Last time:
"Oh, of course I wouldn't mind..." Shigure answered cheerfully as he settled himself in front of his seat and poured himself a cup of coffee from the coffee pot in the center of the table. As he adjusted his sitting position to make himself comfortable, he caught sight of the kitchen clock and frowned 'Since when did Yuki woke up before seven in the morning?'
"Ano... Shigure-san, is anything the matter?" Tohru asked as she notice the frown marring his face. "Huh? Nothing's wrong, I'm just wondering why Yuki woke up so early today... that's all." Shigure smiled as he tried to flirt with Tohru again. After breakfast, Yuki headed to his secret garden and Kyou headed to the roof to brood yet again.
To love the enemy
Chapter 3- Akito's stunt and Yuki to the rescue!
The next few days passes by in a flash of the light and it was nearing Valentine's day again. One week before Valentine's day, on their way to school, Kyou had a bad feeling about going to school today... throughout the journey to school, he had been feeling uneasy about something.
The moment Kyou Sohma opened his locker, he immediately wish he hasn't. Inside his locker was a card, the message was simple enough and cut straight to the point.
Kyou Sohma,
I like you alot, care to be my valentine this year?
Your secret admirer.
Kyou Sohma was shocked, so shocked that he couldn't moved an inch from his locker. He stared at the card as if it was jinxed, he kept thinking 'This is strange, Yuki is usually the one who received all these strange requests...Why is it happening to me now?' Feeling absolutely irritated, he threw the card into the nearest rubbish bin as he made his way towards his class. But that is merely the beginning of a new problem, the real thing had yet to begin. It was during lunch break. Momiji passed by the school front yard as he made his way home since he's feeling unwell and had been ordered home by the teachers. That was when Momiji spotted Kyou backing away from someone. At first, he tried to ignore it, but his jaw had dropped when a boy practically forced himself on Kyou and tried kissing him.
Momiji had been so estactic on his discovery that when he reached home, he practically announced it to the whole Sohma household. That is something that caught Akito Sohma's, head of the Sohma family, attention. That is when all hell had broken loose.
"Kureno, prepare a car for me... looks like I am going to pay a visit to the disbehaving cat" Akito ordered the rooster Kureno sharply.
Kyou Sohma was paranoid, after being kissed thrice in a day. He was beginning to wish he had stayed home for the day instead. Heck, even the presence of Kagura wasn't this scary. At least, Kagura never forced a kiss on him, well at least never on the lips. Yuki Sohma watched as his cousin tensed up everytime someone brushes pass him, even when Honda-san tried to approach Kyou. She almost had her head bitten off, which was an unusual reaction from Kyou. Yuki wondered what could be the reason for his cousin to get so worked up.
He had been so deep in thought that he had almost jumped when Kyou Sohma let out a frustrated wail in the middle of a lesson, opening up the window and jumping down from the third storey. That was when he heard it, the rolling of the thunder and the flash of lightning bolt. Standing up so quickly that his chair fell over creating a loud 'Bang', disrupting the class so suddenly that almost stir some random students to let out a wail of fear. Apologizing for his actions formally, he swept out of the room swiftly as he began combing the area for Kyou.
Kyou Sohma was just cursing under his breath for the sudden arrival of a thunderstorm, when a car stopped by. Kyou Sohma tensed up as he realised the arrival of their clan head, Akito Sohma. Kyou had tried to ignore the latter but it was to no avail since the said person had no intention of letting Kyou off so easily.
"Oh, so the monster had finally decided to skip school, isn't it? Well, i suppose this is the way that it should happen... Always the outsider, the outcast will never belong anywhere. No one will ever like you..." Akito continued to blabble on but when he received no response from the said cat, he grew angry and began to provoke Kyou by insulting Tohru. "That foolish, idiotic girl... will never love you like she said... she's only saying this to gain everyone's trust...she's only toying you." What Akito said was the last straw, Kyou snapped and sprang forward trying to knock the latter down. However, at the very last moment he lost his balance as a tree branch somehow managed to plunge itself forcefully into Kyou's shoulder blade. At the same time, Kyou's leg had been caught between the collapse of a tree by the side walk, crushing his leg. Akito took this chance to flee the site, leaving Kyou injured and alone in the rain. Unable to deal with the poor weather and the injuries which further weaken his body, he transformed into his form as a cat.
Yuki Sohma was running in the storm, he knew it isn't healthy for him due to his bronchitis yet he ignored it. His current concern was Kyou, He knew that Kyou couldn't be too far under this weather since cats have always been weak during wet weather. Yuki was just about to turn and head back towards the school when he noticed a set of boy's uniform. Fear gripped his heart as a sense of dread settled in the bottom pit of his stomach as he headed towards the uniform. Knowing that Kyou had transformed into his animal form, Yuki searched the area around the discarded uniform. He was about to give up when he noticed something trapped below the fallen tree. He gasped in horror as he noticed the orange cat which was on the verge of dying. It must have been Kyou. Looking at Kyou's weak body, something snapped within him that made him spring into action.
Ignoring his hatred for cats, he removed the fallen branches and tree on top of Kyou with all his strength. As soon as the obstacle was removed, he kneeled down by the fallen cat to feel its pulse. Gently, assured by the fact that the cat is still living, he removed the branch that was plunged deep inside the front leg of the cat. The cat hissed in pain but did not struggle because it's basically paralysed at that moment. Feeling his heart hammering against his ribcage, he knew that time is running out. Wrapping his arms around the vulnerable cat, he sprang his way towards Shigure's, and at the same time sending out his army of rats to inform Shigure so that Hatori will be notified of this emergency.
His heart clenched in agony as he watched Kyou getting weaker every minute. For the first time in his life, he realised that he couldn't live without Kyou. Sure, they'd always fought each other and he admitted that he did enjoy their fights. He used to think that he hated Kyou because he's the rat... but now looking at the cat whimpering in his arms. He realised that he didn't hate Kyou. In fact, he loved Kyou. He enjoyed the fights because of the physical contacts that comes with the blows. Apparently, he welcomed that kind of physical contact since it's the only way they can touch each other. After all, they are supposed to be enemies, being the cat and the rat. Although Yuki hated cats,... he sure didn't hate Kyou. Kyou is just Kyou Sohma, a human being possessed by the cat monster. He couldn't hate him, he could never hate Kyou. It had taken such an incident to teach him the meaning of love.
"Kyou, please hang on... don't give up yet." Yuki whispered to the cat who's about to lose consciousness. Although he appeared to be calm, he was crying inside in fear. The fear of losing Kyou just proves how much the latter's existence matters to him.
Kyou, on the other hand, is on the verge of losing his consciousness. He feels numb all over his body. He couldn't move an inch. He feels weak all over. He feels like he's going to die. Yet, something is holding him back, telling him to hang on. He didn't know how much time had passed. Suddenly, he felt the weight that was crushing him being lifted. However, he still couldn't move... he wanted so much to run away. He knew who had saved him, he wanted so much to run away to hide from Yuki. The idea of Yuki taunting him of being weak and needing the rat to save his life wasn't very welcoming. He really wished Yuki had not found him under such circumstances, he doesn't want any pity from Yuki. If there's anything he needed to feel, it's the feeling of being loved by another. He knew that it's impossible to receive it from Yuki, after all, he's the cat whereas Yuki is the rat. Cats and Rats are not friends, they can never be.
Kyou felt his life's energy slipping away from him. He was about to give up when something stopped him. A voice, Yuki's voice had stopped him from giving up, whispering encouraging words to him as he whimpered in pain. Kyou hissed and whimpered yet again as pain wrecked his body.
Shigure Sohma wasn't a person who would show his emotions to others easily, but he'd felt a wave of panic when he'd received message from Yuki's army of rats. Now, he is sitting down and waiting for Hatori's arrival before searching for signs of Yuki. He knew Yuki was on the verge of breaking down, he had confirmed it when the message came in. Through his observation made over the past few days, he discovered the obvious attraction between the two cousins, the cat and the rat. 'How ironic' He had thought then, but then again, Yuki had always envied the cat and vice versa for Kyou. This reminds him of the term 'Opposites Attract'. He knew that Kyou had always been concerned of Yuki's welfare though the cat had tried not to show it. Judging from the way Yuki is reacting, Shigure understood the urgency behind Kyou's current situation.
to be continue
date completed: 20/02/05