The Seventh Continuing Chapter- One Another's Sleep
'She'll be fine.'
Hatori's words echoed in Kyo's mind like a persistent headache. He shook his head slowly, all the while determinedly fixing his gaze on Tohru's pale face.
'You're not going to be fine,' he whispered. 'You'll never be fine. Akito will try and find a way to hurt you, but I promise you, Tohru, I will not let him.'
His eyes traveled down her face, to her chest, which was now thankfully rising and falling as she breathed; to her slender arms, and down to her legs, covered by a thin, flowery blanket. He thought he had lost her. For a few, mind-numbing minutes he thought she was gone forever.
'She just fainted,' Hatori had declared, after rushing with Shigure to Kyo's frantic call. 'Perhaps to severe mental pain, I can't be certain. This whole situation must have stirred a great deal of emotion in her.'
'Will she be okay?' Kyo had demanded in wide-eyed terror.
'She'll be fine. All she needs is rest. Shigure, since we can't carry her for obvious reasons, bring her to her room on your back as a dog, you're the largest among us. Let her lie down, and she'll wake up soon enough. But I'm going back to get some depressants, just in case. Watch over her until I return. If she awakens before then…'
'I'll be there,' Kyo had said. And now, looking back up at her closed eyes, he repeated the words to himself. 'I'll be here, Tohru… I'll always be here…'
'She'll be fine.'
Kyo got up from the wooden chair he had placed next to Tohru's bed. She lay on one side, and he glanced at the spread of empty space beside her. Without a moment's hesitation he slowly crawled onto the bed and rested his head on the soft pillow alongside the one Tohru's own head lay on. His heartbeat quickened, and adrenaline pumped along his veins: the ecstatic feeling he always got whenever he was close by her. He raised a hand and gently placed it on her warm forehead, and then he trailed his fingers down strands of her silky hair. Glancing down, he noticed the narrow width of space that separated the two. Any closer he'd turn into an animal. A sudden idea struck him. He draped an arm around her, and instantly felt the familiar sensation of his transformation.
Once the colored clouds had dissipated, Kyo looked at his orange, cat paws. Then he slowly crept under Tohru's arm, which lay at her side, and he rested his head on her stomach. He purred in sorrow, and, looking at her face longingly, he let his eyes fall closed.
oOo
Shigure knocked on Tohru's door softly. Hearing no response, he opened the door wide enough for his head to fit through. The first thing he saw was Tohru, lying on her bed, still unconscious. But she was holding something. Shigure crept into the room, and he realized it was Kyo that was curled up in her arm. Shigure smiled wistfully. He could plainly see the orange tail entwined around Tohru's wrist.
'What are you doing in here?' asked Hatori quietly, appearing beside him.
'What does it look like? I'm checking to see if they're all right. Look at them… isn't that sweet?'
'It's a pity,' whispered Hatori. 'It must be painful for Kyo… he's only able to hold her when he's in his cat form.'
'So you must know how it feels like,' said Shigure, glancing sideways sympathetically.
'All too well,' replied Hatori tonelessly.
'Is Mayu still downstairs?'
Hatori nodded. 'She's apparently making up for Tohru's unconsciousness by cleaning the dishes.'
'Ah…'
The two men remained in silence for the next few moments, watching both girl and cat breathe in the same slow rhythm.
'How could I do this to them,' muttered Shigure, mostly to himself, but loud enough for Hatori to hear. 'How could I bring them to such pain? It's my fault Akito found out, and thus it was also my fault that Tohru fainted. I should've thought about their own feelings first before I said anything to Kureno. I should've known the agonizing pressure my action was going to bestow upon them.'
'There was no way you could have known.'
'But what Kyo said was right. I should have at least talked to them first. Now look at them. In Kyo's state they're hardly able to face their physical relationship alone, but with Akito's knowledge of it, they both won't be able to face life itself.'
'Shigure…'
'Hatori, what I did is probably the worst mistake I've ever committed.' Shigure folded his arms tightly, as if trying to hold in the emotion that was building up inside of him. Hatori could only gaze at him in silent understanding.
Suddenly Tohru gave a slight stir. At once the two men saw Kyo's head dart up alertly. The cat snaked out from under Tohru's arm and bounded up next to her head. Shigure could just see her eyes open.
'Kyo?' she murmured weakly.
'Are you feeling all right?' asked Kyo tenderly. He placed a paw on her shoulder blade.
'I'm a little dizzy… what happened? Why are you in your cat form?'
'Don't get up. You fainted outside in the corridor, after my fight with Yuki, remember? Shigure carried you to your bed in his dog form. I became a cat because… because… I tried to carry you myself.'
And you wanted to remain by her side, thought Shigure sadly. He and Hatori hadn't been noticed yet.
'Oh…' said Tohru faintly. She smiled at Kyo. 'Thank you for trying, though.' She let out a soft moan.
'Rest a little more,' said Kyo, touching her cheek with his small nose, 'you're still tired. Close your eyes, I'll just be here... beside you.'
'Okay…' whispered Tohru, dropping her head to the side where Kyo sat. She smiled, and her eyes fell once again. Kyo gazed at her, and he curled himself into a ball, his furry head just touching Tohru's face. His tail stopped its swaying motion after a few seconds, and it finally came to lie on Tohru's chest.
They were asleep.
'If his tail wasn't there,' whispered Shigure, grinning obtrusively, 'he'd turn back into his normal human state, and that would mean–!'
'I think we should leave them now,' interrupted Hatori, patting Shigure on the shoulder. 'Our presence is not needed anymore.'
Shigure shook his head in amusement. The two men quietly left the room, with Shigure closing the door behind them.
oOo
They were running… running as fast as the wind that whipped against them. Their hands remained in a tight lock, although he had to repeatedly tighten his hold on her lest her growing weariness overcame the last of her strength. For no reason could they stop; none whatsoever, except if the reason was that they were unquestionably safe. But no, that reason seemed anywhere but near. They had to keep running. They were being chased. And in the long period that was to come, they were going to be caught.
Despite the insipid fact that any movement out of course would cost, at the least, a few seconds' running distance from their goal of reason, he turned his head around to look at her. She flashed him a wide, hopeful smile, but the smile he tried to return to her formed into a grimace. He could see the cracked surface of her lips, the agony in her eyes. How could he do this to her? She never deserved to be in such a painful state. To think that all he wanted to do was make her happy. But so far all he did was obliterate any feeling as such as happiness in her. If she wasn't smiling right now, he thought, for sure she'd be crying.
He looked away from her. He wanted dearly to stop, to push her beyond reach so she could escape to her safety. But fear or perhaps selfishness motivated his feet to keep running. No, he wasn't going to let go of her just like that. He needed her. He wanted her. And yet this desire felt so consciously wrong…
oOo
She was in a dark place. And this frightened her, as she could distinctly hear her raspy breathing and feel herself shaking, yet she could not see herself. She panicked when she looked at the mass of darkness that consumed her eyes from seeing her own two hands. Where was she? And why was she alone in this place? Wasn't he supposed to be next to her?
A light appeared from above her; she shielded her eyes from the sudden brightness, but she instantly felt comforted. Someone was calling her, from within the light above. A hand almost invisible amidst the radiant glow reached out to her, gesturing for her to take it. With utmost jubilance, she did, and screamed.
oOo
'Tohru, TOHRU!'
Tohru screamed, trying to ignore the voice that called out to her. 'NO!' she yelled, wildly thrashing her arms about to block the hold of the outstretched hand before her…
'Tohru! It's Kyo! Wake up, TOHRU!'
Her eyes shot open, and the light, the surrounding darkness, and the hand, disappeared. Tohru stared up at Kyo's handsome face, whose eyes and mouth stood gaping in concern.
'Are you okay?' he demanded, grasping her shoulders. It was then she noticed he wasn't a cat anymore. 'Did you have a nightmare or something? Tohru, tell me!'
'I-I…' she stuttered, a little dazed. It had only been a dream? It seemed so real; for a fluttering moment Tohru mistook the fluorescent lamp that hung from the ceiling above her for the mysterious light in her dream. 'I dreamt I was in this dark place. Then a light shone down on me, and someone began calling my name…'
'Who was it?'
'I-I don't know… it sounded like y-you, actually. Well, this person kept calling me, and then he reached out his hand to me from above. I'm not sure if it was the person's hand, but the moment I took the hand, I screamed, but I don't know why. I think I saw that person's face or something, but for some reason I was a-afraid and didn't want to go to this person anymore… the hand kept trying to hold me… but, but…'
'It's okay, it's all right,' said Kyo soothingly, rubbing his hands along her arms. 'It was just a dream, and there's nobody here now but me, okay? Man, it was a good thing I woke you up. You were screaming and kicking like anything…' Tohru blushed and smiled at him sheepishly.
'Thank you, Ky– AH! I hope you waking me up didn't bother you, did it? I'm sorry! I-I… I promise not to have bad dreams anymore! I won't –'
'Idiot,' said Kyo, chuckling, and he playfully but gently hit the back of her head. 'You can't prevent yourself from having bad dreams. Just make sure you don't faint and scare me like that again.'
'I won't, I swear it! I will never, ever, faint again!'
Kyo grinned, and the hand that still held Tohru's arm slid up and behind to the nape of her neck. She could feel his fingers emit warmth, and she bit her lip hurriedly, flushing. I think we're going to kiss again, she thought disbelievingly. Sure enough, Kyo's face began moving ever so slowly towards her own. Tohru watched him in a jumbled mixture of emotion, and their lips met.
Tohru had never literally touched Kyo in the moments they kissed. It always seemed to be him touching her, his hands on her face, her neck, arms, hands, and a portion of her waist. Tohru was afraid to touch him, for an answer she never did question. And now, as she savored the feeling of Kyo's mouth, she wondered whether he knew how she felt about it. What if he stopped kissing her because she never touched him?
With every bit of consciousness, she slowly lifted a hand and gently placed it on Kyo's shoulder. He responded by deepening the kiss.
