Author: merrow - G - English - Drama/Romance - Reviews: 38
By the time school came around Monday morning all three of them were eager to return. When he wasn't avoiding the rest of his housemates Kyou couldn't stop himself from snapping at them. It was with no little satisfaction that Yuki had retaliated by throwing him through the screen door. Twice. He'd immediately regretted it when Honda-san had been the one who'd had to repair it. And Shigure's teasing had been incessant. He'd cried crocodile tears saying Tooru was going to leave them all to become a bride and teased her saying he wanted to walk her down the isle. He'd cajoled and prodded Yuki and Kyou constantly, telling them to object during the ceremony or asking what they'd do to stop it from happening. Anytime the mood had begun to ease, and the three had managed to put the mystery of the letter from their minds, Shigure had dragged it right back out again worrying at it like a bone. He'd even asked Tooru if he could write about it in his next romance novel.
Tooru felt frazzled and pulled in different directions. Yuki and Kyou were so odd these past few days. Sometimes she felt as if she didn't know them at all. She was certain they were upset but didn't know how to set them at ease. They acted as if they were mad, as if she had offended them somehow. The only thing it could be was the letter. Perhaps she had handled it badly. Perhaps they were offended that she had let the others read it? Love letters were very personal things. If she had written a letter to someone, she didn't know if she'd want that person to share it with his friends. Kyou and Yuki must think she was a terrible person to do such a thing. But she couldn't undo what she had done. Her thoughts ran in circles. She was so busy thinking about Yuki and Kyou's reaction to the letter, that she thought about the letter itself hardly at all.
Yuki looked up to see the school coming into sight with a sigh of relief. It was here that the three usually separated. That Honda was living with the Souma's was still a secret to most of the school, to preserve that they didn't want people to see them going to and from school all the time. Yuki alternated between not wanting to let Tooru out of his sight and hardly being able to be near her. He wanted to ask her what she thought of the letter. He didn't want to hear her answer. He wanted to tell her that her admirer didn't know what he was talking about, he wanted to show he that he'd seen it all first. But to say such things...he couldn't. He'd been able to bolster his courage in the past, to say things to give her an idea of how he felt. He relished the memory of the soft pink blush that spread across her cheeks when he promised to make summer memories with her. His mind flipped through the picture book in his heart, her pleasure at a gift of yellow ribbons, her surprise at being called cute, how she couldn't believe that she looked like a princess, smiling because he promised her strawberries.
'Someday I hope that you will smile because of me.'
"Well, I'll be heading off here." Yuki smiled down at her. Tooru looked up at him in concern. This Yuki felt so distant. "I have a student meeting after school so I'll be late. Do you have to work today?"
"Yes, I have my part-time job. Dinner just needs to be heated up." Tooru fiddled with her schoolbag. "Um-"
"I'll see you after work then." Yuki interrupted and ran off.
"I'll be going here too." Kyou didn't even look at her as he spoke. "I'll be training after school, so I probably won't see you till tomorrow." He turned off the path to approach the school from another direction.
Tooru was left to trail behind in confusion. Kyou glanced back and immediately regretted it. Tooru was walking into school head down, looking listless. He watched her brighten as Hanajima and Uotani approached her. He knew that he'd made the weekend rough on her. He'd tried to stay out of her way as much as possible but he couldn't help snapping at her more than once. He'd almost been happy that Yuki had tossed him through the screen door; he'd certainly deserved it. It would have been even better if he'd been able to toss Yuki through the door. Just once...
He walked into the entry hall, and his eyes opened wide. There was someone at Tooru's shoe locker. There was someone with his HAND inside Tooru's shoe locker. A guy someone!
"Oy!" He reached out and grabbed the guy's shoulder and pushed him against the lockers. "What do you think you're doing?"
"Kyou-kun?!" A dark haired boy looked up in surprise. Kyou glared down at him. This guy was in their class. He sat in the back of the room. Didn't talk much. Dammit, what was his name?
"Kyou?" The orange haired boy turned his glare to Yuki who had been walking past the rack of lockers. "What are you doing to Fujitsima-san?" The slight boy in Kyou's grip looked terrified. Fujitsima had always been quiet. Kyou might be quick tempered but he'd never attacked anyone outside the family without provocation. He couldn't imagine what a diffident boy like Fujitsima could have done to piss him off so badly. Then he noticed where they were standing.
"Souma-kun, I, uh-" Fujitsima started, still in Kyou's grip.
"Isn't that Honda-san's locker?" Yuki interrupted walking towards them. Fujitsima shivered at the icy look in Souma's eyes. "Fujitsima-san, what-"
"Kyou-kun! Yuki-kun!" Tooru stood at the end of the corridor looking at them in shock. Arisa and Saki stood behind her with wide eyes.
"Honda-san!" Fujitsima managed to wriggle out of Kyou's grip and ran past Yuki. He pressed something into her hand, "Here!" he dashed past them blushing furiously.
Tooru looked down into her hand. She held up the object, looking at it in surprise. It was another letter. It was a perfect match for the first one. "EH!"
"Ara..." Saki murmured. "The truth revealed. Secret Admirer discovered by chance."
* * *
It seemed as if the clock was going backwards. Class each class took an eternity. The few minutes they had between classes seemed to be gone before they realized it. It had been agreed by Hanajima and Uotani that the new letter would not be read until lunch, when they could escape the classroom. Yuki and Kyou had both decided to be present no matter what. Kyou felt his neck knot from the tension of not looking to the back of the room at Fujitsima. He wanted to study him, find out all about him. He'd never noticed him before. But just from this morning he could tell the boy was weak. How dare someone like him send her a letter like that? What right did he have?
Yuki stood at the head of the class and read off some of the announcements from the last council meeting. He was careful to shift his focus to only students who asked him questions or to look at a spot on the floor in the center of the class. He longed lock eyes with Fujitsima and see if he could make heads or tails of him. What was he thinking? How could he think that he could be worthy of Honda-san? He was a nothing, a non-entity. As far as he could remember the boy had never done anything to attract attention. He'd never excelled at sports. He was never in the top marks at school. He didn't seem to have any talents whatsoever. What had he ever done that was special?
Finally the bell for lunch rang. Tooru stood and couldn't help glancing back at Fujitsima. He started visibly and turned red. Tooru gave him a tentative smile; she didn't want his feelings to be hurt. He started to smile back when his eyes caught sight of something behind her. They widened and he turned quickly and left the room. Tooru turned to see Yuki and Kyou glowering in the direction Fujitsima had gone. Uo-chan and Hana-chan stood a little to the side. Both looked a bit fierce as well, Uo-chan had her best Yankee attitude exuding from her and Hana-chan looked dark and dangerous.
"Heh," Arisa snorted as they found a secluded spot for lunch, "Doesn't look like he has too much backbone."
"His waves aren't unpleasant." Hana-chan commented nibbling on a potato chip. "But they aren't very remarkable either."
"Eh-heh-heh." Tooru gave an embarrassed laugh. She didn't know how to deal with this. She didn't even know Fujitsima. She'd never paid much attention to any of the boys in her class before she began to live with the Soumas. She'd been aware of Yuki before, but then he was the prince of the school and everyone knew of him or about him. More recently it seemed as if her life began and ended with the Souma family, she'd gotten used to the mostly male world of the Soumas. Used to interacting with Yuki, Kyou and Shigure, and comfortable with Momiji and Hatsuharu. She didn't know if she'd ever get used to Ayame or Ritsu, and Hatori still intimidated her a bit, but they'd become part of her world as well. It was different though, to think about talking to a male outside of the Souma family. With the Souma's she had a special bond, just by meeting with her and letting her know of them she had been entrusted with their precious secret and trust. But she knew that part of their interest in her was the sheer novelty of being able to talk to someone freely that knew of their curse without fear of reprisal. Their interest could be explained. Fujitsima was an enigma....why could he possibly be interested in her?
Yuki and Kyou sat sullen their carefully prepared box lunches mostly untouched in front of them. They dreaded hearing what the letter said. Kyou felt like his stomach was in knots. Yuki felt ill. Both wished that the girls would just read the letter and get it over with. Neither questioned their feeling that they had a right to know.
Hanajima enjoyed the waves coming from the Souma boys. She'd been honest when she said the waves from Fujitsima were unremarkable. The vibrations she got from these two...they were noteworthy. There was such force behind them, such strength. It worried her sometimes. Tooru was strong, but she was still just a girl. Such forces...might be too much for her despite all her strength. Perhaps it would be better if she were paired with someone...unremarkable.
Arisa couldn't stand it anymore. Hanajima might be content to nibble at her food, but she wanted to know what was in that letter. "Oy, don't you think its time?" Tooru looked up at her obliviously. "The letter! The letter! Don't you think its time you read it?"
"Ah..." The letter was like lead in her pocket. She didn't know if she should read it aloud in front of everyone like this. It didn't seem very fair to Fujitsima. She pulled it out her pocket uncertainly. She looked up to find everyone's eyes on her. But how could she tell them no?
Arisa plucked it out of her fingers, summarily taking the decision out of her hands, "Here, I'll read it."
Arisa glanced at the Soumas. She suspected they'd somehow found out the contents of the first letter. She recognized their need to protect and watch over Tooru. There was just something about the girl that made people want to shelter her from the rest of the world. It was also more than obvious that they cared more for her than they would admit to anyone, not even themselves. She didn't envy Fujitsima...it would be hard to measure up to these two. "No opening this time." She commented, "He still must not know how to start it off." She glanced again at the Prince and Orange Head both trying to look unconcerned. Fujitsima wasn't the only one who didn't know how to start things. Sometimes she just wanted to shake them. "Here it goes...'I didn't think I'd be writing again this soon. I spent the weekend thinking about you, and about you reading my letter. I hoped you liked it. More and more, I wanted to know what you thought of it. I wanted to talk to you. All weekend long, I wanted to know what you would say. Sometimes I see you talking to your friends and I get very jealous. I want to know what they are saying that makes you smile like that. I want to be the one saying it. I decided I can't be a coward any longer. Would you please meet me after school today by cherry tree in the back? -Fujitsima Maseo' Short and to the point." Arisa gave a satisfied snort, and handed Tooru the letter.
Tooru looked at it helplessly. "Mother," she thought, "what should I do?" She felt a strange winding flutter in her stomach. Fujitsima deserved some kind of response. No one had ever told her that they admired her before. It was a heady feeling, and he seemed nice.
"Honda-san," Yuki interrupted her thoughts, concerned at the pinkness spreading across her cheeks. "Don't you have your part-time job today?"
"Ah...yes..." Tooru bit her lip. She did have to work after school, and the building was in a different direction then the cherry tree out back. If she did go to meet Fujitsima she'd only have a few minutes.
"Well you'll have to be quick then." Arisa spoke decisively. She didn't miss the accusing glares that the Prince and Orange Head threw at her. They didn't know how to get things started but she did. Fujitsima seemed an ok guy. He'd already shown more initiative then either of these two. And she knew that she could pound him into the ground if he did anything to hurt Tooru. Besides if things didn't work out with Fujitsima, at least it would probably prod one of the others to finally act. "You can't just leave him standing there." Tooru looked like she was wavering. Uo-chan narrowed her eyes; she knew just the button to press. "It would be rude."
Tooru's eyes grew wide in shock. "Yes! You're right!" She'd have to go.
"You can't!" Kyou burst out and immediately wished he could pull the words back in. Tooru turned to look at him in surprise. He flushed bright red and looked away.
"Not alone." Hanajima agreed. She crumpled up her bag of chips. "We still don't know what kind of boy Fujitsima-san is."
Uotani looked speculative. "I have my part time as well after school. The Prince here has council duties." She jerked her thumb at Yuki.
"Ah." Hana-chan turned slowly to Kyou; "I have to pick up Megumi from school today." Her eyes sparked.
Kyou looked up to find all eyes upon him. "F-fine then!" he spat, "I'll go with her!" He turned to glare at Tooru, "I'll be late for practice with Shishou."
"I can go by myself!" Tooru protested. "I don't want to inconvenience Kyou-kun!"
"It's fine!" Kyou wished his face would cool. He looked away from Tooru. "It's not like Shishou will care, its not like we have a set appointment or anything." What was he doing? Why was he agreeing to chaperone Tooru and that guy? "Would it be any worse..." a little voice in his mind whispered, "to not know what went on? To just imagine it?" Kyou flashed a quick look at Yuki. He saw the haunted look on his face. No, it wouldn't be any better. He looked up again at Tooru as the bell for class began to ring. "I'll walk you there, after class."
