Hey there! Sorry for this taking so long. To be honest I struggled with this one. I can only hope that this partially lives up to the high regards you guys gave me. Anyway, this chapter is almost twice as long as the first, and contains a lot more dialogue stuff, and isn't quite as angsty. The bold AND italicized pieces are memories.
This is where a lot of the AUishness comes into play, since a lot of this never happened. I tried my best to make it mesh with the sequence of events in the anime (which I've only seen in english just to let you know). The quotes I pulled straight from the subtitles. I hope you guys like this chapter to! You'll have to forgive me if I don't do you guys justice...
Anyway, to my reviewers... you guys are so wonderful! I love you all!
To ChildlikeEmpress: I'm so glad you like it!I'll admit right now that there will be fluff in the last chapter, but there will be no kiss. I personally want to keep the characters as much in character as I can, and I can't really see a kiss between them happening, unfortunately... (as much as I would love to see a kiss between them) Thanks for the review!
To Baka KitsuneBri: Thank you! I'm glad you like it so far! Thanks for the comment!
To HARU is my LOVELY: Yay! Glad you like it! (blink) You're begging? For MY story? Wow! Well here you go! Thanks for the review!
To Punky Sessha: Yay, Alert List! Thanks! Glad you like it! Thanks for the review!
To m.o.m.: Do you really think my writing is all that? You're so nice! Glad you like it so far! I can only hope I did a fraction of that well with this new chapter... Thanks for the comments!
To Lucinda the Maid: (stares) Wait... (stares some more) Wha... (blink) Wow... just... wow... I don't think I have ever received such an awesome review! Thank you soooooo much! It really means a lot that you took the time to write all that out. I'm glad you like it that much! And I LOVE CC! I also noticed the lengthy bits, but I was afraid if I broke them up it would seem choppy. I tried harder with that in this installment... And I will go over the chapter again to look for grammar errors. As I said earlier, I am almost terrified that this chapter will not uphold the standards set with the first. I can only hope you like it and beg your forgiveness if you don't! (goes to hide) Thank you soooooo much for this unbelievable review! I really hope you enjoy this chapter...
Thanks to everyone who read this story!
I hope you all enjoy the next chapter!
Disclaimer: I don't own Fruits Basket... but if I did... actually... I dunno what I'd do if I did. But it would probably involve Shigure in some way...
Part 2: Her Absence
The day had broken bright and clear, a gentle breeze sifting through the trees. The birds were already well into their morning melodies, unaware of the young girl only just beginning to stir beyond the window.
Tohru shifted drowsily beneath her comforter, reaching up to rub the sleep from her eyes. She yawned in an uncharacteristically rude manner before giving a quiet groan, shielding her eyes from the bright sunlight. Wait...
"Oh, no!" Bolting upright, Tohru cried out in panic. She snatched her alarm clock off of the dresser and gave it a tug, moaning in dismay as it came away from the wall easily, the cord obviously having been pulled from the outlet.
"Nnn... keep it down..."
Turning at the muffled command, Tohru shot a betrayed look at her cousin, whose head was barely visible below her covers. Kicking off her blankets and swinging her legs over the side of the bed, Tohru hurriedly gathered her school uniform before rushing down the hall towards the bathroom. She needed to get ready! She had to get breakfast started before-
"Excuse me, Tohru."
Skidding to an abrupt stop, she shifted out of the way as her uncle emerged from his bedroom. "Oh, pardon me. Good morning."
The man made no effort to respond as he stepped around her, straightening the collar of his shirt.
Watching him make his way down the stairs, in the midst of adjusting his tie, Tohru noticed the strange voices rising from the kitchen; accompanied by what sounded like scraping pots and pans. And now that she thought about it, she could detect the aroma of eggs... and, she sniffed lightly, was that coffee?.
"Breakfast smells wonderful." Her grandfather's voice carried all the way to the second floor.
Tohru sighed, hugging her folded clothes to her chest. Normally she would have been up with the sun, busily getting the Sohma's breakfast ready.
Shigure would have been at the table, reading the newspaper in a content silence, while Yuki always offered to help with the meal. Like clockwork, she would always hear the water turned on in the bathroom upstairs as Kyo got ready for the day.
One morning she had made the mistake of mentioning the low water pressure in the sink. Yuki had left the kitchen wordlessly. Tohru had listened anxiously as he stomped down the hall and up the stairs, until he had paused beside the bathroom door. There had been a brief silence before a loud pounding rattled the walls. Then angry shouts and cussing had erupted, followed by a keening whine from Shigure about everyone damaging his poor house... Tohru missed the routine stability of those mornings.
"What are you doing?"
Tohru jumped, pulled from her reverie, her breath catching as she turned her startled gaze to her cousin. "Oh, n-nothing." She smiled uneasily. "Did you sleep well?"
Her only reply was an odd look as the girl, still clad in her nightclothes, shuffled past her and continued on down the stairwell.
Sighing heavily again she turned, sulking slightly, and moved once again to the bathroom. Was a simple good morning so much to ask? She paused in the doorway, smiling sadly as she wondered about how calmly the day had begun at the Sohma residence.
"You'd better get the hell out of that bathroom, you damn rat!" Kyo stood in the kitchen doorway, fuming as he returned to the pot boiling on the stove.
Flinching as he heard a door slam upstairs, Shigure sighed dejectedly. Complete mayhem had broken loose the moment he had set foot on the first floor. Backing his way to the table, he struggled to balance the haphazard stack of dishes in his arms. He slowly, carefully lowered himself, halting as a cup wavered dangerously. He was almost to the tabletop when there was a knock at the door. He let out a frustrated growl. "Kyo! Can you get the door? My arms are full!"
The reply came only after there was a rather alarming clatter in the sink. "Get rat boy to answer it, I'm busy!" A poorly stifled curse followed shortly.
Shigure whimpered as there was louder, more impatient pound on the front entrance. "Just a minute!" He called, finally letting the dishes rest upon the table. "Yuki?" He bellowed over the chaotic racket that had filled the house. "Please get the door!" He glanced longingly at his poor, abandoned newspaper. It looked lonely on the floor all by itself. "Yuki?"
"I've got it!" Came the rushed answer. The patter of Yuki's socked feet drummed its way down the stairs, the boy walking briskly towards the front door. Just as he was about to greet their visitor, the knocking stopped and the door opened of its own accord.
Shigure wondered idly who would have let themselves into the house, but shrugged it off, busily setting the dishes into their customary arrangement. Four places. He froze, looking at Tohru's vacant seat. "Oh, right. Only three places today..." He sighed unhappily, bending once more to retrieve the extra tableware.
Yuki leaned around the doorframe, taking in his cousin's miserable demeanor before speaking. "You can leave the dishes there, we need four places this morning."
Blinking in confusion, the dog looked hopefully at the younger Sohma. Could Tohru have come back? Had she changed her mind? He paused, his hand closing around a cup. His heart was swelling with anticipation, but his hopes were dashed, crushed, and thrown out the window for good measure, when Hatori appeared behind Yuki.
"Just as I thought." The doctor cast a knowing glance in Shigure's direction. "You completely forgot I was coming over today, didn't you?"
Shigure deflated visibly at the sight of his friend. "Oh, it's just you..."
The dragon's visible eyebrow rose at his comment, but he remained silent. He placed a hand on Yuki's shoulder and steered the boy towards the stairs. "I'll be borrowing him for a few minutes."
Waving them off, Shigure turned and replaced what flatware he had taken. Though somehow it felt incredibly wrong. As he moved towards the kitchen, he paused to look back at the table. So, Hatori was going to be taking Tohru's place, huh? He peered around the room warily before quickly shifting the whole place setting. Moving the dishes over to the other end of the table he stood again and surveyed his hasty revision, nodding in satisfaction. That was a little better.
An angry yelp burst from behind the kitchen door and Shigure hesitantly made his way closer. "Kyo, you're not setting my kitchen on fire again are you? It's just a pot of stew, you know."
"Then get your ass in here and you cook it!"
After calming Kyo for the time being, Shigure realized that he had been neglecting his beloved paper, and more or less skipped past the table to retrieve the morning news.
Watching his cousin dance his way back into the kitchen, Kyo rolled his eyes before lifting the scalding pot from the burner.
Holding the front page with one hand and sifting through the rest with the other, Shigure perused the headlines. He found the local section and waved it absently. She always took a quick look at the daily happenings before she served breakfast. "Tohru, did you want the..."
Kyo froze mid-step, his expression shocked as he twisted to face Shigure.
The dog seemed to have startled himself, and his face appeared briefly above the top edge of the news; his forehead creasing as his eyebrows rose.
The cat resumed his trip back to the stove, turning off the heat, but not before he saw Shigure's expression sink into a mask of indifference. Kyo smirked slightly. He could try and hide it, but he knew the man well enough to know when he was depressed. "What's with you? One minute you're all excited and the next you're stone faced."
"Like you haven't felt it as well."
Shigure noticed from behind his paper that Yuki had returned to the kitchen, shadowed closely by Hatori. Stealing a glance at the dragon, he briefly met the man's eyes as the doctor looked at him. He had often seen a similar expression on Yuki's face while he was doing his math homework. Focused and calculating. Hatori had seen right through him, suspicion written across his features.
Kyo snorted, slamming the ladle he had been holding down as hard as he dared. "What are you, some kind of moron?" He carefully lifted the pot again, moving to leave the kitchen before speaking again. "I don't know what the hell you're talking about."
Yuki watched him intensely, doing his best to make Kyo uncomfortable. "Nice mittens." His mouth curved in an undetectable smirk as he moved to the dining table, muttering a 'stupid cat' just loud enough for the redhead to hear.
Glancing down at the pink oven mitts on his hands as he halted yet again, Kyo growled, leveling a steady glare at the back of the rat's head.
"Temper, Kyo." Shigure warned quietly, following Yuki to the table. His words were tired, his expression worn, lacking the conviction that people had come to expect from him.
After Hatori had declined the invitation to stay for breakfast, saying that he still had three more appointments before noon, the three remaining Sohma's had settled into a relatively normal meal. Yuki and Kyo managed to make it off to school without further incident.
The same could not be said for Shigure, who was still nursing his wounds after he had made the mistake of parading the strawberry towel at the table.
Basking in the absolute silence, Shigure retired to his study. They were quickly approaching a deadline, and the last thing he needed was his editor, Mii, breathing down his neck. He shuddered at the thought of the petite young woman stalking him relentlessly, as she tended to do when he dragged a manuscript down to the wire. "Alright, creative spirit, don't fail me now!" Plucking his favorite pen from the tabletop, he settled himself over his paper and began to write.
... "Tohru?"
"Oh!" Jumping slightly, Tohru looked up from the book she was reading and smiled. "Hi, Shigure!"
The dog smiled brightly back, almost laughing out loud as he looked at the two small piles of cookies on the table in front of her. "What are you doing?"
"Huh?" She blinked in confusion, glancing down at her book before meeting Shigure's eyes again. "Um... reading?" She offered, sounding unsure of what he was referring to.
The dying light of early evening cast long shadows from the open doorway, shading the girls face when she looked away. "No. I mean with the cookies!" Now he was chuckling quietly, trying not to alarm the young woman.
Her eyes fell to the table, looking at her snack. "What do you mean?"
He had been observing her for a few minutes before he had approached her. She had been absently nibbling on the cookies between pages. They were teddy bear shaped cookies, but upon closer inspection, they were all missing their arms. As he had watched, she would pick a cookie and daintily bite off a limb. That done, she would place it in the separate group of bears that were already armless. One by one, until she had eaten all the arms before starting on the legs.
Shigure stifled his laughter long enough to speak. "Where are their arms?"
Realizing that he had discovered her little food quirk, she blushed heavily. "Oh, um, I don't know, it's just a habit I guess..." She tucked her hair behind her ear, biting her lip as she seemed to suddenly realize something. "Oh! But if it bothers you I'll stop! I don't want to be a disturbance or anything. I just-"
"No!" He held out a hand to stop her. "It's just funny!" He laughed again, softly this time as he crossed his arms, looking at her as if he were searching for something. "I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable, it's..." He paused, smiling fondly at her. "It's just cute."
Tohru seemed to crumble at that last word. She whimpered in embarrassment, burying her face in her hands as it burned an even more intense shade of red.
Shigure grinned widely, deciding it best to keep it to himself that her reaction only made her seem all the more endearing...
Suddenly finding himself slumped over the table, Shigure looked blankly down at his writing so far. "I guess I drifted off..." There were only about four full sentences before the elegant handwriting slowly eased into scribbles and random doodles. "Really drifted off." He crumpled the ruined sheet of paper and tossed it into the waste basket.
Over the next few hours he cycled through many exhausted attempts at progress, frequently interrupted by resurfacing memories.
"I wonder how many trees I've killed so far." Shigure mused sadly, becoming more disheartened by the second after a particularly vivid recollection. He threw away yet another piece of scrap paper, growling as it bounced out of the already full trash bin and rolled across the floor. He groaned in defeat and collapsed face down on the table. "I give up!"
... Just leave it to me!...
He felt out of place in his own home as he wandered aimlessly. Ever since yesterday the house had seemed colder, smaller, and darker. He had been unusually irritable, as had Kyo, and that coupled with Yuki's constant sighing had made the Sohma residence a generally distressing place to be. He took little comfort in the fact that the boys seemed to share his displeasure. "At least they get to see her at school."
Angered by that fact, Shigure suddenly found himself in the place he had been trying to avoid; Tohru's bedroom. Disregarding the realization that he had never been inside this room while she had lived here, this room somehow made him feel the most welcome. He felt slightly better, as if the presence he still felt in the room had offered him a reprieve from his sorrow.
The curtains fluttered gently over the window, allowing enough midday light through to catch on something beneath the desk.
"What's this?" Shigure crouched on the ground, retrieving what turned out to be a picture frame. It seemed to have fallen behind the desk, and there was a fine sheet of dust coating the entire picture. It was not even enough dust to obscure the image behind the glass, but compared to how clean Tohru normally kept the house, barely one day's worth of dirt seemed like a lot.
... You've been so nice to me. I hope it's no trouble...
The frame was made from a simple wood, and the picture was one he had never seen, but one he remembered taking. It was of Tohru and Kagura, sitting in front of the repaired door that the Sohma girl had torn down earlier. They were pointing at their little cut out zodiac animals, and to Shigure's pleasure, Tohru's delicate finger was proudly pointing to the canine silhouette.
Shigure slowly wiped the dust away from Tohru's smiling face, fingers smoothing across the visible width of her shoulders with the utmost care.
He could remember the day that Tohru had first met the boar of the zodiac. 'So much damage in so little time.' He thought, sighing as the memory came rushing back to him. Kyo's panicked escape attempts, Kagura's beatings... out of love and affection of course. Tohru had easily befriended the older girl, amazing everyone, probably Shigure above all else.
... I hope you don't mind that I served them cold. I can heat them up if you want...
Tohru had expressed a desire to be more like Kagura. To be able to find all the good qualities in those she cared for.
Shigure smiled, in affection as well as wonderment. He could not help but be stunned by this young girl. She was like no other person he had ever met. Always trying to please the people around her...
... Wait! I can't let you do this. Not after all the trouble you've gone through already! It's too much...
Always trying so hard...
... I have to hold that diploma in my hand... I have to... for her...
Always being completely honest, and somehow still managing to say exactly the right thing...
... So this is... normal?...
Shigure chuckled, his mood lightening as he thought about her. There was always his personal favorite...
... This is the first time I've seen you in a suit. It looks good on you!...
He placed the photograph back on the desk. He'd have one of the boys return it to her at school later. For right now, he was content just to reminisce for a little while longer. There was one memory that he held fondly, while at the same time it made him a little jealous.
Tohru's love for the cat of the zodiac had lead her to ask Shigure for a rare favor. She had mentioned how much she had loved his little zodiac figurines and, even though it technically wasn't a member, wanted to make a cat for his collection. The whole idea was far too charming to deny, and so he had gladly helped her paint an orange feline statuette, gracefully curved whiskers and all. Though he was somewhat envious.
She was unbelievable. Of that there was no doubt.
Feeling much better, Shigure quietly closed the door behind him as he left the room. "Maybe I could give writing one more shot..."
It was with great relief that Tohru closed the front door upon her return from school. In general her day had been tolerable, but that was due greatly in part to Yuki.
Kyo had barely said three words to her all day, and had seemed to be doing his best to ignore her presence entirely. While in the back of her mind Tohru had predicted a reaction similar to that, the reality of the situation had hit her hard. Just being able to see him had been nice, but her heart had ached painfully at his cold and distant greeting.
Yuki, on the other hand, had been happy to see her, and even more pleased to hear that she had settled in well. However, even though he masked it well, Tohru still noticed that he too had seemed more withdrawn than usual.
... And I was so looking forward to another of Tohru's delicious home cooked meals...
Tohru moved slowly down the hallway, pausing for a moment when she heard the sound of her relatives speaking in the kitchen. She lifted one hand to the doorknob, but decided to forego that room for the time being. Hearing the voice of her cousin from behind the door she knew that the bedroom was empty, and she would have some space to collect her thoughts.
She dragged her tired body up the stairs. Physically she felt fine, sore, but fine, and she had slept fitfully the night before. On the other hand, emotionally, she was completely drained. Dwelling on memories of the Sohmas was taking its toll. Only once she had set her belongings down, the bedroom door shut securely behind her, did she allow herself to relax.
... Make yourself at home, okay?...
She collapsed onto her bed, grateful to have something supporting her other than her determination to keep up an air of contentment. Her face was sore from the forced smile she had worn all day. Her shoulders and back cramped from holding her straight and upbeat posture, when her state of mind had made her feel weak and fatigued. The muscles of her legs shook from maintaining a lively step. She hurt all over.
... Oh, Tohru, you're bleeding!...
And then suddenly her eyes were stinging as well, the tears building as her false composure finally gave way. She had felt lonely all day; lonely, sad, and guilty. The guilt had hit her like a brick wall as soon as she had looked at her mom's picture that morning before school. Her mother's advice to always be herself had plagued her, and she felt so guilty it made her feel sick. Was she lying to them? To the Sohma's, her grandfather, her family... even herself?
... Thank you, Tohru. You really are too good to us...
It made her feel disgusting, and as she bit back a sob she turned over, pressing her face as hard as she could into her pillow as if that would hold back her tears. Fighting off a surge of nausea, she calmed herself, relenting on her eyes as she blinked away the dizziness. Sighing, she drifted into thoughts of the one person she missed the most. Thinking of him had always calmed her.
How was he doing? If she was like this... was he affected in even remotely the same way?
Shigure had always possessed the ability to calm her; to make her see things within reason. When the landslide had completely engulfed the tent and her mothers portrait, she had been frantic with worry.
Overcome with panic and fever, the only person who had been able to convince her that her own well-being was more important had been him. She could still feel the weight of his hand over hers.
... I think your mom's probably glad it wasn't you in there. And I think she'd be upset if you got hurt now, don't you?...
She gave a small smile. After they had gotten her home and into bed, he had stayed by her side, listening to her and offering what comfort he could. Closing her eyes, she could tell that just the thought of him was blocking out the pain.
... "If you really want to help, you can slice the vegetables while I cook the meat."
Shigure nodded, taking the knife from the cutting board and choosing a freshly washed carrot. "No problem!" She had insisted that it was her job to prepare the meals, but after he had disrupted her progress enough times, she had finally relented.
Tohru smiled, watching as the dog set to work, diligently chopping. Turning back to the pan before her, she lost herself in the rhythmic sound of the knife on wood.
Shigure focused like he never had before, cutting a celery stalk into neat, uniform pieces. "And into the bowl..." He moved what he had chopped into a bowl as Tohru had instructed him.
"Ouch!"
Jumping at the yelp, Shigure narrowly avoided severing his own finger as he moved to begin slicing a tomato. He quickly abandoned his duty and turned to see Tohru blowing on her index finger. "Oh no, Tohru, did you burn yourself?" At her nod, he took her by the wrist and pulled her over to the sink.
Whimpering in pain, she yielded to Shigure's hand, following his orders and placing her injured hand under the rush of cold water when he had turned the faucet on. "Shigure-"
"Stay here." He commanded gently, disappearing from her side.
Too confused to move even if she had wanted to, she waited obediently. Hearing the scraping of metal on metal, she established that Shigure had removed the pan from the burner. After a few more moments of rustling, and the sound of the freezer being opened, he was back beside her, taking her wounded hand in his as he shut off the tap.
"How does it feel now?" He questioned, applying the cold compress he had fashioned out of a dishtowel and ice cubes. He met Tohru's eyes with a look of concern, instantly noticing the blush that spread quickly over her cheeks. "Tohru?"
"Oh! It's uh..." Her voice wavered in her embarrassment. "It's a little better..." The cold of the ice on the palm of her hand and fingers was a stark contrast to the soothing warmth of the hand cradling hers. She bit her lip, searching for something to say.
Shigure removed the icepack and examined her burnt finger. "Only a little, huh?" After placing the damp towel on the counter he carefully lifted her hand, pressing his lips to her fingertip. Pulling away and releasing her hand again, he smiled cheekily at her. "How about now?"
Her mouth worked furiously, but she couldn't seem to form the words. Her face was simply glowing she was so flushed. Tearing her eyes away from his, she finally managed a feeble 'all better, thank you.'...
Tohru sat up, smiling ruefully, remembering just how easily Shigure could shatter her self-control. Just his voice could send her mind reeling, though very rarely was he ever completely serious. And he certainly did seem to have a gift with words.
... You were born in the year of the dog. I knew there was something I liked about you. I mean, aside from your pretty fa- OW!...
She giggled to herself, remembering how Yuki had interrupted with the heavy books. More often than not those words got him into a lot of trouble. While on the subject of words, Tohru was reminded of the very first thing he had ever said to her.
... My word. Do my eyes deceive me, or is there a strange young girl standing on my porch?...
She groaned, mortified as she also recalled her frantic apologies. The first time she had ever spoken to Shigure, and her words had been so jumbled that she herself couldn't even have understood them.
She wrapped her arms around herself, getting to her feet as the walls of the room were stained orange by the fading sun. 'Might as well let them know I'm home...'
She had been separated from him for almost a full twenty four hours. Reflecting on how the time had gone, she acknowledged that her days would probably never again be as complete as they had been. Judging from how she had struggled through just one day, she could only hope with everything she had, that those to come would get easier.
Shigure heaved a great sigh, drumming his fingers loudly on the table. He looked up only when Yuki entered the room and took a seat next to him. "So... how did you say she was doing?"
The rat groaned in frustration. "For the eighth time, Shigure. She said she was fine!"
There was a brief snort behind them. Kyo had stretched out on the floor beside the table, and the room was again trapped in an eerie silence.
"So what's for dinner?"
The dog turned at the sound of Kyo's voice, looking down at the prone form of the redhead. "Take out. Unless one of you wants to slap on an apron and give it a shot."
Both boys merely glared at him, remaining silent as they returned to their sulking.
Pouting, Shigure propped his chin in his hand, letting his mind wander. While his head was questing for a meal idea, his thought process somehow got derailed, and he found himself thinking once again of her. As the day had passed it had happened more and more. If he did not take so much enjoyment in dwelling on the past, he probably would have considered it a nuisance.
But he did, so it wasn't, and never would be. Especially where she was concerned.
His most recent memories were of the night he had offered to escort her home from work. She had politely declined, insisting that that was much too much trouble for him to go to on her account. So he had reluctantly waved her off for the evening, shuddering as he stood outside, hair tossed by a wind that promised rain.
He had spent the rest of the day wavering between following her wishes and defying her. But then the skies had opened up and a cold, dismal rain had pelted the ground. When his eyes had fallen upon her umbrella, propped against the front doorframe as if waiting, forgotten, he had jumped at the chance, and dashed out the door with a quick farewell to the boys.
Tohru had said not to pick her up at work, but she had not said anything about the bus stop right around the corner. So that was where he had waited, standing in the torrential downpour beneath a struggling streetlight, its bulb flickering randomly.
He had heard her coming well before he had seen her, and stepped into her path as she rounded the curve in the sidewalk, intent on sheltering her from the rain with the open umbrella.
He had not, however, planned on scaring her as badly as he had. Only once he had lowered the umbrella to let the dingy light illuminate his face did she cease her screaming. After realizing who her visitor was, she gave him a confused look.
She had opened her mouth to speak, but he had stepped closer, smiling as he pulled her under the umbrella, and nothing more was said. They had made their way home in silence, content with the constant pounding of the rain, and the aroma of the damp earth.
Shigure scowled. It was that contentment that he had been lacking for the past day. That presence that gave him a sense of completion. He needed it back. Tohru had to return. He honestly feared for his mental stability if she did not come back. With the constant flashbacks, he would never be able to complete a single train of thought lest it relate to her.
He missed her dearly, but he was confident that he would settle... He knew that he could live life normally again... He would be content just knowing she was there, and keeping her on the edge of his vision... if only she would just come home...
... It's not your fault your family's cursed...
Three.
... I'll be right upstairs if you need me...
Two.
... Be safe!...
One.
Shigure slowly, if not abruptly, stood from the table; calmly crossing to the door instead of tearing out of the room like he had wanted to. He mumbled a quiet excuse that earned him strange looks from both of his younger cousins. Slipping out into the hallway, he hastily made his way to the stairs. As he climbed the steps three at a time he smirked to himself.
'Those two can give up if they want to, but I'll be damned if I'm going to sit around and let Tohru leave us just like that.'
That's right. He was going to get their lovely flower back. And boy did he have a plan.
There you go! I hope you guys liked it... Please review and let me know! Even if you didn't enjoy it as much as the first one! Please tell me why! Thanks for reading, you're all wonderful!