Springtime in Japan was particularly pleasant that year. Yellow crocuses bloomed alongside the walls of Shigure's home, encouraged along by Yuki's green thumb, and he couldn't help but feel pleased every time he caught a glimpse of Honda-san's face at the sight of them. Even Shigure was more active, lured out of his nocturnal lifestyle by gentle breezes and soft sunlight.
Still, every season has its rain showers and this Spring was no exception; Yuki had woken up to gray skies and the occasional surprising plip falling at unexpected moments, on a forearm or directly on his eyeball. By the time he'd assisted Honda-san in rescuing the hanging laundry they were caught in a full downpour.
"Honda-san, have you finished your homework yet?" Yuki asked the girl, glancing up from his own assignments spread across the kitchen table to see her standing at the sink, a small pile of vegetables soaking in a tub of iced water. He knew how she struggled in her classes and, as the new term was fast approaching, was prepared to offer his assistance.
"Nearly," she replied with a smile, tucking a flyaway strand of brown hair underneath her yellow bandana to keep it out of the way. She picked up a zucchini and glanced at it critically for a moment before expertly sliding a knife up the side, shaving off a perfect curl of peel. "Shigure-san was so kind to help me with my essay assignment this year. He was really very helpful."
"Imagine that," Yuki replied dryly. "What was the topic—the 'sexual awakening of the teenage virgin'?" He wished he hadn't said it the moment the words left his mouth; Tohru's face flamed crimson and she almost dropped her knife.
"N—no!" she stammered. He could practically envision steam billowing out of her ears. "Heaven forbid…"
"I'm teasing," he said, afraid she'd accidentally cut herself if her hands flailed any more. "Calm down, Miss Honda." To distract her, he asked, "And your other assignments?"
"Well," she said, cheeks still stained a deep red as she resumed her zucchini peeling, "I did most of the math assignment myself. But some of the problems were confusing, and I wondered if Sohma-kun may be willing to look over them for me?"
"Sure," he said, smiling back at her. She was just so likable, always quietly busy and content. He'd never met anyone quite so earnest before, and was grateful for her friendship. "What are you making?"
"Well," she replied, pointing with her knife to a handwritten recipe pinned to the corkboard Shigure had set up in the kitchen, "there's a bit of a nip in the air today because of all the rain, and you brought in all these vegetables; I thought I'd make vegetable and rice stew for supper. What do you think?"
"Sounds amazing," Yuki said with sincerity. If Tohru made it, it was bound to be superb. "Make sure to include plenty of leeks for the stupid cat."
"Well," Tohru chuckled, "maybe a few. If he doesn't know they're in there, it should be fine. And they're really very good for you; I'd hate to waste them. Where is Kyo-kun anyway? I haven't seen him all day."
Yuki shrugged. "Probably too tired to get out of bed. You know how he gets when it rains; lazy."
"That's probably it," Tohru mused, setting the second naked zucchini aside and turning her attention on a large potato. "Say, doesn't he have training with Shishou-san on Sundays? Maybe we should wake him up… he'd probably be angry if we let him miss it because of the rain."
"I'll do it," Yuki volunteered, happy to abandon his homework and annoy his nemesis. He was already formulating possibilities—how best to get under the cat's skin? Of course an unnecessarily obnoxious wake-up call would be the first step, and then a completely nonchalant reaction to his rage.
He walked up the stairs to Shigure's old office barely concealing his wicked smirk. He curled his hand lovingly around the door's handle and braced his shoulders, waiting to pounce…
Bang! He threw the door open so fast that it slammed into the opposite wall and made the house rattle.
"Boys, don't break my house!" he heard Shigure call from the direction of his bedroom. He ignored his older cousin and looked around.
Kyo's room was always surprisingly neat, at least compared to Yuki's own. Kyo didn't seem to have a lot of belongings, and what he did have was stacked and put into drawers. The bed was always made.
It was made now, which seemed very odd. There was no nest of orange bedhead on the pillow, at least. Kyo was nowhere in sight.
"Hey, stupid cat!" he called in the direction of the upstairs bathroom. "Where are you?"
No answer.
Honda-san's anxious face peeped up the stairs. "He isn't home?" she asked, surprised. "Well he wouldn't be on top of the house in this weather, would he?"
As if to emphasize her question, the rain poured with more vigor than ever, thundering like rocks against the roof.
Shigure propped open the door to his room, the ink smudge on his jaw a testament to how lost in his current—no doubt perverse—novel. He probably wanted to get it finished before his deadline so he could pretend to not work on it at all when his poor tortured editor made a visit. "Kyo's not home?" he asked. "I didn't hear him leave… you don't think he went out to do his normal morning exercises and got trapped in the storm, do you?"
Yuki could have smacked his sly relative. It was as if that statement were perfectly calculated to send Tohru into hysterics.
"Oh no, this is terrible!" she moaned, clutching the sides of her face and dithering anxiously on the spot. "No doubt that's what happened! Oh, he's probably stuck somewhere unable to move at all! He could be anywhere! He could…"
Yuki didn't often like to use his… charm on other people, and especially not Tohru. It felt dishonest somehow, and definitely made him feel sleazy. It was exactly the sort of thing his brother did to get his way. But he supposed, in moderation, a little dazzling could be forgiven.
"Miss Honda," he breathed, lidding his gray-violet eyes and peering down at her from between long smoky lashes. He rested a hand on her shoulder and used the other to turn her face up to his. She stopped mid-word and her brown eyes went blank, a light flush rising on her cheeks. "It's alright; no need to worry. Why don't I just go out and look for him, hmm?" he let his fingers play down her neck slightly and her blush increased from pale pink to red.
"Ah… ok," she agreed. "If you're sure… Do you want me to come with you?"
"No, but thank you for the offer," he leaned closer, praying she'd stay still- if her chest bumped his she'd have a much smaller and squeakier Yuki to deal with. "You are most kind… princess."
"Jeez, Yuki," Shigure complained as he left the melted puddle of Tohru to compose herself and made his way down the hallway. "Try not to use your powers for evil, or I'll die of jealousy."
Yuki ignored him and slipped back downstairs, grabbing his raincoat and his umbrella along the way. Of course the moment he stepped outside he realized the futility of such an action; rain pelted at him from every angle at such a speed that it stung upon hitting his skin. He was bone-soaked within moments and, with a growl, he abandoned the umbrella underneath the garden fence, hoping the strong winds wouldn't whip it away.
"Where are you, stupid cat?" he grumbled to himself.