Fruits Basket Fan Fiction ❯ Just a Boy ❯ Beginning ( Chapter 1 )

Just a Boy

Chapter 1

I waited patiently whilst the other four or five boys laughed and made ignorant comments about their acceptance to my new school. I had to forgive them silently for being of fourteen years old; but I was fourteen and I seemed much more mature then these few gloriously intelligent boys. How did they ace that exam anyway?

I had worked hard for six months just to run away from my family. My psychotic older brother was driving me slowly insane and my parents never cared for anything I did. Maybe, if I finally proved to them that I was the better son, then I would be appreciated. But that's why I had made it into this all-boys school. I wanted to prove to my parents that I would be a future leader of the world.

My suitcase hung on my left side, and on my right, a small metal cage, holding my two pet rats. It hadn't read anywhere in the pamphlet that we weren't allowed to have pets. And I couldn't possibly leave them at home, in the care of my older brother. Who knows what would happen to them in his hands. I'd come home and find them dead; I knew I would cry if I saw my pets dead. I didn't want my brother to see me cry.

The carriage was taking forever to come. I'd have to ask my parents to complain, not like they'd care, though. There were about four boys behind my straight, disciplined posture, prattling on about how much they'd miss girls. There was another boy, far from the rest of us, with short brown hair and a navy blue cap. He was holding a picture, whispering quiet words to it. I'd have to remember to avoid him.

Brushing the side of my finely polished shoe against the cobblestone, I wondered vaguely about how my life would change. I had become used to the girls in my old school. Their education wasn't needed; eventually, they all became house wives, feeding children and wasting their lives away. I was going to have to live in one of the dorms, with four or five annoying boys, just like the ones behind me, and hear their stupid chatter while I studied for another exam late at night. They probably smoked. I would die if I had to share a dorm with a smoker.

In my musings, I never noticed the small drizzle that had begun. And I, of course, since I was the genius of my family, was without an umbrella. My only concern fell to my rats: would they get a cold? Can rats have colds? By the time I brought my eyes back to the horizon, I realized that an umbrella was above my head. To my side was the same boy who had been talking to his picture, only with a kind smile and large innocent blue eyes.

I tried to inch away from him but wherever I went, he followed. Finally, I allowed him to hold his umbrella over the both of us. I prayed that he didn't want to start an inconsequential conversation that would leave me feeling awkward.

"What are their names?" he asked in an oddly high-pitched voice. He was also rather quiet. I looked back at him, his eyes on the ground.

"They don't have names", I replied, lifting the rat cage higher for his view.

His quaint smile grew larger. "They should have names."

At that moment, as if waiting to contradict my complaints, a black carriage came into my sight. I lowered my rat cage and sighed, angrily. "Your name is Yuki, isn't it?" he asked, probably determined to speak with me before I was safe in the carriage. "I remember you from my old school. You were the top student. It's not a surprise that you've made it this far. My name is Tohru."

I was the first in the carriage, only because I wanted to run away from Tohru as quickly as possible. I didn't want to converse with a boy who I would probably never see again. I didn't want to know him, I didn't want to speak with him, and I didn't want to even remember his appearance. As far as I was concerned, he was just like all of the other boys: rude, obnoxious, and ignorant.

I heard the crack of a whip and soon, my escape from home had begun. Tohru had decided to sit next to me, his umbrella tucked away in his overcoat. The other four boys, who had been unanimously annoying, were sitting across from us, giggling and laughing about Tohru's small figure. He wasn't the strongest of boys, but I figured it was because he was so young; if I had joined in on their joke, I would have been a hypocrite.

An hour had passed. The boys still prattled, only quieter than before. Tohru held the picture he had had before, stroking the sides of it. My rats squirmed in their cage.

After five hours, the four boys had fallen fast asleep. Tohru was wide awake and since I did not trust him, I tried not to sleep. My eyelids kept drooping; even the scenery began to bore me. If I placed my suitcase in the right position, I could use it as a pillow . . .

"I can't believe I made it this far." Damn it. Tohru wanted to start another conversation. "Do you believe it, mother? It seems like it was ages ago that you told me to be myself . . . before you were taken away . . . I've made it into a prestigious school for boys . . . you'd be so proud, mother."

Tohru's voice had a way of lulling me into the slumber that had been determined to catch up with me since my packing at four in the morning (I had been very nervous at the time and thought every two seconds that I had forgotten something). Eventually, I discovered too late that I had given into my exhaust.

When I awoke, I was still in a carriage and I was still sitting next to Tohru. He had tucked his picture away and was now peering out the small window. His natural exuberance had encased the carriage; the other boys had woken up earlier than I had and Tohru had said something to excite them. Now they were all anticipating the end of their trip. I merely wanted out of this carriage. My legs were already cramped and I had to discover a way to feed my rats without gaining the attention of the four other young men.

"Can you imagine it, Yuki?" Tohru said to me, a beaming smile upon his bright face.

"What?" I asked, allowing my groggy state to come through in my voice.

"Eventually, we'll be students in one of the most prestigious schools of the country . . . It'll be hard work but I am determined to graduate and come out an adult! I know that we probably won't speak after this since we'll both be rather busy . . . but I wish you the best of luck, Mr. Yuki", he said happily.

"You said . . ." I uttered, testing the shallow waters of his friendly demeanor before actually conversing with him, "You said that the rats should have names."

"Of course! Whatever you want to name them would be best . . . can I hold one of them?" I readied my trusty glare, prepared to save my pet rats from danger. "I mean . . . I'm sorry for being so up front with you . . . but I've never had a pet before. I really like animals . . ."

He almost squealed when I finally opened my rat cage. "Be careful and gentle", I advised, placing one of my rats in the middle of his hands. Tohru immediately held the rat at his bosom, petting it slowly. Tohru ran his small and delicate fingers through the rat's fur, cooing quietly to it. I never suspected that a smile would grow on my face. Somehow, I felt warmer inside than I usually did. Maybe Tohru wasn't as bad as I had first thought . . .

When my rat was back in its cage with the other one, Tohru and I began to socialize. We didn't have one-handed conversations through the rest of the trip. He began to tell me silly things about his life; we conversed about how our lives had been at the old school both of us had attended. While I had been relatively popular, Tohru admitted to having only two confidents. "But sometimes it's better to have fewer friends . . . they were always true to me!"

"That was the problem with the group I had . . . I could never tell if one was telling the truth or not. Teenagers are prone to lying . . . well, a few of them are. A lot of the girls liked to talk to me. I don't understand why they were in school, anyway. Most of them are mothers already. Girls waste their education on families and house work. We shouldn't keep them in school."

While I had been speaking, I never saw Tohru's head dip lower and lower. His bangs hid the emotions on his face; I couldn't tell if he was nodding or angry. "Is that so . . ." he murmured and turned his gaze to the window once again. We didn't speak until the carriage stopped and the boys suddenly began stretching.

I was the last one out this time, pulling out any crinkles in my overcoat and wiping at the dark bags that were possibly underneath my eyes. Tohru kept some distance between us, leaving me feeling rather . . . uncomfortable. I liked the conversation we had had in the carriage. What had I said to upset him?

The school was one giant building, unlike my old school which had been a two-story house, the first floor for grades three to six and the second floor for grades seven to twelve. I would have called the building a mansion were it not painted black with a hideous crimson roof. Next to it was another black building, which I gathered to be the dorms.

An older man was waiting for us in front of the gates. He welcomed us, told us that we shouldn't fret so much about the finals, and then led us away to the dormitory. We were all given numbers. As I walked up the stairs, I noticed that Tohru hadn't broken his path from mine yet. Maybe he was on the same floor. It would be nice to have a friend so close.

I stopped in front of "my" dorm and placed the rat cage and suit case on the floor. Focusing my gaze on the doorknob, I saw Tohru waiting diligently in front of the door as well. He smiled and eyed the key in my hand. "Well, aren't you going to open the door?" he asked, still quite cheery.

"Uh . . . in a second . . ." I muttered, unlocking the door.

I had never seen such a tiny room. There was barely enough room for the two beds inside. The walls were bare with the exception of beige paint. There was a very small bathroom, but I had expected that. I hated to admit it . . . but I missed my room. Looking at this . . . barren waste reminded me of the days I used to hide from my older brother in the giant closet I had. He always wanted me to try on new clothes that he had made . . . they were all rather outrageous.

"Mr. Yuki?" Tohru asked.

"You can call me Yuki. I'll call you Tohru", I mumbled while placing my rats on the one desk we had. How were we supposed to study like this?

"Oh . . . right. Can I take the first bath, Yuki? There are a couple of clean towels in the bathroom, so . . ."

"Go right ahead. I'll . . . look for a heater." Tohru giggled at my statement. Had I known why, I might have given up on my search much earlier.

Once I realized that this school intended for us to freeze to death, I opened my suit case and started unpacking. From a distance, the sound of running water came to my ears. When one of the councilors had called my house, he told me that I would receive a summer and winter uniform. I had not received those as of yet, so I had brought along a few of my own clothes. Pulling out my toothpaste, I wandered closer to the bathroom.

I opened the door and heard Tohru slink lower into the water. Taking one glimpse at him, with his cap still on his head, I sighed and quickly made my way to the sink. "Do you wear that cap everywhere you go?" I finally asked.

"My . . . my mother bought it for me."

"You know that you can't wear a cap in class, don't you?"

Tohru frowned, pulling his cap lower over his head. One thin brown strand fell out, stopping at his mid-back. Everyone knew that long hair was not acceptable on a boy. It was unacceptable; boys with long hair were considered poor or dirty. I was amazed that Tohru had enough guts to hide his hair . . . but for how long could he keep it a secret?

"I don't think they allow us to grow out our hair, either . . ." I muttered.

"I don't have long hair!" he shouted, his cheeks turning rouge. "I mean . . . I'm sorry I shouted. It's not polite. I generally don't have much of a temper . . . I think I'm just excited today."

"You and I both." I turned to face Tohru, hidden underneath the bubbles he had suddenly made in the bathtub. It was as though he had taken the soap and scrubbed like a madman just to hide his body. I didn't know what his problem was; perhaps I was more mature than everyone else.

"I'm glad you're happy, Mr. Yuki. I thought that you weren't glad to be coming here when we were in the carriage. You seemed so . . . quiet. I don't mind quiet people; in fact I like them very much. I'm . . . glad you're my roommate, Mr. Yuki." I could have corrected him but I smiled instead.

"Would you like me to unpack your things for you?" I asked.

"That would be very kind of you!"

I left Tohru to his bath as I opened his suitcase. It was only then that I heard, "Oh no!" from the bathroom. What was a young boy dong with a sundress in his suitcase? And better yet, what was he doing with blue ribbons? Tohru's hand slammed on the top of his suitcase, luckily after I had swiftly lifted my hands.

Tohru's long hair was now fully shown, his cap on the floor of the bathroom. He had quickly wrapped a towel around his chest . . . but it wasn't enough. "T . . . Tohru?" I pleaded, as my hand lightly pushed downward on his chest.

Tohru's hidden breasts were small, but not small enough that I couldn't tell the difference between her and me.