Fruits Basket Fan Fiction ❯ Learning to Stand ❯ Friends and Ghosts ( Chapter 3 )

Chapter 3: Friends and Ghosts

It took months to find the primer. I searched text after text looking for some clue that would lead to understanding the strange characters (and they were characters) hidden within the kanji in the scroll. Whoever had written it was clever. He (or she) had chosen a record that seemed insignificant at best-a detailed history of daily life in the operation of the Sohma household. It described recipes, dishes used, foodstuffs, money spent on maintaining the kitchens. If I hadn't known better, I would have thought the odd marks were simply ink spots dropped inadvertently on the delicate paper. Ink had been precious back then, though; I knew that from my frequent conversations with my father. Paper had been even more precious. Neither would have been wasted.

The next semester, however, my breakthrough came in my ancient Chinese class. As I stared at the characters in my textbook, I had a sense that they weren't as unfamiliar as they seemed. I'm sure I had seen them before. The scroll! I stared intently at my textbook then waited impatiently for the lecture to end. I raced to my room after class, heedless of my classmates' exclamations as I rudely brushed past them. When I got to my room I locked the door and pulled out the scroll.

Of course! I stared at my textbook and back at the strange marks by some of the faded characters. So tiny I could barely make them out. To the average person it would simply look messy, or moldy. I pulled out a pen and began to write down the new set of characters I was now able to see, checking and rechecking to make sure I had it right. It couldn't be this easy. But apparently it was. That night, I called Isuzu-san.

"Moshi, moshi"

"Gomen, may I speak with Isuzu-san?"

"Rin-san? May I ask who's calling?"

"My name is Mikage Tamae. I'm in her history class." We'd agreed that we should have a plausible excuse for a complete stranger to call her. Coincidentally, she was in my history class.

"All right. Please hold on." Silence for a minute. I tapped my fingers impatiently.

"Moshi, moshi"

"Isuzu-san? It's Mikage Tamae."

"I'll call you right back. Arigatou." And she hung up. I stared at the phone for a moment then replaced it on its cradle. Five excruciating minutes later it rang.

"Isuzu-san?"

"Hai. Tamae-san, you shouldn't call me at that number. Why didn't you call my cell?"

"You never gave me the number." Silence. "I found it."

"You did?!"

"Yes! I found the primer. It's in ancient Chinese. I'm surprised no one else found it."

"You didn't see the state of the records. I'll see you tomorrow. Arigatou, Tamae-san! Those notes will be so helpful! How kind of you to offer to loan them to me! Arigatou!" And she hung up. I guessed that someone had approached her. She was so paranoid…I wish she'd tell me why. I'd managed to get her to trust me a little bit; we'd go shopping together occasionally. Usually, she tried to get me to buy clothing that was more revealing than I'd like. But in six months, she still hadn't opened up as much as I'd like her to. Patience, I'd remind myself. I did like her. She was funny, even though she didn't realize it. Her comments were blunt and sometimes tactless, but her intuition was dead-on. She intuitively knew more about people than met the eye. It was fun to hear her comments about this or that classmate, the latest gossip, even the occasional slip about her family.

She didn't live with her parents. I guessed that something bad had happened, but she never spoke of it and I didn't ask. I rationalized that she would tell me if she wanted to. Once, when I asked her why deciphering the scroll was so important to her she replied before she caught herself "It's for Hatsuharu." Hatsuharu? Was that a person? I didn't ask because the moment she realized she'd said it aloud she crossed her arms and looked away from me, a clear sign that she wouldn't discuss it further. Another time we had been walking to class when a man called out and she whipped toward the sound, her face white.

"Shigure-san?" she'd whispered. Another person? Then she'd glanced at me, her face settling into its remote mask and I had shrugged.

"Somebody got up perky," I'd remarked diffidently. She let that ghost of a smile tease at the corner of her mouth as we continued on our way.

It was odd that now I didn't even register how lovely she was. I was so used to seeing her that it only surprised me on occasions when I really looked at her. The next day was a Saturday and I woke up late to knocking on my door.

"Hold on, hold on." I'd been up late trying to decipher the oddly scratched characters on the record. I pulled on my robe and opened to the door to an impatient Isuzu-san, fully dressed and stunning. This was one of those times that her beauty amazed me. She charged into the room, staring. She had never set foot in my room before; she perched delicately on my one chair and looked about her in amazement.

"Isuzu-san is up early…" At my words, some tension in her broke and she glared at me.

"Early? It's 11 in the morning! What were you doing? How could you be sleeping?"

"Gomen, Isuzu-san! I was up late working on the primer…" I couldn't help but feel a little slighted. I was doing all the work for her! Granted, I loved it, but she could at least thank me! However, she settled down at my reply, waving a hand magnanimously.

"Ie, it's all right. Get dressed. We're going to celebrate!" I blinked at her. Celebrate? "You've done it! You've figured it out! This calls for lunch, at least!" It was hard to figure out where her excitement had come from. This was so out of character for her!

"Gomen, but I haven't figured it all out yet." I stammered. "Yes, I discovered that the little spots are actually meant to turn parts of the kanji into ancient Chinese, but I'm still having difficulty with the word meanings…" my voice trailed off. She stared at me.

"You mean that the kanji is part of the code?"

"Ie. It's more like the person who wrote the code used parts of the kanji characters to hide her own…"

"Her?"

"I'm pretty sure whoever did it was a woman. I'm not sure yet, but I think it's a journal of some sort, hidden in kitchen records. She must have worked in the kitchens. It's strange, because women didn't usually know how to write back then. I mean, priestesses might have, but your average servant woman wouldn't know what to do with a brush and ink. And these look like she used a fine stick or something to trace the characters with. They're so light in places that it's difficult to decipher what the character was supposed to be…" She was still staring at me. "Well, at any rate it'll be slow going. I'm going to have to get a better lamp or something, and a magnifying glass. The characters are really tiny. No wonder archivists have bad eyesight!"

"Show me."

"Huh?"

"Show me what you have right now!" Hastily I pulled out the notebook I'd been making my notes in. The intensity was reassuring; her previous excitement had been disconcerting. I flipped it open to the page where I had written down my observations of the kanji and how they'd been altered. She read intently as I went down to the bathroom and made myself presentable. When I came back, she was reading my text on ancient Chinese and staring at the open scroll.

"You shouldn't leave this open like this. Anyone could see it." She didn't look at me.

"Gomen, Isuzu-san. I fell asleep while I was working. I'm not usually so thoughtless." She looked at me with that same intense stare.

"You're not going to wear that are you?" I stared at my clothing. She was daringly dressed, her usual cleavage-bearing top, short skirt and high boots accented by several gothic necklaces and black eyeliner. I was wearing a sweater and jeans.

"What's wrong with it?"

"It's so…boring. You need some excitement, Tamae-san. That outfit does nothing for you! Where's that skirt I talked you into buying?" She began to rummage through my clothing until she found an outfit she felt was flattering enough that she wouldn't be `completely aghast' at being seen with me in. "You don't even have pretty shoes!" she tsked. I just stared at her.

"What?" she asked baldly when she finally realized my shell-shocked expression.

"Who are you and what have you done with Isuzu-san?" She laughed.

"I'm in a good mood. Don't knock it. It doesn't happen that often anymore, you know. Besides, we're partners, ne? Can't have my partner making me look bad." She hesitated over the word `partner', as though she wanted to use something else instead. Maybe it was my imagination. Either way, I held out my hands for the outfit she was holding.

"All right, you talked me into it. Now where are we going to eat?"

After cleaning up my room and hiding the scroll ("Clever," was all she'd said when she saw the false books box I had created to hide it) we set out for lunch. There was a small café near the dorms that she'd scoffed at until she sat down and snacked on an appetizer.

"This is good!" She nibbled delicately. I noticed that she ate slowly, carefully. As though what she put in her mouth might hurt her. I smiled in spite of myself.

"Isuzu-san is a real mystery," I said. She looked at me.

"What's that mean?"

"Well, you try so hard to be tough and most of the time you succeed. But you're really nice. You just don't want anyone to realize it. I guess it's easier if you keep everyone at arm's distance, ne?" She leaned in to me and put a finger on my lips.

"Don't tell anybody. I have my reasons. I don't know if you would understand them. Just be satisfied with that." I smiled.

"I like being Isuzu-san's friend. I like that Isuzu-san is my friend. That's enough for me." She looked at me, eyes wide in surprise. "I do consider Isuzu-san a friend. You are funny, nice, and very intense. You have layers upon layers to you and it's nice that you've finally opened up to me, even if it's only a little bit. Arigatou." At that moment our lunch was served and we simultaneously changed the subject to the history class we shared.

"I have an idea!" I said as we left the café. "Let's go to an amusement park! It'll be fun. I haven't been to one in so long!" She pulled back from me. She seemed a little sad.

"It'll be too crowded on a Saturday. Why don't we go for a walk instead? Maybe do some shopping?"

"Okay," I gave in. An amusement park was fun, but spending a day doing anything but studying was welcome. "Let's go! That way!" I pointed in a random direction, grabbed her hand and took off before she changed her mind. We wandered randomly throughout the day, stopping when we saw something that appealed to us. We ate when we were hungry and rested when we didn't feel like walking.

During one of those breaks I noticed a young man following us. I didn't mention it to Isuzu-san, thinking it was my imagination. But a while later I caught sight of him again. It wasn't hard to do; his hair was very unusual. I leaned in to Isuzu-san and whispered, "Check out that guy behind us! His hair is so cool!" She turned obligingly and stopped dead in her tracks.

"Haru-kun?" He kept walking towards us. She grabbed at my hand, pulling it behind her back. As he got closer I gasped. He was as beautiful as Isuzu-san was! And his style was similar. He wore a tight t-shirt, leather pants and had his ears pierced. Sunlight glinted off of several necklaces around his neck. Isuzu-san's hand, clutching mine behind her back, was shaking.

"Hello, Haru-kun." She said as he stopped in front of us. I crept closer to her, trying to convey my support. She was obviously dealing with something.

"Rin? I thought I had seen you. What are you doing here? They're worried about you at the Honke." Her hand tightened. He turned towards me and I was taken aback by his direct gaze. I bowed quickly.

"Hajimemashite! My name is Mikage Tamae. Isuzu-san and I were shopping…" I raised my free hand, which carried a small bag. I looked at him curiously.

"Hajimemashite. I am Sohma Hatsuharu." My eyes widened. It's for Hatsuharu. This was Hatsuharu! For Isuzu-san, everything we had been doing was for him. She stiffened at our introductions as his previous comment registered.

"The Honke can go to hell for all I care! I'm out with my friend. I'll be back later tonight. Besides, it's not like I'm still in high school and require a curfew. I'll return when I return." Through her tirade he simply stood, gazing at her with that stoic expression. I noticed that his eyes were gray. When she had finally wound down, he raised a hand to touch her shoulder and she flinched back. I looked from one to the other; I was slightly behind her so I couldn't see her face but I knew that there was another undercurrent here. I took a careful step back, letting him see our hands clasped behind her back. His eyes darkened and the corners of his mouth pulled down just slightly before he dropped his hand. Some emotion flashed in his eyes.

"I'll call Hatori and let him know. You should have at least let us know you were going out. Kagura nearly tore the house apart looking for you." His voice was nearly monotone, and she stiffened. I squeezed her hand and she relaxed slightly. I decided to take a chance. I released her hand and pointed at a crepe vendor nearby.

"I'm going to get a snack; would either of you like one?" Her eyes snapped at me; she knew what I was up to. I looked at Hatsuharu-san and he shook his head. He only had eyes for the beauty before him. "I'll be right back. Don't beat him up too badly Isuzu-san!" I tried to make my voice light. She glared at me.

I placed my order with the vendor, my eyes on the pair not thirty feet away. Isuzu-san had her arms crossed over her chest. Hatsuharu-san was standing with his hands behind his back, almost forcing himself to lean away from her. Neither of them looked happy. He loves her, I realized. He loves her enough to pull away from her. Did she love him as much?

It's for Hatsuharu. Her words echoed in my mind. Ie, I thought. She loves him more. What happened between these two?

"Here's your order." I absently paid the vendor and made my way back. They both turned towards me, their relief evident. I held out a strawberry crepe towards her, looking apologetically at him.

"I got you strawberry. Do you mind? We've been doing a lot of walking today so I figured you'd be hungry." I turned towards Hatsuharu-san. "Didn't Hatsuharu-san mention making a phone call? I'm sure Hatori-san will be relieved to know that Isuzu-san is all right." He didn't miss my implication.

"Hai. He will be most relieved. I should get back to the Honke anyway. It was nice to meet you." He bowed.

"It was nice to meet you as well." I bowed in return. Hatsuharu-san looked around in confusion and Isuzu-san sighed and pointed.

"The Honke's that way. Don't get lost again." He bowed again and left, glancing at her one last time. She took my hand and stalked in the opposite direction. I smiled to myself as I munched on my sweet. I had discovered something else about Isuzu-san. She was in love!