Fruits Basket Fan Fiction ❯ Honda constellations ❯ aries ( Chapter 2 )

In ancient Greece, there was a king, Athamas, that took a second wife, Ino. She was a jealous woman, hating her step-children Phrixus and his sister Helle. One day, Ino plotted how to get rid of the two by making the villagers think that they had caused the famine that had swept the land, and the only way to stop it was to sacrifice them to the gods. Hermes, the messenger god, saw this and took pity on the innocent children. He sent a ram that was faithful to the siblings and their real mother to save them. The ram's name was Aries. The ram flew down and saved the children, flying over the seas to a country then called Colchis. Unfortunately, the girl, Helle, fell off and drowned in the straight named after her: Hellespoint.

 

The king of Colchis welcomed Phrixus with open arms, and in fact even invited him to marry his oldest daughter, which he did. Now, the ram knew that his mission was complete and let himself be sacrificed to Zeus for thanks of the good journey. The king sheared off Aires's Golden Fleece and hung it in the grove of Ares to be protected for all time by a never-sleeping dragon/serpent. Zeus was proud of the ram and immortalized him, making him into a constellation. Why they say Aries is so faint, is because he no longer has his shining Golden Fleece.

 

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Yuki sat down, leaning against the fence to get a better view of Tohru's face, “how do you two know each other?” she tensed at the question, debating how exactly to answer the fatal question: how?

 

“well, you see, she's my sister, half-sister actually, and we don't exactly get along,” Tohru turned and faced yuki, “just don't make me explain why she's only two months older than me.” She smiled, hiding her resentment, “lets go back before they suspect something, okay?” Tohru grasped Yuki's hand and pulled him to the door, hiding the little glimpse of her true self again under her cheerful mask.

 

“oh, look, the rat's back,” Kyo sneered, announcing the arrival of the two MIAs. Yuki gave a small glare, unnoticeable by his `fan club', and Tohru half-hid behind yuki, blushing slightly.

 

His now-calm gaze scanned the room to only reveal the two empty seats that belonged to him and Tohru. “switch seats with me,” he whispered, “so your… she won't bother you any more.” Tohru gave a small nod and headed into the classroom, Yuki following. Collecting her stuff, she placed it on Yuki's desk and gave him his neatly organized book bag before sitting down.

 

The teacher was fortunately somewhere else at the time and took a double-take, seeing the switch in seats, but shook his head and passed it off as senility. Sylvia seemed irked at first, but soon a plotting grin crossed her face. “hey, hey you,” she poked Yuki's shoulder, but he kept his eyes forward. she wasn't one to give up easily, “hey, what's your name?” she waited, but no response came except for a slight flinch at her touch. “For being as cute as you are, you sure don't talk very much. Are you mute?… well,” she giggled at herself, “you wouldn't respond then, would you? Being mute and all.” Her tone then turned serious, “you stay away from her, whatever your name is, she's not good enough for you that little prick only deserves to be turned out to pasture.” Tohru turned away at that, trying to ignore the stinging sensation behind her eyes.

 

()

 

It was a long time until lunch, but they finally made it out of the classroom and up onto the roof for lunch. “so, what was up with that new chick? Is she a new member of your fan club or what?” Kyo asked through a mouthful of muffin. Tohru shook her head slightly, silently responding for Yuki, and looked out on the grounds to find the patch of snow-white in the darker heads.

 

“oh no, she's not!” Tohru stood up with her anger, grabbing the chain-link fence. She spotted Sylvia being approached by the fan club and they started talking. Apparently after a few moments of explanation, she became a welcome member of the side branch of Yuki's fan club called `I hate Tohru Honda.' And after a few more minutes of talking and laughter, they pointed to the roof and Cygnus nodded her head in thanks.

 

“What is it?” Kyo asked, standing up beside Tohru and looking for what she was so unnerved about.

 

“That's bad,” Yuki had looked out on Tohru's other side and saw who was coming like a beeline to the ladder to the roof, which happened to be the only means of escape besides the access door was locked on the inside, unless the person wanted to jump about five stories. Kyo looked down also and saw her closing in to the ladder.

 

“Its her,” Hana said, not even bothering to stand up like the rest, preferring to finish her chips, “her electrical signals are wild, just like last time, she wants blood.”

 

“Has she seen us yet?” Uo asked, standing up and going over to the locked door in hopes that it would somehow unlock with her touch.

 

And just as things would have it, the bird looked up and gave them a smile that hid malicious thoughts directly under the surface. Tohru's eyes widened and she ran from the edge to the door by Uo. “I would take that as a yes, Tohru?” the girl was digging in her book bag for something franticly.

 

“no, no, of all times for me to loose them, not now!” Tohru held up a leather pouch that looked like a relatively large wallet, “Aha!” the others came over to the door, leaving Yuki to keep and eye on the ascending girl that was about half way up already, seemingly unafraid of heights.

 

“what do you have Tohru?” Kyo asked, looking down at the wallet while she opened it up to reveal… dental tools and a credit card. He raised his eyebrow in curiosity while the others stood back slightly and out of the door's way.

 

Tohru took out the card and held it in her hand for a few precious seconds before sliding it in the space between the frame and door by the lock. After a few seconds, Tohru heard a click and the door swung open. Opening the door wider, she herded the others inside before whistling to signal Yuki. He gave one final glance before sprinting to the door before Tohru shut it tight.

 

She made sure that the door closed and locked itself before sinking down to the stairs in relief, laughing. “woo! I haven't done that in years!” Tohru held up the card, which revealed vertical scratch marks and a hook on one end, in celebration before putting it back in its sleeve. She put the wallet thing back into her bag laughing, but jumped, nearly on the boys, when pounding started at the metallic door.

 

“come on out here, Taurus, come out here and pla-ay!” came a sickening-sweet voice. Tohru went pale when the handle started jingling after a few moments of silence, “you know that you can't stay indoors too long, Taurus, it's not in your nature. And when you do, I'll be ready to…”

 

“just fly away, Cygnus! I don't want to go back and they can't make me!” Tohru yelled through the door, startling the boys and scaring the girls with her voice.

 

Laughing started from the other side, softly at first, but quickly became riotous, “yes, they can! I'm just the messenger and they, know, where, you, live!” at that, both girls left the door, Sylvia dancing to the ladder and Tohru stomping down the stairs. The others looked at each other and in a mutual consensus decided to be quiet for the time being.

 

At the bottom of the stairs, Tohru kicked the door open and stormed town the hallway toward the bathroom. Uo saw the damage done to the hinges and her eyes widened. It has begun already. “Tohru! Wait up!” she called, running up to her friend and pinning both of her wrists behind her back. Tohru started to struggle as the ex-Yankee held her still. “Tohru, you need to calm down before…” she glanced over to the boys and changed her tactic, “Tohru, you nearly tore down the door and I know with your job you can't pay for a new one! Now calm down!” Uo hissed, holding the smaller girl still until her shoulders started sagging.

 

“I'm sorry. It's just…”

 

“we know,” Hana stepped forward, her hands in a placating gesture, careful not to touch her friend, “and I'll talk to them tonight when I go over there.” Tohru nodded and Uo let go slowly, letting Tohru rub her sore arm joints.

 

“ow,” Tohru said slowly, remembering the last time that she had to be held like that. “lunch is almost over and we should start heading back to class. And I shouldn't let something like, this, stop me from keeping my promise to mom, right?” the girls nodded and started walking, leaving the boys in the state known as confusion.

 

“are you coming, or are you both going to ditch?” Uo called behind her, snapping the boys out of their daze and sprinted to catch up.

 

“so… what's the thing between you guys and the new girl?” Kyo asked, causing the girls to falter in their step and look at Tohru, who in turn looked at her feet.

 

“let's just put it as I know her and we don't like each other,” Tohru said shortly, speeding up and around the corner into the girl's bathroom.

 

Uo sighed and looked over to the boys, “those two fight worse than, what's a good example Hana? Oh, yeah, a cat and a mouse.” The boys looked at each other and caught eye contact briefly, silently agreeing that there was more to Tohru that met the eye.

 

“so, where did Miss Honda learn to unlock doors like that?” Yuki asked, mimicking the sliding action that Tohru used earlier.

 

Uo laughed shortly and looked the boys in the eye, “she's a second generation Yankee, maybe even more, and Kyoko taught her more than just helpful sayings. There are things that you wouldn't expect her to know that she does. Packages can be misleading, boys.” With that she left to the classroom where she knew Tohru would eventually show up to.

 

“if you want to know more about her, just ask,” Hana stared at the two boys for a second, completely creeping them out, “if its one thing that her packaging does tell, its her honesty if you just know what to ask.”

 

()

 

By the time that the boys walked back home, Tohru had run the entire way and was now in her room getting…something. She came downstairs a minute later in a purple tank top and matching loose pants with a sash tying the pants secure so they wouldn't fall down easily. She had a small boom box in her hands and was seemingly barefoot. “I'm going out for a little while before I start dinner!” she called from the front door, not even bothering to put on a pair of shoes. She left before there was any sign that the trio had heard and they didn't even see her outfit.

 

“Tohru-kun didn't say hello to me!” Shigure whined, coming out from his office dramatically. The boys just rolled their eyes and went to the front door in time to see Tohru's retreating back going into the woods.

 

“did you know she owned a pair of pants…?”

 

“isn't that the direction that her tent was before she came to us last year?” yuki asked, gesturing in that general direction.

 

“yes it is,” Shigure said, turning serious, “she seems upset about something. I'm going to follow her in a few minutes just in case.” They were about to whap him across the skull, but it did make sense, Sometimes an older person was needed to talk to instead of a peer.

 

“there was a new student in our class today that Honda-kun seemed to know. When she sat down, they called each other different names. The new girl was called Cygnus and Honda-kun was called Taurus. Uo-san and Hana-san seemed to know her too, but didn't have a grudge. How Uo-san they were, was like a cat and a mouse,” Yuki said, watching Shigure slip on a pair of shoes at the door.

 

“hmm, and interesting choice of words I would say. But it seems interesting what the two call each other. They're constellation names, yuki, and Taurus is in the western zodiac, the bull if I'm correct. I wonder if there are more things to our little flower than it looks like,” Shigure stood up and went to the door, “now all we have to find out is if this is something to look into or not,” and he left.

 

After a few minutes of walking, Shigure started to feel the beat of the bass on Tohru's boom box and followed it to where he thought she would be. She was in the clearing that her tent used to be, but wasn't doing what he expected. The majority of the dirt from the old land slide had been moved around to flatten out the land when Yuki and his rats had dug up Tohru's stuff. She was currently at the far end of the clearing, breathing hard, and started to run. Clearly, she wasn't aware of anything but herself, the music, and the ground because she pushed off with her right foot and started a tumbling routine in time with the song.

 

She was a little rusty it looked like, tripping every once in a while on a difficult move, but was quite good and looked like she had done it her entire life. The next song was a bit slower, and didn't have as much bass to it. she stopped in the middle and started doing a dance, stretching out muscles that she hadn't used like this in a long time. When this one ended, she was practically against the trees. She decided to do a tumbling line to a log that was fallen in the middle of the clearing. So before the next song started, she did a running start and started doing a series of floor exorcises.

 

“Tohru!” Shigure called out, trying to catch her attention before the next song started, but accidentally made her trip and end up rolling very fast to the log, making her land with her lower back draped over the log and her groaning in pain. Shigure flinched at her landing and resulting hard grunt before running out from behind his cover to check if she was severely injured. “Tohru!” he called again, kneeling by her side, but not touching, “are you alright?”

 

Her eyes snapped open, revealing a stormy turquoise instead of the calm that they usually showed. She looked at Shigure before closing her eyes again and doing a back-flip off the log just to do a face-plant into the luckily soft dirt. “what are you doing out here?” she asked, trying to be as polite as possible, “that hurt!” she muttered under her breath.

 

“making sure that you didn't hurt yourself or anything,” He glanced worriedly at her back, “and to be a pair of ears if you want to say anything, but first did you injure your back when you landed?”

 

Tohru kept her face in the dirt, but her hand went to the back of her shirt and lifted it off her lower back, revealing white binding bandages underneath. “Is there any blood?” she asked, allowing the perverted writer to peer oh-so-nearly to her behind, but the writer was a good boy (for once) and only inspected the area that was revealed to be bandaged.

 

He ran his fingers over the bandaging, wondering if it was hiding more than just her attributes, but something on her back instead. There was, in fact, some blood starting to seep through on her lower left side in the general shape of a crescent. “yes, there is some blood starting to come through. If you can get up, we should go back to the house and have Ha'ri look at it.”

 

“No!” Tohru yelled, bringing her face and torso out of the dirt, putting strain on the injury. “that hurt,” she said as she put her body back down. “no,” she started again, “its fine, I don't need Hatori-san to look at it. Besides, it's just an old injury that refuses to close anyway, nothing special.” This time she raised herself up without bending her back and stood up. “see, I'm fine. All I need to do is put new bandages on and I'll be fine.”

 

She took a step and winced, Shigure saw this and came to step beside the teen, “yes, you look fine now, with pain shooting up your back in every step,” he said with a hint of sarcasm in his voice. “but at least let me help you with the bandages, unless there's something on your back that you don't want others to see. Come to think of it, you even wore a one-piece to the hot springs (haven't seen that episode yet, so I'm assuming). How long have you had those bandages on anyway?” Shigure silently started supporting Tohru's walk as much as he could without transforming.

 

“longer than I've known you guys. In fact, this happened before mom left even, so its old.” She gestured to her back and continued walking, grabbing her small boom box on the way and shutting it off.

 

They walked a few minutes in silence before Shigure could say something new, “what caused your original injury, if I may ask, Tohru,” it looked like a crescent, but it could have been any number of things.

 

“I fell off something, and that something stepped on me because it didn't like me.” Tohru said simply, implying that what she said had more than just the literal meaning. Shigure nodded, knowing not to continue the subject.

 

They reached the steps before Tohru spoke again, “yeah, you can help me if you want, but don't tell anyone what you saw, okay?” Shigure nodded and set the both of them on the front step so he could remove his shoes, but then realized that Tohru was seemingly without any the entire time.

 

“you didn't wear any shoes while you did that, are your feet okay?” he asked, pulling off one shoe.

 

“shoes would have just been clunky. But I did wear a leather sole so they wouldn't get cut up,” Tohru lifted her foot up slightly to reveal a leather triangle on the pads of her foot and took it off for Shigure to have a closer look. There was a loop on one of the rounded corners for the middle toe to go through and a pair of strings off the other two corners to secure it so it wouldn't move too much. “since humans don't have the pads on their feet like most mammals do, some people use these so their feet aren't injured so easily. It takes a while to get used to, but they are helpful.” She took off the other one and stuffed them in her pocket, leaving her feet completely bare.

 

“go up and lay on your bed and I'll get some bandages for you, okay?” Tohru nodded and walked to the stairs, hiding her pain very well by now. After watching her go up the stairs, Shigure went into the kitchen to get a bowl of warm clean water and a towel to clean off the blood.

 

“what are you doing Shigure?” Kyo asked, eyeing him from the television room curiously.

 

“I'm taking Tohru some water so we can clean off an injury that I accidentally caused by breaking her concentration. Who knew we had a gymnast in our lovely house?” he asked, grabbing a roll of bandages on his way upstairs.

 

“Tohru, I brought bandages,” Shigure said, knocking on her door. A small groan was his response and he took it as an `enter.' He opened the door slowly, just in case the groan really wasn't an `enter' and revealed Tohru on her stomach propped up on her pillows with her tank top tied so it wouldn't reveal anything but her stomach/back.

 

Shigure sat down beside her on the bed and touched her shoulder, “hey, are you alive?” he joked, putting the bowl of water on her bedside table.

 

“there were times when I wish I wasn't,” Tohru answered in hopefully just a joking manner. There was no reply, so Tohru looked up into Shigure's face to just see a slightly saddened look. “I said `were' Shigure. It's you guys that make me want to live after all those times when I thought I was nothing,” she said, trying to cheer up the inu. After it didn't work, Tohru sighed and started to remove her bandages for Shigure to clean.

 

“just, please, don't be surprised with what you see. I'm used to it and its not as bad as it looks,” she looked away, facing her back to Shigure as the last bit of wrapping came away, revealing a crescent-shaped wound that was bleeding, more like oozing, softly but insistently. There was a gauze pad over the wound that was soaked through and Tohru grabbed it before it fell on her pink covers.

 

Shigure raised his eyebrows at the marking, including the pink scars near the ends of the crescent, it looked just like a horseshoe. But what was even stranger was that there was a faded tattoo in the center of the constellation Taurus. “I must admit, I'm not surprised at this, but I still want Ha'ri to look at it anyway. And I wouldn't peg you for a person to have a tattoo, let alone one like that.”

 

“it's not a tattoo, It's a birthmark. Well, actually, a couple of years ago, there were parts inked in, but its mostly a birthmark.” It was true, where the stars of Taurus were supposed to be, were brown freckles, and then there was a red outline of the bull's head and front legs likened to a type of birthmark called a Hemangeoma. Tohru bit her lower lip as Shigure used the hydrogen peroxide and cleaned off the blood, but soon he put the bandages on, wrapping it just tight enough to keep them from slipping.

 

“are there others that have markings like you?” Shigure asked, hoping not to raise Tohru's suspicion.

 

“just like mine, no. but there are others,” Tohru gave, knowing his game already and not wanting to give the answers without some mystery.

 

Yeah, another chapter! And, surprisingly, someone has figured out my clues already, and you know who you are! And by the fifth chapter, if you don't get it, you need to get out more. I forgot this last chapter: I don't even have one manga, so why would I own it? dark