Ch. 2

There's no turning back, he thought to himself as little drops of rain fall and mix with his soft, young, orange hair. Voices echo in his mind. His hand reaches to his ears, pulling on them, trying to forget their words. How far did he run? He wasn't certain, but the picture of Shishou and the elder Sohma members yelling about his stay with the Karate Master burn in his mind. Salty tears down and along his small, soft cheeks. I can't go back!

Suddenly, the small boy falls backwards when he bounced off of a somewhat sturdy object. His hands scrape against the wet pavement to try to lesson the impact.

"Oh gosh, forgive me! I didn't see where you were going…" A woman with a red butterfly umbrella leans over the figure that breathed heavily from his run. The woman leans farther only to notice there was a small, wet kitten. Her eyes then almost shot out of her head at the sight. "Eh! Weren't you a boy before?" She immediately picks up the small, shaking creature that yowled and clawed at her action. Her hands pet him and scratch his ears while being in her arms. "There, there. Its ok little rascal, I'm not…eh, too surprised. Shh, it's ok…" Her soft voice sooths him from the chaos inside his mind. He stops his aggressiveness towards to woman and digs his feline head between the bend of her arm.

After the woman noticed drenched clothing on the ground, she picks them up and rung them out with her free hand. The kitten calms and his shuddering became less frequent. A smile grows on the woman's face, feeling less worried over the strange boy.

"Can…"

The woman jumps in surprise when she sees the kitten looking up at her with his large orange eyes. He turns away in despair at her action.

"I'm sorry," she scratches behind the kitten's ear. "I'm not used to kitties talking."

"Can," the cat boy speaks with more confidence. "Can you put me down?"

The strange woman laughs and lays the kitten down on a somewhat dry spot. With not a moment to waste, the kitten extends a paw as if to reach something.

"Do you want your clothes?"

He nods. So then she hands them over, making sure they where as dry as they could be for such a short amount of time. The kitten grabbed them by his teeth and ran into the bushes, leaving the woman looking blankly. Not for long, there is a cloud of smoke and the woman jumps with a squeak. She calms herself as the boy comes back out, his head hanging low. "There you are!" she smiles and moves her umbrella so that it could be underneath the two. Silence became louder then the sound of rain.

"Ah," the woman felt awkward at their situation, but she knew there was something about this boy she wanted to know more about. "Are you lost? Do you know where home is?" The boy looked back at her strangely. A sigh comes out of her mouth. "Sorry, I'm just trying to help." The orange haired boy keeps walking hope. A tint of worry grows in the pit of the woman's stomach. "You shouldn't be walking around for long, you could catch a cold." The boy's orange eyes rolled out of annoyance. "Is your house far? You were running…"

The boy walked faster with his hands clenched together. "Hey!" The sudden action made the woman worry more and she grabs onto one of his fists. "Why were you running…" She sees tears coming out reluctantly out of the boy's eyes. Taking out a handkerchief, she wipes his wet and red, angered face dry. "Is there a problem at home"-

"NO!" It' me! It's my fault! I should have never lived with Shishou.

The woman's face softens and she puts a hand on his wet hair. He looks back at her, his breaths comes out in large huffs. "Its ok to be angry at something, but you know…running away isn't a very good idea." The woman looks to the side of them to see the setting sun peeking out of the grey clouds. "Ah, the Sun!" She turns to smile brightly at the boy. "See? The Sun is saying that you should cheer up!" A hand cups the boy's fist. "If anything is bothering you, you should tell someone and not run away, ok? It's the worst thing you can do to yourself and to the ones close to you."

The sun shines brighter as the clouds become sparse and it becomes too bright for the boy. He lifts up his arms to try to hide the grandeur of it all. Suddenly, he feels wet droplets spray on his face and notices the red-haired woman shaking her umbrella. She looks back at him with the same bright smile. Like the sun. She extends a hand back to him and, without hesitation, he held onto it.

"Now, I think it's time for you to go home."

"Shishou…" Kyo spoke weakly, covered up in a large white towel his guardian was cleaning him off with. Kazuma looks into the shaded face of his little ward. "I'm sorry…"

A strong fist rubs the top of his orange head, making the boy's hair dry faster. "We all make mistakes." Kyo could only smile, wanting and hoping for the best to come out of his stay with Shishou.

"Hey, Master,"

"Hm?"

"I met a strange woman today…"

More to come…if only you review. (evil laugh) I'm sorry that I couldn't get this done as soon as I could. You see, I had a lot of frustrations with my computer, my cronic writer's block, etc… well, I'll be looking forward to your reviews. A BIG THANKS TO ALL WHO REVIEWED BEFORE! xD Arigatou Gojimasuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu!

Disclaimer: I don't own Fruits Basket