Title: Changes

Summary: Shigure and Mayuko make a stop at her parent's bookshop and a moment that could have happened there. Basically, Shigure messing with Mayuko's head.

Disclaimer: Really!? Come on...you know I didn't create them.

At first I thought I was going to make it a series of one-shots of all the times Shigure 'switched things around' in his relationship with Mayuko. But the urge to write it has fled my body...I don't know maybe I'll continue...maybe not. Anways, it's not my favorite thing I've ever read but I think it turned out ok.

Thanks for reading...please review...sorry for any errors...

BlondieBoo

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What were they? She didn't know. She probably would never be able to figure it out. There were so many complications and twists and turns that it would take weeks to finally work everything out, to weigh and measure each possibility-- to calculate it all and by that time he would have gone and changed it all again. (He did that often). He refused to let her be in control. Just about the time she had everything figured out, or so she thought, he would make sure to complicate things.

Like their kiss. They had been "dating" for nearly a month and there had been nothing, no kisses or handholding or hugging, not that there really needed to be. At first she hadn't known what to expect of their arrangement--what exactly did he have in store for her? And after four weeks she felt she had figured it all out. They would simply be together. Nothing more, nothing less. They sat and read together in the afternoons and on the weekends they would go out for drinks with Kana and Hatori. And while the two lovebirds were engrossed with each other she knew she would have somebody to talk to. But then he changed things. For the better--she wasn't quite sure.

Maybe he sensed it; he always seemed to be able to read people, especially her. But it was true, she had become relaxed with their laidback attitude towards each other and their relationship thus far and of course he did not like that one bit. They had gone to her family's bookshop for the afternoon, although she protested. But after she let it slip about her parents' little "hobby"(as she called it) he refused to take no for an answer. So it was on that day she found herself in her parent's bookshop and amongst all the books he kissed her...

"Shigure this is silly! It's just my parents' bookshop it's nothing special, really. Lets just go meet up with Kana and Hatori," Mayu whined as she trailed behind him. He seemed to ignore her and grabbed for the door to the little shop anyways. She quickly slipped under his arm, blocking his way. With a determined stare she appealed to him one last time, "Shigure...let's just go get drinks like we usually do."

At that moment he looked down at her and an odd extension formed on his face. A sort of questioning squint in which he was not looking at you but actually right through you, a mixture of confusion and wisdom, like he was listening for something far off in the distance that he couldn't quite hear.

"Shigure..." she timidly murmured, "Shigure is everything all right?" Although she could never seem to figure out what he was thinking this was one of the faces of his she had come to recognize. Most often some sort of an event, often weather related followed it. Once before he had made a similar expression and quickly rushed her inside with no explanation as to why, soon afterwards it began to storm. Another time it seemed as if he almost predicted an earthquake. And before that he had told her they should hurry to catch the train. When she questioned him he explained that it was running ahead of schedule and sure enough it was.

His eyes lost their far-off look and he focused in on her. Slowly he slipped back to reality and as he did a sly grin formed on his lips. "Mayuko...is there a reason you don't want me to meet your parents? Are they some horrible man-eating monsters? Are you some horrible man-eating monster as well!?

With a roll of her eyes she grabbed on to his arm and pulled him into the shop.

"MAYUKO!!"

Mayu gave Shigure a quick glare before addressing her mother. She was going to kill him for this. The moment they stepped foot outside she was going to shoot him; somehow she would find a gun even if it meant stealing it and she was going to shoot him right in the middle of downtown. "Hello mother."

She was a little plump woman with graying hair and a wide smile. She came running from behind the counter and hugged her daughter. "OH MAYUKO IT IS SO GOOD TO SEE YOU! YOUR FATHER WILL BE SO PLEASED TO SEE YOU! WHY DON'T YOU VISIT IT US MORE OFTEN!?"

"Mom, I'm busy."

"OH I SEE...BUT STILL MAYU THAT IS HARDLY A REASON NOT TO COME EVEN FOR JUST FOR THE DAY!"

"Mom there is no reason to yel--"

At that moment a man came through a back door holding a pile of books. "DEAR!? WHAT DID YOU SAY? MAYUKO IS HERE...IS THAT WHAT YOU SAID!?"

"Hi dad," Mayu murmured as she bent down to hug him as well.

"AND WHO IS THIS MAYU!?" her father asked eyeing Shigure.

She had been dreading this. Her parents first of all embarrassing her and secondly having to explain what Shigure was and then having to decide what they were. "She rubbed the back of her neck slowly, "Well...um...this is Sohma Shigure...and we're um..."

At that point Shigure interjected, "We're dating. When May-May told me her parents owned a bookshop I just had to come see it, I'm a writer myself." he winked at Mayu enjoying the fact she squirmed at the "pet-name" he had created for her. "I'm so glad to have finally met you."

"OH, A WRITER HOW EXCITING..." Mayu nearly barfed as her mother gushed, "MAYU'S FATHER HAD HIGH HOPES OF BEING A WRITER AS WELL...BUT YOU KNOW HOW THOSE THINGS GO..."

Mayu could only last the torture so long, quickly she began to usher her parents towards the backroom. "We're just going to look around out here for awhile... I promise to come say goodbye before we leave..."

Shigure wiggled his fingers at her parents as she pushed them through the door like a teacher wrangling a pair of unruly second graders. He couldn't help but laugh to himself making Mayu squirm was one of his favorite pastimes and her parents were very helpful in that department. Even as the door to the backroom swung shut he caught a glimpse of Mayu rolling her eyes and sighing while her mother said something about a fall wedding. What a fun trip this had turned out to be!

Mayu returned from the backroom a few minutes later. "Okay Shigure...we can go now--"But Shigure had disappeared. At first she was angry-- it was not the first time he had ditched her. She had turned around more then once to find that he had slipped away and she had been left alone. It was not really that surprising-- he had already had his fun embarrassing her, there was no real reason for him to stay any longer. Mayu was more surprised that when she decided to walk the isles of the store, just in case, she actually did find him... cross legged on the floor in the classics section reading quietly. With a sigh she grabbed a book from one of the shelves and lowered herself to sit beside him.

They sat in a comfortable silence awhile before he finally spoke. His eyes never averted from his book. "Your parents are nice..." And slowly he turned his head to look at her, an evil grin on his face.

She kept her head lowered. She dare not turn to face him or look at him directly, fearing he might see how red her face had become. "I hate you...you know that?" she asked her book softly.

Shigure smiled even more. He set his book aside and leaned in closer towards her. Slowly he pushed part of Mayu's long hair back behind her ear so it no longer shielded her from his gaze. Gently, holding her chin between his thumb and index finger he turned her head so she was forced to look at him. The scarlet blush had disappeared from her face and was replaced with an expression of total confusion. Her eyes searched his face desperately trying to read what he was thinking or understand what he was doing. Finally her own eyes met his. She questioned him, "Shigure?"

But she was cut off. He quickly slipped his hand to the back of her neck and pulled her closer to him catching her half parted lips with his own. The book she had been reading had slipped from her finger. She had been caught off guard at first and merely sat their frozen, to stun to move...unsure of what to do or what she wanted to do. Mayu's thoughts raced. Why was Shigure kissing her!? What was the crazy fool thinking?... But why wasn't she stopping him? Did she want him to kiss her? She liked Hatori for god sakes...but he was dating her best friend. And slowly Mayu let her eyes fall shut as she leaned further in and kissing him in return. Shigure broke the kiss off just a few moments later and without a word he returned to his original position, picked up his book and continued to read.

Mayu was frozen again. All her thoughts came rushing back and raced through her mind at twice the speed. She fumbled for her book trying to pretend the kiss hadn't affected her, like it had. Quickly she flipped her book open to a random page and pretended to read. Every so often she would flip the page, for appearances, even though they both knew she wasn't reading.

And nothing else was said about that. After about an hour, Shigure stood up, and proclaimed that he was done reading for the day and ready for a drink. Mayuko nodded and followed him out her parents' store (without ever saying goodbye to her parents). Later that night they did go out drinking and Hatori would ask her if she was feeling all right because 'she seemed rather quiet' and she would hate Shigure even more for changing things on her.

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So anyways... there it is...thanks for the read...

Oh, and I hope nobody was confused about Shigure predicting the rain and the train (haha it rhymes). I was thinking that the other cursed Sohma's have some of their animal abilities while in human form and I was just thinking that dogs and cats always seem to be able to sense storms and such. And he could hear the train coming. Maybe its dumb...whatever...

Thanks again. 3