SUMMARY - Sohma Kyo, a callous, coldhearted ex-gang member who has lost all faith in life. Honda Tohru, the reverend's granddaughter who fits the description of the "pure, innocent, church girl." When the two meet...what will happen? AU VERSION. KxT
The story about a girl who taught a boy a little something called hope...
C R O S S
Chapter O N E
Building A Mystery
Dear God,
I can't believe in
I don't believe in
I won't believe in heaven and hell
no saints no sinners no devil as well
no pearly gate no thorny crown
you're always letting us humans down...
If there's one thing I don't believe in...
It's you, dear God.
The color of the air was turning from pale to dark, and the moon was beginning to wrestle soundlessly with the sun for its position in the upper skies as the clocks around the world hit seven o' clock.
Out in the darkening night, stood a boy, with a plain black shirt and charcoal pants that fit loosely around his legs. The only bright part that was left on him was his burning hair; it was an outrageous orange color that people only saw in those wacky cartoons on TV, or in those comic books with those unrealistic superheroes.
The orange haired boy stood outside, standing resolutely while staring up at a medium sized building that was covered in smooth beige brick with a pointy rooftop; right in the center of the building was a huge shining silver cross, showcasing the church's main symbol. His weight shifted from one leg to the other as he thought to himself,
Should I just go in?
His crimson eyes were clouded with uncertainty as he reached out a doubtful hand, pushing the wooden doors open very gradually so that it creaked noisily as it opened. He looked around inside and one look at the stainglass windows, paintings of Holy figures, and a man in the front uplifting the spirits of others, shook his frayed nerves. He quickly let go of the door, slamming it shut and whipped around promptly, crashing right into a solid body behind him.
A yelp and a loud crack were heard as the boy bounced backwards, still not registering what exactly had just happened. He shook his head from side to side, and when his mind was focused, his eyes traveled downward to see a girl with long chestnut hair and huge brown eyes lying flat on the ground with broken glass and fresh yellow flowers scattered nearby. He winced slightly and crossed over to her, holding out his hand to her. She put her hand into his and he pulled her up from the hard ground so that she standing up. Once she was up, his hand didn't linger in hers, instead he snatched his hand away and placed it inside his pockets, muttering out with sort of an embarrassed stare,
"Didn't see you there..."
The girl shook her head with an apologetic smile and brushed off her jacket, along with the hem of her skirt, replying back jovially,
"It's okay! I wasn't watching where I was going..."
The wince came back to his face as he glanced down at the scatter of glass pieces on the ground and the bright yellow flowers laying still on the dirty cement. He pointed out with a low voice,
"I think... your flowers might be ruined. Sorry about that."
She shook her head with the same smile never fading from her lips as she waved her hand in the air to dismiss the accident,
"It's okay. I can always get more later, I just wanted to replace the dead ones inside, seems like it's been years since I changed the flowers!"
He paused uneasily and finally asked,
"You work here or something?"
She smoothed down the back of her hair and answered back timidly,
"Well... I sort of live here actually."
"You live... in a church?"
She nodded at his dubious question and explained,
"Well my grandfather owns the church, so we live on another floor of the church. It's really a great place...hey! Um... were you just about to go inside?"
His face flushed, but it couldn't be seen in the dark night,
"No... I was just..."
Unable to brew up a good excuse, he let his frustration get the best of him, causing him to blow up at her,
"Forget it!"
She cringed backwards for a second, but let his anger slide off her like water as she then bowed her head down, offering with a diffident tone,
"You should come listen to my grandfather's sermon tomorrow. He's a wonderful speaker."
The surly boy kept a blank expression on his face, replying tersely,
"No thanks."
She nodded again and then added happily,
"Oh, okay, but if you ever change you mind, then you're welcome here anytime."
The strange girl lifted her hand into a wave and called out,
"Sorry about bumping into you before."
She touched the knob of the door but turned back around to face the boy again,
"Oh! I've been so rude... my name is Honda Tohru. What's yours?"
His eyes averted from hers, not really wanting to tell her, but he decided to just spit it out. After all, it wasn't like she was going to do anything with this little piece of information anyway. He shrugged and answered with a mutter,
"It's Kyo."
Tohru nodded and flashed another grin,
"It was nice meeeting you Kyo-kun!"
She waved promptly in his direction, and then disappeared into the double doors, closing the door shut softly. Kyo heaved a long, audible sigh as he stuffed his hands into his deep pockets, casting one more look at the church before walking away.
Sunday morning strolled along, and standing way in the back of the church, hiding behind a mass of other people, was none other than Kyo.
Tohru was standing at the front where her grandfather was yelling out a powerful speech, searching the crowd with scanning eyes, and finally spotting his fire colored hair. Just as her grandfather launched into a sermon about sins and guilt, she saw Kyo slip out from the bench, pushing through the doors in a hurry and something fall out from his pockets. She rushed down the aisle and over to that spot, picking up the wallet that had carelessly dropped from his loose pockets.
He was just about to cross a street when he heard footsteps racing up behind him, and a female voice calling out,
"Wait! Kyo!"
Kyo turned around to see Tohru run up behind him with a leather black wallet in her hands, holding it out to him, trying to catch her breath. Kyo raised an eyebrow, asking rudely,
"What do you want?"
Tohru finally caught her breath and pointed at the wallet, informing him,
"You... dropped your wallet."
Kyo stared down atthe ratty wallet sitting inside her small palm, and lifted it out of her hands gingerly between his thumb and index finger. He then looked at her with an intense gaze and she blushed unconsciously as he finally croaked out very quietly and sincerely for the first time that she met him,
"Thanks..."
He was just about to turn his back to her again, but she interrupted him by asking,
"Um... so I saw you standing in the back, how did you like the sermon?"
Kyo gripped the wallet in his hands tightly and shrugged, replying back,
"It was alright."
She fidgeted with her hands for a moment and then inquired further,
"Would you like to stay a little while more? I'm sure my grandfather would love to see a new face in the crowd."
All her questions... and the answers that he didn't want to answer set him off as he yelled out a bit too loudly,
"Can't you just mind your own business! I have more important things to do."
A look of hurt flashed through her eyes, but she quickly recovered as she nodded and gave him aweak smile,
"I'm sorry.. um...I guess... I'll see you around. Sorry again."
She gave him a little bow, and then walked back to the church, the bounce from her step erased. He watched Tohru's retreating figure go back inside the church, and felt like he just had the wind socked out of him. He leaned back against a metal streetlight and opened up his wallet to see the familiar picture of a young girl at the age of six or seven with pink overalls and hazel colored hair pulled into small pigtails. She had a huge smile with her two front teeth missing, and the picture caused Kyo's eyes to fill with pain as he shut it quickly, tucking it safely into his front pocket.
PHEWW... first chapter of a brand new story is DONEE! WHOOT! Hope you guys enjoyed it... I know it's kind of going slow right now, but most stories do in the beginning, eh? Well, anyways, please stick around for the coming chapters... because we're just gettin' started baby! And guys, don't forget to...
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