50 Fruits in a Basket (A Fruits Basket Fan-Fic)

Chapter 9 -- A Saturday in Tokyo

Hi everyone! I know it's been ages since the last update (4 years went really fast...), but I've worked out a timeline for where I want this to go, and I'm so excited for it! I hope you all stick around to see this journey through. :)

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 When Kyo, Yuki, and Tohru return from a shopping trip one Saturday morning, I'm up and reading on the roof, and am so engrossed in the book that I don't even hear them arrive. I nearly lose my treasured English copy of Howl's Moving Castle over the edge of the roof when I hear Kyo's voice. "Hey, Yuki wants you downstairs."

I look over to the ladder on my right to find him leaning against the roof as he stands on the ladder. "Kyo! You nearly gave me a heart attack!" I scold, closing my book. "I could have fallen off the roof, for all you know."

He brushes my words off. "That wouldn't have happened. You'd pass for another cat if they all weren't convinced you're the wolf," he says, "Now, come on. I don't want that damn rat biting my head off for not getting you down there."

Standing up, I let a small laugh escape. Kyo pauses as he gets ready to climb back down. "What?"

I shake my head, smiling a little bit. "Nothing. It's nothing."

I make my way downstairs, and after dropping my book off in my room, I venture down the hall to where I figure Yuki is.

"Yuki?" My brother, who's standing across the sitting room, turns to find me hovering in the doorway. "Kyo went up to find me. He said you wanted to talk to me?" This is weird. We've never sought each other out like this. And he never asks Kyo to do things for him.

"Ah, yes, I did." With a smile, he asks, "Do you have any plans this afternoon?"

Well, that was direct... the award for the best social skills goes to... "Nope! Did you need me to do something?"

Yuki looks momentarily uncomfortable, and pulls at his collar a little. "Well, not exactly. I was wondering if you would like to get out of the house and go get ice cream or something? Explore a bit of Tokyo? My treat," he adds with another small smile, obviously embarrassed.

"Really?!" I ask, a grin exploding onto my face. It takes all of my willpower not to jump up and down like a little kid, so I settle for a little clap. "I would love to! I haven't done something like that since I was little, when Mother would buy us some at a park!"

"Then let's go." He responds lightly. "We can go whenever you're ready."

"There are so many people!" We're not in a majorly popular neighbourhood of Tokyo, understandably, but even knowing that, the size of the crowds surprises me. All around us, people in bustle in and out of streetfront shops, and converse as they meander by. "I don't even know if I've seen this many people in one spot before. I can't imagine how people function in spots like Shibuya or Asakusa. How much further is it?"

"Just around the next corner. Close to the canal." Yuki replies, "It's a quieter spot, which I appreciate. And there are good cafes for snacks nearby." He steers me around a group of middle schoolers who stare at him in an incredibly odd way.

"Why are they looking at you like that, Yuki?" I look up at him as he glances at the group and sighs.

"At school, a lot of the girls call me the prince. I don't really understand why," he adds, his face reddening as I burst into laughter. "I assume word has gotten around. Unfortunately."

"Wow." I laugh, "You're a prince, then? So that makes me a princess?" I can't help but laugh harder. "Imagine that. We barely make it into the category of normal people, much less royalty."