Hello!  Here's the second-to-last chapter, enjoy!

C.B. and Lina Inverse the Dramata:  Thanks for your reviews, hope you like the rest of the story!

Disclaimer: Fruits Basket and its characters are the property of their respective owners.  This piece is not for profitable purposes.

Chapter 5: A Cup of Tea

"How very nice to see you again, Sohma-kun, please, come inside!"

I smile slightly and say, "Thank you, Honda-san, it's a pleasure to see you again, as well."

I look more closely at her and am momentarily shocked when I look at her hair - she is wearing the yellow ribbons I gave her for White Day.  As surprised as I am, I do not want to alarm her, so I mask my emotions and calmly walk through the door and remove my shoes before stepping inside.  I notice how clean the apartment looks, as expected from Tohru-san.

"I'm not interrupting anything, am I, Honda-san?"

She waves her hands in front of her face and says, "Oh, not at all!  No one else was home, so I was just cleaning up a bit."

I smile in response.

"Would you like some tea, Sohma-kun?"

"I wouldn't want to trouble you."

"It's no trouble at all, I'd be happy to."

"Thank you very much, then."

We walk to the kitchen and I sit on a stool as she starts to prepare the tea.

"Goodness, it's been quite some time since we saw each other last, hasn't it, Sohma-kun?"

"Yes, it has been, so I thought it would be nice to pay Honda-san a visit."

My words must have made her nervous, because she stutters, "Is, is that so, well, it's very kind of you!"

I glance to my right and see a framed picture of Tohru-san with Hanajima-san and Uotoni-san.

I look back at her and say, "How are Hanajima-san and Uotoni-san doing?"

She nods her head yes and smiles brightly as she answers, "Very well, thank you!"

With an inquisitive look, she continues, "And how is your family doing?"

With a serious expression, I say, "The head of my family recently passed away."

She stops in mid-motion and then, in an anxious voice says, "Oh, how terrible of me to ask such a thing, I must have upset you!"

I lean forward slightly and say, "No, you've not done that at all, Honda-san."

She visibly relaxes.

"With his passing, I am the new head of the Sohma family."

She gapes in surprises and says, "That's amazing."

I chuckle slightly and say, "I've taken a decidedly 'hands off' approach."

She looks confused, but smiles just the same – I realize, of course, she wouldn't understand.

To change the subject, I say, "How is your job going, Honda-san?  I recall you had a secretarial position."

She nods her head yes and says, "It's going fine.  I'm so fortunate to have found such a wonderful job."

"That's very nice."

We stare at each other momentarily, smiling. 

She looks back at the tea and says, "The tea is most likely done."

"All right, Honda-san."

She steps back further into the kitchen and opens a cupboard, where she takes out two cups for our tea.  I watch her face, which displays an expression of intense concentration, as she carefully pours the tea out into the cups.  When I expect her to bring the cups over, I am surprised when, instead, she moves back into the kitchen and takes down two small serving plates, on one of which she places the cups.  She walks to another corner of the room with the other plate, on which she arranges a a variety of cookies.  Not wanting her to have to carry both plates to the table, I stand up and walk to the plate with the tea.

"Honda-san?"

She looks over, holding the plate with the cookies and says, "Yes, Sohma-kun?"

"If it's all right with you, I wouldn't mind bringing the tea over to the table."

She smiles and says, "Thank you, Sohma-kun."

I return the smile and say, "Of course, Honda-san."
While I bring the tea to the table, she takes out napkins and carries these and the cookies, following me to the table.

We seat ourselves and I say with a broad smile, "Shall we begin?"

She shakes her head yes and answers, "Ok!"

I take a sip of the tea and then a bite of one of the cookies, it is so wonderful to eat Tohru-san's delicious cooking again.

I look at her and say, "Delicious, Honda-san."

She quickly swallows the piece of cookie that she was eating and, sounding embarrassed, responds, "Well, I'm – I'm glad that you like it."

I smile in response, but my eyes are drawn once again to the yellow ribbons resting in her hair.  I decide that now is the time that I will tell her the truth.