Publicity

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Thanks for your reviews, guys!! 42 yay!!! Wanna thank Azn ChibiSweetpea especially for her long review and her extreme enthusiasm hehe...so happy : ) Also thank u Carpetfibers for liking my dialogue and Nat for having a good time reading my fic hehe : ) And of course, thanx to Risa for her longtime support : )

And in response to Wildfire, I'm sorry!! I noe, I noe that Black Haru changes only when he's provoked into anger but he's so cool and I wanted him to have a line; I didn't want to neglect him : ( Please humor me!! I also figured that Haru changes when he experiences extreme levels of emotions...hence when he's "passionately hammering" away at his drums, he changes....does that make sense to anyone else besides me?? If it doesn't, I'm sorry hehe ^_^

Please keep on reading and keep on reviewing!!

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Everyone collapsed in exhaustion after their struggle to return to Shigure's house safely. Tohru woke up early the next morning and buzzed around the kitchen preparing a huge breakfast for everyone. Shigure yawned and shuffled into the kitchen. "Morning, Tohru-kun!!" He took his place at the table and picked up the newspaper. Kyou bounded down the stairs energetically and quenched his thirst straight from the milk carton. Then he felt a head nestled into his shoulder and he nearly spitted out his drink. He turned his head slowly and stared into long white tresses. Ayame snored into his back. "AHHHHHH!!! GET OFF! GET OFF!" Kyou wanted to vomit as the snake grunted and pulled the boy closer. The cat bristled and with a swift punch knocked the sleeping man into Shigure's lap.

Ayame blinked awake and stared up into Shigure's eyes. "Well, well, isn't this a pleasant awakening, Gure-kun!! But shame on you! Taking advantage of me while I'm still asleep...and in front of my sweet innocent princess too!" He declared dramatically.

Shigure murmured huskily, "Ah, I couldn't help myself, Aya...demo, when you fell asleep on Kyou's shoulder...*sigh* my heart twisted. How could you cheat on me right in front of my eyes? Aya, you little tease!!"

Kyou's orange hair rose on end and veins throbbed in his forehead. Tohru stared while holding a spatula, unsure on how to react. 'Well, at least Yuki and Ayame have one thing in common: they're just not morning people.'

Then Kagura skipped into the room and her eyes lighted up when they fell on Kyou. "Kyou-kun!!! Did you sleep well? Did you dream of me? YOU BETTER HAD BECAUSE I DREAMT ABOUT YOU ALL NIGHT!!" She adhered herself automatically to the boy. The cat turned pale and tried to fend off the pig.

Haru stepped in and gently rescued the carton of milk from Kyou's outstretched arms. "Thank you, Kyou." He sat down quietly and poured himself a glass. Momiji hopped it not long after that and beamed at Tohru. "Ne, Tohru, do you need any help making breakfast?! I can bake chocolate chip cookies!!" The girl smiled back. Haru said between gulps, "I don't think a healthy breakfast consist of chocolate chip cookies, Momiji."

Then Yuki shuffled in, rubbing his eyes. He halted when he saw his brother still resting in Shigure's lap, waving at him jauntily. "Ah hell." He quickly retreated out of the room.

Then Hatori walked in briskly. He, too, stopped when he saw Ayame and Shigure's position. Ayame beckoned at him. "Tori!! You want to sit too? I'll make room!!" He scooted closer to Shigure. The doctor grimaced and recoiled. "Ah hell." Like Yuki, he quickly fled the premises.

Ayame pouted, "What's wrong with Tori? You think maybe he got jealous and wanted me to sit on his lap instead??"

It was quite a hectic morning.

* * *

Shigure cheered and did a victory dance in the living room. Kyou extracted himself from Kagura's arms and quickly swept the dog's legs out from beneath him with a flourishing kick. "Baka inu, the way you annoy me is starting to rival the stupid rabbit."

"What do you mean?!" Momiji wailed. He was rewarded with a smack from the cat. Yuki yawned and threw the cat across the room. Kagura picked Kyou up and began squeezing the living daylights out of him.

Hatori murmured, "It's like a food chain. Dog and rabbit for the cat, cat for the rat and pig and ... girl rules over them all." Everyone stopped their brawling when Tohru stepped into the room with platters of snacks.

"What about the snake?" Ayame slithered in close to the doctor.

Hatori drank his tea. "It'll be extinct soon if it doesn't back away from the seahorse." The snake sulked and ran off to drape himself over the dog.

"What were you so excited about, Shigure-san?" Tohru asked pleasantly as she served the drinks.

Shigure paused from his flirting with Ayame. "Oh! That's right, guys! Take a look at this newspaper! You're on the front page! While you were singing on stage yesterday, I was handling the press and giving them interviews."

Yuki arched his eyebrow. "Hotties Heat Up Japan"?

Shigure beamed. "I suggested that title! Isn't it so hot?"

Kyou grabbed the newspaper and read it out loud. "Yesterday at the Crystal Concert Hall, a new band, Jyuuni, rocks their audience. Under the management of Sohma Shigure, a successful, handsome novel writer still single and looking for the love of his life...blah, blah, blah... enjoys long walks on the beach and romantic candlelight dinners...blah, blah, blah...black hair, tall, dark, mysterious with a sultry pout..." Kyou clenched his fists. "You old pervert! You just went on and on about yourself!!"

Shigure backed away nervously. "Not true! Look at the bottom of the page!"

Kyou scanned and finally read, "Jyuuni holds a promising future of swaying the whole Japanese music business with their four hot (Kyou: "Must you always use hot?!" Shigure: "Heh...heh") members: enigmatic bass guitarist/lead singer Sohma Yuki, courteous drummer Sohma Hatsuharu, endearing keyboardist Sohma Momiji, and feisty lead guitarist Sohma Keyoh."

Kyou shredded the paper into pieces. "Not only does the article have but one line about us...it also listed me last and spelled my name wrong!!! You dumb dog, I'm going to kill you!!!!"

Shigure chuckled nervously and waved his hand in an attempt to soothe the riled boy. "Now, now...this isn't the only article, you know! Take a look at this one!"

Yuki picked it up and read, "Jyuuni storms Japan as they stun the music industries with their natural talents and captivating personalities."

Kyou folded his arms and nodded. "Hmmm...that does sound better."

Yuki continued, "Jyuuni is a closely knitted band, consisting of four equally striking cousins. People can especially take notice of the bond between the two lead singers: Sohma Yuki and Sohma Kyou. In the whole concert, these two seem to especially accommodate each other. Their seemingly opposite personalities and appearances appear to supplement each other. We can see clearly the brotherly affection and -" Yuki choked. "- love they have for each other." The boy shot daggers at Shigure.

The dog laughed awkwardly. "Hahaha...these media people...they get the funniest impressions from a few simple words in a petty little interview."

"Hey look! It's Tohru!" Kagura broke their thoughts as she pointed to a picture.

Ayame grabbed the article and stars appeared in his eyes. "Yes it is my beautiful kidnapped princess!! And she's wearing MY outfit!! And would you look at that! That little silver head peeking out of her pocket is me!! Me!! I'm in the newspaper!! Hahahahahahaha!!! I knew it! I knew that one day I would become a model to be admired by all and hahahahaha...that day is today!!! Hahahahaha!!"

"Shut up!" Yuki and Kyou screamed at the snake.

Momiji peeked over Ayame's shoulder at the article. "Tohru!! You look so pretty in that cow costume!!"

She sweatdropped. "Uh...thank you, Momiji-kun."

Haru plucked the newspaper out of the snake's hand and read it out loud in his quiet, clear voice, "Yesterday, the public was treated to another delight besides Jyuuni. After the concert, a Miss Dairy Queen appeared astride a cow. A parade of different animals followed closely behind her. It can be most certainly said that her purpose was to provide comic relief for the fans."

"Comic relief? Did I really look that weird?" Tohru whispered dejectedly.

Yuki and Kyou shook their heads furiously. "No way!! You always look good... even in that snake's crazed invention! You're always beautiful!" They froze when they realized what they blurted out. Tohru blushed furiously. "Uh...uh, what we mean to say is...that, um..." They flashed a dark look at Shigure, telling him it was the one opportunity where his intervention is welcomed. He whistled and looked away, 'You got yourselves into this...you get yourself out!!"

The boys made a mental vow to grind up the dog later. Yuki said awkwardly with a beet red face. "What we meant is that Honda-san can never look weird...your smile always prevent that."

Kyou cleared his throat and added clumsily without looking at the girl. "Yea, I mean, you can never look as weird as those two idiots." He jabbed his thumb at the pouting dog and snake. "You always look...fine."

Momiji grinned, "Kyou's blushing!!" The boy squealed as the cat scowled and came after him.

Shigure smirked, "Yuki's also blushing!!" Ayame chimed in, "Ah, young love!! It's romance day!!" Both of them received a hefty punch.

Kagura whined, grabbing Kyou in her arms, "What about me, Kyou??!! Do I look pretty every day too?? SAY I'M PRETTY!!"

Kyou gasped for air, "Goddamit...alright, alright! You look pretty (when you're thirty miles away from me)!!" Kagura blushed and rubbed her cheek against his. "Kyou-kun is sooo sweet!! You really do love me!!" The cat's hair prickled and he snarled. "You'll look even prettier if you release me!!!!"

Hatori closed his eyes tightly. Haru rested his chin on the palm of his hand and watched the fights.

Tohru smiled happily, her cheeks rosy red. 'Even though things can get so chaotic, I wouldn't trade it for the world. All this noise, all this clamor, all these sounds only makes the house cozier and warmer ... this is my family, my home, my fruit basket.'

*CRASH* She jumped in shock. 'Although ... I can live without this much fights.'