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It’s been years since Kyo and Yuki have seriously fought, something a lot of the Sohma family thought would never happen, but it makes Tohru happy. Two of her favorite people have learned to get along and it’s everything Tohru’s wanted for them since she first met them.
So walking onto the porch of Shigure’s old house and finding Kyo and Yuki fighting in the yard is disconcerting, to say the least. Tohru’s prepared to drop her laundry where it is and rush over to stop them, but then she actually looks.
Yuki and Kyo are smiling, sweat making their faces shine in the afternoon sun, but neither of them has shed their shirts in the heat. Their voices are clear, reaching Tohru with no difficulty, shooting old insults at one another. But, Tohru realizes she’s never seen them fight like this. No, she thinks, fight is the wrong word. They’re sparring.
All of their old fights were ruthless, and they were reckless with their surroundings, not to mention the damage they caused to each other. What Tohru’s watching now has none of that venom and a lightness to it that she doesn’t have the words for. They’ve always been graceful, it’s part of what made them so admired in high school, but this is like a dance. Before she can think better of it, Tohru sits on the porch, setting the laundry basket beside her and tucking her legs under her.
It’s clear they’ve been going at it for a while, but neither of them hesitates in their movements. Kyo kicks, aiming for Yuki’s head, and Yuki blocks it, twisting his arm to grab Kyo’s leg. Tohru’s never quite figured out how to fight, but she thinks that the two of them are pretty evenly matched, nevermind that she’s always thought that. Still, they’re beautiful to watch and Tohru leans back against the door, enjoying the warm afternoon and this precious moment.
Tohru doesn’t quite know when, but at some point, Yuki and Kyo start winding their sparring session down until they’ve stopped fighting and are just stretching. There’s no clear winner, but Tohru has a feeling that that was kinda the point.
She claps when she realizes what’s happened, her smile so wide that it immediately calms the boys when they see it. They both startle at the sound of Tohru’s applause, Kyo jumping a little like a cat, but the tension quickly bleeds out when all they see is Tohru. She jumps up to grab them two glasses of water for when they finish cooling down, and it isn’t until she comes back to the porch with glasses in hand, Yuki and Kyo waiting for her, that she realizes that they’re both dressed in t-shirts and light sweatpants.
“Did you enjoy the show?” Yuki asks, after taking a glass and thanking her. Tohru feels her cheeks heat, despite Yuki’s smile and teasing tone.
“Of course she did, why would you ask something so stupid?” Kyo sits on the edge of the porch, his own glass of water in hand. He glances at Tohru a second after he says it though, and Tohru smiles easily.
She sits down next to Kyo on her legs, Yuki on her other side. “Kyo’s right, I did enjoy it. How did you two come up with the idea?”
Yuki and Kyo look at each other, apparently at a loss. “We realized we’d never fought for the fun of it,” Yuki says, turning to lean on the edge of the porch. “We’ve fought so many times before, but there was always some dark undercurrent motivating both of us.”
Kyo snorts. “Yeah, like my freedom on the line,” he says, and Tohru beams, admiring that Kyo can joke about something that very seriously could’ve ruined his life. He shrugs after a moment, looking at Tohru. “We decided to see what it would be like if there wasn’t a reward.”
Tohru sighs, smiling at the two of them. “I’m glad,” she says, her voice soft. “You two have come such a long way.” Yuki and Kyo hum in agreement and Tohru thinks, Thanks, Mom, for such a beautiful day.