I Hate You More Than Anyone
Chapter Four
"Back to Basics"
After the living nightmare that had been Kagura's 'meal' – make that unidentifiable slop (that Tohru still, inexplicably, liked) – Shigure decided to stick to more simplistic methods to uncover Tohru's weakness. Maybe he had been trying too hard; perhaps it was easier to push Tohru's buttons than he had first assumed.
Besides, Shigure wasn't sure if his poor, abused stomach/liver/spleen/soul could stand another visit from Kagura.
Even though he'd invited her over in the first place.
Minor details, minor details.
Whatever. It didn't even matter, because he had another, even more ingenious plan. Perhaps the most ingenious plan his twisted mind had ever created. Even more ingenious than the time he promised Mit-chan he'd finish his manuscript for Tuesday, and then said, when she came over to collect it, 'oh? You meant this Tuesday? I was thinking more... Tuesday next millennium, perhaps?' And Mit-chan had began to cry.
Oh, what fun Shigure had.
But he wasn't talking about his hopeless editor here. He was talking about Tohru, and she was a different case altogether. For one thing, she wasn't on Prozac; not like dear Mit-chan (although this was probably Shigure's fault for stretching her nerves so thin).
It was six days after Kagura's visit that Shigure decided to begin his ingenious plan. The house was bathed in darkness, the dim sound of cicadas chirping in the outside greenery. It was quite atmospheric, really; an atmosphere worthy of a gory murder. And, Shigure thought evilly, an atmosphere worthy of his ingenious plan. Which was, you know. Pretty ingenious. Not to mention diabolical and stuff.
Oh, Shigure smirked to himself, glancing at his clock (he had to fine-tune everything exactly right).
This was going to be fun.
Tohru Honda was dreaming.
In her dream she was a simple young school girl, walking alongside her two best friends in the whole wide world, Uo-chan and Hana-chan. For some reason unbeknownst to her, Uo-chan and Hana-chan were dressed up as Sailor Senshi; Uo-chan as Sailor Jupiter, Hana-chan as Sailor Saturn. Inexplicably, Tohru was perfectly okay with the whole cosplay thing, like her friends wore such outlandish outfits every day (they didn't).
During this strange dream, Tohru somehow ended up on a stage, and was singing a duet with Hatsune Miku. Again, this was rather inexplicable and nonsensical.
The lights on the stage were harsh and bright, hurting her eyes, and the crowds spilled out below her like an endless sea, all chanting her name;
"Toh-ru!"
"Toh-ru!"
"Tohru-kun!"
A pair of arms grabbed the dozing girl's shoulders and gave her a harsh shake. Almost at once, Tohru's eyes snapped open, the stage disappearing as though it had never been there (which it hadn't, technically).
"Wh-wha'?" Tohru asked sleepily, rubbing her eyes. They were gummed-up with sleep, and her lids felt heavy, like lead.
"Tohru-kun, you've got to wake up right now," the voice – it was a male voice. A male. Hmn. Yuki-kun, Kyo-kun? They shouldn't be in my room… - instructed. "It's reaaaally important."
And then it clicked.
"Shigure-san?" Tohru asked, now feeling fully awake. "What is it?! Is there a fire?! Oh - and I've been selfishly sleepin-oww!" She had heaved herself up quickly, smacking her forehead against Shigure's in the process (he had leant over her whilst shaking her shoulders). Stars exploded before Tohru's eyes; pretty, multi-coloured things that left her feeling nauseaus and blind.
"Whaaa!" cried Tohru. "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry! That was clumsy and inconsiderate of me!" Setting aside her own pain, Tohru selflessly leant forward (carefully, this time) to inspect Shigure's forehead. "A-Are you o-okay, Shigure-san? I didn't mean to! Really!"
Shigure shook his head. It didn't hurt very much. Tohru wasn't strong enough to cause him any great pain. Not without a cleaver, at any rate. "It's okay, Tohru-kun. Don't worry."
"You sure?"
"Positive." Shigure flashed a disarming smile.
An expression of relief flitted across Tohru's face. "So that's okay…"
"Yes. But Tohru-kun," said the author, suddenly serious. "You've been asleep so long! I didn't want to wake you – you looked like an angel."
Tohru's cheeks flushed.
If Yuki and Kyo had been there, they would have hit Shigure upside the head for being a pervert. Hell, he was already sat on the edge of her bed, ogling (appreciating, rather. It sounded more tasteful) Tohru's cute, onigiri-print pyjamas.
"But then I thought, 'I can't let her sleep any longer! She's already an hour late for school, and her teacher may get very mad at her. She may even fail my beloved Tohru-kun in her classes, or give her a dentention, or expel her-'"
Tohru's eyes widened to impossible, manga-esque proportions. Her breath caught in her throat, and her hand clutched at her chest as though she were in pain.
"An hour…?" she whispered, horror-struck. "F-Fail…?" A whimper. "Detention?!"
"That's right," Shigure nodded. His eyes flickered across Tohru's form, taking in her bedraggled appearance and the scared, slightly insane look on her face. He did a double take. Triple take. "Tohru-kun, are you hyperventilating?"
Tohru wailed miserably. With trembling fingers, she took the ends of her hair and began to pull, hard. She still wasn't breathing properly.
"I've failed! I… I messed up! I messed up really, really bad! W-What will my family think of me? What will my mom think of me?" Tohru's eyes began to tear up. "S-she wanted me to p-pass a-a-and she told me to do m-my b-b-best a-and now… A-and… A-and now I've f-f-failed! I'm sorry, mom! I'm so, so, so sorry! I'm j-just not good e-enough…"
"Tohru-kun?!"
And, as if on cue, Tohru fainted.
Several minutes later, the brunette finally awoke from her panic-induced stupor. It would be a lie to say she looked completely better, though. Her pupils were too small, her pallor was ghostly and her hair seemed to stick up on end. She looked utterly awful.
Shigure couldn't help but feel a stab of some foreign emotion in his heart, twisting and turning most uncomfortably.
Was this…
Was this that emotion he had heard of, but never fully understood?
Was he feeling guilty?
But nah – it couldn't be! He was probably hungry. Or maybe it was some delayed reaction to Kagura's cooking, and now his internal organs were attempting to digest themselves.
That sounded more plausible.
And a lot less worrying.
"I'm sorry for being a burden to you!" Tohru apologised, bowing her head. "And thank you for waking me up! But – yes!" She got up hastily, but awkwardly, and her leg became ensnared in the duvet. For a few seconds she attempted to regain her balance, pin-wheeling her arms wildly, before falling forwards and hitting the floor with a loud thunk!
"Tohru-kun?" asked Shigure, looking down at the bundle of arms and legs, all cacooned inside a white duvet. "Are you okay?"
"Yes!" cried Tohru, getting to her feet, before promptly falling over again. "Yes, I'm fine!" she reassured once more. "I just need to get changed! If I'm speedy, maybe I won't be too late, and they'll forgive me!"
"Tohru-kun, slow down," said Shigure, helping the girl to her feet. "Look." He took her shoulders in both hands, forcing her head upwards. Their eyes met; Tohru's, wide and frenzied. "It's not time for school yet, Tohru-kun. It's Sunday."
Tohru blinked. "What?"
"Kyo-kun and Yuki-kun are asleep. And, considering it's three in the morning, I think you should go to sleep too-"
"Three in the morning?!" Tohru repeated, in tones of disbelief.
"Yes." Shigure nodded. And then, as an afterthought, "if you're mad at me, you can hit me."
Several emotions flashed across Tohru's cute face; bewilderment, confusion, perplexity (which were all the same things, really) before finally settling upon shocked.
Was this it? Was this the moment? Would Tohru finally explode? Would she finally release all that pent-up anger and emotion in an eruption of such destructive force it could destroy the world?
Was this the moment?
Tohru certainly seemed tense and edgey, so maybe…
Maybe…
"Thank you, Shigure-san!!! I have so much washing up to do today, I told myself 'I'll get up extra, extra early to finish it all!' But I didn't set my alarm! I just remembered! So if you hadn't woken me, I wouldn't have enough time to do the washing! Thank you, Shigure-san! You're so considerate!" Tohru beamed, bowing as she did so.
…Okay.
Maybe not.
"Tohru-kun, you are an angel," said Shigure flatly, sighing.
Tohru blushed.
a.n: thank you to animehearter for this idea =D i thought it would be a fun one to use~ yay~ i hope you like the chapter xP you can make other suggestions if you want ^^ i'll use the ones i like~