"Tohru!"
Tohru turned just as Momiji Sohma came barrelling through the double doors, his head flicking from side to side as he surveyed the room. Without any real explanation, he just winked at her and put a slender finger to his lips.
"Sshhh, don't tell!"
He then proceeded to climb into the cleaning cupboard in the corner, shutting the door behind him. Tohru watched in bemusement. Just what exactly had she missed whilst she'd been getting rid of the trash bags?
She found her answer soon enough as the doors burst open a second time. "Ready or not, here I come!"
A girl with buoyantly curly, black hair and a tiny beauty spot below one of her brown eyes came through the doors just as quickly as Momiji had. She was wearing an apron over an off-the-shoulder stripy top and low-riding jeans, with a brightly-coloured bandana tied into her hair. There was a pink feather duster in her hand that she obviously wasn't using.
Her face lit up when she saw Tohru stood there. "Oh, Tohru! Did you see Momiji come through here?"
"Um..." Tohru didn't want to lie, but then Momiji had told her not to tell. Whether she wanted to or not, her eyes betrayed her anyway as her gaze trailing unwillingly towards the corner cupboard.
That was enough for the other cleaner. Grinning widely, she dashed to the cupboard and flung the door open. "Aha! Found you!"
Momiji was sat on the lowest shelf of the cupboard, pouting. "Sana, you cheated! You weren't supposed to ask anyone!"
"You never told me that when we started," Sana protested.
"But everyone knows that's one of the rules of Hide and Seek!"
"Then let's ask Tohru," Sana decided. "Tohru, do you think I cheated or do you think I won fair and square?"
"Oh, err, I don't know..." Tohru didn't really want to take sides. "Why don't you just call this one a draw?"
Sana shook her head, though she was smiling and Momiji just laughed as he climbed out of the cupboard. Trust Tohru to make the fairest decision. "Yeah, okay," he giggled. "That sounds fair."
"I think so too," agreed Sana, though she was shaking her head behind him and mouthing 'no way'. She mimed pointing to herself, then giving the thumbs up. Tohru laughed at her.
"I saw that, Sana!" Momiji interjected.
"Saw what? I don't know what you're talking about," said Sana innocently.
"Master Sohma, I'd ask you please to try and refrain from distracting my staff," came a new voice. The three of them turned to see a tall man with dark, buzzed hair stood in the doorway. He was Tohru and Sana's boss.
"Oh! We're sorry!" They both exclaimed, hurriedly dashing in different directions to get back to work.
"Sorry, Mr. Horie," Momiji apologised.
"It's alright, Master Sohma. It's not really for you to apologise - they're just easily distractible girls," said Mr. Horie, looking almost like he was going to smile. "I'll check back in a little while. And no more Hide and Seek, Sana."
"Yes, sir," replied Sana, saluting him with the feather duster.
Once Mr. Horie had left, Momiji sat on one of the chairs and watched them work. "So Tohru, is it still okay for me to come to Shigure's house after school tomorrow?"
"Sure it is. I'm looking forward to it," Tohru beamed. "I went and bought all the ingredients this afternoon so I can make a beef stew."
"Oooh, that sounds yummy," said Momiji appreciatively, putting his feet up as Tohru mopped the floor underneath the chairs. "Hey, you should invite Sana too."
"Me?" Sana piped up from the other side of the room, hearing her name.
"Oh, err, I'd have to ask Shigure if that's okay first," said Tohru uncertainly, worried that Momiji had put her on the spot like that. She knew that he got along well with Sana, but surely he should have understood the dangers of having strangers visit the house. It was hard enough whenever Uo and Hana popped by. "Sorry, Sana. If it was my house, then of course I'd have said yes straightaway."
"That's okay; I understand," said Sana brightly. "If not, then you guys should come to my house one of the days instead."
"That sounds great!" exclaimed Momiji.
"I can't cook though, so I'll have to order you guys fancy takeout instead," Sana grinned.
Tohru laughed. "That sounds good too. And I promise I'll ask Shigure tonight. If you write down your number for me, then I can let you know if it's okay."
"Just tell me and I'll do it!" Momiji chimed in. "I already have Sana's number!"
"Momiji, surely it'd be easier for Tohru to tell me herself rather than you playing messenger," Sana pointed out. She was already scribbling down her phone number on a scrap piece of paper.
"Aww, but I like getting to call people!" Momiji pouted.
Tohru smiled. "In that case, I'll call you too afterwards."
Momiji beamed. "For real? And we can just talk for ages like they do in the movies?"
Tohru laughed. "Sure. Whatever you like."
When she got home that evening, Tohru kept both of her promises, like she always did. She made sure she spoke to Shigure first, before calling Momiji or Sana. It turned out that, as usual, she was the one worrying much more than anyone else was.
"Of course, you're more than welcome to have your friend visit," Shigure assured her cheerfully, as they were all sat around the kotatsu. "This is where you live too, after all. We'll just have to make sure that Kyo's extra careful."
"Why me?" Kyo protested irritably.
"Because you're the one who always causes the most trouble," Yuki pointed out calmly.
"Nobody asked you, you damn rat!"
"You asked a question so I simply provided you with the answer. Stupid cat."
"So Tohru," Shigure addressed her loudly above the younger boys' argument. "You said your friend works with you?"
"That's right. She's quite new, but she works some of the same shifts as me," explained Tohru. "Momiji's already made friends with her too."
Kyo made a face. "That little brat?"
As usual, Shigure just spoke cheerily over the top of him. "How lovely, she's already making friends with the Sohma family! Well, I have no problem with your friend visiting. Will you be meeting her when you finish school?"
"Oh." Tohru realised that she didn't actually know anything about where Sana went to school or what she did outside of work. "Well, she doesn't go to our school, so I'm guessing she must be at the one on the other side of town. But I was going to call her to let her know it's okay to visit, so I can see where she wants to meet me and Momiji."
"Oh, great, Momiji's coming tomorrow too?" Kyo groaned.
"Kyo, you never listen." Shigure shook his head. "I told you this already."
"I think Kyo just has selective hearing," Yuki added.
"Shut up!"
"I'm gonna go and use the phone then," Tohru decided, hoping to interrupt the boys from falling into yet another argument. "Thanks again, Shigure."
"Please, it's no trouble at all," Shigure assured her, waving the comment away. Once Tohru had left the room, he then settled into looking thoughtful. "Hmm, so another high school girl is coming to visit..."
"If you're going to start singing again, then get out," said Yuki.
"Oh, Yuki, you're so cruel," Shigure pouted. "Would you really kick me out of my own sitting room just for singing a song about the beauty of high sch..."
"I said out!"
XXX
Sana was delighted to hear Tohru's news and had agreed to meet them at the school she and Momiji attended. When Sana arrived, bang on the school's finishing time for the day, Tohru couldn't help but wonder how she'd gotten there from the school on the other side of town so fast.
Plus she wasn't even in uniform. Instead, she was wearing a leather, corset-style vest over a white puffy blouse, a surely-too-short purple, netted skirt and big black boots. How had she had the time to change, as well as getting all the way to this side of town? Part of Tohru couldn't help but wonder if her colleague had skipped out on school altogether, at least for today.
But Tohru wasn't a judgemental person by anyone's standards. And even though she pondered Sana's excellent time-keeping ability for a little while, she soon forgot about it amongst the chatter as she, Sana and Momiji made their way down to Shigure's house.
"I can't believe you live in the middle of all this," Sana exclaimed, awed, as they followed Tohru's usual shortcut through the woods surrounding the house. "I bet it's so much fun having this as your back yard."
"It'd definitely be the perfect place for playing Hide and Seek," Momiji agreed with a grin.
Tohru led them round to the front of the house, pulling the sliding doors back. "I'm home!" she called.
As if on cue, Shigure appeared through the nearest door. "Ah, Tohru, welcome back. And Momiji, it's good to see you again." He seemed a little surprised when he looked at Sana, but he continued before Tohru had the chance to think anything of it. "And you must be Tohru's friend..."
"Sana Kimura. It's nice to meet you," Sana replied obligingly, curtseying in her tiny skirt. "Thanks for letting me visit."
"Of course, it's no trouble at all," Shigure smiled appreciatively. "I'm Shigure Sohma. Please feel free to make yourself at home."
"How's the stew been doing?" asked Tohru. It didn't smell like anything was burning at least, which was what usually happened when either Shigure or Yuki tried to cook themselves.
"Been simmering on the lowest setting all afternoon, just like you told me," Shigure beamed. "I believe it gave Yuki quite a fright, knowing you'd trusted me with it."
"No, I'm sure he doesn't really think that. It sounds like you did just fine," Tohru smiled. "I'm gonna go and put the stove on full and prepare the rest of the vegetables. It shouldn't take too long."
"That's alright. I'm sure we can look after Sana for you," said Shigure.
"Yeah, come on, Sana! Let's go into the sitting room," Momiji enthused, tugging on the cleaner's hand.
Sana allowed him to pull her through into one of the other rooms. Yuki was already sat at the kotatsu with a blanket pulled up around his lap. He pushed it away slightly when he saw the visitors. "Oh, you must be Sana." Tohru had told him more about her friend the night before. "My name's Yuki. It's a pleasure to meet you."
"You too," Sana smiled.
Yuki noticed her eyeing the blanket. "Please excuse the blanket. I stayed home from school today and Miss Honda insisted on it."
"Oh, is everything okay?" Sana asked.
"Just a small cold," Yuki assured her with a polite smile. "Nothing to worry about."
"Yuki suffers from asthma, so it's just a precaution to make sure he doesn't push himself," explained Shigure, who had followed them in. "As usual, he argued against it, but of course, he then agreed when Tohru insisted on it."
"Really?" asked Sana interestedly. Did that mean this polite boy had a thing for Tohru?
"Don't be ridiculous," said Yuki, though he pointedly didn't look at any of them.
"So where's Kyo?" Shigure enquired, only just seeming to realise that the redhead was missing. "Did he not walk home with you three?"
"Nuh-uh. Kyo got detention and had to stay behind after class," Momiji replied.
Shigure sighed. "What did he do this time?"
"Tohru said it was something to do with kicking one of the desks over," said Momiji.
"Why does that not surprise me?" Yuki rolled his eyes.
"So you guys all go to the same school?" Sana asked.
"That's right," said Tohru, joining them in the sitting room. She was still wearing a white apron from tending to the food. "Yuki and our friend Kyo are both in the same class as me. And Momiji's in the year below us."
"Miss Honda said that you go to the North Side school on the other end of town, is that right?" Yuki prompted Sana.
"Huh?" Sana stared blankly back at him, feeling confused.
"Oh, is that not right?" said Tohru hesitantly, seeing Sana's reaction. "I just guessed that it would be that one, since you don't go to the same school that we do... And, err, I'm afraid I don't know of any other schools around the area."
Shigure suddenly started laughing, seeing the completely bemused look on Sana's face. "Sana, why you tell them how old you really are..."
Only then did it click. Sana's expression turned incredulous. "Wait, you guys seriously thought I was still in school?"
"Oh, err, you're not?" asked Tohru, surprised.
"Last decade maybe," Sana laughed. "But definitely not now. I'm twenty-five!"
The look on Tohru's face was hilarious. "Twenty-five? Oh, wow, I had no idea! I'm so sorry; I really thought you were still at school!" Both Yuki and even Momiji looked surprised too.
Sana laughed again. "I'm honestly not sure if I should be flattered or offended."
"Oh, no, no, don't be offended!" said Tohru hastily. "It's not a bad thing - you just look young; that's all!"
Sana grinned, not really offended in the slightest. "Well, I guess I'll appreciate looking younger when I'm really old."
"So how did you know that Sana wasn't still at school?" Momiji asked, turning to Shigure.
"Because I'm much wiser than all of you, of course!" said Shigure proudly. "You can't fool these eyes!"
"And because you're older than the rest of us put together," said Yuki.
"Yuki, that's mean! I'm nowhere near forty!" Shigure protested.
"You also can't count," Yuki added. "The total sum of our ages is much more than that."
"Now you're just being cruel," Shigure pouted. "I can't help that I can tell Sana's not a schoolgirl, even though Tohru was sure that she was..."
"Is it bad that I'm not a schoolgirl?" Sana piped up, confused.
"No, I wouldn't say that. It's just the uniforms that I like," explained Shigure in a very blasé manner, considering the topic.
"...I can't believe you just said that to her," said Yuki, horrified.
However, Sana didn't seem at all fazed. "Oh, I still actually have my old uniform. And it still fits!" she added, pleased.
Oh wow, thought Yuki. She clearly has no idea what he's getting at...
Shigure certainly seemed happy with her answer. He smirked. "Well, in that case, you'll have to wear it next time you... Ow!"
Yuki had hit him round the back of the head. "It's bad enough that you even think things like that - let alone say them out loud in front of guests."
Despite Shigure's typical outrageous comments, the night went rather smoothly. The beef stew went down particularly well with everyone - simmering it all afternoon had clearly been a good strategy. Kyo also returned home, still fuming about his detention, though he headed straight up to the roof without speaking to anyone.
Sana hadn't even had the chance to see him, but the others assured her that Kyo was just a bit temperamental. Tohru was more worried about him not having eaten anything, so she made sure to keep his portion still on the stove so that it would stay warm. If it was anything like Kyo's usual tantrums, then he likely wouldn't eat until much later.
But the best part of the night was that there hadn't been any... complications. Nothing had happened to cause any of the boys to accidentally transform into their animal counterparts, much to Tohru's relief. She'd lost count of how many times that had happened when Uo and Hana had first visited. Instead, this had been a much more relaxing atmosphere.
As for Sana, she'd really enjoyed her evening with Tohru and the Sohmas. The food had been great and the company even more so. Of course, she already got along with both Tohru and Momiji, and Yuki was just so polite and pleasant to be around. She'd taken great pleasure in watching the sneaky glances he occasionally stole at Tohru, having concluded that there was definitely something going on there.
And then there was Shigure and his rather suggestive remarks. He was obviously much closer in age to her than any of the others, even if he didn't seem to always act it. His very not subtle attempts at flirting said otherwise though. Not that Sana minded.
Most people generally thought that Sana was quite naive when it came to that sort of thing, but it was actually the opposite. Sometimes it just worked in her favour to let everyone think that way. And sometimes it was just for fun. Either way, Sana was certainly happy to be the object of flirtatious affection. Particularly when it was coming from a tall, dark and handsome - if slightly goofy - stranger.
So when she'd glanced at the clock much later on, it was with reluctance that she announced, "I think I'd better be heading off. It's getting quite late and I still have loads to do around the house."
"Will you be okay getting back?" Tohru checked, concerned. She knew how creepy the surrounding woods could be, especially alone at night.
"I'll be fine; don't worry," Sana assured. "My apartment really isn't all that far from here."
"Momiji, how are you getting back home?" Yuki enquired of the small blonde boy.
"Oh, Hari said he'd take me back to Sohma house with him," Momiji explained brightly.
Yuki shot an accusatory look at Shigure. "You never told me that Hatori was coming tonight."
"Just another precaution - it's only to give you a check-up," said Shigure. "Besides, it was actually Tohru's idea, not mine."
"Oh..." Yuki's annoyance over the idea of them making a fuss of him seemed to vanish, as Tohru smiled guiltily at him.
Sana resisted the urge to smile herself. They were totally cute. She got to her feet and bowed politely. "Thanks to all of you for having me."
"It was our pleasure. Please feel free to visit again any time," said Shigure. "Just make sure you're careful on your way home, alright?"
"I will," Sana promised with a smile. Tohru had just started to get up too, so she hastily added, "Oh, don't get up, I can let myself out... Bye everyone! And I'll see you tomorrow, Tohru."
"Okay, see you tomorrow," Tohru smiled.
Once Sana had left, Shigure remarked with a knowing look, "She'll be back soon enough."
"You don't know that," Yuki pointed out. "How do you know your poor attempts to flirt haven't scared her off for good?"
"I know because she forgot her bag," said Shigure brightly, holding up a purple-studded bag by its strap.
"You probably took it whilst she wasn't looking," Yuki muttered under his breath.
Sure enough, Sana didn't get very far before noticing the absence of the usual weight against her shoulder and hip as she'd started skipping back through the woods. She stopped as soon as she realised. Aw, damn, she thought, turning back towards the house again. What a ditz.
She got back to the house and had only just knocked when the door opened on cue. Shigure was stood leaning against the doorway with an amused look on his face, Sana's bag swinging on its strap from one finger. "Forget something?"
Sana grinned sheepishly. "Yeah, I kind of happen to be a total airhead."
She reached for the bag, but Shigure pulled it back and away from her grasp. "Ah, ah. What's the magic word?" he teased.
Amusement flitted across Sana's features. "Please," she said sweetly.
Shigure pretended to look thoughtful. "Hmm. No, that's not the word I'm looking for..."
"Pretty please with a cherry on top?" Sana tried instead.
"Nope, that's not it either," Shigure smirked. "Now what was it? Let me see..."
"Something much cheekier, no doubt," Sana laughed, taking a swipe at her bag. It didn't help that Shigure was so much taller than her.
"Now you're catching on," he grinned, swinging the bag out of her reach again.
"Aww, come on, I've got to get home and do housework!"
"First, just say 'Shigure, I...'"
"What are you doing?" interrupted a new voice. Sana jumped and turned to find a man with black hair flopping across one eye stood just behind her.
"Hatori, good to see you!" Shigure beamed. "We were just having a little game. Weren't we, Sana?"
"Right," Sana agreed. "One that I was just about to win!"
With that, she made a sudden dive for her bag. Having been distracted by Hatori's arrival - and certainly not expecting Sana to try tackling him - Shigure didn't step back quite in time and she crashed straight into him. There was a strange sound like a Christmas cracker being pulled and Sana was suddenly pushed back by an invisible force.
When she opened her eyes, there was a large black dog stood in front of her. She didn't even think - she opened her mouth and screamed.
The others came running when they heard the commotion. Even Kyo had now appeared. Sana couldn't make sense out of what was going on. Her eyes still fixed on the black dog, she backed away, almost bumping into Hatori as well.
Luckily, he had the sense to step aside, but Tohru reacted on instinct to help. "Hatori, watch out!"
She leapt forward, attempting to push Sana away from him, but all she succeeded in doing was knocking her into Yuki instead. There was another loud pop and suddenly, there was a tiny grey rat sitting on the floor right where Yuki had been standing only moments before.
Sana barely even noticed. All she was aware of was that the dog had moved towards her. "No, don't!" she screamed.
A hand suddenly grabbed her arm in a firm grip and another then covered her eyes. "It's alright," said a smooth, calm voice. "You will forget everything you just saw."
The words seemed to drift away as soon as they'd been spoken. Sana felt her mind start to fog, her body seeming to grow lighter. She suddenly felt so, so tired...
Tohru watched sadly as Hatori erased the evening from Sana's memory, taking the events away from her mind as if they'd never happened. So much for the night going smoothly, she thought miserably.