Kyo found himself in a strange dream. He was laying on a gurney being raced through a local hospital. Lights passed over his head and he heard the distant sound
of a doctor saying things that made no sense to him. Words like Stat and hemoglobin, plasma and O-2. He wondered to himself why he would dream such a thing.
He also wondered why his dream hurt. He felt the prick of the needle as an IV unit was connected to his arm and his stomach rolled as he was wheeled around a harrowing corner at a dangerous speed. He felt the oxygen mask placed on his face and then the dream was no more. He slipped into blessed oblivion again.
Yuki sat on a hard backed chair. Shigure paced the small waiting room. Tohru twitched her hair and muttered things about how she should have done something. Haru was bordering on becoming 'black' and Kagura was about to start displaying her great love for the neko. Yuki thought he should probably say something to at least one of them, comfort them in some way. He couldn't. He had seen the look on Kyo's face when he had come to the window this morning. He had seen the way his skin clung to his bones when the paramedics had cut his t-shirt away to restart his heart. He had seen the truth of what had happened to his once vibrant and hostile cousin. He had seen what Akito had done to him. It scared him. He looked down at the roll of paper in his hands. He had held it the entire time. Never once creasing it nor opening it. He leaned foreward and pulled the small coffee table toward him. He carefully removed the magazines that were scattered around it and slowly rolled out the large sheet of ricepaper that he had held for so many hours. There before him was a carefully drawn sketch of himself. He stared at it. The picture portrayed the school festival, the booth was in the background and the other students were arranged around it.
Yuki was in the foreground as he had been that day. His purpose to attract customers to the room and then they would buy the riceballs. Yuki recalled that day.
He had spent the day in extreme embarrassment. He had been forced to wear a costume to attract those same customers, a dress. Kyo had drawn him dressed in a dress but not like the one he had actually endured. This one was a nice dress. It looked oddly good on the picture of Yuki. Why had Kyo done this? What reason would his cousin have to alter reality so? Yuki remembered the pile of papers on the desk in the little room Kyo had been kept in. He wondered if there had been other such pictures. He also wondered about the comment Kyo had made when eating that first riceball. He had said something about a dress. Yuki felt himself carefully roll the protrait up and place it protectively on the seat beside him. The doctor in charge of Kyo came into the waiting room. He was tired from the looks of him and Yuki could see the bags under his eyes and the wrinkles of stress across is forehead. This man was agitated and Yuki could imagine why.
"His condition is stable for now. He is under observation and will have to remain here for an indeterminate time. We need to get him to a safe point. He will also have to undergo psychiatric evaluation. Does anyone here know why he would have tried to do this?" The doctor scanned the faces in the room. Tohru cried silently and Kagure bawled loudly. Haru was near to exploding at the doctor's implication, and Shigure, for once, had no ready answer. Yuki stepped foreward.
"He was not happy. He felt his life was hopeless and I think I didn't help him much. I wish I could make it up to him." The doctor asked him who he was and his relationship to the patient. Yuki answered his questions admitting that Kyo and he had fought for years claiming a hatred for each other. Yuki admitted to the doctor that he didn't really hate his cousin, and wanted to tell him that. He told the doctor that Kyo was difficult to talk to, but that he was willing to make an effort to befriend his rival and the doctor said it would take time and that at first no one would be allowed in with Kyo unsupervised. Yuki visably relaxed. If the doctor was telling the truth, then Kyo was safe for now. Even Akito couldn't get to him here. The doctor asked Yuki if he was willing to take that first step now. Yuki jumped at the chance.
He also wondered why his dream hurt. He felt the prick of the needle as an IV unit was connected to his arm and his stomach rolled as he was wheeled around a harrowing corner at a dangerous speed. He felt the oxygen mask placed on his face and then the dream was no more. He slipped into blessed oblivion again.
Yuki sat on a hard backed chair. Shigure paced the small waiting room. Tohru twitched her hair and muttered things about how she should have done something. Haru was bordering on becoming 'black' and Kagura was about to start displaying her great love for the neko. Yuki thought he should probably say something to at least one of them, comfort them in some way. He couldn't. He had seen the look on Kyo's face when he had come to the window this morning. He had seen the way his skin clung to his bones when the paramedics had cut his t-shirt away to restart his heart. He had seen the truth of what had happened to his once vibrant and hostile cousin. He had seen what Akito had done to him. It scared him. He looked down at the roll of paper in his hands. He had held it the entire time. Never once creasing it nor opening it. He leaned foreward and pulled the small coffee table toward him. He carefully removed the magazines that were scattered around it and slowly rolled out the large sheet of ricepaper that he had held for so many hours. There before him was a carefully drawn sketch of himself. He stared at it. The picture portrayed the school festival, the booth was in the background and the other students were arranged around it.
Yuki was in the foreground as he had been that day. His purpose to attract customers to the room and then they would buy the riceballs. Yuki recalled that day.
He had spent the day in extreme embarrassment. He had been forced to wear a costume to attract those same customers, a dress. Kyo had drawn him dressed in a dress but not like the one he had actually endured. This one was a nice dress. It looked oddly good on the picture of Yuki. Why had Kyo done this? What reason would his cousin have to alter reality so? Yuki remembered the pile of papers on the desk in the little room Kyo had been kept in. He wondered if there had been other such pictures. He also wondered about the comment Kyo had made when eating that first riceball. He had said something about a dress. Yuki felt himself carefully roll the protrait up and place it protectively on the seat beside him. The doctor in charge of Kyo came into the waiting room. He was tired from the looks of him and Yuki could see the bags under his eyes and the wrinkles of stress across is forehead. This man was agitated and Yuki could imagine why.
"His condition is stable for now. He is under observation and will have to remain here for an indeterminate time. We need to get him to a safe point. He will also have to undergo psychiatric evaluation. Does anyone here know why he would have tried to do this?" The doctor scanned the faces in the room. Tohru cried silently and Kagure bawled loudly. Haru was near to exploding at the doctor's implication, and Shigure, for once, had no ready answer. Yuki stepped foreward.
"He was not happy. He felt his life was hopeless and I think I didn't help him much. I wish I could make it up to him." The doctor asked him who he was and his relationship to the patient. Yuki answered his questions admitting that Kyo and he had fought for years claiming a hatred for each other. Yuki admitted to the doctor that he didn't really hate his cousin, and wanted to tell him that. He told the doctor that Kyo was difficult to talk to, but that he was willing to make an effort to befriend his rival and the doctor said it would take time and that at first no one would be allowed in with Kyo unsupervised. Yuki visably relaxed. If the doctor was telling the truth, then Kyo was safe for now. Even Akito couldn't get to him here. The doctor asked Yuki if he was willing to take that first step now. Yuki jumped at the chance.