Snow in a Fruits' Basket Ch16

Snow in a Fruit's Basket Chapter 16
(And then it happened!  the break in)



        “It’s quiet,” Hana noted as she played cards with the others.  Haru looked up at the sound of her voice, nodded, then returned to his cards.
       “It’s almost nice,” Yuki agreed. “After all, that stupid cat isn’t around.”
         Tohru cringed slightly at Yuki’s words, something Hana’s eyes did not miss.  Arisa also saw her flinch slightly but thought it for another reason. “Is your hand bothering you?”  She put a comforting arm around Tohru’s shoulders.
        Tohru looked up with large eyes, hesitating.  “Uh, a little,” she finally answered, ashamed to admit that her mind wasn’t downstairs on their game, but upstairs somewhere, where Kyo continued to sulk for some reason she didn’t know.
Haru glanced towards the stairs.  The words from the letter he’d found ran through  his mind as he tried to figure out what photos it meant and where they might be, and why.
        Yuki turned back to his cards, a look of intense concentration on his face as he looked over what he had.  Hana kept her eyes averted, not wanting to mention anything.  There were so many different waves splashing up against her mind at the moment, that it was almost painful how intense some of them were.  There certainly was a storm’s worth of energy coming from everyone.  It was almost hard to hear the additional “voice” coming from somewhere faint, a now familiar voice that had recently left them.
        “Do you always call him that,” Hana spoke up.
        Yuki gave her a questioning look.  “Call him what?”
          “The stupid cat,” Hana answered quietly.  “Do you always call him that?”
          Yuki puzzled over that, wondering why she wanted to know.  “I suppose… I do,” he answered slowly.  “I guess it’s from our childhood.  We were always like a cat and a mouse.”
        “You mean like Tom and Jerry,” Arisa spoke up.  “The way you two get along is definitely like Tom and Jerry.”
        Yuki laughed hesitantly.  “Yeah, I suppose you’re right.”
Hana looked thoughtfully between the two, another puzzle piece clicking into place, one that had barely hovered above where it should be.

         Akito had not moved from her position in several hours, her eyes still closed.  And even though she’d finally relinquished her hold on Shigure’s arm, he did not leave her side, even though her fingers had dug in enough to leave several livid bruises.  He wanted to pull her up into his lap and cuddle her like the precious thing she was, to erase whatever fears had woken her in the night, screaming.
       Hatori hadn’t gotten much from the servants, just that their master had been left sleeping peacefully, only to end up waking in a fit of almost hysterical screaming.  They had heard nothing to suggest an intruder, nothing to suggest anything and so he’d come to the conclusion that she had dreamed something truly awful.
          Hari contemplated the pair from the doorway.  He hadn’t entered the room yet and couldn’t help but feel a little like he was intruding, but it wasn’t the best idea to leave Akito unexamined.  Anything could have happened while he’d been questioning the servants and contemplating in the silence of his own home.  The sun had been up for some time and he wondered if she’d perhaps said something in her sleep that would give them a clue as to why.
            “I know you’re there, Hari,” Shigure said, looking up.  “You might as well come in.  She’s been as quiet as a kitten.”
        Hari closed the door silently behind him and walked over, taking out his stethoscope and a thermometer.  “Hold this under her tongue,” he instructed, handing Shigure the smaller of the two instruments while he put the stethoscope around his neck, the appropriate parts in his ears, and listened to her heart and lungs.  His eyes didn’t miss the deep purple marks on Shigure’s arm.
         “You might want to use something on those,” he told his cousin.  “They look like they might be painful.”
        Shigure laughed forcedly.  “It’s nothing.  I’d gladly take more for my dear Aki.”  He turned his attention to the girl beside him, his eyes lovingly searching her face.  “Though I can’t help but wonder why,” he added more quietly.
       Hari grunted as he pulled off the stethoscope and put it back in his bag.  “Her lungs are clear and her heart sounds good,” he reported, then reached for the thermometer and looked at it.  “She has a slight fever,” he noted, “but that could be a result from stress.”  He put the instrument back in its case.  “I’m sure I don’t really need to request this, but it would probably be best if you continued to stay nearby to keep an eye on her and call me if anything changes.  I’m not entirely sure how long she’ll sleep.  The medication has surely run its course by now and all we can really do is wait and see what happens.  If she feels like talking when she wakes, let her, but don’t force her.”  He raised a stern eyebrow at Shigure.
            “Yes master,” Shigure said smartly, giving a mock salute and bursting into a huge grin.  “I won’t leave her side, even if it means I’ll die in the effort.”
        “You don’t have to be so melodramatic,” Hari commented as he picked up his bag and headed to the door.  “Just don’t do anything you’ll regret.”  And he closed the door behind him.

       Rin had been sitting out in the snow for several hours, definitely long enough for her body to start shivering and for her tummy to start grumbling at her.  She had half convinced herself that this was all stupid but still didn’t quite believe that yet.
        She’d been watching them through the windows, watching them eat breakfast, watching them play games.  She wasn’t entirely sure what they were doing at the moment, but she hoped it was something that kept them out of the way while she tried to sneak in.  She figured she could take a leaf from Kyo’s book and try for a place high up.  If she was lucky, the door to Kyo’s room, from the outside, would be open.  She had no idea where he was at the moment, but she decided it was worth the risk to try.
          Sneaking stealthily, she tried to stay in the tracks already in the snow, but ended up making some of her own as she headed to the back porch of the house.  She didn’t see anyone in the windows on that side so she assumed she was safe.   She had a moment’s worth of anxiety on how to climb up to the second floor, but, eventually, she managed, though she made a great deal more noise than she’d anticipated.

          Everyone was downstairs.  Kyo had made certain of that before he’d emerged from his room.  Perhaps it was silly of him, but he didn’t want any of them to know he was out and about.  Let them think what they wanted about his behavior, but he wasn’t about to account to them, especially as he was sneaking out of the bathroom to get back into his room.
         A strange noise came from outside, almost like a thump.  He held still for a moment, straining his ears to hear anything out of the ordinary, but everything was quiet.  He decided it must have been some snow sliding down from the roof and hitting the deck.  His stomach growled at him, reminding him that he hadn’t eaten for about twenty-four hours, but he stubbornly refused to listen to it as he closed his door behind him.
         Something felt off.  He couldn’t put his finger on what, but something felt really off.  He looked around quickly, but couldn’t see anything out of place.  He’d left the photos on the bookshelf, after discovering them there earlier.  He didn’t want to be reminded of things by looking at them.  He went and sat on the edge of his bed, elbows resting on his knees as he stared at the ground.

        Rin thought she’d for sure be discovered by the loud thump she’d made coming over the railing.  She hadn’t anticipated that there would be some ice hiding under the snow.  She tried to silently curse, instead of breaking out in loud cussing.  Her backside was now probably bruised, but she maintained a stubbornness in being silent, despite her pain and embarrassment.  Hopefully they’d think it was only some snow falling from the roof or something, though she wasn’t sure how loud the sound had actually been.  Everything sounded so much louder in the silence.
            After giving it a couple of minutes, for good measure, she decided she was safe, and picked herself up from the wet, melting snow, carefully placing her feet now as she made her way to the outside door that led to Kyo’s room.  A simple look told her what she needed to know.  It wasn’t locked.

           Kyo lifted his head, turning slightly to stare at the curtain partially concealing the door to the deck.  Was it just him or was there something out there?  The slight sound of something being dragged came to his ears, along with a wisp of cold air.  His back stiffened, his muscles tensed, getting ready to spring.
            The door moved, slowly, inch by inch.  Kyo was glad he hadn’t put on any shoes.  They would surely make a loud noise on the wood floor.  His searching eyes followed the progress of the sliding door, a dark shadow waiting to enter.  He brought his feet up onto the bed, crouching, balanced on the balls of his feet, waiting.
          The door stopped moving and a pale hand parted the space between the curtain and the wall.  Kyo waited, waited…. His muscles were going taught with how long it took for this intruder to move.  Then, with an almost earsplitting yowl, he pounced!

           Loud thumps coming from upstairs interrupted their game.  Arisa turned her head sharply.  Haru and Yuki jumped to their feet.  Hana remained seated while Tohru shook slightly.  “What was that,” she asked.  “Do you think….?”
          “I don’t know,” Haru answered before she could finish her question.  “But we’d better go look.”
         Everyone but Hana went towards the stairs.

         Kyo’s hair was standing on end, his face filled with a fierce scowl.  The last few seconds were all a blur.  He’d pounced on someone tall and dark and they’d rolled to the center of the room, stopping with him on top, holding pale wrists.
          “Kyo,” a voice had come from his hostage, outraged but quiet.  “Let go.”
        He’d let go the moment he realized who it was, scrambling away.  “What the…. What do you think you’re doing?!”
        Loud footsteps pounded up the stairs and Rin dove for the bed, sliding underneath it, followed by a loud hiss.  “Don’t say a word,” she threatened.  “Not a word.”  Then the quilt was pulled down to hide her from view.
           The door opened and Yuki, Haru, and Tohru spilled into the room.  Kyo was left in the middle of the floor in shock, his face fixed in a scowl, his hair on end.
         “Kyo, are you all right,” Tohru was asking.
          “What’s going on,” Yuki asked almost at the same time.  Kyo hunched over, continuing to scowl as Tohru came up to him and put a hand on his shoulder, which he tried to shrug off.
        “I tripped,” he said grouchily, glaring at the edge of his bed.  “Okay?  I tripped and rolled over a few times. It happens.  You don’t all got to stare at me or whatever.”
        “Did you hurt yourself,” Tohru asked again, worry evident in her voice.
          “No.”
       “Not that something like that could hurt him,” Yuki put in with a frown.  “He falls down enough he ought to be used to it by now.”
        Kyo growled at him but didn’t make a move.  His stomach rumbled over his growl.
          “Oh, you’re hungry,” Tohru noted and quickly got up, running downstairs.  Kyo didn’t have a second to protest.
       Arisa stuck her face around the doorframe.  “So, it is you,” she commented dryly.  “Should have known.  You’re always the one causing chaos around her.”
         Kyo scowled especially for her.  “What do you know, stupid Yankee.”
           Arisa didn’t get offended.  Instead, she just laughed.  “Proves my point!  Well, so long as nothing broken, we should probably get back to our game.  Come on, Prince, let’s go.”
       Yuki looked up questioningly, looking like he was going to protest, but Arisa’s folded arms didn’t seem to allow for protest.
          “Let’s leave this clown with his bruises,” Arisa said as she turned back towards the stairs.  “Come on.”
           Haru rolled his eyes at Arisa’s attitude, gave Kyo a quick glance, and followed Yuki out.  They passed Tohru on her way up with a small try containing lunch. She set it next to Kyo.
          “Um, it looks like everyone is still going to play and it’s my turn, so I hope you don’t mind if I don’t stay,” she apologized.
          “Nah,” Kyo grumbled, trying to sound tough.  “Probably won’t eat it anyway.”
          Tohru wasn’t sure what to make of that so she simply left the room, sliding the door halfway closed behind her.  “I’ll be back for the tray,” she promised as she left.
           There was silence for about a minute as Kyo strained his ears for sounds of activity from downstairs.  “Okay,” he finally said.  “It’s safe.”  He pushed himself a bit away from the bed to give Rin room to slide out.
          Rin pushed out from under the bed, a few hints of dust on her otherwise clean but damp clothes.  She didn’t know if she should thank him for his silence or not so she remained quiet on the matter.  Her eyes went to the tray by Kyo, her stomach rumbling.
         “Hungry,” Kyo asked her.  She didn’t even need to nod for him to know the answer. He pushed the tray her way.  “Go ahead.  I’m not hungry.”
        She gave him a funny look but wasn’t about to refuse, not when her stomach was rumbling so rudely.  She grabbed a chunk of bread and turned away from him.  He turned his back to her, figuring she probably didn’t want an audience.
        “So, what gives,” he asked quietly.  “You suddenly up and leave and now you’re back?”  She didn’t answer him.  “Okay,” the tried again.  “So, where did you go?”
          “None of your business,” she finally answered.  Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed that one of the small bowls on the tray had disappeared.
          “You know, if you really wanted, Tohru would probably cook you something special downstairs,” Kyo commented.  “Unless you don’t want them to know you’re back.”  He got silence as his answer once again.  “You’re not still hiding from Haru are you?”
         “What I do is none of your business,” Rin answered him.  “You’re one to talk yourself, you know.  I’ve been watching.  You’ve basically been hiding up here, haven’t you?  I just chose to hide somewhere else.”
Kyo didn’t know how to respond to that.  He sulked, not lifting his eyes for anything.               “It’s complicated, okay?”
          “Life’s complicated,” came the retort.  “You get over it.”
There was a clatter of dishes as Rin replaced the one she’d taken.  “Next time, have her bring you some jelly,” she instructed.
         “Next what?”  Kyo turned around abruptly.  “You don’t mean you’re not… You can’t be serious!  Do you really think I’m going to sneak food for you!  This is insane!”
      Rin glared at him, hands on her hips.  “If you tell them about me, I’ll do things we’ll both regret.  And if you get me food, I won’t be stealing so you’d better get me food.”
         “Are you threatening me?”  The hair on the back of his neck and on his head bristled.
       “Just call it blackmail.  If you don’t say a word about me, I won’t tell anyone about that bundle you took from my coat.”  She turned away and slipped out the deck door.  Kyo sat there, speechless.  How had she gotten it then, if she’d really had it?  Was she even talking about the same package?  And how did she know he had it now?