Like a Switch [Fruits Basket]

Chapter 2

A/n: I apologize for all the mistakes I made in the last chapter. For some reason I seem to be less blocked when I write while I'm drowsy and on my phone. I also lose interest in a story when I go to proofread, go figure. So while I would love to be able to produce a chapter without errors the odds are never in my favor. I hope that they aren't too distracting and I will do my best to catch them as they happen even if I'm half asleep.

Like a Switch

Chapter Two

The twenty-seven year old man kept his grin in as he was greeted by the proprietor of the establishment as well as all the girls lined up in a row. Shigure felt like a kid in a candy shop as he looked around as subtly as he could. Even though most people wouldn't be able to see well in such a place he had no such issues. There were some small perks to being under such an animalistic curse, at least as far as he was concerned.

"Do you have any particular inclination tonight sir?"

His grin was so hard to contain but somehow Shigure managed. He surveyed the girls in front of him. This part would have been easier if Yuki had shared with him what you looked like. At least then he could have made some sort of basis to go off of. Well more than he did at the moment. Shigure remembered in a vague sense what you looked like when you'd been a child but after nearly twelve years he had a notion that you might look quite a bit different.

Only he realized who you were the instant he looked at you. The only problem was that you were already chatting with another man off in the corner. Which was exactly why Shigure thought for a moment that he could have somehow not recognized what you looked like as an adult - it was because you hadn't been in the line up. So he had mistakenly assumed that he would not recognize you. He'd been wrong; now that he'd seen even you side profile there was no mistaking who you were. Unfortunately it seemed that you were too preoccupied to even notice him as a customer much less as himself.

So he settled for one of the other girls as a house choice pick. It wasn't that any of them were lacking in beauty. Nor that he didn't enjoy making idle conversation with her as he loosened his tie. It was just that he couldn't help but be disappointed. Shigure hand put on a suit for just any pretty girl (even if he did enjoy the attention). He had wanted to talk to you. After Yuki admitted to neglecting to introduce himself, Shigure's curiosity had been peeked. He wanted to see how much you remembered or even how much you knew. Even without the exchanging of names you should have been able to remember Yuki. It wasn't everyday that Shigure ran into people with gunmetal gray hair and violet eyes even as Sohma after all. He couldn't imagine that you would have seen too many other people in the last twelve years with those distinct features either.

The night wore on as Shigure relaxed into the booth. He spent time with many ladies as the talked about all sorts of things. He'd be lying if he said that he hadn't flirted a little here and there but he knew what line not to cross so he wasn't asked to leave. After all of that happened Shigure knew he would get to talk to you. Though as one hour turned into two then three and the effects of alcohol kept piling up, even he realized that his plan wasn't working. The way he kept subtly trying to get your attention by buying the drifting girls' drinks wasn't working. The dim lighting of the room help him to catch you eye either.

Shigure shifted in his seat as he finished off a glass of water between his beers. He let out a deep sigh as he rolled his head onto the deep blue leather. He had to admit that it was a rather nice choice to go with a celestial theme for the decorating. All the light fixtures were set up to look like tiny stars hanging down from the ceiling. The curved seats were dark and the way they were twisted and staggered gave the occupants a bit of privacy. Not too much of course, but just enough for comfort. And though he wasn't looking at it now the sleek floor looked like it had somehow captured a galaxy with all of the naturally occurring colors. Even if he didn't get to see you tonight the atmosphere and beautiful, attentive woman almost made up for it. Though he realized a little too belatedly that the cost of this one night was probably going to be felt for this next month at least.