A/N: Welcome to Chapter 11 of One Becomes Two! I hope you've been enjoying this story so far because I know I have! As always I would like to give a huge shout out to my friend for taking the time from her busy schedule to help edit this chapter now on with the show!

The Next Morning

I woke up in my futon after a night of dreamless sleep. I checked the time on my watch; it was a little after 7.

Time to get up and start the day. I don't have work till 11 and I get off early today.

I got out of my futon and changed into casual clothes. I noticed that the house was silent as I went downstairs; everyone else must still be asleep.

"Let's get to work," I said to myself as I entered the kitchen. It was quiet while I prepared breakfast…and felt very lonely. To fill the silence, I started to sing a song I used to listen to on the radio with Tohru and our moms. As I sung, I felt closer to them that I entered my own little world, unaware of what was going on in the rest of the house -until I heard the door slide open.

"Good morning, Liisa-san," Startled, I turned around to see Yuki by the kitchen doorway. I had been so absorbed in my own little world that I didn't feel him coming downstairs.

"G-good morning," I greeted back without looking at him.

"You have a pretty voice. Did you take singing lessons?" I saw in my peripheral vision that he entered the kitchen. I turned back to my task, now feeling self-conscious.

"No, the most I've ever done was for school and singing along with the radio."

"That's really cool," We lapsed into silence as I continued to make breakfast. After a while, I became aware of Yuki moving around the kitchen behind me. I turned to see that he was setting the table.

"Ah, thanks for the help. I really appreciate it." Happiness swelled within me at the simple yet kind gesture.

"I thought since I'm here, I might as well help. It's a little unfair to have you do everything by yourself." I looked at him. He stood by the table with a handful of forks and his eyes darting anywhere but at me. "I mean, I know it's part of the agreement for you to live here, but we also live here and part of the mess is ours." I continued to stare at him, unsure of what to say. I returned my attention down to the eggs I was preparing making sure not to burn them.

"That's really considerate of you, thank you. It may seem a bit unfair but I'd rather live here than have to go back to living in a tent or worse, live at my main house."

"I can understand that. I don't want to live at my main house either; that's why I opted to live here with Shigure and go to Kaibara Municipal High school instead of the all-boy's school that was picked out for me." I turned off the burner and loaded the cooked eggs onto a waiting plate.

So he left the first chance he got. I can relate to that.

"Then you and I are in the same boat." I said with a smile turning to him, the plate of eggs in my hands.

"What do you mean?" He looked confused as I passed him the eggs. "We don't have much in common at all."

"I mean, we both don't want to live at our main houses and if it weren't for Shigure and this house, we'd have nowhere else to go!" I set the plate down on the table.

"I wouldn't say that. For one, you were actually brave enough to leave your family completely and live in a tent. You'd probably be able to find somewhere else even if you couldn't continue to live here." I turned to him. I've never thought of what I did as bravery. I often felt like a coward that hid in a tent, scared that my family would find me.

"That wasn't bravery. I was running from my problems. Too scared to tell my friends that I needed help and scared I would be found by my family." I looked down at the floor, my hand trailing over my bracelet absently.

"Maybe you didn't feel brave in the moment but making that choice was brave." His voice was soft as he moved over to the table and set the forks down.

"I suppose so." I murmured then went to make some toast because I felt the cat's and dog's presence's moving around on their respective floors. Yuki and I didn't say anything else, just working in silence. We both looked up as the door opened to reveal Shigure yawning with dark circles under his eyes.

"Morning." I greeted as he walked to the coffee maker and turned it on. "Did you sleep well last night?" He just shot me a glare.

"Is that a joke? Do I look like I slept well last night?" he snapped as he got out a coffee mug as the water heated up.

"Sorry, what happened? You had a nightmare or something?" I plated the finished toast and loaded the toaster with another set of bread.

"No, quite the opposite. It was a vivid dream with a compelling plot that I had to write down. I can use it as inspiration for my next book. Sadly, it was 4am by the time I finished writing the details down; I tried to go to sleep again but couldn't." He sighed as he fixed his coffee to his liking.

"Ah, well at least you got an idea for your next story out of it." I encouraged as we sat down at the table.

"I'll be more grateful once I get a full night's sleep." He grumped, buttering his toast and taking a bite. I murmured my agreement and the conversation died after that.

We ate in silence. Kyo came down shortly after but didn't say much and left immediately after finishing his food. I quickly cleaned up from breakfast and got ready for work. I popped my head into the living room where Shigure had moved to after getting the paper and a second cup of coffee.

"I'm heading out now. I'll be back at around 5 today." I informed him.

"Got it, have a good day. See you later" He gave me a little wave.

"I will, bye!" I left the house and hurried up the path towards my work.

At Work

Today, they have me on food-prep again. I stood in the chopping area of the prep station that's separated from the rest of the kitchen by a waist-high wall; I saw Shawn with his back to me at the grill that's on the opposite side of me. Speaking of which, I haven't seen him since last Thursday when I spoke with Mr. Kota. As if he sensed me looking at him, he turned around and waved. I awkwardly returned the gesture before returning to my task at hand.

After placing the chopped vegetables in the refrigerator, I started to clean my station when my thoughts strayed to Tohru and her wellbeing.

I hope she's having fun. I'll have to ask her about it tomorrow at school.

Right when I was about walk away from my now cleaned station, I heard faint scuffling - I quickly glanced around but no one was near me that could make that sound. I honed my hearing and determined it came from underneath the table. I carefully went on my hands and knees to peer under the table. What greeted me was a large grey rat pacing side-to-side and talking to itself.

She seemed awfully upset. Dear me, what am I going to do? He didn't seem to notice me yet.

"Uh, hello," I said aloud in the rat language. It felt odd to "speak" the language of the rat after not doing so for years. The rat shrieked then looked in my direction.

Uh, hello. He looked nervously to either side. Are you here to kill me? I was startled by his sudden question. I looked him directly in the eye to better communicate.

No, I'm not here to hurt you but you also can't stay here. I can sneak you outside and set you free before someone else finds you. His body sagged in relief. He crawled closer to me without breaking eye contact.

Really? You would do that for me?

Yes, but you have to do what I ask of you and stay quiet for both our sakes. Wait for a moment while I check to make sure the coast is clear. He nodded vigorously and stayed in the shelter of the station.

Now for a plan to get this guy out of here. As I got to my feet, I peered over the low wall to make sure no one was watching.

"What were you doing on the floor? Did you drop something?" I jumped at Shawn's voice coming from behind me. I whipped my head around to see him watching me with a knowing smile on his face.

"Yeah, just dropped a piece of carrot under there! I couldn't reach it so I need to get something that'll reach under there." I lied in hopes he'd go away. To my annoyance, he stepped into the station space.

"Here, let me try and get it; my arms are longer than yours," he offered, starting to get down on his knees.

"NO!" I yelled in a panic, then more calmly. "I mean, no thank you. I can do it myself." He continued looking at me with that smile on his face. After an awkward moment of looking at each other he shrugged and turned away.

"Suit yourself. No use getting my uniform dirty for someone who doesn't want my help." He straightened up then left my area and headed back to the grills. I heaved a sigh of relief.

Alright, now to get him out of here.

I looked around my area to find anything that I could hide the rat in. My eyes landed on the small trash can full of the peelings from the vegetables.

"Perfect." I whispered to myself then tipped the can over, spilling peelings onto the floor. No one was paying any attention to me as I knelt down again and started scooping them back into the can.

"Hey, you can come out now. Get into the bag and I'll take you outside." I squeaked quietly. A twitching nose poked out from under the station.

Are you sure it's safe?

"Yes I'm sure. Once you're in the bag, don't move, got it?" I glanced over my shoulder, no one was near us. "Hurry up and get in now; no one's watching."

Ok. The rat ran head-on into the garbage can; I tipped it upright, finished tossing in the last of the spilled contents, then tied the bag closed.

"Alright, don't move till I tell you to." I pulled the bag out of the can and started walking across the kitchen. No one paid any attention to me and I almost made it to the back door that leads to the dumpster when a voice called me back.

"Oh, you're taking out the trash. Can you take this too?" I turned back to see Shawn holding three bulging bags of trash.

"Sure, just give me a second." I went over to him and took the bags. They were awkward and kind of heavy. I tried not to bump the bag with the rat in it too much lest he squeak and give us away.

"Thanks. I was going to do it but since you were already headed that way, I thought you wouldn't mind." He stared at me like he wanted to be challenged.

"It's no problem. I'm happy to be of some help." I turned back to the door.

"Be careful out there; you wouldn't want to get into any hairy situations." I froze at his words.

"W-what do you mean?" I asked cautiously, turning my head to look back at him.

"I mean, you're a girl and the dumpster is located at the back of the restaurant. We're in the better part of town but anything can happen when no one is looking." he said with a shrug.

What is with this guy?

I laughed nervously. "It's broad daylight; no one would attempt anything." Shawn just shrugged again and turned his back on me.

"Alright, it's your decision after all." He walked away, leaving me by the door very confused. I pushed my way out of the door in deep thought.

What the hell was that all about? Was he trying to get me to ask him to come with me to the dumpster? And what was with that choice of words? Did he hear me speaking to the rat? Come to think of it, Shawn has always said some off-putting things as well as being in everyone's business.

I stopped thinking about Shawn being weird and focused on my main task. Setting the big bags on the ground, I carefully set the smaller bag down and untied the knot at the top. The rat popped out with a big sigh of relief.

Finally! I thought I was going to suffocate in there.

"Sorry, I tried to be quick." I leaned down and grabbed the bigger bags and threw them into the dumpster.

Why was that other human talking to you so long? The rat had started gathering some of the scraps of food on the ground into a pile.

"He's always in everyone's business." I threw the last of the bags in. "I think he was on to me though."

Sounds like my wife. She's always asking me where I'm going. I looked down at him and locked eyes with him.

Is that who you were talking about when I found you? He lashed his long bald tail.

Yeah, she just had a litter a little while ago. Our space is small and I needed a breather from them. She seemed grumpy when I left and I thought food would make her happy when I came back, so I went into that building to get her fresh food but all you people were there.

So, what are you going to do now? He broke eye contact with me and ran to his pile of peelings.

Bring these to her and hope she calms down. I can't help but smile. Even animals have their problems that seem small to us but are big to them.

"I think she'll like them. I have to go. It was nice meeting you, Mr. rat." I squeaked out with a wave.

Simon. Came his small squeak, I turned back to him.

"What?"

Simon, it's my name. I used to be a pet rat until a door was left open and I ran away.

"Well, I'm glad that you found a new life for yourself. I hope to see you around Simon, just not in here alright?" I said and he nodded firmly.

I promise not to go into that food place, and I never break my promises. Next time I see you, I should bring the kids and my wife!

"That sounds like fun! I have to go now. See you around, Simon." I turned and took the keys out of my pocket for the back door. I took one last glance at the dumpster but Simon was nowhere in sight. I smiled to myself as I opened the door and went back to work.

After Work, On The Way Home

I dragged my feet as I entered the forest to head home. As I walked on the path, I heard the bushes and trees rustling in the light breeze. I stopped when I caught the musky scent of rats in the air.

Why would there be rats out in the daylight? Maybe they're in trouble.

I went off the path and followed the scent to an old log not too far into the forest. I couldn't see any rats but the scent was fresh and there was a small opening near the bottom of the log where I could hear sounds of rats moving around inside.

Uh hello? I squeaked and the noises immediately stopped.

Were any more of your family comin'? Came a fearful whisper with a southern accent.

No, any o' yours? Another answered.

No. Came a small squeak filled with fear.

Must be enemies out there.

Go do something 'bout it. There was the sound of protests and more scuffling until finally a fat rat was pushed out of the hole. He looked around then squealed in alarm and backed up against the log upon seeing me. I made eye contact with him and started communicating.

It's alright! I'm not going to hurt you! I crouched down to seem less intimidating to the frightened rat. It seemed to work because he visibly relaxed a little bit. I didn't mean to scare you, but I could smell you and I came to investigate. I know rats usually come out at night so I thought someone might be in trouble. To my amazement, the rat seemed to scuffle his feet as if he were embarrassed about something.

Well ya see, my mates got this sister that lives in the city and she has a mate whos' real smart. She came over here today saying he ran into a girl who can talk to rats and she remembered we live near someone like that. He's in deep trouble with her right now, but she'll never miss a chance to see her sister without the kids and she was just here asking about someone who sounds an awful lot like you. I felt my heart give a little jolt.

Is this rat's name Simon by any chance?

Yeah, that's the one! We told his mate the only one we know like that is a male. We've seen you many times 'round here, talking with them dogs. I didn't know you could talk to rats too.

That was me! I met him just today. I helped him get out of a tough situation.

Well, bless me! Are you related to the other one? We helped him dig out a whole lot of human trash from some mud recently. Ne'er met another human like 'im before.

Before I could respond, I heard a different squeak from inside the log.

Are you ok out there? Is the enemy gone? Is it safe? A small gray muzzle poked out from the hole; the nose twitching as the other rat sniffed the air. It smells like human out here.

Uh Hello! I'm not here to harm you! I spoke aloud and clearly to the other rat. There was an alarmed squeak and the nose disappeared back into the hole. I looked to the male rat I'd been talking to.

That'd be my mate. She's a skittish little thing - let me go calm her down. With a swish of his long bald tail, he disappeared into the hole. There was a lot of quiet and hurried squeaks, chittering, and hissing. I was trying to make out what they were discussing when something else caught my attention. I heard the crunch of leaves, along with the familiar presence of Yuki. I turned in the direction of his footsteps just as he came into view between the trees.

"Was that you talking just now?" he asked as he approached me.

What's he doing out here?

"Yeah, I was just talking to the rats that live in that hole." I gestured to the hole where the noises of an argument could be heard. "Do you know them? They said they helped you dig out our tent."

"Ah, that." He started as his cheeks turned a little red. He didn't look at me but scratched his face with an index finger in embarrassment. "They may have been there, I recruited a lot of rats to help with that. What else were you talking to them about?"

"Nothing much. I helped a rat that was at my job today and they happen to know him." I shuffled my feet, feeling a little awkward.

"That's no surprise; most of the rats that live around here and even in the city are related."

"Do you talk to them often?"

I wonder if he's close to the rats like I am with the dog pack.

"Ummm…not really. I don't really like talking to them. It reminds me that I'm not like other people." He squirmed in place clearly uncomfortable.

"I understand. There are animals I don't particularly like talking to either." He raised his eyebrows at that.

"Really?"

"Why do you sound so surprised? You just said yourself you don't like talking to rats."

"Yeah but you seem more willing to talk to the animals." He waived a hand in the air between us. I laughed at his assumption.

"No, I like talking to some animals more than others but horses can be very vain, cows talk about eating, and snakes generally give me the creeps with how they talk." At that, Yuki started to laugh. "What? Is it something I said?"

"Nothing, I was just imagining the others responses if they heard you say that."

"Oh," I felt a bit embarrassed having forgot there are others who are cursed with the horse, cow, and snake zodiacs. "You won't tell them what I said, will you?" Yuki looked at me a smile on his face.

"I won't tell them you think their animals are lame." He laughed again at the look on my face.

"That's not what I said!" I whined. "Come one, Yuki-San, promise me you won't tell them!" I clasped my hands in front of my chest in a pleading manner.

"I promise not to tell them, although it may be fun." He finally coincided after he calmed down from laughing. I was unconvinced and stuck out my left hand with my pinky out.

"Pinky swear on it." I said seriously as I stared into his eyes. He hesitated for a moment, looking from my hand to my face then gave in. He hooked his pinky with mine.

"I promise not to tell them." He repeated and we moved our pinkies up and down in a handshake motion.

Ahem! Now that ya're done with whatever tha' was, I would like to introduce my mate! Both Yuki and I jumped at the sudden voice coming from below us. We looked down to see the rat from earlier sitting on top of the log.

How long were you there for? I heard Yuki say in rat.

A little while. Anyways! I would like to introduce my mate! He made a grand gesture down towards the hole. I looked to where he was pointing and saw a sleek, light brown rat fidgeting near the hole - she seemed ready to dive in at a moment's notice. She's a little shy but she can be a lot of fun. She gave a timid little wave.

"Hello, it's nice to meet you." I said carefully and calmly so as not to surprise the already nervous rat.

"Hello." Yuki said simply from next to me. She gave another small wave in return, then turned to look at her mate who nodded. She immediately turned tail and disappeared back down hole.

Sorry about tha', she's really scared of new people. Took me forever to get her to talk to him. He gestured to Yuki who nodded in return.

"That's ok, I understand." I chattered out and he nodded.

I better be getting back, we haven't eaten and she hates being out long after dark.

"Ok, it was nice meeting you! Bye!"

Right, bye. Yuki chimed in. The gray rat nodded to the both of us then disappeared down the hole with a swish of his bald tail. We turned around together away from the log and made our way back to the main path.

"So what were you doing out in the forest?" I asked as we headed towards the house.

"I was heading to my secret base when I heard your voice. I got curious and went in your direction instead." He explained as we walked. I felt a small spark of interest.

"You mean your garden?" I asked trying to keep the excitement out of my voice.

"Yeah, I was going to plant the strawberry plants I bought a little while ago." He looked to the sky. "There's still some time before we need to get back. Do you want to come see it?"

"May I?" I asked this time unable to keep my excitement at bay.

"Of course, I did tell you and Honda-San that I would show you guys some time. I hoped to show you both at the same time, but what can you do?"

"Yeah, I do hope that she's settled into her grandfather's house." I felt a little stab of sadness at the mention of Tohru. He turned off the main path and onto a narrow path that would be near impossible to see unless you knew it was there.

"I hope so too." Yuki was walking in front of me so I couldn't see his face but I smiled.

Looks like he cares for her too.

"So, what else do you have growing in your secret base?" I asked, trying to look around Yuki to catch a glimpse of his secret base. All I could see was close growing trees with low branches blocking any view of what could be up ahead.

"You'll see for yourself in a moment." he stopped and moved a low hanging branch out of the path, revealing a small clearing with a flat rock on one side and a patch of turned earth with plants growing out of it in dappled sunlight in the middle. The clearing was ringed by close growing trees and bushes giving it the illusion of being in a small island in a dense forest. I turned in a circle to take it all in.

"It's really pretty here!" I exclaimed happily, walking forward to look at the plants better.

"It is, isn't it." Yuki walked to the rock and leaned against it; next to him were two plants in little pots on the ground.

"Are those the strawberries?" I moved over to him and squatted down next to the pots.

"Yeah, I was thinking of putting them next to the tomatoes." he pointed to where a few tomato plants were staked on the far side of the rock.

"Do you want some help planting them?" I looked to him; he seemed to pause, thinking about something.

"Sure, but I only have one pair of gloves and trawl." He reached into a deep groove in the rock and pulled out said equipment.

"How about one of us digs the holes with the trawl and the other wears the gloves and puts the plants in the dirt?" I suggested.

"Hmmm, that could work. Which do you want to do?"

"The hole digging; I don't want to damage your plants. I don't have much experience in growing plants." I picked up the trawl while Yuki put on the gloves.

"Really? You never did the class activity where you had to grow a plant?" he asked as we made our way to the planting spot.

"We… did but mine never grew. Everyone else's plants sprouted but not mine. The other kids started saying that I had a brown thumb." I kicked a rock that was in the churned earth, feeling awkward. "So where exactly do you want the holes?" I asked to change the subject. This seemed to startle Yuki, who looked to be thinking about something.

"Oh, how about one here and one there?" he pointed to two spots roughly a foot apart. I crouched down and got to work. As I worked, Yuki set one pot next to the hole I was working on and the other where he wanted to the other hole.

"Is this alright?" I asked after I dug out a good sized hole. He leaned in to inspect it and I caught a faint whiff of the cherry blossom shampoo that he uses.

"That's perfect. Could you hold the pot while I get the plant out?" he held the pot out to me and I took it firmly in both hands as he got the plant out then placed it gently in the hole. I moved onto the other hole while he filled the space around the plant. We repeated the same process for the second plant. Once the soil was in place, Yuki stood up and took off his gloves.

"All that's left is to water the plants then we can leave." he took the gloves and trawl over to the rock and re-placed them into their nook.

"Do you have a watering can or something?"

"Yeah, I keep it over here." he went to the far side of the rock and picked up a metal watering can. "I get the water from the stream." he turned and set off into the woods; I followed after him quickly.

"How often do you come out to your garden?" I fell into step with him.

"I try to come every day and I water every other day."

"So, this's where you go when you disappear from the house?" We stopped at the edge of the stream and Yuki submerged the watering can.

"Yeah, I usually don't have any reasons to go anywhere else outside of school." He finished filling the can and stood up carefully to not spill any of the water.

He doesn't go and do anything outside school except coming here to his garden?

"Ah, I see." He turned from the stream and started to head back to the clearing. "Do you need any help with that?"

"No I got it."

"Ok, if you're sure." I followed after him then got an idea. "Are there any places you would want to go?"

"What?" He stopped and looked back at me confused.

"You said you don't have any reasons to go anywhere outside of school. There has to be somewhere you want to go but have no reason to." I explained as I walked past him, taking the lead. I turned around and started walking backwards to face him as I continued. "Most of our classmates like to get food with friends, or got to the arcade, or even just hang out in the city. I hear them talking about it all the time when we're leaving school or when I'm on classroom duty with the others." I turned back around as we reached the clearing again.

"What are you trying to say?" He asked with a neutral voice.

"I'm trying to say that the next day we have off, why don't we go hang out in the city? We could invite Tohru and Kyo-san too; go do stuff we don't usually do." I suggested as he started pouring water on the strawberry plants.

"That does sound like it could be fun, but what would we even do?"

"We could do anything we want! Of course, we would need to talk to Tohru and Kyo-san first. Each of us could pick something to do and if we have time, we could do all of them in one day. If something would take all day, we could set up multiple days where we each pick an activity to do for that day." I suggested as he finished watering the last of his plants.

"So, you're saying we could make this group-outing a regular thing? And why invite that stupid cat along?" I knew he wouldn't be a fan of inviting Kyo, but it would be fair to include him too.

"It would be unfair to Kyo-san if we didn't invite him. I know you two don't get along very well and he could say no but if he does want to come, could you try to get along with him. Please?" I clasped my hands together in a pleading gesture.

After a moments pause, Yuki sighed. "Fine, I'll behave if he does." I threw my hands in the air in excitement.

"Yay! I'll make sure this is fun for everyone! Just you watch; I'll ask Tohru tomorrow at school." I looked around and noticed how long the shadows had gotten while we worked with the plants. I looked to the sky and saw the sun starting to sink towards the horizon. "We better get back to the house before we're missed."

"Let me just put this back then we can go." He put the watering can back in its place and we hurried away from the clearing and towards the house in silence. I still felt happy about getting to do something fun for once…since my mother passed. However, I was surprised when I felt multiple zodiac presences coming from inside the house. They were so jumbled that I couldn't tell how many were there.

"Oh no, here we go." Yuki groaned as we got near the house.

"What? What's the matter?" I asked as we headed down the path to the front door.

"Can't you feel them?" He asked as we stopped outside the front door.

"Yeah I can, but what's bad about them?"

He sighed, "You're about to find out why." He opened the front door.