Guilt
The Sohmas made their way out of the room.
No one said anything. It was like a funeral. Everyone trudged on like lifeless zombies.
"You DUMBASS!" someone yelled.
Kyo was fuming with anger. All the bottled up rage came out in one tsunami of anger directed at Yuki.
"LOOK WHAT YOU'VE DONE!" he yelled with tears in his eyes.
The girl he loved had just forgotten him. He was overwhelmed with anger.
His fist was ready, eager to hit. He gathered up all his strength and went for Yuki. But it was hopeless. Yuki was far too strong. Yuki blocked all of his attacks and then threw him through a paper wall.
Kyo was bleeding. Kagura ran towards him to help him up. She was about to shout at Yuki but he got away before she could.
He walked back to his room. He was a lone figure stumbling in the snow. It had become unusually dark. He fell to the ground and sat there for a long time. The snow was freezing his legs, the pain was unbearable but he couldn't get up. He no longer had the strength or will to move. He just sat there, his tears creating small dents in the snow. He sat there with his hand on his chest. It was getting hard to breathe. A mixture of flu (which had worsened in the past few days as a result of sleep deprivation) and bronchitis kicked in. He was tired and hungry. He could see his room a few metres away.
POOF!
He turned into a rat. Theis was the worst thing that could possibly happen. Slowly but surely he lost consciousness. His surroundings turning in a dark blur. And he fell to the ground.
Yuki woke up to find Hatori sitting beside him. Birds were twittering and a ray of light shone on his face. He was lying on a bed in Hatori's room.
"You're lucky I happened to be walking to our room," Said Hatori gently "You would have died within…"
The doctor paused as if he were thinking.
"Well, it was a really bad snow storm…you would've died in three hours!" he said.
"Thanks, that makes me feel so much better…" 'The Prince' grumbled
"Ayame, Shigure and I went and took her body to her grandpa's house. We told him that she slipped and forgot about us. He believed us and he's going to look after her from now on. I'd advise you to not get too close to her-just in case the memories come back"
He paused.
"How do you feel what has happened in the past few days, Yuki? Are you recovering?"
Yuki merely shrugged.
"I remember the last time I did this to you"
…
"I'm sorry, Yuki-Akito's orders""They're always Akito's orders," the little Yuki cried "Why? Why do I deserve this?"
"You don't…"
"Then why'd you do it?""That was before I lost Kana" Hatori whispered.
Yuki watched Hatori, transfixed. He seemed somewhat younger; he looked at a spot on the wall and a smile spread across his face.
"Sad that the others are blaming you for Tohru's memory wipe? Let me tell you that I know exactly how you feel." Hatori said, breaking the uncomfortable silence.
Yuki was unable to respond. He held respect for Hatori and waited to hear what else he had to say. Hatori picked up a cup of steaming tea.
"And you know exactly what I mean. Who were you angry at when I erased the memories of your friends when you were young?"
"Akito"
"Oh really?" the doctor said with a grin on his face.
"This is my curse. This is what I have to do. Do you think I get pleasure out of making everyone's lives miserable?"
Yuki shook his head and Hatori patted him on the back.
"Go on. You're better now. Try not to do any sort of physical activity" he said "Including having a fight with Kyo."
Yuki moved back to Shigure's house. All the Sohmas except Hatsuharu did not speak to him at all. They were still angry with him. Although they understood his reasons, they were still angry. It happened so fast and no one did anything to stop it. No one could do anything to stop it…
So that's how it all ended. All the months of happiness they spent together, lost by this one moment. Almost two years of joy ruined by a few seconds. Unbelievable.
He made his way to school. He had overslept and was going to be late. He ran towards the school. The ground was slippery because of the snow from the previous night.
Then he felt as if he had rebounded off something. The contents of his bag spilled on the icy, cold ground.
"Oh, I'm so sorry! I'm so clumsy…everyone says so-…" a familiar voice squeaked apologetically. It was Tohru!
She didn't look any different. She had ribbons in her hair and was smiling in her usual cute way.
"Do I know you? You look kind of familiar…"
Panic flooded Yuki's mind. She couldn't know.
"Yuki-kun?" she asked with a quizzical expression on her face.
Yuki stared at her. She was smiling so earnestly as if she were free from all the troubles of the world. Her hair blew around gently in the wind-the way it always did.
"Oh, I'm
sorry…what am I doing, addressing someone by their first name like
that…I meant to say that you're Sohma-san from my class. We've
never really had the opportunity to talk before. I hope we can be
friends."
"No, it's fine, you can call me Yuki, I insist"
he said, unable to control himself.
"Yuki-kun" she repeated and smiled at him "Yuki Sohma…"
RIIIINGGG!
It was the school bell.
"Oh no! We're late. Come one!"
She grabbed his hand and ran towards the building.
Standing at the front of the school was another familiar figure. Yuki's worst fears had come true. Standing at the front of the school, clothed in leather, with a sinister smirk on his face.
Akito.