Disclaimer: I don't own...you don't sue.
Title: Hysteria
Pairing: Yuki/Kyo
Summary: People with cold fingers are said to bring death. With icy fingers gripping at his neck, Yuki will find himself fighting against his horror-filled fate that looms over the horizon, and, at the same time, will find himself drawn into the warmth of a heart so unlike his own.
Chapter 2
The walk home was much too long for Yuki's liking, and more than once he wished that the orange-haired boy on his back would finally wake up. The sun was bearing down on them, its overly bright rays causing an unusual sheen of sweat to cover the pale boy's skin and rosy patches to appear high on his cheeks. His breathing was labored, but he trudged on, eager to deposit his cousin somewhere far away from him. There was something unsettling about the intimate warmth that resulted from having the boy pressed so tightly against his back, and Yuki was all too eager to have it broken.
When he finally arrived home, Shigure was waiting by the front door. He was smiling slightly and leaning against the frame of the door, his arms tucked lazily in his sleeves as he surveyed the teens with a bit of amusement dancing in his eyes. He knew that he was blocking the entrance to the house, but he stood there anyway, watching his tenant fidget slightly under the weight of his still unconscious cousin on his back.
"Shigure," the boy greeted calmly.
"Well, hello, Yuki!" Shigure called back cheerfully, his hand emerging with a fan to cool himself off. "Is something wrong with Kyo?" That glitter was back in his eyes, and he watched anger appear in Yuki's. The slate-eyed boy's frame stooped a bit more under the dead weight. "He doesn't seem to be awake!"
Yuki's eyebrow twitched slightly in warning before he replied back. "Yes, he happens to be unconscious. You obviously had some idea of what was going on. Why else would you just happen to be standing outside of the house at this hour?" He took a few steps forward, coming to stop just inches in front of his elder cousin. The novelist merely grinned impishly at him before stepping to the side and allowing the boy to pass.
"Actually, the school called to inform me that you were on your way. They said that he wasn't feeling too well. I thought it highly suspicious that you were the one escorting him home and not Tohru. Now I can see why you were the one most up for the job. So, what is really wrong with Kyo? Surely just feeling a little off wouldn't leave him out cold. It's not even raining." He was coming inside as well now, following Yuki as he made his way up the stairs to Kyo's room.
"We had a fight, and he was knocked out. That's it." The rat knew that he was leaving out a lot of details, but those were to be kept to himself. He knew that he had lost control. He let the cat's blade cut too deep; he was too far under his skin. "When he wakes up, you can ask him why he's so weak that he gets knocked unconscious from a single hit."
The dog's eyebrow raised in question or curiosity, Yuki wasn't sure, before he left, and the boy quickly dropped Kyo on his bed after he finally made it into his room. He winced as the boy's head rolled violently to the side, almost hitting the bed post at the same spot Yuki had struck. His hands shot out quickly to keep the injured boy's head from garnering even more damage. Pale fingers pushed ginger hair back as the Prince analyzed the bruise. It was large and purple, raised slightly under his touch. There was a single piece creeping down towards the corner of Kyo's eye. It made the contusion look like a light tattoo that simply faded into his hairline.
"Stupid cat," Yuki whispered as he let the boy's head fall and walked slowly to the corner of the room. He sighed and dropped his head back to rest against the wall, his throat stretched and bared to the room. He slid gradually down the wall until he was a lump of angular limbs and awkward positions. His back was killing him, and the rest of his body was faring no better. Carrying Kyo all the way back home was pushing it with the lesions and bruises marring his own body, and he knew it. But guilt has a funny way of making people do things they'd rather not, and it was why he found himself sitting in the floor of the cat's room with his arms wrapped around his knees as he watched the other boy rest.
He blamed the sun and the heat for his presence in the room. Kyo was breathing softly, his chest rising and falling slowly. It was calming, it was hypnotic, and Yuki found himself relaxing into the relative silence. The curtains were drawn, and the darkness was making him drowsy. He wanted to sleep, but sleeping meant dreaming. He didn't want to visit Akito again so soon, and he knew that, if he slept, he would be there in front of his sickly god.
"What am I doing?" he thought, "I shouldn't be here. Kyo wouldn't want me here. Akito wouldn't want me here. Do I even want me here?" His eyes drifted around the room, the cream-colored walls seeping into his vision and calming his mind. "Kyo will be upset if he finds me here. I'm the damned rat, aren't I? I'm not meant to be anywhere near him. Won't the cat eventually capture and eat the rat? I know he will try at least."
Just as long, ebony lashes fluttered closed over glistening, slate-colored eyes, Kyo began stirring, his head beginning to roll from side to side as his eyes slowly opened. His hands came up to groggily wipe at them before they trailed slowly around the room and finally came to rest on the only other occupant. The boy's hands came down to his side as he started to push himself upright in bed. He made it halfway and had to pause for a moment, still a little dizzy from the blow, no doubt. When he finally managed to sit up completely, he winced, and his hand immediately went to the side of his head to rub the throbbing lesion.
Yuki let out a deep sigh and tried not to look in the cat's direction. There were questions to come, he could tell. The confused look on the cat's face, the way he kept glancing back over at the rat…they were all just little signs leading into the interrogation he knew was about to come.
Ginger eyebrows furrowed half in pain and half in confusion as he stared at the rat again. "How did I end up here? I thought we were on the roof. Damn, my head is killing me." His hand rubbed at the bruise again, and he hissed at the sensitivity. "I need some ice for this or something."
The other teen slowly rose and headed for the bedroom door. "You're here because I brought you home. We were on the roof until you tried to attack me. I kicked you in the head, and you were knocked unconscious. Any more questions?"
"Yeah. Why are you in my room?"
"Excuse me?" His hand lingered over the door knob as the question ran through his head again. Why was he in the cursed cat's room? Because it calmed him? Because he felt safe in there? Surely he couldn't answer with such ridiculous responses. "I was only waiting for you to wake up so that I could go get Shigure. He'll want to know that you're up now."
"Why did you wait for me to wake up? Why couldn't Shigure wait in here for me himself?" He was suspicious, the way he asked the questions told as much. His eyes were searching Yuki's for any signs of a lie. Kyo was good at reading some people.
"I honestly don't know," Yuki sighed, running his free hand through his hair. "But I'm leaving now." He gripped the door handle, once again about to leave the room before any more questions came. But Kyo was just as curious as the proverbial cat. That low voice crept into his thoughts again and stopped him from leaving.
"You didn't answer me before," he said. He was on the edge of the bed now, both feet flat on the floor, and his hands lying still on the bed on either side of him.
His grip on the handle was painful, but he didn't turn it. He merely stared at the grain of the wood before him. "What are you talking about?"
"You didn't answer me before. Akito came by, didn't he?" Kyo struggled to his feet, but his balance swayed and he was forced to sit down again. "Well? Are you going to answer me?" The cat glared at the other teen's back as he still stood stock-still in front of the door. He wasn't moving, but he certainly wasn't answering.
"What's it to you?" Quiet, calm, questioning. Yuki wasn't willing to answer, but he at least wanted to know why Kyo wanted to know. Nothing had changed between them, had it?
Kyo turned his head to the side, facing the wall instead of his somber cousin. He didn't want to see those eyes. The way they would water and darken and turn cold as he spoke. As he remembered. "What did he say…or do?"
The rat turned slowly to face his cousin. He fought to maintain an icy glare as the words he wanted to say were forced back to make way for the expected response, the right response. "It's none of your business. Leave it be." Yuki couldn't allow Kyo to see him so weak, so out of sorts, so confused. He walked quickly out of the room, slamming the door behind him. He couldn't stay there, he couldn't let it out. It would be one more thing for the cat to dangle over his head.
None too happy with the rat's response, Kyo's head snapped up as the loud noise reverberated through the room. "Why was he in here," he thought angrily. "He didn't have to stay, Shigure or Tohru could have. He always says he doesn't care about me, about the stupid cat. It's not that I wanted him in here, but he could have at least given me a decent explanation." Unexpectedly, as if it was a delayed reaction to the noise and the sudden movement, a sharp pain pierced Kyo's temple, and he grabbed his head reflexively.
Slowly, Kyo stood and tried to make his way to the door. His head was still killing him, and he was feeling a bit woozy, but the room across the hall would hold more answers than his own. If he could trap the rat in a corner, maybe he could force something out of him. The cat laughed lightly to himself. "In this condition, I'll be lucky if I even make it to his room."
After many sudden lurches and stumbling, and much clinging to the wall, Kyo was finally in front of Yuki's door with his hand on the handle. The handle was turned and he was pressing slowly forward when Shigure's sing-song voice rang from downstairs. The mischievous novelist was calling for both of the boys, and the ginger-haired one tried to quickly move away from his cousin's door before the other boy emerged. Better to try to surprise and corner him later instead of having him know and be on guard.
But Kyo moved just a little too quickly, and his footing was lost in a haze of color as the hallway swam before his vision in a whirl. He felt his body falling forward rapidly, and he raised his arms lethargically to protect his head from further damage when his plummet was suddenly halted. The cat unclenched his eyes gradually and saw the first step of the staircase looming before his vision. He heard Yuki grunt behind him as he was jerked backwards away from danger.
"Stupid cat, can't you do something as simple as walking right?" Kyo watched as Yuki swept calmly by, brushing his hand on his pants in feigned disgust. Crimson eyes narrowed and the cat slowly tried to stand again. Once again, Kyo was left in confusion. Why did Yuki save him from being even more fatally injured? Why did he act like he hated it again? "I wish he would just make up his damn mind about me," the cat thought, annoyed, as he made his way down the stairs, carefully this time.
As soon as he reached the dining room, he wished that he had just remained upstairs. Shigure and Tohru were sitting there normal enough, just chatting and smiling, but that wasn't what captured his attention. It was the pair just a little ways off from the others. The ones that had similar expressions and facial expressions, things only passed through close blood. One sat at the very end of the table, his arms making sweeping gestures as he talked animatedly about his newest form of bonding. The other stood glowering down at his brother, his face an angry color as he struggled to keep his temper under control.
"Ayame? Just what the hell are you doing here?" It had been a while since the snake's last visit, but Kyo couldn't say that it hadn't been a (relatively) peaceful period of time. Things always became so hectic and tense when the older Sohma came to visit. It made the rat twice as moody, twice as likely to strike out against an irritant. And, therefore, it made Kyo's life painful, literally.
The mane of silvery hair fanned slightly to the side as Ayame turned to face the room's latest occupant. "Kyo! It's wonderful to see you! And if you must know, I came to see how my dear younger brother has been faring." Golden eyes flickered quickly to the rat before turning their attention back to the cat. "If you've damaged him in any way, Kyo, it'll be inexcusable!"
The tension in the air was palpable. The cat simply gritted his teeth and took a seat at the table on the far end from the snake and his brother. No matter how he replied, it wouldn't be enough. How could he reply to an accusation that had no grounding? Kyo had never so much as landed a punch on his graceful cousin. It's hard to leave a mark if you've never touched them.
Yuki seemed to notice this reaction and grinned slowly. "This is the chance to keep Kyo away from me," he thought, "Just say it. He'll lose it." The violet-eyed boy slowly made his way towards the end of the table where the other teen was sitting. "As if that would ever happen…the stupid cat would have to touch me first." As he sat, he noticed that the effect of his words had been instantaneous. Kyo seemed to bristle, his teeth clenched and snarling. But what could he say?
The boy moved to stand on shaky legs, but Shigure spoke before he could get too far. "Stay, Kyo. We need to talk to you and Yuki. We'll be done soon enough." The dog sounded playful, but he actually was concerned about the younger boy. His movements were still cautious and the bruise was looking just as lethal as earlier. He would probably have to call Hatori before the night was over. "As you both know, spring break is next week and Tohru's girls' P. E. class is taking a trip to the mountains. They were in need of two responsible chaperones, and so, they have asked Ayame and me to take the job. They were very impressed with our history at the school! As a result, the two of you will be here alone the entire week."
He paused to gauge the boys' current reactions. He smiled slowly as he took in the sight. Yuki's face was contorted with confusion and some other emotion, and Kyo's…well Kyo's was downright livid. His face was beginning to turn red, and he opened his mouth to speak, but Shigure cut him off. "Hatori will drop in every now and then to make sure that you haven't killed each other, so don't get any ideas. You know where we keep the money for food and other provisions, so if you must do some shopping or want to order take out, go right ahead. Kyo, you can cook relatively well, so I'll ask that you take care of that for the most part. Unless you like charcoal flavored meals, that is. But anyway! Any questions?"
"Yeah, why the hell are you leaving me with that damn rat?!"
"And you think I want to stay here with you, stupid cat?"
"Isn't this kind of risky for you two? What if one of those girls hugs you? Won't that be a pretty sight? How are you going to explain that one?"
Shigure laughed heartily before turning back to the boys. "Calm down, you two. Would you rather we ask you to stay at the main house with Hatori?" His expression became very serious and the two teens knew exactly what implications were being made. "I thought that you would be responsible enough to leave alone here, but if I must, I will call Hatori. And we'll be fine, don't worry about the girls. With looks like ours, we've been dodging women all our life," he finished with a slight laugh.
"The question is will the two of you be fine?" Ayame smiled playfully at the boys. "Two young boys in the prime of their life left all alone in a house for an entire week. I don't know about you, Shigure, but I feel as though we are giving them a bit too much freedom. Who knows what kind of dirty deeds these two will take part in?!" Boisterous laughter rang through the house and both of the boys scowled at the older Sohma.
"What do you mean by that, you pervert?!"
"Shigure, get him out of here or I will murder him, family or not."