Disclaimer: Fruits Basket isn't mine.

Dammit, that nosy baka. He HAD to know what that noise was didn't he? He HAD to get involved. Damn his kindness. I watch him taking the poor trembling girl home and I curse him. Okay, maybe I am being a little hard on him, he is just doing a good deed after all, but I have a bad feeling. That man doesn't look like the type to make empty threats. He's going to want revenge. He says goodbye to the women and starts home.

"Dammit, be careful. That man looked dangerous. He'll be sure to keep his word about making you regret what you did." I growl at him. He nods grimly and I know he knows. He is not stupid after all, I have to give him that. It's getting late and as he treads home the sky darkens and the night air is pretty cold. He shivers and pulls his jacket closer to his body, his eyes focused on his feet. He doesn't see the appreciative looks that are thrown his way by both men and women.

"Oh, what a beautiful person." One girl sighs to her friend who nods. They watch him walk away. A man walking hand in hand with another man nudges his partner and points openly at Yuki. His partner grins and nods but I wonder if he is slightly jealous of the attention Yuki is receiving. I shake my head. Of course it's Yuki who gets the attention, the praise, the respect. But now the old resentment that I allowed to fester inside of me is gone and it is strangely liberating, a burden cast off finally.

At home he is pounced upon by Shigure who is torn between being angry and relieved. Yuki handles it perfectly, knowing exactly what to do to calm Shigure down. He goes to his room and I am about to follow him when I catch Shigure's words, talking more to himself than to Yuki's retreating back.

"What's the matter with you lately? I never would have thought you'd be so affected with Kyo's death. Kyo, of all people. If only he could see you now." He shakes his head sadly. I know what he means.

Yuki was never like this. He was always so sure of himself, always knowing what to do and how to handle difficult situations. But he seems so out of sorts, so confused, like that day Tohru left to live with her grandfather. We didn't know what to do without her, we had become dependent upon her to keep our house clean, cook our food, but more than than, to always be there with a smile and a kind word when we most needed it. He is acting like that, moping around the house. It's pathetic almost but I can't help feeling sorry for him.

I can't help but wonder if, our roles had been reversed and he had been the one to die, would I be as affected? Would I mourn the loss of a cousin or smile at the final defeat of the rat? A shudder runs down my spine when I contemplate this question. Yuki is so different from me. We deal with things differently. Would I miss him if I had lived and he had died? I guess I will never know and it does not do to dwell on unanswerable questions. So I float away and find Yuki, in his room, shrugging off his shirt and stepping out of his pants. Shit. I can feel a blush rising in my cheeks and turn around. Without thinking, I start to speak.

"I wonder if I would have mourned your loss. It makes me feel bad when I have to honestly say that I don't think I would have." He freezes, halfway bent over to pick up his dirty uniform.

"What? Who is that?" his voice trembles just a bit and I bite my cheek to keep from telling him. It won't be wise to tell him that I can watch him, have been watching him, and cannot be seen. He shrugs and dresses in his pajamas. As he leaves the room, I see him glance backward into the room as if he hopes to catch whatever is speaking to him off-guard so he can see it. In fact, his eyes train directly on me and I freeze for a moment out of instinct then relax when my body realizes what my mind already knows: he can't see me. At times I wish I could touch him, hold him, tell him that I don't hate him after all. But then I remind myself that it won't happen and it aches so much that I have to forget about those thoughts, push them away from me.

"Good night, Sohma-kun," Tohru calls from her room, peering out through her door, obviously deciding not to press him. I decide to visit her, see how she is doing, hoping against all hope that she is not as messed up as Yuki. She is lying on the bed, staring at a moonlit ceiling, tears spilling down the sides of her face as she cries silently, though about what I do not know.

"Tohru-kun, you really should let your feelings be known. They can't help you if they can't see your pain." I say kindly, looking fondly down at her. She is so sweet, so naïve but she is always there, always waiting for someone to need her help. I care about her.

"Oh Kyo-kun," she sighs, breaking into my thoughts, "Sohma-kun is so troubled nowadays. He won't smile but he also refuses to let anyone know of the pain he is feeling inside. He's hurting, I just know he is, he's hurting and he won't let me help him. I wish I knew what to do." I walk around her room, not knowing what to say or what to do, and on her desk are two pictures. One is of her beloved mother who she speaks so lovingly of and the other one, to my surprise, is a picture of me. I don't know where or how she got it but it was the picture Hatori took of us the first time he ever met Tohru. Yuki and I have the appearance of smiling but that was a fluke. Yuki is wearing that ridiculous dress he was too kind to refuse and, standing next to him, I look scruffy and unkempt. I look back and Tohru has fallen asleep so I walk through her door.

Yuki is still in his room, hunched over his desk doing homework. He utters a soft sigh of frustration and throws his pen on the desk. He stands up and begins to pace, hands clasped behind his back, head staring at the floor.

"Stop pacing already. You're driving me insane." He stops, wide-eyed, and I can literally see every muscle in his body tense. He moves to his bed and sits down with his back to the wall, hugging a pillow to his chest as if to protect himself.

"Who are you? Why are you following me? Why can't I see you?" he asks fearfully and I almost hate seeing him so scared.

"You want to know all those things? They are questions that I don't know the answer to so it is useless to ask that of me." I say firmly, outright lying to him. A strange look crosses his face but the next second, his expression is as composed as always.

"I don't know who you are but—something feels familiar about—talking with you." he says. Damn. I stay silent, knowing that if we are to keep talking I will tell him what I don't want him to know. He looks like he's waiting but when no answer comes, he smiles but a flicker in his eyes tells me he is disappointed I'm not saying anything. A little while later, he stands, peeks cautiously out the door and, making sure that no one can see him, he tiptoes to my room, snuggles into my bed and is asleep within minutes. I shake my head.

In sleep, he appears so innocent. In sleep, with the moon shining on his face, he looks just like an angel would. In sleep, he has no troubles, no burdens, nothing but dreams and darkness.

In the morning, he awakens extra early; the sun is still not up, the sky is a dark indigo and the world is still sleeping. Yuki dresses in his uniform gets ready for school and leaves. Now the sky is a lightening blue-grey, the first of the sun's rays can be seen. By this time, Tohru is barely opening her eyes and she wakes up pretty early. He walks alone, pensive and quiet, thinking. His movements are fluid, graceful and I'm struck by how he seemingly glides along as he walks. For the first time, I am truly appreciative of his beauty and can understand just why he is so admired and so sought after by the girls of the school.

"You know, I've never felt this way. I have never felt such sadness, such a hole in my heart. It's strange that this longing could be triggered by the death of the one I thought I hated most. I feel guilty that the last words he heard from me were words of loathing but more than that, I can't help but feel--" he sighs heavily, "oh, I dunno, as if—as if I've lost the one thing most important to me in my life." I stagger back and can feel my jaw hanging open. With effort, I close my mouth and focus on walking right next to him. It would be easier to be ignored by him if he hated me. I want to know if he would say those things to me, to my face. I wonder what it would be like to touch those satin lips of his and—wait a minute, dammit. I can't like him. Sure I don't hate him anymore but I can't fall in love with him, can I? I mean, I've found out things about him that I didn't know before and seeing him acting like this, knowing that he has feelings and desires makes me fond of him but—I am not in love with him. I can't be. He retreats back into his shell and says no more. We are walking across a street when suddenly a loud bang breaks the silence of the early morning. Yuki turns his head towards the source.

"No! Get out of the way, dammit! Run!" I scream but it's as if he's frozen. He is staring down the headlights of a careening SUV whose tires are blown and he makes no move to get away. The driver is panicking, trying desperately to get the vehicle under his control before it slams into Yuki. "Get out of the way!" I try again and this time, hearing my voice shakes him out of his reverie. He moves slightly, tensing his muscles, about to jump to safety but it's too late. The side of the car hits him and he crumples to the ground. Shit. I race over to him. He's lying on his back, his eyes are open and he looks terrified. Blood pools around him and he's shaking uncontrollably. Dammit dammit dammit. A small group of people run over, all of them shouting into their cell phones that a terrible accident has occurred and a boy is seriously injured.

"Yes. He's bleeding all over the place. Please hurry. The driver of the vehicle is unconscious. He appears to be bleeding slightly but the boy his vehicle hit is in worse condition. Hurry." A rather hysterical woman wails into her phone. He's not only seriously injured, he could die. I run my hands over his body and talk to him.

"Stay awake, Yuki. You have to stay awake. Hang on until you can be helped. Don't give up. Shigure will kill you if you give up. Think about Tohru. She'll be heartbroken. Ayame. What about Ayame? I know it seems as if he doesn't care about you but he truly is worried about you. If you die, I don't know what he'll do. And Hatori too. What about Momiji and Haru? Haru's still in love with you. He'll be devastated. Don't die on them. Don't die on me." I realize my voice is shaking. Tears drip from my eyes, falling invisible onto Yuki. I hang my head over his until my lips are a mere inch from his. "I don't want you to die like I did. Don't give up."

"H-help me. Kyo, please. Help me." he cries softly and the worst thing is I can't do a thing to help. I can't. Sirens shriek in the distance, getting louder as they come nearer. Yuki is loaded on a stretcher and rolled into the ambulance. The passive, peaceful atmosphere is shattered by a confusing song of lights, shouting, crying, concerned murmurs and sickeningly excited whispers. The only thing I can hear is, "Please, help me Kyo. Help me."

A/N: Ok, I'm finally ending my hiatus. so sorry about that! um, well, tell me what you think. And my updates will probably be a little long in between due to... last minute summer homework and stuff. Please bear with me. /sheepish grin/