I got this idea from reading the first volume all over again. It got me into thinking about Kyo and Tohru's relationship and how it stemmed from them being kids. Anyways, please let me know how I did C:
WARNING: There are spoilers for anyone who didn't finish the manga! (Or hasn't read the manga)
The first time they had met, well, one of them didn't even know about the other. The little boy however, knew almost everything about the little girl.
Like how her father had died of pneumonia. Her mother went into a deep depression and almost took her life before realizing she couldn't leave the girl alone. Her relatives always talked bad about her, saying she wasn't her father's child. She didn't look a thing like him. Perhaps some other man had been the real father.
He knew everything about her, yet she knew nothing about him. Hell, she wasn't even aware of his presence. He always kept himself hidden when he went to visit her. He'd always feel sad when she'd look so down; eating her bowl of ramen by herself while her mother was working. There had been times when he wanted to go and comfort her; or at the very least, talk to her. However, his curse prevented him from doing such a thing.
A few weeks later, he found out the sweet girl had gone missing. Her mother had asked him to help find her. Without hesitation, he had made that promise. One he wished he was able to keep. However, that damn rat had beaten him once again. He had saved her and made sure she remembered him by giving her HIS hat. That should've been him! He should've been the one to save her, give her his hat in memory of him saving her. He was supposed to protect her! Not the rat!
And so, the young Kyo had gotten very upset that he wasn't Tohru's savior and had run away. Hoping he would never be back in her life.
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Years had gone by and he had been a teenager. It was just a typical day for him; he had been heading home from school when he had seen her mother.
To say he was shocked was an understatement. He didn't know if she recognized him. But then again, if she had a good memory, she'd realize who he was. Though he prayed she wouldn't; for he didn't want to have to face his past. He had been such a brat; getting mad at her just because she tried to reason with him about Yuki.
It was at that moment he had seen the car, it was coming in the same direction as them. He wanted to reach out to her, pull her into his arms to save her from the oncoming vehicle. But, his curse prevented him from doing so. If he had done it, everyone would've known that he was a monster; an ugly creature. And surely she wouldn't accept him either. The fear of being found out held him back.
And then he'd seen Kyoko Honda being hit by a car, blood flying everywhere, her body landing with a "thud" on the cold, wet ground. His mind went blank, his eyes widen in fear, his body unresponsive. The image of the little girl sitting alone flashed in his mind, and it was all he could do but run. He had failed once again to protect her from suffering, from pain. And it was his fault.
Kyoko's words rang in his ears.
"I won't forgive you."
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It had been four months later since the incident happened. He had returned from the mountains. He was going to finally beat Yuki and become a member of the Zodiac! However, before he was able to lunge, she had slipped and fell on him, her arms wrapped around his stomach to try and sustain her fall. He was so surprised at seeing a girl in the house, it didn't occur to him it was the same girl he had met years ago.
At least until Shigure mentioned her name.
"That's Honda Tohru-san."
He looked at him, the image of the smiling girl flashed into his mind before turning to look at her, his eyes widening immensely. Why? Anger had seeped into his mind, before mixing with regret and despair. He didn't want to be close to her! If she had ever found out he was the one who murdered her mom… Squeezing his eyes shut, he shook his head before running out of the house.
Running away from the girl he always wanted to protect.
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This time, she was the one who ran away from him. Her grandpa's house was done renovating and she was to be moving in with them. This should've made Kyo happy, for it meant he wouldn't be near her. Her presence was so calming it made him feel even more tainted. However, after she left, it felt as though the entire atmosphere of the house changed. It was like the house was dark and cold all over again.
He was always living in darkness. He had finally begun to open up to Tohru, and to learn things about her he didn't know about from her mom. Having her around made him start to see that perhaps there was hope in his life. But now that she was gone, so was that hope. He was very aggravated. He didn't know these feelings were him falling in love with her.
Getting up from the roof, his determination kicked in. He had to go bring her back. Back into his life; where she always seemed to make herself known.
With that, he began to run with Yuki in tow. He vowed to bring her back to the house, where she was truly meant to be.
And goddammit, he wouldn't let anyone take her away from him again.
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A few months later, Shishou had come by for a visit. Usually Kyou would be happy to see him. However, something was off. He could feel it. At first he thought it was the weather, but he wasn't that stupid.
Something big was going to happen that night.
The way Shishou had looked at Tohru, it had made him anxious. Almost as though he had some sort of plan. Usually he can read his master by his actions. But, he was well guarded this time. And he didn't understand why.
Until… It happened.
He should've suspected something was off when Shishou wanted to talk outside in the rain. He didn't read much into it though. He knew that it was rather stifling in the house, so he thought that Shishou would want fresh air. Perhaps he wanted Kyo to get over his fear of the rain.
However, he had other plans.
Snatching his wrist, his eyes widened before looking at his master. Guilt and seriousness mixed in his eyes before he saw Tohru standing behind them. And before he could do anything, his beads were yanked off his wrist, releasing the monster he was keeping from Tohru.
Not wanting her to see him in such a state, he ran away from her.
It seemed that's all he was good at doing, he mused.
He didn't want to lose her because of this. So he forced himself to run into the forest. So no one else could see the ugliness he kept hidden.
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Something in Tohru snapped. She had run off to chase Kyo. She wasn't sure if the feeling was "love" but she knew she enjoyed Kyo's company. Each time she had to leave him behind, her chest would ache painfully. It would hurt so much, she would cry in agony.
This was another one of those times.
However, she didn't have time to cry over this. She had to help him; just like he had helped her.
The smell was suffocating her; it wasn't a smell she had recognized before. But even though she was gagging on it, she still kept on going. She didn't want to lose Kyo-kun from her life. She wanted to reach out to him, to hold him, console him, and do anything that would ease his fears. She wasn't sure how she was going to do it, but she wanted to.
Desperately.
She had seen him on the rock, looking up at the sky. She was afraid of him, but not because of the form. No; she was scared because she didn't want him leaving her life. She wouldn't allow it to happen. She would bring him back home. Where he belonged.
He had sensed her, and tried getting her to stay back. But she kept on walking towards him. He had done the one thing he wished he never did.
He swiped at her; a scratch was on her neck. He growled as a warning to stay away. He even resorted to yelling things he didn't mean at her. He was doing anything to keep her away, to push her away from him.
It was inevitable. He was going to lose her anyway, might as well end it here.
But to his surprise, she grabbed on to his arm. Her face was so pale, her voice quiet and filled with fear. What kept his attention on her were the words coming from her mouth. She was just as scared of losing him as he was of losing her. She wanted to still be with him even though he looked like this.
"I wanna be with you!"
He had reverted back to his human form at the sound of those words. She lifted her head to look at him; he turned to look at her. And even though he knew he was going to become a cat, that didn't matter. He had pulled her into his arms, his face buried in her hair, tears falling down his cheeks. They had only lasted in that position for a few seconds before he turned into a cat. But he still cried in her lap.
Smiling, despite having tears in her eyes, she picked him up and carried him back to the house; keeping him as physically close as possible. He had cuddled into her, causing her to grip him tighter.
It was the first time Kyo had been brought back by Tohru. And it was at this moment, he decided to stay with her.
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The last time he ran from her, he had just admitted to her the truth about what happened to her mother. How he was there, but fear held him back from saving her, how he had been told about her.
The real reason he hated Yuki.
The whole truth came out, and he had felt so dirty, so defiled. He was such a tainted person; he didn't want to taint her too. He told her how he didn't forgive himself for what happened. And that he didn't want her to forgive him either. He was so selfish, only thinking about his own feelings, not even thinking about how she'd feel. He just wanted her to go away, to not be involved with him anymore.
He wasn't stupid. He knew him and Tohru had a thing, they connected in a way he had never connected with anyone else. They didn't have a name for it, but they always did stuff together, whether it was going shopping or even just doing homework together. Everyone else around him could see that they were a lot closer than what they were.
And that scared him.
Momiji had been the one to point out her feelings towards him. And it made him so mad. He didn't want her to have these feelings for him. He was mad at himself for growing so attached to her in the first place. And when he had tried to put distance between them, it had resulted in Tohru almost dying.
When he had heard she fell from the cliff, he had bolted instantly. Adrenaline kicked in and nothing else mattered to him except Tohru's safety. But when he got there, his world shook.
Her body was lifeless, her eyes were closed. Blood seeped from her arm as though she had gotten cut before falling off the cliff. And even though Yuki was around, he didn't care.
He cried.
He cried, begged, screamed at Tohru to get up. To say something, anything! It didn't suit her, the bubbly, very optimistic girl that now had no life to her. He felt so helpless because he didn't save her yet again! And this time, he was the reason why she was hurt; because if he hadn't denied her love, this wouldn't have happened. She'd be talking with him, very alive and animate. He told her she was disillusioned, and that her feelings were fake.
And he ran from her.
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The touch of her hands registered in his mind and he lifted his head so fast, he thought he had whiplash. He called out her name, before her eyes opened and her fingers softly wiped the tears from his eyes.
She kept telling him that she was okay. That she was fine.
He didn't care that Yuki left or that the ambulance was on its way, he wanted to show her his actual feelings. He had whispered to her to stop talking, for he didn't want her to waste all of her energy.
And then, Kyo dipped his head and lightly kissed Tohru on the lips, one last tear slipping from his eye.
I love you.
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This time, she was the one who ran away. She hadn't done this in almost two years, if he had recalled. And this time, he was going to keep her with him permanently. He was going to do whatever it took to keep her by his side. Not having her there was agony for him. He couldn't take it. Uo and Hana had warned him that she may run away.
Since he had rejected her.
He didn't mean for it to happen that way, but being the idiot he is, he knew it was his fault. So this time, he was going to set things straight.
He felt the love swell in his chest when he had seen her exit the hospital. His chest kept thumping and his face lit up at the sight of her. Her face had one of shock, before she bolted away. At first, he slumped over in defeat. But then his determination kicked in and he chased after her.
Finally ready to admit the feelings he kept hidden from her.
He had taken a short cut, taking a different back lane before swinging around the pole and affectively cutting off Tohru. They were both out of breath but he had uttered her name. Being scared, she screamed before running the opposite way.
Hardening his resolve once again, Kyo began to chase her once more.
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He had finally caught up to her, seeing her sad and beating herself up. She didn't want to be a burden anymore, and it was his fault she felt that way in the first place. Not wanting to see her hitting herself anymore, he grabbed her wrist lightly, adjusting so it fit within his own. Lightly bringing it down to her lap, he got onto his knees.
He began explaining that he was selfish and only thinking of himself. He didn't even consider her feelings. And he should've known that there was a chance he wouldn't have been able to apologize for his actions because of what happened to Kyoko. And he had apologized, explaining that he only needed one more chance to fix it.
Because he couldn't live without her. He didn't want anyone else in his life.
He had only loved her.
Her eyes widened as it went silent, her mind taking in the information. Timidly, she had squeezed his hand, asking him if it was okay for her to hold it. And if it was okay for them to be together.
He just smiled and whispered, "You're already holding it."
Her eyes widened before tears fell, one by one, onto their hands. She lifted her other hand to her face, trying to stop herself from crying in front of him. But he had placed his hand on her eye, wiping away the tears, before cupping her cheek, and leaned in.
Placing a soft kiss on her lips.
He had pulled away, their eyes not leaving the others. He had told her that they had already kissed once before, causing her to go in shock because she didn't remember it at all.
He sighed before standing up, dragging her with him. It was then he had asked her if it was okay to hug her. He knew his curse would make it hard for them to be normal. And he thought it would be a burden to her. But she just smiled and told him.
"I really love you Kyo-kun. And that feeling is invincible."
With that, he got the courage to pull her to his chest, causing her to gasp. She looked up at him before smiling and returning his embrace.
They stayed like this for a long time. And it was at this moment that they realized two things:
Kyo's curse was broken. And they finally met each other half way.