Tohru and Kyo had walked on eggshells the rest of the night. When Yuki and Shigure had finished dinner, they both went to their rooms, leaving Kyo and Tohru alone once again. He offered to help her with dishes as he normally did and she initially declined because of his cut finger.

"I'm not a baby, Tohru. I can handle some soap." He argued.

"But still! How about this: I'll wash, you dry." She insisted. Kyo looked down and tried to hide his smile.

"Fine." He said, trying not to chuckle. Tohru smiled and went to start the tap while Kyo went to turn on the radio. She liked to hum along to the songs she knew when they came on and he loved it. A new song had just started and he recognized it as one of her favorites. He turned to see her reaction and even though her back was facing him, he could tell she was smiling . He stood next to her and began drying the small dishes she had already washed and listened to her hum along. He stole lingering glances at her and Tohru did her best not to look at him, knowing if she did she would surely blush. The song that was playing was upbeat and she loved it, but right now "I'm Yours" had set her a little on edge. Everything about the song she applied to Kyo and it made her nervous, but in a good way. It was like she was in her own little world when she finally looked up at Kyo when he grabbed a large plate from her, caressing her fingers in the process. He kept his face forward but he stole a sideways glance at her and smirked a bit. Tohru was thoroughly flustered and whipped her head back towards the direction of the sink.

Kyo had loved her reaction. He didn't think he had that kind of influence over her and it gave him the tiniest bit of hope. He steeled his nerves and took half a step to the side towards her, making their arms brush. He heard her intake of a shaky breath and the knot that had been continuously forming in his stomach tightened once again. Tohru was sure he could see her blush now, but having him so close and so warm made her a little dizzy and weak in the knees. The song had ended and another one by the same artist came on. The sound of the gentle guitar heightened their senses and he was almost tempted to change the station, but he couldn't bring himself to do so. Tohru took the words from the song to heart and finally dared herself to look at Kyo one more time. His hands that were drying a large serving dish faltered as saw the look on Tohru's face.

"Tohru?" He said gently. She took her hand that was dry and placed it softly on his bicep, which increased Kyo's heartbeat exponentially. He could tell that knot was close to snapping and if she did what he hoped she would do, he was sure that he would be a cat in a few seconds. He set the serving dish down on the drying rack and grabbed the hand that what was holding him hostage.

"What is it?" He said in a low voice. Tohru couldn't explain why she did it, but she leaned towards him and before she could do anything, they heard a small giggle behind them. Shigure was low to the ground, his head barely peaking around the door, and he was watching them with extreme interest. Tohru blushed and tried to make herself smaller by hunching her shoulders and bowing her head low. Kyo's face flared red and he quickly dropped Tohru's hand and started towards his older cousin. Tohru heard Kyo yell a string of profanities and tried to gather her thoughts.

'What are you doing?! That was too much! But on the other hand, his eyes looked so enticing...' Tohru slapped her face with both her hands. She turned back around and watched them with a small smile on her face.

"I think we are finished with the dishes so I'm going to go do some homework before bed. Goodnight!" She said cheerily. Kyo stopped shaking Shigure around and turned to look at her.

"O-okay. Night." Kyo said, a little disappointed.

"Goodnight, my flower!" Shigure called, which triggered Kyo shaking him again. When Shigure finally managed to scurry back to his room, Kyo sat at the kotatsu and pondered over the events of the last few hours. Did she know about him getting locked up after graduation? That would somewhat explain her outburst during that damn play. But the other part, her expression, remained in his mind.

Both of them had a hard time sleeping that night. Tohru had stood in front of Kyo's door for a few minutes around midnight, wanting to talk to him or just be near him in general. She couldn't bring herself to knock though. Kyo did the same thing. He stood in front of her door around 2 a.m., knowing she was most likely asleep. He wanted to badly to invite her to the dojo tomorrow for his first teaching lesson, but he knew she was always busy on weekends with chores around the house.

When morning finally came around, Tohru had to do some laundry before she went to the dojo, so she was up earlier than normal. Kyo walked into the kitchen and was surprised to see here there, already making breakfast. Kyo didn't think she owned a pair of pants or even shorts because she was always wearing the best dresses. Today, she wore a white dress with small orange and pink flowers on it. Far away, it almost looked like polka dots. The skirt ended about mid-thigh and Kyo tried to suppress a groan, but that didn't work. Tohru whipped around at the sound with a surprised look on her face.

"Kyo! Are you okay?" She asked. Kyo had an almost pained look on his face, and to be honest, he was in pain. Seeing her like this every day but not acting on his feelings sucked.

"Oh. I'm good, just a little...tired." He explained lamely. Tohru smiled and went back to making some onigiri. Kyo noticed a small bowl of salmon next to her and the ever tightening knot in his stomach became painful. She was too damn perfect. He reached around her side and grabbed the rice ball she had just finished forming from her hands, brushing their fingers together. Tohru gasped and jumped a little. Kyo looked at the face she was trying to hide, but saw a small blush there anyways.

"Thanks. I have to head out for the dojo but do you need me to pick anything up before I come home?" Kyo said in a strained voice. Tohru turned to face him and only shook her head. Kyo bumped his fist to her head and smiled a bit.

"Okay. I'll probably be home around 1 or 2 then." He said as he walked towards the front door. Tohru's breath was a little ragged, her thoughts lingering on how he said 'home'. She let herself believe for half a second that he really meant her when he said that. She knew he never really considered this place his home, but maybe she was his home? No, she couldn't think like that no matter how much she wanted it to be true. Tohru kept herself busy until 10:30 and then made her way to the dojo.

Kyo had been training lightly for a while to set out some anxiety before his new students came to the dojo. He never thought this day would come, and he was both nervous and excited. As he heard the doors slide open and little voices trailing in, he instantly thought that he wasn't cut out for this. His temper was too high to work with little kids. Shisho approached his son with a compassionate look on his.

"Don't look so nervous, Kyo. You'll scare off your students." he said and placed a gentle hand on Kyo's shoulder.

"Shisho, what if I'm bad at this?" Kyo asked. Shisho chuckled a bit.

"You won't be, which is why I gave you this assignment. Good luck." Shisho left just as quickly as he arrived, and Kyo was now standing and waiting for all the kids to gather. Once they all did, he spoke.

"U-uhm. Okay. I'm Kyo, your sensei. Let's get everyone warmed up." Kyo led the little kids through basic stretches and then started showing them some good stances. One little girl in particular was having a hard time. While the other kids were laughing and enjoying themselves, Kyo walked over to her.

"You doing okay?" He asked in an uncertain voice. The little girls bottom lip trembled a bit and he started to panic. "You're doing good! What's wrong?"

"I'm no good. I want to go home." the little girl said in a shaky voice. Kyo instantly felt sympathy for this little girl. He knelt down beside her and moved her arms and legs to the right places.

"You can get better if you want. I can show you how." The little girl looked up at her sensei and smiled, nodding her head vigorously. Kyo chuckled a bit and continued to teach her.

Tohru had arrived at the dojo just before the kids started to show up.

"Tohru. Thank you for coming." Shisho said in his gentle voice as he approached her. Tohru bowed with a smile on her face.

"Thank you for inviting me. I would like to wish Kyo good luck. Can you show me where he is?" She asked. Shisho appeared conflicted for a moment before he responded.

"I think if he knew you were watching, he would be more nervous. Maybe you can tell him a job well done when his lesson is finished instead? I can show you where you can observe the class without him knowing." Tohru was unsure of this plan. It felt more like lying now than just keeping a secret, but Shisho knew Kyo best. She reluctantly agreed and walked towards a door that was shielded with slightly see-through cloth.

"You'll be able to see everything here, but none of the kids or Kyo will be able to see you unless they are looking for you." Shisho explained. Tohru nodded and watched as he walked through a more visible door and talked to Kyo a bit. Her heart raced as she watched Kyo teach these young kids. The oldest might have been 6 years old. Tohru had never seen Kyo around kids, but this made her heart melt. When she saw him help a particularly cute little girl, she felt her face burn. He would be a great father one day. That thought made her blush even more. His gentle tone and patience made her knees weak. At the end of the lesson, Kyo had the kids line up and showed them how they should bow and he bowed to them as well. Kyo had a genuine smile on his face as he watched the kids run towards their parents. Shisho went back into the room and congratulated Kyo on his successful lesson.

"Thanks Shisho, but I can't remember the last time I was so nervous about something martial arts related." Kyo said with a sigh. Shisho looked towards Tohru and motioned for her to stay where she was.

"How about we spar then? That should help relieve some stress." Shisho offered. Kyo looked up at his master with bright eyes.

"Alright!" The two took their positions and Tohru was entranced. Kyo was so graceful as he moved. His uniform suited him so well. She had never seen him so happy before. Her heart sped up and she clutched her hands to her chest to try to calm down. Their sparing match ended and they bowed to each other. Kyo's back was facing her and Shisho had motioned for Tohru to come in when Kyo wasn't looking. She moved inside quietly. Shisho chuckled at the look at her face, making Kyo look at him.

"What is it?" Kyo asked with interest. When Shisho spoke, Kyo felt his heart stop.

"Hello, Tohru. What did you think of Kyo's teaching methods?" Kyo snapped his head around to face her and saw her expression. She felt her knees buckle as he looked at her with surprise and something else she couldn't name.

"Tohru? Ho-How long have you been here?" Kyo asked nervously. Tohru gulped before she answered in a quiet voice, "Before your lesson started."

"How did you even know I was teaching today?" Kyo's embarrassment grew more and more.

"Um, well you see when I spoke to Shisho-" Tohru didn't get the chance to finish her sentence before Kyo turned back towards his master and started kicking and punching again.

"You told her?!" He yelled. This spar was more intense than before and Tohru watched as Shisho easily avoided Kyo's attacks. Tohru couldn't help but giggle a little at the blush she saw clearly on Kyo's face.

"I think you did great, Kyo! You're a really good teacher!" Tohru hurriedly called out. Kyo stopped dead in his tracks. He was sort of used to her saying this like that, but the way she said it now made him want to squish her face again, which he did. He ran over to her and squished her cheeks together.

"You should have told me you were coming." Kyo almost growled. Tohru giggled again and shook her head 'no'. Her hands travelled up to his wrists and she tried to pry them away from her face without success.

"I asked her to keep it a secret so you wouldn't be so nervous, but I did want her to see," Shisho called out. Kyo stiffened and looked over his shoulder towards Shisho, glaring at him. He sighed and released Tohru, who kept her hands on his wrists. Kyo looked down at her with surprised eyes. Her eyes were shining and he was tempted to cup her cheek again. In the end he managed to pull his hands away.

"Stay here. I'm going to shower and then we can go home." Tohru nodded and watched as Kyo walked out of the room. She turned to Shisho.

"Are you sure I didn't cross a line with him? He seems pretty upset..." Shisho smiled and shook his head.

"He's just embarrassed. He'll get over it."

Kyo stood in the shower contemplating what had just happened. Why did Shisho ask her to come in the first place? But the way she looked at him... He felt molten lava in his stomach. It was too much to hope for. As he got dressed in his casual clothes, he thought about it more and more. Why else would she have come? She came to support him even though he didn't know she was there. He smiled to himself. Maybe a little hope was okay.

As he returned to the room where he left Tohru and Shisho, he found them idly chatting about nothing in particular. When Tohru heard Kyo coming up behind her, she turned and smiled at him.

"Hi, Kyo! Ready to go home?" She said.

"Yeah, let's go." he said in his normal grumpy tone. He threw one last glare at Shisho before he grabbed Tohru's hand and led her out of the dojo. The walk was silent, but Kyo still held her hand hostage. Tohru didn't mind at all. In fact, she hoped that he wouldn't let go until they got home. She had to break the silence though.

"You were really a good teacher though. Especially with that little girl." Kyo stopped dead in his tracks, a pace ahead of her. He didn't look at her, but still had a tight hold on her hand.

"Kyo?" She said. When he finally looked at her, Tohru was shocked by the look on his face. It almost looked like he was in pain.

He was in pain. He was trying to hard not to kiss her. There she was, complimenting him on something he was sure he was horrible at, but she was being 100% honest. She was a miracle.

"...Thanks." he finally managed to say. He dropped her hand and continued walking home. Tohru stared at his back for a moment or two before she regained her senses and tried to catch up with him.