The Deal

"Morning, Toh-ruuu!!" Momiji leaped at her but was pulled back by Haru.

"Momiji, not now. Good morning, Honda-san. Shall we go to school now?" Haru spoke quietly.

"Eh? You guys came all the way here to walk us to school?" Tohru smiled.

"Not just them," Uotani and Hanajima stepped into the door. "Morning, Tohru."

"What? But why?" Tohru spluttered, bewildered.

"Ah, the Prince called us yesterday after school and asked us if we'll like to be Jyuuni's personal bodyguards...since we did managed to scare off all those girls quite nicely yesterday," Uotani grinned.

"And since he offered us quite a nice salary and pointed out that by doing this, we can also spend some more time with you, Tohru, we naturally accepted," Hanajima continued.

Uotani nodded. "So we already picked up the kid and the weird hair guy...now it's your turn."

"Oh, that's so great! It's nice that everybody's happy with each other again!" Tohru beamed.

"Not quite," Kyou growled from behind her. "This has got to be the stupidest idea ever!! I'll be damned before I let some girl be my bodyguard!!"

Uotani whipped out her lead pipe. "Some girl?! Listen, carrot top, you better come along nice and quiet or I'm so going to enjoy smashing your head in!!" They stared daggers at each other.

"The electric waves are sure high now," Hanajima stated.

"It's quite obvious," Haru spoke in a similar detached tone.

"You have no choice, baka neko," Yuki stepped out of the door, fixing the tie of his uniform. "Now let's move before I kick you down the street."

"OH?! And pray tell, why do I have no choice in this matter?!" Kyou's vein throbbed in his forehead.

"Well, you do have a couple of choices but I ensure you, it's like having none at all," Yuki calmly affirmed.

"HA! I'll be the judge of that!"

"Fine...

Choice one: my decision...let Hanajima-san and Uotani-san be our bodyguards and get to school in one piece

Choice two: get mobbed by the girls without someone to fend them off...and we both know what situation that will land you in...

Choice three: beat up the girls, get arrested, get suspended, get Hatori to pick you, get a lecture, get Shigure's teasing, get my mocking, get Akito's ... I think you get the picture...

And finally my favorite, Choice four: get Kagura to be your bodyguard instead and walk you everyday back and forth from school. I have been pondering for a long time whether to allow her this privilege and since you're now so against my decision, I'll be more than happy to call her up...although she'll probably cause you more bodily harm than give you bodily protection...but I'm sure that's okay -"

"Let's go," Kyou muttered and stalked off.

* * *

*BOOM* Kyou slammed the door and stomped up the stairs. Yuki reopened the door calmly and stepped in with Tohru in tow. Shigure peeked out his head, "Back from school? What's the matter with Kyou-kun? The bodyguard idea a failure?"

"Oh, it was a success all right," Yuki responded with a smirk. "But then Kagura paid us a little visit, saw the neko with two other girls and proceeded to beat him into a bloody pulp."

"Oh...so it was the usual."

"Not quite. The baka neko then foolishly screamed 'How can you even get jealous of these two?! A witch and a Yankee hag?!' Hanajima sent out her electric shocks and Uotani pulled out her steel pipe. The baka got his rewards," Yuki smiled smugly. Shigure rolled on the floor, laughing.

"Ano...maybe I should go check on Kyou-kun," Tohru glanced up at the ceiling anxiously.

Yuki frowned, "Honda-san, he's used to this by now. Don't worry."

"AH!" Shigure suddenly screamed. Tohru and Yuki jumped and turned white. "Nani?"

"I almost forgot. I need to discuss with you guys about your next concert and a possible record deal," Shigure smiled. Yuki smashed the dog into the floor.

* * *

All the members of Jyuuni sat around the table with Tohru. The recuperating dog held an ice pack to his head as he cheerfully declared, "We need to find someone to talk to the Kaiba Music Corporation. We need to get its support and sponsor to produce our next concert and records. Hatori already flat out refused, said something about how busy he was already with Akito. Ayame volunteered but I doubt you guys would appreciate his efforts. I, myself, already booked an appointment with Mit-chan...as much as I want to cause her another nervous breakdown (Mit: "How can you be the manager of a band when you're not even responsible enough to give your writings to your editor without tormenting her first?!" Shigure: "It gives me another excuse to postpone my writing!" ^o^ Mit: "AHHHHHH!! JUST TAKE MY LIFE NOW!!" T-T ), she threatened to burn down my house if I don't give her my manuscript and shockingly, this time, I actually didn't get a chance to finish it yet! Whoopsie!! So that leaves us a problem...can you guys fix it?"

Kyou gritted his teeth. "BAKA! How can you call yourself a manager?! You're supposed to handle everything!!"

"This is hard...who do we know that can do it?" Momiji chewed his lip pensively.

"What about Yuki?" Haru said.

"Yuki is probably the best choice but who ever heard of a band member doing these negotiations...it's just not their job," Shigure said.

"Well, duh...it's the manager's duty!!" Kyou glared. Shigure held up his hands helplessly.

"How about I go?" Tohru ventured.

"Oh my pretty flower, you're so kind to volunteer but I'm afraid they'll just tear you into pieces!" Shigure sighed. "They'll do all the negotiating and you'll just end up agreeing. We'll end up doing the show and record for free. I'm sorry, my precious Tohru, but you're just too delicate to do these stressful jobs!" He patted her hand comfortingly. Yuki flicked him away.

Everybody sat there pondering over this problem. Suddenly, Momiji smiled happily, "I got it! I know who's perfect for the job...and better yet, I know how we can get him do it." The others raised their eyebrow.

* * *

Mr. Kaiba sat in his office, going through his portfolios. He sipped his coffee when his secretary buzzed in, "Um...Mr. Kaiba, Jyuuni's... representative...for the meeting is here. Should I, um, send him in?"

"Yea, sure, go ahead," He took another drink and cleared his throat professionally as the door opened. He stared blankly at nothing and then lowered his gaze to a short scowling brown haired boy. "Um, kid, are you lost or something? Go talk to the lady outside and she'll help you find your mommy."

The boy's glare darkened. "The name's Sohma Hiro and no, I'm not lost and I definitely don't need my 'mommy'. I'm here on the behalf of my stupid cousins, Jyuuni or whatever, and the faster we get this done, the faster I can go home...so spit out whatever you've planned to say!"

"Is this - is this a joke?!" Mr. Kaiba stared at Hiro incredulously.

"No, although I wished it was. Listen, I already took this crap from the lady outside so don't waste my time any longer. Let's get started. I want you to sponsor my cousins with their next concert and produce their records. Got that?"

"But - but you're just a kid! How is it possible they're sending you to talk to me?!"

Hiro's eyes dimmed dangerously. "What? Did I just hear you correctly? Are you condemning me for being younger than you? That just because I'm a kid, I'm not intelligent enough to talk to you? That just because I'm a kid, I have no right to even converse with anyone older than me? That just because I'm a kid, I shouldn't even be allowed to do important business? As for why they sent me, don't even remind me. If not for that stupid rabbit calling up Kisa - never mind, old man. It's not any of your business. Now can we move on?"

The man was speechless. "You - you're just a boy..."

Hiro crossed his arms. "We seem to have a problem getting past that fact. Yes, I'm aware I'm a kid. Yes, I'm aware I'm a boy. Do you have any problem with that? Are you some ecchi pervert who wanted to talk to some girl? Are you having hentai thoughts right now? I think I should call the child molestation agency and report you."

Mr. Kaiba paled in anger. "That is ridiculous! How can you say such disrespectful things? Even my son is bigger than you -"

Hiro retorted dryly, "Well, whoop de do for you. Hope he's smarter than you."

Mr. Kaiba growled, "Listen kid, I'm this close to calling security on you -"

"Why? What did I do? You can't ask me to leave politely? You have to escort a kid out in handcuffs? Can you honestly sleep tonight knowing that you threw out an innocent kid onto the street? Can you face your conscience? What if I get traumatized by this? What if I end up as a severely unstable man with psychological problems because of your prejudice against me as a kid? Do you have a grudge against everything that's smaller than you? Do you have a complex with aging? Are you having your midlife crisis? Is your hair starting to fall out and you're taking out your frustration on me? I don't know what's your problem. I had an appointment and I came to meet you. You're the one who's making a big fuss and refuse to talk...and you call yourself a grownup. I sincerely hope that I won't grow up to be like you," Hiro snapped.

The man sank into his chair and rubbed his temples tiredly.

"You're not even listening to me now? Do you know how damaging that can be to a person? Do you understand the effect you can have on people? I bet you must cause a lot of suicides. I should call the police on you. You're a hazard to the community."

"Do you know YOUR effect on people...god, I want to commit suicide myself," Mr. Kaiba muttered.

"If you want to talk, speak up. If you don't want to be heard, don't say anything at all. Do you realize how annoying that can be? How would you feel if I mumbled to you?"

"Praise the lord."

"What? You're doing it again."

"Ahem, let's begin, shall we, Sohma-san?" Mr. Kaiba plastered a fake smile on his face.

The boy nodded curtly and sat down.

* * *

Hiro walked out of the office, hands in pocket and whistling.

The secretary frowned and peeked into the room to find her boss with his head face-down on the table.

"Mr. Kaiba!!" she called out in alarm.

He raised his head wearily, "Get me an aspirin. The kid somehow wrangled out of me a practically free sponsorship of Jyuuni...how come my lawyers can't do that?"

* * *

Kisa smiled softly, "Suigoi, Hiro. I knew you could do it."

Ayame and Shigure were dancing in the background, waving paper fans.

The boy reddened and looked away, "It was nothing. The old man could barely wheeze out a breath...let alone negotiate with me."

Tohru beamed, "Still, Hiro's pretty wonderful."

He glared at her. "Oh what a great compliment...I'm so honored to be praised by the densest girl on earth."

Kyou roared, "You little brat! Treat your elders with more respect!!"

Yuki frowned, "Hiro...you really should stop with the insults already."

Hiro folded his arms, "Oh you think I'm just being mean? You don't think she's dense? Fine, tell me, Tohru, who are you going to choose?"

The girl blinked in confusion. "Huh?"

Hiro smirked, "Well...it's not so hard, you know. There's Bachelor Number 1: a white rat and Bachelor Number 2: an orange topped cat...you understand?"

"Do you mean Yuki-kun and Kyou-kun? What about them? Why do I need to choose between them?"

Hiro threw up his hands, "I rest my case."

The mouse and cat were steaming red, but even they had nothing to say.

Tohru continued worrying, "Is this another contest for the lead singer? Because I told you...I like them both equally..."

Shigure grinned, "Ah, my precious flower is a player!!"

The girl had only one response. "Huh?"

* * *

OK, sorry about such a boring chapter but I wanted to include more of the characters...hence Hiro and Kisa...next chapter will probably be their next concert...dunno, I'm currently busy studying and I also got hooked on my other story, Better if You Didn't Know...check it out if you have time ^_^ ...but I will try to update my next chapter soon.

Wanna thank you all for reviewing...Alexandra-kyoko for taking the time to read my fic...me luv ur fic too...and Kurisutaru!!! OMG, U're so cool...I love long reviews and saying how it's the best fanfic u ever read...sigh *swoon, ego swell, big happy grin* THANK U THANK U THANK U...ahem, thank u to joline too for reviewing (I'm always happy to hear that I made ppl laugh out loud ^_^ I feel so special hehe!) Thank u yaoi lover, kuro-tenshi 2nd, Azn Chibisweetpea, Fem Scorpio, peaches for ur longtime support (I feel so...so...so supported!! Hehe)

Um, continue reading and continue reviewing!! Thank u!!! O, and check out my other fic if u like ghost stories...please?? Hehe...

~Maeven~