Yuki\'s Realization

Chapter #2--Taking Care of Kyo

Hatori came in every other day to check on Kyo and change his bandages. When he finished he then came downstairs and opened his briefcase before setting a baby bottle upon the table, which confused everyone.

“For right now this is the only way he’s going to be able to eat and drink because he is far to weak to try to chew anything, no matter how much he tries…He woke up early, while I was changing his bandages.” Hatori said and everyone was pretty shocked by it. “On doctors orders I told Kagura not to come see Kyo until he’s recovered enough by my word. Visiters are fine but I know how Kagura would react to all of this so if she is to visit then I will come with her. If she comes by herself then do not let her in.” Hatori said to Shigure as Tohru and Yuki quietly went upstairs.

Coming down the hall to Kyo’s door, they peaked in to see Kyo still laying there but his eyes were open. He looked the way Yuki does in the morning with how gloomy he was but he then tried to move only to grunt his teeth out of pain with a couple small tears and so Yuki gently pulled Tohru back into the hallway.

“Have you ever had a cat as a pet?” Yuki asked and Tohru shook her head. “Well…we’ll have to relax him the way we would a cat because we all find that we relax the same ways our zodiac animals do…So you have to take that bottle and fill it up with warm milk to relax his stomach. I’ll try to calm him down.” Yuki said and she nodded before running off downstairs and Yuki stepped back up to the doorway. He took a deep breathe before he stepped in and Kyo’s eyes shifted toward him as he stepped right up to the bed. “So you are awake…just try to relax …Handa-san’s bringing you something to make you feel a little better.” Yuki said reaching out and gently scratching the back of his ear and he closed eyes with confort before he looked back up at Yuki again.

“…Wh…why…”

“Shh…don’t speak…I’m doing this because I want to.” Yuki said just as Tohru came back in with the bottle and Yuki then sat at the top of the bed and rested Kyo’s head and the pillow upon his leg before lightly sticking the bottle in his mouth which made Kyo feel insecure. “I know how odd this is but Hatori said you’re not strong enough to eat on your own yet…you could barely even talk so just bare with this…it’ll relax you, I promace.” Yuki said and Kyo hesitated for a minute before he finally began to drink out of the bottle and the warmth of it calmed Kyo down and Tohru smiled.

“Where did you learn all of this? It’s amazing.” Tohru asked.

“It’s not so special…we’re taught this sort of thing to take care of ourselves but in the many times Kyo has gotten sick while training with Shihan this has always been the technique Shihan would use to relax Kyo and even put him to sleep.” Yuki said and Kyo looked from Tohru to Yuki and then back again.

“Don’t look quite so surprised Kyo-kun…Yuki-kun’s helping me take care of you because he wants to. I didn’t ask him at all.” Tohru said with a smile and Kyo looked up at Yuki, who had a very uneasy yet hopeful gaze as he stared down at Kyo. “Just wait until he gets a little stronger, then he’ll have a lot of questions for you Yuki-kun.” Tohru said knowing how confused Kyo must feel.

“I figured as much…but…you see Kyo…” Yuki said as he pulled the bottle back out and he then took a moment to try to find the words. “I would like to be your friend…I really would…but with how we’re always fighting and how you’re so deturmined to beat me…I suppose…I always thought you would deny me…I still think you would deny me…” Yuki said and Kyo looked off to the side to try to think before he took a deep breathe and looked up at Yuki again.

“…It’s not…that I don’t like you……I just…feel like everyone in the whole family hates me…because of you…as the rat……and me as the cat…” Kyo said in a weak and somewhat quiet voice but Yuki and Tohru could still hear him a little bit.

“……I don’t think I’ve ever truly hated you…I just don’t like how you can’t see all of these qualities in yourself. The way you can be yourself around everyone else. I always have to change a little bit just to—”

“Stop it!” Kyo said in a way that was suppose to be aggressive but he still couldn’t get enough volume to put behind it. “You act the same way around people at school the same way you do at home…you just don’t have someone at school who pisses you off the way I do.” Kyo said, looking off to the side with a frown.

Tohru smiled and took the bottle and went to the door, signaling that she would be back after a while with a simple wink and Yuki watched her leave before he began to think. Kyo was still settled on his leg and he looked to Kyo before he slapped his hand on his forehead and Kyo looked up at him as he used his hand to slightly cover his eyes.

“…I’m such an idiot…The truth is that you don’t really piss me off much anymore…I just fight with you to get some kind of interaction…positive or negative, it didn’t matter to me as long as I got some kind of reaction from you. The only time I’ve been mad at you truly is when you picked some leeks out of my guarden—which is stupid because you got them to make something for Handa-san while she was sick and when you started talking about me on the roof the day I was wearing that dress for the culture festival—which is also stupid because I wore that dress even though I didn’t really want to—”

“Hey, you’re rambling…” Kyo said and Yuki instantly fell silent. “…First of all, if you wanted to be my friend you could’ve just said somethin’, and second, if you didn’t want to wear a stinkin’ dress then you could’ve said ‘no’ and no one would’ve thought any less of you…No one ever does…” Kyo said and Yuki was speechless. “I could never be as good with people as you are…people leap to the opportunity to talk to you…I don’t think you realize it…but no matter where I go or what I do I’m always being compaired to you…family…friends…I think the only person who doesn’t is Tohru-san.”

“Really…we’re going to have to stop that then.” Yuki said and Kyo looked somewhat shocked as Yuki settled him back on the bed and stood up. “I’ll be back later okay, there are things I have to do.” Yuki said as he walked out of the room and nearly bumped into Tohru and she looked up at him as he had a thoughtful smile on his face. “Suprisingly…that went pretty well…I think we’re friends now, but I’m still not sure.” Yuki said and she smiled.

“See, I knew you could do it.” Tohru said.

Through out the day Yuki and Tohru would stay with Kyo and they would take turns with some of the problems Kyo might have. Tohru would always cook due to the fact that Yuki was just terrible at cooking. So Yuki would often go to the store to get the ingredients Tohru would need for the soups Kyo would need to eat. One night Tohru was trying to put Kyo to sleep just as Yuki got out of the bath and came upstairs but she couldn’t remember how warm the milk had to be nore how to go about all of this. Yuki came upstairs just as Tohru was beginning to freak out so he gently grabbed her hands and she fell silent.

“Handa-san…please don’t worry…the milk just has to be just a little bit warmer that’s all.” Yuki said and she calmed herself down before she went off to warm up the bottle a little bit more and Yuki then looked to Kyo who looked like he wanted to roll over and get into a new position because he was beginning to get painfully unconfortable while just laying on his back. Yuki frowned and sat on the bed, lifting Kyo up into his arms so that he wasn’t just laying there while leaning himself back against the wall. “I’m sorry Kyo but you won’t be able to turn over at all…So if this is more comfortable then I’ll put you to sleep this way just like Shihan does.” Yuki said and Kyo just looked up at him before he hung his head as if he was embarrassed as well as trying to feel like he was hiding and that’s when Tohru came back and she then sat on the bed as well and Yuki looked over at her. “I’m going to need your help Handa-san…I’m going to need you to gently rub his stomach while I feed him and by the time he’s done with this he should be tired enough to fall asleep. Or…that’s at least how Shihan does it.” Yuki said and so Tohru gently placed her hand upon Kyo’s stomach and very gently rubbed the palm of her hand across his stomach, back and forth.

“I hope that’s not to much.” She said.

“No, that’s perfect.” Yuki said before he once again put the bottle in Kyo’s mouth and held him close as he started to drink the warm milk and Yuki hoped he was doing all of this right. ‘With how many times you’ve gotten sick and Kagura and I have had to watch Shihan take care of you, I really hope this is right…’ Yuki thought and so about five minutes or so went by and the bottle was nearly empty and Kyo’s eyes were beginning to droop, just as Yuki expected and with Tohru rubbing all of that warmth into his stomach it was relaxing him even more to the point where it was driving him to become even more sleepy. “Handa-san, you can stop now if you like…just a little bit more.” Yuki said at a whisper and by the time the milk was gone Kyo was completely out of it and Yuki removed the bottle and Tohru gently took it from him. “…Just like putting a kitten to sleep.” Yuki whispered with a smile.

“…You don’t really hate cats, do you Yuki?” Tohru asked at a whisper and Yuki looked over at her curiously. “Either that or you did but the more you got to know Kyo the more all of that began to fade away for you.”

“…I think it’s a little of both…I use to be so very judging toward Kyo because he was the cat and I was the rat but I don’t think I’ve ever hated cats.” Yuki whispered. “I can’t help but to dislike them just a little bit because in the couple times I’ve come across a modern cat while I was transformed they have tried to eat me…but the more I got to know Kyo the more I seemed to like him but dislike his habbits and other little things about his behavior but he wouldn’t have been like that if the family didn’t deny him…that…is something I want to try to heal for him the same way Shihan and you do…does that make sense?” Yuki asked at a whisper with his usual smile and a light blush.

“Oh it makes perfect sense, but I think there’s more to this love hate relationship that I’ve been lead to believe…you care about Kyo-kun…I can see it espeshally now with how hurt he is and that’s okay.” Tohru whispered with a smile. “To be honist, I think I expected it…just like I expect a few other little things to develop into bigger relationships. I want you to try your best to keep Kyo-kun as your own, okay…it’ll make you both happy.” She added and Yuki thought about it and smiled before he really started to think about the way Kyo’s past was and how people have pretended to care.

“…How could he possibly tell the differense?” Yuki said with a frown and Tohru looked pretty lost and Yuki then looked over at her. “While he was young he was always told that he was loved by his mother in such a hollow tone that he could tell she was lieing to him. The words ‘I love you’ mean nothing to him so I am unsure of what to say.”

“Love isn’t only expressed in what you say, but in what you do. So don’t tell him Yuki-kun…show Kyo-kun you care in all sorts of different ways.” Tohru said and it only confused Yuki even more. “Little things like tutoring him or asking him to go places with you with out fighting or having him try to teach you how to cook, just to try to get more time together is just basic examples. After a while you could start pouring your secrets into him and he would probibly trust you enough to pore his secrets into you…but what really does it is the emotion one person can put into one single kiss. No words involved…only emotion…” Tohru then stood up and smiled. “Well, I’m gunna go to bed okay…did I help at all?” She asked.

“Oh yes…I’m already thinking about the things I could possibly try.” Yuki said with a smile and she smiled before running off and Yuki then looked down at Kyo who was sleeping perfectly comfortable in his arms. “Yes Kyo…I will try.”