Chapter 12

AN: Yay! Chapter 12! This chapter is very long, I'm sorry. Something really important happens so I made an exception to my "No long chapters" rule. I hope everyone will like it. Please leave reviews! Thank you!

After we finished dinner that night, Momo and I stayed in Kyo's room while he stayed in one of the guest rooms that were prepared for him. When Momo and I reached Kyo's room, she fell asleep right away. I, however, couldn't sleep. I sat beside the sleeping Momo with my back against the head board while images from my childhood flashed through my mind.

Flashback…

I was on the ground right by Master. I was trying to get up when Master suddenly kneeled down in front of me. He looked at me in a very gentle way. He reached out his hand and helped me up. I was straightening my dirty clothes when I heard Master speak for the very first time.

"Why did you do that for? Are you stupid?" he asked.

"I…umm…" I was so shocked I couldn't figure out how to respond, "He…Katiro was going to run into you, and you weren't paying…I thought… Pause it just didn't feel right to not help."

----

"I get it. Son, how would you like it if this little girl…Oh! What's your name child?" he suddenly paused waiting for my answer.

"Ah…Tohru," I answered shyly.

"Ok Tohru. Son how would you like it if Tohru here be your friend from now on?" he asked joyously.

Master looked at me, ignoring his father, he said, "Tohru? What kind of stupid name is that?"

"Um…" I didn't know what to say.

----

"He must think I'm ugly," I remember thinking.

Once again, it seemed like he could read my mind. "You look very nice. You're pretty cute," he complimented me in a teasing way.

"You…really think so?" I said hopefully.

"Yeah. Now come on!" he said.

"Thank you," I said touched.

----

Finally Master got loose. He ran to me and held me in his arms. The guards stopped.

"Tohru, are you o.k.?" he asked frantically.

I smiled. I was still in pain, but for the first time he held me in his arms. I felt protected and… loved. He carefully lifted me off the ground and carried me in his arms. My body was covered in scratches and marks left by the whipping.

"What are you doing?" Mistress asked angrily.

"Mother, you can't do this. This is not her fault. I was the one that said I loved her and if you want someone to take it out on, you can take it out on me. She has nothing to do with this," he replied angrily with my severely wounded body on his arms. Master ignored Mistress afterward, he carried me out of the room. We headed to Master's room.

"I'm sorry Tohru," he sadly as he looked at the marks on my arms.

"Don't be, it's not your fault," I said as joyously as I was able to, "In fact I'm really happy."

I smiled.

He forced a smile and said, "Tohru."

"Yeah?" I replied softly.

"You are the weirdest person I've ever met, but I'm glad. I'm happy to have met you," he said.

End of Flashback…

"Tohru," I heard a voice call suddenly. It interrupted my thoughts.

I looked up and it was Kyo. He was standing at the door looking at me and the snoring Momo. He closed the door gently behind him and walked over the side of the bed where Momo was. He sat down.

"Why are you still up?" he asked.

"No reason, I just can't sleep," I answered.

"Really?" he replied.

"Yeah, don't worry," I assured him.

"So what were you thinking about?" he asked suddenly.

"What was I thinking about?" I repeated as if I didn't comprehend what he was saying.

He just looked at me waiting for an answer.

"I…I was…I was just…um…" I struggled to come up with an answer.

Then Kyo interrupted me. "You don't have to tell me if you don't want to," he said.

"Oh no! It's not that I don't want to. It's just---" I didn't know if I was ready to tell him the truth. I paused and then continued, "I'll tell you someday, when I'm ready. Ok?"

He smiled. He leaned over Momo and then kissed me on my right cheek. "Sure," he replied.

"Kyo," I called.

"Hm?" he replied as he gently brushed some of Momo's blonde hair off her face.

"Why are you still up?" I asked curiously.

"I was getting some things ready for tomorrow," he answered as he pulled the blanket to cover the exposed upper half of Momo's body.

"What's going to happen tomorrow?" I asked noisily.

"A relative of mine said that he'll be visiting tomorrow just a moment ago," he answered as he tucked Momo's arms under the blanket.

I smiled. "Kyo," I called again.

He looked up once he was finished.

"You seem so…so different," I said randomly.

"Hm? Really? Why?" he asked.

"You're so gentle and nice with Momo right now, but during the day you two always---" Kyo interrupted me.

"She can be a brat when she's awake, but she's still the closest person to me," he said, "She's the only family that I have left."

"What do you mean?" I asked confused.

"I haven't told anyone this, but my father died when I was thirteen. Afterward, my mother suffered severe emotional break down illness. And---" he paused and then continued, "And then, I told her something that hurt her even more. She got the idea that I would leave her just like my father did so she took me and Momo away with her to London, where she kept us close. Momo and I didn't like that lifestyle. We were caged up. So one day after middle school, Momo and I told our mother that we wanted to go back to Japan. To our surprised, she didn't stop us. She just let us go. Eventually, she passed all of my father's and most of her own fortune to me. Afterward, she disappeared and no one knows where she is."

I was somewhat surprised. I guess I didn't expect Kyo to open up to me so easily and the fact that Kyo has such a painful past. Honestly, during that moment, I really didn't know what to say.

"I'm sorry, Kyo," I apologized guiltily.

"Why?" he asked.

"I lied to you. I have so much hidden from you while you trust me with your secrets," I said teary eyed.

He just looked at me as if he already knew. I began to cry.

"I really wish that I can tell you, but I--" I paused, "I…just…can't do it."

By the time I had finished talking and looked up he was sitting right in front of me. He smiled and guided my head onto his shoulder. He gently patted my head.

"It's ok. I understand. Everyone has their own secrets. You have yours and I too have mine. And even though I would be very happy if you could tell me, I don't want you to until you think you're ready. K?" he comforted me.

I nodded.

"Now go to sleep, I have someone that you have to meet tomorrow," he said as he laid me down, "Good night."

I pretended to have fallen asleep so Kyo would leave. When he left, I turned the lights back on and sat on the bed as I thought about what Kyo had just said.

"I guess Kyo's right. Everyone does have secrets. Maybe I shouldn't worry so much. I'll just tell him when I'm ready," I said out loud.

"Tell him what?" a voice said suddenly.

I jumped and fell onto the ground. It was Momo.

"Oh! Tohru, I'm sorry. Are you ok?" Momo said as he hopped of the bed.

I got up and headed back to the bed. Momo did too. "Nothing. Did I wake you Momo?" I asked.

"No, my perverted brother did. It was when he pulled the blanket. I'm sensitive to movement when I'm asleep," she explained.

"Oh," I said with a confused expression on my face.

"So what do you think Tohru?" she asked suddenly.

"About what?" I replied.

"Our past," she said simply.

"Oh. I don't really know," I answered honestly.

"Hehe. I wouldn't either if I were you. When Mama took us away I was still very young to know what was going on. Mama never let me leave the house, so I didn't have any friends in London. But I was lucky because I had Kyo. He was with me all the time. He's really a great brother---" she paused to think for a second and then added, "Well, except for the perverted part."

I laughed. "Momo, I don't think Kyo's really a pervert," I said.

"You're only saying that because he's your boyfriend," she said.

"I am not," I replied.

"You are too," she said.

The "am-not's" and "are to's" continued for a while. Then when Momo wasn't looking I grabbed her and began to tickle her. She fought back by starting a pillow fight. Before we knew it we were running around chasing each other with pillows that were shooting out feathers at every swing. I guess we were making a lot of noise because Kyo heard us. He opened the door and peaked in to see what we were doing. When he saw us, we were both on the ground surrounded by feathers. We were laughing at each other. We looked pretty silly. We had feathers in our hair, on our clothes, and some were even stuck to our limbs. We were so distracted we didn't notice Kyo until he said something.

"What are you two doing to my room?" he asked.

"Oh, Kyo! Did we wake you? I'm sorry," I apologized.

"Sort of, but don't worry about it just tell me what happened here," he said.

We explained. Then Momo swung a pillow at Kyo. Before I knew it we were all in the game. I can't really remember anything in detail afterward. Eventually we all fell asleep in Kyo's room. Momo and I slept on the bed and Kyo fell asleep on the couch.

The next morning… Saturday

"TOHRU!" Momo yelled.

She scared me. I woke up frightened. Then when I realized that it was just Momo, I claimed down a bit.

"Good morning Momo," I said.

"Good morning!" she said cutely, "Let's go swimming."

Once I was fully awake, I noticed that Momo was already in a lavender one piece swimsuit with a matching hair clip that clipped her hair back. I got up and off the bed. Momo did the same.

"I'd love to but I don't have my swimsuit," I said.

She laughed, but I didn't know why. "Tohru, you're so funny. We have everything in this house. We can have whatever we want, all we have to do is ask for it," she explained.

"Oh, really?" I said surprised and confused.

She nodded. "Watch," she said.

She turned to the door, where five maids stood. I didn't notice them earlier.

"Miko, get Tohru some swimsuits please," Momo said.

The maid nodded and then bowed and left the room with the rest of the maids. Meanwhile, I went into the bathroom to freshen up. When I came out, the five maids were back and they had returned with a huge chest like thing filled with swimsuits. There were so many, I didn't know which one to choose, so Momo chose one for me. I have to admit that the swimsuit that she chose was beautiful, but I didn't feel very comfortable in it. She chose a two piece, pink suit with white silk ribbons accents. I told her how I wasn't sure about the suit, but she assured me that it would be fine. We went to the indoor pool.

At the pool…

Momo and I were playing in the pool together on the other side when we heard someone come in. We looked. It was Kyo who came in first and then he was followed by three people. One was a guy with hair that was black and white. He was very handsome just like Kyo and Yuki were. Another was a girl that had long black hair. She was beautiful and she had very fashionable clothes on. She looked familiar. Then, there was a little boy that looked about Momo's age. He had light brown hair. They all came in and stood by the pool. I was embarassed to be seen the way I was. Kyo looked at me and smiled. His smile reassured me alittle. Momo and I got out of the pool. I wrapped a towel around my body and then headed to them.

"Hiro!" yelled Momo as she ran to the little boy. She hugged him. He seemed annoyed but happy at the same time.

"Hi, Momo," he said.

Momo let go and then pulled him toward me.

"Hiro, this is Tohru. She's my new friend and my perverted brother's new girl---" she was interrupted by Kyo.

"WHY YOU LITTLE BRAT! I TOLD YOU THAT I AM NOT A PERVERT!" Kyo yelled.

"Are you sure about that Kyo?" the guy with the black and white hair asked.

"Of course I am!" Kyo answered.

"Kyo you're mean," Momo said.

"Yeah, Kyo, you should be nicer to your sister," the guy said almost in a teasing kind of way.

"Shut up Haru, I can do whatever I want!" Kyo yelled.

"Don't tell me to shut up you idiot!" yelled the guy back.

Before we all knew it, Kyo and that guy was in an argument. Momo stood by me and the little boy as we watched. The girl didn't seem to be surprised or scared. It was as if she expected it to happen. Kyo and that guy were still yelling at each other.

"SHUT UP BOTH OF YOU!" yelled the girl with the long black hair.

They both quiet down. Then Kyo looked at me.

"Tohru, this is Hatsuharu. He's my cousin with split personalities," Kyo introduced me to the guy with the black and white hair.

"Huh?" I said confused.

Hatsuharu stepped forward, bowed, and then said, "He's kidding. Hello, you can call me Haru. Nice to meet you miss Tohru."

He was very polite. He seemed so different just a moment ago when he was arguing with Kyo. Anyways, Kyo immediately turned my attention to the girl.

"This is Haru's girlfriend Isuzu. She's better known as Rin," Kyo said.

"Tohru, isn't Rin pretty? She's the youngest super model in all of Japan and the world!" added Momo joyously.

"Oh! Really?" I said surprised.

Rin smiled and confirmed it, "Yeah, I'm known to the world as Rin Isuzu, but you can call me Rin. Nice to meet you Tohru."

I smiled and then giggled. "I'm sorry; I've always thought that Isuzu was your last name. I could've never guessed that that was in fact your first name," I said.

"It's ok. A lot of people that don't know me think the same," she said.

Then Kyo introduced me to the little boy.

"And this is Haru's brother Hiro. He has a mouth that's too old for his age," said Kyo.

"Hiro is my best friend, Tohru. He's the only one that played with me in elementary school. The other kids thought that I was weird because I was shy," Momo said.

I was surprised because I would've never been able to put the word "shy" and Momo together. She seemed so outgoing and open when I first met her. I examined the little boy. He too did the same to me.

"Hi, Hiro. I'm Tohru Honda. Nice to meet you," I said and smiled.

"Lady, your towel flew into the pool. You know that right?" he said unexpectedly.

I looked down to find myself exposed. I had wrapped the towel around me because I didn't want everyone to see me in my swimsuit. I felt really uncomfortable. I was embarrassed. I wanted to run and hide, but I was frozen still. And everyone noticed. Kyo, Haru, and Rin were all looking at me. Momo kneeled down on the edge of the pool watching the towel float further into the pool. She seemed to be fascinated by this. Hiro stood behind her looked at it as well, except he didn't seem as fascinated.

"Um…I should go…change," I said nervously.

"No, you look fine," Kyo assured me.

"Yes, Tohru, you look great," Rin said.

I was forced to stand there in my swimsuit. Afterward we all decided to eat lunch together. I insisted on preparing lunch and Rin said that she would help. Eventually Momo dragged Hiro along to help us too. We were all in the kitchen preparing for lunch, when Haru suddenly dragged Kyo outside. I don't know where they went, but I didn't really care. Then after everything was done, I excused myself to go to the bathroom. On the way, I passed by a room. I heard Haru talking to Kyo. I don't know why, but I stood outside the door and listened.

"So I see you've given up on that girl from the past," Haru said.

"What are you talking about?" Kyo asked.

"You know who I'm talking about. Now that you have Tohru, you can forget about the other girl," said Haru.

"I can't," Kyo replied simply.

Was this it? Is Kyo in love with another girl? Am I just a replacement? I didn't want to hear anymore but I couldn't move. My mind said to go, but my body wanted me to stay.

"And why not?" Haru asked almost angrily.

"Because I see her even more now," he answered.

"What?" Haru replied surprised, "Why? You've got the perfect girl outside. Tohru can cook, clean, and she's beautiful, what more do you want? I don't understand why you're so attached to that slave."

I was shocked. The other girl was a…slave too? Could this be a coincidence?

"Haru," Kyo said.

"What? Are you going to say that you love that slave? You have no future with her. She's a slave Kyo! Have you forgotten?" Haru asked.

"No, I haven't. How can I?" Kyo replied.

"Then why are you still thinking about her? Your mother doesn't want you to be with her, that's why she did what she did," Haru said.

"I know, but still. How can I forget her," Kyo said.

Wait! Did Kyo tell me that his mother disappeared a long time ago? Then what are they talking about? Then it struck me. That book that I read to Momo a few days ago! Momo had mentioned that it resembled what Kyo's going through. Could this be it? Was he too in love with a slave?

"Wake up Kyo! Tohru is waiting for you outside and here you are still thinking about that slave!" Haru said angrily.

"Haru, I can't forget her because I see her everyday---" Kyo explained and then paused.

"What?" Haru replied confused.

"Haru, Tohru is her," Kyo said.

My eyes grew wide open once I heard this. I began to become teary eyed. I was confused, what did he mean by "Tohru is her"? Does he already know that I am a slave? And what about that stuff that they were talking about before? What was it? I don't know what they were talking about.

"WHAT!" yelled Haru surprised.

"Tohru is the slave from three years ago," Kyo said.

"What? Wait, how can this be?" Haru asked in confusion.

"She goes to my school. That guy allowed her to have a normal day life without mother knowing. He allowed her to attend the school that father had picked out for her before he died," Kyo said.

"What! Is he crazy?" yelled Haru.

Suddenly I realized what they were talking about. They were really talking about me and they knew about Master. They knew about my day life and my night life. They knew. But how? Why did Kyo lie to me? He knew who I really am. And if wasn't just this. Kyo referred to Master's father as "father." What was his relationship with Master? Was he Master's brother? He must be connected to him somehow. But how?

As I became lost in my thought I had ran my head into the door by accident. Afraid that they'll find out about me ease dropping, I ran. I ran as fast as I could. I ran down the hall. I ran down the stairway and outside. I was now in the front yard. I dropped to the grass and cried. I guess I was emotionally hurt by what I've just found out and too confused. Then a car pulled up onto the driveway. I looked up with my watery eyes. Then someone stepped out.

"More guest?" I thought to myself.

When the door closed, I saw who it was. It was Akito. He too saw me. I immediately wiped my tears away and got up. He walked toward me.

"Hello, Miss Honda. What a surprise to find you here," he said.

"Oh, yes. Are you here to see Kyo?" I asked.

"Yes, he's not busy is he?" he asked.

"No, he's inside getting ready for lunch," I said.

"Good," he said, "Would you like to come in with me?"

"Oh! Sure! Of course," I answered.

We began to head toward the house.

"Oh, and Miss Honda, congratulations! I've heard from the girls at school that Kyo has announced to the school about your relationship. I didn't believe this at first, but I decided to find out for myself right after I returned from my trip. But seeing you here, it must be true," he said.

"Hm? Trip?" I repeated confused. Then I realized that I haven't seen Akito for the past who knows how many days. It began to make sense.

So much has happened recently that I've failed to notice what's going on around me. I feel like such a failure right now.

"Yes, I went to London for a few days. I hope I didn't miss a lot of work," he said and smiled.

I smiled back. We both entered the house. Afterward, we both headed for the dining area. Before we entered, I heard them talking.

"Kyo, where's Tohru?" asked Rin.

"Wasn't she with you guys?" asked Kyo.

"Tohru said that she was going to go to the bathroom," Momo said.

"Was it her then Kyo?" asked Haru.

"This food is good," Hiro said.

"Don't eat yet Hiro, we have to wait for Tohru," Momo said.

Akito and I entered to find everyone looking at us. However, my eyes were focused on Kyo. He too looked at me. During that moment, I know that Kyo had sense something, but I'm pretty sure that he didn't know exactly what it was. I can feel the sadness in me. It was slowly drowning my heart. It was a huge ocean of tears that I've forced to stay inside. And every second it grows. It'll grow until I'm ready to let it out. But when will I be able to do so? How will I let it out? Who will I let it out on? Most importantly, will I be able to let it out on that person? I'm pretty sure that the sadness in me can drown that person too. It too can destroy that person just like how it was destroying me right now. I greeted everyone with a smile and sat down beside Kyo. We ate lunch together, while I got to know everyone a little better. No one knew, but inside I cried heavily to myself silently as my heart scattered into bits and pieces…quietly…