To those who commented earlier, thank you!
Chapter I: A Fateful Accident
"Fired?"
Tohru Honda looked at the head cleaning woman with shock. She couldn't have heard it right. She was fired? "I'm so-sorry," she stammered, "but I'm fired?" When the woman nodded, she blurted the first thought that came to her mind. "Did they say why?" She quickly regretted her words. She shouldn't have said that. It wasn't her place to ask. Maybe, the bosses didn't like the way she cleaned their offices, or perhaps one of them slipped and fell on the floor she waxed, or–
"It's not your fault," the head cleaning woman hastily assured Tohru when she saw the young girl's bewildered expression. She gave her a sympathetic look. "It happens quite often these days." She sighed. "Many people are getting laid off for no apparent reasons nowadays." She fondly patted Tohru's hand. "I'm sure someone as young and as industrious as you are will find another work soon enough."
"Hai!" Tohru smiled cheerfully at the woman, but deep inside she was worried. This cleaning job was her main source of income. Its loss would surely affect her. How would she pay for her schooling? She didn't want to ask from her grandfather, since he himself had just enough to support himself. She had to look for a job, fast.
As she left the building, she was so deeply engrossed on how to get another job that she didn't notice Yuki Souma standing in front of the building until he said, "Honda-san? Are you all right?"
"Eh?" Tohru quickly looked up and saw Yuki, blushing slightly when she noticed her giving her a rather intense stare. "I'm fine, I'm fine!" Tohru quickly assured him, giving a false little laugh. Yuki cast her a doubtful look, but didn't ask further. "Thank you for waiting for me," she added with a smile.
"Aa." Yuki took her bag and they walked in silence towards the house.
They reached Shigure's house without incident. "We're home!" Tohru said as soon as they were at the doorstep. As she dutifully removed her shoes, she decided not to tell her friends about her problem. They already had enough to deal with. She would take care of this all by herself.
"Tohru-kun!" Shigure Souma greeted with his usual flourish. He smiled slyly at her. "You and Yuki-kun are late." He winked at them. "You didn't do anything naughty, did you?"
"Urusai, Shigure," Yuki said in a quiet, but deadly voice as he stepped into the house. Behind him, Tohru was shaking her head in denial, and was blushing furiously.
However, Shigure wasn't the type that was easily daunted. He looked at Tohru's blushing face and remarked, "Aha! Tohru-kun's blushing! Then what I said was true! Yuki, what did–"
"SHUT UP, SHIGURE!" This time, it wasn't Yuki who said it, but an angry Kyou. He stood not far from the doorway, wearing a white shirt and black pants. Tohru's blush, if possible, became rosier.
"I didn't know you were listening, Kyou-kun," Shigure observed mildly. Then, eyes sparkling with mischief, he remarked, "You're not jealous, are you, Kyou-kun?"
"OF COURSE I'M NOT, BAKA!" A vein popped on Kyou's head. He turned to the blushing Tohru. "And you! You should say something, you know! That's why he's like this! You let him talk that way to you!"
"EH?!?" Bewildered, Tohru managed to say, 'hai', though when she said it her voice lacked conviction.
Kyou noticed this and was about to berate her about it, but stopped as his gaze fell on her brown eyes. There was no life in them. He didn't see the spark that Tohru's eyes had. Something was wrong.
Letting his anger cool down, he turned his back to them. "Keh. I'm not going to waste my time talking with idiots." He headed towards the living room. "Dinner is ready," he added brusquely.
Tohru was surprised. "Eh? Kyou-kun cooked?" She shouldn't really be surprised, though. She knew Kyou was probably a better cook than she was.
Shigure smiled. "Of course it's Kyou who cooked. Yuki couldn't cook food worth a damn." That was one skill the cat beat the mouse, though the cat didn't consider that as much of a victory.
*******
"You're such a good cook, Kyou-kun," Tohru remarked as she and Kyou washed and dried the dishes. Though it was usually Tohru's job, Kyou surprised everyone by volunteering to help Tohru.
"It's a miracle!" Shigure had proclaimed. He was about to add more, but Kyou gave him a death glare. Yuki only gave him a curious look, but no more.
"I had lots of practice," Kyou replied, grunting. "As I've told you before, you had to learn to cook when you're training in the mountains." Then, he gave Tohru a piercing stare, his orange eyes unusually intense. "What's wrong?" he asked her.
Tohru nearly dropped a plate. "Eh? Nothing's wrong," she answered, returning to her work.
Kyou's gaze never wavered. Tohru could see he was getting a little irritated. "Haven't I told you before that you can tell me anything? Argh! This 'nothing's wrong' business bugs me more than anything else about you does! What happened? Something about your parents? Your job?" When he saw Tohru's eyes widen slightly at the mention of her job, Kyou knew he hit the bull's eye. "All right. What happened at your job?"
Bit by bit, Tohru related to Kyou what happened at her work. As she spoke, she found her burden growing lighter, her spirits lifting. It had always been easy to talk to Kyou-kun, to confide in him. When she was finished, Kyou gave her an odd look. "You were fired? Did you find out why?"
Tohru shook her head. "The head cleaning lady mentioned something about people getting fired without reason because of the economy. So I guess that's what happened to me."
Kyou thought for a moment. No, that wasn't it. The building Tohru worked in was owned or at least managed by Momiji's father. Momiji's father would know about Tohru through his son, so he wouldn't have fired her that casually, would he? A sudden thought occurred to him. Did Momiji know about Tohru's dismissal? If he did, he would have warned them or at least tried to prevent Tohru from getting fired. Kyou decided to talk to the rabbit about this as soon as possible. The whole thing smelled fishy. He had a feeling something bad was going on.
Catching the determined look on Kyou's face, Tohru hurried on, "You don't have to worry! I'll find a job to replace it tomorrow. The head lady told me I'll be able to get a job easily because I'm young and industrious." With soapy hands, she clutched Kyou's sleeve. "Please don't mention this to anyone. I–I don't want them to worry."
"DON'T BE LIKE THAT!" Kyou snapped. "You're part of this crazy household! We always worry about you. I–" Kyou stopped, noticing that his voice was growing louder and louder as he spoke. Besides, Tohru was on the verge of going into her 'panic mode'. He knew she needed to be calmed down, not to be shouted at, but this attitude of hers somehow gets into his nerves!
Kyou muttered a curse. "Look, that job is very important for you, isn't it? It's because it helps you pay the school fees, right?" he asked.
"Hai," Tohru admitted reluctantly. "That's why I'm going to find work tomorrow! So no need to worry!" She lifted a soap-covered hand. "Fighto! Baito!" she said in a determined voice, making him realize that Tohru would not allow them to help her out. The girl might be the sweetest, kindest, and gentlest girl in the world, but she could be very stubborn!
Kyou opened his mouth to say something but stopped when Tohru smiled at him. That smile nearly took his breath away. Then she said in a gentle voice, "Thank you."
"Eh? What for?"
"For listening to me and making me feel better." Her smile widened and she gently touched his hand. "Arigato, Kyou-kun."
Kyou stared at her for a moment. Then, wrenching his gaze away, he turned back to the dishes. He was really going to talk to Momiji about this. He ignored the strange pounding in his chest and went back to his task.
*******
"Ehhhh…I'm so tired," Tohru said to herself aloud. Sitting on a bench, she looked up and squinted her eyes. It was noon now, and she still hadn't found a job.
She'd lost count on how many businesses and buildings she went to. The answers to her queries, though they varied, amounted to the same thing: They were not hiring.
Well, maybe she'd find some luck this afternoon, but right now, she needed a cool glass of lemonade. As she groped for her purse, she suddenly remembered leaving her stuff in the offices of one of the buildings across the street that she went to inquire about a job. Bolting up and praying her things were still there, she was such in a hurry that she didn't notice the red car zigzagging madly and furiously on the street.
It struck without warning. To the horror of the bystanders, the teenage girl flew into the air like a thrown limp rag doll and fell on the asphalt with a sickening dull thud.
~T.B.C.~
Freetalk, part 2: Ah! An update! Well, hope no one gets mad at me because of this! Please read and review!
Notes on the fic: The conversation I made between Kyou and Tohru kind of reminds me of the time Tohru spent a lot of money for the chocolates on Valentine's Day. I know I made it look like that Yuki's an apathetic bastard here, but he's not! I just think he's not the type that would probe into someone else's problems. Besides, I don't think Yuki has any 'comforting' talents Kyou-kun has! Yuki, in my opinion, needs comfort–and not the one that comforts. If I'm wrong, feel free to correct me. Remember, the word is 'correct' not 'flame', ne?
Tohru!!!