Chapter 16 - Sea shells by the sea shore

Ahh! I've never been on a train before!"

Kyo stared at Tohru as she glanced up at the black train in awe, the train making the tooting noise on a deeper note than those she's seen in a toy store. She was as excited as a poor man finding a million dollars. She never been on a train before hua? It puzzled Kyo. "Really?"

"I've only flown on an airplane, but this is wonderful! I'll have to be sure to bring Momiji-kun a souvenir when we get back!" Tohru looked back at Kyo. "Kyo-kun, let's have a really good time okay?" She pulled her small knapsack over her shoulders and ran towards the train. "Come on!"

"It's nothing to get all excited about."

She turned around giggling. "I'm just happy my first train ride will be with you, Kyo-kun!"

Kyo blushed seeing how excited Tohru was as she giggled. He didn't know something so simple like a train ride would make her so happy. He walked over to Tohru who was getting her ticket checked. One thing he was glad about was that Tohru was not like most other girls; thankfully she traveled light.

The conductor smiled at the two as he checked their tickets. "Going on vacation?"

"Yes, sir!"

"I guess so..."

The elderly man tipped his hat. "Ah, you picked a fine time to go then! Is this your honeymoon or something? Anniversary?"

Kyo's face went bright red and Tohru only laughed nervously.

"WHAT?" Kyo cried out.

"Ah, actually we're just... friends. Kyo-kun was nice enough to take me to the beach." Tohru only smiled wider. "I'm so happy!" She gave the conductor a friendly wave as Kyo and herself hopped onto the train.

They found their seats and Kyo placed their bags overhead before sitting down across from Tohru. She observed the cart seeing how plush the room looked. Not only was she riding a train, but in the first class cart as well! "I can't wait to see the beach. Uo-chan invited me once and it was really fun." Tohru said while staring out the window.

Kyo leaned his fist on his chin. "You always talk about this Uo and Hana. You must have been really close friends."

She beamed. "Yes! We were always looking out for one another!" She stared right back at Kyo.

He watched her for a moment realizing that was all she was going to say. He didn't press on the subject anymore and suddenly the train began moving. He looked out the window to see the scenery flash by and as the train gained speed, it only blurred into a mix of greens and blue. The train passed over a bridge, the endless trees cutting stoping short to a view of a gorgeous scene of water twinkling in the sun's rays.

"Ohh! It's so pretty!" Tohru exclaimed. She laughed, "Don't you think, Kyo-kun?"

"Hua? Oh, it's nice."

She nodded and turned her attention back to the window.

"We'll be arriving at Blue Beach in appromimately two hours, folks!" Another conductor called in the cabin while staring at his pocket watch.

Kyo leaned back into his chair looking rather bored. He could take a two hour nap then if this was going to be a long ride.

Eventually Tohru lost interest of the window as soon as the endless trees popped back into view and she stared at Kyo now in a light slumber. His features looked so relaxed and calm as she watched his even breathing. He really was a handsome young man. She rolled her eyes to the center of the train and slowly got up, careful not to disturb her traveling companion.

After a moment she returned with a quilted blue blanket and draped it over Kyo's shoulders before sitting back in her seat. Those amber eyes opened and stared at Tohru as she crossed her legs while bending over to grab her jacket.

"Tohru?" Kyo sat up when the blanket fell onto his lap. He lifted it up, holding the cozy material in his hand.

"You were sleeping and there's a slight draft in here. I thought you might get cold." She said while buttoning her jacket. Kyo felt someone else watching them and turned to see a pair of boys nudging each other while making gestures at Tohru. Of course, she didn't notice though. He glared hard making both boys turn away quickly. He turned back to Tohru who's eyes were down cast as she fiddled with the buttons on her chest.

Kyo watched her fingers in fascination then back at her face. He blushed seeing he was caught staring at her. "A-aren't you cold too?" He quickly recovered.

She blushed as well seeing Kyo's intense gaze at her hands. "I'm fine, really!"

He took another glance at the seats next to them, seeing that the other guys were still glancing over while they thought Kyo wasn't watching. He ran a hand through his hair sighing, "You know, this blanket is big enough for the both of us." He got up, balancing himself on the moving floor, and sat right next to Tohru, blocking the leering eyes from her. He spread the blanket on her lap and turned away, crossing his arms.

She stared down at the blanket and put it up on her arms. "Thank you very much, Kyo-kun."

He only nodded before closing his eyes again. To his complete surprise, Tohru leaned her head on his shoulder, closing her eyes lazily as well. He felt thousands of jolts run up his arm at the innocent contact. He tried to calm his heart but her entire aura made him sweat with nervousness. Now he knew he wouldn't be getting any sleep on this train ride.

---

"We're here!" She laughed as Kyo held out a hand for her to jump off the train. He turned around to stare at the beaches and waves crashing onto the shore. It was a refreshing spectacle in comparison to the town they lived in. "I guess we should go look for that hotel Momiji-kun wrote down."

Kyo put a hand into his pocket and pulled out a piece of paper. "Rainbow Hotel." Kyo rolled his eyes. "Could that brat pick anything more fruity than a Rainbow Hotel?"

Tohru pointed across the train station. "It looks like there's a sidewalk. The hotel isn't that far away." Kyo and Tohru began walking towards the hotel, which was hard to miss, only a few blocks away. It looked like this part of the beach was strictly reserved for guests since further down, there were plenty more people. Probably a public beach, but in this area it was mostly deserted.

They finally got to the hotel and walked into the lobby. To Kyo's relief, it was normal-looking inside, nothing like that it's name implied. He walked up to the front desk, Tohru right beside him.

"Hello, is there something I can help you with?" The woman at the desk asked.

"We've got a reserved room under Sohma?" Kyo asked while reading the paper Momiji provided.

"Ah yes, we were expecting you." The woman began typing away at a computer. She typed in something and checked Kyo's ID before handing them two keys. "Here you are, your room is fourth floor three doors to your left."

"Thank you." Kyo handed Tohru her own key when he looked at them closely. His mouth ran dry and he spun on the clerk. "I think you made a mistake, why do we both have the same key number?"

The woman folded her hands together, staring at the both of them with a confused look. "Come again?"

"We have the same key!" Kyo pointed at Tohru while blushing furiously. He really blushed a lot lately. "I can't share a room with her! That's indecent!"

"Oh!" The woman's fingers flew at her keyboard again, typing madly. She continued typing only shaking her head negatively. "I'm sorry Mr. Sohma but all our other rooms are booked this weekend." She looked up and smiled toward Tohru. "You'll just have to behave yourself with a pretty little thing like her, won't you?"

"That's...! You don't have any other rooms!"

"Nope." She smiled.

Kyo and Tohru turned away from the desk, Kyo looking as if he was about to keel over with a heart attack. Tohru knelt over to Kyo.

"Kyo-kun, it will be okay. There are two beds in the room so you can't do anything improper to me."

"Oh... okay then that isn't as bad-- hey wait, I wasn't going to do anything like that!"

Tohru only laughed and pushed the button to the elevator. "I was kidding!"

He only snorted and boped her head lightly. "Terrible joke."

"I'm sorry, haha."

As they finally reached their floor, Tohru opened the door to the room stepping into the stuffy area. "I'll turn on the vents." She coughed while walking further into the room. Kyo opened up a sliding door that faced the beach. At least Momiji picked a nice location. The vents turned on and Tohru sat down on one bed.

Kyo put his bag down on an empty chair before turning toward her. She rubbed the bed sheets with open palms and stared right back at him.

"I'm kind of hungry." Kyo said after a moment.

"That sounds good, let's go see what they have around, okay?" Tohru opened her bag and pulled out a small purse before the pair left their room. She just remembered her left her own room key on the bed and turned around to get it when she ran right into Kyo's rather hard chest. Wow, was he close to her!

"K-Kyo-kun!"

"S-sorry." He moved out of the way, only to have Tohru mirror his moves. He moved to the other side to have Tohru do the same. Finally she got around him and went for her key while the male slapped his head.

'You're acting like an idiot! If I was cursed I would have already transformed into a damn cat! You're not doing anything indecent sharing a room with her! It isn't like you're in the same bed! Stop getting all nervous!' He mentally scolded himself.

Tohru came back, her face also tinged with pink. "Let's go eat?" She asked walking down the hall. Kyo only nodded.

---

The sun was already setting as Kyo and Tohru walked back to their hotel. From all their traveling both of them were rather tired. Tohru suddenly stopped walking to admire the view.

"The water looks really nice." She turned to Kyo. "Can we go closer?"

He stared at her innocent eyes. How could he refuse?

"Kyo-kun?"

"Yeah?"

Tohru stopped walking and wiggled her toes in the sand. "Do you think I should learn some kind of martial arts or something?"

Kyo turned around to watch her expression. Why would she want to learn to fight at all? A mental image of Tohru beating someone up was quite hard to imagine. "Why would you want to learn that?"

She leaned forward with a determined face. "In case someday I might... um, need it. It's something good to know! Ah, and a great form of exercise I bet!" Her eyes began to swirl already. "I think I have a few moves too, yeah, um, right-straight!" She took a swing at Kyo only for her punch to graze his arm ever so slightly.

After a moment Kyo cracked a smile. "Wow, you suck." She looked up and smiled sheepishly. "See, the way you hold your fist when punching is like this," he demonstrated with his own fist.

"R-right!"

"Now when you punch, you have to have control and keep your eye on the target."

Tohru and Kyo spent some time on basic punches and stances. Kyo admited Tohru wasn't exactly a fighter, but she tried anyway. It still bothered him though why she suddenly brought up the idea of learning martial arts. What need would she have of it?

After a while they ended the lesson and finally started walking closer to the water.

"You know, you don't have to learn martial arts for exercise. There's plently of less strenuous things you can learn." Kyo said after a moment.

She laughed. "I guess so..."

Kyo stopped her for a moment by the shoulder, staring at her seriously. "Who are you protecting yourself from?"

Her eyes twinkled with the sunset. She didn't want to worry Kyo at all but was it right to keep this to herself?

"I would just like to know..." she paused, "in case anything happens to me."

Kyo rolled his eyes, "You don't have to do that. I'm here so don't worry about a thug running out of no where and attacking you. I wouldn't let him hurt you." Kyo thougt back on his words and began studdering. "I-I mean, the chances are slim to none anyway! So don't get any funny ideas by that."

She tucked stray hairs behind her ear while laughing. "You're right, haha."

"But if you really want to learn, it's okay too, I mean." Kyo looked away and Tohru felt a warm sensation run through her veins. Kyo would really make some girl happy one day. He was a truly caring person.

They made their way to the shore when Tohru bent over and picked up a butter-orange looking shell. She held an open palm to Kyo and offered him the shell. "Here!"

"What's this for?"

She shrugged. "M-maybe... if you collect enough pretty shells like this, you could make a necklace." She turned around so Kyo wouldn't see her crestfallen face. She hated to push Kyo upon the idea of courting that girl he'd fallen in love with when she herself was starting to really like him.

'What? No, don't think like that! Kyo-kun is in love with another person! And besides, what about Satsuki? Don't you still love him?' She argued in her mind.

'I don't think I love him... he treated me bad, Kyo-kun even said so!' A little voice in her head argued.

'Then why do you still cry at night when you don't think anyone is listening? Why do you still let him hold you under lock and key?'

"What would I make a sissy shell necklace for?" Kyo asked breaking her train of thought.

"Um... maybe you could give it to that girl that broke the curse for you." She turned around giving him her best grin. "Like a thank you gift or something."

Kyo stared at her for a moment catching a brief glimpse of saddness as she quickly turned around to look for more shells. She thought he was in love with another girl? Someone besides Tohru herself? No wait, but he couldn't be in love with Tohru!

'They why aren't you cursed anymore?' his conscience argued. 'Curses aren't just lifted everyday like that. Admit it, you're in love with her!'

"Here!" She held out another orange shell. "Now you have two." She laughed. "The girl you give this to will be very happy I think."

Kyo took her hand in his as he stared at the shell making Tohru gasp at their touch. How could his rough hands feel so tender on her own?

"Do you like it?"

"What?" She asked breathlessly.

"Do you like this shell?" He repeated quietly now catching her sapphire eyes with his own amber ones.

Tohru blinked and looked down at the shell. The orange color reminded her of him. "Yes..."

He took the shell from her hand, continuing to stare at her saying, "Then I think she'll like it."

His conscience didn't even have to provoke him about the idea of falling for Tohru Honda. He already knew he'd fallen in love with her, and he was falling hard.

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