Disclaimer: Fruits Basket is (c) to the great Takaya Natsuki-sama. Not KrimzenAngel...She only wishes it was.

Summary: For Tohru to realize her feelings for Shigure, he got engaged. But for Shigure, it was far worse than anyone could've ever imagined...(Shigure/Tohru)

Genres: Romance/Drama/Angst/Suspense

Authors Notes: Yes! Finally! Here it is, the beggining of the part I've been waiting to write! Shannaro! Also, possible future OOC-ness, especially for Tohru! Read on!

Whatever It Takes
Chapter 8- One Strange, Winter Night

"Well, Tohru-kun and I have some good news too." Akito said, grabbing Tohru and pulling her close. "Tohru-kun and I are also getting married. Isn't that right, love?" Akito grinned down at her, his grin telling her to play along.

"I-it is..." Tohru replied, trying her best to seem happy. "See? H-here's my engagement ring that my darling Akito gave me." And Tohru showed the family her sapphire diamond ring.

"Oh my gosh! Tohru-kun, that's beautiful!" Kohana exclaimed, admiring Tohru's ring. "All Shigure-kun got me was a single diamond!" Shigure just gave a sheepish grin.

"Well, she is my fiancee after all." Akito said, tightening his grip on Tohru and looking down at her. "And she deserves the best." But before Tohru could comment on that, Akito had grabbed her chin, lowered his head, and kissed her. This shocked the family for a second, but they cheered them on much like they did for Shigure and Kohana.

But when Shigure saw this, he felt a fire of anger and jealousy burn up inside of him. He actually had to keep himself from going up there and taking Tohru away. He noticed his sudden change in emotions, but didn't care. All he wanted right at that moment was Tohru.

Tohru was laying in her bed, crying her eyes out as silently as possible. Not only for the Akito kissing incident, but for the news of Shigure and Kohana's wedding. It broke her heart knowing that Shigure was getting married, and in three weeks no less. In fact, right after everyone finished with dinner, Tohru had snuck out and went back home. She didn't want to stay with Akito, and she definintely didn't want to stay and watch Shigure and Kohana fawn over each other.

'It hurt too much to watch...' Tohru thought as she gripped her pillow. 'I don't wanna hurt like that...It's too much...Way too mu-!'

"Tohru-kun!" Shigure shouted, his voice coming from the front door. "Tohru-kun?"

"Tohru-kun, are you home!" Kohana added. "Shigure-kun, why don't you go see if she's in her room while I go get us something to drink."

"Okay then." Shigure smiled as he walked away.

'Oh no!' Tohru thought as she heard him walking up the stairs. 'What do I do!' She looked down at herself. She was still in her banquet gown. Plus her face was stained with tears and her eyes were red from crying. As Shigure's foot steps got closer and closer, she frantically thought of something to do.

And right before Shigure stopped to knock, she had thought of something. She quickly turned the pillow over to the dry side, turned off the lamp, wiped the tears off her face, and placed her head down on the pillow, pretending to be asleep.

"Tohru-kun?" Shigure asked as he knocked on the door. "Are you in there?"

No answer.

"Tohru-kun?" He tried again. Still no answer. "I'm coming in."

Shigure slowly opened the door to find a dark room. Inside, against the moon, he saw the silhouette of a figure laying on the bed. He slowly advanced towards the bed. When he got to the bedside, his insides started to dance around and he could feel his cheeks grow warm. The pale blue light from the moon shining through the window made Tohru look gorgeous, highlighting the soft curves of her face and body.

'Kami, she looks so beautiful!' Shigure thought as he stroked some of her silvery-brown hair out of ther face. 'Almost makes me want her instead of Kohana. Wait! Why did I say that! I know I like Tohru and all, but...'

Shigure's thoughts trailed off as he thought about what he just said. And thinking why he thought that. 'But it's strange...Everytime I'm around Tohru, I get these random emotion changes...Like wanting to be with her...Not to mention urges to want to take her away from any male that talks to her...Like when Akito kissed her...I felt like beating him! I still do, even after five hours..." He chuckled at the thought as he took the blanket and wrapped her in it. 'Funny...I don't really feel this way about Kohana...'

"It's all confusing..." Shigure said as he tucked some hair behind Tohru's ear. "Sweet dreams, Tohru-kun."

'Shigure...' Tohru thought as she listened to Shigure walk out and shut the door. She curled up and gripped the blankets tighter as she felt her steely blue eyes starting to burn, the salty tears wanting to escape from them. 'I wanna tell you...But I can't...I just can't...'

So with a heavy heart, Tohru cried herself to sleep.

These next three weeks went by way too fast for Tohru. Almost as if it was the next day. Kohana and Shigure decied they wanted to have a western style wedding, so they had been planning like crazy. Yuki, Kyo, and even Tohru herself was involved in the planning of everything. Calling caterers, florists, deciding on where to have the ceremony, the guests, and last, but certainly not the least out of their endless list of things to do and get, their outfits. Yuki, Kyo, and Tohru were already stressed out with helping Shigure and Kohana, but then they got dragged out of the house, two days before the ceremony and into formal wear shops, Yuki and Kyo with Shigure, and Tohru with Kohana.

And when Kohana asked Tohru, who was already stressed out with Akito, this wedding, and her newfound feelings for Shigure, if she could come and help her pick out her dress, Tohru wanted to scream. Never in her life had she wanted to reject anythng this badly, but she couldn't say no. Kohana looked desprate for help when she asked. So in then end, Tohru had reluctantly agreed to go with her.

And this was where she was now. Sitting in a chair in the corner of the room, bored out of her mind as she watched Kohana get fitted into her dress.

"Tohru-kun?" Kohana asked as she spun around on the stand. "Are you sure this looks good on me? I mean, I don't look wierd do I?"

"Kohana-san, you look lovely!" Tohru responded with a smile. "Don't worry about it!"

"Okay!" Kohana smiled, then turned back to the seamstresses that were fitting the dress. Tohru fell back in her chair, leaning her head back. 'I'd love it if something happened right now! A friend walk in or somethi-!' Tohru was cut off by the ringing of her cell phone, a small trinket she had bought for emergencies. Looks like something was happening.

She had pulled it out the bag she carried and opened it. "Hello?"

"Hello, is this Tohru?" Came the voice of a male on the other end of the phone. 'This voice...It sounds so familliar...Wait! This is...'

"Akito?" Tohru asked, a bit surprised. "Is that you?"

"Who else would it be?" He responded. "Tell me, love, where are you?"

"I'm with Kohana-san." Tohru replied. "I'm helping her pick out her gown for the wedding. Why do you ask?"

"That's good." Akito said. "You should pick yours out as well."

"What?" Tohru asked, slightly confused at his reply.

"You should pick yours out as well." He repeated. "Because I've decieded a date for our wedding."

"What!" Tohru exclaimed, earning a glance from Kohana. "When!"

"A week and a half from now." Akito replied. "So, we better start planning, shouldn't we?"

"B-but Akito!" Tohru said, feeling her heart break slightly. "That's too soon! We can't plan everything in that amount of time!"

"Ah, but you forget..." Akito responded, his silky voice sending shivers down her spine. "I am the head of this family. I'll have whatever happen whenever I want it too. And right now, I'm having some people call to make plans...So all you have to worry about is finding your dress. Have fun. Bye." And he hung up, leaving a shocked and heartbroken Tohru.

'This...This is way too much!' Tohru mentally screamed as the phone slipped out of her hand. 'I'm helping with Kohana and Shigure's wedding! Akito makes our forced wedding official! Is already planning it! And wants me to pick out what I want! NO! I CAN'T TAKE IT ANYMORE!' She then shot out of her seat and into the bathroom down the hall. She had hit her stress limit and knew it. Even Kohana could tell.

Inside the bathroom, Tohru had changed into her Zodiac, crying her eyes out as she did.

"So, Shigure-kun had to finish his manuscript?" Kohana asked, looking at her dinner, and wondering why Shigure wasn't there.

"Yes." Yuki replied. "Like always, he wants to finish it early and then torture his editor by saying he didn't finish...I don't see how she can put up with him..." Kohana giggled at his comment. Then it fell silent.

"Hey, Kohana..." Kyo said, breaking the silence around the table. "How's Tohru doing?"

"She's been in her Zodiac form ever since we came home..." Kohana sighed.

"Why?" Yuki asked. "What happened to her? What caused her to transform?"

"Well..." She began. "She's been real stressed out lately, and...She got a call from Akito today at the store...So, he must've said something to her..."

"Like what?" Kyo asked.

"I don't know..." Kohana responded.

'Yeah, well I'm going to go and find out...' Shigure thought as he stood by the doorway, listening in on the conversation as the three ate dinner.

So Shigure crept up stairs to Tohru's room.

'I don't know what to do...' Tohru thought crying, curled up in a ball in the middle her bed. 'I love Shigure but can't tell him, I'm getting married in little over a week, Akito's gone crazy, and I don't know what to do about it! I feel like I'm out of control in my life...My desicions are being made for me...This-!'

"Tohru-kun?" Shigure's voice came, along with a knock on the door. "Can I come in?"

"Do whatever you want..." Came Tohru's reply.

'That's not like Tohru at all...' Shigure thought as he slid the door open.

When he poked his head in, he saw a silvery-brown wolf laying on the pink bed. She looked so upset. He could even see that the fur around her eyes was soaked in warm salty tears. Looking at her made him feel bad. It made him determined to try and cheer her up. So, trying to dispose of that bad feeling, he walked over and sat down next to Tohru.

"Bad day?" Shigure asked, scratching Tohru on the top of her head.

"The phrase 'bad day' would be an understatement..." Tohru replied, feeling comfortable with Shigure's petting.

"That bad?" He asked, not bothering to stop scratching her.

"Yeah..." She sighed in sadness.

"Why don't you tell me about it?" He asked, looking in her steely blue eyes. "It will make you feel better if you talk about it. You know, get it out of your system."

She took a deep breath before she began. "At the store with Kohana-san...Akito called me...He asked me where I was, and I told him I was helping Kohana-san pick out her dress for the wedding...He told me that while I was there, I should pick mine out as well..."

Shigure's expression changed from intent listening and understanding, to surprise and shock. "You mean...You're preparing for this already? He's got the date ready and everything?"

"Yeah..." Tohru said. 'Unfortunately...'

"So...When is it?" Shigure asked, a bit hesitantly.

"A week and a half from now..." Tohru replied. Shigure gave her a look that said 'that's too soon!'. "I told him it was too soon, but he did his whole little 'I'm the leader of this family' speech...He had people planning for him when I told him that...He just said have fun, and hung up..."

"No wonder you're like this..." Shigure said, now gently stroking her head. Tohru just gave a sarcastic snort of laughter and rolled her eyes. Shigure didn't know what else to say. "Hey, do you want some dinner?"

"No thanks..." Tohru responded. "I'm not hungry..."

"Anything else?" He asked.

"I just want to be alone..." She replied, looking away.

"You sure?" Shigure asked, concerned about her.

"Yeah..." She said, still not looking at him. "I have alot to think about..."

"Okay..." He said, giving her one last scratch before standing. "If you need to talk or something, you know where to find me."

Tohru looked up to him, her eyes smiling at him. "Thank you, Shigure-san."

"It's no problem, Tohru-kun." Shigure said, heading towards the door.

As he opened the door, he stopped and took one last look at Tohru, a silvery-brown wolf, laying in the middle of a giant pink bed. He let the image of her burn into his memory before he shut the door.

Tohru looked at the closed door for a few minutes, making sure she didn't feel Shigure's presence still lingering around. As she started turning her head away, she had transformed back into her normal form.

"About time." She grumbled as she grabbed some clothes and put them on

When she finished, she stood in the middle of her room, looking around. When her gaze ventured to the window, she walked over to it.

She placed her hand on the window and looked out into the snowy forest in deep concentration, thinking a thought that no one ever thought she would think. 'Tonight...I'm doing it tonight...'

"And I'm not backing out..." She said, her gaze turning into a stone one. "Not for anything in the world...Not even for him..."

Tonight was one of those strange winter nights, where it wasn't really all that cold, where storm clouds would gather over towns, threatening them with a storm. Tonight instead of snow, there would be a frosty rain.

Tonight was one of those nights, where anything could happen.

Shigure was walking out onto the porch for some fresh air. It was a nice, and misty night out, so it was quite peaceful. He had crammed himself in his office for nearly six hours, finishing his manusript. Everyone else in the house was sound asleep. But Shigure wanted to treat himself to a little freedom outside before letting his sleepiness win.

"Reading in the moonlight sounds nice." Shigure said to no one, a cloud of mist coming from his mouth as he spoke.

He snuck in for a minute to retrieve his paper, and snuck back out onto the porch. He sat down and made himself comfortable, opened the paper and started reading.

He read for almost an hour. There were few interesting things happening in the world around them, things like the usual local events. A car crash on the corner of Shinura street, a new park was being built for the local children, any burglaries in the area, and a boy saved his sister from drowning in a pool. That was the story that got Shigure stop reading and think for a minute.

'A boy saves his sister from drowning in a pool? But it's the middle of winter! Who on earth would go swimming this time of yea-!' He stopped when he heard a sound, one that sounded like something fell from high up. 'What the...?'

So he set his paper to the side, and got up to inspect the sound.

He crept along the side of his house, preparing himself for anything that might happen. But what he saw when he rounded the corner was something that not even Yuki or Kyo could prepare themselves for.

"Tohru-kun!" Shigure asked, shock and surprise filling his voice. His dark eyes widened at the sight. Tohru was picking herself up off the ground, with two bags close by. That sound he heard, was Tohru jumping out of her window. "What are you doing!"

Tohru was just as shocked as Shigure was, but also very frightened. "Shi-Shigure-san!" She asked in surprise. 'Crap! He's not supposed to see me! I've got to run! And fast!'

So Tohru yanked her gaze from Shigure, grabbed her bags, and bolted off into the the woods.

"Wait, Tohru-kun!" Shigure shouted, running after her into the woods. "Stop! What are you doing!"

Tohru didn't reply. She chose to ignore him and kept on running as if her life depended on it.

'I don't wanna stop! I won't stop!' She thought, running past and dodging trees, logs, and large rocks that filled the area. 'I won't stop until I'm far away from here!'

"Tohru-kun, stop!" Shigure shouted again, doing his best to try and keep up with her. "What are you doing!" Again, no response. "Tohru-kun, please! Just stop and talk to me!"

"No!" Tohru cried, tears starting to gather in her eyes as the misty rain started to pick up. "I'm not stopping! Never!"

"Tohru-kun, what's wron-! Tohru-kun!" He screamed as she jumped down a steep hill. "What are you doing!" He shouted, climbing down to see if she didn't hurt herself.

Once down there, he saw no sign of Tohru. He scrambled around for any type of clue. He saw a footprint that went off to the right, so without a second thought, he raced off in that direction. And ran for what seemed like an eternity.

"Where...Is...She?" Shigure panted, stopping for a small break. It had been almost two hours since the chase began, and there was still no sign of Tohru. These woods were quite large, so she could be anywhere. And the freezing cold rain wasn't helping much either. He was nealy soaked, and was freezing to death. But he didn't care. He was so determined to find Tohru, that he would die to find her, and bring her back to safety.

"Coming back empty handed just won't cut it!" Shigure told himself, forcing his body to move again.

'But...Why would Tohru want to run away?' Shigure mused, not really paying any attention to where he was going. 'I know she's been under alot of stress and all lately, but...It has to be serious, whatever it is...The curse...The changes in her personality...Being a real member of the Sohma's...The wedding...Akito...'

"Akito!" Shigure said, slowing down a bit. "That has to be it! Ever since she got involved with him, she-!"

Shigure was cut off by a blood-curdling scream of pure terror. It scared him so much that once he stopped, he felt his body grow numb and weak on him. He knew the owner of that voice. His mind was racing with so many thoughts that he didn't even feel himself walking again.

'Please don't be! Please don't be!' He mentally chanted, slightly noticing that there was a clear area up ahead. And that was the scary thing.

End of chap.8!