—School Festival (and an Invitation)—
—Aly—
"Riceballs! Riceballs! Get 'em over here!"
"Wow! They're selling like crazy," the girl helping me work the stand comments. "We're almost sold out."
I smile. "We're in the lead for the best booth category."
"That's because we're the only ones selling food," Skylar says, grinning when I swat at her.
She, Kyo, Uo, and Natsuhiko gave up almost as soon as the festival started, choosing instead to hide behind the booth so no one sees them and asks them to do something.
"That's not it, and you know it," I say.
Natsuhiko smirks. "I'm pretty sure we all know what the main attraction really is."
Everyone turns their head towards Yuki.
I sigh.
He's dressed in the horrid dress those third years got him. It's covered in frills, bows, and flowers—it looks like, in Skylar's words, a 'vomit of fabric.'
"Good point," Skylar agrees. "He's definitely the reason everyone's here."
Yuki catches our eye, but he looks away quickly.
"You don't think he's mad at us, do you?" Tohru asks, her voice shaking.
"Don't worry," Kyo says, smirking. "He's probably embarrassed—dressed as a girl and all. I mean, he's already got a big enough complex over that girly face of his, right?"
"This is bad," Tohru says, now more depressed. "I thought he was cute too when I first saw him."
"Everyone thinks that," Uo assures her.
I don't, but maybe that's because I thought the dress was unappealing by itself, let alone on him. Yuki looks better in his usual, traditional Chinese clothes to me. not that fabric atrocity they had managed to find.
Kyo's smirk widens. "Yeah, no matter how you look at him, he looks like a girl."
Skylar snickers, and I sigh.
All of sudden a boyish voice rings out, "Du lieber himmel!"
I look up just in time to see Momiji running towards Yuki. He tackles him, latching onto Yuki's shoulders.
"Yuki, you look like a girl!" he comments, pulling a lollipop out of his mouth.
Yuki blinks, caught off by Momiji's sudden appearance, as Kyo, Skylar, Uo, and Natsuhiko all stand up to see what's going on.
"What the hell is that little brat doing here?" Kyo demands next to me, mostly speaking to himself.
Skylar shrugs as an answer, sending a secret smile my way.
"That's someone you know then?" Tohru wonders.
"Momiji, you shouldn't wander around by yourself," a stern, monotone voice says, making Skylar perk up as Hatori walks in the room, his typical lab coat draped over his arm. "How are you, Yuki? You too, Kyo."
"Ha—" Yuki starts, just as surprised as Kyo.
Before he can get his full name out, though, the girls already surrounding Yuki with loud squeals, excited to see the newcomers.
"How cute!"
"You're so stylish! Are you a foreigner like Skylar and Alayna!?"
"Is he Yuki's friend too!?"
The blond-haired boy takes off his hat, smiling. "Hi, there~ I'm Momiji Sohma, a German and Japanese mix, and this guy here is Hatori Sohma~ We're two of Yuki and Kyo's relatives~"
The girls continue squealing, making Uo roll her eyes.
"Is that true?" Tohru asks, looking at Kyo.
"Yeah, but never mind Momiji—what's that bastard Hatori doing here?" he demands, glare settling on his face.
Tohru, completely oblivious to Kyo and Yuki's discomfort, looks over at the newest Sohma's, eyes shining.
"Why don't you like him?" Skylar asks Kyo, pulling my attention away from the conversation Yuki and Hatori are having.
"I just don't," he answers.
Skylar pouts.
"Aww~ Kitty Kyo doesn't want to tell us~" Natsuhiko says, snickering.
Kyo glares at him. "Don't call me Kitty Kyo, ya damn flirt!"
Natsuhiko laughs, causing Momiji to look over at us. "Am I sensing jealousy from you, Kitty Kyo?"
"The only thing you're sensing is murder!"
"Now now, be nice! I'm just trying to start a conversation~"
"Start a fight is more like it!"
"Guten tag~" Momiji greets, interrupting their spat.
"What d'you want, brat?" Kyo barks.
"A riceball!" Momiji cheers, ignoring him as he smiles at me.
I return his smile and pick up a carrot riceball—it's one of the 'misses' that managed to get left out, but I figured Momiji would like it since he's the rabbit—and he takes it, taking a bite.
"Köstlich!" he cheers, smiling.
"I assume that means, like, 'good' or something," Skylar whispers.
I shrug. "They didn't offer German at our school, so I have no idea."
Bored, Momiji wanders over to the riceball stand without either of us realizing it and hops on, swinging his legs with the riceball in his mouth happily.
"What do you think you're doing!?" Kyo barks, grabbing Momiji's arm to yank him off.
Momiji slips out of his grip, though, and laughs as he climbs higher, locking himself against the wooden beam that was holding up the sign so Kyo couldn't bring him down without breaking the entire stand.
Skylar, of course, chuckles, unperturbed by the chaos Momiji's causing, making me sigh. Quickly, I walk over to the rabbit, gently grabbing his hand.
He looks at me, confused.
"If you get down, I'll give you some candy," I say, smiling. "If you continue climbing on it, you might break it."
Momiji blinks before a wide smile breaks out on his face. "Candy? Really? What kind?"
"I have some of Schatz Kiste's signature candy bars in my bag," I say.
The hyperactive boy jumps down and looks at her, eyes twinkling. "You're Aly, right? I came to see you~ The last time I met you two, it was fate~"
"Yes. You were misbehaving then, too, weren't you?" I say.
He laughs, rubbing his head. "I was just excited~"
Kyo, seeing his chance, snatches him up and hulls him behind the curtain we had hung up to cover the storage of riceballs. I go over to my bag to get the candy bar I promised Momiji before following he and Skylar behind the curtain.
"Now, you stay here and sit still," Kyo growls.
Momiji's holding his head, whining. "Waah! Kyo loves violence!"
"Kyo, you really shouldn't hit him," Skylar reprimands lightly. "He doesn't know any better."
"Doesn't know any better?" Kyo parrots in disbelief. "What the hell're you talking about?"
"Here," I say, bending down. "The candy bar I promised."
Tohru peeks in before Momiji can reply. "Is everything alright?"
He immediately stops crying. "You're Tohru Honda, right?"
She steps in as I stand up, nodding. "That's right."
"Let's all be friends, okay?" he says, looking eagerly between Skylar, Tohru, and I.
"Of course," Tohru says, smiling.
"So, you two already know about the whole Zodiac thing, right?" he asks, getting on his feet and smiling even wider.
"Oh, yes," she says.
"Great!♡" Momiji cheers. "That means I can hug you!"
He leaps out, ready to tackle Tohru and I, only to be caught by Kyo. "Hold it, lover-boy."
"But Tohru and Aly don't mind if I transform in front of them, do you guys?"
"That's not the problem!" Kyo barks. "Do you even know where you are!?"
"You're just trying to keep them all to yourself because they're so cute," Momiji retorts, angry. "You already have Skylar—why do you need Tohru and Aly too?"
Kyo turns bright red, completely caught off guard as he retracts his hand. "What do you mean I already have Skylar!? Who the hell would want them!?"
"Me~♡"
With a small leap, he crashes into Tohru and I, knocking us to the ground with a poof!
Frantic voices fill the classroom at the noise.
"What was that? An explosion!?"
"Where'd Tohru and Aly go?"
"Skylar?" Natsuhiko wonders, a little worried as he pulls away the curtain. "What happened?"
Tohru looks speechlessly at the him, completely lost on what to say about the rabbit now lying between us.
"What was that?" Natsuhiko asks Skylar.
She laughs uneasily, ruffling her hair, as Kyo rubs his forehead, face pale.
"Aren't these Momiji's clothes?" Minami gapes, picking up Momiji's jacket.
"Yeah," Mio agrees. "Where is he? And why is he running around naked?"
"And where did the rabbit come from?" another student wonders.
"Yeah! Explain, Tohru! This is all so weird!"
"Weird?" Yuki's fake, hurt voice echoes around the room. "In that case, I'm weird too. As a man... dressing like this is very weird."
Everyone instantly swarms him, reassuring him that the dress is perfect for him, and it gives Kyo, Tohru, Skylar, and I a chance to pick up Bunny-Momiji and escape.
Kyo and Skylar lead us to the roof—an interesting choice considering the fact that we're not allowed up here.
"You little runt!" Kyo fumes. "Do you know what you almost did!?"
"As punishment, you can't go out for a week," Hatori says disapprovingly.
"What'd I do?" Momiji whines. "Tohru, they're scaring me~"
Skylar chuckles, earning herself a look from Kyo.
"Don't give into him dammit," he barks at her, making her cover her mouth to hide how much she's laughing.
"I'm very disappointed in you," Hatori says. "You're lucky Yuki was able to distract them."
Kyo smirks. "Yeah. All he had to do was bat those girly eyes of his, and—"
He's cut off by Yuki giving him a good right-hook to the face, sending him flying fairly high in the sky.
"Do you want to fly a little higher?" Yuki asks darkly.
Kyo cradles his mouth. "Damn rat."
Yuki doesn't bother retorting, choosing instead to completely ignore him and look at Momiji. "You really need to be more careful, Momiji."
"Yes. You should learn to think before you act," Hatori scolds. "Now, I think it's time we left."
"Aw~ Come on, Ha'ri~" Momiji complains. "I wanted to hang out with them for a while~"
"You promised if there were any problems, you would come home immediately," he reminds him.
Momiji sighs. "You're so boring~"
"Ah. I almost forgot something important." Hatori turns to Yuki. "You, Kyo, and your little friends line up over there."
"Little friends?" Kyo questions. "Who the hell are you talking about?"
He sighs. "I'm talking about Alayna and Skylar of course."
As if we're one person, we turn to him, pointing at the other. "Us?" we ask simultaneously.
Another sigh. "Yes. You two."
"Now wait a damn minute." Kyo glares at him, crossing his arms. "Why do you want us all together?"
"I just have a simple question," Hatori assures him as Skylar stands on the other side of Kyo and I next to Yuki, who shrugs lightly at my questioning look. "What is one plus two?"
"Three?"
Click.
Something flashes, and I have to blink to see the small, grey camera in Hatori's hand.
"Akito wanted me to take a picture of you while I was here. Since he's sick and couldn't come, he wanted to at least know what the newest... family members looked like."
Skylar looks at me, eyebrow raised. Akito wants a picture of us? For what?
Family members.
That doesn't make sense. Is Hatori saying we're somehow being adopted into the Sohma family?
"That should make a nice one. Enjoy the rest of the festival," he says easily, plucking Momiji from Tohru's hands and walking back down the stairs.
"Ha—to—ri!" Kyo rages, running after him. "Give me that damn camera, ya bastard!"
Skylar chuckles. "Poor Kyo~"
"That was... strange," I say.
Skylar nods, but she's not really paying attention to me—I know because as soon as she glances at the rat, who looks mortified, she grins mischievously and practically skips over to Tohru.
"Tohru, do you think you could help me clean up the room?" she asks innocently, forcing Tohru to pull her gaze away from Yuki.
She hesitates, clearly not wanted to leave Yuki alone. "Uh, yes."
"Thanks," Skylar says, sending me a hidden wink.
I knew it! She's meddling again!
I glare at her, earning an 'innocent' smile from her in return, and mentally curse her for ditching me.
"This is terrible," Yuki says behind me.
I turn around in time to see him bend over and pull the first layer of the dress over his head.
"I can only imagine what Akito'll do if he sees a picture of me dressed like this."
"But it's cold out here," I protest, walking over to him.
"It doesn't matter—I don't want to be in this for any longer," he says coolly.
"Everyone thinks it looks good on you, though," I assure him.
He scoffs. "It's not a compliment for a man to be called cute."
I tilt my head. "Why?"
He looks at me, confused. "Because... because..."
I kneel in front of him. "Cute is just a different way of saying 'I adore you' isn't it? It doesn't matter if you're a man or a woman—cute or handsome or pretty or attractive all mean the same thing, right? It's just the connotations that are different." I look at him. "That being said, if you don't like something, you should say so, Yuki. People won't know unless you tell them."
He sighs. "I know. I can't bring myself to say what I'm really thinking just yet."
I smile. "It's a slow process, and it'll take a lot of courage, so there's no rush. Until you're ready, I can help you if you need it."
"Thank you," he says softly. "I think I can keep up the fan service for a while longer—for the sake of our stand. Before that, though..." He looks up at me. "Could you help me with this? My hair's caught in one of the buttons."
I laugh, shaking my head. "I guess a dress with a thousand buttons would be hard to get on and off."
"Do you like this sort of dress, Miss Marsh?"
"Not really," I say truthfully. "I prefer things with a little less going on."
"That's too bad," he says. "I bet this kind of dress would look good on you."
I chuckle a little, managing to get his hair loose. "You think so? I think it'd make me look like an idiot."
"But you're cute," he says, causing my eyes to widen as he places his hand on my arm and looks up at me. "In fact, I'm sure any dress would look good on you."
My face heats up despite the cool breeze.
Did Yuki just call me cute!?
"Thank you," he says easily, standing up.
I nod without really processing what he's saying, trying to stand up.
I don't know what to say to that! Yuki just called me cute! I've never been called cute in my life before, let alone by someone I'm interested in! Am I supposed to say thank you or is that too presumptuous?
"Should we head back to the classroom now?" Yuki asks, going to the door before I can answer.
Oh, no. If Skylar sees me with my face all red, I'll never hear the end of it.
Yuki glances back at me. "Miss Marsh?"
I take a deep breath, centering myself, before following after him.
We make our way to the classroom, being sure no one notices us stepping out of the door that leads to the roof. As soon as we get there, Yuki goes straight to Kyo, who's sitting near the stand with a listless expression. Surprisingly, Skylar's not with him—she's over with Natsuhiko and a few of his friends.
"Did you get the camera?" Yuki demands.
"Don't even start," Kyo grumbles. "It wasn't any use."
Yuki sighs but doesn't push Kyo. Instead, he calls Tohru and Skylar over. "Miss Honda, Miss Hayes, can you come here for a moment?"
Tohru bows to another student working the booth before coming over almost immediately. It takes Skylar a little longer—she waves off something Natsuhiko says, swats at one of his friends, and rolls her eyes before she manages to make her way over to us.
"This may sound off to you three, but if you happen to meet Hatori, it might be better if you avoid him."
Tohru tilts her head, confused.
"It's not that Hatori himself is a bad person," Yuki explains, "but remember how I told you that I transformed in front of all of those kids, and their memories had to be erased?"
She nods.
"The person who did it was Hatori."
She freezes, unable to even blink.
"That's the reason I'm concerned. I thought I should warn you about it now."
Tohru goes to ask a question, but she's interrupted by the intercom system dinging.
"1-D's Alayna Marsh and Skylar Hayes, please come to the Advising Room. I repeat, 1-D's Alayna Marsh and Skylar Hayes..."
"Huh?" Tohru looks at the speakers like it's confused. "You two?"
"What for, I wonder..." Yuki muses out loud.
Skylar groans. "I don't want to go all the way to the Advising Room," she complains.
"Me either," I say, sighing, "but we should go see what they want."
"Fine~" she says, leading the way out the door.
As soon as the door slides shut behind us, she glances around the halls quickly, making sure no one's around, and looks at me.
"Why is it only us?" she asks. "Why not Tohru too?"
"I'm not sure, but something tells me this isn't going to be a carbon copy of the manga," I say.
"Maybe it'll be more like the anime," she offers, though she doesn't seem convinced.
"I hope so," is all I say.
When we get to the door to the Advising Room, I put my hand on the notch in the door and look at her, waiting.
She shrugs lightly in response, so I slide it open.
"Sorry it took us so long~" Skylar says easily.
"Come on in." Hatori's monotone voice offsets her, making her pout a little.
We listen to him anyway, of course, sliding the door behind us.
He's sitting in a wooden chair, a cigarette in between his fingers—completely at home. "I apologize for having to page you two like that, but I'm afraid we wouldn't have the chance to talk with Kyo and Yuki keeping such a close eye on you two."
Skylar tilts her head—the picture of pure innocence. "Chance to talk?" she parrots.
"Yes, well, let's get right to it," he says, standing. "This is the Sohma Family's address. Please come visit me on the next day neither of you have to work. I would like to talk to you two about something very important—and, of course, you can't tell Yuki or Kyo about this, nor can you refuse me."
Skylar's mouth quirks a little—she doesn't like being told so harshly that she can't do something—but she controls herself. "Understood," she says, taking the slip of paper from his hand with a small smile.
"Excellent. You might even meet Akito while we're there."
Her expression turns a little sour at the mention of her name.
"Don't worry, though!" Momiji cheers, appearing out of nowhere and wrapping his arms around my waist—just far enough away so that he doesn't transform. "I'll be there to protect you from Ha'ri~"
"Momiji," Hatori warns.
"What?" he asks, pouting. "If I were them and some stranger asked me to come over without anyone knowing, I would be scared!"
Hatori sighs.
"So you two'll come over, right?" Momiji asks. "It could be fun!"
Skylar and I share a look before turning to Hatori.
"Alright," she agrees.
"We'll come on our next day off," I finish.
I just hope we're making the right decision.
—x—
So, Ha'ri only wants to see Aly and Skylar? That's weird... Also, what was with that "newest family members" comment that Ha'ri made? Only time will tell!
(Or the next chapter~)
Oh, and Momiji says "Good heavens," "Good day," and "Delicious" in case you were wondering~ Another mixture of the manga and Google translate, so forgive any errors~
Happy reading, cupcakes~(: