Disclaimer: This chapter is super cheasy and I know that just please hang in there

"Kyo! Tohru! Welcome back, welcome back!" Momiji chanted, watching from the window as the newlyweds returned home. Kyo frowned, seeing the young man hanging halfway out of the upstairs window of their new home.

"Momiji!" Tohru dropped her bag in the doorway and ran to meet Momiji at the stairs. The two embraced briefly, glad to see each other for the first time since the wedding. It had been almost a month, and Tohru and Kyo had been settling into their house nicely. They had left Yuki's cramped apartment the day they came back from their honeymoon, to which Yuki rejoiced. He was sad to see them go, but glad that he could have Machi come over and not have to worry about her running away.
Kyo and Tohru had bought a house on the outskirts of the city Yuki lived in. They hadn't had many visitors, other then Arisa and Saki, who insisted on helping them unpack and decorate. As a result, an entire room had been put completely off limits, under Kyo's order, due to inappropriate decor. Kureno had promised to help Kyo fix the room, but had since avoided his calls and visits. Tohru, overwhelmed with curiosity towards what was in the room, had tried to open the door one day while Kyo was out, only to be stopped by a very angry Kyo, who clamped a hand onto her shoulder and growled. The incedent went untalked about, with Tohru learning her lesson, and Kyo putting super glue around the door.
"Tohru, I've got something for you!" Momiji pulled a pink envelope out of his back pocket, holding it up with a smile. "It's a love letter." He laughed, dodging from Kyo's way as he attempted to snatch it away. "Just kidding! Kyo, you really shouldn't be so jealous! You can't have Tohru all to yourself forever, you know. Anyways, this is an invitation to Hiro's baby sister's first birthday party!" The child in a grown up body handed the invitation to Tohru, again, ducking out of reach of Kyo's attack.
"Has it really been a year already? I didn't even notice!" Tohru cried, shocked. "It seems like it was only a few months ago that we all went to the beach together, doesn't it?" Tohru smiled at the thought, remebering how she'd tried to teach Kyo how to build a sand castle.
"Yeah," Kyo sat down, rubbing his head. "I guess it has been a while since then, huh?"
"Of course it has! Yup, it's really been almost two years since that trip! Hard to believe, right?" Momiji plopped down next to Kyo on the couch. Tohru joined the two men, sitting in silence for a while. "I guess time really does fly when you're having fun."
"Yeah."
"Of course!"
"Oh yeah," Momiji stood suddenly, a look of excitement on his face. "I forgot to tell you. I've got a girlfriend!" The announcement didn't surprise either Tohru nor Kyo, as Hatori had told them as soon as he had found out.
"Yeah yeah, we know." Kyo grumbled, scooting slyly closer to Tohru. She giggled, crossing her ankles and smiling brightly at Momiji.
"Congratulations! What's her name?" The curious streak wasn't over, apparently. Tohru felt the need to know all about Momiji's new partner, though it was none of her buisness.
"Pontai. She's the one that I-"
"Ah! Brat, stop bringing that up." Kyo cut him off, covering Tohru's ears. Tohru smiled, thinking of how pointless it was. She could still hear perfectly fine.
"Hey, hey. Speaking of, did you two-"
"Argh, leave!" Kyo shouted, kicking Momiji in the leg. The blonde-haired boy laughed, shrugging.
"I was just asking. Anyways, my job's done! I wish I could stay, but as they say, school calls!" He waited for Tohru to stand, then hugged her and left briskly, waving at Kyo as he left.
"I've never heard anyone say that before." Kyo said, kissing Tohru and closing the front door behind Momiji.
"I haven't either." She giggled, covering her mouth as though it was bad for her to laugh. Kyo took her hand away from her mouth and kissed her again, refusing to let go of her hand.
"You're so beautiful." Kyo whispered. Tohru rolled her eyes.
"Kyo," She laughed, staring up at him. She knew what he wanted, she was just too shy to say anything about it.
They went to their room, not taking the time to close the window Momiji had opened.

XXXX

"Hey, whatever happened to Spot?" Arisa held out a rag for Tohru to take. They were in the kitchen, talking, and Kyo was upstairs with Kureno, finally fixing the forbidden room. While Arisa was sweating buckets, there wasn't a single bead of sweat on Tohru's brow. She couldn't be bothered by such a thing as sweat.
"Who?" Tohru took the rag from Arisa, and began wiping down the counter that she'd used to prepare lunch for the four of them.
"That dog, from that first time Hana and I came over. Remember, the black one?" Arisa crossed her legs on the floor, looking up at her friend as she hummed to herself. As Arisa said this, Tohru stopped humming and the color drained from her face.
"Oh, uh, he- ehh, he d-d-"
"He was hit by a car a few days after that visit. And he died." Kyo answered for Tohru, appearing next to her in his casual- though sweaty- clothes. He let his hand rest on her shoulder, reassuring her. "We buried him in a ditch."
"Well, well, well, Kyo. You really do sound like a heartless bastard right now." Arisa noted, a menacing glare focused on Kyo forming in her eyes. "Makes me think about how you might be treating my Tohru when I'm not around." She took a step forward, challenging Kyo. Tohru stepped between them, a worried, yet smiling expression on her face.
"I'm sorry, Kyo just really hates dogs. He never liked Spot, even though he was harmless." Tohru smiled calmly at Arisa, hoping to put the fighting spirit to rest for the moment. Arisa scoffed.
"Well, Tohru, aren't you a dog? That's your zodiac symbol, right? You don't hate her, do you Kyo?" Arisa pulled Tohru away from Kyo gently, falling into a protective stance instinctively. Tohru laughed nervously. Now would be a good time for lunch, right Kureno?
"Uo, aren't you hungry?" A bored Kureno slouched against the doorframe. "Tohru, you couldn't have happened to make lunch, could you?" He crept forward, taking Arisa's hands and pulling her into a kiss, releasing Tohru in the process.
"I did. It's on the table out there, if you'd like to go sit down." Tohru ushered the two out of the kitchen, and spun to face Kyo.
"What?" Kyo asked, leaning against the counter. Tohru made a gesture for him to stand up straight again, and he did, happy to comply to any wishes that his wife may have.
"Um, Kyo? Could you try really hard not to fight with Uo? Please." The brown eyes that begged Kyo to agree made him melt, but the stubborness inside of him refused to let it go that easily.
"She was the one doing all the talking, as usual." It was merely a grumble, and Tohru already had her back turned, yet she still managed to hear it, and turned around, a smile lighting her face.
"I know, but please Kyo." Tohru took Kyo by the hand and led him into the dining hall, where Arisa sat slumped against Kureno, who ate his miso soup as though he couldn't care less. Tohru smiled at the sight, taking it in with pleasure.
"Thank you, Tohru, for this meal. We're thankful." Kureno spoke the words that Arisa was too tired to utter. The feeling had come over her suddenly, at the smell of the miso. Drowziness was not something Arisa delt with well, but it had become more intense lately.
"Of course! Even though there was one room that was off-limits, I really owe Uo and Hana for helping us so much. I really don't know what I'd do if I didn't have them. The thought kind of scares me, actually." Tohru sat across from Kureno, leaving the last seat for Kyo. He sat down next to her, kissing her on the cheek before he began eating. Tohru watched the two men eat for a moment, then silently started in on her own soup.
"We feel the same, you know," Arisa sat up, patting Kureno on the shoulder in thanks. "Hana and I couldn't survive without you around." She began eating her miso, leaving Tohru in shocked silence. Tohru looked at Kyo, then back at Arisa and Kureno.
"But, I really haven't done anything to make you say that! I didn't have friends before I met you two. I'm very grateful." Tohru smiled to herself, slightly embarassed.
"Tohru, we didn't have any friends either. And we're grateful too." Arisa set down her spoon, finished with her food, quicker than usual.
"I-If it weren't for you two, I couldn't have kept on going after Mom died!" Tohru set her own spoon on the table, ignoring the worried looks from Kyo and Kureno.
"Tohru, maybe you should calm down." Kureno suggested, dropping his spoon into his bowl. Tohru gasped and looked down at her hands, completely embarassed.
"I'm sorry. It's... There's no way for me to express with words how thankful I am to have Hana and Uo. They... They are the closest thing to family that I had for a long time. They won't just... accept that." Tohru sighed. It was unlike her to say things like this. It felt unusual, and strange to the people at the table, Tohru included. She stood awkwardly, excusing herself and walking limply up the stairs, and into hers and Kyos room. She watched from the window as Arisa and Kureno got into their car and departed for the time being. Kyo stood in the front yard, seeing them off. As they drove off, he turned around and looked up at Tohru, sitting in the window. She looked down at her hands, wishing she could take back what she'd said.
"It's not that big of a deal." Kyo came in to try and comfort her. She closed her eyes, the hope that they wouldn't talk about it anymore too big to squash down.
"I can't believe I said that to Uo. It's true that I wish they would just accept how thankful I am, but I still shouldn't have said it out loud." Tohru opened her eyes and looked out the window, watching as a light rain began to fall. She stood, and began pacing the length of the room slowly.
"Hey," Kyo moved from his place by the window to the edge of the bed, and took Tohru's hand gently. "You don't need to worry about it. That girl would love you no matter what. Even if you said you hated her, probably." Tohru frowned.
"If I ever said that to her, I'd never forgive myself." Tohru shuddered at the thought, and sat down. Kyo wrapped his arm around her torso.
"Then just don't say it. Simple as that." Tohru laughed at the simplicity of Kyo's statement.
"Thank you, Kyo." Tohru let her head rest on Kyo's shoulder gently.
"Uh, yeah, you're welcome, I guess." Uncomfortable with the thanks, Kyo could only stammer through his words. He stood, and walked briskly out of the room, pardoning himself with a grunt. Tohru smiled. She felt better, after talking to Kyo
"I'll apologize." She decided, speaking to no one. She stood, determined to call Arisa as soon as possible- which just so happened to be right then.
Realizing that Arisa wouldn't have a phone as she had just left, Tohru paused, wondering where Kyo had gone. She looked around. The house had gone silent, to the point where if a needle fell upstairs, Tohru would have been able to hear it in the kitchen. Tohru held her breath in an uncomfortable pose, her hand hovering just so in the air.
"Kyo?" Tohru barely whispered her husbands name. Even so, the silence was disturbed, and even before a second had passed, everything happened at once.
The phone began to ring, high pitched and annoying. The sink in the kitchen turned on by itself, streaming hot water into the bowls stacked from the meal eariler that day. A door slammed upstairs, and Tohru heard a crash from the previously off-limits room. A beetle scurried across Tohru's foot and crawled under the fridge. Several windows fell closed, slamming simutaneously. Tohru's legs went weak, and she lowered herself onto the floor, unable to steady them. As the chaos around her persisted, Tohru could only watch, her brain too traumatized to think of what to do. An orange hair-obviously Kyo's- floated down past her face and rested on the floor. She stared at it for a moment, and knew in an instant what was happening, though she had no idea how she knew.
Everything went still at once, just as quickly as it had started. Tohru found a tear crawling down her face as the oh - so - familiar scent filtered into her nose. She wrinkled her nose, then quickly brought her hands up to cover it in an attempt to stint the stench. She retched, unable to get the smell out of her throat.
Finding her feet, Tohru made her way up the stairs she had descended only moments before. She sucked in a breath through her still covered nose, the result making her cough violently. Tohru clamped a hand on the stair rail and continued to ascend. She knew where she was going. She had to get there.
As Tohru made it to the door she had only been near once, she nearly threw up the lunch she had just had with her friends and husband. The stench- oh, Tohru could barely stand it. More and more tears sprang from her tear ducts as the scent penetrated her barrier of hands. "Kyo!" Tohru pushed on the door, revealing what she had known had been there all along.
Kyo lay on the floor, a puddle of yellowish brown mush a few feet away. Tohru recognized the miso from their lunch immediately, and grimaced, pinching her nose. "Gross. Kyo, come on." She used what little strength she had to hoist Kyo onto his feet. Kyo groaned, leaning on her heavily.
As far as Kyo was concerned, he was drifting away on a log in a fast-moving river, without the strength to paddle to the bank. In his dreamland, he was angered by his own weakness, and fought with the current to find his legs. He kicked once, hardly moving off the path determined by the flow of the river.
In reality, he took a step, helping Tohru along as she tried to get him into bed.
In Kyo's mind, he swore. This was frustrating. He had to get back to Tohru, but he could barely move his body. Summoning as much stregnth as he could, Kyo kicked three times, astonishingly propelling him towards the bank. With this newfound hope, Kyo kicked again and again, until he was only inches from the sand.
Tohru didn't question how Kyo was moving his feet while he was passed out. She'd seen enough from the Sohma's to never question anything again. She turned into their bedroom, guiding Kyo as he stumbled along with her.
Kyo forced the last bit of energy in his body to move his arm forward, and soon he was pulling himself onto shore, heaving with exhaustion and chill.
Tohru let go gently as Kyo collapsed onto the bed, panting violently. She sighed, letting her chin fall to her chest. The relief that she now felt was tremendous. Kyo was sick, very sick, but he wasn't laying on the floor. Tohru didn't know why she had felt the need to move him, but she had, and now her goal had been accomplished successfully. She sat next to the wheezing man, and smiled. Just one more thing that she had done well. Just one more success.

See I told you that it was cheasy