Author's Notes:

I'M BACK! I survived hell week and finally it's SUMMER VACATION! XD I finally finished writing this chapter. Sorry it took a while to post this, I had been so excited to be free from classes that I completely went lethargic for the past few days XD

Also, thank you for the wonderful reviews! I feel ecstatic whenever I read them ^^ and they make me want to write right away.

as for the grammar, I'm really sorry if some of you got confused with the tensing. I don't have a beta so I proof read and check everything on my own and I tend to only do spell checks and make sure the phrasings are alright and usually forget to check the tensing. And for that, I apologize. For the sudden changes in POVs, I try to remedy that by putting it in another paragraph.

Anyway, that's enough for now.

On with the fic!

Chapter 6

Maiko had just arrived home when she noticed the pair of shoes in the genkan. "Mizuki?" she called out as she made her way into their house. She had just passed by the living room when she noticed the office door was slightly ajar. "Mizuki?" she called once more as she slowly swung the door wider, giving her a clear view of her husband's office.

"Oh, you're back." Mizuki said giving her a small smile. He was kneeling in behind the desk where one of the larger desk drawers were open, a small neat stack of envelopes were placed by his side. "What are you doing? I thought you wouldn't be back until later?" she asked him as she walked into the room and stood beside the desk while Mizuki returned to looking through the files in the drawer. "I couldn't find a couple of documents in my bag and was looking around in my office when I remembered I left them here, but. . ." he drawled on as he stared at the drawer ". . .I can't seem to find it." he said with a sigh.

"I can help if you want." Maiko offered as she slightly leaned on the desk. "No, it's alright. I know I hid it in this drawer, I just have to find it." Mizuki told her and a short moment of silence passed by with nothing but the shuffling of papers and envelopes could be heard. "By the way, where did you go today? I thought you didn't have any plans for today." He asked her "Oh, well. . ." Maiko began ". . . I went to the hospital today." she said slowly. Mizuki stopped and turned to look at her. "You went to see Momiji?"

Maiko nodded "He got released from the hospital today. I wanted to see him before he returned to the Sohma main house." She told him. After she had found out about Momiji, she had asked Mizuki about him once again and of course, Mizuki had told her what she wanted to from the things she was told about the junishi, she found out that the junishi and only the people who knew about the curse were allowed to live inside and that those who didn't know lived outside.

"How. . ." Mizuki began "how is he?" his voice was quiet but Maiko could sense the concern for the boy. Come to think of it, this was the same tone of voice he used whenever she would tell him about Momiji; even before she found out about the truth. It was funny how she never seemed to have noticed it before when she could easily notice it now. Then again, she never really paid much attention to such things before; she only thought that her husband was quite curious about Momiji which was why he would asked a lot about the boy whenever she would see him.

"He's fine. Aside from his arm and his rib, everything seemed to have healed already." She told him "He also seemed really excited to be finally getting out of the hospital." She added and Mizuki let out a small sigh of relief "I see. I was a little worried about him since I wasn't able to visit during the last couple of days because of work." He said "I'm glad he's doing alright." After saying that, he turned back to the drawer, looking through the files once more and a short silence descended in the room.

After some time, Mizuki finally broke the silence "Oh, that's right." He glanced up at Maiko "if you're looking for Momo, she's in her room taking a nap." He told her "Oh, I see." Maiko said. She was actually wondering where Momo was since she knew the girl liked to be around her father whenever he's at home.

"Oh, I found it."

Maiko looked back to Mizuki who was now pulling an envelope out from the rest of the files in the drawer. "I knew I put it somewhere in this drawer." He placed the envelope on top of the desk and he began to place the other folders and envelopes he pulled out earlier back into their respective places in the drawers. "Great, you found it." Maiko said as she got closer to Mizuki. The small stack of envelopes placed beside Mizuki suddenly slid sideward's and fell and Maiko kneeled beside him and started to pick them up one by one "Let me help you with that." She said and Mizuki thanked her.

"By the way, there's something else I haven't told you about, Mizuki." Maiko said quietly "Hm? What is it?" Mizuki glanced at her "I. . . I told Momiji the truth." Maiko uttered and Mizuki who was about to hand her one of the envelopes that slid to his side froze at the statement. " . . . I thought, you said you didn't want to tell him right away." He turned to her as he lowered his hand that had the envelope.

Maiko's gaze lowered from her husband to the floor "I know. That was what I wanted to do, but. . . he was going to be released from the hospital today, and I might not get the chance to see him again for a long time since he would be returning to the main house." She explained quietly. She doesn't usually go to the main house, only when there was an occasion or when visiting Mizuki's parents, aside from that, she rarely goes there. She doesn't know why, but whenever she was there she felt uncomfortable, like there was something heavy and serious in the atmosphere in the place, which was why she only went there when it was needed.

When she looked up at her husband, she could see that his expression had become more serious. "How did it go?" he asked and Maiko couldn't help but think back on her and Momiji's conversation earlier in the hospital. "He was. . . really surprised, a little speechless." She began "We didn't get to talk much after I told him everything. But before we parted ways, Momiji told me that I shouldn't visit him for a while. That he needed time to think about things. After that, Hatori-san came and took Momiji back home." She finished. "I see." Mizuki said and silence descended on them once more.

"Well, if that's what Momiji said, then give him some time to think over it." Mizuki told her and he began placing the last couple of envelopes back inside the drawer and closed it with a gentle thud. "I know." Maiko said and she looked up to see Mizuki already standing and offering a hand to help her stand and she took it. After helping her get up from the floor Mizuki started dusting off invisible dust from his pants and trying to see if his clothes got wrinkled in some places. Maiko glanced at the clock on the wall "You should get going. You said you have a meeting right?" she told him "Yes." Mizuki answered and after making sure that his clothes weren't wrinkled or anything, he grabbed the files on the desk and placed them on his bag and grabbed his coat.

"Don't worry too much. Momiji will talk to you when the time comes." He reassured Maiko who nodded "Yes, I know." She quietly replied. "I'll see you later then." Mizuki said and gave her a peck on the cheek. "Yeah, see you later." Maiko replied and Mizuki smiled back at her before closing the door and headed back to work.

"Okay, we're here."

Hatori said as the car stopped shortly after entering the Sohma estate. Expecting a reply that never came, he turned to look at Momiji, who looked like he hadn't heard a thing. "Momiji." He tried to call the boy's attention again which seemed successful this time since Momiji slightly turned his head in his direction "Huh?" Momiji said and Hatori sighed inwardly. Ever since they left the hospital Momiji seemed to be quite distracted. Despite his attempts at starting a conversation, Momiji was completely out of it and would only say a couple of words before becoming silent again. He eventually gave up after realizing that the boy was just not in the mood to talk and the rest of the ride remained silent.

"I said we're here already." He repeated "Oh, that was fast." Momiji said and he unbuckled his seatbelt and Hatori stared at the boy's response. Something must have happened when he was talking with his mother while he was away in the reception desk. It was the only reason he could think of to make Momiji behave like this. After all, Momiji was quite excited to go home and was still acting like his usual self before he met Maiko at the lobby.

"Be careful when getting out of the car, you might hit your head." Hatori reminded him and he heard an audible 'okay' as he got out of the car and headed to the back to get the bag. After that, he went over to Momiji, who was standing idly beside the car, and guided him as they made their way to his house.

His house wasn't really that far from the gate of the Sohma estate compared to the main house where Akito resided in, but it was still relatively far and the road inside doesn't lead to all of the houses inside. And even though Hatori is well aware that Momiji knew his way to his house by heart, since the boy often visited, but he knew he can't just expect Momiji to walk by himself, given that he could trip and fall, especially since his arm still hasn't healed. So he guided Momiji along with one hand on his shoulder, the other carrying the bag, and warning Momiji to be careful every now and then.

They arrived at the house, luckily without any trouble, a few minutes later. After Hatori led him inside the house, Momiji slowly took off his shoes and carefully walked into the hallway. "I know you know your way around the house, but still, be careful, alright?" he heard Hatori from behind. "Okay." He answered back. After that it seemed that Hatori headed off into another room, probably to put down the bag he was carrying.

Momiji continued to walk along the hallway, and just to be sure he was walking the right way, he kept his free hand on the wall. He arrived at the living room and carefully felt around until he found the sofa and sat down letting the cool breeze from the open glass doors that lead to the small garden reach him. During his stay at the hospital, his father and Hatori had agreed that he will be staying at Hatori's place until he gets better and he actually preferred it that way. After all, there was no one else in his house except for the occasional servant that came whenever he needed something.

Besides, he liked Hatori's house. It was relatively smaller compared to the other houses in the estate which was probably because Hatori lives alone, although it looks larger from the outside because his clinic was connected to his house. And in contrast to what most people seemed to think about Hatori's house, that it probably looked spic and span all the time, which probably resulted from the cool, professional impression Hatori gives people, it wasn't exactly true. It was neat, yes, but not exactly the 'spic and span' type like those houses you see on TV commercials that looked too clean and too uncomfortable to be in. in fact, Hatori's house actually feels more homey and welcoming than his own, which was why he liked to visit often. He also enjoyed the older man's presence and he always listened to what he had to say.

Speaking of which, he still hasn't told Hatori about what his mother told him back at the hospital. He doesn't know how the man will react; then again, he doesn't even know what to think about the situation. Yes, his mother now knows the truth about him, the junishi and the curse and she seemed to be taking everything quite well. And him? Well, after getting past all the confusion and shock that he felt from the sudden revelation and had gathered his thoughts, he realized that he was really happy about it. After all, from his mother's reaction it seemed that she wanted to get closer to him, despite knowing the truth, and he does too.

Momiji closed his eyes and sighed as he leaned his head back into the sofa. He is happy, but, somehow he can't help but feel a little sad as well. Because even though she knows about him being her son, she is still the "Maiko-san" who only knows him as the cheerful, bubbly boy she met and not the mother who knew what and who he was.

He suddenly remembered the secret he told Tohru. About how he wished his mother had never chosen to forget. That she could have just kept her memories; because he believed that there was no such thing as a memory that was better left forgotten. That was probably why he wasn't as happy as he'd expect himself to be. She never knew him as one of the cursed junishi, never saw him in his rabbit form. She could easily accept the truth about him because she has never experienced it ever since her memories of him were erased.

Letting out a small sigh, Momiji wondered if she would still have the same reaction towards him if she had caught him, if she'd seen him transform before the curse was broken. Would she still treat him the same? Would she still smile at him like she does now? Would she still care for him? Or would she once again reject him? Would she once more only look at him with fear and disgust? Momiji slightly shook his head. What was he thinking? He should be happy that his mother was able to accept him as her son. He shouldn't be thinking of such things.

In fact, he should be content with all that was happening. After all, his mother seemed to be alright even when the truth came out and she was the one who approached him, so there was a possibility that he may once again be able to live with his family. And that was more than enough for him. He should be happy, really.

"I'm thinking too much." He mumbled to himself as he closed his eyes and decided to just sit back and relax as another cool breeze entered the room.

"Momiji."

He opened his eyes as he heard Hatori's voice from somewhere in the house "I'm here in the living room Hatori." He called back and he heard quiet footsteps come closer and enter the living room. "I was wondering where you went. I had a few of you things brought over earlier today. They're in the guest room." Hatori said. Momiji sat up straight and turned in Hatori's direction "Really?" "Yeah, it's just the necessities though." He paused "I also had something something I thought you really wanted to see brough over just now." Hatori told him and somehow Momiji could feel Hatori smile as he said so.

"What is it?" he asked the older man "Let's go to your room. It's better if you see it for yourself." Hatori said and ruffled Momiji's hair "Hey!" Momiji laughed a little as he tried to fix his hair back before he stood up and followed Hatori to the guest room, which was now his current room. Hatori opened the door and went inside and Momiji followed suit but just as he was about to step forward his foot hit something hard and he quicky placed a hand on the wall to balance himself "Be careful, there are still several boxes on the floor." Hatori grabbed his hand and guided him inside of the room evading the boxes and when they reached the other side of the room, Hatori placed him in front of a small desk.

"Hatori?" Momiji slightly turned his head in Hatori's direction in question. Hatori didn't usually do things like this; he was always straight to the point if he wanted to say or show him something. So he was really wondering what it was the older man wanted him to 'see'. "It's on the table." Momiji raised a brow at the older man's reply but since he had no other choice, he reached out to the table.

True enough, there was indeed something on top of it. His hands touched something hard. Wood? He thought. No, it wasn't wood, but it was definitely hard. A box? He realized as his hands roamed around, feeling the corners and the sides which was smooth. It was probably covered by some kind of leather. He wondered what could be inside it since it seemed to take up a large portion of the table and he tried to recall among his things if he had something like this. His hands fell on the side facing him and he felt a couple of small locks and a handle in between.

Momiji blinked as he tried to make out of what the object was when his eyes slightly widened as he finally realized what it was. Quickly reaching out for the locks, he carefully opened it and lifted the lid, and then he reached out until his hand landed on the object inside. A small smile made its way to his lips as he felt the smooth wooden surface. His hands glided over as it followed the curves and details of the wood before it landed on the chord with it's four strings. Unconsciously, he let one of his fingers pluck a string creating a soft tune.

"How is it?" Hatori asked, still standing behind him and the smile on Momiji's face grew as he turned to face him "You brought my violin!" he said with a laugh and Hatori smiled "You seemed to be a little down, so I thought I'd bring this to cheer you up." He said and Momiji was a little taken aback at what he said. He didn't realize that his behavior earlier had worried Hatori that the man had to cheer him up himself.

"Thank you, Hatori." He said gratefully "Also, I'm sorry. You were worried weren't you? About earlier." He quietly said. Hatori stayed quiet for a moment with a thoughtful look on his face before he spoke "I know that something happened while you were talking with your mother. You seemed to change when I came back from the reception desk." He said to Momiji "I wanted to ask you, but you seemed quite preoccupied earlier and I didn't want to pry. Besides, I know you'd tell me eventually when you're ready to tell me, so it's alright." He finished and Momiji stood in place, his hand still placed on the violin.

"No, it's okay. I'll tell you." Momiji said and Hatori looked at him "Are you sure? If you're not ready yet, it could still wait." Hatori told him. Momiji nodded "Yeah, its okay." He said. Turning back to the violin, he continued to trace his fingers along the strings, feeling the metallic texture against his skin.

Truth be told, he actually thought of telling Hatori about what happened in the hospital earlier but he looking for the right time to tell him. Also, he wanted to gather his own thoughts first before telling the older man so he kept quiet about it. He didn't know that in doing so he had made Hatori worry so much that Hatori decided to cheer him up by himself. But now that Hatori brought up the topic again, he migh as well tell Hatori the truth.

"Mother said she came to see me because I was finally going to be released from the hospital." He began "But, she also said that it wasn't the real reason why she came." Momiji paused for a while and for a moment, Hatori thought Momiji wouldn't continue.

"What was the reason?" he asked quietly "She said that she already knows the truth; about the curse, and me being her son." He paused; letting his words sink in with Hatori. ". . .what?" Hatori's uttered, his tone was quiet but the surprise was definitely there. Momiji turned to him and for a moment, Hatori almost forgot that he was blind as their eyes met. Brown unfocused eyes met gray.

"She knows the truth, Hatori."

Author's Notes:

I had a hard time writing this chapter. I kept rewriting and revising stuff and I couldn't seem to get my momentum in this one, but I'm satisfied with the way it came out. It's also shorter than the previous chapters but all in all it pretty much got what I wanted to put across so. . .yeah. I know I had some other stuff to put here but I can't really remember right now so maybe I'll say it next time :P

Also, I'm not sure if I've kept Hatori in character here, he might be a little OOC, I'm not sure :P

If you find any grammatical errors and the like, please tell me!

I'm curious about what you think of the story so far so tell me what you think okay? ^^