A/N: Sorry it took so long for the next chapter. I'm away from home right now so my time and computer access is very limited. I'll be back on the 31st (of July) and then updates should be sooner. Thanks!!!!

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Tohru returned from Shigure's kitchen carrying a tray laden with tea. She had insisted on cooking them all dinner as well. Missing her cooking, they did not put up much of an argument.

"So, Tohru," Shigure inquired. "What is it that you do now? Momiji informed me that you quit your job at his father's company."

"Oh, I…cook." None of them seemed too surprised.

"Where is it that you work, Miss Honda?" Yuki asked.

"A Dozen-and-One Stars."

The three adults looked at her, startled.

"A Dozen-and-One Stars?" Ayame repeated. "Would you, by any chance, be the head chef"

Tohru smiled nervously as she gave a small nod. "Yes…among other things…"

"Like what, Miss Honda?" Yuki questioned, curious as well.

"Um…well, I own it."

"Tohru!" The girl nearly jumped at Shigure's sudden exclamation. "You own your own restaurant? That's wonderful!" A light blush colored her cheeks, but her smile was pure.

"Congratulations," came Hatori's quiet voice.

"Ah, Tohru! An entrepreneur just like the fabulous moi!" Ayame cried.

"Oh, wow, Tohru! Can I come?" Momiji nearly begged.

"Of course! You're all welcome to come any time."

"Miss Honda, if I may ask, how did you come to start a restaurant?

"Oh, well, after I left Momiji's father's company, I cooked for a small, unheard of restaurant. The owner insisted on helping me through culinary school. He then encouraged me to open my own restaurant, even though I told him I was happy working there. Anyway, I took some classes on business management. I found a building, got a loan, and, before I knew it, I was the owner of a restaurant," she smiled. "Oh that reminds me." She turned to address the snake. "Ayame, I recommended you to my vice president as a designer for our outfits. Did you get the order?"

Everyone looked at Ayame.

"Now that you mention it, I did. And because it's for you, Tohru, Mine and I shall make them extra special!" He raved in answer. "And free of charge, of course."

"No, no. I insist on paying. As one business person to another," Tohru politely interjected.

All of the Zodiac members stared at her: Tohru had learned tact.

Breaking the silence that Yuki could tell made Tohru uncomfortable, he spoke, "You sound as if you've kept busy."

"I hope you didn't overwork yourself," Hatori added. Tohru was infamous for pushing herself until she made herself sick.

"Don't worry, I was careful," Tohru assured them. "Thank you for your concern."

"Obviously, you had better things to do than think of calling or writing any of us!" Kyo finally spoke.

Tohru's face fell, her gaze dropping to the floor, but she said nothing.

A timer sounded in the kitchen. "Sounds like the food is ready. I'll be back in a few minutes," she said dejectedly, and left the room.

The other Zodiac members reprimanded the cat.

"Kyo, why are you being so mean to Tohru?" Momiji demanded.

"Stupid cat! What are you thinking?" Yuki said icily.

"Kyo, be nice. Didn't you miss her, too?" Kagura asked.

"Lucky Kyo, is that any way to treat our newly returned flower?" Ayame pronounced, half-serious.

"Kyo, I'm surprised at you," Haru said.

"Um, Kyo. Maybe you could try being nicer to Tohru," Ritsu suggested timidly.

"Please don't treat Sissy like that," Kisa requested in a small voice.

"You really must be an idiot," Hiro declared. "Honestly, I mean, what's the one thing that could keep that girl from contacting us?"

Kyo's cat ears flattened on top of his head in guilt. "Akito," he answered quietly.

"Yes, Akito, stupid cat!" Yuki said, voice still low.

"Don't call me stupid!"

"Kyo," Shigure forestalled another argument between the cat and rat. "You should also know, you were wrong about her not writing." The others turned to look at him. "Ha'ri and I started going through Akito's things yesterday," he explained. He suddenly stood and went to his office, returning with several bound stacks of envelopes.

"From what I can tell," Shigure continued as he set the piles on the table. "She wrote at least one letter to each of us every week since she left."

Eyes widened.

"That's over a thousand letters," Yuki said quietly.

"Closer to twelve hundred, actually," Shigure corrected. "And that's not counting the hundreds she wrote to Akito."

"She wrote to Akito?"

"Yes. And, apparently, he wrote back. That was her means of knowing how we were doing."

"So why didn't she tell us she had written when I asked her?" Kyo demanded.

"Well, in the first place, you didn't ask very politely," Shigure replied. At a glare from the cat, he quickly continued, "But my guess is that she knew who had kept the letters from us."

"So?"

The dog sighed and spoke as if to a young child. "Akito just died, Kyo. She most likely didn't want to make him appear evil when he is supposed to be remembered for all of the good things he did, despite how difficult those things might be to find," Shigure explained.

"Where are my letters?" Momiji asked, reaching for a stack of envelopes. "I want to read mine." He chose the stack with the oldest dates on them, and began passing them out. "Let's see. Here, Kisa! And Haru, Yuki, Kagura, Hiro, Kagura, Ha'ri, Kyo, Shigure, Ritsu, Ayame, and me!" Momiji chanted as he handed the letters to each Sohma.

All of them were shocked with at the length of the letters. Tohru had found something thoughtfully original and inspiring to say to each one of them. She wished Shigure good luck on his books; insisted Hatori not work too hard; recommended Ayame keep trying to bridge the gap between himself and Yuki; requested Hatsuharu try to work on calming his black side; expressed her hope that Momiji would continue to be his happy self and see his sister and mother; advised Hiro to be honest with Kisa; asked Kagura to be gentler with Kyo; encouraged Ritsu to keep searching for a special someone and purpose in life, and assured him he'd find it; conveyed her best wishes for Yuki in furthering his education; and told of her dream that Kyo find his place in his family, and try to work on his temper and friendship with Yuki. She wrote to all of them that she missed them, and hoped they were doing well.

Tohru returned with a tray laden with food to find the Sohmas reading the letters she had written and guessed that Akito had kept from them. Her cheeks burned a deep red.

In return, the Zodiac members looked at her with many emotions in their faces—admiration, wonder, sorrow—but most prominent in their countenances was a deep fondness. She gave them a lopsided, unsure smile.

Kisa and Kagura ran up to hug Tohru, almost making her drop the serving dish she was carrying. Yuki and Shigure jumped up to rescue the food.

Momiji was fidgeting around, obviously wanting to hug Tohru as well, but knowing he shouldn't. Tohru noted that he had learned restraint while she had been away. She leaned down and gave him a gentle kiss on the cheek. He smiled at her and his squirming ceased. The others stared in awe.

"Well, shall we eat?" Tohru suggested.

The others nodded and began devouring the food they hadn't tasted in years. Tohru soon left the table, only to return with more food. She had predicted that they would consume a large amount, and so had made plenty of extras, and left them in the kitchen to keep them warm.

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To my reviewers:

summrpnkprncess9: Thank you!! Sorry for the wait. I hope you liked the latest chapter!

Ariyana: Well, this chapter answered your question. Thanks for the review!

B-chan77: the beginning should be the only depressing part of this fic, but I did categorize it as 'Drama.' I hope that's okay.

kehille(): Thanks! I'm happy you enjoy it. Hope this chapter met your expectations, too.