Hi all! This is my first Fruits Basket fic ever, so I hope you enjoy it! I can't get enough of this series, and even though I see Tohru and Kyo as more of a couple than this ShigurexTohruish story, I love Shigure most of all and I don't think he gets enough love. So this is a strange, random, fluffyish story.

There are three parts to this story, and this first chapter turned into a big mess of angsty ramblings from both Tohru and Shigure's points of view. And while they are kind of ramblish, there is a point, so don't count this little rant out just yet! The title won't really make any sense until the end, but oh well.

Anyway, I hope you enjoy this!

Disclaimer: I don't own Fruits Basket!

Part 1: Her Departure

I just found out the renovations are done.

That one simple sentence had thrown his emotions, and the rest of his day, into total disarray. He had known that it would have come up eventually, but that didn't make the fact that she was leaving any less painful. He had barely managed to contain his shock. The only parts of him that had betrayed his devastation had been his hands, which had almost gripped the newspaper hard enough to tear, and his face, and that damned expression of his. Looking back on it now, he must have seemed so pathetic, expecting this young woman to actually stay with them. What a fool he had been.

He had forced himself into composure, forced himself through that inevitable conversation that would send her... home... he supposed. The word didn't really seem appropriate though. Reluctantly he had watched her bustle around the house. What he had found so funny... so sweet... so Tohru... about it all, was that she was not busily packing her things, but was hurriedly finishing any chore she could occupy herself with. He had hoped that she was trying to delay her departure, liking that excuse in his own troubled mindset.

He had been having trouble thinking rationally all day. The inner workings of his mind seemed to have come unhinged, hindered further by the many fond memories of her he had gathered in their short time together. All the memories they could have made. He had offered to do a once over of the house for her, to make sure she hadn't missed any of her belongings, and as he had walked from room to room, the memories fought him all the harder.

In the bathroom he happened upon a small washcloth. He picked it up and gently passed his fingers over the adorable strawberry pattern. He opened his mouth to voice what he had found, but then thought better... or worse of it, and carefully hid the towel. Hoping she wouldn't miss it, he thought of it as a keepsake... a token of their valued... friendship, he hoped, at the very least. He also hoped no one else found out that he had hidden the cloth, fearing the beating he was certain he'd receive if he was found out.

Returning to the first floor of the house he spotted her bags, situated neatly beside the front door, and knew there was no more avoiding it.

And in an instant she was gone from their household. From their home, but not their lives he hoped, realizing that he had been doing a lot of that today. Hoping.

Shigure had retreated into the house with his cousins, but remained just inside, peering around the door as he watched Tohru's form shrinking into the distance. Leaning on the wall, still holding her farewell instructions in his hand, he sighed. He could feel the emptiness already. Whether it was in the house, or in his heart, he couldn't tell.

'Get over it.' He scolded himself. 'You sound as if you're losing someone you've known all your life.' But he felt like he had. In that short time he had come to know her. To know that he wished he had known her all his life. It was a loss, plain and simple, and he felt it just as much as his younger housemates, if not more. He wondered absently how a girl such as her could have invaded him so thoroughly in so short a time. But then again, that just seemed her way.

Her whole presence was just so natural that it was hard to believe that she didn't belong. And her whole take on life was so true and so simple, so confusingly and distressingly simple that she went unnoticed most of the time, and slipped right through the cracks. Through the cracks and right into your heart. And through their fingers, so it seemed. He had indeed come to love her. But it was... a benign love. A love that was neither offered nor hidden, accepted nor denied. A content kind of affection. An affection that most interpreted as his slightly lecherous personality.

Alright... so maybe he actually did have a slightly lecherous personality. But when it came to Tohru, he was so used to being flirtatious he didn't know how else to act; though he respected her far too much to truly mean anything that he might have said. Although... she really was cute... and she really was kind... and wonderful, and loving... Okay, so maybe she was everything he had said she was. But he didn't mean it in the teasing sort of context, he actually meant it. Or maybe... wait... how would one phrase that? Oh, never mind. Suffice to say that she was Tohru, and that she was everything he never knew he wanted... Well that certainly didn't make it any more clear...

Suddenly coming back to himself, Shigure realized that the sun was well past set, and had plunged the yard into darkness. He looked down at the folded paper in his hand and sighed, pulling away from the wall and closing the door. He needed to talk to Hatori.

Hari had always been the one he called when he felt the most down. He was good to talk to, whether or not he truly listened half the time. But something inside told him that it was partially because Hatori's tone of voice made him sound so depressed sometimes that it made Shigure feel better. Not that he would wish any ill-will on one of his closest friends and relatives.

Shigure chuckled. Just thinking about it made him feel better. He settled himself near the phone as he dialed the number. He looked at his fingernails in a bored manner as he listened to it ring and smiled when he heard someone pick up.

"Yes?" Hatori's quiet, short greeting amused him to no end. He never had been one for a simple 'hello,' he was always straight to the point. Businesslike and efficient. Shigure made a note that his cousin sounded slightly perturbed.

"Hello, Hari! How are you this fine evening?" The dog spouted enthusiastically.

"Shigure." The dragon replied, not so energetic. "It's late. What is it?"

Shigure huffed. "What? Can't I call and see how you are doing?"

There was a pause. Hatori seemed to be debating whether or not to ignore that comment. "What's wrong?"

"What makes you think something's wrong?"

"You were far too cheerful when you first said hello, so what is it?"

Shigure sighed. "Oh, nothing really. Tohru left today and I'm just a little depressed I suppose. Our lovely flower has left us. No longer will her sunny disposition grace our humble home!" He burst out dramatically. "Never again will she-"

Silence on the other end. "Tohru... Ah, you mean Miss Honda, the young girl that has been staying with you."

Shigure frowned slightly at being interrupted, but understood Hatori's confusion. "Oh, that's right. You haven't met her have you?"

"No, I haven't. And it appears there will no longer be a need for that."

Shigure smiled to himself. "Ah, Hari. You say that, but I have a feeling you would have liked her very much. She certainly brightened my day on more than one occasion. I believe she would have done the same for anyone. Even someone as antisoc-" He stopped himself quickly, hoping his friend hadn't caught that slip. "Um... secluded, as yourself." He laughed uneasily.

"I am antisocial for a reason." Hatori spoke stiffly, sounding as if he were trying to restrain himself.

"Ah, now I've gone and made him angry." The dog muttered, mainly to himself. "Now, Hari. You know I would never try to purposely offend you." He paused. "Alright, well... That's not really true but certainly not with anything so personal."

"Just drop it."

"Alright, alright. But anyway, getting back to Tohru, I think she could have warmed your heart just like she did mine."

"Shigure..." This time his tone held a warning. "It sounds to me that you have become far too attached to her for both your sakes."

"I won't deny that I'm somewhat attracted to her." He grinned at the tense silence that settled on the other line. "However, you have nothing to worry about. As weird and... uncharacteristic of me as it sounds, I'm more content just to remain as we are. It is, as much as I hate to admit it, better for her. You know what they say, 'Let sleeping dogs lie,' and all that." He laughed heartily at his own remark. Sobering slightly he added. "Though I already miss her more than I expected."

"That may be, but it is better that she returned to her normal life with her own family before anything... got out of hand." Hatori seemed to be choosing his words carefully.

"Some help you are." Shigure complained.

"I am sorry that... that was not what you wanted to hear." Hatori replied, sounding irritated. "But it is for the best."

"For the best. Right." Shigure repeated flatly.

"Before I forget, I'll be stopping by tomorrow morning for Yuki's checkup. I am sorry that I couldn't be of more help, but I am going to have to say goodbye now. I still have a few more files to update before I retire for the night."

"Alright, tomorrow then. Good night." Shigure hung up the phone and straightened. Making his way through the house he turned out the lights and locked up. Turning the kitchen light out last he placed Tohru's directions on the counter before heading upstairs. Upon passing Tohru's old room, he couldn't help but pause for a moment. He reached for the door but stopped himself, determined that he had done enough wallowing for one night. Turning to his own room he washed and undressed, all the while hearing Hatori's words in his mind.

"It's for the best." He muttered to himself, slipping into his bed. Saying the phrase aloud he felt like he had come to some sort of conclusion, albeit a false one. He drifted into a fitful slumber, soothed by the soft moonlight that slipped through the open window.

"Busy..." Tohru sighed, placing the telephone back on the receiver. She had wanted to talk to someone back at Shigure's, just to say goodnight since she could no longer do it in person. That and to check to make sure everything was still in order. She had left a pot of stew in the refrigerator and she wondered briefly if she had forgotten to mention it to them. She quietly moved to the bathroom to finish readying herself for bed.

Tohru sighed again, in the midst of brushing out the last strands of her hair before the bathroom mirror. Setting the comb down on the counter she looked back at her reflection. She smiled at herself, hating how fake she looked. She had been so glad to see her grandfather again, and he had been so nice to her, but something just didn't feel right. It felt like something she couldn't quite put her finger on had been uprooted, and she hadn't been able to smile easily all evening. She knew what she thought it was, and what she thought it was... was Sohma... the Sohma's.

But that couldn't be it, could it?

Because coming to live with her grandfather had been the right thing to do for everyone, right?

Tohru turned off the light and padded out of the bathroom, the soft fibers of the hallway carpet felt nice compared to the cold tile on her bare feet. Reaching the door of the bedroom she shared with her cousin she paused, her eyes catching a glimpse of the moonlit windowsill at the end of the hall. Making her way over she gazed intently up at the sky. She loved to stargaze, and on nights like this, when the moon is so bright it might as well be day, she always felt the urge to go outside and run around. To go play like she was a carefree child again. That was one of the experiences she had wanted to share with Yuki and Kyo. And Shigure if he had felt so inclined.

And suddenly it wasn't right. It was anything but alright for her. She had been denying it all day, but her decision had caught up to her. She missed them so much already. Kyo's temper, and the frantically apologetic look he got when he startled her with one of his outbursts. She missed Yuki's polite smile, and his calming disposition. And Shigure. What could she possibly say about him. He was loveable yet at the same time so trying. Depending on his mood he could have played with anything; her patience, her strength, her energy, or her heart. Though normally it was more one than the others. There was so much that she missed about him. Some things she never would have even noticed had she not left.

She missed how much emotion and passion he put into his everyday life and his work. Normally most of that vigor was put towards a greatly exaggerated jibe at some undeserving victim, but it was vigor nonetheless. Aside from Kyo's fits of anger, Shigure seemed to live his life with more enthusiasm than anyone she had ever met, and having seen lives cut short, she appreciated that fact intensely.

She loved the way that she could read almost anything he was feeling just by looking at his eyes. What they lacked in unusual color compared to the other members of the zodiac, they made up for in their sincerity. His eyes were always honest. And even then, she found the warm brown of his eyes comforting and beautiful in its simplicity.

And his eyebrows, oh, his eyebrows. As a human, the trick she used to read his true expression rested in almost undetectable changes around his eyes But when in his zodiac form, his eyebrows held the answer. She adored the way his canine brows would quirk into a position befitting of whatever he felt at the time. Normally it was exasperation at being transformed in the first place, but even when he was angry it was priceless. But regardless, she felt herself pining for that fondness his eyes always held when he was addressing her.

Even with all the emotion she knew he held, she had noticed he tended to be very closed around most people; often times expressing a completely false attitude. She could tell when he was faking, especially when he smiled. The smile never reached high enough to crinkle the skin at the corners of his eyes. It pained her to see him do that, and even though she tried to avoid doing it herself, at times it was more upsetting to show the truth.

But above all, she dearly missed how openly affectionate he was. Though more often than not she was terribly embarrassed to be the center of attention, she realized that he was the only one in the household who would risk pushing her too far. Kyo and Yuki were always far too wary of offending her to be overtly sociable. Shigure seemed to be willing to express his loving nature in spite of how she might react. He was theone who knew she was human, that she was entitled to know she was needed and in turn appreciated. That her being angry would not upend the world. He was... realistic. It was this trait of his she valued the most.

"Tohru?"

She gasped, shaken from her thoughts as she turned from the window to see her grandfather standing in his bedroom doorway. "Oh, Grandpa... I'm sorry. I didn't wake you, did I?" She approached him through the darkened hallway, tucking her hair behind her ear absently.

"Not at all my dear, I was just coming to check on you. I wanted to make sure you had settled in well enough." He smiled kindly at her, concern making him seem ragged and tired. "Is something the matter, dear?"

"Huh?" Tohru paused. Could he tell? After reassuring herself that he was just worried about her still being up, she replied. "Oh, no! Of course not. I was just going to get a drink of water before I went to bed." She grimaced inwardly, the false smile she despised plastered across her face.

Satisfied, the elderly man nodded. "Alright then. Good night. Sleep well, dear." He returned to his room, closing the door quietly behind him.

"Sleep well, Grandpa." She returned. Moving as silently as she could manage, she made her way to the kitchen. Not bothering to turn on a light, she opened the cupboard to retrieve a glass. But her hand was met by cool ceramic plates. Closing the cabinet again, she felt tears burn at the back of her eyes, even at such a simple mistake.

"That's right." She spoke to herself softly, fighting to compose herself with the sudden realization. "This isn't Shigure's house." Nothing was the same. Nothing was where she remembered it. Nothing was where it belonged. Nothing...

There! First part done. Thanks for reading!I hope you people liked it! If you did, please leave a comment or two. The more people review the more motivated I get to update. The next installment will actually have a little bit of actual plot-type stuff. Thanks again!