Thank you all for the reviews, I feel so damn happy! ^___^ anyway, enjoy the next dose of the story.
Recap...
"I have to go now."
Kyo scrunched his eyebrows together in confusion and asked,
"Where? You live here, remember?"
Tohru shook her head sadly and looked at him with her sad brown eyes,
"To America."
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Chapter VII - The Reason
Kyo's jaw dropped open and he looked like a fish as he opened and closed his mouth numerous times. In a minute or so his voice returned and he sputtered out,
"But why?! There's no more danger!"
Tohru smoothed out an imaginary wrinkle on the bedspread and said quietly,
"Because... I don't deserve to be around you, I'm such a huge burden for you and I hate that. I can't live with myself like that so I want to start a new life in a new place where I can get away from everything."
Kyo was so shocked and frustrated at the same time as he raised his voice and said,
"Dammit! For the last time, it's not your fault! So stop blaming yourself for five seconds and look at the bigger picture, after that, maybe you'll see that you have to stay!"
Tohru felt some of the passion taint her voice as she asked,
"Why?!! Why do you want me to stay?!"
"Because..."
Tohru looked at him expectantly, waiting for an answer to be received. Kyo flicked his eyes to the right and then to the left, feeling the pressure weigh him down. He had never wanted someone like this before, but he certainly wasn't going to admit that to her face, so he decided on saying the closest thing on his mind,
"Because...I care about you!"
He saw a slow smile form on her face and knew that he had said the right thing. Her hazel eyes brightened up and her skin lit up so that it looked like it was practically glowing with the pale moonlight shining upon it. His blush deepened to a crimson color and he felt his body overheat. Her pink lips lifted into a wider smile and she asked sweetly,
"Do you really mean that?"
Kyo nodded slowly and he muttered under his breath,
"I do..."
Tohru jumped forward and hugged him tightly with tears flowing down her cheeks.
"Thank you"
Kyo awkwardly placed his hands around her and then closed his eyes, taking in the scent of her soft hair.
"No... thank you"
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I'm not a perfect person
As many things I wish I didn't do
But I continue learning
I never meant to do those things to you
I've found a reason for me
To change who I used to be
A reason to start over new
and the reason is you
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Tohru continued to work at the bakery and when she stepped outside at the end of her shift she saw Kyo leaning against the wall with his hands stuffed bashfully into his pockets. Tohru smiled and walked up to him, giving him a pleasant wave,
"Hey Kyo-kun."
Kyo shot her an awkward grin and put up his hand in a lazy wave,
"Yo."
Tohru looked down at her feet and then back into his eyes,
"Ano... were you waiting for me?"
Kyo let out an exasperated sigh and asked with annoyance,
"Who else would I be waiting for?!"
Tohru blushed deeply and she cringed with embarrassment,
"I'm sorry! A-Ano, I didn't know that you were going to be waiting for me, b-but I'm very thankful!"
Kyo looked down, feeling his face burn,
"You don't have to keep apologizing... for everything."
Kyo swooped his fingers through his tousled hair and muttered quietly to her,
"You know what? I think I'll just go home."
Tohru panicked and grabbed his arm with urgency,
"No, wait! I don't want you to leave. I'm sorry if I said anything offensive...I mean, I'm not sorry...I mean I'm…ano…"
Tohru was stuttering and rambling now, making Kyo sigh, knowing that she wasn't getting the hint that he had intended to walk her home. Before he could say another word she took the words right from his mouth,
"Would you like to walk me home? …Only if you want to though."
Kyo opened his mouth, but no sound came out so he just nodded his head in agreement and walked ahead of her, with her following close behind.
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I'm sorry that I hurt you
It's something I must live with everyday
And all the pain I put you through
I wish that I could take it all away
And be the one who catches all your tears
That's why I need you to hear
I've found a reason for me
To change who I used to be
A reason to start over new
and the reason is you
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It was Saturday night and Kyo was wiping the tables clean at his night job. He worked on the weekends as a bartender late at night in a club. Kyo threw the cloth down onto the table and looked up at the clock and saw that it was only one o' clock; he had to stay until at least three A.M.
It seemed like forever when the clock reached three. Kyo poured his last cup of beer and then snaked his way out of the moving bodies. When he pushed open the metal doors he sucked in the fresh oxygen and blew out a long sigh of relief. He trudged up the silent road back home and stopped in front of his apartment building, unable to control the will to glance over at the bakery across the street...wondering what Tohru was thinking right now.
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The next afternoon he waited for her outside of the bakery again and dropped his cigarette immediately when she stepped out of the swinging doors. He straightened his back up and then gave her his usual bashful smile before walking her home. After a long while of silence Tohru threw a random question at him,
"Ano... can I ask you something?"
Kyo shrugged and replied,
"Go ahead."
Tohru clasped her hands together and asked,
"I was wondering... if you had a job."
Kyo's eyes widened and he couldn't help but blurt out angrily,
"What made you ask such a pointless question?!"
Tohru quickly apologized and wished that she hadn't ever asked that question,
"I'm sorry... I just wanted to know more about you."
Kyo's mouth opened a little and he couldn't believe this girl. She actually wanted to know more about a guy like him. He put his hands into his pockets as a nervous habit and muttered quietly,
"Sorry for yellin..."
Kyo cleared his throat and began,
"Well...anyway, I do have a job. I work as a...um... a bartender at a club down a few blocks from here."
Tohru's eyes widened and she felt a grin coming on,
"Really?! That's amazing."
"It's not amazing..."
Tohru smiled at him and thought to herself happily,
I've learnt something new about Kyo... I hope I learn more about him as days go by, I'm so glad that he is becoming more open with me.
When Kyo got back home he was so exhausted that he fell asleep right away on top of his messy bed.
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Dream Sequence~
Ayumi's laughter sounded through his mind and he saw her standing in a sea of flowers. She spun around and then faced him completely with a smile on her cherry colored lips. She picked up a white tulip from the ground and held it to her chin, exclaiming loudly to him,
"Kyo-kun! I want to be with you forever!"
Kyo opened his mouth to give her an answer,
"I want to be with y--"
Her face was suddenly replaced with Tohru's for a split second and he blinked rapidly to see if his vision was correct. He opened up his eyes again and saw that it was still Ayumi looking at him expectantly. Kyo tried to restart his sentence again but failed,
"I want...to be with...um... I want...to..."
"Kyo-kun, are you okay? You sound like you've seen a ghost or something,"
she said with a look of concern pouring over her happy features. She walked up to him and placed a warm hand on his cheek and asked sweetly,
"You do want to be with me right? You love me right?"
Kyo was at loss of words and his mind had been spilt into two. He finally answered in a hoarse voice,
"I don't know..."
Ayumi gasped and her smile vanished from her lips and her eyes clouded with a whirl of dark colors. Her expression had darkened and she asked him with a hate filled voice,
"Y-You don't love me?! You promised you'd always love me! You promised!! You can't break a promise!"
Kyo could feel the hot tears sting the back of his eyelids and he grabbed her rigid shoulders,
"I do love you! Deep in my heart I do, and I always will... but... but I'm in love with another woman right now."
Ayumi swatted his arms off of her as if it were infected and said with a disgusted voice,
"You traitor...I hate you..."
Kyo's eyes snapped open and he squeezed them shut, wondering if he is really was betraying her. He kept trying to tell himself that it was just a stupid dream... but he somehow couldn't help but feel guilty. While she was dead somewhere, he was out here thinking about another woman.
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The next day that Kyo was waiting outside for Tohru he seemed to have an aura of depression surrounding him. She frowned and asked him with a genuinely concerned voice,
"Are you okay?"
Kyo put his hand over his forehead and groaned out loud,
"Eh...yea....I...just feel a little stressed out today I guess..."
Tohru placed her fingertip on top of her chin and then grabbed his hand, pulling him down the road when a bright idea floated into her head. As she was pulling him along the road he asked curiously,
"What are you doing?"
"I want to show you a great way of removing stress. This way,"
She led him all the way to a park, which was secluded since it was hitting nightfall. Tohru put her hands behind her back and faced him fully with a giant smile plastered to her face. She then put her hands on her hips and commanded simply,
"Close you eyes."
Kyo shot her a strange look and demanded,
"What? Why?"
Tohru pleaded innocently with giant puppy dog eyes,
"Please?"
"I don't know why I put up with this crap..."
He closed his eyes with an exasperated sigh and waited for her next wacky suggestion. She grinned and then said,
"Now, I want you to scream as loud as you can."
Kyo's eyes flew open and he argued with anger,
"NO WAY! I'm not embarrassing myself by screaming like an idiot, no way!"
Tohru put her hand over her mouth and let out a muffled giggle, and then she laced her fingers together trying hard to persuade him,
"Cmon! It's very relaxing...I promise. It sets your soul free, and it also gets pent up feelings out in the open without actually having to say anything…hey, you know what? I'll even scream with you! It'll be fun."
Kyo couldn't believe his ears,
"....I don't know where you think these things up...."
Tohru smiled proudly and gave him a sideway glance,
"My mother told me that it's a very healthy thing to do when you're feeling packed with emotions."
Kyo sighed and bowed his head down in defeat,
"Fine, I'll do it, but only cuz you're so damn stubborn."
Tohru clapped her hands together in excitement and grinned widely,
"Okay! On the count of three. Ready?"
Kyo couldn't help but smile at her excitement. He rolled his eyes with amusement before shutting them and nodding tersely with confirmation,
"Ready."
Tohru closed her eyes and put her head up to the sky, beginning the countdown,
"1....2.......3!"
They both took deep breaths and let out the loudest screams that they could muster.
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I've found a reason to show
A side of me you didn't know
A reason for all that I do
And the reason is you
Hoobastank - The Reason
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