Author's Intro:

I always love getting new reviewers. And hearing from older ones. Thanks, guys!

Like they say in Monty Python:

"And now for something completely different!"

Kyo sprinted through the streets. He didn't know where he was going, or what he was doing, but the cold wind against his face felt refreshing, and made his tears fly by. He could of sworn that a few of them froze on his face.

He would have to get all his belongings sometime. He could never head back to the Dog's house in broad daylight, though. "Orangey" made plans for that night.

"S-shouldn't Kyo-kun be home by now?" Tohru asked worriedly as she set up the table table for dinner.

Yuki just mumbled a small "Dunno." , but Shigure looked a bit concerned, too.

"Don't worry, Tohru-kun. He just….he just probably stayed at Kazuma-san's house for dinner…or something like that. I'm sure he'll be home soon."

But Kyo did not come home. Tohru stayed past midnight waiting, before she finally rested on the couch. Everyone else in the household had already long gone to bed.

'I hope he is okay….please, Mom, help him be okay…' Tohru cried quietly. Salty tears kept slipping down her cheeks as she thought of all the things that could of happened to him. Most of then involved Akito. She had experienced his cruelness.

Still crying, the Cat slowly slipped into a deep but worried sleep.

Kyo reached Shigure's house, and climbed to his window. He swiftly opened it and stepped in; he never kept the window locked like Yuki did.

Grabbing some belongings and stuffing them into a small bag, the teen looked around his room once more. Opening a drawer, he found a small picture of Tohru. He didn't remember when it was taken, or how it got into his room, but he was thankful for it, and neatly placed it into his backpack.

He had one more stop to make. Kyo had to see his love once more. Stepping into the pink room, he peeked at the bed.

Empty.

He stood, stunned and wide-eyed. Had she gone on a search for him? He hoped not. Who knows who the klutz could run into that late at night: nearly two o' clock in the morning. Sick with concern, he moved on.

Kyo snuck out of that room, and went downstairs, taking each step like a bomb could go off.

He would need to go through the living room to get to the kitchen. How else would he survive without food? So, quickly and as quietly as possible, he tip-toed into the social area.

What he saw made him sigh and sag his shoulders with relief. There was Tohru, sleeping peacefully on the couch. Or it appeared so. When he got closer, her brow was furrowed in obvious worry.

'For me!' Kyo thought and partly hoped. 'She was worried for ME! That's why she's sleeping out here anyways…stupid me…'

He knelt on his knee, dropping the pack, and took one more good look at Tohru Honda. What would she feel, waking up and discovering Kyo still missing? He frowned at the thought. The girl was always so considerate of others.

He hoped she wouldn't get sick with worry, like other times when she had gotten a red mark or been afraid for somebody.

He smiled gently, and pushed back her hair with his hand. So soft was her skin….

Kyo leaned forward, surprised at his actions. He almost stopped, before catching himself.

'This will be the last time you can come near her and see her without restraint. Akito said I had to be out tonight.'

So, without thinking again, he continued leaning forward….his lips were so close to hers……

"Kyo-kun?" A voice whispered. A male voice. Coming from behind him. The orange headed boy slowly turned around, annoyed beyond anything ever before.

"What?" he hissed, narrowing his eyes at the intruder. Shigure.

"You're back now? Shouldn't you get to bed? And…and why is your backpack laying there….stuffed full…..you're not planning on eloping with Tohru-kun, are you?"

"Of course not, you perverted freak."

"Then what are you doing? This has something to do with Akito…and you not being home today, doesn't it?"

"No freakin' duh."

"Is Akito making you….leave?"

"Shut up, Stupid Dog."

"But you're free. You don't have to follow his orders now!"

"But she isn't free," Kyo sadly explained. "If I don't leave, then what do you think that he will do to her?"

"I see."

"Just….just don't tell anyone."

"I won't," Shigure promised, being unusually solemn.

Kyo just nodded back, walking over to the cabinets and swiping a bit of food and a few packets of ingredients.

"If you will leave, now," he muttered to the older man. He still hadn't quite finished with Tohru; he wanted to speak with her, even in her sleep.

Shigure didn't act perverted for once. He just smiled and left, only whispering "lovebirds" after him, which was too quiet for Kyo to hear.

He knew what it was like to leave someone that you cared about.

The boy turned back to the Cat.

His kiss lay forgotten, never delivered to her.

"Tohru…" he whispered softly into her ear. "I'm sorry that I have to go. You know that stupid Akito…it's for your safety, okay?"

Kyo was on the edge of breaking into sobs.

"I will be back for you. Just don't worry about me. I am safe now, as are you. Keep walking around with that klutzy, idiotic expression on your face."

He blushed, about to say his last three words to her.

"I-I love yo-ou, Tohru."

And, with that one sentence hanging in the air, Kyo Sohma picked up his bag, gave the house one more look, and slipped out of the door of Shigure's house forever.

He let one more tear slip down and hit the ground quietly before walking away, through the woods, towards his unknown destiny.

Because Kyo knew that when the time was right, he would get revenge.

That thought kept his feet moving down the wooded path, just as it started to rain.

Tohru woke up suddenly. It was showering lightly outside, the droplets of rain tapping against the windows, as if to plead their entry.

She wiped her eyes, which were now sleep crusted, and thought about the dream she experienced.

There hadn't really been much of an image, just words being formed and spoken by a familiar voice. It—no, he—had told her that he would be back. He talked of comforting things, and sounded like he was ready to cry.

Tohru closed her eyes at this thought.

He had….he had told her that he loved her. Those were his last words.

The Cat blushed sadly and sat up.

'Is Kyo-kun back yet?'

She jumped up, and rushed upstairs towards his room. Turning the door knob, she peeked inside hopefully. Her small heart was racing.

No Kyo.

She slumped to her knees, starting to sob bitterly. He was still gone…gone…..

But, for some reason, she recalled another line that the voice had stated to her in her dream.

"I will be back for you. Just don't worry about me. I am safe now, as are you.'

Tohru was comforted, surprisingly, by those words.

'But it was just a dream,' she reminded herself. 'That silly sentence shouldn't affect me!' But, for another unknown reason, the Cat knew that the sleeping vision was more than a tale, or something made up. It was something more.

She quietly went back down the stairs, and to the kitchen. Fixing herself something before trying to fall asleep again would be nice.

Opening one of the cupboards, Tohru gasped. Most of the ingredients were gone!

Somehow she knew that they hadn't just walked out on their own. Deep inside of her, she knew that Kyo had been there.

The brown haired girl ran upstairs, and took out a piece of paper from her desk. Whipping out a pen, she wrote down every last word that she could think of from her dream. And, adding her own note at the bottom, added:

"—Kyo Sohma"

Smiling, she tucked it into the back of the frame of her mother's picture.

"I'm trusting you to take good care of this, okay, Mom?" she whispered, staring at her mum's smiling face for a minute. She wasn't so hungry anymore.

Climbing back into her bed, Tohru Honda fell asleep without pausing. It was a deep, utterly undisturbed sleep, even though it only lasted a few hours.

Kyo yawned and stretched. He now admired the hobos out there. Sleeping on the hard ground in the woods was brutal. He now had a sore back and neck to prove it.

Making sure that nobody was around, he slipped into his uniform. Grabbing his backpack, the orange head walked all the way to school, making sure to use different routes than Tohru and Yuki would.

He would use the showers at the school to freshen up, and maybe wash clothes later on. Who cared if he wasn't allowed? It was only for…..four more days.

No talking to Tohru or Yuki, either. He could speak with the Yankee and the Psychic, but Kyo didn't think that he would really want to. So he pretended they were off limits, too.

Slowly trudging onto the campus, Kyo looked around him. So many people….so carefree and happy, knowing that they would be free soon. So would he, but not in his heart.

He would be constantly guilty of the fact that the most innocent girl had met would be imprisoned for her life.

But he eventually going to change that. But he would wait. Wait for the right time, the right place. So, pushing that line of thought out of his mind, "Orangey" kept walking, all the way to the showers and washers. He took care of everything quickly and quietly, and then came out and headed to class, not caring that he was just a bit late.

Walking into the classroom, he frowned at the stairs from everyone, especially his family, Tohru, and her friends.

He kept his eyes from reaching them as he walked to his seat, which was, fortunately, in the very back of the classroom.

The hours ticked by slowly. At lunch, he ate as much as possible, and then stuff some for that night into his backpack, receiving a few weird stares. He simply shrugged them off.

Kyo had to admit; he was a bit lonely. From a distance, the boy had been watching the people that were once involved with him go about their lives.

He focused in on Tohru: her expression, her movements, and any other clues that might lead to signs of what she was feeling then.

The Cat seemed a bit worried; there was a troubled look on her face. Everyone in their gang seemed to be paying extra attention to her. It seemed that now Yuki, Saki, and Arisa knew about his mysterious absence from the house.

It seemed that Haru and Momiji didn't know yet, though. It was probably better then.

Finally, near the end of the lunch period, Tohru walked up to Kyo. For him, there was nowhere to run.

"K-kyo-kun, where have you been? I've really been worried," she spoke softly, sitting down beside him. The teen just turned his head away from her a little bit. Just a slight and subtle movement, but the girl seemed to notice.

"I want you to come back, Kyo-kun. Please, speak to me."

No answer was said. He tried his hardest to keep from reacting. He kept his face completely still.

"Akito-sama did something, didn't he?"

Kyo was surprised.

'Akito-sama? Why hadn't I noticed before? But…such a respectful name for that bastard.'

But he still didn't turn.

For once, Tohru didn't have anything to say. She didn't know what to say to comfort him. So much sadness had built inside of herself…like a huge rock crushing her. She could only act, not speak. And act she did.

The Cat was aware that everyone was watching: Uo-chan, Hana-chan, Yuki-kun, Hatsuharu-san, Momiji-kun, and the few people that sat around them, she felt nervous. But she still acted.

In one swift move, Tohru grabbed the edges of Kyo's face. His eyes were wide. A millisecond later, she pressed her face against his, connecting their lips.

Everyone watching was completely surprised at her bold and sudden action, but, somewhere in them, no matter how deep, was happy. They had each had witnessed something very precious.

In that moment, all Kyo could think of was how nice it was. He had wished for that act for a long time. But at the same time, dread seeped into his brain. Akito would not like this. Would he really find out? The boy had no doubt of it. Somehow, someway, the Head would know. He was kinda scary that way.

And what about everyone watching? Beyond just plain embarrassment, would the information fall into the wrong hands? He hoped not, and slowly closed his eyes.

Kyo could hear the hallelujah chorus.

Tohru slowly and gently pulled away, opening her eyes and blushing like crazy. Kyo had done exactly the same.

She quickly got up from the spot that she was sitting at and walked away, even past her friends. An embarrassed, messy grin was plastered on her face, and every person who saw it wondered what could possibly have happened.

Not caring what in Hell or Heaven had influenced Tohru to do that, Kyo stood up, also. He didn't walk after her, though. He turned around and walked the opposite way, a goofy grin and huge blush spreading on his face. Kyo couldn't easily repress it.

'This is a combination of the best and worst day of my life!'

Author's Closing:

EEEEKKK! I was like "Eeewww….fluff, fluff" and all squeaky with delight at the same time while writing this chapter.

IMPORTANT: I may losing a computer for a while; this laptop has to go away on Wednesday, and my other computer is still all virusy. Getting better, but still. Wish me luck.

Laterzz!

E.