"Is Rin doing okay?" questioned the Ox the moment he spotted Yuki and Tohru, trotting behind him. He couldn't see Kyo. Maybe he was sulking somewhere?
Yuki turned his large, purple eyes settling on him. Tohru scratched the side of her head, shifting the books in her hands. This was a sign that Rin had run off or something worse had happened to her. He inhaled deeply, waiting for the news to spring on him.
"Well, we think she's okay. She ran off in the morning. We all expected that, really..." Yuki said quietly.
Haru was prepared for this news. It wasn't like Rin was going to stay and sip tea casually with Shigure at their kitchen table. He rubbed the back of his neck and simply nodded his head. "Yeah, I was kind of expecting that," Haru said. He glanced around the hallway, slowly edging away from them. A place to think, that's what he needed. "Yeah, well I have to go to class. Momiji said he had something to show me." a wan grin pulled at the Ox's lips as he snuck off without Yuki or Tohru's reply.
He scuffed his shoes along the hallway, whistling as he went along to his first class. He was joined by a ball of energy - Momiji - who's mouth began to run off a million miles an hour. So Haru just listened to what words he could make out.
His day passed by slowly. So very slowly. All of his thoughts were out the window, dark eyes stared out into nothingness. His wandering mind occasionally slipped to school, to how the weather was and where the sun was placed in the sky... but most of all, it turned to the cascade of black hair. Rin. Where was she now? Haru just hoped she was doing okay.
"Haru-kun!"
Hatsuharu Sohma was torn out of his thoughts of misery and worried by a crystalline, female voice. He turned, letting the blonde ball of energy keep walking and discussing tofu to the now-invisible Haru. "Hm? Oh, it's you, Kimi."
"Yes, it's Kimi! Have you seen Yun-chan?" with a large smile on her face, Kimi approached Haru. She waved to him, although they were only a foot apart.
"Yun-chan...? Oh, you mean Yuki. He was on his way to the Student Council Room. Actually, he's probably already there-"
"Thank you, Haru-kun!" and with that, Kimi was off.
Dark eyes narrowed at this scene from around the corner. A wave of black hair retreated from sight and into the shadows of a dimly lit hallway. Haru and an unknown girl, although she was probably not a Sohma. What did she mean to the Ox? Perhaps her research could postpone for a day for her to find out who this 'Kimi' was. Boots clicked down the hallway as the lone figure tapped down the hallway.
¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤
Chopsticks clattered, noises bubbled in the lively air, and an unpleasent smacking and chewing sound resounded throughout the kitchen. "Yuki-kun! I am constantly astounded that you are the President of your school! It fills me with pride to know that my own brother is walking in my footsteps..."
"Nii-san, please keep your food in your mouth!"
Haru slipped away from all the chatter and clanging of dishes. It was a pleasent atmosphere for Haru to concentrate on something other than Rin, but lately Haru didn't want to socialize. He sighed, heading up the staircase and turning a corner as soon as he reached the top of the stairs. Shigure had told him he could take a shower if he really felt the urge, and maybe a hot shower could allow Haru to think a little clearer or he could simply relax.
The Ox stripped of all his school clothes, the articles of fabric being flung in any possible direction. He combed his fingers through his black-and-white hair, then turned his attention to setting his water at the right temperature. Once it suited his tastes, Haru stepped inside the shower and shut the door, obscuring his body from the rest of the bathroom.
For awhile, he simply stood in the shower, letting the cascade of lava drops hit his skin. Wherever a drop fell, his skin turned a shade of red. It was hot - maybe too hot - but Haru wasn't paying attention anymore. He had retreated back to his own little world for now.
He ran his fingers through his soaked hair and fingered the piercing in his ear. His sign of rebellion that was first announced to Rin. Maybe he should get a new earring...
Haru jolted upright, his body stiff and cold. The water had turned bitterly cold all of a sudden. He hurriedly scrambled to the faucet and shut it off. Body shivering and teeth chattering, Haru stepped out of the shower. Water droplets dropped off his hair and slid down his lean legs. "Rin..."
"Who is she?" demanded the determinded face that never left his mind, not even for one second. It seemed like a bittersweet dream. Reaching out, he touched her cheek. It was slapped away.
"Who is she?" repeated that porcelain face.
"Who is who?" Haru questioned, dumbfounded for Rin to be in the bathroom with him. He glanced at her, then to his own body. He side-stepped to get a towel, but Rin side-stepped to stop him.
Dark, willowy eyebrows arched downward. "That... that Kimi girl! I saw you with her at..." she stopped short all of a sudden.
A small grin wormed its way onto Haru's face. Despite the shock of seeing Rin in the bathroom with him, he suddenly got curious and mildly playful. "You saw me with Kimi... where?"
Rin scowled and ignored his question. "Tell me who she is! Don't try to turn the spotlight onto me. Just answer my question and I can leave!" Aw, shit! I am the stupidest person ever... way to go, Rin Sohma.
"Kimi is a girl who is in Yuki, Tohru, and Kyo's grade. She was asking me where Yuki was at school." Haru's grin widened, especially when Rin's porcelain cheeks tinted a bright pink. "Were you spying on me, Rin?"
Rin felt... stupid. She felt like her I.Q. just dropped fifty points and she was running through the streets with a dunce cap on her head. Stupid... so stupid. "I wasn't spying on you! Someone told me... I think it was Tohru when she b-brought me gelatin..." Three weeks ago... She turned to leave, but Haru caught her wrist and pulled her closer.
"You can't lie to me, Rin. It's inhumanly possible..." Haru said, his breath hot and extremely close to her neck. He was too close for comfort. She couldn't keep herself under control when he was so close to her like this... Rin tried to restrain herself not to touch his angellic lips and finger his beautiful skin. But Rin should know that temptation was the devil in disguise. Temptation kept tugging at her weaknesses until she collasped.
Their lips met. A soft, tender, and needy kiss to Haru's lips.
Haru was the one who broke off the kiss. "I'll put on my clothes... I'll meet you outside..."
Rin couldn't deny his company today. She merely nodded, rooted in the spot. Once her broken composure was glued back together, Rin slipped outside the bathroom and quietly down the stairs. Luckily, Ayame was still talking, so she was able to leave without notice. Soon after, a still-wet Hatsuharu Sohma left the novelist's house. He approached the long-haired beauty and reached out his hand. Their hands molded together perfectly, like they belonged to hold each other.
"Let's go." Rin said quietly.
"Wherever you want to go." replied Haru.
Rin started off at a jog, and Haru met her pace as they gained speed down the winding forest trail. Wherever Rin went, Haru was sure to follow. He'd drop down to Hell, if that meant to be with Rin.
His Rin.
Her Haru.
They could get used to that.
¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤
That's it, folks! I hoped you all enjoyed the story.
Thank you for reading!
-Juren