It was a beautiful summer day, the kind of day most people spent outside. For Tohru, today was bittersweet, like a clear sunny winter's day. Unbeknownst to most of the people in Shigure's house and those yet to come, this was her last day living in the house. It had been a little more than two months since the curse was broken for one and all. It did her heart good to see everybody freely seeking their happiness, released from the family curse. It seemed so much had happened in such a short amount of time….

Yuki began dating one of the Student Council members a couple weeks ago and was on his way to University. Kyo had changed a great deal: his temper had greatly improved (for him anyway), was a part time student at the University with Yuki and was teaching beginner classes at Shishou's dojo. Haru and Rin got together, as well as Hiro and Kisa. Momiji was an enthusiastic prince in high school, becoming just as incredibly good looking as Haru said he would and twice as popular as Yuki and Kyo had been, due to the fact he dated. A LOT. When he wasn't taking full advantage of interacting with the opposite sex, he was working part time at Ayame's shop, helping Ayame and Mine around the shop as well as helping to model off the merchandise as the one of the store's spokesmodels. This only served to increase his popularity and send his fan club into an even bigger tizzy, especially when he modeled in the …more feminine ensembles. The other spokesmodel, Ritsu, flourished under all the admiration of his own fan club, making his freak-outs almost non-existent (blame Shigure for that).

Once all the excitement of the curse being broken settled down and she saw all her friends were going to be alright, Tohru decided it was time to go. Her best friend Uotani gave her a way to leave. Uo was an upcoming model, one because of her looks and second, the ferocity of her two friends, who looked after her interests and always went with her to photoshoots. Because of her growing popularity, she was offered a rather large deal to be the spokesmodel for a large company, who liked the look of her in a magazine ad. But part of the deal was she had to make several public appearances, do several photoshoots and commercials….in America….for at least a year. After a great deal of consideration plus some wheeling and dealing on Hanajima's part, they agreed to do it.

Two weeks later, nobody knew anything of their plans except Hatori, because they needed vaccinations before they could go and Kagura, as Tohru had asked her to look after the boys and the house in her absence. He only knew that they were leaving on business, but not how long they were going to stay. Kagura only knew Toru was leaving for awhile.

Tohru was pondering everything that had happened and everything waiting to happen when she was broken out of her reverie by the arrival of her first guests, Momiji, with Haru and Hatori in tow. She was braced for the weight of the rabbit as he jumped to hug her, now accustomed to him. The guys were declining the tea she offered when her friends arrived, "sleep-over gear" in tow. Tohru had told the Sohmas she was throwing a big celebration, in honor of Uotani's big contract, which they never went into detail about, and just celebrating life in general, capped off with her friends sleeping over. In reality, it was the half truth. The gathering was also a means for the girls to see everybody, including Kureno, Kazuma, and Kyo, one last time before they left in the morning.

A fabulous time was had by all, with the exception of the girls, who couldn't quite hide that small show of sadness completely from their eyes. It occurred to the guys that something was off, but in the spirit of having a good time, opted to wait 'til morning to find out what the deal was, though they all passed looks at one another throughout the night when they saw that little note of sadness visibly flash in Tohru's eyes from time to time.

At the end of the night, after most had left and the remaining people offered to help clean up, Tohru shooed them away, saying she had it under control and that she needed to wind down anyway. They shrugged and bid the girls good night, as they went their separate ways: Yuki to his room to call his girlfriend before he went to sleep, Kyo to his usual spot, the roof, to wind down for the night, Shigure to pretend to work on his latest story but to actually contemplate new ways to torture his editor this month, and Kagura made camp on the sofa, since Tohru's friends were camping out in her room.

Only after they heard everybody else settle in their respective areas outside the kitchen, did the three allow for their sadness to truly show. Uo and Saki were leaving men they really cared about, Kureno and Kazuma respectively, because the men requested more time before they really tried to commit to a relationship. They only hoped they had something to come back to Japan to. Tohru because she was leaving people that she considered to be her family as well as leaving Kyo behind, but it had to be done. They all had done a lot of growing up together, but Tohru knew she had more to do and that couldn't happen here, not under the Sohmas well-meaning protection.

Rather than voicing their thoughts, they quietly went back over their exit strategy: to leave early in morning, as quietly as possible, after Kyo left for his morning routine, which was way before anybody else would be getting up. They would wait for him to leave, get dressed and wait for the rented car to pick them up and take them to the airport. Their bags were packed with everything they needed and waiting in the downstairs closet closest to the door, so all they had to do was grab them and go. They also had a large envelope filled with several letters addressed to various Sohmas, which had some explanations and well wishes from the girls, so they wouldn't worry (very much). This they left upstairs in one of Tohru's drawers.

After her friends had finally gone to bed, Tohru, mostly out of habit and sentiment, fixed one last breakfast and made lunches out of the party leftovers for her 'boys'. After she finally shut down the kitchen, she took one last look at Gure's house, lingering in the living room, reliving some of the special moments of the party: the lovey couples (Hiro and Kisa, Rin and Ha'ru, to name a few), Yuki teasing his brother, surprising the boys with Twister and laughing at the looks and blushes on the boys faces as the girls practically crawled all over each other and watching all the younger Sohmas, finally able to enjoy each others company freely. Tohru paused and sighed at each person's door before turning around one last time….bidding the house goodbye.

The next morning, their exit went perfectly to plan, though it was difficult for them to leave so many people behind. By the time Kyo got back from his morning ritual, they were on their way through customs. When the rest of the house awoke, they were boarding the plane. Around the time Kyo and Yuki knocked on Tohru's old door to ask if the girls wanted to order in breakfast and got no answer, they were in the air, firmly holding hands.

"Miss Honda? Yuki called softly. "…Tohru, is everything okay?" he queried again, formality taking a back seat to his growing concern.

"Tohru? We're coming in…" Kyo warned, as he unknowingly opened a door that was no longer hers.

Whatever they were expecting, they certainly weren't expecting what they found---an empty room. Fear and alarm chased each other as they realized Tohru's things were gone and her closet was empty except for her old uniforms. It was a show of how much closer the two had become when Yuki grabbed Kyo shirt sleeve in shock and Kyo let him. It took several moments, several long moments spent observing everything and everyone missing from the room before they noticed big envelope on her bed and a letter sitting on top of it. They shared a quick and quiet look before walking to her bed and retrieving the letter penned by all three women. Together they read:

Prince Charming, Orangey, and the Writer---

Here's the deal, we're gone, but you should know that by now, Orangey. We're off to America as part of my contract for at least a year.(Ou) Please don't worry about us, the company made all the arrangements for us. So we'll be fine. And we'll write and e-mail regularly and humbly request that you do the same.(Tohru) The state of the house is of no concern, Kagura will do in Tohru's absence. May you all have good waves 'til our paths cross again… (guess who wrote that part)

After they read it a second time and they attempted to shake off the shock, they noted that they were sitting on her bed. Her old bed. As the reality of the situation started to roll in, Yuki opened the envelope and Kyo pulled out several smaller envelopes, addressed to them and several other Sohmas. After setting their own envelopes aside, Kyo grabbed the rest as he made to leave, mumbling, "May as well get this over with…" on his way out. Yuki gave a shaky sigh before leaving, quietly closing the door, not relishing what they had to do.

As they descended the stairs, Shigure cheerfully called for his 'flower', unknowingly bringing the boys down even more. Before 'Gure could comment on their hang dog (haha) expressions, Kyo told him bluntly, "She's gone", his voice cracking on the last word.

"She went to the store this early?" confusion at their sad faces starting to seep in. "Fear not Kyon-Kyon, 'tis merely the grocer, not her moving back in with her…."

"No…" this came quietly from Yuki. "Miss Honda…as well as Miss Uotani and Miss Hanajima are gone…" And with that, Kyo handed him the letter, watching the shock come over his usually boyishly mischievous face. The letter fell to his side and he brought a shaky hand of despair over his face, more to stem (and hide) the tears that were a great deal more sincere than his tears generally are, though it came off as dramatic.

"There's more…" Yuki murmured as he pulled out Shigure's envelope from the rest and handed it over. A wry smile crossed his face as he took it, returning to the decay that was his room, which matched his mood perfectly. "Game, point, Tohru..." he murmured, marveling at how she managed to get so completely past him with this, when few others got to sneeze without him knowing.

With the dog gone to his room, Yuki and Kyo looked at each other for a moment before Kyo broke the silence. "I'll call Hatori, I guess…."

"No…I'll call him….Nii-san too." He hesitated before adding, "maybe you should go talk to Shishou…"

Something came and went in Kyo's eyes before he nodded, grabbed his and Shishou's letters and he hesitated as well. "Should I take the others?"

"No, Hatori can help with that. He's telling Momiji, Kureno, and Ritsu. I'll talk to Ha'ru, he'll handle his, Rin's, Hiro's and Kisa's…"

With that, they went their separate ways, Kyo to the Dojo and Yuki to a phone upstairs.

Once it grew quiet again, Kagura gave a quiet sigh from her bed on the couch, having heard everything. They were in such shock, they forgot she was there. She rose from her bed and went to the kitchen, thinking tea was in order and wondering if she could possibly force food on this group just yet. The next few days were going to be rough…

"Hatori…"

"What is it Yuki? Is it your asthma again?"

"No…" As he struggled with words, Yuki dearly wished to see brother for the first time since he was little.

"Well?"

"Miss…Tohru and her friends left for America, sometime this morning, I suppose…"

"…" Shock silenced him; he hadn't expected them to leave so soon.

"She left letters for each of you possibly pass some out? I don't wish to do this more than I have to."

"Certainly…Kyo, he went to Kazuma's yes?"

"Yes…I don't think he's going to come back tonight …" or the next little while, he thought to himself.

"I suspect as much as well. I'll be over tonight to get the letters.

"I'll …leave them with Kagura I suppose…I'm going to see Nii-san."

It was a rough couple of days for the Juunishi. Momiji, as expected, reacted rather badly and his wails of discontent were silenced only when he was told that she had left something for him. He quickly read his letter and gave a sad sigh as a wistful smile pulled at his lips: She had left a photo of them at the Juunishi Festival they had gone to one year; they were wearing rabbit ears, having a wonderful time. After that, he was quietly sad, a few tears shining in his eyes from time to time, but he made an effort to be okay, for Tohru. Kisa was all but devastated, saved only by Hiro trying desperately to stop her tears and her momento: A photo of her and Tohru at a petting zoo, hugging an unhappy Hiro, who had transformed after a very excited little girl ran into him. Largely unknown to the rest of the Juunishi, Kyo and Yuki wound up comforting each other. They would quietly spend time together when one or the other didn't have to be in class or at the dojo, called it 'studying', which they did, they just never mentioned with whom. Shigure revealed a bit of himself to his editor not that way accidently: He had Kagura call Mitchan to tell her the transcript was ready—several days before the original deadline. Mitchan was so over-whelmed, she had to be put on bedrest for three days. 'Gure even kept to the pre-set storyline, but the office opted not to share that bit of info with her, for fear of a relapse.

After that it was business inGure's case, monkey business as usual.

Meanwhile, the girls got on famously. America could not get enough of Arisa. She became a spokesmodel for three other major products in addition to a few endorsements for a couple restaurants and food products. (Saki reaped the bulk of the benefits from those business deals, i.e., free food). Because they were a die-hard trio, they were photographed virtually everywhere: awards shows, parties, premieres, openings, and meet and greets. And more often than not, they did a number of guest spots. It was during a guest spot on a highly popular hospital drama, a number of the crew asked if Tohru had medical training, so convincing was she as a nurse, even though she hadn't memorized her part of the script. She just did what came naturally to her (helping and taking of people) and it was well received by the director and producer.

Tohru hadn't really given much thought to a career, just wanting to make a living, initially. When she sat down and thought about it, it seemed to be a good match. When she presented the idea to her friends, they agreed. And since Arisa's soft spot for her friends was bigger than the state of Texas, she put Tohru through school. She had such an aptitude, she got certification as a nurse faster than anyone in the school's history.

In celebration of Tohru's accomplishments and to mark the end of the last of Arisa's contractual obligations in America, they decided to go out with a bang…(I'm not telling just yet :-P). Since Arisa had less than a month long break between finishing in the US and starting her new gig Japan, they opted to go home sooner rather than later. And so, aided by a phony rumor of Arisa secretly marrying Colin Farrell in Hawaii (for the third time, no less), thanks to Hana-san, they more or less snuck back to Japan with no fanfare to warn the Sohmas or the rest of the world of their return. After dropping their things in their hotel rooms and freshening up, they headed for 'Gure's, largely on foot, so they could see everything again, for the first time in over eighteen months. It felt good to be home again.

Inside Shigure's house, several people were milling about—'Gure reading the paper, not writing; Yuki in his room, dealing with school work; Kyo out back, working out a new routine for his class; Hatsuharu sat not really watching TV or listening to the many ramblings of Momiji about the girls in his fan club and Kagura cleaning the vegetables from Yuki's garden for lunch. So it came as little surprise that they were all caught off guard when a knock came at the door. Yuki and Kyo had been home from school for almost a week and the only people the three had been expecting were Haru and Momiji. Since Yuki was already on his way downstairs and closer to the door than Kagura, he answered it.

After his initial shock at their unannounced arrival and attire, Yuki was delighted to see them after so long. "Arisa, Hana-san, it has been a long time. It's great to see you again."

"It's been a very long time, Prince" nodded Arisa, clad in jeans, a blue halter and a black denim crop jacket.

"Indeed…" agreed Hana-san, dressed in black capris that showcased her shapely legs and an unbuttoned black shirt that revealed a white tank top.

"Please, come in. Everyone will be happy to see you…." Yuki finally took notice of their friend, dressed in a white above the knee denim skirt with an almost respectable split on the left side, a red one-shouldered tank top with words "naughty girl" emblazoned in gold across the chest and a black crop similar to Arisa's, who hung back a few steps.

"Please, come inside. I'm Yuki Sohma and you….." he trailed off as recognition finally kicked in. She wasn't just a friend, she was---

"Tohru!" screamed Momiji from behind Yuki.

Tohru finally smiled and walked up, giving each one a hug and kiss on the cheek, momentarily stunning them as she continued into the house. She walked in to find Arisa and Hana talking to Shigure and Haru, the guys none-too-subtly giving her friends the once over.

"Arisa, I must say, your lipstick ad was one of my favorites…Well, well, who do we have here?" Shigure inquired as Tohru entered.

"Ah, Shigure, nice to see you're still as shameless as ever."

Before he could pout, he finally caught her voice. "Tohru?"

By this time she had dropped onto the couch to give him a hug and quick peck on the cheek. While Shigure blinked in response to her appearance and completely un-formal greeting, she leaned/crawled across him to do the same with Haru.

As Arisa, Momiji and even Yuki snickered at Shigure's reaction, Kyo strolled in from the back, curiosity on his face. "What's with all the racket?" He glanced over and saw Arisa and Saki, Tohru as yet unnoticed. As a half grin broke on his face he said, "Should have known it was the damn Yankee…"

Arisa smirked as she walked over give him a noogie, "Good to see you too, Orangey."

Just as he was nodding to Saki, he saw Tohru rise from the couch, curious interest, shock and delight chasing themselves across his face as she walked over to greet him.

"Tohru..."

"Missed you, too…" she murmured as she held on to him for an extra moment. Looking up, she smiled as she said, "Hello, Kagura. The house looks fantastic."

"The house? What about you? You look great!" Kagura enthused as she and Tohru hugged.

"Oh, well, being in the States so long rubbed off on me a bit," she stated as she began to toy with her recently pink-highlighted and waved hair. "So, do you need any help in the kitchen with lunch? It's the least I can do after surprising you all like this."

Kagura declined, saying she was almost done, so Tohru settled in on the floor by the table as several discussions took place. Arisa was talking about life in America with Yuki and Kyo while Shigure leered over the ads they had brought with them, almost the last of the batch. Haru quietly looked on with Shigure, occasionally agreeing or saying, "One day you're gonna get arrested, Sensei."

After they finished lunch and started to wind down, the girls left, saying that they had various things to tend to, finding permanent housing and getting settled, things like that, but made plans to come back for dinner that night. With dinner plans squared away, Arisa and Saki went into town while Tohru headed towards the Sohma compound. Arisa and Saki were going to see Ayame about him taking care of Arisa's wardrobe for her important modeling jobs, like the one coming up next month. The riceball was going to see Hatori.

Tohru arrived at the compound, various feelings flowing through her, because of all the changes that had happened between her last trip there and now. She hesitated briefly, trying to remember which way to go, when she remembered one of the numerous times she walked there with Momiji. She paused slightly to smooth her clothes before she entered Hatori's facilities. She approached the lone nurse she saw and asked if Dr. Sohma had a few minutes to speak to her without an appointment.

The nurse checked the book, saw he had no patients currently and called him over the intercom, "Excuse me, Dr. Sohma?"

"Yes, Nurse Haikun?" came the response from the doorway behind her.

"Oh, there you are, doctor. There's a young lady here who would like to speak to you for a few moments."

"Who is she?"

"It's been a long time, Hatori…" Tohru said, giving a small bow in greeting.

Surprise rang clear in his voice. "Tohru?" After a few moments, he gathered himself and led her back to his inner office, saying, "Yes, it has been a long time, Miss Honda. Please come in."

After they were seated and Tohru had declined tea, Hatori allowed the question to show on his generally impassive face.

Seeing it, Tohru answered, "I wanted to talk to you about a job…"

Tohru met up with her friends at the edge of town (knowing it wasn't technically safe to go in Aya's shop—Mine would attack her for the umpteenth time.) and they walked back to Shigure's, talking along the way.

"So how'd it go?" asked Arisa.

"I can start as soon as Hatori can verify my paperwork and checks my references. What happened with Ayame?"

"Well, once Mine had finished with us, pretty good."

"He agreed to attend our next meeting with Juunishi Enterprises (real creative, I know). I hope they have soba for us this time…" added Hana in her usual husky tones.

Arisa and Tohru had a quick chuckle (same old Hana) as they walked up the stairs to 'Gure's door. Momiji threw it open before they could knock. "Come in! Kagura's just about done and Yuki's setting the table."

Dinner was a lively affair, conversation flowing all around. Shigure was telling Hana and Hatsuharu about his latest book, while Kagura and Tohru discussed recipes they could trade and Arisa told Yuki about her visit with his brother. Momiji was animatedly telling Kyo the woes of dealing with fan clubs without the safety of the curse to act as a barrier. As the meal was winding down, Yuki asked Tohru a question. "Tohru, what are you going to do with your time while Arisa and Saki are getting ready for her next modeling job?"

"Oh, I'll be---" she started as her phone went off. Glancing at the number, she quickly rose. "Excuse me a moment, I need to take this." She said as she strode out back. "Hello?"

"Hello, Tohru"

"Oh, it's you, Hatori! Is there something you need to discuss with me?"

"Yes. I managed to get everything cleared and your references were excellent. When can you start?"

"I'll need a few days to get settled in. How does Thursday sound?"

"Thursday is just fine."

"Great! I guess I'll see you then. Good night."

"Good night."

Tohru gave a little squeal before she walked back inside where everyone had finished with dinner and were in the living room.

"Everything okay?" Kyo asked when he saw her come in.

"Everything is just fine. Starting Thursday, I work for Hatori."

After a slight pause, Yuki asked, "Hatori? I didn't think he needed help around the house…"

With a small laugh, Tohru said, "No, silly! I'm going to be a ---

"NURSE!!!!"

Everyone looked back at the writer who had screamed, confused at his utterance and the thunderstruck look upon his face as he gazed at a gentleman's magazine.

"Shigure, how did you---" Tohru started to ask but was cut off.

"You damn pervert!!! You could at least go in your room to look at that garbage," shouted Kyo.

Shigure could do no more than point at Arisa, who sat smirking, glee clearly visibly in her eyes, then pass the magazine over to Hatsuharu. He looked at it, quirked an eyebrow as something close to surprise, along with male appreciation, came in his eyes. "Awesome…" was his opinion as he looked at the girls. "Good work, ladies…ow…" he added as Kyo put him in a headlock.

"What do you mean, good work?"

"I'm simply saying what any normal red-blooded male would say to them, that they did a good job."

"There's nothing normal about you."

Ha'ru said nothing else, simply moved the magazine within Kyo eyesight.

"Don't put that thing anywhere---" Kyo's words were cut off as his eyes went huge and Ha'ru simply slipped out of his now loosened grip. Without the support of Ha'ru, Kyo toppled over. Yuki walked over to see if he could possibly calm things down and help Kyo up. As he bent over to help Kyo, Ha'ru slid the magazine in front of him. Once he got over the shock of what he was looking at, Yuki tried to look away, but recognition kicked in and stopped him again. When Yuki finally looked up, his eyes were huge and his face had invented a new shade of red. Next to him, Kyo was just managing to get to his hands and knees.

Arisa was supporting herself on a wall, almost doubled over in her laughing. Saki, still by the table, was clearly amused, a definite smile on her face. Tohru was still standing by the kitchen doorway, eyebrows raised, throwing questioning looks at Arisa. Momiji was naturally getting a kick out the three Sohmas behaving so strangely but wanting to know what was making them act that way. "Haru, what's the big deal? I wanna see," he said reaching for the magazine in Haru's out stretched hand.

"NO!" came the thunderous reply from Yuki and Kyo, both clamoring to knock it out of Haru's hand, but Momiji got there first, giving them an almost pitying look before he bopped them both in the face with the offending reading material, knocking them over yet again.

"Knock it off you guys. I'm not under age. Besides, I work in Ayame's shop, it can't be any worse than some of the stuff he has…" he added and began to look over the pictures. After a minute, all he could manage was "whoa…" A short time after that, a mischievous smile came over his face as he added, "Awesome." He probably would have added more but Kyo managed to crawl over and pull his legs from under him, sending the mag in the air toward Arisa, who snagged it, to check the pics first hand herself, Saki glancing alongside her. And she had to agree with Haru and Momiji. They were awesome. "Tohru, you should check these out. They came out great!"

Tohru walked over, well mostly around, the assorted Sohmas sprawled on the floor to Arisa and Saki. As she looked the photos over, a smile came over her face. The photos had come out great. She was glad they had finally given in and consented to do one group shoot for a men's magazine as a last hoorah in America. They agreed under the condition that they had final say over the clothes and poses.

Arisa, hair a wavy curling mass flying about her face, virtually no make-up save for some very berry colored lipstick, large almost iridescent angel wings, a white, satiny corseted top, long white skirt with slits that came to the tops of her long, shapely legs, white lacey fingerless gloves, while she held a large, bloody lead pipe (old faithful) high above her head, fiery passion flashing in her eyes, lightening flashing just behind her in a very dark black-red sky.

Then there was Saki, who sat on a large rock at the edge of a clear pool water as whispers of souls seemed to fly around her in the hazy pale purple background. Her onyx colored tresses had been swept to the her left shoulder, drawing attention to her ever fascinating eyes, as they seemed to looked through you even as you swore fell into them. The dark, almost bloody red of her gown, with long, black transparent sleeves, the snug bodice with a sweetheart neck line and black lacing up sides, her long fluted skirt with a mid-thigh high slash, made all the more visible with her legs crossed at her knees, added interesting little flashes of skin, in contrast to her almost demure appearance while making her already pale skin seem paler. Hana's picture had been placed next to Arisa's, delivering a double punch to gut, projecting alluring innocence and certain damnation all at once.

Then there was the main attraction, as far as most of the present Sohmas were concerned: Tohru. She was apparently in a hospital-type setting, an operating or exam room of some sort. She was straddling a male dummy (they hoped), leaning forward, a stethoscope on the dummy's chest while her other hand partially covered her cherry red mouth. To make matters worse (or better, depending on POV), she was barely clad in a nurse's uniform. It was white (naturally), the skirt stopping at mid thigh, with splits on both sides that only served to further expose the white thigh hi's and garter she was wearing. The top half of her uniform was a halter with a plunging neckline that stopped after giving a not so subtle view of her chest, made less subtle because she was leaning over and causing many to wonder if certain undergarments were present. Her recently waved and highlighted hair was held back by a nurse's cap.

Mock hurt crossed Tohru's face as she said, "Arisa! I was supposed to see these before we showed them to the guys."

"True, but the writer was kinda nosing around so I let him have it early. You still got to see their reactions," she added with smirk.

"You were right, their reactions were great. But as I was saying before we all got distracted…" Her lips trembled a bit, trying not to laugh at her more traumatized friends' still shell-shocked reactions. "I'll be working for Hatori as a nurse, just like Shigure said."

"A nurse?" Yuki managed to utter.

"When did you get certified for that?!?" squawked Kyo.

"About four months ago."

While Tohru continued, Shigure had returned to himself and his mind went to work. He decided he was pleased with the unexpected turn of events. Hopefully Tohru would give his friend the needed kick in the pants to get going with his life again. It was true, Hatori had made some changes and evolved a bit after the curse was broken. He smiled a bit more and he had even made a connection with Yuki. But he still seemed rather stagnate. Perhaps Tohru could help him out, one last time. . .

"So, that's about it," Tohru said, as she rose from the floor. "I need to get going if I'm going to be ready for work in a few days, otherwise I'll have to wear that uniform. . .

Silence reigned supreme as the boys could do little more than freeze as Kyo, Shigure and Yuki spontaneously spouted nose bleeds…

"Then again, maybe I'll get a raise if I do…."

"WHAT?!?!?!" the boys roared as Tohru chuckled her way out of the house.

With seemingly no time at all, Thursday quickly arrived, full of promise. Tohru awoke a little early, ready to get started. She was so eager; she wound up arriving at Hatori's office half an hour early. The office seemed to still be closed, so Tohru began to ponder what to do, but before she could Hatori arrived.

After clamping down on his mild surprise, Hatori greeted Tohru. "Good morning, Nurse Honda."

"Good morning, Dr. Sohma," Tohru replied with a small bow.

They entered the office, Tohru quietly following Hatori around as he gave a general tour of the office, pointing out where various things were as they went along. The tour ended in front of the little kitchenette, adjacent to Hatori's office.

"If you have any questions, take them to Nurse Haikun. If there are any problems, see me."

"Okay," Tohru responded with a little nod.

With that, Hatori went into his office to get ready for the day as Tohru walked off. Hatori gave a passing thought to breakfast as he went over his appointments for the day. Then he was distracted by a movement he caught from the corner of his eye. It was Tohru, bearing down on him with a small plate and a mug.

"You didn't have to do that . . ."

"You should eat something before your day starts."

With a wry grin, Hatori replied, "People are capable of change," in a slight nod to his bad eating habits.

With an amused look that still managed to brook no nonsense, Tohru added, "Yes, and old habits die hard."

After staring Hatori down long enough to make him take a few bites of his English muffin and sip his tea, Tohru left.

Over the course of the day, Tohru proved to be very capable and helpful. After a couple weeks, she became invaluable. Hatori's office had never been run more efficiently. He even had time to take little breaks and more often than not, had time to take a real lunch.

An even bigger change around the office was Hatori. He demeanor had changed a bit, from cold and remote to cool and professionally detached (Hey, this is Hatori we're talking about). This was thanks to Tohru pushing him to take lunch (I said he could take lunch, never said he did) and dragging him outside for a walk if he looked like he needed a break. He even began to play favorites, a bit, preferring Tohru to help with patients more often than not. Their rhythm was such that they hardly had to speak when they were working. The other nurses could hardly mind, not when their jobs were being made easier and Dr. Sohma was visibly happy, for him, anyway.

Hatori also noticed some changes, but they didn't all have to do with him. He had been observing all the little changes in Tohru since she started working in the clinic. Things like how efficient she was, something he hardly saw from her outside of a kitchen. Then there was the new concentration and intensity about her, which warred with the memory of the old, flighty Tohru. Then, there was the unprecedented forcefulness in her now. Hatori regularly found himself on her short list, regularly getting nailed to the wall for not taking better care of himself.

It took a couple weeks to find the answer, but he finally clued in on the big change in her that he couldn't quite put a finger on. She was a full-fledged woman now. It bugged him for a while (he had several bad moments, imagining that he would turn into Shigure), before logic kicked in. Tohru was no longer the clumsy woman-child on the verge of becoming, she had become.