Fruits Basket Fan Fiction ❯ Seasons of Sorrow ❯ Memories of Spring = Spring Blow-Out ( Chapter 14 )

DISCLAIMER: I think they purposely try to rub it in that I don't own this great creation called Fruits Basket…hence, the never-ending disclaimer.

 

Note: Beloved readers, take your time on this one…it's a long one! Also, please pardon the `indiscreet metaphors' our lovely trio will be using!

 

 

Memories of Spring

— Spring Blow-Out —

 

 

Hatori drove along in the comfortable silence as he glanced in his rearview mirror at Yuki, who was dozing lightly in the back seat. His suspicions were correct…Yuki was still tired. But hopefully with the new medication that Yuki's taking, it would make up for it.

 

Kyo was still sulking next to him in the passenger seat since Yuki beat him to the backseat. Actually, Yuki just got in at the same time Tohru did, and that left Kyo out to sit up front with Hatori. Thankfully, what kept Kyo more or less silent on the matter was Tohru's light chatter every so often, and then she quietly mentioned their activities for the day to Hatori (ever considerate of her dozing housemate).

 

Finally, upon reaching their destination, Kyo got out quickly and opened Tohru's door with a flourish. As he very subtly yanked Tohru out of the car (she had to actually yell `thank you' over her shoulder), Hatori turned to Yuki who just woke up with a start and was stretching.

 

“Yuki, I want you to take it easy today…if that's even conceivable. The medication is new, and you may feel a little lightheaded, even nauseous. Just try not to overexert yourself today. You don't want to fall flat on your face, or worse, pass out in front of your class. You know the routine, any symptoms like vomiting or developing a rash, etc, you call me immediately, okay?” asked Hatori as he saw his cousin open the door.

 

He yawned. “M-hm,” replied Yuki sleepily while trying to rub the sleep from his eyes. Hatori wasn't kidding…this medication was making him woozy. He hoped it wouldn't go beyond that, not today.

 

But Yuki was grateful…normally if he was taking any new medication, Hatori would have him stay home so he could be observed for any adverse effects. Yuki's health problems of the past had unfortunately caused this rather rash precaution to be taken, so he was used to it.

 

Yet, today was special to Yuki…he really had been looking forward to this break from his usual activities at school, especially after taking the college entrance exams a few days ago (yeah, his accident didn't prevent him from taking a makeup on the exams). After this day, Yuki would be busy nonstop, even on the weekends. Any time he'd want to spend with Tohru will be in the mornings, when he ate breakfast, or in the evenings, when he ate dinner. So today he was looking forward to spending all his time with her—even listening to her voice was good enough for him. Hatori had to have known all this. Otherwise, he wouldn't have allowed Yuki to leave the house, much less given him a lift so he wouldn't be so tired when he got to the theme park.

 

With a small smile, Yuki added, “Arigatou, Hatori…for everything.”

 

Hatori returned the small smile, knowing full well what Yuki thanked him for. “Go on, get going before Kyo comes to drag you off. Remember to have fun.”

 

With a bigger smile, Yuki got out of the car and walked over to the other two who were waiting for him.

 

“You're damn slow today, baka nezumi. Here, try carrying some of these lunches, slacker!” exclaimed Kyo as he handed one bag to Yuki while he carried another.

 

Rolling his eyes in response to Kyo's remark, Yuki took the bag that held part of their lunch. Tohru had gone all out to make dishes for all three of them including Uo and Hana. Ignoring Kyo, he turned to Tohru with a smile, “It's really nice of you to make all these meals. It must have been a lot of work. Arigatou.”

 

Blushing deeply, Tohru nervously replied, “No, it's quite alright! I love making food for all of you! I hope you like today's dishes though…I tried doing something new with our favorite ingredients.”

 

“Anything you make is fine. As long as there's no leeks,” remarked Kyo while leaning against a pole in front of the theme park.

 

“Leeks are fine,” coolly replied Yuki eyeing Kyo.

 

“No, they're not,” replied Kyo tightly through clenched teeth.

 

“They're fine.”

 

“They're NOT!”

 

“They ARE!”

 

“THEY'RE NOT!!!!!!!”

 

(Pause) ”They're not.”

 

“THEY ARE FINE, DAMMIT!”

 

“Right,” replied Yuki assuredly as he brushed a lock of his hair behind his ear.

 

“Huh?” asked Kyo perplexed. A second passed before he realized what had just happened. “DAMN YOU NEZUMI!” yelled Kyo while grabbing Yuki by the collar.

 

“Ahhh…their tumultuous waves are soothing,” replied Hana smoothly as she stood by Tohru. Uo stood on Tohru's other side and regarded the two feuding cousins.

 

“Damn, Orange-top, you just don't give it a rest for one moment, do you? You know, I wouldn't be surprised if Tohru or the Prince go deaf with all your yelling…” replied Uo with a smirk to Kyo.

 

“It's not just me, stupid Yankee! And I don't yell around Tohru!” cried Kyo rather loudly as he let go of Yuki to stand toe to toe with Uo.

 

“Define yelling, Orangey…since you're not yelling now, right?” replied Uo slyly.

 

“ARRRGGHH! Just mind you own damn business!” retorted Kyo irritably upon realizing his faux pas.

 

“Ano, Kyo-kun, let's all wait closer to the gate. We're a little early, and I'm sure Mayuko-sensei told our class to meet there,” replied Tohru with a soft smile while laying her hand softly against his shoulder.

 

Kyo immediately cooled down upon feeling her hand, and so he closed his eyes while letting out a frustrated sigh. Upon opening them, he smiled softly to her and grabbed onto her hand as he walked away from the other three.

 

“Hey, moron, you can't keep her to yourself,” called out Uo as she walked after them.

 

Hana glanced over to Yuki, who stood gazing after Tohru and Kyo. “Sohma Yuki, are you coming?”

 

Snapping from his thoughts, Yuki blinked and looked to Hana. Smiling a little, he said, “Hai, let's go.”

 

As he walked away, Hana focused herself on him. `Hm, this is strange… Those waves weren't there before. How odd.' Blinking back to reality, her eyes widened as she continued to stare at Yuki's retreating back. `That's impossible…'

 

“Hey, Hanajima! Come on, let's get going!” called out Uo with a wave to Hana.

 

Startled from her reverie, Hana regained her thoughts and followed the rest to the gates.

 

—ooo—

 

“Come on, what's taking them so long? My allergies are starting to act up just hanging around here,” complained Uo while she sat back on a bench underneath a tree, waiting for the rest of the class to show up.

 

“You said it. I'm dead bored here,” remarked Kyo impatiently as he sat next to Tohru on the bench.

 

“We can play a card game in the meantime! I think I have a deck somewhere in here,” replied Tohru happily as she rummaged through her knapsack.

 

“Aren't they your cousins, Sohma Kyo?” asked Hana pointing to the two individuals in question.

 

Yuki had been leaning against the tree with one knee bent, with eyes closed to the world, particularly to Kyo and Tohru sitting together on the bench. However, when he heard Hana's remark, he glanced up to see two people he hadn't expected to see that day.

 

“YUKI! TOHRU! KYO!” cried Momiji joyously as he ran up to the group. Haru followed closely behind nodding to all of them in general. Once he caught sight of Yuki, he pitter-pattered his way to him and tugged at his sleeve.

 

“Haru, what the hell are you two doing here?! This was supposed to be a trip for our class only…” inquired Kyo crossly.

 

“We saw your teacher heading out so we cornered her. She didn't seem to mind that we tagged along—we came with her after all,” explained Momiji cheerfully as he gestured to the teacher approaching their group.

 

“It's all right, Sohma. Consider this an early graduation present,” remarked Mayuko. She was glad she could do this for Hatori's cousins, especially Yuki. He was working so hard for his school and rarely had time to spend with his family. She appreciated that dedication Yuki puts forth…he reminded her so much of Hatori.

 

“Well, take it back! They're just trouble to have around!” exclaimed Kyo as he tried to pry Momiji off of Tohru's arm.

 

“Shut your hole, punk! I didn't say it was your present!” Mayuko shot back. Regaining her authorative side, Mayuko gathered the rest of the class together. “All right peoples, get yourselves together in groups and no wandering off by yourselves, especially the lovebirds in this class. I've got eyes everywhere. Anyone of you act up, and I'll have you in detention for the rest of your school days up until graduation, got it?”

 

“Hai,” everyone called out as they filed into the theme park. The day was truly turning out to be cool with just the right amount of sunshine…a perfect spring day to be out and about.

 

As the others started towards the gates, Haru asked worriedly, “Hey, Yuki, are you okay?” Yuki had remained silent for the most part since he arrived. “You don't want us to be here, is that it?”

 

“No, that's not it,” replied quickly Yuki. “I'm…glad you're here. I'm just a little tired…Hatori just gave me some new medication, and I'm just a little dazed. It's nothing to worry about,” replied Yuki quietly while following the crowd from a safe distance. Every so often he stole a glance towards Kyo and Tohru. Kyo had gone out of his way to keep Tohru away from Yuki, and currently held her hand in his along the way.

 

Haru gave him a big grin and looked over at Kyo and Tohru. `Well, this can also be a problem…I'm just going to have to fix that,' thought Haru with a devious grin as he swung an arm across Yuki's shoulder in an embrace. Yuki looked up, and for once, didn't mind the gesture and let Haru embrace him.

 

“How's the wrist?” asked Haru as he eyed Yuki's wrist. He practically went ballistic when he found out about the incident and Yuki's accident. He was ready to pummel Kyo for letting it get out of control like it did, but Yuki calmed him down enough to let him know that all was well and to just drop the matter.

 

“Pretty well. Hatori will remove the bandage later this week,” replied Yuki tiredly. “I just wish he would quit prescribing me more medication. I swear that I'm starting to become a walking pharmacy.”

 

Haru was personally grateful to Hatori for taking such good care of Yuki, despite the very ardent protests Yuki no doubt put up. Giving him a sympathetic smile, Haru remarked, “Well, pharmacy or no, we'll have a great time today, you'll see.” Haru then took the lunch bag from Yuki and led him through the gates with great care.

 

Yuki just shook his head as he noted Haru's overprotective behavior, and followed the rest of their group, which now consisted of Momiji, Haru, Kyo, Hana, Uo, Tohru and himself.

 

“Okay, so what do we do first?” asked Uo in general.

 

“What do you normally do at theme parks?” asked Yuki curiously, this being his first time at one of these places. This was due to many reasons…the most obvious being that these places tend to get too crowded, not the safest of places for any of the Jyuunishi. Not that Yuki was going to explain this to anyone (Tohru already knew). Today, however, was a Monday and the slowest day for the theme park…fewer crowds, fewer chances to run into problems, literally.

 

“Still can't believe you've not been to one of these places, Prince. You've got some weird upbringing,” remarked Uo, shaking her head in disbelief.

 

“Um, it's okay!” replied Tohru hurriedly. “I've not been to one of these places since Mom took me the last time, so I'm sort of new to all of this, too. Usually its better to stick to the easier rides first, then work our way up to the tougher ones, if you're okay with it. After lunch, we head over to the games and shows. Does that sound about right, Uo-chan?” asked Tohru, unsure of herself. She hoped she managed to keep Uo from pushing the matter further with Yuki.

 

“Sounds good to me,” replied Uo in agreement. “I pick first. Let's try …that one, a nice quiet one,” said Uo as she pointed to the Ferris Wheel ride.

 

“That totally blows…who says you pick first?” exclaimed Kyo.

 

“I did, bone-head, didn't you just hear me?” asked Uo as she led the way to the ride.

 

“Yay, I love the Ferris Wheel. Let's get on it together Tohru, okay?” asked Momiji excitedly.

 

“Sure, Momiji-kun,” replied Tohru cheerily as they arrived and stood waiting in line.

 

“Cool. Then me and Hanajima will be the next pair, and you guys can figure out how to group yourselves,” remarked Uo.

 

“Hey, who died and made you in charge, Yankee?!” asked Kyo annoyed.

 

“Shut your trap! I swear a fly will wander in there one of these days when your mouth stays open,” Uo shot back.

 

“Why don't you shut the hell up, stupid?!” cried Kyo as he once again stood toe to toe with Uo.

 

“I'll stick with Yuki on the ride. You can ride by yourself, Kyo,” interjected Haru quietly.

 

“WHAT?! I don't want to get on by myself!” exclaimed Kyo.

 

“Hey, Prince,” interrupted Uo. “Aren't you just a tad bit quieter than usual? (Kyo yells, “Stop ignoring me!”) School got you that bummed out already?” Everyone's eyes turned to Yuki at that remark.

 

Snapping back to attention, Yuki responded, “No, well, not really. I was just thinking about the final arrangements for the Class Dance. And…” His voice trailed off as he distinctly felt eyes drilling the back of his head. He turned to find that his very devoted fan club was eyeing him with eyes of ravenous wolves. As graduation drew closer, they only got more…fearsome.

 

Yuki turned quickly back around and prayed silently that the crowd would drown them out. Uo saw this and smiled deviously. “Hey, Hanajima, we got some leeches hangin' off our butts. Do your fellow student council president a favor here.”

 

Hana, who had been given the responsibility of being their official photographer for the day, stared up from her camera. She immediately sensed the `intruders' that Uo was just mentioning. Turning to glance back at the raging hormones behind them, Hana gave them a narrowed glance, and in an instant, the girls screamed and bolted in all directions away from their group. Calmly replying, Hana said, “The area has been cleaned.”

 

“Now that's damn creepy,” remarked Kyo as he saw the last of the girls run for dear life.

 

“But convenient! Way to go Hanajima!” replied Uo gladly. “Hey, now that the wild cats are gone, what's up with our big Class Dance? Anything you need more help on?”

 

“Oh, no, everything is coming along fine. Thank you for volunteering to help with the decorations by the way. It means a lot,” replied Yuki smiling.

 

“Think nothing of it—that's what friends are for. It'll be a blast for all of us to pitch in and decorate this place you've got for us. Man, I still can't believe you managed to land that place of all places,” remarked Uo as they slowly advanced in line.

 

“Is it really that amazing, Uo-chan? Not that I doubt Yuki-kun to provide a perfect location for our Dance, but I've never seen this place. How is it?” asked Tohru curiously.

 

“Oh, it's really not all that…” started Yuki.

 

“Duh! It's the most amazing place Tohru…it's actually a shrine, sorta park kind of thing, but it's very secluded. No one is allowed access to it unless you have an appointment. And trust me when I say that it's near impossible to get an appointment. Hey, Prince, you never did explain how you got the place—rumor was we didn't have a place for the event until you managed to get this place. Why don't you spill now?” asked Uo curiously.

 

“Um, well, it was not that difficult, really, just a few phone calls…” Yuki really hadn't expected to explain how he had gotten the place reserved. He barely managed to convince the student council to just accept his offer while tactfully dodging that one question.

 

It would be hard to explain to anyone. After all, it was Kureno who made the arrangements for him when he explained to Kureno his dilemma a few months back.

 

The new student council had wanted to provide the outgoing senior class a big send off before their graduation, and so decided upon a school dance. Along the way, it was agreed that all three grade levels would attend, with the senior class having the honor of wearing masks to the event as a way of telling the seniors apart from the rest of the students. This dance was to be the biggest event the school had ever hosted.

 

However, this also created problems on many levels for them to resolve, the biggest of course being money. Ultimately, the school had to give up the place they were planning to have their Class Dance at because of funding issues. Yuki couldn't stand the disappointment on the student council's faces when they were informed of this rather late development. He didn't even want to imagine how the rest of the classes would react.

 

Feeling helpless, he had talked it over with Kureno, only hoping for some advice on how to proceed. Much to his amazement, Kureno merely gave him a smile and made one call on his cell. It turned out that a rather secluded but prestigious location was owned by one of the Sohma families, hence it was family-owned. Just one call was all it took for Yuki to have the location reserved for his school's Dance. And since it was for a fellow Sohma member—especially for Kureno—the place was reserved free of charge. Being a Sohma really did have its advantages, and Yuki was for once very grateful for it. Now his class could use what funds they did have for elaborate decorations—considering the location, they'll need them.

 

“….and the whole place has this garden like feeling. It's pretty weird to have statues of the Chinese Zodiac just placed randomly around the place, but they say its well worth the look. I hear that all these statues are made of some type of rare granite, too. Supposedly they're from the family's personal art collection that owns the place. That's some serious dough they roll around over there—that family must be loaded…so I hear,” said Uo stretching her arms wide over her head.

 

“You hear a lot, Yankee…where did you hear all that from?” asked Kyo with a bored look.

 

“Hey, I work Orange-top. You hear the high and mighty talking about that place every now and then. Even they have a hell of a time getting an appointment to speak with any of the family's representatives. You really have to be some serious moneymaker if you hope to land an interview to even have the possibility of visiting this shrine, garden thing place. Hell, I don't even know the name of it…” exclaimed Uo.

 

“It's called Zodiac Gardens,” remarked Yuki quietly, hoping that his cousins don't volunteer any information about their relation to this place. But his cousins being who they are…

 

“Hey, I've heard of that place,” cried Momiji happily. “That place is where Papa takes me sometimes, and oh, we would…(mmm-ph, incoherent mumbling).”

 

With one hand over Momiji's mouth, Yuki asked tactfully, “Momiji, why don't you keep following the line? There's a big gap in front of you…someone may cut in front of you and Tohru-san.”

 

“Oh, no! Come on Tohru…it's almost our turn to go up the Ferris Wheel of Doom,” exclaimed Momiji as he dragged Tohru forward.

 

“Um, `Doom' you say? Is it that scary?” asked Tohru nervously.

 

“Hey, quit dragging her like a rag-doll, you little twerp!” cried out Kyo.

 

“I don't drag her around…but you do, so speak for yourself, lover-boy,” replied Momiji slyly.

 

“Nani?! Come back here and say it to my face you little punk!” yelled Kyo.

 

“I'm not little anymore…I'm almost as tall as you are!” cried Momiji proudly.

 

“Then start acting like an adult!” replied Kyo annoyed.

 

“But you don't act like one, so why should I?” asked Momiji pouting.

 

“Would you shut it Kyo…he's fine just the way he is,” remarked Haru irritably.

 

Hearing the turn in conversation going back and forth like this relaxed Yuki somewhat. He didn't have to explain anything further about their event's location, and it seemed Uo was satisfied with what she knew now. Turning to see how far the line has come, it was Tohru's and Momiji's turn next.

 

“Finally! Come on Tohru, this will be so much fun!” Momiji cried joyously as he sat next to Tohru.

 

“I'm so excited! See you guys from above…whoa!” cried Tohru happily as their ride went up and away from the rest of the gang.

 

“NEXT!” shouted the operator.

 

“That's us Hanajima. See you guys later!” called out Uo as she and Hana got on board the next seat. Hana was lost to the world as she continued to take random pictures of everything.

 

As they ascended as well, the operator motioned for the others to approach. Haru thrust the lunch bag to Kyo and dragged Yuki to the next seat.

 

“Damn cow, come back here! I'm not carrying all this by myself!” yelled Kyo as the two ascended to the sky.

 

“You won't have to…you can place them next to you in the seat!” yelled back Haru.

 

“Damn you, Haru! When you get back down here…” started Kyo ranting as the operator practically shoved him into the next seat and started the ride back up again.

 

“What, I can't hear you!” yelled Haru.

 

Looking up, Kyo yelled, “I said when you get back down, I'm going to send you flying back up to the sky, moron!”

 

“What?!” yelled Haru.

 

“Hey, Orangey, quit your yappin'—you're ruining the ride for the rest of us!” yelled Uo.

 

“What, I can't hear you, stupid Yankee!” yelled back Kyo.

 

“Yay, isn't this fun, Tohru? You can see for miles around!” exclaimed Momiji cheerfully.

 

“It's great. I thought it would be scary, but it's not so bad once you get used to it,” replied Tohru as she gazed all around her.

 

“Damn punk, can't you just admit that you're afraid of heights?!” screamed Uo to Kyo from quite a distance… Yep, she can scream that far.

 

“Shut the hell up, fool! I'm not afraid of heights!” responded Kyo angrily, with a fist to the air in Uo's general direction. Seems like he can scream just as well as Uo.

 

“Hey, Yuki, you feeling all right?” asked Haru staring at Yuki who had his eyes closed.

 

Yuki was actually listening to all the random conversations around them that he was lost in all the incoherent remarks. Finally tuning back in to Haru's question, he opened his eyes and replied, “I'm good. Just getting a little dizzy being up here though.” Dizzy was not the exact word, but he couldn't tell Haru that his nausea that he felt was leaving him earlier was now coming back in full force.

 

“Well, just don't look down. Look all around you and take a deep breath,” advised Haru matter-of-factly.

 

(Sigh) Following Haru's suggestions, Yuki avoided gazing down. Instead, he looked all around them at the scenery. It was remarkable, and so Yuki started to take a deep breath, but he immediately started feeling the pressure on his lungs and started to cough. `Damn pollution.'

 

“Well, knowing you, maybe a deep breath is out of the question,” remarked Haru.

 

From above, they could see Kyo's seat swinging back and forth as he continued his shouting match with Uo below them.

 

“Hey, damn idiot, watch what you're doing up there! You can cause an accident that way and hurt Yuki!” shouted Haru to Kyo.

 

“Who the hell cares, stupid cow?! I can do any damn thing I please!” shouted Kyo.

 

Haru abruptly tried to stand up in his seat as his eyes glazed over to his dark side. Yuki braced himself and covered his ears to avoid hearing the inevitable. “WHAT WAS THAT?! COME DOWN HERE and SAY IT TO MY FACE LIKE A MAN, YOU BASTARD!” screamed Black Haru at the top of his lungs.

 

“YOU'RE NOT `DOWN THERE' ANYMORE, FOOL! AND IF YOU HAVEN'T NOTICED, WE'RE IN THE MIDDLE OF A RIDE!!!!!” screamed Kyo back.

 

“THE BOTH OF YOU SHUT THE HELL UP, OR I'M GOING TO HAVE TO START KICKING SOME ASS!!!!!!!!!!!!!” interjected Uo.

 

“STUPID BITCH, LISTEN UP, WE'RE IN THE MIDDLE OF A RIDE!!! SO HOW THE HELL ARE YOU GOING TO DO ANYTHING???!!!! AND IF ASSES WILL BE KICKED, IT'LL BE ME DOING IT!!!!” retorted Kyo.

 

“This is a wonderful view, Tohru! Let's go a second time around,” called out Momiji gleefully.

 

“Sure Momiji-kun!” agreed Tohru with a wide smile.

 

“THAT DOES IT! STUPID PUNK, WHEN WE'RE ON THE GROUND, I'M GOING TO SHOW YOU THE MEANING OF PAIN!!” yelled Uo angrily as she was half-sitting, half-standing in her seat. Hana all the while was taking pictures at all of them at different angles.

 

“HE'S MINE TO BEAT THE HELL UP, SO STAY OUT OF IT!!” yelled back Black Haru in much the same position as Uo was.

 

“TWO AGAINST ONE IS NOT FAIR…DAMMIT!” yelled Kyo holding onto the lunches that were starting to shift in his seat.

 

(Sighing) “I thought this was supposed to be a nice, quiet ride,” replied Yuki dryly as he tried blocking out their shouting but also strained to listen to Tohru's voice. This helped soothed the ache in his ears plus kept his mind off his growing nausea.

 

Mysteriously, the ride came to an abrupt end as the operator booted them all out. Once on the ground, all three opponents faced off. Hana was now getting pretty good shots up close of all three.

 

“THIS IS YOUR FAULT, STUPID COW!” shouted Kyo, with `cat ears and tail' on end.

 

“SHUT THE HELL UP, STUPID CAT! YOU'RE THE ONE THAT WAS BEING A FOOL and ROCKING YOUR SEAT!” shot back Black Haru.

 

“I CAN DO WHATEVER I WANT IN MY SEAT BECAUSE IT'S MY SEAT!” yelled Kyo.

 

“THIS IS BOTH YOUR FAULT! NEITHER ONE OF YOU CAN HANDLE A SIMPLE DAMN RIDE!” interjected Uo angrily.

 

“I CAN HANDLE ANYTHING, BITCH…IT'S YOU WHO CAN'T HANDLE THE STUPID RIDE!” shouted back Kyo.

 

“WELL, LET'S SETTLE THIS IN A REAL FIGHT THEN!” yelled Black Haru.

 

“FINE!!!!” yelled in unison Uo and Kyo. Instantly all three glared at each other with daggers in their eyes.

 

“Mmm. The waves of hostility are in the air,” remarked Hana unemotionally as she prepped her camera with a second roll of film.

 

“Oh, please don't fight! Mayuko-sensei told us that if she found out anyone was fighting, it'll be detention for the rest of the year until graduation for that person! I don't want any of you to be in detention!” cried out Tohru.

 

Upon hearing this sound of reason, all retreated from their fighting postures and just resorted to throwing death glares at each other.

 

Yuki had moved over aside from the group as the trio continued their tiff. Momiji had looked over and saw him walk away. With a look of worry, he approached Yuki, “Um, Yuki, daijoubu? You look a little green.”

 

Yuki looked up and gave Momiji a reassuring smile. “Don't worry. I'll be all right—I just need a few minutes. Go back with the others, okay?”

 

Smiling widely, Momiji bounced off to Tohru's side as she tried to placate the trio further. Hana still seemed lost in her world of photography as she made good use of her second roll of film, taking snapshots of everyone. Yuki only wished his nausea would leave him so he could actually enjoy Tohru's company.

 

With a sly smile, Uo turned to her Sohma opponents. “Hey, I've got an idea to settle this.”

 

“The fact you can actually think for yourself is amazing, Yankee!” cried out Kyo.

 

“SHUT THE HELL UP BAKA NEKO!” screamed back Black Haru. Turning to Uo, he arched a brow and asked, “What idea did you have in mind?”

 

“A battle of guts and willful determination! Let's try that ride over there, and we'll see which one drops it first!” replied Uo with a devious smile as she pointed to one of the `hard-core' rides directly behind them where Yuki was.

 

“Drops what?!” replied Kyo, clueless to what `it' means.

 

“You must be a real fool! IT! You had breakfast today, right?! Well, whoever can't hold it in on that ride loses, got it?!” retorted Uo as she explained the details.

 

“I'M NOT A FOOL! AND I WON'T LOSE TO YOU, STUPID YANKEE!” yelled Kyo in determination.

 

“Sure, keep thinking that, STUPID!” remarked Black Haru.

 

“SHUT UP!” yelled Kyo back.

 

“ALL RIGHT ALREADY…DAMMIT!” yelled Uo as she led the way to this particular ride.

 

Yuki managed to fight off the wave of queasiness temporarily as he looked up to see his cousins and Uo walking in his direction…actually it seemed more like charging towards him. Now, they were running. Yuki could only fathom what they were thinking as they charged past him and assaulted the operator of the ride.

 

“Hey, operator, get us on board!” cried out Kyo.

 

“I WAS HERE FIRST, FOOL!” yelled Black Haru loudly. To the operator, he replied, “Yo, three tickets!”

 

“Sure. You're just in time…I just opened up. You know if you make it through the ride in one piece, you'll get a t-shirt…” replied the operator as he started getting the ride started up.

 

“Yeah, yeah, we get it! Let's get on with it…two guys, one girl,” remarked Kyo irritably as he climbed the steps to the ride.

 

Uo then followed Haru up the steps. Tohru and Momiji looked on with anticipation as the dueling opponents started going up the steps. “Please be careful!” called out Tohru.

 

At the last minute, Uo remembered that she had her pocket purse with her money. To avoid losing it on the ride, she ran down quickly to pass it to Hana. As she did so, Black Haru called out to Yuki to give him all his jewelry. With an exasperated sigh, Yuki went up the steps to retrieve them. Unfortunately, the operator wasn't paying much attention and absently grabbed the two cousins to shove them in their seats and strapped them in securely.

 

“What a beautiful lady we have here,” replied the operator lecherously as he winked at Yuki.

 

Yuki wasn't sure what to be mad at, the flirtatious operator who thinks he's a girl or the fact that he was on a ride that he really didn't want to be on. He didn't get a chance to voice his displeasure as Kyo loudly replied, “WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING HERE, NEZUMI?!”

 

“SHUT UP BAKA-NEKO, IT'S NOT LIKE HE MEANT TO BE HERE!” retorted Black Haru.

 

Yuki in the meantime tried in vain to get out of his seat. “Operator, get me down from here. I wasn't supposed to be on here!” exclaimed Yuki.

 

“Sorry, no refunds! Just sit back and relax, miss. You'll be out of there before you know it!” replied the operator as he started the ride up.

 

“Hey, bozo, he's not a girl! And second, that's supposed to be me up there! So STOP the DAMN RIDE!” cried out Uo heatedly.

 

“Sorry, no refunds!” responded the operator with a smile. It seemed to be his mantra…

 

The seats of the ride were up to three people, and these seats all faced each other like a triangle. As the ride starts up, the seats start twirling slowly but quickly accelerate. Once they reach a certain point, the real fun begins as the arms carrying these seats swing all the way up then down, all the while the seats are twirling round and round.

 

Yep, Yuki, Haru, and Kyo were the lucky three to face each other. And none were less than thrilled about it than Yuki was.

 

“You need to get me down from here, Haru! I can't be here,” replied Yuki as he brought a hand to his chest, feeling the anxiety starting to get to him.

 

With the ride starting to accelerate, Black Haru called out in spurts, “I think…that it's…too…late!!!!!!” The ride was apparently now in full swing.

 

“AAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHH!” cried Kyo loudly as the ride started getting intense. Haru had a tight lip line as he braced himself against the force of the ride. Yuki just had one hand to his chest and the other to his face. All the while, Hana was taking wonderful candid shots.

 

“Is it me, or is the Prince lookin' green up there?” asked Uo as she tried focusing on Yuki more.

 

“Eh??!!!” cried out Tohru and Momiji.

 

Uo wasn't the only one that noticed. During a brief pause before the climax of the ride, all three riders faced each other once more. Black Haru immediately called out to Yuki, “Yuki, are you hanging in there?!”

 

Yuki at this point looked absolutely green. He suddenly brought a hand up to his mouth as he stared blankly with wide eyes. Looking wearily at Haru, he slowly replied, “I think…I'm going…to be…”

 

With a death glare to Yuki, Kyo retorted lowly, “DON'T YOU DARE YUKI SOHMA. You do and I'll give you HEEEEELLLLLLLLL…AAAARRRRGHHHH!!!!!!!!”

 

The ride had abruptly lurched into full mode as it tossed the occupants in all directions. Like the churning of a washing machine the occupants were thrust back and forth, up and down…even Haru was screaming along with Kyo. However, Yuki wasn't so lucky.

 

Yep, he dropped it. Although with all the motion and gravity, `it' didn't land on him. No, no, no…laws of gravity were on Yuki's side this time around. Instead, these same laws dictated that the ever so willing neko get the brunt of it. Yep…all of `it'.

 

“DAAAAAAAAAAMMMMMMMMMIIIIIIIIIIIITTTTTT YYYYYYYYUUUUUUKKKKKKKIIIIIIIIII!!!!!!!!!!!” screamed Kyo in anger upon feeling `it' on the front of his shirt.

 

The ride finally came in full swing and abruptly stopped. All that Uo, Hana, Tohru, and Momiji heard from below was Kyo and Haru screaming every known obscenity at each other. The operator finally grabbed his whistle and blew on it loudly to get the dueling cousins' attention.

 

“Well, I see one person couldn't keep it together! (Kyo yells, “It wasn't me, dammit!”) Here you go, miss, this t-shirt is for you! I knew a classy lady such as you could keep herself composed under any pressure. Please do come again…I'll even let you on for free,” remarked the operator with a wink as he handed Yuki his t-shirt. Yuki was too much in a stupor to even pay the operator any mind as kept his hand over his mouth…all he wanted was a restroom at that moment.

 

However, his other cousin was very much aware of the operator's advances. Bringing Yuki closer to him, Black Haru yelled, “Gimme my t-shirt…and stop ogling him, you sick bastard with a Lolita-complex!”

 

Yuki by this time managed to comprehend what was going on. Glaring at the operator, he then looked up to Haru and wearily asked, “Just tell me where the restrooms are at…”

 

As Haru led the way, Uo and Momiji were laughing so hard, they had tears coming out of their eyes. Tohru tried consoling Kyo who was beyond enraged as he tried to clean `it' off of him. Hana of course played the dutiful photographer to the fullest as she continued clicking away with the camera.

 

“SHUT THE HELL UP YOU TWO…IT'S NOT FUNNY!!!!!” screamed Kyo at Uo and Momiji.

 

“Yes…yes it is…HAHAHAHA!” laughed loudly Momiji as he brought his arms around his aching stomach. Uo couldn't even reply since she was laughing too hard—she was gasping for air.

 

“It's okay, Kyo-kun, all you need is some water to wash this off. If you want, take it off, and I'll wash it off in one of the restrooms and dry it really fast,” remarked Tohru assuredly.

 

Feeling his self-control come back to him, Kyo replied resignedly, “No, you don't have to do that. I can take care of it. Just wait for us here, okay?” He then followed Haru and Yuki to the boy's restroom.

 

“Okay…um, Kyo-kun, see if Yuki-kun is okay, too,” called out Tohru.

 

`He won't be after I get through with him,' thought Kyo irritably as he went over to his two cousins at the sinks.

 

Haru held a washcloth on the back of Yuki's neck. Yuki meanwhile had his head down in the sink, washing out his mouth and splashing water across his face. At some point, Black Haru had left the building…

 

“Hey, is that better?” asked Haru with concern as he wringed the washcloth again under cool water and brought it across Yuki's neck.

 

“M-hm,” was Yuki's short reply as he turned off the water. He then looked over to Kyo who was trying in vain to wash `it' off his shirt. Letting out a heavy sigh, he took off the washcloth and grabbed his prize. Going over to Kyo, he quietly handed the t-shirt to him. “Here, this is yours. Wear it instead.”

 

Kyo was too stunned to reply as he stared at Yuki's retreating back. Kyo started to notice a funny smell coming from…he then looked below at his shirt. “Ugh…” and with that he took off his shirt. He wore the t-shirt instead with the words `I MADE IT—CAN YOU?' emblazoned across the front and a picture of the ride across the back.

 

After drying off his face, Yuki left with Haru close on his heels (Haru decided to wear the t-shirt over his other shirt). Upon seeing his group, Yuki noticed Tohru's look of concern across her face as she raced up to him.

 

“Are you okay, Yuki-kun? What with your medication and all…maybe you're having a bad allergic reaction or maybe…” rambled Tohru worriedly.

 

“Don't worry, Tohru-san. Hatori had warned me about it. It's just a matter of getting used to the new medication. I actually feel much better now,” replied Yuki with a soft smile as he gazed into her eyes full of concern. Tohru could only blush under such a look. Hana captured the moment perfectly with her camera.

 

“Haru, that's a cool shirt! I want one…” whined Momiji.

 

“Yo, how's Orange-top doing? Did he get it all off?” snickered Uo.

 

“No, it was pointless. Yuki just gave him his t-shirt from the ride,” responded Haru idly.

 

Said cousin finally came out of the restroom, with a small bundle tightly wound in plastic. “All right, let's just stick to the smaller rides,” replied Kyo tightly as he led the way.

 

“Sure, Kyo-kun! Let's all go over to the Merry-Go-Round—that way all of us can get on,” remarked Tohru cheerfully.

 

“Fine,” replied Kyo with indifference.

 

“Boy, if I were to have said it, you would have said no. You're such a pushover with Tohru!” replied Momiji with a grin.

 

“I AM NOT!” cried out Kyo.

 

“His waves would indicate that he's lying,” replied Hana, once again taking great shots of the flaming neko and the others.

 

“I'M NOT LYING!” insisted Kyo.

 

“Come on, Orangey, its no big news. Just admit it,” remarked Uo with a bored air.

 

“DAMMIT, I SAID NO!” yelled Kyo.

 

“Why the HELL ARE YOU YELLING?!” yelled angrily Black Haru (yep, he's back).

 

`I wonder how long we'll stay on this next ride.' Eyeing Tohru nervously, Yuki asked, “Do you want to get on this ride together, Tohru-san?”

 

“Yes, let's,” replied Tohru gladly.

 

“WHAT?!” asked Kyo in disbelief. Amid the shouting matches, he apparently was overhearing their conversation.

 

“Now Kyo's jealous…that proves he's got the hots!” cried out Momiji as he ran off. He knew what was coming.

 

“DAMN YOU BAKA USAGI!!! COME BACK HERE!!!!” yelled Kyo as he started chasing Momiji down.

 

“SHUT THE HELL UP BAKA NEKO! DO YOU WANT ALL OF US TO GET KICKED OUT???!!!! STOP YELLLLLIIIIINNNNNGGG!!!!” cried out Black Haru as he joined the chase.

 

“You guys call each other weird names, man. Wait up for us!” called out Uo as she ran after the quarreling cousins.

 

Hana had taken great shots of all them, so she turned around and started taking pictures of the other two oblivious to the quarreling as they quietly strolled through the park, stopping here and there to look at displayed items.

 

`Hm, his is so different from his other cousins…' thought Hana as she continued taking pictures of the duo.

 

“Oh, we've been left behind! Let's try to catch up with them, Yuki-kun. Come on Hana-chan,” called out Tohru cheerfully as she walked quickly in the direction of the Merry-Go-Round, hand clasped with Yuki's.

 

Hana gave hints of a smile across her face as she eyed the two walking away hand in hand. “Such intriguing waves…” commented Hana to herself as she clicked one final shot of the two before catching up with them.

 

—ooo—

 

Needless to say, the Merry-Go-Round ride went by as 'eventfully' as the Ferris Wheel ride. All three of the official opponents were promptly kicked off after causing a child to cry for dear mercy at hearing their constant swearing. However, for Momiji, Yuki, Tohru, and Hana (all who ignored the dueling opponents), they enjoyed the ride fully, going twice on the ride. Hana had taken the cutest picture of Yuki on the horse statue and Momiji giving him an affectionate hug from behind…Yuki had such a content smile. Hana even managed to include Tohru's smiling face in the background.

 

Everyone got together once more afterward, and this time the dueling opponents managed to come to a truce for the rest of the day. They all ate the wonderful meal prepared by Tohru and gave their fullest compliments to the chef, which Tohru received with a deep blush.

 

All of the gang continued to enjoy their day at the theme park, riding all the rides (minus the `hard-core' ones) with little trouble. Of course, there were the impromptu `battles' between Black Haru (he surfaced every once in a while) and Kyo, and every so often Uo would join them, but they were normally challenges on the rides themselves. The bumper car rides were one for the history books…the crazed looks on their faces scared all the small children away as they continued their `battle'. Interestingly, Black Haru would initiate these challenges to Kyo whenever Kyo intervened in Yuki's conversations with Tohru… a mystery to be sure.

 

As the day came to a close, they managed to hit every game spot and win something from each place. Yuki was undefeated in all the games he played in while the others managed to win some of the games they participated in. While Tohru didn't win anything, she still walked on with an armful of toys that the boys gave to her. This, unfortunately, attracted the wrath from the ravenous Yuki Sohma Fan Club, but Hana always kept them at bay with just a simple glance over her shoulder.

 

As the gang stood waiting at the entrance gate for the rest of the class to show up, Hana had finished her twentieth roll of film. Popping another back into the camera, she sensed their teacher approaching them.

 

“Well, I'm surprised you guys didn't burn the place down,” called out Mayuko as she addressed Haru and Kyo.

 

“Shut up, old hag…” grumbled Kyo to himself.

 

(SMACK!) “Show respect, you juvenile delinquent,” remarked Mayuko with hands on hips.

 

Holding the back of his aching head in his hand, he grumbled incoherently to himself. Tohru spoke up then, “Mayuko-sensei, will we have to wait much longer for the rest of the class?”

 

“Nah, you guys go on ahead…I can dismiss the class as they grace me with their presence…it had better be soon, too. Now, scoot,” replied Mayuko as she shooed away the weary teens.

 

“Arigatou, Mayuko-sensei, for such a wonderful trip,” responded Tohru with a low bow.

 

“Thank your President there. He took care of most of the details…I'm just the chaperone. See you all bright and early tomorrow,” remarked Mayuko with a wave to them. Mayuko was particularly happy to see that Yuki left with a wide smile.

 

Everyone gave Yuki a big smile of thanks (minus Kyo who looked the other way). As they all waved their good-byes to their teacher, they all made plans to meet together for lunch the next day at school. It was then that Yuki felt a strong gaze in his direction and was half-expecting his scary fan club to be nearby. But as he turned around, he saw that such gaze was coming from Hana instead.

 

“Hanajima-san, is something the matter?” asked Yuki nervously. He still wasn't used to addressing her directly without Tohru being their buffer.

 

Blinking back to reality, Hana once again had hints of a smile gracing her face. Yuki was taken aback at this sight…it truly was rare for her to be this way, least of all with him. “No, not at all…I'm merely observing your waves.”

 

“Oh,” was Yuki's short remark. Nervously biting his lower lip, he dared to ask, “My…waves…are that…strange to you?”

 

“Not strange…unique, even among all your cousins,” explained Hana.

 

“Is that…bad?” asked Yuki tentatively, wringing his hands together in trepidation.

 

“…No,” replied Hana slowly as she contemplated on the rest of her remark. Just then, though, Uo interrupted the conversation as she swung an arm across Hana's shoulders.

 

“Come on, Hanajima, it's time we split. My old man will want some TV dinner in front of him for his TV show, and I still need to stop by the store to get that dinner. Later, Prince,” called out Uo as she dragged Hana away. Hana called out her good-byes to the rest as she continued walking away with Uo.

 

“Hey Haru, we better leave soon, too. Hari told us not to be late for dinner. Bye, Tohru, Yuki, Kyo—I'll see you tomorrow!” cried out Momiji joyously as he led the way back to the Main House.

 

“See you tomorrow, Yuki,” replied Haru calmly to Yuki, giving him a quick embrace (Yuki blushed at this). “Don't worry so much about having to take so much medication. It won't be for forever, right?” reasoned Haru quietly, winking at Yuki as he walked on, following the not-so-little usagi ahead of him.

 

Yuki reflected on this and smiled to himself…Haru was right. He could bear it a while longer. Turning back to Tohru and Kyo, they walked on back to Shigure's place. He was glad for Tohru that Shigure would be ordering out for them tonight, giving her a chance to rest up. All three walked comfortably hand in hand (Tohru in the middle of course), quietly chatting along the way. All their prizes were either being carried by the two guys or strapped inside their knapsacks.

 

On the other side of the street, Hana commented to herself, “Pleasing…yes, very pleasing.”

 

“Huh…what you rambling about, Hanajima?” asked Uo quizzically.

 

“His waves…” Hana said as she glanced to the skies high above her. `Yes, pleasing suits his waves perfectly.'

 

 

~*~

 

Edited by: Seiren-no-Kaze 02-23-07

 

~*~

 

 

Author's Pearls of Wisdom (10-12-04):

 

 

Another chapter, another step in the right direction…hopefully!

 

Michelle (anonymous): Thanks for the drop-in review note! Hope you read the rest of my story thus far!

 

To the rest of my dear readers…what happened?! First I'm all excited with the reviews I'm getting and then, bust. I guess it's like the economy…it's all good for a while, then BAM! You land right back where you started…in my case, no reviews! Oh well, that's okay, really. I'm still happy from the last round of reviews I received! I'm thinking my readers must really be displeased with my last chapter being so short. Hopefully, this chapter makes up for it.

 

I'll have to say though as a heads up, that the next chapter may be a little slow in coming because of some problems not exactly in my control. Please bear with me as I try to keep them coming regularly for you…but just in case I don't, you've been forewarned!

 

Note all future chapters will have the adjustment made to a particular character (check past post remarks for details)—why I say this? Because it's coming up in the next chapter!

 

In post remarks for this chapter (focus H'kat!), I brought in our favorite buddy couple with Tohru. Typing out all the misuse of proper language between Uo, Kyo, and Haru was tough! Hopefully I got it down okay. Also, I dropped in some little mystery here with Hana and the wave reports she gives. Small details add up to bigger issues later on…I'll say no more!

 

All in all, this is supposed to be a fun chapter. There will be plenty of friction, angst, and teary-eyed moments later on, so enjoy these chapters while you still can! Musical moments…'Wild, Wild, Life' by Wailing Souls—I like the version heard in the soundtrack for Cool Runnings, a very funny movie!

 

Thanks always for reading and reviewing - don't forget to leave your replies while exiting my insane mind! Ja ne!