Quick Note:

I do not own any of the rights to "Fruit's Basket", the credit to the manga/anime belongs to the creator,Takaya Natsuki and publisher(s) FUNimation (anime) & Tokyopop (manga). The story I have written is influenced from the fruits basket manga.

Spoiler Alert- Alright you wont notice what I took from Chapter in this one cause I tried to put my own little spin on it.

Enjoy!

It wasn't the overly sanitized smell that reeked of pre-dermined death, it wasn't the paper-like 'sheets' and sparse blankets that did little to keep away the cold, it wasn't the disgusting food, the lack of privacy. The tests, procedures, shots and IV's she could tolerate. But what Rin hated most about hospitals was the continuity of the place. Hospitals never slept - day and night did not exist in the alternate universe that the medical world was a part of. She could never sleep at hospitals - and when she did, it was restless and unpleasant.

So when Rin woke up she not content with her surroundings, she was anxious and emotional and had to get away from where she was ASAP! But her body was telling her that she did not have the strength to get up, let alone escape the hospital. But the longer was aware of where she was, the more claustrophobic she was becoming. She reached up to run a hand through her hair and suddenly shook when she realized that it was about 15 inches too short. Akito!

You want to see if I am serious? That room, she was in that nightmarish room, the cat's room. You want to see if I'm serious? Rin panicked, Oh no! If Akito finds out that I'm missing from the room, Haru will get hurt! I have to get out of here! I have to get out! She had suddenly forgot that her body was exhausted and and connected to an IV until she felt the tug on her arm. Without a care she ripped out the needle, leaving the distressed vein raw and vulnerable. And without considering the possibility of running into one of the hospital's many doctors, nurses, and staff she ran down the hall to the stairs that led to main lobby and finally out the doors of the hospital, leaving a trail of IV blood behind her.

~o~o~0~o~o~

Haru was silently freaking out as he left his house. He ran to the hospital as fast as his feet could carry him. She couldn't have gotten that far, could she? As soon as the thought came into his head, he kicked himself for thinking it. Yes, yes she could have. Rin was a fast girl, not only because she was the horse spirit, but her father and mother were both very athletic (from what he had heard) in high school and at the University. Even when Rin was sick, she could outrun him. There was no saying where she could be now, if she was in the right state of mind, whether she was hurt or not. The possibilities were endless.

Haru's mind wandered as he slowed down to a more comfortable pace. What had influenced her to leave her hospital room in the middle of the night? He knew she disliked hospitals, but she had always tolerated hospital visits when she had to be there. This was the first time he'd ever heard her leaving the hospital altogether! But there were a lot of things about Rin that he had never been able to understand, he loved that about her. Just like he loved confusing people with his own reasoning. Haru's impatience was catching up with him as the sky began to lighten with still no sign of Rin or news from his mom or Hatori; so he stopped walking and slowly looked at all of his surroundings. Go left. a voice inside him said, maybe it was intuition, maybe it was his heart speaking to him. Nevertheless, he decided to listen to it.

~o~o~0~o~o~

Rin wasn't sure where her feet had led her. She felt dizzy and perplexed; the feeling made her cry in both confusion and frustration. She had to get to Sohma house, but she didn't even know where she was! She had to save Haru from Akito's wrath but the darkness engulfed her, she was sure she was suffocating from it. As she let out a wheezy sigh she fell to her knees and heaved what little was in her stomach. Feeling disgusting, she crawled as far away from it as she could. On to the vacant street and collapsed. "I'll never get there. Maybe it was just a dream? A nightmare, what a horrible dream...I only want to dream of Haru, a gentle Haru." She said to herself as her heavy eyes fluttered shut. She saw visions of what had happened to her over the past week or so. She felt defeated, she had failed Haru, now she would never find him happiness. Tears welled up in her eyes, she wanted to dream of something else. She wanted to dream of Haru, who she loved.

~o~o~0~o~o~

Haru was a bit surprised when he found her, that he didn't rush to her side. Instead he just walked to where her body lay in the middle of the street. She was in such a state, how did she make it out this far? It was dusk of the next day, he was so incredibly tired, but despite his fatigue, he couldn't stop searching for her. All night and day he had looked for her, made phone calls, asked people if they had seen her - he'd made phone calls to Shigure's house, Kagura's mom's, and Hiro as well. Though they all told him that they would go out and look for her straight away and call him if they found her, he'd guessed they'd probably given up now. Which was why he was so relieved to have found her.

When he reached her side he sucked in his gasping breath and touched her shoulder. She'd gotten thinner since he last saw her, and her hair was short now. It didn't look bad, but he couldn't say that he liked it either. Her long hair really exemplified how she looked, so it was strange to see her look like a Raggedy Ann doll. She was so dirty and mucked up - she wasn't even wearing shoes. Her knees had tell-tale signs of falling, her wrist had dried blood from where the IV once was - had she ripped it out of her vein? He moved his hand from her shoulder to her cropped hair, when she turned.

"Haru? Is that you for real? Or am I dreaming?" she mumbled with her eyelids half shut. He wasn't sure she knew if it was actually him or not. There was a good chance she was hallucinating - she probably was malnourished and dehydrated. Her eyes began to widen, he could tell she had been crying. "...I failed you, I couldn't find a way to give you happiness. I'm sorry! Which means..my journey ends here..then...then.."

He couldn't stand to hear her so upset so he interrupted her, ''Well then, If you're journy has finally ended and you don't return to my side, I should be very lonely."

"Then I should be going back." Tears escaped down her cheeks and she smiled, "What a good dream."

Haru smiled and then sighed but decided to bring her back to reality and picked her up. "Anyway this isn't a dream" he stated, "I spent so long looking for you, you've had everyone so worried, and your body is in such a state. How you got yourself all the way out here is beyond me."

"Haru! Haru I can walk by myself." she objected - but she didn't sound too sure of herself, Haru just rolled his eyes to the heavens and continued walking.

"No. I may still be a brat, and not noticed that. You are always getting yourself hurt. You might still be older than me but I am not the kid I used to be...I can carry you now. So I will not let go of you...Let me carry you. It is better if I do, anyway, sometimes you need to stop being so strong. You're not a burden - you're especially not my burden." He heard her stutter and mumble his name, though her voice was incoherent, he got the gist of what she was saying. Especially after she wrapped her arms around his neck and whispered in his ear...

"I'm back!"