Enjoy Chapter six. Please stay tuned at the end for an amazing true story that happened while I was writing this chapter.
Please Review :-)
Kyo's Pov
Over the next hour, I slowly finish the broth. Sometimes talking with Tohru between slurps, but mostly sitting in silence. After I've drained the bowl dry, I hand it back to her, savoring the feeling of a full stomach at last. From downstairs. I hear the ding of the microwave.
"Hey, is there something in the microwave?"
"Ah, I forgot," her eyes widen and she gets up from the floor, taking the bowl and spoon with her. "I'll be right back."
She walks out of the room, only to return a few moments later with a glass of milk. My head becomes alert, my mental cat ears perking up. To my surprise, however, Tohru doesn't return alone, she has Momiji in tow behind her. They come in, shutting the door behind them. Tohru hands the glass over to me and sits back down.
"I had Shigure heat it, but I added the honey since he didn't know how much to add," she says. "Three spoons, right?" I nod.
"Thanks." I take the glass from her, the steam fanning my face, bringing it up to my lips.
"Careful don't choke yourself."
"I won't," I try to say, the sound muffled by the milk reaching my lips and entering my mouth. Tohru tilts her head, watching as I start draining the contents.
"Just curious," she starts. I take my lips away from the rim of the glass and look at her. "How long has it been since you've had something to eat?"
"Hmmm let me think." I hold up my hand, counting each day. "Five, I've been without food for five days and very little water in the same amount of time."
"Five days?" Momiji pipes up, his eyebrows drawn together. "You were without food for five days Kyo? But I thought Hatori said you had servants who came in and cared for you."
"I did," I reply. I let out a sigh, looking into my glass. "But Akito cut them loose when I... The reasoning is not important." Momiji's gaze lowers, his shoulders dropping slightly
"Kyo before I say what I'm about to say, promise you won't turn into a big meanie."
"If you promise not to give me a reason to, I won't," is what I want to say. 'What is it?"
"I just want to let you know, If I would've known where you were and what you were going through, I would've come to visit you every chance I could."
I mentally sigh. Great, just what I need. Pity from the rabbit. I shake my head
"Thanks, but you could've been punished severely by Akito if she found you out," I bring the glass back up to my lips and start sipping.
As I continue to slurp, my mind drifts back towards what might be going on with the zodiacs of the Sohma family, and apparently me. My pulse increases. I have to know, now more than ever. Bringing the milk down from my lips, I turn to face Tohru and Momiji.
"Do you two know what's going on, with the zodiacs I mean?" My body posture perks up slightly. "Master and Shigure both couldn't or wouldn't tell me when I tried to ask them." I let out a sigh. "I'm starting to think nobody wants me to know."
The two of them look at each other and give each other a nod. After a few seconds, they turn back to face me, their eyes sparkling.
"Yes of course we do." Momiji response. "In fact, by now everyone knows. It's not like no one wanted you to know, It's the others who wanted to wait till Tohru and I got to you to explain everything since you might not believe us, " he turns back to Tohru. "You want to take it from here?"
She nods, I take a quick sip of milk. Something pops into my mind.
"Is the curse broken?" Tohru holds up her index finger.
"Not quite," she replies, "but in a lot of ways, it's much better." She pauses for a moment before continuing. "As you know, the cursed members of the Sohma family transform into their animals when severely stressed or hugged by someone of the opposite sex."
"I know that." I cringe, remembering how Tohru and I met. "It's one of the first things Shigure told you when you first discovered our secret." She nods again.
"Well, there's actually…" Tohru pauses, the gears turning in her head. "Momiji would you mind demonstrating instead," she requests, "I think it'll be easier to show rather than tell him."
The two of them embrace, Momiji placing his head on Tohru's shoulder like he always does. My chest and stomach start to burn from the sight of them, but once again I keep my cool. After a few seconds, it clicks and my jealousy turns into stunned amazement, cooling the fire inside me. It's not what Momiji did, it's what he didn't do.
"He didn't turn into his rabbit," I think to myself.
Instead, he's still in human form, his eyes glancing back at me every second to ensure I'm watching. They both break off their hug and sit back up, leaving me with my jaw partly hanging open.
"You didn't transform," I reply, " but how is this possible, am I seeing things?"
"No," Tohru shakes her head, "From what I've heard, it's called phase two." She replies. "It happens when one of the zodiacs wills themselves to do an act so selfless that they actually will the curse to transform into a gene."
"Like the ones that makeup DNA?"
"Yes," she replies. "Now watch this. Momiji, now imagine yourself turning into your rabbit." He nods, closing his eyes.
Within a second, there's a cloud of yellow smoke and the yellow rabbit sits where Momiji sat only a moment before, its nose and ears twitching, I look towards Tohru who just smiles.
"The Zodiacs can now control when they transform and when they change back," she informs, "and the best part is," at that moment Momiji changes back and to my surprise. "Your clothes change back with you."
"I can see that," I respond, "congrats. This is the one time I'm going to say this, you twelve Zodiacs are all so lucky." Tohru's head tilts to the side.
"Kyo, this didn't just…" her words stumble, "This didn't just happen to the twelve zodiacs of the Sohma Family." She lets my brain catch up. "Figure it out yet?" My eyes bulge, nearly out of there sockets.
"It's happened to me?" Momiji smiles and nods,
"Yes," he replies. His smile decreases slightly. "You never would've gotten out of your room otherwise," his last comment causes my insides to deflate a bit.
Why did I ever get out at all? I think to myself All this new form does is allow me to control when I change into a cat. By all accounts, I should be in my room. Am I missing something? I shake these thoughts out of my mind for now
'The change happens inside a dream where you and your zodiac spirit become one," Momiji rubs the back of his neck.
That dream I had earlier tonight, could that have?
"To be quite honest, most of the others were scared when it happened. About the only one who wasn't was Yuki. He went through it first, we all followed after him."
Figures. It's always Yuki.
"How does it work?"
Tohru shifts herself so that she's now standing on her knees. Slowly she uncovers me from my Futon. I drink down the last sip of milk from my glass for good luck before setting it down on the floor.
"It's easy to shift; you simply imagine yourself turning into your cat," she instructs. "To change back, you do the same but in reverse, picture yourself turning human again."
I do as she says, closing my eyes. I pictured the scene in my dream when the cat looked intently into my eyes. As always, I feel my bones start to break and reshape themselves. Unlike the countless other times I've transformed however, this change doesn't feel forced. Instead, it feels natural. Warm heat spreads across my body, and before I know it, I'm a cat once again.
I open my eyes finding I'm lying on my back; I roll over onto my stomach. Getting to my paws, I stretch out my front, working out the kinks from not being in this form for a while. As I sit down, the tiredness returns, the little energy I had received from my nap while in Shigure's tub wearing off.
That warm milk with honey really sucks the energy out of you fast.
With what little power I have left, I trudge the few cat steps needed to make it to Tohru's lap before lying back down again in her arms. She gently scoops me up, pulling me close and fixing her legs so she now sits in a lotus position. She lightly strokes me behind the ear, like she did when she helped me turn back from my true form. Without meaning too, I start purring slightly. My neck and shoulders might still have an ache, but right now, I don't notice. After a few moments of silence, Tohru chuckles. I look up at her.
"You came back to me," she says, "you defied all the odds and are now the first cat to get out of the room alive." She leans down, putting her mouth close to me. "You're a survivor, Kyo," she whispers, "but more than that, you're my Zodiac, and I will always love you." She leans down the rest of the way and gives me a small kiss between the eyes."
My eyes flicker to her, my heart beating rapidly and my breath hitching in my throat. I can't fight my feelings anymore.
As she's breaking away and leaning back, I lean up and lean in putting my paws on her chest. Right before my lips contact hers, I change back and wrap my arms around her. Tohru jumps slightly from shock, but she soon closes her eyes and kisses me back, deepening the kiss
Warm heat spreads quickly through my body, blood running through my face. Goosebumps appear on my arms, even though my skin is hot. The action causes my heart rate to increase tenfold, feeling as though it's about to thump its way out of my chest. I move my hands up her shoulders and into her hair, she slides her hands down from my shoulders to my chest.
"Well finally," I hear Momiji say from his spot, but I ignore him.
I forgot he was there for a moment.
With my chest burning for air, I'm forced to break it off. I pull apart slowly, opening my eyes, across from me, Tohru does the same. Her cheeks have a slight blush to them, and her eyes have a bit more shine in them, but other than that, she looks normal. Looking at me, she takes a few deep breaths
"Woah, that was worth the wait."
"It was the best apology I could think of," I responded, giving her a confirming look. "So, how about it, are we good. You and me?" She nods.
"Yes, we're good," she smiles. "Now, no matter what happens in the future, we face it together." We embrace again, this time for a hug.
I love hugging her without turning into a cat.
Her hand comes to rest on the painful spot on my neck. I jump slightly, feeling the pain intensify again, hoping she didn't notice. Tohru removes her hands instantly, her lips pursed.
"Your neck's stiff, is it sore too?" Reluctantly, I nod. She puts her arms down by her sides. "I'd also take it your back is sore as well."
"Yes," I reply.
"I have something that can help," she gets up from the floor, "I'll be right back, Kyo, go sit back on your Futon and wait for me." Tohru dashes back out of the room.
Getting up and walking back, I take notice of another change It appears the raging fire inside me has been extinguished like my body released it when Tohru and I kissed. Pretty much the only thing I have left in my system is tiredness. I sit back down, my limbs feeling heavier. Momiji's facing the door where Tohru left, once we hear she's in the kitchen, he turns to face me and laughs.
"That was worth getting to see."
"Hey, shut up." Even though I try to make my words sound threatening, they don't have the same fire as they did before. Letting out a sigh, I tilt my head back. "Forget it, I'm now too tired to start anything."
'She's doing much better as well," I hear him mutter, but once again I ignore it. My eyebrows draw together.
"How can Tohru be sure what she has planned will help me?" I ask the air. Surprisingly, Momiji responds.
"Trust me, it will," he replies, "she's training to be a doctor now." That gets my attention my head snapping back.
"What? Wait, hold on, when did this happen?"
"Not long after you got locked up," he says, "Hatori's about to start letting her hang around his place so it won't be a shock to her when she starts school in the spring," I smirk.
"Bet it's about to get more interesting from the recent developments."
"Yes, very," his eyes then pop open. "Oh, that reminds me, there's one more thing about phase two you need to know. I wanted to wait until Tohru left since I don't think she knows about this part."
"I'm all ears", I say, "what is it?"
"With every cursed member that begins the next stage, they get a wish granted by Akito of anything they could ever want."
"Anything?
"Anything your heart desires…" he pauses, "well anything within reason."
"Does that include...Give me some examples."
"Well, Shigure's was just to spend the rest of his life with Akito, even though that was assured given what's happened, but he told her there was nothing more he wanted to wish for," he pauses again to remember. "Hatori just wanted a happy life and Ayame…" Momiji's face suddenly flushes. "I don't know, and I'm a bit afraid to find out." I chuckle at that slightly.
"So, what about the others, what did the others wish for?" He shakes his head.
"I don't know, I haven't seen most of them since all of this started. I do however know Haru wanted Rin to be happy with her life."
"What about you, what'd you wish for Momiji?" His face beams and lights up again.
"A trip to Germany, my dad's taking me ". My brow cocks once again.
"Really? Out of all the things you could wish for, you want to travel somewhere," I meant it as a joke, but it came out harsher than intended. If Momiji's offended, he doesn't say it.
"My mom's side of the family's over there, it's the best way I could think to reconnect with her without actually…" For the first time tonight, Momiji's eyes become shallow and he looks down.
"Hey, I'm happy for you. When are you leaving?" His eyes look back up towards me
"Next month" My insides clinch as I prepare my next question.
"What about Yuki?" I ask. "What did he wish for?"
"We…" he lets out a sigh, "We don't know. Yuki didn't tell us, even when we asked." He pauses. "However, I can tell you this. Yuki's been begging Akito for your release for months, not long after you went in. He even went as far as to let some of us in on it, so we could join in. That's how… that's how I really found out what had happened to you. I just didn't want to tell Tohru." He turns back towards the door. "Oh."
I can hear Tohru's footsteps as she comes back up the stairs, my nose also catches a whiff of something, but I can't tell what. A few seconds later, she walks back into the room. shutting the door again behind her. She turns to face Momiji.
"Is it time for me to leave?" He asks, getting to his feet.
"If you want to." Momiji checks his watch, he's not wearing a watch.
"No, it's getting late, I probably should be heading back," he turns to face me. "You take good care of her Kyo, she deserves it," he opens the door, turning his head around one final time. "I'll see you two in a few days." I nod.
'Wait," Tohru says, stopping Momiji from walking through the threshold. "One last hug before you go?"
"Of course."
The two of them embrace again, only not as long as the first. They release a few seconds later and Momiji leaves, closing the door as he walks out.
The moment he leaves the room, the energy in the room changes. It becomes charged like you know something's about to happen even though you don't know when or what. There's nothing between us, it's just Tohru and me alone. She faces me.
"Okay, lie on your belly and take off your shirt." She starts walking over towards me
Feeling a tenseness in my stomach, I fold my arms over my chest, frowning slightly.
"What are you planning to do Tohru?"
She stops, her face shining. Reaching into her pants pocket, she pulls out a bottle of oil accounting for the scent I smelled but couldn't place. Chamomile.
"I was planning to rub this into your neck and back for a while if you want" she replies, starting to walk again. I shake my head.
"No, Tohru," I respond, "You've done enough for me already."
"I know, but Kyo…" She stops beside my futon, getting to her knees, dropping the bottle on the floor, and reaching for my face. "You and I both felt how you jumped when I briefly brushed your neck. Trust me, your body needs this, and you need this". Tohru clasps my face gently, her face just as caring. "Besides, I already warmed it up."
Another prickle of pain from my neck is enough to make me reconsider as it travels down, going through my shoulders, and making the discomfort in my back worse. I let out a sigh. As much as I don't want to admit it, with all that's happened over the past few months, my body does need this.
"Fine," I tell her, "you win." I drop my gaze, "just try not to hurt me." I bring my shirt over my head and place it on the floor. I then angle myself and get on my stomach, placing my chin on the pillow.
"No worries, I'll be gentle, I promise." I hear her come around and feel her straddle me, being careful not to put too much pressure on my spine and hips. She then pops the cap. "Now the most important thing is to remember to breathe and don't drool." I hear her rub the oil in her hands and prepare myself.
When Tohru's hands first make contact with the skin of my back, my breath hitches inside my throat from the sudden sensation. Though I hoped she hadn't noticed, she hesitates.
"Are you okay Kyo?" she asks, "not too hard is it?"
"No, it feels fine."
Leaning forward slightly, Tohru gets to work, sliding her hands up the sides of my upper spine and going around my shoulders before going back down again. She does this a few times, going a bit further down each pass. Her touch is gentle and light, and yet has enough pressure behind it, I can still feel it. In order to not fall asleep during this and looking weak, I clear my throat.
"So," I start while she gets up to my shoulders and passes over the muscles there, "Momiji says you're going to medical school this spring."
"That's the plan."
"What happened to working full time after you finished high school to live on your own?" Her hands slow a bit, but they don't stop.
"Things change," she replies simply. "Those few weeks after you ran off were…They were hard for me. The day Yuki told me where you had gone was the day of graduation, I didn't even stay after the ceremony."
Heaviness starts to take over my body, heart rate calming down with each second. With no help from me, my breathing slows as Tohru begins to softly kneed the skin. Feeling my eyelids starting to droop, I mentally shake myself to stay awake.
"Couple of days later, Hatori came by and told me, if I wanted to with the scores I have, I could become a doctor if I worked at it. We talked it over and I decided to go for it. That's what I've been doing these last few months when not cooking or cleaning, I'm studying hard to be ready for spring."
"You're not working?" This would shock me.
"No I'm still working, they've just cut my days and hours back so I have time to study," she replies. "The company I work for is actually paying me to go to school," she chuckles slightly. I feel her starting to knead slightly deeper, working through the sore and stiff muscles of my neck. I let out a slight breath.
"But why stay near the Sohma's?" I ask. "You could've gone anywhere to learn, but yet you stayed?" There's silence for a moment, Tohru still rubbing my neck.
I imagine her with her face in full concentration.
"I want to help Hatori, and…" she replies hesitating with her next words. "If I make it through, Hatori offered me a job working with the family since I'm the only outsider that knows the secret. I'll be taking care of Akito when he can't." Tohru moves down slightly, going to work on my shoulders.
When did my shoulders get so tight?
There's something she's holding back; I can hear it in her voice. I think it through. It only takes a second before the truth hits me like a ton of bricks
"I want to help Hatori, and make sure you're okay," her intended reply plays in my head. My chest expands and I feel like I can breathe again.
She stayed. She stayed for me.
Everything comes undone, in my body as well as mind. I planned to try hard not to get too relaxed so I wouldn't fall asleep and look weak until Tohru left. I hadn't noticed when her hands gently traveled down, landing on the sore spot on my middle and lower back. I let out another sigh before I can stop it, my back arching slightly into her touch.
"it's alright, It's alright. Just breathe and let go," she instructs. I give in and moan, my body finally being able to relax. Using both thumbs, she deepens the pressure, and with circular motions unties the knot. "How's that?"
"It's wonderful," I reply blissfully. "So I'd guess massage is part of your studies as well?"
"No, not really. It's something I'm doing on the side," she answers and comments, "Plus, I also did this for my mom when she got home late." I say to her tiredly.
"Well, you're very good at it." I can almost feel her smiling.
"Thank you very much. Hmm, you sound tired Kyo," she points out. "Why don't you just close your eyes and rest? You can even go to sleep if you want." My body suddenly tenses, fear coursing through me.
"I can't," I admit. "I don't want you to leave. I've just got you back and now…"
"I'm not going to leave you," she eases. "I'm gonna stay right here massaging your back. Just close your eyes and go to sleep. It'll be okay, I promise." I nod, shifting my head slightly on the pillow.
"Tohru?"
"Huh?"
"Thanks." I shut my eyes, "for everything
I spend the next little bit of time in a daze while I let Tohru work all of the sore and stiffness out of my body. Not asleep, but right on the cusp, on the edge of the cliff.
'It's Tohru. This is Tohru who's doing this for me' are the thoughts running through my mind every time I feel her hands rub up and down my spine. To be honest, I never thought I'd be getting this close to any girl, let alone with Tohru.
At some point, she must've thought I had fallen asleep. Her hands slowed slightly, but she kept going. Now my body's numb and my mind's filled with clouds.
There's a soft knock at the door. Tohru's hands stop, but they don't leave.
"Come in." the door opens part way.
"Hey, Tohru, just checking in." Shigure's voice. "Is he out?"
"Yes."
"Nope, not out yet," I correct, opening my eyes, "You almost had me there though."
"Well, look at you all nice and relaxed," Shigure comments. I turn towards him. "How do you feel Kyo?"
"Like I was born without bones," I replied, my voice garbled.
My arms feel like butter, flopping around lightly when I try to move them but the pain's gone, that was the point.
"Good, that's what we want," says Tohru, chuckling slightly. I shift my body around, so I now face her.
"Wow," I begin, "Forget about becoming a doctor, you could make a career out of doing this alone."
"Thanks," she pauses, recalling something. "The way I see it, massage, and the medical field can go hand in hand." Shigure pipes up.
"It's almost midnight," he says, "you two should be getting to bed."
"Okay Shigure," Tohru responds, taking her hands off my back. My stomach drops. "I was just finishing up here anyway." Tohru then reaches over and grabs my shirt, she hands it to me. Here, you can put it back on."
I take it from her as she gets up, taking the bottle of oil and the empty glass of milk with her. I slide the shirt over my head, then rolling on my back, I'm able to slide it over the rest of me without getting up. I see Shigure lean in towards Tohru's ear.
"How are you, are you feeling better as well?"
"Yes."
My heart starts to flutter and hurt at the same time. Once again, my mouth blurts out something before my brain can stop it as they're about to walk out my bedroom door.
"Tohru?"
"Yes?" My throat grows thick.
"Will you stay with me, I don't want to sleep here by myself," I didn't mean for it to come out sounding as pathetic as it did. "I've been doing that for the past three months." She looks towards Shigure for approval,
"It's alright with me. Besides, there's no risk in you changing in the night, and you two are now adults," Shigure cuts his eyes over to Tohru. "As long as it's okay with you?"
"It's fine with me," she answers. "Tell Yuki I said good night." He nods.
"Will you be needing your Futon in here Tohru?" I shake my head.
"No, there's plenty of room in mine if I move over some."
"Very well then," he smiles, taking the oil and the glass from Tohru, "Good night you two"
"Good night Shigure," we both say before he walks back out, closing the door with a soft thud.
Once Tohru and I are alone for the final time tonight, I scoot over to the other side of my futon, making sure I have enough room on the pillow. When I'm sure I have enough space, she gets in, I roll over to face her and notice she has the biggest smile on her face yet.
"Why are you smiling?"
"I'm happy,"
"You're almost always happy."
"But more so tonight…Because we found each other again, and you came back when I needed you most."
"And you for me." Reaching out, I take one of her hands and place it gently to my side. As much as it looks like it, this isn't a romantic gesture. Tohru's eyes widen slightly.
"What are you?"
'If something changes during the night and Akito returns for me, I want to know," I reply. "If your hand moves, it'll wake me." Her eyes gleam at me before they close.
"Good night Kyo."
"Good night Tohru."
I feel my breathing become more even and shut my eyes, waiting to make the slow fall into unconsciousness while having a pillow under my head, a body free from aches and pains, and the girl I never forgot sleeping beside me.
Is this a dream? If it is, it feels so real
A/N Thank you all for reading the sixth chapter of Locked up But Not Locked Away, hoped you liked it. This chapter's special to me for two reasons. One, it's the first time (I think) Tohru has asked Kyo to let her be selfish and let her massage his back, but it's what happened after finishing this chapter that is the most amazing. For those of you who don't know, I write my stories out before posting. While writing this chapter I was trying to keep Kyo in character for the deep scenes with Tohru and him. If you recall in the chapter, Kyo says 'She stayed. She stayed for me.' I wasn't sure if that was right. Actually, went to bed worrying that I made the wrong word choice. Now I'm a big believer in looking for signs, and as luck would have it the dubbed versions of season 2 episode 9 was released and Kyo said the same thing. No joke, I started crying, I knew then I had made the right choice.
What do you think about phase two?
Ehat did Yuki wish for?
What do you think is going to happen next?
Follow me.
Favorite this story.
Write a review if you liked it.
And if you're on, follow me and read and support my stories on wattpad as well at Rose_Wolf_
Thanks for reading :-)