Thanks to everyone who wished me luck and was glad to see me back! One person asked if I lived in Texas or Louisiana, if I was in Rita's path. I'm in Texas. In fact, has anyone besides me ever been to Akon? (Anime convention in Dallas every first weekend of June.) I go every year! I've already got my tickets for next year!
Oh yeah! The reason for the delay in this one.. I had to move back into my room, and we lost electricity 3 times so far! Make that 4!
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Chapter 9 : Competition Picture
Kyo frowned as Tohru served breakfast, noticing she looked a little nervous around Yuki. As soon as she was out of range, he turned a dark glare to his cousin and rival.
"What the hell did you do to her, you damn rat?" The person in question turned to look at his cousin, his normal polite smile dropping into a frown as well. Shigure decided that it would be best to lean back and watch what happened, rather than try to stop them. Besides, he had absolutely no martial arts training, so he wasn't about to even consider trying to get between them.
"What are you talking about, stupid cat?"
With a sigh, the Dog merely opened his newspaper and tried to ignore them, desperately hoping they wouldn't destroy his house this time.
-crash!-
'Well, that may have been too much to hope for...' Shigure shook his head and informed the boys he was going to be charging them for repairs, then noticed a pair of people making their way towards the house. He tried to hide his grin behind his paper, but since the two rivals were already looking at him, it only served to make him look more suspicious.
"Ah! Haru-kun! Momiji-kun!" Tohru hurried to them, smiling brightly. "I wasn't expecting you! We already had breakfast! I'm sorry! I can heat something up for you real quick, if you want." Hatsuharu shook his head while Momiji ran inside to talk to Shigure.
"That's okay, Tohru-kun," Haru replied, secretly proud that he didn't blush when he said her name. After all, that alone had caused Black Haru to throw a party inside his head. "We were dropped off here because they thought it would be easier for us to walk with you than be driven to the gate as usual. Plus, Akito's got a fever again, and needs to keep Hatori close by. Is Yuki and Kyo ready yet?" Haru stepped through the large hole in the door and looked blankly at the people inside, taking in the scene as Kyo tried to get Momiji to stop clinging to his arm while Shigure watched on in obvious amusement. Yuki came down the stairs and looked at Haru for a moment, then turned to Tohru.
"Let's go, Tohru-kun. We don't want to be late, do we?" He gave her that small smile that he reserved just for her, and tried to ignore the fact that all the males in the house were staring at him. He turned to leave, noticing that she seemed to be hesitating. He glanced over his shoulder at her, only to see that she was waiting for Kyo, Haru, and Momiji. His thoughts trailed back to his and Momiji's conversation yesterday, and he found himself wondering again if Kyo and Haru liked her as well. And if so, who did she like the most? He knew she was the type of loving person who would say she liked everyone. But who did she love?
And why was he so nervous about knowing the answer?
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Uo and Hana watched in some surprise as the four Sohma boys seemed to silently argue over who would be sitting next to Tohru. Finally, the two girls got tired of it and sat down on either side of their best friend, taking the choice away from anyone else and forcing them to sit opposite them, facing Tohru. Again, a silent battle was fought, until Haru and Momiji were facing her, and Yuki was by Momiji since Kyo would no doubt have fought with the Rabbit, and would be helpful in keeping Haru in line in case he went Black on them for some reason.
Yuki worked hard to call her "Honda-san" like he had agreed to, and the other guys couldn't help but notice, causing Kyo to frown again. Haru merely ate his lunch, sometimes making noncommittal sounds to show that he was listening, and he agreed with whatever they were saying. In reality, he was busy thinking about the fact that his cousin had finally begun to call Tohru by name, and what that meant.
Hatsuharu understood that if Yuki called her by name, then it meant they were becoming closer, just like he had begun to do. However, it also meant that, since Yuki obviously liked her, that the Rat might end up working up the courage to ask her out soon. Or Kyo could get tired of waiting and do it first. Either way, the Ox knew that a silent competition had begun, over who would end up asking out the one and only Tohru Honda. And Black Haru was anxious for a challenge.
Poor innocent Tohru merely continued to eat her lunch and talk to her friends, unaware of the thoughts of the Sohma males. Well, except Momiji. He loved Tohru, yes, but he was happy to just be close to her like he was. But he tended to know more than he let on, due to his ability to observe things without being noticed. He knew that Yuki, Kyo, and Haru all liked his best friend, and he honestly found it hard to imagine Tohru actually choosing one of them, since she would no doubt want to avoid hurting any of them.
Of course, Momiji was a little biased. Since most of his time was spent with Haru, he felt that he preferred his lonely, often-ridiculed cousin deserved someone as good as Tohru. Sure, he felt Yuki and Kyo deserved someone like her too, but he still thought Haru would be best.
So when they were all heading back to class, the Rabbit pulled Tohru aside for a second, waving for the others to go on ahead, even though Hatsuharu hung back a little, since he usually walked back to class with the blonde. Tugging her down gently, Momiji leaned up and whispered to Tohru something meant only for her ears. As expected, her face turned red, and she turned to him with wide eyes and her usual "eh!"
Before she could ask him anything about his statement, the bell was ringing for students to return to class, and Momiji was saying goodbye and racing off with Haru watching Tohru closely. He walked over to her and pressed the back of his hand against her forehead, causing her to look at him and blush even more.
"Tohru-kun, are you okay? Your face is red. Do you have a fever?" His usually blank look had a more concerned look to it, and Tohru immediately smiled, hoping to help him feel better.
"Oh, no! I'm fine, really! It must be the heat! Yeah.. heh..." Haru gave her a look, as though he knew she wasn't telling him the whole truth, but merely gave her a slight smile and nodded.
"Okay, then. Better hurry to class. You don't want to be late." The Ox turned and headed back to class, either not noticing or not caring about the looks girls were sending him. When those girls turned to give Tohru a jealous glare, she hurried to her own class and sat down in her usual seat next to Uo.
No matter how hard she tried to pay attention to the teacher, Tohru's mind kept wandering back to what Momiji had told her, and what it meant, if it was true. After all, she had never expected anything of the like, and didn't know what to do about it. But maybe Momiji must be mistaken.
'Yes, I'm sure that's it. Momiji-kun must have simply made a mistake. There's no need to tell Haru-kun, I'll just explain it to Momiji-kun later.' With that, she tried to focus on the teacher's words again, only to hear that tiny voice telling her that it was possible that Momiji was right. Her blush returned full force, getting Hana and Uo's attention, as she recalled his whisper.
"I think Haru has a crush on you."
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Back at the Sohma estate, Shigure leaned back in his seat as he inhaled from his cigarette, grinning at Hatori. He had come to enlist his beloved cousin's help in getting the two teenagers together, especially since Hatori had more experience in love. After all, the Dragon was the only Zodiac member to have almost gotten married.
Even when the subject of Akito was brought up, and how the hopefully developing relationship between the Ox and Tohru could be hidden, Hatori didn't bother trying to argue with his cousin. He personally didn't wish any pain, physical or emotional, on her, but he couldn't help but agree with Shigure's declaration that she would be happiest if she had a special someone, and Yuki and Kyo were too slow to act.
Though he'd die before he told Shigure that he agreed with him. So he kept silent and just listened to his cousin's plan.
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Well, I hope I didn't take too long! And I hope it was worth it! Momiji and Hatori are now brought into the plot! I feel so bad for Hatori! lol.. Hope to see you all soon!