Fruits Basket Fan Fiction ❯ First Time ❯ Chapter 1

 

“So we're getting a computer?” Kyo asked.

 

“Yes! I'm very excited about it; I've never really had a computer before. Mom didn't know how to use one, and since it was just the two of us, we didn't really have the money to buy one anyway. Not that I'm complaining. I'm just excited that I'm going to learn how to use one! Have you ever had one before, Kyo-kun?” Tohru replied as she made dinner.

 

“No, Shishou is as good with electronics as he is with cooking. If he'd had a computer, he probably would have electrocuted himself or something.”

 

Tohru wasn't sure how she was supposed to react to that. Her natural reaction was to panic at the mention of Kazuma electrocuting himself, but lately she'd been working on staying more “level-headed” as she'd promised herself she would be. Instead, she just stayed quiet for a moment, then turned and chirped with a huge grin, “Then that means we both get to learn!”

 

Kyo chuckled at her reaction and left her to cook in peace.

 

 

Later that week the computer arrived, replacing Shigure's old computer that had died of a virus. He'd tried explaining to Tohru where he'd picked up the virus (and what a computer virus was) but Yuki and Kyo had promptly silenced him with several blows to the head. Despite her confusion at the time, and her honest desire to know where the virus had come from so that she wouldn't accidentally kill the new computer, she had simply smiled worriedly and allowed the boys to assure her that she wouldn't pick up the virus that Shigure had. As for the description of a computer virus, Shigure never actually managed to explain that. The boys had silenced him as soon as they'd heard the words “late-night activity” leave his mouth.

 

Once the device was set up and running, Yuki and Shigure quickly set up their accounts and then Yuki walked Tohru through the process. Kyo, claiming that the whole thing was a big waste of time, was sitting in the living room, eavesdropping on Yuki's computer lesson for Tohru, and desperately trying to memorize Yuki's instructions. Despite his claim, he was really just self-conscious of the fact that he didn't have a clue how to even turn the thing on.

 

“Kyo-kun, it's your turn to set up an account. Would you like Shigure-san to help you?” Tohru asked, knowing better than to suggest Yuki help Kyo.

 

“I can figure it out on my own,” he replied, gruffer than he'd meant to be.

 

Tohru jumped a little at his tone of voice, but said, “Oh, ok then.”

 

Blushing a little, Kyo stammered, “But, um, maybe it would be a good idea for you to be there. I mean, Yuki just helped you, so you know how to do it. Just in case I can't find the right button or something. Not that that'll happen. But you know, just in case it does.”

 

Tohru blushed and nodded before following him into the study.

 

 

Several hours later, Kyo still had no account and Tohru had forgotten everything she'd learned from Yuki. Shigure had come in and tried to “help” but that had ended badly. Rather than helping Kyo, he'd directed the boy to the internet and to several adult sites with benign sounding names.

 

Tohru had been so embarrassed that she'd nearly run out of the room, and Shigure had almost paid for the joke with his life when Kyo had tried to stand and pummel him. However, Kyo's feet had somehow become ensnared in the multitude of wires under the desk and rather than a grand leap at Shigure's throat, Kyo had made a rather ungraceful hop that landed him on the floor with a computer monitor on his chest. Luckily, the monitor had escaped unscathed.

 

Currently, Tohru was once more attempting to walk Kyo through the steps of creating an account, but so far, she'd managed only to confuse the boy.

 

“Um, I think you click there, Kyo-kun.”

 

“You're sure this time, Tohru?”

 

“Yes. You are definitely supposed to click there. Or is it right-click?”

 

“I thought you were sure.”

 

“I'm sure you should click there. I'm just not sure if it's left or right.”

 

Kyo blinked a little in confusion, but sighed and clicked where Tohru had indicated. An error message popped up, and when he clicked “cancel,” the screen immediately turned blue as a high-pitched squeal sliced through the air.

 

Running into the study, Yuki stared at the screen for a moment before wrenching keyboard and mouse from Kyo's grip and rebooting the computer. Once more before a normal screen, and in silence, Kyo made one last attempt at creating an account without Yuki's help. Again, the blue screen of death appeared, this time with the words “Your computer has been shut off for its own protection” on the screen.

 

Yelling in frustration, he hefted the monitor into the air and charged down the hall in the direction he'd last seen Yuki go.

 

Nursing his goose egg from the computer monitor when Kyo had missed Yuki (Yuki had ducked just in time), Shigure called the repairman, asking for a new monitor and someone who could check to see what was causing the blue screen to appear.

 

 

Kyo hadn't gone near the computer since the disaster of his first experience. That had been nearly two months ago, and finally he had decided to try again. This time however, he was going to do it alone, in the middle of the night when no one was going to be using it, not even Shigure.

 

After everyone went to bed, Kyo snuck downstairs to the study and eyed the machine as though it were going to bite him. He turned it on and warily sat as the computer whirred to life.

 

Fifteen minutes later, after much random clicking before finally discovering the right button to create an account, Kyo was all set up. Reaching to turn it off, his hand paused mid-air. Why not play around on it a little? He'd succeeded in making an account for himself without breaking the computer; he might as well become more familiar with the rest of it.

 

Within an hour, he'd discovered several random sites that seemed interesting. Interestingly enough, one seemed to contain a link to the FBI database. After some quick lessons from other sites he'd found, he was able to link into what appeared to be personnel files.

 

Kyo chuckled as he read the new file on the computer. “Oh wow, this guy is a DORK! Lives with his mom at age fifty; his hobbies include video games, trading card games, and online dating. Heh, with a face like that, it's no wonder he dates online.” He glanced at the clock on the screen, “Oh geez, I should get to bed. I've been staring at these things for hours.” Hastily shutting off the computer, he raced upstairs to get a few hours of sleep before school.

 

The next night he found himself once more glued to the computer screen, only this time he wasn't reading personnel files. Instead, he was playing what he thought was a game involving passwords. In reality, it was a top-secret command center for the United States government. He'd found a similar one for the Japanese government, as well as the Russian, Italian, and British governments. The nifty “translate this page” feature he'd discovered had helped considerably in reading those pages, but it was probably the source of his confusion over why there were so many overrides in a game. Normally in games, you set off nuclear weapons with a couple of buttons, something along those lines. Overrides were what were used when you wanted to STOP a nuclear weapon from being launched. This wasn't one of those games.

 

Eventually he gave up trying to break the last code and went to bed.

 

For the third night in a row, Kyo found himself staring at secret government documents. This time the files were from Australia. He was much more careful this time; on the news this morning was a report that several major governments had been thrown into mass confusion last night when dozens of nuclear warheads had suddenly begun arming themselves and readying themselves for launch. Thankfully, none had actually been fired, but it had apparently been a very close call for the United States.

 

Now that he was conscious of the fact that these were in fact government sites that he had no real right to look at, he decided to play more benign pranks. These pranks included things such as mass mailing an e-mail alerting everyone in Australia to an impromptu “holiday” on Monday and ordering various types of lingerie for top ranking male officials in the Australian government, using their credit card numbers to make the purchases.

 

As he drifted off to sleep, he wondered what he would discover on the internet the next day.

 

Unfortunately for him, Shigure had somehow discovered Kyo's nocturnal activities and announced at breakfast that the computer had caught another virus; this time he felt it would be best if the new computer was once more simply his personal writing computer and nothing else.