Kyo couldn't be more relieved that the stupid play was over, but his mind kept going back to what Tohru had blurted out during their performance. The look on her face shocked him. It was burned into his memory. She looked... almost desperate. He shook the image from his head for it only to be replaced by a new one. Tohru... in her pink dress... He was sure there was a small blush on his face. She looked absolutely stunning. He almost wished she would wear those kinds of dresses every day. But then he remembered her school uniform. He used to think that those skirts were a pain but now they were nothing but a blessing. To distract himself, he started to change out of his own costume. Little did he know that Tohru was coming back stage to congratulate him on a job well done.
Tohru stopped in her tracks. She felt the blood rush to her cheeks, staining them bright red. It's not like she had never seen Kyo without a shirt on, but this was somehow different. It might have been something to do with her outburst on stage which she was still horribly embarrassed about. She wanted to look away and give him a little privacy, but she couldn't take her eyes off of him. She only tore them away when she heard one of her best friends approach her.
"Tohru, who is that tall man with brown hair?" Hana asked, seemingly innocently. Tohru jumped around to face her friend, hoping the poorly lit back stage would hide her blush.
"Oh! That is Kyo's adoptive father, Kazuma Sohma. I've only met him a couple of times but he is very polite!" Tohru said in a rush, trying not to stutter when she spoke Kyo's name. However, her heart was a different story. It had been racing ever since she watched Kyo take his shirt off.
"Hmm. He's very handsome. I think I'll go speak to him." Hana said, a sweet smile growing on her face. Tohru watched her friend gracefully confront Kazuma. She noticed that Kyo looked a little more than startled at this development. She turned her back so she could try to calm down before going to say hello to Shisho herself.
'Get a grip on your emotions, Tohru.' she mentally chastised herself. As she turned back around, she noticed that Hana had left and Haru had taken her place. It seemed like Kyo was about to pounce on Haru, and as she expected, he did. She was about to go intervene, but she heard Shisho call her name, and Kyo stilled. Taking this as her opportunity, she began walking towards the small group to say hello like she had planned.
Kyo's heart jumped into his throat. There she was again. In that damn dress. He watched as she tried walking faster to greet them, only to stumble on the heavy skirts. Kyo reached forward to catch her, as she fell in his direction. He had even steeled himself to transform, but Shisho was quick. He lunged forward and brought Tohru back squarely on her feet.
"Tohru, it's a pleasure to see you again. Well done in the performance." Shisho said with a kind smile on his face. Tohru quickly bowed and thanked him, rambling on about him being too generous, but Kyo was trying not to be disappointed that Shisho had caught her instead of him. He knew Shisho had only done so because of the curse, but still. He had been looking away from Tohru until he heard his name.
"Kyo! You did so great out there! You're a natural prince!" Tohru said with so much enthusiasm. His head snapped towards her and he blushed, looking down to avoid her sparkling eyes.
"It was such a pain. I'm glad it's over." He said as he crossed his arms. Tohru's eyes briefly went to his chest and a dull ache formed in her stomach.
"No, really! You were very good on stage," she said, trying to calm her nerves. "Anyways, Hiro and Kisa are here and I was going to go say hi to them. Would you like to come, Kyo?"
"What, right now?" Kyo asked, almost annoyed but looking at her once again. He didn't want to walk around the school in this stupid getup.
"Well, in a few minutes. I want to get out of this dress even though it's absolutely gorgeous." Tohru replied, grabbing a fistful of fabric and swinging it around just enough to hit Kyo a bit. He smiled a bit as she did and agreed to meet her in front of the auditorium in 10 minutes.
"I'll walk you out after I change, Shisho." Kyo said. Kazuma nodded and turned towards Tohru after Kyo had jogged away to change.
"Tohru, I was wondering if I could ask you something." He said. Tohru looked a little startled but agreed. "Kyo has improved greatly at the dojo so I gave him a new position. He will be teaching the new students once or twice a week. I was hoping you could come support him on his first day. It will be tomorrow around 11 a.m., do you think you can come?"
Tohru's mind reeled. She, of course, had seen Kyo spar with Shisho before and countless times with Yuki, but never at the dojo. Her heart quickened as she thought of him near small children, showing them all the correct forms, and most of all, his uniform. Her then absent blush returned.
"O-of course! I would be happy to!" She said quickly. She was about to bow and go change before Shisho stopped her.
"Tohru? I think it would be better to surprise Kyo with this so he doesn't get more nervous than he already is. Will you keep this a secret between us?" He asked. Tohru nodded and bowed.
Kazuma smiled warmly at her before he turned and went to go to find Kyo. Tohru couldn't wait to get out of the heavy fabric.
Kyo had just bid goodbye to his adoptive father when he turned and had to make himself walk at a normal pace to meet Tohru. He had to admit this was the first time he was nervous to be with her. It seemed like a switch had been flipped in his mind and his thoughts were constantly about her. As he turned the corner leading to the auditorium, he saw her smiling and waiting, looking around for him. When she caught a glimpse of his bright orange hair, her smile grew and she started to walk towards him. Kyo had to mentally reprimand himself for being so excited to see her smiling because of him. But he almost choked because of her new outfit. She was still wearing her school uniform, but she had added a pink sweater. It made her skirt look just a little bit shorter than usual and Kyo stole a look at her slender legs.
"Hi, Kyo! Come on, I want to get Hiro and Kisa some treats!" She said, still smiling, but what made Kyo's heart race was that she grabbed his arm with both her hands and started to tug him in the direction of the food stands.
"Uh, okay." Kyo said dumbly. His wide eyes softened and a small smile formed on his face as he watched her. He took a few large strides to be next to her and to his surprise and delight, she didn't release his arm. They heard an announcement over the PA system. Something about a photoshoot with Yuki. Before they knew it, a whole swarm of girls were running towards them. Kyo found the nearest door and pulled Tohru inside to avoid the stampede. If he had been 2 seconds slower, he would have been a cat right now. His whole body was buzzing with adrenaline and panic. He turned towards Tohru to apologize for yanking her in here before he realized their situation. The words he was about to say died in his mouth when he realized that they were in a potentially compromising position. They were in a classroom overloaded with extra desks and chairs. In his haste, Kyo had given Tohru no choice but to sit on the surface of a desk to make room for him. The open space was about as big as a broom cupboard, so they were only a few inches apart now. Tohru had to crane her neck a bit to meet Kyo's gaze. Her hands had clenched the edge of the desk. Kyo didn't know what to do with his so he let them hang at his sides. They were both wide eyed, wondering what the other would do next. Kyo wanted so badly to brush his fingers along her milky legs. This thought lead to Kyo feeling a slight pull in his stomach. Tohru wanted to trace exposed collarbones. He never buttoned his uniform up all the way, and she couldn't say she minded. Kyo was overwhelmed by her scent of vanilla and something fruity. It was intoxicating and he took half a step forward to inhale it more before Tohru broke the silence.
"I-I don't think they intended for anyone to be in here..." She said softly. Kyo cleared his throat with a little difficulty before he responded.
"Well, obviously. We're probably good to go now." He said, grabbing her forearm and turning to open the door. Tohru followed Kyo wordlessly as she tried to clear her thoughts and calm the storm that was in her stomach. Little did she know, Kyo was doing the same. Eventually, he released her arm and slowed his pace just enough to match hers. They didn't speak as they walked towards the food stands. Kyo was trying to expel the image of her on that desk from his mind. Her skirt seemed even shorter when she sat down somehow. Tohru was attempting not to linger on the image of Kyo's exposed collarbones or his strong neck. Her thoughts were interrupted when she heard Kisa call out her name. Tohru ran to the little girl and gave her a tight hug. Kyo kept walking towards the small group, listening as Hiro said something about Tohru being stupidly over affectionate. It seemed that Hiro's mom had given him money for the fair and he had already bought Kisa and himself some food. Kyo figured Tohru would be a little bit disappointed at this, since she wanted to do that for them, but she just seemed happy to see them.
The rest of the day passed with excruciating pain for both Kyo and Tohru. Neither could take the other off their mind. Kyo knew their walk home would be torturous since the rat was staying behind today. Tohru on the other hand, was looking forward to their walk home. Normally, she and Kyo would talk about dinner plans or schoolwork, but she wanted to know more about the dojo. She thought carefully about her questions, so she wouldn't spoil the surprise. However, she knew all too well that a new habit of his was brushing her hand with his as they walked. Tohru didn't think she could take much more of that today. She already had to focus not to stare at him, which she knew she wasn't doing a very good job of. As the last bell rang, both had their nerves set and they began the long walk home. Kyo began his usual questioning.
"So what do you have planned for dinner? I won't eat anything with leaks." Tohru giggled a bit as she responded.
"I know. I don't even buy them anymore usually. I was thinking about some sort of curry." Kyo smiled a bit at her statement. She was so considerate towards him even if he didn't deserve it.
"Curry sounds good. I can help if you want."
"Oh, you read my mind! I was just about to ask you that!" Tohru said brightly. Kyo gave her a small smile.
"You usually need help when you make curry. It's not that hard to guess." Kyo gave her head a light tap with his fist before he started to ascend the stairs that lead to Shigure's house. Tohru only then realized that he only did that with her, and he was almost always smiling when he did so. Her heart began to beat a little faster when she thought that it might mean she was special to him. That familiar feeling in her stomach returned, only for her to try to push the feeling away.
"It was nice to see Shisho again! It feels like it's been so long." Tohru said. She saw Kyo's smile widen a fraction before he turned to look at her. The back of his hand brushed hers.
"Yeah. I just wish it hadn't been in those circumstances." He said trying not to cringe. He noticed she had a thoughtful look on her face with a small tint of pink. "What is it?" He asked. Tohru snapped out of her thoughts to respond to him.
"I was just trying to think of the last time I saw you spar. I think it was the last time I saw Shisho." Kyo's head fell a little at the thought. He had been so angry when that happened but it ended well. His fingers brushed her wrist lightly.
"Probably. It's not like that rat and I set up official spars. What you see at home is just us fighting."
"But it's been a little while since that last happened! I haven't had to fix a door in weeks!" Tohru said laughing. Kyo blushed and chuckled as well and he was about to grab her hand to ask her something, but they had already reached the house. Tohru looked at him one more time and blushed. She turned to go upstairs and change, and Kyo had to admit he really liked the small chats he had with Tohru.
Tohru had changed into a navy blue dress with a neat line up buttons running up and down the middle in the front. As she began prepping the rice for the curry, she heard Kyo enter the kitchen. She turned and smiled at him.
"Thank you again for offering to help! If you could start peeling the potatoes, that would help a lot!" Kyo nodded and began washing the potatoes. He would have said something like 'no problem' or 'sure' but he felt like he was choking. He was now hyper aware of everything she wore. It should be illegal for someone to be so beautiful all the time. He continued his task without taking his eyes off her, which proved to be a fatal mistake.
"Ouch!" Kyo called out. Tohru immediately turned towards him with a look of concern, which morphed into all-out panic when she realized that Kyo had cut his finger.
"Oh no! I'll go get the first aid kit! Rinse out your finger though!" She said as she darted out of the kitchen. Kyo got up and turned on the tap. He felt a heart beat in the tip of his finger as he rinsed out excess starch from the potatoes. He heard Tohru running back towards the kitchen, so he grabbed a paper towel and wrapped it around his finger. He sat where he was peeling the potatoes and as soon as he did, Tohru burst into the room.
"Okay! I've got everything!" She knelt in front of him and began unwrapping the paper towel he had placed there. Kyo was transfixed on her, never looking away as she applied ointment and a band aid. When she felt satisfied that he would be okay, she reached back into the kit and grabbed some pain killers just in case.
"Here. These should help with the throbbing. Those kinds of cuts are the worst." She finally looked up at him for the first time and she stilled. Kyo was looking at her with hooded eyes, but Tohru couldn't bring herself to look away. They continued to stare until both of their faces grew warm.
"Kyo?" Tohru said in a soft voice. His stomach tightened at the way she said his name. He involuntarily leaned forward a bit and Tohru's eyelids fluttered. His mouth opened the tiniest bit for a sharp intake of breath. The look on her face was one he wanted to see every day. He reached his uncut hand out and the tips of his fingers had barely brushed her cheek before they heard an electronic beap, signifying that the rice Tohru was making was ready. He pulled back reluctantly and got up to open the rice maker. Tohru remained on the ground for a second. The violent butterflies in her stomach needed to calm down before she did anything else. She put the pain killers back in the first aid kit and when she felt confident that her legs wouldn't give out on her, she stood and made her way to the rice maker as well. Kyo had already fluffed it and moved aside so she could continue her work. Her face was still dusted with pink but Kyo felt like he needed to say something since he hadn't yet. He leaned down a fraction so he mouth was a little bit closer to her cheek.
"Thank you." A shiver went down Tohru's spine as she heard his voice and felt his proximity.
"It's not problem at all, but please be careful." She said without looking at him. He noticed that her voice trembled a bit. They continued in a very charged, very heavy silence.
