The class roared with its usual chitchat as Mayu prepared for the day. Girls bragged about their boyfriends and guys boasted about their 'newly discovered' muscles as Yuki tried not to take a quick nap, and Tohru did some extra studying. The noise was unbearable, and Mayu barely tolerated it as she finished getting her materials ready.
"SILENCE! We have a new subject as of today: Health," Mayu said as she slammed her fist on the chalkboard.
The class settled down at once. Mayu ran her finger under the word 'Health' that she had written in large letters across the middle of the board. Tohru blinked innocently, gazing at the word in a way a child would. She had no idea that this health class would talk about things other than sicknesses and the immune system. Yuki stared at the board, deciding not to express his shock. He knew this class was put into place because of him and Tohru. There was no doubt about it, but there was nothing he could do about it. Glancing over at Tohru, he could tell she didn't even understand what would be taught during this class. She'd find out soon enough. He sighed and went back to staring out the window.
"This class will be focusing on sexual intercourse, sexually transmitted diseases, STD's, conception, and pregnancy by request of the principal."
"EH?" Tohru gasped.
"Yes Honda? Is there something you'd like to say?" Mayu looked up at her.
Tohru shook her head furiously and looked back down at her desk. She stared at her pink notebook with horror plastered across her face. Everyone was looking at her, muttering incoherent things, but she was sure she could guess what they were talking about. They were probably gossiping about her and the baby they weren't even sure she had inside of her. Tohru bit her lip and swallowed nervously. She didn't need another class to fret over, especially a class that would discuss pregnancy. She was failing enough of her classes as it was; she didn't need another red mark on her exams, but this sort of class would be embarrassing for her.
"First off, I'll be assigning everyone a partner. This partner will be your spouse until the class is complete. Together, you both will take care of a baby. This baby will be carried around all day long whether health class is in session or not, and you will treat it as if it was a real infant. You will feed it, comfort it when it cries, and you'll be doing this together. Yes, this baby will cry, and a key, like this, must be placed into its back to make it stop crying," Mayu held up a small key, "This baby will be giving your grade at the end of the term so there will be no tests or exams."
Tohru let out a sigh of relief. She was sure she could take care of a baby better than she could do on any test. Maybe this could actually be a class she'd pass with a good grade. Maybe, for once, she wouldn't receive the little red note that requested her guardian's signature at the end of the term. She was the only one smiling as everyone else groaned. Taking care of a baby with another classmate just seemed troublesome to the other students. Yuki continued to gaze out the window, ignoring the longing looks he received from girls that wanted to be his partner. He already knew who his partner would be. He was positive that Mayu would pair him up with Tohru, not that he had a problem with that. Tohru turned her head towards him, staring like the other fan girls for a minute before moving her gaze to a furious Kyo, then to a ticked off Uo, and an expressionless Hana.
"Couples will be decided through a drawing…" Mayu told them, "I wrote everybody's name on slips of paper, and I'll draw two slips at a time…"
Most people sat up anxiously hoping to get paired up with a hard worker or their crush. Minami leaned backwards towards Yuki and crossed her fingers. Squeezing her eyes shut, she prayed to God, Satan, and anyone else who could make her Yuki's partner or at least, keep Tohru from becoming Yuki's partner. Tohru clung to Yuki enough as it was, and the worst part was that Yuki didn't seem to mind. It didn't seem fair to Minami who would do anything to be Yuki's friend, preferably girlfriend, but that would be against the Yuki fan club rules. She frowned and muttered something about quitting the fan club if Yuki became her boyfriend before she continued to pray.
"The first couple is… Arisa Uotani and Kyo Sohma!" Mayu announced before tossing the slips away.
"WHAT?" Uo and Kyo snapped in unison, both of them jumping to their feet with anger splattered across their faces.
They turned towards each other and shot each other a glare before crossing their arms and sitting back down with a 'hmph'. The class was silent, all of them facing Kyo and Uo. Yuki turned away from the window for a second to catch a glimpse of Kyo's horrified face. He covered his mouth to cover a snicker. Oh how much he'd pay to have a camera at the moment. Kyo's face was priceless. The color had drained from his face and his eyes held a combination of fury and dread. The cat was practically pouting now that he knew he was going to be Uo's partner.
"Your partner is not negotiable… Next up… Tohru Honda and Yuki Sohma,"
"WHAT? NO WAY! I demand a redraw!" Minami snapped rising from her seat.
All her praying had just gone to waste. Not only was she not Yuki's partner, but Tohru, the evil witch, had to be the one he was paired up with. She scowled and leered malevolently at Tohru for a moment before turning around in her seat and folding her arms across her chest. Tohru's face turned a bright red. She hesitantly turned around to look at Yuki who was still faced towards the window, not paying any attention to the hollering from his fan club. Tohru wasn't sure how she felt about being Yuki's partner. A part of her was happy to be married to Yuki even if it was only a simulation, but the other half of her was worried about what his fan club would do to her.
"Sohma, did you hear me?!" Mayu shouted towards Yuki.
Yuki raised his eyebrows and turned towards her, "Yeah, I'm going to be Honda-san's partner."
Tohru flinched a bit self-consciously. He didn't sound very happy about being her partner. If he didn't want to be her partner, she'd beg Mayu to switch for him. She didn't have time to speak with Yuki and ask him for his opinion since Mayu went on telling people their partners, remarkably managing to ignore Minami's screams of disapproval about Tohru being Yuki's partner. She finally quieted down when Mayu assigned her partner to be Hanajima. Minami was sulking at this point and worrying about her life. As much as she liked Yuki, she still valued her life.
"Now come on up with your partner and take your baby," Mayu ordered everyone as she pulled out a gigantic box filled with plastic babies.
Tohru hopped over the foot from her desk to Yuki's desk, eager to learn how he really felt about being her partner. She did her best to ignore the evil glances she was getting from her classmates who were in the Yuki fan club and tapped his shoulder to get his attention. Instantly, he turned away from that window that he always seemed to be staring out of and looked up at her, giving her a questioning look. Tohru felt her stomach turn. Why did she feel so nervous all of a sudden? She twisted the hem of her top around her finger nervously and took a deep breath before she looked him in the eye.
"Yuki-kun?! Do y-you not want to be m-my part-partner?" Tohru squeaked.
Yuki stared at her for a moment before his face broke out in a smile. What on earth had made her think he didn't want to be her partner? He was happy that she was his partner for various reasons. First off, he had to admit that he was extremely thankful that he hadn't been stuck being married to some member of his fan club, but his other reason was rather simple. He was just happy to have been paired with Tohru. He loved spending time with her, he simply loved her. Besides, even if she hadn't been his partner, he probably would have ended up helping her anyways. It was just more convenient and less work to have them as partners.
"Why would I mind being your partner?"
"Um… I don't know… Because I'm not smart… and um…" she trailed off before asking, "So you really don't want a different partner?"
"Thought never crossed my mind. Besides… We being partners just makes sense if you know what I mean…" Yuki smiled at her.
Tohru looked down at her slightly round stomach with a blush. She did understand what he meant. They were going to be parents in a little over five months anyways. They might as well practice parenting together. Tohru put her hand on top of her bulging stomach and looked up at him with a small smile. Yuki stood up with a grin in return and took her hand, leading her towards the line to the front table before Mayu yelled at them for being the only ones not lining up to get their baby. They stood there in the back of the line, slowly moving forward to Mayu's desk. Uo passed them on the way to her desk, holding a plastic baby dressed in a pink outfit by its leg. Kyo was following after her with a displeased look across his face.
Yuki looked at them with an amused expression, "I don't think you're supposed to hold your baby like that."
"Yeah… You should know…" Uo muttered dryly.
"Why should he know? Stop talking to the prince so rudely!" Minami snapped.
She stomped over to them, holding her and Hana's baby by the back of its light blue shirt. Hana followed after her and stood in between Uo and Tohru. Uo slowly tilted her head in Minami's direction with a deadly glow in her eyes. Uo threw the baby at Kyo who barely caught it as she pulled out a large iron pipe covered with dried blood. She pointed the rod towards Minami dangerously. Anger glinted in her brown orbs. She was already annoyed since Kyo was her partner, and hearing Minami say that to her made her more irritated.
"Don't tell me what to do!" she yelled furiously.
"Uotani! Put that away! Sohma! Honda! Get over here already and take your baby," Mayu ordered as she held up the last baby.
"Y-yes!" Tohru squealed as she ran over and took the baby from Mayu.
She came back to Yuki with the fake baby cradled in her arms and the key locked in between her fingers. She seemed to be the only one who was holding her baby properly. She was probably the only one who knew how to carry a baby. Everyone else was holding their baby like Uo had been or how Minami was, and a couple was holding a baby with the head towards the ground like Kyo was. Kyo gripped the baby by its leg, not caring whether the plastic doll fell to the ground and broke or not.
"Ah-ah… I guess this is our baby…" Tohru whispered to Yuki.
Yuki nodded and smiled, staring at the plastic doll with large brown eyes that reminded him of Tohru's. He was about to point it out when Mayu ordered everyone to go sit down. Tohru obeyed and held onto the baby in her seat, continuing to treat it as if it was her real child. Instead of returning to look out the window, Yuki decided to watch Tohru. He found it adorable how she held the baby. Yuki watched Tohru rock the baby back and forth gently. If she was treating a doll like this, he didn't know how much better she could treat a real child. He could tell that she was going to be an amazing mother. There was no doubt in his mind about that.
"Tonight, you will all fill out this packet with your partner. It is due tomorrow," Mayu announced as she passed out the papers.
"Tonight?" groaned half of the students followed by complaints about being busy and not knowing where the other lived. All of which, Mayu ignored. Yuki and Tohru were the only ones who didn't utter anything since they lived with each other. There would be no problem getting together after school to work on the packet. They would be seeing each other anyways. Besides, Yuki helped her with her homework each night. Tohru glanced over at him with a smile.
"Just do it! It's not that hard!" Mayu snapped.
Everyone silenced down after that. They knew there would be no convincing Mayu to extend the due date. Every hour a baby would start crying which would disrupt Mayu's teaching and distract everyone from their work. One could say, hardly anything got finished in class today. They'd just have to work extra hard. The day tediously progressed on until the end of the day. Mayu stopped her lecture ten minutes before the bell rung to let everyone discuss their plans to meet tonight. By now, everyone despised their baby and hated the project. Everyone except for Tohru was starting to prefer tests over taking care of a wailing doll.
Uo looked over her shoulder at Kyo nonchalantly, "Your place."
"What?! Why my place?" Kyo demanded.
"My dad's a drunk, and our house is cramped. Besides, I want to see Tohru," Uo reasoned with a careless shrug.
Yuki glanced towards Tohru, "We'll work on it after your homework."
"Okay," Tohru agreed.
Minami hesitantly walked over to Hana's desk. She swallowed nervously. After Hana's brother had cursed her a year prior, Hana was someone Minami was deathly afraid of. She didn't want to hear those freaky voices again. Not to mention, Hana looked like a scary person anyways. Minami hated the fact that Hana could shock her with electric waves. Considering how poorly she got along with Tohru, Hana would probably shock her a lot now that they'd be seeing each other more often because of this project. She took a deep breath before struggling to speak, "Are we going to meet up at your place?"
"No. We'll be going home with Tohru," Hana replied calmly.
"WHAT?! Why would we meet at that witc- I mean Tohru's house?" Minami asked.
"The prince will be there. Why are you complaining."
Minami's face broke out into a dreamy smile as she imagined seeing the prince after school hours. He'd be shining under the alluring light of the setting sun before her eyes as they walked to Tohru's house. She sighed contently, dreaming of what could happen between them. Her mind was flooded with images of Yuki kissing her, embracing her, holding her hand, and other romantic gestures. A blush slipped onto her face as her thoughts got more intimate. Hana stopped looking at her and went back to reading her book which she had been reading during the whole class.
"I'll take that as a yes…" Hana muttered.
Tohru stood up with her hands pressed against the top of her desk and an extremely worried expression across her face. She jumped from one foot to the other. She hadn't meant to eavesdrop. It had been an accident, but because she and Yuki didn't have many plans to discuss, she could easily hear Hana's words. Yuki and Hana stared at her, both of them equally startled by Tohru's abrupt movement though Hana didn't show her bewilderment. Tohru flailed her arms around a bit trying to tell them something without speaking, but when they gave her another confused look, she leaned towards Hana's ear.
"AH! Hana-chan! You have to ask Yuki-kun and Kyo-kun before you come! And Shigure-san!" Tohru whispered into Hana's ear frantically.
Hana brushed aside what Tohru said with a half smile. Tohru's mouth dropped with fret. She didn't mind if Hana came over to visit her, but the house she lived in wasn't hers. She couldn't just invite people over without getting Shigure's permission or at least Yuki's and Kyo's approvals. Tohru chewed her bottom lip, turning towards Yuki desperately. He looked back at her. He had only heard a bit of what she had whispered, but he could figure out what she was worried about. By now, he knew what kind of things bothered her pretty well.
"It's okay Tohru, Shigure wouldn't mind," Yuki reassured her.
Tohru nodded and sat back down a bit hesitantly. His words had only comforted her slightly. If Shigure was mad, she'd apologize to him later on and make him something extra special for dinner. Minami had been too busy imagining her and Yuki together to hear anything that they had just said. If she had, there surly would have been a fit of yelling, but she just stood there and embraced the plastic doll, imagining it to be Yuki. They waited until the bell rung before a stream of complaining students left the room. Tohru followed after Yuki with the baby in her hands. Uo made a reluctant Kyo hold the baby and walked beside Tohru and Hanajima. Minami dawdled behind everyone with the baby squished in her arms, seeming to try and figure out if she really was going to get to see Yuki after school. Her dream soon faded away when she heard a sharp tone call her name.
"Minami!" Motoko hollered when she spotted the fan club girl walking behind Yuki.
Minami froze in her spot, the pictures of her and Yuki together vanishing from her mind when she heard Motoko. She let out an exasperated sigh. She knew she was going to get yelled at now by the overboard Yuki fan club president. She slowly turned around, awaiting her punishment for planning to see Yuki after school which was probably against some Yuki fan club rule Motoko hadn't told her about. Motoko raised her eyebrows at Minami, a hint of confusion and displeasure in her eyes, but when she saw Yuki looking at her, that look was quickly replaced with a faraway expression. Motoko's brain was quickly putting together poems about Yuki's beauty just at the sight of him, but her artistic spell was put to a sudden end when her eyes locked onto Tohru's. Her look hardened into a deadly one which made Tohru flinch.
"Minagawa-san…" Tohru and Yuki greeted her politely in unison.
"Hello Yuki-kun," Motoko chirped before turning towards Tohru, "Hello slut."
Motoko was still smiling, even after saying what she had to Tohru, but of course, she had said it in a hushed voice so that Yuki wouldn't be able to make out her word choice. As much as she hated it, she couldn't deny that Yuki and Tohru were close friends. Come to think of it, she hadn't even seen Yuki without Tohru being beside him all year, but even if she loathed Tohru, she wouldn't be downright mean and call her names in front of Yuki (or if she did, she wouldn't let him hear her). She wouldn't dare do anything that could potentially make Yuki hate her, but the problem with speaking so softly was that Tohru didn't hear the insult either.
"Eh? What did you say?" Tohru asked innocently with her head tilted to the side.
"Nothing, just that I need to speak with Minami," Motoko lied as she dragged Minami down the hall.
Minami wiggled around, trying to escape Motoko's hold, but Motoko just gripped her arm tighter. She watched Yuki fade away and disappear completely when they turned the corner at the end of the hallway. It was only then did Motoko release her. Minami brushed off her arm with a frown. She glowered at Motoko impatiently, eager to get back to Yuki. She couldn't wait to see how things progressed between the two of them, but Motoko didn't appear to want Minami to go back. Motoko folded her arms across her chest with a bothered expression. Something about Minami following after Yuki and ogling him from behind annoyed her. It aggravated her enough to know that Minami got to be in Yuki's class and she couldn't be.
"What do you want?!" Minami snapped impatiently.
"Why are you following the prince?" Motoko hissed once she was sure they were out of Yuki's hearing range.
"It's for a project," Minami smirked fanning herself as a bragging gesture.
"And what project would that be?" Motoko demanded.
"The baby one," Minami answered smugly.
Minami held up the baby she had hated a minute ago and kissed it on the forehead before hugging it again. Minami could tell by Motoko's twisted face that she was beyond envious. Minami had originally stopped liking this project when she found out that she wasn't going to be Yuki's partner, but she was beginning to like it again, now that it made Motoko jealous of her. Even though she and Motoko shared several interests, mainly Yuki, she wouldn't consider Motoko her friend. In fact, Motoko was more like her rival in love, and she was willing to do anything to make Motoko envy her as much as possible.
"What?! Are you his partner?" Motoko yelled.
Minami frowned and sulked for a minute before shaking her head, "No… He's paired up with that witch…"
Motoko's face darkened after hearing that Tohru was Yuki's partner. She considered hurting Tohru for a second before she remembered the scene she had just tore Minami from a minute ago, "Well if you're going to Yuki's house then I want to come too!"
"WHAT?! No way! Besides, we're just going to Honda-san's house!" Minami argued.
"I'll be going anyways… Just to make sure that witch doesn't try anything with my Yuki."
They argued, Minami trying to keep Motoko from coming with them and Motoko arguing that she should be able to come since she's the president of the fan club. Minami didn't want Motoko to intrude on her date with Yuki, and Motoko did not want to leave Yuki alone with four other girls. She didn't trust any of them with her Yuki, especially Tohru and Minami. No one was going to have Yuki's heart but her if she could help it. She'd sell her soul to the devil if that would make Yuki love her. She was downright desperate now that her last year of high school was nearing its end.
Meanwhile, Yuki, Tohru, Uo, Hana, and Kyo were playing rock, paper, scissors to see who'd go get Minami. They had decided this after they had turned down Uo's suggestion to ditch Minami and leave without her (Tohru didn't want to do that). Tohru lost to everyone's balled fists as 'rock' with her two fingers extended in the form of scissors. Yuki offered to go with her, seeing as she looked nervous. She couldn't go by herself. If it had been anyone else she was getting, she would have gladly gone alone, but Minami and Motoko frightened her a little. Tohru had been more than relieved and grateful when Yuki said he'd go with her. The couple started down the hall, shocked to hear the yelling from where they were. They exchanged a confused look before continuing to walk. Tohru stopped a foot away from the two fan club members.
"Um… Motoko-san? Minami-san?" Tohru squeaked nervously.
They blatantly ignored Tohru and went on bickering until Yuki spoke, "Minagawa-senpai, is there something you need with Minami-san? We have to get going soon…"
"Yuki-kun! Minami here is refusing my generous offer to go with you guys and help you with this project! Since I already did this last year, I have experience and can help," Motoko insisted not paying any attention to the dirty look she received from Minami.
"Ah well… I don't see anything wrong with that…" Yuki said looking sideways at Tohru's smiling face as she nodded in agreement.
With that being said, Motoko squealed happily and latched herself to Yuki's left arm. Tohru gasped softly, her eyes bulging. Tohru swallowed nervously and looked down at her feet. She didn't like Motoko holding the boy she loved like that; Tohru didn't like it at all. Tohru squeezed her eyes shut, praying that Motoko would release Yuki soon. Yuki glanced at Tohru. He had never seen such an expression on her face before. He blinked, wondering if it was jealously that he saw, but why would Tohru be jealous? The question rang in his head as he tried to free his arm without transforming. Minami unintentionally helped him when she furiously tore Motoko off of Yuki.
Glad to have some feeling back in his arm, Yuki smiled and took Tohru's hand in his. Tohru's eyes snapped open when she felt his warm hand enclose hers. She peered down at the pale hand, and then to Yuki's face. She blushed shyly as he tugged her back to their group of friends with two fighting fan girls behind them who were too busy arguing to notice the physical bond between Yuki and Tohru. The four of them walked to Shigure's house, a trip that would have been peaceful and quiet if not for Minami and Motoko who didn't even stop arguing on the way to Shigure's house.
Upon arriving on the Japanese-style house, Yuki and Kyo walked up the porch rather calmly for people who supposedly didn't live here in Tohru's house. They slid open the door and removed their shoes, placing them beside the door without a pause or any hesitation. Minami and Motoko stayed behind, observing the house with criticizing eyes. They refused to like anything that belonged to Tohru. Seeing as they still thought this was Tohru's house, they didn't like it one bit. Uo listened to Motoko and Minami's disapproval of the house with a self-satisfied smirk. She couldn't wait to see how they justified what they were saying now when they found out this was where Yuki lived as well.
"We're home…" Yuki and Kyo muttered to Shigure.
Tohru came in next with a more cheerful greeting, "Hello Shigure-san! I'm home with Uo-chan, Hana-chan, Minami-san, and Motoko-senpai to work on our projects if you don't mind."
"Why would I mind having some high school girls over?" Shigure cooed with a sly smile across his face.
"Pervert!" Yuki and Kyo shouted together.
They both flung their book bags at the grown man furiously. The backpacks hit Shigure straight in the face, sending him to the ground. After a minute and a twitch or two, Shigure peeled the backpacks off his red face and sat up dizzily. Uo watched with an amused expression as Tohru waved her hands around worriedly. Motoko and Minami stared with wide distraught eyes. They had never seen their prince act so violently. Actually, they had never even seen Yuki angry. Yuki stood by Tohru, keeping her from checking on Shigure. His eyebrows were contorted, showing his annoyance to anyone who looked his way.
"Yuki-kun, Kyo-kun, must you torture your elders? What do you keep in these bags anyways?" Shigure asked gesturing the bags he had set on the floor beside him.
"They're called school books. Seeing as you are an author yourself, I'm assuming you know what those are, but for the information within, I'm not so sure," Yuki replied rather coldly.
"Mroooou… Yuki-kun, you're so cold. I should tell Aya about this behavior!"
"Do me a big favor dear cousin of mine. Just die. Die, and save me the trouble of killing you," Yuki said with a cruel smile across his face.
Yuki held the phone in his hands to prevent Shigure from making said phone call to Ayame as Shigure pouted and attempted to get the phone from him. Minami and Motoko watched their prince talk to this man inside Tohru's house with confused faces. They didn't understand why Yuki and Kyo would be so comfortable inside Tohru's house or why they would even know someone inside Tohru's house. They exchanged a bewildered look, trying to figure out what was going on, but they only saw a reflection of their confusion. Uo sniggered in the background, getting more interested by the second.
"Wait, Yuki-kun, this is your cousin?" Motoko asked with her finger extended towards Shigure.
"Sadly yes," Yuki answered before he hit Shigure on the head with the phone.
"But what is he doing in Honda-san's house?" Minami asked.
"Hmm? What do you mean? Honda-san lives with Kyo, I, and our cousin Shigure," Yuki explained nonchalantly.
"WHAT?!" Motoko and Minami shrieked.
"It's not THAT hard to understand, you know? You see, Prince Charming there invited Tohru to stay with him and the writer dude when her grandpa's house was under construction, but when she went back to her grandpa's, he and Kyo Kyo missed her so they went to her grandpa's house and begged her to come back. So now Tohru lives here," Uo told her with a wry smile.
"WHAT? Yuki-kun, tell me she's lying!" Motoko whined.
"She has the story correct basically," Yuki responded with a shrug.
Motoko's and Minami's faces were deathly pale as they shook their heads in disbelief. They couldn't believe this; they didn't want to believe this. It was bad enough that Tohru was Yuki's friend. It killed them a little inside to know that Tohru was going to be his wife for a project, but to hear that she also lived under the same roof as Yuki, they couldn't take it. No female was supposed to enter the prince's house, and here Tohru had been living with him all this time? They couldn't even think about what went on behind closed doors inside this house. Tohru looked at the two Yuki fans with worry filled eyes. They looked ready to faint at any moment.
"Should we start working now? Uotani-san, you can work with Kyo in his room if you would like, Minami-san you can work with Hanajima-san in Tohru's room if that is alright with her, and Tohru and I can work in my room," Yuki shrugged.
"That's okay with me. I mean… I don't mind…" Tohru smiled.
"Maybe I don't want to work in Kyon's room," Uo muttered.
"Don't worry Tohru-kun, I shall take good care of your room for you," Hana told Tohru.
Minami trembled slightly in her spot. Tohru had her own room in Yuki's house; Tohru had her own room, a place to stay and sleep in Yuki's house. This was unacceptable to both Minami and Motoko. Tohru had already done so many things which were against the Yuki fan club rules. She spoke with Yuki without being with another person, she didn't call him what she was supposed to according to their rules, heck now she lived with him. She probably touched his stuff too. She had to be punished later on. This wasn't right. They couldn't let this go on any longer. Too many rules had been broken. They had to stop Tohru before she bewitched Yuki and stole his vulnerable heart, or at least that's what they thought. Too bad they didn't know Tohru had already won his heart over, without the use of spells and curses.
"Ah! I trust you! Don't worry!" Tohru reassured Hana.
"And I'll go from room to room…" Motoko offered even though she only planned on staying in Yuki's room.
"Okay then…" Yuki mumbled before starting for the stairs.
---
Yuki sat on the floor beside Tohru at the table inside his messy room. A few dirty outfits that had once been draped over chairs, hanging off the ceiling fan, and crumpled on the floor were carelessly shoved under the bed to give a his room a cleaner feeling though that didn't help hide the papers that stuck out of drawers and books that were scattered across the floor and table. Motoko sat on top of Yuki's unmade bed, criticizing practically everything Tohru said. Tohru had gotten used to hardly speaking and letting Yuki read everything to her. She answered a couple questions with a nod or a couple of words, but nothing more.
"Okay… So according to this chart… We have a job during this project that is determined by our class rank… I'm an anesthesiologist… and you would be a… employee at McDonald's…." Yuki told her.
"Ah-ha…. Yes… You are correct… I'll get paid… minimum wage… and you'll get paid 30,000,000 yen a year…" Tohru whispered.
Her pen slipped out of her hand and hit the table with a clank. She gaped at the payment amount and covered her mouth with her hand. She was sure she could live years with that much money. Tohru faced downward embarrassedly and quickly picked up her pen before she got another snide comment from Motoko. She knew that this was just a project. Yuki didn't really have that job, and he wouldn't really be getting that much money every year, but it still was a shock to her. The difference between their jobs was extremely large. She was ashamed to see that her class rank was only good enough to get her a job at McDonald's. Yuki gazed at her worriedly, but he only got her to blush so he went on answering the questions with her.
"Okay so… According to this next chart, with housing costing, about 887,500 yen, food costing 351,100 yen, transportation at 339,600 yen, clothing at 134,100 yen, healthcare at 135,600 yen, childcare and education costing 280,800 yen, and a miscellaneous cost of 280,800 yen, we'll be spending about 24,370 annually on the baby, and with my salary and yours combined we'll be fine," Yuki told her as he scrawled numbers down on the packet.
Tohru's head was spinning as she listened to him list all of those numbers. Raising a child sounded really expensive. She wasn't sure she'd be able to handle the child in her stomach if she was going to end up being a single mom working at McDonalds. Without Yuki's salary, she knew that she wouldn't be able to take care of the baby according to the costs Mayu provided her with. She was terrible at math, but she could figure that out. She would be bankrupt. Tohru clutched the plastic doll closer to her for comfort. Tohru hoped her daughter's life wouldn't be lived in the streets. She'd have to work extra hard now so she'd be able to pay for things her daughter would need.
"Looks like we'll have a lot of money left over… So having another child wouldn't be a problem…" Yuki said as he continued to fill out the packet.
"Wha-what?" Tohru squeaked.
"It's question seventeen Tohru," Yuki explained to her with an amused expression.
Tohru looked down with a sheepish smile.
"Hmph, what did you think he meant by that?" Motoko snapped at Tohru.
Tohru bit her lip, too scared to respond. Motoko scared her a lot more lately. Every time Motoko turned her way or said something, Tohru would unintentionally jump a bit out of fright. She couldn't help herself. Before Motoko was just another possessive fan girl, but the way Motoko spoke to her now sent shivers down her spine. Motoko's voice held a new degree of hatred when she spoke to her recently, and Tohru wasn't sure why. All she knew was that Motoko terrified her, but she didn't want Motoko to hate her, regardless of how Motoko treated her.
Yuki paused and glanced down at Tohru with eyes full of concern. It was needless to say that Tohru's wants and needs mattered more to him than Motoko's. Since he was in love with Tohru and knew her better than Motoko, he wanted her to be happy and comfortable. He looked up at Motoko who was supposed to be rotating around rooms. So far, she had only gone to his. He knew Motoko loved him more than anything else, but if she was bothering Tohru by staying here, he didn't want her in his room any longer. He looked around his room, trying to think of a good excuse to ask her to leave without offending her in any way. Lucky for him, he heard a crash and some screams coming from Kyo's room which was across the hall.
"I TOLD YOU! SHUT UP! I don't give a damn about this project! Why don't you do the rest of the fucking packet by yourself if you're so smart?!" Uo snapped furiously.
There were several more crashes and a scream of disdain from Shigure who was now standing outside of Kyo's door shouting about the condition of his house. An alarmed Tohru jumped to her feet. She fretfully opened Yuki's door and started to Kyo's room to make sure Uo and Kyo were okay. Yuki got up after her, catching up to her just in time to pull her away from a chair that came flying out of Kyo's door. Motoko stood up as well, but she lingered by Yuki's door, not wanting to leave. She couldn't leave, not after she had finally gotten inside his room. She wanted to burn the image into her mind.
"BITCH! Why did you have to go and break my bed?! Now where am I supposed to sleep?!!! I told you! You calculated everything wrong! That's it! Jeez!" Kyo roared.
"Well maybe YOU should do the frickin' calculating then Mr. Wise-ass!" Uo shouted.
"Motoko-senpai, why don't you help Kyo and Uotani-san with this project?" Yuki suggested, "They sound like they need more help than us. We're fine on our own. Thank you."
Motoko looked reluctant to leave, but she couldn't bring herself to argue with Yuki. As long as he was happy, she'd do anything for him. If he asked her to, she'd jump off his roof or crawl around the floor and bark like a dog. She sighed, taking a step outside his room. She took in one last whiff of the lovely scent of his room and shot a glare at Tohru before she headed into Kyo's room. Before entering, she covered her head with her hands in attempt to keep anything from hitting her.
Yuki smiled to himself, thankful that Motoko was no longer in his room. He wouldn't say it, but her remarks to Tohru annoyed him. He took her hand and led Tohru back to his room. Inside, Tohru relaxed greatly. She slouched back in her seat and let out a deep breath. With a smile, she gazed up at Yuki, wondering how she could thank him without telling him her fear of Motoko. As if he understood what she was thinking, he grinned at her, "I don't really like her being here either."
She gaped at him. That was one of the last things she expected to hear from her sweet kind prince. He laughed at her expression. Hearing that beautiful sound, she couldn't help but join in with her giggles. She was laughing so hard with him that her pen fell again. This time it rolled off her lap and landed on the floor between them. They both reached for it at the same time, hardly missing each other's foreheads. Yuki's fingers grasped the pen before hers. Her hand only managed to cover his. Tohru stared at the arrangement of their hands before blushing. He looked up at the top of her head, waiting for her to move her hand so he could give her the pen back, but that's not what she did. Instead, she turned her head upwards so that she was facing him again. She managed to do more than that though.
Tohru gazed into his wide silver eyes, wondering what she had done that had shocked him. She blinked innocently a couple of times, failing to realize the placement of her lips over his. It was only when she opened her mouth to speak did she feel his lips against hers. It had been such a quick and subtle movement that she hadn't even noticed the contact. Now her face was a dark shade of red, and she gasped, or so she thought she did, but that sound came from the Yuki fan club president who was standing at the door. Another sound, a mix of a childish giggle and a snort, followed that gasp. Shigure's head was by the door, and he was grinning widely.
Seeing as Tohru was too shocked to move, Yuki was the one who pulled away. His face was a light pink but no where close to the dark red blush across Tohru's face. He turned his face downwards for a second before remembering the pen and lifting it up and handing it to her. Tohru timidly took the pen and hung her head low in an attempt to keep him from noticing her red face. She wanted to disappear and she wanted Motoko and Shigure to stop staring at her, but most of all, she had to know how Yuki felt about what had just happened between them. Was he offended?
"Ooh! Naughty Yuki-kun! Don't steal my little housewife's kisses!" Shigure exclaimed a little louder than necessary.
"Shut it Shigure. It was an accident," Yuki told him calmly.
"Suuuuuuuuure it was!"
Motoko stormed into the room angrily, extending a shaky finger towards Tohru, "YOU! How dare you steal Yuki-sama's first kiss!"
Tohru's head jerked up. Her embarrassment was quickly replaced with terror, but the moment could hardly be serious with Shigure in the room. At Motoko's comment, Shigure had to burst out laughing hysterically. He dropped down on the floor and rolled around for a minute before he tried to speak. Yuki glowered at the man, and kicked him in the abdomen. That was enough to stop Shigure's hysterical fit. Shigure sat up again and rubbed his stomach with a partially serious expression.
"Y-Yuki-sa-sama? First kiss? Har-Hardly! He's not even an innocent virgin anymore!" Shigure choked out.
"SHUT UP!" Yuki snapped as he kicked Shigure again.
"No denials Yuki-saaaaaaaaaama?" Shigure laughed.
Yuki was silent while Shigure continued to laugh. Motoko's hand dropped lifelessly down to her side as her face turned stark white. Her Yuki couldn't have lost his virginity already... A thump sounded as Motoko's body hit the ground. The sound was soon followed by a similar sound which was caused by Minami's body. She didn't see the kiss, but Shigure had spoken rather loudly. Both girls were shocked enough to faint when they heard what Shigure had to say about their prince.
Tohru's jaw dropped. The kiss and her embarrassment were cast aside as she scurried off to help Motoko. The kiss had been pushed to the back of her mind, but in no way had it been forgotten. The moment, the warmth, the taste of his lips… They were all engraved into her mind. She wouldn't forget it, not now or ever, and neither would he.