Fruits basket completely belongs to the original author. I paraphrase heavily a conversation between the three musketeers when they were at the lake house😊

Chapter 5

The next week was a blur of visiting with Hatori, Shigure, and Ayame as much as she could. They discovered their friendship hadn't really changed that much over the years despite all that had happened. She helped take care of the store with Mine while Ayame followed Hatori, Shigure and the rest to the lake house. While the younger boys at the lake house were all but pleased Ayame had shown up, the old friends were glad to have time to chat while Yuki, Kyo and Tohru walked by the lake.

"How do you think Kyo is going to react when he finds out he has a sister?" Hatori asked Shigure watching the teens walk down the path towards the lake. "He seems to be doing better than he was and tolerates Yuki if nothing else but for Tohru's sake."

Shigure was in the middle of getting a cigarette out of his pocket. "It will either go very well, or very badly. I'm not entirely sure which at this point."

Hatori just glared at his friend at the noncommittal remark. "Don't you think it would be best for both of them to become friends at the very least? I don't expect them to start acting like brother and sister, but they are family after all."

Ayame took that moment to be serious for once. "What does a normal family even look like? None of us have ever experienced that. It sounds like Kyomi has though. The way she is with her son is evidence of that. I think she can only do him good as a positive influence on his life, much like our dear Tohru. She can give as good as she gets too. My poor Gure has the bruises to prove it."

Shigure was holding his arm, pouting at the memory. "She almost broke my arm and you're joking about it. "

"My darling, if you need me to hold you in the night to make it feel better, all you have to do is say the word."

"Oh Aya, I will gladly allow you to sooth my wounds."

They ended with giving each other a thumbs up with their usual big goofy grins on their faces. Hatori just pushed his glasses up his nose and sighed, "Don't you ever get tired of this?"

"Nope!" They responded in unison.

Hatori took a drink of his tea as Ayame pushed the picture of Kana's wedding over to him. "You don't have to look at it, but I thought you deserved the option."

"You went Aya?" Shigure asked surprised.

"Oh no, Mayuko gave them to me. You know, the Mayu who called you a wet blanket and then broke up with you?" Ayame happily remembered.

Hatori had to assist in embarrassing their friend. "You mean the Mayu who dated Shigure for a month and called him a ripple on the water? Kana's friend from college?"

"Yes well, we just weren't compatible." Shigure replied. "So you didn't go to the wedding Hatori?"

"It would have been bad if I had triggered any flashbacks. I didn't want to hurt her more than she already has been." Hatori responded sadly but resolutely.

"Is that going to be your stance about Kyomi as well?" Ayame slyly asked his friend. "We remember how you felt about her even in elementary school. After what we thought was her death you really were never the same after that. You lost your smile until Kana came into your life, as short lived as it was. We were happy to see you so happy again."

Hatori thought about his friend's statement. He honestly wasn't sure what his feelings were for their old friend anymore. So much time had passed since they thought she had died. After all she had been through as well, he didn't want to be the cause of even more heartache for her. How much was can a person handle before it was too much? He couldn't bear to see her in the same state that Kana was in. Ayame cut into his pondering.

"You know she lost her husband about the same time you lost Kana. Awfully coincidental I think."

"What I felt for Kyomi when we were children doesn't compare to what I felt for Kana. I had a childhood infatuation in elementary school. I still care for her as a close friend, but that's where that ends for now. From the way she talks, I don't think she's ready to move on from her husband yet either. Her smile is still too sad when she speaks of him."

"Time can change that. Don't discount either of your feelings quite yet." Shigure added his wisdom to the conversation.

"Whatever happens, I hope you are two thousand times happier than Kana!" Ayame loudly announced.

"Why two thousand?" Hatori was both amused at his friend's antics and attempts to cheer him up.

"Because one thousand isn't enough!" He proclaimed as he saw his brother coming up the path back to the house with Kyo and Tohru.

Back at the shop, Kyomi sneezed. "Someone must be talking about me I guess."

Mine giggled knowing the conversation Ayame was planning on having with his friends. "I suppose so! I have a question for you. Have you thought about dating again? It's been a few years now. I do have a few friends who you might get along well with." Mine kindly suggested to her friend, feigning no other ulterior motives.

"I have wondered if it will happen, but I'm not looking for anything right now. I have Luc and I just regained my friends and just found out I actually have a little brother! I want to focus on those things before throwing romance into the mix. It will take someone very special for me to open my heart again after all I've lost. Sean holds a very special place in my heart and he will never leave it. If I can find someone else who I want to spend the rest of my life with, then I'll think about it. But it definitely hasn't happened yet and I'm not sure it ever will." She was truthfully doubtful she would ever find someone who would fill her heart in the same way he did. While she said she was open to it, she was actually guarded because she wasn't sure if she could handle losing more of her family. Right now, she was more focused on gaining the friendship of her brother. "Has Ayame said when Kazuma will return by any chance? I keep forgetting to ask Shigure or Hatori and I wondered if they gave Aya the message to pass on."

"Not that he's told me, but I would think they would talk to you directly." Mine replied before going to help a customer who just walked in.

Shigure had pushed for Kyomi to visit his home, but she staunchly refused since Kazuma wasn't in town at the time. She still wanted to have a discussion with him about her brother before she met Kyo for the first time. She didn't want to push a relationship on the teen, but she did desperately want to know him, and she thought it would be beneficial for him as well as long as he was open to the idea. She resolved to continue waiting.

The lake house vacation ended and the weeks continued to drag on for Kyomi. Near the beginning of summer, Kyomi received a phone call from Hatori. "Kyomi, I just saw Kazuma has returned to the dojo. I mentioned he had someone who wanted to speak to him about Kyo and he asked for them to come by today after his last class. Will that be convenient for you?"

Kyomi could barely contain her excitement and fear. "Wow, that came out of the blue! I think that will work. I'll have Luc with me, but I'm sure he will be fine if he teaches toddlers. I can't believe I've never asked before, but what is Kazuma like Hati?"

The usage of his childhood nickname told Hatori that she was nervous. She had all but stopped using it since she had returned to their lives and had taken to calling him Tori like Ayame did. "Kyomi, he is a martial arts master. He is kind and soft spoken. He is also very protective of Kyo for obvious reasons, but he knows Kyo needs to learn to spread his wings. Just be yourself and you will arrive at the best solution for both you and Kyo."

Kyomi listened to her dear friend's words and took them to heart. Thankfully, it helped her to stop panicking and calm her nerves to a manageable level. "Thanks Hati. And thank you for letting me know. We will head over there as soon as Luc wakes up from his nap. Oh, wait, where is the dojo?"

Hatori gave her the directions and then said he would also send her the address. He remembered her penchant for getting lost when they were younger. "Are you any better with directions than you used to be?" He was curious.

"Unfortunately not… One of my first interactions with Sean was actually trying to find the grocery store in the town we went to college in and me getting us lost. He always said that I turned into a mobile home complex thinking it was the store. I always said that I was just turning around. I'll let you decide who was right in that argument." She laughed and shook her head at the memory. "Even the compass in my car that told me what cardinal direction I was going didn't help!" She full on was laughing now and Hatori smiled at the sound. That was the first time she had been able to talk about her late husband without tears or being sad.

"I sent the directions and address to your email so you won't go to another mobile home park. I hope your discussion goes well. Let me know if you need someone to talk to. I'll be here if you need to stop by. Or if you need to cry, go see Ayame."

"Oh thanks Tori, very mature coming from a doctor… I'll let you all know how it goes though. Thank you again for everything."

They hung up and Kyomi settled in to wait for her son to wake up from his nap. She turned on her favorite music and picked up the latest project for the shop. This one was a simple color block cardigan light enough to wear during the summer heat. The customer had chosen a pale shade of gray, a slightly darker shade of gray, and a beautiful pale pink.

She laid her head back for a moment to just breathe and listen to the music. She had turned on a favorite of her and her sister and mothers. They would always watch Pride and Prejudice together and she loved the piano music. That music is also what she played for her audition for acceptance into the music department in college, the opening piece in particular. She absently wondered if she could still play it despite not having sat at a piano since her parents passed five years prior. Then once her husband passed it was like the music completely went out of her fingers. She had kept singing only so her son would know her voice. That was very important to her that he have music in his life. She stirred when she heard her son calling Mama from his crib and went to get him ready for their walk to the Sohma estate.

"Well, here goes nothing" she thought as they walked out the door.