And here we are on the brink of another chapter! I have work camp from this Saturday to next Saturday, so unless I can get in another update before then, expect at least two weeks before I can get the next chapter up. A hundred thousand apologies… -throws a Ritsu-like apology fit-

Disclaimer: Fruits Basket is not mine. Psht, are you kidding me? I come nowhere NEAR the awesome Takaya-sensei when it comes to my artwork.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o

I was dead on my feet the next morning—dead on my feet and not willing to go to school. Of course, I was also unwilling to worry Honda-san, argue with Hatori, or show weakness in front of the damn cat, so I packed up my bag and dressed in my school uniform as normal, prepared to trust Hatori to take care of Haru for the rest of the day. The crisis was over—Haru's body temperature was getting back to normal, he had turned human again, and had even begun to stir by the time I had to leave to walk to school. I stopped to place a kiss on his forehead before turning to leave my room. Haru's hand twitched towards mine, but he otherwise showed no response. With a sad smile I flipped the light off and left my room, closing the door behind me.

Kyo walked ahead of Tohru and me as usual, a scowl firmly in place on his features—no different than any other day. I glared at his back, a firm death wish towards him lodged in my heart. Maybe if he hadn't used up all the hot water Haru wouldn't have gotten so sick! I felt the anger rising in my throat and looked away before I gave in to the urge to leap on him and beat him bloody. I knew that it really wasn't the idiot cat's fault, it was just easier to pin the blame on him.

'Stop taking the easy way out and own up. It's your fault.' I tried to ignore the accusatory voice in my head, but it there didn't seem to be any escaping my inner fears.

"Yuki-kun? Are you okay?"

I forced a smile onto my face and turned to face Tohru. At least if nothing else, the girl was sweet and naive, would undoubtedly accept my little white lie. "Of course, Honda-san. I didn't sleep well, that's all."

"Eh?" Tohru gasped, dropping her bag as she clapped her hands to her face in horror. "Ah! My…"

I picked her bag up for her and dusted it off, handing it back to her. "Really, Honda-san. No need to worry. Haru's a little sick, so I'm worried about—"

"Hatsuharu-san?" she burst out, concern written all over her face. "Oh—I'm sorry! I interrupted you. That was rude."

"It's fine," I assured her. "Why don't you go try and get the i… Kyo to stop sulking?" I hated that I was trying to get rid of her, but right now I was tired, worried, and confused—the perfect combination for needing some time to myself. As Tohru stepped up to work on cheering Kyo up out of his sullen natural state, I was able to be alone with my thoughts.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o

Possibly for the first time in my life, I didn't go to class that day. I'll admit to feeling very guilty for skipping, but I couldn't face a day of going to class, of smiling at all the girls who came to talk to me, of going to student council and breaking up quarrels between Kimi and Naohito and Kakeru. I knew better than to hang out in the bathrooms—as a student council officer, how many times had I reported people I had caught skipping class in the world's most obvious place? I went to the student council room instead—at least if anyone caught me, I could claim that I had permission to be out to work on plans for the next cultural festival—a perfectly legit excuse. I knew I would feel bad about this later and it would add to my guilt load, but right now…

"Yun-yun's here? YUN-YUN! You're skipping class? Bad Yun-yun! Save the rule breaking for the vice president of the student defense force, ready to take the hit in place of his leader!"

I should have known that even in the student council room, I wouldn't be able to get any peace…

I gathered my things and passed Kakeru, ignoring his shouts after me as I left the room. This was stupid: I didn't care what Hatori would say when I came home before my first class was even over, I didn't care if Shigure would say stupid things about irresponsible youth. I did care that Tohru would probably worry, but I couldn't just stay at school and face the day before I knew for certain that Haru was one-hundred percent all right.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o

The curtains were wide open and my room flooded with light when I got back to Shigure's house. Haru was sitting up, his legs swung over the side of the bed, reading my English IV textbook, an empty mug of what had probably been more tea sitting on my bedside table. He looked up at the sound of the door creaking open and his face split into a grin. "Yuki! You're back early. Don't you have school?"

"Yeah," I replied sheepishly, closing the door and walking over to him, sitting down next to him on the bed. "I ditched."

"Wow. That's not like you," my cousin replied, slinging his arm around me. I noticed that his motions were slower and more clumsy than normal, that his skin still felt cooler than it should.

"I was worried," I admitted, leaning into him and wrapping one of my arms around his waist. "I feel so guilty…"

"Guilty?" Haru asked incredulously. "Why? Have you been hiding your identity as the all-powerful Weather God from me?"

"Weather God? You're so weird," I laughed. "No, just… maybe if you'd showered first and gotten changed first…"

"What if you'd been the one to get sick Yuki?" Haru asked me, angling his head to meet my eyes. "You have weak bronchial tubes, and you know it. You might have died if it were you. I'll bet you'd have had an attack on top of getting hypothermia. I'd rather it was me getting sick."

"You're too selfless, Haru," I whispered nearly soundlessly, feeling more guilty than ever. Haru was glad it was him rather than me because he was worried about my help, and I'd been wishing that it was me rather than him so that I wouldn't have to feel so culpable. If anything, Haru's altruistic attitude made me feel more selfish and worse than I had before.

"Well, it doesn't matter. I'm fine now." Haru shook me lightly, his cold hand gripping my shoulder. "Relax, Yuki. I don't know where you get off blaming yourself for an honest mistake."

"No, you're right," I admitted, trying to convince myself. My head could believe Haru's words. It didn't make sense that it was my fault. I honestly couldn't control the weather, the amount of heat left in the shower, or any of the other factors that had led up to Haru getting sick. Now if only I could convince my conscience that…

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o

It's short. It may be disjointed. It was entirely filler. Many apologies. I don't think I'll be able to update again before work camp, but I wanted to get this up before I go. I should be able to update again—hopefully with something a little better—in about two weeks. In the meantime, everyone enjoy the start of summer/the end of school!