Shigure's Mission

Renovations

Tohru woke up the next morning before everyone. She went downstairs and sat down at the living room table as she began looking over the blueprints for the greenhouse that was to be built in the backyard. Soon everyone had awoken and joined her in the living room. She was still a little sore from her injuries. "So if we expand the vegetable garden by five more rows then build the foundation with concrete around it. That would be easy to do today. But I'm gonna need some help." She said softly to herself. Shigure and Yuki walked into the living room. "You are so smart, Tohru!" Shigure said happily. "Hello, Shigure, Yuki. I should get started on breakfast." She said as she stood up and walked into the kitchen. "Are you sure that you don't need help?" Yuki asked her concerned. "Yeah!" Tohru said as she made tea, orange juice, pancakes, bacon, and sausages. She set up the tables with a place for everyone and set out the butter, Maple Syrup on the table. Everyone sat down and ate the breakfast she prepared for them. She looked at the blueprints as they ate. "Then we build around it using the weather proofed glass to make the entire ceiling and outer walls with concrete. We can use the plywood to make shelves to put extra plant pots and tools on it." She said as she looked around at everyone. "Well help you and we could probably finish this today!" Momiji said encouragingly. "Okay, sounds like a plan." She said they separated. Everyone got dressed and met up outside. Half went and began the expansion of the vegetable garden with Tohru as the ring leader. Soon they were finished with that so they made a bucket of concrete. They dug out a rectangle around the vegetable garden before pouring in the concrete. She used the engraved story and placed the stones before the vegetable garden. Then for the concrete around the garden, she had each of the zodiac animals transform and press their paw/body/foot into the concrete and wrote their human names underneath each animal print. For Kureno, she drew a bird foot then for Akito a hand print with the word God inside it. She then drew herself as a rice-ball, Hanajima as a electric lightning sparks, and Uotani as a butterfly. All of these would be carefully painted when the concrete dried.

Meanwhile, Hatori, Ayame, Kyo, Kureno, Hana and Shigure were in the corner carefully constructing the walls using plywood, nails and a nail gun to build the main frame of the walls and connected them as they progressed. They installed the large windows using wood to secure each one into place then reinforced it with cement. Then they left everything that had been completed to set and dry. They walked inside and Tohru began making lunch. She made tea, and sandwiches for everyone. She set up the table and fed everyone. They settled into the living room and watched Television together for the next few hours. "I'm glad that you all decided to help me. We got almost everything done much quicker and we left our signature in the ground that proves that we existed." Tohru said smiling happily. "Maybe people in a hundred years from now will look at those names and symbols and our story and wonder what they meant to us." Momiji added as he looked over at them all. "They are what brought all of us together. The reason that we became a family." Tohru said as she looked at them. "Our forever changing family." She said smiling as she looked at the time. "Time to get back to work then I'll get a start on dinner." She said as she looked at everyone. They returned and completed the rest of the greenhouse which included the roof and door. They then added some extra nails and cement to secure everyhing into place. They finished their project and stepped back to watch their handiwork. "We did this together. A true family activity." She said as she looked at them smiling happily. She went inside and showered as she prepared dinner which was curry and rice. She set up the tables and smiled at her family as they all ate dinner together as one big family. "This is our banquet. And we shall hold banquet after banquet as a forever changing family until the end of time." Tohru said smiling at them. "That should be our new tradition, to love and be there for one another, our beloved forever growing family." She added smiling as she held Shigure's hand in her own. She had fallen asleep in his lap, she woke up the next morning and noticed that everyone had gone out to do some yard work. She got dressed and started to do her morning cleaning, she walked into Shigure's office which had been the source of a horrible smell, it was dim in the office. The only sources of light were the windows cut into the wood above the many high bookshelves. Dust bunnies danced in the spotlights, flickering in and out of existence as they drifted through harsh, illuminated shapes, the scent of leather and old parchment added to the experience of her being a novelist. Stacks of books and manuscripts were strewn across the chibudai and littered the tatami mats in the signature. On the whole, the messy office reminded Tohru of the state she had found the entire house in when she first arrived. It hadn't taken her too long to get the home up to livable conditions, but Shigure's private spaces had mostly remained untouched by Tohru's tidying hands. "As you can see, it's a bit of a mess." Shigure said sheepishly, the right corner of his mouth tugging into his characteristic smirk. Tohru smiled good-naturedly and clasped her hands in front of her skirt, trying to take up as little space as possible. She went into Shigure's room, she cleaned up his room and collected his dirty laundry. She then remade his bed with newly washed linens and pillows. She was curious so she went over to his desk and began wiping it down when she found his newest completed manuscript. "Curious, Tohru. What a naughty girl you've become." He teased. "You know, if you were curious about my new book, all you had to do was ask." Shigure teased as he stood in the doorway to his room. Tohru turned herself around to see a smirking Shigure staring back at her. "I really didn't mean to go through your things! I was just trying to clean and got distracted." She exclaimed immediately. "I'm sorry, Shigure!" She said bowing. Waving his hand, the man quieted the panicking girl. "It's okay, Tohru. I never said you weren't allowed in here. Though I'm surprised you're in here in the first place." Shigure said as Tohru sat herself more on her heels, straightening herself up as Shigure came in to sit across from her. "I came in to clean up and do the laundry." She said as she looked at Shigure. The item in question was laying innocently on the desk. "I am a little curious to know where you found that though. It was inside my desk." Shigure said as he blinked, noticing the guilty look on Tohru's face. "I was snooping around because I wanted to see if I could get to know you without completely embarrassing myself but I failed epically at that." Tohru explained to the older gentleman. "Ah I understand now..." Shigure said as he looked at him. "I'm sorry, it was really stupid but I was really curious. You've been in here an awful lot working on it. I just wanted to see what you were so busy working on." Tohru mumbled, shyly diverting her gaze to the floor. She held his manuscript in her hands as she looked up at him. "It's okay my sweet, innocent Tohru. It's alright." Shigure said as he placed his pointer finger and thumb underneath her chin making her match his gaze. "You were just curious, huh?" Shigure asked her gently. She nodded gently in response. "It's so messy in here, it reminds me of the Toxic Jungle. You've already done so much for me by letting me stay here. So, I'm happy to help in any way I can." Tohru said softly as she looked at him. "Well." He said with a broad gesture toward the room. "Shall we?" He asked, looking at him. The pair began straightening the office, Shigure explaining his alternative alphabetic system for book storage and how to sort the manuscripts, all the while Tohru dutifully following his instructions. 'I had grown so used to being alone, after about a week I had grown used to her, enjoying her being with me everyday. Like the puppy I was, she was glued to her side. She was living in a tent when we first met, she came by and was looking at the zodiac figures on the porch. She only left to run errands, visit her friends and go to school. I had grown accustomed to her, and all of her warmth. Tohru had always been so warm to me, kind, and gentle without ever asking for anything in return. My frozen heart had melted, and beat to a warm, happy tone.' Shigure thought as he looked at her. In less than an hour, they had made considerable progress; the books were all now appropriately shelved and nearly all of the manuscripts had been catalogued, with the exception of the last few pages Tohru was currently thumbing as she kneeled politely at the chabudai. Tohru checked the page numbers for a second time, deliberately not to meeting his eyes. Shigure's eyebrows was lifted expectantly, but his deep, grey eyes remained fixed on the papers in his own hand. "Shigure Sohma, I'm inlove with you." She said smiling as she placed the last few pages in a neat pile on the table, her hands fell to her lap, and she fidgeted with her skirt instead. He leaned to reach across the table, his sinewy muscles flexing and peeking out from the sleeves of his yukata as he retrieved the stack of paper from in front of her. "Well, you are a beautiful girl, Tohru. You have a kind heart and a warm smile. It's not the least bit surprising that all of the Sohma men are enamored with you." He rounded the chabudai and sat beside her. His knee brushed against her leg and his robes fell open ever so slightly, revealing the broad and muscled chest beneath. "I wonder, though, just how beautiful you would look when you scream." He wondered softly aloud. She blushed heavily as she got back to work and cleaned up the rest of the room with Shigure's help. They finished cleaning up his office. "We should add a few more rooms onto the house so that everyone has a place to stay the night in." She said as she looked at him. "Yes, I suppose that's true. I'll ask Akito to dip into the Sohma funds and hire a contractor and have them expand the house to have four more rooms downstairs and four more upstairs. Should be enough room for everyone." He said as he looked at her. She nodded as she looked at them all. "Then we will have eleven bedrooms, one office, two bathrooms, one kitchen and one living room. Then our pond and Greenhouse. Sounds like perfect home." Tohru said as she looked at him smiling happily. "Akito, do you think that we can hire a contractor to add four bedrooms downstairs, four upstairs bedrooms and expand the living room a bit so we have room for everyone when they stay over." Shigure asked her softly. "Of course. We can hire a Sohma contractor to do the renovations." Akito said as she looked at them. "And in the meantime you both can stay with me here at the main estate." She added. "Thank you, Akito. Your the best!" Tohru said as she hugged Akito and held the family head in her arms.