Spread My Wings (Fruits Basket)

Apologies

Sukochi's POV

"Since it's the weekend and we have some free time, let's make a homemade lunch!" Shigure declared, standing up and scattering papers all over the carpet in the midst of his Eureka moment.

I yawned from my place on the futon couch, idly flipping through my textbook pages and squinting to make sense of the minuscule print. "Okay, sure...go ahead."

Hatori barely glanced up from his laptop. "Do we even have the ingredients to make something nice?"

"Well, no, but-"

"Precisely," he said. "Let's just stick with take-out."

"There is such thing as a supermarket, you know," Ayame countered, fiercely defensive of his best friend.

"Yes, you're a genius, Aya!" Shigure trilled, eyes lighting up as he bounded to the doorway, slipping into his shoes. "Come on, guys! Onward, my friends- to the supermarket we go!"

"Seriously?" I groaned, glancing down to gaze longingly at my comfortable shirt and oversized pants. "Um, how about this? You three go, and I just stay here and laze around?"

"Nonsense!" Ayame swatted my shoulder, giving me a stern look. "Those who don't work don't eat. Up you go, young lady!"

"Since when?" I whined, yelping in pain as he yanked me up, practically dragging me towards the door until I finally surrendered. "Okay, okay, fine. I'll go to the goddamn supermarket. Just let me get some real clothes on, okay?"

He eyed me warily, but released me, watching as I headed upstairs and into my new bedroom. I opened the closet door with a creak, grabbing a panda t-shirt, a windbreaker, and a pair of jeans.

Living with them was okay, I guess. I never felt stressed like I did with my parents, knowing that if I walked downstairs I'd find them laughing and joking around. We never really got into any fights with each other, and just as an extra precaution, we'd even created a schedule for chores. They weren't total slobs or anything, so the house stayed clean and I was able to live in a decent bedroom.

"Alright, bitches," I clapped my hands, joining them at the foot of the staircase, "are we doing this or what?"

It was a chilly day, cloudy and unpleasantly gray, and I could feel the cool mist skimming my exposed skin. What with the shitty weather, we were the only ones outside at the moment.

Cue the ominous rumble of thunder. I shivered. "Um...wouldn't it be better if we just stayed inside and got take-out from somewhere?"

"Oh, come on, Fujikawa-chan! Don't be such a sissy!" Shigure said heartily, giving me a playful swat on the shoulder. "A little rain never hurt anyone. Besids, what's the point of living without a bit of adventure? And doesn't homemade sukiyaki sound like the greatest thing ever?"

The prospect of sukiyaki did sound awesome. If there was one thing I missed about living with my mom, it was her amazing cooking. "Okay, okay, you got me," I grumbled, shoving my hands into my pockets. "So, what's the plan? What do we need?

"Hm..." Shigure thought about it for a moment, tapping a finger against his chin. "Well, I'm pretty sure that we still have some stuff from our last trip, so all we'd need is some Wagyu, shiitake, Wagyu fat, and...water cress! Yup, that sounds just about right!"

"Hey, Shigure," Ayame said loudly, elbowing his friend in the ribs. "Why don't we split up into pairs so the shopping doesn't take too long?"

"That's a fantastic idea, Aya!" Shigure clapped his hands together, a maniac glimmer in his eyes. "Hey, Aya, why don't the two of us pair up?"