I know, I've been gone a while. October's always a busy month for me. There's four birthdays to celebrate, plus I have work and college, plus one of my friends from high school has finally gotten time to hang out with me, and plus... well... I'll be honest. I was reading fanfiction. Lots of fanfiction. TONS of fanfiction...
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Chapter 13 : A Bad picture

Tohru moved around the kitchen, her nerves still a little frayed as she remembered her conversation with Black Haru that afternoon. He hadn't attacked anyone, or been rude or anything. He had said he wanted to talk to her. She found herself wishing Kyo and Yuki hadn't hit him and brought White Haru back. She shook her head, surprised at her thoughts. Of course, fighting was wrong, but they had been trying to look out for her! And now that she thought of it, Haru never did mention where he had been at lunch earlier, just that he was "downstairs". But since the roof was the highest point, that made the entire school "downstairs". She was very curious, but she knew it would be wrong to ask him. She didn't want to push him. 'He'll tell me when he feels ready to,' she thought to herself and smiled, going on with preparing a late lunch for the Ox and a snack for Momiji.

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Shigure smiled, trying to appear innocent, as he noticed the dark looks Kyo and Yuki were sending Hatsuharu. With a glance at the stoic teenager, he fought the urge to laugh. Apparently, Black Haru had spoken to his little flower. He had to have, otherwise Yuki would be sitting calmly nearby, and Kyo would be off training. Instead, they both acted like they were afraid the Ox would try to talk to their housekeeper, and the only reason they'd be afraid of that, would have to be because of Black Haru. White Haru was too kind and trustworthy to embarrass Tohru much.

Momiji happily talked enough for all of the others, and when he got his snack from Tohru, even Shigure had to admit that the silence was deafening. The Dog sighed. 'This really won't do!'

"This atmosphere is so heavy! We need someone to lighten the mood! I haven't seen you two like this since that trip to the lake. Ah!" Shigure smiled happily and began to skip towards the phone. "That's just who we need! I'll call Aaya!"

The temperature of the air surrounding Shigure seemed to drop a few degrees, and he knew both boys were giving him the angriest, coldest glares yet. Just because the Snake would let someone other than them see Tohru in the designer's newest creations, no doubt. If he invited his friend over now, he might not be alive to greet him when he arrived!

"Eh heh..." Shigure slowly backed away from the phone, then frowned. "What's with you two? Really, Haa-kun finally starts flirting with our little Tohru-kun and you boys act like it's the end of the world!" NOW he did it. Shigure immediately admitted he may have pushed too much again, but he was still disappointed that Haru's attempts didn't seem to make the two boys try harder to win Tohru's hand.

Kyo glared at him hatefully before finally leaving to do his training outside, and Yuki's icy stare finally shifted out towards where his garden was hidden. He appeared to be conflicted, and finally relaxed enough to turn to Tohru, who had been frozen after Shigure's speech, still standing the way she had been at the declaration. This meant she was leaning over, one hand still extended from refilling Haru's tea. The Ox had taken the teapot from her in order to prevent any burning of sensitive areas while in her stunned state. He rather happened to like his current anatomy.

"Honda-san, do you wish to come with me to the secret base?" The question snapped the girl from her daze and she sent Yuki a dazzling smile before hurrying to the kitchen to remove her apron and make sure the stove had been turned off, then hurried back to change her shoes and follow the Rat to his vegetable garden.

"Sensei." At the quiet word, Shigure walked back to the table and smiled at Haru and Momiji.

"It's much lighter here with those two gone, isn't it?" Momiji nodded happily, munching away on the treat his beloved Tohru had given him. "Though I must admit, I wish Yuki hadn't taken my precious flower away!" He sighed heartbrokenly, then looked at Haru when the young man spoke again.

"Sensei. How did you know that?" The novelist thought for a second, trying to figure out what the Ox meant. He could be quite vague sometimes. "How did you know that I was interested in Tohru-kun?" A delighted smile was hidden by a kimono sleeve, and Shigure found himself wishing for his fan.

"It's so obvious, Haa-kun! And I know you can't help yourself, she really is adorable!"

"You're going to end up getting arrested someday, Sensei."

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Yuki could hear her soft footsteps as she walked beside him, obviously still a little embarrassed from Shigure's announcement. A frown crossed the Rat's features as he remembered how embarrassed she could get and how stressed out she could become due to her embarrassment. He glanced at her, his features softening as he noticed how she appeared so lost. Yuki opened his mouth to remind her that she could talk to him whenever she felt like it, when she spoke first.

"Yuki-kun..?" Large, cerulean eyes turned on him, and he found himself wanting to help her any way possible. Sure, he had felt like this before, after all, she had saved him so long ago, before she had even known who he was, but seeing that look of confusion and worry on her face made him want to help her even more.

"Why do you and Kyo-kun hit Black Haru-kun?" His heart froze in his chest at those words. He had hoped, even if it had been somewhat foolish, that she was going to ask him something like why he was upset, or even if anything needed to be picked or planted. The Rat reminded himself that Tohru was a very kind-hearted person, and she was obviously confused about this. After all, they had done it twice in front of her, and never explained why. Yuki smiled slightly at his friend.

"Sometimes Haru needs a good jolt like that in order to return to normal. If we don't do it when we have the chance, then Black Haru could always end up starting another fight. And we don't want to risk it. I know it seems violent, but really, it's the only method that's worked every time." When she nodded, he relaxed, glad she had accepted his answer. He didn't want her to think he was violent like Kyo. When her face brightened with another of her smiles, he couldn't help but smile back at her.

They spent the rest of their time walking to the garden talking about what needed to be done there today.

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Kyo frowned in concentration as he threw another punch. He needed to relieve some stress, and this was his preferred way. Besides, he hoped that his constant training and Yuki's lack of, might give him the edge he needed to defeat the damn Rat. He had to beat him soon. His time was almost up.

The Cat shook his head to rid himself of the depressing thoughts, and put himself into his workout even more, really getting into it when he remembered Black Haru's attempt to flirt with Tohru.

"First the Rat, now that damn Haru!" But no matter how much he cared for Tohru, Akito's words kept coming back to haunt him.

"You think you have the right to love!"

Sighing, Kyo tried again to clear his mind and further his training. He had to defeat Yuki. He had to. Even if he couldn't be with Tohru, he wanted to be free to at least be on the Outside, where he could be near her.

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Hiro watched his mother, worried about her and her clumsiness as she made her way down the stairs.

'Really,' he thought to himself, 'she's almost as clumsy as that stupid woman.' A flash of black drew his attention, and he glanced out of the window. 'Looks like Rin's going out again. I wonder why...'

When the teen was out of sight, he looked back towards where his mother was last seen, only to realize she had gone somewhere else. Frantically, he ran after her to make sure she would be okay.

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A couple of spoilers there, for the people who didn't read that far in the manga, or only watched the anime. Yes, there's a reason as to why Kyo needs to beat Yuki so badly. Akito made a bet with him. Remember Kazuma's grandfather? Well, Kyo's got until high school graduation to beat Yuki. If he doesn't, he gets locked away until the day he dies. All alone. And another tidbit, Hiro's mother is pregnant, and he shows off his protective tendencies when it comes to her.

And Rin's appeared!