A/N: Welcome to Chapter 10 of One Becomes Two! Finally hit the double digits Woo Hoo! Firstly I want to give a big shout out to my friend who proof read and made edits to this chapter and all the ones that came before it. Second, read the end Author's note for an announcement regarding this story going forward (Its nothing bad I swear!). Without further ado I hope you enjoy the chapter!
Yuki's POV
A Few Days Earlier
After dinner, the five of us were relaxing in the living room when I felt the tug of the boar zodiac approaching the house. I inwardly groaned; whenever she's around, something always seems to go wrong or get violent. I didn't get to dread for long when a knock sounded at the front door.
"I'll get it!" Tohru called getting up, Liisa followed her silently. A moment later, the unmistakable sound of the boar's voice sounded out in the hall. I looked to Kyo, who had a startled look on his face. At the sound of footsteps in the hallway, he leaped to his feet and looked around wildly for a place to hide.
"Kyo!" Kagura called as she opened the door to the living room. I could see the startled and confused looks on Tohru and Liisa's faces as the newcomer bee-lined straight for Kyo. "Where were you these last four months? Why didn't you call me?" She strode right up to him. "I was… SO WORRIED ABOUT YOU!" The two girls in the hall gasped when she decked him right in the face, the force sending him back and crashing through the paper door that lead outside. Without missing a beat, Shigure bent his head as Kagura launched herself over his head with inhuman strength. She plowed through the hole in the door and continued her assault on Kyo.
"I REALLY WANTED TO SEE YOU!" she was yelling at full volume from outside. Through the hole in the door, I could see her swinging him around by the ankle.
The stupid cat should've ran when he had the chance.
I ignored what was happening outside and went over to examine the broken door. There was no way to salvage it from what I could see.
"Shigure, we have to replace the paper door again," I observed and the adult sighed.
"Why do you guys always destroy MY house?" He rubbed his temples an exasperated expression on his face.
"Are you going to stop…that?" Tohru asked, hesitantly pointing towards the two outside. The adult glanced over his shoulder at his two family members.
"Oh, don't worry about that; it's how Kagura shows affection. Like how little kids pick on the ones that they love." the dog said with a smile on his face.
"I-is that so…" Liisa responded as I turned back to face the room.
"But her whole personality seemed to change." the other pointed out while she moved towards the table.
"She's always acted like that whenever Kyo's around for as long as I could remember. She's only two years older than us but we grew up in the Main House together." I explained, taking a seat at the table once more.
"Plus, she's one of the 12 zodiacs but I assume Liisa-san has already guessed as much," Shigure added then picked up his tea cup he'd been drinking from before Kagura's arrival.
"Yeah, I felt her presence right before she knocked on the door," She confirmed. "I don't know which one she is though."
"Mmmm, I thought you could tell which one just by looking at her? How about you two watch her for a while then try to guess which one she could be?" he suggested and Tohru nodded her head looking excited.
There he goes playing his games again, though its harmless this time.
"Challenge accepted!" She exclaimed and both turned their heads to look outside. "Kyo's really getting beat up - don't you think we should stop her?" At this point, Kagura was rapidly punching Kyo in the face. He wasn't fighting back or anything, this was a one-sided beat down.
I'm not getting in the middle of that just for that stupid cat.
Before anyone could respond to her question, Kyo was sprawled on the ground and Kagura seemed to have snapped back to reality. We all went outside as she knelt on the ground next to him. "Kyo's gotten beaten up this badly? It can't be?" She picked up his head and shoulders and hugged him. "WHO DID THIS TO YOU?!" She cried.
"Why are you asking? It was you who did that. Do you have memory loss or something?" The adult deadpanned.
We all saw you beat the shit out of him not even a minute ago. What is wrong with you?
"Nooo…. I didn't think I hit him that hard though," She said as she hoisted Kyo to his feet. He had a subdued look on his face. She brought him back into the house and the two girls got out the first-aid kit. Kagura attempted to treat his injuries but he snapped at her and did it himself. After we had settled down from the earlier events, Kagura started talking.
"Sorry, I got too exited after seeing Kyo. He was gone without a trace for so long I was really happy to see him," she apologized looking a bit embarrassed now.
With the way you treated him when you finally saw him, you shouldn't wonder why he didn't call you.
I was brought out of my thoughts by Shigure sneezing next to me.
"Bless you," Liisa said immediately.
"Thank you," he said.
"It's going to be chilly in here tonight," I observed, looking over at the ruined paper door. The nights were still cold even with the days getting warmer.
"Yeah and the bugs are going to be a nightmare with summer coming." Shigure chimed in also looking at the door.
"Sorry…" Kagura looked genuinely apologetic. "Kyo, you should apologize too! You're at fault for disappearing like that and never contacting me!"
"Why would I have to call you?" He turned his head away with clear annoyance.
"Because we're going to get married someday," she said calmly.
Is she still going on about that?
"WHEN THE HELL WAS THAT DECIDED?!" He fully turned to her with his entire face and neck a deep red.
"You have a fiancée!?" Tohru gasped in excitement.
"Congratulations, there's finally a girl who likes you," I sarcastically said with an emotionless face.
"Congratulations," Shigure said in the same tone. Liisa looked between the two of us with confusion clear on her face.
"Why you…!" Kyo glared angerly at us.
What're you going to do about it? You're the one who let her continue on with this silly idea.
"Don't you remember? You told me you wanted to marry me when we were little!" She said with a nostalgic expression. The cat sent her an exasperated look.
"I only said that because you threatened to pulverize me if I said no!"
"Why do you still deny it? Isn't it for the best when two of the zodiacs get married? We would understand each other's pain." She said a wistful look settling on her face. "Plus, as part of the zodiacs we can hug each other without fear of changing into animals." She draped her arms around Kyo's neck and hugged him tightly while he looked very uncomfortable. "Since nothing happens, it must be a sign."
"Wow, you're right! But Liisa is cursed and transformed when she hugged Sohma-san and Kyo-kun." Tohru pointed out.
"Really? You both turned into animals? That's very strange indeed," She seemed to be thinking about something. "What if we hugged? Nothing should happen since we're both girls… but you never know."
"I've been wondering the same thing myself actually," My cousin leaned forward, in a show of how interested he was.
Why would he be wondering that?
"I mean, it wouldn't hurt to see what would happen. I don't think we'll change since I can hug Tohru, Uo, and Hana just fine without anything happening," she said as the two girls moved towards each other.
That's just like us, but then again her curse is similar, but not exactly the same as our curse so who knows what would happen?
"Now's the moment of truth," Kagura whispered as they awkwardly embraced and two puffs of smoke surrounded them. Once the smoke disappeared we were left looking at two boars. Kagura had turned into a dark brown boar with light brown stipes and Liisa a solid light brown boar with light gray hooves. The room was silent till my older cousin spoke up.
"Well that settles that unless one of you is secretly a guy, my bet would be on Kagura but I digress. Now the next question to ask is why?" He rubbed his chin thoughtfully.
I wondered the same thing.
"Cute! You're the boar of the zodiacs?" Tohru squealed.
"You really think I'm cute?" Kagura asked getting to her hooves.
You're only a little cute when you're not beating people up or being aggressive.
"Yeah, small and cute!" She responded nodding enthusiastically. Liisa said nothing, turned and headed for the door.
"Where are you going?" Tohru asked and she turned to look back at her friend, her little snout twitching.
"Uh, to change back in private?" she gestured to her boar form with a hoof.
"Oh right!" Tohru smacked herself on her forehead then scooped up the abandoned clothes that were on the floor. "Sorry, I got distracted by the unexpected turn of events. Kagura, do you want to use the bathroom to change?"
She can be a real air-head sometimes, it seems.
"Sure! Don't go anywhere, Kyo, I'll be right back!" she told the cat over her shoulder as she left the room. Once the girls were gone, Kyo let out a long sigh and slumped to the floor.
"Why are girls crazy?" He looked towards the adult like he has the answers.
"I think it's just the ones who like you," he responded with a shrug. "I'm just curious as to why they both turned into animals."
"We've established this already. Liisa-san's curse is similar but not completely the same as ours, she told us so that first day remember? It could also have something to do with the fact that she's cursed with all 13 zodiac spirits." I crossed my arms over my chest.
He better not read into this too much; the last thing she needs is more problems from us.
"I still don't think it's out of the realm of possibility that her curse is linked to ours in some way. Otherwise, why would both she and Kagura transform when they hugged?" he mirrored my position.
"It could have been from the two curses interacting at the time of contact." I glared at the dog. It's beginning to irritate me on how much he tries to tie our curse to Liisa's. Before the other could respond, the door opened and Tohru came in. We sat in silence when she closed the door and sat down at the table.
"They both turned back and should be back in a bit." She eyed the both of us with a calculating look in her eyes. "Were the two of you having a disagreement?" I uncrossed my arms and turned to fully face her.
"No, just a friendly discussion on whether or not Liisa-san's curse is connected to ours or not. This guy-" I pointed a finger at my cousin. "Seems to think this proves that they're connected but I don't think so."
"Well, she's hugged Hana, Uo, and myself many times and nothing's happened. Plus, she's hugged our mothers and some of our female teachers too." She explained. I was suddenly roughly shoved to the side by the adult.
"See! She's hugged other girls and women and nothing happened, but she hugged another girl with a similar curse and they both turned into animals! There must be a connection. Now, there's a couple questions I have for Kagura when she gets back in here." he said triumphally as I righted myself, throwing him a scowl.
"What questions are you going to ask her?" I scoffed as the door opened once again.
"What do you want to ask me?" Kagura asked from the doorway.
"Did you feel different when you transformed this time rather than any other time?" she came and took a seat next to Kyo, a thoughtful look on her face.
"Hmm, any different than usual? I don't think so. Other than her presence being a stronger pulling force than any of the other zodiacs, everything else was the same."
"Hmmm." he got a thoughtful look on his face. The rest of us sat in silence as the door opened once again and Liisa entered.
"Glad to see you're back to normal." Shigure said as she entered the room and sat next to Tohru. "Now then, let's get back to the subject of our little experiment." I found myself growing tired of this circular way of thinking.
"As I was saying before, it's probably because Liisa-san's curse is different than ours. There may be some similarities but it's not like ours." I sternly crossed my arms once again.
"Yes, but she can hug other girls who aren't cursed like us, which means there must be some connection to our curse." He shot back, holding his chin in-between his index finger and thumb "I wonder if it would be the same with the other two girls?"
"There are other girls in the zodiac?" Tohru cut in excitedly.
"Only two others for a total of three. As you might've assumed, nothing happens when we hug them either." I explained without taking my eyes away from the dog.
"Do you want to know what animals they are?" the dog asked looking to Tohru. She got a conflicted look on her face.
"Mmmmm, no. It'll be more fun to figure it out when I meet them. Right, Liisa?" She answered with a smile on her face.
"Yeah, guessing would be more fun I suppose." She said with a shrug.
Kagura interjected with clear disinterest in the current topic. "Anyway, if one of the cursed zodiacs marries a "normal" person of the opposite sex, it usually doesn't end well. Isn't that right, Shigure?"
"That's right. It's already hard to work in this society as it is; however, the biggest problem is when we transform into animals when hugged by the opposite sex. Having relationships and having se..." I threw a book that was on the table at Shigure's face.
"Dirty old man," I scowled.
No need to continue with that sentence.
"See Kyo? It would be unreasonable for you to be with anyone else! I love you the most! I love you the most in the world! No, in the whole universe!" She exclaimed, standing in front of the startled cat. "Say it clearly, do you love me or hate me? I need to know!"
"Hah?" Kyo sputtered, looking overwhelmed.
"I want to cook for you every day and even if you had an affair I would still forgive you! There's no one else who could love you this much, Kyo!" She went on before he could answer.
Before or after you beat him to a pulp?
"Uh, ah," he backed into a corner while she followed him. She leaned into his personal space with a menacing aura around her, "YOU THINK SO TOO, RIGHT?!"
"Kyo's a weakling under pressure," The adult observed idly then looked at Tohru, "But you also like him, right? You recently started calling him, Kyo-kun. Something had to have happened that night, right?" He even threw a wink at her - dirty old dog. I saw Kagura's head snap in her direction so fast that I'm surprised she didn't get a crick in her neck.
What is that supposed to mean?
"How can it be? My rival?!" the boar roared as Tohru blushed and smiled.
"I won't lose! The power of love can overcome any obstacle if it's strong enough and mine is the strongest!" she exclaimed getting up in Tohru's face. "What do you like about Kyo? I love all of him! ALL of him!"
"Stop," Kyo sounded irritated, a stern look on his face.
"The good and the bad I accept all of it!" She plunged on despite what Kyo had said in a feeble attempt to stop her. She'd worked herself up into a frenzy at this point. "Even when he returns to his true form! I can accept that too…" I could almost feel the tension in the room as Kyo lunged forward and slapped a hand over her mouth.
Idiot, They didn't know anything about that and it would've stayed that way if you hadn't opened your big fat mouth.
"Please stop!" He warned his voice low, his bangs hiding his eyes. I looked to the two girls, both were staring at him, Tohru looked confused but Liisa had sat up straight at first and now was looking at my cousin with a questioning look. Her hand moved to her bracelet and touched the multi colored beads.
I wonder if she also has another form, that would explain why she always wears that bracelet.
"Any more of this talk and I won't ever forgive you!" Kyo warned, I pulled my gaze away from Liisa in time to see the boar twist his arm behind his back.
"YOU WON'T FORGIVE ME? EVEN THOUGH I WOULD FORGIVE YOU NO MATTER WHAT!" She pulled his arm back further behind him, twisting it in an odd way and making him gasp in pain.
"Liisa! Hey! Are you ok?" I turned my head to see Tohru looking at her friend. Her eyes were closed and I swore I could faintly hear her heartbeat.
"Sorry, I'm ok just… got lost in my thoughts for a second." She opened her eyes and her face turned red as she looked around and saw us staring at her. Kagura had even released her hold on the cat.
What in the world just happened?
"If you're sure," Tohru said a skeptical look on her face. "It's getting late and we have school tomorrow. I asked you if you wanted to head to bed." She stood and looked down at the other, who seemed to be relived.
"Yeah, it's getting late. Goodnight everyone!" she waved her hand in farewell, got to her feet and followed Tohru out of the door. Not wanting to be alone with these three I made to leave as well.
"They're right, I'm going to get ready for bed night everyone." I said heading out of the door and headed up the stairs to my room. I decided to take a shower tonight and I gathered the things I would need and headed out of my room. Just as I was exiting my room, the door to the girls' room opened and Liisa stepped out.
"Ah, Liisa-san, are you going to be using the bathroom?" I asked as we went down stairs, they did say they were going to bed.
"No, I'm looking for Tohru. She forgot to hang up her uniform to dry but I did it earlier. She left in a hurry before I could tell her." We stopped in front of the bathroom door, "Let me just check if she's here." she knocked a few times and called out her friends name before opening the door.
I gave her the "go-ahead," as I wasn't in any hurry and she entered the bathroom to check the laundry room. While she did that, I went to the sink and got out my tooth brush and toothpaste.
"She must have gone outside already," she said as she left the laundry room.
"Well then she'll figure out that you hung it up already." I took out a towel from the linen cabinet and hung it up as she went to the door, but she paused in the doorway.
"Um, Yuki-san, is it alright if I ask you a question?"
What could she possibly want to ask me? I would think she would have questions for Kyo.
"Sure, depending on the question," I turned to face her, leaning against the counter.
It can't hurt to hear her out. It doesn't have to be about that anyway.
"It's about something that Kagura said earlier…" she took a deep breath and looked me in the eye. I could feel the softly bubbling anger that's always there flare at her words knowing what she was going to ask me. "What did she mean by Kyo's 'true form'?" I tried not to let anything show; after all, it's natural to be curious but something must have shown on my face because she got a look of regret on her face.
"That's something you should ask him. It's not something I want to nor should be talking about." I bluntly said, turning my back on her. I bent my head and looked down at the sink so she couldn't see my face. "I assume you have something similar; that's why you wear that bracelet all the time."
I don't want to be the one who tells you this, that's his problem.
"Maybe, but I want to be sure! And with the way he reacted, I doubt he'd like it if I asked him so I thought you could answer some of my questions." I felt something snap inside me and I turned to her suddenly, startling her.
"Well, I'm not the one to ask about that stupid cat and his problems. If you want to know so badly, go ask him yourself and don't go asking others who wouldn't know." She took a step back and held her hands up in a calming gesture.
"Sorry, I didn't mean to upset you. I just wanted to gather more information before I brought it up." She explained as I calmed down the anger that had flared up, leaving shame and embarrassment in its wake. I looked to the side, not wanting to see the look in her eyes after scaring her.
"I didn't mean to burst out like that. It's just…I get unreasonably angry when talking about my cousin. I'm sorry." I crossed my right arm over my chest and grabbed my left elbow, keeping my eyes averted as I went on calmly, "If you really want to know, then ask him about it but don't be surprised when he gets angry." I paused, "It's not something that's openly discussed."
"I'll keep that in mind sorry again," She murmured. I didn't move until I heard the door shut; sighing, I moved over and turned the lock.
"What was all that about?" I asked myself quietly turning back to the mirror. I didn't mean to scare her, I thought as I brushed my teeth.
I know it's not her fault. I get angry when they talk about that stupid cat. What response was she hoping to get from me though?
I got ready for my shower and turned on the water. I was still lost in thought as I stood under the stream of water.
She should've gotten the hint based on how we reacted to his other form being mentioned. I'll have to apologize to her - it's natural for anyone to be curious. I sighed as I finished my shower. I didn't run into anyone in the halls and went straight to my room.
The Next Morning
Liisa made us all a big breakfast before we got ready for the day. It was a little annoying to see Kagura clinging onto Kyo but being well-rested and full made it easier to tolerate. I wasn't paying attention to what was going on around me until Kagura ran from the room. I had a bad feeling as I followed the others as they chased after her.
"KYO, WHEN WILL YOU REALIZE THAT I LOVE YOU THE MOST!" She shouted as she busted through the wall near the front door. I realized something was wrong when a familiar puff of smoke rose up.
Was there a guy standing outside the front door? Without thinking, I leaped out of the new hole and, sure enough, a confused guy was in the quickly disappearing smoke. I put my hand on the guys face and pushed him into the trunk of the nearest tree trying to block as much of his view as I could.
"Good morning! Not be rude or anything, but what are you doing here?" I asked briskly.
"Ah, I was late with this morning's newspaper but I gave it to the blonde girl that was outside just a moment ago." he responded.
Blond girl…? Oh great, Liisa was out here too!?
"Thanks for your service; we've got it from here." I released the guy and he took a second to straighten his clothes.
Come on, just hurry up and leave before she turns back.
"If you're sure, then I'll be on my way." He glanced down at his watch; he gave a gasp. "I really need to get going! Have a good day!" He skedaddled away from the property. I sighed in relief when he was out of sight.
"That was some great thinking Yuki!" Shigure called from the hole in the wall. "You saved us a lot of trouble."
"Sohma-san reacted so fast..." Tohru pointed out as I turned back towards the house.
"That was damn close." Kyo muttered from Tohru's side.
"Thank you, but it seems he was talking to Liisa-san before Kagura came in and I don't see her anywhere." I stopped next to Kagura, who was sitting on the ground in her boar form, looking around.
Where could she be? There aren't many places for a boar to hide around here.
"I'm here. He must have been born in the year of the rooster." I heard a tiny voice from inside the house. I looked and saw a small sparrow with yellow stripes on its face jumping on the floor near the other three.
"Oh! So cute!" Tohru exclaimed, reaching down and scooping her into her hands.
"I see your rooster form is a sparrow as well." the dog observed idly.
"The person whose possessed by the rooster is also a sparrow?" she turned her head to the dog.
"Yeah, though he doesn't have the yellow markings, if I remember correctly. It's…been awhile since I've seen him" he frowned, seemingly thinking about something else. I haven't seen him in a while either, he's usually in the company of him.
"Oh!" Tohru suddenly exclaimed. "Kagura, I wanted to tell you something before you stormed off!" She directed her gaze to the boar sitting on the ground. "I think I can understand a little why you like Kyo-kun so much! He has so many wonderful qualities!" Seeming to sense some danger, I saw Liisa flutter away to land on Shigure's shoulder. "That's why I want to be more like you…"
"You two timer!" With amazing speed, the boar sprang off the ground to hit Kyo across the face with a hoof. "I can't leave you alone! I'll just have to move in with you!"
"Didn't you say that you wouldn't mind if he was unfaithful." Shigure pointed out in a deadpan. Kagura looked at him while perched on Kyo's shoulder, latching her four legs around his head.
"I never said that I wouldn't teach him a lesson if he was unfaithful. I only said that I would forgive him… eventually." she retorted.
Called it, she's as violent as ever.
"Ah, wait." Tohru calmly approached the angry boar like one would with a wild animal. "I didn't mean it like that. What I meant to say, is that I hope to see all of the good traits in the person I like, like how you do, Kagura." She paused for a second, then I had to turn away quickly as a puff of smoke surrounded her.
"PUT SOME CLOTHES ON!" Kyo shouted followed by a laugh from Kagura. While we waited for Liisa and Kagura to change into clothes, the rest of us surveyed the damage to the wall. Tohru stood next to me while I watched the adult nearly have an aneurism as he realized how much damage was done to his house. I turned my head to look at her when she let out a small laugh.
"What is there to laugh about?" I asked her thinking I missed a joke or something.
"Ah, I was just thinking about how fun it is here." She turned to look at me. "I really want to get to know you all more! I look forward to it!" She had a big smile on her face. I felt my heart race at the sight of her looking at me with such a bright smile.
"I'm glad to hear it. I hope to get to know you and Liisa-san better as well." After a small thought I decided to add, "It's a shame this took up so much time though. I didn't even have time to get my new plants in the ground"
"Growing some new vegetables?"
"Yeah, I got some strawberry plants. I thought you two would like them." I smiled as I saw her face turn red. The moment was ruined as the cat came over and tapped her on the head.
"They're back. We need to leave or we'll be late!" I turned to the house and, sure enough, Liisa was hurrying over to us and Kagura was saying goodbye to Shigure. Kagura waved enthusiastically as she went down the road. The four of us hurried off to school in risk of being late.
That Afternoon
Once we got home, Tohru announced she had something to tell everyone. I was confused about what she would have to tell us as we settled around the coffee table. Tohru and Liisa sat across from Shigure and I while Kyo sat at the end of the table. Tohru took a deep breath before launching into her explanation.
"During lunch today, I got a phone call from my grandpa. He said the house renovations are done and that I could move back in with him and his daughter's family this weekend." Everyone was silent for a few moments as the information sunk in.
I had forgotten - this was a temporary arrangement. I felt a spear of sadness stab my heart. I don't want this to end.
"If you're going back to your grandpa's house, what about you Liisa-san? Are you moving too?" Shigure asked making me realize another thing may come to an end. I realized in that moment that I don't want either of them to leave.
Are they both going to leave? I haven't even apologized to her about yesterday yet!
"If you want me to leave too, I'll find somewhere else to stay. But only Tohru is moving back in with her grandpa," I let out a small sigh of relief. There's no way the dog would kick her out.
"No, you misunderstood me. I simply asked if you're moving out as well now that Tohru-san isn't going to live here anymore." He waved his hand in front of his face with a slight smile. "I'm not going to throw you out if you have nowhere else to go."
"Thank you so much! I didn't know how to bring that up," she pressed her palms together in front of her chest and gave a slight bow in gratitude.
"Of course, the same deal as before applies you're just doing it solo now." His smile was accompanied with a twinkle in his eyes.
"Don't make it weird, dirty dog." I smacked the back of the dog's head. The impact of the blow moved his head forward; he pouted while he rubbed the sore spot as he straightened up. Tohru covered her mouth in an attempt to smother her giggles.
"This is nothing to laugh about! I'm being abused over here!" he whined and Liisa started laughing too.
"It's not abuse if it's because you're being a weird old man." I deadpanned.
Everything I do to you is a result of your actions, mutt.
"That's even worse for you, Yuki! I could file a case of elder abuse against you."
"Who could you find that would take you seriously after talking to you for more than five minutes?" The dog scandalously gasped while placing a hand on his chest.
Drama queen.
"How could you say that?! I can be serious for more than five minutes!" he exclaimed. Both girls were in laughing fits at this point.
"Riiiiiggghhhhtttt, you keep telling yourself that." The adult said nothing, like he should as I turned to face the other two again "I hope this old man didn't make you change your mind about staying, Liisa-san."
"Not at all; I love watching you two banter back and forth. It just means that you guys are close."
Close? With that mangy mutt? Never. Gross.
"I can assure you that's not the truth."
"From my position, that's how it seems." she chuckled as Shigure slung an arm around my neck. I immediately tried to shrug him off but he held on to my other shoulder.
"Oh, don't be like that! I've known you you're whole life" The adult chuckled when I finally threw his arm off, scooted away from him and didn't look at any of the others.
"Tohru, we need to get ready for work." Liisa announced I looked over to them as she got up; her friend followed suit.
"I'll see you guys later! Dinner's in the refrigerator; it just needs to be heated up!" She told us as they left the room. They had barely left the room when Liisa poked her head back in.
"I work late tonight so don't wait up for me! Bye"
"Alright just be safe! There's a lot of weirdos hanging around here lately." the adult warned.
"I will!" She called pulling her head back into the hall.
The Next Morning- Saturday
I was woken up by the sound of my bedroom door closing. I flicked open my eyes and immediately smelled the strong scent of Liisa hanging in the air. I could hear the hushed muffled voices of Tohru and Liisa talking right outside my room, though I couldn't make out what they were saying. I sat up in bed as Liisa's presence moved downstairs.
What was she doing in here? That's the second time she's been in here while I was sleeping. I need to talk to her about that.
Today was the day Tohru was moving out and I didn't want to deal with the somber atmosphere that was sure to come with her departure. I took my time getting ready, before heading down to the kitchen.
"Good morning Sohma-san!" Tohru greeted as I came into the kitchen.
"Good morning, I almost have breakfast ready just a few more minutes." Liisa greeted cheerily. "Could you get plates out of the cabinet for everyone?"
"Morning," I yawned, so far nothing was out of the ordinary. "Sure." I started pulling plates out of the cabinets. While I set the table, the other two guys came into the kitchen. Everything went fine then afterwards Tohru went to pack her bags and Liisa went to help her. While they did that, I went to my own room to work on my homework for a while.
Later That Same Day
Shigure and I sat at the coffee table while Kyo sat on the wooden porch with the side-door open when the girls came in.
"I'm heading out now. Thank you for taking care of me and continuing to take care of Liisa." she had a big smile on her face but it had none of the warmth that it usually had.
"We should be the ones thanking you for taking care of us! You better not be a stranger and try to visit often!" Shigure cheerfully returned her smile.
"Of course!" she responded. "Right! I almost forgot!" She dug in her pockets and pulled out a slip of paper. She placed it on the table, "This is my grandfather's address. I want you guys to have it just in case." She paused then added with a softer tone, "Even though I'm not living here anymore, I'll keep your secrets safe." I kept my face neutral as I felt a pang of sadness hit my heart. She really is leaving us.
"Thank you. I take it this is an invitation to come visit you at your grandpa's sometime then." the adult said his smile still in place. You can't just invite yourself over to someone else's house, damn mutt. "Take care on your way home!"
"Of course! Thank you!" She bowed her head as a final departing gesture before she left the room.
"I'm going to help her carry her things to her grandpa's. I'll be back later." Liisa told us before following her out.
"Ok! See you later! Take care on your way back!" the adult called back as they headed to the front door. Once we heard the front door shut Shigure broke the silence.
"That was a clean goodbye. I thought one of you would try to stop her from leaving."
"Who are we to keep her from being with her family? If she wants to go, then we should let her go." I responded while the cat stayed silent; his head turned towards the trees.
"Those couldn't be truer words." he picked up the slip of paper and examined it. "Liisa-san won't be back for a long while. This is at least a 30-minute walk, one-way from here. I also suspect that she'll want to visit for a bit once she gets there too."
"In that case, I'm going out for a while." I stood with every intent to go to my garden and plant my strawberry plants.
"Alright, suit yourself." He shrugged as I turned to leave.
I left the house and went to the forest. Once I arrived and saw the 2 little pots of strawberry plants, I remember my conversation with Tohru. Instead of planting them, I watered the rest of my plants then sat on a big flat boulder at the edge of the garden and stared out into the trees lost in thought.
I eventually returned home without planting the strawberries. We had dinner but no one spoke much. Liisa went to bed early and I shortly followed suit after growing tired of the quiet somber atmosphere. I tossed and turned for a long time before finally falling asleep.