Disclaimer: See previous.
Tohru and Momiji made the rounds of all the Juuynishi who had relocated to the Main House for the length of their illness. They first stopped in to visit Hatsuhara who was still relegated to bed rest per Hatori's orders. Whether due to his sore throat or naturally laconic nature, he limited himself to one syllable responses to Tohru's questions, and blinked rather bewilderedly at Momiji's chatter. Tohru fed him soup, straightened his blankets and pillow, re-filled his water pitcher and felt his forehead to check for fever. Hatsuhara gave her a weary smile in response. Once she was satisfied that Hatsuhara was comfortable, she bid him goodnight and gently pushed Momiji out of the room.
At their next stop, Ritsu's room, chaos ensued. Spilled soup, long-winded apologies, and tears occurred before things could be put to rights. During the whole episode Momiji repeatedly sent nervous glances towards the door, praying with all his might that Akito-san would chock up the noise to Ritsu's normal temperament. As they left the room, Momiji couldn't help commenting quietly to Tohru.
"Ne, Tohru-kun, even sick Ritsu has a lot of energy."
"Well, hopefully it's a sign that he's on the road to recovery. Does he suffer from the same frail constitution as his mother?"
"No, normally Ritsu's never sick. He gets lots of bumps and bruises, but this is the first time I've seen him come down with the flu. Hatori says Hatsuhara and I probably brought it home from school since we were the first ones to get sick. Several people in our class have been ill."
"Ah, it is easy to pass illness back and forth in the classroom, even when people do wear masks."
They turned a corner in the hallway and walked a little further toward a sliding screen.
"Ne Momiji-kun, the Main House is so large! How do you keep from getting lost?"
"Oh, sometimes I still make a wrong turn every now and then, but all the Juuynishi spend long periods of time here so we learn our way around. The house is actually very old. The Sohma's have lived in this area for a long time; they actually founded the initial village that the city grew from. Though the compound is quite large and houses many families, a number of Sohma have moved away. Like Ritsu's parents, they and some other Sohma families reside near the hot springs."
"The Sohma's must be a very large clan."
"Yes, despite the curse, or maybe as a result, members of the Sohma clan are often successful, and success means that you can afford to have a large family. Does Tohru-kun have any other family members besides her grandfather, aunt and uncle?"
"Ano, not really. My father and aunt were my grandfather's only children, and he had no brothers or sisters, only cousins. So, I suppose I have some distant relations, but I've never even seen them accept at my father's funeral, and I was too young to remember. My mother's family basically disowned her when she joined the gangs. She tried to contact them after I was born, but they wanted nothing to do with her." Tohru glanced down pensively.
"Mother said that sometimes burnt bridge can't be rebuilt."
"No need to be sad Tohru-kun. You're part of our family now, and nothing you could do would ever change that."
Tohru couldn't help the bright smile that grew on her face.
"Momiji-kun, you don't know how much that means to me."
----
"Nee-chan made soup for us?" Kisa looked up at Tohru with a shy smile.
"Ano, I know it's not much, but I wanted to do something to help."
"It's wonderful! Chicken soup is my favorite."
"Bah, I bet she just poured it out of a can."
"Ah, no, no, Hiro-san, I made it myself from scratch. I know it's important for young people to eat fresh foods that don't contain preservatives!"
"Fresh chicken? I hope you sterilized it properly. I don't want to get salmonella when I'm already sick."
"Oh, no, I was very careful. I washed my hands both before and after, plus I simmered the soup for the required time, though I suppose I could have cooked it long, but ..."
Momiji sighed in exasperation and rolled his eyes at Kisa.
"The soup is fine Hiro. Hatori and I had some earlier today, and we haven't suffered any ill effects."
"Well, so that's how it is, Kisa and I have to make do with your left-overs. How rude."
"Hiro."
With one word and a soft look, Kisa managed to divert Hiro from another of his long tirades. He subsided with a half-hearted glare, but everyone noted that he finished off his bowl of soup rather quickly for someone so disdainful of Tohru's cooking skills.
Their visit was brought to a close when Kisa's mother came in to get Kisa and Hiro settled for bed. Surprisingly Hiro meekly followed orders to return to his own room, though Momiji told Tohru that Kisa's mother was one of the few people who could stem the flow of Hiro's arguments. They figured it must be an inherited trait.
-----
"Ano, Momiji-kun, should we bring Akito-san his soup now?"
Momiji almost tripped over his own feet at Tohru's suggestion.
"I know Akito-san finds my presence irritating, but I know that he isn't feeling well either. Perhaps you could bring the soup into him for me?"
Momiji felt his heart roll over at the distraught expression on Tohru's face. He could understand how Akito-san would feel jealousy over the attention that Tohru received from the other Jyuunishi. Because of the constant weakness that Akito suffered from the curse, he had never had the opportunity to socialize outside the family. He was dependent on them for any human contact. It was actually a rather vicious cycle. Naturally Akito felt irritable when sick. He also held a great deal of anger over having to bear the burden of the family curse, an unasked for burden at that. His dealings with the Jyuunishi were naturally rather tempestuous, as he both hated and loved them. And, in turn, the Jyuunishi felt a strange mix of guilt, pity and resentment for their leader. It was no wonder that Akito felt threatened if their attention turned elsewhere. The sad thing was, that if Akito truly wanted someone to love him wholeheartedly, someone not beholden to him through the family curse, he need look no further than Tohru-kun.
Tohru-kun's heart was so large that it often left Momiji in awe. She had gone through terrible things, but she was always there to listen and help, and forgive. Momiji couldn't count the number of times she had excused people's poor behavior toward her. It was rare for people to respond negatively to Tohru; she seemed to inspire those around her to be better, not just for her sake but for their own. He couldn't help thinking that a little exposure to Tohru might have a profound impact on Akito.
Still, he didn't think bringing Akito soup was the right way of easing Tohru into his company.
"Ne, Tohru-kun, when Akito is sick, he has to have specially prepared food. I'm afraid he wouldn't be able to eat your soup." He figured a little white lie wouldn't hurt anyone.
"Oh, I'm so sorry for preparing the wrong kind!"
"Silly Tohru-kun, how would you have known, we didn't tell you. Don't worry about it. Besides I think Akito-san is resting, we should probably just leave him to his sleep."
"Ah, yes. I wouldn't want to disturb Akito-san when he is ill. I'm sorry that I couldn't bring him something to help though. Will you tell him 'thank you' for letting me spend the night, I'm very grateful for his hospitality."
Momiji sweatdropped in guilt.
"Ah ha ha, I will be sure to relay your message." He desperately crossed his fingers behind his back.
"Let's get back and see how Hatori is doing." Momiji tried to subtly herd Tohru back in the direction of Hatori's apartments. With the way his luck had been going Akito was going to decide to take an evening stroll through the hallways!