Hello there, me again! Yes, I know I'm horrible about keeping up with stories. But that doesn't mean I forget them! New ones come to me, though, and I wanted to get this one out before it falls into the black hole of "Someday I'll finish this... if I can remember where it was going!"

So I hope you like it! I'm working my way through the manga, but since I've only read about a third of it I'm mostly basing this on the anime. So if anything in here isn't canon to the manga - especially after book 6! - I'm sorry, but please don't spoil it for me!

Happy reading!

---

A year had passed since Tohru saw Kyo's true form. She had never shied away from him, or shown any sort of fear when talking to him. The memory had far from faded in her mind, though, and for the first few weeks Kyo had heard her crying out in her sleep - sometimes it was just screams, sometimes she said his name, or Akito's. He didn't know why she dreamed of Akito, but when he would stand just outside her room, silently opening her door just wide enough to peer inside, he would watch her toss and turn and know she was having a nightmare. And from her whimpers - "Kyo, no… your bracelet…" - he didn't need to be told what they were about. Some nights he would hear her cry out, and go to her room, only to see Yuki standing there, watching her as the cat often did. When the rat did look at him, it was with eyes full of hate - Yuki, too, knew what troubled Tohru in her sleep. But other nights, he would just stand at the door with a mingled expression of sorrow and fear. These were usually the nights when Akito's name came from the sleeping girl's lips. Kyo never had found out what had happened the day Tohru spoke to Akito, but he knew what the expression on Yuki's face meant - he was sorry for whatever had happened, but he was too afraid of Akito to help his friend.

As time went on, though, Tohru's nightmares had been fewer and further between. They had also been more often about Akito, and less about Kyo. After a number of weeks the girl seemed to sleep as peacefully as ever. Even during the day, she seemed to get more and more cheerful and comfortable with Kyo. She spent more time with both him and Yuki. Shigure started calling them the "Mabudachi Trio Part Two," which annoyed Yuki and Kyo to no end. Tohru, of course, didn't seem to mind, or to know what was going on, really. Yuki and Kyo still fought, but less and less often. More members of the Zodiac had stopped by at various times to meet the famous Tohru Honda, each visit delighting her and, more often than not, annoying Yuki and especially Kyo. Tohru had gotten better at guessing which animals people were, which was especially good for the girls, since they couldn't just hug random strangers to show her their animal form.

Now, it was raining again. Kyo lay listlessly on the porch, watching the falling water. He lay on his side, his head propped on his hand. Tohru was inside making tea and washing the dishes from that morning's breakfast. Yuki and Shigure were out buying supplies to repair a wall from a recent brawl. If it hadn't been raining, Kyo would have had to go, but as it was they all knew he would just get in the way. He heard the door slide open behind him, and turned just slightly to see Tohru standing over him with a pot of tea and two cups.

"Would you like some tea now, Kyo? It might give you more energy," she suggested. Kyo shrugged, but pushed himself up with a groan and lumbered inside, where he immediately dropped down again. Tohru smiled, watching him, then slid the door shut and sat down across the table from him to serve the tea. Kyo took a sip and froze, his hackled rising. Tohru looked up, worried. "What is it? Is it too strong? Too weak? Too-"

"Milk. Now," was all he could respond through clenched teeth.

"Oh! Right! I-I'm sorry!" Tohru hurried into the kitchen, then quickly returned with the milk. Kyo poured a liberal amount into his cup, causing it to overflow and spill over his hand and onto the table.

"Gah!" Kyo dropped the cup, splashing hot tea everywhere. Tohru held up her arms to shield herself as it hit her. She winced in pain, then looked to see if Kyo was alright.

"Kyo, are you…" she gasped. "The milk!"

"Huh?" Kyo tore his attention from his burning hand to the one holding the milk. He was still holding it in a pouring position, but without a cup to catch it, the milk was pouring straight onto the table. He quickly turned it upright and set it down. He hung his head. "Sorry… sorry, Tohru."

She smiled brightly. "It's fine! I'll clean it up! But first…" She rose and grabbed his wrist carefully, leading him into the kitchen. "We should get that burn taken care of!" She turned on the cold water, and carefully held Kyo's hand under it to cool it off. He watched her as she carefully turned his hand this way and that.

"Tohru… you didn't get burned?"

"Ah…" The question took Tohru by surprise, and her face gave it away for just a short moment before she replied, "Nope! I'm fine!"

Kyo looked at her tenderly. He liked having her hold his hand, but at the same time, he knew she was lying about getting burned. He could see the brown tea stains and red, irritated skin on her arms as she turned them. When she let go of his hand and reached to turn the water off, Kyo carefully grabbed her arm and held it under the water.

"Kyo, what…?"

"Your turn." He gently handled her arm, moving it under the water so that the whole thing was washed. When one arm was done, he took the other and continued washing and cooling it. "Let me take care of you for once, Tohru." He smiled down at her, and saw her looking back at him, blushing, a stunned expression on her face.

"Kyo, I-"

"WHAT HAPPENED HERE?"

"Oh!" Tohru seemed to forget what she had been about to say as she rushed back out to the scene of disaster. Yuki and Shigure had returned. The latter had tears streaming down his face, while the former just looked stunned. "Oh- I'm so sorry, I hadn't gotten to cleaning up yet, I was trying to help Kyo, but then he was washing my arms, and I guess I forgot, and…" She trailed off, seeing pieces of Kyo's teacup, which had broken when he dropped it. She knelt down and began picking up pieces. "Careful, everyone! Better not walk through here until it's safe- oh!" She picked up her hand and noticed that it had been cut on a shard. "Ow…" she stuck the bleeding finger in her mouth, but continued trying to clean up with her other hand, even as tears streamed down her face.

"Tohru, you shouldn't have to do this!" Despite his words, Shigure made no move to help.

"Yeah," Yuki agreed, "you should get that stupid cat to- huh?" Before he could even finish his sentence, Yuki realized that Kyo had come out of the kitchen with several towels and a trash can. Kyo flashed Yuki a look of hatred, then knelt and took Tohru's unhurt hand.

"Stop that. This is my fault. Let me take care of it," he told her gently.

"Oh… b-but Kyo…"

"Here, Tohru." Yuki stood above the pair, extending his hand to the girl. "Let the stupid cat clean up." He noticed said cat tensing at his words, but paid the boy no heed. "Come upstairs so I can tend to your hand." He smiled brightly.

"O-okay…" Tohru took Yuki's hand and stood, but looked down at Kyo. "Will you be okay?" Kyo only grunted in response.

"Oh, he'll be fine," Shigure assured her. "What's more important is that we wrap up that finger of yours."

"He's right," Yuki agreed. "Come upstairs with me and I'll take care of it."

"Okay…" Tohru followed Yuki and Shigure, who was ignoring the mess and going upstairs to work on his latest romance novel. Tohru paused for just a moment at the foot of the stairs to look back at Kyo, silently cleaning. Kyo… he's being so… nice today. Is it because of the rain?

---

"Hey, Tohru."

"Hm?" Tohru turned from the stove to see Kyo leaning against the wall.

"Are you… alright? Did that rat get you taken care of?"

She smiled. "Yep! I'm fine now, thanks to you and Yuki!"

"Huh? What did I do?"

"You took care of my arms!" She held them up to show him.

"Oh… that's good. Listen, I- hey, careful!"

"Huh?" Tohru looked back at the stove and saw that the soup was starting to boil over the side of the pot. "Oops!" She quickly began stirring, causing the boiling to go down. "We don't need any more messes, do we?" She laughed. "What were you saying?"

Kyo shrugged. "I…" I'm sorry for causing you trouble. "Nothing. We're almost out of milk, though. I'm gonna run to the store after dinner, if it's not raining."

"Okay!" Tohru turned again to smile at him. "Thanks, Kyo!"

He looked away, hoping she didn't see him blushing. "No problem." He started to leave. "Hey, Tohru…"

"Yes?"

"Would you… like to come?" He glanced over his shoulder to get her reaction. She looked taken aback. He turned away. "Never mind. Forget it." He started to leave again.

"Ah- Kyo!" He stopped in his tracks and turned as Tohru ran up to him. "I would love to go with you," she said, happily and honestly. Kyo started to smile, then looked over her shoulder.

"Tohru, the soup!"

"Ah? AHH!" She ran to rescue the food from boiling over again. Kyo laughed silently.

"You keep the food from burning. We'll go after dinner."

"Right!" Tohru turned once more to exchange one last smile with him. Kyo went to the stairs, and saw Yuki standing there, glaring at him.

"What's your problem, Rat?" Kyo brushed by his cousin without getting an answer, besides a deeper scowl.

---

Tohru smiled as she carried the bag of groceries in her arms. "The sky is beautiful, isn't it? And it smells so nice after it rains!"

Kyo grunted in return. "I'm just glad it isn't raining now." He had an umbrella leaning against his shoulder, just in case. Tohru couldn't find hers when they left, so Kyo had said they could share one if the rain came back. Now, he kept eyeing the sky suspiciously, watching for telltale clouds.

"I'm really glad you invited me, Kyo!" Tohru's grin brought him back to Earth. "It was fun being able to spend this time with you!"

"I had fun too, Tohru," he answered honestly. "And if you want, we could spend more time together, whenever you want. We could go shopping, or to a park, or movie… or just be together. I think it would be fun." Kyo gave Tohru one of his rare, gentle smiles. "I'd like to spend more time with you."

Tohru blushed. "That… sounds like fun, Kyo."

Kyo blushed, too, and looked down at the ground. "So… do you want to go to a movie with me, on Saturday? I know you don't have much money, but I can pay for you." He looks at her sideways and smiled again, more shyly. "It could be… a date… if you want."

Tohru was surprised for a moment, but quickly smiled happily. "Yes, I would like to go on a date with you, Kyo!"

"G… good." Kyo looked back at the ground, blushing furiously. Suddenly he felt a raindrop, and looked up at the sky just in time to see a single cloud bursting into rain. "Tohru, under the umbrella, now!" He grabbed her and pulled her under the umbrella, and suddenly realized a key factor in sharing the cover - to keep her close enough to keep them both warm, he'd have to hold her. A sudden puff of smoke dissipated, revealing Kyo in his cat form.

"K- Kyo!" Tohru was caught by surprise, but quickly recovered and started to laugh. "Sorry for this, but it looks like I'll have to carry you home!" She packed the fallen clothes into the bag with the groceries, then skillfully held that bag in her arm while holding the umbrella in the same hand. She then reached for the cat, who backed away from her hand. "Come on, I don't mind! We'll get home that much faster, and I promise nobody will see us." At these words, Kyo allowed Tohru to scoop him into her free arm. She began to run the rest of the way home, pausing just far enough from the house for Kyo to transform and redress. She offered him the umbrella, but he pushed it away.

"We've already decided we can't both stand under it, and no respectable man would make a lady walk in the rain. Besides, you've got to carry the groceries, and we don't want them getting wet."

"O- okay. Are you sure you'll be alright?"

"I'll be fine, just go!" They both ran to the house, Kyo sprinting to get out of the rain, Tohru doing her best to keep the groceries dry. As they both collapsed, panting, just inside, Tohru couldn't help but start laughing. Kyo looked at her in wonderment. "Wha…? Are you okay?" Tohru didn't have the breath to respond, between panting and laughing. Kyo began to chuckle as well, then to laugh harder. "Why… are we laughing?" he asked, when he could breathe.

"I don't know," Tohru responded, just as breathlessly. "And that's part of the reason!" This sent them into a new round of laughter, so that neither noticed Yuki watching from the stairs. If they had, they might have noticed the clouded look on his face. He quickly turned and retreated upstairs. Tohru caught her breath and started to stand, picking up the things she had dropped. "Well," she panted, "I guess I'd better put these groceries away."

Kyo stood, also. "Here," he offered, "let me help." He smiled at Tohru as he took the bag of groceries from her, and they chattered carelessly as they put the dishes away. Tohru couldn't help but notice that Kyo was being much more open than usual. She was happy to see this side of him, and hoped to see more of it in the future.

---

And see it she did. After the movies, Kyo invited Tohru to a park. Then to a play. Then shopping. Then just a walk. They continued to spend more and more time alone together, but at the same time, Tohru was still spending a good deal of time with Yuki. This became more and more aggravating to Kyo, as he wanted to know exactly how the girl felt about him. It took almost two months from the first date to work up the nerve to ask her. They were outside, doing homework together, when he finally blurted it out.

"Tohru, do you... do you like me?" After spitting out the words, he couldn't make eye contact. Slowly, though, he began to raise his eyes, to see a very surprised looking Tohru.

"Of course I like you, Kyo!" The Cat's heart began to rise, but then plummeted at her next words. "I like you, and Yuki, and Shigure! I'm so grateful to all of you!"

Kyo headbanged the table they were working at. "Not… what I meant." He got up and swiftly moved closer to Tohru, taking something out of his pocket. "Tohru, would you consider… being my girlfriend?" He held up a small beaded bracelet, matching his own, with a cat charm attached to it. Tohru's hands flew to her face.

"Kyo, I…"

The boy looked away. "Look, if you don't like it, or don't want it, you can tell me. I can take it." There's always Kagura. A gentle hand lifted his chin to look back at Tohru, who was smiling gently.

"Kyo, I'm honored that you asked me. And I love the bracelet. And I would love to be your girlfriend." Tohru held out her hand, and Kyo stared at it for a moment before slipping the bracelet onto her wrist. He suddenly reached out and hugged her as tight as he could before turning into a cat. Tohru held him for a long moment, stroking his fur as he purred in contentment.

She said yes… she said yes!

---

At dinner, of course, Shigure asked about Tohru's new bracelet, and she stutteringly explained. Yuki and Kyo were both strangely quiet for the rest of the meal. Shigure, however, congratulated the two, said something perverse (as usual), and insisted that they order a cake for dessert to celebrate. He did not, however, stop Tohru from doing the dishes after dinner. After she disappeared into the kitchen, the three Sohmas remained at the table until Yuki stood up and started for the stairs. Shigure looked up at him. "Leaving without a word, Yuki?"

"I'm… not feeling very well." I want to hit him. I want to punch him so hard, but I can't. Not if it would upset Tohru.

"What's the matter with you, damn Rat?" Kyo asked from the table. Yuki lost his self-control for a moment, spinning and starting to send an open hand towards the Cat's head. He stopped himself just before making contact.

"Kyo…" What do I say? I can't congratulate him - I'm not happy for him. I don't need to tell him not to hurt her - he knows that. He knows how stupid it would be. "…I guess you've finally won."

"Huh?" Kyo cocked his head. "What do you mean?"

"…Don't be stupid."

"Wha- WHAT'S THAT SUPPOSED TO MEAN?!" Kyo shouted at his cousin's retreating back.

"I think he means," Shigure misinterpreted, "that the reason for his ire should be obvious, and if you weren't stupid you would know."

"I AM NOT STUPID!"

"Then you should know, should you not?"

Tohru came back from the kitchen. "I've ordered dessert! I hope everyone likes strawberry shortcake! Huh?" She looked at the empty spot at the table. "Where's Yuki?"

Shigure smiled down at the table. "He's not feeling well. Don't worry, Tohru. Yuki will be alright." At least, I hope he will…

---

It didn't take Yuki long to decide what to do. He couldn't remain in this house, watching those two be so happy together. However, he also couldn't go back to the Main House, and he had nowhere else to go. He could only think of one suitable alternative. He stood over Tohru's bed late that night, watching her sleep briefly. Then, finally, he leaned over her. "Be happy," he whispered, before pulling the girl softly into an embrace. The smoke didn't wake her up, nor did his clothes falling to the floor. The rat scampered out of her room, down the stairs, and out into the rain.