Disclaimer: I don't own Fruits Basket.

A/N: Yay a new Fruits Basket fan fiction!!!! I just HAD to after I read the ending!! UWAH. (Sentimental!) Anyway, enjoy. I'm thinking to add more pairings in as I go. Thanks to Cutee2054 for the inspiration. I think it's kind of what happens in between the breaking of the curse and the cutting of Mayuko's hair.

Mayuko Shiraki had never been a very lucky person. Her life was pretty dull and repetitive, the usual for an underpaid, single schoolteacher. If that was the case, then why did emotionally complicating things ALWAYS happen to her at the most inconvenient circumstances?

First there was the whole Kana incident with Hatori, and then dating Shigure, and then the embarrassing things that happen with her and Hatori CONSTANTLY. This includes her crying like a baby in public in front of him. Even though he didn't seem to mind, it was still mortifying. On top of that, Shigure and her mother were constant demons, plotting to get her a man.

Plus there was Hatori himself, as kind and caring as ever… not to mention criminally good-looking. He could never just let her forget about him. Whenever she would get sick, Shigure would hear about it from the kids, and Hatori would never be spared the news from Shigure. And just like that, Mayuko would receive a phone call from Hatori asking if she was okay, or if she wanted him to stop by and check her. She would madly blush at the thought and refuse immediately, insisting she was fine through a few coughs. Sometimes he even swung by with chicken soup and some medicine. Such incredibly sweet behavior made her resent him even more.

Besides that, they were still friends, and aside from occasional drinking parties with the trio (plus Mayu and Mine), Hatori and Mayuko still occasionally went out for coffee or chatted over the phone like normal friends would. Each time she would hang up the phone, or return home, she would sigh and sigh again.

When had things gotten so complicated? It became painful to even talk to this man who she loved so much, but he didn't even regard her as a woman.

"I'm so glad we're friends" When he had told her that he had no idea how much it crushed her heart just as she thought she was getting closer to him. Friends. Man this sucks.

She sighed again. Here she was, nearly twenty-eight and still living on her own in an apartment three blocks from her parents house—a crappy apartment, at that. Well, it was all she could afford with her wage teaching those ungrateful kids. Well, still, she couldn't lie to herself. As much as she complained, she loved her job. Her kids meant a lot to her, especially this year's class, with Honda and the Sohma cousins.

But she sure could use a better income.

That's when it happened. It was something that might have been what caused a whirlwind of change in her life. As she was grading papers at her dining table, something cold dripped onto her hand. She paused in the middle of a note and looked down at it. Water…?

She looked across the table and many such droplets adorned its surface. She looked up and two more promptly fell on her face. "What the—?" She hurriedly shoved the papers into her bag to avoid further damage, and stood up to observe the ceiling. Dark spots of wetness adorned most of her ceiling. "WHAT THE—?"

At this point, on cue, the phone rang. Mayuko looked at the caller ID and groaned. It seemed like every trouble in her life had a telepathic connection to Hatori. She picked up the phone after a moment of hesitation.

"Hey Hatori-kun, what's up?"

"Hi Mayu-chan." Hatori's voice floated through the receiver.

Mayuko smiled. It seemed that recently, Hatori's voice held a certain light tone it was missing before. He seemed more like he was happy. On top of that, just a little while ago, he had started calling her Mayu-chan again. Plus he called her more and more often, over trivial things like a simple "How are you?". All those things, however small, created bursts of happiness inside her, not letting her lose hope for him. "Hatori-kun, about the movie that you lent me, it—" Drop, drop "GODDAMN IT!"

"Mayu-chan, are you okay?" Hatori asked nervously from the other side.

"No, I'm fine—" DROP, DROP "—MOTHER FCKER—NO, I DON'T MEAN YOU, HATORI-KUN!"

"Mayu-chan, are you SURE you're okay? What's going on there?" His voice now held an obvious tone of concern.

"No, it's okay, don't worry about me!" Mayuko laughed nervously.

"No, I'm worried." He replied firmly.

"Ah, I have to go, I'll talk to you about the movie later, okay?" She said hurriedly.

"Um, okay… Bye."

"Bye!" She said cheerfully, before slamming the phone down with a glare. "THE LANDLORDS GONNA GET HELL FROM THIS TENANT!"

After having an argument with the landlord, who apologized about rusty pipes, Mayuko returned to find her whole floor ankle-deep in water. She rolled her eyes. "Things can't get any worse…" She grumbled before walking around the corner and straight into someone wearing a suit. She pulled back… "S-sorry, I—" …to see Hatori looking straight at her. Never mind, things just got a whole lot worse.

"H-HATORI-KUN, WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE??" She yelled, blushing like crazy. He didn't need to see her in such a condition.

"Why are you yelling?" He scoffed. "I was worried, so I came to check on you. Now I see that it really WASN'T nothing."

"Yeah, we're having some issues with the pipes on my floor." She said with an irritated voice, crossing her arms across her chest. "Good for nothing apartment… They have to replace all the pipes—it's' going to take a month!" She growled. "God where the hell am I going to stay, my parents sure don't have any space. Maybe I should ask Kana? AH, but she just got married what a nuisance that would be!" She ranted for a while, rubbing her temples.

"Aha, I see the problem." Hatori nodded. "Well, in that case, since I just moved into another apartment outside of the main house, there's room for you there. Come stay with me until the pipes are replaced."

Mayuko cursed her big mouth. "T-that's really not necessary, Hatori-kun, I'm sure I'll manage." She waved her hands nervously.

"No, really, Mayu-chan, I insist." Hatori shook his head, and took her hand. "I'll even drag you if I have to." He added seriously (although she assumed he was joking, knowing about his very dry sense of humor).

All her protests ceased when she became aware that he was holding her hand. His hands were cool, but not cold, rather refreshing. Her heartbeat quickened.

"Well, then, it's settled." Hatori smiled, before pulling her into her apartment. "Go on, pack up your stuff, I'll wait here."

"W-Wait, I didn't agree to—!" Mayuko came back to her senses as he released her hand, but looking at his face, grinning rather evilly back at her, she knew there was no escape. She sighed. "Okay, I'll just be a little while. I'd offer you a seat, but my couches are soaked, so I'm offering you an umbrella to protect you from the damn dripping." She twitched as she glared at the ceiling.

Hatori chuckled. "That's okay, just pack up quickly."

"Thanks, Hatori." Mayuko smiled gratefully before disappearing into her room. She quickly pulled out a duffle bag and threw in as much crap as she could, making to take all the necessary items—toothbrush, underwear, work bag, etc. Finally she grabbed her cell phone, and recorded a new message on he answering machine requesting everyone to call there.

She emerged to see Hatori still waiting at the doorway, scanning her apartment. Seeing her, he smiled and waved a hand. "Come on, let's go."

Mayuko took one last look at her apartment and sighed. "God must hate me." She sighed at last, before closing and locking the door.

Yay, first chapter. Hopefully I'll update this one more often, LOL. And I just got a lecture from my special ed teacher of a mother and have decided to share. Don't drink or do drugs, because if you do, you'll have retarded babies. Don't forget to review:D