Bumps in the Road
Disclaimer: I do not own Fruits Basket.
A.N. This is the second chapter I've typed tonight, so hopefully it will be up shortly after chapter three. I have no more excuses for my procrastination if I already have the chapter typed. Hope you like it!
Chapter 4: Life
Needless to say it was impossible for Tohru and Kyo to look at each other for the rest of class, and even on the way home. Haru, of course, noticed something was a little awry when the two were blushing and very conspicuously not meeting each other's eyes, but he had to learn what had happened from Yuki, as both of the duo refused to speak of it. Actually, for the most part they refused to speak at all.
As is to be expected, he was not terribly happy about it, especially since he was fairly certain of Kyo's feelings for Tohru, but as it was a school project, their was nothing he could do about it.
He immediately started questioning them about their jobs and what exactly the project entailed. They seemed fine with answering his questions until he reached the subject of the 'problem', which Yuki had informed him about as Tohru and Kyo had been blatantly avoiding the subject.
From the look on their faces Haru guessed that this was the reason for their extreme discomfort. He refused to let the subject drop so Kyo handed him the piece of paper, which had been resting in his pocket.
Haru read it and turned bright red as well, although he tried to pretend it didn't bother him. The reactions of the three, unsurprisingly, made Yuki curious as well and he took the paper from the shocked Haru's hand. He laughed a little as he handed it back to Kyo.
"Well, it's not that bad," he said jokingly, Kyo glared at him.
"What did you and Hana get?" Tohru asked suddenly.
She was surprised to see the blush creeping into his cheeks at the mention of his partner's name, but he continued without any hint of embarrassment, "Her sister is going on vacation and we have to take care of her son for a week."
Kyo's glare deepened. Why oh why couldn't that have been theirs. He smiled for a moment as he thought of what Yuki's reaction would have been if he had gotten their 'problem', instead of his own. Oh cruel world.
The akward silence continued for almost all of the night, and was so pronounced even Shigure noticed, which was saying something. Yuki, agian, had to be the one to explain to the grinning dog-man.
That night Kyo, as could be expected, had an extremely difficult time sleeping. He didn't do much of this at all in fact. His mind kept going back to what exactly their problem would have entailed them doing, and just how cute the girl in question looked when she was nervous.
He finally did make it to sleep. Of course, it was less than an hour before he was supposed to wake up.
Needless to say, Kyo was quite exhauseted for the following day.
When they arrived in class everyone had already separated into their couples and were looking at real estate manuels. For the first time in almost twenty-four hours the object of his affections met his eyes, and nodded towards a table next to the door.
Yuki had already met up with Hana, but he did take a moment to glare silently at Kyo as he made his way towards the table. Kyo, in his current state, took no notice.
Kyo and Tohru immediately burried their faces in the manuels, thankful to have an excuse not to look at each other. After a few moments, the teacher entered the class.
"Good morning students. As I assume you are all aware, these manuels are here for you to pick out the place you and your spouse will be 'living' in for the next few months. Of course you won't actually be living their, but you will have to use part of your monthly salery to pay for the place you choose, so I don't want any of you picking huge mansions," she smiled menacingly at the class,"Make sure you choose a place suitable for you and your wife, and, if applicable, any who may be joining the family in the near future." She looked pointedly at Kyo and Tohru. "You will also be recieving guidance on your 'problems' today. Have fun." The teachers sweet smile was giving Kyo a headache.
"This place looks nice," Tohru said suddenly, showing him the folded over page of a magazine with her finger on the place in question. His hand brushed hers as her reached for it and both parties blushed scarlet. They seemed to be doing that a lot recently.
Without even really looking at it he thrust it back into her hand. "Yes, that looks fine," he squeaked, much higher than he had intended.
"Okay!" she responded hapily, reaching to take it back from hit. Kyo, fearing and anticipating another brush of the skin, promptly dropped that catalouge.
Tohru gave him a quizical look before reaching down to pick it up. "Are you alright, Kyo?" she asked, already knowing what his answer would be.
"I'm fine," he mummbeld into the desk.
She looked at him suspiciously one last time before turning back to the pamphlet in her hand. She had picked out a spacious three-room appartment for fairly reasonable rent because it was in an old building in the outskirts of the city. "This will be good for us and the baby and any others that might come along, and it fits under our budget," she said, trying to sound nonchalant with her face the color of a beet.
"Uhh...yeah," he coughed, "That's perfect."
She promptly ripped the page out of the manuel and put it in her pocket. "For when we have our financial management classes," she explained, apparently to the wall as she wasn't looking anywhere in Kyo's vicinity. He nodded nontheless.
After a few moments of sitting in silence the teacher moved back to the head of the class. "Over in that corner," she pointed to a table where several sheets of paper were ominously balanced. "Some of you may have the same 'problem', so you might have to share. Be nice children."
Kyo immediatly sprang up and headed to the corner. He was sure his face was going to burst into flame any second. With his orange hair he probably looked somewhat like a campfire.
The packet that said 'Pregnancy', was neatly labled and situated near the front. He slowly reached out to grab it. Thankfully, no one else seemed to need it.
Taking a deep breath, he made his way back to Tohru. "Do you want to read?" he asked, taking his seat next to her.
"Uh," she paused, sighing, "sure."
The first part of the table was made up of several tables and explained to them their financial obligations. The second explained their parental and morale obligations, such as how much time they should sleep, when they shoud eat, and the like. Kyo was beginning to wonder what kind of 'baby' they would be dealing with, as it seemed like they were to be graded on how well they took care of it.
He couldn't say he was terribly upset when the day ended. In fact, he was ecstatic. As soon as he got home ((after a snack of course)) he rushed to his room and tucked into bed, where he again got no sleep at all.
YAY! I think this chapter is a little longer than normal. Hope you guys liked it. I got to read volume thirteen of the manga today! Although nothing really happened it still makes me happy. Tee-hee, see you guys next time.