Pairings:
Minako/Kyou, Setsuna/Hatori, Haruka/Michiru, Akito/Usagi/Manabe(I have decided on this triangle for several reasons. I recieved a lot of votes for Ayame, but I feel he is too old for our Usa-chan. If you haven't read the manga, Manabe is basically a teenaged version of Ayame. He is on the council with Yuki. Who Usagi will end up with, I'm not revealing until later.)
"What's going on in here?" Uo asked as she walked into the kitchen. Luckily Usagi and Minako had hid Ayame's clothing in time. Ayame himself was hiding in Usagi's jacket.
"Hehe, what do you mean?" Minako asked.
"We heard a pop...where did Ayame go?" Hana asked. She and Tohru had come in behind their blonde friend. Tohru looked like she would soon go into shock.
"Oh him. He said he would be right back. Why don't you guys wait in the den. Tohru we'd be happy to help you get some snacks." Usagi said. Tohru nodded and the other two left the room. As soon as they were gone Ayame slithered out of Usagi's jacket.
"Oh Ayame! Are you ok! Were you perhaps to hot? Or maybe to cold!" Tohru rambled. The two blondes actually found it rather funny.
"No I just hugged them is all. Don't worry about me Tohru I will be perfectly fine." he said in his cheery voice.
"Well lets get the snacks and go. We don't want to be in here when you change back." Minako said. The three girls got the snacks and left the kitchen.
Uo and Hana were sitting outside on the porch chatting. They set the snacks down and joined them. Movement caught Usagi's eye and she turned to see a rather handsome man walking towards the front door which was around the corner. He reminded her of Setsuna a little bit. 'I wonder if he is a Sohma. He doesn't seem to talkative.' she thought. Soon though she was dragged back into the girls conversation.
"Haa-san? What are you doing here?" Shigure asked as Hatori walked into his study room.
"Ayame called me and told me to meet him here." he explained and sat down. POP! in no time Ayame came into the room buttoning up his outfit. The two guys just stared at him.
"Oh Tori-san you're here! I'm so glad you were able to make it." Ayame said. "I was hoping the three of us could spend the afternoon together like old times. Our visits with each other always seem so short."
"That's why you called me over here? Ayame this is hardly the time, Akito's fever might soon return." Hatori said getting ready to leave. Ayame grabbed his arm.
"How about this then. I left something at my shop and need to get them. Why don't you two just come with me then we can come back here and you can go back to Akito?" he asked. Hatori sighed but decided to agree to it. After all it was true, he rarely got to see them anymore. Akito started getting worse, it probably wouldn't be long now. With a reluctant nodded the three headed out for awhile.
Hatori's Flashback While They Walk
A couple of children were playing up on a hill that over looked the Sohma property. There were four boys and one girl. The girl was holding the hand of the youngest who was her brother. He seemed to be no more than two years old. Wide eyes stared at the area around him. It was the first time he had actually been outside of the gates. The little girl smiled at her brothers awed expression and walked him over to the others. A silver haired boy and a light black haired one were chasing each other around. The ebony haired one watched them as he tipped a rock over with his foot. They all stopped their game when they saw the two approach.
"Suna-chan! You came! And you brought Aki-chan with you!" the silver haired one said.
Setsuna smiled brightly. "Yeah. Mama had to go to the doctors again. She wasn't feeling well, so I have to watch him."
"Should he be outside?" Shigure asked.
"I'm otay." the little one said shyly.
His sister nodded. "He'll be fine as long as he doesn't run around to much. We're not going to stay long anyways. I just wanted to show him what it's like outside."
Hatori smiled and picked up a stick with a crawling caterpillar on it. He walked over and showed it to the young Akito. The boy slightly coward behind his sister before actually going over to it. His curious little eyes took everything in. "You can pet it, it won't hurt you."
Akito looked at Setsuna for permission. When she nodded, he smiled and carefully stroked the bugs back. "It's fuzzy."
"Yep, they usually are!" Ayame said. Everyone had gathered around now and began showing the toddler all there was. After about ten minutes the boy was sitting sleepily on his sisters lap. Setsuna stroked his hair which caused him to close his eyes. Eventually he fell into a deep sleep. The boys were sitting down now too and seemed to be a little exhausted. Rocks, leaves, sticks, practically anything they could find lay around them. Carefully standing up with her brothers head resting on her lap, Setsuna smiled at them.
"I better take him home now. He might catch a cold if he stays out for too long." she said.
Hatori, who wasn't all that tired got up as well. "I'll walk you back. He might get to heavy for you." with a nod the two began to descend the steps and head for the Sohma complex . Neither one said anything. The only sounds being made where that of their feet and a few spring time birds chirping in the trees.
Finally it was Hatori who spoke first. "Shigure, Ayame, and I are going down to the ditches tomorrow. Do you want to come?"
"I can't. I have to look after Akito again, and I couldn't possibly take him there. He would get sick for sure." she said, but he could tell from the tone of her voice she really did want to go.
He sighed. "We rarely ever get to see you anymore."
"I know, but I can't help it, you know that."
"I know, it's just. . . we really miss you. It's not the same without you in the group." Setsuna slightly smiled. Hearing that actually made her feel wanted by anyone other than her little brother. There mother was going crazy. She hoped this wouldn't affect Akito later. In no time they arrived to Setsuna's home. Hatori helped her take off her brothers shoes while she tried to take off her own.
Looking back up at him with a smile she said. "I guess I'll see you later than. Bye Hatori-chan." he nodded and watched her disappear up the stairs. With a heavy sigh he took his leave, closing the door behind him. Little did he know, that would be the last time he would ever saw the girl again.
End Flashback
The Mabudachi Trio soon arrived at the shop. Mine was busy with a few customers who slightly blushed upon their entrance. Ayame just smiled kindly at them, while the other two did there best to be not included in the situation. As soon as Mine was down and the couple left she skipped over to them. Ayame whispered something in her ear and she beamed. Quickly she scampered off leaving the three alone in the shop.
"Ayame I thought you said you needed to pick something up from here." Shigure pointed out.
The man nodded proudly. "I did. And here she comes now." both men looked a little taken back but then looked up when the door to the back opened. Mine came out pulling a rather reluctant woman along with her. Shigure smiled, recognizing who she was. For a moment Hatori was confused, but upon closer inspection nearly fell over dead. Everyone stopped when he spoke one word.
"Suna-chan?" . . .
The girls had now moved inside since it was getting a little chilly. Besides chatting they were now also playing cards. Everyone laughed as Minako lost and started getting irritated. Usagi smiled as she looked around the table. It felt like she was back at Rei's temple again. Tohru kind of reminded her of the kind hearted Ami, though when it came to smarts. . . not really. Uo was more like Makoto, the way she was the tallest, toughest, but also very feminine. Hana was like a very quite Rei. But they both seemed to have special abilities about them. Then of course there was herself and Minako.
Memories started to pour in about all the times she had shared with her lost friends. She slightly trembled and felt her eyes water up. No, she couldn't cry in front of her new friends. Plus Minako would also start to feel sad. She needed to get out for a moment. Get some fresh air to clear her mind of these thoughts. Instantly she got up and headed towards the door. "I'm going to get a little fresh air. I'll be back in a bit." she said then walked out. Tohru was about to follow to see what was wrong when a hand caught her wrist.
She looked down to see Minako. The blonde shook her head. "Don't, she needs to be alone for awhile. She'll be alright."
"Are you sure? It looked like she was about to cry."
"Usagi's a tough girl, she can handle herself. Plus she needs to vent every now and then. It's ok, trust me." after a little hesitation the brunette nodded and sat back down. They then started up a new game.
Usagi exhaled and wiped the forming tears away. This was so stupid. She was supposed to be having fun. The reason they came here was to start over, not dwell forever in the past. Still. . . it hurt. It hurt not to have Ami help her with homework, or plan out their activites. It hurt not to taste Makoto's new recipes, or even be scolded by Rei when she fell asleep during study group. The worst pain she felt though was no longer having Mamoru by her side. To feel his arm around her shoulder or cheer her up when she was sad.
Tears started to form again. She was supposed to have stopped these thoughts but they came anyway. Quickly wiping them away she tried to think of all the fun she was having here. Her thoughts were interrupted however when she heard something fall over. Her blue eyes snapped open and looked towards the front of the house. There a man was slowly making his way towards it. It seemed he had knocked over a garden statue. It took a moment for her to realize that he was in pain. Quickly she jumped off the walk way and rushed over to him. When she got there, it was just in time to catch him as he collapsed.
"Sir! Are you alright?" she asked.
"Does it look like I am?" he snapped as he began to cough.
Usagi didn't say anything, instead she helped him to sit on the ground. When she saw his face she slightly blushed. He kind of looked like Yuki, only a little more handsome. His hair was pitch black and had a style similar to Yuki's. At the moment his eyes were narrowed in pain, but they seemed to be a dark gray color. Eventually his coughing fit ended and he was able to stand up again. He turned his eyes onto Usagi and seemed a little surprised. It was clear he had expected it to be someone else.
"Who are you?" he asked.
"Oh I'm sorry." Usagi said and quickly bowed. "My name is Usagi Meioh. I'm a friend of Tohru's from school."
"Really? I'm Akito. Akito Sohma"