[Disclaimer] sigh I don't think Furuba will ever be mine, despite how I
wish for it!
[AN] This is a long chapter, and it's technically not done yet. However, I decided that because this chapter was going to be even longer, I would split it up some. Hopefully I picked a good enough spot so that the rest would not be really short. The chapter was supposed to take place over a whole day, and the day is not over yet. Oh well, I hope you enjoy. Chapter 13, hopefully, if you keep your fingers crossed, will be done and posted tonight.
Chapter XII
Yuki had only been in America for a few days now, but he quickly adjusted his sleep patterns to what was appropriate for his location. It was the Fourth of July and Tohru had been so excited about it, it was one of the few things she seemed to be able to talk about since his arrival. She'd already made plans for the three of them to go to a park near where the fireworks display was launched. Immediately after lunch was done and cleaned up, she began preparing the dinner they would take for an evening time picnic.
After being adamantly assured that his help was not needed for the preparations, Yuki retired to the living room to read the only book that he'd brought with him; it was a book about American culture, and it wasn't as nearly as interesting or exciting as actually being here.
Sitting there, staring blankly at the book, all he could really think about was his first day here with Tohru. He didn't realize that he could have ever been so bold as he was. Since that morning, he'd noticed Tohru had been blushing every time she looked at him. He thought it was adorable. Thinking about it reminded him of the trip they'd all made together when he'd given her the beautiful yellow ribbons as his White Day present. The blush she had a couple days ago was exactly the same as that evening at the hot springs. Yuki only wished he could have been so forward on that day too, but he was still so unsure of his feelings that it wouldn't have been fair to her.
Yuki had been so engrossed with his own thoughts that he hadn't noticed Tohru peeking in on him from the kitchen. What Yuki didn't know, though subconsciously hoped for, was that Tohru's own thoughts had been on his actions from a few days ago as well. He'd fueled a flame deep inside her that she herself hadn't realized was burning. She'd always cared deeply for him, had always loved him like the family she didn't have when her mother had passed away. The way his eyes had darkened with some longing unbeknownst to her, reminded her of the time on the school roof during the Cultural Fest, then during their White Day hot springs trip, and then again during their first visit to Ayame's store, when he complemented her on the dress Mina had picked out for her to try on. Each of those times Yuki had fanned a flame deep in her soul that she tucked back away when the moment was gone. Every time he looked at her with those soulful eyes, a longing for him to pull her close and never let go rose up from deep inside. Ever time she felt that longing rise up, she'd squish back those thoughts knowing he couldn't possibly feel the same way she did.
Then her thoughts turned to Kyo. She loved Kyo just as much as she did Yuki, but the feelings he gave her where not the same she got from Yuki. She knew she always wanted Kyo to be close to her, ever since that fateful day when his true form had been exposed to her eyes. She'd been so very terrified of what she saw, but deep down she knew it was Kyo, and she knew he'd never do anything to hurt her. Her feelings for him were that of a mother clinging helplessly to her child. He'd been a platform from which she could spread her wings and become something more than a helpless child herself. They worked well together like the flora and fauna, needing each other to live, but never being able to be one with each other.
Focusing back on Yuki, he was still looking at his book, seemingly enthralled with his reading material; she realized what it was that she felt for him. She'd seen the look in his eyes before, in the eyes of her school acquaintances when they spoke of the emotion in question. It had to be love; she'd never felt this raw emotion before when looking into the eyes of any other person. Then her mind went blank; all she saw was Yuki. The look in his eyes earlier this week was emblazoned in her memories. For an eternity it seemed she stood there watching him: the soft lines of his face, the emotion in his eyes. How could she have not realized this until now? She snapped back to reality, feeling very self-conscious suddenly. Almost as suddenly, she realized that Yuki was looking at her with those same dark eyes.
"...ru? Tohru?"
The tucked away flame sprang forward and danced wildly. Her lips parted slightly as if she was about to say something, but nothing was forthcoming.
As quickly as he'd looked up to see her watching him intently, Yuki's eyes lightened to their usual vibrant violet shade and a light flush crossed his cheeks. Tohru's blush surpassed his own by leaps and bounds, and that's when she heard it. The teakettle in the kitchen had been whistling for almost a full minute now. She turned quickly to reenter the kitchen, leaving a somewhat confused Yuki to stare at the vacant space in the doorway where she'd been standing.
'What had she been doing just standing there like that? She didn't seem herself. What was that look in her eyes? She seemed lost in some other world. It's not uncommon for her to space out, but for her to not hear the teakettle while standing so close to the kitchen... it's just... so... very odd.' Yuki slowly shook his head as these questions surfaced among his thoughts.
"What the hell are you staring at, you damn rat?"
Yuki blinked twice before he realized that Kyo, who looked like he was about to go practice some more, was standing in the spot that Tohru had just vacated. The same spot that Yuki was still looking at bewilderedly. "Nothing, you stupid cat!"
His attention snapped back to the book in his hand, quickly scanning for the place where he'd left off before his mind had started wandering. While his head was down, he glance at his watch and noted that it had only been thirty minutes since they'd finished lunch; the rest of the day was going to be long and arduous if he could not keep his head out of the clouds and his mind off the entrancing images that Tohru left on his mind.
Walking up next to Kyo, Tohru whispered something in his ear. Hearing a throaty growl, Yuki looked back up from his book at the pair in the doorway. Tohru was a picture of innocence: hands clasped, wringing themselves together, while she leaned over to Kyo's ear, saying something that was meant for only him to hear. Kyo on the other hand looked the devil that had just been cheated: a scowl on his face and a glare full of daggers meant for Yuki alone.
"Aw to hell with it!" Kyo growled out as he marched off towards the backdoor of the house.
"Kyo! I'll bring some tea to the dojo for you two later," Tohru called out after him as she went back to the kitchen to pour a cup for Yuki and herself.
With a tray in hand, she carefully walked back into the living room and set the tray on the coffee table. After kneeling down on the floor across from Yuki on the other side of the table, cautiously Tohru slid one of the cups in front of him then picked up her own cup. She blew a slow stream of breath across the top of the steaming liquid as if trying to cool it down before she took her first sip, savoring the soothing taste of the warm tea on her tongue.
"The tea is still hot, so please be careful." With half a moment's pause Tohru continued, "You know, this tea is great for calming nerves and relaxing the mind. It's my favorite afternoon tea, especially after a long day of classes."
Yuki gazed at her across the table from the couch as she blew the steam off her tea. Her lips were curved seductively forming a small 'o'. At that moment, he wanted nothing more than lean over that small table and kiss as if there were no tomorrow. He had to control his own emotions though, as difficult as that may have been, since he didn't want to scare her or make her more nervous than she obviously already was.
With the grace of a dancer, he slid down to the floor, kneeling between the couch and the coffee table. Carefully picking up the cup that Tohru had placed in front of him, he slowly blew the steam off the top of his tea, mimicking her own actions. Taking a sip of the tea, he relished the calm it demanded of him by relinquishing his senses and closing his eyes to savor the moment. After what seemed to be an eternity, Yuki opened his eyes to see that Tohru had been watching him intently over the top of her own cup.
As soon as Yuki opened his eyes, a light blush crossed her cheeks as Tohru quickly looked down at her own tea and took a sip. After setting her cup back on the table, she placed her hands in her lap, lowering her eyes to stare at those same hands. She was at a loss for words now, having no idea what to say to Yuki. This, in itself, embarrassed her since she was never this shy or speechless around him. 'And this tea is supposed to be calming? Why am I so nervous?'
Yuki was just as nervous as Tohru, though he seemed better at hiding that fact than she was, at least until he spoke. "Umm, Tohru. I... I wanted to ask you something."
Tohru slowly looked up from her lap to gaze into his eyes. Yuki saw several emotions flash across her eyes all at once, but he couldn't seem to distinguish between them all. Biting his tongue before he spoke the words he didn't want to today, "I...I was wondering... what are you making for dinner tonight?"
Tohru's eyes lit up suddenly at this question, looking instantly relaxed. Talking about food and cooking were her specialty. "I was thinking that we'd have sushi, takoyaki and onigiri. I'm even including strawberries for dessert. I thought it would be easier to have food that we wouldn't need a bunch of dishes for."
While she was listing off the different items she would be packing for picnic, Yuki's eyes were drawn to the movement of her lips, the lines of her jaw as it moved in time with her speech, and the expressions the muscles of her face conjured up as she spoke. The sparkle glistening in her eyes was the most breathtaking part of this sight, though.
He continued to watch her, sipping his tea, as she finished off the list. Yuki took a small breath before speaking. "That all sounds wonderful... Tohru," accenting her name lightly and almost unnoticeably.
While receiving compliments on her cooking would embarrass her, she truly did know that her cooking was excellent. If she hadn't wanted to be a teacher, she could easily have become the lead chef of some fancy restaurant back in Japan. However, over the years that Yuki had known her, Tohru's passion had become children. He could only imagine the things she'd been teaching Kyo's own students. Absentmindedly, his thoughts also danced towards Tohru as a mother herself. 'She'd make an excellent mother.'
The rest of their tea was drunk in companionable silence. When they were both finished, Tohru stood, picking up both their cups and set them back on the tray. "I'm going to take some tea out to Kyo and Robbie. If you'd like, you can come out with me and meet one of Kyo's students. I think he's the only one that didn't go out of town for his summer vacation. He's a very sweet kid, just like his parents. On our way back, we can stop by the gardens so I can water them."
"That would be nice," Yuki said with a genuine smile.
Tohru smiled back and walked back to the kitchen with the tray and prepared two more cups of tea. "Ok Yuki. Let's go!" Tohru headed straight to the back door, and Yuki met her there a few seconds later.
Yuki shut the backdoor behind before walking towards the dojo together, Tohru humming some catchy tune. The door to the dojo was already open. Since it was such a nice day out, Kyo had decided they should let the fresh air in during practice. "Kyo, Robbie. You two should take a break. I brought some tea for you," Tohru said blithely with her infectious smile encasing her lips.
Yuki watched silently as he saw Robbie finish off with a roundhouse kick. He was impressed with how smoothly the action was carried out and wondered if it really had been Kyo that'd been teaching him. The two smiled at her request and headed towards the door where Tohru had just taken off her sandals and walked in. Yuki followed Tohru's lead and sat down next to her across from Kyo and his pupil.
"Robbie, this is Yuki. He's a friend of mine and Kyo's cousin from back home in Japan."
Yuki was taken aback at how just how amazing her English had become. He knew English, had taken a couple English classes at the University, but had nowhere near the ability that she and Kyo had. What shocked him even more was when the thirteen year old responded in Japanese.
"It's very nice to meet you," he said with a small bow before gratefully accepting the tea that was passed to him. Tohru watched Yuki's expression as Robbie responded in their native language; he seemed pleasantly surprised. The child's voice was a little choppy and disconnected, but Yuki noticed he hadn't even stopped to think what his replay should have been.
"The pleasure is all mine, "responded Yuki with a smile, also speaking Japanese. Switching back to English, he continued, "So Robbie, how long have you been a student here?"
"For almost two and half years. My best friend trains under Master too! His name is Stephen. He's thirteen like me, but he's only been training with Master for a year. I'm waaaaay better than him too. He got to go to Disney World this summer, that's why he's not here. He's soooo lucky! But that means I'll get even better than him while he's gone." The boy continued to ramble on about some of the other students, mentioning how much better he was than them and where they had gone to for the summer. Yuki glanced at Kyo while he was listening to the boy and noticed his smile directed at his student. He couldn't remember a time outside of being around Tohru, that Kyo had seemed so happy. Looking from Kyo to Tohru, he noticed that Tohru had a similar smile, one full of kindness and genuine care. She was watching Robbie has he talked excitedly about what he was currently learning here at the dojo. Yuki could only smile in response to the love he saw in her eyes for the student. It was the same look she got when she was around Kisa and Hiro.
When there was a lull in Robbie's chatter, Tohru took the opportunity to ask him if he had plans for this evening.
"Nope, my parents are going out to dinner tonight. I'm not sure when they'll be home though."
Tohru looked at the child for a moment before speaking. With a smile that would brighten any child's day, she asked, "Well, would you like to go with us to see the fireworks tonight? You can spend the night too if you'd like."
His eyes lit up with excitement at the proposition.
"Well, we'll ask your mother when she comes to pick you up from practice. If it's ok with her, we'll stop by your house on the way to go see the fireworks." Tohru's appeared to be almost as excited as the boy himself. Her smile was so infectious that all four of them were smiling by the time Kyo and Robbie had finished their tea.
An hour later, Robbie's mother was at the door. On the weekends and during the summer, when it was her turn to pick their child up from practice, she always came early since she enjoyed spending time with Tohru. She was always in a good mood and always seemed to have good advice when she was having trouble with her son. Even when she wasn't having problems, Tohru's company was a pleasant change of pace from her usually hectic day, not to mention she always served the best tea.
"Shirley, it's so nice to see you again. Would you care to visit over tea while Robbie finishes up?"
"Oh, thank you Tohru. I'd love to!"
After introducing her and Yuki, who was reading again in the living room, she left to make some more tea. A few minutes later, she returned with three more cups of tea.
"So, Shirley, Robbie mentioned that you and Mr. Johnson are going out for the evening. If you haven't already made plans for Robbie, we would love to have him come with us to watch the fireworks tonight as well as spend the night here. You and your husband would be able to have the whole evening to yourselves that way." Tohru spoke with a gleam in her eye that only the mother could understand. "It really is no trouble at all, and we would love to have him here," she added as if sensing Shirley's mild hesitance.
"Oh, Tohru, you are too good to us. Really you are! If you and Kyo truly don't mind, we would feel better having him stay here than calling for a sitter."
"You know if you and Robert ever need time to yourselves, we really don't mind. You know, Kyo is still a child himself, at heart anyway. He always loves to spend time with the kids. He feels he's doing something worthwhile when he's teaching the children a discipline. Like he always say's, the better he knows what's in their hearts, the better their training is."
The mother breathed a small sigh of relief. While Tohru had been oblivious to it, Yuki had not. He could tell the lady, though hesitant to do so, was about to ask Tohru if they could watch her son for the evening, hoping they didn't already have plans. The invitation before she could ask was a pure relief since she was obviously similar to Tohru in the fact that she didn't like to ask for things such as that.
"We'll be having a picnic at the park before the fireworks, so you don't have to worry about feeding him before hand. We can be by around 6 to pick him up unless your plans are before then." The lady looked at her watch before responding.
"I know you two don't have a car, and our reservation is for six o'clock, so we'll gladly drop him back by here at 5:30 if that's all right. I wouldn't want you all to have to lug around his over night back on top of your picnic food."
"That'll be just fine," Tohru said with a smile and at that moment, Kyo and Robbie came through the back door.
Tohru glanced in their direction. "Oh Robbie, your mother said it would be fine for you to come to watch the fireworks with us and spend the night."
"Yah, yah!!" Robbie was jumping up and down in the hallway and practically knocked Kyo over in his excitement. Yuki, Tohru and his mother were all laughing as Kyo reclaimed his balance. Once Robbie calmed down a touch, he ran over to his and started dragging her out to the car after grabbing her hand, once they'd each put their shoes on. "Hurry mom! I have to go pack so we can hurry and get back here!" he blurted on one quick breath.
Shirley just laughed and let herself be pulled towards the car by her son. "We'll be back in a couple hours Tohru."
Once the two were buckled in, the car pulled out of the drive and sped off down the street.
[AN] This is a long chapter, and it's technically not done yet. However, I decided that because this chapter was going to be even longer, I would split it up some. Hopefully I picked a good enough spot so that the rest would not be really short. The chapter was supposed to take place over a whole day, and the day is not over yet. Oh well, I hope you enjoy. Chapter 13, hopefully, if you keep your fingers crossed, will be done and posted tonight.
Chapter XII
Yuki had only been in America for a few days now, but he quickly adjusted his sleep patterns to what was appropriate for his location. It was the Fourth of July and Tohru had been so excited about it, it was one of the few things she seemed to be able to talk about since his arrival. She'd already made plans for the three of them to go to a park near where the fireworks display was launched. Immediately after lunch was done and cleaned up, she began preparing the dinner they would take for an evening time picnic.
After being adamantly assured that his help was not needed for the preparations, Yuki retired to the living room to read the only book that he'd brought with him; it was a book about American culture, and it wasn't as nearly as interesting or exciting as actually being here.
Sitting there, staring blankly at the book, all he could really think about was his first day here with Tohru. He didn't realize that he could have ever been so bold as he was. Since that morning, he'd noticed Tohru had been blushing every time she looked at him. He thought it was adorable. Thinking about it reminded him of the trip they'd all made together when he'd given her the beautiful yellow ribbons as his White Day present. The blush she had a couple days ago was exactly the same as that evening at the hot springs. Yuki only wished he could have been so forward on that day too, but he was still so unsure of his feelings that it wouldn't have been fair to her.
Yuki had been so engrossed with his own thoughts that he hadn't noticed Tohru peeking in on him from the kitchen. What Yuki didn't know, though subconsciously hoped for, was that Tohru's own thoughts had been on his actions from a few days ago as well. He'd fueled a flame deep inside her that she herself hadn't realized was burning. She'd always cared deeply for him, had always loved him like the family she didn't have when her mother had passed away. The way his eyes had darkened with some longing unbeknownst to her, reminded her of the time on the school roof during the Cultural Fest, then during their White Day hot springs trip, and then again during their first visit to Ayame's store, when he complemented her on the dress Mina had picked out for her to try on. Each of those times Yuki had fanned a flame deep in her soul that she tucked back away when the moment was gone. Every time he looked at her with those soulful eyes, a longing for him to pull her close and never let go rose up from deep inside. Ever time she felt that longing rise up, she'd squish back those thoughts knowing he couldn't possibly feel the same way she did.
Then her thoughts turned to Kyo. She loved Kyo just as much as she did Yuki, but the feelings he gave her where not the same she got from Yuki. She knew she always wanted Kyo to be close to her, ever since that fateful day when his true form had been exposed to her eyes. She'd been so very terrified of what she saw, but deep down she knew it was Kyo, and she knew he'd never do anything to hurt her. Her feelings for him were that of a mother clinging helplessly to her child. He'd been a platform from which she could spread her wings and become something more than a helpless child herself. They worked well together like the flora and fauna, needing each other to live, but never being able to be one with each other.
Focusing back on Yuki, he was still looking at his book, seemingly enthralled with his reading material; she realized what it was that she felt for him. She'd seen the look in his eyes before, in the eyes of her school acquaintances when they spoke of the emotion in question. It had to be love; she'd never felt this raw emotion before when looking into the eyes of any other person. Then her mind went blank; all she saw was Yuki. The look in his eyes earlier this week was emblazoned in her memories. For an eternity it seemed she stood there watching him: the soft lines of his face, the emotion in his eyes. How could she have not realized this until now? She snapped back to reality, feeling very self-conscious suddenly. Almost as suddenly, she realized that Yuki was looking at her with those same dark eyes.
"...ru? Tohru?"
The tucked away flame sprang forward and danced wildly. Her lips parted slightly as if she was about to say something, but nothing was forthcoming.
As quickly as he'd looked up to see her watching him intently, Yuki's eyes lightened to their usual vibrant violet shade and a light flush crossed his cheeks. Tohru's blush surpassed his own by leaps and bounds, and that's when she heard it. The teakettle in the kitchen had been whistling for almost a full minute now. She turned quickly to reenter the kitchen, leaving a somewhat confused Yuki to stare at the vacant space in the doorway where she'd been standing.
'What had she been doing just standing there like that? She didn't seem herself. What was that look in her eyes? She seemed lost in some other world. It's not uncommon for her to space out, but for her to not hear the teakettle while standing so close to the kitchen... it's just... so... very odd.' Yuki slowly shook his head as these questions surfaced among his thoughts.
"What the hell are you staring at, you damn rat?"
Yuki blinked twice before he realized that Kyo, who looked like he was about to go practice some more, was standing in the spot that Tohru had just vacated. The same spot that Yuki was still looking at bewilderedly. "Nothing, you stupid cat!"
His attention snapped back to the book in his hand, quickly scanning for the place where he'd left off before his mind had started wandering. While his head was down, he glance at his watch and noted that it had only been thirty minutes since they'd finished lunch; the rest of the day was going to be long and arduous if he could not keep his head out of the clouds and his mind off the entrancing images that Tohru left on his mind.
Walking up next to Kyo, Tohru whispered something in his ear. Hearing a throaty growl, Yuki looked back up from his book at the pair in the doorway. Tohru was a picture of innocence: hands clasped, wringing themselves together, while she leaned over to Kyo's ear, saying something that was meant for only him to hear. Kyo on the other hand looked the devil that had just been cheated: a scowl on his face and a glare full of daggers meant for Yuki alone.
"Aw to hell with it!" Kyo growled out as he marched off towards the backdoor of the house.
"Kyo! I'll bring some tea to the dojo for you two later," Tohru called out after him as she went back to the kitchen to pour a cup for Yuki and herself.
With a tray in hand, she carefully walked back into the living room and set the tray on the coffee table. After kneeling down on the floor across from Yuki on the other side of the table, cautiously Tohru slid one of the cups in front of him then picked up her own cup. She blew a slow stream of breath across the top of the steaming liquid as if trying to cool it down before she took her first sip, savoring the soothing taste of the warm tea on her tongue.
"The tea is still hot, so please be careful." With half a moment's pause Tohru continued, "You know, this tea is great for calming nerves and relaxing the mind. It's my favorite afternoon tea, especially after a long day of classes."
Yuki gazed at her across the table from the couch as she blew the steam off her tea. Her lips were curved seductively forming a small 'o'. At that moment, he wanted nothing more than lean over that small table and kiss as if there were no tomorrow. He had to control his own emotions though, as difficult as that may have been, since he didn't want to scare her or make her more nervous than she obviously already was.
With the grace of a dancer, he slid down to the floor, kneeling between the couch and the coffee table. Carefully picking up the cup that Tohru had placed in front of him, he slowly blew the steam off the top of his tea, mimicking her own actions. Taking a sip of the tea, he relished the calm it demanded of him by relinquishing his senses and closing his eyes to savor the moment. After what seemed to be an eternity, Yuki opened his eyes to see that Tohru had been watching him intently over the top of her own cup.
As soon as Yuki opened his eyes, a light blush crossed her cheeks as Tohru quickly looked down at her own tea and took a sip. After setting her cup back on the table, she placed her hands in her lap, lowering her eyes to stare at those same hands. She was at a loss for words now, having no idea what to say to Yuki. This, in itself, embarrassed her since she was never this shy or speechless around him. 'And this tea is supposed to be calming? Why am I so nervous?'
Yuki was just as nervous as Tohru, though he seemed better at hiding that fact than she was, at least until he spoke. "Umm, Tohru. I... I wanted to ask you something."
Tohru slowly looked up from her lap to gaze into his eyes. Yuki saw several emotions flash across her eyes all at once, but he couldn't seem to distinguish between them all. Biting his tongue before he spoke the words he didn't want to today, "I...I was wondering... what are you making for dinner tonight?"
Tohru's eyes lit up suddenly at this question, looking instantly relaxed. Talking about food and cooking were her specialty. "I was thinking that we'd have sushi, takoyaki and onigiri. I'm even including strawberries for dessert. I thought it would be easier to have food that we wouldn't need a bunch of dishes for."
While she was listing off the different items she would be packing for picnic, Yuki's eyes were drawn to the movement of her lips, the lines of her jaw as it moved in time with her speech, and the expressions the muscles of her face conjured up as she spoke. The sparkle glistening in her eyes was the most breathtaking part of this sight, though.
He continued to watch her, sipping his tea, as she finished off the list. Yuki took a small breath before speaking. "That all sounds wonderful... Tohru," accenting her name lightly and almost unnoticeably.
While receiving compliments on her cooking would embarrass her, she truly did know that her cooking was excellent. If she hadn't wanted to be a teacher, she could easily have become the lead chef of some fancy restaurant back in Japan. However, over the years that Yuki had known her, Tohru's passion had become children. He could only imagine the things she'd been teaching Kyo's own students. Absentmindedly, his thoughts also danced towards Tohru as a mother herself. 'She'd make an excellent mother.'
The rest of their tea was drunk in companionable silence. When they were both finished, Tohru stood, picking up both their cups and set them back on the tray. "I'm going to take some tea out to Kyo and Robbie. If you'd like, you can come out with me and meet one of Kyo's students. I think he's the only one that didn't go out of town for his summer vacation. He's a very sweet kid, just like his parents. On our way back, we can stop by the gardens so I can water them."
"That would be nice," Yuki said with a genuine smile.
Tohru smiled back and walked back to the kitchen with the tray and prepared two more cups of tea. "Ok Yuki. Let's go!" Tohru headed straight to the back door, and Yuki met her there a few seconds later.
Yuki shut the backdoor behind before walking towards the dojo together, Tohru humming some catchy tune. The door to the dojo was already open. Since it was such a nice day out, Kyo had decided they should let the fresh air in during practice. "Kyo, Robbie. You two should take a break. I brought some tea for you," Tohru said blithely with her infectious smile encasing her lips.
Yuki watched silently as he saw Robbie finish off with a roundhouse kick. He was impressed with how smoothly the action was carried out and wondered if it really had been Kyo that'd been teaching him. The two smiled at her request and headed towards the door where Tohru had just taken off her sandals and walked in. Yuki followed Tohru's lead and sat down next to her across from Kyo and his pupil.
"Robbie, this is Yuki. He's a friend of mine and Kyo's cousin from back home in Japan."
Yuki was taken aback at how just how amazing her English had become. He knew English, had taken a couple English classes at the University, but had nowhere near the ability that she and Kyo had. What shocked him even more was when the thirteen year old responded in Japanese.
"It's very nice to meet you," he said with a small bow before gratefully accepting the tea that was passed to him. Tohru watched Yuki's expression as Robbie responded in their native language; he seemed pleasantly surprised. The child's voice was a little choppy and disconnected, but Yuki noticed he hadn't even stopped to think what his replay should have been.
"The pleasure is all mine, "responded Yuki with a smile, also speaking Japanese. Switching back to English, he continued, "So Robbie, how long have you been a student here?"
"For almost two and half years. My best friend trains under Master too! His name is Stephen. He's thirteen like me, but he's only been training with Master for a year. I'm waaaaay better than him too. He got to go to Disney World this summer, that's why he's not here. He's soooo lucky! But that means I'll get even better than him while he's gone." The boy continued to ramble on about some of the other students, mentioning how much better he was than them and where they had gone to for the summer. Yuki glanced at Kyo while he was listening to the boy and noticed his smile directed at his student. He couldn't remember a time outside of being around Tohru, that Kyo had seemed so happy. Looking from Kyo to Tohru, he noticed that Tohru had a similar smile, one full of kindness and genuine care. She was watching Robbie has he talked excitedly about what he was currently learning here at the dojo. Yuki could only smile in response to the love he saw in her eyes for the student. It was the same look she got when she was around Kisa and Hiro.
When there was a lull in Robbie's chatter, Tohru took the opportunity to ask him if he had plans for this evening.
"Nope, my parents are going out to dinner tonight. I'm not sure when they'll be home though."
Tohru looked at the child for a moment before speaking. With a smile that would brighten any child's day, she asked, "Well, would you like to go with us to see the fireworks tonight? You can spend the night too if you'd like."
His eyes lit up with excitement at the proposition.
"Well, we'll ask your mother when she comes to pick you up from practice. If it's ok with her, we'll stop by your house on the way to go see the fireworks." Tohru's appeared to be almost as excited as the boy himself. Her smile was so infectious that all four of them were smiling by the time Kyo and Robbie had finished their tea.
An hour later, Robbie's mother was at the door. On the weekends and during the summer, when it was her turn to pick their child up from practice, she always came early since she enjoyed spending time with Tohru. She was always in a good mood and always seemed to have good advice when she was having trouble with her son. Even when she wasn't having problems, Tohru's company was a pleasant change of pace from her usually hectic day, not to mention she always served the best tea.
"Shirley, it's so nice to see you again. Would you care to visit over tea while Robbie finishes up?"
"Oh, thank you Tohru. I'd love to!"
After introducing her and Yuki, who was reading again in the living room, she left to make some more tea. A few minutes later, she returned with three more cups of tea.
"So, Shirley, Robbie mentioned that you and Mr. Johnson are going out for the evening. If you haven't already made plans for Robbie, we would love to have him come with us to watch the fireworks tonight as well as spend the night here. You and your husband would be able to have the whole evening to yourselves that way." Tohru spoke with a gleam in her eye that only the mother could understand. "It really is no trouble at all, and we would love to have him here," she added as if sensing Shirley's mild hesitance.
"Oh, Tohru, you are too good to us. Really you are! If you and Kyo truly don't mind, we would feel better having him stay here than calling for a sitter."
"You know if you and Robert ever need time to yourselves, we really don't mind. You know, Kyo is still a child himself, at heart anyway. He always loves to spend time with the kids. He feels he's doing something worthwhile when he's teaching the children a discipline. Like he always say's, the better he knows what's in their hearts, the better their training is."
The mother breathed a small sigh of relief. While Tohru had been oblivious to it, Yuki had not. He could tell the lady, though hesitant to do so, was about to ask Tohru if they could watch her son for the evening, hoping they didn't already have plans. The invitation before she could ask was a pure relief since she was obviously similar to Tohru in the fact that she didn't like to ask for things such as that.
"We'll be having a picnic at the park before the fireworks, so you don't have to worry about feeding him before hand. We can be by around 6 to pick him up unless your plans are before then." The lady looked at her watch before responding.
"I know you two don't have a car, and our reservation is for six o'clock, so we'll gladly drop him back by here at 5:30 if that's all right. I wouldn't want you all to have to lug around his over night back on top of your picnic food."
"That'll be just fine," Tohru said with a smile and at that moment, Kyo and Robbie came through the back door.
Tohru glanced in their direction. "Oh Robbie, your mother said it would be fine for you to come to watch the fireworks with us and spend the night."
"Yah, yah!!" Robbie was jumping up and down in the hallway and practically knocked Kyo over in his excitement. Yuki, Tohru and his mother were all laughing as Kyo reclaimed his balance. Once Robbie calmed down a touch, he ran over to his and started dragging her out to the car after grabbing her hand, once they'd each put their shoes on. "Hurry mom! I have to go pack so we can hurry and get back here!" he blurted on one quick breath.
Shirley just laughed and let herself be pulled towards the car by her son. "We'll be back in a couple hours Tohru."
Once the two were buckled in, the car pulled out of the drive and sped off down the street.
