CHAPTER THREE
"Breakfast is served!" Tohru's voice rang out around the house, everyone waking, feeling very groggy.
"Why do you have to wake us up so early?" Kyo growled as he walked out of the bathroom, a towel over his head, as he dried his hair.
"Because, we're all going to the Sohma's lake house," Shigure said merrily, as Yuki descended the staircase.
"Haru and Rem are coming with us?" Kyo asked, looking down at them as they sat on the floor, watching the television.
"Mhm," Kirema mumbled as she took a bite of her dumpling.
"Rem, why do you have to come? You're just going to ruin all of our fun," Kyo jeered at her, as her eyes lit up.
"Do you seriously want to go, kitty-cat?" Kirema shouted at him, standing from her place on the floor.
"Oh, I seriously do want to go, you stupid dog!" Kyo hissed, rolling up his sleeves.
"Don't act like you aren't going to hit me. I may be a girl, but I can kick your ass! I'm not holding back, just because you're a year younger than me."
"Younger?! You should be younger than me, you brat! I'm going to claw you to shreds this time!"
"Like you could, you foolish boy! Of all the times I've beaten you, don't make Yuki come out here and shame you, too," Kirema howled at Kyo, as she flung herself at him, breaking through the door of the house.
"Don't… Touch me!" Kyo hissed, biting Kirema's shoulder.
"Ouch, play fair! If you want a loving wife and children, this isn't the type of sex any girl would want," Kirema snapped back at him, slapping his cheek so he would stop biting her.
"What?! Like any girl would love me," Kyo tried biting her shoulder again, but Kirema dodged, breaking the wall next to the door, and smashing the porch.
"Kyo… I love you!" Kirema shouted, so that Shigure, Yuki, Tohru, and Hatsuharu heard her.
"W-What?!" Kyo blinked, confused, as he lay on top of Kirema, his eyes looking straight into hers.
"I-I'm sorry… But, I-I love y-you…" Kirema mumbled again, as her lips touched his for a split second.
"K-Kirema…" Kyo blushed, his hands clutching at the ground as he braced himself for a deeper kiss.
"K-Kyo…" Kirema blushed just as Shigure walked out of the house, seeing them on top of each other, kissing.
"…Kirema, Kyo, if you two don't want to go to the lake house with us, that's fine. Just, don't mess up the house while we're gone," Shigure smiled down at them, as his voice broke the kiss.
"No, no, father, I'm going. And I'm sure Kyo wants to go, too. He has a romantic side, too, you know," Kirema blushed harder, as Kyo crawled off of her, and then picked her up from the ground.
"I'm going. Don't worry about my packed things, it's already taken care of," Kyo stammered, as he pointed to the bags sitting on the staircase.
"Very well, then. Kirema, why don't you go get your things packed and we'll leave in a few moments. Hatori is coming to pick us up around one o'clock. Be ready by then, my dears!" Shigure skipped to his room, after announcing that to everyone.
"I'll go pack my things now. I just hope Hatori isn't mad with me…" Kirema murmured half to herself, as she ascended the stairs.
"Kirema, it's so nice to see you," Hatori grinned shallowly, hugging her tightly. "Where have you been for the past month? Akito has been very worried about you, you know."
"Akito let me go. She's just being selfish. Don't let it get to you, Hatori. It might get to Shigure, but he's an overall softy," Kirema hissed into his ear, as she broke the embrace.
"So you're coming with us then, yes?"
"Duh. Why else would I have my crap packed? It's not like I have a choice. Tohru practically begged me to come, and Kyo wasn't any better. Let alone the fact that, Yuki still isn't feeling well," Kirema muttered, crossing her arms as she took a step back from Hatori.
Hatori just stood there and blinked, as he extended his hand towards her.
"What?" Kirema asked, her expression twisting from one to another.
"Let me carry your bags, princess."
"I told you, Hatori! Don't call me princess," She growled, as she stalked off towards his car.
"She really does seem like a princess," Tohru thought to herself, as she grabbed her two bags and headed after Kirema.
"I guess this means we're leaving! Oh, how exciting! My, my, I can't wait to see the look on Kirema's face when she sees the lake house," Shigure pondered at his own question happily, as he jumped into the car.
"Oh, great, just great! I have to spend three hours in a car with that damned rat," Kyo muttered, as he sat down in the car, his head hitting the ceiling. "And, Ha'ri… Get taller ceilings in this damned contraption!"
Tohru, Hatori, and Shigure just laughed, as Yuki and Kirema stared menacingly at each other in the back seat.
"It's so beautiful out here!" Tohru gasped, as she saw how amazing the mountains looked in the sunlight from this angle.
"Yes, it is indeed very beautiful," Hatori murmured, as he thought of Kana, and how much she meant to him.
"Kirema! Kirema! Please, Kirema! Don't call-," Shigure said, stopping half way in his sentence, as Kirema picked up the phone.
"Hello, mother?" said Kirema, as Akito picked up the phone. "Yes, he's acting up again. Please, tell him to come down. Yes, yes… Yes, I'm perfectly fine… No, he hasn't. Yes, he's eating enough. Yes, he's here, too… She is, too. Is that okay? Should I remove her? Or… Okay, yes. I understand completely. Very well then, goodbye, mother."
Click. Kirema hung up the phone, as Shigure sat in the corner crying.
"Oh, you're completely useless. Pick yourself up. He isn't coming, don't worry about it."
"…I'm not worried about… Him…" Shigure said, trying to sound calm and collected, but Kirema knew he was just slowly breaking down.
"Come now, Honda-san. I think that we're going to take you around the lake, isn't that right Kyo?" Yuki sweetly mumbled to Tohru, but his voice got sharper as he said Kyo's name.
"Yeah, yeah, whatever, sure let's go," Kyo agreed, as he stood from sitting on the couch and walked out of the back door.
As the three left, Kirema stood between Hatori and Shigure, trying to escape their tight grasp on her life.
"Why the hell do you want to turn me into some boy's bride? You two have been nothing but trouble since I was old enough to understand your dirty talk. Just leave me alone, and let me go!" Kirema struggled with her words, as Shigure and Hatori pinned her to the ground.
"Don't you think of going anywhere, Kirema. Akito told us to bring you home, and she wants you home, right now. So you're going to go home!" Shigure growled with stern words, like a true father.
"Uncle Hatori! Father! How could you do something this low? I've been trying to run away from Akito for my whole life. Don't make me turn into a-…" Kirema stopped mid-sentence, as the three came back from their walk around the lake.
"Shigure, Hatori… Get off of her. If she doesn't want to go home, don't make her go home. I mean, you were the one who invited her to live at our house, Shigure, so don't send her home so soon from the vacation," Yuki pointed out, walking into the kitchen with Tohru following.
"Why the hell would you want to take her home?" Kyo asked, thinking up some awkward thoughts about why she would be sent home.
"Oh, no reason…" Shigure grinned in a fake way. "Akito just… Wanted to see her daughter so much, that, um, she was going to go visit while we came here! Yeah, that's good, that's good…" He mumbled quietly to himself.
"What ever, you crazy mutt," Kyo shrugged, twirling his hand as he sat on the couch next to Kirema, who was huddled in a ball, shivering. He looked at her, wishing he could do something, just as Tohru walked in and saw her on the couch.
"Oh no! Is she okay? Is she okay? Please, Kyo, tell me she's okay," Tohru panicked, flitting around the room.
"I'm," Kirema mumbled, yawning and stretching, "perfectly fine. I just needed a little nap, that's all-," she stopped, as Tohru stood peering right into her face.
"What are you doing?" Kyo questioned, raising an eyebrow at her.
"I'm examining her eyes, to make sure she had enough sleep! I want to make sure she's as rested as possible," Tohru grinned up at Hatori, as he walked over and bent down, looking into Kirema's eyes as well.
"Kirema… What have you been eating?" Hatori asked, as he examined her further.
"Uh… The stuff that I've always been eating? Anything and everything that I could find to keep myself alive, really," she confessed, her face turning a pale pink.
"I think she has a fever, I can smell it from across the room," Shigure started barking out commands as he knelt next to his daughter.
"Shigure… I think we should bring her home to Akito. Akito sounded really worried when I talked to her last. I think maybe we should…" Hatori sympathized, as Kirema whined at him.
"Our vacation is over… We've been here long enough. I wasn't planning on staying over night, anyway," Shigure concluded the conversation, as he went into his and Hatori's room and started packing his things.
"I guess we're leaving then, huh?" Kyo chirped, as he went upstairs to pack his belongs, Tohru following him.
"Let's go home, now, Yuki," Shigure called to him, since Yuki was just finishing his meal in the kitchen.
"Very well, Shigure. I'll be finished with this in a second, my stuff is already packed," he said calmly.
"Let's be on our way, soon, guys! Kirema isn't feeling well, and Akito wants her back at the main house before sunset. Hurry, hurry, let's get a move on, c'mon!" Shigure yelled up the stairs, and in Yuki's ear, as he rushed outside to see Hatori carrying Kirema to the car because she was so tired.
"We're coming! Gosh, just calm down," Kyo screamed back at him, as he, Tohru, and Yuki loaded into the car for a long drive home.