Chapter Twelve: The Talk
Tohru frowned. She kicked lightly at the sand, watching it drift off into the wind. [If I return home, Yuki-kun would be hurt . . . but if I refuse . . . Kyou-kun will get upset. Okaa-san, onee-chan . . . what should I do?]
"What's the matter?"
Startled, she spun around to see Hatori standing behind her. He cocked his head, concern evident in the normally impassive face.
She smiled and shook her head. "Nothing." Then she remembered. "Oh, Hatori- san, yesterday night . . . I, um, when I hugged Yuki-kun and Kyou-kun, they didn't transform."
He furrowed his eyebrows. "You sure?"
She flushed as she recounted the details of yesterday. "Uh, yeah."
"Oh." He suddenly embraced her and she yelped in surprise. POOF! She fumbled her hands as she tried to catch the tiny seahorse.
"Well, there goes my hopes that the curse finally ended," the seahorse sighed in the palm of her hand.
She frowned, confused. "Then, why didn't -"
"Maybe it's like the fairy tales . . . the power of true love vanquished the curse," the seahorse stared sternly at Tohru (a stern seahorse . . . ooo, scary ^_^), who blushed and avoided her eyes.
"Tohru . . . did you do anything more than just hugging them yesterday?"
The girl's scarlet red face confirmed his guesses and he sighed right before he transformed back. POOF! Tohru yelped again as she spun around to give Hatori some privacy while he retrieved his clothes.
Hatori sighed again as he adjusted the collar of his shirt. "It's ironic how my relationship with Kana was forbidden because she was a mermaid . . . and now here I am, a seahorse. Had she lived, we would have been the perfect couple." He grinned wryly at Tohru.
He suddenly turned serious. "Tohru, I want you to go home."
Tohru blinked in surprise, feeling hurt. "B - but why?"
He sighed and shook his head. "Don't take me wrong, Tohru. I'm glad I finally met you and if I had things my way, I would love to spend more time with you but with Akito around . . . staying here just won't be safe for you or your friends."
"That's what Kyou-kun said, too," Tohru smiled sadly.
"I've noticed the way Yuki looks at you. The boy's obviously in love with you."
Tohru flushed and shook her head slightly. "I - I don't know why, though. I'm not smart and I'm not good with words and I'm not of royalty and - and he's prettier than me. Yuki-kun must be making some sort of a mistake."
Hatori chuckled, "Don't be so hard on yourself. He's falling in love with you for the same reasons I fell for your sister. You're both sweet, kind, trusting, and so down to earth." His smile faltered. "And that's exactly why I want you to go home as soon as possible. If you stay here with Yuki, it'll just be a repeat of the tragedy I went through. I don't want you to get hurt in any way. Tohru, go home with Kyou. Although that boy can be violent, stupid, obnoxious, belligerent, rash, and thick-headed . . . the way he looks at you is exactly the same as the way Yuki does . . . maybe even more so. He cares a lot about you and you two have known each other for so long, I know I can trust you with him."
Tohru ducked her head low and spoke quietly. "I know."
Then the man cleared his throat awkwardly. Looking up, she was bewildered to see his cheeks flaming red, contrasting sharply against his starch white shirt. "Ahem, uh, Tohru, I know that your parents died early and since your sister also left you at a young age . . . uh . . . I don't suppose you would . . . no, I guess it's my duty to . . . uh . . ."
"Hatori-san?" Tohru inquired, alarmed at the man's unusual fluster.
"Uh, Tohru, do you happen to know about . . ." Hatori trailed off in a low mumble of words.
"I'm sorry. I couldn't quite catch that. What did you want to say?"
"Uh, ahem, Tohru, you've grown into a young woman already and since you've already been introduced to the, um, manners of love and courtship . . . oh god, I wish Kana was here right now . . . I guess as your only form of guardianship, I must ask . . . do you know anything about the, um, birds and the bees?" Hatori blushed profusely.
Tohru felt her cheeks flaring up to match. "Uh . . ."
"Well, I don't suppose mermaids will call it birds and the bees," he continued on thoughtfully. "Funny, I wonder, why would humans call it the birds and the bees either? Huh . . . well, I suppose maybe merpeople would call it, um, fish and eels? Or whales and dolphins? Squid and shark? What would you prefer?" Hatori knew he was babbling but he would take anything right now to delay this talk.
She responded weakly. "Birds and the bees would be fine."
"Uh, well, right. Okay, okay," Hatori took a deep breath and clapped his hands together. "Um, well, you know, when females reach a certain age, they would begin . . ." He cringed. " . . . ovulating." He frowned and then looked alarmed. "Tohru, do you ovulate?"
She felt faint by now. Hatori flinched at his mistake and blabbed, "I don't mean that you don't seem like the age to be able to get pregnant - ah hell, scratch that - I just wanted to know if mermaids are the same." He then paused again and looked like he was going to be sick. "Um, Tohru, I don't suppose you know if the act of, uh, copulation is the same with merpeople?"
Tohru wanted to turn her heels and run as fast as possible in the opposite direction. She nodded softly and looked down, wringing her hands together. "Merpeople sleep in a sealed vacuum-like bed so we turn into human form when we sleep and therefore, we . . ." She waved her hands flimsily. "The same, yeah."
"Oh. Okay," Hatori took another brave stab at continuing. "So, yeah, females reach the age and then males reach the age and then uh, raging hormones and yeah, uh, don't give into the temptation, Tohru. No matter what or . . . or . . . uh . . . or else. Yeah, pregnancies and then mini merbabies screaming at you and that's just bad . . . really, really bad at your age. Too young. Oh, and if any male starts pressuring you to do anything you don't want to, just hit him where it hurts. It always works." He nodded firmly and looked relieved that he managed to finish his spiel.
Tohru nodded dazedly. She hadn't understood a single word the doctor said . . . just something about hitting the opposite sex. But there was no way she was going to ask him to repeat; both of them seem about to keel over in mortification. She smiled and nodded again, thanking him and then gave into her instincts to run for her life.
* * *
Kyou whistled happily as he buttoned his white shirt up. Rolling up the sleeves to his elbows, he yawned. He hadn't been able to sleep all night, grinning like a idiot into the darkness. [Today, I'm going to go home and Tohru's going to come with me and then, we'll -] He broke into a crazy grin again and then forced himself to scowl. [Geez, I'm acting like a lovestruck fool . . . well, technically, I guess I am . . . but you can't do this! Father always said you can't let a woman lead you around by the nose or you're no longer a man. Therefore, I must keep my cool and must not -]
"Kyou-kun?"
"Tohru!!" He spun around, beaming again. He faltered when he saw Kagura instead.
She looked hurt, tears welling up in her eyes. "No, not Tohru . . . KA - GU - RA!!!" She punctuated each syllable with a violent shake of Kyou.
Teeth chattering, he pushed away and yelled, "Get off of me!"
She gasped, "You're yelling at me."
"Gee, I wonder what else I've been doing the last few times I've been in the same room with you," Kyou said sarcastically.
"How can you be so cruel to your fiancée?"
"Don't, Kagura," he responded quietly.
"Don't what?"
He took a deep breath and sighed, running a hand through his tousled orange hair. "You've got to stop acting like this. Don't pretend you don't know what I'm talking about. I've been telling you over and over again; I don't reciprocate your feelings."
"But with time -"
"No. Give it up, Kagura. It's impossible for the two of us to ever get together. We're not even of the same species."
She sobbed, "But Yuki and Tohru are so happy -"
Kyou's scarlet eyes immediately darkened and he growled, "The hell they are."
She nodded furiously. "They are! They are! Even at this moment, Tohru's outside talking to Yuki. Everyone can tell they like each other. Kyou -"
The boy was stomping to the door, muttering underneath his breath something that sounded suspiciously like "my girl" and "don't touch" and "rip his throat out with my bare hands".
Kagura ran forward and grabbed his arm, digging in her heels in an attempt to stop his rampage. "Kyou-kun darling, what are you doing?"
He sighed and faced her, "I didn't want to do this." His eyes turned cold, glittering dispassionately. "Kagura, I don't love you. I will never love you. Right now and forever, my eyes and my heart are only for one girl and that girl will always be Honda Tohru. If you insist on persisting after me, you will only annoy me and make me hate you. Please, find some other guy more worthy of your, uh, affection and just LEAVE ME ALONE!"
He immediately felt guilty for his harsh tone and he cringed as the girl's eyes filled with tears again. He tried desperately to placate her by adding dumbly, "I'm not that great of a catch."
Her bottom lip trembled and then she screamed, "KYOU-KUN NO BAKAAAAAA!!!!!!"
Kyou could only blink as she punched him with all her strength. He reeled backwards in shock and went crashing through the window. His mind could only dimly register: Great, I'm falling. Time to test the limits of mermaid healing. Ugh.
Tohru frowned. She kicked lightly at the sand, watching it drift off into the wind. [If I return home, Yuki-kun would be hurt . . . but if I refuse . . . Kyou-kun will get upset. Okaa-san, onee-chan . . . what should I do?]
"What's the matter?"
Startled, she spun around to see Hatori standing behind her. He cocked his head, concern evident in the normally impassive face.
She smiled and shook her head. "Nothing." Then she remembered. "Oh, Hatori- san, yesterday night . . . I, um, when I hugged Yuki-kun and Kyou-kun, they didn't transform."
He furrowed his eyebrows. "You sure?"
She flushed as she recounted the details of yesterday. "Uh, yeah."
"Oh." He suddenly embraced her and she yelped in surprise. POOF! She fumbled her hands as she tried to catch the tiny seahorse.
"Well, there goes my hopes that the curse finally ended," the seahorse sighed in the palm of her hand.
She frowned, confused. "Then, why didn't -"
"Maybe it's like the fairy tales . . . the power of true love vanquished the curse," the seahorse stared sternly at Tohru (a stern seahorse . . . ooo, scary ^_^), who blushed and avoided her eyes.
"Tohru . . . did you do anything more than just hugging them yesterday?"
The girl's scarlet red face confirmed his guesses and he sighed right before he transformed back. POOF! Tohru yelped again as she spun around to give Hatori some privacy while he retrieved his clothes.
Hatori sighed again as he adjusted the collar of his shirt. "It's ironic how my relationship with Kana was forbidden because she was a mermaid . . . and now here I am, a seahorse. Had she lived, we would have been the perfect couple." He grinned wryly at Tohru.
He suddenly turned serious. "Tohru, I want you to go home."
Tohru blinked in surprise, feeling hurt. "B - but why?"
He sighed and shook his head. "Don't take me wrong, Tohru. I'm glad I finally met you and if I had things my way, I would love to spend more time with you but with Akito around . . . staying here just won't be safe for you or your friends."
"That's what Kyou-kun said, too," Tohru smiled sadly.
"I've noticed the way Yuki looks at you. The boy's obviously in love with you."
Tohru flushed and shook her head slightly. "I - I don't know why, though. I'm not smart and I'm not good with words and I'm not of royalty and - and he's prettier than me. Yuki-kun must be making some sort of a mistake."
Hatori chuckled, "Don't be so hard on yourself. He's falling in love with you for the same reasons I fell for your sister. You're both sweet, kind, trusting, and so down to earth." His smile faltered. "And that's exactly why I want you to go home as soon as possible. If you stay here with Yuki, it'll just be a repeat of the tragedy I went through. I don't want you to get hurt in any way. Tohru, go home with Kyou. Although that boy can be violent, stupid, obnoxious, belligerent, rash, and thick-headed . . . the way he looks at you is exactly the same as the way Yuki does . . . maybe even more so. He cares a lot about you and you two have known each other for so long, I know I can trust you with him."
Tohru ducked her head low and spoke quietly. "I know."
Then the man cleared his throat awkwardly. Looking up, she was bewildered to see his cheeks flaming red, contrasting sharply against his starch white shirt. "Ahem, uh, Tohru, I know that your parents died early and since your sister also left you at a young age . . . uh . . . I don't suppose you would . . . no, I guess it's my duty to . . . uh . . ."
"Hatori-san?" Tohru inquired, alarmed at the man's unusual fluster.
"Uh, Tohru, do you happen to know about . . ." Hatori trailed off in a low mumble of words.
"I'm sorry. I couldn't quite catch that. What did you want to say?"
"Uh, ahem, Tohru, you've grown into a young woman already and since you've already been introduced to the, um, manners of love and courtship . . . oh god, I wish Kana was here right now . . . I guess as your only form of guardianship, I must ask . . . do you know anything about the, um, birds and the bees?" Hatori blushed profusely.
Tohru felt her cheeks flaring up to match. "Uh . . ."
"Well, I don't suppose mermaids will call it birds and the bees," he continued on thoughtfully. "Funny, I wonder, why would humans call it the birds and the bees either? Huh . . . well, I suppose maybe merpeople would call it, um, fish and eels? Or whales and dolphins? Squid and shark? What would you prefer?" Hatori knew he was babbling but he would take anything right now to delay this talk.
She responded weakly. "Birds and the bees would be fine."
"Uh, well, right. Okay, okay," Hatori took a deep breath and clapped his hands together. "Um, well, you know, when females reach a certain age, they would begin . . ." He cringed. " . . . ovulating." He frowned and then looked alarmed. "Tohru, do you ovulate?"
She felt faint by now. Hatori flinched at his mistake and blabbed, "I don't mean that you don't seem like the age to be able to get pregnant - ah hell, scratch that - I just wanted to know if mermaids are the same." He then paused again and looked like he was going to be sick. "Um, Tohru, I don't suppose you know if the act of, uh, copulation is the same with merpeople?"
Tohru wanted to turn her heels and run as fast as possible in the opposite direction. She nodded softly and looked down, wringing her hands together. "Merpeople sleep in a sealed vacuum-like bed so we turn into human form when we sleep and therefore, we . . ." She waved her hands flimsily. "The same, yeah."
"Oh. Okay," Hatori took another brave stab at continuing. "So, yeah, females reach the age and then males reach the age and then uh, raging hormones and yeah, uh, don't give into the temptation, Tohru. No matter what or . . . or . . . uh . . . or else. Yeah, pregnancies and then mini merbabies screaming at you and that's just bad . . . really, really bad at your age. Too young. Oh, and if any male starts pressuring you to do anything you don't want to, just hit him where it hurts. It always works." He nodded firmly and looked relieved that he managed to finish his spiel.
Tohru nodded dazedly. She hadn't understood a single word the doctor said . . . just something about hitting the opposite sex. But there was no way she was going to ask him to repeat; both of them seem about to keel over in mortification. She smiled and nodded again, thanking him and then gave into her instincts to run for her life.
* * *
Kyou whistled happily as he buttoned his white shirt up. Rolling up the sleeves to his elbows, he yawned. He hadn't been able to sleep all night, grinning like a idiot into the darkness. [Today, I'm going to go home and Tohru's going to come with me and then, we'll -] He broke into a crazy grin again and then forced himself to scowl. [Geez, I'm acting like a lovestruck fool . . . well, technically, I guess I am . . . but you can't do this! Father always said you can't let a woman lead you around by the nose or you're no longer a man. Therefore, I must keep my cool and must not -]
"Kyou-kun?"
"Tohru!!" He spun around, beaming again. He faltered when he saw Kagura instead.
She looked hurt, tears welling up in her eyes. "No, not Tohru . . . KA - GU - RA!!!" She punctuated each syllable with a violent shake of Kyou.
Teeth chattering, he pushed away and yelled, "Get off of me!"
She gasped, "You're yelling at me."
"Gee, I wonder what else I've been doing the last few times I've been in the same room with you," Kyou said sarcastically.
"How can you be so cruel to your fiancée?"
"Don't, Kagura," he responded quietly.
"Don't what?"
He took a deep breath and sighed, running a hand through his tousled orange hair. "You've got to stop acting like this. Don't pretend you don't know what I'm talking about. I've been telling you over and over again; I don't reciprocate your feelings."
"But with time -"
"No. Give it up, Kagura. It's impossible for the two of us to ever get together. We're not even of the same species."
She sobbed, "But Yuki and Tohru are so happy -"
Kyou's scarlet eyes immediately darkened and he growled, "The hell they are."
She nodded furiously. "They are! They are! Even at this moment, Tohru's outside talking to Yuki. Everyone can tell they like each other. Kyou -"
The boy was stomping to the door, muttering underneath his breath something that sounded suspiciously like "my girl" and "don't touch" and "rip his throat out with my bare hands".
Kagura ran forward and grabbed his arm, digging in her heels in an attempt to stop his rampage. "Kyou-kun darling, what are you doing?"
He sighed and faced her, "I didn't want to do this." His eyes turned cold, glittering dispassionately. "Kagura, I don't love you. I will never love you. Right now and forever, my eyes and my heart are only for one girl and that girl will always be Honda Tohru. If you insist on persisting after me, you will only annoy me and make me hate you. Please, find some other guy more worthy of your, uh, affection and just LEAVE ME ALONE!"
He immediately felt guilty for his harsh tone and he cringed as the girl's eyes filled with tears again. He tried desperately to placate her by adding dumbly, "I'm not that great of a catch."
Her bottom lip trembled and then she screamed, "KYOU-KUN NO BAKAAAAAA!!!!!!"
Kyou could only blink as she punched him with all her strength. He reeled backwards in shock and went crashing through the window. His mind could only dimly register: Great, I'm falling. Time to test the limits of mermaid healing. Ugh.
