Damn him! Damn him and his entire family! And his entire unborn family! I hated how he could do this to me-turn me into a competitive, over-eager, over-sensitive girly-girl. I hated how he destroyed everything I stood for with one word in my direction. More than that, I hated how cute he was. I hated how I loved every word he said to me, and I hated that I loved him.
What I hated even more, however, is that I knew he’d never love me the way I loved him. How could he? He was perfect. He was adorable, he could fight, he was strong-emotionally, and physically-he stood up for what he believed in…sure, he had a bit of a temper, but everyone had their moments. And it was that fiery spirit that made me love him so much. I wondered at why I was deluded into thinking he could ever return my feelings. I was plain. I got average grades, I was clumsy, my hair was boring, my eyes were dull, and I wasn’t strong, or fast, or really good at much of anything.
But the worst part was seeing the way he looked at Tohru. I knew that he liked her, at the very least. And what wasn’t there to like? She was pretty, she was nice, and sensitive, and strong(well, maybe not physically, but mentally she’d been through far more than me) and she took care of the Sohma’s. All of them. She was one of the most sympathetic and comforting beings I’d ever met.
And I could never compete with someone like that.
Not for Kyo. I wasn’t good enough for Kyo.
He’d challenged me to a race back to Shigure-san’s house. I’d tripped somewhere along the way, and scraped my knee severely. It was bleeding into my knee sock, and soaking it a deep maroon color. The horrible scrape, which was really more like a cut, was causing a horrible limp in my right leg.
When I finally got back to Shigure’s house, my leg was supporting a piercing pain, and I thought I was going to collapse on it. I slipped my shoes off, and went to the bathroom, knocking on the door. I had my leg lifted slightly off the ground, as to not put any weight on it, so it wouldn’t hurt so badly.
“Whaddyou want?” Kyo’s voice sounded through the door.
“Can I get in there, please?” I asked softly.
“So, you’re finally home, huh Akane?” he smirked as he opened the door. I braced my left hand against the frame, and glared at him.
“Just let me in, Kyo. I have to get the first aid kit, then I’ll be outta your hair,” I told the stubborn cat. He quickly scanned over me with his eyes, and when they landed on my knee, they widened.
“Crap! Sit down,” he said, and pulled me into the bathroom, pushing me onto the toilet. He took the first aid kit from under the sink, and began to care for my wound. My eyes were wide with shock the whole time it took for him to tape gauze to my knee, and wrap it in a bandage.
“K-Kyo?” I said softly. His eyes flickered up to meet mine. And he retracted his hands sharply from my leg.
“Sorry about your leg. I shoulda realized you did something stupid when you took so long to get here,” he said. He bent down and closed the first aid kit, and tossed it carelessly under the sink. He stalked out of the bathroom without another word, but I followed him out of the small room and up the stairs, to the roof, my eyes still wide with shock.
“Wait, Kyo!” I called as I tried to keep up with him. Usually, I would have no problem. But my leg was a huge nuisance to me, “Kyo! I need to talk to you!” I cried up the stairs, as I limped as quickly as I could up them.
When I reached the roof, I poked my head out the door. I saw the orange headed boy sitting silently on the roof. He had his elbows propped on his knees, and he was looking out into the distance, thinking about something. His face betrayed no emotions to me, only peace. I crawled out onto the roof and sat next to him.
“Thank you for taking care of my knee,” I said softly in his direction.
“It was my fault to begin with,” he said.
“No it wasn’t! I tripped! How is that your fault?” I questioned him.
“I’m the one who challenged you to that stupid race. Then I didn’t come to see if you were okay, even though I knew you’d taken to long. Sorry, Akane,” he nearly whispered. I was taken aback by his apology. Never before had I seen Kyo acting like this.
“Kyo, are you okay?” I asked, concerned for the boys health.
“Of course, I’m okay!” he said, roughly. His tone then softened, “I’ve got somethin’ to tell ya,” he said, turning to face me.
“Akane, I…” he started.
“Kyo! Akane! I have dinner ready!” Tohru said, poking her head out the door to the roof. I turned and faced her.
“Thank you, Tohru. We’ll be right down,” I turned to face Kyo again, “What is it you were going to tell me, Kyo?” I asked.
“It’s nothing. Let’s go,” He said, standing. He lowered his hand to help me up, and I took it graciously. He helped me down to the dining room, where dinner was steaming on the table.
“Thank you, Tohru, it looks delicious,” I said to the girl as I sat down next to Kyo. Shigure was to my left, Yuki was directly across from me, and Tohru sat to the right of Kyo.
“It’s no problem, really,” she said, smiling at me.
“Thank you regardless,” I said, and began to eat.
When dinner was done, it was well past dusk. The night was warm, and the stars twinkled brightly in the sky. I sat alone on the edge of the porch, thinking about all that Tohru was, and all that I would never be. Kyo would never like someone like me. I knew it. And although I also knew that all this brooding wasn’t good for my mental health, I couldn’t stop thinking about it. And it was because of this that the tears began to leak from my eyes. I kept myself silent as I cried, the only noise I made was sniffles.
“Akane, what are you still doing out here? It’s starting to get late,” Kyo said, coming out to the porch.
“Nothing,” I said quietly, but my voice still cracked. I bent my head to look at my hands, which I had clasped in my lap.
“I-I have something to tell you, Akane,” Kyo said, sitting next to me on the edge of the porch. I looked at him, to see him gazing at the stars.
“What is it, Kyo?” I forced from my mouth.
“I-” he sighed, “I really like you. I have for a while. I just haven’t had the guts to tell you. Hell, I think I love you…” Kyo trailed off as he saw me looking at him with tear-filled eyes.
“Akane-? I’m sorry, I-” I threw my arms around his shoulders, hugging him hard.
“You don’t know how long I’ve waited for you to say that,” I sobbed. He pulled back slightly so my arms dropped away from him. He took my chin between his thumb and forefinger, and ran his slightly calloused thumb over my lower lip, before leaning in, and stealing my first kiss.
It seemed to last forever as we sat under the stars, Kyo kissing my gently, but lovingly. But forever didn’t last for long enough before we were interrupted.
“Aww,” Shigure cooed from the doorway, “Young love!”
“You jerk! You ruin everything!” he yelled at Shigure, who ran, giggling like a schoolgirl. I took Kyo’s hand in mine, and his angry eyes softened as he returned his gaze to me.
“I love you, too, Kyo,” I said, and leaned in to return the kiss he’d given me.
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I'm posting this to Quizilla, also. Any feedback would be greatly appreciated. Thank you, over and out.
~Devin
