Disclaimer: Fruits Basket does not belong to me however much I wish otherwise.
AN: This is something I've been working on for a few months now. Thanks go to Mona for the inspiration to write a Saki fic. Hope everyone enjoys. Not sure when the next part will be out but be assured I am working on it. I'm just a very slow writer. ^^;;; Oh, and just ignore the cheesy title…I couldn't really come up with anything good. *knocks self on head*
Making Waves
Chapter One
You couldn't not notice him; Sohma Hatsuharu. And, although they had been in each other's presence often due to their mutual friends, she could count the times they had spoken together on one hand.
Some of the students were a bit wary of him; he had a temper that when unleashed, was unlike anything she had ever seen. But, most of the time he seemed pretty mellow. Why was she watching him? Saki had felt his eyes following her more than once recently. She'd turn and meet his blank stare with one of her own. Why was he watching her? That's what she hoped to find out.
Tohru had wanted to lunch outside, the weather being so nice she decided it would be a shame to waste it. When she announced that to her friends during their break from class they found themselves hard pressed to disagree with her. They sat in a rough circle on the soft ground enjoying the mild weather. Momiji jumped around in excitement as Hanajima pulled out a deck of cards. Kyo and Arisa broke into an immediate argument over what game to play. Some of the girls from Yuki's fanclub passed by and threw threatening looks at an oblivious Tohru. Saki wasn't so oblivious however. Hatsuharu watched her with mild amusement as she stared after the girls, sparks chasing themselves down to the end of her long black braid.
Hanajima Saki. She was a small girl, a year older than him and pretty if a bit unconventional. Not that he was conventional himself. In fact, he was anything but. Of course, he had received strange looks since he was a child because of his unusual hair color that was part of his particular curse; he was used to the stares now. Why not look the part? Perhaps she felt the same way. The girl definitely had her own unique style. The few times he had seen her out of her school uniform she had been dressed in black from head to toe; black hair, black fingernails, and she possessed quite possibly the darkest eyes he had ever seen.
And then of course, there was the denpa. Her strange psychic ability had some of his cousins on edge, and he admitted to being a bit wary of her himself, but Honda Tohru had accepted her wholly and without question as she did almost everyone she met. Most of the girls at school tried to avoid Saki, afraid of the electric waves she would send their way, usually after they had been harassing Tohru. To Hatsuharu's way of thinking, those girls were annoying and got what was coming to them anyway. He guessed they each had their own way of shocking people. He smiled as that thought occurred to him.
"What are you grinning at?" Kyo's voice interrupted his thoughts bringing him back to the present. He had been spacing out again. He felt someone watching him and he glanced up to find the object of his thoughts scrutinizing him with her dark eyes. "You have something heavy on your mind," she intoned matter-of-factly.
Hatsuharu blinked. "Denpa? Did you use it on me?"
She shook her head slightly. "No. I don't have to use denpa to see that you were thinking of something far away. You were here but your mind was not; it had been wandering."
Kyo snickered. "Not only are you directionally impaired, but you seem to be losing your mind too."
He slowly turned towards his orange-haired cousin, one eyebrow raised in question. "What was that you said?"
"Shut your mouth you stupid cat. You want to get him riled up while we're at school?" Yuki hissed in Kyo's direction.
Tohru let loose a few nervous giggles to dispel the sudden tension. "Ano…it's almost time for class to begin."
Arisa cursed and flipped her blonde hair over one shoulder with a swift turn of her head. "Guess play time's over then."
Saki stared out the window of the classroom and watched as Yuki and Tohru began their walk home, her eyes following them as they made their way down the street.
A voice broke through echoing her thoughts.
"They look good together."
"I think so as well, Sohma-san." She paused briefly and flicked her eyes in his directions before continuing in a soft voice. "But, I worry about Tohru. If he were to cause her pain…well, then…" She once again turned her gaze in the direction that Yuki and Tohru had disappeared, her eyes reflecting her stormy thoughts. "There is something different about you Sohma's. Whatever your secret is, Tohru knows."
"Everyone has secrets; even you, denpa girl."
She acknowledged his statement by turning towards him slowly, focusing those large eyes on him. She cocked her head to one side causing her long black braid fall gracefully over one shoulder.
"Are you afraid of it?"
He held her gaze, unwavering. "Do you think you can chase me away as easily as those little girls, Hanajima?"
They stared at each other for a few minutes before Saki finally broke away; it appeared they were in a stalemate of sorts.
"Secrets are kept for a reason," she intoned softly and with a small shrug. Then she startled him by changing the subject. "You've been watching me. Why have you been watching me?"
He looked at her curiously, a slight smile curving his lips in a flirtatious manner. "Don't you think you're someone worthy of attention?"
Again she shrugged. "People find me odd so it's natural that I would receive some attention. But you didn't answer my question. Why have you been watching me?"
He shrugged and glanced away. "You're…interesting."
She arched a delicate eyebrow in his direction. This was a development; Sohma Hatsuharu found her 'interesting'. But what did that mean exactly?
"Would you do anything to protect her?" he asked, abruptly bringing the subject back to Tohru.
"Tohru is very important to me…at least as important as the Prince is to you. Is there something I should know?"
His response was cryptic. "Although I would like to see them happy together, there are some things that are impossible right now."
She turned that impassive gaze towards him again and for a moment something flickered in her eyes. But then it was gone. Perhaps it was his imagination.
Were they that obvious then, these feelings of his? Or was it just because her perception was unusually keen?
"Why are you here, Sohma Hatsuharu?"
It was his turn to shrug. "I was walking by the classroom and noticed you here by yourself. I thought I'd see what you found so interesting outside of that window."
"That almost sounded believable," she commented.
"You think you know me so well, do you?" he asked skeptically. "Here I was thinking that we hardly knew each other at all."
His eyes narrowed then and his lips formed a wicked grin causing a shiver to run down her back. He stepped closer to her and she suddenly found herself quite trapped between Hatsuharu and the window. He seemed different to her now; more forceful and in control, not the quiet and often time's dazed boy she was used to seeing. She studied him carefully. Even his denpa had changed slightly.
"You're right," she replied calmly, "I don't I know you, Hatsu--"
She was interrupted when he lowered his mouth to her own effectively silencing her. She wasn't quite sure what had come over him so suddenly. Saki felt his lips working at her own, and was surprised at the softness of them. She let out a gasp and he took the opportunity to invade her open mouth with his tongue. It was a strange feeling, but not unpleasant. Little butterflies were beginning to form in her stomach and she wondered at the feeling.
He felt something dance over his flesh raising the little hairs on his arms and giving him goose bumps. Breaking the kiss, he stepped away from her to look into her eyes but they were closed, the long charcoal lashes dark against her pale complexion. She shuddered then and tried to drift closer to him but he held her firmly by the shoulders preventing contact between their bodies.
"Hanajima…"
A small sound escaped her then. Somewhere between a sigh and a moan; it came out almost as a whimper. He gave her a little shake when her eyes remained closed. They opened dazedly and she stared ahead, her gaze unfocused.
"Hanajima." His voice was louder now, more sharp. "What did you do just then?"
"Nothing. I've never been kissed before. I didn't know…"
"You didn't know what?" His tone was becoming angrier with each word he spoke. He had never felt anything like it; that kiss. Part of him was convinced that she had used the opportunity to slip into his mind and find out his secrets. Another part of him argued whether it was even possible for her to do that. Whatever it was, something had definitely occurred between the two of them during that kiss.
Her eyes snapped up to meet his own, the gaze she sent him now was clear as day. "I didn't know that would happen."
He took a deep breath and tried to calm himself; he had been dangerously close to the edge and it wouldn't do for him to turn Black right now. "What exactly happened?"
She began to speak then, but the words flowing from those delicate lips made absolutely no sense to him. He thought he'd caught something about…water? He held out a hand, interrupting her.
"Maybe you could try explaining it so that I could actually understand?"
She let out an almost imperceptible sigh. "I lost control of the denpa. I apologize. It won't happen again."
They looked at each other for a minute before he turned away. He almost didn't catch her words then, they were spoken so softly. "It won't happen again because we aren't going to do this anymore, are we? It's alright. I understand. Have no fear Sohma Hatsuharu, you'll remain as you are to me; a mystery."
She left then and he didn't turn around until he had heard the last of her footsteps fade away into nothingness.
She was rather intrigued when her brother came up to her room to announce she had a visitor. If it had been Arisa or Tohru then Megumi would have just let them in. Her curiosity turned to surprise when she spied Hatsuharu in the entryway. Still in his school uniform, he was nonchalantly leaning against the wall with one shoulder. He looked slightly out of place and uncomfortable, however as much he tried to appear otherwise.
She sighed. She wasn't prepared to deal with him at the moment.
Saki approached him slowly, stopping within a few feet of him. She had her hair down. It was thick and wavy and spread about her shoulders like a cloak. He had never seen her look that way and he found himself staring.
"Sohma-san. It's late. What are you doing here?"
"…I had a little trouble finding your house." His voice was low. He glanced at her mother and brother who were both watching him with curiosity. Saki seemed to pick up on his discomfort. She supposed she could have asked her mother to let her have a few minutes of privacy, but she was too tired to deal with him alone. Besides, she was secretly enjoying his discomfort. So, instead, she only scooted a little closer to him so that she could hear him better.
"I wanted to talk to you about what happened earlier."
"I thought that I scared you away."
"Well, you're not right about everything, Hanajima. Yes, I was a little afraid. Not because you'd find out my secret, though, but because of what would have to happen if you knew." Again his eyes darted to her family.
She took a moment to digest this revelation. "It's dangerous then, this secret?"
"It's complicated."
"Life is complicated," she countered.
He reached up to brush a strand of hair away from her face, but stopped himself abruptly, remembering that they had an audience.
"I've got to go."
"Wait." She reached out a hand to pull on his shoulder but missed and ended up grabbing the funny cross shaped pendent he was wearing.
"What is it?"
Saki said nothing. She didn't know why she had stopped him; only that she hadn't wanted him to leave so abruptly.
"Do you like that?"
She blinked.
He grinned flirtatiously at her then; it was nice to see someone else out of it for a change. "The pendant. Do you like it?"
She looked at it. "Yes, but--"
He pulled it off, pushing it firmly into her hand. "Keep it then." He paused. "I'll see you at school tomorrow." With those parting words he turned and left.
Her mother and brother joined her at the doorway. Three sets of eyes watched him make his way down the street.
"He's a friend of Tohru's?" Megumi asked curiously.
"Yes."
Her mother only shook her head and murmured, "What a strange boy. "