Chapter 9: Eight Years

Princess Sango

"Just play around only in the front yard, or stay close to the house!" Tohru yelled worriedly out to her kids.

"Don't worry mama, have we ever gotten lost?" Kyoko teased as she held her brother's hand. Tohru smiled and waved to her before entering the house. Yuki was sitting on the couch reading, and greeted her.

"Hi Honda-san, are they out playing for now?" Yuki asked her.

"Yeah, they grew up so fast," Tohru whispered as she sat down on the couch, "and Kyo-chan is looking so much like his father, everyday."

Yuki looked up at Tohru, it seemed like another outburst waiting to happen, and he started to rub her back comfortingly as possible as she started crying. "I miss him Yuki-kun, I know you've been trying to help me, but…"

Yuki continued to rub her back, "That's okay Honda-san, you miss him, and it's okay."

Tohru looked at Yuki and tried to blink away the oncoming tears. Yuki felt his heart break when he saw her like this, so sad, because he had fallen for her too, but soon had realized that his love that Tohru had given him was friendly, not like her and Kyo. Kyo seemed to hold the place Yuki wanted, but at least he knew he could help her in some way. Yuki happened to play the father figure Kyo would've played, but they still knew Yuki wasn't their father.

"I better go get them, please don't mention this to them," Tohru whispered, like always after she cried.

Yuki could only nod as he watched her walk out of the room and open the door. "Kyo, Kyoko, time to come inside!"

Tohru called this out three other times, before she came back inside, "They're not answering Yuki-kun what if…?"

Yuki walked over to her, "They couldn't have gone far Honda-san, remember many Sohma's live in the main house, we'll find them."

Yuki led Tohru outside where they started walking around, and when Tohru got close to the woods she felt like a lost soul. Yuki had already checked every house that they would stop by, so the only place she could think of was the little woodsy area by the hut. Tohru called out for them when she heard their voices innocently talking to someone else. Tohru neared them to find the hut and called out to them, "What are you doing over here?"

Kyo and Kyoko looked up and ran over to Tohru, "Mom there's this man in there, he's really nice, and he talks to us. He won't show us his face either but he seems really nice. He even knows our names! Can we let him out mommy?"

Tohru's eyes glazed over with tears but hugged her kids, "No, why don't we go home now? Uncle Yuki and I have been very worried about you."

Kyoko looked back at the hut before Tohru pulled her children away and back into the house. There she closed the door and yelled out to Yuki that she was home and that Kyoko and Kyo were with her. Kyoko looked at her mother worriedly before pulling Kyo out of her reach and walked into her room. Kyo sat down on her pink futon that lay on the floor as Kyoko sat down on the pearly white chair at her matching white vanity table. "That's strange Kyo-kun, mama seems to know about that man."

Kyo looked at his sister's back as he watched her brush her mid-back dark brown-orange highlighted hair. "I thought it strange too, but we can't do anything about it."

Kyoko stopped brushing her hair and turned to Kyo, narrowing her dark red/brown eyes at him, "Obviously that person in the hut means something to mom, you hear her cry out about it in her sleep! She was about to cry when we mentioned that person."

"Yeah but maybe she met a different hut, a different person. Look I'm not happy not knowing our father either, but doesn't Uncle Yuki make up for it? You've got to let go of all your childish dreams of our real dad just showing up and saying, 'Hi there kids, sorry it took so long.' That's only in books and fairytales okay?" With that Kyo ran out of the room and walked into his dark blue room.

Kyoko's eyes trailed her brother's path before shaking her head, "I don't want to give up Kyo-chan, I want to know who our dad is, even if you're afraid to."

TBC…