Morning didn't creep up on Yuki. No, it bashed him violently on the head with its powerful, painful rays of sunlight. He groaned and covered his head with a pillow, curling around his blankets in an attempt to maintain the beautiful sensation of sleep. If he really awoke he'd have to get up. And if he got up he'd have to face things, like Shigure and Kyo and School. He didn't want that.

Then again, there were other things. A smiling picture of Tohru floated through his brain, and then another picture of a different girl. A quiet, serious looking one. Yes, that was one person he would like to see. He'd get up for Machi's sake, if not for his own.

He rose, stumbling and confused. He bumped his legs and side against furniture and let out muffled groans. I hate mornings.

With his clothes sloppily on and his tie loose around his neck, he stumbled down the stairs, ignoring Kyo's taunts and Tohru's kind, motherly mumblings. He wasn't sure what she was saying, but it sounded nice enough. Only one thing was on his mind though- the kitchen. He'd make it there, or die trying.

He collided into the door, smashing his head on the frame. Cursing, he raised a hand to his forehead and then found himself in the kitchen. With relief he slumped into a chair and dropped his head on the table.

"Ah, Yuki-kun?" It was Tohru, looking at him with worry. "Are you all right? Can I get you anything? Breakfast? Water?"

"I'm fine, Honda-san, I'm fine," he said, raising his head a little. As always, the sleep was starting to slowly slide off of him, the foggy cloud inching away from his brain every second until he was clear once more. He pushed himself up and helped himself to a glass of water and a bowl of rice- courtesy of Tohru. "Thank you," he smiled at her, relishing the delighted grin she shot back at him. She was so sincere, so kind and welcoming- just like he'd imagined a mother might be.

"Uh, Yuki-kun? Your tie is a mess again."

He chuckled, and lifted his chin a bit higher so that she could tie it for him. This had become a ritual between them now. A mother straightening her little boy's school uniform.

Now that Yuki had come to turns with his feelings for Tohru, it was easier to be around her. It was freeing to see her as a support and a kind friend without having to force himself to look at her as he would a girlfriend. Now he could enjoy her smiles and win them with his own jokes and acts of kindness. And he could now open his heart to another young woman, one who had slowly been inching her way in.

"Thank you," he said as Tohru finished, and then he ran back up the stairs to get his book bag. Then he slipped out the back door. Tohru and Kyo were used to him leaving way before them now. He had student council business to take care of and had to be at school at a horrifying hour in the morning.

While he hated getting up early, he did like the feel of the school in the morning when only the teachers and a few, scattering students had arrived. A few teachers nodded to him, but he passed few people on his way to the Student Council office. Nao and Machi were the only two there so far. Ignoring each other pointedly, Nao was busy at his desk, muttering about something or other, and Machi was staring out the window. Both looked up at him as he answered. Nao just grunted and then went back to work, and Machi blushed when he met her eye and whipped her head back to the window. He had to smile, amused by her reactions.

"Good morning," he said to both of them.

Nao ignored him, but Machi turned back to him and nodded her head in acknowledgment.

Yuki walked over to his desk and sat down. He picked up papers and started rifling through them, pausing suddenly, and then looking through them again. "Did one of you take the class form for the Cultural Festival?" he asked, lifting his head and looking carefully at both of them.

"Of course not," Nao said, somewhat snappishly.

Machi shook her head. "No."

He got up and started to look on Kakeru's work area. It was covered with random slips of paper and video games. No forms. Nothing important or even resembling work. He moved onto to Kimi's desk, but it only had unimportant items like cosmetics and fashion magazines. "Does anyone actually do any work here?"

"I do," Nao said defensively. "But that's about it."

Machi rolled her eyes, and Yuki gave a small nod, agreeing with her unspoken statement. "I'll go down to the office then and see if we can get a new copy. It'll be a pain to have to go around to all the classrooms again and get the information to put down. There are so many other things that needed doing. We don't really have the time." He left the Student Council, heading towards the main office of the school building. Machi followed him out, jogging a little to catch up with him. He slowed his pace marginally.

"I can do it."

"Hmm?"

"Going around recollecting the info on the class stands and cultural activities. I can do it and you can work on something else you need to do."

"That'd be a great help, thanks." He kept walking towards the main office, keeping pace with Machi. She frowned, a little furrow forming between her eyebrows.

"I can get the papers from the office."

"Yep." He kept on walking. She was seriously confused now.

"Why are you still walking to the office?"

"Does it bother you?"

"No! Yes! Ugh," she seemed like she'd almost hit him. "I don't know. It's weird to walk if you don't have anything you need."

"I do though. I had to go to the office anyway to look at the itinerary lay out. Shiraki-sensei asked me to give an opinion on it. I'm not sure why."

"Oh."

They walked in silence, Machi focused on the ground, and Yuki stopping occasionally because someone waved him over. As they continued and these stops became more frequent, Yuki became a bit more flustered. By the time they were only a minute or two away from the office, he'd begun to walk in a much faster pace, almost rushing for the room.

He smiled down at Machi, explaining that, "sometimes you just can't be stopped by anymore people y'know?"

Yep, she thought. I know. I've always known. It's written across my face. "Can't talk to people well. Don't even try."

"Sohma-kun, good." Shiraki-sensei, the upperclassmen's literature teacher, handed him a bunch of leaflets. Check that out. Feel free to make pen marks and corrections. Have it back here by lunchtime." She started to walk out, her long ponytail swinging behind her. She grumbled to herself, but everyone else could hear, "I cannot wait until we're done with this Cultural Festival. Why do we have to do it every year? Every three years would be better."

"Umm," Yuki turned to the secretary. "Komaha-San, could we get a reprinted version of the Cultural Festival table and form? Ours mysteriously went missing."

"Of course, Sohma-kun," She smiled, Komaha was always friendly. She was kind to all of the children, never holding back smiles, and always happy to help if she could. She printed the sheets carefully, and then gave them to Yuki, who then handed them over to Machi.

"Start with the freshmen, maybe. I can fit the seniors in on the way to classes."

"Okay," she bobbed her head once and began heading down the hall.

"Thanks!" Yuki called after her. She didn't make any gesture to acknowledge that she'd heard him, though he was pretty sure that she had.

The morning whizzed by. There was school work, council work, and then just trying to avoid people. It had never been easy, but was even harder now that he was School Council President. He was an extreme introvert. He glanced at his phone to check the time. Only one more hour and then most of the people would be gone, and soon he could leave too.

He entered the Council Room, bracing for the commotion. Usually Kimi and Kakeru and Nao were all in the room. Kakeru and Kimi being ridiculous and making noise, while Nao just yelled at them to shut up.

They weren't there today, though. Machi was, though. She was sitting cross legged in a swivelling office chair and was marking down what each class was doing, what supplies they'd need, and etcetera on the Cultural Festival Form.

She glanced up as he entered. "Hi," she mumbled.

"Hello," he replied, his voice flat. He didn't have to pretend to feel cheery or bouncy with Machi. Somehow she saw him as something other than, "that really handsome, princely like guy." He appreciated that a lot.

He peered over her shoulder, then he did smile. "You've done a lot. We'll be all caught up by tomorrow morning. Good work."

"Thanks," she blushed, remembering the last time that he'd told her that she had done well. She'd made a fool of herself- had told him about her mother, her brother, and how much it had hurt. Despite feeling embarrassed about it, she'd felt a bit better. She wondered if he was remembering that, which immediately sparked her to wonder if he'd remember to walk with her at the next snowfall.

All of this wondering...

"How are you?" she asked, finally noticing his exhausted features.

"I've been better, and let's leave it at that."

He pulled out some of his own homework and they worked for a while, side by side, in a peaceful quiet. After a moment Machi's phone went off. She got up, stretching. "That's my alarm. I need to go."

She took a step, her foot getting caught on the leg of the chair, and went crashing into Yuki. A gray puff of smoke clouded the air, setting her coughing. "What? Did I start a fire or something? She peered through the smoke for Yuki, but didn't see him. He'd disappeared? How was that even possible? She glanced down, noticing something scurrying. A mouse! She bit back a yelp. She was not a fan of rodents.

The rat scurried through the room, finding a bookshelf to hide behind.

Machi shuddered, then started putting her books into a haphazard pile. She began shoving them into her bag, not caring if the pages got a little folded. That smoke arose again from behind the bookshelf and the shelf was being pushed away, making the gap between it and the wall wider. Yuki's head protruded from the shelf now.

Confused, Machi looked from him to where his, wait, were those his clothes? Lying in the middle of the floor. "Uh..." she was frozen, unsure of what to do. Finally, something clicked and she bent down to pick the clothes up. She slowly scooted to where Yuki was hiding, his face red. She kept her face firmly on the ground. "Here."

He accepted them wordlessly, and then she booted it out the door and down the hall. Running in the hall wasn't allowed, but right now, that wasn't what was on her mind. What she was preoccupied with was that Yuki had just turned into a rat. In front of her. After she'd touched him.