Aftermath

It had felt like an eternity. Akito was standing there and he was taking it all in. He didn't know who the stranger was, and why he had chosen to befriend his sister, but he knew that this encounter made her anxious and that was satisfying.

Min didn't understand the severity of the situation, and he had no reason to since Etsuko had never gone into detail about her brother. When Akito had asked who he was Min stood a bit taller. They were first years but he was tall for his age, he stood almost the same height as Akito. "My name is Min, I'm…" he thought for a moment for the best answer. "…a friend of Etsuko. We're in the same class." He bowed politely.

Akito was impressed by the height of the boy, but he knew deep down that he was more than just a friend. As they stood there Akito looked into Mins eyes. He hadn't recognized him from those many years ago, but something was familiar. He looked over at Etsuko as Min was bowing. Their eyes locked on Etsuko could feel the icy cold stare go right through her. When Min stood back up Akito gave a small, shallow bow. "I'm truly sorry that we can't talk longer, I believe you have class to attend. Please, come by the estate anytime." With that he turned on his heels and began to make his way to the car.

Etsuko lingered behind for only a few seconds. "I'll talk to you in a little bit." She gave him a halfhearted smile. She followed Akito outside and to the car where Hatori had been waiting, he didn't look nervous but he was deep down. When he saw them walk out he pushed himself off the car, he had been leaning on, and waited for them to get closer. "You look a bit pale Akito."

Akito's demeanor had changed drastically. He didn't have to be nice to anyone, the stone cold look on his face turned into an even colder scowl. "I'm probably infested with some sort of virus from that disgusting school. Even the teachers were disgusting." Akito had reached the car and he opened the door but lingered a bit before getting in. He looked at Hatori. "Did you know about Etsuko's…friend?"

Hatori kept his face as emotionless as possible, he nodded. "I assume you mean Minoru, yes, I knew about him."

Akito looked at him, locking eyes. "I invited him to the estate, see that he knows the way." He got in the car and closed the door, leaving the two outside. Etsuko was relieved that nothing had happened, as far as she could tell. Hatori let out a mall sigh. "I don't know what that boy is to you Etsuko…but I'm warning you now…don't make it anything more than a friendship." It didn't sound like a warning, it sounded more like a command.

Etsuko knew where this was coming from, he had lost his love due to Akito's rage and jealousy. "It'll be different…" She sounded as if she was trying to convince herself more than him. She gave him a small smile and turned around to head back into the building. She heard the car drive off and at that moment she felt a wave of relief and a sense of panic. She made it to the entrance, where she had to change into her indoor shoes again, but she couldn't seem to find the strength. She just stood there staring at her shoe cubby. The bell rang for the next class to begin, and Etsuko still stood in the entrance, her body stiff but her hands shaking uncontrollably. "I... don't understand." She said to herself.

It wasn't long until she had found herself running. She opened the door to the school, calmly closing the sliding doors behind her. She walked from the door to the gate of the school, a couple of feet from the actual building, then her walking became a small jog, which turned to a complete run. Where she was heading was a mystery. She ran and ran for what felt like hours, it wasn't until she felt a stitch on her side that she stopped. She stood and looked around. This wasn't the city she lived in, it was a small neighboring city.

"Hey." A guy's voice piped up from behind her.

She turned around swiftly, when she saw who it was she was even more confused. "H…Haru? What are you doing here?"

Haru and Etsuko never really spent time with each other as kids, and that didn't change much as young adults. There was no real reason. The two of them just never seemed to be alone together. Haru looked around, he was in his school uniform, and sitting on a large boulder on the side of the road. The town locals had stared at him, because of the obvious outrageous hair. "I'm lost. I was taking a new way to school and ended up here."

Etsuko stared at him for a moment. "But…" she had seen him walk to school with Momiji and how they got separated was another mystery for another day. "I'm lost too…"

He nodded and stood up. "Well, good thing you found me."

"That doesn't make sense… you just said you were lost."

Haru looked at her with a blank look on his face. "…that's right."

Etsuko sighed and held her side, there was a shooting pain. "I shouldn't have ran…too much exercise is going to kill me." She groaned through the pain. "Anyway, I came from that way…I think if we just follow the road it'll be fine."

He nodded. He walked the opposite way and Etsuko thought that he had just ignored her. "Haru! Are you even listening!" she yelled at him, but the sharp pain in her side wasn't going away. It caught her breathe and caused her to double over. She held her side tightly as she kneeled in the middle of the dirt road.

"I'm just getting my bike." He said quietly to himself, he hadn't heard her groan in agony, because he was counting to himself to make sure his anger didn't get the better of him. When he got his bike and turned he noticed her. "You don't look too good."

"Thanks Einstein…" she let out a groan. "I'm fine…just help me up." Haru put out his hand for her and as she grabbed it she tried to pull herself up. She had just gotten on her feet when she let out an incredibly loud moan, she held her side even tighter and bent over to relived some of the pain.

The people around them walked by and looked at the two. Since they were in their school uniform they all probably thought they had snuck off to be lovers of sorts. Haru could hear a few whispers, a few older woman calling Etsuko a tart, and him a strange looking boy.

"How could a school allow such hair?" one old woman asked her friend.

"It must not be a very good school, her skirt is so short. In my day we had skirts all the way to our ankles. The other woman replied.

Haru felt his ears twitch, and his temper rising. He had drowned out Etsuko's moaning and focused on the two talking away. The more they talked, the angrier he got. Eventually he couldn't take it any longer, he had let go of Etsuko's hand and walked over to the women. "Hey!"

The women jumped, and looked up at the menacing young man. "Y-y-yes?" one tried her best to sound like an adult and not a child that had been caught stealing.

"We can hear you old hags! I don't know about my friend but what you're saying really pisses me off! Who are you to judge us huh? Did someone die and leave you two in charge?! So what if my hair is this way? And my friends skirt? Only perverts would mention anything like that. Is that what you are? Are you perverts? Do I need to contact the authorities?!"

The women were too rattled to even answer the questions. They were more afraid of the young man. It wasn't until Etsuko groaned louder. "HARU!" She screamed. "Leave them the hell alone and help me…please." She added the last part since he was in his black mode, his darker side really liked politeness.

Haru looked behind him and saw her on her knees again. "What's wrong with you?" His black side still present.

"Gee…let me just give myself a health check! I…" she groaned. "I don't know. Let's just go."

He turned swiftly around, back to the women. "You're lucky. Another minute and you two would have been old leather bags." With that, he walked back and helped her up again. He had taken his bike and put up the kick stand and straddle it. "You can sit on the back."

Etsuko managed to make the small walk and sat on the back side of his bicycle. She was able to hug the guys in her family, the reasoning was unknown, but in this case it worked out. As Haru began to bike, Etsuko wrapped her arms around his torso. She couldn't pay attention to where he was going so she had no idea he was going the wrong way.

Meanwhile, Momiji was in class and it was a passing period. He had about ten minutes until the next class started, and usually he talked to Haru in the room next door but when he went in he was told he wasn't there. He had never shown up. "Huh? But he walked in with me…didn't he." Momiji shrugged and walked back to his room. "I'm sure he's fine."

"Haru…I swear if I die I'm coming back to haunt you!" Etsuko knew she should have paid attention. They had riding around for what seemed like hours. "I need to get to the estate and you went the wrong way!"

"Stop yelling in my ear! I went the way you told me!"

"YOU WENT THE EXACT OPPOSITE WAY I TOLD YOU!"

Haru made a complete and abrupt stop. "I have a cell phone."

Etsuko felt her body become weaker, the pain was still there but she managed to ignore it. "You…what?"

Haru pulled out a small phone from his pocket. He had changed back to normal. "My parents gave it to me if I get lost and I can call someone."

"You had it the whole time…"Etsuko felt her arms tighten around Haru's torso. "Call Hatori….right…now." She said calmly but angrily.

Haru did just that, once Hatori answered Haru began explaining their situation, all the while trying to pry Etsuko's grip from his body. "Yea, I ran into her and then suddenly she started to just whine about her side hurting." He winced and he felt her squeeze tighter.

Hatori had a hard time believing that Haru had ran into Etsuko, but he didn't have the luxury to find out why they weren't in school to begin with. "Where are you two?"

Haru looked around, they had managed to get lost in the woods. "I'm not entirely sure."

Hatori was silent for a moment. He didn't understand how this happened but he could hear Etsuko's groans in the background. "Stay where you are…I'll figure it out." He hung up the phone leaving Haru and Etsuko alone in the woods.

Etsuko didn't know what was wrong with her, the sharp pain on her right side was like a knife being rammed into her. "What…did he say?" She was still on the bike, she had let go of him but continued to lean against his back. Her eyes were getting heavy.

"He said we should stay, but I think we should head back to town, it'll be easier." Haru had felt his body become much heavier. Her turned to look behind him and noticed that she had passed out. "Well…I guess we'll stay here."

"What are you?" a younger Haru sneered at a younger Etsuko, he was obviously black Haru at the time. "You're not part of the zodiac and you're not in the same position as Akito…that makes you an outsider. So why are you always around? You're not wanted here!"

The girl stood there, her hair put up in perfect pigtails, her clothes pressed and arranged to match everything she had on, including the bracelets. She looked at Haru, she had seen him around the estate, but she was barely allowed to wander. She had only seen him with the others from inside the main house. "I don't understand." The way Etsuko spoke was proper, she made sure to say the right things, and to bow when needed. She was too proper for a child, but that was the life she lived.

Haru sighed angrily. "I know who you are…you're Akito's sister right? I've seen you follow him around like a stupid puppy. I'm wondering why?"

At this age Etsuko was afraid of Akito more than anything, if following his orders made life easier then she would follow him to the end. "I'm…not a puppy."

"So you're just stupid then?"

Etsuko felt the tears form in her eyes. "No…I'm not stupid. He's just…I just…" she couldn't finish what she was trying to say, instead she started to cry.

"What's going on here?" a teenaged Shigure asked as he stood behind Etsuko.

Etsuko had turned around to look up at Shigure, she knew that he was close to Akito, so she was also afraid of him a little bit too. "Nothing…I…just fell." She sniffed and wiped her eyes. "Haru was just…making sure I was okay."

Shigure knew that this was a lie, she didn't have any scrapes on her and he could tell the Haru had gone black. He gave Haru a long stare, as if trying to force a confession out of him. Haru just looked sheepishly down at the ground.

"Like she said…she fell, she's fine right? I'll go back home." He kicked the air and spun around and hurried off.

Shigure kneeled down to Etsuko's level. "You like alright, enough with the tears." He said softly. He and Etsuko didn't have the relationship she and Hatori had, but for good reason. Shigure was more of Akitos right- hand man and it made her feel like she couldn't be open to him.

"I'm sorry…I'm fine now. Don't tell Akito…Haru really didn't do anything."

Shigure was surprised, he had heard everything of course, he was sent out to keep an eye on her. He had hid behind a few trees and bushes, and since they were children they weren't aware of their surroundings, especially in the confines of the estate. He knew the harsh words that Haru spoke, and even with the connections she had she didn't rat him out.

"I know what you are Etsuko." He fixed a few strands of hair and placed them back in their spot. "…and someday you'll figure it out." He wiped her tears and stood up. "Let's go back."

Meanwhile, Haru hadn't gone far, he stood behind a tree to listen, hoping he hadn't been told on. When he realized that she didn't tattle on him he felt bad, she wasn't so bad. On that day he had made a promise to himself. "I will always look out for you too."

"Hey…you did find us." Haru had looked up at an incredibly frazzled Hatori, and an amused Shigure. Etsuko had her head in his lap, still out cold, and Haru sat on the ground leaned against a tree. "How did you find us?"

Hatori had answered him, in fact he completely ignore him as he went to check on Etsuko. Shigure on the other hand was all more than willing to tell his tale. "Well you see…Tori called me sounding very desperate. He begged me for my help. Once he told me that you two were lost and possibly dying, I called a few of my canine friends to sniff you out. I gave them a shirt from the laundry of Etsuko's room and here are."

"Stop over exaggerating." Hatori chimed in, but for the first time in their entire lives, Shigure had in fact been very truthful. "What happened?"

Haru looked back down at Etsuko, who was asleep but sweating. "She was complaining of pain in her abdominal then she went to sleep."

Hatori was trying with all his might to stay calm, but he knew what the cause could be. "Appendicitis…we need to get her to the hospital."

He scooped her up in his arms and began walking swiftly. Haru followed with his bike, along with Shigure. "How can you tell?"

"It's just a guess, but usually you get pains in the abdominal area, and a fever and maybe some appetite loss. Depending on when the symptoms occurred the lower the chance of a rupture.

Shigure thought for a moment, she had spent a few days at his house, claiming the main house was too crowded and loud. "Come to think of it, she didn't eat anything for the past couple of days."

"What?!" Hatori snapped.

"Well in my defense, I thought she was trying those new diet trends these high school girls do. You remember…what was it when we were young? Ah! The watermelon diet."

Hatori let out a loud growl. "This is why I don't want her to be living in your house. You're too oblivious to everything."

They had eventually made it the Sohma's main hospital, it was a private building where family, and any workers of the Sohma got health care. The procedure was done on Etsuko for an appendix extraction, the surgeon was one of Hatori's co-worker.

Akito was told of this even of course, and he had made it down to the hospital. As he walked into the building, everyone sat up straighter, looked busier, or avoided him all together. This was power he enjoyed having. He found the others in a private waiting room. When he walked in all three men stood up from the chairs. Shigure, and Hatori looked attentive while Haru looked tense. "I trust everything is well."

"She's fine, she's out of surgery and is resting." Hatori informed him.

Akito didn't care about the state of his sister, he just wanted to make her life harder. "What happened?" The sound in his voice was cold, and not caring. "Did you do this? You stupid cow."

Haru stood still, he was concentrating on staying calm. Akito continued to badger him. "You just mess everything up don't you? My sister's life, Rin's life, your parents…we'd all be better off if you were just dead."

"Akito…that's enough. It's not his fault." Shigure tried to intervene.

"Of course it's his fault. He can't do anything right. Even something as simple as finding his way home is an impossible task!

Haru felt his hands clench, he wanted to punch him in the face. He wanted to throw him outside the window but he knew he couldn't. Then a small cough came from the doorway. "Brother…you're here?" Etsuko was completely out of it, pumped with pain medicine. She never referred to him as brother, not since they were very young.

"…yes…I needed to see if she had died…sadly you aren't."

She smiled towards him. "That's nice of you…but please don't blame Haru…he was so helpful." She walked closer to them. Hatori was more concerned of her stitches than what was being talked about.

"This thing…helped you?" For a split moment, Akito and Etsuko had been having a civil conversation, as if they had been close with one another for years.

She nodded and walked closer to Akito, but she tripped a bit and fell. Akito, instinctively put his hands out to catch her, and as he fell towards him he grabbed her by the arms. He had a look of terror on his face as the two of them looked at one another.

"I'm so sorry." She straighten up, she hadn't realized what was happening. When she looked at everyone in her drug induced state, she just saw a bunch of smiling flowers. "You're a pretty flower Akito…a rose…weird."

The whole atmosphere was filled with mixed emotions. Confusion, and fear along with a strong need to laugh. Hatori wrapped his arm around Etsuko and helped her find her balance. "You're really drugged up, let's take you back to the room."

"No! I want to go back to my room!"

"That's where we're going."

"Not a hospital room, my room not here."

Shigure looked at the two and side eyes Akito, who was speechless. "Etsuko…my house is too far."

Etsuko looked at shigure. "You're a lily Shigure… what a stupid flower." She laughed. "Not your house…that place smells like wet dogs. I wanna go to my room at the estate."

Haru frowned because he hadn't expected something like that leaving her mouth. "Hatori's?"

Akito was intrigued on this personality. He hadn't seen it in a very long time. When she was in Kindergarten she had been very affectionate, but it had stopped soon after. "He's too busy with other things, you're a burden."

Etsuko shook her head roughly. "NO SILLY! MY ROOM!" she yelled. "The one in the main house of course…hmm that nice bed…and the window looking out to the mountains…I can see all the beautiful orchards."

"You're stupid, there are no mountains near us or orchards. But if you want to come live at home then so be it." He sneered. "…I can even invite that friend…what's his name?"

Hatori clenched his jaw. Etsuko smiled, a smile only people in love have. "Min…Minoru…that'd be nice. I was so mean to him earlier…would you call him for me big brother?"

"Alright! I'll take you back there but for now let's lay you down." Hatori swooped her up in his arms and walked into the room. He placed her in the bed and started putting covers over her. "You're really high right now. If you could hear the things coming out of your mouth…" He let out a small smirk.

"Hatori…you're a cherry blossom…my favorite flower in the whole world."

He ran his hand through her hair and fixed a few messed up strands. "Sleep now." He walked out and saw only Shigure and Akito. Haru left.

"Make sure you grant my sister's wish…I expect her at the house tonight." Akito smirked and walked out.

Shigure looked at Hatori. "And the plot thickens."

"This isn't one of your books…I told you that your plan was going to end up hurting someone."

That night Hatori had done what Akito had asked for. He had been able to discharge Etsuko from the hospital, against the will of the primary doctor. "Since you're going to be there…I guess…and it's a request from Akito…just make sure she's not stressed."

Hatori assured the doctor that everything was going to be fine, but deep down he knew it wasn't going to be, not in the slightest. He moved Etsuko into her old room. It was next to Akito's room, It was significantly smaller. Inside the room there was a futon, with cherry blossom covered sheets. The room didn't match her age, it was obvious she hadn't stayed in her room in a very long time.

Etsuko was coming out of her slumber, the room was dark and she was tightly tucked in. Her eyes squinted from the little sunlight that shone through. "What…where am I?" she asked herself.

"Your room." A familiar voice answered back. "Apparently."

Etsuko snapped her gaze to the voice, her eyes widened instantly when she saw his face. "M…Min…What…where…I'm really confused."

A/N: Hello everyone! I'm sorry it's been so long! I'm in Japan still, and I'm loving it. Teaching Junior High and the kids are they are crazy! I hope you enjoy.