Author's Note: Wow, I can't believe how long it's been since I last updated this (or any of my other) stories. I'm sorry, it never feels like that long since I'm always writing little bits and pieces as I get a free moment, but when I look at when I last posted something I'm amazed. I like posting long chapters but I'll try posting a little more often. (Try being the operative word.) I want to thank everyone who's continued to review even though it's been so long. I'm amazed that you guys even find my fics, much less take the time to review. I hope this chapter was worth the wait. -Merrow

The problem with causing trouble on a Monday was that there were still four more days of school to deal with afterwards, five if you counted the half-day they had on Saturday. They had four (or five) days of enduring stares, gossip, and speculation that fairly radiated from the students around them.

Kyou hunched his shoulders as he watched a pair of gossiping girls give sidelong looks to the couple in front of him. Tooru and Fujitsima walked together, the still bruised boy talking animatedly about some stupid TV show he'd watched the night before. Kyou glanced back at the girls at the drinking fountain. They whispered behind their hands, eyes sliding over to him. He felt his face crumple into a scowl and could practically feel ears flattening back on his head. The girls started and turned around quickly.

Kyou refocused on the back of Tooru's oblivious head. She didn't seem to notice the stares or the gossip. The cat's eyes narrowed as he spared a glance at Fujitsima. He noticed, but he ignored it for the most part and was trying to keep her too distracted to notice it too. At least the idiot honestly cared about her.

Kyou felt bile rise up in the back of his throat. It was sickening, the whole situation. And the worst part of it was-

"Did you see it, Kyou-kun? Wasn't it amazing? I swear he floated 3 inches off the ground!" Fujitsima turned walking backwards as he continued to chatter on about the TV program.

"I don't watch TV." Kyou said shortly, trying to ignore him. The worst part was that apparently getting into a fight together seemed to make the idiot, as the cat had taken to calling him in his head, think that they were friends.

"Then you missed it? Oh, but it was so cool. He's an American, and he did the most amazing things..." The idiot just kept jabbering away. Kyou pointedly looked away from him to study the walls as he was passing. It didn't faze the other boy a bit; he just turned his attention back to Tooru. "And the card tricks... it appeared on the other side of the glass!"

Tooru smiled and nodded seemingly absorbed in his nonsensical recount. Kyou didn't know how she could follow it; he didn't really seem to be making any sense.

"Do you have a VCR?" Kyou blinked, surprised at being addressed again. "I taped it, I could lend it to you." Fujitsima explained as they reached the doorway. Kyou tried to figure out the rudest way to say no, attempting in vain to give the over-eager boy the hint to go away.

Tooru smiled and waved, only half listening to the conversation between the two as she noticed Yuki standing by the door of the classroom. She jogged ahead a little of Kyou and Fujitsima. Yuki had classroom duties this morning and had had to get up earlier than normal. She'd gotten him up out of bed, but he hadn't fully woken, going through his whole morning routine in a sleepy zombie like state. She'd been a little worried to let him out of the house alone as she'd guided him out the door, but Kyou wouldn't let her walk him to school. Something about enough rumors flying around as it was.

She was relieved to see that Yuki had gotten to the school in one piece.

"Good Morning, Honda-san." Yuki smiled seeing her light up as she noticed him standing in the doorway. He'd found himself staring sleepily at the gate to the schoolyard and had a pretty good idea what had happened. He hoped he hadn't done anything too embarrassing this morning, when he was half asleep he didn't really have any control of what might come out of his mouth or his body's actions. It was very rare that Tooru ventured into his room to wake him up, but since Kyou wouldn't dare (or bother to worry when he got up) and Shigure refused after getting struck one too many times, she was the only one who would have.

He would have been more adamant about getting himself up, or at least not having Tooru wake him up but he seemed to be unable to. He'd managed it before she'd been living with them, but it seemed that now and then his body refused to. It didn't matter how many alarms he set, he'd simply shut them off in his sleep. Perhaps it was that he subconsciously wanted her to wake him up.

He colored slightly at the thought, but tried to dismiss it as Tooru's brow began to wrinkle in concern. He bent down to whisper conspiratorially in her ear. He darted a quick look around before moving a little closer before he spoke. He made sure that his whole body language practically shouted out 'I HAVE A SECRET'. It worked just as he planned, as most of the class was now watching he and Tooru.

"I'm sorry I caused Honda-san so much trouble this morning." He said softly, but not too soft for Fujitsima and Kyou to hear as they walked past them into the room.

"Oh, no." Tooru blushed prettily, making the girls in her class wonder angrily what the prince could be whispering so intimately in her ear. "Not at all."

"But still," Yuki repeated for effect, having noticed Fujitsima hovering just within earshot, "Asking a girl to come into a young man's room so early in the morning. I'm afraid I take too much advantage of Honda-san's good will..." He saw Fujitsima's eyes widen fractionally and hoped the other boy was drawing all the wrong conclusions.

"I was happy to help Yuki-kun." Tooru insisted.

"Eh-hem..." Both students jumped looking at their teacher standing just behind them in the doorway. "Don't you two think you should be sitting down? Class is starting."

"Oh! I'm so sorry!" Tooru said bowing and turning to head all the way into the classroom.

She started as Yuki put a hand to the small of her back and helped to guide her to her seat. She looked at him goggle-eyed, he'd never been this forward at school before.

"I'm sorry, Sensei." Yuki said pleasantly as he walked forward to his own seat. "I was just thanking Honda-san for a favor she did for me."

Tooru flushed bright red as she suddenly became the focus of all the students in her classroom. She couldn't help but shrink a little.

Kyou gritted his teeth angrily. What the hell? Yuki was practically shouting that there was some sort of relationship between him and Tooru. What did he think he was doing? It was just a couple days ago that she'd been practically accused of sleeping with him and Yuki. What did that asshole think he was doing stirring things up further?

Kyou glanced back at Fujitsima reflexively. The boy had his head down staring at the papers on his desk. Half the class was glancing between Tooru, Fujitsima, and Yuki like they were watching some sort of tennis match. Yuki looked calm and secure in his place at the center of the universe. Tooru was staring in shock at the back of his head. Fujitsima looked up longingly at her before sending a confused glance both at Yuki then at Kyou.

Kyou shrugged and looked forward again. What did the idiot think he knew about it? He gritted his teeth. The last thing Tooru needed right now was more rumors going on around her. What they all should do is back off and let things cool down. Instead Fujitsima hardly left Tooru's side outside of class, annoyingly enough. And now that damn rat was making like he was making a play for her. The gossip mills would be running overtime now.

What the hell? It's not like they, as Soumas, could do stuff that, could they? Like Shigure said, they didn't get to have those kinds of things... that was part of the friggin' curse wasn't it? Kyou could feel his blood boiling. The damn rat should leave Tooru alone for her own good, let Fujitsima court her and treat her like she ought to be treated. Let her have a normal life outside the cursed life of the Soumas.

His stomach clenched at what he was thinking. That meant she'd leave... He growled softly to himself, dammit, he didn't know if he could survive this mess. It felt like he was trying to tear out his own intestines. But dammit, she deserved better than either he or Yuki could give her so how could he do any different?

He glared at the back of Yuki's head. How could the damn rat be so SELFISH?

:0:0:0:

Yuki had a lot of experience schooling his expression into a blank, pleasant and unconcerned mask. You could say that he was a master at it. It was taking all of his mastery now to keep from looking back at the eyes he knew were trained on him. He could practically feel Kyo's burning gaze boring into his neck. He was pretty sure that Fujitsima had noticed something too. But best of all, he was sure that Tooru had seen something different in him too.

The mouse looked down at his notebook, idly making a little checkmark. Stage one was well underway. He gave a little sigh. He'd wanted to court Tooru properly. His plans hadn't been all that different from Fujitsima's. He'd thought that one day he'd confess to her all that she meant to him. That he'd be able to take her out on a true date and treat her to all the things she enjoyed.

His mouth twisted a little. But he'd been beaten to the punch and now Fujitsima had colored the water further with this stupid 'brothers' thing. Tooru hadn't protested the insinuation. Did she truly see him as just a 'family' member? A sibling?

That simply wouldn't do. Hence, stage one. He would make her see that he was just as much a potential suitor as that moron Fujitsima. By her blush before it seemed he was well on his way. And it accomplished the secondary goal of letting her supposed boyfriend know that he had competition.

He could hear hushed whispers at his back and made sure that his shoulders didn't hunch in reaction. He felt a little badly about the rumors that were bound to surface. She didn't deserve to be talked about that way. He'd been vaguely aware that the other girls in class occasionally gave Tooru a hard time about their friendship. He wasn't completely oblivious after all. But she'd never said anything about it, and he wasn't sure how to stop it without making it worse. But he'd never thought that the boys in the class were similarly petty.

He knew that they liked to match up Kyou with Uotani and tease the two about their supposed 'relationship'. And he'd even heard them teasing about Kyou's overprotective streak when it came to Tooru. He hadn't thought that they thought much beyond that. To think that they though he or Kyou were doing those sorts of things... with Tooru.

How could they possibly think...?

He wrote down the most complex math equation he could think of to take his mind off what the other boys in class evidently had thought he and Tooru (or Kyou and Tooru) had done together.

Once he'd prevented and flush from marring his features and his mind had calmed he continued on with his train of thought. Sadly, being more open about his feelings for Tooru only meant that those kind of rumors were going to get worse. If they were to enter into an official relationship perhaps he could protect her a bit better. He could be the one to beat in the faces of anyone who dared to say-

SNAP

He looked down at the pencil in his hand in dismay. Apparently he wasn't keeping as close a reign on himself as he thought he was. He calmly put the pencil on the edge of his desk for disposal and pulled out a pen. He clicked it on and looked to the board and paid attention to the lecture studiously hoping no one had noticed his little lapse in control.

There was no rise in the mutter of gossip in the room so he was pretty sure it had gone unnoticed by most.

:0:0:0:

Tooru watched Yuki put the pencil fragments down and fumble for a pen. She tried to concentrate on what the teacher was saying, but her thoughts were a little too full to let her. Yuki had been acting strange the past couple of days. She couldn't put her finger on it, he acted normal when they were alone. But as soon as there were other people around his whole attitude changed.

Perhaps I've done something to upset him, she thought drawing a little spiraling circle in her notebook. He smiled more now, and he was more polite... In fact he was being much more attentive to her then usual. But he wasn't being himself and made her heart ache like it was bruised. She'd always treasured the few times he'd truly smiled; it really transformed him into a completely different person. These past couple of days it was like he'd wrapped his heart back up inside himself and was hiding it away. She was sure he was forcing himself to act so nice and conscientious to her, that he was pretending. It made him feel very far away and out of reach, even though he only sat a few seats away from her.

What could have happened to make him so distant, she wondered. It had started about the same time that Fujitsima and Kyou had gotten into that fight. She chewed at her lip. Maybe that was it, what Fujitsima had said as he left that day, about Yuki and Kyou being like her brothers? She cared for them both, and Shigure too, very much but she'd never considered the Soumas as family in that way. Perhaps Yuki had been offended thinking that she considered herself family? After all, the Soumas were an old and important family, and she was... well, a nobody.

That must be it, Tooru thought to herself. She'd gotten rather comfortable in her life with the Soumas. Now it seemed that maybe she'd made herself too comfortable. That's probably what he really meant this morning, about me coming into his room, she decided. He was being polite, saying that he was imposing, but it's probably that she was imposing on him. After all what young man would like a girl who was really, when you thought about it, practically a stranger going into your room and waking you up?

She ducked her head, feeling her cheeks starting to burn all over again. But if she hadn't gone in and woken him up he would have been late... what else was she have supposed to have done?

"Aren't you going to eat lunch?"

Tooru started to see Fujitsima standing over her desk, his bento in hand, Kyou just behind him. She glanced at the clock and around the room. It was indeed time for lunch, and almost everyone else had turned their desks around and pulled out their lunches.

"Oh, oh yes of course." Tooru said pulling her box out from the desk. She smiled as Uo-chan and Hana-chan pulled their desks closer so they could all eat together. "I was just a little distracted I guess."

She jumped when she felt a hand on her shoulder. She looked up to see Yuki smiling at her. That's not his real smile, she thought to herself, almost missing what he said.

"Would Honda-san mind moving over a little? My desk is too far to pull over, but you don't mind sharing do you?" He said indicating a chair he'd pulled up to be next to hers.

"N-n-not at all!" Tooru stuttered, moving her chair over to let him slide into place next to her. He was sitting so close that she could feel the warmth of his arm through the thin sleeve of her uniform.

Fujitsima started and glanced at Kyou, as if checking to see if someone had seen the same thing he had. But Kyou just scowled at Yuki before glancing around the classroom. Fujitsima did the same and flushed as he saw people avoid his gaze and turn to whispering to each other. He quickly found a chair and seated himself on the other side of Tooru.

"Everyday, I look forward to lunch." Yuki was saying now as he carefully unwrapped his own bento. "Shigure may be annoying but what he says about Honda-san's cooking is very true. Truly there isn't any better to be had."

Tooru dropped the morsel she had been about to bring up to her own mouth. The fact that she made lunch for both Yuki and Kyou had been something of a secret at school. It had been a tacit unspoken agreement that they wouldn't say anything to make people suspicious about how close they really were. Now he'd just said to everyone with in earshot that the lunch he ate everyday was made by her.

The whole group fell silent as they watched Yuki pluck up the little piece of food and drop it into his own mouth. "Not a scrap should be wasted." Yuki said still smiling.

Kyou was staring at the rat open mouthed. He could hear the collective level of murmurs in the room escalate at Yuki's unorthodox behavior. What the-?

"Aaaaah..." Hana-chan said softly, "Such wonderful vibrations. Such a treat to share them over a meal." She smiled, sparkles of electricity sparking around her.

"So, do you have to work today?" Uo-chan said looking at the three boys who surrounded a silent and nervous Tooru. "I was thinking maybe we could go shopping after school. We haven't done that in a while." Poor kid didn't understand anything that was going on around her.

"Ah, no," Tooru said jumping, shaking herself out of her stupor. "I mean, yes... I have to work today, so I can't go shopping."

"That's too bad." Fujitsima said, jumping in and trying to make conversation. "Honda-san has to work so hard."

"Oh, not at all." Tooru assured him. "I enjoy my work. It's not hard at all." She smiled.

"I was," Fujitsima stopped blushing, swallowed and then started again. "I was wondering if maybe I could walk you to work?"

"Oh!" Tooru waved a hand, "You don't have to do that, it's not far and its light out so it's very safe. It's very kind of you to offer."

Fujitsima gave a weak laugh, "I'm glad Honda-san thinks its safe, but really I just want an excuse to be able to spend time with Honda-san. You work so hard and have so little free time, I thought this way we could spend more time together."

"Oh." Tooru said blinking and her face feeling like it now had tattooed red stamp across her cheeks. "I suppose, if Fujitsima-san doesn't mind..." She trailed off, trying to hide her disquiet. Her walks to work were practically the only time she had to herself these days. She liked Fujitsima. He was a very nice person, and it made her feel good to know that someone like that was interested in her. But his constant attention was a little wearing.

"Not at all!" He grinned. He looked so happy to be simply able to walk her to work that Tooru couldn't regret giving up her little bit of freedom up. She completely missed the shuttered look that came over Yuki's face or how Kyou's scowl deepened.

:0:0:0:

Tooru sighed, wiping her brow and stacking the trash bag with the rest of the burnable trash. Her day was finally almost over. She felt like she hadn't done her best today. She was too distracted to focus.

Fujitsima had made a big deal out of walking her to work, he'd made a show of taking her book bag at the gate and taking her had. She flushed as they walked down the street, she wasn't used to this kind intimacy and it made her uncomfortable. She glanced at the boy at her side, he didn't seem to notice and such a simple thing seemed to make him so happy that she didn't want to ruin it for him.

"Honda-san." She'd started when he'd suddenly spoke.

She blinked up at him, wondering if she'd missed something. "Yes, Fujitsima-san?"

"I... I feel a little left out." Fujitsima seemed to be studying the sky, and he scratched at his nose.

"Left out?" She'd asked, the concern in her voice real.

"Soum-um.. Yuki-kun and Kyou-kun... you call them by their first names, but you still call me by my last name."

"Oh." Tooru said, feeling very uncomfortable. She wasn't sure if she was ready to call Fujitsima anything else but his last name. "Well, that is... Fujitsima-san also calls me by my last name..." She hedged. She felt a little cornered. It was...different...calling Kyou and Yuki by their names. It had seemed natural to do so.

"That's true." Fujitsima agreed.

There were silent for a little while, and Tooru became very conscious of how soft Fujitsima's hand in hers was. Kyou's hand was rough and callused, and Yuki's was thin and strong. Fujitsima's hand was a little clammy.

"I wonder..." The boy started and then trailed off. He seemed to gather his courage. "I wonder if Honda-san really understands how I feel."

Tooru remained silent unsure how she was supposed to respond to that. The boy beside her stopped and looked directly at her squeezing her hand.

"It isn't just that Honda-san calls Yuki-kun and Kyou-kun by their names..." Fujitsima said looking at her seriously. "Honda-san also smiles and talks with them. And you look happy when you see them...And..." He trailed off. "And Honda-san never looks like that at me."

Tooru blinked at the boy, what could she say to that? Yuki-kun and Kyou-kun were her friends, she felt comfortable around them. She knew that Yuki would help her with anything she needed help with and that Kyou-kun would always be there to listen to her. She didn't have to be self-conscious around them. Did she really smile differently and talk more around them?

"What does Honda-san think of me?" He asked softly.

"What do I think of...?" Her mouth went dry. "I... I think Fujitsima-san is a very nice person." She started off, her mind scrambling. "I think..." She tried to think of what she knew of him, but almost nothing came to mind. He was nice, and he was... "I think Fujitsima-san is a very, very nice person." She watched his face fall she knew she'd given him the wrong answer. She quickly continued, "Fujitsima-san is always watching out for others, and is always very truthful." She paused, watching emotions crossing his face. He was starting to look a little less crushed. "I think that Fujitsima-san is a very brave person."

"Brave?" Fujitsima's cheeks colored. "I'm not... I couldn't even win one fight."

"Oh no!" Tooru insisted, shaking her head. "Winning or losing doesn't matter at all! Even though Fujitsima-san isn't very strong, you fought those boys because you thought they were wrong to say those things." She looked to the side a thoughtful look on her face, "Even though Mother always said that people shouldn't fight...even though she used to..." She shook her head, "But anyway, it's not even that Fujitsima fought that makes him brave."

"It doesn't?" He said looking confused.

She shook her head. "No!" She smiled up at him, "What makes Fujitsima-san really brave is that he always says what is in his heart. That takes a lot of courage to always be honest with your feelings." Once the words were out of her mouth she realized how true they were.

In some ways he reminded her of her mother, always saying what people needed to hear. He always told her how he cared for her and enjoyed her smiles and her strength. He'd said so in his letters and in little comments he made when they did simple things like played cards and ate lunch. She felt a little guilty because she didn't think she was really being as honest with him as he was with her.

Fujitsima-san blushed and broke into a wide smile. "Well... Well... Gee!"

"Um..." Tooru said hesitantly, glancing at the watch on her wrist, "...work..."

"Oh! Right! I don't want to make you late!" Fujitsima said and tugged at her hand forcing her into a brisk jog. "Let's go!"

"Y-yes!" Tooru forced a smile and tried to keep up with his longer strides. Fujitsima seemed to be much happier now, and livelier, and she was glad she was able to make him smile. But her stomach felt a little unsettled and she felt guilty without really knowing why.

That feeling of guilt and unease stayed with her all through her shift at work. She felt like she had done something wrong. She felt like she was lying to Fujitsima, but everything she'd said was true. Why did she feel so unsettled? She sighed and went to get changed. She couldn't remember the last time she felt so out of sorts and pressured.

She paused at the glass doors of the building, looking out at the nighttime street. Yuki was waiting for her in his usual spot. She felt her lips droop into a frown. Usually she looked forward to the walk home with Yuki. Actually, it was one of her most favorite times of the day. They didn't talk much; usually they just walked in companionable silence. But that didn't matter; she just enjoyed spending time with him when he had all his masks off. He didn't have to worry that Shigure might tease him, or that anyone was watching, or about letting his guard down around Kyou.

She got to spend time with the real Yuki, and that was what she treasured. Sometimes he'd get a little smile on his face that made her stomach flip-flop and made her feel light and exhilarated. It was a little smile that she, perhaps selfishly, had thought of as a smile that was just for her. Right now she was afraid that if she went outside she'd see that fake smile he'd given her at lunch. She was afraid she'd see his eyes shuttered and secretive like they had been when he'd whispered to her in the morning. She'd see a Yuki who was closed off and far away.

She watched as Yuki looked at his watch and gave a worried glance at the doors. She took a deep breath and straightened her back. She couldn't hide in here forever. She put on the best smile she could and pushed her way outside. She waved to him and he waited for her to jog across the street.

She looked up at him and a lump formed in her throat. He was smiling at her with that fake smile. He took her bag and she jumped when she felt his hand settle on the small of her back as they walked.

"Honda-san was late tonight. It must have been a busy night." He said looking down at her, his smile constant. "Honda-san always works so hard." He looked away down the street.

Tooru looked up at him, and wondered what had gone wrong. She could tell he was forcing himself to make this mindless chatter. I must've done something to offend him, she thought to herself. She must've done something really dumb...because he was trying to be kind to her even though he was upset. What could I have done?

Yuki looked down again and frowned. He was trying everything he could think of to make Tooru see that he saw her as more than a sister. He'd been embarrassed, but he'd bought a few of those 'dating' magazines that showed what kind of things girls liked. He was doing just about everything they recommended, complimenting her on the things she did, showing that he appreciated her, smiling and paying attention. He tried to touch her more often, putting his hand at her back or pushing her hair back over shoulder. Perhaps he ought to buy her some gifts. He hadn't wanted to, because he knew she didn't like to be in debt to people. And also because any money he would've used to buy her things would have been Souma money he hadn't earned himself.

But now, since the other things didn't seem to be working, he was rethinking it. Even though he didn't like to use what he considered 'dirty money' that he received each month just for being cursed, maybe if he used it to buy her something useful it wouldn't be so bad. What could she use...? She didn't have much in the way of clothing, he recalled. Back on that horrible day when he'd gone with Kyou and taken her back from her grandfather's house, all of her belongings had fit into just two little shopping bags. Maybe he could buy her a new dress? Or some shoes, girls liked shoes didn't they?

Except, that Tooru didn't really act like other girls. It was one of the things he liked about her the most. He glanced at her again out of the corner of his eye. According to everything he'd read, she should be blushing and looking happy. She should react to his touch by moving closer, not away. She should relax around him, not get tense and look so...unhappy. Perhaps she really didn't think of him as anything but a brother? He had to make her think otherwise!

Tooru felt his hand on her back curl a little, his fingers digging into the cloth of her school uniform. She looked up and bit her lip. Yuki looked deep in thought, and worried. His face hadn't lost its bland happy look, but the skin around his mouth and eyes looked tight. She could see the path to the house just ahead. Soon they would be back inside with the watchful eyes of Shigure and Kyou.

She stopped walking, looking at her feet. Her heart was thudding and she swore she could hear her rushing blood in her ears. She couldn't take another day of this. She couldn't stand being around this distant Yuki who was trying so hard.

Yuki had stopped when she did, looking down at her in surprise. He waited for some explanation, but the silence stretched. "Did Honda-san forget something at work? If it's not very important, perhaps we should leave it for now... we're almost home and Honda-san had a very long day today."

"Is...Is Yuki-kun upset with me?" Tooru was a little ashamed of how small her voice sounded. She couldn't look up at him, she was too afraid. She kept her eyes on her worn shoes.

"Upset?" Yuki said, recoiling back, his hand finally leaving her back.

"Ever since... ever since last week Yuki-kun has been acting... different." Tooru forced the words out. She felt like she was probably just digging herself deeper into a hole. If she'd done something to upset him, he probably wouldn't admit it. He was too kind, so kind that he'd even be dishonest to try to protect her. But she had to know, and maybe if she asked now when there wasn't anyone to watch him be honest she could get the truth. "Did I do something to bother Yuki-kun?"

"Bother me?" Yuki repeated, wondering how he had gone so wrong. Just one short week of trying to be suave, charming and trying to attract her attention and it looked like he'd ruined 2 years of friendship. All he'd wanted to do was make her look at him in a new way, and all he'd accomplished was to make her think that he was mad at her? How could he have messed things up so badly?

"Honda-san hasn't-" He started.

"Please tell me!" Tooru interrupted, ashamed to feel tears forming in the back of her eyes. "I'm really sorry, whatever I did. If Yuki-kun would just tell me, then I could be sure not to do it again." She rubbed at her eyes trying to keep any tears from falling. If she did that Yuki would never tell her the truth. "Then Yuki wouldn't have to try so hard to be nice to me."

Yuki started dropping her bag in shock. She'd noticed? She noticed that he'd been trying to impress her? He'd tried to act natural during all of his efforts, but it must've been too obvious that he was acting against his nature. But she'd completely misinterpreted what he was trying to show her. She thought he was trying so hard because she'd upset him.

Tooru watched his face confused by the expressions she saw flickering behind his expressive eyes. He was so silent. She felt a sick sense of dread. He must be trying to think of some way to gently break what she had done to her. She must've done something really thoughtless and stupid.

"Honda-san." Tooru jumped as she felt his hands settle heavily on her shoulders. "You've completely misunderstood." She looked up and sucked in a deep breath. He was staring straight at her and all his masks were gone. He leaned forward a little more and touched his forehead to hers and closed his eyes. "I am not upset with Honda-san at all." He gave a little rueful smile. "If I'm upset with anyone, it's with myself."

He stood straight and backed a little away from her. "I've been acting very foolish this week."

"Yuki-kun?" Tooru said hesitantly.

"Honestly, Honda-san, I have been acting differently and I did hope that you would notice." Yuki looked at her and smiled, a real honest smile that felt like it shot through her like an arrow. "But I'm afraid I was trying too hard, and I didn't do a very good job at showing Honda-san what I wanted to."

Tooru felt her stomach flip-flop in an entirely pleasant way. She felt her lips start to tug up into a smile. "W-what did Yuki-kun want to show me?"

Unexpectedly, Yuki blushed, his face flaming red.

"Ah... well..." Yuki started, backing up a little.

Tooru stepped a little closer, clasping her hands behind her back and trying to peer up into his face through his bangs. She'd always thought of Yuki as very attractive person. But right now, with his cheeks stained with red and even his ears taking on a rosy hue he looked really, really cute. She hardly noticed that she was standing closer then she usually did, or that he'd stopped retreating to look at her with wide eyes. Her smile grew softer and she tilted her chin up-

"Oi!"

Yuki and Tooru both started, stepping back from each other and turning to look at Kyou who was staring at them suspiciously from the top of the path.

"What the heck is taking you two so long!" The cat bristled stalking towards them. "You were supposed to be back a half hour ago!"

"Ah!" Tooru waved her hand back and forth. "Oh, Sorry! Sorry! Work went late and then I'm afraid I was thinking something stupid and we were delayed."

"What the heck is that supposed to mean?" Kyou said, not really that soothed. He'd been out of sorts all day, what with the Rat acting all weird and all. He had almost insisted that he go with Yuki to pick up Tooru, but he didn't want Shigure to tease or to hear what snide remark the Rat might come up with. And he certainly hadn't wanted to actually spend time with Yuki alone on the way to Tooru's work.

Instead he'd sat at home and counted every minute until they were supposed to be home. At fifteen minutes late he'd been concerned and a little angry, at thirty he'd been furious and very worried. He'd ignored Shigure's knowing look and stomped out to find out what was taking them so long. Then he found them like...like that.

"Did Kyou-kun eat dinner?" Tooru asked as she passed him onto the path to the house. She smiled up at him and he swallowed the angry words he wanted to shout. That was the first time she'd looked genuinely happy in days.

"Yeah, I ate." He said ungraciously, turning to level an accusing look at Yuki. What had he done that made her all smiles again?

Yuki gave him a cool look back and slowly and deliberately picked up the bag he'd dropped. He was looking much too self-assured for Kyou's taste.

"Yo," He said deliberately staring at Yuki as he spoke following Tooru down the path. "Fujitsima called for you earlier."

"For me?" Tooru asked pausing on the threshold, her face falling.

"Yeah. He wants you to meet him tomorrow morning, he's got morning duties so he's going to be there early." Kyou shrugged, ignoring Yuki's stare boring into the back of his neck. "He said that if you couldn't come he'd understand, but that he wanted to say something to you." To say he'd been unhappy to talk to the idiot earlier was an understatement, but he was rather enjoying the look that was coming over Yuki's face now.

"Oh...ok..." Tooru said, her smile gone. "I'll be leaving early tomorrow then...I'll leave breakfast and your bentos on the table." She walked upstairs, the pep out of her step. Yuki pushed past Kyou and headed up to his room, his door closing with an audible bang.

Kyou frowned at her tone. He expected Yuki to be upset at the news Fujitsima had called, but he thought Tooru would like that the moron called. Didn't she like that jerk? That's why he didn't beat the crap out of him before now, because he thought he was doing the right thing for her. He hated the way that idiot fawned over her, but since she seemed to enjoy it.

He hated watching that guy with her though he didn't think about why too much. He'd thought that it was worth the pain of seeing them together because she at least had a chance of happiness that way. It was the kind of happiness that he knew he, or Yuki, couldn't give her. But if she wasn't happy...

Tooru came downstairs and gave Kyou a lukewarm smile. "I'm just going to get things ready for tomorrow, so it won't be such a rush." She walked into the kitchen.

Kyou followed her, still frowning. He leaned in the doorway and watched her take out their lunchboxes and set them out on the counter.

"Oi." He said finally, after watching her pick and choose from the cupboards things to eat and preparing the ricecooker for tomorrow. "You know, he said you didn't have to come. You don't have to go if you don't want to."

"Not go?" Tooru said blinking at him. She hadn't even considered it.

"Yeah." Kyou shrugged, trying to look casual. "I mean, he knows you work late so I'm sure he'd understand if you don't wanna." His eyes slid away from hers, "It's pretty rude actually, asking you to." It was the first time he'd come out and outright said something bad about the other boy and regretted it before the words left his mouth.

"Oh! No!" Tooru said shaking her head quickly. "I'm sure it must be something important or he wouldn't have asked. Fujitsima-san isn't rude."

"No." Kyou said, sounding petulant even to his own ears and hating it. "He's freakin' perfect I suppose."

"No." Tooru said looking at the back of a box of raisins as if it held the answers to all his questions, "He's not perfect, I'm just sure he wouldn't ask me to come early if he didn't have a good reason."

He watched her finish up and smile at him as she passed him. "If I don't see Kyou-kun tomorrow, please, have a good morning. I'll be going to bed now."

Kyou frowned and let her reach her door before he went up to his own room.

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The next morning Tooru frowned at her alarm as it went off earlier then normal. She sighed heavily and pushed back the covers. She felt bad for feeling disgruntled and upset at having to meet Fujitsima. He was such a nice person. Surely it was rude on her part that she didn't seem to want to spend as much time with him as he wanted to with her? It must be some character flaw that she should overcome.

She wandered down the hall and washed her face. It wasn't his fault that she felt guilty and out of sorts when he was around. All he ever did was be nice to her. I should be thankful, she thought to herself, that such a good person thinks I'm worth being around.

She gave herself a determined stare in the mirror and tried to think what her mother would recommend in this situation. But the inner voice of her mother was silent. She sighed again and decided that she was just tired. "I'll go to bed early tonight, and tomorrow will be much better."

She quickly got dressed and headed down the stairs trying to pep herself up as she went. Today there was no PE, which was a good thing. Today was Home EC, which was a good thing because she was good at it and the girls had it without the boys. The sun was shining, and it looked like it would be a lovely day. She didn't have work tonight so she could rest tonight and get caught up on her homework.

"Oi. Breakfast is ready."

Tooru stopped dead at the bottom of the stairs blinking at the unexpected sight of Kyou standing in the doorway with a frying pan in his hand. A light dusting of red colored his cheeks.

"Sit down and eat. I woke up early so I made breakfast." Tooru was speechless as he dumped a pair of sunny-side up eggs on a plate sitting on the table. "Argh!" He glanced at the kitchen, "The toast is burning."

Tooru sat at the table staring at the eggs. Kyou came in and plunked a couple of pieces of slightly burnt toast on the edge of the plate and a glass of juice in reach. She looked up at him.

"Go on and eat. I ate the breakfast you made. The damn dog and rat will have plenty when they wake up. I just thought you might like something different."

Tooru looked at the eggs and then back at Kyou. "This is really for me?"

Kyou nodded, "Whatdya think, I made 'em just to look at. Eat up, you don't eat enough that's why you're always getting sick."

"Yes!" Tooru replied and started in on the eggs. "I didn't know that Kyou-kun could make eggs."

"Did you think I could only make curry?" Kyou snorted. "It's not like Shishou was any good at that sort of thing, so I made all the meals. Of course I know how to make breakfast too."

"Oh!" Tooru said nibbling on the toast. "I suppose I didn't think." She smiled up at him. "How stupid of me."

"Dummy." Kyou agreed. He looked out into the backyard. Tooru took the opportunity to study his profile. He really was all sharp edges, even his hair seemed to bristle out in points, especially when he got mad. But despite it he was one of the most comfortable people to be around, she decided. There was never any pressure being with him. Even now that she was sitting and eating the breakfast he made. She smiled a little to herself.

Today was a good day because Kyou-kun made her breakfast and sat with her while she ate it. She'd try to remember that later on and maybe the day wouldn't be as trying as she expected it to be.

"Thank you." She said softly. "It was very good."

"Done?" Kyou started to reach for her plate.

"Oh, no, let me at least wash the dishes." Tooru protested and she smiled again as Kyou's hand dropped. He always knew when not to protest.

"I'll dry," was his only concession. She nodded and led the way into the kitchen. Kyou was a tidy cook, there was only a few things that needed cleaning. It was nice standing side by side with him and he took the plates she washed.

It was times like these that she really enjoyed living in the Souma household and when she really felt like she belonged.

"I was thinking-" Kyou started, then restarted. "I'll walk with you to school."

"Oh..." Tooru said, thinking that she should probably refuse for some reason. She didn't know why, but taking Kyou with her to meet with Fujitsima seemed wrong.

"Because, well, I'm up and it's not like I have anything better to do." He insisted. "And I don't want to hang around with the damn Rat and Dog or anything."

"Well, of course." Tooru smiled, sad that her happy feeling was already starting to fade. "I'd be happy to walk with Kyou-kun!" And she was sure she'd enjoy the walk. She just didn't know what would happen once they arrived.

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