Fruits Basket Fan Fiction ❯ Half Jack ❯ Chapter 3 ( Chapter 3 )

“'Cause I'm as free as a bird now….”

Free Bird by Lynyrd Skynyrd

 

 

 

 

Tohru had stayed by Kyo's side, kneeling on the muddy ground with Kyo's head in her lap as she held the umbrella over the two of them. He was still out of it; he appeared to be peacefully asleep, his hair had dark brown splotches of what Tohru assumed to be mud. Several minutes ago, he'd muttered a few words, a smile on his face, before he drifted back into unconsciousness. The words he said were so strange, made no sense. `I won…I beat…the curse…' What did that mean, he beat the curse? Maybe he was just delirious.

 

But what had happened? Why had he gone out, knowing how weak he became in the rain? Surely that was why he had passed out, or whatever had happened. But, why would he have gone out…?

 

He heard voices in the distance, and looked up, away from Kyo. Two dots of light were coming closer. “Tohru?” the voices called over the rain.

 

“Over here!” she yelled.

 

The lights became closer, and soon she could see that it was Shigure and Yuki, both holding flashlights. Shigure paused when he reached her, staring down at Kyo. “He hasn't awoken?”

 

“No…. Not really….”

 

The dog sighed. “We have to get him inside. Yuki, get him by the legs; I'll support his torso.”

 

Tohru didn't move as Shigure crouched on the ground after handing her his flashlight. If she had, Kyo's head would have been on the wet ground, and that would not have been good for him. It had been somewhat of a problem for Shigure to lift him up with Tohru in the way, but he didn't object, and eventually he was lifted off the ground. As Yuki and Shigure made their way back to the house, Tohru picked up the flashlight that Yuki had placed on the wet earth and scampered after them, careful to keep her umbrella over Kyo's head once she reached them.

 

Once inside, Tohru fetched several large towels from the linen closet that was on the second floor and hurried downstairs. Kyo had been laid on the floor of the living room, Shigure supporting his head, while Yuki stood awkwardly several feet away.

 

“Tohru, hand me one of those towels,” Shigure said.

 

She did as she was told; she had never seen Shigure so serious, and it made her wonder if, in fact, Kyo's condition was serious as well.

 

“Hatori's coming,” he said, carefully placing the towel under Kyo's head as Tohru knelt beside Kyo. “He should be comfortable until Ha'ri gets here.”

 

Tohru nodded, kneeling beside Kyo. Ever so carefully, she began dabbing at his face with one of the towels. He was shaking slightly, shivering from the cold, from the rainwater. Shigure reappeared a moment later with a blanket, which he draped over Kyo, then left to wait for Hatori by the door.

 

Tohru began then to gently dry his hair, to try and get the dirt and water out. His hair was so incredibly dark now, almost completely brown; only the ends were red. She combed her fingers through his hair, to get all the knots out, then rubbed with a towel. Though the towel grew wet, none of the dirt came onto the towel.

 

She heard the sound of the front door opening, and then there were Shigure and Hatori's voices. Both men came into the room; Hatori immediately went to Kyo while Shigure leaned in the doorway.

 

“Has he awoken?” Hatori asked, setting his medical bag down beside Kyo.

 

Tohru shook her head. “No, he's stayed asleep since he was brought back to the house.”

 

“And before then? You stayed with him while Yuki went to get Shigure, didn't you?”

 

“I did,” she nodded. “He- he sort of woke up…I'm not really sure. He mumbled a bit…”

 

“Really?” Hatori was pulling the blanket back and unbuttoning his younger cousin's shirt. “What did he say? Anything about how he got hurt?” He put his stethoscope on and pressed the round part to Kyo's chest.

 

“No…. It was something about beating the curse…. I'm not really sure what he meant.”

 

Hatori's eyebrows rose. “Really?… Tohru, why don't you go clean yourself up while I take care of Kyo?”

 

Tohru hesitated. She didn't want to leave Kyo, even though she knew he was in good hands.

 

“He'll be fine,” Hatori said gently. “I may have to undress him to check for any wounds.”

 

She blushed. “Oh! All right; I'll- I'll stay out of your way….”

 

Tohru stood up and went upstairs. Once in her room, she realized that Hatori's advice had been good; she was absolutely filthy. Her socks and knees were caked in mud, and she was wet from the rain, despite her umbrella. She decided that a bath would be a good idea, that she could check on Kyo afterwards.

 

After she was freshly scrubbed and dressed (in her pajamas, for it was growing late), she went to see how Kyo was doing. Not finding him in the living room, Tohru ran back upstairs to Kyo's room.

 

Shigure, Hatori and Kyo were inside, Kyo still asleep but now in his bed. Hatori and Shigure were staring at him curiously.

 

“Hatori?”

 

He looked over at her. “Yes Tohru?”

 

“How's Kyo?”

 

The doctor sighed. “He…is perfectly fine. He has a few bruises, but that is all. The only possible explanation I can give is that he grew too weak in the rain.”

 

“But what about his hair?” Shigure asked.

 

“Huh?” Tohru looked curiously at Shigure.

 

“His hair is black,” Shigure said. “We were drying him off before he was put in dryer clothes, and…his hair is black. I had thought at first that it was merely dirty, but no dirt came off it.”

 

That's what I thought, Tohru thought.

 

“I don't understand why his hair would change colors…. Maybe it is just dirt,” Hatori said. “It'll probably wash out when he showers.” He sighed. “I'll be going now, since he appears to be fine. Call me if there's any sign that there's something wrong.”

 

Tohru nodded.

 

 

XxXxXxXxXxX

 

 

Kyo slowly opened his eyes. Light was pouring in through the window above his bed, illuminating his bedroom. He blinked, trying to remember how he had gotten in his bed, searching through his memory for last night's events. Waking up, the rain, going outside, Cat-

 

A grin spread across his face as he remembered. Yes. He had defeated the curse, had forced Cat out. He was free, free from the curse, free from Akito, free from it all. His grin grew; he felt lighter than ever, happier than he had ever felt.

 

He sat up, got out of bed. He really did feel lighter; Cat's presence was completely gone from his mind, from his body. Kyo quickly dressed, and headed downstairs, his stomach rumbling. No wonder he was so hungry, he hadn't eaten at all yesterday.

 

No one was in the kitchen, but he could hear voices in a nearby room. There usual lingering odor of food was missing, so Kyo assumed he missed breakfast. This wasn't a problem; Tohru always made a little extra in case one of them became hungry between meals. He opened the refrigerator and peered inside.

 

“Kyo?”

 

Kyo jumped; he hadn't heard anyone come into the kitchen. He looked over. Tohru was standing in the doorway, staring at him.

 

“Hey.”

 

“Kyo,” Tohru said softly, taking another step in, “are you okay?”

 

“Yeah. Why wouldn't I be?” He pulled a carton of milk out of the fridge and opened it.

 

“You- you were unconsious last night, and Hatori c-couldn't find anything wrong with you-”

 

“That's `cause there isn't anything wrong,” Kyo said and began drinking from the carton.

 

“-a-and your hair's black.”

 

Kyo spat out a mouthful of milk, coughing. His hair was black now? What the hell?

 

“Kyo!” Tohru gasped as he bent double, coughing and wheezing. She ran to him, careful not to step in the puddle he had just created.

 

“What the hell do you mean, my hair's black?” Kyo snapped, wiping his mouth.

 

“It-it's black,” Tohru stammered, looking a little hurt.

 

“What's going on in here?” Shigure poked his head through the doorway. “Oh- Kyo? Is that you?”

 

Kyo didn't answer. Instead, he ran to the bathroom to look at his reflection.

 

Tohru had been right. His hair was black, completely black. That wasn't all. His eyes were no longer a deep crimson, but dark brown. He touched his hair, unable to believe it was his own.

 

“What the hell….?”

 

 

XxXxXxXxX

 

Another chapter! Wooo!

 

I hope this story is going okay. I'm always nervous when I extend one-shots into multiple chapter stories, `cause I always feel that the original idea of a one-shot is better than what I end up with.

 

Anywho, I think there's going to be only one or two more chapters.

 

 

Please review!