Furuba
"The Piano"
Prologue
Vocabulary:
Matte kudasai: please wait.
***
"Pleeease don't break my house again!" Shigure whined, partly because that was how he usually made requests and partly because he was straining under the weight of the upright piano. "I don't want poor Tooru chan to have to fix it again."
"Yes, please be careful," a female voice called from inside the living room.
"You lazy dog!" Kyou snarled. Why don't you do a little work around here instead of shoving it all on Tooru?"
"Kyou kun is very kind, but after all, it is my job and-"
"What do you call this?" Shigure said and grunted, apparently not realizing Tooru was speaking. "You'll feel bad later if I get hurt and can't work and support all of you!"
"Work? You call what you do work!?"
"Hey baka neko, stop grumbling and hold your end," Yuki said calmly as he held the back of the piano up.
"I could do this all by myself! It's the two of you that are throwing the balance off!" he said less than calmly, struggling to hold the delicate instrument while walking backwards through the doorway.
"Sure," Yuki muttered.
"What was that!?"
"Nothing, baka neko. You're hearing things."
"Kuso nezumi. . ." Kyou growled, the steam coming from his ears frizzing his hair.
"Whose idea was it to make pianos so heavy?" Shigure whined to shut his quibbling cousins up by distracting them.
"It's embarrassing to be in the presence of a man who whines like a baby!" Kyou exclaimed.
"That plan didn't work," Shigure mumbled. "Ah, well at least we've gotten this thing inside!," he announced cheerfully. "Tooru chan, we need your help!"
"Ah, yes! Okay, keep coming. Keep coming," she said, motioning with hands none of the men was actually in a position to see.
"Just a little more, keep coming," she continued.
"I can't see where I'm going!" Shigure announced.
"Why don't you sniff your way to the wall?" Kyou spat.
"Why don't you stop distracting people?" Yuki asked.
"A true martial artist doesn't allow anything to distract him!" Kyou retorted.
"Stop," Tooru said.
"What about yesterday, when I saw you staring at Kishida san during that quiz?"
"She was trying to copy off me!" the carrot top said.
"Stop!" Tooru said again.
"Did you say something, Tooru chan?" Shigure asked.
"Kishida san's too smart to cheat off a baka neko like you," Yuki said as he backed
toward the wall.
"STOP!" Tooru shouted desperately.
"Huh?" Yuki said the moment before his back hit the wall and the piano, being propelled by his inattentive relatives, jammed into his chest.
"YUKI!" Tooru shrieked. Kyou cursed loudly as he and Shigure quickly pulled the instrument back and set it down carefully.
Yuki collapsed as soon as the weight of the piano was lifted.
"Yuki kun! Are you alright?" Tooru asked, quickly kneeling beside him.
"I think so, Tooru kun," he replied, although his words came in short gasps and his right hand clutched his shirt tightly, as if to distract himself from the pain. Although she was a little nervous, she placed her hand on his shoulder, hoping it would be a comfort. Yuki managed a weak smile.
"Tooru chan, why don't you go phone Ha san?" Shigure suggested.
"Ah, hai. Right away!" Casting one more worried-but-hopeful glance at Yuki, Tooru ran to the hall phone.
"How much does it hurt?" Shigure asked. Now that he didn't have to worry about Tooru, Yuki could give a truthful answer.
"A lot."
"Well, he hasn't transformed so it can't be that bad!" Kyou said unkindly, but not roughly enough to hide his concern.
Yuki groaned softly.
"W-we have to do something!" Kyou stammered, feeling increasingly uncomfortable. "Let's move him to the couch."
"I don't know if we should move him. They say you shouldn't try to move injured people," Shigure said in his serious voice.
"I-I'm fine," Yuki said.
"What? But I thought you just-" Kyou was cut off when Shigure's elbow hit his chest. "What was that for?" he demanded.
"Hatori san will be here as quickly as possible," Tooru said.
"Ah," Yuki said as he pushed himself into a standing position.
Shigure gave Kyou an insulting glance for not being more discreet, and Kyou, not being able to respond with Tooru just across the way, growled and put an arm around Yuki to help him to the couch. Shigure's eyes lit up.
"Ah, what a moment!" he said, clasping his hands.
"It's not a moment!" Kyou and Yuki said in unison.
"There are no words to express what seeing this means to me!" he continued teasingly.
"Good!" the boys said, once again in unison. They glanced at the other out of the corners of their eyes and quickly looked away in disgust.
"Where's the camera when you need it?" Shigure said and began to look around the room. He was mostly ignored for the moment, except by Tooru, who regarded him with raised eyebrows and her blank expression that meant she wasn't sure whether to laugh or cry. Shigure then left the room ostensibly to find the camera, but he headed towards the bathroom to search the medicine cabinet for painkillers.
"I guess you can sit down by yourself," Kyou said, taking his arm back.
"Yeah." Yuki slowly lowered himself onto the cushion, wincing. And he'd thought getting up hurt!
"Yuki kun!" Tooru exclaimed. Yuki quickly put on a happier face for his dear Tooru and said it was nothing.
"Uh, I'm hungry," Kyou stated and stormed out of the room.
"There are leftovers in the fridge," Tooru called after him. Kyou gave a half grunt in response.
As Tooru gingerly sat down next to Yuki, she tried to think of something to say that would cheer him up enough to distract him from the discomfort she knew he was experiencing. Although the boys tried to play down the situation, Tooru had grown very close to them in the time following the incident with Akito when Kazuma had conjured up Kyou's hitherto dormant true form. Nothing any of them did could fool her right now. In fact, it was as if she could feel Yuki's pain- almost physically feel it. She had to try to do something to alleviate it.
"I'm sure Kyou kun really cares about how Yuki kun feels," she said. Yuki nodded slightly.
"Perhaps." He carefully leaned backwards and rested his head on the back of the couch.
"Does Yuki kun want a pillow?" Yuki did not particularly feel like moving, but it was better to let Tooru feel helpful.
"Yes, thank you." He gritted his teeth and pulled himself up just enough to let her slip a pillow under his neck.
"Ah, much better," he said.
"I'm glad," Tooru said and managed to smile, but tears were beginning to sting her eyes. She blinked them back furiously. She had never been one to worry others with her feelings and she didn't want to start crying in front of Yuki now! It would make him feel even worse. At least he wasn't looking at her. His gaze was fixed on the window and if she were careful, he would have no idea she was about to cry.
*sniff*
"Tooru?" Yuki regarded her from the corners of his eyes.
"Hai?"
"Are you alright?"
"Of course," she said, blinking and wiping her eyes. "I think I just got some dust in my eye. I guess I didn't dust this room well enough. I really ought to do that more often-" She was prevented from rambling further by the sudden sensation of the back of Yuki's hand caressing her cheek.
"You don't need to cry," he said gently. "I really will be all right. And. . . I'm sorry if I've made you upset-"
"No, no! I'm fine! I just want Yuki kun to feel better!" Realizing how silly they were both acting, Tooru and Yuki burst out laughing, he a bit softer than she, knowing laughing too hard would hurt.
"Obviously, pretending isn't getting us anywhere," he said.
"No," Tooru said with the smile that made Yuki melt. He took her hand and after a moment of consideration, she rested her head on his shoulder.
A few minutes later, Shigure and Kyou came in from the direction of the kitchen.
"How was I supposed to know the pills were in the kitchen?" Kyou asked angrily.
"Well, there always seems to be one missing after a big fight between you and Yuki," Shigure said in an obnoxious tone.
"Stop lying! I never take pills after fighting with that pathetic mouse!"
Just then, the cat and dog noticed Tooru and Yuki.
"Hm, comfy," Shigure said.
"Ah Yuki, you know just how to make me jealous!"
"I hope Hatori san gets here soon," Yuki whispered to Tooru, who giggled.
Kyou, on the other hand, was speechless. Tooru looked so happy cuddled up next to the stupid mouse! Of course, she wasn't too bright about some things but still. . . he hated to admit it, he almost couldn't admit it, but Tooru and Yuki looked so natural sitting there together. He might have stormed out again if Hatori had not arrived.
"Ooh, we were too late with these," Shigure said, shaking the medicine bottle. Then he threw open his arms to welcome the doctor. "Ha san!"
"I'm guessing that is the culprit?" Hatori said, indicating the piano with his black bag.
"Ah, hai," Shigure said. "That and a few men who don't listen to sweet little girls well enough!"
"Shigure!" the cat barked. How dare he talk about Tooru in that tone of voice. . . again? Didn't he ever tire of sounding like a pervert?
"Well, let's take a look," Hatori said, silencing the concerned but much too noisy cat and dog.
***
That night
***
"Why are people always getting sick and injured around here?" Shigure asked no one in particular. "It must be an extension of the Souma curse- the curse of Shigure's house! Ahhhhhhh," he moaned. "That's why my house is always being broken, and the people in it always seem to be broken, too-"
"SHUT UP, SHIGURE!" Kyou yelled.
"Fine, fine. Don't sympathize with me. . ."
"Oh, go write a cheesy book or something. Tell it to your audience," Kyou said as he took his still half-full dishes to the kitchen.
Shigure shrugged but couldn't keep a grin from appearing as he pinched a strip of seaweed between his chopsticks.
Meanwhile, Tooru had just set a tray down in front of Yuki, who was sitting up in bed. Their eyes met and neither could think of a good reason to look away. However, Tooru soon felt a blush creep onto her cheeks and glanced downward as she stepped back.
"Matte kudasai. I'd like you to stay, Honda san. I don't want to keep you from your dinner. . ." Yuki began.
"Oh, I'm not hungry!" she quickly exclaimed. "I snuck a few bites while I was preparing it." Yuki smiled at her cuteness and picked up his chopsticks. Tooru pulled his desk chair close to his bed and as soon as Yuki inquired, she began to rattle off the list of things she was thinking of doing after high school. She was about to fulfill her mother's dream of completing high school and was seriously considering applying to colleges, though she had no idea if such a plan were realistic. Yuki tried to assure her that he would help her find a way, but as Tooru felt deeply touched by this declaration, she also felt intensely nervous and accidentally blurted out that she wondered how much he should be talking. It must have been a strain, considering his condition.
She then apologized for having in essence told him to be quiet.
"It's alright, Honda san," he began and she once again melted into a puddle of quivering Tooru-goo. "I understand you meant it kindly."
She smiled and thanked him quietly for his understanding.
"But please," he began, "do not give up on your dream of attending college. You are a very disciplined and dedicated and. . . very deserving person. I know you can make it."
This boy sure knew how to make a girl's heart flutter! The encouragement he offered was just what she needed to hear. Smiling again, she thanked him and, as he seemed to be feeling all right, she proceeded to ask him about his plans for the future. They talked long after the last grain of rice had been eaten.