Its true I write best at night when other people can barely bother with thinking or being creative I'm wide awake and in the best mood of the day! Longest chapter yet!

NIKKLER'S BETA hey I'll write longer chapters on the weekend could you beta my story too cuz I'm just not that great at grammar or spelling or anything that isn't creative input yeah my English teacher is being driven insane cuz I have interesting stories with almost no punctuation cuz that's how I talk.

JAWX THORN I'm so mad at you I live in a place that snows but we don't plan on it cuz our governor is gay. no seriously he was. We still have like three/four weeks left of school damn snow days. I wasn't offend about the short chapter comment the only time I get offended by short comments is when its about my height so don't worry. Yeah I'm a girl version of Edward Elric how cool am I? I'll update like every other day cuz I mostly write during class big innocent eyes

Oh yeah I told my friend Ian I'd put him in the story to get him to read and review (I'm just planning on freaking him out about the plot. I was going to do it 2 my friend since preschool but his girlfriend yelled at me (she however loves my story she's just being evil and not reviewing.)) sooo

Ian: I'm in the story. Don't do it bad things'll happen

I struggled out of bed apparently having drifted back off to sleep after Shigure's visit. My shoulder was killing me I could barely move it, and every time the fabric shifted I could feel it scrape against the burn even through the bandages. I stumbled out of my bed and over to my closet trying to get my eyes to focus. Once I reached the closet I leaned against the door to catch my breath, and then started to go through my clothes searching for my black fishnet top. Once I found it I struggled to pull it on without agitating my shoulder however I almost ended up passing out from the pain as I stretched the burn and twisted my shoulder weird. The shirt finally being on it effectively severed its purpose of covering up the bruises and welts form the belt that Shigure had neglected to take care of and staying in place as to not irritate my burn. I then searched for a button up shirt so to avoid another incident like the one with the fishnets. I found a short sleeved black button up shirt that thankfully had been recently washed by Tohru. I then reached blindly into my closet and pulled out a random pair of pants and pulled them on hissing through my teeth as they rubbed against the welts on my legs.

I then went down stairs to be greeted with the sight of everyone else eating breakfast and Yuki calling Shigure a pervert. He was but I'm not going to tell him that after him letting me and Tohru stay with him.

"Kyo are you ok?" Tohru asked staring at me worried as I eased myself to the ground trying not to wince.

"Yeah," I muttered not looking up at her to ashamed at what has been happening to look her in the eye. Once we finished breakfast we headed off toward school with snow staring to fall down around us and me lagging farther and farther behind Tohru and Yuki.

"Kyo are you ok? Are you sick?" Tohru asked putting the back of her palm against my forehead worriedly.

"I'm fine just tired. Go on ahead I'll meet up with you at the school ok?"

"Ok," Tohru replied dejectedly before running to catch up with Yuki.

As I walked getting slower and slower Tohru and Yuki disappeared out of eyesight ahead of me. Halfway to the school I began to sway where I had stopped to try and get my eyed to focus again. I then collapsed backwards gasping out in pain. I stared up at the snow flakes swirling down around me.

'I should just stay here. It's not like I'm doing anybody any good. If I can't defend my self how am I supposed to keep Tohru safe? She's my sister but Yuki does a better job at protecting her than I do. I can't even offer any thing to this world or any one in it. All I'm good for is having other people use me for their pleasure I know this I have for a while now,' I continued to stare up at the sky with these thoughts swirling around my head as I slowly grew colder and lost consciousness my last thought before passing out was that Haru was standing over me.

I struggled to open my eyes however soon giving up and snuggling into the warmth at my back.

The next time I woke up I was gasping for air that just wouldn't come. There was a voice somewhere near me trying to tell me something. I cracked open my eyes to see a blurry form above me before letting them slip shut again. The voice started to fade in and out becoming slightly hysterical now. The warmth that had been on me was pulled away and my breathing came just barely easier I began t panic despite my wish for death or something better my body responded on its own struggling even harder now to get air into my lungs. I began to panic making my breaths even shallower as my body tried desperately to get air. The voice came back demanding but noticeably tinged with barely suppressed panic. Then someone's weight was added to the bed causing it to shift. Arms wrapped around me forcing me into a sitting position relieving some of the pressure on my chest.

"Relax, relax it's ok it's going to be ok. Don't worry try to calm down. You HAVE to calm down. You're panicking and making it harder. Relax, just inhale slowly, see slowly, your ok, now exhale. Just keep doing that," the voice said behind me sounding like they were trying to calm them self down just as much as they were me. After a few minutes I managed to get my breathing back to normal, and who ever had been holding me slumped against my back causing me to jerk forward.

"I'm sorry. I'm so, so sorry I didn't know you were that hurt. Let me take a look I can help," the voice said pulling away from me and shifting to the side and beginning to lift my shirt up over my head.

"'m ok. I'm ok just leave me alone," I said shivering just then realizing how cold I was and how much pain I was really in.

"No your not just let me have a look. You almost froze to death, have a fever and on top of that are hurt," the owner of the voice gently tugged my shirt up over my head as I grit my teeth in pain.

"Who are you?" I asked before they could start to unravel my bandages revealing all the damage.

"Mhm? Oh I thought you knew. You called out my name while you trying to breath."

"I did? That still doesn't answer my question though," I said as he (it was defiantly a male voice) began unwrapping the bandages carefully.

"Yes you did, and I'm Haru. You met me three days ago."

"Three- What? That was yesterday!" I practically shouted turning around to look him in the eye.

"You've been unconscious suffering from hypothermia for the past two day and the day before that we met so yes three days ago. Now turn around and let me finish taking these bandages off they need to be changed. If I knew you were hurt I would have done that first," Haru said worry noticeably bleeding through his calm demeanor.

I took one last look at him before turning around and allowing him to finish unwrapping my bandages. Once the bandages had been removed I could sense his eyes roaming over my back and scars and wounds there from almost six months of abuse. I could sense his fingers reaching forward to touch the marks there but stopping less then an inch away as if waiting for permission to continue.

"Just go ahead," I mumbled not bothering to look up or turn around.

His fingers brushed softly against the older marks tracing the patterns left there. His fingers steadily moved upwards and across my back stopping just below the burn on my shoulder. His hand then pulled away, his arm wrapping around my stomach. He then leaned forward, lips ghosting over the burn while his other arm wrapped around my torso.

He pulled his head back now resting it on my other shoulder avoiding my wounds and softly whispered against my skin, "No one will hurt you any more I won't let them," he then placed another kiss on the burn before pulling away and walking out of the room.

A few minutes later he returned holding rubbing alcohol and bandages. I watched him warily not sure how to respond to what had happened earlier and not sure of his motive. He apparently noticed the looked and because he raised his hands up in a gesture of peace, dropping the bandages in the process. He smiled sheepishly and quickly began to collect the fallen bandages. He then set to work cleaning out and bandaging the wounds on my back. At the burn he stopped just looking at it.

"Why the cat?" he asked quietly shifting around to look me in the eye.

"Do you know the story of the zodiac?" I asked. I felt as though I owed him so information seeing as he took me in after having only met me once.

"Yes. I loved that story as a child but it upset me how the rat tricked the cat out of going to the party. Why?" I looked up startled at someone other than Tohru feeling bad for the cat.

"Yeah that story. I never fit in with my family and they always excluded me from everything. I could never do any thing right according to them. I always had to work twice as hard to do half as well in school. The only thing I was good at was fighting and I still can't beat Yuki no matter how hard I try. One of my cousins noticed the similarity between me and the cat and started to refer to me as it and it stuck," I said quietly refusing to meet Haru's eyes knowing that I'd be able to see him planning on kicking me out of his house and wishing he had never helped me. To my surprise Haru's arms encircled me pulling me to him, as he buried his face into my hair.

"You're better than all of them. You don't need to insult someone else just to feel good about your self. It's their problem that they can't see how great you really are," Haru whispered into my hair tightening his grip on me, "you're not going back to them I won't let you. You can stay here with me I've got plenty of room. You'll never have to see them again. Ever," on the last word he tightened his embrace even more, I gasped out at the pressure on my ribs.

"Oh sorry I forgot about your ribs. I really am," Haru said looking over my ribs once more, "I should finish bandaging you up. Though by the time I'm finished you might look like a mummy with all the welts you have on your arms. Is there any where else that's hurt?"

"No," I lied not meeting his eyes.

"Your lying," he said me still not meeting his eyes, "I will strip you down to find out. So just tell me."

"You changed my clothes shouldn't you already know?"

"Yes I did but I didn't think to look to see if you were hurt."

I sighed and gave in, "I've got more welts on my legs." Haru nodded and started bandaging my arm leaving the burn for last. Once he had finished with my arm he stared at the burn trying to decide whether to bandage it now or later.

"Just do it now to get it over with," I mumbled tiredly bracing my self for the burning sensation of the alcohol against my skin. However when it did come I couldn't stop myself from crying out. Haru immediately pulled the cloth away and waited until my pain had subsided and I told him he could continue. Once he had bandaged my shoulder he moved around till he was in front of me and stared expectantly.

"What?"

"I need to clean the welts on your legs," he said staring at me worried once more.

"Oh yeah sure," I said swinging my legs over the edge of the bed and undoing the ties on the pajama bottoms that were clearly too big on me.

"They were the smallest pair I have," Haru said with a small smile tugging at the corner of his mouth. As I stood up to pull the pants down he grabbed on to my arm to help steady me. Thankfully he had left my boxers on, keeping at least some of my scars hidden behind them. Haru then set to work cleaning and bandaging the welts on my leg, which there were thankfully less of.

"You tried to protect yourself didn't you?" Haru asked it coming out as more of a statement than a question. I nodded slowly keeping my eyes down, "you didn't cooperate either," he said his fingers brushing over my shoulder bruised from being yanked out of the socket.

"I'm glad you fought back. It shows that you haven't given up," I nodded sleepily leaning against him to remain sitting up.

"You should sleep your tiered," I shook my head not wanting to sleep in front of him incase I had a nightmare and woke him up, "I'll stay with you. Don't worry you'll be fine." He pulled me down with him on to the bed, pulling the covers up over us. I tried feebly to protest but quickly giving in to sleep.

WAH! It took me two days to write this and it's six pages in courier new 12 with out the authors note! But-but-fanfiction its only five not even and that includes both authors notes. bursts into tears at how evil fanfiction is please review make me feel loved. I'M SUPPOSED 2 BE AT A BILLY IDOL CONCERT RIGHT NOW BUT-BUT THEY CANCELED IT bursts into tears again