EmilyNicole865: People can suck, life can suck, and sometimes you're the only person in your corner. Just know you've got your fanfam supporting you every step of the way even if we're not physically present to cheer you on. Whatever you're up against, you got this.
Gokuu the Carrot: What's this schedule thing you speak of? No, I update on an as-I-feel-like-it basis. Glad you're enjoying it, and thx for any and all patience.
Deborahav: Ohh, lemme tell you. I have been So. excited to introduce Haru. Lot's of Kyo love in here too, their friendship is shaping so quirky and cute I luv it. Thanks for the love! I put much time into making sure I'm getting the original story done right, while also getting my bit in there in a way that flows, so I'm glad it's appreciated :D
Takarifan01: Ah, life. Lemons given here, limes given there, and there's not enough lemonade to go around.
An Echo In Time: Saaamme! I love the revamp!
AnimeFreak71777: ;)
Life had fun chewing on me for a while but it finally spit me back out. So here I am. *Halfhearted jazz hands*
Disclaimer: Sighhhhh.
[o]
Chapter 9
Yuki Was My First Love
"You know," I drawled. "You may be a bit more successful in life if you give up."
"Shut up!" It may have been a little harsh, especially considering Kyo was on the ground moaning after having his mouth violated by leeks. Which meant I was essentially kicking him while he was down. But, in all honesty, well…
"You're just upset because she's right."
Yeah, Yuki hit it spot on. Just the same though, "Get off your high horse, Sohma-kun. You just wasted our perfectly good leeks."
"You act like you're so much better than us. Well you're arguing too!"
"Can it Carrot Top."
"Eto," interrupted Tohru meekly from her spot crouched beside Kyo. "Can we all just get along? We still need to get home." At her request I upturned my nose pompously before swiftly taking the box of toilet paper from her arms and propping it against a hip. Having successfully freed her arms I then dragged her up with my remaining arm and turned my back to the immature boys, pulling her after me.
"Come on Tohru, those children can catch up when they're ready to mature a bit." She resisted weakly until they dutifully started after us, squabbling once again.
"Tori, are you alright?"
"Hmm? I'm alright, other than a couple bickering pests getting on my nerves." The last little bit was spoken louder so it would drift behind us. I was lying, of course, but I didn't want to admit to the real reason I was venting my frustration on the boys behind us. Though it's not like they make it difficult, it's almost like they want me to pick on them. Kyo most of all. It's just so incredibly easy to press his buttons.
The bickering escalated to one sided yelling again and I turned my exasperated look skyward. Other times I don't mind using them to vent. They deserve it.
Tohru gave me a look before using her shoulder to bump mine in an attempt to brighten the mood, jostling our tangled arms and causing my sleeve to ride up ever so slightly. I brought my head back down and gave her a sidelong smile before nudging her back playfully in response. While doing so I subtly shrugged my sleeve back down to cover the thin scrapes made by perfectly manicured nails.
Winter break was over, which meant my brief respite from the Stalker Squad was over, too. And they'd come back from break with a vengeance.
…
"Yes, I know I added too much sauce." Tohru sighed for the ump-teenth time today, then took another scoop of rice and added it to the bowl I was mixing without a word. I dutifully continued stirring in a likewise silent manner. Now we would have copious amounts of leftovers, but at least this way dinner would be edible.
"You know," began Tohru. "These past few days you've been acting like you did when…when mom left." I shot her a sharp look, more out of shock than anything else. It's an unspoken rule not to bring up what we remembered of that time in our lives. Ever. And except for a few quiet conversations in the dead of night while mom slept, we had always stuck by that rule.
"Back then I knew you were sad, because you acted mad so you wouldn't worry me." Sometimes I forget how perceptive she can be. I frowned into the bowl I had been mixing before gritting my teeth.
"I don't know what you're talking about." With that I lifted the bowl and retreated to the living room.
"Dinner!" She was wrong, anyway. At least partially. I don't do it just to protect her. I do it to protect myself, too. From feeling helpless, and weak. It's easier to be upset than to acknowledge that I don't know what to do. Do I admit defeat and do my best to avoid Yuki at school, or do I endure? Should I tell a teacher with hopes it'll stop, even though this group targeting me composes a large part of the student body regardless of class and school year? Should I tell my sister and the Sohmas knowing they'll be just as helpless as I am? No, it's easier for everyone if I just keep this to myself.
Besides, there's so much tension in this household that mine fit right in lately. It was kind of a jerk move to shut Tohru down like that, I admit that, especially since she's only concerned. I knelt at the table and sighed in defeat as the others began trickling in. The right thing to do would be to apologize. But that would usually come before an explanation on what's bothering me, and I've already decided it's not worth telling her. Which means my apology will have to be left unsaid.
Tohru joined us at the table shortly after and knelt next to me, though it was obvious she was upset. I'm not sure how I could tell, but I could, and so I knew that her feelings had been hurt. Guilt raged, and went ignored. My eyes stayed fixed on my food and I didn't say a single word despite the bickering that continued up until Kyo-kun left to take his bath first, followed shortly after by Shigure.
…
"I'm done with the bath. Why don't you go next, Yuki-kun?"
"Mm, I'll pass today." As soon as he spoke Shigure began wriggling and spouting nonsense.
"What?! You're not bathing? You dirty boy!" Somehow, with his expression, his tone, and his wriggling body, Shigure managed to make it sound suggestive. And mildly vulgar.
Disgusting pervert. Creepy perverted stalker. This guy is our guardian? Who thought that was a good idea?
"I feel a cold coming on, that's why." Even before I registered his words my body recognized the fear and worry associated with them. My heart missed a beat before picking back up at a thunderous rate. A list of cold medicines began to form in my mind alongside another of at-home remedies, as well as the recipe of Tohru's favorite soup. It wasn't until I blinked and somehow found myself already digging through the medicine cupboard that his words clicked. After that was the slightly relieving comprehension that he's the one sick, not Tohru. Then the worry slammed back because even though Tohru isn't sick, Yuki has a cold.
It seems after years of having only Tohru to look after, my body's taking a bit longer to realize there are more people in my life now.
Cold medicine in hand, I made my way over to where Tohru was taking Sohma's temperature with a face that mirrored my level of concern.
"The first day of a cold is the most important, you know!" Inputted Shigure from his spot at the door, taking a few steps in before realizing I already had the medicine in hand. "Take some medicine and go to bed early."
"I think you should stay home from school tomorrow."
"That's overkill. I'll be fine." I bit my lip to keep from spilling out my own insistence for him to stay home. Then wondered at the horrible knot of guilt growing in my stomach. It's been plaguing me for days now, but has been easy enough to ignore.
"B-But tomorrow is the long-distance run!" I clenched my hand around the little box of medicine in my hand and struggled to force a word out of my strangely reluctant throat.
"In this chilly weather? You kid shave it rough. This old man is impressed."
Then, of course, the resident irritating Ginger haired outcast barged in and made the whole thing dramatic. And of course Yuki's huge competitive side wouldn't allow him to back down once the endurance run was turned into a race.
"Long-distance run, you say?"
"Huh?"
"Long-distance run…Marathon…A race run in groups, which means…" That's he's an absolute moron? Yeah, we know. "…A competition!"
I...think Kyo might be on fire. Like, literal fire. Or is that his ferocious vengeance? His blazing competitiveness? Am I hallucinating again?
When's the last time I got a full night of sleep? I can't remember. Maybe I should turn in early tonight too.
"All right! Tomorrow, I'll be showing you who's fastest!"
"Kyo-kun, aren't you freezing in that t-shirt?" I shot a look at our 'guardian' at what he was choosing to focus on in this situation, then promptly ignored him as usual.
"W-wait, Sohma-kun has a cold -"
"A cold?"
"He'll be fine if he eats, takes a bath, and goes to bed." He began sliding the door closed again, completely overlooking Tohru's concern. "It's on! You better not run away!" Part of me wanted to go after him and thrash him for disregarding Tohru like that. For overlooking the possible severity of the situation, if Sohma-kun's cold turns into anything more serious. Maybe taunt him for trying to win while his opponent is weak, and goad him into giving up on the whole idea by insinuating that he felt too weak to defeat Sohma-kun while he's in top form. But the ball of guilt lodged in my gut only got bigger when I took a breath to speak.
I looked away from the closed door to Sohma-kun's resigned form, then down to the red medicine box in my hand, and wondered why I couldn't say anything, even just to insist he take tomorrow off. Then my eyebrows relaxed and I took a sharp breath as it occurred to me why my throat was lodged closed with guilt despite my concern.
I've been such a jerk lately to him – to them – did I have any right to tell any of them what to do? I wanted to think I did, that as someone living under the same roof I could tell Sohma-kun to take care of himself. Yet in the end he wouldn't have any reason to listen so I'd have just wasted my breath. Now more than ever I wish I'd kept my temper in check. So instead I shoved my concern deep down where it couldn't disturb anyone - right next to the tightening knot of ignored guilt - and shoved the medicine box into Sohma-kun's face. He's a big boy, he can deal with this problem himself.
I, in the meantime, left the room with a huff without further ado as Shigure said something about transforming when they're weak, stomping loudly upstairs with the sole purpose of letting everyone in the house know how frustrated I felt. Childish without a doubt. Satisfying? Not nearly as much as I'd like. Once on the landing I slammed the bedroom door behind me as loud as I could possibly manage and promptly threw myself onto the bed, forcefully swallowing the urge to scream.
…
Despite my continued denial to myself about just how worried I felt about Sohma-kun's welfare, the morning of the endurance run I woke unbearably early and had a warm, nutritious - and also light, since we'd be running - breakfast prepared. Warm, to to hopefully stave off the January chill and keep the cold from getting worse. Nutritious, to hopefully accommodate for him doing a race instead of taking it easy to recover.
Once everyone began trickling in one glance at my irked and sleep deprive face was all it took for the two irritating boys' mouths to shut about not wanting breakfast. Which was truly unfortunate since I was positively itching to argue with someone at this point in order to release my building frustration. Maybe something good will actually come out of the run then. A semi-healthy way of exhausting myself into not feeling.
Only the memory of past endurance runs reminded me how very miserable I'd be as soon as it started.
Truth be told - and I was sure to tell him - I didn't much care if Kyo ate since this whole thing could easily be pinned as his fault. If it wasn't for his unbearable amount of Kyo-ness, Tohru would've easily been able to convince Sohma-kun to stay home today and rest. Which would've been difficult in it's own way, sure (Tohru and I would've ended up staying home with him, too), but not to the present degree. But the stupid idiot cat is still notorious for not caring well for himself. And it's possible he could catch the cold next, since he's just as hard on himself as he is on Sohma-kun. So while I didn't vocally threaten him to eat as I did with Sohma-kun, I did still scowl and glower right up at him as soon as he got that defiant 'I'm not hungry' look until he finally caved under the pressure and knelt at the table as Sohma-kun dutifully ate.
Yet despite my best efforts Sohma-kun was still looking unhealthily pale by the time we were warming up for the endurance run. Didn't stop anyone from ogling him though. 'Legs for days' certainly applied here, probably to his great displeasure since that's more of a womanly aspiration.
I ran through my own warm-ups as Tohru cautiously approached the Prince, and I eyed the many glares thrown her way as she began speaking to him. My eyes traveled back to the ground and I again focused instead on pulling each leg up behind me and ignoring the chilly air.
"She's brave to go over there. Especially with those moron demons glaring at her." It was true, the main Stalker Squad members were glaring holes through Tohru's back. Despite knowing who held their attention, it was a relief not to be at the end of it for a moment. And guilt filled me at the thought, but still I couldn't bring myself to really care. For all their nasty looks and backhanded comments they've never downright tormented her as far as I'm aware.
But as they carted Tohru away from him not long after and back to our small group I caught his eye as he watched the proceedings and rather than looking away I held it. He frowned slightly and I wanted to go over there and tell him to go home, or at least to be careful, but felt the knot tighten in my stomach.
I looked down, breaking gaze, and told myself to get over myself. Even if I did go over there, I'd been suck a jerk lately that I had no right to tell him to do anything.
I tapped the toes of my shoes against the ground and wondered when I became such a coward. So what if his fan club has been getting under my skin? Was I really going to let them keep affect my relationship with Tohru and the boys? With my family? I'd been so wound up lately, worrying about what they would do next, if it was something I'd be able to easily hide from Tohru or if I'd have to make up a lie to cover it up. Wondering if I should isolate myself from the Sohmas in the name of self-preservation. Plotting how I could get back at them, if it was possible at all or if it would only spur them to become worse. And slowly, one lie at a time, I'd ended up letting their petty torments wedge their way into my personal life. And I'm so beyond done with that.
Decision made I set my jaw and left to take the spot Tohru had just forcibly vacated. Sohma-kun looked up from his spot on the ground in surprise, but his wasn't the gaze I was meeting.
Surrounded by her posse was the one leading my torment, one Minagawa Motoko, President of the Prince Yuki Fanclub, and the most outspoken against my continued close relationship with the object of her obsession. The moment I looked over she met my gaze, glaring at my audacity. I'm not sure when I started letting her torment get to me so much. For so long the idea of her and everything she stood for was completely ridiculous, and that she was taking it out on me was inconvenient at most. But at some point it managed to get under my skin. I've started dreading the sight of her and her cronies, find myself anxious about opening my locker or sitting down at my desk in case they'd pulled anything that would be hard to hide from the others, worried about how the others would feel if they found out about the situation. If Yuki found out, would he blame himself? I know Tohru would feel horrible for not noticing sooner, and I'm not sure how Kyo would react. He's a stupid idiot with a raging temper, but he's grown on me. I wouldn't have him any other way, even if he might not be as fond of me as I am of him. But if he does find out it could go three ways. He'd seriously injure someone and get punished, he'd blame Yuki, or he wouldn't care at all. And I couldn't deal with any of those outcomes. So for the first time since this all started I decided that it's time to stop. Letting it affect me, that is. She and her henchmen can pick on me as much as they want. They can toe the line of keeping it between us and showing the others. But until they take it too far and out themselves, I'll handle this myself. But as soon as I'm out of school each day that's it, I'm done letting it affect me.
I won't let her come between me and my family any longer.
So for the first time in too long I met her glare for glare. I knew from her displeasure she could see my new resolve, and I was glad that she knew I hadn't been crushed. Not now, not ever. Because despite the year she has on me, and the hordes she has on her side, I have all that I need to endure. My friends and my sister make me stronger than she will ever be.
Without further ado I broke my gaze first and knelt down to address my friend properly. His eyes snapped back from where he was trying to see who I was looking at.
"Try to take it easy," I murmured. He blinked and smiled softly, sensing that whatever has been bothering her lately had been resolved.
"I won't need to try, it'll be easy enough to win that Idiot Cat." Said Cat was presently spitting flames in our direction and I rolled my eyes, unimpressed. Even less so when I realized he wasn't wearing his sweater, only his white Tshirt and blue gym shorts. Stupid head.
"Well, just the same, be careful." The whistle went off and I left with the other girls to gather at the starting line as instructed by the coach, swiftly stepping over a foot shoved quickly in my path by a no-name creeper, upset I hadn't followed the 'two witness' rule or whatever other nonsense they'd been spouting at me lately.
Not even seconds into the run we were stopped by Hana-chan's dramatics, which Tohru fell for just like she had for the last run. As expected every endurance run, we left her behind once she decided to walk the rest of the way. And there was no doubt in my mind the only walking she would do would be to get to a good spot to sit for the duration of the run.
After that we were both running in awkward silence. It took me a moment to realize Tohru was still upset with me, and guilt churned anew in my stomach at the reminder of how I've been treating her lately.
A sigh finally escaped me – only a small one since I was already slightly out of breath – and I looked resolutely down at the pavement and the shoes running steadily ahead of us.
"Look, Tohru, I shouldn't have snapped at you yesterday. I'm sorry." From the corner of my eye I saw her frown and turn to look at me for a moment.
"I'm not mad because of that. I just…don't like it when you shut me out, Tori." Her voice turned helpless towards the end and I shot her an apologetic look before turning away again. She looked at me with her sad eyes a moment longer before turning away, too. But the silence was still awkward, so I pursed my lips and plowed ahead.
"What you said, about shutting everyone out," I started, hoping to make her understand. "I don't do it for you. I do it to protect myself." And maybe her to some extent, since I usually did it to protect myself so I can protect her, but I didn't feel the need to share that bit.
"I can't help you when you do that. Please just tell me what's wrong." Despite her imploring look I still didn't want to burden her with my problems, especially when I can still handle them myself.
"I already figured it out," I relented. "I was having a hard time dealing with something but I decided not to let it bother me anymore." At her persistent frown I gave in further. "But if I ever can't deal with something alone I promise I'll include you next time." With that promise Tohru's pinched face finally softened into a smile and I knew I'd been forgiven. I also knew I'd taken advantage of her kindness and naivete just like Hana-chan had. Because I'd never faced a challenge I didn't stubbornly feel like I could handle alone.
A few more minutes in and I was beginning to wish I'd taken Hana's out. Give me a ten page essay or a disaster at work any day. But physical exertion for the sake of endurance? Not my bowl of rice.
Salvation came in the form of an old man collapsed on the side of the road. Eh, I'd take whatever break I could get. As Tohru hurried over to the man I stopped as soon as my feet hit the grass and doubled over to try to breath. My lungs aren't working! Running broke my lungs! Why does this never get any easier? Here comes the coughing. Ooh, yep, I found my lungs. They're in my throat, in the process of being forcefully expelled.
I'm skipping next time. These things aren't worth a good grade, or my long-term health and wellness.
"You mean…Are you a Sohma yourself, by any chance?"
Seems my ears are online again. I wheezed and wobbled over to my twin and looked at the injured elderly…oh, it's a teenager. Whoops. Tohru said he's a Sohma?
"It's nice to meat you. My name is -"
"Oh, I hear them now." I frowned (from where I continued wheezing and trying to breath deep enough to expand my exhaustion-induced tunnel vision) and turned to look in the direction an odd sound was coming from. Two specks were rapidly approaching on the road. A moment later the odd noise could be heard more clearly, too. Was that…yelling? It almost sounded like a never-ending battle cry, or something equally ridiculous.
I turned to ask Tohru if she heard it, too, only to see both kneeling on the grass next to the paved path. And the not-elderly snow-head was holding a string trailing across the path where it was tied to a pole on the far side.
I realized what was going on not even a moment later, but it was already too late. The string was pulled taut and an orange yelling blur face-planted in front of us, coming to a skidding halt.
"Got him."
"K-Kyo-kun! Are you alright?!"
"What the heck?!" Despite the jelly-quality of my legs I made my way to the Cat's side with an equally concerned Tohru.
"What the hell was that for?!" Don't ask how he's even well enough to be yelling after that fall, I truly don't know.
"You wouldn't have stopped for me otherwise." Great. I'm slowly beginning to question the mental stability of the whole Sohma clan.
"Haru?!"
"So it's your turn, Haru?" I eyed Yuki, decided he didn't look like he'd collapse imminently, and turned to Kyo's irate form to assess the damage. Well enough to yell or not, I knew he wouldn't say a word if something was actually hurting him. So I took the chance while Yuki spoke to brush his orange bangs away and look at the roadburn covering his nose, cheeks, and entire forehead. "Everyone's coming to visit. But don't you have school?"
"Eh…" Nothing life threatening at first glance. His nose wasn't even bleeding, miraculously enough. Orange eyes turned to watch me as I inspected him and his equally orange eyebrows pulled down in an annoyed frown. "I left home on Sunday. But somehow I wandered into a neighborhood I didn't recognize, and then somehow three days had passed. A mystery." My eyes rolled upward on their own accord at the words as I moved in front of Kyo to inspect his other cheek. His eyebrow began twitching as I started working at a large piece of rubble embedded in his forehead.
"Just admit that you got lost." Kyo glared down at me, so I turned my gaze from the rock and glared right back up at him. The big baby. So he brushed my hands away with a scowl which I returned with equal fervor.
"I'm fine! Leave it!"
"You're not fine," I grit out. "You're all scraped up."
"I've had worse. This is nothing. So leave me alone!" If that was supposed to reassure me, it had the opposite effect.
"If it's nothing just shut up and let me look!"
"Eto," I turned my glare onto Tohru. Not cuz I was angry at her, it just takes a moment to pull out of an argument and she'd just butted into the middle of one. "The class is on its way. Maybe we should make our way somewhere quieter?" I shot a look where she indicated and saw she was right.
"Sure," I sniffed, and looked up in order to eye Kyo past my nose. Lesser people might find it difficult to look down their nose at someone taller than themself. But I like to think I'd mastered it over the past few months.
"And when we get somewhere quieter I'll take a look at your face." And I took off after the nearby bridge without another word, nose still up.
Kyo groaned and rolled his eyes and shoved down the pleased warmth that comes with being fretted over, Yuki tried to identify the irked feeling in his chest at all the attention his cousin was receiving, and I was most certainly not concerned at the idea of Kyo being hurt more severely than road burn to the face. Sure, I've seen him injured on multiple occasions. But he's never admitted to the severity of anything before!
Meanwhile, Tohru and New Sohma-kun were blissfully unaware of the conflicted emotions roiling behind them as they led the way.
Seeing them ahead of me, I began thinking on the new addition to the group and his recent actions. And lack of concern regarding them.
Please don't be like Kagura, please don't be like Kagura, please don't be like Kagura...
"Honda-san, Tori-san, this is Hatsuharu Sohma. He's a third-year junior high student, so one year younger than us. Haru, this is Tohru Honda and Tori Honda."
"Oh, you are?" I quirked an eyebrow at his over-chill and slow response. Yes, we are. He just said we are. No need for confirmation. Then my eyebrows promptly went skyward when he bent forward at the waist, bowing so deep his hands were braced against his knees.
"Nice to meet you."
"Ah!" Not to be outdone, Tohru also began bowing deeply. "It's my pleasure!"
I regarded the bowed, vaguely clueless (er, directionally challenged), snow-capped Sohma in front of us and finally inclined my head an inch. He didn't seem horrible, I guess, except for his earlier actions that he still showed no remorse for. Still not sure what to make of that.
"Nice to meet you," I clipped out, then with introductions out of the way, as promised, I inspected Kyo's face more closely ("Because if they get infected you'll get sick. And that'll be inconvenient for me and Tohru.") and though it looked painful he should be fine to get back to the school nurse.
"There's some rocks in the scratches, but I don't think we should try to get them out without tweezers." Cuz dirty fingers on open wounds would lead to definite infection, and one sick Sohma is enough.
I took a step back and crossed my arms. "In other words, you'll be fine."
"Finally," he grouched. "I could've told you that myself." I raised an eyebrow at his ungrateful attitude and he plowed on quickly before I could say a word.
"Anyway, now that we're here, what did you want, Haru?" I gave him an unimpressed look but allowed him the out. Only to sigh up to the sky as this 'Haru' says he came here for a fight.
"Huh?" Knowing I was no longer needed, I made my way back over to Tohru's side. Another look over at Sohma-kun proved he was still pale and weak-looking, but still not in imminent danger of collapse, so I turned back to watch the other two.
"I was gonna challenge you at New Year's, but you skipped out. So I came to you." He took up a fighting pose. "Now let's go."
"Whoa, hold on. I'm in the middle of an important race right now!" Important? Race? Really, priorities.
"I traveled three whole days for you." Tohru walked over to Sohma-kun's side, and I followed dutifully. He was watching the other two same as us, as unconcerned as ever. I glanced at him subtly as he lifted a hand to cover his mouth as he coughed quietly. Not any worse than this morning, at least.
"No, you just got lost!"
"Come on, let's fight."
"I'll fight you as much as you want if you go home!"
"Don't wanna."
"This could be bad." I looked at Yuki in surprise at his uncharacteristic concern.
"Pardon?"
"Hey, Kyo, I think you should let Haru have his way, or -"
"I said no!" I'm all for boundaries being upheld, and no means no. But what's with all the sudden tension in the air? "Go home already, Haru!" Yuki's concern became clear a moment later when Kyo turned his back in dismissal only for his cousin to abruptly jump high into the air and slam his head down into Kyo's on his way back down.
Um….
What?
"Too late."
"Quit your whining." I turned to Tohru with wide eyes to see if she'd seen it, too, but snapped my head back as the deceivingly violent white-head continued speaking.
"If you're a real mean kitty-cat, then you accept any fight." Total one-eighty degree change from the teenager we'd been introduced to just a few minutes ago. "Fight and die!" Then he began scream-laughing in an utterly cliche movie villain way, back bent unnaturally and fingers clawed and all.
"No dying!" Tohru yelled after him in concern, but it was lost in the villain cackling.
"You damn brat!" Kyo made his return with a back kick straight to the punk's face. And than all civility was lost. I closed my eyes and pinched the bridge of my nose. So much for the endurance run.
"Great, he summoned Dark Haru." And unconcerned Yuki is back. And he entirely blamed Kyo for this whole situation, from the sound of it.
"D-D-Dark what?"
"Haru's usually a space cadet, but when he snaps, he's out of control. We call that version Dark Haru."
"So he's essentially bi-polar. Not Honda Kagura bi-polar, but actual bi-polar."
"Yes, except – " Suddenly the boy in question was up in Yuki's face with a serious expression. When had he even mov…
Oh forget it. The Sohmas have superpowers, no matter Shigure's denial of it.
" – he's far worse."
"Don't just stand here and watch, Yuki. Today's the day I make you mine."
"And do what with me?" Without clarifying the white-haired demon whirled back and turned his attention back to Kyo. Low attention, high violence, superpowers. That's becoming the cursed Sohma cliché. Poor Kyo, all he wants to do is race Yuki. Sure, all this is still his fault, and I'm against him racing Yuki while he's sick in the first place. But what's with all this un-founded aggression from his cousins?
"This looks like it'll take a while. The two of you can go on ahead."
"B-but…"
"If you don't hurry up and fight me I'll make that spacey girl mine too." Excuse me, what? I looked over at Tohru with her wide open helpless eyes, dropped jaw, and clenched fists. She is kinda spacey. My eyes narrowed just the same, cuz no one's making her 'theirs' today. She's mine.
"What the hell does that mean?!"
"I'll do certain things to her! Maybe even uncertain things!"
"What are you even saying?!" Oh, I'm getting the gist of it. Move over Kyo, I'm taking him down. Game face on, I began rolling my sleeves. If he's got insane superpowers and odd features it means he's one of the zodiac. So one hug is all it'll take. Maybe he'll be something ridiculous like a seahorse. Then it'll be easy to crush him literally before he switches back.
A hand on both shoulders stopped me as I began marching over there. Seems Tohru and Yuki had seen the murderous glint in my eyes.
"It won't get any better. You both really can go." He just doesn't want me to murder his insane cousin.
The fighting had been brought up a notch, as in Kyo was fighting back now. It was a fight out of cartoons, no joke. But it seems the punk's taunts had urged Kyo to fight, which meant he was defending Tohru. Which is something I can support, especially since he seems to be holding his own rather well (unlike when he fights Yuki).
"Crush him, Kyo-kun!" Team Kyo, all the way. "Poke his eyes! Kick his balls!" Those are the only two self-defense moves I'm capable of, and so the only two moves I could call out. The rest of the crazy kick punchy stuff they're doing is foreign to me.
Yuki and Tohru were both looking at me oddly, but I didn't even notice. I was waiting for someone's head to roll. They both released their holds on me since I wasn't fighting to get away any more. Kyo seemed to have it well enough in hand.
"U-Um," Tohru started. She better not try getting between them, this is just getting good.
"Just leave them to it, Honda-san. Best to let them wear themselves out. Also," he paused and smiled over at us (I was too absorbed in the fight to notice much aside from the fact he was talking), "I refuse to get caught in their crossfire."
"I-I see…" Kyo dodged out of the way of the kid's fist and landed a strong kick in the other boy's gut. That's for the insinuations, jerk face. I cupped both hands around my mouth.
"Wooo Kyo-kun! Take him down!" Then with one more punch he sent the punk flying, where he fell on his back. I threw a fist out with a cry of triumph, as if I'd been the one to land the hit. Now stay down.
"You know, Kyo-kun seems really strong today."
"Yeah, Kyo is probably the stronger of the two. They've both studied martial arts since they were kids. They seem to enjoy it." If Kyo is stronger than that stupid-head, then Yuki was probably way out of the punk's league. Maybe I can convince Yuki to pummel him with Kyo.
…Nah. There's no way he'll ever team up with Kyo for anything.
"Didn't you study it because you enjoyed it, too?"
"Maybe…it's hard to say."
I was too absorbed in mentally murdering the younger teen to notice exactly when Yuki's condition became worse, but his pained gasp drew my attention sharply as he doubled over. It took only another moment after that for the white-haired wonder to arrive next to us and drape his ridiculous white trench coat over Yuki's bent form.
"You're burning up. I'll call the main house and – " His determined words were cut off by a pale hand on his shoulder and a plaintive look.
"You don't want that, huh?" He stood up to address Kyo and I took up his vacated spot with a worried hand on Yuki's back, next to Tohru's on the other side.
"Kyo, is it okay if I take a rain check on our fight?" Yuki's breaths were gasping and shallow, nothing like they'd been moments before. It didn't seem like the cold symptoms he's had since last night. This was an asthma attack? Triggered because of his cold?
"Huh? Sure…"
"Let's go to Sensei's house, then. We could call a taxi…No, that'd be trouble if Yuki transformed."
"Couldn't we just transform him now and hug him the whole way home?"
"No," he answered me. "It's best for his condition if he doesn't change at all. We'll have to try getting him there without transforming if we can help it."
"I'll come with you! I'll do anything!" Well yes, of course we're going with them. No way was I letting Yuki out of my sight in his condition.
"You know, I think I'll take you up on that. You're pretty cute, after all." My glare was back, aimed directly up at him. Yes she's cute, but he's not allowed to say it.
"Huh?"
"I'm saying if I'm gonna hug someone, I'd rather she be cute." I caught onto his plan just as he pulled Tohru to him, and vowed to kill him as soon as he put his filthy arms around her. The lecherous scumbag has gone too far.
Purple-ish smoke and bits of his destroyed clothing exploded around him, pushing Tohru away from him with it's force. Once the air had cleared it revealed a large, black and white spotted cow. I looked at the bits of cloth around us in surprise. I guess all the zodiac we'd met so far were small enough in their animal forms that their clothes remained unharmed by the transformation.
Goodness, I'd hate to know what he'd do if he transformed at school.
"It'll be easier on Yuki if I carry him this way. You keep hugging me until we get there so I don't turn back." And before she could regain her senses in order to take him up on it – while Kyo grudgingly helped Yuki onto the Cow's back since he was the only one present who could – I quickly took up a spot around his neck. My look told Tohru not to challenge it, and she obeyed.
"Oh?" Came a voice from beside my ear. I ignored it to ensure Yuki's safe transfer, but as soon as we were on our way my nails clawed into his neck and I leaned over close to his flappy ear.
"You hit on Tohru like that again, I will mince you and serve you as hamburgers to your cousins. Do you understand?" There was silence for a while, and I wondered if he wasn't taking me seriously. In which case he mistakenly thought me above stalking him home and murdering him in his sleep.
"I understand." Good. My claws stayed firmly in place as a reminder until we arrived back home. Our chosen mode of transportation gained attention from everyone we passed, including a handful of kids that followed us on the sidewalk a good portion of the way (I've heard cement hurts unprotected animal hooves. So I hoped each step was causing the Cow pain) and a few people that rushed to the other side of the road as soon as they spotted us coming towards them.
Once we finally made our way into the house Shigure seemed to think our difficulty getting home was amusing, based off the immediate chuckles when he rounded the corner that continued as we explained the situation to him.
"So you decided to come home looking like that." I released the animal now that we were home as if he had burned me, rubbing my hands against my shirt to get rid of the feel of living hairy leather, and eyed it with contempt as it chewed on the sleeve of Shigure's kimono. He's still human, isn't he? He can still talk and think like a human after all. Cow instincts, maybe?
"It ain't funny," Kyo bit out.
"I bet people were staring! Ku hu hu!"
"It was hell chasing them off!" He meant the harmless kids. That he had hissed at, like a rabid squirrel. With no shoes on (he'd left them on the grass like the moron he is). He had looked like more of a child then the kids tailing us. Which I made sure to tell him.
Once he finished giggling at our predicament he assisted in getting Yuki off the cow and up into his own bed. In his surprisingly tidy room. He must've felt like cleaning recently. I eyed the homework charts tacked around his desk and the items all put away where they belong. I wonder how long it'll last before it's a disaster again.
Looking around was a little difficult due to the full-grown bovine taking up a large portion of the room and blocking off even more, and I debated whether or not the he'd be able to feel it if I 'accidentally' stepped on one of his hooves. Probably not. So instead I moved over to the bed and watched as Shigure pulled the duvet snug under Yuki's chin in a surprisingly paternal sort of way.
"He's fast asleep. Looks like this attack wasn't a bad one. He has a fever, but he'll be fine." His cheeks were flushed with it, but he wasn't gasping for breath anymore. That sound would be haunting me for ages, I already know it.
"Thank goodness!"
"Sorry about this, Tohru-kun, Tori-kun. You both can go back to school, it's okay." Now that everything had calmed down the familiar guilt was beginning to creep back up on me, this time for not taking his condition seriously enough. We could've been in serious trouble if he'd ended up collapsing on the track. Tohru and I wouldn't have been able to do anything to help without turning him into a Rat, and who knows how willing Kyo would've been to help him out.
"No," Tohru immediately protested. "I'll stay here and watch him."
"No way can I concentrate if he's sick."
"Going to school is important, but not at the cost of abandoning someone sick! A-And," she straightened up and her voice became quieter. "Well…colds are dangerous. They shouldn't be taken lightly." A memory pierced my thoughts at her words, spurred on by the dreams that had plagued me all night. The reason I'd given up on sleep so early and instead started up on breakfast.
The memories of approaching our apartment door with dread, worrying that mom or Tohru would be in a state worse than when I left. And a memory, even older than those, of huddling around a phone with the others.
"I seem to have caught a little cold."
That memory was shoved down just as quickly as it had formed.
"I know mother would agree." I just knew the look on her face was pitiful, but I refused to look cuz I knew my face wasn't much better.
"Well," Shigure stood, a charitable smile on his face. "Then, I suppose I'll go pick up everyone's things at school."
"Oh, you don't have to go to the trouble!" Huh, that's uncharacteristically kind of him. But I'm not gonna say anything, because I don't plan on leaving the house anytime soon.
"Don't worry about it, it's nothing." He gave us the same smile, like he didn't mind helping at all, and even began humming a little tune after telling Kyo to call Hatori-sama and leaving the room. I rolled my eyes at Kyo's immediate protests and turned back to Yuki. And the Stupid Cow.
"Huh?! Why should I have to -"
His protests were cut off by a bluish/purplish Poof, and the naked teenage boy that carelessly walked out of it.
"I'll do it."
"Ahh!"
"Eiugh?!" The sound that burst from my mouth was both unfamiliar and undignified. My hands were clasped over my wide, truamatized eyes. Sometimes, I'm not sure if Tohru and I will come out of living with the Sohmas mentally unscathed.
"Don't wander around naked, you disgrace!" I could hear Tohru hyperventilating next to me, but was more concerned with mentally willing my brain to catch fire and destroy all images from the past minute.
"Okay, I'm off!" Shigure's muffled voice coming from the window was enough to snap Tohru out of it, but I stayed crouched a moment longer as she stood to approach it. "Take care of Yuki-kun." Oh, my poor eyes.
She slid open the window to address him better. "Shigure-san! Yes, thank you for doing this!"
Speaking of our perv guardian, he'd offered to help us out way too happily. Besides, Shigure has never been the kind to help for the sake of it, or at least that's not the kind of feeling I get from him. So what's his angle?
Tohru clasped her hands in front of her and I watched her back as she positively radiated gratefulness and respect and admiration.
"Shigure-san is a deeply kind and caring person." But I recalled the tune he'd hummed earlier. Now, standing to watch next to Tohru as he continued on his way with a spring in his step, the quietly sung words from before began to clear into something sounding vaguely like 'High school girls, high school girls. All for me, high school girls!'
…Have we unleashed something horrible on our schoolmates?
Not with the same mindset as mine, Tohru then turned to leave the room.
"Let's go see if Kyo-kun and Hatsuharu-san talked to Hatori-san." Hatsuharu…Ha-Tsu-Ha-Ru…Nah, too many syllables. Hamburger-san he will be. Not too much shorter in retrospect. But much more satisfying.
The two were arguing when we arrived. More like, Kyo had a completely nonchalant boy now dressed in one of the Cat's outfits in some sort neck hold with an elbow digging into the other's white hair.
"And now you're back to Light Haru again, you brat."
"Ow-ow-ow."
"What? You're not Dark-san anymore?" The two looked up at Tohru's question, complete blank looks on their faces.
"Ehhhhh…Nope." I paused at the complete personality change and saw Tohru sweat-drop beside me. Then I narrowed my eyes and decided I much preferred this version. Even so, I squeezed past Tohru and stomped down the remaining stairs to jab a finger in his stupid empty face.
"I'll still kill you if you harass Tohru again." He didn't even blink, just eyed my finger for a moment before turning and his head slightly to address Tohru.
"How's Yuki?" My finger made its way back to form a quivering fist at being ignored, but I calmed myself with running over different recipes I knew that called for beef in many forms. I'd have to do some research on butchering in the future to make sure I get it right.
"He's still sleeping. I'm going to make him an ice pillow." At this the boy turned to address Kyo.
"Don't attack him in his sleep, Kyo." Pretty sure I'd need to gut him first. Should I look into preserving his hide? Maybe a leather maker would buy it. But wait, would it eventually turn human again? That would be inconvenient. So for peace of mind I'll just assume he stays in the form he dies in.
"As if I would! I'm gonna win against him fair and square." He then turned his head just as pompously as he could manage as a Cat with an 'I'm better than you' "Hmph!" and stomped indignantly away from us for the front door.
"This is lame. I'm going back to school." Seems the feral car is slowly being socialized. Gone are the days he storms out of the room at the mention of school. I was almost tempted to call such after him, but decided to let it go this time. There'll be another chance to call him feral in the future.
After his dramatic exit the three of us made our way to the kitchen where Tohru pulled out the rubber bag and began filling it with ice and then water. All the while the bi-color haired boy simply leaned quietly against the counter. Okay. Hmm. I guess I should stop mentally murdering him while he's like this, it's starting to make me feel a little guilty. He's so…I dunno. Chill. Yeah. He's chill like this. Maybe he's okay.
Still gonna read up on how to butcher cows later. Never know when it could come in handy, especially if he makes a second appearance in the future.
"Are Yuki and Kyo getting into fistfights every day?"
"No. They do argue every day, though."
"Huh. I guess they get along a lot better now." Tohru dropped the sealed ice pack in shock and I leaned back from her other side to look at him with wide eyes.
"What? 'Better'?!" The heck had it been like at the estate if this is considered 'better'?! He reached down and grabbed one of his necklaces, bringing it up to his face and looking it it as he spoke.
"They both used to be more uptight, and they gave off 'stay away' vibes. But it feels like those have lightened a little." I blinked at the reminder of how little we know the people we live with. Shigure I didn't care much about, but Hamburger-san has known Yuki and Kyo much longer than Tohru and I have. They may have even known each other since birth, if the family is as tight-knit as it sometimes sounds. He knows things about that family that I probably can't even begin to imagine.
"Oh," he tacked on, looking at Tohru. "Maybe it's because the two of you're with them." I blinked stupidly and pointed at myself in confusion, not even realizing my finger had come up in silent question. Tohru, however, began flailing emphatically with one arm between us, ice pillow clutched in her other hand.
"N-No, I haven't d-done anything to deserve - I - No!" Who's she kidding. If anyone's good at getting through and breaking down 'stay away' vibes, it's Tohru. Just look at who her two best friends are.
He pushed himself from the counter and made his way out of the kitchen, so Tohru and I shared a look before following after him as he made his way upstairs.
"It's not like I've been watching you, so I don't have proof," he continued once we made it to the stairs. "but as long as things are changing in a positive direction, it's all good, right? Yuki especially." Yeah, I guess Yuki has changed a bit. He doesn't give those phony little smiles as often, in any case.
"Yuki was my first love." I froze mid-step as my brain computed, and Tohru dropped the ice pillow with a noise of shock. The teen in front of us paused as Tohru bent to pick it up, and continued with whatever explanation he'd started on now. "I like Kyo, too…but Yuki is special to me." Tohru looked up at his back from her position kneeling on the floor.
"I-I see…" Her hand was in mine a moment later as I pulled her back up to her feet. "I hated him when we were little, though." I paused for a moment at his words, then continued anchoring Tohru as she steadied herself, on two feet once again, both our attention centered firmly on him.
"Why was that?"
"Because he's the Rat." With those completely non-explanatory words he turned and took the ice pillow from Tohru's hands, then turned and continued on towards Yuki's room. "It's in the folk tale, remember? 'The Rat rode on the Ox's back.' I subconsciously resented him for that." He entered the room without looking back and the two of us hurried to catch up with him in order to hear the rest of the story as he placed the pillow carefully under Yuki's head. It's times like this I realize how very little we know about our Sohma friends. It's like they grew up in a completely different culture than us, which different social hierarchies and expectations.
"And the adults all around me," he continued. "Used to laugh and say the Ox got used that way because it was a stupid idiot." Now are these people who know of the curse, or random people commenting on the folk lore. Because if knowing adults said that to anyone, especially a child born into something he had no control over, that makes them a special kind of cruel. "It felt like they were saying I was a stupid idiot. So I felt really down on myself, and I blamed it on the Rat. I was always on edge, losing my temper at the drop of a hat. The Dark personality happened then. Put my parents to a lot of trouble. I took up martial arts to get rid of my stress." That martial arts teacher sure had a lot of business back in the day. Punching and kicking things seemed to be the go-to stress reliever for all the angry traumatized Sohma kids.
"But I couldn't get rid of it. I enjoyed martial arts, but it didn't stop people from making fun of me. Then one day, I came across Yuki. We'd never actually spoken before. I completely snapped and unleashed all that pent-up rage on him." What would a child have yelled to another? I'm no expert on children, but with teenagers at least I know self-hatred is at the core of most things. And when it explodes onto another, it's ugly, and hurtful, and leaves scars. And when a hurting child screams 'I hate you' at another hurting child, would the other believe it? Would the hurting child, being screamed at by a stranger, think 'I hate me too'?
…Well now I want to go give Yuki a hug. And Hamburger here, too. And Kyo, because why not? They've all had a rough time. This stupid curse, keeping me from comforting people. Because that's what everyone wants, isn't it? To be comforted. Told we're not alone, and we're fine just the way we are? Which is something I don't think these boys have been told often enough.
Guhh, I'm getting too deep for myself. Abort! Abort!
"After that, I lost my temper less. Yuki helped me say what I'd been bottling up most. He set my heart free. I was stunned. He was totally different from the Yuki I'd imagined…I was like them. I'd decided Yuki was the 'dirty Rat' without knowing him. I'm glad I met him that day. Otherwise, I'd still misunderstand him and hate him. That'd make me stupid for real."
Tohru knelt down beside him with a smile, while I continued standing with a hand to my chin.
"What a wonderful story." Not quite what I'm getting from it, though it had its highlights, I guess. What I'm realizing is how…suffocating…being a Sohma must be. We're hearing about people who are ostracized due to a story. Of hatred spurred on by others towards complete strangers, on the same basis. I couldn't imagine that. A whole clan full of adults and children alike who are blind to the world in front of them just because of the origin story of the family curse. Of course, I could never fully understand since my family doesn't have a curse. But I still couldn't imagine the actions of my ancestors reflecting back on me as a person just because I'm related to them. It's not the same but it was the closest comparison I could think of.
And it must be so stifling. So suffocating. To be limited by the expectations forced on you by so many and for something you had no way to control. The Sohma Clan must think the world is so small. And that their problems are the most important of all, if their voices have gotten loud enough with beliefs and opinions that they've crushed the worth of so many.
They all seem so narrow minded as I learned more about the clan. It must be so exhausting to be so lost in the past that they overlook the potential of the present moment.
"I was stunned today, too, actually. Yuki was quietly smiling while he stood next to you. He never smiled like that while he lived with the main family." He hasn't smiled like that until recently, if we're being precise. Not since that first time when we fought to protect his garden from a storm, and he said he'd play Rich-Man Poor-Man next time (which we did on New Years. He won, shocker). "That's why I thought both of you might be lightening his heart."
"Um!" Tohru yelped, arms coming up to wave him off once again. "L-like I said, I'm really not doing anything to deserve such credit!" I shrugged, then shook my head, because she's so unintentionally modest.
"Are you sure? Should we test it?" He moved forward and whispered something in Tohru's ear, then looked up at me with a hand held secretly to the side of his mouth. He received my dead-pan 'seriously' look, but since he'd recently gotten to my feels I bent down to his level to humor him as he then whispered presumably the same thing into my ear.
"Call him by his given name and see if he transforms." Um, no. I'd literally just gone on a mental crusade about how unfair this whole curse thing is. I'm not gonna turn around from that just to manipulate his feelings from him by exploiting that very curse. If we mean that much to him he can tell us in his own time, like any other teenager would.
Besides, from the side-long glances and soft looks I've seen aimed her way, Tohru's the only one needed to get a reaction.
At that very moment Yuki began to stir, and he turned to look at the three of us with groggy surprise.
"Hmm? Honda-san, Tori-san?"
"You're awake!" In leau of answering I crossed my arms and raised my eyebrows pompously. I was presently masking my concern by forming a speech on how irresponsible he was to ignore his health to such a degree. Then he ruined my mask by suddenly shooting up into a sitting position with wide eyes, causing my concern to rear its ugly head all over again.
"I just rememberd, I -" Tohru's and my arms shot out simultaneously, my right slapping into her left.
"Ah! Please stay in bed!"
"Lay back down! You were literally just unconscious!" He ignored us and put a hand up against his face in confusion as he tried to recall what had happened.
"How did I get home?"
"Hatsuharu-san became an ox for you." He put his hand back down as he processed Tohru's words.
"Thank you."
"Mm. By the way, I gave them the full details of how much I love you."
"Why would you tell them that, of all things? What if they take you seriously?"
"I am serious." He still looks pale. But he's always pale. Shaky? No, I don't think so. No coughing yet, either. So far so good.
"I-It was a really wonderful story, though…um…" She hesitated and twiddled her hands for a moment, and my heart thudded as I realized what she was building her confidence for. And suddenly, inexplicably, I didn't want her to try. I didn't want to see if it would get a reaction. My hand itched as I held back from slamming it over her mouth, confused on my reaction, yet simultaneously bracing myself. Because I already know.
"...Yuki-kun."
"You don't have to humor Har -" The moment he registered what she said was clear, as his eyes snapped open in shock, an instant blush spread across his face, and he cut himself off mid-sentence with a sharp gasp. And not even a moment later there was a sparkly blue explosion where he sat.
If it were Kyo or anyone else in this position I might have laughed, but as Tohru weakly denied Hamburger-kun's success I looked away from the Rat huddled in embarrassment on the pillow. And I frowned.
…
"We should've made you stay home."
"It's really no problem."
"But if Haru-san wasn't a Cow we could've been in trouble." Tohru was taking my side on the matter as opposed to Yuki's.
"Or we should've at least seen you were getting worse." He wouldn't meet Tohru's eyes, even hours after she'd called him by his name. He conversed with me just fine following, but blushes colored both of their cheeks when they next addressed each other after he turned back from his rat form.
I noted both instances with a clenched stomach and a fierce resolve to ignore the confusing emotions roiling through my veins.
"Didn't you hear?" Came Kyo's nazally voice through the kitchen doorway. "The Rat said it's fine. Besides," his eyes were closed as he spoke, and both he and Shigure had 'poof'ed into their animal forms not long before. "Colds usually get better fast. You don't need to worry so bad."
Thankfully Hatori-sama had already been called to check on Yuki, so it'll be convenient for all three to get checked and taken care of at the same time. He's due to arrive any minute now.
"And sometimes they don't get better, so we're entitled to worry all we want." My voice was raised so he could hear me from where I stood in the kitchen with Tohru and Yuki, making soup for the burning up idiots laid out on the floor in the living room, Haru kneeling at their heads to keep them company.
"But you're right, Kyo-kun. Maybe we're over-reacting a bit," cue pointed look my way from identical eyes before her voice softened to again only address us. "We were just worried, Yuki-kun."
"I understand, and I apologize. Next time I'll try to be more careful so you don't need to worry so much." As they gazed at each other I looked back down at the soup and continued stirring, wondered what would've happened if I'd been the one to call him by his name.
Then I shook the thought from my head, covered the soup, and excused myself to go to our room.
It wasn't worth thinking about.
…
When Hatori-sama arrived Tohru's favorite sick-day soup was just about finished. It was the soup I made best since it was once also mom's favorite sick-day soup, and sick days are the only days that usually call for soup anyway, so why bother with any other recipe? Besides, after deciding earlier to keep my school life separate from my home life and relationships I was now free to fret to my heart's content, and the freedom of not constantly misdirecting my feelings onto others was liberating . Once I managed to convince myself I'm okay, the evening even started turning out to be semi-decent, and I was in a better mood than I'd been since school started.
So before he could sneak out after checking Yuki, getting temperatures and giving fever reducers to Tohru for when they eventually turned back, I shoved a bowl into Hatori-sama's hands.
"If you don't mind, Kyo-kun has road burn. On his face." He didn't say a word, just turned to look at Kyo and the basic treatment I'd managed when he got home earlier before poofing, and raised an eyebrow for the story.
"Don't ask!" But he took the bowl from me obligingly and took a seat on the floor next to Kyo's prone form to eat and wait until he poofed out of his Cat form nearly a half hour later.
The wait was just fine, especially since Kyo didn't seem like he'd tell his story. Now that the day's excitement had calmed and Kyo was being properly treated, the story was a funny one. And I'm in a story-telling mood (plus, the best stories are the ones that make at least one of my Sohma boys turn pink. This one fit the bill.)
And as I continued to make Kyo squawk as his face was worked on - I'd moved on to other stories at this point - I decided to call Hana after Hatori-sama leaves to see if she was feeling alright after sitting in the cold even longer than these two. And maybe after that I'd drown myself in homework.
Much later in the evening I finally collapsed next to Tohru in bed, curling around her and falling almost instantly to sleep. Hana was feeling miraculously alright. And I got all my homework done for the next few days.
Anything to ignore how Tohru and Sohma-kun still weren't looking at each other.
¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Yuki, Kyo, and Tohru sat in the living room one evening. Kyo and Tohru sat watching TV at the table while Yuki sat against the wall reading a book. Kyo eventually slid his eyes away from the TV to address the other two.
"Hey, didn't I hear Haru earlier? Where'd he go?"
"He's still here," Yuki answered, looking up from his book. "Though I'm not sure where. He disappeared after turning Black and saying vulgar things to Miss Honda." A vein popped on the Cat's forehead and he clenched a fist in front of him.
"That punk." Tohru waved her hands frantically in front of him.
"Eto, it really wasn't…so bad." She sounded unconvincing even to herself.
"He better not be causing trouble." Silence lapsed once again and they turned back to the TV, and Yuki back to his book. Before long the silence was interrupted once more, this time by a loud growl from Kyo's stomach.
"How much longer is it gonna take?!"
"I'm sure it won't be much longer!" Tohru placated quickly, as if she was the one in trouble. Yuki looked up from his book again.
"Do you know what Tori-san is making for dinner?" The door beside him leading to Shigure's office slid open with a bang! causing all three teenagers to jump as the adult gleefully joined their conversation.
"Hamburgers!"
[o]
Lol, sorry, I had to. Little non-fic-cannon stories like this literally keep me up at night, and this one was funny so I decided to write it down and share it with you guys. It's probably currently my favorite part of this whole fic, no joke.
Anyway,
1. I had to bring Shigure's song back. When that was left out of the first season I was devastated.
2. I love Tori and Haru's initial relationship. There's so much potential here.
3. Editing this chapter took a while since it's where Tori begins to realize her budding feelings for Yuki, who is beginning to realize his budding feelings for Tohru. I want things to start off subtly, so had a hard time finding the right balance between too-obvious and too-subtle.
4. Did I mention this is an ultra slow-burn? Just like the show.