A/N: So I have not updated for a while, the reason being I'm disappointed with the response of this story. Don't get me wrong, I'm happy people like it, but I see how many people have it on alert so yeah. Oh well, here's the next chap anyway. Trot, Destiny.

Chapter 20: Dangerous

"Wow…it's so grand."

On this late Thursday night, Catalyna stood outside of the Sohma Estate, gawking and taking in the magnificence of the property. Voices sounded on the other side and lights shone over the barrier, signaling that some people were still awake at this late hour.

I wonder what time it is… She took her cell phone out of her black hooded sweater pocket and flipped it open to see the time. "Ten seventeen…it's late." Closing her phone and stuffing it back in her pocket she started down the sidewalk, watching the wall and waiting for any sort of sign of life. Why am I even here? Taking a walk did not include walking over here…

Yes that was all she was going to do, take a late night walk to calm her throbbing brain. The throb itself had been inflicted by her mother, who earlier in the night gave her a headache about 'hurrying up her job and getting close to the Sohmas' and something else about 'Angelo and Vanessa need to rot in a prison cell'. Catalyna could not recall word-for-word, she was only half-listening. In her daze, she had found her feet carrying her in an unfamiliar direction and the next thing she knew she was standing outside of the Sohma Estate.

I wonder if Momiji is asleep by now… She shook her head as a blush consumed her face. No! Don't think about Momiji right now, it's stupid…

And on the other side of the fence, a Cat was scratching at a window…

Screech, screech, scritch scratch screech…

"Dammit, Haru wake up!" The small orange fur ball whispered frantically as he watched the Ox through the window turn over in his bed. Who the hell is really asleep by this hour? He looked the window over as he walked across the sill and discovered he could open it himself.

Yes! Thank goodness for claws! He took his nails and carefully slid the window to the side, opening it only enough for him to fit through. Once in he jumped and landed on the floor and dashed to the bedside.

"Haru!" He whispered frantically. "Wake up! Haru!" He groaned in frustration when his only response was a grunt and another turn over from the white haired teen. The ball of orange leapt up on the bed and shook the Ox by his shoulder, not having the strength he would if he were human.

"Nnnn….Rin, no don't…go…"

Kyo froze as the Ox rolled over on to his back, mumbling about the Horse in his sleep. He leapt on his chest and did his best to slap the boy with his paws.

"Dammit, Haru, wake up!" As soon as the words left his mouth, his eyes widened and he stood still for a moment. A sudden cloud of smoke erupted around the Cat just as Haru opened his eyes.

"What the-?"

"Crap!"

Haru felt the sudden weight of a human on him and waved his hand to clear the smoke. "What's going on…?"

The cloud cleared to reveal a naked Kyo scurrying off the boy and ducking behind the end of the bed. "Haru! I need clothes!"

Haru sat up quickly, the blankets falling off to reveal a white t-shirt for his pajama top. The Ox blinked a few times and then spoke weakly through his tired state. "Kyo…why…aren't you in…the…"

"No, shh!" Kyo put his finger to his lips and Haru stopped speaking immediately. "I transformed in to a Cat and got out, now I need clothes so I can get out of here."

Haru got out of bed quickly and went over to his closet. "Where are you gonna go?" He whispered as he pulled out a plain white t-shirt and some worn out jeans.

Kyo shrugged, still ducking behind the bed and staying out of sight of the window. "I don't know. I'll figure it out."

Haru walked over and handed Kyo the clothing. "I'd let you stay here but it's too close, and dangerous." Haru sat on the bed and waited patiently as his cousin pulled on the clothes.

"Damn, they're kind of long." Kyo pulled on his juzu beads last and tried to roll up the inch or so of length at the bottom of the pants. "You're a little taller than I am, but we're about the same size so it doesn't matter." He stood up and tried to get used to the jeans. "Thanks."

Haru nodded. "No problem, just don't get caught."

Kyo suddenly stepped over to Haru and knelt in front of him. "Listen," He looked him in the eye and continued in a serious whisper. "If anyone asks about my escape, or asks if you know anything, just deny it."

"Kyo escaped?" Haru asked, playing the part of having no clue. "How...?"

Kyo nodded and smirked. "That's good, pretend to be surprised." He got up and walked over to the window. "I'll try to keep in contact, wherever I go." He slid the window open and turned around with one last nod at the Ox. "Thanks, I owe you."

Haru waited until Kyo was safely out of the window and in the shadows of the houses, and then he got up and closed the window. "Don't let your temper get in the way of this…"

Kyo tiptoed along the walls and shadows of the houses, ducking and stopping every few minutes in case anyone was lurking around. He looked toward the nearest wall and seen it… The secret entrance! He took a deep breath, silently hoped to not be caught, and then quickly and quietly as possible ran to the hole and crawled through with ease.

What was that?!

Outside of the wall, Catalyna stopped and listened. She had heard the rustle of quick footsteps nearby and knew it was a person. Who would be out at this time…oh, right, me. A silhouette heading in to the park next to the Estate caught her attention and she set off after it.

"Okay, this is dumb." She whispered to herself as she entered the park and looked around, all lights out and in complete darkness. "Following someone this late at night is dangerous, but what if it's someone who needs help…?"

She stopped near a tree and peered through the inky darkness, trying to find a trace of the person. The quiet was unnerving and she suddenly realized the position she was in. Okay…I've been in worse situations before so this is nothing…right?

Rustle, rustle..

Catalyna backed up and pressed herself against the tree, praying that the sound was a stray Cat or small animal. I am so stupid… what if it's someone dangerous…or Angelo or Vanessa or…something.

Her eyes adjusted to the blackness and she slowly stepped away from the trunk, but only got a few steps until…

"AH!"

"SHHH!!"

A hand grabbed her arm and another covered her mouth from behind, silencing her short scream and keeping her in place a few inches away from body contact. She heard the male shushing sound and closed her eyes as she began to shake. Oh, no, this is what I get for being out so late…please don't hurt me…

"Hey, it's me, don't be scared."

Catalyna opened her eyes at once, recognizing the voice of Kyo and tried to turn her head to look at him. He shushed her again and she stayed still, wondering what in the hell was going on.

"I'm gonna let you go, but stay quiet and follow me." He whispered and she nodded frantically. "Okay…"

He took his hand away from her mouth and led her behind some bushes by her arm. Following silently, she was yearning to ask tons of questions. He sat on the grass and pulled her down next to him, startling her and earning a surprised squeak and frantically beginning to shush her again.

"I said be quiet! No squeaking!" He whispered.

"Sorry! You startled me." She whispered back.

Nodding he pressed his finger to his lips and pointed in the direction of the Sohma Estate with his other hand. Catalyna nodded in comprehension and they both listened for any sounds coming from behind the inside.

A few minutes of tense and smothering silence slipped by, and then Kyo finally turned to her and scooted closer so they could hear one another better.

"What are you doing out here this late?" He asked in a disbelieving tone. "You shouldn't be anywhere near here in the first place and-"

"What are you even doing out?" Catalyna cut him off and returned the look of disbelief. "I thought you were confined! What did you do, escape or something?"

He nodded and spoke urgently. "Yes, I have to get out of here now. They'll figure it out and search for me. I have to go away for a while."

"But why-?"

"I don't know where else to go except away. The first place they'll look is Shishou's house and then Shigure's and then probably Kagura's." He looked around to make sure all was still clear.

"Who's Kagura?" Catalyna asked, never hearing about this person before.

"She's the Boar and she wants to marry me, she would hide me but," He stopped and turned back to her. "She would be in danger because Akito would check her house too."

"So, you need somewhere to hide where Akito can't find you?" She asked. A nod from Kyo signaled her to continue. "Then stay with me."

"What?"

"Stay at my house." Catalyna said with a look of deep thought. "Akito doesn't know anything about me, so who would suspect you would be there?"

Kyo shook his head quickly. "No, its dangerous there's no way I'm doing that to you."

"Yes, it's the only place you can stay near enough and keep hidden." She held his gaze and tried to convince him further. "My mom will never know you can stay in my room and just keep quiet and I'll keep you well hidden. Who could find out? The only one close enough is Uotani and she never comes over, I go to her apartment so come on you rea-"

"Alright!" He cut her off firmly and she stopped right away. "Just take me there as a Cat that way you look like you're holding your pet or something." He stood up and looked around as she too stood. "Are you ready?" He asked as she looked around too.

"Yeah, but what do I do wi-?"

He stepped forward and cut her off by quickly giving her a hug.

Poof!

"..Err what do I do with your clothes?" She asked as the smoke cleared and Kyo lay uncomfortably in her arms. She bent down and picked them up, and then bundled them up and tucked them under her arm. "I'll just hold on to them…we can figure this out later."

"HE ESCAPED?!"

The next morning in the home of Shigure, news of Kyo's escape (disappearance, says Akito) had just been told to Tohru as she served breakfast for the two males. She sat down at her place, staring open mouthed at Shigure, who had told her and waited for him to continue his explanation.

Shigure took a drink of his tea and sighed. "It appears that he hugged his server, who is female, and slipped through the window as a cat."

"That is rather smart." Yuki commented to himself, unheard by the other two.

"B-but what does this mean?!" Tohru demanded as she leaned across the table toward the Writer. "Shigure-san," She said desperately. "What will happen when they find Kyo-kun?"

Though he was almost certain Akito would punish him severely, Shigure had not the heart to tell Tohru this. Instead, he smiled and tried to protect her innocence. "Tohru, I'm sure they won't catch him." A doubtful expression encouraged him to add an after thought. "Besides, you know how cats are; they are always quiet, sneaky and have nine lives."

Yuki snorted unintentionally. When Tohru looked at him with a sad expression, he tried to apologize. "Honda-san, I'm sorry, that was rude of me."

"No, Yuki-kun, it's okay." She gave him a feeble smile and took a deep breath. "I wish Kyo-kun the best, and I hope he doesn't get caught. Maybe one day he'll be free to come back home."

"Shut your mouth!"

Across town in the dimly lit room of Catalyna, a small disagreement was taking place between the girl and the orange haired boy. Kyo sat on the end of her bed, complaining and trying to convince her that he should just leave. Catalyna on the other hand, kept telling him to hush up and let her do her 'morning thing'. Quickly running a brush through her tangled curls, Catalyna handed him a water bottle and a cup of tea she had sitting on her homework desk.

Kyo glared at her as he took the beverages reluctantly. "Don't tell me to shut my mouth!" He hissed in a whisper. "What am I supposed to do while you're at school? Just sit around her like an idiot?"

Catalyna turned around from her mirror above her dresser and frowned. "No, I already told you." She stepped over to a small entertainment center, consisting of a television, play station 2 and many video games and pointed at the objects. "Just play these quietly or watch a movie or something. You can even read I have tons of books." She pointed over his head, he turned to find a tall bookshelf with hundreds of different kinds of hard cover, paperback, and leather bound books.

"Whatever." Kyo folded his arms across his chest, wearing the clothes he had borrowed from Haru and feeling extremely uncomfortable.

"Stop being a sour puss." Catalyna said as she grabbed her book bag and a small black backpack. "Look, I'm swinging by the house with Tohru today and I'll grab you some stuff. Don't forget there's lunch in the fridge." She walked over to her door and stopped with her hand on the knob. Giving him a stern look, she added, "Try not to be too loud or messy, I don't need my mom coming in here and finding you."

Kyo frowned as she left the room. Whatever, I'll just play that stupid game thing.

"So what did you do last night?"

About fifteen minutes later Catalyna was almost at the school and in the company of Uo. Her mind kept raging in the fear of Akito discovering Kyo in her home, or worse, her mother. What would she do? It would be all too obvious that she took him in to hide him. Uo's question managed to push her thoughts away a she tried to answer in a natural manner.

"Um," She decided on a normal teenage activity. "I watched TV and did homework."

"What do you watch?"

"Um…" The first name that came to her mind. "Desperate Housewives."

"Oh, wow." Uo said in surprise. "That show is kind of…goofy."

They reached the school in silence a few minutes later and were immediately greeted in the hallway by a happy Tohru.

"Uo-chan, Lyna-kun, you'll never guess what happened!" She bounced on the balls of her feet with a large smile. "Kyo-kun escaped last night!"

"Escaped?!" Uo exclaimed in shock. "That's a good thing, right?"

"Well, it shouldn't be," Tohru said, fiddling with her fingers. "But it is because now he isn't in the Cat room anymore!"

Don't act suspicious… Catalyna kept her eyes wide and a look of disbelief on her face. When Tohru turned to her, she stuck to her guns. "But where could he have gone?" She asked urgently.

"I don't know." Tohru lowered her eyes to the floor and whispered. "Wherever he's gone, I just hope he's safe and in good health."

Guilt swept over the black haired girl but she kept her cover. It hurt her to know the boy Tohru was longing for was sitting in her bedroom, trying to keep himself occupied, and yet there was nothing to be done.

RIINNNGGG!

"Crap, let's go." Uo gave the two girls sleeves a light tug and walked off in the direction of the classroom. The two exchanged an awkward glance and then set off after Uo.

"But where could he have gone?"

A floor above the anxious and curious rabbit spoke lightly on the subject of Kyo's disappearance with Haru. Momiji was glad he had escaped, but worried for his safety, and had just gotten through telling the Ox this.

"Wouldn't it make sense to assume he fled the city?" Haru suggested as the two took their desks in their classroom. "Or maybe even fled the country."

"In one night?" Momiji pointed out the flaw in this assumption. "I think he's hiding somewhere."

"He probably had help." Haru added. No one would suspect that I would have anything to do with this, so it's safe to say I'm good for now.

"Thank you so much for letting me stop by."

Catalyna waved good-bye to Tohru and Yuki as she walked away from their porch. As promised, she had stopped by and somehow managed to sneak some of Kyo's clothes in to her book bag and little black backpack. She had asked Yuki for some homework help as a cover, and then excused herself to the restroom.

I hope he ate his lunch. She walked through the woodsy area, feeling lonely and wishing she had accepted Yuki's offer of walking her home. For her school had been very tiring. Not only because she knew what was waiting at home (Kyo), but also because she knew that her neck was on the line here.

That is selfish to think that way… Reasoning with herself this way had no positive effect. Pushing away the thoughts she looked around, expecting to see some kind of birds around and disappointed to find none.

"That's weird, there are so many trees." She said to herself. A sudden chill caused her to stop and listen. A thick silence filled her ears; no animals, no wind and no other sounds of nature. Turning her head to look behind her, she found nothing suspicious.

"Oh my god…" She shook her head at the ridiculous fear that had crept up on her. Everything's fine, I'm just being paranoid. With that thought she turned around and ran smack in to a hard, black object.

"Hello, Catalyna."

She gasped and jumped backward, putting several feet between her and the person. Staring straight in to the cold green eyes of Angelo, she fixed her own in to a glare and tried to calm her pounding heart.

Angelo let out an amused chuckle, and brought a hand to his chin. "Aren't you going to ask your father how he's-?"

"You're not my father." Catalyna cut him off icily. She took in his appearance; everything was the same from the black suit to his spit-shiners, except his skin. The man was growing quite pale.

"Biologically, yes I am." He took a step toward her and smirked. "But as far as a father figure, no not I. That foolish cousin of mine Jesse was your father now, wasn't he?" His cold eyes swept over her and he took another step with another chuckle. "My, my, Catalyna, you look terrified of me."

She swallowed dryly and tried to keep her fear in check; he probably had a firearm in his jacket or strapped around his leg. She gave him a weak smile and said in a confident voice. "No, I do not find you terrifying at all."

"Now that's a lie." His voice rose and he directed an expression of absolute hatred toward her. "You are very scared of me, and you know it. I shot and killed your father, foolish girl."

Now she was shaking. I have to get away, but I know Vanessa is probably hiding somewhere, ready to grab me if something like that were to happen. Dropping her act of confidence Catalyna tried to remember how to defend her self.

"You really annoy me, you know."

The female voice behind her caused her to turn and find, just as she thought, Vanessa stepping out from behind a tree.

"You are so pathetic." Vanessa spat as she folded her arms, a knife glinting in her grasp. "It's very cute how you think you can stop us, but you have no idea how we work."

"Right you are, Vanessa."

Catalyna turned back and found herself face-to-face with Angelo. She took a surprised step back and felt a pair of hands grasp her shoulders from behind.

Vanessa lowered her mouth toward Catalyna's ear and whispered "What was that you said, about not finding us 'terrifying at all'." She laughed lightly and smirked at Angelo. "What do you have to say now?"

They're gonna kill me! I'm gonna die and never be heard from again! Despite the fact she was pinned between the two evils of the world, she mustered her courage and took action.

"AHH!" Quick as a flash her knee made contact with Angelo's loins. She threw her head back, heard the yelp of pain coming from Vanessa and tore away from her grasp.

"Don't let her go!" Angelo was trying to get to his feet. "Vanessa, grab her!"

With one last look at the two, Catalyna turned and ran at top speed away from there. Within a minute, she had made it clear out of the area and was pounding down the pavement in the direction of her apartment.

About ten minutes later Catalyna dashed through the door to find the apartment quiet and empty of her mother. Good, she's not back yet. She dashed through the living room, in to the hall way and straight to the bathroom without taking in anything around her.

"Hey, where have you been?"

Kyo walked out of Catalyna's bedroom, having peaked at the noise of her entrance and being relieved to find it was only her. Looking toward the bathroom, he seen the door was open, and beyond the frame, Catalyna stood gripping the sink with both hands and breathing heavily with her head down. Immediately worry rose in Kyo's chest and he quickly made his way over to her. "What's wrong?" He demanded.

"Angelo…huff…and Vanessa." She let go of the seat and swung her backpack off her shoulder. "Here." She shoved it in his arms and collected herself as she went past him and in to her room.

"Why are you giving me this?" Kyo asked as he followed her in confusion. "What happened with hose two? Did they hurt you or something?"

"No." She answered from her bed where she sat. Raising her gaze, she looked him in the eye and sighed. "They would have but I got away." She lowered her eyes to the backpack in his arms. "There are clothes in there. I said I'd bring you some."

Comprehension dawned on him but he remained worried. He opened the zipper and pulled out a pair of cargo pants, smiling in relief to see his own clothing. "Thanks." He mumbled and set the backpack on the bed and started pulling more clothes out.

The pounding of her heart in her ears had stopped and so Catalyna got up and made her way to the door. "Look, I don't feel like cooking. I'll heat us up some ramen and that can be dinner, okay?"

"Yeah, sure." He watched her walk out of the room. It was obvious she preferred not to talk about wherever and however she had run in to Angelo and Vanessa, and Kyo was not about to rudely demand an explanation. Grabbing some clothes he left the room, hollered at her that he was going to change, and then went in to the bathroom to do so.

"Yeah, I'm going out the back."

Hours later Uo got off work and walked out in to the darkness. Shivering she hugged her sweater around her stood for a moment.

Damn, it's not even that late at it's so dark. This sucks. The blonde frowned at the black skirt she was forced to wear for work and set off around the building. "I better get home and do that damn homework."

Walking around the building meant walking through an alleyway, a very stupid thing to do in the dark. However, Uo was an ex-gang member after all, and knew all the tricks of assaulting someone in a closed space such as an alleyway.

Without an ounce of fear, she made it to the sidewalk and started down the street. Thoughts of Kureno's warning the weekend before crossed her mind as she walked mindlessly in the direction of home. If this Akito wants to hurt Tohru, then he's gonna have to go through me and anyone else willing to stand up. I can't believe this guy would actually lock up a human, Orangey doesn't deserve that!

Turning a corner Uo tried to keep her temper under control. Looking around she was surprised to see that only a few of the street lamps were on and most of the buildings seemed dark and empty, not very normal for a Friday night. Regardless, though, she walked along the sidewalk and through the area the first street lamp lit. A few more steps lead her in to darkness, and then the next lamp was on. A pattern of every other lamp being off continued until she reached the middle of the block, and found two street lamps off in a row.

I have to admit this is pretty weird, but whatever it's probably just a power glitch. With that thought she continued on and stepped in to the darkness.

Immediately she knew she was not alone and so stopped to listen for any signs of movement. No sound came and the seconds slipped by, turning in to minutes. She glanced behind her and started walking again, positive she was being paranoid.

"AHHHH!!"

Darkness.

A/N: Well I hope you guys liked this one, it was a little on the exciting than this story has been lately. I don't know when I'll update next, but hopefully it will be soon. Fall term starts next week so I don't know how much time I'll have. Maybe it will be in a few days, or even a few weeks, who knows? Well, I should know but I don't. Later, thanks for reading luv ya lots!