Fruits Ripe

Episode 2f

After she finished lotioning up her body, she slid on her soft robe before quietly making her way back downstairs to Shigure's room. She knew her clothes weren't really appropriate, but it's how she liked to dress so she did- after all her mother always told her to go for comfort. She softly knocked on Shigure's bedroom door before walking in knowing that he was expecting her. What she didn't expect was for him to be shirtless with only pajama pants on causing her to blush, he was surprisingly muscular but not overly so. He noticed her lingering stare and smirked as he motioned her to come closer.

"Turn around and take off your robe angel," Shigure told her as he picked up a hair tie and once she turned around he turned her ponytail into a big bun on top of her head. "Do you trust me?"

"Yes," He was surprised she didn't even hesitate to answer, it warmed his heart a bit.

He gently tugged her straps down and pulled it down to her waist, he made sure to be a gentleman knowing she didn't have a bra on and didn't look over her shoulder. " Bend over, hands on my bed straight," he ordered her lightly before grabbing an extra light. "Can I touch you?"

He waited until she nodded wanting to be respectful of her boundaries before bringing the flashlight he had in his pocket up and looking more closely at her birthmark covering her back. Now that he had extra light and he was able to get a good look, he was sure- she's their Guardian, their Goddess, the one who could lift their curse. He lightly traced over his seat of the Dog with his fingers making it glow, Lily gasped worrying him- he didn't want to hurt her unintentionally- but she let out a low moan afterwards making him let out a sigh of relief. When the glow faded, he saw the Dog now looked exactly like him when he transformed in color-his name underneath it. He was going to call Hatori to tell him tomorrow for sure, but he wouldn't tell Akito yet, no he would keep this between the actual cursed animal spirits. He helped her up and pulled her night gown back on her before back hugging her, catching her by surprise.

"So, it really is you," he spoke softly in her ear. He spun her around seeing the confusion and surprise on her face from him not transforming from hugging her. "You were born with a gift and it's our job to worship, protect, and care for you, you'll see."

She figured she wouldn't get any more answers from him, he seemed dazed, but he did look like he wanted another hug so she timidly wrapped her arms around his waist. Feeling him tense up a bit in surprise, she looked up reassuring him it was okay, and it seems like that did the trick as he hugged her back firmly with a few tears silently trailing down his face almost like he didn't even notice. She gently pulled back and wiped his tears away before kissing his forehead.

"I can tell this doesn't ever happen normally, so I assume this is our little secret. Good Night Shigure," she grabbed her robe before joining Tohru in bed after seeing him nod in agreement.

The next morning

Lily got up 5 minutes before her alarm, she set it really early so that she could make them breakfast and lunch for school since she wasn't going. She turned the alarm off before going to change her clothes. She sat her wallet, phone, charger, headphones, paperwork, and art notebook with a bunch of pens in her little messenger bag. She decided to make a European breakfast of crepes and French toast with freshly squeezed orange juice and lemonade in pitchers.

She packed them a balanced lunch and set them on the table in the kitchen each with a cute note on it and packed away some lunch for Shigure in the fridge with a note of his own. She set the table with the breakfast just as she heard their alarms going off making her smile. She grabbed her stuff and covered the food on the dining table before setting one last note on top of it before taking her keys and leaving the house.

By the time Tohru came down stairs, Lily was already gone, but seeing everything done made her smile. She knew that her and Lily were always taking care of each other, so this wasn't anything new. She saw the lunches and made sure she also took the containers that said Uo-nee and Hana-nee by her own bag. Her note read:

By the time you wake up, I'll be gone for work

I love you lots and I hope you have a great day.

Relax this morning and eat

Make sure those knuckle heads don't bother you either

See you later, I'll go grocery shopping for dinner

Lily xoxox

It was so cute. So she went to make sure everyone was up before they all sat down to enjoy the lovely breakfast made by Lily. They were even amused by her note on top of the breakfast cover. It read:

Make sure Kyo eats please even if you have to force him

I cook and bake with love and it won't be wasted

Have a great first day Kyo

Enjoy your day Yuki

Make sure you get some Vitamin Sun Shigure

Don't mind the Kitty's temper Tohru

I made you all lunch and you better eat it

See you later

Lily xoxo

No one wanted to pick a fight with the mysterious red head (even though the guys didn't admit it out loud) and they thoroughly enjoyed the breakfast, it was light but filling. Even after the kids left Shigure went to put the pitchers away in the fridge, he saw the lunch she left for him in there and the note causing him to laugh. He was starting to notice how thoughtful she was on top of her shy and quiet mysterious nature.

At Shigure's house

It was now sunset and Kyo had left after the whole fiasco with Yuki and Tohru skipping school. He was sat out on the veranda with the sliding door open behind him. Shigure could be seen sitting at the table in the living room as he talked to him.

"Your very first day and you skipped class?" Shigure started the conversation after a pause, while reading the paper.

"Listen, I wanna leave this house." Kyo told him for once speaking softly.

Shigure just continued to match his tone, "It's only your third night here. Think of it as training. That'll help you tough it out."

Kyo's tone sounded more remorseful, "I always end up saying mean things to her. Every time. And Lily barely talks to me"

"Wait, who? Oh. You must mean Tohru." Shigure mused quietly, but he turned to him showing he was listening.

Kyo's figure looked to be sulking, but he still hadn't turned to face Shigure, "I can't do this, okay? I'm not cut out for living so close to other people."

Shigure decided to not tease him, but instead gave him some good advice although he didn't put the paper down, "Nah, It's Just that you don't have much experience yet. Think of it this way: You can break a table in half with one punch, we're well aware of that, but you're also capable of stopping that punch right before it lands. That's because you've trained." Kyo turned to face Shigure when he said this. "And getting along with people takes practice, too. Lily from what I heard used to be mute around everyone except her family, so don't take it to heart. Think of it this way: If you interact with strangers, you might hurt them, or you might end up hurt by them. But that's how you learn, about other people and about yourself. If you don't do that, you'll never be capable of connecting. So keep training and resist the urge to run away. Then, one day, when you meet a girl who says she loves you, you'll be able to treasure her completely."

Kyo took the advice to heart but still sighed and turned back around, "Like such a girl exists."

"And what will you do if she does?" Shigure challenged him thinking of a certain 2 year of the cat fan club girls.

Kyo scoffed, "That's a pretty easy question. I'll start out by asking her if she's crazy."

"Is that so?" he was amused but let it go when he heard the front door open.

Yuki called out from the entrance, "I'm home."

Shigure turned to face Yuki as he came around the corner, "But where's Tohru? Still at school? And now that I think about it Lily should be home already."

Yuki calmly replied, "At work. She won't be done until late, so I'm thinking of walking her home. And what time did Lily say she would be here?"

"Yeah. That's a smart idea. Perverts sometimes creep around here. And she didn't say." Shigure shrugged at the last sentence.

About 45 minutes later they heard a knock on the door, confused all of them looked at each other before they all shuffled towards the door. When they opened it they saw Lily struggling with a bunch of grocery bags with a couple even surrounding her as she waited, all 3 of them rushed to take the bags from her and put them in the kitchen.

"Thank you, I had to make a couple trips up the steps but it was worth it," Lily told in her naturally soft voice to them after they made sure everything was in the kitchen.

"Why didn't you call if you needed help?" Kyo asked her upset.

"I don't have any of your numbers," She responded calmly making him blush realizing she was right. When she placed her phone on the counter he snatched it and put his number in it before walking out of the kitchen to change.

Lily just smiled and offered her phone to Yuki and Shigure before putting all the food and condiments away.