I Will Never Give Up!

Both eyes stared daggers at her while Momiji merely laughed and took the animals away from the freaking Tohru. "Don't worry, Tohru-chan! I promised you that they won't hurt you while I'm around, and I intend to stay true to that promise!"

Tohru sighed and collapsed against the broken splinters of the wall that the two just broke awhile ago. "Oh dear, I'm sorry! I just don't like it when people fight!"

"In this palace, nobody asks about anyone else's opinion unless you are a Sohma," remarked Yuki the mouse coldly. "I can throw people around anytime I want to if that pleases me."

"Which is wrong," she said immediately. "Acting without thinking whether you'll hurt someone with what you will do is immature."

"Who said anything about immaturity?" snapped the rat. "I can do whatever I want because I own this place."

"If that is the way you think, then you don't deserve to own this place," she said as gently as she could.

The mouse jumped out of Momiji's grasp. "Who cares about what a maid thinks anyway? You don't know anything!"

Tohru's eyes widened in shock. "Y-Your Highness!"

"Yuki!" exclaimed Momiji.

The feline's fur raised, and it hissed in fury. "Goddam mouse!" It leapt towards the rat, but the latter kicked it on the face, sending neko Kyo flying again to the wall. A small hole appeared beside the big hole awhile ago.

"Your Highness!" Tohru immediately attended to the fallen Sohma and cuddled it against her chest. "Are you ok? Please cease this immediately! You'll only hurt yourself worthlessly!"

"Let me go!" screamed the cat. "You think I can't beat that snobbish rat, Tohru? Let me show you-"

"Stop it!" she begged, hugging him tighter, making cat Kyo more unsettled. It clawed blindly on the air.

"Let-" It froze when it saw the blood that flowed on Tohru's arm from a scratch that it was sure it made.

"Ah…!" She let go of feline Kyo and grasped her bleeding arm.

"That is what happens when you let your fury overtake you," said a deep, calm voice. Tohru looked up and saw a tall man dressed in a simple brown outfit. He was holding a fencing sword on his one hand.

"Sensei!" said Yuki and Kyo, standing in attention at once. Even Momiji straightened up upon seeing the man.

I wonder…is this the Kazuma-sensei Momiji was talking about? Why, he must be a very proper man! He earned the respect of both Sohma princes!

"Always have a calm mind, as calm as the pacific blue sea, and do not let wrath eat your heart and overtake your mind, or else you have just sold your soul to the devil," advised Kazuma.

Such wisdom…he reminds me of okaasan!

"Right!" said the princes.

Kazuma turned to her. "And who are you, young lady?"

"Ah, Honda Tohru is my name. I-I'm a maid, and uh, I'm about to leave…"

"Aw, don't go, Tohru-chan!" begged Momiji. "Stay and watch my practice!"

"B-But…" She looked first at the animals then at the teacher.

Kazuma smiled kindly. "I don't mind having an audience."

"Sensei!!" chorused the animals.

"So as a punishment for the roughness you displayed to a lady, you shall assume Honda-san's duties for today," he ordered.

Although the two didn't find the order too appealing, they nodded politely.

"You are doing well, Prince Momiji. Keep it up!" said Kazuma, watching his student as the two animals watched their cousin glumly. Tohru sat between them, just to be sure they wouldn't try to kill each other.

"Tohru-chan, look at me! I'm a warrior! Yaaah!" Momiji started using his fencing sword like a bamboo sword in kendo.

"This is no time to play around, you little twerp!" cried the cat exasperatedly.

The rat rolled its eyes.

Tohru clapped happily. "That's so cool!" This made the young prince act crazier.

" Don't cheer him on, you idiot!" snapped the cat.

"But it's cool!" protested Tohru.

"Yeah!" agreed Momiji.

Again, the rat rolled its eyes.

Kazuma watched them, an amused smile on his face.

"Thank you, Sensei!" Momiji bowed politely before the teacher. Kazuma nodded and left, bowing at Tohru again to acknowledge her.

"That was fun, wasn't it, Tohru-chan?" said Momiji cheerfully.

The animals weren't too happy. "Our transformation back to human form is taking too long!" complained the rat.

Tohru looked down. "I'm so sorry-"

"You don't have to apologize every other minute, you know!" snapped the mouse. "Geez, you are starting to remind me of my other cousin."

"Kyo!!!" A female voice screamed. Tohru turned to the left and found a pretty princess running towards them, eyes welling with tears. "Kyo, how did you transform into a cat? This is so awful! Oh, what happened?!!!!" She took the freaking cat from Tohru's arm and choked it into an embrace. "Kyo, my poor darling Kyo!"

"Ghaaak!" cried the orange cat.

"That's Princess Kagura, Prince Kyo's fiancée," explained Momiji.

Tohru sweatdropped. "She loves him very much, doesn't she?"

Kagura suddenly became livid. "THIS COULD ONLY MEAN A GIRL HUGGED YOU!!! WERE YOU CHEATING ON ME???????!!!!!!!!!!" Her grip on Kyo's neck was threatening to squish his Adam's apple.

"N-NO, N-No, I WASN'T!!!" yelled the cat at last.

She suddenly returned to her soft-spoken self again. "I'm glad." She caressed her cheek against Kyo's raised fur. "Oh, Kyo! You are my one and only love, the person I love the most! I will die of a broken heart if you cheat on me!!!" She dragged the screaming Kyo away, followed by the teasing Momiji.

"She'll die after she kills the stupid cat, that is," remarked the mouse dryly.

Tohru giggled softly at his remark. The rat paused.

"Why are you laughing at me?" demanded Yuki quickly. Deep inside, he was embarrassed. Did I do something wrong or foolish?

"Nah. I'm just glad that you still have some humor intact, unsmiling Ice Prince," she teased.

The rat froze, then blushed. Instantly he poofed into a human.

Tohru's face heated, then quickly turned around. She untied the strings of her apron and handed it to him. "Here, Your Highness."

His hand silently took the cloth apron and tied it around his waist.

"I'll go fetch your clothes in the training hall," she said quickly.

She didn't see anymore the confusion that settled on the Prince' face.

That afternoon, Tohru was pushing the tray of food down the hallway when she saw Kyo wearing a maid's apron, sweeping the floor. On the other side was Yuki, wiping the statues lining up the corridor.

"Ah…!"

The boys looked up, then paused from their work.

"You don't have to do this," said Tohru quietly.

"This is the order of the sensei," said Yuki, returning to his work.

"I see," she said. "Well, take a break first, will you?"

Yuki bent down to rinse his rag. "I'm going to change the water." He stood up and marched away.

Tohru sighed.

An allergic reaction to me.

Kyo cleared his throat. "Tohru?"

"Yes?"

He quickly handed her a small box of bandages. "Sorry about awhile ago." He then strode away from her, taking his broom with him.

She was too stunned by the prince' actions to react. She just watched him, mystified.

He was being kind.

She looked down at the scratch on her arm and smiled.

He is kind.

She didn't notice Yuki looking at her from a distance. The prince clenched his fist that was holding a box of bandage also. He threw it on the trash can and walked away.

Why should I be concerned about a lowly maid anyway? I mean, I wasn't even the one who scratched her!

Yuki continued walking, ignoring Shigure whom he bumped.

"Hey!" whined the writer, but the young Sohma didn't even apologize or glance his way.

"Bad mood? Must be a 'she problem', right?" he kidded.

"Mind your own damn business, Shigure!" yelled Yuki.

Shigure paused. "I-I was just bluffing! You mean, you of all people have a problem with she creatures?"

Honda Tohru.

Thank you. You are helping me a lot.

The dog smiled and yelled his last statement. "Watch out, Yuki! Women are thieves!"

Yuki turned around, bewildered.

To this, he smiled affably. "They steal hearts."

That night, the maids' quarters is full of female cheers and swooning sighs. The maids witnessed the two of the most handsome and eligible Sohma princes sweeping the floor, dressed in maid outfits. Of course, the room was alive in dreamy sighs.

Tohru smiled to herself. It seems that I'm the only one who knows about the Sohma secret. Impossible, but true. I wonder how they will react once they know about it.

She opened the window of the room and looked out at the velevety-black night.

Okaasan, life in the palace is not very easy. There are a lot of personalities I must learn how to get along to, but then I will never give up!

She thought about the cold, hard profile of the Ice Prince.

She smiled.

I will not give up under any circumstances. I will prove to them that even glaciers melt!

Because I cannot help but feel that deep inside, Prince Yuki is not so bad. He's not just used to displaying his emotions, but I know that in his emotionless royal purple eyes hide the warmth of a very kind person.

tsuzuku