I Never Said I Was Going Alone

A/N: Hi guys! I am SO SORRY about no updates for anything for so long; our computer was down, and it only worked downstairs (it's usually upstairs), and it felt weird to work on fanfic in the kitchen, off the phone line; so I'm out of practice, trying to get back into writing. This little thing came from me wondering what happened that first night when Yuki and his rat army (that sounds so cool!) dug out Tohru's stuff. (I'm year of the rat too, tee hee!) Enjoy!

xXx

Yuki walked slowly into the woods, slowing his pace for the sake of his rat friends, who, needless to say, couldn't match the pace of a human being many times their size. Yuki told them "Follow me," and they did, their senses telling them that despite the inescapable fact that this rat did not look like a rat, he was trustworthy and one of them.

The woods were creepy at night; strange rustlings and the sound of the wind echoes through the trees, and the wet sludgy mud soaked through Yuki's shoes. But he was determined to do this; the girl's inspiring story of hard work and perseverance was fuel enough to undertake digging through a landslide and much more.

Once they arrived at the mound of dirt formerly known as Tohru's home, Yuki and his army set to work. Yuki told them in a low, friendly voice "Can you dig through this for me? It will help a… friend of mine." While they weren't friends yet, Yuki wanted to be. The rats muttered (could rats mutter, Yuki wondered) amongst themselves and set to, their little paws digging quickly.

It was slow going. Even though the saying "Many hands make light work" was usually true, the "many hands" were tiny and not very strong, and although Yuki knew they were doing the best they could, and he was grateful for the help, Yuki wanted to be done as soon as possible. He wanted to go and check on the girl, make sure she was okay, see if Shigure had found any ice for her in their hellhole of a kitchen.

While they were working, many of the rats, while focused on the task at hand, wondered about this strange rat who looked like a human. He was most definitely a rat, they could sense it, and even though he was a human, he kind of looked like a rat, with his small, sharp, delicate features and his keen senses. He also had some kind of air about him that said they could trust him, or maybe that was because he was a fellow rat. Either way, they couldn't keep from following his requests, even if they'd wanted to.

…

Yuki felt a tickling sensation run up his leg, then up his shirt sleeve, a little grey head poking out of his collar. Yuki couldn't help but feel warm inside when the rat told him that he'd wanted to find out more about this new addition to their ranks, feeling as though maybe he should spend some more time with his animal counterpart. Promising to tell it and anyone who had questions whatever they wanted to know after the dirt had been dug, he gently picked up the stray rat, put it down again, and with a shooing motion, said "Go on. Help me and my friends, please," and the little rat had run off to help with the slow but steady progress being made. The top of Tohru's tent had been uncovered; there had been a lot more dirt than Yuki remembered, which was saying something, considering the imposing pile it made. Yuki wanted to help too, but there were so many rats swarming over the dirt, digging, that Yuki would have crushed at least twenty if he kneeled down to dig.

More progress had been made; half of the tent was exposed, and Yuki wanted to climb in and gather all of Miss… Honda's, was it, belongings, as she clearly didn't have much at all, and he wanted to salvage what could be saved; but most of all, he wanted to find the picture of her mother that had been her first priority. Now that there was less dirt, the tent was covered in a teeming pile of rats, little sprays of dirt flying in all directions as the rats continued to work. They must have been working for two, three hours now; some of them were beginning to show signs of fatigue. Yuki motioned the tired ones over, letting them snuggle in his clothes. His body heat warmed the tired, cold rats, and the feeling of them cuddling up to him was very cute and sweet, and he stroked them as they lay. As they rested, they asked him questions about himself: why he was new in the area, why he was a rat even though he looked like a human, why he wanted them to dig out this thing. Yuki smiled, amused and touched, and answered their questions: he was new because he'd only moved into the area a few months ago, from living somewhere else (when they asked where, he didn't answer; he preferred not to think about that. Thankfully, the rats respected his feelings.) He was a rat who looked like a human because of a curse placed on his family. He wanted them to dig out this ting because it was a new friend's home, and he wanted to help her. He wanted them to do the digging because it was too much for him to do alone.

By now, the tent had been completely uncovered; from looking at the sky, it was around 2 o'clock in the morning. Gently, Yuki picked up the resting rats (who had greatly increased in number after all the work) and put them gently on the ground, before opening up the tent and taking out Miss Honda's belongings. There was so little it was pitiful: her school uniform, a few sets of casual clothes, a toothbrush and toothpaste, a bar of soap, a roll of deodorant, a notebook and a purse, a school satchel, and of course, her picture of her mother. He held the photo tightly and brushed it off, before packing the rest of the things into the bag he had brought with him, slipping the photograph under his top, gently and gratefully thanking his rat companions, and headed for home.

…

"Yuki, are you alright? Did you dig out the tent? Could you salvage any of her things?" In his absence, Shigure had miraculously found some ice, put another blanket on Miss Honda, and cleaned out the room upstairs in preparation for Miss Honda to stay. There was no way they could let her live in a tent, not with all the dangers in the woods; and it would be just cruel to kick her out. And besides, Shigure had a good feeling about her.

"Yes. I'll put them in the guest room upstairs." Yuki carried the bag containing Miss Honda's worldly goods upstairs into the guest room, before coming back and putting the picture of her mother next to her futon, facing her, so it would be the first thing she saw when she woke up. Yuki looked tenderly at Tohru once again, inwardly admiring her strength and determination, before nodding to Shigure and heading into his own room, to try and catch some sleep before school the next day.

When he finally fell asleep, the thing he was looking forward to the most was talking to Miss Honda some more.