The next evening, Tohru was making dinner when the doorbell rang. Hajime immediately came flying into the kitchen from the living room, latching onto her leg and caroling "Door, Mommy! Da door!"

It was the door, although who'd be ringing the bell at this time of day on a Thursday she couldn't say. It was still early for Kyo to be home, and since it was firmly in the middle of supper time, she had no idea who else it might be, either. Tohru shot a glance at the pans on stove, briefly considering just ignoring whoever was there, but at another insistent "Door, Mommy," from Hajime, she turned the burners to low and ran to the door.

It was Mrs. Okada, along with another woman Tohru didn't know who was probably somewhere in her early forties. But what they were doing here on her doorstep, Tohru genuinely couldn't say.

"Mrs. Okada, hi, can I help you with something? I was just in the middle of making dinner," Tohru said apologetically, and Mrs. Okada's smile dropped right off of her face.

"Oh, I'm so sorry, Tohru! Of course, I didn't even think about that! We didn't mean to bother you, but I really thought..." She glanced from Tohru to her companion, who was looking a touch uncomfortable, then back to Tohru. "Would it be terribly inconvenient if we came in for a few minutes?"

Tohru shook her head. "Not at all, as long as you don't mind me cooking. Why don't you take off your shoes, and then come into the kitchen and sit down?"

Leaving them to the entryway, Tohru scurried back to the kitchen, relieved that her food hadn't decided to burn while she was away. Thursday nights were one of Kyo's late class nights; after he got home from his normal workday, he only had forty-five minutes to eat before he had to turn around and head back to the dojo. It wasn't much, but Tohru always tried to make sure she had supper ready to go when he got home so they didn't have to miss out on any time together.

Hajime had clung to Tohru's leg the entire time, and he was still clinging when the two women came in and sat down at the kitchen table. Both of them smiled at him, and he promptly grinned back.

"Hi hi!"

"Hello, Hajime," Mrs. Okada said, smiling at him. "Are you helping your mommy today?"

He nodded. "Yes! I a big hewper!"

Tohru gave him a smile, then looked over at her guests. "I'm sorry, I can't really offer you anything right now."

The two women shook their heads, then Mrs. Okada said "Don't worry about it, Tohru, we came at an inconvenient time."

That much was certainly true.

"What can I help you with tonight, Mrs. Okada?" Tohru asked, looking over her shoulder. And at the question, Mrs. Okada beamed.

"Tohru, please let me introduce Junko Imura. Junko, this is Tohru Sohma, who I was telling you about!"

The name meant absolutely nothing to Tohru, and she was a little uncertain about anyone being told about her. Why would anyone need to hear about Tohru?

Mrs. Okada continued. "Tohru, I know swore to keep what we were discussing yesterday quiet, and I'm sure I have. But when Junko came into the store today and we got to talking, I just had to tell her about you and your family! And she sounded so interested that I decided to just bring her right over and introduce you two so you could talk!"

Junko looked rather apologetic as she looked at Tohru. "I'm so sorry for intruding, Mrs. Sohma, I had no idea you would be busy. If now isn't a good time, we can come back another time; Mei can be rather excitable when she gets a bit between her teeth," she commented, looking at the other woman with a smile.

"Please, call me Tohru," Tohru said, her mind suddenly racing. Junko...hadn't that been the name of the Suzukis' daughter? "And it's no trouble, as long as you don't mind me having to cook while we talk. But I'm sorry...can you tell me what this is about?"

Mrs. Okada's hand flew to her mouth. "Of course, I almost forgot the most important part! Tohru, Junko is the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Suzuki, who we were talking about yesterday? Junko comes into town a few times a week to help with their shopping and take care of things around the house for them, and when she came into the store today, we got to talking, about her parents and the upcoming move! And I told her about you!"

Now Tohru definitely understood, and she felt incredibly awkward. What kind of opportunist must Junko take her for, hearing that Tohru was eyeballing her parents' property before they were even out of it?

It was a relief to see that Junko was smiling at her.

"That's right...Tohru," she said, stumbling slightly over the familiar use of Tohru's first name. "I was actually very interested to hear about you."

"You were?" Now Tohru was simply surprised.

Junko nodded. "As Mei told you yesterday, my parents are going to be moving in with my family in Nigeyashi, soon. And as much as they've loved living here in Hibe, it's just...not going to be possible for them to move back," she said, looking down sadly.

Tohru immediately felt a wave of sympathy. "I'm so very sorry, this has to be such a difficult time for you all. Hopefully it helps, having you already living so near!"

Junko wiped at a tear, then nodded. "Yes, and they'll still be able to see their friends. It's just hard, giving up their lives here. And it was hard enough getting them to agree. But now that we're all on the same page, it'll hopefully be easier. But." She looked over at Tohru. "Mei said...that you and your husband were possibly interested in the property?"

Tohru immediately blushed. "Well, obviously we didn't want to presume, and hadn't exactly-"

"Because if you are, we'd be very interested in talking with you, my parents and I."

Tohru's eyes rounded. "What?"

Now it was Junko's turn to blush. "I'm so sorry, I don't mean to put you on the spot. But the market for properties such as my parents' is...not good, if I'm being honest. As sweet a town as Hibe is, there's not a lot of people moving here, and those that do tend to want to be in town itself, not outside of it. So if it's something your family might be interested in, then we'd definitely be open to talking." She smiled, glancing at Hajime. "It might even make it easier on my parents to go, knowing another family was going to be living there."

Tohru felt awkward all over again. "Well, the house-"

"Oh, we know the house would be replaced. But I wonder...do you or your husband happen to garden, Tohru?"

At that question, Tohru brightened up immediately. "I do! I don't have much here, because our yard is really small, but I do really like it. That's part of why I wanted a bigger yard," she admitted shyly.

Junko smiled. "Nothing would make my parents happier than seeing someone else growing things there, no matter what kind of house they had. Mom and Dad have been gardening there together for decades, and convincing them to leave the garden has honestly been the hardest part out of any of this," she said with a little laugh.

Tohru smiled, thinking back to her time at Shigure's house and all the time she'd spent gardening with Yuki. It had been such a wonderful experience, learning about plants and bonding with him, and it was initially to help keep that connection alive that she'd started gardening in Hibe. But over time, she'd come to love it all for her own sake, as well. Kyo had never been much for the garden, but maybe, in a new place with more room, he'd be more interested.

Or maybe Hajime would, she thought, glancing down at her son.

Just then, she heard the front door open, and she giggled as Hajime went tearing back out to the entryway. "DADDYDADDYDADDYDAAAAAAAAAADY!"

All three women were laughing at Hajime's enthusiasm, and at Kyo's amused reply. "Well hey, Hajime, good to see you too!"

Then Kyo walked into the kitchen carrying Hajime, still wearing his gi and smiling curiously at their guests. "Hey," he said, giving the two of them a friendly nod before glancing at Tohru.

Tohru was busily turning off the burners and pulling dishes out of the cabinet. "Kyo, this is Junko Imura, Mr. and Mrs. Suzuki's daughter. Mrs. Imura, this is my husband, Kyo." She could see Kyo's mind trying to place the names, then his eyes widened in surprised confusion when he remembered.

She couldn't really blame him for that.

"Anyway, they were just quickly stopping by to talk to me about Mr. and Mrs. Suzuki's house. Apparently Mrs. Imura was in the grocery store this afternoon and Mrs. Okada told her about our conversation yesterday."

Mrs. Okada was looking apologetically at Kyo, or more specifically his gi. "I'm so sorry, Kyo, do you have to go back to the dojo tonight?"

He nodded, smiling ruefully back. "I do, yeah. I've gotta leave at quarter after."

Junko and Mrs. Okada looked at each other, then stood up. "We'll leave you three to your dinner, then, and again I'm so sorry for inconveniencing you, Tohru," Mrs. Okada said.

"No, not at all!" Tohru and Kyo both followed their guests to the entryway and stood there as they put on their shoes. Then Junko straightened up and smiled at Tohru. "Like I said, please don't let me put any pressure on you with this. But would it be alright for me to give you my number? You two can talk about what we discussed," she said, glancing at Kyo, "and then if you want to discuss this further, you can call or text me and we can set something up."

Tohru beamed at her. "That would be wonderful, thank you so much!" She passed her phone to Junko, who quickly entered in her contact information. Then after a quick round of goodbyes, the two of them were gone.

Kyo stared at the door, then looked at Tohru. "So...you're gonna tell me what that was about, right?"

She giggled, nodding. "Yes, I will. And welcome home, by the way," she added, leaning up to kiss him. "Supper's all ready!"


"So...they actually want to talk to us about it? Now?" Kyo was honestly amazed, and that amazement showed on his face as he looked at Tohru over their dinner. It hadn't taken her long to catch him up on their visitors, which was just as well; he was operating on a deadline tonight.

But deadline or not, this was simply too exciting of a discussion to put off.

Tohru nodded in response to his question. "That's right! And honestly...she seemed really excited about the idea."

Kyo looked thoughtful as he took another bite of rice. "Do you think that's a good thing? It almost seems...sketchy. Them being so excited and wanting to come talk to us like this, when they don't really even know us or anything."

Tohru's entire nature revolted at the idea of being so suspicious, and her initial response was to give her husband a reproachful look. But then she sighed. She could maybe see his point, and it wasn't a bad idea to consider every possible angle. This was by far the biggest purchase of their lives they were talking about, so they needed to be cautious.

"I think she was telling the truth," Tohru said slowly. "Just think about our house hunt so far, Kyo; we've had a lot of options, almost a surprising number of options. Even here in Hibe, how many houses have we actually seen. Ten? And most of them are still available." Kyo was nodding, and she felt encouraged. "They just haven't been right for us. So it makes sense that the Suzukis' property would have challenges of its own, and that if they were serious about selling it that they'd be eager to talk to someone who they heard might be specifically interested."

"Yeah, I guess that's a fair point. It just seems...kinda crazy to me. To go from only just hearing about it maybe being available yesterday to being asked to talk about it today."

Tohru giggled at him. "And that's why you should never underestimate the power of small-town gossip, Kyo!"

"Seriously," he said, shaking his head. Then he looked at her and smiled. "Well...what do you think?"

She was smiling back. "I think we should talk to them! At the very least, we could learn about the property, and then we can talk to Mr. Shimada about what we learn." Mr. Shimada was their realtor, their incredibly, incredibly patient realtor.

"Agreed. Why don't you go ahead and figure something out with Mrs. Imura, then?"

"Of course!" And Tohru felt almost giddy at the idea. After spending so long spinning their wheels on the house, it was hard not to be excited now, even if was just theoretical.

"Great," Kyo said, standing up with a smile. "But now I've gotta head out. You two have a good night, ok?"

"Have a great class, Kyo!"

"Bye-bye! Havea gweat cwass!"


"Thank you so much for meeting with us, Mr. and Mrs. Sohma. We appreciate you taking the time to come all the way here."

It was Saturday afternoon, and Tohru, Kyo, and Hajime were all in the living room of Mr. and Mrs. Suzuki's house. With them were the Suzukis, and Junko, who had already taken care of introductions and set everyone up with drinks. With the Suzukis' permission Hajime was already roving curiously around the room, and Tohru had had to tear her eyes away from him to smile at Mr. Suzuki as he spoke.

"Oh, it's no trouble at all, Mr. Suzuki! It's not far at all, and we're so glad you were willing to talk to us."

"That's right," Kyo agreed, his eyes never actually leaving Hajime beyond a quick flicker to their host. One thing that parenthood had taught them both: never trust a toddler in an unfamiliar space.

But if nothing else, Hajime was currently well-supervised. Mrs. Suzuki and Junko were both watching his progress with big beaming smiles, and Mrs. Suzuki had tears in her eyes. The sight was almost enough to make Tohru tear up herself, though she wasn't entirely sure why.

Mr. Suzuki had looked briefly at Hajime, but his smiles were mostly for his wife. It was obvious to both of the Sohmas that there was a lot of affection between the two of them...and that Mrs. Suzuki, in particular, was not doing that well.

But Mr. Suzuki was quick to return to the matter at hand. "My daughter told me a little bit about you...three," he said, glancing over at Hajime. "And we understand that you've actually been looking to move?"

Tohru nodded. "That's right, Mr. Suzuki. We've been here in Hibe for seven years now, and we've always loved it! But our house has gotten a little small," she said, looking fondly over at Hajime. "Especially since we don't have all that much outdoor space."

Mr. Suzuki smiled. "I can understand that. The needs of a family are different than the needs of a couple, particularly when it comes to space. But you haven't been able to find anything yet?"

Kyo shook his head at that one. "Not yet, Sir. Since I work at the dojo, we want something handy to that. But Tohru works in Nigeyashi, and when Hajime's a little older he'll be going to school there too, so we need something close to town and the bus depot."

"Why not in town itself," Mr. Suzuki asked curiously, and Tohru and Kyo both couldn't help but feel they were actually on an interview.

They exchanged a glance, then smiled before looking back at Mr. Suzuki.

"We both like the idea of having outdoor space," Tohru said. "A lot of outdoor space, ideally. We'd love for Hajime to have room to run around, of course, and I'd like more room to garden. I have a very small garden at our house now, but it would be wonderful to have more room to branch out."

At the mention of a garden, the old man's eyes immediately lit up. "You garden?"

She nodded shyly. "I do! I started in high school; there was a vegetable garden at our boarding house, and a dear friend of mine was a passionate gardener. He taught me quite a lot, and when we moved here I decided to try my hand by myself. It's not much right now, but I love the idea of having more space and trying more things!"

Mr. Suzuki was looking back at his wife with a soft smile, then he turned back to Tohru. "My wife and I have been gardening here together for...a very long time, Mrs. Sohma. So I can say with certainty that the soil is good, and the ground is very workable. It would make us both...very happy, to know that someone else is still gardening here, even when we can't." He was smiling wistfully, still looking at Tohru, but no longer seeing her. And Tohru had to actually wipe her eyes, feeling in that moment that she was maybe seeing a glimpse of her own future.

She could only hope that, one day, she and Kyo would still be like this.

Mr. Suzuki finally collected himself and smiled at her again. "You mentioned vegetables; do you do anything with flowers or ornamental plants?"

Tohru shook her head. "Not really right now, no; space is so limited that vegetables have always been my priority. But I've always wanted to try, if I had the space!"

"Well, that's certainly wonderful to hear," Mr. Suzuki said with a smile.


After a time, Junko took Mrs. Suzuki to her room to rest. Then Mr. Suzuki and Junko took Tohru, Kyo, and Hajime outside, and the five of them walked around the yard.

Hajime was ecstatic to be outside, and he giggled excited as he raced around the adults, running in big, excited loops.

"I so fast! Ha-me is so fast, see?"

All four of the adults laughed, Junko giving Tohru and Kyo a smile. "He's a very energetic little boy, isn't he?"

Kyo's smile was a mixture of pride and ruefulness. "Yeah, he's sure got a lot to burn. That's a big thing we like about having outdoor space, giving the kids a place to play."

Tohru noticed the plural there, and she couldn't help but beam at him. But Kyo didn't notice, his attention fully on Hajime.

Mr. Suzuki was nodding. "When Junko and Takako, her sister, were younger, we all appreciated having the space. It could be very noisy inside, but outside, it was just another sound of nature."

Tohru and Kyo both laughed at that; as Hajime continued his excited commentary, they could both agree that it was a lot easier on the ears outside.

As they walked along, Mr. Suzuki pointed out the property lines, and points of interest within the yard. Tohru and Kyo were pleasantly surprised by how large the property actually was, over two full acres. Besides the row of trees that formed a border along the road there were many more mature trees, including several apple and pear trees, and, of course, several gardens of various types.

Mr. Suzuki pointed out the gardens with pride as they made their way along, but at one point he paused. "We'll be bringing a few of our favorite plants along with us to Junko's, but obviously, there are certain limitations of space," he said, his smile sad. "And I want you to know that whatever you decide to do with the remainder would be completely up to you. We understand that a busy young family has different demands on their time than an old retired couple," he said with another sad smile. "But if you do want to try to keep anything, I'd be more than happy to teach you about them."

Tohru was beaming. "I'd love that, Mr. Suzuki. I can't make any promises, of course, but I'd love to try!"

Kyo couldn't help but notice the way that Mr. Suzuki and Tohru were talking, as if everything was a done deal. And he smiled as he looked at his wife, loving her enthusiasm. He couldn't lie; looking around, everything looked pretty damn perfect. They could hardly ask for a property more in line with their wants, even if it didn't come with a house.

But they hadn't talked figures, of any kind; not the property, and not the house. They'd done hardly any research on homebuilding. And just because the yard looked nice didn't mean anything.

Still...it was hard not to feel just a little bit excited, as he looked the short distance back into town.


After their tour of the yard, it was time for the Sohmas to go. But before they left, Mr. Suzuki gave them a folder. "This has all the information about the property," he said, smiling at them. "We've...known this move was coming for a little while, now, and Junko has been a great help in connecting us with the necessary people. Hopefully everything you'd need to make a decision is in here, please, take your time and look it over. Talk to whoever you need to talk to. And then please, let us know. Either way, just let us know," he repeated, bowing to them both.

Tohru took the folder with a smile as she bowed back. "Thank you so much, Mr. Suzuki, and thank you so much for your hospitality today. It was wonderful, getting to properly meet you and see your home!"

Kyo had scooped up Hajime and nodded his agreement. "Yeah, we really appreciate it. All of it. And we'll let you know as soon as we can."

"Thank you, but make sure you don't rush. Whatever your decision, we want you to be informed, and to be sure."

"Of course, Mr. Suzuki. Have a nice day, all of you!"

As the Sohmas started down the road back into Hibe, Junko turned to her father with a sympathetic smile. "Are you ok, Dad?"

He took a breath, then smiled back. "I think so, Junko." Looking back to the departing family, he nodded, then repeated, "I think so."


"Thank you so much for meeting with us, Mr. Shimada! It was so kind of you, to see us on a Saturday!"

A little more than an hour later, the Sohmas were sitting in their realtor's office in Nigeyashi, the folder of documents from the Suzukis spread out in front of him. Mr. Shimada, a small man with very large glasses, was poring over them with interest, and he immediately brushed off Tohru's praise.

"Not at all, Mrs. Sohma! It's all part of the job, being available whenever and wherever duty calls. And this is certainly a pleasant duty!"

As Mr. Suzuki had promised, the folder had provided pretty much everything they needed: a land survey, a breakdown of the property's contents. Information about the house, and the utilities. Land use documentation.

Costs.

Tohru and Kyo had sat quietly while Mr. Shimada reviewed everything, trying not to look too nervous. After leaving the Suzukis, they had gone home to look at the documentation, but quickly realized they didn't quite know, for the most part, what they were actually looking at. A call to Mr. Shimada had led to him inviting them to come to his office to look over everything right then, and they had agreed. After dropping Hajime off with their friends the Tanakas, they had headed straight into Nigeyashi.

It felt like a long time that Mr. Shimada was looking at the papers, and it probably was. But eventually he finished, fanning them out in front of him on the desk and looking up at the two of them with a smile.

"So...this is new, isn't it," he commented. "I didn't realize you were interested in land!"

They laughed a little self-consciously.

"Well, that's 'cause we weren't, not initially," Kyo admitted. "The sort of land we'd want didn't seem all that common."

"That's because it's not," Mr. Shimada agreed. "There really aren't a lot of parcels like this available, especially not brand-new ones. Your best option...your only option, really, around towns like Hibe, is a situation like this. Old construction, knock it down and replace it. But obviously for that, you're dependent on there actually being old construction available where you want it." He looked from Tohru to Kyo with a smile. "But this certainly sounds like exactly where you wanted it, isn't it?"

Tohru couldn't disguise her eager smile. "It really is! As far as the location goes, it's almost perfect!" She wouldn't have minded it be a teeny bit closer to town, but less than half a mile was nothing. Especially when she thought back to life at Shigure's house, and climbing all of those stairs every day.

Mr. Shimada was nodding. "Well, after looking all of this over and knowing what we've previously talked about...I tend to agree, actually."

Neither Tohru or Kyo realized they'd been holding their breaths until they actually let them out, and Tohru let out an excited squeal that made both men laugh.

"Really?"

Mr. Shimada held up a hand, but he was smiling. "Obviously, I haven't seen the property myself, or had a chance to talk with anyone about it. But these are very thorough," he said, nodding at the documents on his desk. "And as far as the land goes, I agree that it sounds perfect for what you've said you wanted. I have hesitations on the house," he continued, looking at the photos and breakdown of that structure, "but as the house would be demolished and a new house built, that's mostly a non-issue. And I have to say," he said, pulling out the page where Mr. Suzuki had written the asking price, "This is an extraordinarily generous price. I'm sure that the slow market is a contributing factor, but considering that the property hasn't even been officially listed yet, this is a remarkably low ask. I would definitely recommend having the property reviewed by our own independent analyst, but based on everything I see here, I feel that this would actually be a very sound choice."

Tohru let out another excited squeal, and Kyo let out another breath. Even though that was the response they'd hoped for, it was still...a shock.

Though Mr. Shimada wasn't finished yet. "That said, have you two actually looked into the actual building process yet?"

They shook their heads. "No," Kyo admitted. "This all came up pretty fast, we only just learned about the place on Wednesday."

Mr. Shimada nodded. "Well, before you do anything else with the property itself, I'd recommend you talk to some building firms. Get some estimates regarding costs, and timelines. You may need to check into financing, building loans are different than mortgages."

Tohru and Kyo exchanged a glance. "We hopefully wouldn't be needing a loan, Mr. Shimada," Tohru said. "We're planning to pay out of pocket, remember?"

Mr. Shimada had actually forgotten; it wasn't all that common, especially in younger couples like these two. "That's right, my apologies. But that makes it all the more imperative you look into costs. Construction can be unexpectedly expensive, and it often ends up costing more than you originally think. You'd also be looking at months before you could move in, possibly longer."

Neither one of them was thrilled about that idea, but they'd already spent nine months looking for houses as it was. If they had to wait longer for their house to be finished, at least they knew it was actually coming!

But they could both agree that Mr. Shimada had made some excellent points.

"Now, waiting on the property assumes that we're not worried about someone else taking an interest right now as well," Mr. Shimada said suddenly. "Are you confident in that?"

Tohru and Kyo glanced at each other, thinking about that day and their meeting with the Suzukis. Then they both smiled, knowing they were on the exact same page.

"Yes, we are, Mr. Shimada."

He smiled, then gathered up the documents. "Alright then. I'll make a set of copies for you two to take with you. Like I said, do a little research on building and make sure that's what you want. Get back to me as soon as you know. And if you do..."

He looked from Tohru to Kyo with a smile.

"I'd say you two have found your property!"