Furuba
"The Piano"
Chapter 3
Vocabulary – because I know you want to learn Japanese, if you don't yet know it!:
Gomen: Sorry
Kagura chan wa, 'hora' tte.: Kagura says 'hey.'
Yamete: Stop!
Fushinsetsu na: unkind, inconsiderate
Desu: is
Da: short/informal form of "desu"
Kyou kun wa fushinsetsu da yo!: Kyou's mean!
Daijoubu desu ka?: Are you all right?
Daijoubu desu: I'm/it's all right
Ano: Um…
Kirei na: beautiful (also means clean)
Ii: good
***
What had Kyou been thinking? He had led Tooru straight to the rat. And now they were all chatty on the couch. Really. What had he been thinking?
He got up roughly from his chair.
"Kyou kun?" Tooru asked. Sweet Tooru, she expected him to stay and hang out with them. Ha.
"I'm bored," he announced. "I'm gonna go find something else to do."
"Oh, gomen, Kyou kun. I didn't mean to bore you."
"Shut up. It's not your fault."
Yuki said nothing. He had no reason to. The cat was leaving and now he could spend some time alone with Tooru, insult free.
Kyou left the room just in time to see Rin leaving Shigure's office. He wondered why she had been in there. Could it have been Souma family business? Or was it… He grimaced. That was a really nasty image.
Well, he had seen her. She might as well say something now.
"Hey, Kyou."
"Hey, Rin." He shuffled past her into the kitchen. Maybe if he snuck into the fridge and threw away all the leeks he would feel better. But then he might ruin one of Tooru's recipes… darn it. Well, maybe he could find something else interesting to root through in there.
A minute later, as he was reaching for the box of cheese crackers, the beautiful lilting notes of Moonlight Sonata floated in. Who was playing the piano?
He reentered the living room to find Rin seated at the piano, and Tooru, Yuki and Shigure her enraptured audience. She caught Kyou's eye and said,
"It went a little out of tune in the move."
Kyou shrugged. He wouldn't know. And it wasn't like he could help it. Or wait, maybe he could have… He growled softly and leaned against the door frame.
After Rin finished and her audience clapped and praised her, Shigure had the nerve to say,
"You know, Rin kun, Kyou kun here was thinking of learning to play the piano."
"I WAS NOT!" Kyou immediately replied.
"Oh, you were?" Tooru said with her patented gleeful
delight. "That's so wonderful!"
Damn, Kyou thought. He couldn't disappoint her.
"Yeah, well, I just said I wondered if it were hard…"
"You won't know unless you try," Shigure said in that scheming tone. He was always up to something. Or maybe he just liked to appear as if he were always up to something. Kyou didn't care. He just wished he'd shut up in front of the mouse, who was due to make a comment in about five, four, three,
"Yes, you won't know if you're just a little bad or truly untalented until you try," Yuki said.
He was early.
"Yuki kun!" Tooru said with a gasp.
"Sorry, neko," Yuki said, "just trying to motivate you. Really."
Kyou scoffed at that. More like showing his true colors, he thought.
"If you'd like," Rin said, rising from the bench, "I can teach you." Tooru clasped her hands and her eyes lit up. Yuki was watching Tooru. Shigure wore a suspiciously innocent expression.
"Eh, whatever. If you're not busy or anything."
"I'm busy most weekends, so I'll have to come over after you get out of school. I don't have afternoon or night classes on Monday or Wednesday and I don't have night classes on Thursday. Pick a day."
"Uh, Wednesday. I don't really care."
"Actually, I think twice a week would be better. One day for theory, one day for piano. Wednesday afternoon and Thursday nights."
"Sure, uh, thanks."
Rin nodded, and said her goodbyes.
"Oh, Rin kun, it's awfully dark out there. Shall I walk you home?" Shigure asked. She turned back halfway and raised an eyebrow.
"You'd like that, wouldn't you?"
"My lonely heart is beating faster as we speak."
"Give it my apologies," she said with a sly smile.
"Oh, cruel, cruel Rin san," Shigure said with a similar smile. "Always leave them wanting more, as they say."
"Something like that." She was almost out the door when she remembered she had promised to deliver a message. But she would feel silly delivering it, so she simply said,
"Ah, Kyou, Kagura chan wa, 'hora' tte."
"Hmph."
***
The next day, Tooru went to see her guidance counselor before lunch to hand in the applications. She did feel a little guilty hiding it from her friends, but she probably wouldn't be accepted anyway, so it wouldn't matter. She then decided she had better ask Kato sensei about some smaller schools close to home. Her chances would be better.
Slipping away from her friends hadn't been easy. She finally realized the only thing to do would be to actually tell them where she was going, but try to avoid saying why. Which, as it turned out, wasn't very hard.
"Your guidance counselor? What kind of guidance do you need that you can't get from us? Thrust your lower palm into their nose; if it's a guy, knee him in the groin. That's all you need to know," Uo said with a chuckle.
"You're a freak," Kyou said.
"Takes one to know one, Kyon-kyon!" she said and ruffled his hair.
"Hey, hey, quit it!"
"Oh, harder, you said? Sure…"
"Yamete! It's not fair! I can't fight a girl!"
"Why not? I can take you! C'mon, you know you want to," she said huskily.
"Yeah, I wanna kick your Yankee butt!" She finally let up and released his orange locks.
"Shoulda known he likes it that way," Uo said to Hatsuharu, who almost smiled.
Kyou roughly smoothed his hair once, but when no one was looking, discreetly licked his palm and put it back into place. Not that he cared if anyone thought he was vain (he most definitely was not vain and could either prove it or beat whoever said it into submission). He just couldn't endure another cat remark.
"Hey," Uo said, looking around. "Where'd Tooru chan go?"
"Guidance," Hana told her.
"Yeah, you weren't paying attention," Momiji explained. "She wouldn't even let me go with her! What kind of gentleman am I if I can't get her to let me escort her to the office? he said dramatically.
"You're no kind of gentleman – you're a kid!" Kyou snarled.
"Kyou kun wa fushinsetsu da yo!" Momiji moaned.
"AM NOT! And quit whining!"
***
"Yuki kun?" Tooru said as she knocked on his door that night.
"Honda san, what is it?
Daijoubu desu ka?"
"Hai. Ano… may I come in?"
Yuki was slightly taken back by her question. No, actually, he was outright shocked by Tooru wanting to come in without an obvious reason, but he didn't show it. He was the prince.
"Of course." He moved aside to let her in and pulled his desk chair out for her to sit on. When he looked back up, she was sliding the door shut. Another surprise.
"I just don't want anyone to know I'm here," she explained and sat down. "I have something to tell you and… I am worried that you won't be happy to hear it."
Yuki felt that he ought to sit down for this and perched himself on the edge of his bed.
"When we spoke the other night about my maybe going to college, there was something I left out."
She paused a moment and Yuki waited patiently for her to continue. Well, he didn't actually feel patient. But he was darn good at looking it.
"My guidance counselor gave me a few scholarship applications to fill out. One was in connection to a program at a college. The other two were only financial aid."
"Did you fill them out?"
"Hai. I handed them in today. Demo… there is something about the college application… it's a study abroad program."
Study abroad… just how abroad is abroad? Yuki wondered with dread.
"Ah, I see. Do… Um…" he swallowed to collect himself. "Where do you want to go, Honda san?"
"Oh, I don't want to go anywhere! I love it here with you and Shigure san and Kyou kun! Demo… this particular school is, well… I have a better chance of getting into it than schools here of the same quality. Though I did bring home a few applications for local schools… They'll help me get a better paying job, at least."
"But you want to see the world."
"Hai, I think I do. But not without you! I don't want to leave you…" Hm, that was quite the declaration. Embarrassed, she lowered her gaze to her lap. Yuki reached over and tilted her chin up so he could look in her eyes when he said this… and he could say it. Really, he could do it.
"Honda san, if you are accepted to this school, I want you to go. Not because I won't miss you… I will. Terribly. Demo, studying in another country would be a great opportunity that you should not pass up. I would not want you to regret not going later."
Tooru blushed. Yuki made her feel so wonderful, especially lately, now that they were spending more time together just talking. Though they had been living in the same house for a while and had become good friends, Yuki had kept up part of his princely wall, moat and all. Bit by bit, Tooru had been poking out the bricks and now there was a hole almost large enough for her to fit through. In other more normal words, Tooru and Yuki were on the verge of becoming true confidants.
"I wouldn't regret it," she began. He was still looking into her eyes and Tooru found it impossible to break the gaze. Not that she wanted to, but she should, shouldn't she? Oh, even if such a thing were possible, she did not want to. There was something about his eyes… obviously they were beautiful, like polished amethysts, but they also had a spellbinding quality that probably originated within the tiny spark of light she saw behind them. Yuki would not have believed her if she told him she saw it. His life had been too full of pain; he probably thought Akito had extinguished his inner light long ago, but it was there, drawing her in, deeper and deeper. It had a hold on her, and it made her say things…
"I wouldn't regret it at all. Not if I were with you." She gasped and her hand flew to her impetuous mouth.
There was Yuki's third fourth shock of the evening. He briefly went over the list. First was Tooru being there at night. That was risqué enough. Second was Tooru closing the door, although that did make sense considering she had been about to share a secret. Third was the actual secret, which hadn't been so wonderful by itself, but it did seem to be bringing them closer. Literally. Their noses were only a few inches apart.
Which was part of the fourth surprise. Did she really just say what he thought she did? Saying she didn't want to leave was one thing. She had said that before. But this… What could he say to it?
Nothing. If he didn't want to ruin the moment.
He pulled her hand away from her mouth and held it between them.
"Yu-Yuki kun, I-" a nervous Tooru stammered. Suddenly, his confidence was on the rise. He pressed a finger gently to her lips; her eyelids closed without her permission. But even though she could not see his eyes, the trance had not been broken. In fact, the feeling of perfect contentment she had experienced until now swelled to absolute joy.
Yuki brushed his fingers against her cheek and she tilted her head so it rested in his palm. He had seen girls in movies do that and wondered if that happened in real life. He was glad it did. It was cute. Of course, most things Tooru did were cute.
Sweet Tooru, he thought and tried to imagine her off in the world, living by herself. She seemed so vulnerable, especially now. Could she manage it?
Wait a minute… what am I thinking? This was Tooru, the girl who took care of three dysfunctional men and their house while protecting their secret. This was Tooru, who had braved tent life… Tooru who had braved Akito… and who had lived to tell about it. He shuddered at the thought of the Souma clan head. Tooru's eyes popped open.
"Daijoubu desu ka?" she breathed in a tender whisper.
…kirei da…
"Hai, daijoubu desu."
"Ii," she sighed, barely audible.
What was with him tonight? When she spoke to him so kindly in that airy tone he just wanted to hold her forever. Well actually, that was normal. The difference was tonight he did what he wanted.
Pressing his cheek against hers, he ran his fingers through her silky hair. He still held her hand and took the liberty of stroking it with his thumb. Her skin was a little dry, no doubt the result of all the hard work she did, but it only made him admire her more.
Tooru's free hand floated halfway to his arm. Though she was fairly sure he would not object, apprehension gripped her. What if she didn't know what to do? But she wanted to hold him… and she had to be brave enough to do it. Otherwise he might think she didn't care and he would release her hand and turn away from her. He might never hold her hand again! She didn't think she could live with that. Having her hand held by Yuki was a lovely feeling…
Her fingertips finally brushed his shoulder. Now what? She smoothed her hand over the silk of his sleeve and onto his back. Just as if I were giving him a hug, she thought. I wish I could…
Yuki's thoughts were much the same at that point. As long as I don't get too close… But he needed to be closer to her. He had needed it for a long time.
Shifting his knees to the side, he ran his hand down her neck and halfway down her spine before letting go – but only briefly – to pull the rolling chair nearer. Her knees were squished against the side of the mattress but she ignored it. After all, closer equaled better- to an extent. But as long as she didn't suddenly find herself face to face with mouse form Yuki, things would be fine. Besides, even if he couldn't hug her properly, he was doing some very interesting things with his hands.
And in perfectly acceptable places. Hands, neck, back, nothing terribly scandalous. Nothing she hadn't seen on TV.
Still, she blushed uncontrollably. She couldn't help it. She blushed if he looked at her during dinner.
I wonder if I should be doing something, she thought. I should, right? Instead of sitting here like a bump on a log. What does he want me to do? Maybe I should copy him? He knows what he's doing. Little did Tooru know, Yuki was making it up as he went along. A bit he had seen on TV and the rest was whatever came to him at the moment- massaging her hand, stroking her back, tracing designs up and down her neck.
Another thing she did not know was that Yuki was second guessing most every move he made. Tooru was being rather unresponsive and he had to listen carefully for changes in her breathing to determine whether or not she approved. So far, so good. At least, he hoped.
She hadn't screamed, right?
But the biggest question bouncing around in his mind like a pinball was... should he kiss her? He ought to have been grateful just for that moment. He was, he told himself. Very much so. He never thought he would hold a girl that way. He had convinced himself that it just wasn't possible, that it might never be. Yet here she was, the most wonderful girl he knew, in his arms.
And he was thinking about more.
Selfish. I'm selfish, he told himself. I'm only thinking about what I want. How do I know that's what Tooru wants?
Tooru tightened her hold on Yuki and began to massage his back with the ball of her hand.
I think she'd be okay with that, he thought.
And there was only one way for the ever gentlemanly prince to go about a kiss.
He pulled back so his lips were near her cheek and whispered,
"May I kiss you?"
Tooru stiffened, but forced herself to relax.
Kiss… that would be a good thing. A very good thing. Why won't my lips move?
"H-hai," she finally got out.
Meanwhile, in a room down the hall, Shigure is have dream of Engrish.
And on the roof, Kyou was deciding that the only way he'd have a chance with Tooru would be to somehow tell her how he felt…
***
Yuki walked Tooru to the door a few minutes later and they said their awkward but sweet goodnights.
"I'll see you in the morning," Tooru said. "I'll make American pancakes… I remember you liked those."
"Yes, I did." And before his confidence rush ended, he pulled her closer and kissed her forehead.
"Goodnight, Tooru san."
Tooru could only smile in response as she slipped out the door.
***
Does anyone know how to request permission to kiss someone in Japanese? Er, to request permission in Japanese, that is… And not too formally, either, though Yuki is like Mr. Silk Shirt on Saturday. How would a Japanese speaker say it, right at the moment (assuming they would ask, but for the purposes of this story, I am! ^_^)?