Sorry for the long wait! Well, I might be able to update this more often cause I finished my other story. Alrighty, well I don't really have much to say, except that I'm considering about making a prequel to this story about Yukiko's mom and Hatori. If you would like me to write it, let me know what you think. Oh my gosh, I so cried while watching the episode to this chapter. Poor Momiji, I love him to death and hearing him talk about his mother and everything just made me soooo sad! I feel sorry for him, I won't be writing that part in this chapter but most of you reading this already knows what happened. Okay, well enjoy!

Innocence
Chapter 9
Yukiko's Last Prayer

"Yeah… It's the first anniversary of Mom's death, so we're going to her grave," Yukiko heard as she headed back towards the house. Kyo was sitting on the porch drinking from a milk carton. He noticed Yukiko's shocked expression as she stopped walking.

"What's wrong with you?" Kyo asked as she started to tremble. Her head turned to him quickly, noticing him for the first time. She shook her head and turned to walk back the way she came from. "Hey! I asked you a question!"

He watched her walk away and disappear from sight. He wondered what was bothering her and why she seemed alarmed at what Tohru said.

--

Yukiko kept walking until she reached Yuki's secret base. They had planted the peach trees a while ago and it would take a couple years before any peaches would be fit for eating. Some of the other fruits were ready to be picked, including the cherries. Sitting down, Yukiko started to pick some random fruits and placed them in a basket she had brought earlier.

Yukiko wasn't really bothered by the fact that Tohru was visiting her mother, it was more that fact that she didn't want to be part of the conversation. She really wanted to go and be there for Tohru but it made her think of her own mother.

After collecting enough fruits, Yukiko walked back towards the house in search of Yuki. If he was going, surely he would let her come along. She was in luck today finding him in the kitchen where she was headed.

"Yuki?" Yukiko started to ask while putting the basket on the counter. He turned towards her and spotted her basket.

"Oh, did you go to my secret base?" Yuki asked plucking up a cherry.

"Yes, I was going to make some deserts with it. If that's okay?" Yukiko questioned.

"Certainly. Would you like me to help?" Yuki asked.

"Of course! I would like that. But um… I wanted to ask you something. You're going with Tohru tomorrow right?" Yukiko asked. Yuki nodded in response. "Do you think I would be able to go also?"

"You would have to ask Tohru," Yuki said.

"Oh okay. Maybe later," Yukiko said solemnly. They ended the conversation and started to make treats with the ripe fruit.

--

Later that day, Yukiko found a chance to talk to Tohru. She was folding laundry and Yukiko decided to help her, since Tohru was working on Yukiko's clothes.

"Can I do it?" Yukiko asked Tohru walking into the small room. Tohru turned to her surprised then she smiled.

"Of course," Tohru replied handing Yukiko the pile of her clothes. Yukiko sat in silence while she folded her belongings. They talked a bit about what Yuki and Yukiko made earlier that day.

When Yukiko finished, she walked over to Tohru bashfully and tugged slightly on Tohru's sleeves to get her attention.

"Ah… Tohru…" Yukiko started when Tohru looked down at her.

"Yes?" Tohru asked with her sweet smile still plastered on her face.

"Would it be okay… if I went… with you tomorrow?" Yukiko finally asked shyly. Tohru turned fully around and hugged Yukiko.

"I would love it if you came! Mom would love to meet you!" Tohru responded cheerfully. Yukiko nodded, grinning, and let Tohru finish the laundry. She took her basket of clothes to her room before deciding what she would wear tomorrow. It was a cemetery, so she would probably need to wear something black. Finding the perfect outfit, Yukiko got ready for bed.

Before going to sleep, Yukiko took out a stuffed animal frog that she had in her closet and went to lay down in her bed. She fell asleep within minutes, dreaming of how to make Tohru happy tomorrow on such a sad day.

--

"Sorta small, for a temple," Kyo complained once they arrived at the cemetery. Tohru was wearing a black dress and the boys were wearing their black school uniforms. The only black outfit Yukiko had was a short, black pleated skirt and a black long sleeved turtle neck shirt. The shirt had gold bangles around the sleeves to keep them from sliding up her arms. She also wore gold boots that scrunched at her ankles. Since Yukiko couldn't do her own hair, Tohru fixed it up for her in a smooth ponytail with a black ribbon to match her own.

"It's nice, isn't it? Just a quiet little place. It's kind of like home…" Tohru said. Yukiko looked up at Tohru's calm expression and smiled. Yukiko was holding a small dark blue bag with a white ribbon holding the handles together.

"I like it Tohru!" Yukiko exclaimed happily. Tohru smiled at Yukiko and nodded contently.

"You know… I'm glad to see we have such a nice day today. I'd say we're pretty fortunate, as bad as the weather's been lately," Yuki said.

"Yeah… it's like Mom's smiling down on us…" Tohru agreed. "After all, she has a lot to smile about. The three of you are coming to visit."

"Tohru… Do you think that my mum and yours are friends since they're both… well, do you think it's possible?" Yukiko asked following Yuki's gaze towards the sky and folding her hands together gently.

'I would love it if they were. Mum, I hope you're happy where you are. I know you are making tons of friends, like I am. You have no reason to worry anymore. I have great friends to care about and protect me for once. But, thanks for always being there.' Yukiko thought towards the vast sky, hoping her mother would hear her prayer.

"Of course! That would be wonderful!" Tohru cried cheerfully. "That means they're both smiling together!" Yukiko grinned with Tohru and nodded in agreement.

"I think my mum would be happy to meet all of you and know that I have such wonderful friends now," Yukiko said, bouncing up and down on her heels. Yuki and Kyo stared at her, she never really said anything about when she lived in Europe. They wondered how her life was there.

"Tohru!" the group heard someone call from behind them. They saw Uo and Hana walking up the stairs towards them. "Hey! Great day for visiting a grave, huh!"

"Yes!" Tohru replied.

"What the hell are you wearing?" Kyo asked when Uo and Hana stopped in front of them.

"What do you mean?" Uo asked. She was holding a bouquet of flowers.

"We're wearing black. What did you expect?" Hana asked.

"Not that!" Kyo screamed holding up a fist.

"Miss Uotani… that outfit you're wearing…" Yuki trailed on. "Well, is that a… trenchcoat?"

"Hm? Yeah, pretty sharp huh?" Uo asked. "I inherited this from Kyoko, back in the day. You are looking at the legendary "Red Butterfly's" riding jacket!"

"What's the Red Butterfly?" Yukiko wondered aloud.

"That's what they used to call Mom when she was in her gang!" Tohru explained. Yukiko's eyes widened in surprise.

All right! Everybody's here! Let's get this party started!" Uo called as she led the way to the grave. Yukiko followed Hana and Tohru, leaving the two boys behind in shock.

When they found the grave, it was cleaned up and was burning incense.

"That's weird," Uo said.

"It's already been cleaned up," Yuki stated the obvious.

"Guess somebody got here before us," Kyo interjected.

"It must've been Grandfather!" Tohru exclaimed. "He's the only other person I can think of who knows Mom's favorite food!" They saw a box of food on the carved stone.

"Your grandfather?" Yukiko and Kyo asked at the same time. Kyo glared at Yukiko while she giggled. Uo put her hand on Yukiko's head to congratulate her for ticking off Kyo. "Which side of the family did you say he was from?" Kyo asked again, this time without a backup.

"He's my grandfather on my father's side," Tohru answered. Uo and Hana were setting up the flowers and shifted their gaze to each other.

"Yeah, Kyoko and her parents weren't exactly on speaking terms…" Uo said.

"Your father… how did he…" Yuki wondered.

"He got sick, and just couldn't get better… That's what Mom told me…" Tohru said. Everyone was quiet for a minute then Yukiko broke the silence.

"Ah… I understand, Tohru. You see, that's how my mum died. She was sick for a while but she would get better within a couple days. That time though, she just couldn't hold on much longer," Yukiko said quietly. She was looking towards the ground and kicking her foot back and forth slightly. Nobody said anything, but the atmosphere was enough to say everything. Tohru bent down in front of her mom's grave.

"Hi mom. I came to see you," she said.

"We all came," Hana said.

"I guess your grandfather already did all the cleaning," Uo said placing the flowers she was holding down. "But we can still put these flowers up, huh?" Tohru nodded in answer.

"Yuki, did you see? Aren't these pretty flowers?" Tohru asked pulling Yuki out of his train of thought. Hana and Uo started to set up a blanket and Yukiko helped them. Yuki set the basket he was holding down and pulled food from it.

"Okay, it's all ready!" Tohru announced once everything was in place. Kyo complained once he saw the picnic, but Yukiko wasn't paying much attention. Her gaze was upon the blue bag she brought with her. They all ate while talking about whatever came to their minds. Yuki started a conversation with Uo while he ate.

Yukiko noticed that Tohru was finished with her meal and grabbed the bag.

"Tohru, can I talk to you for a minute?" Yukiko asked standing up.

"Sure!" Tohru replied, standing as well. They walked for awhile, barely noticing the others' eyes on them.

"Tohru, I would like to give you a present," Yukiko started handing the blue bag to Tohru. "And I also wanted to say thank you for everything that you have done so far. You are the first girl friend that I've ever had. And I'm giving this to you because I have more and they help at night."

Tohru pulled out what was in the bag and saw a brown teddy bear that had a pale yellow ribbon around its neck.

"Thank you Yukiko. I love it," Tohru stuttered, not really knowing what to say. "But, did you not have many friends in Europe?"

"Ah… no," Yukiko replied looking downwards once more. "See, they all thought I was weird, I guess. I was picked on a lot by the other kids and none of the girls liked me. So when you wanted to be my friend, it meant a lot to me. The Sohmas' and you have treated me so kindly and I'm so happy. You're like a big sister to me."

"You're a great friend also and I'm glad to have met you. And you're like a little sister also," Tohru replied hugging the smaller girl. They giggled and walked back to the group. Tohru was hugging her new stuffed animal close to her and smiling happily at Yukiko. Things were definitely perfect that day, with Tohru and Yukiko growing closer in their friendship, and both of their moms smiling down upon them.

--

"Thanks so much for coming to visit with me yesterday…" Tohru said to Uo and Hana at school. Yukiko had taken to following Tohru almost everywhere since their conversation yesterday, and Tohru knew what it felt like to have a younger sibling for once. Tohru didn't mind though, Yukiko was very easy to get along with and to cute to get mad at. She was almost like a little duckling following its mother. If Tohru didn't know what Zodiac Yukiko was already, she would have to guess that Yukiko could have been a duckling instead of a dragon.

"Hey… C'mon, we should be thanking you… Especially for all the food you made," Uo said.

"Yukiko helped with the food also," Tohru said looking down at the hyperactive Yukiko. Shigure made the mistake of giving her coffee this morning. Kyo got very angry and complained that it would be like having two Momijis.

"Yea, and who knew that we would get to see Yukiko in such a cute outfit," Uo added watching the bouncing girl with a smile. "Who gave the kid sugar?"

"Oh, Shigure gave her coffee to wake her up this morning. She went to bed late last night and was really tired. So, to wake her up he handed her a drink and I think it would be safe to say that it worked," Tohru explained.

"This was the first time that I've ever had coffee," Yukiko said, halting her playful skipping for a minute.

"Wow, really. It doesn't show," Uo said jokingly. Yukiko only grinned at them and resumed her actions of saying hi to people she didn't even know.

"Tohru! Yukiko!" the group heard Momiji cry out as he ran towards them. Yukiko didn't seem to notice as she was talking to an upperclassman boy. The boy looked nice enough so Tohru didn't worry too much about Yukiko.

"Hide me! Hide me!" Momiji said running behind Tohru. "We're playing cops and robbers! And I'm the robber!"

Yukiko was about as giddy as Momiji and continued her conversation. The boy she was talking to had shaggy red hair and brown eyes. He was about as tall as Yuki and in a grade above him.

"Are you related to the Prince then, Yukiko?" the boy asked.

"Yep! What's your name?" Yukiko wondered shifting positions every five seconds.

"I'm Mamoru Sohma. We're distantly related then," Mamoru said smiling.

"Wow, you're a Sohma. Who of the other Sohmas do you know?" Yukiko asked wondering if he knew her father. Her sugar high was wearing down and she was beginning to feel quite calm.

"Well, I have an older sister whose name is Kana. She was training to become a doctor a couple years ago and worked for Hatori Sohma. That didn't work out though, but she was married just a while ago," Mamoru said.

"Uh… She worked for Hatori? That's my father," Yukiko said nervously.

"That's amazing. I never heard anything about him having a daughter though," Mamoru said in thought.

"I only met him myself a couple months ago. I was living with my mum in Europe," Yukiko said.

"Well, I gotta get to class. We should talk again sometime," Mamoru said before walking off towards his classroom.

Yukiko turned around and hopped back over to Tohru, Uo, and Hana.

"Oh… yeah… that's what they say, isn't it?" Uo was saying when Yukiko tuned into their discussion. "Guys look like their moms and girls look like their dads?"

"Yes, just like Tohru resembles her father more than her mother…" Hana added.

"Well, I guess that's true. Yukiko does look a lot like her father. I've only seen her mother in a picture but her mom has blonde hair and blue eyes," Tohru said noticing Yukiko standing beside her.

"Are you finished with your little escapade there?" Uo asked.

"Yeah. Oh Tohru! I met a Sohma just now!" Yukiko exclaimed. Tohru's eyes widened in surprise before she started stuttering.

"A… Sohma? I didn't know there were anymore here," Tohru wondered.

"Yea, his name is Mamoru. His big sister used to work with my dad. Her name's Kana," Yukiko said. Tohru started at Kana's name and was unsure whether or not Yukiko knew of Hatori and Kana's romance.

"That's nice. I hope I can meet him also," Tohru said finally. Tohru didn't want to mention anything about Hatori having a girlfriend around Yukiko. It might trouble the girl to know that her father had another fling while her mother was hiding from his family.

--

While Tohru was at work that night, Hatori and Haru came to visit. Hatori walked into Yukiko's room while Haru talked to Shigure, and he found her at her desk drawing. He looked over her shoulder quietly and looked at the picture to see him, Kyouni, and Yukiko all happy and laughing. Yukiko was between them and holding their hands where she belonged.

Clearing his throat, Hatori watched Yukiko fling her arms over her drawing and turn towards him. She threw her picture into a drawer and faced him completely.

"Um… Hello!" Yukiko said nervously. Hatori smiled slightly and took a gold key out of his pocket. "Oh, right! Hold on a second." Yukiko ran over to her closet and tugged at a chest half her size. It seemed too heavy for her, so Hatori walked over and helped her pull it out with ease.

"This is the trunk?" Hatori asked, pocketing the key. He would open it later when he was alone.

"Yeah, it's kinda heavy though. I can get Uncle Shigure to help you if you want," Yukiko said patting her hands together as to get imaginary dust off of them.

"That's fine," Hatori replied.

"Um… Can I ask you something?" Yukiko wondered, bashfully looking at him.

"Certainly," Hatori said gently, trying not to sound so stern for once.

"Ah… Well… Who is Kana?"

--

Oooohhh… So sorry to end it there, but it's late at night and I have my first day of school in the morning. My last year of high school! Woot Woot! Anyways, if you want me to write that prequel, let me know. Right, well review if you like and let me know what you think about my story so far. Oh, how do you like my new character? It was a spur of the moment thing. He turned out very nice though, no?

Love, Archer

Thanks to everyone who has been reviewing so far!