Chapter Four
"Shigure?" I called, poking my head into his room. He was sitting at his desk, tapping his cheek with a pen. "I'm going out for a walk, so I just thought I'd let you know."
"Okay Rei, don't get lost," Shigure replied distractedly.
"I won't," I promised, and made my way outside. I walked along the path in the woods, twirling around boredly every now and then.
I let my mind wander around. I wondered when school started, since I hadn't noticed the Sohmas going. Were they on break? I struggled to remember what day it had been when the fire started, but that part of my life seemed to be a fog in my mind. I couldn't remember.
It was incredible, how settled in I already was. Tohru had been right, I really felt like I belonged there. Even though Kyo has anger management issues and Yuki is always so calm and formal, Shigure and Tohru were always so kind…
I looked around me in surprise, not recognizing my surroundings. Surely I couldn't have walked very far from the house? I turned and started walking back the way I'd come, but only succeeded in getting more lost.
I sighed and just kept walking. I was bound to hit civilization at some point, anyway. I stared off to my right and tried not to think about what kind of weirdo's could be wandering around out here.
I wasn't watching where I'd been walking, so I was taken by complete surprise when the ground dropped out from under me. I wailed in surprise and squeezed my eyes shut.
Someone grabbed hold of my hand. They were too late to stop me from falling, but whoever it was pulled me close and sheltered most of the head-long tumble. We landed with a hard thump at the bottom of the steep hill, and I was sprawled on top of my rescuer.
I shook my head dazed. "I'm sorry, I'm so sorr— Kyo?!" I exclaimed, surprised when I looked up to see the familiar bright hair.
He stared back at me, just as surprised. I blushed when I realized I was still lying on top of him, and his arms were wrapped firmly around me.
His grip loosened slightly and I sat up, rolling off to the side and away from him slightly. "Sorry, sorry, and… thanks."
"No problem…" He replied, sounding distant. He sat up too, and rubbed at the back of his head. "Ow…"
"Ohmigosh, are you hurt?! Ehh, I'm so sorry!" I cried, flailing about uselessly.
"Calm down, chill, I'm fine. I just hit my head, there's just a few scrapes," He assured me, standing up and then holding his hand out to help me. "What about you? Are you okay?"
"Um, yeah, I think so," I murmured, taking his outstretched hand. "OH! Ow, ow, never mind!" I snatched my hand back, rubbing at my tender wrist. "I must have twisted it the wrong way… Ah I'm so sorry, you went through all the trouble and I still got hurt… I knew I would be a burden…"
"Stop that," He said, taking my other hand and helping me up. "You sound like Ritsu. You're not a burden."
"Who's Ritsu?" I asked confusedly.
"Oh, that's right, you haven't met the other Sohmas yet… He's my cousin. He. Keep that in mind if you ever meet him."
"Um… Okay?" I was confused, but I didn't question it. "Do you have any clue where we are? I kind of told Shigure I wouldn't get lost, but… It didn't work."
He snickered slightly and nodded. "Come on, there's a path up the hill this way."
We walked a little ways to the path he'd mentioned, and I blushed slightly when he took my hand to help me up it. He let go again as soon as we reached the top, and my hand seemed cold afterwards.
He didn't talk for most of the time, and I wanted to ask about it, but I really didn't want to pry. A few more moments of biting my lip to keep my mouth shut, and I gave up. "What are you thinking about?" I blurted.
His head snapped back slightly, caught by surprise. "What? Nothing. Just family stuff, I guess."
"Oh… Is something wrong? Is your family fighting or something? Or is it totally unrelated to that?" I blushed slightly. "Sorry, I don't mean to be pushy about it."
"No, it's fine." He murmured, talking as if he were only half paying attention. "It's… just kind of a long story."
"Well… If you want to talk about it or anything, my ears are open." I assured, and then let the walk drop back into a silence that was only slightly awkward.
When we got close to the house, he turned to look at me. "You want me to call Hatori about your wrist?" He sounded concerned.
"Oh, no, don't trouble him. I'll just wrap it up, I'll be fine." I said, flashing him a convincing smile.
Shigure came out of the kitchen with a small container of left-over takeout, having heard us return. "You two are full of dirt," He pointed out. "A little bit of lover's wrestling?" He asked, waggling his eyebrows suggestively.
I blushed bright red, and there was a flash of color in front of me. A moment later Shigure held his head and glared at Kyo. "Well, you don't have to hit me. You know I'm only teasing." I looked at Kyo, and sure enough, he had one hand balled into a fist. I hadn't even seen him move, he was so fast.
"Well… I'm going to go change out of these clothes and wash them…." I murmured and dashed upstairs to avoid any more awkward comments from Shigure. I only took a minute to change, and then walked downstairs with a basket of laundry. I stopped by Kyo, who was just lounging around. I balanced the basket on my hip and tugged at his shirt with my free hand. "Gimme this, it's dirty."
He gave me a look, but obediently turned away and took off his shirt. I gasped and dropped my basket. "Kyo, you are hurt! Why didn't you tell me?" There was a huge scrape running from one shoulder down to the opposite side of his lower back.
"I'm fine, it's not a big deal." He said, throwing his shirt into the laundry basket.
"Not a big deal! You…" I huffed irritatedly. "Just sit down while I go get the first aid kit!" He gave me a weird look.
"Why does it even matter to you?" He asked, seeming genuinely puzzled.
I stopped in the doorway and turned to stare at him incredulously. "What do you mean why does it matter? Is it bad that I actually care about you? Besides, it is my fault. Just sit down so I can stop freaking out!"
Kyo stared at me for a moment, seeming surprised and confused, and sat down.
I turned and bustled around, chanting "first aid kit, first aid kit, first aid kit!" until I finally found it. Then I darted back to the main room and set the kit down on the table. I felt Kyo's eyes on me, but I ignored him and opened up the box. "Let's see, let's see…." I took out some antibiotic and moved behind Kyo.
"Hey, is this gonna— Augh! That's cold!" He exclaimed, arching his back.
"No, that's just my hands that are cold… Sorry!" I said with an apologetic grimace that he couldn't see.
He grumbled something incoherent and told me to just get it over with. As I watched, the muscles in his back bunched up in preparation for my apparently chilling touch. I forced back a giggle as I kept on dabbing it on, watching his muscles move every time I touched him.
"Are you done yet?" He asked, tensing again as my icy fingers got closer to his side.
"Yyyyyyes," I said, dragging it out so that I finished as I applied the last of the antibiotic. "But I dunno how I'm gonna bandage this…"
"Just leave it like it is then," He suggested, peering at me over his shoulder. He put his hands up defensively at the glare I gave him. "I'll make sure it won't smear or rub off or anything, I swear."
"Yeah, too bad I don't trust you," I said, grabbing a long, rolled-up bandage from the kit. I started wrapping it around his Torso, starting at the top and making my way down.
"I feel like a mummy," He complained.
"That's too bad, this is the best way I could think to do it. You could have just let me fall, you know."
He swiveled around to look at me, and I flicked his head to get him to turn back around so that he wouldn't ruin my handiwork. "Why would I do that?" He asked. "You would've gotten hurt."
"True," I said, finishing with the bandage and tying it off. "But you wouldn't have."
"Let's just go with the fact that it would've damaged my manly pride and leave it at that, kay?" He suggested.
I snickered and stood up. "Because you would've failed to rescue the damsel in distress?"
"Exactly," He muttered, rolling his shoulders experimentally.
"Just keep it that way for like, a day or two, okay? I don't want it to get infectated or anything."
He gave me a weird look. "Infectated?"
"Yeah… I make up words, don't judge me!"
"Uh huh… You should bring that up with Hatori, It would be hilarious if he started using your vocabulary as medical terms… Anyway, I have to go talk to Shigure. Thanks for… you know," He gestured at the bandage.
"Oh, no problem!" I said with a smile, and with that he walked away.
I personally love how cute they were being in this chapter ^^ Reviews appreciated!