To Love's End | Shigure Sohma

Chapter Fifteen

(This will partially not be following the anime from here.)

Mission: Bring Amai Back was in progress.

While Shigure was in his office, the three of them made a plan. They wanted to bring back her memories slowly as they thought it might hurt her if they outright told her everything. It was tempting to get Hatori's advice but they knew he would forbid them from doing anything. Plus, he would have told Shigure. But although they wanted to take it slow, they weren't going to waste anymore time. And a crucial element was that they had to do it in a way where she would have to go to them on her own will. They couldn't just force themselves into her life.

The first mission was tomorrow.

***

As soon as school was out, all three of them rushed out as fast as possible. Their friends were confused as to why they all seemed to run out with determination but they didn't question it.

The three of them ran as fast as they could to the elementary school that Amai taught at and by the time they arrived, they saw that parents were still arriving to pick up their children. They all panted for breath since they ran there so fast because they needed to catch Amai before she left to go home. They waited nearby until the kids were all gone and waited another ten minutes before they saw Amai leaving the school.

"Okay, now!" Kyo said.

The three of them began casually walking down the street opposite the school. Tohru pretended that they said something funny and began laughing.

Amai naturally looked over and was pleasantly surprised to see it was them. She smiled and waved her hand high.

"Hey, guys!" she called cheerfully.

'It worked!' they cheered.

Tohru waved back. "Hello, Amai!"
Amai crossed the road to reach them. "Fancy seeing you three here."
Yuki smiled. "It's nice to see you again, Miss Amai. We usually don't walk this way but we decided to take the long route home."
"Shigure thinks we're all at after school clubs," Kyo said.
Amai smiled at him. "Hey, you talk." She cheekily nudged him with her elbow. "In a better mood today?"
He growled, clenching his jaw. "Whatever." He then sighed softly. "I'm sorry about yesterday. I wasn't feeling well."
She giggled. "It's okay. So, you're sneaking around Shigure, huh? Is he really that strict?"
Tohru laughed lightly. "No, he's actually not. He just wants what's best for us really. We didn't want to upset him."
Kyo nodded. "He's mine and Yuki's cousin. He can be annoying but he's just a bit childish at times. Still, he took us all in and he sees himself responsible for us."
"That's so sweet," Amai smiled as they began walking.
"Miss Amai," Yuki spoke, "I was wondering what you meant by owing him a drink."
"Oh, right. Well, a few years ago I fell and hit my head, which made me unconscious. Shigure found me on the side of the road and took me to a doctor. The last time I saw him was when he dropped me off at the college," she explained before smiling softly. "I never got to thank him properly so I said that I owed him a drink the next time I saw him. But I never saw him again until yesterday."

The three of them slyly glanced at each other. Kyo stepped up to walk beside her.

"Do you like him?" he asked.
Her eyes shot open wide. "What?! No!" She then began to blush. "Not... Not in that way. I'm grateful to Shigure, you know? Who knows where I would have been if he hadn't found me."
Tohru gasped excitedly. "I forgot to ask. Have you figured out who the letter 'S' belongs to yet?"
Amai shook her head. "Nope!"

All three of them mentally facepalmed. They carried on walking with her as they continued with their plan.

"So, I'm guessing you like books?" Kyo asked her.
"I love books! I used to work in the library when I was at college, too."
Tohru smiled at her excitement over books. "What's your favourite genre?"
"Romance and fantasy."
"I enjoy reading romance novels as well," Yuki told her. "Who's your favourite author?"
"Noa Kiritani," she answered without hesitation. "I love all of his books. Even the academics I used while studying. But his romance novels are something else entirely."