A/m: Hey everyone! Sorry it has taken me so long to get this chapter up, I have been SUPER busy lately! Anywho, Arigatou for the reviews thus far, and keep them coming! Enjoy Chapter three of Yuki's New Life!
Update: A special thanks to iAMwhatIamK for pointing out the messed up dialogue. It is fixed now, and hopefully stays so!
It hurt. Oh God, it hurt. Pain seared from my wrist to my elbow, and I groaned. "Yuki? Are you awake?"
His voice called out to me from the darkness, a voice that was unrecognizable yet familiar. How could that be? I opened my eyes slowly, they felt sticky as if my eyelids had been glued together, and was instantly blinded by the sun piercing through the trees above. Squinting, I turned my head to look at him. He was taller, his hair long and dirty, and his eyes- once carefree and innocent- hid a wisdom just beneath the surface. But he was still my brother. Tears sprang instantly to my eyes, and I shut them tightly as memories flashed before me. Ame, being picked on by the wild animals when we were children, and later by the older kids in school; before I stepped in to stop them. When had our paths become so different? I didn't know, I didn't know.
My eyes opened again, and the tears flowed freely down my cheeks as I reached over to grab his wrist. I just wanted to know he was real, and not a figment of my imagination. And he was, he was real.
"Ame," I whispered hoarsely and tried to sit up. Pain shot up my arm again, and I winced. "Just rest, Yuki." He said, worry evident in his voice. "Your arm is broken."
I simply nodded in return and laid back down, continuing to grip his wrist as sobs wracked my body. We stayed like this for a long time, until my tears finally dried up. He gently pulled away, and stood, turning his back to me as he started to walk. Panic shot through me as I watched him, my eyes wide. He couldn't possibly leave me here, injured, could he? Would he? I bit my lower lip before calling out his name, my voice wobbling. "Ame! Ame, don't leave me here!"
Ame stopped and looked at me over his shoulder, the corner of his lip pulled upwards in what I thought was a smile. "Don't worry, I will be back. I'm going to collect herbs for a medicine." And with that, he transformed, disappearing into the forest.
I fell asleep without realizing it, until the sound of rustling grass jerked me awake. I sat up instinctively, and instantly regretted it when my arm throbbed. Crying out in pain, I looked around the clearing with large, terrified eyes. When I saw the rabbit hop out from behind a bush, I sighed; a sigh that was part relief and part frustration. That was when something tapped me on the shoulder. I screamed, and heard a deep chuckle. Whipping my head to the side, my dark hair flying, I glared at him. "It's not funny, Ame! You scared the crap out of me!" I yelled, frowning. He looked at me contrite, and held a wooden cup out to me. "Drink this, it will help with the pain."
After I took the cup from him with my good hand, he turned around and began making a fire. I drank the bitter concoction quickly, my nose wrinkling in distaste, before contenting myself to to watching him. Ame had grown considerably in the past months, and he easily started a fire without any matches. There was some kind of meat skewered on sticks beside him, but before he began to cook them, he looked at me. "Is the pain gone?" He asked, and when I nodded, he pulled off the dirty black shirt he was wearing and held it out to me. "You can wear this," He said. I took it from him with a grateful smile before slowly pulling it on, maneuvering it over my broken arm. The shirt was long, and it went down to my knees, but I didn't mind as all I had were underwear.
Ame busied himself with cooking the meat, and I watched him silently. When finished, he handed me one of the sticks. I realized it was squirrel after taking a bite, then began scarfing it down like a ravenous wolf, which I guess I was. While we were eating, I caught my brother staring at me.
"What is it?" I asked between bites, and he sighed. "You could stay here, you know, in the forest. We could live here together, Yuki."
I lowered the stick, my mouth agape as I looked back at him. Quickly, I pressed my lips together in thought. I could see it, living in the woods for the rest of my life. Ame and I could form a pack, and I could be with him forever. We could run through the snow like we did as children. We could hunt together, and he could teach me all the things his Sensei taught him. But most importantly, we could protect each other- and I wouldn't have to worry that he was dead. Still, I found myself shaking my head. "I-I can't Ame. I have a life, and school..."
"If your life and school is so great, why did you run away?" He challenged, his eyes looking eerie behind the dancing flames. "I can sense it in you, Yuki. The desire to be free and the call of the wild is strong, pumping through your veins. Why don't you embrace it?"
"Because I just can't, Ame!" I screamed at him, my gaze locking with his, my eyes silently pleading with him to understand.
He stood and threw wet leaves onto the fire, smothering the flames. His lips were straightened into a thin line and he looked away from me. "Fine. You probably should get that arm in a cast anyways." He said, and I noticed his voice wasn't angry. No, he sounded tired. He sounded older. And he sounded sad. I wished I could just embrace him, comfort him, but I couldn't. So instead, I laid down in the grass, being careful of my arm, and closed my eyes. "So, you'll take me back tomorrow, then?"
"Tomorrow," he agreed and moved to lay on his back next to me. His hand found mine in the darkness, and our fingers intertwined.
We slept that way the entire night, our hands together like children in a dark, twisted fairy tale.