This was the chapter that wouldn't end... It just kept going and going and by the time I was done I had 2 chapters! It might be a while to till I get back to this one, but hopefully this extra long update will tide people over. Hope you enjoy them! Next up is a new chapter of Spotted!

- Merrow

Tooru had never been so glad for a weekend to be over. By Monday morning she'd been cosseted and 'helped' enough to cover her for the next couple of years. Hatori had left Saturday morning. He'd politely refused to wait for Tooru to make him another bento, claiming he had work to do. It was another missed chance and the weekend had gone downhill from there.

Giving her batch of cookie dough one last stir, she let out a powerful sigh she'd been holding back all weekend. She really, really, really appreciated that Kyou, Yuki and Shigure were just trying to help. She understood that Hatori had been worried about her and he'd just thought he'd been doing the right thing in prompting the others to do more
around the house. She covered the dough with a cloth and set it in the refrigerator to chill while she was at school. She'd bake them when she got home. She'd figured that making cookies "for fun" gave her a good excuse to re-clean the kitchen. She put her hands on her hips and looked around the kitchen, now tidy after a weekend of hard use and half-hearted maintenance by the Souma men.

The problem was if she got much more 'help' like she had this weekend she thought she
was just going to... well, she didn't know what, but it wouldn't be good she was sure. She suspected she'd be making a lot of cookies in the following days.

It had started out with Yuki making a list of all the household chores for them to split up and share duties on. She'd tried insisting it wasn't necessary. After all, wasn't the reason she was able to stay here because she was doing those things? Shigure had just smiled and given her a choice, share her duties or take a wage and quit her other job. Just the thought of it made Tooru whip out a dishrag and start to clean the counter again. Take a wage! She couldn't! She shoved it out of her mind violently.

She had to admit that even she'd been a little surprised when Yuki had finished writing out all of her chores. She really didn't feel like she was doing that much. She just did the wash, the ironing, vacuuming, dusting, cleaned the bathrooms, once a week did Shigure's and the boys' rooms, the cooking, the dishes, the shopping, random mending that came up, she tended the lawn a little... washed the windows and floors now and then...really, not that much. Sometimes time got a little tight between working, the chores, and her homework, but she'd always managed just fine. She closed her eyes and sighed. At least she'd thought she'd been coping fine, but apparently not if they all thought she couldn't handle it.

"Maybe," She'd suggested as Yuki, Kyou and Shigure looked at the list in bafflement, "Well, maybe it would be best if I kept doing my chores until Yuki-kun, Shigure-san and Kyou-kun decide what chores they'd like to do? I don't mind." She added as she saw all three faces darken.

"Tooru-kun." Shigure said shaking his head and waving a hand. "You never should have been doing this all on your own to begin with. We wouldn't be men if we let you continue to exhaust yourself."

"Whose fault is that, damn lazy dog... never saw you volunteer to help out." Kyou muttered.

"Baka neko, I've never seen you jump up to help either." Yuki said coldly.

"And you have?" Kyou asked slamming his hands on the table.

"I've helped dry the dishes!" Yuki shot back hotly.

"And how many did you break that time, Kuso Nezumi!" Kyou said triumphantly. "Damn Rat is hopeless at this house crap."

"Mmmm..." Shigure said agreeably, "Its true that our Yuki-kun has never been what we could call domestically inclined." He picked up the list, ignoring the darkness emanating from Yuki towards his direction. "What tasks can he be entrusted with?"

"I'll do the cooking." Kyou said smirking at Yuki, "We'd all die if we left it to him." He jerked a thumb at the Yuki-shaped black hole.

"Um..." Tooru said hesitantly and all eyes went back to her. She could see themselves gearing up to disagree with whatever she was about to say. "I really don't mind doing the cooking." She continued quickly before they could protest. "I like it, I really do! When it was just mother and I, I always did all of the cooking. I really enjoyed picking out recipes to try. My favorite classes in home-ec have always been when we do cooking. And, and now, with so many more to feed, it's really fun to think up new things to make. And all my cookbooks will go to waste if I don't cook-"

"Okay, fine!" Kyou said slapping the table again. "Shut up about it already!" He jabbed a finger in her direction. "But don't think you're cooking on your days off."

Tooru took a deep breath, her chest was heaving like she'd run a marathon. She expected they would be eating a lot of baked fish and curry on Thursday nights. They'd probably have onigiri for breakfast... She couldn't imagine him cheerily making bentos so they'd probably have to buy lunch. "Okay." She said grudgingly, wondering if she made lunches the night before her day off if that would count.

The rest of the chores had been parceled out in a similar fashion and Yuki made a clever chart to hang in the kitchen. Shigure would do the shopping. Yuki would do the dusting and vacuuming. Kyou would cook some, and help with the wash and ironing. They'd all take turns cleaning the bathrooms and everyone would take care of their own rooms. Yuki would take over tending the lawn, and Kyou would mend any thing inside the house. Shigure would help with the windows.

"Oi!"

Yuki looked over his shoulder and stepped back from where he'd hung small piece of poster-board. Tooru looked over the little chart, written in Yuki's neat hand. Her name was on top, followed by Yuki's, Shigure's and then-

"Kuso Nezumi!" Kyou snatched the black marker out of Yuki's hand and blacked out where Yuki had written "Baka Neko." He squeezed his name in, and threw the marker on the kitchen counter top.

"Typical cat." Yuki said as he walked back into the next room. "So fussy."

"You're the fussy one!" Kyou said grabbing at his shoulder. "Always in your fancy clothes, making that idiot," He jerked his head towards Tooru, standing in the doorway of the kitchen, "iron every night."

Yuki flushed red. "Sorry I don't like to dress like a common slob!"

"I'll show you a common slob!" Kyou spat and threw a punch. The rat smoothly dodged it, turning and deflecting his arm into the screen door.

"Aaaah... Already!" Shigure sighed from the table. He saw Tooru dart into the hall closet for repair materials. "Remember that you have to fix it this time, not Tooru-kun, Kyou!" He waved his hand like an old man. "Maybe now that you're taking more responsibility you'll stop breaking my house!"

Kyou snatched the pot of glue and paper out of Tooru's hands. He quickly and sloppily fixed the screen ignoring the presence of the others in the room. He stomped over to the chart and added a check for 'chore accomplished' for the week under the heading 'house repairs.' In theory there should be a check under most chores by the end of the week, and at least one for each chore by the end of the month.

She'd woken early today so she'd a head start before the others woke. She put a little check next to breakfast, lunch and dinner for today. At least, she thought that was what she marked. Honestly, she thought the chart was a little confusing. But Yuki had been so proud of it she'd been unwilling to say anything. She'd just vacuumed on Friday so she marked that off for the week so Yuki would know not to do it again. She marked off the wash for the same reason, and then the ironing as well after realizing that everything had been put away.

"Oi! What are you doing up?" Tooru jumped and looked guiltily behind her at Kyou looming in the doorway.

"Oh, well, I guess I'm just used to waking up early." She hedged. She'd gone through this on Sunday. One of the first things Hatori had decreed that on days she was supposed to work she wasn't supposed to get up before at least six-thirty. Supposedly, since she wouldn't be doing all her chores before school she could afford sleep in longer. Also, he'd wanted her on weekends to 'rest up' and not get up as early as she did on the weekdays. She'd gotten up at her usual time out of habit and had been nosily sent back by Kyou, who woke up Yuki and Shigure in the process.

Tooru had guiltily slunk back upstairs as Shigure had sleepily waved to her from the doorway of his study. She lay atop of the covers of her bed and listened to Yuki and Kyou arguing downstairs until it ended in a noisy crash. When she dared go downstairs again an hour later she wasn't surprised to see another check under 'home repairs.'

It was the nasty surprise she'd found in the kitchen that she hadn't been prepared for. With her in bed and being up themselves they'd evidently decided to make their own breakfasts. Tooru was quite sure they'd used about half the dishes in the house to do so. She'd started cleaning up, but Yuki had discovered her halfway through and sent her out of the kitchen to twiddle her thumbs under Kyou's watchful eyes.

Having learned her lesson on Saturday, she'd waited until he'd finished doing the dishes before sneaking in and giving them a proper cleaning. Did he not see the flecks of soap and food still on the dishes? Couldn't he feel the grease? She also checked the garbage to see how many he'd broken this time. She sighed when she saw her favorite teacup in the trash. She gently picked it out, it was broken in 3 large pieces and easily fixable. She'd squirreled it up to her room and added super glue to the shopping list.

Now she warily looked at Kyou waiting to see what he'd decide to do. Would he send her back to bed again? This time she was fully dressed in her school uniform. She was prepared to explain how it would wrinkle if she lay down.

Kyou looked at her and considered his options as he walked over to the fridge and pulled out a bottle of water. It was only six and it was obvious she'd been up for a while. She was working after school so she was supposed to still be in bed. He glanced at the counter, she'd made their lunches already and there was something covered and ready for dinner tonight. She had all the fixings out for breakfast. There really wasn't much use in sending her back to bed; it wasn't like she would actually sleep. And he was tired of eating cereal.

He felt a little guilty for letting his stomach decide so he barked, "Well you better start getting used to waking up later!"

"Yes!" Tooru smiled, relieved that she wasn't going to have to argue. "I promise." She turned to the stovetop. "I'll start breakfast if Kyou-kun wants to go out for his run."

"Alright." Kyou said feeling disgruntled. He looked around; this was the kind of thing Hatori had talked about. He should probably be doing something to help. "Um. Do you need any help?"

Tooru froze. It had only been one weekend and she'd already learned to dread those words. "Oh no!" She rushed to say, "I've got everything taken care of!"

"I... uh, could make some onigiri." He said moving towards the rice cooker.

Tooru turned, a forgotten spatula held up in front of her like a weapon. "No! That's ok!" She said quickly positioning herself in front of the rice cooker. "I've got natto and fish, and some miso soup!" She watched Kyou's face fall but wanted to make sure they didn't have the same problem they'd had on Saturday. He'd insisted on making lunch and had made enough onigiri that they'd had it as a side dish for dinner too. He'd used up so much rice that she'd had to add it to the shopping list.

"Oh...Ok..." Kyou said, scratching behind an ear. "Um... I guess I'll go for my run then..." He set down the now empty water bottle in the sink.

Tooru smiled and relaxed, taking a moment to rinse out the bottle and add it to the recyclables. "Thank you for offering, Kyou-kun." He still looked a little disappointed. She looked around for something harmless for him to do. "Um... Maybe Kyou-kun could put out the burnable trash? It's being collected this morning."

Kyou's eyes lit up but he didn't want to look too eager. "Che, I suppose... It's on my way I guess." He grabbed up a bag of garbage from under the kitchen sink and started out the door.

"Oh! Not that one." She hurried over and pulled out the bag marked burnable and took the non-burnable bag from him. "Here." She smiled.

Kyou flushed red and took it quickly. "Mark it better next time!" He blustered and left as quickly as he could.

Tooru heard Shigure give a sleepy hello to Kyou as he went out and could hear Yuki beginning to stir upstairs. She hurried to get breakfast started before anyone else offered to 'help.'

:0:0:0:

Tooru looked at the clock and frowned. It was only six o'clock. She kept trying to sleep later but it just wasn't working. At five-thirty every morning, alarm or no alarm her eyes popped open, ready to start the day. She'd really, really tried today to sleep later. It was Thursday, her first "day off".

She wondered how her life could have changed so much in such a short amount of time. She reviewed yesterday in her mind as she tried to wait the half hour before she could officially get up. She had rushed out of school waving a cheery goodbye to Uo-chan and Hana-chan. She waited till she got out of sight before really beginning to run. She had to make it to the store before she went to work. She'd sent Shigure out with the shopping list on Monday. She'd come home from school to discover he'd been unable to find half the items on the list and the ones he'd managed to find he'd either bought the wrong brand, not enough, or just the wrong thing all together.

He'd apologized, suavely and profusely, and asked if maybe they could go together the next time. Tooru promised they would, but she still needed to get things before he'd be available. He'd offered to send Mii-chan but Tooru had politely declined. She couldn't imagine what Shigure would do to help 'convince' his editor to do his shopping. He'd assured her that she'd done it for him in the past, but Tooru didn't want to be responsible for putting Mii-chan to any extra trouble.

So instead she'd decided that she had time before work, and she just barely had time to get all the essentials before rushing out to her job. It wasn't until she got to work to wonder how she'd explain it to Yuki when he came to pick her up that night. She decided that she'd carry her work clothes home for a wash. She hid the groceries in that.

Tooru had discovered a secret reservoir for subterfuge inside herself. She had always been able to smile when she'd rather not, and she'd been using that skill quite a lot in the past few days. She'd also been teaching herself how to walk lightly and how to work quickly. She'd gotten used to waking up early and doing chores in secret for a couple of hours before sneaking back up to her room to 'sleepily' emerge at six-thirty.

She'd started keeping a mental checklist as a mirror to Yuki's chart. As she saw the men of the household put a check on the chart, she'd put a mental check on her chart knowing where her next job lay. If Shigure had marked that he'd cleaned the bathroom, she knew to go in and take care of the things he missed or skipped over completely. It was the same with all the tasks. She knew that they were trying, and trying hard. She appreciated that. She truly and honestly appreciated everything they were trying to do.

Only... Only it would be so much easier if they'd just let her do it herself the right way the first time. She'd even snuck into their rooms to steal their clothes to secretly iron them. When Kyou did the wash he just put everything away still half wet. She couldn't stand seeing them walking around in wrinkled clothes, even if they didn't seem to notice.

She sighed and decided that it was close enough to six-thirty for her to get up. She went slowly through her morning routine, wondering how she'd fill her time before school. She went down the stairs feeling like something was out of place. She walked into the kitchen. It was dark and quiet. She frowned.

Kyou was supposed to be making breakfast. That's what was missing. There was no sign of life in the house. Kyou always was up at six, she was sure she'd heard him go downstairs as she'd lain in bed. He must've gone out for his usual run. If he started breakfast when he got back, it wouldn't be finished in time. She checked the rice-cooker. Perhaps he'd been planning to cook the rice while he ran? It was empty. She glanced around the kitchen. It didn't look like he'd prepared anything at all!

She bit her lip wondering what she should do. It was supposed to be her day off, but surely it couldn't hurt to cook a little rice. Kyou and she could make onigiri when he got back. Decision made, she pulled out the rice and poured out enough to make onigiri for four. She set the rice to cook and looked around. At a loss she went and got out the plates and set the table. As she was set out the chopsticks she remembered that the pickles in the fridge were starting to age. They'd make a good compliment to the onigiri, so she might as well put out a dish of them. Before she knew it she had started some miso soup, and was halfway through preparing some bento lunches for the three of them.

"What the hell do you think you're doing!"

Tooru jumped and almost spilled the rice she was paddling out of the rice-cooker. She looked over her shoulder and Kyou and pasted on a huge smile. "Good Morning!" she chirped.

"Don't give me 'Good Morning!' You're not supposed to be cooking today!" Kyou said angrily. He mopped the back of his neck and looked at all the work she'd done guiltily. Shigure and the stupid rat would never let him live this down.

"Oh, well." Tooru said looking to the side as if she was thinking. "I know, but I didn't have anything to do... and I realized the pickles would go bad if we didn't use them soon and I didn't think Kyou knew that. And, I didn't know if there would be time for the rice to cook and cool after Kyou's run so I thought I would just get it started..." She shrugged as if the rest of what she was made was somehow justified.

Kyou hadn't even thought about how much time the rice would take to cook. And he never would have thought to cook miso soup or serve the pickles to go along with it. Onigiri sounded much more appetizing with all that.

"I was thinking..." Tooru said hesitantly starting to shape her first onigiri. "Of making a few extra for lunch, and maybe some salad..."

Kyou chewed at the inside of his cheek. He knew, knew, that he should send her out of the kitchen immediately. It was supposed to be her day off, and he was supposed to be doing the cooking. But he hadn't even thought of making lunches, he figured they'd just buy. Her version sounded much better.

"I'll get out the boxes." He grumped and went to pull them out. He insisted on helping, but that pretty much just amounted to him following her directions. He sliced the veggies she told him too, and handed her things to arrange in the boxes. He shaped a few onigiri. They even had it on the table before Yuki or Shigure came downstairs.

Yuki looked at the spread suspiciously. "You made all this?" He quirked a long, elegant eyebrow at the cat.

Kyou bristled, his hands clutching around his chopsticks. His face started to go red with embarrassment.

"Kyou-kun did most of it." Tooru agreed. "I just made a few side dishes." She waved her hands quickly to stop any dissent Yuki could come up with. "It was only because I didn't have anything else to do. And the pickles would go bad."

"Ah." Yuki said helpless against her strange logic. "Well, I was thinking, since we're buying lunch today maybe we could-"

"Oh, but we made lunch." Tooru interrupted cheerily. "Onigiri and salad. Kyou-kun is very good at dicing vegetables." She popped a pickle into her mouth, feeling much better. She hated the thought of Yuki and Kyou eating unhealthy boxed lunches. She'd even convinced Kyou to make enough to leave for Shigure.

"Mm." Yuki said, bitterly disappointed. He'd hoped to be the savior in saying he'd found a little ramen stand near school they could lunch at on their break. He was planning to treat her. He reminded himself that this was just the first of many 'days off.' He'd have other chances.

He ate his breakfast silently and tried not to choke on the jealous lump in her throat.

"So what is Tooru-kun going to do with her first day off?" Shigure asked happily as he made short work of his onigiri and soup.

Tooru froze. "Um.. ano... well, I haven't really made plans yet."

"I'm surprised that Saki-chan and Arisa-chan haven't made plans with you." Shigure said with mild surprise and he polished off the last of the pickles.

"Uo-chan has her part-time, and Hana-chan is helping her grandmother today." Tooru said with a smile.

"Then maybe you'll make a love-love date?" Shigure looked playfully at Kyou and Yuki to see their reactions. On cue they both flamed red.

"Oh, but..." Tooru said before they could voice their own protests, her own cheeks lighting, "Yuki-kun has the PTA meeting tonight to attend, and Kyou-kun has his martial arts practice."

Yuki and Kyou looked at each other in horror. Did that mean that she'd be alone the whole night with Shigure?

"Shigure-kun has his meeting today too, doesn't he?" Tooru said, trying to get back into a safer conversation.

"So Honda-san..." Yuki said hesitantly, "will be all alone tonight?" He didn't know how he felt about that. On the one hand it was better than her being alone with Shigure or Kyou. On the other, it was not at all good that she would be alone.

"Only for a little while." Tooru said reassuringly as she started to clear the table. She was looking forward to the time to herself. She smiled as she walked into the kitchen with the dirty dishes. She could do a little shopping on the way home, and clean up a little in everyone's rooms while they were out. She hummed a little to herself as she began washing the dishes.

"Oi!" Kyou said following behind with the rest of the dishes. Tooru started and wondered if he'd point out that Yuki was supposed to be doing them. "What about dinner? I'm not going to be home-"

Kyou started to invite her to eat with Shishou and him at the dojo.

"Oh, yes!" Tooru clapped her hands together; "Kyou-kun doesn't have to worry about making dinner tonight, since it's just me."

"But I'm supposed to cook." Kyou said sounding sullen.

"Oh, well, Kyou-kun won't be home for some time... and Shigure-san bought me a cookbook a while a go and I thought I'd try out a new recipe for fun." She explained smiling. She beamed up at him. "I haven't had a chance to experiment for a while, I'm looking forward to it. If it's just me I won't have to worry if it doesn't turn out. "

And that way she wouldn't have to worry about cleaning up Kyou's caked on curry pots. She figured she could accidentally 'over estimate' the amounts and make enough for everyone. Shigure always snacked late at night. Yuki didn't like eating out so he'd probably be hungry, and he'd probably refuse to eat anything Kyou would make.

Tooru beamed, her smile widening as she watched Kyou's resolve crumble. Perhaps this 'day off' business wouldn't be so bad after all.

Tooru smiled and hummed a little song as she walked home. Her arms were aching a little from the weight of the bags, but the satisfied feeling she had outweighed any discomfort.

She went through her mental list, the shopping, done. Next she'd go home put away the groceries and take a quick tour through the house. Shigure's study surely needed a little care by this time, and she wanted to go through Yuki and Kyou's rooms. She hadn't heard a vacuum all week, so she'd probably best just plan on doing the whole house. She nodded to herself. Then she'd cook dinner and maybe do a little laundry, especially the ironing. She couldn't stand seeing Yuki, Kyou and Shigure walking around wrinkled, even if they didn't seem to notice.

She was looking forward to dinner; she hadn't experimented for a while. She'd planned on making extra, accidentally on purpose. Now that it looked like she would be the only one home she thought perhaps she'd just make a smaller portion. Or... she smiled, if she made extra perhaps she could bring it in tomorrow and have Haru or Momiji bring some home to Hatori as a thank you gift.

This new arrangement might be a bit... frustrating, but Tooru recognized that Hatori had only been concerned for her welfare. She should at least try to repay the sentiment.

The more she thought about the idea, the more she liked it. Momiji has said once that on most nights Hatori "made do" with instant ramen dinner or other microwave-able foods. Tooru made a mou of disgust. That was no way for a busy man like Hatori to eat, no wonder he was so thin!

She planned out the dinner she'd send home with Momiji tomorrow. She expanded her own menu, the simple experiment going from one main dish to that and several side dishes. She smiled at the thought of how he'd react to the dinner and wished she could be there to see it. The only thing that had really gone well at his last visit was breakfast. That at least she'd proven she could do well. She liked to think that he probably had enjoyed his lunch too. She wondered vaguely if she should ask Momiji or Hatsuharu for the bento box she'd given him. He never given it back, he was so busy he'd probably forgotten. She didn't really need it she supposed.

She stepped into the house and called out "I'm home." She paused; a little surprised that Shigure was already gone for the evening. It was a little lonely coming home to an empty house. Her mind wandered as she walked to the kitchen to put away the groceries. She was thankful to be able to do this in peace, especially since her doing the grocery shopping would have been a huge row between the boys and Shigure. But she was still a little sad that she was all by herself. She shook her head. It was only because it was so quiet in here that she felt that way.

She switched the radio on to a random station and wondered idly what people who lived alone all the time did. She thought she'd get depressed if she had to come home to an empty house every night. She'd spent some time that way, when she lived in the tent, but at least she'd had her mother to talk to. And she hadn't spent all that much time in the tent between work and school. It led her back to thinking about Hatori, every night, in an empty house, making do with instant noodles. She frowned; she really didn't like that image.

She pulled out the vacuum cleaner and started going through the rooms of the house. She straightened things up as she went, putting everything back in its place. Her mood brightened as the house did. She just felt so much better with everything in its place.

She checked the boys' rooms and found that there was surprisingly little laundry. She went through their closets and pulled out the most wrinkled pieces. She sighed, and wished she had their school uniforms. She shook her head and brought the basket downstairs. She looked at the clock and started. It was that late already? She bit her lip, iron or start dinner? Her stomach rumbled and made her decision. Dinner first. Out of habit she tucked the wrinkled clothes out of sight in the laundry room, under the sink. She'd become a master at secretively sneaking into rooms and clearing cobwebs and dusting corners that Yuki had missed. She'd taken to carrying a small pot of glue in her pocket to help smooth over the rough (and frequent) repairs Kyou made to the screens when she was sure no one was looking.

She had a few pots bubbling nicely, and was feeling much cheerier now that some good smells were beginning to waft through the house. She took a moment to look over the chart and checked off the items she'd taken care of. Shopping, Vacuuming, Dusting, check. She was thankful that Shigure was the one who'd been assigned the shopping. He'd be the least likely to notice that she was doing it for him. If left on his own, she was pretty sure he wouldn't notice that there was no more food until he went to reach for something and it wasn't there.

"I'm home!"

Tooru started, and poked her head out of the door. "Kyou-kun?" She blinked. She hadn't expected him for hours yet. Her hopes of being able to finish off the ironing died.

"Hey." He said, not quite meeting her eyes. "Kagura was being a pain so I decided to leave early."

"Oh?"

"Yeah, so I figured I'd make dinner after all." He jutted his chin up as if daring her to argue.

"Oh, but I've already started it." She gestured back into the kitchen. "It's just cooking now."

Kyou slumped a little. "Oh." He sighed, "I guess I'll just make something for myself then."

"Ano... but I made plenty." She smiled, glad she'd decided to make extra. "It'll be done in just a little bit."

"Why'd you do that?" Kyou spat. "You shoulda just made enough for yourself!"

"But... it's a new recipe... I don't know it well enough to make changes yet." Tooru explained, hoping that the practice she'd given to the excuse in her head would make it more believable.

"Don't pick on Honda-san just because you didn't manage to get home early enough to do your chores." Kyou and Tooru both turned in surprise to see Yuki standing in the doorway with his schoolbag. He smiled at Tooru. "Things went surprisingly smooth at the meeting today, so I got home early." He sniffed at the air and gave a rueful smile, "Is there enough for three?"

Tooru clapped, "Oh yes, definitely. This recipe makes a lot!"

"I'll set the table." Yuki said and walked past Kyou into the kitchen.

Kyou and Yuki bickered as they set out the table. Tooru smiled as she puttered around the kitchen, finishing up dinner. She had decided on trying something western, and had looked for something that would hopefully taste good as leftovers. She'd decided on some breaded chicken cutlets. They'd make good sandwiches for lunch tomorrow. She'd made a couple of vegetable sides, and some rice of course. She had more than enough for the three of them, and some leftovers for Shigure and Hatori. Today was turning out to be an excellent day.

Tooru started the water boiling for the tea and thought about tomorrow. She had to work, so it would be a long day, but she considered staying up for a bit tonight and sneaking down to grab the ironing. If she did it tonight she'd probably have an opportunity to put the clothes back on Saturday or Sunday when everyone was constantly going in and out. But then she'd have to sneak the ironing board upstairs too, and that might be a little difficult. She could try doing it in the laundry room, but she was afraid someone would see the light.

"Toooooooru-kuuuun." Shigure sing-songed from the front entryway. "Your prince has returned to rescue youuuuu."

"Who's her prince?" Kyou asked sticking his head out of the living room.

"Don't bother Honda-san with your dirty ideas, Shigure." Yuki said, glaring from behind Kyou.

"Eh?" Shigure blinked, "You two are home?"

Tooru stepped out of the kitchen, "Shigure-san is home early."

"Hai, hai, hai." Shigure said smiling. "I couldn't bear the thought of Tooru-kun sitting alone at home all lonely. And she shouldn't be cooking on her day off, so..." He held up pair of bento boxes. "I made dinner!"

"You didn't make dinner you just bought lunchboxes!" Kyou said pointing a finger at the dog, "And what's with only buying two!"

"It was for my love-love alone time dinner with Tooru-chan." Shigure pouted. "Yuki and Kyou weren't supposed to be home."

"Like we'd let you be alone with her, you pervert!" Kyou huffed.

Ignoring him, Shigure sniffed the air. "Kyou-kun is home, but it smells like Tooru-chan's cooking!" He looked at Kyou with a quirked eyebrow. "Has someone been training?"

Kyou flushed. "It's not my fault she started cooking before I got home!" He stomped into the other room.

Shigure sighed and looked at the boxes in his hands. "Ne, I suppose I'll have to eat these while Tooru-kun and the others eat their dinner."

"Oh no!" Tooru smiled taking them from him. "I made plenty!"

"Eh?" Shigure said taking off his shoes and coming inside.

Tooru smiled up at him. "I was experimenting and was afraid to alter the recipe, it made a lot!" It really did come out easier with repetition.

"Lucky!" Shigure smiled, and then frowned, "But what will we do with those?" He pointed to the bentos.

"Mmm... They'll be good for lunch tomorrow. For Shigure-san and..." She trailed off.

"And Tooru-kun!" Shigure smiled. "Kyou-kun and Yuki-kun can make their own. Today is your day off, " he reminded her.

"Yes." Tooru smiled. With the amount she had made for dinner, she should be able to guide Yuki and Kyou to make their own lunches from the leftovers. And if she didn't have to eat it herself or Shigure, there should still be enough to send to Hatori. The teakettle began to whistle from the kitchen.

"Why doesn't Shigure-san sit down and I'll bring him some tea?" Tooru suggested. "I'll put these in the refrigerator."

She handed him the paper off the front hall table and shooed him into the living room with Yuki and Kyou. She shouldn't have been dreading this "day off" it was really turning out quite nice. The house was clean, dinner had turned out perfectly, and everyone was home and relaxed.

Yuki looked up from the table, glaring as he set out another place for Shigure. "Didn't you have a meeting?"

"Ne, didn't you?" Shigure replied. "Or did Yuki and Kyou want love-love alone time with Tooru-chan too?"

Both boys flushed, the comment a little too close to the truth.

"But in the end, we all lost to Tooru-kun." Shigure said wryly. "We all wanted to rescue her this time, but she was too quick."

"She has another day off next week." Kyou pointed out.

"Are you going to change the day you go to your Sensei?" Yuki asked looking amused.

Kyou flushed, "You just wish you could change the day the Student Council meets!"

Yuki's eyebrow went down into an angry vee.

"Don't worry," Shigure smiled and hid behind his paper. "My appointment was a one time thing. I'll be here for Tooru-chan every week!"

"Don't even think about it!" Yuki and Kyou chorused and then looked at each other in shock.

"Dinner is ready." Tooru walked in with a platter of teacups, effectively ending the brewing fight. "I'll be out with it in a moment." She set down a teacup in front of each person and walked back into the kitchen.

Hatori looked over his appointment book with a frown. He felt like he was forgetting something. He hadn't missed any appointments. He pulled out his patient notes and went over them one more time, making sure he'd followed his notes for each one. There were no forgotten prescriptions, no missed instructions. He tucked the files under an arm and walked to the front room and leaned against the doorway.

"Saya-san." He kept his face blank when the nurse jumped. "Here are today's files." He handed them to her and was about to duck back into his office when he paused. "Are there any more appointments today?"

"No, Hatori-Sensei." The nurse said, "I thought we were finished for today?"

"Yes." Hatori looked at the calendar on the wall, trying to remember what he was forgetting. Thursday... Was he due at the Honke for something? He walked back into his office and dialed Kureno's office. He got the man's assistant, who informed him Kureno and Akito had retired for the evening and were taking no visitors.

He set the phone back in the cradle and sat back. This was maddening. He nodded to Saya when she said she was leaving for the night. The phone rang and he picked it up distractedly.

"Hari?" Momiji's voice burst over the phone excitedly before he could even get out a hello. "Can you drive me over to Shigure's?"

"Momiji?" Hatori pinched his nose at the bridge. "What do you need over there?

"I was talking to Kagura-chan and she said that To-ru is all alone today! She heard from Kyou! I want to visit!"

"You can't just burst in without calling first, that's rude." Hatori admonished. "Why is Honda-kun alone today?" He felt like whatever he was forgetting was getting closer in reach. There was no way her protective guardians would have left her alone overnight, after all that was what had started that fiasco last week.

"Ah..." he mumbled, that was it. "Honda-kun's day off." He'd meant to call and make sure that Shigure had remembered about it. He suspected that Tooru, left to her own devices, would conveniently "forget" to relax.

"Exactly!" Momiji's voice was loud in the receiver, "But Yuki, Kyou and Shigure all had stuff and she's all alone at home. I want to bring her dinner, so I bought a cake, ice-cream, some cupcakes, and some candy."

"That's not dinner, that's desert." He sighed. They'd left her alone? There was no way she'd just sit quietly and not work if not monitored. Shigure had already said she'd been having trouble sleeping later and that he suspected she'd been staying up later at night. "I'll take you over. Be ready in 15 minutes." He considered calling, but decided to show up unannounced to see how well his "prescription" was being followed.

They pulled up to the house, and walked up the steps. As they got closer, Hatori's mood got darker. The welcoming smell of a home cooked dinner was wafting about the front steps. He gave Kyou a lot of credit, his adoptive father had never been known for being a good cook and it was well known that Kyou was the one who usually cooked for the household. But he doubted the boy was responsible for whatever was causing this enticing smell.

His stomach growled in response reminding him that he hadn't had dinner yet. He frowned and decided not to mention it once they got inside. He willed his insides to be quiet. Momiji bounced to his side and knocked hard against the door.

Kyou opened the door and scowled. "What are you two doing here?"

"Hatori-san! Momiji-kun!" Tooru's head poked out of the living room.

"To-ru!" Momiji pushed past Hatori and Kyou to run to her. "I heard from Kagura-chan who heard from Kyou that you would be all alone tonight, so I brought you dinner!" He held up a box brightly decorated in a pink bow pattern. "I got a cake, and some candy, ice-cream and cupcakes!"

"That's not dinner you brat!" Kyou said hitting him over the head. "And who said that we'd leave an idiot like this alone in the house?"

"Kagura-chan said you said at practice that..." Momiji whined then he blinked, "Hey! Aren't you supposed to be at Shihan's still?"

"Shut up!" Kyou wheeled and turned into the next room, embarrassed.

"Ha-san?" Shigure had finally popped his head out of the living room.

"I drove Momiji over." Hatori explained. "He said something about Honda-kun being alone tonight?"

"Oh, no, " Tooru waved frantically, "It was only going to be for a few hours! Yuki-kun and Shigure-san had their important meetings and Kyou-kun had his time with Shishou-san."

"What smells so good?" Momiji asked his nose stuck up in the air, stuffing the box of goodies he brought into Tooru's hands.

"I made chicken cutlets!" Tooru peeked in the box. "I made plenty if Momiji-kun and Hatori-san would like to stay for dinner." This would work out perfectly, she'd wanted make Hatori a bento, but the cutlets had turned out much better then she expected and eating them fresh was ideal. "We can all share these for dessert." She smiled up at Hatori. "If Hatori-san wants to go sit down I'll bring him tea. And what would you like Momiji-kun?" She looked down at him, "Juice? Tea? Milk?"

"Tea, please!" Momiji said running into the living room to make a space for himself.

"Okay! I'll get some place settings too." She started to walk into the kitchen.

"What are you doing?" Hatori asked bluntly.

"Eh?" Tooru blinked. She looked at the pastry box in her hand and around her. Was she doing something strange?

"Today is Thursday, is it not?" Hatori looked over her shoulder where Yuki, Kyou and Shigure were peeking around the doorjamb.

"Yes?" Tooru said hesitantly, starting to feel nervous and shifting from foot to foot.

"Isn't this your day off? Or did you switch the day?" Hatori looked back at her with a frown.

"No?" Tooru drew the word out, making it into a question, then corrected, "I mean yes..." she frowned, she'd confused herself. "I mean, yes, today is my day off and no, I didn't switch it."

"Then why are you cooking and fetching tea and plates?" Hatori directed his question at the boys who were looking guiltily at them.

"I set the table." Yuki said quickly. "I'll get the extra table settings Honda-san."

"I'll get tea cups." Kyou said following the mouse into the kitchen. "Don't see why he's making a big deal out of it, he's the one making extra work." He muttered as he went.

"And the cooking?" Hatori looked back at Tooru who shrank back under his frank stare. He looked her over, it had been a week since they'd decided Tooru would work less and by now she should look better. He could still see faint circles under her eyes indicating a lack of sleep and even through her flush, her coloration seemed pale.

"Um... No one was going to be home, so I was just cooking for myself." Tooru explained, feeling like she'd been caught in doing something naughty.

"But you made enough to feed," Hatori paused for a brief mental count, "six people?"

"It was a new recipe..." Tooru started. She hunched her shoulders defensively as his mouth tightened. Hatori wasn't letting her off with her practiced explanations and she'd never been one who could disassemble on the fly.

"Ne, dinner is getting cold." Shigure whined from the doorway. Kyou and Yuki were busy setting up plates and tea for Hatori and Momiji.

Hatori could feel the tension he was causing. Tooru looked like she was expecting to be whipped. As much as he wanted to press the issue and find out just what was going one he decided to let it drop for the moment.

"Let's sit down." Shigure suggested, "We can talk over dinner."

Tooru quickly set the desserts on the kitchen counter and turned to follow Hatori into the living room. He'd waited and let her precede him, watching her settle before he took a seat between Yuki and Shigure.

"Wow!" Momiji gushed, his mouth full of rice and chicken, "These are great!"

"The seasonings are quite unusual, Honda-san," Yuki agreed. "Did you use the oregano we grew?"

"Yes!" She smiled, "That's part of the reason I chose this recipe. We had so much... I thought maybe spaghetti..."

"But that might be better to try when the tomatoes are ripe." Yuki completed her thought.

"Yes!" Tooru smiled. She started to eat her own cutlet when she noticed Kyou looking in horror at his plate. "What's wrong? Is it not cooked properly?"

"The rat grew this stuff?"

"I helped," Tooru reminded him. "Does it taste bad?"

Kyou pouted and took another bite. "The chicken's fine." He picked off a few of the little green oregano flakes, "I must've gotten all the ones you grew..."

"Stop being a child, Baka Neko." Yuki sighed. He flicked an oregano flake towards Kyou who reacted like it was a hand grenade, nearly upsetting a plate full of fresh greens.

Tooru neatly moved it and the teapot out of their way, with long practice ignoring their squabble. She served Momiji some greens, which he made a face at but obediently started to eat. She refilled Shigure's cup when he set it down and put the teapot in on a safe corner of the crowded table. She looked up to see Hatori watching her and quickly sat back and looked at her plate.

She'd been hungry before, but now the few bites she'd eaten were sitting like lead in her stomach. She took a deep breath and tried to get her racing heart under control. She felt like Hatori could see right through all her dodges and ruses and she knew he'd be disappointed in her. He was just trying to help after all. She picked up her chopsticks and ate a few morsels of rice. She peeped up to see if Hatori was still watching her.

"So what did To-ru do on her day off?" Momiji distracted her before she could see him.

"Um..." She said pretending to finish her mouthful. She couldn't exactly tell the truth and say she'd been grocery shopping and cleaning up. "Not all that much." She said.

"Did you finish the history assignment?" Yuki asked hopefully.

"Oh, yesterday." Tooru nodded. "Maybe Yuki-kun could read it over and tell me what he thinks?"

"Of course," Yuki started.

"When is the assignment due?" Hatori interrupted.

"Day after tomorrow." Yuki bit out, he could see where Hatori was going with the question. "But Honda-san has to work tomorrow."

Hatori nodded and went back to his dinner. He glanced up realizing he'd completely killed the happy mood at the dinner table. "This is excellent Honda-kun," he said after a moment.

"Thank you." Tooru said immediately brightening. "I hoped it would turn out well. And I'm so happy that Hatori-san and Momiji-kun could join us."

"Aren't you jealous of my lovely bride, Ha-san?" Shigure grinned playfully starting off a round of arguments from Yuki and Kyou.

Hatori watched Tooru laugh and smile while carefully keeping any of the arguments and spats between the men of her household from getting too heated. She was a faultless hostess and perfect at keeping everyone in line, their plates full and the tea flowing. She made it seem effortless.

Tooru reached for the empty plate of cutlets with a sunny smile. Almost all the food was gone, no leftovers to speak of. She'd have to make lunches tomorrow, and something for the boys and Shigure to eat for dinner, and herself at work. She'd have to sneak down tomorrow morning before the others got up to get it all started. The ironing would have to wait then. Maybe she could manage to do it when she got home from work. She was glad she'd gone grocery shopping today, if she'd waited for Shigure to do it they'd all by eating out tomorrow.

Hatori watched a slight dimple form between her eyebrows as she gathered the empty plates out of everyone's way. Her bright expression didn't falter but her mind definitely wasn't on the chattering conversation Momiji was directing at her, or the argument she was defusing between Kyou and Yuki (again) or the flirtations she was deflecting from Shigure. She looked up at saw Hatori watching her.

"Does Hatori-san need something?" She glanced around the table; she really hadn't been expecting to feed six people. She hoped he'd had enough. The others were quick to take what they wanted, but Hatori was more reserved and might not have gotten his fill. She should have been paying more attention.

"No, thank you." Hatori scowled at Shigure who was looking at him suggestively. "Shouldn't someone else be doing that?" He nodded at the dirty plates she held in her hands.

"I just thought I'd clear these and then take out the dessert Momiji brought." She started to rise, trying not to sound defensive. She'd almost gotten them off the table without anyone noticing. If she'd gotten them into the kitchen she probably could have distracted Yuki with homework and had a chance to do them herself.

"Let me, Honda-san." Yuki smiled and took them from her.

"I'll help!" Momiji cried jumping up and grabbing a couple empty plates. He skipped into the kitchen scattering breading crumbs as he went. Tooru couldn't help a little sigh from escaping. Now the living room, hallway and kitchen would have to be re-vacuumed.

She smiled at Kyou when he grabbed the teapot and cups and marched into the kitchen, muttering something about stupid rabbits. She knew he was just trying to help so she didn't point out that everyone would probably want tea with dessert. Though it was getting later, so perhaps milk and juice would be better. She took her napkin and wiped down the table as she mentally re-planned her evening. First she'd sit with Yuki and have him go over her history assignment, talk with Kyou on the roof before bed to find out how Kagura and his father were doing, sneak down after he'd gone to bed and rewash the dishes, start lunch and dinner for tomorrow... Where would she fit in the ironing and the vacuuming?

Hatori was only half listening to Shigure's description of the latest tortures he'd put his editor through. Tooru was looking decidedly more wan. She'd spent the last couple minutes wiping the same spot, obviously lost in thought.

There was a crash in the kitchen. Tooru's head shot up and she started to rise.

"Everything's OK." Yuki's quickly called.

"Yeah, the damn rat just broke another plate." Kyou's voice followed sarcastically as he carried in a stack of dessert plates and forks. Momiji trailed after with the box of goodies.

"I'll just get some milk to go along with dessert." Tooru said quickly and darted into the kitchen before anyone could protest.

Yuki looked up guiltily from where he was picking up shards of her favorite serving platter. It was the only one that was big enough when they had guests. Something of her disappointment must've showed on her face. "I'm sorry Honda-san, I'll buy another one tomorrow." His face lit up, "Perhaps we can go shopping for it together?"

"I have to work tomorrow." She said automatically but when his face started to fall she quickly suggested they go on Saturday. She pushed the ironing back another day. She'd probably just be better off rewashing the clothes if she left them in the basket all that time. She got the small whiskbroom to sweep up the little pieces he was missing just using his fingers.

She heard the sink start running and looked up. To her horror Hatori stood over the sink and was washing her frying pan. She quickly dumped the dustpan into the garbage and hurried over.

"Hatori-san doesn't have to do that!" She said and tried to take the pan out of his hand.

"That's my job." Yuki said from behind them. "And I already washed that."

"Not well enough." Hatori said, holding up and showing how the water was beading against the grease left in the pan. "Can't you see the grease? You have to use hot water when you're washing the dishes or they won't be clean. And more soap." He gestured to the dishes in the drying rack. "These all have to be redone. Didn't you notice the food stuck to the back?"

Yuki went to the sink and looked at them with new eyes. He took the scrub brush from Hatori stiffly. "This is the first time I've had any problems." He thrust a plate into the sink of soapy water and started to rescrub it properly this time.

"Oh?" Hatori looked at Tooru, Yuki followed his line of sight. Tooru looked guiltily back and forth between them.

"Honda-san?" Yuki said sounding hurt.

"Yuki-kun was trying very hard." Tooru babbled, "I only... cleaned up the spots he missed."

"But... when?" He'd never seen her sneak back into the kitchen.

"When I made cookies." She said in a small voice. Now that excuse was useless. Hatori was looking at her sternly. She looked over her shoulder and saw Momiji, Kyou and Shigure looking into the kitchen. She felt about three inches tall.

"But why didn't you just tell me that they weren't clean?" Yuki asked.

"I didn't want to hurt Yuki-kun's feelings." She whispered.

"Shoulda known that the Kuso Nezumi couldn't even do some stupid dishes." Kyou snorted.

"Like you've done so much better!" Yuki crossed his arms.

"You don't see her redoing any of my chores!" Kyou said proudly. He looked at Tooru, "Right?"

Tooru was silent. Kyou blinked and looked desperately between her and Yuki. "Right?" He said uncertainly.

"Um..." Tooru said wringing her hands together. "It's just that it takes practice... I'm sure Kyou-kun would have gotten better."

"What didn't I do right!" He demanded.

Tooru shrank back, "Um..." She finally just pushed past him and through the living room and into the laundry room. She pulled out the laundry basket and showed him the wrinkled clothes she'd stolen from their rooms. He looked at the basket and then back at her. "It's just that I couldn't stand to see Yuki-kun, Shigure-san and Kyou-kun walk around all wrinkled." She explained.

"Then you should have said something!" Kyou blustered, grabbed the basket and stomped over to the ironing board. He bent to plug in the iron. "I would've fixed it. Idiot."

"Now, now Kyon-Kyon." Shigure scolded merrily, settling himself back at the living room table with Momiji's box of treats. "Don't call our little flower names just because you can't iron right the first time."

"Like you did so much better with the shopping!" Kyou shouted from laundry room. Tooru looked back and forth between them. This was all her fault that everyone was fighting. And in front of Momiji and Hatori! Momiji stood looking lost next to the older man in the doorway leading from the hallway to the living room.

Shigure swallowed a bite of cupcake and idly licked a finger. "Hai, hai, hai, but I asked for help didn't I? Tooru-chan and I are going to go together next time, and it's not like we've run out of-"

He broke off when he saw that Tooru had bowed her head even further, looking absolutely miserable. "Eh?" He said losing his charm, and looking befuddled, "But..."

"I went today." Tooru said in a small voice. She looked up at him pleadingly, as if trying to explain why she'd been lying this whole time. "It's only... well, there were a few things I needed for dinner... and because of all the onigiri Kyou-kun made we needed more rice... and we were almost out of soy sauce and..." she trailed off. "I know Shigure-san is a very busy person and that his writing is important..." Shigure was looking disappointed and upset.

"But I would have made time..." he said helplessly.

Momiji ran forward and wrapped his arms loosely around her waist, as close to a hug as he could get without triggering the curse. "You all are mean, making To-ru do all that work by herself!"

"Oh no!" Tooru looked down at him, "But it's really my responsibility."

"I thought we discussed this last weekend." Hatori started. Tooru ducked her head and wrapped an arm around Momiji as if seeking comfort or protection. He ground to a stop. He felt like an ogre. He was used to people fearing him or being uneasy in around him. His memory-erasing "gift" was enough to make most of his family suspicious every time he showed up. But Tooru had always seemed to be able to dismiss that and act comfortably around him. Seeing her shrink back from him was upsetting in ways he didn't want to examine to closely.

"Anyway," Shigure said regaining some of his composure. "We'll do better, it's more our fault than our little flower's. We should have noticed something was wrong. Now lets all sit down and have some dessert."

Momiji dragged a reluctant Tooru over to the table and put a big slice of cake and a pile of ice cream in front of her. Yuki returned from the kitchen with a pitcher of milk and some glasses.

"Come on Kyon-Kyon!" Shigure called, "The ice cream will melt!"

"I don't like sweet stuff!" Kyou yelled continuing with the ironing.

The table was silent, except for the clink of their forks against the plates. Tooru choked down a few bites of her cake past the lump in her throat. She felt horrible. She'd only been trying to do what was right, her job, and she'd hurt everyone's feelings.

"Ne, ne..." Momiji said brightly, hating to see Tooru look so sad. "Next week, To-ru has another day off right?"

"Yes." Tooru said softly.

"Then why doesn't To-ru come have dinner with me?" Momiji said eagerly. "And come to my house?"

"Oh, but that would be such an imposition." Tooru started to protest. "Wouldn't the people you live with-"

"I just have some maids." Momiji said dismissively, "I'd love to have To-ru eat dinner with me and play games. We'll get something good from the kitchens!"

"Real food this time, not junk." Hatori admonished. This was ideal. If she was kept out of the house she couldn't work. And obviously the direct approach wasn't working.

Momiji made a face. "They won't give me just the things I like anymore, Hari. Not since you talked to them." He pouted.

"You'll never get any taller if all you drink is coffee and all you eat is sweets."

"Momiji-san likes coffee?" Tooru said in surprise.

"Un!" Momiji smiled and took a big bite out of his cake, "Black coffee, no cream, no sugar! Just like Papa!" He looked up at Tooru pleadingly. "Please come Toru-mutti, I don't like eating alone all the time. Papa comes sometimes, and sometimes I go to Hari's but it would be fun to have To-ru over!"

"Okay!" Tooru said and gave him a loose hug over his shoulder. "I'd like that."

Hatori couldn't help a small upturn to his lips as he sipped a little milk. This would probably be a good arrangement for both of them. He knew the boy was lonely. He tried to welcome Momiji into his own place as much as possible, and look after him, but he was so busy. He knew the boy felt neglected, even if he tried to hide it. Tooru needed someone to distract her and force her to have fun. There really couldn't be a better match.