So here's the next section of my little story. I made this chapter long because I know how it feels to have only really short chapters to read when the author doesn't update all the time. Hehehehe. So I hope you all enjoy it.

Disclaimer: I'm still waiting for the notice stating me as the new owner of Fruits Basket.

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~~Remember the Butterflies~~

The next few days went on like this. Mari stuck by Shigure's side, only leaving to crawl into Kyou's lap. Yuki told a confused Tohru that if two generations of the same Zodiac anime meet, they tend to form a close bond that's like no other. He also told her that Mari was the first child of the next generation, so none of the others at the Sohma house had to worry about their child being born the cat. This also caused the other members of the family to look down upon Mari as they did Kyou and the cat before him and so on.

Then one afternoon, Shigure had to go to town to finalize some legal paperwork and give his editor his latest novel.on the hour of dead line (that Shigure.). Along the way to town, Shigure noticed that the high school was letting out. Hoping that his work would go faster, Shigure opted with leaving Mari with the others.

"Mari?"

"Otou-san?"

"I'm going to drop you off with Kyou so I can get through all of my business faster. Is that okay with you?"

Silence

"Mari?"

Silence

"You'll be back for me right?"

Shigure tried not to laugh. "Of course I will. When have I never come back?"

"Okaa-san said she'd be right back after she dropped me off at the neighbors, but she never came to get me."

Shigure reached for the small girl. He knelled down next to her and let her cry onto his shoulder.

"Don't go away too. I still need you. Why did mommy go? No one told me. I wished I said I loved her one more time. I love you daddy!"

Tears

"It's okay. I'd never leave you. You know that. I'll make up for all the time I wasn't with you." Shigure looked at the girl and wiped a tear from her face. "I'll always come back for you Mari. I'd never leave you."

"Promise?"

"I promise. Would you rather come with me now?"

"I'll go with Kyou cuz then you'll finish faster and we can play games at home!"

Shigure smiled at his daughter. "She can hide her feelings so well.her mother must have taught her that." Shigure scanned the schoolyard until he spotted Kyou walking across the field with Hatsuharu. "Kyou!"

Kyou looked up to see Shigure waving him over. Seeing Shigure in anything beside his kimono was rare, so Kyou hurried over. "Yeah? Why are you here? It better not be for the wrong reasons."

"I'm hurt that you would even suggest such a thing!" Shigure pretended to pout while Kyou rolled his eyes and Mari looked on, confused. "I was just wondering if you wouldn't mind watching Mari for me while I go to town to get some work done."

"Sure, no problem. I'll watch the shrimp." Kyou placed his hand out for Mari to grab.

"Arigato Kyou. Mari, I promise I'll be back by this evening. See you when I get home!"

"Bye daddy!" Shigure was off.

Kyou looked down at Mari. "We'd better get going huh?"

Mari smiled. "Hai!" She walked behind Kyou, occasionally grabbing his hand to make sure she didn't get lost. Kyou smiled to himself whenever the girl came close.

Since Kyou and Mari looked very similar, many people stopped and stared and whispered. Mari had the same bright orange hair that Kyou did pulled back into a ponytail and the bracelet that Kyou always wore. She had on a black shirt very alike to Kyou's favorite and a pair of white shorts. The only real difference between them was that Mari had Shigure's deep, piercing blue eyes.

"Is that Kyou's daughter?"

"No.can it?"

"He's almost down with his second year of high school, so yeah, he can be father."

"He never mentioned her.and he never mentioned if he had a sister.can it really be his.?"

"Why would he bring her here? What's he trying to prove?"

"Personally, I find that very cute."

"Eww.I think it's gross."

Haru was the first stop Kyou. "Where the hell did you run off to you stupid." Haru looked at Mari. "."

Yuki stood up. "Mari? How did you get here?"

"Daddy had some stuff to do so he dropped me off here."

"Mari?" Momiji crawled over to her. "Do you remember me?"

Mari tightened her grip on Kyou's hand. "Am I suppose to?"

Haru soften his face and gently placed his hand on Momiji. "Don't be surprised if she doesn't Momiji. The last time she saw us, she was about a year old."

Momiji nodded and sat up. He smiled at the girl, whose eyes were wide in awe.

"Momiji?"

"Yes, that is my name."

"You showed me the butterflies, didn't you?"

"...How do you remember that?"

"You left an impression in her mind," Haru answered. "She'll always be reminded of you whenever she sees the butterflies." Haru help is hand out for Mari to take, but she wouldn't take it. "Unlike me. I've never done anything to cause her to remember me."

Tohru smiled at Mari. "Don't be intimidated by Haru. He may look big and tough on the outside, but inside, he gentle."

Mari, looked up at Kyou who nodded. "Haru.Nice to meet you! I'm Mari!"

Laughter

"Hey Tohru-san! Carrothead! Prince!" Uo-chan and Hana-chan started to come over.

"Uo-chan! Hana-chan! So nice of you to be able to make it!" Tohru greeted her friends cheerfully.

"Tohru-san. How are you doing?" Hana-chan asked in her monotone voice.

"I'm doing just fine. Did I give you the impression that something was wrong? I'm so sorry if I did!"

Hana-chan sighed at Tohru slightly, "No. Don't worry. It's nothing."

Uo-chan glanced back at the rest of the group and spotted a small girl leaning over Yuki's shoulder as he pointed to some pictures in his book. She instantly noticed the striking similarities between this girl and Kyou. "Hey Tohru?"

"Hai?"

"By any chance is that kid over there Kyou's.?"

"Oh, you must mean Mari. She's actually Shigure's daughter. Kyou's just watching over her for him while he runs a couple of errands."

"But damn. She looks just like him."

"They are cousins."

Uo-chan gave Tohru the "did you really just say that" look, but Tohru didn't notice. She went back to smiling at everyone, naively.

Uo-chan then walked over to Yuki and knelled near the girl. "Hey there. I'm Arisa Uotani, but everyone calls me Uo-chan." She placed her hand on Mari's head.

"I'm Mari Sohma." She stopped leaning against Yuki and looked up Uotani.

"So you're a Sohma too? Hey, if Kyou ever gives you any trouble, tell me and I'll beat him up for ya."

"But Kyou's so nice to me. Don't worree. I won't have you beated him up for me." Mari smiled at Uo-chan and Uotani's heart nearly melted.

Kyou was watching off from the side at the Yankee and Mari play a hand game. "Damn Yankee. Don't go corrupting the kid."

Momiji suddenly pounced on top of Kyou, knocking him off balance.

"You stupid rabbit!" Kyou started to dig his knuckles onto Momiji's head.

"WAAAA! Kyou's beating me up!" Momiji whined. He instantly stopped when he realized what he hand in his hands. It was a butterfly. Kyou stopped what he was doing as well when he spotted it.

The butterfly was simple; yellow with blue, but it meant everything to Momiji. It was the same type that he had showed Mari the last time they saw each other. Momiji smiled to himself and wandered over to Mari. "Mari?"

"Yea?"

"Hold you hand out."

Mari did. She then was holding the butterfly.

"It's the same one I gave to you the last time we saw each other."

Mari gazed shifted between Momiji and the butterfly.

"Arigato." Mari's voice was filled with tears. She had never seen anything more beautiful in her life. When she let the butterfly fly away, she gave Momiji a kiss on the cheek before crying. They weren't tears of pain like the ones earlier. They were tears of joy; of the simple pleasures in life; the ones she had been locked away from all these years.

As Kyou watched from his spot off to the side the young girl embrace Momiji with a shower of tears, he felt something he had never felt before. He had no idea what the feeling was at time, and only time would tell if he would ever find out what it was.

It was the feeling of fatherhood.

It was a feeling many would never experience for many years to come, but for Kyou, Mari had opened the doors for him and along side with Shigure, he would learn the meaning of placing a smaller, younger, more fragile life before his own.

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I am personally not a hundred percent sure what direction this fic is going to take, so I hope you enjoy the ride as much I will. The ending I found slightly unsettling, but I hope you all like it. What to say in the next chapter? I truly have no idea. I'm thinking of adding some actual romance moments between Kyou and Tohru, but I'm not sure. Thank you everyone for reading my story and staying with it. I'll try to update as soon as possible. ~D-Yai~