Privet! Before I begin, NO, I haven't abandoned this story! Let's just say that the past semester in school kept me crazy busy, so now that it's the summer, I have a lot more free time on my hands to work on my stories. I know I've been gone for a while, so I hope this chapter is up to par with the other ones. I rather enjoyed writing it myself, because Tohru and Hatori finally get to talk with one another. Yay! Also, there's a cute little moment between the two near the end. I think it needed it!

I just want to thank all of you for all of the wonderful reviews! Trust me, I love hearing feedback, so keep them coming! Hope you enjoy the chapter!

Happy 4th of July!

-FromRussiaWithLove

God's Plan

No room

Tohru let out the small breath of air she had kept inside of her for so long. Shifting the two bags she was holding in each shaking hand, she finally decided to set them down on the ground, causing little clouds of dust to rise and then fall once more to the ground. The lilting morning sun smiled through the tree lined street, filtering through the upturned leaves before finally settling on the young girl's quiet face.

It was Saturday.

Two days earlier, Tohru had overheard Shigure's conversation with the boys concerning Akito's decision. Of course, Momiji had been at her side then as well, completely oblivious to the whole matter, staring at Tohru with a note of sulkiness as if she had been keeping a wonderful surprise from him. Indeed, it had been a surprise.

Tohru could remember Shigure's shocked face when he saw her standing stock still in the doorway, the wide eyes of Kyo and Yuki as they turned towards her with a sort of incredulous panic.

"She-she…" Kyo stuttered heatedly, breaking the silence with a burst of fury, "She can't just…Akito, he…how could he do something like that?"

Yuki didn't say anything at all. For a moment he just stood, staring at the wooden floor, his fists clenched so hard his knuckles were turning a pale white. It wasn't long before he stalked out of the foyer, secluding himself upstairs in his room. For once, Kyo seemed to follow suit with the rat. He left soon afterwards.

"Momiji." Shigure's voice was unusually strained, and Tohru cringed at the harsh tone against her ears. "I think it's best you go home now."

"But-"

"Momiji," Shigure gritted out. "Now."

The boy lowered his head somewhat, turning around quickly. Tohru didn't even have the chance to tell him goodbye – she found herself suddenly alone with the one person she desperately wished she didn't have to face right at the moment.

"Tohru…" Shigure stopped suddenly, his eyes set hard as he ran a forceful hand through his hair. He could only sigh, dropping his hand down in defeat as he turned towards her. His eyes looked desperate. "Perhaps you should sit down…"

Tohru looked down at her two small bags. Before that morning, before she had started to pack away the things in her room that she had called her own for so long, she had never really realized how little she actually owned. It never crossed her mind. To her, she was blessed with a wonderful family of friends and a nice, loving house, somewhere she felt she could belong. She had everything she could ever want. She was completely content.

She had packed her mother's picture last, leaving it on the edge of her small wooden dresser for as long as she possibly could before finally taking it in her hands. There was a light residue of dust from the where the picture had been. Her fingers had traced the smooth black frame, her eyes looking down at her mother's smile, the smile that always made her heart swell with love, the best possible kind of happiness. But that day, Tohru had only stared into the glass, her reflection blurry and far away. The only thing that had filled her heart then was the worst possible kind of sadness.

Tohru suddenly shook her head, scolding herself for thinking of such things. Wasn't she grateful to Shigure for keeping her as long as he had? For taking care of her and giving her a wonderful home? She had known deep down that her stay with the three men had not made Akito too pleased, though she would have never expected this to happen. She would have never expected…

The sun's smiling light seemed to blind Tohru for a moment, and she bit her lip hard to keep from crying. No, she thought briskly to herself, why are you acting so ungrateful? Hatori didn't have to take you in, he could have refused Akito's orders if he really wanted to. So why are you acting so selfish? You'll still be able to visit the house every now and again, right? It's not as if Akito banned you from ever returning. And you'll still see Yuki and Kyo at school everyday. It's not so bad. Remember how lucky you are. You're so fortunate that you hold so many friends in your life. There's no room for sadness.

That last thought still ringing in her head, Tohru looked forward resolutely and quickly wiped away some fallen drops from her cheek. A slow wind rustled the skirt about her slender ankles and lifted a few strands of hair from her shoulders.

Yes, she thought, no room for sadness.

TxHxTxHxTxHxTxHxTxH

Yes, he thought to himself as he took a long drag on his cigarette, it's about time I pick her up. No room for delay.

Hatori had had the whole day to prepare himself for what he was about to do, even taking the day off of work specifically for this assignment, which was highly uncharacteristic of him. In fact, it was Shigure who had suggested it, saying it would do him good to take his mind off his patients for a change, and Hatori, after some initial debating, reluctantly obliged. However, the additional time only seemed to make him grow more restless. For the past few hours, he had done nothing but stare out from his wide front porch, wind against jacket, cigarette against lips. Occasionally he shifted his weight to a different foot.

Waning light.

Looking out at the fragile spring morning around him, Hatori couldn't help but think of her. Her cheerful, wondrous smile beamed up at him as he looked across the flowers dancing in his garden. Would that smile still be there today? Or would there only be sadness etched across her young face?

He was supposed to have picked her up at Shigure's house that morning, yet he had received a call from the dog earlier saying that he was running some errands and could easily drop Tohru off at the house himself. Hatori was grateful for the thoughtfulness, yet was secretly unsettled by the arrangement. He had hoped that driving to Shigure's would help clear some of his endless thoughts. Moreover, the fact that he would now have to face Tohru without anyone else to help buffer the awkwardness of the situation was excruciatingly difficult to swallow. Where was Shigure when he actually needed him? His easy charm, his casual self-assurance? There was no doubt in Hatori's mind that it was the dog who could actually handle these sorts of things better then he ever could. And though Hatori often grew weary of Shigure's antics and wavering loyalties, the truth of the matter was that he was very much envious of him.

Hatori took another long drag, extending it out as much as he could so as to ignore the unrelenting, black hands of his wristwatch. They seemed to suffocate him.

As he blew out a slow, steady stream of smoke, he looked out onto the street, noticing a small figure in the distance, two bags in each hand. The figure's long hair was being tossed and carried by the wind. Long, flowing hair.

Tohru. As much as he despised himself for it, her name sent a fierce chill down his back. He shifted in his coat, stuffing his hands in his pockets. The polished boards of the porch softly creaked as he stepped forward.

It was time.

TxHxTxHxTxHxTxHxTxH

The faint fall of footsteps sounded softy in the distance. Tohru instantly shook the rest of her remaining thoughts from her head, looking forward to see a tall, slim figure striding in her direction. Tohru immediately smoothed the neat folds of her skirt and straightened up to her full height, fully committed to making the best impression possible.

Yet as Hatori neared the young girl, a slight change seemed to take place. In a matter of seconds, Tohru's earlier modesty gave way to sheer exuberance as she stepped forward brightly, looking up at Hatori with surprised, but pleased eyes.

"Hatori-san! You're not in your work clothes!"

Hatori self-consciously looked down at his clothes, shifting slightly inside his green button down shirt while running his fingers across the smooth fabric of his black slacks. He had decided earlier that arriving in his uniform would just look excessively formal, so after Shigure convinced him to stay home from work, Hatori had slipped into something he had hoped would look more suitable. Then again, the shirt he had picked out was one that he usually never wore; it had found a perfect home in the back of his closet for the past year or so. Yet since Hatori had been working so hard as of late, he had become quite careless with his home life, which was quite obvious considering the precarious mountain of dishes piled up in the sink and the amount of dirty laundry just dripping from every corner of his room. It even scared him a little to enter.

Yet this was the only clean shirt that had been available, so reluctantly, he had put it on. And now here he was, wondering why he had made such an effort in the first place.

Of course, Tohru was still staring up at Hatori in wonder, obviously immune to his slight discomfort. She clasped her hands in front of her, leaning forward with a delightful expression upon her face.

"And Hatori-san looks so nice in them too! The shirt matches the color of Hatori-san's eyes!"

The doctor blinked. Hatori-san's eyes? "Well…"

"Oh!" Tohru embarrassedly brought a hand to her mouth. "I didn't..! What I meant to say was, I just think that Hatori-san looks nice in those clothes. Ah…I didn't mean to offend you! But perhaps you don't like them yourself?! Maybe you only dressed like that because you thought I would like it! I'm so sorry, please forgive me! You have gone through all this trouble to make me feel welcome and all I've done to repay you is just make you uncomfortable! I'm so sorry, Hatori-san! It will never happen again, I swear!"

Tohru leaned over slightly, almost panting from her whirlwind explanation, hands clenched tightly in determined fists at her side.

Hatori blinked again. Yet after the initial shock had come out of his system, he was then struck with the bursting sincerity of Tohru's speech, and suddenly, he found the whole spectacle incredibly amusing.

"I forgive you," Hatori said teasingly, covering up a small chuckle as he reached down to pick up Tohru's bags. "Let's get you settled then, shall we?" He looked expectantly at the girl.

"Eh…y-yes!" Tohru started, struggling to keep up with Hatori's quick, smooth strides as she scrambled forward. "Coming!"

Hatori looked behind him, making sure she wasn't lagging too far behind. The wind had picked up again, sending Tohru's long brown hair playfully skipping across her face as the ribbons of her soft blouse darted every which way. The way she was moving forward, the way the breeze was embracing her, the way she was smiling at him so easily, it caught Hatori off guard for a moment. He looked at her freely, and in that instant, it occurred to him that perhaps this could be alright. Perhaps getting through this wouldn't be so bad after all.

Perhaps she could be happy here.

As Tohru neared him, her fingers were working fast trying to restore the damage done to her hair. After she put everything neatly back into place, she smiled apologetically up at him.

"Sorry to make you wait for me."

Without a word, he carefully brushed a disobedient lock of hair from her temple.

"I promise to walk slower this time."