You're legs fall off first, then your arms, and you feel the 'glorious' burn, it's track, wonderful track, glorious track, SUPER SPLENDIFEROUS TRACK!!
Ok, so it wasn't so bad when it didn't hurt, it was actually easy, but I was bored on the loooooong walk home! (Which was so tortuous, I'd just exercised for 2 &1/2 hours.) But I'm glad, this is the first sport I've ever participated in, and it's not as hard as I'd thought!
Chapter 7
"YUKI!" Aaya exclaimed, throwing himself onto his younger brother; or tried to at least. Yuki stepped out of the way, and greeted Mine, before walking onto the council room. Manabe didn't follow, being to engrossed in greeting Ayame.
Opening the door, he found only one woman there.
"Ah…" He said, wondering what she was doing there.
"I'm sorry, I'll clean it up…" she said, cleaning up the mess of papers on the floor.
"Hallo Machi!" Manabe yelled from behind Yuki. Suddenly Yuki was being hugged to Ayame, and couldn't breathe.
"Get. Off. Me. You. Ba-ka!" Yuki bit out, elbowing his brother in the stomach.
"Is that any way to treat your older brother?" Aya complained, seemingly not affected at all by the elbowing.
"Machi, meet Yuki Sohma," Manabe was saying. Machi remained silent, but nodded.
Mayu smiled, sitting in front of Tohru and helping her with her Culinary Arts. The girl was a great cook, but this was all technical details.
"Is a duck lighter than a turkey or chicken of the same size?"
Tohru thought for a second before nodding vigorously.
"Great job Tohru!" Uo said happily. A knock at the door silenced them all, before Hana answered it. She talked quietly for a moment, before closing the door.
"Tohru-kun and her chaperone are to meet her fiancé in the library after lunch today," she said slowly. They resumed their activities, but now there was a tension hanging in the air.
Hatori sat silently in the library, waiting. He wasn't dissatisfied with his life as it was. His memories of Kana were enough; he didn't need anything else. Idly he wondered how Mayu was doing, and if it really had been her he'd seen.
The door opened, a servant showing Tohru and Mayu in. He stood as the door was closed, and walked over slowly. The servant murmured introductions, before bowing out of the room.
Mayu was looking at him in an indifferent way. Why? She didn't even look like she recognized him. Still puzzled, he turned to his new fiancé.
She was looking at him, eyes slightly wide. Mayu nudged her, and she seemed to realize that she was staring. She quickly averted her eyes.
Hatori-san is so intimidating! The sun behind him, and he's so tall! Oh, it's rude to stare!
As Mayu looked at Hatori, she felt that she knew him. But she also had the feeling that seeing him was a bittersweet pain. She couldn't figure out why, but she had lost her memories, so it shouldn't be a surprise. The fact that she knew him though, she must be of higher rank than she'd thought.
Suddenly the door burst open, and Ayame stood there, smiling happily. Rushing over to Tohru, he took her hand.
"Tohru! How delightful to see you again, it really has been too long!" Hatori stood, used to this. Mayu had a vague memory returning to her, which became clearer as Shigure appeared on the scene.
These three men all sat around a low table, drinking sake. Kana was there as well…
"Mayu-chan! It's delightful to see you again as well!" Aaya exclaimed, grasping her hands. She smiled hesitantly at him, confused.
"Ah, Mayu-san has lost her memory Ayame-san," Tohru said quietly.
"It's not like I don't remember everything, I just remembered the four of us and Kana sitting around a table drinking sake," Mayu said quickly, a small smile on her face.
Ayame laughed delightedly. "Well, I am sure that with me around, you shall certainly remember everything you ever knew!" He proclaimed. Because he is the king! Mayu thought in amusement, chuckling at the remembered joke.
Tohru had been inching towards the closest door as they talked, and bolted out the door without being noticed. It led to the gardens, and the hedge mazes. Somehow, even at this time of the year, they were still blooming as if it was summer! Plus, it felt like summer in the gardens, which was lucky for her, as she wasn't dressed for the outside. It must be some bit of magic…
Turning right because she knew she'd probably get lost in the maze, she suddenly found herself in a square area with mats spread over the ground. A training master with gray hair was currently rolling them up, and watching a single student out of the corner of her eye.
Watching the student practice kicks, blocks and punches, she didn't really notice the color of his hair. That is, until he turned to his instructor and asked him a question, and she realized it was no student. Her mind froze, before it began working very slowly.
"That…that voice! I know it… And the hair! Oh mother, what should I do?"
No longer working slowly, her brain was in overdrive and tripping over itself!
"Say hello you idiot! But wait; maybe he doesn't WANT me to talk to him? But what if he thinks I'm rude and actually does want to talk to me?"
As her thoughts scrambled around in her head, she had begun to stumble backwards. She was about to just turn and run, when she tripped. With a small gasp, she fell down on her rear end. Automatically she said "Ouch!"
The two men looked over at her, startled and blushing, she scrambled up. Turning, she ran the opposite direction, and down the path that began the hedge maze.
Kazuma looked at Kyo, and saw his head was bent towards the ground, his hands clenched together. He looked up at Kazuma stiffly, bowed, and hurried after Tohru. He hadn't seen her face very well, but well…nobody tripped like Tohru, not to mention if had been any other girl they would've expected him to help her up.
"Kyo…?" Kazuma asked curiously. Kyo stopped short before reaching into his pocket. At least Ayame was good for one thing he thought ruefully.
"Aaya wanted me to give this to that girl," he explained, before turning and racing after Tohru again. She was going to get lost in there, so he might as well save everybody some trouble.
He didn't notice as he rushed past an area of blackness, but Hanajima certainly noticed the wind and quick flash of orange. She chuckled and continued onwards. These waves over here…they intrigued her.
Turning into the training area, she found Kazuma, and her first thought was, "What a hunk."
Tohru stopped running, panting. Looking behind her, she found to her relief that nobody was there. Well, as long as she was here, she might as well admire the flowers. She was admiring a rose at the side of the path when she realized that, though the arrangement of hedges hid it, there was a pathway here. It wasn't as wide as the path she was on, only having room for about two people side by side with an inch between them.
Curious, she wandered in, in the back of her mind thinking that if anybody tried to find her, they probably wouldn't find her in here. It curved around in a circle once. In the middle, there was a bench, looking at a statue.
Wondering why it was so shady, she found that a framework held up some pretty, flowered vines, creating the shade. Sitting down, she admired the cat statue. A random ray of light sparkled off something under its eyes, and looking closer, she realized that the cat was crying diamond tears.
"Oh how sad!" she whispered quietly. Things here seemed to be about the cat of the zodiac frequently, and all of it about how the cat wasn't included. She was so busy contemplating everything that she didn't notice Kyo walk around the bend, or sit down by her feet. They sat like that for a while.
"I know you like the cat and all, but it's not anything to cry about or nothing," he muttered finally, standing up. She started, surprised to find her tears being wiped away by a handkerchief.
"Kyo-kun…" she said faintly.
"Yeah?" he asked, pocketing the black cotton. She scooted over on the seat, and he sat down. Immediately they both thought it had been a mistake, because it didn't have enough space to let them sit without touching each other. They both blushed and looked away, but didn't move for fear of being rude.
"So you're getting married to Hatori huh," Kyo muttered. Tohru nodded slightly.
"He's so…intimidating!" she managed.
Kyo chuckled. "That's Hatori." For a few moments he was silent. "He's not so bad I guess..."
Tohru nodded dumbly again.
They sat in silence again before Kyo finally said frustrated, "Look, I barely know him, it's not like I can tell you it'll be all right or anything. For all I know, he'll," He stopped, remembering whom he was talking to, and that he didn't want to scare her.
"Forget I said anything," he muttered. He stood up and walked away, too distracted to hear Tohru calling him.
"Wait Kyo-kun!" Tohru said, standing up. She tripped and fell on her face. Groaning, she looked at the cat's feet that were in front of her face. Scrambling up, she hurried to catch up to him.
Kyo stormed quickly away from Tohru, away from confusion. He hadn't worried too much when kidnapping her, had only passing thoughts of vague worry when he was supposed to take care of her.
Now he might be in trouble. Scratch that, he was in trouble. Sit next to her, and he became a confused teenager with strange, strong emotions. People like him did NOT have emotions! He didn't even know what they meant.
And what if they happened to actually know? Well then, they didn't deserve them, knew it, and so quashed them, (though it was harder than it sounded.) Problem solved, everybody else is happy and he doesn't have any trouble.
He had to stay concentrated on his work, not on quashing stupid emotions. Therefore, stay away from Tohru!
"Kureno…" Akito said smoothly, drawing his name out slightly. Kureno smiled at her hesitatingly. That voice could mean anything.
Akito was tapping her chin. "Ah yes. You know of course, that the Honda girl has brought companions. Seek out the one named Arisa Uotani." Akito said the name as if she wasn't quite sure what to make of it. "Befriend her, get into her good graces. Try to make it so that you can help her influence the Honda girl. I want to make sure we have an alliance with her grandfather."
Kureno slowly nodded. As he turned to leave, he recalled the earlier encounter he'd had with Uo.
On his was to his own room, he was carrying a stack of books from the library, and couldn't see in front of him. He bumped into somebody and peered around the books.
A blond girl stood there, looking at him defiantly.
"Pardon me…?" he said, asking her why she was in this particular area of the castle. She didn't exactly look like a maid, or a party of the Honda group. And the Honda group was the next hallway down to. This part was reserved for him alone, though the stairway at the end led to Kyo's room.
"I didn't get lost!" Uo said the first thing on her mind, and inwardly bashed herself over the head. Best indirect way (number 1) to tell a person exactly what you did, er, didn't do. She just got distracted by the intricate weapons shown on the tapestries, and didn't pay attention to where she was going.
"Ah, of course," Kureno murmured. Well, it was possible she was just admiring the tapestries…of weapons. He didn't think that was normal for women, but who knew?
Uo inspected him for a while, before sticking out her hand. "Name's Uotani. Uotani Arisa. Call me Uo."
He shifted the books and shook her hand, feeling calluses. Where had she gotten them?
Suddenly the books lost their balance, and toppled off of his arm. They both instinctively jumped back, nimble footwork learned over years of time saving their toes
She laughed.
Now that laughter resonated in Kureno's mind. He smiled slightly, the smile growing to match the one that he'd given her in return. So she was a m
Preeety please review?
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