Chapter Six: Trio Meets Miso Soup

A/N

Hmm all the characters in FB are symbolized by something…Tohru's the onigiri…so why can't Sai-chan have one? Can you guess who she is? The Trio? Do I need to explain? wink

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"Hello?"

"This is Hatori."

"OH HELLO HAA-SAN!"

Bring on the headache…

"Hello Shigure."

"WHAT IS IT HAA-SAN?"

"Stop yelling Shigure."

"All right."

"What are you doing today?"

"Oh, well I have a deadline today and my editor should be dropping by soon…"

"I see."

"Why?"

"Well, you seem to be busy…"

"OH NO NOT AT ALL!" muffling of papers, "I have nothing to do today!"

"Really…"

"Do you need me to come over?"

"I don't need."

"I know…I'll call AYA! It'll be a little party!"

"All right."

"I'll be over quicker than you can say Que Sera Sera one hundred times!"

CLICK!

Hatori hung up the phone. He tidied up his desk and fidgeted with his papers while silently counting Que Sera Sera's in his head. He was at about ninety-nine when the doorbell rang.

Ding DONG!

"HAA-SAN, it's US!"

Hatori opened the door and let them in. The two men pranced inside like a couple of grade school girls and began to pound Hatori with questions.

"SO HAA-SAN I LOVE WHAT YOU'VE DONE WITH THE PLACE, IT'S SIMPLY MARVELOUS. HAHAHA!" shouted Ayame.

"OH YES, I AGREE WITH YOU AYA, IT'S SIMPLY MARVELOUS!" replied Shigure.

"SO HAA-SAN, HOW'S YOUR LIFE TREATING YOU? IT'S BEEN AWHILE SINCE WE'VE BEEN TOGETHER!"

Before he could answer…

"OH SKIP THE BORING STUFF HATORI! WE WANT TO KNOW ALL THE JUICY GOSSIP ABOUT YOUR LIFE! HOW ABOUT YOUR LOVE LIFE HAA-SAN?" asked Ayame.

And again before he could answer…

"OH AYA, YOU KNOW HATORI HAS NO LOVE LIFE!"

"I SEE NO REASON WHY HE SHOULDN'T, SHII-SAN!"

Hatori shook his head and was just about to say something when…

"BUT LO AND BEHOLD! HATORI WORKS ALL DAY AND NIGHT; THERE IS NO TIME FOR HIM TO FROLIC WITH THE WOMEN!"

"SO TRUE, SHII-SAN, SO TRUE!"

"WE SHOULD GO OUT!"

"YES!" agreed Shigure.

"TO THE RED LIGHT DISTRICT!"

Silence.

"OH YOU DIRTY, DIRTY BOY!" exclaimed Shigure.

Hatori put his head in his hands.

"WELL, WE AREN'T GOING TO FIND HER AT THE MARKET!"

"YOU NEVER KNOW AYA!"

"YOU'RE RIGHT, I DON'T!"

The two laughed hysterically and sat down at the table with Hatori. They took one good look at him and their expressions turned serious. They knew when there was something up with Hatori.

"So Haa-san, what has been bothering you lately?"

"Nothing…why?"

"You just don't look like yourself."

"I'm perfectly fine, Ayame."

"Oh sure, sure; you're perfectly fine. It's only that your eyes are a bit foggy and your stare is distant."

"Oh AYA! That's not a look of illness…"

"Could it be Shii-san?"

"Our Hatori has felt the mystical touch of love?"

"COULD IT BE?"

Shigure and Ayame stopped to look at Hatori. They stared at him with their outmost attention, awaiting his answer.

"Well?"

"Well, what?"

"Damnit Hatori! You know very well what."

"I have no idea what you're talking about…"

"Don't play stupid with us…who is she?"

"Who?"

"HER!"

DING DONG.

"Excuse me, someone is at the door…"

Shigure and Ayame dashed to the door before Hatori could blink. They threw open the door and looked out with complete interest.

"Hello there."

"Um…is Sohma-san here?" she asked.

"Oh! You mean Hatori?"

"Yes…if I've come at a bad time I can come back later…'

"NO!" Shigure and Ayame pull the poor unexpecting girl into the house, "SO, how do you know Hatori?"

"Well…"

Hatori came out of the room and stopped dead in his tracks. He wasn't quite sure how to explain this one. But Shigure turned around with the biggest smirk on his face while listening to the girl's story.

"So, you're friends with Hatori?" Ayame aggravated.

"Well, yes."

"How did you two meet again?"

"Ayame, Shigure that's enough," Hatori walked over to Saiyoko, "I apologize for anything these two have said or done to discomfort you."

Saiyoko smiled, "Oh no, they've been nothing but polite."

"It's not polite to carry a conversation with a person without asking their name first," Hatori glanced at Shigure and Ayame, "Please come sit, Segumi-kun."

"Aw…he calls her –kun…" Shigure whispered.

Hatori glared at Shigure, "NOTHING! I said nothing!"

Shigure, Ayame, and Hatori sat down at the dining table, but Saiyoko did not sit. She placed a bag on the table and began to dig inside of it, "I know it's in here somewhere…a ha!" she pulled out a big bowl and placed in the center of the table, "And here's some of this," she unloaded the entire bag onto the table, "THERE! That should do it."

The table was covered in foods and sweets and a delicious aroma was coming from the bowl in the center. Even Shigure and Ayame were quiet for once as Saiyoko looked upon the table proudly. Hatori wasn't really interested in the food. He was watching Saiyoko.

"Bravo!" Shigure clapped, "amazing!"

"I should say if this food is as good as it smells…"

Saiyoko grinned with pride, "Go ahead and try some!"

Shigure and Ayame began to fill their plates with a little bit of everything. When they finished they began to stuff their faces with food. Hatori was sort of in a state of shock, so he didn't do much.

"I say Aya; this food is good enough to compete against Tohru's cooking!"

"Yes, this is simply divine."

"What's in the big bowl…?" Shigure gasped, "Is that…what I think it is? Oh my…"

"Miso soup! Oh!"

Ayame and Shigure began to devour the soup. Hatori still looked dumbfounded and didn't move. Saiyoko began to fill a bowl for him, and then she packed food on a plate. Hatori stared at the food as she placed it in front of him; he wasn't hungry but he ate it anyway.

"Oh THAT was delicious! Don't you agree Shii-san?"

"Oh yes, definitely. I must know the name of the person who made this!"

They turned their heads and looked at Saiyoko for the answer, "Did you?"

Saiyoko nodded, "Yep!"

"Bravo! And what may be our wonderful chef's name?"

"Saiyoko Segumi!"

"Pleasure to meet you!"

"No, the pleasures all mine!"

Hatori finally spoke, "What brings you to visit today, Segumi-kun?"

"Well, all I really wanted to do is bring over those treats Momiji and I made the other day…"

"OH so you know our little Momiji?"

"Yep!"

"Oh! We haven't introduced ourselves! I am Shigure Sohma."

"And I," Ayame took her hand, "am Ayame Sohma."

Saiyoko blushed, "It's nice to meet you! Are you Sohma-san's brothers?"

"Oh no, we're just best friends! We are related…but we've been best friends forever!"

Saiyoko laughed, "That's amazing."

"What?"

"That you've been friends forever. It must be nice. I never kept any of my friends that long. They always seem to up and disappear…"

Silence.

"Well, you don't have to worry about that! We never disappear! We can be your new friends."

"That's really nice of you Shigure-san."

"Hehe."

After Shigure and Ayame pushed away there plates and leaned back in satisfaction, they bombarded poor Saiyoko with questions,

"Where do you live?"

"What's your career?"

"What do you think of Haa-san?"

"Do you know the secret?"

Silence. Hatori nudged Ayame with his elbow. Saiyoko took a deep breathe, "I live in the small community that surrounds the park, I am working as a receptionist for a psychiatric clinic until I finish school, I had to sell my car because I couldn't make the payments, and I think Sohma-san is a great person."

A little pause of silence and then Saiyoko said, "You mean the secret about you turning into animals? You guys can do that too?"

Ayame and Shigure stared at Hatori, "Don't look at me."

"How? Who? When?"

"Well…"