EDITED VERSION!!!!!!!!!!
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AN: thanks so much minna for the reviews!!!! They are really very inspiring! This chapter is dedicated to all of you! Oh, and gomen for the previous chappies. I noticed that it was quite slow-paced. *bows again and again* gomen nasai!!! I didn't do it on purpose! I just typed away, and that's how the story came out! Please forgive my fingers!!! *bows again and again*
Anyway, I hope I can make it up to you with this chapter. =)
INSERT FOR THE EDITS- gomen! I completely didn't notice that I let Tohru hug Haru without having him transform! Eeep! Guess I got so into it that I just typed away and didn't notice much of anything! *looks sheepish* anyway, I made the TINY adjustment at the end of the chapter! Didn't really change anything, just made it more plausible. THANKS AGAIN!
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-White's Day-
Tohru blinked as the sun's rays hit her directly on the face. Wha.? It's so bright already, She immediately sat up "Oh my God! I overslept!!!!!" She scrambled off her bed and ran down the stairs towards the kitchen, fully intent on preparing breakfast immediately, only to be greeted by a sight that she didn't expect. Breakfast was at the table, all set. EH?!!
"Ah, Honda-san, there you are. Have a seat." Yuki said, steering the confused girl towards her place at the table.
The cat then emerged from the kitchen, carrying more food and laying them down. He was his usual gruff self, sending a nod at Tohru's direction as his way of greeting her "Ohayou". Then he sat down opposite from her, while Yuki sat on her left.
Tohru blinked. What's going on? Kyou cooked breakfast, and Souma-kun is up early? The two boys with her seemed to act as if this was nothing out of the ordinary, and this confused Tohru even more.
Yuki glanced at Tohru and saw that she wasn't eating. "Honda-san, you must eat or we'll be late for school."
The simple statement caught Kyou's attention and he looked at Tohru as well, "Oi, I know I'm not that much of a cook, but I know its not that bad either. I'm not like kuso neezumi over here when it comes to cooking!" Kyou said, motioning his head towards the mouse.
Yuki didn't even bother to reply to that remark, and instead chose to ignore the cat. Tohru, however got the wrong idea and thought that Kyou was insulted by her. "AAH!!! GOMENASAI KYOU-KUN! I was just thinking that's all! Of course Kyou's cooking is wonderful!" and as if to punctuate that statement, she took a huge spoonful of the soup near her and gulped it down. "OISHII!" she sent a smile in the cat's direction.
Kyou was a bit taken aback by the way Tohru seemed to be shouting her every sentence. But merely attributing that to the girl's usual dose of over- enthusiasm, he just nodded and proceeded to eat his breakfast.
When all three finished eating, (Shigure being his usual late-waking self) Tohru was just about to get up, fully intending to clean the table. But, another surprise was thrown her way. Yuki and Kyou beat her to the task, both silently standing up, clearing the dining table of the plates and proceeding quietly to the kitchen, with not a bicker or a glare thrown at the other's way. Now, Tohru was really confused. And so she followed them, with the purpose of asking them. And she was shocked at the sight that greeted her. Kyou was washing the dishes, and calmly passing them afterwards to Yuki who was also CALMLY drying them and placing them at a neat stack beside him. Now this was really strange. The cat and the mouse never got along at anything! And here they are washing and drying the dishes, TOGETHER!
"Anou, Kyou-kun, Souma-kun, why are you doing my chores?" Tohru asked hesitantly, afraid of offending them.
The two boys glanced at her, Yuki smiling as he answered her question. "Honda-san works too hard, and she just got injured last night. The least we could do is do some of her chores."
"You don't have to do that! I'm fine, really!" She said, reddening slightly at that gallant remark.
"No, Honda-san should rest today-" Yuki said, emphasizing the word today ever so slightly. He finished wiping the last dish with the cloth and he set them aside. "Don't mind us Honda-san, just go upstairs and get your things ready. We'll leave for school in a while." Yuki took the stack of the now clean plates and moved towards the cabinet where they kept their china.
Tohru was bent on insisting that she do the work she was being "paid" (paid with food and lodging) to do, but before she could utter a word, she was suddenly dragged towards the stairs. She looked up and saw Kyou. The cat brought her upstairs, nudged her inside her room and disappeared to his own room. But not before telling her to get her things ready in his gruff voice.
Tohru was in a state of shock, but nonetheless, she hurried and got her things ready. Her eyes, however, remained blank as she went about her task, her moves slightly sluggish, as if she was asleep. This was the way Yuki and Kyou found her as they entered her room to fetch her so they could all go to school. The two blinked when Tohru didn't even say anything to them, infact, she didn't seem to realize that they were there. Yuki slowly grasped her arm and shook it gently. "Honda-san, are you finished?"
The girl jumped and whirled to face him. Yuki's eyes widened at this, confusion written all over his face at Tohru's weird response. "Honda-san, are you okay?" he asked, when Tohru just looked at him with her mouth hanging open.
"AAHH! Gomen Souma-kun!" She blushed, "I spaced out for a bit." Tohru said sheepishly, embarrassed at her jumpy state. "I got startled." She finished lamely.
Yuki smiled down at her, "aa. Its ok Honda-san. Shall we go?" Tohru blushed even deeper and nodded.
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The three arrived at the school gates with much time to spare before the bell rang. Though it was usually their custom to separate ways before coming to class, this day, the two Soumas didn't leave Tohru's side. Tohru was, AGAIN, surprised by this, especially when Yuki and Kyou accompanied her all the way to their shoe lockers, and even more so when they went with her up to their classroom. But, though unexpected, the action delighted Tohru, who loved her friends dearly. And so she said nothing to them about this.
But when Tohru arrived at her desk, another surprise was in store for her, though this time, it wasn't from either one of the Soumas. There was a huge bouquet of about 3 dozen roses of 2 different colors, red and white, at her desk. Her gasp was loud enough to draw the attention of many people in class, including Yuki and Kyou's, whose eyes widened at the sight. They glanced at each other, silently asking if the roses were from the other, but the shock plastered all over their faces was enough to confirm that the roses weren't from either of them. Their thoughts were frantically sorting through their lists of their male classmates, hoping to discover who sent the flowers to Tohru. But as they looked at the girl, who was already reaching for the card attached to the bouquet, the smirk on the face of the guy seated right behind her told them exactly who the sender was. Ryu Akamatsu. And at the moment, the said rival was already making his way towards Tohru.
"Ohayou Honda-san" he said quietly. Tohru whirled around, "Akamatsu-kun!" she said breathlessly, though it was out of being startled rather than some romantic notion. "Did I startle you Honda-san?" a laugh "Gomen ne? I always seem to be making you jump lately." He grinned boyishly, making him look even more handsome. In fact, some of their female classmates swooned at the sight. Hanajima and Arisa on the other hand, had their mouths gaping open. Well, actually, only Arisa had her mouth open, Hanajima simply stood stock still. The act had a completely opposite effect on the males however. Most of the boys in class looked surprised that somebody like Ryu Akamatsu was actually interested in Honda Tohru. Sure, she was cute, kind and everything, but still, there were a lot more girls in school who were a lot prettier. But then again, she was the only girl to ever get close to Souma Yuki. So in the end, they shrugged it off. Some of the boys, however, had a more violent reaction, particularly two Souma boys. These two had their eyes narrowed at their so called rival, who they thought was too forward with their Tohru. (My, my! These two are getting possessive ne?). Fortunately, none of the other students in their class had noticed, but one did though, and his smirk grew even wider, infuriating Yuki and Kyou further.
Ryu noticed the two Souma's glaring at him, and he delighted in it. He drew closer to his Tohru-chan and whispered in her ear "Happy White's day Honda- san." The girl blushed cutely, and to the corner of his eye, he saw the two Souma's clench their fists to their sides. Hah! Let them beat that!
Tohru was finding it hard to breathe. Ryu Akamatsu was suave, handsome, bold, popular and way too much for a girl like her. She wasn't used to such attention. And getting a huge bouquet on White's day was a first. Most of her gifts on White's day came from the Souma's, this was the first time an outsider gave her a gift, and such a lavish one at that. "Arigatou Akamatsu-san. Hontou ni arigatou gozaimasu!" she said profusely. "They're really beautiful."
"Aa, but not as beautiful as Honda-san." Came the reply, which made Tohru blush even more. She was looking down at her feet, as if it was the most interesting thing in the world. She didn't know what to say to that statement. Unused to flattery, she wasn't a master at forming coquettish replies. But before she could mumble something out, the teacher arrived, forcing the students to let go of the spectacle and return to their seats.
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All throughout class, Yuki couldn't concentrate. The image of Akamatsu leaning towards Tohru's ear made his hands clench. He was already glowering at his textbook, much to the consternation of his classmates. Their usually composed Prince was now looking as black as a storm.
At the other side, Kyou's thoughts ran along similar lines, although for his part, he wasn't looking at his textbook, and so his glower was sent at the general direction of whoever happened to look his way. It didn't help that every time he looked at Tohru, he found the girl blushing still , glancing towards the back of the class every now and then. This made his glare so intense that nobody dared to look at him anymore, preferring to take down notes or stare at their books.
Tohru was having a hard time listening to what their sensei was saying. Her first few attempts at writing down notes resulted in doodles of flowers. She tried to shake it off by glancing at Yuki and Kyou, but the two seemed preoccupied. Yuki was frowning at his textbook, while Kyou was frowning at everyone. Tohru didn't want to disturb them, and so she just concentrated again at her notes. This didn't work, and her failed attempts only made her sigh a few times or so. Her thoughts turned to Akamatsu Ryu, and she blushed. The roses had been lovely, but she didn't know why he gave them to her. She glanced towards the back of the class, as if attempting to decipher the reason by looking at the giver. She sighed again, though this time out of puzzlement. No matter how much she thought about it, she couldn't think of a reason why Akamatus-san would treat her so nicely. Again, a sigh.
Ryu, as usual wasn't listening to the lecture. His gaze was directed at his beloved angel, who was now red in the face. He relished at the sight. His beloved was sighing every once in a while, and he mistakenly thought that it was because she was thinking about him. Well, it was true in a sense. Tohru was thinking about him, but the sighs weren't caused by romantic thoughts. But Ryu didn't know that, and so he kept on grinning.
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The bell rang, and everybody rose to have lunch. Ryu was bent on asking Tohru to have lunch with him again. And so, armed with that purpose, he made his way through the mass of students towards his Tohru-chan. Yuki and Kyou at the other side of the class saw Ryu making his was towards Tohru, and acted fast. Without planning about it, the two intercepted the guy and arrived at Tohru's side before Ryu did, much to their surprise at finding the other there. But instead of glaring at each other, they silently acknowledged that they had to be united for now (no matter how much it was killing them!) against a rival. Desperate times called for desperate measures, both thought.
Ryu's eyes widened at finding the Soumas already by Tohru's side when he arrived. But that didn't deter him, as was evident in the determined glint that came to his eyes. "Honda-san, would you like to have lunch again with me today?" he asked, staring at the two boys beside her as if to challenge them into action.
Unfortunately for him, today, the two did accept the challenge. Yuki was the first to make the hit. "Gomen ne Akamatsu-kun, but Honda-san is having lunch with us today." Kyou was a bit surprised at the act which was uncharacteristic of Yuki, but he didn't show it. He'd be damned if he showed a sign of weakness to that Akamatsu.
Ryu glanced sharply at Tohru, asking her silently for confirmation. Tohru herself looked quiet startled at the statement, but she did love having lunch with the two of her closest friends, and so she nodded, much to Ryu's dismay. "I'm sorry Akamatsu-kun." her voice trailed off at the disappointed look that came to Akamatsu's face. "That's okay Honda-san. Maybe tomorrow, then?"
Before Tohru could reply, the next move was executed by Kyou, who steered her quickly towards the door, away from Ryu, stopping her from making any commitments for tomorrow. With a lot of work and even more luck, they could successfully pull this off and stamp out that bastard.
Hanajima and Arisa followed the three out, fully interested on seeing what the two Soumas were up to. Hanajima stared at Ryu for awhile, thinking this is getting interesting.
Ryu was left open-mouthed at Kyou's gesture that bordered on rudeness. But helpless to do anything for now with Tohru gone, he went off to find a substitute companion for lunch hour. With his looks, the task was easy, and soon, he had some gushing girl accompanying him to the cafeteria. Though the whole mood was a bit glum since Ryu took on sulking like a fish to water.
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Tohru had an enjoyable lunch with her friends. The atmosphere was genial and cheerful, with Kyou and Yuki's bickering brought down to a minimum. Tohru thought the two were acting strangely, but she was not one to complain at such a blessing, no matter how puzzling it may be.
"Oi, Orange-atama, what made you drag Tohru out of the classroom so quickly a while earlier?" Arisa said, smirking as she saw how her question made Kyou squirm a bit.
"None of your business Yankee!" was the vehement retort.
"Oh? It didn't look like nothing to me. You had this determined look on you." Hanajima quietly munched on her chips after saying this.
Kyou bristled with irritation, but since Tohru was looking at him, waiting for his answer, he quickly made up an excuse, "I was hungry! She was lounging about, so I decided to hurry her up a bit."
Arisa nodded, though her face showed that she didn't believe a single word. Hanajima's face was indecipherable. But Tohru, being her trusting self, quickly asked for forgiveness. "Gomen Kyou-kun! I didn't know you were already hungry! That was so thoughtless of me!!!" She ended in a near wail.
Yuki calmed the distressed Tohru by saying "Don't mind baka neko. He's always hungry, and he's man enough to be able to stand hunger for a few minutes."
Kyou would have wanted to challenge the rat then and there, but the distressed look Tohru was giving out stopped him. Ok Kyou, calm down. Today's a special day. You need to make Tohru happy. You can do this. It's only for a day, ONE day. He took a calming breath and merely settled for a glare sent in Yuki's direction.
"Tohru-kun, what do you plan to do tonight?" Hanajima inquired, turning Tohru's attention away from the two Souma's silent battle.
"Oh! I'm having dinner with Momiji-kun. It's his White's day gift to me!" Tohru said, clapping her hands excitedly.
"Really? That's nice. And where is the little imp?" Arisa asked, delighted that her friend was having such an interesting day.
"He and Haru are having a field trip today, so they can't join us right now. But they should be back later this afternoon." Yuki replied for her.
"Ah. Too bad." Was all that the gang girl said.
And lunch continued on without a hitch.
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Class was at its usual boring pace, and when the final bell rang, signaling the end of classes for the day, the students were only too glad to pack their things up and go. Most scrambled for the door while the teacher called out last minute assignments. Tohru was busily stuffing her books into her bag, while Yuki and Kyou waited for her by the door. Arisa had already left since she had a part time job and still needed to catch the train. Hanajima had gone off too, saying she had promised her parents that she would baby sit her brother today.
"Oi, hurry up will you?" Kyou grumbled.
"Hai! Chotto matte kudasai. I'm almost done." Tohru scrambled to collect the rest of her things, including the huge bouquet of roses that Ryu had given her earlier, and made her way to her two friends.
Yuki smiled down at her as she reached them, "here, let me carry those for you Honda-san, they look heavy" Yuki said, pointing out the numerous books on Tohru's arm. Without waiting for a reply, the mouse calmly took the heavy textbooks from the girl and carried them along with his own. Tohru opened her mouth to protest, but thought better of it and just settled for a blush. "Arigatou Yuki-kun." She said shyly. The two boys had been on their best behavior today. First they had surprised her during the morning by doing her chores, then at lunch they hardly bickered, and now Yuki was carrying her things. They've been nothing but gallant and kind, and Tohru was all too ready to sing their praises, if she only had the guts to do so.
Not to be outdone by his rival, Kyou reached for Tohru's bag and without even asking, took it and carried it himself. Upon seeing the surprised look on Tohru's face, he quietly mumbled, "with that huge thing you're carrying- " he pointed to the bouquet on Tohru's arm, "you're bound to drop something sooner or later."
"Arigatou! Kyou-kun is so thoughtful!" Tohru exclaimed.
They rounded the corner and were just about to proceed to the gates of the school, when a shout from behind them drew their attention.
"SOUMA-KUN!" they glanced behind them and saw a member of the student council waving at them, trying to catch their attention. They stopped and waited for the guy to catch up with them.
"Nani? Did you want something sempai?" Yuki politely inquired.
*Huff* "We." *huff* "have.a..." *huff* the boy was obviously out of breath, Yuki took pity on him, "Sempai, please take a breather first. I can wait."
The boy threw Yuki a look of gratitude and caught his breath. After a few seconds, and a lot of deep gulps of air, "Souma-kun, I'm so sorry to bother you, but we have a council meeting today."
A look of disappointment flashed across Yuki's face for a few unnoticeable milliseconds, before he hurriedly covered it up with his usual smile. "Sou ka. Well, thank you for informing me sempai." He said, sounding convincingly grateful, although he really felt like shouting in frustration. He had so wanted to go and walk home with Honda-san today. Partly to make sure that Ryu didn't go about and bother her. But he really had no choice. He was a part of the student council and he had a responsibility. He took a bit of consolation on the fact that Kyou was with her, and knowing that the cat felt the same way as he did, Ryu wasn't going to get a chance with Tohru today.
"Gomen Honda-san, but I guess I won't be able to walk home with you today. Why don't you and baka neko go ahead? I'll see you later." And with that he walked off to the meeting.
Tohru and Kyou continued their trek towards home in silence. But they had just reached the school gates when somebody they didn't expect showed up.
"KYOU-KUN!!!!!!!!!!!!!" a cloud of dust was coming their way, fast! Kyou saw the whirlwind get nearer and knew immediately who it was. He quickly turned to Tohru and mumbled a quick " I have to go now, I'll just see you at home" before he ran as fast as he could at the opposite direction. Tohru just looked on with amazement as Kagura chased poor Kyou with a vengeance. "KYOU!!!! COME BACK HERE!!!!"
Tohru sweatdropped. guess I'm walking home alone today. she thought with a small sigh.
A tap on her shoulder made her glance behind her, and a handsome smiling face greeted her. "All alone Honda-san? What happened to your two. uh. friends?" Ryu said, deliberately making the pause before saying the word 'friends'.
"Yuki-kun had to attend a council meeting, and Kyou-kun had some place to go to."
"Oh? And they left you all alone to go home by yourself?"
"AAh! Iya, its not like that." Tohru began her defense of her friends, but before she could even say another word, Ryu interrupted her. "No matter. Their loss is my gain I guess. I'll take you home Honda-san. I have my car out front" he said, already pulling Tohru along. "Demo." Tohru was beginning to panic, eep! What am I going to do? I can't very well tell him that I live with the Soumas! she was stalling as best she could, by walking slowly, but in her state of nervousness, her mind went completely blank and she couldn't think of any excuse to give Ryu. And just as she was about to lose hope, her savior arrived, in the form of a rider in a huge black motorcycle.
Haru had just gotten on his bike when he saw Tohru with that Akamatsu guy. Where the hell are Yuki and Kyou? This is the second time they've left her with that person! Haru thought, completely confounded. He made his way closer, and soon saw the panicky expression on Tohru's face. Ahh. guess I'll have to help out. Yuki's going to be so proud. Haru thought with a smirk. Quickly, he rolled his bike to a stop before the "couple", noting with amusement the shock that quickly turned to irritation on Ryu's face.
"Tohru, need a ride? Momiji just left with Hatori, rambling excitedly about your date tonight. You don't want to be late do you?" he asked quietly.
Relief flooded Tohru's every being, after the initial shock wore off that is. "Hatsuharu-kun! Ah, yes! Umm.. that is if you don't mind.."
Ryu was just about to contradict that statement, when Haru, sensing that that was his intention, quickly answered Tohru. "Aa. Its no problem at all. Hop on." He said, patting the space behind him.
"Wait a minute, I'm going to take Honda-san home." Ryu protested.
"I'm sure you don't want to be inconvenienced by it. I pass by her house on the way home, so its no trouble for me to just drop her off." Haru said calmly, further annoying Ryu.
"He's right Akamatsu-san. I don't want to bother you. I'll just have Hatsuharu-kun drop me off." Tohru said, hoping she wasn't offending Ryu, but left with no choice since she couldn't let him know where she was staying.
Finally accepting defeat, Ryu heaved a sigh, and begrudgingly nodded. "fine. I'll see you tomorrow then Honda-san."
"Hai! Ja ne, Akamatsu-san!" Tohru said with one final wave, before she climbed behind Haru.
"hold on tight Tohru." Haru told her, already taking Tohru's arms and encircling them around his waist, but of course he took the precaution of placing his bag between them so that he won't transform. "otherwise you'll fall of"
Tohru nodded. This was her first time to ride a motorcycle, much less a huge one like this. And honestly, she was a bit scared. And so she held on and hugged Hatsuharu tight, the bag on her chest was a bit uncomfortable, but hey, its better than falling off. Haru, satisfied by the gaping expression on Ryu's face, kicked off and blazed away, smirking at Ryu's mortified look at seeing Tohru hugging him so tightly.
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Next: the race for Tohru begins! *grins* hey, do you still want to hear about Tohru and Momiji's date? I don't plan on writing about it anymore since it really isn't that significant to the plot. But if you really want it, I'll try. Just tell me. Ok?
AN: this chappy is a bit longer than the others. I don't know what came over me, but my fingers just won't stop typing! *grins* hope you enjoyed it though. and I hope I wasn't dragging it along with too much words!. *smiles* thanks again!
INSERT FOR THE EDITS- is it more believable now? *grins* gomen again! And thanks for the warning shawna-san, merryday-san! Oh, and shawna-san, lets just say that I got Haru a huge bike for the sake of the plot. It would certainly make him look cool! Minna please help me with this ficcy. Sometimes I get so into the story that I can't keep track of what I type anymore. *grins* heh heh. gomen *bonks herself on the head*
Oh, and to silvercross, thanks so much! To answer your question, I didn't do it on purpose, the Yuki-kun and Souma-kun thing. Heh heh. *slaps her forehead* gomen. I'm getting too absent-minded these days. Again, thanks for all the reminders minna! I truly appreciate it!
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AN: thanks so much minna for the reviews!!!! They are really very inspiring! This chapter is dedicated to all of you! Oh, and gomen for the previous chappies. I noticed that it was quite slow-paced. *bows again and again* gomen nasai!!! I didn't do it on purpose! I just typed away, and that's how the story came out! Please forgive my fingers!!! *bows again and again*
Anyway, I hope I can make it up to you with this chapter. =)
INSERT FOR THE EDITS- gomen! I completely didn't notice that I let Tohru hug Haru without having him transform! Eeep! Guess I got so into it that I just typed away and didn't notice much of anything! *looks sheepish* anyway, I made the TINY adjustment at the end of the chapter! Didn't really change anything, just made it more plausible. THANKS AGAIN!
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-White's Day-
Tohru blinked as the sun's rays hit her directly on the face. Wha.? It's so bright already, She immediately sat up "Oh my God! I overslept!!!!!" She scrambled off her bed and ran down the stairs towards the kitchen, fully intent on preparing breakfast immediately, only to be greeted by a sight that she didn't expect. Breakfast was at the table, all set. EH?!!
"Ah, Honda-san, there you are. Have a seat." Yuki said, steering the confused girl towards her place at the table.
The cat then emerged from the kitchen, carrying more food and laying them down. He was his usual gruff self, sending a nod at Tohru's direction as his way of greeting her "Ohayou". Then he sat down opposite from her, while Yuki sat on her left.
Tohru blinked. What's going on? Kyou cooked breakfast, and Souma-kun is up early? The two boys with her seemed to act as if this was nothing out of the ordinary, and this confused Tohru even more.
Yuki glanced at Tohru and saw that she wasn't eating. "Honda-san, you must eat or we'll be late for school."
The simple statement caught Kyou's attention and he looked at Tohru as well, "Oi, I know I'm not that much of a cook, but I know its not that bad either. I'm not like kuso neezumi over here when it comes to cooking!" Kyou said, motioning his head towards the mouse.
Yuki didn't even bother to reply to that remark, and instead chose to ignore the cat. Tohru, however got the wrong idea and thought that Kyou was insulted by her. "AAH!!! GOMENASAI KYOU-KUN! I was just thinking that's all! Of course Kyou's cooking is wonderful!" and as if to punctuate that statement, she took a huge spoonful of the soup near her and gulped it down. "OISHII!" she sent a smile in the cat's direction.
Kyou was a bit taken aback by the way Tohru seemed to be shouting her every sentence. But merely attributing that to the girl's usual dose of over- enthusiasm, he just nodded and proceeded to eat his breakfast.
When all three finished eating, (Shigure being his usual late-waking self) Tohru was just about to get up, fully intending to clean the table. But, another surprise was thrown her way. Yuki and Kyou beat her to the task, both silently standing up, clearing the dining table of the plates and proceeding quietly to the kitchen, with not a bicker or a glare thrown at the other's way. Now, Tohru was really confused. And so she followed them, with the purpose of asking them. And she was shocked at the sight that greeted her. Kyou was washing the dishes, and calmly passing them afterwards to Yuki who was also CALMLY drying them and placing them at a neat stack beside him. Now this was really strange. The cat and the mouse never got along at anything! And here they are washing and drying the dishes, TOGETHER!
"Anou, Kyou-kun, Souma-kun, why are you doing my chores?" Tohru asked hesitantly, afraid of offending them.
The two boys glanced at her, Yuki smiling as he answered her question. "Honda-san works too hard, and she just got injured last night. The least we could do is do some of her chores."
"You don't have to do that! I'm fine, really!" She said, reddening slightly at that gallant remark.
"No, Honda-san should rest today-" Yuki said, emphasizing the word today ever so slightly. He finished wiping the last dish with the cloth and he set them aside. "Don't mind us Honda-san, just go upstairs and get your things ready. We'll leave for school in a while." Yuki took the stack of the now clean plates and moved towards the cabinet where they kept their china.
Tohru was bent on insisting that she do the work she was being "paid" (paid with food and lodging) to do, but before she could utter a word, she was suddenly dragged towards the stairs. She looked up and saw Kyou. The cat brought her upstairs, nudged her inside her room and disappeared to his own room. But not before telling her to get her things ready in his gruff voice.
Tohru was in a state of shock, but nonetheless, she hurried and got her things ready. Her eyes, however, remained blank as she went about her task, her moves slightly sluggish, as if she was asleep. This was the way Yuki and Kyou found her as they entered her room to fetch her so they could all go to school. The two blinked when Tohru didn't even say anything to them, infact, she didn't seem to realize that they were there. Yuki slowly grasped her arm and shook it gently. "Honda-san, are you finished?"
The girl jumped and whirled to face him. Yuki's eyes widened at this, confusion written all over his face at Tohru's weird response. "Honda-san, are you okay?" he asked, when Tohru just looked at him with her mouth hanging open.
"AAHH! Gomen Souma-kun!" She blushed, "I spaced out for a bit." Tohru said sheepishly, embarrassed at her jumpy state. "I got startled." She finished lamely.
Yuki smiled down at her, "aa. Its ok Honda-san. Shall we go?" Tohru blushed even deeper and nodded.
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The three arrived at the school gates with much time to spare before the bell rang. Though it was usually their custom to separate ways before coming to class, this day, the two Soumas didn't leave Tohru's side. Tohru was, AGAIN, surprised by this, especially when Yuki and Kyou accompanied her all the way to their shoe lockers, and even more so when they went with her up to their classroom. But, though unexpected, the action delighted Tohru, who loved her friends dearly. And so she said nothing to them about this.
But when Tohru arrived at her desk, another surprise was in store for her, though this time, it wasn't from either one of the Soumas. There was a huge bouquet of about 3 dozen roses of 2 different colors, red and white, at her desk. Her gasp was loud enough to draw the attention of many people in class, including Yuki and Kyou's, whose eyes widened at the sight. They glanced at each other, silently asking if the roses were from the other, but the shock plastered all over their faces was enough to confirm that the roses weren't from either of them. Their thoughts were frantically sorting through their lists of their male classmates, hoping to discover who sent the flowers to Tohru. But as they looked at the girl, who was already reaching for the card attached to the bouquet, the smirk on the face of the guy seated right behind her told them exactly who the sender was. Ryu Akamatsu. And at the moment, the said rival was already making his way towards Tohru.
"Ohayou Honda-san" he said quietly. Tohru whirled around, "Akamatsu-kun!" she said breathlessly, though it was out of being startled rather than some romantic notion. "Did I startle you Honda-san?" a laugh "Gomen ne? I always seem to be making you jump lately." He grinned boyishly, making him look even more handsome. In fact, some of their female classmates swooned at the sight. Hanajima and Arisa on the other hand, had their mouths gaping open. Well, actually, only Arisa had her mouth open, Hanajima simply stood stock still. The act had a completely opposite effect on the males however. Most of the boys in class looked surprised that somebody like Ryu Akamatsu was actually interested in Honda Tohru. Sure, she was cute, kind and everything, but still, there were a lot more girls in school who were a lot prettier. But then again, she was the only girl to ever get close to Souma Yuki. So in the end, they shrugged it off. Some of the boys, however, had a more violent reaction, particularly two Souma boys. These two had their eyes narrowed at their so called rival, who they thought was too forward with their Tohru. (My, my! These two are getting possessive ne?). Fortunately, none of the other students in their class had noticed, but one did though, and his smirk grew even wider, infuriating Yuki and Kyou further.
Ryu noticed the two Souma's glaring at him, and he delighted in it. He drew closer to his Tohru-chan and whispered in her ear "Happy White's day Honda- san." The girl blushed cutely, and to the corner of his eye, he saw the two Souma's clench their fists to their sides. Hah! Let them beat that!
Tohru was finding it hard to breathe. Ryu Akamatsu was suave, handsome, bold, popular and way too much for a girl like her. She wasn't used to such attention. And getting a huge bouquet on White's day was a first. Most of her gifts on White's day came from the Souma's, this was the first time an outsider gave her a gift, and such a lavish one at that. "Arigatou Akamatsu-san. Hontou ni arigatou gozaimasu!" she said profusely. "They're really beautiful."
"Aa, but not as beautiful as Honda-san." Came the reply, which made Tohru blush even more. She was looking down at her feet, as if it was the most interesting thing in the world. She didn't know what to say to that statement. Unused to flattery, she wasn't a master at forming coquettish replies. But before she could mumble something out, the teacher arrived, forcing the students to let go of the spectacle and return to their seats.
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All throughout class, Yuki couldn't concentrate. The image of Akamatsu leaning towards Tohru's ear made his hands clench. He was already glowering at his textbook, much to the consternation of his classmates. Their usually composed Prince was now looking as black as a storm.
At the other side, Kyou's thoughts ran along similar lines, although for his part, he wasn't looking at his textbook, and so his glower was sent at the general direction of whoever happened to look his way. It didn't help that every time he looked at Tohru, he found the girl blushing still , glancing towards the back of the class every now and then. This made his glare so intense that nobody dared to look at him anymore, preferring to take down notes or stare at their books.
Tohru was having a hard time listening to what their sensei was saying. Her first few attempts at writing down notes resulted in doodles of flowers. She tried to shake it off by glancing at Yuki and Kyou, but the two seemed preoccupied. Yuki was frowning at his textbook, while Kyou was frowning at everyone. Tohru didn't want to disturb them, and so she just concentrated again at her notes. This didn't work, and her failed attempts only made her sigh a few times or so. Her thoughts turned to Akamatsu Ryu, and she blushed. The roses had been lovely, but she didn't know why he gave them to her. She glanced towards the back of the class, as if attempting to decipher the reason by looking at the giver. She sighed again, though this time out of puzzlement. No matter how much she thought about it, she couldn't think of a reason why Akamatus-san would treat her so nicely. Again, a sigh.
Ryu, as usual wasn't listening to the lecture. His gaze was directed at his beloved angel, who was now red in the face. He relished at the sight. His beloved was sighing every once in a while, and he mistakenly thought that it was because she was thinking about him. Well, it was true in a sense. Tohru was thinking about him, but the sighs weren't caused by romantic thoughts. But Ryu didn't know that, and so he kept on grinning.
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The bell rang, and everybody rose to have lunch. Ryu was bent on asking Tohru to have lunch with him again. And so, armed with that purpose, he made his way through the mass of students towards his Tohru-chan. Yuki and Kyou at the other side of the class saw Ryu making his was towards Tohru, and acted fast. Without planning about it, the two intercepted the guy and arrived at Tohru's side before Ryu did, much to their surprise at finding the other there. But instead of glaring at each other, they silently acknowledged that they had to be united for now (no matter how much it was killing them!) against a rival. Desperate times called for desperate measures, both thought.
Ryu's eyes widened at finding the Soumas already by Tohru's side when he arrived. But that didn't deter him, as was evident in the determined glint that came to his eyes. "Honda-san, would you like to have lunch again with me today?" he asked, staring at the two boys beside her as if to challenge them into action.
Unfortunately for him, today, the two did accept the challenge. Yuki was the first to make the hit. "Gomen ne Akamatsu-kun, but Honda-san is having lunch with us today." Kyou was a bit surprised at the act which was uncharacteristic of Yuki, but he didn't show it. He'd be damned if he showed a sign of weakness to that Akamatsu.
Ryu glanced sharply at Tohru, asking her silently for confirmation. Tohru herself looked quiet startled at the statement, but she did love having lunch with the two of her closest friends, and so she nodded, much to Ryu's dismay. "I'm sorry Akamatsu-kun." her voice trailed off at the disappointed look that came to Akamatsu's face. "That's okay Honda-san. Maybe tomorrow, then?"
Before Tohru could reply, the next move was executed by Kyou, who steered her quickly towards the door, away from Ryu, stopping her from making any commitments for tomorrow. With a lot of work and even more luck, they could successfully pull this off and stamp out that bastard.
Hanajima and Arisa followed the three out, fully interested on seeing what the two Soumas were up to. Hanajima stared at Ryu for awhile, thinking this is getting interesting.
Ryu was left open-mouthed at Kyou's gesture that bordered on rudeness. But helpless to do anything for now with Tohru gone, he went off to find a substitute companion for lunch hour. With his looks, the task was easy, and soon, he had some gushing girl accompanying him to the cafeteria. Though the whole mood was a bit glum since Ryu took on sulking like a fish to water.
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Tohru had an enjoyable lunch with her friends. The atmosphere was genial and cheerful, with Kyou and Yuki's bickering brought down to a minimum. Tohru thought the two were acting strangely, but she was not one to complain at such a blessing, no matter how puzzling it may be.
"Oi, Orange-atama, what made you drag Tohru out of the classroom so quickly a while earlier?" Arisa said, smirking as she saw how her question made Kyou squirm a bit.
"None of your business Yankee!" was the vehement retort.
"Oh? It didn't look like nothing to me. You had this determined look on you." Hanajima quietly munched on her chips after saying this.
Kyou bristled with irritation, but since Tohru was looking at him, waiting for his answer, he quickly made up an excuse, "I was hungry! She was lounging about, so I decided to hurry her up a bit."
Arisa nodded, though her face showed that she didn't believe a single word. Hanajima's face was indecipherable. But Tohru, being her trusting self, quickly asked for forgiveness. "Gomen Kyou-kun! I didn't know you were already hungry! That was so thoughtless of me!!!" She ended in a near wail.
Yuki calmed the distressed Tohru by saying "Don't mind baka neko. He's always hungry, and he's man enough to be able to stand hunger for a few minutes."
Kyou would have wanted to challenge the rat then and there, but the distressed look Tohru was giving out stopped him. Ok Kyou, calm down. Today's a special day. You need to make Tohru happy. You can do this. It's only for a day, ONE day. He took a calming breath and merely settled for a glare sent in Yuki's direction.
"Tohru-kun, what do you plan to do tonight?" Hanajima inquired, turning Tohru's attention away from the two Souma's silent battle.
"Oh! I'm having dinner with Momiji-kun. It's his White's day gift to me!" Tohru said, clapping her hands excitedly.
"Really? That's nice. And where is the little imp?" Arisa asked, delighted that her friend was having such an interesting day.
"He and Haru are having a field trip today, so they can't join us right now. But they should be back later this afternoon." Yuki replied for her.
"Ah. Too bad." Was all that the gang girl said.
And lunch continued on without a hitch.
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Class was at its usual boring pace, and when the final bell rang, signaling the end of classes for the day, the students were only too glad to pack their things up and go. Most scrambled for the door while the teacher called out last minute assignments. Tohru was busily stuffing her books into her bag, while Yuki and Kyou waited for her by the door. Arisa had already left since she had a part time job and still needed to catch the train. Hanajima had gone off too, saying she had promised her parents that she would baby sit her brother today.
"Oi, hurry up will you?" Kyou grumbled.
"Hai! Chotto matte kudasai. I'm almost done." Tohru scrambled to collect the rest of her things, including the huge bouquet of roses that Ryu had given her earlier, and made her way to her two friends.
Yuki smiled down at her as she reached them, "here, let me carry those for you Honda-san, they look heavy" Yuki said, pointing out the numerous books on Tohru's arm. Without waiting for a reply, the mouse calmly took the heavy textbooks from the girl and carried them along with his own. Tohru opened her mouth to protest, but thought better of it and just settled for a blush. "Arigatou Yuki-kun." She said shyly. The two boys had been on their best behavior today. First they had surprised her during the morning by doing her chores, then at lunch they hardly bickered, and now Yuki was carrying her things. They've been nothing but gallant and kind, and Tohru was all too ready to sing their praises, if she only had the guts to do so.
Not to be outdone by his rival, Kyou reached for Tohru's bag and without even asking, took it and carried it himself. Upon seeing the surprised look on Tohru's face, he quietly mumbled, "with that huge thing you're carrying- " he pointed to the bouquet on Tohru's arm, "you're bound to drop something sooner or later."
"Arigatou! Kyou-kun is so thoughtful!" Tohru exclaimed.
They rounded the corner and were just about to proceed to the gates of the school, when a shout from behind them drew their attention.
"SOUMA-KUN!" they glanced behind them and saw a member of the student council waving at them, trying to catch their attention. They stopped and waited for the guy to catch up with them.
"Nani? Did you want something sempai?" Yuki politely inquired.
*Huff* "We." *huff* "have.a..." *huff* the boy was obviously out of breath, Yuki took pity on him, "Sempai, please take a breather first. I can wait."
The boy threw Yuki a look of gratitude and caught his breath. After a few seconds, and a lot of deep gulps of air, "Souma-kun, I'm so sorry to bother you, but we have a council meeting today."
A look of disappointment flashed across Yuki's face for a few unnoticeable milliseconds, before he hurriedly covered it up with his usual smile. "Sou ka. Well, thank you for informing me sempai." He said, sounding convincingly grateful, although he really felt like shouting in frustration. He had so wanted to go and walk home with Honda-san today. Partly to make sure that Ryu didn't go about and bother her. But he really had no choice. He was a part of the student council and he had a responsibility. He took a bit of consolation on the fact that Kyou was with her, and knowing that the cat felt the same way as he did, Ryu wasn't going to get a chance with Tohru today.
"Gomen Honda-san, but I guess I won't be able to walk home with you today. Why don't you and baka neko go ahead? I'll see you later." And with that he walked off to the meeting.
Tohru and Kyou continued their trek towards home in silence. But they had just reached the school gates when somebody they didn't expect showed up.
"KYOU-KUN!!!!!!!!!!!!!" a cloud of dust was coming their way, fast! Kyou saw the whirlwind get nearer and knew immediately who it was. He quickly turned to Tohru and mumbled a quick " I have to go now, I'll just see you at home" before he ran as fast as he could at the opposite direction. Tohru just looked on with amazement as Kagura chased poor Kyou with a vengeance. "KYOU!!!! COME BACK HERE!!!!"
Tohru sweatdropped. guess I'm walking home alone today. she thought with a small sigh.
A tap on her shoulder made her glance behind her, and a handsome smiling face greeted her. "All alone Honda-san? What happened to your two. uh. friends?" Ryu said, deliberately making the pause before saying the word 'friends'.
"Yuki-kun had to attend a council meeting, and Kyou-kun had some place to go to."
"Oh? And they left you all alone to go home by yourself?"
"AAh! Iya, its not like that." Tohru began her defense of her friends, but before she could even say another word, Ryu interrupted her. "No matter. Their loss is my gain I guess. I'll take you home Honda-san. I have my car out front" he said, already pulling Tohru along. "Demo." Tohru was beginning to panic, eep! What am I going to do? I can't very well tell him that I live with the Soumas! she was stalling as best she could, by walking slowly, but in her state of nervousness, her mind went completely blank and she couldn't think of any excuse to give Ryu. And just as she was about to lose hope, her savior arrived, in the form of a rider in a huge black motorcycle.
Haru had just gotten on his bike when he saw Tohru with that Akamatsu guy. Where the hell are Yuki and Kyou? This is the second time they've left her with that person! Haru thought, completely confounded. He made his way closer, and soon saw the panicky expression on Tohru's face. Ahh. guess I'll have to help out. Yuki's going to be so proud. Haru thought with a smirk. Quickly, he rolled his bike to a stop before the "couple", noting with amusement the shock that quickly turned to irritation on Ryu's face.
"Tohru, need a ride? Momiji just left with Hatori, rambling excitedly about your date tonight. You don't want to be late do you?" he asked quietly.
Relief flooded Tohru's every being, after the initial shock wore off that is. "Hatsuharu-kun! Ah, yes! Umm.. that is if you don't mind.."
Ryu was just about to contradict that statement, when Haru, sensing that that was his intention, quickly answered Tohru. "Aa. Its no problem at all. Hop on." He said, patting the space behind him.
"Wait a minute, I'm going to take Honda-san home." Ryu protested.
"I'm sure you don't want to be inconvenienced by it. I pass by her house on the way home, so its no trouble for me to just drop her off." Haru said calmly, further annoying Ryu.
"He's right Akamatsu-san. I don't want to bother you. I'll just have Hatsuharu-kun drop me off." Tohru said, hoping she wasn't offending Ryu, but left with no choice since she couldn't let him know where she was staying.
Finally accepting defeat, Ryu heaved a sigh, and begrudgingly nodded. "fine. I'll see you tomorrow then Honda-san."
"Hai! Ja ne, Akamatsu-san!" Tohru said with one final wave, before she climbed behind Haru.
"hold on tight Tohru." Haru told her, already taking Tohru's arms and encircling them around his waist, but of course he took the precaution of placing his bag between them so that he won't transform. "otherwise you'll fall of"
Tohru nodded. This was her first time to ride a motorcycle, much less a huge one like this. And honestly, she was a bit scared. And so she held on and hugged Hatsuharu tight, the bag on her chest was a bit uncomfortable, but hey, its better than falling off. Haru, satisfied by the gaping expression on Ryu's face, kicked off and blazed away, smirking at Ryu's mortified look at seeing Tohru hugging him so tightly.
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Next: the race for Tohru begins! *grins* hey, do you still want to hear about Tohru and Momiji's date? I don't plan on writing about it anymore since it really isn't that significant to the plot. But if you really want it, I'll try. Just tell me. Ok?
AN: this chappy is a bit longer than the others. I don't know what came over me, but my fingers just won't stop typing! *grins* hope you enjoyed it though. and I hope I wasn't dragging it along with too much words!. *smiles* thanks again!
INSERT FOR THE EDITS- is it more believable now? *grins* gomen again! And thanks for the warning shawna-san, merryday-san! Oh, and shawna-san, lets just say that I got Haru a huge bike for the sake of the plot. It would certainly make him look cool! Minna please help me with this ficcy. Sometimes I get so into the story that I can't keep track of what I type anymore. *grins* heh heh. gomen *bonks herself on the head*
Oh, and to silvercross, thanks so much! To answer your question, I didn't do it on purpose, the Yuki-kun and Souma-kun thing. Heh heh. *slaps her forehead* gomen. I'm getting too absent-minded these days. Again, thanks for all the reminders minna! I truly appreciate it!