I'm so sorry it took me so long to do this… but today I just realized I should just wrap this last story up since my fanfic da

I'm so sorry it took me so long to do this… but today I just realized I should just wrap this last story up since my fanfic days are officially over from now on. :x Anyway here's the last chapter of Cross. I completely forgot what I had in store for the closing of this story since I had planned it all out years ago… so excuse me if this ending is quite corny and lame. sweat drops Sorry! bows down in apology

The story about a girl who taught a boy a little something called hope...

C R O S S

Chaper T W E L V E

Home

I wonder…

Where do I go from here?

"You alright?"

"Huh? Eh?! Ah!!" Tohru's cheeks reddened as she squealed, "I'm sorry I was just…thinking!" She then frantically waved her hands in the air, trying to seem calm, but just emphasizing her panic as she rambled on, "You don't have to worry about me! Ah hah hah!" She fell into a nervous bout of laughter, feeling a flood of guilt drowning her as she thought of how much she was making Kyo worry about her. Again.

She felt so useless.

It was about a half an hour after the funeral session and the two of them had been sitting on the benches inside the church for some time now, not a word being said. Tohru had been too busy absent mindedly staring at the spot where her grandfather once stood and she hadn't even realized her insensitivity until he had given her that worried glance. She sighed, bowing her head down in disappointment for making Kyo have to go through all of this for her. She didn't feel deserving of his sympathy. She was about to open her mouth and apologize when Kyo interrupted her and said firmly,

"You better now start apologizing constantly and telling me that you don't want me to go through so much trouble for you and all that crap because I'm not leaving your side whether you like it or not. Deal with it." He finished his sentence with a small smirk as he playfully swatted her over her head.

Tohru felt her voice chip away as her shoulders gradually relaxed, leaning back against the wooden benches, gazing ahead again, a deep silence falling between them.

Kyo glanced sideways, his throat tightening as he lifted a tentative arm, reeling his arm back and forth behind her like a fishing rod as he clenched his teeth down before finally placing an awkward arm around her shoulders.

Obviously he was still having an incredibly hard time dealing with sappy affectionate actions.

Tohru's heart jerked from this sudden touch and her body began to tingle all over… just like that time when he had took her hand while walking back to the church together. Tohru felt her heart warm as she leaned in closer to him and tilted her head as she glanced up at Kyo to see that he was looking away with amber eyes that burned with embarrassment. She finally giggled under her breath and then softly replied, "You know me too well…"

Moments later her coffee eyes then filled with worry as she said with dimmed eyes, "Kyo-kun?"

"Hnh?" His hand was unconsciously playing with her hair now, his arm still around her shoulders as his fingers casually twisted the ends of her soft brown hair. She uttered out quietly, "What happens now? …Now that grandpa's gone? What will happen to the church? To my home? I'm…" Her eyes watered but she forced them backwards, softly choking out, "I'm scared…"

His fingers froze as he stiffened, feeling at a loss of words again, unable to give her the exact words of comfort she needed. He thought for a moment, staring at the golden cross hanging at the front of the room before saying, "You can get through anything. …You can get a job and continue to run the church. You can still save the church…You're not the type to just give up and walk away."

She seemed to be mulling his words over in her head as her brown eyes then flickered with hope as she promptly stood up, Kyo's eyes widening as he watched her old self bursting forward. She pumped a fist of determination into the air, her words echoing loudly across the walls, "I can do it! Kyo! Your words have given me faith!"

"Er… really?" Kyo asked with a raised eyebrow, feeling undeserving of the sudden praise.

Man, she sure does get worked up when she's excited…

Tohru clasped her hands together, biting her lower lip as she took a deep breath and then whirled around to face Kyo, her face now dancing with life as she said smilingly, "I'll work harder at my part-time job and I will protect this church with all my heart… I promise you grandpa!" She cheerfully closed her eyes and let out a little joyous sigh as she opened them again, looking at Kyo happily as she murmured, "Thank you…again."

Kyo stood up as well, brushing his hands off as he grabbed her by the wrist. "C'mon, we'll work together. We'll protect it together… you don't have to be scared of the future anymore…"

It's been almost a year and Kyo and I have protected this church with all our hearts… and I think that grandpa would be very proud with what we've done. Many of the old faces and even new faces have come to support us… your church is safe grandpa… and you don't have to worry anymore…

Tohru was beaming down at the crowd from the podium where her grandpa used to stand, clearing her throat lightly under the microphone as she said with an uncontrollable smile as the people looked expectantly up at her.

"Today we have a guest speaker… and I'd like you all to treat him kindly." She bowed slightly before continuing, "He is a very good friend of mine… so please welcome Sohma Kyo!" The crowd began to clap as Kyo looked around from side to side, his face reddening, sweat building at his brow as he stared at Tohru's shining face. She motioned for him to come up as she happily called out, "C'mon Kyo-kun!"

Kyo got up reluctantly as he thought wearily to himself,

Yeah… speeches are not my thing… but before when things were still pretty rough a few months back I made a silly promise to Tohru that I would make a speech in front of everyone when the church came to life again. I thought she'd forget all about it (Well I was hoping she'd forget about it…) but unfortunately she has constantly been telling me how ecstatic she is to hear my speech for the past few days… and well that damn smile of hers could make me wear a woman's dress and sing love songs. (Okay… maybe not the dress part…)

Kyo wiped his sweaty palms against his khaki jeans and grumbled quietly under his breath, clutching the white scrap of paper in his hand which contained the speech he had been working on the other night. He could feel the eyes of everyone boring into his skin, but the only one that mattered were her eyes.

He got up to the podium and cleared his throat three times, staring out at the sea of faces that were waiting patiently for his words of wisdom and hope. He looked down at his paper and then glanced sideways to see Tohru's beaming face, then back at the anxious crowd, taking in another breath as he muttered into the microphone, "Um… well… how should I start? …" He paused for a long moment and then continued, gradually finding his voice, his volume slowly rising, "I…I never believed in God before." He licked his chapped lips. "To be completely honest… I used to think that God and church was all a big joke and that there was no point in believing in Him because of all the disaster and horrors that happen in his world on a daily basis. There's war, famine, murder, death, hate… so many things that could make people cringe and cry."

Kyo looked down at the paper and then at the crowd again, feeling his words grow with strength as he continued more firmly, "…I went through a phase in my life where I felt like dying. I did… and I'm sure everyone in this room has felt a strong bout of sadness before, haven't you?"

A soft murmur of agreement occurred.

"Yes. I fell down hard and I didn't think I could get back up… I didn't want to get back up. All I did was blame everything on God and how unfair He was, not wanting to see my own mistakes or face the world. I lost my purpose of living and wandered down the streets like a fool, doing foolish deeds… and unforgettable things…"

Kyo shook his head, flashes of his dirty past coming back as he thought of the times he had beaten innocent people for his own satisfaction, when he used to steal things just to laugh at the world. He said distinctly, "I'm not a good person, and I don't think I can ever completely wash away every bad thing I've ever done in my life, but I can always try and start over. And that's what I've done." Kyo smiled from his heart, staring at the faces in front of him. "So…don't give up hope…not yet. Someone taught me that even through all the horrors and the dark stormy nights, there will always be a light, no matter how small it may be, work your way towards it. Never give up on the light because it is always there… don't let your sadness consume you like I did. Don't lie on the ground like a fool after you've fallen. We were created with legs weren't we? So we have to keep walking forward… be strong. I have no idea what God has planned for me… not at all, but it doesn't matter because knowing that hope is out there is enough for me. Knowing that there is a purpose for everyone gives me warmth in my heart… and it took me a while, but I've finally found my purpose in life."

He turned to his side and faced Tohru with a small smile as he watched her widened brown eyes fill with tears.

Then he said without hesitation,

"It was to meet you."

The End.