CHAPTER 25
In which the housekeeper definitely has a cold.

The day Tohru was born was the happiest day of her parents' lives.

"She's perfect," said her mother.

"Absolutely," said her father.

And she was.

She was absolutely perfect.

---

Tohru doesn't remember very much about her father. When she was little, she sat at Katsuya's feet while he worked, and while he worked, Tohru would play with whatever stuffed animal was her favorite that day.

Note: Games usually went as follows: "Would you like some more tea, Star Bear-san? How are your astronautical adventures going? Space pirates!"

Tohru doesn't remember what her father worked at, either, only that it involved a lot of paper. When her father paused in his work and suddenly remembered that his daughter was still sitting at his feet, he would bend down and ruffle her hair, and sometimes ask how Star Bear-san's garden was growing.

Note: Star Bear, it turns out, had a lovely garden full of silver bells and cockleshells. This was back when Tohru thought that if you buried a seashell in the garden, it would grow into a seashell tree. Of course, now that she was studying for a degree in fairy godparenting, she had since learned that seashells buried in gardens make very lovely vines.

Sometimes, though, Katsuya would ignore his papers for a few minutes and lift Tohru up with both hands and spin her around, laughing as she laughed. Tohru doesn't think she remembers his laugh either, but when she thinks something is funny and she can't help herself, she feels like there's always someone else laughing with her.

---

Tohru's father died – some complication with the medication for pneumonia. He'd been terribly allergic, apparently.

It was raining at the funeral. Long after everyone had left, Tohru and her mother stood in front of the grave, her mother's umbrella protecting Tohru and the incense still burning under Honda Katsuya's name.

"I miss him so much," Kyoko said, her voice blending in so well with the sound of rain on the umbrella and the stone walkway and the stone grave marker. They stood in silence, and Tohru held Kyoko's hand until the incense had almost burned out.

"I wish I could see him again."

Tohru felt those words in her stomach, and she didn't know why, but those words scared her.

---

When Tohru woke up, she was still on the floor with her head on the Felix the Cat bag, but a fuzzy orange sweater and a leather jacket had been draped over her. She sat up, but immediately felt dizzy, and so lied back down.

"Good morning," said a tiny voice nearby. "How are you feeling?"

Tohru turned her head against her makeshift pillow and saw Yuki and Kyo sitting together not too far from her.

Note: "Together" meaning there was still a few feet of distance between the two of them. But at least they weren't fighting yet.

"Morning?" Tohru repeated.

"You had a fever," Yuki said kindly, "so we let you rest."

Tohru sat bolt upright again.

"Oh no! I'm sorry, I--"

She was about to apologize for making the Exposition wait, but she fell back against makeshift pillow when the dizzy spell hit her again.

"It's okay," Yuki said reassuringly. "Just get some rest. Do you need anything?"

"No, I'm..." Tohru began, and then hesitated. "Actually, I'm a little hungry."

Yuki smiled.

"That's good. We'll try to figure out something to make for you, okay?"

Tohru nodded, and Yuki, after shooting Kyo a warning glance, stood on his paws and scuffled off. Kyo watched him leave out of the corners of his eyes before addressing Tohru.

"Are you... feeling all right?" he allowed grudgingly.

Tohru nodded, but she didn't really feel okay. Her throat hurt, like there was a rock stuck in it, and her eyes felt kind of funny, too. It took her a minute to realize she was crying.

"Oh no," she said, covering her face with both hands. "I'm sorry, I'm not really sad, I'm just... I'm sorry I'm making everyone wait on me."

Kyo looked alarmed, but after a moment he hunched his shoulders and looked over to the side.

"Don't worry about stuff like that," he said. "We're fine, and it's okay for you to be a little selfish anyway. Just get better and go back to smiling that dopey smile you have."

Tohru didn't know what to say to that, but she didn't have to worry about it because she was soon drifting off again.

...

Moral of today's story: Star Bears enjoy nothing better than a cup of tea
and a listening audience.