I'm not sure what I can say about my EXTREME lack of updates…sorry? It doesn't seem to cover it. I hope this chapter partly makes up for it.

Disclaimer: U_U

-Shigure-

Ayame and I probably looked like we were drunk, or high on something from the way we were sitting around the table giggling like a couple of little schoolgirls. The cigarette hanging out of my mouth around my mad cackling didn't help.

Suddenly, Ayame froze, looking right above my head. My chuckles didn't cease as I turned around, wondering what could make Ayame pause so abruptly.

"YUKI! MY DEAR BROTHER I'VE AWAITED YOUR RETURN FOR FAR TOO LONG! I MEAN I'VE BEEN WAITING HERE WITH MY GURE FOR HOURS! Not that I'm complaining, he is so lovable! WHERE ON EARTH HAVE YOU BEEN?"

I sometimes wondered how Ayame managed to say things like that all in one breath. Creasing my brows, I glanced at the clock, my eyes widening as I realized that it was almost two hours past the time that the kids usually got home.

"Where are Kyo and Tohru?" I wondered, trying to appear casual. But on the inside, I was screaming. Where had they gone? Had Kyo run away again? Was Tohru hurt? Was she kidnapped? I was more worried about Tohru—which I admittedly felt a bit guilty about; Kyo is my own cousin!—her being the delicate little creature that she is. Kyo…could take care of himself well enough. The worst that could happen if Kyo were missing is my prank being ruined.

"It's Thursday," Yuki replied, as though it explained everything. I frowned, trying to remember what was so special about Thursdays. Seeing the gears in my head turning—or so it seemed—Yuki rolled his eyes.

"Miss Honda is working tonight," he sighed. "And Kyo is with Kazuma."

I literally whacked myself in the forehead at my own stupidity. I'd completely forgotten! Now, if we wanted to see what happened, we'd have to wait until eight or nine o' clock for Kyo to get back, and ten-thirty to eleven for Tohru to return from work.

Tohru's work schedule confused me. If she was living with us, and not having to pay for her own food and stuff, why was she still working so hard? Oh, yeah—her tuition. It wasn't that much, but she'd cut back on her hours at work a lot now that she didn't have to worry about room and board. It was probably a little harder to keep up now. Maybe if she worked an extra night or two…

"GURE!" Ayame's voice broke into my mind, startling me into alertness. "I've said your name four times now!" he huffed, crossing his arms. I frowned.

"Really?" I asked. Both he and Yuki nodded. I shrugged. "I guess I was just distracted. What were you saying, Aaya?" Ayame's slightly bruised ego healed itself as soon as the sentence was out of my mouth. Ayame loved the attention I was more than happy to give him. His stories were usually pretty interesting anyways.

"…So then I said to Mine, 'What do you think of the new night blouse I designed?'. And Gure really it was wonderful, it was red satin with ruffles all up the sides and tiny black bows on the bust. But then Mine has the gall to say to me this. 'Ayame,' she said, 'Don't you think it'd be better if maybe you changed the color to maybe a dark violet rather than such a bloody shade of crimson?' And I told her 'But dark violet with the black bows gives it a sort of gothic air, and that was not my vision! And red is the color of nobility! Imagine the brave hero coming home to his lady fair stained with the crimson blood of the many he had slain so that he would return to her and they would engage in a kiss so passionate that—"

Ayame barely seemed to be breathing around every sentence. Most would find it annoying, but I was too focused on the recap of the conversation. It was a distraction from the prank that would have to be postponed, and it ate up time.

Somewhere between the start of Ayame's conversation and the time we'd agreed to pause for tea, Yuki had made his escape to his bedroom. Hmm…Yuki's bedroom…

"Aaya?" I asked innocently. His head snapped up immediately. "Would you mind terribly if I involved your dear brother in our scheme?" Aaya smirked.

"Oh Gure, what devilish idea have you now?"

CATNIP CATNIP CATNIP CATNIP CATNIP CATNIP CATNIP CATNIP

Kyo had decided to spend the night at Kazuma's Dojo, much to my disappointment, and Tohru got back at around eleven pm. It was much too late for anything exciting to happen. Ayame had gone home at around nine, claiming that he needed his beauty rest, which then led to a long-winded version of "What do you need beauty sleep for?" on my part.

It wasn't until the next morning that I got to have some real fun. Kyo was going straight from Kazuma's to school, but Tohru was still here…

Briefly, I wondered if I should have felt bad about manipulating poor Tohru. Kyo was one thing, but my little flower? I sighed, shrugging. Nothing too bad could happen, right?

I had to wake up at six in the morning if I wanted to catch my chance, but it wasn't as easy as it sounded. I was used to sleeping usually from six o' clock am, to lunch, and then from around two pm to six. For whatever reason, most of my muse seemed to come at night. Maybe it was the quiet that inspired me, for we didn't get much around here during the day, save for the time when the kids were at school.

The washing machine was filling up fast, so if I wanted to get this done, I had to do it quickly. Tohru was standing over the machine, humming contentedly, and it made my heart melt.

"Tohru!" She jumped and turned around immediately.

"Oh, Shigure!" She gasped. "Can I do something for you?"

"Actually, yes," I said brightly. "I think Yuki said something about needing you in the living room!"

"Okay!" she chirped. Naïve, I thought. One of these days, someone's going to tell her to get in their van because they've got puppies.

I stared at the half-full bag of catnip in my hands before taking a deep breath. This would not go wrong. I put my hand in the bag, pulling out a handful of the substance, dropping it in the washer. Twice more I did this before shutting the machine and starting it.

"Shigure?" Tohru's voice was getting nearer, and soon she was right in front of me. "Yuki was in his bedroom, and he said he didn't need anything."

"Oh," I said confusedly. "I was sure he had said something about needing to see you…" I shrugged. "Sorry! But I took the liberty of starting on Yuki's clothes for you!" I patted the running washer, stopping short when she giggled.

"Actually those are my clothes," she corrected. I balked, my face draining of color. What had I just…?

Oh, hell.