Fruits Basket Fan Fiction ❯ Gone Full Circle ❯ Koneko-chan We Love You ( Chapter 15 )

[ X - Adult: No readers under 18. Contains Graphic Adult Themes/Extreme violence. ]

Gone Full Circle

Chapter 15: Koneko-chan We Love You

Yeah, Haru got back to his room, and yeah Haru had a nasty hangover the next day. But that's not what matters. What matters, is that two days after the last night of Sanga-Nichi, Kazuma got a late night visitor. Obviously he was asleep. The sound of something being dropped to the floor was what dragged him from that sleep. But it was the feeling of someone crawling up next to him that actually woke him up. The karate teacher jumped, and actually hit the person (out of instinct, of course).But, then he turned on the light to be met with a lot of red hair.

"What the?" The groggy man blinked in confusion at this strange person in his bed.

"That hurt, Shishou." A certain feline frowned half-heartedly and reached up to run a hand through his mussed up red hair.

"What the hell?" He actually got the whole sentence out this time, still not quite awake. Only one person called him that, but it couldn't be! Kyo was supposed to be gone!

"I'm happy to see you too." Kyo stuck out his tongue and finished his short climb up his love's body. He absently pushed some of his long red hair back over his shoulder.

"Kyo?" He wanted to make sure, before he made any move to do anything back.

"Come on." The young man teased. "Who else would be crawling into your bed?" He raised an eyebrow. "Unless of course you got a lover while I was gone?"

"You're not supposed to be here." Kazuma felt he should point out. "Why ARE you here?"

"Tccch." The cat rolled his eyes. "I was gone for four years. I did college. I missed you and I wanted to come see you, I didn't want to wait any longer. Am I not allowed?" He looked on pleadingly with those pretty ruby eyes of his. "No one else knows I'm here, really. I promise."

"Well, then, hi." Kazuma greeted finally, turning the light off again, to preserve his not-yet adjusted eyes.

"You sound so very excited." The red head murmured, as he took a band off his wrist and began to tie up his, now, really long hair.

"I'm a little surprised, that's all." He tossed a quick glance at the clock. "And reasonably so. It's two in the morning."

"I didn't mean to come so late." The cat laughed in his own defense. "I left pretty early actually, guess it took longer to get here than I thought it would." He winked once he got his hair tied back. "Besides, if I'd come during the day someone might have seen me and told Akito."

"Fair enough." He agreed. "Though, I'm not sure how much he cares anymore."

Kyo's smiled widened. "If that's the case I won't have to leave to soon either."

"Mm," He shook his head. "Be careful though. He's had plenty of amusement lately, but be careful."

The red head snorted before coming over and hugging him affectionately. "I missed you so much." He purred seductively into the man's ear. "So, I guess the least I can do for you is be careful." He assured him.

"Thank you." He murmured, finally hugging him back. "I missed you too." He admitted softly.

"Oh?" Kyo just pulled his head away a little and raised an eyebrow. "I never would have known." He teased.

"Well then, the acting classes DID help." The man stated sarcastically. The cat looked at him adoringly and reached up a hand to brush a strand of hair that had come out of Kazuma's tie.

"So how have you been since I was gone, Shishou?" he requested the information softly.

"Confidant in your safety." He replied vaguely. It was more than he could say for Hatsuharu, but he wasn't going to comment on the boy's well being unless specifically asked about it.

"Hmmm? That's all I get? No good, no happy?" His feline asked suspiciously.

"No good, no happy." He shook his gray head with a small smile. "Though," Kazuma added as an after thought. "I must say, I did better than certain other cousins of yours."

Kyo looked worried for a moment. "You were unhappy?" he completely ignored that last comment. He didn't care about the other cousins.

"Uh, isn't there a medium between happy and sad?"

"Nope," The cat looked a little bit more relieved, but he was still hugging Kazuma like he wasn't going to let go.

"Well, it is good to have you back." He changed the subject quickly. "Did you have a good time while you were gone?"

Kyo smirked. "Oh yes, and I can cook better than Tohru now."

"Oh?" Kazuma raised his eyebrows. "Tohru-san is mighty hard to beat."

"Yes, yes. But she has not spent four years studying at a cooking school." The red head smiled.

"You went to culinary school?"

"Mmhmm." Kyo confirmed. "Since other than martial arts, that appeared to be my only other skill."

"Not true, you're very talented." Kazuma protested.

The cat laughed softly. "Oh?"

"Mmhmm." He nodded.

"I've gotten some new talents since you last saw me." The red head purred.

"Oh?" He raised his eyebrow. "Such as?"

The feline smirked a little bit before quite simply pressing his lips to Kazuma's. And indeed, it was much better than when they'd kissed on Kyo's eighteenth, birthday. Well, better than when they'd kissed on any of his birthdays actually. Because he actually knew what the fuck he was doing now. He didn't have to rely on Kazuma to do it; and he was the one to coax a response out of the man. Kazuma responded without too much urging. When it was over, though. He really had to stare at the boy before him.

"Just what did they teach you at that school?" By this time Kyo had carefully oozed into Kazuma's lap and was now smiling with a light blush of pleasure on his face.

"Lots of interesting things." He answered vaguely.

"Oh?" He repeated what he'd said before. "Such as?"

"I'm not sure it's entirely legal for me to show you." The cat teased, he snorted as he added the last part. "Since I am supposed to be your son and all."

"Oh?" He repeated… again. "That's interesting."

"Unless, of course, you're a dirtier old man than I remember?" Kyo suggested, nuzzling against his neck a little as he shifted in Kazuma's lap.

"Kyo," He sighed, pushing him back just a little, so that he could actually see him. "If I do this you have to promise to give this up."

"Now, Shishou, why would I do that?" He was looking forward to this answer, because he had yet to figure it out himself.

"Because Kyo, it can't work." Kazuma pointed out with a slightly sad look. "You know it can't. Don't--don't do this to yourself."

The cat blinked at him helplessly. "Do this to myself?" He repeated slowly. "What am I doing? I love you, and I've only been following that feeling."

"Kyo, it CAN'T work." He repeated, a bit more forcefully. "Now, I'll give you this, if you want, but then you have to give it up." The red head looked down at his hands, thinking about it. He'd waited for this man for more than half his life. And was now being told by this man that despite this, it would never work and he had to give it up?

"I--all right." He agreed softly, sounding sincere, even though in his head he already knew he had no intentions of giving it up.

"Alright then top or bottom?" He asked and started working on Kyo's shirt.

"Bottom, you're doing the work, old man." Kyo told him in a sugary tone.

***

So, finally they both gave into the urges they'd been keeping locked up for all those years. Despite how wrong it actually was, it really was amazing to have his fiery red headed kitten pinned beneath him, hands held above his head. And crying out for HIM. Kazuma felt a slight pang of guilt for Hatsuharu, but he also knew this would never happen again. It was okay to indulge just this once, just as long as no one knew about it. Right? And, Kyo had wanted it. Oh god, had he ever wanted it. And once he had it, he wasn't disappointed. There were several times during that morning where he thought he might die of pleasure. Die he did not though, because after several hours and several goes he lay comfortably with Kazuma. At some point his hair, which after four years of not being cut now reached down just below his shoulder blades, had come undone and stuck to them.

"Thank you." The kitty told him with a voice soft after much crying out and moaning.

"No trouble." Kazuma dismissed it, covering Kyo with a blanket.

"I'll make you breakfast in a bit to demonstrate one of my more practical skills." Kyo smiled lightly. He needed a little while to just rest and probably take a shower. Kazuma nodded in agreement, before going to sleep himself. He normally wouldn't have been so tired, but it had been two in the morning when they'd started.

***

When Kazuma woke up again, Kyo had been gone for a while, off to take a shower, and now he sat by his bag, Kazuma hadn't even known the bag was there until now, as Kyo fought with his hair. He hadn't combed it before sleeping on it and now it was practically hissing with knots.

"Your hair's grown." Kazuma stated unnecessarily. He hadn't really noticed the night before. It had been dark, and he hadn't been focusing on his lover's hair.

"Yeah. This is what I get for not cutting it for four years." Kyo answered once he'd realized his Shishou was awake.

"It's long." He said, again unnecessarily.

"Ow," Kyo grimaced as the last of the knots was ripped out. He dropped the comb into his bag and crawled over to Kazuma on all fours. "You're one to talk?" He smiled as he ran a hand over the other's gray hair.

"Yeah, well," Kazuma floundered for a moment, before successfully getting the subject OFF of him. "If it's so annoying, why didn't you ever have it cut?"

"Hmmm," The cat pretended to think about that. " It's not annoying at all. But in answer to your question, Shishou: because, your hair is long, and at the time it reminded me of you?" He suggested with a smile, and then raised an eyebrow. "Do you not like it?"

"It's long." Kazuma repeated, almost simply. "Not bad, but, well, long."

"Yes, it's long. Thank you for explaining that." The red head almost laughed.

Instead he got up and found a hair tie from in his bag. He obviously hadn't bothered to update his wardrobe. Because as Kyo went to tie back the long red strands, his shirt rose with his arms; exposing that famous strip of pretty tan stomach.

"So, where are you off to this morning?" Kazuma asked interestedly, trying valiantly to ignore that. He really hoped Kyo would go see Hatsuharu before the ox did something stupid, like jump off of something tall.

“Uhm, after I leave here I'll be going into town to get a newspaper. Then I'll be looking for a job and an apartment." The cat listed off. "Once I've got that settled I can get my stuff moved down from the other apartment."

"You might want to sleep at Shigure-kun's tonight." Kazuma suggested casually. "Go assure Tohru-san that you're still alive."

The red headed eyed him coolly for a moment. That was such crap. He just didn't want Kyo around tempting him into more sex. (You know it's true.)

"All right," the feline agreed with a shrug. "Shigure will probably know if Akito's pissed off still too." Yeah, that'd be a nice thing to know. "But first." he murmured. "I'm off to prove that I'm a better cook than Tohru."

Kazuma actually laughed to that. "Of course, of course." He agreed, following Kyo into the kitchen. And, indeed, Kyo's cooking had improved a great deal. And, also it was, indeed, better than Tohru's now.

The younger Sohma was practically cackling with delight. "While I'm at Shigure's I can finally kick Yuki's ass too." He grinned from across the table.

"You've kept up with your training then?" He grinned proudly. It would be great to see Kyo finally win.

"Mmhmm." Kyo's smile turned sly. "Do you honestly think I could have kept up my body if I hadn't?"

"If you ate properly, maybe," He shrugged, knowing it wasn't true. "Good luck with that, then." Kazuma's response was funny. Eating properly, Kyo almost snickered. Kazuma had seen the entirety of his body and no amount of good eating would give you that.

"Yeah, I'll be sure to come tell you the results." He snorted.

"You'd better." He nodded. "I didn't train you for all that time to loose to someone who's been slacking for so long." Kyo didn't have the heart to tell Kazuma he'd studied some of another style while he was away. So he just grinned and agreed with that. They had a pleasant breakfast and then Kazuma saw Kyo off at the door. Maybe Haru would be going to Shigure's later. Maybe.

The kitten smiled charmingly at him, and without fear, kissed Kazuma. "Last one." He said in his defense, sticking out his tongue and then setting off to go into town. He needed to look for a job, an apartment, and he needed to get a bank account going here.

***

Later that night, Yuki got quite a surprise. While he was passing back from the kitchen toward the stairs, he heard a knock on the door. And, upon opening it, he was left agape for a moment. No matter how much he changed, Kyo was still the cat. And Yuki Sohma would never NOT recognize him.

"You!" Was the first intelligent thing the rat could put together. And, really, it wasn't all that shocking that he was surprised. After all, none of them had seen Kyo in over four years, and suddenly, there he was on Shigure's porch.

"Yo." The cat answered disinterestedly. "Your intelligence is as high as ever."

"Pardon me for not expecting to see you again." Yuki murmured, having gotten his wits back. He'd have to get a hold of Haru later. Maybe seeing Kyo alive, well, and back would cheer the depressed ox up. Finally.

"Look." The red head told him rather flatly. "It's dark, it's cold, and I've been out all day. You wanna let me in?"

"Um, Sure?" He agreed, still looking a little shock and just stepping back. "But, you'll have to take the couch. Shigure locked your room, and I'm not sure where he put the key."

"Yeah, whatever," Kyo moved a bit stiffly. He'd enjoyed his time with Shishou, and his muscles now reminded him how much he'd enjoyed it by hurting mercilessly. "I just need a place to crash until I get my apartment and stuff." The red head looked carefully around the house. It wasn't too different actually except: "Where are the pervert and Tohru?"

"Honda-san's at work," Yuki answered slowly, as he headed for the stairs and his own room. "And I think Shigures in his office not caring who's at the door?" WRONG! And the dog made his appearance then. Sticking his head out his study and was about to ask who had been at the door. But then he caught sight of a certain red head.

"Uhm, who are you?" He wondered, since Kyo had his back to him. But then the cat turned around and called him an idiot. That jolted the dog's memory. "Kyo-kun!" The moron cooed and hugged the cat. But that didn't serve to tick the cat off like he'd hoped. So they got Kyo's sleeping arrangements sorted out, and Shigure went back to his office to plot how to piss Kyo off while the feline lounged happily on the furniture.

It was about half an hour later that Tohru appeared at the door, still in a suit-like-outfit from work. She was so excited to see Kyo she almost hugged him. But they managed to avoid that situation. The poor red head managed to stave off her obligatory babbling by saying he was tired, too. Shigure backed him up on this. Since he planned to call the entire family the next day, starting with Haru, to bother the cat. So he'd need his rest now.

***

The next morning a very hyper Momiji awakened Haru at the bright hour of seven. We're not sure why Shigure was awake at seven in the morning, nor Momiji, nor why Shigure assumed Haru would be. But, that's how it happened. Momiji bounded in through Haru's for once unlocked door, and reminded the ox why he usually kept it locked, chirping:

"Haru! Shii-chan called! He says his new book's ready, and he wants you to come read it!" The bunny poked the tired and groaning ox in the cheek as he continued. "He said to come as soon as possible, so I'll let you get dressed now!" He informed him, before bouncing out of the room again. And so, Haru managed to get himself awake enough to actually go about getting dressed, and set out for Shigure's by seven forty five, arriving there by eight thirty.

"Sensei!" He called, as he entered through the unlocked front door. However, what he saw on Shigure's couch made him change his sentence. "Who's the red-headed chick on your couch?" The dog looked over to the couch as if he hadn't noticed someone was on it before. Kyo had untied his hair before going to sleep. The masses of red covered his face, and the cat was burrowed down into the couch cushions.

"Oh," He blinked for a moment. "Well Haa-kun, you see. That's Kyo-kun."

Haru froze and stiffened. "That's... mean, Sensei." He decided to say first. "You shouldn't joke about crap like that..."

Shigure looked hurt. "No faith at all!" He murmured, waiting to see if the ox's curiosity would get the better of him.

"I figured out a long time ago that he isn't coming back." He stated softly, so as to not wake the sleeping girl on the couch. "Now, can you give me the book you wanted me to read so I can go back home?"

"Mmm, all right, Haa-kun. Just do me a favor and wake her up." The dog nodded to Kyo and turned as if to head and get the book, but he was really just going to hide around to corner to watch. Haru sighed and walked over to the couch, grumbling under his breath about how Shigure should wake his own 'friends' up. However, upon doing the actual waking, he was met with quite the surprise. A pair of crimson eyes blinked blearily from under the heaps of orange hair. He rolled over a little proving him NOT to be female at all.

"Wha--" Kyo wondered, he hadn't exactly gotten all the way awake yet and he had no idea who was poking him awake yet. Haru froze in his movement. Absolutely froze. His eyes widened as he looked down into those red eyes.

"K-Kyo?" He questioned warily, wanting to make sure before he did anything.

"What?" The cat complained. "Damn, what time is it?" He couldn't see a clock from his laid down position and didn't feel like sitting up to look.

"Kyo," He breathed, before properly hugging his long lost kitten. "Kyo!"

"Ack!" The red head struggled against him a little. "Haru, would you get off?" He grumbled in confusion.

"Like hell I will!" Haru snapped childishly, and if anything tightening his grip even more. "You disappear for four years without even hinting to anyone that you were going, you ARE going to get some hugs!"

"Hey, that's a blatant lie." Kyo muttered in his own defense. He was stronger than he'd been when he left, but he still couldn't get the damn ox off him! "Shishou knew I was going, it was his damn idea."

"Neither of you decided to share the plan with anyone."

"What is your damn point?" The red head demanded, squirming in his grip a bit more.

"My point is--" Haru paused for a moment, burying his face into Kyo's chest. "I MISSED you, dammit." The confused look on Kyo's face was amusing and Shigure found himself fighting snickers.

"Er, okay, then?" That did not explain the hugging, oddly enough.

"And if you EVER do that again, the first thing I do when I see you again is kick your ass." Haru threatened quite simply, looking up to glare at him, fully revealing the scars on his face from where he'd fallen asleep in that glass on Kyo's twenty first birthday for the first time since Kyo had woken enough to actually be able to focus his eyes. The pretty red eyes widened. For one thing, there were big scars on Haru's face, and for another thing. The idiot was threatening him. And honestly, Kyo wasn't sure which one to comment on.

"I'd like to see you try." He finally murmured, running a nervous hand through his long hair.

"Emotion can make people do strange things." Haru shrugged quite simply, moving so that his face was then buried in the crook of Kyo's neck. He honestly hadn't thought he'd ever see him again, and here he was! Kitty was very confused. He gets home, and first thing in the morning Haru, of all people, is all over him. What the hell? Finally he needed an excuse to make the guy let go.

"Haru, I'm starving, could you let go?" he requested with a sigh. It wasn't a total lie; he was hungry. Haru was very reluctant to obey, but he did, plopping down onto the floor cross-legged and staring up at Kyo. He felt happy for the first time in years. Really, honestly happy. `What a weirdo!' Kyo stared at him a moment before hurrying off to the kitchen. He was going to make the most complicated dish he knew how to just so his time in here would be prolonged. Yes. That was the plan. However, that probably would have achieved more if Haru hadn't followed him in there, thinking only as an after thought that he probably should have worn long sleeves to hide the scars. but, he didn't really care. He just wanted to be near Kyo. The cat distinctly remembered thinking, that it must be really irritating to have someone following you around, when Kisa was here following Tohru. His suspicious were not confirmed. It was not irritating. It was unnerving. Especially since Haru was just watching him. That was it, and it was weird. He kind of regretted coming here now; maybe he should have stayed at Kazuma's? He would have been safe from this if he had.

"I.--I really did miss you." Haru stated softly after a few minutes. "A lot."

The red head shivered nervously from where he was cooking over at the counter. "Yeah," He murmured. "You said that."

"You know, it wouldn't have killed you to let me say good-bye." He pointed out, in that same soft tone. "I wouldn't have told Akito or anyone, if you'd told me you were going."

"Er, I didn't think it would be such a big deal to you." The ox fails to notice, that when Kyo left, they really weren't that close. They aren't the close now either, actually.

"I didn't either." He admitted quietly, finally, running his index finger over one of the many, many scars on one of his arms. He'd been prepared to watch Kyo be locked up. Now he knew, that wouldn't have been any easier. He'd just have known then for a fact that it would have been permanent. Shigure was still listening from around the corner. Kyo was pretty sure he was there too; he just didn't know why he found this conversation so interesting. HECK He didn't even know why he was having the conversation. He stayed quiet for a little bit before changing the subject.

"You going to want any of this?"

"Uh?" The ox blinked, snapping out of his thoughts as he processed the question. "No thanks, I'm fine." He declined a moment later, once it fully occurred to him what had been asked. Eventually, of course, the food would have to finish cooking. This involved sitting at the table and trying to eat and not pay attention to how fucking pale Haru was or how many scars Haru had. Kyo didn't remember a single one of them being there before, and he'd shared a room with the ox for six months. Also, by the time the food was finished cooking, Yuki had woken and come downstairs.

"Oh," He blinked, a little surprised to see Haru there. Or, out of his room on a day that wasn't their graduation anniversary. "You're here."

"Nice to see you too, Yuki." Haru nodded, waving a little, though he didn't take his eyes off of Kyo. The cat was still looking decidedly nervous about this and hurried to finish his food. He completely ignored the rat's entrance, since; he still just didn't like him. It took Kyo some effort to wash his plate and what he'd used to cook and NOT look over his shoulder at Haru. But he did, and then he went to get his bag of clothes so he could lock himself in the bathroom for a while.

"Kyo!" Haru protested his exit, scrambling to his feet to follow him out of the room.

"You haven't told him yet, have you?" Yuki asked him, before he could actually get out of the room.

"Uh," Haru paused, glancing back at him. "Uh, uh," He shook his head.

"You might want to do that." The rat advised simply from behind his glass of juice. Haru nodded and started out of the room again, to find Kyo, but by then, the bathroom door was already shut, and the ox simply sat down outside it, waiting for the cat's exit.

Groaning, Kyo sat down on the floor for a little while. Yeah, it was okay if Haru had missed him. But this really was a bit much. It took him five minutes of just sitting there before he got up and changed. He went through the routine he'd set himself in, khaki cargos, black shirt, comb hair, tie it up, put on necklace, brush teeth, wash face. Then there was nothing left to do, but, he didn't want to go out. He forced himself to eventually, and just as he had expected Haru was sitting there. The red head just blinked at him.

"I need to talk to you, Kyo." Haru stated instantly as soon as the cat came out, not wanting to give his older cousin a chance to flee his presence, again.

"Er, okay?" His hand fiddled idly with the beads. Still a horribly nervous habit of his.

"Alone." He added, as though it was an after thought as he stood up, grabbing Kyo's hand and pulling him outside. He wasn't sure if he wanted anyone to hear this. What if he messed up again? What if Kyo hated him and never wanted to see him again? If that happened, he might have to break his promise to Rin and jump out that window a little early. Kyo allowed himself to be dragged, just this once. Maybe Haru would tell him what the hell was going on and he could get him to stop.

Haru took him a ways away from the house, and dropped down to the ground under a tree.

"What?" Kyo asked imploringly.

Even then, it was a few minutes before he spoke, and then the words came slowly, carefully picked.

"I--I lied to you." Well, maybe they weren't so carefully picked after all. "Well, it wasn't me, it was him, but it was still a lie and," He trailed off, realizing he wasn't making any sense. At all.

"You realize, I have no idea what you're talking about?" The red head wanted to be sure. He curled his bare toes in the ground, he wasn't sure he actually wanted to know now.

"Let me start over." He grimaced a little. And indeed, he did start over. "Right after you left, I asked Shihan what I said to you the first time I went Black on you, and, Kyo, it wasn't true." A very, very small part of his brain registered that Kyo might not even remember anymore, but the rest of him just wanted to get this out and in the open. Finally. Before something else came along and he missed his chance again. "I wasn't wrong. I did love you--I DO!" His cheeks were horribly red by this point. "I--I wanted to die when you were gone. I tried, too. A lot." He blinked a little trying, to force the shame he was feeling back, to just finish. "Please don't hate me for this?" He requested softly, actually looking at Kyo for the first time since he'd started. "I--I don't think I could stand to loose you again." The feline's eyes were wide and his face was shade that matched the ruby orbs perfectly. Not only had he not known anything about this, he felt bad now too. What was he supposed to tell Haru exactly? 'No, I won't hate you. But I'm still in love with Shishou.' Actually that might be the best way to go. He stayed quiet as he tried to decide what would be the best way to tell his cousin, who had just spilled his guts to him. That he was still in love with someone else.

After several minutes of uncomfortable silence, Haru spoke up before he had the chance to vomit. "K-Kyo?" He addressed the older, almost timidly. Almost. He was still Haru. He wasn't timid about anything a day in his life.

"Haru, I don't know what to tell you." The cat confessed simply.

"Oh," He realized something he hadn't tried yet. It wasn't like he had much to lose, after all. "Kyo, I understand if you don't want to be with me, but," He paused for a moment, before blurting out, "But I can make you just as happy as Shihan can!" Oh, and if he had been blushing before! Yes, quite a pair of tomatoes they made, and that wouldn't have been nearly as embarrassing if Kyo hadn't JUST had sex with Kazuma the other night. Not that he was going to mention that.

"Kyo," He could feel his eyes watering over again, but he was NOT going to cry. Nope. Not again. "Please! Give me a chance--just one--I swear you won't be sorry!"

"One," The cat murmured. He could handle giving Haru one, then he'd be able to let him down easy and not feel so bad about it.

"Thank you." Haru breathed, practically launching himself forward and embracing Kyo around the waist. "Thank you, I love you! You won't be sorry about this!" He promised over and over for a good ten minutes or so.

"Right," The cat murmured. "Look, Haru, I have to go into town today. I need a job and an apartment, yet." This was the newest excuse he'd thought of to get the ox off him.

"You're going to want to go alone, aren't you?" He responded softly, peeking out from where his face was buried in Kyo's stomach. His very hard stomach, it might be noted.

"Erk," Why did he insist on making poor Kyo feel SO damn bad?! "I don't care if you come, but you can't hang on me at my job interviews, and apartment hunting is not going to be very exciting. I don't see why you'd want to come."

"I just want to be around you." Haru explained slowly, as though it was the most obvious thing in the world. "I want--I want to make sure you don't run off without telling me again."

"Really," The cat made a little face. "I don't plan on it. Even if Akito's pissed off, I'll probably end up living on the other side of town, anyways. That's where all the restaurants are."

"Restaurants?" Haru repeated, raising an eyebrow at him. No one had informed him about what Kyo had been doing while he'd been gone. The red head was beginning to wonder if Haru ever intended to get off his knees and let go of his waist.

But Kyo humored him with an answer anyways. "Yeah, four years of culinary school and the only thing you can really do is go work in a restaurant." Haru blinked a couple of times, and made an `ah' sound and a small nod. He kept his hug up a couple of more minutes before, finally, releasing his older cousin. He remembered Kyo didn't like being touched for too long. So, the cat could finally head back to the house, but before he could go out he needed to hunt Shigure back down. The dog was the only one around who would know the status on Akii.

"Hm?" Shigure blinked up from the book he was reading when Kyo entered. "Oh. Kyo-kun. What is it?"

"Well, I kind of, need to know about Akito." The red head explained, fidgeting with his necklace a little. "Since, I kind of plan on sticking around."

"Ah, yes, Akito-san." Shigure frowned a little, thinking about that. "It's hard to tell. But, I don't think he'll try to lock you up again. You were gone for a long time, and I'm pretty sure Haa-kun gave him plenty of entertainment. Enough to distract him, anyway. He's probably over it by now."

"You sure?" The young man wanted to be sure. "I promised Shishou I'd be careful, and honestly I've got no great urge to get locked up."

"Just stay off the grounds and you'll be fine." Shigure waved it off. Akito rarely left his room and garden let alone the house or compound.

"That's reassuring, Shigure." Kyo snorted, then changed the subject. "And, is it okay for me to crash here until I get my apartment and stuff?"

"Mmhmm." Shigure nodded, opening a desk drawer and shuffling around some papers, until he found a key, and held it out to him. "Here's the key to your room. You might want to open the window; it's been locked for a while. Bound to be stuffy." He chuckled at the humor that he alone saw--as in most things.

"Er, why was it locked up to begin with? I figured you'd want to turn it back into your study." The red head wondered but took the key anyways.

His cheerful expression actually went away. All together. When he heard that. "Haa-kun." He answered simply. Kyo's blush returned and he didn't intend to push that subject any further. So he got his bag from where he'd left it in the bathroom and went to unlock the room. It was stuffy and dusty, just like Shigure said, and Kyo found himself coughing helplessly as he fought through the clouds of dust to get to the window and open it. Haru had stayed down on the porch when Kyo had gone in. But he went inside now. After a short talk with Shigure, he made his way upstairs. He didn't really fear having a nervous breakdown again, if he went back into Kyo's room. After all, the cat was occupying it again. So, when he got up there, he knocked on the doorframe, Kyo had left the door open too, in addition to the window.

The cat fanned dust away from his face desperately. "Damn," He complained as he looked around. It really didn't look like anyone had been in here at all since he'd left. "Man, I could have saved myself a fortune if I could-a brought some of this furniture with me." He murmured, fleeing back out into the hall next to Haru while they let the dust clear.

"You're not going to have any moved over from where you used to live?" Haru asked him curiously, blinking. That's what HE would have done. But he wasn't Kyo.

"I need a job to pay for it to be moved and a job to pay for the place to put it first." The red head corrected.

"Ah." Haru nodded in understanding. He couldn't help but blink at the dusty room, though. He'd thought Shigure would have used it for something. He hadn't been upstairs in this house in so long.

"Man! You guys really didn't touch much." Kyo murmured. "The only thing different is that box, and knowing Shigure, it's full of his dime store crap."

"I haven't been up here in a while." Haru responded, indirectly saying that he hadn't touched anything at all, personally. It was finally safe to enter without fear of choking, and Kyo started sorting through things. He even set about finally picking up the futon he'd never bothered with. This produced that damn stuffed cat though. The red head was tempted to throw it at Haru, but he ended up just setting it back on his desk. He didn't care if Yuki teased him about it now. He hoped the rat would try actually; it'd be an excuse to kick his ass.

"You didn't take it with you?" Haru blinked, speaking softly as he entered the room behind Kyo, glancing at the desk as he went. In retrospect, it made sense that he wouldn't have--one more thing to lug around. But the last time he'd been in this room, he hadn't actually gotten far in enough to check such trivial things. He'd broken down by the door.

'Great, make with guilt why don't you Haru.' The cat noted sourly. And that was pretty much it: the thing didn't have any practical use, and Kyo had known it.

"If it makes you feel better," Kyo turned around and brandished the beads around his neck. "I took these."

Haru did brighten a bit to that, though he also blushed. He already knew what he was going to get Kyo for his next birthday. Kyo continued to sort through his room. Several large piles of papers were unceremoniously dropped into the garbage can and the cat made a mental note to dust. A lot of it had gone out the window, but every time he moved something a new swarm of particles would arise.

"Feh, that's enough of this, I'm getting a headache." The red head murmured. "You coming in town with me or not?" He asked as he dug through his bag for socks and his comb.

"If you don't mind." Haru nodded from where he was leaning against the wall by the door. He hadn't sat down, it would be too much trouble to try and dust his pants off, if he had.

"It's fine. You're too fucking pale anyways." Kyo noted getting up again once he found himself sufficiently groomed. Then he set off on a trek for his shoes. He wondered absently where Tohru was. But figured he'd spend some time with her when he got back.

"S'what happens when you sit inside for four years." Haru shrugged, following Kyo out of the room. He wasn't trying to make Kyo feel guilty, just stating a fact. That time may not have been any of his prouder moments, but he certainly wasn't ashamed of them. That paused the red head for a moment; he passed Haru an odd look before hurrying to regain his stride.

"What DID you do while I was gone?" he finally asked when they were heading out of the house, finally. So far he'd gathered. Nothing.

"Uh?" Haru blinked at him, honestly surprised to hear that question. He'd figured that in their family, Kyo would already have heard. "Sulked a lot." He admitted, pondering what else. There hadn't been much else. "Smashed a few windows and some dishes. I already told you about the suicide attempts. Had a couple of melt downs, not too many of those, though." And really, there hadn't been. "Rin got me into a couple of bars near the start of last year." He continued to list off. "Not much else." He realized, with a small blink. He really hadn't been very productive. Sighing, Kyo reached up and hand and pat his head. They were a bit closer to the same height now, but Haru was still taller.

"You're an idiot you know that?" He murmured, even though it had enough teasing in it to make it not insulting.

"You sound like Rin." Haru felt he should point out, letting his head fall to rest on Kyo's shoulder. He liked being with him again. A lot.

“Oh, wonderful." The cat snorted. "You know, Shishou mentioned that you didn't do too well, but I didn't think it'd be this bad." He told the other man dryly. True to Rin's prediction, Kyo was not impressed.

"I missed you." Haru repeated, as though this should explain everything. Though he did elaborate too. "I didn't know where you were, or if you were even alive. I wanted to go wait for you somewhere where it wouldn't hurt so much."

"I told Shishou I'd be back." The feline pointed out, raising a wary eyebrow. "I'm surprised he didn't mention any of this crap to you already."

"Mmm, no." He shook his head a little, letting it rise back to a proper position. "No one mentioned anything definite."

"Sorry I didn't mail a postcard then." Kyo murmured sarcastically as he continued on his way to town.

"You haven't changed." Haru snorted, smiling at him. He couldn't remember the last time he'd smiled. A real smile. Not a smirk or anything like that.

"Did you really expect me to?" He threw the red ponytail that had come over, back across his shoulder. Maybe he hadn't meant it to, but it made some nice flippant punctuation.

"I didn't expect to see you again at all." Haru pointed out. "If I had, I would have been more patient."

"You, patient?" Kyo laughed. "I'll believe it when I see it."

"Well, maybe not patient." He conceded a little. "But, I wouldn't have threatened to jump out a window." That was true. He would have waited and been more reasonable about it all. Maybe.

"Jumping out a window?" The cat teased. "I'd have expected something much flashier out of you, Haru."

"I tried flashy," Haru grimaced a little. "On your birthday. Tori-nii caught me before I could bleed to death."

"Yeah, your corpse weighing down my karma is exactly what I want for my birthday." The red head looked over at him, out of the corner of his eye.

"I thought about trying in February." He mused. "One big Valentine." He joked with a wink. "Damn, that was a great set-up too. What a waste to get caught." He didn't really realize just how crazy and suicidal he sounded. That attempt had been his masterpiece. He was still rather proud of it. "It was great. Glass EVERYWHERE!"

"Mmm, I'm feeling notta-so-impressed." His cousin sighed. "Maybe it's best you're pale, sounds like all those scars would stand out if you tanned."

"No different than a tattoo." He shrugged, feeling a little disappointed that Kyo didn't appreciate something that he'd worked for months planning. "Expression, art, whatever."

"Then why didn't you just get a tattoo?" Kyo taunted him. "Attempts at death are a bit extreme for nothin' more than a stray cat, Haru."

"But, I love you." Haru told him again. The more he said it, the more right it sounded. Not that it had sounded particularly wrong to begin with. "It hurt to not be near you. All I was trying to do was numb that." He was still confident that, even if he had died, that feeling of longing wouldn't go away. The more he said it the worse Kyo felt. He knew the feeling Haru was talking about. But too bad for Haru the feeling hadn't been for him. It'd been for a certain forty-six year old karate master. "I'm gonna go grab something while you're finding a job," Haru changed the subject quickly. "Where should I meet you?"

"Mmm, I'll be checking a couple places. So, how about, that convenience store that's down the street from Yoko's, if it's still there that is?" he had no idea what would have changed in town since he was gone. "I need to get another newspaper too."

"Right." Haru agreed with a nod, he waited till Kyo was actually inside before taking off.

TBC