"You found me
When no one else was lookin'
How did you know just where I would be?
Yeah, you broke through
All of my confusion
The ups and the downs
And you still didn't leave
I guess that you saw what nobody could see
You found me."

-You Found Me-

Kelly Clarkson

Chapter One:

Motoko pulled in her knees and wrapped her arms around them as she sat in the rain. She couldn't believe she ran away. She was running away from everything. She didn't want to graduate, and she didn't want to move on. Now, though, now that she had run away, she didn't know what to do. She turned to her bag and pulled out a picture frame. For a moment she stared at the photo inside in silence, but then she softly started to cry. "Oh Yuki…" she leaned her forehead against the frame, and it was hard to tell if it was her tears or the rain that fell on the picture. "She closed her eyes again, hoping this wasn't really happening to her. "I have missed graduation…" she said softly. "I said I wouldn't give up, but I don't know what to do now. I think I made a terrible mistake. This didn't get me any closer to you." She gazed at the picture, new tears sliding down her face. "I can't go home…I don't want to go home. I don't want to go to school. I want to be with you." She looked up the street. Sitting on the sidewalk probably wasn't a good idea, but she couldn't move. She half hoped her mother or the Yuki Fan Club would come find her, but she knew no one was looking. She was alone.

"Minagawa-senpai?"

Startled, Motoko looked up. She almost fainted when she realized who the speaker was. Instead, she stood up, her legs shaking. She gripped the photo harder, and then clumsily stuffed it into her bag. "Y-Yuki…?"

She stood awkwardly as she saw The Prince walking under an umbrella. Next to him, under her own umbrella, was Tohru Honda. Tohru looked concerned, but Motoko only felt anger towards her. That witch.

"What are you doing out here in the rain?" Yuki asked, looking straight at her. Motoko felt herself blush suddenly. I must look horrible. To think… how could I stand to face the Prince this way?

"I…I…"

Yuki seemed to sense her nervousness. He turned to Tohru. "Why don't you go on, I'll catch up later."

"Oh," Tohru said, still looking worried. "Ok. I hope she's all right."

Motoko watched as Tohru left them alone. She was surprised, for some reason. She didn't think the witch would do such a thing. Suddenly, she blushed again. She was breaking one of the rules again.

"Yuki, she-I… You don't need to worry about me." For a moment they stood alone together in silence. Slowly Yuki raised his umbrella over her.

"You're soaked! You should really go home and get out of this rain."

"I… can't." Motoko relaxed her arms and let them drop to her sides. She was still holding her bag, but her grip eased. Yuki looked surprised.

"Why not?"

"I ran away," Motoko looked down at the ground after she exposed the truth, but as she realized Yuki was hesitating, she gasped and looked up at him again. "Oh, you must think I'm crazy right now."

"Huh? Oh, no…" Yuki looked away, and Motoko realized that he looked thoughtful. She sucked in a breath as she saw how beautiful he was, standing there. He was a little wet, but not as wet as she was. She stared at him, wondering about what he was thinking. "I was just thinking… about how…strange…"

She gasped again. "Oh, I'm sorry! I'm being strange, aren't I?" She blushed again, wishing that she hadn't said anything about running away.

"No, no, that isn't what I meant. It's just… I think we're more alike than we think." He stopped, as if to let her have a moment to let his words sink in. They were almost too much for Motoko to take in. He gazed at him wonderingly, trying to make sense of what he was saying. He thinks we're alike! The Prince thinks we have something in common!

She swallowed, trying to get the courage to speak again. "What makes you say that?"

Yuki looked away from her again. "I… don't think I can tell you."

Motoko's sudden happiness vanished as quickly as it had come. She suddenly thought of Tohru, and she had a feeling that she knew about what Yuki was talking about.

"Why did you run away?" Yuki asked softly.

"I… didn't want to face my mother after I skipped graduation."

It was Yuki's turn to gasp now. "You skipped-… why?"

Motoko grasped her bag with both of her hands. She was trying to fight the urge to get closer to the Prince. "It's a long story… but now… I don't know if it was worth it." Out of the blue, Motoko sat back down on the sidewalk. Alarmed, Yuki hesitated, but then he sat down next to her so she remained under his umbrella. Motoko blushed again and closed her eyes, remembering that Yuki was with Tohru when he found her. She squeezed her eyes shut, trying not to cry.

"Why do you always spend your time with her?" she suddenly shouted. Yuki blinked, looking confused for a moment. She opened her eyes again, but she stared at the street. "Why does she always know your secrets? Why can't I know? Why do I have to leave you?" Suddenly she started to cry freely again, and she became embarrassed. At first she was only embarrassed about her crying in front of the Prince, but then she realized what she had just said. She gasped again, and turned to face him. Horrified, she started to dry her eyes. "I'm sorry…I… I didn't mean-"

Yuki looked towards the street, as she had done moments before. "I take it you mean Tohru?"

Motoko didn't answer, but Yuki knew that she did. For awhile he didn't know what to say. He heard Motoko stand up and he looked toward her again. He could also hear her crying again.

"I'm sorry, Yuki-kun. I'm sorry for wasting your time." She was wiping her eyes as she said this, and she didn't notice that Yuki had stood up and walked in front of her. Just as she was about to run away, Yuki reached out to stop her. Suddenly, nothing- not even the rain- besides Yuki seemed to exist. Motoko felt a chill as he touched her. The Prince… he's touching me! She didn't realize that she was stopping her by holding her by the shoulder instead of standing in front of her. She almost turned away to relive the moment in her mind, but she realized that Yuki looked concerned. She opened her mouth, but she didn't say anything.

Yuki spoke first. "It's not very fair for me to say this… but I think you should go home. Speak to your mother. Maybe she'll understand. Maybe she can help you."

Tears began to rise in her eyes again. I'm so stupid… "There's no one for me to talk to at home. My mother never understands."

She didn't hear an answer again, and it was hard for her to see now. Yuki was watching her, and then he suddenly withdrew his hand. Motoko felt as if a part of her had flown away. She could barely keep herself standing.

"I'm the one who should be sorry," Yuki finally said. "I… can't help you...With this sort of thing."

Motoko was shocked. She had never seen the Prince this way. She never imagined that the Prince would be trying to help her. She could tell… she could see that he was upset that he couldn't help her. She smiled a little bit, knowing that she couldn't help him with his hidden problems either. "Just… just being here…" she couldn't believe that she was saying this to Prince Yuki. "With me… is helping me."

She glanced up at him, and she could see that he was taking in her answer. He smiled a little. She smiled too, and suddenly she felt that maybe everything would be all right. "Yuki?"

"Huh?"

"Will you stay with me, just a little bit longer? I want to tell you something."