Chapter 8 - Love fool

"Rain again." Tohru stated flatly. Ever since the incident with Shigure and Kyo it had been raining every day three days straight. The customers were not coming in due to the horrific storm occuring on this day in particular. Fortcasters predicted a devil of a storm to come in later that afternoon so she decided to make an early dinner. As she went away cooking she hummed lightly as the light pitter patter of rain knocked against the window over the sink.

"Mama tells me I shouldn't bother
that I ought to stick to another man
a man that surely deserves me but I think you do!"

She laughed while forming the shape of a rice ball. She couldn't remember the last time she'd sung so happily.

"So I cry, I pray and I beg

Love me love me
say that you love me
fool me fool me go on and fool me!"

Tohru continued to hum the tune while preparing the rest of the meal and wandering around in her own thoughts. She never noticed the small guest house across the back of the house until Momiji pointed it out, but now she found herself staring at it every so often. She only wished Kyo well.

She began wrapping up a small bento box and smiled at her fancy work. She couldn't remember the last time she ever made anyone a small meal like this before. On ocassion she used to make lunch for Uo and Hana but she had not seen them in a long time. Eating alone, she didn't care too much about how it looked since she was eating alone. She placed the lid on the box and put it in a small blue bag with drawstrings. It looked very nice. Since she'd come to live here, she'd already forgotten how long she'd been a guest. It felt like she'd been with the Sohmas for much longer than just a few weeks. Her culinary was also getting to it's top perfection. She only hoped it would suit Kyo's tastes. He never said anything but she wondered if he was only eating the meal out of politeness.

She sat at the kitchen chair and began placing on her galoshes and raincoat, tucking the bento box tightly within her coat.

"Honda-san..."

Tohru knew the voice already and laughed while giving Yuki a plesant smile. "Really, Yuki-kun, Tohru is just fine!"

Yuki shook his head and stood directly infront of Tohru as she tugged a rainhat onto her head, hiding those blue ribbons in her hair. He felt a small smile tug at the corner of his mouth. She looked so adorable. "Tohru-san, why do you insist on going to that baka-neko's house? He's perfectly capable of coming over here if he was that hungry."

"Oh, but I'd hate to make him upset. I know how much he doesn't like the rain-- maybe he's really like a cat or something-- and it really is no trouble to me at all! And besides," Tohru frowned slightly, "Kyo-kun must be lonely. It wouldn't hurt to visit him."

Yuki sighed and only straightned her cap to her raincoat slightly over her head. "You, Tohru-san, are really too kind." The girl smiled and made her way to the door. "Please be careful, the rain is really picking up. If you'd like, I'll walk you over--"

"No, no, I'll be fine! It's only a moment away from the main house. I'll be fine, but thank you!" She opened the door and stepped outside. "I'll be going now!"

"Come back safely."

Tohru hurridly ran for the small house not too far away as Yuki watched her knock the door and enter the house. He only chuckled to himself thinking about how he was so used to her being there, seeing her flitting around the house like the busy bee she was.

Since she'd come to live with them, Yuki found that talking to her was plesant. More so than talking to the males in the house anyway. He'd just pick up a book, find Tohru, and sit in an empty chair reading, while she hummed and went about her housekeeping. Yuki insisted that he help her but she always told him it was no trouble at all and she wanted to work off her debt herself. She was very happy when he told her she was more than 3/4 of the way to her goal. And dispite all the housework she did, she looked like she enjoyed it. In fact, he'd never seen the house look so clean. She even went through the trouble of finding a vase and placing assortment of flowers in it. The main house was looking more like a home rather than a bachelor's hog pin. She was probably always lost in her own thoughts as she cleaned but every once in a while he caught he off guard when she thought he was too busy in his book.

It was a face of worry, anxiousness, and worst of all saddness.

He wanted to know, why was it that she looked sad? Was it running out of her wedding? He thought more on the topic noting that there had not been anyone coming around to look for the girl at all. Not a word, not even a rumor. Yuki narrowed his eyes at that. Some groom her fiance must be.

Yuki knocked the thoughts from his mind, not wanting to curse a man he'd never even met. There must have been something good about him had Tohru accepted his propsal at all. She did not seem like a shallow girl either-- a bit of an air-head-- but loveable all the same. He turned to the counter to see Tohru had left him a small snack. He smiled and picked up a carrot stick. It seemed that Tohru already predicted that he'd come in to the kitchen to see what she was up to.

Dispite the every now and then glances at Tohru's sad face, Yuki also noticed that she didn't look as broken down as when she first arrived. She seemed to be revived and full of life as the days went by. He did not want to see her so sad and crying ever again. He'd grown to love her like a sister. Tohru was more relateable than his rather loud older brother anyway.

And what of the day when Tohru would finally fufill her debt? Would she walk away from them forever? After he'd just grown to have her around the house, her kindness and bumbling attitude, everything would just suddenly vanish? Like she was never even there, everything would just go back to the way it was. And then where was Tohru to go?

Yuki bit into the carrot a little harder at the thought of Tohru crying again. He swore until the day that Tohru was completely safe he would watch over her. He took one more glance at Kyo's house and walked out of the kitchen to see what Haru was doing. He didn't ever want to see her so unhappy ever again.


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Kyo punched the air in repetition when a sudden knock came to the door. Without having to think about it, he already knew who it was. Every day since he met Tohru, the girl just showed up on his door step bearing her home-cooked meals. Usually he would come in the kitchen unnoticed and just grab a small bite or cook something himself in his little home. He hated to admit it but, her cooking was better than his.

He went to answer the door to see a slim yellow figure smiling up at him. "Hello, Kyo-kun!"

Kyo pushed himself back to let the girl into the house. "Come in..."

Tohru continued smiling as she draped her coat and hat on a hook by the door. She stared at it for a moment before turning to Kyo. "It looks like you put a nice hook for your coats here! You don't want to lay your coat on that box anymore?"

Kyo closed the door and turned away blushing. The only reason why there was a hook now was because she always came over. He'd normally just throw his coat on an empty cardboard box he'd use as a side table, but as he grew accustomed to expecting the girl to come over, he decided putting up a hook would be a bit more... considerate.

"The box was getting soggy..."

Tohru paniked. "I'm so sorry! Was it my coat that was making eveything wet? I'll pay for a new box-- no a real table! I'm sor..."

"It's fine!" Kyo shouted at her instantly quieting the entire room. He looked away. "Um... no it's okay, I was planning on... just throwing the box away..." Tohru stepped closer to him.

"Did you just move in here? I-I mean, there are just still so many boxes here that you use as furniture is all..." Her heart jumped when Kyo turned his eyes on her looking actually gentle. She still remembered the first day she'd visited him. They both felt awkward as she constantly thanked him for taking her in, and how she really didn't drink but was just so upset she threw all caution to the wind the night he'd found her. He'd only ate the small meal she brought out to him silently while never looking her in the eye. But now, this must be the first time he'd ever looked at her in the eye since the first day she actually met him at the host club. And his eyes still took her breath away.

"I used to live in the main house..."

"Oh, yes! Ayame-san told me that! But he said there were some changes and you..." Tohru trailed off thinking how Kyo moved out. She wondered what it was that made him move out. Suddenly Kyo's face scrunched up and he looked angry. "Ayyyyaaaa, was it something I said? Oh, I'm sorry!"

"You... you really shouldn'y come to visit me... Tohru..." Kyo spoke out trying to control his anger. The sudden thought of why he moved out reminded him of the girl's presence in his house. She shouldn't be with him.

Tohru took a cautious step closer to Kyo so they were only inches away from each other. His face blushed as she looked up with worried eyes. "But you're so alone. Doesn't that bother you?"

"As long as I'm away from you it's fine by me!" He shouted out, backing away from her. Instantly he wished he took back his harsh words. He didn't mean that. No, he really did not mean to say those hurtful words.

Tohru's eyes widened as they glossed with unshead tears. She wanted to be friends with Kyo. He really did remind her of the lonely cat in the zodiac story. It made her heart sink at the thought of Kyo hating her presence. She really was dimwitted. "I... I just..."

Kyo felt it twist his heart as he watched her tear up. He barely knew this girl and here she was making him start to feel... feel so hurtful. No one had ever shown him such kindness. Taking time out to go visit him, make meals for him, talk to him. No one did that even when he used to live in the main house. He was normally on his own just doing his own thing, but here she was trying to be nice while he was just yelling at her. But this was for the best, wasn't it? She couldn't be hanging around him dispite how comforting her being there with him was. And here he was doing nothing but making her cry in return for her kindness. The girl that was making his heart rip apart. But he had to make her leave.

Kyo walked to the door. "You should go."

"But I..."

"Just get out!"

Tohru jumped at his harsh tone and ran for her coat and shoes. She slipped it on and before leaving she turned to Kyo with hurt, painful eyes. He started back at her waiting for her to run away, slap him, do something. But she just stared at him blankly, rain drops sliding around the brim of her hat as she glanced away. She sniffed and looked down as she placed the bento box in his hands clasping his with her own hands. He felt his face warm at the contact.

"I...I just made this for... you. If you were hungry that is. Y-you don't have to eat it..." She swiftly turned away hiding the tears and Kyo felt like dirt. No he felt lower than dirt.

Just to see those eyes filled with tears that he made fall, it made his heart ache. He'd never felt any bond so strong to the girl that just fell onto their door step. Her light smile, her beautiful brown locks, and those expressive eyes that first caught his attention. And now a frown was shoved infront of all of that. He wanted to punch something. How was it that one girl could make him act so stupid! Angrier than normal! Foolish! Like a total asshole! He ground her teeth together as he leaned against the door frame. He wanted to run out and tell her he didn't mean to yell... but this was for the best.

Wasn't it?

With rather solemn eyes he watched Tohru slosh through the mud returning to the main house.

'Im such a fool.' She thought, salty tears mixing with the cool wet rain. 'I don't know why he makes me feel so happy when I'm with him, but he suddenly puts up a wall and pushes me away. Maximum rage. I know he hates me now! I should have known that he hates me. That's why he keeps pushing me away. I'm such a complete fool.'

Kyo closed the door, pain sinking into his chest. He couldn't bear to watch her anymore. He knew he upset her, he wasn't blind. But it was better that she didn't get too close to him and learn of his biggest secret of all...

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