Disclaimer: Fruits Basket belongs to far greater minds than mine. As such, this is merely fanfiction for which I make no money.

I don't know why I have such difficulty writing about blood in stool… I guess… because it's gross. But I'm a Certified Nursing Assistant… and I don't even get grossed out by puss…

Chapter Seven

Kyo

I didn't say another word to Yuki. I didn't even get a chance. As soon as I got home, I noticed Hatori's car in the driveway and stalked into the living room to be examined. I was surprised with how much energy I still had. I guess I was expecting to be exhausted or something. Hatori took out his stethoscope and a few other medical instruments I didn't recognize and told me to unbutton my shirt and sit down on the couch. I did as he asked and sat as still as possible while he looked me over.

"Thank you, Kyo," Hatori said when he was through. "Have you had any stomach pain?"

I re-buttoned my shirt. "No," I said. It was kind of true.

"Kyo…"

"Okay, not really." I glared at nothing and wondered for a minute where Yuki went.

"Have you coughed up blood?"

"No."

"Any blood in your st-"

"No, damnit."

Hatori nodded. "How are you feeling emotionally?"

"Just peachy…" I sighed. "Okay… no, not great. Shitty, actually." As if you care.

"How so?"

I suddenly felt a tingling sensation in the pit of my stomach; a fluttering anxiety and I gnawed on my lip.

"Kyo? Is something troubling you?"

"I…" I shivered. The emotional upheaval of that afternoon was running through my mind. I knew I had to tell him what had happened, but I couldn't get the words to come out. I clutched at my stomach. Where's Yuki? I need him…

"Kyo?"

I looked up, it was Yuki's voice that called out to me that time and I was so relieved that I teared up. "C-can you help me?" I asked. "I… I can't say it."

Yuki walked over to Hatori. I looked down at my feet. "When I was walking home today, I came across Kyo in the forest. He… he was standing at the top of a cliff. H-he was going to… he…"

"That's alright, Yuki," Hatori said in his annoyingly impassive voice. "And you stopped him?"

Yuki must have nodded.

"Good," said Hatori. Hatori sat beside me. "Kyo," he said.

I didn't look at him.

"You may not believe me right now, but I'm very glad you didn't jump."

I stared at him then.

"I would have been sad if you'd jumped."

I gnawed on my lower lip.

"Can I trust you not to do something like that again?"

I shrugged. I didn't want to make him a promise like that. I wasn't sure I'd be able to keep it. I just felt so miserable all the time.

"Kyo?" he prompted. "If you can't promise to keep yourself safe, I'll have to take measures to keep you safe. You won't like them."

I didn't say anything for a while. "Just… don't lock me up, okay? I'm not crazy…"

"No, you're not crazy. But I will have to inform Shigure about the danger of leaving you alone and I'd prefer if you tried to avoid being by yourself." He turned to Yuki. "Can I ask you to try to keep Kyo company whenever possible?"

"Yes," said Yuki. I was shocked by how quickly he'd agreed. "I'll do that."

Hatori nodded. "Kyo," he said. "Will you promise to speak with someone if you feel overwhelmed again?"

I shrugged.

"I need you to promise."

"Alright!" I snapped. I stared down at my knees. "I promise…"

Hatori stood. "I'm going to speak with Shigure now." He left.

"Thank you," Yuki said after a few minutes of strained silence.

"For what?"

"For not jumping." He stood there, his arms crossed awkwardly across his chest. I was suddenly struck by how ungraceful he looked. It was seriously adorable.

I blushed. Damnit, what a weird thing to think about another guy… oh shit… it's that again. That weirdness I sometimes feel around Hatsuharu. I gnawed on my lip again. Fuck. I'm such a freak.

"Kyo?"

I looked up at him and was sure my face turned even redder.

"Why are you blushing?"

"I'm not blushing!" My stomach did a weird flip-flopping thing when I looked at him and I suddenly had the strongest desire to do really inappropriate things to him. Grah, damn! "Go away."

"No." Yuki sat next to me. His proximity was making me uncomfortable. I could feel his body heat. I scooted away from him and my whole body cried out in rejection at the action. Damnit, I just tried to kill myself. Now is not the time to be having these weird feelings.

Is there a word for this?

"Y-you're… you're making me nervous."

Yuki frowned. It was obvious that he was confused by my behavior. That makes two of us, I guess.

"Go away!" I shouted.

"No," said Yuki.

"Guh!" I stood up and started up the stairs. I tensed when Yuki followed. "What're you…?"

"I can't leave you alone," Yuki explained.

"B-but-!"

"I'm home!" Tohru called from the door.

Yuki turned to her and smiled. "Welcome home, Honda-san," he greeted her. I was annoyed by how nonchalant he sounded. It was like nothing happened. It's like he didn't just save me from ending it all less than an hour ago… I shivered at the thought.

Damnit. "Hi, Tohru," I said. "What's for dinner?"

"Ah! I'll get started on that right away." She grinned at me and headed for the kitchen. For the first time in a while, her grin filled me from head to foot with warmth.

"Are you going upstairs or staying down here?" Yuki asked.

"I have homework." I started up the stairs. Yuki followed. "Damnit! I'm just doing my homework, I swear!"

"I'll help."

I sighed. He's determined. Damnit. "Do what you want."

In spite of what I said about doing homework, when I got in my room I flopped down on my bed, face-first and ignored Yuki when he sat next to me. We didn't talk; I just lay there with my face buried in my pillow and arms folded under my head while Yuki sat there. I listened to him breathe, the sound making me feel calm and comfortable until it finally lulled me to sleep.

"Kyo?" said Shigure. "Are you sure you don't want to stay home today?"

"Yeah," I said. "I'm fine."

Tohru looked up at me from her breakfast, frowning worriedly. "Did something happen, Kyo-kun?"

"No," I said. "I'm fine."

"Are you sure?" asked Yuki.

"Damnit! I said I'm fine!"

"Are you sure you're sure?" asked Shigure.

"That's it!" I grabbed my book bag and stomped out the door to wait on the porch. "Irritating…"

"We can't help being worried," said Yuki.

I jumped. I hadn't expected him to follow me. Quite frankly, I was annoyed. I knew he was doing it because Hatori told him not to leave me alone. But that didn't make it any less obnoxious. In fact, it annoyed me more that he was forced into it because it meant that he still didn't give a damn. In spite of how he'd acted the night before when he saw….

No, don't think about that right now.

"Although, I suppose Shigure could be less obnoxious about it."

I clenched my fists.

"Try to relax, Kyo," said Yuki. I felt a chill run up my spine when he said my name. His voice was so soft and sultry. I shook my head. "I know it's difficult, but try."

I took a deep breath and unwound my tense muscles. "Are you going to be all nice to me now?"

Yuki was quiet for a while so I looked back at him. He had a pained look on his face. "I could try not to if you want."

I gaped at him. At that moment, though, Tohru walked out the door and we had to start heading for school.

I thought about what Yuki said, while I sat in class, how he could try not to be nice to me. Like it was hard or something. I stared at the back of his head and nibbled on my pencil. I'd started using those when I exploded my pen in Chemistry. Or was it Calculus? I couldn't remember anymore.

Yuki cleared his throat and leaned back. Every muscle in my body tensed and the hairs on the back of my neck stood on end. He'd almost leaned into my arm. I jerked back out of reflex and Yuki frowned at me over his shoulder.

Oh man, those eyes…

I turned my attention back to our Chemistry teacher. He was demonstrating how Sodium reacted violently to water. He dropped a chunk of pure Sodium into a beaker and it spun around for a moment and then exploded. The whole class jumped and Yuki actually did bump my arm. The contact sent an electric current up my arm and into my chest. Before I could stop myself, I'd run my fingertips over the back of his neck. Yuki shivered and gave me a questioning look over his shoulder. I chewed on my pencil and shrugged.

I spent the rest of the hour trying not to reach out and touch him again.

My fingertips were still tingling when we were walking home that day. Tohru walked between us, talking excitedly about how Momiji was taking her on a date that weekend. Yuki smiled and responded politely. I stayed quiet, trying to quell the anxiety and depression that had been swirling in my stomach like a sickness the entire day.

"He's gotten so tall this last month!" Tohru exclaimed. A faint blush crossed her cheeks. "He's… really cute…"

"Yes," said Yuki. "I agree. Not my type though," he amended.

I stared at him. Did he just seriously make a… comment about Momiji being attractive? I was so busy staring at Yuki in disbelief that I didn't notice the tree in front of me until I'd already crashed into it. I sprang up. "Damn tree! I'll kill you."

I felt a hand grab the back of my head and yank me onto the path. "Ghua… lemme go!"

Yuki abruptly let go, laughing. "That sound you just made…" he laughed a bit harder. "I've never heard a person make that sound."

"I'll make you make a sound…" I ground my teeth.

Yuki

Kyo's comment immediately made me fall quiet, it brought to mind several types of sounds that he might force out of me and it gave me the chills. I wonder how he'd feel if he knew how exciting that sounded.. He didn't seem to notice that I'd suddenly fallen silent and we continued home without further incident. I was glad, though. His energetic reaction made me feel slightly better. He still seemed to have a dark cloud over his head and I wanted him to start acting like himself again.

The three of us walked upstairs and Tohru went to her room to change out of her uniform. I followed Kyo into his bedroom. He stared at me. "I'm going to change," he said.

I raised my eyebrows at him.

He sighed. "I'm not going to do anything."

I didn't leave.

Kyo growled and walked over to his closet. He pulled out a new outfit and started changing. I turned away to give him some privacy and only turned back when I heard him stomp over to his bed.

"You gonna wear your uniform all day?" he asked.

I shrugged and walked over to perch on the edge of his desk. He scowled and fiddled with the hem of his dark red shirt. I liked that shirt on him. He looked best in warm colors, particularly red. I didn't realize I'd been staring at his hands until he reached up and pulled me toward him by my tie. "What?" he asked.

I grasped his hand and pried it from my tie, then, I straightened up and smoothed the creases he'd made.

"This sucks," said Kyo.

"I agree," I said.

"Then go away! I didn't ask you to babysit me."

I rolled my eyes. He's such an idiot sometimes. "I meant that your attitude sucks. I wish you'd tell someone what's so horrible." I gnawed on my bottom lip. "I'm worried. Please tell someone what's wrong."

"Everything's wrong, okay! I hate everything."

I cringed. I hadn't expected him to explode like that.

"And it makes no goddamn sense! I'm miserable all the time because I can't blame you for what happened." He stared down at his knees. "And that means I have to take all the blame on myself."

"What happened?"

Kyo flopped backward on his bed. "Forget it."

I stood. I was clearly upsetting him. "Leave your door open," I said and then I left his room.