Chapter 3: Within Human Sight
He had been running for a half an hour now.
'I can't keep this up much longer, I'm tiring, but I have to keep Tohru safe, I refuse to let her get killed or hurt. This is all Momiji's fault, if he hadn't of come into Akito's room then we would have been fine, We could have been at Shigure's house drinking tea and eating soba noodles which she cooks so well. I think I may have grabbed some when I raided their fridge. I hope that Shigure doesn't get too mad at me'
He kept running along a path he didn't know.
'Great, how am I suppose to find my way out of this one? I mean, I could barley find my way to Shigure's house in the first place.." He sighed. 'I am so doomed'
Tohru opened her eyes. The wind stung them and she quickly closed them. She could feel Haru's body shaking from exhaustion, but he kept running.
"Haru?"
"Ahh Tohru...your awake" He was out of breath.
"Haru, please stop pushing yourself, I know that you've been running for quite a while and I think your getting too tired"
He shook his head..
"Nonsense, I'll keep running until I feel like stopping"
"When will that be?"
"Whenever I feel it is safe"
"I think Akito stopped Haru, I think it's okay to stop"
He shook his head again.
"Nope, I refuse to stop and your not going to make me"
His pace became faster.
"Where exactly are we going?"
"To my hometown"
"Why?"
"Because, the people their will treat us well since they know me and also, we can stock up on more supplies before continuing"
"Where are we going after that? Couldn't we just stay there? At your hometown?"
"No, it's not safe their. Akito knows where all members of the zodiac live...me counting as one"
Tohru looked over his shoulder placing her head on it. Haru smiled and ran even faster. She looked out into the horizon. It was very small but she could see a house in the distance...then another and another and soon their was a whole village right in front of her eyes.
"Hatsuharu? Is this your hometown?"
"Yes it is"
She giggled.
"Yay! Were almost their"
"Yeah, when we get there let me do the talking unless I say so, otherwise, they might not allow you here"
She nodded and watched as he walked on a small narrow dirt path. His pace slowed down to a walk. He stopped.
"Get off"
"Okay"
She unwrapped her legs from his waist and hopped off. Her legs felt very wobbly because she had them in an awkward position for so long.
The people of the small little town looked at the arrival. Their was a girl their probably around her age pumping water into a small metal bucket. She stood up and with her sleeve wiped the sweat of her forehead letting out a sigh.
"Hmm" She looked over at the two figures on the path. She smiled quickly.
"It's Haru!" One of the village girls shouted. She raced up to him and hugged him. Tohru feeling a twinge of jealousy.
"Hello there Shikiji...where is my mother?"
"She's in the back by the well" She said pointing out.
Shikiji looked at Tohru.
"Haa-chan? Who is this girl?"
"Oh, I'm sorry I didn't introduce you..this is Miss Tohru Honda. She comes from Sensei Shigure's house. She is the one I told you about, the fair maiden that broke Momiji's curse"
"Oh...isn't that the girl you said that you were going back for? The one that you were in love with?" She said smiling.
"Yes...it is" He said with a blush on his face.
"Wow! I've never seen that happen...I am very pleased to meet you Tohru, if you can make Haa-chan blush then I think we can accept you here, I'll go tell the village elder" She ran off with her little bucket into a hut which smoke rose from.
"She's a nice girl Haru...how do you know her?"
She's a friend around the village is all.
"Okay then"
She looked around. The village seemed to be bursting with busyness. Everyone was doing some kind of work.
"Haru? Why is everyone working?"
"Because, my town is old fashion. We have no televisions or electronics, we must work for everything, we don't have any stores or anything man made. We make everything ourselves, we hunt, were just old fashion" He sighed.
"So that's why your always happy to watch a little tv at Shigure's house, because you don't have one around here?"
"Yep"
"Then if you don't have any electronics, what do you do for fun around here?"
"There are a few games that are played, but most of the men take martial arts and the women clean and do the cooking...you would fit in perfectly"
"I guess I would, cooking and cleaning are one of my favorite things to do"
An old women stepped out of the hut and raised an eyebrow to Haru.
"Hatsuharu? Ah so you have returned...good I'm glad to see you" She opened the door of her hut.
"Come in, and bring your lady friend with you" The woman went back inside.
Haru looked at Tohru who was looking around the village with wide eyes.
"You culture, it's very interesting"
"Come Tohru, the village elder wishes to see us"
"Okay"
He opened the door and ducked crawling into the space of the woman's hut.
"So Haru, I suppose this is the girl that Shikiji told me about?"
"Yes this is she" He said bowing his head in respect.
"So girl? What do you want with Hatsuharu?"
"She wishes to tell you that we are in love" Haru said still bowing
"Ahh is that so" She took a willow branch and swung at Haru hitting him on the shoulder. He winced in pain but nothing more.
"When I say girl I mean girl young Hatsuharu"
"Yes maim"
"Anyway, sorry for Hatsuharu's behavior...so girl is this true?"
"Yes maim it is"
The woman rubbed her chin.
"Well I see no problem with her Hatsuharu...she's your age, she's very nice and she looks like she has a good body, good for bearing son's" She said.
Hatsuharu blushed and Tohru simply turned away.
The old women laughed heartily and turned her attention to Haru.
"She certainly is fun to play around with young hatsuharu, she's very gullible"
He bowed in respect and turned to the door of the hut.
"Come on Tohru...we can go now"
"Is that her name young Hatsuharu" He nodded,
"Yes...it is"
"It's a pretty name young girl"
"Thank you" She bowed in respect.
Haru smiled and walked out of the hut. Everyone in the village was looking at him with hope and cheer in their eyes.
Haru cleared his throat.
"I am pleased to announce that the elder has decided that..."
Everyone looked at him with anticipation.
"She has accepted Tohru!"
The small crowd cheered and stampeded over to him.
"No need to thank me...everyone we have to leave!"
"What!" A man shouted
"But you just got here!" Another member of the crowd declared.
"I'm sorry but we must go, we stopped in to ask if we could have a few supplies and a bath maybe and we'll be on out way"
The elder stepped out of the hut.
"So young hatsuharu, you must leave?"
He bowed.
"I'm sorry but yes"
"No need to be sorry, take what you like, our shopkeepers will be happy to give you what you need" She said going back into her tent.
"She's a very nice person Hatsuharu"
"I know, but she wasn't nice to us for any old reason no, even here the people of our small little village are afraid of my black personality. They use to stray away from me because of it. Nobody wanted to talk to me because they were afraid I would snap. One time, I got angry because the kids in the village called me a dumb cow, because I transformed into the cow. I got so mad I couldn't contain myself. He sighed.
"So what happened?"
"Well first of all, the children who saw me transform lost their memories, you can bet who did that?"
"Hatori?"
"You've got it"
She sighed
"Continue please"
He nodded
"I ended up destroying half the village, so they sent me to the main house for a while. It was their I met Kyo and ever since we have had a bad relationship. He would always knock me off my feet in a challenge. He was always better then me...he still is" He sighed again.
"No Haru, your better then he is...you know that"
"If you say so Tohru" He said walking toward a hut in the very back of the village.
"Umm, where are we going?"
"To my mother"
"Oh!" She giggled.
"I can't wait to meet her"
Haru made a sour face but kept walking
'I wonder why he doesn't seem very happy to see his own mother' She shrugged. Haru opened the hut's door. A woman around the age of Shigure was sitting facing the other way. She was tending to a pot.
'Whatever she's cooking it smells delicious'
"Who's there?"
"It's me mother" She turned around. Her face looked maddened.
"What are you doing here?"
"I was in the village why not stop here?"
"I told you when you left that you were no longer welcomed here!"
"Mother please, I've been able to control myself, my other personality has calmed down, thanks to this girl here"
His mother eyed Tohru. She stood up and examined her. Her hand went under her chin.
"Slender neck"
Her hands pressed random places of her body(not perverted places)
"She's too skinny"
"So, who cares?"
"If your going to keep this village with a steady population we need more adults and for adults you need children, she's too skinny to bear a child"
'What is it with this stuff! I don't plan on having kids for a while!"
"Mother! Tohru isn't about to have kids at her age"
"Normal ladies of this village do"
"Well she isn't part of this village" His black personality crept at the back of his mind.
'Let me out, our mother has seen me before'
'no, not with Tohru around, we could hurt her'
'fine...but when she isn't around I say we come back for the old witch'
Black Haru disappeared.
"We're leaving anyway...we just need some supplies"
Haru walked out.
They walked around various places in the village and picked up various items. Soon Haru had a huge bag slung over his shoulder filled to the brim with supplies. Herbal remedies for sicknesses. Shampoo's and wash cloths to wash with. And new clothes to travel in.
Tohru's feet began to hurt as she walked they throbbed with pain.
"Haru, can I sit down somewhere?"
"Of course" He pointed to a rock.
"Thanks"
Haru smiled as he watched her run to the small rock. She observed all the things that were going on.
'They have so much to do in this village'
Haru came to her with a huge basket, a small cart and a horse.
"We can go now"
Haru, do you people have any specific money type?"
"Actually no, we pay the shop keepers with various things from nature. Like a small black shiny stone are used to pay for things that aren't expensive. The most prized thing to pay with is a special type of eagle's feather. The birds are native to this part of the forest, but they usually leave their feathers elsewhere, so their harder to find"
"Wow...so can we go?"
"Of course"
Haru hitched the mare to the cart and sat their supplies in it.
"Well get in" He said pointing to the cart.
She climbed in the cart sitting on top of a fur that one of the shop keepers have given them.
"Well were on our way Tohru"
She nodded.
"There isn't anything bad about this Haru! It's like a camping trip...a camping trip that will never end and...with only one person"
"Yeah...we'll be fine" He said climbing into the cart as well. Moving to the front of the cart he used a small willow branch and gently hit the horse's haunches.
"Ha" He shouted. The horse started at a slow pace toward the forest.
Tohru looked watched as the village became smaller and smaller as they rode farther and farther away.
"Goodbye civilization!" She said softly.
He looked at her, tears in her eyes.
"Goodbye...friends" She said crying.
"I tell you what Tohru, how about we wait a couple years...maybe two or three until we know that Akito is dead and we'll come back"
"Why so early?"
"Because of the curse Akito is suppose to die around 20, she's already 18 ½ so we don't have to be out here long"
"Ohh...I can't wait to go back and see all my friends...Kisa and Hiro, Momiji, Hatori, Shigure, Kyo and most of all Yuki"
"You still like him?"
"I'll never stop loving him...I love you more though...besides, he's like a brother to me and Kyo to!"
"Well I can't wait as well!" He said watching the road before them.
She waved one last time as they rode over a hill were the terrain was strange and nothing looked friendly. The trees seemed to growl at her presence. She shook in fear and let out a terrified scream.
"What is it?"
"...everything's so new and scary looking"
"Nothing is going to harm you, I promise, I'm here to protect you"
"Thank you"
She looked at his face, even though his face was looking the other way, she could see the smile plastered on his lips grinning at her.
She lied down.
'Well, with hin around I think I'll be okay'
She closed her eyes and took a long nap.
Many hours later she was awaken by the smell of something cooking.
"FIRE!" She creamed. But when she looked around, nothing was burning but the logs on the fire that Haru had created, He was using an old technique to cook a piece of fish.
"Ah Tohru, your awake, here dinner is almost ready. The sun had just begin to sink. They were eating their meal quietly. Haru decided it was too quiet.
"Is everything okay?"
"It's just quiet that's all" She replied.
"Well yeah"
"Well I'm use to Kyo and Yuki fighting over who gets the bathtub first at this hour..." She laughed
"What's so funny?"
"I remember this one time...they couldn't decide who was going to go in first so...so" She started to laugh even harder. Haru waited for her to calm down.
"So...so Shigure...he...he said..." She cleared her voice trying to sound like Shigure. "If you two can't get in separately...then...then why don't you get in...together!" She fell to the floor laughing. Haru was staring at her.
"Well I thought it was funny" She giggled. "Kyo and Yuki avoided each other for the next few hours after that one and once they got over their embarrassment, they beat Shigure to a pulp.
He cocked an eyebrow. Not throwing a sign of a smile or a laugh.
'I guess he didn't think it was funny'
She cleared her throat.
He stood up and walked away.
'Oh no, did I offend him? Oh no...what if he's mad at me?'
She followed him down to the lakeside
"Haru?" He stood their looking at the moon and then...he laughed. It was a heavy laugh.
'Didn't think he could laugh that hard'
"Umm Haru?"
"Y..Yes Tohru?"
"You know, it's okay to laugh"
'wow doesn't this seem like de-ja-vu...I remember when Yuki had done the same thing, then he gave me the ribbons' She touched the ribbon running her finger's along the fabric.
Tiny tears filled her eyes.
"Huh?"
Haru looked at her, she wasn't laughing anymore, she was crying.
'Well I figure she's going to do this a lot'
He stood behind her and put his hands around her neck letting his hands fall down freely.
"Haru, thank you for being here to cheer me up"
"Your very welcome, I know that your going to cry for a little while because of the loss of your friends, but if you want you can tell me all the stories you remember along out journey, I'll be here"
"Thank you Haru, you really are a good person...I love you for it too" She said leaning her head back on his hand.
His finger's dangled loose and they massaged her neck and the nape of her neck. She moaned slightly and then was shut off by Haru's sudden jerking.
His head turned toward the forest behind them.
"What is I,"
"Shhh:" He said.
He listened closely, He heard shouting and the muffled sound of horse hooves beating on the ground.
"We have to go now!"
He threw a bucket of water on the fire and grabbed the food they had made and threw it in the cart.
"What...what is it?"
"Get in the cart!" He shot his head around. Stone had replaced steel and rock had replaced snow. He gazed at her with a mean look.
'Something's wrong' She jumped in. He jumped over her and grabbed the horse's reins.
"Ha!" He yelled.
The horse reared high and ran to Haru's command. He whipped it with the branch and urged the mare on. Thunderous beats came down on the ground like loud heartbeats.
Fire glazed torches came closer.
"Haru what is it?"
"It's Akito and his gang..probably a small army of devotees looking for us" His voice was as cold as ice freezing her.
Her eyes showed some sign of fear.
"I'm sorry for scaring you...but I need this extra boost of energy to get us away from him"
Tohru looked at the people approaching. She could see the small wooded carriage that was being used to transport the sick Akito.
"Stay low, so they wont see you"
Haru neared a small narrow path that split into two different ones. One leaded to a small open area and the other was a closed space. He choose the open path knowing that they would probably think he went down the narrow one to conceal him. He urged the horse to go faster. A clearing came in sight. Then...a ledge. He
pulled back firmly causing the horse to come to a stop.
"What are we doing?"
"There's a bridge up ahead"
She looked beyond the clearing and at the bridge.
"That bridge, it wont carry us all"
"That's why your going first!"
"But what if you don't make it?"
"You at least have to get out of this okay?"
"Please don't make me go"
He looked at her coldly.
"I don't want you to get hurt, please go, or I wont be able to make it"
She nodded with small tears in her eyes and ran across the rickety bridge.
Haru watched as she came to the other side.
He unhitched the horse and lead it across the bridge. He got to the other sode and shoved the reins of the horse into Tohru's hands.
"Take the mare, until I get back. If I don't make it there, ride the horse in that direction. Then when you get to the next town ask someone to take you to the sohma house. You know your way from there"
"Haru..please" She looked at him.
"Be careful" She cried.
He hugged her and let her cry.
"I've got to go" He turned around and ran onto the bridge again. She hopped on the side of the horse and watched Haru. He took the cart and pulled it along the ground and across the bridge. The men's yells became louder and louder until she could clearly see them.
"Haru hurry!" He looked behind him. The men were right behind him.
"By orders of Akito the ruler of the Sohma's stop!"
"No!"
He kept running. He reached the other side. Tohru hopped off the horse still holding it's reins and Haru hitched the horse up.
The men had started to follow them across the bridge.
"Hold on" He ran away from the cart and pulled something out of his pocket. One of the men had reached the other side. Haru ran forward flipping something out. It glowed silver. Tohru knew immediately is was a knife. She shook her head in the thought of murder but realized that he wouldn't kill anyone.
Black Haru grabbed the man by his arm and threw him over his back. The men pulled out his own weapon and drove the knife into his lower back. He moaned in pain but he kept running. He reached the other side and threw the man to the ground.
He quickly turned around and ran across the bridge. His lungs were tired and so were his feet. He felt the warm liquid running down his back as he continued to run. Another men came for the entrance of the bridge. Haru stopped and took out his knife. He dragged it along the rope that held the bride together weakening the ropes. The bridge made a cracking noise and then it split in half.
Haru grabbed the side that was headed toward Tohru, he held on tightly.
"Haru! Please hold on!" She screamed. She ran to the side of the ledge and held out her hand.
"Hurry!"
He climbed up the rope and neared her hand. He grabbed it and Tohru sighed.
'It's up to me, I have to be able to pull him up, either that or go down with him'
She pulled pack, her shoes digging into the ground. Finding her strength the brought him up the side of the ledge. He stepped onto the ground and faced her. His snow white hair returned and he embraced her.
"I'm so glad your okay" He said stroking her hair,
"But, that knife...your back...are you okay?"
"I will be Tohru"
He hugged her tighter.
"Lets go!"
He jumped in the cart followed by Tohru, gave the reins a whack and waited before the horse starting running into the black forest. Tohru watched as Akito stepped out of the wooden carriage and looked in her direction with a sad yet angry smile.
She opened her mouth and screamed.
"You can't escape for long! I will catch you! I will and when I do! You both will go to hell!"
Her voice was replaced by coughing and silence as they rode off. Away from Akito.
End of Chapter 3
I know this one was long so it makes up for the slightly short ones!
midnight 1987-Thanks for your review, I haven't got many, so I appreciate it...thanks!
Rinjii-I understand you think that Tohru wouldn't have slapped him, but thanks for the review, I respect your opinion. Thanks for the review!
Expect an update in the next day or two or Saturday!
