D/C: I don't own Furuba.

Okay, here goes another FB one-shot of mine. I got this one before I went to bed, and just couldn't wait to get started on it. So, anyway, here it is. Hope you like it!

Enjoy!

Guilty

Kyo was scared.

For the first time in a long while, he felt really scared.

The sight of the pale boy lying across the hospital bed surrounded by an artificial life system scared him. But what scared him more…what tore him more…was that he was the reason it happened. He was the reason the boy was lying there, unconscious, on the hospital bed.

He was the reason Yuki nearly died today.

Surprisingly, it didn't give him any sense of satisfaction. In fact, all he felt was a lurking feeling of guilt…and regret.

-

'Kyo-kun, the water's really cold…you two could fall ill!'

'It doesn't matter! If you've kept up with you're training, a bit of cold water wouldn't affect you!' Kyo said, and turned to look at Yuki. 'Isn't that right, Yuki?'

Yuki didn't reply. He just busied himself by unbuttoning his shirt. 'It's alright, Honda-san,' he told Tohru. 'And, anyway, Kyo won't back off until I have this race with him, so I'd rather be done with it instead of having him on my back.'

'Right on! It's a battle, you damn rat! Today we'll see who can swim faster across this lake!' Kyo shouted.

'But…' Tohru started. She really didn't want them to go into the water. She really had a bad feeling about the whole thing.

'You'll be rooting for me, eh?' Kyo asked her. He jabbed a finger in Yuki's direction. 'You don't want to be rooting for losers like him, do you?'

'W-what…?' Tohru stuttered.

'Baka neko,' Yuki muttered. 'Just ignore him, Honda-san.'

'Don't call me that!' Kyo snapped.

'Let's just get this race over with, shall we?' Yuki said, as he laid his clothes aside. He headed towards Kyo, who was already standing by the lake in his swimming trunks. 'The sooner it's over…the better.'

Tohru looked worriedly at Yuki. He had looked a bit pale at breakfast, and hadn't eaten a lot. She was afraid a race in the cold water might somehow trigger an attack. Yuki, oblivious to her concerns, turned to smile at her. Tohru smiled back at him. She just hoped nothing wrong would happen.

'Hey!' Kyo called to her.

'Y-yes, Kyo-kun?' she said.

'Could you be the judge here? Just to make sure the damn rat won't cheat?' he asked her.

'Are you sure you're not talking about yourself here, Kyo?' Yuki said.

'Why, you…! I won't cheat! I'm gonna win this race fair and square!' he shouted angrily. 'Alright! Let's do it!'

-

Once in the water, Kyo's sole focus was to beat Yuki in this race. He moved in the water with perfect co-ordination of both arms and legs. Yes, the water was cold, but it didn't bother him. He was used to such stuff. He had a good feeling about this race. He would've been almost sure that this race would be in the bag if it weren't for the fact that he could feel Yuki swimming right at his side. They were both in exactly the same level.

He didn't think that increasing the speed or strength of his strokes at this point of the race would do him any good, because the finish line was still far away and doing that would just wear him out. He continued to swim at the same rate, and as they got closer to the finish line, he felt Yuki falling back. He didn't look back to make sure because he was afraid it might slow him down, but he was almost absolutely positive that Yuki had fallen behind him.

'Yuki-kun!'

Kyo frowned. What was Tohru cheering that damn Yuki for? Couldn't she see that he was losing? And that he, Kyo, was winning the race? But when Tohru continued to scream, Kyo sensed that something was wrong…terribly wrong. He stopped and turned around. He scanned the smooth surface of the lake for Yuki, but the boy was nowhere to be seen.

Kyo panicked. He turned around to Tohru. 'Oy! Where is he?' he shouted. Tohru frantically pointed to a spot in the water, and sure enough, Kyo was able to spot some bubbles on the surface where Tohru was pointing to. 'Oh, shit! Shit, shit, shit!'

Kyo took a deep breath of air before going underwater. He scanned the place frantically for Yuki…and after a few moments he spotted him. Kyo's heart thudded painfully against his chest as he swam towards Yuki. His rival looked eerie and deathly pale under the water; his eyes were closed and his hair was floating about his head.

Please don't be dead…please don't be dead…

Kyo got to Yuki. He quickly encircled his waist with one arm and started kicking his own legs to get to the surface, while he took long strokes with his arm. He was feeling tired by the second; he was running out of air and it took a lot of effort to drag Yuki, who was of his same weight, up to the surface. But he had to do it; he had to get him up to the surface.

He was panting when he finally managed to get there. He looped Yuki's arm around his neck, and still keeping a firm hold on the boy's waist, he managed to swim to the lake's bank. Tohru hurried forward to meet them. She helped Kyo pull Yuki onto solid ground, Kyo climbed out after him and then they both turned him over on his bank.

Kyo looked helplessly at Yuki. He looked so lifeless lying there on the ground; he had to do something to wake him up! He can't be dead! He'd never forgive himself if Yuki died! After all, he was the one who had insisted they have this race…he had completely forgotten how weak Yuki can become when he gets his attacks…which is probably what had happened now…

He dropped down to his knees next to Yuki and started pumping at his chest. 'C'mon, Yuki…don't die on me, man…you're stronger than that…I know you are…' he murmured. He turned to look at Tohru. 'Tohru, go get some help! Hurry!'

But Tohru remained rooted to the spot. She stared fearfully at Yuki's body, and he could see the tears welling in her eyes.

'Tohru!' he said sharply, and she snapped back into focus. She nodded her head and hurried off in the direction of the Sohma's summer house to get help.

Kyo turned his attention back to Yuki, who still hadn't shown any sign of life. He pumped at his chest some more, but Yuki wouldn't even twitch. He grimaced slightly for a moment, tilted the boy's head a little, before taking a deep breath and leaning down towards Yuki's mouth. CPR had to happen. Kyo blew into Yuki's mouth with constant rhythm, and then he pulled back and started pumping at Yuki's chest again. He then leaned in to blow into his mouth again.

'C'mon, Yuki! Dammit, breath! Breath!' he cried, pumping at his chest again. 'Breath! Breath! Breath…'

-

Breath…breath…breath…

Yuki was breathing normally now, and Kyo was relieved to see that. But he hadn't woken up yet. When Kyo had given Yuki CPR, the boy had spilled a great amount of water from his lungs, but he hadn't woken up. Tohru had come back with Hatori and Shigure, and they all hurried Yuki to the nearest hospital. Hatori had tried to return Yuki's body temperature all the way to the hospital by injecting him with fluids and draping a dozen blankets around him. It seemed to have worked, because if it hadn't, Kyo didn't think he would be seeing Yuki on this bed by now.

The other three were outside in the hallway talking to Yuki's doctor, and that was a good thing, because at the moment, Kyo couldn't handle the accusing glares of Hatori and Shigure…and even Tohru. He felt guilty as it is. After all, it was all his fault. If he hadn't been so overcome with the idea of the battle, he would've stopped for a moment to think that Yuki wouldn't be able to handle the coldness of the water…especially since he had seemed a bit peevish in the morning. He felt selfish. If it wasn't for his excessive need to prove himself better than Yuki, none of this would've happened.

Yuki had almost died today…Kyo was going to make sure nothing like that ever happened again. Even though he said he hated the guy and wished him death every single day…he knew he didn't mean it. He didn't want Yuki to die. He really didn't.

Sighing heavily, he got up from his chair and moved to the window. He lifted the curtains up a bit so he could have a look outside. It had looked like such a beautiful day at the start…and he had gone and screwed it all up.

'Baka neko,'

Kyo jumped. He whirled around. Yuki was lying there in his bed, watching him closely. 'Don't do that, dammit! You scared me!' he shot at him. Yuki didn't reply. 'You damn rat…can't even stand a bit of cold water, eh?'

'Shut up,' Yuki said flatly. He closed his eyes and took in a deep breath. 'How did I get here? The last thing I remember is not being able to breath…and I could hear Honda-san screaming…'

Kyo shoved his hands deep into his pockets. 'You got an attack, didn't you?' he muttered.

'Yeah, so?' Yuki said sharply.

'Nothing…I was just thinking that you probably wouldn't have gotten an attack if I hadn't dragged you into the race…' Kyo murmured, averting his eyes from Yuki.

Yuki straightened up a bit in his bed. He was smirking a bit. 'Were you...worried about me?' he asked quietly.

'What?' Kyo said, caught by surprise. 'Hell, no! How can you even think that I might be worried about you? Eh...yeah, right! As if!…Damn it! I'll go get Hatori!'

He hurried to get the door. This wasn't the way he had imagined things were going to work out. He had imagined that Yuki would wake up, and he would apologize, and then they'd get back to the way you usually are…which they did. Kyo was just irritated that they skipped the part where he was supposed to be apologizing. Moreover, the feeling of guilt still lurked around him.

'Hey, Kyo?' Yuki called him, just as he reached for the door handle. 'Thank you.'

Kyo frowned. He let go of the handle and turned to look at Yuki. 'What the hell are you thanking me for?' he demanded.

'You got me out of the water, didn't you?' Yuki said quietly. 'I mean…I pretty sure Honda-san wouldn't have been able to get me out of the water even if she wanted to…so, it must've been you…so, thank you…for saving my life.'

Kyo clenched his fists. 'You idiot, why are you thanking me?' he said through gritted teeth. 'Are you trying to make me feel worse? Or are you trying to make me feel any more guilty than I already am?'

It was Yuki's turn to blink. 'Huh?' he said.

'Look…it was my fault you nearly died, so there was nothing heroic about me getting you out of the water…it was just a desperate attempt to try and fix what I have already ruined…' Kyo muttered. 'I only wanted to win…I didn't think of the consequences…my selfishness nearly killed you today, and I don't think that's anything to be thanked for.' To his surprise, Yuki had started chuckling. Kyo stared, bewildered, at him. 'What the hell? Why are you laughing, dammit?'

'You were worried about me!' Yuki said, aghast. 'As weird as it sounds, but it's true…wow! I'm…touched…'

Kyo scowled. 'Yeah, well…don't get used to it,' he mumbled.

'Thank you, seriously,' Yuki said quietly. 'You could've just have left me there to die…but you didn't…maybe you don't think that that's something to be thanked for, but I do…'

'Ehh…I just got you out of there because I figured I'd have no one to fight with once you're gone…' Kyo mused.

'That's not quite correct…I imagine Haru would be more than willing to fight you,' Yuki pointed out.

'Oh…yeah,' Kyo murmured.

Suddenly, the door burst open and Kyo was thrown aside by the force with which the door opened. 'Yuki-kun!' Tohru cried, running towards his bed. 'I thought I'd heard your voice! Oh, I'm so happy you're finally awake! How are you feeling? Oh, God! I was so worried!'

Yuki smiled. 'I'm fine now, Honda-san…thank you for worrying about me,' he told her.

'Eh? Oh, no! That's alright!' Tohru said. 'Oh, Yuki-kun! You're okay! I'm so happy! But…where's Kyo-kun? I thought I heard his voice, too.'

'Here,' Kyo said from behind her.

'Oh, Kyo-kun!' she said, startled. 'So you are here! But…you two weren't fighting! Are you two starting to get along now?'

'No!' they both yelled at the same time.

But as Tohru burst out laughing, they both exchanged a slight smile...before scowling and looking away from each other.

Some things are better left as they are, after all.

-

A/N: How was it? Crappy, no? Damn; I just hate Writer's Block! If it doesn't stop you writing, it makes everything you write horrible! (sigh) Well, anyway, if you did like it, then could you please review? Thanks!

- S. N. B.