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Like a Switch	By : Demonic_Host Category: Fruits Basket > Het - Male/Female Views: 4208 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 3
Disclaimer: I do not, in any way, own or make money from Fruits Basket or any of its associated characters.

Chapter List
- 6
- 7
- 8
Like a Switch
Chapter Seven

You perused the meat aisle of the local supermarket with a careful eye. If you were going to spend time cooking at all you wanted to do it in a fit of desire or inspiration. You didn't want to cook on an automated level. You didn't want cooking or eating to be a chore you had to get done. Which was why you were being so picky and spending a lot of time picking things out. You knew that most of the other customers might have thought you had a hard time with the language on the package or something because even Momiji had tried to help you with that. While it was true that you might never be as proficient as a extremely well read native speaker, you knew more than enough Kanji to be proficient for everyday things. Your collection of light novels back at the apartment would be proof enough of that.

Instead of being overtly rude to him when he tried to help, you simple started to pick up reading one of the labels aloud when he stopped for a small breath. That had gotten the point across loud and clear. Besides him assuming that you had a hard time figuring things out wasn't the most frustrating part. That was reserved for the tiny whispers in the background from all the Japanese housewives over the fact that Momiji still had a grip on your hand. PDAs and all that jazz weren't nearly as common in as in other places. Which was probably why your job and others like it flourished as well as they did.

Momiji never seemed to notice the whispers and stares as he happily kept you company. He hummed a song under his breath as you passed from the meat section to the vegetables. It didn't take you nearly as long to decide on those as it did the meat. After that the sauces and prepackaged or canned items went by quickly. Momiji lined up right behind you in the queue, closer than what was probably the standard. Considering the standard was already quite narrowed compared to places in western countries as it was that put him rather close to you. He was a hair's breath away and you knew that was closer than he needed to be. Even if he would normally need to worry about an accidental hug in the supermarket, that wasn't something that should be an issue right now. His occasionally hugging and near constant handholding would have ensured that he wouldn't transform. Unless there was like a fan club for him that had a plan to attack him with affection all at once.

You giggled to yourself at the mental imagery that thought brought with it. As he was so close to you, Momiji heard your laugh.

"What's so funny?"

"I just imagined you getting attacked with hugs by a fan club."

Momiji laughed as the line moved forward. The cashier started to ring up your things.

"I don't know about that. I'm not the one with a fan club. That's Yuki."

You blinked. Yuki; last name of Sohma no doubt. That was the name of teenager you had gone on a date with and entertained at the club. It was possible that they were one and the same - the one he was talking about and the one you've met. It was also possible that he knew nothing of the zodiac curse but you were starting to doubt it. After all, even if they were cursed the members just had this quality to them that drew others in. It might have been enough to spark a fan club if he was an admirable person in other ways.

You paid for the bagged up items. Momiji and you both grabbed one bag each to split the burden.

"Tell me about him?" You asked as you and he walked out of the store.

"Yuki?" Momiji inquired. You nodded. "Well we go to the same school now but he's a year older than me. He's the representative for his class."

"That's a lot of responsibility," you mused quietly.

"Right. But I think he does a really good job at it. I don't think I've ever really seen him worry about his grades or anything like that and he's at the top of the school!"

You smiled slightly as you and Momiji started to cross the street. It was nice to hear that at least one of the members was doing well for themselves.

"What does he look like?"

"Hmmm let's see. Well he's taller than me and he's really thin. Which is surprising considering that he's really strong when he wants to be and good at martial arts. Anyways he has purple eyes and dark gray hair. All the girls at school think he's pretty, like a prince. That's why he got the nickname Prince Yuki."

Despite how amusing it was to hear that someone was being called a prince, you still frowned. That had to be the same Yuki from work based on Momiji's description.

"What year is he?" You asked without really giving anything away as you and he were still in public.

"A year older than me," Momiji said in a perplexed tone before he understood what you had really been asking. "Oh. Oh he's the rat."

"What about Shigure?" You had to know even if you didn't want to at the same time.

Momiji got in front of you. His eyes were full of surprise as he stopped, nearly making you walk right into him.

"Did you remember him? Are you remembering us?"

You shook your head and let out a deep sigh. After everything that had happened you still couldn't remember most of your childhood, just snippets here and there. You could remember some people but you could never see them clearly. It was as though they were ghosts in your mind; shards of memories trying to represent a world sized masterpiece. The little you did remember was painful with only a few moments of comfort. You knew instinctively that most of your life had been wonderful, it was just that bad memories made the deepest impression.

"I'm sorry Momiji."

He smiled at you but it was the wavering type after someone was disappointed. "It's okay. I know that it's not your fault you can't remember us. It's Akito's fault."

You still felt bad for not remembering. The one thing that you remembered clearly was the day leading up to your memories being taken. You couldn't remember how or by who but you remembered why. And that was something you didn't feel like sharing with Momiji. Not after everything he had done for you.

"How do you know about Shigure?"

"There was a Shigure with Yuki at work. The Yuki from work matches the exact description you just gave so I figured that Shigure had to be cursed too."

The side street that led to your apartment had no one else on it so you figured it was safer to talk more openingly now. At least as long as you didn't talk so loud that it echoed against the concrete buildings.

"You're right. He's the dog," Momiji replied as he looked at where you'd stopped. "Oh wow you live so close to my school!"

"Looks like it," you replied as you walked up the stairs and opened the door.

The apartment was modest, you didn't need much when it was just you by yourself. Like most apartments your toilet and shower rooms were off from the entry way. Your kitchen, which had a bit more room than standard apartment kitchens in Japan, was just beyond that. It was connected to the living room as one big room. There was a large window at the far end of the apartment to let in natural light which overlooked the community park.

"Where's your bedroom?" Momiji asked with concern as you put your bag down on the counter. He followed suit of course.

You turned Momiji around so that he could see the loft which rested above the bathroom and entryway. The ladder that you used was currently hooked up so that it was straight up and down but it could be put at more of a slope if you'd wanted which you usually did but it took up a good portion of the movable space in the living room when you did that.

Momiji frowned to himself as he looked around. You didn't notice because of the fact that you were putting away the groceries for the week. It also didn't help that you were lost in your own thoughts over what Momiji had revealed to you. You might not have known it was really them but both Shigure and Yuki had to have known who you were when they came to see you at Yozora. Yuki might not have been as obvious but Shigure, who had clung to you at every opportunity, definitely would have known who and what you are. Yet he didn't tell you or even indicate who he really was. It kind of hurt. Though you knew realistically that it shouldn't have, that it had still been just part of work. Men went to Hostess clubs to forget the stress of their lives. You shouldn't have expected for Shigure and Yuki to be truthful with you. Still kind of hurt.

"Anita?"

"Yes Momiji?" You asked as you put the last item up.

"Did you want me to as papa to help you get a better apartment?"

You didn't take offense to that. You knew that Momiji was used to having a lot more space. He both had a well off father to provide shelter when needed and lived under the grace of the Sohma estate. He wasn't used to the standard living spaces in modern Japan.

"That's okay, I like my apartment. It's perfect for me."

"But where am I going to stay?" He asked innocently as he looked around. "Oh! I know. I can stay up in the loft with you. It'll be just like all the old sleepovers. That'll be fun right?"

...how had you not seen that coming?

"You should even be here to begin with. You should be at school, focusing."

He smiled and rocked back on his feet. Simultaneously he leaned forward and stuck his finger out. "I told you silly, I'm going to stay with you all day. Tomorrow I will be a student but today I'm all yours."

"Tomorrow is Saturday."

That only made him smile wider. Whatever; you were actually rather tired and you didn't feel like fighting him. So instead you just repositioned the ladder and climbed up to bed. Momiji gave you just the barest amount of time needed to strip down and throw on a nightgown before he was up there with you. He seemed to have timed it just perfecting seeing as you'd still been straightening the gown out as his head finally peeked over the top. Momiji crawled over towards you and you suddenly had the impression of something far less innocent. You pressed that down almost as quickly as it appeared. Apparently you needed more alone time if those thoughts were popping up.

"It's kind of nice up here," Momiji said with a smile as he felt your mattress. "Almost like a burrow."
The two shorter walls were built in closets with small cubbies underneath which you had placed only a few necessary items. One of those items was your laptop and a small tap light. In another was a small voice activated device that you used for music and as your alarm clock, though it had more features than that. You usually placed your cell phone in that cubby as well. Most of the other cubbies were filled with books, as many as you could fit and you had to practically yank one of them out when you wanted to read anything. The only other thing up there and visible was a small fan, small but powerful. All of the electronic devices plugged up to a small power strip that was connected right beside one of the rows up cubbies. It made for a bit of an eyesore but at least it was a functional system for you.

"Perfect for a little rabbit huh?" you teased as you pulled back the sheets which made Momiji grin.

It was too warm for covers, even if you had a small fan running this tended to be the warmest area in your apartment. Heat did rise, after all. And while that was helpful in the winter it did make sleeping with covers stifling once the temperature climbed up. You'd discovered that not that long ago. Thankfully there had been enough room between your two closets, even if they were only four feet tall, to fit your extra covers. Otherwise the loft would have looked even more like a mess.

"Are you going to go to sleep?" Momiji asked despite the answer being obvious.

At least you thought it should have been obvious. You were in a nightgown with the sheet folded back so you could climb into bed. The full sized bed, of course, practically took up all of the floor space. It only left a few inches between it and the cubbies below your closets and that estimate was on the generous side.

"Yes, Momiji, I'm going to sleep. I have to wake up in a few hours so I can get to work by eight."

"Hmm," he mused to himself as he took a seat at the edge of the bed.

Truth be told you weren't sure you'd be able to get to sleep very easily with him nearby. As an only child you had never had to share your room before. And though you had lived at the Sohma estate when you were younger you didn't remember it at all. You didn't know if you shared while you were there or if you had your own, you couldn't remember anything about that. And it wasn't like you had a lot of boyfriends or anything of the sort in the past to find out if you could co-sleep either. Nor could you remember having many sleepovers with any of your friends...again, there was a large chunk of time in your life that you couldn't remember so that was no surprise.

"Could you close the curtain for me?"

He looked confused, "But there aren't any windows up here."

You moved around him and reached towards the opening both you and he had climbed up through. You had put a small sliding rod at the top, it was centimeters from touching the roof, and attached to that was a thick, dark piece of drapery. When you pulled it closed over the doorway it blocked any of the natural light from the main window from coming in. Which meant that it plunged your small loft into absolute darkness.

Momiji shifted around in what you thought was an uncomfortable way. A lot of people didn't like being in the dark but you weren't one of them. You worked in a dim setting after all and sometimes they'd turn the lights out for a few minutes to spice up the night, or something to that effect you were sure. Plus you had gotten used to sleeping in the loft which meant that you were comfortable moving around in it while the lights were out.

"Aren't you scared?" The rabbit of the zodiac asked as he stayed in his spot.

"Of the dark? No, I'm not scared of the dark. I'm used to it."

You felt him shift on the bed. You got the impression that he was trying to use his hands to help him figure out how to navigate. Which was amusing to you because you never thought it would have been so difficult to figure your little nest out. Then again maybe you would have done the same thing in someone else's room. You really had no way of knowing.

Momiji laid down on his side beside you. You could feel his breath on your shoulder as you laid on your back. You closed your eyes and clenched your jaw; you might have been used to things like this at work but something about being at your home made it more intimate. You resisted the urge to push him away; it wasn't his fault you had an overactive imagination. Besides it only became a bad thing when acted upon. Actions were all that mattered since thoughts were private affairs.

"Are you asleep?" he whispered.

"Momiji...it's only been a minute. It takes a while to fall asleep."

"Oh."

Without needing to turn on a light you reached across from you to turn on the fan. The moving air felt really good and it helped to disguise the fact that he was right behind you, breathing on a thinly covered skin. Besides you knew from experience that it was going to warm up and you had a feeling that it was going to be faster now that there were two bodies up in the loft. The wind was going to be your only solace as you tried to sleep.

"If you want, you can go back down with my laptop or something and watch a few shows," you offered.

Most likely he only woke up three or four hours ago at most. You very much doubted he was anything remotely approaching tired.

"Hmm, that's okay. I like it up here with you."

He said the cutest things. It was like he had been programmed to make everyone like him. At least anyone who had a soft heart.

It took a few minutes but you felt your eyes starting to warm up as sleep relaxed your body. You had even gotten used to the fact that Momiji was beside you. What you couldn't take was the fact that he'd started singing. It was under his breath, of course, but it was still a lot more noise than you were used to.

"Who's in the forest strolling? The birds and the bees sing Momiji. The frogs in the pond are calling: Momiji, yes it's true."

'Birds and the bees huh?' You thought drowsily.

"Momiji?"

"Yes?"

"Stop. Can't sleep," you mumbled out in tired voice.

He should just be happy that had come out in Japanese at all. Momiji quieted down as he understood what you were trying to say. You let out a deep breath as you turned over towards your side. Thankfully without any other noise you fell into a deep sleep rather quickly.
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Like a Switch