Iceclaw14: Hello people! Sorry about the long wait but it's good to be back! Now, I lied last chapter. I said I would do songfic about Kyo and Tohru…but I can't do it! I've chickened out, so instead, this will be a chapter about Kyoko's childhood! Yay! I'm writing this chapter while my allergies are killing me and I'm drinking tea *slurp*. So just know while you're relaxing, I'm making myself loopy with allergy medicine.
Chapter 2: Red Butterfly
Couples: KyoXTohru and KatsuyaXKyoko
Format: Story
Main Characters: Kyoko…..yeah purdy much Kyoko. And Tohru….yeah, Kyoko and Tohru.
Time: Four years after Volume 23.
Let's get this show on the road!
Tohru finished setting up breakfast at the table where she and Kyo ate most of their meals together. She placed the plate of tamagoyaki at Kyo's usual spot. She came back up slowly, resting her hand at the small of her back. She smiled as she imagined herself looking like an elderly woman. Which she probably did.
When she came up she sighed happily, looking down at the extravagant meal before her. She hoped Kyo would like it.
Just as she thought that he entered the room, pulling a black shirt over her head. She bit her lip, trying to keep herself from giggling. Part of it reminded her if when she first-met the orange-haired man—tumbling through the roof in a storm of wood.
A smile spread across Tohru's lips. Kyo, after straightening out his shirt, looked at her, puzzled.
"Huh? What is it Tohru-kun (A/N: That's what they called her in the manga, right? Tohru-kun? I can't really remember… Except didn't Natsuki Takaya say she wanted to make her use "kun" even thought it was normally used to for guys to make her kinda balance out beyond her name.)?" His voice was sweet, and it instantly took on a serious tone. "Are you okay? Is the baby…?"
Tohru cut him off with her laugh. She ran her hand down her swollen abdomen. "Of course not Kyo. I'm only seven months pregnant you know."
He ran his hand through his hair, turning his head to avoid her seeing his reddening cheeks. "Yeah, I know. I just worry sometimes."
She balled her hand into a fish and bent her elbow so her fist came to her shoulder. Tohru made a V-shape with her eyebrows and turned her smile upside-down. "Don't worry Kyo! If I feel any pain I promise I won't burden you with it! I won't make you worry at all!"
"That's not what I mean!" He screamed. "If you're in labor I would like to know so you don't give birth on our floor." He facepalmed, and breathed slowly, trying to calm himself down.
Tohru gave up her angry look. "Oh…okay." She gestured towards their meal. "Why don't you have a seat and eat some."
Kyo nodded and stepped forward towards her, grabbing her by the arm and slowly easing her onto a seat, then sat in his own.
The couple ate in taciturn silence—which was a rarity for the two of them. Whenever Kyo felt there wasn't anything for him to say, Tohru would always jump in with random thoughts and her schedule for the day. The way she was able to talk without him making any signal in return and still believe that he was paying attention made it sincerely seem that the two of them were a happily married couple. This morning, Tohru was busy stuffing her face with the tamagoyaki and radishes. He sighed, but he couldn't blame her. She was seven months pregnant, of course.
Even though she tried to hide it, it was obviously hard for Tohru. The morning sickness was probably the worst for her. Every day she wanted to get up and make him breakfast, do the laundry and clean the entire apartment; and even when her face was as green as boiled leeks, she wouldn't stop.
That is until she rushed into the bathroom.
The mood swings came at a close second. Of course, Tohru never got angry or frustrated as one of her emotions—it didn't seem like it was possible for the small woman to ever harbor anything that can be somewhat harmful. When she was earlier in the pregnancy, she would randomly break out into tears, thinking of her mother or the faded curse of the Zodiac. Then the next second she would fret over Kyo like he was a child.
It was sickening, and he was glad it was over.
Suddenly, Tohru stood up. Her eyes were glassy. Kyo shook his head, thinking: She's gonna cry.
For once in his life, he was correct.
"Oh no!" She said loudly, tears forming in her eyes. "I left Mom's picture at Grandpa's house when we visited yesterday!" What's Mom supposed to do there? I need to get her back!"
"Tohru, sit down." He said, remaining in his seat despite her sudden change. "I'll go after work and get it for you alright?" Kyo looked at her, with vaguely concerned red eyes. He knew that part of her stress was due to hormones, but even as the years passed, her mother's picture never lost importance to her. It was kinda cute, in a way.
Her sea-blue eyes fell, and she nodded weakly. "Oh, okay Kyo."
He wiped his mouth and rose, stepping over towards her. He pulled her into a warm embrace, pressing her head into his chest. Kyo held her tighter; to make his arms inescapable. After a few short moments, he loosened his grip, and Tohru squirmed in his arms. She managed to place both her hands on his chest and look at his face. She rose her heels and placed all her weight on her toes, forcing Kyo to step closer towards her—to keep her from falling forward, his chest was not sufficient for leaning a pregnant woman on—and kissed her.
They stayed connected for some time, Tohru's sweet taste dwelling on his tongue. When she pulled away, he licked his lips until he realized how creepy he must look. He felt the color rise to his cheeks, and when he looked down at her, her head was leaning on his chest.
"So tired." She mumbled. Kyo sighed, grabbed her shoulders and pulled her up to look at him. Her eyes were exhausted.
"Tohru," he began, "while I'm gone you're going to rest, alright? I don't want you doing anything. You are going to lie in bed all day. So when I come back, the laundry had better not be done, the table better not be cleared. The kitchen better not be clean." He exaggerated the word not, hoping—praying—she would allow it to get through her skull and she would listen. "Do you understand?" He asked.
She nodded weakly, and he turned her gently around and half-guided half-dragged her onto the couch. He flipped on the TV to the first channel he could find, turned on a light and placed a dozen magazines into her lap. "There." He said. "Now you need to stay here."
With that, he pulled on his coat and walked out the door.
The apartment was spotless. Tohru could see herself perfectly in the reflection of the wooden table she and Kyo had eaten breakfast on. The kitchen was impeccable, and she had the rice cooker on, preparing for her to make lunch for when Kyo returned. No dinner. Her grandfather lived over two hours away now, since about a year ago when Kyo got a job offering in a distant city. The newly-weds packed up their belongings and moved to a small apartment here. They had settled in quickly, and Tohru had worked as hard as she could to make it feel like home.
Tohru sighed and turned off the rice-cooker, knowing that she would forget about it and the rice would be left to burn. Now what would she do? She decided to make herself some lunch, and at the sheer thought of food. The child kicked her painfully.
"Ow!" She cried softly, her hand quickly moving towards her abdomen. She rubbed her hand in small, gentle circles as she hobbled towards to the refrigerator. She emptied it of the leftover fish, about to go bad, and a large bowl of boiled leeks.
Yesterday, when Kyo was emptying her stomach into the toilet and taking a shower to refresh herself, Kyo had taken the time to look up a healthy food that would help her with her pregnancy—or something that was simply good for pregnant woman. As though the entire world was still trying to make him suffer even without the curse, the only one that was a food and not an expensive vitamin was leeks. Tohru heard him curse from the shower, and when she exited he was wearing a mask and angrily boiling leeks while a leek soup was bubbling—reminding her of when she felt unwell shortly before she had to retake her exams in her first year of high school.
He cooked a variety of leek dishes until the kitchen reeked of it and the fridge was full of it. Kyo stormed in the room he shared with Tohru and returned with an unopened box of expensive-looking cologne. Shigure had given it to him near a month after Kyo and Tohru announced their engagement. He sent it along with an obscene message and Kyo caught fire. Screaming and yowling, then starting a fire and watching the note burn with a gaze that could only be made by a cat. The cologne was lost in his closet for some time.
He tore open the case with his teeth, making growling sounds. When the bottle was free he sprayed it furiously over the entire apartment until he could barely breathe. Tohru had to step outside to breathe—and eat her leek soup.
She devoured the fish and boiled leeks in a matter of seconds, sighing contentedly and closing her eyes.
"How was that, baby?" Tohru laughed. She had asked to not know whether her child was a boy or a girl wanting a surprise. She was perfectly fine with dubbing it "baby" for two more months. Maybe then, she'll have a good name.
Tohru washed the dishes and placed them in their rightful cabinets. Glancing at the clock, she concluded Kyo would be home in about two and half hours—6:30. No more chores, just relaxing.
She plopped onto the couch and quickly fell asleep.
When Kyo arrived, he came with take-out. When he noticed the spotlessness of the apartment—how it glowed and sparkled—he scolded her for a few moments until he noticed her pleading eyes. He sighed, shaking his head, allowing a small smile to spread on her face. He placed the bags of food on the counter, and a small cardboard box that Tohru had not noticed earlier.
"What's that?" Tohru asked, pointing towards the box.
"Huh?" Kyo inquired, looking at his wife then following her finger towards the box. "Oh, your grandfather gave it to me when I arrived." He began. "He had noticed you left the picture and he was waiting for me to show up to get it. While he was waiting, he went up into the attic and noticed a small box full of your mother's things."
He pulled open a drawer beneath him, digging through it for a moment before extracting a pair of bright purple scissors. He used them to carefully remove the tape over the box without harming the actual cardboard. When he was finished, he rested the scissors on the counter and opened the two sides of the box. He pulled out Kyoko's picture, which Tohru grabbed from his hands carefully.
She stared at it for some delicate moments, a smile forming on her face as she stared at her mother's. The picture was sacred to her, and it was out of her life she feared she would have nothing else to remind herself of her kindly, orange-haired mother.
She looked up to see Kyo emptying the contents of the box onto the marble countertop. Her eyes followed his hands as he moved them into the box and then out, grasping some small token of her mother's. Excluding the picture, it contained three items:
A small, ragged book with a torn brown cover and yellow pages.
A pair of broken glasses.
Something wrapped in blue cloth.
Tohru stared hard at the trio of items unknown to her. Kyo noticed his wife's puzzled looks, and for a few moments he measured what he should do and the consequences. He concluded that he should give her some time to herself, occasionally checking on her until it seemed she needed him there. He bent down to lightly kiss her forehead, and her face turned upward to meet his eyes. Her blue ones were shining and shaking. He lifted his hand and caressed her cheek with the back of it, before straightening his back, grabbing a bag of the food, some Tupperware and walked into his small closet of an office.
Tohru grabbed the items and moved into her bedroom. She settled onto the bed slowly, working to find a comfortable position that would still allow her to stay some-what upright. She eventually found one, and placed the items against her swelling abdomen, since she would be unable to see them if she placed them on her thighs.
Even though one of the items was unclosed so she had no clue what was in it, the book was what had first captured her attention. Like the other objects, it was in no way familiar to her. She ran her hand against the brown cover, summoning the courage to open it. She sucked in a deep breath, grabbed the lower edge tightly, and pulled it over.
The first words:
Kyoko
April 1st,
Number one: I am not doing this because my parents told me to—or the therapist. OR the guidance counselors, one of my previous teachers or anyone on this earth other than me. Only because now that I'm in middle school, I'll truly begin skipping classes; and I'll need something to do instead of aimlessly wandering the streets. There's no point in skipping in elementary school, there's so many teachers that you can't even get out of your class without getting busted. And, back then, getting busted wasn't fun.
I'm ditching the opening ceremony. I don't care if they're welcoming me to their goddamn school. I couldn't care less about school. I'm not even sure why I even go anymore. I don't pay attention, I don't learn anything. There are no friends there that keep me coming back, no classes I enjoy.
It's a bit past noon now. At eight, just before I was expected to arouse for school, I pulled on jeans and a t-shirt, and strapped on my sneakers. I grabbed my black bag, stuffing it with my parents' change they leave in a small bowl in the hallway, this book, and a pen, then I escaped through the window. Fortunately, my house is eastern-styled. I used the protruding planks to help climb down safely until I'm about a foot from the ground, when I jump down, landing squarely on my feet. I dug my bike out from some bushes, hop on and began to ride away.
After about an hour of this, I stopped at a small store and buy a soda and a bag of crackers. I sat on the curb, taking vigorous sips of the fizzy drinks and hard bits of the crackers, while I stared violently at the passing pedestrians. Some of them looked down at me. I knew what they were thinking, "What's some girl doing here?" "Shouldn't she be in school?"
I couldn't help but smile.
After some bastard tried to steal my bike, I moved to the side of the store with my bike and began writing in this.
So far, this life is nice. I have no one to listen to, no parents yelling at me and hovering over my shoulder. Pure bliss.
I know when I get home my parents will yell at me again. I'll just shut myself up in my room, turn up the radio 'til I can't hear them, and sit on my bed, flipping through a magazine I also bought in the store. They'd stop knocking vigorously after about an hour, but I'll keep the radio on just as loud.
I'll show up to school tomorrow, just to see who's in my classes and check up on the teachers. One thing I never plan on doing in failing a grade and having to take it over again. That'll make people think I'm an idiot—and I'm not. I'm not an idot.
April 2nd
For homeroom I'm stuck with some fat-ass woman with a lisp whenever she says anything. She teaches math, which is the next block. Then comes science, some old man, English, a man who has never been anywhere that actually speaks the language, and for physical education there's some six-foot-tall woman who's obviously on steroids.
What a fun year this is going to be.
The clock is turning on midnight now. But I don't care if I end up showing late tomorrow, I'll just miss homeroom. Most of the kids are the same from last year, and, just as they did last year, they avoid me, like I'm a wolf in lamb's wool. They're not perfect, what makes them think they are? What makes them better than me?
After school, I went to the back where I put my bike when I find a mix of girls from my grade and the other grades—some were dressed in the clothes of the nearby high school. They were wearing long skirts that came to their ankles, eyebrows tweezed to a thin line, and surgical masks over their mouths.
One girl stepped forward. She was about five six with broad shoulders and large hands, arms and legs. She had short reddish hair that curled down to her shoulders and eyes the color of a storm. The skirt of her high school dress danced around her ankles like flowers in the breeze. She was obviously the leader.
She pulled the surgical mask from her mouth, and she smiled at me. I assumed a hard stance. I wasn't scared, not at all. I just wanted to know what the hell they were doing near my bike.
"What's with the look?" She asked in a taunting voice. It was a rich soprano, and when she laughed it sounded like bells chiming.
"I want to know what the hell you're doing near my bike." I say, feeling the bitterness in my voice.
She laughed, and the girls behind her stayed silent. I half expected them to laugh when she did, and then she'd be forced to flick her hand to make them stop.
She leaned against the wall, looking at me with a cool, superior look. "I heard you were the only one in the entire grade who skipped opening." She laughed again. "You should have seen the principle's face when you didn't show. That's the only reason we go, to check for skippers and to laugh at the teacher's faces."
"What do you want from me?" I said again, mentally cursing myself for not sounding sourer.
"Why, isn't it obvious? We want you to join us. You've obviously got more guts and spunk then the rest of your grade combined, and you're not afraid to break the rules. You probably enjoy breaking them." She smiled, and stretched out a large, long hand. "I'm Tadaya."
"Kyoko." I responded.
From then on, Kyoko's updates became less and less frequent. It became every other day, but after two months, it was twice a week, until it had finally dwindled down to once a month.
She was happier with her gang friends, it was obvious. But Tohru could still feel the anger in her. It had not subsided, but had in fact boiled until she couldn't help herself but to yowl at her classmates and random strangers who gave her odd looks—and her own parents.
Tohru began to choke, feeling hot tears spew from her eyes. She wiped them away with the back of her long sleeve. She couldn't imagine this angry child to be her convivial, smiling mother. The mother who had given her all the advice she would ever need in sixteen short years.
She hiccupped, loudly. With that, she couldn't stay quiet, and her soft tears turned into violent sobs. She could feel her face heat, and her mouth fill with saliva. Her heart was pounding hard, and she felt extremely uncomfortable.
Arms wrapped around her shoulders. She looked up to see Kyo embracing her tightly. He looked down at her, and she thought of how pathetic she must look. Kyo held her tighter, and she turned so she could cry into his chest.
After some moments, Tohru was dry of all tears. She had calmed down a sufficient amount, and her breathing was normal, but raspy. Kyo adjusted himself so she was forced to look up at him.
He motioned with his head at the book Tohru held close to her chest. "Are you ready?"
She nodded, and handed the book over to him. He held it gently, staring blankly at the cover for a while. He leaned down, and arranged all the pillows behind him so he could sit up straight and his wife could lean against his chest. He wrapped one arm around her and held the book with the other hand in front of her so she could follow along with him as he read aloud.
Tohru directed him to the page she had just finished, closed her eyes and listened as he turned the pages; causing a crisp sound to invade their silence. When Kyo reached her place, he cleared his throat and began to read aloud.
Kyoko's words sprang to life on her eyelids.
April 2nd
There was a new teacher today. He's young, only twenty-one or so. He has short, dark hair and he wears glasses but I don't think he needs them. I was yelling at the other teachers when he showed up. He brought me into my classroom and talked to me, talked to me like no one had before. He took off his glasses to reveal eyes the purest of blue and he pulled up my hair and called me "Miss no eyebrows."
He's handsome. Pretty eyes, gorgeous thick hair, a sturdy and strong build.
He took me out for ramen, where he talked to me more and inclined about my eyebrows.
His name is Katsuya.
Katsuya Honda.
April 3rd
I'm at school again… Honda-sensei looks at me with a smile on his face. He asks me to come to his classroom for lunch—when I usually meet up with Tadaya and the others.
But I couldn't say no to him.
Half of me expected him to incline on my outbursts during class, or ask why I showed up on a motorcycle (I stole it over the summer from some bastard who couldn't even steer it). All he did was bring me outside and we talked.
About him.
About me.
About ramen.
He didn't impose on me at all, but I found myself telling him more than I've ever told anyone before. I told him about my gang, about my first cigarette, about my motorcycle and my coined term "The Red Butterfly."
Sensei snickered. "The red butterfly? What kind of name is that?" He looked at me, his glasses sliding down his nose. "You look more like a viper."
I hissed.
He took his glasses, folded them up and put them in his pocket. "So," he began. "Why do they call a monster like you the red butterfly?"
"I'm not a monster!" I say, but he only laughs in return. I sigh. "It's because when I ride my motorcycle, I go by so quickly they say all you see is the red taillights in a blur, so that it looks like the spread wings of a red butterfly."
"Ah…" He said slowly. "Kyoko the Red Butterfly." He looked at me, a smile in his eyes. "Maybe I should call you that."
Kyoko's updates became frequent, until it was at least once a day, if not twice, once before school, once after.
Kyo read on, all about Kyoko and Katsuya. Tohru closed her eyes, trying to picture her father. She didn't know how he looked at all, except from what her mother told her through spoken words and the dairy. That he was handsome. She connected the dots and guessed he probably looked like how she does...maybe. She had to get here eyes and hair from somewhere.
April came and went quickly, and soon it was July in Kyoko's world.
July20th
Today is the last day of the semester. The bell has rung for summer to begin, and my classmates jumped from their seats and raced to the door. It was as though if they had hung around for a second longer something horrible would have happened.
It was the opposite for me.
My hands blindly gathered my stuff automatically, and my eyes remained trained on Honda-sensei. He had removed his glasses and was rubbing his nose with his thumb and index finger. His eyes were closed, and his face was relaxed.
Finally, I had no more of an excuse to stay. My items were in my bag, and I had nothing left to do than leave.
I rose slowly from my seat, trying to be as quiet as possible so sensei wouldn't notice me. I had made it to the door as silent as the wind. I remained there for a short second, resting my hand on the frame of the door. I didn't want to go. But I took the first step forward.
"Miss No Eyebrows," his voice stopped me.
I turned to see him only a foot in front of me. His eyes were bright, and they stared straight through me.
"I would like to speak with you."
I stopped, and straightened myself. "Yeah?" Ugh, my voice sounded so weak!
He smiled, his eyes closed. "I would like to meet up with you next Saturday. Are you willing to meet me?"
"Why do you want to see me over break?" Better, my voice had hardened. "I'm not an idiot, I don't need help with my homework."
Sensei laughed. "I know you're smart, but I would just like to see you." His eyes pierced me. "How about it?"
I nodded thoughtlessly. I cursed myself instantly for not saying anything, and the next words slipped out as a clumsy response. "Yeah, sure, whatever."
"Good," he responded. "I'll meet you by the train station at 't be late, Miss No Eyebrows."
"I won't be."
July 28th
I came into the station at 2:45 precisely. Sensei was sitting on the bench, and my heart skipped a bit. I had only ever seen him dressed for school, in white dress shirts, ties and dress pants. Even when I had met up with him outside of school, it was usually just after, so he didn't have the opportunity to change.
He was wearing a long sleeved black shirt with a V-neck and black trousers. He was sitting with his right foot on his left knee, his left elbow was against the top of the bench—his hand supporting his head. He looked so classic, so young.
Heat coursed into my cheeks, and I felt my entire body warm.
Then, it was as hot as magma boiling in a volcano.
A pretty woman with long black hair approached was dressed in a pretty pink sundress. I looked down unhappily at my jeans and t-shirt.
She dropped a bag she was carrying, and as she bent down to pick it up, Katsuya beat her to it. He grabbed it off the floor for her, and held it out for her.
"Here, miss." He said.
She chucked lightly, a high laugh. "Oh silly me." She reached and took it from him with a graceful hand. She laughed again. "And I'm married."
He smiled. "Really? You're so young?"
Again, that laugh. "Ah, well I must be going." She smiled at him, bowed lightly, and then walked off.
I felt myself storm off to him. I wanted to slap him—do something. Tell him I thought he was a jerk and didn't want to go with him.
When I reached him, he looked up at me, and smiled. It was a pure smile, not the polite one he gave the woman. It was so strong it made his eyes close.
"You ready to go?" He said.
The anger flooded out of me. I nodded numbly. "Yeah." He rose from his seat, and looked at the large bag I carried at my wrist. "What's the for, Miss No Eyebrows?"
I felt more heat rush to my cheeks. "Oh," I began softly. "I wasn't sure how long we were going to be gone, so I just packed up some clothes and my toothbrush and stuff." I looked up at him. "So, where are we going?"
"You'll see." Sensei extended his hand. "Let's go."
I took his hand gently, and he quickly began to weave through the large mass of people. I could hardly hear myself think. I didn't take the subways much, they were always too crowded and I enjoyed the liberating feel of the wind in my hair while I sped on my motorcycle.
"Here," he said just before taking a sharp left turn, resulting in me almost being squished my someone.
I was about to spew some obscenities when the people on all sides suddenly stopped, and I was starng at Sensei. Behind him, I could see the empty spot where the subway went.
He spoke with a smile in his voice. "You don't take the subway much, do you?"
I shook my head. "Of course not, there's no point in it when I have my motorcycle."
We waited in near silence for some short time. He jokingly inquired on how my summer homework was giong, and I responded with a growl.
The truth was, I had finished it all.
The subway came, and as it was racing by, Sensei began to look rapidly in both directions before he grabbed my hand again, said something that I couldn't hear over the screech of the train then tore off towards the end of the train.
"Hey!" I yelled. "What the hell are you doing, you pig head?"
The doors to the train opened, but he didn't turn to enter them. He kept running until we came to the last car. He stopped in front of the door, bowed and inclinded with his hands.
"Ladies first."
I entered the car with curses under my breath. He came in my behind me, and two beeps sounded, then the doors closed. A seat was just next to me, so I sat and looked up at him. The car had begun to move, and, instead of the seat some feet away, he grabbed hold of the pole just in front of me.
"What the hell was that about?" I asked harshly.
"I had a feeling you'd like a car with just the two of us in it rather than filled to the brim with other people. Everyone likes being in the front, so these cars are usually empty."
"It's a whole lot different than being on my motorcycle, that's for sure." I mumbled.
He laughed again.
"How long are we gonna be on here?" I asked.
Sensei glanced at his watch. "A while. Somewhere between an hour and a half and two hours."
My jaw hit the floor. "Two hours? We're going to spend two hours on this train?"
"No, we'll switch twice."
I sighed.
The rest of the trip was lengthly, but nice. We talked about all the things we usually do, and it felt no different then when we meet up at school or at restaurants. Except the fact the floor was moving beneath us. He smiled and laughed and I did so in return. I called him a pighead and he said 'Miss No Eyebrows' with a smile in his voice.
Accouting everything, it was a pleasant trip.
"This is our stop," Sensei said after I had concluded a story of when I threw some bastard into a river. "You ready?"
I nodded, suddenly feeling how cramped my muscles were. I streatched my arms behind my head and slowly rose. It the train suddenly began to slow, and since I was still unsteady on my feet, it caused me to fly forward.
Right into him.
I could feel his heartbeat through my skin. It was almost as speedy as mine.
I jumped quickly up. "S-stay out of my way?" Shit…how could I say that?
He laughed loudly. "Sorry Miss No Eyebrows."
The doors opened, and I quickly sprinted out of them. Honda-sensei stepped out behind me, chuckling lightly.
"Are you done laughing yet?" I hissed.
He nodded, a smile set deep in his face. He extended his hand, and I grasped it tightly.
He led me through enough people to suffocate a horse, and when we came from the building I was in a large parking lot.
I breathed the air in slowly. It was so pure—maybe I was only saying that because I had been stuck underground for two hours; or maybe it was that the air was unladened with the stench of smoke or any impurities.
The second thing I noticed was the trees. Beautiful trees. And grass so green it looked like plush carpet.
"Where are we?" I asked, turning to face him.
Our hands were still locked.
"We're in Kyoto."
My eyes widened. "Kyoto? Why Kyoto?"
Honda-sensei smiled. "Because I wanted to take you some place amazing."
Iceclaw14: Aw…how cute. Now, first things first. This chapter was supposed to be so much longer—it was supposed to end a whole lot later. But, I looked down at the word count, and it said 5,000 words. I thought "5000! I'm not even half-way done!" So I cut in in half…or about as half as I could. So this little series thing is gonna be really long. Ya see, I wanna do at least one chapter for each of the items. You guys propably know what the glasses are, but I'm pretty sure none of you know what's covered up. The chapters about Kyoko and Katsuya are chapters 90-93 in volume 16, and Kyoko's death in 135. I reread chapters 90-93 to do this chapter, and I cried. IT'S SO SAD! SO SAD! When I first read it, I thought it was sad, but now it made me cry. Poor Kyoko! And Katsuya is damn sexy! Now, for my next chapter I'll probably do the ending part of Kyoko's diary, but I would perfer to spread them out over some chapters. So if any of you guys have an idea or you just want me to write about a couple or anything—anything—please tell me. I would love to hear your ideas and maybe write something for you guys! Just say it in a review of PM me. Oh yeah, and that last part, it was supposed to be becuase it was Kyoko's birthday, but then I remembered she was thirteen when she married Katsuaya, and thirteen when she met him, so she couldn't have had a birthday. Now I've gotta go, my nose is bleeding. R&R! See you laterz!
