This was all very well and good but Tohru would have liked to have the weather on her side. The deathly silence would only hinder her sucess.
She crouched, tense and apprehensive, on the end of her mattress biting her tumbnail. Her blue eyes lingered listlessly on the doorframe, seeing but not seeing. She had been sitting lie this for hours, waiting for the clock to strike the proper time, for it to be late enough to exicute. There was no gaurante that the Un-Mother slept ever, but she was certaintly busy during the day.
Tohru shifted her weight from her now numb feet, to her knees. She brushed a stray hair away from her face and began to think. Her mind wandered from topic to topic, How was her family? Did they miss her? What was the weather like? Should she get a hair cut? Purple nail polish or pink? Didn't she have something pink back home?
She couldn't remember. Tohru sighed, wrapping her arms around her legs. 'Always with the forgetting.' Her time limit put too much pressure on her mind and body. Before retiring to bed she'd glimpsed grey hairs on the top of her head, not a few either. Her roots were turning grey, and that was very unbecoming for a young lady such as herself. No matter how charming it was on Yuki.
The clock rang twice, 2 am. The burnette stood and let out a long and silent breath, It was time to get to work. Naked foot carried her over to the door, hand slowly pulling it open. Earlier they had taped down the catch for easy access and added silence. A brown head of hair peaked out form the room, blue eyes seeking any sign of movement. Tohru held her breathe, to afraid of alerting the other inhabitants of her consiousness. After several moments of tense waiting, she left the room and started down the hall.
Silently she made her way through the house. The shadows danced all around her, playing on the walls and hiding in the corners just out of sight. Her feet dogged all the creeky spots on the floor boards, and within minutes they had yet again lead her to a door. The door to the attic. Here was where Bill was supposed to meet her, she placed her hand on the cool brass nobb and waited. A soft smile played accross her lips, 'I had no idea I could be this patient.' A pale hand snaked through the door and formed a peace sign as greeting. That was Bill's signal, all clear so far.
She opened the door just enough and slipped inside, onto the ascending stairway. Bill was waiting for her not far away. They made eye contact and silently agreed to continue. Bill ascended quietly as any ghost would, but Tohru was having trouble on the creeking stars. It seemed that every time she placed her weight on the wood, it would let out a low and long creek. This wouldn't do, the way she was going was too suspicous. A person was bound to figure out that this was the sound of someone sneeking about. Pleading, Tohru looked to her silent friend for guidance.
The red head shrugged and pointed to the railing. He demonstrated for Tohru to lean her weight on the rail, and place her feet on the lesser used places. She nodded and continued on, the technique worked fairly well. Finally reaching the top, the two entered the cloudy dust filled attic. Tohru sputtered and swiped a cobweb away from here face. 'I hate spiders.' She cringed and heard a chuckle off to her left.
"This way." Tohru turned and followed the soudn of Bill's voice.
The attics great expanse was filled with boxes and dusty furnature, it's many spider webs began to take up residence in Tohru's dark locks. Her feet caught and bumped against things as she made her way along through the dark. She growled after bumping her toe on a sharp metal something.
"Bill where are you?" She hissed through clenched teeth.
"Shut up and quiet down. Get over here faster." His translucent hand waved at her from the window pane.
Tohru grunted and climbed over a wooden object, most likely a shelf. She stumbled and swatted at her face, "It's too dark up here."
Bill grunted, "mmph." Kyo and him could be twins.
The only light provided was leaking through the clotted window on her left side. Moonlight served as a becon for Tohru, though it only lit up several feet of the large room. It also left earie shadows on the walls that seemingly moved ont heir own accord. Every time they did Tohru wanted to scream and jump five feet into the air, but this was buisness.
"So your here." and so she was. Bill crouched low and pointed at a small wooden crate, "There, in that box." Tohru squatted down in the moonlight beside it. The crate held piles of photographs, and letters, momentos. Bill fidgeted restlessly, Tohru grinned as her hand ran across a cool metal surface.
"Found it." Smiling she pulled out the skeleton key, a large brass object with three large metal teeth, but as she did a paper came with it. The paper was tried to the key's handel by a fraying strand of twine and Tohru gasped when she saw what was on it, a picture of her.
Bill looked on confused. "Did you do that before?" Before meaning, before when she was still at home.
Tohru shook her head, "No I've never seen this key before. Why do you think..." Her vioce trailed off and she began rifleing throght he rest of the crate. It was full of photographs of her and the Sohmas, scenery, food, and people she no longer recognized. She picked up one picture and stared hard. "Bill I don't recognize these two, you think they were my freinds or something?" In the photo was her, and two girls. One blond and grinning, the other dark haired and grim. Tohru's brows furrowed in concentration, she tried hard to remember their names but nothing came to mind.
Bill growled and pushed the crate some two feet away from them. "Your wasting time on senceless things! We have to leave and hurry, the dark doesn't sleep."
"Fine. I'm going to the door." She stood up in a huff and started to make her way back accross the dark expance. Thankfully, she realized, it was much easier going than it was coming.
----------To be continued