A/N: I've been doing some thinking and I believe I should not hold back on any craziness. This story can be over the top or rather mellow, but I really want it to be like …. BOOM! Didn't see that coming! Anyways, I wasn't planning on updating so soon, because I've been sort of discouraged even though I have lots of ideas. It was brought to my attention by katalina0525 that Tohru is a little OOC. Yes, that is very true, but she's right she's still sweet and polite. Come on, even if I knew anyone that nice I would expect them to fall to pieces in this kind of situation. And Vikertee did point out that Akito-san is naïve. Yes, here in this fic, she definitely is. I agree with the strategy of turning the tables on Akii, but we must remember there are broken people in this family in much need of counseling! Trusting is an issue!!
But, enough of my rambling, on with the story! Ride Destiny!
Chapter 8: Reality Of Kept Things
"You are so rude!! You could say sorry!"
Tohru did not stop as she accidentally hit someone in her mad dash to get as far away from the Sohma Estate as possible. Every turn she made at every corner she reached seemed to be still too close to Akito. Why? Why had she been so ignorant as to actually agree to see Akito? Why had Kyo looked away from her? Do the Sohmas believe Akito-san? The question brought tears to her eyes, but she never stopped to wipe them away as her feet carried her to the woodsy area surrounding the home of Shigure.
She finally slowed to a stop as she avoided heading to the house. That's probably the first place Kyo-kun, Yuki-kun, or Shigure-san would go if they tried looking for me. She stopped at a very tall and wide tree and leaned her back against it, trying to catch her breath.
What now…?
The thought came, what to do now? Should she explain herself to Kyo, and hope he understood? Should she explain herself to all the Sohmas? No, they would not understand. There were no sounds as she looked around. It seemed as though any sort of animal that would be lively was currently keeping to itself.
The sun was going down, due to the days becoming colder and shorter. She shivered, not so much to the crisp air, more to her thoughts wandering to the fact that she was alone.
If only I would have never told Kyo anything. I'm so stupid! She slid down the tree, sobbing and scolding herself for her stupidity.
What do I do now…?
"She might be packing or something."
"I don't think so. She may be in her room crying and upset."
"Hopefully she isn't doing anything stupid."
Tohru lifted her head and listened to the two voices coming nearer.
"What happened back there anyway?"
Yuki-kun! He's out here!
"Why don't you ask her when we get there, maybe she'll tell you the truth."
Tohru froze at the sound of Kyo's voice. They two boys sounded like they had to be close by and she assumed they must be heading toward the house. Should I just go home….? No, yes, I don't know. She stood up to make an attempt to distance herself from them, but her feet would not budge as the voices faded and she passed her moment of weakness. She shook her head. No, I need time to think about this. Without a second thought she walked in the opposite direction.
"Tohru, I would like you to meet someone."
She shook her head and her hair whipped her face, her mother's voice speaking in her memories.
"This is my new friend, his name is…"
She stopped and closed her eyes, trying to shake the voice.
"His name is…"
"Nothing!" She said aloud, pushing the thoughts and voice away. "His name was nothing…"
She opened her eyes and looked around. She was standing at the edge of a hill, and the sun had now disappeared completely. It must have been a while she had been running and wandering, but as she looked off she couldn't fathom going back to the house to face Yuki and Kyo. Her sobs had calmed, but now as she looked into the distance off the side of the hill, all of the pent up feelings were threatening to break out.
"Why…?" She said through her tightening throat and paining chest. "Why?" The tears began to fall uncontrollably and she buried her face in her hands. She could feel her whole body shaking and yearning to be held and comforted by someone, anyone who gave a damn about her. She looked up at the sky, lost as to how to fix the mess. Without any other means of releasing her emotions she glared at the clear blackness of the sky.
"WHY??" She screamed at the stars. "WHY ME?? I NEVER WANTED THIS!!"
"Don't yell at the sky, it's not its fault you're disgusting."
Tohru spun around as she recognized the low, cold and manipulative voice of Vanessa. She was standing about eight feet away from her, accompanied by the green eyed Angelo, who looked at Tohru with an expression of great loathing.
"What's wrong?" Vanessa mocked as she folded her arms across her chest. "Were you not expecting to see us?"
"Let's get the job done, Vanessa." Angelo spoke angrily. He reached into his jacket without taking his eyes away from Tohru, and pulled out a short dagger-like knife.
Tohru stared at the sharp blade, her heart beginning to pound as the situation sunk into her brain. They're going to kill me! They really are going to kill me! What do I do!?
Vanessa smirked at the panicked expression that had taken over Tohru's face. She smiled and turned to Angelo and stuck out her hand. "Please, dear cousin, allow me."
Angelo shifted his eyes toward Vanessa, then handed the knife to her and folded his arms over his chest. Both still wore the intimidating all black suits, making the situation seem more business-like than criminal.
"So, Tohru," Vanessa began to walk toward the frightened girl. "May I call you that?" She tapped the blade in her other hand as though itching to drive the point into the defenseless brunette. "I'll suppose that the Sohma family no longer believes a word you say."
Tohru did not reply but kept her eyes glued to the blade.
"You can answer me." Vanessa stated matter-of-factly. "Don't be shy, we already know you quite well." She started to pace slowly in front of Tohru.
"Get on with it, Vanessa!" Angelo snapped suddenly, causing Tohru to jump in surprise and stare at him with wide eyes. Vanessa, however, remained indifferent.
"Angelo, I have something to say, and I would like to say it now if you don't mind." Vanessa turned to him with a warning look. Seeing Angelo relax and return to glaring at the girl, she continued. "I see that your life as of now may be ruined. Am I right?"
Tohru chanced a glance at her before focusing on the blade again.
Vanessa took a dangerous step closer to her and grabbed her forearm aggressively.
"If you don't answer me now, I'll stab you without thinking twice about it!" She hissed in Tohru's face. "You are ruined, am I right?" She emphasized her seriousness.
Tohru looked into the hatred filled eyes of Vanessa. She nodded quickly, trying to think of a way to escape from the two.
Vanessa smirked. "See, that's not so hard." She patted Tohru's cheek with the hand carrying the blade. "Now, I will tell you this." She released her arm but remained close to her.
Tohru looked at the blade again, bracing herself for the stab she could see no escape from.
"It would be no fun to kill you now," Vanessa stated. "If we do, we can't watch your precious life fall to pieces." Vanessa said now laughing manically.
Tohru looked away from the blade again and seen the glaring Angelo crack an amused smile. He laughed lightly and Tohru's heart sank. I should have just gone back to the house… I'm so stupid!
And at the house two others were frantically searching…
"Tohru, are you here?"
Kyo called out her name as he opened the sliding front door to the house with more aggression than he meant to. Yuki followed him and he ran to the kitchen.
"Honda-san? Are you here?"
Kyo looked around, and then looked at the stairs. Gathering his temporarily lost common sense he ran up the stairs two at a time and dashed to her door. "Tohru?" He turned the handle and pushed the door, and almost fell over as it swung open.
"Tohru?" He looked around and seen no sign of the girl anywhere. Deciding to stop for a breath he walked over to her bed and sat down. His heart rate slowed to normal as he looked around and noticed that the room looked rather close to how he had left it earlier, when he had frantically searched for the box. Even with the events of the day, he couldn't help but hope that Tohru would never discover that he had gone in her room without permission. Not that at the moment he had any permission to be in there, but the excuse of "looking for her" seemed good enough to him to settle the overwhelming guilt that he was feeling for wanting to look through her things. But, this time he wanted to look through them because, put simply, he just wanted to.
He looked at her working desk; it was scattered with homework and other pieces of paper. Deciding to nose around there first, he stood up and walked over. He looked at the homework that he knew was hiding somewhere in his room and almost smiled. Her work was almost done but needed a few corrections. His eyes fell to some more homework and he moved it aside, looking for something a little more personal. A piece of binder paper that looked like a letter caught his attention. He looked closer to see the top line: Dear Hana-chan,
His curiosity called out to it, so he picked it up and began to read.
Thank you for your note in class, it was very heart warming! Though I must disagree with the things you wrote about him. He is very kind if you just get to know him! He's rough around the edges, but I must remind you Hana-chan, no one's perfect. I feel safe when I'm with them, and I feel that I'm so very lucky. You know, I haven't told you or Uo-chan, but the thing I told you about my mom's old boyfriend has been getting to me. I shouldn't write this, but I feel like I can't talk about it. I want to be free of it, but I don't know how to.
Kyo stopped momentarily to glance at the date, which he discovered the letter had been written about three months ago. He wondered for a moment, but then continued in hopes of discovering something more.
I'm really scared. I've been having a lot of dreams about him and what happened at the camping trip. But, more than that, I discovered something. I don't know if I should tell you right now, but I know that I need too. You and Uo-chan both. I will tell you only a little, and that is that I discovered something in a room, I went in to-
"What are you doing?"
Kyo wheeled around in surprise and dropped the note on the floor. Yuki was standing in the door way glaring at him.
"N-none of your business!" Kyo snapped, his guilt reaching its limit. "Did you find her?"
Yuki eyed him suspiciously, wondering if he had caught him doing something that might indicate perverted ness. "No, she's not in the house."
Kyo felt a wave of relief hit him, but it vanished quickly as worry set in to replace it. If she's not in the house, then she can't catch him in her room, but if she's not, then where the hell could she be?
Yuki pulled out his cell phone and began looking through his contacts. "Look, I'm going to call Uotani-san. You should call Hanajima-san and see if she's there." Yuki ordered more than suggested.
Kyo nodded. Anything to get out of her room! He walked past Yuki and headed down the stairs toward the house phone.
Yuki pushed the send button when he reached Uotani's number. He held the phone to his ear and waited patiently.
RIIINNG, RIIINNG, RIIINNG, RIINGG.
"Hello?" Uo's voice answered on the other line.
"Uotani-san, this is Yuki Sohma." Yuki said at once.
"Hey Prince Charming, what's up?" Uo said in her laid back tone.
"Would Honda-san happen to be at your house?" Yuki asked urgently.
"No." Uo answered. Then she began to frantically ask questions. "Why? Did she run off again? Did something happen between her and Kyon?!"
"What? " Yuki asked. "Uh, I don't know, but she's not here. We'll try Hanajima-san." He said.
"I'm going to look for her!" Uo yelled before hanging up the phone.
Click.
Yuki looked at the phone in confusion. I know that Kyo and Tohru have been alone a lot, but what could have happened?
Tohru watched the two continue to laugh as she tried to think of a way to escape. There's no way they can be serious, why would they let me go?
Vanessa recovered from her laughter and leaned close to Tohru. "For now, we will watch you." She cocked an eyebrow to match her amused smirk. "Consider this a present, for the time we will let you live."
Tohru stepped back as Vanessa swiped the blade at her quickly; it sliced the side of her waist and she lost her balance. She grasped the now bleeding deep cut and watched everything seem to move farther away as she fell backwards.
"AHHHHHHHH!" Tohru screamed as she felt her back hit the dirt and she began to tumble down the hill. Her head hit the ground with each time her body rolled over, scraping against twigs and rocks and forming scratches all over her bare arms and legs.
She rolled a few more seconds until she hit the bottom, falling flat on her back and feeling very sick with dizziness.
Vanessa looked down the hill and raised her eyebrows. "Well, I didn't mean for that to happen." It was too dark to see the bottom, and she didn't fancy the idea of hiking down the hill just to see the result of the fall. With one last look she turned around and walked toward Angelo. "Falling like that, it was a nice touch to this sickening event."
Angelo held out his hand in request of his blade. "Perhaps she's dead, and we are spared of killing her." He suggested.
"I do hope not." Vanessa said as she handed him the knife. "It would be a shame not to go through the process of killing her and hiding the body."
"I suppose you're right." Angelo agreed as he wiped his blade on his sleeve, cleaning away the blood. "After what she did, I'd like to mutilate her and distribute her remains to some kind of animals."
Vanessa nodded and the two turned and walked away.
Tohru lay quietly as she clutched her side, fearing that if she moved they may decide to kill her after all. The cut from the blade was not very deep, but would need some butterfly tape and a bit of doctoring. Everything was very dark and her eyes had not yet adjusted to the black. She wondered what time it was, and if Yuki and Kyo would leave the house to search for her.
How could I let this happen? She wondered, mentally slapping herself for not seeing common sense and going back to the house. She listened hard for the voices of Vanessa and Angelo, hoping they would leave so she could get up and go home. No voices could be heard so she decided to try and make it to the house. She sat up and winced immediately in pain. "Ow…" The cut was not deep but it sure did sting. She carefully got to her feet and began to walk. Luckily for her, this was not the first time she had fallen down this hill, so she knew where to go and how to find her way back to the house.
Her heart began to float as she remembered that day. They had just returned from the summer home and she was out walking around with Kyo…
"Kyo-kun, why don't we try this way?"
The Orange haired and the Onigiri walked side by side in the woodsy area surrounding Shigure's home. Tohru had said she needed fresh air from unpacking and announced she would be back soon. Kyo had stated that if they let her go off on her own, she would most likely get lost or fall somewhere. So, he had decided to accompany her in case anything of the sort may happen.
"That way? Why?" He asked, sticking his hands in his cargo pant pockets.
"Because," Tohru began as she turned to him and smiled. "I don't remember ever walking down this area." She turned and looked at the path leading in the new direction. "Unless we have, and I can't recall."
She turned and watched as Kyo looked down the direction with a worried expression. He looked very uncertain, and she had a feeling he may suggest continuing on the path they were already on. Not wanting to be taken down the familiar path like a child, she tugged on his sleeve lightly trying to convince him.
"I won't fall, I promise." She said as she tugged a little harder. He looked away from the path and directly at her. Their eyes met, causing her heart to skip a beat. "I-I, I uh w-won't…" She heard herself begin to stutter under his intense gaze. "I w-won't f-fall."
He continued to stare at her, and she felt his hand clasp her own that was still holding on to his sleeve. She felt the blush consume her face and strange electricity erupt where the skin of their hands came in contact. She wanted to look away, but the hypnotizing color of his eyes kept her glued to the spot.
"Tohru…"
She almost didn't answer, but the slow movement of his face coming closer to her caused her to realize he had said her name. "Y-yes?"
He leaned down toward her until their noses were a couple inches apart, and with his free hand pointed down the direction they were already walking.
"We are going this way."
He let go of her hand and turned, heading down the familiar path.
Tohru stood still, recovering from the moment. She turned around and tried to hide her face in her hands, scolding herself for thinking he might kiss her. .
"Are you coming?"
She turned around and looked at him. He certainly had no trace of embarrassment anywhere; he stood looking quite calm as if nothing out of the ordinary had occurred.
"Hey," He said, studying her face for a trace of her usual panic. "You coming?"
Tohru smiled at him and turned around, walking in the direction of her chosen pathway. With the most polite voice she could muster she replied to his question.
"No."
Kyo looked at her in surprise. "What?"
Tohru began to walk down the path she had wanted to, smiling and not watching where she was going.
"Tohru, wait, why do you want to go this way?"
She ignored his question and hummed to herself, trotting along quickly. She could hear him following her silently, so she opened her eyes and seen she had walked in to a small clearing. A small boulder off to the side caught her attention; it had deep gashes in it that resembled claws. Realization hit her like a bullet and she turned around to look at the following orange haired boy.
"K-Kyo-kun! This is-"
"I know." He interrupted her in a sorrow filled tone.
Without glancing at her, he walked over to the stone and stared at it. The memory of the night Shishou had removed his beads replayed in her mind, and she could feel the tension growing as no words were spoken. She decided to be rid of the silence and cautiously walked over to his side.
"Kyo-kun," She began as he continued to stare. "I didn't realize that this…" She trailed off, not sure of what to say.
"If this makes you uneasy, about my true form," He said as he turned his attention to a spot on the grass. "Then I won't blame you if you ever decide to not speak to me."
"Eh?" She said confused. Why was he acting so strange suddenly? She did not care about his true form, why did he not understand that? "Why would I not want to speak to you? I enjoy our time, Kyo-kun." She ignored the blush coming back to her cheeks.
He suddenly turned to face her; his eyes full of something she couldn't read clearly. She began to fear she may have angered him, until he spoke.
"That night, I can't forget it." He said more calmly as he looked away from her and began to walk a little ways away from the broken boulder. "I come here sometimes, just to think."
Tohru followed subconsciously, and then seen that a little ways further was an edge to a hill. With courage she reached out and took his hand in hers, then pulled him toward the edge of the hill. She let go of his hand quickly and sighed. "What do you think about?" She asked boldly, looking off in to the distance where city could be seen, and down below where more land must be Sohma owned property.
"Everything." He answered simply.
Tohru smiled at the view then turned to him. "I feel happy." She said, and then smiled so wide that she looked rather ridiculous. "Hee hee!"
"Pfft!" He snorted at her toothy grin. "What are you doing?" He started to laugh.
She watched him and wondered if she really looked that funny. The sound of her stomach growling very loudly caused him to stop laughing and her to panic.
"You hungry?"
"I haven't made anything to eat!" She began frantically. "Yuki-kun and Shigure-san must be starving!"
She turned around so quickly that she lost her balance and fell backward.
"AHHHHHH!"
"Tohru!!"
She rolled all the way down the hill until she hit the bottom on her stomach. She lifted her head slowly, very dizzy from all of the rolling. "Oww…." She mumbled from the pain of the landing.
"Hey!" She heard Kyo's voice above her, and she felt his arms turn her over so she was now on her back. "Are you okay!! Are you hurt??"
She blinked once, and then smiled. "I'm fine." She said. She sat up and looked at him, blinking in confusion. "Did you roll too?"
"Huh? No, I ran down." He answered.
She looked at her dirt covered clothes and gasped. "I'm all dirty!"
Kyo looked at her in shock. "I didn't ask about your clothes!!" He yelled. "I asked if you were hurt!"
She blinked at him again, and then burst out laughing uncontrollably.
"AH HA HA HA HA HA!!"
Kyo's dumbstruck expression caused her to laugh more as he stared at her confused. She held her stomach and began to calm down.
"Why are you laughing?!" He demanded when she looked at him. "This isn't funny!"
"I'm sorry!" She said, getting to her feet and beginning to dust herself off. "Rolling was just so fun!"
Kyo stood up too, facing her and looking completely caught off guard. "It was… fun?" He asked uncertain.
"Yes!" She said excitedly. "I want to do it again! But in something that I can get dirty."
The two found a way to get back to their path After a reprimand from Kyo to be more careful, and a failed attempt to purposely roll down the hill by Tohru, the two headed back to the house.
Lost in her memory Tohru had made it back to the house and stood a little ways away from the sliding front door. She debated if she should go inside or not, wondering if Yuki and Kyo would listen to reason. She wished with all her might that things would go back to normal, and that her past would have just stayed where it was. But, no sin can go unpunished. Perhaps I deserve what's happening to me….
The door slid open and the tall slender form of Yuki stood there. She opened her mouth and began to explain. "Y-Yuki-kun! I'm so-"
"Honda -san! You're bleeding!" Yuki interrupted her and pointed at the now blood soaked part of her shirt. "Are you okay? What happened to you?!"
"N-nothing I just…I…" She didn't know what to say.
At the sound of Yuki shouting her name Kyo had come running from the kitchen, followed by Uo and Hana. Yuki turned at the sound of their footsteps. "She's here-"
"Tohru!" Uo cried as she ran up to the girl and shoved the Prince out of the way, pulling her in to a very tight and protective hug. "Tohru! What on earth is going on?! Kyon won't spill about anything he knows!"
Tohru managed to pull her face out of Uo's grasp and looked over to where Kyo and Hana stood. The denpa wave reading girl stood quite calm, as she always did, with a hint of worry on her face. Kyo, however, looked at a loss for words. Tohru gently pulled away from Uo and gave her a weak smile.
"Uo-chan, I need to tell all of you something." She slowly walked inside and past by Hana and Kyo without acknowledging either. The four confused people followed Tohru into the kitchen as she took a seat at the table. Each one glanced at the other and then cautiously seated themselves around the table as well.
"What's going on, Tohru-kun?" Hana asked in her calm demeanor. "Should we call a doctor before you start?"
"Oh!" Yuki exclaimed as he quickly got to his feet. "The cut! Honda-san, I will call Hatori!" Yuki shoved his hand in his pocket and pulled out his cell phone.
"N-no Yuki-kun!" Tohru said in fear. "It's not that bad, we have enough supplies here, and I can bandage it up myself!"
Kyo stood up suddenly. "I'll get something …. For the cut." He walked out of the kitchen quickly and could be heard rummaging through some drawers in another room.
Uo turned to Tohru. "Are you gonna tell us what's happening? Or am I gonna have to kick Orangey's ass and make him say!?"
"I wouldn't tell you either way!" Kyo yelled as he came back in to the room and sat down with an arm load of bandages, a peroxide bottle, cotton balls, tape, and a large white towel. He set everything on the table except for the peroxide, which he opened and began to soak a large cotton ball.
Yuki sat down again, still holding his cell phone in his hand. He still thought Hatori should be called, but with everything that had happened at the main house, he was not sure if Hatori would even be able to get away from Akito. Maybe we should take her to a nearby emergency room. He thought, but knew that if the idea were voiced Tohru would only decline and say that it was no big deal.
"Here," Kyo had sat down to her left, and now scooted himself over so he could doctor the wound. "You need to lift your shirt." He held up the now peroxide soaked cotton ball so Tohru could see.
"What was that, Kyon?!" Uo yelled angrily with the urge to punch him. "You want her to lift her shirt!!" She held up her fist in a threatening manner.
"EH?!" Tohru exclaimed in panic as her friend grabbed Kyo by the scruff.
"W-what? Not like that!" Kyo yelled, pulling himself away from the angry blonde. "I need to clean the cut, moron!"
"Those better be your only intentions," Hanajima suddenly spoke up in her misty voice. "Or it may be the last thing you every do."
Kyo ignored the two and turned back to Tohru. She looked up at him with her large, brown and worried eyes, with small pink patches forming on her cheeks. "Come on," He said, trying to shake the annoying fluttering in his stomach. "I need to clean it."
Tohru blinked once before she looked down at the table surface and began to roll up the side of her shirt. She looked at the cut and seen that she had been right, it was not that deep.
"Tell me if it hurts." Kyo said, as he gently began to rub the cotton ball over the wound.
Tohru flinched, feeling self-conscious and exposed. When Hatori did this, it was completely different. A doctor is a doctor, no matter how handsome they are. But Kyo? Kyo is most certainly not a doctor. Her face became redder with each silent passing second.
"Stop!" Uo yelled suddenly.
"What, Yankee?" Kyo said irritably as he stopped and turned to look at her. "I'm just cleaning it!"
Uo sighed and moved over to Tohru's other side. "I can't stand watching some guy touch her like this." She grabbed the cotton ball out of Kyo's hand and began to clean the cut herself.
Kyo shrugged. No use arguing with Uotani. "Whatever." He said, before turning away and becoming interested in a spot on the floor.
"Honda-san." Yuki spoke, relieved that Uo had taken over the doctoring for now. "Will you now tell us what's going on?"
Tohru scrunched up her face in thought, debating whether telling everyone the truth was truly what she wanted. She looked at Kyo, hoping he may tell them to stop patronizing her about the truth. When he did not return her gaze, she looked from each curious face to the next, determined to not be pushed in to revealing her deepest secrets.
"I-I don't feel like talking about it." She stated firmly. Seeing everyone's disappointed expressions, she quickly added. "Not right now, that is."
Each face returned to its indifferent expression, except Kyo, who had turned away and looked as though he had no intention to turn back around.
Tohru felt a wave of relief, and knew that the next day she could do the much needed explaining, whether it was the full truth or not.
Mom, forgive me, but there's no way I can truly come clean yet.
"Hold on," Uo spoke looking at the girl she was nursing. "Tohru, does this have…"
Tohru looked at her friend anxiously. "Does this have what, Uo-chan?"
Uo looked at Hanajima, then turned back to Tohru.
"Does this have anything to do with…. Xavier?"
A/N: Wow okay that was a longer one. This one had like one big moment, and a lot of talking. I know the memory is long, but it's supposed to be to reestablish the fact that, despite all the lies, there is still strong trust between the two. Tohru hates lying, and that's true in here. But anyone with a secret so important may do anything to keep it. Look in the series; she hid the truth from Uo and Hana about the Sohmas! Anyways, I will post another soon. Now, do me a favor and follow this formula:
CHAPTERS + REVIEWS equals HAPPY AND ENCOURAGED AUTHOR, HAPPY AND ENCOURAGED AUTHOR + IDEAS equals MORE CHAPTERS. Think of the end product! Besides, I wanted to know what everyone reading this really thinks. I want some ideas and suggestions too, so please send me reviews with your ideas and suggestions of what you may like to see happen! Thanks again for reading!!