CHAPTER 11: Laughing Rats and Honest Cats

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Kyo and Tohru sat close together near a bike path and listened to the hum of cars and buses coming from the main area of the city. There was at least a little greenery here… That was why they had chosen the spot to relax for a little.

"Ahh! Greenery really is rare here, ne, Kyo-kun? It's very refreshing, this place we found…" Tohru exclaimed as she watched a person roller-skate by. She inhaled a great amount of the fresh air and tried to keep it in her lungs as long as possible. Kyo watched her inhale and chuckled softly. She looked up at him and blushed in embarrassment.

"Sorry… It's just… I'm used to having so much greenery around me, like in Kyoto, I just never realized how much I appreciated it, I suppose." She told him, as she leaned into the tree that was behind them. He smiled gently and watched her hair flow in the slight breeze that whirled around them. He sighed and brushed his fingers on a couple of her strands of brown hair.

"You are… Funny." He said as he quickly pulled his fingers away and crossed his arms on his chest. He cleared his throat and he felt his cheeks flush. Tohru looked at his face, and felt herself worry a little. She looked down at her lap and looked to Kyo's large manly hand. She touched it, and proceeded to take his hand in hers. She looked at every print in his hand, tracing even the slightest line with her index. She noticed how well her hand fit in his. She blushed a little, and looked down at their joined hands.

"Ano… Kyo-kun… I was wondering… About earlier at the restaurant… Did something happen to make you… Angry with me?" Tohru asked, worried Kyo might have been angry with something she had said. Kyo felt his knuckles jolt as he thought about that loser Stephen who was trying to woo Tohru or something… He lightly punched a fist onto the ground.

"No. Not at all… It's not like that." He muttered through clenched teeth. He looked away from Tohru. He then felt a drop of water fall onto his hand, and he wondered why it was raining so suddenly… But then as he looked to Tohru, he realized it wasn't rain at all, but a teardrop that fell from the young girl's eyes.

"T… Tohru!" He shouted, placing his free hand on her shoulder. She looked up at the cat, smiling with moisture dripping down her cheeks.

"Kyo-kun is… An important person to me and… When I know I've done something to make someone special to me angry which he won't even talk with me about… I feel like… I'm the worst…" She said, shutting her eyes tightly, allowing more streaks of tears to flow out of her big brown eyes. Kyo blushed and had his mouth wide open.

'What an idiot I am…' Kyo thought to himself, as he smiled gently and rubbed her shoulder in what he thought was a comforting way.

"Like I said, Tohru… It's not like that." He said, and crawled in front of her to look directly in her eyes. She looked up at him timidly, eager to hear what he had to say. He wiped a tear from her cheek, and brought it to his lips.

"It has absolutely nothing to do with you… You are beautiful, and I'm sorry I worried you… The problem is… That damned guy… Who won't stop… Trying to… Ungh…" He said, as he blushed mightily. He pressed his palm into his forehead and looked away from Tohru's eyes, his cheeks turning a bright pink that made Tohru smile. Kyo looked back at her, and saw the smile.

"I… I'm sorry; it's hard for me to say right now…" Kyo stuttered, returning to his initial seating next to Tohru. She took the boy's hand back into her own, and searched it for any imperfections.

"As long as… You aren't angry with me…" She said, sniveling and bringing her hand up to wipe off the tear. He looked at her with a more serious expression.

'I love you… Can't you see that?' Instead of saying what was on his mind, he settled for: "Tohru-kun… I… Promise. It's not you." He told her, lifting the girl up and catching her by the waist, as she was about to fall. There was no contact between them; otherwise Kyo would have turned into a cat. Tohru turned around and looked into the man's eyes. She found, that day, that his eyes were clouded over, even solemn looking. She blushed and couldn't bear to look again… What could he have been thinking that day?

'I love you, I love you… Gods, I love you… There's no way for me to tell you how I feel now that it's built up to this.'

Uotani had been fairly quiet for quite a while now, not wanting to disturb the many fiascos that had occurred all at once. She had tried to study each one of the Sohmas minutely, and she had to admit she found it difficult…

They were dark people with many problems, apparently. She was most intrigued though, by someone she thought she had known…

The prince. He seemed totally different now that they were here. In fact, she had always thought he was flawless. Now she saw him for whom he really was, as he cried outside on the steps of the museum's entrance. Someone who was so extremely troubled, he would even dar to cry in such a public place. Time froze for a few moments, as Arisa recollected for a few instants.

"Oi, Tohru-chan! Look at that guy over there… Totally hot!"A short-haired, rebellious Arisa shouted out. She pulled on Tohru's jacket sleeve with one hand, and pointed at a muscled, black-haired boy who sat drinking hot tea on a bench. Snow was all over his blue jeans and black sneakers.

"Eh? Who, Uo-chan?" Tohru replied, looking around enthusiastically. Uotani tugged on one of the girl's braids jokingly and directed the girl's eyes towards the man. Tohru's eyes lit up.

"Ah, but… He looks kind of scary, Uo-chan! Like a gang member, or something. Someone who beats people up!" Tohru said to Arisa quietly, trying not to make the guy interested in their conversation.

"I know, totally my type, right?" Uo-chan shouted, as she balled her fists and placed them on her hips. She laughed loudly and looked down at Tohru, who seemed timid.

"A… Ano… Would you like me to go speak to him for you?" Tohru asked reluctantly. Uo-chan stop laughing and made them continue to walk.

"Nah… Oi oi, don't suggest things you don't want to do, silly!" Uo had said, mussing up her friend's hair. The two younger girls laughed gleefully, though Arisa had been a little hurt at the time…

This distant memoir made Arisa think about something; ever since she had said that about that guy and turned into the person she was today, she didn't even know what type of guy she was into. Obviously, those gangsters types did not interest her anymore… So then, which type of men did? Maybe Arisa had turned into a downright softie, and was falling for gentle men… 'Hopefully not!' Arisa thought to herself, and she slapped the back of her hand of her cheek. Hana and Momiji walked up to her.

"Uo-chan, is something wrong?" The blond haired bubbly boy shouted out.

": Pipe down over there:" A british person hissed out at Momiji as he stared at a painting.

":Sorry…:" Momiji said in English. Arisa found his accent both cute and amusing.

"I'm fine, kiddo. Hana-chan, wanna ditch this place?" Uotani suggested, as she yawned openly at a bronze sculpture of a woman. Hanajima covered her mouth with her hand to giggle.

"Yes. That sounds nice, Uo-chan." Momiji jumped and grabbed Saki's hand, and the three began to walk towards to exit. Hana made the duo continue on as she dragged behind. She stood there for a few instants, feeling Isuzu's gaze upon her. She swiftly turned her head around and looked at the girl in the eyes.

"Shall we go then?" Saki asked, as she whisked herself away after saying that. Isuzu wondered what that strange girl was speaking of, and shrugged her shoulders. She followed the gothic girl from far, just in case she was trying to pull something.

Yuki continued to sob with his face in his knees, and Haru leaned his head on the boy's frail shoulder.

"It will be alright." Haru told the boy, who nodded, not necessarily in agreement, but because there wasn't much else he could say. Haru suddenly gave a final pat on Yuki's back and ran to a pretzel stand. Yuki looked up, wondering what he was doing. Haru came running back with something cradled in his arms.

"Here. Take it." Haru said, handing over some sort of gooey, meaty mess all wrapped in tin foil on a stick. Yuki was particularly picky with food, so Haru let out a chuckle when he saw deception painted all over the boy's face.

"Err… Haru. What is this?" Yuki asked the boy, accepting the food reluctantly. Haru was clutching his side now because he was laughing so hard. He sat down next to Yuki.

"Haha… Yuki, I have no idea… I just pointed at it and the guy was making me buy it… I thought it might be fun to try it… You don't have to eat it though." Haru found all this fairly amusing, as he was almost in tears he was laughing so hard. Yuki smiled although he was totally disgusted.

"Well… Eh… I guess if you bought this for me, I should at least… Try it…" Yuki said, as he delicately placed a piece of the meat on his tongue. He closed his mouth and looked up at the sky.

"Hmmm… Not half bad, actually. You try." Yuki said offering some to his friend.

"Ah, thanks." Haru said, dirtying his fingers in the brown sauce as he grabbed a heaping amount of the unknown food. Yuki pawed at Haru's hand as he ate half the contents of the food Haru had bought him.

"Hey! I thought you said you bought this for me! The truth is… I was actually pretty hungry…" Yuki said, blushing as he plopped another piece in his mouth. Haru looked crookedly at his friend as he himself licked the remnants of the food off his own fingers.

"Hmm… Me too, actually. Hey, let's go get everyone so we can have a proper bite to eat, okay?" Haru said, pulling on Yuki's sleeve to pick him up. Yuki looked up to Haru, as he licked a little of the sauce in the corner of his mouth.

"Hatsuharu?" Yuki said, staring at Haru. Haru looked down at the boy. The prince smiled instantly.

"Thanks. Thank you." Yuki said finally getting up. Haru smiled warmly, and grabbed the frail boy by the side and hugged him sideways. Yuki blushed, not used to human contact. Haru whispered into Yuki's ear.

"Anytime for you, Yuki, my friend." Yuki blushed further, and pushed Haru away from him as the cow of the Zodiac smiled happy to see his friend back in a good mood.

"Haru-chaaaaan! Yun-chaaaan! Haaaallo!" Momiji's familiar voice called out to them. Haru waved at Momiji, the gothic girl, the tomboy, and Rin. Yuki also let his hand up to wave lightly. As the group approached, the two boys got closer to them.

"Hey, we were thinking of going out to grab a bite to eat. What do you guys think?" Haru asked the group, who all seemed to respond in the affirmative.

"Yeah, my stomach has just started bugging me for a deposit… It's a good idea." Arisa nodded. They directed themselves towards a nearby café. Isuzu, as usual, trailed behind the group. She always felt this way, like she didn't belong, like she shouldn't belong. Haru looked back at her from the group. She felt her cheeks turn pink, and she looked down at the ground angrily. Why was it she had to get like this when all he did was look at her? Maybe it was just something beyond her control… She supposed she was still not used to them being back together.

Suddenly Haru was right next to her, holding her hand. He came close to her ear, so that he could whisper something.

"You belong… To me." He said, as if shattering all her fears. He them gently stroked her hair soothingly and sucked on her earlobe gently for a few moments. She lightly brushed his lips away, feeling as though her entire body had blushed to a dark crimson shade.

"That's… Something private. Only for us. Not here…" Rin told him, stuttering. He chuckled and grabbed her waist to pull her closer to him.

"Don't worry, I won't be sharing with anyone." He said, causing her to laugh. He held her tight, satisfied with his reply.

"You weirdo…" Isuzu said, between laughter. Haru chuckled, assuming a weirdo was better than nothing, and settled with just holding hands with his lover.

Two others were also holding hands as they entered the hotel. Kyo and Tohru had walked quite a while to get back to the hotel, as they had gotten lost searching through all the skyscrapers in the dark. It was pretty late, but they had gotten back in time. A man was at the reception, seemingly sleeping. He awoke when the automated doors slid open. It was Stephen.

"Ah, welcome back, Honda-san, Sohma-san. How was your evening out?" Stephen asked from the reception. Tohru let go of Kyo's hand with a blush. Kyo felt an anger surge within him again, as he felt this guy was trying to… Steal Tohru from him all the time.

"Ah, it was a great evening, thank you for asking, Stephen-san!" Tohru replied cheerily. Kyo walked up quickly beside Tohru, and stood there, silent for a moment.

"Did you also enjoy yourself, Kyo-san?" Stephen asked in a singsong way. Kyo ignored what Stephen said.

"Tohru, if we don't go to our rooms soon, everyone will be asleep and uhm… We will have to disturb them to, you know, get in. So we should get going." Kyo replied, a blush appearing on his cheeks. He pretended Stephen was not there.

"Ah, that's true, Kyo-kun… Well, I suppose we should be going. Goodbye, Stephen-kun!" Tohru shouted out, walking towards the elevator to go upstairs. Stephen climbed up from behind the desk.

"Wait… Tohru-san, I was wondering… Would you like to spend the morning with me tomorrow? I know a great place to have breakfast… And then maybe I could take you to some sights that are popular around here? What do you say?" Stephen asked fairly enthused for someone up this late. Tohru took a step back.

"Ah, well… I'm not really sure… I haven't spent much time with my friends…" She said. He came a bit closer to her.

"Oh, come now, it will be fun! I promise I won't take too long and maybe…" Stephen was then cut off by Kyo's arm and his loud, overpowering voice.

"The girl said she doesn't know! Quit harassing her!"

"Ahh… I see. Well, if ever you change your mind, I will be waiting for you in the lobby at nine… It would certainly be fun… It's up to you then, I guess." As he said his final words, he walked back to the desk and waved goodbye. Tohru looked at Kyo sadly.

"Kyo-kun… Why were you mean with Stephen-kun? He's nice to you…" Tohru asked shyly, brushing hands with Kyo. He cradled her hand with that one, and placed his other hand at the nape of her neck.

"Tohru-kun, can you not see it? He obviously… Is no good…" Kyo began.

'If I cannot have you… Neither can he.'

"That's why… At the restaurant… I got angry. I don't want him to…"

'Are you really that blind? Is it really that you cannot se how I feel or… Do you try to ignore it because it frightens you?' Kyo thought to himself sadly. He traced the contour of her face with his hand and placed his hand on her shoulder.

'I know you would never do it on purpose… But my heart is being broken by the sweetest girl I've ever known… Yet it's all my fault…'

"Tohru… I want you to be mine and no one else's…!"

…And so the cat finally spoke his mind.

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Sorry everyone. Really… I've gotten so busy during the summer and with school work before that, I never really got to doing this story. I've advanced it quite a bit, and I believe my writing has gotten a lot better, so I hope you aren't too mad at me…

Thanks again to all my reviewers. I promise to continue this story, even if it may take a while. Hopefully, you can all be patient?

Please review my story, and tell me about what you liked, and what you did not. I'd appreciate that.

PS the damn ruler adder thing isn't working on my computer so... I'll modify it later.

PPS Thanks to Haschen for motivating me to restart updating. I'll try to live up to your high expectations. ;-)

Isuzu-Hanabi-Chan