Author's Note: I found the sushi names on the internet, but I wasn't sure if I was aloud to remove the zushi (You'll see later. I meant zushi, not sushi.) part or not. So I did after I put it in originally and if I'm supposed to keep the zushi part, oh well, because I can't change it now. But if you are an all knowing sushi guru and you would like to tell me off about it (Please don't!), you can do so in a review. I will thank you for your constructive criticism unless it's a flame. But remember, I wasn't sure, so there really is no reason to give me a flame. Anyways, on with Chapter 7!

Chapter 7

It was a few days after Kyo had gotten back from his family visit. He was sitting in his living room, reading a magazine. It was one of Tani's magazines, and he was only reading it because it had an article about dating tips. Kyo was ready to ask Tani out, yet he was unsure of how to go about doing so. He wanted the occasion to be memorable, so he was reading the article to give himself advice. Kyo was very disappointed when it didn't have specific ways of asking out a girl, but different types of ways to ask out a girl. It said you could take the casual course, which was to ask the girl in the middle of the conversation. Or you could take the private way, where you separated you and the girl from the crowd for alone time, and ask her then. And the last option was the romantic setting, where you create a setting that is romantic for both you and the girl you are asking. You ask her while both of you are 'in the mood.' The last section of the article said that even if you use the article for help, nothing beats just asking when you think it's right.

Kyo closed the magazine, not getting anything he could use from it. He knew that he would never use the private way. Not again, anyways. After the way the last time went, he didn't want to risk it. Kyo knew for a fact that Tani didn't like romantic, so that option wasn't available to him either. The only one out of the ones listed that would work for him was the casual, but Kyo didn't think that he would work up the courage to ask her in the middle of a conversation. He decided that he would just use the last option, if it ever happened.

As Kyo was about to set the magazine down on the coffee table, Tani walked into the living room. She gave him a bewildered look as she saw the magazine in Kyo's hand. He immediately dropped the magazine and looked at Tani as if he were a deer caught in headlights. She then raised one eyebrow at him and tilted her head. "What were you doing with that?"

"Just... um... just looking at it," Kyo answered slowly.

"Why?" Tani asked confused.

Kyo sighed. "It had an interesting article in it," Kyo explained. He looked at her, wondering if she would buy it.

She didn't. "And which article would that be?" Tani questioned. She raised her eyebrow at him again.

Kyo knew that if he told her that he was reading a dating article, she would get suspicious and ask who the girl was. If I tell her a different article, she'll most likely leave me alone, Kyo thought. But it has to be embarrassing, otherwise she won't buy it after the scene I just put up over it. "I was reading... the horoscopes," Kyo lied. He knew that Tani didn't believe in horoscopes, and it would make sense if he didn't want to tell her for that reason.

She gave him a suspicious look, but she took it. "You actually believe those things?" she asked, shaking her head at him.

"Yeah, I always read them. I'm a Capricorn," Kyo said, completing his lie.

"Well, I think they're a load of rubbish," Tani explained, sitting down on the couch next to him. "All they are, are a bunch of made up predictions of the future. The people who wrote it are only writing them with hopes that it will apply to at least one person out there. And the other people who believe in them will sit around waiting for their horoscope to come true. When it doesn't, they get mad. It annoys me."

"That's why I didn't tell you," Kyo responded when he was sure she was finished ranting. He stretched and put his arm around her shoulders. She rolled her eyes at both his comment and his arm gesture. Tani knew that Kyo liked her, and he knew that she liked him, but she wasn't quite sure if she wanted to be involved in a relationship just yet. But that didn't stop her from being close to him. Tani still let him do things like put his arm around her shoulders without her feeling uncomfortable.

"Why don't we go get something to eat?" Tani asked, looking up at him from her spot under his arm. "There isn't anything here to eat, so we should go to a restaurant. On me."

"Sure," Kyo replied, standing up. Tani followed suit, standing up and getting her jacket from the closet. She handed Kyo his and, after getting their shoes on, the two walked to a sushi place a few blocks away from their house.

Tani ordered inari-zushi, as she was a vegetarian and the dish was made with tofu instead of fish. Kyo simply said, "Omakase," which translates to "Chef's Choice." When they got their food, Kyo ending up with nigiri-zushi, they sat down and began to converse about work.

"Miles won't leave me alone," Tani was explaining. "He is under the impression that you and me are dating, and he constantly asks how our relationship is going."

"Yeah, Katsuro does the same to me," Kyo responded. "He always asks if I've asked to date you yet. When I tell him no, he tells me to hurry up and asks me again the next day." Kyo took a bite of his nigiri and continued. "Sometimes I want to tell him to shut up, but I have to remain in control of my temper while I'm at the dojo so I set an example for the students."

"Speaking of the students, mine are keen on our relationship, as well," Tani said. "Whenever you come over to talk to me after your class lets out, a few of the girls I instruct all chorus, 'Ooh! Hurotomi has a boyfriend!' When they do this, I wish I could just fail them." She let out a frustrated groan, stabbing her inari with her chopsticks.

Kyo laughed at her overreaction to the situation. This was the reason he hadn't asked her yet. He knew that she was insecure about how the other people at their work would react. "A few of my boys are like that, too. Though they tend to be a little more... well... perverted when they are. One boy in particular acts just like my cousin, Shigure. You know the one. He's the pervert I told you about. Anyways, this boy always asks me if I 'scored' with you the night before. I then walk off rather than say anything, but it disturbs me that he even thinks about it when he's only 14."

The two finished their dinners and got up to leave. Tani tried to pay the bill like she said she would, but Kyo insisted that he pay for his own meal. They eventually left the restaurant.

"Yeah, it seems like everyone at work thinks we're dating," Tani said as the two walked home. There was a pause in which the two just walked in silence.

Kyo broke it. "So... why aren't we?" He stopped walking and looked up to lock eyes with Tani. He remembered how the magazine had said to ask when you felt it was right. Kyo had thought that was the perfect moment to ask her. She stopped, mid-step, realizing he had stopped walking and dumbfounded by the question.

She could only stare at him. He was completely serious. "Excuse me?" she asked, dumbly. Tani was so shocked by his sudden statement that she couldn't give him an answer. She only sat there like an idiot because she didn't know how to respond.

"Why aren't we? Going out, I mean..." Kyo said quietly. He could tell she was unsure, and he almost regretted asking her, but he was glad he had. Kyo found that it felt better to get it off of his chest rather than keep it inside that he wanted more than a friendship with Tani.

"I don't know why..." Tani responded, looking away and staring at the starry night. In truth, she knew exactly why they weren't. Tani knew that Kyo had been previously involved and that he still harbored feelings for Tohru. Plus, he had come back from his trip somewhat glum. She knew the depression had something to do with Tohru and that made her even more uncertain about starting a relationship with him. But he had asked her, which proved that he was finally over his thing with Torhu and that he liked Tani enough to start a closer relationship with her. She returned her gaze to him and stepped closer so they were right next to each other. "...But I want to," she whispered.

Smiling, Kyo pulled her into a hug. "Me too," he breathed. There was a tingling sensation running up Tani's spine as Kyo tilted her head towards his with his finger. He gently placed his lips against hers and Tani accepted it, kissing him back. She put her arms around his neck and he placed his hands behind her back. They stood like that for several moments, enjoying the passionate kiss, before Tani pulled away.

"We should really be getting home," Tani said, not wanting to have broken the kiss, yet not wanting to stand outside all night.

"You're right," Kyo answered, kissing her swiftly before beginning to walk home with Tani, his fingers laced with hers.

At work a few weeks later, Kyo gave his students the start command and walked off, giving them a non-scored practice session. Some of his students took advantage of this and didn't practice. Instead, they went over to the side to talk and watch the other students. Kyo didn't care. He'd told them to do what they wanted and had suggested practicing as there was a tournament coming up soon, and if they didn't want the opportunity to practice, that was their choice. It just showed him which of his students were actually dedicated to learning martial arts. Those were the students he would take to the tournament. Kyo made a mental note of who practiced and who didn't as he walked over to where Tani was training her students.

Katsuro and Miles, who were getting ready to leave as they taught the hour before Tani and Kyo did, walked up behind Kyo and tapped him on the shoulder. They had been trying to bother him about his personal life for the past week, but he had evaded all of their attempts, until now.

"What?" Kyo asked as he turned around to face them.

"Where you headed?" Miles prodded. He gave Kyo a suspicious look. "Going over to see Tani?"

"Yep," Kyo responded simply. He attempted to begin walking again, but Katsuro stopped him.

"You ask her out yet?" Katsuro asked.

"Why must you two always pry into mine and Tani's personal life?" Kyo asked. "You don't see either of us walking up to you and ask how your relationships are going."

"Well, that's because we're both married, Kyo," Miles explained. "Our love life isn't as interesting as a single man's."

"And you still haven't answered my question," Katsuro commented.

"Yep," Kyo replied. He began to walk off, not letting them recapture him. It was none of their business if he'd asked Tani out or not, even though he had.

"So was that the answer to my question, or were you saying you hadn't answered my question yet?" Katsuro called after him.

"Both," Kyo said back to him. He stopped, trying to hear their reactions.

Katsuro and Miles grinned at each other. "Told you he'd ask her out," Miles said knowledgeably.

"I knew he would, too," Katsuro replied. "It was all a matter of when." The man then pulled out a sheet of folded paper from his pocket. "Darn. Juro had this week."

"Ah, well. We'll pay him tomorrow," Miles replied. "Come on, I'll give you a ride home." The men then left for home, finally letting Kyo go speak to Tani.

Tani was sitting on a stool, watching her students train, when Kyo came up behind her and placed his hands over her eyes. "Guess who?" he asked playfully.

"Kyo," she replied, pulling his hands away from her eyes. "Don't you have students to watch?" she asked him as he repositioned his arms around her waist and rested his chin on her shoulder.

"Yeah, but I'm testing them," Kyo explained. "To see if they're dedicated to their training. And besides, I wanted to see you."

"I want to see you, too, Kyo. But I have my students to watch," Tani explained. "I am actually watching my pupils like I'm supposed to. And we see each other at home, so I don't know why we have to see each other at work when we're supposed to be working."

"Fine," Kyo responded, defeated, and standing up. He gave her a swift kiss before walking back to his students. The half of his students that had sat down on the side when he'd left instantly stood up and tried to join the rest of the group but had trouble keeping synchronized. Kyo shook his head at his lazy pupils and gave them all a water break, even though only half of them needed one.

As Kyo watched his students relax, he realized that he was finally getting over Tohru. He felt that he had moved on by dating Tani. Kyo also knew that Tohru and Yuki probably had all of their problems solved and were the happy couple he'd seen before he'd moved to Nagasaki. He could only hope that both he and Tohru had moved into new relationships and could move on with their own lives. That didn't mean Kyo didn't care for Torhu anymore. He just wished that she was happy... because he was. If Torhu wasn't happy, Kyo didn't want to have happiness without her feeling the same thing. For if that was the case, Kyo knew that he would be the source of her pain.

Please be happy, Tohru, Kyo thought as he started his students on their routine again. I will always love you, but we have both moved on. I only wish happiness for you and Yuki, because I want you to be happy. Even if you can't be happy with me.

And a special thanks to my reviewers!

Fallen Angel: I know. I hate it. I wish it would die. Yuki can, too. And aren't I already on your alerts list? So I don't think I have to tell you because they will send you a little email. But if you really want me to...

PTDM: I know how everything is going to turn out in the end. Don't worry. It's a good ending. Or I think it is, at least. I wish he hadn't, but it was part of my story, so he had to.

MacDuffyGirl: You will see in the end. I wish I could tell you, but that is a major spoiler as to how the story ends. Anyways, Yuki is only fighting with Tohru because it's Kyo who they are arguing over. Normally, Yuki wouldn't mind if another man told Tohru that he loved her because he'd know she didn't return the other man's feelings. But since it's Kyo the two are dealing with, it would make sense that Yuki would be defensive because he's not sure how Tohru feels about Kyo and he's being defensive.

KittySand Katie: Well, thank you for always giving me good reviews. And thank you for even more praise. I love Samantha and she was so fun to write. She is just so cute and sweet. And that is how I tried to portray Tohru's life. In a good relationship at first, that goes bad all of a sudden. She then has to try to work through everything. I'm glad that you got that.

Karen: Yeah, I do have a lot of reviews. I know it was sad, but it was important to the story. I wish my fic could be one of those happy random fics that aren't sad. But my fic isn't like that and it has to have it's depressing points. And if it was one of those random stories, I wouldn't like it that much because that isn't my style. You know, I have found that I ramble in my responses to you and constantly get off track. Like I just did. Anyways, I will update when I can and I will always tell you guys when the story might not be updated for a while in an Author's Note at the top. Wow, I began to ramble again.

Unchained3011: I'm sorry that you had to go through that. I know several people who went through divorces and they tell me it's horrible. And a little perspective into the future of this story, Sam just might have to go through a divorce, despite Kyo's efforts to keep Torhu and Yuki together. Sorry, it's just how the story ends.

Escapade08: Another reviewer! Hoorah! Anyways, I'm glad you liked it! I wasn't that smart when I was little either. Lol. I will try to update regularly, but I can't guarantee that will happen all of the time.

KinokeGurl: I'm glad you read my story, too! Haru is one of my favorite characters, too (he is number 2). He has managed to come really close to a tie with Ayame in the list, but he beat out the snake. Haru is so mellow and blunt, which makes him funny. Ayame is just crazy and spontaneous, which makes him good for several laughs. But Kyo is still my favourite. He is pretty much the only sane Sohma, though he does have a slight temper, which gets in the way sometimes. But he is also sensitive and funny. Anyways, thanks for reviewing!

Felflowne: You are the second person to compliment my grammar. Thank you. It must actually be good, then. Anyways, I'll have at least 10 chapters, although I'm hoping to put out more. Thanks for reviewing!

Turante: Glad you liked it! I am trying to update at least twice a week, but that might not happen all of the time. Keep checking back to see if I've updated.

ILOVEInuyasha07: Yup. If only Kyo had asked her to come at 7:30, and not 8:00! Anyways, I have been trying to fit that information into several different places, but I finally found it's place.

Alicia: I'm glad you like it! Yes, Kyo is going with Tani, but it still is a Kyoru fic. No worries, it is still one and will end like one.

RayxJade: I know! Isn't Samantha adorable? Anyways, I hate moving. It's annoying. I'm glad you found a computer and read my story! It makes me feel special. lol.

Aria's Star: Yeah, I had the hardest time trying to fit that info in. I thought that Tohru wouldn't want to bring it up if she was fighting with Yuki about it, and Kyo really didn't want to bring up the subject and get hurt. So I had Samantha say it. I think it fit nicely. And as for what's going to happen, you have to read on and find out because I'm not going to give anybody any special treatment and tell them. The only think I have told anybody is that Kyo and Tohru do end up together. The question is, how and when?