Together

Long, brown hair. Dark green eyes with a hint of blue. Short. A small figure. I didn't think much of her then. She was just some girl, who happened to be in Shigure's house...wearing Yuki's clothes. I didn't even really see her at first. I had just crashed through the roof, preparing to pummel that damn rat into the ground. I knew someone was behind me, but I didn't pay any attention, until...she hugged me. It was an accident, but her arms still ended up wrapping around my waist, and POOF! I was staring up at the girl named Honda Tohru through cat eyes.

"Let's go home. Back to our house."

I didn't mean to act angry towards her. It was just every time she started to talk to me, she had caught me at a bad time. I don't know, maybe it was just because I didn't know how to act around her. I've never been very good with people. I kept getting my words all messed up, and before I knew it, I had just started shouting at her. But...she never stopped trying to talk to me. And I can still remember how surprised I was when she told me she liked me and wanted to be my friend. Nobody had ever liked the Cat before, let alone wanted to be its friend. I realized then that I liked her too.

"I am a fool. Really, I have no power at all."

She was a good listener. Nobody had ever listened to me before. I mean, why would they even bother listening to me, when there was Yuki, that damn, stinkin' rat. But she didn't care if I was the Cat or not. She paid attention to what I had to say. And...I liked hearing her talk, too. I usually hated people talking to me; they made me feel awkward, but she was different. She always had something interesting to say; even if it wasn't something I cared about. Most of the time I'd say that the things she said were stupid, but actually I was embarrassed that someone was paying so much attention to me, and even complimenting me.

"I'm afraid. Right now, Kyo, I'm afraid of you. But still..."

I was so surprised when she said she was leaving. I was just getting to know her, and I liked her, but it was just my damn luck that she'd go away. I guess nobody stays very long with the Cat, but her leaving...made me sad. I didn't want to admit it, but I knew I was gonna miss her. It was weird having an outsider in the House of Sohma, but I knew not having her there anymore would be weirder. And when that damn rat and I finally decided to bring her back to Shigure's house...I was so happy, I guess, to see her. I had acted angry, of course, but I didn't know what else to say to someone I had...missed so much. I took her hand, and we walked home...together.

"...but still..."

I found myself blushing around her all the time. It was so annoying! Not only because she was affecting me that way, but because I didn't know why she was affecting me at all. No one had ever really gotten close to me, and most people just ticked me off. But she...was special.

I still remember when she told me that the remarkable parts about a person were like the Umeboshi plum on a rice ball. She said no one could see the good qualities about themselves, because, just like an Umeboshi plum is on the back of a rice ball, a person's good qualities are stuck to their backs. She said that was the reason why it was easier to see another person's remarkable parts instead of your own, too. She also said...I had an Umeboshi plum...a wonderful one.

"...I want us to stay together...together..."

On New Years, I ran home to her, so she wouldn't cry...so she wouldn't be alone. I defied Akito and didn't attend a celebration I had been going to since I was born, just so we could watch the first sun rise together. On Valentine's Day, I put my pride aside to eat Kagura's chocolate, just so I could eat her present. I didn't want to hurt her feelings. When that little brat, Momiji, decided to take her to the hot spring for White Day, and that damn Yuki was going to tag along, I didn't want to go, but I did. I went with them, for her. I even allowed myself to be pulled into playing badminton and taking a walk with that damn rat. I found myself doing things for her all the time...things I thought I'd never do. I just couldn't say no to her. And for some reason, I really didn't mind. She always had that giddy expression on her face, so I guess, that's why it was okay.

"...from now on, too."

When she got sick...I couldn't believe it, but I got so worried. She looked so miserable, sitting there. I couldn't believe it when she tried to make us supper. Why was she so selfless? Why couldn't she complain a little...relax a little? Why couldn't she stop paying attention to everyone else's wants and needs, and start considering her own?

I made her leek soup, despite the fact that it's the nastiest world in the world. All those damn cookbooks said leeks were effective, or something. I thought those books were crazy, since everybody knows leeks aren't fit to be eaten by human beings. But it didn't really matter what I thought as long as she got better, so a couple of moments later, there she was, eating leek soup. I remember her saying it was delicious, although my cooking is crappy compared to hers. I tried to make her feel better, the best way I knew how. We talked...and I ended up telling her that things would feel wrong if she didn't get better. I told her that I wouldn't be happy unless she was smiling again...I wouldn't be happy unless she was happy. And that was the truth.

"I want to eat our meal together, and study together, and worry together..."

Everything was going so well. I had practically lived in solitude my entire life. Nobody liked the Cat. I was an outcast in my own family. But when she stood by my side, none of that mattered anymore. Her smile had the most incredible ability...to make me completely forget about the Sohmas, my curse, and Yuki. She could make me so happy.

But then...that all changed. The look on her face was definitely not a smile the day I transformed - not into a cat, but a monster - in front of her. It was surprise, confusion, and fear. How could she ever smile at me again after witnessing something like that? I lost all hope...it was all over. Over...

"I want you to listen to what I want."

I remember it raining, no, pouring. My beads went flying through the air, and I watched them, as my eyes became distorted-looking and purple. I felt my skin stretch, as I curled myself up into a ball. Everything was happening so fast, and before I knew it, I had transformed into the other form that possesses the Cat. And I knew then...that she had seen me. I took off into the forest, running in no real direction...I was just running to run. To get away from the horrifying reality, I guess.

But then, she came to me. Her long, brown hair was stringy and wet. Her dark green eyes with a hint of blue were dull. She was still short...still had a small figure, but she looked even tinier. She looked sad and worn out. She was muddy, and I remembering seeing that her shoes were gone. I was so shocked when she took my ugly, brown arm in her delicate hands, but I was even more shocked...when she said she wanted us to stay together. Her words touched me more than anything ever said to me. No one had ever wanted to stay together with the Cat. But she had...

"And Kyo-kun, I want to listen to your complaints, too."

I don't know when it happened really. Maybe it was when she said she wanted to be my friend; perhaps it was on New Year's. It could have happened when she took my arm that day I transformed; it even could have happened when she talked me into playing badminton. I didn't know that the Cat could feel any other emotions but pain and want and loneliness, but she made me feel. I don't know when I started this feeling, but it happened. I started to feel...in love. Somewhere along the line, I fell in love with her. And I wanted to be with her forever. Me and Tohru, together.

"And so...I want us to stay together!"