[[Author's Note: Hey guys…. I am soooooo sorry that this took so long to get up. In short when I started the fic it was because I had nothing to do with my time, the one day boom… suddenly I don't have a spare moment. I will finish this fic, because my friends who know me will kill me if I don't. But I can't promise regular updates anymore. I guess you will just have to keep your eyes pealed. But thanks so much for staying with me and I will get the next chapter up sooner.]]
Chapter 6: Don't look back you're safe now
I know what he's thinking. Kat made her way though the woods, deciding at this point it would be easier to avoid the streets. It was late and she had no idea if Japan had a curfew as California did. He thinks that I'll come home when I get tired… he thinks I can't go anywhere else. Can I? I could probably find somewhere quiet out here to sleep. Up in a tree or something. Stupid Kahlan, he makes me so mad sometimes. I'll show him… I can stay out here as long as I need to in order to prove my point. Caitlin approached a large tree and reached up to the first branch. The searing pain that shot through her back was enough for her to hesitate. Okay, so maybe not a tree, but there have to be plenty of places closer to the ground. It may be cold but it could be worse. She should have knocked on wood, she realized this when the thick drops of rain started to fall. Rain, water, an element that she most certainly did not get along with. She gazed back in the direction of the house her family was staying at. She couldn't go back there, wouldn't… not until Kahlan learned his lesson. Maybe it was childish, but damnit it was still true. He had no right to stick his nose in where it did not belong.
But she had nowhere else to go, did she? She looked off into the distance of the woods and remembered a friendly female voice saying, "If you ever need anything just come over to Shigure's house and see us." Would they take her in, would they call her father? There would be so much to explain. Well one thing was for sure, she wasn't going home. And with that in mind, she started walking again though the woods, realizing she had no idea where Shigure's house was. Trust in fate Kat, if you were meant to find it, you will. And somehow, that odd logic kept her going as the night was filled with the down poor of cold rain.
Kahlan felt sick, he could barely control the guilt his mind was placing on him. He may have been okay if it was just him… or maybe if it was just Dani and him, but the look on Alexander's face was too difficult to deal with. So the cow stepped out of the room and leaned against the wall of the hallway. Not that it provided much comfort, he could still hear the tense voice of the father, and the worried voice of the son ringing in his ears… or maybe he was just standing too close to the door. As it currently stood, Alexander and Daniel were discussing the best methods of finding Kat. It had been over three hours since she had disappeared and now the Head of the Family was really beginning to think that she would not come home anytime soon.
The door to the room opened and Dani walked out looking poignantly at him. "Kahlan, do you have any idea where Kat would go? She talks to you; she likes you… well more so than me most of the time at least. Please, for my Fathers sake. He's worried sick."
Kahlan just shook his head. "I- I really don't know. I didn't think she'd do this. I mean home is one thing, but here… she doesn't know where anything is. What if she's lost or something; and in her condition… and in this weather." He glanced out the window.
"Her condition? So she really was sick, earlier I had just thought she was trying to avoid people…" Dani's voice was soft
"Well she doesn't get sick often does she?" A new voice was added to the hallway. The smooth sound of Wei Lee's words were enough to make Kal's skin craw.
"No she doesn't." The blue haired youth stated quickly in response. Lee smiled at Kahlan, an eerie smile. The man was dressed as he always was the same blue outfit, only without the jacket this time.
"Perhaps she would have returned to the Souma Main House. She did seem to be getting along with some of the people there." Lee crooned. "Has Alexander called Hatori?"
Kahlan most certainly did not know the answer to that question and was about to reply as such when Daniel spoke up. "Yes… just a moment ago. Dr. Hatori said that Katie wasn't there, but if she showed up that he would call us." Lee nodded slowly as the door swung open revealing Alexander, still in his suit.
"Dani, you and I are going to look for your sister."
"Yes father, I'll go get our coats." He turned to bolt for the closet when Lee's hand on his shoulder stopped him. The business man may not have looked it, but his grip was iron clad and almost… threatening. It was no wonder he had gotten along with the old head of the family.
"If I may interject sir." His voice was hollow, almost bored sounding, then again… Lee never did seem interested in anything.
"Yes Wei Lee, what is it?" The adult blond looked at him, Dani also turned to get a better look.
"I should point out, since it is only my duty, that with Charles out of the house someone will need to watch your girls. After all… if they find out that Caitlin is missing they are liable to get upset… and far from me to intrude… but need I remind you how sensitive Daniel's immune system is. Thirty minutes out there in that rain and his lungs very well may react badly." Everything the Boar had said was true, and they were all valid points, but the direction of the conversation made Daniel frown.
"What are you suggesting Wei Lee?" Alexander's voice had grown cold; his voice rarely sounded the way it did now. However, the other man seemed to ignore the danger is the tone of his superior.
"Merely that perhaps another pair should go searching for our missing feline."
"And who did you have in mind?" The reply was curt and to the point.
"I, of course, would gladly help to find your daughter. After all, you are the head of the family." There was bitterness in his tone when ever he said those words… Head of the Family. "And Kahlan will go with me." As the last was added, it left no room for arguing from the way ward cow. Alexander looked at both of them for a moment before nodding slowly, his age clearly showing in the lines on his face.
"Very well." He sighed and leaned on the doorway. "Please find her." He turned and headed back into the room, closing the door behind him.
"Kahlan, go get your coat and meet me by the front door. I think this will be a good opportunity for us to talk." There was a pause as Lee smiled. "And perhaps together we can find our run away kitten." With that, Wei Lee also turned and walked down the hallway from whence he came. Left alone, Dani and Kahlan stared at each other for a moment.
"I'm going to check on the twins." Dani spoke quietly. Kal nodded.
"Yea, that's a good idea. The last thing you need is those two finding out." Kahlan sighed and pushed himself off the wall. "I hope we find her."
"So do I." Dani replied as he walked towards the twin's room. "So do I."
Kahlan turned and went into his room. Grabbing his coat, he slipped into it, his mind forming a dreamlike haze around reality. Walking back out into the hallway, he never would have noticed Isabella had he not walked dead into her. The poor dog seemed as mentally scattered as he was. "Isa!" Kahlan said quietly.
"Kal… where are you going?" She raised an eyebrow.
"Lee has decided that he and I will be the ones to go look for Kat." He shrugged as he said it, hoping to hide the nervousness that was bristling its way up his spine. Her eyebrows only rose a little more.
"I see." The silence that passed between the two was broken by the clock on the wall as it struck twice signaling the time. Kahlan looked at the clock then back at his cousin.
"Isa, what are you doing up this late?"
"Just worried I guess. Look, you better get going if you're going to find Kat. And be careful around Lee will ya… you know I don't like that guy."
Kal sighed, "yea, well I am sure that I like him less. But whatever, I'll see you in the morning" Isa nodded. Isabella watched Kahlan turn and walk down the hall before turning into her room and picking up the phone. She dialed a number and pressed send. As the phone rang, she walked over and gazed out the window, and the still falling rain. Finally, a tired male voice answered the phone.
"Hello Shigure, this is Isa." She sighed, wondering how she was going to explain this.
The bell rang signaling lunch time. Tohru Honda walked out of her class room flanked by Kyou and Hana. "Tohru dear, you seem tired today. Is everything alright?" Hana glanced over at her friend. The riceball blinked large eyes,
"Wow Hana, did you pick that up from my electric signals?" She got a smile in return.
"No silly, I gathered this from the dark lines around your eyes. Didn't you sleep well last night?"
Tohru sighed, "well yes… I mean no… I mean sort of. It's just that… I swear I heard the phone ring this morning around two, and it woke me up. I guess I just couldn't fall back asleep after that."
"That's odd—"
"I think your crazy… I didn't hear a phone ring this morning." Kyou cut the psychic off.
"Are you calling my friend a liar?" Hana shot the "death glare" at Kyou as little sparks went off above her head. The cat blinked once,
"um… no never mind." He stuttered.
"Good, that's better." She turned her attention back to Tohru.
"Girls are just getting weirder and weirder these days." The carrot-top mumbled before taking a few steps ahead of the two.
"I wonder who it could have been." Hana voiced as they entered the lunch room. Tohru only had time to shrug before Momiji spotted her and began his ritual bolt over to hug her. Luckily, Kyou (who had become used to this show) spotted him and stopped the rabbits mid air flight with a swift thump on the head.
"Wwwwwaaaaaaaaaa!!!! Somebody, Kyou's hitting me again!" The blond whined.
"You know, every time you open your mouth it pisses me off!" Orange shouted at Blond.
"Momiji stop," Haru walked over to them looking unusually serious. He focused immediately on Tohru. "Where's Yuki?" Sure enough, the rabbit stopped fussing.
"Um… well he had to skip lunch to go to a Student Body Meeting. Why? Is something wrong?" An edge of panic creeping into her voice as it usually did when other people acted strangely. Haru nodded once before taking her hand and dragging her back into the hallway. Kyou and Hana watched them go, the Cat's eyes narrowing.
"Alright, what's going on?" He glared at Momiji. The little boy just smiled.
"Well maybe if you were nicer to me—" he didn't get another word out because Kyou got him into a head lock and he was wriggling to try and get out.
"You gonna talk?!?" He shouted, ignorant of all the eyes staring at the scene they were making. Momiji managed a few squeaks that were enough for Kyou to let him go. So as he attempted to straiten his hair he stuck his tongue out at his cousin. "Well since you asked so nicely," the boy said sarcastically. "Caitlin Sohma ran away last night." This stopped the Cat.
"What?" Now even he sounded concerned. "Well is she okay?"
Momiji shrugged. "Don't know, as of when we left for school they still hadn't found her."
"Caitlin Sohma?" Hana repeated looking between the two.
"Yea, she one of our cousins from America." Momiji volunteered.
"Well now, that's interesting. I think Uo and I should meet her."
"Sure, I think that would be fun. Though I haven't even met her yet. She's kind of anti-social." The last part added in more quietly as the rabbit pointed towards Kyou, "Kinda like him." Hana smiled.
The Cat was so far off in his own world at that moment that he did not even notice. Why would she run away? She'd get lost so easily. And her sisters had said she was sick. This doesn't make any sense. And if she ran away yesterday, and they haven't found her yet… That means she was out there all night… alone… in the cold… and the rain… the rain. I wonder if that kind of weather affects her like it does me. And with out something like my beads… Someone needs to find her.
"So has he met her?" Hana asked.
"Yup." The rabbit nodded, "according to Hatori they got along pretty well too."
"Did they now?" A mischievous smile crossed the Psychic's face. "So," she turned to Kyou. "You have a girlfriend now?" Had Uo been there it would have been her to say it, but with out the Yankee's presence Hana felt compelled to stand in her friends shoes.
Kyou never heard her. Someone needs to find her. I need to find her. He turned and ran out the door.
"Hey wait! Kyou!" Momiji shouted after him.
As he left the lunch room he ran passed Tohru and Haru and skidded to a stop, Tohru looked sick. "Hey are you alright?" He asked quickly. Tohru paled a little more.
"Um… Kyou… you should know—"
"If it's about Kat, I already know, that damn rabbit told me. I'm going to look for her, don't worry Tohru, I'll find her." This seemed to brighten the riceball up a bit.
"Thank you Kyou." She smiled at him.
"Don't worry." He smiled back and turned and ran down the hallway.
"We should go back into the lunchroom. I'll tell Yuki when his meeting lets out." Haru said quietly.
"Yea, you're right. I guess if anyone can find her, it would be Kyou, right? After all, wouldn't two Cat's think alike?" Haru shrugged.
Arisa Uotani kicked a rock across the street. She just had not felt like going to school today, not that that was a first, but they were running again; and she always skipped school for the run. She was rather used to calling herself in sick to school, and since she lived by herself, she did not need a parent's permission. In a few more hours she would head over to Kaibara and meet up with her friends. Tohru and the Prince had invited them all over to the house this afternoon, Hana and her, as well as the other Souma's that attended the High School. With the holiday's creeping up quickly, they all knew how busy they would be soon and decided a relaxing afternoon would do everyone some good. But until then she had reserved to wander around town for a while, since she had nothing to do at her apartment.
Crossing the road, she headed into the park, bundling her coat up a little tighter. The rain had slowed and was now down to a heavy misting more than anything else, but her trench coat kept her warm and dry. She strolled down the empty path and debated on random things, like what to get Tohru for a New Years gift. Now that she thought about New Years, she wondered if the boys would be staying home again this year so that her best friend would have someone to spend the holiday with. She made a metal note to ask them sometime soon, though she had a feeling she already knew the answer. It was clearly obvious how they felt about Tohru, yes, it was only a matter of time before one of them told her. The only real question then, was which one was going to get the courage to first. Uo's money was on the Prince.
She was walking in the direction of the exit on the other side of the park when a flash of gold caught her eye. Stopping, she turned to look at the small figure that was curled up against a tree. The first thing the Yankee noticed was that the girl was only wearing a tee-shirt and jeans, no coat, no shoes, no nothing. The second thing she saw was the fact that the girl was soaked to the bone. And the last thing was the over all unhealthy appearance of the stray. "Hey!" She let her voice travel ahead of her as she walked over to the girl. "Hey are you ok? What are you doing out here? It IS raining ya know!" It was only when she kneeled down beside the figure that Uo realized that apparently the girl was asleep. Uo shook her shoulder gently, causing the girls eyes to snap open and her to jump back. "Hey chill, I'm not going to hurt you." The other blond winced and stared back with hazy distant eyes. "You don't look so good. Come on, why don't I take you home." Arisa reached out a hand, which was quickly pushed away.
"I don't need—" The strays voice was rough and she had to clear her throat. "I don't need your help. And even if I did I don't have a home, not here." Uo shook her head. I remember days like this one, soaking wet and sick with no where to go. If it wasn't for Kyoko I might have been the one sitting in the park like this.
"Fine then. I'll take you to a hospital."
"No. I can't go to a hospital. Just leave me alone." The girl looked dazed, sick, and weak, but there was honest fear in her eyes, enough that Uo hesitated for a moment. She stumbled to her feet and leaned on the tree for support, it was obvious to the Yankee that she was in pain.
"Well I'm not going to leave you here."
"Well I'm not going to a hospital." Her voice sounded distant.
"Come on, just let me help you."
"My decision is final. I would rather take my chances with the woods."
"I don't care." Before she could protest again Uo moved over and slid an arm around the girls waist. The blond let out a hiss through clenched teeth, but had no energy to fight the other.
"Please. Don't do this. I'm telling you it's a bad idea." Desperation edged its way into her voice.
"Fine, I won't take you to a hospital." Uo sighed. She could take the girl back to her place; she would probably be okay with a warm bath and some dry clothes.
"Promise?" Uo frowned, liking the idea less and less. But she if she tried to force the girl, there was a chance she would run again, and that would only make things worse.
"Promise." She sighed. The girl nodded slowly and sighed in relief.
"Who are you anyway?"
"Arisa Uotani." She smiled, "and who might you be?"
"Just call me Kat."
"Kat… that it, no last name?"
"Not that you need to know." She spit back.
"All right then Kat. Let's go." And with her arm still snuggly along the girl's back she started walking again. After a few stumbled steps of her own, caused when she tried to protest the help and being moved, Kat fell into a slow step next to Arisa. They managed to make it out of the park before Kat collapsed against her new acquaintance, unconscious.
Uo frowned, this is worse then I thought. She needs to go to a hospital, but she seemed so frightened before, and I did promise her. Well if I can't take her to a hospital then I suppose a Doctor would do just as well. I remember the Souma's saying that one of their Uncles or cousins or something was a Doctor. I'll take her to Shigure's, if that damn pervert can keep his hands off her, maybe he can call this Dr. Souma. Uo was far from a weak girl, with an easy lift she picked up the other into her arms and headed strait away for Shigure Souma's house.
Kyou ran down the streets, ignoring the way the rain made him feel. It wasn't so bad, it had to have been a million times worse last night. He could remember it from when he went to bed, the way the down pour against the roof had lulled him to sleep almost instantaneously. It must have been horrible out here. Why would she do something so stupid. Damn girls, they're so stubborn. You would think that people would know better than to run away from their family. In his mind Kyou paused, remembering how he had run away 2 years ago. He had already checked most of the town, and he figured that Kat would be less likely to stay around people, so he turned and headed for the woods on Souma property. It was pretty expansive back there, and horribly easy to get lost, especially if one had no idea where they were going. The frown stretched further across the Cat's face and he continued to run.
Shigure stared at the table some more, it was the pose that he had kept for hours now. He had spoken to Isa this morning and learned about Kat's vanishing act, it reminded him painfully of Kyou, and somehow just couldn't surprise him. The other Dog had made him promise to stay at the house incase her cousin found her way there. Shigure had hoped that she would, but hours had passed and there was no sign of Caitlin Sohma. The novelist stood and walked out of his room, heading to the kitchen to make tea, when the sound of a knock on the door stopped him. As he quickly went over to the door hope found it's way into a smile. But as he swung the door opened the smile quickly changed to a frown. The sight hit him fast, Tohru's Yankee friend carrying another girl in her arms who was soaked and unconscious. "Hey snap out of it." Uo said as she slipped her shoes off and walked passed the man into the house.
"What's going on Miss Uotani? Who is your friend?" Shigure closed the door and tried to regain composure.
"She's not my friend, I just found her. She refuses to go to a hospital, so I figured that Doctor Cousin of yours might be able to take a look at her. She's pretty bad." Uo was looking around for a place to lay the girl. Shigure grabbed some blankets and laid them on the floor.
"Well who is she?"
"Don't know, said her name was Kat. Doesn't matter. Look, do I have to take the girl to a hospital or are you going to call your cousin?" Arisa laid her down and glared up at Shigure, she looked pissed. The dog took a better look at the girl and nodded, so this was Kat. People weren't kidding when the said she looked just like her brother.
"I'll go do that now." Shigure turned and walked to the phone. He dialed the number by heart and waited for that familiar voice to answer. "Hello Ha'ri." His voice was serious enough that the dragon didn't hang up on him. "I need you to come over."
Uo listened from the other room, but only heard the one side of the conversation. After a moment, Shigure came back. "Shouldn't you be in school?" She stood up,
"I'm sick."
"You don't look sick." The dog tilted his head to the side.
"Well are you going to call the school and tell them that?" She snapped back. Shigure sighed.
"No, no I won't. My cousin is on his way over, so you don't need to stay if you don't want to."
"What and leave her here alone and unconscious to be taken advantage of by a pervert like you." Shigure noted the tone in her voice and just wasn't sure if it was sarcasm or not.
"You have my word that I will be the perfect gentleman." He responded with a smile as he knelt down beside the girl and brushed a lock of hair out of her eyes. The touch woke her again, and upon opening her eyes she jerked back from the males presence.
"Back off!" She growled as she pushed up into a sitting position. Shigure held up his hands.
"It's alright, no one here will hurt you." Uo rested a hand on her shoulder.
"I told you I wouldn't take you to a hospital, but I had to take you somewhere. And he's a friend of mine." Shigure was not really sure if Kat had even heard the other girl speak, her eyes were focused solely on him. The glare was harsh, almost dangerous.
"Don't come near me." The words were spoken slowly, almost as if each syllable took strong effort. The dog watched as the bright blue of her eyes slowly started to change color. Swirling to a darker color, almost as if her pupils were bleeding and making her eyes red.
"Listen. You are safe here. My name is Shigure Souma. You know that name, I know you do." Is she going to change? He looked at her wrists… no beads. Oh please no, not now, not here. He glanced up at Uo, who looked confused but wasn't saying anything. "Kyou lives here too, and Tohru, and Yuki. They'll be home from school soon." He stared into her eyes as the red faded away back to blue. Good, that's good. Calm down.
Kat blinked at him and nodded once. "Please don't call my family." She lay back down and closed her eyes. It was apparent how truly exhausted she was. "Kal hasn't learned his lesson yet. Please don't tell anyone that I'm here." Her voice faded as she drifted back into the blackness of sleep.
"So wait, you know this girl?" Uo raised an eyebrow.
"Sort of, I had never actually met her. But I have met her twin brother, and they look startlingly alike. I went on a guess and got lucky. Thank you for bringing here here."
"So who is she?"
Shigure frowned, not sure if he should tell the Yankee about the other branch of the family. "Caitlin and her brother Daniel are friends of my family. Actually their whole family is. But look, she does need rest, and if promise not to go near her… do you think maybe you could go over to the school and tell the others to come strait home?" Please agree, it's not a good idea for you to be here anymore. Who knows if she is going to change, and if you were going to see any of us in our Zodiac forms, she isn't the one I would want you to meet first.
Uo nodded, "yea, I can do that, I was headed that way anyway." She walked back over to the door and slipped her shoes back on. "See you later Shigure." And with that, she walked out the door and back up the path.
The Dog watched her go and finally closed the door. Making his way back over to the injured girl, he sat down and waited for Hatori to show up. Ha'ri will know what to do. She looks terrible, but I see why she didn't want to go to a hospital. It's okay though, Ha'ri will be able to help her.
Class had finished up early and when Yuki and Tohru explained to their teacher that one of Yuki's family members were missing she was all to happy to let them leave a little early as well. Actually, Yuki had to convince the teacher that arranging a search party of students was NOT necessary. Hana had agreed to wait at the school for Uo with Momiji and Haru then head over to The Prince's house. So Yuki and Tohru walked home by themselves.
"So where do you think she went?" Tohru asked quietly. Yuki wanted to make a comment about Caitlin being a stupid cat just like Kyou, but he knew that would only upset the riceball. The rain had stopped and sunlight was finally shinning through the clouds.
"I really have no idea." Yuki shrugged. As they walked down the path they were greeted by a slightly wet orange haired cat.
"Well you aren't the only one." Kyou sounded terribly tired and didn't look much better.
"Kyou," Tohru ran over to him. "Are you all right?" He nodded in response.
"Yea, I'm fine, just the weather and all." Tohru frowned and set her attention on Kyou, but the cat noticed the glare Yuki was giving him.
"Let's get you inside." Tohru added.
"That was the plan," Kyou replied. "I got a bone to pick with that damn dog, I wanna know why he didn't tell us this morning that Kat had run away."
"Worried that your back up may have left you high and dry?" Yuki smiled at his cousin. Kyou rolled his eyes, shook his head, and walked for the house… to weary to start anything. Tohru and Yuki followed behind.
Kyou flung the door open with a resounding thud and yelled. "What the hell is wrong with you Shigure?" As he stomped his way to the dog's room, Yuki closed the door behind them.
A feminine giggle came from behind Shigure's closed door. "Oh Gure, you're so amazing." Followed by an odd sounding moan. Kyou stopped in his tracks and the other two caught up with him. All three stared at the door trying NOT to puzzle out the thumps and other strange noises.
"Yea, doggie style baby." They heard Shigure say, the female with him only giggled.
The door to Tohru's room opened and Hatori walked out, looking less then pleased. He walked passed the trio and over to the door, flinging it open. "Have you two no shame?" He glared down at Shigure and Isabella, who sat across from each other with wicked smiles on their faces as Isa hit the floor again with her palm making a familiar thumping noise. Hatori shook his head and turned to the three bewildered teens. Kyou recovered first,
"Damn pervert, why didn't you tell us that Kat was missing?" Shigure looked a little shocked at the cat's anger.
"Because I told him not to," Isa added. "I didn't want to worry anyone."
"But we can help you find her." Tohru cut in.
"You don't need to worry about that Miss. Honda." Hatori finally had their attention. "Caitlin has already been found, apparently it was actually your young friend Ms. Uotani who found her. But she brought her here and Shigure called me."
"Oh thank god, I'm so glad that she is okay. She IS okay, right?" Tohru looked at the doctor. Hatori nodded,
"she'll be just fine. I hope you don't mind but Shigure offered your room to let her rest for a bit." The rice ball shook her head.
"Oh no that's fine, I'm glad you did." She smiled.
"So how bad was she?" Isa stood up, now looking serious. Hatori and Isa exchanged a long look.
"Well the weather did her in really. She never should have been out at all, but to do it barefoot and with out a coat in this weather could have killed her. She needs to be more careful. I gave her some medicine for the cold she now has and patched up all of the injuries she sustained. But perhaps you should keep her quarantined from the rest of the family for a little while, at least until she gets better." There seemed to be a double meaning in his words that caused Isa to give him a stiff nod in return.
"I understand."
"Do you?" Hatori raised an eyebrow.
"Yes, I do." She glanced over at Tohru's door. "Do you think she's well enough to talk to me for a little."
"I won't stop you, but she may have fallen back asleep." Isa nodded and walked over to the door.
"And thank you Hatori, for everything." With that, she walked inside and closed the door quietly behind her. Tohru looked around at all the people suddenly in the house and remembered that Hana, Uo, Momiji, and Haru were supposed to be coming over.
"Um… well it looks like I should plan for three more for dinner then." She smiled, "you will stay won't you Hatori?"
"How could I turn down an offer from you Miss. Honda. And besides, Momiji and Haru will need a ride home."
"Yes, I guess they will. Hey… now that I think about it… How did Isa get here? I didn't see her car outside."
Shigure, who had stood by now as well, leaned on the door and smiled. "She walked, she was actually out searching for Kat when I called her. And since she wasn't to far away she just walked over."
"Oh, then I suppose she would need a ride as well. Oh dear, have you called Dani and Mr. Alexander yet? I'm sure they are both very worried." Shigure glanced at the closed door.
"Isa took care of that."
"Well then, since everything is settled down here, I guess I should go start dinner." Tohru smiled and walked into the kitchen, humming to herself and planning a feast for tonight.
"So she was hurt pretty badly then?" Kyou mumbled.
"You could say that." The Dragon replied. An odd silence filled the room before Shigure interrupted.
"Ha'ri can I talk to you in private for a moment?" The Dr. nodded and the two walked back into Shigure's room. The cat and the rat stared at each other for a moment before Yuki shook his head and walked into his room, muttering something about starting his homework. Left alone, Kyou stared at the closed door of Tohru's room. Finally, he walked over and knocked. After a moment of silence, he heard Isa say it was okay to come in.
He wasn't really sure he had anything to say, so he just remained quiet as he walked though the door and slid it shut. He glanced back and forth between two sets of eyes that were staring at him, obviously wondering why he wanted to come in.
"Um…" They just kept staring; Kat lost the battle first and went back to looking at the pillow that her arm was resting on. She was sitting with covers wrapped around her and a clean tee shirt on. "I just wanted to say that I'm glad your okay." He finally finished the sentence, if a bit roughly.
"Thanks." The other cat mumbled in response. Again silence filled the room.
"Hey…" Isa brushed a lock of hair out of Kat's face and caught the girls eyes. "I'm going to go see if Tohru needs a hand in the kitchen. I heard her saying something about having to cook for a lot of people." Kat smiled.
"Okay, and thanks Isa."
"Never a problem kiddo." She stood from the side of the bed and walked out the door, giving Kyou a wink before sliding it closed behind her. Crimson eyes looked over to find blue watching him again.
"I should let you get some rest I guess, I just wanted to say hi and all." He looked back at the floor and rubbed the back of his head.
"Are they mad at me?" The voice that replied to him was quiet and sounded sad.
"Huh?" He looked back up to see her looking out the window. "Who?"
"Tohru, Dr. Hatori, you know… your family." Her gaze remained steady.
"No, I think everyone is just happy that you're safe." Relaxing a little, and really wanting to know what caused her to run away, he walked into the room and sat down on the side of the bed where Isa had been. "So… Um… Why did you do it? I mean, why run away?" She shook her head and looked at him.
"It's complicated."
"Well we have until Tohru finishes dinner." He gave her a faint smile.
"I got into a fight with Kahlan."
"That doesn't sound too complicated. I get into fights with Yuki all the time." She sighed,
"Look I don't really wanna talk about it." She turned and stared out the window again.
"Fair enough," Kyou stood and turned towards the door, he could tell when he had out worn his welcome.
"I'm sorry," he turned to see her sigh again. "I didn't mean to be so rude. You can stay." She looked up almost hopefully. Slightly unsure of himself Kyou sat back down.
"So then what would you like to talk about?"
There was a slight pause and then a smile. "Well you can always tell me more about your time with Master Kazuma. You seem to like talking about him, and I like hearing about it." Kyou nodded and started talking about his training and all the things he and Kazuma had done together. Kat, she just settled in to hear a story.
"Thanks for helping me." Tohru smiled to the older Sohma.
"Not a problem sweetie, I love cooking. And I'm having a blast learning some of your recipes. I'll have to try them when I get home and see how the rest of the family likes it." Isabella smiled and continued stirring something on the stove. There was a knock of the door signaling the arrival of the others and a moment later Uo and Hana were leaning in the doorway.
"Hey guys." Tohru stopped what she was doing to give her friends a hug. "Uo, Hana this is Isabella Sohma. Isa, these are my best friends Uo and Hana." The girls made all their introductions and agreed to go keep the males out of trouble while Tohru and Isa finished cooking.
"You have some nice friends." Isa smiled.
"Yea, they're the greatest. But they don't know about the curse or anything. There have been some close calls though." Tohru shook her head with a smile. The dog laughed,
"Now those are some stories I would love to hear sometime."
"Sure, I'd love to share them." The girls laughed and continued with dinner, growing more and more curious as to how the night would turn out.