Chapter 3: Morning Activities

"Hmm, I wonder if it's too early to come over…of course it's not! It's only Sunday after all!" mused a tall, silvery haired man as he headed towards the quiet house. He stopped as he spied a familiar looking car outside the residence. Breaking into a huge smile, he ran towards the car. "Well! If Hatori is here already then it must not be early!"

"Konnichiwa everyone," he practically sang as he knocked smartly on the door but when he heard no answering footsteps, he impatiently slid open the door. "Hello? Anyone home?"

"Hello? Anyone home? Ollie-Ollie snake free! It's me! I'm here!" Exasperated that no one was answering him, the man huffed as he walked towards Shigure's study but paused when he didn't even find his friend in there. He heard some scraping noises upstairs, but after a moment there was silence. He started to go upstairs but hesitated. The last time he went upstairs uninvited and opening doors at random, he opened Yuki's door while his younger brother was in the middle of changing his clothes. Seeing his brother half naked was not so bad, but the severe beating he received for it was. Why, he couldn't hold a needle properly for days!

Pondering at what to do, he was suddenly hit with a brilliant idea. At the top of his lungs, he shouted, "Well since no one's here I guess I'm free to go upstairs and maybe find Tohru-kun's room and ask her where my darling brother is! And maybe I can see what kind of frilly clothes she likes to model for darling Yuki!"

Perking his ears, Ayame snickered to himself as he heard a couple of indistinct yelps. "Oh Tohru-kun! Are you still in bed sleepy head? Do you know where Shii-chan is? Can you help me find him? Or would you rather go out for a decadent breakfast with me? Oh Tohru-kun, are you hiding out with Harii? Are you still in bed? Should I join you?"

"Aya! You're here! I'll run to you if you give me a second!" Ayame heard Shigure sing out, his voice held deep and dark promises. He grinned as Shigure started their little game. "I'll be down and running towards you as soon as I can! I have so much to tell you."

"And I'll be waiting breathlessly for you, Gure!" Ayame sang back. "I shall count the seconds until you arrive! But let us join together at dearest Tohru-kun's room-"

"You keep away from her!" shouted out a muffled voice. Ayame lifted an eyebrow. That might have been Yuki but he wasn't sure. According to Shigure, Yuki was hardly coherent in the morning. Maybe that was Harii? Shrugging, Ayame opened his mouth again when he heard a door slam open and along with a shout.

"You'll keep the hell out of her room, you damn pervert! Ow!" called out a loud and furious voice. Ayame perked up his ears. Now there was Kyokon-kichi. So far it was Shigure and Kyo and maybe that was Yuki...or was it Hatori? He couldn't remember. Does Hatori yell? Anyway, he was still missing a voice and Tohru-

"Ayame-san! Ayame-san! Ow! Oh no! Mom!" called out Tohru. Ayame blinked at the yelps of pain a crash and more yelps. He felt himself move towards the stairs. "Mom! I'm so sorry! You're here! I'll be out-Ow! In a minute! Ow!"

"Tohru-kun!" Ayame heard as well as a stampede of feet and doors flinging open. He blinked when he heard Hatori's deep voice laced with panic. "Tohru-kun, what's wrong? What's-"

"Oh! Hatori-san! Be careful!" Ayame heard Tohru half-sob/shriek. He also heard a lot of cursing and bodies falling to the ground. "I knocked over Mom's picture! And it flipped and it hit the corner of the desk and knocked down the glass of water that you gave me in the night and now there's glass and water all over the place and Ayame-san is here and I haven't gotten breakfast made and Mom is lying on the floor with the broken glass and -"

"Shhh, I'll be all right, Tohru-kun. I'll get your mother and then we'll see that hand of yours if you'll stop waving it around," Hatori said calmly. "See? I've got your mother right here now be a good girl and let me see your hand, Tohru-kun…let me see-"

Ayame's eyebrows rose higher and higher as he heard Hatori's tone of voice. He hadn't heard Hatori speak that tenderly to anyone since Kana. 'Well, well! Seems like Harii has some affection for dear Tohru! Now what to do? What to do?'

Going up the smaller flight of stairs quickly, Ayame strained his ears to hear what Hatori was saying but instead heard doors slam open and more stampeding of feet. 'Those people have no sense of romantic timing at all! What is today's romantic youth coming to?'

"Honda-kun, are you all right? Do you want me to get you anything?" Yuki demanded; his voice devoid of his usual sleep stupor. "Hatori! What are you doing THERE?"

'Oh my! Yuki sounds awake!' thought Ayame as he grinned when he reached the corner. 'And the plot shall thicken-'

"Hey! What'd you do to yourself?" Kyo's voice filled with near panic and demand. "Did you open your- what the hell is Hatori doing on your bed?"

Ayame's eyes nearly popped out of his head. 'Hatori's on Tohru's bed?'

"Hatori! You'd better get off of there!" Kyo snarled. "I never thought you'd be like Shigure of all people-"

Ayame's jaw nearly dropped to the ground when he heard Yuki snarl at Hatori. "You ought to be ashamed of yourself!"

"No Kyo-kun! Sohma-kun! Stay back!" Ayame heard Tohru shriek. "There's glass everywhere! Mom fell on the floor but Hatori-san picked her up while he was on my bed and-Ow!"

"I told you to not do that!" Hatori scolded mildly. "Will you boys calm down! If you can't behave you're going to get Tohru-kun upset-"

Ayame stood still as he strained to hear what was going on, but all he heard was Tohru practically wailing. "Oh no! I'm not upset! Really I'm not! I'm not- I'm not! Honest! I'm just so stupid! I knocked Mom down and Hatori-san had to get on my bed and you boys are upset-"

"Calm down! We're not that upset!" Kyo scolded brusquely. "You're upset!"

"I'm not upset! I'm not upset!" Tohru practically wailed. "It's just that-It's just that-Oh where do I start? It's just that-"

"Honda-kun? We just want to know if you are all right, Honda-kun? What happened?" Yuki asked in a gentle but firm voice.

Ayame froze as he started to analyze that tone of voice from his brother. That was a tone he had never heard before! Was she really becoming the object of his brother's romantic attentions? And what about Harii? 'What to do? What to do?'

"I heard Ayame-san call out and when I tried to get up off the bed I knocked the glass of water and it rolled and knocked Mom down and I panicked and hit my hand against the headboard and I didn't do anything because I woke up so late that I didn't make any breakfast yet and Hatori-san picked Mom up and," Tohru practically sobbed. Then she let out a tiny shriek. Ayame's eyebrows shot up. "Ow! I'm so sorry, Hatori-san, but it hurts! It hurts!"

"Damn it Hatori! You're hurting her!" Kyo shouted angrily.

"Hatori! Stop!" Yuki shouted at the same time. "You're hurting her!"

"I would appreciate it if you boys would calm down!" Hatori said calmly. Ayame blinked at his tone. Hatori was close to a snarling at the boys. "You're not helping."

"It's all right, Tohru-kun. I'm sorry- I didn't mean to pull at your bandage so roughly. Just let me see." Ayame heard Hatori's crooning voice. "Just let me see. That's a good girl."

Ayame winced as he heard Tohru whimper slightly. "It hurts Hatori-san."

"Hatori! Will you do something? She's hurting!" Kyo nearly yelped. "Give her something! You're a doctor!"

"Yes, help her Hatori! She's hurting very badly!" Yuki said urgently. "She seems to have bled through her bandages!"

"Boys, don't make me throw you out of this room," Hatori said calmly.

Ayame's eyebrows shot up in alarm. He had never heard that amount of urgency in his brother's voice before either! Or hear him ask for help for someone else! This maybe really serious! And it needs further investigation.

"What on earth is going on? Why does Tohru-kun have bandages?" Ayame muttered as he reached the top of the second, longer staircase. He saw Shigure rush into the room that had the most noise coming out from it, saying, "What are you boys just standing around here like that?" He heard Shigure gasp in a scandalized tone, "Tohru-kun? Hari! What ARE you doing in bed with my precious flower! What happened, my little flower? Are you having a morning party in here? Did you have a sleep over? And I wasn't invited? Oh, I feel so left out! Let me on the bed too! Ow!"

Ayame peeked around the corner in time to see Kyo yelp as he smacked Shigure on the head with his bandaged hand. Without anyone knowing he was there, Ayame did something uncharacteristic of himself. He sneaked towards Tohru's door and remained quiet to watch what was going on. His eyes widened as he saw Hatori sitting next to Tohru on her bed, and holding her bandaged hand very close to his heart! Her head was down as she gripped her wet blankets. Hatori's robes gaped open, showing the nice expanse of his chest. If he didn't know any better, it would seem that Hatori and Tohru had just awaked from a very intimate encounter! 'But then, Harii wouldn't do that to our little Tohru! And that's a pity! What to do, what to do!'

Giving a silent sigh, Ayame focused his attention to the others in the room. At the foot of her bed, his brother, Kyo and Shigure stood facing her with most of their backs towards him.

From what Ayame could tell, Yuki was a total mess, hair sticking out any which way and still in his lovely silk pajamas, ones that he designed but Yuki had no way of knowing that it was his elder brother that designed them. Kyo was still in his pajamas as well, but it looked like he only flung on his top and mismatched the buttons. And Shigure, well! He looked like he was pulling an all nighter like he did when he did when they were in school! My, what was going on here?

"You shut up! Ow!" Kyo shouted as he smacked Shigure on the head. He gripped the wrist of his bandaged hand. "Ow!"

"Yes, do be quiet!" Yuki scolded as he slapped the baka inu upside the head without looking at him. "Unlike you, Hatori doesn't have perverted thoughts!"

"Shigure-san! Ow!" Tohru cried out as she tried to wave her hand. "Please! Be careful where you step! Ow!"

"Tohru-kun, I told you to stay still. Kyo- Be careful with your hand," Hatori said immediately without looking around or up from Tohru's bandaged hand. "I'll change the bandages as soon as I finish looking at Tohru-kun's hand."

Shigure touched his head dramatically. "I-I'm feeling a bit faint! I think I need Harii's medical attention! Tohru-kun- I think I need to lay my head down on your lap-"

Ayame saw Hatori give Shigure an irritated glance before he buried his face in his hand. "I don't believe this. Shigure- Go away- Tohru-kun-"

"Like hell you will!" Kyo snarled as he smacked the stupid Dog on the side of his head again. He hissed at the pain. "Damn, that hurt."

"You'll do no such thing," Yuki said furiously as he punched Shigure on the chin without looking at him. "You keep away from her!"

"Ah!" Tohru whimpered as Shigure landed against her bed, jostling it and Hatori's hands. Tears formed around her hard shut eyes.

"Tohru! I'm sorry! Are you?" Hatori gritted out as his hand accidentally squeezed her fingers in automatic reflex. He felt a vein popping out from his head when he saw her squeeze her eyes shut. " Shigure-"

Despite the pain on his head and chin, Shigure immediately looked up at Tohru's cry of pain. "Tohru-kun, are you all right?"

"Hey! You okay?" Kyo yelped as he grabbed Shigure and pulled him away from the bed.

"Honda-san!" Yuki shouted in a horrified voice. "I'm so sorry-I didn't mean to-"

"Oh no! It's-ow!" Tohru started to say as she waved her hands but stopped as pain started to travel up her hand. She bent her head and gripped her wrist as if to stop the pain from traveling up her arm. Hatori took one look at her bent head and he heard a vague snap.

"You boys are not helping!" Hatori said in a deadly calm voice. He wasn't aware that he had stood to his full height on top of Tohru's bed. Or that he looked more imposing in Shigure's robes, like a feudal lord ready to behead someone. He looked down at his younger cousins' guilty faces. "Shigure-"

"I'm really hurt Harii! These boys hit me so hard that I'm seeing stars!" Looking at the really violent look in Hatori's eyes, Shigure flung himself to the only soft heart and lap in the house. Shigure whined as he looked at Tohru. "Harii is so mean to me! Tohru-kun!"

"Stop your whining," Kyo snarled at Shigure. "Be a man for heaven's sake! And you- can't you tell that he's faking it?"

"Oh Shigure-san!" Tohru sniffed as she looked at him. "I'm sure that Hatori-san will help you any second now and that Sohma-kun and Kyo-kun will apologize for giving you a warning and that if you-"

"Behave yourself, Shigure," Yuki scolded as he fisted his hands. "And Shigure isn't afraid of Hatori at all, Honda-san. He's faking it!"

"Oh no but- Ow! He couldn't be! Ow!" Tohru countered as she shook her hands wildly. She grabbed her hand at her wrist again. "Ow!"

Fuming at his inability to take care of his patient, Hatori turned to look down at Tohru. "Didn't I tell you to stop waving your hands like that? Shigure-"

From his half-prone figure on the bed, when Shigure looked up at Hatori, he could see right under his cousin's robes. He grinned evilly. "Hatori! I didn't know you were into going commando! Good for you!"

His eyes as big as saucers, Ayame stared at Shigure as the inu simply smirked up at Hatori who was frozen. Then he slowly turned and stared at Shigure. It was so quiet; you could hear a pin drop in the room. Ayame could see the steam slowly coming out from Hatori's ears. "Shigure-"

"Going Commando- commando? Oh no! I stopped you from going on your trip!" Tohru exclaimed horrified as she looked up at Hatori. "I am so sorry! I am sorry! I didn't mean to stop you from going to Commando-"

White-faced, Yuki and Kyo stared at Tohru as she made excuses while Shigure sucked in his breath so fast, he started to choke. Hatori glared down at Shigure at the sound of his choke. The irrepressible inu smirked at him. "Are you going to explain to Tohru-kun that you're already in Commando or should I?"

"That's it! Everybody, get out," Hatori bellowed as he grabbed Shigure by the collar and hauled him up to his feet. Red-faced, Hatori shoved him towards Yuki as he climbed off the bed. "Yuki! Take this baka out with you and get breakfast started. Kyo- you get the vacuum to get this glass off the floor and then wait outside for me -now!"

"But-I want to-" Kyo started to protest but it died at a fierce glare from the Dragon.

"Now," Hatori ordered in a calm and furious voice that allowed no disobedience. He looked at the boys sternly. "She's hurting and if she doesn't get any rest from flailing about she won't heal." He added in a louder voice. "Now- out!"

He saw Kyo nod curtly and then looked at Shigure and Yuki. "And Shigure- I'll see you later."

Shigure ran behind Yuki and hugged him. "Ha-san is scaring me!"

"Let go of me!" Yuki snarled as he reached behind him and bopped his older cousin on the head. He looked at the tear tracks down Honda-san's cheeks. "I'm so sorry for making you any trouble this morning, Honda-kun."

As Tohru was about to answer, Hatori stopped her by grabbing her wrists. "Don't you dare start waving your hands again, young lady. Talk to him after I finish applying more medicine to your fingers. You've opened your wounds again."

"My, my… such activity in the morning!" Ayame cooed as he crossed his arms and leaned against the door.