Author's Note: As usual… about the updating… Sorry, dude. -_- But now summer is over, and as sad as that is, it means that I will have more time for writing. (As opposed to the time I had for video-game-playing and sleeping during the summer.) So enjoy this extremely-late chapter…
Love Works in Mysterious Waves
Chapter Seven
"My. I knew this was a rather large secret for you, but I didn't expect it to go this far…" commented Saki, watching apathetically as Shigure and the two Sohma boys dragged two extra futons into Tohru's room. "Am I being kidnapped or is this simply a sleepover?"
"Oh, a bit of both, I suppose…" giggled Shigure, sliding the first futon into position next to Tohru's bed. After their rather unpleasant conversations, the Sohmas and their visitors seemed to have reverted back to their old selves, and Shigure was no exception—he had danced about the house singing about high school girls until Kyo kicked him. Now, despite the slight injury, he was still in a magnificently cheery mood.
"He's kidding," assured Yuki, turning to Hana and her brother. "It's just that it's getting dark, and we figured you probably didn't want to walk back through the forest in the rain, so…"
"So it's the former," finished Saki.
Yuki sighed and turned his back as he began arranging Megumi's futon. "Sorry. It… It can't be helped."
"This is ridiculous," complained Kyo, "We've had three people find out about the curse in the last week or so! Might as well put it on a billboard for the whole world to see…"
Yuki turned on him, shooting the kind of icy glare he excelled at. "And in both situations, it was your fault, stupid cat."
The Cat winced, reminded of the fact he had been trying to ignore for the past hour or so. "S-Screw that!" he snarled, flustered. "It's all because of that bitch Kagura changing into a boar! I had nothing to do with—"
"KYO-KUN!!" Yuki stepped aside nonchalantly to allow room for the whirling mass of brown and pink which had just ran in to accost Kyo. "DON'T YOU DARE SAY SUCH THINGS ABOUT YOUR FIANCEE!!"
"We're not engaged!" protested Kagura's helpless victim, throwing his hands up to defend against her blows, "Stop telling people that, dammit!"
Saki sighed, gazing dreamily out the window as the exchange heated up. It wasn't that she minded staying with Tohru and the Sohmas for a night or two, but…
"H-Hana-chan!" Saki was snapped out of her reverie—not that she minded—by Tohru's worried voice. As she came to her senses, Saki realized that her friend had been standing in front of her for at least thirty seconds in an attempt to get the psychic's attention. Hana immediately felt guilty for zoning out as Tohru's anxious waves drifted into her mind, replacing the unnecessary thoughts of seconds earlier.
"Yes, Tohru-kun?" replied Saki, trying her best to sound nonchalant as usual. The unpleasant bit about acting mysterious all day was that, when she was actually bothered by something, Hana had to keep up her gloomy façade to her image's sake. That is, unless only Tohru or Arisa was present, but now that was certainly not the case.
Hana-chan…" Tohru looked at her old friend seriously. "Please… I don't want you to resent the Sohmas. They've done so much for me, and it's really my fault you got caught up in this, so…"
Ah, so that was it. Tohru had seen through Saki's act and automatically assumed it was something she was responsible for. Such typical Tohru. Saki smiled genuinely for once, taking her best friend's hand. "Tohru-kun, none of this is your fault. And I don't resent anyone. If I know you are worried, I'll worry for you—so please don't be. I am as happy as ever, Tohru-kun."
Tohru gazed down somberly, gripping Saki's hand. "But, Hana-chan—"
They were interrupted as Megumi entered the room, automatically attaching himself to his older sister. "I talked to Okaa-san on the phone. She said it was okay if we stayed at a friend's house. I told her that we didn't actually know anyone there, but Tohru-kun had been living there for the past couple of weeks, and we were friends with her, so—"
"I think saying that we were unacquainted with the three officially living out here was a bit too much for Okaa-san's nerves, Megumi-kun…"
Megumi didn't have to answer; the mischievous waves echoing from the psychic's younger brother said enough: he knew all of this, but had only let on as much as he did for entertainment as he listened to his mother's reaction.
"Hey," called Kyo crudely, untangling himself from Kagura. "The futons are all set up, so if you actually plan on getting any sleep—"
Saki turned to the Cat, putting on her best emotionless face. "My, Kyo-kun. Why exactly would one such as me ever sleep before four a.m.?"
The Cat suddenly forgot his annoyance and dove behind his part-time stalker, part-time assailant in terror—it seemed Hana had just thrust not only her usual creepiness upon him, but a deadly fierceness as well. He shuddered, wondering why the psychic couldn't pick on someone else for a change.
"Well," interjected Yuki, shooting a smug look at the shuddering cat, "Sleep or no sleep, I'm guessing you three will want a break form our antics." He threw the winning smile that had immediately formed the Prince Yuki Fanclub on his first day of high school towards Tohru and the two guests. "We will leave you now."
And, with some persuasive speaking and a few good tugs, the Rat had emptied the room of his relatives.
* * *
"Kagura…" came a stony voice from under the covers, "Get out of my bed."
"B-But, Kyo-kun!" The boar leapt up to emphasize her passion. Kyo's relief didn't last long, though; she soon had him in another chokehold. "I love you! Why do you keep insisting that we can't consummate our love, huh?!"
"Agh! Don't say that!" croaked the boy, trying desperately to breathe. "I don't love you, and I'm not going to have sex with you, damnit!"
(Down in the first floor, Shigure chuckled and muttered something about "the joys of adolescence.")
Kagura let out a childish whine. "Why noooot? You haven't found another girl, have you?!"
"How the hell am I supposed to do that when I can't get rid of the first one?!"
"Aha! So you admit it! I am your girl!"
"That's not what I—ugh." Kyo sighed, laying his head back down on the pillow. (Kagura had released him at her last exclamation.) "Can't you just give it a rest already?"
A silence, then, "It's because of that other girl, isn't it?"
"No, Kagura. Tohru-kun and I are not—"
"Not her. I meant the creepy goth. The one whose brother mauled me."
Kyo gave a start. "How the hell could you think--?! The last thing I would want--!! Ahh! Shut up, damnit!"
Hana had listened to this exchange (as it was quite loud in comparison to the silence of the rest of the sleeping house, or in comparison to anything, really) with a sort of apathetic interest, but now she found that her heartbeat had sped up slightly. It was beating at a steady crescendo, the kind of beat a dreary girl like her had never really hoped to achieve. Tongue-tied, Kyo-kun? She thought, chuckling softly, before falling asleep.
