Title: Against the World Author: Ysabet MacFarlane (ba087@chebucto.ns.ca) Pairing: Sohma Hatsuharu and Sohma Isuzu (Rin) Fandom: Fruits Basket Theme: # 28 (Wada Calcium CD3) Disclaimer: Fruits Basket belongs to Takaya Natsuki and Hakusensha; English-language versions by FUNimation (anime) and Tokyopop (manga). *** The girls across the room had been staring at them and whispering for almost half an hour before Rin accidentally acknowledged their presence. Haru felt their eyes well before that, but Rin was obviously determined to ignore them, and he followed her lead. It wasn't hard to seem oblivious: the lighting in the club was geared toward flashy color changes more than actual illumination, and a strip of dance floor between their table and the girls' added the obstruction of moving bodies. "Do you know them?" Strangers' faces tended to blur together in his mind, but Haru was tentatively sure he had never seen any of them before. "They're in my class," Rin replied, sipping her drink. Ice clinked in the glass. "I didn't think anyone I knew would come here." It wasn't their first time at the club, and they were usually two of the youngest people there. It was just alternative enough that people rarely took second looks at them, despite their tastes in clothing, and the staff politely ignored their ages as long as they didn't try to order alcohol. Actually dancing was out of the question--there was no way a Jyuunishi could safely wander into the press of people, even on a slow night--but the music was just loud enough that they had a good excuse for sitting close together while they talked. And no one had ever shown any sign of knowing who they were. "Hey." Haru touched Rin's hand, rubbed a thumb over her fingers. Her knuckles were white where she was gripping the glass. "Don't break it. That's what I do." She tried to smile in response, but the strain on her face turned it into a grimace. "Do you want to leave?" "They'll know it was because of them." She straightened up and set the glass down deliberately, forcing her shoulders to relax. "Are they bad people, or are you just not friends?" "Depends on their mood," Rin replied. She combed her fingers roughly through her hair, and Haru took her hand again. "I'd rather be somewhere you're comfortable." "Yes, well--" She glanced across the room, and one of the girls caught her eye. She cursed under her breath as two of her classmates stood up. "Don't they have anything better to do?" "Guess not." Haru followed her gaze, and they watched the two girls make their way toward them. "Haru," Rin murmured. "Don't say my name, ok?" He blinked at her. "Don't they know--" "No one at school calls me 'Rin'," she reminded him. "Kisa calls me Isuzu, and there's no one else who would--" The girls were almost to their table. "I don't want them to know," she whispered, her face carefully blank. "Everything's a weapon to people like them." "Sohma," one of the girls said as they arrived. "We didn't expect to see you at a place like this." "Takeda." Rin nodded the barest acknowledgement. "Iida." She glanced around the club and shrugged. "It's not a bad place." The second girl peered at Haru and shot a speculative look at Rin. "Your boyfriend, Sohma?" Rin shrugged again. "No?" The curious look went back to Haru. "If you're not taken, want to dance? I'm Masako." "Thanks, no," Haru said mildly. "I'm doing fine where I am." The first girl was busy examining Rin's clothing, taking in her short skirt and the low-cut shirt with its flowing sleeves. Not a zipper or button in sight; everything she wore displayed her fondness for clothes that could be laced on. "I didn't think you were all hardcore, Sohma." A faint frown crossed Rin's face. "'Hardcore'?" "All--" a vague wave "--you know. Not the look I would've expected on someone from your family." A wide smile blossomed, and Haru tightened his fingers slightly on Rin's. She returned the pressure, no more taken in by the fake friendliness than he was. "Do you do other stuff, too?" "Takeda, what _are_ you talking about?" "Look." The two girls exchanged furtive looks and moved to stand close together, between the table and the rest of the club, and Takeda rummaged around in her purse and brought out a small handful of white pills. "We bought them from a guy outside." Rin stared at her. "You what?" "He said they'd make us be able to feel the lights," the second girl said. "He didn't charge much, either." "Let me see that," Rin said, reaching out and snagging one of the pills before either of the other girls could react. "Did he tell you what it's called?" She pinched it between her fingers and held it up to the light, studying it carefully. And then she laughed--the first genuine laugh Haru had heard from her in a long time. "They're just calcium pills." She dropped the pill back among the others and stood up, shaking her hair back. Haru stood up too, rolling his head to one side to crack his neck. "They--" Takeda sputtered. Stopped. Started over. "How would you know--" "It _smells_ like calcium," Rin said, her moment of amusement gone. "And you can see where the logo was scraped off. The family doctor makes me take them." She pulled her jacket on. "Maybe you can get your money back." "Want me to walk you home?" Haru asked, and she summoned a quick smile for him. "That'd be nice." She nodded at her classmates, and as she and Haru walked around the table, she carefully kept herself between him and them. It was the safest way to be out in public: staying close to walls, and taking turns walking on the outside, depending on whether the closest people were male or female. There was no conscious thought involved in staying between Haru and any uncursed girls, so Iida's glare caught her off-guard. "I only asked him to dance," Iida said as they passed. "You don't need to get like that just because you probably scare most guys off." She blew Haru an exaggerated kiss. "Call me if you get tired of her." "Nice people you go to school with," Haru murmured. "I'd transfer out if there were another girls' school to go to," Rin replied, half-listening to her classmates' muttering as they left. "You could transfer to Kaibara with the rest of us." She caught his hand and squeezed it lightly. "Akito wouldn't let me. And I get enough guys trying to feel me up on the street; if the boys at your school are half that bad, I wouldn't get through a day without transforming." "I'd kill them," Haru said flatly. "And then you'd get expelled and we wouldn't be at school together anyway. Besides--" Rin stopped talking as they stepped outside, took a deep breath of the cool night air. "Kyo's not the brightest, but Yuki and Momiji would notice something was up between us." "Do you have to go straight home?" Haru asked. "It's only nine thirty." "I probably should," she said reluctantly. "I've still got homework to do." "I'm sorry they bothered you." He touched her shoulder, stroking a loose lock of her hair. "I wanted you to be able to relax." "It's fine." She leaned against him, resting her head on his chest. "I probably shouldn't have told them about the pills. Takeda doesn't like people making her look stupid." Haru snorted. "If she's dumb enough to buy pills from strangers on the street, you'd think she'd be used to it." "Maybe." Rin rubbed at her eyes. "Will you take me home now?" "Sure." He put his arm around her shoulders as they started walking, still far enough from home that no one from the family was likely to see them. Habitual caution kept them both alert, though; being out together in public meant minimal conversation while they kept watch for anyone familiar. As a result, they walked less than a block from the club before hearing the sounds of her classmates following them. "What _is_ it with your school?" Haru muttered, real anger coloring his voice. "With what happened to Kisa, and this . . . Do they pull this crap with you all the time?" "I'm not like Kisa," Rin said, taking his hand. "I don't have 'victim' stamped on my forehead." Haru frowned at her. "You _know_ she does, Haru. She's vulnerable." The frown lingered, but his eyes were worried. "You are too." "Not to people like them." She stopped walking. "I don't want them following me home," she said as she turned around and raised her voice. "I don't remember the homework assignment, if that's what you want." "We don't want to talk to you, Sohma," one of them--Takeda?--said. "Just your boyfriend." "What about?" he asked, holding onto Rin's hand. "I'm wondering what you see in her," came the reply. "Known her long?" "Long enough." "Bet you don't know she makes herself puke all the time to look like that," the other girl said, and the venom in her voice made Rin stiffen against him, and sent a sharp stab of rage through his head. "It's gross. Every time she eats, she--" "Shut up," Haru said. Rin turned and put her hand on his arm, feeling the dangerous tension vibrating through him. "Hey, we just thought you should know before you kiss her," the first girl said, smiling. The smile faded when Haru laughed, a low, vicious sound that hung in the night air. "Say anything else like that, and you won't have teeth left to eat with," he promised, and the sincerity of the threat made both girls step back. "If you're lucky, I won't break your jaw, you ignorant bitch." "You're going to hit a girl?" The second girl, who had wanted to dance with him, demanded. "Try me." Rin's fingers tangled in his, squeezed hard enough to get his attention. "Haru, they're so not worth--" Her voice trailed off as she stared up into his eyes. "Damn." She wrapped her arms around him, ignoring the other girls and the people passing by on the sidewalk. "Let go," he said softly. "I'm not going to let you hurt them," she replied. "They're just being stupid." "They're lying about you!" "And you know they're lying, so what difference does it make?" His muscles were tensing and shifting against her, not pushing hard enough to break her hold. Not yet. Rin locked her wrists behind his back, painfully aware of how strong he was. "We're not lying!" Iida protested angrily. Rin looked over her shoulder at them, trying to stay calm, not feed into Haru's seething fury. "You should really leave." "It's a public street," Takeda said. "And he should be mad at you, since you're the one who's lying to him, not us. I've heard you making yourself puke, Sohma." "You've heard me getting sick," Rin corrected. "That doesn't mean I'm shoving my fingers down my throat!" "Then--" "You're not my doctor, Takeda. I'm not discussing my health with you. And we're leaving now." She hoped. Haru was rigid with anger in her arms. "Haru, please?" "Let go," he whispered. "I won't hurt them, ok? But I don't want to hurt you either." "Ok." Rin dropped her arms reluctantly, and Haru stepped away from her, staring at the two girls as he moved. The predatory look on his face made her wonder how they could be oblivious to the violent air surrounding him. "Anything else you want?" Haru demanded, staring at them. "Anything else stupid to say? 'Cause I've got better things to do than listen to your shit." There was a moment of silence, and then Takeda shrugged. "Whatever. Let's go, Masako-chan. There're plenty of guys around who don't go psycho." She turned on her heel and headed back toward the club, and after another glance at them, Iida followed her. "I bet they think it'll upset me if they don't talk to me at school," Rin muttered. She turned and looked at Haru, and slowly put her arms around him again. Tension ran from his body into hers like an electric charge. "I don't care about them. Haru, come on. Relax." He stepped back and shook his head. "It's not--" "I know you can't just stop being angry," she said. "It's ok. Just walk with me, and don't hit anything, and we'll be fine." She closed both of her hands around one clenched fist, feeling the play of tendons and rings against her palms. "Please." She kept her hands around his, took a step back. Haru nodded, and they began to make their way toward the edge of town and the beginning of Sohma property. It was a long walk, and the streetlights were farther and farther apart as they got closer to home, away from downtown and the crowds. He calmed slowly, his hand relaxing, fingers slowly twining into hers. "Sorry," he said finally, when the fork in the road that separated their homes came into view. The Main House lay to the left; the other road ran across Sohma property, but the people who lived on it had a taste of freedom. They walked off the road entirely, down to the treeline, where no one passing by would see them. "Don't be." Rin hugged him tightly, pressing her head against his shoulder. "I--" She hesitated, and Haru put a questioning hand on her arm. "I'm glad you didn't hurt them, but I was happy that you were angry." "'Course I was angry," he muttered. "And scared. You didn't tell me you were getting sick." "Not very often--" "How often?" "A couple times a week, maybe." "At school, or altogether?" "I don't really want to talk about it." "Tell me anyway." "There's nothing you can do!" His hands closed on her shoulders, pushing her away enough that he could meet her eyes. "Rin, I'm _scared_. If you're sick, I want to know how badly. Even if I can't be with you when you're hurting, I--" His voice shook and caught, and he suddenly looked his age, young and vulnerable and afraid. "What would you do?" she whispered. "If you could be with me?" "Hold you. Bring you water. Be with you." She touched his face slowly, ran the back of her hand against his cheek. "Lately, every day or two I get sick when I eat. I don't always throw up, but sometimes it hurts a lot. Hatori-nii says it's probably stress." "He doesn't know for sure?" "He hasn't done any tests. I won't go to the hospital." Strain tightened her voice. "I won't go back there." Haru nodded and held her, her heart hammering against him like something small and desperate trying to break out of her chest. One of her fingers moved over his side, shaping kanji no one would ever read. "It's ok," she said finally. "It's not going to kill me or anything." "I don't want you to hurt." He kneaded the back of her neck gently with one hand, working at the tightness in her muscles. "I want you to be happy." "I _am_ happy." Her arms were tight and warm around his waist. "Right now I'm happy." She leaned back far enough that her hair almost brushed the ground, trusting him to support her weight while she looked up at the sky. "It's a gorgeous night." The muscles in her back worked under his hands as she straightened up. "Want to dance?" "What?" "Dance. There's no one here to bump into us and transform us." "Thought you had homework." "It's not the end of the world." She hummed softly, a song Haru had heard on the radio. "Want to?" "Yeah," he said, "I do." "Ok." Rin nestled lightly against him and hummed again, the tune evolving into idle notes and a hint of rhythm, enough that they could move together easily. Her hair tickled the backs of his hands, making him laugh under his breath while he soaked up the sound of her voice. "Do you want to dance at the club?" he asked, when they stopped moving. "Sometimes. Sometimes people just look silly, but when they're good, it makes me want to do it too." "D'you think we'd be good at it?" Haru pictured the dancers on the floor, not when songs were slow and gentle like the one she'd been humming, but when the rhythms were hard and fast. Imagining Rin that way made his breathing catch and quicken, and he felt her head turn curiously. "Of course we would be," she replied tartly. "If there's one thing Jyuunishi know how to do, it's dance. Together." A light fingertip traced his collarbone. "I hate New Year's, but part of me can't wait until it's my turn. Part of me lives for it." She undid the top buttons of his shirt, and pressed her cheek against the exposed skin. "I remember seeing you dance for Akito. Someday I want you to dance for me." "Someday I will," he whispered, nuzzling the top of her head. The spirit inside that was something _other_ than himself stirred, overlaying Rin's body over the Horse's dance, and for a moment he knew every step she would make, every gesture, every time her eyes closed in the power and mystery of the bond. "If you'll dance for me." "Deal," she said, and fell silent. _Someday_ dangled between them in the darkness. *** fin.