/determination of the young/

Shigure was rarely visited at his house these days. If he ever needed to talk to someone, he went to see them. So naturally he was surprised when, around midday, there was a soft knock at the front door.

Outside, an orange-haired teenager shivered in the cool spring winds. Her school uniform indicated she came from an all-girls' private school the other side of town. Although outwardly she appeared to be calm, she felt a rising nervousness inside for what she'd come to do.

'Kisa-chan?' her cousin enquired as he opened the door. 'I don't see you round here very often.'

'I… yes, sorry.' Kisa's nervousness overtook her for a moment, and she stumbled over her words. 'That is, I'm doing a project on garden vegetables at school.'

'Wait, please come inside.' Shigure stepped back, allowing her to enter. From the doorway the house still looked the same as it had when she'd come here with Tohru. But the smell was different. Gone was the scent of flowers and fresh cookies that had once lingered in the hallway. It was gone, Kisa thought. It would never come back here now.

Shigure smiled down at her. 'So what does your school project have to do with me, Kisa-chan?'

'Nothing, really,' she answered. 'But I thought Yuki-san might have some books on it, so I rang him but he told me they were all here. I was wondering if I might be able to have a look for some?' Shigure's face showed no sign of whether he'd agree to let her or not. 'Yuki-san said that I might,' Kisa added hopefully.

'I suppose you can have a quick look,' Shigure sighed. 'Do you want me to help you?'

'No, it's okay thanks, he told me where to find them,' Kisa reassured him. 'I don't want to interrupt your work.'

'Very well, then. You do know where Yuki's old room is, don't you?'

'I do,' Kisa said.

Once Shigure had gone back into the room he called his office, the Tiger ascended the stairs, her feet padding softly on each step. At the top she paused briefly, and then sent a quick glance back down to check she was alone.

She was, and so she continued on to her grey-haired cousin's room. Inside, she could tell this was a room that had not been used in a long time. There was dust caked on the bookshelves and the windowsill. Kisa drew her finger down it, momentarily lost in memories, thinking of happier times. Then she remembered why she was here, and took a book off the shelf.

Doing her best to be as quiet as possible, she crept back along the hallway and into the room that had once belonged to a different sixteen-year-old girl. Like Yuki's this room was also covered in dust, a shrine to what had once been.

Time was short, and Kisa knew that if she stayed up here much longer Shigure would come up to find out what she was doing. But she wasn't sure where to start looking, or even what she was looking for. Tohru's diary, perhaps? Would it even still be here after three whole years? Kisa looked through the schoolbooks and notebooks on the desk, being careful to replace everything afterwards. Where would Tohru keep things that were most precious to her? Where would she, Kisa, keep them?

At the front of the desk stood a photo frame. Although the glass surface was covered in three years' worth of dust Kisa could still make out the picture of a young woman, smiling at the world. That was what Tohru had treasured most! Kisa picked it up and felt in the gap between the photo and the wooden frame. Sure enough, there was a small wad of paper.

'Kisa-chan?' Shigure called from downstairs. 'Are you sure you don't need a hand?'

Swearing inside (a particular phrase which she'd learned from Hiro), Kisa eased out the paper and shoved it inside the pages of the book she'd taken from Yuki's room. Quickly she made her way out of Tohru's room and closed the door behind her. At the top of the stairs she called, 'No, I've got everything I need now. Thanks!'

Kisa was about to go downstairs when an unexpected movement caught her eye. The door to the bathroom, which had been open when she'd come upstairs, had suddenly closed. Kisa shivered inside. It must have been the wind – there could be no one else here.

Could there?

She went back downstairs, trying to dispel the thought from her mind. In the kitchen Shigure was inspecting a dirty-looking kettle. 'I was going to offer you a cup of coffee,' he said, 'but I think it might kill you.'

'That's alright,' Kisa laughed, 'I don't like coffee much anyway.'

'Well, then.' Shigure sighed. 'Did you find anything useful?'

'Yes, I hope so,' she replied. I really, really hope so.

'I'd better be going, then,' Kisa said awkwardly. She went into the hallway and opened the front door. A cold wind blew into her face.

'Yes – shouldn't you be at school at the moment?' her cousin asked from behind her.

'It's the lunch-break,' Kisa lied. 'Um… thanks for letting me get this book.'

'You're welcome.' Shigure waved to her. 'I'll hope to see you again soon, then!'

'Yes – bye.' The door closed and Kisa breathed a sigh of relief. She'd done what she came to do, and hadn't been discovered. Now if only she could work out what had happened, that time three years ago.

Kisa wandered back down the driveway, towards the main road. She hoped she could catch a bus that would get her back to school before she missed too many lessons.

Lost in her thoughts, Kisa forgot all about the bathroom door. And so she didn't think to look back at the house; and so she didn't notice the pale face watching her from an upstairs window.

/end of part 4/

AN: Thanks to everyone who's reviewed so far! This chapter is longer than the previous ones – I hope that satisfies you for now! Can't promise when I'll update next – but it should be in the next week, homework allowing. Keep reviewing! I wonder what'll happen next… ;)