Shigure hummed happily as he drove down the road, his fingers tapping to a sound only he could hear. Beside him, in the passenger seat, Yuki gazed out the window with a thoughtful look on his pale face as he watched the buildings and trees go by. Tohru Honda was in the backseat with Kyo, chatting on excitedly about the events of the day. The orange-haired teen just listened to the girl speak, a content look on his face.
It was all a blissful moment for Shigure and he wanted to keep it that way. The first part of the drive had been spent mostly with Kyo goading Yuki into a fight, to which the dark haired boy would just give some snippy reply that would send Kyo into a rage. It had all started out on where the two boys got to sit. That had nearly escalated into a fist fight. Both had wanted the passenger seat, until they realized that Tohru would be in the back. Then it had been an argument on who got to sit next to her. In Shigure's mind, he knew Yuki had lost the argument because he did not want to make too much of a scene and upset Tohru.
Shigure let out a small sigh. It seemed Yuki and Kyo would fight about almost anything these days. Tohru had tried to do her part in mending the rift between the two cousins, and her natural charm seemed to work. But it could only go so far. Though Kyo and Yuki did seem to make an effort to be civil with each other when around Tohru. It was when she was not in the room that posed the problem. Shigure just might have to suggest that she stick around with one of the two boys like a magnet just to spare his house from anymore damage. Such a suggestion might work as Tohru was always eager to please others.
His thoughts came to a sudden halt when the car gave a slight bump and swerved a bit. Shigure gripped the wheel of the car, stepping on the breaks as he did so. He looked up in confusion, glancing back to see the startled looks on the teenagers faces.
"What was that?" Kyo demanded, shifting in his seat.
Yuki, who had been looking out the rolled down window, sat back down in his seat with a shocked look. "It's a cat," he said. "We've run over a cat."
Kyo's eyes widened and Tohru let out a startled gasp. "Oh no," she muttered.
"A cat?" Kyo demanded. "Where?"
"Is it still alive?" Tohru asked, hands covering her mouth as she remained rooted to her seat, almost as if she feared to look at the gruesome sight outside. Which she probably was.
Yuki looked back out, grimacing as he did so. "I believe it is," he answered. He reached for the door handle as if to get out of the car and look for himself.
Shigure shrugged as he checked his rearview mirror. "Oh well," he said, putting the car in reverse and backing up, causing Yuki to fall back in his seat with a yelp. There was another small bump and it was then did Shigure stop the car. He looked out the window with a frown. "Yuki, I cannot see. Is the poor thing still alive?"
Tohru let out a choked squeak as her horror increased at what he had just done. Kyo had gone white as a sheet, looking sick to his stomach. Yuki looked disturbed but was the only one who responded to his older cousin's question. "It's...still moving."
"Third time's the charm," Shigure said as he speed forward.
"No wait!" Kyo shouted as the car lurched forward. He looked back at the creature that Shigure had just run over once more.
"Well, it's dead now," Yuki said.
"What were you thinking?" Kyo demanded, furious as he turned to glare at Shigure.
Shigure shrugged. "How else could I put it out of its misery?"
"I don't know, maybe take it to a vet or something?" Kyo demanded. He looked back, grimacing in horror. "What if that cat had been me? Would you have wanted someone to repeatedly run over me?"
That got Yuki to smirk, causing Kyo to glare at him. "Something funny, rat-boy?"
"Oh no," Yuki said simply, still smirking. "It's just that, you and the cat share a remarkable resemblance."
Kyo let out a strangled yelp, looking back at the now dead cat.
"Relax," Shigure said calmly. "I've done this before and I know what I'm doing. It's nothing but road kill now."
At that moment, Tohru burst into tears, her sobs filling the car. In that instant, Yuki's smirk turned into a glare that matched Kyo's as both boys set their angry gazes on Shigure.
Moments later, Shigure found himself getting thrown out of the car, bruised from the hits he had received from his two cousins. Yuki glared at Shigure, his eyes sparking. "You made Miss Honda cry," he said with a growl.
"Should we put you out of your misery and run you over too?" Kyo asked as he poked his head out the window, a smirk on his face.
Shigure glared at his cousins from where he was sprawled on the road. "That is my car."
"We'll take good care of it," Kyo said simply, his smirk growing. "It is, after all, a cat killer."
"Please don't," Tohru sobbed. "P-please don't."
Kyo looked back at the girl with concern, glancing at Yuki before placing an awkward hand on her shoulder. "It's alright, Miss Honda," Yuki said as he crawled into the backseat and settled right next to her. Kyo scowled but said nothing. The Rat even made crawling into the back of a car look flawless. But he wouldn't poke fun at him now. Not in this situation. Tohru was in distress and they never liked seeing her upset about anything.
"It will be alright," Yuki repeated.
Tohru just sobbed harder and Yuki also placed his hand on her shoulder. But in that moment, Tohru reached out to both of them for comfort, wrapping her arms around them. Both Kyo's and Yuki's eyes widened before puffs of smoke filled the car and Tohru was left holding a pile of clothes, an orange cat and a grey mouse in her arms.
"I'm so sorry!" Tohru exclaimed, bursting into tears once more as she held the two cursed animals close.
"It's...alright," Kyo said, gasping for air.
"We'll be fine," Yuki said, nuzzling the girl's wet cheek.
The three teenagers did not notice Shigure crawling back into the car until the vehicle had started moving once again. "Well, this has been interesting," he commented cheerfully. He handed a white handkerchief to Tohru. "Blow your nose dear and dry those pretty eyes of yours."
"And instead of getting out of the car and checking to see if the cat could be saved like a normal person, he ran right over it!" Kyo exclaimed.
"Three times," Yuki added.
"Three times!" Kyo exclaimed.
Hatori Sohma just stared at the two teens before slowly turning to stare at Shigure who was sitting calmly at the table, drinking a cup of tea. The Dragon cocked his head with a small frown. "Did it suffer?" he asked.
Shigure smiled. "Not at all. I made sure of it."
Hatori nodded. "Good." He brushed past the two shocked teens. He paused for a moment. "Three times? You are getting very slow."
"Only because you weren't with me, Tori," Shigure said with a smirk.
Hatori frowned, his eyes narrowed before turning his back on his cousins and striding out of the room, not looking back.
"I told you," Shigure said simply to Kyo and Yuki who were still staring in shock. "I've run over many animals before. Hatori has been blessed to share the experience with me many times. It's just what I do." He sighed. "I think the experience has brought us closer together, though he will deny it. But it certainly did for me and Ayame."
"You sicko!" Kyo exclaimed in rage.
Author's Note: This was inspired by true events involving my aunt. *Sigh* Those poor cats.