Chapter 1 - Untitled

Author's Notes Well, this is a one-shot fic that I came up with. Hopefully it will go over well...this ficlet shows some scenes from the first two or three chapters from the manga, and I used a translation page for the lines rather than and english version of the manga because I sadly had to borrow that, so I don't have it with me. Anyway, if the lines are off, oh well...they're close enough! -smiles-

Disclaimer: I don't own! But I wish I owned Kyo! GAH! KAWAII CHIBINESS! -glomps chibi Kyo-



Promised Friendship



He had been there for several hours, hoping that Teacher would forget about finding him. It had only been a few months since he'd started to live and train with Teacher--along with Hatsuharu, Kagura, and...

He was there for that reason. Yuki was only allowed to go to Teacher twice a week, and no matter what he argued, Teacher always made him spar with Yuki. He hated it, though. No matter how much he trained or Teacher said he was getting better, Yuki always won.

His fists clenched at the thought.

Stupid rat...

He wished he had his cap still, but he had lost it the day Teacher took him away from the main house. People always stared at his hair and eyes, thinking of what an odd child he was. He wasn't a child anymore. He was eleven. He could be alone if he wanted. Besides, he was always alone anyway...

He started when he heard the sound of quiet singing. He looked around but couldn't see because of the bush he was hiding in. Scowling at his situation, he parted the small branches to peer out into the world.

Nothing...and the singing had stopped.

"Well, hello there." He jumped, spinning to see a woman smiling down at him, arms full of groceries. "What are you doing in that bush, little guy? Hm?"

He tore out of the bush before turning to her and assuming a fighting stance. He wasn't allowed to be around girls--even grown up ones.

The woman, however, gaped in awe. "Cute!" she shouted, clutching her groceries to her chest. "Isn't that just the cutest thing! So you know how to fight, huh?"

He faltered. He'd never been called...cute before...

The woman continued to smile. "I know--little boys don't like being associated with cuteness, but I can't help it," she said brightly. "So, what's your name, little guy? I'm Kyoko Honda."
He was quiet for a long time, beginning to feel unsure.

"...Kyo."

"Hey!" shouted Kyoko happily. "We have similar names, little Kyo!"

Kyo's face became red as she gave him that nickname, knowing that she was calling him little because of his height.

Kyoko laughed. "Hey, I'm sorry, little Kyo," she said lightly before blinking. "so...why are you alone? Where's your dad and mom?"

Kyo didn't look at her. "...mother..." He clenched his fists as he remembered the funeral. Everyone had thought him to be a bad cuirsed son because he hadn't cried there...they didn't see...him crying into Teacher's clothes later, though...

Kyoko stopped smiling. "I'm really sorry, little Kyo," she said seriously, "but...do you have someone looking after you?"

Slowly, Kyo looked up at her and nodded. "Teacher. He's busy training, though..."

"Hm," Kyoko murmured before looking at her groceries. "Well...I guess I have to go now." Kyo looked a little startled, but she just smiled and waved a little. "I hope we meet again some time! See you later, little Kyo!"

And with that, she headed off, leaving Kyo standing there, not sure what to do. That was when he realized why she hadn't stared at him. Her hair...was almost the same color.

Even though he knew it was probably a false color, it somehow made him feel...as if he could be himself around her.




Each day agter that, Kyo found himself rushing to get back to that bush. After five days, however, of Kyoko not returning, he began to get discouraged. What if it had been just a dream? What if there wasn't such a person like Kyoko Honda? Maybe he had imagined it all...

On the seventh day, as he was pondering those thoughts, he heard the singing. He tensed, not knowing what to do.

The singing stopped. "Little Kyo!" her voice said happily, and Kyo felt warm that someone would ever be that happy to see him. "You weren't waiting here all week, were you?"

Kyo blushed as he stood there, his head bowed, and his shoes scuffing the concrete. "N-no..." he responded quietly, not used to speaking with people outside of the Sohmas.

Kyoko smiled. "Well, that's good," she said brightly. "It was good to see you again, little Kyo!"

She started to walk off, and Kyo panicked.

"H-hey!" he called, and she turned back to him. "Miss K-Kyoko...are...are you...like me? A--a cat?"

Kyoko looked puzzled before she smiled again. "Nope. I'm a horse." Kyo was crushed by this news, but Kyoko continued, "But I know someone who wishes she was one!"

He looked up, surprised. "R-really?"

"Mm," Kyoko confirmed with a nod before she dug in her pocket and pulled something out. "Tohru. My daughter."

She held out the object, and Kyo hesitantly took it. It was a picture of the back of a girl at a table. He stared at the picture, as if puzzled by some riddle. Why would this girl--why would anyone want to be a cat?

Kyoko eventually said softly, "Hey, little Kyo. I have to go again..."

Kyo looked up at her and reluctantly gave her the picture again. Kyoko smiled, though this time it had a hint of sadness. "I guess I'll be seeing you again next week, right?"

Kyo didn't reply, and she headed off.




Every week for the next few months, Kyoko would stop for up to ten minutes to talk to Kyo. Every times, Kyo would feel just a little more brave, just a little more secure. After a while, he spoke about his martial arts lessons, criticizing Hatsuharu's form and Kagura's uncontrollable temper. Kyoko would smile and laugh at all the right times, but then she would be on her way again.

After the fifth months, however, Kyoko had more of a sad smile than a happy one.

"Miss Kyoko," Kyo said once when he saw this, "what's wrong?"

Kyoko smiled and sat down, gesturing for Kyo to sit next to her. "Come here, little Kyo," she said lightly and playfully.

Kyo hesitated buyt eventually sat himself next to her. Then she spoke, "You're lonely, aren't you?"

Kyo didn't answer, suddenly feeling exposed.

"Don't worry," Kyoko said lightly with a smile, "I won't tell anyone."

Kyo didn't seem to believe her, and when she stuck out her fist, he looked confused.

"Come on, you little rascal," she said with a smirk. "A man's promise."

Kyo watched her fist before he slowly raised his own and touched it against hers. Kyoko's smile brightened a little.

"See? That wasn't so hard," she said lightly before she became more serious, "and that's all you need to do...to not become lonely, to make friends."

Kyo blinked his reddish-brown eyes at her, confused.

Kyoko then pulled out the piucture for the second time since they met. "This is my treasure," she said, looking fondly at the picture before handing it to Kyo. "I think I've cause that child to go through a lot of lonely times..."

Kyo looked to her, not understanding what she was meaning. Kyoko watched him carefully. Then she looked to the sky, nodding to herself. "I'm sure she...is also lonely..."

Kyo looked at the picture again, wondering sadly if it was his fault she was lonely. She wanted to be a cat, he remembered. Was Kyoko mad at him because of that?

"Now, Kyo," Kyoko said, startling Kyo with the sudden dropping of 'little,' "I want you to promise me something."

She held out her fist, and Kyo stared at it.




He dropped through the ceiling, catching Yuki by surprise as he was at the window. Standing up straight, he smirked a bit. "I've beenwashing my neck while I was waiting...Prince Mouse."

Yuki looked more annoyed and exasperated than anything when he replied, "Honestly. How many times are you going to break my house when you come in. Accept your limitations and just give up...how about that? Since you're weak..."

His temper flared at those words, and he stepped forward, threatening. "You...! I'll show you what it's like to feel the pain you made me feel alittle while back! I'll break your nose!

"Bring it on!"

He started toward the damn rat, but--

"H-hang on..." a girl's voice said. "Wait just a minute, plea--"

He stopped in surprise only to hear a small shout of surprise. Then--

POOM!




"Promise me, Kyo..."




He sat outside, fuming at how he was stuck in this situation. Fuming about how he had been caught off-guard while he was about to fight with Yuki. Fuming about how some girl was in a Sohma's house!

He had been so angry during his time in his cat form that he hadn't paid attention to what the others were saying. But now that he was sitting on the deck, staring out at the outside world while the three other people in the house talked, he couldn't help but to become curious when Shigure spoke,

"...said you wanted to be of the year of the cat. What's it like to see the person in question?"

His brow furrowed. What kind of an idiot was this girl? Who the hell wanted to be a cat anyway?

"Of course!" the girl said with some surprise, as if she had just realized this. "That guy's the cat! W-what's he like?"

Shigure laughed a little at the question, and Kyo bristled. "Kyo's an idiot," the dog stated loudly. "He knows the martial art, yet he gets caught from behind without any effort." Then he directed a statement to the cat himself, "You should have at least sense some signed of her. What responsibility are you going to take for this situation?

"Honestly," the man continued, this time directed to the girl again, "he doesn't think of anything except Yuki!"

He stood and spun to face the dog, angry at the way he was being talked about. "Don't make it sound so weird!" he shouted. "There was no way I could have realized she was there! Anyways, what's a girl doing in your house?"

"Eh?" the girl asked, confused.

"Shut up," Yuki said softly, anger evident. "It's got nothing to do with you whether we've got a girl in our house or not. You're an outsider."

"SHUT UP!" he shouted before punching the table, making it bend downward in the middle and the sides go up and hit the girl in the head. He froze, realizing what he had done.

"Oh, Tohru!" Shigure said with some surprise. "You're bleeding!"

He froze, remembering that name.

The girl--Tohru--started at that. "What? Blood?" she asked, acting as if she hadn't noticed.

Smack!





"If you ever meet..."




She entered the room just as he was getting off of the ladder. "It's just temporary," he said shortly, knowing what she was staring at. "We'll call a pro to redo it later, but I guess it's okay if it keeps the rain out."

"Y-yes," she replied.

Guilt pressed on him for what he had done earlier that day. She was acting so timid around him that he couldn't help but to remember what he had done.

"Hey," he said, trying to catch her attention.

"Y-yes?" she asked, acting surprised...as if she hadn't expected him to say anything else.

He looked to the tape in his hands and said slowly, "I don't see what's around me...when I get mad, I mean." He clenched his hand around the roll of tape. "I haven't had enough training because I keep losing to that damn Yuki!"

He'd never had to apologize to anyone before. No one had ever been near enough to him where he had to apologize...

"This morning...well, I..." He stopped and tried again, "For this morning, I'm sor--"

"I'M HOME! Yuki! Tohru! I'm back! Oh, and Kyo, the clumsy idiot who got beaten again!"

Damn that Shigure!

"It's nothing," he shouted at Tohru before rushing passed her and down the stairs. "Damn it!"




"...I would like it if..."




"Hey." Yuki had found him. Damn. "If you act like an idiot, you'll get us into trouble. Can't you use your head?"

He just sat there, calming his nerves from earlier. "How can you stand this? You go to a school where there are girls everywhere, and you aren't afraid that you're going to transform? I'd rather go to the boy's school that Akito chose."

Yuki's expression darkened. "I want to escape the prison of being a Sohma, even if it's only in some small way..." He paused for a moment before adding, "I don't get why you would want to get into it."

His anger flared with those words. What did he know anyway? The favorite of the Zodiac. The one who was always accepted no matter how he was like, while he had to be left out and sneered at...

"...you...what do you understand?" he started before standing and shouting, "I'll beat you! I'll beat you for sure! And once I've beaten you, I'll finally be counted as member of this family! I won't be on the outside anymore!

"I'LL...BEAT YOU!"

Just like before, he was about to attack Yuki when, "N-no!"

POOM!

"I'm sorry!" Tohru apologizes quickly while he stood in his cat form, stunned and angry. "You must hate me more now, but...fighting...fighting will get you in trouble at school--"

"Shut up!" he shouted, anger spilling out. "I don't care if I get into trouble if it means that I beat Yuki! Why the hell did you get in my way?"

She stared at him stunned. "Kyo..."

"YOU'RE ALWAYS IN MY WAY! YOU STUPID LITTLE GIRL!"

And he knew that he hadn't meant to be angry at her...



"...the two of you can..."



"NO!"

Bam!

...is she pushing me away because of the cruel things I said to her?

"Ah," she said, staring at him in surpise, her bag wilting beside his face. "...ah...ah...wait. I attacked you because..."

She paused for a moment, taking the bag away from his face and putting it close to her, smiling. "It's been a bad day, but let's put that behind us. Are you taking a walk, Kyo?"

He didn't reply right away so she searched for something to say, "Uh...uh...what did you think about school? Did you like--"

"Stop it," he said, and she stopped. Knowing she'd take that the wrong way, he explained why he had spoke up, "I get twitchy when you ramble like that. So just say something."

"...Kyo?

"What is it?"

She said bashfully, "Nothing..."

"Then don't call me unless you've got a reason!" he shouted, annoyed.

"Okay!" she reponded in her surprised way.

He looked to her and sighed, realizing he had yelled again. "No, that's all right. You can call me even if you don't have a reason. And you can hang around me. And...if you're mad at me, you can hit me if you want..."

She blinked. "I'm sorry," she said with a small, hopeful smile. "You've got it wrong. It hit you with my bag because I thought you were a pervert."

He stared at her. "Per...pervert?" he asked, hoping he heard wrong.

She smiled bigger. "I wasn't angry with you," she said before stepping closer, making him back away slightly. "In fact, I like you. I've always like the cat of the Zodiac."

"Huh?" he managed to say with a blink.

"It's true," she said before blushing a little. "I...I wanted to be born in the year of the cat. I hoped...well, I wanted to be good friends with..."

He remembered what Shigure had said earlier that evening.

He huffed, brushing off the uneasiness as he said, "It's not that great. Being the cat. Let's head home."




"...be friends and help each other whenever you need each other. Promise?"

Kyo watched her fists for a moment before looking back at the picture. He'd never had a real friend before...but maybe...someday...he could meet this girl, and they could be friends. Maybe...she would accept him...like Kyoko had...

He bumped his fist against Kyoko's. "Promise," he said solemly.





Author's Notes: SQUEEE! -glomps her fic- KAWAII! I never thought I would like this so much, but I do! WAAAAAAAAIIIIIIII! -smiles brightly- Well, tell me what you think! Hehe! -smiles as she spins in her chair-

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