Disclaimer: Neither Fruits Basket not the Fruits Basket characters belong to me. They are the property of Natsuki Takaya.

Author's Notes: KatsunoCZ, anonymous, kashuneko thank you so much for reading and reviewing. I am always excited to get reviews from people who haven't reviewed the story before. Anonymous, I know we are old friends, you read my previous fics, I"m glad you are reading this one.

Slow Motion Runner - If the notion ever appeals to you, send me your e-mail address. I think it would be fun to write to you, but I can't with no e-mail address. Thanks for continuing to read and review.

Liviania - yeah, I really liked the image of Momiji in a yellow miata

kyo-obsessedru2 - I'm glad you liked the last chapter

Dark Inu Fan - Momiji is a smooth talker, but would you expect anything less from him. He was that from the beginning of Fruits Basket.

Steff7 - so glad you are still reading. I can't wait to see what happens in this chapter either. :-)

Black Winged Angel Sami - thanks.

The stage is set now, let's see what happens when the players are all in position. Thanks for reading. As Always - please review, it's what keeps me writing.

Chapter 6 Fate Takes A Hand

During her busy schedule over the next two weeks, Kristi gave some thought to Momiji. He was cheerful and optimistic, always on the go. She and the young man had met a couple or three other times since then and he was always interested in hearing about her and her friends. There was always a strange expression in his eyes when she would mention Tori. It was like maybe he had known her in the past although he assured her he did not recognize the name.

That was just the thing though, he said he didn't recognize the name, but he didn't say that he didn't recognize her at all. She remembered Tori's action when she first spoke of Momiji and mentioned his name. There was a mystery here, she was sure. Tori had always been happy and fun to be around but at some point in time there had been a lot of pain in her life as well. She spoke often of her mother and the way in which she had died. She would talk of her grandfather and his family, but beyond that she didn't speak of her past. Sometimes she would be reading a novel by that writer, Shigure Sohma, and a far away, sad look could be seen in her eyes. Shigure Sohma? Momiji Sohma? Was there a connection? Perhaps she could do an Internet search and discover a link between the two.

The next few nights she began her self-assigned task on the Internet. She had been trained to read Japanese and had her computer equipped with a Japanese language module so she was able to read some of the documentation in its original form. The mystery only seemed to deepen. Momiji had mentioned his papa several times, but when she researched the business, the owner was listed as Mamoru Sohma and his biography credited him with a wife, Katrin, and a teenage daughter by the name of Momo Sohma. There was no mention of a son anywhere. However, she had gotten the impression that Momiji's father owned the business. During her investigation of Shigure Sohma, she found very little about his personal life. It seemed the Sohmas were a very secretive family. They were very powerful but kept a very low profile. While Mamoru Sohma had a high profile, very little could be found on the rest of the family. She checked college records and found a little more information. Apparently several Sohmas had attended Tokyo University just as Momiji had. When it came to other public records there just wasn't much to be found.

Shigure Sohma seemed to talk a lot during interviews, but he managed to not say anything of real importance. This made her laugh. The writer would probably make a wonderful politician if the current office holders in America were any indication of what makes a good politician.

Eventually she decided to let the mystery of the Sohmas rest a while as they had a party for which to get ready. It was Wednesday and the party was on Saturday night. Risa, Hana, and Tori would be arriving Friday evening. She was meeting them at her apartment and then they were going to take Uo's car to Momiji's.

He had proudly shown her his bungalow a week ago and she had fallen in love with it. The tenant though, he was another matter. Momiji had a charming way of making her feel special without allowing her to get too close. He was a mystery in his own way. His whole posture seemed to say, be my friend, but don't fall in love with me.

Tori was excited and anxious all at the same time. She was being granted her wish, but it frightened her. What if he did not remember her, or even worse, what if he hated her for leaving Japan without saying good bye to each of them? At the time, saying good bye would have been going against Akito's wishes. That was why she had left the letters. She did hope Shigure had distributed them. She was pretty certain he had. He could be impossible at times, but he had always been gentle with her. Of course he had teased her a lot, but that was okay, that was just Shigure. It was his way of showing he cared.

Momiji couldn't believe the day was finally here. He would finally get to see Tohru again and find out what changes the past seven years had brought about. Tonight it would be just him and the girls. It should prove to be an interesting time. "Hayashi-san…"

"Yes Momiji-kun?"

"Is everything taken care of for tomorrow night?"

"Yes it is. All of our employees have received invitations and most have accepted. They are very excited about having a company party and being able to bring their family and friends if they are so inclined. Allowing them to bring guests was a wonderful idea Momiji-kun."

"Thank you, Hayashi-san. I do believe family and friends are very important. I'll see you tomorrow night."

"Yes, I and my family will be there. Good night Momiji-kun."

Momiji raced home that evening. He could hardly contain his excitement. He double checked each of the bedrooms to be sure the maid had prepared them for company and then checked the bathrooms to be sure all was in readiness. The maid had chopped vegetables and prepared rice and meat for the meal tonight. All seemed to be in readiness. Finally, about 9:00 he heard a car approaching the bungalow. They were finally here!

He reclined on the sofa and waited for the doorbell to ring. There was no way he was going to reveal how anxious he had been to make sure all was as it should be for his guests. A few seconds later the doorbell pealed through the house and Momiji arose from the sofa to answer it.

"Kristi, welcome! And welcome to each of you" he said to the other three girls.

"Yo Sohma-kun, long time no see." Uo greeted him in the Yankee fashion he remembered so well from high school.

"Uo-chan, it is you and Hana-chan. and Tori? I wasn't sure until just now. Welcome all!"

Kristin looked up in surprise. "Momiji, you do know these three don't you? I thought as much!"

"Yes Kristi-chan, I do know each of these girls, we all went to high school together in Japan. I apologize for not admitting it before, but I couldn't be sure. Will you please forgive me?"

"There's nothing to forgive. I am quite happy to bring about a reunion among friends."

"Momiji Sohma, this is quite an unexpected surprise. You still have those strange waves that everyone in your family has to one degree or another." Hana said slowly.

"Momiji…" Tori looked at him with her big teal eyes. "It really is you Momiji, I am so glad to see you again!"

"And I you, Tori. That is the name you go by now, am I right?"

"Of course you are Momiji."

"Come, come. Don't let me keep you standing out here on the stairs. Welcome one and all to my humble abode. Please come in and I will see what I can do about preparing a meal."

"Do you really cook Momiji?" Kristin asked curiously.

"With a little help from my maid I do. Please seat yourselves at the table. Supper will be ready shortly." Momiji gestured to the table on the veranda outside the kitchen. "I thought an ocean view might help you overlook my poor cooking," he said with a grin.

"For this view, I can overlook almost anything," Uo said with a grin of her own. "By the way, call me Risa. That's the name I go by now."

"You've got it Risa-chan." Kristin, Risa, and Hana sat at the table where iced tea and lemonade had already been prepared.

"May I help Momiji?" Tori inquired shyly.

"Of course."

The two of them went into the kitchen and Momiji couldn't contain himself anymore. "Tohru, I've missed you so much. I can't believe I finally found you." He shut the kitchen door and grabbed Tohru around the waist and swung her until

POOF!

Suddenly Tohru was holding a rabbit in her arms.

She started giggling and then was suddenly laughing whole-heartedly. "Momiji, I'm so happy to see you again! And you know what, I think I'm glad you still turn into this cute little rabbit."

"Me too, Tohru," Momiji said as he snuggled into her arms for a few seconds longer. "However, you better put me and my clothes in the other room or the others will wonder what happened to their host and where this cute bunny rabbit suddenly appeared from…" Momiji laughed from the sheer joy of being with Tohru again.

"Oh, of course Momiji. You do have a point there. I will start the meal while you change." She giggled again. "You do still change and for some reason this makes me very happy. I know it shouldn't because that means the curse hasn't been lifted, but I always loved your zodiac form. It's so cute!"

"You would think that wouldn't you? I don't mind though, I'll be your bunny rabbit anytime, but only yours."

Tohru found all the ingredients the maid had prepared and began cooking. Momiji waited in the other room for only a minute or two and then

POOF!

He was himself again. He quickly replaced his clothing and went to help Tohru. It had been such bliss to be held in her arms once again.

Momiji opened the kitchen door back up and checked on his other guests. They seemed to be enjoying the view and not even aware that the door had been shut for a few minutes.

Kristin had watched Momiji and Tori interact. Momiji's attitude had suddenly changed upon encountering her friend and it was obvious that the young man was in love with Tori and perhaps had always been. It was amazing that such feelings could have lasted over so many miles and so many years.

She noted that the kitchen door was shut for a few minutes, but opted not to disturb the privacy. Risa and Hana just ignored the house completely. Once Momiji reopened the door, the three girls wandered over to the kitchen.

"Can we help with anything?" Arisa offered.

"No, I think Momiji and I can get it," Tori replied.

"Okay, then I guess we'll just wait out here." Kristin and the other two girls returned to the veranda table.

A few minutes later, Momiji and Tohru emerged with steaming dishes of stir-fry vegetables and rice.

"The chicken stir-fry is superb." Hana said blissfully.

"Momiji-kun, how has life been treating you for the past several years?" Risa asked.

"The rice is perfect. Just what I would expect from Tohru" Hana spoke with great satisfaction.

"It's been good Risa. I graduated from Tokyo University with my Masters degree in April. Hatsuharu graduated with me. Kyo and Yuki graduated two years before us, along with Kagura. We were all allowed to attend the same university."

"That's wonderful Momiji, and you all graduated. I am so happy." Tori's eyes sparkled as she spoke of Momiji and his other family members.

"Tell me, how are Tom and Jerry," Hana asked.

"Yeah, How are the prince and orange-top?" Risa echoed.

Momiji looked puzzled for a moment and then recalled Hana and Uo's nicknames for Yuki and Kyo. It was funny how appropriate the names were.

Tori turned to Kristi. "Kristi-chan, I suppose I should explain how we happen to know Momiji."

"Not if you don't want to, Tori. I can wait for explanations." Kristin spoke slowly. Honestly she did want to know, but not if Tori wasn't ready to tell her.

"I think now is a good time to explain some things," Tori said gently.

"Shortly before my 16th birthday, my mother died. I lived with my grandfather for a few months and then his house had to be remodeled so my aunt and her two children could move in with him. My Uncle died and they needed a place to live. I lived in a tent for a week and then I was allowed to live with Shigure Sohma, and Yuki-kun and Kyo-kun."

"Yuki-kun? Kyo-kun? Who are they exactly?" Kristin queried.

"They are my cousins," Momiji volunteered. "They were one year older and in the class ahead of me in school."

"They were my very dear friends and my new family after Mom's death."

"When you say Shigure Sohma, do you meant the writer, Shigure Sohma?"

"Yes I do. He looked after me for four years, along with Yuki and Kyo. We all lived together in Shigure's house. I cooked and cleaned the house in return for a place to stay. Shigure helped me a lot when it came time for me to leave Japan."

"If you were so happy there, why did you leave Japan, Tori-san?" Kristin asked quietly.

Tori considered her words carefully. Momiji watched her, wondering how she would answer this particular question. He wasn't entirely sure what had happened, Hatsuharu had not had many details .

"I was ordered to leave Japan and to never return or I would be facing some very bad consequences."

"What gives any person the right to order someone to do something that was so obviously against her will. Tori, you didn't want to leave, I can tell. Why did you?"

The petite brown haired girl with the soft teal eyes sighed deeply. "Kristi-chan, that is a question I don't really want to answer. Please forgive me, but it is in the past."

The hurt in Kristi's eyes was almost too much for Tori. She walked over and hugged her friend. "Kristi-chan, please don't be upset. Risa and Hana lived through that time of my life and Momiji was there as well, but there are some things that even now hurt too much to talk about. In time I may be able to tell you the full story, but for now, I don't quite understand why I was given such an ultimatum."

"They lived through it with you, but I am the outsider that must not know the secret? Is that what you are trying to say Tori? I thought we were the best of friends, but perhaps I was wrong." She fled out to the beach leaving four startled people behind.

"What in the world…" Risa began.

"She feels as if her heart is breaking," Hana intoned.

Momiji was taken aback at the extreme reaction on Kristin's part.

"Please excuse me, I must go talk to her," Tori said in concern.

Tori followed her friend out on to the beach and moved to stand beside her.

"Kristi-chan, what is it? How have I upset you so?"

Kristi turned toward Tohru, her large blue-green eyes filled with tears. "All my life I've been an outsider. People have always told me there was no need to know. My parents and my family were all involved in hush- hush careers and never made the effort to include me in their life. I thought we were friends, I thought I belonged…but now…now I just don't know."

"Kristi, I had no idea it would be that important to you. Please, let's sit down. I have a story to tell you and it will answer your question. I never meant for you to feel excluded. This is my story."

A/N : Okay, that's it for this chapter. See you soon with the next one. ja mata