Kyo glared through the classroom window at the hard downpour. There was nothing he hated more than rain, especially depressing, gray rain. He paused, thinking, then scowled after a moment. Nothing, of course, besides that hoity-toity Yuki.

  Actually Yuki and rain had some things in common, the red-head mused. They're both gray in color, and manage to make the rest of the world seem gray as well. The way they both had an incredible talent of pissing him off...

  "Kyo-kun?"

  Kyo jumped and turned. Tohru Honda was staring at him. He blinked.

  "Class ended ten minutes ago, and you haven't moved. Do you feel all right?" Concern spread across Tohru's innocent face.

  "I-it's nothing!" he spluttered, feeling himself turn slightly pink.

  She always worries about everyone else, he thought as she smiled at his reply. But doesn't consider her own feelings...

  "I'm glad I watch the weather report with Shigure-san this morning!" Tohru said, bringing Kyo back to the present. "I wouldn't want to catch cold and trouble everyone again!" She giggled. "But you're a better cook than you realize, Kyo-kun. That leek stew you made for me that time was so wonderful!"

  Kyo felt his cheeks go from 0-60 in 1 second, blushing from a slightly flushed pink to a burning scarlet. Why did she have to say these kinds of things when they were alone?! Even if that damned rat were around, at least there would be someone to distract her and change the subject. Now, there was no escape...

  "There's no one left..." Tohru said suddenly, looking around. She turned back to Kyo. "Are you staying here for a while? If you're going home now, we can walk together. Souma-kun has a student council meeting, so he won't be around to bother you." She smiled, as if she had just given Kyo a big treat.

  Sure, Kyo was glad to have Yuki out of his hair, but...

  "You don't wanna be seen with me," he said, saying his thoughts without realizing it.

  "Eh?" Tohru tilted her head slightly, and the blue ribbons in her hair swayed.

  No escape... "Walking home together... Isn't that...a dating thing?" he finished, his face becoming an even darker crimson.

  "EH?!?!?" Tohru said, and started to freak out within her own mind. Kyo had seen this before when she had been presented with an awkward situation, and didn't even want to try and thinkg of the insane train of thought going on in her head...

  "O-Of course not!!" Tohru managed to reply. "Don't be silly! We're just good friends and housemates!" She smiled, a little embarrassed.

  Kyo quietly sighed with relief. Nothing would come out of this walk, and nobody would jump to conclusions. Even if they did, she wouldn't care, so neither would he.

  But a little voice tugged in the back of his brain, saying quietly, "But is that really all I want?"

 

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   They walked in silence for quite a while. Kyo's dampened spirits could think of nothing to talk about, and he almost preferred it that way. Tohru, however, was rather uncomfortable. The last time it had rained was only two weeks ago, on that dreadful day...

  

   Tohru shuddered to remember Kyo's horrid transformation. While his "true form" was ugly, it was more Kyo's pain than his appearance that had terrified her. He went crazy knowing Tohru had seen him change, and remembering everything he had been trying so hard to forget since he returned from training. Akito calling him hideous and a monster; his mother's constant and utter terror of him; his jealousy of Yuki and his place in the Souma family; his loneliness and awareness of everyone's disgust...

   When Kyo had woken up after passing out in cat form, he had told Tohru these things, clutching his futon with a death-like grip in order to hold back his exploding emotions. She had been the one to bring him back to the house, she had been the one who redeemed him and gave him hope, she had been the one who stayed by his side the entire time he slept. She had cried for him, telling him that he has Kazuma-san, his surrogate father and martial arts master, and Shigure-san and Kagura-san and Souma-kun, and herself. He wouldn't never have to live with that ever again.

   "We're here for you Kyo-kun! We care about you; even Yuki-kun, in his own way!" she had cried. She took out her handkerchief and hid her wet face in it, suddenly embarrassed at showing such a frenzied and desperate display of emotion. "We will always care, Kyo-kun..." she had mumbled.

   Kyo had only stared at her for a moment, nonplussed. He realized that she had no idea of how she had helped him, and everyone else. But it was Tohru, most of all, who told him that his past was not the way his live had to be.

   He softly laid an affectionate and grateful hand on her fine brown head. She had looked up into his kind smile and yellow eyes, which were misty with tears he struggled to prevent. "Thank you, Tohru..." he had whispered quietly, in a rather strained voice.

   After hugging him and fleeing from the embarrassment of a new wave of tears, Tohru left him to rest and promised salmon for him when he awoke. She composed herself and she went to the kitchen downstairs, thinking how she had never really seen him smile before, or even call her by her name. Kagura later told Tohru that she too had tried to comfort her "beloved." When Tohru asked her what changed her mind, she had quickly changed the subject.

   The time after the incident was quite peaceful. Yuki was careful to not instigate Kyo and start a fight, and to avoid him altogether when Kyo was in a particularly bad mood. Shigure chose not to purposely do anything stupid or that would annoy Kyo when he was around. Kagura had quietly departed the morning after Kyo woke up, even without her deadly "goodbye kiss." She simply left him a small lunchbox of tuna sandwiches she had made for him at his bedroom door. Momiji, having heard almost everything, persuaded his father to give Tohru a few days off to care for Kyo, and Hatori had been called to mend the physical damages to Kyo, Tohru, and Yuki. Kisa insisted that Hiro be absolutely silent in Kyo's presence when they went to visit him, and left a gift of an expensive book on more ancient martial arts techniques that they had bought together. Everyone had been so kind.

   Eventually, inevitably, things returned to normal, or something close to it. Everyone was still very careful around Kyo. He and Yuki got back to fighting, but it wasn't as often as before, and quite half-hearted. Yuki tended to end the fight quickly, not even replying to Kyo's rather minor insults if he could help it. Tohru asked Shigure why this was. He had smiled and said that Yuki was going to wait for Kyo to strike first, because they were finally starting to understand each other. Tohru and looked confused; Shigure said it was a man's thing and left it at that.

 

                 to be continued...