For the second day in a row, Tohru found herself standing in the courtyard at Kaibara High. This time she was standing with Yuki, instead of Kyo, but otherwise everything seemed almost the same. It was another bright sunny day, the school felt the same. There was the same sense of anticipation for the bell, and she felt a similar sort of nervous energy at waiting.

It was different, though. Different because yesterday, she had been excited; today...she didn't know what she felt. She was happy to have a chance to talk to Momiji more, to try and clear the air between them after yesterday. She had hated how things had ended between them last night, hated how he'd felt. How he'd looked. And how guilty it had made her feel, seeing him like that and not even being able to say something.

She also hated the idea that she was forcing herself on him; had he actually been ok with seeing her again right now? And today was his last day of school, too; what business did she have, wanting to take his time on such an important day? For all she knew, he had friends he wanted to see before graduation, or other demands on his time. Thinking back to last year and her own graduation, would she have wanted to take time out to address such a heavy subject at such a time?

Would she have even been able to?

Yuki watched Tohru worriedly. He hated seeing her like this, so obviously distressed, but knew there really wasn't anything he could do.

After Yuki's arrival that morning, the two of them had walked around for a while with no real destination. It had just been nice to walk, and to talk. He'd told her about his cooking (mis)adventures, and about his current courses. About his latest shrine exploration trip. About his latest experiment in container gardening, pepper plants. And she'd told him about Butsu, the stray cat who had quasi-adopted her; how things were going at the clinic where she worked. Kyo's promotion to 4th dan at the dojo. And they talked a little bit about the wedding, what little Tohru knew. He'd told her he'd mark off every single weekend next June, just let him know when they knew the actual date. Whenever date they chose, he would be there.

Kyo had joined them after a while, freshly showered. He and Yuki had shaken hands, and when Yuki congratulated Kyo on the engagement he'd actually even patted Kyo's shoulder. Kyo had been pleasantly surprised at the lack of snark on Yuki's part, and taken the congratulations with a fond smile at Tohru. It had made Yuki happy, seeing the way he looked at her.

Or it had, at first. After they'd addressed the engagement and just got back to talking, Yuki had noticed Kyo kept watching Tohru. It made sense for Kyo to be less involved in the conversation; that was normal for him, when it came to Yuki and Tohru. But it wasn't normal for him to keep looking at her like that, with that intent, somewhat concerned expression.

When Tohru excused herself to use a restroom, Yuki took advantage of the opportunity to ask Kyo what was up.

Kyo had sighed. "I'm just...worried about her. Don't get me wrong, I'm happy you're here. You couldn't have turned up at a better time, honestly, because she's happy to see you. Really happy, and that's great. But before she knew you were here, she having a rough time."

In a few terse sentences, Kyo sketched out what he knew about Tohru's conversation with Momiji the night before, and Yuki had exhaled slowly. He could understand Kyo's concern, now, and he shared it himself. He hadn't seen any signs of Tohru being upset, not exactly. But when he'd mentioned his plan to surprise Machi at the school that afternoon, she'd mentioned she was going there too, and he'd thought he'd seen a shadow cross her face.

Typical Tohru, not to want him to worry about her.

Yuki had known, of course. Even though he hadn't been around much the past year, he was observant enough that he'd picked up on what Momiji hadn't said. And those observations had been confirmed in casual conversation with Hatsuharu, who had openly wondered to Yuki how long it would take Momiji to move on from Tohru and whether Haru should just try to set him up with someone to try to speed up the process. Yuki had been slightly concerned at just who Haru might think was a good choice for Momiji and shut that idea down, but he hadn't had an answer for the other question.

"She has to know Momiji doesn't blame her, correct?" There was no way he could, not for this or anything else.

"Yeah. But you know how she gets in her head and feels guilty for stuff she's got no business feeling guilty about."

"Yes, unfortunately."

The two men had both sighed, thinking about Tohru and how best they might be able to help her.

"I'm not gonna go to the school with her, obviously."

"Yes, I can't see any way that would be helpful for either of them right now."

"Yeah. I like Momiji, you know? And I feel sorry for him. But he doesn't need pity from me."

Yuki had looked thoughtfully at Kyo, at the way he looked when he talked. He was obviously most concerned about Tohru, but he wasn't lying about Momiji, either. It wasn't exactly what Yuki would have expected, not from the old Kyo. He felt that the old Kyo would have had some jealousy, or some anger, not this sympathetic resignation. But it was nice, seeing these little hints and flashes of the new Kyo. One who didn't get defensive about everything. One who felt secure and confident in himself and what he had. One who could actually look at other people and sympathize with their pain.

If Kyo had noticed Yuki's scrutiny, he didn't say anything. He didn't even seem to notice, glancing off towards the restrooms to see if Tohru was on her way back yet. But that lack of care just helped drive home the point that Kyo had matured, and was still maturing. He didn't have to try to one-up Yuki, or defend himself from any thoughts Yuki might be having. They were just free to be; to accept they were two different people, neither of them better or worse than the other.

After a moment, Yuki had shaken his head. "Well, I won't try to get involved. Not that there's anything I can or should do, either. But I'll do my best to try and keep her spirits high, while I can."

And for the most part, Tohru had remained cheerful. The three of them had spent the rest of the morning together, and Yuki had joined them for lunch at the dojo. He had been happy to see Sensei Kazuma, and to catch up with the unchanged Hanajima. He'd even taken Kazuma up on his offer to join in on an early afternoon class.

That had been fun, for all of them. Tohru had sat in, kneeling on the sidelines and watching as Yuki and Kyo had fought, and she'd been delighted and a little amazed to see that Kyo actually winning. She'd always had a great deal of pride in Kyo and his skills, but in two and a half years of living together at Shigure's house, she'd seen them fight quite a bit and it always ended up going to Yuki. But not anymore.

It was a touch unsettling to see Yuki go flying, though.

Weirdly enough, Yuki had been laughing as he accepted Kyo's hand up from the floor. "I admit it, I'm impressed."

Kyo had been grinning, too. "You should be, if only at how long it took. I kinda want to punch you again just for proving how much talent you've always had." He shook his head as Yuki straightened up. "If you actually cared about this and kept up your training, you'd be unstoppable."

Yuki had shrugged, smiling, as he straightened out his borrowed gi. "Maybe. But just because you have innate talent for something doesn't mean it's the right path for you. And this isn't the right path for me."

Since moving to Kyoto, Yuki had stopped going to karate classes. He'd looked around for a new school, initially; though he'd never had the focus or interest of Kyo or Hatsuharu, karate had been part of his routine since he was a child. And there was something comforting in routines, especially in a new place.

But as he'd done his research, looking at proximity to his apartment, reputation, and cost, he started wondering why. Why did he want to keep doing it, really? He'd only started karate because he saw the other Sohma kids doing it and loving it, but he'd never shared their passion. He was skilled, and he'd excelled. But he hadn't really cared. He had enjoyed the meditative aspects, but the rest?

It had felt freeing to stop his search, but he'd also felt a weird sense of closure. Fighting had been a defining characteristic of his relationship with Kyo for so long, stopping his karate practice felt like he was finally, firmly closing the door on that part of their life.

It was another way their paths were diverging.

Yuki knew he shouldn't be surprised Kyo beat him. Yuki was still in excellent shape, but he was woefully out of practice. In the meantime, Kyo had been training for literal hours, all day every day, for a full year, and he was more solidly built than ever. It would have been disappointing if Kyo couldn't beat him at this point.

But it still felt strange.

Kyo felt exhilarated from the fight, but not in the way he'd expected. For so many years, he'd wanted to beat Yuki. It had been his ultimate goal, to win a fight against The Rat. To prove he was better, and to earn his place in the Zodiac. Every chance he'd had, he'd been ready to throw down, desperate to grab for that elusive win. And now he'd finally done it, and it was...fine. He was exhilarated, yes, but only because he was always exhilarated after a good fight. The fact he'd beaten Yuki was nothing; he could have been fighting anyone, and it would have felt the same way.

Kyo knew that logically, his training and Yuki's lack of training had to have given him an edge now. Yuki's skill level and innate understanding of karate and how the body moved was off the charts, and Kyo sincerely meant it when he said Yuki would have been unstoppable. But he hadn't been bitter, not the way he used to be. He could step back and appreciate Yuki's natural talent, without being threatened by it. Or resentful that Yuki had 'made it easy on him.'

Yuki was right; they just had their own paths to walk.

After the karate session, they had all hung out together for a little bit longer. But the closer they got to the after-school hours, the more Tohru's stress and concern started to break through. She tried her best to maintain her happy, lighthearted façade, but both Kyo and Yuki could see she was worried.

All they could do was hope for the best.

Yuki and Tohru had walked to the school together in relative silence. Tohru had tried to keep up her casual chatter, but she kept losing her train of thought. Finally, Yuki had stopped her, feeling that her attempts to be 'normal' were getting too painful. For both of them.

"It's ok, Tohru. You don't have to worry about me, or hurting my feelings. I know that you have something serious on your mind right now."

Tohru had shot Yuki a guilty look. She hadn't meant to be so transparent; the last thing she wanted was for Yuki to feel she didn't care enough to give him her full attention when they had this rare chance to spend time together. "No, I'm sorry, Yuki, I should be doing a better job of managing my feelings. You know what they say, worrying won't solve any problems!"

Technically correct, and also something she never successfully applied to herself. The day Tohru stopped worrying was the day the sun would explode.

Yuki took her hand and squeezed it. "It's fine, Tohru. Truly. You just focus on yourself, and what you need to say." He paused for a moment, wondering if it was better to tell her he knew or not. Kyo had mentioned one of the things most bothering her about the whole thing seemed to be her ignorance, so Yuki wasn't sure if knowing he knew would make that better, or worse. But he wanted to encourage her, somehow.

Finally, he decided he might as well just say it. "I know it's hard, Tohru. You've always taken so much on yourself, for all of us. But Momiji doesn't blame you. And you shouldn't, either, no matter how much you want to."

Tohru shot Yuki a piercing look. He knew, too? This was just like when everyone knew about her and Kyo before they did, except so much worse. At least with Kyo, her cluelessness had been justified because she was dealing with insecurity and didn't even know what she was feeling. She had no excuses with Momiji, except for lack of care.

But Yuki was trying to be kind, and she appreciated that. "Thank you, Yuki."

After that, she stopped trying to make conversation, and the two of them walked the rest of the way in silence.

Students had started to come out of the building now, and Yuki found himself the center of attention for almost everyone who saw him. A year away had done nothing diminish his standing in the eyes of the female population, and there wasn't a single second- or third-year student who didn't remember "the Prince." Even the first years, who'd never had a chance to actually attend school with Yuki, were familiar with him by reputation alone.

Consequently, he had a lot of people come over to say hi, or just stare at him across the courtyard. He was pleasant, and greeted everyone he could by name. Congratulated them on finishing the year, on moving up to the next class. If they were a senior, he congratulated them on graduating. And there were many happy faces, thrilled to know that even a year later Yuki knew who they were!

But he wasn't really paying attention to the people. And at this point, shameful as it was to admit it, he wasn't really paying attention to Tohru. Not anymore. He was looking around for a familiar grey-brown head, and a shy, eager smile that would light up an entire face. And his entire heart.

When Machi came out of the building, he knew it was her instantly. Even though she had her head down and was looking at her feet as she rapidly made her way down the steps, he knew. And he was so, so excited. Without any more care for the people around him, he called out to her, "Machi!"

That voice...she knew that voice. Knew it and loved it.

Machi looked up in disbelief. Yuki was here? Now? Already? He hadn't said a word to her; when they'd last texted, all he said was he'd have to let her know when he'd see her, but that he'd try to get to town as soon as he could. She'd thought that wouldn't be until much later, given he normally had class himself that this time. But he was here! Now! Calling out to her.

Machi was acutely aware of the crowd around Yuki, even if he wasn't, and she was also aware of the sudden rush of attention to her when he called out to her. She couldn't have stopped the blush, not if she tried. But in spite of the awkwardness of the moment, she was so happy. Happy he was here, happy he'd come to see her, happy he was making his way over to her...

She tried not the feel the staring eyes, or hear the whispers. None of them mattered, not when Yuki was looking at her with that smile, the one so filled with love and affection. And then he was cupping her cheek, and she was smiling back at him.

"Yuki, you made it!"

"Of course I did." And then he was kissing her, right in the middle of the courtyard.

In spite of all the turmoil in her own mind, the sight made Tohru smile. Who would have thought that the formerly reserved Yuki would be standing here, kissing someone in plain view of so many people? And not caring, not either of them caring, who saw.

Naturally, the other girls of Kaibara High cared rather deeply, and there was a suddenly flurry of activity as some quickly left, and others started furiously whispering. But Tohru knew that none of that mattered, not to Yuki, and not to Machi. Maybe it was possible for them to be almost as happy as her and Kyo, one day.

"It's probably just as well that tomorrow is graduation. Kuragi might not really care what people think of her, but I'd hate to imagine how the other girls would behave to her after this." Hatsuharu's mild voice broke in on Tohru's romantic musings, and she once again let out a startled squeak.

Kyo was right about her; she really could get herself kidnapped one of these days.

"Oh, Hatsuharu, good afternoon!" She smiled at him, then looked over at Yuki and Machi, who were now holding hands. "I hope it wouldn't be as bad as that; I know a lot of people care for Yuki, but surely they'd be happy to see him so happy."

Haru raised a brow at her, then smiled. "You're always such an optimist, Honda." He shifted his backpack to his other shoulder and looked around. "I wasn't expecting to see you here today. Where's Kyo?"

That was enough to remind Tohru why she was here, and any happy thoughts about Yuki and Machi were gone, replaced once again by the now-familiar sense of anxiety and guilt. "Ah...Kyo's not here today. I'm actually meeting up with Momiji."

"Momiji." Haru's voice was placid as ever, and his expression remained neutral. But Tohru still squirmed, reading a million different things into that one word.

Did Hatsuharu know, too?

Yes and no. Haru didn't know she was meeting Momiji, but he wasn't stupid. He knew how Momiji had left yesterday after learning about Tohru and Kyo's engagement, knew they'd met up last night. Knew Momiji had seemed unusually spacy today, and now Tohru was here, clearly stressed about something...it didn't take a genius to guess at what was going on.

But he wasn't going to add any more to Tohru's concern. "He should be out soon. He needed to talk to Sensei Shiraki about something, but that probably won't take long." Haru patted her shoulder, then looked away. "But I'm gonna go say hi to Yuki, ok Honda? I'll catch you later." And he left her, allowing Tohru to let out a small sigh of relief. At least Haru wasn't making things weird...this time.

It was a relief when she saw Momiji walk out of the building, chatting and laughing with a couple other students. Then his eyes found hers, and he smiled, which was more than she'd hoped for. She didn't know quite what she expected, but if he could smile right now...that had to be a good sign, right?

Momiji said a few words to his friends, then headed straight over to Tohru. As he got close, he smiled again, and she smiled back.

"Hi, Momiji."

"Hello, Tohru. I'm glad to see you decided to come. I wouldn't have blamed you if you changed your mind."

Tohru shook her head almost aggressively. "No, I wanted to see you again, Momiji! I really did. I'm only happy you were ok with that. And I didn't think about it yesterday, but today was your last day of class! If you really have something you'd rather do, we can talk later. It's fine, it's really fine." She knew she was babbling, but she didn't care. Even though she wanted to try to fix things now, she really, really didn't want Momiji to feel he had to. She'd already made things hard enough on him.

But he shook his head, too. "No, Tohru, it's fine. I told you, it's all fine. Now is probably for the best." He smiled, then glanced over as he became aware of the commotion around Yuki. "But do you mind if I say hello to Yuki before we go, Tohru?"

"No, of course not! I'll just wait here for you."

Momiji made his way over to where Yuki was standing, holding hands with Machi and talking to Hatsuharu. "Yuki, you made it! It's nice to see you!"

Yuki gave Momiji a smile. "Of course I made it, I wasn't going to miss graduation." And he glanced at Machi, the two of them exchanging a smile that made Machi blush. And Momiji sighed internally, wistful at the overt display of love. They were another pair, well on their way to their happy ending.

But that meant they were another pair to be happy for, Momiji reminded himself, and he smiled as well. "Well, I look forward to seeing you sometime this weekend. So make sure you're leaving some time in your lovey-dovey plans for the rest of us, ok?"

Machi was blushing even more now, but Yuki laughed. "Of course I will, Momiji." Then his expression became slightly more somber, and he glanced from Momiji to Tohru. "You're spending time with Tohru now?"

Momiji's voice was soft. "Ja, I am."

Yuki touched Momiji's hand. "It'll all work out, Momiji."

Momiji gave Yuki a scrutinizing look, trying to parse out how much Yuki might know. But he shouldn't be surprised; Yuki had always been an observant one. And he gave Yuki a smile, only slightly tinged with sadness. "I know." Turning back towards Tohru, he gave Yuki's group a little wave, then walked back to Tohru. "Alright, Tohru, shall we go?"

As the two of them walked out of the courtyard, Haru looked after them. "Think this time they'll be able to make their peace? Or do you think it's just going to be too weird?"

Yuki sighed and squeezed Machi's hand. "I don't know. But I hope they're able to work it out."