Fruits Basket Fan Fiction ❯ A Caged Heart ❯ Non-Moments ( Chapter 20 )

Non-Moments:

 

“It's rather odd,” began Shigure, as he clambered down the ladder after Tohru. “That the roof has managed to stay so perfectly intact. I mean, there's a gaping hole in one of the walls!” He stopped for a second, with one foot dangling beside a rung, and put his hand to his head mournfully for dramatic effect before carrying on. “Actually, so little of the wall remains that I should probably just say that there's a tiny fragment of a wall in the giant gash in my house. Anyway, one would have thought, perhaps, that this would lead to some rearranging of roof tiles at the very least! Yet even with all this fuss, and all that canoodling-”

 

“Oy!”

 

“That is, even with all the having of a non-moment, the roof hasn't fallen in or anything.” Shigure hopped onto the ground, and looked up.

 

“I just wanted everyone to know that this is a particularly marvellous example of architecture. Sturdy and steadfast, despite all the agony you ruffians are always putting it through.” He patted a wall of the house fondly. “And I love it dearly.”

 

“Great. Can we go now?”

 

“We have to find Yuki.” Tohru smiled apologetically. “It's a great house, and I'll help you fix it when we get back, alright?”

 

Shigure sighed.

 

“You're right. It can wait.”

 

He sighed again, and a little bit louder this time, just in case he hadn't been heard properly. Regardless, that seemed to be the full extent of the reply he was going to get on the matter.

 

“Ah, well, I'm sure it'll still be there when we get back. But anyway, onto the matter at hand!” The thrill of the hunt came flooding back to Shigure, who struggled the urge to pant as the tail of the dog within him wagged away, almost like a pendulum having a seizure.

 

“Uh-” Slightly farther in the distance, Kyo scratched the back of his head. “I think we need to rethink this plan a little.”

 

“Um, and I think Kyo's right...”

 

Tohru's lack of movement brought the dog's spasm-ing appendage to a standstill.

 

“Arf? I mean,” Shigure coughed, “What's wrong?”

 

“Well...Where do we start?”

 

Shigure blinked some of the sparkle out of his eyes. It could be horribly blinding, that stuff.

 

Then, with that mostly cleared, the problem hit him like a red Ferrari on the highway.

 

In front of them (and also behind them, between the wounded house and the chances of someone getting a gigantic band-aid for it), lounging in a most arrogant and smugly glorious manner (as if it thought that some almighty deity had created it and thought it was good), was a perfect of example of what Nature would do to the world if humans weren't around to keep it in its place.

 

“Right. Well, you see-”

 

“A lot of trees? Yeah. And one measly rat somewhere. So do we wait for you to sniff him out, or what?”

 

To that, Shigure opened his mouth, sending a messenger to call all the soldiers to the front line post-haste. Unfortunately, they all appeared to be in a spindle-induced slumber, with no intent to rush to his aid. Or maybe something had already killed the useless bastards.

 

Meanwhile, Tohru and Kyo watched on as Shigure's jaw hung limp for the very first time. It was rather unsettling.

 

“Excuse me, I do hope I'm not interrupting any sort of profound conversation.” drawled Hatori, emerging from the shadows.

 

“Ha'ri?” Shigure turned to his right to greet the voice, but quickly spun back the other way when something stirred within him - a sense of fear, of doom, and of impending financial discomforts -

 

“No! Nonono-”

 

There is currently no word that does enough justice to what Shigure felt at that precise moment. But perhaps it might sound something like what had just reached Shigure's poor ears.

 

Kssssshhhhkshkshkshkshkshkshkrrshkrrshkrrshkrrshkrrssshhhfffww boomphshphshh.