Fruits Basket Fan Fiction ❯ Incomplete ❯ So That's How It Is? ( Chapter 2 )

“That's….an interesting question…Tohru-san.” Mikaku said slowly.

 

“Hai…an unusual question.” Replied Senji. Tohru suddenly felt like she'd done something wrong and became flustered. Why would they know their Zodiac animals?! Why would they care anyway?! I must sound so strange to just suddenly ask that! They're probably going to question me about it, and then I'm probably going to blurt out about the Sohma's! And then-

 

“I'm the Dog.” Tohru blinked, her train of thought suddenly blanked.

 

“W-what?”

 

“I said I'm the Dog, of the Zodiac.” It was Kurokin who had said this, Kurokin was year of the Dog. Tohru smiled warmly, not feeling so wrong.

 

“Hai, so am I!” she smiled.

 

“I'm year of the Monkey. Though…everyone says I'm really not like it.” Senji said with a shy smile.

 

“That's cause Monkey people are intelligent, you're stupid.” Mumbled Koutsu. Senji pouted and poked him in the back. Tohru laughed a little and turned to Mikaku. She scanned him, searching him for traits of the Sohma's to see if she could guess which animal.

 

“Mikaku-kun…are you the cow?” Mikaku stared at her for a moment and then chuckled.

 

“No I'm not, I'm the Rat.” He smiled. Tohru almost fell over. His personality seemed to fit Hatsuharu's best, his style and his appearance too. But she just smiled, trying to imagine the Yuki in him. She laughed and was given a pat on the head.

 

“Are you alright? Just suddenly laughing out loud like that.”

 

“Hai hai, I'm fine.” She smiled and thought of Koutsu. “Um…which is Koutsu-san?” she turned to face him and found that he had turned, now sitting cross-legged to face them with the wet cloth held tightly in a constricting left hand. She was slightly shocked by the cold, serious look on his face and jumped back a little.

 

“What do you care…what Zodiac I am.” His voice and eyes pierced her, making her feel cold and alone. With only him and her now, only his eyes and hers, only his voice and hers.

 

“Why do you want to know?”

 

“I….I was just…wondering.” She stuttered, finding that no matter how much she wanted to turn away from those blood red eyes, she couldn't, she was frozen.

 

“In that case, it's irrelevant whether you know or not. You don't need to know, therefore you wont.” He suddenly stood and walked over to the sofa, he lay down on it with his back to her. Now not feeling that icy stare on her, Tohru let go of the breath she was holding. She felt his words echoing through her body, back and forth in her head, `You don't need to know, therefore you won't.' The words rang through her until it was embedded in her, as if now that he had said it, it couldn't be broken, she would never find out.

 

“Young Miss?” Tohru gave out a small scream as she felt something touch her shoulder. It was Kurokin.

 

“Tohru-san! You're shaking!” Said Senji, taking her arm and setting her down on the chair.

 

“I-I'm fine.” She said, although she felt as though she had been dragged through a field of glass, her whole body felt of pins and needles. She shook, she couldn't stop herself, and she suddenly felt like she wanted to break down into tears. She'd been frightened, he'd done this too her and she was only realising now. She brought a shaking hand to her face and covered her mouth; trying to conceal some of her shock and fright, and also her disbelief. Mikaku frowned at Koutsu, and turned his attention back to Tohru, he bent down to meet her face.

 

“Please ignore that, don't take what he said or did to heart. He doesn't seem to realise how much he can affect people with that little trick of his.”

 

“It's not a trick, I meant it.” Tohru gulped as she stared at Koutsu's slim form stretched out along the sofa, how could he have caused so much terror? A trick? It was a trick? Regaining steadiness, she stood and walked slowly over to Koutsu, kneeling down at the sofa facing his back. He growled.

 

“What do you want?!” he said bitterly, as though snarling. Tohru reached out her hand and gently placed it on his side. She felt tremors rack his entire body from her soft touch. He didn't move or speak though, this was her apology, for anything that she'd done wrong. What had she done wrong? She only asked for my Zodiac….he thought as he felt the warm hand on his side, the warmth spreading to a little bit beyond the hand. He jumped as it moved, sliding upwards to find his shoulder and rested there.

 

“I'm…sorry.” He heard a small voice murmur. Guilt washed over him like the tide. He sat up and averted his eyes from her as he faced her, now sure if he looked at her she would become frightened.

 

“You don't have to be, I should apologise.” The others stood in utter disbelief.

 

“Haa Koutsu-san! You must have the hots for this girl if you're being this ni—” Senji couldn't finish because Mikaku was strangling him from the back.

 

-Let them have a moment.

 

-nuchnacknuch

 

-is that an `Okay'? Or `stop strangling me'?

 

“Um…no! I should be the one to apologise, I mean, it suppose it can be a pretty personal thing…or is it that you don't know or something? No! Of course you know, that's just being silly!” Koutsu couldn't help but smirk at her red, flustered face.

 

“You did no wrong…I'm sorry.”

 

“No really!” Tohru said grasping his hands in her own. Koutsu's face burst into a panicked blaze, he hunched his shoulders and glared at Tohru, whispering harshly.

 

“Let. Go. Right. Now.” Tohru let go immediately and staggered backwards, trying to get away from his gaze. Cradling his left hand, he stood up and was ready to leave when guilt struck him once again. She doesn't even know why. He lowered his head and sighed through his nose.

 

“I'm sorry…again…I have to go.” Before I do anything else to frighten you… he thought as he walked out of the door. Tohru simply stared at the empty space of the door frame and then back to the others, confused. She then remembered that his left hand had been bandaged, perhaps he had hurt it? and she….

 

“OH MY GOSH! I WAS HOLDING HIS HAND HARD AND HE MUST HAVE HURT IT!!” she wailed, as if she'd suddenly realised.

 

“Ah, it's okay Tohru-san. He did hurt is hand, but not in the way that you think- it wasn't very serious. He's just a bit…well, he's not the touchy-feely type.” Said Mikaku smiling. He was going to say more, but he was interrupted by a small black rabbit entering the room and jumping on his leg.

 

“Jingle-chan?”

 

“Ah! What a kawaii bunny!!” said Tohru, kneeling down and opening her arms to the small rabbit. Mikaku smiled nervously and lifted the rabbit away from her, placing it behind him.

 

“Be careful, Jingle-chan can be a nasty piece of work sometimes.” He said winking at the rabbit, who simply wriggled it's whiskers and ran to Kurokin. Mikaku sighed.

 

“She didn't get it…”

 

“Hmm?” Tohru was a little lost now, how suddenly he had changed with just a small rabbit entering the room. Mikaku gave another nervous smile, but then took a mad dash at Senji-who was about to touch the rabbit's paws. Too late!! He screamed inside, as the form of the rabbit morphed in a celestial light to a human form. After the light had passed, Tohru took her hand away from her face to see a small naked girl run past her shouting-

 

“My jinglies!!” and ran out of the room. Tohru felt the air around her becoming cold and heavy, awkwardly silent. When she realised what had happened she started to giggle, and then couldn't stop laughing. Me! Imagine the same girl meeting two families like this in one lifetime! Once she could contain her laughter, she smiled at Mikaku and hugged him- to find that nothing happened.

 

“Um…Tohru-san?”

 

“Doesn't it work that way? You know; I hug you and you turn into you're Zodiac animal?” Mikaku blinked and then looked to Senji and Kurokin. They both nodded solemnly and stood, walking to stand beside Mikaku.

 

“I suppose you know our secret, or part of it anyway….the only thing I don't understand is why you….embrace it?”

 

“Hai! I know another family just like this one! Well-not `just like this one', what I mean is that the family has the same curse! It's a little different, but still the same concept!” she said happily.

 

“Uwaa? Is that right…I thought we were the only family cursed by the Zodiac…what is the family's name?” asked Kurokin with a high level of interest in his voice.

 

“The Sohma family! So…the Hitsuki family and the Sohma family are both cursed by the Zodiac….and I know them both!” Tohru exclaimed happily. Mikaku laughed and placed his hand on her head.

 

“It must be your destiny, to know and understand the Zodiac children.” He said. Tohru smiled and nodded, then sat down cross-legged on the floor.

 

“So…how does it work then? It's not like the Sohma curse.” She said. Mikaku sat down to face her and smiled.

 

“Hah, it appears not. Well…ours is quite…hmm…tell us how the Sohma family's works first.”

 

“Hmm. Well, people that are possessed by the spirits of the Zodiac can turn into their Zodiac animal. It works when someone of the opposite sex hugs them…or falls onto them.” She added with a gentle giggle. “It only lasts for a short time though…usually. They can stay in that form for a long time if they're sick or very emotional.” Tohru explained. Mikaku gave a shudder and then wrapped his arms around himself.

 

“Hai…it seems….much worse than ours….” Said Kurokin thoughtfully. Mikaku nodded.

 

“Ours is different…in some respects at least. You see; when a Zodiac child is born, after a month their Zodiac `sign' forms on their left hand, like a kind of birthmark. And after about a year, the sign glows brightly and they can then turn into their Zodiac animals whenever they wish-or not.” Tohru nodded, it was much different. It seemed more of a blessing than a curse.

 

“So…they have a choice?”

 

“In a way. When a hand-it has to be a hand-is passed over the sign on their left hand, they morph into their animal, and they can only turn back when a hand passes over the left…whatever. Unlike the Sohma's, it can be either sex for this. The good thing though, is that it only works when skin touches skin, that's why we wear protection. I do know that walking about with only one glove looks odd though.”

 

“He-he, I like it! I think it looks cool! Although, you mean you have to stay in your animal until someone touches your hand again?”

 

“That's how it goes…it can be quite frustrating for some Zodiac children.” Tohru nodded, taking all of the information in and forming some questions that she thought wouldn't offend. It felt kind of `homely' to be with these people that have the same affliction, it felt right.

 

“Um…but what about the snake or the bird? Or…the cow, boar and sheep? Snakes and birds don't have hands or paws. The cow, boar and sheep have hooves.”

 

“Ha, you're right. God had a plan for them though; the snake's sign is on it's back, the same with the bird. The cow's, boar's and sheep's sign is on their left wrist. Personally I think that's cool.” Mikaku said grinning. Tohru's mind had wondered somewhere else, she thought of Hatori, of his dragon form.

 

“What about…the dragon?” she asked sheepishly. Mikaku tilted his head.

 

“What about the dragon?”

 

“It…doesn't have hands, paws or hooves. Would…it also be on it's back?”

 

“Um…maybe the dragon child from the Sohma Zodiac is different from ours, ours has paws.” Tohru flinched slightly. Paws? Does that mean that the dragon child's form is actually…?

 

“That's…” she couldn't contain her excitement “that mean's that the dragon form of the dragon Zodiac is actually a real dragon!!” she shouted, almost jumping up from the ground.

 

“Isn't that what the name suggests?” asked Senji, raising an eyebrow. Tohru nodded, and then shook her head a little.

 

“The dragon child's form in the Sohma family is….a seahorse.” Kurokin smirked.

 

“Haa, is that right? Well our dragon is the real deal…he isn't very big mind…” said Senji with a small smile.

 

“Who is the Dragon from your Zodiac?”