Review please. :)

By 2:00 on Saturday, Namie still could not entirely believe that she had agreed for Momiji to come over, but the ringing of the buzzer from outside the apartment building finally proved it had been real. Namie quickly let him in to the building and fidgeted by door, waiting for him to arrive.

"Namie, what was that?" her father's voice called from down the hall.

"Just my friend Momiji, Dad. He's coming over to study," she shouted back.

"A friend came over?" his voice sounded skeptical. "Make him wait there, I want to meet this friend."

Namie sighed. Great. Now she was even more nervous. It had been a long time since she had brought any friends home and who knew how Momiji was going to act. He could be so odd. She had thought her father would have gone to the hospital already but he was running late and now there was no escape.

There was a knock on the door and Namie let Momiji in.

"Hi!" he grinned.

Namie smiled thinly back. "Hello. Um, welcome I guess."

A door at the end of the hall opened as Namie's father stepped out.

"Momiji, this is my dad." Namie gestured awkwardly to her father then back to Momiji. "Dad this is my friend and study partner Momiji Sohma."

Momiji looked at her father with curiosity. Namie couldn't blame him. They looked nothing alike. Her father had a darker coloring with greying brown hair and hazel eyes, and a thin face compared to Namie's rounder one. He looked much more like Jien than his eldest daughter. For a moment both he and Momiji examined each other, then Momiji surprised Namie by stepping forward and bowing slightly.

"It is nice to meet you sir."

Namie's father suddenly smiled and stuck out a hand. "Kiosho Kimura. Always glad to meet a friend of Namie's. Come in." He waved Momiji towards the kitchen and put his arm around Namie to whisper in her ear, "I like him."

Namie let out a breath she hadn't realized she was holding and leaned into her father's hug with a smile. "Thanks Dad."

He grinned back and called down the hallway, "Jien, Anii, be good and listen to your sister." He patted Namie's arm one more time. "Hope your work goes well."

"Thanks," Namie said softly. "I hope everything goes alright."

Her father's smile faded sadly as the door closed behind him. "Me too."

OOO

Momiji was bending over a photograph as Namie entered the kitchen. When Momiji heard her footsteps he straightened up and grinned.

"Your dad seems nice."

Namie smiled back easily. "He's the best."

Momiji gestured to the picture and said teasingly, "Cute photo." A blond woman with Namie's green eyes was holding a squirming, toddler Jien. An adolescent Namie was sucking her thumb in the background.

Namie fidgeted with her sleeve, an endearing pink flush rising in her cheeks.

"You used to suck your thumb?"

"When I was little, yes."

"That's so cute!" he cooed.

Namie rolled her eyes. "It was a phase. Tell me you didn't have odd habits when you were little."

Momiji opened his mouth to say, yes actually, he had, but suddenly thought better of it and closed his mouth again. For some reason, revealing his former taste in cloths to Namie made him embarrassed. He didn't want her to think badly of him.

His hesitation was not lost on Namie though. She raised an eyebrow and looked like she was going to ask again, but at that moment Anii poked her head into the kitchen.

"Momiji!" she cried.

"Hi!" Momiji waved back.

Anii looked around, then questioningly at Namie. "Is Daddy already gone?"

"Yeah, he left a few minutes ago."

"Oh." Anii's face fell. Her eyes focused on a spot on the floor and Momiji saw her bottom lip start to quiver.

"Hey," Namie said softly. "It's ok. He'll be back later and everything'll be fine." She wrapped an arm around Anii who buried her face in her sister's side and nodded slowly.

"I know."

"Then what brought on that face?"

"My class is having a bake sale this week. I need to make cookies. Special ultra-chocolate chip cookies. Like we used to have."

Namie shot a look at Momiji who was watching curiously. He could tell she was uncomfortable about this happening in front of him. To reduce her embarrassment, he sat down at the table and pulled out his notes.

Out of the corner of his eye he saw Namie kneel down in front of Anii and say softly, "Look sweetie I know. How 'bout this: you go watch TV for a while. I have to study but when Momiji leaves I'll find the recipe and we can make the cookies together. OK?"

Anii nodded again, still rubbing her cheeks but looking happier. Namie stood, kissed her little sister on the head, and gently nudged her out of the kitchen. Momiji only glanced up at Namie when she finally sank into the chair opposite him with a sigh.

"Are you ever going to tell me what's going on?" he finally asked after a moment.

Namie paused in running her hand through her hair. Very slowly she lowered her arm and gave him a long searching look. Momiji had the distinct feeling he was be measured in some way. Whatever she was testing for, she must not have found it though because Namie dropped her eyes the papers on the table and murmured, "Maybe sometime. Not now."

Her face was so sad and her voice so empty that Momiji resisted the urge to push the matter further.

Their homework was pleasant but uneventful. Together they compiled a list of research from their book, then as Namie wrote out their main argument and notes on a large piece of paper, Momiji added a diagram and a few decorations. After stepping back to admire their handiwork, the two moved on to general studying. Namie still was having trouble remembering dates.

"No, no," Momiji was laughing. "The trial happening in '32. The actual crime happened three years earlier. You can't have a trial for a crime that hasn't happened yet!"

But Namie wasn't paying attention to him anymore. She had stiffened bolt upright in her chair all of a sudden. Cocking her head and not focusing on the kitchen, she seemed to be listening to something Momiji hadn't heard.

"Namie?" he said softly. "Is everything ok?"

"No." She swore under her breath. "Damn it. I'll be back." Pushing up from the table, Namie hurried out of the room.

Momiji gave her a minute head start, and then followed. She had gone into the next room, which was a small, cozy sitting room with a coach and TV. The upbeat, cartoon children's show that was playing on the TV clicked off as Momiji peaked around the doorway. Namie was sitting down on the couch, enfolding Anii in her arms. The little girl was sobbing, her entire body wracked with each shake, despite her sister's embrace.

Neither one had noticed Momiji watching. Anii was buried in Namie's shoulder and Namie's face was down, kissing Anii's hair.

"Shh, shh," she murmured softly.

Anii drew in a shuddering breath. "I miss Mommy," she whimpered.

"I know," whisper Namie. A small tear leaked out of her own eye, drawing a sparking trail down her face.

Momiji shifted in the doorway and Namie looked up at him. He felt a flush of embarrassment at intruding on something so private that he was so obviously not a part of, but she didn't seem surprised to see him. Even though her eyes were bright with tears, so many other emotions, sadness, hopelessness, fear, pleading, dulled the beautiful green color. She didn't say anything, just looked at him, asking What now?, and Momiji realized it was up to him to answer.

He bowed his head, shuffled his feet a little, then with a practice ease, he pulled up a smile and plastered it to his face.

"You know," he said cheerfully, making Anii hiccup and blink up at him. "I think we've done a good enough job studying. How about those cookies?"

Disclaimer: Fruit's Basket and its characters belong to Natsuki Takaya