Chapter 5
One night Yuki brought home something new to distract the ever increasingly agitated invalid. Homework had been finished, and there were many hours left before bed. Yuki approached the kotatsu with a plastic bag clutched to his chest.
Yuki understood that as she felt a little better, Tohru desperately wanted to resume her role as caretaker of the household and family. It was her way of expressing her love for them. But Hatori was still adamant about her continued rest since her spleen was still enlarged and any lifting or exertion could cause damage to her spleen. As much as Tohru tried to maintain her sunny, accepting attitude, the lack of activity was depressing her.
Yuki asked quietly, "Miss Honda, would you like to learn a new game? Someone in the student council suggested a game that was rather complicated and I thought we could learn it together. It sounds rather fun." He sat down beside her and pulled a chess set out of the bag. He continued after noticing the shining interest in her eyes. "It has kings and queens, knights and bishops, and pawns. It's a game of strategy and conquest. Would you like to help me learn this?" He handed her the box, and then pulled out a small, novel-sized book and thumbed to the table of contents. "I even bought an instruction book. I thought, maybe, during the day, when you're work is finished, or you need a break, you might read this and help me learn the finer points of the game. One of the students even suggested creating a Chess Club. Maybe we could become good enough to join? What do you think?"
Tohru felt a thrill of joy bubble up from the bottom of her stomach and turned her eyes away from the box to stare in wonder at Yuki. "Oh, Yuki! I would love to learn this game with you. It sounds like so much fun. Maybe, if we get good enough, we could teach some of the others too." She returned her eyes to the illustrations on the back of the box showing a few basic moves of each piece. "I've heard of this game. I always wanted to see what it was about but we never had the time." She laughed gently, "But, it seems I've got plenty of time right now. Don't I." Yuki chuckled along with her and started clearing off the table.
Soon, Tohru was gently removing the intricately carved chess pieces from their bubble wrap in the package while Yuki was reading over the basics of the game. Tohru marveled over the little images of the king and queen. He looked lordly and regal with a kind face and shaggy beard. She looked elegant and beautiful with Grecian features and long braided hair. For a moment she forgot that this was a game, and looked on these pieces as dolls from her childhood. Each had appropriate crowns adorning their heads and long flowing gowns. She could have imagined an entire play using just these two characters.
Yuki cleared his throat to get her attention and started explaining the moves that the king and queen could perform. Then he was helping to remove the little pawns, leaving the more interesting pieces for her to discover. Since the whole point was to distract her and keep her amused for a few hours, he let her move at her own pace. He was content just to see the whimsical smile that graced her face.
Each piece unwrapped was like a little treasure. How had they put so much detail into game pieces? The little bishops had tall, pointy bishop hats, and stern, pious faces. It made her giggle to think about the scolding these bishops would give a wayward sinner. The knights on their horses were incredible. The faces were obscured by armor, but the swords looked like they could cut and parry any minute now. And the horses! She had never seen such strong, fierce looking animals. Her imagination could easily picture these giant warhorses charging into battle with no fear. She just knew this was going to be an interesting game.
It took an hour or so to figure out the basic moves of each piece, and the general form of the game. By that time, Hatori reappeared out of Shigure's office to carry Tohru to bed and perform her last check up of the day. Shigure's and Hatori's eyes lit up at the sight of the two teens playing chess. Shigure commented, "Chess! Oh, what a wonderful game that is. It was very thoughtful of you to teach Tohru, Yuki."
Tohru looked around in a daze since she had not even heard the two men enter. She was concentrating on the black and white squares before her, trying to remember all the moves that each piece could perform. She had already lost a few key pieces because she had confused what the bishop could do with what the castles could do. She beamed at Yuki, "Yes. It was so sweet of Yuki to bring this wonderful game to fill in some of the slow hours of the day. I'm so happy. Now there is something else Yuki and I can share. Especially since, Hatori won't let me outside to visit the secret base."
Hatori smiled gently. He knew it was against Tohru's very nature to sit idle for so long. "Now, now, Tohru. You know you must get better before you can do such things. We would hate to have to send you to the hospital for a ruptured spleen. Surgery is a lot more difficult to recover from than just an illness. There are many people in this family that just don't want to see you in any more pain." He knelt next to the bundle of sick girl and gently brushed the bangs away from her flushed face.
Tohru smiled up into his caring face, "Thank you Hatori. I know I should be patient. It's just so hard. It makes me feel bad to not be able to contribute around the house. And you are right, I don't like needles and knives, so I'll do whatever is in my power to not have to go to the hospital." She tucked her arms against her body, with her hands in her lap, so there was no chance of her accidentally reaching out to grab his chest if she felt that she was falling. As usual, Hatori slid his arms under her legs, and around her back, and held her out, just far enough away from her body to prevent a transformation.
The checkup revealed her fever had risen just a bit, so he gave her a different medicine in an attempt to keep it under control. As he was packing everything up in his bag, he cleared his throat and started shifting uncomfortably from foot to foot. He reached in and pulled out a small book and turned back to her bed. He was definitely blushing as he approached her. He cleared his throat, "Um, Tohru. The other day, you asked me a question… about the previous cat, and his family." He paused and swallowed hard.
He handed her the book, which she took with a questioning look in her eyes. "Well, I did promise to get you a book, to help… explain some things." He sat nervously on the edge of her bed and tried to slip into his clinical persona. But he found this more difficult than he thought it would be. He had held similar talks with the members of the Zodiac, and other Sohma children, but this just seemed wrong somehow, to broach this subject with such an innocent girl.
"You need to know that there are many reasons not to have sex before marriage. There are diseases and emotional complications that are possible with a physical relationship. A man that truly loves you will be glad to wait until you are ready for this step. Don't let anyone pressure you into doing anything that makes you feel uncomfortable. No matter what Shigure and the others might insinuate, sex is supposed to be the ultimate expression of love in a marriage, and not just something that feels good. If anyone tries to pressure you, you can come to me, and I'll take care of him. No matter who it is." This last was said with a heated emphasis. Just the idea of someone trying to force themselves on this girl made him angrier than he could remember being in a while.
Tohru just sat there with her mouth open in shock, and a blush that she could not control. Was he going to give her the birds and the bees speech? Her mother had discussed the basics with her when she was 11 years old, but she was still oblivious to most of what happened. It seemed her mother couldn't bring herself to broach the subject any more than Hatori could. She told her where she should not let people touch, and stuff like that, but never the actual how-to of what was involved. Tohru wanted to make this easier on the flustered doctor so she smiled and thanked him. "I appreciate this so much, Hatori. I know this must be hard for you. I promise to listen to your advice, and I'll come to ask your opinion before I ever think about making such a life changing decision. And if anyone ever pressures me, I'll be sure to let you know."
Hatori's taut frame relaxed a bit at hearing this and he responded, "If there is anything you don't understand, please feel free to ask me. I am your family doctor after all." He leaned over and reached out for the book to explain just a bit to her. "There are sections that focus on the female reproductive system, and then the male reproductive system. Then there is a section that might answer your questions on the mechanics of… the act." His blush resurfaced. "Then there is a section about pregnancy, and the changes it brings. Then the section of the development of the fetus." He leaned back and let the book rest in her hands as he continued, "I know this is a bit more than you asked for, but I figured it was important to cover the basics with you that your mother might not have had the opportunity to teach you. Also, living in this house with a pervert, novelist and two teenage boys, you might need to know this information to protect yourself. Not to say that any of them might try anything. But, you ARE an innocent teenage girl, and I worry about you….." his voice trailed off to a whisper. His mind also added, that she reminded him too much of Kanna to allow her to be hurt and used by any of his possibly horny cousins.
In that moment, where he confessed to worry about her, Tohru wanted nothing more than to hug the good doctor and thank him for his concern. She knew his heart belonged to his former love, and that new woman that Shigure was scheming to hook him up with. Maybe, she could help with Shigure's plan to bring love back into the dragon's life. She smiled and placed the book on her nightstand and thanked him again, "You take such good care of me. How can I ever thank you? When I'm well, I'll have to make you a thank you meal for every trip you've made over here to check on me in the last few weeks. You won't have to worry about cooking for a few months."
Her announcement caused him to chuckle as he imagined the girl doing just that. He had seen the way she doted on Shigure, Kyo and Yuki. It warmed a spot inside him to think that he might get the same treatment, even if only for a short while. But that wasn't the reason that he cared for her. She was special. She was something that the Sohma family was very short on. Loving. Probably, the closest thing the Sohma family came to Tohru was Hiro's mother.
Suddenly, there was a knock on the door, alerting the two that Kyo was waiting in the hallway for his shift of sleeping in Tohru's room. It had been a while since the girl had wandered in her delirious sleep. Still, the danger of a reoccurrence had kept the two boys vigilant at night. Besides, the boys found that Tohru was rarely sleepy at the time of evening that Hatori put her to bed, and was very talkative before sleep claimed her. Neither boy admitted it, but they both secretly enjoyed talking and sharing their thoughts with Tohru in the quiet solitude of her comforting room.
Hatori called out that Kyo could enter, as he rose from the bed and collected his bag. With a half smile and slight bow, Hatori said good night and exited. Kyo drug his futon, pillow and blanket in, dragging them behind him. Tohru giggled a bit. Kyo cocked his head and asked, "What?!" She just shook her head and explained, "Oh, nothing much. You just look like a little boy, dragging his blanket behind him, wanting to climb in bed with his parents after a nightmare."
He huffed and dumped his futon right below her so it rested against the side of her bed where she was laying. The boys had decided on this placement so that if she got up in the middle of the night, she would have to literally step on them to get out. That way, they knew, no matter how asleep they were that she would wake them up.
He ignored the comment which would otherwise have embarrassed him and asked, "So, what was Hatori going on about? I thought he would never leave." Then, peeking through the corner of his eyes, he glanced at her as he spread his blankets. "Are you okay? Is anything wrong?" In the back of his mind, Hatori staying longer than normal for one of these checkups usually meant she had gotten worse.
Tohru shifted to her side and propped her head up on her arm to watch him move about her room. He was graceful. She could see why he was so good at martial arts. "No, I'm fine, just a bit of an increase in my fever. But other than that, ok." She wondered if she should share her book with Kyo. He was a boy after all. Surely he knew all this stuff already. "Hatori was just nice enough to get me a book to answer some questions I had." She suddenly felt self-conscious mentioning sex around Kyo. She could feel her face flame up in the hottest blush she had ever experienced. Suddenly, her innocent mind began picturing passages of Shigure's books with Kyo as the main male character. Oh my!
Kyo missed the flaming blush cover her face and asked, "What kind of questions? Is it anything I can help with?" and didn't look back towards her until he heard a strangling, sort of gasp come from the girl, followed by some harsh coughing. His concern spiked as he looked over to see the girl almost purple in the face, covering her mouth, coughing, with tears coming out of her closed eyes. He leaped up and put a hand on her shoulder, "Tohru! Are you alright? Should I run get Hatori back in here? I don't think he's left yet." Just before he turned to sprint out the door, she shook her head and opened her watering eyes. Finally, she gasped out, "No, it's okay. I just swallowed some spit down the wrong pipe." After a few more coughs, she wiped the tears away and smiled sheepishly, "Sorry to worry you."
Luckily for Tohru, Kyo had totally forgotten the conversation about the book and her questions in his panic over her distress. He settled down a bit, and she could almost see his body tensed like an angry cat with a fluffed, spiky tail. He groused, "Well, don't swallow your tongue or anything. I'd hate for all Hatori's care and attention to go down the drain over something so silly."
Tohru agreed, and resumed her position on her side, watching the red-headed boy she adored. He was so close when he was tucking his covers in that she couldn't help reaching out and stroking his lovely hair. It was just as soft as a cat's. She knew it would be. But, he ducked his head away from her hands and looked at her strangely. "Hey! What do you think you are doing?" he yelled a bit indignant.
She bit her lip and looked embarrassed, "I'm sorry. I've just wanted to touch your hair for so long. I didn't mean to make you mad." She looked down at her comforter and smoothed out the wrinkles.
Kyo settled down leaning against her bed, with his left arm up on the mattress, and rest his head on his arm, so that he was looking up at her. He knew that when she had a fever, she did things she wouldn't normally do. Hatori had explained that sometimes her normal inhibitions were affected by the fever, and that they should make certain allowances for her, as long as she wasn't hurting herself. He grasped her nervous hand with his right hand and soothed, "It's okay. I'm sorry for yelling. I didn't mind, it just surprised me. You can…..you can touch my hair…. If you still want to…" he stuttered to a stop and waited to see what she would do.
A smile brighter than the sun broke out on her face as she slid her hand out from under Kyo's right hand and reached back up to stroke his lovely red hair. She whispered, "Thank you." and worked her fingers through his hair. Kyo couldn't believe how nice it felt to have her touching him. This must be why cats purr when they are being petted. Normally, he would hate anything that reminded him that he had characteristics of a cat, but with Tohru, he didn't mind. She respected the Zodiac cat, and even wanted to start a Year of the Cat fan club. Silly girl. He closed his eyes and just enjoyed.
While she was indulging in her fantasy of petting Kyo's hair, Tohru started asking questions about the boy's day. It was the only way she could get any information out of him, as he was loathe to volunteer. Once she got him talking, he would usually open up and tell her how things went, and what he really felt about his day. Her best friends were being helpful in her absence, and making sure that Kyo wasn't left out of anything or picked on. Those were usually things that she did, but in her sickness, she had to rely on her friends to take up the slack. Talking with Kyo at night was the only way she could stay connected to him as he went about his busy day.
It tickled her when Kyo would complain about his own group of fan girls chasing after him and making his life miserable. How could she not giggle, when the lonely cat was complaining about not having a moment alone. Absently, while she was stroking his hair and listening, her hand ran down his face on one stroke, and toyed with the beads on his wrist that kept his true form concealed.
The shift in contact and the touch on his beads caused Kyo's eyes to snap open, and his body tensed. The last time anyone touched them, Kazuma had ripped them off to force his transformation in front of Tohru. He studied her face to search for any hint of revulsion or fear. Instead, he found only soft concern and curiosity.
Her voice sounded like she had been asleep, it was so soft, "Kyo?" He shifted a bit to show he was listening. "Your true form is really strong, isn't it." She fingered a blue bead, then a white bead before looking into his face. "I mean, I saw you gouge your claws through rocks like they were butter." He started to turn his face away in shame. It was still a touchy subject that she had seen him in that form that he hated so much. She lifted her hand from the beads and grabbed his chin to turn him back around. "Why didn't you use your strength of your true form to attack Akito or the others that taunted you? Use your strength to defend yourself and those you loved? If it was so important to beat the rat, why didn't you use your true form then?"
Kyo just sat there staring at the innocent girl. There was no judgment in her eyes. There was no accusation in her eyes. There was no condemnation in her eyes. There was only concern, caring and acceptance, as always. "I guess, I was always told that my true form was horrible, and should be hidden. That not being able to control it on my own was a weakness in my character. I never thought of it as anything but a curse."
Tohru stroked a finger down his cheek and her eyes drifted off in thought, "Hmm. How else would you keep someone stronger than you under control, than to make them feel that their strength was an abomination. Akito sure did a number on your family." Her eyes fluttered slightly and he knew that she was finally running out of steam.
Kyo knew that although her fever loosened up her tongue, it weakened her ability to stay awake very long at night. He missed the nights of talking to her when it was Yuki's turn to watch over her. Still, he wouldn't begrudge the rat his shift, because he secretly knew that Yuki also relished those talks into the night. With their busy lives, his with training at the dojo, and Yuki's with student council, there was very little time left over to visit with their favorite flower. So, in truth, this illness had offered them all a little oasis of time to visit and talk over things they would never touch in a normal day.
Kyo watched Tohru shift slightly so that her head was resting against her pillow. Her beautiful, wide eyes gently closed, even though she wanted to stay awake and talk more. He reached over to brush some stray wisps of hair from her face, and felt the slight heat of her flushed skin. He reminded himself to wake in a few hours and make sure her fever had not risen any further.
As her breathing evened out into the normal, sleeping pattern, he thought over what she said. Why hadn't he ever used his true form's strength? As far back as he could remember, Akito had been calling him a monster because of his curse. Still, she was right. He could have easily ripped Akito in half, even when he was just a child. The cat possessed immense power and hunting skill, just as a normal cat. It would have been easy to hunt down the head of the family and destroy him with just a swipe. Why had he never thought of that before? The rat's strength and prowess in martial arts could not match up to his if he combined his martial arts and his true form's strength. Why had any of the past cats been locked up? It would have been easy to break out of those flimsy bamboo bars over the windows and doors. Was the confinement only mental? Did the past cats WANT to be confined? Did the heads of the family back then threaten the cat's loved ones?
With these and other deep thoughts, Kyo glanced one more time at the sleeping girl he was protecting, and lay down on his own bed. With his hands crossed behind his head, he stared at the darkened ceiling and wondered deep and confusing thoughts.