Kokoro no Hitan
I looked at Yuki, he shrugged his shoulders. We couldn't very well put her on one of our backs, that would just lead to a transformation, and that wouldn't help at all.
We were in a tight spot. I could feel a sweatdrop forming on the back of my head.
A bunch of random plans flashed through my mind. Yuki holding Tohru's feet and me holding her arms, carrying her out. We lay her on a sheet or something, and then each of us grab an end and use it like a hammock. We hold hands and she sits on them, then we each grab one of her arms and hold them to our shoulders...And considering the former ones seemed like a stretch, and I really didn't want to hold rat-boy's hand, all my plans were thrown in the 'scrap' pile.
Yuki looked like he was having about as much trouble coming up with a plan as I was. He had spaced out, and was staring at a random patch of air in the schoolyard. This was going no where, fast.
I dropped my head and sighed. "Tohru, why won't you just come home with us?" I grabbed her hand and waited for her to look up so our eyes could meet. They slowly crept up to peer into mine. "Please?"
Her eyes were brimmed with tears. Oh no....Come on....
Yuki wrapped his own hand around hers and began to stand up. "Come on, now, Tohru, let's go home."
I began to stand as well. My ankles were starting to hurt from squatting, anyway.
She hesitantly got to her feet. Her legs were shaking when she was finally standing straight up.
"Let's go Tohru," Yuki said as he smiled at her. She nodded.
"Come on, let's go," I encouraged her.
Out of the corner of my eye, I swear she smiled. Maybe it was only for a brief moment, an instant, but I still think she smiled.
-Kyo Sohma
~~~
No one expected to hear that Hatsuharu had died in the courtyard.
There were many shocked faces at the reception after Kagura's funeral. They all had thought he had just gone permenantly Black, and although that would have been annoying and would've taken a little getting used to, they all had accepted it. None of them had seen this coming. None of them had expected to see two Sohmas, and of the zodiac no less, put in the ground that day.
Everyone was uneasy at Hatsuharu's funeral. Maybe it was because they had just sat down to eat and now where being rushed back into the room they had been in just hours before, or maybe it was because they never expected to see the color of Hatsuharu's skin match his hair so early in his life.
Akito also wasn't thrilled by the fact that all of the zodiac couldn't be there. Kyo and Yuki had ran off in the middle of Kagura's service in order to look for Tohru and now they were missing the farewell to a friend that they didn't even know was gone.
What am I going to tell them when I get home? Was the only thing I could think. How is Tohru going to take all of this?...She already feels guilty about Kagura's death, and now...
All I could do was sit there and pay my respect to the white and black haired teen who's life had ended far too soon.
Please, Tohru. Please know that this isn't your fault. We dont need....We don't need to relive this again with different faces in those coffins.
-Shigure Sohma
~~~
We walked slowly back to our house, because going back ot the main estate was completely out of the question. None of us wanted to head back there now. I felt guilty and disrespectful, running out on Kagura's service like that, but she was dead, and Tohru was still alive, and I wanted Tohru to stay that way. I was too late for Kagura, but I cared about Tohru too much to see her meet the same fate.
We had to walk back to the house slowly because Tohru was still unsteady on her feet. Though I know either of us would have gladly carried her, that just couldn't happen.
"Where's Hatsuharu when you need him?" I said jokingly, refering to back when he had transformed into an ox just to carry a sick Yuki home.
The mood seemed to worsen. I felt guilty about mentioning Hatsuharu. Something about it seemed more wrong than it should have been.
- - -
When we finally got home, we were all weary from the day's events, and night had already fallen.
While I let myself fall into a sitting postion on the floor, Yuki walked around the house, turning a few lights on.
"Shigure," he said, when he returned to the room where me and Tohru were sitting. "He's not home."
I looked at him with widened eyes. "What do you mean? He should have been home hours ago!"
Yuki shook his head. I was concerned. What could have possibly delayed Shigure that much?
It was then that we heard someone open the front door.
Shigure looked into the room and seemed to look as if he had expected to see us, yet he was surprised to see us at the same time. There was a very solemn look on his face. He knew something we didn't. I could feel the hair on the back of my neck stand up.
"Shigure....What's wrong?" I asked.
I could tell he didn't want to say it. His frown intensified along with his expression of grief. "Haru...Hatsuharu...He was...He was laid into the ground with Kagura today." He looked at the floor.
Yuki's eyes grew wide. "Shigure...you're not serious!...Haru...?"
Shigure's eyes looked blank, devoid of any light. "Tohru...," he said, looking at her with an agonized expression.
I looked at Tohru. Her eyes had gone blank. She was in a state of shock. I started to get worried.
"Please...it's not your fault....You have to listen to me...."
Everyone in the room could tell that she couldn't hear him.
"Tohru!" I yelled. No response. "Tohru!" I slapped her across the face. "You have to listen to Shigure! It's not your fault!"
Her eyes welled up with tears as she looked at me. She then hung her head and brought her knees up to her chest.
I could feel my eyes start to water as well. I could hear her sniffling. I put my arm around her. "Tohru. It's okay. It's not your fault."
"You're...wrong...," I heard her mumble through tears. "This...this would have never happened...if I hadn't shown up here..." She stood up, and walked to her room, her head still hung. All I could do was sit there and watch in shock as she walked away. Even Yuki looked shocked.
"Tohru!" he said. She didn't turn around. She didn't even stop walking.
The house was so quite that all of us heard her door close.
-Kyo Sohma
~~~
I looked at Yuki, he shrugged his shoulders. We couldn't very well put her on one of our backs, that would just lead to a transformation, and that wouldn't help at all.
We were in a tight spot. I could feel a sweatdrop forming on the back of my head.
A bunch of random plans flashed through my mind. Yuki holding Tohru's feet and me holding her arms, carrying her out. We lay her on a sheet or something, and then each of us grab an end and use it like a hammock. We hold hands and she sits on them, then we each grab one of her arms and hold them to our shoulders...And considering the former ones seemed like a stretch, and I really didn't want to hold rat-boy's hand, all my plans were thrown in the 'scrap' pile.
Yuki looked like he was having about as much trouble coming up with a plan as I was. He had spaced out, and was staring at a random patch of air in the schoolyard. This was going no where, fast.
I dropped my head and sighed. "Tohru, why won't you just come home with us?" I grabbed her hand and waited for her to look up so our eyes could meet. They slowly crept up to peer into mine. "Please?"
Her eyes were brimmed with tears. Oh no....Come on....
Yuki wrapped his own hand around hers and began to stand up. "Come on, now, Tohru, let's go home."
I began to stand as well. My ankles were starting to hurt from squatting, anyway.
She hesitantly got to her feet. Her legs were shaking when she was finally standing straight up.
"Let's go Tohru," Yuki said as he smiled at her. She nodded.
"Come on, let's go," I encouraged her.
Out of the corner of my eye, I swear she smiled. Maybe it was only for a brief moment, an instant, but I still think she smiled.
-Kyo Sohma
~~~
No one expected to hear that Hatsuharu had died in the courtyard.
There were many shocked faces at the reception after Kagura's funeral. They all had thought he had just gone permenantly Black, and although that would have been annoying and would've taken a little getting used to, they all had accepted it. None of them had seen this coming. None of them had expected to see two Sohmas, and of the zodiac no less, put in the ground that day.
Everyone was uneasy at Hatsuharu's funeral. Maybe it was because they had just sat down to eat and now where being rushed back into the room they had been in just hours before, or maybe it was because they never expected to see the color of Hatsuharu's skin match his hair so early in his life.
Akito also wasn't thrilled by the fact that all of the zodiac couldn't be there. Kyo and Yuki had ran off in the middle of Kagura's service in order to look for Tohru and now they were missing the farewell to a friend that they didn't even know was gone.
What am I going to tell them when I get home? Was the only thing I could think. How is Tohru going to take all of this?...She already feels guilty about Kagura's death, and now...
All I could do was sit there and pay my respect to the white and black haired teen who's life had ended far too soon.
Please, Tohru. Please know that this isn't your fault. We dont need....We don't need to relive this again with different faces in those coffins.
-Shigure Sohma
~~~
We walked slowly back to our house, because going back ot the main estate was completely out of the question. None of us wanted to head back there now. I felt guilty and disrespectful, running out on Kagura's service like that, but she was dead, and Tohru was still alive, and I wanted Tohru to stay that way. I was too late for Kagura, but I cared about Tohru too much to see her meet the same fate.
We had to walk back to the house slowly because Tohru was still unsteady on her feet. Though I know either of us would have gladly carried her, that just couldn't happen.
"Where's Hatsuharu when you need him?" I said jokingly, refering to back when he had transformed into an ox just to carry a sick Yuki home.
The mood seemed to worsen. I felt guilty about mentioning Hatsuharu. Something about it seemed more wrong than it should have been.
- - -
When we finally got home, we were all weary from the day's events, and night had already fallen.
While I let myself fall into a sitting postion on the floor, Yuki walked around the house, turning a few lights on.
"Shigure," he said, when he returned to the room where me and Tohru were sitting. "He's not home."
I looked at him with widened eyes. "What do you mean? He should have been home hours ago!"
Yuki shook his head. I was concerned. What could have possibly delayed Shigure that much?
It was then that we heard someone open the front door.
Shigure looked into the room and seemed to look as if he had expected to see us, yet he was surprised to see us at the same time. There was a very solemn look on his face. He knew something we didn't. I could feel the hair on the back of my neck stand up.
"Shigure....What's wrong?" I asked.
I could tell he didn't want to say it. His frown intensified along with his expression of grief. "Haru...Hatsuharu...He was...He was laid into the ground with Kagura today." He looked at the floor.
Yuki's eyes grew wide. "Shigure...you're not serious!...Haru...?"
Shigure's eyes looked blank, devoid of any light. "Tohru...," he said, looking at her with an agonized expression.
I looked at Tohru. Her eyes had gone blank. She was in a state of shock. I started to get worried.
"Please...it's not your fault....You have to listen to me...."
Everyone in the room could tell that she couldn't hear him.
"Tohru!" I yelled. No response. "Tohru!" I slapped her across the face. "You have to listen to Shigure! It's not your fault!"
Her eyes welled up with tears as she looked at me. She then hung her head and brought her knees up to her chest.
I could feel my eyes start to water as well. I could hear her sniffling. I put my arm around her. "Tohru. It's okay. It's not your fault."
"You're...wrong...," I heard her mumble through tears. "This...this would have never happened...if I hadn't shown up here..." She stood up, and walked to her room, her head still hung. All I could do was sit there and watch in shock as she walked away. Even Yuki looked shocked.
"Tohru!" he said. She didn't turn around. She didn't even stop walking.
The house was so quite that all of us heard her door close.
-Kyo Sohma
~~~