Despite Fate
By Starhopper
DISCLAIMER: Talk about cliché. If I were to tell you I actually owned the rights, if not the characters themselves, would I be sitting at the computer writing about them, living vicariously through their conversations? Nope. I'd be taking Ayame's fashion advice, coaching Haru on public speaking (and stealing his jewelry), playing Rich man Poor Man with Kyou (just so he could win at SOMETHING), and oh . . . locking Akito in that damn dark room where all his lovers could terrorize him. Hear that Shigure, get out the dominatrix boots, Koureno you hold 'em down, Rin gather up the lace whips, and Hatori get out your gauze! Muahaahaaa!
And I can't forget to hand over the man-shaped sugar cookies to Lily Avalon/Faeral, who will always help me tie up Hatori for the pleasure of his fan base (Sigh, you always hurt the ones you love). But she gets to crumble the cookies into a sweet-treat trail for Ayame to follow and find him wherever we happen to hide him.
Aya: "Poor Tori-san!"
Yeah, but you know we all like him that way. (EEEvil giggle) Right Aya?
Aya: ::devil eyes:: "Oh, you know I do."
Seriously though . . .
That last bit was a thank-you to my pal and roommate here in the big scawy college world who puts up with my incessant blah-blah-blah about Furuba and DF. But it's an equal trade with Gundam Wing and Gravitation, is it not fellow yaoi fangirl?
Onto the chapter! Thanks for all the loverly reviews and kind words. I'm getting good feedback here, I appreciate every comment!
Chapter 5:
"Among the Three Fates"
A loud rap at the door was Shigure's only forewarning. He barely had enough time to push the pencil behind his ear before the shoji slid open with a bang.
"'Gure-san!" a dripping Ayame called from the doorway. Hatori ducked to avoid the accompanying large wave with indifference and almost amusement as the water droplets went flying off his cousin's long coat.
"Aya!" Shigure ran to embrace his cousin. He couldn't help but notice the clothes folded over the hibi's arm. Though extremely muddy, the dark blue pants and gray Chinese stitch top gave the entire situation away. It wasn't hard to guess where both Yuki and Tohru were now. And what state of existence the Prince was currently scurrying about in.
After a long hug and some whispered flirtations, he then turned to the doctor to clap him on the back. "You look good Ha-san,"
"You as well," Hatori muttered as he set about to finding something in his medical bag. "And Kyou?"
"I heard him scream a while ago, but since then, not a peep," Shigure replied through a smile. "Looks like you didn't need to come after all."
"Aa, but I did," Hatori commented, pausing from his fishing to cast a look at something coming down the walk. Squeezing past his friends, Shigure caught the smile before it had a chance to form. "That's one sick nezumi," but the doctor's words were merely white noise in the presence of Tohru, standing in bright contrast to the depth of the storm raging around her. She huddled over something clasped in her hands, shielding it from the rain by holding it close to her heart.
"A twisted ankle, raw throat, several lacerations," the drone of his cousin's voice did nothing to keep Shigure from beaming right back at her.
For a man who could never be caught, this certainly was a humbling sight to see. For a brief moment in time it almost made Shigure want to grasp such a moment for himself, tucking it tight for security and promise. To be sheltered in the hands of the one you loved, he could only wish for such a thing to happen. Though he knew that to be that shield was also a feeling to be cherished.
"Five contusions, not to mention the state of his immune system," Ayame nodded along with Hatori, his crossed arms nearly buckling over a chest swelling with pride.
The snake swung his head around to see Tohru enter with his brother and struck a presenter's pose, "Ah, the man of the hour approacheth!"
Hatori glanced up, turning slightly to see her walk up the stairs behind them. "You managed to talk him into coming, good."
The girl nodded as she absently ran another fingertip down Yuki's back. "He was so embarrassed you see,"
"Still am," grunted a voice from nowhere. The dog strained slightly to hear through the raspy undertone.
Ayame smiled down at his brother. "Ah, but now that you are in the hands of such a wonderful young lady, have you realized your romance yet?"
Shigure's ears perked. "Un? Did something happen when Tohru-kun came to fetch you?"
"Shut. Up." His entire body seemed to grow an entire shade pinker. "Both of you. Nii-san, do you have to keep asking me that?"
"Honestly not! No, I –want- to keep asking you that for how could I have let my little brother get his first kiss without any previous guidance from his eminent, distinguished older brother? I will never let myself forgive myself for abandoning you in your greatest hour of need," Feigning into dramatic repose, Ayame leaned close to a madly blushing onigiri. "Ne Tohru? Inexperience breeds the slow learners you know, but I could show you how it's done - "
"NII-SAN!"
"Ah, so you agree with me Yuki?" Ayame smiled in the face of a Prince protecting the honor of his lady, though he stood on the legs of a very weak rat.
First kiss?
So soon?
Well, to rephrase it, so late?
"I'd sit down right now if I were you, Yuki," Hatori ordered with a pointed look. "Or else,"
The very flare of his anger waned along with his color as the rat promptly fell back into Tohru's palm. The onigiri couldn't hold back a slight grin at the cute little pout he shot her.
"Hahaha! What a lucky man to have possessed such a girl's heart," the snake chuckled softly. "I too know how affection creeps upon the heart and steals away the soul. It is soft and delicate, nary to be caught by the foolish and hard-hearted. Like the feathers of a dove, it flutters down upon your heart until you can resist the touch no more, then,"
"You promptly run into the rain and do even more damage to a fragile condition," Hatori finished, batting away Ayame's 'fluttering' fingers that had been falling just a little too close to the doctor for his comfort. "Is two weeks of bed-rest worth it?"
Dazed, Yuki looked at Hatori and caught the slight glimmer, daresay sparkle in the man's eye. It was easy to fill in the blanks, even for the dour doctor. Of course it was.
Hatori then acknowledged the girl. "Honda-kun, will you walk the patient up to his room? Get him comfortable and by that time, I'll be up for a complete check-up."
Tohru smiled anew and nodded while the rat shifted uncomfortably in her hands. "Of course, anything to help." Somewhat belatedly she added as they started towards the stairs, "It was partially my fault. Yuki, are you mad at me?"
She literally paused as Yuki sweat-dropped and the eyebrows of every single adult were raised. Including Hatori's as he finally brought up the pack of cigarettes buried at the bottom of his medical bag.
"Yu . . . ki?" Shigure was a little too quick to point it out, just as Yuki had expected he would.
"Well, it's only natural for two lovers to call each other by the names they hold dear. I for one love my own nickname, 'Aya', as whispered to me by 'Gure-san," Ayame coated his words in silk, batting long eyelashes at the dog standing across from him.
Shigure picked up the cue, put on sexy grin, and sidled closer to his cousin, "Ah, yes, my 'Aya',"
"Say it again,"
"No, I have something better." The r in 'better' was but a purr on the novelist's tongue
"What?" Ayame was breathless as their hands joined in the space between them.
Hatori sighed, now beginning a search for the lighter in his back? – no front pants pocket.
"What? Don't be cruel and play those games with me, mi amore,"
Ah, now there it was, in the vest pocket. How could he forget a thing like that?
"YOSH!"
He looked up from clamping the cigarette between his lips just as the two dunderheads were laughing off the last of their "precious words" from "beloved lips". Glancing over Ayame's shaking shoulder, he could see the spot in the hallway once adorned with the living statue of Honda Tohru was now clear and vacant. She'd taken the hint. Or rather, Yuki must've urged her forward.
"Now that she's gone, we can start discussing,"
"Ah," Shigure snapped from jovial to startling seriousness in a freak-instant. "You mean Tohru-kun and Yuki-kun?"
"And maybe even Kyonkichi?" Ayame supplemented, returning to a more naturally composed form (at least for him) just as fast, if not faster than Shigure had. "I could talk to him, I can talk to anybody,"
"Yes, and like anybody, will he listen?" Hatori questioned as they all moved into the living room. "No, he can work things out for himself, if he hasn't already. Besides, we have something far greater to worry about than just the neko." He couldn't help but swallow all the possible futures involving the onigiri and the Prince down his throat like fermented poison.
"Akito-san," Shigure breathed in a voice neither Ayame nor Hatori couldn't quite discern. They'd heard it so long ago, before the curse could truly affect them. Even the memory of it was just barely recognizable in their minds as something other than a figment of their own imaginations.
"He's sure to find out,"
"I won't tell if you won't!" Shigure barked out, obviously hurt that Hatori could think he would betray his friends for the person he loved. "I've kept secrets from him before,"
"But they've never concerned Yuki before,"
Both turned to look at Ayame and the expression he held as their friend nearly whispered the words. Eyes wide and lost in thought, he looked forsaken and undeniably fearful.
"It's been too long, and I've tried so hard. Not that I wouldn't always try again, but I don't want to start tearing down new walls when the possibility of never laying down another new brick stares at me, unblinking, pleadingly up at me. I will never ignore those eyes ever again. Believe me, it will never be that way again," the snake suddenly bowed his head, dodging the glances of the doctor and dog. "And if I can prove to him once and for all that I care that he's alive and happy, or at the very least know that he is soulfully grateful for something I've done, then this is it right?"
"Agreed," Shigure smiled, though torn between the side of him that would do anything for Akito, and the other eternally tied to the friendship of the Mabudachi trio. "If Akito-san makes any move towards them, we'll go against him by force."
Slamming the porch door behind him, Kyou turned angrily on his room.
Damn it! Why had he not noticed the rain? It wasn't like he was staring into the dark clouds and pondering the possibility of a summer storm. No, his thoughts were preoccupied with the inner-tangle of emotions. His mind swelled with the array of potential situations he'd have to face later in the week, months, years. He was also becoming accustomed to this sensation clouding his heart, rapidly surrounding it with a thick coating of . . .
Acceptance?
Disinterest?
Shrugging out of his shirt, he stood to air himself in the center of the room. Unconsciously he sat down to meditate. Shishou always said to meditate to gather up the thoughts one had hastily spilled over the floor. Like milk, or stars, or even dreams.
Kyou hissed. He hated feeling like this. Unsure. Mistaken.
And strangely settled. Like he had finally stopped wandering about looking for a seat in the theater and just sat down to watch the show. Eyes shutting closed with a perceptible snap, the cat resumed his trance, that oh so powerful flood of thought that had blinded him to the tears falling from heaven. Let the show begin, he'd paid his dues.
Suddenly the imaginary stage lit up with the introduction of its players. Behind twitching lids, Kyou could see the Sohmas dance across in front of the audience, each cousin bowing at center stage, then exploding into the Jyuunishi forms with a visible poof. Tohru appeared too, hand in hand with the Prince, standing in awe during the transformation, then hugged him to her breast as they exited along with a bounding Momiji and slithering Ayame. It was then that the cat looked around at the empty seats and realized with a disgusted shudder that he was the only one bearing witness to the whole event. And in spite of his better judgment, he put his two front paws together and clapped.
Kyou woke with a start, wondering how fast he'd fallen asleep to have such a bizarre dream. However, there was something to it . . . just something that he wasn't quite ready to admit to just yet.
Stretching his arms above him and hearing a satisfying pop of the vertebrae, Kyou jumped to his feet and posed his legs at the ready. A good sparring match is what he really needed to shake off this sentimental side. Or at the very least, shake it up so it wasn't this overwhelming. A few kicks and punches in the direction of his shadow and he was already bored.
His senses, (already on edge to make up for sluggish response to the rain) traced the light footsteps of Tohru making her way up the stairs. Lighter still was the voice she used to address whoever was with her.
"You're not angry?"
"How could I be?" It was the squeak of the nezumi in his zodiac form. No doubt riding in her front breast pocket. Pervert.
Though Kyou couldn't help but acknowledge that said pervert was also extremely lucky.
"Hon," a small sigh, "Tohru, if this relationship is going to work, you have to stop taking all the blame,"
The neko's face went turnip-blood red and suddenly the cat-ears sprouting at the side of his head flattened. Rela – tion – ship? She told him?
And he had . . .
"Eto, it actually was my fault this time! I mean I fell on you and your ankle,"
"You wouldn't have fallen if I hadn't been close enough - " but Kyou could clearly make out the words, "to kiss you" as the voices turned into the Prince's suite. More than anything he wished at that moment that the voices were just that: voices and not attached to two separate bodies entering the same bedroom.
This new development pinned Kyou's heart to the ground, and watched it squirm helplessly beneath it. Relationship, kiss . . . Tohru falling over Yuki.
. . . Wait.
TOHRU?!
SINCE WHEN DID HE CALL HER TOHRU?!
'Apparently since they became involved in a "relationship" and shared a "kiss".' the superfluous thought could not be stopped. Nor could the mean spirit of his mind. 'Why should that surprise you? You would have eagerly done the same.'
"I already did," the cat ground out through locked teeth, a clenched fist wavering just enough to threaten his abrasive imagination. There was no way in HELL images of the two together would creep up into his mind.
But hey, what could they be doing in a room with the door wide –
"I'll get the door Yuki-kun!"
- schlick -
Shut.
The soft brush of his whiskers tickled the apples of her cheeks before Tohru knew that he was kissing her.
After the literal softness of the peck ended, the onigiri pulled her hand down from her nose to watch him blush and fidget in her palm. He sighed before looking up into her eyes. "I hope that that will suffice sometimes Honda-san," and then shaking his head, "I mean, Tohru,"
Once again, the cuteness of the moment was punctuated by her bright smile and giggle. "Of course Yuki-kun," and following the example of the rat, blushed deeper and corrected herself. "I mean Yuki. It's actually nice, it tickles,"
"Tickles?" Was that a bad thing? "You don't find it disgusting?"
"Disgusting? Why should I?" Tohru continued to smile, swallowing any giggles left unspoken. She wanted to laugh out loud at how adorable he was, but instead she opted to grin like an idiot in love. "The emotion is still there, Yuki-kun. You're still there, just in a different form."
The eyes of the rat grew round and near tears in almost comical disbelief. "Tohru," Yuki's letters were deliberate and precise, checking for any tendency to form 'Honda-san' in its place. He blushed and lowered his eyes to graze the edge of her thumb. "Is it all right if I still call you Honda-san? You won't be offended?"
Tohru began to walk from the closed door to set him on his bed. "Not at all! I was starting to wonder if you'd minded me calling you Yuki-kun just now,"
"Eh?" Yuki smiled sheepishly and kicked at an imaginary pebble in the path of her lifeline. "Not at all, because Honda-san is the girl who," The Prince gulped and felt his cheeks color sharply at the sudden memory, and to spite that side of him who called for cold judgment and keeping the world at arm's length, he motioned for her lean in and listen, "Honda-san is my friend. Honda-san is the girl who I met four years ago, the girl who showed me how strawberry-sweet life can be. She helped me to forget the tartness of my past, and focus on how the sun warms each flower petal, how the dew kisses each petal, and how each blossom is always beautiful. Honda-san worked beside me, encouraging new things to grow, like memories and plans for the future. She is the girl who held my heart in her hands and she is the first person who didn't laugh and toss it away as if it was nothing.
"Honda-san made me realize I have a purpose, I have meaning, and that the impossible can happen. So please, allow me to call you Honda-san. I'd like that very much," Yuki could feel the way his lips naturally curved to fit the shape of his name for her and relished it.
"I'd love it too, Yuki-kun," she murmured, somewhat breathless as she knelt down to let him jump off. "I - "
- poof -
As the mist dissipated, Tohru found herself quite literally stuck as well as forcing her eyes to burn furious holes of embarrassment into some part of the wall opposite her. Lying over her unfortunate palms that had had no chance to withdraw before the unpredictable moment of transformation was Yuki . . . a Yuki who had no idea as to why Tohru was kneeling at the side of the bed, shaking in clear panic, and looking at anything but the man on the bed.
Nonplussed, he drew up the blankets neatly folded at the end of the mattress and covered himself before turning to the right and asking Tohru what she was doing.
"Honda-san, what are you - "
"E-Eto, Yuki-kun, you're um," the onigiri continued to splutter, her head sinking lower between her shoulders. "My hands and you . . . and they're caught,"
Brows knitting in concentration, the Prince tried to make sense of what she was saying. Then he felt the wriggling of fingers along his right thigh, paled, and quickly moved to the other side of the bed. Caught between sucking in the pain that pulsed like a heartbeat along his ankle and laughing at her innocence, Yuki fought to keep his breathing steady as he leaned hesitantly forward and looked over to check on Tohru's current state.
She was still hunched against the bed-ruffle, her hands open on the top of the sheet and slightly trembling. A grin tugged at his lips. She was so cute.
"Honda-san?" he coughed slightly to cover the rising chuckle with a touch of concern, before toning his voice as if to entreat a lonely lost kitten out of its box in an alley. "It's okay, you can come out now,"
Her fingers slowly stopped shaking before the top of her brown head rose and bright eyes peeked at him from over the edge of the bed. Losing all control of his laughter, Yuki placed his elbows on the pleated mattress and twisting at his waist, dragged his body forward across the space that separated them.
Ducking back down as he started his approach, Tohru could not see his soft smile or the hand that tentatively reached out to stroke her cheek. She looked up as his knuckles ended their trace of her cheekbone and brushed noses with the Prince. He smiled, happy that she was finally face-to-face with him again. Brushing the tips of his fingers along the edge of her jaw before slipping them up and behind her left ear, he ran the same feather-light touches through the damp strands of her hair. His eyes continued to hold hers in a gaze so full of longing before dropping slightly to graze her bottom lip, licking his own as he wrestled with the idea to kiss her or not.
In the end, it was Tohru who darted forward and kissed him quickly as if in apology. But as soon as she had touched his lips, the hand now resting at the base of her neck kept her from backing away. Her brief struggle ended when his other hand came out from the side to cup her cheek and guide her head into a deeper kiss, one that would properly finish what they'd started at the secret base before that damnable hibi and dragon had interrupted. Both their eyes closed as if connected by the same marionette string while his hands wove themselves to the back of her head, and fisted lightly in her hair to keep her close.
They didn't even hear the discussion outside the door. Or the footsteps alerting a martial artist like Yuki of their intent direction. As his tongue ran the length of her lower lip and her own hands were pressed flat against his chest, the door slid open without a hint of hesitant caution. No, the shoji ran back along its gliders without a refusal to give up the little secret building behind its thin wall. There was no squeak, or dying gasp of a dust bunny caught in its tracks, nothing to jerk the two out of their romantic fervor.
Finally sating the hunger for some closure to what had been said in the rain, Yuki continued to kiss her, delighting in the feel of her skin under his mouth and taste of her. She -was- as sweet as honey. Like crystal clear water from a hidden spring, yours alone to treasure when dying of thirst.
What was even more pleasing to him was the fact that she was kissing him back with just the same amount of intensity and need. Her arms aching to circle his neck, she settled for pressing her fingertips hard against his upper chest, just under the collarbone. He was numbed to the pain even when the fingers began to curl, her nails digging into the once nearly blue skin. Needless to say, it was now warming up to a pale pink.
In fact, it was only when his brother's weight sat down upon the bed next to Yuki's ankle that he noticed they had an audience. He quickly released Tohru from his embrace before turning angry eyes over his shoulder and glared.
"Nii-san," he growled threateningly.
Ayame looked to Shigure who was still standing at the doorway, then back to his little brother. "Ah, don't stop now Yuki! That's the reason Tori-san sent me us up here, is it not 'Gure-san?"
"Yes Aya, and I can see he wasn't mistaken in his theory. Get two lovebirds in a room together, add a closed door, and the passion heats up! Skin sweats, bodies gleam,"
The white-haired Sohma paused from stamping down the fire in Yuki's eyes and smiled devilishly at his cousin. "Why, are you speaking from experience 'Gure-san?"
"Of course Aya, you should remember that night of all nights. I know I for one will never forget it," his tone turned suddenly wondrous, "By candlelight your eyes had such an unearthly sheen,"
"It's called hunger," the snake purred. He then turned his attentions back to his brother whose head was spinning from the ping-pong action of their conversation. "Ne Yuki? You would recognize such a feeling, I can see it in your own eyes right now," But his observation was cut clean off as Yuki launched himself at his brother's throat, a promise of death written in the lines of a feral grin.
"I'm going to KILL YOU! How DARE you EMBARASS Honda-san LIKE THAT!?" The rat screamed as his hands fisted into Ayame's coat, shaking any thoughts out of the snake's head that would point out it was not –he– who had put Tohru-kun in such a position to be embarrassed.
"Ah, Yuki-kun,"
"SHUT-UP SHIGURE, I'M MAD AT YOU TOO!" Yuki bellowed in a frail alto already raw from the asthma attack. His eyes turned back on Ayame and shone in a predatory gleam. "But first I have to KILL Nii-san!"
This time the dog rose a finger, "Ano . . . honto, Yuki-kun?"
"What - did - I - just - say?"
Shigure sighed, deciding on a different approach. "Don't you feel a draft?"
The entire world was put on pause as Yuki looked down, giving Ayame's eyes a chance to stop rolling in their sockets. Upon finding his blanket disheveled and crumpled on the floor, the rat sighed, shut his own eyes in frustration, and set his teeth in a completely straight line full of aggravation. Sticking a hand out expectantly, Yuki asked, politely, "And will somebody please hand me my pants?"
"Start with the boxers, Yuki-kun," Shigure intoned sagely from a safe standing at the doorway. Sure enough, the cotton underwear was soon plopped into his palm. He opened his eyes to find Tohru's hand still in the air, her other hand in front of her eyes to shield his modesty and protect her innocent eyes from the eternal sin of the Sohmas.
His heart filled with gratitude, he lay back down and quickly pulled the Swiss-cheese-patterned boxers on, not caring at all if Ayame used this chance to sneak back to Shigure's side. Once clothed, he swung his left leg over the side of the bed and grabbed a hold of the hand still raised in the air with fingers twitching, uncertain as to whether or not he had received what he had asked for.
"You can look now Honda-san," Yuki whispered loud enough for her to hear. Bringing her splayed hand down from her eyes, Tohru found Yuki turning her hand over in his to kiss the back of it. Lifting up his lips and eyes, he smiled back at her. "Thank you,"
A simple blush was all she could do. For as she opened her mouth, Hatori brushed past the snickering hibi and inu with his medical bag open. But what really turned both their heads was the wicked looking needle he was withdrawing from its dark confines.
Yuki cringed and Tohru squeezed his hand.
"Okay, Yuki. On your stomach," he turned to Tohru as he jabbed the syringe into the lid of a dark red bottle. "Tohru-kun, you're welcome to stay," his eyes drifted over to the rat who was already in position.
"Actually I was hoping that she could come and help me prepare some tea," Shigure spoke up. Yuki noticed that Ayame was nowhere to be seen. "That is if Yuki-kun doesn't mind giving her up for awhile,"
Tohru's jaw had dropped slightly at Shigure's request, but it soon remembered how to speak when Yuki went red.
"I'd like to stay Shigure-san, maybe I can help,"
"Only if you can iron-out the worry-lines in his forehead," Hatori muttered under his breath before shaking his head reprovingly at the Prince. "Honestly, you've been through this treatment how many times? Don't you think you're a little old to be so scared?"
"Not when you brandish it like a weapon," Yuki retorted, propping himself up on his elbows.
"Clearly there is no hope for him Tohru-kun," the doctor replied, holding the needle up against the light and smiling slightly when he saw Yuki shut his eyes prematurely. "I'd also like to talk to Yuki alone,"
"Alone?" the young adults questioned, but Shigure rushed over and took Tohru by the arm.
"Come, come, he'll be fine. Ha-san knows what he's doing."
"But,"
Opening a wary eye, Yuki watched her reluctantly leave and threw her a smile when she glanced back to see if he was really ok with her being gone. He nodded to her silent question. Upon looking unconvinced, he brought his palm to his lips and blew her a kiss.
That seemed to do it.
As Shigure pulled the onigiri out of the room, Hatori moved to the side of the bed and once again looked into the crimson liquid floating in the syringe.
"He left in a hurry," Yuki sighed suspiciously, "That was too rushed, even for him."
"When Shigure has his mind set, nothing can stop him." The doctor's tone left for no more observations.
"What are you three," Yuki inhaled sharply as the needle pierced his skin. "Up to?"
Hatori sighed as he administered the shot, wondering at how many healed scars he was staring at right now on the man's back. How many lashes? For some reason he pondered over which whip out of the collection Akito proudly displayed was reserved just for the rat of the Jyuunishi. The one with the leather tassles? The fox-hunt riding whip?
"Hatori?"
"Nothing," was the simple reply as he slid the needle out and dabbed at the little amount of blood oozing from the wound. Pushing the hem of the swiss-cheese-patterened boxers back up to Yuki's nonexistent waist. "Where do you keep your inhaler?"
"On the dresser," Hatori handed it to him and Yuki sat up, taking the deepest of breaths, coughing on the taste stuck in his throat.
"That's good," Hatori offered a small smile to the still suspicious rat. Yuki continued to regard him in the most pensive and defensive fashion. "It seems that you're improving,"
"I was actually able to stop it this time," Yuki took another gulp of air let it out cool and smooth. "But my ankle is another story,"
"Ah yes," the doctor looked disdainfully at the horribly swollen area. "Because of that, you and Tohru-kun won't be running through a field to the 'Chariots of Fire' anytime soon."
Ayame rapped ever so softly on Kyonkichi's door, before deciding to let himself in on principle alone:
Clearly the cat needed someone to talk to, Ayame was always ready to listen, erego the neko should be able to talk to him and Ayame would listen and offer friendly advice.
Wise advice, marvelous advice, creatively constructive and insightfully bemusing advice.
Yes, the snake nodded. There was only one thing left to do.
"Here koneko, koneko, koneko!" He called in an attempted frilly feminine voice, but completely missed the mark. Sweeping in on his long blue emperor's robes, Ayame crept through the slit of a doorway and wandered into the center of the room.
It was dark. Though the thunder and lightning had moved over the house, the entire room seemed to carry the aura of a place caught in the middle of a storm. He could almost see the shadows of the trees scraping along the tatami mat and tearing at the sheets on the bed.
Suddenly the lights clicked on and Ayame jumped to see Kyou standing with a leg propped against the wall. The guilty finger was still resting on the light switch.
"And what do you want?" he bit the words through sharp canines. "The nezumi's in the other room,"
"I know that." Ayame snapped, his pointer going up. "I was just there watching him explore the many possibilities that a romance with Tohru-kun has to offer. Surely you would not deprive me of that right as an older brother only concerned for his brother's welfare? Then WHY did my dear sweet cute little brother try to strange me? Me?!"
Putting a hand to his head, Kyou sighed. "Look, I don't know why you came here if it was only to complain about how Yuki can't stand you,"
"Ah, but I didn't!" Ayame chirped, the finger almost dancing in the air as the middle finger joined it in succession. "That's only the first reason, the second reason was to talk to you!"
"ME!?" Kyou screeched, the hand flying off his forehead so fast and balling into a fist at his side. "WHY WOULD I WANT TO TALK TO YOU OF ALL PEOPLE?"
"Because I'm the only one who'll listen,"
"And fill in the blanks with his own perverted thoughts and memories that have NOTHING to do with the topic at hand? No thanks,"
"Ora, you wound me Kyonkichi,"
"And if you want to talk with me, stop calling me that!"
The snake perked up. "So you DO want to talk then?"
"I – er . . . no!" But Kyou already knew it was too late. Somewhat to himself, he added, "It's not like anything important happened."
"Important? Accepting that your own romance with Tohru-kun will never come to be isn't important? I think it's a good first step into realizing your self-worth as a human being without relating that importance to the context of another."
He couldn't resist. For some reason, be it the bright lights, or the snake's hypnotic golden gaze, Kyou couldn't help himself from moving forward and cocking his head in the direction of Ayame's words. "Go on."
His cousin's face lit up, overjoyed that he had a response. Though it wouldn't have mattered anyway, he could outrun the cat if he had to, even if it had come to such a chase. "You've heard it for yourself and most likely have seen it. You've denied what you've seen, and now you're accepting the living proof. It should be hard, it is hard," his lips suddenly went extremely tight as a memory flashed bright before his eyes.
They were eating altogether, all members of the Mabudachi trio laughing and talking like old times. It had been so long since all of them had been together for a good meal and chatter about the old times when they were all kids and reality had yet to charge their lives like the horns of a matador's bull. It had gone quiet all of a sudden with Aya's mouth being full, and then Tori-san coughed and Gure-san moved closer, realizing before even Aya that there was a secret being kept from the group. And finally, after much loud and passionate coercing, he removed the box from his pocket and showed it for the entire world to see.
Tori-san . . . was getting married . . . to a girl named Kana . . .
Shaking off that horrible feeling of having your stomach fall clear down to your toes, Ayame took a breath and continued, inwardly amazed at how Kyou was not exactly hanging on every word, but he wasn't completely ignoring the helpful vine to cling to.
"What do you do? What do you say when you see them together and you know in your heart that h- I mean, she should be together with you? So you swallow your pride and try to understand. You don't ask why, but you attempt to understand what drove them to be this way. Why did she fall in love with him, how was it possible? Was there something there before and you just never saw it?"
Kyou snorted. Oh no, he had seen it, LONG before. Just never in Tohru's eyes.
"Eventually you have to move on, but first you must make peace with yourself over it. You didn't do anything wrong and maybe it could've been you, but it wasn't." Aya took a breath as he shook his head and felt the softness of his hair through the sting of images nipping like frost at the backs of his eyes. That was enough to warm him after watching Hatori destroy himself again and again over what happened to Kana. They both were so cold for a long time after that. "But you must get over it, and accept it wholly and truthfully. Don't hide behind a mask, it never works."
During the time he talked, Aya had sat himself down at the desk chair. He now rose and bowed slightly to hide the tears begging for release. "That's all I can offer because I know." He stood up and this time he didn't blink away the redness before showing Kyou his face. "I know it hurts. I know it hurts more than any punch or any false word. Just know that you're not alone."
Kyou stood dumbfounded for a second before he registered the fact that Ayame was walking out his door. Turning on his heel, he waved for the snake to stop. "Hey,"
Ayame turned around, patting a pinky to the side of each eye, preventing the light application of mascara from running. "Yes Kyonkichi?"
"Um, thanks. I guess."
Aya closed his eyes and took a breath. When he opened them and his mouth, he was the same old Ayame who spoke without thought and rambled without apology. "Ha Ha HA! No problem my dear kitty friend, for it was I, his most unprecedented self who thickened your resolve to let my cute little brother romance the dear sweet Tohru-kun without a snarl or growl of complaint!"
Suddenly the cat ears that had disappeared reappeared and flattened dangerously against Kyou's head. "NOW WAIT JUST ONE MINUTE - "
"Ah, but I can't, for one minute is just too long for a person such as I who flies around the world by moments alone! Ja!" And with that, Ayame flew out of room leaving a lofty breeze in his wake.
Kyou stood, yet again dumbstruck, but slightly more at ease. He looked to the door, open and inviting and back again to the center of the room where it was good to sit and contemplate. So, dropping to the floor, the cat crossed his legs and closed his eyes, hoping for an answer of his own to come.
A/N: So sleepy and mad at myself that I left it at that! AH! But don't you just love Ayame?! He's such a good character and just simply a tease to write for.
Hope I did well and lived up to people's expectations! More chapters are on the way. I mean, Yuki has to figure out what they're up to, and Shigure has to have more lines! WAHHH! I'm sorry my novelist muse, I have failed thee!
So, please REVIEW and answer my question dagnabbit. Did stressed-college-girl-who-gave-up-ANOTHER-chance-to-get-sleep-and-write-a-DHC-paper do good? Are they in character? And please, remember they have matured. Kyou not so much in appearances, but that's why we love him, ne?
Peace and love to all, and to all a goodnight!
Starhopper