Title: Equally Cursed and Blessed
Author: Caer
Rating: R-ish
Warnings: Yaoi, violence, angst
Pairings: Eventual YukixKyou, ShigurexHatori, and HaruxMomiji
Status: Work in progress (part 16)
Disclaimer: I hereby disclaim these characters.
Note: This is not betad. I apologize for taking so long as usual. I forced this chapter from my lazy fingers. If it seems bad, or if any of you notice discrepancies or plot-holes, let me know and I'll try to rewrite. For now, enjoy my half-assed attempt at a chapter. I love you all!
The rain washed against the house in fluctuating torrents. It was as if someone was throwing huge buckets of water from the sky. Momiji stared worriedly into the night. His cousins were out there somewhere. He hoped that they were all right. Also, Tohru would be worried about them. At least Hatori was there to make sure they were all right when they came back. Momiji wondered if they would be able to stand each other so closely for such a long period of time. It had been almost two days now… and Kyou and Yuki had never been able to tolerate each other for more than ten minutes before now.
It made Momiji smile. Maybe this was just what they needed. Maybe they would get along better now. Yuki had certainly been worried about Kyou since he had been hurt. He had noticed the distant look in Yuki's eyes whenever their classmates asked about Kyou at school. He pretended that he couldn't care less about Kyou, but those who knew Yuki well knew better. Haru especially, had commented upon how careful Yuki had been around the redhead. When generally, he would tease the cat and goad him into fights, he had been taciturn and cautious with his words.
Momiji sighed. Three cheers for weird relationships. Of course, in the Sohma family, that was the rule, rather than the exception. Any other time, Momiji would have thrilled to be stuck alone in a house with his favorite cousin. However, since Haru's little brush-off, and then the incident with Black Haru, the thrill factor had been quelled. He was trapped between spending time with a lust-crazed psychotic who only wanted to get into his pants, or with Haru, who had basically told him that he was too much of a baby to have a boyfriend yet. On the one hand, letting Haru become black would assure some fun, but if he were to go white in the middle of it all, what then? If Momiji took advantage of Black Haru's lust, wouldn't he be unfairly taking advantage of Haru?
It was a mystery, as Haru would put it. Momiji frowned. Maybe it was just better for him to forget the notion of being more than friends with Haru. But the only other person he was really attracted to was Tohru. And there were logistics problems with that. Plus, Kyou and Yuki would never stand for it.
He sighed. He was lucky, he supposed, that people thought of him as cute and young and naïve. It had his advantages. He could get close to Tohru that way, without too much suspicion. Plus, he tended to hear more gossip, than others since it was assumed that he wouldn't understand.
He grinned. He would just have to continue to be crafty and deploy the stealth cuteness on his unsuspecting public. Maybe he would be the one to figure out the curse! Who would suspect it?
At the same time, he had troubles of his own. Ever since Kyou's accident, he had heard whispering. It would intensify the closer he was to the main house. But he could never make out what it was saying. It was creepy, and yet he couldn't really tell anyone. Who would believe him? He wondered if it was a part of his animal powers, but if that were the case, wouldn't others talk about it too?
Even now, he could hear the whispering. He strained to hear it, but when he did, it would become unintelligible and vague. It was easier to hear if he sort of zoned out and didn't try to focus on it… sort of like seeing something out of the corner of your eye. He relaxed trying to absorb without actually listening. It was like trying to hear a book on tape when you were on a plane. You couldn't always hear clearly and could only pick out certain things.
He closed his eyes.
…
… "Listen"
"I'm trying to." The blond replied. "Who are you?"
He could barely make out what was being said. He could pick up bits like "long ago" and "here."
He shivered. This was creepy. What if it was ghosts? Haru was just downstairs, and that made him feel better. But he was starting not to like the icy feeling creeping along his shoulders and back. It tickled his hair and suddenly he felt like there was something there with him.
He gasped and opened his eyes, turning to see what was behind him.
There was no one. He sighed in relief and turned back around.
…
Haru jerked awake, his popcorn spilling on the couch as a blood-curdling scream rang through the house. There was a thump and clattering upstairs and the athletic boy took the stairs three at a time trying to get to Momiji's bedroom from where the scream had come. Already, he had drawn the small knife from its sheath in his boot, ready for anything. The door was rattling and he could hear Momiji whimpering on the other side. He quickly turned the knob and pushed the door in, winding up with an armful of trembling blond. He quickly scanned the bedroom, looking for predators or something. He couldn't see a thing. He pulled Momiji close, sighing in relief.
"Momiji, are you all right? What happened?"
Momiji shook his head and mumbled something about the window. Again, Haru stiffened. He looked up. The window was closed. Had someone been trying to get in? He was torn. He didn't want to let go of the boy in his current state. But he had to make sure.
"Stay here for a minute. I'll go check."
Momiji shook his head and clutched so tightly to Haru's chest that his nails were digging in. Haru gently moved him to the side.
"It's okay. I just have to look."
He got up and went to the window, testing it. It was still locked and shut. He looked outside, finally opening the window and looking out. There was no sign of a ladder or a ledge or anything. Haru closed the window again and locked it. He went back to Momiji, who was staring at the window, fear and disbelief very clear in his eyes. Haru pulled him up and held him close. He was still shaking hard. Haru held tighter, trying to make the shakes stop physically.
"Just take some deep breaths Momiji. Calm down."
Momiji complied and in a few seconds, he had stilled. Haru didn't even know how to approach the subject. Not only was there no one there, but there was no way anyone could have been there. At the moment though, that probably didn't matter to the scared rabbit of the Juunishi.
"Did you see something Momiji?"
Momiji sniffed and nodded.
"A… a face."
"But there's nothing there. Nothing could have been there. Do you understand?" But he held Momiji tighter as he began to shake again. "Maybe you were dreaming."
Momiji stilled. He took some deep breaths and sighed.
"Maybe." He said in a small voice.
Haru laughed softly, turning the boy toward the stairs.
"You scared the hell out of me you know?"
"S… sorry."
He supported Momiji as he tripped on a stair and half collapsed. They made it the rest of the way down and Haru pulled him onto the couch, turning the movie back on.
"You don't have to apologize. Just stay down here with me for a while. I think that all the stress you've been going through is finally catching up."
Momiji sighed and curled against Haru's chest, already half-watching the movie, eager to get his mind off of what he had just seen. He knew what he had just seen and it didn't seem like a dream. At the same time, Haru was right. He had been bothered by recent events and maybe he did fall asleep. He had been so scared, he wasn't really sure right now. When he had turned back around, he had seen a bloodied face, and a boy, about his age. It had been a reflection in the window, yet it had looked as if the boy was inside the room with him. The form had been a bloodied mess and his eyes… Momiji shuddered, causing his cousin to tighten his grip. It had to have been a dream. It couldn't have been real. And when he had flung himself backwards at the door, trying to see what was there, he saw nothing. Yet when he looked at the reflection in the window, he could see the bloodied figure advancing on him. That was when he had tried to get out.
It couldn't have been.
But the whispering was still there.
Yuki only reluctantly accepted consciousness. He had been warm and content. Kyou put of an incredible amount of heat in his sleep. Even though they had not been touching, the warmth had been wonderful. Even in an old, leaky dilapidated cabin, Yuki had been comfortable… disturbingly comfortable. That warmth leaving the bed had brought on his waking state. He had been too incoherent at the time to do anything but acknowledge that Kyou was getting up. Kyou was an early riser. But as the heat dissipated, Yuki found it increasingly hard to stay warm, or asleep.
He opened his eyes blearily. He was already grumpy. His own body heat wasn't enough to keep the chill from seeping through the blankets. He looked around; spotting the sweatshirt he had worn last night and his hand sluggishly made a grab for it, pulling the garment beneath the blankets. It was cold against his skin, but he wanted it to be slightly warm before pulling it on.
It smelled like Kyou, even though Yuki had worn it for a day now. Of course, most Juunishi's sense of smell was superior to a normal person's. Even though the shirt had been clean, Kyou's distinctive scent was embedded in the fibers of the cloth. Yuki pulled it on painfully, but found that it was far easier on his injured arm to pull the shirt on lying down.
After a few more minutes of huddling under the blankets, trying to put off facing the cold air outside of them, Yuki finally slid out from under the covers. He folded the blankets and the mat and dragged them to the corner. Shivering, he wished that it were warmer. At about this time at home, the kitchen would be warm and inviting. Tohru would be cooking breakfast and humming.
The gray-haired boy eyed the fireplace hesitantly. Making a fire would probably warm the place a little. But Yuki had never done it before. Frankly, he wasn't crazy about camping and had viewed it with high disdain any time Kyou disappeared to camp with Shihan. He reluctantly admitted that he was jealous of the relationship Kyou had with Kazuma. So there was probably some bitterness and bias there.
Another shiver got him moving though. He snorted. If the stupid cat could do it, there was no reason he couldn't. There was already some wood on the grate and some paper and matches by the hearth. How hard could it be?
Kyou shook the rain off of his jacket, trying to shed most of it before opening the door and going back in. He hung his jacket on the hook by the wall and pulled his muddy boots off. He looked up to see Yuki at the fireplace, building a fire.
"The path is washed out, but the water is gone and the rain is slower. We can probably go in a few hours."
Yuki smiled softly. "Tohru is probably worried sick about us."
Kyou looked down guiltily.
"Yeah," he replied quietly. "And that perverted dog is probably trying to take advantage of..."
Kyou had gotten closer to the fire now.
"You're doing it wrong," he said.
Yuki shook his head. "It's too cold. It won't start."
"It'll never start like that. You have to build it right or you'll use up the paper."
Yuki growled, hating feeling inept. "How?" he asked irritably.
"You have to set it up right," Kyou said slowly, thinking about how his master had taught him when he was young. "The small kindling goes on the bottom and the bigger wood goes on top. You use the big wood to protect the smaller flame from drafts and the medium-sized wood to catch fire first. But you have to make sure air can get to the flame or you'll just put it out."
Yuki listened, poking the wood around and dropping in smaller kindling between the two larger logs. Kyou watched over his shoulder.
"Good. Now pull that log up so that the white side faces the flame. That side catches fire faster than the bark. Now put a good bit of paper under the grate."
Yuki listened intently and did as he was told, and soon he had a small fire crackling merrily in the fireplace. It was still cold in the cabin, but it was warm next to the fire and this time, it didn't look like it was going out. Yuki smiled, excited. He had never built a fire. Kyou looked at the amazed expression on the boy's face and tried to recall if he had been this excited as a kid when Shishou had first taught him how to build a fire. Yuki's eyes were shining. The fire crackled merrily in his eyes and Kyou had a hard time believing that his usually emotionless cousin could get so excited over a fire. Uncomfortable with what he was feeling, Kyou snorted.
"Stupid mouse. I can't believe you don't know how to build a fire."
"Didn't know, stupid cat. I didn't know." Yuki had schooled his expression back to its usual calmness, but he turned, his eyes glinting mischievously. "It's burning just fine now. How long did it take you to learn?"
Kyou's jaw dropped for a minute as the question hit. Yuki smirked
"I was ten years old, you damn rat! Of course it took me longer." Kyou towered over Yuki, seated as he was on the hearth. He shook his fist defiantly. Yuki seemed unintimidated however.
"Oh I see," he replied calm as can be. "So the same age you are now mentally."
"Hmph!" Kyou crossed his arms and stared at him defiantly. "At least I can do it without getting ash all over my princey little face. You look stupid."
Yuki's eyes widened. He looked at his hands. Sure enough, they were black with soot and who knows how many times he had rubbed his face. Whispering a curse, he used his sleeve to wipe at his face.
"What the hell? That's my sleeve you're wiping it on!"
"So have Tohru wash it when we get back. You always get your clothes filthy anyway."
"Oh, like you don't garden boy."
"Garden boy?" Yuki raised an eyebrow at his cousin, who sat down and poked at the fire a bit with a stick.
"I don't understand why you're getting so worked up about your pretty face anyway. It's not like your fan club is here."
If Yuki noticed the almost-compliment, he didn't say anything. He was more interested in watching how Kyou adjusted the logs so they were a little farther apart, making the blaze burn stronger. But he wasn't finished yet.
"Oh really? I thought you were their number one member." He met Kyou's eyes challengingly.
"What! Whatever you deranged rat! If that were the case, then I'd never do this!"
Yuki didn't even have time to flinch or react in any way, when Kyou swiped his hand across Yuki's cheek. Both boys froze for a minute. Neither seemed to have expected it. Even Kyou's eyes were frozen in shock.
Three new stripes of black shone on Yuki's pale skin, stretching from his ear and across his nose. Kyou sniggered a little, though he knew he was inviting disaster. He jumped up in alarm though as a deadly look settled in the pale boy's purple eyes. Yuki rose slowly, backing Kyou toward the opposite wall, his blackened hands rising to stretch toward him.
"Oy, stay away you damn rat! Stay…"
Yuki lunged for him. Kyou barely ducked and lunged to the side, Yuki turned, swiping his arm. Kyou had reached the fireplace and now his hands were covered with ash. He turned, hands out and swiped at the mouse, barely missing. Yuki caught one of his hands and managed to plant a black hand on the cat's neck before he pulled away but not before Kyou twisted his hand and blackened Yuki's wrist with ash. They parted and circled each other, swiping and occasionally planting a black hand on the other.
There was no one here. No one was watching. They didn't have to pretend to hate each other. They didn't have to put on any sort of act. Maybe that's why the battle continued with no harsh words spoken or feelings trampled on. Both boys were intent on beating each other, but the hate was absent. Both boys were smirking, trying to get one up on the other.
Finally Kyou lunged, reaching for Yuki's cheeks, but the gray-haired boy caught his wrists, holding them above his head, before capturing Kyou's fingers above his head with one hand and using the other to cover Kyou's face and some of his hair with black. Kyou pulled at his arms, trying to free himself. Suddenly, he gasped, grimacing and hunched over. Yuki, alarmed, quickly caught him.
"Are you all right?"
Kyou used the chance to draw a blackened palm down Yuki's hair and face, leaving an ash smear.
"Ha…" he said weakly, holding an arm to his stomach.
Yuki blinked. "You cheated," he stated.
"You didn't call a time-out," Kyou shot out through gritted teeth. Yuki tried to take some more of his weight.
"Are you okay?"
Kyou drew some pained breaths through his teeth before gingerly standing upright again.
"Yeah. I didn't expect that. Guess I'm not as healed as I thought."
Yuki let go of Kyou carefully. He looked Kyou over critically. He seemed okay, but…
"You're filthy."
"Hmph. Looked in a mirror lately rat? You look like you rolled in a fireplace or something. Don't rats live in chimneys sometimes?"
"Actually, between the two of us, shouldn't you be more concerned about being clean? Aren't cats very clean animals?"
Kyou shrugged. "So are rats."
Yuki eyed him questioningly, his expression carefully neutral. Kyou became instantly flustered.
"I've heard that anyway."
Yuki let it go. He was more concerned with getting cleaned off now.
"It would be rude to go back to Honda-san looking like this."
Kyou didn't argue. He had some clean clothes for both of them. They went outside to rinse off a bit in the rain. It was cold but Kyou didn't seem to mind. Even though the rain very obviously sapped his strength, he seemed to have no problem stripping in the cold downpour and wiping off with a towel. Yuki was already shivering uncontrollably and he washed off as fast as was humanly possible before running inside and drying off by the fire-his fire- which still crackled merrily in the fireplace. He stole glances out the window at his younger cousin, admiring the boy's wiry angular body. He had seen Kyou naked perhaps hundreds of times... especially since Tohru's arrival, since she seemed hardly able to exist without bumbling into one or both of them at any given time, though never at school. Yuki wondered if subconsciously she wanted to be closer to them.
He knew he had often wondered how it would be to hold her as a human, or to comfort her. He wondered if Kyou had imagined the same thing. He generally didn't like touch, thanks to Akito. He rarely let anyone touch him. Of course the curse was a big part of that. It's not like he couldn't have any girl he wanted at school, and probably a few of the boys if he wanted. But they all doted over him so much, when they hardly even knew him. It disgusted him to even think of touching them.
He had often been hugged and touched by family though. He wondered if perhaps Kyou had received less touch than he had. The cat was skittish, even around Shihan. Even when Yuki had happened to catch them in one of their more intimate moments, it usually involved a hesitant clap on the back or a mock fight. Kyou seemed very jumpy when it came to touch. Yuki wondered if it was for the exact same reason. Maybe he was afraid of any sign of affection because he was afraid of it not being genuine.
Maybe they had more in common than Yuki had ever realized.
Kyou reentered, looking tired, but somewhat clean. He dried off quickly, wiping the water from his chest and neck. Yuki watched, thankful that Kyou didn't look up. He was still favoring his side and Yuki felt a tinge of guilt for letting the cat overexert himself like that. It was important that they returned home where Hatori could check on him.
He moved over as Kyou sat down by the fire, still shirtless as he dried his hair. Yuki fought the urge to reach out and touch the warm skin proffered so naively. This new sort of discomfort around the cat had nothing to do with revulsion now and Yuki wondered how such a feeling could have been so keenly misinterpreted before. Everything up to this point made a sort of twisted kind of sense now.
Yuki tried to hide the elation he felt. It was like a door was slowly being opened. Instead of reaching for the cat, he held his hands out to the fire he had built, that Kyou had helped him build. He contented himself with warming his fingers and breathing a small sigh of relief when Kyou was fully clothed.
"Are you ready to go?" The redhead asked.
Yuki shook his head. "Let's just stay here a while longer."
Kyou's red eyes gazed at him confusedly, but he didn't argue. He just turned toward the fire, bringing his knees to his chest and leaning against the wall.
"All right."
"Haaaaa saaaan! Why must you always leave me?" Shigure whined, clutching the doctor's jacket and mock crying. Kagura and Tohru watched the scene with a mix of amusement and discomfort.
"I've been here for two days. Momiji and Haru have probably torn the house apart by now," he replied logically, removing Shigure's hands from his lapel. "Besides, I need to check on Akito."
Shigure sobered a bit and sighed putting an arm around Tohru's shoulders. "I suppose it's just you and me again, my little flower."
Tohru stepped forward handing a bag full of treats to Hatori. "Hatori-san. Please take care. Say hello to Momiji and Haru for me."
Hatori nodded. Tohru turned to Kagura and hugged her. "Thank you," she said in Kagura's ear. "Thank you for everything. I promise I'll call you."
Kagura looked down sadly, embracing Tohru and thankful for the comfort.
"Tell him… tell him I'm happy for him." She pulled away and put her kitty backpack on. Out loud, she said "Tell my darling I'll be back for him soon! She turned toward Hatori's car and walked away, trying to hide the tears that welled in her eyes. Kyou was out of her hands now. It was up to Yuki. She would kill him if he screwed up.
Hatori nodded and turned as well.
Tohru and Shigure turned back into the house.
"I suppose I should make some lunch. Shigure-san must be hungry."
"Mou… I suppose with the house so quiet, I'll have to get some work done. Yuki and Kyou are wonderful distractions! They always…"
"Oh!" Tohru rushed forward, throwing the door open and running outside.
"Tohru-kun?"
He followed behind and smiled as he watched Tohru run toward two limping boys. They looked worse for wear, Yuki supporting a pale but whole-looking Kyou and looking rather ashen himself. He let go and Kyou straightened up as they caught sight of her. With a large POOF, both boys were promptly embraced and cuddled.
Shigure smiled.
Tohru held the cat and the rat in her arms, crying.
"You idiot!" Kyou yelled. "What are you doing out here without shoes?"
"Sohma-kun, Kyou… you're home. I'm so glad."
Yuki wriggled out of her hold and up onto her shoulder, burrowing under her hair and meeting Kyou's eyes. "We're glad to be home. Aren't we, you stupid cat?"
Kyou glared at Yuki, but relaxed a bit in Tohru's embrace, his eyes softening as she buried her face in his fur and sobbed happily.
"Yeah whatever," he grumped. "Just go inside already."