Oh! Before I forget! I had one person review, saying that I had given them a great start to the day when they checked their email and saw I had updated... I'm so glad I could help! And I found a picture of Haru wearing the "Eat Mor Chiken" sign!
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Chapter 7 - A Lost Picture
Hatori glared at the phone, wishing it wasn't illegal to kill someone so that he could strangle the person on the other end of the line.
"Let me see if I understand this, Shigure. You sent Honda-kun and Hatsuharu to Ayame's shop, but forgot to give them directions?" The dragon closed his eyes as his cousin agreed, saying cheerfully that he thought Tohru would remember, but forgot she had gone with Yuki the time before.
"So they're lost out there somewhere, and we may not see them for days, is that correct, Shigure?"
"Ah! Haa-san, you're right! And it never occurred to me to warn either of them to take money, either! I know Tohru-kun packed a snack for them, but really, I don't think it'll last very long."
"And you called just to tell me this?" Hatori was certain his two so-called friends would be the death of him someday.
"Well, I don't want my little flower to be lost out there all night! And I know Aaya's at work-" The dragon interrupted, pointing out that he was ALSO at work, but Shigure kept going. "And Haa-san's driving is so polite! Plus you'll get to see Aaya's shop! I know he was wanting you to visit-" click
Hatori watched the phone coldly, knowing what was going to happen, what always happened when he hung up on Shigure. But sometimes his cousins stupidity just had to be checked. Sure enough, less than a minute later, his phone was ringing again. Damning himself for being too nice, he picked up the phone. "What?"
"Haa-san's so mean! I merely mentioned that Aaya wanted you to see his shop!"
"That's just it. I've heard about his shop from Momiji and Hatsuharu, and that was more than I wanted to know."
"But will you go look for Tohru-kun and Haa-kun?" Hatori sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose, certain he'd have a headache by the end of the conversation.
"Fine. I'll look for them as soon as I'm done working."
"Ah! Haa-san's actually agreeing!"
Here came the predicted migraine.
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Tohru looked around with Hatsuharu, hoping to find something that looked familiar enough to get their bearings. Unfortunately, some of the buildings were ones she hadn't seen before, and even worse, some looked far too familiar. She could almost swear that was the same building they passed about 15 minutes ago...
"Um... Hatsuharu-san? Does that building look familiar?" The ox turned his blank look to the gray structure, then nodded as he kept walking.
"There's a lot of those around here, isn't there?" Tohru laughed weakly and hurried to keep up as he prepared himself.
"Honda-san..." She turned her head to look at him, smiling with her usual "eh?". Haru took a slow breath and tried to focus on the road ahead of them. "Why... am I the only person your age that you call -san?" This earned him a confused look from the girl, and he sighed, trying to think of a different way to put it. "I was curious. You call the others 'Kyo-kun', 'Yuki-kun', 'Momiji-kun'... But... I'm still 'Hatsuharu-san.' I was just wondering why."
Unfortunately, this had the usual reaction.
"Ah! I'm sorry! I didn't mean to be rude and offend Hatsuharu-san! I didn't know if you'd felt comfortable enough or if you would think I was being rude if I tried to call you anything else! And after you've been so kind to me! I'm so sorry! What would you rather me call you?" After she said this, she began to blush a little and looked down, embarrassed at her outburst and at her audacity. But had she been looking at him, she'd have seen the Ox's shocked look melt into a small smile.
"Haru's fine." He mentally sighed in relief, glad to finally have reached an agreement with her.
"Haru... -kun?" She looked up at him, still blushing a little, and noticed that he was smiling at her, causing her to flush even more.
"Hm?" Tohru shook her head.
"I was just saying it..." He nodded and began to look around, as though trying to decide where to go next.
"Ah! I think i recognize that street!"Without thinking, Tohru reached out to grasp Haru's hand and take a step towards the familiar-looking road, waiting for him to fall into stride beside her before resuming her cheerful chatter.
Neither of them mentioned the fact that they were still holding hands.
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Tohru's guess had been pretty lucky, and they had indeed found themselves on the road that led to Ayame's shop. They even double-checked with a map they found nearby and followed it closely, arriving only an hour or two late.
"Tohru-kun! Haru-kun! I'm so delighted to see you both!" He smiled and ushered them both inside, delightfully announcing to Mine that her favorite "doll" had shown up, leading to his assistant dragging off the girl to dress her up again as the two males sat to have tea, Haru more or less staring into space while the snake talked more than enough for the both of them.
After a few minutes, Mine returned with Tohru in tow, dressed in yet another of Ayame's creations. This dress was more frilly and cute than the last one, but it was white with black ribbons and bows, as though inspired by Haru's own personality. Her face was slowly turning red in embarrassment though, as the Ox remembered the last time nothing was said or done when Tohru was wearing one of Ayame's creations in front of him.
Standing, Hatsuharu walked over to Tohru and smiled at her. "It looks nice on you, Honda-san. You look cute." He watched as she covered her face with her hands for a second, then looked up at him.
"Um... Haru-kun?" Her flush darkened as he looked at her, still smiling a little while Black Haru mentally cheered at hearing her say that. "You don't have to call me Honda-san... Really... I'm going to keep trying hard to remember to call you by the name you want me to... So... if you want... I don't mind if you call me Tohru... Only you, Yuki-kun, and Hatori-san still call me Honda-san or Honda-kun... Ah! but maybe you prefer to call me Honda-san! I'm sorry if I offended you! Please, call me whatever you wish to." Hatsuharu nodded and stepped forward, still smiling a little.
"I'm not offended... Tohru-kun."
In the background, Ayame and Mine, his energetic accomplice, shared a smile and nod as they watched the scene unfold. Both were very good at details, one of the reasons they were able to create such popular outfits, and it would serve another purpose as they relayed the story to Shigure, who would no doubt be glad to hear that his plan was working perfectly.
But they were not forgotten, and Haru's smile was wiped away as he turned blank eyes to the conspirators.
"So, what exactly did Sensei send us here for?" Ayame smiled and held his arms open wide.
"Why, to visit me in my loneliness! Yuki-kun and Tori-san simply refuse to come to my shop, and I don't mind that Kyonkichi avoids it, but I do miss Tohru! And so does Mine, after all, there's rarely a girl as cute as our little Tohru for her to dress up, and Mine does so love to dress up cute girls, it's a very strong habit of hers, though I really don't mind, she's yet to fail me with her good judgment! And on that note, Mine, the dress came out very nicely."
"Ah! Yay! I got a compliment!" Mine bowed happily to her boss, before turning to Tohru. "I really do think, though, that perhaps we should make more outfits using different colors. They all look good on her, yes, but we need ones that help flatter her more. Perhaps a cute maid's outfit in a pale blue..." As the two designers trailed off into a debate, Tohru decided it was time to sneak back into the back room and change into her normal clothes. When she returned, it was to see Haru looking over the fabrics in the store boredly, as though it was simply to kill time.
"Now!" Ayame's voice immediately drew their attention, and the two teenagers turned to look at the Snake. "I simply must give you this before I forget, Tohru-kun! After all, Gure-san would be so upset with me if I don't give him back his favorite kimono. But do tell him he must be more careful next time he decides to tease his editor, I simply don't know what I'd do if she started to rip the sleeves off of all of his clothes!" With a dramatic sigh, Ayame handed the package to Tohru, not telling her that it had simply been a small tear, nothing that had required fixing quite yet.
When the bell over the door rang, they all turned to see who had entered, only to watch as Ayame froze at the sight before him.
"Oh my! My eyes must be playing tricks on me, for I thought I saw Tori-san just walk into my shop!" The delighted Snake hurried over to his cousin's side, introducing him to Mine and trying to show him around the shop, though he might as well have pulled out Hatori's teeth, the doctor seemed to like them equally much.
Finally, the Dragon got the chance to explain he was here to take Haru and Tohru home, since Shigure had been worried they were lost.
"Ah! Yes, I need to start making dinner soon, too! I'm sure Shigure-san must be hungry, and Yuki-kun and Kyo-kun will be home by now." After they said their goodbyes and were seated comfortably in the car, Tohru smiled brightly at them both from her place in the back seat. "Will you be joining us, Hatori-san?"
"Hn. I hadn't made plans, but I might as well give Yuki his monthly check-up while I'm there." Hatori wouldn't admit it, but he preferred to eat at Shigure's house, rather than simply heating up something at his house in the main compound, and he was glad he had been invited, or he wouldn't have been able to, otherwise.
But he had to admit he was pretty surprised when she turned to her walking companion of the day and cheerfully asked, "And will you be joining us too, Haru-kun?"
Hatori couldn't think of a time when he had ever heard her call the Ox that, and made sure to focus on the road so he wouldn't glance at her in the rearview mirror to make sure she didn't have a fever.
"I might as well. Maybe there'll be some left over to take to Momiji later." As Tohru and Haru talked, Hatori's mind raced as he made the connection and finally understood what Shigure was doing.
'One day, someone's going to kill that Dog. Most likely Yuki or Kyo...'
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Well, everyone got their wish! Also! A warning for all of my readers! There's supposed to be a hurricane headed for where I live, and while I won't be caught in the worst of it, I might lose my electricity Thursday for a couple of days. So please forgive me if I take longer to update than usual during that time! Thanks!