I have returned! Thank you for the support, everyone, as always.

At the rate I am going, I may be able to finish at Christmas… or before Christmas. I'll know in the next weeks, I guess. The characters write the story themselves, some authors say, and I think I can honestly say that I am experiencing that here.

There will be lots of Momiru goodness here and in the following chapter, so I hope that will make up for the wait.

Enjoy.

The remainder of their week had been busy. Tohru had applied to a local college near hers for a crash course for cooking – even if she didn't need it, she knew it would be a good thing to add on a resume in the future, and with her deciding to get a job as a cook or open her own food cart or a small bakery, it would help. She had told Momiji about it after their stop at Ayame's store (which had left her exhausted with Mine's quite-frustrating but endearing enthusiasm at dressing her up) and Momiji was all for it.

She reddened as she recalled the remainder of that night.

"I have an idea." Momiji told her as they sat for a few more minutes in his car that night, talking about this and that before she had to go in to her apartment. "Well, I may need to talk to some people and check how they're doing, but if I am right, they may have a place for you. Of course, only if you're amenable to the idea and probably once you're done taking the course."

Tohru was surprised, unsure and grateful all at the same time. "Momiji-kun, you've already done so much for me. I am not sure what I can do to return all this – "

But Momiji cut her off by shaking his head. "Listen. I know it's something you want to do for yourself, but I do know someone who could use some help in the kitchen. I haven't even talked to them yet, so we don't know what's going to happen anyway. It's just something you may want to consider as an option. Who knows." He shrugged, making sure to not make it seem like it was a big deal.

When he put it like that, Tohru couldn't argue with him. "You do have a point. Still… thank you, Momiji-kun."

"Don't thank me yet – we'll still need to see anyway." He clarified, and they shared a small smile.

She had been loath to leave his company. All things aside, she couldn't remember the last time she was able to… feel so much. She had cried, grieved, laughed and laughed even more during the past few days more than she ever had during the last few months. Or even years.

Being with Momiji made her feel again, if she were to put it simply. Like she was coming back to life. It felt like she had been merely breathing during the last few years, doing everything she could so she may gain some semblance of her old self.

She suddenly felt sorry for Uo-chan and Hana-chan. It must have been painful for them both to watch her just attempt to live each day of each month. She would have to do something nice for them.

"Well… I guess I'll see you Saturday then." Momiji broke the silence, smiling a little less wholeheartedly from the way she saw it. "I can't wait to see you in the dress."

Mine had been adamant not to let Momiji see her in the dress they both picked, which thankfully, only needed a bit of adjustment. Tohru blushed, remembering Mine's expression when she had worn it in front of the mirror of the dressing room. "You will definitely make Momiji-chan faint when he sees you in this. You look so beautiful!" She started shaking her head, but Mine cut her off. "Don't deny it, Tohru-chan. It's plain as day when I look at you."

Her blush worsened. How embarrassing. "Am I too obvious?"

Mine walked over to her, putting a supporting hand on her shoulder. "Just to me at least. It's because being in love makes a woman glow even more. Your eyes are shining, my dear."

Tohru took a second look at her reflection, not sure if she's seeing what Mine claims she is seeing. The older woman sensed her confusion, and she smiled behind her. "You may want to let him know though. Who knows, maybe he feels the same way."

Her face felt like it was on fire, and she doubted that the blond felt the same way for her, but she nodded resolutely. She knew that not telling him may become a regret for her… and she didn't want to live with regrets. "I was planning to… probably after the recital."

Mine had given her a reassuring smile. "Good girl. Let me know when you need someone to do your makeup and hair. I'll come help you out."

Momiji had squeezed her hand and she'd gone back to reality. As she raised her eyes to his once more, she noticed that he looked nervous, but determined. "I hope you don't mind if I talk to you after. I do have something to tell you."

She felt her heart race. She was nervous and very curious at the same time. She was planning to confess to him after the program, but to think that he also wanted to tell her something… what could it be? That he's already found someone else? It couldn't be though… if he did find someone else, they wouldn't be sitting together in his car or had gone out on an unplanned mini-date earlier.

She's doing it again, and she shook her head mentally. Now is not the time to overthink. "Of course. I mean… I also want to tell you something. If you don't mind."

His expression showed that he was surprised, but his lips broke into a smile. "Well, that makes two of us, indeed. I can't wait to hear it."

Then she felt the mood shift. The soft smile slowly disappeared from his lips and his gaze turned warm and intense as their eyes met and held each other's. It was at this very moment that she noticed afresh that Momiji happened to be a very handsome man with the ability to make any woman fall for him if he wanted to. She wondered how she had never noticed it when they were in high school. She knew and acknowledged that he was handsome – even pointing it out to him herself – but unintentionally, unknowingly, treated him as a kid. It was an offense that she didn't notice she had made (horrifyingly so,) and one she hoped she could rectify, if she was given the chance.

All of a sudden he leaned over to her, slow and unhurried – she could feel his breath on her lips that her heart was beginning to pound in her ears – and for one wild moment, she thought he was going to kiss her, but he changed direction and went to her forehead. She felt him press a kiss there instead, and she heard the click of her seatbelt, which sounded so loud at the silence which sprang up. He rolled it off her gently, gaze still somewhat intense but more resolute this time. He smiled, trying to diffuse the tension which had formed between them. "It's getting awfully late and I'll need to get you inside. Come on, Princess, I'll see you to your door."

Momiji had gone out of the car first and opened her door for her, to which she thanked him. She took the hand he offered before walking hand in hand with him as they had done the entire time together, feeling shaky and a bit lightheaded. What was that just now? Had she been imagining that he looked like he wanted to kiss her? She recognized the expression he wore just before he had kissed her on her forehead – it was a look she had seen on Kyo so many times before proceeding to claim her lips – so she knew, deep down inside, that the blond Sohma had wanted to kiss her. It seemed that he had changed his mind at the last minute though.

She found that she was feeling thoroughly disappointed. She knew that she wouldn't object should he had continued, though him stopping may have meant that he was having second thoughts. The thought stung, but she berated herself once more. Tohru was quite aware of her tendency to blow things out of proportion, so she had to remind herself that she would want to hear an explanation from Momiji himself regarding the matter. To ignore what happened earlier will be nothing short of an insult – to the both of them, even more so when it comes to assuming things when it should be something they can talk about honestly and openly to each other, something they were both good at.

She looked up as they neared the entrance to the apartment where she lived. Tohru lived in a simple apartment complex, lucky to have found one which has a cheap rent but with the rooms in good condition. Her landlady is an elderly woman who she had befriended, so that may have helped as well. Nevertheless, she was thankful that this place is decent.

Since there were only two floors, there was no problem taking the stairs to her room, which they both took. They were silent the whole way, as if both of them were all talked out, and when they reached her room, she began to dig into her purse to find her key, grasping the cold metal somewhere at the bottom and inserting it to the lock.

Once she heard the click, she closed the door again as it had opened a little, then turned to him.

She saw his expression. He was looking at her fondly, topaz eyes alight with mirth, but his lips were pressed into a firm line. "Momiji… about earlier…" She began, before trailing off. She didn't know how to continue.

"I know." He said softly, before smiling a little. "I'll talk to you about that on Saturday."

The way he said so confirmed that she wasn't the only one who was thinking about that moment earlier. "I don't mind if you do want to talk to me now." She clarified, shyly, but meeting his gaze straight on.

He shook his head, making his hair go even more unruly, the golden locks falling over his eyes rakishly, giving him a slightly more dangerous look which made her stomach do flip-flops. "I would love to, but you're tired. The last thing I would want to do is to put you through another emotional wringer again when we both tried our best to enjoy ourselves earlier."

"I really did enjoy myself earlier." She assured him, making him grin happily, reaching out to tuck her hair behind her ear again.

"That's good to know. For now, let's get some rest. I promise we'll talk about it after the recital."

She stared at him. Momiji is someone who follows through his words, so she decided to trust him, even when she had really wanted to talk about it now. "Okay. I guess… good night, Momiji-kun. Thank you for today, I really had a good time." She smiled, flushing adorably.

Her heart fluttered as he lifted her right hand which he was holding and laid a kiss on the back of it. "Good night… my princess. Sweet dreams."

She didn't want to let go, wanting to blurt out her feelings for him right there and then, but this was not the place and time, nor did she want to scare Momiji away. She can wait.

She let go of his hand, regretfully so, opening the door and stepping inside her unit. The last she saw of him was his gentle smile, eyes shining with fondness.

Tohru gave a violent start when her phone alarm rang, startling her out of her reminiscing. The results for her application will be released today, and she can view the results through the school's website. She checked her phone to see that a few minutes had passed, and she nervously tapped on her laptop, clicking the link when the page updated.

True to form, the results were up. Heart pounding in her chest, she searched for her name among the test passers, her eyes stopping for the individuals whose last names started with H.

1219 Honda Tohru

Her eyes widened, disbelieving, and she blinked several times just to make sure she wasn't imagining it.

Her name was still there.

She wasn't imagining it.

She clamped her mouth shut and squealed, grabbing the bunny stuff toy Momiji had gifted her with when she had been hospitalized from her bed and rolling herself on the bed with it, still squealing her happiness silently. It's there! I passed! She was so giddy with happiness. It felt like she was finally stepping forward – granted, it was just one step, but Tohru has been nothing but optimistic – she knew this was a way to move forward after feeling stuck in one place for so long. She lifted the bunny stuff toy she was hugging so tightly. "Did you see that? I passed!" She told the plushie, before proceeding to crush it against her chest once more. This stuff toy served as her lifeline when she felt alone more often than not back then, the toy reminding her of its previous owner.

She grabbed her phone off the nightstand and hurriedly dialed the blond's number, without ever realizing that she was actually doing so. It had already started ringing before she had even realized that she had dialed it. Uwah… what are you doing, Tohru? Why did you just dial it? What are you going to tell him?

The phone rang twice then it was picked up. "Moshi-moshi? Tohru?" He sounded surprised but pleased, and she was hearing some sort of music in the background.

Tohru was unprepared and nearly dropped the phone, forgetting how good it felt to have his voice sound so close – it felt like he was speaking softly and directly at her ear.

That thought made her blush. Just what was she thinking anyway?

"K-Konnichiwa Momiji-kun. I'm sorry for calling out of the blue, you must have been so busy – "

"It's fine, Tohru. Your timing is perfect." He was chuckling, and she could hear him shuffling to what must have been a stereo, lowering the volume so that it wouldn't be too distracting. "I was just practicing."

"You're in the middle of practice though…" She said worriedly, sitting up on her bed.

"Well, like I said, your timing is just perfect. About time I take a break from practice." He exhaled a long breath out. "I'm happy you called, but may I know why? Did something happen?" Now he was the one who sounded worried.

She suddenly remembered the reason for her call and became embarrassed again. She really needed to think her actions thoroughly next time. "Well, I wanted to let you know… my test results came in today. And I passed!" She was so happy, she literally felt all giddy once more. What made her even happier was the fact that she was sharing this news with him.

Momiji gave a loud whistle in the background, making her laugh. "Congratulations, Princess! Always knew you would make it! You'll be joining this semester?"

Tohru couldn't help the wide smile forming on her lips. "Yes, I am. I can't wait to start."

"You'll ace those classes, I just know you will." He sighed, almost disappointedly. "This calls for a celebration and I would like for nothing else but to go out with you right now, but I'm stuck practicing… Elise is going to kill me if I don't."

"Elise-san… your manager, right? I think you did mention that you're going to have a concert here too." She said wistfully, proceeding to lay down on her bed. She was never one for these gestures normally, but talking to Momiji always made her feel relaxed and contented. How happy she was that she can get to talk to him now whenever she wants to…

"In two months' time." He responded. "Technically I'm on break from touring. It doesn't hurt to continue performing a little here and there though. This concert is going to be my first time here – and I'm lucky it's with the Tokyo Philharmonic."

Tohru smiled fondly. She knew it wasn't luck he was performing with Tokyo Philharmonic. "Do I get a ticket?" She asked half-jokingly, half-seriously.

"Will you come and watch me?" Momiji asked, sounding almost… shy. "I mean I would love it if you're there, but if you're busy…"

Hearing this made Tohru sit up so all of a sudden that she felt dizzy as the blood was forced to circulate once more in her body – but she didn't care. "Of course I'll be there, Momiji-kun! I – I mean," she flushed so badly that she was thankful he wasn't seeing her right now. "I would love to be there, to see you perform."

"Don't worry, I was really planning on giving you one. It would mean the world to me if you were there, after all." He paused for a bit, seeming to sound like he had taken a deep breath, then continued. "I'm even practicing for our private concert. You being able to listen to me practicing that one time doesn't count." He said playfully, and she had to smile. He didn't know how much she treasured that moment, that moment that he was playing so uninhibitedly which opened her eyes to her feelings for him all along.

On the one hand, she wanted to stop him from doing so, that he doesn't need to perform for her sake as well when he had an upcoming concert, but she also knew that stopping him from doing so might be interpreted differently as her ignoring his efforts, and that was the last thing she wanted to happen. "I'm looking forward to it, Momiji-kun. Just… don't push yourself too hard, okay? I don't want you to overwork yourself…"

"I won't. I promise." He said, with such conviction in his voice that she couldn't help but believe him. "If I'm not careful enough, I won't be able to perform for you… or anyone else."

Eventually, they moved on to other topics. They were even able to talk about Uo-chan's wedding, Momiji telling her that the news had reached him a day after Uo-chan had told them about it, the groom being the one to inform the family himself thru a call placed to Akito.

Soon, much too soon, Momiji had to go. As regretful as they both were, they had to end the call, knowing that they will be seeing each other once more the following day – a day which they were both keenly aware would change everything.

Hana walked beside Arisa, both of them toting makeup sets, as Mine happily skipped forward, also clutching another set – this one used for hairdressing. Mine messaged them both early Friday morning, telling them she needed them both for help. It was also at the same time Tohru messaged them regarding her plans for the weekend, assuring them that she would tell them all about the recital… and that she had been invited to go by the blond Sohma. Even before Mine had told them all about the recital, they guessed she needed them both to help their friend prepare for it, something they are both more than glad to do so.

Luckily, both she and Arisa were free this particular Saturday, and they agreed to meet Mine in her and Ayame's shop. Hana was happy that Tohru had another friend to rely on besides them both, one who also cared enough about her to offer her help for Tohru to prepare for what she deemed would be a special night.

She heard Uo sigh beside her. "Looks like you're right again, Hanajima." She looked up to her blond friend, who was smiling rather sadly. "Blondie has made his move, after all."

"Are you worried it wouldn't work out?" She asked, understanding Uo's hesitation, because she felt the same way.

Uo shook her head, just as they reached the entrance to Tohru's apartment. "It's not that. Now I'm feeling like you, hesitant to give her away for the second time. I feel like she's being taken from us again."

She was silent for a few minutes, considering what Uo had said. In the past, she had been more overprotective of Tohru. Not that she wasn't now, but she had been hesitant to let Tohru date Kyo back then. She didn't say anything out of respect for Tohru's feelings, though something had been off. That feeling had been confirmed when they had broken up and Tohru had moved back to Kaibara. What had made her and Arisa mad was the fact that she had been far away from them at the time and they had trusted Kyo to care for her, only to eventually lose sight of Tohru himself. It may sound irrational, but the whole thing felt like Tohru had been left too alone to her own devices at the time, something that she and Arisa felt hurt with, because they both promised to watch over her and they felt like they had failed Kyoko.

This time, however, she felt more confident… and with a sense that everything was going to be alright. "Arisa… even if she were taken away from us the second time, I don't think we have anything to worry about this time."

Uo looked down in front of her, somewhat still worried but more calm this time. "I guess so. If blondie has held on that long with his feelings for her even when he had been far apart from her for so long, it's hard to imagine that he will change his mind at the last minute."

She agreed, smiling. "I'll trust him."

"It's hard looking after someone else, isn't it?" Mine's voice floated back to them. They both turned to look at her, standing in front of them, having just reached the top landing on the flight of stairs leading to Tohru's floor. "So much that you worry about them a lot, but you have no choice but to let them go and do what they want if that's what makes them happy."

"Difficult." Uo said, though she was smiling. "Sometimes we feel too much like a mother unwilling to let their daughter go a second time, afraid she'll end up more alone than she ever has been."

"Tohru-chan has had difficulties." Mine agreed, smiling tenderly as they both continued climbing the stairs to her position. "This could be her chance to find the one thing which will make her truly happy… which is why I am showing her my support for this."

"You think blondie will be good for her?"

Mine giggled. "I saw them together when they came to our shop the other day." At their expectant expressions, she continued, "Tohru-chan's eyes were shining. Any man who could do that to a woman deserves some merit. I haven't heard her laugh like she did then in the past couple of years… not even when she was with Kyo when they found the time to visit. I am not saying that they haven't been happy together. I'm sure they've had fun times too. But Tohru-chan may have just found the one person who will be willing to shoulder every moment with her… be it happy times… or the difficult times. Someone who will not lose sight of her even as he continues to move forward." She looked at Uo, this time more serious. "He will be good for her."

Hana had to smile. If Mine was seeing the same thing she had been thinking about, then she could rest easy. "Arisa?"

The taller woman sighed. "Well, if you were both saying so… I guess I could believe it." She smiled, a little embarrassedly. "I guess I really can't help but worry about her… even more so now."

Mine smiled at her kindly. "Of course you would. You're her friend after all." She then linked arms with them both. "Just because you've let her be on her own and it didn't work out the first time doesn't mean you should blame yourselves on that, you know. It doesn't work that way."

The two smiled, identical ones of resignation, knowing that they've been plagued by those feelings for the longest time. It was rather gratifying that someone else aside from them had acknowledged what they felt regarding the matter without them having to point it out.

As they neared Tohru's unit, she released them, grinning. "We'll have to do everything we can to make Tohru-chan the most beautiful girl tonight."

Uo watched as Mine knocked on the door, and heard Tohru call out to them in response. When she saw her best friend open the door, the look of surprise on her face upon seeing the two of them with Mine, her eyes turning glassy as she was touched with their willingness to help her prepare, she smiled inwardly. Some things really would never change, and she would prefer to be a witness as Tohru takes on a new path.

"Alright." She whispered to Hana as they entered Tohru's unit. "Let's make Tohru look so beautiful that it will knock blondie's socks off."

Hana chuckled quietly in agreement.

See you next chapter! That may be uploaded in a few hours… who knows? Stay tuned!

Love,

Michiko