*Muse Tunes: "Panic Switch" by Silversun Pickups, "A Golden Crown" by Ramin Djawadi

CHAPTER 3 – They Were Empty

When Kyo took off he didn't really have a destination in mind. His only thought in his panic was to get out of there. It wasn't until he found himself sitting in his truck in front of a familiar house, hands trembling on the wheel and no recollection of how he got there, that he realized how shaken up he really was over the encounter with Tohru.

Logically in his head he knew it shouldn't be that big of a deal. The rest of him, however, begged to differ. A million thoughts and emotions were currently reeling through him overlaid by a soundtrack of fuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuck playing on full blast, drowning out anything and everything else.

Five years. Five fucking years spent clawing his way back out of the mire of self-recrimination; of sleepless nights and long days, trying to mold himself into a mature, capable adult. Countless hours of painful self-reflection, pushing and pushing and pushing to move past the agony of losing her. Yet here he was, fleeing from the scene like a dumb teenager all over again. Except perhaps for the choice in destination, Kyo thought as his gaze flicked over to the cozy little house that both taunted and beckoned to him. It was the height of irony that this was where he ended up.

With a few last deep breaths in and out to calm himself down, Kyo got out of the truck, stalked up to the door and rang the doorbell before he could talk himself out of it. A few excruciating moments passed by before the door swung open to reveal pair of narrowed, grayish-brown eyes staring at him like he was some sort of science project.

"I didn't realize you would be so eager for tonight's dinner party, Kyo. Celibacy finally getting to you?"

"Shut up! That's not what I—"

"The dinner's at six, come back later when your date is here."

"Wait, Machi!" he yelped, putting his foot in the door as she tried to close it on him. "Geez, I get that we're family now, but can you at least pretend to have some manners? I need to talk to your husband."

Machi raised an eyebrow at him and crossed her arms. Any timidity she'd had when they first met had long since turned into the sort of teasing that bordered on torture. Her humor was so often deadpan he couldn't always tell when she was playing or being serious which had made for a lot of awkward moments. For him. He knew from Yuki it was her way of showing affection but sometimes Kyo wished she would cut him some slack every once and awhile.

Machi scoffed. "Inviting yourself in now? And you say I don't have manners."

"Damnit woman, is Yuki home or not?" Kyo snapped as he felt his anxiety spike to dangerous levels. He wasn't too sure what his face was doing but if the sudden change in Machi's expression was any indication he almost certainly looked like a feral animal. Inwardly he winced at the thought.

"He's not, but he should be back any minute now," Machi said. Before he could backtrack, she dug her claws into his arm and forcefully walked him down the hallway to a door at the far end. "Why don't you go ahead and wait in here for him. Do you want any tea?" she asked sweetly as she slid open the door.

"Uh…sure?" he muttered, confused by the sudden shift in tone.

Machi nodded. "Feel free to sit if you like, I'll be right back."

Kyo took a look around the room he'd been deposited in. For as many times as he'd been to Yuki and Machi's place he'd never been in this part of the house before. It was some sort of home office with his/her desks, a large bookshelf, and a pair of cushy looking armchairs. He snorted when he noticed the clutter strewn liberally across the room. Both desks were piled high with books, papers, and knick-knacks, giving it a very lived-in feel. For a time, he watched a bee droning in and out of the open window eventually to land on a tea mug that had been left precariously on the sill.

Suddenly for reasons he couldn't explain he felt like he was intruding. He turned around to leave when Machi came in with a fresh tea and practically shoved it into his hands. She eyed him speculatively but didn't say anything, seeming to understand that this was not one of those times he would be open to prodding. He was grateful when a second later she left him alone instead of trying to play hostess. He needed to gather his thoughts. Or so he thought until he realized the process had only served to make him even more agitated than he already was. By the time Yuki showed up about ten minutes later Kyo was pacing in a circle, his tea long forgotten on the coffee table.

"Well, isn't this an interesting sight," Yuki drawled as he waltzed into the room, eyeing Kyo up and down. "By your tone this morning I didn't expect to see you until the very last second, and yet here you are, several hours early looking like you just saw the ghost of Christmas future."

"More like the ghost of Christmas past," Kyo growled, grinding his teeth with annoyance.

"Come again?"

"I saw Tohru."

Yuki froze, his only outward reaction to the news a few rapid blinks of the eye and a very subtle tightening of his jaw.

"Where?"

"The Home Center near Obaachan's."

"You're sure it was—"

"It was her," he snapped, giving Yuki a look that very clearly told him how stupid of an idea it was to think he would ever mistake her.

Yuki eyed him again, this time studying him more carefully in an annoyingly probing way that made him want to bite the other man's head off. Without saying a word, he crossed the room to open a cabinet built into the base of the bookshelf and pulled out a bottle and a couple of tumblers. Kyo's eyebrows went up.

"I have a feeling we're going to both need something a little stronger than tea for this conversation," Yuki said, filling a glass and handing it to him before filling his own. He dropped into one of the armchairs and crossed his legs in the irritatingly graceful fashion Yuki tended to do everything.

As he watched him, Kyo couldn't help but think of their time at Shigure's and how much things had changed over the years. While Kyo had continued to put on height and definition as time progressed, Yuki had maintained the same stature and slender frame. His features were still annoyingly pretty too, even if they had a little more masculine angularity to them than they used to. The main difference was in how he carried himself. Yuki the boy had been cool and aloof, Yuki the man was self-possessed and approachable in ways he never could be when he was cursed. That he was happily married probably didn't hurt either, a fact his delusional female classmates continuously attempted to overlook to Machi's consternation. Even with all of that, he was still recognizably, annoyingly Yuki.

Which was precisely why Kyo was here. No matter how much he would've preferred his father, he couldn't chance showing his face at the Sohma dojo no matter how much he could use Kazuma's wisdom right about now. Whether he liked it or not, the rat was the only one he could talk to about this.

"So?" Yuki prompted, snapping Kyo out of his thoughts. He took one look at the gray-haired man and all the panic he'd felt on his way here started to seep back into his consciousness. Without thinking he knocked back the entire contents of his glass in two gulps and immediately broke into a hacking, wheezing mess. Yuki simply shot him a bemused look that earned him a glare. "Surely whatever happened couldn't have been that bad. Or was it? You are supernaturally terrible at first impressions…"

"No! We just sort of bumped into each other. Literally," he began as he started pacing again.

"Is it 'sort of' or 'literally'? I'm pretty sure those two things are mutually exclusive," Yuki replied with one of those painful know-it-all smirks that pissed him off.

"You're missing the point rat boy, she was there. In person. Right in front of me. Smiling and rambling on and on like she always used to."

By the time Kyo finished speaking the smile had left Yuki's face and he had sat up straighter in his chair.

"You spoke to her?"

Shit.

"She asked me a question. I wasn't going to be rude and ignore her," Kyo said. Although now that he thought about it, he could've just gone about his business after pointing out the garden center. Why the hell had he followed her in there? Stupid, foolish mistake.

"If it was such a 'nothing' encounter, then why are you having an existential crisis about it?" Yuki asked, eyeing him suspiciously. When Kyo simply paced faster his entire demeanor shifted. "What's your concern Kyo?"

"I—!" Kyo had been ready to give Yuki a piece of his mind but stopped short when he saw the genuine concern written across the other man's face. It was a cold bucket of water to his anger. Of course it had been meant as a serious question. Of all people Yuki was the only one who really knew what he'd gone through. Shit, if it wasn't for him, he probably wouldn't even be here at all. He owed the rat more than that, even if he did still get on his nerves all the time.

"I just…then she…and then we…that…wasn't supposed to happen!" He strangled out, his voice becoming increasingly more agitated the more he struggled to get the words out. "I mean, what was she even doing there? That place is a death trap for someone as klutzy as her…as was proven when I had to save her from herself twice in less than ten minutes! Seriously. The woman needs to learn how to pay more attention to her surroundings."

As Kyo ranted Yuki physically relaxed. "Are you sure you aren't just projecting?" he asked, very obviously trying to hide his amusement and failing.

"Oh, don't start with that psycho-babble bullshit of yours."

"All I'm trying to say is—"

"We agreed didn't we?" Kyo interjected. "To leave her alone for her sake? I can't avoid her if she's going to start randomly popping up everywhere."

"She looked good, did she?" Yuki asked, outright chuckling when Kyo shot him a death glare.

"What does that have to do anything?" He growled irritably.

"I'll take that as a yes," Yuki replied, then immediately sobered. "I'm sorry, Kyo. I had no idea she was even in town. The last I heard she'd moved away,"

"That was four fucking years ago," Kyo retorted, though most of the heat had left him by the end of the statement. They'd only been getting word about Tohru in the beginning because Haru and Rin had been keeping an eye on her from a distance. Haru's message that confirmed she'd left Tokyo was one of the last Yuki ever received from him. It was still a sore point even after all this time.

"Anyway, she said something about one of her friend's getting married so maybe she's just in town for that."

"Ah, I see. I wonder which one, "Yuki murmured.

"She didn't say," Kyo replied with a shrug.

"So, what are you going to do?"

Kyo heaved a heavy sigh. "I don't know," he rasped as he plopped down in the nearest chair and dropped his head in his hands.

"Look, if you really want to limit your chances of seeing her just stay away from that side of town. If she is only in Tokyo for a wedding, then she'll probably be gone before it's an issue."

"Don't you think I already know that?"

"Then what's the problem?"

Kyo opened his mouth to respond but then closed it again. What could he say?

Being in her presence again had been exhilarating. Her bright smile, the innate kindness that practically exuded from every pore, made it almost impossible for him not to want to stay and bask in the warmth that made up Tohru. Even after all these years that had not appeared to have changed or faded. Holding her for the very first time (regardless of the circumstances that led to it) had taken his breath away in a thousand different ways. He hadn't realized how devastating it would be to look down into her eyes in that moment and see…nothing. No recognition. No spark. Not even the casual curiosity he'd come to expect from most people when they first caught sight of his hair and eyes. Beautiful as they were, those chocolaty orbs he'd once spent hours losing himself in had been completely, disturbingly empty. It startled him so badly that he practically toppled her over in his haste to put a safe distance between the two of them. Saying as much out loud was proving to be almost as difficult as witnessing it first-hand.

When Yuki put a hand on his shoulder he nearly jumped out of his skin. He'd been so deep in thought he hadn't even noticed him approach. The knowing look in his gray eyes made Kyo want to squirm away.

"Take the time to think about it, Kyo…really think it through. If you want to seek her out, I won't stop you. Just be certain of your decision before you act. For both your sakes."

Kyo looked uncomfortably away as he processed Yuki's words. Deciding not to search for her had been one of the most difficult choices he'd ever made, but he did it for her. Because they had already done enough to fuck up her life, surely, she deserved to spend the rest of it living free of Sohma bullshit. That's what they thought at the time, and no wonder with the threat of Akito still looming so large to them in the beginning. Perhaps that worry had been unnecessary but neither he nor Yuki had been willing to take chances with Tohru's life.

When months later they learned that she'd left, it had only seemed fitting no one knew where she went. It had been the end of one chapter and the beginning of a new. For the first time he felt like he could finally bury the past and start from scratch. Now, however…he wasn't sure he could trust himself now that he'd seen her again. As a martial artist he knew better than anyone how to take a hit, but Tohru had always been his biggest weakness. A kind word, a single touch and he would be down for the count before things even begun.

"Gah! Who am I kidding! I probably won't ever see her again anyways!" he barked out, making Yuki roll his eyes.

"Do you want another drink?" he offered in lieu of a comment.

"Nah, I actually should be getting back to work," Kyo replied as he scratched the back of his neck. Yuki's eyebrows shot up at that.

"You left in the middle of a job?" he asked.

"I was technically shopping for a job, but whatever. It's for Obaachan. Chances are she'll forgive a little unusual tardiness on my part."

"What's the going rate these days for a full day of labor, one container of Yakisoba or two?"

"Hahaha. Bite me, rat boy."

"I'll pass."

By this time Kyo had made it to the door and had started opening it when he paused and turned. "Hey, uh…Yuki?"

"Mmm?"

"Thanks."

Yuki looked surprised for only a second before he smiled and clasped his hand in a brief handshake. "You're very welcome," he responded warmly. "Oh, and Kyo? Don't think this means you're getting out of the dinner tonight. Machi will have both our heads if you skip."

"You know, the scary thing is that I would totally believe that of her," he replied, making Yuki chuckle.

Sure enough, as Kyo was walking out the front entrance he could hear swift footsteps closing in behind him and Machi's call of, "don't be late!" as he walked out the door. Kyo rolled his eyes. He had a feeling he was in for a long night.

Sohma Estate…

In a dark corridor at the heart of the main estate, quite another gray-haired Sohma was being handed a report of an intriguing nature. He thanked his informant with a polite bow and immediately glanced down the hallway to a familiar set of doors. The briefest of smirks flit across his lips as he walked down the hallway and slid open the door, leaving it slightly ajar behind him.

A couple of whispering maids brushed past him as he entered the room, unacknowledging of his presence but he neither noticed nor cared. His eyes were already on the two dark-haired figures kneeling at the center of the room. As usual they were surrounded by people. Neither one of them paid much attention to their surroundings as they held a quiet conversation of their own. He waited patiently just inside the door until Hatori finally noticed him and raised an eyebrow in question. The doctor spoke lowly into his companion's ear and Shigure was rewarded with a pair of flashing dark eyes looking back at him over a narrow shoulder. That one look was all the invitation he needed.

A sudden hush fell over the room as he walked towards them, his eyes dancing with a flair of the old mischievousness as he bowed.

"Shigure. What has brought you here at this time of day?" came the softly worded question, a striking contrast to the penetrating gaze of the one who spoke.

"I just received news I thought you would be interested in," he replied, pretending to nonchalantly study his nails as he let his words sink in. By this time, it was obvious everyone in the room had stopped to listen to what he had to say. Good.

"Well? What is it?"

The words were unrushed, yet he could sense the underlying impatience in the inflection. It made him want to savor whatever reaction was about to come next. Akito's eyes bore into him, demanding that he speak now or get out. He smirked, and then spoke the words he'd waited years to say.

"Tohru Honda has returned."

*Author's Note: A Happy Thanksgiving to all you readers out there that celebrate it! Of the things I feel thankful for this year, this amazing community is certainly one of them. So, thank you for being awesome!