Title: Million Little Pieces

Author: Keir

Rating: R overall, for swearing, violence, and sexual situations.

The Gist of Things: Kyou is not ready to forgive Haru for the gym incident yet and his brilliant plan? Cat napping, of course!

A/N: Can't stare at it any more. I find that's what I keep saying lately when I upload something, haha. I wanted to wait until I had the chapter after this one done as well, but yeah... We might all end up waiting at least another month for that to happen, even though it's, like, 70% complete. XD Guaranteed, I will obsess over it, though I would like to get it posted this week, too. I wanted to post them together because this one doesn't have an actual hard ending to it but ah well~

Please forgive my slow, lame ass for taking forever to write. ;_;

Also, my reviewer "unknown name" called me out and got it right. (But obviously I couldn't contact back to share my joy since it was anonymous.) I did reference Persona 3 in chapter 7. XD I didn't think anyone would realize it; I love the Persona series, so much~

Kyou had sworn to himself that he wasn't going to attend school the next day. Nothing could make him move from his room. Nothing. He lay on his bed, staring up at the ceiling irritably. By now the rumours were probably flying all over the student body about him and Hatsuharu making out. Just thinking about it made his fingers curl in a death grip on his pillow and he throttled it, imagining it was the idiotic ox, who he blamed entirely. It was Hatsuharu who had got him into this predicament in the first place! He would rather stay at home all day with the stupid dog than go to his classes and face public ridicule, especially from that damn Yankee and her big mouth!

Yuki had tried to talk to him about what might be upsetting him that morning, but the cat had feigned sickness and rolled over, ending any discussion the other boy might have wanted to have. The rat had reached over to brush the hair from the cat's stubbornly closed eyes before taking his leave, though, and where his fingers had come into contact with Kyou's skin still felt warm an hour later.

There was only one thing to do about the awful situation in Kyou's mind: he would never go back to school and he would never, ever kiss Hatsuharu again! That decided on, he threw on his favourite hoodie and shorts and burrowed into his blankets, creating a warm cocoon around himself. In true cat-like fashion, he commenced a long day of thorough and unadulterated napping.

It was a few hours later when he surfaced from blissful sleep; an unfamiliar weight was causing his bed to dip. He growled in annoyance, thinking maybe he had left his window open and a stray cat had gotten inside, and peered out from under his covers, crimson eyes glassy and orange hair in disarray.

Charcoal eyes stared at him, full of mirth. The older man was kneeling on the floor, his torso leaning over the bed supported by his elbows. A smirk quirked the dog's lips. "Hello, sleepy Kyoukichi~!"

The cat startled back, almost falling off the other side of the bed, as the other male's face came closer to his own. "What the hell, Shigure! Get out of my room!"

"Oh, my, my~! Such healthy lungs for someone who's sick," the older man drawled. He simply smiled through Kyou's ensuing cursing tirade. "Yuki told me you were sick and refused to go to school. Did you have a lover's quarrel, Kyou-kun?" The dog batted his lashes.
"What the hell makes you think that?" The cat cursed himself for even asking that question. The last thing he needed to do was fall for that imbecile's ploys! "And how is it any of your damn business!"

Shigure never stopped smirking as he rested his cheek on a palm. "Yuki-kun seemed almost sulky this morning and here you are, hiding in your room…"

"I am not hiding!" Kyou snarled.

Shigure lifted a brow but resisted making another comment that was sure to rile the cat even further. "If you say so, Kyou-kun. So you won't be going to school today?"

"No; I'm sick, you idiot!"

The dog stood. "All right, but I'll have to call the school and let them know you won't be coming today, like a good legal guardian~!"

"Tch, whatever," Kyou grumbled, pulling the covers up over himself. "Just get the hell out of my room!"

Shigure smiled then raised a brow at the curve of Kyou's body beneath the blankets. He made as if to leave then stopped and tapped his chin with a finger, staring up at the ceiling. "You know, I think I'll have to give Aya a call. They say that the fastest way to get over being sick is to stay warm, and Aya just loves to snuggle. I'm sure he'd be more than happy to oblige; he always tells me about how you're his favourite cousin to sleep with! It's the perfect solution, don't you think, Kyou-kun? Kyou-kun?"

Shigure turned to find that the cat had already bolted out the open window at the mere mention of the snake in his bed. A knowing smile crossed the dog's face as he shut the bedroom door behind himself.

Kyou had tried at first to just lay low and hide up in a cherry tree on the school grounds, but the hall monitors were too wise to his usual hiding spots by now. Most likely his teacher had let them know he was missing from class. He ignored the idle threats to drag him bodily out of the tree—he had once spent a summer doing his katas while standing on branches to perfect his balance, so even if they could climb that far they would have a challenge waiting for them—but once they brought out the threats to retrieve Prince Yuki to get him down…

No way in hell would he have a confrontation with Yuki in the schoolyard! Of course, once he had jumped out of the tree and stood on level ground, eye-to-eye with the monitor, the other boy immediately backed off. He did, however, insist on escorting Kyou to his class, albeit five paces behind the grumpy cat. The orange-haired boy also received double detention from the teacher—one for being tardy and the other for not being in uniform—but he was just going to ignore it like always. It was, at best, a feeble attempt at discipline.

As he took his seat next to Yuki, the rat shot him a questioning look, but Kyou turned his face away, resting it on his crossed arms on his desk. White, fluffy clouds drifted across the sky as he brooded. When the bell rang for lunch he was the first one out of the classroom, but before he could really bolt, a firm grasp on his hoodie held him back.

"Let go!" he growled at Yuki over his shoulder.

The rat's violet eyes were soft with concern. "What—"

"Looks like Orangey's on his period today!" Arisa announced loudly, causing several students to look in their direction and whisper to each other. Kyou scowled but it did nothing to deter her verbal jabs. "Cat got your tongue, Carrot Top? I heard you're hard at work on your dance for the festival. Too bad they aren't making you wear tights, too; your legs might look good in them!"

Tohru stood behind her blond friend, frantically waving her arms and protesting, words stammered out. With every sentence from the Yankee, Kyou's shoulders tensed, fists clenching. Yuki watched on silently, irritated beneath his calm exterior, but to step in on Kyou's behalf would seem odd considering their usual enmity. Besides, the cat liked to fight his own battles; to try to defend him would only turn the orange-haired boy's ridiculous, easily-cultivated fury on the rat himself. Better to let him rant and get it off his chest.

The Prince watched as the telltale twitch began at the edge of the cat's lips, a snarl beginning to overtake his features. Yuki sighed and wished he had earplugs for the forthcoming screeching, but his ears were saved by a boy who cleared his throat behind Kyou, waiting to be acknowledged. The cat growled, teeth finally bared, and whipped around. "What!"

Yuki felt a twinge of sympathy for the other boy—whom he now recognized as second-year Keisuke—who had gone pale in the face of the cat's savagery. The rat steeled himself, prepared to jump in and save the younger student from a tongue lashing when he glanced over at Kyou and paused. The cat had also blanched, almost recoiling from the second-year. What could produce such a reaction from someone like Kyou?

"Yeah?" the cat asked gruffly, avoiding looking straight at the younger boy.

"I was wondering if I could speak to you privately," said Keisuke.

Arisa guffawed. "Pretty ballsy of a second-year to approach a third-year like that. Oh, but is this one of your prima ballerinas, Orangey?"

Kyou ignored the blonde's jokes. "Sure. Whatever," he agreed, breaking away from the group. Yuki bit the inside of his lip; he was terribly curious but he had to maintain his composure. There would be plenty of time later to ask Kyou about what Keisuke wanted.

Kyou followed the brunette junior with a scowl on his face. Students made way for them at the sight of his grumpy demeanor, all the while wondering why the crass senior would be hanging around a younger student, but nobody dared give voice to the question. Keisuke led them to an empty science lab and shut the door.

The cat leaned a hip against a black-topped table, crossed his arms and stared out the window. "So. How much do you want out of me?"

Keisuke blinked. "I'm not sure what you mean by that, senpai."

Kyou turned his head to stare at the other boy, crimson eyes full of checked fury. This boy wasn't Hatsuharu or Yuki, so he would be damned if he picked a physical fight with someone who wasn't trained like him.

That being said, it didn't mean he wouldn't attack him verbally. "Don't screw with me! You figure I'm from the famous Sohma family so I've gotta be loaded, right? How much were you planning on blackmailing me for so you would keep quiet?" he hissed.

"Is that really what you think I would do, senpai?"

"Well, you haven't blabbed it to the whole school yet," Kyou spat, gesturing wildly. "So I can only assume that you want something for it to stay that way."

Keisuke made frantic placating gestures. "I had no intention of doing that! The thought never crossed my mind!" he insisted, intimidated by the senior's murderous glare. "That's what I wanted to talk to you about. Haru-kun explained to me the...nature of your relationship."

A muscle in Kyou's cheek twitched. He could only imagine what the ox had "explained" about the situation. His fists clenched. "What did that idiot say?"

"Haru-kun told me that although you give each other the title of cousin that you aren't very closely blood related. He told me you reacted badly because you're very sensitive."

Kyou slammed his fist into the desk. "Do I look like I'm sensitive!"

"Not particularly, senpai." The second-year would have laughed to ease some of the tension if he didn't think it would offend the edgy third-year. "I just wanted to let you know that your secret is safe with me."

The cat mulled the words over for a moment. "Thanks," Kyou finally mumbled, looking away and shoving his hands in his pockets. "So are we done here?" As Keisuke nodded, Kyou made a beeline for the door.

"Wait! Umm…" Keisuke faltered when a crimson glare pinned him to the spot. "Are… Are you still going to show up to practice?" The cat raised a brow. "What I mean is, I'd really like it if senpai continued to train us."

"Yeah, I guess," Kyou said, voice low. "But I'm not going today." He slammed out of the room hurriedly. The look on the other boy's face made his stomach lurch; he hated feeling like someone was looking up to him. Ignoring the stares and whispers of other students, he headed straight for the roof. When the door flung open, he drew in a deep breath of fresh air. The cat basked in the peace and solitude and sunshine.

"Ah, it's you."

Kyou whipped around. There, lounging against a wall, sat Hatsuharu, shielding his eyes from the glare of the sun. The cat sighed in exasperation. "What are you doing here?"

"Getting some sun," the ox replied, remaining seated. Kyou stared at him, trying to judge whether the other boy was joking or not. Hatsuharu's face gave away nothing, as usual. The younger boy was congratulating himself on the decision to wait for the cat on the roof. Yuki had informed him of Kyou being sick that morning, and he knew that when Shigure forced him to show up for class like usual, the surly teen would rely on one of his getaway spots. The roof was the most obvious choice and so Hatsuharu had come up to lay in wait.

He knew Kyou. Surely this was a sign that the cat would choose him over the rat.

"How did your talk with Keisuke go?"

"What are you doing, stalking me?" Kyou snarled. The ox was being infuriating, staring off into space like he wasn't intimidated in the least.

"I spoke with him earlier. He said he wanted to speak with you. He was upset that you might be angry with him." The ox watched the cat grow more tense, fists clenching, the muscles in his jaw standing out.

"'Angry'? Are you stupid? Angry doesn't even describe how I feel right now!" Kyou yelled. "Get it through your thick head, Haru: I'm pissed off because you think it's a fucking game. It's not! This shit has to stay secret!"

The ox stood slowly, the chains dangling from his uniform pants jangling. He flexed his fingers, leather gloves creaking. He looked over and met Kyou's eyes straight on.

Kyou felt his skin shiver at that look. Chocolate eyes were almost black and the cat thought for a moment that the ox really had gone Black, but there was something…different. Instead of that usual insane rage, there was anger fused with intelligence in those eyes. This was definitely a new breed of Haru. It unnerved the cat, certainly, but he wasn't about to back down. He didn't take shit from the stupid ox.

"You think this is a game to me." Hatsuharu stared at the cat as a smirk slowly spread across his face. "Stupid cat," the ox drawled as he circled the orange-haired boy. Kyou refused to turn around and follow him; it was a sign of weakness. He stood straight and stiff, muscles tensed. "You think you're the only one who matters here. Selfish pussy."

Hatsuharu didn't touch him, but the cat felt his breath on the back of his neck. His shoulder twitched and he snarled a warning. "I never said that I'm the only one who matters. Don't put words in my mouth!" he snapped. Hatsuharu wandered back into the cat's line of sight, his body just shy of brushing against the older boy's. Kyou pressed his lips together as he tried to suppress his irritation. "And you sure as hell act like it's a game," he accused. "Are you just doing this because you're jealous that Yuki likes me?"

The ox scowled in return. "Are you an idiot?" He leaned down, invading Kyou's personal space further. "I wouldn't have slept with you if I didn't like you," he said, voice dangerously low.

"Is that supposed to convince me that you're serious?" Kyou countered. "I never wanted to have sex with you. You forced me, in case you forgot, asshole!"

Hatsuharu snarled, the edge of familiar madness creeping into his eyes. "If you didn't want it, you wouldn't have laid under me like a bitch!" The ox lifted a hand and grasped the front of the cat's hoodie in frustration. "Maybe I should be the one accusing you of acting like this is a game. Just because something stupid happened yesterday, you're suddenly all wishy-washy with your feelings. I would fight for you, but you wouldn't fight for me."

"I never said that either! I'm just confused!" Kyou growled defensively.

"No," Hatsuharu murmured, dark chocolate eyes gleaming. "You're just a coward."

Kyou swung to strike and Hatsuharu grabbed his hand. The cat lashed out with the other arm, which the ox also caught, and they grappled. "You have no right to say shit about me. You took advantage of me! You think just because you wanna dick around with me that I'll just let you do that?" The cat's lip lifted in a sneer. "I'm not helpless like the first time, so don't think you can get away with whatever you want."

"I didn't mean to the first time, but yesterday was just as much your fault as it was mine," Hatsuharu growled.

"Oh, yeah, I can see how the first time was such an accident!" Kyou pushed harder and their arms wavered in the air as each tried to gain the upper hand. "It must have been so hard to contain yourself while I was helpless!"

Hatsuharu leaned down, making the shorter boy strain. His face was inches from the cat's. "I hate who I am," the ox snarled. "I hate that I can't control myself! Do you think it helps when you rub it in?"

"Then stop being pathetic and try to change instead of whining and crying about it!" Kyou replied without mercy. His temper was above and beyond the boiling point. He grunted as he pushed against the ox, forcing him to take a step back. The whole situation was stupid and annoying; he couldn't quite meet the other boy's eyes as he shouted, "If anything, you're the little bitch!"

Hatsuharu made a little noise of astonishment and then, far from anything the cat expected, the ox began to laugh. Crimson eyes stared into chocolate in surprise. "Trust you to be so blunt with words, kitten," Hatsuharu said, his voice brimming with affection. The laughter lit up his eyes. "I love you, Kyou."

The orange-haired boy huffed out a sigh, resigning himself to this crazy mood swing nonsense. He was obviously stupid if he could forgive the ox just because he said something like that. There was no help for it; they were both crazy. "I love you, too, Haru. Idiot." His eyes narrowed in a heartbeat as a self-satisfied smirk spread across the ox's face. "But I'm never going to lose to you again," Kyou announced, and with that he ducked; Hatsuharu's eyes widened as his own momentum pitched him forward. The cat twisted, crossing the ox's arms over each other; he kicked out a leg for balance and threw the ox over his head.

When Hatsuharu opened his eyes, he was laying on his back looking up into Kyou's smirking face against a blue background of sky. "Dumbass. You really need to work on your adaptability." The cat made an undignified snort. "Even a yellow belt would have seen that coming. They should take your black belt away from you. First Dan*, my ass."

Hatsuharu smiled, making no move from his prone position, content to stare up into the face of his lover. "You'll just have to teach me some adaptability, then." An odd, inquisitive expression passed over the cat's face. The older boy looked almost...pensive. "Kyou? What's wrong?"

The sounds of the school bell ringing echoed up to them and interrupted any answer Kyou might have given. The cat's face went back to its usual annoyed, exasperated expression. "Now you made us late," he groused, giving the ox a hand up. Hatsuharu was dusting himself off when Kyou shot him that same curious look over his shoulder. "Come over for dinner tonight. We'll start on your training."

"Hm? Wouldn't training go better at the dojo instead of Shigure's house?" The ox's face was blank, his hands limp at his sides.

Kyou sighed irritably at being questioned and grabbed one leather-gloved hand, tugging the black and white-haired boy toward the stairs. "C'mon, don't make us even more late, stupid cow!"

Hatsuharu smiled. Kyou's hand in his was warm, even through his glove. The ox found he no longer cared about the training as long as he got to be near the cat.

*Dan = a rank in karate (and other martial arts). The first set of ranks are called Kyu—white belts through brown belts—until a black belt is reached. Black belts are ranked by Dan, one through ten.