Chapter 15 - Prelude to the Summer Getaway!

Two weeks went by after Tohru established her new home. To say the least, everyone was estatic that the girl would be staying. She never felt so loved by many people. She never thought she could even have this many people around her. Not only that but they were all handsome men! She only frowned thinking how much Satsuki would hate her living in a house full of only men.

And to top it off, she had their family secret! They would transform into the members of the zodiac if they were hugged by the oppostie sex-- not anymore of course-- but no one would believe her if she tried to tell anyway. Now that she was a resident with the Sohmas without any obligations for staying, Ayame instructed her to drop the 'sama' while around customers. It was time they knew Tohru would be there to stay and she was no stranger to them. The customers found it strange but didn't question Ayame or Tohru. Infact, they grew content with Tohru's presence. Perhaps that in itself was strange.

On the other hand, Kyo was acting as odd as ever these days. He was acting normal on the outside, but his way of talking and his daily patterns seemed... just different. Tohru thought maybe it was that girl that he'd fallen in love with that was making him so different. He must be anxious to tell her how he feels or something along those lines. She sighed wondering who this mystery maiden was anyway. Oh and speaking of Kyo, he moved back into the main house. Everyone teased him about moving back in only because Tohru was living with them now, but Tohru decided that couldn't be the reason. He problaby felt like he belonged there now. The cat was finally living with the rest of the zodiac members!

It really made her happy.

She brought herself back to the task at hand, refilling trays with fantastic little desserts on each table. She wandered around the great hall, trying to move around the groups without disturbance. It was not the Zodiac Cat day, so the stream of custormers was fairly slow. She walked past Haru's table to hear a snip of their conversation.

"Hatsuharu-sama, have you... ever been in love?"

Haru stared at the girl a moment as she looked up with shining eyes. "Why do you ask that, sweetie?" He responded after a moment feeling a sensitive topic coming on.

The girl blushed scarlet and looked down at Haru's chest. "Because... I think... I love you. I want to be with you always, Hatsuharu-sama!"

Haru looked down, his face darkening. "What... did you say?" Suddenly Haru stood up pushing the girl down and away from him. Tohru gasped and froze in her steps. What was the matter with Hatsuharu?

"H-Hatsu...!" She stuttered.

The girl looked up at Haru with fearful eyes. "His eyes are so dark," one girl noticed. Everyone tensed around Haru feeling a small prick at their backs. "B-black... Haru-sama?"

Tohru quickly looked back to Haru to find his eyes were indeed slightly narrow and his usual cool grey eyes were hard and cold as steel. So this was... Black Haru?

"AYAA! Black-san! It's Black-san, what am I supose to do! Ah, eh, Yuki-kun!" Tohru ran for Yuki, the other man instantly standing up with a serious face. The girls he was entertaining all watched with excitement.

"Honda-san! What is it!"

"You think you love me, little girl!" Yuki and Tohru turned around at Haru's deep voice. Tohru had never seen Black Haru before. He really was a completely different person! Haru got in the girl's face. "Ha! Don't make me laugh. You want to know if I've been in love?"

"I...I..."

"Well I'll tell you! Yeah, I've been in love. No, I AM in love!" Haru backed the girl up against the seat, putting a hand right beside her head. "But this girl doesn't love me back." Haru turned his face slightly as the girl sat still in her seat. "So can you really love me, hua? What do you think? Love is so easily given? Hua?" The girl squeaked as Haru's breath tickled her earlobe. "Answer me."

Yuki put a hand on Haru's shoulder. "Haru, knock it off." Haru spun around and threw a punch right at Yuki's face.

"You knock it off!"

Tohru gasped and covered her face. "Yuki-kun!"

SMACK!

She looked up and was surprised to see that Yuki caught Haru's fist in his hand. "Haru, you need to calm down!" He argued while gritting his teeth together. "This isn't the place to be acting like this!"

"Why the hell should I? What are you, my mother? Rin will never love me back, Yuki!" Haru shoved Yuki away from him when one of the other girls in Haru's group grabbed onto his arm.

"No, Black-sama! Don't be so cruel!"

Haru turned around with a catty grin. He pulled the girl up barely inches away from his face. "You should save your love for someone else. A host club member and love are never used in the same sentance." Slowly Haru kissed the girl on the cheek making her blush further. He let her go and glared at Yuki before exiting the main hall.

"I've had enough of this crap. I'm leaving." With that he disappeared from the scene.

"Sometimes he is such an idiot..." Yuki muttered.

Tohru looked at Yuki who only stood up glaring right at the door Haru had exited through. She turned to the girls at Haru's table all sitting in complete shock. She was about to walk over to them and calm them down when they all burst out in squeals and tears.

"Ohmigosh, Black-sama is the coolest!"

"HE KISSED ME!" One girl exclaimed.

"I love his wild side!"

"HE ACTUALLY KISSED ME!" The same girl continued to scream.

Tohru sweatdropped as she watched the girls actually get excited over seeing Haru is such a temperamental state. Maybe that's why he was that wild card, hua?

"So... so this is... normal?" Tohru asked out loud. She couldn't believe these girls actually liked Black-san. He was a bit scary.

Yuki shook his head. "I guess so. Haru's never raised his hand to a girl ever, so just his explosive nature is a flip side to his normal side which girls seem to like. If you ask me, it's just weird." The pair continued to watch the girls flaunt over how awesome Black Haru was.

Tohru looked at Yuki. "That was amazing how you caught his punch, Yuki-kun. It's very admirble."

Yuki smiled. "Thank you, Honda-san."

"Tohru is just fine!"

"Ah, I always forget that."

Tohru and Yuki walked away towards Yuki's rather full table of girls snapping photos of him.

"That was a brilliant fight of Haru-sama vs. Prince Yuki!"

"Prince Yuki's picture! I want a copy!"

"I'm going to make a flip book out of this!"

The girls began chatting amongst themselves while Tohru brushed lint off of Yuki's white shirt without a thought. Yuki stiffened slightly never being so close to a girl. Then again, Tohru was a special girl. Never had anyone cared so much about him before. Cared about all of them here in this Sohma house.

His heart warmed at the thought.

"Ah, by the way, Yuki-kun, if you don't mind me asking that is, who is... Rin-san?"

The question startled Yuki as Tohru only smiled up at him. "Rin?" Yuki turned away. "She's a member of the zodiac too."

Tohru clapped her hands. "There are girls in the zodiac too?"

"Yes, and Haru fell in love with Rin. He's told her a number of times that he really loves her, but... she acts indifferent every time. I don't know much about it either, but if you want to see Black Haru, talking about Rin is a sure way to do it." Yuki smiled when he saw her distressed features. "Don't worry about it. He will be fine, Tohru-san." He looked back at his table of awaiting customers. "I had better go."

"Ah, you should!" Tohru smiled. Yuki walked away from her as she turned back to the door Haru left through. She never thought about it, but if every member of the zodiac was released from the curse, that meant they had fallen in love. But then why was it that they were in a host club that entertained women when there was, at one time, a special woman that they loved? Were they all crushed by a former love or something?

"Tohru?" Momiji asked appearing infront of her. "Tohru do you have a minute?" The question was instantly forgotten as she gave Momiji her full attention.

"Ah, yes, Momiji-kun. What can I do for you?"

"Well, you see, remember that time I wouldn't give Ha'ri any money because I was saving my money? Well, I have a present for you!" Momiji thrust in her face two tickets. "Tada!"

"Train tickets to... the beach? Oh, Momiji-kun, this is too much! I couldn't accept this! No! No, I couldn't!"

Momiji gave her a puppy-eyed look. "But... but I really want you to go have fun. I could only afford two tickets and I really was hoping you'd go with me." Momiji turned away with crocodile tears staining his eyes. "I'd be so... so sad if you didn't want to come, but that's okay."

"Momiji-sama!" The fan girls cried at Momiji's table at his utter cuteness.

Tohru's face suddenly brightened up. "Okay, I'll go!"

"WAII!" Momiji's tears suddenly vanished as he hugged Tohru. "Oh, thank you thank you thank you!" He ran off to his table with a plotting little smile on his face. If Tohru only knew the trouble she was getting herself into later on that week.

---

Two days later, Momiji peaked his head into the kitchen to make sure no one was there. He jumped up on the counter and grabbed Yuki's cup, filling it with tea. He looked around to make sure no one was watching as he slipped a tablespoon of paprika into the tea giving it a quick stir, succeeding in spilling some of the tea out of the cup. He heard footsteps coming and the boy jumped off the counter, abandoning the hot tea, and ran for the table where he put on a foot cast and hauled crutches under his arms.

Kyo walked in wearing his exercising clothes and completely ignored Momiji as he went to fill his water bottle. He opened the cap and filled the bottle almost to the top before twisting the cap back on. He opened the spout to take a small swig and was satisfied with the water. He turned to leave through the back door when Momiji finally made himself noticed.

"HI KYO!"

"God, I was hoping he wouldn't bother me." Kyo muttered at his failed attempt to get away without Momiji saying a word. "What do you want?" Momiji motioned towards his 'broken' leg. Kyo raised an eye brow. "So? What is it?"

"I broke my leg!" Momiji said proudly.

"Congratulations. Call me when you break the other one as well-- we'll throw a party."

"No, you're missing the point, Kyo!" Momiji said, his eyebrows furrowing together. "Don't you know what tomorrow is?"

"Aren't you going to the beach with Tohru?"

"Nope nope! You are!"

Kyo stared at the smaller boy. "Don't jerk me around or I'll seriously break your other leg, Momiji."

"I can't possible go to the beach with a cast on! And I really want Tohru to go to the beach but she can't go alone! What if a molester gets her or something."

"Oh, and if you went with her she'd be really protected."

"Exactly, so that's why you should go with her!" At that moment Yuki walked into the kitchen searching for his tea cup.

Kyo thought about it then. Himself and Tohru alone at the beach? For two days? His face heated up at the thought. He pointed a thumb at Yuki behind him who started drinking his tea. "Why don't you ask that damn rat to go with her? Why the hell does it have to be me? I sure as hell won't be swimming!"

Momiji put a finger to his mouth. "Um... Um... Yuki's sick."

Kyo just raised an eye brow in disbelief. Yuki was never sick since he was a kid. "He's sick." Kyo repeated with complete doubt.

"He's sick! Just look at him!"

Suddenly Yuki's throat caught on fire feeling a spicy substance in his tea. He spit the tea out in the sink and began coughing rather violently, his nose running from the heat of the paprika.

Kyo watched with shocked eyes. Yuki was coughing and blowing his nose.

"What the hell is the matter with you?" Kyo barked at Yuki, but the rat could not retort any comment at the moment.

"See?" Momiji said trying to hold his laughter in. "So you have to go with her! Please, I really want Tohru to have a good time!"

Yuki coughed rather loudly. "I can't breathe!"

"Um... okay then." Kyo kept staring at Yuki's back before shifting his gaze at Momiji. He gave Yuki one more confused glance before going through the back door.

"W-water!" Yuki cried running to the bathroom.

As soon as Yuki left the kitchen as well, Momiji watched him go with bright eyes before bursting out in laughter. Call it evil but it still was amusing.

Tohru came in looking behind her with a worried face. "Is Yuki-kun alright? I saw him running to the bathroom." Her eyes widened and it looked as if her hair was standing on end. "Ohmigosh, did I poison him with lunch? I knew Kyo didn't like leeks but Yuki-kun...!"

"No, it wasn't lunch, Tohru." Momiji wiped tears away. "He's just not feeling well right now."

"Is it the summer season? I know it's getting a bit warm outside..."

Momiji looked away with a impish smile still grazing his face. "I guess you could say he couldn't handle the 'heat'. Oh Tohru," Momiji moved around the table so she could see his broken leg, "I accidentally fell and hurt myself. I'm sorry I can't come with you tomorrow to the beach."

"Oh that's horrible!" Tohru exclaimed. "Yuki-kun is sick and you broke your leg!"

Momiji only smiled. "It's okay! 'Cause Kyo said he would take you in my place so you can still go!"

"I'd feel awful knowing you and Yuki-kun are here in pain. Maybe we can go another time."

"No way, these tickets are nonrefundable and they're your present!" He folded his hands together and leaned her way. "Please say you'll go with Kyo? He won't bite you."

"I don't know... I couldn't leave you and Yuki-kun and go have fun knowing both of you are suffering so."

"Don't worry about us. Ha'ri is a doctor and he'll make sure we'll be fine."

Tohru looked out the kitchen window to see Kyo going through some of his basic moves, his body already looking slick with sweat from the summer heat. He'd been acting so strange lately so maybe this would be a great opportunity for him to tell her what was on his mind. It also seemed that Momiji was persistant to make her go. Ah, maybe she would be hurting his feelings if she didn't go and not only that, it would be a waste of Momiji's money! She'd never waste his savings, that would be evil!

She turned to Momiji. "Okay! I'll go!"

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