Ok, ok I'm not gonna bother ya'll with my jibber jabber here, so ya'll can go ahead and read the next part of chapter 13! (wait I'm jibber jabbering right now…. GODDANGIT!)

Chapter 13- Day Trip (PART 2):

Tohru stumbled and tripped through the dense foliage, sounding a lot like a herd of elephants. Her dress caught and snagged many times on outstretched twigs and branches tuning the hem into a tattered mess. Her hair didn't look much better with twigs, leaves and knots now adorning it. But she barely noticed as she searched tirelessly for the missing orange-haired prince.

Where could he have possibly gone? She was sure she had followed the path they had come from properly. Gasping at the effort of running over and under branches and twisting vines, Tohru's mind foolishly began imagining the worst. Her vision began to blur and she slowed down enough to wipe her eyes.

"Kyo..." She whimpered, "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry. Please be okay...please," she buried her face in her hands as the menacing skeletal hands of trees reached out to smother her small form.

*THUMP*

The girl gasped at the sound of something hitting the ground hard. Jerking her face out of her hands she looked around warily, not knowing what to expect in a forest filled with creatures of all shapes and sizes. She cautiously moved forward, ears alert for any other sound that might hint at danger.

Leaning her hands on a large birch tree, she nervously poked her head around it to find the source of the sound. She was met by a small clearing in the scenery, a shaft of bright light trickling through the thinning canopy above. Wiping her eyes again, to gain a more accurate view, she gasped.

Stumbling into the clearing she ran with all her might to the figure lying crumpled on the ground next to a fallen tree. The princess skidded on her knees as she got to the boy, new tears beginning to form as her fears began to resurface.

"K-Kyo!?" She cried as she gripped his shoulders and stared into his unresponsive face. "Kyo! Wake up, please! No, please... You can't..." She buried her face in his shirt, gripping it tightly as pools of tears streamed down her face.

"Ngh."

Tohru froze. Please don't let that be her imagination. She opened her eyes, and looked up at the blurry face of the boy whom was looking at her half asleep.

Tohru screamed before flinging her arms around the still zoned out prince, laughing into his hair.

"W-what!" Kyo's eyes widened when he felt the sudden weight on his chest, his face now a bright crimson.

"You're alive! Kyo, you're alive!" Tohru laughed with tears falling from her eyes. Kyo looked at the back of her head, feeling utterly confused. What is she doing here? And what is she talking about? A-and why is she hugging me? His arms itched to hug her back, but he didn't let them.

"What are you talking about? Of course I'm alive," Kyo muttered, as he let her cry on his shoulder. "A-and hey, why are you crying!" He never knew what to do with himself when he saw girls cry- usually he just ran away. But seeing as Tohru still had a vice-grip on him, he assumed that wasn't much of an option.

"Y-you, I thought you were... No, it doesn't matter, the fact is that you're ok, you're ok," she whispered reassuringly to herself, her tears leaving white streaks down her messy face.

"Yeah I'm ok, I must have fallen off the log when I was sleeping, is all," he scratched his head in embarrassment, his neck tingling from where her warm breath hit it.

"What are you doing here, Kyo? You should stay with the group, I was so worried..." The princess' muffled voice said, her grip on Kyo never slackening.

The orange-haired prince flinched. She was worried... about me? Kyo began lifting his hand to her back, but stopped and lowered it again. "What are you talking about; you've got your chummy rat, why would you need to care about anything else?" Kyo muttered lowly, his head facing away from hers.

Tohru stiffened and slowly pushed herself from the embrace, looking confused and hurt. "W-what do you mean? Of course I care about you Kyo, why would Yuki change that?"

Kyo for the first time got a good look at her appearance. She was a mess. Her face was a streaked brown, and hair had twigs and leaves where her yellow ribbons should have been; her dress was almost ripped to shreds.

"What in thehell happened to you?! Did you let horses drag you through the forest or something?!" Kyo looked her up and down incredulously, blushing at the exposed skin that she was now showing.

Tohru's hurt expression turned to one of confusion, until she looked down at herself. Eyes widening and blush forming, she gaped at her immodest attire, before she felt a warm jacket drape her shoulders.

Looking up she saw Kyo looking away, now only in his undershirt, blushing furiously. "You really should be more careful you know," he warned her, still not looking at her.

Pulling the jacket closer to her, she nodded, breathing in the warm scent. "I'm sorry," she whispered.

Kyo flicked his burgundy hues towards her when she had covered up, "What are you apologising for no..."

Tohru was sitting with her hands in her lap, her head bowed regretfully. "I'm sorry... About before... I didn't know it would upset you so much, I should have known my place."

Was she talking about the fight? Kyo opened his mouth to speak, stopped when Tohru suddenly looked up at him, guilt and determination both dancing in her sapphire eyes.

"But I couldn't help it. I hated seeing you get hurt the last time, so I didn't want it to happen again..." She continued, watching Kyo's face for his reaction.

The prince didn't know how to take that. He should be mad to know that she would doubt his abilities, but at the same time the fact that she actually... well CARED about what happened to him... He didn't know how to react.

Close by on the outskirts of the clearing, stood a silver-headed prince shrouded in the forest, silently watching the pair with mixed interest. Yuki hadn't been there long, but he wanted to wait and see how this panned out before he made his presence known to the two. Therefore he leaned on a tree, arms crossed and eyes closed as he let their voices drift over to him on the wind.

Kyo looked at Tohru for a long moment, trying to figure her out for the millionth time. She was a riddle. He had never met anyone with as much heart as this girl in front of him.

Tohru began fidgeting under his scrutiny, and was the first to break their eye contact as well as the silence that had befallen them. "Kyo, I really am sorry, but even if you hate me for it, I'll keep worrying. It's what I do, I guess," but it wasn't. She never had worried so much over one person to the point of tears before. She creased her eyebrows, as she tried figuring out why she worried so excessively over this boy, this boy that probably hated her now. Her heart clenched at that.

"..." Kyo muttered, too soft for the princess to hear.

Flicking her head up, she cocked her head, "I'm sorry, what was that?"

"I could never hate you..." Kyo said a bit louder, causing his cheeks to redden further, as he looked to the side.

Tohru's eyes widened, did he just say that? So... he doesn't hate me? If she had any tears left, she probably would be crying in joy at this point. Instead she smiled so dazzlingly, that it captured Kyo's attention yet again.

Why did that make her so happy? Weird girl. Nevertheless her contagious smile soon had him chuckling and smiling along with her. Oh well, that's Tohru he supposed.

The crunching sound of approaching footsteps diverted their attention to the forest where Tohru had entered the clearing. Yuki strolled out of the shadows, hands formally at his sides as he strode towards them.

"So this is where you two have been," the silverette stated nonchalantly as he came to a stop in front of a shocked Tohru and scowling Kyo (as usual).

"Yuki? W-what are you doing here? I thought you were with the others," Tohru stammered, as she got up from the ground (much to, the still-grounded, Kyo's chagrin).

"I assumed you would need help if this idiot suddenly decided to play hide and seek," Yuki shrugged when he hitched a thumb in Kyo's direction.

Kyo growled as he staggeringly got up on his feet, trying to not show how blatantly obvious it was that he was favouring one leg more than the other. Unfortunately he mustn't have been as convincing as he would have hoped, because sure enough Tohru began giving him worried looks. 'Was he injured after all?' the girl thought. She glanced at his the pant leg that had been entrapped in the tree earlier that morning.

Kyo tried his best at ignoring her inquiring looks, choosing to glare his trade-mark glower at the prince in front of him. "Who the hell's playing hide and seek, bastard?" He ground out.

"Oh? Then pray tell what you were doing," the silverette persisted, already figuring out his injury but wanting to hear the stubborn man announce it himself.

Kyo growled again, sounding a bit too much like a rabid dog. The bastard knew what it was, he just wanted Kyo to openly admit his weakness- which to Kyo was pretty much admitting defeat! It boiled his insides at how much this rat was enjoying this.

"Get lost," he muttered through clenched teeth, refusing to disgrace his pride and offer it on a silver platter.

Yuki smiled sarcastically, "Ah, I would. But it would seem you're much better at that activity than I," he chuckled.

Kyo hissed at the silverette and took an advancing step forward. Unfortunately that step was taken by the injured leg, which in turn caused him to yelp involuntarily and remove it from the ground. Tohru quickly held out her hands to steady the man, anguish and alarm evident in her face now that her thoughts were confirmed.

"Kyo..." She warned anxiously.

But Kyo just softly brushed her hands off his shoulders and shook his head, "I'm fine."

"No you're not. You really hurt your leg back there didn't you? Why didn't you tell me, we could have had Hatori look at it," Tohru chided, sounding more and more like the girl version of the doting Shigure.
"Come on, we have to get back to the others and get your wound treated. Can you walk?" She asked as she once again tried to support the stubborn hot-head.

"Ugh, come on I can walk fine. I'm not a bloody invalid," he complained, feeling embarrassed by all the attention he was getting.

But when he tried to walk away his body betrayed him by recoiling at the pain, showing that he in fact could not walk on his own- much to the stubborn prince's vexation.

Tohru stepped over to him and pulled his arm around her shoulder while she wound a hand around his waist for support. Kyo stared at the sudden contact with wide eyes but said nothing.

"I suppose I should help, shall I?" Yuki asked Tohru eventually.

Tohru began nodding her head when Kyo began yelling.
"Hell to the freaking NO! When hell freezes over! Over my dead body! I am NOT letting that bastard near me!" The orange-headed prince complained loudly, shaking his head profusely.

Yuki crossed his arms and looked at the stubborn guy inquiringly, "Oh, so I guess you don't mind having poor Tohru support your heavy weight the whole trip, huh?"

Kyo froze and looked hesitantly at the girl beneath his arm whom was looking up at him with large doe eyes. Damn it! DAMN IT! DAMN THAT BASTARD TO HELL!

"Didn't think so," the silverette shook his head and smiled at the defeated look on the other prince's face as he walked over to the pair. Taking Kyo's free arm and placing it on his own shoulders (with slight resistance from the other party... ok a lot of resistance), he assumed the same position as Tohru and alleviated some of his weight from her.

By now Kyo's pride was horrifically splattered all over the metaphoric wall, dripping down in pathetic chunks whilst Yuki's logic stuck its tongue out and did a little victory dance in front it.

Dontthinkaboutitdontthinkaboutitdontthinkaboutit! He clenched his teeth and shut his eyes, trying to imagine anyone else but the damn rat being on his left side. Stupid leg! Stupid tree! Stupid forest! Stupid Shigure! STUPID RAT!

Tohru, Yuki and Kyo began walking (Kyo was technically hopping) towards the forest, when both supporters slowed down suddenly. Kyo notice this and paused in his grim thoughts to look at Tohru ('cause he sure as hell wasn't going to look at the other one).

Kyo resisted the urge to roll his eyes, "Let me guess. No one knows where we're going. Or where we are for that matter, huh?"

Tohru sweat dropped, "Uhh, umm well?..."

Yuki shook his head, "Maybe we can find some landmarks and figure out where we are," he suggested.

"Do YOU two remember bloody landmarks? 'Cause I sure don't," Kyo sneered.

Both were silent.

"Great, so we're lost, bloody perfect!" Kyo threw his arms over his head and limped out of Tohru and Yuki's hold, sitting back down on the log.

Tohru kneeled down next to Kyo, "Does it hurt?" She asked while she ghosted her hand over his swollen calf.

Taking his hands of his tired eyes, he looked down at her, "It's not that bad, don't worry 'bout it."

"You've always been a terrible liar, Kyo," Yuki stated, as he loomed over the pair.

Scowling he looked up at the silverette, "What do you know, you damn rat!" He spat.

Yuki smiled coolly, "A lot more than you think actually."

Kyo shot up to his feet ready to counter attack with a more projected remark, forgetting about his leg until it gave him a rather rude shock as it connected carelessly with the ground. Tohru held her arms out to steady him as he slowly lowered himself back to the log, his pained expression proving Yuki right.

"I told you," Yuki mocked softly, finding solace in Kyo's defiant yet slightly defeated face. The hot-head just never knew when to quit did he?

Tohru inspected Kyo's leg, as the two quarrelled childishly. Although she didn't like them fighting, it was a lot better than having them throw punches at each other. After trying hard to remember the first-aid advice Hatori used to tell her, she finally jumped up from her kneeling position.

Both boys stopped mid-bicker to look at her questioningly.

"I need to go get something to calm your inflammation, Kyo. I won't be long. In the mean time, Yuki do you mind keeping an eye on him for me? Don't let him walk on that leg," Tohru sounded much more like a nurse than a princess, her change in demeanour bewildering both princes.

Before Kyo could complain that he didn't need a bloody babysitter, worst of all, the damn rat, she had already left. The orange-top looked over at Yuki, who looked at him with the same exasperated expression. Greeeaaat.

...

Tohru blew one of the many stray hairs from her face, as she searched for a large enough leaf to wrap around Kyo's leg and possibly a splint of some sort to set it just in case. Usually she would have been wary to leave the two of them by themselves, but she reasoned that Yuki wouldn't do anything to an injured person and Kyo, well he could barely stand so there wasn't much damage he could do at the moment.

A large maple tree caught her eye as she weaved in and out of the randomly placed growth. Its leaves were at the pinnacle point of flourishing, the bright green a sign of its summer health. They weren't exactly what she had in mind, but she didn't have time to be picky.

Reaching up on her tip toes she stretched her arm out to the lowest branch, only just managing to pluck a few leaves in her finger tips. Breathing out, she came back down, happy with her small collection.

She smiled down at the leaves clutched in her hands, giving herself a few moments of pause. Blinking, she was surprised to feel warm tears sliding gently down her face. Touching them tentatively, she briefly wondered when the last time she cried before today was. It had definitely been a long time, most likely when she received the news of her mother's accident. She had cried for many weeks until one day there were no more tears left to cry.

She knew this was different though. The tears that pooled in her eyes now weren't of sorrow or pain- but of relief. Raw relief. She couldn't fathom how unbelievably happy she had felt when Kyo stirred I'm her arms. She had never felt such joy in her entire life.

Tohru smiled as she wiped her face dry. She knew it was foolish to worry so much about him, but somehow she just couldn't help it. They had only met properly no more than four days ago, and already she was beginning to feel like she'd known him all her life.

"I could never hate you."

She chuckled softly, "To think I was worrying about that all this time, I'm such an idiot."

Tapping herself on the head she looked up, eyes now searching for a stick lengthy enough to support Kyo's long leg.

Out of the corner of her eye she caught a flash of something white, appearing in the thick of the trees. Turning with wide eyes, she listened as the sound of clumsy footfalls made their way towards her. Then all of a sudden she was face to face with a very perturbed looking Hatsuharu.

"Haru? What are you...?" She blinked as he startled her ever so slightly.

"So here you are princess," Haru said not as ecstatic as you would have thought, "Your father told me to come find you," his voice was strained as if he was fighting the urge to lash out unexpectedly. The stable boy's attire was not far off from Tohru's tatty remains, his shock of white hair also adorning an array of twigs, leaves and spider webs. "Where are the others, I want to go back," (so I can give that father of yours an earful [unfortunately for Haru, he knew that would probably never happen])

"Oh, Yuki and Kyo are just back ther..." She looked down at what Haru was holding. "Haru?"

"Yeah, what?" His uncharacteristically rude tone evidence of his pissed off mood.

"Can I please borrow that stick?"

...

Kyo was just about ready to kill either himself or the loathsome silverette who insisted on standing over him like a teacher would to a student whom was doodling instead of learning his algebra.

"Will you just bloody sit down already?! You're pissing me off!" Kyo gritted, refusing to look up at the rat for the sake of what was left of his pride.

"What else is new?" Yuki sighed, but nevertheless sat down on the log, causing Kyo to bristle.

"I didn't mean there!" The hot-head screeched and squirmed as far away as he could from the other prince. On second thought, it was probably better to have him standing. Damn it!

Yuki looked at the squirmy Fudoushin prince, amused at the display. "I don't have cooties, Kyo," he smirked.

Kyo visibly stiffened and stopped his shuffling. "I know! Doesn't mean I want you near me, for Christ sake!"

Yuki hummed and crossed his arms thoughtfully, "I wonder, what was it that I could have possibly done to make you hate me so?"

Kyo's eyes widened, words caught in his throat. What a stupid question! With an obvious answer. Many obvious answers actually. So why couldn't he think of one that actually made a valid argument?

"Because you're a spoilt bastard, that's why!" Kyo finally said, choosing insults to cover up his brief lax of thought.

"Hmm, so it is jealousy then? I thought you would have grown out of that by now," the Onwa prince said as he shook his head, feigning disappointment.

"It's not freaking jealousy! Who would be jealous of an asshole like you?! I just don't like you, period!" Kyo denied briskly. Although deep down he knew, Yuki was right, that didn't mean he was going to agree with him!

"Ok ok, whatever you say. But just so you know, I didn't choose this life. It chose me. So why don't you try thinking about how justified your hatred is, and get back to me," Yuki spoke with unreserved forwardness, before standing up and looking towards the forest.

Kyo watched him, despite his pride, with a feral yet confused look on his face. He then turned his attention to the forest as well, where Tohru and Hatsuharu where stumbling through.

"Welcome back Miss Kenshin," Yuki greeted the girl politely, before looking to the monochrome-haired stable boy next to her, "Nice of you to join us Haru."

"Yeah, we bumped into each other in the forest. He's here to help us get back to the others. Sorry we took so long though, I kind of got lost again, hehe," Tohru scratched the back of her head embarrassingly, nearly dropping her cargo in the process.

"Mm, Shigure wanted me to come find you... he gave me a map so, yeah...I'm ready when you are," Haru sighed as he half heartedly lifted the crumpled map in his hands.

Tohru made her way over to the seated Kyo, kneeling down and placing her 'medical' equipment on the floor. "Hey Kyo, how are you holding up?" She asked tentatively, not sure what kind of mood he would be in after spending time with Yuki.

"I'm fine. Just do me a favour and never leave me alone with that guy again. He does my head in," he muttered lowly, as he scratched his head.

Tohru was surprised to hear him so calm. Sure he still sounded annoyed, but she would have expected more... liveliness? She grinned; maybe Yuki was getting through to him? Maybe one day they could actually be good friends? The image of Kyo and Yuki standing in front of each other, palm on palm, smiling and apologising to one another in front of a sunset backdrop flashed through her mind... On second thought, maybe not.

She shook her head of the bizarre thoughts and focused on the task at hand. "Okay, I'm sorry, it won't happen again," she smiled, then pointed down at his injury, "Um Kyo, is it alright if I lift your pants?"

The orange-haired prince flicked his eyes to the girl, his face shocked and blushing without shame. Mentally slapping himself, he ripped his mind back out of the gutter, "Yeah, whatever," he muttered as he avoided her gaze again.

She nodded and began lifting the fabric slowly, inwardly gasping at how swollen the leg beneath it was. She looked back up at his face that was still looking anywhere but at her. He must be in so much pain, why was he not showing it? Tohru glanced over at Yuki who was conversing softly to Haru (whom, by the way, had become visibly calmer). Maybe Kyo didn't want to show weakness in front of Yuki? But that's so silly! Boys confused her so much sometimes.

Moving slowly, Tohru gently wrapped the maple leaves around his swelling, being extremely careful not to add too much pressure on it. Kyo winced, but was surprised when it didn't hurt as much as he expected. Looking down at the girl playing nurse, he noticed how delicately she was moving as well as the deep concentration etched on her brow. She's really being considerate of me? Why would, how is she so... Her...? He couldn't think of the right word for the princess before him, but knew that he appreciated her so much. He never wanted to hurt her, he wanted to protect her. That's what he told himself, but the irony of the scene before him was a tad too embarrassing.

Tohru had just managed to secure Haru's stick and the maple leaves to his leg with vines that she had picked up on the way back. Luckily, because now Kyo was squirming away from her touch, an embarrassed half-scowl on his face.

"...thanks," he muttered under his breath, testing the nature-made bindings on his leg tentatively. Tohru smiled at his embarrassment- he didn't have anything to be embarrassed about. Silly Kyo.

"You're very welcome, Kyo. Tying leaves and vines are myyy specialty!" She announced proudly, putting a hand on her shoulder and making a fist in the other in a triumphant pose.

Kyo breathed out his nose, making an amused sound. "You're such a weirdo," he joked softly.

Tohru leaned over him so their faces were much closer, her hands on her hips and a smile on her face, "Weirdo in a good way, right?"

Kyo leant his neck back as she got closer, but then smirked and held his ground, "I dunno, but you are definitely a whole other kind of weirdo," he grinned as they're breaths mingled from the close proximity.

Tohru opened her mouth to reply but was startled by a hand on her shoulder, making her straighten up and jump away. Kyo gave Yuki a foul look as the silverette removed his hand from the girl's shoulder.

"My apologies, but Haru here thinks we should start heading back to the others. I'm sure the king is worried sick over you, Miss Kenshin," Yuki explained bluntly, ignoring the surprised look on Haru's face. "Is the highness here ready to go?" The silverette gestured to the seated Kyo, whom was still glaring at him.

"Oh shut the hell up, damn rat!" Kyo retorted as he pushed himself up off the log, unwillingly letting Tohru be his crutch. Yuki began walking over to resume his position on Kyo's other side, but stopped. The Onwa prince noted the 'don't you freaking touch me' look splashed all over Kyo's face. By also taking into consideration how he had deliberately pissed the Fudoushin prince off just then, he thought better of it.

"Haru? Do you mind helping Tohru support Kyo, I'm afraid I've made a mark in his bad books today," Yuki asked the dazed stable boy standing a metre or so away.

Haru shrugged and walked over while Kyo snarled at the silverette in front of him, "Dude you're ALWAYS in my 'bad books' and for good reason too!"

Yuki smirked, "Funny. Seeing as though you couldn't come up with a 'good reason' before." This of course turned Kyo into a volcanic eruption of anger, but because of his leg and the two people attached to him like limpets, he had little room to burst out.

Instead he settled for a few choice (albeit inventive) swears in addition to a glare laced with venom. A glare that did no more damage to Yuki than a butterfly would to an antelope (lol wut?), one might add.

Yuki took the map from Haru's grasp (seeing as he was preoccupied with other matters), and gave it a quick skim read. Having memorised the map in full, and located we're they were at present and where they were heading, he rolled it up and took the lead.

The others followed, trusting Yuki's intelligence to lead them out safely; well minus one of course, but he didn't have much choice in the matter now did he?

...

Shigure paced nervously up and down the lakeside, occasionally slipping on the pebbles rimming it in his haste. Hatori, Hana, Momiji and himself had arrived at the lake hours ago, and there still was no sign of Tohru, Kyo and Yuki, or Haru for that matter. Shigure was becoming more of a nervous wreck with every minute that passed, with every step he took.

"Nghhya! Where is that boy?! He should have found them by now! What if something terrible happened to my Tohru?! What if- what if she fell into a puddle and there were piranhas in it!? Or what if flying monkeys flew down and took her away, leaving the others to watch helplessly as she was carried further, further into the air!? Oh dear, oh dear," the flustered king spluttered, describing absolutely implausible situations in his fervour.

Hatori sat a few feet away on a large rock, his hand brought up to his face in exasperation. He had long since given up on talking some sense into his idiotic friend, choosing to spare his own energy and let the foolish man continue thinking the ridiculous scenarios.

Hana sat stiffly on the rock next to the physician; not being able to get comfy on the hard surface- not that she would be able to get comfortable anyway. Despite her outward expression, she was getting just as worried about the others (especially Tohru) as the raven-haired king, albeit a lot more logically and a lot less idiotically. She was upset at Tohru for not informing her of these things, but even more so she was upset at herself for not envisioning this sooner.

Momiji was standing at the edge of the waterline, throwing pebbles into the blue expanse in front of him, his usually bubbly exterior a lot more sullen. He was getting worried for his sister, and worried for his new brother (Kyo), and worried for Prince Yuki and Hatsuharu. And since he wasn't used to such overwhelmingly heavy feelings, he didn't know what to do with them. Throwing the last of the pebbles in his hand into the water with a plop, he turned around and ran over to his still pacing father.

"Papa, let me go look for sis and the others. I can do it; I know the way back and everything!" Momiji's determined little face stared up at his father whom had stopped pacing to look at his son.

Shigure let out a sigh and placed a hand on the blonde's small shoulders, "No Momiji, I'm not risking you as well. You're just going to have to sit tight and wait for Haru to bring them back," the king replied, sounding ironically hypocritical seeing as he had been freaking out and doubting that exact thing.

"B-but they've been gone too long! They should be back already! I want to look for them! I can rescue Tohru myself!" The little prince pouted and squared his chest, wanting to show his dad that he could be just as brave as the knights he admired.

Shigure teared-up dramatically, "Oh Momiji, how brave you are, risking yourself for Tohru's sake! I can definitely understand how much you worry for her that is why you are my son! But don't worry too much, or you'll go bald before you reach adulthood!..." Whilst the dramatic king carried on like an overzealous Shakespearean, Momiji's attention began to draw behind him.

The unmistakable rustle of trees caught the remainder of the blonde's attention and he swiftly ran passed his father, blatantly ignoring his ramblings.

"... And that, my boy, is why you should never pretend to give Hari valentines chocolates when they aren't actually from yo... Momiji? Momiji, where are you go..." Shigure started when he realised his son's attention was being lured away from him.

"TOHRU!" Momiji squealed joyfully as he got to the edge of the forest where Yuki lead the lost group out of.

The king spun around so fast that if his head hadn't been attached to his shoulders, it might have very well fallen off. Sure enough there was Tohru, holding onto Kyo while Hatsuharu took his other side, Yuki supposedly leading. Tohru!

Momiji leapt on Tohru completely missing the fact that she already had her arms full. Therefore causing the princess to release her hold on Kyo so as to not bring the injured man down with her when Momiji made contact. Thankfully, she was already quite used to the boy's excitable actions and knew when to brace herself so as to keep her feet firmly on the ground (it was a talent she had long since perfected).

The princess hugged her little brother tightly, reassuring him repeatedly that she was alright. It was at this time that Shigure made his hurried way over to them, encasing them both in a massive bear hug, flinging into a flurry of questions about Tohru's health and safety- to which she replied:

"Yes, I'm alright. No, I'm not hurt. Yes, I'm really sorry for running off. No, nothing attacked me. P-piranhas? No? Really dad, I am completely fine. My clothes? I must have did that when I was running through the forest? Umm I don't know why I was running. No, nothing was chasing me," eventually Tohru had to breathe and pulled out of the double embrace.

"Dad, really I am completely a-ok. It's Kyo that you should be worrying about," she looked over at the boy now leaning awkwardly on Haru alone, his organically bandaged leg hovering slightly off the ground. Despite his position though he let no pain enter his face, keeping it as passive as he could muster, not wanting pity from anyone.

Shigure gasped as he got a better look of the orange-haired prince. "What happened? Hey, come look at this Hat..." The king turned to call the physician over to realise that the man had already gravitated towards the injured boy.

Hana had made her way over to the group as well, seeking Tohru out and looking at her expectantly. The princess looked down ashamed, "I'm sorry Hana, I should have told you where I was going, I know."

Hana smiled and gave her friend one of her rare hugs, before pulling away. "It's alright Tohru, I'm just glad you're ok. Now go on, there's somewhere you want to be isn't there?" The psychic nodded in the direction of the patient now being led over to the rocks by Hatori. Tohru nodded and gave the dark-haired girl an appreciative smile before quickly walking over. Shigure and Momiji, of course, followed closely behind her.

...

"Well," Hatori said as he got up from his crouch after thoroughly examining Kyo's leg, "It doesn't seem to be broken. You're very lucky. But you've sprained it pretty extensively, my guess is that it's from your little escapade with that tree," the doctor mused, facial expression as docile as ever. Kyo grunted.

"This is not your usual sprain, you must be in immense pain by now," Hatori added, looking down at Kyo's grumpy face and wondering how on earth the boy could be so calm. Tohru sat next to the patient watching his expression closely, her face warped in concern as her fears were verified. So he was in pain after all.

The Fudoushin prince shrugged and stared at his feet, "This is nothing," he mumbled almost inaudibly.

Tohru winced, how could it be nothing? Even Hatori himself confirmed the pain that the prince should be feeling. Was Kyo lying? Did he just have a high pain threshold? Or was it something else?

"Kyo, it's ok. You can tell Hatori, he's a doctor," Tohru encouraged gently, placing a hand on his shoulder on reassurance.

Kyo flinched at the touch, "No really, it's not that bad," he repeated, his tone becoming edgy.

Hatori sighed, "Kyo, if you don't tell me how much pain you're in, I can't treat you properly."

"I TOLD YOU IT'S NOTHING! I'M USE TO IT! Ah," Kyo stopped himself, and instantly went silent again as he cursed himself over and over in his head.

The princess's eyes widened at what she just heard. What? What did he mean by that? She stared painfully at the man whose fists were now clenched and brow furrowed in conflict. "What do you mea..."

"SHUT UP! IT'S NOTHING! FORGET I SAID ANYTHING!" Kyo yelled into the ground, his shoulders hunched and tensed. "Look, my pain's at a 4 out of 10, there happy!? Now leave me alone!"

Tohru removed her hand from his shoulder and placed it in her lap, keeping her saddened eyes trained on the side of Kyo's face. She looked up at Hatori who simply nodded and walked away, gesturing for her to do the same.

The Kenshin princess gave the hunched boy one last glance before she got up and reluctantly followed the raven-haired physician, to the others.

"So? What's the verdict? Is he going to live?" Shigure jokingly asked the two arrivals, obviously choosing the most inappropriate time to act like an idiot.

Tohru didn't say anything, so Hatori spoke up in a professional tone, "He's got a rather malevolent sprain to his left Gastrocnemius calf muscle He's not going to be able to walk on it for a a day or two until it has time to rest. I'm going to have to take him back to the castle so I can treat him easier. It's up to you what everyone else does."

Shigure hummed, disappointed at how his day trip had turned out, "Okay, well that's all well and good, but you'll need someone to help you carry him. Let's see, hmm Yu..."

"I'll help! I'll help carry him," Tohru spoke up, interrupting her father.

The king looked at her daughter in surprise, "Tohru? But..."

"It's ok, I want to do it," she replied, feeling somehow responsible for Kyo's comfort- so putting him in another carriage with Yuki was probably not the best way to go about it.

"...ok, well I'm still going to get Hatsuharu to come with you. Before you argue, I'm going to have to put my foot down and insist. It's a fair's way to the carriages and I'm not having you support half of Kyo's weight all that way and that's that," Shigure stated with finality, as Tohru opened her mouth and then promptly closed it again.

The princess nodded, and Shigure called Haru over. Tohru looked warily over at Kyo who still had his head in his hands, looking a complete wreck. Now to convince him to let us help. This is going to be hard.

...

It had taken a long time for Hatori, Tohru and Haru to convince the injured prince to let them carry him (well Haru didn't do much convincing on his part- what with the poor people skills and all). Eventually he caved when Tohru started to tear up, upset that he wouldn't allow them to help (yup she played that card- subconsciously though of course).

The trek through the forest was even more taxing, their pace slow and awkward as they manoeuvred through the foliage. Despite Kyo claiming that he felt nothing, his body betrayed him when he tried more than once to push Haru and Hatori off him. Eventually he gave up and focused his attention on Tohru in front of him.

The jacket he had given her to wear over her tattered dress was much too big for her and came down to her mid-thigh- making her look like a chibi- quite adorable. The sight made him chuckle inwardly and temporarily allowed him to forget that he was being practically carried by two grown men (ugh so embarrassing).

After reaching the carriages in a little over 2 gruelling hours, Hatori and Haru more or less dropped Kyo on the ground so they could stretch and take a breather (well Haru dropped him, Hatori was a bit more gentle).

Tohru stood by, unsure if she should confront the boy or not.

"I'm use to it!"

She didn't understand, why would Kyo say such a thing, and with such a painful expression too? Honestly just when she thought she couldn't get more worried about the orange-headed boy, he had to go and prove her wrong.

Just as the girl began reaching a hand out to get Kyo's attention, Hatori came over, "The carriage is ready, we should get going," he suggested bluntly.

"Oh, ah yes of course," Tohru nodded. She hadn't even noticed that Haru and Hatori had roped up the horses, but low-and-behold there they were.

"Kyo, can you stand up?" Hatori asked, but it sounded like an order more than anything.

The Fudoushin prince looked up at the man with the usual scowl on his face, his arm resting on his bent, uninjured leg. "I'm not a bloody amputee, I've got legs," he grunted as he used his hands and good leg to push up off the ground, wobbling slightly as he got his balance.

Tohru was standing next to him, ready to help him if he needed it, but he didn't. The man proceeded to half limp, half hop the few metres over to the carriage, swearing under his breath occasionally.

However when he got to the carriage door he paused and hopped back before swivelling around, meeting face to face with Tohru, whom he had assumed was following him. He nodded his head to the door, "Go on, ladies first or whatever it was," he mumbled, embarrassed at his actions.

Tohru blinked and then smiled before jumping in, "Thank you."

Kyo followed and sat on the seat beside her, and was then followed by Hatori and Hatsuharu whom sat opposite them. The orange-haired prince sighed at the feeling of something soft to sit on, and leant his head back, letting the sway of the now-mobile carriage drift him to sleep.

Sometime during the trip Kyo's head lulled and slipped sideways, meeting with Tohru's shoulder. The princess jumped and glanced down at the boy, his eyes still shut tight. Smiling, she gently raised his head and placed it on her lap, hoping she wouldn't wake him.

"...thanks...Tohru..." The zonked out prince mumbled in his sleep as he breathed out.

Tohru's eyes widened. That was probably the first time he'd ever said her name. She smiled warmly down at his peaceful face, and brushed his orange bangs from his eyes.

"You're welcome, Kyo."

HOOOOLYYYYY CRAP ON A CRACKER! That was way too long even though I did this chappie in parts it still exceeds the 6000 word mark (PER PART)! What da hell is dis!? I have a hard time shutting up (as you have all probably noticed by now haha *shot*).

Anyway that was chapter 13 everybody, a biiigggg fat THANK YOU to everyone who helped me decide what to write about in this one look it's our baby (now we must all get married and raise the child in a happy home •w•) pfft nahh it's already finished its 'raising', our baby has grown up ^w^ I'm sah proud.

Readers: WTF!? *disgusted face*
DestinyFlame: Well it's true! Y'all helped make it, so y'all gotta take responsibility! I'm not bein a single parent, uh uh no way.
Readers: STAHP. Just STAHP.
DestinyFlame: *hangs head* ok

Geez guys way to ruin my fantasy haha (I forgive you don't worry ^w^ )

Soooo how'd you enjoy the KyoxTohru fluff? You likey? You hatey? Haha you better likey, this took me forever to write :3

"Gastrocnemius"…. I totally didn't look that up on google, absolutely not, why would you even think such an outrageo… OK I looked it up! It's better than what I had before I googled it- "(biology anatomy leg blah)" that was literally what I had haha, now aren't you glad I took the time to look up leg anatomy? Makes Hatori look a lot smarter too :P (not that he isn't already smart…gah I don't know what I'm saying ahah)

Aaaand have you noticed the whole bunch of Shigure in this chappie? Yes? GOOD! I did dat foh yoouuu! I'm such a nice person, ya'll should give me reviews as a reward ;)

Hmmm what else… gahh there was so much I wanted to say, but now I can't remember it…. *sadface* Come on brain, don't fail me now!

WAIT now I remember *pats brain*. I always feel really guilty when I don't post for ages :/ It's not because I'm not writing (trust me I'm writing nearly 24/7) it's just it takes me forever to write since I'm such a perfectionist (yeahh I'm one of tthooosse people -_-). So yeah I wanna somehow give you guys updates on upcoming chappies and whether I'm running late or something… a blog maybe? Tumblr? I don't knooooowww! I'm sah clueless -_- , anyway let me know if you think I should do this to keep you updated, or if I should just stop whining and go write already (I love you too geez haha).

What time is it!? REVIEW TIIIME!

Stephanie (guest): Hehe that's for me to know you and Kyo to find out ;) No wait! Don't jump out the window! *catches* Now sit here and be a good little girl, while I go make some more chapters to hopefully answer your question :3

ShadedStarlight0 : Oh dear, the pressure is ooonn! Haha I really hope it'll be like that *crosses fingers*, I really love Haru, he deserves a cute chappie (and I shall deliver!... eventually haha). YAYY hilarity tangents of hilarity? Wooot my job is done *steals Pegasus and flies into the sunrise(?) haha* Thank youuuuuu! 3 3

Abigail (guest): Abigail, Abigail, Abigail, tut tut tut, wot are you doin with only a guest account? I can't reply to your awesome reviews of awesome! D: Wahh! Ok *cracks knuckles* get ready to eat words woman! Hahaha "LOL MOMENTS"? That's…kind of perfect! :D I shall keep the lol moments rolling (it's hard for me to stop actually, so it's a good thing people like them haah. If they didn't, well they would just have to live with 'em- or scroll away *frowns at scrollers* ahah nahh we cool scrollers, we cool ) I will definitely keep the story ball rolling also *puts on list of things to roll*, I'm so glad you likey :3 and hehehe Kyo indeed :} . Yay L4D2 (shh don't tell anyone this but I kind of*coughshipellisxnickcough* Hoo boy, I better get that cough checked out *sprints away* (don't worry if you dun get it, it'll be my little secret haha)). *le gasp* Y-you STOLE MAH "chappies" WORD! Oh hell no! I'll tell you what I'm gonna do about it! I'm gonna, I'm gonna… I'm gonna take this potato chip and EAT IT *DeathNoteReference*, yeah I got nothing haha you can keep it :3 (but ima still gonna use it, just caz I can and will) Wait, if you're 'annoying' then I have got to be the most maddening, infuriatingly frustrating person on the entire solar system! Now that's something that's just gotta go on mah resume ;) Hahahahaha "stop torturing Kyo" she says hahaha! Ok on a serious note, I honestly do try to be nicer to him, like in this chapter part, I said I would be nicer to him and then look what happened. He became a temporary disabled person with his most hated person in the world getting all up in his grill. I swear I didn't plan for this haha I just thought up stuff as I went, and that's what popped out *shrugs* My brain is obviously not on Kyo's side haha (my conscience is though… I hope haha). Wahh okay okay I'll keep writing *donthitme* hahaha I'm likin you're style *joins in with maniac laughing MWAHAHAHA* Good lawd that was a long reply haha, Ima gonna stahp now :P Thanks so much for reviewing! 3

SweetLiars: Heyyy thanks so much for all your reviews (haha better late than never ay ;) ) Yeah I made Kagura and Kyo siblings so I could dash anyone's hopes for them to be together *coughKaguracough* caz I'm just that mean :3 (not that anyone would ship them anyway *laughs and hides from KagaKyo shippers- a.k.a Kagura haha I did it again*) Yeahhh widdle Momiji the widdle Pwince of widdlesworth *slaps* Gah ok I'm all good haha. Oooh so you likey mah Shigure x Kyoko idea huh? To be truthful that was made on the fly haha I wanted Tohru's dad to be Shigure, and the only logical mother figure was, well, Tohru's mother haha. Eeeee yeah I love making Kyo laugh, it's sah magical *w* haha aaaand then I go and make him depressed and angsty McEmo-pants (there's something wrong with me I know haha). Thank you so much for the reviewsss *send love in the form of cookies* Feel free to continue reading till the end~!

EXTRA RAMBLINGS (you should probs skips this *waves goodbye to readers*):

Ok sooo I'm not sure if anyone has picked this up (I wouldn't be surprised if no one has, it's pretty hard to spot), but I was just re-reading through the past chapters of mah story and realised that I may have been slightly hinting at the HatorixHana shipping 0_o I swear my brain has a mind…of..its..own…wot? *BRAINCEPTION*! Haha yeahhh so I guess I must subconsciously ship this couple *shrugs* I'unno :P

Also if you don't know what this word means "yaoi" then gooood, I won't ruin *coughawesomisecough* your minds. Ok so confession time, I like yaoi. *gets umbrella to shield against flying rotten fruit*. DON'T WORRY! THIS IS NOT A YAOI FANFIC AND IT NEVER WILL BE! I just wanna say that, every time I have just Kyo and Yuki in a scene together, I have to use all my willpower not to turn this into yaoi… has anyone noticed how much Yuki kind of… well flirts with Kyo? No? Just me? Ok then haha Well to counter attack that, I have to make Kyo extra super aggressive (caz he ain't interested mmm hmm *snaps fingers sassily*) Don't get me wrong, there is never gonna be anything between them, I just wanted to put that out there for god knows what reason (oh yeah, I want to make friends haha- I think I'm going at it the wrong way hahaha)

…I'm sooo gonna lose readers for this aren't I? -_- Ok let me repeat, THIS IS A KYO x TOHRU FANFIC IF YOU HADN'T ALREADY GUESSED FROM THE 12 CHAPTERS BEFOREHAND hahahaha (I'm going to shut up about yaoi from now on don't you worry your pretty little heads about it *pats*)

Better yet, I'm gonna shut up, full stop.

Kyo: *biggest disturbed, disgusted, perturbed face in the world* WHAT THE F..*BOOM*!

DestinyFlame: Uh oh… I think I broke Kyo :'( I'm sah sowwy!

Kyo: Dude I'm not broken, well technically I am *points to leg*, and whose fault is that?

DestinyFlame: I had no part in this… it was all my brain's fault…it made me do it!

Hahahahahahahahaahaha….. BYYYYYYEEEEEE! xxxxxxx

(You should have skipped it when I gave you the chance hahahahaha)