The Last Rain

Chapter Six: Slipping Sliding Dream

Yuki blinked open his heavy eyelids. He surveyed the area from under his thick eyelashes. He was in the forest, but it was light now, and he could see more clearly since the rain had stopped. The 'mountain' he was on the slope of was covered in thick grey mud, as was he. He looked around closer, and saw that he was lying in the mud, his head leaning precariously on a damp rock.

I… Must have fallen asleep here… Damn! He picked himself up, and shook his head to shock himself awake. A few leaves and a beetle flew out of his hair.

He coughed. His mouth was lined with dirt, and it tasted gravely and dry. He began to unsteadily climb down the mountain, but then thought better of it, when he realised it was almost a vertical drop. How did I get up here last night? He thought, edging away from the drop, a sudden fear of heights embedding itself in his chest. He lay on his stomach and edged towards the drop, looking down. There was a mass of broken rock underneath him. It must have broken in the night…

He sat down away from the edge, and sighed. He'd have to figure out a way to get down before he could look for Keiko…

-

Kyo sat down on the ground, exhausted. Morning had come, but there had still been no sign of Keiko or Yuki. He rubbed some dried dirt off his cheek, and looked around. Every tree looked exactly the same…

He picked up a stick nearby, and drew a large cross in the mud. He stood up, and made it thicker and longer. If he came across it again, he'd know that he was going around in circles.

-

In the mountains of the forest, (which incidentally were mountains) the trees were blown softly by the wid. The rain had stopped. The grass smelt dirty, and the rock was caked with mud.

A young girl, of about two years old, sat on one of these rocks. Her soft red hair was blown gently by the wind, and she stared down into the forests at a loss. She had no idea where she was, or when her kidnapper was going to come back. She had cried before, but the tears would no longer come, and she didn't have the energy to force them.

"Daddy…"

-

"What I don't understand, is how come Kyo didn't write a letter to us saying that he was coming?" Said Momiji. The three of them were in the drawing room, waiting and hoping.

"Maybe it got lost? It did come overseas…"Said Tohru, pulling on a lock of her brown hair.

"Or maybe…" Haru mused, also fiddling with Tohru's hair. "Maybe the kidnaper got it…"

"What do you mean?" Said Tohru.

"It would explain a few things…" Said Momiji. "Like, ow the kidnapper knew Keiko was going to be there and when…"

"The perfect crime." Said Haru. "The bitch or bastard…"

Time passed slowly and painfully for the ones waiting for news of Yuki or Kyo… They waited sadly for their return. Evening came once more, and there was still no word. Haru could take it no longer.

"Haa-kun…? Where are you going?" Tohru called after him as he stormed away from the drawing room and out of the hall. The rain had started up again about two minutes ago, which was one of the reasons Haru had been inspired.

"I'm going to find them."

"But-…" Tohru followed him to the stables. He opened a stall and led out a grey horse. A stallion. As he mounted, Tohru began to feel the tears pricking in her eyes once more. "I don't know what I'll do if you don't come back….You and Momiji are all I've got now…"

Haru's hand rested on the top of her head. "Don't say things like that. Of course I'm coming back. Just be patient and strong. I'll bring your Yuki back."

With that and a smile, he spurred the horse on, and rode off towards the forest. I swear, I'll bring them back.

-

Yuki leant against a tree, leaning on his right leg, the left he held up with both hands. "Ow ow ow… Damn cliff…" He looked up the small cliff he'd foolishly just jumped off.

His hands were scraped and bleeding, and he'd twisted his ankle when he landed. "Damnit…" He walked slowly away from the mountain-side, trying not to slip in the rain or to put too much weight on his left leg. He winced whenever it touched the ground. "Damn… Damn… Ow… Damn… Keiko… where are you…?"

Yuki walked slowly through the forest, bleeding, filthy and exhausted, looking for a needle in a haystack. He didn't even know what Keiko looked like. He had never seen her before.

-

Haru rode through the forest like he had left behind a bomb. He swiftly dodged trees and branches, his horse nimbly darting from place to place.

Eventually he pulled his horse to a trot when he got to a certain depth of the forest. If he had continued to gallop through, he probably would have ridden straight into a tree and been knocked out. He sighed. This looked like it would be a long search.

"OK boy…That's enough…" He said softly to the horse, who slowed down to a walk. Haru swung himself off and sat down on the ground, the reign looped over the horses head and in his hand. He leant his back against the thick trunk of a tree, and closed his eyes. He breathed out a long sigh of remorse, the rain cooling his flushed face as he did so.

He felt a soft, damp, wiping sensation on his cheek, and looked up to see the horse licking his face. "Gaah! G-get…off…" He started laughing, and stroked the horse's soft nose. It breathed heavily through it's large nostrils, sending out a comforting wave of warm air.

Haru smiled. "Well… At least I have one friend out here…"

He lifted himself to his feet, and patted the horse on it's shoulder. Suddenly, something caught his eye.

A large cross, only faintly visible now because of the rain, was drawn in the mud below him. Haru knelt down, and looked at it. Yuki wouldn't think to do this….) He straightened up, and mounted his horse.

Alright Kyo. I'm on the right track. We're in this together.

-

Yuki looked up at the starry, showering sky. The earth was still so new to him… He had still seen hardly anything he would have liked to… And he still had barely a single experience.

The Monarch sat down in the grass. The mud was being washed downhill now, and as he was still on a slope, the grass –though dirty- had become visible.

Above him was another stupid mountain, below him another steep-stupid-slope. He was starting to get irritated by this inconvenient landscape. He sighed.

"What would a young King of Sohma be doing out in the forest…So late at night, I wonder…?"

Yuki looked up. A voice had come from the mountain-side.

"Wh-…Who's there…?" He asked, his voice muffled by the rain.

"No-one you want to see."

-

AN: Yay… This is fun…we're getting to the important bit soon…

AN2: I go back to school on Tuesday! Noooooooooooooooooooooooo….

AN3: S.T.O.A.N.F.I? You guys have failed to come up with a title… I am displeased! –is displeased-

Tohru: -runs after Haru-­ Ha-kun! Where are you going?

Haru: -Enters stables- I'm going to find them.

Tohru: B-but…

Haru: -comes out mounted upon large cow- To infinity…And away! –gallops into distance-

Tohru: -sweatdrops- You'll find it's 'and beyond.'