Continuation of chapter 3 as per request. Thank you for your interest and kind words! :) sorry the wait was so obscenely long. Writer's block is kicking my ass right now lol, and I've been ultra busy on top of that x_x. Things should calm down soon!

Tohru sat in the chair located in the corner of the room, her hands covering her face as she peered through her fingers as the nurses cleaned and stitched the gaping wound on Yuki's wrist. They had told her he was lucky to have lived. The blade he had cut himself with penetrated his radial artery... He was immensely fortunate to have only passed out from the blood loss and would have died if she hadn't screamed for help and gotten Shigure to call for an ambulance as she tied his wrist in a cloth in a futile attempt to stop the bleeding. She had run out of tears at this point, her eyes swollen and dark red. What had caused this?... Was this her fault truly? Did he need her more than ever and she had been so invested in helping Kyo she failed to notice? She sobbed. "It's all my fault..."

The agitated cat next to her nudged her arm. "No it's not. It's that damn rat's fault for not saying anything. We don't know what led up to this, so don't go blaming yourself."

"But... He had been so quiet... He-"

"He's always quiet. The asshole needed to say something if he was going through pain. When is he going to learn he doesn't have to go through things alone?"

"Kyo's right, Tohru-kun. It isn't your fault. While I do feel he could stand to be a bit more sympathetic, he raises a good point." On her other side Shigure laid a hand on her shoulder as he spoke. "Don't worry yourself. I think the most important thing is to talk to him when he wakes up. I really feel you are the only one who can help him now."

She was silent for a few seconds before muttering a quiet "hai." This was her fault, nothing would convince her otherwise... Why hadn't she reached out to him? How could she have utterly failed him? How could she face him now?...

The nurses left, giving the four of them space once they had Yuki successfully stabilized. The cat and dog had followed with the reasoning they weren't who he'd need to see. Tohru was alone with her unconscious prince, unable to stop staring at his bandaged wrist and blaming herself for his being here, his injury. He needed her to be there... She should've known that he doesn't recoil or withdraw himself like that normally. She should've done something, asked him what was wrong or if she could help... But she didn't. She had assumed she did the right thing by leaving him alone... And look where that led.

The rat didn't stir for a half hour, only the steady rise and fall of his chest indicating there was any life in the boy. The whole time Tohru was lost in an endless, unforgiving vortex of compunction, anxiety, overwhelming concern for his safety, self-reproach, depression... Her chest felt clogged and heavy, she could hardly breathe. She almost lost her rat because of her stupidity... He probably hated her now... She should leave-

The prince turned his head, his body shifting as he slipped out of his miniature coma. He looked around aimlessly, clearly unfocused and confused on his whereabouts. He groggily sat up. "Hm-wha... What happened-" His eyes locked with hers, pain and penitence flicking in the widening pupils before he turned away. "G-gomennasai, Honda-san... I... Did you see?..." His cheeks were flushed, his uninjured hand curling over his mouth.

"Hai... Are you okay now?..." Her body was trembling as she fought back another onslaught of tears. He was awake... She felt both relief and all-new harrowing sadness of what had happened. And the way he avoided looking at her made it worse.

"I'm fine... I'm sorry for troubling you..."

"S-Sohma-kun..." The tears fell. "Yuki-kun...why..." She moved a hand over her mouth, keeping her sobs in her throat.

"Because... I... I didn't..." He sighed, his own body quivering. "I thought... You didn't care about me anymore. I was a real fool. I got jealous... And I let it eat away my better judgment. And look where that brought us. You probably... Probably hate me now. You probably see me as pathetic, and I wouldn't blame you. I-"

"Yuki-kun!" Within a second she was across the room and wrapping her arms around him tightly, sobbing against his chest. "Yuki-kun should never say such horrible things about himself! I don't see you as pathetic! I don't hate you! I should've done something... I noticed you were upset but I didn't think you'd want to talk... I'm so sorry, Yuki-kun... This is my fault... Please don't ever do this again.. Please!" Her voice was so miserably desperate. She was entreating him to listen and never hurt himself like that... He needed to know that he was loved and was so much more important than he thought!

"Honda-san..." She could hear the tears in his voice, shattering her heart even more. "Tohru... You..." His arms wrapped tightly around her as he pulled her closer. "I promise... I promise I won't do anything so brash again... It's not your fault. I was the one-" a shuddering breath. "-who should've asked you about it and not assumed... I was the one who did what I did. I don't know why I reacted in such a way... It would seem you are a huge influence on my judgment and... I just... Couldn't stand losing you..." Tohru felt a couple tears land on her head and clung tighter. "I'm sorry..."

"Yuki..." She clutched the fabric of his shirt tightly. "Don't be sorry... It's okay. What's important is you're okay now... You're still here. You'll never lose me, I promise... I- I lo-" Cut off by Yuki squeezing her tighter, the brunette burrowed her face against him, taking in his scent and presence, promising herself she would never take it for granted again. She really was a fool... To not have seen what was happening. She would never forgive herself no matter how much the prince assured her otherwise...

They clung to each other for what felt like an eternity, crying and begging each other never to leave and to always mention when something's bothering them. Holding Tohru instigated sharp pain in Yuki's wrist, but he couldn't find it in him to care. He never wanted to let go. Feeling her so close, having her pressed to his body and clutching onto him for dear life... It was an amazing experience if only she wasn't so distraught. It felt as though a poison-coated blade had been thrust into his heart, yet at the same time, the fact she was crying for him and cared so deeply gave his organ the strength to pulse and provide his body with the liquid of life and warmth. Even after a knock on the door had interrupted them before Shigure and Kyo came in, even after a nurse entered and discharged him (explaining to be careful and if he feels lightheaded to return, among other things), even after they arrived home... That tenderness of feeling important lightened his spirit and made him feel weightless. However the dark cloud of regret and contrition always lingered. Every time he got a chance, he'd apologize to Tohru when they were alone. He promised never to hurt her again, to which she always replied that she just wanted him to never hurt himself again and to tell her when something's wrong. His guilt couldn't be shaken, but he pondered if this was all a wonderful dream. Yuki never could've imagined someone would care so much about him. She didn't hold it against him, she didn't distance herself, she didn't judge him for his ridiculous act committed out of envy. Instead...she offered warmth and comfort and stability, even coming into his room shortly after they resigned for bed to make sure he was okay and spend the night with him. She returned every night after the first, and neither of them said anything the night he walked into his room and she was already in his bed, clearly without having gone to her own beforehand. Every dark cloud certainly did have its silver lining. That was a fact, especially with someone like Tohru in his life.