I had always found living with people to be difficult. When I was young, my mother kept me home, to the point I was sick to see her face. After she died, I lived with Shishou, my master. He let me out more than my mother, but even then I couldn't stand to see any of the others, especially not that damn Yuki. These living arrangements were hardly better. And then we went up to the mountains. And there was no electricity. Or running water. And Shishou made me wake up so early. So I came back, and was moved into Shigure's. And there was that damn rat. And that perverted dog. And her. At first I hated her. I didn't see why she was able to live with us, given our situation. However, she was allowed to stay. And she kept getting in the way and butting into our fights and arguments. But she always smiled. And it came to the point where I couldn't wait to get home to see that smile, or hear that "Welcome home, Kyo-kun!" And the things that once annoyed me, like how she always cried over the littlest things, or how she bumped into walls and tables, or even how she couldn't be selfish if she tried, became things that made me fall in love with her.
The entire taxi ride, I watched out the window, Tohru leaning over my lap to see everything she could with those big brown eyes. And now we were on the steps of our new apartment in Boston. I couldn't believe how weird it looked. It wasn't even close to anywhere in Japan. I felt like I was in another world almost. Tohru just smiled excitedly. If I had still had ears, they'd have been pushed back against my head. It was busy. The streets were dirty and crowded. There was a lot of cars honking. I had never lived in such a large city. I opened the door for her, as she rushed in, rushing to the stairs.
"Let's walk up all the stairs!" She exclaimed excitedly. I looked at the elevator, then shrugged and followed her. She all but ran up the steps, four floors up. As we stood at our new front door, she jiggled the door handle.
"It's locked..." She said, disappointed. I couldn't help but laugh.
"Of course it is," I said between chuckles. I reached in my pocket and pulled out the key that Shishou gave me, handing it to her.
This apartment used to be Sohma property for business trips, but the Sohmas had no more business in America. So it had been a small place for when Shishou visited his friend who owned the dojo that I would be starting at next week. But now it was empty, ready for us to move into. Tohru twisted the key a bit violently, bursting into the room. The living room was rather large, with a country red wall and tan rugs. The kitchen was to the left, with blue walls and white tiles. There was an oven, microwave and refrigerator. Past the kitchen was a small hallway, with a bedroom and a master bedroom. The bathroom was in between the two bedrooms.
I placed our few small bags on the master bedroom floor and returned to the living room, where Tohru was sprawled out on the empty living room floor.
"Kyo-kun, this is the greatest!" She said, rolling onto her stomach and looking up at me, a huge smile on her face. I crouched by her, placing my hand on her head. She giggled, rolling away. It was the simple things that made her smile. And her smile made me smile. And everything seemed perfect. But as I had come to expect in my past, nothing is perfect.