Chapter 2…The Cat, The Rat, and the Garden

Tohru awoke with a jerk when she heard the door creak. After navigating the maze of the manor and trying not to lose sight of Okami's green kimono through the haze of darkness that was still blanketing the house, she'd fallen face-first into the bed. The bed was enormous—it dwarfed her quite a bit. Though her surroundings were quite opulent, there was nothing in the room to suggest that it was a child's room. She rolled over and sat up as Okami brought in a breakfast tray.

"Here you are, dear," she said, "I'm afraid I haven't time to chat or to show you around the house. I would rather you stay put for now—you could get lost and worry everyone if you wander off. Also, the master does not want you poking around in the other rooms. He'll be angry if he finds out."

Tohru wondered what it was that had made this man so unpleasant. She supposed she understood how he felt after losing Kyoko, but unlike her, he was surrounded by people. It was heartbreaking.

"You can change when you've eaten. There are new clothes in the wardrobe for you."

Tohru slid out of the bed and opened it. Much to her dismay, she saw kimonos there, but she hadn't the slightest inkling of how to put one on.

"Excuse me, but is there someone to help me dress? I don't mean to be a bother, it's just—"

"You can't dress yourself?" Okami asked, stunned.

"I can, just not a kimono. I've never worn one," she admitted sheepishly.

"If I can possibly spare one of the others, I will send them up. But you might be in for quite a wait."

Tohru watched her hurry out the door. She sighed, frustrated, and kicked at one of her shoes that had been laying in the floor. As hard as she tried not to get angry, she felt it. What was the point of asking her to stay here if she was going to be a bother to everyone? Why not send her somewhere else where she could maybe help out and have some fun?

Placing her mother's picture on the table, she began to eat. Her mood was quite gloomy and though the food was good, her growing depression stunted her appetite. She only managed to pick at it before getting up to examine her surroundings in a little more detail. There were beautiful prints hanging on the walls, and even some photographs of flowers and things like that. The furniture was very ornate and rich-looking with a lot of embellishment. She was almost too afraid to touch it. A dressing table, so far devoid of any items save decorative, stood against one wall. Another wall had two large windows looking out. There was a small table for her to eat at and there was her bed and the wardrobe, but that was about it. She fingered the delicate silk of the kimonos, hoping she would be careful enough not to ruin them.

She froze when she heard the crying sound. Who on earth was that? It was very faint, but it sounded quite loud in the silence. Tohru didn't realize how quiet it had been. The silence here was so oppressive that the only sounds before the crying had been her own frantic heartbeat and the ringing in her ears. Curious, Tohru shoved her feet into her shoes and walked towards the sound. The keening wail was high-pitched and shrill; it sounded like another child. She wandered into the hallway, her heartbeat going even faster. She'd heard about old places like this having ghosts; perhaps that was why it was so gloomy?

Other sounds emerged as she went further. Servants moved to and fro doing various chores. Some woman downstairs was singing as she kneaded dough for pasta. Another was dusting. Avoiding them carefully so as not to get caught and make Hatori upset, she stuck to the shadows as she wandered down the stairs.

There was a door hidden in the wall. If she hadn't been intentionally looking for the source of the crying, she'd have walked right past it. Just as she was about to open it, it slid open and Okami appeared. Both gasped out of fright.

"Tohru, I'm only going to tell you this once more! You mustn't wander around—you'll get yourself in trouble and me, too! Now come on!"

She dragged her back upstairs, her grip uncomfortably tight on Tohru's shoulders.

"Now stay there, please!"

Okami's voice was attempting to be stern, but it was almost pleading. The crying was getting worse downstairs.

"But..."

Tohru sighed as she closed the door.

"I just wanted to know who it was," she sighed, resigned.

After what seemed like forever (she had no toys to play with and even imagination had its limits for her), the door rattled open again. Instead of Okami, there was a younger girl with dark brown hair and grayish-green eyes. This one was smiling.

"You must be Tohru!"

She set the lunch tray down, frowning at the sheer amount of food left on the breakfast tray.

"You've hardly touched your rice—didn't you want it?"

"I ate as much as I could," Tohru said half-heartedly, "is everyone around here always busy?"

"That's the case most of the time," Kagura said, "we'd never get anywhere if there was a lady of the house. She'd take up most of our time and we'd really have our hands full. I'm Kagura, by the way."

She smiled.

"You're still in your nightgown," she remarked, puzzled.

"I'm not sure how to dress with these kimonos," Tohru said, downcast, "I was afraid I would ruin them."

"Oh. Well, why didn't you just say so? Let me give you a hand."

She spread them out on the still-rumpled bed.

"What would you like to wear?"

There was one pink, one blue, and one green. Tohru chose the green one. Kagura helped her get it on.

"There you are! Be really careful," she warned, "the silk damages easily. I would tuck this napkin over you like so to keep any spills off of it. I'm surprised your mother didn't teach you how to put one on."

Tohru began to cry, burying her face in her hands. She didn't want to think about Kyoko right now.

"It's not her fault! She didn't ask to die!"

She flung herself over the bed, not wanting to look at Kagura. Kagura realized then that she'd made a mistake and walked over to the edge of the bed.

"I'm sorry," Kagura said gently, "I didn't mean it like that, I swear it. I talk too much sometimes…please don't cry anymore…"

Tohru looked up at her with glittering eyes.

"We never had the money for expensive clothes like these…but we made do…I may not know anything about kimonos, but I know a lot of other things…"

She sat up slowly, hating the headache that was coming on.

"I know that when the snow melts, it will be spring," she said shakily, "and though this place is really dark and depressing now, it won't always be. And that maybe I'll find out who's crying down there and maybe they'll stop being sad."

Kagura laughed uneasily.

"It's just the wind blowing through the house," she responded, "it sounds an awful lot like crying, doesn't it? Some say there's a ghost around, but I've never been a big believer in those stories."

"A ghost? Of a boy, maybe?" Tohru asked, "That's what it sounded like."

"Maybe. This place is pretty old," Kagura said, guiding her back to the table, "if I believed in them or saw them, I might think a place like this is bound to have one or two at least. But don't let the stories the other servants tell scare you. They like to mess around with children since we rarely have them around. Especially pretty little girls like you."

Tohru smiled faintly. No one had ever called her pretty before.

"Maybe if the ghost-boy was real, I could play with him. I wouldn't be afraid," she said.

"It's a pity it was so chilly and damp outside today," Kagura said, "I take care of my younger cousins Yuki and Kyo. They go off in the woods all by themselves for hours. You could play with them if it's company you want."

Boys…Tohru hadn't had much luck with boys. At this age, most of them didn't want anything to do with girls. But it was better than nothing.

"Yuki asked a lot of questions about you," Kagura said, "and Kyo was equally as curious, though he tried to hide it and pretend he didn't care."

"I can't go outside today?" Tohru asked.

"Okami doesn't want you to catch cold with the strain of the travel, but maybe tomorrow if it's warmer," Kagura answered, "if you're finished here, I have to go now. Okami's probably not going to be very happy with me taking so long to get back downstairs to the dishes."

"Well…thank you," Tohru said, feeling awkward. She settled into the chair next to the window, looking to see if she could catch a glimpse of either one of Kagura's cousins. She spotted a boy with bright orange hair—was he wearing some sort of a wig? How was that color possible? And the other one…unless it was a trick of the light, his hair was gray. How odd…both of them were riding ponies and chasing each other. At one point, they both dismounted and it appeared that they were fighting with each other. Then, just as quickly as the fight started, it stopped. Boys were strange…

As if feeling her gaze upon them, the orange-haired one looked up first. Then, the gray-haired one. The gray-haired one waved, but the orange-haired one just thrust his hands into his pockets and turned back around. Tohru waved back. Then, they were gone. She saw them ride off into the thick fog and they seemed to vanish.

"Those must be my new cousins," she remarked to herself, "maybe if they like me enough, they'll let me ride one of those horses."

The sky was growing darker. Though this day seemed to have gone on forever, it was at last drawing to a close. Tohru had amused herself by pretending she was a queen and this was her palace. Her "subjects" were nothing more than a few objects that she'd collected from her environment, but it did ease the pervasive sense of loneliness that she'd felt. She was pretending to throw a ball and was dancing with one of her pillows when Okami came to light the lamps.

"Hatori's in," she said, "but he isn't taking any visitors."

"I can't go and see him?" Tohru asked, hiding the pillow behind her back.

"Afraid not. He usually doesn't talk to many of us when he does come in. The traveling makes him weary."

Tohru's downcast gaze drew a smile of sympathy from Okami. The black-haired woman placed her fingers under the young girl's chin and lifted it until their gazes met: almost black to teal.

"Don't let it get you down," she said, "I know things look terribly bleak right now…you just having lost your mother and being moved to a creepy old place like this that resembles a ghost haunt, but I assure you that Sohma House is quite charming once you get used to it. And maybe someday your uncle will come out of his shell and stop being afraid he'll lose everyone."

A ghost of a smile appeared on Tohru's lips.

"Besides, you've got plenty of others to meet. Before long, you'll have more friends than you'll be able to play with at one time."

"Thanks," Tohru said weakly.

Though her nerves grew more frazzled with the looming darkness, Tohru was more tired than she thought she would be. Kagura came up to bring her dinner and helped her take the silky garments off in exchange for her comfortable white cotton gown. She could hardly stay awake to eat her dinner and was almost asleep by the time Kagura took the tray downstairs. Tonight, she didn't dream of Kyoko, but of the ghost boy. He wandered, transparent and pale, through the house and cried because no one could see him. Sometime in the night, Tohru woke, sure that someone had been standing over her. When her eyes panned around the dark room, however, she saw nothing. It took her a while to go back to sleep after that.

The next morning, Kagura brought breakfast and began to gather up various articles of clothing while Tohru was eating. As it was far too cold to wear a kimono outside, she was bundled up in traditional winter gear. At first, Tohru objected to the many layers, as it made her feel like she was in an oven.

"You won't be singing that tune when you go out there!" Kagura said in an almost sing-song voice, "Just the scarf and the hat left now…there you go!"

She led her downstairs past the noisy kitchen and the chattering staff to the front door.

"Now, to get to the gardens, you follow that little path right there and turn left. My two younger cousins will probably turn up there at some point. If they ride off into the woods like they always do, you can still amuse yourself by exploring the place."

"What if they don't like me?" Tohru couldn't help but ask.

"I'm sure they will. Kyo's a little stand-offish, but you should get along with Yuki quite well—you both hate to trouble people. There are also a great deal of non-humans hanging around that you can make friends with as well. Now, I have to go back inside. If you need anything at all, just come right back in and ask."

And away she went. Tohru stood by herself on the steps, awed at how much larger Sohma house seemed from out here. She did as Kagura said and followed the stone path. One lonely gardener was outside today, his breath emitting in puffs of steam. She left him alone, as he was clearly busy digging a giant hole for something.

By the time she reached the garden, Tohru felt as if she'd been walking forever. Her cheeks were flushed with the cold and her nose stung. Her ears would have burned as well, but she'd tugged her hat down over them to protect them. Walking through a gap between two hedges, she looked around.

The garden was enormous. There were frozen ponds everywhere and trees coated with ice. The whole place seemed to be made out of glass. Icicles shimmered in the scant sunlight that occasionally punched through the thick layers of clouds. Though there was hardly a green thing in here at this time of year, it would probably be even prettier during the spring. Tohru stroked the smooth coating of ice on a small sapling tree, marveling at the effect.

"What is she doing here?!" a voice pierced the silence. Tohru gasped, a frightened jolt running through her body. She turned to see the orange-haired boy sliding down from the top of the fence. He looked quite cross; it certainly didn't help that his eyes were a startling shade of red. She'd never seen such a thing before. The gray-haired boy's face appeared over the top of the fence as he climbed the tree. He was not nearly as agile as the other one was.

"That must be Miss Honda," he said, "Kagura said she would be out here today."

Throwing his leg over, he managed to overcome the fence, but not with the orange-haired boy's deftness.

"Nice to meet you both," she said awkwardly, "my name is Tohru."

"I'm Yuki, and this grouch over here is Kyo," the gray-haired boy said, "we're staying with Kagura for the time being. Kyo's father is away for right now."

"He's not my father," Kyo grumbled, "he just says that so he can boss me around."

"Oh…sorry to hear that," Tohru said, looking down at her shoes, "what happened to your own dad?"

"He didn't want me. But I don't like talking about that, especially to a girl."

"Oh."

"So, Miss Honda," Yuki spoke up, trying to dispel the awkwardness, "how long will you be with us?"

"A long time," Tohru answered, "maybe even forever."

"Forever's a long time," Yuki agreed, "but sometimes that's good. Did they have horses where you lived?"

"I've never ridden one," she confessed, "I saw yours yesterday. They're very pretty."

"They aren't exactly ours, but Hatsuharu and Isuzu are nice enough to let us borrow them," Yuki said, "you can't live in a big place like this and not know how to ride. Come on, we'll show you. You can ride Kyo's pony."

"No way! If you want to teach her so bad, you let her ride yours!" Kyo exploded.

"No, really, I don't want to get in the way," Tohru said sheepishly, obviously flustered that she'd upset him, "I can learn to ride some other time…"

"It's all right," Yuki cut her off in the middle of her growing hysteria, "two people can fit on mine since neither of us is really that big anyway. Let's go."

The two horses were trying to find grass to graze on though most of it had been killed in the first frost. One of them was a dappled gray and the other one was a bright sorrel—it was a reddish brown shade that seemed almost glow in the dim grayish light. Yuki helped her get on the gray one though she was quite nervous—the horse was quite a bit bigger than she was though it was only a pony. Yuki swung into the saddle behind her.

"Get the reins," he instructed her, "and I'll show you what to do."

Kyo mumbled something about how girls were too dumb to get this and Yuki responded by sticking out his tongue. Then, he showed her how to make the horse move forward just by letting the reins slacken and squeezing gently with your knees. Tohru let out a breathless giggle as the horse began to trot.

"It's awfully bumpy," she commented.

"That's because you don't want him to trot. You want to make him gallop like this."

Tohru let out a surprised scream when Yuki shook the reins and the horse surged forward. At first, she was so scared that she closed her eyes and hung on for dear life. When she finally got brave enough to open them, the whole world was surging past. The awkward bumping that the horse had been doing earlier was now a smooth rhythm, almost like music.

"You're not going to beat me, you damn rat!" Kyo urged his own horse forward with a whoop.

"You shouldn't say things like that," Yuki called to him, "first, that's a bad word. Second, you're lying and we know it!"

Tohru giggled, though her laugh was cut short when she saw that they were heading for a fence.

"YUKI!" she yelled frightfully. But the horse didn't stop. Instead, she felt it gathering its strength. As easily as one seemed to breathe, it leapt over the fence and kept going.

"See? He knows what he's doing," Yuki told her, "I think he's showing off for you."

Kyo's horse landed a split second after they did.

"Nice try," he taunted Yuki, "but not good enough."

"Not everything has to be a contest, you dumb cat!"

They started arguing, but upon seeing a black cat dart by, it was quickly forgotten. Curious as to where it was going, they followed it. She grew wary of them since she had hidden her kittens nearby in a hole in one of the stone walls.

"I guess we can't pet them," Tohru said glumly as the cat flattened her ears against her skull and hissed.

"Who says?" Kyo asked, never having been good at taking no for an answer. He walked up to her even though she was growling a warning and touched her. The cat's growling stopped, but she watched him with narrowed eyes.

"I'm not going to hurt them," he assured her. And strangely enough, she seemed to believe him. He even petted the kittens one by one.

"How did he do that?" Tohru asked. Yuki grinned.

"Let's just say that cats are one of the few things that he gets along with better than people," he answered.