Chapter 13

Haru relished the feeling of the cold glass against his temple. Rain pounded heavily on the car windows, blurring his vision of the world outside so much that he could barely see Tohru's slim figure a few yards away. A small blob -that was otherwise known as Hiro- stood beside her under the safety of Hatori's porch roof. The dragon didn't seem to be responding very well to whatever they were saying, as they'd already been standing there for ten to fifteen minutes.

He closed his eyes and shifted slightly, resting his elbows against the steering wheel. Silently, he wished away the terrible headache that still coursed through his brain.

Driving to the Sohma Estate had been quite the adventure. They were lucky they had Hiro for directions, and that Haru wasn't as terrible of a driver as they'd origionally expected. (Who knows, in a few years he could actually get his license) A few run red lights and a totaled stop sign aside, he had gotten them there in one piece, right?

He wished he could have been over there with them so he could at least hear what was going on, but his head pulsed so painfully that he wasn't even sure if he could manage the ride home.

Hatori handed Tohru something from his pocket, and for a moment, it almost seemed as if she was going to refuse it. She then bowed several times, waved goodbye, and made her way back to the car- managing to only trip once. Hiro rolled his eyes, but followed nonetheless.

Haru straightened his posture as the car doors clicked open. Tohru situated herself in the seat beside him, Hiro in the back. He turned the key in the ignition without a word, pulling out of the driveway hastily, and speeding down the street just as fast.

"Hatori-san says that Kyo-kun is in danger."

The brunette girl spoke suddenly, fingering the small package in her hands.

"He says that he swore to Akito-sama, so he can't help us.. but Akito-sama is very sick.."

Her frantic speech trailed off as the ox's grip on the steering wheel tightened, a quiet curse escaping his lips.

Hatori wouldn't help them.

"Cowardly bastard."

Hiro's biting comment, for once, was not unwelcome.

Without warning, he floored it.

--

Kyo awoke to the sensation of gentle hands on his aching limbs, and thinking it was Haru, let out a soft moan.

"Rub my back while you're at it."

He groaned breathily into the pillow, earning a disgruntled noise from whomever it was.

"As if, stupid. I'm just changing your bandages."

The voice definitely didn't belong to the ox.

Kyo's eyes snapped open, bloodshot and watery from lack of sleep. His face flushed with the realization that he'd just hit on someone who wasn't his boyfriend.

"What the Hell?!"

He screeched at...

Yuki.

He made a mental note to scrub himself clean when the other teen left the room.

"Shut up, stupid cat."

The rat whispered in annoyance.

"Do you want to wake him up or something?"

It took Kyo only a moment longer to realize that they weren't alone, as he finally took notice of the extra weight on his legs. The weight, belonging to Haru's sleeping top-half, should have been fairly obvious from the start, but Kyo would be damned if he ever admitted it. Especially to that damn Yuki, of all people.

"Please tell me you at least noticed that he was there."

The rat droned.

Kyo paled.

He was a goddamn mind reader!

"Of course! How stupid do you think I am?!"

Silence.

"Pretty stupid, actually."

He answered flippantly.

The cat's expression was blank for a moment, before he sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose.

"Fair enough, I guess."

A laugh was definitely not the expected response from the prince.

"What?!"

Kyo found himself hissing. He didn't care how sore he was, he'd kick the pretty boy's ass for laughing at him like that!

"Nothing, Kyo.. I just.."

He turned to leave, pink coloring his cheeks.

"I'm glad that you're both alright."

He could see the cat's confusion as he closed the door behind him.

It was better if the orange haired teen didn't know that he'd had a hand in his rescue. At least, for now.

He thought about Hatori and the package that he had given Tohru. It held ¥1900000, and four one-way tickets to Sendai. He had instructed her carefully,

'Leave before dawn. Tell no one where you're going, especially not Shigure. Leave no trace, and only take what you absolutely need.'

He sighed, bracing his back against the wall as he gathered his thoughts. Akito was dying very slowly. They were to hide away until he passed. The dragon had promised to send money to a secret account, and they were already registered at a Sendai high school under false names.

He thought of Tohru, and how she had cried upon realizing that she would be leaving her friends behind.

"It's alright, Sohma-kun,"

She had reassured, wiping away silent tears.

"We won't be gone forever."

He thought of Haru, and how exhausted he was. The moment he'd sat by Kyo's side, he had fallen fast asleep.

"We're going through an awful lot of trouble for him."

He had stated placidly, his eyes betraying him as he stared fondly down at the cat's sleeping form.

"But he's worth it."

He then thought of Kyo, and how, in fact, he was worth it.

They would be leaving in six hours.

tbc.

--

As much as I regret continuing this, a bet is a bet, and I most definitely lost it. Sorry for the wait, daggers!

'It's Not Like I Can't' is currently winning the poll on my page. I was actually pretty surprised. For some reason I expected this one to win.. hmm.. Oh well, I'm just glad that you guys love 'INLIC' as much as I do.

In other, real-life news, I have to interview this chick for class, and she told me that her favorite manga was Fruits Basket. I had to refrain from asking, 'Do you know kc creation~?'. I really wanted to know though. What a shame.