"I promise it means nothing," he patted her cheek. Tohru stared into his eyes, trying not to lose control and cry.
"B-but, Yuki-Kun," she put her hand on his hand, which was placed on her face. She paused, "Just," and then she smiled sadly, "Come back in time for d-dinner." They both knew he'd never be back in time for dinner. They both knew he probably wouldn't be back at all. He already had all of his stuff packed.
He smiled sadly as well and kissed her forehead. "You will always be first Tohru Honda. I love you."
She nodded, "Yes, you will always be first too. I do, did, and will always love you." And then she was crying.
"Tohru, I know this is hard . . . Don't cry. I know you're trying." He wrapped his arms around her. He whispered one last time in her ear, "I love you."
With that, Yuki let go of her and turned away, walking out of the door. His Goddamn mother; why did she have to do this to them? Tohru was almost going insane over this, and Yuki was in the worst heartbreak he'd ever been in.
When his mother had heard that Yuki was going to ask Tohru to marry him, she freaked. She had talked with her friends, who had a daughter only a few years younger than him, and decided that Yuki would be marrying her. All Yuki knew was it was some girl with the same name as him, and that she was almost as rich as Yuki had been while living with his mother; almost.
Forced marriages for the Zodiac were much different though. Even if the curse was lifted…
How could this be happening? A forced marriage. How. Tohru was breaking and Yuki couldn't do anything. I'm sorry, Tohru. I'm so sorry.
He was then at the door of their mansion, with his mother at his side. Yuuki Cross . . . He wondered what she looked like. He wondered if because she had the same name as him, if she was manly. He smiled at the thought of that.
The door opened, and a man with a suit answered. He seemed like he'd be a butler. Yuki smiled politely at the male, and the male stepped out of the way welcoming them in. Yuki looked around. It was large, though not larger than his house was.
"Mother, I am a child. I'm not marrying an old geezer!" It was the voice of a girl. And then Yuki saw her. She was struggling to break free of her mother's grip. They came around the corner. He was hoping that he wasn't the "old geezer" she was speaking of. He was only three years older than her from what he had heard.
"Yuuki, enough! Just sto-" The woman saw Yuki and his mother and stopped immediately. She loosened her grip on her daughter and bowed, saying, "Our apologies. Yuuki, come now, apologize to them for being inappropriate."
The girl named "Yuuki" seemed much different when she was in front of people. She seemed more polite. She bowed and said, "I apologize greatly for troubling you." She stood and looked away; away from her mother, away from Yuki's mother, and away from Yuki. He stared at her.
"Oh, Ms. Sohma, would you like some tea?" The girl's mother asked. Yuki's mother smiled politely and put up her hand.
"No thank you."
Yuki's mother and the girl's mother looked at the two teens. The girl's mother then said, "We should leave you two alone, so that you can get to know each other a bit better. Come Ms. Sohma, I've been meaning to show you . . ." And then they were gone.
Yuuki's face turned from blank, to annoyed in a quick hurry. Yuki looked down. This couldn't be good.
"Uhm, Miss Cross, why not-" She shot him a death glare. He rolled his eyes. He wasn't doing this for her or his mother. He was doing this because he knew someone was probably watching to see how they were getting along, and he just wanted it to end. "Listen, I know you're probably upset about this, but the sooner we start to get along, the sooner they'll leave us alone, and the sooner this all could be over. This could all go smoothly; we get married, have a kid or two, and then it'll be over. Or you could whine and complain."
Her eyes widened in anger, but she didn't move. Yuki continued, "I don't want to do this anymore than you do . . . I'm already in love with someone anyhow. I just don't want any trouble." He had never been so rude. Never. Though the whole thing made him want to gag.
"Yuki Sohma," She breathed, "Girl name . . ." He almost laughed. That was the same thing he thought about her; that she had a boy's name.
She finally turned her head and looked at him. He gasped a little. He couldn't help but feel a little guilty. He saw so much Tohru in her . . . Her chocolate brown eyes, her hair. All of it reminded him so much of his Tohru. His heart started aching for her…
"What," Her eyes narrowed, "Were you expecting someone prettier?" His head shot up.
"No, no. It isn't that . . . I just . . ." want Tohru . . . He wanted so badly to say. "So, about this marriage, how many kids were you thinking of having?" Yuuki looked at him oddly.
"How can you talk about this so calmly?"
"Hm? I don't know . . ." He shrugged, "Anyhow, I was thinking . . ." He stopped mid-sentence and looked at her. What in the World? Was it the way he said it? What happened?
The girl had her head down and there were tears streaming down her cheeks. He thought about it for a moment. Well . . . she is just a kid. Maybe I went too far for now. Though she'll need to decide these things sooner or later.
He decided to use his skills. The only time he'd ever used them before was to get Tohru to fall asleep when she was upset; she called them his "charming abilities." He was sure it could calm anyone, including this brat-of-a-kid.
He couldn't help but feel bad though; a fifteen-year old girl, with an already decided future. It reminded him of himself, and how his mother was to him. He could relate 100% with her.
He walked over to her. She was so much smaller than him. How could this be right? He bent down to her level, "Hey," he started, "It's not the end of the World. It may seem like it when you're so young, but trust me . . . this won't last very long. Eventually, they'll realize that this was all so stupid. Sure we might already have a child on the way by then, though it doesn't change the fact that this is not permanent." Yuki smiled thoughtfully at her.
She looked up at him; her eyes wide and innocent. This was not right; not at all. This was twisted.
He wiped away a few tears and ruffled her hair. She still looked devastated. He decided to take his skills to the next level. He put his lips to her ear. "This will never last; none of it. This will be over soon enough. I promise you."
She fell into him like a little girl would to her father. Yuki held her, singing to her; calming her.
For even if it does last . . . you will never be able to take the place of my Tohru.