Fruits Basket Fan Fiction ❯ Mad Season ❯ One ( Chapter 1 )

[ Y - Young Adult: Not suitable for readers under 16 ]

I would just like to say before you go on, that this story is simply a guilty little pleasure. It's a little AU, I've probably disregarded facts from the manga and anime, and I use a lot of random Japanese because I'm learning the language, and the language barrier the two characters possess in this piece is key. Therefore, random Japanese. Feel free to correct any of it if you wish, I'm open to constructive criticism.

Disclaimer: If you recognize it from popular media, then I don't own it.

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There's a little bookstore on the outskirts of Kaibara, all the way across town and a good fifteen minutes longer to walk to than the one closest to the school. It's owned by a man named Iwata and his wife, an American woman named Mina. On the weekends, she brings in their little girl, Aiko, to entertain customers.

I like to go during the week, when it's quiet and just Mina is there, usually reading a book behind the counter. Pathetic, I guess, but even with my feelings for Tohru, I think I've got a crush on this woman. She knows just enough Japanese to get by with the regular patrons and I know a bit of English from school. I wish I knew more; Mina's voice is wonderful and perhaps I enjoy our broken, bilingual conversations a little too much.

Too much for him, in any case.

But he doesn't know about Mina, and I'll never tell him. It doesn't matter, anyway, it's just a little crush.

The little bells over the door jingled and Mina Watanabe looked up from her novel with her usual 'dealing-with-customers' smile. It never really reached her eyes, and they shone a dull blue-grey until she noticed who it was that had walked in. He was a student from the local high school and he'd taken to visiting the bookstore recently. Mina was genuinely happy to see him; of all the patrons, he'd opened up to her and despite their language barrier, they were able to hold pleasant conversations. Sometimes it made her homesick, listening to his broken, softly-accented English.

It had only been two years, the age of her daughter, since she and her husband had moved to Japan. Iwata himself was Japanese, a kind young man with friendly eyes, and they had met in college during a semester he'd chosen to study abroad. The two had instantly seemed to click and even though she hadn't finished her schooling, Mina had readily agreed to come back to Japan with him, and they'd been married shortly after she discovered she was carrying his child. Then they'd settled down here in Kaibara and taken over this bookstore that his parents had originally owned.

The student continued approaching the main desk, a gentle smile on his face. "Watanabe-san, konnichiwa."

She nervously replied, "Uh, hi, Yuki-kun." Even after two years, Mina still had a little bit of trouble with the greetings. Thankfully the silver haired boy never seemed to mind.

Instead he smiled at her and nodded. "H-how are you, Watanabe-san?" Admittedly he was doing much better with his English. In fact most of their conversations took place in it, especially since she couldn't speak very much Japanese. However, Yuki was diligently studying her language in school and for that she was much more appreciative than she could let him know.

Smiling at him, she shrugged and gestured to the shop about her. "It's... okay. And really, you can call me Mina. I don't mind..." It never ceased to amaze her how polite he tried to be, but she felt so awkward being called by her last name; especially since it was what everyone called her husband and she hated feeling as if she weren't a seperate entity.

Yuki nodded his head, hair falling around his face for a brief moment. She'd always thought it was such an odd color, a silver that caught the light just right and never managed to make him look old. His eyes were the same, only a bright violet that she sometimes thought too pretty for a boy. The teen himself was very pretty - even at twenty-three she could appreciate aesthetics on younger men, though her thoughts never wandered far past the fact that he was attractive. "H-hai, Mina...-san."

She grinned. "Have you come to find new books?"

Blinking, Yuki took a few moments to absorb her question, then finally he shook his head. "Iie, watashi wa... I, ano, I'm just here to look around."

"Oh..." Her look faltered a bit, but she shrugged and smiled again. "Okay... I'll be up here if you need me then."

This time, with a nod, Yuki smiled at her. She had noted the way his smiles always seemed so distant, half-hearted and sometimes she wanted to ask, but it didn't seem appropriate. They weren't really friends, at least not the kind that talked outside of the shop. He came in several times a week, after school she guessed, and would stay long enough to peer around almost the entire shop. Sometimes they talked about the weather, how his classes were going (especially English) and her home life with Iwata and Aiko. It was pleasant and she was glad that someone took time out of their day to pay more attention to her as a person, rather than just the cashier. But she couldn't fool herself into thinking they were anything more than very familiar acquaintances.

"Mina-san, arigato," he said, still smiling and bowing his head to her. Then, after depositing his school bag down beside the counter, he wandered into the bookshelves.

Yuki took a deep breath as he disappeared from Mina's sight. As always he began to scold himself, leaning heavily against the back of one bookshelf. It was silly, he knew, to keep coming just to watch her from the safety of the shelves. Silly to think of her as anything more than a friendly face. But he couldn't help it and he knew this day would be no different. So he took another breath, steadied himself and pushed away from the shelf. On his way around, he grabbed a book and thumbed through it as if he meant to read it though his eyes simply trailed up the page and to the young woman at the counter.

She was reading her book again, a hand buried deep into her hair as she leaned her head against it. From here he could see her lips moving, a quirky little trait he'd discovered after his first few visits, before they'd begun to talk. A small smile flitted across his lips before he forced his attention back on the book. He wasn't even sure what it was and the words on the paper seemed blurred, unimportant. However, he tucked it under his arm and grabbed another from the same section. Then quietly, he wandered over to the small lounge area of the building.

It was a small set up, simply a low slung table and two overstuffed, burgundy armchairs. They were turned with a perfect view out the front windows of the bookshop, tilted just slightly away from the front counter. Yuki dropped down into one and opened his book again, trying to keep some semblance of normalcy. It seemed much harder to keep his eyes off of her today and he had only the vaguest idea why.

Yuki couldn't help being an average boy when it came to the heated turn of his thoughts and he suddenly realized just why he was so keen on looking at her. He closed his eyes, and pressed his hand to his mouth, his pinkened cheeks hot against the appendage. He really did not want to think of her that way. It couldn't be proper, no matter how natural. His mind insisted it just wasn't right for a boy his age to be lusting after a married woman. However after several moments of debate, and self-scolding, he reasoned out that it was just a crush. He didn't expect anything out of it and he was far from trying to woo her - that, he also reasoned, would be quite impossible for someone so plain as himself - and so even if his thoughts did stray to things he'd never mention aloud, it was all okay. There was no harm in having an imagination if you never told anyone about it.

Still, he shifted uncomfortably in his seat and tried not to think of her. It was enough just having her close like this and he didn't want to spend the rest of his sparse time here trying to cover anything up. A few moments ticked past and finally he was able to look at the books he'd grabbed.

Wonderful, I grabbed something from the children's section... he thought with a groan, as he looked over the titles. 101 Fanciful Fairy Tales and The Giant's Wife, and other retellings of Jack and the Beanstalk. But he didn't get back up with them. Oh, no, he intended to ride out any embarrassment; if anyone asked he could chalk it up to a school project. He vaguely remembered a schoolmate mentioning research on children's books in their class once. Yes, that would work just fine. So with a sigh, he cracked open the first book and attempted to read.

When the sky outside began to darken, Mina looked up from her book to the clock. The shop didn't close for another two hours, but it always slowed down after the sun went down. However, her favorite patron was still there, curled up in one of the chairs. He was reading something different now, having relinquished the children's books for something that looked more like a mystery novel. Mina liked mystery novels and she pondered a moment over asking him about it since she had only the front cover's art to go by. All the kanji, katakana and hiragana tended to be lost on her, unless her husband were there to help. Admittedly she hadn't put as much effort into learning the language and all that she should have, but she surmised she could still make up for that. Especially when she thought of speaking with Yuki. One day she wanted to speak to him in his language - a thought that was only odd because one would assume this to be a sentiment reserved for Iwata. In any case, it was what she wanted.

After a moment or two, she finally drew up her courage and stepped from behind the counter to approach him. For the time being, the shop was empty and she had no worries that someone might get the wrong idea about her sitting with the teen and chatting. She stepped lightly across the carpet, coming to a stop at his chair's twin and settling down in it.

"What are you reading, Yuki-kun?" she asked politely.

He glanced up from the novel, looking startled and for a moment a blush colored his cheeks. It puzzled her, but she smiled reassuringly at him anyway. "Ano... It is... Hisame," he answered holding up the book to show her the cover and it's delicately inscribed kanji.

She tilted her head at him, looking sheepish. "I don't ... know that word..."

A small frown flitted over Yuki's face as he absorbed the words. His English teacher had spoken against trying to translate words as they were spoken to him, but he couldn't help doing it. Therefore it took him a few moments to process what she was saying before he could answer. Finally, he shook his head and tried, "Rain... but... cold?"

Mina frowned as well; there were several ways to interpret that. "Ah... like ice?"

He puzzled that over a moment, before he smiled at her, seemingly satisifed. "Hai, like ice."

"Okay," she smiled back, feeling an odd sense of unease being lifted from her as they'd finally understood each other.

As the minutes ticked by, the two chatted with one another. She was pulled away only when a couple of customers trickled in and demanded assistance. By that time however, the sun had sunk completely and the dim blue haze of twilight had set in. Yuki decided it was time for him to go, no matter how much he'd like to prolong returning home. It was only the fact that he knew Tohru would worry that he pulled himself from the chair and shut the book. Though he hadn't planned to buy it, he couldn't resist the urge to after that conversation with Mina.

After he purchased it, and said his farewells to her, Yuki left the bookshop and headed home.