Review Thanks:
Atlis:Huh…alright you got. My mistake I forgot to have them notice that. I tried to fix it somewhat in this chapter but since I already had it written. Sorry for the mistake and thanks for the catch!
Guest: Thank you very much! I was worried that I wouldn't be able to write that.
PCheshire: Ah…well there's no trouble for them in this chapter as for what's coming up I can't make any promises. I'm kind of evil when it comes to my stories ;)
AN: So Kyo is already realizing his feelings for Natsume and has for a while now. Natsume on the other hand isn't going to be anytime soon. Even in the anime he never seemed interested in anyone. This is more of a filler chapter but it picks up again in chapter 12. Next chapter will be up on either Friday or next Saturday. Please leave a review!
Happy Mother's Day to all the Moms, Aunties, and grandmas out there! (This of course includes pet moms!)
Chapter 11
Kyo was a little nervous when Natsume went off to school but the Fujiwaras were generally nice people and they didn't have any dark secrets or alterative motives. At the moment Kyo was outside enjoying the peaceful countryside. It really was a beautiful area. Much better than the city. He could picture himself living in a place like this and being happy. He heard the door of the house open and turned around to see Mrs. Fujiwara carrying a very large laundry basket full of wet clothes.
"Let me help you with that," Kyo said as he took the basket from her.
"Are you sure you should?" the woman asked as she eyed Kyo's bandages wearily.
"It's really not as bad as it looks," he said with a smile hoping to put her at ease.
"Then thank you Kyo-kun," she said returning the smile.
"It's no problem Mrs. Fujiwara," Kyo said as he followed the small woman to the clothesline.
"Kyo-kun…" she said as she looked up at him with a frown.
"Sorry, Touku-san," he corrected himself.
"Much better," she said her smile returning. "You can set the basket down there." Kyo did as she instructed and began to help her hang the laundry noticing that most of them were blankets.
"I really appreciate you letting me stay here," Kyo told her and he did. He honestly didn't know what he have done if they hadn't.
"We like having you here," Touku-san said and then gave him a sad look as she once again eyed his bandages. "Takashi-kun mentioned that you had a fight with your family."
"I…" Kyo honestly didn't know what to say. He didn't want to get the Fujiwaras involved any more than they already were.
"If it's too hard to talk about you don't have to," Touku-san said. "Takashi-kun doesn't talk about his past either." Kyo looked at her curiously as he really didn't know anything about Natsume's past; not that Natsume knew a lot about his. "That's why I'm so happy he asked us to let you stay with us. He doesn't ask for much."
"Natsume does seem very reserved," Kyo said. Touku-san nodded in agreement.
"I wish he would have come to live with us sooner," the woman sighed. "Maybe then he would rely on us more."
"Sooner?" Kyo asked curiously. Touku-san nodded.
"He's only been here a little over a year," she said. "Kyo-kun is there something special you would like for dinner?"
"Ah…" Kyo said. He wanted to ask more about why Natsume was living with them and why for such a short amount of time but he didn't want to go behind his friend's back like that.
"Or is there something you don't like?" she asked.
"Leeks," Kyo muttered.
"But they're good for you," Touku-san said then giggled. "I don't like them much either. Why don't you come grocery shopping with me and you can pick out some things that you like."
"I'd like that," he agreed.
He spent a very nice afternoon with the older woman. She was very kind and made him feel as if he was wanted. She also kept dropping small little tidbits about Natsume. Information that Kyo filed away so he could think about it later.
On the walk back from the grocery store several people stopped and talked to Touku-san; they had walked as it wasn't that far and it was such a nice day. She seemed happy to introduce him. It was like she was proud of the fact that he was Natsume's childhood friend.
"We're home," Touku-san said as she stepped into the house.
"Welcome back," Shigeru-san greeted them as he took one of the bags from Kyo. "I aired out that room."
"Thank you," Touku-san said as she smiled at her husband. "Kyo why don't you help me put the groceries away and then we can show you your room."
Kyo did just that and enjoyed the pleasant chatter between the couple. They seemed to really care about each other and that was nice to see. With the three of them working together it didn't take them long at all to get all of the food put away.
"Kyo would you liked to see your room?" the woman asked.
"Yes please," he said still overwhelmed by their genuine kindness. He followed them up the stairs and watched as they opened the door to the room next to Natsume's. He shared his friend's room last night and ended up not getting a lot of sleep because of it. Whatever Natsume was to him made it difficult to sleep so close to him.
The room was very similar to Natsume's. It had a nice open area with a futon already to go, a closet, and an open window to let in the cool breeze. Strangely though there was a pile of clothes folded neatly on top of the futon.
"I noticed that you didn't bring anything with you so I thought that you might like some of Shigeru-san's old clothes," Touku-san.
"I…you really didn't have to go through all of this trouble," Kyo muttered.
"It's no trouble Kyo-kun. We're happy to do it. Now I am going to make us lunch," the woman said as she left the room.
"Kyo-kun how old are you?" Shigeru-san asked.
"Seventeen," he answered.
"I see," Shigeru-san said with a kind smile. "Listen I won't ask what troubles you are having with your family and you can stay here as long as you need. But I also remember what it's like to be a young man. When you are ready I can help you find a place to live and a job."
"Thank you," Kyo said.
"Come on let's got help with lunch," the man said. Kyo nodded and followed the man downstairs. "Oh and Kyo-kun if you need any help with girls…"
"I…" Kyo said and felt himself blush.
"I see," Shigeru-san said with a chuckle, "there's already a girl you like."
"You stop picking on Kyo-kun," Touku-san said as she glared at her husband.
"Sorry, sorry," Shigeru-san said as he stuck his hands up in mock surrender.
As they sat down to eat lunch Kyo wondered how they would react to the fact that the 'girl' he liked was Natsume. Not wanting to know how they or Natsume would react he pushed his feelings down and tried to enjoy the meal.
~XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX~
Natsume was packing up his backpack glad that it had been an uneventful day for a change. That was until he heard his classmates looking out the window and talking excitedly. It made him nervous for a second but then realized if they could see it then chances were it wasn't a yokai.
"He looks like a college student," Kitamoto said.
"Maybe he's here to pick up his girlfriend," Nishimura added.
"I wish he was my boyfriend," one of the girls in the class whined. Now really curious Natsume glanced out the window.
"It's Kyo," he said quietly wondering what the other boy was doing there.
"Kyo?" Nishimura asked curiously. Natsume nodded.
"Who's Kyo?" Kitamoto asked.
"My childhood friend," Natsume told them. They had identical smirks as they hurried out the door. "Hey wait a minute!" He hurried after them hoping to stop them from bombarding his friend with a bunch of stupid questions.
"Natsume would you come here a moment," someone called. He turned around to see the teacher from Tanuma's class. He walked over to talk to her. She gave him all of Tanuma's work because he had missed school that day and she knew that they were good friends. He quickly put it in his bag and hurried outside. Kyo looked only slightly annoyed but his friend but gave him a nice smile when he saw him walking towards them.
"Sorry but I had to talk to a teacher," Natsume told him.
"Don't worry about it," Kyo said with a shrug.
"Well see you tomorrow Natsume," Kitamoto said. "It was nice meeting you Kyo."
"See ya," Nishimura said as him and Kitamoto headed down the street.
"I hope they didn't bother you," Natsume said as he looked up at Kyo.
"No," Kyo said with a shake of his head, "your friends are very nice." Natsume smiled remembering how they went out of their way to be friends with him. That's why he didn't want them to know about his ability. He had a feeling they would believe him and then they would be in danger.
"So what are you doing here? Did something happen?" Natsume asked slightly concerned. It could be anything from yokai to Kyo's family.
"Nothing's wrong," Kyo said looking surprised by the questions. "I just thought that it would be nice to pick you up."
"Well since you have an escort home I can go off and have a drink," Sensei said from up on the wall. Natsume glared at his so-called bodyguard.
"Fine but just to let you know Touku-san said that she was making shrimp for dinner," Kyo said with a casually shrug. The cat stopped dead in his tracks and licked his lips.
"On second thought maybe I'll go home," the cat said and then bounded down the street with a meow.
"Kyo I know you came to walk me home but I have to drop off some schoolwork for a friend," Natsume explained hoping that Kyo wouldn't be upset.
"I don't mind," Kyo said. "It's a nice day for a walk besides we better enjoy the weather while it lasts." Natsume nodded in agreement. It was little cool out but the sun was still warm. Not that it was going to last long as winter was on the way.
"Yeah," Natsume said as he started to walk to Tanuma's home with Kyo following.
"The Fujiwaras are very nice," Kyo said. Natsume nodded. "Natsume why ah…never mind."
"Is something wrong?" Natsume asked his friend.
"No not all," Kyo said as he gave him a small smile a smile that he had never seen before. He was about to ask him again to make sure when he heard rustling coming from the bushes.
"Kappa," he said as he walked over and kneeled down.
"Hi Natsume," the small green yokai said as he looked curiously over a Kyo who was staring just as curiously. "So that's your friend." Natsume nodded. "Everyone's talking about him. Hinoe said he looks better as a cat but I don't think he looks so bad for a human."
"Why's everyone talking about him?" Natsume asked not to found of the idea of Kyo being the talk of the yokai world; it was dangerous.
"Because of your rescue mission!" Kappa said looking impressed.
"Are you talking to one?" Kyo asked curiously as he peered over his shoulder.
"Yeah," Natsume said without turning around. "I have an errand to run so I'll have to talk to you later."
"Alright Natsume," Kappa said and then ran off.
"Does that happen to you often?" Kyo asked as he offered his hand which Natsume accepted and let Kyo pull him up.
"Often enough," Natsume told him. Which was true. He was just glad that this one was a friend. Kyo didn't need to know about the others that he usually ran into.
"Say Natsume do Kitamoto and Nishimura know about..?" Kyo asked as he looked over his shoulder.
"No," Natsume said as he shook his head. "Tanuma knows. He's the one we need to drop the homework off for. Then there's Taki. She moved here not too long ago."
"Taki?" Kyo asked sounding strange. Natsume looked at him curiously wondering what was wrong. "Are you two close?"
"Close?" Natsume asked wondering why Kyo was asking that. "We're friends if that's what you mean."
"No that's not…" Kyo sighed as he ran a hand through his hair. "Do you like her?"
"Oh, no, but Nishimura does. Why are you looking for a girlfriend…ah sorry I guess that was insensitive of me," Natsume apologized. He couldn't believe he had goofed up like that. With Kyo's curse it would be hard for him to have a girlfriend.
"It's fine. Don't worry about it," Kyo said as he ruffled his hair. Natsume looked over at his friend and saw that he was telling the truth. In fact he looked much more relaxed than he had a moment before. He wondered if it had something to do with Taki and if it did why?
