Fruits Basket Fan Fiction ❯ Intertwined Felines ❯ Back Home Again ( Chapter 6 )

The rain pelted down, crashing onto the dark pavement beneath the pounding shoes. The pair made their way to the main house, gasping for air but never-the-less unfazed. Yuki was the first one to stop, leaning heavily against the concrete wall. Kyou stopped with him after jogging a few feet ahead. He spun and glared at the rat.

"Kuso nezumi! Come on, it's an emergency we can't just stop and rest. Your sister just went through the hell worse than yours!" Yuki didn't respond, only bent forwards, his hands on his knees, breathing heavily. He raised only his eye to glare at the angered orange haired boy.

"Just because you're sleeping with my sister doesn't mean you're the only one that cares." The evil expression on Kyou's face dropped, and he watched Yuki blankly. He was right of course. Others cared for Yumi like he did, he just cared a bit more than others. "Come on, let's go." He blinked as the rat dashed in front of him.

Shigure held onto Yumi's hand as Hatori inserted the needle into her arm slowly. The purple eyes were faded, and she didn't even react to the sharp point entering her pale skin. It was almost painful, seeing how helpless she looked. Holding her was like holding a rag doll. It was lifeless and flimsy. If he wanted to, he could toss her in the air. And she wouldn't even move.

"Done," Hatori broke Shigure's trance, drawing attention to the doctor, then to the fluttering eyelids of Yumi. Soon, she was lying unconcious on the bed. Like she was any different before. Shigure swallowed the lump in his throat and kissed her forehead softly. Soon after he wondered how many times Kyou had done the same to the same spot. How often Kyou's lips had been placed where his just where.

The door was flung open, and the two teen members of the curse had dashed in. Yuki automatically collapsed onto Hatori's couch, winded and on the verge of passing out. Kyou was at Yumi's side immediately, cradling her unconcious head in his arms. The same way Kagura had done to him several times before. It was a twisted irony, you could say.

"I put her to sleep for about eight hours, no harm done. But even though her outer wounds are healing, I only wish I had the medicine to cure what Akito has done to her soul. She'll never recover from something as drastic as that Kyou, you know she won't be the same." The clock beeped midnight when Kyou looked up into Hatori's unfazed eyes. It pained Hatori to see that the crimson eyes were now as empty and dark as the girl's, who's head rested on his lap. Kyou stroked Yumi's curls, watching her calm face. He examined the bruised cheeks and the bleeding lips.

How she'd let this happen was beyond him. Yumi always seemed like the powerful girl. One who liked to fight back. It was almost amazing how badly she looked. But he didn't think so.

She sat up in the darkness, her eyes searching around the empty room. She felt cold, alone. The sheet clung to her lap, but willingly was pulled up to her chest. If it weren't so black, one could see the scared expression on Yumi's features.

"Kyou? Kyou?" The almost childlike quiet cries echoed through the house. A hand rested on her shoulder gently, and she instinctively reached for it, caressed the familiar yet strange hand. "Kyou?"

"Everything will be alright Yumi. He's gone home, I'm staying with you. He's got school tomorrow." Shigure kissed her cheek gently, feeling guilty for letting a thing like this happen to her.

"Shigure…I feel so hurt…I feel empty."

"It's ok, I'm here now. Come," he gently pulled her back and let her rest against his shoulder. Slowly, she managed to crawl into and curl up in his lap, resting in his arms. Shigure rocked the girl quietly, gazing around the room, as if a hint as what to do next will pop up instantly.

"Shigure I feel sick," she murmured suddenly, almost making the inu jump. A shiver ran down her spine, and she shook once, twice. It took him a while to realize she was crying. Her sobs were quiet and unheard, yet her shoulders shook violently. He closed his eyes and tried to imagine all of them happy. Before sending her to Akito. Before that.

The doctor watched the sleeping pair calmly, and almost comically. Shigure was sleeping soundly on the couch, with the white cat stretched out on top of him, snoring peacefully. At first glance, they almost would be a couple. Slyly, one of Shigure's brown eyes opened to glance at Hatori.

"Har'i, she said she was sick last night. I don't know what it means, but test her."

"For what?"

"You know what I'm talking about Har'i. Akito can do those kind of things." The firmness in Shigure's voice was almost discouraging for the dragon to resist. But he nodded solemnly.

"I will. Now get up and let her rest. Kyou will be visiting soon. I thought it was just lust at first, but he really does care about it. It's quite fascinating, watching the pair. You don't want that cat trailing on your tail when he sees how you've acted towards Yumi." Shigure let out a skeptical laugh as he set the small girl on the couch.

"By caring for her? That's not so terrible." He nodded at his friend and looped an arm around his shoulder, dragging him to the kitchen.

Hatori stirred his cup of coffee, watching his friend bustle about, trying to fix his own cup of tea without killing himself. A sly laugh escaped his lips as Shigure started muttering about how Hatori needed a `Tohru' of his own. He triumphantly held up a packet and dropped it into the steaming cup of water, watching the contents start to mix within. He slipped and leaned against the counter.

Hatori found himself smiling again, "I know what's going on Shigure. You have no need to hide it."

"Apparently not. Tell me what's going on." Outside, he was playing cool, and Hatori seemed to buy it. But inside, his heart was pounding. Had he been that obvious? Damn it, and she was so young too, it was almost pedaphile. He looked down at his tea when Hatori raised an eyebrow at him. It WAS obvious, and it was almost obvious that Shigure knew, and was just playing stupid.

"Is it really that obvious?"

"Yes. Shigure Kyou will have your hide on his wall if he finds out." Shigure growled and turned to face the wall the counter was connected to. He didn't say much, burning a hole with his eyes into the electric socket parallel of him. He knew very well what Kyou would do if he found it. And it didn't make him very happy to know either. He was almost tempted to toss the scalding hot cup of tea at Hatori's face.

"Shigure? Har'I?" Yumi shuffled into the kitchen, covered in a robe. She walked almost like a straddle, like she'd just given birth, or an object was wedged in between her thighs. She leaned against the door and pulled the robe closed around her chest. It was almost painful, watching her. Shigure wanted nothing more than to leap to her and hold her in his arms, comfort her. But he resisted.

"Yumi come with me a moment. I need to perform a test on you to make sure Akito didn't do any permenant damage." He looked to Shigure. Permenant could be interpretted in many ways.

Yumi hugged her knees on the couch. Just one word. One word tore her world apart. What the fuck would Kyou think? How would he react? Would he still stay with her. Thought flew through her mind, and she felt dizzy trying to answer all the questions. Her eyes were squeezed shut, and she cried. Great, fat tears that rolled down her cheeks. Unlike the small streams that came from her eyes at the hands of Akito. This was sorrow, not pain.

"Hey." She looked up as Kyou's voice reached her ears. He seated himself next to her and pulled her into his lap. A sniff escaped her and she cried on his shoulder, letting the tears wet his shirt, her arms around his neck, as if she let go, she would fall into complete darkness.

"Kyou. I need to speak with you, privately." Kyou kissed the top of her head softly.

"I love you Yumi. Don't you forget that." He slowly set her down and stepped to the patio at which Hatori stood. Yumi swallowed and couldn't stop her tears. She hadn't said it back. It was a mistake. A fatal one as that.

The night sky danced with stars as the two men stood outside. Kyou kept one eye on his lover, the other on the doctor who welded so much power, as to destroy someone's past by one touch of his hand. The wind blew, sending a chill up the neko's spine, sensing this wasn't a good thing.

"Kyou Akito did terrible, awful things to Yumi. Awful." He only nodded to acknowledge he was listening. His eyes never left the curled up frame on the couch. "And let me tell you. Yumi wasn't willing to do any of this. It was force and rape-,"

"Hold on a god damn second. Rape? Oh that sonuva bitch…" Kyou clenched his fist and glared at Hatori, as if that would help him mentally murder the head of the family.

"Kyou just listen to me! The effect of one was…." He stopped, unable to repeat the word after causing the breakdown of Yumi earlier, "Was….was pregnancy. Yumi's expecting Akito's child in 9 months." The sound of Hatori's last word echoed in the silent darkness. It rang in Kyou's ears, stinging his senses. He knew his face showed a blank. What was he supposed to react like. His first instinct was to go kill Akito. But that was wrong. Instead he burst back into the house.

Yumi jumped, and the tears came harsher. Kyou dove in front of her and took one hand. She cried out as he squeezed harder than neccisary. She tried to pull away, but Kyou's grip was firm, and he wouldn't let go.

"Yumi you have to tell me the truth. What Akito did, what's in your stomach now. Did you enjoy it? Tell me dammit!" Yumi only cried more, the tears coming in torrents. She wasn't going to talk! Kyou mentally screamed, almost ready to beat her to get an answer out. "Yumi tell me!"

She pulled her hand away finally, massaging it and looking at Kyou with a new fear in her eyes. She wouldn't lie to him, she would always tell the truth. Would he like to be hurt….

"Kyou…I couldn't control myself…I…" she broke off, shaking her head. But he was already up, grabbing his jacket, glaring down at the girl who he'd spent nights with. Exploring her, touching her, loving her, feeling her. It was all too much.

"Yumi, I love you, believe me I do. But I made a mistake, and thought you loved me too. So my views on life have changed." Her eyes fell shut and she only listened to the closing of the door, and the tinkling of a wind chime. She hated that noise. She hated Akito. She hated love. Her knees were drawn to her chest, and she cried.

Tohru folded the clothes. She wasn't humming today. She wasn't singing either, like she usually did when she was cheerful. When all of Yuki's clothes were folded neatly in the basket, she carried them up the stairs. The house was dead silence. Yuki had gone out to his garden. Shigure was out at work, delivering a new novel. And Kyou was visiting Yumi. She sighed, feeling the last ounce of happiness exit like a brief wind. Yumi…poor girl. She only hoped she was ok.

"I can only pray that Kyou will keep his temper," she said out loud, tucking the last of Yuki's khaki's away. As she stood up, the sound of a sliding door brought her attention back.

"Oh someone's home!" she smiled and bounded down the stairs, only to be met by the ferocious glare of Kyou. She stopped, finding herself scared of this expression on his handsome features.

"Er…Kyou? Is somethi-,"

"Shut up and stay the hell away from me." He paraded up the stairs, shoving into her rudely. He slammed his door shut, shaking the house. Stay the hell away from him. It'd been so long since she'd last heard those words. It was almost painful now. Her eyes prickled with tears, and she flew to the kitchen, her new comfort zone.

"I'm home!" Shigure's false joy was uneasy to read, and everyone bought it. He noted the silence, his eyes darted from the kitchen to the roof to the upstairs. "Must have already heard the news," he muttered under his breath, removing his suit jacket and hanging it up.

"Shigure welcome home." Tohru's shaking voice greeted him from the doorway of the kitchen. "Kyou is…upset."

"He yelled at you again didn't he. Come here Tohru." He took the crying girl's hand and kissed the top gently. "He's just been through a hard time, you have to let him be. He's found out something terrible."

"What is it? You can tell me, I know he won't. He doesn't like to bug me." Tohru found herself walking with Shigure to the seated area around the TV. Her mind was clouded with possibilities, but none which involved Yumi and Akito in such a terrible way.

"Yumi is burdened with Akito's child now, and she accidently admitted to enjoying parts. That engraged Kyou, and now I think they've broken up." It hit her like a hammer, and she almost fell over. The shock washed over her slowly. They were so perfect for each other. It was like miso and soup, they just fit. She couldn't even imagine them breaking up like that.

"That…it's…oh my goodness…" she held a hand to her chest, as if that was going to help matters. Shigure only nodded to secure his answer and stood up, dusting his robes like something had gotten on them.

"I'm going to be in my office if you need me. Oh and do try to cheer Kyou up. He'll destroy something, like a door unless you do." He turned to his office and shuffled away, scheming in his mind secretly what he could do.

"Kyou-kun?" Tohru knocked on his door quietly. At her feet sat all of Yumi's things, which she'd orgonized. She'd found them in the hallway, tossed and scattered. Rage. It was painful to think about and even more painful to see him like this. She'd swallowed the tears and knocked again.

"Kyou please listen to me." The door slid open and she almost died. Kyou stood shirtless, his eyes red and swollen with hours of crying. He looked battered and torn, and looked like the hell he'd had to endure in the mountains. His hair was a mess and he even had bruises and scratched all over his body.

"What the hell do you want?"

"Kyou what did you do?" Tohru scolded, pushing him back into his room. She bustled off to the bathroom and came back with a wet cloth. Kyou was already back on his bed, scowling at the sheets. This was where he and Yumi had passionate nights and wonderful dreams next to each other, their fair naked skin felt right touching and side by side.

Now Tohru sat where Yumi once slumbered, swathing the cloth over his cuts slowly. He sat in cold silence, staring out the window. Once or twice he would wince and retract, but Tohru would glare at him fiercely and he'd let her resume. Finally, once she bathed all his wounds, she let the towel drop to the floor. She held his arm up with one hand, letting the other travel along the bumps and cuts.

"Kyou why did you do this to yourself?" she asked him quietly, looking up to meet his eyes. He quickly moved his to another source. Namely the wet towel on the ground next to his feet. He felt the tears prickle in his eyes. He couldn't let Tohru see him like this. It would kill her. He felt her intertwine her fingers with his in his hand, gently rubbing his warm palm with her cool one. He looked up and finally met her gaze, brave enough now.

They sat in silence, just staring at each other. Tohru wanted nothing more than to hug him, to tell him everything would be alright. But she couldn't. She never could. Instead and leaned forwards and placed a small kiss on his lips, only hoping he wouldn't pull back.

Which was his first intention. But it struck him again. He and Yumi weren't an item anymore. So when did it matter? He held his eyes closed, enjoying the touch of his lips on hers. They were almost the same, Yumi's and hers. But he prefered not to compare.

Her mouth parted slowly, and he swept his tongue in, changing the kiss to a much higher level. She gasped and opened her eyes to gaze at the handsome cat. She became soon lost in the deepness of the kiss, and her eyes closed again.

Yuki watched as Shigure carted his sister's things into his room. He'd previously spread out a sleeping bag onto the floor, and it was already set so she would have a place to sleep. A smile crossed his lips as he watched the stupid inu stumble with her easle.

"It would kill both of them to see each other, never the less to sleep in the same room," Shigure had stated bluntly. He'd suggested his room at first, at which Yuki flatly refused. The hell was the damn pervert thinking? Nobody could trust the kuso hentai. He'd finallly put his room up for auction, and Yumi picked him. It was almost strange, the once distant siblings coming together slowly.

Now Yumi stepped into the room, hugging her stomach and watching Shigure stumble about. It was almost funny, watching him dance with her things balanced in his arms. But who could smile anymore? She hated them. She hated people who smiled. Who were happy. A hate that could kill if given the right weapons.

"Yumi you can sleep here now. It's late, good night you two." Shigure flipped off the light and gave Yumi a brief hug. Quickly and slyly, he let his hand slip to her ass, squeezing it gently before heading out. She resisted a yelp of shock and only gazed after him as he left. Temptation to go hit him was hard to resist, but she did. She slipped into the sleeping bag, gazing at the ceiling.

"Can you sleep?"

"No. You?"

"What the hell do you think?" Yumi turned onto her side, staring at the door blankly. She heard a shuffling behind her, followed by a quiet thump, announcing that Yuki was near her head now. She moved so that her head was on his lap, and they gazed at each other quietly, unable to see each other for the darkness. Yuki quietly stroked her hair, watching the curls fall back down each time. She was so beautiful.

"Yumi I'm sorry. I can't do anything to help," He admitted finally, a sadness in his voice. She almost smiled, but then thought of the day and felt it fall down again. She glared at her stomach for a moment before returning to Yuki.

"Nobody can, don't feel guiltly. It's not your fault, it never was. So you shouldn't be sorry." Yuki found himself pulling her up on his lap closer, wrapping his arms around her stomach. It was strange, holding a girl like this. It was strange holding anyone like this. He liked it. It made him feel complete, like he was finally human or something. He watched his sister quietly, watched her play with her hair as she rested her head in his lap.

He did a strange, random thing then. But if he could, he wouldn't go back in time and change it. He bent and kissed her lips, loving the soft sensation. He'd only done this once before, and that was just a strange night of passion. Maybe this was too. He didn't love her like Kyou did, and he knew for a fact she didn't love him. But it was more than just a kiss then. Like a security that everything would be alright. Yumi just closed her eyes and kissed him back, feeling, almost for once, that there was more than just Kyou that cared for her.

"Yumi! Yuki! Come on down for breakfast!" Shigure's cheerful voice awoke both Yuki and Yumi. The sun blared out at them through the window, blinding the siblings. Yuki mumbled something and got up groggily, shuffling to the door. Yumi lay on the ground, hugging her stomach. The last thign she wanted at the moment was food. It made her stomach more queasy than it was and her head was throbbing. She let out a string of swear words before latching onto Yuki's foot.

"Tell him I sure as hell ain't eating breakfast today." Nodding in understanding, the half awak Yuki stumbled out the door to perform the task at hand, convincing Shgiure that Yumi would not eat. Which was harder than it seemed.

"Of course she has to eat! I'll deliver the food to her myself!" With that, Shigure grabbed a plate of Miso soup, riceballs and leek porridge, bounding up the stairs quite happily, leaving the three other inhabitants of the house with blank faces.

"Um…I hope he doesn't spill anything or hurt himself on the way up," Tohru mumbled, flustered and a bit confused. She sighed and set the rest of the breakfast out for everyone, immediately bringing cheer back to the room with her humming. Most of the riceballs were snatched by Kyou, since he despise everything else on the menu today. Though most of it was gone since Yuki helped himself to quite a bunch of everything.

"I hope Yumi is doing ok," Tohru thought outloud, taking a sip from the miso soup bowl. There was a growl, and Yuki looked up to see Kyou scowling at his plate. The cat stuffed another riceball into his mouth and chewed menecingly, glaring daggers at the silverware. A, the stupid cat can't beat me, so he resorts to fighting the spoon, he thought with a smirk on his face.

The breakfast tray sat in the middle of the bed, Yumi at one end, arms crossed, Shigure at the other, pleading. It must've been a pretty bad fight, since Shigure was pretty close to tears at the moment.

"Yumi, please eat this food! Please? Tohru made it and it should be good! It's healthy and will help your stomach if that's what's upsetting you? Come on Yumi please? Do it for Tohru and me?"

"No."

"Yumi!" Tears cascaded down his face, "You can't do this to me all this food will go to waste!" Yumi sighed and leaned against the backboard of the bed, running a hand through her hair. This dog sure was frustrating after a while. She shook her head.

"I told you already I wasn't hungry. And why the hell are you crying?" Shigure blinked before he realized that he was overreacting. He let out a depressed sigh and looked into Yumi's eyes.

"You have to eat. Starving it won't make it go away, Yumi. I think you'd die first anyway." She stared blankly at him. How the hell did he know?!? Was it that obvious. Thoughts ran through her head and made her dizzy. Yes, he was right of course, but this morning, she just didn't feel right….

Suddenly, her eye's widened and her hand flew to her mouth. She staggered off the bed and ran to the restroom. All throughout the house, everyone could hear Yumi retching over the toilet, and it made them cringe. After a while, Yumi pulled the flusher to the toilet, watching the mismatched contents swirl down. She sat back against the wall of the bathroom, putting a hand to her eyes, and cried.