MOM HAS A SISTER!? (Shigure x oc)

chapter 23

Momoko's pov.

I was finally free! Well mostly.. Hatori was keeping an eye on me, yay. My arm was still in its cast and that wasn't gonna change any time soon, so cooking, walking Demon and changing clothes was going to be very difficult. But Tohru assured me that she and everyone else would help me. I was very happy to hear that, but then the thought of Ayame helping me made me regret complaining in front of him and the others. The look in his eyes told me everything.

It's been a few days since I've been out now and Tohru comes to visit me more and more and sometimes her friends come too. She even made friends with another zodiac member, the horse. I was really impressed. Hatori calls me everyday to check up on me, making sure I'm healthy and good, which I am. I still haven't seen Shigure. And from what Hatori and the others told me he hasn't gotten any better. He's still somewhat depressed and mumbling to himself. I was worried about him, but I didn't want to push him.

I was currently typing on my laptop, with one hand. Since i couldn't be at the office or at the field to train the dogs, I'm setting things up to explain to my coworkers what to do and how to do it. I also looked up to see if we were getting any new recruits or anything like that, but nothing seemed to come up. Finally after having been tiping, or rather struggling to tipe, for about two hours I figured it be time to take a break.

"Man it's so boring with nothing to do.." I said to no one in particular as I stretched my good arm. "I wonder what the others are up to. What about you, Demon? Any ideas?" I asked the big dog as he happily wagged his tail at me from the lounge chair he claimed as his. "Tohru is probably still at school with the other Sohma kids. And Ayame is probably still at work like Hatori. And all my old buddies have moved on without me years ago." I grumbled.

"Sargent is most likely keeping an eye on his pregnant wife. And all the other former soldiers are with family. Which leaves me with.." I stopped when I realized the only other person who I haven't thought of was Shigure. "That mutt.." I mumbled as I looked out the window, watching the wind blow through the the leaves of the plants outside. "I wonder how he's doing. Is he still depressed. Has he moved on." I whispered to myself as I felt a weight on my leg.

I looked down to see Demon resting his head on my thigh as he let out a soft whine. "Your right. No point in worrying about it now. How does a walk in the park sound?" That instantly made the giant furr ball jump for joy. "Is that what you want, huh? Haha, okay, okay." I giggled as I got up to take the over excited dog out for a nice stroll in the park like he wanted.

Time skip.

The fresh air was exactly what I needed. The cool calming breeze that blew through my hair, just helped me relax even more. There weren't many people at the park, considering that most people were still at work or school or any other place where people would be at two in the afternoon. I was enjoying the calmness around me till I felt that my arm was being tugged. Suddenly the tugg was so strong that I lost control of the leach and Demon took off at full speed.

"Not again!" I whined before I ran after the annoying mutt. "Demon get back here! Bad boy! Heal! Heal!" I called after him, but like always he didn't listen. And surprise, surprise guess who Demon ran to, again. The one person I did not really want to see at the moment. The mutt from the Sohma clan, Shigure Sohma. When he saw me walk over he had a sly smirk plastered on his face.

"I'm beginning to think you trained him to do this, onperpus." His comment maked some tick marks appear all over my head as I fought the urge to hit him. "You and I both know the real reason he keeps doing this, is because of that crazy zodiac nonsense your family is in." I said as I grabbed the dog by his collar to try and calm him down. "I swear, this dog combined with this park is bad luck." I mumbled to myself as I was about to take my leave.

"How's your arm?" I heard him ask as he stood up and inspected my arm in its cast. "A little sore, not gonna lie. But it's not like it's the first time this happened to me, so no worries." I said as I avoided his eyes. "I'm guessing Hatori and the others told you of my um.. mood as of late." He said scratching his neck. "Yeah.." I nodded my head as I finally looked at his face. "What's gotten into you Shigure? Moping around, being depressed, mumbling to yourself? That's not like you. Not the Shigure I knew, at least." I said, a little nervous about his answer.

He let out a sigh as he looked me in the eye. "You really want to know?" I nodded my head as an answer for him to continue. "To be honest, not even I know. All I do know is that I do want to figure out where we are. How I truly feel and all that cheesy nonsense." I chuckled at the last part as he began to pet Demon behind his ears. "So Hatori was right, it is my fault.." I said as I looked at my feet ashamed of myself. "No Momoko! It's not! Don't you ever think that!" Shigure said as he grabbed my shoulders.

"It's not your fault, it's mine. If I wasn't so full of myself all those years ago none of this would have happened." He said as he lifted up my chin to look him in the eyes. "I promise I'll figure everything out! You don't have to worry about a thing!" "Of course I do! Shigure this has been going on ever since we were in school for crying out loud! I can't bear this pain anymore!" I snapped. "It hurts too much.." I said as I felt tears formed in my eyes, threatening to fall.

"It won't be much longer now, I promise. Just be patient. I promise, I'll figure it all out." He said softly before he planted a soft kiss on my forehead. I was in awe at his action. He hasn't done that since high school. It was full of hope, love and care. I hadn't felt that from him in so long. I missed it even more than I thought I did. Without another word he left. I didn't know what to say or do, but wait till the right time. "Come on boy, let's go." I said as I went back home with my pain in the neck of a dog.

Shigure's pov.

After I left Momoko in the park I felt a smile form on my face. How I wish I could hold her in my arms. I thought as I returned home. Seeing her today gave me inspiration for a knew book that I've been struggling with for some time now. I was gonna write about the two of us. How even best friends can fall in love, and argue about the most ridiculous thing imagined. About all the hardships they can face and how they can over come it.

But instead I'll make it a bit more interesting. Back to the times of demons, samurai and priests. Make it full of adventure and mystery. Like the books that she loved when we were back in school. I wonder how she'd react to it, if she ever reads it. I thought as I walked up the stairs to the forest surrounding my house.

T. B. C.