Disclaimer: Sorry everyone, I'm sadly, NOT the owner of Fruits Basket! (If
I were, more episodes would have been made)
A/N: Hey everyone! This is Flare, Toshi, Speaking! Amber-san has lost interest in this fic, so to spice it up and make it more interesting, I've stolen the torch from her :D mwahahahaha.no really, she gave it over to me to write chapter 3. From now on, if this works, we will be alternating the chapter writing. It should be pretty fun if it works *looks pointedly at Amber who is gushing over Yuki* BTW: Thanks to all who have sent in bios for juunishi characters, and to the little boar, I shall get your character drawn as soon as I can get past this sudden flood of work and stress from school! And, if anyone has questions, comments, additions, to make to their characters please e-mail me at flareon0301@hotmail.com! Thanks. We still need a chicken so if anyone's interested, contact amber-san for the bio survey! Alrighty then, ON WITH CHAPTER THREE!
The walk back to Shigure's house was quite uneventful, but Taki and Toshi had all the fun they needed in checking out the new scenery. When they got to the house the two girls smiled brightly.
"Wow, what a cute little house!" Toshi giggled, going over the simple, yet beautiful design.
"Hmm..seems peaceful enough, there's a lot more greenery here than at our place.Toshi went a bit overboard on the flower garden this year." Taki finished with a sweatdrop.
Toshi just giggled even more, "Aw, Taki, I know you like my flowers too! It smells better now, we don't have to smell Inu all the time!"
"You enjoy gardening, Toshi-Chan?" Yuki questioned somewhat surprised and pleased.
"Well I dunno if you'd call it gardening. I just like the pretty smell and sight of the flowers! ^-^" Toshi replied modestly.
Kyou grunted slightly and walked into the house taking off his shoes at the door.
Yuki followed suit and invited Taki and Toshi in as well.
"Taidama!" Yuki called out to Shigure, whom he knew was in the house somewhere.
"Taidama." Kyou echoed, less enthusiastic.
"Yuki-Kun! Baka Neko!" Shigure cried happily, running to embrace the boys, "Oh how I missed you today! How were the cute high school girls today?"
"Hentai.." Yuki growled. Toshi and Taki timidly watched the scene from a few feet behind Yuki and Kyou.
Shigure sniffed the air rather loudly and sighed. "I smell lovely flowers!" He stated, "Tell me, have you brought our dear Tohru-chan back to reinstate her memories??"
"No," Yuki mumbled, sadness momentarily seeping into his voice.
"Grr. Stupid hentai mutt! Why'd you have to go and bring HER up?!" Kyou roared, before storming upstairs to get changed.
Shigure blinked, obviously stumped. He curiously peeked over Yuki's shoulder to spot Toshi and Taki politely waving with knowing sweatdrops on her heads. Shigure broke out into a wide grin, "Ahhh, so Yuki-kun, are these you and Kyou-Kun's new girlfriends???"
Taki visibly blushed from the bluntness of this canine, but it was just so familiar! 'Kinagi.' she thought absently. Toshi put a hand behind her head and laughed nervously, "N-no! You've got it all wrong! Yuki-kun and Kyou-kun just invited us over for dinner!"
"So it's a double dinner date then? I should probably leave!" Shigure continued to joke.
"Ahem." Came a quiet, slightly ticked voice from the door.
"Eh?" Came Shigure's intelligent response.
"I kinda got..lost but I'm fine now, thanks for the concern." Muttered Kyoko, sarcasm dripping from her tone.
Shigure shrank back behind Taki and Toshi, 'She's kinda scary.reminds me of Hana-chan. EEP! She doesn't have Denpa powers too does she?!' he thought, freaking himself out.
"I'm sorry Kyoko-Chan! I didn't realize you had gone missing!" Taki bowed apologetically.
"Lighten up Kyoko-San! We didn't mean to leave you behind!" Toshi said good-naturedly, placing an arm around Kyoko's shoulders like she was a close buddy. Kyoko glared daggers at the contact of Toshi's arm with her body.
"Get. OFF. Me." She demanded very unkindly.
Toshi smiled nervously and removed her arm, also taking note to move a few feet away from Kyoko completely and hiding behind Taki. Kyoko grinned in satisfaction; 'Scaredy-cat' she thought. She turned to Shigure, "So, what's for dinner?"
Shigure smiled, "Can any of you cook?
"Hmm?" all three mumbled with shocked expressions.
"Hehe..I guess Yuki-Kun forgot to mention that the only one here who can cook is Kyou-kun.But he's too lazy to cook a big meal." Shigure stopped a moment to gauge the level of shock, confusion, and surprise in their faces before continuing, "Hey, there's three of you! Cook together, it'll take off the full force of the work load for you!"
"You're kidding, right?" Kyoko huffed, "What is the rule around here? 'Guests have to cook dinner'?!"
"Kyoko-Chan, calm down," Taki soothed, "We'd be happy to cook!"
"We would?" Moaned Toshi incredulously.
"Of course! Would you rather eat good food, or barely edible food?" Taki pointed out.
"Hmm.Good point," Kyoko agreed, "Alright, Mutt, where's the kitchen?"
Shigure stiffened up, 'Did she just refer to me as a canine!? How does she know?! Play it cool, Shigure, it was probably just a chance insult!' he chided with himself. "Right this way, ladies!" He ushered with a happy smile as he showed them to the kitchen. Taki and Kyoko followed willingly, while Toshi brought up the behind grumbling slightly.
"Here it is! Everything should be well stocked, all you have to do is locate what you need and cook a great meal! Have fun!" Shigure explained, dreaming about his first exquisite meal in months.
"Thank you Shigure-San!" Taki smiled. When he left, Taki and kyoko split up and began locating everything
"Okay, I'll raid the fridge; Kyoko, You look through the pantry; and Toshi, you look for dishes!" Taki ordered, opening both the fridge and freezer to assess what they had to work with.
"Wow, they really are stocked!" Kyoko stated with a raised eyebrow.
"Why do I have to help? You know I can't cook well Taki-San!" Toshi whined.
"Exactly why I'm having you set the table!" Taki replied with a cheerful smile.
Toshi mumbled something and went to find the dishes with which to set the table.
Inside Shigure's office, Shigure was at work typing away a new story, The Doubles. 'Ahhhhh delicious meals once again. I'm so happy, I wonder if they'll stay?' he paused to think with horseshoe eyes.
Up in their rooms, Yuki and Kyou were also deep in thought. Yuki was changing into his home clothes as he stared blankly into space, his actions seeming robotic. 'Can there really be 2 juunishi families? I never knew it was possible...Maybe Akito knew of this second family? Perhaps Seiko...no I doubt it. I better get back downstairs before Taki-Chan and Toshi-Chan come looking for me.' He thought as he finished dressing.
In his own room, Kyou was brooding angrily to himself. 'Kuso Nezumi! Why is he even trying?! Just because they hold our curse as well, he's inviting them into our home. Doesn't he care what this will do if we all get attached and then Seiko takes them away too?! Does he even feel remorse for the loss of Tohru?! Damn him! I hate that stupid mouse!' Kyou paused and listened to the soft patter of Yuki's socked feet as he passed his room on his way to the stairs. His thoughts changed to that of the other family, 'Well.they DO have a cat as well.. Maybe I won't feel as exiled anymore, maybe this could work?' Kyou smiled slightly as he thought about it. He finished whatever he was doing as well and made his way to the dining area, the smell of cooking food luring him dreamily.
"Dinner's ready!!!!!" Taki exclaimed proudly as a still grumbling Toshi set the last of the food onto the table.
"Did I hear the dinner bell ring?" Shigure questioned, poking his head into the room.
"Silly Inu, there was no bell; just my lovely voice!" Taki bragged, ushering him to the table.
Yuki walked in and smiled politely, "Ah, it looks great Taki-Chan!"
Taki blushed but replied with a modest "Thank you!"
"I helped too!" Toshi exclaimed jealously.
"Baka Koneko, you only set the table!" Kyoko growled coming from the kitchen with a beautiful cake, "I helped with the cooking."
Shigure plopped down at his spot at the table with a big smile, "Well, arigatou to you all, it looks and smells wonderful!"
Kyou ambled into the room lazily and dropped into an Indian-style cross-legged position at his place at the table. Toshi stopped glaring at Kyoko to acknowledge him.
"Hello, Kyou-Kun! What do you think of the meal??" she greeted with a smile.
"Eh? Well..it's alright.." He replied; something then struck him, "Hey! There aren't any leeks in this meal are there?!"
Taki looked up from serving the greedy shigure, "Ah, No way Kyou-Kun, Toshi-Chan here hates vegetables!"
Kyou sighed in relief then noted some fried green things, "I thought you said she hated vegetables, what do you call these?"
"I hate all vegetables, except fried okra!" Toshi corrected for her sister.
Kyou popped the fried okra in his mouth to taste it, "I guess it tastes okay, it could use more flavor though."
Yuki thanked Taki as she served his food and muttered to Kyou, "Baka Neko, wait till you're served to eat!"
"Shut up!" He yelled back.
Shigure stopped piling food into his mouth to scold Kyou for his rude manners,
"Kyou-Chan, it's not polite to yell at the dinner table, nor is it polite to yell in front of ladies!"
"Damn mutt.." Kyou growled lowly.
"Cheer up Kyou-kun! Here, have something to eat, I give you permission!" Taki consoled, handing him his plate back, stocked full of great-smelling food.
"Oh.Thank you." Kyou mumbled embarrassedly.
"No problem!" She replied. She sat down between Toshi and Kyoko to begin eating her dinner as well. The meal went on peacefully, small conversations sprouting here and there. As they finished, Toshi got up to collect the dishes for the sink, her and Taki would wash them later.
"Ahhh That was great food! We'll have to keep you three around!" Shigure babbled satisfied.
"Ah, Thank you Shigure-San, but Kinagi will be worried if we don't return home!" Taki explained.
"Awww, Kyou and Yuki will be so lonely though!" Shigure protested.
"It's YOU who will be lonely, hentai mutt!" Kyou growled.
Kyoko got up from the table and went to find her stuff.
"Are you two planning on staying a while longer?" She asked when she returned to the room finding Taki and Toshi still seated in pleasant conversation with their hosts.
"Yes, we were planning to get to know the Souma's a bit more; are you leaving Kyoko-Chan?" Taki replied.
"Hai," She stated, then bowed to Shigure, Yuki, and Kyou, "Thank you for having me over, bye."
"Bye Kyoko-San!" Toshi called cheerfully, then ducked behind Taki in fear when Kyoko turned to glare at her.
"You really should stand up to her one of these days Toshi-Chan, it's not like Kyoko-Chan would really ever hurt you!" Taki grinned.
"HA! That's what you think..she's not as harmless as she looks!" Toshi growled.
"Is little Koneko-Chan afraid of a fluffy bunny rabbit??" Kyou taunted.
"Kyou! That's not very nice!" Shigure reprimanded.
"NO! I'm not afraid!" Toshi denied fiercely.
"That's not the way it looks to me," Kyou snickered, "Tiny little Kitty having to hide behind a Nezumi, how pathetic!"
"Hold your tongue Baka Neko!" Yuki hissed firmly.
"Or what Kuso nezumi?!" Kyou growled, "Are you looking for a fight?!"
"I have better things to do with my time than play tea party with weak bakas" Yuki replied calmly, but annoyed.
"Kuso Nezumi, How dare you mock me! OUTSIDE NOW!" Kyou roared.
"Get the first aid kit ready Shigure.." Yuki sighed, following the steaming neko out.
"Let's go watch Taki-San!!!" Toshi giggled excitedly.
"Toshi-Chan! Don't instigate it further!" Taki replied.
"Bah, you're no fun! I'm going to watch!" Toshi stuck her tongue out before running to catch the action.
It took a few seconds for Taki's control to break before she followed, tingling with excitement. By the time she got out there, it was already over; Kyou was on the ground muttering something crossly and Yuki was dusting off his clothes complaining of how much of his time he had wasted on the Baka Neko. "And he called me pathetic.." Toshi murmured, louder than she thought. Kyou heard her and slinked off in humiliation.
'I knew it...more rejection! I don't even fit amongst the rejected!' he thought angrily as he sat on the roof observing the silent stars. Below him he could hear the animated conversation going on between Yuki and Taki; they were talking about past experiences with the curse. Suddenly, he turned his attention to something else. Someone was coming up the ladder. 'Damn. I don't want any company right now! Can't they leave me alone?!' He thought angrily. He waited aloofly for the person to haul their body up onto the roof.
"Ah, I thought I'd find you up here Kyou-Kun!" Toshi smiled proudly, "Cats like high places."
"What do you want?" He hissed, none too pleasantly.
"Why the hostility?" She questioned confused.
"Why do you care, You think I'm pathetic for loosing to a mouse, is that it?" Kyou replied venomously.
"You..heard that?" Toshi blinked, "I didn't mean it that way! I.ah..." She shut up, having no explanation. Kyou glared at her in resentment, but noticed that she didn't appear to be enjoying his anger much. She had curled her self up with her knees drawn to her chest, and seemed to be starting intently at the roof.
"Hey, Toshi!" he called, unsurely.
Toshi closed her eyes for a moment and breathed deeply, shaking a little; She turned to look at him, hoping he didn't see the small tears that still clouded her vision.
"I'm sorry if I offended you Kyou-Kun, I really didn't mean to.." She murmured.
'She's crying?!' Kyou thought in panic, 'What'd I do?!'
"Oi, it's ok Toshi, I'm not mad at you." He sighed, calming himself forcefully.
"Are you sure?" Toshi timidly questioned, looking up at him.
"Yes," He retuned.
Toshi nodded and made herself comfortable on the roof, "So, what do you do up here?"
Kyou didn't reply as he appeared to be in thought. Toshi mimicked what he was doing and she too observed the stars.
".How are you able to be so comfortable with yourself?" Kyou asked out of the blue without even turning to look at her.
Toshi was taken aback by the sudden question, but thought about it a moment before answering, "I don't know really, perhaps growing up with Taki's loving family helped; I just don't find what I am to be anything horrible. I rather feel that I'm special over normal humans, not everyone can become a cat you know!"
"Well, I guess you could look at it that way. But you're even confident about your true form! Doesn't it scare you? Aren't you disgusted with yourself?" Kyou questioned frantically, he just didn't understand it.
"Well, you can't expect to get along in the world, if you can't even accept who you are can you? I mean, personally, I don't think our spirit's true form is that bad. The transformation smells a bit maybe, but it's not like we turn into some gruesome bloody beast! We're just a bit abnormal, that's all, I still think it's cute!" Toshi explained with a smile. Kyou turned to look at her disbelievingly, but found only solid foundation behind her words in the expression on her face, so calm and collected; she really was fine with all this. Maybe with her help, he could come to term with himself as well.
"Thank you, Koneko-Chan" He said softly with a small smile upon his face. Toshi looked to him with a blush rising in her face, 'Was that sincerity I felt in his voice?' she pondered curiously. Her time to interrogate him was cut short however when Taki and Yuki came outside.
"Toshi-Chan? Are you up there?" Taki called.
Toshi crawled to the edge of the roof and peered over it to her sister; "Yes, Taki-San?"
"Come down from there, I'd like to get some sleep before school tomorrow!" She joked.
"Okay! I'm coming!" Toshi replied in a sing-song voice. She turned to climb down the ladder, but couldn't help noticing Kyou. 'Poor Kyou-kun, he seems so alone here.' She thought sadly. Before climbing down the ladder she crawled over and gave the rejected neko a friendly hug. Kyou was caught off guard by this; he was thankful for the cloak of night however, for his face was instantly hot red.
"I guess I'll be seeing you around school, ne?" Toshi grinned, pulling away and looking at his shocked face.
Kyou nodded with a small affirmative "Hai." She giggled and made her way over to the ladder, turning before she descended and waving with an eager "sayonara" to him. Down on the ground, Kyou could hear Taki tease Toshi about being alone with him. A small smile spread across his lips as he listened to her deny everything with a confident laugh. 'Toshi, I guess I really will be seeing more of you around eh?' He thought idly, returning his gaze to the stars. ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
There's Chapter 3! Wooo it's finally done! I hope you all liked it! *looks to the slightly angered Taki-San* I know! Not much Yuki/Taki moments! But.uhhh.Taki can change that in Chapter 4! ^-^ anyway, have fun and as always, reviews are greatly appreciated! Tell us what you think of the new idea for writing this fic, or what you think of it in general! Thanks! Toshi.
A/N: Hey everyone! This is Flare, Toshi, Speaking! Amber-san has lost interest in this fic, so to spice it up and make it more interesting, I've stolen the torch from her :D mwahahahaha.no really, she gave it over to me to write chapter 3. From now on, if this works, we will be alternating the chapter writing. It should be pretty fun if it works *looks pointedly at Amber who is gushing over Yuki* BTW: Thanks to all who have sent in bios for juunishi characters, and to the little boar, I shall get your character drawn as soon as I can get past this sudden flood of work and stress from school! And, if anyone has questions, comments, additions, to make to their characters please e-mail me at flareon0301@hotmail.com! Thanks. We still need a chicken so if anyone's interested, contact amber-san for the bio survey! Alrighty then, ON WITH CHAPTER THREE!
The walk back to Shigure's house was quite uneventful, but Taki and Toshi had all the fun they needed in checking out the new scenery. When they got to the house the two girls smiled brightly.
"Wow, what a cute little house!" Toshi giggled, going over the simple, yet beautiful design.
"Hmm..seems peaceful enough, there's a lot more greenery here than at our place.Toshi went a bit overboard on the flower garden this year." Taki finished with a sweatdrop.
Toshi just giggled even more, "Aw, Taki, I know you like my flowers too! It smells better now, we don't have to smell Inu all the time!"
"You enjoy gardening, Toshi-Chan?" Yuki questioned somewhat surprised and pleased.
"Well I dunno if you'd call it gardening. I just like the pretty smell and sight of the flowers! ^-^" Toshi replied modestly.
Kyou grunted slightly and walked into the house taking off his shoes at the door.
Yuki followed suit and invited Taki and Toshi in as well.
"Taidama!" Yuki called out to Shigure, whom he knew was in the house somewhere.
"Taidama." Kyou echoed, less enthusiastic.
"Yuki-Kun! Baka Neko!" Shigure cried happily, running to embrace the boys, "Oh how I missed you today! How were the cute high school girls today?"
"Hentai.." Yuki growled. Toshi and Taki timidly watched the scene from a few feet behind Yuki and Kyou.
Shigure sniffed the air rather loudly and sighed. "I smell lovely flowers!" He stated, "Tell me, have you brought our dear Tohru-chan back to reinstate her memories??"
"No," Yuki mumbled, sadness momentarily seeping into his voice.
"Grr. Stupid hentai mutt! Why'd you have to go and bring HER up?!" Kyou roared, before storming upstairs to get changed.
Shigure blinked, obviously stumped. He curiously peeked over Yuki's shoulder to spot Toshi and Taki politely waving with knowing sweatdrops on her heads. Shigure broke out into a wide grin, "Ahhh, so Yuki-kun, are these you and Kyou-Kun's new girlfriends???"
Taki visibly blushed from the bluntness of this canine, but it was just so familiar! 'Kinagi.' she thought absently. Toshi put a hand behind her head and laughed nervously, "N-no! You've got it all wrong! Yuki-kun and Kyou-kun just invited us over for dinner!"
"So it's a double dinner date then? I should probably leave!" Shigure continued to joke.
"Ahem." Came a quiet, slightly ticked voice from the door.
"Eh?" Came Shigure's intelligent response.
"I kinda got..lost but I'm fine now, thanks for the concern." Muttered Kyoko, sarcasm dripping from her tone.
Shigure shrank back behind Taki and Toshi, 'She's kinda scary.reminds me of Hana-chan. EEP! She doesn't have Denpa powers too does she?!' he thought, freaking himself out.
"I'm sorry Kyoko-Chan! I didn't realize you had gone missing!" Taki bowed apologetically.
"Lighten up Kyoko-San! We didn't mean to leave you behind!" Toshi said good-naturedly, placing an arm around Kyoko's shoulders like she was a close buddy. Kyoko glared daggers at the contact of Toshi's arm with her body.
"Get. OFF. Me." She demanded very unkindly.
Toshi smiled nervously and removed her arm, also taking note to move a few feet away from Kyoko completely and hiding behind Taki. Kyoko grinned in satisfaction; 'Scaredy-cat' she thought. She turned to Shigure, "So, what's for dinner?"
Shigure smiled, "Can any of you cook?
"Hmm?" all three mumbled with shocked expressions.
"Hehe..I guess Yuki-Kun forgot to mention that the only one here who can cook is Kyou-kun.But he's too lazy to cook a big meal." Shigure stopped a moment to gauge the level of shock, confusion, and surprise in their faces before continuing, "Hey, there's three of you! Cook together, it'll take off the full force of the work load for you!"
"You're kidding, right?" Kyoko huffed, "What is the rule around here? 'Guests have to cook dinner'?!"
"Kyoko-Chan, calm down," Taki soothed, "We'd be happy to cook!"
"We would?" Moaned Toshi incredulously.
"Of course! Would you rather eat good food, or barely edible food?" Taki pointed out.
"Hmm.Good point," Kyoko agreed, "Alright, Mutt, where's the kitchen?"
Shigure stiffened up, 'Did she just refer to me as a canine!? How does she know?! Play it cool, Shigure, it was probably just a chance insult!' he chided with himself. "Right this way, ladies!" He ushered with a happy smile as he showed them to the kitchen. Taki and Kyoko followed willingly, while Toshi brought up the behind grumbling slightly.
"Here it is! Everything should be well stocked, all you have to do is locate what you need and cook a great meal! Have fun!" Shigure explained, dreaming about his first exquisite meal in months.
"Thank you Shigure-San!" Taki smiled. When he left, Taki and kyoko split up and began locating everything
"Okay, I'll raid the fridge; Kyoko, You look through the pantry; and Toshi, you look for dishes!" Taki ordered, opening both the fridge and freezer to assess what they had to work with.
"Wow, they really are stocked!" Kyoko stated with a raised eyebrow.
"Why do I have to help? You know I can't cook well Taki-San!" Toshi whined.
"Exactly why I'm having you set the table!" Taki replied with a cheerful smile.
Toshi mumbled something and went to find the dishes with which to set the table.
Inside Shigure's office, Shigure was at work typing away a new story, The Doubles. 'Ahhhhh delicious meals once again. I'm so happy, I wonder if they'll stay?' he paused to think with horseshoe eyes.
Up in their rooms, Yuki and Kyou were also deep in thought. Yuki was changing into his home clothes as he stared blankly into space, his actions seeming robotic. 'Can there really be 2 juunishi families? I never knew it was possible...Maybe Akito knew of this second family? Perhaps Seiko...no I doubt it. I better get back downstairs before Taki-Chan and Toshi-Chan come looking for me.' He thought as he finished dressing.
In his own room, Kyou was brooding angrily to himself. 'Kuso Nezumi! Why is he even trying?! Just because they hold our curse as well, he's inviting them into our home. Doesn't he care what this will do if we all get attached and then Seiko takes them away too?! Does he even feel remorse for the loss of Tohru?! Damn him! I hate that stupid mouse!' Kyou paused and listened to the soft patter of Yuki's socked feet as he passed his room on his way to the stairs. His thoughts changed to that of the other family, 'Well.they DO have a cat as well.. Maybe I won't feel as exiled anymore, maybe this could work?' Kyou smiled slightly as he thought about it. He finished whatever he was doing as well and made his way to the dining area, the smell of cooking food luring him dreamily.
"Dinner's ready!!!!!" Taki exclaimed proudly as a still grumbling Toshi set the last of the food onto the table.
"Did I hear the dinner bell ring?" Shigure questioned, poking his head into the room.
"Silly Inu, there was no bell; just my lovely voice!" Taki bragged, ushering him to the table.
Yuki walked in and smiled politely, "Ah, it looks great Taki-Chan!"
Taki blushed but replied with a modest "Thank you!"
"I helped too!" Toshi exclaimed jealously.
"Baka Koneko, you only set the table!" Kyoko growled coming from the kitchen with a beautiful cake, "I helped with the cooking."
Shigure plopped down at his spot at the table with a big smile, "Well, arigatou to you all, it looks and smells wonderful!"
Kyou ambled into the room lazily and dropped into an Indian-style cross-legged position at his place at the table. Toshi stopped glaring at Kyoko to acknowledge him.
"Hello, Kyou-Kun! What do you think of the meal??" she greeted with a smile.
"Eh? Well..it's alright.." He replied; something then struck him, "Hey! There aren't any leeks in this meal are there?!"
Taki looked up from serving the greedy shigure, "Ah, No way Kyou-Kun, Toshi-Chan here hates vegetables!"
Kyou sighed in relief then noted some fried green things, "I thought you said she hated vegetables, what do you call these?"
"I hate all vegetables, except fried okra!" Toshi corrected for her sister.
Kyou popped the fried okra in his mouth to taste it, "I guess it tastes okay, it could use more flavor though."
Yuki thanked Taki as she served his food and muttered to Kyou, "Baka Neko, wait till you're served to eat!"
"Shut up!" He yelled back.
Shigure stopped piling food into his mouth to scold Kyou for his rude manners,
"Kyou-Chan, it's not polite to yell at the dinner table, nor is it polite to yell in front of ladies!"
"Damn mutt.." Kyou growled lowly.
"Cheer up Kyou-kun! Here, have something to eat, I give you permission!" Taki consoled, handing him his plate back, stocked full of great-smelling food.
"Oh.Thank you." Kyou mumbled embarrassedly.
"No problem!" She replied. She sat down between Toshi and Kyoko to begin eating her dinner as well. The meal went on peacefully, small conversations sprouting here and there. As they finished, Toshi got up to collect the dishes for the sink, her and Taki would wash them later.
"Ahhh That was great food! We'll have to keep you three around!" Shigure babbled satisfied.
"Ah, Thank you Shigure-San, but Kinagi will be worried if we don't return home!" Taki explained.
"Awww, Kyou and Yuki will be so lonely though!" Shigure protested.
"It's YOU who will be lonely, hentai mutt!" Kyou growled.
Kyoko got up from the table and went to find her stuff.
"Are you two planning on staying a while longer?" She asked when she returned to the room finding Taki and Toshi still seated in pleasant conversation with their hosts.
"Yes, we were planning to get to know the Souma's a bit more; are you leaving Kyoko-Chan?" Taki replied.
"Hai," She stated, then bowed to Shigure, Yuki, and Kyou, "Thank you for having me over, bye."
"Bye Kyoko-San!" Toshi called cheerfully, then ducked behind Taki in fear when Kyoko turned to glare at her.
"You really should stand up to her one of these days Toshi-Chan, it's not like Kyoko-Chan would really ever hurt you!" Taki grinned.
"HA! That's what you think..she's not as harmless as she looks!" Toshi growled.
"Is little Koneko-Chan afraid of a fluffy bunny rabbit??" Kyou taunted.
"Kyou! That's not very nice!" Shigure reprimanded.
"NO! I'm not afraid!" Toshi denied fiercely.
"That's not the way it looks to me," Kyou snickered, "Tiny little Kitty having to hide behind a Nezumi, how pathetic!"
"Hold your tongue Baka Neko!" Yuki hissed firmly.
"Or what Kuso nezumi?!" Kyou growled, "Are you looking for a fight?!"
"I have better things to do with my time than play tea party with weak bakas" Yuki replied calmly, but annoyed.
"Kuso Nezumi, How dare you mock me! OUTSIDE NOW!" Kyou roared.
"Get the first aid kit ready Shigure.." Yuki sighed, following the steaming neko out.
"Let's go watch Taki-San!!!" Toshi giggled excitedly.
"Toshi-Chan! Don't instigate it further!" Taki replied.
"Bah, you're no fun! I'm going to watch!" Toshi stuck her tongue out before running to catch the action.
It took a few seconds for Taki's control to break before she followed, tingling with excitement. By the time she got out there, it was already over; Kyou was on the ground muttering something crossly and Yuki was dusting off his clothes complaining of how much of his time he had wasted on the Baka Neko. "And he called me pathetic.." Toshi murmured, louder than she thought. Kyou heard her and slinked off in humiliation.
'I knew it...more rejection! I don't even fit amongst the rejected!' he thought angrily as he sat on the roof observing the silent stars. Below him he could hear the animated conversation going on between Yuki and Taki; they were talking about past experiences with the curse. Suddenly, he turned his attention to something else. Someone was coming up the ladder. 'Damn. I don't want any company right now! Can't they leave me alone?!' He thought angrily. He waited aloofly for the person to haul their body up onto the roof.
"Ah, I thought I'd find you up here Kyou-Kun!" Toshi smiled proudly, "Cats like high places."
"What do you want?" He hissed, none too pleasantly.
"Why the hostility?" She questioned confused.
"Why do you care, You think I'm pathetic for loosing to a mouse, is that it?" Kyou replied venomously.
"You..heard that?" Toshi blinked, "I didn't mean it that way! I.ah..." She shut up, having no explanation. Kyou glared at her in resentment, but noticed that she didn't appear to be enjoying his anger much. She had curled her self up with her knees drawn to her chest, and seemed to be starting intently at the roof.
"Hey, Toshi!" he called, unsurely.
Toshi closed her eyes for a moment and breathed deeply, shaking a little; She turned to look at him, hoping he didn't see the small tears that still clouded her vision.
"I'm sorry if I offended you Kyou-Kun, I really didn't mean to.." She murmured.
'She's crying?!' Kyou thought in panic, 'What'd I do?!'
"Oi, it's ok Toshi, I'm not mad at you." He sighed, calming himself forcefully.
"Are you sure?" Toshi timidly questioned, looking up at him.
"Yes," He retuned.
Toshi nodded and made herself comfortable on the roof, "So, what do you do up here?"
Kyou didn't reply as he appeared to be in thought. Toshi mimicked what he was doing and she too observed the stars.
".How are you able to be so comfortable with yourself?" Kyou asked out of the blue without even turning to look at her.
Toshi was taken aback by the sudden question, but thought about it a moment before answering, "I don't know really, perhaps growing up with Taki's loving family helped; I just don't find what I am to be anything horrible. I rather feel that I'm special over normal humans, not everyone can become a cat you know!"
"Well, I guess you could look at it that way. But you're even confident about your true form! Doesn't it scare you? Aren't you disgusted with yourself?" Kyou questioned frantically, he just didn't understand it.
"Well, you can't expect to get along in the world, if you can't even accept who you are can you? I mean, personally, I don't think our spirit's true form is that bad. The transformation smells a bit maybe, but it's not like we turn into some gruesome bloody beast! We're just a bit abnormal, that's all, I still think it's cute!" Toshi explained with a smile. Kyou turned to look at her disbelievingly, but found only solid foundation behind her words in the expression on her face, so calm and collected; she really was fine with all this. Maybe with her help, he could come to term with himself as well.
"Thank you, Koneko-Chan" He said softly with a small smile upon his face. Toshi looked to him with a blush rising in her face, 'Was that sincerity I felt in his voice?' she pondered curiously. Her time to interrogate him was cut short however when Taki and Yuki came outside.
"Toshi-Chan? Are you up there?" Taki called.
Toshi crawled to the edge of the roof and peered over it to her sister; "Yes, Taki-San?"
"Come down from there, I'd like to get some sleep before school tomorrow!" She joked.
"Okay! I'm coming!" Toshi replied in a sing-song voice. She turned to climb down the ladder, but couldn't help noticing Kyou. 'Poor Kyou-kun, he seems so alone here.' She thought sadly. Before climbing down the ladder she crawled over and gave the rejected neko a friendly hug. Kyou was caught off guard by this; he was thankful for the cloak of night however, for his face was instantly hot red.
"I guess I'll be seeing you around school, ne?" Toshi grinned, pulling away and looking at his shocked face.
Kyou nodded with a small affirmative "Hai." She giggled and made her way over to the ladder, turning before she descended and waving with an eager "sayonara" to him. Down on the ground, Kyou could hear Taki tease Toshi about being alone with him. A small smile spread across his lips as he listened to her deny everything with a confident laugh. 'Toshi, I guess I really will be seeing more of you around eh?' He thought idly, returning his gaze to the stars. ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
There's Chapter 3! Wooo it's finally done! I hope you all liked it! *looks to the slightly angered Taki-San* I know! Not much Yuki/Taki moments! But.uhhh.Taki can change that in Chapter 4! ^-^ anyway, have fun and as always, reviews are greatly appreciated! Tell us what you think of the new idea for writing this fic, or what you think of it in general! Thanks! Toshi.