CHAPTER 2

PROPOSALS AND DESTRUCTION

One must be strong, even when one is afraid

Authors Note: Sorry about taking so long in getting this second chapter out. I wanted it to be just perfect before I posted it. I'm happy about the amount of reviews I got for the first chapter. It's motivated me to work alot harder on this one.

I hope you all enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do not own the characters of Furuba. I do however own Korosu and Kaze.

"He what?" Kyo and Yuki exclaimed in unison as they dropped what they were doing and shot up from their seats, looking over to the somewhat sad looking older male. According to Shigure, Tohru had been ordered to live at the Sohma house, and that if she refused, she wouldn't have been allowed to live in Shigure's house either. It was blackmail really, but there was nothing Shigure could have done.

"That jerk!" Kyo then ranted as he pounded a fist into the table. "Who does he think he is? He isn't even the head of the Sohma family! His little brother is!" He then shot his hand out, pointing an index finger at Shigure, "And this is all your fault! You should have pounded the brat! I bet Hatori didn't say anything either, did he? He never does. He always plays the quiet servant to the head..."

"I have to agree with Kyo on this one, Shigure. Korosu has no right to do that to Tohru. I'm going over there right now, to bring her home" Yuki stated, remaining calm, though inside he was boiling.

"Korosu wanted you to take a few of Tohru's things to the house, so you'll need to go over there either way" Shigure sighed, brushing back a strand of black hair, "Poor Tohru, everyone wants a piece of her...atleast Hatori will be there to make sure he doesn't get too big of a piece of her.."

"You pervert!" Kyo growled, "No one is getting a piece of her! Stop talking about her as though she were some kind of food! She's a person"

"Kyo you're scary" Shigure waved him off, just as Hiro came around the corner.

"Quiet down you damn cat, you're beginning to give me a headache" Yuki sighed, his calm tone changing in to one of annoyance. "We'll just go get her and bring her back like we did before" he turned to look at Hiro. He hadn't even known the boy was at the house in the first place.

"Can you three shut up? Kisa and I are trying to watch some anime and it's hard to hear over your stupid talk about that stupid girl. She moved out, so what. Why don't you three do us a favor and move out too?"

"Hm. Hiro, this is my house" Shigure pointed out. "And this is their house as well. Now, scurry along, I wouldn't leave Kisa alone with Momiji for too long, he's a frisky one" Shigure winked playfully. Hiro's eyes grew wide and he scurried off to find Kisa. Shigure then turned slightly, "Alright boys lets get Tohru's things and--oh, they've left without me...I guess Kyo and Yuki won't get to hear the other big news I had.."

Shigure listened for a moment as Hiro barked an order at Momiji, and Momiji casually refused. He couldn't hear Kisa, but he knew that she was there. Smiling he turned on his heels, "Ah, I wouldn't change this for the world"

"Shigure-san?" Kisa's shy voice came to his ears. She looked up at him, her head tilted slightly to the side, and she stared at Shigure oddly.

"Hmm?" he asked crouching down to her level and smirking slightly, "Did Momiji and Hiro-chan finally drive you crazy?" he chuckled lightly, waiting to hear what she wanted.

She shook her head, "There's a crazy woman sitting outside our window...she's looking for you"

"Ah, Mit-chan is here..." Shigure stood to his full height and glanced out of the room before looking down to Kisa again, "Be an angel, and tell her I died okay?" that being said, Shigure slunk out of the room, heading for his quarters upstairs. Kisa watched him leave, not really understanding, but shrugged lightly anyway, heading out to do as Shigure asked.

But on her way down the hall, Momiji and Hiro came running at her, Hiro looking annoyed, Momiji laughing. "The crazy woman got in..it's every zodiac for themselves!"

Tohru smiled down on the infant who stared up happily at her, his little hands stretched out in the air, trying to grab her hair again. "Your so cute" she said lightly as Kaze cooed. The fact that she wouldn't be allowed to leave hadn't exactly sunk into her mind. For now, she was focused on the fact that she could help Hatori and Korosu get some rest by keeping the baby quiet.

"He really seems to like you" Hatori spoke, watching her from just next to the door. He had been watching her for the past few minutes, debating on whether or not he'd convince Korosu to let her leave. He knew it wasn't fair to keep Tohru there, but at the same time, he was being selfish. The baby was actually being quiet...the house was quiet. He wanted it to stay that way "But, you have that effect on everyone, don't you?"

Tohru rested her hands on the side of the crib and turned to look at Hatori, smiling ever so lightly. "I'm sorry Hatori-san, I didn't realize you were there. I was just trying to get him to go to sleep. Is it time for me to go?"

"No, not yet. I just came to see you, to have a word" Hatori replied, approaching her slowly.

Tohru smiled, not thinking much of it, and turned to look back at Kaze, "I never thought I'd be around this long...to see a new cycle begin..."

Hatori stared down at Kaze as well. It would be a long time before he was old enough to make decisions on her own. He smiled slightly, but tried not to show it.

"There you are my little hana" Korosu spoke as he entered the room, coming up behind Tohru. "I've been looking for you, we need to have a word, alone" He turned to look at Hatori, a slight glare in his eyes.

Hatori stared for a moment, then left the room.

Korosu closed the gap between himself and Tohru, "You've done such a good job at putting Kaze to sleep. Arigatou" He lifted his hand and touched her cheek gently, caressing the flesh with his thumb. Smiling down at her, he lifted his other hand, placing it on her right cheek, cupping her face and drawing it closer to his. "I was told that Akito wasn't fond of you because you took his power. The other zodiacs preferred you over him. It was as though he didn't rule them anymore"

Tohru blushed and stared up at him, "I never tried to hurt Akito...and I never wanted to take away any control he had, I just wanted to help everyone.."

"It's okay Tohru" His right hand slid off her cheek, down the side of her neck, across her shoulder, down her arm, the around her waist, to the small of her back. He pulled her forward, "What Akito didn't realize was...that he would have had more power...if he had you"

"I...don't understand" Tohru instantly pushed her arms out, pressing them against his shoulders, trying to keep some sort of distance between the two.

"Little Tohru" Korosu chuckled, "You're going to be mine, and help me rule over the zodiacs"

Tohru blinked, "But, you're brother is the head. Not you. Besides, I can't rule over my friends.." She couldn't understand how he could want to betray his brother, who was just a child...an innocent child...

"I wasn't asking you Tohru. I was telling you" He yanked her forward, licking his lips.

Hatori silently sipped some tea as he stared out over the garden of the Sohma estate. It had been one of Akito's favorite spots, and Hatori now understood why. There was just something so calming about the garden. 'Akito was much better than this' he thought to himself. Sure, Akito had Hatori on a somewhat tight leash, but he treated Hatori as a person, not some kind of servant.

Tilting his head slightly, he looked up to the sky, "Are we in for trouble, Akito?"

Sighing he turned his gaze back to the garden, and little by little, drops of rain began to fall.

"Kyo, let's try to stay calm about this. Remember, there's a child in that house. We don't want to scare him. We'll just find Tohru and leave" Yuki planned as he tried to catch his breath, hoping that for once, the stubborn cat would actually listen to him. "Did you hear me?" he asked, his eye beginning to twitch lightly. Why had he agreed to run over here, when he knew he had asthma?

Kyo ignored the rat, and shot his hand out, pointing at the man standing on the terrace, as they approached the house "Hatori! Where's Tohru?" he demanded.

Yuki nodded once, "We're here to take her home"

Hatori looked away from the garden and over to Kyo and Yuki, taking another sip of his tea. He stared at them for a moment, "Korosu wanted to talk with her. I'm sure she'll be out shortly" Again, he took a sip. "You plan on trying to convince him to let Tohru go home?"

"You want her to stay?" Yuki asked.

" She's good with children, and Kaze seems to like her. A child always needs a woman's touch to grow up right" Hatori replied, "And with the kind of person Tohru is, I know she could help Kaze grow up to be a kind person"

"I don't care. She doesn't belong here. We're taking her back. I don't care what that jerk says" Kyo replied.

"I'm glad you think so highly of me Kyo-kun" Korosu spoke with a tiny smile as he combed his hair back with his hand, "But Tohru really would like to stay, I've just finished having a little chat with her about it. Feel free to ask her yourself?" he motioned into the house.

"I will" Kyo replied quickly, storming into the house.

Yuki bowed a greeting to Korosu, "I apologize for his lack of manners. He's an idiot". That being said, Yuki turned and entered the house to go find Kyo and Tohru. He couldn't hear Kyo's voice, nor could he hear Tohru's. That struck him as odd. He was positive that Kyo would have been already making his way out, nagging at Tohru and dragging her along.

Finally, he found Tohru, standing next to the crib. She looked up at them, and smiled.

Hatori listened to the silence before setting his cup down on the railing, "What did you do Korosu? What did you do to Tohru?"

Korosu shrugged casually and descended the steps into the garden. "Something you zodiacs will never be able to do"

A/N: Well?