I sincerely apologize for updating this story quite late, but in any case I do hope this chapter was worth the wait. It has a bit of what you readers suggested… and a little more than thought to be expected.

The Tenth Continuing Chapter- Passion in Silence

Tohru finally gave in to the urge of flinging herself onto her bed and bursting into tears. She sobbed hysterically into her flower-printed pillow; thoughts too entangled to command herself with reason to stop crying. She'd never felt such burning pain grip her heart, not even when she'd discovered the death of her mom. Such pain, the thought didn't even arouse a hint of guilt.

How did life become so complicated, so achingly hard? She didn't know what to believe anymore, her relationship with Kyo had dismantled her reasoning to fluttery fragments of ignorance and bliss. And now, with the fact that the relationship apparently didn't exist anymore –a fresh stream of warm tears spurted from her eyes– she didn't know how to distinguish that which stood as truth and which stood as lie. You have to leave me, Tohru. She understood perfectly how Kyo didn't want her to get hurt, but she couldn't see why she had to leave him. She needed him as much as the air that she now gasped for between sobs, as much as the touch of her mother and the warmth of her embrace… as much as the tenderness of Kyo's kiss. Kiss… would they ever kiss again? Tohru shuddered as she vividly recalled the two of them kissing earlier in the morning, before they had left for school, before they had fought. It was evening now. And Kyo still hadn't returned. Maybe he didn't love her anymore…

He'll be back, Yuki had assured. He's nocturnal anyway, Shigure had joked, and Tohru let out a weak, choked chuckle as she remembered that then Yuki had slapped Shigure's head. She was blessed to have such caring friends. Even Uo and Hana had offered to look for Kyo after he disappeared from school, that is, after they had explicitly explained the proper definition of a 'make-out'. Tohru squeaked as sudden mental images bombarded her head, of Kyo touching her… there was a soft knock on her door and she jumped out of her reverie with a small scream.

"Miss Honda, are you alright?" Yuki flung the door open, silver eyes widening at the sight of Tohru sprawled on the bed. Seating herself upright, she consciously wiped her eyes with the sleeve of her dotted pajama top as he approached her.

"I-I, yes, y-yes I am, thank you for asking, Yu–!" Tohru let out a loud hiccup and tried to grin at Yuki, who sat down next to her.

"Why are you crying?" he asked softly, placing a hand lightly on Tohru's shoulder.

She stared at him for a moment, blurred as he was through her tears, and then was suddenly overcome with emotion once again. "I'm sorry!" she cried, giving way to another heavy outburst. She buried her face in her hands, but even in the darkness of her eyelids she could still see the image of a smiling Kyo.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Yuki gently tightened his hold. "Is it about Kyo?"

Tohru, unable to speak for lack of words and breath, nodded vigorously. Feeling water accumulate in the palms of her hands she lifted her head with a deep sniff.

Yuki chuckled. "I'm sorry, but you look cute when you cry. Don't worry about him, okay? I'm sure he's fine."

"I-It's… n-not that…" spluttered Tohru, blushing profusely at his remark. "N-No, I mean, I'm worried he's hurt! But…"

"Tohru," said Yuki, lifting her chin with his other hand so that her tearful, bloodshot eyes looked into his, "what did he say to you awhile ago in school?"

Tohru opened her mouth to reply, and then hesitated. Should she tell him what had happened? In any case, they had caused quite a scene in the corridor, so it was out of the question to say that she didn't know what Yuki was talking about…

"Eh…" she began, blinking hard as if in the hope that the gesture would stop the tears, "um… we were only talking about... Aki…to…" She trailed off, locking her hands together as fear stabbed her heart. Kyo's voice rang through her ears:

What, do you want him to hurt you?

If you think standing up to him is brave, running away from him is even braver.

Akito can't hurt you if I don't mean anything to you!

"Akito?" echoed Yuki, and Tohru, slightly disoriented, nodded. "I don't want you worrying about him either. Miss Honda, you have to start worrying about yourself."

"I've been told…" murmured Tohru, sniffing. "But Yuki, what about Kyo? He said he saw Akito! I mean, Akito's going to lock him up–!"

"Better him than you," he said, taking her hand and squeezing it. Tohru gaped at him, unsure whether to feel happy for his concern for her, or anger for his indifference to Kyo's wellbeing. But then again, anger would be unbecoming of her. Surprise, no. "Yuki, I know that you don't like Kyo, but he doesn't deserve to be locked up! Do you really dislike him that much?"

Yuki stared at her, looking slightly taken aback. "No, that's not what I meant, Miss Honda. Please forgive me. I'm just saying that your safety matters more, because, first and foremost, you never deserved to be involved. Second, well, Akito has his reasons for locking up Kyo."

"But he's not very nice!" Tohru pointed out, heaving herself off the bed. Then she gasped. "Oh, um, I'm sorry! He's family to you, so–!"

"Miss Honda," interrupted Yuki, standing up himself and grasping both of Tohru's shoulders, "don't apologize, yes I know Akito's not quite the best person. But don't you think that Kyo did something to deserve being locked up, maybe? Akito wouldn't do that if not for punishment."

"I- what?" Tohru snapped her mouth shut. The thought had never crossed her mind, actually, that Kyo might've done something to anger Akito. She frowned, one hand touching the place where Akito had scratched the skin long ago. Suddenly, she was struck with an idea. "I know! What if we can do something so that Akito will forgive Kyo for whatever he did wrong? That way he won't be locked up! We have to ask Kyo about it but, oh… he's not here yet…"

Yuki shook his head in amusement. "You're so kind, Miss Honda…" he whispered, stepping closer. Tohru grinned at him, wiping the last of her tears away.

"Thank you so much, Yuki," she said happily. "For making me feel better." Then she noticed that Yuki was looking at her oddly, his eyes piercing into hers as though with rage. "Um, are you alright?"

"Miss Honda, can't you see?" he murmured.

"Oh! Are you hurt somewhere? I'm sorry! Where are you hurt?"

"No, Tohru…"

Tohru gasped as she heard Yuki call her name with such familiarity, wondering whether her ears had mingled his voice with the words of Kyo in her head.

Yuki moved even closer. So close that Tohru could smell the fresh odor of the shirt he wore, the honeyed scent of his silvery hair. She watched his face approach hers, her eyes moving from his own to his thin mouth. Her mind was a jumbled mess; she couldn't comprehend what was happening, everything was starting to blur once again…

Yuki's lips touched hers.

Her eyes automatically fluttered close as they always did when Kyo kissed her, but it wasn't him now… it was Yuki. Yuki. Tohru made a small sound and attempted to pull back, but something stopped her. Something inside her wanted to keep kissing. Yuki's lips were soft, and, as he opened his mouth slightly, warm breath flooded into Tohru's own mouth. She felt her knees weaken, her shoulders slacken. No, she should pull back. She loved Kyo, not Yuki. But Kyo wasn't here at the moment…

"No, I'm sorry!" she cried, taking several steps backward. Yuki merely gazed at her with hungry eyes, breathing hard.

The door banged open, and Kyo entered the room.

"KYO!" cried Tohru, her heart leaping with hysteria. Without thinking, she rushed forward and threw her arms around his neck.

Poof!

She hugged the orange cat tightly, relief rushing through her. "You're okay!" she sang, rubbing her cheek against the thin fur.

"Of course I'm okay, idiot, what did you think happened to me?" Kyo curled his tail around Tohru's wrist. Then his bright eyes saw Yuki. "Why are you in her room, damn rat?"

"I was just leaving," said Yuki tonelessly. He brushed past them without another word.

Tohru, feeling a choking lump of guilt well up in her throat, hugged Kyo even tighter. "Kyo, please forgive me! I-I… I kissed Yuki!"

"What?" The cat bounded out of her arms and stared at her with evident shock.

"I kissed Yuki, Kyo, I'm so sorry!" Tohru's eyes filled with fresh tears, but she didn't wipe them away. "I didn't know what I was thinking! I love you, Kyo! But I couldn't think straight! Yuki was just comforting me, because Akito was going to lock you up, and I thought that you didn't love me anymore, and–!"

"What? Tohru! Tohru!" yelled Kyo, and Tohru screamed as he erupted into a sudden burst of colored smoke. She snapped her head in the opposite direction.

"Tohru…" said Kyo in a muffled voice as he dressed himself, "why did you think that?"

Tohru felt a strong but gentle hand pull her shoulder, but she couldn't bring herself to look into Kyo's eyes. "Because I-I… you said…" She let out a choked sob.

"Tohru, I still love you, very much. Always have, always will. And even if you… kissed Yuki…"

"I didn't mean to, Kyo, I really didn't, I'm sorry! I was thinking about you the whole time!" Kyo gave her a half-smile. Tohru let out another sob as she realized how handsome he looked. He was still in his school uniform, she noticed. "And I understand if don't want me to be your girlfriend anymore, because girlfriends are not supposed to kiss other people! I'm so sorry, Kyo, I really am!"

"I know you are, Tohru," said Kyo softly, brushing away a tear with his finger. "You wouldn't be crying if you weren't. Listen, about what I said earlier…"

"I know, you want me to leave," she squeaked.

"Yeah, I do. I still do. Tohru, I don't want you to get hurt, and I don't want you saying anything to make me change my mind. I love you and I don't know what I'll do if something bad happens to you. Please, I… I want you to be safe. I just came here to give you one last thing before we… well, we officially break up."

"B-Break up?" echoed Tohru, feeling something like a ton of bricks slam against her heart. How ironic it was for such simple words to bring such agonizing pain. "Oh, Kyo… why can't, why can't we just face Akito together…?"

Tohru couldn't say any more, for then Kyo had pressed his lips against hers.

They were so right, so fit for each other. He had always loved her, he had said, and she had always loved him too, even before they had met. That day emerged into her mind, the day when he had stomped into the house, challenged Yuki to a fight, fixed the roof in her room. The very room they were in now. Where he had fed her soup, where they had talked together. Everything that had happened between them was etched in her memory. And this kiss was going to be but a memory too. The whole relationship was going to merge into the corners of her mind. Everything was going to become a mere memory. But before each moment becomes a memory, it has to be savored first.

Tohru placed a hand on either side of Kyo's face while his own gripped her waist. She desperately wanted to press her body against his, to feel him completely. Apparently, Kyo had the same desire. He opened his mouth and, as she yielded, slid his tongue in. The sudden moisture startled her, but she resisted the urge to pull back, and soon she dared herself to lift her own tongue. Excitement and ecstasy surged through her as they explored each other's mouths. After a while, Kyo finally pulled away, but before Tohru could say anything he dropped his head and began to kiss her neck instead. She'd always wondered how it felt like to be kissed on the neck, with all the romance movies she'd watched, but now that she was actually feeling it she found it hard to see how the actors always remained so calm. Kyo's lips on her skin sent currents of fiery electricity through her nerves, and she wanted nothing but to fling herself on him.

Kyo trailed a line of sizzling kisses up her neck and she let out a soft moan. He lifted his head, letting his lips hover in front of hers.

"No… I want you…" he whispered unsteadily. Then, with more ardor and desire than Tohru had ever imagined was possible to feel, their mouths devoured each other once again.