AN: So much has happened! All my fanfiction fell to the wayside because I just had no time to write. I used to write on my breaks at work, and email myself bits to compile later but then our email policy changed and I couldn't do that anymore without risking my job. =/ Between work and my con business (selling buttons at conventions, I was doing about 8-12 a year) I very little time to sleep much less write. Then I decided to go back to school early this year! Then I didn't even have time to sleep! Some weeks I was up from 7am to 3am for more then half the week.

However, this month, October, I got downsized from my day job where I worked at a corporate bank. (So not a bad thing!) I'm concentrating on my own business now (RandomFandom .com), and I decided to celebrate by updating my fanfiction. I've missed writing so badly. I've been noodling on this chapter forever, and actually have another 15 pages that just aren't gelling. But I like this section, and seeing as it's almost 30 pages, I figured there was no reason to sit on it any longer. I hope it was worth the wait for the people who still remember this story.

This is unbeta'd so I'm sure there are mistakes. Please feel free to point them out.

"So?" Fuko's voice was tinny and distant on the phone, but the curiosity came through loud and clear.

"No bento this morning," Saya reported.

"Saya-san, there's a lot of static, are you on speaker?" Ari sounded nervous, "I don't think that's a good idea. What if Sensei hears?"

"No, no, of course not," Saya said, glancing around just in case. "It's Fuko-san's phone making all the noise."

"You still haven't gotten rid of that old rotary?" Ari asked.

"That's not important now!" Fuko said. "You're sure there is no bento?"

"I asked him what he wanted for lunch, and he said the usual." Saya confirmed, lowering her voice slightly.

"I don't feel right talking about this on the phone..." Ari said again. "What if he catches you, Saya-san?"

"Well, it's not like we could all come in again." Fuko said sternly. "He'd get suspicious."

"And coming on Saya-san talking to the two of us on the phone isn't?" Ari squeaked. "The conference call button will be lit up, that shows on his extension too. What if he says something?"

"Don't worry about it," Fuko said dismissively. "He's never noticed before."

"When have you-"

"Saya-san?"

"Just a moment please," Saya said crisply into the phone, and then held receiver to her chest to muffle the panicked conversation between Ari and Fuko. She looked over her shoulder at Hatori and smiled. "Was there something you needed, Sensei?"

"Ah, I'm sorry, I didn't realize you were on the phone," Hatori said, looking up from his clipboard. "I just need the chart for our first appointment."

"We've got it much easier today," Saya smiled, handing him the chart and lifted the receiver away slightly so Ari and Fuko could hear. Their conversation had died enough to make it safe. "The first appointment isn't until after lunch, so you have time to catch up on your paperwork."

Hatori nodded and turned to leave.

"Sensei," Saya called impulsively, the stoic doctor's expression hardly changed despite it being unusual that she'd try to start a conversation. "I'm sorry if you had to miss your appointment yesterday. I know you asked that we keep Thursday afternoons free, but it was unavoidable."

"It proved not to be an issue," Hatori said after a pause, seemingly taken aback by the comment. "There was some miscommunication, but... my appointment... and I were able to connect without too much of a problem."

"That's good to hear." Saya said sincerely. "I'll try to keep your schedule in more order."

"Thank you." Hatori started to turn to leave, then paused. "That reminds me... please ensure that any home visits on Saturday are scheduled for early in the day as I will be busy in the evenings for the foreseeable future. The Saturday after next I will be available only on an emergency basis, though I will be at my residence."

"And this Saturday?" Saya asked a bit breathlessly.

"I'll be off-site, but have my cell," Hatori said, then nodded to her phone. "I'll let you return to your phone call."

"What?" Saya looked down at the forgotten receiver in her hand. "Oh, yes! Sorry!" She put the receiver up to her ear. "Sorry for the wait!" She nodded to Hatori as he disappeared into the other room. She waited a moment until she heard the door click shut and then turned eagerly back to the phone. "Goodness! Did you hear?"

"She waited for him after all!" Ari practically squealed. "I wonder why she didn't make him a lunch this time?"

"Probably her little dig to show that she was upset." Fuko's voice was sour.

"Maybe they weren't someplace she could bring one," Saya said reasonably. " Or she didn't have time because we made him late. But what do you think about the Saturday thing? Do you think he's meeting with her twice a week?"

"She just digs her way closer and closer." Fuko snorted. "Mark my words, she's just after his money."

"I dunno," Ari said hesitantly. It was never a good idea to go against Fuko's opinions. "If she was just a gold-digger wouldn't she go after Yuki-sama or Shigure-sama? Yuki-sama should be about her age-"

"So years before he comes into actual money," Fuko interrupted.

"And Shigure-sama?" Saya pointed out in a whisper. "He's the same age as Sensei."

"He always struck me as a bit more clever then Hatori-sama," Fuko said slowly.

"Now you're just reaching!" Saya harrumphed.

"All I'm saying is that maybe she tried them first and it didn't work," Fuko insisted. "I don't trust her. Why would some high school girl want to be around a man his age otherwise?"

"There is that." Ari said doubtfully. "I mean, especially when you think that she's living with Yuki-sama... Most girls would go for him."

"I think you go for him." Fuko snickered.

"If I was ten years younger maybe." Ari giggled, then sobered. "But still, it does make me worry."

"How's his mood today?" Fuko asked. "His usual pissy self?"

"He doesn't seem different," Saya said, "Though, as usual, I haven't seen much of him. He does look less tired these days, don't you think?"

"You think so?" Ari mused.

Fuko snorted. "I hadn't noticed."

"He was awfully excited to give her that tea," Saya said, covering her mouth over the receiver to be sure that incriminating comment didn't leave the room. "I've never seen him flustered like he was yesterday either...He was really in a panic!"

"So what?"

Fuko was being deliberately obtuse in Saya's opinion.

"So!" Saya repeated in exasperation, "I've just never seen him act like that before. He seems, I don't know, more human these days."

"Less icy," Ari agreed.

"So what?" Fuko repeated, "all the more reason he needs to be protected from himself. Imagine how this will hurt him if she's some greedy child who has him snowed."

"But what can we do about it?" Ari asked. "I mean, I don't want to see him hurt either... but I think he'll get suspicious if we overload his schedule every Thursday."

"I'll think of something," Fuko promised. "We've got two days to work on now, Thursdays and Saturdays."

"But we don't work on Saturdays," Ari protested. "Just Sensei does on his home visits, he doesn't use a nurse then."

"He's going to think there is something wrong with me if I suddenly start messing up his home visit schedule on top of yesterday," Saya agreed. "I just promised I'd keep his schedule in order!"

"No, no, we have to be more subtle then that." They could hear the determination in Fuko's voice. "She's got him wrapped around her finger, we've got to show her she doesn't come first." There was an ominous pause. "I think have a plan."

"What?" Saya asked nervously, wishing they'd never discovered the doctor's lunches or the identity of the person who'd given them.

"Emergencies happen, you know," Fuko snorted. "And she isn't the only silly little girl who chases older men. We just have to show Sensei what happens to those girls after they catch their man. They aren't so cute then."

::0::0::

Tooru tried, unsuccessfully, to hide a yawn behind her hand.

"Damn dragon." She heard Kyou hiss behind her.

"It's not Hatori-san's fault," She said for what felt the hundredth time. Kyou gave her a sour look and molded another riceball. "It was as much mine for talking so much." She gave herself a little knock on the head. "He was very patient listening to me."

"I listen to you," Kyou muttered.

Tooru gave him a patient smile, and dished out the miso soup they were having for dinner. It was just the two of them tonight so they were keeping it simple. Shigure had a meeting with his editor and Yuki at the library catching up on some of the studies he'd missed with all his work at the student council.

She'd packed him a bento to take with him, enough for two because she suspected he might be meeting some of his student council friends there. She wouldn't be too surprised if the bento returned home untouched. If he did meet up with his friends they often ended up eating out. He was doing that a bit more often then she liked, but since she at least got to make his lunch and breakfast most days she tried not to think about it too much. She also tried not be hurt that he wasn't sharing that part of his life with her at all.

"Kyou-kun is tired of hearing me talk about my scrapbook," she said realizing her thoughts were wandering away from the person in front of her again.

"Am not." Kyou protested even though he'd groused every time she spread her supplies across the living room table. Hardly more than an hour ago he'd been complaining about the smell of glue. She'd tried involving him in it, but any time she asked for an opinion he just shrugged or said he didn't know.

She'd decided that when Kyou started complaining about her scrap-booking he was really trying to say he wanted her to focus on him. She thought he might be feeling a little lonely, a feeling she understood well. Since there were plenty of times when he wasn't around to work on her scrapbook she'd put it away for the night.

"I'm going to run out of pictures soon," Tooru said. "I don't know what I'll do then." She glanced at the bowls and onigiri. It looked really spare, though she knew it would be filling. "Would Kyou-kun like some pickles or..." she paused to think what else they had. "Oh! How about some dried sardines? Shigure-san bought some by mistake when he went shopping."

"Yeah, sardines sound good," Kyou said arranging everything on plates and preparing to carry the tray into the next room. He froze, and brought his head up to give her a strange look. "Wait, how does someone buy dried sardines by accident? They don't look like anything else but dried sardines. And he hates those."

"I don't know!" Tooru shook her head at the package as she took it off the shelf. "I can't imagine what he was after, it wasn't anything on my list." She giggled. "He accused Tanaka-san of slipping it in his bag."

"The old lady with the glasses?" Kyou asked, he'd walked with her often enough to the store to be vaguely familiar with the staff.

"Yes." Tooru quickly cleaned a carrot and cut it in slices. Kyou liked them well enough, and everything was too monotone for her liking. She put most of them in a dish and sprinkled the rest around the onigiri.

"That was unnecessary," Kyou commented looking at the onigiri plate.

Tooru shrugged, smiling. "But it looks pretty."

"Yeah, I guess," he said hefting the tray and carrying it into the other room. "So why does Shigure think Tanaka would have stuck dried sardines in his bag? That doesn't make any sense."

"Shigure-san played a joke on Tanaka-san," Tooru said decided it was wise not to go into the nature of the joke. "He said it was her revenge."

Plucking up one of the sardines after putting the platter on the table, Kyou shrugged. "Pretty stupid revenge."

"I don't think Tanaka-san would do something like that," Tooru said with a smile. "I think Shigure-san just forgot he picked them up. He's done it before, usually when he goes alone."

Kyou gave a one-shouldered shrug to indicate he didn't care enough to keep to questioning it. "I still think that guy should have gotten you home earlier yesterday, " he said drawing the conversation back around full circle.

Tooru just served him an onigiri. It wasn't worth continuing the fight. "I'm just lucky that work got canceled tonight, and that Haru-kun was able to get the message to me before I left." She was a little surprised that they'd decide to fumigate the building so suddenly. She'd never noticed any insects or pests when she cleaned there, not enough to close the whole building. It was strange that they'd pass a message from Momiji's father to Hatori to Haru to her. Though she wondered if her work had an updated number for her... she thought they might still have her grandfather's phone number. Maybe that's why they'd passed the the message that way. Though she was surprised the Momiji's father remembered who she was enough to care.

"Will you be okay for money this month?" Kyou asked around a mouthful of riceball. "Missing a day and all."

"I can afford to miss one day." Tooru shifted uncomfortably. It was the one side effect of her day off that she really disliked. Everyone kept poking their noses into her finances. She knew they were doing it because they cared, but it was invasive and embarrassing. "Besides, Haru-kun said that because of the last minute notice that we are going to be paid for today."

"That's good," Kyou said.

"What will Kyou-kun do for dinner on Saturday? I'll be going with Shigure-san to Ayame-san's," she reminded him. It worked out perfectly, she had time to spend with Kyou on Saturday afternoons just as planned and still go out to dinner with Shigure in the evenings.

Kyou shrugged. "There are plenty of leftovers." He drank a deep swig of his soup and then pointed his chopsticks at Tooru. "I don't know why you'd want to subject yourself to them any more then you have to. Why don't you let the stupid dog go by himself? You know Shigure and Ayame are just going to boss you around."

"Oh, no! I think it will be fun. Ayame-san and Mine-san are so..." Tooru fumbled for a word that encompassed the designer and assistant and fell short, finishing with, "...energetic."

Kyou snorted. "That's one word for it." He'd never met Mine, but he'd heard plenty of stories from Tooru on her one encounter with the woman. She sounded like a female version of Ayame, and that was enough to send shivers down his spine. "Still, I don't see how it's going to be fun to be run ragged."

"Well, Hatori-san will be there too," Tooru said. If it had been only Shigure, Mine and Ayame she might have hesitated to go. They could get pretty wild and she knew she couldn't keep up with them when they got on a roll. But she knew Hatori wouldn't let things get too out of control.

"That guy again," Kyou muttered.

Tooru smiled gamely, kicking herself for bringing the conversation back around to him again. She didn't know how Hatori kept becoming the topic of conversation. "How are Kyou-kun's classes going at the dojo? Are your students learning well?"

"Most of them," Kyou said, perking up, "they all try real hard once you get their attention-"

Tooru nodded as Kyou eagerly started to share details about his classes and students. She still had trouble imagining him as a teacher. The Kyou she knew was impatient, rough and quick-tempered. But from the sounds of it, none of that prevented him from directing his class of students.

The flood of information was overwhelming. She lost track of what story he was trying to tell due to all the tangents he kept going on. He kept tripping over explanations and going off in new directions like an eager kitten chasing string.

Besides his father, who would he have to share this with? I should have asked about this sooner, Tooru thought."Can I come to class with Kyou-kun sometime?" She blurted.

"You want to?" His eyes widened and he tried to hide a pleased grin. "But when? I mean, you work and my classes-"

"I can miss a day of work," Tooru said, leaning forward. "I really want to see Kyou-kun teach."

"I don't want you to do that," Kyou said frowning. "You need the money."

"I've been saving," Tooru said. "I can afford to miss one day." At his doubtful look she insisted, "I can."

Indecision crawled across the cat's face. He wanted her to come but...

"No," Kyou said finally, crossing his arms. "I don't want you to make things hard on yourself."

Tooru looked down at her plate and nibbled at a carrot.

"Maybe you can come on your day off;" Kyou mumbled after the uncomfortable silence stretched between them. He pushed a sardine around on his plate with a finger.

"Hatori-san's lessons-" Tooru started.

"Yeah, well, maybe he'll cancel some day or something," Kyou said, not meeting her eyes. "And the lessons aren't going to go on forever, right? They're only temporary."

"Oh, yes," Tooru said slowly, though she'd never thought of that. "I suppose so. But that probably won't be for a while..."

"Maybe you could cancel on him," Kyou said, looking up at her finally. "It's not fair that he takes up every day you have off."

"I couldn't do that!" Tooru protested. "I promised-"

"It's not fair is all I'm saying." Kyou jutted his chin out belligerently. "You should tell him you don't want to do it on every day off. There's no reason you should."

"But-" Tooru started, then cut herself off. She couldn't figure out how to say that she wanted to keep her appointment with Hatori without implying that she didn't want to spend time with Kyou. "I promised," she finished lamely.

She liked spending time with Hatori, she felt like she was finally getting to know the him. He was... relaxing and exciting at the same time. She never knew how he was going to react.

She was nervously anticipating their meeting at Ayame's. She still wasn't sure exactly what had happened at the end of the night yesterday. That sudden awareness of every bit of him that was near her, and his deep voice and long fingers, she'd never felt anything like it before. It stirred up her insides. Was she going to be like that every time she was around him? She hoped not. She didn't want to look like that big a fool.

"You didn't promise to spend every day off with him, just to give him cooking lessons," Kyou pointed out, between mouthfuls of riceball. "You didn't promise anything else."

"That's true." Tooru said hesitantly. And maybe he didn't want to spend that much time with her. She knew Hatori didn't even want to be taking these lessons, she'd pressed them on him. She hoped he'd had fun last week as well, he'd seemed to. But he was so obviously tired, always falling asleep! Maybe it would be better to give him a "night off" too. But if she didn't have her lessons with him, she knew he wouldn't eat right either. She chewed at her lip absently wondering which was the better, rest or food.

"So just say something to him on Saturday," Kyou said firmly sensing that she was wavering.

"I'll.. I'll think about it." Tooru said.

::0::0::

Hatori walked into his house and sniffed at the air. His whole house still smelled of stew. His stomach rumbled even though it was hours before he usually ate. He'd followed Tooru's instructions to turn the stew on just before he went to bed, and he'd woken up the the smell of it. It had been hard to resist having a bowl for breakfast. He'd set the timer on the crock pot to warm the stew slowly so it would be ready by dinner time, as per Tooru's written instructions. His lips twitched up, she'd written up three ways to warm it up, detailing the pros and cons of each in her unique way.

"Microwave is fastest," she'd written and he could hear how seriously she would have said it if she'd been there, "but it will dry meat-san out and the potato might go crumbly if it isn't watched closely." He wondered at her need to anthropomorphize everything.

The house felt abnormally quiet as he changed into his casual clothes.

It took him a moment to realize why. He'd never had fresh, home cooked food that wasn't prepared by a guest. Ayame, Kana, Tooru, and none had been content to cook in silence. Ayame had always shouted a running commentary from the kitchen on whatever subjects his butterfly brain touched on. Kana had sung and hummed to herself. Tooru was fond of the radio.

He walked into the living room and turned on his radio. It was still set to the soft classical station she favored. He tended to listen to the all talk news station, liking the sound of voices in the house, but decided to leave it as is. It had been calming last night, the smell of food and the soft music. He thought it might be nice to have that again.

He sat at his desk and sorted through the papers he'd brought home. Even with the lighter day today, he still had paperwork from Thursday to sort through. He didn't know what had possessed Saya to schedule that many appointments on one day. She had been an impeccable nurse so far, and it wasn't like her to make that big of a blunder. He felt guilty that he put so many administrative tasks on her. But the truth was he didn't need as many nurses as he had and didn't have much else for them to do.

The scratching of his pen as he made his notes was getting under his skin. The warming food and the music wasn't helping alleviate the oppressive silence of his house. He found himself tapping a finger just for the extra noise. He sighed and looked at his watch. Time wasn't passing nearly fast enough.

He nearly jumped out of his skin when his cellphone rang.

"Ha'ri!" Momiji's panicked voice shot through the line. "I'm so sorry! Your message, I just listened to it. To-ru! I forgot to tell you- I'm sorry! Did-"

"Calm down," Hatori said, cutting through the boy's stumbling apology. "Tooru-kun and I were able to meet up, I should have called you back to let you know. But I'm disappointed it took you this long to listen to my message."

"I'm sorry." Momiji said miserably. "I forgot my cellphone at home yesterday when I picked up my violin before class, and left it home today by mistake. I just saw the missed call."

"You have to be more careful," Hatori scolded. "You need to keep your cell with you at all times, what if there is an emergency or you transform somewhere and you need me to come get you?"

"I know."

Hatori sighed and decided to change the subject. Momiji was so responsible so much of the time, he couldn't scold him too much for one mistake. "Have you eaten dinner yet?"

"No," Momiji's voice sounded surprised and relieved on the other end. "But I was going to order something healthy!"

Why does everyone expect me to be such a taskmaster, Hatori wondered. "If you haven't ordered yet, why don't you come over? The stew Tooru-kun and I made last night is almost done heating up, and there is plenty for two."

"Leftovers?" Momiji asked.

"No, she said it would be better today. She made cutlets last night."

"She cooked for you again? Haaa'riii," Momiji whined, "I thought she was supposed to rest!"

"I agree," Hatori sighed. "If I had been on time I could have prevented it. We did have a pleasant evening afterwards," he assured the rabbit, "very restful." He guiltily left out the fact he'd kept her out past the curfew he himself had set.

"Ha'ri really cooked?" Momiji asked after a moment of silence.

"I really did," Hatori sounded surprised, even to himself.

"What did you make?" The mixture disbelief and curiosity was plain in Momiji's voice.

"We made meat and potatoes stew." Hatori walked into the kitchen and gingerly lifted the lid of the crock pot. "It smells edible."

There was a pause on the other end of the line. "Can I bring my homework? I have some questions... if you aren't too busy."

"Bring whatever you like. I just have some paperwork to finish up," Hatori said, moving to the cupboard to pull out a pair of place settings. He was already more familiar with his kitchen, a few weeks ago he wouldn't have even known where these utensils were.

"Okay!" Momiji said. "I'll be there in a few minutes!"

Momiji was true to his word, bursting through the sliding door less then ten minutes later, his arms full with his backpack and a violin case. Hatori had just set the crock of stew on a trivet in the middle of the table. (As per Tooru's instructions, of course. If she was half as thorough with her homework, he reflected, she must get very good grades.)

Hatori straightened and raised an eyebrow at the violin.

"You don't mind if I practice here after dinner, do you?" Momiji said, trying to hide his panting from the dash over. "I have a recital in a few weeks-"

"That's fine." Hatori nodded. "But come eat now, while it's warm." He gestured to the crock. He wouldn't have to worry about it being too quiet.

"Yes!" Momiji said and placed his bag and violin by Hatori's desk before sitting down at the table. He wiggled in his seat and made a show of sniffing at the serving Hatori set before him. "It smells good!" He said incredulously. "You really made this?"

"With a great deal of help," Hatori said with a wry twist to his lips and an incline of his head. He looked at his dish and was amazed himself at how appetizing it looked and that he had any involvement making it. He took a hesitant spoonful, aware that Momiji was watching him closely before trying it himself.

His eyebrows twitched up and he said a bit uncertainly, "It's good."

"It is!" Momiji said after his own spoonful. "Ha'ri did a good job!"

"Most of the credit is to Tooru-kun," Hatori corrected. "Though it was simpler then I imagined."

"Really?" Momiji said between mouthfuls.

"Mmm..." Hatori said noncommittally. "The hardest part was peeling the potatoes."

There was a long pause, and when Hatori finally looked up from his meal he found Momiji staring at him with a peculiar look on his face.

"I can't imagine you peeling potatoes." Momiji said finally.

"They didn't peel themselves," Hatori said pointing to Momiji's bowl with his spoon. Momiji looked back at his bowl and then at Hatori again.

"To-ru didn't do them for you?" He asked.

Hatori sighed. "She might have done a few more then I did, but I did my share. Though," he said as if imparting a secret, "I had to use a peeler and she used a knife. She can peel a potato in one long strip. I bet she could make radish roses if she wanted."

"Did she teach you how to do that?" Momiji asked, eyes wide.

"No, but I asked her to," Hatori said, his lips twitching. "Not make a rose," he said holding up a hand, "but to peel it with a knife. I butchered my first potato," he admitted, "and had to switch to a peeler."

Momiji laughed. Hatori gave a ghost of a smile, happy to see the boy seemed to be in good spirits. He was worried about the stress the group violin lessons were having on him. He knew that Momiji wanted to be closer to Momo, she was his sister after all. But now he was in the unenviable position of seeing up close what he could never have. He knew the feeling.

"Tell me about your classes," Hatori prompted, moving the subject off of him. Momiji launched into a one sided discussion of his classmates, teachers and assignments. Hatori listened with half and ear, he still wished he could have found a way to get Momiji and Tooru spend time together. Their needs complimented each other so well. Momiji needed someone to coddle him, or rather coddle him just enough. Tooru was a calming influence on the boy, he reigned in his hyperactivity around her and matched her more sedate mood. Momiji made Tooru have fun and be silly, something she didn't give herself enough of an opportunity to do.

Momiji slowly wound down, relaxing into the quiet of Hatori's house. He cocked an ear. "This isn't your usual radio station."

"Mmm," Hatori agreed around a mouthful. "Tooru-kun put it on last night. Does it bother you? You can change it if you like."

"No, it's pretty. I know this piece," Momiji said nodding in time to the music. "The violin part in this is tricky."

"Have you played it?"

"No." Momiji's curls bounced. "I'm not quite there yet. But Sensei had us listen to it because it's..." he paused as if trying to remember the wording exactly. "A good example of a cooperative piece," he said as if quoting.

"Ah, and how are your lessons going?" Hatori said with the same casualness he'd used before, though his attention was more focused.

Momiji shrugged stiffly, trying to look unconcerned. "Good," he said shortly. The rabbit knew the dragon too well and could sense his interest and distrusted it.

"Do you like the group format?" Hatori prodded. "Or, did you like it better when you had your lessons alone?"

"I like it better as a group," Momiji said quickly.

"Why? What makes it better?" Hatori pressed gently. He could see Momiji trying to think of reasons other then "because I get to see Momo."

"Well, I... I like being in a group," he stumbled.

"You don't enjoy getting to know Momo?" Hatori asked.

Momiji swallowed, his eyes widening in panic and started to babble. "I don't know her very well! I don't go out of my way to talk to her or anything, honest! She talks to me, that's all!"

Hatori held up a hand to cut him off. "Momiji-"

Momiji leaned forward on his knees and pressed his hands on the table in desperation, "Don't tell Papa that I talk to her! He'll make me change classes again!"

"Momiji!" Hatori said sternly. The rabbit gulped and sat back on his feet, looking like the world is ending.

"Momiji," he said soothingly, "I'm not trying to get you in trouble. I think it's okay if you talk to Momo. It would be strange if you avoid her in a class that size."

"Really?"

He didn't have to look so surprised, Hatori thought. "Really," he said drolly. "I think it would be good if you could become friends, as long as she doesn't discover your secret. Do you use any German around her?"

"I try not to," Momiji said, his tension releasing a flood of words. "But I slipped once, and said Gueten Tag. She asked how I knew it, and I said I heard she was German and looked it up." He gulped, looked down, and traced a shape on the table with a finger.

"Mmmm," Hatori nodded. "How did she respond to that?"

"She's very quiet," Momiji said in a whisper, as if talking about her would bring some calamity on him. "So she just smiled."

"Does she ask you many questions?" Hatori asked. "I think she would be curious about you."

"Why?" Momiji asked, looking worried.

"Because you look like her, and your mother," Hatori said, "You hair color is unusual, and she's seen you around your father's building." There was also the affected way Momiji held on to his mother's accent, the strange inflections he put on ordinary Japanese words despite the fact he'd lived most his life here in Japan.

"She hasn't asked about any of that," Momiji said sitting back. "She hasn't asked much at all. But she likes to stand beside me during lessons." He smiled wistfully, "I got to show her how to hold her bow once."

Hatori nodded and ate a bit more stew. "That's good." He looked up at Momiji, and he could feel his face becoming stern and closed against his will, "I don't want to have to take Momo's memories, I'd like to avoid that if we can."

Momiji nodded quickly. "Yes, Ha'ri."

"It might be best-" Hatori gave an internal wince and paused when the boy's body tensed and he immediately looked defensive.

"For me to quit?" Momiji asked, clutching his fork tightly.

"No," Hatori said gently."For you to prepare some answers for any questions she might come up with. Then you won't be left fumbling if it comes up, and she won't get suspicious."

"I don't want to lie to her," Momiji confessed.

"There's no need to lie," Hatori said.

"Then what do I say if she asks about my mother?" Momiji asked.

"Tell her the truth," Hatori held up a hand to forestall any arguments. "Tell her that your mother was very ill when you were young, and that your father is taking care of her."

Momiji nodded and poked his fork around in the bowl.

Hatori gave himself a little mental shake. He hadn't meant to ask the boy over to lecture at him. He was just worried about the situation the boy's idiot father had put him in. "I'm glad things are going well with your lessons," Hatori said.

Momiji nodded and took another bite of stew. "With Ha'ri's lessons too!"

Hatori happily moved onto the new subject. Tooru was "safe." She knew their secrets, so there was no scolding or warnings necessary. "Yes, Tooru-kun is proving to be a very proficient instructor. We had a pleasant time last night."

"You're lucky you got to eat her cutlets," Momiji said mouthful of stew. "I like them a lot." He looked at his empty stew bowl. "This was good too."

"Yes, though as usual, she went to way too much trouble," Hatori grumped. "And it wasn't safe for her to be here alone," he said.

"I'm sorry," Momiji apologized. "I didn't think about that, or that she would make you different dinner. She only told me that she had to see what stuff you had to cook with. I guess I haven't helped at all getting her to rest."

Hatori shook his head. "She's very stubborn, but you can't be blamed for that. And she has been relaxing some, she's taken up a hobby."

"She has? What?" Momiji couldn't imagine Tooru doing anything just for fun. Anytime he saw her out of school she was either working or cooking something. The only time he'd ever seen her relax was back when he'd given her his white day present, the trip to the hot-springs. That hadn't really been her choice, though she'd been appreciative.

"Scrapbooking." Hatori gestured to Momiji's bowl. "Do you want seconds?"

The boy nodded and Hatori refilled his bowl, feeling a silly sense of pride. "She was working on a page on you when I came in. It looked quite...appropriate."

"On me?" Momiji grinned. "Really?"

"Yes," Hatori nodded, watching the pleased grin light up Momiji's face and his body relax. "It had cupcakes and rabbits on it. She said she wanted to ask Ayame about how to do lettering on it."

"I want to see it," Momiji said eagerly. "I'll ask her to bring it to school!"

"I'm sure she'd like that," Hatori said. "Though I think she's a little shy about it." He frowned. "But, thinking about it, it might not be best for her to bring it to school."

"Why not?" Momiji pouted.

"Besides pictures of her friends it has pictures of Shigure's house, with her in it," Hatori wagged his fork lightly. "If it was found by one of her classmates-"

"Oh, yeah." Momiji sat back disappointed.

"You should make a date with her to see it," Hatori suggested.

"But her day off is the day of my lessons," Momiji's voice had a slight whine to it. "And your cooking lessons."

"But that's not the only day she doesn't have her part time job," Hatori pointed out. "Which reminds me, do you know if Haru passed on the message I gave him this morning to her?"

"About the building being fumigated?" Momiji nodded, his brow wrinkling "Yes, he told her. It's weird that Papa would call you about that instead of the cleaning manager calling To-ru."

"Yes," Hatori agreed shortly.

Momiji narrowed his eyes and gave Hatori a long look. "Ha'ri, why didn't Papa call me to tell To-ru?" His eyes widened, "How would he even know to call Ha'ri to get a message to To-ru? Why would he even care to call? He doesn't even know her, not really."

Hatori just favored him with a blank look and a raised eyebrow.

"Ahh!" Momiji shot up and pointed at Hatori. "You lied! Papa didn't call you! Ha'ri, how could you? Now To-ru will be in trouble for not going to work!"

"I wouldn't do something like that," Hatori said, finishing off his stew.

"But-"

"I may have kept her out a bit past her curfew last night," Hatori admitted. "I didn't want her to be overstressed with both school and work."

"So you fumigated Papa's building? What about all the other workers?" Momiji asked.

"The building wasn't fumigated," Hatori said. Her salary was coming out of his personal account. But as he rarely used the funds that came to him from the family and his work, other then to invest them, it wasn't a burden. The truth was he didn't have much need for money. All his needs from food, shelter and clothing, were met at the compound. He had both the legacy he received from the family from his status as the Dragon, and the salary he was paid for his clinic. He didn't throw his money around often, but he felt justified in this case.

If he hadn't been late, she wouldn't have cooked dinner nor would they have started and ended so late. He'd arranged for her to have the day off and for her salary to be paid. The cover story was poor, but Tooru asked so few questions he didn't think he would be discovered. The other workers could do without her for one night, and had been instructed not to question her about her absence. Tooru was such a hard working girl that he knew the others would think that something drastic had kept her away and would be unlikely to press her about details, or at least he hoped so. He probably should have asked Shigure's advice on devising a better plan, but he didn't feel like dealing with the inevitable teasing just for being considerate.

"How late did you keep her out?" Momiji asked, settling back down into his seat.

"Late enough," Hatori said. "Past when she should have been on a school night. Did you see her today?"

"Yes," Momiji said slowly, musingly. "She didn't look very tired."

"That's good."

"Were you tired today?" Momiji asked. "Ha'ri must have been up late too, and he had to work."

"I was fine," Hatori answered truthfully. Perhaps because his day had been so full and busy, he'd fallen asleep right away and slept the whole night through. He couldn't remember the last time that happened.

Momiji glanced at Hatori. There was something different about the doctor that he couldn't quite put a finger on. He grinned. Momiji thought Hatori's medicine might be working more on him then it was on Tooru. He couldn't remember when he'd seen the dragon seem so calm and relaxed. He was usually buzzing with tension.

::0::0::

Tooru smoothed her fingers over the scrapbook pulling it from her storage place under the table. She'd be able to work on it soon, after they finished dinner. She bit her lip, green smoke curling through the back of her mind.

"What?" Kyou said, looking at her narrowly.

"Eh? Oh," Tooru pushed scrapbook back under the table, "nothing." She kept spacing out. She figured it was because she was tired, but she couldn't seem to concentrate on today. She kept finding her mind drifting back to last night's cooking lesson, or more specifically the parts before and after the lesson.

When she'd first met Hatori she thought he was terribly hard to read. His murky eyes were closed and shuttered, and he was so blank-faced and stony. She'd been honestly afraid of him. And who wouldn't be with the way Yuki had explained the dragon's special gift and terrible responsibility. The wall had started chipping away when he'd asked her over to try to warn her away from the family. But yesterday he'd been so open. He'd been flustered and angry, teasing and playful... all in one night! It was hard to reconcile the two impressions.

"It ain't nothin'," Kyou said. "You keep making faces."

Tooru started and her face cleared from it's worried frown. "No, really," she assured him. "I was just thinking about..." About Kana, and everything Hatori had endured with out any complaint. "..my scrapbook." She didn't want to bring up Hatori again, it would just lead to an argument.

"What about it?" Kyou asked.

"What to do next, after I run out of pictures," Tooru said honestly, happy to steer onto a new topic. Hopefully her brain would focus instead of drifting off in a cloud of jade smoke. "I was thinking of maybe doing some more embellishments."

Maybe, she thought, it was sweatshirt that made his eyes seem more green and open. He really did look so odd in that sweatshirt, like a younger, freer version of himself. He looked more like the photographs in Ayame's scrapbook. Had he always been so funny and sarcastic? Perhaps she'd only noticed because he'd started including her in the jokes and teasing the way he did Ayame and Shigure.

"So?" Kyou asked.

"What?" Tooru blinked, realizing she'd drifted off again into thoughts of Hatori.

"So what if you've run out of pictures?" Kyou asked irritably, eating a few sardines. "Just take more," he said around a mouthful of dried fish.

"I'd have to buy a new camera..." Tooru said.

"Don't you have one already? How'd you take those?" He pointed to the snaps she'd taken but hadn't put in the book yet, scattered in a small, loose pile beside the table.

"It was a disposable," Tooru explained. "I'll buy a new one next time I want to take pictures." She gave a little smile. "But don't you think that Picture-san is for special occasions? It seems silly to buy a camera just when nothing special is happening." She looked down when Kyou gave her a hard look, the one he gave her when he thought she was being particularly foolish. "Or at least thats how it feels."

She clapped her hands together, "But I'll definitely have to buy one before I see Kyou-kun teach. I want pictures of that!"

"Don't be stupid," Kyou grumbled, his ears heating with a pleased blush. He glued his eyes to his plate and barely hid a smile."That'd be distracting. And it's not like anything special is happening."

"Oh," Tooru, picked up her chopsticks and poked at her food. "If it bothers Kyou-kun I won't..."

"Well," Kyou said after a long silence, "I suppose if you really want to..."

"Really?" Tooru said giving him a brilliant smile. "Then I'll definitely have to buy one!"

"Wait till you figure out when you can come," Kyou huffed. "Don't go wasting your money."

"Yes! Of course!" Tooru nodded happily.

::0::0::

After dinner Tooru cleaned up the kitchen having convinced Kyou she could handle it while he retreated upstairs to do his homework. She would have suggested they work together, but she was done with her homework already. Plus he was too easily distracted to work in the main room. She gave the kitchen a final wipe down and looked around.

Now what?

She mentally ticked off her chores, all done. Homework had been completed. She could work on her scrapbook, but she'd finished the pages she had photographs for. The only ones left were so random she couldn't think how to combine them on a page. She wanted to add some embellishments, but she wanted to ask Ayame's opinion first.

She wrinkled her nose and glanced at the clock. It was dark out, but not too late. Perhaps it was time to pick up some more cameras. It would be fun to have one for the visit to Ayame's apartment. She wondered if she'd be able to get a picture of Hatori looking all relaxed, with that odd little upturn to his lips he got when he was amused. She shook herself out of vague thoughts of how his smoky eyes turned dragon bright when teased.

Well, if she was going to go out was there anything else they needed? They were good with groceries, but how were they with cleaning supplies? She decided wander to the laundry room and see if anything was getting low.

"You look a bit lost."

Tooru jumped, "Oh! You startled me, Shigure-san!" She put a hand over her heart but gave him a smile. "My heart is racing!"

Shigure grinned at her from hallway, hanging languidly in the frame. "While that's something all men hope for, a maiden's heart to skip when they enter the room," he wagged a finger, "we usually hope it's not in fear." He chuckled.

"I just wasn't expecting to see Shigure-san, I didn't hear him come home." She smiled. "Oh, do you need anything at the store? I was thinking of going."

Shigure glanced at the clock. "At this hour, by yourself? It's dark out."

"It's still early," Tooru said waving a hand. "And the store is close by."

"What's so urgent?" Shigure asked lounging against the door frame with arms crossed.

"I wanted to get a camera for tomorrow," Tooru said. "I thought it would be a good opportunity to get some pictures of everyone, Shigure-san, Mine-san, Ayame-san and H-hatori-san." She stumbled over the last name and felt her cheeks heat unexpectedly, her mind flashing to his dragon eyes and upturned lips.

"Of everyone, hmn?" Shigure repeated and gave her a strange and piercing look. She felt her blush deepen and shifted uncomfortably.

"Y-yes?" She nodded. Stuttering and fidgeting under his steady gaze, she tried to change the subject. "Did, um, did Shigure-san need anything?"

"I think it's too late to let my little bride wander the streets," Shigure said. "We can pick up a camera on the way to Aya's tomorrow."

"It's really not-" She bit her words off when Shigure gave her a stern look. She changed her tactic. "Don't you think it will be inconvenient to have to stop?"

"Mmm..." Shigure said rubbing his chin as if in thought. "Well, I suppose I could call Ha-san and ask if he'd mind driving you to the store-"

"Don't!" Tooru said, then clapped her hands over her mouth, surprised by the vehemence of her own shout. Blushing furiously, she quickly demurred. "D-don't bother Hatori-san with something so frivolous!" She suddenly remembered her manners and added a desperate sounding, "Please."

Shigure shifted so he could uncross his arms, hooking his thumbs into his belt as he looked down at her. "Then it can wait."

Tooru twiddled her fingers, looking away. Shigure was in a mood. There would be no getting around him tonight. "I suppose it can," she said with a resigned sigh. Now what was she going to do with the rest of her evening? "Would Shigure-san like some tea?"

The dog cocked his head to the side examining her with his curious eyes. "Do I detect a note of discontent?"

Tooru blinked, "Dis-... oh, no!" She waved a hand quickly. Now she had him worried, just because she was a little bored. "It's not that at all."

"Then what is it?"

She looked up at him and decided to answer with complete honestly, "I don't have anything to do." She spread her hands. "Part-time was canceled, homework-san is done, chore-san is done..." She ticked off each task on a finger. "Scrapbook-san isn't, but it's almost done and I want to save it..."

"And no one to spend some love-love alone time with?" Shigure said, glancing around the room as if he expected someone else to pop out at any time.

"Yuki-kun is still out and Kyou-kun has to study." Tooru said, having had plenty of practice ignoring his innuendo.

"Mmmm..." Shigure stroked his chin, amused. He'd never heard Tooru whine before, if you could call sounding at a loss whining. "Sounds like a night to curl up with a good book to me."

Tooru blinked. She hadn't even considered that. "I did start Shigure-san's book..." If she read it, she'd have something else to talk with Hatori about tomorrow. She'd be able to redeem herself from last week when he'd teased her about just starting the first chapter.

Shigure grinned. "Why don't I make tea, while you get your book?" He asked imitating her habit of shoo-ing out of the kitchen to read his paper while she got tea. He leaned against the door frame, and winked. "Everyone enjoys a little variety now and then."

Tooru giggled. "Shigure-san doesn't need to do that, the tea is already made, but I will go get my book. Are you going to read the paper?"

He pulled his yukata a bit to the side to reveal the paper tucked between the tie and the body of the garment. "I'd planned on it. The lighting is best out here."

She nodded, and turned to go upstairs to get her book. "The tea is on the stove if you want it," she said over her shoulder.

::0::0::

Shigure could tell the moment the book really captured her.

She gave a little, breathless gasp. Her whole body tensed and her eyes flicked across the page, speeding to find the resolution to whatever bit of drama had just unfolded. Then her fingers loosened their grip on the cover of the book and she shifted on her cushion as she relaxed. Drama resolved. She wiggled a little, moving so that she wasn't sitting prim, proper and straight. She curled her legs underneath herself and sat forward, leaning on her arms. She smiled a little then pouted, unhappy with some bit of the story for a moment.

She smiled again, and then again, broader. Shigure took a sip of his tea and abandoned any pretext of reading the paper. She was so engrossed that she didn't notice him staring. He always enjoyed watching people read his work, seeing their immediate reactions without any polite filtering in between. Tooru was really enjoyable, so easy to read. He barely bit back the urge to ask her what part she was on. She was early enough into the book he had a reasonable guess.

But he wondered what was causing her brow to furrow now. She paused in her reading, glancing at the cover and then paging back a a few pages and re-reading some passage. She nibbled at her lip as she flipped back to her current position and read again. She slumped forward, resting the book flat on the table. She tapped her finger against the table and her eyes drifted away from the page.

"Shigure-san..." she said distractedly, eyes still drifting back towards the book, "... this character..."

"Yes?" Shigure asked, "which character?"

"Kenichi-san... Is he..." she blushed and stumbled, "well, I was just wondering..."

"Wondering?" Shigure prompted when she trailed off.

"Is he based off... I mean, was, as a model for him.." she stammered,and went redder before finally blurting, "is he supposed to be Hatori-san?"

She could feel her skin burning, the blush had spread from her cheeks and she could feel it radiating off her neck, ears and chest. Ever since last night she'd been unable to get the quiet doctor out of her mind, so she wondered if she was making connections where there were none. But every motion of the character in the book, every mannerism, reminded her of Hatori.

"You figured it out," Shigure said, looking pleased. "Kenichi isn't just Hatori, he has traits from other people as well. But he was the main inspiration. Aya noticed right away too."

Tooru smiled. "Hatori-san didn't notice?" That was a stupid question, she decided. He couldn't have, he never would have recommended the book to her otherwise.

"Not at all," Shigure said and laughed. "At first I thought he was just being modest about it. That's one of my most popular books, you know. I'm often asked to write a continuation. But then he asked me who the model was." He shook his head smiling and leaned forward to whisper confidentially, "It drives him nuts that I won't tell him."

Tooru covered her mouth to hide a giggle. "Why hasn't Ayame-san told him?"

"Ha-san has too much pride to ask him," Shigure grinned, taking a sip of his tea.

"Mmm..." Tooru tapped her lips with a finger. She could see how it might be galling to Hatori for Ayame to figure out something he couldn't. Ayame had his own talents, but she gathered that Hatori had always been the "smart one" in their trio. It must be very trying for Hatori to feel left out of the joke.

"Will you tell him?" Shigure asked, leaning on a hand and giving her a speculative glance. What was that little smile curling around the edges of her lips?

"Me?" Tooru said, blinking at him. "No!"

His eyebrows flew up at her quick response. "You won't?" he asked.

"Well, I mean, maybe, if he asks..." Tooru hedged, her eyes sliding away from his. She pressed her fingers to her mouth to try to silence a laugh.

Finally something she could tease him about! She loved the way he looked so surprised and pleased when she'd try to get a jab in, as silly and hopeless as her attempts usually were. What new expression would he show her when she got a clever dig in? Oh, how could she use this? She had to think of something smart!

She couldn't stop a smile from spreading over her lips. She couldn't wait for tomorrow! He was sure to ask her about the book.

"But maybe not?" Shigure jolted her out of her thoughts.

She lifted the book to hide her smile and peeped over it at Shigure. "Maybe not," she said, her eyes dancing.

::0::0::

The next morning came entirely too early. After weeks of waking up before her alarm, the shrill clang of it sent her heart racing and jolted her out of bed. She managed to knock it to the floor in her clumsy attempts to silence it.

"Oooh," she sighed, sitting on the edge of her bed with her alarm in hand. She'd sat up until late in the evening, with Shigure reading the paper and her his book. They'd started out chatting, but as she'd gotten more involved in the story they'd spoken less and less. It wasn't until Shigure had gotten up to retire that she realized how late it had gotten.

She'd gone upstairs intending to change and go right to sleep, but hadn't been able to resist the call of "just one more page." One more page had turned into one more chapter, which had cycled around back to just one more page...and back again. She'd fallen asleep reading, something she'd never done before. She'd never had time to read for pleasure, even when she lived with her mother. There had always been too much work to do, she hadn't known it could be so engrossing.

Now that it was morning and the sun was streaming in, she was regretting giving into temptation to continue. She glanced at the clock, tempted to crawl back into bed for just a few more minutes sleep.

"Breakfast..." She reminded herself. She had to get up and make breakfast. Kyou at least would be up soon. Shigure wouldn't emerge until later, and she doubted she'd see Yuki at all today. The mouse had returned exhausted late yesterday and had gone straight up to bed. He didn't have anywhere to be today so Tooru bet he'd spend it in bed for as long as he could. (Which with Yuki could be a really long time.)

I have to make something that can sit for a while, she thought rubbing her eyes. Onigiri and miso soup was becoming a standard for Saturday mornings. She sighed, tired of making the same meal. I'll make some bentos, she thought, use up the left overs. If anyone wants something warm I'll make it then. Maybe eggs for herself. She hadn't done omelets for a while and she could make egg rolls for the bentos at the same time.

She wandered around in a fog, still half asleep. She didn't even realized she'd brought the book down to the kitchen with her until she found herself starting to put it in the fridge to free her hands to take the milk out. She gave herself a little shake and put it on the counter while she pulled out the fixings for breakfast and the bentos.

She glanced at the book cover as she started her omelet. She'd never realized how much you could get sucked into a book. Hatori had described the book as "very engaging," which seemed like a gross understatement.

The book told the tale of a carpenter, Kenichi, just after the war. He was building himself a house from the scraps left over when he worked on other people's homes. It wove a complex story about the everyday hardships, lives and hopes of the people after the war and how the quiet but steadfast Kenichi slowly effected them.

She'd never gotten that immersed in a story before. Her respect for Shigure as a writer was growing in leaps and bounds. Though, she admitted to herself, maybe it was because she knew Kenichi was based on Hatori that made book capture her so completely. Being able to clearly imagine the main character made her feel a connected to the story at a deep level, something she'd never had with another book. Even now the book was calling her to read just a little bit more. At first she thought the book was all about the other people's lives Kenichi wandered through, with just the carpenter as a common thread to tie together their stories.

But now she could see that those stories were really just to display Kenichi's personality and past... more and more the story was becoming about him. She'd fallen asleep just as the carpenter had started to notice that the quiet, but persistently cheerful, daughter of the local inn was coming to deliver notices of work out of more then just obligation.

She'd never met Kana, but she suspected that Shigure had based the innkeeper's daughter after her. She wondered if finishing the book would give her more insight into Hatori's relationship with the woman.

It's none of my business, but now, even more, I want to know...

If no one is up for breakfast I can read then, she thought. Won't Hatori-san be shocked if I finish the book so quickly? She grinned and wondered what kind of face he'd make. She wanted to see it! Her anxieties about meeting up with him were fading, being replaced with a warmth and eagerness.

She shook her head as she started to prepare breakfast. "Why can't I get him out of my head?" She murmured. It was if every day he snuck into the corners of her mind and popped out when she least expected it. "It's probably because I don't know him very well..." Tooru said to herself. It was that wall he put up around himself, she wanted to smash it down. She wanted to see all of his faces, and know what was going on behind those eyes that never left her mind. "He's going to think I'm a terrible pest." she said as she rolled up the egg in the pan. But if she could understand him better maybe she could be of some use to him other then being just a chef.

::0::0::

Hatori considered his closet with a frown. He rubbed at his hair with a towel and sighed. When had his closet become such a sea of white button-down shirts and gray suits? He pushed a couple of the shirts back and forth as if he'd find a casual polo or sweater hiding between them. A flash of green caught his eye and he pulled out the Grand Spiral sweatshirt. He stared at it a moment before putting it back too. If he wore it again, it would be like declaring it his uniform for spending time with Tooru.

He huffed and threw his damp towel on the bed, annoyed at himself for being bothered. Ayame would have a field day if he knew that he'd even had a passing thought about fashion.

He pulled out a shirt and a pair of slacks and unhooked one of his black belts from the belt rack on the back of the door. He threw them on the bed, grunted irritably and went to dry his hair. He felt like he was primping, and for what he didn't know. Probably the same reason he'd bothered to take a shower after his home visits today. He had a bug of dissatisfaction crawling under his skin today that he just couldn't get rid of.

He'd been impatient and distracted with his appointments, to his own disgust. He couldn't focus, often having to have his patients repeat themselves. He'd found himself wondering if Tooru was bringing something to Ayame's, and if he should. He'd brought something to Shigure's...

He shook his head and stared at himself hard in the mirror. That had been because Tooru was the hostess, and was sure to have gone to entirely too much trouble, as was proven by the mountain of leftovers she'd sent him home with.

While he didn't doubt that Ayame would go all out, as he did with everything, they'd never brought gifts when visiting each other. Hatori suspected he'd be mocked mercilessly if he did, it being so out of character.

He fingered his bangs. He was getting shaggy again. He'd have to go for a trim soon. He pushed his hair back, and considered slicking back his hair. He let it flop forward with a sigh. What was he thinking?

He rubbed his face, feeling tired already. He should just cancel going tonight. The thought was attractive and he was halfway to the living room phone when he realized that would leave Tooru to the mercy of the others. Ayame had said he'd be doing a "western" meal, which for him could mean just about anything.

Hatori didn't doubt that Ayame had found an appropriate alcohol to match the occasion. Without him there to temper things, he knew Tooru would get swept up in one of Shigure and Ayame's crazy schemes... and with Ayame's shop right there to provide who knew what costumes they'd probably end up dressing her up like a harem slave girl and running her ragged all night. He spun on his heel, and headed back to get dressed with visions of Tooru dressed in an "I Dream of Jeannie" outfit making his stomach do an interesting flip and his face darken.

He briskly got dressed, dropping his towel in a heap on the floor and stepping into his pants. He wondered at his own temper as he angrily buttoned up his shirt. He was rigid with tension he couldn't explain.

"It was a pleasant enough at Shigure's," he muttered as fit his belt through the loops and tucked in his shirt. He didn't know why he was getting so tense about just going to Ayame's for dinner.

He turned and barked his shin hard on a protruding drawer he'd forgotten to push in when he'd taken out his socks. "DAMMIT!"

He hopped on one foot back to his bed sitting down and massaging his shin. He unclipped his sock from the sock garters and pulled the it down to examine the flesh to see if he'd broken skin. An angry bruise was already forming.

"Dammit," he muttered softly again, probing it. At least it wasn't bleeding. He pulled the sock back up and re-clipped it.

He caught glance of himself out of the corner of his good eye in the mirror over the dresser.

"I look like an old man," he groused looking down at the archaic sock garters he'd worn since he'd first started wearing suits in medical school. His father had always worn them, and he'd always considered them part of being an adult. It wasn't until he'd done his residency that he noticed he was in the minority in wearing them. He sighed and pulled his pant leg down. He felt ancient.

He limped his way over to the dresser and pushed in the drawer and then back to the mirror. He closed his good eye and rolled his bad from left to right, watching the world as the world became unfocused, gray and then black as he moved into his blind spot. He'd slammed into the drawer because he couldn't see it. His vision was fuzzy out of that eye looking forward, and he had no peripheral vision on his left due to the scarring from his injury. There was always a chance the scarring could shift, or cause cataracts.

He opened his other eye and blinked rapidly as the world went from flat gray to it's normal state. He didn't think anything had altered in his vision, banging into the drawer had just been carelessness. It had knocked the bluster out of him, and he shook his head at himself in the mirror.

"You're just not used to this much...activity," he told himself. He hadn't realized how thoroughly he'd isolated himself since losing Kana.

He wasn't used to being so busy, at least not socially speaking. He had weeks, months... was it years?... of doing nothing but an endless cycle of working and sleeping, eating when necessary. The time had been spent in long days where he spoke only a few short, business-like words to his nurses and patients. Occasionally he'd spent a few hours with Shigure, tended to his responsibilities with Akito, put up with Ayame's current whims, chauffeured Momiji around or picked up Haru from whatever far off place he'd wandered to.

This irritability he couldn't shake, it was probably a side effect of not sleeping at all the night before. Almost as if his body was retaliating against the full night of sleep he'd gotten on Thursday night, last night he'd gotten a scant few hours, if even that much.

He'd laid in bed for hours before giving up some time around two in the morning. He'd spent the rest of the of the night at his desk, going over the supply orders and office paperwork his nurse had prepared. He'd finally laid back down some time around six, only to oversleep and nearly miss his first home appointment at nine. The day had soured from there.

The patients who'd scheduled appointments were on the whole... well, he supposed pests was the best way to phrase it. He'd had to deal with some of his least favorite relatives, and none of them had had issues that really warranted his direct attention. At least two he suspected had scheduled appointments merely so they could say that "the Dragon" had attended to them personally.

He was sure that Yume, a loud young woman who'd married into the family, had scheduled a visit just to flirt. It was widely known that she wasn't faithful to her elderly husband, and as his health had failed she'd started to attempt to find an even higher status paramour. She was probably hoping to make herself a bride again after her husband's death. She obviously didn't know the family as well as she thought if she presumed she could snare one of the Junninshi. He sighed and vaguely wondered if he'd done something to anger his nurses, they didn't usually schedule such difficult patients back-to-back that way.

He looked back up at his reflection in the mirror. "I look tired," he said and frowned at himself. Tooru was going to worry if he couldn't wipe the weariness off his face. His lips twitched. At least he'd have some fun watching her reactions tonight.

He was sure that Ayame would have something lavish prepared. She got excited over simple things, what would her reaction be to Ayame's excess? It would be something to see for sure. He wondered how Shigure was planning to get the two of them over to the shop.

Knowing Shigure, he probably hadn't planned ahead. He decided to call the dog, there was no reason the three of them couldn't drive over together. The stress of his day started to fade with the thought of getting to see Tooru's first hand reactions to whatever craziness Ayame had planned.

::0::0::

"Are you ready, my little flower?" Shigure called from the living room. "It's time we made our escape."

"Just about!" Tooru called back as Kyou rolled his eyes. "I just have to put the cake in it's box!" She wiped her hands on a clean dishcloth and took a quick glance around the kitchen. "There is pudding in the fridge for dessert," she said to Kyou as she turned to box up the cake.

"Yeah, I know," Kyou said, slouching sullenly against the counter. Tooru glanced at him, her disappointment plain. He sighed and shrugged, rolling his eyes. "Thanks, I'll eat it later."

Tooru gave him a brilliant smile and he couldn't help but smile back at her. "I still don't know why you'd want to go to the loud guy's store." He looked away, pouting a little that his time with her was cut short. She was only leaving for dinner, and they'd made their arrangement for after lunch and before dinner. And he'd had her more or less to himself all morning, since the Rat still hadn't crawled out of his room and Shigure hadn't come out of his study until nearly three. But without this new tradition of hers he'd probably had had her to himself all night too. Knowing Ayame and Shigure, she wouldn't be back till late.

"But have fun," he added grudgingly when her face started to fall again.

"Thank you." Tooru said, happily oblivious. She finished packing up the cake, her insides tumbling now that she was getting ready to leave. A curl of jade smoke curled in the back of her memory. "I made you a bento for dinner."

"Yeah, you said that already. Thanks," Kyou said again. "Get going before the damn dog gets annoying." Tooru smiled and picked up the cake. "Don't forget to ask the that guy about giving you a night off so you can come to Shishou's with me sometime."

"A-ah..." Tooru nodded, distracted by tying up the box, "yes, if I have a chance." She looked up at him and smiled. "Good night. If Yuki-kun wakes up there is a bento for him as well."

Kyou frowned and wasn't sure if she even really heard what he'd asked, "Yeah, whatever." He turned and walked out of the room. "Night."

::0::0::

"Are we going to take the bus?" Tooru asked as she came out of the kitchen, fussing with the tie on the box. She'd spent a lot of time on the icing and didn't want it to rattle around and get mashed. She found the recipe in her books, and was excited to see Hatori's reaction. She was pretty sure it was a cake even he would like. "It seems silly to take the train since it's not that far away, and taxi-san is expensive-oh!"

Hatori's lips twitched up as Tooru goggled at him. He reached out and took the box from her numb fingers before she could drop it.

"Good afternoon," he said blandly, fighting back a smile. She looked so shocked, like she'd just encountered a polar bear or some equally exotic creature in the middle of her living room.

"Hatori-san!" Tooru said and looked at Shigure as if he was a magician.

"Ha-san offered to drive us. Didn't I tell you?" Shigure asked cheerfully. Tooru was turning a lovely shade of red and all that had happened was Hatori walking through the door! Perhaps things were moving faster then he'd thought. What had happened at the last cooking lesson?

"He did?" Tooru looked back at the tall doctor. She felt self-conscious and mussed, and quelled the urge to straighten her clothes and pat her hair. He was looking at her with his exacting gaze and was certain to see every flaw. "Shigure-san didn't tell me."

Anyone else would have made that sound accusing. She made it sound like an apology, Hatori thought. She blinked wide eyes at him and he bit back a chuckle.

Maybe it wasn't the sweatshirt that made his eyes seem so alive and green. He was just wearing one of his regular button-down shirts today, though he'd left off his customary vest and tie, and his eyes were just as deep as they'd been the night before. I can see his undershirt, she found herself thinking. Usually he was buttoned up right to his neck, and yoked with a tie. This time the top button was undone, and she could see the white rim of his undershirt. She'd seen him without a tie before, why was that one button (and the undershirt!) so distracting?

"It's not safe for us to take public transportation," Hatori explained, amused at her confusion and curious as to why she was so flustered.

"But it's out of the way for Hatori-san," Tooru twisted her fingers to keep from fidgeting, and realized she was gaping like a fool. She wasn't ready to face him. He was such an intense personality that felt she needed to psych herself up when they met, prepare herself. I haven't thought of anything clever to say yet!

"Not by much, and it only makes sense since we're all going to the same place." His lips turned up at the corners. When was the last time someone cared if it was out of his way to drive somewhere? He looked at Tooru's hands. "You aren't bringing your scrapbook?"

"Should I?" Tooru asked, looking at her hands as if she was surprised it wasn't there. She'd considered it, because she had a barrage of questions for Ayame on technique. But at the same time, she couldn't think of any reason that Ayame or Shigure would be interested in seeing her scrapbook. It wasn't like Ayame's, full of accomplishments and history. Why would they even care? And this night was for them to socialize, not be distracted by her simple scrapbook. She peeked up at Hatori, was he asking just to be polite, or did he really care? He'd seen it once already after all.

"Yes, yes," Shigure said eagerly. "I want to see! I haven't seen it yet."

"Shigure-san has seen it while I was making it." Tooru protested, forgetting her embarrassment.

"But not all put together," Shigure whined. "Bring it, bring it. I'm sure Aya would like to see what you made with his gifts."

Tooru looked at Hatori. Shigure would flatter, but Hatori would tell the truth. He nodded. "But be prepared for critique. Ayame has rather... strong... opinions."

"Okay," Tooru said, "just let me run and get it. I'll just be a moment!" She dashed away up the stairs, grateful for the reason to escape, even if it was only for a few minutes.

"She's excitable today." Hatori commented idly, stifling a yawn and watching her bounce up the stairs.

"You think so?" Shigure shrugged. "No more than usual, I think." He grinned. "I think that Ha-san is the excitable one, calling me up and begging to drive us to Aya's. Were you so eager to go you couldn't wait for us to arrive?"

"I didn't beg," Hatori said with a sigh. "Don't be stupid." That wasn't it at all, he just hadn't wanted to miss anything.

Tooru came back down the stairs with her scrapbook in thin paper bag with long handles. She clasped it nervously and skipped over to the two men waiting for her. "Sorry, I don't want to make us late."

"The party won't start until we arrive," Shigure said cheerfully, giving a little bow to indicate she should proceed them. "So we can't be anything but on time."

Tooru giggled and Hatori rolled his eyes as he followed her out the door.