I know I didn't post it when I said I would but it's only like a month late. nervous laugh Anyway I just have to say that Witch hunter robin rocks and all of yall have to see it. Well anyway on with the fic.

Disclaimer: I do not own fruits basket Natsuki Takaya does. But I do own Shade.

Chapter Three: Underlying questions

Man this is so freaky I thought to myself as I walked through our school parking lot. I had to go to Tohru's in a few minutes and I was totally freaking out about it.

"Why can't I just go out and say it ." I muttered as my shoulders slumped forward.

Tohru... she seemed to be worried about me going over to her house. Is there something wrong with it? Is it her relatives...hmmm...I can't figure it out!

I sat down on the pavement .

"Hey Shade," someone called from the end of the parking lot.

"Shade!"

I turned to the voice and saw Morgan come up behind me.

"Hello Morgan," I mumbled not even bothering to look up.

"You look happy," she commented sarcastically. She stood casually against a car and began to straighten out her hair in a mirror.

"Where ya going?"

"Where do you think?" I growled at her while fiddling with my shirt trying to make myself look presentable.

"Oh Tohru's." she said with a knowing smile flipping her hair with a sigh.

"Yep," I replied solemnly.

She then furrowed her brow and looked at me oddly.

"You do realize that it's like 4 o'clock."

I stared at her in horror.

"Oh my God I'm late," I gasped loudly.

And with that I leaped up and sped towards the head of the school.

A few minutes later

As the front gate came into view I saw Tohru patiently waiting next to it.

Damn I was late

"There you are I was looking for you." she said cheerfully even though she was shifting around quite nervously.

"I'm sorry I guess I just lost track of time," I stammered uncertainly.

"Oh it's alright," she shrugged, "Kyo already left but we still have to wait for one more person."

And then we stood quietly waiting for the next few minutes, and watched the people pass by us as they left.

Who are we waiting for?

Kyo is rumored to be Yuki's cousin. Could it be the person we are waiting for? Could it be......Yuki

"Hello," greeted a cool serene voice behind us.

It surprised me but yet I seemed to feel at ease with this voice. I swung around to face this unknown person and was startled to see Yuki, the most popular boy in school.

He of all people was to accompany us. I blushed furiously and began to fumble with my hair knowing it to be quite messy. But then I realized what I was doing and quickly stopped. He was just a person after all nothing special.

"Shall we go," he murmured absently shifting his weight from foot to foot.

"Yes lets," said Tohru rather quickly and she gathered her things.

"Ah huh," I replied struggling to pick up all the books I had set down.

And we took to the street. As we walked down the streets they seemed to fly by in an eerie silence since no one attempted to talk with each other. Meanwhile I was in a complete daze, it felt as if I was floating. Yuki and Tohru were a complete mystery to me.

Soon we left the sooty smell of the city and walked into a wooded area. The sweet smell of it was overwhelming and I became entranced by its beauty. The trees and flowers seemed to be endless as we walked along a small dirt path.

It seemed like a century had passed before we ran into a big clearing and by then I was so tired that I barely knew where I was stepping.

We walked up to the house and it was then that I noticed that Yuki was still with us. It kinda made me feel uneasy but I didn't say anything and instead turned back to the house. Inside I could hear someone singing what sounded like a tune about high school girls. I turned to Tohru but for some reason she didn't seem in the least perturbed by that racket.

Just then a man with black hair and gray eyes burst through the thin layer of the sliding door.

"Heeelllooo High school giiirl," he sang loudly.

I shrieked and jumped back in surprise.

Behind me I could hear Yuki mumbling about the house being destroyed.

"Welcome my name is Shigure and this is Yuki and Tohru's home!" he belted out at the top of his lungs.

"Yuki and Tohru's what?" I exclaimed stupidly.

An awkward silence filled the air.

"Uh oh," Shigure said with a nervous laugh and he sprang back inside the house.

I turned around to see if anyone would explain what was going on. Yuki had his face in his hands muttering about idiots and Tohru was blushing fiercely. I looked back and forth from Tohru to Yuki in total shock.

"You mean...you mean you both live here in this house?" I said in exasperation. Tohru looked up from the floor and gave me a curt nod.

Oh my God, Oh my God! I knew they were close but this is just... scary. And it explains so much too.

"Umm......shall we go in?" Yuki said uncertainly. I nodded nonchalantly not knowing what else to do and I followed them into the house. On first glance the house looked simple but then I saw how everything was arranged with care.

The person who cleaned this house must really care about it I mused silently.

We then passed through a small hallway where upon reaching a small sitting area. We sat down after heaving our bulging backpacks on to a peach colored table.

As I sat down Tohru cleared her throat signaling that she was about to speak.

"I know this might seem like a lot to take in right now, but I've been living with the Sohmas for quite some time now. After my mother died, I went to stay with my parental grandfather but when remodeling had to be done to the house...I came to live with the Sohmas. And I felt that they had become like my family, so I decided to stay with them."

"I had no idea," I stammered softly, "I umm....umm....I'm so shocked. It's just so sudden is all..."

Tohru cast her gaze downward at the floor. Then she jumped up and said, "I'll go get us some snacks."

"I'll help you," Yuki said softly and they quickly left the room shutting the door behind then.

I sat there dumbfounded and unfocused, until some whispers coming from the kitchen snapped me from me daze.

"I knew it was a matter of time before people found out," a voice sighed.

"Maybe if we ask her to keep it a secret, she will." another voice said thoughtfully.

"Like she's gonna keep that, "argued a third.

With that comment I jumped to my feet and stomped towards the other room. I slid the door open forcefully and three startled faces met my view. I looked them straight in the face and I approached them my anger more apparent with every step I took.

"You know, I'm not deaf! And you've got no right to judge me in the first place!" I shrieked at them.

What a sight I must have been with my tangled hair and flushed cheeks. All of them resembled statues as they stared at me with wide eyes, the shock clearly etched out in each of their faces.

"You don't know me, and to say otherwise is just stupid!" I continued angrily taking big gulps of breath to maintain my balance.

Then with a more calm voice, I replied softly, "I can keep this a secret. It's no problem."

"Really!" Tohru shouted a gleam of gratitude already visible in her eyes. The others looked shocked beyond belief. I guess they never knew I had a temper.

A small smile lit my face.

"Yes, really" I murmured hoarsely.

The look on their faces was pure relief. Yuki let out a sigh and glanced at me curiously. Ignoring that look, I turned to the other person in the room who I knew had to be Kyo. With that orange hair and crimson eyes there was no mistaking him.

I began to study his face. It was strong face I had to admit. He looked like he didn't take shit from any one. I looked at his eyes. They seemed to be watching something intensely across the room. Curiously, I followed his gaze and found that he was looking at Tohru.

So he has a soft spot I laughed softly. He snapped his head to the side and looked at me.

"What are you looking at?" he inquired dangerously.

"Me?" I squeaked taking a step back from him, "Nothing. I wasn't looking at anything".

But inside I was laughing also so.....Yuki and Kyo both like Tohru. Yes I've seen how they look at her. This was interesting....... very interesting. But who cares, I don't like them that way. Sure they're cute, but they're not my type. This is none of my business.

"Girls," Kyo muttered under his breath.

I looked at him questioningly wondering what he was thinking about but he turned and walked out of the room before I could utter a word.

It was then that Tohru announced she had the snacks ready and we could go do our homework.

She carried the snacks into the other room and set them down upon the table. Then she looked back on Yuki and I and we quickly followed her.

As we ate our snack of jelly donuts, Tohru began to explain her ideas on the project. They all seemed very interesting but I didn't want a story that was all sweet and sappy. I wanted something real, with death and tragic endings. She looked at me as if she would have never considered that before in her life. I began to get uncomfortable but then Yuki suggested we make a compromise which we gladly accepted. Agreeing to make it a little bit of both. And since we only had to plan out the project this week we were done. Tohru and I could now work on other homework which there seemed to be a lot of.

But not me...I was too distracted. Shigure that weird man was on the phone in the other room. And since me being the curious creature I am I strained to hear what he was saying.

Shigure was whispering softly in to the receiver of the phone twirling the cord in between his fingers. And by his stance I could tell he was either very worried or troubled about something.

"Akito left the main house when?" he said accusingly "Why didn't you tell me sooner?"

Who is Akito?

"Well of coarse we'll come help you. He's our clan head after all," he whispered franticly.

"Yes we'll leave right now," he said cutting off the conversation swiftly.

Then he slammed down the receiver. As if he felt my gaze, he looked up and caught my eyes with his. I was surprised by the intensity of them and I quickly broke off eye contact.

With a large sigh he called out Yuki's, Kyo's, and Tohru's names. They quickly went up to him scared by the fear that laced his voice.

And without a word they went into another room that resembled a study. They stayed in there for several minutes but no matter how carefully I listened I couldn't hear what they were saying.

When they exited the room I could see that their faces were pale and ashen with fear. I wondered what all of this was about but I didn't say anything. And as I was ushered out of the house all I could manage to say to them was bye.

The sun was just setting as I stepped out of the woods and into the musky city. It was going to be beautiful night. All the lights were lit and the city glowed with exuberance. The stores were all ready for the Christmas holidays with red and green colors filling their display windows. As I neared the bookstore, I had this weird sudden urge to go in.

I walked slowly up to the door and walked in as the doors streamed open.

The night air leaving me...as the smell of books filled my lungs. Quietly I walked to the fantasy section wondering silently what book I should get.

Glancing down the shelves I found what I was looking for "The Da Vinci Code" a perfect read for right now even though I've read it hundreds of times. Then I carried it to the sitting area and began to look for somewhere to sit.

While glancing over the chairs I thought I saw someone familiar. I turned back to skim over the people and I saw who I was looking for. A guy who was reading the book "The Shining" by Stephen King. He had black hair and what looked like dark blue eyes.

Oh my God I remember him!

As if he knew I was looking straight at him he glanced up and caught my eyes briefly. I became immobilized under his stern gaze. Then he stood up and walked slowly towards me. I wanted to turn and walk away right then and there but I couldn't there was something in me that sensed that I was needed here.

Within moments he stood in front of me studying me curiously. I was entranced my the intensity of his eyes. I couldn't move even I wanted to.

Then as if coming up to a sudden decision, he extended his hand towards me and said,

"Hello Shade my name is Akito."

......Akito!

Yey! This is even longer than my second chapter. Ne way I hope this was okay. School is really tiring right now because we have a crapload of tests going on. But I decided to work on it anyway because I know how big of a procrastinator I am. I hope to get out the fourth chapter soon though. Oh and I thank my friend mickyx for editing my chapter! hehehehe -kaguara-