The Last Rain

Chapter Four: Lost Life

A prince of Sohma walked anxiously through the forests of Akitaio. He would call out occasionally, and could be seen glancing all around him as if to be looking for something very valuable or precious. Sweat rose upon his forehead –although the sky was grey and dripping with rain- and his eyes were fixed in an expression of terrified worry. He held a white piece of material in one hand, spotted with little marks of dirt.

"Keiko?"

-

Momiji rubbed his eyes. It was getting late. Everyone seemed to be pre-occupied with something important he didn't know about. He had heard Haru and Yuki talking quietly, something about a letter… And Yuki and Tohru were talking about a message. Perhaps the same one? He didn't bother thinking about it too much. It was probably something private he wasn't supposed to know, but still. Being the only one there apart from the servants who didn't know what they were gushing on about was pretty frustrating.

He sat in the drawing room, without a thing to do. The others were talking upstairs. He twiddled his thumbs. He poked the couch. He rolled around on the floor kicking the carpet.

"Gah! When did this place get so boring?"

There was a sound, like metal against metal. It rang through the halls outside the drawing room. Momiji just about heard it through the door.

Must be a visitor or something… Leaping at the chance to claim a job, he ran from the floor, out of the drawing room and into the hall…

…Where someone was already opening the door.

Damn it… He cursed in his head. I was hoping to occupy myself somehow… Irritated, he turned back towards the drawing room.

"Prince Kyo!"

Momiji did a double take. No… It couldn't be, could it? He slowly turned around. Sure enough, there was his brother, drenched from the sudden rainstorm, white hankercheif in hand, mud-stained suitcase in the other, looking as if he'd walked into the wrong palace.

"K-Kyo…?"

The distracted prince looked up through his thick orange hair, and his Red Eyes met Momiji's Brown ones. This was only for a second however, as Kyo's eyes began darting all over the hall. The alienated servant who had opened the door to Kyo was almost backing away with bewilderment.

"Where's Yu…" Kyo trailed off, his hand gently nudging Momiji out the way as he walked towards the giant marble stairs, his eyes directed towards the domed ceiling.

"Kyo…?" Momiji received no reply. He followed Kyo, just in case his possessed state caused him to fall down the stairs or something.

The servant ran out of the hall, pretending like she had seen nothing.

-

The Prince trudged evenly up the stairs. His eyes were dark and clouded, veiled by his flaming hair. Momiji ran along side him, desperately trying to make him stop the act that was scaring him so much.

"Kyo… Kyo wait!"Momiji tried to grab the back of his brother's cloak to stop him. Kyo simply carried on walking.

Momiji ran faster and stood in front of his brother, his arms outstretched. "That's enough Kyo!" The Prince's hand extended, and pushed Momiji out the way. Momiji skittered on the staris in his bare feet, and stared after Kyo in confusion as he continued to drag himself up the stairs.

The Prince reached the destination he was looking for. He turned the handle, and the door clicked, and creaked open.

"Kyo!"

-

Kyo stood in the doorway. He was still dripping. Instead of the dark expression he had previously worn, he now stood with a face full of shock and horror.

Yuki was standing up, equally shocked, but not horrified. He would have been tremendously happy, were it not for that terrified look on his brother's face.

Tohru stayed where she sat. She still hardly knew Kyo, though they had made their peace long ago. She was worried, nevertheless.

Hatsuharu was half standing, half sitting, not able to decide which was more suitable.

Kyo just stood, and stared past the faces of his closest relatives. He finally looked at Yuki, and said, with a voice so quiet it was hardly his own, "I shouldn't have come here."

With that, he turned and tried to walk away from the room. He was met headlong with Momiji, who bumped into him. With this delay, Yuki and Haru were able to grab Kyo by the arms and drag him back in before he made a run for it.

Momiji secured the door, leaning against it. Tohru hovered. Yuki and Haru sat Kyo down on the bed. Haru pulled up a chair and sat on it backwards. Yuki stood near the bed, watching avidly his brother's almost forgotten face.

Haru leant closer. "OK brother. You got some explainin' to do."

Kyo looked up a him, the same worried expression on his face. "I-I shouldn't be here… I should be out looking for her…" He tried to stand up, but Haru leaned forward again and grabbed his arms. Yuki gently pushed Kyo down by one of his shoulders.

"Looking for who, Kyo-kun?" Said Tohru, worriedly.

"K-Keiko…"

Momiji and Tohru both covered their mouths with one hand in unison.

"Why…? Where is she?" Said Haru.

"I don't know!" Shouted Kyo. He was acting as if he was being interrogated. "Sh…She was right next to me… And then she just disappeared… I looked everywhere. She wasn't still on the ship… And she… She wasn't…" Kyo stopped, unable to carry. He put a hand to his forehead and looked at Yuki. "She's only two, for God's sake…"

-

Yuki sat quietly in the drawing room. The others were upstairs with Kyo. He had been asked to come down to receive a message. He had opened it… And read it. But he wished he had done neither.

Yuki

Yu mae alreddy no, but Kako Sohma is missing. Yu wil find I am responsibal for this. If yu want her bak, yu wil negoshiate with me. Or yu mae not find her alive.

Yuki held the cold, lifeless paper in his hand. How was he going to tell Kyo? How can you tell someone that it's your fault. Your fault, that their whole life has been taken away. That their two year old daughter had been kidnapped, because of you.

The answer? You don't.

-

"Yuki?" Tohru, Momiji, Kyo and Haru looked around the palace. They looked in the gardens, and in almost every room in the palace.

Haru came to the drawing room for the second time. He breathed out slowly.

Then… Something caught his eye that he hadn't seen before. The letter.

Haru picked it up, and read it quickly, his face growing colder with every word.

"Oh Yuki…"

-

AN: Oh no… Here we go. The Jess which makes everything dark and depressing, strikes again.

AN2: Yeah, Kyo must have seriously looked as if he was on drugs…

AN3: And here it is, what no-one's been waiting for, to the fangirls -and the odd gay fanboy- reading this, here is: someone think of a name for it! (seriously, I can't keep that name)

S.T.O.A.N.F.I

Kyo: I should be out looking for her…

Tohru: Looking for who, Kyo-kun?

Kyo: sparkly eyes Jamie-Lynne Spears! She so hot, and she's like eighteen now, and there's this fan-base counting down the days until her next birthday….

Yuki; You stalker!

AN4: Seriously, they'll get funnier.