There are sixty seconds in a minute, sixty long seconds that could stretch out into an eternity in disastrous circumstances. This was one of those disastrous situations. For a minute, all Yuki could do was stare at Ayame. No words would come out of Yuki's mouth, none. There was nothing he could say. After all, he had just been caught red-handed. His mind refused to work normally. At least, all Ayame could learn from this was that Yuki snuck out occasionally; at least, Ayame didn't know why Yuki left. He attempted to comfort himself with these small facts, but he just felt more uneasy. His reason for leaving was obviously Tohru. If Ayame knew about her, things couldn't possibly turn out smoothly since Ayame also knew that Yuki was supposed to be marrying a princess named Machi. That wasn't the problem now though, the issue Yuki had now was needing an excuse. Yuki couldn't come up with a single reason to explain why he had just climbed in through the window. Ayame wasn't smart, anything would do! But nothing came to him.
"Niisan!" Yuki gasped stupidly, feeling the need to say something already.
Ayame's face was serious for once, his eyes were expressionless and his lips formed a straight line. The shadows of the room played with the faint moonlight making Ayame look twice as stern. Never in his life had Yuki seen Ayame in this state. This was Ayame, the man who couldn't sit still for a second! He wasn't supposed to ever act like this. This was one of those rare moments that Yuki wished Ayame was his normal annoying self. That Ayame was more predictable than this serious one. That Ayame would simply harass him about spending more time together. That Ayame wouldn't sit in the dark to catch him sneaking back in. This Ayame didn't say anything in response to Yuki. It was like he was waiting for Yuki to confess.
"Nii-san, what are you doing here? You scared me, sitting in the dark like that," Yuki muttered as calmly as he could manage as he regained his composure.
"Why are you back so late?" Ayame asked in an unusual serious voice.
"I…" Yuki started, his voice dropping as his heart beat faster and faster seeming to want to leave his body behind in a heap to rot. His voice faltered. It was as if someone had removed his brain and left his skull completely empty. Damn that person who stole his brain! He needed to think, he needed to form a plan so that Ayame wouldn't learn about him and Tohru. Yuki kept his eyes glued to the floor, as if he thought something was written there that would help him slip out of this situation. If anything would keep Ayame from discovering the truth, he'd promise to be more careful in the future. Next time, he wouldn't let himself be caught. That is, if there would be a next time.
"Where were you just now?" Ayame questioned.
"No place in particular…"
Couldn't Ayame just be silent for a few minutes and let Yuki have some time to think through his answers so he wouldn't say something as stupid as he just did? For a brief moment neither of them said anything, both waiting for the other to say something. Yuki was awaiting Ayame's next question, and Ayame was expecting Yuki to continue. Even in that break, Yuki could still think of no reason for his leaving. There were many reasons for a prince to want to leave home once in a while. There was shopping, though Ayame was his tailor and all shops had been closed for a while now. He could have been taking a walk, though that wouldn't make it necessary for him to climb in through the window. Yuki could have been practicing scaling up and down his wall in case there was a fire or something! That was the lamest cover-up story he could have come up with especially since it was the middle of the night. He would have to face it sooner or later; there really was no good reason for him to have been out so late.
"Don't lie to me,
little brother. If where you headed was truly no where in particular
then tell me what caused you to sneak in?"
"I just didn't
want a bodyguard following me," Yuki told him half of the truth. He
really didn't want a bodyguard tailing him around. Ayame knew that
though it didn't seem like he would accept that for his answer. Not
wanting a bodyguard explained why he was sneaking in but not why he
left in the middle of the night.
"Is that it? Or is it because you're meeting someone?"
Yuki's brows furrowed as he looked at Ayame suspiciously. This wasn't going smoothly. How did Ayame know that much? There was no way he could know the reason. How could he? Yuki thought back, he had never said anything that would have given away his meetings with Tohru to Ayame. Yuki hardly even spoke to his older brother. So how did Ayame know? He couldn't have followed him either. It would have been impossible for Ayame to have followed him and returned back here so soon, and if Ayame had tailed him before tonight he would have blurted something out already. He wasn't exactly good at keeping things to himself. Thinking through what Ayame had just said Yuki forgot to say no in response to Ayame's prediction.
"No protests? Did I conclude the truth? Are you meeting with a special someone?"
"No…" Yuki denied finally. It had been difficult for Yuki to get that one word out of his mouth. His mouth didn't want to let that lie slid out at all. He was meeting with someone special, someone very special to him. He remembered a phone call he had had with Tohru; she didn't like when he referred to her as someone unimportant. Yuki had just repeated the same mistake he had made that night when he told his mom he was talking to no one important. This time, he hadn't even acknowledged meeting her, but there was no way she could hear what he was saying like last time. Still, that gave him no sense of comfort. It was wrong to talk about her in this manner whether she knew about it or not.
"Then what is this?" Ayame asked him holding up the letter Tohru had written.
Yuki's eyes widened, a small gasp leaving his mouth as his knees gave in. He sank to the ground slowly. His eyes remained fixed on the card the whole time. Terror and guilt danced in his grey orbs, his whole world came crashing down on him, crushing his body with its weight. Ayame couldn't have found that! Yuki remembered putting it in the bottom of a drawer… Wait, that was yesterday, tonight he had carelessly left it atop of his desk, hidden by nothing at all. So in the end, this incident was because of his own carelessness. Had Ayame read what Tohru had written to him? The answer to that was obvious; there was just too much curiosity in Ayame. He couldn't refrain from reading something he found if someone paid him.
"Ah, so you do recognize this. Is she a lover? A special lady?" Ayame began to guess.
Yuki nodded though not confirming any of Ayame's guesses in particular since she was sort of both and he did recognize the card. He wasn't quite sure about the lover part though, but Tohru was certainly a special lady to Yuki. There was no point in lying anymore. Ayame knew about Tohru; he knew what Yuki didn't want him to know. Yuki's heart sank deep into the pit of his body wondering if Ayame was going to tell someone. Ayame knew Yuki's biggest secret now. He could do numerous things with that information to make his life a living hell. Yuki could imagine all the evil things his parents would do to him, but what he couldn't picture was his life without Tohru. He had gotten so adjusted to seeing her, hearing her voice, feeling the touch of her hand within his; he wasn't sure he would last if he couldn't be with her again.
"Please… Please don't tell…" Yuki could barely choke out those few words.
Ayame's golden orbs widened, surprised by Yuki's reaction. Had he really guessed right about the lover thing? He was half kidding. Yuki hadn't been serious about a girl since she had left his life. For the longest time, Ayame had thought Yuki would never love someone again. He thought the next woman Yuki talked to would be some woman their parents made him talk to; Ayame thought Yuki would only see a girl if their parents made him. Maybe Yuki's sneaking out wasn't so bad after all if it meant Yuki had recovered completely. Well as healed as Yuki's heart could possibly get. Losing your love was something no one could fully get over, even if Yuki couldn't remember being in love with her.
"I- I need her… Please Niisan… Even if this is the last thing you'll ever do for me, please don't tell," Yuki begged with his knees on the floor and his forehead touching the wooden floor. He knew he looked ridiculous for bowing to Ayame because of something like this, but he didn't care. She really was important enough to him to make him embarrass himself like this just to ensure that he could continue seeing her. His meetings with Tohru were the most valuable thing he had.
Ayame stared at his little brother. The last thing he expected was for Yuki to react in this manner. Bowing to him? Ayame couldn't help but think he was dreaming. It was always his wish for Yuki to at least accept him as his brother, but this respect was almost too much. Normally Ayame would have taken advantage of the situation and taken a picture at the very least, but the severity of the condition told him not to. His eyes softened as he gently placed his hand atop Yuki's thin shoulder. Yuki glanced up at Ayame. There was a brief pause, everything in the world seemed to stop for a second, and there was only a connection and a spark of two brothers bonding. For the first time in their lives they began to understand a little about each other.
"The thought of telling never crossed my mind… But if you wish, I vow to never tell mother or father," Ayame promised.
"Thank you…" Yuki breathed a tear slipping down and dropping onto the cold wooden floor. Not wanting Ayame to see him cry, he wiped the trail of water the tear had left from his face. Even though Yuki would admit he liked Ayame a lot more now than before, he wasn't completely comfortable with sharing all of his emotions with Ayame. There was no telling when this serious Ayame would revert back to the playful Ayame. The old Ayame would start to tease him endlessly about crying. Ayame saw the tear, but he didn't say anything. The dark spot on the floor where the tear had landed was still visible to both the brothers.
"Of course! I am your older brother! It's my job to protect you from the evil bandits!" declared Ayame.
"What evil bandits?" Yuki smiled. Something about Ayame's absurd reasoning made Yuki feel at ease. It was probably Ayame's foolishness that made Yuki believe Ayame was absolutely harmless. Maybe Ayame wasn't as horrible as Yuki had made him out to be. Sure he was annoying, he got on Yuki's nerves, and yes he couldn't keep from blabbing to Hatori for his own life, yet the way Ayame had handled this situation made all of that seem unimportant. For the first time in his entire life, Yuki was looking at his older brother with some sense of respect and gratitude. It was as if a hidden sense of maturity had awakened in Ayame. Still, Ayame didn't seem to be able to remain on the same subject for very long.
Ayame pointed to the scarf that was still around Yuki's neck and asked, "Did she make that for you?"
Yuki blushed nodding slightly. He had forgotten all about the scarf until Ayame had brought it up. Glancing down at the navy scarf, Ayame fingered the edge with a nod of approval before releasing it. Yuki unwound the scarf from his neck and folded it on top of his lap. It would be odd for him to continue wearing the scarf since he was already inside. Ayame knew that Tohru was special to Yuki, but Yuki wasn't so sure that he wanted Ayame to know how important she was. To keep wearing the scarf that Tohru had made was a sure way of spelling out his feelings towards Tohru for Ayame to read.
"My, time has flown past me with such speed! Yuki is all grown up and in love!" cried Ayame as he wiped away a fake tear.
"Shut up!" yelled Yuki.
"But the truth is you've matured so much Yuki…"
Yuki looked up at Ayame taken aback by his words. He hadn't noticed any change in himself. Had there really been a big enough change from how he was now to how he had been before for Ayame to be able to notice? But then again, who was Ayame to say that Yuki had matured? Even before meeting Tohru, Yuki knew he was years more mature than Ayame would ever be. Yuki had always been the mature one since he was born; Ayame was the childish man even though Ayame was the older brother. Since Ayame was ten years older than Yuki, Yuki had never seen Ayame as a child, and he wasn't sure he wanted to. He could only imagine how much more immature Ayame was when the long haired man was five. Those had to be some chaotic years especially with Shigure being that age as well.
"It's true! I remember how you were a few months ago… You seemed so cold and distant, you didn't let anyone, not even I, into your heart yet this girl you've never met before changed all of this? These differences seem so obvious now… But I was oblivious to them before. Now I can see that your smile is no longer the same lonely, empty, false smile as before… When you smile now, it actually looks like you're happy like when you were with Toh-!" Ayame started to say, but he clasped his hand over his mouth before he finished.
"What?" Yuki asked. Yuki could swear Ayame was going to say Tohru, but Ayame hadn't seen him with Tohru so how could he know he looked happy when he was with Tohru? How would Ayame even know her name? Oh right, he had the card. Little to Yuki's knowledge, each time Ayame had read the card, his thumb had covered up Tohru's signature. All Ayame knew was that Yuki was seeing someone with curvy hand-writing, not that it was Tohru Honda of Daichi. Yuki was probably hearing things. It made him smile to think that Tohru had caused all these adjustments to him. But, was Ayame implying that Yuki wasn't a good guy back then?
"Ah nothing… Forget what I just said before! I did not just say half the name of one who must never be spoken about, okay? Now… What was I saying before? Oh… yes… Your eyes… Your eyes no longer possess the cold glare but now cast a warm glow. Is all this the work of this girl? Is she some super woman? The ideal lady?" Ayame rambled.
Ayame paused, looking at Yuki for his answer. He was curious to know what Yuki thought about this woman and how much she meant to him. Yuki glanced up at Ayame thinking through his question. Tohru most likely did cause all of these changes, but he wouldn't say she was a super woman, nor would Yuki ever say Tohru was his ideal lady in front of Ayame. Tohru was Tohru, and he liked everything about her regardless of her flaws. He adored how she smiled, he cherished the sound of her voice, he thought the way she said his name was the most precious thing in the world. To say he liked her was an understatement, maybe saying he loved her wasn't enough either, but until he even realized these feelings either one of those phrases would have to do.
"Well… It's not that she's perfect or super or anything like that… But I like her… I love her despite of that… I love her imperfections… There isn't such thing as perfect so it doesn't matter to me if she isn't flawless… To me she is the closest thing to perfection that will ever exist…" Yuki commented with a smile on his face.
Ayame grinned and nodded before he stood up. He extended his hand out to Yuki and handed the card back before he headed to the door. Yuki gently flopped down onto the cold floor as soon as the soft click of the door signaled that he was alone. A sigh of relief left his mouth as the previous events finally sunk in. He flipped the card around between his forefinger and his middle finger for a minute rethinking what had just happened. Opening the card he stared at the words written by Tohru, her face appeared in his mind. She was smiling as usual, her eyes glimmering with joy. His mental picture of Tohru looked so real, he could already feel her silky soft hair in his hands. Was it really that easy to memorize someone's face? Sure, he saw her a lot, but he lived with Ayame and he couldn't visualize Ayame's face.
"Why was I so worked up?" Yuki mumbled to himself.
Why did it matter so much to him whether he could continue seeing Tohru or not? He'd admit, they had kissed a few times, and he had enjoyed those kisses a lot, but that didn't change the fact that he hadn't known her for very long. Yuki couldn't have fallen in love with her in the short amount of time he had known her. That was impossible. He tried to tell himself she was just another person and that he could stop seeing her whenever he wanted to, but he didn't believe himself. He realized now that it was too late. He couldn't back out of this relationship they had formed anymore. This had gone on for far too long. He had fallen for her, and he had fallen hard and fast. His heart now belonged to her and only her. Yuki couldn't take his heart back from her if he wanted to. The only thing he could do now was hope he had her heart in return. It was simple and obvious now that he thought about it; he loved her. Nothing would change that. Not his parents, not her family, not the stupid rivalry, not his fiancée, nothing, not even death.
At that moment, he decided he would be with her forever, even if it meant going against his parents. He didn't care. Just as long as they were together, he wouldn't ask for anything else until he died. Tohru would be all he needed for the rest of his life. To remain by her side forever would be a heaven he couldn't even start to describe. Getting to that haven with her would probably be nearly impossible considering the hate between their families and his supposed fiancée, Machi, but he was prepared to take on the challenge. Yuki was ready to fight whoever tried to keep him and Tohru apart. He would do anything to continue seeing her as long as she felt the same want to see him. As long as she felt the same, nothing else would matter to him.
---
Yuki drowsily walked out of his room the next morning stumbling around the castle half asleep. He had no idea where he was or where he was heading. His mind was foggy, he had no idea how long he had been up, nor that it was even morning. This waking issue had always been a problem for him as long as he could remember. Yuki really should lock his door every night before he went to bed. He was slowly waking up as his feet continued to maneuver his body around the halls. Vaguely, he could remember walking into a wall before he heard someone say his name.
His ears perked up and he instantly awakened from his sleep journey when he heard his name again in the distance. Glancing around the hallway as he rubbed his red forehead, he looked around for whoever was talking about him behind his back. Yuki took a few steps back and peered into the room from which the sound came from. Inside the room Ayame and Shigure seemed to be in a deep conversation with Hatori sitting in the corner partially listening. He could only catch glimpses of the intense words.
Yuki…
Night…
LOVE?
Tears…
Suddenly Shigure's eyes lit up and a huge grin formed across his face. He leaned forward with his hands locked together obviously interested in whatever Ayame had just told him. From the bits and pieces Yuki was able to hear, he didn't like what they were talking about. Ayame was clearly telling Shigure, of all people, about what they had discussed last night, so much for Ayame's promise. Yuki made a mental note to himself to never confide in Ayame or think he is a good person ever again. Without drawing Ayame's or Shigure's attention Yuki strode in standing behind the two of them. He listened to the end of their conversation to confirm his guess was correct before he killed the both of them.
"Really? Are you serious?!!" Shigure basically screamed.
Ayame excitedly nodded adding, "Did you hear that Tori-san??? Yuki has a girlfr-!"
That was enough evidence for him. Yuki kicked Ayame harshly in the back sending him flying before he could finish what he was saying. He soared across the room for a minute until he collided into the wall with a cruel smack. Shigure stared at his friend who was stuck to the wall with his arms bent upwards. He laughed nervously to himself before looking back at Yuki hoping he wouldn't be hurt as well. Ayame's finger twitched as some of bits of the wall dropped to the ground. An expensive looking painting wobbled beside Ayame, looking like it was ready to join the chunks of the wall on the carpet.
"Stop talking about me," Yuki told Ayame as he lowered his leg.
A high pitch squeak sounded as Ayame slipped down the wall and landed on the ground with a thud. The tables beside the area where Ayame landed shook causing the matching sculptures to fall on top of Ayame. Ayame didn't even make a sound. There was a dent in the wall in the shape of Ayame's body. The long-haired man's body was crippled in an unnatural position on the floor, he made no further movement. Hatori lowered the book he was reading, took one look at Ayame before going back to reading. By now, Ayame being injured by Yuki was something that happened at least once a week, and Hatori didn't see it as an emergency anymore.
"Aya!!!!!!" cried Shigure as he ran over to his collapsed friend.
Hatori just sat there shaking his head. Yuki released a long sigh as he turned around to leave. Now that he had hurt Ayame for telling everyone about Tohru there was no other reason for him to stay here. He had better things to do, like call Tohru. Raking his hand though the tangled silver mess on top of his head he realized that he really hadn't done anything to make himself look somewhat decent before leaving his room. If his mom found out she'd murder him for disgracing her with his appearance. And if he was dead, he wouldn't be able to be with Tohru anymore. That was a good enough reason to make him feel the need to go fix his hair now.
"Yuki," Hatori called waving him over with his hand before Yuki made it to the door.
"Hm?" Yuki looked
back at the doctor a little impatiently.
"So you're really
meeting with a girl? Is it true?"
Hatori's dark strands covered his eyes hiding his intentions. He stared at Yuki with an unreadable expression across his face. Yuki couldn't tell whether he was asking out of curiosity or because he wanted to lecture Yuki or something like that. He took a deep breath looking up at the ceiling for a few seconds before releasing it and returning his gaze back to Hatori. Ayame already blurted out everything to Shigure and Hatori; he couldn't change that if he tried. There was no use in denying the truth after Ayame told them.
"I don't know what Nii-san said exactly… But yes…" Yuki muttered.
Hatori nodded slowly, a small smile that was barely noticeable crossed his face for a split second before he frowned once more, complete seriousness returned to his stoic face. He didn't want to be happy for Yuki; he didn't want himself or Yuki to get his hopes up for nothing. Because of what happened with Kana, Hatori didn't believe in happy endings anymore. He wasn't even the heir to the palace, and Kana wasn't the daughter of Kaze's enemy, and yet she had been killed. Yuki was the heir, and for whichever girl he was seeing, that was bad news. She wouldn't be allowed to see another sun rise if their relationship was discovered by Yuki's parents. Hatori nodded once more, opening his mouth to warn Yuki about this, but Shigure jumped back into the scene with a playful smile across his face ruining the moment.
"So…" he started
getting a little too close to Yuki, "What's her name?"
Yuki
stiffened before elbowing Shigure in the stomach. Did Shigure have to
pry in his private life like that? Was it such a bad thing for Yuki
to be allowed to have some secrets and privacy? Did Ayame and Shigure
really have to know everything about Yuki? Of course, the answers
Yuki would have received to all of these questions would have been
yes. Those two were nosy beyond compare. They got on his nerves real
easily. Sometimes, he wished there was a special dungeon in the
castle to lock the two of them up in. Now, he really wanted a dungeon
to be made especially for these two. Maybe he'd go discuss this
with his father and get one built soon.
"Uf!" cried Shigure before he burst out laughing like a child.
"Dearest brother of mine allow me the pleasure of taking another look at that love letter to refresh my mind of her dear name," Ayame said outstretching his hand to Yuki.
"It WASN'T a love letter!" Yuki shouted at Ayame. With each thing either of them said Yuki's urge to dig a deep hole to bury them alive in grew. He already had a perfect place in mind to start digging. Out in the middle of the forest, there was a small clearing where nobody went. There were supposedly bears and wild beasts living there, but that was perfect. In fact, Yuki hoped a bear would dig them up once he buried them and eat them. Then he could finally have some peace and quiet. What he needed now was either a ton of shovels and men to dig this big ditch or an excavator, some rope to tie the two of them up with, and a vehicle to take the three of them to this glorious burial spot, a flawless plan. Besides, it wasn't like anyone would actually miss these two morons.
"Aya! How could you not focus on her name when you had it right in front of you!" Shigure whined.
"My dear Gure, that
is because I was utterly focused on what was written above her
signature!"
"But of course, the dirty love conversation!"
"It wasn't like that!!!" Yuki snapped his annoyance doubling. Forget burying them alive, he'd borrow a butcher knife from the kitchen and slaughter the two of them right now in this room. He wouldn't have minded so much if they were just making fun of him, but accusing Tohru of writing something as atrocious as that was unacceptable. The worst thing was that Yuki knew if Tohru heard this she'd start apologizing even though she had done nothing wrong. They were taking her act of kindness and concern and twisting it into something as perverted as they were. Yuki would make sure they would pay for doing that.
"A love letter! A love letter! Kissy, kissy!!!!!!!!" Shigure teased pursing his lips together in a kissing motion.
Yuki spun around and stormed out of the room slamming the huge double doors behind him. His first mistake had been confessing to Ayame about Tohru, and his second error was not locking that door and burning the room down with Shigure and Ayame in it. The rest of his day was filled with Ayame Shigure's persistent questions and teasing. It was amazing that he had been able to refrain from choking Shigure and Ayame already. They were lucky that Yuki had a good amount of patience and a pair of ear plugs. Yuki had been enjoying the invention of ear plugs and the silence they provided him with until Shigure had spotted them and pulled them out. Now Yuki was back to trying to ignore them and focus on other things.
"Did you guys kiss?!"
Yuki attempted to disregard the childish man turning the page in his book, pretending to read. He had been reading the same page for the past hour; it seemed about time to read another set of sentences or more like stare at the words on the page. The truth was he wasn't even sure what book he was looking at. After running away from Ayame and Shigure for the tenth time, Yuki had hid out in the library and had grabbed the first book he saw in attempt to appear busy. He didn't think they'd care if he was busy, and they didn't, but at least he had something to hit them with within reach.
"Oh my! Don't tell me you've gone further! Ooh Yuki! You dirty hormonal teen!" Shigure continued.
Yuki clenched the book in his hands tightly, barely containing his anger. Why did today have to be the day maids were dusting the bookshelves? If they weren't here, Yuki would have took the scissors a few feet away from him and cut out Shigure's and Ayame's tongues so they'd stop talking. But no, they had to be here, and if he was violent in front of them they would report his actions to his mother. Then she'd lock him up or something like that which would keep him from being able to see Tohru. Why did silencing Shigure and Ayame always have a chance of ruining his opportunities to see Tohru? If only there was a way to dispose of them without having anyone find out…
"Gure-nii, you mustn't continue this nonsense!" Ayame told his friend with complete seriousness.
Both Yuki and Shigure looked at the long haired man in wonder, not believing the grave expression on the always playful man's face. That was the last thing either of them expected Ayame to say. Yes, Shigure had been the one who teased Yuki the most, but Ayame had done so as well. Yuki and Shigure were both so shocked that they had to exchange a look of bewilderment to make sure they had both heard Ayame correctly. Even though they both had the same baffled expression, they both still found it hard to believe that Ayame had actually said that. This long haired man in front of them had to be another person who looked like Ayame; Ayame would never say something like that. Yuki had already learned today that Ayame couldn't be serious if his life was at stake.
"If you are going to continue this you must tell me in private!" Ayame finished with a large grin.
"Aya!! You're so brilliant!" Shigure exclaimed his eyes filled with admiration for Ayame.
"What are you talking about?! That's not ANY better!" Yuki yelled standing up from his seat and dropping the book.
Ayame just winked at Shigure brushing away what Yuki had just said. Yuki groaned and left the room, shutting the doors on his way out quickly. He grabbed the nearest, thickest chair and wedged it under the door knobs rapidly before Shigure and Ayame could figure out what was happening. The sound of Ayame and Shigure shuffling over to the doors and attempting to escape was ignored by Yuki who remained leaning against the doors. He smiled, obviously pleased, though he was starting to wonder why he hadn't done that earlier. It seemed so simple now, if he locked the two of them in one room and stayed somewhere far away he wouldn't have had to hear their teasing. Maids and servants started to gather from all the commotion, but Yuki waved them away not wanting them to release his captives.
"Hey Yuki! Let us out! We'll stop! We promise! Right Ayaa?"
"Of course Gure-nii! I would never betray my little brother!"
"Oh really? What happened to your promise to not tell anyone?" Yuki questioned. It didn't really matter what they vowed to do or not to do, the last thing Yuki would do was let them out. He was pretty fond of not telling anyone where they both were so Shigure and Ayame could starve to death, but too many people had seen already. Why was it turning out to be so hard to eliminate these two annoying people from his life? He had so many ways to kill them, each one better than the last, but there just had to be some sort of consequence. Yuki was beginning to grow a lot of respect for Hatori who had put up with both Shigure and Ayame for his whole life.
"Ah… But THAT was a vow to not tell mother or father, not preventing me from telling anyone else!" Ayame protested.
"Idiot…" Yuki muttered as he stood upright not listening to Ayame's eloquence filled arguments anymore.
He started to leave but turned around to face the crowd with a sweet smile, "If any of you let them out… I'll kill you."
"We won't open the doors your highness!"
The group dispatched after giving several bows to Yuki. Yuki smiled, grateful for the peace and quiet. He wandered off back to his room glad to hear Shigure's and Ayame's voice dimming out. For the first time since last night, he could hear his own thoughts. It was a miracle! Yuki locked his door and flopped down on his bed, somewhat disturbed by the silence after being surrounded by Ayame's and Shigure vociferous voices all day long. He dug out his cell phone from the bottom of his drawer and flipped it open smiling when he saw that Tohru had left him a message. Yuki replayed the short message a few times, enjoying the sound of her voice.
"Hello Yuki-kun! I um… just wanted to say hi and ask how you were… Umm… Sorry! I must be bothering you! So… please call me back when you have time, okay? I… miss you Yuki-kun… I want to see you soon, alright? Okay then… Bye…"
Yuki couldn't help but smile at her timidity. He listened to it once more before his fingers dialed the phone number he knew by heart. She picked up after the second ring shyly; he could tell she was blushing without even seeing her face. Yuki greeted her slowly, and talked to her about nothing in particular until it was time for him to go downstairs to eat. Reluctantly he said goodbye to her and ended the call. He wouldn't have minded being late to dinner and talking to her for a while longer, but he knew she'd be in trouble as well if she was late. He stuffed his phone back inside the drawer before he went downstairs. To his dismay, when he passed the room in which he had locked Ayame and Shigure in, he found the doors open. That could only mean that those two were free and running around the palace somewhere, plotting ways to annoy Yuki some more.
A little before he went to the dining room for dinner Yuki discovered Hatori let Ayame and Shigure out from their imprisonment out of pity. He groaned when he saw the two of them enter the dining room. They both took a seat at each of Yuki's sides slithering over until they were barely an inch from Yuki. Hatori sat across the table with an expressionless face. Yuki rolled his eyes at Shigure who was batting his eyelashes and puckering his lips making kissing sounds. Yuki was about to smack him but stopped when he heard the door open. Shigure stopped as well when he saw the king and queen enter.
"Mother… Father…" Yuki muttered.
They gave no sign that they had heard him as they took their seats at the heads of the long table silently. Nobody made a sound. An uncomfortable silence loomed over the table. No one dared to make a sound since Yuki's mom was rather irritable. Yuki didn't even meet her gaze to make sure he didn't do anything that would make her give him a punishment that would stop him from seeing Tohru. The queen gazed at everyone in the room for a second, but her eyes remained on the trio consisting of Yuki, Ayame, and Shigure for a moment longer. Yuki shifted in his seat uncomfortably. Her eyes only lingered if she had found something distasteful.
"Why are you three sitting so closely? It makes you look suspicious," the queen's cold voice commented.
"No reason!" replied Shigure.
"Just showing our love for Yuki!" added Ayame as he wrapped his arms around Yuki's thin shoulders.
Yuki stiffened and turned to face his brother with a cold smile. His eyes were closed, but if they were open the fires burning in them would have been clearly visible to someone standing a mile away. Having the two of them sit beside him pissed him off enough, but having Ayame hug him after harassing him so much was pushing him over the line. Well anytime Ayame came in contact with Yuki he wasn't happy, but especially after Ayame had ruined his day on purpose Yuki really felt the need to fling the man across the room.
"Let go," Yuki said simply still smiling.
"Ah! The food has arrived!" announced Ayame focusing on something else as his arms left Yuki.
"Eh? Where's Kyo?" asked Shigure pointing to the empty seat as maids set their dishes in front of them.
Kyo barged in at that moment making his way to his seat loudly. He had a scowl across his face and he reeked of sweat, clearly coming from training. This day was just getting better and better for Yuki. Kyo rarely made it to dinner and ate with them, so why did he have to come today, the day when Yuki was in the worst mood? Yuki just sighed; his day couldn't get any worse, could it? First Ayame told Shigure and Hatori about Tohru, then they teased him endlessly, and now his nemesis was eating dinner with him. The only good things that happened were finding out that Ayame didn't know Tohru's name was Tohru and his talk with Tohru a few minutes ago. The rest of the day had been an annoying pain.
"Where were you, Kyonkichi?" asked Ayame.
"That's none of your business and stop calling me that!!!" snapped Kyo.
"Nobody cares where you were anyways," retorted Yuki.
"SHUT UP!!" snapped Kyo.
Yuki had to admit that he was partially glad that Kyo was here. Kyo provided Shigure and Ayame with a distraction so they would stop teasing Yuki for a minute. He also was something Yuki could vent his anger out on. Having Kyo around him turned out not to be as bad as Yuki had originally expected it to be. Yuki wondered if his day would have had been a bit more normal if he had remained around Kyo. Since Kyo was another person Ayame and Shigure tend to tease often, his day would have been quieter at the least. Kyo might have even been willing to help Yuki put one of his Exterminate Shigure and Ayame plans into action.
"Go ahead and make me."
"Maybe I will! And then we'll see who regrets it, sissy boy!"
"Can you two please stop fighting so we can eat?" whined Shigure.
"Whatever," they both replied in unison.
Kyo grunted while Yuki rolled his eyes. Both of them were equally ashamed to have been caught saying the same thing at the same time. Luckily, no one, not even Shigure, decided to comment on it. Angering both Yuki and Kyo at once was a dangerous, if not lethal, thing to do. Shigure was too busy greedily digging into the platters filling his plate to the edges to even notice. Ayame began to ramble on about himself as he offered to serve Yuki. He grabbed some food with his fists and set it on Yuki's plate with a proud smile. Yuki just grimaced and switched his contaminated plate with Ayame's empty one. He served himself before Ayame could make another attempt to give him more food.
"Save some for the rest of us Shigure," Hatori said as he noticed the food beginning to vanish from sight.
Shigure stopped adding more food to his plate and began stuffing his mouth full. Seeing his gluttonous manner made Yuki smile. It reminded him that since he had locked Ayame and Shigure up before lunch time they hadn't eaten since early morning. At least he was able to torture the two of them a little bit. Sadly, Yuki didn't think that would help them learn their lesson at all. But as long as Shigure kept food in his mouth he couldn't possibly say anything. That small fact was enough to make Yuki want to do a back-flip out of joy. Before Yuki could even fully enjoy the silence, Shigure looked over at him and mumbled something that no one could understand.
"Why don't you try swallowing?" suggested Yuki with a bored look.
"I said, isn't Tohru a boy's name?" Shigure whispered to Yuki.
"What are you implying? That she's a guy?" Yuki hissed silently back.
The black haired adult just smiled back not answering Yuki's question. Yuki stared icily at him, angry at Shigure for even thinking Tohru was a male and mad because he had somehow discovered her name. Had they snuck into his room after he had left and read the card again? Yuki frowned and mentally yelled at himself for not bolting and nailing his door shut. What would it take to keep those two out of his life or room? Figuring out the answer to both would make him the happiest man in the world but just one would be more than fine. Why couldn't those two prefer to bother Kyo instead of him for once in his life?
"What are you two muttering about? It's incredibly rude to leave the rest of us out of your conversation," scolded Yuki's mom.
"I just asked if Tohru was a boy's name," Shigure repeated.
Yuki flinched as he gave Shigure a death glare. Did he have to ask that aloud? Shigure just smiled at the queen and the king, not paying any attention to Yuki's fury. Angry, Yuki kicked Shigure brutally under the table. Shigure winced and rubbed his shin, looking at Yuki with saddened eyes. Yuki stared back at Shigure without any pity in his heart for this man. He hoped the leg would bruise at the very least. Teasing was one thing, but saying her name to his parents was going ten steps too far. If they ever learned about his relationship with Tohru, Yuki knew who he'd blame first: Shigure.
"Yes, it's more commonly a boy's name, why?" asked Yuki's dad.
"I don't see any reason that would make you bring that up unless you know of a girl named Tohru. There's only one girl with such a name… But you don't know her…" Yuki's mom said in a voice that sounded as if she was reminding Shigure of something important.
"My guess is that by her, you're referring to Princess Tohru of Daichi?" her husband asked her.
Her eyes hardened into a piercing glare at him. Ayame sat up straighter wondering why he hadn't realized there was only one woman named Tohru in this country and that was Yuki's old fiancée, that same brunette with gorgeous brown eyes whom Yuki had loved so much. How could he not realize that? Maybe it was because he hadn't been allowed to utter her name to anyone in over half a year. Tohru had dwindled to the back of his mind after he was ordered to never speak to Yuki about her again. All her pictures in this castle and any belongings of hers had been burned after the accident. So, how did Yuki know her again?
Shigure's chopsticks hit his plate causing a shrill ring to echo across the room. His jaw dropped and his eyes bulged until they looked like they would pop out. He had just come across the same discovery Ayame did. Kyo stared at the two of them with a look that clearly let them know he thought they were stupid. Hatori continued to sip at his tea thinking over the same thing as Shigure and Ayame were, but he didn't express his shock like they did. The queen turned her hardened gaze towards Shigure, wordlessly commanding him to pick up his eating utensils. Shigure obeyed, but his expression remained the same.
Yuki appeared the most nervous and tense. His fists were clenched into tight balls; his was skin paler than white. A wave of sweat washed across his face. Seeing Yuki starting to act like Shigure and Ayame made Kyo start to believe he was missing something here. He eyed them all oddly as he continued to eat. Yuki faced the table hoping his parents wouldn't look his way. He hadn't ever heard his parents talk about Tohru before, and the way they described her made him angry. Even more than furious Yuki was scared. They could continue making fun of Tohru, he could always apologize to her later for it, but if they looked over at him and saw that he was familiar with her they might hurt her until he wouldn't have the opportunity to apologize to her again.
"Yes, that bitch and her family…" Yuki's mom responded slowly.
"Dear, forget about that stupid girl. She's in the past now. She has nothing to do with us anymore," the king reminded her with a cruel grin.
"Yes, it's not worth my time to think about that worthless being!"
Yuki stood up abruptly slamming both of his fists on the table angrily. Those last lines from his parents made his anger overthrow his terror. He couldn't sit around and listen to them call Tohru such things anymore. Worthless, bitch, and stupid couldn't be any further from his own description of Tohru, and he couldn't help but want to correct their words. His chair fell backwards landing with a boom. Several dishes and glasses fell off the table crashing to the floor and shattering into millions of pieces. Even by looking at Yuki's reflection in the bits of broken glass anyone could tell rage boiled in his blood. His parents stared at him with raised eyebrows waiting for him to explain himself.
"Don't talk about her- people like that!" Yuki shouted correcting his sentence to be talking about people in general so they wouldn't suspect him of knowing her.
He glanced at his parents for a moment, fire burning in his eyes. He spun around giving his chair a hard kick before he stormed out of the room. The large, cushioned chair slammed into the stone wall breaking into several separate pieces. His parents eyed each other not completely sure what had happened. In their selfish eyes, they saw it as teenage rebelling. They clearly thought Yuki had snapped at them just because they seemed to not like this Tohru Honda. Shigure, Hatori, and Ayame, on the other hand, knew better. The three of them looked at each other and nodded as they pushed out their chairs and excused themselves. They climbed up the high marble spiral stairs to Yuki's room rapidly.
Kyo ran his eyes over the empty seats. The only people left in the room were the king and the queen, not the best people to be eating dinner with alone. Suddenly, he didn't want to be in this room anymore. He stuffed a few more spoonfuls of his dinner into his mouth before muttering something awkwardly and leaving the room. Reviewing what had just been said minutes ago his eyes widened slightly as he came across what Hatori, Shigure, and Ayame had a few minutes ago. He ran upstairs aimlessly trying to remember where Yuki's room was. Kyo didn't care about Yuki very much, but this was big and important.
"Such disrespect in children these days! Our own son, scolding at us like that!" she shrieked angrily.
"Hehe…" the king laughed mysteriously.
"Damn it! They really pissed me off! Yuki muttered to himself as he furiously flipped his table over, sending the expensive vase on top sprawling to the floor. It landed with a vicious sound, cracking into hundreds of glass bits. It was his own parents' fault that that vase was broken. He hadn't asked for that antique to be in his room and frankly he didn't care whether it was in shards or in top condition. The vase and end table now looked like the rest of the room. Yuki scanned his room for more objects to break. Finding few things left standing in his room, Yuki turned to the full-length mirror hanging beside him and punched it as hard as he could. Flakes of the mirror shot towards Yuki, a few pieces grazing his skin, but Yuki felt no pain, not even in his bloody hands. The pain he felt was within his body, in his heart more specifically.
Ayame and Shigure jumped from the sound. Hatori continued down the hall to Yuki's room without changing his facial expression. He opened the door without knocking looking at the disaster of a room with a feeble raise of his eyebrows. Barely any furniture was left standing. Books lay scattered across the room with a few torn pages loitering around, the desk sat upside down in the center of the floor, the dresser was flipped onto the side, drawers dangling out, and his mirror was in pieces throughout the room. Glass from the mirror and shards from the vase laid intertwined with each other across the room, dots of blood covering them.
"What do you want?" Yuki asked anger coating his words.
"What do you think you're doing?" asked Hatori calmly standing at the entrance.
"What does it look like?" replied Yuki calming down the slightest bit.
"Do you think destroying your room will do any good?"
"No…" Yuki mumbled as he dropped down onto a small clear spot of his room. Burying his head in between his knees he said something to himself that Hatori couldn't hear. He still had so much pent up anger to release but there just wasn't enough furniture and objects in his room. Yuki gripped the ends of his hair tightly taking deep breaths in attempt to calm himself down. Hatori stood there patiently not even trying to coax Yuki to relax. Instead, he knelt down before Yuki, pulled out a small medical kit he carried with him at all times, and treated the cuts on Yuki's hands. Yuki made no attempt to stop Hatori.
"You do know what
you're getting yourself into, right? If either of your families
find out both of you will be in big trouble. You know your parents
hate her family."
"I know, but since when do their conflicts
involve us? Honestly, I don't care whether they approve or not.
All my life they've decided everything for me so I feel at least I
can choose who I am acquainted with," Yuki interrupted the doctor
peering up at him.
"Well does Tohru know you are the prince of Kaze?"
Yuki shook his head with a sigh. He released his grip on his silver locks a lot calmer now. He stared back down at his legs as Hatori finished bandaging the wounds. Yuki still wished he had another vase to throw, but he'd do fine without one. What Hatori said gave him something to think about. It wasn't like he didn't want to tell her or that he hadn't thought about it. He originally wanted to tell her a while ago, but whenever he attempted to his mouth just wouldn't cooperate with him. He was partially scared of what her reaction would be. She wasn't the type to be angry at him for that, but she could be upset. Having secrets didn't exactly show that Yuki trusted her. He did trust her though, he'd trust her with his life, but he just couldn't seem to tell her about his status.
"You know she'll find out sooner or later, might as well tell her yourself," Hatori advised.
"I know… I just don't want her to stop seeing me because of that so I'll put it off for a little longer…" Yuki admitted.
"The longer you put it off the greater the chance of her being upset… Like Kana…" Hatori added the last part in a whisper.
"I'm sorry Hatori…"
"That doesn't matter. Tell me, are you really just friends with her or are you in love with her as your brother insisted?"
It would be better if they were just friends. It's easier to cut off relations with a friend than someone one was in love with. Hatori was pretty sure it was a lot more than friendship but he couldn't help but want to hear that it was just a friendship for the sake of both Yuki and Tohru. If either Yuki's or Tohru's family found out that they were together there was no doubt that they both would be punished. Yuki couldn't be murdered; he was the heir, but Tohru was another story. Tohru was just a mere princess, her brother Haru would take over the palace. She had a minor role in keeping the palace going. If she died, Hatori knew Yuki wouldn't be in the best state. He could easily turn suicidal, and Hatori didn't want that nor would he like Tohru to be dead.
"Let's just say I care about her a lot… I want to smile when I'm around her. I feel like I've known her forever…"
Hatori stared down at the boy getting an answer that confirmed the later of the relationship possibilities without Yuki having to say it directly. It was love. There was no doubt about it. Hatori opened his mouth and was about to advise him not to fall for Tohru anymore but he was cut off by footsteps growing louder. This was the second time that he was interrupted when he was trying to tell Yuki something urgent. Was he not allowed to help Yuki? Hatori rubbed his forehead deciding that Yuki would just have to fight harder than he had done for Kana.
"Hey Yu- Wha- What happened here?" cried Shigure wide-eyed as he and Ayame arrived at the door.
"Most definitely bandits made an attempt to steal away my dearest brother!" concluded Ayame.
"Stupid…" Hatori murmured. Yuki smiled a little glad to know he wasn't the only one who thought his brother was an idiot. His smile didn't remain on his face for very long though. Shigure and Ayame were one of the first two on his list of people he did not want to see, only after his parents. They had tailed him all day long, was it really necessary for them to show up now as well? Well if they died, Yuki wouldn't be taking responsibility. They both knew he was in a bad mood, so it'd be their fault if they said or did anything that made him murder them.
"Now, now! This situation calls for absolute seriousness!" exclaimed Ayame.
"That's right Ayaa!" agreed Shigure.
"What do you want?" Yuki repeated the question he had asked Hatori as he dug his face into his legs again. It annoyed him just to see them. It was all Shigure's fault that Yuki had blown up downstairs, and it was also his fault that Yuki's room was ruined. None of this would have happened if Shigure hadn't brought Tohru up at the dinner table. If his parents punished him later for yelling at them, Yuki would blame Shigure and slip poison in his food for that. Yuki had the feeling that if he took another look at Shigure the man would be dead twenty times before his head even touched the ground.
"The girl… Her full name is Tohru Honda?" Shigure asked.
Yuki nodded not bothering to lift his head or say something like she was the only girl named Tohru for miles on. What did it matter if she was Tohru Honda or not? His parents would disapprove whether she was a princess of Daichi or not. It would be the same in the end, regardless of whether she was Tohru or not. They couldn't be together. His parents would never allow it, though if destiny was in his favor maybe, just maybe there'd be a chance that there would be a happily ever after ending to Yuki and Tohru's story. That was a slim chance, highly unlikely, but Yuki wanted to believe in it.
"Then you know that this is a problem," Shigure added.
Yuki nodded again. Shigure was lucky enough to get him to nod. What he really wanted to do was head butt Shigure in the gut until he died, not answer these stupid questions. No duh this was a problem! Had Shigure even been listening to the chaotic scene he had caused downstairs? Yuki was beginning to wonder whether Shigure had a brain or not more and more these days. He wished this problem didn't exist, he desired to be a normal man instead of royalty. He wanted to be a regular guy, just a simple guy married to Tohru. Or why couldn't his parents just pick Tohru to be his wife? She was a princess too, and he loved her.
"Why?" Ayame asked.
Yuki looked up confusion shimmering in his grey orbs. What kind of vague question was that? Why could be referring to millions of things. Yuki felt the need to hit Ayame for even asking that. Lucky for him, Yuki had more hatred towards Shigure at the moment. Did either of them ever say anything worth listening to? Yuki was getting tired of answering these questions for them. He was also tired of just being around them. Ayame saw Yuki's confound expression and got the hint to better express what he wanted to know.
"Why her? There are millions of girls out there! Prettier ones, smarter ones… So why her? Even a commoner is more suitable in the eyes of our parents; you know that, don't you?" Ayame continued.
"If it because… You remembered?" Shigure asked.
Yuki glanced over at his brother and Shigure twice as confused as before. They were making even less sense at this point. They just stared back at him like they expected him to nod again. They didn't explain the question at all when they saw how puzzled he was. Hatori stood up straighter, his eyes a size larger now that he heard that. Yuki looked at Hatori hoping he'd explain this but he gave Yuki the same look as the other two. Their attitudes were beginning to annoy Yuki. Did everyone in here know something that he didn't? Whatever they knew, he wanted to know as well, especially since it seemed to involve both him and Tohru.
"Remember what?"
"Ayame… You are forbidden to speak of that…." reminded Hatori before Ayame could even open his mouth to answer Yuki.
"He doesn't remember anything anyways…" Kyo said.
The orange haired man stood crossed armed leaning against the door frame. A collection of sweat was gathered on his forehead. Kyo had checked practically every room before he heard their voices and came here. Running around on a half empty stomach wasn't very easy. Yuki looked up at Kyo, irritated to learn that Kyo knew what the three men were talking about. Did everyone in the world know something about his relationship with Tohru that he didn't? The answer, he would soon learn was yes. Maybe everyone in the world was a bit of an exaggeration, but every citizen in both Daichi and Kaze knew something about Yuki's relationship with Tohru that he himself didn't know.
"Remember what?!" Yuki repeated, annoyance coating his words.
"Did you ever wonder why Daichi is our enemy?" Kyo asked him.
"No… What's your point? What did I forget? Was it something important?" Yuki asked getting the feeling that Kyo would be the most likely person to answer these questions.
"Not only did you
forget but so did she..."
Yuki stared at the four men in the
room blankly. Great, now they were answering, they were responding to
him in riddles. What the hell was that supposed to mean? Who were
they referring to when they said she? Were they talking about
Tohru? What did the two of them forget then? Why did they even know
so much about Tohru? He wanted answers, and he wanted them now but
they didn't even give him the time to ask the hundreds of questions
he had just come up with.
"Do you really wanna know what happened?"
Yuki stared back at Kyo giving him a 'what do you think' look. Of course he wanted to know what happened! That was one of the stupidest questions he had ever heard. Kyo remained quiet, he didn't tell Yuki what happened right away as Yuki expected. He was running out of patience; he had used up most of his patience earlier when he was dealing with Shigure and Ayame. If someone didn't explain this soon, they were all going to get a serious beating. Yuki cracked his knuckles about to force them to tell him all they knew.
"You know what'll happen if we tell him, right?" Hatori questioned.
"We'll get beheaded?" laughed Shigure.
"It doesn't matter what happens to us, this part of his life has been unknown to my dearest brother for long enough already…" Ayame told them.
"Actually, you've known the princess since you were a child…"
Yuki's eye's widened in shock. That wasn't right, was it? He had met Tohru several months ago, right? He would have known who he met before. How did they know he met her before? For all he knew, this could be another teasing of Shigure and Ayame's pranks. The presence of Hatori and Kyo told them that that wasn't true. Having the personalities that they did, neither Hatori nor Kyo would have gone along with this sort of prank even if Shigure and Ayame had paid them. So then, what in the world were they talking about? He couldn't have possibly have net her because that would have meant he had forgotten her since he had no idea what they were talking about at the moment. Tohru wasn't the kind of girl one forgot easily though. This didn't make any sense.
"Ever since you both were babies, both your parents arranged a marriage for you two. They decided that once you both reached the age of seventeen, your current age, you two would be married. Ironically, the date they picked out is today, but that doesn't matter. Well anyways, nobody likes to be forced into marriage, but you both were different. I heard that when you were around six, you helped the princess find her mother before you two were even introduced. They had originally planned to have you two meet about a year before the wedding, but things didn't work out as they wanted. It didn't matter; you both were best friends as children never wanting to leave each other. That friendship didn't last long though seeing that your parents would rather have each of you focus on your studies. Either way, crashing into each other a year and a few months ago a love started to bloom. In reality, you two wanted to get married sooner so the wedding was moved to early this spring… But neither of you ever made it to that altar…"
"A terrible even occurred instead…"
"You see… On that fateful day, you both were sitting in the car ahead of us with the princess and her parents to go to the church. The four of us sat with Kisa and Haru, Tohru's siblings, and your parents. All we could do was watch. It was too late to inform you guys of the speeding truck that would, in a matter of seconds, collide with the car you were in. The car rolled off the road and down a steep hill. We got out as fast as we could and ran down the hill, but there was nothing we could do. We heard the crashes all too well. The sound of the car exploding rang across town. By the time we got there the car was blown to bits, everything inside, burnt to a crisp."
"At first, I thought you were dead as well. I was delighted to see that you were lying outside of the car by the princess!"
"Everything fell apart that day… Her parents were both dead and we found you both had severe damage to your brains. Luckily, you both weren't brain-dead. Nothing vital was lost and none of the damage was permanent, but many of your memories if not all of Tohru and the year you spent falling in love with each other were lost…"
"Same with the girl, I heard…" Kyo commented.
"Oddly enough, you remembered the rest of your life. It was as if Tohru had never existed before…" Shigure finished the story off.
Yuki sat there stunned silent, letting the information sink in. That couldn't be true. If he had loved her before, if he had asked her to marry him before, if she had agreed to be his wife, he would have remembered. A stupid car crash couldn't have made him forget her. This was dumb. It had to be some sort of cruel joke! This wasn't right. He couldn't believe them. They'd just make fun of him later. He especially didn't want Kyo to have a valid reason to make fun of him. He wouldn't forget Tohru, he couldn't… Right? If he had really loved her as much as they told him, he shouldn't have been able to forget her like that.
"You're lying… I would never forget her…" Yuki muttered.
"Little brother, why would we lie to you about this?"
"You're lying… You're lying! You're lying!" Yuki snapped in a crazed frenzy of denial. He clasped his hands over his ears refusing to hear anymore of what Ayame had to say. Ayame tried to coax Yuki into discussing this, but Yuki just swatted him away. Yuki didn't want to hear them say anymore. Forgetting Tohru gave him no right to love her again, forgetting her made him a terrible person, a heartless creature. He had no right to love her, no right at all if he could forget her in an instant like that. Ayame hesitantly took a step back looking back at Hatori for instructions, but Hatori, Shigure and Kyo were already outside the door. He bounded for the door since there seemed to be nothing he could do for Yuki but give him time to think it over.
"Do you think, he'll be alright Haa-san?" Ayame asked the doctor.
"He'll be fine… He just showed the first two steps of shock, denial and anger. Just give him some time and he'll be normal again," responded Hatori nonchalantly.
"Do you think either of them can remember?"
Hatori didn't respond. There was nothing to say in response. He couldn't be sure of either possibility. There was a chance that it could be a temporary case of amnesia, but at the same time the memory loss could also be permanent. Everyone here, couldn't help but hope that maybe, the loss wouldn't last forever, but the memories of each other were just buried under tragedy and conflicts instead. There was no way of telling; they'd just have to patiently wait and see to find out how things would turn out. Kyo remained standing there with his usual scowl wondering if telling Yuki was really the right thing to do. He didn't want the memory loss to last forever even though he wouldn't admit feeling this way.
Yuki remained kneeling on the wooden floor of his room clutching his throbbing head. He was still unable to grasp onto the situation. He felt the need to break something, destroy something, but there was nothing left standing in his room besides his bed. Tightening his fists, he could feel his nails pierce his skin, but he didn't care. There was nothing to break, nothing to let him release this built up anger on or even let his bewilderment lash out for a second. Yuki was left there with his emotions, and he decided to release one feeling, sadness and regret for even forgetting Tohru. A single tear slipped from his eye dropping to the ground, breaking like glass. His whole world was flipped upside down before his own eyes. How was he supposed to handle this situation?
His head hurt so much. So many words and phrases rung in his head, things he didn't remember hearing before, most of this, spoken by Tohru. One sentence stuck out to him in particular…
I love you Yuki-kun…
