DISCLAIMER: I don't own Fruits Basket
A/N:
So first of all, thank you all so much for reviewing! Makes me super happy to get reviews!

And umm just to clarify something, I realized I've been saying this takes place after volume 19 but I meant to say around volume19. If anything it's parallel to volume 19. Something happens in 19 that hasn't happened yet in this story, but will. That's where this spoiler I keep warning about happens. So yeah sorry about that. Gomen nasai!

But any ways there aren't any spoilers yet so Please enjoy and please review!

CHAPTER SEVEN:

Yuri stood outside the hidden crack in the wall of the Sohma estate. She looked around nervously, but no one seemed to be around. Sneakily she dashed through the crack, careful not to let anyone see her.

A little more than a week after Tohru had explained to Yuri about Momo, Yuri found out something new about the Sohmas from another Tohru slip up. The identity of the memory eraser. The Sohmas hadn't been keeping it from her exactly but certainly no one had mentioned it. Shigure had even pointedly left it out once. Almost as if daring Yuri to try and figure it out.

Yuri had been visiting Tohru; Yuri visited her at least once a week now, figuring the girl needed some female company. Tohru had been telling Yuri about some of the other zodiac members that Yuri hadn't met yet. Yuri listened with interest as Tohru happily told her about Kagura the boar, who was in love with Kyo and Ritsu the shy little monkey. Tohru then told her about Ayame the snake, Yuki's brother. Yuri had been very interested to hear about him but her ears really perked up when Tohru told her about the dragon.

"I was really nervous meeting him at first, if you can believe it." Tohru had said laughing.

"Why, is he scary like a dragon? Or scary looking at least?" Yuri said laughing.

"No, no. He's very handsome and he's very kind, but I was really afraid he was going to erase my memories!"

Hatori Sohma. So he was the one.

Yuri knew her memories were safe for the moment, but she found herself wondering about Hatori a lot after that conversation. She wanted to meet this person who seemed to mercilessly erase the most precious thing anyone could have, memories.

She wanted to see for herself what kind of person could do such a thing. But also, she wanted to ask him a question. An important question.

Yuri stalked through the bushes like a predator. She really did feel like a fox looking for a chicken coop, but she wasn't out to catch a bird but rather a dragon. Yuri was getting nearer and nearer to the main house but she still hadn't spotted Hatori's office. Or at least she didn't think she had. She knew it probably would have been wise to get a better idea of where she was going, but she didn't want anyone to know what she was up to.

Momo had been the one that had shown her where the Sohma estate was and where there was a 'secret entrance' inside. Momo of course didn't know Yuri's true purpose there, Yuri had thought she had already spilled enough to the young girl. Be it, unintentionally. She hadn't known not to tell her about Momiji.

Yuri had been seeing a lot of Momo after that day. On a whim she had given the girl her cell phone number incase she needed anything and sure enough her little green phone with the fox cell phone charm had rang almost the second she had stepped through her door after meeting with Tohru.

"Moshi moshi."

"Is this Yuri?" the voice on the other end asked, the voice was female and sounded foreign, though her Japanese was very good.

"Yes…"

"I wanted to thank you for taking care of my Momo." The woman said. So it was Momo's mother. Yuri felt her heart skip a beat. This was the woman who had chosen to forget about her only son.

"It was no trouble."

"She said she got lost and you were the one that found her. Thank goodness. I don't even want to begin to think what could have happened." Yuri didn't correct the woman, figuring Momo had some reason or another for spinning that story. Perhaps though she didn't say anything because she was too in shock about how caring and kind this mother was towards her daughter. But not her son.

"All she can talk about since she has been home is you." The woman continued. "And well my husband and I are going out for dinner next evening and I was wondering if you would like to watch her. We'll pay you of course." Yuri didn't say anything for a moment.

"It's just Momo seems to really like you." At that comment Yuri couldn't help but agree. Despite everything.

Yuri hadn't told Momiji about it till after the fact, figuring it was a little too much to handle all at once. When she did tell him though that she was Momo's new babysitter he just smiled and said,

'How nice.'

They didn't talk about it after that. Both pretending that it hadn't happened. It was funny really. They both avoided talking about Momo around each other, but whenever Yuri was with Momo, which had been a lot recently, the conversation always came back to Momiji. Yuri knew she shouldn't be telling the girl about him, but well, Momo did already know, and it was Yuri's own childish way to get back at Momiji's parents. She knew it was silly and she tried to pretend it was only because Momo's sweet little face could talk her into anything, but deep inside she knew the truth.

In truth she resented Momiji's mother and father for what they did to him. Both of them. And because she was too scared of what would happen if she truly stood up for Momiji, she simply defied Momiji's father's wishes and told Momo things about Momiji.

And in actuality it was a comment that Momo's mother had made that had caused her to come to the Sohma estate.

"It really is good that Momo has you around." She had said one night, when they returned home to find Momo asleep on Yuri's lap. "Momo needs someone like you to look up to. You're are like an older sister to her."

Yuri had just smiled; it took all she had though to keep her face straight. Her stomach clenched at those words and she felt like screaming and crying all at the same time. She bit her lip in an effort to control herself and noticed the strange almost pained expression that had come across her husband's face as the German woman had said that.

Yuri knew at that moment, whatever it took she was going to find a way to bring Momo and Momiji together. She couldn't let Momo go on growing up without her older brother and she couldn't let Momiji go on separated from his family like that. If anyone deserved a caring and loving family, it was Momiji. And the thought of him, of anyone being denied one like that tore her up inside.

"Just where do you think you are going?" I voice said sternly behind her. Yuri cursed her lack of sneaking skill and turned around. Now she really felt like a fox, like a fox caught in the chicken coop by a farmer with a rifle. A tall, black haired man stood in front of her, a solemn expression on his face. His hair was badly in need of a trim; some of it even fell to cover his whole left eye. He was wearing a stethoscope and a long white coat. He was obviously a doctor.

No it was too good to be true. And yet……..

Yuri wasn't sure how she knew, she just did. Maybe it was the way he balanced himself as he took a few steps towards her, maybe it was how it was hidden beneath his hair that clued her in, or maybe it was just her instincts coming into play, but……

"You can't see out of your left eye, can you?" Yuri said suddenly. The man stopped, taken aback. Yuri smiled, she had guessed right, and she loved being right.

"How……" he began to ask slowly and suspiciously. Yuri just smiled,

"What luck I have being caught by just the person I wanted to see!" she said.

"Please to meet you Hatori Sohma." She said bowing. "Perhaps, Shigure told you about me, I'm Yuri and I'm the one blessed by the Fox spirit."

… … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … …

Yuri sat in Hatori's office, sipping at the tea he had gotten her and trying to slyly get a look at the picture on his desk. Noticing, Hatori flipped the frame face down. Yuri sighed.

"So why are you here?" Hatori asked icily. "You were very close to the main house, but you surely were not here to see Akito. Akito is far from pleased by your existence near the Sohmas, I'm Shigure told you at least that." Yuri nodded,

"Yes, he did. And well, actually I'm here to see you Hatori." She said. Hatori didn't even look at her, he continued to shuffle and organize papers on his desk.

"And why is that?"

"To ask you a question." Yuri said slowly. Hatori did look up now.

"What kind of question?" he asked quietly. Yuri paused, wondering how to word it.

"The memories……the memories you erase, is……is there a way to ever get them back?" Hatori just stared seriously at her for a moment.

"Why do you ask such a thing?" he asked her sternly. "Are you that afraid? Didn't Shigure tell you? You are safe." His voice stung. Yuri frowned at him, biting her lip.

"That isn't why I asked." She said slightly hurt. "I….I wanted to see if there was any way for Momiji's family to be repaired. That's all." There was a little edge to her voice. She stared at Hatori, more than a little displeased by the way he had spoken to her.

"There isn't any way to bring back memories that have been erased." Hatori said suddenly, rummaging in his drawer. "I'm sorry." And Yuri was left wondering what exactly Hatori was apologizing for. Being cruel to her or for not having the answer she was looking for.

"Though I will say it's not exactly a permanent condition." He said slowly, Yuri listened intently. "It's very rare but sometimes memories can resurface. The process of 'erasing' isn't all that different from the natural way the brain 'forgets' painful experiences, like trauma in someone's childhood or the moment of impact in a terrible accident. It's the brain's way of preserving itself. If a memory is too painful for us to deal with, we just forget. When I 'erase' someone's memory it does the same thing and the same way a person sometimes remembers those forgotten things when something major happens in their lives, 'erased' memories can come back too." Yuri's eyes lit up. Hatori walked to the porch and lit a cigarette.

"But……" he said slowly, "is that what you really want?" Yuri stared. "What do you think would happen to Momiji's mother if she remembered? If she remembered what she had done? In the best case scenario I'm sure she would get sick again. How would you face yourself, if you chose to forget your first born child?" Hatori mused solemnly. Yuri bit her lip as he continued.

"Don't you think that would cause Momiji a lot more unnecessary pain?" Hatori asked her calmly. Yuri nodded and looked away. She would have to find another way then. Hatori was right. It all seemed very hopeless. But…

"I'm sorry for the way I spoke to you earlier." Hatori said, exhaling the smoke from his cigarette. "I misjudged you, I'm sorry." He paused for a moment, and then smiled slightly,

"I have to say I'm impressed by your real reason for coming, I wouldn't have expected. I'm…..I'm rather close to that situation you see." He said quietly. "I'm the one who erased her memories after all…." Yuri stared at the pained expression on Hatori's face. "And…after that I began watching Momiji a lot, when his father couldn't be with him."

Yuri smiled to herself. Hatori was actually very different than the cold, unfeeling person she had expected. She realized that she had judged him wrong as well. He wasn't mercilessly erasing people's memories. It cost him dearly each time. It was obvious how much he regretted causing Momiji that pain by erasing his mother's memories. That sort of kindness, it warmed Yuri's heart.

"He talks about you a lot." Hatori said, interrupting her thoughts. Yuri looked at him confused. "Momiji, that is." He clarified. Yuri smiled brightly at him.

The almost tender moment was abruptly destroyed as an extravagant man, with long silver hair burst into the office.

"TORI!" he called loudly, striding towards Hatori but then he noticed Yuri. He stared at her, confused by her presence.

"Well…." He said, a gleam in his eye, "who might this lovely lady be?"

END OF CHAPTER 7

A/N: I got the idea for the memories resurfacing from a truly lovely story by Applehappy, called Recovery. You should all check it out if you get a chance. Her other stories too cause she is a fabulous writer!

So anyway……

Please review if you want to make me really happy!