Author: merrow - PG-13 - English - Drama - Reviews: 89
The path down into the village was long, curving and littered with rocks and stones. It could hardly be called a path at all. It was more of a deer track going winding down the mountain. After the third time Tooru nearly fell into the sharp rocks Kyou irritably took her hand.
"Idiot!" Kyou gritted, using a steadying hand to keep her from tumbling down. "Can't you watch where you're putting your feet? Do you want to be bloody by the time we reach the bottom?"
"A-ah! Sorry, Kyou-kun!" Tooru squeezed her eyes shut and apologized profusely, for a about the millionth time. Kyou blushed, and cursed the warmth that heated his face. Keeping a hold of her hand he stepped in front of her.
"Here, walk right where I step, and be careful!" They picked their way down the mountain, Kyou trying to concentrate on picking the best places to step and not on the feel of her hand in his. The path widened about halfway down and Tooru tugged him to a stop.
"Oh, Its so pretty!" Kyou stopped and glanced at the expanse around them, the dotted trees flowing into the valley with the little village peeking out among the trees. He glanced at her to tell her they should keep moving and felt his heart constrict. Honda stood one hand on her cap and the other in his glowing happily at the scenery. Strands of hair fell out from beneath her cap and blew in the breeze. She was outlined with dappled light from the trees just starting to bud. A little smudge of dirt on her nose caught his attention and he stepped close and used his thumb to stroke down the bridge of her nose to rub it off. Kyou found himself staring down into Tooru's liquid eyes, he'd brought their joined hands up between them and was grasping her hand tightly against his chest.
"Eh?" Kyou watched as pink bloomed across her cheeks. "Eh?" Tooru repeated blinking in surprise. Kyou flinched and stepped back, self-conscious.
"You had a dirt-thing on your nose." He muttered tugging her after him. "Are you a girl or not?"
Tooru brought her free hand up to her face, "Oh no! Is it gone?" Kyou nodded and stared resolutely ahead. "Thank you, Kyou-kun." The path widened so they could walk side by side but Kyou didn't release her hand and Tooru didn't try to reclaim it. Kyou felt the warmth from the other morning seeping in to him again and felt something loosen in his middle. He had a sudden guilty flash of a slight form buried under blankets in the shack up the mountain and gritted his teeth. Why should he feel guilty about that stupid mouse? He hated that guy! He hoped he'd die! Then his stomach dropped out at the thought. His mind flashed to thoughts of Tooru's certain grief and wondering at the empty hole that presented in his own life. That guy better not die till he'd beaten him.
"K-kyou-kun." Kyou looked down at Honda. She looked concerned and he wondered how much of what he'd been thinking had chased across his face. Tooru could be surprising like a mind reader at times. "Do you know where the pharmacy is?"
Kyou looked up to see that they had entered the outskirts of the village. "Un." He replied and looked back down at her. The dirt was gone but her hair still fell out around from beneath the cap. She seemed lost inside his baggy khaki cargo pants and loose sweatshirt. She looked earnestly back up at him, and his insides tumbled around some more. "I-idiot. Fix your hat, and try to look more like a boy." He dropped her hands and thrust his into the pocket of his sweatshirt. "This way."
"Ah, of course!" Tooru fixed her hair and tried to concentrate on looking like a boy. They walked to the pharmacy and Kyou skulked in shadows of a nearby alley while Honda went in. A small group of guys approached and he retreated back before they could see him. Leaning against the wall the boys discussed the merits of the females of the population as they passed. Kyou resolutely ignored them and stared at the door of the pharmacy waiting for Honda to reappear. He found his attention wandering as the minutes ticked by.
"Hey, hey lookit that one."
"That one there? In the hat? Cute isn't she?"
"You go for that tomboy type? I like a girl in a dress."
"For her I'd make an exception, she looks like she'd be a lot of fun."
"They're all better undressed anyway" The boys' laughter was cruel.
Kyou's ears pricked and he looked back at the door, not surprised to see Tooru in the doorway looking around. She may be dressed in boys' clothes, but the whole delicate way she held herself fairly screamed "girl". Fuming he waited for her to walk down the street so he could join her without being noticed. They'd agreed to meet further down so people wouldn't know they were together. He watched her look around and realized she'd forgotten which way to go. The idiot.
"Haven't seen her around her before, I'd remember."
"She looks lost."
"Maybe we should offer some directions, heh." The boys laughed again and wandered across the street. Ranging around a startled Honda, the pasted smiles across their faces. She looked back and forth between them uncertainly.
"You look lost."
"You lost, girlie?"
"Y-yes...do you know where the market is?" Honda clutched her package.
"The market?"
"We know where the market is, don't we guys?"
"Yeah we were just going there, you can come with us."
"Right, right, we were, you can get with tea with us on the way."
Tooru smiled tentatively and held up her hands, medicine hanging from one. "Oh no, I couldn't. I have to get back." "Ah!" Tooru cried as one plucked the package out of her hands.
"Aw c'mon, have a little fun." The boys tossed the package back and forth between them as she spoke, forcing her to look back and forth between them.
"Yeah, fun, you look like fun."
"Have some fun and then you can go to the market, its not going anywhere." The boy dangled the bag in front of her. Tooru tried to grab it but he tossed it to the side.
The next boy held it up tauntingly, "C'mon you know how to have fun don't you? Or have you forgotten how to be a girl in those boys clothes?"
Tears pricked in Honda's eyes, "Please give it back, it's Souma-kun's medicine!"
"Souma-kun?"
"See I knew she looked like fun, who's Souma-kun? Your boyfriend?"
"N-no!" Honda stammered, and leaned forward, "Please, he's sick and he needs that!"
"What will you give me if I do?" the boy laughed, and pulled her close. Honda started to pull back when the boy was suddenly pulled away from her.
"Oooy," a tall girl stood menacingly behind him, "Can't you see the girl isn't interested?"
"Kin-san!" the boys looked shocked and backed away. The girl wore a long coat with complicated kanji going down one arm. Kyou stepped back into the alley he'd been about to sprint from.
"I've told you guys before that this is my area, beat it." Kin gestured over her shoulder and the boys made a hasty retreat. Kin grabbed one as he passed her and plucked Yuki's medicine out of his hands. She dropped it into Tooru's. "Hey, girl, you got to stand up for yourself more. If you say no and mean it they'll listen."
"Thank you!" Honda bowed deeply. She looked up and smiled. Kin seemed taken aback. "Kin-san is a very nice person!"
The girl looked shocked and tugged on her long bleached blond hair, "You don't know that! I could be a horrible person."
"No way!" Tooru shook her head vigorously, "A horrible person wouldn't have helped me! A horrible person would have just walked right by. I'm sure Kin-san is a very good person." She looked hesitant for a minute. "Ummn...do you know where the market is?"
The girl laughed, and pointed down the street. "Its that way. Be sure to be careful now."
Honda turned to go, thanking her as she went.
"Oy," Kin looked at her out of the corner of her eye, "Didn't you know what this means?" She didn't gesture but her whole stance took in the coat, the kanji, and her hair.
Honda smiled, "It means Kin-san is in a gang." Kin looked at her wide-eyed. "Mother was in a gang and Uo-chan. There are kind people in that world too." Tooru smiled and waved as she ran down the street. Kin shook her head and laughed, waving back. As Tooru rounded the corner, Kyou stepped out in front of her.
"IDIOT!" Tooru's face froze in funny half smile. "What did you think you were doing?! First you let those guys push you around then you talk with that Yankee! Jeeze, I can't leave you alone for a minute!" Kyou stalked off walking fast, mad at her for putting herself in position to make him worry and mad at himself for snapping at her.
"Sorry! Sorry!" Tooru tried to walk and bow at the same time as she chased after him. She managed to catch up to him. "Kyou-kun is so sweet for worrying!" She gave herself a little knock on the head, "Sorry I'm such an idiot." She smiled up at him. Then suddenly looked around. "Aah! I'm not supposed to walk next to you! Someone might see."
"There's no one to see. Its fine." Kyou felt all the anger pour out of him and vaguely resented the fact that she had such power over him. He looked down at her as she walked, smiling happily and clutching the package with the medicine in it. He felt that funny flip in his stomach again. "What is it about you that makes people want to protect you?"
"Eh?" Tooru looked up at him naively. "Eh?" Kyou just smiled at her.
He waited outside the market while she went in. As the minutes ticked by and she didn't return his mind began to imagine what could be happening to her. Perhaps those guys from before had found her? When he couldn't take it anymore he pushed through the door and stalked through the isles looking for her. He found her standing at the end of a row and was about to yell at her when he saw the look on her face. Her eyes shimmered and she looked so melancholy. It wasn't something he was used to seeing on her face. He came up behind her silently and looked over her head to see what she was watching.
"Turn around honey to let Mrs. Hanichi see your uniform."
A young teenage girl spun slowly in place, embarrassed grin on her face. A woman with a shopping basket looked at her proudly. Another woman stood opposite and her hand to her cheek. "Ara! I know that uniform, that school is very hard to get into!" She smiled at the woman across from her. "I can see why you're so proud of your daughter. She must have worked very hard to get into such a good school."
"She is a credit to us!" the woman nodded. "You know I never got to go to high school, it makes me so happy to see her entering into her high school life."
"Moooother..." the girl protested, "you're embarrassing me." She smiled, obviously not as upset as she'd like them to think. The woman smiled back and kissed her lightly on the top of the head.
Kyou watched as the group continued to walk down the aisle away from them. He knew Honda had to be thinking of her mother and her promise to graduate high school in her memory. That promise was little more than ashes now that he and Yuki had taken her away. They'd missed so much school now that they'd probably be held back a year, if not expelled completely. He placed a hand on her shoulder.
"Kyou-kun" she said, and blinked.
"Let's get back." She nodded and went to pay for the groceries. They walked back up the mountain in silence, the easy mood of the way down shattered.
