-Snail's Pace-

Thus by chance should I stumble upon a way to find you

Chapter Five

Tohru sat back; shocked, ruffled, amused, stupefied, puzzled and amazed and the things Kyou had told her about his family. A family cursed to turn into animals of the zodiac whenever they were hugged by the opposite sex was not something believable unless you had a first hand preview of such a thing. Instead of being afraid or revolted, she found it amazing. In no way did she consider them freaks or inhuman; they simply had a big secret. Although fascinated, Tohru decided not to press the matter further unless Kyou really wanted to tell her more. She was still in shock as she looked at the cat – somehow it still captured the expressions Kyou was aiming for in its features. He looked ticked off.

'I'm so sorry. You should have warned me - '

'I tried to, you dumb girl!'

'But I was already coming at you, I feel so stupid now.'

Kyou sighed, twitching his tail slightly and flexing his claws, 'Don't worry about it,' he said through gritted teeth, 'just don't tell anyone, okay? And… be prepared…' Tohru simply stared at him confused, until warned of the consequences when he changed back. He'd be naked.

Sure enough, with another small POOF! Tohru found herself swinging backwards into the wall, clawing at the paint as though trying to crawl up it and averting her eyes in pure shame. There was a deafening silence that cut straight through Tohru as Kyou pulled his clothes back on; slipping into a loose purple shirt and khaki slacks.

'You know,' Tohru began, 'I've always loved the cat from the Zodiac.' Even though she had her back to Kyou she could feel his gaze fixed rigidly on her. It intimidated her slightly; but she knew it would have been an opinion he wanted to hear. The cat had never been accepted.

'Let's eat,' Kyou said at length; and Tohru got changed. He took her too a small café restaurant on the corner of the street. It was simple and clean with a friendly atmosphere and a wide variety of dishes on the menus. Tohru, feeling lavishly spoiled with gifts, was having a hard time deciding on what she wanted. Kyou sat as patiently as he possibly could on the other side, staring at the walls, ceiling, chairs; and various other things that looked mildly amusing. Once she had decided, Tohru insisted on paying. She was trying to be as fair as she possibly could on her small trip to New York. She disliked people going out of their way to make sure she was happy. Her thoughts were usually for them and not for herself; so on the occasion that she was presented with gifts; she became clammy and shy.

While waiting at the diner for someone to serve her, Tohru leaned against the bar, resting her head in her hands and smiling somewhat; reflecting on how lucky she was. She remembered her encounter with Yuki; and the reasons for why she hadn't seen him at the convention in Los Angeles.

'Miss Tohru Honda… a phone call is waiting for you on line 2,' the hostess at her hotel had said.

'Hello?'

'Tohru! Oh, it's terrible. You picked the worst of days to go away on a trip. You'll shatter when you hear the bad news.'

Hana's voice filtered through the phone line; slow and drawn out as though pained somehow. Tohru could remember the exact feeling in her chest when she heard those words. It was as though a rock had been beaten into her heart repeatedly, tearing it from the flesh of her body and throwing it into a dark hole. Uo was in hospital after being involved in a car accident. Tohru had melted and cried where she stood; dropping the phone on the ground with a deafening clatter. The accidents were too alike, just years before she had lost her own mother in the same thing, and now Uo was in trouble. Tohru, fearing that she would lose someone else she loved, had taken the first flight back as soon as she could get it. Uo was more important to her than meeting Yuki Sohma; and besides, she already had met him that very same day.

'Hey, little miss, it looks like you could use some cheering up,' Tohru was snapped out of her thoughts by an unfamiliar voice in her ear. She turned to her side and was greeted by two men looking rather sinister in character and appearance. Country folk in patched flannel shirts and grubby overalls had always made her uneasy. Tohru glanced at Kyou out the corner of her eye; sitting quietly with his back to her at the table, and she tried to push through the men to get back to him.

'Don't you need to order?' one of the men said, blocking her road. Tohru was gritting her teeth beneath her closed lips out of annoyance and slight fear but she didn't let them see. She turned back to her seat and slumped against it; attempting to ignore them as best she could. They didn't leave; as she'd expected, and continued to bark in her ears, throwing rude insults at her and jabbing her in the shoulders with their stumped, nail bitten fingers. Still Tohru didn't move, simply waiting until they finally gave up; or tried to do something more.

'Come on miss, don't you want to have any fun at all?' one of them said; but Tohru didn't reply. Suddenly, the man was pushed aside, slipping backwards into a separate chair, and Kyou sat down next to her. Tohru had never felt so relieved to see him.

'You'd better piss off before I get really angry, you bastards!' Kyou growled protectively; and the venom in the tone of his voice was enough to send the men sauntering away with their grubby hands in their pockets.

'Thank you,' Tohru breathed; feeling the knot in her chest lift.

'It's because you were spacing out. You do that too often,' Kyou replied, and he hailed down one of the waiters in the black tuxedos. He ordered and paid for their meals without a fuss; then directed Tohru back to her seat at the small table with a hand placed firmly on her back. It was as though he were afraid she would suddenly veer to the left and get lost somehow.

Tohru stretched, emerging from the bathroom after brushing her hair and teeth for bed. It was cold in the apartment, she hadn't thought about the Hotel's lack of central heating; although there was a small wall heater in the bedroom that she could put on for a little while. In the living room she could hear shuffling and wandered out to find Kyou pulling apart the sofas and lining them with sheets. He was making himself a bed; a rather horrible and crooked one at that. Tohru couldn't help but laugh.

'What on earth are you doing, Kyou?' she asked, stepping down into the room and starring at him.

'Well, I sure as hell am not sleeping in the same bed as you. That's just wrong; so I thought that I'd sleep out here and you could have the bedroom. It's warmer in there; I put the heater on for you.'

'Oh really?' Tohru replied, opening the sliding doors a fraction to feel the warmth flow out of the room, 'You know, I didn't mind that much having to share a bed with you.'

Kyou's face flushed bright red and he snapped, 'well I mind! What if I suddenly get turned into a cat during the night? And then; what if I change back during the night? You'd be sleeping with a naked guy and that's just not right! You need to use your head!'

'I never thought about it that way; but I suppose you're right,' Tohru replied softly, 'at least let me give you the duvet, Kyou. You'll get cold out here sleeping in just sheets.'

'I'll be fine!'

Tohru worriedly took his word for it and went into the bedroom, closing the doors behind her and shutting the curtains. Though she was quite comfortable herself; all she could think about was Kyou sleeping just beyond her doors, and whether or not he was cold. Eventually, an hour after hoping into bed; she stood up, took her duvet and wandered into the living room. Kyou was snoring softly. As soon as he'd hit the pillow he was out like a light. Tohru put one finger on his nose to feel how cold he was; and when it prickled against the icy feel, she pulled the duvet up around his shoulders and tucked him in.

'You're so adorable when you sleep,' she said smiling, and then went back to bed, feeling content.