Despite it being a Saturday morning, Yuki Sohma woke up bright and early. He figured last night he would have the upper hand if he woke up before Kyo did. That would mean more alone time for him and Tohru. And to show how hyped up he was about this, he woke up an hour earlier than usual to prep. This included taking a shower, washing his face, brushing his teeth and flossing. However, this time he gargled with mouthwash twice. After all this, he even put on some cologne. Yes, there was no way he was going to lose to Kyo!

Now feeling confident and ready to start his day, Yuki ran down the stairs and put on a warm smile to greet Tohru. "Good morning, Honda-sa-"

However, his greeting was cut off by the icy glare of Kyo's.

"Ah!" Tohru squeaked. "Good morning Yuki-kun, you're up early! I didn't start breakfast yet! I'll get started right away! I hope you don't mind waiting!"

"Ah, yeah." Yuki murmured. When he turned to look at Kyo, a triumphant smirk was on Kyo's face. A smirk saying, I beat you to her. "So Honda-san…"

"Yes?" Tohru asked. She turned around and settled her gaze on the handsome and seductive prince.

"What exactly did you and Kyo talk about when I wasn't here?" He asked her just before turning to Kyo and smirking back. An embarrassed and shock-stricken expression crossed Kyo's face, which made Yuki want to grin from ear to ear.

"Oh, he just asked me how I was and offered if he could help." She explained to him bluntly. She didn't notice Kyo who was completely red in the face.

"Did he mention how beautiful you look today?" Yuki asked with the usual friendly smile on his face. Only this time, he looked more seductive than friendly, which petrified Kyo.

"Eh? N-no! He didn't!" Tohru exclaimed as she waved her hands in protest.

Since Kyo was naturally bad at complimenting anyone, Yuki definitely had the upper hand. Without the ability and skill to compliment people, what other shot at success did Kyo possibly have? Yuki was sure he was a shoe-in for this contest. He may as well go all out now. "Hey, Honda-san?"

"Yes?"

"Would you like to go for a walk later today?"

"I'd love to!" Tohru responded, causing Yuki to sneer at Kyo even more.

"Yeah, I'd love to!" Kyo suddenly interrupted before creating another glaring scene between Yuki and himself.

Tohru turned to Kyo and smiled, "Yes! It's the three of us then."

"Tohru-kun," Shigure called out, "Can I talk to you for a minute?"

"Yes," Tohru responded quickly. Turning to Kyo and Yuki, she smiled and told them, "Ah, excuse me."

Not long after Tohru's departure, Kyo and Yuki began fighting. "What did you do that for you idiot cat?" Yuki spat, his eyes narrowed and that look in his eyes again. The look that seemed to say, I'm superior to you in every way.

"What do you mean, what did I do that for?" Kyo repeated. "What did youdo that for? There's no way I'm going to lose Tohru to a damn rat like you!"

"Well get used to it, idiot cat." Yuki growled. "She won't be yours, Ayame's, or anyone's but mine."

"In your dreams!" Kyo yelled, stumbling forward and grabbing Yuki by the collar. "I don't care if I can't beat you in academics or martial arts. Even if I can't…at least I'll still have her!"

Yuki stood his ground. "I think you'll find yourself adding 'wooing Honda-san' to that list. There is no possible way you are going to win this competition."

Kyo's grasp tightened and suddenly his fist was heading right towards Yuki. "Laugh it up!"

"Shigure-san?" Tohru called as she stood in front of the door leading to his room.

"Come in, come in." Shigure replied casually.

"What did you want to talk about?" She asked him. A smile was playing on her face and for some reason she couldn't help but feel unusually happy.

"Have a seat." He instructed her, friendly gesturing to the open seating spot at his working table in front of him. Obediently, she sat down and waited for him to continue. "How are things going?"

Tohru had a taken aback look on her face. "Everything is fine…Why do you ask?"

"Ah, never mind." He quickly covered. He couldn't let Tohru find out about the competition that was happening. She would just find out at the end...maybe. "Is breakfast ready yet?"

A panicky expression covered Tohru's face. "A-Ah! No, not yet! I'm sorry! I'll get it started right away!"

"It's all right, it's all right." He laughed, trying to ease her. By the time he realized it, she had already run out the door.

Now alone in his room, he smiled to himself. "It's great to be young."

When Tohru re-entered the kitchen, she noticed Kyo and Yuki had vanished.

"That's strange...Where did Kyo-kun and Yuki-kun go…" She asked herself aloud, completely oblivious to the fact that she was supposed to be making breakfast. It wasn't until then when she heard shouting coming from outside.

"All right, damn rat! Prepare to die!" An unmistakable voice yelled.

"I've heard that one before..." Yuki's smooth and undeniably cool voice replied.

Tohru quickly ran outside and saw an enraged looking Kyo running at Yuki at full force. Obviously they had another fight. "Kyo-kun!" She yelled as a reaction towards all of the violent acts that were going on.

Instantaneously, Kyo stopped practically in mid-air. His fist stood only inches away from where Yuki's face was and an unmistakable grin took over Yuki's face.

"Too bad; you were this close. I wonder what would happen if Honda-san were to see how far you are from defeating me again. Would that take off some points for you? Let it be known that you will never defeat me," He paused to lean in close enough to whisper the last two words: "in anything."

Kyo's eyes widened and Yuki lifted his leg and hit Kyo with a roundhouse kick, sending him flying into a nearby field of grass, bruised and defeated. Horror-stricken, Tohru immediately ran to Kyo, "K-Kyo-kun!"

Flashbacks of the incident that happened only moments ago had begun to play back in his mind. "I almost hit him," Kyo murmured quietly.

She flocked to his side. "But you didn't."

"I wanted to."

"But you didn't."

"If I were to win against him...everyone would be proud of me," He admitted, sitting up and wiping his face. He might as well have gotten comfortable while he was there. After all, that is where their fights mostly finished. "They would finally accept me."

I'm proud, Tohru wanted to say. The truth was she really was proud that Kyo didn't hit Yuki when she called his name, but in return, Yuki hit Kyo. She couldn't believe what she had seen back there; Yuki attacking Kyo like that. It must have been the worse fight they have ever been in because Yuki normally never attacked like that.

"Forget it." Kyo suddenly interrupted. "It's just a hopeless dream, anyway." The words Yuki spat at him were starting to sink in. Before he realized it, an unmistakable shaky feeling filled his lungs. Yuki was such a rat bastard! There was no way he was going to forgive him for embarrassing him like that. In front of Tohru, too! Did he have no shred of pity or sympathy at all? Then again, he wouldn't want his pity either. Actually, he wouldn't want anything to do with him. Thinking this, Kyo sat up and brushed some soil from off his pants. "But it's all right."

"Is that so?" Tohru asked. "How is it okay?"

Kyo thought for a moment, and then flushed when he asked, "Well, I have you…right?"

Tohru's expression softened and she extended a hand towards Kyo. "Yes! Do you still want to help me make breakfast? I would like some company."

Smiling in response, Kyo took her hand in his and walked inside the house.

An hour later, Tohru served breakfast. Shigure, Yuki, Kyo and Tohru sat in the dining room eating. The table was properly set as usual, but the food was looking—and tasting—a bit strange.

"Honda-san," Yuki started, fully aware that Kyo's glance switched to him instead of the food before him. Knowing this, he asked, "Is there a reason why the scrambled eggs are looking a bit strange?"

"Shut up!" Kyo spat at him. "I'd like to see you do better!"

"It's because Kyo-kun helped me with preparing." Tohru responded sweetly. "It may look a bit strange, but Kyo-kun did his best."

Shigure looked at Kyo and merely smiled. Kyo-kun really has the upper hand. I'm not sure if Yuki-kun even stands a remote chance.

After breakfast, Tohru washed the dishes with Yuki, who offered to help prior. Kyo sat at the nearby table so he could eavesdrop on everything they were saying and Shigure sat inside his room listening through a plastic cup. This way, he would definitely have the slightest idea of what was going on. Instead, to his surprise, he didn't hear anything until the point when they were finished doing the dishes.

The first one to break the silence was Tohru, "Shall we go on the walk, then?" She asked someone. He couldn't tell if it was Kyo or Yuki she was asking.

With one word, that question was easily cleared up. "Ah, yeah."

Now, who the hell says, 'Ah, yeah'? Not Kyo, that's for sure. Obviously, she was referring to Yuki. Hmm...Yuki-kun seems to be catching up. Certainly interesting considering what happened during breakfast. Shigure thought silently as he took mental notes. This was very important.

"Are you ready, Kyo-kun?" Tohru suddenly asked, causing Shigure's ear to twitch. What did she mean, "Are you ready to go, Kyo-kun"? Why was she was inviting both of them on a walk? What kind of a competition was this?

"Yeah," was Kyo's simple reply.

Well, that settled it, Shigure sighed. They were still neck-to-neck with each other. Tohru didn't like anyone of them better than she did the other one. Then again, there was that scene from before breakfast.

Right after he talked to Tohru she rushed into the kitchen, and when she did Shigure remembered something he wanted to ask her. When he got there though, he managed to spy on a little scenario that was happening outside. Ah, because of that incident, that must mean Kyo-kun is in the lead! Good work, Kyo!

"I'm going to tell Shigure-san that we're leaving." Tohru told them before it was quiet. Instantly, Shigure hid the plastic cup up his sleeve right before Tohru called in, "Shigure-san?"

"Yes, Tohru-kun?"

"Kyo-kun, Yuki-kun, and I are going for walk. Is that alright?" She asked him through the thin door.

"Of course," he replied shortly. "Take your time."

"We'll be back soon."

Hearing a faint sound of the door closing, Shigure grinned to himself and put away the plastic cup he was hiding. It was time to go. He threw on a pair of sandals, grabbed a notebook and pen and headed for the door. After making sure the door was locked, he closed the door behind him.

The weather outside is beautiful, perfect for a walk. Shigure echoed repeatedly. It had been a while since he had been outside like this. It was nice to get out occasionally; he should do it more often. Then again, there was the whole editor thing. She would probably come and stalk him while he was out for his walks. There was no way he could get away with that.

It wasn't long until he caught up to the three of them and when he did, he witnessed yet another, scenario. He quickly hid behind a tree so they couldn't see him, but so he could still see them. Kyo was walking on Tohru's left side while Yuki was walking on Tohru's right side. Shigure knew of course, that this could only mean one thing.

War.

Almost instantly, Kyo reached for Tohru's hand and took it into his. "What are you doing, Kyo-kun?"

"What do you mean?" Kyo asked her levelly. "We always walk like this."

Yuki had this dejected look on his face, which made Tohru feel sorry for him. She felt so sorry, that she took his hand in hers and smiled at him.

"Oh?" Shigure grinned. This was getting good. Kyo was too good for Yuki, but Yuki was still in the running. Taking out the notebook, he scribbled down something and laughed, "Haha, those two."

"And what exactly are you doing?" A voice asked from behind him.

"Ahh!" Smile disappearing, Shigure turned around to look at the person, or thing, that asked that.

"Do you want to keep it down, they might hear you." The nonchalant voice told him.

It was Hatori.

"Ah, Ha-san, you scared me out of my wits." Shigure laughed.

Hatori stared at him as he always did and asked, "A short trip, I presume?"

"Very funny. Anyway, what are you doing here? I didn't think I would see you for a good two weeks."

"Don't get me wrong, I didn't want to come here. It's just that…" Hatori looked behind him and then pointed towards a random area of some more trees, "They wanted to."

As if on cue, Momiji's loud voice sounded through the forest. "Where's Tohru? Tohru, Tohru!"

A couple of birds flew out of the trees when he yelled. Even Shigure didn't know that there were that many birds in the forest. Leaning forward to check on them, Shigure saw that they had stopped walking and seemed to be looking around as if something was closing in on them.

"M-Momiji?" Kyo choked.

"Momiji-kun's here!" Tohru said in, what sounded to be, delight.

"KYO-KUN!" Flocks of birds flew into the air after they heard that roar. It was almost as if an unknown force pulled them into the air against their own will.

Kyo's eyes widened and he left Tohru's hand fall to her side. "K-Kagura!"