Wow! Chapter 5 already! This fanfic has been going on for a while, I think. I have a few ideas of what I'm going to do for my next fic, but I'm afraid to start anything new because I'm afraid I'll get tied up, like I was when I started to write two fanfics at the same time. I guess this is how a real author (or manga-ka) feels about making deadlines and such…Sigh…Desu (I've been reading Fruits Basket recently, if that isn't obvious). I hope everyone is enjoying this fanfic so far (from all the good ratings I've been getting, I'd say so! Arigatou!). Okay, enough stalling—here's chapter 4!

Chapter 4: A Night on the Docks

After spending a few more minutes at the park, Hiro suddenly decided he was bored. Kisa said she was finished at the theme park as well, so Tohru decided to move on to other things. She didn't speak of where they were going until they had left the park, and turned left instead of right, the way back to Shigure's house.

"Um, onee-chan?" asked Kisa hesitantly. "Aren't we going back to Shigure-ojiisan's house?" Hiro wondered the same thing, but was too irritated to say anything. Tohru smiled down at Kisa, and continued to lead them further away from the theme park.

"I thought that we'd go to the pier tonight," she said, "just because the sunsets in spring are so much prettier when seen from there! And there are also a lot of fun stands, just like at the carnival!" Hiro raised his eyebrows, trying to look like he wasn't listening or didn't care.

Does this stupid woman take anything seriously? he asked himself, It's like she's a little kid. Since the docks were quite a ways from the amusement park, they had to take a taxi to the other side of town. The taxi ride was long and silent, and Hiro made Tohru sit on the far side, Kisa sitting between them. Tohru seemed to have to idea why he was so mad at her, which only made him angrier, and made Kisa sigh with worry.

After 10 minutes, what seemed like an hour to Hiro, they reached the dock. The sun was at least 20 minutes from starting to set, so Tohru gave them some spare change and money to spend on the numerous stands. Kisa ran along the boardwalk, dragging Hiro behind her, as Tohru followed at a leisurely pace, smiling brightly and admiring the water.

"Ooh, ooh, look, Hiro-chan! Look at that doll up there!" Kisa had stopped at a stand at which you had to throw a baseball at a pyramid of bottles to knock them down—a favorite of all carnivals. At the top shelf, to which she was pointing to was a giant tiger plush toy. "It's just like the one you got me before, but so much bigger! Can you try and win it for me?" Hiro shrugged.

"I don't mind, but aren't you capable of winning it yourself?" Kisa looked up at the tiger with longing, then back at the bottles she was expected to knock over.

"Um, I can try," she said timidly, walking over to the counter and putting her change down. "One round, please, Sir." The man grinned down and handed her three baseballs. Kisa picked one up carefully, as if it were some kind of foreign object, and stared at the bottles intently for a moment—she pulled her arm back, let go, and the ball went flying…landing a few feet from where Kisa had thrown it and nowhere near the bottles. Kisa furrowed her brow in concentration and picked up the next ball, fingering it for a few minutes and breathing in and out, as if in meditation. She threw the second baseball at the bottles with all her might, this time making the ball soar over the bottles and collide with the back wall of the stand. Kisa started to whine as she picked up the next ball—and stopped as firm fingers wrapped around her own on the third baseball. She looked up to see Hiro standing over her, his eyes glued on the bottles and a slight blush on his face.

"Concentrate on the bottles," he said gently in her ear, "and put all your strength in your arm. Focus, aim, and pull back." Kisa did as she was told, Hiro leading her through the steps carefully. "Now toss it," he said. Kisa took careful aim, relaxed her muscles, and tossed the ball as hard as she could. The ball soared through the air and met its mark, the bottles tumbling down to the floor. Hiro smiled, but before he could say anything, Kisa squealed and locked her arms around him, hugging him tightly.

"Thank-you so much, Hiro-chan!" she exclaimed, blissfully unaware of Hiro's scarlet face and stuttered protests. "You did it! You won it for me! Thank-you so much!" Hiro pried out of her death grip on him, his face still slightly red, and shook his head.

"What are you talking about?" he asked. "I didn't do anything. You're the one who knocked the pins down, not me. Oh look, you won the tiger." Kisa turned back to the stand to take her prize, thanking the man and hugging the plush tightly, then turned back to face Hiro, shaking her head vigorously.

"But you still helped me, Hiro-chan," she said, "You told me what to do, and you helped me win my tiger. For that, I owe you something special. I'll win you something now!" Before Hiro could protest, she was running down the boardwalk to the other brightly lit stands—Hiro sighed, and followed, almost wishing he'd let her win it on her own. Kisa had stopped at a goldfish catching stand, and was smiling down at the fish swimming around in the glass tank with a smile on her face. Hiro ruffled her hair playfully and sighed.

"So you want to catch me a goldfish? What good is that going to do? I don't have a place for a goldfish in my room." Kisa giggled, and stood up.

"Not only do you win a free goldfish if you catch one, but you also get a pass for two free ice cream cones. It's the perfect thing for you, Hiro-chan! Maybe not as good as my tiger, but I know how you like ice cream. Is that ok?" Hiro shrugged his shoulders, not admitting that it was a nice thought.

"I don't mind," he said, "so go ahead." Kisa nodded, and gave the man behind the counter her money. The man in turn handed her a small paper net and a bowel to dump the goldfish she caught in. Kisa stared hard at the water for a moment, then carefully lowered the net into the water. Before long, an orange goldfish that had been idly swimming over the net was caught, raised above the water, and dumped into the bowl, flopping around wildly. The man congratulated her, and put the fish in a plastic bag filled with water, then handed her the bag along with two purple slips of paper that he had pulled out of his pocket. Kisa took them with a grin, and turned around to face Hiro, holding both of the items out to him.

"Here," she said, "these are for you. Thank-you ever so much for helping me. I hope you'll take this as repayment." Hiro looked down at the items Kisa held before him, and couldn't help grinning. He nodded, and took the items from Kisa.

"Thanks," he said. "This is a great repayment." They walked further down the boardwalk, waiting at one point for Tohru to catch up, enjoying the sights and sounds and staring with wonder at the many stands they saw. Tohru bought them some apricot candy, which they ate enthusiastically and happily, Hiro hesitantly leaving a bit for her to enjoy. After about 20 minutes of goofing off, they sat on the dock, Kisa and Hiro licking the ice cream they had bought using the coupons, watching as the sun began to set over the wide ocean. After a minute, Tohru stood up, motioning for Hiro to follow. Hiro rolled his eyes, but stood up anyway, handing Kisa his cone as he stood up and walked over to the older woman.

"Did you have fun today, Hiro-san?" she asked when Hiro was standing at her side. Hiro crossed his arms over his chest and nodded.

"Though I hate to admit it, you did something right today, Honda," he said stubbornly. "It looks like Kisa really enjoyed herself. I'm glad—she needed a good excuse to get out of the House for a bit." Tohru smiled and nodded.

"Where you happy to get some time alone with Kisa today?" she asked quietly. Hiro stood stock still, his eyes widened in shock as he looked up at her.

"You…planned this, didn't you?" he asked slowly. "You wanted me and Kisa to be alone for a little while…didn't you?" Tohru's smile widened, and then vanished as she saw the fury in Hiro's eyes. "Hiro-san--" she began, but he cut her off.

"No!" he exclaimed, stepping away from Tohru. "I don't need your help, you hear me? I don't want you to interfere anymore! I want to tell Kisa on my own; I want to do what I can for her on my own. I don't want you to try and 'get us together,' or any of that crap!" He looked at the ground, his teeth clenched and his body shaking. "Why did you have to meet the Sohmas? Why did she have to meet you? Why? Is it because I couldn't protect her—because I'm too weak to do anything for her?" Tohru made a move to place a hand on his shoulder, but he flinched and pushed her away.

"No! Get away from me! I don't want your help! I don't need it!" He stood there, looking up at her, his face twisted with anger and pain. He seemed to realize what he was saying, and looked away. "Look at me—getting worked up over something like this. I just want to be able to do something for her. I don't want to be useless any longer." Tohru stood in silence, so he took that as a dismissal and walked back to the dock. Before he got more than a few steps, though, Tohru called out to him again.

"Do you know why humans have bumps on their backs? The one's near our shoulders?" she asked. Hiro spun around, arching his eyebrows skeptically.

"Uh…you mean shoulder blades?" he asked. Tohru nodded.

"On every human being, where those two bumps are, sprouted two wings—beautiful, white, angelic wings. Humans weren't much unlike angels in a way. Maybe that's why God took away our wings—because He feared we were getting too close to heavenly beings, and He didn't want humans to be seen as His equals. But He didn't rid us of our wings completely; instead He gave a feather to each human to keep in their hearts, giving them a little piece of the wings they once had, but not the same feather that had sprouted on their back—the feather of another. When you find that certain someone who holds your feather, that person has become your wings in a way, and you have become their wings, as well. We are holders of each other's feathers, and we are constantly searching for our lost wings—we are constantly searching for that one special person, the one we can make happier than anyone else can, and they are constantly searching for us. I haven't found my wings yet, but I know you will, Hiro-san—you just have to have faith, and I'm sure you'll succeed."

Hiro was frozen, standing there like a statue and looking at Tohru with soft eyes, like she had opened a new door for him that he had never been able to open before. He quickly covered his feelings with a scowl, and nodded.

"Whatever you say, Honda," he said. "I'm starting to think you enjoy giving sermons like this. Well, whatever. Thanks anyway." Hiro turned his back on the smiling girl and walked back over to Kisa, sitting down next to her and taking his ice cream cone back, which was half-melted already. He licked it thoughtfully for a minute then turned to look at Kisa. She was grinning softly and looking out at sea as the setting sun cast an orange fire across the sea's surface. Hiro blushed and looked away, his fast movement catching Kisa's eye. She turned to look at him, and gave him a gentler smile.

"Is something wrong, Hiro-chan?" she asked. Hiro stared down at the water below for a moment more, then shook his head roughly and looked up at Kisa, who cocked her head innocently.

"Kisa," he began, the girl's smile fading as she saw his serious eyes, "I know that that woman has done a better job of protecting you in the past. I haven't done anything for you—I'm sorry, Kisa." Kisa shook her head and placed a hand on Hiro's.

"That's not true, Hiro-chan!" she said. "You're always so nice to me, and you're always there for me, and…and…." Her voice drifted away as she saw Hiro's eyes were filled with sorrow. She gripped Hiro's hand tighter, his sorrow reflected in her eyes. "Hiro-chan. I don't think you're worthless. I don't think you've done nothing for me in the past. You're always there for me, and I'm grateful. I want you to be with me forever, Hiro-chan, because I care about you so much." Hiro looked up, the anguish in his eyes changing to surprise.

"Kisa," he said slowly, "could you…I mean…do you…?" He paused, and looked back at the ocean as the sun was almost disappearing over the horizon. He thought back to Tohru's words—could it be true? Could she really…? He shook his head; that was crazy. There was no way that that Stupid Woman's story could be true…could it? He looked back at Kisa again, and smiled softly at her.

"I really care about you too, Kisa," he said, "and I'm glad we're together—I, too, would like to stay with you as long as possible." I'll become your wings, he thought, because I know that you have become mine.

Kisa and Hiro watched as the sun finally set, and watched as the first few stars came out, until Kisa fell asleep, and laid her head on Hiro's shoulder, breathing evenly. Hiro smiled, and carefully stood up, picking her up, and then carried her over to Tohru, who was waiting over near the entrance. Her face lit up when she saw the two, and she took Kisa from Hiro's arms gently, carrying her over to the taxi whose windows were lit brightly. Hiro looked up at the stars once more, and found a star that glittered brighter than the rest. He closed his eyes and wished upon it, a small smile forming on his lips. A voice broke his thoughts, and he turned to see Tohru was calling him. He shook his head—when was that Stupid Woman going to learn to keep her voice lower? He glanced back at the sky one last time, then ran over to the taxi.

Please, he thought as he ran, let her find her wings, even if they aren't with me. I've found mine, but that doesn't mean I can regain my ability to fly—I might just crash back to Earth. Let her find hers before I leave the ground.

Fin