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The story about a girl who taught a boy a little something called hope...
C R O S S
Chapter F I V E
Stupid
"ARGHH!"
A sea of papers fluttered slowly across the air as Tohru watched Kyo's temper tantrum unfold before her widened brown eyes. His nostrils were literally flaring as he banged his fist against the table, causing a mini earthquake to rumble throughout the surface of the small table. He threw his hands up in the air and complained bitterly,
"This is so damn frustrating!"
Tohru put her hands in front of her, desperately trying to calm him down, but he only faced her with a defiant glare,
"K-Kyo-kun! It's okay to get frustrated once in a while, but we'll get through it! I guarantee it!"
"Who cares!"
He pointed firmly at the scattered books that lay strewn across the wine colored carpeting of Tohru's living room and yelled out with abhorrence,
"I mean, who actually wants to read about some stupid kid that loves his dog? Or another one about some moron who wants to get married to an equally moronic princess! Who comes up with these books!"
He was pulling at his hair as he banged his fist on the table again, finally beginning to release the steam out from his body as his breathing slowly returned to a normal level. Tohru crawled around to pick up the scattered papers that had fallen, but froze when a strong hand grasped at her thin wrists,
"Don't even think about cleaning up!"
She looked to her left and saw his ruby eyes piercing into hers, her breath stopped. He nearly wrenched her arm away, immediately beginning to messily gather up the papers that he had thrown to the ground before, never looking up as he continuously stooped down to pick up each and every loose piece of paper. Tohru bit her lower lip and insisted,
"Please let me help! I don't mind!"
He held up a hand to her face, and then slammed the stack of papers sloppily on top of the table, declaring,
"Too bad, I already cleaned it all up."
"Thank you! But you really didn't have to..."
Kyo rolled his eyes and poked her in the forehead lightly, causing her to bounce backwards an inch or so, smirking as he teased playfully,
"That's what you get for being so stubborn."
A sea of pink rushed through her cheeks as she lowered her head, clearing her throat softly as she squeaked out,
"Alright... so let's continue shall we?"
Kyo let out an exasperated sigh, but stayed put, nodding dolefully as he buckled himself down for the rest of the grueling lesson.
It was growing dark outside as Kyo walked gradually home from his daily lessons at the church with Tohru. He was starting to dread the painful walks home by himself, kicking at the stray pebbles on the ground as he let the wind whip through his bright hair. Kyo blew out a long, trailing breath, looking down when he accidentally stepped on top of a crumpled, dirty newspaper that lay limply on the street. He ignored it at first, but the bold headlines caused his eyes stick to the paper. It read: A KATANA GANG MEMBER HAS ESCAPED FROM JAIL: BEWARE!
His heart stopped when his eyes lowered to the hazy black and white picture that planted itself below the headline; it was a face that he recognized. A face that he knew.
Kyo felt his mouth turn south as his scuffed shoe kicked the crushed paper behind him, walking quickly away from the unpleasant news that was settling down into the pits of his stomach. He rubbed his forehead repeatedly, wanting to push the resurfacing memories of his past out of his throbbing head, he couldn't let old memories catch up with him. He just couldn't.
Kyo finally stopped in front of his dreary gray apartment, pulling out his jingling silver keys from the bottom of his jacket pocket, then he lifted up his head and felt his grip tighten around his sharp keys when he saw a tall man standing at the doorway with a heavy brown cloth cloak and a large hood over his head, concealing his facial features. The mysterious man was hunched over in the shadows of the trees and staring at the chipped door of the apartment.
Kyo stepped forward, looking at the man very cautiously, jumping backwards when the cloaked man swiveled around, his face still hidden beneath the covers of the shadows. Then, a voice called out to Kyo... a voice that was vaguely familiar.
"Kyo?"
Kyo gave the stranger his deadliest glare and snarled out,
"Who the hell are you?"
The man gave no answer, he only lifted up a lighted hand that slid down the hood of the cloak, unveiling an unshaven and unwashed face.
"It's me..."
Kyo almost fell back in shock when he saw the man step into the streetlight, breaking out from beneath the layers of shadows.
"...Leon!"
A smirk appeared on Leon's bruised lips as he grunted out,
"Long time no see, bro."
Before a moment of reaction could be taken in, Leon lunged forward and hugged Kyo tightly, and then pushed him away as he patted him on the back with sentiment filled in his features. Kyo brushed off his coat and said with disdain,
"Damn Leon! When did you get all damn mushy?"
Leon laughed rasply and scratched at his unkempt hair, replying back nonchalantly,
"I'm not. It's just good to see a familiar face around here for once..."
Kyo led Leon to his miniscule apartment and tossed him a ice cold can of beer, snapping one open for himself, taking in a long, bubbly gulp before asking,
"So explain... what the hell you were thinking. Escaping jail? Are you insane?"
Leon shrugged cooly, sipping the bitter liquid, satisfied to feel the burning sensation soothe his dry throat. Leon let out a content little sigh after the taste settled into his mouth and responded in a deep voice,
"I don't know... I just couldn't take it in there anymore. It's fucking shitty in there.. and I'm good now! I swear! I don't want to go back into that hell hole though.. I just won't."
Kyo couldn't help but raise his voice as he yelled out,
"Damn! What about the police? You can't spend your life runnin' away, the police are gonna be on your ass looking for you all the damn time! You know that right?"
"Jeez, enough of the lecture Kyo. Plus.. I have this all planned out."
Kyo crossed his arms over his chest and grunted out,
"Plan? You've gotta be kiddin' me..."
Leon leaned back against the backing of his chair and waved his free hand in the air for effect,
"Yeah. I'm going to leave this dinky old place..."
Leon's once dull eyes brightened up when he shot up from his seat, exclaiming,
"Hey! Why don't you come with me?"
Kyo squinted at Leon carefully, asking,
"What?"
"Come with me to another country. It can be like old times."
Old times...
But...
That's not what I want anymore...
Right?
Leon sunk another shot of beer into his already tingling throat, adding with excitement brewing in his voice,
"Remember all the fun that we used to have back then? Man... those were good times."
Used to...
Kyo looked away and said sadly,
"... I've got a life here already."
Leon frowned,
"A life? What do you do?"
"I work at a ... bar."
Leon grunted and scoffed out,
"Jee, what else is so great about being in this dinky place? Give me one good reason why you want to stay."
A silence fell upon the both of them as Kyo couldn't help but picture her gentle smile and her soft, kind eyes...
"Well?"
Kyo gulped and looked away, muttering out,
"I don't know...I guess I'm just so used to everything around here."
Leon's voice filled with disbelief
"So you're just gonna stay in this place just because you're used to it? C'mon man... we've been best friends ever since... well... I got arrested. You're not gonna let me go back there are you? I never meant the shit that I did back then... I've changed! I swear!"
Leon placed a hand over the middle of his chest and grinned cheesily at Kyo who sighed, thinking,
You were my best friend... but... were you really a true friend?
What do I do?
"Where the hell would you run to anyway?"
Leon threw a crushed empty beer can into the trash can across the room and said with a small mischevious smile,
"I don't know. Somewhere a billion miles away I suppose. Maybe... America. It seems exciting over there."
Kyo leaned back against the chalk colored walls and muttered out,
"Wow, you're actually serious."
"Dead serious."
Leon frowned and insisted,
"So come on... let's go, what are you waiting for? We've been through thick and thin... you're not gonna bail on me now right?"
Kyo paused and felt the guilt sink in, he had to go didn't he? After all this guy had been by his side for years, he couldn't let this girl who he had met for only a month or so hold him back from what was really important... right?
"You're right..."
Kyo paused and firmly stated,
"Let's go then."
Leon got up from the bed and smiled, slapping Kyo a high five,
"This is gonna be so wicked!"
He then smirked and scratched the back of his messy black hair with his grimy fingernails,
"Uh... you got anymore beer?"
Kyo pointed at the small fridge behind him and replied,
"In the fridge."
Leon opened up the fridge and stuck his nose in it, calling out,
"Well, this is a nice little pad you've got here. A little dingy, but good..."
Some rustling was heard in the kitchen and then his voice returned,
"...So, have you met any interesting people around this place?"
Kyo paused and said in a low voice,
"No one in particular..."
"No hot chicks that you've had to fight off?"
Kyo rolled his eyes and coughed out,
"Hell no!"
Leon shut the fridge door, holding up an apple and another can of beer as he said with a grin,
"I see you still haven't changed. You're still afraid of girls."
Kyo's face heated up and he almost yelled out,
"No!"
Leon took a juicy chomp out of the edge of the red apple and said,
"Whatever. Anyway, let's get moving tomorrow night. Sound good?"
Leon needs a friend right now... and he's got no one else but me... I can't turn my back on him.
I can't.
Kyo only hesitated for a moment before nodding back in agreement.
Leon's snoring bounced across the walls of the dark and still room while Kyo tossed and turned in his bed, unable to clear his mind of leaving this place. He finally sighed with frustration and threw off his thin blanket, swinging his naked feet over the side of his bed, grabbing his black jacket off the chair a few feet away. Kyo then shut the door quietly, walking through the eerily silent streets, and stopping in front of the church that stood before him. He took a deep breath and pushed open the heavy doors, stepping inside to see that it was pitch black inside, but his eyes soon adjusted, and he found his way around, shuffling up the winding steps, his hand sliding smoothly across the cool wooden banister. Kyo then stopped in front of the locked door that led to Tohru's house, and knocked semi-loudly, two times. Kyo waited for a few seconds, getting restless as he shifted from one foot to the other. Finally, the door swung open and his heart dropped when he saw her huge smile directed right at him
It's too bad, I'm going to be the one that wipes that smile away...
She stepped outside and shut the door behind her very quietly as she whispered out into the empty church,
"Kyo-kun... what are you doing out here so late?"
Kyo's stomach was twisting into a million knots as he mumbled out,
"Were you about to sleep?"
Tohru laughed lightly and answered back,
"Oh no, not really. So... is everything okay?"
No words came forth from his mouth as he looked down, not wanting to look at the outline of her worried face any longer. Her voice penetrated the silence,
"Kyo?"
Kyo finally blurt out,
"You don't have to teach me the lessons anymore."
Tohru's eyebrows shot up,
"Really? Um... o-okay! You're doing very well, but if it's too stressing or stupid um..."
Kyo groaned out loud, and hit the wall with his fist,
"It's not that...it's just that..."
Tohru stared at him with puzzled eyes and Kyo finally told her with a distraught voice,
"I'm leaving the country."
Her eyes filled with shock and fear as she uttered out in confusion,
"Wh-What!"
He placed a heavy hand on her shaking shoulder and clarified in a quiet voice,
"I'm leaving Japan..."
Her voice squeaked out,
"But why?"
Kyo looked up at the blank ceiling and shut his eyes, trying to rest his throbbing head,
"I met an old friend the other day... and he needs my help. He wants me to go with him to America... so I've gotta be there."
Tohru was at loss of words, unable to do or say anything that could help the situation,
"B-But..."
Tears started to spill over already as her chin lowered.
His mouth dropped open a little, but what could he say or do to make her pain fade away? He could only watch her as she cried silently in the dark hall, his hand falling down from her frail shoulder, feeling at a complete loss. Kyo simply said, as strongly as he could,
"Don't cry...okay?"
Tohru shook her head and wiped at her eyes relentlessly,
"Wh-When..?"
"What?"
She choked out,
"When are you leaving?"
"...Tomorrow."
"So soon...?"
Kyo placed his hands firmly on both of her shoulders again, shaking her a bit as he pleaded,
"Don't cry!"
"I-I'm sorry..."
"...We've only known each other for a month, right? So...it'll be okay..."
Will it really be okay?
"Are you ever going to come back?"
she asked in a small voice, looking up at him with her blotchy face, covered with tears. He stared at her shadowed face, and answered after a delayed pause,
"I don't know..."
She stepped back from him, leaning her back against her door, her hand on the knob,
"So this is goodbye?"
Kyo could feel his heart shredding slowly as he croaked out uneasily,
"I guess so..."
She wiped her eyes with the back of her hand and then let out a soft sniffle, before nodding silently. Kyo was at a loss of words, so he finally muttered out,
"I better get going."
What do I say? What can I say?
No words left her mouth as she watched him with her blurred vision; watching him back away from her; watching his dark shadow run down the winding steps, and out of the wooden doors of the church; he was gone.
Kyo ran outside and walked down the street, his eyes hazed with anger and pain as he reared his head back and let out a piercing scream as he put his hand back and punched the nearest tree, denting it permanently. He stared at the injured bark with tremoring eyes, looking down at the blood dripping down the sides of his hand, but he didn't feel the stinging pain on his hand, all he could think about was her face and how he had crushed her.
"What are you doing?"
It was a sunny morning and Leon was standing outside in front of the gushing waters of the fountain, watching it pour down and bubble. He turned around and saw Kyo standing behind him with one eyebrow raised, informing with a smirk,
"Oh, I jus woke up early, and decided to take a little walk, cuz I couldn't sleep. I was too excited, thinkin about America."
Kyo frowned when he thought about the other night again, answering back, less than enthralled,
"Oh."
Leon let out a small chuckle and retorted,
"You don't sound too excited."
"I am, I just don't show it."
Leon shrugged and walked beside Kyo,
"Alrightey, well we might as well head home, and pack your stuff right?"
Kyo shot a glare at Leon and hissed,
"You know you coulda gotten caught out here, you dumbass."
Leon rolled his eyes and shrugged in response to Kyo's indignant behavior.
As the two of them walked along the sidewalk, Kyo snapped up straight from his dazed, and irritated stupor when he heard a high pitched female voice calling out to him from behind. He slowly turned around and felt his heart sink downward when he saw Tohru behind them with a smile on her face.
"Kyo-kun!"
Leon glanced at Kyo and then smiled mischeviously at the brunette girl that stopped right in front of them, cheeks flushed. She faced Leon kindly and smiled,
"Ah, you must be Kyo's friend! It's nice to meet you, my name is Honda Tohru!"
Kyo wasn't even listening to anything that was happening, all he could think about was,
Why does she have to be walking out here!
Kyo cleared his throat audibly and then pulled Leon backwards by the collar of his shirt, and then muttered under his breath,
"Alright Leon, let's go."
Leon slapped Kyo's hand away and responded with a wide grin,
"Don't be rude! You're not even gonna introduce me to your friend?"
Kyo could feel his veins popping in his head as he replied through clenched teeth,
"This is Leon... now let's go."
Kyo was about to walk away, but Leon pulled him back,
"Wait, wait, how do you two know each other?"
Tohru's eyes brightened as she began,
"We met throug--"
"On the street. I bumped into her,"
Kyo cut in, casting a dirty glare at Leon, who was oblivious to any of the signs Kyo was giving out. Leon grinned and murmured out jocularly,
"How romantic."
Tohru laughed nervously along with Leon, and then looked down at the cement for a moment, finally raising her eyes up to look at Kyo's,
"Um... so... you guys are leaving?"
Kyo's face fell flat as he looked away, unable to look into her pained expression. Leon's eyebrows scrunched together as he asked with a befuddled expression,
"Eh? You told her? When?"
Leon paused and then inquired,
"Last night?"
Tohru was now more confused than anyone else as she uttered out,
"Eh?"
Kyo's fists tightened and his face filled with a tint of red as he said through gritted teeth,
"Shut up Leon. We're going back."
Without even saying another word to Tohru, he whirled around and began to walk. Leon bit his lip and then did a small salute towards Tohru's direction as he called out,
"See ya later Tohru-san!"
She waved back, sorrow filling her eyes as she watched the two of them turn their backs to her, walking down the road.
Leon chased up to Kyo's irate figure and he yelled out,
"What the hell was that?"
"What?"
Leon rolled his eyes and scoffed out,
"That girl... she's not just your friend, is she?"
Kyo shook his fist in the air as he announced loudly,
"She's not even my friend! So just leave me alone!"
Leon blew out a breath and eyed Kyo carefully,
"She does mean something more to you... why the hell else would you go out of your way just to tell her that you were leaving then? You're such a freakin' moron."
Kyo picked up his pace, a hot trail of steam streaming out from behind,
"Whatever."
Leon snorted at Kyo's aloof exterior and fell into a silence as they both entered his apartment again.
The hot water blasted onto Kyo's worn out face as he squeezed his eyes shut, letting the burning liquid trickle down his face and down his body. Seconds, turned to minutes, and minutes turned into nearly half an hour as he Kyo turned the knob down, the water dying down from the mouth of the showerhead. Kyo stood there in the middle of his tub, breathing heavily as the steam fogged his vision. He whipped the towel off from the rack on the wall and quickly wiped himself off, throwing on a fresh new shirt and old pants. He placed his hand on the knob and then opened it, ready to see Leon's excited face sitting on his ratty bed, but to his surprise no one was sitting there.
Maybe he's in the kitchen?
Kyo stepped out from the humid bathroom and felt the fresh air pelt him in the face as he walked across the cold floor, barefoot. He searched around the small cubicle of an apartment, finding that Leon was no where to be seen,
"Leon?"
Kyo frowned as he checked the kitchen, finding it eerily empty, so he went back over to his bed, wondering where Leon had run to now. His eyes fell on to a scrawled up piece of paper that was sitting on top of his blanket, he snatched it up and scanned it, at first the words didn't make too much sense, since he had only had a few lessons with Tohru, but after a while the words started to come together and make sense to him,
I can see that you like it here in this ol' town. Seems like a great little life you got here... I hope I can find that someday too
Maybe we'll run into each other again if I ever decide to come back to Japan...
See ya later bro. Don't worry about me.
Leon
The note fluttered from beneath his loose fingers as he stared straight ahead, out of the window. He felt shocked... and somewhat relieved as he slammed open the door and raced out of his house. It was pretty late that night... but he had somewhere to go, somewhere to be. The place where she was waiting; the place where he had to apologize; the place where God lived.
WHOoooo , that was a long one oO well anyway, REVIEWS PLEASEEEE :DTHANKS:P Oh and remember toSTAY TUNED... FOR THE NEXT CHAPTERRRRRR:D :D :D :D