"Good morning, class! My name is ! I am your Family Life Teacher!" He announced in an upbeat voice. This caused Kyo to roll his eyes in annoyance. The teacher's cheerful disposition reminded him somewhat of Shigure. While he wasn't paying attention, the boy in front of him passed back some papers. Kyo took his and passed the rest to Tohru behind him. He read the instructions carefully.
"Directions-On the lines below, list the names of the people you live with. Below each line are four options: Hate, Dislike, Like, Love. Circle the emotion you feel corresponding to the name on the line.".
Kyo wrote Shigure's name on the first line and circled 'dislike'. Next, he wrote Yuki's name and drew thick circles around the word 'hate'. He smirked at his action, then moved to the next line. Tohru. 'Uh... I definitely don't hate or dislike her...so it's between like and love.' Kyo decided. He thought about the word 'like' and realized that he more than just 'liked' her. Then he thought about 'love'. That's the emotion Kagura claimed to feel about him, though he has never had the urge to beat Tohru up like Kagura did to him. Not fully understanding what the word 'love' really meant, he decided to turn around and see what she put for him. On her paper, she had circled 'love' for him as she had for Yuki and Shigure. Kyo went red and then circled the same for her. But did that mean she wanted to beat him up? He shrugged his shoulders and moved down to the second section titled "Abuse".
The section read:
"Abuse has two forms: Physical and Mental. To Physically abuse someone is to physically harm someone. Mental abuse, however, is when cruel words or tone are used against someone, leaving lasting emotional scars. Please mark a check in the line below if you or someone you know has ever been abused."Kyo gulped. He always yelled at Tohru...it may not be intentional, but...had he been mentally abusing her? What if she was to never smile again-all because of him? Kyo nervously turned his head to see that Tohru had indeed put a mark on the line. His heart sunk. He had ruined the life of one of the most important people in his life. How could he ever even stand to speak to her again? He turned in his paper and put his head on his desk to think.
When the bell rang, everyone stood from their desks.
"So Kyo, was your paper easy?" Tohru asked. When Kyo turned and saw her, feelings of guilt surged through him. He was her ultimate source of pain and suffering-yet she looked at him with a smile he knew he didn't deserve. He left without a word. This made Tohru feel worried. When she was starting to go after him, Yuki grabbed her shoulder. "If he wants to sulk, let the idiot do it on his own." Yuki said flatly. Just then, Arisa came and leaned on Tohru's desk.
"What's up with orange top?" She asked nonchalantly. "I don't know," Tohru said somewhat distantly.
Kyo ran through the paths leading away from the school. Every ounce of his cat-self told him to go to the roof, but he knew that would be an obvious place for Tohru to look. He never wanted to hurt her, but he had. In too many ways. He was 'responsible' for her mom's death, after all. That had to be the worst emotional toll for her. Why did she still even talk to him? She knew he was at fault for everything as well as he did! When Kyo was finally in the forest, he found a sturdy tree and climbed up to a high branch. He didn't plan on going back to Shigure's. Going back would only cause pain to Tohru.
"Shigure, is Kyo here?" Tohru said as she ran into the house in a panic. "No, he isn't here, is he missing?" Shigure asked calmly. Yuki casually strolled in as if there wasn't a girl panicking all around him.
"The idiot ran off. He'll most likely come back for dinner." He said while taking his shoes off. Yuki's statement seemed to calm Tohru's nerves a bit. Tohru went into the kitchen and began to prepare dinner with a nervous smile etched on her face. Her eyes began to water, but not because of the onions she had just cut. She just wanted to know what was on Kyo's mind so that she could help him. The thought of him suffering with his problems out there somewhere all alone brought tears to her eyes. Was it her who had upset him? Tohru thought back to when he ran off. She was the last person he had talked to. She wiped away her tears and served dinner to Shigure, Yuki, and herself. As she sat down, Shigure looked pitifully at her puffy red eyes, then over to Yuki. Yuki sighed and got up to leave. "Y-Yuki, where are yo-" Tohru was cut off by the front door slamming. She began to cry again and ran towards the stairs. She paced up the stair case and ran into Kyo's room.
Shigure got up from the table and dusted off his robe with a sigh. Then he went upstairs and slid open the door to Kyo's room, where Tohru sat sobbing in front of a framed picture of Kyo and his master. Shigure sat beside her and patted her on the shoulder.
"He really does like you, you know." Shigure said in a comforting voice. Tohru looked up and saw Shigure giving her a warm smile. This cheered her up. But what did he mean by 'like'?
As Yuki searched the woods outside, he noticed a grey cat and followed it. The feline led him to Kyo, who was sitting in a tree surrounded by about ten cats.
"Oh, so you just sit here lazily while you let Miss Honda cry her eyes out?!". Yuki's words startled Kyo and made him jump.
"Why the heck are you here, and what in the heck do you mean she's crying?! I wasn't even there to do anything!" Kyo shot Yuki an angry glare and fiddled with a leaf. Yuki sighed and stepped closer to the tree.
"Listen, you baka neko, just because you ran out here for no appearant reason, you left her to worry about you, you heartless monster!" Yuki glared daggers at Kyo. Kyo turned to look up at the sky. "Why the heck would she worry about me!?".
Yuki was beginning to get frustrated with Kyo's cluelessness.
"You truly are an idiot! She likes you for goodness sake! Now go back!".
Kyo grunted in frustration.
"Tohru likes everyone she meets! That's just who she is, but that's no reason for her freak out over all of this!".
Yuki finally got fed up.
"NOT THAT KIND OF LIKE, IDIOT! IF YOU HAVEN'T NOTICED THE WAY SHE ADMIRES YOU, YOU TRUELY ARE DUMB! NOW. GO. BACK.". Kyo began to let Yuki's words sink in, and jumped out of the tree without a word. He ran past the trees and towards the house, flinging the door open. As Kyo's feet hastily patted against the stairs, Shigure smiled and pointed behind his head with his thumb.
"She's in your room.".
Kyo opened his bedroom door and shut it softly, not wanting to wake the now sleeping girl. Her face was damp with tears and she looked tired and worried, despite the fact that she was sleeping. Kyo picked her up and tucked her into his bed. He then grabbed a blanket out of his closet and laid down on the wooden floor beside the bed. He finally felt relaxed knowing that she wouldn't cry anymore.