Was it something I said that pushed you away?

Was it because I said "I love you"?

I'm sorry.

I'm so sorry.

"Tohru-kun?"

She blinked, then saw Ayame looking at her with concern. "Aya-san?" She bit her lip guiltily.

"You look…distracted these past few days," he observed, sitting down in front of her. "Did something happen in your date with my brother?"

Her eyes widened. "N-No!" She looked away, because she was afraid that if he locks gaze with her, he would realize that she was lying.

"Are you sure?" asked the Sohma skeptically.

She shut her eyes tight.

No, I don't want to remember! I don't want to remember!

But her mind replayed the events cruelly.

Yuki pushed her away abruptly. "W-What did you say?" he asked curtly.

"Yuki-kun…" Her eyes shook. "I…think I love you."

He stepped back from her, shaken. "That's…insane! This is not part of the act!"

"Of course it's not!" she said vehemently as her heart sank.

He tried to laugh sarcastically. "W-We just got carried away…"

"Carried away?" she whispered, the words sinking in.

"That's right." He turned his back on her. "Very well, I better take you home-"

"I can go home all by myself, thank you very much," she said, trying to conceal the tremble in her voice.

He turned to her. "Honda-san?"

"You're right. I just got carried away," she said bitterly. "I allowed myself to lose my wit and let you kiss me…don't worry. You're a very good kisser. I had no…regrets. Just that I had to involve my heart and soul too in that kiss."

With that, she pivoted and left as quickly as she could.

"Tohru-kun!" gasped Ayame when he saw her eyes welling up with tears.

"I'm so…stupid." Suddenly, she burst into tears. "Stupid simpleton Honda Tohru believed that she could be loved by a prince…"

"W-What did Yuki do to you?" asked Aya, mystified.

In broken speech, she narrated to him the plan that Yuki conspired with her.

In the end, Ayame was smiling no more. "Yuki did that?"

"It's not him that you should blame, but me, who believed gullibly. It's all my fault…"

The Sohma stood up and marched out of the room.

... I had no…regrets. Just that I had to involve my heart and soul too in that kiss.

Yuki clenched his fists. "Honda-san, how could you do such a thing? Why? You know that love is non-existent in vocabulary. Now I had to do the thing that I would have wanted last to do to you: hurt you."

Love? No, he couldn't love. He didn't want to love anymore. He had grown wary of the universal conspiracy weaklings use to survive in the rough world.

"Aya, don't come in! Yuki is not in the mood to chat-" He could hear Shigure say outside his room.

He knows.

"Aya-" Shigure stopped talking when the door opened, and the siblings looked at each other testily. "Um, I better go."

Soon the two were left in Yuki's room.

"How could you?" began Aya, fists clenched. "You should have known better than to break the heart of an innocent girl like Tohru-kun."

Yuki forced a careless shrug. "It's her fault. She went along with a game that she couldn't handle."

Silence. However Yuki could feel that his brother was standing next to him now. He looked up and met his gaze. He could see that Aya didn't look like the normal Ayame that he could sigh exasperatedly on. His brother was damn serious. He could kill him with his look now.

"I can punch you right now…over and over, in fact, if that would bring you back to your senses," said his brother through gritted teeth. "But guess what, I won't. Because Tohru-kun begged me not to hurt you."

Shock registered in the young Sohma's eyes, but it quickly disappeared as fast as it came.

"But I expect not to see your face again, and do not show yourself to Tohru-kun either, or else, I'll kill you. Get it?" threatened his elder brother.

"Fine by me."

Aya shook his head. "How could it be…that she loved you so much. She deserves someone much better."

After Ayame left, Yuki had to stop himself from breaking down. His brother had never been more right. Tohru does deserve someone else.

She was too good for someone like him.

"I hate to say this, but I did warn you," said a familiar voice.

Tohru looked up from her sewing and saw Kyo looking down at her sympathetically. "Kyo-kun! Ah, please make yourself comfortable-"

"I won't stay long. I just wanted to tell you that…you are too good for my cousin." He blushed faintly. "I mean, I could see that you are a really nice girl."

She smiled, touched by his concern. "Thank you."

Silence.

"If only I don't care so much for Kagura," he smiled. "I would have caught you with open arms."

"Thank you," she laughed.

"However, I could still clearly see in your eyes the stubborn emotion," he said.

"Yes…perhaps, with time's will, my feelings for him will wane."

"Perhaps."

Kyo took out an invitation from his jacket. "Here. My wedding is on Sunday."

"Ah, thank you!" she said, smiling brightly.

"Be there, alright? Kagura and I will be waiting for you."

"Yes!"

******************************************

After a few more days, Sunday finally came.

Tohru, dressed in an immaculately white church dress, hair tied low with a white scarf, waited on the foot of the stairs as Ayame walked down, wearing a flowing chinese-inspired coat and silk pants.

"Why do I have a feeling that you're much prettier than me?" asked Tohru, giggling.

"Of course I am!" said her onii-chan indignantly, then planting a kiss on her hair. "Let's go?"

At the same time, Yuki was struggling with his necktie. Shigure the came into the room, bringing Yuki's white coat. "Hurry, or else we'll be late."

"Why did I have to go this wedding anyway?" he asked, irritated. His brother's reminder still stuck in his mind.

"Because Kyo will miss you!" teased the canine before slipping the coat into the head of the nezumi.

"Stupid dog," muttered Yuki.

I'll probably see her…no, I know I'll see her.

His heart raced.

I miss her terribly.

"Let's go!" said Shigure cheerfully.

tsuzuku