Kyo felt as if he were packed in cotton. His eyes were clouded and his mouth was covered with some plastic contraption. His arms were tied to the bed beside him, strange tubes running into or out of them. He looked around the room. Oh, it was the hospital dream again. He almost wished he could wake up from this one. An unfamiliar face came into view. A woman of about middle age with dark hair pinned back into a tight bun, with a mask over her mouth and nose, looked down at him.
He felt her reach out and pull open one of his eyes and a bright flash of light entered painfully. Kyo flinched away from the light.
"Oh, so you are awake now? Okay, then let's see if we can take this away." and the plastic cup over his face was slowly taken off. "Now, try to breath normally and let's see how your oxygen intake is. Good, once more. Okay. The doctor is on his way and you have a visitor." then she moved out of his line of sight. Kyo was relieved.
She scared him and annoyed him.
"How is our patient, nurse?"
"He's alive. His pupils are responsive and now, so is he. His blood pressure is back to normal and his O2 count is back up. I'm surprised, but you are the best, Doctor."
"Well, Sohma-san, how are you feeling?"
"Great, so can I have my pants back?"
"In good time. You have a visitor, do you feel up to it?"
"Who is it?"
"Your cousin is here to see you."
"You are going to have to be a little more specific than that, Sensei."
"Ahh, I see. Well, this is one, Sohma Yuki. So now, how are we feeling about a visit from him?"
"Well, since I don't know how you feel about him, I can't answer for you. But, I would like to see him, so why don't WE let him in, okay?" The doctor scowled at his patients flippant responses but crossed to the door and spoke to the man out there. Soon, the door opened and Yuki came through it. The doctor said something to him and left the room. Yuki crossed to Kyo under the watchful gaze of the nurse and pulled a chair up to the bed. Kyo monitored his progress and noticed the look of disapproval on the face of the nurse. This amused him in some way. For the first time he could remember, Yuki was not the golden boy of the family. Someone didn't love his cousin on first sight. It amused him at first, then it annoyed him. Who was this woman to pass judgement on any of his family? He wished she would leave.
"Can I talk to my cousin in private?" he asked.
"Doctors orders. You are not to be left alone. I have my instructions, just pretend I'm not here."
"That is very difficult, as you present such a large and unsightly image. Yuki, is anyone else here?"
"Yes, almost everyone came. Shigure and Tohru, Haru and Kagura. We were so worried. They said you almost died. Kyo, don't ever do anything like that again."
"You brought me riceballs. Thank you. I didn't really eat them, though."
"Yeah, I figured that out, baka."
"I'm sorry."
"They were just riceballs."
"For everything. You and I, the fights, the hatred. I don't know why it happened."
"In the past. Forget it. For now, you need to get well. They said you have to talk to the psychologist and a few other things. Most important you have to eat."
"I don't think I can, Yuki. It's strange but I am afraid too."
"Kyo, you aren't afraid of anything. Remember?"
"I am now. What a thing to be afraid of huh? What is in these things?" He pointed at the bags hanging from the poles that had lines runing into his arms. Yuki shook his head. He couldn't answer his cousin. The 'nurse who wasn't there' chimed in.
"That is a solution of water and sucrose. It is to replace some of your bodies missing sugar and there is an electrolyte solution in this one. Your body was replete in that also. As well as potassium and a few other minerals."
"Thank you for supporting the image of you not being here so well."
"Kyo, when did you become so antagonistic to strangers?" Yuki asked quietly. He had never heard Kyo use tones like that to adults and it was confusing to him.
"Ever since I woke up to this crazy hospital dream and people keep making ridiculous suggestion and asking me stupid questions, like 'how doWE feel about seeing your cousin?' I hate that." Yuki laughed at the way Kyo imitated the doctor. And Kyo smiled back at him.
"Ah, don't worry Yuki, when I wake up you'll be free of this dream and then things will be just fine."
"Only one problem with that Kyo. This isn't a dream."