It seems quite awhile since I last updated the fic…ok, here we go!!!

Tohru stared at the family dinner in awe. The family before her was feasting on tomato juice and vegetable salad, which was drowned by red food coloring.

She blinked when Momiji called her attention. "Y-Yes?"

"You're not eating!" remarked the hare. "What's wrong? Don't you like the dishes?"

She sweatdropped. "Um…"

"We have eggs in the refrigerator," said Hatori coldly.

"Hey!" complained Kagura. "I'm going to use it for my facial make-over!"

"We can't let Yuki's guest starve, can we?" asked the doctor in mock concern. To this, Yuki shot him a lethal stare.

"I-I was just surprised by the look of the dish, that's all," she said. She began to help herself with the red salad.

"Sorry about the food," said Yuki apologetically. "Our family subsists on catsup and tomato juice. It's our diet."

"Ah, please don't apologize! I must not complain because I'm already a burden!" said the onigiri quickly.

"It's good that you are aware of it," said the acting leader of the clan.

"Hatori!" said Yuki warningly.

Shigure raised his voice. "Yum, yum! I just LOVE these spinach thingies!"

Everyone sighed.

"Don't worry, Tohru-kun," continued Shigure. "The next time I shop downtown, I'll buy you your own food."

"And where will we get the money to support our new border?" asked Hatori testily.

"I volunteer!" said Momiji, eyes shining. "I can talk to my talent manager to make Tohru sing with me. We'll work together!" He squeezed the onigiri's hand affectionately.

"And I'll find myself a job," said Shigure, grinning. "Surely, someone in the town needs a handsome and dashing teacher, especially female ones."

"And I can work in the town too," said Yuki, smiling at Tohru. "I'm an all-around guy, perfect for any job."

Haru grinned. "I can be a tour guide, and show to everyone the vast forest of the Sohmas."

"You'll lose your job within three minutes," said Kyo, smirking.

"I'm betting two," added the inu. "And it's not only your job that you'll lose. I'm afraid you'll lose those who are stupid enough to join your tour."

"Silence!" said Hatori, dropping his fork and spoon on the plate. He stood up, wiping his mouth with his napkin. "You can do anything you want, and I don't care! If a problem arises, however, I will not help. Do you understand?"

"Sure, sure," said Shigure, waving his hand dismissively.

Tohru looked at the doctor who was walking away. "He hates me," she whispered.

Yuki shook his head. "Just like Shigure, we ignore him."

"Hey!" complained the inu.

"Anyway, at least you got to stay," said Haru, smiling too. "Welcome to the family, Honda-san!"

"T-Thank you," said the onigiri shyly.

"I do hope you make good on your promise in helping me with the household chores," said Kagura. "I need all the help I can get."

"I promise!" said Tohru quickly. "How can I ever thank you for your kindness?"

Shigure put an arm on her shoulder. "You can start by massaging me."

Kyo and Yuki's fists slammed on the novelist's head. "Perverted dog!"

Hana sighed as she opened the grocery store the next day. "I miss Tohru."

Uo went out of the store, rubbing her eyes. "You woke up early?"

"Yup. But Tohru is usually up way, way before me." A longing smile crossed her face.

"You know, even after Tohru's sacrifice, the animal slaughter continues to happen," said Uo.

The denpa's forehead creased. "You think so?"

"I know so," said Uo, flipping her hair over her shoulders. "Everyone in town is talking about it. Our leader is trying to save his face by saying that the vampires might not have deemed Tohru worthy enough to be called a sacrifice."

"So what will we do? Force someone to be a sacrifice too? Our leader can't keep on fooling us forever," said Hana.

"Right," agreed Uo.

Just then, Hana stiffened. "Oh no."

Her friend's forehead creased. "What is it?"

"Flower!!!" Shigure was on full speed as he strode towards the Denpa.

Hana wanted to slam her head on the wall, but realized just in time that she should be slamming Shigure's head on the wall instead. But she forced a grim smile on her face instead. "Hello."

Uo grinned wickedly. "I better go. I might be disturbing you and your lover boy already."

Before she could react, Shigure was already beside her, an arm wrapped around her shoulder comfortably. "Your eyes look terrible, Sweetheart. Didn't you get any sleep, dear?"

Hana sighed. She was too busy thinking of Tohru's whereabouts to sleep. Somehow she felt guilty for not being able to save her friend when she became a human sacrifice, and that emotion was taking its toll on her slumber.

The man lifted a hand to smooth her cheeks. "My poor Flower, miserably alone last night without a real man to warm her cold bed."

He cried out in pain when she elbowed his ribs hard. "You came here to shop," she hissed.

"Ah y-yeah!" He took out his shopping list. "Let's see…4 extra-large bottles of tomato catsup…and hmm…banana catsup for Yuki-chan."

Upon the mention of the name. Hana's eyes lit up. "How is Yuki-kun?"

The novelist shrugged. "The last time I checked, he was still breathing."

Hana's eyes sparkled. "Ah, he's so dreamy! So handsome!"

Shigure grinned. "Good looks run in the family."

"Too bad it's not true in your case," she muttered under her breath.

"And hey, can I have some of your eggs?"

The reply he got was a big, fat slap on his face.

"Wow!" gushed Kagura and Kisa when they saw the dish that was served before them. Steamed buttered vegetables.

"I-I know you would rather have catsup-based dishes," said the onigiri shyly. "But well, we ran out of catsup…"

"It's ok, Tohru-chan!" said Kagura, digging on the food excitedly. "It's been quite awhile since we had a dish without red stuff on it."

Hatori groaned and looked at Yuki, who smiled apologetically at him. The blood of the vampire do not run among women of the family, thus they were not weaned to red stuff as the males were. However, they weren't spared from the Juunishi curse.

The door opened and in came Shigure, sighing. "Hello everyone." He smiled at Tohru feebly. "Hi, cute human sacrifice. As I promised…"

Tohru's eyes widened when she saw a pack of raw eggs inside the grocery bag. "B-But you guys are vegetarians! Y-You don't have to do this-"

"It's ok," said Shigure. "We don't want to make your taste buds suffer."

"Hey 'Gure," said Ayame, peering at his cousin's cheek. "Is it my imagination, or is your cheek a little..um…"

Hatori made a sound of exasperation. "No doubt, he did something stupid again."

"I did not!" said the dog self-righteously.

"You were slapped," said the acting clan head matter-of-factly.

"Prove it," dared the novelist.

"Your epidermis shows a sign of some blood rush, as if some pressure comparable to one given by a hand slap was applied on that part," said the clan doctor as everyone sweatdropped.

Haru sighed. "Never challenge a doctor in a verbal joust, especially on a field he specializes on. You should know that by now, Shigure."

"It's not because he's a doctor, actually," said Yuki. "It's because Shigure is a well-known pervert, and Hatori knows that."

"I see." Haru looked at his plate. "Honda-san, more rice please."

Tohru nodded and rushed back to the kitchen with the plate of rice.

"Why did you get slapped anyway, Grandpa Shigure?" Kisa wanted to know.

The novelist hugged the little girl to his chest. "Oh sweet Kisa, it was terrible! I went to the grocery shop this morning to buy us some bottles of catsup and some food for Tohru-kun, but when I tried to purchase Tohru's food, I got slapped!"

"Really? Why should Hana nee-chan slap you?" the little girl wanted to know.

"I asked if I can have some of her eggs."

Everyone but Kisa spat out their food.

"I was asking for her eggs that were for sale," said Shigure defensively.

"But why did she slap you?" asked Kisa innocently.

Hatori muttered something under his breath.

Kagura, laughing uncomfortably, said that Shigure must not have asked Hana nicely.

Tohru returned, holding the plate of rice. "Hi, you guys! Did I miss anything?"

Yuki smiled. "Nothing much, Honda-san."

Hatori leafed through the letters uninterestedly, but one caught his attention.

It was a letter from the clan head, Akito, asking how things were in the castle.

Should I tell him about Honda Tohru?

He sighed and picked up his quill.

Tohru was gathering the clothes she hung awhile ago in the clothesline when she heard a throat cleared behind her. She turned around and found Yuki smiling at her.

"Good evening, Honda-san. I'm sorry for disturbing your solitude," he apologized.

She shook her head. "It's ok. I-I was just gathering the clothes."

"Let me help you then." He began to help her take the clothes down.

"Yuki-kun?"

"Hmm?"

"I was just thinking…aren't you afraid of living so far away from Kaibara?" asked Tohru curiously.

He laughed. "What do you mean? What should we be afraid of?"

"Vampires," said Tohru.

He choked in laughter. "No, we're not afraid of them." He looked out at the night sky. "I'm sure those vampires are really as nice as normal people are."

"They suck blood! They kill innocent people!" cried the onigiri. "They're bad people!"

His eyes saddened. "You think so?"

She blinked.

He sighed. "Never mind." He looked at the empty clothesline. "We're done."

Tohru still couldn't stop thinking of the reaction she saw on his face when they were talking about vampires awhile ago.

I wonder why…

tsuzuku