Thanks a lot for the reviews!

I did check my chapter after typing but I did it on Microsoft words before simply pasting it over on And everything did look fine. Hmm. Well, i edited the last chapt and replaced the missingparagraph.Still, I'm a very careless person by nature so you have to pardon the spelling errors I make because the spell check may not pick it up. Ie: puck for pluck, weep for sweep and the list just goes on. In fact, I usually laugh at my own typos.

Well, shall not rant on. Here's the chap.

'We should go back.'

Trudging along under the weight of his semi conscious companion, Yuki could only suppress the urge to answer the cat with a fist to the face.

They had not been traveling for long and Kyo had been anything but helpful with his incessant questions and statements. All along, Yuki had always prided himself for being a least a notch smarter then the cat regardless of the subject or event, but this time, he couldn't help but wonder if Kyo was right for once. They should have at least waited for Hatsuharu to catch up before continuing forth. Then again, given the situation and the circumstances back then, he knew it would be foolish to stay behind.

'Haru can take care of himself.'

'How? That stupid ox has no sense of direction! Hell, he may even run back to the cell where we escaped from!'

' Well then it can't be helped!' Yuki's temper was flaring. Under the duress of helplessness, it was hard enough just having to save themselves, let alone their friend.

' You bastard! I bet you left Haru back there as a distraction to save your own tail! Coward! If it were me I'd - '

' Shut up! What does a cat like you know! I had to escape. It was a living nightmare, what they did to me, you will never understand! So shut up and go!'

Kyo was stupefied. He had never liked Yuki. In fact, since young, he detested him and vice versa. Somehow the enmity between the two of them could be simply because of their animal representation, but aside from that, Kyo hated him because of the rat's abnormal capabilities, making him a constant favourite among their kind. Yuki was everything he wanted to be and it frustrated him to know that his intelligence and skills were nowhere near. And somehow today, he had cracked. Yuki's sudden outburst was unnerving.

'Wha- what did they – '

' Nothing! Let's just go. There's nothing we can do for Haru but wait.'

Rushing elatedly down the stairs, Tohru was excited. The school term holidays had only just begun and already she missed her friends. Scooping up the letters and packages, Tohru scanned through them, eyes wide with joy and anticipation. Sure enough, they were all invitations and greetings from her classmates, especially her two best friends – Uotani and Hanajima.

'Now Tohru, remember, don't stay out too late at night or you might risk getting a cold, don't eat between meals because its not good for you, and most importantly –

' I know! Call your number when I'm not feeling well. I get it doctor Suzuki. Thank you!'

Closing the door behind her, Tohru settled the letters upon the table, grabbing her sweater as she did before going outside. Since young she had lived alone after her parents had died. The details regarding their deaths were unclear. The last she heard was that they had died in a freak accident and ever since then she had been living alone, not wanting to probe the issue further. Loneliness had been something difficult to cope at first and with that, it had given her poor health, though she was managing it fairly well now with both the support and love from her friends.

Though the afternoon sun was up, the weather had been cold around 20 degrees. Running outside under the warmth of her sweater, she surveyed her surroundings. The leaves on the trees were a fresh shade of yellow and red, followed by the warm green coloured grass. The house she lived in was a two-storey brick building with roses and lilacs surrounding the fences, followed by a rich sea of greenery – more grass, and trees.

Heading towards a patch, she bended over to take a closer look at her growing carrots and lettuces. Blessed with a green thumb, Tohru had found great joy in gardening, Carrots, leeks, onions, strawberries, turnips, any seeds she could lay her hands on would soon sprout its gifts from the very ground.

Gently she nudged the soil, loosening it and then she caught sight of something from the far end of the bushes.

Cupping her hand over her eyes, she squinted against the bright afternoon sun, a silhouette of a four-legged creature drawn against the golden background.

'Hello?'

The creature startled, rearing his head towards her direction with a soft 'mooo…'

Oh is it true! Is that a cow I see? Getting to her feet, Tohru took a step forward, determined to answer her conclusion. Her suspicions were of course confirmed. The black and white markings were a give-away. Straddling closer, she swore she saw its ears flicking up in surprise as it began to back down slowly, watching her carefully before it turned on its tail and lumbered off in the opposite direction. Hold on, are those clothes between its teeth?

'Wait -!'

It did seem odd to Tohru that a cow should appear out of nowhere. Beyond the tiny field would be nothing but roads and highways only a few miles shy of the big city. Besides, the nearest farm was at least a day's drive away. Had she imagined the animal? A cow could never drop out of nowhere; it had to come from somewhere at least!

Rubbing her eyes, she scanned the area once more – empty. Deciding that the day was still early, and also to satisfy her curiosity, she strolled up the path where she had last seen the animal. It was a straightforward route, leading her through a thicket of bushes she never knew existed. Her surroundings were no longer familiar, lighted with infrequent rays of sunlight streaming through the leaves above her.

Tripping clumsily over a root, she swung her arms frantically as a tiny scream escaped her throat and she stumbled down a clearing hidden amongst the leaves, landing with a dull thud on her bottom. Cringing at the pain, she had little time to register her thoughts as her eyes fell silently upon the sprawled figure across the ground.

'Are you alright!'

Gently she flipped the figure over, heaving a momentary sigh of relieve to see the soothing rise and fall of his chest. And then her gaze fell upon the angry red welts across his neck. Without knowing why, she lifted her delicate fingers and traced the gnashing wound, her voice welled up inside her throat. It seemed to her that something had been restrained around his neck for the marks were rather deep, or worst, someone or something had hurt him. Either way, the wound was bad.

His hair was a odd mixture of both white and black, a truly unique colour for someone as young as he. The bruises and cuts upon his face could barely hide the fact that he was good-looking, complete with a well-chiseled chin.

The clothing he wore was ragged and torn at certain places. The rip across his chest revealed nothing more then the colour of fair, well toned muscled skin, and much to Tohru's embarrassment, she began to blush.

Looking back at where she had fallen through, she deduced that he too must have met the same fate, flying through the hidden clearing. Ah! I better check and see if he has any broken bones!

Without warning, the boy sat up, the colour of his eyes a dull shade of gray and he looked practically lost and vulnerable, that was until he answered her concerns with a loud and unabashed yawn. Stretching his hands behind his back, Tohru seriously wondered if her worries had been unnecessary, judging by his relaxed and comfortable demeanor. It was highly possible that he might have been sleeping all along.

Shifting his head, Haru gazed groggily into a pair of honey brown eyes.

' You are …?'

' Oh! You're all right! I was afraid that you were hurt. Ah yes, my name is Tohru, please to meet you!'

Silence.

' Are you sure you're alright?'

Haru was barely listening. His thoughts were focused on the events that had happened just hours ago. On the surface he appeared aloof, but deep inside, he was worried, regarding the safety of his friends. Did Yuki manage to escape with the rest? Were they still being hunted? Was he even safe right now?

' It's all right. I won't hurt you. You can trust me on that!'

Trust. Would he ever trust another human? Her smile was warm and genuine, but it was just too good to be true.

'Just call me Haru.'

A/n: Finally i got a chapter up! School has just started for me and i am bombarded with projects for all 7 subjects - sucks.
To be truthful, i have steeredslightlyaway from my original idea since i had seperated yuki n gang away from haru. All in good time before they will all gather in one place. In the meantime, any haru fans out there?