Disclaimer: Me no own.

In Honor of Kyoko

That night, Tohru found herself walking through a large grove of trees. It had become quite cold a few hours ago, so she wore a jacket. She'd never changed out of her school uniform.

It had been smelling like rain for a while, and Tohru could only hope she'd be spared. Unfortunately, her luck was not improving. Only a few minutes later, lightning flashed against the dark sky and rain came pouring down.

Tohru fervently hoped her flashlight was waterproof as she ducked beneath an overhanging shrub. It wasn't much protection, and the water that dripped on her felt dirty against her skin; it picked up grit from the leaves of the bush.

Tohru stumbled out from beneath the shrub. As she stood up straight, an owl swooped down, tangling its talons in her hair. Tohru shrieked and twisted away. Dropping her flashlight, Tohru ran as fast as she could.

Tohru quickly grew tired. Her bag was heavy, and it slapped against her leg. Her hair was dripping, and her clothes were plastered against her body. Her shoes sunk deep into the mud with every step, letting mud leak into them, before being pulled free with sucking sounds when she lifted them once again.

Tohru's vision was also beginning to blur, and her body felt numb. Through the fog clouding her vision, a light began to appear, small and dim at first, then bigger and brighter.

Tohru felt her legs stop moving and dropped her bag, her fingers aching from clutching it so tightly. The light filled her view. 'Ara, now I'm seeing things,' she thought before consciousness slipped away and she hit the ground.

"Nyo?" Sohma Shigure looked up from his dinner. Sohma Yuki, known as "the prince" at his and Tohru's school, looked up as well.

"What?" he asked his cousin.

Shigure peered out the window. "I swear I just heard someone scream out there."

Yuki snorted. "As if you'd find anyone out there on a night like this!"

"All the same, I think I'll go have a look-look," Shigure replied.

"Have fun," Yuki said with sarcasm.

Shigure stood up and walked to the entry room. Picking out a coat, he slipped it on. He also picked up an umbrella.

"Yuki, come with me!" he called cheerfully.

"NO," Yuki responded very firmly.

Shigure ran back into the other room. "It'll be fuuuuuun," he said, dragging Yuki back to the front room by the arm.

"I said n—" Yuki's protest was muffled as Shigure pulled a sweater over his head.

"Time to investigate!" Shigure lifted Yuki up and set him in a pair of rain boots. Stepping into a pair of his own, Shigure grabbed Yuki's hand and pulled him out the door.

Outside, both scanned the fringe of the forest surrounding the house. Nothing appeared to be there.

"I told you nothing would be out here," Yuki said, annoyed. He turned to go back inside.

"Matte," Shigure said, grabbing Yuki's shoulder. "What is that over there?"

Yuki squinted to look at the spot Shigure was pointing at. He couldn't make anything through the sheets of rain.

"I don't—" Shigure cut him off.

"I think something's there." He led Yuki over to the area he'd spotted a bundle on the ground. He halted in front of it. "Good God…" Lying on the ground was a girl, a duffel bag next to her.

"Yuki, hold the umbrella," Shigure said, pushing it into the younger boy's hands without waiting for a protest. For once, his face was serious. But Yuki gave none. He silently held the umbrella over all three people as best he could and looked down at the girl Shigure was now stooping to pick up.

As lightning flashed, Yuki could see Tohru's face a little better, but didn't quite recognize her.

"Shigure, I know that girl," Yuki said. Shigure stood up, now holding Tohru in his arms and looked at him.

"Really? Who's she then?" Shigure asked. Yuki shrugged.

"I can't see too well out here. But I know her."

"Hmm, well that makes things a little easier," Shigure replied. "You can figure it out inside. Now give me the umbrella. You carry that bag in."

When they got inside, Shigure dropped the umbrella and stepped out of his rain boots, then walked away. Yuki followed suit, and followed the older man into the bathroom.

As Yuki walked in, he saw Shigure running water in the sink and dipping several cloths in it. Tohru's jacket hung on a peg on the wall.

"What are you doing?" Yuki asked, eying his uncle as he closed the door.

I am going to get that mud off her, dry her off, and change her into that," Shigure said, pointing to a robe of Yuki's, which was hanging on another peg.

Yuki rolled his eyes. His uncle really wasn't safe left alone with high school girls. Yuki glanced at the girl on the floor. Now that the light was better, he recognized her easily.

"Honda-san?" Shigure looked up with question on his face. "That's Honda Tohru," Yuki explained. "She's in my class. Now out."

"Pardon?" Shigure asked.

"You'll do weird things to her." Yuki opened the door and pointed out to the hallway. Shigure knew when he couldn't win and argument. He left, making puppy eyes at Yuki.

As soon as Shigure shut the door behind him, Yuki began to wipe Tohru down with the cloths Shigure had soaked in the warm water. She'd almost definitely catch a cold as it was, so it was important to get her warm and dry as quickly as possible.

"But why would you be all the way out here on a night like this?" Yuki wondered aloud. "With that bag?" Tohru shifted. Yuki sighed and finished wiping the last bit of mud off her arm. Now came the tricky part.

Yuki's face burned. He couldn't remember ever being so embarrassed. He'd never wanted anything as much as he now wanted Tohru to remain sleeping.

Careful to look only at the ceiling and walls, he felt for the bottom of Tohru's shirt and pulled it off. Yuki could feel his face growing even redder, if that was at all possible.

Yuki wondered if it would have been so bad to let Shigure take care of this. 'Yes,' his mind automatically told him.

Continuing to stare at the ceiling, Yuki reached down and pulled off Tohru's skirt. It didn't bear thinking as to what would happen if she woke up now. No doubt her underwear was wet as well, but there was no way in hell he was going to mess around with that. Standing up, Yuki edged over to the wall where his robe was hanging on the peg and grabbed it. As he felt his way back to where Tohru lay though, he tripped over her. Barely managing to keep his footing, Yuki did a little dance around her and came to a rest beside her once again. For several seconds, he sat stone still and prayed he'd not disturbed her sleep.

Once Yuki was certain Tohru was still sound asleep, he lifted her up gently and slid the robe underneath her. After wrapping it around her body, Yuki could finally look down to tie the cord around Tohru's waist. Muttering a thank you to whatever deity had been kind enough to keep the girl asleep, Yuki was able to breathe again.

Yuki was tired, wet and a little dirty. He picked Tohru up and carried her to a guest bedroom, setting her down on the futon and covering her with a blanket before heading back to the bathroom to take a shower.

AN: Woo…finally done. This chapter took a while to do, partly cuz it's freaking long (OK, maybe not THAT long, but it's about 1,500 words, so that's long enough, right?), and partly because I could never seem to get a long enough period of time uninterrupted to get it all done. I've been writing it around working on a HUGE research project…wish me luck, guys; I have to do a speech Friday (the 12th). Um, obviously The Sohmas don't change forms when they hug girls. I told you it was AU. So onto reviewer shoutouts! We always like those…Thankies, all, I got more last chappie than the first one.

Lollipop U: The beginning's supposed to be kinda angsty, I mean Kyoko dies for crying out loud! But the story's overall genre is supposed to be action, so yeah, later it won't be so sad, KK?

Hikari Rioki: Sorry, I know the last chapter was kind of short…I hope this one was long enough to make up for that? As for pairing, I'm thinking there won't be much more going on than in the anime. Just the same little triangle going on…but yeah. Hope this doesn't put anyone off, and I MAY in the future decide to do some pairing, but for the moment, I don't have any planned.

Anee: Yes, we shall! Hehe, thankies!

Sugar High Yusukeholic: Thanks, you'll learn more about them and why Kyoko was killed within the next couple chapters!

Chibi Mo: rubs throat Ara…Hmm, perhaps Kyoko COULD be a muse, ne? It's a good idea! Ah, as for your DVDs, my mom said she could mail them this Thursday, KK? It's a little later than I promised, but she said that's the earliest she could go. I don't have RK back, so I'll mail that up along w/Esca (which I forgot to put in the box before I put a whole crapload of tape on, I am now officially the stupidest person on this planet), so yesh, thankies for your patience with Sessha, and I hope you liked this chapter as well!

Thank you all for your support!

Gen