Disclaimer: I don't own Fruits Basket. This is just fanfiction for which I make no money.

Chapter 3

Kyo

School sucked even worse than usual. I still couldn't get the hang of tennis and Yuki refused to even look at me, let alone tell me what to do. I wondered if he was going to keep ignoring me

By lunch, I had a stomach ache and spent the whole hour on the roof, staring at the clouds. My stomach really hurt. It felt like it was twisted in knots and I was nauseous as hell. I could barely make myself stand when the warning bell rang and trudged off to class with my head down, dragging my feet.

I took my seat in Calculus just behind Yuki. Our stupid teachers always assigned seats alphabetically so I usually ended up one seat away from the damn rat. It was annoying to sit behind him because his head was right in front of me and it was hard not to look at him. I bristled every time he leaned backward and jumped when he breathed loudly or coughed. It was annoying. I had no idea what the teacher was talking about and copied the board without absorbing anything. I kept glancing at the clock, annoyed when the minutes ticked by like years.

I snapped my pen in half in agitation and the ink exploded everywhere. I stood up and yelled "Fuck!"

"Sohma!" Sensei scolded. "What on earth-?"

"My pen exploded," I said staring down at my hand and the back of Yuki's uniform, both of which were splattered with ink. Yuki touched his back and I winced when he looked at his hand and saw the blue stain.

"You two better go clean up," Sensei sighed.

I gathered stalked out the door, ignoring when Yuki followed. I stormed into the bathroom and scrubbed angrily at my hands under the spray of water. I jumped when I saw Yuki's reflection in the mirror, he was unbuttoning his shirt and I couldn't help but stare as he pushed it off his slender shoulders, revealing his toned biceps and pecs. I tore my eyes away and added more soap to my soiled hands.

Yuki stepped up to the sink next to me and dabbed his shirt with soap before running it under hot water and scrubbing at the stain.

"Stupid pen," I muttered.

"You're the one who broke it."

I winced. I was having a harder time than usual taking his distain. What he'd said wasn't even mean; it cut at me anyway.

I grabbed some paper towel and scrubbed my hands dry. They were clean, thankfully but Yuki was still having trouble getting the ink out of his shirt. I shrugged out of mine and handed it to him. I always wore a black shirt under it and Yuki was so perfect; heaven forbid he walk around with ink on his shirt.

He stared at the shirt for a minute before taking it. I averted my eyes so I wouldn't stare at his naked chest. "Thank you," he muttered.

I shrugged and headed for the door. "It's my fault your shirt got wrecked," I said, leaving the bathroom.

Yuki

I stared at the door for several moments before I managed to gather my thoughts and button Kyo's shirt. It was loose on me but not absurdly so. It struck me that Kyo was bigger than me and I felt my neck get warm. I gnawed on my lower lip and exited the bathroom, following Kyo's route back to the classroom. It was almost the end of the period. I quickly copied down the homework, and finished the last word as the bell rang. Kyo had left the room before I stood up and I walked to my last class of the day.

Thankfully, I didn't have History with Kyo. I wouldn't have the strange urge to look back at him the way I did in Math. However, I realized with a start that the Kyo's shirt smelled strongly of him. I wondered, belatedly, if anyone around me would notice how I smelled. It struck me that Kyo smelled very nice. He had a spicy aroma that reminded me of Autumn, but a warm undertone that made me think of sunshine. I shook my head and focused forcibly on what the teacher was saying. I managed to pay attention for the rest of class, my mind only wandering fleetingly before the end of school.

I walked down the hallway to the student council room and saw that Kakeru and Nao were the only two in the room. "Machi's playing hooky," said Kakeru. "And I guess Kimi's sick or something."

I nodded. "I suppose we'll have to make do without our treasurer and second secretary."

"Such slacking!" Nao mumbled. "Now I have to pick up for Kimi as well as doing my own work." He ground his teeth and started scribbling furiously in his notebook.

I sighed.

"Something wrong, fearless leader?" Manabe asked.

"No," I replied. I began the meeting and we managed to get quite a bit of work done. Without Kimi to egg Kakeru on, he seemed slightly less keyed up, although he made a few strange comments that I didn't care to ponder much.

"Alright!" Manabe shouted once we'd finished our business for the day. "Now I can go home and sleep."

"One more thing," I said. "Would you mind calling Machi and Kimi to fill them in?"

"Why don't you call Machi? Don't you have the hots for her or something?"

"Of course not," I said a little more forcefully than I probably should have.

Manabe squinted at me. "She's not your type?" He asked. "Bye, Chibi-suke!" He called but Nao had already walked out. "What's wrong with Machi?" he asked. "She's not good looking enough?"

"Th-that's not…" I muttered. "She's… she's pretty."

"Then what?"

"I…"

"Oh, I get it! I understand completely."

I stared at him, wondering what ridiculous thing he was about to spout off next.

"It's so obvious. You must not like girls, eh?"

I gaped at him. "Don't be ridicu-"

"It's okay." Manabe suddenly looked serious. "If you're gay, I mean." He smiled. "It's not like I'd be freaked out by something so silly."

I tried to deny it but I couldn't get my mouth to work.

"I mean, jeez. It's not like you're really a girl or anything… Unless you are."

I rolled my eyes at his stupidity. "I'm not a woman."

Manabe laughed. "Of course not! You'd be straight if you were!"

"Thank you," I muttered.

"Don't sweat it, man." Manabe flashed me one of his genuine smiles, the one that made me feel elated and like crying at the same time.

Having him around is good for me, I think…

Kyo

I jogged the whole way to the dojo and ducked around Kagura before she could hug me. "You're so mean, Kyo!" she shouted. She threw her arms around my neck from behind before I could finish taking my shoes off. "I missed you so much!"

"You saw me two days ago!" I protested, trying to throw her off.

"Three days a week isn't enough." Her dark tone freaked me out but Shishou started lecturing her about discipline and letting me take my shoes off and I gave him a grateful wince.

I walked into the dojo and began my stretches. I usually trained by myself but Shishou wanted me to help him demonstrate some techniques for his class.

"This is a basic blocking stance," he was telling the students. "Keep your feet shoulder-width apart, one slightly back. Make sure your knees are bent and low block when the opponent kicks."

I did a crescent kick which Shishou blocked.

"Alright," said Shishou. "Now, I'm going to demonstrate a simple self-defense technique. Kyo, aim a right hook at my head."

I did as he asked and he blocked my arm with both hands. "Now I'm going to grab his wrist and press down on the back of his hand. This is a kido move." Shishou demonstrated and the slight pressure he used on my hand had me nearly falling to the ground. "This is a good way to avoid hurting someone too much and it takes very little effort."

"Ow, ow, ow!" I protested. "Let go!" Shishou released me and I rubbed my hand, glaring at him.

"Now, I want you to pair off and practice."

When the students were practicing the wrist-lock, Shishou turned to me and smiled. "I know you dislike demonstrating self-defense. I appreciate the effort."

I shrugged. "It's important for Karate," I replied. "These guys need to learn it."

"How are things at Shigure's?" he asked.

I shrugged. "Same as always, I guess."

"How are things between you and Yuki?"

I paused a moment too long. "Same." Shishou didn't believe me. I could tell. He read my hesitation but didn't bother to mention it.

"If you need to talk, I hope you'll come to me."

"I will," I said. "I gotta go. Do you need me for anything else?"

"No," said Shishou. "That's all."

I headed for the door. "Bye, Shishou," I called over my shoulder. I hopped down from the deck and ignored the twinge of pain in my knee. I'd landed with my leg straight and jammed my knee. In spite of the pain, I jogged home and headed straight for the shower.

I was lying on the roof after dinner, watching the stars blinking into view. It was getting dark sooner and sooner every day. Pretty soon, it'd be pitch dark at five in the afternoon. The stars were pretty, burning against the velvety darkness.

I sighed. I was so tired. I decided to go to bed early and headed for my bedroom.

Again, that horrible gnawing ache in my stomach came back and I had to lie down because I was afraid I'd throw up. I squeezed my eyes shut, whimpering at the pain. It was starting to really bug me. I had a nagging feeling that something was really wrong. I didn't get why I was always having stomach aches and feeling all anxious. It was stupid. I hated being sick.

I knew I was going to puke. It was a horrible paralyzing feeling. I managed to sprint to the bathroom just in time to empty my stomach. My gut hurt even worse when I puked and I felt like my head was going to explode. I wiped my mouth when I was done and caught sight of blood in the toilet. I was shocked for a minute. It looked like a lot of blood. The back of my hand had blood on it too. I felt too weak to stand so I called out to Shigure.

He came running. I guess he wasn't used to hearing me shout his name. He slammed the door open, took one look at me and said, "I'm calling Hatori."

"Don't leave!" I shouted. I hadn't even meant to freak out so bad but I didn't want him to leave me by myself. I felt so pathetic and weak.

"I have to call Hatori, Kyo. You vomited blood."

I clutched my stomach. "Okay…" I muttered. "Okay."

Shigure gave me one last look before walking out. I flushed the toilet and rested my head backwards against the wall.

Yuki appeared in the doorway. "What's going on?" he asked.

"I guess my stomach is bleeding," I muttered.

"You… you're bleeding?"

I looked up at him. He looked scared. I shrugged.

"R-Rin has that too sometimes," he said. It seemed like he was having trouble thinking of things to say. He shifted uncomfortably. "Is Shigure calling Hatori?"

I nodded and closed my eyes, enjoying the feeling of the cold tile wall on my head. It was nice and I felt sleepy.

"Are you okay?"

I ignored him. I felt weak and tired. I drifted off to sleep.

I'd been asleep for at least a couple hours when I felt a cool hand press against my forehead. I moaned in annoyance and tried to shove it aside but I was having trouble making my body cooperate. It felt like my head was full of fluff and my body was filled with lead weights. "Wassa…?" I stammered. I dragged open my eyes and blinked. There was a bright florescent light right above me and the sheets under my back felt scratchy. When my vision cleared, Hatori came into focus. "Wh-why am I so tired?" I groaned.

"You've been sedated," Hatori replied. He pressed his stethoscope to my chest. I pushed him off.

"Why?"

Hatori gave me his famous 'impassive' look. "You were delirious and screaming when we brought you here. You had a fever of 104. I was surprised you didn't transform."

I felt myself drifting off again. "Screaming?" I muttered, trying to keep my eyes open. "Wh…" I didn't to finish my question because I fell asleep shortly after.

Yuki

It was terrible. I kept replaying the scene over and over in my mind. Shigure waved off several nurses who kept offering me fresh ice-packs and pain killers. My cheek was still throbbing slightly from where Kyo had struck me in his feverish fit. He'd been yelling incoherently and managed to kick me in the face when I was trying to help Shigure restrain him. Hatori eventually had to give him a shot when I couldn't hold him anymore. I had a stitch in my lip, the beginnings of a nasty bruise and black eye and my head was throbbing in time with my swollen cheek.

"This was unnecessary," I muttered to Shigure, referring to the fact that I was sitting in an emergency room.

Shigure flapped his hand dismissively. "You know Haa-san; always overreacting."

I ignored Shigure. It wasn't doing me any good to sit and listen to his nonsense. I was irritated, waiting for Hatori to come back into the room to take us home. I wouldn't admit it, but I was also curious about Kyo. I'd never seen him like that. Even though he wasn't really conscious, the minute Hatori touched him, he started howling in misery. He kept shouting things that only half made sense; something about getting out of the way because of the train and then because of the car. He was weeping tearlessly the entire time, shaking with sobs. The whole ordeal terrified me.

Shigure had called Momiji as soon as we got to the ER and told him to fill Tohru in after work and bring her here to visit Kyo if she wanted.

I pressed the icepack against my cheek. In spite of my pain, all I could think of was how terrified I was when I saw Kyo in so much agony. My bruises and small cut were nothing compared to the utter misery Kyo was experiencing. I didn't understand it. I didn't want to know what caused him such pain. All I knew was that I wanted to stop it.

The forcefulness of my conviction still startled me. I had said before that as much as I disliked Kyo, he was still a human and no person deserves to suffer. I truly believed that Kyo wasn't capable of doing something unforgivable.

All he has to do is apologize and I'll forgive him, I thought. Although, he has no idea why I'm still so angry with him. I bit my lip and yelped when a sharp pain shot through my face. I'd forgotten about the stitches.

I sighed and flopped backward against the uncomfortable hospital sheets. Moments later, Tohru burst into my room. "Yuki-kun!" she shouted. "Are you alright?"

I sat up. "I'm fine, Honda-san," I replied.

"Oh no! Those bruises look painful!" She reached out to brush her fingers over my swollen face. "Yuki-kun, what happened?"

I took a deep breath. "Kyo had a fever. He was delirious. He didn't intend to hit me."

Tohru gasped. "Oh, no nono! I wish I'd known he was sick! I should have been able to see it. Hatori-san said that he had ulcers. It sounds serious!"

"Honda-san," I said as softly as I was able. "There's no need to panic. Kyo will be fine."

Tohru shook her head. "I thought he'd been acting strange lately. I should have tried harder to get him to talk to me."

Her eyes started welling up with tears. I had a moment's flash of irritation with Kyo for making Tohru worry but it passed. Kyo had bigger problems to deal with. I nearly chuckled at the readiness with which I'd given Kyo an excuse for his behavior. It was unlike me to say the least.

Hatori walked in just then. "I apologize, Tohru-chan," he greeted her. "I need to speak to Yuki alone."

"O-of course!" said Tohru. She walked out the door.

Shigure pouted. "I don't get an apology? Haa-san, you're so cruel."

Hatori stared at him. "I'll offer you an apology when you've made up for all the problems you've caused me."

Shigure sniffled and let out a fake sob before walking out the door.

"Kyo woke up for a moment while I examined him," said Hatori.

I just looked at him. How was he expecting me to react? I didn't understand why he was telling me this.

"He should be fine. He has no memory of kicking you."

I sighed. "The idiot caught a cold and let himself get into such terrible shape…"

Hatori furrowed his brow. "He doesn't have a cold, Yuki-kun. Kyo's fever is brought on by emotional distress. Anxiety is tearing his body apart from the inside. I came to tell you not to fight him. If he argues with you, try to deflect it. If he attempts to strike you, let him."

"What?" I demanded. "I'm supposed to just let-"

"He probably won't try to hit you again, Yuki. Not for a long time."

"Why?"

Hatori shook his head and stared out the window. "I just know he won't." He was silent for a moment. "Would you like to see him before you leave?"

"Why?" I asked. "Is he even awake? What would I have to say to him?"

Hatori shrugged. "I'll drive you home."