BARRINNGG!!!!

Tohru woke up with a start. She turned off her alarm clock as she gazed at the time.

"mmm...," she yawned, "..9:30.." Tohru got up out of bed and froze mid-stretch.

"9:30!!!! Oh my god!" She scrambled through her dresser and quickly picked out a skirt and blouse. "I was supposed to wake up at 8:30! I must've been so tired last night that I forgot to set my alarm! I can't believe I'm late!" she yelped, "Shigure, Yuki, and Kyo must be starving. Oh I hope they're not mad at me!"

Not bothering to fix her hair, Tohru ran downstairs, slipping on some socks along the way. I need to be more responsible than this. She thought to herself. Maybe they're still asleep and they won't even notice. Tohru ran into the kitchen.

"SURPRISSEEE!"

Tohru jumped and the sudden outburst. Oh my god.

"Happy Birthday Miss Honda." Yuki told Tohru as he guided her to her seat.

She had completely forgotten! Today was her 21st birthday! She must've been too caught up in her everyday life to even remember her own birthday. Tohru sat down and looked around finally coming out of her daze. Her jaw dropped as she saw the birthday breakfast before her. There was a whole table of beautifully cooked food before her.

I've never seen this much food before in my life!

"Happy Birthday Tohru. This is for all the days you've cleaned and cooked for us. Today is our turn."

She looked at Shigure and realized that she hadn't said a word since she had entered the room.

"Thank you all so much!" Tohru exclaimed. "Where did you get all of this food!"

"Funny you should ask," Shigure smiled, "Kyo stayed up all night cooking all of this wonderful food for you!"

Kyo was leaning against the opposite wall looking down with a hint of red in his cheeks. Tohru gasped. She hadn't even seen him there! And he slaved all night making this food for her. She blushed furiously.

"Kyo... thank you. I'm sure you were tired and I'm sorry that I caused you so much trouble." Her blush deepened as she talked.

"It was nothing..." Kyo said nervously as he sat down to eat "I don't want you to get the wrong idea or anything."

"Yes, I offered to help Miss Honda, but he wouldn't even let me near the kitchen."

Kyo looked up and saw Shigure with a smile plastered across his face. He started to get angry. "What are you smiling about you dumb dog!!"

"Oh nothing!" Shigure continued to smile.

Grrr. Damn dog. "If it wasn't Tohru's birthday I would seriously be kicking your ass right now!"

Tohru, however was staring at all the food in awe. She felt her stomach growl. I don't want to be rude and start eating before everyone. I can wait a little longer until they start eating.

"It's alright Miss Honda" Yuki smiled. "Go ahead and dig in. It's your special day after all. You can do anything you'd like."

Well if they are all waiting on me then I'll just pick something. Umm, how about this one.

Tohru used her chopsticks to grab a piece of fresh salmon and took a bite. Kyo watched, anxious about whether or not it tasted all right. She didn't say anything at first. Oh great... she hates it.

"It's delicious!"

Kyo looked up with surprise. A grin began to form on his face. Well a grin may be pushing it. More of a smirk really. Everyone began eating in silence.

"Wow Kyo, maybe you should do the cooking from now on, "Shigure started, "and save our little flower from wilting away in the kitchen all night."

"Oh no! I couldn't let anyone do that. I told you from the beginning that I would cook and clean to pay for my part of the rent and I'm sticking to my word!" Tohru said as she stood up and slapped her hand on the table.

Everyone froze. "Oh sorry, I didn't mean to shout like that." She started to blush and sat back down.

Kyo started to smile again as he held in a laugh. He loved that about her. The way she always worried about dumb things like that. He would've cooked everyday for her if that's what she wanted. Kyo noticed her hair for the first time. He had never seen it messy before. She must've been in such a rush this morning that she forgot to brush it. He had walked into her room late last night and reset her alarm to make sure she didn't wake up early. He couldn't tell why, but for some reason the messy hair made her look even cuter than she usually did. If that was possible.

Tohru looked up and saw Kyo looking at her. She immediately began to blush. She still couldn't believe that he went through all that trouble to cook all of this food just for her. He's so short-tempered around other people that no one would ever guess that there was a kind, sweet guy in there somewhere. She liked that most about him. That he was so outspoken yet shy at the same time. She knew that she had feelings for him beyond friendship, but she could never let anyone know about that. The red in her cheeks deepened as she noticed that Kyo was still staring at her and she looked down quickly.

Shigure noticed this. "Well, Yuki since it's Tohru's birthday and since Kyo put all his time into this meal, why don't we clean it up for them!"

Yuki glared at Shigure at the thought of leaving Miss Honda alone with that stupid cat but he gave in anyway and began to clear the table. They both left.

Both Kyo and Tohru felt awkward.

"Thanks for-"

"So, did you-"

They both blushed. "Go ahead Kyo. What were you going to say?"

"I was just gonna ask if you liked breakfast?" Kyo asked shyly.

Tohru smiled. "Of course. I've never tasted anything better in my life. It was delicious! Thanks so much for taking all of your time to cook it for me. I know it must have been a lot of trouble."

I would do anything for you, Tohru. He thought. But what came out was, "No problem.."

Shigure and Yuki walked back into the room as the lights suddenly went off.

"Wh-What just happened!" Tohru stuttered.

"Hmm... I donno." Shigure said calmly. A little too calmly maybe.

A power outage? On her birthday? This can't be happening. Tohru got scared. She shivered and grab Kyo's hand without noticing it. She squeezed it to calm herself down.

Kyo jumped at the sudden touch. He was glad the lights were off or he was sure the whole world would have noticed him blush just then. Man she was really squeezing hard! Then suddenly-

"Happy birthday to you, Happy birthday to you-"

Tohru saw candles and gasped. A birthday cake!

"Happy birthday dear Tohru! Happy birthday to you!"

She couldn't see who was carrying it. It was too dark. The lights flashed on as the cake was set in front of her.

"Momiji!" Tohru exclaimed as a smile spread across her face. She released Kyo's hand as she gave Momiji a big hug. She looked past his shoulder and saw the rest of the Sohma family smiling at her! They were all here! Well, everyone except Akito... Her smile began to fade.

I can't be upset. What happened, happened and I can't change it. Her smile returned even though it was a little forced.

"Hello everyone! Thank you so much for coming here for my birthday!"

A/N: Thanks so much for reading! This is my first fanfic. The next chapter will be up soon where what happened with Akito will be explained. Read and Review!