The halls were quiet except for the click-clacking of Tohru's shoes as she made her way to her history class. She smiled, enjoying the sound of her shoes on the white linoleum, but walked faster, as she was late to her class. Tohru had been up nearly half of the night before, crying and feeling stupid for crying over a boy. Then in math, she had fallen asleep, and her teacher, who was sympathetic, had let her sleep until ten minutes after the tardy bell rung for the next class. Tohru looked at her reflection in the glass windows of the hallway. Her eyes were red and puffy, the product of sleep deprivation and tears. 'I hope it isn't too noticeable...' she thought. A sick feeling twisted deep into the bowels of her heart when she remembered she shared history class with Yuki. 'He's always pleasant, though,' she reassured herself, but the feeling remained as she arrived at the classroom door.
"Gomen nasai!" she cried indirectly to the teacher as she flung it open, "I'm sorry I'm late!"
To her surprise, the teacher wasn't there. Instead, the classroom consisted of a few sloppy circles of students studying and chatting. One circle in particular caught her eye. It was the usual crowd of girls that followed Yuki around like lost puppies. They were all laughing at something someone, probably Yuki, had said, though he wasn't visible. A blond girl, an international student, looked up at the doorway and whispered something to the crowd. The laughter immediately ceased. Sensing something was wrong, Tohru walked across the room to see what the matter was. The crowd began to disperse, but not too far, as if protecting Yuki.
"Speak of the devil," whispered a girl with a rather short skirt. No doubt she had rolled it up to impress Yuki.
Yuki whirled around in his seat. His eyes widened in surprise as he recognized Tohru, and he leaned back, attempting to hide something. There was no use.
"Hi Yuki! What's that behind your back?" asked Tohru, in mock curiosity. The sick feeling in her heart worsened.
"Oh, it's nothing." Yuki replied, now crumpling it into a little paper ball.
"Is that last night's homework?"
"Yes," lied Yuki, "I was just sharing the answers with the girls."
"Ooh, good! Can I see it? I didn't finish last night!"
"I..." Yuki began, trying to think of something to discourage her. "I don't think it's correct. I don't want you to get bad marks on your homework or anything. I know how important grades are for you."
Tohru smiled, as if her heart had softened. It probably would have, too, if it weren't for the fact that Yuki was lying to her face. She shifted her weight onto her right leg.
"C'mon, Yuki," said the girl with the short skirt, "Show it to her."
"I don't think it would be a good idea..." Yuki protested.
"Aww, come on!" cooed a few other girls.
"I...I...d-don't think--"
"--If you won't show her, then I will!" cried the blond girl, as she swooped down and snatched the ball from him, tossing it at Tohru. "Here you go!"
Slowly, Tohru, unrolled the ball. Someone had done a very crude, very elementary drawing of her and what appeared to be Yuki and Kyo. Yuki and Kyo were drawn as handsome men, eyes shining, teeth sparkling. Tohru was behind them, dressed as a pauper, saying, "Take me in! I'm just a stupid, naive whore! Nothing will happen to me if I live in a house with a bunch of men!" Apparently Yuki had let it slip that Tohru had been living with the Soumas. Something wet hit the paper, smearing the ink, and then it happened again. Crying, Tohru crumpled up the ball and threw it at Yuki. "I can't believe you would draw something like that!" she shouted, running out of the room and not taking any of her things.
"Tohru! Wait! It's a misunderstanding!" cried Yuki, getting up and running after her.
Tohru could hear the other girls laughing hysterically and doing impressions of her. She ran down the hall as fast as she could. She had almost made it out of the building and into the blinding sun when someone caught her arm. "Tohru," said Yuki. Tohru tried to pull away, but he was too strong.
"Go away," she whined, her voice thick with tears, "Let go of me."
"Tohru, I didn't draw that cartoon."
"Oh, so you were laughing about it, then?!" she cried and tried to pull away. But he had a tight grip and she knew she wasn't going anywhere. Tohru relaxed, still crying.
"Actually, when you came in, they had just shown it to me...I was going to tell them off...but you confronted me first." said Yuki, loosening his grip. "You can go, if you want."
"Y-you mean...you d-didn't find it f-funny?" she asked in between sobs.
"Not at all. I don't think you're a stupid, naive whore. I think you're absolutely perfect."
Tohru took a shuddering breath and looked up at him. Eyes show true emotion and true intention, something in the back of her mind told her. Look at his eyes. She did. His beautiful brown eyes showed nothing but empathy and compassion. He was telling the truth. Suddenly she felt self-conscious. 'I look so horrible when I'm crying.' she thought, and turned away.
"Thank you." she said, sniffing. They were quiet for a while. Yuki looked out the window and onto the school grounds as Tohru finished crying. After her final sniff, Yuki asked, "Do you want me to get your bag and your coat?"
"Yes, please." replied Tohru, looking down. As he turned to walk up the stairs, Tohru felt a sudden rush of emotion.
"I miss hanging out with you." she blurted out before she could stop herself. Yuki stopped and looked back at her.
"Me too." he said, "Let's hang out tonight, okay? We can watch Totoro or something."
"Just me and you?"
"Just you and me," he smiled, promising her with a familiar sincere look.
"But aren't you going to another party tonight?"
"I'll find a way to get out of it." he said quietly, and then he turned and walked up the steps. Tohru watched his tall and thin retreating form feeling as though things appeared to be alright, there was something less sincere and enthusiastic about his last answer. Yuki had really changed. He once had been a shy, quiet boy, but now he was very outgoing and popular. It was not something he was used, she was sure. But he seemed to enjoy the attention. Tohru knew it was not going to be easy to change plans when he was so popular. She almost teared up again as she thought, 'He probably would have more fun with them rather than me.'
For the whole silent walk home, Tohru could not get that thought out of her head. Though her coat was warm, protecting her from the freezing winter air, she could not help feeling that same air blowing through her desolate heart. She could not help that ice cold thought circulating around her brain. It was as if winter had finally revealed to her the true nature of Yuki Souma, and the true coldness a simple sentence can lie upon a human being.
