Here's the next chapter! I was working on this at three in the morning so don't be surprised if something doesn't make sense or involves some references to late night talk shows. There probably are none. Anyway, thanks for reading! Reviews are appreciated.

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"So? What do you want to tell us?" Kyo asked, seeming to have calmed down from the dramatic scene we just had in the middle of the hallway. We were all alone now; Tohru was gone, and not even a lost roaming student was around us. "This sure as heck better be important."

Momiji's face turned glum. "Uh-huh," He mumbled, nodding once. "I heard he was here…he's here at this school…Akito." Even being the natural story teller that he was, Momiji was still struggling to find and compile his words.

"W-What?" Yuki and Kyo gasped in unison. Yuki's face was especially torn. An aura of nervousness and fear hung around us like a noxious gas. Guilt wasn't a far bullet either.

"Yes," Haru began, his eyes a few shades greyer than usual. "We just found out about it ourselves. Shigure told us the news right after the entrance ceremony."

"He said Akito decided the last minute that he wanted to go." I added in a hushed tone.

"He…must have come later than everyone else, but we think he's here now. When we heard, we figured that that was something you two would want to know right away." Momiji's face dropped further. "Especially if...you don't want to see him."

Once the silence took over, Yuki turned around and walked away, not uttering a single word. I bit my lip, wondering how he'd react to seeing him. Shattered memories loomed in my mind, cutting at me like a broken piece of glass. Seeing Yuki so …vulnerable, and crying… "I need to-"

"I'm coming too," Kyo said brusquely. I debated whether I wanted him to come or not, for if he did, he might try to stop me from pulling apart Akito's arms if he had hurt Tohru or Yuki. As we left to go see if the situation was alright, Haru and Momiji didn't move a muscle, their heads lowered as our footsteps soon faded away to them.

"There!" I called, stopping in front of an open window, leading to the school's garden. "Kyo…" I muttered, witnessing what was happening in the yard. Akito's palm was delicately caressing Yuki's right cheek. Yuki, with petrified wide eyes, stood there motionlessly. Even from here, I could see him trembling. Tohru, not having the slightest idea of what was going on, just watched with a genuinely concerned expression taking over her features. "Kyo, we have to-!"

"No, Yumi," He caught my wrist as I attempted to jump through the window and help Yuki. He held me back.

"Let go! Get off! Kyo he's-"

"Do you understand what will happen if you go out there?" He grunted as I stepped on his foot while trying to escape. I understood what would happen if I went out there, but I kept trying to break the locks of his hands.

"NO!" I heard Tohru's voice echo. Both mine and Kyo's heads turned back to the three. Tohru, bless her soul, had pushed Akito away from Yuki. She instantly regretted what she did. "Er- I'm um…sorry, but we sh-should be getting to class now. We're really late."

Akito…smiled. "I understand. Sorry to keep you. I suppose I should be getting back to Shigure and the others as well. They must be worried by now." His smile turned into a smirk. "But, Yuki, I do hope that you'll visit me sometime in the near future." He put his hands in his pockets and bid them farewell.

"Yuki, are you alright?" She asked, still shocked at how she behaved.

"Uh yes," He answered quickly. "Miss Honda, Akito…he didn't do or say anything strange to you, did he?" He asked, his eyes reflecting his emotions.

"Oh, not at all! He really did just introduce himself." She held up her hands and made that cute but goofy smile of hers that I knew made Yuki ad Kyo feel better at times.
"Good." Was all he responded, a content smile, that barely verified its own existence, graced his lips.

Later that day, Tohru invited all of us to play badminton with her two friends after last bell had rung. The one named Hanajima was very interesting. It seemed that she could detect waves and electric signals. She barely moved while playing, but the ball never dropped when it flew to her. The other, Uotani, made me laugh several times. She kept messing with him in a way that made him actually look like a little kitty.

I laughed as he called her a Yankee.

Yuki, still recovering from the sight of Akito, played along with a look that I didn't quite understand. He didn't look happy…but he didn't look sad either. He looked content; a perfectly balanced line between the two. He actually played the game.

~*~

"You totally stole my shot," I grumbled as Haru and I were walking home. Momiji wanted to stay with the others for a while longer, so we headed back by ourselves.

"You weren't even close to the net," He defended, hiding his triumphant smile.

"And that gave you the right to hit it?"

"You wouldn't have made it anyway,"

"Cow…" Was all I could think of as a rebuttal.

He countered it with "Stone."

I sighed. "Oh well, no one was keeping score, so no one won anyway…"

"Says the representative of the losing team," He laughed. I lightly kicked him in the knee, almost tripping myself in the process. He chuckled, setting me straight. "Smooth."

"I gotta learn how you do that someday," I mumbled, removing the blue extensions from my hair carefully.

"Do what?" He asked, glancing over his shoulder.

"Have a cool demeanor all of the time. I feel like a clumsy fool next to you. Like that girl who dated that vampire, and she kept tripping and falling next to him." I shook my head, remembering that I actually loved that book.

"Maybe she kept tripping because she liked him so much…" He thought, and then his expression became sly. "You know Yumi," He slung his arm over my shoulders, pulling me close to him. "If you're clumsy around me, doesn't that mean that you like me?" He used a playful, low voice that made me want to change the subject as quickly as possible.

"Keep dreaming," But my voice cracked. His face instantly got curious, looking at me. I thought fast. "Don't you remember what I said in grade three?"

He stopped walking, putting the hand that wasn't around my shoulders on his chin. "What part of grade three?"

"The week before I went to America, I said that I wouldn't like anyone who already had a girlfriend." Well, I kept telling myself that anyway…

"Oh yeah," He laughed. "But, if I weren't with Rin, you'd be all over me, wouldn't you Yumi?"

I was silent. Before I could speak, he began again. He lifted his arm from my shoulders and put his hands into his pockets. "You're too much of a good person to fall for a guy like me though." He chuckled.

I blinked, not fully understanding. "What do you mean?"

"Oh come on…you're little, innocent, never swore a curse word once in her life, Yumi. How could you fall for an older, emotionally unstable guy like me?" He still had that playful tone in his voice but…I sensed a hint of some kind of sadness.

"Guy like you? Okay Haru, One: I'm not that little. Two: You're older by four days short of a year. And three, do you really believe that, out of the two of us, you're the more emotionally unstable one?"

He gave me a disbelieving look.

"Granted, you have your black and white personalities, but you can't control that. Don't you remember when we were at the park a few days ago? A few simple words flew out of my mouth and I had to run away crying. I can be happy as the sun at one moment, see a homeless cat on the street, and be Eeyore for the rest of the week. Maybe you were more emotional when we were younger, but you've calmed down a lot."

"Maybe." He sighed. "Hey…what's an Eeyore?"

I blinked, stopping in my tracks. I looked up at him with stunned eyes. "You don't know Eeyore?"

He shrugged, shaking his head.

I began to walk beside him again. "Well, Eeyore is from Winnie the Pooh."

"Wait, is he that donkey I gave you when we were small?" He asked, looking at the sky. I hadn't noticed it was yet another gloomy afternoon. "I didn't know that was him."

"Yeah," I mumbled. "I had it until a few months ago. Yori's dachshund tore it to shreds." I sighed, remembering the torn pieces of cotton in his mouth.

"You actually kept that thing? I got it for you when we barely started school," He muttered.

"So?" I blushed slightly. "You got it for me, I liked it, so I kept it. Anyway, Eeyore is a very depressed person- er, donkey."

"Why is that?" He wondered.

"Well, let me give you an example from one of the books." I tried to use my best voice acting skills. "You seem so sad, Eeyore."

"Sad? Why should I be sad? It's my birthday. The happiest day of the year."

"Your birthday?" said Pooh in great surprise.

"Of course it is. Can't you see? Look at all the presents I've had."

He waved a foot from side to side.
"Look at the birthday cake. Candles and pink sugar."

Pooh looked – first to the right and then to the left.
"Presents?" said Pooh. "Birthday cake?" said Pooh. "Where?"

"Can't you see them?"

"No," said Pooh.

"Neither can I," said Eeyore. "Joke," he explained. "Ha Ha."

"Wow," Was all Haru said. Then abruptly, he laughed.

"What is it?" I asked.

"You could never be like that. If you ever were, something must be wrong with you. That kind of twisted and depressed humor is just aberrant, considering who you are."

Thunder was heard from above, setting my paranoia on fire.

"But still…maybe you could do that. I don't mean it in a bad way. It's just that, maybe, even when you're at your worst, you try to make others feel better. You would pretend everything was happy and fine and that you're happy all for the sake of other's happiness." He smiled at me slightly. "I don't know; I'm just ranting." He chuckled.

"…Yori said that too. One of her friends called me a fool for it."

"Who called you a fool?" His tone was sharp but patient.

"Don't get all upset over it. She said that I was because I didn't put myself first."

"You're not a fool for that. True, you could put yourself first as a priority rather than the ones you love, but she had no right to call you that."

I dropped the subject. "Oh well," I shook my head. Another thunder broke the grey sky. "Umm, maybe we should hurry before the rain starts."

"Hm?" He looked up at the sky with a melancholic look on his face. "Maybe we should call Hatori to come pick us up. It's still a good while until we reach home and it'll start pouring by then."

I nodded in agreement. Haru reached into his pocket and called Hatori on his cell phone. Afterwards, he sat down on a nearby bench and leaned forward in an exhausted way, his head down. "He'll be here in a few minutes."

I sat beside him, nudging him a bit. "You okay?"

He lifted his head a bit and offered another smile. "Just a little tired."

A strong gust of wind rushed past us. I held down my skirt. "Do you think they'd be mad if I wore pants tomorrow?" I grumbled, slightly shivering from the draft.

He noticed. "You're freezing, aren't you?" Before I could say no, he leaned back on the backboard of the bench and pulled me close next to him. His arms were around me to shield me from the wind.

"You know I don't like when you do that." I mumbled, blushing a bit, either from the sudden heat or proximity, I couldn't tell.

"Do what?" He asked.

"Something like this where I can't offer you anything in return."

"Are you warm?"

"Well, yeah-"

"That's enough." He chuckled, the vibrations moving me as well. I quit fighting and rested my head on his shoulder.

"Hey, Haru?" I asked. "Thanks for earlier, by the way."

"What do you mean?" He turned his head just a bit.

"That President guy was giving us a hard time…"

I saw his lips come up at the corners. "That loser deserved it. Who'd yell at a girl like that?"

"Oh, I can call a few names." I laughed.

"What?" He was instantly serious.

"Oh, nothing, nothing. By the way, Yori says hi, I forgot to tell you."

"You forgot for eight days?"

"Hey, I gave the message, didn't I?"

"Heh, remind me to send her a card or something."

"I will." I felt a drop of rain fall of my cheek. Haru felt me flinch, and he wiped it gently off with his finger.

"Hatori better hurry…" He muttered. "That astraphobia still bothering you?"

"That phobia is inaccurate. I'm afraid of lightning, not thunder. Though I can't say I'm a big fan of thunder either."

Thunder, so loud that it made the ground rattle, set my heart pounding for what was about to come. I heard myself squeak with surprise. I hung on to Haru for mental support.

"Just breathe and close your eyes," Haru assured, sliding headphones on to my head. I didn't even realize that he'd taken away one of his arms from me, but he put it back into place once the headphones were on my head, blocking out all other sound. A soft, lulling song began to play. I recognized the lyrics.

The best thing about tonight's that we're not fighting. Could it be that we have been this way before? I know that it feels like I'm not trying. I know you're wearing thin down to the core. But hold your breath, 'cause tonight will be the night that I fall for you over again. Don't make me change my mind. I won't live to see another day, I swear it's true. 'Cause a girl like you is impossible to find. You're impossible to find.

"Thanks Haru," I whispered, knowing he could hear me. I felt utterly safe, even on this empty, dark street with barely any lamps to light its way, during a thunderstorm no less. And with my outfit and eyes closed, I didn't feel like the slightest threat of harm would come my way, all because of him.

Hatsuharu Sohma. The ox of the zodiac. The ox who loved the horse. Both of whom stepped on the path as they went to their banquet. But…you know what? I really didn't care anymore. I was happy like this, and Haru and Rin are happy together. And maybe that was the way things were meant to be…That is the things are meant to be. Haru and Rin. As for me, I only hope to find someone as kind and gentle as Haru.

A nudge broke my train of thought. I opened my eyes, but they were immediately covered by a hand. I closed my eyes again, and then the hand lifted one of the phones off of my ear. "Don't open your eyes yet." He whispered. "But you should know that you're humming again."

Abruptly, I opened my eyes again to look at him, only to regret it a few seconds later. The lightning bolt that passed over the sky shot itself into my fear. I shut my eyes rapidly and instinctively covered them with my hands, crushing into his chest.

He hugged me closely. "I told you not to open your eyes, silly girl."

"I wasn't humming on purpose," I mumbled.

"I know." He soothed.

"Umm...H-Har-"

"Oh hey, Hatori's here. Oh sorry, what were you saying?"

"I-It was nothing." I tried to stand up, but my legs wouldn't move.

"What wrong with her?" I heard Hatori's voice after a car door had opened.

"It's just the lightning." Haru said. I slid the headphones down around my neck.

"I'm fine." I laughed uneasily. With Haru's support, I opened my eyes and ran for the door. Until now, I hadn't noticed that we'd been in such a downpour. I was soaking wet. I sat in the back passenger seat like a drenched cat, my hair dripping cold drops of rain on to my skin.

Instead of sitting up front with Hatori, Haru slid in beside me and put a small towel over my head, rubbing it gently.

"Haru…"I groaned.

"'Like OMG Haru, we should like totally not go home now. It's like, totally bright outside. It won't rain, silly cow. Let's wait another half hour.'" He mocked playfully, draining the dampness from my hair.

"I do not talk like that."I muttered.

The car began to move and I took over drying my head.

"Thanks Hatori." I looked at him from the middle mirror.

"Are you feeling well?" He asked, glancing at me only once before his eyes went back to the road.

"Are you, Haru?" I asked, putting the towel on his head. He looked like a marshmallow that got burned on the bottom. I held back laughter.

"Yeah," He said.

"We're all good, Hatori." I chuckled, lying through my teeth. My throat was actually on fire.

"That's good to hear. But we're checking your temperatures regardless when we arrive back home."

I groaned. No school tomorrow, my mind chanted happily.

"Hey…Hare?" I asked.

"Yes?"

"Where's Aktio now?" I looked at him from the middle mirror again. I'd have to find the actual term for that later.

"At home, resting." He answered plainly.

Pfft, resting from what?

"Going to talk to him?" Haru asked, laying the towel around his neck.

"No," I sighed. "Not tonight. I'm tired of wasting my breath for someone who won't listen."

And then the gates of the Sohma house opened.

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Yup, that's this chapter. Tell me what you think is going on. Oh, and that was a good joke you guys. Spamming my pictures on Photobucket was awesome. Thanks so much. Anyway, tell me any comments or suggestions that you have. Leave your questions either here or on the 'Interview with the Sohmas' story. And let me know your pairings. By the way, does anyone know the actual name for the mirror in the middle of the car? Rear-view mirror, is that it? Thanks for reading! Reviews are appreciated.