Update (06/19/2018): As you'll notice within the next couple of chapters, the description of the characters don't line up, and the tense is changed (from past tense to present tense)—this is because I'm in the middle of editing this story so that I can continue with it, and I decided to find some good anime girls to play as Skylar and Aly so that I had a better, more consistent representation of them. I honestly just like writing in present tense more than past, and I thought this story made more sense in present tense—like we're right there with Skylar and Aly, you know?

—The Beginning (and Other Clichés)—
—Skylar—

"That can't be the ending!" Aly shouts at the opposite end of my bed, staring at the manga in her hands.

I take a Pocky out of the box, munching on it. "Depressing, isn't it?"

She rolls onto her back, leaving the book at her side, and stares at the ceiling, examining the dark wood. "I can't believe it ended that way. Don't get me wrong—I love Kyo and Tohru together—but what about Yuki and Machi? Do they stay in contact with Tohru and Kyo? Does Yuki ever forgive Akito? Does he ever heal from what she did?"

I chuckle. "Just use your imagination, Als. Besides, Tohru was the main character; of course they're not gonna focus heavily on the others as much."

"Still. Machi? With Yuki? She would've been better suited with someone else. Anyone else, really."

I smirk. "Is someone jealousof a manga character?"

"Maybe."

I laugh.

It hasn't been that long since I shoved the first volume of Fruits Basketin her face, only about two weeks, but she fell in love with it instantly: it didn't matter where we were—home, school, the store—she was always reading them. I can't really blame her, though; I'm just as obsessed with it. Now, we're snickering and laughing about our favorite characters, complete with green energy drinks and Pocky Sticks.

"Yuki's definitely better," she says with a nod. "There's so much more to him than meets the eye."

I scoff. "Didn't you read? The first ten volumes practically spelled out how much more there is to Kyo, and even after, we kept seeing both his tough-guy side and his gentle side. He had far more depth to him."

"Oh, very nice reasoning you have there, Skylar." She rolls her eyes. "Kyo's your typical manga character: tailored made to pull your heartstrings."

"And Yuki's not? He's the popular guy who's secretly lonely and insecure! That's in everystory out there! Kyo, on the hand, had to worry about being locked up for the rest of his life—forced isolation!"

"And Yuki was abusedby Akito for years!"

"Yeah, and Kyo was abused by everyone else! Even his own father!"

"Yuki was abandoned by his mother!"

"And Kyo's mother—"

She throws a pillow at me, cutting me off. "Stupid cat lover!"

I laugh and toss the pillow back. "I wasn't finished, you damn rat kisser!"

It turns into an all-out war. Before I know it, I'm on the other side of my nightstand, using it as a shield as I feel around for another pillow, while Aly's on the other side of the bed, glancing quickly at me every few seconds to see if I have any ammunition. When I manage to get one of the decorative pillows I'd shoved behind my nightstand forever ago, I launch it at her, laughing when it hits her square in the face. She glares at me and takes aim, missing me by a few centimeters. Instead, she propels my alarm clock against the wall, causing it to crash to the floor in a heap.

"Geez, Aly, we need to work on your aim," I say, twisting to pick the clock up.

She snorts. "We'll work on my aim when we work on your ability to walk."

"Ouch," I say playfully, holding a hand to my heart. "No need to get personal."

She rolls her eyes in answer.

Snickering, I set the clock back on the nightstand and snag stray pillows on the floor.

"Crap," she says, staring at the digital numbers. "It's almost midnight. We should've gone to bed an hour ago."

I shrug, sitting on the bed. "Who needs sleep? We can live off of energy drinks~"

"Except those things can kill you after so many, idiot," she reasons, snorting.

I tilt my head, trying to think of a retort, and an idea hits me. "Then how about we go into Fruits Basket?"

She raises an eyebrow. "What?"

"You know, like that old fan fiction trope~ The one where people essentially create a self-insert and have them pushed into a series? They're usually romantic?"

"There's a trope like that?" Aly asks, blinking as she tilts her head. "Wait. How do you know that?"

I clear my throat, suddenly very interested in a random pillow. "Uh… I might have, you know, dabbled here and there…"

She's burst into laughter. "Dabbled? You? We both know you never 'dabble' into things, Skylar. You just dive."

"That's not the point," I grumble indignantly. "The point is we could go into the manga and remake it!"

She snorts. "Sure. Let's see how that works out." She rolls her eyes again. "You know we'd still have to go to school there, right?"

"Well, yeah, but school would be somuch better there," I reason. "Think about it: we'd be with Yuki, Kyo, Tohru, and all of their friends."

"It would be pretty great," she agrees, snickering. "So, how are we going to do it? Fairy dust? Maybe a genie? Oh, we could check out those fan fictions you were talking about and look up pointers," she teases, pulling out her phone.

I toss another pillow at her, making her laugh, and clasp my hands together. "Dear God, Buddha, Zeus, and whoever else wants to listen in: let us wake up in the one and only, Fruits Basket!"

"There's one little problem with your prayer, Skylar."

I keep my hands clasped together, but open one eye to peek at her. "And what's that?"

She snatches the pillow from beside her and starts wailing on me. "You don't pray to Buddha in Buddhism, idiot!"

I shriek and grab my brown stuffed bear from the floor to shield myself.

"Girls!" My mom's voice rings out around us. "I thought I told you to be in bed by eleven! It's a school night!"

"Sorry~" we apologize at the same time.

"Get to it. Now!" She slams the door to punctuate it, making Aly sigh.

"Rut roh, Raggy, re rade her rad (Uh-oh, Shaggy, we made her mad)," I say, eyes wide in fake fear.

She laughs. "Let's get changed before your mom yells at us again."

I pout, and she snickers again.

Reluctantly, we both slip out of our jeans and into nightgowns. Despite the fact that it's already Autumn, it's still too hot to wear pants to bed. Besides, if we're only in nightshirts tomorrow, we can sleep until the last minute because all we'll have to do is pull off the nightgown and pull on something more suited for school.

After turning off the lights, we bury ourselves under the covers, getting situated.

"But it wouldbe awesome to meet them," I continue. "I'm just saying."

"It would, but, I mean, think about it: Yuki and Kyo are taken by the end. There's already a happy ending. What more could we do?" she asks.

"All we'd have to do is rewrite it," I point out. "And we could get the happy ending much sooner—speed it up, you know—since we already know everything that's supposed to happen."

"I guess," she says, chuckling. "So, what, we make it to where we end up with them? I kind of like it—in a selfish way."

I grin. "Exactly!"

"But how would you act around them?"

"What d'you mean?" I wonder.

"Well, Kyo falls in love with Tohru because she's kind and selfless, right? So, would you try to be like her even though you're anything but kind?"

"Hey! I can be kind if I try!"

She gives me a look. "Skylar, you almost got destroyed by some guy because you hit him with a birdie."

"He was being a jerk to you, though! That hardly counts!"

"It totally counts! If it were Tohru, she would've stammered and frantically waved her arms before bowing and waiting for punishment; not 'accidently' whack a birdie at the guy."

"I guess you got me there," I grumble. "I could always make him fall in love with my eccentric wiles."

"Do you even know what a 'wile' is?" she wonders, sniggering. "It's a plan or ruse meant to trick someone, and, the last time I checked, you're far too honest: your face practically gives everything away, and, if it doesn't, your temper definitelywill."

I grumble some more before saying, "Whatever. All I know is that I'd definitely play dumb."

She thinks about that for a moment. "Why dumb?"

"Because I wouldn't want Akito to get in my way," I say easily. "If I'm stupid, she won't think I'm much of a threat, right? That way, I can come from behind without all of that messy stuff at the end."

Aly laughs a little. "I take it back then: maybe you do have a few 'wiles' up your sleeve."

I grin, but it's ruined by a yawn.

"Time for bed," Aly says, chuckling a little.

"Yeah, yeah. Night, Als."

She returns the yawn. "Night, Sky. Try not to steal the covers, okay?"

"'Kay," I mumble, rolling onto my side.

It's still be really… cool… to meet… them…

—x—

The sun's blindingly bright the next morning, which is weird. If I wasn't so annoyed at being forced out of sleep by that demon ball of fire, I might have actually thought about the fact that my curtains are a dark blue color—not exactly blackout curtains, but definitely dark enough to keep most of the annoying sunlight out of my eyes. Especially so early in the morning.

Instead, though, I roll over in an attempt to block it out with the covers.

Except I don't have any.

Groaning, I root around for my comforter, refusing to open my eyes and let the sunlight assault them.

"Aly," I mutter, groping around, "what happened to not hogging the blankets?"

She mumbles incoherently.

"Aly~" I whine, dragging out her name just to be annoying.

"Shut up, Sky," she grumbles. "You're the one with all of the blankets, so don't rub it in."

"Nu-uh," I say childishly.

When she doesn't say anything, I sit up, preparing to tackle her for ignoring me, but then my hands sink into something cold and wet.

Feels a lot like dirt, actually…

Dirt!?

My eyes flip open, but I'm momentarily blinded by how bright the sun is, making me blink.

Why's the sun so bright anyway? It's not even…

I freeze, staring at everything with my mouth open. The glare from the sun has lessened, but instead of my bedroom, all I can see is forest. Literally. Trees are in every direction, barely blocking out the morning sun as it shines through the leaves. Under me is some sort of garden: rows and rows of different plants neatly lined up. Even a small bucket is off to the side, a trowel tucked in it.

Next to me, Aly's snuggled up in a particularly high patch of garden, hands curled into her chest. She still has her short brown hair, the ends of it even curling up a little thanks to the morning dew, and the blue nightshirt she went to bed in is practically gleaming in the sun, but something's… off. Has she always had that… drawnlook to her?

I poke her, testing it out. She still feels the same despite the fact that she looks… animated.

"What is it, Skylar?" she mumbles into her arm. "Let's just wait for your mom to wake us up, yeah?"

"Aly," I say, looking at my own nightgown, "I don't think we're in Kansas anymore."

"We don't live in Kansas," she retorts. "Go back to sleep, idiot."

I don't pay any attention to her, though, still looking down at my nightshirt. It's the same green color, the same soft material; it's just hiked up my thigh, barely covering my underwear. Blonde hair tumbles in front of my blue eyes, making me jump, and I grab it, tugging. Okay, so it's mine. The same color and everything—even the tips are a faded pink. The only difference is the whole smooth, 'animation' look it has.

"Wow," I breathe, making Aly groan.

She turns to me, glaring, and I notice that her eyes are still the same warm shade of brown. "It's hard enough to sleep with the sun beating down, so why do you insiston… making me…" She trails off, eyes widening. "Oh my God! Skylar, you look like… like… like a freaking anime character!"

"I know! That's what I was trying to tell you!" I say.

"But… how… why…" She blinks. "What's going on?"

"I don't know," I say, looking around. "I just woke up too."

She sits up and checks herself out. Unlike mine, her nightshirt is actually too low, showing more cleavage than she probably wants, and she takes a minute to pull it up, situating herself.

I grimace. "How come even in the anime world you have a bigger chest than me?" I complain, grabbing my chest.

She rolls her eyes. "Figures. We look like we were drawn by some mangaka, and you're worried about your chest."

I cross my arms. "Every other animated character gets to have big boobs," I grumble. "Didn't you watch High School of the Dead?"

"Because you want boobs as big as the female characters in that?" she wonders, laughing.

I make a face. "Good point." I can already picture all of the back pain that big of a chest would cause.

Aly smiles, shaking her head, before she looks around us, the smile falling. "Seriously, though, what's going on here?"

"Could it be that reality showPunk'd?" I ask, watching the forest for any sign of cameras. "Maybe Ashton Kutcher's about to fall from the sky or something."

"I think that show was canceled," Aly says, pursing her lips.

"Then maybe it's my mom. Maybe she wanted to punish us for staying up so late."

She shakes her head. "How could she make us believe we look animated?"

She had me there.

Instead of waiting for me to come up with a reply, Aly stands up, dusting herself off, and takes a look around. I follow her, trying to get as much dirt off me as possible. It's easier than I thought it would be—most of it is dried and patchy—but there are spots that're more caked on from how wet everything is.

"Alright, guys! Jokes over!" I shout, looking for movement. "Come on out~"

"Are you talking to someone?" a mellow voice says behind us.

I whirl around, locking eyes with a confused Yuki.

Wait. Hold on a second.

I blink, staring at him far too intently.

Yuki? As in Yuki Sohma? What!?

Aly's mouth drops open, gawking at the Zodiac.

He's dressed in the Kaibara High School uniform: a white, short-sleeve shirt with a dark blue tie to match the stitching, and a pair of dark pants. His purple eyes are narrowed in confusion, the look off-setting his pretty face.

Disbelieve bubbles in me, making me double over in laughter. "Okay, guys, that's enough. No need to be cruel."

Yuki furrows his brows, tilting his head delicately. "Are you okay?"

I snicker, walking to him. He tenses noticeably, but doesn't do anything else as I poke him—just stares at me like I have a third head. "Woah~ Als, this is so cool! He feels so real~"

She wanders over to us and tugs on his sleeve. "Weird," she says. "How'd they manage to make him feel so life-like?"

"I don't know," I say, "but I feel cheated finding out about it after sixteen years of life."

"You'reonlysixteen, Skylar," Aly says.

"Exactly~"

"Um… Maybe you should come with me," the life-like Yuki says, eyeing us.

Aly, who had been inspecting his uniform, pauses and looks up at him. "What?"

"Maybe you should come with me," he repeats. "To my house. It's not too far from here, and I have a cousin who's a doctor. He could make sure you two are… okay."

I see her brown eyes brighten, so I grin. "Sure!" I say a little too enthusiastically. "Thanks a lot~"

He looks a bit uncomfortable, eyes trailing to our hands, which are still tugging on his clothes, and Aly immediately retracts her hand. I follow her lead and let my hands fall to my side. In return, Yuki smiles a small, polite smile before turning around and heading to a tiny path.

"Uh, Aly, I don't think this is a joke."

She looks between me and Yuki, a grin breaking out on her face. "There's only one way to find out, right?"

I match her grin, catching up to the rat. His movements are refined, the way you would expect Yuki Sohma to move, but there's a stiffness behind that refinement, a robotic movement almost. It's so obvious that he's forcing himself to be poised that I don't know how anyone could've missed it.

Then again, hindsight is twenty-twenty, so maybe I'm just biased because I already know he's forcing himself.

As we walk, the trees thin, showing a huge, Japanese-styled home.

"T-t-that's Shigure's house!" I squeak.

She nods, staring at it with wide eyes. "Skylar, I don't think this is a prank!"

"Me either!"

Yuki leads us to a low, wooden deck, and I'm marveling at everything so much, Aly has to check between me and Yuki so that he doesn't see the sparkles in my eyes.

The house is bigger than it looks in the manga! With beige paneling and towering pillars, it actually explains how they could afford to let both Kyo and Tohru live with them at the spur of the moment. A small pond is nestled in the left-hand corner of the house, making the property seem that much bigger.

We pass the recently painted Zodiac figurines, and I have to physically bite my lip to keep from giggling hysterically.

Oh my God! I think we're actually in the manga!

When we get to the sitting room, Yuki motions for us to go in. "Make yourselves at home while I go talk to my cousin," he says, leaving us to stare at the room.

Everything in it makes me want to squeal: the wooden table where the Sohmas and Tohru have all of their meals at; the off-green walls with the faded beige tatami flooring; even the stand behind me with a simple, potted plant and tissue box has me fangirling.

"Oh. My. Freaking. God. I think we're in the manga, Aly!" I say, eyes bouncing from wall to wall, taking it in.

"But… why? And… how? And…" She fades out, speechless.

"I don't know, but we need to come up with a game plan," I say, lowering my voice. "How're we gonna get them to let us live with them?"

She's still gaping. "We'll get to that when we get to that. First, we need to figure out how to convince Yuki we're not brain-dead."

"True," I agree, remembering the way we practically groped him when he first showed up, "but that's the easier fix. All we have to do is pretend like we don't know anything. Amnesia is, like, the number one way all mangas and animes try to get some sort of emotional response out of the audience, so it should work for us too."

"Normally, I'd roll my eyes," she says, "but since we're here because you've been spending so much time reading fan fiction, I'll go with it." I stick my tongue out at her, and she laughs. "Is that how we get them to let us live with them? Will pity be our way in?"

I purse my lips. "Maybe, but I don't know if there's enough room. Tohru and Kyo aren't here yet, so when they come…"

"Well, maybe we should make it to where they never learn she's living in a tent."

"We can't," I say, shaking my head. "There's a landslide within a half hour of finding her, remember? She would've been buried alive."

She groans. "Oh, that's right. How could I forget that?" She shakes her head, disappointed in herself.

"Hey, it's fine. You've only read the manga once, remember? I've read it, like, fifty-three times, so of course you're not gonna remember something from the very beginning," I reassure her. "Besides, I wanna live here bad enough to be desperate too, so don't feel bad."

"Yeah," she says, only half convinced.

"Let's just pretend like we don't remember anything and play it as it goes."

She rolls her eyes but doesn't get a chance to comment because Shigure comes in, his black hair falling over his brown eyes. He's dressed in his usual grey robe, a black sash hanging precariously loose on his waist. "You didn't say anything about them being cute high school students, Yuki."

Yuki lets out an annoyed breath, refusing to say anything, and Aly and I have to cover our mouths to hide our giggling.

"I'm Shigure Sohma, Yuki's cousin," he introduces himself, smiling.

I clear my throat, trying to find my voice. I'm practically buzzingwith excitement. "Skylar Hayes," I say more calmly than I feel.

"And I'm Alayna Marsh, but you can call me Aly." She says it as if she's completely unbothered, and it's impressive.

Shigure nods, the smile still there. "Yuki said you two were having… problems."

"We can't seem to remember anything," I say, resisting the urge to touch him just to make sure he's real.

"You mean you don't remember how you ended up in the woods?" Yuki wonders, concerned.

We shake our heads.

"That's terrible," Shigure says, looking down at us sadly. He shares a look with Yuki before smiling. "Maybe we can help you."

Aly's eyes widen. "Help us?"

Shigure nods. "I don't know how much we can actually do, especially since it could take some time, but if you two don't mind living with two strange men, we'd be glad to at least try."

I steal a quick glance at Aly, and I know we're thinking the same thing: that was easy.

Tooeasy…

"We couldn't possiblyimpose on you," Aly tries, clearly only being polite.

"I insist," Shigure says.

"But—" I start, but Shigure interrupts me.

"Where else are you going to go?" he asks innocently.

"Well…" I mumble like I'm unsure, playing up the idea.

"Glad it's settled," he says brightly.

Yuki sighs. "I need to get my things." He shoots Shigure a warning glance. "Don't do anything to them while I'm gone. Understand?"

Shigure's eyes widen in fake horror. "I'm appalledthat you would even think I would do something so lecherous and immoral."

Yuki simply rolls his eyes as Aly and I stifle laughter, coughing to cover up any unsightly noises.

Shigure sends us a smile. "Do forgive Yuki. I'm afraid he's a bit paranoid."

Aly clears her throat, smiling. "It's fine."

He opens his mouth—probably to make some sort of joke about Yuki—but something outside catches his eye, making him look towards the window. "Excuse me for a moment; I think someone's outside."

As he heads towards the door, Aly and I smile brightly at each other.

It has to be Tohru!

We scramble to the window, trying to get a better look without actually being seen.

Sure enough, the slim brunette is standing by the porch, looking at the Zodiac figurines we'd passed earlier. Her long, straight brown hair falls over the shoulders of her school uniform as she bends down to get a better look at the figures, brown eyes sparkling with excitement.

"Definitely in the manga," I whisper.

Aly looks at me. "What do you mean?"

"Tohru's eyes are brown in the manga," I say, "but they're blue in the anime."

Aly looks at Tohru before looking back at me. "Sometimes, I forget how observant you are."

I smirk. "One of my many wiles~"

She chuckles, shaking her head. "You're so dumb."

I push her playfully before turning back to the window.

Just in time too because Shigure steps out, silent as a snake, and picks up the newspaper lying on the deck before addressing the entranced Tohru. "My, my. Am I seeing things or is there a pretty young girl standing in my front yard?" he wonders. "A high school student no less. Today must be my lucky day."

Aly and I cover our mouths, squealing into our hands.

She jumps back a few feet and stares up at Shigure. "H-hello! I'm so sorry for trespassing! I just saw these and—" She stops herself, face turning red.

"Please continue. I set them there to dry," he says so politely, I can hardly believe it's Shigure speaking. "I thought you young people were boredby old-fashioned superstitions like the Chinese Zodiac."

"N-no! I think these Zodiac ornaments are adorable!" Tohru says, still an interesting shade of red.

Shigure sits down on the step next to them, staring at them. "They are, aren't they? I'm quite fond of them myself."

Tohru looks at them closely, smiling, but the smile falls as she scans over each one again. "I guess you wouldn't have the cat…"

I grin at the thought of Kyo and his orange ears. I can't wait to meet him!

"Cat?" Understanding hits him. "Oh, you mean the cat from the Zodiac legend?"

She smiles brightly. "That's right! My mother used to tell me that story all of the time."

Yuki comes into the living room with a blue bag that seamlessly matches his uniform. "What…" He stops when he sees Shigure through the window and sighs. "He's at it again."

Aly and I smile up at him as he shakes his head, marching out of the living room to put a stop to whatever Shigure's doing.

"I told my mom that I'd stop being a dog and be the cat," Tohru sums up. "That'show much I like the cat."

"Is that so?" Shigure muses, entertained. "I wish I could see the look on his face if he heard you say that."

"What?"

"Oh, nothing," he covers quickly, smiling. "So, you were born in the year of the Dog? I knew there was something I liked about you, aside from your pretty fa—"

He's cut off by Yuki, who konks him on the head with his bag, making Aly and I laugh.

"Must you always act like such a leech?" Yuki demands.

"That hurt~" Shigure whines. "What do you have in there anyway? A dictionary?"

"No," Yuki says. "I have twoof them."

"You could've severely injured me, Yuki~" Shigure continues whining.

But Yuki ignores him, looking apologetically at Tohru. "Are you okay, Miss Honda? My cousin didn't do anything to you, did he?"

Tohru's eyes widen as she turns a deeper shade of red. "Y-Yuki! G-good morning!"

"Good morning," he replies with a smile, pulling his bag onto his back.

"U-um… I-I better g-get going," she stammers, turning abruptly.

"Wait, Miss Honda. Since you're already here, how about we walk to school together?" Yuki asks politely.

"Oh, um, sure," she squeaks.

"Have fun~" Shigure waves.

Yuki shoots him a cold look before turning back to Tohru.

"Well, isn't this day turning out to be quite interesting," Shigure muses, joining us in the living room. When he sees our laughing figures, he smiles. "You heard it all?"

We nod, trying to get a grip on reality.

He sighs dramatically, a hand to his face. "Yes, I know. It's awful, isn't it? I'm the older cousin, but I'm the one who's abused."

That makes us laugh harder.

He smiles. "Make yourselves at home. We'll discuss what we're doing about living arrangements when Yuki gets home."

Aly returns his smile, managing to keep a straight face. "Thank you again."

"Don't worry about it," he says easily. "I'll be in my study across the hall if you need me."

She nods, and he's gone, leaving us to ourselves again.

As soon as the door slides shut behind him, Aly looks at me. "Please tell me that just happened."

I grin. "That totallyjust happened! We're in Fruits Basket, Aly!"

"I... I don't know what to say," she mutters, staring at everything. "What do we do now?"

"Now?" I purse my lips, thinking. After a second, an idea strikes me, making me grin. "Now, we explore."

—x—

BLAH BLAH BLAH:
And the first chapter is done and out! I'm probably gonna switch PoVs often in this story, especially since there are so many changes to learn about, so be prepared for that, cupcakes~ And let me know what you think of the cover! It's a representation of what Skylar and Aly look like (thank you, Chigote-chan and Onodera-san for staring in this fanfic lol)~