Note: Enjoy! I had fun in this chappy!

Chapter 14: Twenty Questions

The rest of the day he was in a cheerful day. He couldn't get it out of him mind how amazing Tohru was. But his temporary bliss soured when he spotted Tohru and Taro standing in line at the coffee shop.

He saw her cover her mouth modestly to hold back a loud laugh.

Why was she still talking to him? Grrrrrrrrr!

He didn't really understand how she could make up with him so easily. It's not fair! And why was she sharing her laughter with Taro, when she should be laughing in his presence? Only he was supposed to feel her affection, to make her laugh, dammit! He thought back to the last time she had told him something personal about herself…

Uh, nothing in recent memory. Probably because they were always dealing with all his troubles. If he was serious about this, he had to step it up. Not just actions, but give enough attention to her to forget about all else. Occupy her mind (okay, not in the Inception way).

…..

"Hi Miyako. I was just wondering, uh, has Tohru told you anything interesting lately?"

"Not that I can think of… except that she's really excited about this personal plot of land that she's developing. She bought all these vegetable seeds before, and she's just starting to see sprouts. She said once they were mature enough, we could eat them."

"Oh, that's nice." Shigure made a mental note: plants.

"Why do you ask me? You know, she is your roommate."

"Just wondering." He said, smiling back at her while reaching for one of her steamed cupcakes.

"Okay, Mr. Smarty-Pants."

He went back into the bedroom. Since he didn't really know that much about cultivation and all that gardening/farm stuff, he didn't really know how to keep a conversation going, but at least now he had foundation of soil to start with.

"It's still freezing outside." Tohru said when she returned at 10.

Shigure quickly took off his cardigan and placed it over her shoulder.

"Thanks." Tohru said, giving him a strange look, before accepting that it was in good intention.

"So how was gardening?"

"Uh, it's called botany."

"Oh yeah, that's what I meant."

"Fine."

"What did you learn today? Was the teacher nice? Did you go outdoors?"

"We learned about inheritance today."

"Oh, like the one my father casually forgot when he abandoned me? I mean, I still don't understand…" He trailed off, realizing that he was turning to the conversation to himself. He couldn't help it. It wasn't that he wasn't interested in what she had to say. Damn it, he wanted to know everything about her! He was just talkative, and tangent-y.

Tohru let out a laugh. "No silly, not that type of inheritance. The genetic type."

Moving on to a topic he could converse more in, he asked, "Have you grown anything lately?"

"Yeah, it's a surprise. In a few more weeks, it will be ready for household consumption."

"Yum-yum! I can't wait!"

Tonight's conversation was not so bad. He had finally got her to open up. One point for Shigure!

"Do you have a partner?" It better not be who I think it is. Shigure thought darkly.

"No, we work alone."

"GREAT. I mean, that's good. Independence." He made a little fist pound in her direction. Inside he was happy that she was working alone and not beside some unwanted male attention.

Shooting him a confusing expression, Tohru unpacked her stuff and slide into bed.

"Goodnight Gure-san. I'm going to sleep."

"Wait. We never get to talk, can I talk to you for a while?"

Since when does Shigure Sohma need someone to talk to? He can find anyone in the hallways to chat with. Why does he want to talk to me, in a manner that seems… civil. No hostile teasing or blatant insults, just friendly talk.

"Ok." She responded hesitantly. She wanted to see what this approachable Shigure was up to.

"Tell me something about yourself that I don't already know."

"Hmmm, there's a lot. I have a lot of secrets."

Raising his eyebrow, he inquired, "Oh really now? And I thought you were an open book."

"I am very good at origami."

"I can't even fold a perfect crease." Shigure retorted. Thinking back, she did have a hanging structure of origami birds in her room. Suddenly, he came up with a good idea. "Hey Tohru, do you want to play a game?"

Tohru slitted her eyes. "What do you have in mind? No sexual games."

"Aww man. Never mind them." He paused. "No, why is your opinion of me still so negative. I want to play Rock, paper, scissors. We play 20 times that don't end in a draw. The number of times you win is the number of questions you can ask the other person."

"Alright."

After the 'rock paper scissors' session, Tohru won 13 to 7.

"Wow, you're good. I didn't anticipate that." Shigure said, huffing like it had been a physical game.

"Uh, thanks. I guess I'll go first."

"Shoot."

"Round-trip tickets to anywhere in the world." (T1)

"Umm, I'd like to go to England. To meet my competitor, the author of the Fifty Shades series. I've been doing that for a decade and she get's all the credit! Nu-uh. In actuality, I've been led to believe it's a fascinating city, the heart of modern literature, and the museums that house just about everything."

Tohru turned a bright red at that unmentionable erotica. Shigure noticed and nudged her shoulder gently. "You're a fan of her?"

Tohru shook her head intensely. "No." But I am your fan though.

"My turn now. Who was your first crush?" (S1)

Bashfully, Tohru answered. "You."

"NO. Really? Since when?" I'm not the type in girl's fantasies, shouldn't you have liked someone your own age. Some high school boy? But he was pleased, very pleased. He'd be her first, and her last.

Fidgeting under his deep gaze, she fumbled with the hem of her shirt, nodding twice. "When I first met you."

Incredible. You surprise me at every corner. Why the hell did I not notice you before. I was a mess. I know it was wrong to only react to you after that night. But I truly care about you. I don't care whether or not you wearing makeup or the most stylish clothing. I just like you.

"I've got another. What is the quality you most desire in a man?" (S2)

"That's too hard. There's a lot. Sincerity, honesty, trust, patience, humor, kind, affectionate, selfless, reliable, thoughtful."

"Just one, Squirt."

"Fine." She chewed on the bottom of lip, thinking. "I guess it would have to be commitment. You know, the belief in our relationship, always making an effort. It encompasses the rest of the traits. If he is committed, he will do the other things."

Good, because he was definitely committed to her. Everything else could come later.

"What is your favorite book that you've written?" (T2)

"That would have to be the book I'm writing right now." Because it is a permanent marker of the passage of our relationship, its ups and downs. All documented, my flower.

"When will I be able to read it, I mean critique it?"

Shigure teased, "I answer to no one. I never change my writing. That's why Mii-chan is always so frustrated with me. I can always make her see my side and ultimately accept."

"Typical. Your turn."

"Can't think of anything, you go."

"Okay. If you could travel back in time, who would you visit?" (T3)

"My mom." To ask her why she abandoned me when father left us. She just gave up on me, assuming that the Juunishi curse wasn't worth all the love, the effort. She just disappeared.

"I'm sorry," Tohru said, "But at least she's alive, somewhere."

"She's been dead for a while now. But even before that, she was dead to me."

Tohru could see the void in his eyes. That vulnerability. Despite what he had just said, she knew he didn't mean it. All he wanted was someone to love him at that young age.

But she was here now. All the love that he needed, she could provide.

"Do you want to know how you ultimately die?" (T4) It was the morbid follow up question to her previous one.

"No. Leave me out of that." It would destroy me. I'm not one for sick humor, though I'm sure Hatori would say yes to that. He was always the self-torturing type.

"What is on your bucket list before you die?" (T5)

"All this morbidity. I can't stand it!" He teased.

To make you mine. He told himself in a sinister voice. "To make you love me. Forever and ever."

I already do.

"What did you want to be when you were young?" (S3)

"A gardener."

Shigure chuckled, thinking of her dressed in obaasan clothing including a wide-brimmed straw hat and holding a… pitchfork. Oh the silliness!

"Hopefully that has transformed into a botanist."

"Yeah, it has." Tohru chuckled too. "Who is the most influential person in your life?" (T6)

"No one. I've been on my own since before I can remember. Though some of Hatori's traits, I wish I had. So I guess, Hatori."

"What is your greatest regret?" (T7)

You. Hurting you. But I can't tell you that. I can't bring back those bad times. "Not forgiving my mother before her death." The words had just rolled off his tongue. He hated his mother for leaving him, for sure, but when he heard of her death, he grew sorry. Had he been in that situation, he probably would have left the child too. With no partner to help care for such a child at such a difficult age, mingling with classmates, how would you live up to parental expectations? How would you answer other parents if your son transformed into a dog in class? The humiliation. The stress. The commitment.

Tohru was contented to see this forgiving side of him.

"What is your greatest fear?" (S4)

"Being alone."

"Oh Tohru, you won't ever be." Shigure snuggled closer to her side, forcing her arm to lie perpendicular to her body to act has a headrest for him.

"Ow, your head is heavy."

"Of course, so better as to think of dirty smutty stories." He responded with a wolfish grin.

Tohru obliged. "Fate or free will?" (T8)

"Free will. I'm a practical man." I am changing for you. What does that tell you?

"What is the biggest life lesson you've learned so far?" (T9)

"Don't let a chance pass you by, because you may never get it again." She was now drowning in his eyes. He was clearly referring to her, and it made her feel warm all over.

Before she lost herself in him completely, she asked the ubiquitous question, "If you had a million dollars, what would you do with it?" (T10)

"Give it all to you to manage."

"Awww, but really, only you can use it."

"The ten years ago Shigure, before he met you, would probably buy several fancy cars, even though he doesn't drive. The rest he'd probably throw toward themed hotel suites with different women every night. The old Shigure didn't care."

Breathless, Tohru whispered, "What about the Shigure now?"

"He is completely transfixed by the woman beside him right now. He wants to know everything about her. He wants to be super nosy about her business, and he wants to sleep beside her every night, it eases him. He would buy her everything she wants, but knowing her and her dislike of wasting money on material goods, he'd save all the money for them in case of an 'emergency' vacation getaway that would involve force if she did not come willingly."

Shigure caught her giggle in his mouth, and licked her straight row of teeth. She loosened up in his arms and responded back, kissing him fervently. Her hands moved to his scalp, curling her fingers into his soft hair. Muffled against the kiss, Shigure asked, "What's your worst trait?" (S5)

"Nice way to run the mood, Gure-san."

"Haha."

"I am very sensitive."

"Yes, I know," he breathed across her ear.

"No, I mean emotionally."

"Oh, I know that do. That's why I vow to keep my mouth closed forever."

Tohru smirked at him. "I bet you can't even keep your mouth shut for half a day."

"Ha, you're probably right."

"When did your seduction of women began?" (T11) She asked, tracing her index finger along the opening of his yukata.

"Fourteen."

"Fourteen?" Shock plastered her face.

"Yes. I know I'm not pure like you, but if I could, I would erase everything to be with you for the first time."

"You don't really mean that. That's like 15 years of ab-abstinence. I don't like an author if 'dirty sm-smutty stories' could do that."

"I am lovesick for you. Do you believe in one true love?" (S6) Because I do. Now.

"Back to the reign of death and morbidity, if you had the ability to kill someone or bring back someone from the dead, what would you do?" (S7)

"My mom." She didn't deserve to die so young. Especially because she had amended all the problems she had caused when she was young and reckless. She learned her lesson. She had me.

"Superhero power?" (T12)

"Flying. The freedom to go anywhere when I'm stressed or need inspiration."

"I like that answer. Superman, meet Shigure Sohma, the Flying Dog."

Pouting, Shigure said, "I don't like that name. It doesn't sound dignified."

"Flying Canine sound better?"

"No, how about Soh-man?"

"Of course, leave it to you to call your self 'so man'! My last question is: Would you give up true love for anything you desire in the world?" (T13)

"Never."

…..

It had been five months, four weeks, three days, fifteen hours, twenty-nine minutes since school started.

…..

A/N: Shigure is a famous romance author, but he didn't even know the first steps to wooing a girl! He's taking his first step! Yeah! I curious to any of your guys answers to any of the questions! Especially "When did your seduction of women began?" (T11) lol

BTW… Storm ahead!

Thank you reviewers. (I am averaging 4 reviews, which is quite depressing. This story is not popular at all. Makes me really sad, but I'm determined to finish it!) Nudge, nudge, it's never to late…

Tsukiakage: Tohru's been reading Shigure's novels… hahahaha.

LibraryLady08: That they did in this chapter… finally!

Miaboo011: HAHAH!

Kouga's older woman: Aw, hope you feel much, much better dear!