Chapt. 2

Shigure avoided eye contact with them and held Kisa a little tighter.

Haru walked over to Yuki and hugged him.

Momiji looked away and tears streamed down his cheeks.

Kyo clenched his fists and exploded.

"You heard him, now answer the stupid question!" he yelled, unable to hide a hint of fear.

Yuki pushed Hatsuharu away.

Hatori looked at them.

"Miss Honda was in a car accident this morning." Kyo and Yuki's eyes widened.

"Where is she! I have to see her… She's okay, right? She has to be!" yelled Kyo, clearly upset and frustrated.

Yuki sank into an uncomfortable chair and stared into space, a frightened look plastered on his face.

"No…" whispered Momiji. "You can't… you can't see Tohru because… because she's --"

"No." said Yuki firmly. "She can't be. She just can't. Not Miss Honda. Not our Tohru…" he trailed off and went silent.

There was an uncomfortable silence, broken only by Kisa whimpering.

"She… passed away at the main house. If you'd like to come, you're welcome to." said Hatori, standing up. "Even you Kyo. We're making an exception for the cat just this once."

They all drove to the main house in silence.

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As they entered the room, Momiji and Kisa started crying and ran over to her bedside, and each took one of her hands. Haru went to comfort them, Kyo stood in the doorway in a state of shock, Yuki slumped in a chair by the bed, and Shigure and Hatori stood solemnly at the other side of the room.

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(Later…)

Yuki pulled the chair closer to Tohru's bed.

Hiro had come to bring Kisa home.

Hatori convinced Momiji and Haru to go to their houses.

Kyo had gone back with Shigure.

"Yuki."

Startled to hear his name called, he looked up.

"Shouldn't you go back to Shigure's house?" said Hatori gently.

Yuki looked back down, and shook his head slowly.

"She wouldn't want to be alone. She'd want someone with her," he said, sadly, but firmly.

Hatori left. He knew there was nothing he could do to change Yuki's mind.

Yuki stroked her cheek. Her face had not been damaged in the accident.

'Still as perfect as ever...' he thought to himself.

She was so pale… even paler than him. Her face, usually so enthusiastic and full of life, was no longer in that seemingly permanent smile of hers. Yuki smiled sadly. It wasn't as permanent as he had once imagined…

He fell asleep looking at her.

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The next day, Saki Hanajima and Arisa Uotani came to see her. Hana cried, but Uo comforted her with a brave face. Yuki returned to Shigure's, but didn't eat anything, nor did he sleep that night.

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The next morning Ayame came to Shigure's. He brought a dress for Tohru to wear at her funeral.

"Such an awful pity. She was such a pretty girl. And of course, she and Yuki would have made quite the couple, don't you think?" he asked Shigure.

Yuki didn't have the energy to do anything. He just looked at Ayame with an almost expressionless, frighteningly pale face. Both Ayame and Shigure looked worried.

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Kyo rarely left the roof after returning home. He reminded Yuki of a real cat, only grudgingly moving from the sunlit roof to eat, or to go to bed.

Yuki envied Kyo in so many ways. He could eat and sleep as normal, he could just laze around all day; not feeling inclined to do something, anything to help. He didn't feel overwhelming guilt from not being there for Miss Honda…

:cue flashback:

"Miss Honda, are you sure you don't want me to stay with you?"

Tohru had come down with one of her fevers, and was staying home to recuperate.

"No, no! I can't keep you home! You're Student Body President now, and I can't keep you from your duties." she said, nodding as if to agree with herself.

:end flashback:

Yuki closed his fist around the note she had written. It hadn't been for him, it was written to Shigure, but it was one of the last things she had written.

It read:

Shigure,

I'm just going to do some shopping. My fever has gone down, I promise! I'm getting jelly buns specially because I know you like them lots! This is just in case I'm not home when you come back. I should be home by 12 o' clock.

Thanks for caring!

Thinking of you,

Tohru

It was just like her to thank him for caring. She had even drawn a little smiley face in her 'o'. Thinking of you… Yuki closed his eyes and thought about the last time he had seen her.

Bye Yuki! Bye Kyo! Be safe!

Why hadn't he said that back? Why didn't he bother to say 'Be safe!' back to her? Why did he even leave her alone in the house? He had known Shigure would be gone most of the day, visiting the main house… It was strange how something so small, so routine could have such a powerful impact.

Yuki envied Kyo for many reasons, but mostly because he didn't have to deal with losing the person he loved.

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Yuki couldn't have been further from the truth. He and Yuki had been going through the same thing, in different ways. Kyo may have been better off, what with being able to eat normally, but he was otherwise in the same situation.

He, too, felt guilty for Tohru's death.

He, too, could not sleep at night.

He, too, knew what it felt like to lose the person he loved.

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Thanks for reading! If you have time, review, but don't feel pushed, I hardly ever review things! Sweat-drop

But please, if you do review, don't flame! Be critical, yes, but not to the point where I burst into tears. I should also mention that the reason the first two chapters were so short is cause they were written in one day, the 18th of the 7th 2005.

Verbal hugs, verbal pastries, and verbal kittens are appreciated, too.

Thanks for caring!

Thinking of you,

Sammy