Note: I do understand that the last few chapters were somewhat confuzzling, but please bear with me—this is a rather complex story…one of the most complex that I've ever written I do believe.
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Freedom in a Cage
By: Lost-Remembrance (Red Tail)
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Chapter Twelve:
Her shoulders were shaking—no, her entire body was. But, she thought with a dark laugh as tears blurred her vision once more, refusing to fall like they had so many times during the past week, at least that things couldn't possibly get any worse. Her life had hit an all time low.
Yuki had a arm on her shoulder, giving her warmth and reassurance. She couldn't help but look into his eyes, and there she found no comfort from her sideways glance. His eyes were cold and hateful, already plotting revenge. Sure, it was a legend and supposed truth that the rat hated the cat and vice versa, but could it really be said after all this?
The words scribbled in blood on her bedroom was were still being scrubbed away, Hatori coming over to help Shigure (who blanched when he realized It was his responsibility to clean up since he was the adult of the house) clean the "mess" and check on the traumatized teen.
Of course she wasn't the only one, all of them were. The pictures had been taken down, put into trash bags but not yet thrown out. People would question, especially the garbage people after looking at the explicit photos.
She shivered in remembrance to the horrifying images burned into her mind. Did people not have any care for others? Were they so low…so shallow to rape an already obviously injured teen. She shook her head, hair cascading over her shoulders as tears threatened to fall this time. "Kyou…"
Yuki heard the words from her mouth, but he didn't look up or say anything. All he did was squeeze her shoulder a little bit, holding her from falling into a depressed state—something rather unfitting for the blissful high school student.
"Yuki," The girl didn't look up, just whispered the Rat's name, "When will this be over?" The question could have meant so many things, so instead of responding to her question, he chose to stay quiet. He sighed, wondering if his words would make the situation worse.
"Yuki?" Did he not hear the question, she wondered absent-mindedly, though all other thought were elsewhere.
He sighed, covering his face with his hand, running another though his hair, he choked back a sob as the images flashed in his mind again. "I don't know."
" What…" She took an unsteady breath, halting herself before she lost her composure. Continuing, she looked at him with her wide eyes, "What about Kyou?"
He bit his lower lip, a habit he had taken to recently from all the worrying. Sure, it was the cat he was worrying about, but it was none the less his cousin! He took a quaking breath, preparing himself for more of Tohru's questions before he snapped at her. "I don't know." In fact, he didn't know so many things.
"The police?" Another shuddered breath.
"We can't tell them. If they did, Akito would have our head." He looked at Tohru once more, "And…they would begin to look into us and for suspects."
"But…" Her brows knit together in confusion and worry, "What if…what if they already know something?" a thought came to her mind, "What if they found Kyou?"
The telephone had a wonderful way of making an entrance. Bringing and ringing loudly, two pairs of eyes looked at the instrument and Yuki got up, stiffly at first.
"Hello?" He questioned, choosing instead to simply greet the person on the other line in this way, too tired to say the normal 'moshi moshi, Sohma' greeting.
His eyes widened, "W…what!" Then the line disconnected after the speaker on the other line quickly talked in a hushed tone. He hung up the phone, looking at Tohru, who under exhaustion, had fallen prey to sleep and it's calls. His face softened. Good, she needed to rest.
"It should stop raining by tomorrow." Shigure said, looking at Yuki. "Who was that on the phone?"
"No one." And with that, he went upstairs, deciding to tell the news to everyone when they were rested, hopefully, for the day tomorrow. He could tell it was going to be a lovely day. Perfect, he sarcastically though, a sunny day to break news to them.
Sighing, he pushed open the door to is room, not even bothering to change into his night clothes as he simply closed the door, walking languidly over to his bed and collapsed, falling prey like Tohru down stairs to the late hours of the night.
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The day was beautiful, why wouldn't it be? The heavy showers from the previous day left a certain refreshing smell, Tohru imagined it would be something like a rainforest would smell like. The trees dripped water and she closed her eyes, smiling as she stood there carefree for the first time in a very long while.
The laundry from the past two days had piled up, but Tohru found she couldn't dry them anywhere else but outside on the small landing at the end of the hall. Waiting for a break in the weather, she smiled at the great opportunity of having such a glorious day like they now had.
It certainly didn't reflect the emotions running through her under the mask she had acquired. 'Kyou…' it was a whisper of a name, bringing back all sorts of bundled emotions ranging from fear, worry, concern, pain, and…love.
The wind blew gently, making her smile and let out a small giggle, the first real laugh that she had in a long time, as her hair tickled her across the cheek. Giddy feeling of when she remembered the times she had with Kyou left her with a lower pit in her stomach when she realized that the past would remain the past. She closed her eyes, keeping them closed until a noise alerted her she wasn't the only one on the balcony.
Her eyes flashed open as she ran right into someone and threw out her arms on impulse. Only to end up falling right onto an a pale haired youth, whose eyes were wide. Yuki, the rat of the zodiac. That wasn't good.
She closed her eyes and opened them after a blast of air and smoke happened. She sniffled, "I'm so sorry!" She cried, picking up a somewhat smiling rat and held him out in her arms. "I'm so sorry, Yuki!"
"It's all right." The rat said with a smile, 'At least she beginning to act more of herself.' She held that look in her eyes, and he knew that she was blaming herself as always. "Really." He assured, hoping she would listen to him.
She heard him, but couldn't help but nod her head and mumbled another, "I'm so sorry." Tohru sniffled again as she felt the rat's small paw brush against her cheek, wiping away a tear creeping down it.
"I wanted to tell you something." Yuki looked at the even a little bit happy girl, hoping that the news wouldn't ruin the mood that he had caught her in. No matter what was said, it had to be done.
"Hm…?" Tohru questioned, tilting her head and somewhat glad at the change of subject. She really didn't mean it---
"Well…you see…I …uh…we…"
"It's all right, Yuki." Tohru said with a reassuring smile and a gut feeling it was news about Kyou, "You can tell me anything." The word anything seemed to echo through the woods and house oddly and Yuki held back the ominous feeling in his stomach. What would the outcome of these words be?
She took a shaky breath as she prepared herself for the news.
He closed his eyes for the moment, steeling himself. "We have a possible lead," She looked at him with hopeful eyes brimmed with tears and a small smile on her face, cheeks flushed. She sniffled, holding back the tears that were threatening to come with the news. "We think we may have found Kyou."
And, as if to add more of a relaxed or merry atmosphere, another poof of smoke and Yuki was sitting next to her, reaching for his clothes with a light blush on his face and an even redder one for Tohru.
"Where?" She mumbled over her shoulder, having turned her back to give Yuki more privacy.
"At the hospital." And those words certainly deflated the mood of the day.
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Freedom in a Cage
By: Lost-Remembrance (Red Tail)
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Chapter :
The car hit a bump and rough spot in the road, sending some of the passenger's from their still stance into a bouncing jumble of bones.
The ride was silent, not a soul in the car uttering words of comfort to one another. Words couldn't do anything to numb the words that had reached them of a youth in the hospital, intense care unit, that resembled the person they had filed as missing.
Kyou Sohma.
Tohru had her head bent and eyes tightly closed, fists clenching the hem of her wrinkled school skirt. Her long light brown hair hung over her hunched shoulders, bangs falling over her eyes as she promised not to cry in front of everyone—she needed to be strong.
She choked back a sob and she felt the warm arms of Yuki wrap around her shoulder to try and comfort her. She wouldn't have any of it and ripped out of his grasp, a hurt look flashing on his face which the driver, Shigure couldn't help but notice.
He was so pale, his skin looking even paler with his vibrant orange hair hanging heavily over his eyes and brushed teasingly against his nose, as if trying to tickle him. His body was thin, still holding it's masculine and muscles look but still showing the immense weight loss. Dark circles under his eyes showed the lack of sleep Kyou had suffered.
It was amazing, in a sick and terrifying fascination, what one person could do to their own self, and by those of others…wounds were marring his once beautifully sculpted body. His wounds from the previous tortured had been ripped open again, or at least the ones that had begun to heal, red with infection as thin, spidery red streaks crawled their way towards his heart. Hatori grimaced when he noted the damage.
Shigure shot a look at the doctor, wondering if the skilled doctor would be able to do, and if they would be able to get the cat out of the hospital before any other of the Sohma family got wind of what was going on. After all, there was a reason why they had their own family doctor.
Hatori shook his head with a sad, forlorn look in his eyes as he looked back at the now solemn dog of the zodiac. "This is beyond me." Hatori said with a lowered head as he looked the pale and motionless body hooked up to all sort of equipment. "You'll need to keep him here—they have the proper equipment to treat him there."
Tohru crouched near him, brushing her hand over his forehead to feel the fever there. His skin was beaded with sweat, his pulse weak but racing through his veins at much too fast of a pace. She gulped down the lump in her throat, sniffling to keep away the tears and brushed his orange bangs out of his face.
Not a single reaction, except a flinch at the cool touch of her hand on her skin… She pulled her hand away from him, afraid that her touch would hurt him. Would he even want her near him? She blinked back tears with that thought.
"Has there been any changes, doctor? …Well, since he got here I mean." Yuki questioned, holding Tohru's hand in his tightly as he tried to help her get a hold of herself. She looked like a wreck; blood shot eyes, hair dull, her petite form shaking unsteadily.
The older man shook his head, adjusting his glasses as she got ready to give them the diagnosis of the day. "He lost a lot of blood and suffered from a strong infection, which is taking it's toll now. He's currently nearing the critical state."
Shigure took a deep breath and bit his lower lip, thinking with dark eyes. Perhaps it wasn't such a good idea in the first place, letting Tohru into this house, getting her involved. Either way, he should have known that Yuki or Kyo would end up getting hurt.
Somehow, he had a gut feeling that Akito had done this to the orange-haired cat. It wouldn't surprise him, though, if the head of the Sohma household had done so. He closed his eyes briefly to calm his nerves.
He would have groaned if his throat worked. He would have screamed if he could, he would have whimpered in the blinding pain that had set itself upon him.
The question was simply; what had he done to deserve this?
He found himself stuck here, lost in an oblivious state that he knew wasn't real and that was at the same time. A little bit of in between one might say.
And then, the memories wouldn't stop coming. They kept reeling, reminding him of what had been done, something that couldn't, and wouldn't be able to change or reverse. Not even Hatori and his memory erases could wipe the shame and pain that clawed deep into his soul, nestling further than even his love for Tohru.
It was stupid, she wouldn't and couldn't love him. The picture of her face when she saw his true form burned into his mind, reminding him of what a pathetic and worthless creature he was. Who was love a used toy like himself? All he was good for was playing with, and even then broken toys were thrown away in the end.
Rain splatter over him as a car drove by swiftly, not caring who, or what, the puddles of rain the streets slowly collected hit when rolled over.
He sniffled, the numbing feeling spreading through his entire body. He closed his eyes, wishing for the numbness to stay forever. Perhaps this was why people became alcoholics? To numb their soul forever to stop the pain that was worse than any physical injury could inflict.
Rainwater that continually fell from the crying heavens matted down his hair and the fiery look in his eyes was now long gone, tamed by the turmoil pitted deep in his soul. Pains of emotion stabbed through his body, reminders to the pain and weakness his body was in.
He looked up, closing his eyes and drifting off while he was still walking to find the streets vacant, the pedestrians long gone to seek shelter from the freezing rain slashing at his skin. He didn't care.
He sniffled again, knowing it was not from the symptoms of crying or a sneeze, but that of a cold. He snorted, not caring if he was sick or not. He had long past the boundaries of caring the moment he had been freed from that hell hole that Akito had claimed was the only place suitable for the vile and unworthy cat.
Why did everyone hate the cat so much?
Was it because he didn't attend the banquet, because the rat tricked the cat? What made them so special anyway? Why did he become an outcast simply because of that event? He lowered his eyes and clenched his fists together so tightly that thin, barely noticeable crimson blood streams trickled down between the cracks of his fingers. Why…?
His thought pattern was disrupted when he felt a hand on his shoulder, the smell of wet clothing from the other person and one that he couldn't match reached his stuffy, yet still runny nose.
"Wha…?" Another gripped his other shoulder and he struggled to turn around as he was lead away from the street into a nearby alley.
A cold smirk, one of a masked man in black leather managed to reach the growing haze in his mind. A chuckle from the man later and he growled, prepared to fight back. With his futile efforts, he soon found himself pinned against a brick wall.
Somehow, in the depth of his mind he knew what was coming, knew what happened in hopeless situations such as these. He would rather die.
"Pretty little thing, aren't you?" His stomach churned. If he had his strength he could take this guy on, knock some sense into him like he would to Haru, or at least Black Haru.
"Makes up for your ugliness." He growled back as a retort, getting a slap in response, a knee between his legs holding his lower torso to the wall and arms pinned above his head by his captor's other hand.
"Pretty thing with a tongue." Next thing he knew, the man lunged forward, pushing his lips against Kyou's in a brutalizing kiss that made the orange haired teen shiver, trying to get away.
His vision sway, the lack of oxygen making the world around him spin. Another dark shadow stepped out from somewhere, acting almost as if he was a shadow itself.
He was released from the bruising kiss.
"Having fun?" Came the other person's voice, echoing in the eerily quiet alley.
A grin to that question, turning hungry and lustful eyes to look over the slim, but toned body of Kyou. He shrank back, trying to free himself once more from the strengthened grasp.
Why, and better yet, since when was he so weak!
"Oh don't worry," The man leaned in, whispering in his ear as cool breath crawling over his skin made him feel dirty and soiled somehow. The person chortled as he tried to pull free once more. A nip, more like bite, on the neck made him gasp, his efforts of escape halting. "I'm sure that you and me…we'll have lots of fun."
After countless bouts of intense pain that rocked and coursed through his blood and veins, he gave into his body's desire and black out.
When he woke, the images of the men touching him, taking something that could never be taken back…his body shut down, his heart as well.
It was all his fault after all, if he had been stronger, this never would have happened…if….
He felt a hand touch his body, a icy cold hand brush over his forehead. He would have shivered, but he found that he didn't have any control over his body.
Voices reached to him like he was under water, the voices of everything on low volume. He was struggling to still fight off the darkness that called to him, whispering to ease his wishes of ending the pain and entering a state of nothingness.
Kyou couldn't help but wonder what it was like to die.
"Doctor," it sounded like a female's voice, small and it held such sadness. "Will he be all right?"
A sigh from the man, the doctor Kyou assumed and what he also thought was shuffling of papers. Just where was he? He couldn't be at a hospital…could he?
"To put it simply, not good." He felt his gut retch inside him, twisting a knotting as he heard the news.
"There's evidence to possible sexual assault, but we aren't sure. We didn't check as through as we would like due to his intense condition. He focused on the main things—checking for internal bleed and other large wounds that could be life threatening."
"God…" There was a deep breath, why did this one sound like Yuki? "Where there any?" The question seemed forced, almost as if Yuki, if this person was the rat of the zodiac, was worried over him and his condition.
Kyou double-took on what he had just thought and mirthlessly gave a mental laugh, as if the cat of the zodiac would be loved, or even have concern from another—and especially from that of the rat no less! That was a real April Fool's day prank, that much was for sure.
Shuffling of feet reached Kyou's ears and he strained an eye open, praying his strength wouldn't fail him now as he felt the waves of pain hit him as he fought off the drugs in his system, forcing him to stay unconscious.
"Yes. Not many though, luckily we found him when we did." Through blurry vision, he could see a girl in a wrinkled school uniform, knees drawn up to chest as if in an effort to fight off the outside world.
"What should we do now then, doctor?" Shigure's voice held no laughter or joy. He seemed tired, face looking to belong of that of an older man. He looked nearly twice as old.
"Hopefully, he'll be stable enough to care for before the drugs wear off…then we can do a more thorough examination, with your permission of course." Shigure nodded slightly after hearing the doctor's orders.
"Are you not telling us something?" The doctor turned his eyes to look at the boy sitting with a arm wrapped around the saddened girl in comfort, looking back at him with equal emotion speaking in his eyes.
At times, Yuki could be a teen of few words.
"Well," the doctor paused, "The effects of a possible rape…"
Tohru jerked her head up to stare at Kyou who looked like he had been through hell and back. He was dressed almost fully in gauze and bandages wrapped around him. An IV line and other machines were connected to him, monitoring him for the best and hopes of improvement.
Her breath caught in her throat when she saw something, a crimson eye of the still figure was half lidded, showing that the reckless youth managed to wake, if not fully but partially. "Kyou!"
However, despite the doctor's words of advice, her heart plumetted to the floor and shattered upon noting the dull and utterly broken forlorn look in Kyou's eyes.
"Kyou…" Tears brimmed her eyes, falling for the first time since she had learned of his disappearance and she had cried herself to sleep with worry.
"It's also possible that he blames himself for everything that has happened."
TBC
Author's note: Woo! There's only a couple more chapters to this story, or at least that's what I think. There may be more than one. I might merge 'Scarlet's' few chapters with this and taken down that story since it was somewhat related to this one.
Thanks to those who reviewed! I understand that this story is indeed dark, but I hope that all of you are enjoying it if you're into that sort of thing! XP This and Innocence is probably the darkest story I've ever written.
I tried to make this chapter a little longer, XD Sorry if it isn't!
Reviews are always loved and welcomed with a hug!
Love, Red Tail