life now, you'll find it later.”

 

She took a shuddering breath before continuing. “And even if your talent isn't all that great compared to other people's, what should you care? At least you have something that proves you are good at something, no matter how insignificant it is to others. And you'll have a reason to live too, because that one talent will make someone happy and they'll want you around because you—” Shiori had to break again so that she could breath, which was getting heavier and heavier as she continued to do so. Ritsu hadn't noticed before, but she seemed very pale and very frail now. “You just make everything seem brighter, so please don't kill yourself. I'll be sad if you do.”

 

For the first time in the sixteen years he'd had on this earth, Sohma Ritsu felt genuinely happy. No one had ever said that they liked having him around, not even his own parents. He felt endeared by her tears, needed by her overwhelmingly desperate grip, and, most of all, cherished by her words. Sure, he was aware his parents loved him, that Kagura was fond of him, and that Hatori and Shigure tried their best to protect him from the ridicule the family head seemed to shower upon him, not only behind his back, but to his face as well. But did they ever cry for him the way Shiori was right now? If it were them here now, would they beg for him to not do it if it were them instead of her? Somehow, he knew that it wouldn't be the same, that he would still jump, and that was cruel to think of them here now instead of this pale and frail girl in his arms.

 

“Why are you being so nice to me?” he asked miserably.

 

“Because I like you, silly,” she'd replied simply.

 

 

Vaguely, the monkey recalled he had the handkerchief that had come with those words all those years ago realizing vaguely that he'd been carrying it with him everyday since then. He was carrying it now, he thought offhandedly, feeling it bulge in his pants pocket slightly. How ironic these things are sometimes.

 

Moving for the first time since Shiori had grabbed him, Ritsu reached his hands around her small form and returned her embrace, more for the fact that he needed to know this was real than to reassure her. She was still sobbing, he realized, and began to whisper comforting words to her, acting more like an adult than he ever had and probably ever would. Sure, she needed him to comfort her, but there was no way he could fathom how much he needed her to do what she had done for him just now. To bring him from the brink of suicide, no matter how determined you are, was something that would have been hard, if not impossible, for anyone else to do.

 

She'd saved him twice, and for that, he was grateful.

 

Finally, Shiori's sobs subsided and she calmed down, the only thing escaping her being her harsh breathe against his chest. He shivered distractedly at the cold it left on his skin through his clothes as he pushed her gently away. Vaguely, he wondered why she was so cold compared to him. And why she seemed to be soaking as well now.

 

Shiori let him push her away, reassured by his actions moments before that he wasn't going to up and jump off the bridge. She looked up at him with sparking tear filled eyes. “Ritsu, I—”

 

Ritsu held a finger to her purple lips, silencing her. “Shh, don't say anything. Please,” he whispered, smiling as gently as his face would let him. His eyes held so much gratitude, Shiori was moved to tears once more. She did her best to hold them back, only a single, fat one slipping down her cheek. “Thank you, Shiori-san, no one has ever told me that before. Not even my own parents. You really have no idea how much your words mean to me right now, and there's no way I'll be able to explain it either, but right now, just thank you.”

 

Another tear slid down her cheek at his heart-felt words, and Ritsu caught it on his finger. She nodded slightly. “A-anytime,” was her pathetic reply. Ritsu smiled at her, sensing she wanted to mentally kick herself. “D-demo, call me Shii-chan though. I'm younger then you after all, right?”

 

“There is a reason I don't call you that you know,” he said, giving her a look that clearly refused to tell her what he meant, but promised he would later. “But I'll call you Shiori-chan instead, okay?”

 

Shiori wiped away the rest of her tears and smiled, nodding mutely. Gods, he had no idea how much he'd missed her smile.

 

The small girl opened her mouth to say something more to him, but they were interrupted by the frantic yelling of his parents and family members. He looked up, moving away from the silent girl from him a few steps, far enough for him to loose her touch, his eyes wide as he remembered the note he had left for his family, apologizing for his life and for how he was leaving them. He called out for them, despite them having seen his tall figure through the thinning fog. He took a few more steps from the now hazy form of Shiori behind him, opening his arms so that at least his father could embrace him. His mother looked like she would break if she didn't, but restrained herself none the less.

 

“Oh Ritsu, I was so scared when Shigure came running in with that note,” his mother sobbed before coughing slightly. Ritsu put a hand on her shoulder, the only way he could embrace her without transforming, and used his other to rub her back until her fit subsided.

 

“I know Kaa-san, I know,” he soothed, tears springing to his own eyes as he longed to hold her as well. His father sensed this and held her for him. “I'm so sorry that I scared you, I won't do it again.”

 

“But you were going to kill yourself!” she almost yelled, clenching his shirt in her thin hands.

 

Ritsu hushed her again. “Not anymore,” he told her gently, apologizing again and again. “Don't worry, I won't. Shiori-chan will kill me if I try to again.”

 

His mother and father blinked owlishly up at him, looking severely confused.

 

“Who's `Shiori-chan'?” his father asked.

 

The monkey pointed to the spot behind him where Shiori's small figure was. “Her,” he said. “She's the one who stopped me from killing myself. She saved me.”

 

The two adults looked behind him as Shigure, Hatori, and Ayame jogged up behind them, catching the last few sentences of the conversation. They looked confused as well.

 

“Ritsu…” Shigure began, not knowing how to explain this to him. “There's no one there.”

 

Ritsu blinked, thinking he was joking, before turning his head ready to tell them that the girl was indeed there. His words died on his lips; there was no one there.

 

*

 

It was a few days later that found Ritsu holding a rather large package, looking severely confused as he looked at the name on it.

 

“And you're sure that this is for me?” he asked again, annoying the poor post man as he attempted to flee the repetitious question.

 

The post man looked like he wanted to strangle Ritsu. “You're Sohma Ritsu aren't ya?” he repeated his own question.

 

“Well, yeah, but I almost never get packages, especially of this size,” he answered in embarrassment.

 

“Must be your lucky day then, son. Now sign here so I can leave.”

 

The monkey did as he was asked, apologizing for keeping him and annoying him, and let the post man leave.

 

“What did you get?” Shigure asked slyly, having not left the hot springs inn yet. Hatori was still there as well, and looking at him curiously, but Ayame had left under the pretense of needing to return to his still budding shop and the new girl he'd hired, Mine, wouldn't able to carry on for very long without him. His words exactly.

 

Ritsu turned the package over, staring at the address for a second before smiling. “It's from Shiori-chan,” he said in excitement, taking the huge box over to the table and sitting down after placing it on the gleaming wood.

 

Shigure's smile turned into a grin. “Ah, the ghost girl you met in elementary school whom you claimed saved your life a few days ago, right?” he asked slyly.

 

Ritsu internally winced. “Yes, that's her,” he said, ripping the package paper off the box. He removed the top to find another much smaller box and something big and rectangular wrapped in fabric. Taking the smaller box out, he removed the top from that one as well to find a dozen of jelly buns. He smiled.

 

“What is with this girl and giving you jelly buns?” Shigure asked in amusement, earning a smack up side the head from Hatori.

 

Ritsu shrugged and picked up the note inside, reading it aloud:

 

Dear Rii-chan,

 

God, do you have any idea how hard it is to find your address? I looked in the phone book and there was like, eighty families with your last name! Are you like one of those modern day old families from the past like from those Anne Rice books from America? Jeez, I'd nearly torn all my hair out after about the first fifty names!-Ritsu smiled at this, knowing even those within the Main House even had trouble locating each other with the same last name-Anyways, I somehow managed to get to be a really big artistic genius and Tokyo University has asked me to come to their school for an art scholarship-ahead of all my classmates!Makoto-chan's so mad that I skipped ahead of her, she's locked herself in her room with her stereo turned up real loud.-At this Shigure gave a low whistle while the monkey and dragon blinked in surprised. Had she really gotten that good-Even an art college in the U.S. is trying to get me to transfer after my first year!

 

Oh, and I'm learning to drive. Yeah, I know I'm too young, but Makoto-chan said that she would since I'd be going to college-sort of as a going away present. But I'm so excited; I'm going to be a famous artist! And for you, before I go from obscure to renowned, I give you my last painting as a high school student. I call it “The Beauty Within the Tortured”. Hope you like it.

 

 

Much Love,

Shiori

 

P.S. I hope you're calling me Shii-chan!

 

“Painter at Tokyo University, huh?” Hatori said thoughtfully, taking a drag from his cigarette and tapping some ash into an ash tray. “That's pretty amazing for an eighteen year old, much less a fourteen year old.”

 

Ritsu nodded a bit numbly before sitting up to take up the now known painting. Gently, he began to unwrap it. After a few of the corners had been tugged loose from their tight wrapping places, he was finally starting to see some actual paint. It was then that the phone rang.

 

Sighing, he set the painting down and went to answer the phone, yelling to his father that he had it. He ignored the fact that Shigure was poking at the cloth wrapping so that he could get a glimpse of what was on the easel.

 

“Sohma Hot Spring Resort, Sohma Ritsu speaking,” he recited dutifully.

 

“Ritsu-kun?” a tired and drained spoke on the other line. Ritsu blinked, recognizing the voice even after not hearing it all these years and maturing. “Is it really you?”

 

“Makoto-san?”

 

Shigure and Hatori looked up from admiring the obviously impressive painting, recognizing the spoken name.

 

“Hai, it's been a while, hasn't it?” she asked in that same drained voice, a smile evident in its tone.

 

Ritsu found himself smiling as well, albeit nervously. The older Tsubasa had always made him nervous, seeing as she wasn't exactly girly and much bigger then him. “Too long. How have you been? I saw Shiori-chan just a few days ago and she didn't tell me.”

 

There was a silence on the other end, and Ritsu was afraid he'd said something wrong. He apologized, but Makoto refused to accept it.

 

“Ritsu-kun, you couldn't have seen Shiori the other night,” she said finally, her voice starting to crack. She sounded like she was going to cry. “You see, she was driving with me and it had started raining really hard. Another car darted in front of us and she lost control—” at this she really started crying “—Shii-chan's in the hospital. The doctors are starting to say that she won't make it.”

 

Ritsu felt the color draining from his face, and he clenched the phone tightly. “Th-that can't be! I saw her just a few nights ago, and she stopped me from jumping off a bridge! And just now, just now I got a package from her! You have to be playing a mean joke on me; please, tell me you are!” His answer was heart wrenching sobbing from the other end; Makoto didn't need to explain now. He got it.

 

She did anyway. “Ritsu-kun, that was the night of the accident. Shii-chan and I had sent that package to you then, and we were driving home from the post office,” she cried, trying to speak through her sobs. “She's been in the ER since then and only just came out about an hour ago. She's in a coma, Ritsu-kun. Almost complete brain damage. I don't think she's going to make it.”

 

Ritsu felt his grip on the receiver go slack and it dropped to the floor, a thump being the only sound in the room; he didn't bother to pick it up as he made his way back to the table dazedly. Hatori got the phone back for him.

 

“I'm sorry, I'll have him call you back later,” he said before hanging up the phone and turning to look at the monkey with a critical eye. What could have shaken him so much?

 

Shigure gave the younger boy a worried look. “Ritsu? What's wrong?” he asked.

 

Ritsu didn't answer for a long while, his eyes focusing on the portrait that lay on the table next to the box of jelly buns. The painting was amazing, the colors and the lines all meshing together in what was simply a work of genius. Had that scrawny little girl he'd met that day all those years ago really made something so beautiful? Had the paint that flowed from the brush really belonged to her? Dimly, almost as if he was far, far away, he heard the dog repeat his question tentatively. “She's going to die…”

 

The painting was one of him as a young man (and dressed as a boy), holding Shiori as he'd seen her that night, pale, wet, and fragile, tightly. It was like watching what had happened on that night all over again. Dimly, he noted that Shiori's eyes were closed as if in death and his own looked lost and mournful.

 

It truly was “Beauty Within the Tortured”.

 

*

 

Present day…

 

Sohma Ritsu was wearing one of his mothers kimonos today. The pink one with the sakura pattern, actually, one of his all time favorites. Well, let me rephrase that; he was currently thinking about wearing his mother's pink sakura print kimono, one of his all time favorites. You see, Kagura had invited him to an art exhibit to view one of her favorite artists: one Tuskasa Midori.

 

He'd heard about her on and off, not really caring all that much for art anymore, but he had listened as intently as his wacky mind would allow as she'd explained how Midori had been in a serious accident and nearly died a few years ago. She'd just barely managed to escape with almost complete paralysis, not being able to move from her shoulders down. What a horrible thing to happen to a blooming artist, Kagura had said, completely excited by the subject they were on. Midori had had to work hard for years afterwards just to be able to move her arms again, and now she was even walking with a cane! And the doctors had thought she'd be stuck that way for the rest of her life. Ha!

 

Although not all that interested, Ritsu had to admit that that was pretty amazing, beating the odds when they were stacked against you. Dimly, he was reminded of a saying he'd heard from Hatori a few years back.

 

“People only see the dead when they are on the brink of it themselves.”

 

It drudged up some memories that he quickly smothered to the back of his mind. Memories of a little girl who had single-handedly saved him from a group of bullies with a sling-shot and a bunch of marbles, her sketch book still stuck in the tree she had been hiding in. Shame she hadn't beaten the odds, he thought bitterly from time to time, she could have been something great!

 

Ritsu decided to wear men's clothes instead.

 

“Ritsu, Shigure has come by to pick you up,” his mother said through an intercom he'd had installed in his room. The inn was simply too large for his sickly mother to be wandering around looking for him, no matter how resilient she was.

He pressed the speak button. “Hai, I'll be down in a minute,” he said, trying desperately to tie the tie he was currently wrestling with. “Oh forget it,” she sighed, deciding to forego the tie and tossed it onto his bed.

 

He thumped his way down the stairs, quietly, trying not to disturb any conversation his mother might be having with the elder juunishi. He was surprised to see not just the expected Kagura there with him, but Yuki, Kyo, and Tohru as well. Had she invited them too?

 

“Ah, Ritsu-san! It's so nice to see you again!” Tohru said hastily when she saw him, bowing low and deep. Ritsu felt compelled to return the bow, and did so just as hastily and deeply as the younger girl.

 

“It's nice to see you as well, Tohru-san! I'm sorry if Kagura dragged you here to keep me company, I told her there was no need,” he apologized, wincing when he remembered he was trying to fix that little habit of his.

 

“O-oh, no trouble at all! I was really happy when she invited us, and I really wanted to see Kagura-chan's favorite artist and-and—”

 

“Can we go now?” Kyo's bored and annoyed voice cut through Tohru's speech, his eyes narrowed as if he was going to sleep on his feet. “We've got Ritsu now, so I don't see any reason to hang here any longer then we have to.”

 

Shigure smacked the cat upside the head. “Forgive him; he doesn't seem to know when to be quiet,” he smiled at Ritsu's worried mother.

 

Kyo hissed at him, demanding if the dog was trying to start a fight. “As if you're any better,” Yuki sighed as Kagura smacked Kyo as well.

 

The dog laughed nervously before turning to look at Ritsu, who tried to look alert for some reason. “Well then, shall we be going? Wouldn't want to keep Ha'ri wait now, would we?”

 

Ah, so Hatori-san was driving again, was he? Well, at least some things didn't change as far as the Sohma family was concerned.

 

*

 

“Woo~w! Look at how pretty this painting is Tohru-chan!” Kagura gushed as she led the brown-haired girl from one portrait to another. It was a landscape painting, the kind you see for sale at art auctions, but there was some kind of underlying beauty to it that set it apart from those generic paintings. Maybe it was the emotion that seemed to radiate from it?

 

Tohru looked just adorably in awe of it. “H-hai, it really is pretty,” she agreed in her usual stutter. Another painting caught her eye and she and Kagura made their way to it.

 

Ritsu couldn't help but smile at that, watching as Kyo and Yuki groaned and collapsed on a bench together (though also quite far from each other as well) to rest. Shigure and Hatori were wandering around somewhere else at the moment, probably to see if they could find the elusive artist and congratulate her. Which left him with the two overly-excited girls as they dashed from one painting to the next while he hurried after them, absently taking in the beautiful portraits as he went.

 

A gasp from Tohru had him hurrying even more to catch up.

 

“What is it?” he asked, coming up behind the two girls. When they didn't answer, he looked up to see what had them so frozen and felt his breath hitch in his throat.

 

“Ritsu, I think it's you,” he heard Kagura whisper breathlessly.

 

And it was, or at least it was pretty darn close. The painting was of a man with the same honey-colored hair that he had, with the same length and the same sad, soulful eyes staring out at them pleadingly. He was naked, but you could only see from the waist up well sculpted hips, a slim and defined stomach, a chest that seemed to have the kind of muscle you always see on tall and lanky men, and long, thin arms (also painted with the right amount of muscle) wrapped or maybe draped around the model's thin and broad shoulders. The background of the painting was nothing but dark purple color, which enhanced the tragic beauty of the painting even more, and the beautiful honey-colored hair was plastered to the man's face as if he were out in a rainstorm or covered in water. It was so very life-like, the definition of the muscles which looked as if they might twitch if they stared just long enough, each and every individual hair that looked like it was softer then silk, the pleading emotions which danced through those shining dark brown eyes looking up at them like those dime-store pictures of Christ.

 

“Did…did you ever model for someone before?” Kagura asked him when she managed to regain her breath; the sheer intensity of the colors and love emanating from the painting had left her speechless and without any air, and she was glad when she finally remembered how to breathe. “Did a woman ever ask you to model for her before?”

 

Ritsu shook his head, that being all he could do. He was still so numbed by the shock of seeing his portrait in a famous artist's gallery, that that was all he could do, and didn't even bother to notice when a third woman joined them in their admiration.

 

“She's getting better I see,” the woman stated in approval, her voice cool and crisp; she wore a grey suit jacket and skirt combo, her white blouse pressed to perfection and her dark heels gleaming. “Better enough to attempt a painting of him.”

 

Unsure of whether or not she was speaking to them, Tohru turned towards the woman with wide blue eyes. “U-um, do you know the woman who painted this? Tsukasa-san, right Kagura-chan?” she asked both the woman and Kagura (who nodded that that was the name) simultaneously.

 

The severe looking woman gave a nod, her eyes now fixed on Ritsu as he continued to stare at the painting with the same dumbstruck look as before. “Yes. I'm her manager, actually, but I've been away for the last part of her rehabilitation, so I wasn't able to see her newest batch of paintings. I see by the looks of your friend that he's just as impressed as all the dealers here as well—” she stopped mid-sentence to study him a moment, her dark eyes dancing over Ritsu's figure as he stood there, still quite distracted. “So you're the young man…”

 

“What?”

 

“Oh, nothing, just thinking aloud. You'll have to excuse me now, Shii-chan will probably be needing me,” she bowed, leaving the three of them alone. Ritsu watched from the corner of his eye as she hurried off, pausing briefly to glance over her shoulder at him, and then hurrying off in seeming excitement.

 

After a moment, Kagura seemed to recover. “That…was weird,” she commented, laughing a bit nervously. That woman was kind of scary, even though it may have been how she always acted; almost like she had to deal with a hyper-active child everyday, but was too fond of it to quite whatever nanny job she seemed to be working. “Right Tohru?”

 

Tohru bit her lip unsurely, but nodded. “A-ano, but did she say Shii-chan? Wasn't the artist's name Midori…?” she trailed off, still unsure.

 

This seemed to get Ritsu's attention and he snapped his head over to look at them while they talked.

 

“It is, but she probably has another artist she manages,” Kagura said, waving off the subject. She grabbed Tohru by the hand and began leading her back to where they'd all left the boys. “C'mon, I think Kyo-kun misses me!”

 

Ritsu watched with dwindling interest as the two girls took off down the long hall in their search of the rat and cat, completely forgetting Ritsu had been with them and now was left behind. Just as well, were his thoughts; it gave him more time to study the painting.

 

Switching his eyes back to the painting once more, they scanned the wall above, beside, and below it for the plaque he knew would be there with a brief history as to the inspiration for it. He was not disappointed, and found it to the left of it. He walked closer to get a better look at what it said.

 

“You are My Light”: This painting was done three months ago, just before the artist announced that she was fully recovered from her accident. The model in unknown, but the artist claims that she painted him from memory; she claims that he was a man she knew years before as a cross-dresser and that he had always been her inspiration for some of her more impressive works. This rendition of the unknown model is a tribute to the man.

 

Ritsu stood staring at the plaque dumbly, a heavy feeling developing in the pit of his stomach. It couldn't be….could it? No Shiori had died years ago, before she was even famous, so she couldn't possibly have done this. Besides, this had been three months ago, so it was impossible…right?

 

But everything about this mysterious woman would check out, if he thought about it. Here was a painting of him, the artist obviously knew he wore women's clothing, rarely venturing out in men's, but far more often now thanks to Tohru, she had been in a horrible accident, what kind he was kind of cloudy on since he hadn't listened to Kagura babble on about her. Then there was the issue of the names; they were significantly different, sure, but there were definite similarities. For instance; the last names were different, but they ended the same way, sounded almost the same, but there was a `B' in the artist's, unlike Shiori's last name. Then there were the first names themselves; Shiori meant white and Midori meant green, but both were colors none the less. And it wasn't unusual for artists to adopt alias, sometimes keeping them so similar to their originals, no one noticed. But Shiori was dead, Makoto had told herself that—

 

Ah, maybe he had jumped to conclusions.

 

“Ritsu, hurry up! We're going!” he heard Kyo yell from down the hall, garnering everyone's attention as Yuki smacked him. This started a fight between the two, and Shigure and Kagura had to drag them apart.

 

“A-ah, sorry! I'm coming!” he called, just a little more quietly then Kyo had yelled.

 

He would have to think about this just a little bit longer.

 

*

 

It was several days later when Ritsu received a package with the address of the art gallery on the brown wrapping. He had thoroughly exhausted his mind by then, running quickly out of theories for why there was a painting of him for all the world to see, and for some reason the appearance of this unexpected delivery didn't seem all that unexpected. Quite the contrary; it seemed to him had been waiting for it arrive for who knows how long.

 

Ritsu didn't wait for one of his parents or their visitors to come by to question him about his standing in the doorway of the inn, taking off in the direction of the rooms that were reserved permanently for his family. He slammed his door shut, not caring whether he disturbed anyone or not.

 

`Please, let it be from who I think it's from,' he thought almost desperately as he tore the brown wrapping paper off the package. He was met with a large, white box, and the sent of something rather delicious wafted out as he removed the lid; he already knew what was inside.

 

Almost viciously, he dug around the box for the letter he knew would be in there, tossing aside the smaller box that had been resting warmly atop the carefully wrapped painting. Finding none, he took the covered canvas out, carefully now, and began unwrapping it to see if a letter had been slipped in between the folds; nothing came fluttering out as he held it high, but he wasn't looking for a letter anymore. He was looking at the painting.

 

“What…?”

 

It was beautiful; a complete contrast to the one she had sent to him years ago, and that one in itself had been impressive. Ritsu took in the smooth lines, the dark and light colors, the flawless brushstrokes, and the overall feeling it stirred within him; it was a picture of him, as had been custom with these things, and of an almost unrecognizable girl with the same colored hair and eyes as his savior, but they looked different somehow. They looked proud…

 

Ritsu continued to study the canvas, noting that both him and the girl were smiling rather happily, that he was wearing men's clothing with his honey-colored hair was tied back with a black ribbon, hers cropped short in a cute bob so that it curled and waved slightly, and the simple summer dress she was wearing. There were butterflies in this picture, and the girl was holding what may have been a bouquet of hand-picked wild flowers in her left arm, her right hand clasped tightly in his left. He wasn't very educated as far as painting illusions went, but he could swear that his painted self was looking down at the girl fondly, the way he might if she were here right now, and that their looked like it was moving in the nonexistent wind; he suddenly realized that this painting portrayed hope for him, that things could and would, and have gotten better. That there wasn't always something dark out there, and things really could look like this painted happiness he was holding in his hand.

 

He suddenly realized the other box that he had tossed aside, and immediately put the painting down to retrieve it.

 

As he opened it, he was met with the familiar scent of jelly buns, though slightly old, and the box was cooled now, and the desired letter he had been searching for. He gently pried it from the top of the box (it had been taped, it seemed) and opened it like it was a fragile treasure that could disappear at any second. Tears almost came to his eyes at the all too familiar scrawl as he read:

 

Dear Ritsu-kun,

 

Shocking how I can call you by your full name with -kun at the end now, huh? I admit I'm a little surprised at myself as well, but I wanted you to see the woman I've become since our last encounter instead of the little girl I've really always been to you. Don't lie that that wasn't how you saw me; I can read your face even through a letter! Anyways…

 

I hear you're in college now; don't look so surprised that I know. I happen to do business with your family, and I've met your family head to do portraits of him as requested by, well, him. He seemed a little angry when I said that I knew you, but I reassured him that I had lost contact with long before my accident; and I don't know if it's just me, but he seemed pleased with the way I was using my cane to get around. Ass.

 

But seriously, how's college? Well, I hope, and I hear that you have cousins going to Makoto-chan's old high school; Kaibara, I think it was called. They have a friend living with them, right? I saw a picture of her and them when you other cousins, Shigure-kun and Hatori-san, were there. They told me you were there, but I didn't want you to see me still struggling to walk. I'm told I'm lucky to have gotten my arms back to full power at all, but you know me; never say die when you can always fight, and speaking of fighting…

 

Your family's not picking on you again are they? They better not, or I'll skewer them! And you know how deadly serious I am, too.

 

I know what happened the night I got into that car accident, but I can't explain it. I think that I was going to die, but then something called out to me, you called out to me, and I just kinda showed up where you were. When I hugged you, I realized something; you were, well, different, but I don't know how or why. I think if I had died that night, I might have known, but I didn't, so I'll have to wait at least fifty years to find out. Oh, but don't worry; I won't tell anyone about my little ghostly visit or what you might be.

 

Anyways, I should probably end this now, I've been rambling again. Just…don't let anyone tell you that you're useless, okay? You're not, and I hope that someone else tells you the same thing I did. Because then maybe you'll believe me. And enjoy your painting; I had to go through hell to get Makoto-chan to let me send it and the jelly buns to you. “A waste of a perfectly good piece of artwork!” I believe were exact words.

 

I'll see you when I can walk properly, so be patient until I come back! I won't give up, so you better not either!

 

Love,

Shiori

 

P.S. I guess you can just call me Shiori-chan, but I get my handkerchief back when I see you again. Oh, and the painting is called `Jelly Buns For Ritsu', as little sense as that makes. Just humor me, `kay?

 

The monkey smiled down at the letter, wiping his eyes to keep the tears from dripping down onto the paper, but failing. It didn't matter, though; Shiori was alive, she was painting, and she was still thinking of him even now. And best of all, she was right about him finding someone else to tell him he was wanted and needed in the world. But really, was she really as silly as that to think that he was going to wait around for her to send him another letter and package of jelly buns?

 

Silly girl, he thought as he took out a sheet of paper and starting to scrawl his own letter down for her. He looked over at the open box of pastry, smiling when he remembered when had run into Tohru with the bag for Shigure; the vow he had made to her that day about living for someone had seemed so far away then, but now, now it was closer to fulfillment then he could ever imagine.

 

At first he had started out hating Shiori for being so open, now he loved her for it.

 

Dear Shiori-chan,

 

I hope you still have some jelly buns left over, because the first thing we do when we meet again is eat them. And that is going to be sooner then you would think, because I don't care if you are walking with a cane. I would like to live for you.

 

Love,

Ritsu

 

 

END

 

Ro Rant: Wow, I think that is my longest one-shot ever, and it took me the longest to get out too! But as I said before, I wanted to do a cute little Ritsu one-shot, and I did. Only…it's not so cute, and it's not so little; just really sad, and really long. *sighs* Oh well, I enjoyed writing it, so I think that's all that matters. But I want feedback. This is my second Furuba fic, so I hope I didn't screw up too royally; Ritsu is really the hardest one for me to portray, and I know I got OOC with him. And before you say anything, yeah, I do a lot of Mary Sue's, but I can't help it, and I never described what Shiori and Makoto looked like, so no worries, I hope; besides, that's just how I roll sometimes. Also, I couldn't remember Ritsu from the manga, so I was going based off what he was saying in the anime, also stated before, and he mentioned that someone had told him before that the world was better with him in it. So, after hearing that, I just ran with it. *laughs nervously and scratches back of neck* Anyways, I'm pleased with it, but I want to know what you, dear Readers, think. So Read and Review!

 

Kyo: Please, for the love of god, review her! I haven't gone home since the last one she wrote for us, and I need sleep!

 

Ro: Kyonkichi, the last one was for you, and quit complaining; at least I haven't brought Kagura over yet.

 

Shigure: *grins* That's why I took the liberty of doing so myself.

 

Kyo: *eyes widen* Oh you bastard-

 

Kagura: Kyon-Kyon! *glomps and punches upside the head* Where have you been my love?

 

Kyo: @___@ I think I prefer the crazy blonde chick.

 

Ro: *grins* Glad I'm so well appreciated.

 

Shigure: You always are.

 

READ & REVIEW!