Chapter 3 Luck Happens By

Shigure couldn't believe his eyes. Standing in the middle of the street was a woman. She

had her arms wrapped about the small frames of both Tohru and Hanajima. Shigure thought of

Tohru's and Hana's figures as small because the woman towered at least a foot over them. The

truck that had come rolling towards Tohru and Hana had been halted, and the front end of the

truck was completely dented up, but in an almost spherical pattern. The woman straightened,

and Tohru and Hana also stood up. The woman was dark haired, and couldn't be more than

Shigure's own age.

Tohru looked up at the woman. It was the woman from before. She smiled gently down at the

two of them, gave a cocky wink, and then glanced up at Shigure.

"Lucky I happened by." She said. "Are you alright?"

Shigure approached as Hana-chan and Tohru checked themselves over, amazed to find that

they were both unharmed. How could it have happened? Was it a miracle? Or plain dumb

luck?

"Tohru-chan... Hana-chan, are you alright???" Shigure said, sounding extremely concerned.

"We're okay, Shigure-san. Thank you, Mamoshira-san."

"No no.... please... call me Kotaru. Mamoshira-san was my mother. I prefer just to be called

Kotaru. Are you girls sure you are alright?"

"We are quite alright, Kotaru-san." Hana-chan remarked calmly. "But you seem to be bleeding.

It looks as if you've been scratched."

Shigure had noticed that too. The woman named Kotaru had a small scratch under her left eye,

and a little blood dripped from it. He pulled a handkercheif and offered it to her.

"Oh.... it must have been from the flying glass." Kotaru murmured. "It is so small I didn't even

notice it." She took the handkerchief from Shigure."Thank you. You are too kind."

"It is the least I can do. Maybe we should move out of the street; and then, Tohru-chan, you

can tell me who your friend is."

"We have to wait for the ambulance first. They will want to make sure no one was hurt."

"Kotaru-san is right. We will have to wait." Hana-chan said.

After the accident report had been filed and everyone had been checked for wounds, and

Kotaru's wound was bandaged, they sat in a restaurant a street off from where the incident had

taken place.

"Shigure-san, this is Mamoshira Kotaru. She works at the school as a music instructor."

"What music do you specialize in?" Shigure asked.

"Piano and organ. I've been working at Tohru-chan's school for about two years. I am

surprised and a little disappointed that our paths had not crossed until a few days ago. I had

heard from other teachers that she was a very dedicated student, and also a very kind girl. All

of her teachers rave about her." She smiled. " I was somewhat jealous not to have her for a

student."

"And how did you manage to sa...." Shigure started to ask.

"Minna-san!! Konnichiwa!!"

Shigure-san's question was interrupted by the chipper tones of a young blonde haired boy.

Kotaru looked at the kid with surprise at his sudden appearance at the table. Another young

man, about Tohru's age - Kotaru expected - walked up as well. The younger one had a happy,

excited presence about him... while the other one was more closed off. There was something

about this mystery kid that struck a cord in her memory. Months ago.... the dreams... could

these two incidents be connected? It didn't take her long to realize that they were.

Tohru smiled at Momiji and Yuki. "Momiji-chan! Sohma-kun!"

"What's the matter, Tohru-chan? You look a little pale. Are you not well?" Momiji asked.

Shigure leaned back in his seat and explained what happened to Momiji and Yuki. Momiji

asked questions, and Yuki looked shocked and a tad guilty. Kotaru sensed that he blamed

himself for not being there to rescue her himself. That was something that didn't surprise Kotaru

too much. It didn't take a rocket scientist to realize how he felt about her, it was in his eyes.

"It was pure luck that I happened to be in the area." Kotaru smiled gently, looking at the young

man. "I am glad I could be here to help. But as much as I would love to stay and chat, I am

afraid I can't. I have some business to attend to. I am glad I was here to help. Tohru-chan, be

careful next time, okay?"

"I will, Kotaru-san." Tohru looked at Shigure. "Shigure-san... can we invite Kotaru to tea sometime?"

Kotaru began to protest. "I would hate to intrude at all."

"Actually, I would find that quite entertaining. If Kotaru would like to come, that is." Shigure

smiled at them both.

Kotaru smiled and stood, putting on her coat. "Alright. I will make an appearance. It will have

to be breif, though. I am a very busy person. It was a pleasure to meet you all." She glanced

at Yuki, nodded respectfully, and left.

"Strange." Hana murmured.

"What is, Hana-chan?" Tohru asked.

The others watched Hanajima, wondering what she might be talking about. Hana had been right

on the money about a lot of things, and it had taken a great deal of quick thinking to keep her

from figuring out the Sohma family secret. It didn't help that she was a vibe. Now she was

obviously picking something up from the new woman - Kotaru - and the others were curious as

to what it might be.

"Are you getting strange vibes from her, Hana-chan?" Tohru asked.

"Not precisely."

"Then what could it be, Hana-chan? Is something bothering you about her?" Yuki asked.

"There is the question of how she managed to keep herself, Tohru and Hana from being

killed by the truck." Shigure remarked.

"It is possible she is a telepath."

"A telepath?" Momiji asked.

"A person who has the ability to control energy."

"Do things like telepaths actually exist?" Tohru wondered out loud.

Shigure nodded gently. "If it's possible for Hana-chan to be a vibe, then I suppose it's possible

for there to be a telepath." Not to mention the predicament of the Sohma family, he thought to

himself.

"Do you mean she could be like you?" Tohru asked.

"No... she feels different."

"Different? How? She seems normal enough to me." Tohru said.

"She is a void. There doesn't seem to be any vibes coming from her at all. Actually, it's quite the

opposite. She seems to absorb them. It's as if her aura consists of a black hole. From the looks

of it, though, I would say she can give mental energy a physical manifestation." Hana-chan said

thoughtfully.

"Telekinesis?" Yuki asked, looking from Hana to Shigure.

"Possibly. The trouble is she is so hard to read."

Shigure frowned slightly. "How powerful do you think she could be? Enough to be dangerous?"

"If she has enough power to halt a truck as effortlessly as she seemed to, I would have to

theorize that yes - she is not weak. How powerful... and how dangerous, I cannot be certain of.

It mainly depends on the person. Powers like hers, if put in the hands of the wrong person, can

be quite volatile. Emotions have to be controlled, every measure taken to conceil your identity.

There is a great risk if anyone learns about you. If Mamoshira is a telepath, then I doubt anyone

would be able to confirm it, save her."

"Then there is no doubt about it, we have to make sure she comes to tea." Yuki murmured.

"Prodding her will not work. She can't be goaded. Telekineticly powerful people don't just

spontaneously begin manipulating objects. They are born with it. She has been conceiling this

secret since a very young age. She won't give up details about that easily, and you won't trick

her into revealing anything. One thing I can read from her is... she is careful."

"What might she be able to do?"

"I am not sure. She could be capable of all times of things. The most prominently documented

events involving telekinesis were things such as the ability to move objects without touching

them, bodily elevation, and invisible barriers. But more volatile events can occur."

"What is bodily elevation?" Tohru asked.

"Floating." Shigure said. "What sort of events, Hanajima-chan?"

"The ability to cause objects to explode, or lift objects normally to heavy to be lifted."

"We will have to watch her." Yuki said. "I'm not sure... but she could pose a threat."

"The real question is not whether or not she poses a threat, Sohma-san. The real question is.... to whom?"

Hana's question only added to the anxiety and worry that both Yuki and Shigure were feeling.

Yuki- because he feared for Tohru's safety, who seemed to have become of interest to

Mamoshira. And Shigure, because this telekinetic female could pose a serious threat to not only

him, Tohru, Yuki, and Kyo... but the Sohma family in it's entirety.