"Oh, shit. It's you," Rin turned heel, prepared to run away from him. She didn't want him to be here.
"No, wait, Rin. We need... we need to talk," said Haru. He snatched her wrist and pulled her closer. He kept a firm grip on her wrist, knowing full well Rin might be able to get away, even in her weak state. Her wrist was small and frail.
Rin growled, pulling away from Haru but his grip was too strong for her to tear away. She stood there, glaring venomous daggers at the boy holding her wrist. Damn him, Rin cursed. Why couldn't he just stay in his room and weep of her absence? Things would be much easier for her that way, if he was no longer infatuated with him. Like that would happen. It was painfully obvious that Haru wanted her to stay with him, but Rin needed to protect him, even if it meant they be apart like this. "Haru, let go," Rin told him, a chilling edge in her voice.
His eyes were locked on her face. "I will... if we can talk. Just for awhile," he negotiated. On her face was confusion on what to do. Would she stay, or would she just demand that he leave her be, or perhaps, ignore him completely and tug away, like she had done already this evening? "Please, Rin. I just want to talk, then I won't bother you anymore. I promise."
Hesitating, Rin's arm went limp in his grip. "Fine. Just for awhile," she said, her eyes averting his gaze. She was disappointed in herself for giving up so easily, but if it meant he was going to leave her alone from now on, she might as well.
Haru sighed in relief. "Alright. Uhm," he glanced about the street, wondering where they could sit. There wasn't much of a place to sit, so he simply sat himself on the edge of the street. "Let's sit right here," Haru finalized. Rin soon sat next to him, and his fingers slipped away from her wrist. His elbows rested on his knees, his hands supporting his chin. Beside him, Rin was quiet. A comforting yet awkward silence it was. He stole a glance at her. Rin really was beautiful in the moonlight.
"So what is so important that you need to talk to me about?" asked Rin bitterly.
Haru's attention went back to the other side of the road. "Why don't you talk to me anymore?" he had decided on his walk that if he were to speak with Rin again, he ought to ask her why, even if she wouldn't reply.
A scowl carved at Rin's lips. She rose sharply, bristling. "Stop asking that fucking question!" Rin snapped, hands clenched into a ball and ready to strike if needed. She was tired of that question. She was tired of him pining over her, asking her why she wasn't around to be with him, why she avoided him... everything. Rin was sick of it all.
He didn't flinch, though. He didn't frown and he didn't apologize. That calmness made Rin sit back down, but her eyes were hardened in a glare that twisted at her pretty face. "Why, though?" Haru asked.
"I'm leav-" but the hand on her arm stayed her.
"Answer me, Rin," Haru said, his eyes meeting her. Rin's gaze averted his. Those eyes were hard and demanding, yet soft. She had fallen in love with those eyes, and it pained her to look at them.
It was a long silence. Uncomfortable and Rin just wanted to up and leave. There was no desire in her to tell Haru to truth. Tell him that Akito had caught on to their love affair, pushed her out a three-story window. She didn't want to tell him that she stayed away from him because she wanted to protect him. No. She'd rather be quiet and do her work behind the scenes and behind Haru's eyes.
"Answer me, Rin," repeated the Ox. There was no way she was getting out of telling him this time.
She chewed on her lower lip, debating whether or not she should. It was a jury trial going through her head, one side told her why it would be alright to tell him, to let him know why his ex-girlfriend was straying away from him, and the other said it would be a disaster to speak the truth. Oh, she couldn't bear this! Her head hurt, her vision swam before her, and her stomach began to whirl. He heard him repeat himself once more before her vision blacked out.
"Rin! Rin! RIN!" faded away into her darkness. Darkness was a safe haven for her. Nothing could hurt her, nothing was there to upset her. She was alone... and that's how it should be. She should remain alone and forever alone. There were some people that couldn't understand that, though. Yuki and Haru were two of them.
Desperate and confused, Haru scooped up her frail body in his arms. Eyes went this way and that as his brain processed where he could take her. Hatori's house? No, he lived in the Main House. If he took her to his house or to Rin's it would just be a confused mess. There was only one absolute place for him to take her... Shigure's house. Shigure would understand, and his house was safe from the Main House. His feet started to lead him, lead him down the intricate paths of sidewalks.
Had he done this to Rin? Maybe he forced her into fall unconscious with his demanding question. Perhaps he should have just let her be on her way, ignoring him and leaving him miserable and alone. Would that have been better? What if it wasn't? He couldn't think about this now. All's he had to do was get Rin somewhere relatively safe and he could ponder his thoughts later...
Haru kept his pace as he went from sidewalk to sidewalk, crossed every street, and tried to ignore the relentless thoughts of him making Rin faint or the possibility of any police finding him with her in his arms. No doubt they would think he raped her...
It was nearly thirty minutes, Haru had guessed, and his arms were aching. Rin kept getting heavier and heavier as he walked, guided by the faint moonlight. He had to stop occasionally to set her down, regain the strength back in his arms, and scoop her up again to continue his trek. The time dragged on slowly, and when the familiar sight of endless trees came to him, he had never been so relieved in his life. He would have broken out into a sprint, but he might drop Rin, and no doubt she would be pissed at him for doing that.
He wound through the dirt trail until Sohma Shigure's house came into view. Haru carried Rin up the steps and pressed the doorbell with his elbow. There was no answer. Again, he pressed the doorbell, then again, and several times rapidly. "Who the HELL is up at this hour?" bellowed a familiar voice. Haru grinned inwardly. Ooh, he couldn't wait for Kyo's response to this, and he didn't have to wait.
The orange-head flew open the door, prepared to curse the strangers away but instead of strangers, found two cousins. "What the hell are you doing up, Haru? And why is Rin asleep?"
"She's not asleep. She... passed out," Haru said, elbowing himself inside the house to set Rin down.
"What did you do to her, Haru? I mean, I thought you guys were broken up," Kyo scratched his head. Feet pitter-pattered down the stairs, and both boys could hear at least two pairs of feet down the wooden steps.
Haru tensed up at Kyo's questioning. It wasn't the sex that had knocked her out, that's for sure. "I didn't do anything, Kyo. Can you just go get some blankets?" Haru asked. An uncomfortable feeling furled up inside him, the feeling of being watch. He glanced over his shoulder to find two tired-looking teenagers. Yuki and Tohru. Usually Haru would make a love comment to Yuki, but he couldn't. Not when Rin was like this.
"What's wrong with Rin-san?" Tohru peeped, ghosting down the stairs and leaning over the pale-faced Rin. A worried frown was carved at the gentle girl's lips.
"She fainted, Tohru," Haru replied. He got to his feet as soon as Kyo came with several blankets. "Can you guys take care of her? I can't stay, because Akito will find out and my parents will be worried if I'm not home by the time they wake up," he said. He brushed a strand of onyx out of Rin's face.
Yuki crossed his arms, glancing from the fainted figure to Haru. "Of course, Haru. We'll take care of her, and we'll tell you if she's come to at school. I'll go wake up Shigure and tell him that Rin's here."
Haru ran his fingers through his white-and-black hair. "Thanks..." he mumbled. He was relieved that Rin could find some secure shelter for the evening, even if she ran off in the morning. At least she wasn't collasped on the curb. "I've gotta go. See you," Haru said, offering a small wave before heading back out the door. He'd go home, attempt sleep, and be an unemotional façade for his parents. They would think that nothing happened and that he slept like a baby all night, but he already had them fooled.