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[Chica]

{OMG. That was so awesome.} 

 

Natsume froze in his tracks for a moment when a new voice called his name, and he watched Kit in mild recognition. It took him a moment to remember her, and he reached out one arm towards her as he ran, opening his mouth, trying to shout: "Jake's in there!" But no words escaped him. He reached the riverbank just in time to see Kit hurtling into the water after the mini-bus. 

Hajime was close behind him, and reached out to stop Natsume running into the water after Kit, but he arrived a second too late. For a moment, it looked as though he was going to hurry after the child, but he hesitated, his eyes glued to the rushing water. He couldn't go in there. But Natsume would die if he didn't. 

Before he had a chance to decide what to do, however, Makoto had hurled himself after Kit. "Kit!" he shouted, his voice heavy with concern. The bus was almost completely submerged by now, and the flowing water made it difficult for him to get to where she was, banging on the window. "Kit!" 

"Damn it," Lucie grumbled. "What are those idiots doing?" She grabbed her phone and began to call the fire department. 

 

Inside the mini-bus, most were still in shock, but as water began to fill every inch of the bus, they began to panic. 

Kagami had rolled down his window and, as calmly as he could reached for his seatbelt. But it was stuck. He pushed the button down over and over, but it refused to come loose, and he resorted to desperately trying to pull it free. As he ran out of air, his movements became more and more frantic, making it impossible to grasp properly at the seatbelt. Eventually he gave up and pressed both hands firmly over his mouth, closing his eyes tightly as bubbles escaped through his fingers. The surface was just beyond the window; if he reached out an arm, he would feel the fresh air on his fingers, but he couldn't get to it. In that instant, he knew he had been tricked, and that he was going to die here with everyone else. 

 

Eve managed to remove her seatbelt easily, and swam to the window Kit had smashed, over Kitsune and Hana. She pushed Kit roughly away from the window and swam out, wincing as glass cut into her arms and legs. She broke the surface a moment later and smirked in satisfaction at the bubbles rising from the bus, indicating the struggles of everyone below. 'Why should I help them?' she thought, turning towards the riverbank. She glanced back at Kit and Makoto, and almost laughed at their stupidity. She didn't know, or care who they were, but they were going to get themselves killed, and that amused her. Looking ahead again, she saw a child struggling to keep his balance in the shallow water. And behind him, another stranger who looked to be too afraid to jump in after him. With another smirk, she held out her hand towards Natsume. "Help me!" she begged, attempting to sound afraid. 

Natsume stared at her in conflicted silence, before reaching out to pull her to shore. But, unfortunately she had other plans. The second their hands connected, Eve pulled him roughly into the deeper water, and continued on her way without looking back. She wanted to watch every single person here die, so there would be no witnesses to get her locked back up in that place; it didn't matter to her how old they were. 

But karma struck at that moment; the river was fast flowing after all, and a sudden wave, carrying a large, heavy branch struck her. Her smile froze on her face as a sharp pain shot through her stomach, and the water around her began to turn red. She had been impaled on the branch. 

 

Kitsune struggled to remove his seatbelt, staring at the stranger who had come to their rescue. He barely noticed Eve pass him. As he managed to free himself, he shook Hana's shoulder. No response. 'Damn it!' he thought, reaching for Hana's seatbelt. 

But Hana grabbed his arm suddenly, and gave a barely noticeable shake of his head. He hadn't looked up. If he did, he would see Kit and get her out of the water. She couldn't swim, and even if she could, this river was dangerous. But he didn't look up. He kept his eyes closed, and his expression reserved. 

'You want to die here?' Kitsune thought angrily. He was about to unfasten Hana's seatbelt anyway and drag him out if he had to, but, out of the corner of his eye, he saw Drew, and instantly knew something was wrong with his seatbelt. 'Damn it!' he thought, closing one eye in discomfort. They had already been under for over thirty seconds, and he was becoming aware he would need oxygen soon. But both Drew and Hana needed his help first. 

He forced himself over to where Drew sat, and began pulling at his seatbelt. It wouldn't budge. 

 

Shou didn't seem to realize what was happening at first, and stared at the others as they began to struggle. He then turned his attention to the bubbles rising from his own mouth, and was struck with the need to breathe. 'It hurts...' he thought, more confused than afraid, as he made a grab for Katana's hand. 'I wonder if I'm going to die.' 

He didn't particularly care. It interested him to know what would happen after death, but, he couldn't die now. He couldn't let Katana die. So he hastily grabbed for Katana's seatbelt and tried to unfasten it. 

[LittleWitch]

[OH GOD DONT LET THEM DIE!!!]

 

Katana had been able to undo his seat belt and so had Harkot, who Katana had pushed towards the open window. Katana quickly turned to Shou and ripped the seat belt off of him and dragged Shou out of the bus.

 

Kit could see Hana, he wasn't trying to get out, and she couldn't get to him. Without thinking she pulled herself through the window, her legs getting cut by the glass and grabbed him by the wrist the way he always grabbed her to get her to go somewhere.

please! Please Hana!

Her lunges began to burn as she held her breath. She desperately wanted to suck in the water hoping somehow it would be air, but she couldn't. As she tugged at Hana's arm she felt her head throbbing and her vision began to get fuzzy. 

She couldn't hold on much longer, her lips parted and the freezing water instantly filled her lunges. 

Please...

[Chica]

{Nu. They wont die. D: This is the last post I can do tonight, gomen.} 

 

As Shou's head broke the surface of the water, he gasped, his hands clutching Katana's shirt. "I wanted...to save you..." he protested with a weak smile. His energy was drained, and the fast flowing water threatened to carry them away. "Let go of me. It doesn't matter if I get back to shore, as long as you and Harkot are ok." 

 

Hana's eyes flew open when a hand grabbed his wrist. He recognized that hand. But, it couldn't be... 

He looked up just in time to see Kit running out of air and beginning to slip into unconsciousness. If he wasn't underwater, he would have sworn. He pulled Kit towards him and pressed his mouth to hers, emptying all of the air from his lungs. Then he began to pull at his seatbelt, his hands shaking now in his effort not to draw breath. Like many of the others, it was stuck. There was someone else outside the window, trying to get in to save Kit, but that person was struggling to keep their own head above the water. He couldn't hand Kit out to them. 

He grabbed the largest shard of glass he could, and cut away at the seatbelt, his head swimming in dizziness. Finally, after what felt like a painful hour, he managed to free himself, grabbed Kit, and pulled her out through the window. 

[PeppermintxKiss]

{{sorry for the delayed response guys]]

Lightning was mortified as she realised Gem knew he was Gem all along, and as he said he should have never trusted her, her memories slowly flashed back to when they'd first met, that time in the woods.. "Stop!" she screamed as they went over the edge, she pulled furiously at her seatbelt and it eventually came free, she began to swim out after the others, realising Jake's belt wouldn't come undone, she pulled at it and eventually broke it free and dragged him out of the sinking mini-bus. 

Jake had been trying to get out but it wouldn't let him, the belt was broken, but to his surprise someone came to his rescue, the water stung his eyes and blurred his vision so he couldn't really tell who it was. 

Drew had been struggling to get his seatbelt off, it was broken, it wouldn't come out. The heart sinking feeling of the slow realization that he was going to die hit him. But then he felt someone pull of his belt and get him out, They began to swim out of the river. 

Kasey and June had managed to get themselves out after a few moments of struggling. 

Krista got her belt off and swam out the window, then she remembered the driver, she couldn't leave him to die, she swam further down to the from of the minibus and smashed the windscreen and pulled him out, pulling them to the top of the river bank, pushing him into safety and then pulling herself out, her lungs burning as she gasped for air. 

Jase pulled his belt off and swam out of the bus. 

Xavier watched as everyone escaped, or someone saved them, he was frantically pulling at his belt, but it wouldn't come off. Eventually, his oxygen completely ran out and his lungs burnt as water filled them, he tried, but nothing would work and eventually he blacked out. His body stopped struggling and went limp. He had drowned. 

Rachel watched in horror as Natsume was pulled into the river "NATSOOMEY!" she screamed, tears running down her face. She ran into the river after him, she couldn't let him drown, she just couldn't. She jumped in and went looking for him, the river raced faster than she had, but she kept on until she saw him, she pulled at him, and pulled him out of the river. pushing him onto the river bank, then pulled him out. and hugged him hard. Crying again. 

Siobhan watched in horror as the bus sank, and someone got impaled by a tree, and when the little ones jumped in the river she was going to jump in after them but they got out, she took a breath of relief and ran over to them.  "Rachel, Natsume, are you okay?" she asked softly. 

[LittleWitch]

[Shou is such a cutie!]

 

Katana huffed as they got into shallow water and practically threw Shou over his shoulder. Katana and Harkot were finally on the banks of the river, Harkot flopped down, his legs still in the water. Katana reached up and brought Shou down in front of him, he was still struggling until he noticed tears in Katana's eyes. Katana pulled Shou close to him and hugged him tightly.

"Stop it!" He whispered still hugging Shou, "Stop putting me first. You are the only reason I'm still here, and I'll be damned if I let anything happen to you!"

He finally set Shou down and then crumbled to his knees still gasping for air.

 

Kit could feel something warm against her face, was she just dead, no she could still feel the water, and her lunges still burned. She felt something pulling her, and her body felt like it was stretching for miles, there was something sharp in her leg but it didn't really bother her. Then she felt something solid underneath her and that warmth against her face again. she felt something else on her chest, not the water this time something was pushing on her, then all of a sudden all feeling flooded back to her, the shard of glass in her leg, the cold of the water and the air, the water in her lunges. Her eyes shot open and she began to cough and heave. something rolled her over and the water in her lunges came spilling out.

Her vision began to focus, people were climbing out of the water, she saw Natsume, and Makoto, they were both safe, she smiled. But she didn't see Hana, then their was a hand on her shoulder, and shivering she rolled over and saw him, kneeling over her, blood on his face from his hand. Looking down at her conserned.

"I l-like your h-hair pink..." 

Was all she got out and then she passed out from exostion.

[Chica]

Kagami was barely conscious when he felt arms pulling him from the bus, and to the surface of the river. 

His eyes flickered open when he felt dry land beneath him, and he began to gasp for air. Slowly, and with some difficulty, he managed to turn his head to the side and see Krista. At first he thought maybe he had died, because there was no way any of them would save the person who just tried to kill them, but, reaching out a hand, he made contact with Krista's cheek. She was real, and, for some reason had decided to risk her life further to save his. "Why...?" was all he could bring himself to say. 

 

Hana smiled in relief when Kit spoke, and pulled her into a tight hug. "Thank goodness," he whispered. "Don't you ever do anything so dangerous ever again!" He knew he didn't have room to talk; he had been ready to die after all, and if Kit hadn't been there, he wouldn't be alive right now. 

Hajime backed away from the others slightly, cursing himself for not being able to help. He glanced over at the children, relieved that they were safe, but ashamed of himself for not even trying to save them. But then, he noticed something was wrong. "Natsume?" he whispered, slowly making his way over to them. Natsume was limp in Rachel's arms, his eyes closed, and his lips turning blue. 

At the mention of the name, Hana released Kit slowly and spun around to stare at his son. That couldn't be him...could it? Why would he be here? "I...sorry Kit..." he muttered absently, standing and rushing over, pushing Siobhan out of the way roughly. "Natsume?" he whispered, kneeling beside the boy and laying him on his back. He checked his breathing and his pulse...Nothing. "No!" he whispered, beginning to perform CPR for the second time that day. He was still breathless from bringing Kit round, and exhausted from being trapped underwater. But he had to do something. 

He tried, and tried, but to no avail, and finally he gave up, swooping his son into his arms and holding him close. "Please," he whispered. It seemed so unreal. Just the previous day he had found out Natsume was still alive. He had lost him once, and now it seemed he would lose him again. 

But, suddenly, the small body in his arms began to stir, and he stared in disbelief. Natsume was opening his eyes and struggling to breathe. Quickly, Hana pulled him over his shoulder and patted him on the back, forcing the water from his lungs. 

The moment he was able to gasp in oxygen, Natsume began to cry, wailing loudly with shock and confusion. 

Hana felt as though he would collapse with relief. He looked down at Rachel and gently pulled her into the hug as well. "Thank you," he whispered to her. 

 

Shou froze in shock when he saw the tears in Katana's eyes, and he almost fell into the hug, his eyes wide and apologetic. Katana's words left him speechless, and, as Katana released him and began to gasp for air, Shou numbly placed a hand on his back. To their right, he could see Kitsune pulling Drew to shore, and despite their previous fights, gave them a small smile. 

Kitsune was too busy trying to catch his breath to return the smile. "Is everyone out?" he asked them. 

"I think so," Shou replied, finally finding his voice. He removed is hand from Katana's back momentarily to count everyone as they left the river. "Xavier," he whispered. "Where's Xavier?" 

"Xavier?" Kitsune repeated, frowning in confusion. 

Shou nodded and got to his feet, starting towards the water. 

"Hey, wait..." Kitsune protested. Something was wrong with him. He was moving slowly, and was even paler than usual. "Oi!" 

"Xavier!" Shou shouted, collapsing to his knees beside Katana; he had barely made it three steps. "Katana! We have to-" 

A sudden splash cut him off, as Kitsune had hurtled back into the water, and swam determinedly towards the bus. The current tried to push him off course, but he made it to the window and, taking a deep breath, pushed himself back inside. 

[PeppermintxKiss]

Krista felt Kagami awake and looked down at him. He looked so innocent. “Because no one deserves to die...” was all she replied as he touched her cheek she pushed her face against his hand and pulled him close to her. “I'll always look after you...” she whispered to him. She knew he had put his trust in people before and had it broken, but this time, she wouldn't be like the others.

Siobhan felt Hana push past her, and she scowled. “Rachel, come away from him, he's dangerous, bring Natsume too.. Hajime.. do something? They're your brother and sister” she said looking a little helpless.

Rachel was angry a little. “No he's my baby brother you can't take him away you big man-girl” she said upset, she didn't understand what was going on or who all these people were but she didn't like it. Then he pulled her into a hug and thanked her. “Please don't take my brother away.. he's all I have, mummy and daddy left us before we knew them.. please give me Natsoomey back” she replied, almost crying. She didn't want them to hurt Natsume.

Lightning's ears pricked up when she heard the name Rachel ,she looked over at the girl who had spoken... “What did you just call her?” she asked the girl. She was getting her hopes up, and she would probably regret it later, there was probably a million people with the same name, but what would the chances be.

Drew watched as Kitsune dived in the water after the boy who hadn't surfaced, he must have been the new boy whom had been sat next to Krista in the mini-bus. He got worried after it had been half a minute and Kitsune hadn't resurfaced, he dived in after him, searching for him. 

[Chica]

Hana ignored Siobhan completely, keeping Natsume and Rachel in a tight embrace. "Don't worry," he assured Rachel. "I'm going to take care of Natsume from now on. But that doesn't mean you wont get to see him." 

He released them, feeling guilty at having to take Natsume away from Rachel, when it was so obvious they cared so much about each other. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Krista hovering over someone else, and a blind rage overtook him when he realized who it was. 

"Rachel?" He said kindly. "Could you take care of Natsume for a moment?" Giving them a warm smile, he stood, and hurtled over to where Krista and Kagami were. 

Kagami shook his head in protest when Krista pulled him close, promising to take care of him. "Don't," he whispered. "I don't deserve-" 

"You almost killed my son, you bastard!" Hana interrupted. He pulled Kagami away from Krista, dragging him to his feet and holding him by his collar. "Why did you save him?" he demanded, glowering at Krista, as though she had driven the mini-bus into the river herself. "How dare you save him! After what he did!" Returning his attention to Kagami, he raised his fist and punched him as hard as he could, releasing him to let him fall back to the ground. 

Kagami slowly placed one hand over the side of his face, staring at the ground and remaining silent. 

"Don't you even have anything to say?" Hana growled. "Gem!" 

At the sound of the name, Kagami winced, but still did not reply. 

"you know, no one would ever find out if I killed you right here and now!" 

"Well go ahead then!" Kagami shouted back, looking up at him for the first time, his eyes narrowed with both irritation and shame. 

 

The second he was released, Natsume instantly wrapped his arms around Rachel, sobbing quietly onto her shoulder. 

Hajime looked from them, to Siobhan, and tried to find his voice. "I..." he started eventually. However he never got a chance to finish his sentence, for at that moment, Lightning had hurried over to Siobhan. 

"You...look like Rachel," he muttered, frowning at her. 

 

Inside the bus it was even darker than before, as muddy water had filled every inch of it. Kitsune found it extremely hard to navigate towards the back, but finally managed to reach Xavier. He pulled at his seatbelt and, to his dismay, it wouldn't budge. 'Of course,' he thought bitterly, trying to pull Xavier out from his seat. But he feared it was already too late. Xavier's body was still. 

As Kitsune stared at his empty face, he was struck with the vision of another face. His father's, rotten and bloated, staring at him with hollow eyes. He screamed, despite the water, and pressed his hands to his mouth to stop more air escaping him. 

Now trembling, he tried again to remove Xavier's seatbelt, refusing to look at him. But at that moment, there was a loud creak. The bus was becoming dislodged from the rocks it had landed in, and was beginning to let the water push it down the river. 

With a silent curse, Kitsune began to swim back towards the window, only glancing back apologetically when he reached it. He had to tell himself Xavier was already dead, otherwise he wouldn't have been able to leave. 

The bus shuddered and creaked, before tipping over completely and speeding down the river, throwing Kitsune against the floor. Disorientated and out of oxygen, he felt around for an exit, his lungs on fire, his head swimming, and blood pouring from his lip. Eventually, he managed to grab onto the sharp edge of a broken window, and pulled himself through, letting out another underwater cry of pain when the side of the window crashed into his ribs. Now, swallowing water as he went, he was moving solely on willpower. The surface was just above...He had almost reached it... 

BANG! 

His head connected with something hard, and everything went black, seconds before he would have made it to the top. 

[PeppermintxKiss]

Rachel believed him, but then when he gave her Natsume back, she was already crying. “Natsoomey, he wants to take you away from me... but your my brother... not his. I wont let him okay” she said to him so only he could hear her and hugged him tightly.


Krista was angry “It wasn't his fault, and I saved him because no one deserves to die!” she shouted back at Hana, she didn't understand why he was being so mean and when he hit Kagami she was really mad. She pushed Hana away from him “I won't let him kill you” she interjected.
 

Lightning looked at Hajime... “I thought you'd called her that... I'm her mother...” she replied to him and then went over to Rachel, who was now crying and knelt down beside her and hugged her tight. “It's okay Rachel, there's no need to cry, mummy's here now” she said soothingly, as she stroked her hair. “I'm never letting you go again.” she added.
Rachel was shocked. “You can't be my mummy... because, Natsoomey is my brother. So you should make him feel better too... but you didn't. The big girl-man did.” she replied, confused and not understanding why there was so many people all of a sudden interested in them.

 

Drew pushed through the current, as he saw Kitsune who'd just hit his head on a rock that jagged out from the side of the bank. Drew was scared and swam down as Kitsune's body sank, and pulled him to the top of the river and onto the riverbank. Pushing his chest hard making the water spill out and breathing oxygen into his mouth. Kitsune had a pulse, he could feel it. “Wake up Kitty... you can't leave me now... you just can't!” Drew shouted angrily, tears streaming down his face. He pulled him close. “I wont let you go again... please be alright” he said as he kissed his forehead. He didn't understand why he wasn't waking up. “Please wake up” Drew whispered to him. Tears still pouring down his face.

[Chica]

Hana glared at Krista. "You're right," he hissed. "No one deserves to die, so why don't you try telling him that!" He pointed past Krista at Gem, who was still staring up at him from the ground, his hand pressed against the bruise rising from beneath his left eye. "He just tried to kill all of us! He tried to kill you! How can you defend him after that? He's going to answer for what he's done one way or another, because the rest of us aren't like you. I would imagine Lightning will want a piece of him. Oh yeah, and there's Jase too. And I wouldn't want to get on the wrong side of Kitsune. You can't protect him from all of us." 

Gem closed his eyes, aware that Hana was right. "Just listen to him," he murmured. "I don't want you getting hurt. They're like a pack of animals when they get mad. It's one of the many reasons why I wanted to get rid of them." 

"That's more like it," Hana growled at him. "Now why don't you get up and face what is coming to you. You're not a little kid any more. You can't hide behind innocence." 

"I'm going to stay right where I am," Gem responded stubbornly. "If they want me, they'll just have to come here." 

 

Hajime was overcome with a second wave of shock when Lightning announced she was Rachel's mother. It wasn't as though he couldn't believe it; there was definitely some resemblance. He stood beside Siobhan and stared as the two were reunited. 

Natsume moved aside, watching as Lightning hugged Rachel. He smiled, despite his continuing shock at what had happened. But, when he realized Rachel was unhappy, he crawled over to her side and gripped her sleeve, moving as close to her ear as he could get. 

"R-Rachew..." he squeaked, his voice weak and shaky from lack of use. "Rachew...happy...mummy found you..." 

[PeppermintxKiss]

Krista looked up at Hana “I don't care what you say, I'll protect him from all of you, he nearly died to, he was tricked too.” she protested. She didn't want to see anyone get hurt, and she knew he was only doing it to make Hana happier.

Rachel was shocked “Natsoomey...I know, but... I don't want them to take us away... “ she replied rubbing her eyes and climbed onto Lightning's knee's. “I know you're my mummy, but where's daddy?” she asked, confused. Rachel pulled Natsume closer to her and rested her head on his shoulder. She was tired. Usually she'd be having her lunchtime nap.. “Natsoomey... are you tired too?” she asked him.

Jake looked over at all the commotion, and saw two children sat beside Lightning, he smiled happily and sat beside her. “I guess we can be a family afterall” he whispered to Lightning and kissed her cheek “Thank-you for saving me” he added.

Jase got up and walked over to Hana “Gem... how could you man, your own sister, and niece could have been killed... do you not care at all?” he growled coldly. He glared at Krista “What's your sudden interest in the kid?” he enquired and she just looked down at her feet and Jase gave her a hard shove as she fell to the ground. 

[Chica]

Hana put a hand to his forehead. "It doesn't matter if he was tricked," he said in exasperation. "He had a choice whether to go through with it!" 

He didn't get a chance to continue, however, as Jase chose that moment to join them. "Hey..." he protested when Jase shoved Krista to the ground. 

Gem saw red the moment Jase's face swam into sight. "If there was anyone I really hoped had died, it's you!" he snapped, jumping to his feet as Jase pushed Krista. He threw himself at Jase, sending him stumbling backwards. "Get your hands off her! This is all your fault! If Lightning had died...If any of them had died, it would have been because of you! And why do you even care? You tried to kill them all before, didn't you? Hana...Why aren't you throwing punches at him? You should realize this is all his fault. He's the one who brought his little gang to the house and shot me! If it wasn't for them, none of you would have been taken back to the hospital. If it wasn't for him, Hotaru wouldn't have died, and you wouldn't have been separated from Natsume! Lightning would have got Rachel back years ago! It's all HIS fault!" 

He hurled at Jase again, pushing him closer and closer to the river. "You don't have a right to be angry! You don't have a right to dictate to anyone here! You should have died!" 

 

Natsume smiled again and wrapped one arm around Rachel. "Don't worry," he whispered. "They'we nice." 

"Er...Are any of you injured?" Hajime asked hesitantly, unsure whether he should be interrupting their family moment. "We can help until the ambulance gets here. My friend called for help when the bus crashed, so it shouldn't take too long now to arrive." 

[PeppermintxKiss]

((aww Natsume though, cute how he says their nice even though Lightning scared him and made him cry when he was a baby! XD aha. ))

Jase just smirked. “Yeah people do stupid things, no one was supposed to get hurt... things just got a little out of hand... besides, Hana was the one who was going to kill me first.” He said matter off factly, then when he said about it being his fault Hotaru was dead, he got so angry, he grabbed hold of Gem and punched him hard then kneeing him in the stomach before shoving him to the floor. “You're disgusting.” and just walked away.


Rachel smiled and hugged Natsume. “I guess you're right. We should go find the man-lady and thank him” she said and stood up, holding Natsume's hand and pulling him over to where she'd seen Hana. Then saw the fighting and put her hand over Natsume's eyes. “Don't worry, I'll protect you” She whispered and led him over to Hana, still covering his eyes.

Lightning looked up at the boy who'd spoken. “We're fine.... or rather we would have been... now we're all going to end up back in the hands of the people who had ordered us to be killed, who knows what nasty things they'll have planned now....” she began, looking off into the distance and seeing Rachel going over to where the fighting took place. “Sorry” she mumbled and got up and ran after Rachel. Catching up to her. “Rachel, you can't just wander off like that, you could get hurt...” she began. Then looked over at Hana “Sorry Hana, I tried to keep them away from here.” she said apologetically. 

[Chica]

Hana had knelt down to help Krista to her feet, but he froze in his tracks at Gem's words, and Jase's response. He jumped to his feet and grabbed Jase's arm. "You know he's right," he hissed. "All the blame for this goes back to us." 

No doubt, a fight would have ensued if, at that moment, Rachel and Natsume hadn't made their way over to them. Hana was forced to release Jase's arm, still glowering at him in a way that assured him this wasn't over. 

Natsume stumbled a little, unable to see the uneven ground ahead, but he trusted Rachel. He could hear angry voices, and wondered whether it was a good idea to bother the people who were fighting. What if Rachel got hurt? 

"It's fine, Lightning," Hana muttered, scooping Natsume up into his arms. "We're done here, anyway..." His voice trailed off slightly as he looked first at Lightning, then at Rachel. "Is that your Rachel?" he asked slowly. "What are the odds that your daughter, and Hotaru's son would be friends? You two didn't exactly get along, did you?" He smiled to indicate he was joking. "They're shivering. We have to get them to the house...I doubt anyone has touched the dry clothes there." 

Seeing Lightning, Gem reached out a trembling hand and grabbed onto her trouser leg. "I'm sorry," he whispered, his voice cracked from the pain in his ribs. "I'm sorry." 

 

"Was it wrong for us to call for help?" Hajime asked Siobhan guiltily. "Do you think she was telling the truth about someone planning to kill them?" 

"There's no need to worry," a voice cut in, and Rigel approached them. "There's a house not far from here we can hide out in. If we can get everyone moving now, we might just make it in time...Is everyone accounted for?" 

Shou forced himself to his feet and limped over to them, his usual cheerful expression gone, and his eyes wide with worry. "Xavier," he said quietly. "He didn't come up...Then Kitsune and Drew went after him and now they're gone too...And an unfamiliar boy was dragged away with the bus. I think he's their friend." He pointed at Siobhan and Hajime. 

[PeppermintxKiss]

Hana had knelt down to help Krista to her feet, but he froze in his tracks at Gem's words, and Jase's response. He jumped to his feet and grabbed Jase's arm. "You know he's right," he hissed. "All the blame for this goes back to us." 

No doubt, a fight would have ensued if, at that moment, Rachel and Natsume hadn't made their way over to them. Hana was forced to release Jase's arm, still glowering at him in a way that assured him this wasn't over. 

Natsume stumbled a little, unable to see the uneven ground ahead, but he trusted Rachel. He could hear angry voices, and wondered whether it was a good idea to bother the people who were fighting. What if Rachel got hurt? 

"It's fine, Lightning," Hana muttered, scooping Natsume up into his arms. "We're done here, anyway..." His voice trailed off slightly as he looked first at Lightning, then at Rachel. "Is that your Rachel?" he asked slowly. "What are the odds that your daughter, and Hotaru's son would be friends? You two didn't exactly get along, did you?" He smiled to indicate he was joking. "They're shivering. We have to get them to the house...I doubt anyone has touched the dry clothes there." 

Seeing Lightning, Gem reached out a trembling hand and grabbed onto her trouser leg. "I'm sorry," he whispered, his voice cracked from the pain in his ribs. "I'm sorry." 


Jase was going to swing for Hana, but there were little ones, and he wasn't one to scare little children when it wasn't necessary. He glared at Gem who was lying on the floor and wandered off in the direction of the house.

Lightning looked at Jase as he walked past, she would have hurt him bad, but she couldn't be violent in front of Rachel, it wouldn't set a good example. So she just let him go. She looked down at Gem and pulled him up, “It's okay” she murmured and hugged him tight “I'm just glad you're alive” she whispered to him, then as Krista walked over she let him go.
She looked back at Hana, “Yeah, my Rachel... and it's no secret how much she disliked me Hana” she replied as she picked Rachel up in her arms, she was a lot heavier from the last time she had carried her. Then they began walking towards the house.

Krista pulled herself up off the floor once Jase had walked away, she didn't much feel like getting pushed over twice. She saw the way Lightning helped Gem up and smiled. Then went over to him. “I'm sorry... I should have done something” she said sheepishly, feeling a coward for not hurting Jase for hurting Gem.

Rachel clung to her mother but then looked over at Natsume who had also been picked up. “Mr. Hana Sir, you're not going to take Natsoomey away are you?” she asked and when he mentioned her being friends with him “He's not my friend Mr. Hana sir, he's my brother.” she added as-matter-off factly. “And so is Hajime” she added. Then looked around “Hajime!” she shouted, she had been so caught up she had forgotten about him. She didn't want him to leave either.



Siobhan shook her head “It wasn't wrong, and I don't think...” she began, but then someone cut in. She didn't know who he was or where he had come from. She heard someone shouting, it sounded like Rachel. “Hajime, I think you're being called” she added. Then headed in the direction of the shouting herself.

Drew had been trying to get Kitsune to wake up but nothing was working. He heard a familiar voice “Rigel?” he questioned, then when he heard him mention the house he knew it would be him. “Rigel?!” he called... he was or well had been a doctor, maybe he would know how to get Kitsune to wake up

[Chica]

Gem watched Lightning in silence for a moment, taken aback that she had forgiven him so easily. He began to turn away from the others, deciding it would be best to separate from them now, before he hurt anyone else, but as he turned, Krista was there, smiling at him and looking equally forgiving.

"You shouldn't be apologizing," he muttered, avoiding eye contact with her. "You almost died because of my stupidity...I deserved everything I got, and worse. You shouldn't try to defend me; you need them to survive, and you'll only make things harder for yourself if you defend the person who tried to kill them."

Again, he turned away, and started to walk in the opposite direction to everyone else.

 

Hana smiled. "Hotaru wasn't so bad, you know," he said quietly. "She made this little angel." He looked down at Natsume and held him closer, trying to prevent the cold from getting to the already shivering child.

His smile faded when Rachel spoke, and he replied kindly. "Natsume is my son, and I've been looking for him for a long time." He knew, technically that was a lie, but he never wanted to think about the agonizing years he had believed his son was dead. "Your mummy has been looking for you, as well, for even longer. Now that we've found you, we wont ever let anything hurt you, ever again...And if separating you would hurt you, we can't do that, now could we? Even if Lightning and I couldn't stand to be in the same vicinity for longer than an hour." He stuck his tongue out at Lightning playfully. 

Hajime followed Siobhan, a little sheepishly. These people were probably furious with the two of them, but he saw no other option but to follow. They had Rachel and Natsume, and they didn't seem to have any intention of letting them go soon. Maybe it would be better if they were caught...But if they were caught, the three of them would end up back in that children's home. "How can I get Rachel and Natsume back?" he whispered to Siobhan. "There's something I really don't like about these people."

 

Rigel hurried in the direction of Drew's voice, concerned by the urgency in it. The two had ended up further down the river than the others, and had fortunately made it back onto the shore at the same side.

"What happened?" he asked, running the last few feet, and kneeling beside Drew. At first he thought Kitsune was dead, and reached out to gently pull Drew to his feet, But then he saw the faint rise and fall of his chest. Letting out a small sigh of relief, he tore his own shirt and wrapped the material around Kitsune's head in an attempt to slow the bleeding.

[PeppermintxKiss]

Krista watched as Gem turned towards him, and the way he snapped at her made her feel as though she hadn't done the right thing. "I don't care... It wasn't your fault" Krista called out, and even though by this point, he had began walking off in the opposite direction to the rest of them, she followed him. "You're going to die of the cold out here, at least go back and get warm... no one is mad at you!" she cried at him... although, it didn't seem to be helping at all. 

Lightning looked at him. "I know, but she still hated me... don't blame her really" Lightning replied, more to herself than in response to Hana. She listened to what Rachel was saying, and how well Hana seemed to take it. Although once she mentioned Hajime, Lightning was confused. She looked around. Then began to worry... she hadn't seemed anyone else beforehand. She looked back at Hana, with a worried look upon her face. However, once she turned around she saw a boy and girl, whom looked no older than 14 or 15 she sighed with relief, hoping Hajime was one of them. She really hoped Rachel would grow up to be a normal girl, like she deserved. 

Siobhan looked at Hajime. " I don't know... I suppose we need to be careful and find out who they are first" She whispered back to Hajime "Or maybe, they'll come back willingly." She added. As they came up to the people she looked at Rachel and Lightning, it was scary how alike the two looked... surely she wasn't Rachel's mother... maybe she was her older sister or something. 

 

Drew tried to explain as much as he could, but honestly, he didn't really know what had happened. "He hit his head... trying to save me... and he wont wake up! Why wont he wake up" Drew cried, unable to control his emotions anymore and began crying, furious at himself being such a baby. Even though Kitsune had been not talking to him, he still loved him. He couldn't die... he just couldn't. 

[Chica]

Gem laughed bitterly. "No one is mad at me?" he repeated, his voice filled with exasperation. "If I was them...If I was you, I would be furious." He looked back at Krista, a small, sad smile on his face. "You didn't save my life, you just delayed the inevitable. I only have three options; die out here in the cold, go back to the hospital and be murdered by my 'uncle', or go with you, and be killed by a group of people who hate me. Maybe I don't deserve to choose, but I don't care. Just go with them before they leave you behind, and you end up freezing to death. Don't worry about me, just go."

 

Hana sighed and shook his head, smiling at the memory of how feisty Hotaru had been. "I doubt she really hated you," he said quietly. "She just loved having someone to wind up."

Through the trees ahead of them, he could see the roof of the house, and glanced down at Natsume, who had fallen asleep. "It's been a while since we were here."

Hajime looked at the house nervously, hating the idea of going in that creepy, neglected place with these people. "I'm sorry for dragging you into this," he whispered to Siobhan. "But you're probably right...They don't know these people, even if they do turn out to be their parents. I think I'll be able to get them out of here on my own, so you really don't have to stay if you don't want to."

 

"Just, calm down," Rigel urged, putting one hand on Drew's shoulder. "He's still alive, and that's the most important thing. We need to take him back to the house, ok?"

By the looks of things, Kitsune really needed to go to a hospital, but was that even possible in their situation? It would be better for them all if everyone believed they were dead, so no one would come looking for them. Waltzing into the middle of a hospital would blow their cover instantly. But he wasn't willing to put a life at risk just to stay in hiding. "Come on," he continued soothingly. "Help me carry him. But be careful; he may have broken some bones."

[PeppermintxKiss]

Krista looked at him, holding back tears, why couldn't he see that she was just trying to look out for him. "I'm not going anywhere, so I will die of cold, because you're too stubborn to just come inside." She replied with a look on her face that told him she wouldn't take any of his self-hating rubbish. She wouldn't let the others kill him, nor would she allow anyone from the hospital to do that either. She would fight herself if it came down to that. 

 

Lightning looked back at Hana and sighed "Sorry Hana, I know how much she meant to you. For what it's worth, I feel bad for the way I was back then." She replied, hoping he'd forgive her maybe. She had been carrying Rachel, whom had been watching Natsume like a Hawk, but then smiled and fell asleep, once the Hajime boy had come over. "Yeah... never thought I'd see this place again..." Lightning added with a slight shudder. The memories she had of this place weren't great.

Siobhan glanced over at Hajime "I'm not leaving you alone with the kids and these people..." she whispered back. She wouldn't have been able to forgive herself if something happened to Hajime or Rachel and Natsume,if she just took off and left. She'd grown attached to them. Siobhan however, had no plan to tell any of them this. Not yet anyway. 

 

Drew tried to calm down, wondering when Kitsune would wake up... he'd have to. He looked at Rigel and nodded, he had to be brave and strong in order to help Kitsune. He helped Rigel lift him up and carry him. "I will be careful... thankyou" he replied and carefully picked up Kitsune's tired body and carried him into the house. 

Jake and Jase just left the others to go on ahead, but Jake then quickly went to catch up with Lightning and Hana. Jase hadn't realized what had happened to Kitsune until he saw Drew and Rigel carrying him. Jase walked over to Drew and wanted to say something, but words failed. He just followed them into the house. 

[Chica]

As Hana opened the door, brushing cobwebs from the handle, he smiled. "I wonder how long we'll be able to stay here this time," he murmured, eyeing the thick layers of dust which clung to everything in sight.

He looked at Lightning again as he lowered Natsume onto the couch. "Don't worry about it," he insisted. "We were all stupid back then. Can someone get these two some dry clothes? I don't want to leave Natsume's side."

"Well, this place is a wreck," Hajime commented, running his finger along a table top, and leaving a long, thin line in the dust. He rolled his eyes at Siobhan. "If they decide to kill us, don't complain that you could have got away...But, I don't think they even know we're here..." His voice trailed off as the door was flung open once more, and two more people hurried in, carefully carrying a third, who was unconscious. "They've got other things to worry about."

"Let's get him upstairs to one of the beds," Rigel instructed. "If anyone else is free, help us."

"Come on," Hajime muttered to Siobhan. "If we help them, they might keep us alive."

 

Gem sighed wearily and looked Krista in the eye. "Why do you care so much?" he grumbled. "You're so stubborn...I know I shouldn't care what happens to you, but I'd rather not have your death on my conscience...Come on." He turned back, took Krista by the wrist, and started walking reluctantly to the house. "I hope you realize how pointless this is, because if they don't kill me, they probably wont even let me through the door."