The rain was unforgiving sometimes.

It sounded throughout the entire apartment, pelting against every window as the thunder rolled through and let out it's an occasional roar. Kyo watched the glass panes and globs of water ran down and blurred the scenery until they were just their own individual splotches. Flashes of lightning across the grey skies illuminated bits of the furniture and cast shadows along the walls. He let out a long draw of breath, resting his head against the arm of his couch and closing his lids.

"Who are you?"

The look in her eyes seemed to almost burn in his chest, the unforgiving and violated stare that was paired with the absent glow that once filled her face gave him a cutting ache in places he didn't want to explore. She was cowering at him in fear, displaying such panicked body language he couldn't help but feel sick at his own self. Every movement near her seemed to make her body want to repel him, every look he gave she only returned with pain. She was only a sickly shadow of the woman he once knew her to be, starved and nerveless of everything that made contact with her. He had seen that look before towards him, and it was on a night he rather forget.

At the same time, however, it was her. Through the caked mud and soaked clothes that hung way too loosely around her thin and gaunt figure, it was still her. The remembrance, flashes of both faint and fresh memories filled his chest and swallowed his head, his legs suddenly moving on his own. He had only seen just a glimpse of her latte colored hair and prematurely cut bangs and that was enough for him to go into a full running sprint towards her, knowing too well it could have been anybody. Knowing too well that bringing her back into his life would only bring more agony and unjustifiable chaos towards her and himself, his own selfishness brought him to carry her an entire three miles into his own house.

He took a deep drink of his tea, letting the heat fill his throat and bring his thoughts to a quiet buzz. He swallowed, releasing out a low breath and cooling down his mouth, he decided to recollect himself.

She was in the worst condition he had seen her, let alone anybody in his life, in. Skin grazed completely in spots of purples and blues, taking up so much of what little space she had on her body. Her cheeks, caked with dried mud, were beginning to look sullen and were taut against her cheekbones. When he held her close he could easily feel how each breath of her own was a struggle, shudders riveting down her body and her lips faltering incoherent mumbles.

This was definitely a bad idea. No. this a shit idea. He was bringing someone who he had such a tangled past with him that ended in such utter destruction back in his life for round two when she didn't deserve an ounce of it. Truly this had to be one of the most selfish things he had done and right now the most terrifying part was, he didn't feel any guilt for it.

You could at least thought ahead of what you're going after you took her in, moron. Someone might catch you and put you back at square 1!

But what about her? She had been battered and beaten all along her body when he found her, barely able to keep herself awake and couldn't have weighed more than 90 pounds, all on his account. They had ensured she would be miserable and abused beyond repair and it was too keep him and what little of a life he made safe. Square one for him was 6 feet deep for her.

He reached for his cup again absentmindedly and knocked it onto his lap by mistake, the tea he had prepared earlier immediately soaking into his clothes and giving an intense sting that ran down his leg and spread across jeans. He hissed a curse under his breath and quickly shot up to avoid sitting in a puddle of his spilled beverage.

"Fucking shit, I just got these new." he huffed a breath of frustration while frantically wiping off the dribbles of water collecting onto the fabric, but it was too late. The grey shirt and dark slacks he was wearing had now both started to take a dark and muddy hue. He was at least thankful however he had given the drink time to cool beforehand. "How the hell am I going to get this stain out?"

"Baking soda." a blurt sounded. He swiveled, meeting the eyes that peeked past the hallway door timidly. He caught her stare and it almost interrupted his own breathing.

Looking at her cleaned up for the first time again threw him back farther than he was ready for. Her flushed cheeks gave that rosy hue that complemented her milk skin so well, almost giving way to the faint freckles that were peppered along her nose and along her brows. Her lips had gone from just shy of purple and chapped to the point of nearly bleeding, to a dusted rose that came to a tender pout. He could feel his chest tighten just the slightest.

"I-I'm sorry for eavesdropping, I didn't intend to spy on you or anything like that. I just wasn't sure if should have announced myself or not." she played with the hem of the still dirty blouse she wore, "Uhm, but if it helps you could get that stain out easily with just baking soda."

Kyo looked on at her, drinking in her being as memories began to bubble around his mind. He was silently grateful that not all traces of Tohru were completely gone, she still had the overly compensating innocence that made up the majority of her personality. She was still whole in some places.

"Just say something next time, you weirdo." she reddened even more in the face. He bit a smile back.

"Ah, good morning by the way. I hope it wasn't too much trouble that I slept in your bed for the night." The irony of that sentence was too good coming from Tohru. If it had been in any other situation that sentence would have given him a little bit of excitement being the boy he was, but now the moment was soiled with reality and was just all around depressing.

"It's not a super big deal to me."

"I can make breakfast if you'd like, to make up for causing trouble."

"I've already made something to eat, don't stress it." he opened up the refrigerator and pulled out a platter with four onigiris sitting neatly in a row, setting it on his table. He took notice on how Tohru eyed the plate with more fervor than he remembered, her eyes seeming to almost stare through the food. He heard a low growl and watched her slim fingers slowly crawl up to her stomach.

She's literally starving to death. What a sickening revelation.

"Help yourself." he promoted. She obeyed without protest.

The bite she took into the ball of rice was so large it was almost comical and completely caught him off guard, shoving nearly half of it into her mouth and letting her eyes flutter close and enjoy the flavors. She seemed to have lost all consciousness of surroundings and he curiously studied her range of emotions while eating her food. Watching her slowly chew with her cheeks engorged and clearly enjoying herself made him hold back another grin that crept up his face.


Tohru shifted herself against the mattress once more, burying her head deeper in the pillow and shutting her eyes as tightly as possible.

The storming weather outside pelted against the window pane and drowned the otherwise silent bedroom. Claps of thunder roared out at different intervals throughout the minutes and each time it made her jump, flinching at the sudden gasps of light that burned through the glass.

Winter weather was not something new to her and she was used to the storms that rolled through near the late nights. After all, she had endured worse weathers than this and had grown accustomed to the harsh freezing rain. It wasn't the lightning that kept her on edge at all. It was her sudden change in situations and the anxiety that was riddling her body as she laid in Kyo's bed.

She had insisted on taking the couch beforehand, seeing it as already a luxury to be staying in the hospitality of someone else. He persisted though and tuned her out.

I was so weak back there. I can't believe I let myself be convinced into staying with a strange man so easily, especially someone so…

She was at a lost of words when trying to finish that phrase. Frankly speaking, she had never encountered someone like that man. His very presence was rejected by her entire body, his entity being much of heat and flame. She could only make him out in her mind as just a fever ready to take over her, to take her down and make her tumble with just a flicker of glare. He carried himself as someone who was ready to boil over at any time, ready to spill out and scald everything around him. He was just,

someone so Red.

At the same time, his burning red eyes made her melt in other ways. She took one good look at his citrus hair and dark eyes her shivering body had been warmed to the core in less than a second. It was shameful to admit even to herself, but he was such a gorgeous man. Orange had never been one of her favorite colors, but the way he wore it on his features caused her many different kinds of heat. She couldn't play dumb with herself, he was an incredibly handsome man.

She took another deep huff of the pillow her head laid on and took in the scents of clean linen and citruses. She picked up on his own musk as well, some cologne that had cedarwood and a certain spice to it. It was a delicious smell to her, enticing her to envelope herself in the smell as it wafted into her senses. It was almost familiar, like something she had smelled many times before in adolescence, but her brain was too exhausted to comb through memories.

I don't know what to do about him, Mom. He saved me from the streets and gave me his bed to sleep in, I'm really grateful but I'm not ready to trust him completely. I don't want to be hurt again, I don't think I can take it.

Another wave of thunder boomed over the apartment complex. She curled herself even tighter together and huddled her legs up to her torso, pulling the sheets to conform to the shape of her body and swaddle her. It made her feel almost guilty how much she enjoyed the feeling of cotton burying her skin and warming her up from the inside. Another whiff of the scents of the linens for her own pleasure and that wash of recollection hit her again. She could almost put her finger on the scent. Was it…?


"Cod?"

This was the first word that broke the almost uncomfortable silence between them. She had eaten two other rice balls on her own accord while he had watched in silence. He was taking every moment he could to fathom her presence and enjoy their once routine of eating together.

"You like cod in your onigiri, Kyo-sama?"

He swallowed before answering half-heartedly.

"It's the only thing that really belongs in them. Umeboshi is way too sweet to enjoy at all."

"Ah, are you not a fan of sweet things?"

He looked at her once more. Her face when she was interested in what people had to say used to be one of his favorites. Her eyes are the most animated part of her face and would shine with such curiosity and concern. Her lips would fall slightly apart and into a small pout and she still had the habit of barely cocking her head to the left.

I'm a fan of one.

Holy fuck that was lame.

"No, it gives me headaches whenever I eat anything sweet. I'm not really used to eating sugar so I never grew to like it. It's really not that complicated."

Another graceless silence fell between them, and he took another bite of his food quickly. Tohru's head fell to look at her lap, completely finished with her own meal and seeming to have uneasiness weighing her. She rubbed the ends of her thumbs together with knitted brows tensed on her face. The rain had finally stopped for the day so it was just the ticking of the clock that took control of the noise in the air.

"Kyo-sama, I'm very grateful for this..," her voice had an uncertain edge to it, the pitch higher than usual. "But it's really not right for me to intrude on your life like this. It's really a burden to be in your space. I feel it's only right for me to be on my way." She had zero confidence in the words she spoke and it was written all over her face that she didn't want to be speaking those words.

The clink of him getting finally getting up from the table and walking over to her made her eyes follow him. She had to avoid his gaze, feeling that zap of electricity ignite in her as his presence closened up.

There's that heat again, Mom. Every time he gets near, I can feel it. It's not as painful as before but…,

He was standing in front of her, but she still refused to raise her head. He took action and swiftly dropped down to her level, grabbing her wrist and catching her off guard. A squeak of surprise escaped her breath as she was pulled slightly towards his body. The fire inside her began to spread from her wrists down her arms, feeling like tiny pins dancing along her skin.

"The only burden I would feel is letting you go off on your own." his voice had a razor sharp edge to them, carrying no sense of tenderness. Even so, she could feel herself squirm a little bit under his hold. "Only an idiot like yourself would have it in your right mind to go out there. I found you half dead already if I had to come back and see you-,"

His own words froze up on him. They were now sharing a gaze into each other's eyes, his lips becoming dry as she stared at him with perplexion. He suddenly became increasingly aware of how hot her breath felt and how close the space they shared was. He swallowed, loosening his grip on her and hearing a huff of solace leave her body.

"Just, stay here. Please. I'm not going to ask you again, dummy."

His inflection rung in her ears. The course, irritated tongue he always carried had finally been replaced with a much more somber one. She could hear through his harsh tone the sound of desperation in himself. She felt a twinge of guilt fill her chest when looking at his features, solemn and almost begging. Tohru finally understood: He really was worried about her.

"Alright..," she finally agreed. "I don't know Kyo-sama very well but-."

"It's just Kyo. No reason to be so formal."

She looked on at him, and then a warm smile formed onto her face. She let out a fit of giggles and flashed a delighted grin towards him.

"Thank you for being so kind, Kyo!"

He stared on, seeing for the first time the smile that he had grown accustomed to revealing itself from the mask of starvation and mistreatment. The one smile that had made him so completely weak to her presence in the first place. He looked back and replied with a half-hearted grunt before turning on his heels.

"Don't mention it."

A knock rapped at the door that caught both their attention. Tohru got up to her feet and reached out.

"I can get that for-."

"No." he snapped.

She turned back at him. His carried a stone cold look to his face, his eyes that were hue's of warm tangerines and salmon had now turned completely crimson. He was glowering hatefully at the doorway and she could feel his body completely tense. "Go inside my room."

The order he barked completely threw her off. One minute he was showing her a more tender side of him that she had warmed up to, but there was another side she was seeing. She hesitated, trying to stammer a reply but the complete shift in his demeanor seemed to overpower her. Silently, she gave a faint nod towards him before disappearing down the hall.

He waited until he heard the click of the door closing before taking a shallow breath and finally unlocking the door. Swinging it open, the face on the other side did the opposite of surprise him.

"Just what the fuck do you want?" he snarled through clenched teeth, gripping the knob tightly.

"Relax already, I haven't come here to scold you."

"You didn't answer the question." he barked.

The person shoved themselves through the doorway past Kyo's block and made their way into the apartment. Kyo watched as he let himself in and let out a low growl towards him.

"I was originally here to remind you that the Sohma's are having a meeting tomorrow night at the Main House and much to my chagrin, that includes you as well," he sat himself down into the armchair, placing his hands tightly on the armrests. He shot a glare towards Kyo's way, "But instead I overheard you having guest over and decided to take a look while you were having breakfast."

Kyo's fists stiffened, shooting the look right back towards him. He felt his skin crawl with resentment and tried to suppress his temper.

"Tell me, stupid cat. What is Honda-san doing here?"