"She's still not responding, huh?" Yuki walked into the apartment, setting down a plastic bag filled with food on the small table before walking into the bedroom.
"No, she's not." Kyo said, still supporting Tohru on his chest as he smoothed down her hair. Her eyes were shut at last, and she was sound asleep.
"She's probably in shock. She'll be better soon." I hope. Yuki didn't say the last part out loud, he didn't want to upset Kyo any more than he already was.
"That woman is still out there somewhere too. What if Tohru gets captured again?" Kyo said, looking down at Tohru in concern.
"Well then we'll just have to watch her carefully." Yuki shrugged.
"You have classes, Yuki. You can't stay here for long. It's Sunday morning." Kyo looked up at Yuki, who sighed and nodded.
"I have an exam this week too. I don't think I should stay until the last minute." Yuki looked down at Tohru and kneeled beside the bed, putting a hand into her hair. "I'm just worried. When I leave, swear to me that you'll call me when she gets better. I want to talk to her."
"I will." Kyo said, feeling uneasy about Yuki touching Tohru so affectionately, but knowing better than to get jealous.
"Are you leaving after lunch, then?" Kyo looked up as Yuki stood to make breakfast. The sun had already risen, but Kyo hadn't gotten any sleep at all.
"probably. You should probably get her washed up." Yuki pointed to Tohru, who was covered in dirt and blood. Kyo sighed and nodded, picking up Tohru gently, and bringing her over to the bathroom, closing the door behind him. He grabbed a washcloth and supported Tohru against his side as he got it wet to wash her. She was still sound asleep, probably exhausted from being in such shock, and from being stuck in that building for so long. He picked her up in his arms again, bringing her over to the bathtub and set Tohru against the back of the tub as support, making sure she wouldn't slide down. He put the warm cloth to her face, washing her gently as she murmured in her sleep.
"Most of the stuff on your face is dirt." Kyo said in relief as what he thought were bruises started washing away. There were some cuts and bruises left still, but they weren't as bad. "I can't believe you protected me like that, Tohru." Kyo said softly. "I probably would have gotten really badly hurt if you hadn't done that." Kyo wiped her forehead clean and moved down her cheeks to her neck. He gulped nervously as he wondered whether he should change her torn clothes or not…
"Uh… hey Yuki, could you hand me a pair of clothes for Tohru?" Kyo called out of the bathroom. A minute later Yuki opened the door and tossed in a shirt and a pair of shorts.
"Please wait until I'm gone to try anything like that." Yuki said in a low voice. Kyo looked up at him with a deep blush.
"That's not what I meant!" Kyo tried to reply, but Yuki had already shut the door again. Kyo turned back to Tohru uneasily, wondering if it was possible to change someone's clothes without looking at what you were doing.
It was worth a try.
Kyo reached out with shaking hands and grabbed her shirt, trying to pull up upwards, but it had gotten caught on something already. He knew he wouldn't be able to look away now, so he turned toward her to see an exposed pink bra. He froze, his eyes wide as all thoughts suddenly dumped from his brain. Shirt… get the shirt off. He wrestled with the cloth until it fell to the floor beside the bathtub and he quickly put the new one on. He knew that he must be beet red from blushing, and let out a shaky sigh. It would probably be okay if she kept the pants on, right? They weren't torn as much as the shirt had been. He nodded to himself and grabbed one of her arms to clean it, running the cloth up along her smooth skin. It looked like most of the bruises had been around her face and neck, which meant that someone had been punching her the whole time. Anger rose again inside of him at the thought of one of those huge men beating on such a defenseless girl, but stopped with a chuckle.
"I guess this means you can protect yourself too, huh?" Kyo smiled, kissing her cheek when she was all clean. He picked her up carefully and opened the door to the bathroom, setting her on the mattress in the bedroom gently.
"Here." Yuki handed Kyo a bowl of oatmeal and two spoons. "She has to eat. I doubt she had any meals while she was stuck in that house for that long."
Kyo took the bowl and leaned Tohru up against him again, quietly feeding her the oatmeal, and glad she swallowed it. Yuki watched them thoughtfully as he ate his own oatmeal and looked up when the door opened.
"I couldn't find her." Hatsuhari said in anger, and looked around. "I smell oatmeal." He said happily, and eagerly took the last bowl from the counter in the kitchen. "Yuki makes such good oatmeal." Hatsuharu said around a mouthful of food.
Yuki rolled his eyes and looked back as Kyo finished the last of the bowl when Tohru wouldn't open her mouth anymore for the food. She murmured something in her sleep and nuzzled Kyo's chest before curling into a ball against him.
"Well she seems content." Hatsuharu laughed as Kyo looked down at her in surprise.
"After all that, a little babying will do her some good." Yuki smirked, but continued eating.
Hey, I'm just glad she's doing something other than staring off into space." Kyo smiled, putting a hand on Tohru's head. She nuzzled him again when he ran his hand through her hair, and Hatsuharu laughed.
"She reminds me of a kitten." He said, making Yuki laugh as well.
"Haha." Kyo said sarcastically while he rolled his eyes, but smiled when he realized they were right.
"it's no wonder you two got along so well." Yuki chuckled.
"Hmmm… Yuki?" Tohru whispered, her eyes opening slowly.
"Tohru- are you alright?" Kyo said, setting the bowl down and wrapping his arms around her for comfort.
"Yuki, you are here. I thought you were at college." Tohru looked over at Yuki, who shook his head.
"I came to help you over the weekend. Hatsuharu came too. You gave us quite a scare."
Tohru thought for a minute before she tensed up in Kyo's embrace. "That was real? I thought it was a nitemare."
"No, it was real." Kyo said, holding her tightly as she started shaking, her eyes wide.
"B-but th-then all of it was real?" She whispered, clutching at her hair in a nervous gesture. "then that man really died?"
"Yes, he did." Hatsuharu said, leaning forward as he set his bowl on the table beside him.
"Then I really am a murderer." Tohru groaned as if in pain and clenched her hair in her fists, tears streaming down her cheeks. "How could I do such an awful thing?!" She yelled, her body shaking with sobs as Kyo tried to keep her from hurting herself. He took her hands in his, turning her around in his arms so that she was facing him.
"Did you see what was happening to me? He had me pinned, and I was being beaten. You saved me Tohru, you have no reason to feel like a murderer." He hugged her tightly, and let out a strangled laugh.
"I came to save you, and you wound up saving me. I really am a failure as your protector. Just… don't feel like you hurt him for no meaning. You just wanted him to stop." He whispered, holding her against him reassuringly. Tohru looked up at Kyo with wide eyes.
"That's right, you were bleeding. Are you alright?"
Kyo looked at her in shock for a minute before shaking his head with a chuckle. "My nose hasn't stopped hurting, but otherwise fine."
Tohru's eyes widened and she sat up more, looking at his nose carefully. She reached up to touch it lightly, and Kyo hissed in pain at the contact. "Your nose is broken!" Tohru said in a panic, quickly standing up and running into the kitchen, rummaging through the cupboards.
"I cannot believe her." Kyo said, putting his face in his hand, but carefully avoiding touching his nose. "She's the one that I'm worried about."
"It looks like she's feeling a little better already." Yuki said, chuckling when he heard things being tossed around as Tohru looked for the first aid kit in the kitchen.
"Be carefully or she'll wrap your whole head. All you need is one of those little white bandages." Hatsuharu stood, and looked around. "Well, I suppose my job here is done. Isuzu is waiting for me, and I'll tell her Tohru is alright. She turned funny colors when I told her Tohru was kidnapped." Hatsuharu thought for a minute. "Come to think of it, she might be happy enough that she'll tackle me. Hmm, I should get home." He walked over to the door and waved, before walking out.
Kyo rolled his eyes, but looked up uneasily when Tohru ran toward him with bandages and alcohol in her hands.
"What's the alcohol for? It's not a cut." Kyo sighed. Yuki chuckled as Tohru set the objects on the ground in front of Kyo and unwrapped one of the cotton strips.
"Just in case. Maybe the inside's bleeding."
"You are NOT sticking alcohol up my nose." Kyo said, turning his face away from her as she grabbed for his chin. She leaned forward more to reach for his face to turn it, but instead bumped his nose with her knuckles, making him yell out in pain and hold his face defensively.
"Kyo- I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry!" Tohru said, her face flushing in embarrassment.
Kyo laughed, shaking his head as he took his hands away from his nose. "it's alright. I just need-" Kyo reached down into the pile of bandages and picked up a small bandage and some tape. "This." He handed it to Tohru. "You can put it on if it makes you feel better."
Tohru nodded and carefully taped the bandage to the bridge of his nose, watching his expressions to see whether she was touching him too hard or not.
Yuki watched the two and smiled softly, thinking of Machi. He looked down to his waist as his cell phone rang, opening it up.
"Hello?" Yuki answered, and was surprised to hear Akito's voice on the other end.
"hello, Yuki. I was wondering how Tohru was doing. Hatsuharu called to say you found her."
Yuki sighed softly. "There was a bit of an event while we where there, but otherwise everything's fine." Yuki looked up at Kyo, who now knew that Yuki was talking to someone about Tohru.
"Akito, I have a request." Yuki paused for a minute. "Did you know there is a second cat house? It's where Tohru was taken by one of the former Sohma servants."
"A second… cat house? No, I did not. We will fix that problem immediately. You say a former servant took her? Who?"
"The old woman who raised us."
"Ah, that one. For some reason that doesn't surprise me too much." Akito paused, and Yuki heard the faint voice of Shigure in the background. "I also have a request for you, Yuki."
Yuki looked at the phone in surprise and nodded, but remembered he was on a phone. "Yeah?"
"I'd like you to leave Kyo and Tohru to have some time to themselves. Also, I'll be sending them some money now that we know where they are, so that Kyo can watch over Tohru while she recovers."
"I'll leave in a few hours." Yuki agreed, and looked to Kyo. "Kyo will take care of Tohru, she's in good hands. I'll swing by the Sohma house before I head back to college to tell you the whole story."
"Thank you. I will see you then." Akito said politely, and the call ended. Yuki closed his cell phone again, and told them Akito's request.
"Ah- they shouldn't send us money." Tohru blushed. "that's too much."
"I refuse to let you work for a while Tohru. You have to rest and heal." Kyo looked down at her with raised eyebrows, as if daring her to argue.
Tohru nodded and looked down, rubbing an especially sore spot on her neck.
"Well then, I suppose there's nothing more to do here." Yuki looked down at Tohru, putting a comforting hand on the top of her head. "I'll call you later, alright?"
Tohru nodded silently, biting her lip nervously. "I'm sorry I made so much trouble, guys. I guess I just… lost my temper."
"That's quite a temper." Kyo chuckled, trying to ignore the large white bandage obstructing some of his view of her. "But it's fine. He might have killed me if he kept going. You can die from a broken nose, you know."
"WHAT?!" Tohru looked at Kyo in horror.
"Yeah, if you aim right, you can send the shards into the brain." Kyo nodded calmly, but Tohru had started shaking again.
"S-so you could have died?" She looked up at him with wide eyes.
"Yeah, so you saved me. Tohru-1 Kyo-0." Kyo smiled, ruffling her hair playfully.
"Don't try and make it a tie. You two already have had enough stress for one lifetime." Yuki shook his head with a sigh. "We all have." He stood and looked toward the door. "Well, I should get going. I have an economics exam to study for."
"Alright, good luck." Kyo waved as Yuki opened the door.
"Thanks, I'll need it." Yuki chuckled. "And take care of yourselves. Get more chairs too- we'll be back." Yuki walked out the door, closing it behind him.
"Well, I suppose that means we should get some rest. We had a long night." Kyo said, running a hand through Tohru's hair.
"Yeah."
Kyo took Tohru's hand and led her through the rooms and into their bedroom, laying her down on the bed softly. "Are you sure you're alright?" he said, taking off his shirt to sleep.
"Yeah, I'm just… scared. I've never hurt anyone, and I didn't mean for him to…" She cringed and tears welled into her eyes
"hey." Kyo laid down beside her and wrapped his arms around her as she started to cry. "You liar, you are not alright." He rested his cheek against the top of her head and let her cry, figuring she needed to vent her emotions a little. Tohru turned around in his arms and buried her face against his chest. Kyo let out a small sigh and hugged her tightly to him, relieved that she wasn't hurt too badly from the event.