He had cut too deep.

Gripping his damaged wrist tightly, Kyo watched as a steady stream of red liquid ran down his hand, staining the floor. There were no tears left to cry. He'd bled them all out, each one hurting more than its predecessor. If he hadn't been empty before, he certainly was now. His soul had become a dry, hollow shell.

He left a trail of fresh blood as he almost dragged himself across the floor. He stopped before his closet, perking inside. The stench of old blood made him wrinkle his nose. He hadn't managed to throw away the content in the box. He could tell himself to do so as much as he wanted, but he realized now that he would never be able to stop. His addiction was too strong, and his resolve too weak.

All the dried blood had turned the towel stiff. He could hardly see a spot free from stains; it had obviously gone through too many of Kyo's worse days. He hadn't pulled it out of the box together with the knife. Even though he preferred to have the towel ready, he had been way too upset to think about it at the time.

Putting pressure at his cuts, he cursed under his breath. So much pain… His wrist was on fire; never ending flames burned his arm without mercy. Kyo tried to calm his breath, which was coming out in short gasps.

He didn't know what had come over him. Emotional pain had consumed him like never before. When he'd remembered all of the shit he'd gone through during his life, something just tore inside him. He'd broken down in tears, which he hadn't done since he was a little kid.

His anger was destructive, he heard that a lot. He knew it was true. He just couldn't deal with anger, couldn't keep it inside. But what everyone else didn't seem to understand, was that he took out all of his pent up frustration on himself. Although he was known for breaking all sorts of things – like Shigure's door – the damage he could do to himself was far more severe.

Two shallow scratches at his upper arm, then another one at his forearm. A bloody gash across the back of his hand, and to top it all off, a deep wound marring his wrist. Just above his major artery. Like… suicide. His mind had been cloudy and his eyes blurred with tears, he hadn't even known what he'd been doing. Body on autopilot, desperate to stop the tears. Driven by the insane desire to feel.

If his subconscious had really attempted suicide… He could have laughed.

His hand felt odd. He'd probably messed up some of his tendons. Oh, well. Maybe taking his miserable life would be the better choice? Going on living seemed impossible. Was happiness really unobtainable?

A bitter smile pulled at his pale lips. The towel dropped to the floor, and the broken boy slid down against the wall. Blood was reflected in the shine of the beads around his wrist. Life had simply left him. He'd given up.

He was vaguely aware that he was bleeding out. His whole body felt cold and numb, and he felt like he slowly lost grip on reality. Surprisingly enough, his breathing was pretty much even. The corners of his sight turned darker by every minute. Suddenly, an icy claw gripped around his heart.

The image he'd had of a peaceful death only moments before was ruthlessly shattered as panic crept in on his mind. Realization of what he'd just done hit him like a ton of bricks, and his breath caught in his throat, making him cough harshly.

Kyo had never felt so alone in his entire life. He'd been shunned and hated for as long as he lived, and always felt isolated, but the feeling that rushed through him now… He hacked some more.

The boy slowly rose to his feet, unsteady and shaky, but standing. His head was empty of all thoughts, except that one feeling of complete terror of death.

Tohru…

With the thought of that one name, the storm inside Kyo's mind disappeared as fast as it had appeared. Guilt exploded in his chest. Tohru would probably be the first one to enter his room in the morning. She would be the one to find him… dead. He couldn't scar her like that. No way. He would never do that to the girl he loved.

He still had trouble realizing the gravity of the situation he had found himself in.

"Death... ka*?" The word left a weird taste in his mouth.

So Kyo did what every other cat would do; he hid away. And there was only one place he could escape to in his condition. After a little struggle, he eventually found himself in his favorite place. Gazing up at the stars, the boy didn't even feel the water on the roof soak his clothes.

In a short moment, his heart was filled with immense sadness and loneliness. The stinging in his arm was nothing compared to the emotional torment. His breath hitched. Then, he inhaled sharply and a scream tore itself from his lungs. His mind went blank. Everything he'd kept inside for so long was finally being released. Every choked feeling, every bit of desperation, frustration, hurt, anger, despair and misery.

The raw scream died out. Kyo felt so cleansed. At the moment being, he was clean from every negative feeling. Maybe even the hate of himself.

For a second, he wondered if anyone had heard him. If anyone had heard his outburst. His… cry for help. He immediately decided against it. He'd finally build up the courage to die. To take one's life wasn't a simple task after all. But going on living would certainly be harder. Dying seemed like the easiest way out. He couldn't go on like this anymore. He couldn't.

Kyo couldn't lie. He feared death. But he feared Akito and the cage more.

So, on the cold roof tiles he waited for death to come, all alone.

Yuki couldn't sleep. As the rat, he could become quite restlessness at times, even if he hid it well. He was the type to hide all his flaws, after all, unlike a certain cat. Yuki knew exactly what bothered him. The lifeless eyes that had haunted him all day.

Earlier that day, Yuki had seen Kyo in a state that was completely out of character for the cat. It was just a glimpse of his face, a short moment in which the boy in question didn't pay attention to his surroundings. Obviously deep in thoughts, Kyo had let his defenses fall, and all Yuki had seen was the boy's suffering features. His face, seemingly sunken and hollow. His eyes, dull, dead, without shine.

A second later, the cat noticed the rat. His face immediately took on a fake look of defiance, mumbling a "What's your problem? Geez…"

Kyo used to be so full of life. No matter how many times he was beaten, he would still fight on. He could be stepped on, spat on, dragged through the mud… And he would rise again. Always.

Yuki had almost felt like an intruder, getting to peak into Kyo's soul. Into the bright-haired boy's inner self. And what he'd seen had struck a chord in his heart. Was it pity? Or… Caring?

No, Yuki wouldn't say he cared. He didn't. He barely acknowledged the other boy's presence, dammit! So why did he feel like a heavy stone was placed in his gut?

Kyo really know how to make people worry, the silver-haired boy thought and remembered the short conversation with Tohru. She had really been distressed. And now, as a result of that stupid cat's problems, Yuki couldn't even get peace at night.

Tossing and turning around in his bed, his mind kept wandering to those dead eyes.

That's why, when he heard the muffled sound of a heartbreaking scream, he knew something was wrong. On every other day, he would just have called off the scream as a result of Kyo's aggression problems. But now, when the cat had just shown Yuki his most vulnerable side – although not intentionally – he didn't think twice before rushing up the stairs.

A/N: Finally! This chapter became so delayed mainly because a lot is going on in my life. Mix that with a pile of school work and computer troubles (because I managed to forget my pc-charger at school over Christmas break), and you get a tiny amount of time to actually write something. I'll try to finish the next – and probably last – chapter as soon as possible, though :D

*ka: In Japanese, you put this word after a sentence, which makes it a question. The English word would probably be "huh", but "ka" sounds so much better than "death, huh?"

This whole story is un-betaed btw! So in case you find some funny words/sentences or a little misspelling here and there, my only excuse is that English isn't my native language ~

Thank you so much for reading!