Chapter 4: Strong Feelings

I'm sorry for making all of you wait so long. Please R/R! Okay… Here we go! Ready! Steady? Okay…So…lets just move right along, shall we?

Tohru glances at Kyo after letting out a few more tears. He wipes them away with his index finger gently so that his finger doesn't touch her eye. She softly smiles at him; a false smile was all she showed. It was not of cheer, or joy, but of sorrow and pain. He could tell this because her face normally beamed with an illuminating light that could make the most upset person crack a smile. Slowly, he places his hand on top of her head and nods a little. Without saying or even gesturing anymore, he turns to face the path once more and it makes Tohru notice that by him doing that it meant for her to just follow him.

He began walking, not even checking to see if she was following him. The sense of feeling he was getting at the moment told him all he needed to know. She was walking closely behind him, shuffling her feet against the dirt trail so loudly that it made him begin to believe that she wasn't even able to lift her feet. Like her ankles were locked so tightly that she wasn't allowed to bend them in any way. Kyo sighs slightly and continues on. His perfect image of a last day with the girl he loved was tarnished. It was completely full of black spots -that were like worm holes- and they were gradually eating away at his rare imagination.

She suddenly hurries to his side and latches onto his arm just as she had earlier. After a couple moments, her expression had dramatically changed. The heartbreaking, saddening face was gone and it was replaced with the warmest and most welcoming smile he had ever seen. He couldn't help but smile and before he even knew what he was doing he found himself thinking, that's the beautiful smile…. of the woman I love… He shook his head in embarrassment. Even though he hadn't said it out the feeling of just thinking it made his face flush. And, as if she had mentally heard his thoughts, an even brighter smile consumed her face.

He couldn't believe the things that had happened in the past three months. So much to bring them closer together; possibly farther apart. But, the most important thing was the moment she heard about him being locked away if he couldn't beat Yuki, that night on the roof. If that were to never happen, they both wouldn't have admitted their burning love for each other. Without that awkward moment and without the time he went chasing after her in the forest things could've been much different. The simplest things brought them together, but it was mostly their love. There was nothing in their lives that could destroy their feelings for one another.

Kyo comes to a stop and moves in front of Tohru. He puts his hand under her chin, lifting her head up gently. He moved his head a little closer to her's, fear erased from his eyes, compassion replacing the vanishing fear. His lips were only seconds away from meeting with her's. Those as sweet as nectar, those as soft as a white cloud. Could he finally reach the point in his life where he can honestly admit how much he loved her by one mere action? As small of a physical motion this was, it was almost the hardest thing two people could do.

She was showing no signs of moving out of the way. Her eyes slowly closed as she awaited his lips. Tohru stood completely still knowing that this was the last time they'd ever have a chance to do this. The both of them had to take full advantage of their feelings. This opportunity never arose for the fact that people were always coming in and out of Shigure's house. What better a place to be when getting your first kiss then an empty forest?

It finally happened. His slightly dry lips pressed against her smooth ones. She accepted this and suddenly pulled back, blushing uncontrollably. It was good enough for the both of them for the fact that neither of them had ever kissed another person before in their lives. Unless, you counted their parents, which in Kyo's case, didn't happen much. Their minds rushed and they both looked down, Kyo turning his back to her trying to hide his completely red face. She glances up and smiles shyly, not that he could even see her.

Kyo's hands sat at his waist and he kept his eyes on the ground. He wouldn't be sure of when the redness in his face was going to go away, but he'd have to get some kind of feeling of relieved stress or something. Eventually, he turns back around to face her. She looked so innocent, not to mention cute. Kyo slowly bit his bottom lip. He knew she accepted what he had chosen to do, but he couldn't help but believe it was eating at her some how.

"Tohru…?" he let out a gentle gasp the moment he spoke. Her name was a part of the exhalation. She didn't look as if she'd be responding any time soon. Instead, she looked rather shocked and happy at the same time. It was actually a strange expression to show. Just imagine being shocked and happy. He couldn't even understand the face she had on. Normally the person's eyes tell the looker the answer to the question they're seeking. But in this case it was not near true. Her eyes showed her shock, as her pupil's were very large. Then, there was the look of happiness across the rest of her face. There was a merry smile slipped across her face and it made him finally realize that everything was okay. He knew this because her smile showed much more expression then her eyes, which, is normally the way to see what the person is thinking.

"Let's…stay together…always…" her words floated around him. In no more then a second after speaking those strong words, she drops herself against his arm and found herself crying once again. Kyo, on instinct, wraps his left arm around her neck gesturing that she could keep crying, as much as she wants.

How many times had he found himself with her when she was crying? Possibly close to a hundred times this has happened, and almost three times today alone. Even though he was going to let her cry her brains out, he ends up deciding against it by pulling her off his arm. Kyo looks at her sincerely. "Tohru…. let's just keep walking. Every time one of us stops, you start crying. I said that we should forget about the things we hate…now let's hurry up." He groans and then abruptly continues walking down the dirt path that was now beginning to have pebbles all over it from who knows what.

Tohru nods and hurries after him once again.

XxX

Akito sat quietly within the home she lived in with Kureno. Everything was quiet and the only sound you could even attempt to hear was Akito's finger's gently scraping together every couple of seconds. Suddenly, an echoing knock is heard at the door and she slowly looks up and across the room toward the door. It was slightly rumbling from the person who was knocking. She glances at Kureno, which told him to get up and get the door. Akito wanted to know who exactly was at the door and why they were disturbing the peace and quiet that she was actually enjoying.

He gets up and walks obediently to the door. As he opens it, the wide open door makes him see the angered face of Haru's staring at his own blank expression. "Haru…you've angered Akito enough from what you said to her yesterday. Come back some-." Kureno was shoved to the side as Haru ran past him, ignoring the words he was speaking.

Haru's fists were tightly closed and at his sides. He looks at the ground before shifting his head upward a little to stare at Akito. A gentle laugh drops out of his mouth, and then he grins out of nowhere. "Akito…. you damn bitch you…You're still going to lock Kyo up? If I tell everyone why you are so damn frail, they'll burn you at the stake… you don't want your entire family turning against you do you?"

He's taunting me! He's actually making fun of me! That stupid ox…. Is he aware that he is questioning every ounce of my authority? She lets out a gasp even though all of this was in her thoughts. Akito stands up and walks up to Haru, she was a lot shorter then him. Swiftly, she lunges her open hand at him and he instantly catches her wrist. He grins at her angrily.

"You're causing pain to more people then you even realize. Do you honestly believe that Tohru will allow you to lock him up! He isn't an experiment Akito!" He shouts at her, getting in her face now. All of this was beginning to shock both Kureno and Akito. No one had ever challenged her in this way before. "We all know your time is almost up…we all know about your lifeline." At the sound of 'all' Akito staggered backward, but Haru kept a tight hold on her wrist. "You have no idea how much I want to pop you in the face." There was no stopping Haru now. The black side of him was now completely controlling his mind for the time being.

Suddenly, Akito finds herself laughing loudly, and trying to pull out of Haru's grasp. When she stopped it made Haru a little curious, nonetheless she kept on laughing as if everyone had missed one of the funniest jokes. He stared at her blankly, but the grasp on her wrist was growing much tighter. "Haru… you really are a funny yet, stupid ox aren't you? Are you saying you'll tell each member of the Sohma family to come and crucify me or something?" She questions roughly. Haru didn't take the insult lightly. He brought one of his closed fists around and slammed her right in the face.

Kureno hurried up to them and pulled Haru away and called for help. Hatori and many other physicians came running in to have a look at Akito. Just before going to her though, Hatori looked at Haru and let out a deep sigh.

Haru looks down and pulls away from Kureno, leaving the building, as well as the Sohma Estate.

XxX

They approached the end of the dirt path and looked to both sides before crossing to the other side of the street. The moment they reached the other side they saw Haru hurrying down the sidewalk, looking at the pavement as he did so. Kyo couldn't believe the stupidity he was showing off. Imagine how much trouble the three of them would be in if he were to transform.

Suddenly, Kyo found himself leaving Tohru by herself and running towards Haru. If he didn't reach him before he ran into the girl that was exiting the store, there'd be bedlam all over the streets. He was moving as fast as his legs allowed him. The girl was opening the door now and Kyo was beginning to pick up the pace. Haru looks up and sees the girl. Thinking quickly, Kyo jumps over the girl and tackles Haru to the ground before he runs into the girl. He rolls away from Haru and sits up.

Tohru runs over to the both of them and stops after passing the girl. She smiles and lets out a sigh of relief. She was just happy that neither of them had gotten hurt. Kneeling down to their side, she places a hand on both of their chests and looks at them both at one point or another. Suddenly, it came to her, her curiosity taking complete hold of her body and thoughts. "Haru-kun…" Tohru began carefully, "The day of graduation, you were speaking with Akito-san…wha… if I may ask that is- what did you say to her?" She asks quietly so that no passerby's heard.

He slightly sighs and sits up, pulling Tohru's hand away. Kyo did the same as Haru, only seeming much more grateful about Tohru's caring actions then his family member. But, Kyo could tell that the only reason Haru hadn't shown the same physical response was because he had to prepare himself to speak the exact words he had the day before. "I was coming to see the both of you about just that." Haru whispers as he gets to his feet, dusting the dirt off his pants and shoulders, even if there wasn't any. He extends his hand to Kyo who plainly ignores it and gets to his feet without any help. Haru glances at Tohru and shifts his position to completely face her. "Akito-san has only a limited time to live. But, she intends on having all of us –the juunishi- to return to her to give her a longer lifeline. If she somehow figures out a way to lock us all up, then…. well, you get the picture." His voice trailed off as sudden nausea slipped into his stomach at the thought of Akito being around longer then she is supposed to.

Tohru and Kyo stare at him at a loss for words. The silence had to be broken by someone and she decided it had to be her. Tohru's mouth opened and the words flowed out so smoothly you'd think she wasn't at all afraid of Akito, "But…what did you say to her…?"

For a moment all he had done was rub his forehead. Then, he finally spoke. "I told her…that it wasn't the right thing to do." After hearing this, Kyo gave Haru a 'is that all' stare. He merely shook his head and continued on, "I told her that I knew about her limited time to live and what she was planning. Also, that there's one thing she forgot to figure out." Once again, the both of them gave him their own little confused gaze. Haru laughs gently and then stops, his face full of seriousness. "That we all weren't going to fall for a deal of any sort. She has no way of trapping the rest of us." Haru's voice was stern; they could tell they had to be listening, even if it wasn't instructions of any type.

Kyo looks at the ground and sighs. "So…there's no chance in me actually staying free…. is there?" he asks, the sadness in his tone was so clear you'd think it was tattooed all over his body and clothes. Haru regrettably shakes his head after fully hearing Kyo's question.

Tohru was tempted to hug him, but who knew how the transformation progress was working at the moment. If she were to hug him and it turned out differently then normal, she could lose her memory. She didn't want that, nowhere near it to be exact. Sighing as she began tugging back her tears like they were hooked to a string, Tohru took a strong hold of Kyo's hand. It was just as Haru had said to Akito. She wasn't going to let him go that easily. As if she knew about the conversation that Haru had with Akito moments ago, she shakes her head, trying to banish her sad thoughts. Her mind was rushing at a great, yet constant speed. It was neither speeding up, nor slowing down. She was purely being driven with the motivation of keeping him with her.

After standing in the middle of the sidewalk for many more moments, they decided to all take a walk together, even if it wasn't how Kyo imagined spending the day. Their feet moved ever so slowly; lifelessly. If anything they were completely despondent and even if someone were to shout their names on an intercom they'd probably continue trudging along blankly as if they were deaf.

Hours passed until they finally headed back to Shigure's path taking the strongly familiar path. Even Haru didn't get the sense that they were anywhere near lost, and that's really saying a lot. Sliding the door open the first people to greet them was Kisa, Katsuro, and Yuki. Hiro was apparently in the bathroom at the time; otherwise he would have been at Kisa's side.

Shigure came out of his workroom and looked at Kyo. For the first time in probably ever a sad expression occupied his face. It truly was a sincere one too. And, as much as Kyo disliked Shigure he couldn't help but thank him with a gentle nod. He went upstairs and into his bedroom where loud clambering was heard from downstairs. It was clear that he was angrily packing his clothes. Shigure went up there and moved all the furniture out of the room, even if he knew he was going to hurt his back in the process. Thankfully though, Haru helped him. Kyo packed the entire time, sticking books that Tohru gave him into a bag along with his clothes.

She couldn't help it now. Tohru ran upstairs quickly and entered his room. A gentle, but strongly sad smile crossed her face. It was hardly even visible. Slowly, she walks to him and unzips his bag right after he closed it. He looks at her curiously and sees her pull a photograph out of a pocket in her white, velvet dress that made her look even more beautiful then usual and put it inside his bag. It was a picture of him, her, Yuki, and Katsuro. As sad as he was, he laughed quietly. He noticed Shishou trying to get into the picture by sticking his arm out from the side.

Not being able to control it anymore, they caught each other in a tight embrace. And, with a snap of the finger, Kyo had transformed. The pattern his transformation was going in was almost impossible to figure out, but she cuddled the cat form of Kyo in her arms, nestling her head into his furry one. "I'll miss you…so…so…so much Kyo-kun…" her voice was muffled as she spoke into his orange fur. A tear slipped from his mesmerizing cat eyes and he allowed her to treat him just like any ordinary cat; only, this cat was being taken away from her forcefully.

Again, I'd like to apologize for not updating sooner. I got a really bad stomachache and couldn't pull the strength together to finish this chapter –it's been half done for three days- so, I'm sorry. I do hope you all enjoyed this chapter! Tell me whatcha think!