Yuki had dozed for a time after Hatori had left, and though someone had brought him his schoolwork, probably Haru, he now felt no desire to work on it. He couldn't get out of his head the expression on Tohru's face before Hari had given her medication to make her sleep. If she had been having a nightmare, it was the kind that made you afraid to sleep at night.

Was that the kind of nightmares that Kyo was stuck in? Even now, he could hear him muttering in his sleep, groaning and coughing. It would have been a pitiful sight had he not been so sick, Yuki was sure, but he couldn't make fun of him for it.

Hari had come in not too long ago to check on everyone. He'd given Kyo another dose of medication. He'd quieted for a while, but apparently his nightmares were getting the best of him again because he was starting to talk in his sleep again.

"No," Kyo said as he turned in his sleep, almost rocking from side to back to side again. "Please… It's me. Don't you remember?"

Yuki sat up, trying to listen to the words that were more faint, wondering if he dared leave his bed. Hari had been fairly strict about his staying down for at least another day. But then Hari wasn't there and the door was mostly closed. He'd have some kind of warning if he came.

As quietly as he could, he slid out from under the bedding, taking care not to tangle his breathing tube. He wasn't sure if it was entirely necessary at this point but Hari didn't like to take those kinds of chances. He tiptoed towards Kyo's bed, dragging his oxygen tank with him, hoping he'd be able to get it back before Hari noticed.

His body shook a little with the effort but he wasn't about to stop now that he'd started. He took the last few steps to the chair and sat down, taking a moment or two to calm his beating heart and to force himself to take slow, longer breaths so that he didn't hyperventilate. Breathing mostly under control, he slid the chair closer to Kyo's bed.

Kyo flung out a hand, almost hitting Yuki's knee, his fist clenched. It was the hand with the beads around the wrist. He whimpered slightly and rolled over, coughing roughly and groaned. "Not that… rat. Please."

Yuki didn't know what he was talking about but figured it had something to do with him. "Kyo," he whispered. "Kyo, wake up." He knew that if Hatori caught him now, he'd definitely be in hot water.

"You da… you da… rat! Leave her alone!" He rolled over to face Yuki, fists clenching the bedding. "Tohru…" he broke out into coughing again and anything he tried to say during that was lost.

Yuki tried to piece together what he'd heard. It's me. Don't you remember? Not that… rat. Tohru. What was he dreaming about?

Kyo suddenly sat up as if he'd woken, his eyes open but they were glazed and didn't see anything, like those who sleep while awake. "Tohru," he said quite clearly. "Not Tohru!" And he felt back against the pillows, clearly exhausted, panting like he'd just run a marathon, and coughing. There was always the coughing. He raised his hand weakly, as though he were reaching for something or someone. "Please… Tohru. Don't forget me. Don't… forget me." His voice faded as his arm went back down, as though every last bit of energy had just drained from him.

Yuki continued to sit in the chair, his expression troubled. Was Kyo afraid that Tohru would somehow forget him? But why would he fear something like that?

Shigure sat at his desk, glasses on, hand pressed against his temple as he tried to think. His computer sat in front of him, a blank screen waiting for him to type. He folded his arms and looked at the screen, then unfolded them. He picked up a pencil, stuck it between his nose and lips, holding it there, then put it back down.

"Could someone please make some noise or something? I'm finding it hard to concentrate without a little drama," he called out. He stopped fidgeting as he remembered. "Oh, that's right. I'm the only one home."

He stood up and headed for the kitchen. The dishes were still piling up and the garbage definitely needed to be taken out. It was a pigsty. He wrinkled his nose at it. "Someone really should take care of this," he said to himself. "Before too long it will look just like it did before Tohru came."

He stopped in thought. "Hmmm… I suppose I could always go over and visit." He opened the refrigerator and looked inside. There were a few cartons of take out that were probably going bad, some curdled milk in a bottle, and a few things that might have once been peaches or some other fruit. Anything else inside was definitely not edible. He closed the fridge quickly and sighed, his stomach rumbling.

"Oh how I miss Tohru's cooking. It's no fun being on one's own." He headed for the front area, putting on his sandals and making sure to wrap up. His own strep seemed to be mostly gone, but Hatori would have kittens if he saw him out without some covering.

With a look of determination on his face, Shigure headed away from the house, going towards town. As he walked he thought about the past events. He'd probably better check on both Kyo and Yuki while he was at it. And thinking of Yuki, he looked towards his "secret base" and stopped.

"Hello, what's this," he said and walked over to see what was going on.

Arisa and Hana were both pulling up weeds with Haru.

"What's going on," Shigure asked and the three stopped in surprise.

Haru nodded in greeting. "We thought we'd do something useful, since everyone's still sick," he said.

"It's for Tohru," Hana added. "I can't begin to imagine how it will make her feel if she knew her plants were being neglected."

"Besides," Arisa continued, "the Prince asked us if we'd do it, before his asthma and everything, so we thought why not?"

Shigure blinked a few times. "Well I'll be," was about all he could say. He half wondered if they'd clean up the house if he asked, for Tohru's sake, but he smiled brightly instead of asking. "I was just on my way to the store. It would seem that I'm out of milk and it's hard to write without something to eat."

"You wouldn't happen to be going to see Tohru while you're at it, would you," Arisa asked.

"Who? Tohru?" He fidgeted nervously. "No, of course not. Why do you ask?"

"It's just a question," she retorted. "You don't have to act so guilty, unless you got something to hide." She raised her eyebrows meaningfully at him, her smile a Cheshire grin that would have done Kyo proud.

"Yes, what can you tell us about her condition," Hana added. "Without Yuki to tell us, we haven't had much news." She didn't add that Yuki rarely told them more then he absolutely had to.

"Oh… um… I believe she's doing better," Shigure said. "Not quite up to visitors yet." He laughed uncomfortably. "So, you see, I couldn't possibly be going to see her. I'm just going to see the family doctor so he can tell me if I'm dying or not."

"I thought you said you were going to the store," Arisa brought up.

"Right you are." He began to edge away.

Haru laughed. "If I didn't know any better, I'd say he had to use the bathroom. Come on, these weeds won't pull themselves."

Shigure continued to edge away, disappearing behind the trees as he did so. Arisa and Haru started weeding again. Hana disappeared.

Shigure continued on his interrupted path, humming a bit uneasily to himself. Arisa's words had definitely made him uncomfortable, though he was glad they were taking care of the garden while Yuki and Tohru couldn't. After a minute or two, however, he started to feel better about things and his humming became more cheerful.

Someone stepped suddenly out of the trees and he stopped in his track. "Ah!" He put a hand up to his chest, panting a bit. "Don't do that," he admonished.

Hana stood in front of him. "I did not mean to frighten you," she said. "I did not think it wise to speak before, for Arisa's sake."

"Isn't that nice," Shigure said and edged over to the farther side of the path. "If you don't mind…"

"I know that Tohru is better," she said. "But I also know that she is still in a lot of pain. There is something that she must do before it will leave her, but she is afraid."

"Huh?" Shigure stopped and stared at her. "What do you mean?"

"From the night of the storm, when the rain came pelting down and she stayed out all night," Hana began, almost chanting. "We found her at her mother's grave, weeping. I did not understand why Arisa and I had gone there, to find her. I only know that I could not stay home. Tohru needed me, to push her, to make her face her fears."

"I'm not sure I get where you're going with this," Shigure said, trying to laugh but not succeeding.

"I didn't understand but I knew that there was something she needed to do, something that only she could do," she continued as if he hadn't spoken. "She is still the only one who can. And since I cannot be there for her, she will need someone to push her, to help her see what she knows she must do."

She turned her face to the ground and closed her eyes, like she was holding back tears. "It isn't just for her. It's for all of us. We all have an interest in her well being, and her accepting what she must… it is more than I can say. I wish I could express what I know, but I cannot. It pains me to know that I cannot say."

He looked at her, his mouth slightly open in surprise and shock, not sure what she was getting at, or what she meant, for that matter.

She looked up at him again, her eyes bright but free of tears. "Arisa does not understand and so I can only hope that you will, that you will be there for her when I cannot because it would seem that Yuki is unable to be there for her because of his own troubles."

He blinked a few times. Blink. Blink. Blink.

"I must return, before Arisa begins to wonder where I've gone." She turned and slipped back into the trees, leaving Shigure blinking after her.

"That is one seriously…strange girl," he said and turned back in the direction he'd started, towards town.

Tohru slept. Perhaps she did not wake because of the sedative Hatori had given her the day before. It had been potent; though he hadn't thought it would be that potent. As far as he knew, she hadn't even stirred during the night, though he wondered about that and whether or not she had dreamed. His piercing eyes sought out any change in her complexion that might give him a clue, listening to her breathing and her heart before turning his attention to another patient.

Yuki was doing all right, a bit better than before, though his bronchial tubes were still too tight, making it still hard to breath. He wondered what he'd been up to during the night and only sighed. Yuki wasn't likely telling, and since he'd found no actual evidence to suggest he'd been up and about without permission, he had little to go on, except suspicion. It seemed like he'd put in a little too much effort recently and he didn't like it. But Hari had had to sleep too.

"You needn't stare at me," Yuki told Hatori who was standing practically over him, his arms crossed, one hand under his chin as he contemplated.

Hari didn't stop staring though, despite Yuki's protests. "How long were you awake last night?" He noted that Yuki was still a bit too pale, like he'd over exerted himself, only increasing his suspicions.

"I tried to do some homework," Yuki recalled. "Then I just lay here and contemplated for maybe an hour or two." He hoped that didn't sound too…rehearsed.

"Contemplating what?" Hari dropped his hands to the pockets of his white coat. He wondered if he'd decided to try and eavesdrop on him and Kazuma last night. It wasn't entirely like Yuki, something Kyo would be more likely to do, but still. He couldn't think of any other explanation, unless he'd just been unable to sleep.

Yuki looked around, his eyes falling on Tohru. Wondering about Kyo last night had led to thoughts of Tohru. Telling Hatori as much wouldn't be an outright lie. "Miss Honda," he said. "I wondered… I wondered what kind of dreams she must have been having to react as she did yesterday." Should he mention Kyo speaking out in his own dreams or leave that quiet? He wasn't sure, a sense of loyalty to the cat filling him, though he wasn't really sure why.
"I see," Hari said, pulling the chair away from Kyo's bed and setting it next to Yuki's. If he hadn't known any better, he might have thought it was closer to Kyo's bed this morning. There was something else, he was sure. "Anything else?" His tone was more commanding then curious.

Yuki hesitated, knowing that Hatori had seen that hesitation. It would do no good to hide that part, at least. "Well, I also thought about Kyo. I heard him call out a few times, mostly nonsense." At least he hadn't outright lied, telling most of the truth. He knew it would only make Hari mad if he knew he'd been up and about when he shouldn't be.

Hari raised his eyebrows. "Mostly?"

Yuki tried to think how to best portray the situation, without giving too much away. He still wasn't used to expressing his own feelings. "He called out Miss Honda's name a few times. He said something about… not wanting someone to do something." You owe me, you stupid cat, he thought.

"Hmmm," Hatori started to say something but was interrupted by Shigure entering the room, totally oblivious that he was interrupting something potentially important. Hari was lightly annoyed.

"There you are! I was beginning to wonder if everyone had gone out for the day." He stood by Yuki's cot, placing himself between Hari and the door.

"Now why would I do something like that," Hari asked dryly.

"Come now, Hatori. You know what I meant." He turned to look at Yuki. "Good morning Yuki. How's our dear Tohru this morning? You might find it interesting to know that her friends, along with Haru no less, are weeding your little garden probably as we speak."

"What?" Yuki sat up quickly, his eyes wide with shock. That was his secret base!

Hari leaned forward and pressed him back against the pillows. "No you don't. You are to lie still while I look Shigure over."

"Really, Hatori, is that necessary? I feel fine." Shigure put his hands up in protest. He hadn't come for a checkup, after all.

"Sometimes I can't help but wonder," Hari turned and took out a thermometer, sticking it in Shigure's mouth before he could utter another word. He quickly gave him a look over while Yuki tried to laugh only lightly at Shigure's stricken face, thermometer still between his lips.

"Can I remove this yet," he asked around the piece of glass. "Really, it's been long enough, don't you think?"

Hari ignored him and checked his blood pressure.

"Come on, Hatori," Shigure tried again. "It's starting to hurt trying to hold this here."

Hari sighed and took the thermometer, looking it over, then returning it to its case. "You complain far to much," he said. "But at least you'll live."

"Are you sure," Shigure asked. "I mean, last time you said I might die." He threw a hand up to his forehead, trying to ham it up and make his friend smile, without too much success. "Of course, it would have sounded better that way to my editor," he added realistically. "Not that you'd have given me a note even if I had been."

"You're right," he responded.

Shigure did a mock swoon. "Hatori! How cruel!"

He shook his head. "You never learn, do you? Being ill is not something you should take lightly."

Tohru stirred in her sleep at just that moment, rolling over to her side and let out a delicate little snore, but only one.

"Perhaps we should be more quiet," Hari observed. "Tohru had quite a shock yesterday."

Shigure blinked. "How do you mean?"

Hari looked at Yuki, who was paying very strict attention to the conversation, probably straining too much by doing so. "She had a very disturbing dream," he said, though Yuki noted that his eyes were downcast, as though he wasn't exactly telling the truth either. It made him wonder just what was going on behind those eyes.

"But she is doing better, right?" Shigure hadn't noticed Hari's expression, his eyes still focused on Tohru. His thoughts were dwelling on what Hana had said earlier, about her needing his help somehow.

"I believe so." But wasn't his tone a bit downcast as well? Perhaps a bit unsure. What was Hatori hiding? Yuki narrowed his eyes ever so slightly as Hari turned back to Shigure. He was not an expert at reading people, but it was almost obvious that he wasn't telling everything he knew, but then he never really did and it was more than frustrating.

"And what about Kyo?" Shigure looked over to the screen.

Hari looked quickly over to Tohru and sighed in relief. She was still asleep. Yuki noticed though and wondered why Shigure didn't say anything. He had obviously seen that, right? Didn't they want Tohru to know about Kyo? Sure he'd been told to be quiet about it, afraid it might upset her, but to go to such trouble?

Shigure also glanced at Tohru, a little tense, but he seemed to relax when he realized that she hadn't woken up after all. "Sorry," he said. "I should've made sure she was asleep before mentioning anything."

"No harm done," Hari replied and went over to Kyo's bed, Shigure following. Yuki sat up a little, turning on his bed to see what was going on. His view was partially blocked by the screen.

Hari pulled up the chair and offered it to Shigure, preferring to stand. He looked at the monitor, checked the oxygen levels, and listened to his lungs. He shook his head slightly.

"What is it," Shigure asked.

Hari ran a hand through his hair. "It's the strangest case I've come against," he admitted. "Despite everything I do, nothing seems to help. If it weren't for his dreams, his not quite waking, I would diagnose that he was in a coma, but his mind is far to active for that. Whatever these dreams are that he keeps having, they are keeping him from recovering. And while they continue, his body refuses to heal."

Shigure's expression fell, his lips down turned. Kyo caused plenty of problems, it was true, but he'd had enough hardship in life. It wasn't fair that he had to go through this as well. "Isn't there something we can do?"

"If there is, I haven't found it yet. But I'm not going to give up, not yet." He turned and left the room. Shigure watched him go. He rested his elbows on his knees, chin in his hands. He seemed completely unaware of anyone else in the room. "Please, Kyo. You may not believe it, but we all need you, and perhaps Tohru most of all. Isn't it enough that she's already accepted you?"

He stood up with a sigh, looking at Yuki as he headed out. Yuki had quickly lain back down, pretending he hadn't witnessed the exchange. "I hope you feel better soon," Shigure said to him almost absently and left.

So that's it, Yuki thought. That must be it. He's afraid that she will forget everything, that she accepted him, despite his original form. I don't understand how or why she would, but I see it in Hari's eyes as well. That must be the reason why.

He looked at Tohru. It was ironic, in a way, that so many things depended on her, that so many had so much faith and hope in her. She really had been a ray of cleansing sunshine to them all, opening their hearts and healing the deep scars kept too long from the light. What if, for some reason, she didn't remember? It didn't matter why. But just knowing that there was the possibility, if he'd been in Kyo's place, wouldn't he have been trapped just as surely as Kyo was trapped by his dreams?