Chapter 4

Kyou reached home late at night and found a sleeping Tohru on the couch. He smiled helplessly and decided to let her sleep for a little while longer. Taking off his shoes, he went to the kitchen to get something to eat and sure enough, there was a covered plate in the refridgerator. He took the plate out and heated it up, his stomach grumbling with hunger. He ate the food heartily, praising Tohru silently for her expert culinary skills and as soon as he was done, he washed up and decided to take a bath.

He sank into the bathtub full of soap and water, his heart suddenly heavy with thoughts and feelings.

Had I really been too cruel to her…? He thought and bit his lip. He closed his eyes and relaxed for a while, before he got out and dried himself up. Exiting the bathroom, he happened to glance upon a photo frame by the counter that led to the kitchen. He picked it up and looked at it. It was a very happy and blissful picture of Kyou embracing Tohru from behind, his arms surrounding her waist and she was laughing. It was taken before Kazuma's death.

Kyou had actually visited Kazuma on that very actual day that he had died. He could still remember Kazuma's words before Kyou left the house to go home on that day.

"Kyou," Kazuma spoke the way any father would to a son, soft and gentle. Kyou turned around and raised his eyebrows in question. Kazuma smiled softly at him, "Tohru is a good girl, don't make her wait any longer," He said as if saying his very last words to Kyou that day, as if he knew that his time was here. Kyou blinked and nodded, merely dismissing what he said as an old man's words and he left. By night, he had received a phone call from the Main House; From Hatori, because it seemed that he was the only one who was calm enough to tell Kyou about the bad news.

At that time, Tohru was out doing her part-time job so it was only Kyou at home.

"Kyou…" Hatori had said and Kyou could hear him inhale deeply. He could only imagine the worst but he had not expected that Kazuma had died. And to think Kyou had just came out from Kazuma's house on that day. "Kazuma he…" Hatori trailed off.

"He… passed away this afternoon," Hatori said meekly. Kyou's heart began to beat faster as his adrenaline pumped in his veins. He laughed shakily, "No… I just visited him today, how could he be dead? You guys must be pulling my leg!"

Then again, Hatori wasn't well known in playing jokes on other people.

Kyou stopped short as his heart began to beat so loudly that he could hear the constant, rhythmic thuds of his heart. It was only then that Kyou had realized he was holding his breath because he exhaled deeply and took in little gasps of air, trying to be calm. He closed his eyes for a few seconds tightly, wishing that Hatori would say something like, "I was just kidding you, ha," or that it was just a dream and he was just about to wake up with Tohru worriedly by his side.

"Hello?" Hatori asked.

God, no… anything but this, please… .

Kyou felt something lodge at the back of his throat and he could not bring himself to say anything. He tried to swallow it back down, but it reached to his eyes and began to sting his eyes. He took several big gulps down but it would not go away. "Uso…(lies)… they're all lies…" Kyou's voice spoke shakily as the tears began to flow.

Hatori remained silent and Kyou could only hear Hatori breathing. "… I know that this is… a very difficult time for you, we all are feeling the same way—"

"How the hell would you know?!" He yelled angrily. Hatori fell silent again, "I know because I had something worse happened to me," Kyou knew he was talking about Kane. "But you cannot give up hope now…You still have Tohru and the rest of us here," Kyou did not reply. He only wanted to see Kazuma smiling back at him. He only wanted to tell Kazuma that he was his father. Always have and always will be. But he was gone.

"His wake would be on next Friday… if… if you're well enough to come, please do… and we would like for you to give a speech…" Hatori said. Kyou merely managed a grunt.

Click.

Doo-Doo-Doo… the tone of the receiver went. He put the receiver down and leaned against the wall, slowing sliding down as his legs became numb. Tohru came back and looked at Kyou, "…Kyou…?" She asked and bent down, touching his face. He held her hand and pulled her in. "…" Tohru fell silent as he hugged her tightly and began to sob.

Tohru's a good girl…don't make her wait any longer.

Suddenly, the phone rang and because he did not want to wake Tohru up, he quickly picked up the phone and answered it, "Hello?"

"Is this Souma Kyou's residence?"

"Uh yeah, and you are…?"

"Chika! You know… that day we bumped into each other?"

"Oh," Kyou said.

"Well, I said I'd make it up to you and I found a day where I'll be free, how about next Thursday?"

"Um…" Kyou said and looked over at Tohru, hesitating. Perhaps he need some time to think this over and Chika could most probably help him settle his problems…

"Sure, what time and where to meet?" Kyou asked.

"Hmm… How about lunch at the shopping centre near Kaze Street?"

"Break One, you mean?"

"Yeah! Break One, that's the name of the shopping centre… I was trying to recall what the name was just now. Oh! And there's this one cafeteria that serves REALLY good cheesecake, that is… if you're interested in it? It's called Ruckers," Chika asked.

She just hit the jackpot. Kyou loves cheesecakes, especially the ones made by Tohru. Trying not to sound too interested, he agreed and the both of them agreed at 11 in the morning. He checked his schedule and made sure he cancelled any lessons in the dojo and postponed them to a Saturday.

Looking at Tohru, he managed a smile. Don't worry, it'll all be alright soon. He said silently in his heart, picking her up and putting her down on her bed. Covering her with a bedsheet, he looked at her and kissed her on the forehead before he went to the other side of the bed and slept beside her, facing away from her.

Silently, Kyou recalled memories of Kazuma and him together, like father and son. And he began thinking about Tohru and him, how they were so happy together. He smiled at them. He thought of Chika and hoped she would be able to help out in his problems, hoping she could help him commit in this relationship and move on with Kazuma's death.

On the other side of the bed, Tohru opened her eyes and smiled pleasantly. Perhaps the good old times would come back again… she thought as she smiled at the thought of Kyou kissing her on the forehead just now.

Hope you like the chapter!