Disclaimer: I don't own Fruits Basket

Sorry for such a delay, I've been working on my novel, I just finished

Chapter 7 Clarity and Confusion

Last Time...

She walked between Kyo and Yuki, thanking Yuki while holding onto Kyo's hand. When everyone approached the school Kyo felt Tohru let go of his hand and stop walking. He turned around and looked at her, "What's wrong Tohru?"

Tohru dropped her bag and covered her mouth with her hand, the other pointing at the front of the school, where a familiar group of boys were waiting. Each of them were holding up a piece of a sign that spelt out - We missed you Princess

Now...

Tohru froze, she felt her heart start to race. She was happy to see them, but if Akito found out she was near them, Kyo...everyone...everyone would be in danger, especially herself. Kyo was staring at her, watching the panic and the tears fill her face as she took a step back. Clarity was already approaching her, Kira as usual, holding up the front.

Tohru dropped her bag and took a few more steps back, Kyo turned and fully faced her, blocking her view of Clarity, "Tohru tell me what's wrong?"

Tohru shook her head, "If I'm seen with them...Akito will...he'll make me go away...that's why that decision was so hard. One or the other, not both, Kyo...I don't want to lose you," She whimpered lightly, listening to the footsteps of her friends getting closer.

Kyo smiled and touched her cheek lightly, "Hey, he doesn't even know you're back yet. I'm sure one day won't mess anything up. I'll protect you, I promise Tohru," he kissed her cheek gently, "No matter what happens I will always love you."

He stepped aside for her and Tohru leaned around his waist to see all her band members waving, "TOHRU! TOHRU WE MISSED YOU!" Before Tohru knew what was happening she was being passed from member to member being hugged and spun in the air. Tohru laughed lightly until they put her down on the air, she had to wander left to right before she had her balance back.

"What are you guys doing back?" Tohru asked with confusion and worry, "Don't tell me the record deal went bad because I didn't come! Oh I'm so sorry!"

Kira laughed, "Nah Tohru, we still have our deal. We recorded the whole soundtrack without you, and now we've come back for ya. There's a studio right here in the city and we can overlap your singing with the music and we're done. When you called us and told us what happened we felt really bad for pulling you away from your family, especially after all the loss you went through," Kira rubbed the top of her head, "So we decided to make it easier."

All the Sohmas watched this in bafflement, but it was little Momiji who grabbed onto Tohru's sleeve first. "TorTor, you're not going to go away are you?" Momiji frowned lightly.

Tohru smiled and ruffled his hair, "Nope," she looked back to Clarity, "Kira I think you met Momiji. Momiji is technically my cousin, actually, all the Sohmas are my cousins by law but I live with them anyway," she turned around and pointed to Haru, "That's Haru-chan, he's like my big brother," next she pointed to Yuki, "This is Yuki, he's like a best friend sort of brother," and then she pointed to Kyo, "This is Kyo he's—"

"I'm her boyfriend," Kyo finished, irritated by the way Kira was staring at his Tohru. He wrapped an arm around her and Tohru blushed innocently.

Yue, Sora, and Li introduced themselves to the boys and once everyone was all caught up everyone stood in silence. All the boys really didn't have anything in common except for Tohru. Tohru was feeling a bit overwhelmed, four Sohmas and four band members. "So, what do you guys plan on doing today?"

Kira smiled, "Well, the boys are going to get our old apartment set back up and I'm heading back into town to see if I can get my old jobs back. Who knows, we could end up being working buddies again," Kira gave a thumbs up and ran his hand through his chocolate hair.

Haru looked down at his watch and sighed, "Tohru, if you want to get your homework done we've got to get inside," frankly, he wasn't too fond of Kira either, something about his return did not seem totally honest, there were other reasons he returned home.

The band nodded, "We've probably held you for too long, sorry, we just wanted to say hi. We'll call you later tonight Tohru." Sora, Li, and Yue each took a turn kissing her cheek, which the Sohmas didn't growl about. The did however, growl when Kira kissed her cheek and cuffed the side of her hair. After they disappeared Tohru let out a huge sigh.

Once they were inside Uo and Hana pulled Tohru away when they noticed she was pale. "Hey kiddo, are you okay?" Uo asked with concern.

"Yes Tohru, your waves are not so bright and happy," Hana noted as she watched her friend.

Tohru waved her arms, "I'm fine, I just didn't get to finish my homework last night and now I've got some unexpected visitors and Haru isn't feeling well lately and I've got to work at both jobs tonight and I've got to cook dinner and finals are next week AND—"

"Whoa Tohru! Calm down!" Uo took Tohru by the shoulders and sat her down at her desk, "First off I'm sure someone else can take care of Haru and make dinner. Your stupid Prince can help you with finals like last year, and as for the visitors, just wing it," Uo smiled, "You know you can always crash at our place if it gets too hard ya know."

"Yes, our doors are always opened dear Tohru," Hana smiled, a rare sight indeed as Hana stroked Tohru's head.

Tohru nodded and sighed, it didn't seem so easy, and she didn't want to worry her friends by telling them she didn't feel too well. She sat down in her desk and pulled out her homework, finishing just before the bell rang. She sighed and rested her head on the desk and closed her eyes, "I can't keep doing this...mom wouldn't like it..." Tohru felt like her eyes were too heavy, she didn't want to wake up.

"Good morning class!" Sensei Honda screamed, the class laughed; they loved the way their sensei taught, it was like he was just one really old kid. Tohru sat up and held her head, feeling a little fatigue. "Today is going to be a physical endurance test," The whole class moaned, "I'm afraid it's sudden because they wanted to see how you all were without training. It's the last one of the year, and I expect you all to study for your finals."

Tohru simply whimpered under her breath as the students filed out towards the gymnasium to get changed. Uo and Hana looked at each other uncertainly, watching her sway a little in her walk. A few minutes later everyone was in shorts and t-shirts and Sensei was at a starting line for a two mile run. Hana insisted that Tohru refuse to walk like she did, but Tohru refused, school was important to her. "On your mark...get set...go!"

Uo ended up being Tohru's running partner for most of the stretch, but Tohru felt as though she was holding her back so she sent Uo running, who instantly was neck in neck with Kyo and Yuki. Some rivalries just die hard. They were coming to the bridge, which was the halfway point and Tohru felt a cough settling in her throat. "Oh great..." She walked over to the side and leaned over coughing, it made her throat hurt a whole lot.

"TorTor, are you okay?" Momiji asked her, holding onto her shoulder. Haru and Momiji had been a few paces behind her and saw her walk to the side and start coughing. Momiji didn't like seeing Tohru look less than her normal shine.

Tohru held her chest with one hand and continued to cough, and just as Momiji asked she stopped. She straightened herself out and smiled, "I'm fine, I think I just got something caught in my throat," Momiji still stared at her, a pout on his face. She rubbed his hair and smiled, "Lets finish the race okay? I'm alright now, I promise."

And Tohru was fine, she finished the race without any more coughing and finished with a decent time, at least a minute better than last year. Of course, Yuki, Uo, and Kyo had worn themselves out running so hard and Tohru just rolled her eyes and giggled. The rest of the day was more cramming, stuff Tohru paid extra attention to and took down tons of notes. The last bell rang and Tohru gave her goodbyes, sprinting off to her first job.

Kyo was about to walk home with the other Sohmas when Uo grabbed onto his sleeve, "Not so fast carrot head."

Kyo turned around and growled, "What the hell do you want Yankee?"

Uo ignored that comment, "Take care of Tohru. We've known her for a long time, Hana and I both know that she's trying to hold in her symptoms. She's sick Kyo we can see it coming. Keep an eye on her for the next few days and I'm telling you she'll be bed-stricken if you don't catch it. She doesn't get sick too often, when she does, all hell breaks loose."

Kyo shrugged off her arm and sighed, "Yeah, she's been balancing a lot of stuff recently. I'll keep my eye on her," Kyo turned and walked off, grumbling as usual.

Uo smiled and looked over at Hana, "I have a feeling he'll keep his word."

"Yes," Hana nodded her head, "I am happy that the Cat has found Tohru." (Cat meaning the comparison Hana made to Yuki and Kyo's rivalry as the Rat and the Cat, not knowing of the zodiac curse)

Tohru walked into the ice cream parlor, head hung low with more fatigue, when someone's voice brought her back to reality. "Hey there Tohru."

Tohru lifted up her head to see Kira behind the counter, a happy grin on his face as he waved around an ice cream scoop. "Hey Kira...so they let you get your job back, that was nice of them."

Tohru hopped over the counter and threw on her uniform.

Kira couldn't help but notice how quiet she was, she seemed really out of it. "Are you okay Tohru? I thought, I dunno, you'd be a little happier that we were back and stuff," he shrugged as he started on a customer's order.

Tohru shook her head furiously, "I am happy to see you Kira, really I am. There's just a lot of stuff going on right now especially my finals. I want to do really well on them so Mom can be proud of me," Tohru explained starting on her own order, "I have to go home and make dinner, do my homework, go over to my other job, come home, do more homework, and hopefully sleep. Haru's been sick too, he's still on medication from our doctor. The worse time for him is at night so I usually stay by his side."

"Did I ever tell you that you work way too hard?" Kira joked as he handed a lady an ice cream and rang it up in the cash register.

"I think you have," Tohru answered with a giggle, "But I don't think I paid much attention to it."

Tohru and Kira spent the next few hours of their shift catching up on all the stuff they had missed out on while they were apart. The worry of Akito was still freshly embedded in Tohru's mind, but somehow work seemed a little different compared to intentional intervention. When the shift was almost over there was a lull in customers, so Tohru put her elbows up on the counter and stared off into oblivion. Both Kyo and Haru had decided to pick Tohru up today, mostly by request of Momiji and we're just turning the block to the store.

"I don't like that Kira kid, I think he's bad news," Haru sighed in frustration, "I'm going to be really pissed if he tries to pull something on Tohru."

"You're going to be pissed?" Kyo growled, "I'm the boyfriend here, how do you think I feel?" He shoved his hands in his pockets, "I'm trying to trust Tohru."

"I trust Tohru, not Kira," Haru added, opening the doors of the ice cream shop just in time to see Kira come up and hug Tohru from behind. "What the hell are you doing?"

Kira looked up and let go of Tohru and grinned, "I'm giving my friend a hug, is that like, illegal?" Kira asked, almost some cockiness in his voice. He hopped over the counter, leaving Tohru feeling rather confused.

"That sure as hell didn't look like nothing," Haru growled, "I am not going to let you pull a fast one on Tohru and hurt her relationship with Kyo."

"You're just saying that to protect your little cousin," Kira shot, shrugging his shoulders, "I'm just an old friend who's happy to have his princess back."

Kyo had already come to the counter and taken Tohru by the hand and guided her away. Tohru already cooing on how happy she was to see him. However, the fight between Haru and Kira didn't seem to be dying down anytime soon and Tohru frowned watching.

"I don't trust you," Haru growled, "I think you have alternate intentions when it comes to Tohru," Haru pointed a finger in accusation.

Kira grabbed Haru by the collar of his shirt, "Hey, I came back here to get my Princess back. We've been friends way longer than you guys have even known Tohru. Don't go saying I have alternative motives when I know more about her than you ever will."

Haru felt a bad pain in his chest, he didn't like it, he hated it, he hated Kira. "If you knew Tohru so well then how couldn't you see how much all this has hurt her? She chose us over you, you that blind?" Haru yelled, pushing Kira off of him.

"Tohru chose you guys because she didn't want to loose her new family, she didn't choose you like you were better. She had a right to want a family after Kyoko died, I wasn't going to fight that! It took us forever on the phone to get her to stop crying," Kira screamed, "We were her family first and we told her we'd be back for her later. And now we're back, why is that so wrong!"

"Because Tohru is happy here!" Haru screamed, rage building up in him, "Clarity wanting to go on tour caused Tohru to face a lot of the dangers in our family! She almost lost the one person who loves her!" He pointed at Kyo, "Don't act so innocent!"

"Shut up!" Kira screamed, "All I want is my princess back, I just want Tohru back, sue me for missing her!"

"She isn't yours anymore!" Haru shouted back, Tohru could see it starting, Black Haru. "She belongs with Kyo, but she belongs to no one. Tohru has a right to make her decisions and she did. She decided to stay with us, not you!"

"Maybe it's you with the alternative motives! Listen to you preach about me taking her away, maybe you're the one who doesn't want her gone from your life! You're treating her like she's yours," Kira growled.

That was it, the first punch thrown, and Kira stumbled back. Tohru gasped and covered her mouth, Black Haru. Haru started to laugh, his head slumped and his stance like a drunk man, he started to laugh until it was like he couldn't control it. "Tohru? Mine? Oh you stupid boy, you stupid stupid boy. If you are going to accuse me of alternative motives then you better be prepared to get your ass kicked!"

Tohru tried to squirm from Kyo's grip as Haru threw another punch that hit Kira in the face. Kira retaliated with his own punch that grabbed Haru's mouth. Haru spat blood onto the floor and Tohru was quivering. The fight got intense then, too fast for Tohru's untrained eyes. There were kicks, blocks, more punches, everything like watching anime fights on television. She didn't hear anything but curses and screams and soon she realized that Kira was getting beat up pretty bad. There was a cut on the side of his face, and blood dripping from his lip as he was backed into the counter where the ice cream was. Tohru stomped on Kyo's foot, making a mental note to apologize later as Kyo let go of her.

"You're gonna pay for what you said bastard!" Haru screamed as he loomed above Kira.

He was throwing his last bunch when Tohru jumped in the way, "HARU STOP!" and was smashed right in the eye on her run between them. She tumbled to the ground by Kira's feet and Haru's eyes widened in complete shock.

(Just in case no one got how that was supposed to look, lets pretend two trains are about to collide on a horizontal line -------. Now lets say someone runs between them vertically, that's what Tohru did.)

"Tohru!" Kyo cursed himself for being such a pussy and letting her go. She didn't move at first on the ground, but slowly she sat up, holding her eye in pain. He ran up to her to help her but she got up on her own. "Tohru...?" he asked uncertainly.

Tohru walked over to the front door, taking off her uniform and left it on a table. "Sorry, I've got to get home and make dinner, I'm going to be late for work at this rate," she answered them blandly, still holding her eye. "Haru-chan? Please stop hurting Kira. I know that this isn't the real Haru, the real Haru is gentle and loving. Please stop it, put all this anger away, and come home when you feel better." Tohru walked out of the store, the bells above jingling, and she walked home in the rain, not caring if she didn't have an umbrella.

Haru looked from the door down to Kira, who had sunk to the floor happy this fight was over. Haru stared at his still clenched fists, his knuckles covered in Kira's blood. His grey eyes blinking in confusion. He turned to Kyo, "What happened?"

Kyo helped Kira off the ground and was taking him to the back where the freezer was. He stopped, sighed heavily, and turned back to Haru, "You went Black."

Haru froze, he just felt his heart break. Was this what his dreams had warned him of? "What about Tohru?" he asked weakly, knowing there was going to be a worse answer.

"You beat up Kira, and she tired to stop you," Kyo began weakly, rubbing his orange hair with his free hand while Kira leaned on his shoulder, "You punched her pretty badly in the eye, and then she ran off."

"Well why aren't you going to her?" Kira asked weakly, "I can take care of myself," he chuckled lightly, trying to stand up properly.

Kyo shook his head, "You're a wreck, and I know Tohru; she's going to go on home first thing that happens is Momiji comes running up and asking her what's wrong. Then Yuki will come out of his room and ask the same thing after hearing Momiji whimper. Then Shigure will come out and then they'll call a doctor. I know our family well, Tohru's in good hands."

Kira smirked lightly, "I guess she doesn't need a prince anymore, now that she's got a whole army of boys." He pulled out his cell phone and called up Yue, asking for a ride home since he knew he wouldn't be able to drive properly.

Kyo looked at Haru and sighed, "Go home Haru, I can handle this. You should be at home where the others are, so you can relax and get all this out of your system." Kyo was pissed, hurting Tohru was a low blow for anyone, but he knew that Dark Haru was a completely different person compared to the normal Haru.

An hour later Kyo and Haru walked home and came inside from the rain. Kyo looked around for Tohru, ignoring Yuki and Momiji who were on the couches. "She went to work early," Yuki answered the silence, "She made dinner and then left, I walked in the door when she walked out. I think she mumbled something about not being able to find her school bag. Is it possible she left it at school?" Yuki asked, looking away from his gardening magazine with innocent lavender eyes. When he saw how beat up Haru was he raised an eyebrow, "Haru what happened to you?"

"Nothing..." Haru grumbled as he wandered upstairs into his room.

Yuki looked at Kyo, now even more confused, "What's going on?"

Kyo sighed and sat down on the couch, "Lets just say...Tohru had a really bad day."

Tohru ran into her second work building, using the newly fixed elevators and came upstairs. She was of course greeted by the other workers, but when the elderly ladies saw Tohru's swollen eye they all dropped their things and sat Tohru down in a chair, "My goodness precious what happened to you?"

Tohru sniffed lightly and shook her head, "Nothing happened," Tohru answered weakly, fighting back the tears. She stared down at her school outfit, that she still hadn't changed out of because she hadn't been home long enough, "I need to get to work," Tohru told them.

The ladies simply refused and all took turns doing Tohru's jobs. Because there wasn't a constant boss watching them it was their secret. A lady brought Tohru ice in a rag for her eye. "Dear, do your parents know what happened to you?"

Tohru shook her head, "No, ano...Shigure was working when I came home from my other job. Then I made dinner, then I was out the door again. I've misplaced my school bag and I can't find it anywhere," Tohru covered her face, "I've got finals next week and tons of homework. My brother is sick and I don't know what to do," Tohru started crying.

All the ladies started fawning and rubbing her head gently. One of them went off to get Tohru something warm to eat, the others wanted to find her some warm clothes since her others were soaked from the rain. They put her in a robe and dried her other clothes as she tried to eat, but found she had no appetite. At eleven she came downstairs to find Shigure of all people waiting for her. He walked up to her and kissed her forehead and brought her as close as he possibly could, "Oh my poor Flower."

"I couldn't protect Haru," Tohru cried to Shigure as he ran his hands through her hair. "I'm sorry Shigure, I tried and things just went horribly wrong, it's all my fault."

"Ssshhhhh, it's okay Tohru," Shigure told her gently, bending down in a squatting position so he could wipe her tears, "Lets just get you home and talk about it. I think you need to get some rest."

"Shigure...I can't find my school bag anywhere. I still have all my homework to do," Tohru whimpered as he walked her home with an umbrella and warm jacket. (Since Shigure can't drive).

"One of Kira's friends, Sora, dropped it off. He said he had found it at the ice cream parlor and you left in such a hurry that you forgot it. He remembered how important it was to you, especially with your mother's photo in there he returned it as soon as he found it," Shigure explained as they walked into the house.

The Sohmas, minus Haru who was upstairs, all looked up from the television to gaze at Tohru. Her eyes was swelling really badly, and she looked like she'd been through hell. Her hair was a mess, her eyes weren't shiny, she wasn't smiling. She took off her shoes and picked up her school bag, which was leaning against the wall beside the door and took it upstairs with her.

Momiji opened up his mouth, but Shigure put a finger to his lips and looked upstairs, "Why don't you let our poor Flower rest. She didn't want to tell me anything on the walk home. I'm calling Hatori," Shigure walked off towards his office, "I want her eye to be checked out."

Tohru worked into the early hours of the morning until she finally went to sleep. She woke up the next day rather abruptly when she sat up coughing and gasping for air. That's strange, I've never had a cough that bad. Oh no! I can't be sick now, I just can't! Tohru wandered to the medicine cabinet and grabbed some medicine. She showered, staring at her eye in the mirror. It was a real deep purple, almost black now, and she could barely open it. After she was dressed she went downstairs to make breakfast. Just as she had finished the oden someone knocked on the door.

Tohru opened it slowly to see Hatori looking down at her with his usual stolid expression. She saw his eyes flash with worry for maybe a second when he caught glimpse of her eye. "Good morning Hatori," She pulled him inside and sat him down on the couch, "Would you like some tea? I just made some for Shigure."

"That would be fine, but I'd like to check out your eye first. Shigure called me last night and told me about it," Hatori answered blandly, already opening up his medical bag. Tohru sat down beside him on the couch and waited patiently. He shined a light into her eyes, checked for fractures, broken bones, and thankfully there was nothing that fatal.

Tohru had just finished preparing tea when the rest starting coming downstairs. Hatori took his cup and watched Tohru disappear back into the kitchen. He listened to kitchen dishes scrape against each other as she pulled them from cabinets and shelves. Fifteen minutes later there were seven plates set at the table, Tohru insisted he ate with them.

School was awkward, a lot of the kids asked Tohru what had happened to her. Uo and Hana just glanced at each other, glaring at all the Sohmas, knowing they had to have done something. Kyo stayed protectively close to Tohru the entire day, and Tohru just smiled and kissed his cheek gently. Work was quiet too, Kira had a couple bandages on his face and he just apologized. Tohru told him to forget about it, and she went on working like nothing had happened. When she got home and made dinner she took some more medicine, Yuki might've been the only one who walked into the kitchen who saw her coughing but using the sink to drown out the noise.

Haru hadn't spoken to Tohru all day, and she was worried by it. She knew she'd have to talk to him soon, but she had to work both jobs tonight. The women at work were very kind to Tohru, giving her only a few small jobs instead of the usual heavy loud the flower volunteered for. She came home, ate with Kyo, and went to bed without much of a goodnight.

Kyo came into her room to check up on her and he found her shivering under her covers. She was covering her mouth and coughing like crazy. He walked over to her, "Tohru? Tohru are you okay?" He was very surprised to see she was asleep still, all of this unconsciously happening. He touched her forehead and felt cold sweat on her, but her forehead was on fire.

Kyo ran into Shigure's office, the closest room with a phone. "My dear Kyo, what's the matter?" Shigure was surprised, Kyo never came into this room.

"Tohru's sick, really sick," He blurted out as he picked up the phone to call Hatori. Hiro was the one who picked up the phone, it was evident because Kyo was getting ticked off, "Hiro cut this crap right now! Tohru is very sick and I need Hatori over here now!"

By the time Hatori arrived the sun was already coming up for the next day. He unfortunately, had to take care of Master Akito first and pretend he had no where else he needed to be. Kyo stayed by Tohru's side, putting a cool rag on her head and changing it every few minutes. He wasn't sure what else to do. "Tohru..."

Tohru's breath was short and her facial expression looked painful. No matter how many blankets Kyo put on top of her she wouldn't stop shivering or sweating. The others were informed of Tohru's illness when Kyo came into their rooms looking for extra bedding. For the most part Shigure kept the other three Sohmas out of the room, only allowing himself and Kyo. Tohru moaned in pain and held her stomach as she coughed up phlegm and blood.

When Hatori finally arrived he was literally dragged up the stairs. He put his stethoscope to her chest, Kyo turning away because it was way too much cleavage for him not to stare at and Hatori sighed. He put away his stethoscope and pulled out a thermometer, waiting to see the temperature. He sighed again, "She's got a high fever, 103.4, if it goes up any higher today I will take her to the hospital. I'll stay here for the day with her."

"What's wrong with my daughter Hatori?" Shigure asked nervously, stroking the top of his daughter's hair. Kyo had never seen Shigure so worried since the day Tohru left to stay with Akito.

"I'm certain she has pneumonia, she's put herself under so much stress she's finally collapsed," Hatori sighed as he pulled out a needle and a serum to inject her with, "If I can't break her fever by the end of the day she's going to be in real trouble. Pneumonia is far more fatal than people realize."

"Let me stay with her!" Kyo jumped in quickly, "Please, I can't go to school knowing she's this sick."

Hatori shook his head, "I wouldn't recommend that, the last thing I need is you contracting the illness from her. She's in good hands Kyo, I'll take care of her," He cleaned her shoulder and injected her with some powerful antibiotics. "You should go to school and try to concentrate on the work," Hatori smiled lightly and touched her forehead, "I know she'll be worried about school if she realizes she's missed a day."

"Well...when is she going to wake up?" Kyo asked nervously, staring at her with a weak heart. He wanted to take her into his arms, he hated her being sick, he hated the damn curse. He shoved his hands in his pockets and sighed

"I'm not sure when she'll wake up, but from what Shigure told me she hasn't had a good night's rest in a long time. I think this will be her day to catch up on it. Why don't you go make some breakfast for the others." Hatori smiled, "Even though I know they're leaning up against the door right now," Hatori pointed.

On the paper door was the outline of three boys with their ears pushed up against the door. Kyo snickered and watched them scatter like animals in the headlights of cars. Kyo took one last look at Tohru, sighing, and walked out, dragging the others downstairs with him.

"Be honest Hatori, how bad is this?" Shigure asked, knowing his best friend well enough that he was holding back.

"If she hits a 104 fever there is a fifty fifty chance she won't live." Hatori cringed and listened to his friend's mouth shut, quite the opposite of the goofy talkative Shigure. "I'm sorry, that's the honest truth. Her immune system is very weak, but I've got a lot of medicines with me and I'm doing everything my power. I've got all day to get the fever down, give me time. I promise she'll be okay by tonight, I'll break the fever."

Shigure sat down in a chair beside his friend and sighed, "For the first time, in a long while my friend, I'm truly worried. Even when she went to Akito's I knew she had you and the other Sohmas. But this illness, its all about her, and her willpower."

Hatori nodded and closed his eyes, "The perfect example of crash and burn."

Haru cut class that day to hang out by the old tree with Kei. Haru couldn't help but feel this was all his fault. He punched the tree again and again until Kei made him stop because his knuckles were so bloody. "This was everything I was warned about, I hurt her." Just not the way he had expected. Verbal fights were rare with Tohru and Haru, they were both such mellow people, now he had gone and hit her. He hit her. She'd never trust him again. "Damn..."

A/N: I know black Haru didn't get too much time in the chapter, but he'll be back throughout the series I promise. I have more in store, the Kira conflict will not die so easily.