"Anybody home?" Hatori called as he took off his coat and welcomed himself inside Shigure's house that day. He loosened his tie and noticed that it was unusual for the novelist's house to be this quiet, since Kyou, Yuki and Kagura kept the house alive and boisterous.

"Eh?" Shigure walked out his office and glanced at the door. "Tori! It's nice for you to visit! What do you want? Coffee? Water? Tea?"

The doctor raised his hand to silence his cousin. "I'm here because of the 'emergency' that you said on my phone." He explained. "So… where is it?"

"Huh? Oh yes," Gure laughed. "It turned out that she was fine---"

"Did you touch her?"

"Eh? No…" he grinned. "Not yet…"

"Gure…"

"I mean it. She's perfectly fine!" the novelist walked towards his cousin and patted his shoulder. "It turned out that it was… uh… a false alarm."

Hatori dropped his suitcase and pushed him in a corner. "Where is she?"

"What are you planning to do? Rape me?" he cried.

"Shut up." He pressed. "I traveled 500 miles and missed my important personal appointments just to witness this 'emergency'. And all that you could say to me right now is that it's a false alarm?!"

"Hey, I didn't know that she was a goddess!"

"A what?"

"A goddess!" Shigure repeated. "You know, an immortal being from heaven."

"Really?" Hatori asked. He didn't look alarmed or surprise. Maybe it's her again.

"Yes. She looked so elegant! I wonder how will Aya react once he sees her."

"Does she looked like about 16 years old, has an innocent look and has a long brown hair?" the doctor asked. Shigure looked at him, both surprised and doubting.

"You guessed it right!" he said happily. "High school girls are so pretty, aren't they?"

"You never change, Gure-san." He believed. "Remember this, she's a goddess, not another girl to seduce and to play with."

"Tori, you are so worried about me!" he laughed.

"No I'm not. I didn't want Celeste to be seduce by a hopeless jerk like you." Hatori said. The novelist looked at him, now seriously.

"I haven't mentioned her name." He thought. "How do you know---"

"We're back!!!" Kagura shouted as she came in, dragging Kyou behind her. "Oh, Hi, Tori-san. What brings you here?"

"Some emergency." He answered.

"Ne, he's here to visit Yuki's new friend." Shigure smiled.

"Really? Oh yeah, Shigure, she has a new name already." She mentioned happily. "Honda Tohru."

"Tohru?" he repeated.

"Yes, nezumi himself gave the name." Kyou murmured.

After a few moments, Yuki stepped inside the house with Tohru behind him. She stopped and held back her breath once she saw Hatori looking at her. She couldn't help but smile at him.

I was right, Hatori thought as he stared at her. It's her… and she still looked the same…

I thought I would never see him again but…, Tohru thought.

"How are you, Celeste?" he asked.

"I'm fine, Tori-san." She answered.

"You guys know each other?" Shigure said surprisingly. "Hatori, I never knew that you are interested in---"

"What bring you back here?" Hatori said quickly, completely ignoring Shigure. She looked away, trying to avoid his gaze.

"Another mission."

"I see."

"How is she?"

"Who?" he asked.

"Kana-san." She smiled.

"Huh?" his face saddened. "You were right all along. She deserved a life… without me."

"I see." She replied.

"So did you get what you want?" Hatori asked, trying to change the subject.

"Um… I've been expecting, demo, I haven't got it yet." She answered.

"I see."

"What kind of conversation is this?!" Kyou blurted. "We don't even know what you're talking about?!"

"How did you know him?" Yuki asked.

"Um… we were old friends." Tohru answered. "We met… some time before."

"Like you descended some time before?" Kagura asked. "For a completely new different mission?"

"You can say it something like that." Hatori grinned. "I have to go now." He turned to leave.

"Wait!" she reached out to grab his hand. "Please stay for a while."

"No, I don't need to." He reasoned out. "I need to manage some paper work back at the office. Maybe I can talk with you sometime."

"That would be nice."

Hatori reached for his suitcase and walked away. "Oh, yeah," he turned around. "Watch out when Shigure's with you. Who know what he can do to women like you."

"Don't worry, Tori-san! I'll take care of her!" Shigure shouted as the doctor walked away. Yuki stared at the smiling goddess. He had never seen her this happy. Who was he in her life?

"He seems pretty happy to see you." Kagura glanced at Tohru, who was slightly blushing.

"Ne, we haven't met in years." She replied. "I guess we got 'bound by destiny'."

"Bound with destiny?" Shigure wondered. "Tohru-san, you just gave me an impressive idea!" He rushed back to his office. "Finally, Mit-chan will praise me for this."

"Eh?" Tohru asked confusedly.

"That's okay. He's just excited once he had an idea." Kyou replied. "Tohru, why don't we go out sometime?"

"Kyou…"

"Kagura-san, I meant exploring the city." Kyou corrected quickly. "She can't stay here forever. I mean it."

"That's not a bad idea, neko-san." Yuki nodded. "What do you say?"

"Um, I love to but…" she shook her head. "I can't. I was ordered to stay away from large crowds."

"Who's your master here?" Yuki grinned.

"No, I mean, you are but…it's…well, somebody's after me." She blurted out. "That's why I was wounded and stranded in the forest. I don't know the reason but… he wants me dead."

"Really? If that's the case then, we'll protect you." Kyou said determinedly.

"We don't know what 'he' looks like." Kagura pointed.

"But still, baka neko is right." Yuki smiled at Tohru. "We'll protect her. She did a lot for us already, especially to Kagura---"

"---and Kyou---!" she whispered happily.

"---Shut up." He murmured.

"---so we have to do something to help her in return." He finished his statement. "Unless, of course, it's against the goddess' wish."

"Ano, Yuki-kun, I haven't done much yet but I don't want you all to get involved---"

"We don't really want to but you're in the Sohma's property and… we should take responsibility on whatever circumstances that will happen." Kyou answered proudly.

"I think I heard that somewhere when Yuki---" Kagura began.

"Shut up." He cut off.

"We would really like to help, Honda-san, as long as you're comfortable living here with us, despite that we can't serve that much to a goddess like you---"

"Yuki-kun, remember, as long as I'm here on earth, I shouldn't be called and addressed as goddess." She implied calmly. "That's why you picked a name for me. That way, I should be treated as an equal, like the others do."

"But still, the truth remains that you're immortal." He reminded.

"I know but… who will find out about that?" she asked mysteriously.

"Okay, but remember, we're willing to help not because we're under your command but we're your friends, get it?" Kyou asked.

"Hai!"

"And as long as you'll stay," Yuki continued. "We're happy to welcome you in the family, Honda-san."

She smiled at them and nodded happily. She now lives in the family of Sohmas.

But still, she didn't trust them completely, especially her own master.

He really talks like him, even if he has a happy and encouraging smile on his face. Demo, I should not give in completely. She thought as she stared at them, There will come a time that he will ask a cursed wish,,, like their former clan head did.

Akito-san, I hope you though Yuki how to care for other people, not only for selfish engraving acts, but to gain their trust and friendship---

"Ahh!" Tohru slightly screamed once she felt arms hugging her. It was Shigure and he hugged her from behind.

"I---didn't--- transform!!!" he yelled happily. He jumped constantly, and his arms that wrapped her waist forced her to jump with him.

"Gure-san, let her go!" Yuki ordered.

"Why? This is the best day of my life!!!" he grabbed her shoulders and forced her to look at him. "Hug me, Tohru-san!"

"Uh… ok…" she hugged him lightly, but Shigure reached out and pulled her close to him, hugging him even tighter.

"Oh My GOD!!!"

"Shh!" Tohru whispered sternly. "Second commandment, Shigure!"

"I don't care! I didn't transform!!! HAHAHA~!" he laughed histerically.

All of them, even Tohru, sweatdropped. "Gure-san, you can't hug me all day."

"Oh yes I can."

"Let go of Honda-san, jerk!" Yuki roared.'

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

Yuki stared at the ceiling that night. He glanced at his watch. 1:00 am, he read silently. He wasn't that very sleepy but still, his mind went blank and tired so he was forced to rest. But his eyes weren't so remained awake.

He remembered that instance when Hatori met Tohru for the first time. No, it wasn't the first time. He thought, Tohru looked and talked to him like their old friends. I've never seen her so happy before.

And Tori-san… he sounded quite different today. He used to be stern and cold. But now, he looked calm and friendly, and he talked kindly to Tohru, like he knew her sometime ago. They even discussed something that we don't know.

Something's going on… and there's something they haven't mentioned to the rest of the Sohmas… unless---

"Yuki-kun." There was a whisper. He sat up and saw Tohru kneeling in front of him.

"Ne, Honda-san, you shouldn't kneel at me."

"I got used to it…" she replied.

"By whom?"

"…Yuki-kun," she began, ignoring the question. "How did Akito die?"

He was startled by the question. "Have you met him, Honda-san?"

"…yes, since I met Tori-san as well."

"I see." He looked away. "He died because of some sickness. Also, the Jyunishi curse causes him to weaken. The body couldn't handle the burden so… it gave up…"

"I see…" she whispered. "Goodnight then, Yuki-kun." She turned to leave.

"Wait…" he stood up and walked towards her. "You haven't answered my question yet."

She stood there but didn't look at him, not even a glance. She was too scared to his reaction.

"Tell me the name of the master by whom you always kneeled and worship, despite that you're a goddess." He said. She took a deep breath and whispered quickly.

"Sohma Akito."

After that, she quickly opened the door and left. Yuki stood there, both surprised and confused. Akito was her past master but… she left it all hanging.

Why does she bow in front of a frail person like him?