A/N: At last, True Secrets is here!! This starts with volume five! I'm glad I could finally start the story up on Fan Fiction. I took so long because I wanted to give myself some time to continue writing because during the school year, I can't take out as much time to write. Anyway...I hope you're ready for more because there's still a lot to come! Happy reading!! And please point out spelling mistakes, typos, ect.! :))

Disclaimer: I do not own Fruits Basket!!

"Wow there's a lake!" Tohru beamed. She looked out the open door to the balcony, but past it to see. "It's so pretty! And so big!"

"Is it that unusual for you to see a lake?" asked Hatori. He put his hand on the top of the doorway where his head almost reached, standing next to Tohru.

"Yes!!" she answered, "This is the first time I've seen a real one!!"

Yuki stood on the other side of her, silent, and observing the forest and lake.

Shigure laughed, "Huu huu huu…A summer house like this by the lake, you half-expect Jason to show up!" Tohru looked over to Shigure on the couch holding a closed fan, eyes wide, Yuki looked over, too, amused, and Hatori just ignored them and kept looking out the door. Shigure opened his fan and waved it a few times.

"There he goes again…" Yuki sighed.

Kyo sat in the middle of the living room, arms crossed. Jieison…Jaysun? Now where have I heard that before?

Clearly seeing the confusion on Kyo's face, Shigure grinned. "'Jason' is a new species of bear. You are so ignorant, Kyo-Kun."

Kyo spun around, embarrassed. "Shut up!! I knew that!!" Although he didn't, because Jason isn't even a bear.

"Is it a foreign kind of bear?" Tohru asked, clueless.

"That's not it…" Hatori muttered, putting a hand on his forehead, irritated.

Hello, everyone! It's sudden, but right now…we're at the Sohma summer home. Surprisingly, Hatori is with us, too. I'm so happy! But…

sss

"Honda-San…"

"Yes?"

"Um…well…" Yuki stammered. "Never mind. It's nothing. I'm sorry."

I can't quite put my finger on it…

sss

Kyo stood against the wall, staring at her. She just blinked and looked back at him. He looked away, and she looked down.

sss

…But there's something strange…about the way Yuki-Kun and Kyo-Kun are acting. It all began yesterday…on the night of the day we visited Mom's grave.

Tohru, Yuki, and Kyo sat at the table, silent as ever.

They were both very quiet…as if they had something heavy on their minds.

"Umm—"

"I'm HO-OME!" Shigure called as he opened the door and walked in.

"Ah! Welcome home, Shigure-San!" Tohru greeted him.

"I'm back. Welly welly well then! You'll all come along with me tomorrow, won't you?" he asked them.

The three of them all said, "Huh?"

"Well, Golden Week starts tomorrow, right?" Shigure clarified, "Vacations like this don't come up every day, so let's go somewhere!"

"Why are you suddenly saying stuff that doesn't make any sense?" Kyo looked at him. "Are you drunk?" he asked.

Shigure laughed at that. "I protest! I may drink saké, Kyo-Kun, but I do not get drunk."

Not that it would matter…he always acts drunk, Yuki thought.

"Come on, come on!" Shigure encouraged. "We could go to a Sohma summer home, or stay at a resort! Right, Tohru-Kun? Tell 'em."

"Eh?!" She went to him and held her hands up, waving them in front of her. "B—But I've already been treated to a trip once this year, so…"

"Ah!" Shigure cut her off, holding up a finger, "But I didn't go with you that time!" He sighed, putting on a 'face'. "Truthfully, Tohru-Kun…my heart longed to go with you…" he said. Tohru's expression turned from panic to understanding. "I felt so left out…" Shigure sighed.

"All right, then!" Tohru agreed instantly, "Let's go!"

"DON'T MANIPULATE HER!!" Kyo and Yuki snapped.

"Yes, yes, yes. And now, you two will join us, won't you?" Shigure asked them both. "You wouldn't dare leave me all alone with poor defenseless Tohru-Kun, would you?" he challenged. "Not that I wouldn't mind if you did…"

Yuki and Kyo looked at him, eyes narrowed, and decided that they could not let that happen. It took them a while to notice that they were also being manipulated as well. It was an endless stare down.

"Well, then!" Shigure finally broke the silence, "Now that we're all in agreement, we can zoom there via car! I'll drive!"

Manipulate? Tohru kept going over in her mind, trying to understand. Manipulating…me?

"Shigure, do you even have a license?"

He stopped, and looked down. After hesitation, Shigure answered, "Of course I do!" while looking back up.

"…Then what was that pause for…?"

Deciding to take the safe plan, Hatori did the driving and tagged along. Shigure laughed and fanned himself in the passenger seat while Tohru, Yuki, and Kyo crowded in the back. "Haa-San's driving is so polite. Isn't it grand?!" Hatori said nothing, but kept his hands on the wheel, eyes on the road, making sure to be extra careful and wearing his glasses. Then…he realized that Shigure was completely right.

And…that's how it happened…that we came to this summer house. But I can't help worrying about the two of them brooding like that, thought Tohru.

Kyo looked up from his spot on the floor and over. "Hey, Shigure. What made you decide to do this trip all of the sudden?" he asked, eyes thinning.

Shigure smiled, innocent, as if nothing was wrong at all. "Huh?"

"That's what I want to know," Yuki said, also looking over. "You don't have some ulterior motive?"

"Dear, dear, you two are so cynical," Shigure said, leaning back and closing his fan to tap it on his head. He sighed and looked down. "I honestly just wanted to go on a trip with everyone. It saddens my heart that you would suspect me so. If you don't have anything better to do than pick on people…the two of you should take Tohru-Kun for a walk down to the lake," he suggested. A silence followed. "What? What's eating you two? You're so gloomy."

Tohru forced a smile and held up nervous hands. "Um—It's okay, I can go by myself."

"Hmph. You leave me no choice," Shigure said, seriously. "To cure this gloom…we need someone bright." He thought a moment. "Of course!" He reached for the phone and it clicked. "Let's call Aaya!!"

"Call him…AND I'LL KILL YOU…"

Because of Yuki and Kyo's response to his idea, he slowly put the phone back on the receiver. Before he could get any more ideas, Yuki and Kyo decided to walk Tohru down to the lake.

"They should have just gone in the first place," said Shigure, watching them leave from the balcony. He hindered a smile and shook his head. "They've been strangely downhearted since yesterday, those two."

"Shigure…" Hatori started, back to his cousin, "about why you suddenly decided to come out here…" He exhaled smoke from his cigarette. "Don't tell me. You're being mean to your editor again?"

Shigure stopped, hiding the bottom half of his face with his fan. He chuckled and his smile grew, imagining what her reaction could be right about now.

sss

The paper rustled against the outside wall of the Sohma house, only attached by a small piece of tape.

I'm going on a journey. Please don't look for me.

Shigure Sohma 3

Mitsuru grabbed the sides of her head and stared at the paper with wide eyes. She cried out and screamed, unable to suppress it, falling to her knees. Her cell phone lay on the ground next to her, still on with her manager.

"Mitchan!" came a distressed voice from the other side of the call, "Mitchan, just come back to the office! It's okay! He's just teasing you again!! Please, Mitchan…don't do anything drastic!!" pleaded her manager.

sss

"I'm not being mean!" Shigure turned to Hatori with a plastered smile. "I'm just playfully teasing her!" he said, seeming to like what he'd done.

That poor woman…thought Hatori.

sss

The three of them walked silently through the woods. Tohru walked behind Yuki and Kyo, worrying. Her hands were together, shaking along with the rest of her. She looked down in horror. Oh! It's heavy!! There's an infinitely heavy weight looming over us!! The two of them aren't even arguing! she realized, taken over by doom.

Why did they suddenly get like this? I don't remember them being like this before we visited Mom's grave…What could be the cause? She gasped, looking up, eyes wide. That must be it!! The only possible explanation is that it's because of me! I must have said or done something to offend them while we were visiting Mom's grave!! Only, the two of them are so nice that they couldn't say anything…

Tohru quickened her pace only a second to walk in between them. She clasped her hands and looked down, ready to just say it. She stopped walking. "Um…I'm…I'm sorry!"

The boys walked only two steps ahead before they also stopped to look back. "Huh?"

"I really am so stupid…I didn't even notice at all…" she continued, "Um, um, um…If I did anything to offend you, please! Tell me! I'll make sure to never do it again," she promised. "So…" She blushed, and was about to cry. Actually, she kind of already was. "So please…" She couldn't finish. Go back…to the way you two always were…

Yuki became honestly concerned and started back to her. "Honda-San…? Wait…Wait a second…"

"Wha…What the…? What are you talking about?" Kyo asked, also concerned. He walked back towards her too, but tripped in the process, unfortunately. "WOAH!" He lashed out an arm to catch himself on a tree. He fell against the tree but stood back up.

"Kyo-Kun?! Kyo-Kun, are you alright?!" Tohru exclaimed.

"Dammit!" Kyo grumbled. "Who's idea was it to go on this pathetic excuse for a trail?!" He looked back to where he'd tripped and saw a hole. It looked oddly like a giant paw print.

"These…these footprints…" muttered Tohru. She kneeled to the ground, her hands held together. Her eyes grew wide and her hands shook frantically as she stood back up. "It's Jason!!"

"Jason?!" Kyo repeated, also frantic, now.

"They're bear tracks," Yuki said, coolly yet smartly, as if they should know by now that Jason is not what they think it is.

Tohru went into a panic. She started shaking violently. "Wh—wh—wh—what should we do?! It's unsafe! It's terrible! It's dangerous!!" She started backing away from the prints in the ground, but still faced the others. "Please, you two! You should get back to the hou…" her voice dissolved into nothing.

She took a step too far and her foot no longer was in contact with the ground. The other one in seconds was also not in contact with the ground. She wasn't even right side up anymore, but falling, facing the sky, eyes wide, frozen and unable to breathe.

"Honda-San!" Yuki exclaimed. He and Kyo went with her, because they couldn't let it end like they feared.

sss

Shigure propped up his elbow on the table, and lightly smiled. "Yes, yes, it's okay," he said, assuring, to his editor on the other line of the phone. "The manuscript is already done. It's just a joke," he told her, tapping his closed fan on his leg as he sat. "Later," he said before he put the phone back on the receiver.

He turned to Hatori with a face that told of his ruined fun. "I have humbly put in a call to my editor…"

"Of course. Don't cry…" Hatori added, noticing Shigure's expression.

"I'm bored! I'm bored! I'm bored!!" Shigure whined, squeezing his eyes shut and having a tantrum like a child.

Hatori sighed. "I'm bored too." And honestly, he didn't have anything to do either.

"Oh no!" Shigure's eyes grew wide as he said this and he looked straight at Hatori. "You can't be bored, Haa-San! I brought an assortment of recommended books!"

"Hm?"

"What better way than to take advantage of this carefree leisure time than by catching up with your reading?!"

Hatori looked to the side to see a few stacks of books that Shigure brought. He said nothing, but thought over what Shigure had said, and he did like reading, but he came to a realization. I see…Kana's wedding, he realized. Maybe that's why Shigure's so worried about me. Come to think of it, Ayame came to see me recently, too…

Ayame came into the office with a cup in his hand. "You must be tired from work; here I made you some tea! Gulp it down," he sang.

"Shigure…"

"Yes?" Shigure held out a book.

Hatori took the book and looked at it, smiling. "No," he said after a pause. "You're right. It has been a while…since I've been able to just sit down and relax with a book."

There was a silence, that was broken by, "I wonder if Tohru-Kun and the others are getting along?"

"If she's with them, I'm sure it's fine," Hatori assured, but with hidden doubt.

sss

The three of them weren't really fine. Tohru sat against a tall tree, face in hands. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry!" –her voice grew louder—"I'm so sorry!!" Kyo was on the ground beside her, flat down on his stomach, transformed. Yuki was clinging to a piece of bark above Tohru's shoulder, also transformed. This was the result of them both accidentally hugging her when they saved her from the deathly fall.

"Honda-San, are you hurt?" asked Yuki.

"No!" she answered, "And I'm sorry!" she continued her apologies, now crying.

"Sheesh!" Kyo pushed himself off the ground, shook off his tail. "Watch where you're going, why doncha?!"

"Okay, okay!" wailed Tohru. She sniffled and stood herself up. "I'll go gather your clothes," she muttered, walking away.

Yuki dropped to the ground and shook his tiny hands off. "'Watch where you're going'," Yuki mocked his cousin, "As the first person to fall, you have no right to say that."

"Ah?! Don't patronize me!!" Kyo exclaimed. "You fell down first, and you know it!" he said, shooting a glare at Yuki. "That's why little boys who stayed locked in their rooms are so useless!"

"It's better than a certain idiot who went training in the mountains and came back more hopeless than ever," Yuki shot right back.

"Give me a break!! Nobody could master everything that I had to learn up there in just four months! Someone like you would be dead in two days!! You could stand to learn from this little hike!!"

"And you could stand to learn some common sense. And just so you know, Jason isn't a bear—he's a character in a horror film."

Kyo's fur stood up and he looked down on the small Yuki, fuming. "Don't act like you're so smart! Who gives a damn if a bear shows up in a horror movie?!"

Yuki just looked at him for a moment with narrowed eyes. "You truly are an idiot."

"I'LL KILL YOU!"

Tohru, now with clothes, looked up at hearing Kyo's outburst.

"Today will be the day you breathe your last!!" Kyo continued loudly. Yuki scrambled up the tree and sat on a branch, just out of Kyo's reach. Kyo attempted to follow, but failed, his paws were just stretched up before him, clinging to the tree and then scraping down.

"I'm really tired o hearing that line…" told Yuki him from the branch.

"Hold still, dammit!" Kyo hollered, likely being heard even back at the house. He continued to jump up the trunk of the tree, fail, and drag his paws back down, scraping against the bark. Yuki watched, narrow-eyed. "C'mon! Fight like a man! You're cheating!" Kyo accused of him, as Tohru's eyes came up once again, and watched.

"In these forms, you're the one who's cheating," Yuki replied, as rats looking much like him at the moment were climbing up the tree and to him.

"Damn liar!" Kyo jumped up onto the tree trunk and held it, before unsuccessfully going back down. "Look at you, calling all your friends!" he noticed as the fifth rat came down onto Yuki's branch. "And don't be so calm!"

Yuki shut his eyes sighed and said, "They came on their own…I can't help it." His eyes opened, glaring down at Kyo. "How sad," he commented, noticing there was no one coming to him as the rats were to him. "It looks like you don't have any friends on this mountain."

"Dammit! This is why everyone hates rats!" Kyo jumped up the tree again and held him angry stare on Yuki.

Before they could continue their bickering, a lighthearted laugh came from behind Kyo. Tohru, who had been watching, had burst into laughter. "Heehee!" she giggled, going down to her knees, holding their clothes to her chest. "You're fighting!" she managed before she continued her giggles. She was literally crying, from laughing.

"…Honda-San?" Yuki came down from the tree and came over to her.

"W—What?" Kyo followed, eyes as wide, as Yuki's were, too.

"Ah! Oh, I'm sorry!" she apologized, still chuckling. "You were fighting, but I laughed…that was rude of me. B—But for some reason…I felt relieved." She sighed, finally being able to breathe again, now that she stopped. "The two of you were back to normal again…like that."

She wiped her eyes, smiling. "When I thought that, I felt so relieved. I just…It's strange, isn't it?" Before today, I couldn't do anything about your fighting except watch and worry…but now, it gives me some peace of mind. It's weird…

Kyo and Yuki were silent and still with gleaming eyes, until Yuki took a step towards her. "Um…well…Honda-San…" he said, "Honda-San…you were saying something before we fell," he pointed out. He paused, and decided to answer. "I wasn't angry with you or anything, Honda-San. If I looked like I was mad, it was—"

He cut himself off as an image flashed through his mind. "It was…it was…" –he looked down—"just that I wasn't feeling well." Tohru gasped and started to panic, but he touched his tiny paw to her knee and told her that now he was alright, and she calmed. "I'm sorry…for worrying you." Her eyes widened.

"Me too," Kyo added, turning away. "I'm not really mad either…at anything. I just…" He looked over only a little. "I just wasn't really…feeling very well." There was a thoughtful silence.

"In the head?"

"No!!" Just as Kyo lunged for Yuki, they both were surrounded by smoke and they were human. Tohru squealed and whirled around just in time, as she always does.

Tohru had dropped their clothes so they both quickly picked up their own and went behind to nearby trees. Tohru sat facing away from the trees they were behind, even though it wouldn't matter if she had looked that way. She waited for a while, red, and soon stuttered, "Th—that's a relief. I'm glad that you weren't feeling well…" She caught herself. "Ah! No, wait! I'm not glad about that, it's just you haven't changed—um—that is."

"Changed?"

"I haven't really changed at all…" In the sense right then, because if not, yes, changed much, thanks to the current situation.

They stepped from behind the tree and Tohru turned as they did. They pointed a finger at each other, or for Kyo, a thumb, and in unison said, "Except that I really hate this guy." This resulted in only more silence…but for a much shorter time.

"What did you say?!" Kyo turned to him, angry again.

"What did you say?" Yuki responded more composedly.

"I'll hate you my whole life! I hate you so much I could die!!"

"Go ahead. It would save me the effort."

Tohru giggled, and her hair freely blew around her head as she shook with the laughter, now that she'd taken her bows out that were holding her hair in pigtails. Yuki and Kyo both stopped immediately to stare at her, confused mostly.

I'm glad. It really is better…when they're energetic. But thinking that it's good for them to be fighting…is pretty strange. Still…it really is for the best.

"Do you think maybe we should call it a day?" Yuki suggested.

"Yeah, we can always go to the lake…tomorrow."

"Okay!" agreed Tohru.

sss

His reading glasses were on and he read intently, Shigure's book, Summer-Colored Sigh. He was about halfway through.

"You like?" Shigure asked, grinning.

Hatori set the book down and looked up and at Shigure. "It makes me sick."

A/N: Chapter Two will be up very very soon! Thanks again for reading! 3 :D