Fruits Basket Fan Fiction ❯ Seasons of Sorrow ❯ Memories of Spring = Lessons Learned...Then Again... ( Chapter 22 )

DISCLAIMER: Fine, I admit it. Furuba doesn't belong to me. Really! It's the truth!

 

 

Memories of Spring

— Lessons Learned…Then Again… —

 

 

Shigure's home hummed with nonstop activity. Everyone was busy cleaning up the mess left behind by the tornado known as Kyo. Speaking of the neko…

 

`DAMMIT!' thought Kyo angrily. `This damn stuff isn't coming off! What the HELL is this stuff that Kagura bought?!'

 

He was currently washing his face off for the tenth time with no luck of removing the magic marker, paint, or pen marks from his skin. As he loudly thumped his forehead to the mirror, he cursed his luck for the umpteenth time, wondering how in the heck did he manage to stay unconscious when they used his face for a canvas.

 

`And what the HELL type of glue did that damn rabbit use on me?!' silently shrieked Kyo in his mind as he tugged at the `ears' Momiji glued to his hair. Taking scissors to his hair was the absolute last option for Kyo…

 

`ARGH!! FINE!' With that last thought, he chucked his used towel to the floor and stomped out of the restroom into the hallway. Once reaching the stairs, he hardly spared a glance to his cousins in the living room cleaning up, not wanting to hear anymore snickering at his expense. As he raced up the stairs, he went into his room and slammed the door shut. Leaning heavily against it, he let out a deep sigh.

 

`I can't go down there and have Tohru see me like this,' thought Kyo forlornly as he closed his eyes, wishing for a REAL mask to cover up his cousins' artwork (he still hadn't found out about Uo's helping hand).

 

“I think it looks…becoming…” was the soft reply with a trace of amusement.

 

“NANI?!” remarked Kyo with surprise as his eyes snap open. He found himself once again in the same field of blossoms as before. Instead of a door that he was leaning on, it was the tall tree that he was used to seeing here, the one and only tall thing around as far as the eye could see.

 

`This time I'll be sure to get some answers to this whole mystery. Yep, I am putting my foot down,' thought Kyo determinedly.

 

“Well, don't just stand there. Come on out here,” beckoned the soft voice from somewhere in the field of blossoms.

 

“Where is `here'?” was Kyo's response as he tried to locate her out in the field. Smacking his hand to his head, he inwardly groaned, `Doh! So much for being firm…dammit, why does she have this effect on me?'

 

She softly laughed at his predicament. Kyo then felt the hairs on the back of his neck rise a notch as he felt soft breathing from behind his ear. Eyes widening, he heard her whisper, “You're so silly.”

 

He immediately turned around and saw her with a happy demeanor. Letting out a sigh of frustration, he remarked edgily, “Silly? BECOMING?”

 

She sheepishly rubbed the back of her with a grin. “Why yes, you are. (Clasps hands together under chin.) And you look so kawaii when you're like that!”

 

“KAWAII?!” exclaimed Kyo in shock.

 

She couldn't help but laugh at his reaction. “You're so predictable. (Softly chuckles) Ah, that was good. Come, help me find him,” was her plea as she pulled on Kyo's arm towards the tree.

 

“Didn't I just come from there? And who's the `him' that we're supposed to be looking for?” questioned Kyo while being led to the tall tree. `Okay, fine. I admit it…I'm totally whipped.'

 

“Come on, start climbing. He's up there with his friend,” she called out over her shoulder as she started to climb up the tree with ease.

 

“Hey! Stop that, you're going to break your neck if you fall!” cried out Kyo as he followed her up the tree. With a shake of the head, he loudly called out to her, “And just who the hell is it that's up this damn tree?!”

 

“Oh, gomen, I thought I already told you,” she awkwardly replied as she climbed one branch at a time. “It's KoKo…he absolutely refuses to come down the tree. (Strains to reach another branch.) He and his little pal are running around somewhere high above in the branches of this tree. (Heaves herself to another branch.) I've looked everywhere in the field…this is the absolute last place to look for them.”

 

“Koko?” questioned Kyou as he tried to remember where he heard that name before. Suddenly remembering who KoKo was, he immediately started climbing back down. Kyo exclaimed with certainty, “Uh-uh, no way, no how! I'm not going up there to look for that thing.”

 

She looked down with surprise and slyly grinned. “Aw, you're not afraid, are you? I thought you liked climbing trees. After all, you taught me how to climb them. Honestly, it's amazing how the memories fade away…” she silently commented to herself as she sat on a sturdy bough of the tree.

 

“Hey, get down from there!” called out Kyo from the ground.

 

“Iie, I'm staying put. I'm not afraid, unlike some other person that I won't care to mention,” she replied as she sat squarely in her place, arms folded across her chest, resolutely refusing to budge.

 

“Argh…just get down NOW!” bellowed Kyo with growing anxiety as he felt strong breezes swaying through the branches of the tree.

 

“Nope,” was the one-worded reply.

 

`Infuriating, stubborn, ARGH, she's been hanging around Kagura too much!' thought Kyo with aggravation. `Two can play at this…this time, I am putting my foot down.'

 

“Okay, fine, be that way! I'm sittin' right here. I'm not movin' an inch. Stay up there and fall for all I care!” yelled Kyo while sitting against the base of the tree, arms folded tightly across his chest. `Dammit, this hasn't been my day! I never would have thought she'd be like this even in my dreams. Man, dreams can really mess up a person!'

 

“You're pouting again,” she chided from her perch. “You can be so childish when you don't get what you want when you want. (Sigh) Predictable.”

 

“NANI?!” cried out Kyo as he stood up to face her from the ground. He then noticed that she was standing up on the branch she was sitting on, and slowly but surely she was walking across it with ease. “What are you doing?! STOP THAT! You'll get yourself killed!” he exclaimed upon seeing her walking ever so certainly to the end of the branch.

 

“Calm yourself. I do this all the time,” she replied nonchalantly as she steadied herself on the branch. Looking down, she grinned widely, “Will you catch me?”

 

“Eh?! DON'T YOU EVEN…” cried out Kyo as he suddenly stopped in mid-sentence. His eyes widened in panic and fear as he saw her step off the branch with no care to how far off the ground she really was. “NOOOOO!!!” He rushed to her in hopes of catching her, but he tripped all too soon over a root that protruded from the ground.

 

“Hey, what're you doing down there?” she softly replied as she knelt to the ground in front of Kyo. She then placed her hand gently on top of his head.

 

Snapping his eyes open, he pushed himself off the ground and stared at her wide-eyed, heart pounding. Not a scratch or bruise was found on her at all, just a gaze filled with concern. Letting out a huge sigh of relief, he immediately reached out to her and hugged her tightly.

 

`Thank goodness we're in a dream…but why the HELL did it feel so damn real?!' thought Kyo worriedly as he held her close to him. He then felt her hand patting his back gently.

 

“Gomen nasai,” she apologized softly. “I didn't mean to frighten you. (Pulls away and stares at him.) However, you did say that you wouldn't care if I fell down.”

 

He looked away for a moment as he tried recalling that remark he made to her before. Realizing that he had indeed made that remark, he let his head hung low on his shoulders. “I…didn't mean it. I…I was just in a bad mood, that's all. I didn't think…I'm sorry,” he softly replied.

 

With a sigh she stood up and brushed off the twigs from her outfit. “I knew you were in a bad mood. I also knew you didn't mean it.” Taking her hand to his chin and bringing his head up to look at her, she looked at him seriously. “But that's not the point. Your words carry weight…you should always be careful of what you say. You don't want to say things aimlessly. Someday you'll find yourself unable to take back what you say, and then all you'll be left with is regret. Remember, regret leads to burden…”

 

Blushing, he turns away, “Yeah, yeah, too heavy a burden to carry around. I remember.”

 

“Good,” she replied with a grin. With that, she used two fingers to flick him straight on the forehead, HARD.

 

“Itai!” cried out Kyo as he soothed his forehead. “What's that for?”

 

Laughing quietly, she turned back towards the tree and started her ascension again. “Because you're so kawaii when you're silly.”

 

Rolling his eyes upon hearing her say that, he stood up and stared at her as she slowly but surely made her way back up the tree. `Dammit, it was just a dream, why did I have to freak out like that?'

 

“Stop kicking yourself and get up here. I need your help,” she remarked as she lunged herself to another branch.

 

Sighing in defeat, he ran his fingers through his hair as he approached the tree once more. “I can't believe I'm doing this…” mumbled Kyo to himself while climbing up to catch up with her.

 

“You're pouting again…” she called out in a singsong manner as she heaved herself to another branch above her.

 

“Eh?! I wa-wasn't pouting,” stammered Kyo. “And don't get any bright ideas about jumping off a branch or something to prove your point. (Lunges to another bough.) Why did you do that anyway? You could have at least told me to be careful of what I say. Throwing yourself off a tree is not good to my health you know!”

 

“You still think you're not pouting?” she remarked with a sly grin. (Sigh) “Dear me. Well, (jumps up to several more branches) there is a saying that actions speak louder than words.”

 

“Another piece of advice from your Okaa-san? (Panting for breath.) Yeah, well, take safer actions next time, okay? I almost had a stroke when you pulled that stunt!” retorted Kyo stubbornly as he rested on one branch to catch his breath. He was quite amazed that she kept climbing higher and higher with no let up at all.

 

“Okaa-san was wise,” she replied quietly, still not stopping in her ascension up the tree. Looking back down at him, she smiled widely, “Ne, at least you know better next time! `Don't dwell on the mistakes made, learn from the lessons derived from it.' Another bit of sound advice from Okaa-san, wouldn't you agree?”

 

“Yeah, I guess,” remarked Kyo when he suddenly felt movement from the branches above. “Hey, is that your KoKo?”

 

“Hai,” she replied, “let me see how willing he is to come down. You're being called for as well.”

 

“Huh?” was Kyo's bewildered remark.

 

“Always remember…” she commented softly to him as he found himself once again in his own room. He was in front of the bookcase staring at nothing in particular when he heard knocking on his door.

 

As he walked over to the door, he swiftly opened it. “What is it?” he demanded.

 

“Hey Kyo!!! Yummy lunchies are here waiting to be eaten! Come on!” cried out Momiji joyously as he pulled on Kyo's arm.

 

“Feh,” was Kyo's one-worded retort as he let himself be dragged into the hallway. Before reaching the stairs, Momiji spoke up with awe.

 

“Kyo, how did you manage to take off your makeup and `ears'? I worked really hard on your `ears',” pouted Momiji as he stood there in front of Kyo expecting an answer.

 

“My makeup and `ears'?! YOU GUYS USED ME LIKE AN ART PROJECT GONE BAD!!!” yelled Kyo when it suddenly struck him what Momiji had just said. `Wait…what the…'

 

He immediately ran into the bathroom that was upstairs, mindful not to look around too much since Tohru used it exclusively. He switched the light on, and he saw that his face and hair were indeed clean. No traces of the colorful artwork were found at all, not even any residue from the glue Momiji used for the `ears'. As he stared some more, he shook his head in disbelief, running his hand through his bangs. It was then that he noted something that wasn't there before.

 

In the middle of his forehead was a small, clear pinkish mark of some sort. Nothing painful, but he knew that this mark was not on him when he was trying to wipe the muck off his face earlier.

 

`I did thump my head to the mirror downstairs but it wasn't that hard…' thought Kyo to himself as he absently rubbed on the mark. That left only one other option.

 

`Tohru…how could this be? Is this possible even if it was a dream?'

 

—ooo—

 

“This is so wonderful!” exclaimed Tohru happily.

 

“You said it. An A+ in my book,” agreed Uo with a smile.

 

“I concur,” replied Hana quietly.

 

“This is too kawaii!” called out Momiji merrily.

 

“Nice,” was Haru's one-worded comment.

 

“Looks good, although a little mashed. Thanks a lot, Kyo-kun,” remarked Kagura, still just a tad mad about Kyo ruining her monkey mask.

 

“What the hell are you complaining about?! At least you have something to show for your work. My mask is completely destroyed! These damn pieces aren't coming together!” cried out Kyo angrily.

 

Thus the group of amateur artists were gathered together after placing the final touches on their masks for the day. They were admiring their handiwork that they've accomplished even though Kyo was very vocal about his disappointment with his mask. Evening had descended on the group long ago along with Ritsu's arrival, and it was practically time to go home for Uo and Hana.

 

“Oh, that's like a story I once read about a character called Humpty-Dumpy. Poor guy fell from a wall and broke into pieces. No one could put him back together again,” commented Momiji sadly.

 

“How the hell can a man fall to pieces from falling off a wall? And who in their right mind would put together body parts?” remarked Kyo incredulously.

 

“It's a nursery rhyme, HAM HEAD!” retorted Uo annoyed.

 

“Kyo-kun,” teased Shigure, “you know what those are, right?”

 

“What sense does that make…damn story doesn't even RHYME!” shot back Kyo. Apparently, the old nursery rhyme was lost to him. Waving off the usagi, Kyo turned his angry gaze to Yuki. Pointing at him, he yelled, “My mask didn't fall off a wall. IT'S YOUR FAULT, KUSO NEZUMI!!!”

 

All the while, their conversation fell on deaf mouse ears. Yuki was oblivious to it all, completely and utterly. Why? That's the one question Yuki was asking himself constantly as well.

 

`Why?! I followed every step she pointed out! I did this and that and some more of this and a little more of that. Finally we did that…how did I ever screw this up?!! How?! WHY?!' thought Yuki as he berated himself on his most recent failure.

 

Failure was actually too kind of a word. He did his nezumi spirit a great injustice today, practically sacrilegious. How could he ever face his furry friends now? The complete shame he felt was too much, so Yuki just covered his face with his hands in hopes of wiping away this sad memory. Good thing everyone else was too engrossed with his or her masks to pay any attention to his mask. For good measure, he placed a rag over his mask, praying that maybe it'll disappear like an old magic trick.

 

No such luck. And Kyo was the one to notice first.

 

“Hey, little Princess. What the hell is up with you?! I'm the one in a mess—you ruined my mask!” cried out Kyo loudly as he shoved said `mask' (pieces flying all over the place—`Ew, I have an eye here,' exclaimed Momiji.) to Yuki's face as he had done before.

 

This time, however, Yuki was not bothering to give the angry neko any notice of any kind. He was too busy drowning in his cesspool of despair, something that Haru noticed quickly enough. He saw his cousin's cry for help, whether he wanted it or not. Having a good idea of the reason behind it, he laid a comforting hand on Yuki's shoulder.

 

“Oi, it can't be that bad. You were following along, right? So what's the problem?” questioned Haru quietly. “Why don't you let me look at it, and I'll show you how good it is.”

 

Sensing Haru attempting to unveil the mask, Yuki immediately brought his hands down from his face. He stared determinedly at Haru. “No,” was his one-worded answer.

 

“Come on, give,” grinned Haru as he tugged a bit on the rag.

 

Yuki tugged back, “NO.”

 

Seeing his chance, Kyo eyed Yuki's mask with a gleam in his eye. He swiftly pulled it from underneath the rag and presented it high above him for all to see. Or scream…

 

“Oh my God,” remarked Shigure out loud before he slapped his hand to his mouth. He didn't want his opinions known to his nezumi cousin for fear of retaliation. He's had enough chokeholds, whiplashes, and beatings for one day. He was currently still holding an icepack over his head and shoulders because of the earlier beatings from his editor (she left with 200 pages of manuscript) and from Kyo. And any retaliation coming from Yuki just wouldn't be pretty. Unfortunately, the resident neko was not as smart as he was.

 

(Guffawed) “Good grief, what the HELL did you do to it?! Daaammmnnn!” snickered Kyo loud. “And I thought mine was in bad shape!”

 

Upon hearing this commotion from the living room, Hiro and Kisa came from the kitchen (after dinner, both were cleaning up the leftovers) in a rush to see what was going on. Their expressions on their faces matched that of the rest of the group. Even Haru was speechless…he almost swore that he heard the “Psycho” theme being played in the background.

 

Yep, it was that scary.

 

To describe the mask was best left to adult ears…or those that could stomach strange encounters of the third kind. The shape did resemble some sort of rodent…a rabid one at that. His mouse mask had more of a rat's shape than a mouse's. The `ears' were facing backwards and laying flat on the mask. The `face' itself had every feature distorted in some sort of manner, almost as if the `eyes', `nose', and `snout' were merged into one. They could make out the `eyes' as being yellow-colored with a hint of red in it—as if they were glinting at some unknown prey. The `snout' was curled up in some kind of twisted snarl with the inside painted blood red, and it had `teeth' of different shapes and sizes stuck all over it. The so-called `whiskers' were wiry and lopsided on the `snout', and some were even stuck on top of the `head' like the antenna of those alien drawings. The finishing touch was the paintjob…instead of a soft gray over the `face', it was painted many times over to the color of a very dark black. Overall, the rodent had this look of death emanating from it, and it was on the lookout for more victims to prey on.

 

It was indeed a sight to behold, enough to give any child nightmares for years to come.

 

Yuki stood up immediately. In a cool, calm, deadly voice, he glared at Kyo and demanded, “Give that back NOW.”

 

Seeing the nezumi in a cold sweat, Kyo sneered in triumph. `Finally, something to hold over him!' Letting out a snort, he retorted, “Not on your life, Miss Prince.”

 

Snapping out of her trance, Tohru immediately went to her friend's aid. “Demo, Yuki-kun, it's not um, well, that is I can tell that it's some sort of animal. (Lowers head in defeat.) I think I'll shut up now…” replied Tohru quietly as she wrung her hands tightly in her lap.

 

“Yeah, um, yeah, what she said,” stuttered Uo as she stared wide-eyed at Yuki's masterpiece.

 

“I sense waves from the object in question,” eerily remarked Hana as she narrowly gazed at it.

 

“Haru, I'm scared,” whispered Momiji to his cousin as he cowered behind him.

 

“Is it alive?” Kisa asked in a wavering voice as she stood on the other side of Haru.

 

“I don't think so,” whispered Haru back as he hid a small smile behind his hand.

 

“That's…different,” commented Hiro dubiously.

 

“Different?! It's DAMN FREAKY!” exclaimed Kyo loudly. “Kuso, you could at least have tried to make it look sane.”

 

Yuki's mortification was beyond anything he's ever felt before. He could understand the other's reactions to his mask…heck, even he was appalled by it. But he was more than anything angry with Kyo for waving the horrid mask around like free candy for all to see. Deciding to put a stop to Kyo's teasing, he thrust his hand out abruptly to snatch the mask away. However, Kyo was determined to keep it high above Yuki so that he couldn't reach it…height differences were a damn nuisance at the moment. There really was nothing else to be done except…

 

(POW!)

 

Once again the local neko was lying on his back in an unconscious manner by one swift kick to the head by the local nezumi. Miffed and tired, Yuki stomped over and retrieved his mask and coldly bit out, “Baka neko.”

 

Laughing loudly, Uo congratulated Yuki once more. “Damn, that's so classic. Do it again!”

 

Yuki's anger dissipated however at staring at his mask. He could never wear this in public, EVER. He can probably have it burned in the furnace at school. `Maybe I should have just bought a mask like Kakeru…' sullenly thought Yuki.

 

Seeing Yuki's distress made Tohru feel completely helpless. All she could do was walk over and show her support by silently standing by him. Haru saw this and softly smiled at this gesture.

 

Kagura and Ritsu were both silently watching the whole chaos run amuck before them without intervening. Ritsu out of reverent respect to Yuki's feelings, and Kagura out of plain curiosity of what Yuki would do to Kyo. Kagura thought with a smile, `Ah, just as I expected. Well, enough is enough.'

 

“Kyo-kun, get off the floor,” Kagura remarked as she dealt a `light' kick to the neko's legs. She then walked over to Yuki and Tohru, and with a smile of understanding, she reached out and hugged her nezumi cousin from behind. “Oh, Yun-chan, it's okay. You tried your best, that's all anyone of us could ask. Come here, let me show you something. (Turns to Kyo—kicks him again.) Hey, get up!”

 

She then motioned for Ritsu to bring two shopping bags to her. He had arrived with them in tow, but no one paid much mind to it since they were busy at work with their masks. “Here you go, Kagura,” replied Ritsu warmly.

 

“Ahem, normally I would have waited until your graduation dinner, but Ri-chan can't be there since he'll be out of town with his folks,” said Kagura as she cleared her throat. “Not to worry, though, they will all make it to the graduation ceremony. Now, everyone, it is my greatest pleasure along with Ri-chan's that our favorite cousins are graduating this year from high school. Many of us doubted it could be possible for Kyo-kun to actually make it this far (`Hey!' yelled Kyo as he stood awake). However, blind faith led us to believe in him, and so here we are (`Dammit!' yelled Kyo). For Yun-chan, we are both very happy to see him succeed as well as he has and hope that he continues to excel in all that he sets his mind to.”

 

Presenting the two bags to her two cousins, Kagura continued with a wide smile, “Without further ado, here you go. Your early graduation presents. Enjoy.”

 

Both Yuki and Kyo stared in surprise at the bags she presented to them and hesitantly took them from her. They could only stare in shock at this…strange how both rivals had reacted the same way to this.

 

“Oh, come on! I want to see,” pleaded Momiji impatiently.

 

The others voiced their eagerness to see the gifts as well. Yuki opened his first and saw a large white box. He opened it and inside he found something wrapped with tissue paper. As he unfolded it, his eyes widened at the object. He looked up to see Kagura smiling even wider. He slowly started to imitate her as he pulled out his gift for all to see.

 

`Kagura really knows me well. She knew how badly I wanted to do this on my own, but she still made one just in case,' was Yuki's thought as he softly smiled just a bit more.

 

All let out a gasp and a wide smile graced their faces, even Hiro's (Hana gave silent approval). Yuki's gift really was perfect…it was actually very needed at the moment.

 

“Since when did you get a chance to do these, Kagura?” asked Momiji in awe. “It's perfect.”

 

“Hai, it is wonderful,” agreed Tohru with a wide smile. “Very kawaii!”

 

Yuki's new gift was infinitely better than his horror version. Kagura made this nezumi mask just right, with all the right colors and shape and size. Glancing over to Kyo, Yuki saw that his mask was well done, too, although judging from Kyo's look, it may be too kawaii for his taste.

 

(Sigh) `Well, I like mine,' thought Yuki happily. With a wide smile now, he replied to Kagura, “Arigatou. This is really very kind of you.”

 

“It was our pleasure! Ri-chan helped me out,” replied Kagura cheerily as she glanced to Ritsu warmly. Turning to Kyo, she gave him a knowing smile. “Is it kawaii enough for you, Kyo-kun?”

 

Since he knew she did this on purpose, Kyo started to glare at her but bit back on it. With a heavy sigh, he merely nodded his unspoken thanks to her. It really was nice of her to give him this after all the two have been through together. Kagura understood this well, and so she smiled in acceptance.

 

“Now, this is just a `preliminary' gift, okay?” stressed Kagura. “You'll be getting your real presents from us at your graduation dinner.”

 

“That's so thoughtful of you,” commented Tohru happily.

 

“Yeah, this time get Orangey a muzzle to hold his mouth shut. That's a big service to humanity right there,” remarked Uo slyly.

 

“NANI?!” yelled Kyo indignantly.

 

“That sounds like fun!” cried out Momiji merrily.

 

“BAKA!!” called out Kyo as he gripped the usagi from his collar.

 

“HEY, PICK ON SOMEONE YOUR OWN SIZE BASTARD!!” screamed Black Haru (where has he been?).

 

“BRING IT ON!!!” shot back Kyo angrily as well. `Might as well, can't fight the damn mouse…'

 

“Yuki-kun, let's see how the mask looks on you. Try it on,” requested Tohru eagerly as Yuki softly blushed at her insistence.

 

“NANI?!” Kyo called out. Suddenly Haru shoved him to the floor, and of course, the inevitable unfolded before all of them. Betting pools soon commenced.

 

The heartwarming scene was clearly now over. As Shigure regarded his cousins and the others carefully, he leaned back against the wall. He wondered at how content and in order everything seemed to be. So in balance…to upset it would be a great tragedy indeed.

 

`I am so sorry, Yuki. Really, I am.'

 

 

~*~

 

Edited by: Seiren-no-Kaze 02-23-07

 

~*~

 

 

Author's Drabble of Nothing in Particular (01-07-05):

 

Yep, I finally did it! I hope you like the chapter…a little heavy, a little light…all mixed into one.

 

Sorry for the delay, but I really needed to clean up the first half of the fic. Honorifics and grammar problems were very evident. It really irked me so I dedicated quite a bit of time to getting the first half of the fic polished, again. Sigh, I am happy with it though—the rest will have to wait a bit longer. Special hugs and thanks goes to Rjunkie for being so wonderful and helpful and considerate and supportive and kind and generous…enough smooching, Rjunkie? (Hehehehe) And of course, thanks so much Ina-chan for the big help as well—your HTML with the name references helped!

 

Now in this chap we see Kyo getting a little more than a strange encounter this time around…pretty weird. I'll touch on his personal struggles with this in the next chapter (mental note to self).

 

Papier-mâché projects. I know it took longer for me to get mine put together (like a week, I think), but for the sake of this story, they used super quick glue that dries lickety-split. Yuki and his mask…well, the idea was sort of a parody of what happened with my mask. My mother really was freaked by it and stuck it in some cabinet for many years until she moved it to the garage, never to be seen or heard from again. My father saw it, too, and he thought it was possessed. I honestly didn't think it looked scary…hmmm. Anyway, back to Yuki, I hoped to reiterate his lack of skill once more with anything related to his hands—kind of strange that Ayame has great skills with his hands. Oh, the contrasts of brothers…

 

Shigure, oh Shigure, what are you planning? This is just a taste of the angst that is yet to come. However, I won't touch on this until a few chapters later. Sorry!

 

Next time in SOS, the dreaded Class Dance (“Psycho” theme heard once again)…is that Carrie I see? Hehehehe, I kid myself so much. Man, I'm losing it. This will be put out soon enough, but first I have a duty to fulfill with my fellow Fruity Robins. Once done, I can work on this main event and possibly clean up the rest of the chapters. So much to do in so little time!

 

All right, hush H'kat, move on to the reviews!

 

S.B. Kisses: Thanks! Haru is so great, isn't he? Tohru and Yuki sitting in a tree…well, I like to drag out their budding relationship but you'll definitely like the next chapter with their big dance. It will be memorable. Love your story!

 

AnimeFreakVee52: Hey there! Thanks for reviewing again! Yep, Rin was freakin' out bad, so I kind of made Haru put her in her place…sort of, in a way. So much is going on here. Kyo and Kagura and Ritsu. You are my second reader to point this awkwardness out to me. This new chapter probably reiterated that. Gomen, I really had hoped that this relationship would be feasible. Hm, I guess there's no way around it. I'll just have to postpone the summer segment of the fic until I can put together a feasible story involving the boar and monkey (not too long though). Pretty weird and strange territory I'm going into here…I don't think I've ever read this type of pairing before. Hm, I'm the lone ranger in this one…hehehehe, we'll see how it turns out! Thanks!

 

Ina-chan: What can I say? Thanks so much (again) for reviewing and giving your insights to my fic. I've already replied to much of what you commented via email, but I'll repeat some of it here. Haru and Yuki, together at last! As friends that is. I like doing this…Yuki could always count on his understanding and support. The Rin scene was quite heavy, a little overblown. That was done on purpose of course…many things are going on that Haru is just getting a glimpse of. Our little Rin has much on her mind…LOTS. Poor thing. Kyo-kun was bashed up a bit here, too! Hope it wasn't too bad…hehehehe. How do you like my Yuki and mask moment? I had planned this out some time ago, and the comment you made earlier about Yuki being inept to do this task was just the incentive needed to carry it out fully! He really did follow through with Kagura in the beginning…then the force was against him all the way. Poor Yuki!

 

Alcapacien: Thanks for your condolences. It helps to cope (tears…). I'm glad you liked the Tohru, Yuki scene. I thought something simple that they would share together would be a wonderful setting to bond. Haru is intuitive…people should be aware of that! Thanks again for your wonderful review!

 

Rjunkie: Yeah, what's up?! Hehehe, I hope you are still talking to me! Thanks as always for all your support! I really didn't know the problem with chapter 14 (I'd like to blame fanfiction net people for lousing up the chapter, but alas, no proof) until you pointed it out (thank you soo much). Now I'm wondering how many other readers were baffled by this same problem. Readers, please read this rather fun chapter with Haru being Yuki's savior once again. I really liked it, and I am so sorry that it was screwed up. Rin and the consequences…yep, they're coming around sooner than you'd think. Just not right now. Akito and Yuki…what's really going on? You will be surprised…I hope anyway. Tohru getting a clue…hmm, I wonder sometimes, too. I'm so bad…

 

Thanks to all once again for reading and reviewing to this twisted fic of mine. I am so humbled that you are still journeying with me through the turmoil of my mind. See you at the Dance!