Like a Switch [Fruits Basket]

Chapter 28

Like a Switch
Chapter Twenty-eight

Shigure listened to something very unfamiliar and heart wrenching. He never knew how much he hated the sound of the telephone not being picked up. It was actually enough to send him into a bit of a panic as he hung the phone back up on the wall. As he stared at the plastic device he felt Ayame peer over his shoulder.

"It sounds like you did something wrong," Ayame pointed out in a sagely tone.

"Now's not the time to joke, Aya!" Shigure said as he turned around.

The taller of the only took half a step back so that they didn't but heads. Other than that he was still within Shigure's personal space.

"She thinks I lied to her and did something horrible and won't let me explain. Oh Aya, what am I going to do?"

Ayame smiled and put his hand on Shigure's shoulder, squeezing slightly as he stood before him. "Don't worry, I'll make it all better. Just like I did last time!"

Shigure's face fell and a sort of horror washed over his face. He hurried past Ayame and up the stairs. There was no way that he was going to let Ayame try to make everything better. The last time he did that...well he suspected that was part of the reason he was in such straights now.

He was thankful that Kyo, Tohru, and that traitorous Yuki were at school as he windmilled through his clothes. He realized that as he tried on a few different outfits that he looked like an anxious teenager. He was anxious, of course, but he hadn't been a teenager in nearly a decade. Nor did he believe that the common worries usually found at that stage of life came anywhere near what he felt. Shigure truly believed that if he couldn't explain himself and everything that happened, that they (he) would lose you. For good.

There was nothing really keeping you in Japan. In fact, from what he understood you had every reason to leave the country and never look back. The fact that you'd returned once was a miracle. If you left again believing that you had been lied to and betrayed, Shigure doubted that you would ever return.

"Shigure! You're acting like a hormonal teen again!" Ayame said in a laughing, light hearted tone.

Shigure paused in the middle of buttoning up his white shirt. There was a tie haphazardly thrown around his shoulders and a toothbrush hanging out of his mouth. He had a feeling that the boys might have compared him to an anxious teenager before their first date but he hadn't considered what his childhood friend would make of the situation.

"She thinks I lied to her," Shigure said as he pulled out the toothbrush. "Worse...she thinks that I'm.. that we're...pedophiles, Aya."

That sobered Ayame up rather quickly. He went from amused to being shocked and afraid. Shigure felt a sort of satisfaction in that as Ayame started to look just as panicked as he felt.

"What?! Why?!"

"Because she found out that you and I slept with her before she left Japan. She thinks that it happened when she was twelve. And since I haven't gone to see her in a month...she believes we think she's too old now," Shigure explained, fudging on that last detail a little.

"Why haven't you visited her?!" Ayame asked as he dramatically pushed his hair behind him. "How could you stand to be away a moment longer than you had to be?!"

Shigure didn't respond as he hurried freshening up and getting dressed. He forwent the suit jacket simple because it was too warm outside. The jacket would only slow him down.

"Never mind! That's not important right now! We need to find her and set the record straight!"

"I know that Aya," Shigure said as he went to the bathroom to rinse out his mouth.

"Great. Where does she live?"

That made Shigure pause. He really had no idea where you were. His heart fell into his stomach as that sank in. He had no idea where you were right now.

"Don't tell me you don't know!" Ayame exclaimed as he stood in the doorway. For such a lithe man, he sure took up a lot of space. "You don't!"

"I always saw her at her work...or when Hatori brought her over here," Shigure explained to his friend. "Every time I tried to see her before or after work she always made some sort of excuse."

Ayame made a pensive sound as he and Shigure contemplated the situation.

"Oh if only Tohru was here. Then I could transform and sniff her out," Shigure lamented the lack of female presence.

"You've memorized her scent already? What if she used a different soap from last month?" Ayame questioned him.

"Yuki...has her pillows in his room," Shigure responded in a sorrowful tone.

The silver haired Sohma's eyes widened exponentially. "What is he doing with her pillows?!"

"I don't know but he keeps getting fresh pillows every week, and he won't share. Yuki has turned into quite the selfish rat."

Ayame's eyes lit up. "That's it! Do you still have this ice packs in your freezer?"

"Yes, I believe so. Why?"

"You're a dog but I'm a snake!" Ayame exclaimed proudly.

For once, Shigure wasn't following his friend's thought pattern. At least not right away. It took him a few seconds to put together the clues. Dogs were known as the best trackers in the world because of various reasons. However to transform into a dog he would either need to be hugged by a female, get very embarrassed, or get pretty sick. And even if he transformed there was no guarantee that he would stay a dog for more than a few minutes. Then he would have to worry about indecent exposure. But with Ayame a lot of those issues were circumvented.

Ayame could transform into a snake if he got too cold. And they could keep him that way by keeping him a little chilled. Snakes might not be harnessed for things like hunting parties but Shigure knew well how developed a snake's sense of smell really was. Especially when Ayame got to flicking his forked tongue.

"That's brilliant Aya!"