Disclaimer: I don't own Fruits Basket.
Authors Note: Yes, bad me… I took two weeks off because we're redoing my room… And this chapter isn't my favorite, so, you can all hate me… go ahead… I'll make a better chapter next week…
Book of the Cat
Chapter 22
Shigure and Hatori wasted no time in getting to the Neko House. The keys hung on a hook near the door. Hatori ripped them off and thrust them in the lock, yanking it open. He was silent when he stared in the room.
Kyo lay on the ground, a thin layer of snowflakes rested across his bare arms and through his hair. He was pale and his lips seemed a bit bluish. His arms were locked behind him in handcuffs. His breathing was soft and strained. Hatori knelt down next to him.
"Kyo," he said softly, shaking the teen gently. Shigure bent down on the other side and began to unlock the handcuffs with the other set of keys on the ring. Once the cuffs were off, Kyo's unbroken wrist showed small cuts and bruises from where he must have strained against the bonds.
"Kyo," Hatori said firmer, gently slapping the boy's cheeks. Shigure cast a worried glance at Hatori.
"Is he…?"
"He's breathing," Hatori answered, softly hitting Kyo again. Kyo's eyelids flickered and opened slowly. He took a groggily look around and mumbled something incoherent. His eyes closed again.
"Come on Kyo, stay awake… we're going back to my office." He took off his coat and wrapped it over Kyo's shoulders. Shigure carefully lifted Kyo up.
"How long do you think he's been out here?" Shigure asked, carefully holding Kyo as they began to walk across the grounds.
Hatori shook his head. "Knowing Akito, the minute I left."
They entered Hatori's office and Shigure quickly placed Kyo on the bed at the back of the room. Immediately Hatori stripped off Kyo's cold, damp clothing. Shigure handed him sweatpants and a sweatshirt that he had found in the closet, and they redressed Kyo. Hatori drew up a heavy blanket to Kyo's neck, and then added two thicker blankets on top of that. Between each layer he placed hot water bottles. He took Kyo's hand and inserted an IV into it in order to get some warmer fluids through his body. Over Kyo's mouth he placed an oxygen mask to get warm air into his lungs.
Shigure watched Hatori with concern. "Is he okay? What's wrong?" Hatori looked over Kyo one more time to make sure everything was in place before answering his best friend.
"He's got a severe case of hypothermia… that's when the body temperature drops dangerously low. However, with the right equipment and treatment, it can be cured very easily."
Shigure nodded, then shook his head, and then lit up a cigarette. Hatori joined him.
"What do we do now?" Shigure asked.
"We wait for him to wake up." Hatori replied.
So they waited.
Shigure's House: 1 A.M.:
Shigure sighed as he put his keys on the table and slowly ambled over to his study. As he passed the living room, a light switched on. Yuki, Haru, and Momiji all sat together on the couch staring at him.
"And where have you been?" Haru asked calmly.
Shigure rubbed his head. "This brings back so many memories… Shouldn't you all be in bed?"
"That depends," Haru said, "How's Kyo?"
Shigure sighed again. "He's… great… yea… time for bed."
"Shigure…" Momiji said, "What happened?"
Flashback
"I mean… he's only a boy… and a sick boy at that… Why won't Akito just leave him alone for… 3 minutes?" Hatori asked, puffing on his third cigarette.
"Because he's Akito," Shigure said, casting a look over to Kyo as he spoke.
About 7 hours had passed since their "rescue," and Kyo was still asleep. Shigure was on his sixth cigarette and both men were playing their twenty-third game of cards. Every now and then Kyo made a slight motion, but it seemed to be only his dreams that were moving him.
"8:30… Yuki and Haru are going to flip," Shigure said, checking his watch.
Hatori rubbed his forehead. "I feel awful for pushing them away, but I'm afraid Kyo might try to hurt Yuki again, and I'm really afraid that Akito will involve himself even more. It's hard enough convincing Akito to let even me see Kyo."
"What? Akito tried to stop you?" Shigure asked in surprise.
"Yes, whenever I go to do Akito's checkups he would say to me that Kyo's lucky that he still lets me visit him."
"Isn't it enough that he keeps Kazuma away?"
"Speaking of which, have you spoken to him recently?" Hatori asked.
"Yea, he called me while we were on vacation… he's very worried about Kyo… if he knew that Kyo was in that cage, I have no doubt that Kazuma would have ripped Akito apart with his bare hands."
"Yes," Hatori responded. "How about Kagura?"
Shigure thought for a minute. "She's out with some of her female, attractive, college friends…. Those… wild girls."
"You really are sick."
A groan interrupted their conversation. They both turned to look at Kyo. His eyes fluttered open after much effort. He seemed very confused and tried to speak, but the oxygen mask stopped him. Hatori quickly removed it.
"How are you feeling?" Shigure asked.
Kyo stared at the ceiling.
"Kyo?" Hatori asked.
Kyo's voice came out as a raspy whisper. "I… can't… do it."
"Do what?" Shigure asked, concern filling his voice.
"Live… in… that…I…can't… I…can't…"
"Just relax Kyo," Hatori said calmly.
"Where…is…Shi…Shou…?" Kyo whispered, his eyelids doing heavy.
"Just go to sleep Kyo, you'll feel better later," Hatori replied. Kyo had already passed out.
The two friends waited together for another few hours, but their time was punctuated with cries from Kyo as he suffered from frequent nightmares. The time spent in the cage had certainly broken more of the wavering spirit Kyo had left.
"It's nothing to worry about," Shigure assured the teens. "Now, I've had a long night, I shall be going to bed now… You all don't have school until after New Year's, right? Well, don't stay up too late." With that Shigure fled from the room.
"I can't believe he's avoiding us," Haru mumbled.
Yuki shook his head. "Maybe we're wrong… Maybe Kyo really is fine and we're just getting carried away."
"You saw that medical report sheet… He was not fine." Haru replied.
Momiji jumped in. "I'm tired."
Yuki and Haru rolled their eyes. "Then go to bed."
"Yea, you guys should to." Momiji called back as he walked to the stairs.
Yuki and Haru stood in the living room for a few minutes, but after several seconds of silence, they both agreed to go to bed and discuss this again in the morning.
The boys discussed Kyo again on Monday, but they came to no steady conclusions. They had endless debates over what to do and how to sneak in or out or whatever, but they could not agree, nor could they think of a way to get past Hatori and Shigure. They wanted to continue their conversation Tuesday, but they couldn't because Ayame stopped by Tuesday morning.
"YUUUUUUKI," Ayame screamed as he entered. The house nearly shook, however Yuki was still asleep. Ayame ran up the stairs to his brother's room. "Wake up," he called.
Yuki opened his eyes. "Oh no, not you." He murmured, before pretending to fall asleep again.
"Yes, it is I, dear brother! And I have the most splendid surprise for you! Get dressed and come downstairs!"
After a few more minutes, Yuki emerged from his room and went downstairs. Tohru, Haru and Momiji were already sitting downstairs together.
"YAY! Yuki's here!" Momiji cheered. "Now we can hear the surprise!"
Yuki rolled his eyes as Ayame took a seat and began to talk.
"Being that I am such a kind, generous person… I have agreed to take you four around town for the day as a delightful present to my dearest brother. First stop is my shop!"
Tohru was the first one to answer. "Oh, I couldn't be such a burden on you, I mean… for the whole day? That's too much."
Ayame smiled. "It is no trouble!"
Yuki shook his head. "Yes it is… I don't want to be stuck with you."
Shigure entered. "Oh go on, do you really want to stay around here all day while Tohru goes out with your brother?"
Yuki blanched. "Fine… but, you're just… disgusting."
The group proceeded to get their coats. Ayame hung back for a few minutes so Shigure can say a few words to him.
"Thanks, Aaya," Shigure said.
"Anything for Kyonkichi." He winked.
A few minutes later the group left, and Shigure straightened up a few things around the house.
The doorbell rang and Shigure ran to greet it with a smile. He opened the door to great a very calm Hatori, and a very confused, bundled-up Kyo.
Shigure served hot tea to his cousins as they sat around the table. Kyo didn't say much, he mumbled thanks when the tea was served, but that was mainly it. Hatori and Shigure had a light conversation about Shigure's newest manuscript, but nothing really significant. They mainly kept their eyes on Kyo as he softly stirred the tea and after a few minutes downed the whole cup in one gulp.
Hatori straightened up after a second. "Kyo," he called. Kyo didn't seem to realize he was being spoken to. "Kyo," Hatori said a little louder and firmer. Kyo whipped his head around to meet Hatori's eyes. "Kyo, why don't you go look for that book that you kept mentioning the other day?"
Kyo's eyes widened and his face paled a bit. His voice was quiet. "I almost forgot." He shook his head and shakily stood up. He stumbled towards the stairs.
"If you need help, just yell." Shigure said with a smile. Kyo ignored him and disappeared from sight.
Shigure turned to look at Hatori. "How has he been?"
Hatori shrugged. "You see him now, that's how he's been. Unresponsive, quiet… He doesn't seem to be… all there. Whatever's going on has really taken a toll on him. I have to call his name twice to get his attention, he's confused and disoriented. Physically, he seems to be much better, but well, emotionally, I don't know what to say."
Shigure shook his head. "Any new attempts on getting him out of that house?"
Hatori shook his head. "No, Akito won't even hear of letting him see Kazuma. The only reason Akito hasn't touched him in the past two days is because I've made Kyo stay in my office the whole time."
Shigure was just about to answer Hatori when Kyo appeared in the doorway, breathless and shaking.
"Kyo, is something wrong?" Shigure asked.
Kyo needed to hold the doorframe to steady himself.
"Kyo," Hatori repeated.
"It's… gone…" Kyo said between breaths. "My book… is missing." He seemed on the verge of a panic attack.
"Relax Kyo, maybe it's in a different room." Shigure said. "There are a lot of books in this house."
"No! I hid it… under my bed! It's… a special… book… No one knew… where it was…"
"Calm down, Kyo," Hatori said. He stood up and grabbed Kyo's arm. "Shigure, I think it's time we went home…"
"No! I need my book!" Kyo shouted.
"Okay, Hatori, see you later. If I find your book Kyo, I'll give it to you."
"No! You can't touch it! Don't touch it!" Kyo started to panic even more. Hatori began to walk towards the door, pushing Kyo in front of him. Shigure followed them out to the car and opened the door for Kyo. Hatori helped him get in the seat.
"Shigure, don't… please… be careful." Kyo said, desperation in his voice.
"Don't worry about me, Kyo… just concentrate on feeling better, okay?" Hatori got in on the drivers side and started the engine. Shigure stepped back from the car and nodded towards Hatori.
The last thing he saw before Hatori pulled away was Kyo's wide, wild eyes.
Several hours later, Tohru, Yuki, Haru and Momiji returned home. Ayame didn't come inside, he merely told Yuki to tell Shigure he'd visit again soon. Yuki seemed both relieved and upset.
"Shigure, we're home!" Momiji yelled as he walked back in. Shigure was laying on the couch with a washcloth over his eyes.
"Are you okay?" Tohru asked, instantly alarmed.
Shigure sat up. "I'm fine, just a slight headache." He smiled. "How was your trip?"
Haru held up a bag of food. "We got some leftovers for you, I'll go put them in the kitchen." He walked into the kitchen and placed the food in the fridge, then walked over to the sink to get a glass of water. He paused at the sink and peered inside. Three mugs were at the bottom, a little tea was remaining in two of them. He stared at it for a minute. Did Shigure have company? He didn't remember any of them having tea before they left, and he doubted that Shigure would use three separate mugs.
Yuki scratched his head in the living room. "I'm going to go up to my room, I have a little more of vacation homework I want to finish." He disappeared up the stairs and walked to his room. As he passed down the hallway, he noticed something odd. The door to Kyo's room was flung open. He stared for a minute then peered inside.
The room was a complete mess. Stuff from the shelves had been thrown to the floor, clothing that had been in neat piles were scattered around. The blankets had been pulled off the bed.
Yuki's mouth dropped open. Ms. Honda had cleaned this room a few days ago. The door had been closed since. Who had come in here and done this? Yuki turned and fled down the stairs back to the living room where Tohru and Momiji were telling Shigure about their day. Yuki interrupted.
"What happened to Kyo's room?"
Shigure looked up. "What?"
Haru entered the room at the same minute. "Hey, Shigure, did you have company over?"
Shigure stared at the boys again, than repeated, "What?"
Yuki stared at Haru. "What are you talking about?"
"There are a couple of mugs in the sink… What are you talking about?"
"Somebody went into Kyo's room and trashed it!"
They all turned to Shigure.
"Huh… um… Oh my goodness, it must have been a burglar who drank all the tea and tried to steal Kyo's pajamas!"
Haru grabbed Shigure by the collar, instantly turning into black Haru. "What's going on?"
Shigure pulled out of Haru's grasp. "My editor was over with her young… nephew. He must have gone up to Kyo's room."
Haru narrowed his eyes, then turned away and stormed out of the room. Yuki stared at Shigure. "I don't believe you for one second." He followed Haru out of the room.
Tohru turned to Shigure. "Was he a nice little boy?"
Wednesday:
Yuki and Haru avoided Shigure for the rest of Tuesday into Wednesday. Shigure was just thankful he wasn't beaten to a pulp. He felt guilty for lying to them, but he knew that he needed to keep them away from Kyo for now, at least until he and Hatori figured some things out.
Shigure turned to Tohru. "Hey, Tohru… I think you need to go grocery shopping, we're all out of food again."
Tohru looked up from the letter she was writing to her grandfather. "Huh? I just went shopping two days ago." She followed Shigure to the refrigerator. He pulled open the door to reveal only two eggs and half a carton of milk. "What? I just…" She watched as Shigure walked to the cabinets and also revealed them to be empty. "Everything?" She asked in surprise.
"Yea, well, you know… teenage boys…" Shigure said, shaking his head. "Speaking of which, you should take all of them with you, you're going to need them to carry all the food back." He shoved a large list in her hands and a large envelope of money. "There you go, take your time."
Tohru looked confused, but she found Yuki, Haru and Momiji and invited them to go with her. They agreed, but were equally confused when Tohru said that they needed to buy "everything."
Once they left, Shigure sighed in relief. He had been extra careful in throwing out all of the food. He needed to get all of those kids out again. A few minutes later, the doorbell rang, and Hatori and Kyo were waiting outside again.
"Hey, long time no see!" Shigure said with a smile.
"Don't be an idiot." Hatori said, rolling his eyes. He pushed Kyo into the house.
"Hey Kyo," Shigure said. Kyo didn't respond.
Once again the three cousins sat around the table drinking tea. Shigure and Hatori had a slow conversation while Kyo drank his tea in the same disconnected fashion as before. When he was finished, Hatori called his name.
"Kyo," he repeated after he didn't answer. "Kyo, why don't you search for your book again… maybe you just missed it yesterday."
Kyo looked like he didn't believe it, but he stood up anyway and walked towards the stairs.
"Oh, and Kyo," Shigure called, "make sure you close the door…" Kyo nodded, indicating he heard. Once he was out of sight, Hatori turned to Shigure.
"Close the door? That's a weird thing to say."
"Well, Yuki and Haru flipped out on me yesterday when they noticed the open door and the three mugs in the sink."
"Ah, that makes more sense."
"Yea… so, how has Kyo been doing?"
"Not much better… but I think these trips outside of the house are helping a bit… Believe it or not, he's actually more responsive here than he is back at the house."
After a few more minutes, Kyo reappeared, even more dejected and tired looking than before.
"No luck?" Shigure said.
Kyo didn't answer. He just put his head down on the table.
Hatori took that as his cue. "It's time for us to go. Thank you again Shigure."
They walked back to their car and turned the engine on.
"Bye Kyo, see you tomorrow!" Shigure called. He waved and watched as the car sped off. As he turned around to go back inside, he noticed Haru, Momiji, Yuki, and Tohru staring at him from about fifteen feet away.
"Kyo?" Haru yelled. Yuki caught a glimpse of orange from the front seat just before the car pulled out of sight.
"Shigure, Kyo was here?" He yelled.
Tohru's eyes widened. "What?"
Momiji just stared back and forth.
"How long has he been coming here?" Haru yelled.
Shigure backed up and started walking towards the house. "Only today and yesterday."
"I knew it! I thought you were supposed to be honest with us!" Yuki shouted.
Shigure walked inside, the teenagers following him. "Listen, Hatori needed him to come here, so I let him."
"You purposely saw that we were out of the house, didn't you!" Haru yelled. He swung his grocery bag at Shigure's head, but Shigure ducked.
"Hey, be careful with that bag! That could be the eggs!" Shigure shouted.
"No, I've got the eggs! Don't worry!" Momiji said cheerfully.
"I can't believe you," Yuki said.
"I had no choice!" Shigure said defending himself.
"Well, we have none either. Tomorrow, we're staying here, and we're going to see Kyo. Whether you like it or not." Yuki said, anger flashing through his eyes. Shigure did not try to persuade Yuki otherwise.
Thursday:
"So, what time is Kyo coming?" Haru asked, sitting on the couch, flipping through the television channels with the remote.
Shigure checked the clock. "He should be here now… This is the time that Hatori usually comes…"
Tohru looked at the clock, as if making mental note of the time.
Yuki looked up from the book he was reading. He had a weird feeling. "Hey guys… I don't think Kyo's coming today."
Authors Note: You guys all ROCK! I got a maximum amount of reviews on my last chapter… I mean, wow… that was really amazing… You guys are awesome….
Kira Temeki: I'm glad you started commenting! That's great! Ha, yes, reading Kyo angst is oodles of fun… I'm glad you're enjoying my story!
SakuraWolf11: I'll try to update even sooner next time!
She who must not be named: Wow, thanks… So many compliments… I'm glad you like my story!
Tailfeather: Ha, yea, swivel seats always bug me in the middle of a story, cause I'm reading and all of a sudden I'm staring at like… the opposite wall… Thanks for the chocolate! I'm glad you like my story!
Japanesenut: I made you cry? Woah! Really? Oh, I'm so sorry… But… incredibly pleased in way… As for Kyo killing Yuki… Hmm… we shall see….
Leiko Hiroko: Ha, thanks for the kind words! I'm glad you like my story! And, you're awesome because you said "rocks" in your review…
Fruits Basket Fan: Ha, it's okay; don't worry about it! Yea, I hate when people are mean, so I tried to be as nice as possible. I'm glad you understood! I'm glad you loved last chapter!
Eclipsedlight: One of the best stories you've ever read? Ha, I'm not sure about that, but thanks anways!
Shizmoo: Yay for suspence! Ha, okay, I'll try to update faster….
Kyo'slittlekittenkisa: Yes, hopefully someone can help Kyo… or maybe not… Bwahaha… You're story is very good, by the way! I enjoyed the first chapter a lot! (I'd review, but I can't right now… I'm extremely busy)… I can't wait for chapter 2!
Fullma8712: Ha, it's okay… My story is probably not going to stay true after a while… its really… I guess after one of the earlier manga… But its not AU, so don't worry, it won't be completely unlike the story. And again, don't worry about it, no harm done.
Bouncing Shii-chan: Yes, Ayame should appear later (or in this chapter)… But I don't think he's going to have a large part… I'm not sure where he'll fit in with this story…
ShadoWalker: I think three pages of "homergeohare" would be an excellent story… But, I guess you're right…
Shadow7272: Oh! I'm sorry I killed your heart! Here, you can go use the AED, I am trained in operating it, so I can help!
Dark Inu Fan: lol, yup, poor Kyo… He's all beaten up… "What else," you ask? Oh, you have no idea…
Dark-wolf-soulx: Ugh, so that makes me water-twin? Joy… Form of: A puddle… score… Ha, I'm sorry I made you hate snow! I love snow… but I'm sure Kyo doesn't like it much either…. Oh well… I'll just have a snowball fight by myself…
Starship Gazer: Yes, hopefully Kyo can get some visitors on New Years… that would be pleasant… but… We'll see….
The Cheshire Katt: At the end of the 5th season of Buffy, she died (for the second time), but before that she made this beautiful speech to Dawn… and if you've watched every episode up until then, well… I cried hysterically… Psyconeuroimmunology? It's got something to do with the brain and immunity… I think…Ha, I dunno…
Narutofreak22: I'm glad my chapter saved you from boredom! I want a Kyo plushie too!