Disclaimer: Fruits Basket does not belong to me, nor does the beautiful artwork. I'm sad to say that only the story's plot belongs to me here. ;-; So don't sue me, I have no money.

   Poof!

   The miffed orange cat glared fiercely at the young girl standing in front of him, his dark red eyes narrowing to bored slits. He sighed as the girl bowed her head repeatedly, apologizing.

   "I'm so sorry, Kyo-kun!" Tohru Honda cried, her long chestnut hair spilling over her slender shoulders as she bowed, "It was an accident! I'm sorry, I'm sorry!"

   The cat gave a sigh, sitting down on the pile of clothes that had moments ago belonged to a young boy whose hair matched the fierce orange color of his sleek coat. He gave a low growl, shaking his head. After a few seconds, another popping sound was heard, and a cloud of orange smoke shifted through the room. The frame of a tall, slender young boy replaced that on the orange cat, and he watched as Tohru turned a pinkish red and spun around, continuing to apologize while he quickly redressed himself.

   "I'm so sorry, Kyo-san!" She whined, bowing her head to the wall. He placed a hand on her shoulder, sighing. She slowly turned to look up at him, taking fearful note of the frown on his face.

   "It's all right," He shrugged, "It happens. Just be more careful when you fall down stairways, and I might be able to help you next time." He patted her head, and turned around, his dark red orbs sliding closed, as a feeling of tiredness overtook him.

   "I-I'll try," Tohru muttered, watching his back. "Not to have accidents anymore…"

   Kyo Souma glanced back, and sighed once again. As he climbed to his usual resting place, the top of the roof, his mind replayed her accident, and why he had felt an incredible urge to snap at her when she apologized. It wasn't because of her tripping, causing him to transform into his cat form, or even the she had winced at him when she looked at him, though that did make him feel bad. No, that wasn't it.

   It was the fact that it's always an accident. He growled at the thought as it streaked through his mind, but he could not deny it. And that alone bothered him enough to put him in an even fouler mood. He heard the owner of this house, his older cousin Shigure Souma, talking to Tohru and laughing. Laughing…laughing at him. He glared at the sky, wishing he could become one of those twinkling stars in the night. They were always laughing at him. Always.

   It's never that damn rat… always me. He thought, Am I really that laughable? ...That pathetic? Am I that much worse than him, that anything I do always turns out wrong, even my speech? Am I so inferior?

   Kyo's fists clenched and he gritted his teeth at the thought. No, that damn rat wasn't better than him in any way. He was just…he just…had his own talents. And Kyo had his. Isn't that what Tohru had told him once? Told him that all he could see was Yuki's talents, but not his own? Yes, he recalled her telling him that not long ago.

   Tohru…His mind flashed over thousands of images of her in seconds; her smiling, her crying… even her laughing. And with her, she was never laughing at him. Never… Kyo's eyes widened and he felt some of his anger boil down. Thinking of her, it seemed almost to ease the pain he felt. Tohru… it was as if the very name could ease his troubles, almost make him forget about being an outsider… because to her, he never was. He always belonged, always felt like she welcomed him, and welcomed his curse.

   Not like them…

   No, they had all treated him like some kind of freak. Like he was worse than them, and it was his fault, like he was… inferior. He would never be good enough for them. No matter what he did, it was always the same. He could never hope to fit in with them, and yet he tried anyway. He still yearned to be accepted, at least by someone. And that's where she came in.

   She accepted me; let me feel special to her, like I was something precious, something to be treasured. And still…

   It's always an accident.

   The cold truth felt like a needle to his heart, as his mind reflected on something he seemed to always have known. Always, yet he had never wanted to admit it to even himself before. It seemed too foolish to think someone as kind of Tohru could… That she could think something…as cold…but everyone thought it about him, didn't they?

   They all think I'm just a monster, nothing more. But her…does she think that? Does she…Does she think I'm a monster too?

   That thought was almost too horrible to bear. Kyo shot up straight, shaking his head. No, she couldn't think that. Could she? Did she? He stared out at the sky, his eyes wide and horrified. He put his head in his hands, suddenly feeling angry with himself. Why was he stressing out over this? It wasn't as if it was even important what she thought, right?

   "Kyo-kun?" A soft voice made him jump, and he turned quickly to stare at Tohru. "Are you going to stay here all night?" She asked softly.

   He blinked, and then felt the strange feeling of a smile creeping onto his lips. He forced it down, however, not daring to smile. Not yet. He didn't know how she felt. He shook his head, watching her slowly step onto the roof, unsteady.

   "Kyo-kun?" she whispered, sitting next to him, "Are you mad at me?"

   He shook his head again, shrugging. "No," He said softly, "I'm just thinking. I come up here a lot to think, if you haven't noticed."

   She winced, and he felt a stab. Was she wincing at him, or at his rebuke? He looked over at her, wondering how she felt. If she really thought he was a monster, like everyone else. Did she just consider him like they did? Just… just like they did?

   "Sometimes," He continued, not quite knowing the words that stumbled out of his mouth, "I just stay up here for hours. It's nice to have a place to come and think, you know?" He wanted to continue, but cut himself off there.

   She smiled at him, and he felt the horrid red color spread over his pale cheeks. He looked away, blushing. Damn it, why did he always blush when she smiled? What was it she did to him that made him do that? He risked a glance back, and, finding her attention was on the moon, looked back.

   "Kyo-kun," She murmured, "Will you come back down? It's going to get cold up here. Please?"

   He nodded; his anger and frustration almost gone now. "Yeah,"

                                                                 ******

   "Yuki-kun, please don't destroy my house!" Shigure begged, wincing while the young, mop headed young boy slammed Kyo through a nearby paper wall.

   "Then he shouldn't start fights!" Yuki observed, watching the orange haired boy warily. "It's his own fault."

   Kyo growled something with a lot of curses in it, and glared death at Yuki. "My fault my ass…" He breathed, "Damn rat."

   "Kyo-kun!" He froze as he felt the soft tug on his arm, "Are you alright?" Tohru asked, "You looked hurt!" Kyo looked down. Indeed, he was bleeding slightly from his arm, probably from a sharp splinter of wood. He shrugged her off, blushing again.

   "I'm fine!" He snapped, harsher than he had intended. He winced as she drew back. "I'm fine. It's nothing." He glared one final time at Yuki, spinning around and marching out the door. Yuki gave an annoyed sigh.

   "He really shouldn't start fights, he always loses." He said, and shot Tohru a look, "I'm sorry, Honda-san, that's just more work for you, isn't it?"

   "Eh? Oh! No, it's alright, I like it." She smiled, "It gives me something to do. It's really alright."

   "Ah," Shigure sighed, "She's such a perfect little flower. Just makes you want to—" He broke off as Yuki's fist hovered inches from his face. He laughed uncertainly, taking a step back. "Alright, alright! I'll stop. But I'm a novelist, Yuki-chan! You can't tell me not to express my inner thoughts!"

   "Just don't express them here!" Yuki growled, his large violet eyes narrowing dangerously. Shigure backed out of the room, muttering about how certain ungrateful children prevented his artistic spirit from flowing free. Yuki turned to tell Tohru he would help her with the door, but found her gone, in search of materials to fix it no doubt. He sighed, feeling put down somehow.

                                                                   ******

   "Kyo-kun? Are you sure you're alright?" Tohru peered into his room, and felt surprised not to see him there. "Kyo-kun?" She was sure she had seen him head up here, but he was definitely not in the room, unless he was hiding under the bed. Just to be sure, she bent down and glanced under it. Strangely, there was an assortment of books and manga jammed under it, but no Kyo. She stood, sighing. His room was a mess, really. Absently, she starting picking up clothes and folding them. After she was done with that, she straightened his book shelf, her mind drifting.

   "Eh?" Kyo stared at her, blinking. "What are you doing in here?"

   Tohru gasped. "I'm sorry! I didn't realize… I just started cleaning without realizing! I'm sorry for prying!"

   Unwillingly, Kyo felt a smile begin to edge onto his face. He leaned against the doorway, shaking his head. He had gone to put a bandage on his arm, not expecting anyone to follow him. "It's alright," He sighed, "I was going to clean up today anyways." He shrugged.

   "O-oh…Can I help you? Since I already started…" She looked down, "Can I just help you?"

   He nodded, feeling something turn over in the pit of his stomach. "Of…course you can." He walked over, and Tohru started chatting happily about anything that came across her mind. School, tests, flowers…anything. Kyo was more just listening to the sound of her voice more than her words, surprised at how gentle it seemed.

   "Kyo-kun?" Tohru looked over at him, smiling.

  "Yes?" He answered, startled. She had asked him something? Why hadn't he heard?

  She gave him a childish smile. "I asked what you thought about going to the park sometime later on. It's a beautiful day, and I'm sure we'd have fun."

   He winced. "Even that brat Yuki would come?" He truly didn't want to spend anymore time than he had to with that stuck up idiot.

   "Well…I was hoping we could all come… Kisa-chan also. She asked me to take her today, and I thought it would be fun for us all to go…together." She looked down. "You don't have to come if you…don't want to."

   "I'll come," He said, not quite realizing why he had suddenly said he would. He was going to say 'no'. But… "I'll come, I guess. I don't have anything better to do."

   Her face lit up, and she smiled brilliantly at him. "That makes me so happy, Kyo-kun! That way we can all be together!" She didn't seem to notice his blush, and just continued placing books on their shelves. Kyo looked up, wondering if that's how it should be.

   Together…with her…We'd be together. That way…We can all be together.

                                                              

                                                                     *******

   "Stop looking at me like that, you damn rat!" Kyo snarled, glaring at Yuki.

   Yuki met his gaze calmly. "I wasn't looking at you, stupid cat; I was looking at the tree's behind you."

   "Sure!" Kyo snapped. He was really getting close to pounding that stupid pretty boy's face in…

   "Kyo-kun, Yuki-kun, aren't the flowers lovely?" Tohru interrupted, rushing in between the two boys, "Look at the way they shine!" she held Kisa by the hand, and Shigure had stayed at home, claiming he had to make up for the creative spirit Yuki had delayed.

   "Whatever," Kyo muttered, but he couldn't help his eyes drifting over to the pink roses in the corner. They where shining, it was true. The sun glinted off their flawless color, and water trickled down their petals. He looked at Tohru, watching as she laughed with Kisa, listening to the young girl tell her all about school.

   "Sounds fun, Kisa-chan." Yuki said, "It really sounds as if you're getting along better with more of the students. Are you?"

   Kisa nodded, and cuddled up to Tohru. Yuki smiled, and Kyo looked away. The smug look didn't fit that brat, just like triumph didn't fit him. Yet that always seemed to be the expressions his face.

   "Oh, I just can't get over those beautiful roses!" Tohru cried, smiling warmly, "Their so perfect!" Kyo looked over at them again, silently agreeing with her. Perfect, like someone else in his life, someone very close to him at this very instant.

   "Hold on, I'll go ask the gardener if we can pick one for you." Yuki smiled, and left the three standing by the rose bush. Kyo growled. Yuki always got to do the sweet things, and was always showing him up.

   "Kyo-kun," Tohru looked up at him and smiled. "These roses remind me of you."

   He choked. "Me?" He stared her, wide eyed. She nodded.

   "Yes, you. They shine to briliatnly in the right light, but they don't seem to even know it. Like their perfect, but don't see it themselves. They just want to be them in their own way." She reached out and touched his hand. "Perfect in their own way."

   He looked down at her hand, red spreading over his face quickly. But a thought stuck in his mind, one he silently whished to express.

   Maybe I don't know quite how she feels, He thought, but now I don't need to. As long as I'm by her side, and she's right here... He smiled down at her, feeling all worries being lifted away with the air. She just did that to people… Just as long as I'm by her side, I don't need to know how she feels.

   I just need her to be there, by my side. Everything will be alright, just as long as I'm by her side.

  The End

Authors Notes: Whew! ^_^ So, what'dya think? I know it's short, but I wasn't going for a chapter fic. I've always been a KyoxTohru fan, so…e.e I just expressed my feelings. And, after seeing adorable pictures of Kyo and Tohru from the manga, I just had to write this. Sorry if the characters are a little off…I need to watch the series again.

Thanks for reading and reviewing,

  Chibi-chan