Breakfast was a sombre occasion, the most interesting aspect of it being the lack of variety in the dishes served; boiled rice, grilled fish and steamed vegetables were the best Shigure could manage, what with Tohru rendered virtually one-handed, Kyo having fallen asleep on the roof and woken up with a sniffle, and Yuki-well, Yuki was never a morning person to begin with.

"So. What is everyone's plan for today?" Shigure initiated an opening line, maintaining his ensemble of high spirits and cheeriness. But his attempt at normality fell flat on his face when the only thing that broke the uncomfortable ensuing silence was the clanging of Tohru's spoon against her plate. (She couldn't lift a bowl and use chopsticks at the same time; so she had to use a spoon, but all her life, she'd been using chopsticks; hence the clanging.)

"Oh my...did everyone wake up with an earache this morning? Ah, that sure explains why no one's heard me-well, in that case let me repea-"

"We heard you," Yuki muttered.

"Oh!" Shigure lifted both eyebrows in mock surprise. Finally someone speaks! "Then it must be the food, then! It's too delicious, isn't it? You're all enjoying it too much, it's rendered you speechless!" He beamed. "Although I know it's not as delicious as Tohru's cooking, but it warms my heart to see everyone so engrossed-just don't forget to do the washing up later!"

Tohru let out an involuntary cry of distress.

"Don't you worry, Tohru-kun! I know you're upset about not being able to do your chores-we'll manage somehow! And don't hesitate to tell these two numbskulls what to do, they're barely pulling their weight around the house, which is totally unacceptable! Although you shouldn't ever let Yuki-kun into the kitchen unless it's absolutely necessary. And even then...please don't."

Shigure happily chattered away even though no one was responding to his empty babble. "Since you children obviously haven't got anything planned for today, well, let me just tell you, this house is full of wonderful, exciting activities to keep you occupied! The lawn needs weeding, and the plants need spraying, the pesticide's in the storage closet-I'm sure Yuki-kun wouldn't mind helping out with that, unless the green thumb he's so proud of was a joke-"

Kyo slammed his bowl down on the table with a bang, and Shigure suddenly found himself pelted with stray flying bits of rice.

"Will you for once in your life just shut up?" Kyo snarled, baring his teeth.

With a gasp, Tohru dropped her spoon with a start; her non-dominant hand conferring too fragile a grip to withstand the sudden assault against her eardrums.

Shigure's stricken face disappeared in a friction of a second before anyone even had the chance to see it; obviously Kyo was still upset. "Why, Kyo-chan! There's no need to get excited! You've startled poor Tohru-kun...let's just limit the amount of torture we put her through, okay?"

He grinned. "How are you doing there, Tohru-kun? Hope you like the food-I know it's not much but..."

Tohru was thankful that Shigure had not taken Kyo's brash manners to heart; Shigure-san is always so reasonable, she thought in relief. "It's very good!" She gushed, nodding her head emphatically. Sugoi! Not only could he write, and draw, he could also cook! Tohru had even heard him sing sometimes in the shower; she had never met someone as multi-talented as him.

"Shigure-san is such a good cook!"

Shigure laughed. "I'm so embarrassed! Nothing can compare to your cooking, that I know! Well...you know what they say, we have to always be thankful with what we have, right?"

"Right," Tohru smiled happily. She reached for the soy sauce. With difficulty, she tried to unscrew the top, having to prop the bottle against the leg of the table so she could use her good hand to open it. Yuki watched silently out the corner of one eye, his appetite receding with each passing second.

He shot a hard look across the table, but Kyo was still keeping his head down, not looking at anyone. Knowing the cat, and judging from the tense way his shoulders were hunched and how he kept avoiding Tohru's eyes...Yuki had a strong feeling that he had not even apologized to her. The nerve! The least he could do was apologize! Yuki's face burned. He placed his down chopsticks across the bowl, indicating he was finished.

"Thank you for the meal," he muttered as he rose.

"Where are you going, Yuki-kun? You know it's very rude to leave the table when others are still eating," Shigure pouted, waggling his chopsticks at him. "And you've hardly touched your food!"

"I have homework," Yuki mumbled vaguely, avoiding the inu's eyes. He couldn't sit there anymore, it was too stifling. The thought of breathing the same air as the baka neko made him sick to his stomach; seeing Honda-san struggling with even the simplest task, he felt the same wave of anger he did last night.

Shigure just stared as Yuki headed for the door.

"Tohru-kun, I have a special favour I need to ask of you-you are going grocery shopping today, aren't you?"

Yuki froze in his tracks. Kyo, who had been busy pretending to be busy shovelling food into his mouth, banged his bowl for the second time against the table.

"Are you out of your mind? You know bloody well she's hurt! And you're still making her work?"

"Anou...Kyo-kun..." Tohru started to protest. "I'm fine, really! I still have my other hand, see?"

"Nonsense." Yuki glared at Shigure. "Shigure, you're way out of line. Honda-san can barely dress herself. How do you expect her to carry all the groceries home, you baka?"

"Man...you guys are so cynical! Of course I'm not going to make her work! Who ever says she's going to anyway?" Shigure frowned, confused as to why everyone was mad. "I was going to make you do it, Yuki, but then, you have homework to do, so too bad-" Yuki's face strickened. "-that leaves..."

Kyo's eyes widened, and his face went instantly red.

"What is it, Kyo-kun? Your face is redder than your hair! Are you choking? Do you need some water?" Shigure teased.

Yuki let out something which sounded like a cross between a gasp and squeak. "You've got to be kidding!" Angrily, he marched back inside.

"You let him anywhere near Honda-san and I'll make you regret it for the rest of your life, Shigure." He glowered. "Can't you see he's dangerous? He could have killed her last night-or don't you remember?"

Kyo's fists curled into tight balls. Tohru anxiously reached out for him, her eyes wide with concern, but he pulled away as if burned.

Shigure calmly crossed his arms. "Don't you think you're over-exaggerating, Yuki-kun?"

Yuki glowered. "Would you still think I was exaggerating if Honda-san had broken more than her wrist?"

"It was an accident. It's not going to happen again." Shigure still maintained his cool demeanour.

"Yuki-kun...please, calm down. Don't worry! I'll...I'll be alright, really..." Tohru was starting to feel really helpless; she was grateful to have so many people worried about her, but this was getting out of control. She had never seen Yuki act like this, the ever calm and collected, with the air of a prince, Yuki, this verbally aggressive; it was very disconcerting.

"Honda-san...this is not something to be taken lightly!" Yuki's violet eyes flashed. "Oi. Say something! How can you just sit there, acting like nothing happened?"

Kyo's jaw clenched visibly, the knuckles gripping the edge of the table turning white as he locked stares with Yuki. "You damn rat..." The only thing stopping him from jumping up and pummelling the smart-ass rat to the ground was the fact that...

Yuki was right. He deserved it. Tohru got hurt because of him.

"Tell me, cat, did you even apologize to Honda-san?" Yuki hissed.

Kyo's body, shaking with anger just a few seconds ago, stiffened.

"Yuki-kun...please..." Tohru pleaded.

"That's enough, Yuki," Shigure said sharply. "I think you've expressed yourself quite clearly. I don't understand why you're so angry. The one who deserves an apology is Tohru-kun, not you. And to decide whom the apology should come from is highly judgemental and self-righteous of you. Stop it."

Yuki's mouth closed abruptly.

He stood rooted to the floor as if frozen, his stare locked in the deep brown of Shigure's eyes.

His lips thinned. Without saying another word, Yuki abruptly turned around and stalked out of the dining room.

Shigure exhaled loudly, before smiling apologetically at Tohru.

"Sorry about that, Tohru-kun. Looks like Yuki woke up on the wrong side of the bed this morning. I hope he hasn't upset you."

"N-no..." Tohru tried her best to keep Shigure from seeing how close she was to tears. It saddened her to see everyone so upset...oh how she wished she hadn't hurt herself! Honda Tohru, you clumsy klutz! You can't even fall properly!

"It's my fault, Shigure-san! I shouldn't have been standing there in the first place-the staircase is dangerous enough on its own, I could have fallen on my own anyway even if I hadn't gotten in the way of Yuki-kun and Kyo-kun's argument..."

"Don't be stupid," Kyo growled. That was the first time he had spoken directly to her.

"Kyo-kun..." She reached out for his hand but he refused to even look at her.

"Don't be stupid," he repeated, much more angrily this time. "How could it have been your fault that you fell? Stop blaming yourself for every bloody thing that goes wrong around here!"

Shigure only watched in silence. He waited for Kyo to say more. When he didn't, Shigure knew he had to do something.

"You two..."

Both heads turned to him.

"When you go out later this afternoon, can you get me a bottle of ink from the stationery shop in town? I'm all dry." He had two unopened ones in his desk, but that was the farthest shop he could think of; it would take them a good hour walking to and back.

More than enough time, I should think.

By late afternoon, Yuki found himself regretting having eaten so little at breakfast. He had locked himself in his room for most of the day, deciding it best to steer clear of everyone for now. Or maybe he just wanted to avoid that one particular person. It was bad enough that they had to live in the same house and pretend to be civil to each other, but with this recent turn of events, Kyo being in his face was the last thing he needed.

But the hunger pangs in his stomach were becoming too strong to ignore. Thankfully Kyo had gone out (but Honda-san had gone with him, much to his chagrin, not to mention jealousy), so he guessed it was safe to venture out of his room now.

He passed Shigure's study. He could hear him banging away on his computer, the rapid clickings indicating that the dog spirit was deep in work. Yuki found himself wavering, uncertain if he should apologize, or if he even needed to. Everything Yuki had said to him...and to that baka neko...it had all been perfectly justified.

Right?

He shook himself out of his reverie. And the typing sound had stopped too.

Yuki hurriedly scurried off; and as he walked down the stairs, he winced as he remembered last night's incident. The image of Honda-san sprawled on all fours at the foot of the stairs, tears of pain springing to her eyes assaulted his mind. He shook his head again.

Don't think about it. You'll get upset again. Honda-san's fine. She's fine.

So why do I feel so rotten inside?

Shigure's fingers hovered over the keyboard. He recognised the scent; the footsteps had stopped in front of his study.

He waited.

Is he going to come in? He wondered.

Just as much as Kyo needed someone to talk to, Shigure understood perfectly that Yuki badly needed that as well.

I'm here, Yuki. If you want to talk.

He knew Yuki was smarter than most adolescents his age, and he knew no prompting was needed; Shigure needed not push Yuki. If Yuki wanted help, Shigure knew he would ask for it.

But the footsteps picked up pace again and disappeared in the direction of the stairs.

Shigure shook his head, amused, a little smile gracing his lips.

He pushed his glasses higher up his nose and went back to work.

Yuki growled at the fridge. He closed it with a bang. He went to the cabinets and pulled them open one by one.

We're even out of instant noodles! Unbelievable.

Yuki closed the cabinet door none too gently. Wincing, he wondered if he should call for a take-out. If he was ordering out that meant he'd have to ask Shigure what he wanted as well, and Yuki wasn't too keen on facing the dog right now, even if everyone's distrust in his cooking and domestic skills was perfectly justified.

Eggs.

Hmm.

He guessed he could live with them for now. Burnt eggs wouldn't taste so bad with the leftover rice from this morning, at least. Lots and lots of rice. Then the charcoal wouldn't taste so bad. He took an egg out from the fridge, and hesitated slightly before taking out two more (not that he would eat them all; the other two were a back-up plan, just in case his first try turned out to be inedible).

He wondered if he should fix some lunch for Shigure as well, but then again, anyone would rather live on bread and water than to eat anything he made. Shigure would just have to fix something for himself later. And besides, the dog spirit was in one of his frenzied writing modes, and he often didn't come down for meals when he was like this anyway.

Yuki turned the stove on and lit a matchstick, gingerly touching the tiny flame to the hob. It didn't catch on fire. He turned the knob to full, but still the fire wouldn't light.

Heh. Stupid stove.

Leaving the first one, Yuki tried another knob. And lit another match. Ah! This time it worked.

His first fried egg was a disaster. It got so black it refused to unstick from the pan, even when Yuki tried to scrape it off with a fork.

I'm rubbish at this. I'm just rubbish, Yuki groaned silently, his stomach growling even louder, after being stimulated by the delicious smell of egg frying, only to have it go black and into the trash can.

His third try was more fruitful however, and by the time Yuki had his simple lunch of rice and egg ready to be enjoyed, he had given himself a mild headache.

I should go out. Do something. Clear my head.

Yuki guessed he should just go that one place he knew he could find some peace of mind, some refuge from this constant turmoil of turbulent emotions he kept hidden inside. The strawberry plants needed some fertilizers anyway, he thought as he ate his meal in solitude.

Shigure was starting to get double vision from staring at the computer for too long. Although he'd been typing for quite some time now, he only ended up deleting most of it, in the end leaving him with barely anything. The ideas were flowing freely in his head, for once, but he couldn't seem to put them all onto paper. He hadn't stopped trying because he wasn't one to pass on this opportunity to get some real writing down; it helped pay the rent after all. Well. Figure of speech. Since the Sohmas owned the house anyway, Shigure could often find his way around it, one way or another. Not that he cared much about the royalty money, he rarely spent it anyway.

He had a feeling last night he was paving his way toward yet another bestseller. And now he was trying to get it back.

He stretched his back, relieving the cramps which had settled in from sitting still too long. Just as he was about to start working again, the phone rang.

"Yuki-kun!" He waited for his cousin to answer the call.

"Yu-" Oh right. He had heard the front door slam about fifteen minutes ago. Apparently Yuki had gone out. Where to, Shigure didn't know. But he really hoped this whole blame/guilt thing would blow over soon. It was hard being the only happy, normal person around here.

The phone kept on ringing.

Great. Just great.

Reluctantly, Shigure rose from his seat, frowning, more than a little annoyed at being disturbed when he was trying to concentrate. Who could it be? Could it be Kyo? I hope he hasn't pushed Tohru-kun into a ditch or something, that klutz. Or it could be Mii-chan. He winced a little. But he was wrong on both guesses.

"Ha-san. This is a surprise...it is I who normally does the calling, is it not?"

His cousin's dry response was unfeeling as always. "Yes, as the representative from a house full of accident-prone people, you are half-right. I am calling to see how Honda-kun is doing. She is not doing too badly, is she?"

"We both know she would never let something like a fractured wrist keep her spirits down. There has been a reversal in roles however-she's the one doing the consoling and comforting, instead of the other way around."

"Kyo is still upset?"

"I wouldn't know really-it's a given that he's grouchy 24 hours a day to begin with. But yes, he is still quite distraught at what he had allegedly done to cause such injury to Tohru-kun, but really I beg to differ..."

"An accident is an accident, nothing more. Unless there's insurance money involved somewhere."

Shigure gave a low snicker. "She's taken Kyo grocery shopping, she does need extra hands after all."

Hatori growled. "I thought I gave strict orders that my patient was not to be let out of bed, much less be put to work?"

"Calm down, Ha-san. She insisted. And of course I made sure she was alright to go. I'm not an imbecile."

On the other end, Hatori blinked. Shigure sounded almost irritated. Strange.

"And besides, she and Kyo needed to talk."

Ah. Hatori finally understood. The only person who could restore Kyo's spirits was none other than Honda-kun herself.

"And here I thought Kyo-kun would have enough sense to just listen to his elders, one of whom being me! So here I go again, leaving all the work to Tohru-kun like the useless log that I am but-" But Shigure's voice perked again. "I am just glad she's taking it so well, I have yet to hear her complain or sigh at all! A brave, tough girl-that she is!"

Then he sighed. "Although I have a strong feeling she was happier about dragging Kyo-kun out than I am, she just wants to keep him away from Yuki-kun. Why, oh why did I sign up for all this?"

"Because you know you're a lonely old geezer who'll end up playing Jenga with himself and fighting over dog food with the resident nursing home mutt while trying to write an autobiography and watch infomercials at the same time?"

A snort. "I'm throwing that line right back at you, Ha-san." Then a tired sigh.

"You are sighing an awful lot today, Shigure." The doctor's keen sense of perception was indeed unrivalled. He wondered if Shigure was still upset from last night but for as long as he'd known him, Shigure had never been one to ruminate on past grudges; once he was over something, then he was over it for good. "Has it not been a good day?"

Shigure rested his head against the wall, twirling the cord around his index finger glumly. "I'm all out of cigarettes. It's making my head hurt."

"It beats coughing out a lung," Hatori dead-panned.

"Pot calling the kettle black, Ha-san!" Shigure countered in a sing-song voice. "As if you're not smoking yourself. I can smell it all the way from here. Ooh, there's smoke coming out of the mouthpiece! See? "

"At least I've got life insurance," Shigure heard the doctor mutter under his breath.

"Dragon breath," Shigure teased.

Hatori cleared his throat and changed the subject. "Oh, I almost forgot-Ayame called me up this morning and apparently he has fallen deeply in love with Milan and has decided to stay for another week-"

Shigure let out a whine of distress.

"And of course he warned me only about thirty times not to forget to come get him."

"Aaya stranded in a crowded airport? I can only imagine," Shigure smiled at the image of Ayame parading around the luggage carousels, looking majestic in his magnificent new clothes, hand on a hip, silver hair cascading down his back, dainty fingers snapping porters forward, lugging his suitcases around. Knowing Ayame, he must have bought out the whole of Milan by now, being the fashion slave that he was.

Shigure breathed in deeply, amazed at how dependent he'd become on his daily nicotine fix; he'd been reduced to this lethargic, disoriented mess. Either that, or the house needs airing, he thought. It sure is stuffy in here today.

"Tohru-kun hurt her arm so she can't cook-my poor little thing...she can't clean. She can't wash. And she's more depressed about it than all three of us combined! And those two brats, whose testosterone levels have literally skyrocketed through my roof-which is still yet to be fixed from last week by the way-are simply slipping out of my control. I feel like a bachelor all over again," Shigure mourned.

"Aren't you the King of Obviousland."

"Feeling hilarious aren't you today, Ha-san?" Shigure returned his biting sarcasm with a dash of salt.

"Whatever," Hatori said shortly. He was not in an argumentative mood, especially not with a grouchy and tired Shigure. The novelist rarely had bad days, but when he did, Hatori usually gave him a wide berth. "How's the future best-seller coming along?"

He could almost see Shigure smile again. "Ah, Ha-san...you flatter me! It's...coming along fine, I suppose. I was in heat last night-"

Hatori sweat-dropped. "In heat?"

And an awkward silence.

"And you call me a pervert, you naughty man," Shigure laughed. "No, what I meant was, right before the accident happened, I was in the middle of writing the climax of the novel! See, I was at my level best, but then, Tohru-kun fell and there was all that commotion and I kind of lost my momentum...Been trying all morning to pick up where I left off, but-"

He sighed tiredly. "Maybe I'm just hungry. I should just fix myself something but I heard Yuki-kun banging things around in the kitchen just now, and I think I smelt something burning and...well, suffice to say that...I don't intend on visiting the kitchen anytime soon for fear of what I might see. Or what might see me! At this rate, I'm going to need a new house by the end of the year!"

Hatori only half-listened, offering him as much silent sympathy as he could and normally did muster. He had heard this a thousand times before anyway.

"Ha-san, are you still there? You have been listening, haven't you?"

"Of course."

"Ah, you are such a good friend. What would I do without you?" Shigure tsk-tsked. "Why don't you come over for tea? How about right now?"

Hatori could read him like a book. "You just want my cigarettes. And I thought you had a novel to finish. You'll do anything to get out of work, won't you?"

"Haha, the book can wait. Good company and tea (and a smoke) would get my creative juice running in no time!" Warily, he twisted at his waist and poked a head inside the kitchen. "Hmm, on second thought, better not. The kitchen's so messy right now I doubt I'd even find the sink."

Shigure turned around again and suddenly felt a little light-headed. Frowning, he leaned against the wall for support and waited for the spinning feeling to pass. Low blood sugar. Maybe he should sit.

Oh Tohru-kun, why a broken wrist? Why now of all times? Who's going to take care of me now? He sobbed inside, feeling sorry for himself all of a sudden. Oh, there is one person who can cheer me up no matter what-

"Ne, ne, Ha-san...what time are we picking Aaya up tomorrow? I need to press my suit."

"What are you talking about?"

The dog spirit frowned. "Is he not coming back tomorrow?"

"Shigure, didn't I just tell you Ayame's extending his stay and will only be coming back next week?"

"Hmm?" Shigure pinched the bridge of his nose. Oh yeah, he remembered now. How in the world could he have forgotten? He must be more tired than he thought.

"Shigure, is everything alright?"

"Uh, yes, ah-" Shigure shook his head a little. "I think..." Cobwebs. Why was he seeing cobwebs?

Hatori was silent for a while. "Is there anyone home with you?"

"No, they've all left me...I'm all alone. This is so depressing! Even Yuki's left me. He stalked off a half hour ago, not even bothering to say goodbye..." Shigure pressed his back against the wall and wavered a little, before sliding down in a graceless slump. He was getting drowsy.

"Like a little puppy lost in the snow...I yearn for some warmth...I yearn for the fiery touch of another human being to set my soul ablaze, and melt this ice of despair around my heart..."

Hatori sighed as Shigure coughed theatrically a few times, resisting the urge to roll his eyes at his cousin's dramatics. He refused to be dragged down to such juvenile resorts. He had standards.

So he made do with just a light snort. "You'll survive. Go play with your tail or something."

Shigure was silent. A small dry cough. Pitiful.

Despite his better judgement, Hatori finally decided to take some pity on his cousin. "Look, I'm only a minute's drive from your house anyway. Get dressed, in something other than your usual rags, will you please? God knows we've all taught you how to dress-I'll take you out to lunch."

A stunned silence. Then a low whimper. "Ha-san..."

"Shigure, I'm sure with all the royalty cheques coming in, you can afford some decent clothes. Or did you spend all that money on pole dancers?" Hatori asked half-jokingly, taking a final drag from his cigarette before flicking it out the window, some ash hovering in the wind before settling in on his clean dashboard. He grimaced. "Now get your bum off the floor and get a move on. Before I change my mind."

"I...can't-" A strangled whisper, hoarse and dry.

"What's that?"

"...breathe." Shigure's rapid gasps escalated, bristling through the connection.

What now? "Are you up to something?"

The noisy breathing ceased, but Shigure was still wheezing.

In alarm, Hatori sat up straighter, trying to listen, while keeping his eye on the road. A trick. A tasteless one at that. But to his expert ear, the hyperventilating was certainly for real. "Are you choking? Is something caught in your throat?"

"No-" Shigure let out a frantic chain of dry coughs, the effort making his head spin even faster. His grip on the phone loosened, but he pressed his cheek against the wall, propping it up to his ear.

"Shigure?"

Shigure blinked in rapid succession a few times, desperate to clear the sudden display of fireworks exploding in front of his eyes. He closed them briefly; but when he tried to open them again, he couldn't.

Hmm? Confused, Shigure struggled to grope for his face in the sudden darkness, but his arms remained flaccid by his side, refusing to lift. His lips tried to form words, but he was too busy trying to catch his breath to use the precious air to speak.

"This is not funny, Shigure. Stop breathing like that. You're going to pass out."

"Ha...san..." Shigure was aware of the croak trying to escape his vocal cords, but if he couldn't hear it, he doubted Hatori would.

As the last of his senses began to fail, he could dimly hear someone calling his name over and over. The phone slipped from the hollow of his cheek, the thunk it made against the hardwood floor resonating in his brain, somewhat aware of it shutting down on its own volition.

The dead weight of his body settled under gravity, and he slumped slowly to the side, aware of his head knocking against the edge of the table, but surprisingly, he didn't feel a thing.

Ha-san...my body's gone to sleep...what's...going...on?

As the lethal gas seeped silently into every vent and crook and corner of the house, it shrouded every dead and living thing in its deadly cocoon of poison.

Rags? My sexy kimonos...rags?

Those were Shigure's last thoughts before everything went black.

"Shigure?" Hatori raised his voice a notch. He could still hear gasps, but they were now shallower, raspier. "What is it?"

Frowning, Hatori pressed his cellphone closer to his lips.

"Shigure, what's going on?" He asked loudly, his right foot unconsciously pressing on the gas pedal.

"Shigu-" All he heard then was a loud thunk, followed by an ominous silence. The inu had dropped the phone. Or he was just playing a cruel trick on him, hoping the Dragon would meet his early demise from a heart attack.

Either way, it didn't stop the tell-tale tingles of fear from crawling up his fingers and feet. Hatori waited for a couple more seconds, hoping the stupid dog would pick up the bloody phone so Hatori could call his stupid bluff, but he didn't.

Wild thoughts fleeted through his mind at lightning speed; has someone broken into the house and attacked his friend? Is he having a heart attack? A seizure? Or God forbid, a stroke?

Hatori killed the now-dead connection and punched in a new number. "I need an ambulance right away. No, not to the Sohma House. Send it to this address-" he rattled off his cousin's address from memory. He paused.

"No, I can't tell you the state of emergency-just send it over immediately." The bad feeling in his gut grew.

Shigure had been fine last night and he didn't remember the dog being ill recently-if he had been, Hatori would have been the first to know, he was sure of that. The first signs of a sniffle and the dog thinks it's a tumour, he always thought. But this time there was no drama. This time there were no fake tears or whimpers.

This time it was different...somehow. He could feel it.

Hatori threw the phone down onto the passenger seat and stepped on the gas even more. Finally, the main road widened into a familiar clearing, and he viciously wrenched the steering wheel to the side, narrowly missing the lamppost at the sharp turn which led into the compound of Shigure's house.

Not bothering to knock, Hatori tried the front door. Locked. He banged on it hard, once. And again.

"Shigure!"

Nothing.

Hatori circled the house hastily, and scrambled up the side porch, fervently hoping it wasn't locked. It wasn't. He slid it open, letting the rapidly fading sunlight bathe the living room with its dim yellow hue. Shigure was nowhere to be seen.

The phone, he told himself. Hatori marched in, pausing just for a second to hit the light switch. His eyes fell onto the familiar figure slumped on the floor in the middle of the hallway, the disconnected phone lying a mere feet away from his outstretched hand.

Shigure! Hatori dropped to his knees and was about to reach out for his cousin when he saw something that made his heart race.

Shigure's face was a frightening, cyanosed blue, but his lips were tinged with red.

Hatori seized his cousin's slack jaw and pried his mouth open. And his breath caught in his throat. Shigure's gums, the inside wall of his cheeks-all bright-red.

Hatori's own head was starting to spin. He had seen this enough times throughout his medical career to still acknowledge that the sudden chill running down his spine was not because of the cold monsoon draft settling in.

Shit.

He plunged into the living room again and checked the gas heater. It wasn't on.

He dove into the kitchen and looked around wildly. He stood still for a few precious seconds. Where is that low hiss coming from?

Hatori checked the kitchen heater. No, not here.

Then he saw the stove. He groped blindly for the knobs. True enough, one of them was turned on, but there was no flame. Gas. Free-flowing gas.

Dear God in Heaven...Hatori viciously twisted the knob to its rightful off position. And the hissing sound stopped.

Hatori gathered his cousin's long limbs in his arms, shoved himself off the porch and dragged Shigure's body across the grass outside, as far away from the house as possible, only stopping once they reached his car.

After laying him down gently on the grass, Hatori tugged Shigure's chin upward to clear his airway. He had no idea how long the deadly inert gas had been pumping its way out from the leak. And he had no idea how long Shigure had been exposed to it.

Hatori reluctantly left his cousin's side to run back into the house; he had to make sure no one else was trapped inside with the poisonous gas still circulating in the air. Holding his breath as best as he could, he checked every room, and the toilets, the study-the house was clear.

Thank God.

Hatori rushed back to where he left Shigure and dropped to his knees. He swept his eyes along the length of Shigure's motionless form.

No movement of the chest...no breathing sounds...Hatori placed his cheek against Shigure's lips. No warmth of breath. He was clearly not breathing.

Pinching the soft part of Shigure's nose with one hand, Hatori used the other to pry his mouth open. He took a deep breath and blew steadily into Shigure's mouth for about 2 seconds, watching as his chest rose. And fell. Hatori gave another rescue breath, and waited to see if Shigure would breathe on his own. But his chest didn't rise.

Hatori placed two fingers against the side of his neck. No pulse.

Panic seized Hatori's heart in a vice-like grip.

After years and years of practice, instinct took over, and Hatori placed the heel of one hand on Shigure's lower breastbone, interlocking his fingers with the other, and pressed down vertically, compressing the chest in regular intervals; counting silently in his head, aware of the cold sweat forming along his hairline.

As he reached fifteen, he tilted Shigure's head back and gave two more rescue breaths, all the while fervently praying for any sign of life.

He feverishly repeated the cycle of alternating compressions and breaths for the next few minutes, his sweat-dampened hair tumbling down across his forehead, obscuring his already poor vision. Hatori tossed his hair out of the way before leaning down again.

Shigure, come on! He blew forcefully once more down his friend's throat, painfully aware of the prickling sensation in his eyes.

If Hatori couldn't get his heart to start, Shigure would go into cardiac arrest.

Breathe. Come on. Breathe.

TO BE CONTINUED...

Author's notes:

I wrote the entire chapter while listening to Okiayu Ryuutarou's songs (he's the voice actor for Shigure!) and all the while it felt as if Shigure was singing to me (drool alert)...serenading me as I was weaving this intricate tapestry of a story (only an exaggeration, I am fully aware of how straightforward this story is-it's so straight it's almost painful).

So there, a very, very long chapter (for my standards, at least) The only thing I want to do now is fall into bed and sleep in till next week. And as I have been trying to do ever since I fell in love with Fruits Basket (and Sohma Shigure in particular) I would like to spread some Shigure love around so if anyone wants to know how Okiayu sounds like when he sings (Oh God everytime he sings he stops my heart) and doesn't know where to get them, just leave me your email address and I'll email the songs to you! I swear, the guy can soooo sing.

And one last thing: Please read and review! Flames only mean all the more reviews for me! And Merry Christmas everyone!