Author's Note: This chapter was an average sized chapter! 4 pages! Yay! The next chapter will be just as long. At least I hope it will be, anyways...

Chapter 10

"Kyo!"

"Hey Tohru," Kyo said as he stood in her open doorway. She now lived in a very small house not far from the college where she worked. It had only two bedrooms (small ones at that), and one bathroom. It was really no bigger than an apartment. But Kyo found it welcoming either way.

He stepped into Tohru's home. He noted that it was clean, not that he had expected anything else. As she led him into a tiny living room, he thought about what he was going to say to her. Kyo hadn't really planned on what they were going to talk about. He hoped that she wouldn't bring up her divorce, and prayed that she wouldn't blame him for it as Yuki had done.

"How are you, Kyo? It's been a whole year since I've seen you!" Tohru asked when both of them were settled into the living room. It was nicely furnished, even if it didn't have any of her old furniture in it. She had bought more, and decorated her house well with it.

"I'm fine," he said, keeping his answers short as to avoid unpleasant conversation. "Where's Sam?" It was a Sunday, so she should have been home.

"She's at daycare," Tohru explained. "I dropped her off there so I could have the day to clean the house. I finished about half an hour before you got here. When you rang the doorbell, I was just getting ready to go and get her."

"Oh," Kyo said. "Did you want to go and get her?"

"No," Tohru said. "Jina can take care of her until I get there. Samantha won't mind if I'm late. Besides, I want to know what's happened to you in the past year."

"Nothing much has happened. It's been a get up, go to work, come home sort of routine," Kyo explained. "So what's been up with you?"

"Well, I assume you know that Yuki and I are-" The word got caught in her throat.

"Divorced," Kyo finished for her. "Yeah, I know. Shigure told me. I'm sorry about that." He paused, not sure why he'd said that last sentence. He was trying to keep off of that topic.

She smiled. "Don't be. It was just a silly argument. No reason for you to worry," she said. Tohru acted as if Kyo didn't know he was the reason for the divorce. Kyo nodded, understanding that she didn't want to talk about it.She changed the subject."So how's work for you?"

"As good as it can be, I guess," Kyo answered. "I have the usual misbehaved student that I have to deal with. But at least Mr. Randall hired the same sub that he did last time. That way I wouldn't have to stay to make sure he could handle my kids. Last year I had to do that, and it took about a week until my replacement had it down."

"I'm sure they're not that bad," Tohru said with a slight giggle.

"Michael, one of my students, brought in a dead bird he'd found on his way to the dojo and put it in the middle of the room for everyone to see and smell," Kyo said. "Now, you can't tell me that 'They're not that bad.'"

"He did that?" Tohru asked, still laughing.

Kyo nodded. "And I had to clean it up. Not one of my best days at the dojo. And all Tani did was laugh at me the entire time. She didn't even offer to help."

"Speaking of Tani, have you asked her out since the last time you were here?" she asked, her voice faltering ever so slightly.

"Yes I did," he responded. He noticed that the edges of her smile dropped just barely, but she caught herself before letting it go altogether. Kyo commended her for remaining this cheerful on a subject that was so hard for her to talk about.

"And what did she say?"

"She said, 'Yes,'" Kyo replied as calmly as he could. "We've been dating for just under a year now. I believe our anniversary is in two weeks."

"In that case, how are things between you two?" Tohru asked, looking as if she showed an actual interest in the matter.

"Things are going good. She met Kazuma the other day," Kyo said without thinking. Tohru's eyebrows arched in surprise.

"She did?"

Kyo mentally scolded himself for telling Tohru that he had brought Tani along. He wasn't planning on doing that until he was sure that Tohru could take the news. "Yeah. She came with me," he explained, with no other excuse but the truth.

"Oh," Tohru said quietly. "So why didn't you bring her here?"

Kyo was silent for a moment. "Because I wasn't sure if you'd be able to take it." He paused and added in a hushed voice. "I mean, considering your current position..."

"You mean, my divorce?" she asked. Kyo nodded, realizing there was no manner in which he could avoid this conversation any longer. "Don't worry about that. I'm taking my divorce quite well, actually."

"That's not quite what I meant." They were both mute and Kyo realized that Tohru had known exactly what he'd meant, but was trying just as hard as he was to keep off of that particularly unpleasant topic.

"I know what you meant," Tohru said after a short while of silence. "And you're right. It would have been hard for me to meet her."

"Tohru, I know that you left Yuki because of me-"

"Yes, I did," Tohru interrupted. "I guess I was hoping you hadn't actually moved on. I guess I was hoping you only said those things to help me with my situation with Yuki... I guess... I guess I was too hopeful..." She stared blankly at the ground as a stream of tears made their way down her cheek.

Kyo hated to see her cry. But he didn't know what he could do about it. He couldn't very well say that he would leave Tani, because that wasn't something he was willing to do. So Kyo sat there, watching her cry with a grimace on his face, remaining silent.

"I'm sorry, Kyo," Tohru said, pulling herself together. "I shouldn't be crying in front of you... especially since I'm crying about you," she added in an undertone.

Not wanting to give mixed signals, but not wanting to do nothing, Kyo got up and sat next to Tohru, grabbing a box of tissues he saw on the table on the way. He handed her the box and she took it gratefully, blowing her nose and wiping the tears off her cheeks the second she had taken it.

"It's okay," Kyo told her. He pulled her into his embrace to comfort her. He wasn't sure what else to do. A qualm feeling sank into his stomach as he hugged her. He couldn't help but think of what Tani would think if she saw what he was doing. "You can cry if you need to," he said despite himself.

Tohru pulled out of the hug after a moment and looked Kyo in the eyes. He felt like he had been trapped; he couldn't look away from her gaze. They sat there, staring at one another, Kyo trying as hard as he could to not do what he knew he was going to. His breathing quickened and his heart hammered against his chest as he held back. Kyo could tell the same thing was happening to Tohru. But they both knew that Kyo couldn't do what they both were about to do. He had a girlfriend, and if he did...

But try as Kyo might, he still found his face mere inches from Tohru's. He could feel her breath against his cheek. Finally, aftera fewminutesthat seemed like hours, Kyo gave into temptation and pressed his lips to hers. There they sat, sharing a long and passionate kiss.

After a long moment, Kyo came to his senses. He hastily pulled out of the kiss. "... Tohru, I'm sorry... I can't... Tani... I can't..." Kyo stammered, shaking his head. He couldn't seem to find the right words to say or the right order to put them in.

"It's okay, Kyo," Tohru said quietly, looking startled at what she'd just done. "We shouldn't have done that. I understand."

"Thanks..." Kyo responded, still in disbelief. He got up and walked toward the door. "I'll let myself out..."

"And I should probably get Sam from daycare..." Tohru replied. She watched him walk away, biting her lower lip with her head down in shame.

As soon as the door was shut, Kyo massaged his temples. I can't believe I did that... he thought, shamefaced, leaning against Tohru's door. Tani is going to hate me...

Not if you don't tell her, the haunting voice in the back of Kyo's head told him. That voice always told Kyo to do risky things that, for the most part, were helpful. But this time, Kyo couldn't even pretend to listen to it. He wouldn't be able to take lying to Tani about something so important. Kyo decided that he would tell Tani what had happened. Even if it meant her leaving him, he would feel better about himself knowing that he had told the truth.

But that's just what you want to happen. Kyo wished more than anything that his conscience would just disappear. Right now, it wasn't giving him any good things to think about.

And a special thanks to my reviewers!

Alicia: Wow, I submitted Chapter 9, and I got a review for Chapter 8 a few moments later. I thought that you were the first person to review for the 9th chapter. Oh well. At least you didn't have to wait as long as everyone else to read Chapter 9. And you even gave a review for Chapter 9! Coolness!

Fallen Angel: Yes, he did want to kill Kyo. But he held back, which was good. And by the way, I am going to write a sequel to this story. It might only be in epilogue form, but it is still a sequel. If I can think of a good title for the sequel, I'll write it as a one shot, but if not, it's staying at the end of this story. Just to let you know. PS: Don't get yourself grounded again!

Unchained3011: Glad you liked it. I felt sorry for Yuki, too. But sometimes an author has to make pain for characters to get to the end of the story. Look at all the stuff Kyo had to go through.

Furubaluver: You will see soon enough. And all of them are pitiable (I personally feel sorry for Tani the most). Most of them will be happy in the end, though.

ILOVEInuyasha07: That's just apart of some people's lives, I guess. Anyways, they couldn't still harbor hatred from the zodiac spirits after the curse was broken. So it would make sense that they hate each other a little less than before. Kyo now has no reason to be mad at Yuki (though Yuki has several reasons to be mad at Kyo), so he behaves more civil towards him. And yes, Tani is put in the middle of the entire mess. Things will be good in the end.

Escapade08: I agree with your logic. Tani works with Kyo and so does Torhu, but Tohru is more likely to win Kyo's heart. I'm sorry that nobody replies to your reviews! I don't know why they wouldn't. You are a very good reviewer, always leaving nice comments. I'm not going to put Tani and Yuki together. I kind of had other things in mind for the both of them. You will see in the sequel (yes, there will be one, it's a one shot) what I planned for them. Yuki isn't going to appear anymore in the story, and Tani will only appear in one more chapter, but they will both be in the sequel.

Soccergirl869: Yes, he'll have to, since this is a Kyoru. But it won't be as bad as a normal breakup between a woman and a man who is leaving the woman for someone else. It will be a little bit easier for Kyo and Tani than a normal couple. Let's just say that Tani is a little more supportive...

Cassie: Yes, I know what you mean. Cliffhangers are good because you get to use your imagination to think of what's coming next. They're bad because you don't know if you're right or not. And the advice was no problem. I like it when people ask me for help. Plus, there will be a sequel! It's only a one shot, but it's a sequel. It might be posted a few weeks after this story is finished, because it will most likely be longer than the average chapter in this story, so it will take longer to write. Maybe I should just write it as an epilogue and add it to the end of this story, so I don't have to think of another title...

Aria's Star: I love that movie! I especially like the added on "Far Away Idol." They sang some great songs! And FYI: that was just my observation on the matter. If it doesn't work, please don't yell at me for it. lol. Plus, you have some pretty popular stories by the looks of things (I liked 'I Will Be There Waiting,' personally). I mean, you have 160 reviews for just one of your stories. That's great by my standards.

Eternal Serena: I like your user name! And, I have another reviewer! Sorry, I didn't sleep much last night and I'm feeling a bit crazy at the moment. Anyways, thanks for the compliment. Yeah, I feel bad for them too. But it has to be written for the story to fit. We all must suffer for our art... Wait... the characters are suffering. Oh well... I really need to sleep more...

K40Sohma: I was wondering where you'd gotten to... Anyways, not many people think the way you do and ask me anyways. And then I don't really know what to say to them because I can't very well tell them. Thanks for the compliment.

Audley: Yay! My unhappy reader is happy again! Anyways, yes I did love the 6th Harry Potter book. Did you read my rambling about it on my look up? It is rather long, but I think it's good (well, it's not bad, anyways).

Half-Demon628: Thank you for the wonderful compliment! I'm so glad you liked it! You'll find all of that out in the next chapter.

Karen: Yay! You can review again! I am happy. And it sounds like your having a good day. Got your internet back, and you got to read my story. Two great things. Okay, I am being a bit too conceded about my writing skills...