Tohru happily scrawled the last words to her response for the last question, finishing up the test she had to stay behind to finish. She had always been a slow test taker, often staying after school to complete them. She smiled, humming to herself as she reread her answers, checking to make sure they said what she wanted them to before she turned it in. Mayu nodded after Tohru set her test down, dismissing her with a wave. Tohru skipped down the row and gathered her things cheerfully to leave. It was a relief to be done with the test, though she was sure she had gotten most of them wrong.

"Goodbye, thank you for staying after so I could finish," Tohru bowed to Mayu before slipping out of the classroom.

She glanced up at the clock on the wall, surprised to find that school had been over for almost an hour. That meant Yuki's meeting had probably ended by now, and he would be heading home as well. This cheered her. Walking home with Yuki never ceased to be one of her favorite activities. With a grin across her face, Tohru strolled off to the student council room.

---

Yuki sighed as he watched the other members of the student council run out of the room, leaving him to clean up the mess they had left. He muttered a curse for Manabe, hoping he'd get hit by a bus or something on his way home, as he picked up the stack of papers from the floor that the vice president had knocked over on his way out. The once white sheets of paper were now covered with three different sets of foot prints. He tried his best to dust off the papers as he piled them back up, but it only seemed that he spread around the filth. After setting the heap of papers back on the corner of the teacher's desk where it belonged, he moved onto picking up the broken pieces of chalk scattered across the floor. Machi would have liked that, if she had shown up today.

He was surprised to see a pair of hands hold the rest of the pieces of chalk out to him. Yuki glanced up at Haru, thanking him as he took the small white pieces from him.

"Do you need something, Haru?" Yuki asked.

"Just came to see if you had confessed to Honda-san yet," Haru said simply.

Yuki rolled his eyes at the white haired teen before he stood up and shoved the chalk bits into a small box. He ignored Haru's curious expression and opened a drawer behind the teacher's desk, returning the box while hoping nobody would notice the once new chalk box now didn't contain a single whole piece of chalk. Haru was still watching him when he finished, waiting for a response that Yuki didn't plan on giving him. Yuki didn't understand why his life seemed to interest everybody around him, especially since all he wanted was some privacy.

"I'll take that as a 'no'," Haru muttered in a disappointed voice.

"What's it to you anyways?" Yuki retorted, irritated.

Haru was silent as he plopped himself on top of a desk by Yuki. How long it was taking Yuki to work up the courage to tell Tohru how he felt about her was beginning to annoy Haru. He didn't understand why Yuki wouldn't tell her. It was quite obvious to him that Tohru loved Yuki. He didn't even see her that often, but every time he did, she was always around Yuki with a smile and a small blush, quite like the one across Yuki's face at the moment but much darker. Didn't Yuki ever notice how Tohru was always staring at him whenever she wasn't around him or how she seemed like someone was sending her off to hell each time she left his side? Haru didn't think she could make her feelings much clearer unless she wrote she loved him across her forehead.

"Because one day you're going to marry her. Of course it concerns me since I'm going to be your best man, right?" Haru inquired seriously.

Yuki shook his head in disbelief, keeping quiet. Haru was being as unreasonable as ever, planning a marriage and deciding he'd be the best man before Yuki was even dating Tohru. Despite how sure Haru was over Tohru's feelings, Yuki was hardly convinced. She never seemed to show much interest him other than friendship, but she treated everyone as a friend. She had even been nice and polite to his mother! That left him with no confidence to tell her anything. He loved her more than he should, and she probably was his friend at most. He knew he should be grateful for that, content even, but he was barely satisfied. Love was selfish, and he was possessive, he knew that much. Simple friendship would never be enough for him.

"I'm not teasing you. Why are you afraid, Yuki? You two are meant to be. You already have a kid on the way. How long will it take before you guys are married? Just confess already," Haru urged impatiently.

"Honestly, Haru, I can't even see myself with Tohru ten years from now… Not even five…" Yuki whispered.

Tohru froze at the doorway, her mouth dropping open as her ears swallowed Yuki's words. He didn't want her around him anymore. Suddenly, it was difficult to breathe, and she couldn't swallow the lump lodged in her throat. She couldn't think of anything other than what he had just said. Her brain picked at the words, rearranging them and repeating them until her heart was ready to jump out of her chest. He didn't want her. Not even as a friend. Her eyes burned as she retreated from the room before either Yuki or Haru noticed she was even there. She tore down the hallways, blinded by tears as she stumbled across the school.

She was already at the end of the hallway, too far away to hear Yuki mumble something about her being too good for him. His misinterpreted words rang in her ears, dancing around and stabbing at her heart, digging deeper after each round. She clutched her chest, begging the pain to go away, but it seemed to hurt more with each passing second. She had always known it was unlikely for Yuki to love her back, and she had thought she had prepared herself well for heartbreak, but she had never imagined the pain to consume her as a burning fire would. Her body throbbed all over, inside and out. She couldn't even remember hurting this much ever before in her life.

Heartbroken, she darted the rest of the way to Shigure's house and rushed to her room, slipping past Kyo and Shigure and ignoring the questions directed at her. She only allowed herself to drop on her bed and cry for five minutes before she set to work, shoving all her belongings into a suitcase. If Yuki didn't want to be around her anymore, she'd save him the trouble of waiting until they graduated. She'd go back to her grandpa's. It was the least she could do for him. The only way she could think of to pay him back. She wouldn't force him to go through the pregnancy with her if he didn't want to, nor would she burden him with her presence and smother him with her feelings anymore. Yuki had already been too generous to her, helping her through life in general, and in the end, he was too nice to even suggest her return to her own home.

With all her clothing and other possessions shoved into two suitcases, she wiped at her wet, red, and puffy eyes, choked back her sobs, and headed out of her room to say her goodbyes before Yuki returned. She wasn't sure she'd be able to leave if he was at home while she left. Just being in the same room as him tended to make her a bit lightheaded and her legs shake. Besides, it would be inconsiderate to bother him with her trivial departure. After all, he had suffered with her living with him for two years already. It was about time she let him have what he wanted for once. He deserved that at the least.

Tohru took a deep breath before lugging her suitcases down the stairs and setting them beside the staircase. Tediously, she wandered over to the kitchen where Shigure and Kyo were still seated, apologizing for ignoring them earlier before she started to say her goodbyes. It was about time she stopped taking advantage of their kindness. Shigure and Kyo stopped focusing on anything but her as she began to speak.

"Shigure-san, thank you for letting me stay here… I-I really appreciate it, b-but I think it's time for me to l-leave."

"Tohru-kun, you're leaving? You don't have to. We love having you live here," Shigure insisted.

"I-I can't stay here forever… It wouldn't be right. I h-have to go," Tohru whispered, struggling not to cry.

Shigure was speechless. He had never seen her so determined to do anything. She had always been a pushover. Usually, she would have given in by now and agree to stay since he wanted her to, but she wasn't budging one bit. He glanced over at Kyo, finding the teenager just as baffled as he was. Shigure watched her for a brief moment before deciding to let her have her way, confident that she wouldn't be able to stay away for long, not with Yuki here. He knew as well as anyone else how Tohru felt about Yuki. Tohru fidgeted in her spot, anxious to get going. Yuki would get home any minute now.

"Well, if you feel that way… I can't stop you, but you know you can always come back here, okay? Take care of yourself, Tohru-kun, and be sure to come back and visit," Shigure told her.

"I w-will… Thank you. G-Goodbye Shigure-san, Kyo-kun," Tohru forced a smile onto her face, although smiling was the last thing she felt like doing at the moment.

She bowed to them before walking back to her luggage. Slipping her fingers through the handles, she lifted them sadly. She didn't want to leave, yet her desire to please Yuki took priority over her own wishes. It was time she did something for someone else. She couldn't be selfish. He had been kind enough to let her stay here despite his feelings toward it. Fighting back tears, she passed Kyo and Shigure on her way to the door with a faint smile. She didn't want them to know how badly she wanted to stay. Moving out was her choice, and she wouldn't have any of them feeling guilty over it if she could help it.

"Tohru-kun, you're not going to stay to say goodbye to Yuki-kun?" Shigure asked in a shocked tone before she exited.

Tohru shook her head as she opened the door and stepped outside. Shigure and Kyo exchanged baffled expressions. If there was only one person she could say goodbye to, they were certain it'd be Yuki, but she didn't even seem willing to wait five minutes for him to get here. For some reason they suspected to be Yuki, she was preoccupied by something and eager to get going. By the time her feet touched the bottom steps, she didn't seem to be paying attention to anything but her thoughts, making her surprised when she realized Kyo had followed her out of the house. She stopped on the edge of the porch, turning back to face him with a confused expression, but he didn't speak until he closed the door.

"Are you leaving because of the damn rat?" Kyo questioned bluntly.

Tohru didn't respond, turning her face downwards to hide her forlorn expression. She hadn't given him a confirmation to his accusation, but her body language made her intentions clear enough. She flinched at the sound of something breaking. Moving her eyes a couple of feet from her shoes, she found shards of broken ceramic covering the dirt. Stealing a glance upwards, she found a furious expression across Kyo's face. He stomped over to her, clenching his hands in shaking, tight fists.

"What did he say to you? I'll kill him!" Kyo roared.

"He didn't say anything to me," she put extra emphasis on the last two words to keep it from coming out as a lie.

Despite her words, Kyo still blamed Yuki, knowing there wouldn't be any reason for Tohru to move out crying if it wasn't for something Yuki had done. Nobody decided to leave home without a cause, and since she hadn't even mentioned moving at all until a few minutes ago, he could tell it was a last minute decision. This left him with the impression that Yuki must have done something awful to her to make her pack her things, and he wanted to know exactly what it was that was motivating her to move, but he'd settle for trying to convince her to stay instead.

"He's not the whole world, you know that, right? You don't have to leave just because the damn rat doesn't love you. He's just a coldhearted jerk!" Kyo yelled.

"Kyo-kun… Yuki-kun is my world…" Tohru admitted softly.

Releasing her suitcases, she covered her mouth with both of her hands, stifling cries that demanded to come out. Taking a few deep, ragged breaths, she swallowed her sobs before she ran her arm across her face, drying her tears. Tohru made an attempt to smile, but it only seemed to make her want to curl up in a ball and weep, and she didn't have time to do that. Yuki would get home soon. She didn't want to make him endure unnecessary time with her for something as pointless as a goodbye, regardless of how much it'd mean to her.

"I love you too, you know that?" Kyo pointed out, frowning with sadness.

"I know… And I'm sorry…"

"That's not good enough for you, is it?"

"Kyo-kun, I-"

"Whatever. Just don't forget that I'll always be there for you," Kyo reassured her.

"Thank you, Kyo-kun… I'll miss you…" she whispered, "Goodbye…"

Picking up her luggage again, she shuffled down the dirt path, disappearing from Kyo's view. Tohru sucked in a deep breath, refusing to cry. She didn't want anyone to know how much she'd cried already. She was sure her red, puffy eyes made her agony painfully clear enough. Trudging down the sidewalk, she eventually came across the familiar home of her grandpa. Slowly, she climbed the steps to her grandfather's house and rang the doorbell. Her grandfather answered the door a second later, surprised to see her there with suitcases in her hands.

"Grandpa, can I move back in with you, please?"

He didn't say anything as he opened the door wider, allowing her inside. She stumbled in, fighting with tears all over again. Even this house was filled with memories of him. The time he had come with Kyo to bring her back to Shigure's house instantly began replaying in her head, and she didn't bother to conceal the tears that began dripping off her face.

---

"She what?!" Yuki demanded.

"She moved out. You just missed her. She left a few minutes ago," Shigure responded with a sigh.

Yuki was too bewildered to even be angry. His brain slowly digested the information. Tohru had left. Forever. And she didn't even consider him important enough to stay and say goodbye to. An unfathomable amount of pain washed over his body, stunning him for a moment and leaving his body slightly trembling. He couldn't accept this. Tohru couldn't leave. She was the only sane person who had lived in this house. What were they going to do without her? What was he going to do? Already, he missed her presence. He needed her back or at least a reason behind her departure, but the first was preferable.

"Why did she leave?! Why didn't you stop her?!"

"She didn't give a reason. She seemed determined to leave. I don't think I could have convinced her to stay," Shigure replied.

"So you didn't even try to?!"

"Yuki, we can't force her to stay here if she doesn't want to."

Shaking his head, Yuki left the room, bounding up the stairs to Tohru's room. He opened her door, bewildered by the now empty room. Yuki walked inside, breathing in the sweet scent of strawberries that always seemed to follow her. She couldn't be gone. She just couldn't be. Yuki wasn't ready for her to leave yet. He hadn't even told her how he felt about her yet. Just seeing her in school hardly seemed like enough time with the teachers lecturing most of the class periods. Besides, they'd be graduating in a year. What excuse would he have to see her then?

Pacing around her room, he was shocked to find damp spots on the carpet. Learning he was stepping on pools of Tohru's tears, he bent over, kneeling on the floor and fingering the wet patch of carpeting. Tohru had cried. This could only mean she didn't want to leave. It filled him with some joy to learn that, but now, he was overwhelmed with curiosity. What had he done to compel her to leave without saying a word to him? He was too distracted to hear Kyo enter the room or to even dodge the attack. The next thing he was aware of, he was sitting on the floor, clutching his throbbing jaw.

"This is all your goddamn fault, damn rat!"

"What the hell are you talking about?" Yuki demanded, irritated, but not angered enough to bother to get up and give Kyo a bashing.

"This is all you fault, stupid rat," Kyo hissed, repeating himself.

"How is it my fault? I didn't do anything to her. I haven't even seen her since class let out."

"You obviously did something. Why else would she have left? She thinks you don't like her anymore or some other crazy thought like that," Kyo snarled.

Dumbfounded, Yuki stared at Kyo, wondering how Tohru had gotten that impression. He hadn't treated her any differently, and he wouldn't even dream of saying something hurtful to her. Hadn't he just told her he cared about her last week? Granted, it wasn't the beautifully composed confession of love he had wanted to tell her, but surely, it was enough to let her know not liking her couldn't be farther from the truth. Obviously, he hadn't made his affection towards her clear enough.

"She… She thinks I don't like her? Why would she think that?"

"How the hell would I know?! It's just your goddamn fault, and you better fix it."

"Well, did she tell you where she went?" Yuki asked.

Kyo was speechless for a moment, "Damn it. I forgot to ask her where she was going."

The red head darted out of Tohru's room and out the backdoor, trying to see if he could track Tohru down, but Yuki stayed where he was. He knew better than to run around aimlessly outside. Tohru had probably gotten to wherever she had intended to with all the time they had wasted asking stupid questions and yelling at each other. He reached for her nightstand, picking up the one thing she had left. It was a frame, enclosing a picture of himself, Tohru, and Kyo. He flung it across the room, muttering angry profanities as it crashed against the wall. He was at a loss of what to do besides let the tear dripping down his face join her previously shed ones on the carpet.

For a story revolving around a pregnancy, that chapter had nothing to do with it whatsoever. ;D Remember, I LIKE YUKIRU. So just correct my mistakes and... know that this IS a happily ever after?