Chapter 3- Awakening
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Somebody was crying, very faintly as if a great distance separated them. Yuki turned his head towards the sound. He tried to call out to them, tell them it that it would be alright, whatever it was. He couldn't find them. Now they were calling his name. Yuki started running towards the direction the voice was coming from, for he recognized it as Ms. Honda's voice, and he never wanted her to cry. Yuki was trying to figure out whether this was real, or whether this was hell trying to torture him. If it was real, then he was disappointed he wasn't dead, because he had failed his goal. If it was hell, he would rather be anywhere then there, because he had always hated to see Ms. Honda in pain. There was a light ahead in the apparent darkness and he ran towards it. He ran as though his life depended on it. And maybe it did.
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Tohru sat by Yuki's bedside every minute that she was awake. Most times she would sit there in silence, not noticing the warm tears that were running down her cheeks. She bent down, and whispered in Yuki's ear, "Yuki…. Yuki… Come back to me Yuki… Don't you dare leave me, or your strawberries. Yuki!!" She started sobbing into his shoulder, great heaving sobs shaking her body and soul. She started when a hand took her own, and screamed when she realized that it was Yuki's.
"YUKI!!!!! KYO!! MINNA!!!! YUKI'S AWAKE!!!" she yelled, causing the whole household to come running into the room. She smiled at Yuki, who eye's had opened, and were still a dim purple, but they were open. She went to hug him, but remembered herself just in time. Instead she held his arm like it would disappear if she let go, so she held on with all her might.
"Don't ever do that to me again, okay?" she whispered to him. Yuki's eyelids fluttered before he muttered, "Okay…"
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Tohru, Shigure and Kyo had finally returned to Shigure's house after a week of staying at the main house. Tohru was silent for a minute when they first entered, and then she squealed "Oh my! This house has gotten messy real quick!!" and then she went into a cleaning frenzy. Kyo just shook his head and muttered, "That's my princess…" before heading upstairs for a well-deserved sleep. He had stayed up 24/7, watching over Tohru when she slept, and also checking in on Yuki. It was a surprise that he hadn't collapsed already, after a week of this schedule.
Shigure sat down and sighed. He was glad that his little cousin was going to be okay. He had been worried. Ah well, alls well that ends well right? Ha.
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Sohma Hatsuharu wandered along the streets of his town. He had nowhere to go to. He was wanted back at the family house, and there was *no* chance in hell that he was going back to Shigure's house, after seeing… seeing how… how little Kyo really did care for him. Haru had waited all those long years, and still… Still Kyo refused to accept him! Haru punched the concrete wall, the side of an abandoned movie theater. He didn't notice the blood dripping down his hand, all he knew was that it was refreshing to hit this thing he was calling Kyo. Over and over again he hit it, not stopping until he could hit it no more.
'How could he do this? How could she do this? It's all her fault… All her fault godammit!! If she had never met our family… if only… Then Kyo would be mine! That's all I ever wanted… He is my first and only love…My heart feels… feels as if he ripped it out and stamped on it, and then stabbed it, over and over again. It is bleeding…'
He looked at his hands, grimaced, and kept walking.
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Tohru finished cleaning with a satisfied sigh. She swayed in the spot she was standing, and she decided it was time for a nap. God only knew that she had barely gotten any sleep in the last week or so. She trudged upstairs, her head hanging, as she recalled the events of the past week. It was like a movie playing back in her head, and she couldn't switch it off.
Flashback – Tohru's POV
Yuki looked so very pale, it seemed like he was a ghost. I uttered a soft scream at the sight of him, convinced that he was dead. Kyo turned to me, his eyes filled with worry. "He's gonna be okay princess, ne?" he asked me, pain making his strong voice quaver. I nodded, slowly, wanting to believe him. That was the first day.
The next days were all of the same manner, filled with worrying over Yuki-kun. He is so precious to all of us, I don't know what we'll do if… if… if he isn't… okay. As much as Kyo say's that he hates Yuki (Kuso nezumi, as he says it), even he is worried about Yuki-kun, although he tries not to show it. I stay by Yuki's bedside almost every single minute of the day, except for when Kyo-kun makes me go to sleep, though I never sleep for long.
On the third day Akito came to visit Yuki. He went up to the bed, and stroked his cheek delicately. His eyes visibly soften when they rested on Yuki. It made me question the extent of their relationship. But that was technically none of my business, so I wouldn't go poking my nose into it. Anybody else probably would have, but that just wasn't the way I was. Nobody could understand me because of that, because I liked to mind my own business. They called me a freak, but I learned to ignore it. What was the point of letting it get to me? Those people didn't really know me. Nope. They never wanted to.
Akito turned around suddenly and glared at me. He came over to the chair I was sitting in, and hissed at me, "This is all your fault, you pathetic girl. You will *never* be a part of this family, so leave now, before anybody else ends up like your, precious, Yuki." He then turned around and walked out the door, leaving me sitting there, stunned. Him saying that only confirmed my fear that I was really hurting the Sohma family by staying at Shigure's house. I would have to leave. That was that.
I had made my decision. I would stay until Yuki-kun woke up, and then I would leave. I would stop burdening this family that I had come to… to love. But no matter how much I loved them, I was only hurting them in the long run, and I had to leave. I would wait. I could wait.
End Flashback – End Tohru POV
Tears filled Tohru's eyes as she packed a small rucksack. She only brought the essentials, clothes, the picture of her mother, a few books and she would stop in the kitchen for some food. She wiped stray tears from her eyes, reminding herself that this was for the best. She walked down to the kitchen, and put some food into her bag. As she headed for the front door, it opened, and in walked Haru. She gaped at the site of him for he was a mess. His hands were ripped to shreds and his eyes were bloodshot. "Haru-chan… What happened to you? Do you want help?" Tohru asked, her huge blue eyes filled with alarm. Haru turned his head, noticing her for the first time since he had entered. His eyes were a black void, completely free of any emotion. That changed as he realized who exactly he was facing. He started towards her, his face contorted in anger. "It's… all your… fault! Kyo… I've lost him!" He howled, as he approached Tohru. She paused for a second, terrified for her life, then fled out the door. She ran into the dark forest of Japan, hours before the sun was to rise.
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Kyo shot up in his bed when he heard a howl coming from downstairs. He stumbled down the stairs in the dark, with only a ham sandwich as his defense against the intruder. He flipped on the light in the living room, and was greeted with the sight of something crumpled on the floor, shaking with what sounded like sobs. He walked drearily over to the… well he didn't know what to call it, and poked it with his… sandwich. The figure looked up, and Kyo saw with a shock that it was Haru… His cousin. Lying on the floor like his life had just ended, yet he wasn't dead.
"Haru…. What happened to you?" Kyo asked timidly.
Haru glared at him before answering with, "As if you care." That caused Kyo to have a bewildered look on his face, because he didn't know why Haru thought he didn't care.
"Haru… I might not act like it, but I do care. Really, I do." Kyo said gently, kneeling down beside Haru, his two-faced cousin. Haru looked up at him, utterly vulnerable. He was giving himself to Kyo to do with what he would. Kyo tentatively wrapped his arms around his cousin, and was relieved when it was accepted. Haru relaxed in Kyo's arms, finally at peace.
Tohru was in the woods, lost. There was nowhere for her to go now, it was too late to bother anyone. Frankly, she was scared, and hurt on the inside. She had just given up everything she had ever cared about voluntarily. It was almost like losing her mother again. She finally just sat down under a tree, and fell asleep. She slept until midday, and by that time the Sohma's had realized that she was missing.
XXXXXXKyo went to go wake Tohru up. He was surprised that she hadn't woken up last night, with all the commotion the Haru had caused, but then again it wasn't all that surprising. They had had a challenging week, and he was happy it was over.
"Tohru! Wake up princess… Breakfast is ready! Shigure got up extra early just to make it for us" Kyo paused for a minute, letting her have a chance to reply. But when she hadn't replied for a few minutes, Kyo pushed open the door slowly, and peered inside. There was her closet, neat at always, the floor (not a single piece of clothing on it!), and her bed…. Empty… He walked over to the bed in a sort of stunned silence. There was a note.
Dear Kyo-kun, Shigure-sama, Yuki-kun, and Haru,
Gomen gomen about leaving, but please don't worry about me. I'll be fine. I realized something the other day, and I have to go do it, so please, just forget all about me and live your lives to the fullest. I have a house to go to, and people to stay with, so don't send anyone out to look for me. I have everything I need. Arigato, minna, for I never would have made it this far without you.
Love always,
Tohru Honda
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Tohru sat up, sore, stiff and cold, but happy. She had saved the people she loved from anymore hurt. What she didn't realize was that the whole Sohma household, minus Akito, was out looking for her. Well, she would find that out later. For now, she just wanted to get as far away as possible so she stood up, and began walking.
XXXA/N: Sooo…. What did you guys think? I had totally given up on this story, but then I got a few more reviews, and that inspired me to start it up again. Special thanks to ShigureSohmaAngelGirl and B-chan77 for getting me back to writing this story. Please, the reviews mean soooo much, they really help. So remember, leave a review, and you will be shined upon by the anime god!!
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And now… the unfortunate business of dealing with a nasty nasty review… This is *my* story, so I will change the characters personality's as I see fit, which hopefully won't be all that much. But to anyone who complains about this fic being OOC… get a life. It's a story. It's allowed to be OOC. Just get over it.
*Wipes brow* I'm glad that's over with. Now, review onegai!!!!!!