Chapter Eleven: When the Cow Comes Home

AN: We're not dead! And, no, neither is the fic. It was just... in a coma for a while, that's all. :) Thanks to everyone who's asked about the fic, and who sent encouraging messages. They were greatly appreciated. 3

An honest tale speeds best, being plainly told.

--King Richard III. IV iv

"It was dumb to let Haru go off by himself," Kyou growled, glaring out into the foliage. He and Momiji were sitting on the engawa, both having crossed off every veterinary office and animal shelter on their list, with no sign of Shigure.

"I'm sure he's okay," the Rabbit said, swinging his legs idly off the side of the porch. "It's just his way. He'll be back any—"

"Any day now," Kyou retorted, rolling his eyes. "If we're lucky, he'll come back and remember why he left in the first place."

"He knows it's important, Kyou. I'm telling you, he'll be back."

"He'd better. We can't afford to be running two search parties." He paused. "Then again, it's a hell of a lot harder for Haru to go missing in his other form." It was a lot easier to spot a cow than a dog, after all.

"I think you don't give him enough credit, Kyou," Momiji replied mildly, bracing his hands behind him and looking up at the sky. "He'll be back."

The door slid open and Yuki stepped out. "Haru's not back yet?"

Momiji glanced at his cousin, chuckling. "We were just talking about that."

Yuki crossed his arms and frowned, eyes fixing on a point in the mid-distance. "It probably wasn't a good idea to let him go by himself."

"You know, Kyou said the exact same—"

"To hell with this, I'm going up to the roof."

"Don't fall," Yuki said mildly, but the knowing look he shot the Cat said far more than his words or his tone possibly could.

"Screw you, nezumi."

"One of these days you'll have a better comeback."

"And if I'm lucky, you'll die from the shock." The shoji slammed shut and the rhythmic thumping of Kyou's irritated footfalls faded away as the Cat went upstairs.

"He's very worried," Momiji said quietly, once Kyou was gone.

Yuki didn't say anything for a moment. "We all are."

"Haru's done this before. He'll be back in no time"

"It's more important now, Momiji."

"I know that. And so does Haru," the Rabbit replied mildly.

Yuki sat, blowing out a breath. "We've never had to count on him like this before."

"We've never had to count on any of us like this before." Momiji said nothing for a beat, then glanced over. "How is Tohru doing?"

The Rat pursed his lips in thought. "She doesn't want any of us to worry, but I think she's taking it hardest of all. She's fond of that idiot dog."

"Ha'ri's worried too. But you know how he is; he's not going to tell anyone. He's lucky to have Mayu-chan-sensei.

The bookstore was quiet, which was a welcome change. Mayu sat at the front counter, the telephone wedged against her shoulder as she continued working her way down the list Hatori had given her. A tiny bell tinkled softly when the door opened, and when she looked up, she was met with the sight of the doctor, looking grave and, though she hadn't thought it possible, even more worried. She silently cursed Sohma Shigure's name again, and hung up the phone.

"What happened?" she asked, moving around the counter to meet him.

"Hatsuharu's gone missing."

"What?"

Hatori sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. "He hasn't checked in. No one's heard from him."

She reached up and took both of his hands in hers, threading their fingers and squeezing gently. "What is it with your family, Hatori-kun? Is this some twisted desire to see you go grey before you turn thirty?"

He gave her a tired smile and leaned forward until his forehead was resting against hers. They stood there quietly for a long moment. Hatori smelled of antiseptic soap and laundry detergent, with the scent of tobacco twining through it. "What do you need?" she asked, trying not to allow herself to be distracted by his warmth, and that scent.

"I need a second pair of eyes to go out with me to find him. We can cover more ground if I drive, but I can't watch the road and look for Hatsuharu."

"Do you know where he was supposed to be looking?"

"Fortunately, knowing Hatsuharu has given me some experience in this arena. I kept a copy of his list in the event something like this happened."

"You anticipated this?"

"It wouldn't be the first time Hatsuharu got lost. I only hope he hasn't wandered too far off the main streets."

"Which means we need to get a move on." She let go of his hands, brushing a light kiss across his lips before making her way to the door. "And on the way, you can convince me not to give him detention for this."

It was dark by the time they found Haru, whose white coat and white hair were visible from the road as he walked along the sidewalk.

"There. There!" Mayu cried, pointing as Haru came up on the car's driver's side. "Why you can't drive a normal car like everyone else, I have no idea."

Hatori slowed the car to a stop and rolled down the window. "Hatsuharu." But the boy had already turned, as if expecting his elder cousin to come looking for him.

"Hatori-nii."

"Get in the car, Hatsuharu. We've all been worried."

The boy did as he was told, climbing into the car's backseat without a word of argument. Hatori pulled away from the sidewalk, his relief evident in the way his shoulders relaxed slightly. Mayuko twisted around in the seat to regard the young man.

"What happened?" she asked, exasperated.

"Nothing," Haru replied mildly.

"Hatsuharu, everyone expected you back much sooner than this."

"My journey home took an unexpected turn."

"What you mean to say, Hatsuharu, is that you got lost."

"...You could put it that way, Hatori-nii."

The doctor sighed, and turned the car back towards Shigure's house. "Did you find anything?"

There was a contemplative pause. "Well, I found Sensei."

The brakes screeched suddenly, and Mayu's body was flung forward, stopped only by the seatbelt. Now Hatori twisted around in the seat to face his cousin. "You found Shigure?"

"Yes."

"Where?"

"At the last clinic I visited. He'd been hit by a car." Hatori blanched and Mayuko reached for his hand instinctively. "But he's all right," Haru went on to say. "There wasn't room at the clinic for him, so he's staying with a friend of the vet's." As he spoke, he sifted through the contents of his pockets, diligently searching for something. "I have her number—"

Hatori's brows raised.

"—I had it here, somewhere." Rustling followed, then a long silence. "Huh. It's not here anymore."

"Do you remember which clinic it was?"

"The last one on my list."

Hatori flipped on the interior light and pulled a sheet of paper out of his jacket pocket. "All right. I'll call them in the morning. With any luck, we'll get Shigure back by tomorrow night."

Hime-chan was sleeping. She hadn't done much else after Takashi left. Just thinking of the man made Shigure's jaw clench, and he shook his head to clear it of the sudden cloud of annoyance.

"You're too nice, hime-chan," he murmured softly, watching as she rolled onto her side, facing him. Her face was damp with sweat and strands of hair were clinging to her cheeks and forehead. "That's your problem, you know. He's got your number, and he's going to walk all over you unless you put a stop to it." And that was only going to happen if she figured out she was engaged to a two-timing dirtbag.

Or, he thought, now watching the slumbering hime-chan with a speculative eye, when she finds out. The question was, of course, how to reveal the philandering jerk without revealing himself. He found himself missing Ayame suddenly; Shigure preferred to handle situations like these with subtlety and finesse, but sometimes subtlety and finesse weren't enough.

Then again, there wasn't anything that said he had to act now. He could always wait until he was bipedal again and work his magic then. It wouldn't be hard at all to win hime-chan over with a hearty dose of Sohma charm, making Takashi look... well, as bad as he was in actuality. Shigure thought about it for a moment. It was a plan with merit; he could woo hime-chan away from Taka and then...

The Dog frowned. And then what? Shigure had his own plans, after all, and hime-chan did not fit very well into any of them. Akito's face, twisted in rage, flashed through his mind and he winced. I suppose I could just string her along for a while, and then let her down easily. He frowned and lowered his head onto his paws. For some reason, that didn't sit well. It's almost a pity Ha-san is working things out with Mayu-chan. He'd like hime-chan.

Picturing the tall doctor with the petite woman sat even less well, if possible.

Shigure let out a huff of breath. Well, I don't need to decide what to do with hime-chan now. He stood a better chance of vilifying Takashi if he possessed proper verbal skills to do it, since he was fairly certain giving in to canine instinct and biting the dirtbag wouldn't win Akemi over, no matter how much Taka deserved it. Besides, he probably tasted awful.

Besides, Shigure wouldn't be able to brush his teeth afterwards.