Haru's cheek stung as he laid on the floor. The familiar welt of Kyou's fist throbbed reminding him he needed to get up and go after the cat. He didn't think his simple outburst of emotion would enrage the redhead so much. Gray eyes closed slowly as he placed a hand over his heart.
-"What the fuck do you know!" A fist connected with his face sending him to the floor. Kyou angrily grabbed the folded pile of clothes that had been set out for him, "Speaking as if you know what's going on... makes me sick. Just go back to your weak-kneed girlfriend of a horse and leave me the hell alone!"-
The memory hurt as much as when it had happened. His heart felt like it had cracked deeply and when he lifted his hand he looked at it, expecting blood to glisten on his fingertips. Not many liked Rin and for a long time he thought he was in love with her. He fought to keep her in his grasp, with in his heart, but even after sharing his body with her, hearing her laugh, seeing her smile, he felt there was something out of place. Eventually they just grew apart. They still talk but even that is a rare occasion now. "Weak-kneed" she really was, she could barely stand up and walk let alone hold the power behind her practiced cold glare.
He sighed as he stood up, it must... really hurt to see everyone else around you happy, having your affections refused since your youth, never being offered love since your earliest memories... And what good did he do? He was right there with the rest of them, becoming his friend then tossing him to the side like a used rag.
Haru hurried down the stairs, the wall clock ticking away as if to tell him that he was running out of time. He had a sick feeling in his stomach as he shoved his feet into his boots. He wasn't going to leave Kyou again, he'd rather shoot himself in the head than... A white coat was shrugged on as he ran out into the pouring rain.
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The thin, slick ground beneath his feet didn't help the shivers that rattled through his body. The child's cry tearing at his ears as he tucked between some leaves finding a slightly dry patch of ground where he could set the boy down. He felt so tired as he sat down next to the little one that cuddled close to his body for warmth. Laying down he curled a little, his eyes having a hard time keeping open. When he got a concerned look he only smiled and touched a patch of black upon the tiny head. The kid was so young that he couldn't speak properly, but body language was universal.
"Don't worry," Kyou pushed himself back up onto his feet. "I'm just a little tired."
Carefully he picked the boy back up and continued on his way. He hurried to the nearest dry spot that was down his path where he took time to wipe some water off of the small one with him before continuing on his way.
Two things where in plaguing his mind. One was the prominent whimpers and whines coming from the tiny thing he was lugging around, trying so desperately to get home. The other was Hatsuharu, that one wasn't so forward in his mind. It was an underlining constant that whispered and pulled at his mind begging for attention. He knew he shouldn't have hit him, at least not like he did. But soon as those gray eyes gave him a look of concern something snapped deep within him. It was that same damn look he gave that fucking bitch of a horse. It wasn't like he was blind, he had more than once seen them out on their 'dates' and each time the aged pain ebbed at him, growing with each laugh they shared, each secret kiss. But what haunted him the most was the day that Kagura had dragged him to her house when her parents were away. She fawned over him and was acting the wife as if playing 'house' before he made some lame excuse of not wanting to get caught by Akito and her parents and managing to escape. Oh god the memory hurt...
-"Haru, if you die I want to die with you," he had heard Rin's voice when he passed under a window trying to keep out of sight.
"Idiot, if we died then we wouldn't be able to do things like this."
He didn't know what had compelled him to look, but he still peeked over garnet colored eyes widened at their naked state as they laid amongst sheets. His breath came in short gasps as he found himself running, he had not told anyone but he had ended up collapsing in the corner of an empty street -wishing that his hyperventilation would suffocate him.-
He hated that memory the most. It still make his stomach churn each time he remembered it, and as a result he had to place down the needing kid in favor of emptying his stomach in the water that rushed down the gutter to be washed away to a sewer drain.
When he was done being sick he looked around, wasn't sure how long it had been since the last time he had stopped considering now he was surrounded by the walls of the residential area. Nothing was dry and he could only hurry as fast as he could, past here were the stores, more houses, then home. But when his foot came down he couldn't pick it back up from the ground. This... wasn't good.
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It was much colder than he had expected it to be. He could see his breath and he felt a desperation to find the wayward feline. He brought up a hand and wiped away the heavy rain that blurred his vision. He gave a verbal curse, "Fuck" through his teeth. He wasn't sure where he was now, there were to many damn houses that looked like they were made from the same cookie-cutter all covered and closed off with the same damn walls.
That was when he heard it. The high pitched chirping whine that pierced through the rain. It was persistent and... frantic? The panic in his chest rose when he saw two cats suddenly scuttling down the street not caring when they had to trudge through puddles. That was not typical feline behavior unless... His breath caught in his throat as he ran after them.
The cat was a quick creature, quiet nimble as well considering they had jumped a few fences to bee-line to where they were going. He struggled to keep up with their agility but his concern wouldn't let me even consider giving up and trying to find his cousin any other way. The sound was getting louder as well, until it seemed that it was piercing in his ear, a few lower mewls soon joined in as he ran down another block, his legs starting to ache as he picked up his speed. He nearly skidded around the corner to see a group of cats. Some sat staring, others cried, some gathered around orange fur in an attempt to keep the fallen one warm. Sitting on top of the limp, colorful, feline was a small, baby, kitten, its cry still jabbing into his ears as it pawed at a non-responsive ear.
Everything seemed to shatter. His head felt dizzy as he forced himself to breath, all he could hear were the howls of cats and his own heart beat as he ran forward. He didn't even realized he had screamed out the name of the one he had been looking for.
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He wasn't sure how he had ended up there. It was warm and painful all at once and when he opened his eyes it only hurt more so he opted to keep them closed. Something was around his hand, a burning heat that made him want to pull away from the agony it was causing. He would have moved away, rolled over, opened his eyes again, if he wasn't so tired. There was no energy, he was barely aware he could think basic thoughts that even registered what the difference between hot and cold was along with how pain felt.
There was a small hum as the heat started to move and Kyou barely understood that it was a thumb rubbing over his fingers and knuckles. The comfort he felt from the simple action was something he couldn't measure, for the most part because he never had experienced a level of comfort that was something that simply told him something along the lines of "it's okay", except for when he was in the bath.
He wanted to say something, confirm his suspicion but he was far to tired, exhaustion petting at his mind as he slipped back into a dreamless sleep.
The next time he was pulled himself away from his state of rest was when his stomach twisted into his throat. Reflexively he rolled to his side bringing a hand to his mouth. He heard something shift as he got up to his hands and knees. Bile stung up his throat and threatened to crawl up his nose as he emptied the bitter-sour acid that was so adamant on leaving his body. A hand stroked his back as he did so before promptly falling to his side and curling up around his aching stomach. When what ever it was he threw up in was moved he managed to pry his eyes open long enough to catch a glance of Haru placing a small trashcan to the side before everything going black once more.
To Be Continued...
