Chapter 6: A Knight in Shining Armor
Tohru woke up again, her heartbeat racing. She gasped, catching her breath. "Kami-sama…not again..not another dream of a mouse."
It was more vivid than before.
But why?
"More rice, please!" called Shigure.
"More milk!" called Kyo.
Kisa silently lifted her bowl towards Tohru.
It was the next morning, and everything was back to normal. Tohru was busy attending to the now much bigger Sohma family.
Tohru sweatdropped when she saw the near empty rice cooker. It was barely enough for her master's meal. She closed the rice cooker. "I'll skip breakfast," she decided. "I'll just save this for Master Yuki." She turned to the refrigerator, and to her surprise, someone opened it for her.
Yuki smiled at her. "Ohayou." He stooped to get a bottle of milk. "For the baka neko, right?"
"Right!"
"Mix it with leeks. Kyo likes his milk flavored," he suggested, hiding a diabolical smile.
"Honto?" She handed him two bowls. "Can you please give this to Shigure and Kisa? I'll just go get some leeks in the garden"
"What's taking my milk so long?" complained Kyo.
Tohru rushed into the dining room. "G-Gomen!" She placed the warm milk in front of him.
"Odd color," remarked Shigure.
Yuki smiled. "Honda-san gave you the herbal version of milk. It's much healthier."
Kyo looked at the drink distrustfully before taking a big gulp of it.
"Well?" asked Tohu eagerly. "Yuki told me you like your milk flavored with leeks so I mixed some on your drink!"
His eyes widened, then he ran towards the sink to throw up.
"You're getting more evil everyday, Sohma Yuki," said Shigure, wagging his finger playfully.
Tohru hurried towards Kyo. "I-I'm so sorry! I didn't know!"
Hiro laughed. "Don't be, Honda Tohru. It's his fault. He didn't tell you that he hates leeks."
Kyo faced the boy angrily. "How should I know that I should advise her about those damn things anyway? How should I know that the stupid nezumi will be dastardly enough to suggest to her that horrendous concoction!"
"So are you saying it's not your fault but hers?" snapped the boy. "Tell me, was she aware of your stupid dislikes of leeks? What hour, minute, and second did she know?"
"J-Just now," replied Kyo. "But-"
"No buts!" Hiro shot back. "You threw up awhile ago, and she doesn't know about your fear of leeks until now, just as you said. Therefore, she has an alibi. It is not her fault!"
"Dammit, I'm not saying that it's her fault, you twerp!"
"Twerp? That's malicious name-calling! I'm calling the police!"
"What?!" cried an outraged Kyo, wondering how did the topic shift so quickly. "I'm gonna bash your head!"
"Death threats! Boy, you're going to jail for that!"
"STOP IT!!!"
Everyone was hushed. All heads turned to Tohru.
"Please…give respect to our meal," she begged, voice quavering.
Kyo tore his eyes away from the kid. "Yeah."
"Sorry," muttered Hiro.
She smiled again. "Good. My acting convinced you. Now let's continue our meal in peace."
"Wow, Tohru! You certainly have a way with the Sohmas!" complimented Shigure.
Tohru looked at the paper, sighing.
"All those who got a grade below 50 will stay behind to clean the room," announced the teacher.
Kyo looked at the 48% written on her paper. "Bummer," he said sympathetically.
"I didn't study. I deserve this," she said with a forced smile.
"I would love to stay behind with you to help you clean, but I have my own remedial classes," he said apologetically.
"It's ok. Some of our classmates will stay behind to clean too," she said reassuringly.
The bell rang, and everyone but her and a few guy classmates stayed behind.
"This sucks!" one of her boy classmates complained as he started to mop the floor. "I studied so hard for this…damn my mental block!"
Tohru started to erase the board. The sooner he finishes this, the sooner she can get home.
Yuki sighed, relieved that at last the boring school student council meeting was over. He glanced at his watch. Tohru went home surely an hour ago. He picked up his books and started to go home.
"Honda, can you please throw the trash at the backyard incinerator?" asked the guy with eyeglasses.
She nodded. "Sure!"
"I'll help you," volunteered a brown-haired guy.
"Thanks!" She smiled when he carried the trashcan for her.
"There!" Tohru wiped a sweat off her brow. "I guess our job is finished."
"Mine is not quite done," said the guy.
"Huh?"
She nearly screamed when he suddenly seized her arm. "Come with me."
"W-Wait! Where are you taking me?" she asked.
"Somewhere we could be alone."
"P-Please don't. O-Our classmates are waiting for us," she said almost beggingly.
"No, they aren't. Don't you know who I am?" he asked, grinning devilishly.
"N-No."
"Everyone knows who I am. And everyone knows that whoever comes with me will not come back untouched."
"What do you mean?" she whispered in fear. Why didn't anyone in the room warn me?
He threw her carelessly down the dusty floor of the abandoned janitor shed and hurriedly took his top off.
Oh my god. He couldn't.
She screamed at the top of her lungs, but heard only cruel laughter.
"No one's going to hear you, babe. Everyone's going home now. No one will pass by here," he said, cackling. He crouched on top of her. "I heard you and the High school prince live under the same roof. So..is he in good in bed as he is in our classes?"
"You're mistaken! There is no relationship between us!"
"Good, then at least I have one less worry in my mind." With that, he punched her stomach, and her vision started to blur.
As she felt his hand roughly rip her blouse, tears welled up in her eyes.
"Yuki…Yuki…"she repeated over and over.
"Still calling your prince charming's name?" asked the boy as he nuzzled her neck. "He won't come. He doesn't even know you're here."
She knew that. But her heart was still stubbornly calling his name.
"Yuki…help…me…" she whispered with her last ounce of strength.
"Bullshit!!"
Her heart jumped. She knew that voice.
She felt the weight on top of her disappear. When she looked up, she saw her attacker being punched furiously by Yuki. Her master's usually calm purple eyes now blazed in wild fury.
"I'm so sorry Sohma-" His words were cut off by Yuki's punch.
"What you did to Honda-san…is beyond forgivable!" He aimed his fist at the boy's face again.
"Yuki!" she cried.
He froze.
"Don't..you might kill him," she pleaded.
He was paralyzed by indecision. "This guy nearly raped you. I can not forgive him."
"And I won't forgive you too if you harm anyone seriously..even him," she said.
He reluctantly threw the boy on the wall. "Never ever mess with Honda-san again!"
"Yuki…"
He tore his eyes away from the boy. "Honda-san?" His wild purple eyes calmed down upon seeing her begging brown ones. His breathing returned to normal. Quickly, he knelt down beside her and slid off his top to wrap around her torn blouse. "Did he hurt you, Honda-san?"
"N-No."
"Are you sure? Because if he did..I'll kill him. Heavens forbid, but I will." He dried her tears with the back of his palm. "No one will ever lay a finger on you again…not when I'm around."
His words comforted her. Suddenly,s he felt that she wanted to sleep. She laid her head on his chest and closed her eyes.
She didn't see anymore the smoke, or the transformation behind the smoke screen.
tsuzuku