The morning after New Year's had Rika waking with a mouth full of cotton and discomfort in her neck. Events of the night before were fuzzy at best, downright baffling at worst. Stealing out of Hatori's, she took care to leave the suit jacket she'd been wearing in the attic hanging neatly on the coat rack. To wind her scarf wound carefully around her throat. Rounding the corner to the gates she stumbled across Shigure, the man looking about as steady as she was. In fact, he was leaning heavily against the wall.

"What was in that sake?" She asked him after a beat and linking an arm into his to steady them both, the pair fell into step beside one another for their shared route home.

"Regrets." Rika laughed. Grimaced at the pain that flared. Traffic, both vehicular and foot was mercifully quiet in the wake of new year's. "Did you and Hatori make nice?"

Colour flooded her cheeks as the previous evening came back to her. Warm skin. Roaming hands. Her lips parted in a slow sigh.

"Of a sort."

Shigure's gaze flickered towards her, something furtive in his expression. Rika turned her own head away as though it could hide the flush of her skin. Her stumbling heartbeat. They walked in silence; Rika unsure what she preferred. Shigure's scrutiny, or the vastly inappropriate suggestions of the night before.

"He cares about you."

"You made that abundantly clear last night." Her quip was waved off.

"Just -," Shigure had to pause mid step as they climbed the last leg of their journey, a hand reaching forward as he bowed his weight against his nausea. Rika, for all that she wanted an answer, could commiserate. The woman desperately needed a shower. To sleep more than the staggered hour she had claimed in that old clinic bed, mind whirring and the warmth of Hatori still on her lips.

The man reached out, fingers grabbing at her elbow.

"Just don't hurt him. We're being honest with you Rika, and will continue to be because we care about you but he – he's got more at stake here than any of us and until you remember everything –"

Rika could fill in the blank. She'd spent the evening smarting over Hatori protecting her, but had she ever considered how to protect him? Swept up in the heady mix of alcohol and relief the night before, Rika had allowed herself to want him. Convinced herself he wanted her too.

"Until I know what I was," Who she was, "I can't comprehend how serious it is."

Shigure nodded, the movement evidently too quick for his queasy stomach. Green tinted his cheeks and Rika leaned back. As much as she'd drank, Shigure had had more. That said, if he threw up, she wouldn't be far behind him. A clatter ahead distracted her from arguing the point with him, Kyo appearing on the top of the stairs.

"What the hell happened to you two?"

"Ayame." It was uttered in unison, both laughing at the realisation and then wincing hard against their complaining bodies.

"I'm not even going to ask." Kyo reached out possessively and tucked Rika against him. Just as quickly, he pushed her back. "Hell! You reek. What did you do?"

"I thought you weren't going to ask?" He scoffed at her. Shoved her unceremoniously through the front door. Rika waved off his brusque attitude, trying not to laugh at the teen's grandstanding. She could see it for what it was. Concern. Fair really, given she'd disappeared from Kazuma's house with a half-hearted excuse. That he wasn't yelling was a mercy.

"Tohru was worried about you. Go tell her you're back. And you," He turned on Shigure who whimpered and made a feeble complaint about noise, "You reek even worse. I'm going to the dojo."

Rika was halfway up the stairs by the time Shigure followed her into the house, his voice echoing after her.

"Just, consider it."

"The damage doesn't look too extensive." Hatori's hands were against her neck and Rika's attention was in fragments. Each touch reminded her of that night and from the more tentative edge of his examination – Rika suspected it made him recollect it too.

"She didn't look strong enough to leave bruises like that." Turning her head, Rika caught her own reflection in the mirror nearby. "Not sure all of them are hers either." She trailed her thumb against a more circular bruise that traced her shoulder and Hatori's eyes followed the motion.

"Ren was always full of surprises."

Without the alcohol flooding her system, Rika was more careful. Unsure. Hatori seemed to be taking his cues from her, which, flattering as it was, made her twice as nervous.

While Rika had gotten her own external physician months ago, explaining the bruises around her neck to someone who didn't comprehend the full story was too risky. Not to mention the questions that would be raised regarding her living situation. Which had left her with one option and he was currently busying himself with files on his desk.

Rika pulled her scarf back around her shoulders, twisting her head side to side as she tested the ache of the bruised muscles.

"How long do you think the marks will last?"

"The ones from Ren or -?" Rika snorted, fingers brushing along the edge of her jaw. Her hand reached out to tug the man back to her, grip loose in his white coat. He sighed and looked back towards her. "A week or so. The deeper ones might take longer. Have the others asked questions?"

"I've been keeping the skin covered. Makeup works wonders."

She kept him close by, sensing the agitation he was working to hide. Since New Year's, Rika had been trying to figure out where they went now that they had crossed a line. There were aspects too hard to fathom. Shigure's warning. The age differences. The gap in her memories.

Swallowing Rika managed to burst out with –

"About the other night – " in the same instant that Hatori said,

"About New Year's –"

They shared sheepish grins, woman releasing his sleeve and waving a hand towards him to continue. She hadn't even figured out what to say yet. With any luck, Hatori had greater ability to explain himself.

"Rika," He spoke her name so tenderly that she had a moment of worry he was going to say it was all some mistake. Her heart picked up pace. "I think maybe we need to take a minute. To consider -," She watched his hands as they stretched outward and then curled back into fists.

"To consider…?"

"You're still in school. There's – there's years of experiences between us. You haven't even gotten your memories back. A few months ago, I was your physician! Those aren't even accounting for all the other complications - " Hatori turned away, knuckles white from the effort of getting his words out in a way that wasn't designed to hurt her. Most of them had come out in such a rush she needed a second to process them all. When she had, Rika reached back to claim his wrist.

"It's okay. I understand." It had been a kiss. A long kiss. Heated. Intense. That wasn't the point however. "There's a power disparity. Right now, this," She gestured to the small space between them, "This is a thing that will make one of us uncomfortable while we have doubts. That will cause more trouble than we're already in. I – you – we need to find a way that makes it feel like something achievable for both of us."

Hatori's expression relaxed a fraction, his hand lifting to tuck hair behind her ear as he nodded agreement. Rika pressed a hand to his chest to indicate she wasn't yet done.

"Can you promise me, when I come to you – you will restore my memories. All of them. Not yet. I'm not ready yet but when I am, will you?" He met her eye directly, reticence still present but she could see the way something else overpowered it. He'd sworn to stop protecting her from things. To let her fight her own battles. The battle he had internally to agree to those conditions was visible and painful but when he opened his mouth what came out was -

"I promise."

"And we can stay friends?"

"Of course."

Rika closed her eyes. Let the relief settle all the way to her toes. She'd wanted him to kiss her that night. Wanted to kiss him again. She also wanted to know that whatever they decided to do going forward it was a shared agreement. Hari's thumb trailed her cheekbone and when she looked his way the tumultuous expression was back. She waited as patiently as she could for him to speak.

"I just want to say – to ask you – not to misunderstand my reservations for regret. The other night. I wanted that. Even drunk, I was clear headed enough to know that much. It's just - in a month or so, you'll know about university. A year. In a year, can we re-evaluate?"

A year. A year seemed fair. Long. Impossibly long - but fair. He was right. She had her exams to sit. News to break to Kyo if she passed them. By the time all those things were done even with a delayed matriculation she would probably have no freedom to consider – whatever this was. A year. She tested her agreement on her tongue.

"I can do a year." Her head leaned into the touch of his palm, hand lifting to hold him in place. "And I wanted it too. I wouldn't have said so if I didn't. I liked it. I said nice but it was more than that Hari. It felt right and safe and just having you there, feeling you against me. I felt like I was on fire from the inside out and when you kissed my neck -," Her words turned breathy at the recollection, heat licking her stomach and creeping its way over her body. Reminding her of his mouth on hers. Of how easy she slotted against him. The tingle as his hands swept through her hair, unmaking her a little at a time until at that was left was the weight and feel of his body over what little was left of her own.

Hatori's head dropped against hers with a quiet groan, pulling her back to the present.

His gulp was the loudest thing in the room and it took immense effort for her not to glance to his mouth. To let him linger within touching distance and not touch.

"Why do I feel you're about to make the next year the longest I've ever lived?" Hatori's voice was rough edged and enticing, Rika turning her head to press her lips to the inside of his wrist before releasing him. Pulling her hands back enough that she wasn't playing cruel or coy. As much as the temptation was there to do so.

"Common sense. History. Clairvoyance." They shared strained laughter at her quip. Hatori stepped away. "We can make it our new resolutions. Self-discipline."

He ran a hand through his hair, dishevelling it in a way that was too enticing to be allowed. Rika crossed her legs against the tall stool she sat on.

"I don't know which one is going to be more difficult. That or the cigarettes I already promised to give up." He monotoned it, shaking his head a final time and retreated to his desk. Scribbled a note on a piece of paper and returned to her.

"This is a cream to help with the bruising, now for the sake of my sanity please go." She grinned widely, Rika standing and tucking the note into the pocket of her skirt. Moved to the door.

"Goodbye, Hari." She placed an exaggerated emphasis on his name that earned her a growl and the woman ducked away from his glare and echoing amused shout.

"Get out."

She left laughter in her wake and if she wasn't mistaken, she heard his too.

"Shush," Rika hissed it at the two boys on the doorstep, laughing in spite of herself at their disarray, "Hatori's asleep." That seemed to trip Momiji up in his excitement, fair eyebrows disappearing into the mop of blonde hair atop his head.

"Hari's sleeping?" She nodded confirmation, stepping back to usher them both towards Hatori's office rather than his living room.

"He was reading and fell asleep." Truthfully, it had taken her by surprise too. The man seldom showed weakness or wholly relaxed, but she'd shoved a book into his hand and nature had taken over. Guilt prickled in her stomach, a reminder that since her return he'd been not only juggling his normal clinic work but helping her study too.

That was bound to take its toll eventually.

"He's lucky he has you to look out for him." Rika's eyes slid to Haru, cheeks turning pink. Then white.

"Your arm! Haru!" The teen waved it off.

"Only a scratch." Logic begged to differ judging by the blood that had already seeped into Haru's shirt sleeve. Shaking her head, Rika padded into the small clinic room she'd been occupying to study and grabbed one of Hatori's medical bags. She wasn't a physician, but while the man rested, she could surely do something to help.

"What even happened?" She almost didn't want to know judging by the look on Momiji's face. Glee. It was sheer and utter glee.

"Haru went dark at the dojo and told Kyo that Tohru's bum looked nice in her swimsuit." A hasty cough was needed to cover up her laughter. The concept of dark Haru had been explained to her after a remarkably odd interaction with the teen that had gone from innocent to perverse in a matter of seconds. Not that he had explained it himself. No, that had been left to Yuki when Kyo started throwing punches.

"And Rin?" She'd known the girl was staying there the last couple weeks, and at the mention of the name Momiji's ridiculous beaming grin grew even wider.

"She told him if he said something like that again, she'd hold him down so Kyo could kick his ass." Another smothered laugh, Rika sending Momiji away to gather some hot water and towels while she helped Haru out of his shirt.

"What did you even hit?" She asked once she had a good look at where the blood had begun, a diagonal stripe across his arm.

"The ground." He answered and she had to resist the urge to smack the back of his head for his brevity. Momiji's reappearance filled in the gaps in the middle of handing over the supplies he'd found.

"A big rock in Kazuma's yard. Kyo looked very apologetic once that happened." Naturally, Rika thought. Kyo had a difficult time fitting in with some of the Sohma's when things were going in his favour. Scarring one of them, even if that someone happened to be Hatsuharu, would not end well.

She cleaned the wound carefully with water to start, grabbing tweezers to extract any traces of gravel from the laceration. He'd been correct, the blood making it look far worse than it was. The cut underneath was shallow and wouldn't require stitches like some of the others she'd seen dished out during martial arts over the years.

"Some strips should be enough to deal with this though Hari might say different. I can wake him -,"

"Strips are fine. Let Hatori rest." Her smile was soft, a nod of agreement shared with Haru. Momiji took up residence in the large chair by the desk, Rika noting how the rabbit no longer had his legs dangling loose. Instead, they sat firm on the floor. Sometimes it was difficult to reconcile the memories she lacked and the stories Ren shared, with the reality. Harder still when she was still picking through which parts of Ren's information had been outright fallacy. At some point in her past, Rika would've thought Momiji a tiny scared child. Now, he was finally starting to look like the young man he was.

Haru too, though the changes were less striking. She'd missed out on the bulk of that transition during her time in Okinawa.

"Rika-" Haru spoke as she tried to extract the little sticky strips from their packet, tongue poking out at the edge with the concentration.

"Uh-uh?"

"You're staying for good this time, right?" The first strip tore under the jolt of her hands, Rika looking up into a remarkably serious face. Haru often strayed towards an airy kindness but right then he faced her head on. Rika swallowed and looked up to see Momiji staring at her as intently.

"If I can -" Rika still didn't know for sure how Akito felt about it all. How she felt about it really. There were large gaps in her memory, things that remained unsaid. Whispers behind doors. Conversations that magically dried up when she entered the room. Less since New Year's, but that was only one step in the right direction. Then, of course, there was Hatori. "If I can, I would very much like to remain here. With all of you."

"With Hari too?"

Rika arched a brow but didn't dare look away from the delicate operation of locking Haru's skin into place so that he wouldn't end up with too broad a scar. There was an edge to the addition of the Sohma physician by Momiji that she didn't dare touch. Not when the pair had already formed a tentative agreement to leave aside the more complicated desires between them at New Year's.

"Of course. Hari too."

"Maybe you could move here full time?!" Momiji derailed her thoughts and another strip tore. "Then we'd be next door neighbours."

Laughing it off, Rika prayed that her skin hadn't turned too red at the insinuation. It was bad enough to have Shigure and Ayame creating connections between herself and the doctor. It would be harder still to keep to the agreement of a whole year if quiet expectation started coming from other avenues too.

The door opened and the man himself appeared in the doorway, hair sleep tousled and -

"Hari! Are you wearing sweatpants?!"

"Blame Rika for it." He deadpanned. She flushed deeper, noting the way his eyes moved from Hatsuharu to his kit. The bloodied water and towels on the floor.

Haru leaned close.

"I don't think he gets how sleezy that sounds." Rika couldn't help it. She panicked.

"No, no - it's not. I made him go for a run earlier since he's -," Hari's hand dropped onto her shoulder and she fell quiet. Looking up to his face she recognised the warning in his expression and promptly let go of Haru's arm.

"Let me look at that."

She retreated back to Momiji, arms moving to cover her abdomen. Rika hadn't even meant to be at Hatori's today, she'd been walking from the Dojo and then, just ended up there. His previous confession about giving up smoking had felt as good as reason as any to suggest some exercise could do him good.

He'd lasted a mile and a half before bringing down every curse upon her, a litany of words which had been both shocking and immensely satisfying. They'd retired back to his house for lunch whereupon she'd shoved a book in his hands instead and told him to relax. What she hadn't expected was compliance. Or how nice his barely used sweatpants hung on his hips. The way his shirt framed his lithe form. More surprising was the smile spreading across his face as he examined Haru's arm.

"You did a good job." Pride flared in her chest but before she could revel in it, she was knocked from her feet by Momiji throwing himself at her, both of them crashing to the floor.

"Our Rika!" He sang, "Almost as wonderful as our Hari! A match made in -"

"Momiji, kindly quiet down." Hatori's voice was curt but from her position under the zodiac rabbit, she could see a pinkness spreading along his neck. A flush that skittered her mind towards a different room of this house. An attic wall. Skin marked by passion and heat. Rather than move from where she lay, Rika forced herself to exhale and relax on the floor, tucking a hand around Momiji's neck.

"You're an idiot." She nuzzled the top of his head affectionately, thrilling in the laughter it elicited. The teen rested an arm over her chest, dropping his head onto it.

"I missed you Ri-Ri."

"You too kid." Which was the truth. Even when she hadn't known them, she had been missing every part of the Sohma family right to her marrow. The laughter. The pain. All of it. It felt foolish and painful to think it but losing her mom and dad had filled something that she hadn't realised was empty. A space in her heart that had only grown and healed over the past year. It wasn't just the three in the room with her now either. It was Tohru. Yuki. Kyo and Kazuma. Uo and Hana. They'd given her all a family when she'd been on the cusp of being utterly alone. That she was a Sohma anyway didn't matter. By inviting her back in, they risked Akito's wrath. Greater struggles with the bond. Yet they'd done it all the same. Hatori most of all.

He might bemoan it. Exercise caution in how she passed her time in the main estate or frayed his struggling self-control. Through all of it, he'd never turned her away. Not once. His door had opened and remained open.

"Are you staying here tonight? Let's have a sleepover!" Rika looked to Hatori, a hopeful glint in her eyes. He had covered over the strips on Haru's arm and while the question seemed to have annoyed him somewhat if the tightening of his shoulders were anything to go by - she was quite sure his entire expression softened when he turned and observed the pair sprawled across his floor.

"Fine. Hatsuharu?"

"I've got to go back to Rin." Hatori nodded acceptance, Rika smiling at the black- and white-haired teen as brightly as she could. He was devoted to Rin in a way that transcended words. If she could ever have even a fraction of that kind of love, she thought she might be happy. Her gaze flickered to Hatori and she crushed down the idea quickly. Attraction, sure. But love?

"I'm going to order out for food while I see Haru out. You two clean up this mess." Hatori stood, a hand run through his hair setting the strands to rights. Rika realised that he'd come looking for her, dressed so casually, not expecting company. Was he annoyed to find that his brief moment of carefree afternoon had been snuffed out so quickly? "I'll also tell Shigure you're staying here this evening. Just in case the others are concerned for you."

Rika grimaced, thinking that conversation over. New Year's had revealed just how Shigure and Ayame viewed her and Hari's time spent together. Adding fuel to the fire, no matter how unintentionally, was sure to be an extra weight in Hatori's shoulders. Not to mention how Kyo had reamed her for not checking in that night either, but he'd at least had the good graces to wait until her hangover had passed.

Momiji rapped a finger against her collar bone once the other two had left, the weight of him oddly comforting where he lay draped across her. Unlike with Hatori, there was no frisson in his touches. No odd hammering of her heart.

Just pure contentment.

"You think he'd mind if I see if Kisa and Hiro can come too?" Rika considered it.

"I don't think so. Though I can't imagine what we can do that will interest all of us?"

"Oh, that one's easy! We're going to watch a movie!" Rika accepted it easily enough. Spending time with the younger cousins, particularly Kisa, would be nice. Rika was still trying to make up for what had happened in the past, even if she didn't recall the exact circumstances. If Hari was bored, he could simply read one of his books or go visit Ayame instead. "Rika?"

She glanced up to see Momiji's wide eyes studying her, a soft smile on his lips.

"I don't think Hari can say no to you." She laughed; the reaction so visceral she almost knocked the teen from her body.

"You didn't hear him earlier! I thought he'd have murdered me when we got back." If he'd had the energy.

"Nah," Momiji moved off of her, extending a palm to pull her up so they could start cleaning up the room, "Somehow, I don't think he would have."

And that, she thought, is more reason to wait. For all Momiji joked, Rika had to wonder. The bond, the connection the others felt – was that the only reason they had come together? He'd told her she was like a Zodiac yet something different, but even if she wasn't a normal Zodiac, had there been some truth in Ren's words for what had made Akito drive her away? Rika had asked Hatori once if he had to do everything she asked of him and he'd laughed it off, but now she found herself coming back to it.

Was the bond physical? Buried so deep that someone found themselves following its guidance before even having time to think?

And if so –

Were the things she wanted with Hari because of that and nothing more?

Sighing, Rika pushed the worries away. These were problems for another day. For now, they would simply have to wait.