Disclaimer: I own nothing. Nothing at all.
Shigure sighed for what seemed like the hundredth time in the last half an hour. He glanced at his two companions. Yuki sat with his head resting in one hand, tapping out a repetitive tempo on the tabletop with the other. Hatori sat motionless, staring without blinking at the door to the kitchen, almost as if he could will the phone to ring with just his gaze.
The tension in the room got worse with every moment that passed with still no sound from the phone. The clock ticked away the seconds with agonizing slowness. Just as it seemed the three men could sit in silence no longer, they were all startled by someone roughly sliding open the front door.
All three men jumped up and turned to face the open door with hope etched on their faces. Their apprehensive hope vanished as each in turn registered the identity of the teen standing before them. Even Yuki would have gladly welcomed the sight of an orange-haired, crimson-eyed boy. Unfortunately the teen currently leaning on the doorframe with a slightly perturbed look on his face had a mess of white hair atop his head and several pieces of metal glinting in each ear.
Hatori sighed as he tried to figure a reason for Hatsuharu's sudden appearance. "What is it Hatsuharu? Sorry to be so blunt about things, but we're a little busy at the moment, so if you've just stopped by to say hi, I'll have to ask that you come back at another time."
"I have a life outside this family, you know." Hatsuharu shot an annoyed glance at Hatori. "I'm only here because Akito told me to come and find you. The damn phone in your office has been ringing off the hook all day and it's driving Akito crazy, who in turn is making life hell for the rest of us. I'd ask you to go back to the main house and answer it yourself or at least disconnect the damn thing, but if you give me the key to your office I'll do it. I wouldn't want to interrupt what seems to be an extremely important afternoon of…" he inspected the scene before him, "…sitting in Shigure's living room. I can see you're obviously busy. So if you don't mind…" He held out his hand for Hatori's key.
Yuki interrupted the tense moment between the two. "Haru, why didn't you or someone else at the main house just call here to get ahold of Hatori? You didn't need to walk all the way over here.
"I did call. It just keeps saying the number is unavailable. I didn't really have a choice. I figured if Hatori didn't show up by noon and no one would answer here, then I'd come over and find him myself."
"Noon? Haru, it's almost four."
The white-haired teen flushed a little, suddenly becoming very interested in the fingernails on his left hand. "Yeah, well I left at noon. But then, through no fault of my own, the streets I thought I was familiar with became a twisting labyrinth of-"
"Just say you got lost again." The violet-eyed boy sighed in frustration. The whole family had long since gotten used to Hatsuharu's notoriously bad sense of direction, but that didn't make it any less frustrating.
"Haru, what did you say about the phone?" Shigure spoke up for the first time since Hatsuharu had entered the house.
"Every time I called, I just got an automated voice that said the number was unavailable. I just figured you disconnected your phone to annoy your editor again."
"Not this time." Shigure hurried to the phone and inspected it, spying the loose phone cord almost immediately. He held it up for the others to see. "Here's the problem. That's weird…it was working when you called the police Hatori. Hmmm…I know! It must have come unplugged when the phone got knocked off the wall. I'll just reconnect it here and we'll be back in business."
"Police?! What's going on over here?" Hatsuharu, eyes wide, stared at Hatori.
"We've run into a bit of trouble regarding Kyo. He…well… he ran away. With my car. We called the police to see if they could find him. We've been waiting for a reply. By the way Haru, do you happen to know who was calling my office?"
"No," Hatsuharu replied. "The door was shut. Obviously, or I wouldn't have had to-" Hatsuharu's budding rant was interrupted the ringing of the newly connected phone. Shigure answered before the first ring was even complete.
"Sohma house. This is Shigure Sohma…You want to speak to Hatori Sohma?...Hold on a moment please."
Shigure covered the mouthpiece of the phone and with an anxious look said, "It's the police station Ha'ri. They don't sound like they have good news."
Hatori quickly crossed to the room to Shigure and took possession of the phone.
"This is Hatori Sohma…Yes, I did report my car stolen…You found him?...HOSPITAL! We'll be right there."
Haruka looked down in surprise as her stomach gurgled hungrily. She hadn't realized just how long she had been sitting in the waiting room until Dr. Taylor had come to speak with her. She decided to take his advice and go get some food (if hospital fare counted as food).
On her way to the cafeteria, Haruka continued to mull over the thoughts that had been plaguing her all morning. She quickened her pace. The sooner she ate something, the sooner she could return to the waiting room, and the sooner she could resume her vigil over the sleeping boy. She wouldn't- couldn't- leave without seeing him again.
'I know it's crazy. But I have to make sure…'
As she thought, Haruka absent-mindedly picked up a bag of chips from the cafeteria counter and carried it to the register. She barely noticed when the cashier tried to strike up a conversation with her, wordlessly handing a few crumpled bills to him, and proceeding to an empty table to sit.
'It's probably just a coincidence. It has to be. What am I thinking? There's no way it could be that. That's not even possible. But still…it's so strange. The boy…I hope he's alright. Please god let him be alright. Give me the chance to talk to him. I need to know if...no. There's absolutely no way. Except…his hair. Maybe…'
Haruka twirled a lock of her curly, copper-colored hair around her index finger.
"I wish I had your hair color, Haruka! It looks like a sunset! Mine's just plain orange."
'Isn't that what you used to say to me?' thought Haruka, feeling a familiar twinge of sadness in her stomach. 'Orange. I always thought your hair was a beautiful shade of orange. Like his. This strange boy, lying in the hospital bed. It's my fault he's there. I should feel…sorrier than I do. But how can I truthfully feel sorry, when I believe I was meant to find him. You. Meant to find you. Is this my second chance?'
Haruka balled up the now empty chip bag and threw it into a nearby trashcan. Time to get back to the waiting room. She swung open the door to the hallway, in a hurry to return to her post. She froze at the sight before her.
It was the boy. She caught a glimpse of the look of pure panic on his face as he rushed past her. She stood in shock as he hobbled towards the emergency exit at the end of the hallway. Even injured, he was amazingly fast and graceful. He shoved open the door using his left arm. His right was a bloody mess. The boy quickly disappeared through the door, out into the still rainy mid-day gloom.
There was about two seconds of silence after the boys sudden departure for Haruka to stand in the hallway, stunned. Then an alarm attached the emergency exit door began to sound throughout the hospital. Staff rushed into the hallway from patient rooms and private offices. Dr. Taylor came rushing out his office, cursing under his breath.
Haruka's eyes widened with a sudden realization. 'What if they can't find him? I can't lose him before I even get to talk to him! I have to know…'
Without a second thought, Haruka sprinted the short distance to the doors and burst through them to the city outside. The rain soaked her as her eyes searched the surrounding streets desperately.
'Where is he?!'
Just to let it be know: This will NOT be a KyoxOC fic.
Reviews? Please and thank you.
