"I think you know the rest."

Makoto opened his eyes and sat up. Haru stood in front of him in the clearing. He'd put his shirt back on and Makoto's sat in the grass within reach, he shivered and quickly put it on before standing and walking towards Haru.

"Kisumi cursed you?"

"Yeah, luckily Rin's curse neutralized it."

Haru sighed and ran a hand through his hair, something he'd picked up from watching Makoto do it so many times as a cat. He felt arms wrap around him and pull him backwards. He felt something wet on his shoulder and turned to see Makoto crying.

"Hey" Haru said softly.

"I'm sorry," Makoto said rubbing his eyes.

"I'm lucky in a way," Haru said.

"How? With everything that's happened to you-"

"I never ate anyone. I may have caused deaths but that felt inevitable. Many more lives in my kingdom were saved then those in Kisumi's. Mine ran. They knew something was wrong and left. I didn't run out and hunt them down for sport or food. The curse stayed with me and by locking myself in my castle I didn't eat anyone. It's all I had hoped for once I realized what had happened. I do wish I could have at least gone back and buried everyone, my parents, the captain. I wish I could have brought them home."

Haru buried his head in Makoto's chest and held on to him, fingers digging into Makoto's shirt. His breath was uneven and Makoto held him close, resting his head atop Haru's.

"Stay with me," Makoto said after awhile.

Haru looked up in surprise, his eyes glassy.

"I'm sure I could talk to my parents and you could stay with me. I graduate in less than a year. I'll go to college and have my own apartment, you can come with me," Makoto turned red under Haru's gaze and he cleared his throat and looked away, "I mean, you are free now, you don't have to. Even if you want to just come and go. My place is always open to you. You're always welcome."

"I-"

"How cute."

Hands pulled Makoto away from Haru and he felt himself stumbling backwards into the bushes.

"I suppose you told him everything, your highness," Kisumi said with a mocking bow.

"Kisumi stay away from him," Haru said stiffly.

"No!" Kisumi said angrily, "It's not fair! It took a lot of work to get where I am today. A lot of work! I find my own happiness and you! You, who should have died a long long time ago. Who I thought was dead, you come back and ruin everything!"

Makoto tried to get out of the bushes but vines wrapped around his arms and legs, pulling him deeper into the plant.

"I ruined everything Kisumi? How?" Haru asked, glancing around him to see Makoto sinking into the Earth.

"Don't pretend you don't know what you've done! I was here first! I spent years cultivating my relationships here, and I was so close! Then you just swoop in and everyones eyes turn to you. Oh it's the prince Haru. He's so quiet, so sophisticated, everyone in his land loves him, he'll be the youngest king in history and he'll rule so well. Well you know it's easy to rule when your land is peaceful. When your parents and ancestors did all the heavy lifting, befriending and blackmailing all the other lands into submission to benefit you and your people. Why do you think wars were breaking out? Because all your family ever did was take and take and then flaunt off their 'friendships' in everyone's faces. Oh this kingdom is being so nice and then they'd ignore the kingdoms in need. Like mine.

"You're parents were well aware that my land was cursed. They knew, and they made sure it was the last one they visited. And I bet they wrote you saying how lovely it was. Of course it was lovely! To them! They're land was better. They're land was healthier. It made them feel better in comparison. To see poorer lands struggling was a 'rustic' beauty to them. I asked them for help. I begged them to just dip into their resources and get someone with magic powers stronger than my own to stop everything and you know what they did? They laughed. They said I must have been joking, nothing was wrong with my lands. So what if dust rolled through every once in awhile, it's just the nature of the weather. The beautiful mountains weren't shrinking I just was getting taller and so they seemed smaller. I screamed for their help, anyones help, and they just laughed and laughed until finally they started screaming too."

"What does that have to do with now?" Haru hissed, "I'm not my parents, I can't fix their flaws, they're long dead, you made sure of that."

"I would have forgiven you. Even when I saw you as a cat. It would have been fine. I wouldn't have ever bothered you again. But there's one thing you can't have. That I won't ever let you have. You have no right to just suddenly be happy again. Especially at my expense."

"What are you talking about Kisumi,"

Kisumi turned and grinned at Makoto and with a wave of his hand the ground opened up beneath the bush and Makoto and the plant disappeared into the Earth in the blink of an eye.

"Makoto. I won't let you have Makoto. You don't deserve him." Kisumi said looking over his shoulder at Haru, whose eyes were widened in shock. There had been no scream as Makoto disappeared. Kisumi laughed and Haru's shock disappeared and turned into a mix of rage and panic. He rushed towards the gaping hole in the ground but Kisumi clicked his tongue in disappointment and reached out and grabbed a fistful of Haru's hair, pulling him back.

"Consider him gone Haru. You have everything you've ever wanted right? You always wanted to be free, didn't you? Well now the last thing that may possibly tie you to this place is gone. Go be free, and don't even worry. I'll take great care of Makoto. We'll both just be a distant memory."

Kisumi swung his arm that had been holding Haru's hair and sent him flying into a nearby tree before walking forward and dropping straight down, the Earth closing after him.


"Sosuke!" Gou yelled running forward and attacking the black haired man with a hug in the carnival.

"Sorry," Sosuke said sitting down at the table across from Rin.

"Got lost again?" Rin asked.

"What's wrong with you? What kind of face is that?"

"Hey, this is my face! There's nothing wrong with my face! But, Haru's caused all sorts of extra problems."

"Haru?"

"You're changing the subject!"

"So? What's more important?"

"You're right. Haru's human again. He's dragged people from this time into our problems."

"Easy, get rid of them."

"What? No Sosuke! I- we- we like him, he's a good person."

"Oh," Sosuke murmured. "Well, what happened?"

"His name's Makoto, and he's super sweet, and muscle-y, I want to keep him and I know brother wouldn't mind keeping him either." Gou said with a grin.

Rin's ears burned red, "He's nice. It's just nice to tell everything to someone whose outside of it all, someone who listens and doesn't make you feel like this has all been some petty game. After awhile you begin to doubt everything and just kind of keep going with the plan and now, well, seeing how someone else responds is nice. A fresh perspective of someone unscathed by everything that happened."

"Well where are they?"

"I got into a fight with Haru-"

"Nothing new there."

"-and Makoto got hurt so I offered to erase everything. I thought it'd help. Sometimes I wish I couldn't remember anything and could just live like a present day person. A normal life, and he didn't want that and took off after Haru somewhere."

"Are you worried?"

"With how mean Haru was as a cat, yeah. He ripped up everything, scratched us countless times, and that was with us on guard. I think he lost his soul a long long time ago," Rin said with a sigh.

"Do you know where they are?" Sosuke asked.

"To be safe we stuck a tracking device on him, so yeah."

"Then let's go." Sosuke said standing and walking off.

"Oh no you don't," Rin said reaching out and hooking his arm through Sosuke's. "You've got the worst sense of direction, Gou, get his other side."

Rin pulled out his phone and pulled up the tracker, they followed it out of the carnival and towards the woods.

"What if everything is fine?" Gou asked.

"You really think everything's fine?" Rin asked.

"Normally I'd say no. But you told me all about how Haru interacted with Makoto. He wasn't ever that way with us. He gave up what he thought was his last life for him. I don't think Haru would ever try and actually hurt Makoto. Plus you saw Makoto. Haru couldn't have made those marks on him. Rin, if they seem like they're okay we're going to have to let them go."

Rin sighed, "You're right, but Haru's fooled me before."

"We need to admit that with Haru we tend to be a little shoot first ask questions later," Gou said with a frown.

They entered the clearing but it was empty.

"Weird, it says he should be here," Rin said glancing at the phone then handing it to Sosuke and letting go. He paused and sniffed the air. "That's weird."

"What's weird?" Gou asked walking forward to follow Rin but Sosuke grabbed her arm and pulled her behind him.

"There's blood in the air and magic," Sosuke said.

"Haru!" Rin ran off into the clearing towards the crumpled figure under a tree.

"Sosuke!" Rin called, "He's broken some bones! Bring me your bag!"

"First we hate him then we're fixing him, Rin make up your mind," Sosuke said taking his bag off and tossing it to him as he and Gou made their way over.

Birds flew from the trees above and cracking echoed the clearing as Haru's bones mended and cracked back into place. Haru's eyes flicked open and he screamed, sitting up, pushing them out of the way, scrambling up and rushing to where the hole had been in the ground, digging at the with his fingers.

"Makoto!" he cried, hoarsely digging at the ground. "Makoto!"

Sosuke rushed over, hooked his arms under Haru's and lifted him from the ground, restraining him. Haru kicked wildly at the air, and threw his head back, trying to head-butt Sosuke or to try and get free. Rin and Gou scrambled over.

"Haru!" Rin yelled. "What's going on?" He had to jump back away from Haru's swings.

"I think I'm going to have to sedate him," Rin said taking a deep breath.

"Wait," Gou said pushing him out of the way. She dodged Haru's kicks and got close, pulled back her hand and slapped him with all her might.

Haru blinked, coughed, and tears began running down his cheeks. Sosuke carefully set him back on the ground and released his arms. Haru sunk to the ground.

"Haru," Rin said carefully, kneeling next to him. "What happened? Where is he?"

"Kisumi," Haru spat.

"Kisumi? Like King Kisumi?" Rin asked looking at Gou in confusion. "But I haven't seen him in, well in forever."

"Oh no," Sosuke said running his hand over his face and sat down on the ground next to Haru. He took a deep breath and looked at Haru, "Where'd he take Makoto?"

Haru punched the ground, hands covered in dirt and pieces of grass, his fingertips were bleeding from trying to get through rocks. "He took him, underground, right here," Haru said then turned to look at Sosuke, his eyes aflame, "You could have stopped this all."

"Wait, hold up, what happened? How is King Kisumi here?"

"That would actually be your doing Rin," Sosuke said looking at the ground, studying the area Haru had gone back to digging at.