I'm back again! I'm neglecting my homework to update, so please show your appreciation by reviewing! Please? ;-; Don't make me have Kisa and Momiji beg you.. they're the best at the cute little "You know you love me and can deny me nothing" look...

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Chapter 6: Picture Development

Shigure smiled as he listened to Tohru cooking breakfast as Kyo and Yuki were forced to listen to one of Ayame's high school stories. Haru and Momiji, of course, didn't seem to mind, but then, it was hard to tell if Haru was annoyed with something until he actually turned black. And Momiji probably liked the stories because it gave him ideas. 'Really,' the Dog thought to himself, 'Momiji's going to end up as another Aaya.'

Thankfully, it was a Sunday morning. No school, and Tohru didn't have work until the evening. Kyo and Haru had to go to the dojo after breakfast, so no doubt Tohru was preparing them both a bento, as well as one for Kazuma and Kunimitsu. When she came back with breakfast, Shigure peeked over the edge of his newspaper to watch Haru, who was apparently trying hard not to watch Tohru, as he kept glancing at her, then looking away. He allowed himself a grin before forcing it into his usual cheerful smile and put down his paper, thanking her for the food as everyone else began to eat.

After breakfast was over, Haru and Kyo collected their bento boxes and headed for the dojo while Yuki helped Tohru clean the dishes, Momiji offering to help put them away after the Rat finished drying them. Ayame turned to Shigure and smiled, nodding and slipping his partner in crime a piece of paper which had a short sentence written on it: "Haru was up late thinking about her." Shigure grinned as he read this, then burned the paper and left the ashes in the ashtry so that Tohru wouldn't be able to find it and read it, even accidentally.

When Yuki and Tohru headed out to their garden, leaving a disappointed Momiji with his two elder cousins, Shigure took a chance and told the little Rabbit that he was sure Kisa would appreciate a call from her cousin. As expected, Momiji hurried off to the phone in the hallway, dialing the tiger's phone number in only a few seconds.

With everyone else gone or busy, the two conspirators began to talk about how they could begin the next part of Shigure's plan. They now knew Tohru liked Haru's zodiac form, she worried enough about his feelings to almost be late to class, and that she blushed when Haru called her "cute". But now they needed her to begin thinking of Haru not just as a friend, or one of the Sohma cousins, but as a young man whom she could consider being with. Thanks to Ayame's staying awake, they had learned that the Ox was already at that point where he was interested in her.

"Oh, Gure-san! What plan have you devised this time to help our little Tohru-kun notice him? If you want me to make another outfit, well, I'm sure my brilliant mind could come up with something, but I don't think he'd wear it. Nor would it have the same effect, I'm sure. My designs are to help men find romance, so I must admit, I tend to create them with a man's taste in mind. Mine might be able to create something, I could ask her, if that's what you truly think I should do, but-"

Shigure waved a hand at him, smiling as he cut his friend off.

"Now, now, Aaya, I don't think that's necessary. My little flower is so innocent, I don't think anything short of a kiss from Haa-kun would be able to get her attention. After all, she's been living here for over a year, with Yuki-kun and Kyo-kun hinting about their feelings from a distance. Really, you'd think she would notice by now. So I propose we take more drastic measures. Perhaps we can send them out on a date of their own? Maybe if they get closer, she'll at least stop calling him 'Hatsuharu-san'." The dog sent a grin at his friend and began towork out a way to get the two teenagers alone on a date, finally coming to a conclusion as Momiji's loud cry of "Tohru!"rang through the house, followed by a "poof" and delighted laughter from the bunny and the girl.

Luckily for Yuki, Hatori stopped by and picked up Ayame before heading back to the main house, taking Momiji with him as well.

They also stopped by the dojo to pick up Haru, leaving Kyo the cute cloths that Tohru had wrapped their bento in by himself.

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It was a few days later that Shigure finally saw his chance. Yuki had a student council meeting, and Kyo had been invited by Kazuma for lunch, leaving the Dog alone with the innocent teen.

"Ah! Tohru-kun? I just remembered that Aaya requested you stop by his shop today! But, I don't want you going alone, so I must put aside my manuscript and come with you to ensure you get there safely!" Tohru just gave him her usual "eh!" as Mii-chan, who had been begging him for the past 15 minutes to finish said manuscript, began to tug at his sleeve, sobbing.

"Sensei! You can't go! I need this manuscript today! Now! I already pushed back the due date so much! Please, sensei!" A new wave of tears hit, and Shigure pretended to sigh in deep despair.

"Oh, no, Shigure-san! I'm sure I'll be fine! I just have to remember how Yuki-kun and I got there last time! And I promise to be careful!" She began to trail off into thought, no doubt trying to recall the path she had taken the last time. Shigure covered his smile with his hand, pretending to be seriously thinking before finally holding a finger up in the air, as though he had struck a wonderful idea.

"I know! I'll call Haa-kun! He must be bored at home right now, and I don't think he's been to Aaya's shop yet! Yes, that's perfect! You don't mind having Haa-kun walk you, do you?" As expected, Tohru's eyes widened and she began shaking her head.

"I couldn't impose on Hatsuharu-san's kindness like that! I'm sure if I'm very careful-" Shigure reached out and placed his free hand on Tohru's head, seeing as how Mii was still gripping his other sleeve, and smiled.

"Tohru-kun... It's nothing like that. But what if some evil person tries to kidnap my little housewife? What will I do? Please, it'll keep me from worrying if I know you have someone with you, especially someone who's a good martial artist, like Haa-kun. I promise, it's no trouble." As expected, Tohru merely nodded, allowing herself to be manipulated yet again.

As Tohru went to the kitchen to prepare a light lunch for the Dog and prepare a lunch to take with her to Ayame's shop, he called up Hatori and asked if he would bring Haru over.

"Why don't I just drive her wherever she needs to go? Less chance of them getting lost, I'm sure." Shigure grinned, and said what he was sure to make Hatori retract his offer.

"Oh! Haa-san! You would be willing to drive my little flower over to Aaya's shop!" Silence answered him for a full minute before his cousin coldly stated he'd be there soon with Hatsuharu, and hung up.

Shigure looked at the now-dead phone line, smiling at how well his plan was going, until Mii showed up and began tugging at him again, trying to pull him back to his computer so he could finish typing up his manuscript.

When the doorbell rang, Tohru hurriedly took off her apron and went to the door, smiling at Haru as she welcomed him inside, blinking when Hatori could be seen driving off as though trying to avoid seeing Shigure. The Ox noticed where she was looking, and calmly stated, "Hatori said he didn't have time to drive to Ayame's shop. I think he's busy at work."

Tohru nodded and went to find Shigure, Haru trailing behind her and watching the scene unfold with Shigure teasing both his housekeeper and his editor. One would merely smile and blush, the other would go into a frantic, tearful, frenzy, not unlike Ritsu.

Finally, they were able to leave and began to head towards Ayame's shop. So they hoped. Both was sure the other person knew how to get there. Now, Haru wasn't really bad with directions. It was simply the fact that he would begin to think on something and stop paying attention to where he was really going. He would miss a turn he was supposed to take, and when he remembered he needed to turn, he'd simply take the next one, hoping it would lead him where he needed to go.

After about 10 minutes of walking together and talking about simple things, like how they had been, how was school going, etc., Haru decided to ask her how far away was the shop from Shigure's house. Immediately, she froze, and turned to him with wide eyes, causing the Ox to get a little nervous.

"I thought you knew... Last time, I came with Yuki-kun, and I didn't really pay much attention. When Shigure-san said you could take me there, I thought it meant you already knew how to get there, or someone had given you directions or a map..." She looked down, worried. "We can't call Shigure-san or Ayame-san, not even Hatori-san. I don't have any change for a pay phone, and I don't know their numbers."

Haru shrugged, pulling his hands out of his pockets and showing her his empty hands. When she sighed, he stuffed his hands back in his pockets and shrugged, moving to continue on their original path.

"Hatsuharu-san?" She hurried to catch up to him, looking over at him. "Where are we going?"

He gave her a small smile, causing her to blush slightly as he kept walking.

"We're going to Ayame's shop. I know there are some maps in town, I've used them before. We just have to get to town. If we keep going straight, we should get there eventually." Tohru smiled and walked beside him, glad that they now had an idea of what they were doing.

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Will they make it to Aaya's shop? Will Haru work up the nerve to tell her to just call him "Haru"? Hope to update soon! I'll try my best!