Fruits Basket Prompts

20. Forget That Ever Happened

23. "Can we forget that ever happened?"

Kyo rolled over his futon, unable to sleep for a particular reason - he drank two cups of black coffee on Yuki's instigation. He hated coffee because it screwed up his sleeping schedule. Curse the damn rat.

The cold wind was blowing hard, making the curtains of his window fly along with it. Irritated by the motion of the white curtains, Kyo got up and closed the window, letting the silence consume his small room.

He laid back on his bed and rested the back on his forearm over his forehead, trying to sleep. All of a sudden, a muffled voice reached his ears. He knew the voice all too well. His heart throbbed. He shut his ears with his hands and squeezed his eyes shut - not wanting to hear her sobs.

The more he tried to block out the sound, the more apparent it became in his ears as if it were piercing him. First of all, he couldn't even understand why did it bother him so much. He had seen so many people cry on their knees, break down, crumble, lash out; he himself experienced so. Then why did her silent cries bother him, made his heart writhe in pain?

Kyo turned over in a last attempt to shut out the cries. Being frustrated for failing to just ignore, he stood up and approached the door of his room. His hand froze before it could touch the knob, wondering if he would bother her. Maybe she just wanted to be alone, wanted to cry alone, let out her worries after smiling all day long. Who was he to take that private time from her?

It wasn't the first time he heard her cry in the middle of the night. Every time he tried to ignore them, he failed. Every time he tried to reach out to her, he failed.

He lowered his head, his eyes looking down, disgusted of himself for being so pathetic and miserable.

Taking a sharp intake of air, he turned the knob of his door quietly and stepped out of his room. He closed the door behind him silently and approached her door. His hands hovered over the wooden frame before he sat down next to the door and leaned his head against the wall, the sound of her muffled sobs becoming more evident due to the strangling silence in the hallway.

Every time a cry would reach his ears, his heart would feel heavy; he would feel sick to his stomach. Because he knew he was the reason she was crying - the one who was responsible for her mother's death, the one who snatched her most precious person from her. To ignore her cries, he felt like the worst of the worst. He couldn't bring her mom back, neither could he offer something to make her pain disappear. He had nothing - rather he would only make her upset.

He let out a sigh and started thinking deeply. If he went in now, would she cover it up saying he was hearing things? Would she divert the conversation, apologizing for disturbing his sleep? Or would she blame herself for being so weak and apologize yet again? Or try to hide behind the fact it was late, and apologize again...

Even so, it was worth the shot. How many times was he gonna ignore her, knowing it was his fault? How many times was he gonna turn his face from her?

With that resolution, Kyo stood up and knocked on her door firmly. He waited for a minute before the door creaked open quietly.

Her brunette head poked out of the little gap between the door frame. "Ah, Kyo-kun!" Tohru's voice seemed surprised to see Kyo at such a time. She opened the door wider for him.

"Sorry for the bother." Kyo scratched the back of his neck, trying to act nonchalant. "But I was really hungry. If it's not too much to ask for, can you make something for me?"