Fruits Basket Fan Fiction ❯ demon akito has become ❯ Dinner with the devil ( Chapter 3 )

Fruits basket is owned by Natsuki Takeya. I am borrowing all of the following characters, save Zia, for this fiction. I do not claim to own, operate, distribute, or license this anime. I am not responsible for the distribution or airing of said anime on any TV/Laptop/bookstore in any country.

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"Welcome to the family."

"Um, arigatou," I say, looking to Hatori to see if I had responded correctly. He merely nods, and made a hand motion that means, 'get in there!' As soon as I stepped into the bare room, the door shut quietly behind me.

Gutless coward.

I turn my attention to the purple-haired dude, who has to be Akito. "Pleased to meet you," I say, bowing slightly. He just nods, not saying anything.

"Please sit," he tells me. Conceited pig. I hate him already. I have to Live with this guy? Oh boy, am I in for a wild ride.

There is a table full of complicated looking bowls and food to my left. I sit on a cushion next to Akito, and look down at my place setting. Oh man! A spoon and chopsticks! I can't use chopsticks. This guy is gonna eat me alive. I bet he's testing me, trying to see if I'm fit to be Japanese. Well, I'm not gonna lose. If there is one thing Zia Hingeman does not do, it is lose. So I keep my eye on Akito, to see what he's doing so I can copy and not look like a fool.

Akito gingerly reaches out and, using the chopstick that now looks like a part of his hand except for the fact that his skin is whiter that milk, picks up a ball of rice and sets it on his plate. I can do that! Piece of cake.

I pick up my chopstick, and move the moving part of the table slightly my way so I can reach the bowl. Then, I reach out and attempt to grab a rice ball.

Okay, it's harder than it looks.

I can tell Akito is watching me, so I double my efforts to part the two chopsticks. Finally, it works, and I manage to grab a rice ball and hastily set it on my plate before it falls and I look like an idiot that's trying to catch air or something.

"I suppose you know who I am?" says Akito after a minute. I look over.

"Hai," I say. "You are Akito. You're the head of the Sohma family, right?"

"Right," he says, looking pleased that he's that infamous. Jerk. "And I know who you are, so you don't have to bother with the self introductions." Oh, gee, thanks! Now I have more time to grovel at your feet! Not.

I reach out and select a dumpling from a nearby bowl, nodding the whole time. It's easier to grab something the second time, I note.

I sneak a peek at my host, and I'm so shocked I nearly jump. There's a tiger behind him! But then I realize what it is. 'Damn,' I think. 'why here?'

Sure enough, under the nail of my ring finger, there is the shape of a sideways crescent moon glowing gold. I busy myself selecting some sushi so Akito won't notice.

When I look back again, the tiger is still there. The mark has gone away, though. So I just ignore the animal and begin to eat my rice ball.

'who is SHE?' I hear an inhuman voice ask. I look over, and see the tiger snarling at me. It's alarming, to say the least.

"Don't hurt her," I hear soft pleading. I look over and see another Akito, on it's knees before the beast of a tiger. "Onegai. She came to visit me, is all."

Great. Meal time theatre. At least I get to see what goes on in a now completely blank-faced Akito's head. But something is obviously wrong. And I don't feel like being hurt, thank you very much. You can just go back to wherever it is you come from. See if I care.

Then, I see something more worrisome. A snake, curled up on the edge of the table. It's scales are like tarnished copper, and its eyes are the color of dying embers.

'Are you becoming neglectful of us?' hisses the snake. I watch the scene with alarm. Akito doesn't notice. He's staring off into space and eating like a robot.

The second Akito rapidly shakes his head. “No!” he cries. “I just wanted to meet her. Please, I’m begging you, don’t make me hurt her. She’s just a girl.”

I can hold out on my own! Stop making it sound like I’m weak, just cause I’m a girl!

“Onegai,” whispers Akito number 2. “Onegai.”

‘And I suppose that soon, you’ll want us to take her in? No! It’s bad enough that we allowed that Honda girl into our sacred family, but another one?’ growls the tiger. I was starting to get worried.

‘Fool! Shall we injure you instead?’ asks the serpent.

The other Akito looks sad for a moment. “If you have to,” he mutters. I draw in a sharp breath. Did he really just say that? Okay, it’s time to intervene. I stand up and head over.

“Go to heck!” I snap, flapping my hand in front of the tiger. It yelps, jumps back, and fades away.

Then, I turn and kick the table leg the snake is resting on. Said vile creature falls to the ground and evaporates. I then turn to the second Akito. “You okay?” I ask, holding out my hand to help him from his place on the floor. He merely eyes me in wonderment.

“I don’t bite,” I say, and smile to prove it. Akito looks at my hand for a second longer before taking it and letting me help him up. He smiles a small but grateful smile. I just nod and head back to my seat. With that, real Akito rejoins the world of the living, and the other Akito fades away, still smiling.

We eat in silence for about another minute, until Akito speaks up. "S-so," he says. "What do you like to do?" I realize he's asking about my hobbies.

"I like to read Manga, and I like to watch anime, when I'm not busy with Basketball practice," I say. Akito looks at me admiringly.

"Oh," he says softly. "Basketball. I always wanted to play, but I can't because I might get hurt."

"It's actually not that hard, if you just practice a little beforehand," I say, taking pity on the poor guy. Suddenly, before he responds, it's like a door behind his eyes shut.

"Well, I'd appreciate it if you didn't make any noise while I'm resting," he says. "Basketball is loud." I have to catch myself before I smack him with my chopsticks.

"Sure," I force out, gritting my teeth.

With that, the meal descends into silence again, until Akito asks, "So, Zia-chan, what do you think of Japan?" Now, I'm not stupid. I can tell a trick question when I hear one. So I immediately think of the seemingly best answer I could give.

"Well, it seems very nice," I say. "But I haven't really been here long enough to judge." I can tell I answered right when he bows his head to think about what I just said, and doesn't seem to find anything wrong with it. We continue eating in peace. Well, okay, more like he's thinking up ways to trip me up and I'm trying to think of how to inconspiciously make his life miserable.

When we both seem to be done, Akito says, "I'm sure you're anxious to meet the family. I will let you go now. Good night, Zia-chan."

"Good night, Akito-sama," I say, backing towards the door. When he doesn't make any move to stop me, I pick up the pace.

"Oh," Akito says suddenly. "And Zia-chan? Never hug any of the family."

"What?" I ask, a bit startled by this.

"Never hug them," says Akito firmly. "Or else." I don't even bother to ask if he's threatening me. I just nod, mutter an 'okay', and head out of there. Of course, once I hit the hallway, I realize I don't know my way around. Just brilliant.

Where's that yellow-belly Hatori when you need him?