A/N: Before I let you guys read this, I want to apologize for taking so long to update! This week has been crazy, but don't worry. I'm off school for the next two weeks, so HOPEFULLY I'll update more often! Plus, this chapter's kind of short, so I apologize in advance for that.
And in response to some of your reviews regarding Yuki, I'm thinking I'll add him later on, in a couple of chapters. But until then...
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Kyou watched her go, feeling guilty once again. 'Would it really be so bad to be friends with her?' He asked himself, but immediately shook that thought out of his head. 'I can just imagine what Akito and Haru would have to say about that...'
The thought of Akito chilled him a bit. 'Creepy guy.'
He slung one strap of his black backpack over his shoulder and left, mentally kicking himself for thinking something so stupid. He passed by the grocery store and, remembering that they were low on some food supplies, he decided to take a pit stop there. After grabbing a basket, Kyou proceeded down the dairy products aisle and grabbed a carton of milk after checking its expiration date. On turning the corner, he ran into someone carrying a big pile of cereal boxes, causing the person to drop the boxes. He glared down and saw Tohru kneeling on the ground, picking up the boxes again.
"I hope my boss didn't see that." She murmured to herself.
"...Tohru?" He asked.
Tohru looked up, shocked, her face beet red. "Oh! Uh, hi Kyou!" She chuckled nervously. "Seems I'm always dropping things when you're around.."
Kyou simply eyed her strangely. "What are you doing here?"
"Oh, well today's Monday, so I work here today and Wednesdays - you know, stocking shelves and cleaning up messes. On Thursdays and Sundays, I work for the custodial staff at another place..." She explained quickly as she continued stacking the cereal boxes in a neat pile. "So what are you doing here?"
Before Kyou lashed out saying something along the lines of 'Why the hell else would I come to a grocery store other than to shop for groceries!', he stopped himself. "Just picking up some food supplies. My mom's been too busy to go grocery shopping." Soon, he found himself stooping to the ground and helping her again.
Tohru smiled brightly at Kyou. "That's nice. I'm sure your mom must really appreciate you going out of your way to help her with shopping."
Kyou grunted in response and placed the final box on the top and got on his feet.
Tohru stood as well, and said, "Thanks, Kyou!"
"Uh, don't mention it.." He mumbled and turned to leave.
The remainder of the week flew by, and Kyou went to sleep late on Friday. The next morning, he awoke to see his mother, Mrs. Souma, shaking him gently by the shoulders, saying, "Kyou. Wake up!"
He groaned, rolled on to his side, and pulled his comforter over his head.
Mrs. Souma tapped her foot impatiently, and moved to the foot of the bed. She gripped two sides of the blanket, and in one swift motion, tossed it onto the floor.
Kyou subconsciously curled into a ball from the sudden lack of warmth and growled. "...mom... no school today..." He mumbled.
"Don't you have to go to that middle school? Tutoring?" She questioned.
Kyou growled and slowly sat up, running a hand through his untamed hair. He glanced at the clock. 8:15 AM. He sighed and shooed his mom out of the room, saying, "I can't change while you're in here..."
After his mom left the room, he slid his closet open and changed out of his plaid red pajama pants into cargo jeans, and slipped on his white tank top. He pushed a few jackets aside and pulled out the first shirt he saw - nothing special, just a simple red button-up shirt. After shrugging it on over his tank top, he tied his shoelaces and grabbed his MP3 player and earphones, sliding them into one of his pockets.
On walking out the door, he shouted over his shoulder, "I'm going, mom!" And, he shut the door and locked it before she could respond.
Kyou let out a huff of breath and took the normal path to Kawaia High School. He distinctly remembered Tohru telling him that their 'tutoring group' or whatever it was called, met at Kawaia High and all boarded a bus to go to the "nearby" middle school. When a small group of people standing in front of a school bus came into view, one of them being Tohru, he slowed his pace. Suddenly, a hand came out from behind a tree and grabbed him by the arm.
"What the--" His voice caught in his throat, though, when he saw Haru staring at him emotionlessly. Kyou rolled his eyes. "Haru, what the hell do you want?"
"Is that how you talk to friends?" Haru asked. "I just followed you here to find out what you were doing. Well, actually, more like Akito demanded that I find you and see what you're up to."
Kyou folded his arms over his chest. "If you guys were caught also, you would know."
"What's your punishment?"
"I have to tutor damn 6th and 7th graders at the middle school, and I have to go to stupid drama club meetings."
Haru nodded. "So that's why you're coming here on a Saturday. I was wondering about you..."
"Like I'd ever come here on a weekend by choice," He looked passed Haru and at the group of kids in front of the High School. They were boarding the bus. "I gotta go."
Kyou sped towards the bus and wound up being the last to board. There were lots of empty seats, so he chose one near the back and slipped on his earphones.
Tohru was sitting near the front and saw Kyou storm into the bus. She followed him with her eyes to the back of the bus, and turned back to face the front after he sat down, with a smile on her face. 'I'm glad he's here, because I'm not sure what Mr. Sakai would do if he found out Kyou missed any meetings for a reason other than being sick or out of town.'
The school was much smaller than Kyou had expected. But, then again, the school was practically in the middle of no where, and it was just for three grades. It was a simple, rectangular-shaped school with plain white walls and black roofs. The only somewhat exciting looking thing about the school was a basketball court and two swings to the right side of the school, in a fenced-in yard. Right in the center of the building were the black lined entrance doors, with three run-down steps leading to them. Windows adorned the walls, with lush green bushes planted directly beneath the windows. It was a windy day, and the wind chimes hanging beside the doors rung loudly.
'Not much to see.' Kyou thought as he climbed the steps and walked beside Tohru, since she was the only one in the group that he knew.
He took a sideways glance at her, and noted that she was walking with a smile on her face, as usual, and she began humming a song he didn't know the name of. She looked so... innocent, and Kyou couldn't help wondering, 'Why is it that people hate her so much?'
He stopped suddenly when she looked up at him. "This is the room I tutor in. You can help if you want."
"Uh... sure." Said Kyou. "But uh, where does everyone else go?"
"They all work in pairs with different groups. Of course, everyone else already knows each other, so I was stuck without a partner..." She said, with a small frown. But that frown was wiped off her face when she smiled again and said, "But I'm glad you're here, Kyou!"
"So what group are we tutoring, exactly?" Kyou asked, ignoring her statement.
"We're helping a small group of 7th graders with Algebra."
Kyou nodded and held the door open for her. 'Eh, Algebra. I hated that subject. I think I did an okay job with it, though.'
Tohru smiled and walked in the room, with Kyou following closely behind.
He didn't like what he saw: four 7th graders, ALL GIRLS, sitting at a table, pointing and giggling at him. He slapped a hand over his face and dragged it over his chin, then dropped it at his side. 'Never again will I go along with one of Akito or Haru's plans...'
Tohru and Kyou each pulled up chairs and sat across from the four girls.
"Kyou, I'd like you to meet Rei, Ayumi, Keiko, and Akane." She said, first pointing at a brunette, a blond, and two red-heads. "Keiko and Akane are twins. Girls, this is Kyou, and he'll be helping me tutor you for the day."
They giggled and whispered things to each other, and Kyou simply rolled his eyes and grunted as a response.
Tohru had a much easier time smiling at them than Kyou, as she explained difficult problems, and Kyou spoke a few times when necessary. Finally, about an hour later, the time had come for them to board the bus again. So, Tohru picked up her notebook and pen, and Kyou approached the door, not missing Ayumi's "He's so hot!" comment.
He growled and held the door open for Tohru again, and slammed it shut from behind.
Tohru laughed as soon as the door was shut. "They seem to like you, Kyou!"
"Ya think?" Kyou asked sarcastically. "I think I'll die if I have to tutor them again..."
Tohru frowned. "It wasn't that bad, was it, Kyou?"
"Hell yeah it was."
She looked down. "Um, well I'm sure you can go help a different group. I'll be fine on my own."
Kyou didn't say anything, but when he saw her saddened eyes he said, "Ah, hell. I'll help.. but how long does this tutoring thing last?"
Tohru's eyes brightened and she smiled. "It'll be over soon! We usually only go over there until the week before Winter Break, and then when School starts again, a different group takes over."
Kyou was taken aback when he saw her reaction when he told her he'd help out. 'I guess it doesn't take much to make her smile, does it?'
He wasn't quite sure why, but something about her innocence and the way she smiled so easily.. well, let's just say, Kyou found it charming, almost.
On the bus ride back to Kawaia High, Tohru sat beside Kyou, making small talk here and there, when finally...
"So, Kyou, are you going to visit Kenji? I mean, after that incident... I'm sure he'd like-"
Kyou's eyes widened. How did she find out? "Why the hell would I go visit that guy! I mean, it's not like it's any of your business in the first place!"
"O-oh... I'm sorry, I guess it's not."
"Damn right it's not."
After a few minutes of silence, Tohru stood. "Excuse me, I think I'll go sit near the front..."
Kyou watched her go and glared angrily out the window, with his arms folded over his chest.
After a few minutes of thinking over what had just happened, Kyou sighed and hung drooped his head. 'I'm such an idiot. She was just asking a simple question.' He decided that he would just apologize once they got to the school, but before he got that chance, she bolted off in a hurry.
"What the hell is she in a rush about?" Kyou asked aloud. "Eh, I'll just apologize at school." But when images of Haru and Akito flashed through his mine, he shook his head. 'I'll just go to the grocery store on Monday.. or whenever it is she works there..'
Tohru, meanwhile, was running as fast as her legs would carry her. "Ohh my gosh! I can't believe I forgot about Mom! I promised I'd be there on time..."
Kyou took the shortcut home and, after unlocking the door, he turned the knob and entered his relatively large house. It was two stories high, painted yellow on the outside, and a small white flight of stairs leading to the porch. The new-like appearance of the house betrayed its actual age.
"MOM I'M HOME!" He called and made his way over to the kitchen.
And, just as he expected, she was cooking either late lunch or early dinner over the stove.
He took a seat at the counter and found a glass of apple juice inviting him to take a sip. As he did, his mom asked over the sounds of something frying in the pan, "How was tutoring?"
"Eh."
"That's all I ever get from you, lately," His mom said, chuckling. "Can I have a real answer for once? At least an 'I hate it'?"
Kyou sighed and set the small glass back on the countertop. "I got stuck working with Tohru and this annoying giggling group of middle school girls."
"Tohru? Isn't she the girl that used to live across the street and come by with flowers all the time?"
"That's her."
"I thought she moved to another part of town... oh, Kyou, hand me that plate please?"
Kyou stood and handed a large white plate to his mom, saying, "Yeah, she moved, but not to a different city."
"Now I wonder why that is..."
Kyou stood and decided to go to his room and catch up on the sleep he missed earlier in the morning, while thinking of that short conversation with his mother. 'Why did Tohru move? I mean, if she was gonna stay in town, then what was the whole point of it?'
He shrugged the thought off as he changed into his pajamas once again, and closed his eyes as he fell asleep.
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-Note: Review responses are answered in order that they were received-
Reviewer Responses:
Kute Anime Kitty: AHH more points for you, being the first to review again! Extra points for you reviewing more than once XD You're the best!
dark-bitch: Thanks, I'm glad you love it! And as I said earlier about Yuki, yes, I decided to add him in. As for Yuki falling for Tohru... well, you'll just have to wait and see )
the great and almighty po: Glad you like my story! And thanks for adding me to the author alert list. And, unless I die, I DO plan on finishing this story, although I'm not quite sure how long that will take. Hehe, yes, Yuki will be in the story. But remember, this is a KYOU/TOHRU fic, so there will be no Yuki/Tohru pairing in the end XD I myself don't hate Yuki, but if he ends up with Tohru at the end of the manga I may have to change my mind...
Guardian Reign: Thanks so much for reviewing! Really, every review I get is appreciated, and yours is no exception!
Amaya Hanyou: Thank YOU for reviewing again! And uh, heh, this update was pretty late, so I'm sorry for that. -frown- As for YOUR updating.. you do plan on updating your fic, right? -wink, nudge-
ProzacFairy: Thanks for the review! I'm sorry this update wasn't very soon, but hopefully the next one will be! Merry Christmas to you, too XD As for happy endings.. repeating what I said in an earlier response, you'll just have to wait and see.
A/N: Again, thanks so much for all the reviews! I hope you guys plan on reviewing again for the next chapter... it motivates me more -wink, nudge- Just like last time, I need at least 5 reviews for this chapter before I update! And assuming I get those 5 reviews at least, I plan on updating sometime early next week (Monday, Tuesday-ish).
A/N 2: Did anyone realize that I named this fic after a song?