Disclaimer: Me no own.

In Honor of Kyoko

"Job?" Shigure looked up from his lunch. It was Saturday afternoon, so Tohru and the boys were home.

Tohru nodded from across the table. "It will just be a part-time job, so I'll be home by evening and able to keep up with school and chores here. The position is on the cleaning crew of a large office building, so I'll work hard!"

Shigure frowned. "But Tohru-kun, I've told you there is no rent to stay with us…why would you need a job?"

Tohru shook her head. "Mother and I lived fairly well, but we didn't really have a great deal of money. I need to take a job to help pay for school, and so I have some income once I graduate."

Once again, Shigure was startled. "Graduate? Aren't you thinking a little far ahead Tohru?"

"It never hurts," she explained, smiling.

"Well, I don't see any problem; I assume your workplace is fairly close to here?" Shigure replied, taking a bite of food.

"Tohru nodded. "Yes, in fact, I can walk home from there."

With this, a worried look crossed Yuki's face, and Kyou's head shot up; he too was frowning.

"Honda-san," Yuki began, voicing both his and Kyou's concerns, "are you sure it's safe to walk alone at night?"

"Yeah," Kyou added, "what if you have to go through gang territory?" he saw the grin Shigure was giving him, and glared. "N-not that I care," he growled, making a mental note to kill that perverted dog later.

Tohru scratched her head, oblivious to the killing aura radiating from Kyou. "I don't remember Mother ever talking about a gang that controlled that area, but I guess there might be."

"I don't think Tohru-kun is in any danger waking home, as long as it's a fairly respectable part of town," Shigure added, "but," he said turning to Tohru, "if you feel uncomfortable with it then I would be happy to come and drive you home."

"It's okay, but thank you," Tohru answered. "I'm sure I'll be fine!"

As the finished there was a knock on the door. "I wonder who that is?" Shigure said, standing up. "Perhaps it's Mit-chan!" He looked excited.

"That poor woman…" Yuki shook his head as his cousin bounced out of the room.

Tohru was curious. "Who is Mit-chan?" she asked.

"His editor; Shigure is a freelance writer," Yuki told her.

"And he gives her hell whenever she comes," Kyou added.

Tohru's eyes sparkled. "A writer?" she gasped. "I'd love to read some of his stories!"

Kyou and Yuki exchanged looks. "I don't think you'd like his stories," Yuki said quickly. "He writes for…a mature audience."

Tohru was about to ask about this, but Saki and Arisa walked in, accompanied by Shigure.

"Uo-chan and Hana-chan!" Tohru jumped up smiling, her question forgotten.

"We were wondering if we could borrow Tohru today," Arisa told Shigure. "We wanted to take her out."

"I sense a strong killing aura coming from that one," Saki commented, pointing to Kyou. Everyone turned to look at the cat and sweatdropped, seeing the glare he was still giving Shigure.

"Very well," Shigure said. "Have fun Tohru! Go ahead, we'll clear the table!"

With a quick thanks and goodbye, Tohru left with her friends.

Uo-chan laughed as the trio walked down the street. "We were going to take you out to lunch, but it seems you won't be hungry," she told Tohru. Tohru gave an apologetic smile. The girls walked in silence for a while, until they found themselves in a park they'd often visited when Tohru's mother was alive.

"Huh," Arisa said, sitting down under their old tree. "I guess our feet just naturally bring us here, right Tohru?"

"Yes!" Tohru agreed, "Because we've come here for so long!"

Hana-chan sat next to them. "This was Kyoko-san's favorite place as well," she said. Tohru and Arisa nodded.

After several minutes more of silence, Tohru spoke up. "Is something wrong? You two are very quiet…"

Saki and Arisa glanced at each other. "Actually," Arisa began, hesitating, "we did want to tell you something. Hanajima will tell her brother Megumi as well, but we understand how important it is to keep this secret from others."

Tohru couldn't think what was possibly so important. Neither Uo-chan nor Hana-chan kept many secrets of their own. With this knowledge, Tohru was almost afraid to ask. "W-what is it?

Saki laid a hand on Tohru's arm and leaned forward. "Arisa and I are planning to join the Reclaimers," she said in a low voice. Tohru's hands flew to her mouth.

There was a knock on the door. "Come in," he growled, looking up from the desk. As the door swung open, he aimed a pistol at the man entering. The assassin held his hands up immediately, seeing the gun.

"You trust your guards so very much," the visitor commented, smiling humorlessly.

"I didn't become the head of this gang by trusting people," he replied, setting down his weapon. "Nice of you to finally report back," he continued. "I was staring to think you bailed on me.

"Not me," the assassin replied nervously. "I was laying low for a while." He cleared his throat and continued more strongly. "I have completed my task," he announced. "I found and killed the target." He produced a snapshot and handed it to his employer.

A smile spread over the man's face. "That's her…" he looked almost lovingly at the image of the woman surrounded in blood. The assassin couldn't help shuddering at this man's obvious joy.

He cleared his throat again. "I'll take my pay and go then…" The man behind the desk looked up.

"I have one question first: did she have any close family or friends?"

The assassin shrugged. "I prefer not to get too well-acquainted with my targets. But she did have a daughter; I found this in the house." He pulled a second photo out of his pocket. His employer studied it.

"Pretty," he commented, and smiled sardonically. "She has her mother's face…they lived here together?" He pointed to the address the assassin had written on the back of the dead woman's photo.

The assassin nodded. "But the girl was gone when I was there; she was probably at school."

"Well, I'm very pleased," the gang leader said.

"My payment?"

He shot the sixth most deadly assassin in Japan. "Trash…" he said as he leaned back in his chair. This was just too perfect. The so-called Reclaimers must have been ready to die when they signed on, but they thought the safety of their loved ones was so secure…yes, he decided. The Red Butterfly's daughter would make a fine example for them.

AN: Well, I hope minna liked! As you can see, this is where it starts to branch away from the original FB story (it was following it pretty closely till now…am I not just so original?). But yesh! Interesting lil' twist there, with Uo-chan and Hana-chan, then with the gang boss, ne? Heh, I hope so anyway Yes, it is actually me, I changed my pen name! How does everyone like? Oki, now fer shoutouts!

Anonymous: Thankies so very much! ah…Valentines Day was so very long ago…I got lotsa candy :)

Merei-chan: Almost! Ya got the first signed review, if it helps. Tite, u draw? I draw…a little…sometimes…heh. Like stick figures.

Urameshi no Koibito: I like de new pen name! and lookie! It's Chibi Mi-chan with a new pen name! I will read yer story!

Lin-chan: Gracias!

Ying Fa19: Thankies so much fer your time! Heh, I uploaded about half of this at school. If I end up with a paring, it'll probly be Yukiru…Kyoru is oki, but I can't see myself writing a good one. :(

Ryoko Maxwell13: Naw, but that'd be pretty cool I admit…a kickass Tohru…hahahaha maybe I'll just write that one someday. You'll get the idea credit! If ya don't write it first, anyway!

Wowie, more ppl came back than I thought! hooray, makes me feel all happy and warm inside…see ya later!

Gen