Claws and Talons [Kyo Sohma]

Chapter 35 - You Will, I'm Sure Of It

Word Count : 3684

"Uo-chan! Is it true that you quit all of your part time jobs and got a new one?" Tohru asked during break, at school.

"Oh yeah, I'm at a family restaurant now." She told us.

"Why would you change jobs?" Hanajima questioned.

"Umm, but then..." Tohru stutters.

"I probably won't ever bump into him again. But I couldn't stand it anymore. A part of me got excited every time a customer came in, thinking maybe it would be him. Constantly waiting expectantly for him just wasn't like me. I guess I was sick of torturing myself like that." She explained.

"I don't blame you, that sounds unhealthy." I agreed.

"If you only knew his name." Tohru sighs.

"Oh, my bad. I didn't say? His name is Kureno."

"As in Kureno Sohma? Do you mean that Kureno?" I guess I've only ever heard about one Kureno.

"You know him?!" She jumps up, grabbing my arms and shaking me back and forth. "Seriously Sohma?! Like your family! What was he like?! Where did you see him?! What colour were his eyes? His Hair?" She asked many questions one after the other before I could answer a single one.

"I met him briefly over the summer break at the Sohma vacation house, but I can sometimes see him when I visit the estate.. He has nice brown hair and eyes." I explained, describing his appearance the best I could.

"He had a very cool, calm demeanour." Tohru adds, having met him over the break with me and the others.

"You've got a different guy. Kureno's totally spacy. He's the kind of guy who wouldn't even notice if he stepped in dog crap." Uotani says, letting go of me.

"Arisa, that's not a very nice example." Hanajima told her.

"B-But, isn't there still a chance it's the same person? Wouldn't it be worth finding out for sure? Maybe... Maybe there's something I can do-" Tohru tries to say.

"Nah. Believe me, it's a different guy. Sorry about whining about it. And thanks." She smiles and the day continues onward.

---

"Kureno? I don't know much about him either. All I know is that he's Akito's assistant or something. He doesn't come out much, and rarely interacts with the rest of the zodiac. He's never spoken to me." Kyo answered. Tohru was standing outside his door and asking questions about Kureno. I was in the hallway listening to their conversation. I wasn't trying to eavesdrop but I was passing by and when hearing about Kureno I felt the urge to listen.

"Oh, really?"

"Tohru, why are you asking about Kureno anyway?" Kyo asked her.

"R-Right! Well, h-he's a member of the zodiac, so you could say that's the reason why I am curious about him!" She stutters, quickly answering him. I made my way over to them and tapped her on the shoulder. She jumps a little since I guess I had accidently scared her.

"Tohru. Just please be careful and don't do anything that might be dangerous." I told her.

---

Over the day Tohru had gone out without explaining too much on where she was going. She didn't need to but with everything that was going on I was getting worried. Rightly so when she came home covered in scratches, as well as dirt. I helped her clean up and bandage some of the scraps since there was no blood. I ended up getting her to explain what had happened. She had snuck into the Sohma estate and had to avoid people. Which made her panic when seeing someone and would either run into a tree or trip on the ground. It was honestly a miracle she did not get caught. Well she did get caught by Kureno because she had gone to see him. Apparently she had asked him about Uotani and it turns out the Uotani's Kureno is the Kureno Sohma, the zodiac of the rooster. She had tried to convince him to go see her but she was not sure if it worked since he had originally turned her down. With all the information that she told me, I needed a moment to think so I went up to the roof and sat alone, looking at the night sky. It was quiet and peaceful and I was relaxed.