"So, we need to come to some sort of decision," Shigure told the other two zodiac members sitting at the café table. The trio had attracted a fair amount of attention, especially from the female waiters, but Hatori thought the meeting spot would be better than Sohma House. After all, the topic under discussion was Akito.

"Momiji sure is a brave little guy," Ayame drawled as he sipped his iced tea. "I would not want to be any closer to Akito than I have to be."

"Sadly, I have that job," Hatori said.

"Sorry, Hari. It's just that we're placing an awful lot of faith in a sixteen-year-old."

"You have to remember," Shigure chimed in, "that Akito is only twenty."

"…I suppose." Ayame remained doubtful on the situation.

"What do we want to come of this exactly?" Hatori looked down his hands. "What is the desired result?"

"Hari, for heaven's sake, we're not trying to marry them! Stop being so worried about Momiji. It was his idea in the first place. I just want them to be friends."

"And if romance blossoms, who are we to stop it?" Ayame said with a wave of his hands, then looked ashamed as he received an unappreciative glare from Hatori. "…Akito does need a friend. You two have never really been enough. Maybe he can open up with Momiji?"

"It's not like you ever tried," Shigure said snidely.

"I don't react to feelings of pity the same way you two do," Ayame defended himself, and then the table fell silent.

"What is the plan, Shigure?" Hatori said after a few moments.

"Well, since Kyo and Haru are…involved, that takes Haru out of the picture to distract Momiji, more or less. Knowing Kyo, he hasn't told anyone about it and has told Haru to keep quiet about the situation. Poor thing. He's so self-conscious. Anyway, we just need to enforce the fact that the two need to keep it a secret."

"Why aren't you telling Akito again?...I mean, I don't really care about those two, as long as Yuki doesn't mind that his constant admirer has abandoned him."

Shigure snorted. "No, I don't think Yuki minds. We're not telling Akito because he will make sure that Haru and Kyo cannot stay together. Whether that is through early incarceration of the cat or other means, I'm not sure. Either way, it would not be good for Akito's relationship with Momiji."

Hatori added for Ayame's understanding, "Momiji and Haru are very good friends."

"I know that!" Ayame seemed put out. "Just because I don't stick my nose in all of the Sohma business doesn't mean I don't know the basics."

Hatori moved his hand comfortingly onto Ayame's knee. "I'm sorry."

Ayame immediately beamed at him. "Forgotten!"

"Ahem," Shigure smirked. "With that point resolved, I think we all agree that our new couple poses no threat…and we all enjoy a little teenage romance, don't we?"

"Some of us more than others," Hatori said with a hint of sarcasm.

"Do you think they need any tips?" Ayame put his hand under his chin in thought.

"I don't think that would be the best idea," Shigure said, laughing.

"I'm just saying that I wish I knew then what I do now…and not just the dirty stuff."

Rewarding the snake's adorable straightforwardness, Shigure moved to kiss Ayame's cheek, but Hatori stopped him with a hand on his shoulder. "What about Momiji?" the doctor asked.

"What about him?" Shigure put his hand on Hatori's; the dragon looked at it instead of looking Shigure in the eye.

"Do we tell Hatsuharu not to tell him?"

"Oh." The dog moved Hatori's hand off his shoulder. "I had been wondering about that. Momiji could let something slip. He's so inexperienced in dealing with Akito."

"I say you let Hatsuharu decide how much he trusts Momiji." Shigure and Hatori looked at Ayame. "Because," Ayame continued, "if Hatsuharu is such good friends with Momiji then he'll know whether Momiji can effectively keep a secret."

"Now we're placing an awful lot of faith in another sixteen year old. Do you know how much trouble we could get into if Akito finds out we were hiding this from him?" Shigure said.

"I think Ayame is right," Hatori decided and the dog and snake looked at him. Ayame grinned at the agreement, but Shigure remained dubious. Slowly, he relented as the doctor's even gaze pierced him.

"All right, decision made," he said shrugging. "Now onto more important matters…" the dog put on his best pout. "Hatori are you going to finish that cake?"

The doctor shoved the plate over to his cohort.

Kyo made it through the school day without too much trouble. He easily avoided Tohru's gaze throughout class and, on breaks, wandered through the halls until the bell rang once again. At the final bell, he bolted out of his seat, receiving scathing looks from everyone as he abandoned his cleaning duties. Kyo hadn't made plans with Haru yet, but as soon as he got home, the cat headed for the phone. Kyo wanted to be out of the house as soon as possible, before Shigure could once again accost him in front of Tohru.

He picked up the receiver and dialed Haru's number. The phone rang a few times before someone picked up.

"Hello?" a feminine voice answered idly.

Kyo nearly fainted. It was Haru's mom! "Oh, um, hello. I was wondering if…Hatsuharu is there?"

"I'm sorry, but he's still at school. Who is this? I can leave him a message. Let me find some paper, dear."

Kyo considered hanging up as seconds slowly rolled by. He could hear shuffling on the other end of the line. Then Kyo heard a faint 'Hello, mother. Don't you look lovely today.' as a door slammed in the background.

"I don't need your lip, Hatsuharu. You have a phone call." Haru's mother picked up the phone and handed it to her son. "He sounds handsome."

"Hello?" the cow said morosely. Kyo sighed in relief at the sound of Haru's voice.

"It's Kyo."

"Oh." Haru's voice brightened a great deal. "How nice to hear from you."

"Listen, I gotta get out of here. Shigure is driving me nuts."

"He always does," Haru said.

"More so that usual." Kyo looked around him and whispered. "Can you meet me at the main-house gate?"

"Actually, I was going hang out with Momiji today."

"Momiji?"

"Yeah, we haven't talked in awhile."

"But…"

"Why is Shigure such a bother now anyway?" Haru asked.

"He's just been…could you just meet me? I'd really like to see you."

The cow sighed. "Well, how can I resist that? See you soon."

"Thank you," Kyo said before he hung up.

"Oh! Kyo! Were you the one making all that racket?" The cat nearly jumped out of his skin as Shigure poked his head out from his study. "I can barely concentrate. Please keep your conversations with your secret lover a little softer."

"Shut up, you bastard!" Kyo yelled, turning crimson.

Shigure became serious and took off his reading glasses. "Actually, that reminds me that I needed go to the main house. You don't mind looking after the house do you?"

Kyo felt cornered as Shigure advanced down the hall towards him. "Sorry, but I have plans."

"Well, I have something very important to tell someone at the main house. And since you and Yuki broke the door again last week and haven' t fixed it yet, someone needs to keep the place from being broken into. Yuki and Tohru went to the library; they called before you got home."

Fear gripped Kyo as he looked up at the dog. "Who…who are you going to talk to?"

"Well, I think that should be fairly obvious." Shigure was oddly frightening when he became serious. The dog knew how much power he held over the occupants of his house.

Kyo shook his head and looked down. He had been waiting for the dog to tell Akito. Shigure raised the cat's chin with his reading glasses and then stared slightly disdainfully down his nose at the shorter boy.

"We decided that I should have a chat with your boyfriend."

The cat could barely whisper, "…who is we?"

Shigure turned to all smiles once again. "The Mabudachi Trio of course! We always come to important decisions together, and since you two love-bunnies are carousing all over the place, we thought it best to lay down some rules." The last word carried an unsaid threat.

"What are you getting at?" Kyo's body began to relax slightly, and he was finally able to glare at Shigure.

"We decided not to tell Akito…this time. But in order for that to work, absolute secrecy must be kept. Hatori and I are not the only ways Akito gets information."

The cat nearly collapsed from relief but tried to keep up a brave face. "Why?"

"That's not for you to worry about. But, I really need to tell Hatsuharu this little plan. Thank you for arranging a meeting spot. Hatori is so busy these days, he can barely get away for an afternoon rendezvous, so it's my job to take care of this."

"But…"

"Stay here," Shigure ordered and the cat became quiet. The dog made his way to the door. "We can change our minds you know."

Kyo nodded and Shigure looked at him with what he hoped was a comforting smile. "But, that would be rather heartless and slightly hypocritical. Don't worry your pretty little head, we have more important things to take care of then raining on your parade."

Hatsuharu leaned against the wooden entrance to the inner part of the Sohma estate. He wondered how long it would take Kyo to get there and briefly thought perhaps he should just go to Shigure's house instead. Yet thinking of his lover's strange mood earlier and the high chances of getting lost before finding the house, the cow decided to stick to the plan and combed his fingers through his hair in anticipation. Kyo had sounded very worried.

Footsteps made their way up the path. Without even looking, Haru knew they weren't Kyo's. The cow moved slightly further back into the shrubbery, not knowing why he had a sudden burst of suspicion. Within seconds, Shigure entered the large courtyard. Haru was surprised, even though the dog was a frequent visitor of the grounds. Something was wrong. Perhaps Shigure had stopped Kyo from coming.

Almost on it's own, Haru's hand balled into a fist. But, he caught himself and counted slowly to ten before stepping out of his semi-hiding spot.

"Hello, Shigure."

The dog, who had been looking in the other direction, jumped and put a hand over his heart. "Oh, Hatsuharu, don't frighten me like that. One never knows what kind of people could have snuck onto the grounds."

"…one never knows." Haru said in slow tones, pretending to be totally placid and trying to gain his composure again.

Shigure looked at the cow, gauging the situation. The dog knew better than to catch Hatsuharu in a bad mood. "Well, I'll just cut to the chase I suppose. Hatori, Ayame, and I know about your little fling with Kyo."

"How?" The cow's voice lowered in aggression and Shigure took a step back.

"I figured it out and told them. Look, before you become Black, I'll tell you that we're not going to interfere."

"Why?"

"Because that's the decision we came to." Shigure noticed the cow moved closer to him, and he continued to pacify. "You have nothing to worry about from us, as long as you keep it a secret."

"We," Haru said and glared up at the older man as he advanced, "were already keeping it a secret. Why did you decide to come here and hold this over us? Who do you think you are…Akito?"

Shigure returned the look with an air of superiority. "As close as you can get," he said without hesitation. He broke the stare-down by rolling his eyes with a heavy sigh. "Listen, I know we don't get along well. Just try and trust I'm helping you this time." The dog placed a hand on the white-haired boy's shoulder. It was quickly swatted off.

"Trust? TRUST! Why should I ever trust you! Do you even remember what you did to the last relationship I had in this fucked up family!" The cow moved quickly and got a right jab straight onto Shigure's cheek. As soon as the dog figured out what was happening, he evaded the side-kick and blocked the next punch with the back of his arm.

He looked at the sleeve of his sullied black jacket. "You're ruining my best suit…not to mention my beautiful face."

"Yeah? Well there's more where that came from." Haru stepped to make another attack, but the dog sat down in front of him. Caught off guard, the cow put his fists down. "What the fuck do you think you're doing?"

"Do you really want to fight me? I'm an old, well not so old, man who hasn't practiced martial arts since his early teens. Cut me a break. We'll argue," Shigure paused, "like adults."

Black Haru smirked wickedly and sat down. "Fine. Bring it. I'll take anything you've got."

"You're a brat who can't control his emotions, Hatsuharu. I only came here to help you." Shigure looked at the ground to show some submission to the cow. One thing the dog knew well was pack behavior, and Shigure didn't mind letting Haru think he was the alpha for the moment. Sometimes acquiescence was the best route when dealing with those who had power. Shigure shot a quick glance at the boy posturing in front of him. Haru certainly wasn't taking this as well as the dog had hoped. Plus, now his suit definitely had to be dry-cleaned. The cow leaned in closer, lips back in a snarl.

"Yeah, well you're a parasite who lives off of others. It's either feeding information to Akito for the benefits or molesting teenagers and stealing girlfriends. You pretend to be nice, but the only person you're looking out for is yourself!" Haru looked down as Shigure glanced at him once again.

"Now, don't we feel better?" Hatsuharu's words didn't even faze Shigure, because the dog saw the desired result take effect.

The cow leaned back as a wave of fatigue swept over him. He struggled to keep himself from forgetting what was happening. He hadn't thought of Rin in such a long time…

"Hatsuharu, please keep up. You need to keep your relationship with Kyo a secret. Get better at hiding it, or soon everyone will know."

Haru put a hand over his eyes. "What about Momiji? You can't stop me from telling him."

"Well…I'll let you believe what you want on that one. Luckily for you, it's your decision to tell Momiji."

Shigure got up and helped Haru to his unsteady feet. "Why wouldn't I tell him?"

"Why" Shigure asked as he headed towards the main house, "didn't you tell him already?"

Hatsuharu leaned against a tree and slid down the trunk. Arguing made him so tired. As Black Haru faded away, the cow shut his eyes and tried not to forget. He needed to see Momiji. He needed to tell him what happened with Shigure…and with Kyo.

But for the moment, Haru decided to rest his eyes, just for a little while.

A/N: I'm not really sure how accurate this is, but I have Hatsuharu living with his mother, for anyone who was wondering. She was mentioned in the manga, so I thought...I guess he lives with her. Later, I have Momiji living by himself. I like to think he has a little apartment type place on the Sohma grounds. This probably wouldn't be true because he's only sixteen, but...meh. I wasn't sure where he lives in the series. Maggs and Diana said he lives with Hatori. But ignore that.