Author: merrow - G - English - Drama/Romance - Reviews: 38
Yuki walked through the trees towards the house stoically keeping his mind blank. He focused on the topics brought up at the meeting. He'd have to organize another sub-committee to research options for next years school activities. Last year's had gone over budget. He gave serious thought to the essay assigned in his history class. He ran the new equations they learned in math over in his mind trying to commit them to memory.
"Honda-san will need help with those..." He thought and then cursed himself. Can't I go for more than five minutes without thinking about her? Hardly stopping to make the decision he cut off the path and into the trees. He reached his secret base and dropped his bag heavily on the ground. He looked at the turned rows of earth helplessly. Why had he come here? This early in the season there wasn't much to do, it was too early to plant most things. The soil was too cold and a late frost would kill anything that managed to take hold. He reached into his bag and took out his notebook. At least he could plan it out. He drew a quick grid on the paper. First were the easy things, the usual vegetables. Leeks, carrots...perhaps he would try growing some tomatoes this year. He looked up critically at the trees. No better not, tomatoes required more sunlight then they would get here. The strawberries had done well for their first year, maybe he'd add more of those. He smiled as he remembered the cake Tooru had made from the ones he'd harvested last year. He'd presented her the berries as a surprise and she'd taken them with pleasure. He'd assumed that she had eaten them or was planning to eat them when she had offered up the cake the next night after dinner. It was a pretty, white fluffy thing, decorated with four whole strawberries on top and slices of the rest along the edge. She'd divided it up and shared it with everyone. It had been delicious.
Yuki let the pad slip through his fingers and rested his head on his arms. It was hopeless. He wasn't even safe here. Why can't I stop thinking about her? Right now she would be at work, her meeting with Fujitsima long over. What was she thinking about right now? What had that person said to her? That person, Fujitsima... Yuki's eyes narrowed as he stared off into the forest. He stood up quickly unwilling to let his thoughts wander any further. He picked up his pad, slung his bag back over his shoulder and quickly walked out of the clearing. As the house came into view he looked up at the roof in surprise. Kyou was home.
"I'm home." The mouse called as he took of his shoes in the entryway. He barely acknowledged Shigure's greeting and walked up the stairs to his room. What was Kyou doing home so early? Today was one of his days at the dojo. Usually he didn't come home till late in the evening. He laid his bag against the wall and sat at his desk. Kyou had been there...when she and he met. What had he seen? Why was he home? He looked at the papers before him and moved them around a bit.
"Yuki-kun! Kyou-kun!" Shigure caroled. "Dinner-time!" The dog paused for a moment, hearing no answering clatter of footsteps. It seemed as if no one was coming to dinner tonight. This wouldn't do. Something had happened today and he still had no idea what it was. He smiled to himself and folded his arms inside his sleeves. There was no help for it he supposed. "It's too bad...the dinner made with such care by Tooru-kun going to waste." He paused a moment as something creaked above him. He closed his eyes and turned as if he was going back into his study, "What will she think when she comes home? No one cared to eat the dinner she spent her efforts on."
Kyou appeared glaring in the doorway. "Is it heated up yet?"
Shigure put on his best "surprised" mask. "And ruin it? Of course not." He smiled as the red haired youth muttered something unflattering and walked into the kitchen. Shigure was assured by the sound of clattering in the kitchen that dinner would soon appear. He walked to the dining room meeting Yuki at the door. The mouse glared at him. He, at least, knew when his buttons were being pushed. Shigure smiled carelessly at him. It didn't matter if he knew or not, as long as it worked. "Are you going to set the table? I'll help."
"Thanks." Yuki bit out and arranged the mats and plates on the table. Kyou walked in with a crock of stew at set it on the table. Yuki looked in surprise at Kyou's hands. "What happened?" he gestured with his spoon to the bandages around his knuckles.
"It was surprising." Shigure agreed helping himself to a heaping bowl of stew. "Kyou-kun came in and his hands were such a bloody mess." The dog took a spoonful of the stew. It had been surprising and frustrating too. The cat had truly seemed to have gotten Kyou's tongue. He wouldn't say a word about what had happened to cause his hands to be in such a state the whole time Shigure had spent bandaging him up.
"Nothing." Kyou said and stared into his stew. How was he supposed to eat this? Just the thought of eating made him nauseated. "Nothing happened."
"Nothing?" Shigure pouted. "It took me a half hour to fix what nothing did to your hands." He turned to Yuki for support. "It was so messy, and he wouldn't let me call Ha-san to fix it so I had too. There was blood, and he had splinters all stuck in his hands. I had to use tweezers to get them all out. One was this big." Shigure held out his fingers apart miming a huge length of wood.
"It was not." Kyou spat, he started to clench a fist, but the bandages cut into his palm and rubbed against his abraded knuckles. They did hurt. He settled for glaring at the dog instead. Not that the dog seemed to notice.
"Kyou." Kyou turned his head to look at Yuki. The mouse wasn't looking at him however. He stared into his stew bowl as if he was addressing it instead of the other boy. "Kyou....You didn't attack Fujitsima did you?" Yuki wasn't sure what answer he wanted to hear. Fujitsima was just an ordinary boy. He couldn't stand up to someone of Kyou's caliber.
The cat looked startled. "Of course not!" he slammed down his spoon. This time he did clench his fist. Tightly digging his fingernails into his palm, he relished the pain against his knuckles and the numbness that spread through his hand as the bandages cut off the blood to his fingers.
"Fujitsima?" Shigure asked around the spoon in his mouth.
"Nobody." Kyou spat and left the table leaving his bowl untouched.
Shigure turned his eyes back to Yuki. As much as he'd have loved to leave the nosey dog hanging, Yuki didn't have the energy to play tonight. "A boy in our class. He was the one who wrote to Honda-san." He sighed and ate a little of his stew. Tooru would be upset if she came home and it was untouched. "He asked to meet with her today after school."
Yuki looked up in surprise when Shigure didn't immediately start teasing. Shigure met his gaze steadily. "I suppose it shouldn't come as a surprise, other people noticing Tooru-kun." The dog nodded and ate a bit more stew. "She's pretty, cheerful and helpful. She is open with her affection. I'm sure she is admired often. I'm envious." The older man sighed. "Now is the time in young peoples lives when such things are common. Being in the Juunishi, we don't get to experience it much but this may be a good opportunity for Tooru-kun."
Yuki pushed his bowl away and went upstairs. Shigure finished his stew and helped himself to another bowl. This could be a good opportunity for him as well.
