Kyo sat alone on the roof, as usual, watching the sky. It was just barely starting to get dark, though the sun was still in the sky. He had skipped dinner again. Today was another day full of glorious failures. He had fought as hard as he could to try to beat that damn Yuki, but as always, ended up being sent flying. That damn rat. He had everything. EVERYTHING. He never had to train to get as strong as he was, he was good with people, got good grades, and had so many people that cared about what happened to him.

And what did Kyo have? Nothing. He had spent 4 months in the mountains doing nothing but training, and he STILL wasn't able to beat that rat. He didn't have anyone he would really call a 'friend' especially at school, where he did his best to avoid everyone. He just wasn't a social person, that was all. He spent his lunch breaks on the school roof, and left as soon as classes were over. Avoiding all human contact just seemed like the best way to avoid hurting people.

But there was one person...No matter what he did, he wasn't able to avoid Tohru for long. Even when he had first met her, she had immediately wanted to be closer to him. She was the only one that ever seemed excited when they found out he was the cat. He raised his arm and looked at the beads hanging around his wrist. Even when she had seen him in that disgusting form, she had insisted on following him, and bringing him back home. He didn't deserve someone like her in his life, but he couldn't help but want to become even closer to her.

She made him feel good. She was interested in him, she liked to listen to him ramble on about martial arts, even though he knew she didn't know a single thing about it. He sometimes thought she just liked to listen to him talk. She was there when he was upset or angry, and she always seemed to know when he was having a hard time. She understood how he felt, even when he wasn't able to find the words to express himself.

He had seen the changes she made in him. He didn't get angry as eaily or as quickly about little things. He started being able to talk to people when she was around. He could smile again, and laugh, and even cry when he needed to, and she would never judge him for it. She would just sit there, and listen to him when he was ready to speak. She never blamed him for his past, or his curse.

He knew how he felt about her, but he just didn't want to admit it. She was the one he never wanted to loose. She was special.

He looked up when he heard the familiar sound of the ladder scratching against the ground, then a light thunk as the top hit the roof. He sat up and watched as her head peaked over the shingles.

"A-hah! I knew I'd find you up here!" Tohru said happily. "I brought you some dinner. You left so fast, and you seemed so angry...I didn't think you would want to eat with everyone."

She had that right. As usual, he had picked a fight with Yuki and lost. This time pretty badly. His chest still hurt where he had been kicked. He watched her wordlessly as she presented the small plate with a neat line of cod flavored rice balls. His favorite.

"You didn't need to do that, yuh know." He mumbled.

"Well I couldn't let you go hungry! You missed dinner last night too..." She gave him a worried look. She was so cute...and she didn't even realize it.

"Oh, fine, gimme one of those." He said, trying to hide the smile that was spreading across his face. She held out the plate so he could take a rice ball.

"Um...Kyo..."Her voice was smaller this time.

"Yeah? What?" He asked past his mouthful of rice.

"Well...It's just...I..um...let's see..." She kept going like that for a little while.

You are such a spaz. He thought, watching her search for the right words.

"Tohru." He interrupted. Aww, crap. What am I doing?" He thought. But he couldn't hold it in. She was worried about him...again. She was the only one that ever worried about him. She put forth so much extra effort to make sure he was comfortable...noone ever cared for him like that. Not really. Kagura went through the motions, but she was really just trying to over compensate for issues they had had in the past. She didn't REALLY care for him...not like this. He couldn't help it. The words came rushing from his mouth.

"Tohru, You're...you're special. You know? No one...no one has ever cared about me the way you do. And hell, I never deserved it anyway." He turned away from her, trying to hide his blush. "What I mean to say is...well...I care about you, you know? A lot. I don't want you to have to worry about anything, so if...if you ever need someone to talk to, or if you need help, you can always come to me." Tohru stared silently at the cat.

"You make me feel like I deserve to be cared for, Tohru. And I've never felt that way before. It almost feels like a dream, yuh know? Like it's too good to be true. I mean, no one could ever care about someone as worthless as I am...I'm the cat. The only thing I'm good for is being despised, and rejected."

"Kyo..."

"No, Tohru..." He turned to her, not caring if she saw his beat red face. "I can't say no to you. You mean everything...everything to me. I l...I love you."

"Kyo..." Tohru's eyes filled with tears. "I feel the same way about you..."

They looked into each other's eyes for a moment before Kyo wrapped his arms around her. He pulled her close and tried to take in as much of the feeling as he could. The feel of her small body pressed against his, the smell of her hair, the warmth of her touch. It was gone all gone in a puff of smoke, but he didn't care.

In his cat form he curled up on her lap, and she gently stroked his orange fur. He was only vaguely aware that he was purring.