Chapter Three
Kyo was outside, practicing some new fighting moves that his master had taught him. It was a good way to vent out his frustration. Washing the dishes in itself wasn't all that bad, but being stuck there doing it with that damn Yuki had made it torture.
He kept at his practicing for a good fifteen minutes, until he finally sat on the porch for a break. It was then that a thought came to his mind. He went inside and entered Shigure's room without knocking. The dog was sitting at his desk, for once working on his manuscript as he should have been.
Shigure looked up. "Oh, Kyo… Hello there. Did you need something?"
"How in the world was Tohru planning on taking Rei shopping when Rei doesn't have any money and Tohru has hardly any either?" He demanded.
Yuki, who had been walking by, stopped in front of the door upon hearing this. "It would be just like Miss Honda to spend all her money on someone else. This is just like with those Valentine's chocolates."
"Well, you two valiant young boys had better run off to their rescue," Shigure said in a poetic attempt he always has. "Or would you rather Tohru went broke again?"
Kyo grumbled irritatedly. "You're right, she probably would spend everything she has…"
"Don't worry about it, Cat. I'll go track them down and pay for her," Yuki volunteered.
"Like hell you will," Kyo snapped. "I found her, I'll pay for her stupid stuff!"
They continued to bicker back and forth for a few moments, before Shigure came up and whacked them both with a rolled up newspaper. "Stop with your arguing. You both might as well go, since I'm kicking you out of the house for the day anyway."
Yuki blinked at his older cousin. "Shigure, what in the world is with you and acting like a responsible adult lately?"
"Well, if you prefer, I could go back to being childish and hitting on Tohru, and probably Rei too…"
"NO!" Yuki and Kyo shouted simultaneously.
"Very well. Now get out, go find the girls. Be nice, don't fight etc. etc."
After about fifteen minutes of walking and studiously ignoring each other, the boys arrived at the mall. They stared up at it, unsure of where to go.
"How the hell are we going to find them in this place?" Kyo demanded.
"With technology, obviously," Yuki said, taking a cell phone out of his pocket. "Stupid Cat."
Kyo bristled in irritation but remained silent as Yuki called Tohru.
"Hello, Miss Honda. Where are you? … Yes, I know you're at the mall, I meant which store? …. Is it possible for you to meet us in a different one?" Yuki asked, sounding uncomfortable. Kyo looked at him questioningly. "Yes, I realize it must be important… You're sure? I suppose… Yes, we'll be there in a minute. Goodbye."
"So? Where are they?" Kyo asked impatiently.
"In… They're in Victoria's Secret," Yuki said with a shudder.
Kyo's jaw dropped, appalled. "What are they doing in there?!"
Yuki shrugged. "They're girls, apparently it's important… let's just get in there so they can buy whatever they need and leave."
For once, Kyo was in total agreement. The boys wandered in the mall for a bit, completely lost, until they had the sense to check a map. They located Victoria's Secret on it, and Yuki slapped his forehead in disbelief when he figured out they'd been walking right past it.
They stood warily at the entrance to the store, unwilling to go in.
"What are you waiting for, you damn rat? Go!" Kyo said, shoving Yuki inside. Yuki stumbled a step in, then grabbed Kyo by the shirt and dragged him with. After a few steps, Kyo complained.
"Alright, alright, I'm coming. Let go!"
Yuki released him and they wandered around, searching for the girls. It amazed them how humungous a bra store could be.
Yuki stopped suddenly, and Kyo, who was walking right behind, ran into him. "Hey, what's the big idea?" He snapped, looking around uncomfortably.
Yuki raised a shaking hand and pointed. "W-w-what in the world is that!" He stuttered.
Kyo looked where he was pointing, and his jaw dropped, his eye started to twitch. In front of them was a large display for equally large ladies undergarments. We're talking huge, lacy granny panties here.
"My eyes… they burn!" Kyo cried, looking away.
XXX Rei's Point of View XXX
Tohru and I burst into sudden and uncontrollable laughter, the boys about ten feet in front of them. They turned, and saw us, looking horrified.
"You should've… seen your… faces!" I gasped out, my face turning pink.
"Classic!" Tohru squealed.
They both stared at us with wide eyes. "Miss Honda…" Yuki said in surprise. "I don't believe I've ever seen you like this."
"Rei has obviously corrupted her innocent mind," Kyo said, staring pointedly at the ground so he wouldn't see any more horrific lace monstrosities. "Bringing her to a place like this… It's insane!"
I just giggled and shook my head. "Get your panties out of a bunch. It gets you nowhere and it makes you walk funny. I just need to decide which pairs I want and we'll be out of here. Tohru, which do you think?" I asked, turning back to the decisions we'd picked out.
"I think… we should ask the boys' opinions!" Tohru replied with an insane giggle. "Kyo, which do you think would be better for Rei?" She asked, holding up two bras while I held up the other.
Kyo and Yuki just stared blankly at them. "You're kidding me… right?" Kyo asked. "You can't honestly be asking me this."
"You're right…" Tohru said ponderingly, and Kyo sighed in relief. "They're all so cute… Why don't we just get all three? You'll need more than one anyway!" Tohru laughed and handed them to me. "Shame they weren't here when we were picking out underwear… That would've been so amusing…."
Yuki stared at us with his jaw dropped. "You really did corrupt her!"
Tohru's brows came together. "No, she didn't. She just exposed me to the wonders of shopping… and how to embarrass boys with it," She giggled, and we exchanged a look.
"Whatever," Kyo muttered, shaking his head. "Shigure wanted us to make sure you didn't spend all your money on her, Tohru, so we're basically just here to pay for things… Here" He pulled a small wad of cash out of his pocket and handed it over without looking at us.
Ii giggled again and took the money, bringing my new clothes up to the register and paying for them. I said 'thank you' to the cashier and returned to our little group. "Alright, we'll stop torturing you. We can move on to the next store now."
I went through the motions of shopping without talking much, since I was about waist deep in thinking about how easily I fit in with Tohru and the Sohmas. I'd only known them for a week, and here I was joking and teasing and laughing as if I'd known them forever. I wondered why they hadn't gotten sick of me yet, why they cared at all, where I'd go when I'd overstayed my welcome.
"Are you okay?" Tohru asked, snapping me out of my thoughts.
"Yeah, you seem pretty quiet," Kyo pointed out.
"Oh, I'm fine, I'm just thinking about stuff. That's cute," I said, pointing to a frilly white mini-skirt. Tohru didn't even question it, just grabbed one off the rack and kept moving.
"Thinking about what kind of stuff?" Yuki asked curiously.
"Like… Where I'm even going to put all this stuff."
"On a shelf, or in a closet, obviously," Tohru put in with a small laugh.
"Well, I mean once I leave…" They all gave me questioning looks. "Well, now that I'm healthy and stuff, I can't expect you to just let me stay. I have to think of where I'll go, how I'll get money, and stuff. I'm not sure what I'll do with all this, at that point."
Kyo looked at me as if I were insane. "Of course you can stay with us."
"Of course I can't," I said, looking at him bewilderedly. "I don't have anything to pay for a room with, and—" I blinked as Tohru cut me off.
"I don't pay for my room either! they just let me do chores around the house to pay for it! I wouldn't mind having a little help, if you stayed."
Yuki cast a warning glance at Kyo and Tohru over my head, which I apparently wasn't supposed to catch. Frankly, I was a little bit hurt. The others seemed to like me well enough, but apparently not him.
"No, really, I would just be taking up space and getting in the way," I said, looking right at Yuki as I spoke. I looked at me in surprise and then cast his gaze away. "Seriously, I can find my own place. I'll be fine on my own."
Tohru stepped in front of me, forcing me to stop walking. She looked pleadingly at me. "Rei, just listen, okay? I felt the same way when I started living with the Sohmas, I thought I would be a burden too, but then when I finally was able to move back in with my grandpa, I realized how much I truly like it here… I think you should stay, I know we would all like it very much. Please, Rei?"
"Well, when you say it like that…" I grumbled. Tohru cheered and hugged me.
"Come on, let's go pay for your stuff and go tell Shigure!" Tohru said, pulling me along to the cash register. "There aren't any spare rooms in the house, but I wouldn't mind having a room mate if that's okay with you!" She said excitedly as the cashier started scanning my new clothes.
"Yeah, that sounds okay…" I said, glancing back at the boys. They hadn't said anything, and they were both kind of gazing off, thinking about… well, whatever guys think about, I suppose.
"Um… guys?" Yuki and Kyo looked up at me, snapped out of their thoughts. "Do you guys want me to stay? I mean, if it's just Tohru, I still don't wanna be a burden or anything…"
"Of course, you're welcome to stay as long as you'd like, Miss Otsuka," Yuki said in his formal way.
"Yeah, we don't mind, and I know Shigure won't either," Kyo said.
"Okay, thanks… and Yuki?" He blinked and looked at me. "Seriously, please just call me Rei."
He smiled a bit and chuckled. "Alright… Rei."
Ehh, sorry, I suck at ending chapters. I'm really tired right now its like 11:00 PM but It's Friday and I don't want to go to bed.