LAST CHAPTER

I'm not letting you disappear again!

No more cyber cookies or Cyber bananas ... Cyber squid? Oh yeah, there is gonna be cheesy/corny/sappy lines in a little bit, so deal with it kay?

Slowly, and certainly shakily, Kyo managed to rise to his feet, but even then, he just couldn't bring himself to go down and face Tohru ... to put an end to her near divine skating skills would make Tohru upset, and making an angel cry is the worst conceivable sin. So he watched her skate. Watched as she practically flew from one position to the next ... Kyo was unable to take his eyes from the lone skater, and was so intensely watching, that he was only snapped out of the trance when the skater suddenly disappeared from the lake. Kyo found her again at the lakes edge, changing her white ice skates for some shoes. Barley able to contain himself, Kyo rushed down, and was standing a small distance behind Tohru, before he even realize he had moved, and most certainly before she had, as she continued changing her shoes without a finch. The flinch came when she got up and turned around.

Any one, who has known Kyo, would be unable to forget his face unless they got severely struck on the head and suffered amnesia. Tohru hadn't gone through this process (nor will she) so she recognised the man before her immediately. Automatically, her hand reached for the ever-present daisy on her neck, and when she had found her prize, she enclosed it within her hand. While Tohru holding one of her hands close to her is not an unusual sight, Kyo (with his awesome sight, one of the side effects of being possessed by the cat) did not fail to see the small charm getting caught in Tohru's grasp. It gave him ... well, a buzz really. Tohru had kept the birthday gift from him. And it was extra special, because Kyo knew that Yuk hadn't remembered Tohru's birthday. Kyo had been the only one with a gift for her ... and even after six years of pain and loneliness that Tohru must have gone through, she had kept the one thing that Kyo had been able to give her.

Tohru took a tentative step backwards. Honestly, this action did not surprise Kyo in the least. Tohru was unaware that Akito informed everyone of the threat that made her leave. Hell, Tohru had probably convinced herself that she had committed a felony. But even if she believed that with all her heart and soul, Kyo still wasn't going to let Tohru vanish.

Slowly, Kyo took a step towards Tohru. If she was approached too quickly, she would be startled, and would try to run away. She was like a baby animal, curious as to what was going on, but as soon as fear sets in, she's going to run pell-mell into the safety of her den. Kyo knew that he would be able to catch up to her, but if she was living close by, there was the chance that she could lock the doors on him, and if he tried to break it down, he would be escorted to the nearest police station. Not optimal

Tohru was trying her best to keep her breathing even. On her first day back, and on her first outing no less, she came in contact with a Sohma. Worse, they were a Zodiac member. Icing on the cake, however, was that the man standing before her was Kyo. The one member, the single person that she knew, she couldn't run from. Even though she didn't mind thinking about Kyo, he haunted Tohru's thoughts. At least twice a day she thought of him. He was the first thing she thought of when she woke up, and the last thing she thought of before she slept. Now that the object of her affections was in front of her, Tohru could feel the resolve that convinced her to leave to protect them, him, crumble.

As Kyo slowly moved closer to her, Tohru took another step back, trying desperately to convince herself to run, to hide, and to pretend that they never ran into each other. Yet Tohru also doubted that Kyo would let that happen.

Kyo watched as Tohru raised her other hand to encase the first, and saw a fear in her eyes. Not that he blamed her. Tohru had always been timid, and he had never looked all that sociable to begin with (being decked in black complete with trench coat certainly wasn't softening that image) not to mention the fact that he was prone to violence ... hell he would have been more surprised if she wasn't a little scared.

That's when Kyo noticed. Fear wasn't the only thing in Tohru's deep brown eyes. (I'm going off the colour her eyes are in the manga, because the anime screwed up so much stuff. Yuki's hair isn't purple!)

Kyo couldn't think of a name for the other look in Tohru's eyes. He had never seen it in any one's eyes before, so what the hell could it be called? (I know =D does you?) Even without a name to call it by, Kyo found himself entranced by the look in Tohru's eyes. Hell, he was entranced just by her eyes normally so he stood no chance against her. Tohru was the one opponent Kyo would forever stand no chance against. He adored her too much. Plain and simple. Kyo fell in love with the little smiling girl that, even when she was terrified, never turned her back on him or his family. The girl who forced herself to leave to prevent blood shed. The little girl that had suffered in silence. Kyo then realized the name for the look in her eyes ... longing.

Tohru was still trying to convince herself to run. She had to get away. Partially out of fear, but mainly because she knew. She knew that if she stood there too much longer, looking at the absolute perfection Kyo had grown into she would never be able to think of anything else again. Though to be honest, that was mighty tempting prospect.

Kyo suddenly found himself looking at Tohru's famous blush. It had made the cute sixteen year old cuter, but when placed on the beautiful twenty two year old before him, Kyo had to realize that she wasn't the cute little sixteen year old any more. Tohru was more and her blush sought to prove it. Armies would have fallen before it if put in competition with it, so as a single man, Kyo could feel himself losing what little self-control he had ... okay, yeah, screw restraint. The next thing Tohru knew, she was safely wrapped in Kyo's arms ... yeah she was freaked.

But she had been placed in this situation before (Volume seventeen of the manga) and seeing how it was Kyo, her blush magnified. Yet she did not utter a sound. Why would she? If Kyo actually had the confidence to hug her, he would tell her in his own time how he was no longer transforming. Kyo spoke first.

"Please don't leave again Tohru..."

Some how, Tohru managed to pry her fingers from her necklace and wrap them around Kyo's torso, and when she heard his words her grip tightened just a fraction.

"I'm so sorry Kyo ... I'm so sorry"

Tears slid down her cheeks, but Kyo did not move to wipe them away. He let them fall; let them spill from Tohru's eyes, so that she wouldn't have to cry any more. Tohru deserved all the happiness in the world and she deserved to be at peace too. So the tears would fall. They would not be wiped away, by his hand, or by hers. Her tears would stop when she had no more to shed, then they would fade away. And Kyo would gently hold her until and even after, the rain dried away.

I made you awwww. I know I did.

Kyo gently covered Tohru with the blanket that covered her bed. When she had stopped crying, Kyo said that they would catch up later; for now, he would take her home. Tohru agreed, and led Kyo to her tiny apartment. Once there, she had invited him in as thanks for escorting her, and naturally Kyo accepted.

He was stunned. The entire apartment, bedroom, kitchen, living room and bathroom, was only a bit smaller than the cat room. All that Tohru owned was put into a living space that resembled the prison he had lived in for six years. Though she obviously hadn't been there long, Tohru had managed to make the apartment feel welcoming, though no where near as welcoming as she had made the old house ... Tohru made a small pot of tea and they each drank the bitter-sweet liquid in silence. Kyo looked out of the one window in the living room for a brief moment, and when he returned his gaze to Tohru, he found that she was asleep. Even more than Hatori, Tohru refused to let herself sleep in front of other people unless she collapsed from exhaustion, or she truly trusted them ... while exhaustion seemed likely, Kyo found himself hoping that it was the latter, instead of the former. As gently as one would carry nobility, Kyo had picked Tohru up, and placed her in her bed, and watched her for a while. She was still a heavy sleeper. Her face when she fell asleep was exactly the same too. In fact, aside from the physical aspects (haircut and growing) Tohru was the exact same marvel she had been when she had left. As he prepared to leave and let her sleep, Kyo found himself placing a gently kiss on Tohru's temple. Even if she didn't know about it, he would. Kyo wrote a note for her, and then, taking a final glance towards her rooms direction, closed the locked door to her apartment and disappeared down the hall.

When he final emerged from the building and got onto the street, night had already fallen.

Soooooo ... good/bad? Review and gets a cyber squid!