A/N: Here's chapter 6! And in exchange for my lag in updates lately, I give you a nice long chapter. And I MEAN long! Enjoy!
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"That jerk SAID that to you!?" Uo exclaimed.
Tohru nodded, her eyes downcast.
"This is unacceptable." Said Hana as she pat Tohru soothingly on the back.
"Want me to kick the crap out of him?" Uo asked.
Tohru's eyes widened and she waved her hands around frantically. "No no no! Don't do that!"
"I shouldn't have asked. I knew you'd say no; you're just too nice for your own good sometimes, Tohru."
As Tohru slowly cheered up with Uo and Hana, Kyou found himself sitting in a daze in the cafeteria. 'How can I say such horrible things to someone who was only trying to help me?' He asked himself. He groaned and rested his chin on the table. He wasn't really in the mood to see Akito or Haru that day; mostly because he thought it was their fault he turned out to be so mean. 'There was a time when Tohru and I were actually friends, but that was back when she still lived across the street. Once middle school started, I began talking to Haru and Akito more often... I guess they had too much of an influence on me.'
Kyou found himself clutching the once wrinkle-free jacket tightly, as his train of thought continued. 'I guess, now that I've thought about it, the only reason I'm either being mean or avoiding her is because I'm worried about what my so-called "friends" would think.. and pretty much everyone else in the school.' He dropped his jacket in his backpack and slammed his fist on the tabletop. 'Who cares what everyone else thinks?! I can talk to whoever the hell I feel like talking to, and if they say anything about it, I'll beat the crap out of them.'
Akito's voice broke him out of his thoughts. "Ah, Kyou. There you are."
Kyou looked up Akito and Haru standing in front of the table, looking down at him with bored expressions. "How long have you been standing there?!"
"Long enough to realize that you've lost your sanity." Haru said and took a seat across from Kyou.
"You looked pretty pissed off. I hope you're not thinking of that loser, Tohru Honda." Said Akito.
"Why the hell would you say that?!" Kyou demanded. 'So much for beating the crap out of him..'
Kyou was pretty much oblivious to the rest of lunchtime, and eventually at the end of the day, he had to go back to the drama club meeting room. Mr. Hamasaki (Ayame) had said on Monday that, since it was already mid November and they only had four weeks left to prepare, it was best to have rehearsals every weekday but Friday after school. When Kyou entered the room, he noticed that for once, Tohru wasn't there. He assumed she didn't show up early on purpose; not that he blamed her. If he were in her shoes, the awkwardness would annoy the hell out of him. He prayed that she wouldn't walk in at that moment, because he had no idea how he'd bring himself to say sorry. Kyou had never, even as a child, been good at apologizing.
As if on cue, Tohru walked in and sat in her usual seat, writing/drawing in that notebook as always. She acted as if she hadn't seen Kyou. Kyou sat there for a while, and when he was finally about to stand up and apologize, Mr. Hamasaki waltzed in. The older man was whistling, and he set his bag down on his desk and pulled out several papers. He turned and smiled when he saw Kyou and Tohru in the room.
"Ah, so nice to see you two, early, again! I'll be back in a few minutes; I need to talk a few things over with Ha'ri." And then he left.
Kyou sighed, and figured that he should just walk over to Tohru and get the apology over with. He took a deep breath, and finally stood and approached Tohru slowly.
Tohru, meanwhile, was having a hard time focusing on her writing.
Kyou clenched and unclenched his fists nervously, before he finally said, "Tohru.. I..."
Tohru paused in her writing, but didn't look up; she wanted to hear what Kyou had to say before acknowledging him.
"..I..." He hesitated. "Dammit! I'm sorry, okay?!"
Wow. She certainly wasn't expecting that. When she and Kyou were friends a long time ago, she was the one apologizing all the time - even if it wasn't her fault. She looked up at him, finally, surprise written all over her face.
"Look, I'm not that great at apologizin' or whatever.. but.. I," He paused again. "I'm sorry for being a jerk yesterday after school. If you're gonna keep ignorin' me, I don't blame you, because I wouldn't wanna talk to a jerk like me anyway."
Before Tohru could get a word in, Kyou said, "Okay, yeah. See you-"
"Wait, Kyou? It's- it's okay."
"Huh?"
"I've known you since I was a little girl, Kyou." Tohru said with a smile on her face. "And even though we pretty much stopped talking after I moved, I know that a lot of things about you haven't changed; like for instance, your tendency to speak before you think things through."
"HEY, I don't ALWAYS--" Kyou started, but then he chose not to complete his thought when he realized what she was saying was true.
"See?" Tohru asked, chuckling. "You sort of did that again just now.."
"It's not funny!"
Tohru calmed herself and said with that smile on her lips, "Okay, I'm sorry."
Kyou let out a sigh. "No, don't be. You don't have anything to be sorry for."
"If you say so."
Kyou extended his hand. "So, uh... friends?"
Tohru nodded and shook his hand. "Friends."
And so, the drama club rehearsal began soon after Kyou and Tohru's friendship rekindled, and eventually, the day was over. Actually, a whole two and a half weeks were gone before both of them realized it.
That Monday was the start of every high schooler's nightmare: finals week. So, the Sunday before that, Kyou locked himself in his room in attempt to make the day go by as slowly as possible. His mom wasn't home that day, and he'd basically been avoiding Akito and Haru ever since he decided to be friends with Tohru. That left no one to talk to, thus making his day go by slower, which was perfectly fine with him.
But then, the phone in his room rang. He groaned and debated whether or not to answer it. "Eh, one phone call won't kill me." He decided.
Kyou held the phone to his ear. "Hello?"
"Hello, Kyou! It's Tohru. How are you?"
"I've been better."
"Oh.. well um, Uo and Hana are at my house right now; we're helping each other study for the exams, and I just wanted to know if maybe you wanted to join us?"
"I don't know..."
"Please come, Kyou? It'll only be about three hours long."
Kyou glanced at the clock. It was only 4 in the afternoon. "Eh, fine. Whatever."
He could've sworn he heard Tohru smiling over the phone. "Great! Then I'll see you in a little bit?" She asked.
"Yeah."
"Okay! Oh, and don't worry about dinner. We were going to order some pizza later."
"All right, see ya in a bit." Kyou said and hung up.
It didn't take him long to get there; his mom's other car had just finished being repaired, so he decided to just drive over. He pulled up in the driveway of the quaint house and after locking the doors, he climbed up the steps to her porch and knocked.
He expected Tohru's smiling face to greet him once the door was opened, but instead he found himself looking down at Hana's blank face.
Kyou was still in the process of adjusting to Hana's ability to 'read' people. "Uh..." Was all he was able to say.
"Tohru is in the kitchen preparing snacks." Hana said and allowed him in.
"Heeey! Orange top's here!" Uo called as she exited the kitchen with a tray of drinks.
Hana took one of the glasses from the tray and said, "Yes."
Not long after that, Tohru came out of the kitchen with a plateful of carrots and celery in one hand, a jar of peanut butter and ranch dressing in the other, and she had four bottles of water tucked beneath her arm against her ribs. "Hi, Kyou! I'm so glad you were able to make it."
'She's probably gonna drop something...' Kyou said and quickly took the plate of vegetables from her hand.
Tohru smiled up at him gratefully, and he set the plate down on the coffee table.
So, everyone made themselves comfortable on the floor in the entrance hallway, forming a circle beside the coffee table.
"Tohru, you didn't prepare anything sweet?" Uo asked with disappointment evident in her voice.
"Well, you can put some peanut butter on the celery sticks. But um, the main reason is because sweets don't help at ALL when studying, so I thought vegetables would be the perfect thing. I realize peanut butter is sweet, but..."
"That's all right, Tohru. I think Uo understands now." Hana said, holding up a hand.
Tohru blushed and looked down.
Kyou shifted uncomfortably. "So uh.. are we just gonna study everything today?"
"Just Literature, History, and Science. We usually leave out Math, because it takes too much time to come up with both problems and solutions to those problems." Hana explained.
Kyou nodded.
"AND, Hana's mom made us some practice quizzes based on the study guides our teachers handed out, so we'll be taking those and grading each other's." Tohru added.
"Are there enough? I mean, I wasn't originally included in your plans..." Kyou trailed off.
"Yes, well, Tohru told me to make sure I make an extra copy because-" Hana paused when Tohru gave her a frantic look. "...because one of us might lose ours."
Kyou seemed satisfied with that answer, and when he looked over at the clock on the wall, Tohru gave Hana a grateful smile.
"Now that that's all settled, let's get this studying crap overwith!" Uo exclaimed.
Everyone 'yeah'ed in return, and Hana distributed the practice tests.
They decided to just do all the tests at one time, and everyone finally finished filling out their tests about an hour and a half later.
"So how are we gonna do this? Just pass our tests on to the person on our right?" Uo asked.
Hana nodded. "That sounds good."
Kyou got Tohru's, Hana got Kyou's, Uo got Hana's, and Tohru got Uo's. It didn't take nearly as long to correct the tests than it did to fill them out; of course, that's usually the case anyway.
When everyone got their tests back, they were quite content with their results.
"I did much better than last year's first semester finals." Hana said as she folded up her tests and tucked them in her bag.
"I'm satisfied. Could do better, though." Uo said as she carelessly stuffed the tests in her own bag.
"Tohru? Kyou? How did you do?" Hana asked.
"Fine." They both said at the same time.
Awkward silence.
Kyou stood, with his glass in hand. "Uh, I'm just gonna go to the kitchen and wash this."
Tohru sprung to her feet. "No, you don't have to do that! Here, I'll wash it for you."
"You prepared the snacks and drinks, the least I can do is wash the cup."
"It's too much trouble!" Tohru exclaimed while flailing her arms about.
Kyou shook his head. "Look, it's just one cup. No big deal. Besides, you're always doing things for other people, so why don't you let someone else do something for you?" He didn't wait for her to respond. "Sit back down, and I'll be back in a couple minutes."
"O-Okay."
When Kyou disappeared behind the kitchen door, Hana took a sip of her own drink. "I do wonder how long Kyou's had this little crush on you."
Tohru's eyes widened to the size of dinner plates. "EH?! Ky-Kyou and I are just friends!! I-I mean we just started talking again about two weeks ago, so there's no way--"
"Why else would he sit with us every day at lunch, when he could very well just sit with Akito and Haru?" Uo asked.
"He told me that he was avoiding them.."
"Uh-huh. He's just using it as an excuse."
"The better thing to wonder about, is whether Tohru feels that way about Kyou." Hana said and glanced curiously at Tohru.
Tohru felt her face heat up, and when she heard the kitchen door creak open, she looked down to hide her beet red face. Kyou plopped down next to her again. "Oh uh hello Kyou did you wash everything okay?" She asked in a quicker speed than normal.
"Huh? Oh. Yeah." Kyou said, and he couldn't help noticing that Tohru seemed to be avoiding eye contact. "Eh... Tohru? You okay?"
He only received a nod in return, and he looked up at Uo and Hana, who had knowing smiles on their faces. "Did you two say something to upset her?"
"Mm, does it matter?" Uo asked.
"Hell yeah it matters!" Kyou exclaimed, and then when he realized what he'd just said, he covered it up by crossing his arms. "N-not that I care if she's upset or not."
"Yeah right. Why'd you just say 'hell yeah it matters'?"
"Let's just.." Tohru reached for her test and hid her face behind it. "Let's just talk about something else?"
Uo looked between Kyou and Tohru with interest. "Let's not."
Kyou resisted the urge to throw the remaining vegetables at the blond's head. "Dammit, shut up!"
Hana's stomach growled, and she checked her watch. 7:02. "Tohru, it's about time to order the pizzas, don't you think?"
"Right! I'll be back in a second. Is everyone fine with combo?" Tohru asked.
They were all fine with it, and Tohru went into the kitchen to order the pizzas. The pizza wasn't delivered for another twenty minutes, and when it finally showed up, they ate in silence. There was only one slice left, and Uo grabbed it quickly.
"Hell, the least you could've done was ask if anyone else wanted that. It's common courtesy." Kyou said in a bored tone.
Uo burped. "Yeah. Like you of all people would know about that."
Hana stood. "Well, Tohru, I had a lovely time. I would stay longer if I could, but I have to babysit my cousins today."
"That's all right, Hana. I'll see you tomorrow!" Tohru said as she stood to open the door for Hana.
Uo stood as well. "Yeah, I'd better go, too." She followed Hana out the door.
Tohru waved 'bye' to them, and closed the door when they were gone. "I wish they could've stayed longer," She murmured to herself. When she turned around, she saw Kyou scrubbing off the coffee table. "AH! Kyou, you don't have to do that!"
He paused and shrugged. "Like I said earlier, no big deal. Besides, I'm usually home alone all the time; I'm used to cleaning."
Tohru frowned and stooped down beside him as she gathered up the dirty napkins and used paper plates from the floor. "Why's that?"
"Well someone has to keep the house clean, and it's not gonna be a maid or some other person we don't know."
Tohru shook her head. "No, I mean, why are you home alone all the time?"
Kyou froze. He just gave her some personal information without realizing it. "Uh.."
"Oh, I'm sorry. If it's too personal, you don't have to-"
"It's okay." He said, and without thinking, he voiced his thoughts. "I know it's weird, but for some reason, I... I feel comfortable talking about personal things when I'm... around you."
'It is weird. I only started talking to her again, what? Three weeks ago or something, and I'm practically telling her my life story.'
Tohru blushed. 'That's probably the nicest thing Kyou's ever said to me; even though it wasn't really a compliment.' She smiled and said, "I feel comfortable talking about personal things with you, too."
"...anyway. A while ago, probably a little before you moved away, my dad had this drinking problem. Yeah, he'd always go out drinking with some buddies, 'cause he's stupid like that. Whenever I came home from school, he was drunk, and he would..." He paused, and his grip tightened around the towel he was using to scrub off the table. "...he would hurt my mom and me. At first it was just me, because my mom was always working at the hospital or something. I don't know; I guess one morning when my mom was helping me out of a shirt that was too small for me, that's when she saw the bruises and scratches. First she started crying, and then she asked me who hurt me, but I... I couldn't tell her."
"Why couldn't you tell her?" Tohru asked in a soft, tender tone.
"Because my dad told me that if I ever said anything to her, he'd hurt me even worse next time. He said he'd hurt mom too." Kyou stopped his scrubbing, and instead rested his arms on the table, his head drooped over and his eyes closed. "It didn't matter. He hurt both of us anyway, even though I never said anything."
Tohru wasn't sure what to say. She wasn't used to seeing Kyou being so open.
Kyou lifted his head and let out a bitter laugh. "You know what's funny? He's the one that left us, as if we were the ones at fault." He balled his hands into fists. "That bastard."
He stood up and looked down at Tohru with an angry expression. His eyes softened when he saw that she was sobbing.
Without thinking, Tohru sprung to her feet and found herself hugging Kyou tightly, sobbing into his shirt. "I'm so sorry... I'm so sorry..." Was all she was able to say.
Kyou hesitatingly wrapped his arms around her small waist. He suddenly felt as if he was the one comforting her, when Tohru was actually trying to comfort him. "Shh... It's all right... don't cry." He whispered into her ear.
His actions took him by surprise. 'Since when have I been all nice and stuff?'
Tohru shook her head and pulled back, and Kyou dropped his arms at his sides. "It's not okay." Tohru said and sniffled. "I-I can't imagine what it must've been like, being afraid to return to your own home, being afraid of your own father."
Kyou scoffed at the word 'father'. "That asshole isn't what I'd call a 'father'. He was an abusive drunk that just happened to live in the same house as my mom and me." He let out a relieved sigh when he saw that Tohru stopped crying. "That's why I never touch alcohol. I don't wanna end up like him."
"But still, Kyou... I am sorry. I really don't know what else to say."
"Don't be sorry. I haven't had to put up with that guy for years, anyway," He tried to put on a smile for her sake, but it was hard since he never really smiled much in the first place. "And... don't worry about not having anything to say. It-it's just nice knowing someone's listening."
Tohru smiled. "Okay."
Kyou looked down, to hide his blush. "A-and you know, if you ever need anyone to talk to.. I don't really give that good advice, but I'll... I'll listen, and stuff."
"Thank you, Kyou."
Kyou looked up at her, confused. "For...?"
"Just for helping me realize that I'll always have someone to talk to."
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Reviewer Responses:
midori: Aww, thanks! For thinking my story's awesome AND for taking the time to review. Well, here's your update; sorry I took so long!
Just call me Blue: Yes, poor Tohru... but Kyou certainly made up for that in this chapter, right? Well sortof. If this chapter didn't make up for that, then I'm sure either the next chapter or the one after the next will. XD
ProzacFairy: lol, it's okay. I won't tell anyone. -shifty eyes- And yeah, Kyou was mean, but please refer to my response to Just call me Blue! -points up- Teehee. Thanks for reviewing again!
Kute Anime Kitty: Ah, yes.. Kyou CAN be quite mean at times. And, you are the second person that I'm directing to read my response to Just call me Blue.
Nyeren: EXACTLY! Because, if Kyou hadn't been nasty, then he and Tohru wouldn't have had that conversation and become friends.. mmhmm. Anyways, yeah! The fluffiness SORT of started in this chapter, except not really. But there will be more in the next one.
valAval: (I would have used the 'at' sign, but it wasn't working) Wow! Thanks SO much for reviewing every chapter XD Anyways, in answer to your questions.. A Walk to Remember is an AWESOME movie, I love it, and when I first bought it I overplayed it -sweatdrop- but yeah, unless you don't like chick flicks with sad endings, I highly recommend it. In the Anime, Kyou has crimson red eyes and Tohru has blueish-tealish eyes, but yeah, in the manga she has brown. I'm pretty sure Ayame's a guy, because he's Yuki's older brother. I don't blame you for thinking he's a girl, though, since he acts like one most of the time. Oo And as for Tohru singing. Umm, well she KIND of sings in the Anime. Her voice isn't bad, but it's not amazing either. I just figured that, since Tohru's English voice actor (Laura Bailey) sounds kind of like Mandy Moore, I could have her sing in this fic. Yuki comes in NEXT chapter. Well he should. And no, the Soumas aren't cursed with the zodiac animals, because this fic is an AU (alternate universe). Aaand finally, nope, I didn't just get the script from A Walk to Remember and change the names around. I changed a LOT of stuff around. Heehee. Anyways, thanks again for reviewing each chapter! You're awesome!
Placid Snowflake: Hey, great pen name! And thanks for reviewing, I'm glad you're happy with my fic so far! Thanks also for letting me know that I kept the personalities intact - when I first put this fic on the site, I wasn't too sure if I was doing a good job with it or not. XD I hope you plan on reviewing again!
A/N: So there you have it! Yeah, I know I said fluffiness wouldn't start until the next chapter, but… oh well. I'm not quite sure when the next update will be, since school's been keeping me busy lately. If it takes more than a week, I'll make an extra long chapter again. Please review!