Disclaimer: The characters depicted, settings, and some terminology in this fan work are the property of Natsuki Takaya. The views and opinions of this fan based work in no way reflect the views or opinions of Natsuki Takaya. This is a fanfiction written purely for entertainment purposes and nothing more. The author of this fan based work receives no profit gain in writing this
WARNING: Contains content NOT suitable for children under the age of 17, and readers are strongly cautioned. The following contains but is not limited to, rape, inappropriate language, and violence.
Chapter 2
Tohru stirred in her sleep face scrunched and sweat dripping down her face. Her sleep was plagued with nightmares, violent and bloody. Tears squeezed from her closed eyes as she quietly whimpered into her pillow. After some time enduring the dream she shot upright into a seated position heart hammering in her chest and a cry almost escaping her lips, before she realized she was home. She was safe in her bed. Kyo and Yuki were likely in there rooms down the hall. Shigure was probably downstairs. She was safe in Sohma house.
Safe. I'm safe at home.
She repeated those thoughts like a mantra. Slowly her heart rate returned to a normal pace. The lingering feelings from the event and nightmares still fresh in her mind, however she had faith she could get past it. She had too. She had to keep smiling for her mom. She glanced nervously at her mother's photo on her nightstand.
Shakily she slid her legs over the side of her bed and cautiously put each foot down testing her ability to stand on her own. Her ankle hurt badly, but with assistance from the wall and her dresser she was able to get fresh clothes together.
Tohru took a deep breath and braced herself for the walk to the bathroom. She really was in a lot more pain than she had realized originally. Her adrenaline rush from the nightmares must have dulled the pain temporarily because now she was feeling like she'd been run over by a car. Everything hurt especially her ankle.
Quietly she opened the door and peered down the hallway. She sighed in relief finding the hall empty. It was taking all she had to keep it together. She kept thinking to herself all she needed was a shower and she'd feel better again. She clutched her change of clothes protectively to her chest and the other hand braced against the wall as she slowly made her way down the hall to the bathroom.
I can do this. She repeated to herself over and over as she pushed along.
The pain in her ankle burned up her calf but she was almost there. She pushed forward stumbling and let out a shriek as she lost her balance. She would have fallen if strong hands hadn't pulled back on her shoulders. The grip was strong, but somehow gentle. However gentle those hands were didn't keep her breath from catching in her throat. She slowly inclined her head backward eyes traced the hand that gripped her shoulders to the face of their owner. Her eyes wide with distress.
"Miss Honda, are you alright?" Yuki asked tentatively keeping his hands on her shoulder and one on her arm to support her.
Yuki watched apprehensively waiting for her response and frowned when she tensed under his grip. He assumed she tensed because she was in a lot of pain, but there was a look in her eyes he'd never seen before on her. He didn't know what it was, but it made the pit of his stomach ache. His gaze wandered her face finally able to get a proper look. He grimaced at the blossoming purple bruise on her cheek.
"I'm okay really. I just lost my balance." She managed to smile through her split lip.
"You look like you're in a lot pain. You should have woken one us up to help you." Yuki lectured her but his tone was gentle.
He observed how anxious and pained she seemed as she leaned against the bathroom counter. He reached into the linen closet and got her a towel so she wouldn't have to reach at least, since he really couldn't help her much more than that. He thought maybe they should have called Kagura over for stuff like this.
He handed her the towel and took in her expression. It made his gut twinge with nervousness. Her eyes were still wide and her stare was almost distant as she reached her hand out to take the towel from him. It all seemed so wrong to Yuki. He'd seen Tohru in a variety of emotional states, but this was something he couldn't identify and it gave him a foreboding feeling. It left him wanting to ask her what happened last night, but he found that his brain couldn't assemble the right words to ask. He noticed Tohru shift uncomfortably, and realized she likely was waiting on him to leave so she could get on with her bathroom business. He mentally slapped himself for standing there awkwardly lost in thought.
"I'll be sitting on the steps waiting for you." Yuki promised her with a soft smile.
"You don't have to trouble yourself I'll be okay. I might be a while in here with my ankle like this, so I don't want to make you wait for me."
"It's no trouble." He gave her a genuine smile.
"Thank you."
Yuki closed the door behind him as he left and took a seat on the top of the stairs. It was close enough to bathroom to hear if she called for help, but it was still a respectable distance away to give her privacy. His back leaned against the wall and his legs inched up to his chest as he waited. In truth he didn't mind if Tohru kept him waiting all day. He already owed her so much for all she'd given him this past year living together. It was because of her he was able start living his life the way he wanted to, and he was even working through his fears because she inspired him. The least he could do is help her when she needed it.
Inside the bathroom Tohru hands hovered over her dirty clothes. She vaguely remembered Hattori's assistant trying to get her to at least change her clothes and maybe shower before returning home, but at the time Tohru couldn't look at herself. She didn't want to see it. She wasn't ready, and truth be told she might not be ready still. Her hands dropped at her sides and she instead turned to face the mirror above the sink.
I can do this. She reminded herself.
She studied her reflection in mirror for the first time since it happened. She grimaced at the large purple bruise on her cheek and the beginnings of a black eye forming under her left eye. Her fingers shakily traced the dried blood on her split lip. She resisted as her shoulders shook and sob tried to work it's way through her. She needed to be okay. Her gaze moved down taking in her neckline and chest which had multiple bruises and scratches.
She felt her stomach retching as pieces of the night before came flooding back to her. Pain. Rough hands touching her. Tears. Shame. Tohru tried to hold back the vomit, but the urge burned through her throat and landed thankfully in the bathroom sink. She stood painfully bent at the waist leaning face first into the sink. Her shuddering breaths came in heaves as she did her best to be quiet.
"Akito sends her regards." the words were whispered in her ear as they left her in the stairwell.
She had to keep it a secret. If what she was told was true and Akito had something to do with all this, no doubt Yuki and Kyo would blame themselves or worse get themselves in trouble with Akito. She couldn't tell them. She bit her cheek in an attempt to calm herself and keep quiet. She would protect them.
Once her dry heaves stopped she turned on the shower in hopes to drown out the sobs trying to break free from her. Tohru's hands ghosted the hem of her pants and she inhaled deeply before removing the dirty garment. She noted their were a few blood spots on them as she watched them slide down her legs. She winced at the slow drag of the fabric against her legs and bit back tears threatening to fall. The sensation made her think of those dirty hands that touched her. Those hands that ripped her pants down her kicking legs. Those vile hands that slid up her legs.
Her heart pounded violently in her rib cage and she couldn't calm her breaths. Her legs wobbled as she threw herself toward the toilet and vomited again although nothing but bile came up. It burned her nose and throat. She heaved a few more times before attempting to finish undressing.
After several minutes her underwear was all that was left to remove. She tried not to look at them, all dirty and slightly torn, but her hands lingered trembling at the waistband. Her eyes clenched shut as she gripped the waistband. She removed the last layer of 'protection' she had.
"I wonder what type of noises you'll make for us." the man whispered in her ear his hot breath fanned against her skin.
She crumpled them up and put them in the bottom of the waste basket. She couldn't look at them. She reminded herself the goal was to get a shower and clean the filth from her body. Her body trembled as she thought about how gross her body was. She briefly wondered if it was even possible to be cleansed after something that disgusting. She shook her head to try to rid herself of the negative thoughts. Her jaw clenched and her stomach ached, but she pushed forward.
She opted to sit down under the water's spray to spare her ankle any further stress. Once the water poured over her she finally allowed herself to cry in earnest. She pulled her legs into her chest and rested her face in her knees. Her arms trembled as she hugged her knees into her chest. She tried to concentrate on the water gliding over her skin washing everything away. She tried to listen to the sounds of the shower in an attempt to distract her from the memories of hot ragged breaths hitting her ears. She tried so hard to forget, but even the water felt wrong. She felt wrong. Everything felt wrong. She desperately tried quell her racing thoughts.
"You can't lie and say you aren't enjoying this when your cunt is this wet." he wiped his slick fingers off on her face as 'proof'.
"N-no stop I don't like this at all." she pleaded as ugly tears streamed down her soiled face.
"Hey, I bet I even make you cum on my dick." he taunted her wickedly.
She heaved again but managed to keep it together. Her breaths came out in pants and wheezes. Her stomach flopped at the memory of her body betraying her. She remembered fighting back moans and whimpers. She remembered the way her stomach coiled with heat. It was disgusting. She was disgusting. She couldn't understand why her body felt good while she felt so disgusted and terrified. It was confusing and distressing. This time she did vomit. She stared as the bile flowed down to the drain. Disgusting. The word echoed through her mind.
She tried to push away the offensive thoughts. It wasn't going to do her any good to dwell right now. She had to move forward.
I have to be strong for them. She reaffirmed her resolve to protect them.
It wasn't much longer before Tohru was brought out of her thoughts by the sound of yelling outside the bathroom. Yuki must have really waited for her. She reached for the soap and started washing up. The soap was floral and she used a ton and scrubbed as hard and as fast as she could, as if this would wipe the slate clean for her. Her tears had stopped finally and she felt like she was getting more control over it.
Outside the bathroom Yuki was waiting patiently while Kyo was once again pacing up and down the hall with that angry swagger of his.
"You sure she's okay in there?" he asked voice wrought with concern. "She's been in there a while, what if she fell or something?"
"I told her I would be outside if she needed anything, and she hasn't called for help so I'm sure she is fine." he replied unfazed by Kyo's pacing and very obvious worry.
Kyo's mindless pace brought him closer to the bathroom door and it irked Yuki for reasons he'd prefer not to admit. He hated how casually Kyo would get into Tohru's personal space, or how he would call her by her given name. He didn't understand how Kyo found it so easy to be so casual with people especially Tohru. He wondered if one day he'd be able to call her by her given name.
"Stop invading Miss Honda's privacy, you heathen." he glared daggers at Kyo.
Kyo's cheeks darkened at the implications and he immediate lunged at the rat ready to fight. He hated when that damn rat looked at him like that, and he hated when he accused him of things he definitely wouldn't do. He would never invade Tohru's privacy. His fist aimed a punch right at Yuki's face, but the punch never landed as Yuki blocked it with ease.
"I was just checking on her, asshole." he yelled swinging at Yuki again who caught the cat's fist in his hand.
Yuki wound back to punch Kyo when they heard the bathroom door creak open and they both froze mid fight. Both sets of eyes darted to Tohru, who stood in the bathroom doorway bracing her weight against the door frame keeping as much weight off her ankle as possible. She did her best to plaster that goofy grin to her face even though everything just felt wrong.
I can do this. I have to do this. I can do this.
Her wet hair nestled on top of her head in bun, and her bangs clung to her forehead still dripping a little. Her towel wrapped around her neck over her fresh clothes to keep her hair from dripping on them. Her dirty clothes remained in the bathroom in bottom of the garbage. She avoided looking directly at either of the teens.
Kyo took in her appearance as much as he could see from his angle. It looked like her face was really bruised up, and her lip was swollen. He frowned looking at her posture. Her body looked slightly hunched and very tense. He wondered how badly she was hurt, because it looked like it was more than her ankle hurting her. Kyo would know having been beaten up so many times during his childhood.
"Do you want my help again?" Yuki asked reaching his hand out to her with a smile.
Kyo watched her shoulders tense as Yuki's hand reached toward her. Her body language changed in an instant. Kyo couldn't see her eyes, but his gut told him she was uncomfortable for some reason. He acted before he realized what he was doing, and swatted Yuki's hand away on instinct. Tohru stared wide eyed at him, wondering why he did that. It was the first time she'd looked at him since coming home last night. He noticed her eyes were red and puffy. He wondered if she'd been crying in the bathroom. He turned away quickly gesturing at his shoulders.
"Here, grab my shoulders for support." He ordered bluntly with rose colored cheeks.
Yuki stared in disbelief but didn't say a word. He noticed Tohru's apprehension to his own offer, and it didn't sit well. Was she just more comfortable with Kyo? No, he and Tohru were friends and they were close. It was something else right? It caused him alarm for some reason. He tried to convince himself it was likely nothing, but it nagged at him. He recalled how wide her eyes were earlier when he caught her before she fell. That look in her eyes was it fear?
Is she afraid of me?
"T-thanks." She stuttered cautiously placing her hands on his shoulders.
"Well where are we going?" he asked after a few moments of just standing still.
"Oh sorry, I guess could you please walk me to my room?" she asked her voice sounded so small, and Kyo's heart skipped a beat.
"Alright, come on then. I ain't got all day." he mocked an annoyed tone contrary to how he really felt.
Kyo walked at a snail's pace to Tohru's room. Her grip on his shoulder seemed a little tight. He wondered how badly her ankle hurt. He could tell by the way she was walking her whole body was tensed. He knew she was in pain, but something just felt off. The air around her was thick, and it caused him unease. He wouldn't admit it out loud in front of Shigure or Yuki but he was worried about her.
"Be honest Tohru, but are you really okay?" he asked her after he was sure he was out of earshot of Yuki.
"I mean I'm pretty banged up, but I'm alright." She tried to reassure him but there was a tiny bit of a tremble in her hands and a hesitance in her voice.
Kyo wasn't entirely convinced she wasn't down playing her injuries, but he let it go for the time being.
"Man, I can't leave you alone for a second. How did you fall down the stairs anyway?" he asked aggravation clear in his tone.
Her grip on his shoulders tightened even more and she clenched her eyes shut to keep her tears from spilling. She had to keep this secret. They couldn't know the truth. She couldn't let him know what happened. She didn't want him to know how filthy she was. Tohru felt the panic rise in her chest, but was able to push it back down before answering Kyo with the cheeriest voice she could muster while on the verge of tears.
"You know how clumsy I can be." She giggled nervously hoping Kyo would accept it.
"Sorry. I was just….worried." his last words faded to a whisper but she heard them.
"It's okay Kyo, I know." She smiled pressing her forehead on his back for a moment.
He stopped walking on contact feeling his cheeks heating up as her head rested on his back. It was only for a second, but the contact made his stomach flutter. He hated the feeling mostly because he wasn't sure what it meant.
Kyo guided Tohru to her bed so she could sit. He tried not to look at her face because he knew his cheeks were still red. He could feel the heat across his face. He always got flustered when it came to her for some reason. He didn't understand it yet. Tohru's shoulders trembled.
Without a word Kyo grabbed her blanket and wrapped it gently around her shoulders, however his hand brushed against her in doing so and he felt and saw her whole body tense. He wondered how much pain she was really in if a light brush of his hand caused that sort of reaction.
"Didn't Hattori leave you medicine for the pain?" he grimaced.
"I'm not sure." She admitted eyes sweeping around the room. She really couldn't remember much after getting home.
"Stay there. I'll look." Kyo ordered.
He noticed a note and two bottles of pills. He examined them for a moment before bringing her the pain medication. She already had a bottle of water on her nightstand. He handed both to her.
"The note says to take one every four hours. Make sure you take them or your ankle will keep swelling up." His eyes narrowed. He knew how badly sprains hurt because he'd had them many times before growing up. He was on the receiving end of a lot of kicks, punches, and shoves having grown up as the cat.
"I will." She promised.
Kyo's eyes lingered on her face which he hadn't really seen in the daylight until now with the way the sunlight cast around her face from the window. He grimaced at the bruises on her cheek and the dark bruising under her left eye. His gaze trailed down her neck seeing more bruises. He felt his fists clench at his sides. He hated seeing her in pain. It made him so angry he wanted to punch something, to break stuff. He felt his nails digging into his palms.
His attention was interrupted when there was a knock on the door frame. Kyo's eyes darted expecting the rat to be in her doorway, but it was Shigure.
"Tohru, I brought you some breakfast." Shigure announced himself before walking into the room.
"Oh uh..thank you." She forced a smile even though the thought of eating made her nauseated.
She was handed the tray of food. Kyo slid lazily down to the floor with his back resting on Tohru's bed. Shigure left them alone again with a knowing smirk aimed at Kyo, to which he didn't understand so he chose to ignore it.
Tohru sat with the tray in hand, but she couldn't bring herself to eat. Every time she thought of eating she would remember something from the night before. Something foul that made her stomach turn. She could remember how bad they smelled and how close they were to her. After a moment's pause, she attempted again to eat the soup at least. Sweaty hands touching her. Hot breath on her face. Nope. There was no way she could eat right now. She shuddered and tried to will back vomit and tears.
"What's wrong?"
"I'm just not hungry right now."
After a moment of silence and not understanding what was going through Tohru's mind Kyo blurted out the only thing he could think of to say.
"I could cook you something else?" He suggested tentatively.
"Thanks, but I think I just need to sleep." She answered and it really wasn't all a lie, she was very tired.
xxx
Kyo took her cold uneaten tray of food back down to the kitchen. He promised her he'd be back in an hour or so with something different for her to try to eat. He noticed Yuki sitting at the table staring down at his hands clearly lost in thought. Shigure was reading the paper calmly sipping his morning tea.
"How is she?" Shigure asked Kyo.
"I don't know. She says she's fine, but.." his voice faltered. "She didn't touch her breakfast."
Yuki seemed to be paying attention now. His eyes narrowed at the cat and he wanted nothing but to fight him all of sudden. Usually it was Kyo who started all the fights, but lately he found himself wanting to fight too. Especially when Tohru was involved. He felt he needed to protect her from him and his social ineptitude. Although, maybe it was more than that, but he wasn't ready to explore those feelings yet.
"That's not good." Shigure spoke his voice thick with worry.
"She said she was tired and needed to nap."
"I think her ankle is really bothering her." Yuki spoke up.
"Hattori should be by later today with a crutch for Tohru to use. He didn't have any at the estate so that should help her get around better." Shigure informed them.
Kyo headed into the kitchen to check out what he had to work with as far cooking something for her.
Yuki went back to absently staring at his own hands. He couldn't shake the feeling Tohru was somehow scared of him. He wondered if he had done something to make her feel anxious around him. He never wanted Tohru to feel uncomfortable with him. He tried thinking of every interaction he'd had with her trying to pin point when things possibly crossed a line, but he was coming up blank.
He excused himself and headed to his room. He wasn't sure why, but once he arrived at his own room , he kept walking down the hallway towards Tohru's room. Her door was closed, but he could hear her talking softly likely to herself or maybe her mother, he wasn't sure.
He knew it was wrong, but he decided to listen. He edged closer and closer until his ear was nearly pressed against the door. Yuki could hear a quiet whimper, and her whispering. He strained as close as he could get trying to hear better.
"I'm sorry I let you down mom." She whispered through tears. "I know how you feel about….but I can't tell them the truth."
Yuki missed a few words, but he did not feel better having listened to Tohru's private conversation. In fact, the conversation made his gut twist with worry. He heard more crying and he wanted to go in there and tell her she could count on him and he'd help her, but he was frozen in place.
He reluctantly backed away and headed to his own room. He had no business comforting her after listening to her through her door like some kind of pervert. He frowned. What did she mean by not being able to tell the truth? Was she talking about them? And what truth? He wondered what she was hiding, and if he should try to ask her about it. Yuki lay on his bed staring up at the ceiling. He couldn't help the anxious feeling in the pit of his stomach.
Meanwhile, Kyo busied himself in the kitchen making pancakes. Shigure had made her some miso soup and rice porridge, but he thought maybe something sweet might entice her to eat, and he remembered she really enjoyed them growing up. Her mom and her ate pancakes on the weekends. It was weird but he always remembered these small facts about Tohru. Although, he'd never tell anyone that.
He couldn't help but smile when the pancake he was making flipped perfectly and was thick and fluffy. He was worried he wouldn't be able to get it right, but given he was the best cook here besides Tohru he was the only one who had a chance at making her something worth eating.
Once finished he plated the pancake and topped it with whipped cream and strawberries. He couldn't help but feel accomplished looking at his creation. He looked around the kitchen quickly to make sure no one noticed his demeanor. He didn't want to have Yuki on his back about making such a girly dish. Luckily it seemed Shigure and Yuki were nowhere in sight as he headed up to Tohru's room.
He knocked lightly and didn't receive an answer. He assumed she was still sleeping and slowly pushed the door open intending to wake her from her nap, but his gaze fell on Tohru without her shirt on. She looked over and froze in place holding her sweater in front of her chest. Her fingers gripped the fabric so hard her knuckles were white. Her eyes were wide and she felt her body shake.
Kyo wasn't looking at her face or her chest. His eyes locked onto the bruise on her shoulder. It was a nasty deep purple bruise which deeply contrasted her fair skin. He noticed the shape and cringed. Finger prints. Rationally, he knew he was supposed to look away, but he couldn't look away from that bruise. It was proof someone held her down with such force it hurt her. He could feel his gut clenching. Someone intentionally hurt Tohru. His heart hammered in his rib cage, and he could feel the anger swelling in his gut. His pupils looked like cat eye slits.
Kyo did the opposite of what he should have done. He should have excused himself and closed the door, however instead he stepped the rest of the way into her room shutting the door behind him. He set the pancake down on her desk, never looking away from her. His eyes wandered the rest of her exposed skin taking in the other cuts and bruises surrounding the hand shaped bruise. His fists clenched at his side as his gaze fell back on the giant bruise. Heat boiled in his gut as he stared at her shoulder.
"Who the hell did that to you?" he growled with so much venom in his voice that Tohru flinched.
"What?" She replied wide eyed slowly stepping backward away from Kyo.
"That bruise on your shoulder!" he accused pointing to her shoulder raising his voice.
"It happened when I fell." She lied. It was obvious too. Tohru was never good at blatant lying. She could occasionally bend the truth, but lying was just something she wasn't good at. In all honesty Tohru hated to lie. She averted her gaze knowing Kyo would be able to tell she was lying.
"I don't understand why you're lying. I've been in a lot of fights in my life and I know that bruise was made by someone's hand!" he raised his voice just under a yell as he stepped closer to Tohru.
"I-I'm not lying." She claimed closing her eyes as tears collected in the corners.
Kyo stepped even closer into her personal space. He didn't understand much about emotions and friendship, but he was sure she was lying, but he couldn't figure out why. Kyo stood directly in front of her now looking down at her confused. Her legs were backed against her bed and there was no more room to back away. Her body trembled and she held her breath.
She noticed how close he was, and with shaking hands she grasped her sweater tighter in front of her chest. She cowered when all she really wanted was to put her sweater on, but she couldn't move. Her arms felt like they weighed a ton. Her feet felt like they were glued to the floor, and her heart was beating so fast it began to drown out all other sounds. She felt so stupid. Tohru knew Kyo would never hurt her on purpose, but she was still scared. She was scared he'd reach out and touch her, and he'd somehow know what they did to her. She couldn't stand the thought of him knowing how disgusting she was now.
He noticed her shaking and avoiding eye contact and he realized she was scared but of what?
Wait is she scared of me? His eyes went wide in realization.
He frowned when he understood she was in fact scared, and it also dawned on him that she was still shirtless, and he was staring at her. His cheeks immediately flared up and he quickly whipped around to face the wall behind him.
"Uh…shit. I'm sorry." He sounded pained while apologizing. "I didn't mean too. I mean I wasn't trying to peak at you or anything like that!" He finished with a sigh dropping to the ground all flustered. "I just saw that mark and I got angry? I don't know I'm an idiot." he muttered the last part.
He heard her sniffling behind him, and he could hear the rustle of cloth as she pulled her sweater on. He felt terrible. He made her cry again. It seemed like he was always doing that, and now she probably thought he was a pervert too. He cringed. He wasn't a pervert despite how many times Yuki implied his intentions with Tohru were less than pure.
"I'm sorry Tohru. You can punch or kick me. I deserve it." He admitted shrinking lower to the floor.
"I'm not going to do that." She spoke softly with tears present in her voice.
"I'm sorry for scaring you." He apologized sadly.
"I wasn't scared." She lied hearing how sad he sounded.
Kyo still hadn't turned around as he wasn't given permission to do so. He didn't ever want her to look like that around him ever again. He hated himself in that moment. He made her cry and scared her, and technically peaked on her too. His stomach clenched painfully every few minutes. His instincts were urging him to run, but he couldn't leave Tohru. He wanted to know the truth.
"You don't have to lie." he admitted.
"I'm not." She stuttered obviously lying again.
"It's okay if you were scared, and it's okay to tell me if I scared you." he replied quieter now that he'd calmed down some.
'Because I never want to scare you again' he buried his face in his hands.
"I guess I was scared but it wasn't really because of you." She responded and he could tell it was sincere even though it was vague and made me more anxious.
"Did it have to do with whoever hurt your shoulder?" he asked hesitantly.
He considered turning around to face her, but he wasn't sure if it was okay. Who was she scared of, and who hurt her? He wanted to ask her more questions, but something in his gut kept him from asking. Like it wasn't really his place to pry, but someone hurt her. He wanted to know who and he wanted to hurt them.
"Can we not talk about it please?" she asked lip quivering as she tried desperately to hold back tears.
"Fine, you can tell me when you're ready." he answered feeling defeated, but he couldn't push her when she sounded so upset.
He had to leave before he punched the wall and upset her more. He felt his heartbeat quicken and he clenched his fist ready to punch something. He couldn't force it out of her especially if it would upset her even more. He stood up and grabbed the plate of food and extended the plate toward her without looking at her face. He couldn't look at her tears, not when they were his fault again.
"You need to eat." he only let go once he felt her grasp the plate and abruptly left.
"Thanks." She whispered but he was already gone.
She knew she had to keep this to herself as much as she wanted to let Kyo in she couldn't tell him the truth. He would blame himself, and so would Yuki if he found out. She forced herself to eat because she had to get better. She had to smile again or they would worry more.
I can do this.
Kyo climbed up to the roof and stared up at the afternoon sky. He didn't know what the right thing to do was. He knew something happened to Tohru, but she wouldn't tell him. He wondered if maybe Hattori knew the truth, but he knew Hattori wouldn't tell him anything. He banged his fist on the roof and then winced wondering if the bang could have been heard by Tohru below him. Everything was pissing him off right now. He wanted to fight someone.
He couldn't stop thinking about those marks on her shoulder and how scared she looked, and how she had tensed earlier when Yuki reached his hand out toward her. Someone hurt Tohru so badly she was scared to be touched. He watched as rain clouds started forming but for once he didn't bother to get up. He couldn't go back inside yet.
The sound of her pained voice when she asked not to talk about it anymore made his stomach flip flop. He couldn't take it anymore he sat up just in time to be soaked by the down pour as the heavens opened up. He climbed back in through his window and towel dried his hair and changed his shirt and headed to Yuki's room. He hated to admit it but he was out of element trying to help Tohru. He especially didn't like the idea of going to Yuki, but he also knew Yuki cared about Tohru and maybe he could help.
He knocked loudly a few times and barely waited for a response before barging in.
"What do you want?" his voice was cold and indifferent.
"I don't have time for your attitude rat-boy this is important so listen up!"
"Well quit wasting my time and spill it already." He replied still looking unfazed at the ceiling.
Kyo closed the door because he didn't want to be overheard, which earned a confused glare from Yuki.
"It's about Tohru." He paused. "I'm pretty sure she's hiding something."
Kyo had Yuki's undivided attention now. After what Yuki had overheard earlier that much was evident but what did Kyo know that he didn't? He sat up straighter in his bed and glared at Kyo waiting for him to continue.
"What makes you think that?" he asked as he eyed the red head suspiciously.
Kyo shifted nervously. "Well I uh…I accidentally walked in on Tohru while she was changing…." He reluctantly admitted knowing he was probably about to punched.
Before he could say another word, Yuki had his forearm against his throat pinning him to the wall. The look in his eyes was deadly. Kyo expected it honestly and he kind of felt like deserved to punched for unintentionally peaking on Tohru even if it was an accident.
"I didn't do it on purpose, asshole!" he spat. "I was bringing her food."
Yuki eased up slightly still wanting to kick his ass anyway. He could feel the anger coiling in his gut thinking of Kyo invading Tohru's privacy.
"Get to the point cat." He growled in frustration.
"Her shoulder, it had a huge hand shaped bruise." he sighed quietly like the information had been eating him alive.
Yuki's eyes widened and he backed off Kyo letting him go. The cat continued to glare at him anyway, but he was more concerned for Tohru than starting a real fight.
"Are you sure it was made by someone's hand?" he asked disbelief clear in his voice.
"Positive." he affirmed his voice conveyed his confidence.
"Did you ask her about it?" he asked cautiously he wasn't sure why, but he felt jealous.
"I did, but she said she didn't want to talk about it." He answered fists clenched at his side.
The boys just stood silently contemplating this chain of events. Who would hurt Tohru? Who would even have reason to want to hurt someone like Tohru? Before long both boys sat on the floor of Yuki's room lost in their own dark thoughts about things that could have happened to Tohru yesterday.
"Who the hell would even want to hurt Tohru?" Kyo growled furiously rubbing his hand through his hair.
Yuki wanted to know the same thing, but in his gut he felt like he knew the answer already. He couldn't shake the feeling Akito had something to do with this. He suppressed a tremble. There was no way he'd let Kyo see him tremble like some weakling. He forced his body to go tense to avoid shaking as he remembered the darkness he was forced to endure. Akito was definitely capable of hurting Tohru.
"Maybe Akito." Yuki finally managed to speak after a few minutes.
"Even Akito wouldn't go that far, right?" Kyo asked uncertainly.
"I honestly don't know. Akito has put several people in the hospital and blinded Hattori in one eye." He admitted darkly knowing it was his fault. Akito was his older sibling. Yuki wondered if that was why Tohru seemed to be afraid of him earlier, was it because she was hurt by Akito?
"We have to find out." Yuki's words hung in the air above them like a storm cloud.
AN: Hope you enjoyed this chapter. Thank you for reading.