Fruits Basket: Give me wings

Chapter 6- Crowds

Thank you for reading! Sorry for not updating for so long... things have been pretty hectic, exams and all...

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Chapter six- Crowds

Neither of them had said anything for a while. Tsuneo had simply brushed his hand lightly against her burning cheek, before departing the room, leaving her to fall into an uneasy sleep. She felt like punching something. What did this all mean? Never had she felt anything like this before. Tsuneo had become a different person with her, not his usual blank-faced or fearful black and white persona, but a hazy grey, a more human side to him that no-one had seen.

Tsuneo had wandered back into his room, and sat in his bed, thinking. Had he done the right thing? He had acted on his instincts, which were usually good, but this felt different. A hug was meant to comfort someone when they were upset or afraid, and it was meant to cheer them up. He hadn’t predicted that he would end up feeling such warmth inside him, when he saw her expression smooth out, eased. Seeing her genuinely happy for that small moment had gotten him seriously considering himself.

The next morning, they all sat at the breakfast table, eating in silence. Sora and Tohru looked completely at ease, smiling at each other, eating politely. Only they were oblivious to the events of the night before. Kyo, Tsuneo and Haruhi sat in a row of three, not looking at each other, each feeling as awkward as the others. It didn’t help that this was their first day at school, either. Haruhi actually felt a little sick. The thought of going into a building filled with all those crowds made her furious. She glanced over at Tsuneo, who looked devoid of feeling, staring blank-faced into his bowl of cereal. He would be entering his third year, and things would be especially tough on him. He even looked a little tearful, although this was nothing new. He was always quick to cry.

“It’s nearly time for you to go!” Tohru chirped suddenly, making the three of them jump. “Are you okay, Kyo?”

He cleared his throat, and glanced at Haruhi. “I’m fine. Anyway, let’s go out to the car.”

Since Tohru and Kyo lived in what seemed like the middle of nowhere, the only way for them to get to the school every day was for Kyo to give them a lift in the car. Although grateful for the lift, Haruhi couldn’t help but feel that there it was going to be an uncomfortably silent journey.

“You all look so good in your uniforms!” Tohru commented, seeing the three of them stood next to the car.

Tsuneo tugged at his tie, and scratched his neck underneath the stiff collar of his shirt. He then put his hand up to feel the strange softness of his newly washed hair, combed into place by Tohru. Haruhi flashed a look of amusement over at him, before sighing at her own uncomfortable attire. This sailor’s outfit that girls had to wear looked very odd compared the boys’ cool military-style uniforms. Plus, she couldn’t help but feel that the skirts were made a little too short. Sora was breathing very deliberately, calming her own nerves.

“Good luck everyone!”

The crawled into the car, feeling that they definitely needed that luck if they were to survive their first day in high school.

***

 As Tsuneo prepared to depart for his first class in the third year block, he looked like he was trying to hide his anxiety. He reassured the girls that he didn’t need walking to class.

“I will  be fine,” he said, although he sounded like he was trying to convince himself more than the other two. He faced away from them, seeming cold. “Do not worry, I won’t bump into anyone and transform, and classes should be easy if the questions are like they were in the entrance exam.”