Disclaimer: I do not own Fruits Basket. If I did they wouldn't take so long to come out with the English ones. March…Feh…
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Technical Difficulties
By
Moonlit Showers
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The sweeping sounds of a broom penetrated the otherwise silent classroom, as Tohru Honda diligently swept the floor. She hummed to herself as she worked in order to pass the time, a song she heard on the radio recently, but forgot the name of. It was peaceful in the vacated room, the afternoon wind blowing through the open windows to create a pleasant draft.
However, her quite sanctuary was soon distributed as heavy footsteps quickly approached the entryway. A girl with flowing brown hair and a frantic countenance burst through the door, panting in exertion.
Tohru's eyes widened in recognition as she exclaimed, "Rai-chan! What brings you-"
"Tohru!" Rachel interrupted, her eyes darting toward the hallway in a very paranoid fashion, "You've got to help me!"
Setting her broom against a desk, Tohru's expression became determined, "I will do my best!"
Without another word, Rachel quickly reached into her pocket and shoved a small device equipped with wires into Tohru's hands while explaining, "I need you to watch this for me. I don't have time to explain, just don't let Ryu have it. I owe him a pounding."
She turned to go, but paused as she heard Torhu stuttering in confusion, "W-What? W-Wait!"
Rachel smiled, completely ignoring Torhu's puzzlement, "You can listen to it if you want, I don't mind." And on that note, she disappeared down the hall, leaving an utterly bewildered Torhu in her wake.
Peering at the object in her hands, she noticed that it was in fact a digital music player, and the wires were attached ear buds. Torhu smiled at it. It was a very nice shade of blue; it could have been a robin's egg if not for the shape. Feeling a bit daring, she placed the headphones in her ears and clicked the play button. Unfortunately, she forgot to check the volume level.
Letting out a short but loud scream at the deafening music blasting her ears, she yanked out the headphones, dropping the entire player in her surprise. It clattered to the floor; the music stopping once it hit the ground.
After the initial surprise wore off, Tohru soon became horrified once she realized that she had dropped the item she was suppose to be guarding. What if it was broken? How could she have let this happen to Rai-chan's possession? The one she had said she would look after? What was she going to do?
Her self-incriminating thoughts were cut off when another person appeared in the doorway to the classroom. Kyo was in the classroom across the hall and heard her scream. Recognizing that it was Tohru, he decided to see what was wrong.
She turned tearful brown eyes toward him, which immediately sent him into a slight panic.
"Wha-What are you cryin' for?" he exclaimed.
Tohru looked down in shame.
"I failed," she mumbled sadly.
"What d'ya mean, you failed?" Kyo asked in confusion.
"I was supposed to watch this for Rai-chan, but it was so loud. It hurt my ears- But that's not an excuse-"
Before Tohru could lose her composure, Kyo cut in, "Look, calm down would ya? I don't understand-"
"I dropped it!" Tohru blurted out, and then averted her eyes.
Kyo looked down to the small device, before reaching down and picking it up. He tried to hand it to her.
"What's the problem?" he asked when she wouldn't take it.
"It's broken," she said softly, ashamedly.
Kyo looked closer at the music player. He had seen one of these before, one of his classmates had gotten a new one and was showing everyone how it worked. Not exactly sure what do to, but desperate to make Tohru smile again, he clicked the little button showing the "play" sign, hoping for the best.
Tohru looked up in surprise as the little device began to play music once again, and after a pause, graced him with one of her brightest smiles.
"Thank you, Kyo-kun," she breathed, her eyes shining in awe. Their fingers brushed as she reached to take the player back, and turned the music off once more. He blushed.
"You're so stupid, you know that?" he growled without any real anger, "What are you doing in here anyway?"
She lifted up the broom at the reminder of her task, "Oh, I promised that I would sweep-"
"Give me that," Kyo reached out and took the broom from her, starting to sweep the floor in her stead, "You do enough work. Take a break once in a while."
"But-But," Tohru tried to protest, but he interrupted her once more.
"Just let me help you, okay?" he gave her an awkward smile.
Tohru's eyes widened, but then she smiled back, filling him with warmth. "Okay."
The once silent room filled with idle chatter as the orange haired boy slowly made his way around the room, and the girl sat at the windowsill, watching him.
At one point, a girl with brown hair walked past the doorway, smirking to herself as she caught a glimpse of the charming scene. She didn't really need her music player back so soon, anyway.
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A/N: This was a gift-fic for my friend, but I hope everyone else enjoys it as well. Please don't forget to review! *Tohru bow* ^_^