Tooru looked between the library shelves and the card she held in her hand. Somewhere on this shelf was a book on container gardening. Why couldn't she find it?

"Oh, there!" She went up on her tiptoes trying to reach it. It was just beyond the range of her fingertips.

"Oh, let me, Tooru-kun." Fujitsima came up behind her and plucked the book from the shelf. He glanced at it. "This isn't on 18th century poets."

"I already found that." Tooru held up a book of poetry. "Since I found mine already I decided to look for a book to take home with me too."

He handed her the book and smiled. "So Tooru-kun likes gardening."

Tooru wondered if he was trying to say her name as often as he could. He seemed to be. "Yes, very much, though I only became interested recently."

"Oooh, lovebirds among the library stacks." Hisae laughed as she came up the isle. "If this was a manga, books would fall and Maseo would have to save you." She nodded. "And then you'd kiss." She giggled at the twin blushes that lit up their faces. "Oh, Tooru chan, on Friday...you did get permission to go right?"

"Yes," Fujitsima answered before she could even open her mouth. "So, we're going right after school?"

"Well, that's what I wanted to talk to Tooru-chan about. We were thinking we should wear kimonos. Wouldn't that be fun?" Hisae steepled her fingers together. "Akane thought of it."

"I think Tooru-kun would be really cute in a kimono." Fujitsima said grinning. "Is Hisae-chan going to wear her yellow one? Should we guys wear haori?"

"That's what we were thinking." Hisae nodded. "Akane and I talked about it last night. She lives between here and the park, so we thought we'd stop there and dress up. Oh, that reminds me...Tooru-chan what's your cell number? I'll add it to my phone."

"Oh, I don't have a cell phone." Tooru said, "And...um...a kimono..."

"Tooru-chan doesn't have a kimono?" Hisae looked disappointed for a moment, then her face brightened again. "Wait a minute, turn around."

Tooru obediently turned her back to Hisae. The smaller girl put her back to Tooru's. "How much taller is she then me?"

"About..." Fujitsima circled them. "A head taller... Wow, Hisae-chan, you're short."

"Oh, really? I hadn't noticed." Hisae wrinkled her nose. "But that means Tooru-chan is just about the size of my little sister."

"Little?" Fujitsima looked at her up and down.

"Okay," Hisae conceded, rolling her eyes. "My younger sister. Happy? Enough with the short jokes." She smacked him lightly on the shoulder. "I'll bring one of her kimonos for Tooru-chan."

"That'd be great." Fujitsima grinned. "Don't you think so, Tooru-kun?"

Tooru looked between Hisae and him. Even though they were talking about her, she'd felt like an outsider. Fujitsima was so comfortable and casual with Hisae; it was like he was another person. Kind of like, she thought, how Yuki is different at home then at school. Belatedly she realized they were still waiting for her answer. "Oh, yes! Thank you." She smiled. "It will be like playing dress up!"

"So that's the only change of plans... we'll stop by Akane-chan's then off to the park!" Hisae bounced in place. "I can't wait, I can't believe it's only Wednesday!"

"Okay everybody, if you have your books, we'll be going back to class." The teacher called for everyone's attention. "I'll expect your first drafts on Monday."

Tooru hung back a little and watched Hisae and Fujitsima chatter back and forth. He really was like a different personality, or another side to him. They teased each other back and forth, and his body was relaxed and loose. He glanced back at Tooru and straightened a little. He gave her a smile, but it was different then the easy grin he gave Hisae.

She smiled at him when his face started to fall. She wondered as she checked out her books why was he so different with her? She'd thought he was nice and fun before. Comparing him with how he acted around Hisae and his friends she realized how much he was holding back. Did she do the same around his friends?

:0:0:

Kyou sat at his desk and thought he should have skipped school today. He hadn't done it in a while. He could miss a day and not get in trouble. Well, not with school, Tooru would ask why he wasn't there and he couldn't lie and say he didn't feel well because then she'd be worried. If he said he just didn't want to be there, then she'd give him that disappointed look.

Lunchtime was approaching and he was dreading it. Every time he spoke to Tooru he remembered what the Idiot had said. All he wanted was to pull her away somewhere where they could be alone. Had Yuki said anything to her last night about Fujitsima telling them both to leave her alone? She didn't act like it. She did get really smiley any time the Rat looked at her. She'd said something as they walked to school that morning about painting her secret base and the Rat had blushed and offered her some paints he had. It was gibberish to him, but they were both happy about it, and blushy. He wondered if the Rat had confessed to her...

But if he had, she'd act different around the Idiot wouldn't she? And him? He sighed; he didn't want to think about it. He wanted to go home.

That was it, after lunch he'd ditch and go home. Shigure wouldn't care. And if Tooru asked later he'd say didn't feel well. He wouldn't mind her fussing over him and once he "recovered" she wouldn't worry anymore. Decision made, now he just had to wait for his chance to escape. He propped his book up and put his head down on the desk. The teacher had already given up on him as a hopeless case, so he'd just nap until it was time to go.

"Oi! Orange head." Uotani kicked his desk, jostling him awake. "Lunch."

Kyou blinked at her, he'd fallen into a sound sleep. "Yeah, whatever." He said, rubbing his mouth. He hoped he hadn't drooled. He put his head back down on his arms. He wasn't sure if he was ready to get up yet.

"Kyou-kun shouldn't sleep in class." Tooru said disapprovingly.

Still sleepy, he reached out and mussed her hair. "It's too boring to stay awake."

"Somehow," Yuki said coolly, "the rest of us manage."

"Kyou-kun?" Fujitsima said, staring at him. Kyou followed his line of sight. He still held a lock of Tooru's hair between his fingers. He let it go and stood up.

"Let's go already." He looked at Fujitsima. "Those other guys coming?"

"Not today."

"You guys wanna play cards?" Uo-chan held up a deck as they trooped outside.

"We haven't played Dai Hin Min for a while." Hana-chan agreed.

"If we play," Fujitsima said, "Can we play it the way it's supposed to be played?"

"Whadaya mean?" Kyou said sitting down and opening his lunch. "We play by the rules."

"I mean, whoever wins is supposed to be able to tell the poor man what to do." Fujitsima explained, sitting close to Tooru.

"As long as no one else minds, but considering how bad you play," Uotani said as she dealt out the cards, "I'd think you'd want to forget about that part. But it's your funeral."

"Well..." He answered, picking up his cards. "I've been practicing."

And he had. He almost won it. But in the end, Hanajima ended up the King, with Tooru as the Poor Man.

Hanajima tapped her chin. "Interesting development."

"Dammit, it's not fair. You cheat." Kyou said slapping down his cards.

"It's not Hanajima-san's fault you are so easy to read, baka neko." Yuki said, relieved that she'd won. He was still clumsy at this game, and the last thing he wanted was to be Poor Man to Fujitsima's King. Or worse, have Tooru be Poor Man. Fujitsima'd probably had something in mind to keep her from talking to him.

Hanajima ignored the fight. "So what shall I have Tooru-chan do?" She mused. "Snacks."

"Snacks?" Tooru repeated.

"Tooru-chan will make me snacks for lunch tomorrow." Hana-chan looked dreamily into the sky. "It's been too long since I've eaten our Tooru-chan's cooking."

"Too long?" Uotani said around a mouthful of lunch. "You ate the cookies she baked in home ec this morning, all of them. I don't even think Tooru got one."

"Hisae brought Akira her cookies." Fujitsima said. "He made fun of them though, because they were all lumpy and strange. Hisae is an awful cook."

"Hisae-chan tries hard." Tooru said. "She must have been disappointed when Mitsuwa-kun made fun of her cookies."

"No, it gave them an excuse to fight. Hisae-chan likes fighting." Fujitsima said, smiling at the thought. "And she's good at it. Akira never wins."

"Have you all been friends long?" Uotani asked. "You sound like it."

"It feels like forever. I'm not surprised Akira and Hisae are dating, I'm just surprised it took this long." Fujitsima said and launched into a story of the three of them in elementary school.

Tooru watched him become more animated and lively as he talked about his friends. He'd been the same way on their first date, when he'd talked about his family. He never acted this comfortable with her. Maybe he was as nervous and uncomfortable as she was when they talked and went out? She knew she didn't act the same with him as she did with Hana-chan and Uo-chan, or Yuki or Kyou. She felt that tip of the tongue, almost understanding feeling that she'd had in Shigure's study last night.

"Oi," Kyou tugged on a lock of her hair. Tooru looked over her shoulder at him, startled out of her thoughts. "What are you thinking about so seriously?"

"Nothing." She smiled. Kyou was lounging in the grass, looking like he was ready for another nap. "Was Kyou-kun up late last night? He looks sleepy."

"Yeah, kinda." He yawned and closed his eyes. "I ain't going back to class."

"Skipping? What a delinquent!" Uotani wagged a finger.

"Kyou-kun shouldn't do that! School is important." Tooru said worriedly. "Unless, is Kyou-kun not feeling well?"

"He ate pretty well for somebody who's sick." Uotani pointed to his empty lunchbox.

"Mind your own business Yankee." Kyou said irritably. "Fine. I'll go to class. I won't promise to stay awake."

"What a belligerent child I have." Hana-chan shook her head. "Father and I will have some disciplining to do."

Kyou shot up into a sitting position. "You stay away from Shishou! He's not interested in you."

"Shishou?" Fujitsima said softly to Tooru. She was startled by how close he was to her.

"Shishou-san is the man who raised Kyou-kun." Tooru explained in a whisper. "Hana-chan thinks Shishou-san is very attractive."

"She does?" He looked at Hana. "I wouldn't have thought she noticed stuff like that."

Yuki watched Tooru and Fujitsima whisper together jealously. "Honda-san." He interrupted, noting Fujitsima's dirty look. "Since you are getting home before me tonight, if you want my paints they are in the top drawer of my desk."

"Thank you!" Tooru clapped her hands together. "If I paint it right after I get home, it should be dry by the time Yuki-kun comes back."

"Paint what?" Uo-chan asked, tired of watching Hana-chan and Kyou fight.

"My secret base!" Tooru said excitedly. "It's something like a place of my own."

"Okay." Uo-chan said, used to Tooru's nonsensical statements. "You'll have to show me next time I come over."

"Lunch is over." Hana-chan said standing, "Let's return." She ignored the sputtering Kyou she left behind her.

"Kyou-kun is coming?" Tooru said standing and dusting herself off.

"Yeah, I'm coming." Kyou said getting up reluctantly.

Fujitsima came up beside her and fumbled for her hand. She was a little startled, but let him take it.

"It's good that Kyou-kun is coming back to class, but don't make Tooru-kun late." He stressed her name just a little every time he said it, like he was reminding himself to use it.

Kyou's eyes narrowed a little, noticing the idiot was throwing his own words back at him, but he shrugged it off. "Whatever." He slouched into place on her other side and walked with them to class. The Idiot was really grating on his nerves, he couldn't wait for school to be over. He was regretting his decision to go back to class. He should've ditched and gone over to Shishou's. He would have understood once he explained.

Yesterday he'd examined Kyou's hands and told him to wait at least another week before returning to the punching bag or actual sparring with other partners. But Shishou had taught him a new kata and gone over it with him, one that was really involved and challenging and it had been almost as good as punching something.

Afterwards they'd sat in the kitchen eating slightly burnt fish while Kyou worked up the courage to talk about the situation with Fujitsima, Tooru and Yuki. He'd backed into it slowly.

"So..." He said breaking the silence Shishou always seemed to be happy to maintain. "This Sunday I invited her over here for dinner. She hasn't been for a while." Kyou didn't say who "her" was, there was only one "her."

"That will be pleasant." Shishou smiled. "I'll make soba."

"No way! Your soba is nasty!" Kyou said slapping his hand against the table. "You always over-cook the noodles and its just a big mushy mess. No," he repeated. "We're going to go shopping before we come over and we're cooking." He picked a few of the more burnt flakes of fish off and mumbled. "She said she thought it'd be fun." He glanced at his adoptive father out of the corner of his eye, obviously bursting to say something.

"Mmm." Shishou murmured noncommitally. He waited patiently knowing that he had to let Kyou find his own way to open up or he'd just close up tighter.

"So..." Kyou started again. "That idiot is still following her around."

"Oh?"

"Yeah."

"This is the person who wrote her?" Shishou said.

"Yeah, and asked her out on a date." Kyou said, and sketched in the details of Fujitsima's courtship of Tooru up to the date they planned for this Friday. "And he told me, and the Rat, that we shouldn't hang around her at school!" He burst at the end, having worked himself up all over again. "The Rat told him off, I didn't see it, but the Idiot told me about it later."

"What was your response?" Shishou asked, gathering his plates together.

Kyou's mouth twisted. "It got all confused. The Idiot was whining about the Rat liking her and I said so what about it... 'cause it's not like what any of us feels matters, right?" He looked up at his teacher as the older man stood and put his plates in the sink.

"How so?" Shishou asked, taking Kyou's plates and putting them in the sink.

"It's her feelings!" Kyou said pounding the table. "That's the only important thing. If she likes the Idiot... then it doesn't matter if we like her."

"Does she have feelings for him?" Shishou asked, noting Kyou had included himself in the group that "liked" Tooru without noticing.

"He wants me to ask." Kyou said sullenly, picking at his bandages. Shishou raised an eyebrow at him. "I was just saying that the Rat wasn't so perfect, and he thought I meant he should keep chasing her around. Idiot." He looked away. "He said she's more comfortable around me and asked me to find out how she feels." He concentrated on the bandages around his hands. "Isn't that stupid?"

"It does seem to be a conversation he should have with her himself." Shishou agreed. "But I am confused on one thing. Why do you think it doesn't matter how you... or Yuki..." he added when Kyou started to protest, "...feel about Tooru? Of course her feelings matter, but why do you dismiss yours?" He hastened to add. "Or Yuki's?"

Kyou blinked. "'Cause!" He said angrily, "It's not like we can, you know, do anything about it. Shigure said Junninshi don't get to have that kind of stuff." He looked away. "That's why I don't get the Rat. Why is he protesting so much? Maybe we should both back off! Give her a chance to have something normal."

"Shigure said that, hmn?" Shishou mused. "I don't know if that's true..."

"What do you mean?" Kyou couldn't help sounding suspicious.

"That the Junninshi don't get to have relationships. My grandfather managed to have my father."

Kyou stared at him. He'd always known that, but he hadn't really thought about it. That meant that the past cat had managed to have some sort of relationship with some person at some point. "But how could he do that?"

"It generally takes more then one person." Shishou reminded him.

"I know that!" Kyou said blushing furiously. "I mean-"

"I meant," Shishou interrupted, "That the feelings of both parties are involved. I have never heard that my grandmother had a problem with his curse. Tooru-kun does not seem to mind it either. As you say...it's her feelings that matter. Perhaps she does not want something 'normal'."

"But she deserves better." Kyou muttered.

"What is better..." His father mused. "I think each person decides that for themselves. Perhaps it is not such a bad idea for you to talk with Tooru-kun about how she feels."

"Is Kyou-kun sleeping with his eyes open?"

Kyou blinked, pulled back to the present. Tooru was looking at him worriedly. "Maybe Kyou-kun should have gone home." Class had thinned; over half of their classmates had gone home or to their after-school clubs. Even Fujitsima was gone.

"Yeah." He said standing, "Nah... I don't need to get in trouble with the teachers any more than I am." He snorted. "I'll just take a nap when we get home."

"Up on the roof?" Tooru smiled as they walked towards the door. "It's nice and sunny out today."

"Yeah," he agreed. He thought about what Shishou had said... "You want to sit with me for a while?" Kyou blurted. "You know, after you're done doing your stuff."

Tooru smiled, Kyou didn't often invite her up to the roof. He never seemed to mind when she popped up on her own, but being invited was a heady feeling. "I'd like that, very much." It was like a chime going of inside her saying now was the time to be happy. "I'll come after I've done my chores."

He just nodded, keeping his eyes on the blue skies above him. He felt a knot begin to form in his stomach. When they sat together he'd ask her how he felt about the idiot.

He glanced around, realizing he hadn't seen the Idiot since lunch. It wasn't like him to let Tooru alone. "So where's the Id- Fujitsima?" Kyou stumbled over his name, nearly slipping and calling him by his not-so-nice nickname.

"Fuji-san," She said speaking slowly like she was making sure to say his name correctly, "has tennis club today."

Tennis club. Kyou snorted. The Idiot was like a poster child for "perfect, normal boyfriend."

"Fuji-san invited me to go watch him play." Tooru said idly, reaching out with a hand to stroke some blooming flowers on a fence as they passed. The flowers swayed under her fingers.

"Why didn't you?" He watched her fingers as they slid over the leaves.

"Well, there are chores..." Tooru said looking a little guilty. "Shigure-san and I are going to try to tidy up his room on Saturday, so the laundry, I wanted to do that early..."

"You could've done that later." Kyou said, watching her squirm. "It's not like we couldn't have gone a week without doing laundry. If you want to go watch him play..." He didn't know why he was pressing it. It wasn't like he wanted her to go. What he wanted was for her to say, no, I don't want to, I want to be here with you... Which was just stupid. Because why would she want to be here with him when she could have a perfect, normal tennis-playing boyfriend like the Idiot?

"I don't really understand tennis." She whispered, blushing furiously.

Kyou stepped forward and opened the gate to the path home, staring at her. "You don't understand tennis? What's to understand? You hit a little ball back and forth, if you don't hit it back you lose."

"Yes." Tooru agreed, walking past him, and looking very serious. "But ...there are all the lines on the court...and the scoring, I get confused." She waited for him to catch up on the path, "And love, I don't understand love. Does Kyou-kun?"

"What?" Kyou gaped at her.

"I don't understand why they say "love" when they say the scores." Tooru said cocking her head at him.

Kyou's heart started beating again, and his face flushed bright red. "It means zero, no points for that side." If it hadn't been Tooru he was dealing with, he'd have thought she was messing with him.

"I wonder why they call it that." She mused as they took off their shoes.

"I don't know."

"But that's why." She said looking up at him as they stood in the narrow hallway.

"Why?" Kyou repeated.

"I didn't go watch Fuji-san play tennis." She blinked at him. "Because I don't understand love and things like that."

"Oh." Kyou said faintly, thinking to himself I give up. "I'm going up to the roof."

"Okay." She smiled, oblivious to what she was doing to him. "I'll join Kyou-kun in a little while." She reached up and touched his forehead with the back of her hand and then quickly cupped the side of his cheek. "Don't lie out in the sun too long...and come inside if it's cold. I think Kyou-kun might be getting ill. He's all red."

Kyou stepped back from her quickly, his face blazing even brighter and even the tips of his ears going deep red. "Yeah. Fine. Okay." He spun on his heel and ran out of the house, forgetting to put his shoes back on.

She shook her head and bit her lip. She looked at the tip of her fingers as she walked up the stairs, deep in thought. Ever since her conversation with Shigure last night, she felt like she was hyperaware of her skin. Her fingers were tingling where she'd touched Kyou's face. His forehead had been cool, but she could still feel the heat on his cheeks. She touched her own cheeks, felt an answering heat, and realized she was blushing.

She put her book bag on her desk and sat down. Why did two seconds of contact with Kyou make more of a reaction with her then all the times Fujitsima held her hand? She looked at her palm, trying to recreate what she'd felt when he'd taken it at lunch. His hand had been dry and soft, threading and wrapping around her fingers. All she could remember of the sensation was a faint discomfort at having to keep his pace while their hands were linked. She sighed and looked up.

Her gaze rested on the little pots on the windowsill and she felt her lips tug up onto a little smile. Her secret base. She decided to get the paints to decorate it and do that before anything else so it would have plenty of time to dry. She got up and walked out into the hall and to Yuki's room.

She rested her hand on the doorknob, feeling a little flip in her stomach. She'd never been in his room while he wasn't there, in any of the Souma's rooms. It felt like an invasion of their privacy. But he'd said she could borrow the paints... she opened the door and stepped inside. Still feeling guilty, she pushed the door so it was almost shut. She found herself tiptoeing and holding her breath. She forced herself to move normally and walked over to the desk. She glanced around, the room felt alien without Yuki in it.

His room was tidy, more or less, with spots of chaos. She smiled to see a haphazard pile of papers covering his desk. Yuki was so organized at school she knew her classmates would be shocked to see how messy he could be. He'd gotten better over the months, confining his mess to his desk and dresser top but when she'd first moved in there had been clothes, dirty plates, and trash everywhere. He'd been as bad as Shigure! She suspected he made an effort to keep his room neat because he knew it bothered her, but he couldn't curb the chaos of his desk. She resisted the urge to tidy it herself and reached for the top drawer. It caught on a couple of the over-hanging mess and there was a small avalanche as a clump of papers slid to the floor.

"Oh!" Tooru tsked and bent to pick them up. She piled them up and rapped them on the floor to straighten them. A small piece fell out and lay on the floor. She picked it up and smiled. It was a photo of her and Yuki at school. She tried to place when it was taken, but couldn't remember it. It looked like the first day of the semester; Yuki had his student council armband on and a clipboard. She was smiling up at him and he was smiling down at her, it looked like they were talking about something. It was a good picture. His smile wasn't quite the same as the one he gave her at home or in the garden, but it was freer then how he usually looked at school. She wondered where Yuki had gotten it.

She smiled to herself. She'd been wondering how she could repay Yuki for her secret base, now she had an idea. She put the papers on the top of his pile and took the paints out and ran back to her room. She took one of her photos of her mother on her desk and took the picture out.

"I'll get you a new one tomorrow." She promised and slid the picture of Yuki and herself into the frame. It was a perfect fit. She grinned and ran back to his room. There was a clear place on his bedside table and she placed it standing up facing the bed a little, where he'd be sure to see it eventually.

She closed the door behind her, smiling at the warm feeling she had. It was that warm buttery feeling that made her feel happy and content. She took her secret base and sat at her desk. Carefully she wrote out "Honda Tooru's Secret Base" on the side of the tray in Kanji. She'd never be praised for her calligraphy, but it was neat and tidy. After a moment's thought she added a star to either side of the writing. She tapped her chin with the brush handle, wanting to add something else, but not wanting to make it look too busy either. She picked up one of the little pots and grinned. She turned it over and painted a little mouse on the bottom. She painted a dog one and a cat on the third. After a moments thought she painted an onigiri on the bottom of the last one. One for each member of the house, she thought, and it would be her little secret. The paint dried quickly so she was able to put the pots right-side up and back on the tray before she left the room.

She changed out of her uniform and went downstairs. She washed out her paintbrush in the laundry room tub and put in a quick load of clothes in the washer. She wandered into the kitchen and decided to get out the things to make supper to save time later on. Then she took some tea to Shigure's study. He was deep into a new story and seemed startled she was home. He often lost track of time when he was working. She poured him some tea and chatted for a little while before letting him get back to work. By the time she was done the laundry had finished and it took her only moments to hang it up. She could see Kyou's feet on the edge of the roof, his socks filthy. She sighed. They'd have to wait till next week to be washed. She quickly reviewed her mental to-do list.

All chores done, she was free to join Kyou up on the roof. She walked put her jacket on and sighed when she saw Kyou's still on the coat rack. She put on her shoes, slung his jacket over her arm and walked around to the ladder to the roof. She climbed up and peeped over the edge. Kyou had an arm slung over his eyes and she took a moment to just watch him. He was sprawled out as if he was trying to absorb as much of the sun as possible. A cool wind blew over them, ruffling his hair and making Tooru shiver.

"Kyou-kun." She said softly, trying not to startle him.

He lifted his arm, peeking out at her. "Oi, took you long enough."

"Sorry." She apologized as she crawled onto the roof. She could tell he wasn't really upset. "It's chilly out, Kyou-kun should be wearing a jacket." She held out his coat.

"I'm fine." He said, but shrugged it on to make her happy.

Tooru sat down and inched over. She'd gotten used to the height of the roof, but she still didn't like to walk across it. She was so clumsy she was sure she'd trip over her own feet and slip off. She smiled at Kyou as she slid into place next to him. He leaned back on his hands, glancing at her out of the corner of his eye.

How exactly should he bring up the Idiot? He couldn't just blurt out that Fujitsima wanted to know how she felt, and he didn't want her to know that he was just as curious. Tooru looked contentedly out across the lawn and woods behind the house. She looked like she didn't have a care in the world.

"So, uh..." he said awkwardly, "Are you looking forward to this weekend?"

"Oh yes!" Tooru said grinning at him. "I haven't seen Shishou-san in a long time. I was thinking we should make cutlets. I bet Shishou-san doesn't make them often."

"Yeah." Kyou's mouth quirked at the thought. If Shishou tried something like that they'd be charcoal. Cooking was not a skill he possessed. "What about... uh... Friday?"

"Friday?" Tooru repeated, the smile slipping off her face for a moment before returning. It was dimmed and false looking to Kyou.

"Are you looking forward to Friday too?" He asked watching her closely. She didn't look unhappy, but she never seemed comfortable talking about the Idiot. Was it because of how she felt for the Idiot or because he was asking?

"Yes. It should be fun." She gave a firm nod like she was telling herself it would be.

"You don't sound very excited." Kyou said, his voice sounding sour to himself.

Tooru blinked at him and then looked at her fingers obviously unsure on how to respond.

"I thought girls got all giddy and stupid about going on dates." He said after a minute. "You just seem kind of blah about it."

"Do I?" She said faintly.

"Yeah, like you're just doing it because you were asked, not cause you really want to." Kyou tried to organize his thoughts out loud, trying to put a verbal finger on what bothered him about the way she was acting.

"Well..." Tooru said slowly, thinking it over. "I suppose I think it would be more fun if everyone was going."

"Everyone?" Kyou asked.

"Yes, if Uo-chan, Hana-chan, Yuki-kun and Kyou-kun were coming too..." She smiled. "And Kisa-chan and Hiro-kun, I haven't seen them in a while... I bet Kagura-chan would enjoy it..." She started to sound much more eager. "Momiji-kun and Hatsuharu-kun-"

"Stupid!" Kyou burst, "You're going on a date you can't bring all those people on a date."

Tooru blinked and then flushed, "Oh." She curled up putting her chin on top of her knees and frowned at the treetops in front of her. "Yes. I know... I only thought it would be more fun that way."

"Don't you want to spend time with just the Id...er. Fujitsima?" Kyou said, and tried to sound casual.

"It's not going to be just Fujit... Fuji-san and I." She reminded him. "Hisae-chan and Mitsuwa-kun are going to be there. And Akane-san and ..." She frowned trying to remember Akane's boyfriend's name.

"Well, yeah, but everybody's going to pair off, so it'll be mostly just you and him." Kyou tried to not let how much that thought upset him show.

"Really?" Tooru said sounding worried.

"That's how it usually works, I think." Kyou said.

She looked at him earnestly. "But don't you think he'd want to talk to his friends? We talk all the time at school."

"Idiot." Kyou said angrily. "He's going out on a date with you, because he wants to spend more time with you. When a guy likes a girl he wants to be around her, and talk to her, and listen to her talk-" He stopped before he could finish that thought - and touch her, like I want to with you.

"Shigure-san said it's like being hungry." Tooru said, "That liking someone is like always wanting to have more of them."

"That sounds right- Wait, you talked to Shigure?" Kyou turned to look at her straight on.

"Last night." Tooru nodded, blushing. "Fuji-san asked me to be his girlfriend." Her eyes slid away from his. "I don't know what to answer." She had planned not to talk about this with Yuki or Kyou, but it just kind of popped out, and she found herself wondering what his reaction would be.

Kyou felt a physical pain in his chest as his heart-stopped -Fuji-san asked me to be his girlfriend- and started again - I don't know what to answer. "No wonder he's been so jealous lately." The words slipped out before he was even conscious of thinking them.

Tooru straightened, he head coming up so fast she made herself dizzy. "What?"

"Uh..." Kyou said intelligently.

"What does Kyou-kun mean?" Tooru asked.

Kyou shook his head. "It's nothing..." he started but the perplexed look on her face made him shrug and say, "Just that he, uh, asked me if I'd find out how you felt about him..."

"He did?" Tooru said, her stomach starting to feel achy and cramped. She looked at Kyou. Is that why he'd invited her up to the roof? She felt tricked. All through her chores she'd had a happy warm feeling because he'd invited her to spend time with him. Her mind raced through their conversation, amplifying where he'd gotten upset. Kyou didn't like that she wasn't excited about going with Fujitsima, he'd gotten mad when she'd suggested it would be more fun with more people. It was like he wanted her to be with Fujitsima. "Dinner." She said numbly. "I should go start it." She crawled towards the ladder.

She felt tears pooling in the back of her eyes and she wanted to be gone before they came. She didn't even understand why she was so upset. Kyou was just being a good friend to Fujitsima. It shouldn't feel like a kick to the stomach that he could ask so casually how she felt about another boy. Its like, she thought to herself, it doesn't matter how I feel about it to him. And why should it? Except that it hurt to think he didn't. "Why does this hurt so much?" She thought.

"Wait-" Kyou started.

"I'll call Kyou-kun when it's ready." Tooru kept her head down as she started down the ladder.

"But-"

"I'm making fish! Kyou-kun's favorite." She called up from the bottom, and then she was gone, disappearing into the house.

"Aw, crap." Kyou muttered and flung himself flat on the roof. Damn that Idiot, his stupid letters, dates and questions.

Tooru raced to the kitchen and pulled out an onion, not even bothering to take her jacket off and leaving her shoes in a tumble by the door. She grabbed her cutting board and a knife and hacked into it. The pungent fumes rose up and she finally let her tears fall. She'd decide what to use the onions for when she was done.

Why am I crying?

Because I'm a silly girl. Tooru answered herself, chopping the onion fine. She'd gotten all excited that Kyou had invited her to visit the roof when really he just wanted to ask questions for Fujitsima's sake. It wasn't his fault she was so stupid as to believe he'd actually wanted to spend time with her.

She sniffled and looked at the pile of onions she'd cut. There were way too many to use for anything tonight. She pulled out a Tupperware container and shoveled more than half of it into it. She'd have to look through her cookbooks for something to use them in before they went bad. She gave a deep sigh. She hated crying. It made her eyes itch and her face blotchy. Everyone would know she cried. She blew her bangs out of her eyes and went about making dinner, taking comfort in focusing on everyday tasks instead of worrying about boys and confused feelings. She'd fry the onion with the fish, and maybe add some peppers... It would be an experiment. She'd just make sure to make enough side dishes that if it turned out bad everyone would have other choices.

Tooru pulled the fish out and made sure everything was ready to start before taking a quick trip to the bathroom to splash a little water on her face and to hang up her jacket. She was being foolish, getting this worked up over nothing. Her mother would have laughed at her, and mussed her hair, and told her she was thinking too much. When she was little she used to fret about her friendships. Being bullied had made her doubt her self-worth, and she'd worry if she was being a good and proper friend or imposing her own feelings on other people who wouldn't want them.

"You can't impose your feelings on others." Her mother had said. "Each person is responsible for their own feelings. If you like someone, tell them. It's up to them to decide how to deal with it. Be honest, or you'll make yourself miserable, even more then if the person doesn't feel the same way."

Fujitsima seemed to believe the same thing. He reminded her of her mother, the way he always said what he thought and how he felt. He'd done just what her mother recommended and was waiting now for her answer. She sighed as she mechanically started making dinner. It wasn't so much that he was pressuring her. He hadn't asked for her answer, even though she knew she should soon, it seemed like everyone else was just as eager for her answer. Hisae-chan, Kyou-kun...

"Dinner smells good."

Tooru started, looking over her shoulder. "Yuki-kun!" She smoothed her hands over her apron, looking up at the clock. "Home already?"

"I told you it would be a quick meeting today." He smiled. It had been an amazingly fast meeting, he'd basically gone in and told everyone what he expected them to do for the next week, shot down any arguments, and left everything else up to Nao. He couldn't remember ever seeing him look so happy, he reminded himself to pass more responsibility to the younger boy. He looked around the counter. "It looks like you're almost finished as well. Why don't I go set the table?"

"It's a little early yet." She demurred. "I haven't started frying the fish yet. But why doesn't Yuki-kun keep me company?"

Yuki was startled into a smile. "Okay, let me just drop my bag off upstairs and change. " Tooru was always generous with her time, but he'd always gotten the impression she wanted to be just left alone to work when she was in the kitchen. He tried not to seem too eager as he quickly went upstairs, taking them at a normal pace. Once he got into his room he couldn't hold back, wrenching his tie off and throwing off his shirt. He reached into his drawers pulling out a shirt at random and throwing it on the bed. He started to pull out a pair of pants when something at his bedside caught his attention. He froze, staring at the picture standing on the table.

"How..." He mouthed, picking it up. It was the picture he'd confiscated from the photography club. He'd been going around visiting as part of the student council when he'd happened to see it. The girl who had taken it, a member of the Prince Yuki fanclub had been discussing how to crop out Tooru without cutting too much of himself out of the photo. He'd confiscated it, and the negative, falling back on a rarely enforced rule in the photography club charter stating model releases were required for any photographs of people. He'd meant to put it away into his box, but it had gotten lost in the papers of his desk. How had it gotten into a picture frame at his bedside table?

He sat down on the edge of his bed, staring at the photograph. This frame was familiar...it was one of Tooru's. One of her pictures of her mother had been in it. He glanced at the desk trying to work out how the picture had gone from being lost in the depths of his desk to his bedside table. The top drawer was ajar, just a little bit, and comprehension dawned.

Tooru.

She must have found it when she came in for the paints. Yuki felt his face begin to burn. What must she be thinking?

But... she couldn't have been too offended by it. She'd put it in a picture frame, one of her mother's picture frames. Did she like the thought of him having a picture of her? He carefully set it back on the table, just as she placed it so it was facing the bed. It'd be the first thing he saw in the morning and the last thing he saw at night.

He changed his clothes, his movements mechanical and slow as he thought what this all meant. Is this why she'd invited him to keep her company? Did she realize, finally, what he felt for her? Was this her way of saying she felt the same way too?

Tooru pulled out the frying pan and wrinkled her nose. This was the part she disliked the most, frying the fish. There really was no way of avoiding the smell.

"Honda-san..."

She glanced over at the door with a smile. "I'm just about to start frying the fish. I'm sorry if the smell is unpleasant," she said to Yuki. She turned back to the pan and started to turn on the gas burner.

"Honda-san..." Yuki repeated stepping in. "Before you do that... I was wondering..." His cheeks were rosy, but he managed to keep his voice steady. "...this..."

He held up the picture frame. Tooru smiled. "I hope Yuki-kun doesn't mind. It fell off when I was getting the paints. I know it's not the to the same level, and it's used, but please accept it as a thank you for my secret base." She paused and her brows came together in a worried v, "It doesn't bother Yuki-kun, does it? I didn't mean to go through his things."

"Not at all!" Yuki said quickly. "I'm surprised Honda-san wasn't bothered... that I had a picture of her, I mean."

Tooru cocked her head. "Bothered? I have pictures of Yuki-kun, in my album. Does that bother Yuki-kun?"

"N-no." Yuki was ashamed of how his voice stuttered. Honda did take pictures now and then, mostly when they were in a group with her friends and Kyou, he hadn't really thought about what she did with them later. Did she have a box of Yuki-memories? "A-actually, it makes me very happy." He looked up at her, "I'd like to see Honda-san's albums sometime."

She smiled brightly. "That would be fun! I haven't gone through them for a while and it will be nice to reminisce. Ever since Ayame-san showed us his albums, I've been trying hard to make mine as nice. I find it very relaxing." She turned the gas on and started the fish frying. She scraped in some of the onions, talking to distract herself from the smell and the memory of her tears. "Does Yuki-kun have other photos? Maybe we can put together an album for him." She looked up and sucked in her breath. He'd stepped close while she was working and was almost right by her elbow.

"I'd like that very much." He said softly, searching her face. "I-I don't have many though..."

"Extras..." Tooru said, it was hard to form complete sentences with him so close and with him studying her with those deep purple eyes. "I...um... have some photos that Yuki-kun can have. Of...of all of us, and Yuki-kun and I-"

"Has Honda-san been crying?" Yuki's eyes were darting over her face. He'd been surprised at her invitation to keep her company, and then the photo, that he hadn't really noticed at first. His hand came up to stroke her cheek, smoothing the skin under her eye with his thumb, his worry making him bold. "Your eyes are red, and-" She stepped back, out of his touch. "Did you hurt yourself?" He glanced down at her hands for bandages.

Taking two rapid steps back, Tooru held up her hands. Her face blazed a blotchy red, further proof that she'd been crying. "No, no... Well, a little." She admitted. "But I'm not hurt...O-onion-san..." she stuttered, "Always makes me cry." She gestured to the chopped onion waiting to go into the pan.

"Onion-san?" Yuki glanced at the pile and then back to her. She was holding back something. He could tell. He stepped closer again. "Is that really all that happened?"

Tooru looked down and fiddled with her hands. "The fish will burn if I don't tend it." She said softly, not answering his question.

Sighing, Yuki stepped back. He felt let down. "Okay." He looked at the photo in his hand. He'd hoped she'd actually trust him with something important. But, at least they'd gotten a little bit closer.

"That picture..." Tooru said after a moment of awkward silence. "if it's possible, and not too much of a bother, could I have a copy?"

"I have the negative," Yuki said, "It's not a bother." Unable to help himself he asked a little plaintively. "Honda-san really wants one?"

"Oh, yes, Yuki-kun is smiling so nicely. It's a very good picture." Tooru glanced at Yuki and then stared. He was looking at her in shock and his face was an undignified tomato red.

"H-honda-san f-flatters me." He said trying to regain some measure of his composure. He set the picture face down on the counter, unable to look at her smiling at him from two directions.

Tooru felt a flip in her stomach, seeing how much a simple compliment was able to fluster him. She would have thought, what with the Prince Yuki fanclub always fawning over him, he would be used to hearing such things. She scraped the onion and peppers over the fish and stirred them around to maximize the flavor. She peered at him through her lashes; his blush was beginning to fade. "I like it when Yuki-kun smiles." She said and watched his color brighten all over again.

"It looks like Honda-san is almost done." Yuki said turning away from her so she wouldn't see his furious blush. "I'll go set the table."

"After dinner..." Tooru said, before he could go, resisting the urge to step close to him to see if the blush really did extend to the roots of his hair, "Yuki-kun and I will set up my secret base? I think the paint is already dry."

"Yes." Yuki said, distracting himself by gathering together chopsticks and place settings.

"I've been looking forward to it all day." Tooru admitted to his back, dusting some seasoning over the fish. She hoped the fish would turn out well; she wasn't really following a recipe.

"Why?"

Tooru looked over at him. "It will be nice to have it all set up. Then it will really feel like my very own special place." She smiled a little wider. "Plus, I get to spend more time with Yuki-kun."

Feeling his face burn brighter, he fled into the other room to set the table.

Dinner ended up being a strained affair. Tooru couldn't look at Yuki without him blushing, Kyou couldn't look at Tooru without her wilting, and Shigure couldn't help but tease all three. Yuki and Kyou could both sense that something had happened between the other and Tooru and bickered back and forth more than usual. Afterwards Kyou approached Tooru as they carried their dishes into the kitchen.

"Oi... Um..." Kyou started. "About earlier..."

"Earlier?" Tooru tried to keep smiling. She felt so foolish for getting so upset, over nothing, but she couldn't help it. She'd been so happy that he'd invited her up to the roof... It wasn't his fault she'd misunderstood.

"It's not like..." He struggled, "Look... It's just that... I can't tell how you feel about him."

Tooru blinked at him, filling up the sink with water and putting their dishes in it.

"I didn't mean to..." Kyou was pretty sure that complete sentences were beyond his ability right now. "You left."

"Dinner." Tooru said weakly, looking into the soapy water and scrubbing at a plate. "I didn't want it to be late."

"Yeah, but..." Kyou said shuffling his feet, and taking the dish from her to dry. "When I said that he asked me how you felt... It's not like I meant that I wanted to know because of that. But you left before I could explain." Tooru just stared at him. "I wasn't... I mean, I wasn't planning to ask. That's your business. And his. It just kinda happened."

Her business. Tooru's shoulders drooped. She washed another plate. She shouldn't be hurt that Kyou didn't consider it his business. She didn't even know why she felt he should...

"But I do wanna know." Kyou muttered, not meeting her eyes. "Cause you don't look happy." He put the dry dishes into the cupboard.

"What?" Tooru said, startled and not sure if she heard right.

"You don't look happy. Girls are supposed to get, you know, happy and excited about dates. You always look like you're trying real hard to be happy, but it shouldn't be work." Kyou stared at his feet. "If... well you shouldn't do anything unless you really want to. Not just because you think you should, you know?"

Tooru looked at him, wondering at the strange light headed feeling of relief that washed over her. She looked down and realized her hands were still in the sink, but the dishes were all washed.

"So?"

She blinked realizing he was looking at her expectantly.

"So?" She repeated hesitantly, wiping her hands on a dishcloth.

"How do you feel about the Idiot?" He shook his head and blushed, "I mean, Fujitsima. I won't tell him!"

"I don't know." She said honestly. "Fujit... Fuji-san is a very nice person. And... It feels good to know someone likes you." She said looking at her feet. "And..." She looked up at Kyou and whispered the next part. "I don't have any reason not to like him."

"But..." Kyou said. "You shouldn't need a reason. It doesn't work like that."

"It doesn't?" Tooru said.

"No!" Kyou put his hands on his hips. "It's not like you should be making lists in your head of reasons to love a person or not to love a person. It should just..." he waved a hand in around in the air. "...be there...before you know it."

"What should be there?" Tooru asked, fascinated.

"The feeling!" Kyou spat. "You know, that feeling that makes you want to be with someone and make them happy when they're not. Or that makes you happy just being around them, or happy because they're happy. And you get upset when they do. That feeling! Like you're not just one person anymore, you're two."

Tooru blurted out the only thought in her head, "Has Kyou-kun been in love before?"

"What!" Kyou yelled. "What!" His face matched his hair as he realized what he'd said out loud. "Forget it! Do what you want!" He ran out of the kitchen.

"Baka neko, stop yelling in the house!" Yuki shouted as Kyou pushed past him. He looked into the kitchen. "Honda-san? Did that idiot say something stupid?"

"No, no." Tooru assured him, feeling light-hearted and happy. Kyou did care! She'd just misunderstood.

"Shall we go set up your secret base?" He blushed a little as he asked which made her stomach flip-flop pleasantly.

"Yes! Please!" She said and let him lead the way up to her room.

It was an easy process; even she probably could have figured it out on her own. Each pot got a helping of soil and then seeds buried at various depths. They required different amounts of water, which Yuki patiently explained how to tell when they'd need it. Soon they had the little pots sitting on the window sill. Tooru sat at her desk happily staring at them.

"They're not going to grow faster if you stare at them harder." Yuki said, having relaxed enough to tease a little like he did when they were in his garden. "They'll take a while to sprout after all."

"I know." Tooru said, not taking her eyes off them. "I just want to see the instant they poke through."

"It will be days." Yuki reminded her, not sure how serious she was. "They'll need a little sun at least."

She turned to him and smiled. "I know. It will just be so exciting to check and look every morning."

"It will be amazing." Yuki agreed. "One day, nothing and then the next, there it is. A brand new little plant. But, by the time you notice it, it's already been there for a while, working it's way out of it's seed and putting down strong roots."

Tooru turned back to her window garden and stroked the mouth of one of the pots with a finger. "It sounds like love."

"What?" Yuki said startled.

"Shigure-san, and Kyou-kun too, both said that it happens without you realizing it. Shigure-san said it was like a tingle on the skin or a hunger, and that you feel it before you know what it is. Like a seed putting down roots. And Kyou-kun said it was a feeling that was just there; something that made you want to make someone else happy. Something like that can't come out of nowhere, right? So it must be like a plant that's wrapped itself around your heart." She looked up at him, and shook her head. "I don't understand it yet really. But maybe there is a plant inside me that's putting down roots and I don't even know it yet."

"Then... if that's true..." Yuki said, sitting on the edge of her bed, so caught in the analogy of love putting down roots that he ignored that she'd been talking to Kyou and Shigure about love. "Maybe love won't grow until its given attention."

Tooru looked at him, wondering why his voice sounded so strange, like it had gone slightly deeper or into a different register. She couldn't put her finger on it. It made her shiver.

"Plants need water, and sunlight, and room to grow." He looked at her. "Love is that way too, I think. Love needs someone to care for it and feed it and give it warmth, otherwise it won't grow." It made sense to him; she was like his sun, his rain, his soil.

Turning toward him in her chair she leaned forward. "Maybe that's why it takes two people. Kyou-kun said it feels like you're two people instead of one. Maybe it's because you're tending the seed in the other person's heart." She covered her heart with her hands. "Shigure-san said there are lots of kinds of love... so there must be many kinds of seeds. I think I must be full of them."

Yuki's lips quirked up as he leaned forward, "So Honda-san is a garden."

Tooru looked at him reproachfully. "So is Yuki-kun, a garden full of plants."

Her hair tickled the back of his hand; they'd come so close together. He twined it around his finger. "I think I'd rather be the gardener." He looked up at her, his purple eyes liquid.

Her breath caught, he was so beautiful in that one gesture. Then he blushed and the magical prince aura shattered as he stood awkwardly. "I mean... that is..." He stammered, he couldn't believe how his mouth had run away with him. "I'm glad Honda-san likes the garden. It's late. I'll see Honda-san tomorrow."

Tooru looked back at her pots wondering when she'd know for sure that the plants had broken through.

:0:0:

Okay... I've got almost another full chapter done, but I figured I could post this one on it's own. It's almost done! The last chapter is going to either a super-sized long one or broken up into two parts. -- Merrow