Chapter 2: They Can't Know
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"Do you know why I'm telling you this Yuki?" Akito asked while laughing in his cold, uncaring voice. Before Yuki could answer, though, Akito quickly continued, "Because the next rat to get this deadly sickness…is you."
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Yuki started feeling dizzy and confused. How could this even happen? Maybe Akito was just trying to mess with his mind and make him worry. Yuki heard Hatori shift in his kneeling position, and cleared his voice.
"Akito, are sure this is even true? Maybe it's just a coincidence?" Hatori said, speaking for the first time, though he didn't seem confident in what he said.
"It's a fairly precise coincidence, then," Akito replied in a bored voice. "I'm quite sure it will happen this time, as it has the last few centuries." He got up from his seating, and walked slowly towards Yuki. "Think of it this way, Yuki. You won't have to suffer the curse of the Sohma's much longer. Though, the way you'll be freed isn't exactly a comforting thought, I suppose." Akito was now standing right in from of Yuki, who made his way back to staring at the floor. However, Akito yanked his head up by his hair so Yuki was looking directly at him. Hatori started to get up to get Akito away, but stayed where he was when he was thrown a threatening look. He didn't want to make things worse.
"No one will care, you know," he whispered to the rat. "You're abnormal, just like the rest." He let go of Yuki, as if he was touching rotten trash.
"You're wrong," Yuki muttered. He knew he should just keep quiet, but what Akito said wasn't true…right? "Someone would care."
"If you're talking about that Honda girl, don't think her sadness is specifically for you. She'd care if a thief, or even a murderer, had died. Sadly, she's just like that. You mean nothing special to her," Akito said coldly. He walked to the small porch and went to lie on his side. That was the signal for Yuki and Hatori to leave.
As soon as Hatori closed the sliding door, he turned to face Yuki. What they had both just learned would indeed take a toll on him. However,all Hatori could see were blank eyes, with no emotion; like Yuki wasn't even there at all. They slowly made their way to the main entrance, not saying a word to each other on the way.
"I'll give you a ride back, if you want," Hatori said after a few minutes, looking at Yuki again, hoping to get a response that way. The only one he got, though, was a single nod. Hatori sighed as they headed towards where his car was at.
'This will defiantly not turn out very well,' Hatori thought, 'for anyone.'
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Shigure sat down in his chair and stared at the computer screen. His editor had asked him to have his story done by the end to the week, but he was no where near complete. He leaned back in the chair and started to stare around his room.
'Hmm, I should clean up a bit,' he thought. Of course, he was purposely trying to get distracted from writing.
After 10 minutes of slow cleaning (more so, shoving things in his closet), Shigure heard the front door slide open, and then slide closed.
'Yuki must be back,' Shigure thought. He wondered whether he should go out and see what had happened, or stay in his room for just a bit. Nothing good ever came from a visit to the Main House with Akito, and Yuki might not want to say what happened. Before Shigure could make up his mind, there was a knock on his door. Without waiting for an answer, the door opened and Hatori came inside.
"Haa-san! What a pleasant surprise!" Shigure said gleefully. "Are you willingly here to pay the great Shigure Sohma a visit?"
"Cut the jokes for a second, I need to talk to you," Hatori replied, than added, "This is serious."
"What happened?" Shigure asked, actually obeying to Hatori's request for seriousness. Hatori took a deep breath and explained about the meeting…
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Yuki went up to his room and collapsed in his bed. He hadn't really got it through his head about the whole meeting with Akito. Whether or not to believe him was more confusing then ever. If he was lying, Yuki would usually be able to tell, but now he wasn't so sure. As much as he disliked it, Akito was likely telling the truth.
There was then a soft knock on his door, waking him from his thoughts.
"Yes?" Yuki said, sitting up. He hoped it wasn't Hatori; he didn't want to speak to him about what happened...not now, at least. The door slid opened and Tohru appeared in theframe.
"Is everything alright?" she asked, staring at him with her worried eyes. Yuki placed on a fake, reassuring smile.
"Yes, everything's fine, Honda-san," he replied. Of course, the smile didn't fool Tohru, but she didn't want to press on. She nodded and gave him a small smile,
"Ok, Yuki-kun, but if something's wrong, you can always talk to me about it."
Yuki nodded, and, this time, truly smiled at her. When she left, Yuki let out a small sigh. He couldn't let her find out about his soon-to-be sickness; he didn't want her to worry. There was again another knock on his door, and he told whoever it was to come in. This time, however, it was Hatori, and Shigure. They were both looking at him with serious expressions. He didn't need to be told that Shigure already knew.
"No cold yet, if that's what you wanted to know," Yuki said, lying back in his bed.
"Well, not exactly, but that's still good either way," Shigure spoke, smiling a little. "Actually, Haa-san has a list for you to follow." Hatori handed Yuki the said list, and he read it aloud.
1. Get at least 10 hours of sleep a night.
2. Eathealthy foods; keeps you strong.
3. No hard running or fighting (stay away from Kyo toachieve this
4. If temperature is high, stay in bed at all times
Yuki paused at the 5th thing on the list. It looked like it was scribbled in at last minute. He looked up at Shigure and read,
"Number 5, write Shigure's newest book by the end of the week. Be sure to add..." Yuki gave a disgusted look, "…young, beautiful high school girls to make things interesting…"
Hatori took the list, looked at the last line, and smacked it against Shigure's head, who cowered in fear of being hit again; pretty much like the dog he is. Hatori then scratched out the end with his pen and handed it back to Yuki.
"Just be sure to follow those things," he said, crossing his arms. "I'll try to get Akito to say more about this, but in the meantime, take it easy and be cautious about anything you think might make things worse. Also, your breathing might be troubled, so you really need to watch out for that."
"Yeah, alright," Yuki said, setting the list on his side table. "Oh, by the way…I'd rather have no one know-"
"We won't tell," Hatori said before Yuki finished. "Not even Ayame, if you want. However, as time goes by, it'll show that you're getting sick. They'll figure it out sooner or later."
"I know," Yuki said, sighing. Suddenly, something seemed to have gotten caught in his throat and he began to cough uncontrollably. In an instant, Hatori, having his medical bag, got out Yuki's medicine, handed 2 pills to him, and watched as the younger boy slowly swallowed them down. A few minutes later, the coughing started to cease and Yuki was able to regain control.
"Well," Shigure said, looking straight at Yuki. "Looks like its already starting."
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It was a few hours since Hatori had left, and Shigure, Yuki, Tohru and Kyo were sitting down to eat dinner. No one talked and Tohru was getting worried that something might have been wrong. She understood why Kyo was a bit out of it; it was pouring rain outside. However, Yuki, and even Shigure, sat in total silence. As Tohru started to open her mouth to say something, Yuki spoke up first.
"Honda-san, do you know if we have anything important happening tomorrow?" he said, looking at Tohru with a smile. He saw that she looked worried a few minutes ago, and so he started conversation to lighten the mood.
"Huh…? Oh!" Tohru was startled with the sudden question, but it made her smile nonetheless. "Yes, we do! We'repreparing for the school festival for this year. It's this Saturday, you know! "
"Oh, yes, I forgot all about that," Yuki said, sighing, while coughing a little bit.
"Is something wrong, Yuki-kun? Are you feeling sick?" Tohru asked. Shigure took a glance at Yuki before turning back to his food. Yuki was unaware that he had turned pale, as well, so he smiled at Tohru and came up with something to say.
"I just hope I won't have to cross-dress this year," he said. "Maybe they'll get the stupid cat to do it instead."
"Shut up! I'd never wear a stupid dress! Besides, you're the only one who could pull it off; you look like a girl already!" Kyo shouted at Yuki, though his mouth was stuffed with food. He started to choke just a little bit.
"Idiot," Yuki muttered before turning his attention towards his own food.
"WHAT DID YOU JUST CALL ME?" Kyo shouted yet again, this time standing up.
"I called you an idiot," Yuki replied without glancing up at the cat, "and it shows."
"YOU WANT A FIGHT, GIRLY MAN?" Kyo got in fighting position when Shigure stood up abrupt idly.
"Not today, Kyon-Kyon, calm down," he said, taking his garbage and throwing it away.
"No way! That stupid rat needs a few good punches to his face!" Kyo stated angrily, cracking his knuckles.
"Kyo, I mean it, just let it be, alright?" Shigure said, sighing. Tohru noticed a bit of seriousness in his voice this time around. She wondered why Shigure was trying to stop the fight when he usually encourages them. Yuki stood up and started to walk out of the kitchen when Kyo started towards him, fist flying at his face. However, instead of wanting to fight back, Yuki quickly closed the sliding door behind him, causing Kyo to crash into it.
"DAMN RAT!" Kyo shouted at Yuki, who was no longer there. He got up from the ruined door, kicked it, and stormed outside. Shigure shook his head and Tohru heard him mutter,
"Yuki won't be able to stand this much longer." He was unaware that Tohru had overheard him, as he had started to clear the table of Yuki and Kyo's leftovers. Now she was worried about how Yuki and Shigure were acting. First, Shigure discourages the fight between the two boys with complete seriousness, and now he was actually helping clear the table. Then, Yuki didn't even want to fight with Kyo. Something was going on, and Tohru needed to know. She wanted to help with whatever was happening, because if it made the dog and rat act so differently, it had to be important…
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Author's Note: Wow! Thanks for such the wonderful feedback, you guys! I didn't think I'd get 6 on just the first chapter! And I'll comment on reviews (a first for me ehehehe)
MoMo- Oooh, then you'll like later chapters, there's so much Kyo-ness, its (hopefully) hilarious!
silverpheonix2- I know what you mean with updates. I haven't done much since last July, but I'll try to keep updating regularly for this story!
Animefreakkagome- Indeed I shall, there will be (almost always) one update every 4-7 days! Maybe even sooner!
Crimson-Eyed-Angel99- He is such a target, isn't he? Poor little Sohma-kun! I'm sure things will get better :P
Moonlit Maiden- I'm glad you've gotten hooked! It's nice to have someone like what I wrote :D I'll try my best to get each chapter edited and looked over so it'll be perfect (..semi, at the least :D)
S.B. Kisses- I'm very glad you like! And I'm aiming for quick updates, too :D
Thanks so much to all for reviewing my first chapter! I really appreciate it!
hahaha, Shigure and his pervertedness!
I'd like to add that I have chapter 3 written and fully completed, and I'll transfer chapter 4 from my notebook to Microsoft as soon as I can! I'm going to keep this story going (unlike my, err, others). Please tell me what you think about this chapter pretty please with sugar on top and a cherry in the middle puppy dog eyes! …Shigure and his effects on my innocent mind… tsk
