Here is Chapter 8! Enjoy!


Ch 8

I'll be honest, lying there and staring up at the ceiling for hours on end three days in a row is not my definition of fun. No, it's actually Hatori's definition of healing. I don't know what that means exactly, but I was bored out of my damn mind. I started to make shaped on the roof out of little specks and dots that you wouldn't even notice unless you had sat there for three days. In a bed on the second floor of Hatori's house was where I was located. And I had already met Kisa, and Kyo was right. She was a sweetheart, bringing me meals and trying to keep my company as often as she could. Hiro was a jerk and I kind of hoped that maybe one day Kyo would just knock him out for me. All he did was criticize me about being in bed and making Kisa do all the work. Finally, I had asked him to be sure if he was the lamb. Once he confirmed it, I politely reminded him that I was a wolf and wolves regularly ate lamb. He shut up and had avoided me since. Ritzu was nice enough, although I was convinced that he was a SHE when I first met him, with the girl clothes and all. And then there was the constant screaming and apologizing and rambling on about the fact that he breathed the same oxygen as people and stuff. Yet, he wasn't half as bad as Ayame. What was that idiot Hatori thinking when he said that annoying bastard could stay here?! It was torture and hell combined and put into a single person with far too much personality. He was supposedly Yuki's older brother, and I instantly pitied him. Damn, no wonder he was so quiet, he must've had a long childhood. All I heard was constant yelling and crashing, and all I could do was lay in bed. Hatori wouldn't allow visitors, let alone let me visit, so I was stuck here. Rounding the fourth day, I pretty much could've cared less if I healed or not. I have patience, but it runs out and when it does I'm not to be trifled with. I didn't care what Hatori or anybody said. I had to go to Shigure's house and visit Tohru and everyone else. I threw the blankets off, swinging my legs off the edge and standing. I was a bit wobbly, having laid down for three days straight, but I quickly regained balance and opened my window. Smelling the air, I leapt out and jumped down to the ground. The wind swept through my hair as I walked down the bluff to Shigure's house, and it felt as though I hadn't been outside in years. I knocked, letting myself in, and looked up as gasps shrouded the room.

"Sage!" Tohru said, running up and hugging me. Three days ago I would've squealed from the injuries I'd received. I guess I was healing, sort of.

"Hey guys." I said, waving to the table as Tohru led me over.

"Hatori let you come?" Haru asked, frowning with curiosity.

"Well, if you call sneaking out through a window 'letting me come' then yes, I suppose he did." I said, sipping the tea as Tohru brought it to me.

"So you snuck out like I would've." Rin said, slapping me on the back. "Good for you."

"So why'd you come here?" Kyo asked.

"I don't have any other friends besides here and Hatori's." I shrugged, then frowned. "Well, my only friend over there really is Kisa. And I wouldn't call that a friendship. One of them just apologizes and cross dresses, another is a pain in the ass, and the third is a loud-mouthed adult who acts like he's 12 and has a case of ego-inflation."

"That would be my brother." A voice said, and I turned to see Yuki.

"Yeah, no offense, but your brother needs an off-switch." I said.

"If it existed, I'd superglue him in the off position." Yuki said, rolling his eyes. "So, Hatori let you go."

"Of course not!" I scoffed. "I snuck out. He wouldn't let me come here if my life depended on it."

"It very well may, which is why you should be in bed resting." Another voice cut in, and everyone save for me flinched backwards at Hatori's voice; I slurped my tea.

"You should be a little quieter about your entrances." I suggested.

"You should listen to my rules while living under my house." He retorted. I laughed.

"You call that living?" I demanded, turning to him. "I was taken against my will and forced to stay in a room for three days. I'm putting that under the category of being kidnapped." I slurped my tea again. "Besides, you're a doctor, you should know what happens if I stay unproductive for that long."

"I can't say I do." he said, folding his arms and I looked at him again.

"Really, you never read the log they kept on me in the cell?"

"That's 8 years worth of reading, so yes, I'll admit I put it off." he said.

"Well, here's a hint." I said, standing and glaring. "Take your worst nightmares, multiply it by ten hundred, add it to a coma, and it sounds like what happens to me. I fall into a deep sleep that's nearly impossible to pull me out of. All that happens is one nightmare after another, only getting worse and worse. I scream, I kick, I fight in my sleep. Only one person has seen this happen and been able to pull me from it." I pointed at Haru who stood too.

"And let me tell you that it took two and a half days to get her back." Haru snapped. "I'm not going to let you do this to her."

"Well, this little excursion should've been enough exercise to put that off for a few more days of rest then." Hatori said. "You were almost recovered. If you had stayed one more day in bed-."

"I would've slipped into a coma of nightmares." I finished.

"That won't happen." he said matter-of-factly.

"I'll make you a deal." I said. "If I go back to your place for the rest of the day and don't slip into that thing by tomorrow night, I'll stay at your place as long as it takes to heal without moving or breaking the rules. If I do, not only will you get the job of pulling me out, but I get to return here and stay with Yuki and the others, deal?" There was a brief moment of silence.

"Deal." Hatori said, and we shook hands. He helped me to my feet and I set down my cup.

"Thanks Tohru for the tea." I said. "It was fantastic." I let Hatori lead me away, and I followed without a word.


I spent the rest of the night awake, and it wasn't just to prove Hatori wrong, but I had called it. This restlessness I was feeling, the urge to move, to hunt, to go outside. I knew that I had hours remaining before this coma thing took over my mind. Another screw-up from the scientists. Seeing as how I was a wolf, and Akito need me to have large amounts of energy, I had to stay active. I believe the original con of me not moving for long periods of time was just a nightmare, but they really screwed this one up. I mean, how do you go from a nightmare to a coma full of nightmares?! Seriously, I swear that all the scientists were drunk when they altered me. Anyway, from what I gathered from this happening before is that if someone is constantly with you, pushing you out of the coma just by whispering encouragement into your ears, it ends a lot quicker. If I had to let it run naturally, well, I know from my time in the cell that it could last up to two weeks. Not fun, let me tell you. And with people like Tohru who care about me and worry easily, I didn't know if the risk was worth taking, this deal. Yet, I lay awake, knowing that I was right the entire time and soon, at some point tomorrow, I would be screaming in both reality and in my dreams.


Rin and Haru walked back from the school late, having to stay after to finish a multitude of tests. They walked hand-in-hand, and Rin spotted Hatori's house just up the road.

"Want to go visit Sage?" she asked.

"Hatori won't let us." Haru replied.

"Screw Hatori." Rin replied, dragging her boyfriend up to the house and knocking. Hatori appeared at the door. Rin pushed her way past him, dragging Haru along too. "We're going to see Sage." she announced, walking up the stairs and not waiting for an answer. Haru looked at her and she smiled, opening Sage's door and walking inside. Rin looked down at Sage, seeing her sleep peacefully in her bed. "Haru, come look at how peaceful she is." she said, and Haru walked over. As soon as he saw Sage, he stiffened, and placed an ear on her chest. He straightened quickly.

"Go get Hatori, tell him that she's slipping right now, and she's not breathing. Then, run and alert Shigure and Tohru." He ordered, and Rin ran down the stairs, frightened.

"Hatori!" she screeched. He came rushing around the corner. "Sage is slipping into the coma and she's not breathing." Hatori's eyes widened and he grabbed a small bag before racing up the stairs. Rin ran out the door, sprinting for Shigure's house as fast as she could. Being the horse, she had incredible speed, and threw the door open. "Sage is slipping into the coma!" she announced between gasps. "And she's not breathing!" Tohru, Kyo, and Yuki were out the door and following Rin and she sprinted back to the house. They all ran up the stairs and into Sage's room, which already had Ritzu, Ayame, Kisa, and Hiro in it. Hatori was bent over a sleeping Sage who was sweating and gasping, gripping Haru's hand who sat in a chair next to her bed. Hatori stood abruptly, turning and facing everyone.

"She's breathing again, but Haru will have to coax her out again." He slapped his palm to his forehead. "Stupid bet." he muttered, then sighed and looked up. "I'm going to make you all some tea since you're so shaken up, so get downstairs." He nodded to Haru. "Take care of her; Rin will bring you some tea." With that, everyone filed out leaving Haru to gently squeeze the hand of his best friend who was lost in a never-ending nightmare.


Left you with a cliffy! Please, review what you think!