Yuki glumly plucked a few stalks of weed from around his leeks. Surrounded by his greens, he couldn't help feeling a little lonely; and as if they felt empathy for him, his plants seemed to bow toward the ground, as if offering some kind of resort for his heavy, troubled heart.

I wish I could do more for her, he told them silently. The leaves danced around in the breeze. In sympathy.

He patted his leeks lovingly with a dirt-covered hand. They had just been planted; it was a new batch. Tohru had a fever recently, and of course, the stupid cat decided to be the hero and play nurse, razing his prized garden to the ground, stealing the last of his leeks.

He hadn't minded, really. At least, the leek soup had gotten her back on her feet.

But he wished it could have been him. And not that baka neko.

Selfish, I know. He smiled bitterly. But this was the first time he had ever been comfortable around a girl. The first time he didn't have to worry about accidentally hugging someone and turning into a rat. His first real friend, who wasn't part of his immediate family.

And he nearly lost her. All because of that cat.

A bit over-dramatic and far-fetched really...he knew, and was thankful Honda-san was alright, but anything could have happened last night. It was just sheer luck she didn't break her neck. Even if she could forgive Kyo for what he did (Yuki had not the slightest doubt she would, she had the heart of an angel after all, God bless her) but he didn't know if he could.

As long as the cat remained in the house, he was a threat.

Kyo dragged his feet across the gravel, and unenthusiastically kicked a stone, watching with dull eyes as it landed a few feet away. The sun was setting low against the horizon, its orange rays filtering through the trees, penetrating the transparent leaves of spring blossoms, resting on his face with the warmest glow. But his heart remained glum.

"Kyo-kun..." Tohru couldn't bear it anymore; Kyo's reticence was like a knife stabbing into her heart over and over again. What Yuki said to him the night before must still be lingering on his mind. Being the cat Jyuunishi meant losing his rightful place in the Sohma family to begin with, but to be reminded of his nature as the outcast, the unwanted, the unloved, right in his own home when he had nowhere else to go-

Kyo-kun...

She quickened her pace a little, holding her sore wrist close to her body to not jostle it too much. Finally she caught up with him, but Kyo was showing no sign of slowing down, although she knew the bags almost overflowing with groceries he was carrying were anything but light.

"Kyo-kun, wait-" She reached out and lightly touched his elbow. The red-haired cat spirit froze at the feathery touch grazing his skin.

"Anou...Kyo-kun..." Tohru held her breath as he turned his head around slightly, but instead of looking at her face, he gazed at her feet, as if afraid to meet her eyes. "You haven't said a single word since we left the house."

She swallowed hard, unsure of what she could say to make him feel better but she couldn't stand seeing him like this. "Everyone's... worried about you. I'm...worried too. Please, tell me what's on your mind. You look upset."

Upset. Kyo's lips curled upward slightly, but there was no joy behind his smile.

"What the hell does it matter?"

Tohru's eyes misted. "I'm sorry...I was just..."

"You always have to worry about everything, don't you?"

Tohru's lower lip began to tremble. It was bad enough that her injury had brought her chores around the house to a complete halt, causing so much trouble to everyone, and because of her, Yuki had said such cruel things to Kyo...and now-

It was all her fault that everyone was miserable.

"I'm sorry..." Overwhelmed with distress, she couldn't make her feet move anymore. She found a large rock and sat, covering her face with her good hand.

Kyo was dumbfounded. He dropped the grocery bag onto the ground and rushed over to her, temporarily forgetting about his own misery. "Oi. Are you crying?"

He stood uncertainly in front of her, looking down at the back of her bowed head. "Oi, what is it? Is your wrist hurting? Did I say something wrong?"

Tohru shook her head in despair, spraying her tears in every direction. "I didn't mean to make you upset..."

"Heh?" Kyo knelt down in front of her and peered at her face. "What are you talking about?"

"Yuki-kun said such terrible things to you...all because of me..." Tohru's shoulders hitched as she sobbed quietly. "I have no right to say that I understand how you feel...but if you need to tell it to someone...if you need to be angry..." She leapt to her feet and grabbed his sleeves.

""Please, go ahead! I'll...I'll listen!" She nodded her head frantically. "Really!"

Kyo stared at her in amazement.

"You're really something, you know that?" He said softly, finally; reaching out to brush a stray lint off her shoulder. He was finally realizing how deeply he had upset her.

"Eh?" Tohru's cheeks blazed. There was no trace of anger on Kyo's face, nor was there any in his bright brown eyes.

"I don't give a rat's ass about that damn Yuki."

"Eh?" Again.

"You thought that's what's got me all upset, right? All that stuff he said?" Tohru frowned, more than a little confused, but in the end nodded slowly.

"I've heard worse," Kyo shrugged, sticking his hand into his jeans pocket. "I'm used to it."

"And I'm not angry at you. I'm not even angry at Yuki." He took a seat on the big stone next to her. He snickered. "Well, maybe a little bit. Okay, a lot...but the point is..."

"The point is..." he drawled, gazing into the far horizon, at nothing in particular. "It's my fault you got hurt."

"No no!" Tohru squeaked, waving her good hand excitedly in the air. "Kyo-kun, it's not your fault, really-"

"Jeez, woman! Just zip it and let me talk, will you? Thought you said you'd listen!" Kyo grumbled. He awkwardly tweaked his ear, nervous. He was not used to all this psycho-babble BS, but it was too late to do anything about it now anyway. "Shesh!"

"Right, sorry..." Tohru's face turned bright red. Kyo was really doing it, he was really opening up! To her! Don't spoil it, Honda Tohru! Maybe then she could understand him a little bit better; maybe then she could be a better friend to him.

Kyo sighed. I'm real rubbish at this. Maybe Rat-boy does have a point. Maybe saying something as simple as 'I'm sorry' would kill me. Great. He shook his head angrily. No! Stupid Rat! Have to prove him wrong! Right now!

"I'm sorry," he blurted. Now it was his turn to blush. But he knew he needed to say it. Just like Shigure said. Tohru deserved an apology. And Kyo was not so thick as to not get it that that apology had to come from him. "You could have been killed. Sorry."

Tohru was staring at him with a horrified expression. She opened her mouth to say something but Kyo cut her short-

"Say it's not my fault one more time and I'm going to-I'm going to-" Kyo frowned, trying to come up with something creative and original. But finding himself failing miserably when a smile began to tug the corners of Tohru's lips.

"Alright." She bowed, acquiescing, (although she still thought it wasn't his fault really, like Shigure-san said, it was an accident, and Shigure-san was never wrong!) and when she lifted her face again, she was positively beaming. "Apology accepted!"

Kyo's heart soared, and his eyes lit up. And soon he was smiling too, his face way, way brighter than before.

"You klutz!" He socked her lightly on the shoulder.

"Eh?"

"Remind me to teach you a few moves once we get home. You should learn how to do a somersault, that way you could have landed on your feet instead of your dumb wrist. We can't have you falling down and breaking stuff all the time-" He looked at her critically. "And you should drink more milk! Your bones are as brittle as a bird's!"

Tohru giggled. It felt marvellous; to feel this happy again. Almost normal. Her smile faltered a little; Yuki's kind, smiling face flashed through her mind. Yuki-kun...I wonder what he's thinking right now...and I sure hope he's alright...

"We should head back," Kyo said abruptly. "It's getting dark."

"Hai!" Tohru rose to her feet.

Kyo grabbed the grocery bags before he could forget and started to walk, with Tohru trailing close behind. "That Shigure is really going to get it from me this time. Fancy making me walk all the way to the very end of town just to get a stupid bottle of ink. Who uses fountain pens nowadays anyway? Why can't he just use a ball-point pen like normal people? Always making life difficult, that baka inu! And walk faster will you? You'll get left behind!"

"I'm coming!" Tohru increased the speed of her pace, her heart filling with butterflies seeing Kyo almost himself again; she was so glad they had had the chance to talk.

"Jeez...do you need me to leave a trail of breadcrumbs or something? Like that ridiculous fairytale about a gingerbread house and those two kids who got lost in the woods? Hannibal something or other? What, they never heard of a compass before?"

"Kyo-kun must be so used to surviving in the wild-" She said in admiration. "How did it feel, living up on the mountains? Is it true you fought bears? That is so amazing! I would have loved to see it!"

A vein throbbed in Kyo's temple. Not again! "I didn't fight bears!"

Tohru's eyes shone. So modest! She was about to say something else when Kyo suddenly stopped walking, tilting his head heavenward.

"Hey, you hear that?"

"Hmm?" Tohru froze in her tracks as well.

"Sounds like a siren..."

Tohru strained to listen. "Is that...the police?"

"Could be an ambulance." Kyo frowned.

"Is that...strange?" Tohru wanted to know.

Kyo's eyes narrowed. "This whole area is Sohma property. Whatever it is, it's either going to the Main House...or ours..."

Tohru looked worried. "Could something...have happened to Akito-san?"

"Maybe. Shigure'd know. Let's walk faster and find out."

His arms shaking with fatigue, Hatori was about to start compression again when he suddenly felt Shigure's torso buck; immediately the Dragon rocked back on his heels, mesmerised at the sudden rise and fall of his cousin's chest. But it was too early for any kind of relief; and when the tell-tale tremors began, Hatori hurriedly pushed Shigure onto his side with one hand tucked under his cheek, placing him in the recovery position just in time.

Hatori rubbed slow circles on Shigure's back as he watched his cousin vomit; his own head spinning from his earlier exertion, but his heart, soaring.

Shigure's eyes were closed and he was gasping, but at least he was breathing.

A low, guttural whimper escaped his lips as Shigure tried to speak, but he heaved again, retching dryly.

"Shh. Let it all out," Hatori reprimanded gently. "You're okay. I've got you. You're okay." But despite his relief, he couldn't take his eyes off the blue tinge of Shigure's skin.

Hatori rummaged in the boot of his car. He thanked his lucky stars he was so well equipped and organised; he could open his own hospital if he wished with all the supplies he had stashed in his car. With Akito, he had to be ready for any possibilities.

He found what he needed almost instantly, and he gently lifted his cousin's upper body into a sitting position, propping him up; and a few seconds later, Shigure was breathing in high-flow oxygen through a tight-fitting face mask, with Hatori's arm wrapped around his torso for support.

Hatori's racing heart began to slow down. That's enough adrenaline for one day.

The Dragon closed his eyes and breathed in deeply, trying to calm his nerves. He listened closely to Shigure's breathing; it was rapid, uneven. He needed to get him to the hospital quick.

He unconsciously tightened his grip around Shigure when he felt his cousin start to sag a little.

"Keep breathing, Shigure. Get it all out of your system." Shigure nodded weakly, his face still pale, but his colour was improving.

After what felt like forever, the ambulance finally came.

"What took you so damn long?" Hatori growled. "Ginji-kun?"

The paramedics, one of them a Sohma himself, a distant third or fourth nephew, apologized profusely. "We were just finishing a run. We got here as soon as we could."

Without further delay, the medics started getting down to business, retrieving their gear from the bus and running over to where Hatori and Shigure were. Ginji put on his gloves.

"What happened?" He asked worriedly, as his partner took Shigure's blood pressure. "Shigure-sensei?" Shigure's eyes fluttered open and his forehead furrowed in concentration. Recognition finally flickered in the deep brown orbs and Shigure managed a weak smile.

"Carbon monoxide," Hatori replied curtly, gesturing toward the house. "Gas leak."

Ginji's eyes widened, fixing on the oxygen mask, and the grayish complexion. "How long was he under?"

The Dragon tried to think. "Two minutes...at least. Kept him going on CPR for another three before his heart started again." Hatori listened as the partner rattled off some vitals. He frowned, understanding what the numbers meant.

"The hospital, quickly."

Ginji nodded. "Let's load him up."

"Oi! Hatori!" Hatori's head whipped up. From afar, he could see two figures running toward him. Kyo? He sighed. It was the will of the Gods for this to happen today. And thank the Gods for keeping the children safe. But that didn't mean he was looking forward to telling them what happened.

"What the hell happened?" Kyo demanded, breathing hard, his face red from exertion. He had long since dropped his bag of groceries, ever since he saw the white ambulance parked in front of the house, with the siren light still spinning around in a crazy show of blues and reds. "And why is Shigure like that?"

"Shigure-san!" Tohru approached the stretcher fearfully, her heart beating so fast it was near bursting. Still disoriented, Shigure's eyes brightened slightly. Thank God. He hadn't a single clue what had happened, Hatori said something about a gas leak, but whatever it was, he was so glad he had sent them out on that errand. Thank God.

"Shigure-san...are you alright?" she cried anxiously. Shigure only nodded weakly, giving her hand a light squeeze, his face ghastly pale. He couldn't speak just yet, and not solely due to the goddamn mask covering his face.

Tohru stared at him worriedly. Shigure-san looks so weak, she thought, horrified. What happened to you, Shigure-san?

Hatori watched as Ginji loaded his cousin into the ambulance. "Any pain anywhere, Sensei?"

One of Shigure's hands crept slowly up his torso and rested on his chest. Ginji nodded, but he looked worried.

"Oi, Ginji, be careful! Hatori, what's wrong with Shigure? Is he sick or something?" Kyo sounded more pissed than worried. But then again, with him, there was no telling.

"Gas," Hatori snapped.

Both Tohru and Kyo froze.

"Come again?" Kyo asked, not understanding. He had never heard of anyone with gas needing an ambulance before.

"Carbon monoxide. He nearly suffocated to death," Hatori said harshly.

Tohru's eyes went wide. Gas? There was a gas leak?

"Someone left the stove on." The Dragon's eyes had narrowed to dangerous slits. "Which one of you did it?"

Tohru blinked, still in shock. The gas stove? The last time she went into the kitchen was last night...preparing dinner. It couldn't be her, could it? If it had been her, all of them would have died in the night! So who-?

Kyo frowned. "Shigure made breakfast this morning...but that was hours ago! And he was fine when we left him and-" Tohru's mouth fell open.

"Yuki-kun!" She gasped. Was he trapped in the house as well? "Is Yuki-kun alright?"

"Shigure was home alone when I found him. Yuki's gone out." Hatori's back was as stiff as a rod. Bits of his conversation with Shigure started coming back to him. Yuki had been messing around in the kitchen right before he left, Shigure had said. Yuki. It could only be Yuki.

Kyo's eyes were clouded with worry. He watched as Ginji attached something that looked like a giant alligator clip of some kind to the end of Shigure's fingers. The clip flashed beams of red pulsing through his fingertip. "Is he going to be alright?"

Hatori was grim. "I don't know."

"Hatori-ojisan...we're ready to go."

Hatori wanted so badly to go, but he was the only one with a car, and if he were to accompany Shigure to the hospital, there would be no one to take the kids. There was certainly no space for everyone in the bus. And besides, someone had to stay to air the house. And wait for Yuki to come back. His lips thinned.

"Kyo, Honda-kun, both of you go with Ginji-kun. Stay with Shigure." He groped in his pocket for a while.

"Here." He tossed his cell phone to Kyo who caught it with one hand. "Use that to keep in touch. If anything happens, call the house." He hesitated.

"On second thought, call me the second you get there." Hatori reached into the back of the ambulance, and grabbed Shigure's ankle, gripping it threateningly. "Don't you dare go dog on me now, you hear? Wait till I get there, got it?"

Shigure gave a small nod. He was exhausted, and the only thing he wanted to do was sleep.

Kyo climbed in without another word. Tohru however, hesitated a little.

"Hatori-san?" She asked uncertainly.

"Go with them, Honda-kun. I have to air the house out. It's too dangerous to leave it just like that, in case Yuki comes back." Tohru nodded, and took the hand Kyo was holding out, before climbing in.

The double doors slammed shut.

Hatori stood in the middle of the lawn, watching as the ambulance roared away, and faded into nothingness.

He took a deep breath, and counted to ten slowly in his head, trying not to think of the hundreds of different things that could go wrong. The worst was not over. And he was scared shitless.

Get a grip. You'll find out soon enough. There's something else you need to take care of right now.

Right.

Hatori rummaged through the back of his car. Five minutes later, with an oxygen mask securely fitted over his face, Hatori began opening every window, every door, every air vent he could find; switching on all fans at full speed to get the ventilation going, all the while praying that his worst fears wouldn't come true.

Fire and Ice

Some say the world will end in fire;
Some say in ice.
From what I've tasted of desire
I hold with those who favor fire.
But if it had to perish twice,
I think I know enough of hate
To know that for destruction ice
Is also great
And would suffice

(Robert Frost)

Great. Just great.

Yuki hung his head low and walked slowly toward the front door against which Hatori was leaning, his broad shoulders tense and rigid.

"Let me guess. Shigure called you. And you're here to give me the lecture he thinks I deserve but lacks the self-assertiveness to give himself."

Hatori felt something inside him turn to ice. He now recognised it as anger; he had always thought there was only one kind, the fiery-red one, but apparently this one, this cold fury inside him, worked all the same. The image of Shigure lying on the ground, still and blue, came back to him, and the ice grew. He took a step forward.

"No. I called him."

Yuki lifted an eyebrow. "You were worried I was going to kill the stupid cat?" He shook his head in an almost mocking way, wondering why all the adults in his life were so thick-headed so as not to notice that he, Sohma Yuki, was no longer a little kid they could push around and manipulate all they liked. No, that Yuki was long gone.

He made a move, to try to walk past Hatori to get into the house, but he drew his head back just in time just as the Dragon's arm snaked out with lightning speed, almost striking him in the face.

"What the-" Yuki's head whipped around, his eyes flashing in anger. "Hatori!"

But he was taken aback at the expression on the doctor's face; for the first time in his life, Yuki felt as if he was looking at a different man. Hatori's dark hair had tumbled down his forehead, obscuring both his eyes, but his lips had thinned to a severe, angry...murderous line.

The rat could only watch as the Dragon's dark look deepened, his mouth working but incapable of vocalising the words he seemed to so badly want to say. Yuki couldn't understand why Hatori was so angry.

"I called him." Hatori's voice dripped like acid. "You are so...lucky I called him. Yuki."

"I-I don't understand." Yuki frowned. His cousin was not making any sense. His head snapped up, noticing for the first time the darkened house. No lights. For no one to be home at this hour-did something happen? "Has something happened?"

The pang of fear in Yuki's voice reeled Hatori back to reality; the dark cloud of anger dissipating with each passing second as he stared at his younger cousin with a mixture of awe and regret. And Hatori realised he was not thinking rationally.

Yuki didn't know.

An accident is an accident, nothing more.

For his own words to come back to haunt him like this, it must be a sign. A sign for whom, he hadn't a clue.

"You left the gas stove on, Yuki."

Yuki's frown deepened. Now he was even more confused. "I can't cook to save my life, how could I have-" and it all rushed back to him. Honda-san went out with Kyo...got a bit hungry-He stared at Hatori. The Dragon couldn't possibly be mad at him for forgetting to turn off the stove, people forget all the time...unless-unless-

"Oh God-" He choked, his eyes widening as the impact of Hatori's words sank in. "Did something happen? Is everyone okay?" Yuki frantically threw himself at the older man, sinking his fingers deep into the Dragon's arm. "Was there a fire? Was Honda-san hurt?"

"Hatori, where is everyone?"

If Yuki's grip was hurting him, Hatori didn't show it. "At the hospital."

Yuki's face drained of colour. "W-Who-"

"Honda-kun's fine. She and Kyo were out at the time."

The rat's arms sagged in sheer relief, but a split second later, he froze again. Honda-san...Kyo...what-who am I missing?

"Shigure!" His head whipped up. "What about Shigure? Hatori, is he alright?"

Hatori drew away from him, reluctantly meeting his gaze with a side glance. "I don't know."

Yuki's mouth fell open. "Tell me!"

"He inhaled too much carbon monoxide. It was leaking from the stove." Hatori unconsciously clenched his fists. "Poisoned his blood. I was on the phone with him when he suddenly passed out."

Yuki's throat went dry.

Impossible! He blinked.

It couldn't be a joke. Hatori never joked.

Could it? He frantically grasped at the slim possibility that there was a first time for everything. But the look on Hatori's face...

Shigure...Yuki felt his knees go weak.

"Where've you been?" Hatori crossed his arms. He'd been waiting for more than an hour.

"T-The ah...my garden-" Yuki stuttered, still stunned.

Hatori rubbed his forehead. He was exhausted. "Grab an apple or something, if you're hungry. We're going to the hospital."

Yuki was still staring at him, mute. He shook his head dumbly. His fingers were like ice. And there was a ball of terror forming in the pit of his stomach.

"Get in the car," Hatori ordered. Like a puppet, Yuki stiffly opened the door and slid into the passenger's seat.

What in the world is going on?

"Anyone here for..." A man barely past his mid-twenties stood in the middle of the waiting room, flicking through the clipboard in his hand. "Sohma Shigure?"

Kyo rose so fast the chair almost toppled over, and nearly pummeled the man in the white coat to the ground. "How is he?" He snapped.

"Sohma Shigure, the novelist?"

"Yeah," Kyo said impatiently. Hurry up and take us to him, for God's's sake.

"Are you his relatives?" The tag hanging from his pocket said 'Dr Tachibana Kippei.'

Kyo ignored his question. "Are you his doctor?"

Dr Tachibana drew himself up, lifting his head. "Indeed I am. And you are his...son?" he asked uncertainly. He could only guess, the red-haired kid looked like he could swallow him any moment.

Kyo stared at him. "His cousin. We're his cousins."

"Right. Ah..." Dr Tachibana clipped his pen to his coat, and started to walk down the hallway. "Come with me, please."

They walked past various wards, and Tohru tried not to look around so much for fear of being accused of staring. She had never seen so many sick people in one place at one time in her life; there were old men and women lying comatose in bed, hooked up to gigantic machines...small children in wheelchairs...patients hooked to IVs walking around...nurses and attendants pushing carts up and down the hallway...she didn't like it there. That distinct, strong smell of disinfectant, the smell of sickness, of fear, of pain...the scent of death...she never wanted to revisit this scene ever again.

Mother...The blood pulsated behind her eyes, circulating at the back of her head. Her face felt flushed.

She didn't like it there.

"Oi." She looked up. Kyo was still walking, but at a slower pace; and he was staring at her. "What's wrong?"

"N-nothing." She shook her head and tried to smile. Kyo looked as if he wanted to say something else, but Dr Tachibana finally stopped in front of a room. It was a private room, and the name Sohma Shigure was emblazoned across the small white board on the door in big bold letters.

"Is Shigure-san...alright?" Tohru asked, her voice small and scared.

"Yeah." Kyo fidgeted restlessly. "Can we see him already?"

"He's stable at the moment...but I have to warn you, he is still quite weak. Best to let him get as much rest as possible." The man's nose twitched. "I assume Sohma-sensei...smokes?"

Kyo frowned. "Yeah. What of it?"

"How many a day, would you say?"

"Err..." He scratched his cheek. "I don't know...uh, a pack a day, maybe? It's not like I keep track or anything. Why? Is something wrong?"

"The pigment in the blood carries oxygen which is then circulated through the body. The gas sticks to the pigment and stops the oxygen from getting into the blood...The effects of the gas however, are much more pronounced in someone who smokes as smokers already have an increased level of the abnormal pigment, the carboxyhaemoglobin in their blood-" the doctor hesitated, wondering if his explanations were too technical for his audience.

"In other words, although Sohma-sensei was exposed to carbon monoxide for only a short while, the amount it takes to poison his blood is relatively less than if it were you or me-" After a beat, he hastily added, as if sensing his elaboration was not getting very far- "-who happens to not smoke. Do you smoke?"

Kyo shook his head, dumbfounded. Did this guy just get out of med school like, yesterday or something?

"Right," he flustered. "I'm sorry. I've been up for the past 18 hours, this is what too much coffee does to me-"

"Yeah, whatever-" Kyo brushed it aside impatiently. He didn't give a damn if the doctor had too much arsenic instead of coffee. All he was concerned about at the moment was Shigure. "Is he going to be alright or not?"

He hesitated again. "At the moment, he's still on high oxygen to displace the effect of the gas from his bloodstream, and we're still waiting for some lab results-I'm just about to carry out some tests at the moment, would you care to observe? I might need help for this purpose from someone who knows Sohma-san well."

That sounds strange. Kyo frowned. "What kind of tests?"

"His cognitive functions. Being under that long might have caused damage to his brain." There was no beating around the bush this time.

Kyo felt as if someone had punched him in the gut. "Brain...damage?"

Tohru's grip around the rail along the hospital corridor tightened involuntarily. This is not happening. This is like a bad dream. And I can't wake up.

"Shall we?" Dr Tachibana opened the door.

The silence was deafening.

The hum of the engine, that God-awful monotonous droning, was driving Yuki insane.

Hatori was not talking at all. His eyes were fixed on the road, his face like marble.

The ball of ice in Yuki's gut had grown into monstrous proportion, and sheer will was the only thing that was keeping him from developing a full-blown panic attack. Not knowing what was going on, how Shigure was doing, was killing him.

Yuki sank deeper into his seat, the tingling in his fingers and toes conspiring with his palpitating heart to send a chill down his spine. Beads of sweat formed along his hairline.

Kami-sama...He was terrified.

"It's almost over, Sohma-sensei," the young doctor smiled gently. "Just one last test, alright? And then we'll stop."

Shigure nodded. He was still hooked on oxygen, but at least he was looking a hundred times better than when Kyo saw him last. And good thing too, he had passed almost everything on the neurological exam, from eye movements to motor control and everything. And his memory seemed fine too; Shigure remembered his name, his age, phone number and everything.

Kyo found himself breathing easier now. "Stupid dog. What did you stick your head in the oven for?" He growled, but relief was evident in his eyes.

Shigure shrugged, still not trusting himself to speak, unless he absolutely had too. He hated looking like a weak, day-old kitten in front of everyone, and man, they had dressed him in a horrid plain hospital gown which did not even have a behind! Hatori, you jerk! You could have sent me someplace else! You'd better bring me my yukata or you're a dead duck, he thought darkly. And this thing stuck in his nose, it hurts!

"Now, now, Sohma-kun. We're still not finished." Dr Tachibana slid a note pad and a brand new pencil across the table and wheeled it closer to the middle of the bed where Shigure could reach it, slightly confused as to why Sohma-sensei's younger cousin would call him a dog, of all things. Oh well. Must be some kind of a family thing.

"Right. Now I want you to write your name for me?"

Will all these ridiculous tests ever end? But his doctor was this naive, fresh-faced kid who reminded him so much of Hatori when he first started working as a junior doctor that he just didn't have the heart to even roll his eyes, much less make a face, like he wanted to right now-Shigure gripped the pencil and touched the carbon tip to the pristine white pad.

Tohru, who was sitting on the other side of the bed, noticed the sudden stiffness of his shoulder. She waited for him to start writing.

But Shigure just stared at it, at the pencil in his hand, as if willing it to move.

"Oi. Your name. Start writing," Kyo prodded him.

"Shigure, get on with it! You want to stay here forever? Hurry up so we can get out of here and can get something to eat. I'm starving."

"Shigure-san, what's wrong?" Tohru leaned forward, peering at him, a little concerned. Shigure's eyes were wide open, unblinking.

Every trace of smile had left Dr Tachibana's face. He too, was staring intensely at the pencil in Shigure's hand.

"Oi, Shigure, stop day-dreaming already." Kyo frowned. "What, you forgot how to spell your own name or something?"

The moment the words left Kyo's mouth, Shigure dropped the pencil onto the table like it was burning coal; it rolled to the edge and fell onto his blanket covered lap soundlessly.

The moment the words left Kyo's mouth, Tohru's face drained of colour.

The moment the words left Kyo's mouth,a tense silence fell over the room; dense, stifling.

Shigure hitched in a gasp; his face had gone paper white.

Wh-Wha-How-

He struggled to form words, but the blank pad on the table kept staring at him, the stark whiteness of it blinding, but he couldn't keep his eyes off the black mark the tip of the pencil had left.

The tip of the pencil with which he was supposed to write his name, but couldn't.

Hatori and Yuki walked silently side by side, heading for Shigure's room. Most of the staff knew Hatori by name; he had worked here for a while a couple of years back, and they trusted him enough to be able to find his own way. Fair enough. The hospital was as usual, bustling with activity; routine, busy, never quiet.

They found it at the very end of a corridor in the east wing, and Hatori was about to knock when the door suddenly flung open, narrowly missing the tip ofhis nose. What the-

Kyo?

The cat's face was a beet-root red, redder than his hair, and his eyes were wild, crazed. Hatori's heart started to pound.

"Kyo, what-" The dragon found himself reeling a few steps back; Kyo had roughly pushed him to the side, and was now glowering at the rat who was standing behind him.

"You bastard!" Kyo hissed. Without warning, he grabbed Yuki's collar and pushed him against the wall, eliciting a yelp from the unsuspecting rat as the back of his skull slammed against the noticeboard behind him.

Hatori saw the murder in his eyes. He leaped in, trying to disentangle the cat's fingers from around Yuki's neck. A few nurses noticed the commotion and started to run toward them.

Kyo couldn't even speak; he was too blinded with red-hot anger, his fingers shaking, but his grip around Yuki's collar unwavering. Tohru appeared at the door, her face stricken with anguish. Hatori struggled to dislodge Kyo's vice-like choke-hold but the cat was too far gone.

"What the hell have you done, Yuki?" Kyo yelled in the nezumi's face and slammed his cousin against the wall again, harder this time. Stars exploded in front of Yuki's eyes.

"Kyo, stop it!" Hatori wrestled with him, but Kyo kept Yuki out of his reach.

"He can't even write his own name!" Kyo's voice was raw with emotions. Upon hearing his words, Hatori froze, every drop of blood leaving his face-

The dragon let go of Kyo's shirt and stalked in the room, forgetting all about Yuki-

"Shigure-" he whispered, his heart pounding so hard he could feel it slam against his ribcage with every beat. "Oh no..."

Tohru could only watch in horror as Kyo drew his fist back.

"Kyo-kun, stop it!" She cried out pleadingly. "Please, stop!'

But Kyo was beyond reasoning.

"Sohma-sensei." The young doctor acknowledged him with a grave nod.

He only half-listened as Dr Tachibana rattled off the results of the tests he had carried out and how he thought Shigure was faring. His cousin had sunk back into his bed, his face whiter than his pillow. He was clearly in shock.

"We would like to observe him for a while longer so we will have to keep him overnight. There is no need to panic, there are more tests we can run...could only be a temporary effect...will find out more...agitated...something to help him sleep..." Dr Tachibana's words were lost on him, his eyes drawn to the pencil lying on the floor near the little wheel at the foot of the hospital bed.

Damn it.

Hatori cupped a warm hand around his friend's shoulder and let it stay there, offering the only form of support he was in the position to give at the current moment; he was, after all, family. He was just about to suggest to Dr Tachibana to resume the test after Shigure had had some rest when he realised that his cousin was shaking.

He looked up.

And found two bright, brown eyes staring back at him.

Brimming with tears.

Hatori breathed in sharply.

Ha-san...Shigure hitched in a breath, dangerously seconds away from hyperventilating.

Those eyes...seemed to have a life of their own.

If I can't write...I have nothing.

Nothing.

TO BE CONTINUED...

Author's notes: First of all, thank you to all those who reviewed! You guys are my inspiration-without you, this story would have gotten nowhere. Your wonderful comments and con crit lifted my spirit and made my day.

So there, the third installment-I hope no one's bored yet. I know I'm not. :)

Merry Christmas peeps! And please, please tell me what you think of the story so far!

Yours truly.

p/s: The alligator clip is actually a pulse oximeter; it consists of a probe attached to the patient's finger or ear lobe and it displays the percentage of Hb saturated with oxygen together with an audible signal for each pulse beat anda calculated heart rate. Hope that clears up some confusion!