"So, you're leaving again?" Yuki asked calmly, his eyes flicking up from his soup bowl as Shigure zoomed about the house. The adult was flustered for some odd reason, Shigure' usual bravado coming out forced and strained.
Yuki wondered what the old man was up to.
"Ah, I know it breaks your heart to see me leave, but I am the bread winner of this household, you know." Shigure joked. "And Mit-chan signed me up for another book signing! Isn't it wonderful? Finally, the world is appreciating my art!"
"Yeah, 'art'." Kyo snorted.
"Your words wound me, Kyo. But anyway, I expect you to be your usually charming selves in my absence. I'm sure you can handle the household chores, right? I'll be back soon, a couple days max." Shigure responded, finally coming to stand by the front door. His bags were all at his feet, a smile on his face.
"Mm-hm." Yuki replied absently.
"Oh please, stop thinking the worst of things." Shigure reproached. "Not everything makes sense, sometimes things happen for unknown reasons, and it takes time to mend broken fences. You two should understand that better than anyone! Nothing can always be taken at face value, there is always something beneath the surface. Now, if you'll excuse me, Hatori's here with the car. Make sure you eat your leeks and vegetables!"
And with that lovely sentiment, the older Sohma was gone.
"Ugh, leeks." Kyo shuddered. "Disgusting."
"They are not disgusting." Yuki retorted, suddenly falling silent.
"So this is your secret base? It's even better than I thought!"
Tohru's happy voice swirled through his mind. He had planted the strawberries for her...the leeks...
Kyo was silent too, remembering her surprised look when he told Tohru he hated leeks. The immediately chagrined look that crossed her face when she looked at the leek soup she had placed in front of him...In the end, Kyo had eaten the soup. And it wasn't that bad...for leek soup, at least.
"Where do you think she is?" Kyo murmured, for once only feeling a heart ripping swell of sorrow when he looked towards his cousin.
"I...I don't know." Yuki replied quietly, also battling a gulf of shock, dismay, loss, and...maybe just a trace of guilt. "Could we have...driven her away?" he asked, almost in a whisper.
"Whadaya mean?" Kyo asked, slightly surprised.
"Our constant bickering, your continual pursuit of defeating me in battle...She never liked that." Yuki spoke. "Always trying to find a way to bring peace..."
"I...I don't like to think about it." Kyo said, his eyes falling to the floor. Silence fell on the Sohma house, Yuki thinking, Kyo staring off into space, each wishing for the impossible.
For Tohru to come back.
"Why is everyone moping?" a voice huffed. "I seriously don't get it. It's like Akito died or something." Hiro snorted, leaning against the door frame. He reconsidered his statement for a moment. "Actually, I think we'd probably party if Akito died."
"Hiro! You shouldn't say things like that!" Kisa gasped.
"Whatever." the boy shrugged.
"Hiro, Kisa, what do we owe the pleasure?" Yuki said, a slight smile on his face. "It's wonderful to see you again, Kisa, you haven't been back here since...Well, it's good to see you."
"And me!" Momiji spoke up gleefully. "You can't forget about me!"
"Been trying to actually." Kyo grumbled.
"Wah! Kyo's being mean to me again!"
"Would ya just shut up, ya pip squeak!"
"Kyo-"
"It ain't my fault he's such a cry baby-"
"Please, you can't fight, Tohru wouldn't like-"
"Why can't you ever be nice-"
"Yep, I can just feel the love."
"Hiro-"
"What?"
"Can I have your soup?"
"What? Why ya-"
"Don't throw soup bowls in the house!"
"I didn't, he-"
"Just, please, can't you all stop-"
"No running in the house!"
"We came over trying to be nice, why are you-"
"Who asked ya to come over in the first place? Huh?"
"SHUT UP!" Hatsuharu yelled, silencing all the voices. "I do not care about what petty little 'disagreements' you have come to find. I do not care if this house gets destroyed. You can pay back Shigure later." Hatsuharu growled. "Now, you will listen. And you will listen now. I hate wasting time on stupid people. Hate it."
"Haru-" Kisa began hesitantly.
"Silence." Haru snapped, and Kisa flinched away from Black Haru's hostility. "Silence." he repeated. "I am not going to get physical with each and every one of you. I don't want to have to beat you all senseless when we came with a mission. I am not going to fling each and every one of you against the nearest wall to show just how stupid you are all being!" Hatsuharu hissed, his hands curling into fists.. "You are all going to sit down. Now."
Everyone automatically dropped to the floor.
"We were going to find Tohru." Hatsuharu ground out. "That's why we came here. We had a plan. And in that plan, we did not account for the trivial idiots whose minds are consumed with idiotic chatter." Hatsuharu's eyes darkened menacingly. His rebel clothes never seemed to fit more perfectly than in that moment, when his eyes were full of hate and violence. His jaw was clenched, his dark eyes narrowing. Any second now, the group was sure flames would erupt around Hatsuharu, completing the picture. "Now, I am only going to say this once, shut up. Got it?"
"Uh-huh."
"Guess so."
"Sure."
"Totally."
"Whatever."
"Good." Hatsuharu nodded, seeming to calm down ever so slightly. His eyes no longer screamed 'I will kill you if you even so much as blink', now it was more of a 'I hate you all'. "Now, Momiji, would you like to tell us your plan?"
"Y-Yeah." he stuttered, eyes wide in shock after the full on rant. "W-We were gonna find Tohru...the adults know where she is. I'm positive."
"Wait, what?" Kyo did a double take. "They know where she is?"
"Yeah."
"He's at least pretty sure." Kisa amended.
"We think that's where Hatori and them are going, so we need to follow them."
"It would've helped if we had gotten on the road a little sooner." Hiro rolled his eyes.
"Why you-"
"KYO!" Yuki shouted. "We don't strangle family!"