/ Woot, 7 reviews in a day! You guys deserve a quick update! (P.S. If more readers came out of the dark…)
Chapter 29: Terms of Endearment
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"But I've seen him change." I counter, defensively.
"It'll only regress."
"Why?"
"He lost someone dear to him. He went to a very dark place after that."
"But he's good now, right?"
Kyo shrugs, acting all casual, and it's making me really angry. Don't throw this big conundrum at me! Answer me!
"For a cursed Sohma."
/
"What do you mean?"
"I think it would be best if you found out from him."
Pandora's box had been open. She had to know. What "dark place" was Kyo referring to? Why had Hatori never mentioned it if it was as significant as Kyo made it out to be?
She still had not made much progress in learning about Hatori's past. Despite their frequent texts, when she brought that up, he was always very terse about it. And it made her feel uncomfortable to push for more.
But you are in a relationship with him! You deserve to know!
I have to continue my efforts. Even if he turns me away, I will be patient. I will wait.
Because I love him.
/
"Hey, they're are giving away 2 iPad minis!" Kyo called out as he ushered her over to a flashy booth.
The festival was in full bloom. Lots of people. Lots of entertainment. Lots of food. Since they were stuffed from the takoyaki, they headed straight for the fun stuff. But also being full, they didn't want to go on any of the rides. So they browsed booths. Lots of booths were giving away freebies, and Tohru had already smarted amassing a small collection of goodies – magnets, reusable grocery bags, keychains.
Reading the banner on the booth titled "Love 'Em or Leave 'Em", Tohru looked at Kyo quizzically. "The winner of the couple's game will win the iPads."
"Huh? What's a cupulsgame?" Of course, Kyo hadn't looked further than "winning" the prize.
"Couples, like boyfriend and girlfriend."
"Oh, couples." He looked down at his feet, sheepishly, deep in thought. "D-do you want to do it? The stakes are high…"
"Sure. It could be my last day of fun before I turn into a schoolwork zombie." Tohru replied cheerfully. "But what are our chances. I mean do we know enough about each other? Do you know anything about me?"
"You'd be surprised," he mumbled under his breath.
After Kyo paid for their entry fee, Tohru bowed profusely, promising to pay him back when they got home. "Don't sweat it." Was his only response. She took out a small pad of paper from her purse and wrote down a signed reimbursement receipt for him. He rolled his eyes at her, but was quite amused. An events coordinator gave them each a number sticker to adhere to their backs. As they waited, Tohru looked around at their competition. Surprisingly, there were some older couples in their thirties. That's cute, she thought. I hope my significant other and I will be like that.
"You're lucky I choose to wear sneakers today." She tells him, punching him softly in the shoulder.
"Welcome to Love 'Em or Leave 'Em Couples Event, folks. We have a bunch of interactive games planned for our contestants testing all aspects of a relationship – from knowledge to trust. Right now, there are 30 couples enrolled. There are seven rounds. The first round will eliminate eight couples immediately. Subsequent rounds will eliminate 4 couples until there are only two couples left. The winner will receive two iPad minis. Runner-up will receive a pair of tickets to Nagashima Spa Land Amusement Park. Also he winner of each round will receive a swag bag with various goodies given by our sponsors. All contestants will receive couples outfits. Thanks for your participation. Please cheer on our fellow contestants!" There was a coliseum style seating around them. It felt kind of strange – to be watched by all these strangers. She felt like a gladiator. Not a good thing.
"Let's do introductions first. One person from each couple please state your names, where you are from, and how long you've been together."
For them, Kyo did the introductions. He was surprisingly natural, well-rehearsed. Four years. Kyo was as smooth with his words as their landlord Mr. Shigure Sohma. Tohru simply gave a shy wave to the audience. While introductions were being done, chairs were being set up in a circle behind them.
"Let's get started. Round one is called 'Strum my Heartstrings Musical Chairs. We will play 8 rounds. If you or your significant other gets out, that pair is eliminated. Anything goes. No bodily harm. Guys, protect your woman!"
"Let the Hunger Games begin! Just kidding about the Hunger part." The host teased.
With some popular tunes playing the couples were slowly eliminated. Some played dirty. Lifting that chair from under them just as they were about to sit. Luckily they managed to stay in. Mostly due to Kyo's furtive tricks. He always managed to secure a seat for Tohru once the music stopped. Then he'd worry about "finding" a seat for himself. Which usually resorted in some man-tackle or a "Look, your girlfriend is out!" point in some arbitrary direction thereby distracting his opponent. Tohru felt bad, but she also felt her very small competitive streak come out to join his big competitive streak. It was fun to watch.
"Onto the next round. There are 22 couples left. It is called Two to Tango Race. Half of the couples are up first. Then girls first. You will be blindfolded at the starting line. There are some obstacles on the playing field, but nothing that will hurt you. As you can see, they are made of foam. The objective is to get to the other side of the field without hitting any of the foam obstacles or the other contestants. If you do, please go back to the starting line and start over. Our referees will be watching for offenders. Your significant other will be at the sidelines guiding you. Follow his voice. This is a game of trust. Your time will be recorded. At the end of this round, the time of boyfriend and girlfriend will be totaled. The four couples with the slowest times will be eliminated."
Kyo whispered in her ear, "Just follow my voice. It's gonna be an octave higher so you can distinguish me from the rest of the guys."
Tohru nodded, a small smile slipping over her lips.
"Stop right there. Yes, there you go, baby. Now step to your right about ten centimeters." Tohru tried to ignore the high-pitched endearment. He was probably just playing a role.
They managed to secure the fifth fastest time. Tohru high-fived Kyo. Her face felt flushed in excitement and the beaming sun, despite the cooling weather.
"Congratulations to our 16 couples. Sorry to those two girls that hit each other accidently. Who do you guys think are better at giving instructions girls or boys?" He placed the mic out to gesture for the audience to respond. Based on the volume of the incoherent screaming responses, it seemed to be 50/50.
"The next round is called 'Baby, give me some sugar."
We have four tables set up. The guys will stand on one side and the girls on the other side, facing their SO. Between them, on the table will be two sweets. You will be blindfolded. Your task is to feed your SO the sweet. But you are not allowed to use your hands. Good luck. Coordinators, please blindfold our contestants."
Tohru started to panic once the host said 'Go.' "Uh Kyo, how do we do this?"
"I'll feed you first." He bent his head down to the table to find the treat. His nose knocked against a plastic wrapped object. "Oh great, how are we gonna open this." He muttered. Using his lips, he figured out that there was a zipper. Good. Otherwise, it was going to be near impossible unless he had scissors for teeth.
"Tohru, use your cheek to hold down this bag while I unzip it."
"Okay." Following his voice, she leaned down to secure the bag against the table.
"Can you try to push the dessert out?"
He could smell that it was chocolate. Her favorite. And to feed it to her without his hands, he was going to have to use his mouth. Gulp. That was the furthest thing from his mind right now. He did not need that. He wanted it, sure, but if couldn't have her completely, he didn't want those carrot dangling in front of him, taunting him.
He sunk his teeth gently into the chocolate bar and spoke though muffled words for Tohru to bring her mouth to his and take it from him. In some perverse way, it was her 'kissing' him. At least he could live with a memory that something had transpired between them. Use this memory during his nights alone.
Tohru took it from him, with the barest of meeting of lips. She tried to tell herself that it was innocent. But from her heightened sense of hearing, she could tell he was breathing heavily. He was affected. And she admitted she was a little turned on. The blindfolds. The heightened senses. The creamy filling inside the chocolate. This was downright sinful!
After a repeat of the actions, they were done.
"Kyo and Tohru are tenth to finish. Still in the game! Midoka and Shouji are…"
The announcer's voice trailed off in Tohru's head. She'd just kissed Kyo. Was this betrayal? She would tell Hatori as soon as possible to avoid any misunderstandings.
The next round called 'Building a Solid Foundation' involved using only newspapers and masking tape to build a table that could hold up a textbook for at least 5 seconds. There were specific specifications. They managed to finish second to last. There table kept collapsing at 4 seconds, to which Kyo had shouted a litany of unrepeatable words. The audience seemed to like him and his aggressive stage persona.
It was down to 10 couples for "And Baby Makes Three" which involved using anything but their hands to get a balloon to the finish line without popping. They did it astoundingly fast.
In Round 6 of "Cheeky Charades" with Tohru as the instructor, Kyo managed to guess seven words in five minutes. These words included "Honey" "Hug" "Star-crossed" "French Kiss" (which made her very embarrassed and Kyo burst out in a uncontrollable fit of laughter at her attempts) "White Day" "shoujo" "Love at First Sight"
Unfortunately they got the fewest words. Dejectedly, they started to walk toward the sidelines before the host spoke up.
"My superiors are telling me that this has been the most entertaining bunch in the latest eight years that this has been happening. We'd like to keep the final 6 couples for the final "Know Thy Mate" round.
Each couple will sit facing the question board. There will be a divider between them they can't cheat. Guys will answer first. Girls will put their own answers on the board. When the time is up, girlfriend and boyfriend will lift the boards to the audience. Those two couples that get the most questions right will win our big prizes."
Name two of my closest friends. The board in front of them read, writing down two names on the white board.
Saki and Arisa. He wrote on the whiteboard in nearly illegible handwriting.
What do I do during my time off?
"Cook." He wrote.
"Learn new recipes." She wrote. Close enough. Good.
If your significant other where an animal, what would he/she be.
Cat. Tohru prayed that he'd write this down.
Favorite foreign movie.
Leon.
Favorite dessert.
Red bean mochi.
Where'd you meet?
Shigure's house.
In the second part, it was Tohru's turn to answer the same questions about Kyo.
Yuki and Manabe.
Martial arts.
Cat
Oldboy
Jelly roll
Forest.
Finally they were done with the questions. Eagerness thumping in their hearts because they were so close to winning. They could almost taste it.
"The scores are in. The runner-up answered 11 out of 12 questions. Congratulations Kyo Sohma and Tohru Honda! Please come on up!"
Slightly saddened, Tohru had to be dragged up to claim their prize. What went wrong?
It's my fault.
The expression on his face was one of pure happiness, like the cat that got the cream. He was proud of them. It seemed like role reversal. He should be the one angry that they didn't win the big prize. But he wasn't. It was most likely Tohru's doing. He was so calm and happy with her. Like time stopped. It was only them.
It's my fault. I'll have to ask him later.
"Winner and runner up, please come have you individual couple photos taken for our winner board. Silly poses welcome."
In his glee, Kyo lifted Tohru up (careful not to trigger the curse) for their photo op. Normally, like the rest of the Juunishi (except Shigure), he hated having his photo taken. But this occasion seemed right.
"Here's some tape. Put it on the board and sign it." Said a petite woman after their Polaroid picture came out.
"Go ahead, I have to tie my shoelaces." Kyo said.
"Okay."
Tohru approached the board. And looked at all the beaming couples. I wonder how many of them are real. I mean I should be glad our non-couple made it this far.
And then her eyes caught a familiar face.
Runner up: 2006 Kana and Hatori Sohma. It was in a neat scrawl. Hatori was standing facing the camera, and Kana was on her side, leaning up to peck him on the cheek sweetly. Tohru couldn't really see her face. But she didn't care about her face. She was staring at Hatori's face. It made her heart clench. He didn't wince like he sometimes did with her. He looked completely at ease. His face was unlined. Free.
Despite not being related, they have the same last name. Making them seem like they are married.
Hatori did this with her. So willingly.
They were in love.
/
A/N: 3.24.2013 – Hatori lets his guard down before?! Ugh! Sorry these chapters lately have not been focused on them. But I believe in the next chapter they are going back to the vacation house. (Unless I decide to shove something else in mehehe)
Couples games sound so fun, eh?
"Strum my Heartstrings Musical Chairs"
"Two to Tango Race"
"Baby, give me some sugar"
"Building a Solid Foundation"
"And Baby Makes Three"
"Cheeky Charades"
"Know Thy Mate"
Which one is your favorite?
This 'outing' seems insignificant, but it's making Tohru assess her relationship with Hatori. Will he ever be able to let his guard down to do something silly like a couples game (he did it with Kana, darn it!)? Will they ever be able to go out in public like a normal couple?
Tohru is so innocent. She's gonna tell Hatori about that not-really-a-kiss thing. Poor Tohru. Doesn't know Hatori harbors a big secret.
The game 'Building a Solid foundation' is from the TV show New Girl.
/
Mcangel1976: Haha u are such a Kyo hater. Sadly, he's in no position to start anything. So you're in luck.
Guest: Thanks girl! Hope your writing is coming along. What do you write? Fruits Basket?
Kouga's older woman: I agree, but he can't let go…
Phenylephrine: Poor Kyo. Receives no love from Tohru. But at least we know he'll always be there for her. :) Don't worry, Hatori is gonna get his just deserts. As for the peeper, it will take a while to come up. Hehe. Glad you are curious.
Kris11993: Hey newbie! All Sohma men = yummy. Hehe potions having loopholes. Don't we all wish :) Thanks so much for your encouragement.
Miaboo011: Missed u for a bit, glad you're back! :) Haha about the watching ur back while at the computer. That brought a smile to my face. Thanks for reading girl! Unfortunately, I won't be able to satisfy your request in the last line… for a while. He's a hot mess.
Traceless-Poison: Awww, puppy eyes. I'm tempted, but I shall continue to torture. :) Muwhaha. Love ya!
