Chapter 6- I'm Taking Control
"I'm happy you're leaving." Rin told him as she watched him pack the last of his clothes and close the large suitcase with a sharp snap.
Yuki looked up from his task and frowned at Rin's comment.
"Why? You're going to be alone with her. That's not a position I would want for anyone to be in." Yuki replied as he brushed a hand through his hair.
Rin shrugged. "She's starting to suspect something. I'm not going to be here much longer. The only reason why I'm still here is because she's trying to decide what exile will the worst for me to get."
Yuki nodded and sat down on the bed in the now empty room.
He had been officially banished now that the whole New Year's banquet fiasco and its repercussions had played out. Haru was blind now and had been smuggled away by a silent Kazuma. Kyoko had been missing for close to four months and if anyone asked Akito where the cat was, she would simply smile sarcastically. The only thing that remained of Kyoko was the expensive kimono that Akito had triumphantly handed to Kazuma and Haru before telling them more or less to disappear from her sight completely.
Although Yuki had been a favourite, she had treated him as harshly as the others that had trespassed against her. Yuki shuddered slightly as he recalled the three days he had been locked in the pitch black room she had painted for him years ago with nothing but a bucket of water to drink and a pile of straw in the corner as she had alternated between ignoring him and whipping him until his back was raw and bloody.
After all of that, she had had the maids pull him out and clean him up. Once that had been done, he had been dragged in front of her and was casually informed he was banished to Shigure's house until he had learned his lesson. She had lost no time in having his belonging shipped over and had left him to pack up his clothes. And then he would be in Shigure's house.
He didn't know whether to be relieved or depressed about the forced exile. For one thing, he was getting the freedom that he had so long dreamed about, but despaired of ever receiving. This desire had led him to be a hedonistic and apathetic brat that only cared for his creature comforts and nothing more. It wasn't that he liked being that way, but rather it was protection to keep him from going insane in the steel cage that the Sohma family was. If it hadn't been for Rin being at his side like a headstrong shadow, he probably would have given into his madness.
But he was leaving her behind. He wished there was something he could do to repay all that she had done for him, despite the disastrous way that things had ended up, but he knew of no way to do so. And he hated the fact that there wasn't anything he could do. Once again, he was simply nothing more than the plaything of fate.
He sighed and wondered whether that was also part of his curse: to watch the women in his life suffer, yet be able to do nothing for them.
He shook his head and got back to the present time. At least he could have a proper goodbye with one of them. He knew that was impossible with Kyoko. Now and forever. He still couldn't forget the hatred that had shone in her eyes when he had pulled her away from Haru and the pond. He knew that she was simply acting on emotion and adrenaline. Nothing more. He also knew that if she had jumped in, she would have drowned. A romantic, but utterly futile gesture that would have gotten her nothing in the end.
But she would never see it that way and he would never get the chance to tell her so.
"Thank God for small blessings, I suppose." he finally commented as he idly played with the blanket covering the bed in an effort to calm the swirling eddies of emotion that were rocking within him. Rin laughed softly and sat down next to him.
They sat in silence for several moments before Yuki glanced at Rin, who was staring at him intently.
"When are you leaving?" She asked as her hand trailed its way up his arm, to his shoulder and then into his shirt.
"In an hour. As soon as Hatori is finished with her. Why?"
"I want to say good-bye properly." Rin murmured as her hands appeared to be everywhere on his body.
Yuki's breath caught in a soft hitch in his throat as her hands started doing the amazing things that they always did in order to get a response from him.
Rin smiled a bittersweet smile as she gently pushed him down on the bed.
"Don't worry about a thing. Just lay back and promise to remember this."
"I promise."
(Line Break)
Tohru Honda trudged along the woods, her legs moving despite her exhaustion. She had just finished working her shift and was yawning in anticipation of sleeping in her cheap, but comfortable sleeping bag. She thanked her lucky stars that she had been able to finish her homework before school had been done so that all she had to do was wash her face and sleep in preparation of the new school day.
"Oh mother. I'm so tired. Even though it was a good day. I hope you weren't too lonely without me." She thought as she caught glimpse of her small tent nestled in the woods.
She had been living there for the past few days until her grandfather's house was done being remodelled. Even though her friends would have surely aided her, she didn't want to be a burden to them. That was why she had ended up living in the woods by herself. She was sure she was safe there, since she hadn't seen a single soul for miles since she had made her way there.
"I just hope Uo-chan and Hana-chan stop worrying. I am fine here. It'll be just for a few more days." Tohru said as she went inside her tent.
And gave a shriek when she found a girl her age sleeping deeply on her bedroll.
Willing her heart to stop beating so hard, she warily got closer to the girl. Although she was tired, her tiredness melted away to be replaced by pity when she got a closer look at her uninvited guest. The girl had ragged bright orange hair that lay a few inches below her shoulders in a tangled and jagged mess. Her face was dirty and scored with scratches and bruises. Her hands too, were incredibly filthy, cut up and chapped as were her feet. The robe she was clothed in was little more than a rag and did almost nothing to cover the swells and curves of her body, which was as badly mistreated as the rest of her.
The only part of her that was in a reasonable state was a red and white bracelet that was around her right wrist. That piece of jewellery made Tohru curious and she reached out to touch it. She had just brushed her fingertips across it and was shocked when the girl's hand shot out and grabbed her wrist with surprising strength.
So shocked was she that she forgot herself and screamed loudly.
"Who's there?" A male voice called right before the front flap of her tent was pulled open to reveal Yuki Sohma, easily the most popular and most beautiful boy in Kaibara High and a dark haired older man wearing a yukata.
"Ah! Sohma-kun!" Torhu managed to gasp out. The girl with orange hair heard that name and she yanked Torhu towards her, making the girl give out another shriek.
"Kyoko!" Yuki exclaimed, his eyes widening as he took in the wretched state his cousin was in. How had she managed to survive for four months like that?
With his minds full of thoughts and memories of her, he reached out to touch her.
But Kyoko simply hissed at him and backed away. Right at the same time there was a loud "poof" and a cloud of orange smoke. When the cloud had disappeared, Tohru found herself with a lapful of an orange cat with a large belly.
"AHHHH!"
Yuki looked at Shigure, who looked back at him before both of them looked at the utterly shocked Torhu and the hissing Kyoko.
"This is going to be a long night, I assume."
(Line Break)
"Where is the girl?" Hatori asked as he briskly moved the washcloth over Kyoko's unconscious body in an effort to clean her up as much as possible without the benefits of a bath, since he was worried she would react badly to waking up in a tub-full of water. So he worked doggedly, removing most of the dirt until the natural tan showed through.
"She's upstairs sleeping. She's got a bit of a fever and seeing Kyoko-chan turn into a cat probably didn't do much for her either." Shigure commented as he put a new bowl of water down and took the dirty one to the kitchen and emptied it without complaint.
"I don't know how exactly we're going to deal with this mess." Hatori muttered as he finally finished with his administrations and began the task of giving Kyoko a thorough medical examination.
Shigure simply looked on, his expression neutral as he watched his cousin complete his duties.
Once he was done, he pulled the covers over the naked body and stood up.
"Considering she was living in the wild for months, she's in good shape. Slightly malnourished, but otherwise fine. The cuts will heal in time. The only concern is the fact that she looks to be about twelve to fourteen weeks pregnant."
Shigure was a man that prided himself on not being surprised easily. But the stark news his cousin was giving him made him freeze for a couple of minutes. Kyoko-chan? Pregnant?
"How?" He finally managed to mouth out after an unsuccessful series of attempts to speak.
Hatori sighed.
"My guess is the day at the main house. That would explain why she suddenly shot out of the house as if she had the devil running after her."
Shigure's eyes darkened at the mention of that day.
"But who?" he asked as his stomach tied itself in knots as his mind supplied possible candidates.
"Haru or someone else." Hatori replied tersely, making Shigure get his second shock of the day.
"Why Haru? He's not one to do something so barbaric!"
"I'm not talking about the specific act, idiot. Haru and Kyoko were well known to have something between them. She could be pregnant from that or from the attack. We won't know until the child is born...that's if she wants it to be born." Hatori added as an afterthought.
When do you propose on bringing that up with her? If it hadn't been for Tohru-kun holding her she would have bolted. Whatever Akito put her through as well as the time she spent in the woods has made her little more than a wild animal." Shigure pointed out to the dragon.
"In time she'll come back. She needs a place that she can feel secure in while her mind heals."
"Where do you suggest that happen?" Shigure asked carefully, already guessing at the answer.
"Would you mind? I know that you're deeply submerged in your webs and games, but I know you aren't that big of a fool to do any willful harm to either Yuki, Kyoko or that girl."
Shigure smiled one of the rare, cunning and utterly chilling smiles that very few people apart from Hatori and Akito rarely saw.
"Clever Hari. But why not give her over to Kazuma and Haru? They are after all, more of a family than Yuki and I are at this point." Shigure pointed out reasonably.
"Kazuma took Haru away to better help him with his blindness and they won't be back for awhile yet."
"I suppose that is the official version?" Shigure as he finally sat down at the low dining room table, close to where Kyoko was sleeping deeply.
"Somewhat. Kazuma was worried that Haru was going to fade away waiting for her. He still hadn't given up hope of finding her, but he was being pragmatic and taking safeguards to also not lose his son." Hatori explained as he pulled out a cigarette and motioned Shigure to walk out to the porch with him.
"Besides, "Hatori continued after he had lit his cigarette. "She trusts that girl and she could be the one that heals her completely from this episode. If it hadn't been for her, I'm sure we probably wouldn't have even gotten her away from the woods, never mind into the house."
Shigure nodded as he sucked on his cigarette.
"It's decided. I'll stop by the main house to let Akito know what has changed."
Hatori frowned at Shigure and was about to open his mouth to comment on his intentions when Shigure raised a hand.
"Don't worry, Hari. I know when to push and when to retreat. I can guarantee that things will come out as we expect them to. Trust me."
(Line Break)
Yuki raised his head from his school books when he heard the door open and slide shut and footsteps saunter into the living room.
"What did she say?" he asked warily as Shigure removed his shoes and shrugged off his jacket. Tohru was busy making up dinner and Kyoko was still asleep, the sedatives that Hatori had given her still in her system and doing their job well.
"She's agreed to have Tohru and Kyoko here. The banishment still remains. And we aren't to contact Kazuma-san and Haa-kun until they are back. No sense in interrupting Haa-kun's therapy." Shigure said, twisting his face into an ironic and snide grin at the last bit.
Yuki shook his head and closed his book.
"How long until they come back?"
"About a month or two."
Yuki nodded and turned to look at Kyoko, who was curled up on her side, her arms curled loosely around her middle, her hair all over her face.
As he watched her sleep, Shigure's words echoed in his mind. 'One or two months' he had to wonder if this was the chance he had been waiting for. He thought about it all through supper and the evening and the more he turned the idea in his head, the more it made sense.
He had been given another chance and he wasn't going to screw this up.
End of Chapter 6
Notes: Kyoko's demeanor and actions are consistent with trauma. Although they are exaggerated, withdrawal of any kind does follow after a severe emotional and physical trauma. In Kyoko's case, I also made it that she would have let her animal counterpart take over and hence the reason for her being like an abused animal. Zodiac members revert to their animal form when weak or stressed, that was why Kyoko turned when Tohru and the others found her. And yes, Tohru has now entered the picture. A bit differently than in the manga, but she will play an important part. Haru and Kazuma will be back...no more spoilers for now and thanks once again for reading.