"Well, that's just great." Kyo complained.
"There's nothing we can do. Just listen to your father and keep an eye on your sister. But do not say anything; we don't want her spiraling or anything. Now, go home and relax for the night." Hatori instructed, looking at everyone—mainly Kyo.
"Thank you. I'm sure everything will work out just fine. Night." Tohru told Hatori.
"Fine…" Kyo huffed, walking away with Tohru in toe.
"What now?" Machi asked, holding onto Yuki.
"I don't know." Yuki sighed.
"We get Hatori and Kohana together. OW! Kyo's hitting me!" Momiji declared before whining when Kyo hit him over the head.
"They just told us to keep an eye on her and not push anything! Leave it alone!" Kyo furiously yelled before taking off.
"Kyo, wait! Bye!" Tohru called after Kyo.
"Now, what's his problem?" Hiro asked, popping up with Kisa.
"Personal stuff—dealing with Kohana and Kazuma. Turns out, Kazuma is Kohana's biological father—and there's more to both curses: ours and hers. I think Kyo's struggling because he doesn't remember certain things. Come on, Machi; I should get you home." Yuki answered before walking away with Machi.
"Is Kohana ok? We heard she was sick." Kisa asked, looking at Haru.
"We don't know; we were told that she took off after she woke up. She panicked and left her shoes behind." Haru casually answered, holding up Kohana's shoes.
"Wh— Why do you have her shoes?! What are you going to do with them?!" Hiro asked, freaked out.
"I'm going to take them to her house." Haru answered like it was nothing as he started.
"How are you going to do that?!" Hiro yelled, running after him with Rin, Kisa, and Momiji.
"I know where she lives." Haru replied.
"Oh, look; it's snowing!" Momiji happily exclaimed.
"Yay…" Rin and Hiro sarcastically cheered while Kisa giggled.
"How do you know where she lives?" Kisa asked, watching Haru.
"I've seen her go in and out of the same house—several times. She doesn't strike me as the type to go out very often." Haru answered, leading the way.
Fifteen Minutes Later:
"Stop." Haru ordered, suddenly stopping.
"What is it?" Kisa asked, concerned.
"Shhh… Listen." Haru instructed, listening.
It sounded like someone was getting beat up when suddenly Kohana went flying past her grandparents' home's brick entryway.
Kohana tried to stand, but as she was on her feet, some guy came charging out and knocked her back down, pinning her in place before he started choking her.
"Momiji get Kisa and Hiro out of here—NOW! Call the police, Hatori, Kazuma, and Kyo! Rin—go with them! GO!" Haru yelled, changing into Black Haru.
"HEY! GET AWAY FROM HER!" Haru yelled just before knocking the guy away, kicking him so hard in the side, he went flying a good foot or two.
"Just who the hell do you think you are, Kid? Stay out of this!" The man yelled, managing to stand up.
"Who I am is none of your damn business! What are you—fucking stupid? I will not stay out of this! I'm not going to stand by and let you hurt a friend! Even if she weren't a friend, I sure as hell wouldn't just stand by and let you hurt an innocent girl!" Haru yelled, pissed off, blocking the man from Kohana.
"She has friends? Hahaha! That's good! The little bitch shouldn't have friends; she shouldn't even be alive! My good-for-nothing sister should be dead! Mother should've just let me kill her when I had the chance! And now look what happened! Because of that bitch, Mom's dead! Everyone she gets close to, dies!" This guy yelled.
"Who are you?" Haru asked, picking his ear with his pinky.
"The name's Daku Jinmei, and don't you forget it!" Daku yelled, going to attack Haru.
"Yeah? Well, my name is Sohma. DON'T YOU FORGET IT!" Haru yelled, punching Daku in the face, sending him reeling again.
"So—you're a fighter. I warned you to stay out of my way—but you didn't listen. Guess I'll just have to kill you. Why not? One more isn't going to change anything. I already took care of Grandma and Grandpa—and I know I'm going to kill her. I just have a small roadblock to get past!" Daku calmly spoke before pulling out a bloody knife and once again charged Haru.
Haru swiftly dodged Daku before kicking him in the stomach just as police arrived—along with Hatori, Kazuma, Kyo, and Tohru.
Shigure and Ayame just so happened to be walking past when they heard the commotion and made their way over.
"Sir, everything's going to be ok. Please, come with us so we can assess your wounds—or wherever you're hurt." A police officer calmly spoke to Haru as two others took Daku in—knowing precisely who he was.
Name:
Daku Jinmei
Age:
Twenty
Occupation:
Prisoner
Incarcerated:
Age 7 with a life sentence
Wanted Reasons:
1.) Attempting to kill his younger sister
2.) Resisting arrest
3.) Attacking several officers
4.) Attacking several prison guard/staff
5.) Escaping prison
6.) Evading police
7.) Premeditated Murder
8.) Double homicide of his grandparents
9.) A second attempt at killing his sister
10.) Attempting to kill a civilian
"I'm fine; I don't need to see anyone. Kohana's the one who needs to see someone." Haru responded to the officer.
"Who?" The police officer asked, watching Haru.
"Where is Kohana?" Tohru asked, concerned.
When Haru turned around to show them Kohana, she wasn't there.
"She was right there." Haru stated when he saw Kohana wasn't there.
"She's hurt—and bleeding." Tohru spoke up, noticing a small blood trail.
"She's running scared and doesn't know what to do. Did either of them say anything?" Kazuma stated and then asked, watching Haru.
"Excuse me, Sir, but who are you?" The officer asked, looking at Kazuma.
"Biologically, I'm Kohana's father. From what I was recently told; she's been living with her grandparents—her mother's parents since her mother died in America some time ago. I knew she was coming to Japan with her mother but didn't know when—and I wasn't aware she was here until earlier this evening. I didn't know her mother was dead until today either. I just assumed when she hadn't called, she decided to stay in America because she didn't have a good relationship with her father. Yes, I know Daku as well; he is Kohana's older half-brother. Their mother, Tami, gave the prison he was supposed to be at permission to call me and let him know his progress—but he had none. I was not contacted or aware that he had been let out." Kazuma answered, watching the police officer.
"Actually, he escaped." A different officer pointed out.
"I wasn't informed or aware of that either. Not that they'd listen to me, but had I known, I could've tried to warn Hojo and Gaia. Now, Haru, please; did either of them say anything that may indicate where Kohana may have gone?" Kazuma replied and then asked.
"She didn't say anything; she seemed like she was in too much pain to say anything. I sure as hell thought she was in too much pain to move. The only things he said were that he wanted her dead and that he was going to kill her. Something about how their mother should've let him kill her when they were younger. And then he said it was her fault; everything was her fault because everyone she loves or gets close to, dies. Sensei?" Haru answered and then asked when he saw Kazuma's horrified face.
"Dad?" Kyo asked, concerned,
"She's going to kill herself." Kazuma informed everyone in shock.
"What?!" Everyone asked, horrified.
"She has very low self-esteem—and can be easily manipulated or influenced into believing stuff like that. She thinks she's a problem… So, she's going to eliminate herself. Because, if you have a problem, you eliminate it. If she truly believes people hate or die because of her; she'll kill herself." Kazuma replied in a zombie-line tone.
"What do we do?" Momiji asked, standing there with Rin; Kisa and Hiro were safe at home.
"What can we do?" Tohru worriedly asked.
"Well, we certainly don't just stand here and do nothing. She's hurt, so she couldn't have gone too terribly far. Somebody get a hold of Yuki, Kureno and Arisa, Kagura, even Ritsu, and let them know what's going on. No need to involve the children. Kazuma, you take Tohru and Kyo, and follow the blood. Haru, Rin, and Momiji: you three search the surrounding areas. You two idiots are with me. Somebody call the rest of us to let us know if you've found her." Hatori instructed before heading to his car with Shigure and Ayame.
"Wait! What of the cats?!" Momiji called when he saw eleven cats sitting in the yard.
"Crap… That's right; she had cats. Ok… Everyone grab a cat and put it in my car." Hatori suddenly remembered that there were eleven cats living in that house: eight of them Kohana's and three were her grandparents'.
However, nobody had to pick up a cat: one by one, the cats followed Kyo to Hatori's car and jumped in.
"Let's get going!" Kyo demanded, taking off with Tohru and Kazuma behind him.
Ten Minutes Later:
With Hatori, Ayame, & Shigure:
"Where is she? Doesn't she know she's important?" Shigure asked, annoyed, looking out the passenger's window. At the same time, Hatori concentrated on the road ahead of them, and Ayame looked out the side window behind the driver's side.
"Shigure, that is enough! One more word about how important she is to the Sohma family, and I swear to God: I will make sure she is safe—away from us. Do you understand me? She's not some pawn or puppet in whatever you and Akito have planned. She just had the unfortunate luck of being born into a family with a curse—just like all of us. Right now, she's struggling. She's already lost her mother—and now her grandparents. Her brother, who she's not even supposed to know of—or remember, just tried killing her. He also told her it was her fault that her mother and grandparents are dead. So, just stop already!" Hatori snapped, having enough as he turned a corner.
"Sheesh… Akito and I don't have anything planned." Shigure stated, annoyed and offended.
"Boy, is it really starting to snow?" Ayame asked, watching it snow, making it harder to see out any of the windows.
"Yeah, it is. Who would've thought Kazuma was a father—especially to such a pretty flower like Kohana?" Shigure responded before asking; he was just trying to get under Hatori's skin.
"Akito." Hatori plainly answered.
"Excuse me?" Shigure asked, offended now.
"Akito knew. She must've known considering she stopped Kazuma from taking Kyo to see them in Italy. She knows and is hiding something. I know she knows something, but I don't know what." Hatori stated, looking through the window at the snow.
"You act like you want the curse to return." Shigure accused.
"No matter what we do, the curse will return; we will never be rid of it. Including Kohana in all this only makes it so we're immortal and so that we can hug only our families and true partner. Kazuma told me, Kyo, Tohru, Momiji, Haru, and Rin this; he was told by Tami—Kohana's mother and his ex. He told us that he didn't understand why Akito didn't say anything. Hold on: sharp corner coming up." Hatori told them before warning them just before turning a corner, leading to a bridge. This information also shut Shigure up.
"Will she go live with Kazuma, then—now that her grandparents are gone?" Ayame asked, being sincerely compassionate.
"I want to say yes. However, I somehow get the feeling that's not going to happen. Am I correct in saying that, Shigure?" Hatori answered before asking.
"Why, whatever are you talking about? I don't know a thing." Shigure mischievously replied, looking out his window.
"Shigure—I've known you all my life; I know when you're lying to me. Also, to most, you're a horrible liar. And finally, I can see it in your eyes. But fine; don't tell me. One way or another, everything will come to fruition, right? And…" Hatori snapped, beyond annoyed; he was really starting to question his trust with Shigure. He was going to continue, but without any warning, slammed on the breaks.
"Dude! Hari, what is your issue?! Are you trying to kill us?!" Shigure demanded after a few seconds.
"No, I'm not; I found Kohana. Call everyone and let them know. Call Kazuma and let him know where to meet us. Stay in the car." Hatori answered and then instructed before closing his door.
With Shigure & Ayame:
"Gure, what are you doing? You're really getting on his nerves as of late." Ayame asked, concerned, pulling out his phone.
"I'm just having some fun. And it's true: Kohana's special—and we need her. Because Hatori is correct in saying that no matter what, the curse will return. I just found out a few days ago. Being immortal is new; I didn't know about that little detail. But that could be fun. But anyway: without Kohana, the curse will go back to how it was before—when we could only hug female members of the Zodiac. That means, you won't be able to hug or hold Mine. Kyo and Tohru won't be able to embrace. So on, and so forth. And—Kyo will have to wear that bracelet again. Yes, with Kohana, the curse will return, and we won't be able to hug strangers. However, we'll be able to hug our loved ones: the other members of the Zodiac, romantic partners, family members, any children we may have, and Kyo won't turn back into that thing. We need that girl like we needed Tohru. Tohru was just a steppingstone; Kohana is the one who will seal the deal. Just as we need Kohana; she needs us. She needs us for the protection we can offer from any Jinmei members are out there—because we truly don't know. Protection from many other things that may come her way. Aya, this stays between us; Hatori and the others cannot know just yet—not even Mine. I promise you: the girl will not be hurt." Shigure answered Ayame, giving him some details.
"Aye! Aye! My lips are sealed." Ayame determinedly obliged.
"Good." Shigure replied with a happy but dangerous smile.
However, the truth of it is, Shigure knows Ayame has a big mouth—and this will get to him eventually, and he'll tell Hatori or someone.
After Shigure explained "everything" to Ayame, Ayame started calling the others.
Ten Minutes Later:
"Now, what are you doing? Hari told us to stay in the car." Ayame told Shigure as he got out of the car.
"You never know if he'll need help." Shigure replied with a smile.
"Oh, no… That's not good." Ayame spoke, watching Hatori go after Kohana—who made it to the bridge's final railing.
"Damnit… Come on; we have to help just in case." Shigure told Ayame, taking off.
With Hatori & Kohana:
"Kohana!" Hatori called, shielding his eyes from the snow and wind.
Kohana momentarily stopped and turned to look behind her; however, she quickened her pace to the bridge as soon as she saw Hatori.
"Kohana, stop!" Hatori yelled, running after her.
"St-st-stay b-b-b-back!" Kohana stuttered, tears freezing on her cheeks as she reached the bridge.
"Kohana, stop it! This isn't the way! I know what happened to your grandparents; I am so sorry. But this isn't the way! They wouldn't want you to do this; your mother wouldn't want this! Just come here, and we'll take you to a hospital! You're hurt!" Hatori yelled, slowly walking to her just as Kazuma, Kyo, and Tohru arrived; he could see blood in the snow from her arm—and from the looks of it, the side of her stomach.
"N-no! Th-th-thi-this i-i-is th-the o-o-on-only w-w-way! I-i-i-is m-mu-mu-my f-f-fa-fa-fault! Th-th-they uh-uh-all d-d-die-died b-b-because o-of m-me! D-D-D-Daku s-s-said s-s-so! H-h-he s-s-said h-h-he w-w-was m-my b-b-brother, b-b-but I-I-I o-on-only h-h-has o-o-one b-b-brother—D-D-Daddy's s-s-son! N-n-no! St-st-stay uh-uh-away! I-I-I do-don't wa-wa-want y-ya-you t-t-to g-g-get hu-her-hurt b-b-because o-o-of m-me! I-I-I do-don't wa-wa-want a-an-anybody e-e-else I-I-I l-l-la-love o-o-or c-c-care uh-uh-uh-about t-t-to g-get hu-her-hurt b-b-because o-of m-me! B-b-b-besides, i-i-is b-b-better th-th-this w-w-way! Ev-ev-everybody w-w-will b-b-be b-b-better o-o-off w-w-without m-me!" Kohana screamed, horribly stuttering with tears pouring and freezing on her cheeks.
"What are you talking about?! Why would everybody be better off without you?!" Hatori called, stepping closer along with Kazuma and Kyo on the other side. The more and longer he kept her talking, the closer they could get.
However, Kohana still stepped up onto the railing.
"N-n-n-nobody w-w-wants m-me! I-I-I'm j-j-just a mi-mis-mistake! Th-th-that's w-w-why D-D-Daddy n-n-n-never c-c-c-comes t-t-to v-v-visit! H-h-he h-h-hates m-me! S-s-so d-d-does B-B-Big B-B-Brother!" Kohana continued to stutter while screaming, making it to the top of the railing.
Listening to her, Kazuma and Kyo froze in shock; she thought they hated her.
"Kohana, listen to me! Kazuma and Kyo—your dad and brother do not hate you! They didn't know you were back in Japan. I'm sure if they knew, they would've visited you! And you go to school with Kyo! You could've talked to him anytime there!" Hatori yelled, slowly walking to her.
"N-n-no! I-I-I d-d-didn't w-w-want t-t-to b-b-be y-y-yelled a-a-at! H-h-he s-s-said h-h-he h-h-hated m-me s-s-so m-m-much h-h-he'd d-d-do nu-nu-nothing b-b-but y-y-yell a-a-at m-me!" Kohana screamed, wobbling a little, making everyone nervous.
"Who said that? Whoever said that was lying. Kohana, please; just come down and we can talk." Hatori told Kohana as calmly as he could; he figured yelling at her wasn't helping anything.
"G-G-Gr-Grand…" Kohana tried answering but couldn't. Between her horrible stuttering and the gusts of wind, she was having a difficult time breathing.
"Your grandfather?" Hatori asked, making it to the rail below her.
"Y-y-yes." Kohana answered, holding onto a bar so she wouldn't fall.
She planned to jump, but she looked down and became dizzy and scared; Hatori could see that and decided to use that to his advantage.
"Kohana, your grandfather lied to you. I know both Kazuma and Kyo; they don't hate you. Right now, all they want is for you to be safe—and to see you again—preferably alive. Kohana, I promise you, if you come down and let me take you to a hospital to take care of your wounds, we can talk. And you can see your dad and Kyo. I PROMISE you that they don't hate you. Don't do this. There are people out there who DO care about you. What about your cats? I have all of them in my car. Please. Please, Kohana. Let me help you." Hatori told Kohana, pleading with her toward the end.
"Mmmm… K." Kohana softly answered, just saying one letter to avoid stuttering.
"Thank God… Ok—Kohana, I'm going to help you down, ok? I'll tell you what to do, and you slowly and carefully do as I tell you. Ok?" Hatori firmly told Kohana.
"Mmmhmm." Kohana answered, nodding her head.
"Ok. I'm going to talk you through this. First and foremost: DON'T let go of the pole. Under no circumstances do you let go of that pole. Leaning against the pole, not letting go, slide down like you're going to sit down. Good. Good. Slowly. Slowly." Hatori calmly instructed and praised Kohana as she slowly slid down the bridge's railing's pole.
She was almost to where he could get her around the waist and get her down when:
"HEY! Hari, do you need any help?! It looks like you're having a difficult time!" Shigure yelled, running over—startling Kohana, who jerked upward and then slipped, falling backward. Ayame stayed back at the car.
"No!" Hatori, Kazuma, and Kyo yelled, running over.
Meanwhile, Tohru was frozen with fear.
Hatori got up to look over the railing and saw something hit the water; there was a splash and small ripples.
"Mmmm… Mmmm… Mmmm…" "No! Kyo, stay!" Kyo was about to run down to the water when Hatori stopped him because he heard whimpers.
Yes, Kohana fell off the railing—but she didn't fall into the water; her shoes did.
"Wh—" "Kohana, keep holding on!" Kyo started but was interrupted by Hatori instructing as he started climbing the railing close to the pole.
Just as instructed by Hatori, Kohana never let go of the pole and was doing her best to hang on. However, that wasn't easy as her hands were slipping—and just as her fingers were about to let go, Hatori grabbed her wrist.
"Ok, Kohana; you can let go of the pole now!" Hatori called to Kohana. The only problem was she couldn't hear him because of all the wind.
"Kohana, let go of the pole!" Hatori called again. And again, she couldn't hear him; she just looked up, confused with tears freezing on her cheeks.
"Let go of the pole!" Kyo yelled, grabbing Kohana's other wrist; she immediately looked from Hatori to Kyo.
"I don't think she can hear us…" Hatori sighed, using both hands to pull Kohana's arm up.
"No shit! She's not letting go of this damn pole! You'd think she'd let go knowing both her wrists were held!" Kyo yelled.
"Kyo—right now—she's suicidal. As far as we know—she could be waiting—for us to get tired—and lose our grips to let her fall. She's not—in a good place—right now." Hatori told Kyo, huffing, and grunting, pausing between words as he tried pulling her up.
"Kyo, let me through. I'm going to take her wrist; you pry her hand off the pole." Kazuma instructed, climbing up.
"Kyo, you need to get her around her waist so none of just fall onto the bridge and hurt all three of us." Hatori told Kyo once they got Kohana into their sights at the railing.
Kyo didn't reply; he just did as Hatori told him.
After nearly half an hour, they got Kohana off the damn railing.
Hatori was sitting, leaning back on his elbows next to the railing with Kohana, sitting between his legs, leaning against him, wheezing and crying.
Kazuma was sitting, panting a little, watching Hatori and Kohana, and Kyo, who was sitting on his knees watching Kohana and Hatori.
"Kyo! Hatori! Kazuma! Did you get her?!" Tohru asked, panicked, running over.
"At least you got her off the railing. Now, we go home." Shigure stated with a smile. However, that smile quickly faded when he saw Hatori glaring at him.
"No—we are not going home; she needs to taken to the hospital." Hatori angrily told Shigure.
"Wow… What did Shigure do to piss Hatori off?" Kyo asked in a whisper, watching Shigure and Hatori.
"What did I do this time?" Shigure asked, watching Hatori.
"Hold that thought." Hatori told Shigure, maneuvering Kohana so he could get up.
"Here. Let me help you." Kazuma offered, watching Hatori before lifting Kohana into his arms, allowing Hatori to get up.
"Ok. What did I do?" Shigure asked after Hatori put his jacket over Kohana and then stood in front of him.
"What part of "stay in the car" don't you understand?!" Hatori snapped.
"I just came to help. I figured you needed it seeing as she was on the top rail." Shigure answered like it was nothing.
"Damnit, Shigure! I didn't need your help! I told you to stay back for a reason!" "And what was that? It sure as hell looked like you needed my help because she wasn't coming down." Hatori started only to be interrupted by Shigure.
"I almost had her! I was talking through how to get down when you came running over! I told you to stay at the car because I knew you and Ayame would scare her!" "That's just not fair; she doesn't even know us." Hatori snapped, only to be interrupted again.
"Damnit, Shigure! She's cursed too, remember?! She can sense your and Ayame's Zodiac spirits lingering in you! She is terrified of dogs and snakes because she was attacked by dogs two or three times! And she was bitten by a rattle snake at one point! I told you to stay back for a reason! Why can't you just listen to me when I tell you something?! I had her!" Hatori snapped, causing Shigure to smile.
"This protectiveness just proves you love her and are meant to be with her." Shigure stated with a cocky smile.
"Anyone who needs a ride, get in the car. Kazuma sits in the front with Kohana, keeping her warm. Shigure, Kyo, and Tohru: you three are in the back with Ayame." Hatori told everyone, ignoring Shigure—only because Kohana needed the hospital…