So, I was kind of bummed that I didn't get very many reviews for the last chapter, but I took into consideration that we all started school this week or thereabouts so I've cut you all some slack and wrote you another chapter anyway. :) So without further ado, here's…

Chapter 14- The Infamous House of Sohma

Tohru burst into the shop looking for Uo. The lights were on, but the whole place was dead silent. "Uo?" Tohru called apprehensively, slightly disturbed by the eerie silence of the place. A head peeked over the counter wearily. "Tohru? What's up? Something wrong?" Arisa Uotani asked, barely holding back a yawn. There hadn't been a single customer for the past two hours and she had been half-asleep when Tohru had entered the store.

"Ah! No, no I'm fine, but Uo-chan, I'm trying to find Kureno-san and I thought you might know where I could find him."

Uo's head tilted slightly. "You're looking for Kureno? Why?"

"It…It's nothing, I just needed to ask him something."

"Hmm…" Uo was starting to get fed up with that answer. "Well I hate to tell you kid, but I don't know where he is. I was surprised to see him the other day, honestly. He does that. He disappears and when you least expect it, there he is."

Tohru's eyes welled up with tears then. She could not hold them back. She was tired, she was frustrated, her friends were in danger, and here she was no more able to help them than she could have helped her mother. She was useless. The tears began to cascade down her face as Uo yelped in alarm. "What?!? What's wrong? You want me to help you go look for him? Is it that important?" she asked, wondering what in the world could have set Tohru off.

"No… I…I…" the poor girl couldn't get the words out she was sobbing so hard.

Uo wrapped her arms around the girl, and whispered, "Hey, c'mon now. Don't do that. Please, don't cry and tell me what's got you so on edge. I've never seen you so worked up before. What's going on, Tohru?"

Tohru shook her head into Uo's shoulder, her braids twitching behind her. "I can't!" she sobbed, her words hard to understand. "I promised I would never tell. Please Uo, I can't!"

As Tohru cried softly into Uo's shoulder, the older girl began to piece things together. "It's those boys, isn't it?" she asked quietly, her hands still circled protectively around Tohru's shoulders. "Hana and I… we always knew there was something about them… something different. Kureno's related to them, is that why you want to see him?" Tohru's sobs had subsided and she was now trying to get a grip on herself. "Tohru-chan, where are Yuki and Kyo? Are they at their estate?" Tohru nodded, breaking apart from the other girl in order to wipe her face with her handkerchief. "Are they coming back?" Uo asked. Tohru hesitated for a moment, and then she shook her head.

Uo leaned back against the counter and ran her fingers through her hair as she tried to figure this out and give Tohru some time to pull herself together. "You know what I ought to do?" Uo said at long last. "I oughta march right into that estate and kick the crap outta both of those lowlifes for ditching you."

Tohru's eyes lit up in horror. "N-No! Oh no, Uo! Please, it's not their fault! It's mine! I was too conceited. I should never have meddled in their affairs, and I've already brought so much trouble to them, I just…" she trailed off. She had already said too much and it was too late to take it back. "I wanted to help."

"Help with what?" Uo asked curiously.

"I can't tell you, Uo. I'm so sorry, I want to tell you, I really do, but I made a promise," Tohru said desperately.

"I know…" Uo replied with a sigh. "Let's go find Kureno."

"What? But I thought you just said…"

"We're going to find him. If he's a Sohma, we should start at their estate right?" she asked, pulling off her apron and locking the storeroom door. Tohru looked at her friend, eyes still sparkling with tears.

"But Uo… we can't go into their estate… they wouldn't let you in!" Tohru whispered. "We'd get into big trouble."

"What, there aren't any side entrances?" Uo asked.

"…well, there is one way… Momiji's sister showed it to me. It's a hole in the hedges and it's not very big, but Uo-chan if we get caught…" the worry in Tohru's voice was evident. If she were to be caught, she would very likely have her memory erased. If Uo was caught, the question of why she was looking for Kureno would cause him a lot of grief from Akito. All in all, it was a bad situation, but it was the only way. If they were successful, then the Curse and its weakness would hopefully be revealed to them.

"Hey," Uo rested a warm hand on Tohru's shoulder. "We just won't get caught. I was a Yankee remember? I know how to sneak around."

Tohru smiled. "Thank you Uo. I'm in your debt. Truly."

Uo laughed and they walked out of the store. "Tohru, I'm your best friend. There's no such thing as a debt to a friend. Boy, Hana's gonna be jealous that she's missing out on this."

For awhile they walked in silence. Uo was wrapped in Kyoko Honda's Red Butterfly trench coat, a dark figure in the night, following the determined young girl ahead of her across the endless sidewalks. They stopped at the edge of a tree-lined road. At this point, Tohru turned to Uo and said in a solemn voice, "Uo, do you know how to lift the bars out of a window?"

"What, like from a jail cell?" she asked, wondering why in the world Tohru was asking her this. When the girl nodded, Uo answered, "Well, yeah, I guess, but I'd need a crowbar or a sturdy stick…" Tohru nodded, and proceeded down the tree-lined road. "Wait, Tohru! What is this all about?" The girl merely turned and put her finger to her lips signaling that they must be quiet now and the bewildered Uo followed silently along, wondering with increasing uneasiness what she might find in the infamous House of Sohma. There was a moment, as the gate loomed into view, where Arisa Uotani felt an overwhelming sense of fear and foreboding, but the moment passed as she watched, Tohru turn away from the gate and continue on her way without slowing.

Anxiety was written all over her face as Tohru picked her way along the hedges that bordered the Sohma property. Inside her mind, she was screaming out 'This is wrong! I shouldn't be here!' and 'This is trespassing, what will happen if Uo and I get caught?' But something stronger inside her whispered 'You're here to help your friends' and that was all that was needed. Finally she came to a stop. Uo stood close to her friend and asked, "What are we doing?"

"Uo, I know we shouldn't be doing this, and if you were to get in trouble because of me, I would never forgive myself, so please, reconsider coming with me," Tohru replied in a very soft voice.

"Nuh-uh," I came with you this far, I'm not leaving now." A wave of gratitude flowed through Tohru's humble heart and she squeezed her friend swiftly as though she may never get the chance again. Then she motioned her puzzled but sympathetically smiling friend into silence before bending down to find the hole in the hedge.

I know it's short and I apologize. Hopefully the next one will be longer. Again, I'm also writing papers at the university right now, so it might be a bit before the next posting. Bear with me! Give me lots of reviews now please! The more I get, the more motivated I am to write!