"Huh?" Pulling the phone away from her ear, Kaede stared at the number that she inputted and scratched her head. "This is the right number. Why isn't Honda-san picking up or Tohru?"
'Maybe I should've bought Tohru her own phone despite her protests...'
"Hm? What's wrong Kaede?" Shimizu asked as she leaned against the wall with her head tilted.
"My niece and her grandfather aren't picking up. I don't know if the phone line is down or they're busy at the moment...But that old man is almost always there at his house." The woman explained as she tried dialing the phone once again, only to hear it go to voice mail.
"They're probably busy. Plus isn't your niece in high school? Its a busy time when you're hanging out with friends and studying. Also her grandfather is pretty old, maybe he can't hear the phone." The older female reasoned out as she approached her fellow friend and doctor.
"Yeah you're right....I'll call later. I wanted to know if Tohru is okay with everything. She called me a week ago."
With a chuckle, Shimizu ruffled the younger girl's hair seeing her pout like a child. "Lighten up! Let's go get some dinner! We've been working our butts off! Study this, write about this, report that, talk to the upper division!!"
"Yeah...Let's go and invite the others. How about some katsudon?" Kaede and Shimizu walked down the hall together to find the others.
....
"Yosh!!! Everyone's here!!" Kimura happily shouted as the group walked together to a restaurant. The group happily conversed and laughed together like they were all old friends from high school. As they continued to walk, they passed by a playground.
"Hey! Catch him!!" A child yelled as the other kids smiled and yelled along running after another kid. Kaede turned her head and watched the children run around. Somehow this sparked a memory...an old memory from long ago. "Catch the imposter!!"
"Beat him down!!"
"Hey!! Stop it!"
___________
Years ago
"Hey look its her"
"Huh? You mean the sister of that yankee?"
"My mom said to stay away from her. She said she's a bad person to hang around with. You'll turn out just like her sister!"
"That yankee is bad news."
"I had that girl in my class and she was atrocious! I can't think about being with her younger sister!"
Whispers. Undeniable hurtful words that were thrown her way without truly knowing the girl. Rumors and stories continued to circulate around the girl as her fellow peers stared at her from afar whispering about all kinds of things their parents were talking about.
'Its not true....Nee-san is not a bad person....'
Children...teachers...parents. They all were talking.
Clenching her fist and keeping her head down low, the light brown haired girl trembled slightly. Her sister is not the person they describe her to be. How could they be so cruel? So wrong in misjudging a child and understanding them?
Kaede bit her lip as she glared at the children and adults around her. Her eyes took in the sight of how they looked at her. Their gazes piercing with a judging stare. The way they looked at her like a creature - a monster. They treated her as if she wasn't sitting there.
Kaede's amber eyes pierced them as she thought of them as the monsters. As they met her eyes, they flinched making the whispers escalate.
"See! How scary!"
YOU ARE READING
The Four Musketeers (Fruits Basket)
Fanfiction"Even when the world doesn't need us, we live for the people who do" "So do you need me?" "Of course I do." A warm smiled graced her features as she stared into their eyes. "When you live for those people, you'll find joy and happiness when you're...
