A/N: Hi all, we're moving on! As is Shigure! Which is certainly good news! We also will find out a little bit more about Mr. Fox. I hope you enjoy!

I do not own Fruits Basket or the Characters Therein


Déjà Vu All Over Again

The setup was eerily like my first reading. Tables ringed a podium, candles guttered in the night air and heaters kept the early spring chill away.

The president of the club rushed me saying,

"Thank you, Mr. Sohma, for agreeing to this last minute."

"Shigure please."

The last thing I wanted at that moment was to be connected to my family.

Her eyes fell on Chris who was standing quietly in the background waiting for any requests.

"Be sure to send us copies of the photos to the club Mr…"

"Just Chris thank you."

She turned back to me and said,

"We thought we'd start with the reading, and then we'd like to discuss your poems."

"Sure"

The guests started to trickle in, and I was led to the podium.

She gave me a glowing intro. I remembered Chris' advice and concentrated on the audience. Putting on my Serious Artist face I began,

"This is called:

Koi Pond

The koi lie dreaming of warmer days

Under their icy pools that lock them away

I hold your hand, trying to save

Moments in time, Before the memories fade

But the colors aren't fixed and blur in my tears.

And the ice is so cold that it burns, and it sears

You slip from me now, saying "see you later"

But I know it's goodbye and I'll see you never

Never to walk in the sunshine with you

I step into a koi pond

My heart freezes forever

I stood a while listening to them clapping with my head down, not quite ready to relinquish the feelings that swirled inside me. It was bittersweet. I saw Mayu walk away from me into the mist of time. While I had already stepped aside for Haa-san's sake, this was the first time I had meant it when I whispered "Goodbye Mayu."

I then raised my head, as if taking in the crowd, but my eyes meet Chris', and the chilly night air warmed several degrees. As I turned back to the audience, I saw the camera's flash burst as If time had stopped for an instant and restarted with a flash of energy. I read a few of my other less heavy poems, trying to bring up the mood of the night.

"So, I said, after their final applause died down, do you have any questions?"

The inevitable was asked.

"Is that about the princess?"

"Yes. We dated briefly in college, and we broke up. I wrote that poem right after our breakup."

Someone mercifully asked me about another of my poems and I gratefully changed the subject. At the end I was exhausted and filled with an interesting cocktail of emotions. The president of the club thanked me kindly and everyone clapped. I signed a few books and then they shuffled out while I sat down. Feeling a bit overwhelmed, I put my head on the table.

I heard footsteps ring out on the marble tiles behind me, and a hand rested on my shoulder. I looked up to see Chris.

"Hi." I said.

He caressed my shoulder, paused, and finally said,

"Ready to go?"

"I'm ready for a drink. Let's go out."

"I'm not sure that's a good idea. Let's get you back to your room, you look ready to crash."

We made our way downstairs and into the living room of our suite. I walked toward him, but he put a hand on my shoulder.

I think there's someone you need to talk to first."

"You're right of course."

He walked out to get my drink.

I picked up the sketchbook and continued the conversation that had only occurred thus far in print. Drawing our characters sitting in front of a half sun either rising from or sinking into the sea I wrote,

"Can you tell if that's a sunrise or a sunset? Because right now I'm not sure I know which it is. The clouds are the same rosy color, the sky is the same pale gray, but the sun doesn't say if it's coming or going. Do you mind waiting here with me while I figure it out?"

I then went outside and pulled out a cigarette from the case that lay forgotten in my pocket. I hadn't had one in a while. Perhaps that was because I associated them with confusion, and it had been a long time since I had let myself feel anything. But at that moment It felt like ice was cracking deep within me when the tears finally came. And I needed the familiar taste of burning tobacco to even consider doing what I was thinking about in that moment. I heard Chris come in, so I blotted my tears with my sleeve and took the scotch he offered. He let me drink in peace for a while and said, obviously having seen my cartoon,

"Gure, there are some things that need to be said before we figure out if that's a sunset or sunrise. Right now, it's both."

"Schrödinger's sun? Well at least it isn't a cat. I know someone who especially hates that thought experiment. He…"

"You're babbling. Go and call her."

"Yes. Yes, I should."

He stepped aside while I finished my drink and cigarette and let me pass.

"Good night, Gure."

"Good night, Chris."

"Oh, and Gure, there is one thing that would highly influence this situation for the better."

"What's that?"

"Quit smoking. You don't know how many times I've gotten smoke blown at me because the person didn't want their picture taken. I can't stand the smell of cigarettes anymore. I barely put up with it when I work in nightclubs."

"Oh. Well, I'll take that under advisement."

I then went into my room, looked at the time, and decided that I didn't care. I needed to talk to her.


Mayu interlude

My phone rang and Tori groaned saying,

"Shigure."

"I could let it go."

"Never ignore late night calls Mayu. You never know what's going wrong."

"You're right."

I answered and Gure said,

"I wanted to call you to say goodbye to you for real."

"I thought you already said goodbye."

"No, I moved out of Haa-san's way. I'm saying goodbye now so I can make room for someone else."

"Oh Gure that's great! Do we know them?"

"I don't know yet. But there is a distinct possibility you do."

"Well, I'm glad."

"I'll let you sleep now."

"Thank you."

He hung up and Tori asked,

"Is he ok?"

"He said goodbye to me."

"Well then he's better than ok."

I said a prayer for Gure as I hoped he'd feel the incredible bliss I felt at that moment.

I felt a release after I said goodbye to Mayu. It was like something moved inside me, and I felt so much freer. I didn't feel like sleeping, so I and drew a koi pond next to the sun in my sketchbook and added the caption,

"I think if we squint just a bit, we can see it's a bit brighter in the distance. And I think the koi are just about to jump. There may be a crack on that pool over there."


Meet the Press and Mr…Fox?

I rose the next morning and we were back to being professional. It only made sense as Chris needed to be in the mindset of carrying on a handler- client relationship with me. But when I returned from getting dressed, I saw that he had added to the cartoon. He was fishing through a hole in the ice. The caption read,

"Don't be koi! Who needs to wait for the sun to rise. Sometimes the biggest fish are caught at night."

I drew myself wearing a fish head saying,

"You're right, no need to wait, this fish is already caught."

I was too busy finishing my drawing, so I didn't hear him come in. He obviously read over my shoulder because he stifled a laugh and walked out again. He then returned with his bags. I said,

"Oh, I wish we didn't have to leave, this has been the best room yet."

"You haven't been to Okinawa yet. I've stayed in that place. It's gorgeous. Come on you, we need to get on the road as we have a few signings and then a dinner date."

"A date?" I said hopefully.

"A booking." He corrected.

"Damn."

He was still trying not to laugh but was unsuccessful and broke out in laughter. After a minute he said,

"Stop being fresh. You're not making this easy. I promise there will be time for this, just not right now."

"I quipped; I thought I was being koi."

"You'll be fried if you don't get in that car now."

I gathered my stuff, and as I was leaving the room, he tapped me on the behind with his clipboard. It was a slight break in his façade of professionalism. I turned to him and said,

"Just you wait. I'm going to make that thing disappear."

He chuckled but continued walking to the car. We arrived at our next hotel and the room was nowhere as nice. It was an older place and it had lost its shine. But there was a pool, and the living room had a cushy couch. I noted that and went to freshen up

When I returned and picked up my sketchbook, our conversation had progressed.

The fox lay sprawled on the couch saying,

"Are you just carrying on the joke? Or do you mean it? We don't have time right now but later I'd like to talk about this. Be on your best behavior tonight and I'll throw you a bone."

I drew myself standing next to the couch and wrote,

"Ok Freud. I'm ready to explore the depths of my psyche with you, with special attention paid to my raging id."

We got through the next interview and book signing without any change. But things were quite different when we returned to the room to prepare for dinner. Chis looked nervous and was particularly careful when inspecting how I looked. He re-tied my tie and straightened my collar and cuffs. Worriedly I asked,

"Am I going to meet the queen?"

"Close."

"No seriously Chris, I need to know what I'm walking into, so I know how to act."

He looked at me and said,

"You're right. You're not meeting the queen; you're meeting the brass."

"The brass?"

"As in my boss's bosses.

"I thought we had the launch party already."

"No, this is the meet the new talent dinner party thrown by the company. It will be highly covered by the press, and all the heads of the company will be there."

"Well, that shouldn't be bad."

He clearly wasn't finished because he held up his hand and said,

"And I'm your handler. I'll be on the clock taking pictures and making sure you meet the important people."

"Still don't see the problem."

"You don't?"

"Well, I've been a complete professional through all of this.

"Last night you looked right at me."

"Perhaps I wanted to make sure you caught my best angle."

"That's not what your look said you wanted. Plus, your best angle is tipped a bit and a little right from center. Fortunately, you had the cover of reading poems about the girl who got away. Tonight, you don't have that cover. Don't get me wrong I fully enjoy it when you look at me that way. It just can't happen again when I have a camera in my hand."

"Will it always be like this?"

"Nope, the minute I'm off the clock they don't care. It's just when there are billable hours. Because when I'm on the clock I'm the company. And what I say and do reflects directly on the company."

I was feeling a bit defiant, so I said,

"You're not on the clock now."

"Yes, I am, I'm trying to get you into the car."

"I'm sorry."

I looked at him defeated and started moving. I felt his hand on my shoulder,

"Gure…Gure it's all right if you're friendly with me. You don't need to totally ignore me tonight. It's expected that a certain amount of camaraderie has formed between us as I've been following you around every waking minute of the day. You just need to watch how friendly you get or look."

"I understand."

"There is a flip side to this though."

"What's that?"

"If we were to try this, we have a perfect cover. No one will bat an eye if I'm seen with you. I'm being paid to spend time with you. Hell, they're paying for a suite that puts us into close quarters."

I smiled at him and got up, determined to get through the night.

While we were walking out, he pinched my bum. I turned to him and said,

"Now who's being overly familiar?"

"Just wanted to give you an example of what you can't do. Now move. We'll be late."

I smiled at him, thinking how much I was looking forward to that night.

We drove in silence wondering how we would get through the night and what would happen afterwards. When we had arrived. Chis got out and held my door and said quietly.

"It's showtime."

He led me to a swanky restaurant that glowed with candles. We found Mit-chan waiting for us in the receiving room. She smiled at us both and asked,

"How's our favorite author?"

"Great, I said."

Chris said, "it's been a great tour so far."

"Glad to hear it. Well, you know what tonight is."

"I'll get him ready for the receiving line." Chis looked at me and asked,

"Have you done a receiving line?"

"No."

"Well, they'll come up with their hand out and I'll whisper in your ear their name. You'll great them by name and shake hands."

"Why don't they just introduce themselves?"

"It gives the impression that you've done the research to find out who they are. It makes them feel important. Everyone knows it's fake as hell but that's the way it's done.

"How long does this last?"

"It can be lengthy."

"Fun."

And so, it began. I met so many Chiefs and Vice Presidents and this, that, and the other things. The only thing that kept me going was they it was nice to hear Chris' soft voice in my ear and feel his warm breath on my cheek.. It occurred to me that he seemed to have an excellent grasp of the upper echelon of the company, more than what was warranted from a freelance photographer.

We were nearing the end of the line when a young man walked up and introduced himself instead of waiting for the machinations that I had any idea who he was.

"Ah Shigure Sohma. I'm Tak Sato. You're the new golden boy. Enjoy the ride while you can. He's great for the first month, but when then next new thing comes, you'll be gone." And, then he stormed of.

Chris looked pissed.

"Sorry Gure," He whispered, "I was hoping he wouldn't be here."

We got through the rest of the receiving line without any other trouble. I turned to him said,

"I think I need some air Chris, is there time?"

"Yes, pictures don't start for a bit. This is the cocktail hour."

"I could use one of those, but right now I need some air and I need you to tell to tell me who he was."

"Please, not here."

Mit-chan passed us and said,

"Everyone! Smiles! Happy clients!"

"Alright, but I could still use some air."

He led me to the courtyard, and while I really could have used a smoke, I kept in mind his comment about smoking. I breathed in and out. Chis waited while checking his watch. When I had gained composure, I said,

"Can I ask you a question?"

"You can always ask but there's no l guarantee I can or will answer."

"Fair. Who are you, Chris?"

He looked at me puzzled, having not expected that question.

"Who am I?"

I said,

"You're not a freelance photographer."

"And why do you say that?"

"You have Hinode's organizational chart at the top of your head."

"Alright, no, I'm not a freelance photographer, or not exclusively one."

He took my hand and said,

"Pleased to meet you, I'm Christian Gerard, Deputy Director for Client Relations at the Hinode Publishing Company. That's a long title which tells you exactly what I do: Shepherd people around, solve logistic issues, and serve as a layer between the client and the public. I am also a photographer and I've kept my press credentials active as I do take freelance jobs to keep my hand in it. I also sometimes do Mi favors when she can't get a photographer on short notice."

Mr. Fox was in all actuality Mr. Gerard. And he was far more in charge of things than I originally thought. Which would greatly explain his reticence.

"So, it was luck we met that night?"

"Your first poetry reading was a favor. I think Mi purposely asked me to go to the launch party as she was quite insistent, I be there. And this trip was an out and out set up. It's damn hard to both herd and take pictures of someone as you've shown splendidly. I was surprised when the other photographers didn't show. But I'm making it work."

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"Well can you honestly say you would have reacted to me as a photographer in the same way as you would to a deputy director?"

"Probably not."

"Well, when I met you at the launch party, I wanted to get to know you. I won't lie, when I called Mi asking where my team was, and she told me she thought it would be nice if I had alone time with you, I was nervous. but the situation intrigued me. And you didn't disappoint."

"Well," I said, "I can think of a few other things that would make this situation even more intriguing."

He closed the distance between us, considered something, and then said,

"As much as I love being intrigued, people are going to start wondering where you are, and questions are never good."

"You could tell them I feel faint, which isn't far from the truth."

When we returned to the world, Mit-chan looked about ready to spit nails.

"Where have you been?"

"Gure was feeling faint."

"Oh, are you ok, do you need a glass of water?"

"No, I'm fine."

"You're in good hands. Chris is a great photographer."

"He knows."

"Oh. Well. Go on!"

We circulated the room. The hall was filled with journalists and photographers of every stripe. One of the reporters asked,

"I bet you get asked this next question a lot. I represent a teen magazine and they're dying to know if you're seeing anyone."

"No, there's no one yet."

"What's your favorite color?"

"Green."

"Who will the Dog Headed Knight fall in love with?"

"I haven't started writing the sequel. But I have thoughts about that."

Chris quickly moved me to another group. These were literary critics and they wanted to discuss the symbolism of the Dog Headed Knight.

"Did you mean to discuss the themes of loyalty and self-sacrifice through the figure of the Dog Headed Knight? And are we meant to read him as an Everyman akin to Piers Plowman as he willingly gave up his chance for love with the princess to help the Wizard?"

"Well of course! Got it in one." Chris kindly got me out of there.

He also actively steered me away from a group who he said were tabloid magazine editors and photographers. And then we came face to face with the young man again. It turned out he was now working as a copy editor for the company. He snarkily said,

"I guess you finally came up for air huh?"

Chris looked him with all the authority he had, which was far more than I could ever muster and said,

"Keep your voice down or I'm going to have to ask you to leave."

"I'm leaving. Just remember what I said Sohma."

Cocktail hour was mercifully over, and the photos weren't so bad as I was getting used to them. And then we finally sat down to eat. I was starving and my feet hurt. We were seated next to Mei Aoki, the art director for the company. We had a delightful chat about my drawings. I even did a caricature of her as a bumble bee on a napkin as she had buzzed sweetly about my drawings.

She said, "Do one of Chris next!"

I drew him as a border collie and me as a sheep as I didn't want to explain the fox symbolism. Plus, there was always the concern that if I did write the sequel that it would somehow get back who I meant to represent. He smirked and said,

"You are giving me a run for my money."

She smiled and said,

"Well, are any of the clients ever completely well behaved?"

"Some of the children's book authors aren't bad."

The president and Vice President came over and thank me for such a great contribution to their oeuvre.

"You're welcome."

"So, what's the next leg of your junket?"

Chris spoke up.

"We're doing a signing in a small family bookstore. The owners wrote a letter personally to us about how much they loved Shigure's book and how they would love to have him come to speak. As we support indie bookstores, we thought it would be a perfect addition to the tour. The logistics are going to be a nightmare, but we'll figure it out. Then we have a few other larger venues and then Okinawa."

"Well, I wish you luck, you're in good hands. Mr. Gerard is a great manager."

The music started for dancing, and I politely asked Mei if she'd like to dance. I would have loved to have danced with Chris but thought perhaps I'd get a chance later.

When we were covered by the music she said,

"You know he likes you right?"

I choked and said,

"Is it that obvious?"

"No, I've just worked with him for a while. Normally, he travels with an assistant and at least one photographer on a tour this size and wouldn't have put up with not having them. His assistant does most of the actual shepherding. He must be really invested in making this special for you. And before you ask, his assistant is a woman."

"Wow," I said.

The dance ended so she said.

"Well, it's been fun talking to you."

"Wait, what's up with Tak?"

"He's a jilted author. His deal went through, and they pulled his book tour

when Chris found out that he didn't write his book. It wasn't a good scene. I'd be careful of him."

"Thanks for the warning."

It was getting late, and Chris asked if I was ready. I was more than ready, so, I followed him out. As we were waiting in the quiet street for the car to arrive, he softly brushed my cheek.

I looked at him questioningly and he said "Eyelash, wouldn't want it in a photo."

I smiled at him but kept my distance. As the car arrived, we heard footsteps retreating. It didn't click with me at the time, but it was a harbinger of things to come.

When we got back to the hotel, I was exhausted. Chris took one look at me and said,

"This can wait."

"Can you give me a hug; I'm feeling a little overwhelmed."

He pulled me in, and I enjoyed feeling his strong arms around me. I leaned down, as I was a bit taller, and he met me for our first kiss.

We parted and smiled.

Chris said.

"I've wanted to do that for a while."

"Me too."

"Well, you look exhausted. I need you bright for the bookstore. Plus, you have another meet the press engagement tomorrow morning."

"I need you full stop."

He smiled at me again and said,

"The feeling's mutual. But you look like you'd get knocked out by a feather and I have a few things to talk to you about. You should go to bed."

"Join me?"

"Not tonight. I have a few things to figure out for the bookstore. This was a late entry to the tour, and I generally like having things much more finalized before now. Especially as the logistics are hell and I have even more interest in keeping you safe."

He kissed me again and smiled.

"Good night, Gure."

"Good night, Christian Girard, Deputy Director for Client Relations at the Hinode Publishing Company."

"Alright, alright, I get it, I should have told you earlier. I'm sorry. It's just such a mouthful and comes with a whole lot of formality that I wasn't feeling at the time I met you."

"Ok, goodnight Just Chris."

He tweaked my nose and then kissed me again. I went to bed feeling much warmer. I felt that things were on their way up.


A/N: Yes there's a lot going on in this chapter, but I needed to set a few things in motion before things really start between Shigure and Chris. Hopefully you enjoyed this! Please r and r! Acta!