Disclaimer: You know the drill . . . and if not, you should learn the drill . . . you should get one of those "The Drill: For Idiots" books they sell at your local Borders, Walden books, B. Dalton, or other book store. Only $19.99 (plus tax)
A/N: La la la, I hate work. It's making me a dull boy – er – girl . . .
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"Thank you," Tohru said, taking the sweatshirt from Yuki.
He smiled, "Can I join you?"
She nodded, scooting over on the step to make room for him. He sat, looking up at the sky.
"We seem to be making a habit of this," she said.
He laughed, "I'm glad, it's very relaxing."
She nodded, "You need it, you've been so stressed out lately. Student body president, the end of the year finals, your health . . ." she slipped his sweatshirt over her head, the familiar scent filling her nose.
He sighed, feeling bad that she worried so much about him. But at the same time, he blushed.
For the second time that week, they sat in silence, enjoying each other's company. After a while, Haru emerged from the house.
He walked down the steps, stopping in front of the two. "I'm leaving, thanks for having me over. I hope you had a nice day Tohru."
She nodded exuberantly, "Oh yes, very much, thank you!"
He smiled, turning to Yuki, "I'll see you soon, stay healthy okay?" Haru looked at him for a moment before turning to look.
They watched him disappear down the driveway.
"I think I'm going to go to bed," Yuki said, getting up. "Don't stay out too late," he said in a mock parental tone.
She smiled. As he got up, she lightly grabbed his arm.
He stopped, surprised.
"Yuki, thank you," she said, looking him in the eye. "No one has ever . . . I am so lucky, I don't deserve friends like you." She started to cry.
He knelt down beside her, tipping her chin up. "You're right. You're too good of a person to be with a family as screwed up as ours. But I thank god every day that I know you."
She looked at him, bleary-eyed. She could see he was smiling, a different kind of smile.
Slowly he got up, his forefinger grazing her chin. He walked inside and up to his room, closing the door behind him. He flopped on his bed, staring at the ceiling and rubbing his forehead with his right hand. A few minutes later he could hear Tohru close the door to her room.
He hadn't realized how much she had meant to him. He knew he loved her, he had since the first night he knew her. But he never imagined just how much. He started to cry out of frustration and realization. He never thought being in love would be so hard.
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Yuki found Tohru in the kitchen the next morning. She was sitting in a chair, looking outside.
"Good morning Ms. Honda," he said, helping himself to some toast.
"Hi Yuki," she said, not looking away from the window.
"What are you watching?" he asked, coming up behind her.
"Kyo didn't come home last night. I hope he's okay."
"I'm sure he's fine. He probably just spent the night at the main house or something."
"Yeah, that's probably it," she said, trying to make herself feel better.
Yuki wondered why she was so worried, and why he cared so much if she was worried or not.
She started making herself busy in the kitchen, he went outside to the porch.
Sure enough, after five minutes, Kyo came walking up the path. He was dirty and covered in grass and leaves. But he was smiling.
"Good morning Yuki," he said, as he strolled past him into the house.
"Where have you been?" Yuki asked sternly.
Kyo turned to face him, "why do you care?"
"I don't, but Tohru sure does, she's been worried about you all night, but I can't understand why. You owe her an explanation, or an apology at the very least."
Kyo looked at him for a moment, playing out his options in his head, before sighing and entering the house.
Yuki could hear Tohru squeak with happiness when she saw Kyo. Yuki got up and headed into the woods.
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"Kyo! I'm so glad you're home!" Tohru said, bouncing around the kitchen. "Where were you?"
He ran a hand through his filthy hair, picking out twigs, " I was camping . . . " he said, averting her gaze.
She seemed unconvinced, but decided to let it go.
They stood there for a moment before he moved, "well, I'm going to go take a bath. . ." with that, he headed upstairs.
She watched him go, happy he was home safe. She turned to finish the chores.
Suddenly, standing next to her was Kyo. He was clean and dirt free, helping with the dishes.
"That was fast," she said, looking at the clock on the wall. It had been almost an hour since he'd gone upstairs.
He gave her a weird look and continued to wash the dishes.
"You don't have to do that," she stammered, trying to ignore the lingering scent of his cologne.
"I live here too, it's about time I cleaned up after myself." He smiled at her.
She smiled back, grabbing a drying rag. Playfully, he put suds on her nose as she tried to swat his hand away.
"Tohru," he said, stopping abruptly.
She tried to catch her breath, her face flushed from laughing.
"I . . . uh . . . " he stuttered.
She waited, expectantly.
"Thank you, for all you do around here. You really have helped."
She smiled, "I'm so glad I know you, all of you. You've been so nice to me."
He smiled, turning towards the door, "I really am glad, to have a friend like you." He pushed open the door, sliding it shut after himself.
Friend . . .
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"Did you tell her?" Uo asked, hands on her hips.
Kyo scratched the back of his neck, trying not to look into Uo's icy glare.
She sighed. "Kyo, I know it's akward, but you have to tell her. Otherwise it'll just be worse later." She walked to him, taking his hand.
"I know, I just. . . It feels wrong, I should be happy. Not worried."
"Tohru will understand, she's not the kind of person to get upset about something like this. If anything, she'll cook us dinner!"
"Yeah . . ." he said, smiling. "Hey, wait a minute. Why do I have to tell her? Why can't you?"
"Because I'm her best friend." This argument didn't seem to matter to Kyo, so Uo tried a different approach. "I've known her too long. Besides, you're the one who was leading her on."
"I was not!" he screamed, disturbing the calmness of the forest.
"Fine, just settle down. How about we do it together?" She said, smiling again. "I just want to stop sneaking around."
"We can't. If Akito- "
"At least stop keeping it from Tohru, if anyone."
He nodded, rubbing his thumb across her knuckles.
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"Look. I see what you're saying, but-"
"No excuses. I don't think you understand." With each cold breath he took, the men backed up and inch.
"What he's doing is against the rules. My rules. And I don't like cheaters. So I suggest you take care of this situation, my way."
"Sir, I –"
"I don't care! THIS IS MY GAME! MY RULES!" From the darkness a vase flew at the men, narrowly missing the general's head.
"Yes sir," he said, getting down on one knee, "We understand, we'll take care of it." He mad ea gesture to his men and they hurried out.
"General, wait." He could hear heavy breathing from the shadows.
"Yes, sir?"
"Don't embarrass me again."
"Yes sir." He said bowing his head.
A thump was heard as he fell to the floor, a vase lay broken on the floor.
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Yuki dug ferociously into the soft dirt. He threw it aside, making a hole for his newest bud. Once placed into the hole he threw dirt over the empty cracks, pounding it in place. Specks of dirt stuck to his face and clothes. He wiped the sweat from his forehead, leaning back. His back hurt.
"Yuki," a soft voice came from behind him, he jumped.
"Ms. Honda!" he said, smiling, his heart settling down.
When he saw her face, he stopped smiling. Her eyes were wide and she was shaking slightly.
He got up, "Ms. Honda, what's wrong?"
"Oh! Nothing! Um . . .there are some people at the house, to see you." She said smiling.
His heart started pounding again.
As he walked up to the house, Tohru kept turning around and smiling at him, trying to reassure him. But he could see right through her, she wasn't that good at pretending nothing was wrong.
When they neared the house, he stopped walking. He knew these men.
oO0 0Oo
Just breath. Stay calm. It's probably nothing . . .
"Hello gentlemen, why the unexpected visit?" Yuki asked, approaching the three guards. He knew them well. Frequently he had seen them looking at him while Akito was "tending to him." They'd stare, talking amongst one another, ignoring Yuki's cries of pain, for help. They were the watchers, never intervening – even though they knew it was wrong.
They nodded to him, not enjoying his sarcasm. "If you'll come with us, Yuki," One of them said, ushering him towards the car.
"Tohru, it's okay. I just have to go to the main house for a little bit. Why don't you go inside and get these men something to drink. I'm sure they're thirsty, in this hot weather. . ."
She blinked a few times, not sure if she should go or not. Reluctantly she turned around and headed inside. Once the door was closed, Yuki stopped smiling.
"What do you want?" he asked, his voice dark.
The men looked at each other. "Akito." Was all they said.
He knew what they meant, what he wanted.
"Why do you do this? Let him boss you around? He's sick, can't you see that?" Yuki started to get hysterical, his lungs were burning.
The men started to advance on him. One grabbed his arm, pulling it behind his back. He started to struggle, but the other man punched his stomach, stopping his attempts.
He coughed. Focus on the pain, ignore everything else. . .
The coughing persisted, he knew it was happening all over again.
They pushed him into the back of the car, slamming the door. He lay his head on the cool leather seat.
Every time he coughed, they hit him. On the head, cheek, neck, arm, wherever they could reach. It's not my fault! I can't stop coughing! He wanted to scream at them, but his throat was too soar.
He just waited.
With the curtain pulled back an inch, Tohru could see what was going on outside. Her heart stopped.
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A/N: kinda lame I know, but don't worry . . .i had to stop writing, I had nothing and I didn't want to make it worse.