Today wasn't the best day.

Kyo and I had an argument that turned quite ugly. We'd been sitting in his room, joking around while waiting for Shigure to get home because we were supposed to eat at a restaurant today. We were talking a lot about our futures, dreams, and things like that.

Kyo told me that he could see me becoming a professional chef. He said it like he meant it, going by the intensity in his eyes. I'd laughed it off, though, and told him that he was too kind. He laughed as well and said that no, I'm too kind.

The way that he'd said it had sounded as though there was a double meaning in there somewhere, and I'd looked away from him, uncomfortable.

Normally, Kyo and I fit like two peas in a pod, regardless of his anger issues (sorry, Kyo!). But it's when he looks at me in that way of his that I get tense, goosebumps rising on my skin. Honestly, I'm not sure if it's his fault or my own fault.

Anyway, our conversation led to an awkward silence where it felt like something needed to be said. I felt like I had to ask Kyo about his own dreams.

It was a topic that we'd tread on before, and it hadn't gone so well the first time. I know Kyo well. He doesn't like to think about the future because he doesn't think that he has one. Which I think is ridiculous. I mean, he's so talented, smart, and interesting. Someone like him couldn't turn out to be a nobody in life.

So I asked him again. I asked if he feels differently about it now.

He immediately pursed his lips and turned and lowered his head away from me, his hands lowering to take hold of his bent knees. I held my breath hoping that I hadn't made a mistake.

Once the silence got to be too much for me, I apologized.

He then looked at me and shook his head, his red hair tossing from side to side. He was chuckling.

I asked him what was funny, genuinely curious. He looked hesitant before he said, "it must be easy to think about your future when you're so lucky in life."

Although I had partly expected this type of a response, I still blinked in surprise at the bluntness with which he said it. That's the thing about Kyo, though. He is very straight-forward and either not afraid to hurt people's feelings, or he just doesn't know how to say things in a "nicer" way. Honestly, a part of me admires him for it.

I felt my cheeks heat up because what he said did have some truth to it, as much as it hurt to hear it like this. I didn't want my life compared to his or anyone else's. I knew I was blessed in life, but to be told this did spark the tiniest feeling of anger in my heart. Not because I didn't think my life was as great as he did, but because he would think there was any point in comparing in the first place.

I lowered my eyes and said, "Kyo, your life is what you make it. All you have to do is believe in yourself…like how I believe in you." I'd smiled at him as kindly as I could, hoping he couldn't see my trembling. I peered into his eyes that were partly covered by his long bangs, hoping that I'd gotten through to him. He was looking at the floor, face tense and pale.

"I don't know how you can believe in me," he said, finally. "My own...my own parents..." His voice trailed off, but it was obvious to me what he'd been about to say.

My throat clenched at the mention of his parents. This was a subject that was avoided at all costs. I'd noticed that even Yuki sometimes stops in the middle of talking about his mother when he realizes or remembers that Kyo is in the same room, his eyes darting in Kyo's direction guiltily. I wonder how it makes Kyo feel, knowing that people tiptoe around subjects like this around him.

I felt my eyes water as I thought of my own mother. It feels selfish to have been thinking about my own parents when Kyo was in pain, but I guess I couldn't help it. I inhaled deeply, bent down so that I could have a better look into his eyes and tried again.

"Your parents loved you, Kyo. No matter what they said or did, they did love you. And even if they didn't, even if they treated you more cruelly than anyone else on this planet...don't let it define you. Don't let it destroy your future. Because you-"

"If they screwed up my past, which they did, why should they just get away with it so easily?" he snapped viciously, scaring me a little. "Why should I forgive them? Because I know that's what you're telling me to do." He gritted his teeth as tears filled his eyes. "They should…pay for what they've done to me. They made my life a living hell and every single day of my horrific excuse for a life I'm haunted by memories and guilt that I don't need on my plate on top of everything else." He was talking quickly now, his head raising to look at me. His eyes didn't look the same, though. They looked dark and cold. It was frightening and made me want to look away.

Kyo scoffed suddenly. He then smirked, his eyes bright...a little too bright. "Everyone else is playing video games, talking about how great their parents are, how bright their futures are, and I have a suicide under my belt and a father who hates my guts and makes sure that I don't go a day without forgetting it. Then again," Kyo chuckled again, his eyes still bright, but now a little teary, "Who doesn't hate me?"

"I don't hate you," I said, reaching over to take his hand, trying to control myself from bursting into tears on the spot.

But he pulled his hands back, stood up, and walked away from me. Just before he reached the door, however, he stopped. His head lowered and he hunched his shoulders.

"Please..." he said, voice strained. "I'm sorry to say this, but please don't talk about your mom to me for a while. I'm sorry for being so pathetic. I just...I just hate thinking about…you know."

I stood up and walked over to him, laid a hand against his back and began rubbing it. "I understand," I said. "I won't talk about her." Deep down, I was cursing at myself like crazy, feeling horrible for bringing up the subject again. Why couldn't I see that it would end the same way that it did last time?

Kyo's shoulders began to shake and he eventually began to sob. I had never heard Kyo cry before. Even his crying resembled the sound of a cat's meowing. It was a little high-pitched and raspy.

I stood there with him like this for a while, feeling guilty for wanting to kiss his worries away…