It was dawn.

Hatori spent a sleepless night tending the rat's injuries. Near as he could tell, Yuki had been pummelled; punched and kicked and stomped; brutally hit by something long and heavy like a baseball bat, or possibly a lead bar or pipe; the smallest injuries were the cuts, from either a knife or a broken bottle. Luckily, no glass shards were found anywhere on Yuki's body, so it probably was a knife.

At least one rib was cracked, there was minor swelling around his spinal cord, and his throat appeared to have been slashed and stepped on. By a little after midnight, Yuki had stabilized enough to have turned back to human, revealing lesser but still troubling cuts and bruises that had been hidden by his fur. His face and torso were mottled with blue, black, and purple, and what wasn't dark was yellowish green where the bruises had spread. His throat bore a strange pattern of bruises easily identified as a shoe-print.

All in all, things did not look good. That he wasn't a small rodent anymore was reassuring, but it was a hollow comfort.

Hatori gently covered the boy with a thin sheet, in case he got cold, and went downstairs.

Shigure and Ayame had apparently stayed up waiting for news, and fallen asleep in their seats. The two men were slumped over the table, drooling (Shigure) and mumbling (Ayame). Hatori woke them with some difficulty, so they could head for a more comfortable place to rest, then went back upstairs.

Tohru had been sent to bed, ordered to get some rest so she could be helpful if anything happened, a little after Yuki had stabilized. She appeared to have simply collapsed onto her bed, without even changing into nightclothes, and had probably gone out like a light. Very reluctantly, Hatori shook her awake so she could keep an eye on Yuki and the doctor could get a bit of sleep.

Despite his best efforts, the young man was still unconscious. He was probably going into a coma, but there was nothing Hatori could do about it … and with the Zodiac curse, they didn't dare take Yuki to a regular hospital.

"Poor kid," Hatori muttered, rubbing his eyes in a fruitless effort to smooth out the dark bags under them. Like Tohru, he didn't bother undressing – he had nothing to change into anyway – before giving in to exhaustion.

At about 10 in the morning, Shigure woke up and looked in on everyone.

"Shigure-san!" exclaimed Tohru in surprise. The writer flinched a little from a minor hangover and the girl began babbling apologies until he said quietly, "Please stop – the sound makes it worse." Her mouth snapped shut like a trap.

She had been reading; not one of his novels, but an old cookbook she had dug up from somewhere. She flipped to the blank page between the index and the back cover and wrote on it using a pencil from Yuki's beside table, presumably left by Hatori.

Yuki is fine, but hasn't woken up yet. Hatori went to bed. Have you seen Kyo?

Shigure shook his head and whispered, "I'll go look."

When he couldn't find Kyo anywhere, he tried the phone.

Rrrring, rrrring, rrri –

"Sohma Kazuma."

"It's Shigure." His hangover was almost completely gone from time, exercise, and a generous mug of very strong coffee. "Listen, something happened last night … Yuki's pretty badly hurt and Kyo's missing."

"Is Yuki alright?" The martial artist's voice was tight and anxious.

"Tori-san said he'd be fine eventually … he's asleep right now. Listen, if Kyo comes by, find out what happened and tell him we're – well, Honda-san and I – we're worried about him."

"I'll pass that along." Click.

"Will Yuki be okay?" asked Kyo as his teacher hung up. His voice, like it had been last night, was small and worried.

"Hatori thinks he will be, in time."

"Good." Kyo hadn't expected to be more than slightly relieved, but it was an almost tangible sensation – something warm and soft and intoxicating in the air around him, which he took in whenever he breathed.

He'll be okay … But why … why am I so happy about that?

So I can beat him myself? another inner voice suggested.

Kyo's jaw clenched involuntarily.

"You should call them later," mentioned Kazuma. "Shigure-san and Honda-san are concerned for you."

"I … I can't, yet." Kyo hung his head. "I'm not ready to face them."

"I understand." But Kyo, you'll have to eventually. You can't let them think you would do this. Kazuma was tempted to ruffle the teenager's hair again, but decided against it. "Kyo … have you ever heard it said that when you save someone's life, they become your responsibility? … You can't just hide or run away from this. At least not until Yuki recovers."

The cat looked up sharply.

"I'm not a coward, Shishou. I'm not running anywhere."

Where am I?

Why is it so dark? … I can't open my eyes.

"It's alright, Yuki … "

Hatori? What … what's happening? Why can't I move?

" … You'll be fine. I'm not sure how long you'll be unconscious, but you should recover."

"Awaken! Speak to me, Yuki! What happened to you?"

Oh, great … Ayame.

"Please recover quickly! None of us could bear it if you died – "

There was a thumping noise that reminded Yuki of a mild body-check – probably the dragon restraining the snake.

"AYAA! Don't touch him – you'll aggravate his injuries."

" … I'm sorry. You know I would never deliberately try to slow my beloved little brother's recovery!"

"Why are you even talking to him?"

Wha … Shigure? Who else is here? Where is 'here'?

"I mean, he's in a coma. Can he hear us?"

"He's not in a full coma, he's just on the borderline. And we won't know if he can hear us until he wakes up. But, in most cases, hearing a human voice seems to help to keep the patient's mind together."

Who just grabbed my hand? Nii-san, if this is you being dramatic again …

"I just can't believe it …"

Tohru?

"I mean, I knew Kyo wanted to beat Yuki, but … I didn't think he'd go this far."

He didn't. Hasn't he told anyone?

… Guess that stupid cat wanted credit for finally bringing me down. Idiot.

Please don't cry, Tohru … I'm okay. Sort of.

"Aah!"

"Honda-san, are you alright?" asked Hatori's disembodied voice.

"I – I'm fine … Yuki squeezed my hand. It just surprised me, is all."

"That's a good sign … he's responding. He may not be able to hear us …"

I can.

" … but he can feel your hand in his. That's very good."

"Even unconscious, my little brother acts the charming prince!"

"He may not know it's Honda-san. He could just be responding to contact."

"Hatori! Don't spoil the romantic moment!"

Nii-san … I wish I could snarl at him. Or hit him. But I'd settle for snarling if it meant I could move again.

"In any case, Honda-san, you stay with him. I'm going to make some tea – hopefully his reflexes will let him swallow." Soft footsteps left the room.

Great. Hatori's leaving me alone with Ayame and Shigure. Tohru, don't you dare leave, too … Yuki squeezed her hand again. He could move his fingers that much, at least …

" … So, do we tell anyone about this?" Ayame wondered.

"We'll have to tell everyone at his school that he's ill or something … Tohru, would you be a dear and tell your classmates that? Be sure to tell them it's not contagious, though."

"Oh! O– of course. But I hope he wakes up quickly … if he misses too much school he might not graduate." The girl gently stroked the back of Yuki's hand with her thumb.

School …That's going to be difficult. I'll have to wake up soon or I'll have a lot of catching up to do …

"But, as for the family," Shigure continued, "I suppose we'll have to tell everyone on the 'inside'."

"Will … will Kyo be punished?" Tohru's voice was timid and fearful. There was a long silence.

"To be honest, I'm not sure what will happen," Shigure admitted. "The cat's never beaten the rat before."

And he still hasn't.

"Not to mention I'm still not sure where Kyo is; Kazuma didn't know either."

Tohru's grip on Yuki's hand became almost painful.

Note: This will not be updated for at least a week or two, because I won't have access to a computer for that time.Tell me what you think of what's here so far.

Published July 31, 2008