Haru stared out the window in his room for a moment. He let out a long sigh and went back to pacing around his room. Storm clouds were brewing in the once bright blue sky. As usual, he was concerned for his sister's safety. Tohru had insisted on going to the store to get more bandages for him since he had complained about not having any clean ones. For once, the entire palace had run out of bandages. No matter what anyone told Tohru, she wouldn't let a servant go in her place nor would she let anyone accompany her. Why did she have to be so stubborn? The sun was already about to set when she had left, and now, the sky was crying out with thunder. He knew she hated both the dark and thunder, but it looked like she'd be encountering both unless she got home quickly.

Yuki had been his first thought explaining why she had wanted to go alone, but he remembered how Yuki had left yesterday. There was no way they could have planned their next meeting in such a short period of time, but why else would Tohru want to go to town alone? It never crossed his mind that Yuki and Tohru had exchanged phone numbers a while back, but even so Yuki wasn't the cause of Tohru's eagerness to go out alone. She just felt the need for some time by herself, but Haru would just have to wait until she returned before he found that out.

---

Meanwhile, Yuki browsed through the silk fabrics in a large tailor shop. He fingered though the smooth selection in front of him. There were so many different colors and patterns. Yuki had no idea which one to pick. He stared at the rack a moment longer before settling on a lovely embroidered blue cloth with a light green hem with dragons lining the edge. The texture and quality of the blue fabric stuck out from the rest, not that he really knew anything about buying fabrics. If he chose poorly, despite Ayame's efforts to teach him the difference between low quality fabric and high quality fabric, he'd refuse to come back. He wasn't even sure how Ayame had convinced him to go out for him. He picked up his choice and headed over to the counter.

"Stupid Niisan… He can't even go out and buy his own fabric! Why do I have to do this?" Yuki muttered as he walked over to the counter.

"Hmm? Did you say something sir?" the vendor asked.

"Ah… No… I'll take ten yards of this," Yuki replied setting the fabric onto the counter.

"He better be satisfied with this…" Yuki mumbled as the lady cut the fabric selection.

When she had finished cutting off ten yards for him, Yuki handed her the payment and took the bagged cloth. He walked out of the store, eager to get home. He had better things to do than hang around in town if Tohru wasn't here with him. He shuffled down the street with the plastic bag slung over his shoulder carelessly. Glancing up at the sky, he realized he'd have to hurry. There were huge storm clouds gathering above. By the looks of it, it didn't look like he'd make it home before it began to rain. A rain drop fell from the sky and landed on the tip of his pale nose. He groaned as more droplets followed that one.

---

Tohru scurried out of the building, clutching the bag of bandages close to her chest. Pellets of rain fell to the ground in a light drizzle. The streets were empty and gloomy; most of the shops were closed already. She bit her lip; she had to get home for Haru's sake. Holding the bag tightly, she stepped out from under the shelter of the roof of the store she had just come from. The speed at which the rain was falling at created a wet veil over her surroundings, making it hard to see. She wasn't sure what had compelled her to go out for Haru when it was so late and when the weather forecast had predicted a storm. She was worried about him and all, but now she was terrified of this dark and empty town. She also hated thunderstorms. They were loud and scary. Tohru took a deep breath and dashed down the muddy road. She ran faster trying to keep the bandages as dry as she could while doing her best not to trip.

She remembered the short cut to her house that Yuki had shown her back in spring and turned into the forest. The ground was more slippery here though. She was having a harder time trying to remain in an upright position with the wet leaves and grass underneath her feet, not to mention she could swear someone was following her. Shards of rain dropped to the ground quicker and more steadily now. The droplets slapped against her already frigid skin. Thunder boomed in the distance, making Tohru jump up and yelp out of fright. She quickened her steps, anxious to get home. Tohru kept her face forward, refusing to check if someone was indeed following her. If someone was chasing her, she wasn't sure what she'd do other than panic and fall over.

Lightening struck, lighting up the bleak sky. Tohru squeezed her eyes shut, dashing forward quickening her pace. She didn't want to see the lightening, it scared her along with thunder, and she was sure she saw someone dressed in black about fifteen feet behind her when she accidentally turned around. The rain fell harder and faster. She felt her terror grow like a wild fire after she heard another boom of thunder. She choked back her screams of fright, running forward, only to run directly into something. Whatever she had run into was drenched from the rain, yet it was still warm and soft. Tohru felt something wrap around her waist. A person? The person who had been following her?

"What are you doing out here in the rain?" She heard a gentle familiar voice ask her.

The rain was coming down in a steady pour now. She pushed herself out of the one-sided embrace, keeping her hands on his chest. Tohru stared up at the man, battering the rain water out of her eyes. The thick barrier of falling rain made it difficult to see this person's face, but from the sound of his voice and the blurry image she could see in front of her, there was no doubt in her mind about the identity of this person. Still, her voice came out in a nervous high-pitched squeak when she made an attempt to speak.

"Yuki-kun?"

After giving her a brisk nod to answer her question, he continued, "You shouldn't run with your eyes closed, especially in the forest. You'll hit something and get hurt. You're just lucky it was me this time."

"Why are you out here?" Tohru breathed.

Tohru took a step closer to Yuki, latching her hand to his for security and glanced back behind her checking for the person who had been behind her, but she saw nothing but rain and trees. His eyes followed hers, not sure why she was looking in that direction, but he didn't question her. She turned back towards Yuki, feeling safer now that she was around him and relieved to find out that no one had been following her after all. Tohru smiled at Yuki. He was always saving, protecting her, helping her, and when he wasn't doing any of those, he was worried about her. For her, he truly was her guardian angel, even if he had directed that to Haru simply to conceal his identity.

"Hey, I asked you first."

"Oh! Sorry! I was getting bandages for Niisan!" Tohru answered holding up the plastic bag for him to see.

"Why are you apologizing?" he asked sweetly placing his hand on her cheek.

He frowned with worry. Her check was shockingly cold. She peered back at him with her large brown eyes which were full of confusion. Tohru didn't like that frown that was upon his face especially since he was staring at her with that look. Had she done something to upset him? Was she gripping his hand too tightly? In case she was, Tohru quickly released his hand, holding her arms up by her head. Yuki drew her back into his arms, holding her tightly, resting his head atop of hers. She gaped, her eyes widening out of shock. At least she knew he wasn't mad at her, but she was still bewildered by his actions.

"Yuki?"

"You're so cold…" he breathed worriedly.

She blinked a couple of times as he continued to hold her closely. Her face and her hands were pressed against his damp top. Yuki wasn't sure if he was helping her get any warmer by hugging her when he was dressed in a wet shirt, but he couldn't just let her stand there shivering. The least he could do was keep the rain from hitting her. Tohru tilted her head upwards, facing him directly. The rain continued to get stronger making his attempt to keep the droplets off her seem feeble. He needed a better solution. He released her but continued to hold her hand. She felt him tug her hand, pulling her somewhere. The sound of the rain crashing to the ground was too loud to make out what he was saying to her.

A confused Tohru followed after him. She didn't even bother trying to speak to him. She trusted him enough to know that wherever he was taking her wouldn't harm her in any way. They walked for a short while through the cloudy rain before she suddenly felt the rain stop. It was impossible! She could still hear the rain crashing down, but she didn't feel it. She blinked several times letting her eyes adjust to the lighting. She couldn't see much other than a vague figure of Yuki before her. Tohru swallowed nervously, grateful that he was still holding her hand. She didn't like this dark place very much, but it was better than being out in the rain.

"Where are we?" Tohru asked in a small voice.

Her eyes hadn't adjusted fully yet. All she knew was it was dark in here and there was some sort of roof to keep the rain off of them. Luckily, it was easier to hear in here. Still, she was scared. Tohru inched closer to Yuki. Slipping her arm through the handles of her bag, she wrapped her other hand around his second hand as well now. He squeezed her hands, only understanding her dread of dark places now. Tohru shut her eyes and took a deep breath to calm her nerves down before she opened them again and smiled at Yuki, waiting for him to answer.

"A cave… I was trying to get you somewhere dry… I remembered passing this on my way here, but it's kind of dark and damp in here. It's not much better. I'm sorry," Yuki told her.

"Thank you… Thank you for worrying about me..." she replied weakly, her teeth chattering from the cold.

"Look at you… You're so cold…"

He looked around, trying to figure out how he could get her warmer. There wasn't much in a cave besides pebbles and stones, and he was positive those wouldn't help at all, and everything outside was too wet to be of any use. Her body was trembling from the cold. He rubbed her hands with his thumbs, not sure what else he could do. Everything he was wearing was wet and cold so he couldn't offer her anything to help dry her off or warm her up. Yuki's thought for a minute before his eyes widened a bit as he remembered what he had bought earlier which had to be dry within its plastic package. He released her hands and dropped to the ground, untying the package.

"What are you doing?" Tohru asked him.

Yuki pulled out the long blue cloth and held it up to her. He had to wave it around for a brief moment before she noticed the fabric in the dark. Tohru stared at the cloth for several seconds before she took the fabric and held it as if it was glass. The cloth felt smoother and softer than anything she had ever touched in her life. Tohru took a deep breath, admiring the beauty. She gazed at the carefully embroidered dragons along the edge with an amazed smile. Even though there wasn't much light in the cave, she could tell it was an extravagant piece of art. Yuki stood up, surprised to find Tohru just holding the fabric.

"Why are you holding it? Wrap it around yourself or at least use it to dry yourself off," Yuki ordered her.

"Eh?"

Tohru stood there, completely speechless, still grasping the cloth delicately in her hands. She couldn't believe what he was telling her to do. She was drenched in dirty rain water from head to toe, and she didn't want to make such an expensive looking selection of fabric dirty on her account. That didn't seem right to her, but Yuki didn't seem to care. To him, the cloth was another inanimate object he could buy again if he needed to, but to Tohru, it was something someone spent time on, even if it probably had been made in some factory. Yuki seemed to be worried more about her own health than she was.

"Do I have to do it for you?"

"I couldn't possibly! This is far too lovely to be ruined by me!" Tohru cried shoving the cloth back at him.

He took it from her and draped it around her thin shoulders despite her pleas for him to stop. She sighed and looked down at her feet in defeat. There was nothing she could do now to save the beautiful fabric, but it did make her feel slightly warmer. Yuki placed both of his hands on her shoulders, bending down so he could actually see her eyes. She was frowning at him while he shook his head. He didn't understand her sometimes. How could she be worried about the cleanliness of something like fabric when she was standing in front of him, shaking because of how cold she was? He moved his hands, wrapping his fingers around the corners of the cloth to keep it from slipping off her thin shoulders.

"Don't be crazy. You're freezing, and yet, you're worried about something like cloth? Do you know you're much more valuable than this fabric, and so much more lovely and beautiful," he whispered to her.

Tohru gazed at him, her cheeks turning pink as he straightened up. He gently pulled the ends of the fabric, bringing her closer to him. Blushing, she took a step towards him before he made her lean over too much and fall on top of him. Tohru shyly cocked her head up, closing her eyes. By now, she could read the obvious signs that told her that he was going to kiss her, but that didn't stop her from being timid about it when they did kiss. Their lips met each other half way. Instinct took over, and they returned each other's kisses passionately. Yuki pulled back for a minute, murmuring, "Your lips are cold too…"

"Will you warm them up then?" she suggested, not bothering to think about how embarrassing her comment had been.

He stared at her for a brief moment, shocked to hear her say something so bold. Yuki would have never guessed that his Tohru would tell him to do something like that without at least blushing. He chuckled softly before he pressed his lips back against hers. She let her arms make their way around his neck. He released his hold on the cloth, entangling his hands in her dark wet strands. Without replying to her comment, he kissed her, slowly giving her what she wanted. Tohru was too enraptured in the kiss to even think about what she had just said, let alone fuss over it, and to Yuki, that comment had been nothing but adorable.

"Is your neck cold too?" he muttered as he left a trail of kisses down her neck. Tohru blinked, craning her neck up to give him more room. She was blushing crazily, but it did feel rather nice besides the fact that it tickled, and she was embarrassed about it. Tohru tried her best not to burst out giggling. She moved her hands to the back of his head, staring up at the top of the cave in attempt to keep her laughs to herself. He didn't kiss her neck as much as he kissed her mouth. She didn't have time to get used to this feeling. How could she when she still got flustered when he kissed her mouth?

"My mouth is colder…" she answered softly.

"Really?" he mumbled, getting the hint and going back to kissing her lips.

After a few more minutes, they broke apart breathlessly. He kissed the tip of her nose before asking, "Warmer now?"
"Yes…"

"Are you sure?"

She nodded. He placed both of his hands on her wrists, carefully pulling them off of his neck. Yuki brought them to his face, planting kisses all over her hands. Tohru giggled, blushing a dark shade of red before pulling her hands away from him shyly. She held her hands close to her chest, not sure what she should say to him. That had been a lot more embarrassing than having him caress her neck with kisses, but during both of those situations, she seemed to be the only one who had been bashful. He cupped her chin in one of his hands, running his thumb across her bottom lip, coaxing her to open her mouth before he stole another kiss from her.

"All fun aside… You should really try to warm up…" he said as he rubbed her bare arms.

He pulled the cloth higher up on her shoulders. Grasping one of her hands, he pulled her down to the ground slowly and into a sitting position. She sat on the hard stone floor in between Yuki's long legs. Yuki propped himself up against the cave wall, letting Tohru use his chest as a pillow. Tohru smiled, staring out the entrance at the rain. He had chosen the perfect spot for her. They were deep enough within the cave to stay out of the storm, but they were close enough to the entrance for the moonlight to reach them. She leaned back against him, peering up at his face.

"Yuki?"

"Hmm?"

"Why do you have this cloth?" Tohru asked lifting up a corner of the fabric to show him.

"Oh… I never answered your question, did I?"

She shook her head. She had basically forgotten that she had even questioned him for the reason of his presence in the forest until now. Tohru twisted her body around so that she was facing him instead of having her back to him. She liked looking at a person's face when she was talking to him even if this position was slightly difficult to hold. Yuki wrapped his arms around her waist, helping her remain in that winded posture. He was glad to see that she was calm enough to ask him questions. His kisses weren't just to help warm her up, but he also wanted Tohru to forget about her fears of the dark and of the storm.

"I had to go buy some fabric for my brother. You see, you can call him a tailor. Before I could get back home, it started raining so I tried to wait out the rain, and that's when you ran into me," Yuki explained.

"Oh… Well it doesn't look like the rain is going to let up anytime soon." Tohru responded tiredly.

If having it rain meant she got to spend time with Yuki, then maybe she could learn to like rainstorms, maybe even look forward to them. She yawned sleepily, struggling to keep her eyes open. Her eyelids drooped, begging to be shut. She tried to resist, but the steady rhythm the rain was making was too soothing, and Yuki was quite a comfortable pillow. Tohru jerked her head a bit to chase away her sleepiness, but it didn't help much. Through half opened eyes, Tohru watched the rain dance around the floor, trying to keep her mind off of sleep. She couldn't fall asleep here when Haru was at home waiting for her to return with the bandages. He'd worry about her if she didn't return home, but it was late.

"Tired?"

Tohru nodded, her eyes shutting completely as she drifted off to sleep. Yuki pulled her closer to him, holding her tightly in his arms but not tight enough to disturb her rest. He brushed her wet hair away from her face and pressed her body against his so he could share his body heat with her. Yuki pulled the cloth up to her chin, using it as a blanket now. It was the closest thing to a blanket he had, and it was getting pretty chilly out now that it was nighttime. The last thing he wanted was for her to catch a cold because he had been careless enough to not notice how frigid she was. He rested his chin on her shoulder, whispering into her ear, "I love you…"

She stirred, turning over until she looked like she was looking up at him and murmured, "I love you too Yuki-kun…"

His eyes widened out of shock. He pulled away slightly, not sure if he had just imagined that or if she had really said that to him. She smiled at him, still fast asleep. For a minute, he thought she was awake, but when she flipped over again and muttered something about rice balls, he was positive that she was still dreaming. A faint grin spread across his face. He would have been happier if she had been awake and had heard his confession, but at least he knew her reaction. Most people didn't lie in their sleep so her feelings had to be true, but being able to tell it to her face would probably take some time. He knew he had barely known her for sixth months, or he only had six months worth of memories of her, but he couldn't deny the feeling in his heart. Maybe his feelings towards her from their past relationship were the cause of his quickly developing love for her.

"I wish I had the courage to tell that to you when you're awake… I still have to tell you that I'm a prince too…"

He cradled her tightly. Her reaction hadn't been bad, in fact, it had been a splendid reaction, so why did telling her his feelings still seem like such a hard task. At least, it'd be easier than telling her about his status. Knowing what Tohru had just muttered to him in her sleep, the worst reaction he could get from Tohru when he tells her he loves her would be making her flustered and embarrassed, but how she'd respond to the fact that he was a prince was another story. For all he knew, she could hate him forever for being a prince, and that possibility of hatred was what scared him. He stared at her angelic face a moment longer before shutting his eyes and joining her in sleep.

The harsh rain eased to a gentle end. By now, it was daybreak. Birds, chirping and fluttering around, acted as nature's natural alarm. Tohru yawned, stretching out both of her arms and legs. She opened her eyes, bewildered by what she saw before her. She let out a high pitch shriek, jumping up to her feet and hitting her head against a stalactite hanging off of the cold stone roof. Her legs shook; her hands clutched her head which throbbed with pain. Yuki woke up with a start when he heard her scream and hit her head. He blinked a couple of times, slightly confused. Tears began to stream down her face. For once, Yuki actually woke up as soon as he opened his eyes. Yuki swiftly got up and crouched down beside her, wrapping his arms around her shoulders in a half hug.

"Are you okay?" he asked worriedly.

She lowered her hands, looking at him through her long dark hair that was currently hiding her face and the two inch cut that ran across her forehead. Yuki placed his hands on her arms, scanning her body for an injury or something else that would make her cry, but he didn't see anything unusual. He didn't notice the cut because of her bangs. Moving his hands to her face, he wiped the tears off of her face. She covered his hands with her own nervously, gripping them tightly.

"Yuki-kun?" she asked in a tiny voice.

"Who else silly? Now, does it hurt anywhere?" he asked her in an urgent but concerned voice.

She blinked away the rest of her tears, staring at him. Tohru attempted to force a smile but ended up wincing instead. She didn't want to worry him, but she couldn't pretend her head didn't hurt. Tears struggled to form again. Tohru released his hands, moving them to cover her forehead which was starting to throb more and more by the second. Yuki looked at her, waiting for a response when he saw the bloody handprints on the backs of his hands. He peered up at her hands, noticing the red liquid slowly dripping down her knuckles.

"You're bleeding!" he exclaimed grabbing a hold of both of her blood splattered hands.

Her eyes widened out of shock She had been oblivious to how hard she had actually hit her head and had no idea she was bleeding until he had pointed it out. He held her hands away from her face as he observed her injury. Blood trickled down her pale forehead, streaming down her nose and her cheeks, and finally dripping off her chin. A drop slipped off and hit her arm. Tohru glanced at the bead of blood resting on her arm and started to panic from the sight of blood. Yuki used the edge of his sleeve to wipe away as much blood as he could in attempt to get her to settle down.

"Shh… Relax…" he soothed trying to calm her down.

He held onto her with one arm and used the other to grab the cloth. While he kept eye contact with Tohru, he felt around the ground for the cloth. He grasped it in his hand and placed it in Tohru's hands. She barely held onto it with her trembling hands. Yuki looked at her shaking fingers before moving his gaze back to her fear filled eyes. Tohru stared at the cloth then back to him with confusion now. She was too scared to speak and ask him why he had given her the fabric.

"We have to stop the bleeding," he muttered.

Yuki took the cloth, which was still damp from the rain, and pressed it against her forehead to stop the blood flow. For now, the wound had stopped gushing, but he was positive that the wound wasn't anywhere close to being clean. He didn't want to imagine how many germs were now on Tohru's cut. The cave roof had to be anything but sanitary. Even if he had no soap on him, the least he could do for her was rinse off the dirt and other nameless particles on her head. He glanced around the cave looking around for some clean water. There was no water source in the cave but puddles by the exit which he expected would do more harm than good. It seemed like he'd have to go out and bring water back here.

"Tohru, listen to me. I have to go get water before your cut becomes infected," Yuki explained to her.

"Don't leave me…"

Tohru clung to him, looking up at him with frightened eyes and shook her head slowly. What he was saying sounded reasonable. She knew that an infection on her head would mean death since amputating her head wouldn't be an option, and she knew her request was beyond ridiculous in a situation like this, but something inside of her didn't want him to leave her alone. Tohru clasped his arm firmly between her two arms and squeezed her eyes shut, trying to let him know how badly she wanted him to stay with her. He bit his bottom lip, trying to figure out what he should do. He couldn't pry her hands off and leave her here to get water even if it would help her. She gripped his arm tightly. There was no way he could bring himself to force her to stay here alone when she was in this state.

"Okay then… Hold this onto your head," he instructed her, slipping the cloth into her hands and pressing them near her face.

She obeyed, keeping the cloth in its place over the cut. He scooped her up in his arms and stood up, carrying her the way a groom would carry a bride on their way through the threshold. Tohru peeked up at him curiously when she felt her feet leave the ground. A bit startled and frightened, Tohru wrapped her arms around his neck, pressing her face against his shoulder, letting his body keep the cloth over her forehead instead of using her hands. Yuki looked down at her, shifting his hands to a more secure position. Keeping one hand under her thighs and the other behind her upper back, he took a few steps outside of the cave. Tohru glanced up at Yuki, accidentally letting the cloth slip off the wound.

"Yuki?" she whispered in a small voice.

"I'm right here… Don't worry one bit. I'm no doctor nor do I have any soap, but I'll make this all better. I promise… Just hang on tightly and keep the fabric on top of your cut," he reassured her in a comforting voice.

Tohru nodded and picked up the cloth that lied in the valley created by her abdomen touching his chest. She used one hand to keep the cloth in place and placed the other securely around his neck. He held her delicately as he took off to the nearest water source he knew of: the lake. As soon as he arrived at his destination, he immediately crouched down and gently set her on the ground close to the water. Tohru didn't let go of him, keeping her arm latched around his neck.

"Tohru, I'm going to need you to let go of me and the cloth…" he told her softly.

Her shaky arms lowered down to her sides. He faintly smiled at her, giving her a quick kiss on top of her head before taking the cloth from her. Yuki soaked the once blue fabric in the clear water. Blood that had been released from the threads floated aimlessly in the water, creating a small red puddle that gradually faded pink then dispersed in the water until it was no longer visible. Not even bothering to scrub out the stains, he wrung out as much water as he could and went back to Tohru. Tohru kept her frightened eyes on him and swallowed nervously as Yuki observed the red cut that ran across the top of her forehead. He placed one hand behind her head to keep her from moving away before gingerly running the wet cloth across the wound.

"Does it hurt?"

She shook her head from side to side. It stung a little, but she could bear the pain. Yuki smiled faintly and took one of her hands in his left, allowing her to squeeze his fingers if her forehead started to hurt. He didn't need to keep one hand on the back of her head now. He could tell she wouldn't try to stop him from disinfecting her injury. Yuki gently dabbed the cool wet cloth across her face. The blood left her face, clinging to the fabric easily. Once her pale skin showed again, he slipped it into her hands to remove the red from them. Tohru stared down, watching the cleaning process.

"Your cut doesn't seem too deep… You won't need stitches," Yuki told her.

"Huh?"

"Glad you're listening. I said your cut isn't that deep, but we should bandage it…" he repeated, looking around for something that could serve as a bandage.

Tohru's eyes lit up as she remembered what she got for Haru. She was happy to see that she had something to contribute now. Tohru peered down to make sure the bag was still hooked around her arm. Her grin doubled in size as she pulled the package off of her arm and lifted it up for him to see. He stared blankly at plastic bag. The opacity of the plastic kept whatever was inside a secret from him. She looked at the bag and untied the handles to show him the roll of bandages within.

"Here!" she said simply, "You wanted bandages, right?"

He smiled at her, taking the roll of bandages from her. Yuki was glad to see that Tohru had bandages because he didn't think a bandage made out of leaves and whatever else was lying around outside would do any good or even stay together. He unwound a long strip of the bandage and ripped it off before turning to Tohru. Tohru sat there with a small smile upon her face. She had calmed down remarkably. Maybe without the sight of blood it wasn't as scary to her.

"Okay then. Stay still…" he told her.

Tohru nodded to show him she had been listening this time. He pushed her bangs up, and Tohru instinctively placed her hands on top of her head to keep her bangs off her cut. He wrapped the strap around her forehead as best as he could manage. Yuki secured the ends with a loose knot at the back of her head. The bandage flopped to the side, partially covering the top of her eyes and barely clinging to her head. Tohru blinked and pushed the strap off of her eyes. Yuki frowned and unwound the bandage and redid it, a bit more securely this time. At least, it looked more like a bandage instead of a blindfold now.

"I'm sorry… I'm not quite good at these things… You'd probably want to rewash and re-bandage your cut when you get home…" he said to her as he gave her the rest of the bandages back.

"Thank you," she replied with a wide grin.

"So you're okay now?"

She nodded, still beaming. She looked down, a bit embarrassed now to have acted so childish over such a small cut. If he didn't think poorly of her before, she was sure he did now, or at least, he couldn't possibly think highly of her after that display of her childhood she had just presented him with. Seeming to know exactly what she was thinking about, Yuki chuckled softly at her. He patted her head, getting her to cheer up a little bit before he decided to tease her a bit. Tohru beamed innocently at him.

"And after all of that work, all you can say is 'thank you'?"

Tohru stared at him with wide confused eyes. What did he mean by that? She knew he deserved more than the two simple words she had given him, but she didn't think he'd ask for more. He wasn't the kind of person who asked for a reward, or at least that's what she had thought. Tohru's eyebrows knitted together guiltily as she tried to think of someway she could repay him. Yuki was laughing crazily in his head at the expression across her face, but he didn't show anything other than complete seriousness upon his face. Teasing her was too much fun to stop now.

"You even ruined my precious cloth and yet…"

She stared at the blood stained fabric in her hands and gasped, "I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to! I'll wash it out right away!"

Frantically, she jumped up and turned around to try and wash the stains out in the lake when she felt something wrap around her wrist and restrain her, yanking her back. She whirled around, falling into Yuki's lap. He still held her hand in his as he laughed. Tohru peered up at his smiling face, not quite understanding the situation anymore. At one moment, he seemed angry at her for ruining the silk cloth, but now he was keeping her from washing it and smiling at her. She lied there on his legs, not sure what to say or even ask. He wrapped his arms around her lovingly, pulling her up into a sitting position.

"I was kidding… Don't you remember anything I said last night? This cloth isn't precious to me, you are…" he whispered to her.

Tohru remained there shocked. She tried to remember yesterday, but most of her memories were fuzzy. The hit she took to her head made it difficult to remember yesterday night. She knew she had headed to town to pick up some fresh bandages for Haru, but after she ran into Yuki, she couldn't remember much. One phrase came back to her though. I love you… Those three words were burned into her mind now. A blush crept up to her face as she shook her head, deciding that had just been a dream. He couldn't have possibly said that to her of all people. She was probably imagining things. Her injury must have left her delusional. Boys weren't supposed to fall in love with her. She was just a clumsy dolt. The only men who had ever loved her were Haru and her dad.

"What's wrong?" Yuki asked her, pulling away and staring at the red faced girl.

"Nothing… You just startled me is all…" she smiled, leaning forward and hugging him this time.

It was Yuki's turn to be surprised by her sudden boldness. He was used to her shyness and reluctance to display affection. Usually he had to start the kisses or embraces before she did anything romantic. Luckily, he recovered before the moment became awkward, and she started apologizing again. He wrapped his arms around her, holding her gently until she pulled away. She had to get home to give Haru his bandages regardless of her desire to stay with Yuki. Tohru sighed and reluctantly got up. As usual they walked to her home together, hand in hand. Her face lit up with a blush as the castle came into view.

"Yuki-kun?"

"Yes?"

"May I keep this?" she asked, her blush darkening as she held up the cloth.

He stared at her oddly. Her request had been unusual to his ears. It wasn't like the dirty cloth he had used to keep her warm and wipe the blood off of her face was anything special. It probably wasn't even worth anything. He didn't know what to say in response, and Tohru mistook his confusion for a rejection and immediately shoved the bundle back at him. Dumbfounded, he held onto it, not sure what to do or what she was thinking at the moment. Tohru flailed her arms around, praying that he hadn't been offended by her request.

"I'm sorry! What was I thinking? You bought it for your brother-" she started embarrassedly.

He silenced her by handing it back to her. Her eyes widened out of shock. She gazed at the bundle in her hands before returning her eyes to his face. He smiled at her and closed her fingers around the fabric. If she wanted to keep the cloth, he had no problem with letting her do so. He'd have no further use for the cloth anyways. Ayame wouldn't accept a bloody cloth. If he kept it, he would have probably just tossed it away. There was no point in letting such an expensive cloth go to waste since she seemed like she'd take good care of it.

"No… I was just baffled. I don't understand why you would want to keep something so filthy…" he explained.

"That's because it's a precious memory to me!" she responded shyly hanging onto the cloth dearly.

He smiled, "You'd better get going then… Your brother is waiting for the bandages…"

"Okay then! I'll see you later! Thank you for everything Yuki-kun!" she added in a peppy voice before running to the main gates.

Since they knew she had left this time, she didn't have to sneak in as she usually did. The gates immediately opened to let her in before she even said a word or made a sound. She snuck back a smile in Yuki's direction before she stepped onto the castle grounds. In a flash, Haru was in front of her, encircling her in his arms. Squished between him and her were his bandages and her cloth. Tohru gasped. She had been completely caught off guard by his quick movements. Basically, she had forgotten that she hadn't returned home last night until this moment.

"Haru-nii?"

---

Yuki watched the two of them hidden in the forest with envy burning in his eyes. He couldn't hear what they were saying, but he didn't like the fact that Tohru was hugging Haru. He told himself repeatedly that Haru was just her brother, and that he was worried, but the jealously he felt refused to vanish. He didn't like how close Haru was to Tohru. In fact, he basically hated it. He didn't want her to be held in such a manner by anyone other than himself, even if Haru was her brother, but there wasn't much he could do about it. She loved her brother, and he knew that. He clenched his fists together, forcing himself to leave the place before he ran over and stole Tohru away from Haru or got caught.

---

"I was worried to death… You didn't come home at all last night…" he muttered to her, squeezing her tightly.

"I'm sorry! It was just raining so hard that I couldn't make it back home…"

He took a step back and placed both of his hands on her shoulders. Even if what she said was true, he could tell she was hiding something from him. Haru figured Yuki had helped her a lot. There was no way she would have been able to spend a night outside during a thunderstorm alone since she was frightened of both the dark and of thunder. Having Yuki with her had to be what she wasn't telling him, and the reddish mark on her neck, he assumed was from kisses, proved it. He wouldn't pry though, he'd let her get away with thinking she had indeed tricked him. Haru stared at her face for a brief moment before he spotted the white strip across her head.

"What happened to your head?" he asked, pointing at the poorly wrapped bandage around her head.

Tohru smiled, remembering her cut. She placed one of her hands on her head, laughing bashfully. Haru and Kisa both knew how clumsy she was, but it was still embarrassing to tell them of her little mishaps that occurred practically everyday. To her advantage, she also remembered the cloth she was holding. Without drawing attention to her hands, she slipped the fabric behind her back, holding it there with one of her hands. She paused before murmuring, "I hit my head."

"Are you okay?"

"Yes! I got your bandages! I'm sorry I used some!" Tohru cried extending the bag to him with her other hand.

He smiled, taking the package from her, "Thanks."

He ruffled her hair, tossing the strands around messily. Her hair hung around her head in a scattered disarray. Tohru shook the locks out of her face. She wanted to fix her hair, but it'd be awkward, and Haru would definitely notice something was up if she only fixed the mess with just one hand. She should have thought twice before she asked Yuki to give her the cloth. She wanted to keep it, but if Haru saw it, it would certainly arise suspicion, and at the moment, she couldn't come up with a single reason that would explain why she had it.

"Who wrapped that for you anyways? It's unique…" he chuckled as he took another look at the bandage.

She smiled but remained silent, not answering his question. Haru didn't notice; he was too relieved to have his sister back safely to care about whether she answered his questions or not. The person who wrapped the bandage wasn't important, just as long as Tohru was okay. The wrapping looked poorly enough for Tohru to have done it by herself, and since he had never seen an example of Yuki's medical talent, he settled with believing that Tohru had done the wrapping herself.

"Let's go inside… Kisa's been worried sick too."

Tohru nodded, following Haru into the palace. She stayed a step behind him so he wouldn't find out about the bloodstained cloth she was holding behind her back. As soon as she stepped one foot inside the palace, Kisa jumped up from her seat on the stairs and flung her arms around Tohru. Tohru stumbled backwards from the force, nearly falling out the door and onto her bottom. Luckily for her, Haru was standing beside her and held her upright with an arm slung around her shoulders. Kisa grinned and looked up at Tohru happily. She was glad to see that Tohru was okay and hadn't been kidnapped or murdered.

"Onee-chan! You're back!" Kisa exclaimed joyously, "What happened to you? Where were you? Are you okay?"

Kisa peered at her anxiously, awaiting answers to all of her questions. Tohru smiled warmly, giving Kisa a one armed hug. It took her brain a minute to register all of the questions Kisa had just asked. She was never good at answering multiple questions at once; she just couldn't seem to remember them all. Besides, since what happened to her involved her being with Yuki, she'd need extra time to think through her answers or she might accidentally blurt out Yuki's name. Once again, Haru was her savior.

"Kisa, why don't you let her get cleaned up first?" Haru suggested.

Kisa stepped back from Tohru, listening to Haru regardless of her curiosity.

"I'll be right back then…" Tohru replied.

"Take your time… You need a bath too," Haru said seriously.

Tohru blushed embarrassedly before she ran up the stairs to her room. She knew she was probably covered in dirt and other substances, but it was embarrassing to hear that said aloud. She shut the door behind her and locked it. She smiled out of relief and clutched the cloth tightly. Slowly, she walked to her mirror and stared at herself. In her reflection, she could only see her own faults. Bags rested underneath her brown eyes from lack of sleep, her hair was tangled and rough looking, her lips were dry and cracked, yet Yuki had still said she was beautiful. Who was he kidding? She was anything but beautiful.

"Yuki…" she whispered his name, gingerly running her hands across the bandage.

What was this feeling? Her heart ached to be beside him, her body longed to be held by him, but most of all, her ears begged to hear him tell her he loved her. She stared at the dirty cloth in her hands. His scent still faintly clung to the fabric. Tohru brought it to her face, grasping it for comfort. With a deep breath, she set the cloth down and walked to the bathroom. She filled the tub with warm water and slipped off her filthy dress, letting it drop to the ground. Cautiously, she got into the tub and sat down. She scrubbed away the layers of dirt that had coated her skin and soaked her body in the warm soapy water. Tohru decided that she wanted to make herself more beautiful for him. She knew he already thought she was gorgeous, but she wanted to be worthy of being called his lover. She wanted to be the only woman he looked at from now on.

"Mom… I think I'm in love with Yuki-kun… You remember that boy I introduced to you, right? Well I think I love him…"

After her long bath, she dressed in a light cotton gown and ran a comb through her dark locks of hair. With great care, she braided the strands into two pigtails at the sides of her head. She stared at her reflection again and smiled satisfactorily. Her skin shone with more radiance now that the grim that had once covered it was washed off. Tohru removed the bandage gently fingering the small cut that ran across her forehead. She winced and replaced the bandage over the cut. Luckily for her, her bangs and the rest of her hair hid the white strap from view unless you looked carefully. There wasn't a chance in the world she was going to tell the king or queen about last night. They'd make her so nervous that she might accidentally say something about Yuki.

At least with Haru and Kisa, they gave her time to think over her words before she had to say anything. She'd have to tell them about Yuki sooner or later, but for now, she'd choose later. She didn't want to do anything that might jeopardize her outings with Yuki. Her eyes ran over the blood covered cloth, and she grimaced. She grabbed it and darted back to the bathroom, plopping it in the sink. She turned the faucet on, letting water run over the beautiful fabric. The blood trickled down the drain mixed along with water. A few red splotches remained. With a little effort, she managed to scrub out the stains and restore the cloth to its original color. Tohru draped the blue again cloth across the tub to dry. She smiled and walked out of her room to find Haru and Kisa and explain herself.

---

Yuki walked through town, passing by as an unknown stranger as usual. He couldn't get her out of his mind. Not that it was a bad thing, but every time he thought about her, his mind would drift to the image of her hugging Haru. No matter what he did or told himself, it just seemed hopeless. He couldn't convince himself that it was just affection between siblings. His mind didn't understand the concept of family love since all he had ever known were arguments, silence, physical fighting, and punishment. There wasn't any closeness between himself and his so called family. They were complete strangers to each other. They didn't know a thing about him, and he didn't know a thing about them. Yuki shook his head, refusing to think of the dark thoughts he had sealed away so long ago.

Before he met her, his life had had no meaning, no purpose; nothing had meant as much to him as she did now. She had wiped away all of his feelings of being unwanted and unneeded in a flash. Tohru had shown him that someone did need him around. She needed him. He lived to please her now. All he did he did to make her smile or laugh. She was the one for him; he was sure of it, no matter what anybody else said. Unintentionally, she had showed him the meaning of his own life. Even though he was so enwrapped in his own thoughts, he couldn't help but notice something that was bright pink in the corner of his eye. There, on a stand sat something that might as well screamed his name for it was perfect for her. The soft pink cloth with the lilac colored orchids embroidered on it would look stunning on her.

Yuki walked to that store displaying the fabric and stepped inside, mesmerized by the beauty of it, and the next thing he knew, he was sitting in his room with the fabric in his hands. He hadn't thought this through thoroughly. There wasn't much he could do with cloth. Sewing wasn't exactly a talent of his. Ayame was always an option, but he wasn't quite sure if he could take the teasing that would come along with it. Most definitely, Ayame would figure out that it was for Tohru, and he'd bother him about it, but Yuki had no other choice if he wanted it to be perfect. Only Ayame had such sewing abilities. Yuki groaned simple imagining what Ayame would say.

He stood in front of Ayame's door with his hand outstretched to knock. For the tenth time, he dropped his arm, lacking the courage once again. With a sigh, he silently cursed himself for being such a coward. His head lowered in disappointment. Yuki looked back up, throwing his head back in frustration. He was about to give up and retreat back to his room when the door swung open. Ayame walked out with a bewildered expression.

"Yuki?"

Yuki flinched, looking at Ayame embarrassedly. He didn't know what to do or say. Wordlessly, he held out the cloth. There was a quick pause before Ayame exclaimed, "What extraordinary beauty! The texture! The look! The vibrant colors! It almost overwhelms my ever-so large heart!"

Yuki stared at his older brother in disbelief. Ayame was now examining the fabric by the inch. Ayame fingered the embroidery, he held the cloth up to the light, he did many things that looked (to Yuki) like he was searching for some sort of flaw in such perfection. Yuki watched Ayame quizzically, still attempting to think of a way to convey what he wanted to Ayame without bringing up Tohru. That would be a hard task seeing as he himself wasn't quite sure what it was that he wanted. His body had just acted on its own, and now, he was struggling to do something with that cloth.

"Ah, but here lies one problem…"

"What?" Yuki asked.

"The assignment that has been given to me is to be for a male. Pink will not do this time…" Ayame sighed, shaking his head to the side slowly.

"This isn't for your stupid job!!!" Yuki snapped, snatching it back from Ayame, "Never mind! Just pretend this never happened!"

Yuki blushed embarrassedly as he started to storm away. He had tried, and he failed. Yuki gripped the cloth tightly in his hands. What a waste. He hadn't succeeded in getting Ayame to make something for Tohru with it. If she got something made from this cloth, he was sure she'd be ecstatic, but what could he do with fabric? The answer was simple: nothing. He'd go burn the cloth now before Ayame saw the connection between the cloth and Tohru. Ayame stood there empty handed and shocked. He looked at Yuki who was getting father away by the second, trying to figure out the meaning of the pink fabric. It was definitely for a girl, but who was the lucky girl?

"But wait! For whom shall I ask is going to be receiving such splendor?"

"Forget it!" Yuki replied as he continued forward.

"Tohru-kun?"

Yuki froze for a split second but recovered quickly, but not quick enough. Ayame saw the brief pause and ran towards Yuki with an excited smile sprawled across his face. By Yuki's red face, Ayame knew he had guessed correctly. Yuki clenched the cloth tighter and continued to walk down the hallway to the sanctuary of his room, hoping Ayame would just disappear or drop the subject, but Ayame did neither. Ayame was persistent and followed after him with an idiotic smile across his face. He was a gossiper; he loved to hear things about people's lives, especially Yuki's love life.

"I was right! Do tell! I'll make whatever it is that you want! Just tell me!" Ayame encouraged him.

Yuki turned around to face his older brother, trying to put together the perfect words to tell Ayame what he wanted. He opened his mouth to speak, but no words came out. His head hung low as he helplessly shoved the bundle back into Ayame's hands. How could he ask Ayame to make something for Tohru when he didn't even know what he wanted to be made? Hopefully, Ayame could fill that gap in for him since his mind was completely blank. All he knew was that he didn't want some lecherous costume made for Tohru.

"Just make something for her, please… But don't you dare make anything perverted or I'll skin you alive," Yuki warned.

"The star of luck is just shining on you today for my head is just filled to the brim with ideas!" Ayame exclaimed half flattering himself.

Yuki looked at his older brother oddly, not quite understanding the situation he was in. Ayame began fluttering around the hallway talking to himself about his ideas. All the while, Ayame was inching closer to his room. Yuki had no idea what was going on, but it would seem that Ayame had agreed. That was a good thing, right? The words sputtering out of Ayame's mouth didn't sound very lewd at least. After a minute, Ayame paused and glanced at Yuki with his mouth wide open. His face contorted with some form of minor anger as he stuck his forefinger at Yuki accusingly. Yuki raised his eyebrows in return at Ayame, wondering what the problem was now.

"Ah! Now shoo! I shall look down on this crude eavesdropping! The result will be a grand surprise for you!" Ayame told him as he dashed into his room after pushing Yuki away.

Yuki blinked, still not quite sure what had just happened, but he couldn't wait to see Tohru's reaction when she saw whatever Ayame made. She'd be thrilled, he just knew it, and that thought made his heart soar. It was a peculiar thing, but her happiness meant more to him than his own. When she was happy, he was just as joyful. She was the center of his world. There was no point in denying it; he loved her. He was deeply in love with her, and she was just as crazy in love with him.

Good evening/morning whatnot my little lovely readers D I slacked. I apologize, but review and help me catch errors... My mind was wandering near the end of the editing process...

Psst... You'll love the next chapter, or at least I did :/ -scurries off to write "The Result"