Chapter Text
It was a beautiful day in mid-August, or about as beautiful a day as it could be when the heat and humidity made being outside feel like being in a sauna. Kyo had taken a shower before he left the dojo, but by the time he finished climbing the steps to the house you couldn't tell, he was so sweaty just from the walk home.
And he grumbled about it as he shifted his bag to the opposite shoulder, grimacing as he felt the familiar tacky sensation of his shirt sticking to his back where the bag had been. This was one of the things he'd never liked about summer; it was impossible to be outside and actually feel clean.
Still, he was in a good enough mood as he walked the short distance to the house. Tohru didn't have work that night and she hadn't mentioned having any plans with anyone else that day. Hopefully, that meant that the two of them could have some time together, preferably time involving something cool.
And maybe even time alone.
Grinning at the thought, Kyo put his hand on the front door and slid it open, only to be greeted by the sight of not one, not two, but six pairs of shoes sitting by the entryway step. And at first, all he could do was stare at them before he sighed.
That was probably a 'no' on the alone time, then.
Kicking off his shoes, Kyo ran upstairs and dumped his bag in his room, then headed back downstairs and into the kitchen to grab a drink, say 'hi' to Tohru, and figure out what the hell was up with all the random guests.
Kyo didn't have to wonder very long. No sooner had he stepped into the kitchen than he was greeted by the sight of Tohru, Yuki, Momiji, Haru, Kisa, and Hiro all sitting around the living room table, chattering away.
That explained the shoes, at least.
Tohru saw him right away and promptly beamed at him. "Welcome home, Kyo!"
She was followed by a chorus of greetings from everyone else, and Kyo gave the group a nod as he pulled his carton of milk from the fridge.
"Hey. We having a dinner party no one remembered to tell me about, or what?"
Taking a big swig from the carton, he then wiped his mouth with the back of his hand, replaced it in the fridge, and walked into the living room.
Hiro was giving him a look of profound disgust. "Did you seriously just drink straight from the carton? You really ought to try having some consideration for the other people who live here."
Kyo rolled his eyes as he sat down beside Tohru. "In the first place, it's my damn milk. In the second place, it's none of your damn business-"
"-And in the third place, he's always been gross like that," Yuki inserted smoothly. "We're all used to it."
Kyo and Hiro both snorted, but Kyo smiled when Tohru brought her hand to rest on his knee and gave him a smile of her own.
"It's nice to have you home, Kyo!” she said. “How was your class?"
"Good! Still feels weird to be lead the whole time, especially without Master watching me, but I think everything all went good."
"That's right," Haru commented, looking across the table at Kyo. "Sensei's got you doing a bunch of teaching now, right?"
Kyo nodded, trying not to look too pleased with himself. "Yeah. He figures it'll be good for me to start getting more experience now, so I'm ready once I've graduated."
And the clock was ticking down to graduation quickly: there were only seven months remaining for him to prepare.
A little over a month had passed since the Curse had broken and they'd all been freed. Since then, quite a lot had changed, or promised to change, in the lives of all the former Zodiacs, but probably none had seen even half as much change as Kyo. In that time he and Tohru had started dating, of course, and he had sat down with Kazuma to properly talk about his future. After so long with nothing to look forward to other than his confinement, he was suddenly faced with the prospect of doing...anything.
But for all that he'd never truly dared to dream about a real future, he already knew what he wanted to do: karate. To learn, and to teach, and, maybe someday, to be worthy of taking over from Kazuma himself.
Kyo had planned to see about finding a dojo where he could work, somewhere far away from where they lived currently. Somewhere where no one knew him, or the Sohmas, or about the Curse.
Where he could prove himself, on his own merits.
Kazuma had agreed with part of that plan. He had understood Kyo's desire to distance himself from the Sohmas, and to test himself in a totally new place. But he had been against Kyo simply winging it, pushing instead for Kyo to allow Kazuma to help him. As a well-respected karateka and dojo master, Kazuma had connections all across Japan, and he had a couple ideas for places that might check all of Kyo's boxes. In the end, Kyo had agreed; he still intended to prove himself using his own skill, but he wouldn't say no to a little help getting his foot in the door.
Especially since he wasn't going to be going alone.
It had been nerve-wracking, standing with Tohru in front of her parents' grave as he had told her his plans. About how he wanted to leave Tokyo, and go somewhere far away.
And how he wanted her to go with him.
She hadn't taken even a second to think about the question, agreeing without even the tiniest hesitation. Wherever he went, she would go too; all she wanted was to stay by his side, always and forever. And all he wanted to do after that was make it worth it for her, every way that he could.
That future had felt very far away, but there were only seven months between now and graduation. They knew now where they were going; thanks to Kazuma's connections, Kyo had already lined up a job. And as exciting as that prospect was, it was also terrifying; more than anything else, he wanted to prove himself to them all: to Kazuma, to his new master, and to Tohru herself.
All their friends were aware of Kyo and Tohru's plans, and he was also aware that most of them had Feelings about them. He wasn't an idiot, and he knew how much Tohru meant to them all. It was a lot to accept, them going so far away, but Kyo had already heard far more critiques of his plans than he'd ever needed or wanted to hear.
He had been gracious in his responses, though; he hadn't even told anyone to fuck off...yet.
Because at the end of the day, none of them really mattered. The only people who did were himself, and Tohru.
"Well, good for you," Haru said with a nod at Kyo. "More time at the dojo can only be a good thing, right? Not like you've got anything else to occupy you this summer," he said with a teasing smirk at Tohru.
At the comment, Tohru blushed and gave Kyo a smile, one Kyo returned after giving Haru a snort. But before any of them could say anything else, Momiji jumped in.
"That might have been the case before, but not anymore! You caught us all at a most fortuitous time, Kyo."
"Huh?" Now Kyo was slightly confused.
"We were just all discussing our beach trip!"
Ohhhhh...that was right, the beach trip.
Leaning back, Kyo looked over at Momiji. "So it's a done deal, then? You finally heard back on the house?"
Momiji was beaming. "That's right! It's all ours, all next week!"
Kyo's eyes bugged out slightly. "Next week? You really didn't give those of us with jobs much notice, did you?"
"It's more notice than he's given us in the past," Yuki said, and Kyo had to admit Yuki had a point. Still, five days wasn't a lot of time.
Luckily for him, his boss, aka Kazuma, tended to be understanding.
But he shot Tohru a concerned look. "You gonna be able to get the time off, Tohru? You've only been back at work for a couple weeks now, you think they're gonna be ok with you taking vacation on such short notice?"
She nodded brightly. "Yes! Since Momiji had talked about the beach house right before school got out, I asked them about it when we were figuring out my return-to-work schedule! They said I just had to let them know the dates, and it would be fine!"
"Oh. Well, that's good, then." And as Kyo looked around the table, he realized that they were actually it; none of the others worked, and since Yuki was done with his student council responsibilities, none of them had to worry about club activities, either.
"So...guess we're going back to the beach, then," he said, trying to sound enthusiastic.
And that was how, five days later, they were all on a charter bus, making their way to the Sohma beach house.
It felt like overkill, having an entire bus for the ride, but there were still more of them than the last time Momiji had arranged for a bus. Besides Tohru and Kyo, there was Momiji, Haru, Kisa, Hiro, Yuki, and Yuki's girlfriend Machi. Kyo had been surprised and Tohru delighted when Yuki had mentioned Machi coming; though Yuki and Machi had been dating for as long as Tohru and Kyo, neither of them had actually properly met her yet.
Kyo personally thought Machi had to be a bit crazy, accepting an invitation to the Sohma beach house without really knowing anyone else who was going. He knew Machi in passing, but other than knowing she had been on the student council with Yuki, was in Haru and Momiji's class, and was pretty quiet, he couldn't say that he knew anything about her.
Then again, if she was in Haru and Momiji's class, she hopefully knew at least a little bit what she was getting into by going anywhere with a bunch of Sohmas.
For her part, Tohru was ecstatic for the chance to get to know Machi. She'd been thrilled for Yuki when she'd learned he had a girlfriend and immediately started to conjure up ideas of becoming Best Friends with Machi. Yuki had been charmed by Tohru's enthusiasm and the fact she was so ready to make friends with Machi, but he'd also had to caution her that it might take some time for Machi to warm up. While she wasn't remotely threatened by Tohru, she was intimidated by her, and wanting to make a good impression on Tohru was anxiety-inducing.
Yuki hadn’t said that, of course, but Tohru had gotten the message: go at Machi’s pace, and try not to act too eager.
It had still taken all of Tohru's self-control to stop herself from simply pouncing on Machi on the bus, but she could tell from the other girl's expression that Machi was nervous. So at least to start with, Tohru made sure to hang back, contenting herself with greeting her and telling her how very happy she was to have her join them.
Once they got going, Tohru turned around to talk to Haru.
"It's such a shame Isuzu couldn't come out with us all today, is she still planning to come, Hatsuharu?"
Haru nodded, lounging back in his seat.
"Yeah, that's right. She's gotta deal with some doctor crap today and tomorrow, but Hatori was gonna drive her out tomorrow afternoon."
Tohru beamed. "It will be so nice to have her with us this trip, I really hope she has fun! Last time we were at the beach, she barely got to spend any time there!"
"Yeah, well, that was kinda her whole point, wasn't it? It's not like last summer's beach trip was at a really great time."
Immediately Tohru felt contrite, realizing that Haru and Rin had been broken up at that time last summer.
"Hatsuharu, I'm so sorry, I didn't mean-"
"-Don't worry about it, Honda, it's all good. This year's bound to be a lot more fun for her anyway, seeing how you guys are such good friends now."
At that, Tohru's entire face lit up, and she practically glowed at Haru. "Do you really think she thinks I'm a good friend?"
A friend, yes, but a good friend was something special.
They all had to laugh at that, Kyo giving Tohru an affectionate hug for just how cute she was being.
"No shit, Honda,” Haru said, looking at her with amusement. “Pretty sure it doesn't matter that I'm going to the beach house, if it was just me she'd say 'bye, see you next week.' But since you're here? Now we alllllll get to enjoy the sight of Rin in a bikini," Haru said, smiling in obvious satisfaction.
At that Tohru and Kisa blushed, Kyo snorted, Machi looked at the floor, Hiro rolled his eyes, and Momiji snickered. Yuki, however, was much less subtle, reaching out and smacking Haru upside the head.
"Is it even possible for you not to be vulgar?"
"Oww." Rubbing his head, Haru looked thoughtfully at Yuki for a moment, then shrugged. "No?"
Sighing, Yuki looked over at Momiji. "So, did you have to arrange for any chaperones on this trip? Or are we fine with just the maids?"
"Trying to suss out what you can get away with, Yuki?" Haru asked with a knowing smile that earned him another threatening look from Yuki before Yuki huffed.
"No, I'm just wondering who all is going to be there. Remember, last year we ended up with Shigure."
They were all silent for a moment, cringing slightly for various reasons. But Momiji was quick to answer.
"Just the maids! I did ask Hatori if he'd like to stay at all, since he was bringing Rin, but he has to work," Momiji lamented with a sigh.
Personally, Kyo and Yuki thought that work was probably just a convenient excuse for Hatori; hanging out at the beach house a group of rowdy teenagers hardly sounded like something he would consider a good time.
"So ja," Momiji continued, "As far as I know, it will be just us!"
Pretty much everyone was smiling at that piece of information, though some of them were trying to hide it more than others. Yes, they'd have to deal with the maids, but they were a great deal preferable to having Shigure hanging around, or-
Kyo straightened up suddenly, earning a startled look from Tohru, who'd been leaning against him. But Kyo had a question that was far too urgent not to ask.
"Hey, Ratboy?"
Yuki looked over at him with a frown. "What?"
"That whackjob brother of yours doesn't know about this, does he?"
Yuki's eyes widened, and Kyo immediately realized that the idea hadn't even occurred to him. But after a moment, Yuki shook his head. "I don't think so. I certainly never told him, so hopefully-" Then Yuki broke off with a grimace. "Shigure knows, though, so..."
Kyo growled as he sank back down into his seat and pulled Tohru close. "I swear, if that guy shows up-"
"-Then I'll throw him into the ocean myself," Yuki said firmly.
Eventually, they made it to the house, and Tohru couldn't help but giggle at the shell-shocked look on Machi's face when she first saw it. It reminded her a lot of her own reaction to the house the previous year; the phrase 'beach house' definitely did not conjure up images of this mansion!
Tohru smiled as she stepped up to Machi. "It's pretty impressive, isn't it? When we got here last year, I don't think I closed my mouth for the entire first day!"
Machi turned away from the house to stare incredulously at Tohru. "This...is a vacation house? I know Yuki said there would be plenty of room for everyone, but I wasn't expecting..." she looked back up to the house, shaking her head in amazement.
Tohru giggled and nodded. "I know, right? But don't worry, it's not nearly as intimidating once you're inside as the outside makes it look."
The look on Machi's face suggested she didn't quite believe that, and Tohru giggled again.
"Why don't you come with Kisa and me to the girl's wing, Kuragi? We can all choose what rooms we want to sleep in now!"
At Tohru's suggestion, Kisa perked up immediately. "Oh yes, you should, Kuragi! You can even have first choice," she said, a little shyly.
Machi hesitated, looking back at where the guys were dealing with the luggage.
"Oh, don't worry about them,” Tohru reassured her. “It will take a little time before they get everything unloaded, and we'll be back down before you know it!"
Seeing Machi's continued uncertainty, Tohru quickly called out, "Kisa, Kuragi and I are going to go find our rooms, ok?"
All of the guys looked up at that, and the three girls were given a chorus of affirmatives, along with some smiles. And at Yuki's smile, Machi allowed herself to smile too, before finally giving Tohru and Kisa a nod and saying,
"Ok, that sounds...nice."
With a fearlessness brought on by her one year of experience, Tohru led the way into the house, pointing out the living room and kitchen to Machi before the three of them headed up to the girls' wing.
"There are enough rooms for us all to have our own, or we could also share! What would you like, Kuragi?" Tohru asked, beaming at her.
Machi felt a little on the spot. "Um...I'd really prefer to have my own room, if that's ok. It's not that I don't like you, either of you," she said, suddenly anxious, "but I would just really-"
"-Please don't feel you have to apologize!" Tohru hurried to assure her. "This is a vacation, after all, so we should all do our best to be comfortable, however we can."
"That's right," Kisa agreed, before looking at Tohru. "Would it be ok if we shared a room again this year, Tohru?"
"Of course!" Tohru agreed immediately, then paused for a moment, looking at Kisa. "As long as you're sure you wouldn't maybe like your own room this time? You might find you'd prefer the privacy."
Kisa shook her head. "No, I like sharing a room! It makes it feel almost like a slumber party, doesn't it?"
"It really does," Tohru said, giggling before turning back to Machi. "Why don't you look at the rooms and choose the one you like best, Kuragi?"
Machi shifted nervously again. "I really don't have to, I'd be fine with anything."
"Why don't we check them out together," Kisa suggested. "It can be like an exploration!"
Tohru's eyes lit up. "What a wonderful idea! We didn't do that last year, how fun!"
Machi didn't have any argument, so the three of them began opening doors. Behind every door was basically the same thing; a neat guest room, each one with identical amenities to the ones before. And while the rooms all looked wonderfully comfortable, all three girls had to admit that it was a bit disappointing, to see the same things repeated so many times.
"Well, that wasn't really much of an exploration, was it?" Tohru asked, sighing somewhat ruefully as they closed the last door.
"At least we know what our choices are, that's always nice," Kisa said, and Machi offered her agreement with a nod.
"I guess it really doesn't matter what rooms we pick, does it? But they do all look nice," Machi added, not wanting to seem unappreciative.
"Knock knock, luggage delivery!"
At the sound of Haru's voice, the girls turned to see him and Momiji approaching, carrying their bags.
Tohru immediately smiled, reaching out to take hers. "How kind of you both, you didn't have to bring us our things! We could have gone back and carried them up ourselves!"
Haru and Momiji exchanged a glance, then laughed.
"Ja, perhaps, but you probably wouldn't have gotten the chance, Tohru," Momiji told her with an impish grin.
Kisa frowned, not understanding. "What do you mean?"
"He means you've all got boyfriends here practically falling over themselves to be useful, that's what he means," Haru said, setting down Kisa's luggage with a 'thump.'
"That's right," Momiji said, nodding sagely. "And naturlich, for the sake of propriety we can't allow boyfriends in the girl's wing now, can we?"
Tohru, Machi, and Kisa all blushed, earning new laughs from Haru and Momiji.
"But Haru, you're a boyfriend," Kisa quickly pointed out, surprising nearly all of them with her boldness. But Haru only shrugged in response.
"Yeah, but Rin's not here yet, so it's not like I'm gonna know which one's gonna be her room anyway. Besides, Momiji can't exactly manage all this stuff by himself."
"He's right," Momiji admitted ruefully, looking at the bags, then grinned at the girls. "So...where are we putting this?"
Tohru, Kisa, and Machi all exchanged a look, then looked back at the guys. "You can just set it down there, actually; we haven't figured out what rooms we're staying in yet, so we need to figure that part out first. But thank you both so much for bringing us our things!"
"Anytime."
"You're welcome!"
Depositing everything on the hallway floor, Haru and Momiji gave the girls one last smile, then turned and headed back around the corner and down the stairs. And the three girls each took a moment to properly collect themselves before returning to the task at hand.
"Well, if all the rooms are the same, how about we just take the two in the middle? Kisa and I can have this room, and you can have that one right next door, Kuragi! Or if you'd be more comfortable in an end room, you could take that one, and we could take the one next to it? I don't know what sort of room Isuzu might prefer," Tohru said, looking thoughtfully at the bedroom doors.
After a moment's thought, Machi said, "I think I'd like the end room, if that's really alright." Tohru and Kisa both nodded, and they all picked up their bags, carrying them to their newly appointed rooms.
"That's the bathroom," Kisa said, pointing to the door as they passed it. "It's just for the girls, so you don't have to worry about bumping into any of the guys in the night."
From Machi's expression she clearly hadn't considered that, but Tohru was once again quick to reassure her.
"But don't worry, the boys are all super respectful, and there's no way they'd end up over here by accident, either. They're sleeping over on the other side of the house, so there's no need to worry about anything, not at all! The only people you have to worry about seeing you in your pajamas are maybe Kisa and I, and you really don't have to worry about us at all, either!"
Machi was giving them an awkward look, and Tohru suddenly felt anxious. She wanted so badly for Machi to like her, and there she was, being...weird.
Maybe even creepy, going on as she was about bathrooms and pajamas.
Not exactly the first impression she was after.
"Anyway, why don't we all drop off our things, then we can go back downstairs? I'm sure the boys are all wondering what's taking us so long."
Machi and Kisa both nodded, and Tohru let out a soft, relieved sigh.
Hopefully she hadn't screwed up things too badly with Machi yet.