Yet another installment for all you guys who review at every chapter! Thank you. A big shout out to Otaco and Evil Neko for reviewing, I love you so much! This is for you guys! Enjoy~!)

Chapter Twelve: Somewhere In-between

The sun warmed her back as she walked onwards, her destination unknown at this precise moment in time. All she was aware of was the trees either side of her and an endless path apparently leading to nowhere. Something warm clutched her hand which gave her instant support and courage. Where was she? Her azure her wandered around the pastel scenery, trees, flowers and grass all in lush shades of greens and browns and all seemingly the same. She wondered where she was and why she could not stop her feet from walking towards nowhere.

Now she gave her eyes an opportunity to look down at the warmth invading her hand. She saw it was another hand, slightly tanned compared to her own pale complexion. Her eyes traced upwards, following to an arm and then a dark jacket and finally resting on a familiar face. It smiled at her. She knew immediately who this was, this was Kurai and they were here together. Where here was exactly she did not know. She tried to speak;

"Where are we going?" She felt his hand squeeze hers slightly as he kept his smile.

"We are going for a little walk" She weakly nodded, knowing that she had never before seen this place. It was a wood but it was not a wood she had ever seen before. Perhaps it was a figment of her imagination? As she tried to conjure up various possibilities within her mind she felt her feet stop walking. They both stopped, his hand in hers, never leaving. She looked upwards at the beautiful blue sky and watched it alter before her eyes. It darkened considerably with ominous clouds congealing around the sun. She could hear rumbling of thunder in the distance and the air around her seemed to get suddenly cold. A chilling blast tugged at her hair as it escaped into the atmosphere and now she knew this place was not where she wanted to be. She felt cold, too cold, but her hand felt warm. Kurai was here with her, that was one positive note.

As they started up walking once more she could feel his hand trembling in hers. She was not sure if it was the cold doing this or the fact he was scared. Her azure eyes scanned his countenance, his eyes seemed lost, and he seemed lost in this world. It was as if he had given up on something and she did not know what yet.

"I knew you would come back to me-" A cold voice entered her ears, making her shudder suddenly. They paused once more. She squinted in the distance, at the path ahead of her. There was a dark figure, a slim figure and she had a gut instinct she knew who this was. Her heart started dangerous palpitations within her chest as the figure got closer. She recognised those dark evil eyes, she recognised that wicked grin. It was Akito. Instinctively she grabbed Kurai's arm tightly and refused to let him go, there was no way she would allow him to take Kurai away from her.

"Akito leave us alone!" She screamed out in protest, already feeling tears fill up her eyes. Her lip started to quiver as the figure got closer, nearing her half-Kitsune. Kurai was mute, he did not utter a sound. The only sound Tohru heard was the steady sound of his breathing. She wished he would protest too, to fight off Akito and to stay safe with her.

Her azure eyes watched as Akito neared, standing a few feet away from the couple. He kept his malicious smile and she held Kurai's arm tighter. She could feel her legs' quaking as the thought of Kurai being taken away was killing her slowly.

"Kurai, the time has come. Come back to your home, we miss you-" Akito said coyly, chuckling under his statement. Tohru watched helplessly as the red-head hypnotically removed her hands from his arm and walked onwards towards his doom. She shook her head; she did not want to believe he had chosen to go back.
"No Kurai you can't go back! You promised me! You said you would stay with me!" She screamed out, tears now falling down her pale cheeks. Her eyes watched as Kurai's face was devoid of emotion. It was as if he was Akito's puppet and it hurt to see him like this. It was a terrible nightmare. She heard Akito's heart rendering laugh echo throughout the pastel wood, sending shivers down her spine. He grabbed the red-heads arm roughly and muttered;

"Let's go, we don't need to waste any more time. Everyone has missed you" Kurai gave a weak nod as Akito pulled him away and down the road, the path that lead to nowhere.

Tohru instinctively ran after him, it wasn't too late, she could get to him in time. As she ran it felt as if she was not moving. The figures of both Akito and Kurai seemed to disappear almost immediately as she continued to run. It was as if she was in quick sand and it was hopeless to get out. Now the realisation sunk into her system and she dropped to the ground, crying loudly. He was gone, Akito had won. Placing her hands over her face she screamed;

"No Kurai, please don't leave me! Come back!"

Quickly she shot upwards, a glaze of sweat covering her forehead. She slowly wiped her brow, inhaling sharply. Was that a dream she just had? Her eyes glanced to beside her and sure enough the red-head was there, sleeping peacefully. His mouth slightly a-jar and mumbling inarticulate sounds from his lips. She breathed a sigh of relief; that was the worst dream she had ever had in her life so far. It felt real, the pain in her chest, seeing his face so devoid of emotion, it all seemed real. She rubbed her forehead trying to awaken properly. She had no idea what the time was. Her eyes glanced over to the window, seeing the sun was rising in the distance. It was about 6am she presumed and it would be a good idea to get breakfast done for Kurai before the others awakened from their slumbers. Yawning loudly and stretching out her limbs she slowly eased herself out of bed and left the room, ready to make Kurai breakfast.

As she entered the kitchen she started her search for what Kurai would like to eat. She knew he liked eggs so perhaps she could make boiled eggs with soldiers? A small smile spread across her face as she was relieved that it was only a dream. If Kurai was actually taken away like that it would almost kill her. As she grabbed a box of eggs from the fridge she heard shuffling behind her. Quickly turning around she beamed;

"Yuki, you're up early aren't you?" This was bad, Yuki would know that she was only making breakfast for Kurai and then he would have to leave. She turned around, trying to block him out, placing the eggs of the counter.

"Yeah, I wanted to talk to you about yesterday" He muttered, rubbing his eyes sleepily as he settled down at the table.

"What about yesterday?" She answered, trying not to sound too nervous. Yuki sighed, placing his elbows on the table and resting his head in his hands;

"Kyo was pretty ruffled up yesterday and he would not tell me the reason for it. Do you know why?" There was a pause as she thought, did Kyo mention Kurai? As she reached for the bread she giggled to relieve the tension.

"How would I know, Kyo never tells me anything-"

"He said Kurai was in your room yesterday-" Yuki added in, making Tohru drop a slice of bread on the floor. She felt her heart start to beat quicker, this was bad, Yuki did know about Kurai and now she had made it obvious by acting so odd. She bent down to retrieve the runaway slice and mumbled;

"Yes, he was-"

"Did Kyo get into a fight with him?" Yuki asked calmly, trying not to sound too worried about the cat's antics. As she placed the slice in the bin she swallowed hard. She needed to be honest with Yuki; after all, Yuki was a loyal friend to her so she could afford to be honest this time.

"Well, not really. Kyo got angry at him and they almost had a fight but I told them to stop" She answered, preoccupying herself with breakfast once more.

"Then that was the reason for the bruises around his neck. Of course he was not going to tell me about his scrap with the fox, especially if he lost to him too-" Yuki gave a small chuckle under his breath as he watched Tohru make breakfast. He smiled;

"Is that breakfast for Kurai?" She stopped again, what was with these questions? She weakly nodded;

"Yes, I am sorry"

"Why are you apologising? I saw you two last night in your room" She quickly turned around, her eyes wide in astonishment. Yuki saw them? She felt herself start to perspire slightly as she saw his dark eyes boring holes into her. She bowed her head slightly; she felt the need to apologise;

"I… am sorry-"

"Stop saying sorry Ms. Honda. I had a feeling you would ignore our advice when it came down to it. It is fine, but I need to ask you something very important now" She watched as he face transformed into a solemn look and she nodded quickly;
"Yes Yuki, go ahead-" He coughed slightly;

"Do you love him?"

She could feel her heart start thundering inside as hearing those words ring her head made the realisation hit her. Would Yuki hate her just like Kyo did if she told him? She looked away, feeling embarrassed about this situation. Slowly she managed to choke out the words;
"Yes, Yes I do"

"That is all I needed to know" He concluded with a smile. Tohru seemed shocked by Yuki's sudden change of heart towards the red-head, had something happened back at Akito's?

"Why the sudden change of heart? You hated Kurai not too long ago" She asked, turning around to continue breakfast before the others woke up.

"Yes, well, when we were at Akito's he told us the tale of Kitsune's and most of it was too farfetched to be real. I thought about it, about how he behaves with you and how happy you seem to be when you're around him. It seemed completely different to what he was telling us so I knew he was lying. He was making it up to get us all on side and I got wise to the game. I looked across to Shigure and by the looks of it he agrees with me on this one. Akito has been making up these lies about Kurai, saying he is devious and hateful and what not when in actual fact he does not seem to be like that at all-" Tohru could not help but smile at his monologue, it was sweet that Yuki actually seemed to not mind the red-head anymore. He might even begin to like Kurai if they made a conscious effort to speak to each other;

"Thank you Yuki" She mumbled, waiting for the eggs to be boiled.

"You do not need to thank me Ms. Honda. As long as he makes you happy then I have no objection" She turned around and saw him smiling at her. She felt overjoyed right now and her instincts made her leap forwards and wrap her arms around the boy in the chair. A poof was heard and purple smoke emitted from the scene. Once the smoke cleared it revealed Yuki in his rat form and Tohru holding him in her hands. She snuggled against his soft fur as she murmured;

"He makes me very happy Yuki and now I am even happier. You do not hate him, you actually are giving him a chance and this makes me so happy!"

"It's good to see you smile Ms. Honda and as long as he can keep making you smile then I will be fine with it" Yuki said, still being snuggled against by Tohru. Slowly she realised and gently placed him back on the floor and turned around quickly. It was an instant reaction to hug him, even though she knew he would transform into a rat. Hopefully he would not mind. Another poof was heard a few minutes later and Yuki quickly put on his clothes. Tohru kept her smile, happy that Yuki was on her side and not against her and the fact it would also please Kurai.

She placed the boiled eggs in a cup and put them on a tray, followed by the pieces of toasted bread. She hoped he would appreciate her hard work. She picked up the tray and headed towards the door, her face beaming with happiness.

"You should say hello to Kurai sometime, I know he would appreciate it" She said with a smile. Yuki nodded.
"I might just do that Ms. Honda. I'll say hello after he has eaten if you like?"

"That would be wonderful" She said, happily walking out of the kitchen and up to her abode to her sleeping fox. She wondered if Kurai would become good friends with Yuki and if they could somehow get Kyo to put his differences aside. He was the one with the issues right now and they needed to get them sorted out and quickly.

She quietly opened the door to her room to see that he was still asleep. Half the covers on the bed were now draped on the floor and he was sleeping on his stomach, one arm gently touching the floor. She giggled to herself as she placed the tray on the bedside table. She kept her eyes focused on his sleeping form as she settled beside him. Tohru raised a hand to his tanned complexion and tentatively stroked his cheek which was soft like velvet to the touch and pleasantly warm. She watched as his body twitched suddenly and his eyelids started to flicker. He would awaken soon and she could not wait to tell him the good news. She kept her azure eyes focused on him as his eyes started to open, revealing the soft hazel colouring she loved so much. She smiled;

"Morning Kurai, I have breakfast for you-" He slowly shuffled into a sitting position, rubbing his eyes sleepily and yawning loudly.

"Ah, thanks" He mumbled, still half asleep. She reached over and grabbed the tray and placed it beside the red-head's form. He allowed his hazel eyes to get adjusted to being opened and depicted the image of the food in front of him.

"I hope you like eggs, I read about it somewhere that foxes like them-" He gave her a small smile;

"You know me too well-" She watched as he started to eat the food she had prepared for him. Deep within she wondered if she should enlighten him about her terrible dream that got her perspiring uncontrollably. It was the worst nightmare she had ever been involved in. As he ate the food she sighed, deciding to tell him her tale;
"I had a nightmare last night"

"Oh did you? What was it about?" He asked; his eyes focused on her sudden change in expression. She looked downwards at the bed and nervously fidgeted on the spot;

"I dreamt about Akito taking you away from me, it was horrible" He paused in eating and saw how her face was full of despair and sorrow. He shook his head;

"That will never happen, don't worry about it. Trust me, even if I have to kill him to stay free I will" He winked at her and she chuckled slightly. The thought of Kurai killing Akito seemed slightly humorous even if it was bad.

"It felt so real-" She added in.

"Well I'm still here, no-one has taken me away-" He said, trying to uplift her spirits. She nodded, it was true, and she was being silly. He would never break a promise that important. She watched as he quickly finished the food and placed the tray on the other bedside table.

"That was lovely, thank you so much" He said, giving her a small kiss on the cheek. She felt her cheek burn at his touch and looked away shyly. How did he have this effect on her?

"Oh no, it was no trouble honestly!" She said; waving her arms about madly, deterring the fact she was blushing like crazy. He chuckled and wrapped an arm around her, nuzzling into her soft hair.

"What did I do to deserve you?" He asked, giving her a small squeeze as she felt even more embarrassed. Compliments were hard to deal with it seemed in her case.

"I have some good news for you-" She started; feeling now would be the perfect chance to make him aware of the fact Yuki was warming to their situation.

"Really? What kind of news?" Kurai asked, raising an eyebrow to her. She smiled;

"Yuki saw us in here last night-" She watched as Kurai's expression changed from relaxed to horror in a matter of seconds. She giggled and carried on;
"Don't look so scared! He is fine with it, he said that as long as you make me happy he is fine with it" Kurai seemed to calm down a little after hearing that. It was odd how the rat had changed his mind so suddenly, how had this happened? Kurai scratched his head with his other hand, looking thoughtful;

"Why has he changed his opinion of me?"

"He said Akito told him some things that made no sense and he knew from that. Maybe you should talk to him yourself" She pursued. She wanted Yuki and Kurai to at least be on speaking terms, it would make this a whole lot easier to deal with. He gave her a curious look, as if to say 'are you insane?'

"Do you really think that is a good idea?" He asked.

"Of course! She beamed happily "-Yuki is a good friend of mine and he has been nothing but kind to me so I think you two will get on great!" Kurai mentally kicked himself, he was not as confident as she was.

As if on command a small knock sounded at the door making Kurai jump up slightly. Tohru knew who this was; it was none other than Yuki.

"Is that you Yuki?" She asked; just to make sure it was the rat and not Kyo.

"Yes Ms. Honda. Is it okay to come in?" She giggled, seeing how nervous Kurai was about talking to a member of his own family. Even if they were distant relatives they were still family, it seemed only right to get them to talk.

"Yes it is fine" The door was pushed to and Yuki stepped in, a smile scarring his lips as he tried to make a good first impression. Kurai watched him intently with narrowed hazel eyes. He could not trust the rat just yet, he was still unsure.

"Ah, this must be Kurai" Yuki said, motioning towards the red-head who was stiff and apprehensive to the intruder. Tohru nodded and smiled;

"Yes, he is nervous around strangers" Yuki nodded and allowed himself to sit on the edge of the bed. Kurai kept his eyes burning into Yuki, watching for any slight indication of violence. Yuki turned his dark eyes to the red-head and said calmly;
"I want to assure you of one thing-" Kurai listened to his speech "-as long as you keep Ms. Honda happy then I shall not have any objections to you seeing her. I will not tell anyone of this and I hope that perhaps you and I can come to an understanding" Kurai raised an eyebrow at the rat, not knowing if this was a trick or if he was being truthful.

"An understanding?" He repeated.

"Yes, I think it would be good if you and I were at least on speaking terms. It would make Ms. Honda happy I am sure" Kurai turned his attention to the girl beside him, who was smiling. Maybe Yuki was right. He weakly nodded.

"Fine, whatever"

"That is great news!" She beamed happily, wrapping her arms around Kurai's neck in joy. He chuckled as he knew she was over the moon with this set-up. As long as it made her happy Kurai had no issues with it.

"It has been so long since I last saw you Kurai-" Yuki added in, his eyes now tracing the circles in the carpet "-I remember the last time we saw you. You were so young and frightened and I was so cruel and heartless to not offer to help you. I watched you suffer and I regret that. I know that Akito is malicious at times and expresses his feelings through violence but towards you it was a different story. He really abused you-" Kurai looked downwards; this subject was one he did not wish to talk about right now. Tohru released Kurai from her arms and looked on, curious to know what actually happened.

"Can we not talk about this?" Kurai murmured, trying to block out the images that flashed across his mind of his tormented childhood.

"I am sorry; I was just saying that is how long it has been since I last saw you. You have changed so much"

"Yeah, so have you-" Kurai added in, not even bothering to look at Yuki directly in the eyes. It was too much effort in his opinion. Tohru watched both boys eagerly, hoping that they would get along and one day become friends.

"I am so glad you two are talking!" Tohru beamed happily trying to cut through the tension. They both weakly nodded at her statement. Perhaps it would take longer than she envisioned for them to be acquainted with each other. Yuki stood up slowly. He decided that now would be the best time to leave. He did not want to prolong his stay if he was making things uncomfortable. This would suffice for now. He turned to Tohru and smiled;

"Anyway I better go now, have to tend to my vegetables. I will see you later"

"Yes you will; goodbye Yuki" She said happily. Kurai did not say goodbye, he merely nodded at Yuki and they both watched as the rat escaped the room as if he never even entered.

Kurai sighed, placing a hand to his forehead. Something was not right. Tohru looked on with worried eyes.

"Kurai are you okay?" He quickly looked across at her and nodded;

"Yeah I am fine, Yuki bought back some painful memories, that is all" He sighed once more, trying to erase those images, the times where he would hurt too much to sleep, where he was frightened to sleep in case Akito hurt him again. Those times were the worst.

"I am sorry-" Tohru issued, looking downwards.

"Hey it's not your fault" Kurai said, trying to cheer her up. She gave a small nod, not really believing his words.

"Do you want to go out today?" he asked, completely off subject. This got her attention and she faced him directly;
"Go out? Where?" He shrugged;
"To the park?" She smiled; it seemed like a good idea. It would be the first time she would be able to 'show him off' in public so she practically jumped at the chance.

"I would love too!" He smiled;
"Good, it's a date then" She smiled also and wrapped her arms around the red-heads neck. Finally, she would be able to go out with him like a normal couple. The idea made her feel content and she could not wait for the time to pass. The day was starting off better than she would ever have expected and she hoped it could only get better.

(Awwww yay for Yuki! I am sooo happy people are Kurai fans, I really love you all! He loves you all too even if he doesn't say it ^_^ Please review and thank you all!)