Back at the house Tohru was greeted by Shigure and Kyo. Shigure was reading the newspaper, and Kyo was lying on the living room floor in front of the television looking bored. "Welcome home", Shigure called from the dining area. "Are you a bride-to-be again?", he queried. "Yes!" Tohru chirped, holding out her be-ribboned wrist and beaming. Then she caught herself. She hadn't acted happy before; would that be a give-away now? But it was too late. Shigure sat looking at her sideways with his chin cupped in his hand. "Hmm", he said a bit slower, "so, you seem… happy about it this time. That's", he stopped himself. Shouldn't she be happy? Wasn't that a good thing? Tohru looked at him sheepishly, and, Shigure changed his tone. "He must be quite a guy to have pleased you that much in such a short meeting", he said cheerily. "Yes!" Tohru chimed with relief. She had almost blown it on the first round. She wasn't an actor, and she had never been good at lying. How was she going to keep her engagement to Yuki a secret? She decided she had better try harder. "Yuki…isn't back yet?" She asked hoping this would throw Shigure off if he suspected anything. "The damn rat never came home after school" Kyo chimed in, entering the dining area. "I imagine he's off sulking somewhere over his 'lost cheese!'" He grabbed Tohru's hand for dramatic emphasis with a glimmer of glee showing through his usual scowl at the thought of Yuki's suffering. . This was all done in an effort to lighten what Kyo thought might be an otherwise depressing moment for Tohru, who smiled at the gesture.
"I don't even like cheese", barked a voice from the entry hall. There stood Yuki dressed in his school uniform scowling at Kyo. "And stop touching her, stupid cat" he added, "She's engaged". Tohru wondered how Yuki had managed to change and get home so fast. Kyo made his way to the entrance hall to meet Yuki's challenge, yelling "make me!" "Anyone for tea?" Tohru offered above the noise of the shouts and posturing. "I'll take some," Shigure said airily, never looking up from his paper. "I'm so lucky!" Tohru thought happily as she filled the kettle to the crashing sounds of the fight coming from the next room.
Tohru couldn't help humming to herself in home economics class the next day. She should have been tired after her long night, but her elated affect caused by the engagement carried her easily through the morning. She burst into quiet song as she chopped vegetables for the stew. Hana and Uo were more than a little bothered by the overt display of happiness exuding from Tohru. Wasn't this the same girl who had wailed and shed many tears over the prospect of being engaged to a stranger only a few weeks before? "So, Tohru, tell us about this guy you're marrying", Uo pried, hoping to be enlightened as to the source of Tohru's good humor. "Yes, tell us", Hana echoed. "Well", Tohru thought for a moment, and then decided she could do this without divulging her fiancée's identity. "He's very handsome", she smiled to herself, "and kind of soft spoken, but very intelligent too. And he's quite polite, and a good kisser!" Tohru giggled and blushed at her own comment, and then realized what she had said. Hana and Uo were both staring at her incredulously. "You already kissed him?" Hana questioned. "In front of Grandpa?", Uo added. "Um, well, yes" Tohru sputtered, and blushed all the harder. Arisa and Saki exchanged glances. It wasn't like Tohru to be so forward, and it wasn't like Grandpa to be that permisive. What was going on? "Anyway," Tohru hurried to change the subject, "I just feel very good about this one. You were right Hana, Grandpa did choose well for me". Tohru hoped this last bit of buttering up would pacify her friends. The two girls looked at each other again, but decided to drop the subject for the time being.
Tohru seemed to twitter through her day, walking on air, and more than happy to talk to anyone who wanted to about her new engagement. As she sat in history class, she couldn't help but let her mind wander back to bed time the night before. After sharing a cup of tea, the family had all retired, except Kyo who had already gone to his room, angered by being kicked in the head by the rat once more.
"You shouldn't have antagonized him, Yuki", Tohru scolded as the two descended the stairs. "He was only trying to cheer me up", she pouted. "And did you need cheering up?" Yuki questioned as he looked down his nose at her playfully. "Of course not", Tohru smiled, "but Kyo didn't know that", she added. "Well, you had better be happy because you're not getting out of this one!" Yuki said this as he turned her around to face him on the landing. He smiled at her, and his eyes sparkled as he bent down and pressed his lips against hers.
After a few kisses Yuki had asked her what type of ring she wanted. This had made Tohru blush hard and hide her face in her hands. Yuki loved that, and grinned at her display. "No, really", he persisted, "what would you like? You have to wear it for the rest of your life, you know". Yuki smiled at his bride to be who was having a hard time looking at him just then. "Just pick something", Tohru whispered, embarrased. "I'm sure what you choose will be lovely". This was an honest statement. Tohru had utmost confidence in Yuki's taste. "All right then", Yuki smiled again, "I'll surprise you". The ring presentation would be in a few weeks, and would actually be much more legally binding, with signed contracts and all, than the ribbon tying had been. "Goodnight", Yuki whispered as they reached her room. He kissed Tohru on the nose. "Goodnight", she whispered back, and smiled as she closed her door.
"Miss Honda!" The teacher's voice boomed loudly from the front of the room. Tohru was ripped from her reverie, and thrown mercilessly back into class. "I said, please read the next passage for us!" The teacher scowled hard at her. Tohru fumbled with her book as Hana tipped her off to which passage the teacher was referring to. "The Endo Era," Tohru began, quite flustered.
Yuki had also seemed in high spirits that day, and this was equally perplexing to Haru. He was probably the only one close enough to Yuki to have noticed his baffling demeanor. At lunch time Haru caught up with Yuki at his locker. "So Tohru is engaged again, huh?" Haru questioned. He looked at Yuki with a poker face, but Yuki was still wary of the inquiry. He knew Haru too well. "Yeah, that's right", he answered in what he thought would be a nonchalant manner. "And you're OK with that?" Haru pressed. "Well", Yuki stammered, "there's nothing I can do about it, is there"; it was a statement rather than a question. Yuki shut his locker and made to leave, but Haru blocked him. "I don't think you're calm because you're giving up. I think you have a plan- I think you're up to something", Haru said with a smirk. "Good for you!" He added, and sauntered away from Yuki down the hallway towards the cafeteria. "How does he do that?", Yuki wondered to himself, a little frusterated.
Haru caught up with Tohru later in the day, and continued his investigation. She also seemed elated about the engagement, which Haru found even more telling. "So you're happy about this one are you?" Haru questioned Tohru with a faint smile on his lips, and gestured to the white ribbon adorning her wrist. "Yes!" She beamed. "He's everything I ever wanted!" she added, perhaps a little too enthusiastically. "Really", Haru's smile grew wider as Yuki, and Hana and Uo approached from different directions. "Congratulations", Haru offered as he turned to go, but he had not directed his comment at Tohru. Instead, he was addressing Yuki.
Yuki stood there a little dumbfounded for a moment, and then excused himself from the girls. "Haru!", he called after his cousin, and ran to catch up to him as the three friends looked on. "Haru", Yuki said breathlessly as he reached the white haired boy. "What do you mean, 'congratulations'?". Yuki stopped Haru in his tracks and looked at him with suspicion. "I mean congratulations. You and Tohru are engaged, right?" Haru smiled at Yuki with a knowing look on his face. "Damn it, Haru! How do you do that?" Yuki sputtered in exasperation. Haru's smile just widened. "Look", Yuki grabbed Haru by the shoulders and turned to face him squarely. "You can't breathe a word of this to anyone, anyone!" Yuki repeated for emphasis. He looked truly scared. Haru lived at the main house where Akito was, and could inadvertently become a direct pipeline of information to her. Haru's smile softened. "You don't have to worry, Yuki, I get it", Haru said, clapping his cousin on the shoulder. "And I think it's great", he added. "I'm really glad for you", Haru grinned again. Yuki relaxed a little at this. He knew Haru meant no harm. "I can't hide anything from you, can I Haru", Yuki said, as he hung his head feeling chagrined. "Nah", said Haru. "It's because I care so much for you". Haru added this without any hint of embarrassment. "I've got your back Yuki, later". Haru turned to go and threw Yuki a wave over his shoulder as he went. Somehow Yuki actually felt a little better having Haru, his long time ally, in on the secret.
After school Hana and Uo searched frantically for Tohru. They were used to meeting up with her for awhile before parting for home, but Tohru was nowhere to be found. "I can't pick up her signals", Hana said in mild amazement. She had resorted to searching for Tohru by brain waves. "I noticed it earlier, but Tohru and the prince's waves…", her voice trailed off as she fell deep into thought. "What?", insisted Uo, "What about their brain waves?" She hated it when Hana did that. "They're the same", Hana continued. "They are now so close in pattern, it's almost like they've merged", Hana finished with a questioning look. "What?" cried Uo, "how can that be?" she looked skeptically at Saki, who was usually right, but this? Uo shook her head unable to grasp the thought and said "come on, let's look outside".
Meanwhile, outside and around the rear of the school in a secluded area, Yuki and Tohru were busy merging in ways other than brain waves. Yuki had walked Tohru out to say a quiet goodbye, but it had turned into a necking session. Tohru was a little surprised by Yuki's boldness. He had kissed her so hard he had backed Tohru up against the wall of the school building. "Yuki, what if someone sees?" Tohru asked breathlessly when they finally came up for air. Of course she was thinking about their pact of secrecy, and she was wide-eyed at his lack of concern. Yuki pressed his nose against hers. "Then they'll be jealous", he whispered with a slight smile, and he claimed her lips again, coaxing her mouth open with his tongue. After some moments Tohru struggled for air again. When he released her, Tohru exclaimed "Yuki, I've never seen you like this before", she was a little unnerved by his forwardness. Yuki bent down to whisper to her, "that's because I've never been engaged before", and he began to nibble on her ear lobe. It was true. Somehow the ecstatic elation Yuki felt at Tohru accepting his proposal of marriage had overcome him, and he was filled with ardor for his bride to be.
About this time Uo and Hana turned the corner to the rear of the school still searching for Tohru. "I sense her signals coming from this way" Hana said quietly pointing. "No, I'm wrong", she added as they caught sight of Yuki's back. That was all they could see. "It must be the prince I felt", she said softly. It took the girls less than a minute to figure out that Yuki was not alone, and exactly what he was up to. "Can you believe that guy?" Uo snorted in disgust. "Tohru is better off without him. I mean the nerve…", her voice trailed off because Yuki had worked his way down onto Tohru's neck, revealing her face to her two friends. Her eyes were closed, mouth slightly opened, and her chin tilted up in an impassioned response to Yuki's attentions.
"Tohru!" the girls both cried in unison. The young couple sprang apart, and turned to face the direction of the shout in a split-second reaction. They both had deer-in-the-headlights type expressions on their faces, and Yuki shielded Tohru with his body by instinct. Hana and Uo wore incredulous expressions as they approached. "H-hi girls" Tohru stammered as she peered from around Yuki's shoulder. "You son-of-a-bitch!", Uo screamed at Yuki and dove at him. Yuki dodged her moves while Saki watched passively, and Tohru yelled "no, wait!" Tohru latched onto Arisa in an effort to quell her anger. "Wait, it's OK!" Tohru pleaded, and finally Uo listened to her. "It's lucky for you Tohru's here", Uo spat the words at Yuki. "If she weren't, I'd rearrange your girly face!", Uo yelled. "You have some nerve!" Uo recalled her effort to get Yuki to ask Grandpa for Tohru's hand, and how she had gotten nowhere with him. "Now that she's spoken for you want her, huh? But she's not good enough to marry- is that it?" Arisa balled up her fists and scowled at Yuki in disgust. "No, Uo" Tohru implored, "it's not like that". Uo looked at Tohru. Her eyes pleaded with her friend to cease fire, and Hana's lack of verbal support indicated to Uo that she was the only one incensed by the passionate display Yuki and Tohru had presented.
"I have a meeting, and I'm already late". Yuki said this to Tohru warily, never taking his eyes off of Uo-san. "I'll see you later" his eyes finally met Tohru's, and they exchanged a quick smile. Yuki bowed to Tohru's friends politely, and strode away. "Those rich guys", Uo said in disgust to Yuki's retreating back. "They think they can do whatever they want". That is not right, Tohru!" Arisa insisted as they watched Yuki disappear around the corner of the building. "I know you like him, but don't you let him take advantage of you!", she strongly admonished. "I won't" Tohru said blushing. She really was a little embarrassed. "Thank you. I had better hurry or I'll be late to work though", she added, and waved a good bye to her friends as she too left. Hana had been unusually quiet all this time. Uo turned to assess her friend. "What?" she questioned at Hana's strange expression. "If I didn't know better", Hana said in far away tones, "I'd say they were somehow connected to each other now- in a spiritual sense". Uo shot her a look like she was speaking a foreign language. "I mean, do you think the one Tohru is marrying is Sohma, Yuki?" The two friends looked off in the direction of the parting couple as if to find the answer to this question somehow trailing behind them.
That evening when Tohru got home from work she was greeted by a familiar scene. Shigure sat with his evening paper, while Yuki was working a few math problems for homework at the dining table. She had passed Kyo outside lying on the roof and had called a hello to him. "Welcome home" Shigure offered with his usual cheery-ness. "Thank you!" Tohru chirped back at him. Yuki finished the problem he was working on and then added his greeting. Their eyes met and they shared a knowing smile. None of this was missed by Shigure, who was studying them with intense fascination. "We saved you some dinner", Shigure offered. "Thank you, I'm famished!" Tohru said as she pulled the plate from the refrigerator. She reheated the dinner and joined them at the table.
"So did you have a good day?" Shigure made small talk. "Yes, it was lovely", Tohru offered enthusiastically as she shoved food into her mouth eagerly. Yuki said nothing. He looked a little sheepish as he stared at Tohru. Would Shigure notice, he wondered? He did, because the next words that came out of his mouth were "Tohru, what happened to your neck?" Tohru looked puzzled at Shigure who had his eyebrows raised. Then she looked at Yuki who wore a pained and apologetic expression. Tohru sprung out of her seat and went to a mirror that hung in the entrance hall. There she could see a large purplish bruise on her neck where Yuki had been kissing her earlier. She put her hand over it and stared at Yuki in shock. Shigure, of course, didn't miss any of this exchange, but waited patiently for an explanation with a sweet expression of mild interest on his face. "I…", Tohru hesitated. "I ran into the pencil sharpener at school!", she lied. "You know how the little handle sticks out? Well, I caught myself on it, and…", Yuki burst into coughs in an attempt to cover his laughter at Tohru's inane story. Shigure looked at Tohru, then Yuki, and then back to Tohru with an expression of mild amusement. Tohru realized it was a lost cause, and never finished her fib, but smiled and blushed in embarrassment. Shigure chuckled, but when Tohru had gone upstairs he turned on Yuki. "All kidding aside Yuki", Shigure admonished, "Tohru is spoken for. You can't just go off being intimate like that with her now". This was an amazing lecture to Yuki considering the source. "And I suppose you're going to tell me how I should be acting?" Yuki countered unconvinced. "Well", Shigure began. "We're in love!" Yuki interrupted him. "Tohru being promised doesn't change that". At this Yuki scooped up his books and made for the stairs. "Yuki!", Shigure called after him, but Yuki didn't listen. He bounded up the stairs into his room.
Later that night Yuki apologized to Tohru for their escapade that afternoon, and the embarrassment it had caused her. "It's alright Yuki", Tohru soothed. "I kind of enjoyed it", she admitted. "Me too", said Yuki, "too much I think", he added, a little chagrinned. "You were right. I almost blew our cover", Yuki said ashamedly. "I promise I'll do better in the future". He smiled at Tohru who was also smiling at him in forgiveness. Then the look in his eyes changed. "You're just so…", Yuki's voice trailed off as he leaned into Tohru like he was going to start another kissing session. She allowed him a short exchange before breaking away from him, and putting her hand over his mouth. "It's time for bed" Tohru said firmly. "That sounds great", Yuki said breathlessly as he pushed her hand aside, and tried to kiss her again. "Yuki!", Tohru exclaimed at him, shocked. "Kidding!", Yuki sighed, "Just kidding!" Yuki threw his hands in the air in surrender. He turned towards his room. "Goodnight" he said longingly as he looked back at Tohru over his shoulder. "Goodnight" she insisted with a smile. At that moment Tohru realized she was going to have her hands full until the wedding what with Yuki acting this way. And he was worried about her keeping the secret? She shook her head with a smile, and closed her door.
Meanwhile, at the bottom of the stairs out of their line of sight, Shigure had heard most of the conversation between the two lovers, enough, at least to surmise that they were hiding something. "'Almost blew our cover'", he repeated to himself. "Hm, I wonder what Hatori would make of this?" he queried to no one there. "I mean, that comment, paired with sudden physical intimacy, and a point blank declaration of love by Yuki who is usually so private about these things…". Shigure's voice trailed off as he pondered the evidence. He went to his study, and picked up the phone.