Kyou Sohma was sitting out on his cousin Shigure's porch, leaning against the doorframe, when he felt the ground rumble beneath him. He sat up quickly and looked around. His heart was pounding in his chest and his breath began to quicken. He stood up quickly and ran into the house.
"Oh! Kyou-kun! Where are you-" Tohru started to say, but Kyou ran past her, ignoring her question. He barreled past Shigure, who blinked in mild surprise and crashed into his other cousin, Yuki, who glared at him.
"Baka neko, you really have no manners, crashing into people." Yuki sniffed, dusting himself off. Kyou jumped up and snarled at him, clenching his fists.
"Shut up you kuso nezumi! Get out of the way!" He snapped, trying to brush past the other. Yuki lofted an eyebrow, interested in Kyou's sudden desire to get upstairs.
"What's wrong with you? In a hurry to go somewhere?" He asked. Kyou bristled and tried even harder to get past him.
"It's none of your damn business! Move!" He grabbed Yuki's arm and shoved him aside, running upstairs to his room. He slammed the door and made his way over to his window. He was halfway out and up to the roof, when he heard a tearing sound, as if his door was being pulled off the hinges. He froze, then turned around in horror. Standing in the doorway was the petite frame of his older cousin, Kagura Sohma. She was panting and holding her side.
"K-Kyou...Kyou-kun!" She said, moving for him. This snapped Kyou out of his daze and he made a scramble for the window.
"Kyou-kun!" She ran after him and just as he was half way out the window, she grabbed his foot and pulled him back inside. "What kind of boyfriend are you? Abandoning me at the dojo! Not even calling to apologizing! You're a horrid fiancee! Absolutely horrid!" As she was scolding him, she was also swinging him around the room, making him crash into his bookshelf, his bed and his desk. When she finally let him go, he slumped to the floor, unconscious. Kagura froze and looked at him.
"Kyou!" She grabbed him and clutched him to her chest. "Speak to me...who did this to you?" She cried, hugging him fiercely. Tohru appeared at the doorway just then and cleared her throat hesitantly.
"Anou...Kagura-chan...would you like some tea?" She asked. Kagura jumped up, dropping Kyou to the floor.
"Hai!" She reached down and grabbed the dazed Kyou, dragging him out of the room and back downstairs.
Kyou held an ice pack to his jaw and glared at the cup of tea Tohru had set before him. His angry gaze shifted from the table up to Kagura, who was smiling sweetly at him. There was an awkward silence, then Shigure spoke up.
"So, Kagura-chan, what brings you here? A visit for Kyou-kun?" He asked. Kagura nodded.
"Hai! Kyou-kun had to be punished for leaving me behind, Shii-chan." She replied, taking a sip of her tea. Kyou pounded his fist on the table.
"Punished? For what? I didn't do anything wrong! You're the one who's always following me around like some lovesick puppy! GAH!" He scratched furiously at his orange hair and stood up. "I'm going for a walk." He marched out of the room and slammed the door behind him. Kagura gasped and jumped up, running after him. At the sound of her footsteps, Kyou sped up, not keen on the idea of walking with her.
"Kyou! Wait!" She ran to catch up to him.
"Damn it, Kagura! Just leave me the hell alone!" He yelled, not bothering to look back. She hesitated, then continued forward.
"But...Kyou! That's not fair! You're not being nice to your future wife!" She whined. Kyou came to a halt and turned to her, something inside him snapping.
"...Get one thing straight you stupid girl. I am NOT your boyfriend. You are NOT my future wife. I don't want anything to do with you. I HATE you! So just GO AWAY and LEAVE ME ALONE!" He yelled. Kagura blinked and lunged forward, clinging to his arm.
"Kyou-kun, you're just cranky! I know that deep down, you really do love me!" She said, smiling up at him. With a growl, Kyou shook his arm and in a moment regretted having done so. He hadn't noticed what force his anger could take and out of sheer frustration slammed his hand into her, knocking her to the ground with a sickening thud. His eyes widened and he froze. In all the years he knew Kagura and put up with her violent declarations of love, he had never once fought back physically. Why would he...she was a girl...and a small one at that.
"Kagura I-" He started to say, but before he could finish his sentence he noticed her once bright eyes well with tears. Never in her life had she ever expected for him to hurt her physically, even if he had no trouble doing such a thing emotionally. She was shocked and the spot where his hand met her body burned with pain. Her breath nearly stopped and grew stale inside of her lungs. Placing her hand over the area like a wounded animal, she stared into his face for a moment, still in disbelief. She shook her head abruptly and darted out of the clearing before a single tear could work it's way from her eye, leaving Kyou standing there with his hands at his sides.
"Dear God..." He whispered to himself. "...what have I done?"
