Disclaimer: I so wish I didn't have to write this everytime. Yes, I do not and never will own Fruits Basket -rolls eyes-

Kitone-san here and yeah, it's been a while since I last updated. Sorry folks, but I'm currently working on developing my online manga a bit more. On top of that, I think I'm going to write another fic as well. Let the Rain Fall Up. What do you think? It's an interesting title. Anyway, as I promised, I think I have a few guests again.

Shigure: I have arrived. -shakes a bottle of sake- Hope you don't mind if I -hic- start to drink this?

Kitone: Start? I think you've gone way past start Shi-chan.

Hartori: -rolls eyes- I think Aaya got into the liquor as well. -points at Aaya as he staggers into the room-

Aaya: Developed, smeveloped! I want you and Matoko-chan to finish that up. It's really annoying that you two are still working on character bios. I mean, come on.

Shigure: Speaking of developed -walks behind Kitone- Ki-chan doesn't seem to have developed well around the chest area.

Kitone: -looks shocked-

Ayame: But Gure-chan, don't you like your partners to be flat-chested?

Shigure: Hai, you know me too well, or at least you know my bed too well. -exchanges thumbs up with Aaya-

Kitone: -jaw drops in horror-

Hatori: Well, as we wait for her to recover from the shocking effects of alcoholism, why don't we start this story?

0o0o0o0

Never Forget the Simple Things: Who's That Sitting in an Old Oak Tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G?

We drove along the road in the setting sun. I loved summer; it was rarely dark and carried a slightly less than comfortable warmth with it. Then he answered, "It's at the Sohma main house Takehara-san. We should be there soon." He kept on looking at the road stretched out in front of him and then turned at a stop sign. I don't know how long we kept driving for because, as I have stated before, I let my mind wander off often and this was one of those cases. Before I knew it, we were parked in front of a large estate. I stepped out of the car and followed him towards what I guessed was Hatori-sama's office. Shigure opened the door and walked inside. It was a little dark for my tastes, but then again, even the remotest sign of darkness is too dark for me. The darkness makes me feel drowsy unless it's really, really dark. Never could understand what that was about, but it just was.

In front of me, I saw a desk and Hatori-sama occupying that desk. He didn't look up at me, I guess he was too busy taking care of his other work, but just pointed me in the direction of an examination room. Then he added monotonously, "Just sit on the table and I'll be with you shortly." I nodded not knowing what else to do and obliged.

True to his word, he came into the room soon after I had, white lab coat and all. He began to take of the bandages and I asked, "Why do people pretend that nothing happened when they're confused about things Hatori-sama? I've done it before and learned not to because it never works, yet for some reason, even when someone has gone through the pain, they keep on pretending like there was no pain to begin with?" I felt like a little kid asking a stupid question about feelings like the one I had just asked, but I needed someone's opinion and I was sure Hatori would give me a good one.

He cleaned off the wound and answered, "Takehara-san, I'm not a psychologist, but I would only guess that people think that no matter how much it pained them to pretend, it would be nothing in comparison to the pain they would feel if they committed to what they truly felt. Furthermore, it truly is easier to put up a façade than to be as you truly are. It isn't a matter of how much it hurts; it's a matter of countless intricacies that relate to a decision. For example, some people take into account what they think is best for other people. It may not always be the right choice, but it's the person's to make alone nonetheless."

Eck! So cryptic! I understood what it meant and what he was truly telling me, but why couldn't he just have said the part about the repercussions of a certain decision? Letting go of all of my complaints, I actually thought about what he had told me. It all made sense and he was right. You can never know if you're making the right choice or thinking about yourself and that's the best choice you can make. Truthfully, I was ignoring what had happened between Shigure and I rather than trying to come up with some kind of rhyme or reason to the events. I smiled and said, "Thank you for everything Hatori-sama." Then I kissed him on the cheek and said, "I always wished I had an older brother like you."

Jumping off the table, I walked out to Shigure and said, "I don't know what I'm doing right now so just bear with me and don't try to run away. No, I mean I really have no clue what I'm doing right now, but I'm promising myself that I won't regret anything I do now. Quite frankly I don't care if you regret every single thing relating to this and I'm ranting again so I'll try to make it short and sweet. I like you Shigure. I can't say I love you because love means that two people feel the same passion for each other. It's the kind of passion that makes you look at that person and wish that you could live forever just to see them every morning. It's the kind of passion that makes you love everything that person does even if it annoys you because if they weren't like that, they wouldn't be that person you love. Do you understand what I mean? Really, I don't care if you understand what I mean because I'm out of here." I laughed and yelled to Hatori, "See you tomorrow Hatori-sama." Then I started walking towards my dorms feeling all too proud of myself and what I had said.

Wait why was I walking? You have to be kidding me! My car and my bag were still at Shigure's house? Mentally crying, I walked towards Shigure's house and hoped that he had stayed behind to talk to Hatori for a long time. That way I could get in and out unnoticed. Maybe I was running away from the problem now, but you can only do so much at a time. Change takes time and training and I hadn't had much of either. I arrived at the house and saw his car in the driveway. I shouted out too many curses to list and rung the doorbell hoping that it would be anyone but Shigure. It had to have been my lucky day because Kyo-kun had answered the door and he gave me my bag without question. I could tell he was wondering why I didn't come back with Shigure, but he just shrugged his shoulders and closed the door as I walked towards my car.

I drove back home breaking so many speed laws, but I didn't care. I felt like I was floating in the air and somehow found my way back to the ground as I went over to Michi-chan's dorm room. I was smiling when she opened the door and she cocked an eyebrow at me. Then she said, "That's your I just told somebody off face. That was an easy one, we've been friends forever and considering you tell somebody off every hour, it's really all too familiar." She laughed and handed me a takeout container and a pair of chopsticks. I grabbed a bottle of ramune and sat down at what seemed to be the kitchen table.

I broke apart the cheap chopsticks and threw away the paper that had the restaurant logo on it and opened the box. After eating a few bites without a word, she hit me and I choked out, "Okay, okay. I take it that means out with it you dope. You better not have left us all at work alone without having an amazingly juicy story. Do I not know you?" She nodded yes and I continued, "Well, I went to get my cuts all cleaned and such like usual, but Hatori-sama had us come to his office this time. He gave me the best advice ever and I realized that I had been pretending too and needed to stop. I walked out and gave Shigure a piece of my mind. I was caught in a rush and I can't quite remember what I said. It was something about love and what it meant to me, but I'm pretty sure that he got the message. As soon as I come down from this high, I'm going to throw all of what I've been eating up I'm sure."

I looked down at my food and was suddenly full. Michi-ko laughed and said, "You better not throw up on my rug."

I retorted, "There is no rug to throw up on. All that's here are old newspapers, empty bottles, and old junk mail."

She slapped the back of my head. I winced and rubbed the spot tenderly. Then she looked up towards the ceiling and said, "Good for you. I told you getting things off your chest always is the better way out. Even though it may be harder, you'll never have regrets or shoulda-woulda-couldas. Man, I wish you had remembered that line, I'm sure it probably sounded very shojo." (Miyeko/N: Michi-ko and I always did like to relate things to manga. It was something we both really liked and plus it's easier to relate things to than coffee which we also both liked.)

Laughing, I said, "Well thanks for bringing me back a bite. I think I'm gonna go to sleep before everything that happened today catches up with me. See you tomorrow morning? Wanna go to the bookstore to check out new cds and stuff like that? Well, I think it's coming up, so see you tomorrow morning." I walked to my own dorm a few doors down and walked in. Sleep felt good and I awoke the next morning to find that I really didn't regret all that I had done and said. It had been liberating and didn't need to be taken back. As I had promised, I walked to Michi-chan's apartment the next morning and knocked on the door ready to go to the book store. Yep, nothing fancy, a pair of jeans with holes ripped in the knees and an off the shoulder t-shirt that read in green lettering 'Society Tanks' and I was ready to go find some music. She opened the door and quickly grabbed her purse. We ran down to her car and drove to the bookstore.

You would think we were little kids in a candy store. (A/N: It's an overused expression, I know, but you can never have too much of a good thing. -) We browsed the aisles as if we had never seen such a magnificent sight as a bookstore. I grabbed a few magazines with juicy headlines, the kind that give celebrities new identities, and tossed some of the cds that I has wanted into a little basket. Then I traveled over to the manga section and tossed in a few books as well. Musing over my selections, I saw Michi-ko out of the corner of my eye and asked idly, "Mi-chan, why is it that everything in a manga can seem so perfect? Nothing looks as it should in mangas and people don't go through the real issues in life. Everything is about people who have been told to smile by a dying person. Why can't anything be about what love really means or what the simple pleasures in life should, but never, mean to us?"

She laughed and said, "Seems like someone is being serious for once today. I dunno Miye-chan. I guess reality sucks in comparison to fictional situations. There is no truly happy ending to life. That's not what I mean. I mean when I rule the world, everyone will have to be happy…"

I smiled and said, "You're right Michi. I guess no one is really ready for the factual truth. We all think we know what it will be, but there is no way to ever tell. Anyways, you would be a sucky ruler. The whole planet would turn into a wasteland. Have you seen your room? I mean, I thought I was bad but your room is breeding bacteria that hasn't even been discovered yet!"

She punched me in the shoulder and said, "Well at least you're back to cracking jokes. That's a good sign. Doctors, we haven't lost her to the blubbering of lost love!" Then she leaned closer to me and said, "We haven't lost you yet, have we?"

I laughed and started to cry a little. Then I said, "Nah, not yet. Aw…. I can't keep going there. Even the slightest chance that I could see him keeps me holding my breath constantly. Well, soon my leg will be all better I think. It seems to have scabbed over. Anyways, I think I'll schedule a physical with Hatori-sama later today. I know that it doesn't seem like moving on, but Hatori-sama really is an exceptional doctor. Now that I think of it, that sleeping injection didn't hurt a bit…" I put a finger to my lip and thought about it a bit teasingly.

Michi looked at me disapprovingly and said, "You never told me anything about a sleeping injection! What really happened that night you spent at Shigure-san's house? Oh, no you didn't, did you Miyeko?" She suddenly seemed even more disapproving and I couldn't help but start to laugh.

Through my laughter, I managed to say, "You worry too much Michi-ko. I would never do something that foolish. I mean, maybe there was that one time I started a fight with that lady in the movie theaters, but that doesn't make me a slut who would sleep with a guy I barely knew. Seriously, you have nothing to worry about. Besides, he may turn out to not be such a bad guy." Then I quieted my laughter and thought about it. Not only was it physically impossible, but I really wasn't that careless. We paid for what we had in our baskets and drove back to our dorms. This time we settled on talking in my abode. It was much cleaner and besides, it had more food to grab and start shoving into your mouth.

I went to grab some Calpico and a bag of chips in the kitchen. Shutting the refrigerator door with my foot and putting the bag into my mouth, I walked towards the couch that Michi-chan had settled into. She didn't look up at me but instead said as she read, "Let me guess. You haven't said anything in the past few seconds, which means something is physically stopping you from talking. Since on the whole ride over your stomach was gurgling I can tell that you are hungry and so I'm gonna guess you're too lazy to take multiple trips and you have a bag of fried fat clenched in your teeth."

She made me laugh. Dropping the bag of chips on the couch I said, "It's crazy how you know me so well."

Flipping the pages, she answered, "You don't ever shut up. It's hard not to know you that well. Besides, if you haven't noticed, you fall into systems often."

Shrugging my shoulders, I popped open the soft drink and took a sip. It reminded me of the night that Shigure and I had talked. I yawned a fake yawn and said, "Sorry Mi-chan. I'm really tired. You can leave whenever you want, but I think I better get some sleep before I go to my appointment. Don't want any accidents now, do we?"

She didn't look up from her book and said, "Yeah, the teasing is getting real old real fast. Sure, I don't mind. I'll let myself out. I have a spare key anyways. Get some rest Miye-chan."

I stretched my arms over my head and let out another yawn for good measure. Then I opened the door to my surprisingly clean room-hey, I can stand a living in a messy house, but I can't stand sleeping in a messy room-and plopped on top of the bed. Sighing, I pulled out my cd player and listened to some music. It got real boring real fast and I soon fell asleep. Waking up with a start, I looked around for the clock. I wasn't planning on falling asleep and I had to get to work in five minutes! Groaning as I ran out of my bed and hurriedly tossing on my clothes, I ran to grab my purse and into my Lexus. The ignition wouldn't start, but I managed to get it running after a few trials. "Agh! As if I weren't already late enough!" As soon as I was less than satisfactorily parked, I ran into the restaurant and said, "Sorry I'm la-a-a-a-te. I must not have gotten enough sleep because it looks like Yumi-chan and Tatsu-kun kissing in the back room.

I rubbed my eyes and pinched myself until I was bruised in multiple places. My mouth hung wide open and all I could do was put a hand over the still gaping hole. They closed the door to the storage room clumsily and Michi looked at me asking, "Are you okay Miyeko? Pluto to Miye-chan. I would say Earth of Miye-chan, but you're way past Earth. Really though, you look like you've seen a ghost."

Smiling I said with a false tone of happiness, "Gomen Mi-chan. I think I have to go wash my face. I'm still a little sleepy." Turning away from her I laughed and walked as fast as I could to the bathroom. The water was cold, crisp and only added to the numbness I was feeling. I finally knew why mangas dealt with people smiling to cover up their real feelings. Sighing and wiping up one last tear, I walked out to face the cruel, crushing thing that was my new reality. For the remainder of the night, I busied myself with seemingly useless tasks. But they weren't useless at all, to me it seemed that the longer I cleaned clean tables and changed channels on the television set to what they currently were, I could avoid making contact with anyone. Everyone left and I was left sitting at the bar with my things in my hands. I locked up the restaurant. Tears streaked down my cheeks and the little wells that clouded my vision were blurred with the ethereal glow of flashing neon signs. I walked into my car and started the engine and just started driving.

Somehow I had made my way to Shigure's house and I walked towards the door still in a state of exhaustion; it wasn't real exhaustion, it was the emotional type. The cold bit at my tear-stained cheeks and I knocked on the door as silently as I could. If this were real, I didn't want to be rude and wake everyone up from their bliss. Sleep was always a blissful kind of thing. Even if your dreams were bad, it wouldn't be real and that would be a relief. No, I couldn't take that away from anyone now that I had lost that bliss and knew what I was missing for that matter. A disheveled author with his glasses askew, kimono loose around the shoulders, and heavy eyelids interrupted my thoughts. I started crying and said, "I broke." (A/N: Refer to Bittersweet Beer and Green Vans. It's about the conversation between Miye-chan and Gure-san.)

I'm sure he didn't understand what I had said, but he ushered me into the warm house nonetheless. Mmm…I could still smell the faint tint of what Tohru-chan had last made for dinner and a familiar peach kimono that I had once used before. Maybe now this was my only familiarity and I clung to it as I always was apt to resist the new. However, Shigure had been different. The first time I met him, it hadn't taken too much to get used to. Okay, so the circumstances were different, but I still just wanted to be there with him and only him. He rubbed my back and made soft shushing noises. It made me feel like a baby and surprisingly at that point I didn't mind. I stopped sobbing and he stopped shushing. We remained silent that way and motionless save his rubbing.

I leaned my head on his shoulder and soon started drifting downwards. My head finally landed in his lap and I fell asleep as a few stray strands of hair floated down through the air with the characteristic laziness of a feather. Heavy breathing followed me into my slumber and he ran his fingers through my hair, as I slept, with a little smile on his face. Yet there was something else akin to worry in his eyes. (A/N: Yes, this is from my PoV. Miye-chan can't see Gure-san in her sleep.)

The next morning, I awoke to the gentle movements of a furry inu's stomach and wrapped my arms around him. I felt him stir and I thought how much this must be confusing him and decided I would explain everything to my savior as soon as I could. He licked my face and I just stroked his furry coat. It was soothing I suppose and I looked at the clock. The ticking time keeper read eleven in the morning and I didn't really mind if I didn't get anything done today. In fact, I didn't really feel like going to work today. Just thinking about it brought a sting to my eyes, but I kept myself from letting the tears pour. As I was petting the dog beside me, I heard a poof and quickly withdrew my hand. I turned towards the door and said, "Thank you Shigure. I'm not sure I can tell you anything yet besides that I can't tell you anything yet."

I heard the swoosh of cloth being swung in the air and a fully clothed Shigure sat next to me. He put his hands on my shoulders and kissed me on the cheek. Maybe he already knew why I was there. I wouldn't be able to know even if I cared to know. But being just there with someone who cared was good enough for me. Walking into the bathroom, I washed my face again and smoothed my hair down as best I could. Then I went to the kitchen to see few plates hastily abandoned in an attempt to make it to school on time. I smiled and remembered when I had been in highschool. Mi-chan, Yumi-chan, Tatsu-kun, and I always would walk to school with each other. Yumi-chan would walk in a straight line, rarely interrupted, and so would Tatsu-kun. Mi-chan and I would look at anything and everything that caught our attention. If we found ourselves bored, we would mess around with Tatsuya-kun's hair.

The memory brought more laughs. I don't know why I laughed instead of cried. It was like going to a funeral and not being able to do anything but laugh. It was like being devoid of feeling and you know it isn't right, but you can't help doing it. I sat down on the floor with my legs tucked under me. Shigure brought a cup of tea which I accepted with a smile. He busied himself with cleaning up a bit after Yuki-kun, Kyo-kun, and Tohru-chan. With a grin he interrupted the now awkward silence with, "Those kids. I'll bet that Kyo made the mistake of picking a fight with Yuki this morning. Tohru probably tried to stop them and found that she didn't have time to wash the dishes because of the incident."

I took a noisy sip of the tea and said, "It seems like the fun never ends around here."

He let out his bark-like laugh and responded, "Ever since Tohru-kun has been here, it does seem that way. Ever since you came here, every day seems to hold a surprise. To what do I owe this slightly less than joyful arrival when you've been upset with me for so long?"

I wasn't upset with him, just confused. Maybe I was ready to tell him. Searching for the words to describe how I was feeling was difficult and seemingly hopeless. A few starts of words came out on my mouth, but only ended in "W-, u-, m-, s-," and other failed attempts at forming words. He turned off the faucet and rested his head on mine. Not that I wasn't enjoying his affection, but it all seemed a little strange. I jerked away and said, "I can't. I mean you can't. I mean don't you feel weird about me just coming out of the blue to be with you after my big speech at Hatori's office? Besides, I can't because I'm just too hurt right now." A tear slipped down my cheek to join the ocean of fallen tears that I had cried recently. That had been the first time so far I had admitted anything about what I had seen.

Looking slightly taken aback, he said, "I guess so, but you just seemed so hurt. I don't know what got into me. Everytime I'm around you, it's hard for me to know exactly what to do. You're like a timebomb just about to tick its last second, and I mean that in the least offensive way as possible."

I laughed a little and started to leave a steady stream of tears running down my face. Then I looked up at the ceiling, not knowing what else to do and tried to start talking. Once I was satisfied with what I was about to say, I looked at him and started to talk, "I said that I broke and I meant it. You remember what we said when we were talking, really talking for the first time? The night that I kissed you, we talked about me." He nodded his head and I continued, "Well, I was running late to work yesterday and I came in and I saw-," I let out a sigh, "I saw them kissing."

Shigure cocked his head to the side and asked tentatively, "You saw who kissing?"

I pushed myself to answer him, I truly did, but saying it would be admitting to myself that it had happened. There would be no going back. I gulped and answered, "Tatsuya-kun and Yumi-san." My familiarity had vanished with them. They had broken it anyways. The walls that I had sheltered myself with were slowly disappearing and I was scared. Shigure looked confused for a second, trying to remember what had exactly been said that night, and he seemed to understand. His eyebrows were no longer furrowed in concentration and I only hoped that he noticed details in the way that I moved like I did notice him. Carrying on, I spoke with a little waver in my voice, "I think I'm being selfish. I mean, just because he knows I like or liked him, doesn't mean he has to hold out and wait for himself to feel the same way for me. But, it doesn't make it hurt less to know I'm wrong. I don't blame her because I can't blame her. Just because she was there and they both felt the same way about each other, doesn't mean I should begrudge them."

I couldn't use their names. It was like I didn't know them anymore and for some reason it didn't hurt me to let them go. A few memories seemed to flash by just as they would whenever solidity had been broken. His face smiled back at me and at some point I guess I said, "Ja matane." Shigure looked at me dumbfoundedly and I simply said, "I have to let them go." Then I shook my head and said, "No, I can't forget them ever. Things about them, the simple things, I can't forget them. I can't deny all that I know and I can't deny all that I am. I just don't know what to do anymore."

Shigure looked at me and said, "Well, I'm willing to be someone to help you if you would only let me."

I smiled and said, "Domo Shigure. Thanks for understanding. Well, I better go and I dunno, do something to get my mind off what has happened."

He led me towards the door and said, "Well, if you feel up to it, Tohru-kun is going to make a big dinner for everyone. Not much of an occasion to celebrate, but she often insists on having many of the Sohma's over for dinner."