The Neighbors ( A Fruits Basket Fanfiction)

Chapter 2

We stepped out onto the back porch, feeling the gusting wind on our faces. I closed the door behind me, due to me being the last one out. We found ourselves in a screened off porch, with a couch that sat in front of the back wall. A little coffee table sat in front of the couch, looking like it had some type of lid to it. A little water fountain gushed in the corner of the porch, showing a little heart at the top, which the water poured down it. A red light shined up onto the whole fountain, making it have a red tint to it. The porch was cool, due to a tin roof blocking it from the sun. Lacy stepped down as she turned to us. "This is one of the placed that I like to go to relax. I come here when it's very sunny out. Sometimes I'll even sleep out here," she explained, as we stepped more into the room. I looked around, as I felt the coolness of the room.

I took a deep breath to take in the air. "Is it always this cold?" I asked as Lacy sighed. "A little bit. I come out here because it's hard to get fresh air into the attic. Plus, I like the smell of the flowers," she explained.  Kim took a deep whiff as she inhaled the air more. "Those flowers do smell good. What types are they?" she asked as Lacy turned to the flowers. "Roses. I got a mixture of reds, whites, pinks, and purples," she said, as I looked at her in awe. Lacy laughed at my expression. "What's with the face?" she asked, as Kim spoke. "Please ignore her when she's like this. Mal likes roses. It's her favorite flower," she explained. Lacy looked at me in surprise. "Really? Well, you might have to help me with them then. If you would like to," she offered as I shook my head. "No thank you. I'm not a gardener.  Don't really have a green thumb," I explained.  Kim chuckled. "Mal does have a bouquet of fake flowers. It's her favorite decoration," she spoke. Lacy chuckled at the comment. "Well, you girls feel free to look or take care of them at any time," she said. Kim nodded. "Will do. Thank you," she said, as Lacy smiled. "Shall we see the yard?" she asked as we started to walk off the porch and onto a pathway.

Lacy started down into the yard with Kim and me following her right behind. The yard was pretty. It was a big grassy yard, full of bright green grass. A cement walkway circled around the yard, ending at a big cement square by a small hedged wall.  The cement square held a couple of swings, a fireplace and something that looked like a wastebasket in the middle. Behind it was a little white picket fence that showed a bit of the neighbor's yard.

Lacy sat on one of the swings as she waved to the other. "Take a seat. Let's enjoy a little bit of the fresh air," she said, as Kim sat next to her. I walked over and sat on the swing opposite to them. "This is nice," I said, as Kim looked around. "Very nice. Could bring a book out here," she said, as I nodded in reply.  Lacy chuckled. "Like books Kim?" she asked as Kim turned to her. "Yeah. We both do," she said, as I nodded. "Different genre's though," I said, as Lacy nodded and listened. "Well, there's something us three have in common. I visit the library a couple of times a week.  Maybe we can all go next time," she said as Kim looked at her. "Sounds like fun. We definitely should," she said, as I nodded. 

Walking came towards the wall as a man spoke. "Well good afternoon, Ms. Lacy," it said, as we turned to the sound. A man with short black hair and dark eyes peered over the fence. He looked around Lacy's age and seemed friendly.  Lacy got up as she walked over to the fence more. "Good afternoon Shigure, wonderful weather we're having," she said, as she gave him a warm smile. "Nice day to be outside, that's for sure," he said, as he looked at the two of us. "Oh, so these must be the girls moving in with you," he said, as Lacy turned to us. "Kim, Mal, I would like you to meet Mr. Shigure Souma," she introduced the man with. Kim nodded as I waved. "Nice to meet you Mr. Souma," Kim said, as I nodded in agreement.

The man waved as he spoke. "Just call me Shigure. But I appreciate the respect," he said, as he looked from Kim to me. "You must be the quiet one of the two," he said, as I chuckled. "A little bit. I'm the homebody out of us two," I brought up. Shigure chuckled at my comment. "Well, I'll let you girls get back to whatever you were doing. I'll see you later, Lacy," he said, as he popped back over the wall. We turned back to Lacy as she cracked a smile. "He's always popping his head over when I'm outside," she explained.  Kim smiled as she spoke. "He seems very nice," she said. Lacy nodded to her comment. "Yeah. The Souma's are nice people. Shigure crosses the street whenever I'm out. He can sense when I'm outside," she said, as I looked at her in confusion.