Summery; Warning; Disclaimer: See First Chapter.
This may be updated faster than "In a Dog's Age" because it seems more popular for some reason.
Please review if you read. Comments, ideas, suggestions, and helpful criticism is welcome.
"Well, Haru's able to walk, and that's about it," Hatori said dryly, having come down in the middle of the night to check on the two half-frozen teenagers. "Put him in a warm bath – lukewarm, not hot – to get his nerves and blood moving again, and gradually heat the water up as he regains feeling. Get something warm in Chloe, nothing solid, and do the same for her. And then put them to bed and let them sleep it off."
"But, they'll be okay, right, Hatori?" Tohru asked nervously. Hatori cast a glance at the guilty-looking Shigure, and then nodded.
"Yes. A little longer in the cold and they might have frozen, but they'll be fine, as long as you do what I said."
"I'll go get the water running!" Tohru exclaimed, and rushed off. Kyo and Yuki, both looking extremely bedraggled, exchanged sleepy glances.
"I'll deal with Haru," Shigure told them, figuring out that they were trying to decide who was going to stay up to help. "Tohru should get some sleep too…"
"Sick bastard," Kyo muttered, but too tired to argue any further. Yuki sighed, and followed the Cat up the stairs.
"I'll send Satsuki over to help, so Tohru can get her sleep," Hatori said, "I'm sure she won't mind. If she does, I'll call for a nurse to come in."
"Hatori, wait a moment," Shigure called after him, and the doctor turned around wearily.
"What?"
"Why didn't Haru or I transform?" the Dog asked. Hatori looked confused for a moment – an emotion that looked out of place on his face – and then looked away.
"I'm not sure," he said finally. "Perhaps the curse has been broken somehow. We'll see."
Luckily, Hiro's mother didn't mind coming over, and the two half-frozen teens were soon put to bed.
Tomiko almost had a fit the next morning, when she found out where her niece had gone, but soon calmed down, thanks to Hatori. Haru and Chloe were forced to skip school that day, and lay in bed sulking.
"It's all that idiot's fault," Chloe muttered, slumped in the bed. "If he hadn't had gotten lost, this wouldn't have happened."
"Stupid girl," Haru said to the wall. "What an idiot. No sense of direction at all…"
"That sounds a lot like you, Hatsuharu," Hatori said dryly, coming in. "How are you feeling? Still numb?"
"No, just cold," Haru told him. "How's that stupid girl?"
"Oh, about the same as you, don't worry," the doctor said calmly, and Haru turned red.
"I am not worried! I just don't want her getting me in trouble for killing her, that's all!"
"Whatever you say," Hatori agreed with a nod, and stood up again from where he had been sitting on the bed. "I may as well go check on her before I leave. Stay in bed and do what Shigure tells you – well, what I told Shigure to tell you," he amended. Haru muttered something under his breath as Hatori left.
"Feeling better, Miss Dylan?" Hatori asked, knocking before coming in. Chloe, wrapped in a blanket, looked up and nodded.
"Yes, thank you, Doctor Sohma," she said, and then turned slightly pink. "I'm sorry for all the trouble this has caused…"
"No need to be, he interrupted calmly. "Your aunt is coming to pick you up later this afternoon. Satsuki fed you, correct?"
"Yes," she nodded again, and fell silent.
"Hatsuharu will be fine, once he stops sulking," Hatori told her, and she jumped while turning redder.
"I could care less what that stupid idiot does," she muttered, and Hatori managed to mask his amusement with a stern expression.
"I see. Well, I wish you a speedy recovery – and don't mind Hatsuharu too much," he added suddenly. "He's usually pretty easy to get along with."
"Obviously, you haven't tried lately," she snorted as the doctor left the room.
"What's the matter, Hari?" Shigure asked, seeing the Dragon shaking his head in the hall.
"Those two…"
"Yeah, they really dislike each other," Shigure agreed with a sigh. "They'd be such a cute couple too, don't you think?"
"Don't meddle."
"I won't! But you have to admit, Chloe is a very appealing girl…"
"Cut it out, sick bastard," Kyo ordered, slamming his door shut. Hatori cast a glance at the Dog, who laughed nervously.
"You had best not say that in front of anyone else. You might get arrested," Hatori warned his cousin, and Shigure sighed melodramatically.
"Really, Hatori, you wound me!"
"Call me if there's any change," Hatori cut him off, and strode out the door. Shigure remained frozen for a few moments, in which Tohru came by happily.
"I think Haru and Chloe might get along better now, don't you think?" she asked cheerfully. Kyo, coming out of his room, snorted.
"Are you kidding?"
"Well, they spent so much time together, I thought…"
"Haru isn't usually one to hold a grudge, but judging from his dislike of Miss Dylan, I can't see him being friendly anytime soon," Yuki broke in calmly. "And Miss Dylan appears to find Haru even more disagreeable than before, if that's possible."
"Oh," Tohru's shoulders slumped, and she sighed. "Well, maybe they can at least be civil to another!" she added, quickly brightening up as usual.
"Are you sure you don't want anything, Chloe?" Tomiko asked anxiously, as Chloe settled into bed. Her niece sighed patiently.
"No, Aunt Tomiko – I'm just tired right now," she assured her worried aunt. "Really, Dr. Sohma took good care of me. There's nothing to worry about."
"I know," her aunt smiled tightly. "I just…well, I just don't know how I could explain it to your mother if something happened while you were over here."
"She'd live," Chloe shrugged, and abruptly rolled over to face the wall. Frowning a little, Tomiko turned the lights off and crept out of the now-darkened bedroom.
Glaring at her wall, Chloe hugged the blankets to her tightly before curling into a ball and falling asleep.
As the days passed, Chloe and Haru's dislike of one another didn't seem to slacken a bit – on the contrary. If anything, it seemed they grew to avoid each other as much as possible. When they did meet, it was only by the efforts of the others that Haru didn't go Black and they came to blows.
One day, however, Chloe found herself forced to confront the obnoxious Ox against her extremely-stubborn will.
"What do you mean?" she demanded, facing Tohru and the others stubbornly.
"Haru went Black in the classroom again, and he won't let anyone in – not even Yuki!" Momiji told her, and she looked at him blankly.
"Haru has two personalities – White and Black," Tohru added hastily, "Black is when he gets very aggressive."
"That's an understatement," Kyo snorted, "He becomes a complete psychotic, sadistic bastard, that's what."
"And you're telling me this why?" Chloe asked again, more annoyed than curious. Yuki sighed, and looked at her hopefully.
"You see, Miss Dylan, it's obvious there's no love lost between the two of you, if you'll excuse the expression," he told her. "Since your mutual dislike is rather…violent, we're hoping that he'll snap when he sees you, giving us a chance to talk him back into White."
"I see," Chloe said dryly, "He's ignoring you guys, so you're hoping I'll start a fight with him?"
"Yes!" Momiji cheered, and Kyo knuckled his head. "Waah! Kyo's picking on me!"
"Damn kid," Kyo glared, and Tohru looked back to Chloe.
"Please, Chloe? We don't want Hatsuharu to get in anymore trouble than he already is," she began, and Chloe began to laugh suddenly.
"I could care less how much trouble that idiot gets himself into," she said honestly. "But I owe you one for helping me out, Tohru, so I guess I'll see what I can do."
"Oh, thank you, Chloe!" Tohru smiled brightly, and Yuki sighed in relief.
"I'll take you to –"
"I can get to my own classroom," Chloe interrupted Yuki calmly. "Besides, I'll just follow the crowd."
"Good point," Kyo agreed, and leaned against the wall expectantly. Chloe rolled her eyes at him, and stalked off, her back stiff.
"You're going in there?" a student asked disbelievingly, as she approached the door.
"Yeah. So?" she demanded, shooting the crowd a look before sliding the door open. Slipping through the crack, she realized the shades had been broken so that they hung over the window, casting the room in shadows.
Looking around, she saw the sullen teenager to the side, staring at the wall. Feeling a bit nervous for the first time – she had never actually seen Haru in Black mode before – Chloe took a few steps forward, acting braver than she felt.
"What are you doing here?" he demanded quietly, not turning around. Glaring at his back, Chloe crossed her arms beneath her breasts calmly.
"I was going to ask you, you idiot," she replied, gesturing to the room. "Why the hell would you go and trash the classroom? We're gonna have to clean it up, you know."
"Tough shit."
"Bastard."
"I wouldn't come closer, if I were you," he warned her, his tone sending a shiver up her spine. "Unless you want to find out what I can do."
"Oh please," she snorted, and raised her eyebrow. "If you think that line's going to work on me, you're sadly mistaken. Now, are you going to snap out of it, or do I have to beat you to your senses?"
"Like some girl could take me on," he retorted. Silently, Chloe agreed. She had been a good fighter in the street free-for-alls she managed to get herself involved in, but she knew she didn't stand a chance against a trained martial artist.
"Better yet, I could let Kyo kick your ass out the window," she taunted, trying to force a reaction from him. That seemed to touch a nerve, and he whirled around. Chloe noticed his normally liquid-gray eyes had turned cold, and his expression seemed different.
"That damn Cat can't beat Yuki – so how's he gonna beat me?" Haru demanded, taking a step forward. She involuntarily took a step back, and he laughed harshly. "Yeah, you should be afraid to be near me. Know why? All I have to do is hug you – put my arms around you – and I'll –"
"Hatsuharu!" Yuki shouted, slamming the door open. Haru looked up, and a pleased light came into his eye.
"Yuki – come to join the fun?" he grinned, and glanced toward Chloe. "I don't think she's ever done a threesome, but we'll see how it goes, and –"
"Bastard!" Kyo shouted, running in and landing a blow on Haru's jaw. The Black Ox stumbled backward from the surprise attack, and Chloe moved toward the door at a look from Yuki, who noticed her turning red.
"It's best not to remain, once these two get started," Yuki whispered to her, as the Cat and Ox began to beat each other. "I'll take care of them, don't worry. Thank you for your help."
"I still don't see what I did, but whatever," Chloe muttered, making as fast as a retreat as she could from the crazy Sohma boys.
"You stupid Ox," Kyo muttered, as they walked home, after they had been suspended for fighting and damaging the classroom. "You almost told her about the curse!"
"So what?" Haru shrugged, now back to White. "Hatori can just erase her memory. What's the big deal?"
"You hate her that much?" Kyo asked in disbelief. "Damn, Haru, you're a bastard even when you're White when it comes to Chloe."
"You like her that much, Kyo?" Haru shot back, and Kyo realized his cousin was Black once more.
"Damn – what is it, every time we bring her up he's going to go Black on us?" Kyo groaned to himself, as Haru glared at him.
"How about I show her, huh? Then her precious memories would be erased," Haru continued mockingly. "And she'd forget all about Kyo-Kyo. Is that what's bothering you, you damn Cat? Precious Chloe would forget all about you? Who gives a crap?"
"Not you, apparently," Kyo muttered, deciding he was too tired to fight. Besides, rain clouds loomed overhead, and he already felt drained from the weather. Ignoring his cousin's taunts, the Cat headed home, his feet dragging the ground. He was secretly annoyed at himself – why did he care if Chloe's memories were erased?
"It's because she's Tohru's friend," he reasoned, and grumbled when he realized he was lying to himself. "Damn Ox."
"What was that Haru started to say, back in the classroom?" Chloe asked Momiji, as they helped clean up the wrecked classroom after school. Tohru had left for work, and Yuki had gone to a student council meeting.
"Huh?" the Rabbit blinked innocently, and she eyed him suspiciously.
"Something about hugging me, and that he'd do something."
"Oh, Haru was probably being dirty again," Momiji lied cheerfully. "He gets like that when he's Black, unfortunately. It's just a side effect of teasing he got when he was a kid. He used to go Black and beat the kids bloody."
"Oh."
"But he was mild compared to Kyo. He used to beat them almost unconscious!" Momiji added with a smile, and Chloe eyed him uneasily. "But they're a lot better now, believe it or not. Anyway, Haru'll be White for a while. He doesn't turn Black that often now, and when he does, he goes a while in-between, unless something really makes him mad."
"Like me?" Chloe guessed, and Momiji paused for a moment in thought.
"Yeah, I guess," he admitted, and looked at her sheepishly. "I don't know why he doesn't like you, though. How come you don't like him?"
"He's an idiot," Chloe informed him, resuming her scrubbing with renewed vigor. "And he doesn't like me," she added silently.
"What about Kyo? Do you like him?" Momiji persisted, and Chloe looked at him in surprise.
"Why?"
"No reason."
"Well, he's certainly got a temper as well," Chloe thought. "But at least he doesn't treat me like dirt like that damn Hatsuharu. The Sohma family is very…odd. No offense, Momiji," she added, "But you guys are…well, just weird."
"That's us!" he cheered with a grin, swinging a soapy rag over his head. Chloe put up her arms to ward off the suds flinging onto her. "The weird Sohmas!"
"Yeah," she nodded, laughing as he got covered in suds. "Come on, let's get this done. I want to get home and finish my work. All of it."
"But you say that like you haven't been," Momiji protested, and she looked up again. "I thought you were getting all your work done lately."
"I do courses from America as well," she told him with a suddenly-tired grin. "I want to keep up with overseas as well. And the only way I'll do that is haul ass on my schoolwork for a while."
"I see," Momiji nodded solemnly, and his gaze seemed to study her. "That sounds like a lot of work, Chloe. You need a vacation!"
"Huh?" she sweat-dropped at the sudden announcement, and almost fell head-first into the bucket of water. "Momiji, what are you talking about? I don't want a vacation!"
"Really?"
"Really," she assured him. "I can wait until summer rolls around. Right now, I'm just hanging in until Christmas, when I can catch up on the rest of the work."
"You celebrate Christmas?"
"Don't you?"
"Not really," he told her, and then grinned again. "New Year's is a big thing for the Sohma family, though. It's the only holiday the entire family gets together!"
"Sounds big," Chloe agreed, and then blinked when Momiji stared at her. "What now?"
"Are you going to celebrate Christmas with your family?" he asked. Her gaze dropped to the shiny floor momentarily, and then she grinned brightly at the Rabbit.
"No. Mom and dad are…well, they're busy," she told him. "It's no problem. I'm going to get to spend more time with my aunt, that's all. No worries."
Standing up sharply, ignoring the look Momiji was giving her – one that said he didn't believe her – she looked around the room in hurried satisfaction.
"Well, that looks all clean to me, doesn't it? I'll go put my stuff away, and then I have to go. See you tomorrow, Momiji!" she called, and rushed out the door.
"What's the matter, Chloe?" Momiji wondered, gazing after her.
"I heard about what happened at school," Tomiko said calmly, as her niece walked in the room.
"Oh shit."
"It was very good of you to remain late so you could help clean the classroom up, especially considering how much school you do," she continued, and Chloe eyed her warily. "However, I'm a bit concerned about your involvement with the Sohma family. It seems that ever since you've started to hang around them, you've gotten in more trouble than you ever had."
"It's not…"
"I would like you to consider transferring to a different school," Tomiko told her, and Chloe's jaw dropped. "I feel it would be best for you, as does your mother."
The older woman realized from Chloe's sudden change of expression that bringing her mother into the argument wasn't the best strategy.
"It doesn't matter what she thinks anyway," Chloe said, gritting her teeth to keep calm. "You're my legal guardian, right? And I don't want to change schools. I like it there. Hatsuharu Sohma is the bastard – the rest of them are nice. And Tohru's the only friend I have in this damn country."
"Chloe…" Tomiko's sigh was cut off by a strangled noise coming from the teenager.
"I'm beginning to fit in around here, and you want to uproot me again just because of a few incidents?" she demanded, "So what? I'm not dead, if you haven't noticed, and every teenager is entitled to get in some fights during their school years."
"If you feel so strongly about it, then you can stay – as long as you don't cause anymore trouble," Tomiko added, and Chloe snorted, swinging her bookbag over her shoulder.
"I wasn't the one causing it," she retorted, and strode off to her bedroom to finish her work.
Angeles: I'm glad you like this! Yeah, I like the hate-hate relationship as well...but HOW many chapters? I wasn't planning on making it all that long...if you want it so long, help me out here! I'll do my best, though.
Chibi Kumagoro: You reviewed "Heart to Haru" for me, but answered a question - Christmas is NOT usually celebrated in Japan. I just wanted to thank you!
Hitaru: No, you were right - for some reason, I didn't even think of that. (sweatdrops) I'm slipping! Noooo! Well, I'm trying to find some other explanation other than "the curse is already broken" or "she's cursed too". Those are used so much- I don't want to make it so easy for me to squirm out of. Any ideas in that mind of yours?
Fan 101: Yeah, I'm doing the sequel too. Obviously you already know it, since you reviewed!
SasukeBlade: You are quickly becoming one of my favorite reviewers! I'd like some quality Haru time too, but my friends think I'm insane...
Cows-roc-my-world: You think I should what? I wish you people would TELL me things! Don't worry about offending me or something - criticism and ideas are what I ASK for!
I love you guys! (sob) You're always here to leave me a review, and point out mistakes I make...thank you so much! I love all your support - it's helped me continue writing through it all! Also (and this is IMPORTANT!) I'm thinking of making a KyoXOCXHaru triangle this story. I already kind of hinted at it - what do you guys think? Tell me your opinion on a triangle, and then let me know who you want her to end up with.