2
"Come on Tohru!" Momiji encouraged, tugging at her sleeve as she watched Kyo and Hiro walk away. "Let's hurry to Shirgure's house!"
"Oh yes!" She smiled. "Momiji…?"
"Mhmm?"
"Thank you for you help today." Momiji mischievously took this opportunity to grab her hand.
"You're welcome Tohru! I'm always happy to help you! Besides, a princess like you shouldn't have to work so hard." At this he dropped her hand and danced forward babbling about what he would do if he were in charge and how she'd never have to work again. Tohru giggled and slightly blushed; it was embarrassing how she was so often fussed over by the Shomas. And it was embarrassing to her how she couldn't do more for them or help with expenses… she was still a little uneasy about what her mom would think of her now doing more for them.
They had reached the Shoma land which housed Shirgure's house now, and Momiji had returned to her side. He gently held her hand and was swinging it back and forth as he chattered away. Tohru was content with listening- she was trying to think of something that would taste good, feed a lot of people, and wouldn't take too long to make. Suddenly she tripped on a root.
"Ahhhhh!" she yelled as her sudden shift in direction woke her back up. In an instant Momiji realized that she was falling and simultaneously tried to pull her back up and dive under her to break her fall. However, she regained her balance and he found himself lying on the ground a few feet before her.
"Aahhh!" Tohru began to nervously yell again. She felt like such a klutz and began one of her babbling apologies.
"It's ok, Miss Honda," a calm voice said with a hint of laughter, "If you keep apologizing like that you'll sound like Ritsu."
She looked up and saw Yuki smiling gently at her.
"Oh Yuki! Yes… I guess your right." She smiled back, giving a small laugh, (extremely embarrassed) and put her hand down to help Momiji up. The rabbit was quick to accept the help he had been offered but refused to then relinquish it. Yuki noticed and sighed, wishing he could be so bold. He was fairly confident though, that Tohru still had trouble not thinking of Momiji as the little kid she had originally thought him to be, and that she took the hand-holding to be nothing more than friends. Still… he sighed.
"Yuki, why are you here? Is something wrong?" It had suddenly occurred to Tohru that the middle of the woods was not a normal spot to find Yuki.
"Oh I… umm…" he began to blush. Momiji noticed and opened his mouth to tease him but Yuki knew his little cousin's nature well enough to cut him off before he said anything to embarrass him further by making Tohru notice. "I was just going to your work. I was going to walk you home. There umm… there have been a lot of reports of dangerous people on the streets lately," he hastily added.
"WHAT?" Tohru's eyes seemed to start spinning, "Oh no! I hope Hiro and Kyo are ok! Oh no this is terrible what are we going to do?" She chattered, frightened.
"Oh no, its ok Miss Honda. That ah... that was a while ago. There haven't been any troubles for about a month." Yuki felt awful. He hadn't meant to upset her- that was the last thing he'd ever want to do. He was grateful that she was so trusting that she wouldn't even think about questioning his strange and contradicting excuses. "Shall we go home?" he suggested.
"Mmmhmm!" Momiji replied, still holding Tohru's hand.
Yuki and Momiji began walking. Tohru was just one step behind but she managed to make that step disastrous. As she began to lift her left foot her right foot went right into a little hole and she fell forward once again.
Yuki turned, hearing a strange noise from her, and was just in time to catch her. POOF! In a puff of blue-gray smoke the boy disappeared from Tohru's arms and she fell softly on a pile of clothes, just missing the little gray rat.
"Oh Yuki," she began crying, "I'm so sorry! I'm so clumsy and now I've transformed you." She started to cry a little but Momiji and Yuki comforted her immediately.
"It's ok Tohru! Everyone has off days!" Momiji said with usual cheer
"Yes Miss Honda, I'm just glad you didn't get hurt," Yuki soothed. "You are ok aren't you?"
"Oh yes! I'm fine. You're both so kind." The tears stopped. "Yuki, would it be of any help if I carried you and your clothes back to Shirgure's?"
"Oh… yes. Thank you, Miss Honda."
"Haha just make sure you keep hugging him so he doesn't transform in your arms!" Momiji laughed impishly. Yuki shot him a look, but he knew that Momiji had really meant it with good intentions. He couldn't even imagine how embarrassing it would be for all of them, not to mention distressing to Tohru, if he returned to his normal self while she was carrying him.
She neatly folded his clothes and tucked them under her arm. Then she made her hand as comfortable as possible and lowered it so the ground. The soft little creature walked on and settled down; He was very tired from a long student council meeting and her body (she was holding her had against her stomach) was very warm. 'Even if this is the only way I can ever be close her,' he thought, 'it wouldn't be so bad.' His purple eyes disappeared in a mess of gray fur. Tohru looked down, she had been watching Momiji dance in front of her, her eyes softened and a sweet smile lit her face. She drew her hand closer to her stomach- he was prone to colds after all.
3
Shigure sat is his study, playing with his pen. He didn't want to write anymore that night. 'Maybe its time for another trip to the lake' he thought. "Something special needs to happen around here soon or I'll go crazy!" he said this out-loud, half-expecting Yuki or Kyo to poke their heads in and tell him that he was. 'Where are they anyway?' he wondered. He was used to hearing their fighting noises and Tohru in the kitchen… maybe an unexpected family member would have dropped in. But there was no one. He looked around and sighed. 'It would almost be worth having my house broken again, if I could just have a little sign of life around here. Its so quiet and boring' he would have continued but whining to himself just wasn't as fun as whining to someone else. "I know! I'll call Hatori!" he cheerily jumped up and ran to the phone. As it rang he took in a deep breath, ready to spout all kinds of nonsense to his friend. But no one answered. Shigure put down the receiver. It was unlike Hatori to not answer. 'Must be with Akito again' he thought, endeavoring to reassure himself that his friend was ok.
He picked up the receiver again and began to dial Ayame's number when the screen door suddenly slid open. "Shigure, Shigure!" Momiji called out, "guess who's coming to dinner?" He began bouncing up the hall towards Shigure's office.
"Well, well" he began kindly, "if it isn't a little rabbit running through my halls with his shoes still on." Momiji beamed at this and returned to the door so that he could take off his shoes. "And does the rabbit have any company tonight? I'm afraid without Tohru or Kyo we're not going to have a very good meal." His voice saddened at this and his stomach gave a complimentary growl.
"Tohru and Yuki coming right now!" he giggled. "And Kyo walked Hiro back to Shoma house."
"Hiro?" Shigure was surprised to hear his name mentioned without an 'and Kisa' attached to it.
"Hello Shigure! We're home!" Tohru called.
"Ah Tohru," he smiled, "I'm glad your back." His stomach growled and he blushed ever so slightly.
"Oh Shigure I'm so sorry! I'll get to work on dinner right away!"
"No, no. No need to apologize. I'm just glad to have to back so that I can enjoy some of your delicious home cooking that I've grown to love so much." He was prepared to continue with the dramatic monologue when his over acting brought his eyes to her right hand. "Ah I see there was another accident, hello Yuki!" Yuki mumbled a hello, realizing with some amazement that he had fallen asleep in Tohru's hand.
"Oh yes!" Tohru exclaimed. She had forgotten what her hand had been guarding. "Maybe you should get some rest Yuki. I'll come and get you when dinner is ready ok?" Yuki didn't know what he wanted. He was so groggy. But the way she was smiling at him, he couldn't say 'no' to that. He nodded and fell back asleep.
"Here, Tohru, I'll take him!" Momiji said, putting his hand against hers.
"Oh thank you, Momiji!" she replied, gently putting the little rat in one hand and his clothes in the other. "Ano, maybe you should lay out a pair of pajamas for him too?"
"Right!" Momiji danced up the stairs, although he was more careful that usual. He didn't want to wake his cousin.
Shigure watched Tohru head into the kitchen and turned back into his study. It was good to have people in the house again.