Chapter 14: Fair Battle?
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'Oh, this is just great. Déjà vu. This has been a terrible day,' Yuki thought, and if he could make any sound, he would have laughed sarcastically. Before blacking out once more, a last thought entered Yuki's head.
'Being a Sohma really sucks.'
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A load snore crept from the silver haired man's mouth when a small thump woke him from his slumber. Ayame lazily opened his eyes to remember that he had fallen asleep outside Yuki's room against the wall. It was unintentional, of course, and if Yuki were to walk out and find him there, Ayame would have surely been thrown through a wall. However, that wasn't what he was concerned about a split second later as his mind wondered off to the reason he was awakened. The thump sounded as if it came from inside of Yuki's room, plus the soundlessness of the area gave it away. Ayame got up and was about to slid open the door only to find that it was already opened. Yuki was unconscious on the floor, just inches away from the edge of the doorway. Before Ayame could do or say anything, Shigure suddenly popped up from behind him.
"I thought I heard something," he mumbled as he and Ayame, lifted Yuki onto his bed.
"How did you hear anything from all the way downstairs?" Ayame asked as Shigure pulled out a box of medicine from his pocket, in case of emergencies, such as the one that was now occurring.
"I'm the dog of the zodiac; I have excellent hearing," Shigure said calmly. Ayame raised an eyebrow and gave a sigh. Of course Shigure didn't have excellent hearing; if the roof of the house were to be ripped off, he wouldn't even hear the slightest whistle of the wind. Or he would just ignore it, whichever came first. Now noticing the look he was receiving, Shigure gave a defeated sigh. "Alright, alright, I was worried. Nowadays we all have been. I was just coming up here to check on him." Ayame nodded, understanding completely. After all, he felt the same way. The only thing they could do, as hard as it was to admit, was watch Yuki suffer. Luckily, the least they could do was help him not be subjected to a lot of pain.
"He has a fever," Shigure said when he put a hand on Yuki's forehead. He was starting to breathe regularly, but he still had an anguished look on his face. Ayame left the room quickly to get a wet towel to put on Yuki's forehead. To his luck, he was able to avoid Tohru; he didn't want to tell her about Yuki. AS Ayame filled up a bowl of cold water, he thought about how worse his younger brother seemed to have been getting and let out a shaky sigh. If things were starting to go down hill already, they wouldn't have much time to practice before Yuki would become too sick to fight. The water started to over flow in the sink, which brought Ayame back out of his thoughts, and he started to head back upstairs, careful not to spill any of the water.
"Should we call Tori-san?" Ayame asked as he carefully set the damp cloth onto Yuki's burning forehead.
"He seems to be fine," Shigure said, but shook his head. "Looks can be deceiving, though. We probably should, as a precaution." He got up to call him, leaving Ayame to watch over his young brother. It was almost hard to even look at him without a shudder… he was so sick, and Ayame couldn't do anything. It was almost as if Yuki was a child again, and the one time he needed help, Ayame pushed him away. Now, when he needed help, Ayame couldn't give it. Though he would have gladly gave Yuki all the help he could, if there was any. That was the only thing different. Ayame actually wanted to help, he wanted Yuki to be safe… he cared that Yuki might die. To know you can't offer anything but advice wasn't very pleasing.
Ayame looked away from Yuki and back towards the door. He could just barely hear Shigure finishing his conversation with Hatori over the phone. Footsteps then sounded through the hallway and Shigure came back into the room.
"Hatori's on his way," he said as he took a seat on the floor. Ayame gave a solemn nod and took another glance at Yuki. He was almost as white as a ghost, but his face was slightly flushed.
'Hurry, Tori-san,' Ayame thought with slight worry. He was probably overreacting about Yuki's current situation, but Ayame would rather have Hatori look over him… just in case.
"He should be fine now," Hatori said as he put his syringe away. He arrived fifteen minutes ago and had to give Yuki a shot of medicine, since he was still out and couldn't take the pills. "Yuki seemed to have overworked himself. He has a fever of 102 degrees, and he might be too weak to move when he wakes up." Hatori closed his bag and stood up, as did Shigure and Ayame.
"How long do you think he'll be out?" Shigure asked, taking a slight glance at Yuki before returning his gaze to Hatori.
"A few hours, two or three perhaps," he replied, also taking a look at him. He was still discolored, but the medicine would start to work soon. "Have him take the medicine I gave you in the morning. He should be able to last until then." Shigure nodded as he out the new medicine away. "How's Kyo doing with his fighting?"
"I'm not sure," Shigure admitted with an uptight shrug. "He hasn't said much, but then again, he's not here too much anymore. I'm guessing it's going well." Hatori nodded and headed for the door, and said as he left,
"Let's hope he's able to challenge Yuki soon, before he becomes too weak to fight."
Tohru stood by the stairs when she heard Hatori speak, and gave a shudder. She was wondering what the commotion was, and now that she knew, it made her stomach turn. Every time the 'curse' was brought up, Tohru couldn't make herself think that everything would be right. The thoughts of everything going wrong flashed through her mind each time, and more so as the days went by. Tohru shook her head to try to get the thoughts out and let out tired sigh.
"Don't think about it," she said to herself as she started to put the laundry away. Tohru forced a smile onto her face. "Everything will be just fine."
Six Months Later
Kyo kicked a target on the wall that Kazuma put up, and let out a victorious smirk. He had been able to hit the exact spot every time he kicked at it, and he was able to for a few months.
"Good, Kyo," Kazuma said with a smile. For the past few months, they have been practicing everyday for at least five hours. It was exhausting for the both of them, with Kazuma going against Kyo whenever they thought up a new strategy. Now, however, Kyo was completely concentrated when he was about to battle, and didn't just punch and kick in anger.
Nonetheless, Kazuma had an odd feeling about the situation; something just didn't seem right. Shigure had told him Yuki practiced everyday, like Kyo, but for not as long, considering his condition. How he said it made Kazuma wonder if Yuki was even healthy enough to be under so much stress and work.
"Shishou," Kyo's voice came, and Kazuma turned to him with a smile that told Kyo to continue. "Do… do you think I'm ready?" He looked as if thought he wasn't, but that was far from the case, it almost made Kazuma laugh.
"Actually, I do," he said with a slightly bigger smile when he saw Kyo's face light up. "Besides, we should probably set this up soon, before Yuki gets too weak."
"Today, maybe?" Kyo asked with so much enthusiasm, it was almost like a child asking to go to the park.
"Just what I was thinking," Kazuma said with a nod. "Let me get a hold of Shigure and we can get this all ready." Before he left the room to set everything up, Kazuma turned back to Kyo with a smile still plastered on his face. "You're definitely ready, Kyo. I'm sure you can end this whole thing today, and everything will be back to how it's supposed to be."
"Why, exactly, are we having the battle outside?" Yuki asked as the wind blew hard against his face. Ever since he last fainted, which everyone was trying to keep from happening anymore, Yuki had been taking it slightly easy. He felt bad when he had to miss school because of a high fever, or because he was feeling uncoordinated. Yuki didn't want to make anything different just because he was sick; he wanted to try to live as normal as he had always been, but with the 'curse', he was having difficulty in doing so.
"There's more room out here," Shigure said with a smile. "Besides, I don't want you two ruining my house. It's getting colder so I really need to have a working door." Only two others were outside to watch the outcome of the fight, other than Shigure. Tohru stood by, just listening to the conversation with a blank look in her eyes. Today was the day that would tell if Yuki would live or die, and it made her more nervous then she ever had been. Hatori was there, standing beside Shigure, to help Yuki if something happened; this whole thing would surely stress him out. Ayame, however, wasn't there under Yuki's orders. He didn't want, as he put it, 'an annoying idiot' distracting him when he would be fighting Kyo. Speaking of said boy…
"Well, rat boy, are you ready to fight?" Kyo's voice came from the trail to Shigure's house, and the orange haired cat appeared, followed by Kazuma. Yuki gave a smirk, along with a small laugh.
"Have been," he replied as he walked away from the others to an open area, where they could fight.
"Yuki-kun," Tohru's voice came over the wind and his thoughts and he turned to look at her. It was easy to tell that she was completely worried and a Yuki's eyes saddened at what he was seeing. "Please be careful." Yuki gave her a reassuring smile and nod before turning back to Kyo, who was now completely ready to fight.
"Get ready to finally lose, you damned rat," Kyo sneered, and without a seconds thought, both ran towards each other in fighting format. Yuki was the first to actually punch, and he barely hit Kyo in the shoulder. He tried to punch once more, but Kyo completely dodged it and kicked his foot out in hopes of tripping Yuki. He succeeded in doing so, but Yuki quickly got back up.
The fall to the ground knocked the wind out of the Rat, but he had to keep fight; everything needed to be fair. If only his vision wasn't so hazy…
'I've got to make this fair,' Yuki thought as he quickly blinked to clear his vision. 'I just need to act as if it was an everyday battle…'
Kyo punched his fist at Yuki, which caused him to stumble backwards. Yuki quickly retaliated and kicked at Kyo, hitting him in the stomach, but not knocking him down as Yuki had always once been able to do. The Rat cursed when he felt himself get a headache, and shook his head, in hopes of it just being a sore spot that would go away. However, it didn't at all, and he had let his guard down and before he could react, Kyo kicked Yuki in the stomach, and he went flying into ground. Yuki tried to get up, but he was too sore to even move his arms.
"You…" Yuki started, breathing heavily. As much as he didn't want to admit it, he had to… it was only fair. "You won… stupid cat. You finally… won." Without hearing a reply, Yuki completely fainted once more…
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A Few Hours Later
Yuki was in his bed, unable to breathe normally, and looked as if he was in much pain. Hatori stood over him with a syringe and stethoscope. Instead of getting better, as he was suppose to, he seemed to be getting worse.
"Why isn't he getting better? Kyo beat him in battle, he should be fine!" Tohru cried as she gently held onto Yuki's warm hand. It was slightly shaking, but she was positive half of that was from her own hand. "This shouldn't be happening, he didn't win, he lost!"
"Yes, he did, but do you really think it was even a fair battle?" An eerie voice came from the door and everyone turned around to see the only person who could have such a cruel voice: Akito. He stood there with a smirk, leaning against the door frame. "I mean, is fighting against someone who is sick really fair?"
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Author's Note: I'm terribly, TERRIBLY sorry I didn't update sooner! For some annoying reason, fanfictions wouldn't let me sign onto my name, and I couldn't post T.T arrgghh… but it's alright now, no hard feeling fanfic XD And no, Tohru didn't know Yuki had fainted, she only heard the one thing Hatori said. Otherwise, she would have been right by his side. AW XP!
(sigh) I had a pleasant dream where at the end of the manga, Yuki and Tohru get together. Splendid, that dream was XD. Anyways, there's only one more chapter left! Graduation for this fic, going off to a better life as a college student! (Don't ask, I'm just sad that this story is almost over T.T) I'll update soon, I really will.
whiterose-kiss- Well, the battle is over with but… uh oh, more problems arise! Well, thank you so much for the review!
Rose- Ahh, I remember when I didn't know who'd go best with who. Then I read this wonderful Yukiru story and I just got hooked. But man, those couples you mentioned really are weird lol. Thanks for the review!
inu-yuki lover100- Aww, thanks for such a nice review! And I even screeched about Volume 13. How does he say it? And is it before or after Machi and Yuki get (shudders) close? I heard that in the latest chapters, that Kyo and Tohru are getting close (angry face). Ahh, I'm so eager. All I have is Volume 9, and I'm anxiously awaiting Volume 10. Stupid Tokyopop XD
crimsonsun-rk- Oh, yes, guys at school are always perverted, especially high school guys. Wow, I wonder how Ayame, and Shigure for that matter, acted. That's real scary, really. Hm, and I dunno, Akito is pretty sneaky, you never know what he's going to do. And yes, I'd choose Hatori as God any day over Ayame and Shigure. But in my eyes, Hatori is God (such a fan girl I can be XD) And I'm glad you think the Romeo and Juliet, Fruits Basket style story isn't lame XP but it's going to be hard to write (since it is to read) Thanks so much for the review!
Animefreak- I agree with you! Poor ickle Yuki! He's having a bad .. er.. week, actually. Now months. I'm so mean XD! Thanks for the review!
mistic fox- (huggles Yuki) I've got to be nicer to him, shouldn't I? Thanks for the review!
Maple Chan- Thanks so much for your wonderful review! And if your story ends up as Yukiru, mwahahaha, I'd be most pleased. Yukiru, no matter what the storyline is, always put a smile on my face (which means Kyoru makes me want to go Godzilla on everyone) And I would join a Kyo fanclub, only I'd be more into Yuki's ahaha! I, too, am a fan of both kind of stories, though I'd rather it be happy and not have me being depressed if something bad happens. I just hope my ending doesn't sound bad .;;
ennov- I like the way you think! Killing Akito off would solve almost every problem in the Sohma family! Thanks for the review!
fanofFB- Thanks for the nice review! I hope I updated soon enough, I kept getting writer's block :O
OfPiratesAndElves- Thanks so much for the review! Sadly, there is only one chapter left after this one, though. SERIES FINALE!
MegTao- I hate when fanfics (mainly Fruits Basket) end, yes… BUT it's better than fanfics that are never continued (I haven't updated so many of my other fics in such a long time I just might never update. I'm surprised, and pleased, that I stuck with this!) Oh, yes, and about Volume 9, the store I got it (and all my other volumes) at lets them out 1 week earlier than the publish date. Luckily, when I had enough money, that store (being Waldenbooks XD) had it out way earlier. I'm betting Volume 10 will be out at the end of June. Thanks for the review!
