Disclaimer: I own nothing!
Ch. 29 Anxious
The days passed by, and the Sohmas normal life with Tohru slowly did return. She went to physical therapy to work on her arm, and they told her she could have the sling off in a matter of two weeks, just a few days before Christmas
Tohru woke up early like she always did and stretched. She walked to the bathing chambers and showered. By seven she was downstairs preparing the boys' breakfast. Kyo was the first in the kitchen today, which was rather peculiar, but not something Tohru noted on.
"Good morning Kyo, how would you like your eggs?" Kyo asked him with her apron on and a lovely smile
"Sunny side up I guess," Kyo said tiredly "Hey Tohru...?"
"Yes Kyo, change your mind?" Tohru turned back to him flipping the egg in her pan
"No...not that...why do you always help us and cook like that?" Tohru looked at Kyo puzzled, it was a rather weird question
"That was my job silly, that was the whole reason I came here. In exchange for my housework I'm allowed to live here."
"But things aren't like what they used to be..." Kyo told her quietly
"Oh I know that, I just can't help myself. It's routine now, I don't mind it at all"
Tohru returned to her cooking, humming as she went along with it, she seemed to hum a lot lately. Kyo watched her with his copper eyes lost in a world of thought. Tohru slid his food in front of him "Thanks Squirt" he shoved a piece into his mouth
"Squirt? I haven't heard that nickname in a long time," Tohru giggled
The rest of the Sohmas scampered in, Momiji and Haru racing to make it in first. Tohru laughed as she avoided their charge and slid their meals in front of them as well. Shigure walked into the kitchen and kissed her cheek gently with his newspaper under his arm
"Ahh good morning my little Flower, up bright and early again I see" Shigure told her fondly as he sat down at his normal spot at the table.
"I'm always up this early," Tohru told him laughing
"Indeed maybe you are, I'm getting so old, it seems that I sleep in a lot more" Shigure sighed, "Of woe is the day that a man admits he's old"
"You're hardly old Shigure, you just like to be lazy" Yuki told him bluntly taking a sip at his tea.
Everyone laughed at that, and everything seemed happy again. Shigure went back to his office to work on his novel, and the kids grabbed their things and walked out the door towards school.
"It feels like I haven't been to school in years, and it was what only a three-day weekend?"
"Time flows differently with moods or something I guess' Haru said shrugging
"Christmas is coming soon! That means vacation time!" Momiji smiled jumping around
"That's right, we only have to get through the next five days, then two weeks of vacation"
"That means my sling comes off too!" Tohru was happy, and everyone smiled, but still pitied her in a way. "I wonder how Akito's doing..." Tohru thought aloud looking about at the sky
"Hatori told me he's doing a lot better, he's still withdrawn, but he isn't yelling as much" Momiji said almost happily "You really did change him Tohru..."
"I doubt that Momiji, I think it changed me more than anything," Tohru said quietly
"Changed you?"
"It taught me to voice how I feel better, if I hadn't said those things to Akito, and kept them all inside, he'd still be so miserable"
They all continued walking to school but Tohru stopped looking up at the sky.
"What's wrong Tohru?" Momiji asked tugging on her sleeve
"It's snowing," Tohru looked up at the clouds, and it was, slowly the flakes falling. Tohru spun around in a circle laughing like a little girl "It's really snowing!" The snow began to cling to her hair and eyelashes, and the boys too had to brush the snow away from them
"Tohru lets get to school," Kyo said shaking his head to get the snow off
Tohru pouted but then grabbed Kyo's hand and pulled him towards the school, the other's, even Yuki didn't seem to mind it or see it as favoritism, Tohru was just being, well, Tohru. Kyo smiled though, and even allowed himself to laugh as Tohru ran to the school with him.
"Tohru slow down already" Kyo told her as he ran with her
"You have to see this!" Tohru took him up the steps of the building. Because they ran they were really early. She took him through the school running by the classmates, teachers, everyone. Kyo was curious to know what had Tohru so excited. They climbed up many many flights of stairs, and then Kyo shielded his eyes as he saw a bright light. That's when he figured it out, they were on the roof of the school.
Tohru took him to the gated fence and pointed out to where they're friends were. That's when he smiled even more, "Look Kyo! Isn't it great? All the rooftops and are being covered with snow, and the world is white!"
Her words didn't reach Kyo's ears, because his eyes were already hypnotized by the Hallmark Card like picture that was before him. He was rather surprised, that Tohru would have known about this sort of view, but it was indeed something that even captured his breath.
Below them, the sidewalks were covered with the quickly falling snow, children, parents and adults alike, all leaving their footprints behind in the snow. Couples walked hand in hand together, their exhaling breath causing clouds of snow. Even the streetlights that were now shutting down made the snow glow as it hovered under the streetlight.
The snow clung to Tohru's eyelashes as her eyes too followed the lovely scenery. The tops of the leafless trees were covered with their own blanket of snow, and seemed as if their branches stretched up to the heavens asking for the sunlight. The people bundled together with their hats and umbrellas made Tohru smile, she admired and envied those that could be with their loved ones. From a far she could spot the other Sohmas coming, the three of them walking together and she grinned. She turned to Kyo "What do you think?"
Kyo turned back to face Tohru. The flurries had clung to her hair, almost like a poke a dot sort of way, and her cheeks were flushed from the cold. The snow on her eyelashes made her look even more innocent then she already was. Kyo smiled and let out a small sigh and watched the cloud drift away
"How did you know about the view from here?"
"Uo took me up here one year a long time ago so we could see the design they had been put up in the school's garden, I always come up here when they first snow arrives. Everything looks, softer somehow" Tohru smiled as she turned back to see the schoolyard.
"Well Tohru, it's beautiful I'll give you that," Kyo told her. Tohru nodded, but her eyes were watching the rest of the Sohmas walk closer to them, their dots soon becoming outlines of figures. "Tohru?"
Tohru turned her head back to Kyo quickly "Yeah Kyo?"
"Are you really okay?" He asked her
"What do you mean?" She asked him puzzled
"I'm not sure how to say it. I mean, after all that happened at Akito's, you cried the one time you got home, and then you went back to being normal Tohru like it never had happened. Sometimes it seems like, you hide it all, are you hiding it now?"
"I don't think I am, its not like I'd be doing it on purpose" Tohru said slowly thinking about it
"But sometimes you do do it on purpose, you do it to protect us,"
"So? Is that a bad thing to be doing?" Tohru asked still confused
Kyo rubbed the back of his neck "It's not like it isn't, but Tohru, you got to worry about yourself once in a while you know. We all are capable of taking care of ourselves you know. There is the saying lean on me and I'll lean on you and that crap, but it doesn't mean you have to carry the world on your shoulders"
"I just want you guys to be happy that's all, isn't that what everyone wishes for?"
Kyo smiled and rested his hand on her shoulder. "Sometimes I think you wish for me than a normal person does. I'm sure everyone wishes for peace in the world and things like that, but you seem to want it more than anyone else."
"I don't want to see someone else get hurt...I want you to be safe. When my mother died, I had been up the night before, and usually morning I'd tell her "bye mom, be safe" but I was too tired to even say that, and then that day, she died in her car accident. I couldn't wake up enough just to tell her to be safe? That's why, I want the Sohmas to stay safe. If I wish hard enough, I'll surely get what I wished for, I heard that somewhere. If you believe in something with all your heart, its bound to come true"
Kyo's eyes softened. Tohru didn't talk about her mother like this that often, it meant something if she ever brought this subject up at all. His hand left her shoulder and he dug his hands into his pockets to keep them warm as he turned to look up at the snow
"If we believe in something with all our heart, its bound to come true," Kyo repeated the words slowly "Well Tohru, it seems like your wishing has been working so far. I wouldn't worry about it that much, you've done more for us than you could probably imagine."
"HEY TOHRU!" A voice from down below called to her, both of their heads turned to see Momiji calling to her "TOHRU! CAN WE BUILD A SNOWMAN AFTER SCHOOL?"
Tohru laughed and cuffed her mouth with her hands and returned to him a very loud "SURE!" Momiji then gave her the thumbs up and she threw her head back and laughed.
"He's really close to you isn't he?" Kyo whispered softly.
Tohru lowered her hands and looked down at Momiji below, he already running around in the snow. Haru was chucking snowballs at him, and you could see a fountain of his anime styled tears, Haru and Yuki both laughing.
"He can't have a close bond with his mom because of the curse, I guess cause I'm around so often, he can seek comfort in me. I love him like a brother, even if he's almost our age, he seems to be world's away in so many ways. Most of the time he's so much fun, like a real little brother, and then at other times he has a maturity and outlook on life far beyond the expectations I had in him. It's interesting, you Sohmas never cease to amaze me"
"Is he the only one you see as a brother, that sort of connection?" Kyo asked her curiously
"I'm not sure, it's rather hard to say. Haru...he's sort of like a big brother I guess, and you are too, so is Yuki. You three, are more like my protectors, you're around somewhere, watching me from the shadows. It feels like there's a spotlight on me all the time," She laughed "Sometimes its rather intimidating. It makes me anxious to do things"
Kyo finally looked back down at the rest of his "family" who were now talking to Uo and Hana. He had one last question, and he rested his hand against the iron chained fence.
"If you had a choice to start it all over again, would you still chose us over a normal life?"
Tohru turned to him one final time, her hair blowing with the wind, and a gentle smile on her face as she finally whispered to him "Every time Kyo, every time"
Kyo smiled, and Tohru smiled too.
Halfway through the school day the administrative board let the children out, since it hadn't stopped snowing they wouldn't want kids trapped in the school. Momiji was thrilled about this, and he practically dragged Tohru all the way home.
Of course once they arrived home Momiji had them start immediate work on the snowman. Tohru had to show him how to begin, and she started with a simple small snowball in her hand
"Aww Tohru that's not going to help us his build a snowman," Momiji protested
"Just watch!" Tohru told him patting his head. She plopped the snowball down into the snow, and she began rolling it around. Before Momiji's eyes the snow began to stick, and soon she had large growing ball of snow.
"Let me help!" Momiji ran over to the ball and hit it full force, it beginning to roll and him stuck on top of it. "Weeeeee!" He laughed and Tohru ran after him and the rolling ball of snow for guidance.
When Haru, Kyo, and Yuki returned the could only laugh seeing Momiji having the time of his life.
"Tohru what have you gotten Momiji into now?" Haru asked walking over to her laughing
"Oh he wanted to build a snowman!" Tohru clasped her hands together
Momiji had made the base of the snowman so big, he couldn't push it back to where Tohru was standing. He shoved with all his might but he found it rather hopeless "Tohru will you make Yuki and Kyo help me?" Momiji begged and pouted
"Will you two, please, it'd mean a lot to him if we can get this done before dinner?" Tohru asked Yuki and Kyo with begging eyes
"I'd be honored to Miss Honda"
"Alright I guess" Kyo with his attitude voice
Together Yuki, Momiji, and Kyo pushed the snowball back to where Tohru and Haru were standing. Together, Tohru and Haru build snow around the ball so it wouldn't roll away later, and Momiji went on to create the second large snowball.
For a moment Tohru backed away to watch as they put on the second snow mound which hadn't taken that long to make, much to her surprise. She was smiling again, her jacket sleeve blowing with the wind as she kept her injured one close to her protected. Yuki turned his head, his eyes catching a look at her but was then hit in the side of the face with a snowball
"Yeah Haru we got him!" Haru and Momiji gave each other high-fives
"Well, two can play at this game!" Yuki said calmly but with a small chuckle as he dipped his hand into the snow and made a quick snowball and threw it at Haru who had to wipe the snow from his face
"Oh its war now!" Haru said with a grin. Momiji ran to Tohru to protect her, armed with many snowballs as Yuki and Haru went back and forth hitting each other with the snowballs. Kyo was in the background too, until Yuki accidentally hit him.
"Alright Rat now you're going down!" the three were in a rage, and Tohru began to whisper to Momiji their own special plan of attack.
Tohru and Momiji secretly built up a large defense wall a few feet away from the boys. Momiji made a million zillion snowballs, or that's what it looked like. Tohru nodded and the two of them began to throw
"It's raining snowballs!" Haru exclaimed as he turned around to duck and avoid being hit by the raid of the snow
"Oh dear" Yuki said with a laugh as he ran to hide behind the snowman.
Kyo fell onto his stomach and squirmed below the raid until he popped his head over the wall of snow "BOO!" Momiji laughed and Tohru screamed like an innocent girl and they both threw snowballs at him until he looked like a real snowman.
Kyo wiped the snow from his face, but it was rather pink from the cold and Tohru wiped the snow away from the area near his eyes
"You want to go in and dry off, I'll make everyone some hot chocolate" Tohru told " Kyo pretended to act dramatic and Tohru pulled him to his feet, her hand felt warm against his frigidly cold hand. He squeezed it before he could realize what he had done and he looked away with blush on his face.
Tohru brought them into the house where they threw off their soggy boots, jackets, and outer layers. The guys all retreated to their rooms to change while Tohru put on the kettle. Kyo was slipping on his shirt and Momiji was sitting on his top bunk waiting
"Kyo?"
"Yeah you annoying little twirp?"
"Why do you always get so tense when Tohru's around?"
"What the hell are you talking about?"
"You seem different when you're around her, tense uhh wasn't the right word. You...your eyes change, like they're, what's a word I can use that you won't punch me for, oh well...softer. Does Tohru make you feel accepted, like the way she makes me feel?" Momiji asked him quietly
"I guess so..."
"Is it only Tohru who makes you feel that way?"
"The only one so far I guess..."
"You don't think she's special?
"Twirp, you ask a lot of questions ya know that?" Kyo rubbed Momiji's head and opened the door "Let's go, Tohru's waiting"