So I stand a look around, distracted by the sounds of everyone and everything I see. And I search every face without a single trace of the person, the person that I need.
Hoobastank 'Disappear'
Chapter 7
Haru wasn't at school the next Monday. It was the last Monday of the school year too. It was a bit risky to take days off this close to our final exams, but Haru was definitely a free spirit. I had no doubt in my mind that, if he wanted to, he'd take a day off of school for no reason. I mean, it wasn't like he had parents or anything to make him go to school. Maybe I was getting a bit conceited, but I felt like Haru enjoyed coming to school in order to see me. I knew I sure liked seeing him.
I didn't think much of Haru's absence until Wednesday. He'd missed three days of school, and Thursday was the first day of finals. I didn't think Haru cared one way or the other how he did in school, but I thought he'd at least show up for finals. There are all kinds of consequences for missing finals. So, I decided to ask someone from the inside what was going on with him after school that Wednesday. I was so bent on finding out where Haru was, I'd forgotten that to most of the Sohma family we were complete strangers.
Luckily that didn't bother the Sohma I decided to ask. At least he didn't ask many questions.
"Momiji-kun," I said, hurrying to catch up with the half-German, half-Japanese boy who was the rabbit of the zodiac. He turned around to see who had called to him, and I knew he was surprised to find it was me.
"Isuzu-san," The blonde boy nodded in confusion. "What's wrong?"
"I need you to tell me where Haru-kun is." I decided to add the honorific for good measure, just so Momiji didn't get too suspicious. To my surprise and gratitude, Momiji didn't say 'Why?' or 'Since when do you call him Haru?' or anything of the like. Instead Momiji's face fell a bit.
"No one told you… well I guess that makes since. No one thinks you and Haru know each other that well." The younger boy gave me a knowing look. I blushed.
"Things have been a bit crazy… and fast between me and him. Let's just say that I know him well enough. And I care about him enough to wonder if he's ok when he's missing from school for three days." The rabbit nodded.
"Haru's in the hospital."
"What?!" I yelled, catching the attention of many of the people standing near us. It was after school, but a lot of people were staying after for clubs, sports, and whatnot. I hardly paid them any attention. "What the hell happened to him?" Momiji managed a small smile at my outburst.
"He's got a pretty bad fracture in his right leg and he's all scratched up. But the doctors are convinced he'll be fine. No scars, no lasting pain, or anything. He was out riding his motorcycle pretty late Friday night and got in a crash with a drunk driver. The other guy is in intensive care. Haru definitely came off better."
I felt really guilty after hearing that he'd been hit. I knew it was because he'd driven me home from his house after school the previous Friday. Momiji must have noticed my guilty look because he said;
"Do you have any idea why he was out so late?" I nodded.
"He was dropping me off at my house." I decided to skip the details about how we'd snuck into his room and had a little too much fun. Momiji shrugged this off and decided he was done asking questions. I had turned to go when he put a hand on my shoulder.
"Rin-san, this weekend there's going to be a charity talent show at the hospital Haru is staying in until he can walk again." I nodded. If I wanted to see Haru anytime soon it would have to be at that talent show. I was sure I couldn't get into his room to see him without another Sohma finding out.
"Thanks a lot, Momiji-kun. But it looks like you've missed your bus, would you like me to drive you home?" Just then, from behind me, I heard a voice call;
"Momiji-kun!" I turned around to see Yuki, Kyo, and a girl I didn't recognize headed in our direction. I supposed this was the 'outside' girl everyone had been talking about. Apparently she lived with Shigure, Kyo, and Yuki. I think Kagura said her name was Tohru. It was this girl who had called Momiji's name. I muttered a quick;
"Thanks, Momiji." Before turning to head into the parking lot and up to the public bus stop. That's when I heard my name.
"Isuzu-san." A soft voice stopped me. It wasn't the girl, and there was only one boy I knew who spoke that quietly.
"Yuki-kun." I said, nodding. I wanted to leave before Yuki could start a conversation with me, but that was precisely what he had in mind. The rat looked over his shoulder quickly to see if the rest of his friends were busy and took a step closer to me.
"I know." He said simply. "Haru has told me."
"I knew he was going to tell you." I said with a shrug. "But uh," I hesitated before saying the next thing that was on my mind. "Would it be at all possible for me to come with you guys so I can talk to Shigure?" Yuki shrugged.
"I don't see why not. Anyway… did Momiji tell you what happened to Haru?"
"Yeah, and I was wondering if you wouldn't mind telling him that I hope he's ok. I can't go see him since nobody really knows what's going on between us. I won't be able to see him until this weekend at the hospital's charity talent show." Yuki nodded.
"I'm going to see him tomorrow. I'll let him know Momiji told you what happened."
"Also," I said, hesitating again. "Tell him that I'm sorry." Yuki gave me a confused look but nodded all the same. He turned and walked back to the others. I followed him.
"Tohru-san," Yuki said, addressing the girl. "This is Isuzu-sama, she's year of the horse."
"Hello Isuzu-san, Kagura-chan has told me about you. It's very nice to meet you." I was surprised by this girl's complete kindness to me. She shook my hand as I nodded to her.
"Shigure is like my brother. I need go talk to him for a bit." I explained. Tohru looked taken aback at the fact that Shigure was my older brother.
"Shigure-san is your brother?" She asked. I nodded.
"Sorta," She looked confused. Yuki put a hand on her shoulder before she could ask anymore questions. He gave her a look that plainly said 'later'. She nodded to him and we set off to my brother's house.
It was a crazy trip. With Momiji and Kyo's conflicting personalities and the excitement of a new person (me) joining them, it was almost like a miniature party. I have to admit I had fun, but I was a little nervous about talking to Shigure. It wasn't exactly like we got along. He had played a big role in my childhood, which was why I regarded him as my brother. But I wasn't exactly comfortable around him anymore. Of course, he was the only person I trusted to tell the secret of Haru and me to. Even though I trusted Kagura, I couldn't be sure whether or not she would tell someone else. I knew she wouldn't do it on purpose, but she was the kind of person who might accidentally let something slip.
When we got to Shigure's house, I immediately headed for Shigure's office. I had been here many times before, and I knew Shigure well. I knew he'd be in there. Whether or not he'd be working on his book like he was supposed to be was no concern of mine. I knocked on the door and quickly let myself in when he called 'come in'.
"Rin-chan, this is a surprise!" Shigure said when he saw it was me. I nodded to him, my face impassive. "What has possessed you to visit your dear older brother?" He continued, noticing my look. He always liked to tease me.
"I've got a bit of a personal problem that I wanted to talk to you about." Shigure nodded, suddenly becoming serious. I had to hand it to him; he knew when to stop playing around. I took a deep breath and said;
"It's about Haru." Shigure motioned for me to keep going. "Well, he came to watch me sing one day at a coffee house and we were introduced by Kagura. We went out to eat after my show and he told me that he'd had a crush on me for awhile now."
"I figured." Shigure commented. I blushed lightly but continued my story.
"Anyway, we decided to play a trick on Kagura and it ended up with Haru kissing me. After that I couldn't get him out of my head. I realized I was falling for him and now we're dating behind Akito's back."
"That could get you into trouble. A lot of trouble. You could come off worse than Haru is now." I nodded.
"That's why I'm scared. That's why I wanted to tell someone. Haru felt the same way and told Yuki about it. Haru, Yuki, you, and I are the only ones who know about the dating part. Momiji knows that we're closer than most people think, but no more than that."
Shigure sat at his computer desk, thinking quietly. He took his reading glasses off and looked me in the eyes.
"As far as I can tell the two of you are handling it rather well. Just make absolutely sure Akito never finds out. I've seen the worst things happen to zodiac members when they fall in love and Akito finds out. Has anyone told you about Hatori?" I shook my head slowly. Shigure sighed, placing his glasses on his desk. "Hatori was in love with a wonderful young woman named Kanna. It went so far that he considered asking Akito if it was ok for him to propose to her. But Akito found out about the relationship before Hatori had a chance to tell him.
"Akito is the one who damaged Hatori's eye, and it wasn't an accident. Kanna had to watch while Akito yelled at Hatori and finally struck him. And then Akito gave Hatori the orders to erase Kanna's memories. Hatori told me that was the hardest thing he had ever had to do in his life. I'm not telling you this to make you have second thoughts about dating Haru. I'm just using Hatori's story as a warning for you: Akito must never find out."
I nodded quickly. No one had ever bothered to tell any of us what had happened to our doctor. Whenever one of the children asked, the adults would glare at the child and tell them that Hatori had been in an accident. This was true, but people never found out that it was an accident involving Akito. Most of the members of the Sohma clan had no clue how cruel Akito was.
After that rather gruesome meeting with Shigure, I walked back to Kagura's house and headed straight for my room. It was time for me to finally give into the music that had been in me since I'd started to fall for Haru. I was going to write a song. A song that would explain to him all that I'd felt for him and was feeling for him now. A song that might show Haru how much he meant to me, and how much he had changed me for the better.
I got into my bedroom, kicked my shoes off, and locked my door. I didn't want Kagura or anyone else to interrupt me while I was writing. I grabbed my journal and lay down on my bed, wondering how to start. I guess the beginning would be good. I thought wryly to myself. I started to write.
My song was ready, with lyrics and music, by Friday night. The charity show was going to be on Saturday afternoon. I usually rehearsed new songs for about two days before I actually played them. I just had to trust that since this song definitely came from my heart, it would be perfect. Or at least, I hoped it would sound perfect to Haru.
I must have played the song a dozen times in my room that Friday night. Then I finally decided it was done. I went downstairs and into the living room where Kagura sat watching TV.
"Hello stranger." She said upon seeing me. Then she noticed the guitar hanging off my shoulder. "You got a new song?" I nodded.
"Let's hear it." Kagura listened intently to my song; the music and the lyrics. I let the song flow through me as I hadn't been able to alone in my room. When I'd finished, I placed my guitar down next to the chair I sank into.
"How was it?" I asked nervously. I had never written a song that meant this much to me.
"It was… It was unlike anything I've ever heard you play before. It was amazing! It was like the song came from your very soul. I think he's really gonna like it." Kagura smiled. That was all the encouragement I needed. I stood up and walked over to the couch where Kagura was sitting. I hugged her briefly before heading up to my room again. I was ready.
AN: So, I said in the last chapter Shigure was Rin's brother because in one of the manga books she calls him ni-san, which usually means brother. Then I went on Wikipedia to look at character profiles and it said Rin was an only child. I know Wikipedia isn't entirely reliable since people can edit it, so I compromised and said Shigure was like Rin's brother. I hope that explains what Rin says in this chapter better. Anyway, I hope you guys enjoyed my plot twist! hehe
Disclaimer: I don't own the song 'Disappear' by Hoobastank or Fruits Basket by Natsuki Takaya.
