Chapter 02: The High School Prince

Tohru vaguely heard Kagura's voice saying that she shall be leaving them alone now. The door closed gently, and footsteps retreated away from the room.

"So we meet again," he said quietly.

She nodded slowly.

"Do you have any objections about your job?"

She shook her head.

"Then you must rest now. We'll see each other in the morning-"

"Why didn't you tell me that you live in that mansion too?" she couldn't resist asking.

"Simply because I don't. I may exist there, but I live in here," he replied.

The words kept on replaying in Tohru's mind as she dressed up for school early in the morning the next day. "I can detect sadness in his voice," she mused.

No one was up yet when she walked to the kitchen. Her eye widened when she saw how topsy-turvy the whole place was. A dozen plates were even piled up on the kitchen sink already, as if no one cares to wash them at all!

"Master Yuki is not up yet. Maybe I should attend to the house first," she decided as she filled a basin with soapy water.

Shigure was walking to the kitchen when the warm aroma of coffee and hearty breakfast welcomed him. His jaw dropped when he saw the plates stacked in the rack neatly, and the sink and counter was polished.

"Oh Kami-sama! I'm still dreaming!" He pinched his arm. "Ouch! This is a vivid one."

Yuki walked from behind. "Shigure, what charitable spirit possessed you to wake up early to do the chores?"

He turned to his cousin. "You mean you didn't do this?" He frowned. "It's more unlikely that Kyo would do this."

Tohru appeared from the doorway, holding a bag of bread. "Ohayou gozaimasu, Master Yuki, Master Shigure!"

Yuki blinked. "Am I right to infer that you did this?"

She looked around worriedly. "Is it not clean enough?"

Shigure burst out laughing. "Jesus, this is cleaner than the time we decided to do a general cleaning three years ago!"

"Really?" she exclaimed.

"We're domestically-challenged," explained the man.

"We're ignorant when it comes to household chores," added Yuki. "Our lives are already a mess on their own. We don't have time to fix the house."

She placed the bread down. "It must not be that bad, Master Yuki. People cannot be good in all fields of life. If you are already good in music, I cannot expect that you are good in being a homemaker too."

Shigure smiled. "You are one nice girl, Honda Tohru. If I do not know you, I might even think that you can make a good liar."

Yuki looked at him warningly.

Tohru took it lightly. "I'm flattered," she said good-naturedly. She gestured to the breakfast table. "Please eat now before the food turns cold."

Suddenly an orange cat entered the kitchen, meowing loudly. Tohru knelt before the cat. "Oh, how cute! This must be your pet, Kyo!"

Yuki and Shigure choked. The cat hissed.

"Oh come on, kitty. I won't hurt you…" she tickled its throat gently. "Good kitty."

"Do you like animals?" Shigure asked casually.

She smiled at them. "Oh yes! I love cats! And bunnies!"

"What about dogs?" asked Shigure eagerly.

"I adore dogs!"

"Tigers? Cows? Pigs?" he asked.

"I love all kinds of animals..even snakes!"

"So you love all animals in general?" asked Yuki.

Her forehead creased. Why the sudden interest on my zoological interests? "Well, there is one animal I don't like."

The men and even the cat seemed to look at her curiously.

"You see..I'm like those Victorian wives who, upon seeing mice jump up in a chair and scream," she said shyly. "I don't like rats very much."

Yuki choked. "Y-You don't?"

"Well, I know it's not a rat's fault to be filthy, yucky, dirty-" began Tohru.

"-not to mention unhygienic," interrupted Shigure laughingly.

"-but I just get really, really nervous when I see them," she finished.

The boy nodded. "I see."

Shigure sighed. "Too bad, because once in a while, you see a white mouse running back and forth the hallways-"

"That's enough!" snapped Yuki.

Tohru was puzzled by her master's sudden temper flare. Does he not like rats too?

"I better go. I'm late for school." He left the table abruptly.

Tohru watched him, bewildered.

"Don't worry, Tohru. You didn't do anything to upset him," said Shigure, reading her mind. "Yuki is just..well…moody."

"I understand."

Tohru, dressed in her school uniform was about to leave when she heard her master's voice calling her name. "Honda-san!"

"Yuki-sama!" She hurried towards him. "Do you need something-" Her eyes widened when she saw what he was wearing. "Oh!"

He smiled. "I was thinking if we can walk to school together, since we are schoolmates and all."

"Oh!" She nodded and bowed. "That would be great!"

As they walked, Tohru looked at Yuki from the corner of her eyes. He was quiet and serious, but he was also nice and kind. He also has the most heartbreakingly beautiful smile in the world. Kami-sama, he was an enigma.

Yuki smiled at her when he caught her looking at him. She turned away, blushing.

"Did I pass your standards, Honda-san?" he asked teasingly.

"I'm sorry, Yuki-sama. I know it's impolite to look at you without your permission but-"

"But..?" he prompted.

She looked down, not knowing what to say. Why was she looking at him anyway?

He looked at her intently. "Is there dirt on my face and you're just too shy to say it?"

"N-No, Yuki-sama!"

"Then what is it?"

"It's-" She stopped when she heard screams ring out from all four corners of the place.

"L-O-V-E L-O-V-E LOVE YUKI!!!" screams of female drowned the rest of Tohru's words.

Yuki sweatdropped. "Ignore them, Honda-san."

"I-" She could vaguely remember the female population yesterday talking a bout the high school prince, Sohma Yuki. But she had no idea that that Yuki is the Yuki beside her now.

"Prince Yuki, WE LOVE YOU!!!!!!!!" cheered the freshmen girls. They began to run after them.

Yuki suddenly grabbed her hand. "Let's go, Honda-san." He pulled her so she would walk faster.

"HUH?!!!" The girls of Yuki's Fan Club were aghast. Their prince was holding an unknown girl's hand!

"Skin contact!" someone cried.

"Blasphemy! No one is allowed to hold the prince' hand, arm, shoulder, nail, hair etc without using a sanitizer accredited by our exclusive club!" another girl cried.

"Whoever that girl is will pay dearly."

"Yuki-sama!" cried Tohru, catching her breath.

"Honda-san!" He stopped pulling her. "I-I'm sorry! We shouldn't have run away like that!"

"Hey, your life was in danger back then," she kidded. "I forgive you." She smiled. "I didn't know you already are an icon here. Do they have a temple built in your honor already?"

Yuki looked at her, puzzled. "You don't know about my reputation?" He chuckled. "I forgot. You are a transferee, right?"

"What do I not know about your reputation here, Yuki-sama?" she asked.

He sighed. "It's better that you do not know, Honda-san." He then looked at the classrooms. "This is where I'll go."

She looked at the classroom of the first section. "Uh..ok."

He looked at her. "So where will I see you this lunch?"

"H-Huh?"

"I said, what section should I go to fetch you?" he repeated.

"S-Section D."

"Section D it is then." He smiled at her before entering the classroom, where more students greeted him energetically.

"He's handsome, he's rich, he's popular, he's intelligent…no wonder he was called the High school prince," said Tohru quietly.

tsuzuku