A/N: I promised, and here it is... Damned Hatsuharu muse kept bugging me, but as always I came back to my wonderful Kyo-ness. It couldn't be helped. Ah-ha, on with this... Also, let me apologize now for any errors in the song. I did it from memory as my Internet would not work and I'm too lazy to look it up. This story is coming to an end quickly. I'm excited... I've got another Kyo/Tohru in mind. Stay tuned for details.
THANKS TO: Melting Snowflake, Shien, rbzodiac612, MongooseNinja, Emerald-Mistress, Reader, XxnoStalgiaxX, Kenya, Jewel Tanka, Hioni-Sama, Kagome, Kyuuketsuki kaji, ulovemeucnthidit, riceball-chan! and the lovely and adorable Daelaeyni.
Oh, and mucho 3's to Iceytina21. I read One, Two, Three by her (again) before reading this so, I'm hyper.
Sort of short chapter... Sorry!
Risa seemed to find herself in so many close-calls these days. She knew the way to prevent them, but couldn't bring herself to admitting to Kyo that she was really Tohru and had been living with him these past few days. Not to mention the betrayl and hurt he would feel when he found out. Yet when he called her by her actual name, by Tohru he had shown no signs of hurt or any emotion she had expected him to feel. This caused her brows to knit togther in worry as she studied the paculair boy in front of her, prodding his head.
"Hey. What did you just call me?"
Kyo immediately jolted awake, thinking back on what he had said. He was so tired, near exhaustion that he had muttered what seemed natural; what came first to the flame-haired boy's head. Dammit. I called her Tohru. That's my fuckin' ex's name. Attempting the most apologetic smile he could muster he amended his actions with a forced, "Sorry. I confused you with someone else..."
Risa tried her hardest to hide the wave of relief that passed through her tense body at the prospect of being discovered so early in the tour. Her delicate fingers twirled a strand of his orange locks, lulling him back to a comfort state so he may sleep once more. Once she heard the soft snores emitting from him, and watched, dazed by the rise and fall of his chest she leaned closed to his ear and breathed deeply; inhaling the scent she had missed for so long.
"I love you, Orangey." Tohru admitted softly, using the nickname Uo, Hana, and she had grown so fond of calling him years ago..
If not for her own overwhelming desire to sleep, she might have noticed that Kyo's eyes remained open and her confession caused them to widen to the size of saucers. That nickname... That timid voice... It was Tohru! Risa was Tohru! And Kyo finally knew it. Sure, he had some suspicions. In a way the female resembled Tohru, aside from that blonde hair. Tenatively as not to awaken her, he lifted a golden lock and peered under it. Ah-ha! There was brown under all that blonde.
Kyo was never one to deal with emotions. He chose to avoid them when possible, but at the moment he was torn between wanting to grab her then, to beg her to be his, but there was always the want to yell and scream at her for lying to him- for leading him on- for letting him fall for her yet AGAIN.
As always, Kyo found himself amused when around her. How the fuck did he manage to fall for the same girl twice, unknowingly, nonetheless? He was truly screwed over. But as he gazed into her porcelain face, sprinkled with the lightest touch of make-up, he couldn't help but smile. Destiny had returned her to him once more, and this time he was determined not to screw it up...
Yet there was a flaw in his genius plan... Risa or Tohru, or whothehellever she was, didn't know that Kyo knew! So, here he was, faced in a dilemma where the answer was unclear and attempting to understand it only caused his head to throb and the need to sleep become overwhelming. Yet, he couldn't. He couldn't close those lovely eyes of his and let the world slip away before it all drove him to the brink of insanity.
"Dammit." That one word uttered from his lips summed the majority of his situation up perfectly. Dare he admit he knew? He was sure her reaction wouldn't be so wholesome, as she was obviously trying to keep it a secret from him. But why? Why was she hiding herself? Why didn't she just tell him? As his thoughts raced in endless amounts of circles he heaved a sigh and decided that sleep would not be in his best interest. Slipping away from the female that slept above him, cauitously he crept to the front of the moving vehicle and cursed silently. At times, such as this, when he was feeling low he'd move to a place that was high up so he may look down, finally see himself above others instead of the usual. There was no way he'd be able to get atop the bus, not while it was doing 65 on some road. He did the next best thing- he sat on the wooden counter and tried to make himself comfortable on that small bit of space.
The flaming red of his eyes were concealed as he banged his head against the cabinet.
Idiot. Idiot. Idiot.
Wincing at the impact his head against the wooden furniture and the pain now echoing throughout his head and neck, Kyo Sohma heaved a sigh and glanced towards the slumbering frame of the petite female mere feet away from his current sitting. A smile happened across his lips as he recalled the many things she did for him, for the Sohma's, for everyone in general. On her one, she managed to keep Kyo from falling captive to Akito when he wished to confine him after graduation. Not only that, she had managed to free them all of the curse that plagued them for so many years. She had risked it all for them. And he had left her. Rejected her. For what cause? His own selfishness.
Being a male, he had many moments where he had said something utterly stupid and regretted right after or years down the road. The moment he dumped Tohru was an instant regret. His heart felt like it would shatter into a million pieces. Walking away was all he could do so she wouldn't see the tears streaming down his face. He didn't know what else to do. At the time he believed it was the best option so they could get on with thier lives, and not continue a high school romance that could never be anything more. But wasn't it? Wasn't thier love the real thing? And if it wasn't, how come he still wanted her so bad after all these years?
Sighing became a habit for him that night, for once again the exhalation of breathe was heard. Atop the counter he sat, just watching her from the shadows cascaded down in the bus. When dawn came he was relieved, knowing the time to get off the bus would be coming soon. From there he could avoid her, his feelings, his memories, and just get lost in the show he needed to put on. Afterall, wasn't that his reasoning for leaving her? To put on a show?
Awaiting the bus to come to a stop, he located a pad of paper and a pencil. In the silence of the bus, Kyo began to write a song, one he planned on singing for the first time tonight.
Being pampered was never something Kyo enjoyed. In the wings of the stage many bodies hustled back and forth to make sure Cursed was perfect to go on to peform. Different people would come up to him and ruffle his hair, touch up the light bits of make-up they applied only moments before. Before the stage was the thousands of fans that awaited his arrival, ready to cheer the rocker on.
Kyo found his gaze drifting over the crowd curiously. Something just didn't feel right and it caused a dull ache in the pit of his stomach. Shrugging, he decided it was due to his lack of sleep, and thought nothing more of it for the show was soon to begin.
Tonight's uniform for Cursed was different from usual, the reason being the release of Kyo's new song where only him and the drummer would play. Opting for black dress pants, a white long-sleeved shirt and a bow-tie, the boys in the band looked all grown up. Thus was the point, of course. Since Risa was able to deliver messages through her song to him, he'd return the favor. He'd show Tohru how much he had grown, matured. He'd express in vocal and stage peformace what he could not say aloud, and he could only pray she understood.
After the majority of their songs finished, Kyo signaled the audience to silence and the band to cease play. When it was quite aside from the usual cat-calls and so forth the flaming haired rocker spoke up. Mouth pressed to the microphone as sweat dripped down his face, smearing the make-up.
"Tonight..." Kyo began in a growl, "We're going to do things a little different. For being such an awesome crowd we're going to give you a little taste of something different. It's a little slower than the usual, but it's damn good!" Letting the audience settle in their confusion he montioned towards Siho to get things going. The drummer complied and the show went on once more. Kyo's limber fingers stroking the chords of the guitar accompanied by the pounding of the drums behind him, led into Kyo's vocals.
Hope dangles on a string
Like slow-spinning redemption
Winding in and winding out
The shine of it has caught my eye
And roped me in
So mesmerizing, so hypnotizing
I am...
captivated
I am..
vindicated
I am selfish.
I am wrong
I am right
I swear I'm right
Swear I knew it all along
And I am flawed
But I am cleaning up so well...
I am seeing in me now
The things you swore you saw yourself
So clear...
Like the diamond in your ring
Cut to mirror your intentions
Oversized and overwhelmed
The shine of which has caughe my eye
And rendered me
So isolated and so motived
I am certain now that I am...
Vindicated
I am selfish
I am wrong
I am right
I swear I'm right
Swear I knew it all along
And I am flawed
But I am cleaning up so well
I am seeing in me now
The things you swore you saw yourself
So tie up the corner of your lips
Bite down and feel my fingertips
Trace the moment for forever
Defense is paper-thin
Just one touch and
I'll be in too deep now
To ever swim
Against the current
SO LET ME SLIP AWAY
SO LET ME SLIP AWAY
SO LET ME SLIP AWAY
SO LET ME SLIP AWAY
Against the current
SO LET ME SLIP AWAY
SO LET ME SLIP AWAY
SO LET ME SLIP AWAY
SO LET ME SLIP AWAY
Vindicated
I am selfish
I am wrong
I am right
I swear I'm right
Swear I knew it all along
And I am flawed
But I am cleaning up so well
I am seeing in me now
The things you swore you saw yourself
My hope...
Dangles on a string
Like slow-spinning redemption
The song finished and the reaction to the song was one the band thrived on. Completely mesmerized by the song and the vocals poured into the speakers by the lead singer who was too captivated by the sight waiting off-stage to notice the dangers before him by allowing his attentions to be elsewhere. Leaving his stance at the microphone, he began a steady pace towards the waiting Risa, the tiny female who had tears swimming in her eyes at the song, much like Tohru would have done.
Before the two would be reunited however, the stalker would finally put their plan into action. Covered by the many bodies in the audience and the sounds erupting from thousands of screaming fans, they allowed their finger to pull back the trigger, sending a carefully aimed bullet for Kyo's chest. Within seconds, Kyo was on the ground and Tohru was at his side to see the damage.
Blood oozed from the wound, the bullet invisible, having louged itself within his chest. Harsh, ragged breathes came and went from Kyo as he struggled to keep conciousness and more importantly his life. Screams echoed throughout the audience as they came to terms with what happened. Siho, the drummer for Cursed was at Tohru's side immediately with tears falling from his eyes. Usually he'd be captivated by Risa's beauty, but tonight he was not. He had fled from the drumset to Kyo's side, ruling him out as the stalker since they were in the audience.
It took a fifteen minutes for Kyo to be loaded on a stretcher and put into an ambulance who rushed away with sirens blazing towards the local hospital. Tohru sat there, dazed. Tears poured constantly and just wouldn't stop. Of course, tonight's show would be cancelled and any other tour-dates would likely be postponed, but none of that mattered. The only thing that did matter was reaching Kyo's side to tell him everything- her idenity, why she hid herself from him, and beg him to give thier relationship another shot.
With help she rose to her feet and ran towards the bus, which is exactly what her obsesser had hoped for. As soon as Tohru yanked open the bus door, a blow to her head rendered her unconcious as the unknown person drug her up the stairs and left her sitting in the cramped walk-way of the bus. The hat atop their head was pulled off, revealing the idenity to Tohru, who was slowly coming back down to earth. Recgonizing the face in her cloudy haze she muttered but one word.
"Jealous."
This caused the other to smile, a wide and goofy smile while they nodded. "Indeed." The next words from Tohru was the hushed and forced utterance of the person's name...
DUN DUN DUN! The stalker is revealed next chapter! And... it's not Siho! Nyah-ha. Guess again, lovelies. I think the next chapter is the last, though it all depends...
Also the song is 'Vindicated' by Dashboard Confessionals!