AN: Thanks to those who have read my story and added it to their alert lists! This chapter is dedicated to MistressAnime, my very first reviewer for this story.
Chapter Two - Early Mornings
Yuki walked at a quickened pace back to his room, slid the door shut in a hurry and threw himself on his bed. He lay there, staring at the ceiling for a few moments, recalling what Tohru had just said to him. "Because that place is what you care most about in the world. Because you need it. And I... And I need... I need you to be happy"
"What did she mean by that?" Yuki wondered aloud "She wants me to be happy, she said... but I'm only happy when she's around... she's what I care about most in the world..." Yuki was beginning to feel frustrated with himself "Why couldn't I just tell her that?!" He yelled and began beating himself up with his pillow. "But then again..." he paused motion "why am I thinking about that when she is in the state of becoming ill? When she IS ill? Ah you baka nezumi, Yuki!" he scolded himself and proceeded beating himself up with the pillow.
"Well this is a sight I haven't seen before" Kyou said slyly, casually leaning against Yuki's now opened door "The all-mighty Yuki losing a fight to a pillow, how tragic..."
Yuki glared at Kyou before realising the hilarity of the situation, he then laughed, much to the surprise of Kyou, who then walked into Yuki's room and sat down on the edge of his bed. Yuki and Kyou both looked out the window, both thinking the same thing.
"Does she seem okay to you?" Kyou asked a yawning Yuki.
"Well she's acting like she's okay, but looking closer I can tell that she isn't"
"I never realised how thin she was, really... it makes me feel awful..."
"After she's cared for us so much..." Yuki began, feeling slightly sickened with himself "we repay her with neglect? Who does that to such a wonderful person?"
"I feel the same" Kyou said, dropping his chin to his chest "But what can we do?"
"Well... we can let her know we're there. Let her know we care for her."
"Sounds like a go-o-od plan" Kyou said, failing to stifle a yawn of his own "I'm off to bed before Tohru begins to worry that I'm not asleep. Night, rat!"
"Night, cat!" Yuki said to the retreating back of Kyou, who left the room and slid the door shut with a light snap.
Tohru drank the tea that Shigure was so kind to bring up to her that tasted of blackberries and mint. She then brushed her teeth and tied her long hair back into a low ponytail with a band and got under the covers. She checked her clock before closing her eyes. "Eleven? Oh, just great..." she sighed and rested her head against the pillow, facing the other direction. Tohru's eyes drooped closed and she tried to go to sleep.
Tohru managed to sleep for what felt like half an hour before she woke up, drenched in cold sweat and shaking like crazy. Not wanting to trouble anyone, she decided that she was only warm from her blankets and kicked off her pyjama bottoms and lay back down in her sweat covered bed in her singlet and underwear. The air surrounding was like ice to her cold skin, yet she felt so warm that she didn't care and closed her eyes once more, desperate for sleep.
Tohru woke up several times during the night, but she wasn't worried, just rather annoyed. This was a regular occurrence for her and she was determined not to let it get the best of her. On her fourth awakening at 4:30 in the morning, Tohru decided that trying to continue her sleep was pointless and retrieved her robe from her desk chair and headed to the bathroom, ready for a 'wake-up' shower. Her skin was still cold and she had goose-bumps all over, but she felt so hot that she decided to run the water at a cool temperature instead of the traditional heat that was welcome every morning.
Tohru stepped into the shower and gasped as the water hit her skin. She could not believe how much it hurt. The best way Tohru would describe it to anyone would be to say that it was like someone pricking you with pins all over your body unexpectedly. She let a tear escape her eye and washed her hair and skin free of the left over mud from the night before. Ten minutes later, Tohru left the bathroom, not a trace of steam following her as she proceeded to do her morning chores.
First she stripped her bead of the dirty bed sheets and threw them into the washing machine; she then washed the dishes from yesterday's meals and began cooking that morning's breakfast for everyone. When the meal was cooked, Tohru kept it warm in the oven, turned to a low setting, before she headed off to clean up the mess she left in the bathroom before Kyou or Yuki should awaken and wish to have a shower.
At six o'clock, Tohru had finished her chores and knelt, now dressed in her clean school uniform, at the table with a pair of mittens in front of her, ready to get up and pull the food out of the oven at the first sign of company. The table had been set and Tohru had even placed a vase of freshly picked roses in the centre of the table. Tohru loved roses, especially the white ones, just like her mother did.
With thoughts of her mother entering her head, Tohru let another tear slide down her cheek. Her head dropped and she began whispering under her breath. "Mom, I love you so much... why'd you have to leave me?" Tohru was so caught up in her little world that she didn't notice a wet haired Shigure enter the room. It was not until she heard the rustling of paper that she snapped her head up, quickly wiped her tears away and grabbed the mittens.
"Good morning, Shigure-san!" Tohru greeted the older man, with her convincing 'everything's fine' smile.
"Good morning Tohru-kun!" Shigure replied, shaking open his newspaper to the comic section.
Tohru retrieved the food from the oven and set it out before Shigure. She then poured him a glass of juice and knelt back down at her spot at the table. She knew that she dare not eat before Shigure had at least begun eating himself, so she just sat there, staring blankly at her hands folded in her lap. She jumped when she felt a hand on her shoulder and looked up into the eyes of its owner.
"Dear girl, do eat something with me, I don't mind if you start now." Shigure said with a warm smile.
"Hai, Shigure-san. Arigato." Tohru said and helped herself to a small bowl of steaming rice. She ate it slowly, not wanting to fill her stomach quickly and look greedy to the man who had taken her in and offered her his home, his protection and his kindness. She had just finished and was beginning to clean up her dishes when a wet-haired Yuki walked through the door and knelt on the opposite side of the table to Tohru. He rubbed the sleep out of his eyes and smiled up at her.
"Good morning Honda-san"
"Good morning Sohma-kun. Please, help yourself" Tohru said, indicating to the food on the table.
Yuki smiled again and reached for a bowl, piling it with an assortment of foods and setting it before himself. Yuki picked up his chopsticks as Kyou walked in and, yawning widely, took his position on the opposite end of the table to Shigure. He didn't speak as he served his breakfast and began to eat. Tohru didn't mind his actions, this was what he was like every morning.
Tohru only sighed and cleaned up the dishes as the food from them disappeared. Yuki looked up from his meal "Honda-san, have you eaten your breakfast?" he asked as cautiously as he could.
"Why, yes I have, thank you for your concern." She smiled reassuringly and cleaned up the remaining dishes.
Tohru spent the rest of the morning making lunches for everyone, putting the larger portions of the food into the boys' lunchboxes and the smallest into her own. She closed the lids with a snap and left them on the counter. At 7:30, Yuki and Kyou came down the stairs and took their lunches and placed them in their bags. Tohru had already put her own in her bag (a replacement that she had borrowed from Yuki as her own was muddy) for fear of one of them accidently taking it.
Shigure came dashing into the room, dressed in a suit and tie, holding a briefcase in his hand. He scooped up the lunchbox and dashed out the door. "Arigato, Tohru-kun!" He yelled behind him as he raced out to the car that was there to pick him up and take him to see his publisher. The car kicked up a bit of mud as it sped off in the direction of the city.
Tohru let a small giggle escape her lips and decided that now was a better time than any to begin their walk to school. "Sohma-kun! Kyou-kun! It's time for us to leave!" She called into the lounge that the two were currently occupying. Together, the three left the house and trekked along the road to school.
Yuki and Kyou walked either side of Tohru to school, much the same as they did every morning, except this time it felt different to the boys. They felt like they were protecting her, from what, they didn't know and Tohru sensed that there was something wrong.
"Kyou-kun? Sohma-kun? What's wrong? Did you not like the breakfast I made this morning?" Tohru then clapped both hands to her face "Did it make you feel ill? Oh no!" she cried, hiding her head in her hands and, ignoring the fact that she couldn't see where she was going, continued walking forward. Kyou and Yuki reached up and forced her hands down from her eyes. They smiled reassuringly.
"It's nothing Tohru" said Kyou, "We're just still tired, that's all!"
"Oh..." was all Tohru could say, before the three of them entered the school building, just as the bell was going. Tohru looked around and saw a few girls whispering and looking toward the three of them. She suddenly sprang forward.
"Honda-san? Is something wrong?" Yuki asked, concerned by her behaviour.
"Oh I... I need to speak to a friend! I'll see you later!" she said loudly as she ran off down the corridor.
Yuki gave Kyou a quizzical look to which Kyou just shrugged. They got their books from their lockers and headed to class.
Tohru sat up the front of the class next to Saki and Arisa while Yuki, Kyou and their friendly acquaintances occupied the back. Tohru just gazed at the board and the teacher, occasionally taking notes and answering questions directed at her. Most of the time though, she was thinking about how lucky she was to be living at the Sohma house. She was extremely grateful that they had taken her in and even more so that she hadn't told anyone that she was living with them, not even her friends. Yuki and Kyou couldn't understand why, but they guessed that she had her reasons.
The bell signalled the end of class and Kyou watched as Tohru gathered her books and, hugging them tightly to her chest, quickly left the room. Yuki was engaged in a conversation with a fellow classmate when Kyou nudged him in the ribs with his elbow.
Yuki glared at him, then immediately looked up and saw that Tohru was no longer in the room. Nerves began to swirl in his stomach as he wondered where she had gone and furthermore, why her friends hadn't gone with her. He wasn't left to his thoughts for very long when he was once more engaged in a conversation by two more classmates. Kyou let out an annoyed sigh and picked up his books and left the room quickly.
"Baka nezumi..." Kyou muttered under his breath as he put his books away in his locker. He decided to go to Tohru's locker to see if she was still there, but all he found was a closed door. Kyou was not normally the type to worry, but since he knew that Tohru was in such a delicate condition (how delicate, he did not know) his concern for her well-being grew greater and he began his search.
It was near the end of recess and Kyou thought he must have looked everywhere, until he looked across the grounds and saw Tohru sitting on a bench all by herself, her head bowed and her hands twisting themselves up in her lap. He walked cautiously over to her, but with her bowed head she didn't see him coming. Kyou stopped a foot in front of her and knelt down on the grass, looking up into her face.
Tohru had her eyes closed, her face was expressionless, but every now and again, her face would twitch into a grimace and relax once more. Kyou put his hand on her knee and her eyes snapped open.
"Kyou-kun! What are you doing here? Are you alright? Is Sohma-kun alright? Are you sure that you're both not ill from my cooking this morning?" Tohru asked, panic sweeping through her like a flood.
"I want to know if you're al-"
"Oh there's the bell!" Tohru said suddenly as the bell began to ring, signalling the students to gather their books "Come on Kyou-kun, we'll be late if we don't hurry!" Tohru stood up, grabbing Kyou's hand and dragging him along with her. Kyou ran with her to the entrance of the building where Tohru released his hand and went quickly to her locker. She had gathered her books in a matter of seconds before slamming her locker shut with a surprising force and heading off to her next class.
Classes were much the same as they usually were, except Tohru didn't engage in any form of conversation with her friends, or with anyone for that matter. She didn't even reply to the note Yuki had passed down to her like she normally did, she just folded it up and pocketed it. Kyou and Yuki tried to catch her after class was over so they could eat lunch together, but Tohru left the room so quickly that it was impossible to find her amongst the sea of students.
"There she goes again..." commented Yuki, as the last bell went for the day and Tohru escaped from the room quickly.
"And we won't see her until tonight" Kyou said to a saddened Yuki.
"I know... I wish we could help her."
Kyou just nodded in agreement and the two began walking home.
"What was so important to discuss with those two that you couldn't come and look for her with me?" Kyou suddenly snapped at Yuki.
Yuki stopped in his tracks and bent his head down. "I don't think Tohru wanted us to see her like this... I think she just needed time alone, that's why I-"
"I suppose you're right..." Kyou gave up instantly, "she didn't seem like she wanted me there at all, with the way she behaved."
Yuki began walking again with Kyou at his side. Both boys felt at a loss as to what they'd do if Tohru didn't get better soon. They had no idea why her mood had changed so dramatically, but they knew that they didn't like it and silently made a pact between them, that they'd stop at nothing until she was happy again.
AN: Thanks for reading my latest installment! I've decided to update chapters every 2 weeks (maybe less if I'm in a really good mood) so please stay patient with me and I hope to recieve your feedback soon!!
-X-Nefertiri-X-