The class was deciding on what to do for the cultural festival. Some had said something about rice balls and Kyo wanted it to be a big brawl, which everyone ignored. Tohru said something about a hit or miss and Kagome smiled. It was a great idea, and after Uo scared some complaining Yuki Fan Club Girls, a Hit or Miss Rice Ball Stand was decided on. Kagome smiled.
The boys were put on stand duty and Kagome and Tohru were in charge of the miss rice balls. Kyo was very picky on how the stand was and made sure it was perfect. He got really irritated and was surrounded by cats and just ran out of the room. Kagome went after him. She found him on the roof.
"Hey Kyo." He turned around and glared slightly.
"What do you want?" Kagome picked up one of the cats.
"To make sure you're okay. Where did the cats come from anyways?" He explained that every so often that the members of the zodiac attracted the animals of their zodiac. So Kagura attracted boars, Yuki rats, Kyo cats, and Shigure dogs. That made Kagome think. If he could attract dogs, could Shigure attract Sesshomaru if he was still alive? Even if he was a youkai, he was still a dog.
At home Kagome and Tohru worked on miss rice balls when Kyo came in and just took a bite out of one, which was not only a miss, but leek. And Kyo HATES leeks. He went to the rice cooker and made his own rice ball and Tohru was fascinated, of course. Kyo told them about having to cook in the woods. Then Tohru and him got into a small conversations about plums. Kagome smiled. It was sweet.
Tohru had said that maybe the reason that no one was happy with themselves was because the 'plum' was on their back. So someone could think 'I'm nothing but rice' and have a pickled plum on their back. Tohru had told Kyo he had one and he had told Tohru that she had a very small one on her back. Kagome walked over to Kyo. He looked at her.
"Do I have a plum on my back?" He was blushing from his comment to Tohru, and his face actually got redder.
"No way. Why would you have a plum?" Kagome frowned. That actually hurt a little. She had had enough of Inuyasha's rude comments. Kyo realized what he had done and tried to apologize. Kagome just stood.
"Bad Kitty." Kyo flew 10 feet and landed on the ground. Kagome went back to the kitchen to finish up with the rice balls. Tohru wanted to ask if Kagome was alright, but already knew the answer.
The day of the cultural festival arrived and Kagome and Tohru were working at the stand happily. Yuki had been forced into a dress and Kagome had gotten her laughing out earlier. In came a tall man with Black hair and green eyes with a younger boy that had blond hair and brown eyes. They had aura's similar to the Sohma's so Kagome just guessed they were part of the zodiac. The blond jumped onto Yuki's shoulders and said he looked like a girl in the dress.
"What the hell are you doing here Hatori?" The older man came over and took out a stethoscope and began to check Yuki's lungs.
"Yuki missed his appointment." He told them that Yuki had week bronchial tubes and suffered from asthma attacks when he was young. Kagome had no idea that Yuki had asthma. He seemed so healthy to her. The little boy was messing with the stand and Kyo growled.
"Momiji." Tohru and Kagome went with Kyo and Momiji behind a curtain and Momiji hugged Tohru, turning into a rabbit. Everyone freaked out because they saw the smoke and opened the curtain finding no Momiji, only a rabbit and his clothes.
Yuki called attention to himself and Tohru and Kagome took Momiji to the roof and after Yuki and Kyo got a picture tricked out of them by Hatori and he took Momiji away, Kagome and Kyo walked off, leaving Yuki and Tohru to their own devices.
Later Tohru and Kagome were called to the teacher's room. They went and there was Hatori. He walked over and Kagome noticed Tohru stiffen up. Kagome got a strange aura from this one. Hatori had a slightly different aura than the other Sohma's she met. He had some special gift. She understood what it was after putting some pieces together.
Kagome stepped in front of Tohru slightly. Enough that Hatori got the message that he better back down, but she wasn't totally in front of Tohru either. Hatori told them that he wasn't there to erase their memories, and then Momiji came in and they left. Tohru automatically calmed.
"You okay Tohru?"
"Yeah, Yuki had told me how Hatori was the one to erase a lot of children's memories when they found out he was the rat. I was a little nervous. Thanks for trying to protect me. But he could have erased your memory." Kagome shook her head.
"He wouldn't dare. Remember, I'm a miko." Tohru smiled and they helped clean up the rice ball stand.
A few weeks after the festival Kagome and Tohru went to the Sohma's main estate, a request from Hatori. Momiji met them at the gate and brought them into Hatori's house. Tohru was very nervous but Kagome didn't mind much. The entire estate reminded her of the villages of the past, only a much more crowded one. They made it to Hatori's and Tohru didn't get any better.
"So, Kagome, Tohru. Do you enjoy living at Shigure's house?" They both nodded and Kagome flashed a warm smile.
"It feels like home." Hatori took a puff of his cigarette.
"You both must leave." Kagome froze with Tohru. What? "It isn't safe for you two living there. Go lives with your families." Kagome stood and glared.
"My mother wanted me to live at Shigure's during the school year for transportation reasons." Hatori's cocked an eyebrow. "Not just that, but I doubt that anything the Sohma's can dish out is worse than living at home with a constant reminder that you will never see the love of your life again." She sensed his aura shift slightly. It seemed to... understand.
Momiji decided to give Tohru and Kagome a tour of the estate at that moment. He explained how the cursed Sohma's lived in the 'Main estate' while the uncursed one's lived in the rest of the estate. The thought of an estate in an estate made Kagome think of the castles from the past. Everything seemed to remind her of the past. Anyways, the Lord's houses and their villagers had a similar setup.
They returned to Hatori's house and Tohru asked about the portrait of the woman that was in Hatori's office.
"Oh, that's Kana. She was Hatori's girlfriend." He went into a small story about Hatori's love life and why his left eye was the way it was. They wanted to get married and the head of the family, Akito, denied it and was the reason that Hatori's left eye was messed up.
"That's not right." Kagome was infuriated. How could someone force people apart like that. It was like the stupid jewel. Ripping her from her love... Tohru began to cry thinking about it and said that she was so scared of coming over, when he had such a hard life. Momiji had left and Hatori made himself known. It started to snow and Tohru and Kagome couldn't have been happier.
Then Tohru slipped on the edge of the porch and fell, Hatori jumping and catching her, transforming into a sea horse. Then Tohru freaked out about what kind of water to put him in. Kagome sighed and put him on the floor and put her coat over him. Tohru grabbed the picture of Kana and started crying.
"It's not fair." Kagome said as she placed a hand on her friend's shoulder. "No one should have to go through that. Being denied love, then having to erase their lover's memories. I don't know what I'd do if my memories of Sesshomaru had to be erased."
"But he did it to keep her safe Kagome." Kagome agreed. If something like that had managed to happen to Sesshomaru, she'd blame herself, like Kana did. Hatori came over, dressed of course. Though Tohru didn't know. "S-Sorry! We had nothing else to cover you up with so we used Kagome's coat."
"Did you see it? My zodiac form?"
"Yeah! It was really cute and it surprised me."
"I would've been a little more impressed if it was an actual dragon, but it was really cute!" Kagome smiled.
"Kagome, Tohru. I have a question. When snow melts, what does it become?" They both thought for a second then at the same time said:
"Spring!" They smiled at each other.
"Spring is my favorite season." Kagome liked fall a little more. It was beginning to get cold and was time full of the beauty of the changing leaves. Shigure came and after some threats of blackmail from Hatori, they left. Tohru saw a man slink back into a house while Kagome sensed it. By the feeling of his aura, he must of been Akito. She bit her lip. Bastard.
A chapter full of Momiji and Hatori! Yayz! XD Anyways. I wanted to thank everyone who leaves reviews for my story, they are really encouraging and makes me excited to right. Thanks for being so positive guys! It really helps with my first crossover!