Amery: I now disclaim, because it is the truth. :P I own nothing. ()
Tohru : Ja mata ne, is a Japanese casual term for see you later.
Chapter 7:
Tohru walked out of the Sohma house and sighed.
"Grocery time…" she said to Mom, and slipped off her soft house slippers and leaned down to replace them with her shoes.
"I think I will stop by and Uo's work and say hello. I have the day off, I should enjoy it shouldn't I, Mom?" Tohru smiled a bit sadly, then as she remembered her mother, and what she would have said, it grew to a warm smile. It was warm outside today, and she was still wearing her school uniform. Her long hair was braided into two separate pigtails and she took off the path to the store.
"Oh! And the way home, I should stop bye the Base. I will take the path through the forest home." Tohru smiled to herself and walked to the store where she would pick out her ingredients for tonight. "Mm… what did Kyo request? Oh I will just make some pot stickers then." She hummed happily as she chose her food happily.
After paying for her groceries, she walked the three blocks to where Arissa worked. Tohru walked into the restaurant with a smile.
"Tohru?" Arissa's voice rang out from behind a shelf.
"Uo! I was shopping and wanted to come see you."
"How convenient is it then? I am on break. Come outside with me." The tall blonde came and draped her arm over her friends shoulder to lead her outside.
"I'm not causing any trouble am I?" Tohru asked worriedly, not wanting her friend to get into trouble.
"Not a bit." Uo reassured her and Tohru smiled and obliged.
"Carrot top and Prince didn't come with you…?" Uo asked her, referring to Yuki and Kyo by their nicknames.
"Oh, I am not entirely sure where Kyo is, and Yuki…erm…well I don't know where he is either…" Tohru laughed.
"Bah! And they call themselves men? They should be where ever my Tohru needs them." Arissa commanded at her, and Tohru winced, then laughed nervously.
"Oh, no Uo. They do so much for me already. I can go alone for a bit." Tohru reassured her good friend.
"Ah well…still…they should be your ultimate slaves." Arissa laughed and Tohru's eyes went wide. "I am kidding Tohru…" and Tohru sighed with relief, while Arissa laughed at her friend. "What are you feeding them tonight?"
"Oh. Pot stickers, white rice, and eel." Tohru smiled proudly while Arissa let off a low whistle.
"Jeez, I want some." She playfully pouted.
"Oh!? Really? I will bring you some. Hana too! Tomorrow at school alright?" Tohru rambled flustered.
"I was only kinda kidding…"
"No! No! Its not trouble at all."
"Eee…alright. Ok…fine…" Arissa laughed and hugged Tohru. "I hate to do this…but I need to get back to work."
"OH! And I should get home before dark, and start dinner. Hungry houseful of boys is only safe for so long." Tohru joked, and Arissa laughed.
"I bet, see ya Tohru."
"Thank you for letting me visit you, Uo." Tohru smiled and bowed.
"Yeah…you be careful, you hear me?" Arissa smiled at her fondly.
"Okay!"
"If you get lost or summat, I am gonna kill Kyokyo." Arissa stated matter-of-factly.
"Ohhh…uhm…I will be fine Uo. Don't worry. Ja mata ne!" Tohru laughed as she began to walk towards the Sohma forest, and Arissa watched one of the few people she was fond of walk away.
Tohru hummed and walked through the path, the air becoming crisp with the evening.
"It rained yesterday Mom. Doesn't the forest smell and look so beautiful after it rains?" Tohru smiled. She looked ahead of her on the path and tilted her head. A large patch of leaves surrounded her, and she bent down and picked up a golden leaf from the ground.
"Beautiful…" she murmured and tucked it into her bag of groceries. She looked to her side and frowned. A long, and deep gash in the earth was to her right. She hadn't noticed it before, and it was still quite muddy around, and as she noticed, in the pit from the previous nights rain. She wasn't sure how it had formed but she edged away from the large hole. It was still a bit slippery from the mud and water on the path.
"I have to be careful." She thought and continued down the path at a slow pace. The sun was beginning to set, and she looked up at the traces of pink and purple in the sky and blinked. She loved sunsets…but she didn't enjoy being out in the forest at nighttime. It was getting much colder now.
A low growl was heard to her left, and a branch snapped. Tohru whimpered and jumped in fright, to her right. She yelped in fear again, as she lost her footing on the mud, and tumbled down into the deep crevice, her grocery bag landing not far from her.
"Oh! Oh no!" Tohru grabbed her bag and tried to scramble up the all of thick, soft mud, and loose rocks, only to slide back down and sink a bit into mud. Tohru panted and looked up to see a hound figure. It looked down on her with golden eyes, staring at her for several minutes before backing away into the shadows.
"Oh mom. What if it brings it family? What if they are hungry?" She looked to her bag of groceries and sighed at the impossible possibility of them eating her ingredients instead of HER. "I failed. I promised Uo I would be ok, and careful. Yuki, Kyo…and Shigure are going to be hungry tonight. Toru gritted her teeth as she tried a second, a third, a fourth, and a fifth time to scale the mud up out of the hole. After losing her strength, Tohru sat down and cried.