He had transformed. Out of all the things that could have happened on Shinichi's short sleepover visit, he just had to transform. All things considered, Kyo should have seen it coming. Hatori had certainly warned him about this occurrence often enough. When you were sick, your body's immune system was weakened considerably. Its main focus was on putting the body back into a proper system of good health. Meanwhile the curse that the zodiac members lived with was only concerned with its survival. It would therefore take over the body, becoming the only body system capable of being properly healed, and often would not allow the cursed being to return to human form until survival was certain.

When you were sick enough, you were nearly guaranteed to turn into the animal you had grown to despise. You could try to fight it. You could try to avoid it with every precaution you could think of. Either way, the effort was always going to be a goodhearted waste of breath. If the body could not fight something, you were not going to do any better.

With the drastic change in size, Kyo had to now look up in order to see Shinichi. Though, the boy turned kitten was less than eager to do so. What would he see if he were to look? Fear? Disbelief? Disgust? He wouldn't be able to take it. How would he be able to stomach it? How could he handle his best friend looking at him in disgust, fear taking over the soft affection that used to be there? It would kill him.

Shinichi could only look at the kitten standing before him, surrounded by a pile of clothes Kyo was wearing two seconds prior. He couldn't quite get his mouth to function properly, and so it went through quite a lengthy process where it opened and closed without any trace of sound. After doing a dashingly good impression of a fish for about five minutes, he finally found his mouth forming a single word.

"Kyo?"

The cat could not look at him anymore. That voice, even with that one simple word seeming to question what exactly it was supposed to sound like, was too much to take. He needed to run. He needed to get away. He would think about the specifics later. He just needed to get somewhere else now.

Well, he tried at the very least. He neglected to take into the account some hidden law of the universe that stated that the amount of panic you held in any given situation was directly proportional to how likely you were to fail in your attempts to flee. He had also forgotten the rule that said you were almost guaranteed to trip over anything in your given vicinity the more desperately you were trying to run away from someone. So, because Kyo had ignored the hidden laws of the universe, he tripped over his piled clothes and fell flat on the floor. He still tried to get up to make an escape, but his body was too tried to let him. It decided it was fine where it was. Again, when the body decided, you were pretty much stuck with its decision.

He let out a pitiful little mewl, staying perfectly still so as to not cause his body any more harm. He immediately heard hurried footsteps, and then he felt himself being gently picked up. A moment later he looked into concerned blue eyes.

"Are you okay?"

To which Kyo miserably replied, "No!" He then began sniffling.

Shinichi, obviously panicked by the appearance of any form of crying, tried rocking the cat in his arms. He wasn't quite sure if that was the right thing to do to comfort people, but he had seen his mother do it when a baby was crying. Same principal applied here, right? Probably not, but he hoped the thought of the gesture was enough of a comfort.

After a few tense minutes of silence and awkward rocking, Shinichi decided that it was probably best to say something to his scared friend. "Are you okay?" No, that was a dumb question. "Do I need to call a doctor?" What would he even say if one showed up? 'Hi, my best friend turned into a talking cat, can you turn him back?'

Kyo spared him the possibility of the ridiculous situation. "Bad idea!" He started coughing, or, rather, mewling. Shinichi only thought it was coughing because the boy turned cat's body would convulse slightly like one would usually do when overtaken by a coughing fit. "I can't let anybody see me like this!"

Shinichi held back on saying that he was seeing his best friend turn into a cat, but he had a feeling that that would not be very appropriate right at the moment. "Uh...then what do I do?"

"Not run away?" It was a meager and pitiful little request, and had Shinichi been a girl he might have squealed and tightly squeezed the kitten to his chest.

However, he was a very mature young man who knew that squealing would have made Kyo's headache worse, and squeezing was definitely one of the more painful ways of showing affection. So he very gently hugged the boy turned kitten a bit tighter, just a bit, and hummed some terribly off beat tune. He was actually quite unaware of what the melody was and he had a sneaking suspicion that he had merely made it up two seconds prior, but he needed to do something to keep his mouth shut and away from bad topics of conversation. Humming seemed like the best option.

Kyo found himself feeling comforted by the vibrations he felt, being so close to the detective's chest. "Are you okay?"

"Uh-huh," Shinichi knew he sounded squeaky and very doubtful, but he had no time to care. "Will you tell me the truth if I ask you a question?"

"Yes."

"Are you dying?"

Kyo actually finally managed to look Shinichi in the eye. He was surprised to see blue eyes looking worriedly down at him. "What?" He shook his head. "No, I'm not dying."

"So...this is normal? There is nothing about this situation that requires immediate medical attention?"

The boy needed to learn to speak English when Kyo was not feeling well. It was difficult to translate genius when his head was still pounding so strongly. "Yeah, it's a normal thing for my family. Some of us, not all of us, just some, turn into these animals sometimes. It's not bad, just a little different?"

Shinichi plopped down to the floor. He swallowed up spit and tried to smile as honestly as he could. But he was nervous and Kyo could easily tell. "Okay. I can handle that. This is normal." He said mostly to himself. "This is normal."

It was then that Kyo realized that it was not the fact that he had turned into a cat that was bothering Shinichi. It was the simple fact that Shinichi just did not understand the process by which it was done. That was an odd little quirk about the small detective. He could deal with just about anything. Murder, tragedies, walks of life, anything that the world could throw at him. He just had to understand it first. Motives, circumstances, how things played out, all things of that nature needed to be explained. Without them, the brunette was lost and upset. He just needed to know how; he only wanted to know why. After those facts had been gathered he was much more comfortable in the situation.

Meaning all Kyo had to do to remedy the problem at hand was to tell the boy what little he knew about his curse. "I'll tell you about it."

Shinichi blinked in confusion. "Huh?" His voice was still very nervous, and Kyo wished he would gain back the confidence that the Sohma was used to. "What did you say?"

"I'll tell you all about this, this curse, so that you can understand what's going on a bit better. If you want to hear it, that is."

Shinichi nodded. "Yeah, I would."

"But you have to promise me something first."

"What is it?"

"Please," His voice was begging, Kyo knew it was, but this was important. The time for pleading was extremely appropriate for this given situation. "Just don't run away after I finish telling you."

Shinichi laughed. This time the sound was sincere and free of lingering doubt. "If I haven't run screaming at the sight of a talking cat, I'm pretty sure nothing else is going to chase me off."

Kyo smiled. Perhaps, he thought to himself, this transformation had been a blessing in disguise. At least, for now, there was one less secret he had to keep from a person most dear to him. "Alright, so, here's the thing,"

Kyo could smell the sweat coming down his own brow. He assumed that he still had a fever, and that the heat radiating from his entire body was the cause of said body's sudden rise in internal temperature. The room around him was cold, though, giving a nice contrast to the heat of his flesh. Someone must have opened the window, allowing a comfortable form of breathable air into his bedroom. Did someone open a window for him? Was it Tohru? She had been the one to miraculously bring him into his room, right? She must have been desperately trying to make him comfortable enough to survive until Hatori could make it to the house. Did she even call Hatori, or did he imagine that pleading phone call?

His thoughts were interrupted by a familiar scent. The broth of a favorite soup coupled with the sweet tangy smell of a loved drink. He recognized it almost immediately as his long time sickbed meal, and the realization brought forth the image of the boy it was often associated with.

"Shinichi?"

A moment later the redhead felt a cool hand on his forehead. His body relaxed instinctively at the touch, and a content sigh escaped through his lips. He could somehow tell, even without opening his eyes, that the other boy was smiling.

"How'd you know it was me?"

Kyo smiled. "I caught the scent of death in the air."

The hand on his head was removed for a short second before it returned to flick him on the forehead. "Watch it." The voice said playfully.

"Sorry." At the sound of an apology, the brunette returned his hand to Kyo's head and began running through the red locks. The feeling of gentle fingers running through his hair was extremely soothing to the sick cat.

"Are you going to open your eyes?"

Kyo hummed softly. "What kind of prize do I get if I do?"

"Some food and a drink that might make you feel better."

A red eye popped open. He knew the answer he would receive, but he asked anyway. "What kind?"

Shinichi smiled. "Miso soup and cranberry juice. Do you feel up to it?"

Kyo tried pushing himself up until he was able to sit up. He was able to get onto his elbows before the strain of his movements proved to be too much for him. "Oi, I need help."

Shinichi placed a hand on the redhead's waist and hook his other arm around his friend's shoulders. With a bit of help from the bedridden boy the detective was able into hoist his friend to a sitting position. Once Kyo settled himself against the headboard, he was handed a tray full of his favorite sick meal.

Kyo looked up to Shinichi and offered a grateful smile. "Thanks for this, Shinichi."

The other returned his expression. "Don't worry about it." His eyes sobered a bit. "You scared me half to death when I found out you were sick."

Kyo took a spoonful of soup into his mouth. It was a lot better than the last time he had tasted the dish. Shinichi had improved his culinary skills. "I'm surprised you're here. How'd you find out about it?"

"Tohru-Chan called me and let me know."

Kyo smirked at the change in address. "Tohru-Chan?"

Shinichi huffed and turned to the side to hide the flush on his face. "She wouldn't let me call her by her last name." He turned back to Kyo, eyes serious and stern. "You should really apologize to her once you feel better. She was so worried about you she nearly made herself sick."

The redhead frowned. "She was?" Now he felt guilty. "I never meant for her to get so upset."

Shinichi's gaze softened. "What happened? I was only gone for a few days. How did you manage to get so sick in so little time?"

Kyo swallowed another spoonful of soup before answering. "It was just a cold. I didn't even realize I was that bad until I was two feet away from the floor."

Shinichi ran a hand through his head and plopped down on the bed. "How could you not notice?" Blue eyes pleaded for an answer. "It's not like you to take such poor care of yourself."

Kyo sighed. That desperation to understand was still very much present in the detective's core. What could the cat say to soothe his friend this time? "I got too distracted by your visit. I was just so happy to see you; I guess I ignored what was going on with my own body in order to spend one more second with you before you left again." He set sad eyes on his friend. "Are you mad?"

Shinichi looked like he wanted to be mad, but in the end he just sighed and shook his head. "Just scared. Do me a favor and keep yourself relatively healthy from now on?"

Kyo gave a toothy grin. "I'll try."

Shinichi rolled his eyes, but he too was smiling. "Brat."

"Know it all."

The detective snorted before standing up from the bed. "I have to go help Tohru-Chan in the kitchen. Are you going to be alright on your own for a while?"

Kyo waved his hand. "Go on. I've got all I need." Yet the other did not move. "I'll be fine! Go clean!"

Shinichi shuffled his feet and turned his head to the side. Kyo wondered what was making the boy act so nervous. "I have a small request to ask of you."

The redhead blinked. "A request?"

Shinichi nodded. "Just a small one. It won't be that hard to fulfill."

"What is it?"

The detective finally found the nerve to look back to Kyo, face slightly red in the cheeks. "Do you think you could start calling me Shin again, like you used to when we were kids?"

Kyo felt his own face flame up. He quickly took several large gulps of juice to cover up his embarrassment. Where on earth had that question come from? He hadn't used that name since the day after he became a teenager.

"Tohru-Chan said you kept calling me that in your sleep." The detective helpfully informed him, making the red on Kyo's face deepen.

How embarrassing was that?

"You don't have to call me that." Shinichi was quick to assure him. "I'm not going to force you to. I just liked the name. So..." He looked like he wanted to say more, but at last he shook his head and made a beeline for the door.

Why was the room suddenly so hot? Was his fever returning? Come to think of it, had it even gone away yet?

"Shin," Kyo called out, head bent low, causing the detective to look back to the boy. "After you're done in the kitchen, be sure to come back for these dishes. Shigure will throw a fit if I leave them lying around."

When Kyo finally thought it safe to look up, he was met with brightly shining blue eyes and a smile that could somehow make Kyo burn with an intensity completely unrelated to his fever. Then, Shinichi disappeared into the hall and the Sohma saw fit to breathe correctly again. Being sick made his body act very strangely indeed.

Hours later, Kyo awoke to an unfamiliar but pleasant smelling cologne. His tired mind informed him that he had finished his meal moment after Shinichi had left his side, placed the dishes on the bedside table, and had managed to fall into a somewhat deep and peaceful slumber before the brunette had a chance to return. It was a bit of a shame. Kyo wanted to talk to him some more, maybe rid them of the awkwardness that bringing up and old nickname had caused. Had the detective gone home when he had seen that his temporary charge had fallen asleep?

Upon opening his eyes, Kyo realized that, no, Shinichi had not left. He had apparently decided to make himself comfortable and settle in next to his friend. Kyo wondered how his bed could always be so comfy with two people snuggled up against each other even though it was only made for one person. He also wondered how Shinichi had managed to sneak into his bed and get Kyo to move over enough so that the two of them could actually sleep next to each other in relative comfort.

A soft buzzing noise brought the cat's attention towards the brunette's jacket pocket. A soft glow emanated from the light blue fabric, bringing to light a small square screen. Normally the two things did not bother him too much. They were small and insignificant. Sometimes Kyo did not even notice them when they occurred around him. Today was different. Today those vibrations seemed to be the same as the ringing of a large grandfather clock. How did Shinichi not hear it?

Two minutes of constant buzzing, later and Shinichi's refusal to awaken from his comfortable state of sleep, Kyo decided that enough was enough and that there was one thing left to do. Regardless of how awkward this decision would be that noise needed to be stopped. Now. So, after taking a small amount of time to collect himself, he reached into Shinichi's pocket to reach for the phone. Without even thinking it about it, he pressed the receiver button once the device was in his hand and placed it against his ear.

"Hello?" He commended himself for sounding so calm when he was so very tired. "Can I help you?"

"How cruel of you, Tantei-Kun," A voice cooed out. "Leaving in the middle of a heist like that without warning. How mean."

Kyo blinked. He made a mental note to never again answer a phone after he had just woken up. His ability to understand the flow of conversation diminished with a lack of sleep. He tried several times to make sense of what the person on the other end of the phone had said, but in the end he couldn't get a grip on what it was that the other wanted. So he gave up and simply asked, "Excuse me?"

A soft hum was heard. "You sound so surprised." Kyo didn't have to act to sound the part. "Did you really think I'd just let this go? Not too great a deduction there, is it detective?"

The voice was teasing, but something about it made Kyo uneasy. He didn't like the confidence in the voice, harmless though it may have seemed. Something about the underlying attitude it stemmed from irritated the cat in reasons he was not yet sure of. Just who was this guy? "Who is this?"

There was silence. "Funny, Tantei-Kun, you almost sound serious."

It finally occurred to Kyo that this was Shinichi's phone, and that was who the caller thought he was. It amused the redhead slightly that they had been speaking for a few minutes already, and yet the other person could not determine that he was speaking to the teenager he had called for. Kyo supposed that their voices sounded similar on the phone. "I'm sorry, but I'm not who you're looking for." He smiled at the figure sleeping next to him. "Shin can't come to the phone right now."

"Shin?" The puzzled voice asked.

It made Kyo glad that he could not see the person he was currently speaking to. His face was as red as a tomato and the teenage Sohma could not be anymore mortified. He remembered, somewhat bitterly, why he had stopped referring to Shinichi by that affectionate nickname in the first place. It had been a cute address when they were children, as well as a testament to how much he had loved his best friend. However, the older Kyo became, the more that innocent name seemed to inadvertently insinuate. After one too many instances of the detective being mistaken for his boyfriend, Kyo started using the boy's full name.

Once that nickname came out of Kyo's mouth, it was very difficult for it to stop coming out.

"Shinichi Kudo." Kyo said after a moment. "Famous detective? Modern day Holmes? That's who you're looking for, right?" He didn't wait for an answer. "He can't come to the phone right now. He's kind of unconscious."

Perhaps unconscious might have been a poor word to use. It certainly was not said in the way this person on the phone had taken it. When he spoke again, his voice was suddenly filled with a calm anger. "What have you done to Tantei-Kun?"

Kyo, for his part, did not appreciate the accusation in that voice. The other made it sound as though he had kidnapped Shinichi for some vile purpose. "Nothing." He said irritably. "He's right here and he's just fine. He's simply indisposed of right now."

Kyo swore he heard the other growl. "I want to speak to him. Now."

Pushy much? Who did this guy think he was? Kyo had half a mind to say 'no' and hang up. It certainly was what he wanted to do. But he got the feeling that such a thing would be a mistake. This person seemed like the type to call thirty times even if a phone was off, and the redhead had a feeling that ignoring him was a lot more trouble than it was really worth. "Please hold on, you highness." He spat out sarcastically.

The hand that wasn't holding onto the cell phone gently shook the sleeping detective. Shinichi mumbled something in his sleep, but refused to wake up. Kyo shook the boy harder. Still, Shinichi refused to stray into the world of consciousness.

"Shin," Kyo called out softly yet firmly. "I need you to get up."

Shinichi opened one eye, and somehow managed to glare with the other still closed. "Why?"

Kyo held up the phone for the other to see. "Someone wants to speak to you."

"I'm tired."

Kyo rolled his eyes. "I know, I am too. So be a good boy and speak to this jerk so that we can both go beddy bye."

Shinichi groaned and tried to fuse himself into the mattress. "Don't wanna."

Kyo laughed. "Are you seriously this tired?"

Shinichi hummed in the affirmative. "And cold too. So hang up and give me back my human furnace."

Kyo purposely chuckled into the phone. For some reason he found himself reveling in the aggravated sounds his actions received. "This person seems really eager to talk to you. It'll be impolite to ignore them." Though, a part of Kyo really hoped that Shinichi wouldn't care.

The detective sighed. "Can we compromise?"

He was just too cute to say no too. "Sure."

"Give me back my furnace and I'll answer the phone."

Kyo rolled his eyes, but he already knew he would comply with the request. Without a single fuss the redhead lowered himself back down to the bed, handing over the phone before tucking his head under Shinichi's chin. He could not help but feel sleepy at the arrangement.

The detective suddenly felt so comfortable, he just wanted to fall back asleep. However, he forced himself to place his cell phone next to his ear. "Shinichi Kudo speaking."

"Tantei-Kun! Are you all right?"

Shinichi seriously hoped that Kyo didn't feel how his body tensed at the sound if that voice. "How did you get this number?"

"What kind of tone is that? I was worried about you."

Don't scream. Don't shout. Don't cry. "Why are you calling me?"

"I told you I was worried. You suddenly vanished into thin air without even finishing the game."

Stay calm. Don't raise your voice. Keep your cool. "You took too long and I had somewhere I needed to be."

He spared a glance down to Kyo who had miraculously gotten himself into a semi deep sleep like state. He still felt a bit warmer than Shinichi would have liked, and he was obviously a lot more tired than he should have been after sleeping for long amounts of time. Still, at least he was not thrashing about in misery and pain. That was an improvement at least.

"Where are you?" The voice on the phone cut through his thoughts. It sounded so concerned.

All it did was put Shinichi even more on edge. "You don't need to know that?"

"Tantei-Kun," The other said soothingly. "I didn't mean it the way it sounded."

Don't panic. Don't panic. Don't panic. "The answer is still the same."

"What's wrong with you? Why do you sound so odd?"

Shinichi swallowed harshly. "Nothing's wrong. You didn't need to call."

He was probably being unfair. The thief on the other end of the line had a legitimate reason to be concerned. When their shared history was taken into account, disappearing without so much as a word was always a reason to go into an immediate state of panic. This was especially true when Shinichi, the death magnet, was concerned. Yet, even though the detective was well aware of this, he still could not fight the agitation that arose inside of him.

These were two important parts of his world that he had desperately tried to keep separate. They were never supposed to know that the other even existed. How could they be clashing together like this so suddenly? What could he do to keep them apart?

"Tantei-Kun?"

Shinichi took a breath to calm himself. "Everything's fine and I'm going to hang up now."

"Detective, you're not making any sense. I need you to talk to me."

Shinichi was about to speak again, to try and convince the person on the other end of the line to stop making things so difficult, when, to his surprise, the phone was taken from him. Kyo, who was apparently not asleep, took his head from his friend's neck and brought the phone to his ear.

"This call will now be terminated. Wake me up again, and I will not hesitate to chuck this thing out the window." That was all the warning the redhead gave before he hung up, threw the device to the floor, and returned to his earlier position.

Shinichi blinked. "I thought you were sleeping."

"You thought wrong."

He chuckled. "You might live to regret that decision. That guy can be a real pain in the ass when he wants to be."

Kyo made a 'meh' like sound and tried to shrug his shoulders. The threat did not seem to concern him. "Who was that anyway?"

Hmm, how could he answer? "A very big kid."

Kyo snorted. "What, did you forget to babysit him? Did he throw a tantrum because you didn't show up in time for bedtime?"

Shinichi chuckled softly. "Sounds about right. I broke a play date with him to come here."

"Aw, did I make the wittle kid upset? Too bad."

Shinichi tried not to laugh outright. Kyo could be so grumpy when he wasn't feeling well, and he could say the funniest of things when something annoyed him enough. It was just too funny. "I feel like I should scold you, or something of the sort."

"You should go to sleep, is what you should do."

"What kind of prize do I get if I do?" He teasingly asked.

"I won't punch you in the gut."

"Convincing enough."

AN: Sorry if this chapter is poorly done this time around. Kyo and I have something in common today, meaning we're both sick and feeling incredibly out of our element. If there's something wrong, my apologies and I'll try to fix it when I'm feeling better.

Song of the Day: Romeo and Cinderella.