Not as good as the prequel.
-_-_-_-_-
It had been a week since Shuuko's little 'encounter' with Tohru. Blushing, she kept thinking about what she had done, and wondered if she regretted it. She wasn't sure.
She walked around Densan, pondering. She hadn't seen Tohru again after that. She hoped she didn't do anything wrong.
With her head up in the clouds, she didn't notice where she was stepping and slipped on ice. Great. Just my luck. She thought. She looked around. She was on a frozen patch of pond. Wow! Just my luck! There's no one here! And it's safe to skate. Aw, if only I knew how…
Then she saw someone coming. She hid behind a nearby tree and peeked out.
It was Tohru. He slipped on some ice skates and started to skate on the pond. Shuuko watched in amazement as he skated, for he was an extremely good ice skater and watching him was like watching figure skating on television.
When he finished, Shuuko, forgetting that she was hiding, began to clap. Startled, Tohru spun around and noticed Shuuko, who had just remembered and tried to hide back behind the tree, blushing.
"Sh-Shuuko-san?" Tohru asked nervously.
Shuuko stepped out of her hiding place and said, "That was beautiful. Where'd you learn to skate like that?"
"Thanks… I taught myself…" he replied, blushing.
"Wow, that's wonderful!"
There was an awkward silence. Tohru spoke and broke it. "Do you want to come skate with me?"
Shuuko looked down. "I-I don't have any skates."
"That's OK. I have an extra pair."
"Umm… I don't really know how to skate…"
"That's alright. I'll teach you."
"Ar… alright… If that's alright with you."
Tohru handed Shuuko a spare pair of ice skates and helped her lace them up.
When she was ready, he took her hand and pulled her up. Shuuko blushed. Tohru realized he was holding her hand and accidentally let go. Wobbly from being on ice skates the very first time, Shuuko shrieked and clasped onto Tohru's arm.
"I-I'm sorry!" Tohru apologized. "I shouldn't have let go of your hand."
"That's ok." Shuuko said.
"Ok. Tell me when you're ready, then."
Shuuko took a deep breath. "Ok, I'm ready.
"Ok. Skating is very simple, once you get used to it. You just put one foot in front of the other like this and push." Tohru demonstrated by skating forward two steps, pulling Shuuko slowly behind him.
Shuuko tried to imitate his movements.
"That's it." He said when she successfully finished.
Shuuko skated with Tohru for a while, and then decided that she wanted to try it on her own. When she let of his hand, she felt a little uneasy, but she quickly swallowed that.
She gingerly took a step forward like she had done before and slid across the ice.
"Wee, I'm skating!" she cried, when her streak of bad luck struck. There happened to be a small crack in the surface of the ice. She tripped over it. Tohru tried to catch her as she fell, but was only dragged down with her.
"I'm sorry, Tohru-kun! Are you alright?" Shuuko cried.
"I'm fine. I just-" Tohru cringed as a sharp pain shot through his left hand.
"Oh, you've hurt your hand! Here, let me help you." Shuuko clumsily led Tohru to a nearby bench where she nursed his hand.
"Thank you, Shuuko-san. You're very kind."
"No, Tohru-kun, it was my fault that you got hurt."
"No, it was your first time. It's only natural for you to fall."
"I guess you're right." Shuuko giggled. "Maybe we could do it again sometime? That was fun!"
"Sure. Next time I'll remember to bring some gloves." He chuckled.
-_-_-_-
When they were ready, they started to go their separate ways.
"Tohru… I've been thinking about last week…" Shuuko began.
Tohru blushed and looked away. "Don't… be sorry for what you did." He said shyly.
Shuuko broke out into a grin. "I'll see you around, Tohru-kun!" she hugged him tight and ran off.
-_-_-_-
Tohru and Shuuko were happy. They had found their special someone.
-_-_-_-_-
Merry Christmas, and happy holidays!
During one of the episodes, I heard one of the girls say that Tohru was an expert violinist and skater. (I take it she meant ice skater? XD)