Old Friend

A familiar hum was heard throughout the house as Tohru finished hanging the laundry and worked her way downstairs into the kitchen. Today Yuki brought a myriad of vegetables from the secret base and she wanted to start preparing them as soon as possible. She almost tripped when an idea popped into her head. With a new goal in mind she found herself on the way to Shigure's study. When she slid the door open she saw that he was building a house of cards, instead of doing his work, but this was usual for him. Said writer turned around and smiled instantly at his company. "My little flower has finally come to her senses and realized that I am her one and only!" he rose to his feet and cried dramatically. "Um Shigure I was thinking that since we have so much food, that we could invite some of the family over!" she smiled happily, completely ignoring his performance. He slumped in defeat and nodded his head, "I'll call everyone now, go ahead and start cooking, my little flower."

After a while Hitori, Hatsuharu, Momiji, Kagura, and Ayame were gathered around the table along with the regular occupants of Shigure Sohma's 'lovely' house. They were all eating and enjoying themselves. Tohru looked around at her lively family; Kyo was in the process of yelling at Momiji with Haru trying to calm both of them down, Ayame was attempting to feed Yuki even though it was futile, and Shigure and Hitori were talking about one of their high school memories. After surveying the room she turned her attention back to Kagura who was taking notes on how to prepare dinner. She had said something about wanting to 'make dinner for her Kyo and have him fall head over heels in love with her'. This earned a loud objection from a certain cat. Tohru giggled, then the phone started to ring, and not wanting to disturb the others, she silently got up and went to answer the call. "Hello" she picked up the landline. "Hello Tohru" a cool voice on the other side sent shivers down her spine as she froze in place, "Akito, what a surprise! Do you want me to get Shigure?" she tried to sound as normal and polite as possible. "No, actually I would like to speak to you. In person of course." She could practically hear him smirk on the other side of the line. "When would you like to meet?" her hands were shaking and her voice wavered. "Right now and be a good girl and don't say any of this to the family, okay?" He basically laughed the fear he could feel from the girl. "I understand; I'll be there in a bit." She put down the receiver and walked back into the room full of the people she cherished. "Everyone I'm going to the store to get some dessert. I'll be back in a little while!" she started for the door but Yuki called after her, "Do you want me to accompany you Ms. Honda?" she looked back at him and shook her head, "No thank you I can handle it on my own!" she flashed them her brilliant smile and walked out the door.

It was cold and she regretted not bringing a jacket. However, she paid it no mind as she neared the park. This was the place Akito would meet with her. Ever since that day in the main house he would call out of the blue and they would meet in the secluded park. Tohru came each time only to be beaten and yelled at, but she did it to protect the others. Countless times she saw how frozen they would get when the head of the house was near, and she would try to keep that from happening even if she had to walk out with a few bruises. He was already there waiting for her so she quickened her speed and put up a brave face. "Hello Tohru, today I have something important to discuss with you." Her body tensed, something was wrong, he usually just started yelling and hitting her. He never wanted to 'just talk'. "I want you gone." He smirked. Her head shot up, "What do you mean?" his eyes narrowed and he slapped her, hard. "Who said you could speak!?" he huffed. "I want you out of the Sohma's lives. If you try to stay then I'll kill Kisa and Hiro." Tohru gasped. 'No wonder they refused to come to dinner' she thought. She didn't know what to do. Well she did know what to do she just didn't know how to do it. She had to leave her family? She would have to be alone again. She struggled to hold back tears, but she never let Akito see her cry and she wasn't going to ruin that today. "Don't worry, you amused me a bit so I will allow you to take a scholarship exam to the most prestigious school in Japan" he seemed bored to state this but it made Tohru's ears perk up. She took a minute to read the situation. She got to protect the ones she loved and exceed her mother's dreams. Even if it was painful to her she would do it, it was for the best. She stood and nodded her head. "But promise me you won't harm Hiro or Kisa." She looked hopeful and for once he didn't hurt her, he just nodded his head.

Tohru didn't sleep. She had to act as normal as possible during the rest of the night and she excused herself early from dinner. She told them she had a headache and they left her alone. She wanted to say good-bye so badly that it hurt, but all she could do was wait. As the clock struck 12 she got up and looked out her window. Just as he had said, one of his assistants was parked outside and he waited for her to come out. She rose her hand so he could see she saw him, and he did the same. She turned her attention to packing. She didn't take anything that wasn't hers originally, the last thing she wanted to do was steal from the people who put a roof over her head. Her bag was full of clothes and books. Lastly she placed two pictures in the bag. The first was of her mother while the second was a picture of the 11 Sohma's including herself. She stared at it for a moment before placing it in the bag. She went over to her desk and got the extra copy of that picture and put it in her pocket for motivation. She looked around her room and wondered why she felt so empty. Realizing she was wasting time she grabbed her bag and wrote the note. She placed it in the kitchen and walked out the door. When she was a few feet from the house she looked back at it. She allowed one tear to fall, them wiped it away and got in the car. She was going to miss this place, but if it was to protect the ones she loved she would have to deal with this pain.