There’s a lot going on in this chapter, and most of it won’t be properly dealt with until later.

Kyo: Don’t worry about him. He probably just can’t take the embarrassment of having to dress like a girl. The guy’s got a real complex to begin with about having such a girlie face.

Kyo relishes Yuki’s torture at the hands of his fans, while Tohru is a little upset with herself because she thinks he looks cute in the dress (like literally everybody else).

And then to make Yuki’s day even worse, two Sohmas show up: Momiji and Hatori.

Momiji: Yuki, you look like a mädchen!

Kyo is shocked to hear that Tohru had already met Momiji, but both he and Yuki are visibly unsettled by Hatori’s presence.

Yuki: Why are you here?

Hatori: Complain to Momiji. He’s the one who brought the flyer home. And when Akito saw the flyer, he said he was coming, too. He had a 103-degree fever though, so I made him stay home, doctor’s orders. […] Relax. I’m not here to do anything to Tohru Honda. Whether or not she gets the usual treatment is up to Akito. But I will say one thing: Giving me a threatening glare while wearing that outfit doesn’t make much of an impact.

Hatori has a very dry sense of humor. Momiji, on the other hand, is an irrepressible bundle of energy.

Momiji: Hey, hey, Tohru! You know about the Zodiac thing, yeah?

Tohru: Ah, yes.

Momiji: Yay! Then I can hug you all I want, right!?

He succeeds despite Kyo’s best efforts to restrain him. Turns out he’s the Rabbit (and definitely a boy).  Of course, they are in the middle of a school festival, and Momiji only manages to escape scrutiny thanks to Yuki’s distraction.

Tohru (internally): Thank you, Sohma-kun! You nobly sacrificed yourself to divert the conversation!

Seriously, though, Momiji is such a cuddle bug and it is adorable. He also takes an immediate liking to Tohru, and she responds in kind once she gets past the initial shock of it.

Then Hatori takes a picture of Yuki and Kyo by surprise (with a camera, because this was written before smartphones), and Yuki suddenly gets really mad at himself for consenting to the dress when he thinks of how Akito might respond if he saw it.

Yuki: As a guy, I hate being called “cute”…I didn’t want you to see me in this getup either, Honda-san.

Tohru: Ah, um, but I was always happy when my mom told me I was cute. Because she was just saying that she loved me. That made me so happy. (Internally) Words spoken out of love. Mom…I’ll never hear those words from you again, but…

Yuki: It’s strange, but hearing you say that makes me feel better, Honda-san.

Maybe the other people don’t mean it the same way, but it seems that Yuki managed to find strength from the one person who complimented him out of love.

Yuki: About Hatori…if you ever see him again, try to make sure you’re not alone with him. Um, I don’t mean to say that Hatori is a bad guy, but I told you before about the kids who found out about my “secret identity”? Hatori’s the one who erased their memories back then. It just makes me a little nervous, so I figured I’d let you know.

And next thing she knows, Hatori has her paged and all but orders her to come visit him at his house sometime and not tell Yuki or Kyo about it.  She isn’t quite alone with him, though – Momiji is still around, and promises to be there when she comes out for her visit, too.

Until next time…