At last, an update! I'm sorry for being inconsistent about the updates. I will try to work on it so you can expect more reliable dates on updates, just like in Riceball.
Kyo rubbed his eyes sleepily as he went down the stairs that morning. He was sure that he was the first one up in the house, because he wanted to catch the dawn.
But to his surprise, he heard the sound of chopping, and some merry hums from the kitchen. Curiously, he peeped into the room and found Tohru chopping vegetables on the table. Beside her were some plates with previously fried food, including fish drained with something red.
He absent-mindedly licked his lips. Sardines. Yum.
She next added the chopped veggies to the batter.
Milk. Yum.
He then watched her as she went towards the stove and mixed the vegetables and milk into the pan. She expertly looked over the bubbling batter, still oblivious of the pair of eyes watching him from the doorway.
"La la lala lala lala…La la lala lala lala…" she hummed. "Let's stay together, itsumo…"
Kyo felt himself smile silently, for some reason he couldn't decipher. However, that smile didn't last very long.
"KYOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
Tohru looked up just in time to see Kagura pounce on the freaking Kyo. She waited for the explosion and the transformation, but failed to see one. She did see, however, the incredible strength that lies within the seemingly frail body of Sohma Kagura.
"Kyo, my sweet darling!" gushed Kagura as she hugged her beloved with enough force to turn a metal alloy into baby cereal. "Good morning!!!! Oh, but you are much, much better than the morning! Oh, I missed you!"
"Ka_gu_ra," said Kyo through gritted teeth as he struggled to solve the maze of entwined arms breaking his neck. "We saw each other last night in the dinner table."
She pouted. "But I couldn't sleep last night! I long for your touch, my sweet pussy-wussy."
"DON'T YOU EVER CALL ME THAT WAY AGAIN, UNDERSTOOD?!?" barked Kyo as his eyes darted on the sweatdropping onigiri before him.
"But pussy-wussy…"
"STOP IT!!!" ordered the neko.
Shigure entered the kitchen, yawning. "G' morning, cute human sacrifice! Morning, Kagura! Morning, pussy-wussy!"
"SHUT THE HELL UP!!!" cried the cat desperately as he clamped his hands over his ears.
Ayame came into the kitchen too. "What the-"
Shigure raised his hand in a greeting. "Morning, gorgeous!"
Aya raised his hand too. "Hey, morning, 'Gure!" He turned to the freaking Kyo. "His morning doesn't look so good." He went towards his cousin and hugged him to his chest. "My poor kitty, what did they do to you?"
"Lemme go!!!" wailed the neko when he realized their position.
"Your wish is my command!" said Aya in a flourish as he threw his cousin away from him.
The startled Kyo lost his balance, his arms flapping wildly, as he tumbled back into the kitchen and landed on Tohru.
POOF!
Tohru blinked when she saw the neko lying on her lap.
"Oooh, great positioning, Kyo-kichi," remarked Aya, snickering.
"K-Kyo…" whispered Tohru. "Um…"
But before the cat could react, a pair of hands grabbed its fur. The next thing Kyo the cat knew was that he was being spun around the air, defying the laws of centrifugal-centripetal forces.
"YOU PERVERTED PUSSY-WUSSY!!! HOW COULD YOU DO THAT TO TOHRU-CHAN! YOU DESERVE THE ULTIMATE INFERNAL PUNISHMENT!!!!"
Shigure snickered. "What a carnival ride!"
Tohru panicked. "K-Kagura, p-please, c-calm down!"
Kagura paused, then looked at the dizzy cat she was holding. "K-Kyo?"
She got a small, weak meow as a reply.
"KYO!!!!!!!!!WHO DID THIS TO YOU?!?????? WHAT HAPPENED????!!!!" wailed Kagura, burying her face on the almost unconscious body of the neko.
Tohru sweatdropped as Shigure nodded to himself. "True love always wins in the end," said the novelist.
Aya sighed. "Alas! It was a difficult experience for Kyo kichi kun, though."
"True, true," agreed the dog.
"D-Difficult?" croaked the neko. "Try fatal."
Hatori entered the kitchen, forehead creased. "What in damnation is going on here? Why are you all so noisy at this early in the morning?"
One look at the battered cat Kyo, and he sighed. "Kagura, please. We don't want bloodshed in the floor. It's…messy."
Kagura looked down. "OK."
Shigure snickered. "What's the matter, 'Tori? Are you afraid that the vampires will go drink all the icky blood that will flow from Kyo's body?"
"Quiet!" bellowed the acting clan head. "I don't want unnecessary boisterousness in the house while I'm here."
Tohru bit her lip, but evidently the rest of her housemates weren't even stunned by the sudden rise of his voice.
"As the bossy acting clan head dictates," said Shigure as he bowed mockingly.
Everyone blinked when they smelled something. Tohru then slapped her hands over her mouth. "M-My omelet!!!" She stood up quickly as she tried to save the food.
Ritsu arrived, panicking. "I smell something burning! Is our house on fire???"
"Actually-" began Ayame.
"OUR HOUSE IS ON FIRE!!! OUR HOUSE IS ON FIRE!!!" yelled Ritsu, freaking out.
"Stop it!" cried Kagura.
"Help! Help!" cried Shigure, fighting off his snickers as he watched his cousin panic more.
The monkey then saw Tohru fighting off the fire in the stove. "GET AWAY FROM IT!! YOU'LL DIE!!!!"
Hatori stepped towards the two. "Stop it, you two-"
The scorching metal of the pan touched Tohru's hand. She cried out in pain as she collapsed on the floor, holding her hand.
Wasting no time, the clan doctor lifted Tohru and carried her into the clinic effortlessly, as if she was a rag doll.
Everyone else watched the peculiar display of concern from the man that Shigure called "a walking block of ice".
In the clinic, Hatori was kneeling in front of the fascinated Tohru, treating her burn. "You should have been more careful," he scolded.
Tohru bit her lip. "I'm sorry."
"You really are dumb."
"Sorry."
"Stop saying sorry."
"Huh?"
"It's dumb."
"Y-Yes, I-I'm sorry!" said the onigiri, bowing.
Hatori turned his back on her to hide the amused twitch of his mouth.
"The sardines are pretty good!" gushed Momiji when Tohru arrived in the kitchen, followed by the once again stern-looking Hatori.
"T-Thank you," said Tohru, blushing. "I-It's just a shame that I wasn't able to cook the omelet properly."
Kyo glanced at the embarrassed onigiri then looked away. "Tomorrow, maybe," he said, not noticing some sauce streaking down his chin.
Kagura slammed his face on to the bowl of sardines. "Kyo, don't talk with your mouth full!"
Shigure burst into hysterical laughter. "Whew! Wish I had a camera to capture that precious moment! Kyo getting cozy with a bunch of fishes drowning in red sauce!"
"You certainly have a touch with words," said Aya, laughing too.
Tohru then noticed some unoccupied seats. "Where are Kisa and Hiro? Yuki and Haru aren't here too!"
"Kisa's in bed, and she's down with mild flu, I think," said Shigure. "Hiro, Haru, and Yuki are with her."
"Oh," said Tohru.
"Be sure to bring food to her after you eat," ordered Hatori, glancing at the novelist. "I just checked her temperature awhile ago, and it's still not normal. Lots of fluid, understand?"
"Aye, aye, doctor!" said Shigure, saluting smartly.
As Shigure piled a tray with fluids and fruits, Tohru entered the kitchen, smiling uncertainly. "A-Ah, Shigure-san?"
He turned to her, smiling pleasantly. "Oh, it's you, Tohru-kun!" He lifted the pitcher of freshly squeezed orange juice. "Want some?"
She sweatdropped. "U-Uh, no thanks. A-Actually…" She brought something out from behind her back. "Will you give this to Kisa? I hope this will cheer her up."
Shigure looked at the bunch of dahlias, then grinned. "I'm sure it will. Thanks for your thoughtfulness, Tohru-kun."
She smiled back, blushing slightly, then left the kitchen to go back to her cleaning.
Yuki looked up when the door opened. "Finally, you arrived," he said wryly a Shigure grandly placed the tray of food by Kisa's bedside table. "What took you so long?"
"Don't tell me you got lost on your way?" asked Haru in deep concern.
"I'm perfectly ok," replied Shigure. "I just chatted with Tohru-kun. And speaking of which…" He picked up the flowers and handed them to Kisa. "To our little princess."
She smiled weakly. "T-Thank you, Grandpa Shigure."
The novelist sighed happily. "Oh, I just love it when she calls me that! It makes me feel so fatherly!"
Yuki groaned.
"But I must admit, this gift isn't from me. It's from Tohru-kun," said Shigure.
"From Tohru?" echoed Hiro, forehead creased. "So how much did you buy it from her?"
"She gave it for free."
"Unbelievable," remarked the sheep, shaking his head.
"Hiro!" said Kisa.
Shigure turned to Yuki and Haru. "You guys can take your breakfast now. I can watch over Kisa."
Haru shook his head. "I'm not yet hungry."
Yuki stood up and kissed Kisa's forehead. "Rest and get well, Kisa." He opened the door just as Ayame entered the room.
"My beloved brother!" squealed Ayame as he eagerly wrapped his arms around the nezumi who was starting to have veins popping on his head.
"Thank Kisa, or I would have mutilated you already," he said before grabbing his brother by the collar and throwing him into Shigure's waiting arms.
"Look, 'Gure!" said Ayame excitedly. "He's starting to mellow! He didn't make my nose bleed anymore!"
"Progress!" cheered Shigure as Hiro and Kisa watched them, astounded.
Yuki passed by the living room just as Tohru lost her grip on the pail of water. The liquid instantly spilled all over the floor as Tohru sank into the ground, holding her burnt finger. She blew over it worriedly then held it with her other hand.
"Honda-san?"
She looked up, then stood up panickedly. "Ah, Yuki-kun!" However, her sudden motion made her slip down the floor, face first.
Yuki quickly helped her up. "Hey, take it easy-"
Tohru slipped again, and she ended up on his lap. She blushed then pulled away. "I-I'm so sorry! I'm so clumsy!"
Yuki didn't let go of her hand. "Let me see it."
"Huh?"
He crawled closer to her and examined her finger. "You got burned while you were cooking," he said sympathetically.
"H-How did you know?" she asked, mystified.
He grinned. "I get wounds like this too."
Tohru watched as Yuki sneaked Hatori's first aid kit out of the clinic, then pulled her into the back area of the house. She was stunned to see a well-cared garden of vegetables hidden there.
"Welcome to my sanctuary," said Yuki.
"You love plants very much, don't you?" she said as she sat down on one of the flat boulders that were carved to be seats.
"Yeah." Yuki sat beside her and started to take out the bandages. "This isn't just my hobby…it's my…"
"Passion?" guessed Tohru.
His purple eyes crinkled into a smile. "You can say that." He started to dress her finger again. "Well, it's a way to keep my sanity intact in this house."
"Huh?"
Yuki smiled again. "Never mind." He finished dressing her wound. "So…please don't be offended, but didn't your parents object when you were forced to be the human sacrifice for the vampires?"
She shook her head. "I'm an orphan already."
"I'm sorry," he said in genuine apology.
She laughed. "Ah, it's alright, Yuki-kun. Anyway, I have two good friends…Hana-chan and Uo-chan. They're my family too."
"And now, we are yours too," said Yuki before bowing and kissing her bandaged finger.
She felt her face turn red. "A-AH!"
He smiled again. "Come, let's go back into the house."
Okaasan, my heart is still beating so fast even if it had been some hours already after that incident.
So very fast…
That night, Tohru was climbing up to her room when she heard the faint strums of the guitar. She looked up and saw Kyo sitting on top of the roof, a guitar on his hand. She listened to the soothing soft music of his music, her eyes shut.
Then the music ended. Tohru opened her eyes and saw Kyo gaping at her. She applauded excitedly. "That was really cool, Kyo-kun!"
"Hah! Who told you to eavesdrop anyway?" he barked before leaving the roof.
"But it really is! I love it!" she yelled.
Kyo paused, then looked back at her. "Flattery will get you nowhere, lady."
Tohru smiled. "I wish I can play like that. Will you teach me?"
"No."
Her face fell.
He didn't look at her. "Your finger."
She looked at her injured finger, then back at Kyo. Is that his way of showing concern to my bruise?
"Will you teach me then if it heals?" she asked.
"No sweat," he said before disappearing from her sight.
Okaasan, I'm starting to feel like I'm getting used to this family. They are all kind-hearted and sweet, and I think I'm starting to love them.
I'm also starting to forget about the vampires.
Ah, very well, I shouldn't be afraid. The Sohmas will take care of me. No vampire can touch me when I'm with them.
Right, Okaasan?
Tsuzuku