The Same Shade of Yellow, by Raberba girl
Chapter 7 - Momo's Very Long, Event-Filled Day
Author's Note: For those who don't know, 'Neesan (short for Oneesan) means "older sister."
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The next morning, Momo awoke to a terrible smell of burned food filling the apartment. When she got out of bed and went to investigate, Kagura was hopping around the kitchen in distress, carrying a blackened pan full of unrecognizable black crackly stuff.
"Good morning, Momo!" Momiji said cheerfully. He was on his knees, cleaning up the mess from a fire extinguisher that covered the stove and part of the floor.
"I thought I would make you breakfast," Kagura wailed, "but the stove seems to be broken!"
"She put the heat on too high and then forgot to watch it," Momiji stage-whispered to Momo.
"I DID NOT!" Kagura roared. Suddenly, she looked very frightening.
"Gotta run, Momo!" Momiji laughed, and fled. Kagura chased him around and around the apartment, yelling the whole way. On his next circuit, Momiji threw at Momo, "There's bread and stuff in the pantry! Put something together, will you?"
Momo made a cold breakfast for them all, which they sat down to eat after half-asleep neighbors came to the door to complain about the noise. Kagura apologized so tearfully and charmingly that they went away placated, and by then she seemed have forgotten that she was peeved at Momiji.
"Hey, hey, Momo," Momiji said eagerly as they ate, "what did you think of Aya?"
Momo thought about it. "I liked him," she said. Then she chuckled. "Though I think I like him better when he's not actually here. He can be...a bit much."
"I asked because I was thinking of taking you to Aya's store today!"
"His store?"
"Mm-hm! He sells costumes and stuff for maids, nurses, stewardesses, that kind of thing!"
"Wow. That sounds interesting."
"Momiji wants to cheer you up," Kagura said. "And it's easy to feel happy around Aya."
"He just doesn't give you time to be unhappy," Momiji laughed.
"It's because he seems so sure of himself," Momo said, "like nothing can go wrong in his world. That feeling spills over onto those around him. I...I want that self-confidence, that strength of character. I really admire him. From afar," she added with a grin.
Momo did not have time, however, to see much of Ayame's store. When she and Momiji got there, the place was in chaos. Employees were milling around, appearing to be searching for something. Ayame and a cute woman with curly brown hair were rushing about, shouting frantically and getting in everybody's way.
"Aya! What's wrong, what happened?" Momiji asked, running up to them.
Ayame skidded to a halt, grabbed Momiji by the shoulders, and shook him. "Momiji-kun! It is terrible! It is a catastrophe! It is the worst thing that can ever have happened! I am in a panic! We don't know what to do!"
"What, what?" Momiji gasped, freeing himself with an effort.
Ayame caught sight of Momo, and his face broke into a smile. "Oh, Momo-san! You have not yet met my wife." The curly-haired woman stopped her panicked shouting and running, and came over to stand next to Ayame with a smile. "This is Mine! Is she not the cutest wife ever?"
"Hello, Momo-san!" Mine said enthusiastically. She waved, and Momo shyly waved back.
"But, what happened? Why are you all so upset?" Momiji wanted to know.
"Ah!" Immediately Ayame was back in distress mode. "It is terrible! My world has been rocked to its very foundations!"
"But what is it?" Momiji asked, as close to exasperation as Momo had ever seen him.
Ayame and Mine put their heads together and shouted, "Aya-chan is missing!!!!!!"
There was a silence. Then the two of them began to cry.
"Here, here," Momiji said, handing them a handkerchief. Ayame tearfully commented that it would look better with a ruffled trim, before using it and handing it to Mine. She set it aside and pulled out her own.
"I'll go search outside," Momo said.
"Good idea, Momo! I'll take care of things here," Momiji said. "Let's all exchange phone numbers, so we can keep in contact."
The four of them did so, and then Momo ran back outside. Behind her, she could hear Momiji starting to organize everyone efficiently. Momo ran a few blocks in one direction, calling Aya's name and looking into buildings she passed. Ordinarily she would have been too shy to do things like stop totally random strangers and ask if they had seen a little girl wandering around by herself, but now she was too preoccupied with worry and urgency to be able to listen to her inhibitions.
Feeling desperate and panicked, Momo agonized over whether she had gone far enough or not. What if Aya had wandered in the opposite direction? What if it was hopeless because Aya had been kidnapped, and was now beyond anyone's reach? Momo shivered and swerved around. She ran back the way she had come, panting harder than she had after playing Fruits Basket. She passed Ayame's shop again and ran on, looking everywhere and stopping people on the street.
Just when she was starting to feel discouraged enough to want to stop looking and call Momiji, Momo caught sight of a small park across the street. 'Kids like parks,' she thought, and she dashed across to it.
There were only two people there. A woman sat unmoving on a swing, with her long black hair braided over one shoulder and a dark cloak billowing around her, despite the softness of the breeze. Momo stopped and stared at the woman, so fascinated that she forgot for a moment what she was doing. The woman turned her head and stared back at Momo. Her skin was pale, as if she did not go outside much, and her eyes were dark and gripping. She did not speak.
"Miss Hana, Miss Hana! Look what I found!"
Momo whipped her head around. The second person in the park, a tiny little girl with two silvery, curly pigtails and golden-brown eyes, dashed up to the woman on the swing. Her clothes, though beautiful, were quite outlandish, the theme seeming to be silk and black-and-white Chinese-styled markings. It had to be little Aya; there was no mistaking the offspring of Ayame.
The little girl stopped in front of the woman on the swing and carefully held out her cupped hands. "It's a frog! It's so cute!"
"Yes. Very cute," the woman said. Her voice was still and flat, and she did not smile, but Aya was delighted.
"Yay! Miss Hana likes my frog!"
The woman turned her eyes slowly back to Momo. "And who are you?"
"Um...oh, I'm, ah, Momo. Momo Sohma."
"Another Sohma," the woman murmured. "I am Hanajima." There was a moment of silence, broken only by Aya skipping around and humming. "Your waves," the woman said suddenly. "They resemble those of the rabbit."
Waves? "Er...Momiji Sohma is my brother."
"Ah. The mystery is explained." There was a small silence.
Then Momo shook herself. "Ayame-san and Mine-san are going crazy! Aya-chan has been missing, I don't know for how long; how come you never called anyone?"
Hana's gaze was penetrating. "Should I have?"
And of course there was nothing to say to that. Momo tried to smile, then moved a few feet away so she could call Momiji. As she hung up, she felt a tug at her shirt.
"Missie, Missie! Look at my frog! Look how cute he is!"
Momo smiled at Aya, trying not to edge away too conspicuously. "He's, um, wonderful, Aya-chan. Now, why don't we let him go? I'm sure he has parents that must be looking for him."
"Ah! Yes, yes, you're right! Off you go, little froggy!" Aya dropped the frog on the ground, not very gently, and squatted next to it. "Come on, come on, froggy! Mommy and Daddy are looking for you!" She prodded it with an impatient finger. Momo shuddered.
"Aaaaaaaayyyyyyaaaaaaa-chaaaaaaan!!!!!!!!!" It was Ayame in the distance, running towards the park as fast as he could.
Aya leaped to her feet with a delighted smile on her face. "Daddy!" She rushed off. Ayame flung himself to his knees, threw his arms around Aya, and promptly poofed into a snake. No one seemed to particularly care. Aya danced around and laughed with the snake in her arms until Mine came dashing up. She scooped up both daughter and snake, and showered them with kisses.
"Aya-chan! We missed you! You are so cute!"
"You too, Mommy!"
All three of them posed, and the ones with fingers made "victory" signs. Then they laughed out loud, apparently thinking this to be a great joke.
"Well, at least that ended well," Momiji said happily from beside Momo. He looked at her and winked. "Turns out Aya left the front door open. Aya-chan must have wandered out on her own. It's a good thing Hana found her."
"Yes." The voice came from right next to Momo's shoulder, and she jumped in surprise. Hana's approach had been soundless. "I was passing by and felt the distressed waves of a lost child. Ayame-san."
The name was spoken very softly, but Ayame immediately stopped laughing and turned his attention to Hana.
"You ought to watch this child more closely. She is too cute to lose."
"Aha ha ha ha ha! You are right about that! Come, Aya-chan, I will buy you an ice cream cone! And I have had a clever idea: Mine will put sprinkles and candies on it until it is almost as cute as you!"
Aya and Mine cheered together. The family wandered away, looking as if none of them had a care in the world. Not a trace of their earlier worry remained, and Momo smiled as she watched them go.
"Oniisan, I think finding Aya-chan cheered me up more than looking at dresses ever could have."
"Good! I'm glad, Momo!" Momiji took her hand and swung it, and Momo knew now that he made these sorts of gestures to make up for not being able to hug her. Momiji turned to Hana. "So, Hana! What are you doing in this part of town?"
"I was passing by on my way to Tohru-kun's house."
"Ah! Are you going to visit her?"
"Yes. I am. I have not seen her in a long time."
"Um, if you don't mind, Hanajima-san," Momo asked, "could I come with you?"
"Yes, yes! Me too!"
"I do not mind."
Momiji cheered. They set off, with Momiji talking animatedly, Momo listening to him and smiling, and Hana staring straight ahead with an unreadable expression. Despite Hana's quiet spookiness, Momo thought that she liked the shadowy woman. Hana did not seem bothered by people who were more energetic than she was.
On the contrary, she had managed to convey, despite the monotone and the silence, that she was pleased with Aya's frog, and that she did not mind Momiji's chatter. There was a subtle expressiveness about Hana that did not come from her face or her voice, and Momo was impressed.
The first thing they saw as they approached the house was Kia, racing along after Tohaku and shouting. "Haku! Haku, come back here you little brat, that's mine!"
"Nyah, nyah! It's only yours if you catch it!"
"I'm coming for you, Kia-chan!" Momiji shouted, and chased after them. Kia squealed and put on speed. Tohaku saw Kia pounding up behind him, and he yelled with fear and glee at the prospect of being caught.
Kazuma came out of the house. "What's this, Kia, Tohaku? You're running from a little rabbit?"
"Grandfather!" Tohaku veered and made for Kazuma. "Grandfather, 'Neesan's chasing me!"
"He took my cat plushie that Mama made for me!"
Kazuma put a hand out to restrain his grandchildren, who danced about on either side of him, yelling at each other.
Kyo came ambling out of the house with a mock-annoyed look on his face. "Oi! What's all the noise out here?"
"Daddy, Daddy, he took my kitty!"
"She won't let me play with it!"
Kyo pretended to glare at them. "It'll be my kitty if you two don't settle down and find some manners. Did either of you notice we had guests?"
Kia and Tohaku immediately ran to stand in front of Momo, Hana, and Momiji. "Welcome to our home," they said in unison, bowing as politely as angels.
Momo smiled at them. "Hello again."
"Hi!" Momiji said with a wave, and Tohaku smiled and waved back.
Kia stared at Hana. "You haven't been here in a long time."
"I know," Hana replied. They stood looking at each other for a long moment, and then Hana, still not smiling, held out her hand. Kia took it happily, and they went into the house. Kazuma said hello to Momo and Momiji, then went back inside as well.
Kyo was on one knee in front of Tohaku, talking to him quietly and holding out his hand. Tohaku sheepishly handed him the cat toy, and Kyo smiled, patted his son's shoulder, and stood up.
"Hey, brat."
"Hi, Kyon-Kyon!"
"Don't call me that." He nodded politely at Momo. "Come on inside. Tohru will be glad to see you two again."
"Mama's helping us make shirts!" Tohaku said as they went inside. "She made part of Daddy's because he spilled paint and got mad, his has a cat on it, and so does 'Neesan's, only 'Neesan didn't finish 'cause she wanted to play with her kitty, but I took it so she chased me; hey, do you want to make shirts, too?"
"Oh, yes, that sounds fun!" said Momiji.
"All right, if you show me how," said Momo.
They found Tohru in the living room, kneeling on top of spread-out newspapers. Tubes of fabric paint were scattered everywhere, and several shirts lay on the floor, stretched out over cardboard. Kazuma was quietly working on one, and Tohru had been bent over another. She straightened up and smiled when she saw them all come in.
"Oh, Momiji-kun, Momo-san! Hello! Welcome."
"Tohru!" Momiji said happily, and Momo smiled and nodded. Momiji skipped across the room and plunked down next to Tohru, briefly nuzzling her shoulder. "Can I make a shirt, Tohru, please?"
"Oh, yes, of course. I think there's some extras in the bedroom, I'll go get them."
Momo was looking at a finished shirt that had been spread out to dry. A picture of an orange cat was painted on it, as well as the slightly crooked letters K-Y-O-U underneath the Japanese characters that formed his name. Orange paint had been spilled in a couple of places, and smeared when someone had tried unsuccessfully to repair the damage. "This is really cool-looking."
"Yeah. Kind of babyish, though," Kyo said. Momo looked up at him, and saw that he was blushing a little.
"Oh, I don't think it's babyish at all! It's really neat, especially since you're the Cat and all." Momo put a hand to her mouth, hoping it was okay to have said that.
Kyo only looked at her in mild surprise. "Oh, you know about the zodiac thing? I thought Momiji said you didn't."
"I just found out yesterday. I...hugged Momiji-kun when we were on a date."
Kyo chuckled. "Bet you got more than you bargained for."
Momo shook her head, laughing.
"Are you okay with it?" he wanted to know.
"Yes. It took me a few minutes to get used to the idea, but Momiji-kun is so sweet. I don't find myself disliking him or even looking at him differently, just because I know he can turn into a rabbit."
"That's good." He paused, and looked away before he spoke again. "I think you're good at accepting other people. Like Tohru, you know."
"Oh! I wouldn't go that far," Momo exclaimed, caught off-guard by the unexpected compliment. But it did feel nice, for someone to tell her that.
Tohru, Momiji, and Tohaku came back down the hallway with the extra shirts, talking and laughing with each other.
"Do Kia and Tohaku know about the curse?" Momo asked Kyo quietly.
"They know I turn into a cat," Kyo said. "That was unavoidable." He smiled a little sadly, perhaps thinking about how he could never hold his daughter without transforming. "And they know that the others turn into animals, too, but we're waiting for them to grow up a little before we tell them about...the darker side of the curse, you could say."
Momo said wisely, "You mean how Akito-san was sick, and the rest of you all suffered a lot."
Kyo hesitated, but then nodded his head. "Yeah, something like that," he mumbled.
Tohru came up to Momo, holding out a plain white shirt. "Here, Momo-san. Would you like to make one?"
"Yes! Thank you." Momo took it and found a comfortable place to sit down. Hana and Kia had come back and were sitting with their own shirts. Kia was chattering, and Hana, though she seemed intent on her work, had the air of someone listening with interest.
Momo carefully drew the outline of a horse in pencil, then went back over it with paint. It looked a little misshapen, and the head was too small for the rest of the body, but she liked it. She started filling it in with a golden-yellow coat, like the color of her brother's hair. After a little thought, she added a field of grass and tiny blossoms at the bottom.
"Hey, Tohru-san," Momo asked once as she worked, "how did you find out about the hugging thing? When did you first see Kyo-san transform?"
"Don't tell her!" Kyo yelled as both Tohru and Kazuma started laughing.
"Ooh, tell us, tell us!" Kia and Tohaku cried. It was plain that they loved this story, and that it was told often.
"Well, it was when I first moved into this house," Tohru started.
"I'm not listening!" Kyo growled, and covered his ears. Tohru pulled at him until he was lying with his head on her lap, and stroked his hair as she talked. He relaxed into her touch, grumbling under his breath.
"I had already met Shigure-san and Yuki-kun, and they had kindly offered to let me live with them for a while, until the remodeling on my grandfather's house was finished. Yuki-kun was showing me the room I would stay in. Then I heard these creaking and scratching noises from the ceiling--"
"And POW! Daddy came flying through the roof!" Tohaku interrupted. Kazuma smiled, tousled his hair, and gestured for him to be quiet and let his mother finish.
"Well, I was very shocked at first," Tohru went on. "This strange orange-headed boy had just come out of nowhere and was standing there, insulting Yuki-kun and getting ready to beat him up." Kyo grumbled louder and waved his feet in the air restlessly. "I thought at first that Yuki-kun would be hurt - I didn't know at the time that, well, that Yuki-kun could take care of himself--"
"(mumble) rat...(mumble, mumble) Yuki..." Kyo said to Tohru's knee.
"--so when Kyo started to charge, I had to stop him. I ran up and grabbed him from behind--"
"Daddy didn't see her coming!" Tohaku said gleefully.
"Yeah, he didn't even notice she was there!" Kia piped up. Kyo growled, and the kids giggled naughtily.
"--and then there was a popping noise, and all this smoke! I couldn't think what had happened at first, and suddenly I was holding a cat and the orange-headed boy was gone, but then I saw his clothes on the floor and I realized that, somehow, I had caused him to transform!" Tohaku and Kia were giggling uncontrollably by now, though they had their hands pressed against their mouths to stifle it.
"I was panicked and didn't know what to do," Tohru continued. "I thought I had hurt him, and I didn't notice that there were loose boards still up by the ceiling. One of them fell and hit me on the head, and I lost my balance and stumbled into Yuki-kun and Shigure-san." By now everyone except Hana (she simply kept painting busily as if she did not notice anything) was laughing, though they kept quiet so as not to interfere with the story.
"And of course, the two of them transformed as well. So there I was, with an armful of animals and a pile of empty clothes, and it took me a while to finally calm down and listen to the explanation."
"I wish I could have been there!" Momiji laughed. "That must have been so funny!"
"Yeah, it was real hilarious," Kyo retorted sarcastically. The corners of his lips were twitching, though, and Momo saw that he was trying to hide a smile.
After that they passed away much of the time telling stories, such as when Tohru first met Momiji and the other members of the zodiac.
"Wow, Momo, that's good!" Momiji had come up beside her. "Do you want me to write your name in English?"
"Yes, please." She watched, fascinated, as he formed the letters M-O-M-O. "Thank you, Oniisan." She smiled up at him, and he beamed back at her. It was obvious how much he loved hearing her call him that. "Can I see your shirt?" Momo asked.
"Of course!" Momiji showed her. It was a rabbit, of course, surrounded by lots of grass and big, colorful flowers, and a large sun up near the right shoulder.
"It's so cute, Oniisan!"
"Thank you!" He beamed at her.
"All those flowers make it look fruity," Kyo snorted, looking over their shoulders.
"Do you want me to paint flowers on your shirt, Kyo?" Momiji asked innocently.
"NO!"
"Tohru-san, may I see your shirt?" Momo asked. Tohru had finished painting, and was now trying to clean up the living room.
"Oh, yes! Here." Tohru turned the drying shirt around so Momo could see. There was a large riceball with a happy face on the front, surrounded by the small cartoonish heads of all the zodiac animals (plus the Cat).
"Oh, it's adorable! I love it!"
"Thank you so much, Momo-san. I like yours, too!"
Momo looked curiously over at Hana's shirt, and got a little jolt. Hana had covered the previously-white shirt with black paint all over, except a little space on the front in which something like a carnivorous flower was depicted.
"That's...very interesting, Hanajima-san."
"Thank you," Hana said expressionlessly.
"Oh, my! It's nearly lunchtime!" Tohru exclaimed in surprise. "I'll go warm something up. Hana-chan, Momiji-kun, Momo-san, are you all staying to eat?"
"Of course," Hana and Momiji said together (though Momiji's had an exclamation mark at the end of it).
Momo was starving, and she sat down gratefully to eat with the rest. The food, though not nearly as fancy as the last meal she had eaten here, was just as delicious. Momiji talked spiritedly as they ate, mostly about their adventure that morning with Aya.
"Oh, I'm so glad you found her!" Tohru gasped. "It takes my breath away, thinking of poor, sweet Aya-chan missing like that. Mine-san and Ayame-san must have been so terribly worried!"
"They were," Momo said, "but you should have seen them once they got Aya back again. They were so happy, like they'd never been worried or anxious. They didn't tell her off for wandering out, or blame Ayame-san for leaving the door open, or anything like that. They were just so, so happy that Aya was safe and sound."
"Ah, stupid Ayame probably just forgot he'd lost the kid in the first place," Kyo snorted.
"Daddy," Kia piped up, "can you please leave the door open so we can get lost, too?"
"No!"
"Daddy, please?" Tohaku begged, "it'll be fun!"
"How is that fun?!"
"Don't worry, Daddy," Kia said reassuringly, "We won't be lost for a long time, just until I get a baseball cap."
"Oh, no, not this again," Kyo groaned.
"What is it?" Momiji asked curiously.
"Some dumb story Tohru keeps telling them about the stupid Rat."
"Ooh, ooh, I'll show you!" Kia shouted, and raced away upstairs. Tohaku jumped up and ran after her. Tohru followed as well, probably to remind them how impolite it was to leave the table before everyone else was finished eating.
"What story?" Momiji wanted to know.
"None of your business, brat."
"When Tohru was a child," Kazuma supplied calmly, "she ran away from some bullies and got lost--"
"Shishou!"
"--but young Yuki led her back home and gave her a red baseball cap that he had been wearing. The cap, coincidentally, had once belonged to Kyo. Tohru still treasures that hat--"
"Thanks for reminding me, I've been meaning to burn that thing," Kyo mumbled.
"--and when she told the kids that story, they both begged to have a red baseball cap, so Kyo went out and bought one for each."
"I did not!"
"Yes you did. Tohru woke up that night when you were sneaking back in through the window."
"Well, it's not my fault the cat decided to be sleeping right where I put my foot!"
Momo giggled. "Where are the cats, anyway?" she asked.
"Tohru locked 'em up while we were painting," Kyo explained, "and we had to leave them there for lunch, too. Those things are annoying whenever there's food around."
"So anyway," Kazuma went on, but just then the kids came crashing back downstairs.
"Sorry, sorry for leaving the table and it was rude, please forgive me," Kia said with an impatient bow, "but look, look!" She thrust the red hat she was holding at Momiji. "See, this just appeared on my pillow one morning--"
"Look, look," Tohaku interrupted, "Mama sewed a little kitty and a little mousie on mine!"
"It's cute, Tohaku-chan," Momo smiled.
"Be quiet, Haku, I'm talking!" Kia exclaimed in outrage. "Anyway, I looove my hat, but I really want to get lost someday like Mama so I can get a real hat!"
"What do you call this, a fake hat?" Kyo said indignantly. He flicked the edge of Kia's baseball cap, and she giggled.
"Oh Daddy, you know what I mean." She kissed him on the nose (which seemed to placate him somewhat), put the hat on her head, sat down, and finished her meal.
When everyone was done, Momo offered to help Tohru clear up. They gathered all the dirty dishes and headed for the kitchen with them, leaving the others to listen to the kids chattering about their favorite TV show. Momo could still hear their voices through the sound of running water.
"I found out about the curse," Momo said, after a minute of silently trying out different ways of bringing up the subject.
"Oh, you did?" Tohru said, sounding pleased. "That's wonderful! It's easier for them when other people know, because then they don't have to hide so much. They can relax."
"Yes, I suppose that's true," Momo said thoughtfully. She looked at Tohru and smiled. Momo liked the way Tohru spoke of the Juunishi with such concern and love, like she was looking after them.
"Tohru!" Kyo stuck his head into the kitchen. "The kids are getting restless, so we're all going out to play."
"All right. We'll be there soon," Tohru said cheerfully. Kyo withdrew, and within a few minutes the house had gone quiet and peaceful. "So," Tohru went on, "what happened? How did you discover Momiji-kun's transformation?"
Momo giggled a little. "I was crying, and I tried to hug him for comfort. I was pretty shocked, especially that first time."
"First time?" Tohru said innocently.
"Well, after he explained everything to me, I took him to Hatori-san's house nearby so that he could change back. And, well...I sort of bumped into Hatori-san, too."
Tohru laughed as she scrubbed at a particularly sticky glob of food. "Poor Hatori-san! He seems to get transformed all the time by accident, and he is so embarrassed about his other form!"
"Embarrassed?"
"Yes. I think he is cute, but he doesn't like how he transforms into such a small, weak animal when he should be the strong dragon."
Momo chuckled. "I guess you're right. But you know what? I think he's very cute, too." They laughed together again.
"Did you see Mayuko-san, and Akito-san and Yuki-kun?" Tohru asked.
"Yes. And Ayame-san, too, he was visiting." Momo paused. "While I was there, they...told me something." She took a deep breath. "About Momiji-kun." Her hands had stilled, and the dish and the rag she had been drying it with hung limply in her hands. After a minute she realized Tohru had stopped moving, too.
"It was a hard thing for you to hear," Tohru said gently.
"You already know!" Momo said in relief. She didn't want to have to go through the whole story again.
"Yes. Momiji-kun told me years ago. I met his mother once - I suppose she is your mother, too! She had brought you along; the two of you had come to pick up your papa. I remember thinking at the time how very beautiful you both were, and how much you two looked like Momiji-kun."
Momo was staring at her. "How do you know all that?"
Tohru smiled. "I was one of the cleaning ladies in your father's building!"
"Ohh! Is that why I used to see Oniisan hanging around the cleaning ladies sometimes? Because you were one of them?"
"Yes! I loved it when he came to keep me company. The work seemed so much more fun with someone to talk to."
"I don't remember you working in Papa's building..."
"You were very young. But I saw you a couple of other times, too, when you still lived in the Sohma Estate," Tohru said.
Dim memory suddenly flashed back to Momo. "Oh! You were that girl! Oniisan's friend." Momo laughed, slightly embarrassed. "I can't believe I didn't realize until now that you were the same person as the one I met when I was little." Tohru smiled at her and went on washing dishes. Momo took a deep breath to get herself back on track.
"Tohru-san...what I wanted to talk to you about..." She paused. Then, "I don't know how I feel about Mama! I love her, because-- because she's Mama! But sometimes she annoys me, like the way she hovers over me all the time and is always demanding to know where I've been and what I've been up to. And she keeps nagging at me to do more things with my friends. And-- and how could she have let them erase her memories of Oniisan?" Momo angrily wiped her nose with the back of her hand, and got half her face damp. "Oniisan...he's so sweet, and caring. I love him. And he loves me and Mama and Papa, you can just tell by the way he talks and the way he looks while he's talking. He didn't deserve to get erased!"
Tohru turned the water off and put her arms around Momo. Momo leaned into the embrace, fiercely willing the tears back, though they seemed determined to try and get out through her nose instead.
"Your mama is a very soft, caring person," Tohru said in a gentle voice. "I saw the way she spoke to you, years ago. She loves you, and she wants to protect you. She wants to make sure you're safe and happy."
"But what about Oniisan!" Momo wailed.
Tohru sighed. It was a short, sharp sound that made Momo realize that Tohru was close to tears as well. "I can't imagine how your mother must have felt. I can't imagine Kia, or Tohaku, disappearing from my life as if they had never been born. But I can see it a little... When Kia was born, poor Kyo wanted to hold her so badly. But he couldn't, because when he transformed she would have fallen and gotten hurt. So instead I would hug him and he would lie beside her for as long as his cat form would allow. It was the only way he could be close to her.
"Then, when she got older, she would try to hug her father, like all children do, and he would turn into a cat in her arms. Kia was frightened the first few times, and then after that she would laugh, but I could always see how painful it was for Kyo. I was so glad, when Tohaku was born, because Kyo has one child now, at least, that he can embrace."
Momo wondered what this had to do with Mama and Momiji, but she did not interrupt.
Tohru pulled back a little and went on. "Your mama is such a loving person. She is the mama who wants to hold her son close to her body, to show him how much she cares for him. And when she is not able to do that...she probably feels like she is so inadequate, that she cannot love and protect her son the way she longs to. Kyo is hurt every day of his life, because of the barrier that is between him and his daughter. Your mama, at least, does not have to suffer that. And it is a terrible thing to suffer, when you are a parent."
"But she wasn't the only one involved," Momo whispered. "She hurt Oniisan, too, and me. She had no right to do that!"
"Your mama did what she had to do. And Momiji-kun did what he had to do. He is a very strong person, Momo-san. Not everyone could still show such joy and love after they have been rejected like that. Not everyone could make decisions like that, and still love the person who chose differently than they did." Tohru smiled warmly at her. "You are Tohaku for your mama. You are the one she can love and care for. Let her love Momiji-kun through you, and love her for Momiji-kun's sake as well as your own. If you do that, you'll find that there's not much room left for blame and anger."
Momo smiled at her, and the two of them laughed to break the tension. 'Oniisan was right,' Momo thought. 'Tohru-san heals you. She finds exactly what makes you hurt and shows you, so that you can start dealing with it.'
Tohru and Momo were both startled by a burst of hysterical, high-pitched screams from outside. They weren't the normal excited screams of children playing; it sounded like Kia and Tohaku were absolutely terrified.
'Something's happened,' Momo thought, and her throat choked up with fear. 'Something's happened to the kids.' In the time it took Momo to form that thought, Tohru was already dashing out the door, without word or pause. Momo started after her, but then a nauseous smell overcame her. 'Where did that come from?' she wondered dimly. She sank to her knees, pressing her hands over her mouth and willing herself to not throw up. 'Oh, gross, gross...what's happening? What is this smell
She heard running footsteps. "Momo!" Momiji gasped. Momo glanced up and saw him standing over her, looking pale and anxious. "Momo, come on, I have to take you home."
"The kids...?"
"They're fine," he said quickly, "just frightened."
"Oniisan...this smell..."
"Ssh, Momo. Let's leave, you'll feel better. Do you have to throw up first?"
"I've got to get out of here." Momo scrambled to her feet and struggled to the front door. Momiji helped her along, and sure enough, she did feel better when they were outside and father away from the house. They did not speak until they were sitting next to each other on the subway train.
"Oniisan," Momo asked finally, almost scared to hear the answer, "what happened?"
Momiji was quiet for a minute. He looked sad. "Have you ever," he finally said, "noticed that bracelet that Kyo always wears?"
"Yes. The one with the black and white beads?"
Momiji nodded. "It's not just a piece of jewelry. Kyo has to wear it. It's the only thing that can restrain his "other" form."
"The Cat?"
Momiji shook his head. "No. It's a different one. It's...it's not very nice-looking. Even I have trouble handling the memory of it, though I know it was only Kyo. It's only his body that changes, not his mind."
They were silent for a while, and then Momo asked hesitantly, "Do you think they'll mind that we left so quickly? Without even saying goodbye?"
"That place was in chaos when we left. It was kinder to let Tohru sort it out on her own - Kyo would have been glad that we left before you could see him." He took in a shuddering breath. "Poor Kyo. Poor Kia and Haku. We were all just playing, having fun. Then Tohaku started wrestling with Kyo. He grabbed the bracelet and wouldn't let go. Kyo yelled at him, but it was too late, Haku pulled it off." Momiji shook his head. "Kyo and Tohru hadn't wanted to tell the kids about the Cat's true form. Not until they were old enough to handle it. It's not good that Kia and Tohaku had to see something like that happen to their father, when they are still so young."
Momo felt terrible. She ached for Kyo and his family, frustrated that there was nothing she could do. And at the same time she was frightened - what kind of horrible creature did Kyo turn into, that could make Kia and Tohaku scream like that at the sight of their own father?
Momo had a surprise when Momiji dropped her off and she came into the house.
"Momo?" Her mother had come into the front hallway as Momo was taking off her shoes. "Momo...welcome home."
Momo returned her mother's hesitant smile with a brilliant one. "Oh, Mama, I'm sorry!" She ran and hugged her mother, who held her tightly in her arms. Momo nearly cried, as she thought about this feeling that her brother, Momiji, would never be able to experience. "I'm sorry for yelling at you like that, Mama, and saying such horrible things to you. I love you, I really do!"
"Momo," her mother whispered, and kissed her hair. They held each other for a while, and then Momo's mother pushed back with a little laugh. "Look at us! Idling in the hallway when we have guests."
Momo frowned in puzzlement. "Guests?"
"They called earlier to say they were coming, but you weren't here. I never had a chance to tell you, and...well, I wasn't sure when you'd be back."
"I'm sorry, Mama. I'll call you next time to tell you my plans."
Her mother smiled and hugged her shoulders. Then they reached the living room, and Momo stopped short.
Akito was sitting there.
to be continued...
Author's Notes: Heh, the whole point of this chapter was simply an excuse for me to write about Ayame's and Kyo's families again. I don't think it contributed anything to the plot (not that there even is much of a plot).
Aya did not turn out as cute as I intended her to be. Oh well. I tried. I also tried to give Ayame more kids in the sequel, but he wouldn't hear of it. Ayame let me know that, yes, he was absolutely delighted with his daughter, but really, he was not cut out to be a father. No more kids, thank you.
I also liked writing Hana better than I thought I would, though Hana didn't really get much of the spotlight. Oh well, I don't think she minds.
The whole thing with the shirt-painting just randomly came to me as I was writing, it wasn't in my outline. It turned out well, though, and it filled up a previously empty scene that I didn't know what to do with.
The baseball cap scene was also added in later, to replace a weird scene that ended up not working out. Also, a single difficult sentence required me to go back and add the cats to chapter 3. Previously, there were no cats in this story (other than Kyo), though I'd been thinking about adding them. Turns out I'd have to add them anyway, whether I wanted to or not.
