Work Text:
Hatori drove Momiji from the high school back to the Sohma Estate in his car. Without removing his intensely fixated gaze from the road, he flatly remarked, "That was foolish of you, Momiji."
Momiji poofed back from a rabbit into a boy, and began to dress himself in the back seat of the car. "I'm sorry," he apologized, "but I don't think Tohru minded at all."
Hatori sighed. "Is that all you care about? That girl?"
Momiji felt himself blush. She really was all that he could think about, lately. Ever since he met her, she illuminated his thoughts and dreams, making him smile.
"Don't forget," added Hatori, "that you were around other people. Many other people. None of them know our secret. And you could have ruined everything for Yuki, Kyo, and Hatsuharu, too."
Momiji's smile faltered. He felt guilty and selfish. "I'm sorry," he apologized again, weakly. He truly didn't mean to cause any harm. He didn't know why he acted so impulsively around Tohru.
But Hatori did. He remembered Kana, the woman he loved more than his own life. He sacrificed everything for her; his eye, his trust with Akito, even Kana's own love for him. And he never minded that she knew his secret.
Maybe Hatori was being too hard on his little cousin. However, he also didn't want Momiji to meet the same fate that he did - or anyone else, for that matter. To say that it was a painful lesson would be a severe understatement.
Hatori glanced at Momiji from the rear-view mirror. Momiji was not making eye contact with him, which was unusual. And even though Hatori knew that his admonishments stung, he also knew that the consequences of Momiji's shenanigans could have ended up much, much worse.
Momiji, who usually had a lot to say, sat in silence, staring at his fingers, which were fiddling with the hem of his shorts. He had no excuse for his actions, much less an explanation.
Hatori cleared his throat, turning his eyes back to the street in front of him. "I don't think I should take you back to the high school until you're actually ready to attend. Ok?"
Momiji nodded sadly. He knew that it was for his own good, and to protect his cousins. More importantly, though, it was to protect Tohru. He knew what happened with Kana and Hatori, but it didn't sink into his head until that very moment. "Understood," he said.
Besides, it wasn't like high school wasn't only a few months away for Momiji, anyway. And he could still see Tohru at his father's building, or at Shigure's house.
He just couldn't wait to grow up.