Chapter Text
Kyo came to in a soft, dark place with somebody else's heartbeat in his ears.
His sensitive, pointy ears.
He sighed. This wasn't the first time he'd woken in his cat body, but it was always disconcerting, facing the world without any thumbs. The arm around his body shifted, and he felt a momentary surge of panic. Who was holding him?!
He shifted and squirmed until a gentle hand pressed to the back of his head, stroking his ears. He recognized that scent. Yuki.
Relaxing marginally, he pushed upwards until his head popped through the collar of the hoodie Yuki was wearing, ears pinned flat under his cousin's jaw, and had a look around.
They were in the backseat of a car. A small, junky car with tons of trash strewn around. Everything smelled like tomatoes and onions.
Kyo looked at the driver and saw a stranger; a skinny old man in a red uniform. Atop his head, he wore a hat with the name of a pizza restaurant embroidered on it in white kanji. Was this a delivery boy's car? Were they hitchhiking?!
He made a startled little mew. Since when did naïve, sheltered Prince Yuki know how to hitchhike?
Yuki pushed down on the top of Kyo's head, forcing him back into his hoodie, folding his arms tight around him. Apparently he didn't want the driver to know he was carrying a cat.
Kyo gave Yuki's hand a punishing chomp between his pointy little teeth. Not hard enough to break the skin, but hard enough to sting; to get his point across. Yuki's leg twitched in response.
The driver spoke in a raspy smoker's voice. "Are you sure you're okay, kid?" he asked gruffly. No doubt a young boy travelling alone this late at night, carrying two backpacks, looked like a runaway to him.
Well, they were runaways, weren't they? Kyo just hoped this guy didn't get the bright idea to take them to the police instead of Tokyo Station.
"I'm just fine, sir," Yuki said in his calm, polite voice; the voice that adults must think was so mature, so grown-up from somebody so young. "We-- I mean, I-- am just going to my dad's house. We could only afford the late night tickets, see, and..."
It wasn't a bad cover story, really, but there was no telling whether the stranger believed him.
They drove in silence for what felt like forever. Kyo was starting to get seriously impatient -- not to mention hot and thirsty -- trapped under Yuki's hoodie like this, when they entered into some nasty start-and-stop traffic.
Great. Now he was carsick on top of everything else.
Somehow, they eventually made it to a parking space without Kyo vomiting down Yuki's pants, or something equally charming. The car stopped moving. They sat in silence for a minute.
"Look," the old man said, finally. "I don't have much money, but I can--"
"Oh, no sir, thank you sir!" Yuki squeaked, his heart giving a loud thud. "I promise, my brother gave me enough money to get to our dad just fine. Please, you've helped me so much already..."
Ah, so he hadn't believed the lie about the dad. He really did think Yuki was just a homeless boy, running for God knew what reason. Sometimes, it surprised Kyo to learn there were genuinely kind people outside of the Sohma compound. People who would help a stranger for no reason other than kindness.
Then he thought of Haru. Of Momiji and Rin and Ayame. Maybe there were genuinely kind people inside the compound, too.
There was another pause. Then the delivery man heaved a deep sigh. "Alright, kid. Be safe out there, then."
"I will, sir. Thank you."
Yuki gathered up their bags from the footwell and, still holding Kyo to his chest, opened the door and struggled to climb out.
"Oh!" the delivery man said in realization. "I can give you this..."
He held something out to Yuki. Yuki had no choice but to let go of Kyo to take it, who dug his claws into Yuki's shirt to keep from falling.
"Oh!" Yuki said in surprise. "Thank you."
"It's nothing. Damn prank calls... I woud've just had to throw it away anyway."
"Drive safe, sir."
"I will, kid."
Yuki closed the car door and started walking.
"What'd he give you?" Kyo asked curiously.
"A pizza," Yuki replied, speaking quietly. It didn't sound like a lot of people were around, but Yuki probably didn't want to be seen as a boy who apparently spoke to his own nipples. "I've never had pizza before..."
"What!" Kyo meowed in shock, though of course it wasn't very surprising. Yuki no doubt only ate what the Sohma maids fed him. "Find somewhere to sit. We need to fix this immediately."
He retracted his claws and squirmed out through the bottom of Yuki's hoodie, walking alongside him until they spotted a stone bench along the street curb. His whole body was achy and sore, and he had trouble hopping onto the bench when Yuki sat, but he managed, curling his tail tidily around his paws.
Yuki set their bags down and sat with his legs to his chest, turning to face Kyo, prying the box open between them. It was a small pizza-- a personal one, meant for only one person. Kyo wondered if the delivery man had been lying; if he'd been intending to eat the pizza himself, rather than having a leftover from a prank call.
He purred in delight when he saw it was a seafood pizza; his favorite kind; covered in salmon and shrimp and squid.
With careful fingers, Yuki picked some of the toppings away from the cheese and set them on the cardboard lid for Kyo to eat. Then he lifted a steaming triangular piece and, frowning at it, took a cautious bite from the tip.
Kyo watched him eagerly, ears pricked, and when Yuki's eyes widened in pleased surprise at the taste, he wished he had the lips to smile. It was sort of fun, seeing sheltered Yuki experience good things for the first time.
Yuki took another bite; this one much bigger than the last. "It'sh good!" he exclaimed, mouth full.
"Told you," Kyo preened smugly, and bent to nibble some salmon, realizing too late that he was purring so loudly his whole body vibrated. He forced himself to stop, embarrassed, but Yuki didn't seem to notice.
The two of them made short work of the pizza. They hadn't had much dinner before they were interrupted by Akito's arrival, the fact that they were teenage boys, and all their running around had worked up an apetite.
When the box had been picked clean, Kyo sat back on his haunches and cleaned sauce off his whiskers. "What's our plan?"
"Well, we're pretty close to Tokyo Station. I had Mr. Kobayashi drop us off just a block away, so he wouldn't have to deal with all the traffic around there."
He looked at Kyo anxiously, as though wanting confirmation that this was the right thing to do. "Not bad, Rat," Kyo complimented. Considering Yuki had never come up with the plans before, he was doing pretty well.
Brightening, Yuki continued. "Our train doesn't leave until a quarter to one. Mine already bought our tickets; we just have to pick them up at will-call."
"What time is it now?" Kyo asked. He could have been unconscious for an hour or a day, for all he knew.
"It was just past ten when we left the car."
Oh. They were making good time, then. It kinda felt like this night had lasted forever. Kyo would be glad when it was over.
"How are you feeling?" Yuki asked him. A couple of drunken businessmen, leaving a bar, approaching the station, walking past their bench gave Yuki a funny look, no doubt wondering why this homeless-looking kid was talking to a stray cat. Kyo waited until they were out of earshot before answering.
"I sort of feel like I was beat up with a baseball bat, but I'll live. You?"
"Pretty good, actually. I'm kind of excited. Is that weird?"
It wasn't weird. Unexpected, maybe. Kyo would have expected Yuki to be scared, so far from home, doing something so against the rules with no guarantee of success. But he was glad Yuki wasn't scared.
"You're okay," he reassured. "Do we have any water?"
It turned out they had packed a few bottles, but no bowl for an animal to drink from. Yuki awkwardly held small amounts in his cupped hands for Kyo to lap from.
When Kyo was satisfied, Yuki dried his palms on his pants and sat back on the bench. "Can we stay here for a while?"
"If you promise not to fall asleep. I'm really tired," Kyo warned.
"That's okay. I'm wide awake. You can sleep." Yuki patted his lap. Understanding what he was offering, Kyo again felt a little shy. Since when had he ever trusted someone to watch him while he slept?
Well, he'd trusted Rin to keep watch a couple times, he supposed, but this was different.
Still, the fact was, he did trust Yuki. And he was tired; deep down exhausted to his little cat bones. With a yawn, he walked around the pizza box and into Yuki's lap, nestling into the soft fuzz of his hoodie.
Tentatively, Yuki put a hand on his back, then moved it up to Kyo's head, scratching gently behind his ears. He felt calm. He felt safe.
I'm purring again, Kyo realized, and waited for the shame to come.
It didn't have the chance to. Sleep came first.
He woke again, just barely, when Yuki stood up, trying to lift him gently.
"I can walk," he slurred.
"You don't have to," Yuki replied. "You've done a lot today. I've got it for a little while."
"Mm," Kyo mumbled, and leaned his head on Yuki's shoulder.
The next time he woke, he was again hidden under Yuki's hoodie. The noise and bustle around them was pretty loud; Kyo estimated dozens of people milling this way and that; mostly -- if not all -- adults.
He heard a train in the distance, and understood they were in Tokyo Station at last.
He wondered, for a moment, what had woken him. The answer came to him pretty quickly; it was Yuki's heart. The steady beat had picked up to an anxious thrum. What was bothering him?
He pricked his ears, trying to understand, and gradually zeroed in on a nearby man's voice.
"-- your name, sweetheart?" the man asked, sounding like he was standing just behind them. "What's a pretty little girl like you doing all alone?"
Girl? Many of the Sohmas were a little androgynous, Kyo supposed -- just part of their ethereal beauty -- but...
Then what the man had said properly registered, and Kyo understood. His fur bristled. His claws extended.
"Please leave me alone," Yuki whispered. "I'm not interested."
"Aw, come on, baby," the man wheedled, putting a hand on Yuki's shoulder. "Why don't you come hang out with me for a while? I'll make sure you get wherever you're going safe and sound..."
Yuki's heart beat louder, faster. He seemed frozen, unable to say a word. He smelled terrified.
Bursting up from the neck, Kyo yowled like a demon and raked his claws across the man's unshaven face, gouging his cheek and lip deep enough that the smell of blood filled the air.
The man reeled, clapping a hand to his skin, crying out in alarm. "What the hell?!"
Kyo hissed, fur bristled until he puffed twice his size, fangs bared. If the man came near them again, he'd go for his eyes next.
"You're crazy!" the man exclaimed, taking quick steps back. A second later, he turned and ran into the crowded station. A couple bums sitting with together with their backs to the wall laughed and clapped at the show.
"You okay, kid?" one called to Yuki. Yuki didn't answer. "That's some cat!"
There was skin trapped between Kyo's claws. He'd really messed that guy's face up. He tried to subtly wipe it away before Yuki saw, but it didn't matter. Yuki was only looking down at his lap, a miserable expression on his face. He tried to hunch in on himself, hanging his head.
Alarmed, Kyo squirmed back into his lap, looking up at his face. He didn't dare speak with so many people all over the place, but he tried to communicate with his eyes.
Yuki shut his eyes so he didn't have to look at Kyo.
Frustrated, Kyo nipped the tip of his nose. Yuki didn't react.
Kyo hunched up like a loaf of bread in Yuki's lap, this time hypervigilant, scowling at anyone and everyone who passed them by. Nobody would approach Yuki again without Kyo knowing.
After a while, the terrified smell faded to plain anxiety. Yuki's heartbeat evened out. Kyo didn't relax, but he did feel better, especially when Yuki started petting him again.
They sat in silence, listening to the station announcements; the whoosh of trains coming and going; passengers arriving and departing.
It wasn't the busiest Tokyo Station ever got. Far from it; it was midnight on a Sunday. Many business people and office workers had the day off, but plenty more didn't. In a place as populated as this, there was always some action.
Yuki didn't immediately react when the calm female voice over the station's loudspeaker announced their train information; not until Kyo stood up and stretched, toes flexing. Then he looked around as though coming out of a daze.
Kyo allowed himself to be stuffed back under Yuki's hoodie as the boy hurried toward the loading station, already milling with people. There was a big commotion as people lined up; as compressed doors slid open; as tickets were checked. Kyo grew annoyed with all the jostling and bumping as Yuki, a petite boy, was knocked around by purses and briefcases.
Hell. If he was growing uncomfortable; overwhelmed; then how must someone like Yuki, so used to the unchanging quiet and serenity of the Sohma compound, feel? No wonder his heart was starting to go crazy again.
It was a relief to them both when they found a seat and hunched down, and it hit Kyo that he'd be stuck under Yuki's hoodie for over four hours, travelling all the way to Shin-Hakodate-Hokuto.
He was still so bone-tired and sore that he doubted he'd transform back to human any time soon, but still. That was a long time to be crunched into one dark space, especially for a cat who didn't like to be confined.
Well, there was nothing else for it. They had to get to the Northernmost part of Japan's mainland before six that morning, and this was their best shot at it. Anything was better than what they were leaving behind. Kyo couldn't ruin things now just because he was a little cramped.
He settled down as much as he could, rested his chin on his paws, and prepared himself for the longest, farthest train ride of his life.