Wow, it feels really good to be back! Okay. This story might have a lot of mistakes and if it does it will be edited accordingly. I just wanted to get this out, cause the muse had hit rather suddenly for it and it just flowed out of me! Hope all who read this enjoys it!

Chapter One

Plan for Pay Back

The room was an absolute mess; Shigure about fainted at the sight of it. The kotatsu was halved, splintery wood chippings scattered about the floorboards along with shards of glass from the busted window. A whole wall was ripped through, the paper carried through the house by the wind the hole let enter. Stacks of books brought out of Shigure's study for the annual spring cleaning were flung about the area, ripped out pages riding the same wind as the pieces of the wall. If someone had come to him ranting and raving about a tornado letting loose on his home he'd have surely known it to be in the form of two teenage boys. Even more so since they were still amongst the wreckage.

Rageful garnet eyes locked on to annoyed amethyst, both seeming to now be engaged in some sort of staring contest. They both breathed heavily, Kyo leaning against the wobbling TV stand and Yuki with his back against one of the few walls still intact, just… watching one another. Shigure gaped at all the damage caused by the two seventeen year old boys, angerwelling up within him. He'd forgiven them many times before but enough was simply enough! It was time for them to be punished accordingly, and since they're parents wouldn't be around for it themselves, he'd have to be the one to discipline them.

"That DOES it!"

Both of them lurched forward, heads swiveling towards the door. They both were surprised at Shigure's unannounced arrival, but Kyo just scoffed at the sight of him, crossing his arms and rolling his eyes. Yuki pushed off the wall, seeming to snap out of whatever had made him angry enough to cause this much devastation within the half hour he'd actually been home. A quick glance around the room was all that was needed for him to feel slightly bad about what they'd done, but he held an expression of cool indifference.

"You boys are out of control," Shigure continued, trying to put a little bass in his voice as he marched toward them. Still he sounded like he was shrieking more than yelling, which caused the two boys to care even less about his anger towards their actions. "What if poor Tohru had seen you acting like such rabid beasts?! Tearing through the house like you're the ones who pay for the damages!"

"She's not here," Kyo defended, moving one hand to rest on his hip and another to run at the raw bruise on his cheek.

Shigure started, "But if she was-"

"She isn't," Yuki interrupted, eyes cutting up to Shigure's from originally being cast down to the floor. Shigure huffed at the two defiant teens, frowning as he said, "Well that may be true, but she'll still have to come home to this mess. She's not foolish, she'll know good and we'll what caused this!"

This silenced both boys for a second. In the middle of an argument they sometimes forget about the sweet girl always watching from the sidelines, wishing they'd put aside their differences and be more like a family.

"Quit whining, mutt. We'll clean it up before she gets here," Kyo grumbled, only now starting to feel guilty about what they'd done. Knowing Tohru, she'd have come back, treated his wounds with that sad look on her face and cleaned up their mess for them.

"You're absolutely right about that," Shigure tried to sound more authoritative, "But that's not all you'll be doing! As both of your legal guardians I have every right to punish you as I see fit."

"Excuse me?" Yuki questioned, half stunned and half amused by his statement. 'Punish' had never seemed to be a word in his already small vocabulary. In his years of living in this house he'd never been punished over anything.

Kyo glared at the man, saying incredulously, "What are you gonna do? Spank us?" Yuki brought his fingers to his lips, smiling against them and looking at the ground. Shigure gasped at his cousins. How could children manage to be so rude?

"Well… I'm not quite sure yet..." Shigure pondered this question as if the insult hadn't occurred. "But… When I figure something out you're gonna regret constantly breaking what I pay for!" What would he do to punish them? What COULD he do? It's not like he could force them to do anything; they didn't respect him enough to do as he says.

As if to further cement this thought, Yuki sighed and simply walked away, Kyo making a small 'tch' sound and following suit by hopping out the gaping hole in the wall. "Yeah, Yeah, whatever yah old dog."

"Wha-Hey, I'm not finished with you yet!" Shigure glanced between the two different directions, opting to go for the less hostile and most likely to listen of the two. Standing at the bottom of the steps, he shouted to Yuki as he ascended towards the second floor, "Come back here right now, or you'll pay for this!"

"Didn't you already say that?" Yuki asked without even sparing a glance backwards. "Making the same useless threat twice is going to make me listen anymore than I did the first time."

In the end Shigure did nothing but watch as the Ice Prince quietly entered his room.

"Honestly, Ha'ri, those boys are too much!"

It was now late afternoon. Shigure vented to the family doctor, Hatori, who also happened to be one of his closest friends. They sat on the deck in the man's office, staring out at what they could see of the Sohma Estate. It had rained a small amount after he'd arrived, making everything glitter in the iridescent light of the sunset. If he hadn't been in such a bad mood Shigure would have probably been paying more attention to the wind weaving through the trees, sending droplets of water down on to budding flowers and playing children. Instead, he shook his head at the thought of the teens in his care.

"No one said taking care of kids was easy," Hatori said in that infamously monotonous tone he kept in almost every situation and conversation. This made most people feel as if he was some kind of heartless being, but Shigure had known this man for a very long time. The sullen man's true problem lies in the fact that he cared too much.

"Even worse since they're teenagers-almost adults!" Hatori took a long drag of his cigarette, giving Shigure a sidelong glance.

"What will you do?" he asked.

"That is the question," Shigure answered with a troubled smile, putting his own cigarette between his lips and breathing in. "I mean, you'd think they'd be grateful that I brought them in, especially Yuki. For a while at least he was, but now? They both are so unappreciative!"

"That's what happens when you allow children to run rampant."

"Yes, I suppose so… I just wish I knew what to do with them. They get along about as well as oil and water." Hatori gave a deep sigh through his nose, finishing off his cigarette before putting it out on the ashtray beside him.

"Those two could use some counseling," he agreed, making Shigure chuckle.

"What, from you?"

"I'm a doctor, not a therapist."

"Oh, speaking of which, whatever happened to that adorable little shadow of yours?" Shigure asked, tilting his head back to look up at the darkening parts of the sky.

"Karin?" Hatori asked, continuing once he received a nod in response, "Why?"

"Oh, you know, just curious is all," Shigure said, thinking about the young woman who had come to him and asked so sweetly for the doctor to be her sensei as he put out his cigarette. Apparently she'd just entered Medical School and needed a mentor for hands on learning. And who better to teach her than her own family doctor whom she admired so much?

Regardless of his skepticism, Hatori answered, "She should be back tomorrow." Upon the nosy dog badgering him for details he continued, "She went to some sort of couples retreat with her boyfriend two weeks ago. Said the two of them had been fighting a lot recently and had some patching up to do. The rest is not any of my concern."

"Oh, well good for them." Shigure said, rolling his eyes toward Hatori, "Such a shame she has a boyfriend though."

The doctor didn't even dignify him with a response.

Suddenly, the wheels in Shigure's mind began to turn. Slowly at first, then quicker as he latched on to his plan. A couples retreat… For two stubborn people who needed to start get along. The more he thought about it, the more it appealed to him. And why wouldn't it? Not only was this the perfect punishment, it was a permanent solution to a long running problem. If the two of them could somehow work out their differences while there, when they'd get back, he'd never have to pay out of pocket for broken furniture or busted windows or even torn walls ever again!

"What are you so happy about?" Hatori asked, commenting on the fact that the dog was now humming merrily to himself and swinging his legs like you would expect from a giddy child.

Instead of answering, Shigure asked, "Say, what was the name of that couples retreat Karin went to?" Hatori lit another cigarette, glancing only briefly at his old friend. "Why?"

"Because I have an idea," Shigure admitted, "But I am gonna need your help."

Hatori pondered this request, blowing out a puff of smoke. Whatever it was the dog was planning, he knew it was gonna be hell for Kyo and Yuki. But then again, if he helped him out, then maybe he'd stop coming over to his office late in the evening to bother him about a bunch of kids.

"What are you planning?"

I hope you all like this as much as I liked writing it. Thanks for your time!

Disclaimer: I do not own Fruits Basket or any of its characters.