The Sohma Puzzle

It was a few days later when Tamiko finally found some time to track down Sohma Ayame. Farm work was monopolizing, and it was spring. She grabbed her dad's old flannel jacket and headed out, latching the gate behind her.

She strolled casually down the street, looking for a clothing shop that might be this Ayame's. It was only a hunch, but she figured that a clothes designer would have a shop, so she watched the signs on the businesses she passed. Eventually one caught her eye. AYAME, it read in large, flowery letters, similar to the embroidery on the shirt she'd borrowed.

She stared at the sign blankly for a moment. Out of all her amateur detective cases, (it was an obscure and not often indulged in hobby), things had never been so spelled out. She couldn't help but laugh.

"Eeeek!"

She turned to see where the scream had come from. A tall, silver haired man stood in the doorway of the shop, hands raised to his mouth. His wide green-gold eyes were fixed on her.

"What?" She asked, confused. There was nothing scary about her. Her mother, now, she had been a scary woman. Five foot ten and built like a horse. Her father had often said she was meant to be on a farm, because even the bulls were intimidated by her. Her mother hadn't found that particularly amusing. But Tamiko, no. She was five foot nothing and, while chunky, certainly not large.

"Oh, it's horrible. Horrifying. Mine!" He yelled, and a woman in a maids uniform poked her head out of the shop door.

"Yeah, Boss?" She asked. The silver haired man pointed at Tamiko.

"Look, Mine! We must do something. We must save her from this disaster she's wearing before it consumes her! Bring her!" He declared dramatically, turning and walking into the shop. Tamiko looked down at her clothes. She wore her boots, her tattered jeans, a white t-shirt and her flannel jacket. What was wrong with that?

"Sorry about that. The Boss can be dramatic sometimes. You'd better come in, or he won't leave you alone." The woman in the maids uniform, Mine, explained. Tamiko shrugged and followed her inside.

The man sat on a sofa inside, and Mine directed her to sit across from him, announcing that she would make tea before disappearing into the back. Tamiko looked across the intervening space at the man, who seemed to have pulled himself together. He was smiling at her now, in a disarming sort of way. Flipping his long silver hair over his shoulder, he leaned his head on the back of his hand.

"I am Sohma Ayame." He announced, as though he were the king of Spain. Secretly, Tamiko hoped he never became the king of Spain. The country would soon become a ruin. "I designed all the clothing in this shop."

"Oh. It's fabulous." She told him. The best way, she had learned, to get information out of a vain person was to flatter them. Sure enough, Ayame preened at the compliment.

"It is, isn't it? I do the best work in this dreary city. It's a good thing I found you, Dear. You may have been stuck with an inferior designer, of which there are many."

"Actually, I was looking for you . . . " She said, in an amused tone.

"Coming to me in your fashion emergency, you must be a clever girl indeed." He interrupted, bringing his hand to his chest in a feminine sort of way. She couldn't help but smile. Sohma Ayame was something different.

"I met a few other Sohma's a few days ago. A Sohma Shigure, a Sohma Yuki, a Sohma Kyo and a Sohma Hatsuharu. Are you related to them?" She asked casually, as though only mildly interested. Aya's eyes lit up.

"You've met my cousins and brother!" He clapped his hands, ecstatic. "My dear brother Yuki."

Tamiko smiled. His brother obviously meant a lot to him. She could understand that. Maybe she could use it.

"So Yuki-san is your brother?" she asked, and the snake sighed.

"Yes, my younger brother. He doesn't like me very much. More lately, but still, not as much as I'd like. You see, when we were younger, he was very ill. He was kept inside, so I never saw him. Often I even forgot I had a brother. I'm trying to fix that, though."

"If anyone can do it, you can." She assured him, and she believed it. This enigmatic person could have endeared himself to a rock. She liked him already. He was bright and shiny, where his brother had seemed so dark and closed off.

Aya sprung to his feet and put his hands on his hips. "Of course, you're right! I will make my brother love me!"

"Sohma-san, perhaps you are taking the wrong approach." Tamiko commented tentatively, unsure if she was overstepping boundaries. But he looked down at her.

"The wrong approach, what do you mean?" He asked.

"Well, Yuki-san seemed like a quiet sort of person. With your personality, he might bolt if you come at him too strongly, like a wary animal."
"Yes, he does.But I can't help it. My joy at the sight of him just fills me and bursts out!" He declared, throwing his arms up.

"Of course. But you can't force him to love you. Love must be freely given." She couldn't believe she was giving advice about love. "Talk to him, quietly."

"Well, Tohru-chan said we should try to meet each other halfway." The snake commented, sitting down again. Tamiko nodded. That was good advice.

"Yes, meeting each other halfway is good. But that also means a compromise. If your flamboyancy scares him, try to tone it down."

"Tone it . . down?" Ayame looked at her, tilting his head in a confused manner. "How do I 'tone it down'?"

Standing up, Tamiko walked over to a set of designs on a pair of stands. She pointed at the first, a jacket made of fiery red material, with flashy gold buttons.

"Look at this coat. It's colors are bright, and made to draw attention, right?" She asked, and the designer nodded. "Yuki-san would never wear this, but you would. It would suit you, too."

She moved on to the second, a shirt made of a red wine colored silk, with simple buttons of the same color. The designs on the color and cuffs were done in a dark color that made them apparent, but not bright.

"This one, though, is done with muted colors. It's made to look great, and it does, but it won't make you the sole focus in a crowd. This is more Yuki-san's style." She was reaching, certainly. She didn't know Sohma Yuki very well at all. But the designer was nodding his head.

"You are absolutely right. Although he rather likes blue." Aya stated, thinking. Perhaps he could take another step to clear the air between he and his brother.

"Tea." Mine set a tray down on the table between them, and filled two cups of tea, handing one to her boss and the other to Tamiko. Sipping it, she found it to be green tea. She had never particularly liked the stuff, but it would have been rude to refuse it. Ayame leaned forward a bit.

"And now back to your problem."

"Uhh . . . my problem?" Tamiko asked, confused. She wasn't aware she had a problem.

"Your clothing, my dear. Whatever possessed you to go with the farmhand look?" He asked.

"I run a farm." She answered tonelessly.

"People do that in Japan?" He asked, startled.

"I do. My family has been running a farm here for sixty years or so." She answered. "I actually live right near your cousin's place."

"I wouldn't know. I don't live in the Sohma Compound." He answered. Mine chimed in. "The Hatanari's, right? Next to the Sohma Compound."

When Aya looked at her in surprise, she shrugged. "I learn things, Boss." The snake smiled. "Mine, you amaze me."

The woman smiled. "Anytime, Boss."

"Anyway, Hatanari-san, where do you buy your clothes, Farmers Market?" The serpent asked. Tamiko shrugged.

"I wear my dad's old stuff, and my brother's. I haven't bought anything but underwear since they went to America." She answered.

"When did they go to America?" He asked curiously.

"About five years ago. My brother has cancer, and there is a treatment for it there." Her answer was matter-of-fact, but the observant snake was saddened by that. She was as repressed as his brother Yuki in some ways, it seemed.

"So, it's been five years since you had new clothes. Well, prepare for the end of that horror, Hatanari-chan!" He stood up and pointed into the air. "I, Sohma Ayame, will make you beautiful clothes! And I'll do something about that hair too." He told her, touching his own silver braid. " What did you cut it with, a switchblade?"

"A scythe, actually. And please, call me Tamiko." She answered, unable to hold back the chuckle in her voice. The snake clapped his hands together, overjoyed by the permission.

"Stand up, stand up!" He ordered, and when she did so, he raised her arms and held a hand out. Mine immediately dropped a tape measure into it. He ran it along Tamiko's arms, legs, waist and bust, calling out numbers, which the assistant repeated and wrote down. Finally he stepped back.

"Measurements done. Now, you'll need a stronger material that won't stain, since you're a mud-grubber." He said, starting to think. The term made Tamiko laugh. Aya looked at her.

"I think I like you, Tamiko-chan. Come back in a couple of days for a fitting."

"I like you too, Sohma-san." She admitted, still laughing. He waved a hand at her. "Everyone calls me Aya. You may as well do the same."

"Aya-san, then. Oh, I wanted to ask you, do you like snakes?" She said, remembering her reason for being there. Aya froze.

"Wh-why would you ask that?" He demanded, rearing up like a cobra. His eyes turned darker and Tamiko was the slightest bit afraid. She was used to facing angry animals, however, and knew better than to run. Forcing her voice to remain steady, she answered.

"Because Tohru-chan let me borrow a shirt you made and there were gold snakes embroidered on the collar and cuffs. It didn't seem to suit her, so I thought it might be more your style."

"Oh." Aya seemed to sink back as though onto his own coils. "Yes, I do like snakes."

"Cool. Well, I'll see you in a couple of days." She told him, and practically flew out the back door. Aya dropped onto the couch.

"Boss?" Mine was looking at him worriedly.

"I'm fine, Mine dear." He answered. "But for some reason, that girl worries me."

"Oh." The fact that her unflappable boss was worried, worried Mine.

Tamiko ran home. She was, admittedly, a little frightened by Sohma Ayame, as much as she liked him. She stopped at her gate and leaned against it, breathing hard.

"Tamiko-chaaaan!" A voice called from across the road. She looked up, and smiled.

"Shigure-san. How nice to see you." Pushing herself up, she noticed he wasn't alone.

"Yuki-san, Kyo-san, Hatsuharu-kun, Tohru-chan. How nice to see you. And . . uhh . . " She didn't recognize the adorable blond with the bunnies everywhere. He wore a yellow t-shirt, with the face of a cartoon rabbit on it.

"I'm Sohma Momiji!" He told her. "You're Hatanari Tamiko, right? Right?"

"That's right. You can call me Tamiko." She told him, smiling. she couldn't help but smile at the little guy. He gave her a sunny smile.

"Guess what, guess what, Tamiko-chan!" He was practically bouncing.

"You were a rabbit in another life?" She joked. Everyone froze, even the little rabbit himself. She hadn't though that possible.

"Don't be silly, Tamiko-chan." Shigure told her. "We just came over to return Kuri-kun again." He indicated the baby cow in Haru's arms.

"Oh, that little brat." She took him from Haru while everyone else relaxed. "Jeez, you guys are jumpier than your cousin Aya-san."

"Oh, you know Aya?" Shigure asked. "Funny, jumpy isn't something I would call him."

"Well, he wasn't, until I asked him if he liked snakes. Because of the shirt Tohru-chan lent me." She explained. "He turned on me like a cobra."

"Well, Hehe, Aya's no cobra." Shigure rubbed the back of his neck nervously.

"Of course not. He did insult my wardrobe to the high heavens though. Called me a mud-grubber." She laughed.

"I'm afraid my brother can be callous without trying, Miss Hatanari." Yuki said in his icily pleasant voice.

"It amused me more than anything, really." She told him. "I rather like him. He cares about you a lot."

"You . . . talked about me?" He asked, surprised. Tamiko tilted her head at him.

"Why are you surprised? He adores you. It's obvious in every word when he talks about you. "

"He just wants to be the center of attention."

"Well, you're a callous sort, aren't you? She told the Rat. He looked at her, in surprise.

"Maybe if you weren't so focused on yourself, you'd see that other people care about you. But it's none of my business. Be a jerk all you like. I know Aya-san cares about you, and one day you'll wish you'd seen it too." She shrugged. "I hope it doesn't hurt to much."

Kyo was laughing as his cousin was told off. Yuki whirled and kicked him, knocking him into the fence. Or rather, through the fence.

"Hey!" Tamiko glared at Yuki.

"He'll be fine. I hit him all the time." The rat told her dismissively.

"That's all well and good, but now the animals will get out!" She told him, running over and getting some rope from the shed near the gate.

"Yuki, maybe you should take other people into consideration more often." Haru commented, making the Sohma's and Tohru stare at him. He never told Yuki off. "Now she has to rope off the fence, then pay to rebuild it, and hope none of her cows or horses run away. It's going to cost her a lot more than it does to fix Shigure's house if that happens."

He went to meet her at the fence and helped her tie off the rope, leaving the violet eyed man staring after him.

"I'll kill him if he does that again." Tamiko muttered, holding the rope tight as Haru tied it off. She heard a meow and looked over. Kyo had been descended on by the farm's kittens.

"Hey, get off!" the ginger haired man yelled at them. Tohru ran over and rescued one from his grasp.

"They're so cute, Kyo-kun." She snuggled it. His eyes softened, watching her.

"Cats too." Tamiko murmured. Haru looked up.

"Nothing." she said quickly. Haru shrugged. She could mutter all she liked. He did want to ask her about something, though.

"About employment at your farm . . . " He began, stringing the rope across to the other still standing rail and looping it around.

"You're hired." She said instantly. When he looked up at her, she laughed. "You know your way around. You're good with cows. You're strong, calm and quiet. You'll fit in nicely here."

She was rewarded by his smile, which was soft and peaceful. Feeling a tightening in her chest, Tamiko sighed and resigned herself to the flip flops her emotions would be doing this season.