Chapter Text
"Is it strange that I'm going to miss this, Tohru?" Momiji asked wistfully, giving her a small smile as the two of them carried their filled garbage bags through the hall of his father's building. "I know it's a little silly-"
Tohru interrupted him, giving her head a firm shake. "-No, Momiji, it's not strange, not at all!" she said, her own smile tinged with both affection and sadness. "I'm going to miss it too, honestly. When I started working here, it was just to cover my expenses after Mom died; I was grateful for that, of course, but I never expected it would lead to this," she told him fondly.
"Ja," he agreed, his own expression affectionate. "I'm sure I would have met you eventually, of course, but how much longer would it have taken? Would I have still ended up going to Kaibara High? And how different would things have been between us, if we didn't have this time together?" he mused, looking down the hallway with that same half-smile.
"Well, I hope we would have gotten to be good friends anyway," Tohru replied. "And you'll always be my good friend, Momiji, no matter what. No matter how far apart we are," she continued, her voice soft.
"Ja, Tohru," he agreed just as softly, "you'll always be my friend, too."
It was the beginning of March, and after what felt like both an eternity and the blink of an eye, graduation was just around the corner. In less than a month, Tohru, Kyo, and Yuki would be graduating; a mere two days after that, Tohru and Kyo would be boarding a train and heading north to their new home and their new life together. As much as Tohru couldn't wait, she was also struggling; the closer graduation came, the harder it was to acknowledge everything she was leaving behind.
And she wasn't the only one who was dealing with that. The past couple months had been among the most social of Tohru's life, whether it was Momiji and Haru coming home with them after school, Rin wanting her to come by the dojo to hang out, Kisa and Hiro coming over regularly to 'watch the new episode of Mogeta,' Saki and Arisa wanting to get together almost every day Arisa and Tohru weren't both working...
It was a lot, and Tohru knew that Kyo was trying to hide just how much it annoyed him. They'd been spoiled with alone time in the few months leading up to New Year's, between Yuki being busy with his own friends and relationship, and Shigure regularly being away at the main estate. But ever since New Year's, that alone time had gone right out the window; suddenly everyone seemed to remember that Tohru was moving, and they all wanted to squeeze in as much time with her as possible before she left.
But even Kyo couldn't blame people for pre-emptively missing Tohru. And he could see how much she was already struggling with saying goodbye, so he kept his mouth shut and smiled, even if it meant they hadn't had a dinner with just the two of them in weeks. He just had to be patient; soon enough, it would be just the two of them again. And until then, he could be generous with Tohru's time...mostly.
"Yes," Tohru agreed with Momiji, a confidence in her voice she didn't totally feel. In a lot of ways, the idea of distance terrified her; she'd never tried to maintain relationships before over distance. Ever since her dad had died, she and Kyoko had lived in that same part of the city; everyone and everything she had ever known, whether good or bad, had all been within arm's reach. Her upcoming move would be the first time she'd remember leaving a life, and that prospect was more than a little daunting.
But she was determined; she would manage, the same way she had always managed before.
It would all be worth it, for her to stay with Kyo.
"We'll have phone calls, and email...oh! I'm getting a phone that can support video calls, even!" Tohru said excitedly, beaming at Momiji. "So we'll be able to talk and see each other at the same time!"
Momiji couldn't help but grin at her enthusiasm. "Look at you, getting so hi-tech!" he said with a laugh. "From no phone to a smart phone...are you sure you're going to be able to manage?" he teased.
"No," she admitted, her voice a little sheepish. "It all honestly sounds so complicated! But we've done a lot of research, and having smart phones really seems like the best option for us, since we're going to be living so far away. We'll be able to call, and text, and video chat, and take pictures, and even look things up on the internet-"
She broke off, realizing she was explaining how smart phones worked to someone who had owned one for ages. "I'm sorry, Momiji, you already know this! I don't know why I'm telling you, I'm the one who needs the explanation," she admitted, laughing.
Momiji was still grinning. "Well, I think it's a gut thing, you getting a smart phone, Tohru. I have full confidence you'll be able to figure it out quickly, and you'll be using it like a pro in no time!"
For her part, Tohru was more hesitant. She and Kyo had decided to get their phones a week before they moved, to give themselves time to figure out how they worked while they were around people who could help them if they needed.
Tohru had a suspicion they'd need a lot of help; neither of them had ever been any good with technology.
And she had honestly wondered if it wouldn't be better to get the phones sooner, but she needed to get her last paycheck before she could justify such a large purchase. Setting up a new home for the first time was expensive, and she and Kyo were united in wanting to squeeze their budget as much as they could to make sure they didn't overextend themselves.
Though thinking of that last paycheck made Tohru feel wistful. Her last day at her job was two weeks before graduation; while she had strongly considered working right up until the end, she'd eventually admitted the wisdom in having those last two weeks to focus entirely on the move and spending time with her friends. An extra paycheck would have been nice, yes, but once they moved, it would be a long time before they could come back and visit. And somehow, she doubted she'd appreciate that paycheck even a tenth as much as she'd cherish the extra time with her friends.
People whose numbers she knew would always include Momiji.
As soon as they dropped off the garbage bags, Momiji grinned and stretched his arms up behind him.
"Ah...that's always such a workout, isn't it, Tohru? Whoever would have thought garbage could be so heavy?"
"I know, right?" she agreed, laughing up at him. "I've always known cleaning was hard work, but it really is amazing just how hard it can sometimes be!" Then she smiled at him, telling him as she did, "Thank you for your help, Momiji, really."
"You know I'm always happy to help," Momiji replied. "I like spending the extra time with you, especially since this is the only place I've never had to share you," he continued, giving her a playful wink.
Tohru giggled at that, too. "Well, I'm glad to get the time with you too, Momiji. You've made this job so much more fun than it had any right to be," she said, smiling as they returned to where Tohru had left her cleaning supplies and settled back in to wash the hallway windows.
"Gut," Momiji said, reaching over Tohru's head to clean what she couldn't reach well. "Life can be far too stodgy sometimes, so I consider it a great thing to bring a little extra fun into yours," he continued, giving her a grin. Then he paused, remembering something, and broke into a bigger smile. "Though speaking of extra fun, that reminds me of something. You're done working two weeks before graduation, ja?"
"Yes, that's right," Tohru said, looking at him curiously. "My last night is the Wednesday of that week."
"Perfect!" Momiji said enthusiastically. "So with that, I have a question for you, Tohru," he continued. "What day is that Thursday, the day after your last day of work?"
Tohru thought for a moment, then brightened. "White Day!"
"That's right!" Momiji said with a grin. "Now, obviously Kyo has dibs on the day itself, even though in barely two more weeks he'll get to have you to himself entirely and should therefore be fine sharing you on actual White Day. But knowing Kyo, I doubt he'd agree," he said with a long-suffering sigh.
Tohru agreed with that assessment; Kyo would definitely not agree with that.
"So," Momiji continued, "I decided to make my plans for that weekend!"
"Plans?" Tohru asked, the curious look once more back in place. "What kind of plans, Momiji?"
"Well, you're going to be moving at the end of the month, Tohru, and after that there won’t be many chances for us to all get together,” he said, his eyes slightly sad in spite of his attempt to sound cheery. And Tohru felt tears spring to her own eyes as she softly agreed,
"No."
"So," Momiji said, quickly dabbing at his own eyes, "What better way to celebrate our last White Day together than by revisiting our first?"
Tohru was blank for a moment as she thought back, but it was only a moment before her eyes lit up in surprise and excitement. "Momiji, are you-"
"-What do you think, Tohru; does 'Me and Tohru's Steamy Hot Springs Adventure: the Return' have a nice ring to it?"
Once again, Tohru was struck but just how lucky she was, that she had the wonderful friends she did. Since she'd first met the Sohmas, her life had changed in so many amazing ways, and she'd gotten to have so many new experiences; no matter what life had in store for her going forward, she'd always be able to look back on this time and remember just how much she was loved.
As always, part of her felt like she should protest Momiji's generosity, but by now she knew that was a lost cause. Instead, she beamed in awestruck wonder at him, lowering her cleaning cloth and clapping her hands together.
"An onsen, Momiji? Really?"
"That's right! The same one as before," he said, grinning. "I thought we could all make a trip of it; you, me, Kyo, Yuki, Machi, Haru, Rin, Hiro, Kisa...we'll have to see what everyone says, obviously," he continued, "but I thought it would be a fun way to celebrate White Day and have one last hurrah before you, Kyo, and Yuki all leave," he said, his smile once more slightly tinged with sadness.
Tohru felt the urge to tear up again herself, but she fought against it, trying to focus on the positives. "Momiji, this all sounds wonderful! I had so much fun at the onsen last time, and it would be wonderful to see Ritsu's mom again," she said, thinking of the ryokan's proprietress. "Does she still work there?"
"Ja, she does," Momiji laughed. "She still runs the place, you mean, and she is very excited to see us!" he continued, his look becoming mischievous. "I was hoping we'd be able to see Ritsu, too, but apparently he won't be around that weekend."
That was right, Tohru thought, smiling; Ritsu was training to learn how to run the ryokan. It was a pity he wasn't going to be around, but hopefully that meant he had fun plans of his own.
Maybe plans with Mitsuru, Tohru thought with a giggle.
"Well, I think I can go," she said after a moment, then she beamed up at him as she clapped her hands again. "This is going to be so much fun for us, Momiji!"
As they both turned their attention back to washing the windows, Momiji gave her a grin.
"I hoped you would say that."
When Tohru walked out of the building that night, Kyo was waiting for her the same as he always was. And also just like always, Tohru felt her heart skip a beat when she saw him standing there, marveling that he was actually waiting for her.
How did she ever get to be so lucky?
He was smiling when he saw her. "Hey, you," said Kyo, reaching out to take her hand. "How was work?"
Tohru beamed, clinging to him as the two of them started walking. "Good! Momiji was here again," she said happily, "so everything went faster tonight, which was very nice. And it's always fun to get to spend extra time with him!"
"Yeah? Well, good."
Kyo wasn't the least bit surprised Momiji had been there; at that point, he'd be shocked if Momiji wasn't. It felt like everyone was taking every chance to be around Tohru those days; if anything, Kyo appreciated Momiji hanging around with her at work, because it was one of the rare times where Kyo himself didn't have to share her.
As far as Kyo was concerned, graduation and their move couldn't come soon enough.
But he wasn't going to begrudge Tohru any time with her friends, not when it obviously made her so happy. And he was happy to see how cheerful she was looking that night; more and more often lately, she'd been ending her time with friends on sad notes.
"You guys talk about much?" he asked as they walked along, and she nodded.
"We did! About the end of term, about our new phones...we talked about Akito and Shigure..." she said, looking over at him with amusement.
The news that Shigure was in a relationship with Akito had staggered them all when it first came out. Tohru had been shocked because Akito and Shigure seemed so different from one another; Kyo had been stunned simply because it was them. But once the surprise had worn off, they had to admit that certain developments from the past several months suddenly made much more sense, like just how much time Shigure spent at the main house and why Akito still hadn't hired a replacement assistant.
Along with the news that he and Akito were in a relationship, Shigure had announced a second bombshell: after graduation, he would be officially moving back into the main house and wrapping up his career as a novelist to take on the role of Akito's full-time assistant and right hand man, a role he intended to keep in perpetuity.
It was hard to say what part of that had been the most shocking, or the hardest for the young people to accept. Kyo had snorted at Shigure's teasing explanation for the timing; 'Obviously Akito would like to have me around as soon as possible, but given my responsibilities in nurturing and supervising you three fine young people, I'm sure you can understand why I'm waiting.'
As though Shigure wasn't already spending three or four nights a week away from the house already...though no one was about to remind him of that.
And no one voiced the thought that Shigure's long-suffering editor Mitsuru was likely dancing in the halls at the news of Shigure's retirement. As profitable as his work had been for her company, there was no question that wrangling him had been hell on Mitsuru's nerves, and it was debatable any other writer in all of Japan could be even half as stress-inducing as Shigure.
For Mitsuru's sake, Tohru could only be happy. And honestly, she was happy for Shigure and Akito, too. She would never have expected them to end up a couple, but if they were, and they were happy about it, then she was happy for them. The only thing that made her sad was what Shigure moving meant: that not very long after graduation, the wonderful little house up on the hill would be empty. She and Kyo would be moving north for Kyo's new job; Yuki would be leaving for university in Kyoto. And Shigure wouldn't be going far, but it would be far enough; all too soon, their happy home would be shuttered and silent.
Thinking about it was enough to make Tohru's eyes tear up, and she wiped at them with the back of her free hand. Kyo looked at her anxiously and she hated making him worry; he was already doing that far too often, those days.
"Sorry, sorry!" she said, giving him an apologetic smile. "I'm fine, really. Just being silly, that's all."
"It's ok," he said, squeezing her hand. "I get it, it's hard. A lotta stuff is hard, right now, and that's ok. Just...promise me you'll tell me when it is for you, ok? I don't want you to think you've gotta keep stuff from me, or that you’ve gotta be sad by yourself."
"I'll try," she said after a minute, giving his hand a return squeeze. Even after all this time, it was still hard not to feel like she was overreacting; Kyo had things he'd miss in Tokyo, too, but she was the only one falling to pieces on a regular basis. Even things that should make her happy were sometimes making her tear up, and that was proving difficult for both of them to handle.
Though thinking about happy things did make her brighten, and she looked back at Kyo with renewed enthusiasm.
"Oh, I almost forgot, Kyo! There was one more thing Momiji talked to me about," she informed him with a beaming smile.
"Yeah?" he asked curiously, and she nodded.
"Yes! He thought it would be fun if we all took a trip to the Sohma Family onsen together the weekend after White Day, just like we did for the White Day we all spent together first year!"
Kyo's response was...underwhelming.
"The onsen, huh? Everyone?"
"Yes." Tohru was a little surprised by Kyo's reaction, and she gave him a worried look. "Don't you think it sounds like fun?"
He was quiet for a moment, and she realized with a pang that the answer was 'no.'
"Kyo, if you don't want to go, then I'm sure Momiji wouldn't mind if you didn't. It's supposed to be fun, and if you're not happy about it-"
"-You wanna go, don't you?" he asked, and Tohru promptly blushed.
"Well, yes," she admitted. "But I loved it when we went there before; I love onsens, and Ritsu's mom was so kind! And it would be nice to go and spend a little more time with everyone all together and just relax...I think it will be a lot of fun," she admitted, looking down. "But it's really ok if you don't want to go!"
"I know that, you goof," Kyo said, smiling affectionately. "Not like you could force me into doing anything, anyway, you're not exactly the most menacing person out there, Tohru," he said, giving her a newly teasing grin. "But if you wanna go, then I think we should go. Both of us," he added, nodding his head decisively.
"Kyo! Are you sure?" she asked, looking at him anxiously. "I don't want you to feel you have to go if you don't want to."
Just because she wasn't forcing him to come along didn't mean she wasn't playing a role in his decision, and considering how little time they had left in Tokyo, the last thing she wanted to do was make him 'waste' any time on something he didn't want to do.
"Look, you're not forcing me, ok? So I'm not crazy about sitting in water, that shouldn't exactly be a surprise by now," he said. "And maybe I'd rather do something with just you," he continued, squeezing her hand, "instead the whole damn circus, who we both know're mostly either gonna totally ignore me or get on my case about stealing you away. And it's not like I'm gonna get to see you in the actual onsen, anyway," he reminded her, and she gave him a blushing grin. "But at the same time, you wanna do it, and who knows; maybe it'll be fun. We can see if you're any better at ping-pong now," he teased, prompting Tohru to actually laugh.
"Well, I wouldn't hold your breath on that, Kyo, seeing how I haven't even played at all in two years! But you weren't exactly great at it, either," she reminded him, and he raised his eyebrows at her in apparent surprise.
"You saying I can't play ping-pong, Tohru?"
He sounded so offended that Tohru's first instinct was to apologize. "No, of course n-" She paused, suddenly realizing his eyes were twinkling at her, and hers rounded. "Are you teasing me?"
"Maybe," he admitted, breaking into a grin. "Can you blame me? You're pretty cute when you're flustered."
She blushed, but it was a pleased and somewhat self-satisfied smile she wore at the compliment. She and Kyo had been a couple for almost eight months, and it still made her heart flutter every time he said something like that.
She hoped it never stopped.
"So..." she said, looking up at him with the blush lingering on her face, "You'll play me at ping-pong, when we're at the onsen?"
He grinned. "Yeah...and I'm not gonna go easy on you just 'cause you're a girl."
Tohru smiled, thinking back to their ping-pong match the last time they'd been in the onsen. He'd just lost a match to Yuki and agreed to play against her; he'd said the same thing then, and she'd been determined to do her best, only to completely miss the ball on her very first strike. Even if he had been trying to go easy on her then, it wouldn't have mattered in the face of her staggering incompetence.
It had been fun, though...and she was sure it would be even more fun, that time.
"Hey Tohru?"
"Hmm?"
"Momiji gave this trip another stupid name, didn't he?"