Ripple Ten
[Chapter 18. White Day visit at the hot springs.]
Tohru followed Yuki out of the recreation room. "Sohma-kun?" she asked as she viewed his back and shoulders shaking. "Are you all right?"
She heard some muffled coughing sounds before he turned around. Even then he held a hand before his mouth. "I'm so sorry, Honda-san," he gasped. "But when you put all your force behind that swing, and then missed the ball, it was so funny. And Kyo's and Momiji's faces as well." A few remaining chuckles escaped.
"Why, Sohma-kun," Tohru chided him, "you didn't have to hide your laughter. I knew it was a klutzy move as soon as I made it. It's not the first time, and it won't be the last."
"I never laugh in front of people," he explained. "Not even in front of my family."
"Really?" Her eyes went wide before her mouth firmed. "You have my permission to laugh in front of me any time you want."
"But this time, it would have been impolite to you," he argued.
"Pfft!" She waved it aside. "What are friends for, if not to laugh when you screw up?"
"Friends?" Yuki's normally pale face flushed a slight tint of pink. "I was hoping, that is, I knew you gave Valentine's chocolate to everyone but thought my box was a little bigger than the others."
Tohru ducked her head and took her turn blushing. "It was, by a little bit. But I don't want you to feel obligated or anything—!"
He sighed, "My only problem is that my younger cousin has outdone me for White Day." He reached into the sleeve of his yukata and pulled out a small package and handed it to her.
"Oh!" She held it and gazed upon it in awe before raising her eyes to his. "Can I open it?"
He laughed. "It's your gift. Do with it what you will."
She made short work of the wrapping. "A new ribbon!" The yellow satin gleamed in the light of the courtyard lanterns. "I'll put it on right now!" Her hair, still down from her bath, was quickly tied back. "How do I look?" she anxiously asked the prince.
"Like a true princess," he said, cupping her face and bending close. He was intending to give her a light kiss on her cheekbone, but those plans went awry with the arrival of Momiji.
"Tohru! Yuki! Kyo's hitting me with the ping-pong balls!" he wailed as he barreled into his cousin's back.
Knocked off-balance, Yuki's and Tohru's startled eyes met for one brief second between the abrupt meeting of their lips and the rat's transformation.
"Ooh, sorry!" sang Momiji as Tohru anxiously asked Yuki if he was all right.
"Damn it, Momiji, why're you always such a tattletale?" Kyo grabbed him and rubbed his knuckles into the blond curls. "Besides, you should have dodged better. But hey," his eyes narrowed, "what were you two doing out here alone?"
"Um, ah, nothing," Tohru stammered, while Yuki added, "As if it was any of your damn business, you stupid cat!"
"Stupid, huh? Who's the one now in his zodiac form?" Kyo's eyes rapidly scanned the area to ensure that no other guests were near.
"It wasn't his fault!" Tohru cried as she picked up Yuki and his clothes, cradling him gently. "I'll take you to the room, so you can have privacy when you transform back."
"Thank you, Honda-san," the rat said wearily.
The other two watched them depart in silence. "Kyo," Momiji finally said, "is there something between those two?"
"Maybe," the cat sighed, "not that I think he's halfway good enough for her."
The younger boy turned to stare up at him. "Why? Do you like Tohru, too?"
Kyo ruffled his hair. "Not in that way, but I'm in a quandary."
"What do you mean?"
"If he hurts her, that gives me a great reason to beat his butt. On the other hand, I don't want anyone to hurt her."
"Not to mention that you have never been able to beat Yuki," Momiji unwisely pointed out.
"Why, you—!"
"Tohru! Kyo's being mean to me!" he called as he scampered away.
The springs of the van made nothing of the bumps in the road. This allowed a fretful Tohru to finally take a nap during the journey home.
Even after she had fallen asleep, Yuki kept stroking her hair in a soothing motion, a small pillow between them to keep him in human form. She had genuinely freaked when she had been told that Momiji was the same age as Hatsuharu, her hair almost standing on end. She kept muttering, "My first kiss! And I slept with him! What would Mom say?"
Since Kyo had immediately blamed Momiji for Tohru's condition, it had fallen upon Yuki to console her, not that he was in any way unwilling. He enjoyed the fact that he was now the helper and encourager instead of the other way around.
Of course, being under the stares and glares of the other two on the opposite side of the vehicle was a little trying. He decided to give some of it back to them and smirked. When steam started to pour out of Kyo's ears, he took great satisfaction in placing a finger on his lips to shush him.
