Disclaimer: Takaya Natsuki owns. I borrow. I do not make money from borrow, therefore, it is a non-profit endeavor and I cannot be Merry Sue'd.

Chapter 10: Class work

While Tohru was becoming acquainted with her new environment, Yuki and Kyo were fighting their own demons. Denpa-wave girl had arrived with the Yankee and they were torturing the two boys.

"Where is Tohru-kun?" Uotani Arisa had Yuki cornered like the rat he was, while Hanajimi Saki was looking at Kyo in a way that made him decidedly unsettled.

"What do you mean Uotani-san?" Yuki hated being cornered, and he certainly hated the thought of going up against an ex-yakuza member. "She's here somewhere."

Kyo's ears perked and he looked at Hana-sama. "You've seen her today, correct?"

She glared at the orange-headed idiot. "If we had seen Tohru-kun, why would we bother you?" Kyo and Yuki glanced at each other before turning back to the women standing in front of them. "You didn't know." Her black braid slipped off her shoulder and she watched as the waves around them sparked and sizzled with the chaos that normally surrounded him merging with confusion and the concerned waves she generated.

"We left the house before she did today." His waves darkened and she glared at him.

"You hurt her."

How does she know?

"I can see the pain, it is a dark miasma that surrounds you. It is caused by something you've said, and it did not amuse." She suddenly reached a hand out and gripped his chin strongly. "You cannot undo, all you can do is repair and monitor." She turned away. "Danger follows you closely, you need to watch your path." She tapped Uotani who looked up. "They cannot help us. We must seek our answers elsewhere."

"Haru!" A gleam appeared in Uotani's eyes as she spun on her heel and headed off on her next mission.

Kyo and Yuki looked at each other with concern. Tohru isn't at school today!

sssss

Haru had just finished a very satisfying sprout on wheat and was returning his tray when a hand stopped his forward momentum. "Just a minute young man." He turned to look into the highly polished and plucked face of Uotani-san. His gaze dropped and he took a lewd assessment of her clothing, starting with the opening of her shirt that showed cleavage to where the slit started on her skirt. "There's more than just my boobs and ass you know, you could at least ogle my legs too." Her direct approach to his rudeness turned him on, but he feigned boredom.

"What do you want? I have places to be." And if you knew exactly what place I most wanted to be, you'd run. He moved his shoulder and she removed her hand, trailing it idly down his chest as if she was unaware of her motions.

"I'm looking for Tohru-kun." Don't think you're fooling me, I know exactly what you're thinking, and I am willing to play into it. "Have you seen her?" She leaned forward, letting him breath in the white plum perfume she casually dabbed on every morning. He raised an eyebrow, but provided no other response. She started to turn. "Pity. She's been gone all day and the twins know nothing about her disappearance. I'd hate to think anything bad had happened to her." He grabbed her shoulder before she could walk away.

"Yuki and Kyo don't know she's not here?" He was finally looking at her eyes, a clear sign he was concerned.

"That's correct. They were clueless when we inquired."

Akito, it was not part of your plan to harm her. She'd better be safe. "I'll find out what I can." He ran his hand down her arm, catching her wrist and the slightly accelerated pulse. "It will cost you, though I'm not sure you'll consider the payment expensive at all." Running a thumb over her quickening pulse, he looked at her with eyes that promised the fruit of knowledge in their depths.

As he turned to leave, Hanajima walked up to Uotani. "I don't need to ask anything about that encounter, I could have felt it in Hokkaido." Blushing, Uotani turned and headed to class, her friend following at a discrete distance.

sssss

When the bell rang at the end of the day, there was no guessing the first people out of the building. Kyo and Yuki were bickering all the way down the street, typical cat/rat style. Finally Kyo realized today was his normal dojo day, and Yuki agreed to dig into the mystery of Tohru's disappearance while Kyo went to practice.

Uo and Hana were watching from a distance and when Kyo turned to head off to the Dojo, Uotani turned to follow and Hanajima sped up to catch up with Yuki. "Yuki-san, please wait." He turned and stopped while she caught up. "I don't know what happened, but can I be of assistance? Uo-chan and I are both worried about Tohru-kun."

Yuki started walking again, thinking very hard as they passed stores and homes. Finally he stopped and gestured to a bench. "Will you sit?" She nodded and they sat down to talk. "We fought with Honda-san yesterday." Saki stared at him, but he did not elucidate.

Finally she sighed and glared at him. "Tohru does NOT fight. She sits while the waves of emotion crash upon her head. Why don't you rephrase that statement to make it a little more truthful."

Yuki could almost see the lightning shooting from around her body and he realized that she would not accept half-truths when it came to Tohru. He sighed. "I cannot and will not explain everything to you. Please understand that there are things that happen beyond your need to know."

"If it involves Tohru, I will not understand secrets kept from me."

"Even if they are kept by Honda-san herself?" He was looking at his hands, which were gripped tightly in his lap.

Saki blinked and stared at him. Tohru keeps secrets for these boys too? She shook her head. "Iie, if Tohru keeps secrets, than I will honor that." She has never revealed what she knows about me. How many secrets does she keep? Until Uotani explained about her past, I had no knowledge of her history. "Continue."

"She may have been removed from our house because of the fight we had yesterday." He swallowed hard. "We said some horrible things to her." Saki looked at him in confusion. "Because we had no other choice. Sometimes small sacrifices are made in order to achieve a greater good."

"And Tohru-kun was one of these 'sacrifices?'"

Yuki was suddenly in her face. "NO!" He was breathing hard, almost panting with his small lung capacity. "Tohru is NEVER to be a sacrifice." Saki held up a hand to placate the angry boy.

"I believe I understand what you're saying. You started a fight, sacrificing your happiness with her and her happiness in general because there was a bill that required that kind of payment."

"Yes." He was calming down.

"So you are not in a position to be able to just go in and find out from Shigure-san where Tohru is." He nodded. "Well…" she slapped her hands together. "I'm glad we had this conversation. I can."

Yuki gave a semblance of a smile for the first time since she'd seen him today. "I was hoping you would."

They bent their heads together and came up with a plan that would achieve the desired result without tipping anyone off as to who was pulling the strings.

A/N: Thank you to my two loyal reviewers! I hope you have had a great week Misao-Ai and Trunksgirl! Thank you to everyone else who has taken the time to read, hope you continue to enjoy! -TK