A/N: Special props goes to Nina. The reviewer who guessed what was going to happen next. Seriously? Are you a mind reader, Nina? Or maybe you hacked into my computer and read the couple of sentences I had written. Oh, well. All you reviewers and readers are AWESOME!
Disclaimer: Again? I think you guys get the picture.
Kyo was pushing his food pointlessly around the plate. Tohru was finally convinced he was well enough to eat solid food, but Kyo didn't have an appetite. He heard Ayame's obnoxious voice from downstairs but his closed door muffled it so that the words were indecipherable. Suddenly he heard a big crash. Kyo bolted upright but figured someone downstairs would take care of it. He laid back down even though he was dying to see what had happened. Tohru would probably freak out about him getting up over nothing and she'd apologize a million times for the interruption. Eventually, Kyo decided that there was nothing wrong with taking his tray of food back downstairs. The family couldn't get mad at him for that, right?
He slowly made his way down the stairs and hesitantly peaked around the corner. No one was there so Kyo strode in confidently. Where was everybody? Kyo heard some noise on the porch and decided to investigate. Kyo finally got a good view of the scene unraveling. Was that Yuki? Why was he looking at Tohru like that? Why were they so close? Why were they…
Oh my gosh! Kyo felt even more sick. They're kissing! Why are they kissing? Kyo whirled around and stumbled toward the kitchen to return his plate of food. He could barely think straight.
"K-Kyo?" Tohru appeared behind him. "What are you doing out of bed?" Kyo turned to face her but when he did, he didn't see the Tohru in front of him. He saw the Tohru being kissed by the rat and Kyo wanted to shrivel away into nothing. His heart was pounding so hard in his chest that it hurt and it seemed as if someone had plugged up his ears for he could only hear the sound of his blood rushing through him.
"Kyo, are you alright?" Tohru looked extremely worried.
"I-I'm fine," he finally choked out. Footsteps announced another presence in the room but Kyo was too stunned to turn and see who it was.
"Kyo?" Kyo tensed up as he recognized the voice to be Yuki's. "You shouldn't be out of bed."
"I've already spent half the day walking around outside," Kyo snapped, but he still couldn't look at Yuki. Instead he gripped the counter and stared at the floor. "What is one trip to the kitchen going to hurt?"
"What do you mean you've been out all day?" Tohru squealed.
"It was nothing," Yuki sighed.
"How can you say that?" Tohru's panicky voice echoed through the house which of course caught the attention of Shigure and Ayame.
"It's alright," Shigure tried to comfort Tohru. "Hatori will be here any minute to pick up Ayame and he can check-up on Kyo then."
"I don't need a check-up. I'm fine!" Kyo spoke up.
"Well, Kyo," Shigure spoke very calmly which was odd because Ayame was still around, "It's really not up to you to decide that. You should have thought of the consequences before you wondered through the woods."
"The rat was the one who dragged me out there!" Kyo defended himself.
"You were set on going outside anyway," Yuki pointed out.
"I just wanted some fresh air. I wasn't going to-"
"That's enough," Hatori cut Kyo off. "It doesn't matter what you intended to do, you weren't supposed to get out of bed, let alone go outside. Why are you out of bed right now as well?"
"I-" Kyo began.
"It doesn't matter," Hatori interrupted. "Tohru, please escort Kyo to his room. Call if you have any troubles."
"Okay," Tohru jumped to Kyo's side.
"I can get there myself," Kyo griped.
"Don't cause more trouble for yourself," Hatori warned. Kyo and Tohru finally left and Hatori whipped around to face the others. Upon Hatori's questioning, the group reluctantly relayed the story of the day's events. "Why do I even bother giving orders if everyone refuses to follow them?"
"Well, it's not like we were deliberately disregarding them," Shigure timidly spoke up.
"Weren't you?" Hatori glared. "I suppose you all just accidentally pushed Kyo out the door and into the woods where he can easier extract more viruses or bacteria due to his weakened immune system. Yuki, I know you aren't particalularly fond of Kyo, but he is sick and he is another human being. I expected you to show a little bit more reason. Shigure, you shouldn't have let the two be alone. Because the two hate each other so much, the stress could cause Kyo to become even sicker. And Ayame, you should have stopped Yuki from dragging Kyo outside. Are you three trying to get the idiot killed?"
"He seemed to be a lot better. I didn't see how it could hurt," Yuki shrugged.
"That's true," Shigure stepped in. "Kyo does seem a lot better. A little more rest and he should bne right back on his feet."
"So you're a doctor, now?" Hatori still glared at them all disapprovingly. "I'll go up and check on him. For the sake of all three of you, he better not have picked up something from today's ventures."
The three nodded, actually taking his threat seriously. Hatori left to check on his patient and then Shigure turned to Yuki.
"You know," he casually remarked. "It is strange that you took Kyo with you on your little rampage."
"Kyo was annoying me by insisting he go outside and Ayame was just annoying me so I left," Yuki explained.
"Well, you could have left the house without Kyo," Shigure reasoned.
"You told me to look after him," Yuki responded through gritted teeth.
"Yes, but it's not like you had to listen to me," Shigure examined Yuki intensely. "Are you sure there is nothing going on with you two?" Yuki responded with a deadly glare.
"Because you two would make a cute couple! You are always arguing like married people anyway," Shigure added in a lighter tone. Ayame agreed and began jumping up and down with Shigure.
"Enough!" Yuki smashed his fist into the wall to catch their attention.
"Yuki," Shigure whined, "Please don't break the house."
"All this talk of something going on between Kyo and me is ridiculous! I hate him just as much as always. Actually, I hate him even more! Will you guys shut-up about all this stupid make-believe nonsense about the cat and the rat getting along? It's never going to happen!" Yuki was bubbling over with raw anger by the time his speech was finished.
"We were only kidding," Shigure dismissed the matter. "It's not like you to get this worked up about things."
"It's because I've had to spend half of the day with that stupid cat and then enjoy the company of my ludicrous brother," Yuki reasoned.
"Oh, really?" Ayame squealed. "You enjoyed my company? This is the greatest day of my life! Hatori! You'll never guess what Yuki just said!"
It was a good thing Hatori was already coming down the stairs because otherwise Ayame would have rushed up the stairs, barged into Kyo's room just to deliver the news. Hatori ignored him and made his way over to Shigure and Yuki.
"It's still a bit too early to tell if Kyo has caught something else," Hatori explained. "However, Kyo definitely hasn't gotten any better from the first time I saw him even though we should have seen some improvement by now. Here is a prescription to help keep it from becoming a severe infection. It should work better than over-the-counter medication. Kyo should stay home for the rest of the week. I will check on him again on Saturday; However, if he seems to get any worse by developing a fever, high amounts of coughing, or if he coughs something up call me immediately." Yuki and Shigure nodded at each of these statements.
"Someone is to be home with him at all times," Hatori continued. They nodded once more and then Hatori left, taking Ayame with him. Silence seemed to swallow the household. No one wanted to speak up so it was only suiting that everyone went to bed.
Later on, everyone was dreaming peacefully. Everyone except Kyo, that is. Kyo kept twisting and turning trying to get comfortable but it was hopeless. He kept getting chills even though he was wrapped up in blankets. His coughing wracked his body and made it impossible to drift off to sleep. Finally, his throat dry and scratched, Kyo was only consumed with one need. Water.
Kyo called out for assistance but it everyone was too deep in there sleep to here the hoarse cry. Eventually his brain reached the conclusion that he'd have to get it himself. Kyo didn't want to and he knew he wasn't supposed to but even when Kyo feebly banged the wall, no one came to the rescue.
He didn't know how he reached the door to his room, when every step caused him to cough harder. Maybe someone would here him now. But as Kyo waited, it was confirmed that no one was awake. Giving up hope, Kyo concentrated on the simple tasks he must perform.
Down the steps, one bump at a time. Slowly make a path to the kitchen. Now look for a glass. In the cabinet. A glass. Now fill it with water. To the sink. Water.
He lifted the glass to his lips and relaxed as the cool liquid slid down his throat, relieving the burning sensation. But once the water was past his throat, the sting returned. He gulped down the remaining liquid in his glass and went to fill it with more water. But Kyo was tired and his head was pounding so instead the glass slipped from his grasp and smashed to the floor. Kyo heard the groan of someone awakening. Good. Now someone can help him. He bent over and began to pick up the glass but was cut by the sharp shards.
"Kyo? What are you doing up?" Tohru was obviously worried so Kyo rushed to assure her that he was fine. However the words stuck and before he got his voice back, Tohru noticed his bloody hands.
"Kyo! Are you alright?" Torhu screamed. Her screech, of course, alerted the rest of the house. Urgent footsteps echoed in his head as Shigure and Yuki entered the room and rushed toward him.
This was all wrong. He didn't want their comfort. He just wanted water. He wanted the pain to go away. He wanted the throbbing in his head to ease off. He wanted the world to stop being so loud. He wanted to be left alone. Dammit! Leave me alone! Their footsteps slowed and Kyo realized his voice had finally started working again. But still, why was the room spinning? Kyo lurched forward, trying to get to his room and leave everyone behind. He shoved past Yuki and Shigure and headed for the stairs. He bumped into the walls several times. Subconsciously, Kyo knew the world wasn't moving at all but Kyo couldn't seem to walk straight and he blamed the walls for moving on him. Going up the stairs, his stumbling around seemed to be straighter and he thought he was getting better. That is until he noticed someone's arms wrapped around his waist, guiding him to his room.
He followed his gaze from the arms to the person attached to him. It was a gray-haired, purple-eyed boy who looked lovely. Kyo was tempted to reach out and touch his pale skin. But this boy was familiar and Kyo knew he was supposed to be mad at him. But how could he be mad at such a beautiful creature? Kyo didn't even feel himself being put into bed, but by that time he remembered why he hated the handsome boy. He had kissed someone else. But the boy was supposed to be his and no one else's.
"I hate you," Kyo barely whispered. He wasn't sure if the boy had heard him or not. At last, his world faded into darkness.
A/N: Sorry for the slow update. The fact is I might not be able to get to this for awhile. In fact, I wouldn't have even finished this chapter by now if it hadn't been for the reviews. They made me feel guilty for not writing this more. But I have stuff going on that I really shouldn't get into. I'm just full of excuses, right? Sorry about that. I promise I will try to write as fast as possible anyway. Also, please excuse any mistakes because I am writing this so late at night and I woke up so early and…yeah, whatever. Hope you liked.