*Wee... third chapter for Precious. Anyway, this chapter... I uh... don't know... how it's going to turn out, just bare with me on this one.. I always just go with the flow... x.x; I still don't own Furuba.*
Precious - Chapter 3 - Berries
"IIE!" A squeaky voice rang out as a girl fell to her knees and idly began to pick up the various papers she had dropped, dark filaments falling over her shoulders. The girl fidgeted as she fumbled with the various documents, looking up to find the school "Prince" crouching to help her gather the papers. "S-s-sohma-kun? Arigatou!"
"It's okay, Honda-san... What's this?" he asked as he glanced over a few of the papers, "A report?"
"Hai..."
"...On..."
"The the Chinese Zodiac! It's not really a report, I wrote it just for fun..."
"You write reports for fun? And on the Chinese Zodiac?"
Tohru blinked, her face immediately growing red as the boy spoke, "My mother used to tell me the story when I was younger, my favorite is the cat!" Hanging her head as the boy sneered, and she gathered the last of the papers before taking the ones the other held.
"Cats. Stupid, disgusting creatures."
"You don't like cats?"
Yuki blinked, tilting his head to the side as he took her free hand and helped the girl up, violet hues narrowing as both brows were furrowed, "Well, we're going to be late to class, Honda-san..."
The girl blinked, a sweatdrop appearing above her brow as she nodded rather nervously, "Ah, thank you for helping me, Sohma-kun!"
"No problem. I'll walk you to class."
. . . . . .
"I'm home," Yuki stated rather plainly as he entered the house, slipping off his shoes and setting them aside as he did so. Slender digits raked silver filaments behind his ears as he made his way over to the rather comfortable Akito who'd been giving his attention to a bird perched upon his finger before Yuki had come home.
"Ah," the boy started, "I'm feeling well today, will you walk with me?" Dark eyes scanning the boy, he blinked and frowned as the bird took off, leaving him to wish he could be as free as that little bird. Without many cares in world and wings it could spread wide to catch the winds currents and soar above the highest tree...
"Hai." Yuki sighed, crouching to help Akito to his feet before he shuffled back over to his shoes and slipped them on. "Where are we going?" he asked, quirking a brow as the older boy headed out onto the porch. He hurried himself and slipped behind the awaiting Akito before he tilted his head to the side and awaited an answer.
"Some place only I know of, and some place no one knows I go. I want to share it with you."
Yuki raised a brow as he watched Akito slip off into the direction of a nearby forest and he, not wanting to upset the older boy, pulled lightly on his collar before catching up to the comfortably slow walking Akito. He didn't know what to think, say, or do, so he just averted his attention to the green leaves and the way they seemed to shimmer as the light hit their waxy surface…
"How was your day, Yuki?" Akito asked, wanting to break the silence that had developed between them as they walked. He batted a few lingering twigs away as he turned his head to look over his shoulder, dark eyes sparkling in the little sunlight that fought it's way through the vast quantities of leaves.
"…It was fine, like any other. A few surprises, but those are to be expected."
"Surprises? Care to elaborate?"
Yuki hung his head for a second, not really liking the idea of telling the older boy about anything that went on in his day. Giving in what seemed all too soon, he shoved his hands in his pockets and cast his gaze to the brown petal-covered forest floor. "Nothing much, I just witnessed a girl walk into someone and then drop everything she had in her arms… I helped her pick the papers up only to find she'd written a paper on the Chinese Zodiac."
Akito blinked, turning on his heels to face Yuki. "Girl, what girl?" he asked, a brow quirked upwards as he walked backwards, glancing behind himself every few seconds to make sure he wouldn't trip and fall.
"Honda-san."
Akito sneered, stopping dead in his tracks as both brows were furrowed and he issued a glare in the boys direction. "You're not to speak to her, Yuki. You're not to get close to her, I won't stand for it, do you understand!?" he hissed through pursed lips, only to frown as the boy slipped back a few steps and stared at him with large, frightened eyes. Hanging his head, he allowed himself to cool off before he closed the rather large gap between Yuki and himself, and took the boys hands in his own. "I know it was just casual, Yuki… but you -- we can't trust others."
Was Akito trying to be kind? Was he trying to show that part of himself he had hidden from the world? It seemed as if the older boy wasn't as cold-hearted as he seemed. Yuki wondered on this, not knowing what to make of the odd behavior. Sure, Akito was still getting mad over little things… but he seemed to turn himself around and become kind quicker and quicker. He'd expected for the boy to crush his hands when he took them, but he was surprised to find that he didn't and instead of being terribly cold and hateful, those hands of Akito had been caring and soothing.
Yuki gasped as Akito started pulling him along, a quick yank and a whispered 'come along, my Yuki…' were enough to make the mouse trip and almost land on his face, had it not been for him catching himself. Wincing as various twigs smacked him in the face, he waded behind Akito through the dense forest. Over fallen trees and moss-covered floors, around shrubs and patches of wildflowers that had bloomed. He was finally able to open his eyes fully as the two entered a rather small circular clearing. The mouse blinked as violet hues scanned over the area, taking note of the small, crystal-clear stream that ran through the center of the clearing, the high and low grasses that had sprouted in various areas and mixed with the wildflowers.
"No one knows about this place but you and I, Yuki. It's our secret." Akito half-smiled as he let the boys hands go, dark hues scanning the surprised and bewildered face of the mouse. He was content with Yuki's reaction -- more than content, even.
Speechless, Yuki averted his gaze from the surroundings to Akito, faintly smiling before he caught the smell of some sort of fruit… Raising a brow, he slipped passed the older boy and hopped over the little stream, only to fall to his knees in front of a small strawberry patch and raspberry bushes. "…This place is…" he trailed off as he started to gather equal amounts of the ripened fruits then shuffled with handfuls of them over to the stream and rinsed them off. "I love it," whispering as those slender fingers of his gently rubbed at the colorful food through the icy water, he handed some over to the older boy who had seated himself on the other side of the stream just moments before.
Akito blinked, his eyes going wide for a moment as Yuki offered him the fruit, but -- though hesitating, he finally took them and set them in his lap before reaching out and grabbing one of the boys hands. "Yuki," he started as slender digits traced over the pale skin, turning his hand so the palm way face up. Dark eyes scanned over the small cuts that various thorns had produced -- undoubtedly the raspberry thorns and those from the rose bushes that mingled with the berry bushes.
"I'm fine, it's nothing to worry about," he tried to ensure both Akito and himself, though the crimson liquid spilling rather freely from the wounds and the doubtful look in his eyes suggested otherwise. He was determined to believe that the little cuts and scrapes would all go away within the nick-of-time, but he'd found himself surprised once again as Akito grabbed his other hand and shoved them both into the freezing water. Yuki winced.
"You shouldn't be so careless!" he scolded Yuki as he held his hands under the water, both brows furrowed in frustration as the cold water took it's toll on his own hands but he wasn't about to let Yuki's hands go -- he wanted the blood to stop. The boys silence only made him uncomfortable again and so he sighed as he raised the small hands from the water and drew them in close to his face, but he'd failed to realize that Yuki had tried to position himself differently as this was being done and so, alas, the silver-haired boy toppled over and fell right into him.
The impact of Yuki caused Akito to fall back, the berries flying everywhere and the end position being Akito on his back with Yuki's head in his lap. The poor mouse had fallen halfway into the stream, leaving him soaking wet -- the areas of him which had not been hit by water only being soaked by the splashing he caused. Yuki was stunned and speechless - both of these qualities also present in the wide-eyed Akito, and the mouse slowly lifted his head as he began to shiver, violet eyes half-lidded as he placed his frozen little hands on the ground beside him and tried to push himself up. It didn't work very well -- Yuki had gotten too cold to move much and the wet clothes that only continues to soak up more water only further discouraged him.
Akito blinked a few times, blurry vision correcting itself before he came to his senses and grabbed Yuki's forearms. He muttered various things as he attempted to pull the boy up to his chest, "I can't sit up with you on me… and now look at this, you're soaking wet! What will I do with you?!"
"I-it's y-y-y-your fa-fault!" Yuki retorted, his teeth chittering and chattering as he tried to talk, his bottom lip quivering as he tried to shoot the older boy a nasty glare -- which fell short of nothing more than a drowned-rat look.
Akito couldn't help but giggle.
"W-w-wha-what?!" Yuki asked as he shivered, craning his neck in attempt to look menacing, "It i-is yo-yo-your fa-fa-fault!"
Akito suddenly became rather perplexed after realizing that he had started to giggle -- and at Yuki, no less! When was the last time he did something as odd as this? Quickly shaking the various thoughts off his shoulders, he helped Yuki sit up as he pushed himself up… but the thought of the mouse making him giggle had done everything but left him alone. "We'd better get you home, Yuki… I don't want you to freeze. We'll come back later and get more berries if you'd like to."
Yuki nodded as Akito helped him to his feet and wrapped an arm around him to draw him close in attempt to get him warmed up. /He laughed at me,/ he thought as violet hues fixated themselves on the older boy, /…I don't remember ever hearing him do that… but if I made him do it now… what does that mean? And he's being so kind…/ The shivering Yuki slid closer to the other as the walked, folding his arms before him as he unconsciously leaned his head against Akito's shoulder, /…Perhaps it's just a phase. But it's nice./
*Okie. I'm done with this n.n Isn't it cool? One of my favorite chapters… and I was tired, so there not as much detail in this chapter as in the last ones… Or is there? I can't tell. Oh well. I hope you all enjoyed it. ^-^;*
Precious - Chapter 3 - Berries
"IIE!" A squeaky voice rang out as a girl fell to her knees and idly began to pick up the various papers she had dropped, dark filaments falling over her shoulders. The girl fidgeted as she fumbled with the various documents, looking up to find the school "Prince" crouching to help her gather the papers. "S-s-sohma-kun? Arigatou!"
"It's okay, Honda-san... What's this?" he asked as he glanced over a few of the papers, "A report?"
"Hai..."
"...On..."
"The the Chinese Zodiac! It's not really a report, I wrote it just for fun..."
"You write reports for fun? And on the Chinese Zodiac?"
Tohru blinked, her face immediately growing red as the boy spoke, "My mother used to tell me the story when I was younger, my favorite is the cat!" Hanging her head as the boy sneered, and she gathered the last of the papers before taking the ones the other held.
"Cats. Stupid, disgusting creatures."
"You don't like cats?"
Yuki blinked, tilting his head to the side as he took her free hand and helped the girl up, violet hues narrowing as both brows were furrowed, "Well, we're going to be late to class, Honda-san..."
The girl blinked, a sweatdrop appearing above her brow as she nodded rather nervously, "Ah, thank you for helping me, Sohma-kun!"
"No problem. I'll walk you to class."
. . . . . .
"I'm home," Yuki stated rather plainly as he entered the house, slipping off his shoes and setting them aside as he did so. Slender digits raked silver filaments behind his ears as he made his way over to the rather comfortable Akito who'd been giving his attention to a bird perched upon his finger before Yuki had come home.
"Ah," the boy started, "I'm feeling well today, will you walk with me?" Dark eyes scanning the boy, he blinked and frowned as the bird took off, leaving him to wish he could be as free as that little bird. Without many cares in world and wings it could spread wide to catch the winds currents and soar above the highest tree...
"Hai." Yuki sighed, crouching to help Akito to his feet before he shuffled back over to his shoes and slipped them on. "Where are we going?" he asked, quirking a brow as the older boy headed out onto the porch. He hurried himself and slipped behind the awaiting Akito before he tilted his head to the side and awaited an answer.
"Some place only I know of, and some place no one knows I go. I want to share it with you."
Yuki raised a brow as he watched Akito slip off into the direction of a nearby forest and he, not wanting to upset the older boy, pulled lightly on his collar before catching up to the comfortably slow walking Akito. He didn't know what to think, say, or do, so he just averted his attention to the green leaves and the way they seemed to shimmer as the light hit their waxy surface…
"How was your day, Yuki?" Akito asked, wanting to break the silence that had developed between them as they walked. He batted a few lingering twigs away as he turned his head to look over his shoulder, dark eyes sparkling in the little sunlight that fought it's way through the vast quantities of leaves.
"…It was fine, like any other. A few surprises, but those are to be expected."
"Surprises? Care to elaborate?"
Yuki hung his head for a second, not really liking the idea of telling the older boy about anything that went on in his day. Giving in what seemed all too soon, he shoved his hands in his pockets and cast his gaze to the brown petal-covered forest floor. "Nothing much, I just witnessed a girl walk into someone and then drop everything she had in her arms… I helped her pick the papers up only to find she'd written a paper on the Chinese Zodiac."
Akito blinked, turning on his heels to face Yuki. "Girl, what girl?" he asked, a brow quirked upwards as he walked backwards, glancing behind himself every few seconds to make sure he wouldn't trip and fall.
"Honda-san."
Akito sneered, stopping dead in his tracks as both brows were furrowed and he issued a glare in the boys direction. "You're not to speak to her, Yuki. You're not to get close to her, I won't stand for it, do you understand!?" he hissed through pursed lips, only to frown as the boy slipped back a few steps and stared at him with large, frightened eyes. Hanging his head, he allowed himself to cool off before he closed the rather large gap between Yuki and himself, and took the boys hands in his own. "I know it was just casual, Yuki… but you -- we can't trust others."
Was Akito trying to be kind? Was he trying to show that part of himself he had hidden from the world? It seemed as if the older boy wasn't as cold-hearted as he seemed. Yuki wondered on this, not knowing what to make of the odd behavior. Sure, Akito was still getting mad over little things… but he seemed to turn himself around and become kind quicker and quicker. He'd expected for the boy to crush his hands when he took them, but he was surprised to find that he didn't and instead of being terribly cold and hateful, those hands of Akito had been caring and soothing.
Yuki gasped as Akito started pulling him along, a quick yank and a whispered 'come along, my Yuki…' were enough to make the mouse trip and almost land on his face, had it not been for him catching himself. Wincing as various twigs smacked him in the face, he waded behind Akito through the dense forest. Over fallen trees and moss-covered floors, around shrubs and patches of wildflowers that had bloomed. He was finally able to open his eyes fully as the two entered a rather small circular clearing. The mouse blinked as violet hues scanned over the area, taking note of the small, crystal-clear stream that ran through the center of the clearing, the high and low grasses that had sprouted in various areas and mixed with the wildflowers.
"No one knows about this place but you and I, Yuki. It's our secret." Akito half-smiled as he let the boys hands go, dark hues scanning the surprised and bewildered face of the mouse. He was content with Yuki's reaction -- more than content, even.
Speechless, Yuki averted his gaze from the surroundings to Akito, faintly smiling before he caught the smell of some sort of fruit… Raising a brow, he slipped passed the older boy and hopped over the little stream, only to fall to his knees in front of a small strawberry patch and raspberry bushes. "…This place is…" he trailed off as he started to gather equal amounts of the ripened fruits then shuffled with handfuls of them over to the stream and rinsed them off. "I love it," whispering as those slender fingers of his gently rubbed at the colorful food through the icy water, he handed some over to the older boy who had seated himself on the other side of the stream just moments before.
Akito blinked, his eyes going wide for a moment as Yuki offered him the fruit, but -- though hesitating, he finally took them and set them in his lap before reaching out and grabbing one of the boys hands. "Yuki," he started as slender digits traced over the pale skin, turning his hand so the palm way face up. Dark eyes scanned over the small cuts that various thorns had produced -- undoubtedly the raspberry thorns and those from the rose bushes that mingled with the berry bushes.
"I'm fine, it's nothing to worry about," he tried to ensure both Akito and himself, though the crimson liquid spilling rather freely from the wounds and the doubtful look in his eyes suggested otherwise. He was determined to believe that the little cuts and scrapes would all go away within the nick-of-time, but he'd found himself surprised once again as Akito grabbed his other hand and shoved them both into the freezing water. Yuki winced.
"You shouldn't be so careless!" he scolded Yuki as he held his hands under the water, both brows furrowed in frustration as the cold water took it's toll on his own hands but he wasn't about to let Yuki's hands go -- he wanted the blood to stop. The boys silence only made him uncomfortable again and so he sighed as he raised the small hands from the water and drew them in close to his face, but he'd failed to realize that Yuki had tried to position himself differently as this was being done and so, alas, the silver-haired boy toppled over and fell right into him.
The impact of Yuki caused Akito to fall back, the berries flying everywhere and the end position being Akito on his back with Yuki's head in his lap. The poor mouse had fallen halfway into the stream, leaving him soaking wet -- the areas of him which had not been hit by water only being soaked by the splashing he caused. Yuki was stunned and speechless - both of these qualities also present in the wide-eyed Akito, and the mouse slowly lifted his head as he began to shiver, violet eyes half-lidded as he placed his frozen little hands on the ground beside him and tried to push himself up. It didn't work very well -- Yuki had gotten too cold to move much and the wet clothes that only continues to soak up more water only further discouraged him.
Akito blinked a few times, blurry vision correcting itself before he came to his senses and grabbed Yuki's forearms. He muttered various things as he attempted to pull the boy up to his chest, "I can't sit up with you on me… and now look at this, you're soaking wet! What will I do with you?!"
"I-it's y-y-y-your fa-fault!" Yuki retorted, his teeth chittering and chattering as he tried to talk, his bottom lip quivering as he tried to shoot the older boy a nasty glare -- which fell short of nothing more than a drowned-rat look.
Akito couldn't help but giggle.
"W-w-wha-what?!" Yuki asked as he shivered, craning his neck in attempt to look menacing, "It i-is yo-yo-your fa-fa-fault!"
Akito suddenly became rather perplexed after realizing that he had started to giggle -- and at Yuki, no less! When was the last time he did something as odd as this? Quickly shaking the various thoughts off his shoulders, he helped Yuki sit up as he pushed himself up… but the thought of the mouse making him giggle had done everything but left him alone. "We'd better get you home, Yuki… I don't want you to freeze. We'll come back later and get more berries if you'd like to."
Yuki nodded as Akito helped him to his feet and wrapped an arm around him to draw him close in attempt to get him warmed up. /He laughed at me,/ he thought as violet hues fixated themselves on the older boy, /…I don't remember ever hearing him do that… but if I made him do it now… what does that mean? And he's being so kind…/ The shivering Yuki slid closer to the other as the walked, folding his arms before him as he unconsciously leaned his head against Akito's shoulder, /…Perhaps it's just a phase. But it's nice./
*Okie. I'm done with this n.n Isn't it cool? One of my favorite chapters… and I was tired, so there not as much detail in this chapter as in the last ones… Or is there? I can't tell. Oh well. I hope you all enjoyed it. ^-^;*
