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Chapter 2:
The Sohma Family
Kagome just knew that her teacher, Miss Mayu had it out for her because of some unknown reason or she was being really unfair. Mayu sat on top of her desk holding Kagome's latest math test. "I suggest that you get a math tutor Higurashi." Kagome groaned slightly, "I am going to assign you to Yuki Sohma."
"Heck, no!" Kagome said, crossing her arms in front of her chest, "I rather eat dirt then have that guy as my tutor."
Mayu sighed roughly rubbing her forehead as she felt a headache coming on. She knew that Higurashi hated Sohma for some strange reason, however if Kagome did not get a math tutor, she would not graduate. "It doesn't matter if you don't like him or not, either Yuki Sohma is your tutor or you will fail." Mayu offered Kagome her test. Kagome snatched it from her teacher's extended hand and wondered over to Yuki's desk.
"Hey Princely," Yuki Sohma looked up from his desk at Miss Honda's friend Miss Higurashi, "The teacher said that you are to be my new tutor." Kagome put her hands on her hips, waiting for him to answer.
Yuki smiled up at her, "Oh course Miss Higurashi, are you free after school today?'
Kagome thought for a second, "That is fine with me. I have the day off from work and it will be a good time to start."
She began to walk away from him, "Miss Higurashi, how did you?" Kagome knew that Yuki wanted to know about yesterday.
Kagome interrupted him, "I will tell you later." She tucked her hair behind her ear moving away from him towards her friends.
"Autumn has arrived…so let's all play cards!" Tohru suggested during free period. "Dai Hin Min would be perfect!"
"What does Dai Hin Min have to do with autumn?" Kyo asked, lounging in a chair against its desk.
"It's really popular right now!" Tohru told him, letting Hana play with her hair.
"So it has nothing to do with autumn?" Kyo confirmed. It was silent. "Go ask that damn Yuki to play."
"Yuki's not here," Tohru said.
"Good thing too." Kagome said and Tohru sweat-dropped.
"Like I care." Kyo rebutted, causing Kagome to glare him down. It made him twitch.
"You really are out of the loop, aren't you?" Uo noticed. "And probably dumb, too. Oh well, I was looking forward to creaming you," she said. Kyo twitched again. "But if you're going to run away like a coward, I guess I'll just have to—"
"Fine. I accept your challenge!" Kyo said, jumping to his feet. "Just don't start crying when you lose, Yankee," he taunted.
"Like I would!" Uo shouted. She had to come up with something fast to add. "Loser does all of the cleaning," Uo decided.
Hana put her fingertips to her temples. "Oh…what pleasant waves whirling around…"
Kagome smiled, "It is also a wonderful blend of colors swirling."
Tohru smiled hopping in front of her friends. "Let's invite Yuki to play next! I wonder where he went."
Outside of the classroom….
Yuki was talking to another girl in the hallway. "I'm sorry. I'm just not interested in going out with anyone right now," he apologized. The girl hung her head and got teary. "So I can't answer your—"
"No! I don't want to hear it!" She paused, took a step forward, and tried to hug him. "Yuki…"
Yuki put his hands on both sides of her head to restrain her. She was just far away, enough to not be able to wrap her arms around him. "No…um—I," Yuki tried to start saying something.
"Yuki, you're such a nice person—…but some part of you keeps rejecting other people." She backed away.
"Eh?"
"Everyone has noticed! They say 'Yuki is special'. I understand it wouldn't be right to have a normal girl as your girlfriend!" she shouted, irritated. Yuki stared at her without a word. Because…she was…right. Some part of him…was rejecting people.
Inside the classroom….
"Revolution!" Kyo said proudly. He sat back in the chair and smirked. He laid four eights on the table.
"Son of a…" Arisa started, "What kind of trick are you pulling? Rotten punk!" She leaned forward yelling at him.
"It's the damn rules!" Kyo yelled back, banging his fist on the table.
"When you play a 'revolution', the 'rich man' and 'poor man' trade places," Tohru told them, smiling.
"Secret technique…" Hana said quietly. "Counter Revolution." She held up four fours.
Everybody burst out in laughter. "She really got you, Sohma."
"That was great Hana."
"Man, you suck." Kagome said.
"Shut up!" Kyo yelled at the miko.
"Make me cat!" Miko and Cat were staring each other down with fire in their eyes. Yuki was standing in the doorway watching the game. Everybody was together laughing and chatting. They were happy. Kyo hung his head in defeat. Tohru was smiling…They were all there, and he was not. 'Yuki…You are rejecting other people.' Yuki walked away.
Kagome felt a spark of loneliness and she turned to look out the classroom door. No one was there.
"Kagome," she looked up at Tohru with a smile. "Are you busy tonight?"
"Yes actually," Kagome nodded, "Princely is coming over to the house to tutor me in math."
"Oh that's wonderful, maybe you two can become good friends." Tohru said with her hands folded in front of her, she knew that Kagome did not like Yuki but maybe if she got to know him, she might actually like him.
"I highly doubt."
And so…a new banquet begins.
"Aaaaaahh!" Tohru screamed. She was now lying at the bottom of the staircase, and there were books scattered everywhere. Kyo and Yuki shortly followed behind her, each with a pile of books.
"Miss Honda! Are you okay?" asked Yuki.
"I told you, you didn't have to help," Kyo told her.
"Yes," Tohru answered Yuki. "…but Shigure's books…"
Yuki glared at Kyo. "She's only moving those books so we can turn Shigure's library into your room." That's right. They were working on moving all of Shigure's books downstairs from the upstairs. He has a huge collection.
"I didn't ask for her to help." Suddenly, Kyo was pressed to the floor by Yuki's pile of books. "Damn rat!"
"Perhaps if you'd just die, you'd be reincarnated as something more pleasant."
"You're the one with the messed up personality, dammit!"
Tohru held back giggles, and just smiled.
Shigure followed down the steps. He held a stack of books on his shoulder. "Hey, you two! If you have time to fight, you're not working hard enough!"
Yuki walked over to give Tohru his stack of books. It was probably lighter than hers was. Kyo pushed his way out of the pile of books saying, "Damn Yuki, damn Yuki, damn Yuki…" Everyone put their books on the shelves. "Look at that!" Kyo said proudly. "I filled a shelf faster than you!" he said, obviously, to Yuki. "Take that moron!" The books weren't on very neatly, but they were still there.
"Kyo, you're damaging the books!" Shigure held up a scrap of paper angrily.
The doorbell rang. Yuki looked up. "They're here!" Tohru squeaked. Tohru rushed out of the room and to the front door. She pulled the door open. "Welcome! Did you find the house alright?" she asked the visitors. "Let me introduce you all again!" Yuki, Kyo, and Shigure walked in. It's pretty expected, who was standing at the door.
They stood side by side, and Tohru motioned towards them and said, "This is Arisa Uotani and Saki Hanajima! And this is Kagome Higurashi, they're my best friends!" Tohru smiled.
"Sup?" Uo asked with a not-so-happy face. She was wearing a trench coat.
"Hello…" Hana said, expressionless. Gothic attire for her.
Kagome turned her head to the Sohmas, "Hello." She bowed slightly; she was wearing a long blue dress with her hair falling down her back into soft dark locks. "How do you do?"
Yuki and Kyo said nothing. Shigure smiled and welcomed them. "Hello!"
So, how did Uo, Kagome and Hana get here? Well, Tohru asked Shigure, since she was going to be staying here, if she could tell her friends where she was. Shigure told her that it was perfectly fine, as long as she did not tell them about the zodiac spirits. "Thank you so much!" she'd said. He told her that he could not wait to see what kind of people her friends were. Kyo walked in and simply told him. "A Yankee thug, a psychic freak and a miko." Shigure's face dropped, but Tohru explained and everything turned out good.
Tohru also remembered when she gave Uo, Kagome and Hana the news. Uo and Kagome were freaking out. "What? So let me get this straight. You were living in a tent in the woods, but now you're living with Prince Charming and Anger Management boy? Seriously?" Uo yelled.
"And you didn't even let us know about it!" Kagome yelled at Tohru with her hands by her hips with her miko powers flaming. "If those boys have done anything to you then they will get purified!"
Tohru started shaking her head no really fast. "Yes," Tohru said, "I'm sorry for not saying anything about it sooner. There was a lot that happened, but everything's fine now, and they're all really nice people. So there's nothing to worry about."
"This is definitely a bolt out of the blue," Hana said as she munched on some chips, "I wonder how the Prince Yuki Fan Club girls will react when they hear the news."
"Only if you tell them." Kagome said, "Although I would love to see the looks on their faces."
Uo smiled at the thought. "I thought it was strange how you've been spending so much time talking to the Prince and Orange Top lately. Now I understand."
Hana crushed the empty bag of chips loudly, sending several birds soaring into the air. "Perhaps we should have them invite us over," she suggested, "I'd like to see for myself whether or not this is a suitable environment for you to be living."
"Hey, great idea," Uo said with a nod, "Let's check it out right now."
"Wait, if we show up unexpectedly, they might not serve snacks."
Kagome agreed, "Oh, another good point. You're two for two. Okay then, we'll stay over tomorrow night."
"Okay," Tohru mumbled.
And now it's the weekend. Shigure, Kyo, and Yuki turned around from Tohru, Kagome, Arisa, and Hana. "Psst! Are you out of your mind, Shigure?" Kyo asked in a whisper. "I don't think this is a good idea. That Goth girl sees waves or something," he warned. "And the miko can sense stuff."
Shigure shook his head and laughed. Also in a whisper, he said, "Que será será. Everything will be fine," he told them. "Really, Kyo, you worry too much."
"No, Shigure," Yuki disagreed. "You really are out of your mind."
Hana's head turned slowly towards them. "…A dog." she said. Everyone stopped dead except for Hana, Kagome and Arisa. Tohru had just walked in with a tray of snacks and she stopped walking too. "Over there…" Hana said looking by Shigure.
"Eh? Ah! Oh. You're right. Bad dog! You can't come in here!" Shigure said. Yuki and Kyo walked away, and Shigure just stood there still panicking.
"Hey, you're…Shigure, right?" Uo asked. "What do you do to pay the bills around here?"
Shigure calmed and turned to smile at her. "Oh, me? I write. I'm a novelist."
Tohru dropped her tray. "You're a novelist?" she yelled.
"Why are you so surprised?" Uo asked her.
"You never asked, did you?" Kagome asked calmly. She caught the tray for Tohru just a second ago.
"I had no idea," Tohru said quietly. Now that I think of it…he is home during the week. She realized.
Shigure came back from his library. No one noticed that he left to get a book or two. "Yup, that's right. I write these." He tossed a novel onto the table. Everyone gathered to read it. Hana and Tohru just looked at it, while Uo, Yuki, and Kyo glared at it. Kagome was literally freaking out. It was called Summer-Colored Sigh. There was a picture of a woman on the front with long blond hair, and she was crying. The description read: "We can't go back to that summer, but we can always remember…A naughty love story unfolds."
Shigure took a look at the cover, too, and quickly snatched it up and held up Heartthrob by Shigure Sohma. "Oops! Oh, I'm sorry. Wrong one. This. This is the real one!" He held up Summer-Colored Sigh again and said, "This is a book I put out on the lark." He smiled nervously.
Uotani freaked out and yelled, "Doesn't that still mean you wrote that smut?"
Kagome shouted also, "You are such a perv! You better not be going after Tohru."
"That's amazing!" Tohru told him completely ignoring Kagome who just sweat-dropped. She did not care what it was about. It was a book, and Shigure wrote it. That was enough for her to think of it incredible.
Kyo glared at Shigure. "What's so amazing about being a perv?"
Yuki looked at Kyo and said, "For once, I agree with you."
Tohru was still impressed. She walked over to Shigure and said, "To think that I've been this close to a novelist…" Shigure put his hand in an 'L' shape under his chin. That was his little pose.
"Miss Honda, you'd better stop or he'll get a swelled head," Yuki told her.
"Doesn't Shigure already have a swelled head?" Kyo asked.
Shigure laughed awkwardly. "Well enough about me," he said, "Why don't you tell us a little something about yourselves? You could start by telling us how you met Tohru."
"What seriously?" Uo asked.
"I'm sure we'd all like to hear. Right Yuki, right Kyo?"
The boys ignored him. "Uo saved me!" Tohru said. They all looked at her. "Oh yeah," Tohru said, "'Hey pinhead you better not step on those, you-!"
Everyone stared at her. "Wait, let me back up. This one time in middle school, I dropped all my notes in the hall-."
"What have I done," Shigure moaned.
Uo smiled. "Yeah, I remember that," she said, "I guess I could get a little rough back then."
"Back then?" Kyo and Yuki muttered.
"Well you were still a Yankee then," Tohru said, "Weren't you?"
"Right, I started running with them in the fifth grade."
"You always used to wear those masks all the time."
"And I had my eyebrows thinned out wore those long skirts."
"You're forgetting, you do all of those things now, Arisa," Hana said calmly, reading the perverted book Shigure wrote.
"I guess you're right," Uo laughed.
"That's lovely," Shigure smiled, "She's so... how shall I say it? By putting it into words I'm afraid the nobility of it all would only be obscured."
"Of what?" Yuki asked.
"You know, she's so spunky!" Shigure said enthusiastically.
"You sick bastard," Kyo muttered.
"How sad," Hana said, still reading the book, "Love doomed from the start."
"You're reading that?" Kagome asked.
"That silly little thing? Oh I'm flattered!" Shigure said happily, "So what do you think?"
"You don't want to know what I think," Hana mumbled.
"Oh. No?"
"But when is volume two coming out?"
"Look can we just knock it off with the books okay?" Uo muttered.
Kagome sighed. "This seems to be going well," she said sarcastically.
"Yes it does!" Tohru exclaimed.
"Tohru, sarcasm is a foreign language to you."
"Huh?"
"Never mind."
Everyone was silent for a moment. Then Tohru held up her finger. "Oh yeah! I just thought of something really fun!" She started to run out of the room. "Please wait here a minute!" she requested.
She skipped out of the room, leaving the five teenagers and the messed up novelist to themselves. Kagome rested her head on the table and blew some hair out of her face. Her eyes met Yuki's and grinned apologetically. He shrugged as if to say it wasn't a total disaster. Not yet anyway. "So then," Shigure said awkwardly, "Saki, you never did tell us how you meet Tohru?
"Are you sure you're ready to hear?" Hana said darkly.
"Oh, uh, that's okay as long as you're friends now," Shigure mumbled nervously, "That's what's important!"
"We were in middle school," Hana continued anyway, "and I was transferred into Tohru's class."
"Ah," Shigure whispered, "Is that so?"
"Yes, you see at my previous school, I had caused something of a disturbance."
The boys froze in terror. Yuki looked back at Kagome, giving her a look that begged for help. "Uh, Hana, maybe you shouldn't tell them," Kagome tried.
"How about you Kagome?" Shigure asked not sure what she would say.
"Well," Kagome said setting her tea on the table. "Before I met Tohru I was sick a lot, but I also traveled too with some of my other friends." She paused and Hana looked at her. "When I had to come home I didn't want to and I haven't seen them since. I was not myself for weeks until I came back. I got kicked out of my last middle school and I transferred into Tohru's class. I didn't want to be friends with anyone again but Tohru, Hana and Uo helped me when I needed someone most and now I have always been friends with them."
"Well," Shigure said nervously, "That is a wonderful story isn't it? But I just remembered I had some work to do, so if you kids will excuse me."
No one said anything until Tohru was out of hearing distance. "Hmph. That Tohru..." Hana started. Kyo and Yuki looked over. "…looks like she's pretty used to living here." She picked up Summer-Colored Sigh and started to read.
"I'm glad…" Uo said. "And I understand why she was worried about telling us. But...we swore on Kyoko's grave that we would look out for Tohru. Maybe that wouldn't be a big deal for some people, but Tohru was our first friend. We love her." She paused to think.
Kagome took a turn to say something, "There have been plenty of times when she stuck up for us. So this time, not having a chance to return the favor, it's a big deal for us." Uo looked to her, and so did Hana. "We didn't know...that Tohru was suffering all by herself." She sighed. "Some friends we are. We really let her down."
For a minute, the room said nothing. After a while, Kyo looked down and said, "She wouldn't worry about stuff like that."
Hana looked up from her book and at the two boys while the other girls looked up at her. "Miss Honda …isn't the type to see her life…as a glass half empty," Yuki said. Hana looked at him, and so did Uo while Kagome just sighed.
Just then, Tohru burst back into the room. "Sorry for the wait!" she apologized. "Let's get started!" Tohru said excitedly. She held up a deck of playing cards. "Dai Hin Min!"
Yuki smiled. Hana put down Shigure's book and said, "That's a great idea Tohru."
"A continuation of our last match?" Uo asked with an evil smile towards Kyo. "Excellent. I'll destroy you again, Orangey."
Kyo glared at her. "Keep talking, punk. If I win, you dye your hair black!" Uo's hair is naturally blond. That didn't bother her and she accepted.
"Fine. If you lose, bleach your hair some more so it turns white," Uo challenged.
"This is my natural color!" Kyo argued.
"Oh…is it…?"
Tohru turned to Yuki. "Yuki, will you cut the deck?" she asked with a bright smile.
"Eh? Uh…Oh. Okay," he said. He tucked a lock of his silver hair behind his ear.
During all of this, Shigure was talking on the phone. "Yes, yes, fine, I'll go over there sometime tomorrow." He paused. "Yes…" he said slowly. Another pause. "Tohru's friends are visiting." Small pause. "Sounds like they're having fun." He smiled.
Uo jumped to her feet. "You bastard! Why don't I teach you a lesson?"
Kyo jumped to his. "I'd like to see you try, bitch!"
"Uo sit down before you have a headache." Kagome said casually putting her cards down.
"Cheap nothing! That's fair game! You're the one playing tricks, Yankee!"
They glared at each other. "Next time you pull that crap, I'm going to light you up!" Uo shouted.
"Go ahead and try! It'll be the dumbest thing you ever did! I'll take you out!"
He stood up and started to leave. "Oh yeah?" Uo challenged, standing in the way of the door, "Some tough guy! You're running away!"
"Who's running? I'm going to the bathroom!"
"Aww, got to take a leak?"
"What's it to you?"
"Better hurry, we don't want you to piss yourself."
"Dammit, you got to foul mouth!"
He tried to get past her but she ran into him on accident. There was a puff of orange smoke and Kagome, Tohru and Yuki gasped. Finally, the smoke cleared and they all looked around. Kyo was nowhere to be found. "Something wrong Miss Uotani?" Yuki asked innocently.
Uo blinked. "Uh, no," she said quietly, still trying to find Kyo.
The little lump under Kyo's clothes moved slowly. The orange cat crawled out without Uo seeing him and ran out the back door. "Well, that's good," Yuki said, "Because it sounded like things were getting pretty heated there for a moment."
Kagome laughed nervously. "I know," Tohru suggested, "Until Kyo gets back from the bathroom why don't we all play a quick game of Sevens?"
"Uh, sure let's play," Uo agreed.
She started to sit back down but she slipped on some of Kyo clothes. "Uo!" Tohru exclaimed, jumping up to catch the girl.
Unfortunately she tripped on Kyo's clothes too. "Miss Honda, look out," Yuki exclaimed, trying to catch her.
There was a poof of pink smoke and Yuki disappeared. Tohru landed with a thud on the ground. The tiny gray rat crawled out from under her and sprinted to the exit. Hana, Kagome and Uo were too busy fussing over Tohru to notice. Tohru quickly grabbed Yuki's clothes and stuffed them under the table. "Are you hurt at all?" Hana asked.
"No," Tohru said, "I'm alright."
She sat up and looked around. "I guess Yuki went... to get some snacks! Yeah, that's where he went. Heh heh."
She smiled innocently at her confused friends. Meanwhile, under the deck outside, Kyo and Yuki glared at each other. "Stupid cat!"
"Damn rat!"
The four girls sat around the staring at the cards, waiting for the boys to come back. "Well Orange Top sure is taking his time," Uo said, "And the Prince seems to be having some trouble finding the snacks."
"You're right," Hana said, "I wonder where our kind hosts have run off to."
"For the love of-! We can't even start this game of Sevens, you know?"
Kagome sighed and looked up. She gasped in surprise as a little orange cat paw reached above the deck, trying to grab the clothes on the floor. She looked at Tohru who was watching the paw nervously. "A cat," Hana said suddenly.
Kagome bit her lip. Just as Hana was about to turn around, Shigure rushed into the room. "Oh, you're playing Sevens, right?" he asked conversationally, blocking the cat paw from Hana's view, "That sounds like fun! Think you have room for one more?"
"Well if it isn't the master novelist," Uo said, "You any good at this game?"
Shigure laughed. "Well, you should know, in the old days they used to call me the Sevens Bandit," he said.
"Oh really!" Tohru exclaimed, "That's incredible!"
"I'll say. It's a lie." Uo muttered.
"But enough about me," Shigure said, sitting down at the table, "Let's get to playing shall we? So what are the rules?"
Suddenly there was a boom sound as Kyo changed back to normal. Kagome, Tohru, and Shigure jumped. "You guys hear that?" Uo asked, "It sounded like some kinda boom."
"There was a definite boom," Hana agreed.
This is not good! Tohru thought, I think Kyo just changed back to normal!
Unless we do something, those two are going to see him, Shigure though frantically, and what's worse, he'll be naked!
Tohru reached for Yuki's clothes. I know! For now I'll just throw him Yuki's clothes! Maybe no one'll notice!
It doesn't matter! Anything to cover him up! Shigure grabbed Yuki's clothes just as Tohru did. He tried to throw the clothes that Tohru was holding onto out the door, but he was not expecting to throw a girl along with them. Why is this so heavy? He thought.
He looked up just in time to see Tohru crash into him. In a pool of blue smoke, Shigure had turned into a dog. Uo and Hana turned around while Kagome buried her face in her hands. Tohru blinked as the smoke disappeared and she saw that she was hugging a dog. Her three friends stared at her curiously. "Woof," Shigure said.
"Ah!" Tohru said, hugging the black dog tighter, "I thought you'd run away! I'm so happy you're back, uh... Spot!"
Spot? Shigure and Kagome thought.
"Arf! Arf!"
"That's odd," Hana said, "It appears we've run out of snacks. I'll go find the kitchen."
She stood up and turned around. But as she started walking towards the kitchen, Kyo, who had grabbed his clothes and was now fully dressed, bumped into her. With another explosion of orange, he changed back into the cat. Kagome cussed under her breath and Tohru groaned. Shigure jumped to his feet. Oh no! He thought, Kyo just change back and the idiots already transformed again! Okay, I've got to cause a diversion!
He ran around the room, barking frantically as Kyo hit the ground with a thud and ran back out the door. Poof! Oh no! Not Yuki too! Shigure grabbed Yuki's clothes in his mouth and tossed them out the door. They were all quiet for a moment. "That's weird," Uo said finally, "I swear I saw Orange Top in here. Ah!"
Shigure ran over and started barking in her face. "I think Spot's trying to tell us he's hungry," Yuki said, finishing buttoning up his shirt, "Don't you?"
"Yes!" Tohru agreed, "That must be it! Here, come on boy; let's go to the kitchen, Spot."
"Tohru, wait," Hana said.
Tohru froze. "Some more snacks," Hana asked, "If you don't mind."
The time went on, but unfortunately, Yuki was about to walk into the kitchen and Tohru accidentally bumped into him. Yet another explosion of smoke and Yuki flew into the air along with all the jelly buns. "Miss Honda!" he whispered frantically,
"Oh no!" Tohru mumbled under her breath, "Yuki!"
"Help!" the little rat begged.
"But you're mixed in with all of the jelly buns! I can't tell where you are!"
"Here, Miss Honda!" Yuki said, waving to get her attention.
"Where? Where are you?"
"Here!"
"Let's see, jelly bun... jelly bun... jelly bun... ah! Yuki!"
She reached out toward the rat. "Wait Miss Honda!" Yuki said, "That not me! That's a jelly bun!"
She grabbed the jelly bun out of midair and squished it to hard all the jelly came out. Kagome really didn't want to see Yuki become a pancake, she needed him to pass her math course. She could tell it was Yuki by the color of his aura and she dove for him. She reached forward and grabbed the rat just before he hit the ground. She quickly hid him behind her back. "Can't... breath!" Yuki gasped.
Kagome immediately slackened her grip. "Sorry," she whispered.
Everyone stared at Tohru, still holding her swooshed jelly bun. "Hey, Tohru, nice catch!" Uo praised.
"Arf!"
"Though most of them still fell," Hana said.
Kagome let go of Yuki who fell onto Shigure's head. Kagome sighed silently as she started picking up the jelly buns. "Arisa," Hana warned, "You're about to step on-"
Just then, Shigure ran by with Yuki and picked Kyo up in his mouth. He rushed out the back door and into the bushes. "Yeah, about to step on what?" Uo asked.
"An orange cat, with clothes tied around its neck."
Tohru gasped and Kagome dropped the jelly buns she was holding. "Being carried in the mouth of a dog, who went that way?" Hana pointed to the bushes and they all looked out. Shigure, Kyo, and Yuki were standing outside, the bushes blocking from the waist down. Shigure was rubbing his back with a pair of jeans. "One two! One two!" he chanted, "Nothing gets the blood flowing like a rub down with a dry towel! One two! One two!"
"Idiot." Yuki muttered.
"Oh boy." Kagome said.
Yuki on the other hand couldn't believe Kagome helped him out; perhaps he should thank her later.
That night, Tohru, Hana, Kagome and Uo were all sitting on Tohru's bed, chatting. Yuki was in his room reading about gardening, and Kyo was in his room. "Ack…my throat hurts from yelling so much," Uo complained. She held her throat.
"You shouldn't have yelled then." Kagome said as she brushed Hana's hair, Kagome was in a black silk nightgown with her hair down as well.
"I ended up losing again," Tohru said with a smile. Nothing could bring her down, it seems.
"Still…you have a nice bed," Hana told Tohru.
"Shigure bought it for me."
"He's acting like an old man with his first grandkid…" Uo said, disgust crossing her face and taking her expression.
Kyo walked out of his bedroom and into the hallway. He heard Uo say, "Huh? Tohru…you still have this hat?"
"Yes, it has sentimental value."
"Really? How come?" Hana asked. Kyo decided to stand outside the door and listen to what she said. He might just know what this hat was.
"That's right," Tohru said. "I haven't told you about it, have I?" she smiled and picked up the red cap. She clutched it to her chest. "One day when I was six, some boys were chasing me and I was really scared. I kept running away from them and got lost. But I was scared of the boys finding me, so I hid." Kyo's eyes widened behind the door. "I stayed there all night, crying and crying…In the morning, a boy appeared in front of me wearing this hat. He stared at me for a while and ran off. I couldn't help myself—I had to follow him." She saw her memory. She was running after him, begging him not to leave, to wait for her. "I tripped. I could not catch up with him. I just got up and started running after him again. Several times, I thought I'd lost him. But each time, he would wait for me. He was a mysterious boy. Then I realized…" she paused. "…that he had led me home. I went to thank him, but I could not find him anywhere. The only proof that he was even ever there was the hat he gave me," Tohru explained.
Kyo stared at the door. He knew something. He knew. "What a wonderful memory," Kagome said.
Uo laughed. "It would be an even better story if you met him again and fell in love!"
Tohru laughed, too. "I'll never see him again." Kyo knew.
"You never know, it's a small world."
"You're right. Well, if I did meet him, I'd want to thank him." Tohru paused. "Of course, by now, he's probably forgotten all about it." Kyo did not know that one. He walked away. He had heard enough. Too many memories.
Tohru sighed. "In a way…that boy was my first love."
"You poor girl." Uo said.
"You've had a tough time ever since you were little, huh?" Hana assumed.
"That's not true at all!" Tohru said with a laugh. "I'm always being reminded of how lucky I've been. I get to live with the Sohmas…my mother loved me very much…and I have the three best friends in the world… she said. Uo leaned back onto the pillow while Hana and Tohru stayed sitting up. Kagome was sitting at the end of the bed. "…who are always there for me," Tohru continued her last thought, "…you three…have been such a support to me. I love my life, and I love you both." Tohru clasped her hands.
Uo had the boys' words run through her head. "She wouldn't see it that way," and "She isn't the type to see her life…as a glass half-empty."
"They understand," Uo said. Tohru looked over.
"Eh?"
Hana smiled. "Yes…Tohru is that kind of person." Hana read Uo's mind. Literally. "The person who focuses on what she has and not what she's missing." The kind of person who treasures being where she was now. Kagome smiled as all of them lay down on the bed, but during the night, she got up and went down the stairs to get some water.
"Kagome," she turned her head to see Shigure standing in the kitchen door. "Can't sleep?"
"Yes, just getting something to drink? Would you like some?" he nodded yes and she handed me a drink of water.
"So you know?" He asked.
"Yes it wasn't that hard to figure out."
"You know that the head of the family will need to know."
"I don't care, do as you like but rest assured that if something happens to Tohru then all of your family will pay the price." Kagome turned away from him and walked up the stairs but turned back to him, "It was because of her that I am happy again, and if something happened to her." Kagome wiped a tear coming from her eye and ran back up the stairs leaving the dog of the zodiac smiling. That's a friend.
The next morning, Kyo was in the kitchen drinking milk from the carton. His collar on his shirt was undone. In fact, he always left it undone. He hated anything around his neck, like a cat. Yuki was wandering around the kitchen, half-asleep.
"Hey, Yuki." Kyo said. He walked towards him. Yuki was just looking at him. "You…you…that is…" Kyo said confusedly. Yuki said nothing. Yuki's head fell onto Kyo's shoulder. Definitely half-asleep. Yuki never had great mornings.
Tohru walked in. "Yuki isn't a morning person is he?"
"Wake up, dammit!" Kyo shouted in his ear. Yuki slowly lifted his head, and wandered around. He was completely trapped in his little world at the moment.
"But, I'm impressed, Kyo," Tohru said. Kyo looked at her. "Even though you wanted to hit him, you wouldn't attack him in his sleep!"
Kyo turned away. "That's not quite it." He had already tried that once before. "He's even stronger in his sleep." His carton of milk was empty now, and he crumpled it by clenching his fist. "And that means that he's always been going easy on me!" Kyo's voice got louder. "He's thick-skinned and cold-blooded. He doesn't even have to try!" he yelled. "I hate that damn ra—"
Yuki punched him in the face, remembering that Tohru's friends were over and they couldn't say things like that, and Kyo fell to the floor. Kyo didn't remember that, obviously. "Hey!" Kyo yelled. "Weren't you asleep?"
"Your stupid voice woke me up," Yuki said. Tohru picked up the trash can and threw away the empty milk carton.
"Fine, dammit," Kyo said. He jumped up to his feet. "See if I care! But I'm taking you down one of these days, you hear me? I won't stop until I defeat you!"
Yuki stood next to Tohru with his arms crossed. "What are you babbling about this early in the morning?" Yuki and Tohru saw Hana and Uo in the doorway.
"A cat and a mouse…" Hana said slowly. "That's what they're like." Tohru, Yuki, and Kyo were frozen. "See? They're always fighting. Wasn't there a cartoon like that?" Hana asked Uo.
"Tom and Jerry?" Uo guessed.
Oh yeah, they're here, Kyo finally remembered. Tohru stood still with a nervous smile.
"You two don't get along, do you?" Uo asked Yuki.
"Um…well," Yuki said shakily.
"Still, it seems like this house it pretty fun," Hana said. "If anyone had hurt Tohru…I was thinking of all the things that I would do to them," she paused. "Yes. All of them."
"What things?" Kyo and Yuki asked nervously.
"But, you two…" Hana continued. "…your waves are different, but they're good waves.
"Huh?" They both asked.
'Your auras are different as well but they are not sinister." Kagome said as she walked into the kitchen.
"Oh, you didn't realize? That's good too."
Both Uo and Hana leaned on Tohru a little, one of them on either side of her and Kagome wrapped her arms around her chest in the back.. "Well, all right boys," Uo said. "We're counting on you to take care of one thing and one thing only—"
"…our little Tohru," Hana finished for her.
"I hope you do a good job." Kagome said.
Tohru's eyes got teary. "Uo…Hana…Miko."
Kyo and Yuki were thinking the same thing. It's like they're giving her away to be married…
Uo and Hana began to walk out the door. "We'll come by again soon," Uo said. "Now let's get breakfast," she suggested to Hana.
"Yes, breakfast," Hana quietly replied to Uo. Then she called back, "Yes, I'd like to further investigate the strange waves coming from the Sohma house."
"Hey, hey, hey!" Kyo shouted at her. "I don't know about having women around so much," he added once Uo and Hana were gone.
Kagome turned to the stove, picked up an apron and pulled her hair back. She started were Tohru left off. Tohru clasped her hands and said, "Oh, I promise I'll be careful with your secret! Uo, Miko and Hana are really, really good people, so…so…um—"
"Dammit, just do what you want," Kyo said.
"They're your friends Miss Honda," Yuki told her. Tohru smiled at both of them.
"Where's Shigure?" Tohru asked.
"I think he went out," Yuki guessed.
"Well I might as well get started on breakfast." All of them turned around to see Kagome working at the stove.
"I hope you are hungry boys, with all of your energy you will need it."
"Oh Miko you don't have to do that." Tohru said but Kagome stopped her.
"You are working too hard and I love to cook besides I have been dying to cook something." Kagome said and she turned to them. "Don't worry your secret is safe with me." She smiled.
"Kagome you know?" Tohru asked and all three of them smiled enviously. This was going to take a while.
"Yup." Kagome turned away. "You know I am a miko so I have seen this kind of thing before." Tohru nodded as Yuki went over to Kagome.
"Miss Higurashi?"
"Yes?" she turned to him.
"Thank you…for yesterday." She looked at him with a confused face but then smiled at him.
"No problem…princely."
It's the beginning of a new banquet. Wherever the journey may lead…
"Since Tohru came, Yuki and Kyo have matured," Shigure informed Akito. Shigure had stopped by the main Sohma house to chat with Akito Sohma, the head of the family. "I would like to see them continue in that direction. Of course, knowing you, you probably think the whole plans doomed to fail." Shigure looked over at him. He was lying down on the floor. "I feel sorry for you…Tohru is a dozen times a better person that you are."
Akito said nothing a moment. "I am well aware of when my glass is half empty," Akito told him.
"Oh Akito, there is something we must talk about…"
"What is it?"
"It is about Tohru's friend Kagome Higurashi…"
Whether good or ill will comes out of this adventure…even God doesn't know.