Author's Note (1): The usual, my japanese sucks. I'll try to keep it to a minimum. Plus, I may get confused with the honorifics. I just hope I got them all right. f not, I hope some of you will let me know.

Chapter 3: A Tense Moment

Tohru stared at the floor as she waited for an answer. She could hear the heart beating through her chest and felt the heavy stares of everyone. Perhaps she should have waited until Hatori, Yuki and Kyo had left the room. 'This is one time I shouldn't have struck the hot iron, Mom' Tohru thought as she waited for Shigure to answer her.

"What?" Shigure stared at Tohru as she sat formally in front of him. "I'm not sure that I heard you correctly, Tohru-kun- you want to see Akito, Tohru-kun?"

"Because I need to ask Akito-san something," Tohru said calmly though her heart started beating as if she were running a race. "Please, Shigure-san. I need to see him."

"No one willingly asks for or demands an audience with Akito, Honda-san," Yuki said cautiously as he looked at Tohru. "It simply isn't done."

"But I have to see him," Tohru said firmly as she looked Yuki with pleading eyes. "Please help me see him, Sohma-kun."

"Does this have anything to do with Kyo?" Hatori asked as he looked at her.

"If it does, then forget it," Kyo said flatly as he glared at Tohru. At her distressed look, he tried to smile at her. "I'll be all right; you don't have to worry about me."

Desperate, Tohru looked at Hatori-san then bowed her head down even lower. "I need to see Akito-san, please, Hatori-san."

Through his good eye, Hatori stared at her as she bowed her head down. He saw Kana as she sat in front of Akito and felt the coldness start to seep through his bones again. "If you go, there won't be a spring anymore."

Puzzled as she heard his whisper, Tohru lifted her head and looked at him curiously. "I don't understand… spring always comes, Hatori-san."

"What are you talking about," Kyo demanded as he looked at Hatori. "This is no time to talk about the seasons. Tohru can't go see Akito and that's that."

"She's not talking about the seasons, you stupid Cat," Yuki said without his usual heat. He ignored the stupid cat's sputtering. "But I have to agree with him, you shouldn't ask to see Akito, Honda-san. He's- Akito is-"

"I'll see if he will see you," Hatori interrupted suddenly. Yuki and Kyo stared at the dragon as he kept his focus on Tohru. "I make no promises."

"Hai! Thank you so much, Hatori-san," Tohru said brightly as she bowed low in thanks. She lifted her head and smiled at the dragon. "I'll start setting the table for supper now!"

"Just a second, Tohru-kun. Hatori, what are you thinking about," Shigure demanded as he looked at his friend. "You can't possibly mean to-"

"If we don't take her to see him, she'll just go off to see him on her own. And then she'd really be in trouble," Hatori said as he looked hard at Tohru. She was so much like Kana-and not. "Isn't that right?"

When she nodded slowly, Hatori sighed. "Like I said, I'll see what I can do. I've got to get back to the main house now."

"Let me walk you out," Shigure said as he rose. He muttered so low that only the dragon could hear. "And give you a piece of my mind while we're at it."

When Hatori and Shigure left the room, Kyo snarled furiously at her. "Do you know what he could do to you? What you think he's going to do to you is nothing like the real thing! Do you think Akito will see you and whatever plan you have to save me go through? How stupid-"

"She's not stupid, you dumb Cat! She just doesn't know Akito," Yuki defended coldly as he looked at Tohru. He looked at her pleadingly. "Honda-san, whatever you have planned- I'm sure that you mean well, but I don't think that Akito-"

"Can't you believe in me?" Tohru asked suddenly. "Can't you just trust me? I know that I'm not smart like Sohma-kun or Kyo-kun, but I want to help. I believe that I can help."

Kyo and Yuki stared at her as she looked at them sadly. Yuki cleared his throat. "It's not that we don't believe in you Honda-san-"

"It's just that we know Akito and there's no telling what he might do," Kyo finished. He looked at her dejected form then at the damned Rat. Their two eyes met without heat and mutual understanding. "Why don't you tell us about this great plan of yours?"

"Yes, Honda-san," Yuki encouraged. "Please tell us your plan so that we can support you."

"I want to tell him about a contest that I saw," Tohru blurted as she looked at them. She smiled fearfully. "I can't tell you the details yet because there are certain…things that I don't know and I know that Akito would tell me what I need to know."

"What kind of contest?" Yuki asked as he looked at her. "Can you tell us?"

Yuki and Kyo watched as Tohru bit her lip as she thought hard. Clearing his throat, Kyo said gruffly, "Think any harder and you'll blow your brain cells. It's not a hard question-"

"But it is!" Tohru exclaimed in surprise. Her brow wrinkled as she thought hard again. "If I tell you and Sohma-kun what contest I have in mind without having all the information that I need something might go wrong and then there's the fact that I might get your hopes up and what if Akito-san says no then you'll all be disappointed and then it'll be even worse and-"

"All right, Honda-san," Yuki said as he put his hand up. If she kept this up, she would become sick even before she met Akito. "Is there anything that you can tell us?"

"I know that Kyo-kun will win," Tohru said brightly. "I can tell you that!"

Kyo and Yuki stared at her. Kyo cleared his throat. "And how do you know that I'll win?"

Tohru smiled brightly at them. "Because Kyo-kun is Kyo-kun and Sohma-kun is Sohma-kun. And though both have a special umeboshi on their backs, they are still very different from each other. And that is why Kyo-kun will win."

"Oh, man," Kyo said as he put his head between his hands. "Not this again."

Puzzled, Yuki looked at Tohru. "I have an umeboshi on my back?"

"Are we eating onigiri?" Shigure asked as he came into the room. He saw Tohru's smiling face, Yuki's puzzled one and Kyo's pained stance. He gave a mock sigh as he looked at Tohru again. "Tohru-kun, are you confusing the boys again?"

Author's Note: Please kindly review...