Colour of the Roses

Shigure, Yuki, Kyo and Kisa ate silently under the thingy, listening to the storm outside. Yuki felt himself shudder inwardly at the thought of Tohru being out of the house in this rainy mess. Even if she was staying with Arisa-san and Saki-san for the evening.

"Hana-chan asked Uo-chan and me to stay at her house tonight. I've made nori-tama for supper (there's also shiokara for Kyo-kun!). I'll be home to see Kisa-san in the morning! XOXO, Tohru."

Yuki and Kyo had come back from the drugstore with Shigure to this message and a platter of shiokara waiting on the countertop. Shigure lifted the covering on the dish and tried to sneak a little taste while Yuki and Kyo pondered – or, more accurately – argued over the note.

"That's weird. She didn't mention she was going out."

"Not that you ever listen anyway, stupid cat."

"I do listen, you damn rat! That one time I didn't hear her, and you always turn it against me!"

"Well, if the shoe fits."

"Oh you two...stop having your little lover's quarrels, won't you? It's time to eat Tohru-kun's lovely dish of shiokara," said Shigure, setting out dishes with Kisa. "C'mon, c'mon, don't make me eat this all by myself!"

Thunder rumbled towards the east. The wind roared like the ocean, but somehow seemed like a high-pitched sob...Rain drummed on the roof.

Suddenly, Kyo's cat ears pricked, listening and alert.

"Can you hear that?"

"It's called thunder."

"I know that! But can you hear that...other sound?"

Yuki continued eating calmly and replied, "I can hear the door's come loose, if that is the sound you mean.

He turned and saw the back door open, storm rain pouring into Tohru's oh-so-spic-and-span kitchen. Damn Yuki to always be right. But still...it wouldn't do to have Tohru come home to a mess in the kitchen. Sighing, he heaved himself to his feet and turned into the kitchen to shut the door.

Kyo stepped over the puddle of water forming on the floor and leaned over the countertop to shut the door. Reaching for a forgotten hand towel, he bent down to mop up the tiles. Lying pathetically on the floor in the water, mewing softly –

"Is there a cat in the house? I can smell cat from here," said Shigure, spooning more fish into his mouth.

"You don't have to be a dog to smell a wet cat," said Yuki, wrinkling his nose. He hated wet cats...it made him think of Kyo on a rainy day when he was at his worst. The very scent made him feel like arguing. His voice sounded coldly edgy as he spoke:

"Kyo, can't you please tell your feline friends to stay out of the house, particularly when wet?"

Kyo's voice echoed angrily from the kitchen:

"Shut up, ok! I can't help it! I don't even know how it got in here!" Kyo reached down for the bedraggled lump of brown fur, fully prepared to throw it back out into the rain. He froze stock-still as the small cat turned over in his arms and spoke, in a soft, almost silent whisper.

"Kyo...kun? Yuki...kun?"

Then there was a loud poof of pink smoke again and Kyo nearly dropped her.

Tohru's eyes shifted back and forth behind her eyelids, and she could feel both Yuki's and Kyo's weight on either side of the bed, sitting with her. Wrapped in one of the kimonos from the linen closet, the silk to her mind felt faintly rough and the very thought of it made her shiver. But she couldn't understand why...There seemed to be a blank spot in her mind, as though looking at a place and suddenly going blind. She just wanted to go to sleep, and try and forget what she barely remembered. Something about the rain...and Hatori...and transforming?

Yuki watched Tohru's face as her worried muscles relaxed, trying to sort through his head what had happened earlier that night.

"Tohru-kun!"

"What do you mean, Tohru? What, did she forget something?" asked Shigure, finally getting up to investigate.

Kisa, at the sound of Tohru's name, padded over to investigate, with Yuki right behind.

The three of them were floored as they came around the counter and saw Kyo laying a naked Tohru onto the floor, her hair wet from the rain.

"What happened? I thought it was just a cat!" panicked Yuki, dodging forward to kneel beside her form on the floor. There were heavy scratch marks, and dark bruises on her abdomen and legs...He averted his eyes quickly and glared at his cousin. "You said it was just a cat!"

"It was just a cat!" cried Kyo, throwing up his arms. "It was just a brown cat until it turned into Tohru-kun!" He was trying not to look down either, but he could see her face, marked with blows, a cut above her eye. He could just hear Kisa's quiet voice in the background, saying what they were all thinking:

"But that's...impossible..."