In dedication to all those asking for the continuation of the On the Rooftop story, I present to you with yet another tale for you to read. My greatest thanks to those who enjoyed it, and I hope you will enjoy this one quite a bit.

To Hold You Tight

The First Continuing Chapter: Reaction to a Moment

Tohru's eyes snapped open, yet she felt the rest of her body remain rigidly still. She looked directly at the blur right in front of her. His blurred face. Something soothingly soft was touching her lips. It took her several seconds to realize what she had never expected to experience, or never thought of experiencing. Kyo was kissing her.

After this realization, Tohru closed her eyes once again, but she became vaguely aware of her... vulnerablilty, though all else disappeared without her knowledge. She could no longer hear the sounds of the night insects, nor feel the gentle push of the breeze except the heated touch of Kyo's hand on her neck. But funnily enough, all those romance movies she had ever watched popped into her mind, and at once she felt a strong sense of awed disbelief. Kyo was actually kissing her. Tohru, still pondering on the reality of it, began to wonder an unanticipated thing. She didn't know how to kiss. Her heart pounding so loudly- Tohru thought it ironic that she could hear it when she could hear nothing else- she pulled her head back in panic.

'I'm sorry!' said Kyo immediately, quickly letting go of Tohru's neck. 'I- was that wrong? I know I shouldn't have. Stupid... I'm such an idiot for assuming –'

'Um...' was all Tohru could say. Frankly, she was still stunned, but judging by Kyo's worried expression, he was expecting her to say something meaningful. 'I- I'm sorry, for, um, pulling back... I just got... scared.'

'You didn't like it, right? I'm sorry,' muttered Kyo, lowering his gaze and shifting uncomfortably.

'No! I did –!' Tohru suddenly felt dizzy; she was feeling too many emotions, hearing too many of her own thoughts. 'I... I really did. I liked it... Kyo.' She was starting to feel strange saying his name now. Had she really liked it?

'Why were you scared?' asked Kyo quietly, still looking down at his feet.

Tohru licked her lips, and adrenaline shot through her as she recalled Kyo's own lips on them. 'I was just... you- you caught me off guard. And I- I didn't know what to, I mean how to, kiss so I panicked, but really, I wasn't scared, sorry I said that! I-I... I liked it...'

Kyo looked up and stared at her with an unreadable expression. Though his sharp burgundy eyes seemed to bore right through Tohru's maddened mind, she couldn't help but stare back. Her heart continued to beat crazily, and finally Kyo gave a small smile.

'I liked it too,' he said.

Tohru blushed, and she was positive Kyo could see it. He remained smiling though, whether he noticed it or not. 'W-Was that really what you wanted to do most?' she squeaked. He nodded silently.

'Oh... okay...' Tohru looked away, feeling her blush deepen. 'Um... I better go back to my room now... I'll see you tomorrow, um, Kyo...' She stood up and smiled faintly at him, then turned away, just missing his expression turn into one of pain.

oOo

'DAMMIT!' yelled Kyo, just as he was sure Tohru was out of earshot. He groaned loudly and collapsed back onto the roof's slanted surface. 'Why, why, WHY the hell did I kiss her?'

He breathed anxiously but quietly, and closing his eyes to the starry sky overhead, let his mind loose. That felt amazing... her mouth, her small lips on mine... what was she thinking when I kissed her? Did she really like it? What was I doing, going and kissing her like that... I'm sure she hated it. She just said she liked it to make me feel good, I'm sure of it. She'll never look at me the same again. She hated the kiss, and now she hates me. Why did I freaking kiss her...? Why...?

Kyo sat up as a sudden realization came to him. He turned his head to the left, to a particular area on the roof under which he knew was Tohru's bedroom. He stared at the empty space for a while, wondering what she was doing. Was she sleeping already, or was she... crying, perhaps? At this thought Kyo stood up and walked near to the area. He shook his head to ignore the opposing voice in his head, and he lowered himself over the edge of the roof with his hands until he hung just adjacent to Tohru's bedroom window. Carefully, feeling his heartbeat quicken once again, he released a hand's hold of the roof edge and slowly let his eyes peer into the room.

Tohru was lying on her bed, but she certainly wasn't asleep. It was dark, but the radiant moonlight shining into the room and his cursed catlike vision enabled Kyo to see her expression exactly. And it was all he could do to hope that the bright glow didn't give away his silhouette. Tohru's face wore a pondering look, and her eyes stared at a picture frame she held in front of her. Kyoko, thought Kyo, frowning. Tohru brought a hand to her mouth, and slowly let one finger run across her bottom lip. Kyo felt his heart skip a beat, not for the first time. What is she thinking? He sighed inwardly and tore his eyes away from the window with extreme difficulty. Then something caught his gaze on the ground far below, staring at him with visibly seething eyes.

'What are you doing in front of Miss Honda's window?' hissed Yuki angrily. 'Get down here and tell me, stupid cat!'

Kyo shook his head in exasperation, wishing he could turn his back on a challenge this one time. He let go of the roof, however, and landed silently before Yuki. 'I wasn't doing anything. I'm not some perverted creep like Shigure. You ought to know me by know.'

'I don't believe you!' snapped Yuki. 'What the hell were you doing up there? Were you spying on Miss Honda?'

'Yes,' replied Kyo simply. Yuki stared at him, momentarily taken aback. Suddenly, Kyo felt a hard blow on his face and he was sent flying backwards. He crashed onto a tree behind, and he sprawled onto the dirt with a grunt, feeling blood trickle down his chin.

'Why were you spying on her?' demanded Yuki, his hands clenched in tight fists. Kyo licked the blood off the lip he had bitten as a result of the blow, and slowly stood up. He glared at Yuki and tilted his head to one side until a crack sounded from his neck.

'I was worried about her, damn you!' yelled Kyo. 'I did something which might have upset her, and I was just checking to make sure if she was okay!'

'What did you do?' asked Yuki, raising a fist slightly higher. 'What did you do?'

Kyo suddenly began feeling immensely confused. His mind began clouding with the words Tohru had said, with the feelings he desperately hoped she felt, with the horrible thoughts of what people would say, what Akito would say, about what he had done. He inhaled deeply, and stared directly at Yuki's impaling face.

'I kissed her,' said Kyo quietly.

Yuki remained stone silent, his eyes widening profusely. 'What?' he finally sputtered. 'Y-You think this is a joke? You're toying with me, and you're toying with her too, aren't you? You kissed her? Tell me you're lying. Kyo, SAY YOU'RE LYING!'

Kyo shook his head and braced himself for the blows, which came much sooner than he expected. Yuki slammed his fists onto his face with abnormal speed, and he began thrashing Kyo against each tree that stood nearby. Though he was critically longing to retaliate, Kyo felt the treatment was what he ought to have for hurting Tohru.

'YOU STUPID CAT!' bellowed Yuki, ramming a fist into Kyo's stomach. 'STOP BEING A COWARD AND FIGHT!'

Kyo fell onto the ground with a loud groan he tried to suppress. Yuki stood back, his hair disarray, his mouth hanging with the quick intakes of breath.

'Get up and fight,' he said softly, raising a fist for another fatal blow. 'I said –!'

'STOP! PLEASE STOP!' screamed a sudden voice.

Yuki's hand stopped in midair, and he lowered it reluctantly. Kyo opened his agonizingly bruised eyes, and saw Tohru just a few feet away, wearing a pair of flowered pajamas and an appalled expression.

'What's wrong? Yuki, why are you hitting Kyo like that?' she asked loudly, her entire body plainly trembling.

'Miss Honda, I was just giving this stupid cat exactly what he deserved,' replied Yuki calmly. 'For hurting you.'

Tohru shook her head wildly. 'Kyo never hurt me! I don't know who told you that, but Kyo didn't do anything… wrong!'

Despite the brutal pain that occupied almost every area of his body, Kyo stood up, but staggered. Tohru leapt forwards and grabbed his shoulders to keep him from falling completely, and she gazed at him with a look of natural concern.

'I don't think you can go to school tomorrow…' she said softly, and she touched his bleeding lip. Kyo had a sudden vision it was her own lips that were touching his.

'Miss Honda, did he kiss you?' asked Yuki swiftly.

Tohru looked up in surprise. 'W-What? I-I, um...' she stammered, and she turned to Kyo, at a loss for words. Yuki understood, though, and he whirled around and sped into the house. Tohru watched him go in, from what Kyo could see, apologetic guilt.

'I told him, Tohru,' he said quietly. 'I'm sorry.'

'No, don't be!' Tohru shook her head once again. 'It's not your fault at all. Come on, I'll get you cleaned up.'

'Tohru, are you okay? I mean, with what I did?'

She gazed at him, her eyes glowing with the light of the evening. 'I honestly liked it, Kyo. Now come on, these wounds will have to be treated now or else they're going to last much longer. I hope we didn't wake up Shigure…'

oOo

'My goodness, Kyo, what happened to you?' asked Shigure with amusement. 'Fighting this late? I always thought you'd end up joining a gang of some other. Why –'

'Shut up, idiot!' yelled Kyo, as Tohru carefully wrapped a thin sheet of cloth around the cut on his arm. He grimaced with pain when she finally tightened it with a knot. 'Why are you even awake?'

'Such noises I heard,' replied Shigure, waving a hand dramatically. 'The brutality of wild noises of a fight somewhere. Not only that, but Tohru woke me up in her haste to get outside. I am a light sleeper, after all...'

'Oh my goodness, I am so sorry, Shigure!' Tohru stood up from the floor hastily. 'I am so sorry! I didn't realize- I mean I shouldn't have...'

'Not to worry, not to worry. I was curious to see what was going on myself!'

'Damn dog...' muttered Kyo, and he stood up briskly. 'I'm going to my room.' He looked up at Tohru, whose face wore an expression of either sadness or confusion, he couldn't tell. She had plainly said she liked it, yet he remained disbelieving. He grabbed his bandaged arm and walked out into the dim hall.

What was to become of them now? Was that the end of it, the kiss? What was Tohru feeling?

'Kyo?' her sweet voice quietly echoed across the hall as he began to walk up the flight of stairs. He didn't want to face her right now, not when he was sure she was going to say something that would cause him to regret kissing her for the rest of his life. He hurried up the stairs.

'Kyo? I –!'

Feeling extremely guilty, Kyo closed the door of his room just as she reached it. He stood in the dark, not sure why he felt this way, what he felt exactly. Jubilance for kissing her, perhaps. Anger for telling Yuki, maybe. Fear?

'Kyo...' Tohru whispered through the thin wooden door. 'I-I'm sorry, for whatever you're feeling right now, if it's my fault. Um, I... t-thank you, Kyo; I had fun awhile ago. About the k-kiss, I, uh, but I really did like it, Kyo, please believe me. And, if you're worried how things will be from now on, I promise I'll stay the same, we'll be friends still, Kyo, I –'

'No, not friends,' interrupted Kyo, opening the door quickly. Tohru, her eyes teary, stared at him in confusion. 'I don't want to be friends, Tohru. I want us to be... more than that.'

'...More?' repeated Tohru, moving back slowly as Kyo took a step forward. He gazed down at her, his heart beating fast, his feet continuing to move towards her. Finally her back met the wall, and she looked up at him with wide eyes as he stood just inches from her. She looked so innocently beautiful. He lifted a hand and placed it against the wall, just beside her cheek, and he leaned closer. He didn't want to think anymore. Right now, he just wanted to kiss her. He pressed his lips against hers.

The kiss felt even more intense than before. Kyo felt the blood rush around his body like wildfire. Tohru seemed to stiffen, but after a few, delicious seconds, she went slack. Kyo slowly slipped his other hand round her waist, and pulled her closer, but not too close. A small sound escaped her, and Kyo thought he'd go crazy. She wasn't pulling back, and he opened his mouth slightly.

Perhaps it was the due to fact that nothing seemed to matter anymore at the moment, but in any case Kyo felt overwhelmingly happy.