Chapter 10

'I wont take this anymore.' -Staind

I dropped my school bag down onto my desk and sank into the seat. It was another Monday and I felt sleep deprived. Should've known better than to think that Risu would let me sleep though.

"Kitani!" Her voice echoed in my head, making me cringe a bit.

"Huh?" I look up at her blankly, which she returns with a confused expression. Deciding that what she has to say isn't really that important, I drop my head back down into my folded arms. Risu took that moment to circle around to the front of my desk and place her hand on my shoulder.

"Hey," Her voice sounded a bit distant, I could picture her looking around the classroom. "Not to alert the fangirls or anything, but have you seen Haru?"

"No." I grumble, too tired to lift my head. I felt her hand leave my shoulder and briefly wondered if she left. That would've been kind of strange though. Of course she wouldn't leave.

This time I felt her hands on both my shoulders, pushing me up to look at her.

"What?" I nearly whined for being taken from my dark place.

"Stop being so mopey and help me find him!" Risu ordered.

I cocked an eye brow and looked at her. She was serious about this. I sighed. "What do you need to find him for?" I questioned, reluctantly getting up from my seat.

"The deadline is next week for our project and we haven't done anything!" Risu snapped.

"Woah, dude. You're screwed." The sarcastic words left my mouth before I had time to process them. Oh well. Risu didn't seem to mind.

We left the class room and began to walk down the hall. Twenty minutes. That's all I was giving Risu before heading back to class for the bell. Man. My head was starting to hurt again.

"Hey," Risu grabbed a random kid walking by by the sleeve and pulled him close. "Have you seen Momiji?" She questioned in a manner that made her seem like a bully asking for lunch money.

The boy nervously shook his head no. Risu sighed then let him go. I crossed my arms and rubbed the side of my head.

"I thought we were looking for Haru." I drawled with an accusing tone.

"We are. Those two just happen to always be together. I figure, we find one, we find the other." She turned back to me with annoyed eyes. "You think I'm playing around here?"

"No. Of course not." 'Not anymore.'

Ten minutes. That's all she had left, and I let her know too.

Risu scratched her head frustratedly. "AH! I've got it!"

"What?"

"Come on!" She grabbed onto my sleeve and pulled me further down the hall, away from my desired seat.

"Yo!" Risu called down the hall. I looked over her shoulder to see who she was calling out to.

"You're Kyo, right?" Risu questioned as we both came up to the orange head.

He seemed annoyed to see us; which I'm not surprised. "Yeah. What do you want?" He questioned.

"Where the hell is Haru?" She snapped, coming to the end of her patience. It looked like she put Kyo at the end of his pretty fast.

"Why the hell would I know? I'm not his baby-sitter. Leave me alone." He then turned and began heading inside a classroom.

"Risu, just find him during lunch." I suggested before she could continue going after the short tempered Souhma.

"Do you know where he is during lunch?" She whirled around on me.

I shrugged. "No."

She threw her hands up in the air in an exasperated manner. "Well there you go. I don't know either. How am I supposed to talk to him if I don't know where he is?" She questioned vehemently.

"You...look for him." I replied slowly.

Her face scrunched up as she studied me, debating whether or not to take me seriously.

"Look, we're both going to be late for class, so let's just go." I turned away from her and slowly began walking back down the hall.

Today was a Monday. And the way it was going, it sure as hell felt like it. Haru didn't show up in any classes and it just pissed Risu off more. During lunch, she was so peeved that she was annoying everyone else, including Segi.

A whole week went by and nothing changed. Risu ended up having to do the whole project by herself; calling me almost every day to vent out her frustration. Today was the due date and I had high hopes that a weight would be lifted from my shoulders after Hirotachi's class.

I walked into the classroom and passed that cold empty desk. Haru wasn't going to show up today, I figured that much. 'Where the hell is he?' Dropping my bag at my desk, I proceeded to take out our project pamphlet. Machi and I had stayed up late last night in order to finish, and as I looked over the papers one last time, I felt a sense of pride swell in my chest.

"Kitani!"

My grip tightened on the pamphlet as I looked up to see Risu bounding through the doorway.

"Yeah?"

"Look this over for me, will you?" She held out a ruffled blue folder with the corners of papers spilling out of the edge. "I stayed up all night last night typing everything out."

I slowly placed the pamphlet on the desk and took the offered folder, glancing over the information on the papers.

"So did you finish yours?" She questioned, referring to the red pamphlet.

"Mm-hm. Machi and I stayed up last night finishing the last of it. It's pretty good."

Risu grunted and leaned against another desk across from mine.

Students began to file into the room but Risu paid no mind. "Do you think he'll show up today?" I could tell she was looking over at Haru's desk.

"And suffer your wrath? Nah, I think he's going to lie low for awhile." I replied, keeping my gaze on her report.

"Mm."

"Hey, Machi." I greeted when I saw the girl walk through the door. She looked at me and silently nodded before continuing to her desk.

I did feel bad for Risu. That girl put so much effort into the report only to get a barely passing grade on it. The assignment really was a two-person job. After school, Risu had been beyond pissed. She jammed headphones over her ears and walked home with the volume on to the extreme, without saying a word to anyone.

"A lone wolf." A low voice sounded from behind me, making me jump. I turned to see Hanajima-san staring after Risu. "That's what she resembles, don't you think?"

I stared at Hanajima for a moment before glancing back at my friend. "More like a brooding lioness." I murmur.

"Really?" Hanajima's velvet voice questioned.

I shrugged. If Risu were going to be any kind of animal, she would be a fierce protector, bold, and proud.

"I don't see her so. A lioness is a leader, she carries the responsibility of her pack and cubs. Risu, carries a lost soul who wont be able to take responsibility for others until she can settle her inner being."

Turning to face Hanajima fully, I fixed her with a questioning stare. She didn't face me however. "We have many wolves at school this year." She added before turning and walking down the sidewalk.

Risu was forced to do the entire project and report by herself. Hatsuharu was still going to get his half of the credit. That just didn't bode well with me. I know what it's like to have my credit taken away and it's not the best feeling in the world.

My aunt didn't have to work today, so she was able to pick up Telane right after she was let out of school. I had about an hour to spare before anyone expected me back at the house, and I felt obligated to get justice for Risu. I was going to track down that Souhma and find out where the hell he's been.

As I walked down the sidewalks, I wondered where to look. The city is pretty huge, how was I supposed to find him? Yell out his name up and down the streets and hope someone would help? Not likely.

Finding a wall that was short enough for me to jump and sit down on, I pulled out my cell phone and dialed Airesth's number. Hopefully she'd know where to look to find him. She somehow knows almost everything anyway.

'You should try the Souhma Estate.'

"They have an Estate?" I asked incredulously.

'Yeah. The family is pretty huge. I don't know exactly where it is but I know what area it's in, hold on a sec.'

I pulled out a pen and wrote down the area on the outside of my hand. After thanking her, I hung up, jumped down from the wall, and tried to discern which way to go.

Half an hour was spent finding the darn place, meaning I only had about ten minutes to find and talk to Haru before I had to head home. I stood at the gates, feeling almost intimidated. What am I supposed to do now? Then, I thought about Risu and some of my recklessness flared up. I was just about to knock on the gates when a voice from beside stopped me.

I turned to see the small blond form that was Momiji Souhma, standing just a few feet away from me.

"Kitani? What are you doing here?" He questioned.

I hesitated in answering. There went my recklessness. "I'm looking for Hatsuharu. I was told I could find him here."

Momiji's eyes widened a moment, before he quickly recovered by pasting a curious expression over his last. I didn't know what the last expression was, but I knew he was hiding it very well. "Why are you looking for him, if you don't mind me asking."

"He..." I searched for words that wouldn't lead to me sounding like a homicidal maniac. "He ditched my friend when she really needed his help and I wanna see if I can kick his ass or not."

Momiji giggled and gave a bright smile. "Wow, Haru really knows how to make friends!" He opened his sparkling blue eyes and met mine. "He's not here right now, though. He hasn't come back from school yet."

"But...he wasn't at school." Momiji was there today, he's been there all week, he should know that Haru hasn't been coming to school.

"The last anyone saw or heard from him was that he was going to school." Momiji replied secretively. "So, he hasn't come back yet."

"Huh." I stayed rooted to the spot for a moment, wondering what to do next. "I apologize for taking your time then, Souhma-san." I bowed politely and intended to walk back home when the sound of his giggles stopped me.

"Don't be so formal. You're probably older than me." He stated simply with a closed eyed smile.

I smiled back. "Right. I'll see you around, Momiji." He seemed satisfied with that farewell, so I took my leave. After I walked a ways from the gates of the estate, I began to ponder Haru's disappearance. If his own family didn't know where he was, what chances were there for me to find him?

I reached a cross walk just as the light turned red. Sighing, I shifted my weight to one foot and began to bite my thumb nail. I guess Risu's justice would have to wait to when I actually find the guy.

Cars passed by, hitting me with a whooshing wind as they went. My attention was averted from my thoughts as a tuft of white unruly hair moved on the sidewalk across the street.

It was Haru. The light still had a few seconds before turning green, and that's how much time I had to collect some kind of words to say to him. It was easier when I thought he was just skipping school, but to know that he hadn't been home either changed things.

A chime rang, and cars stopped. I kicked off from the sidewalk and ran across the street, hoping that I wouldn't lose sight of him.

"Hey!" I called out, but his steps didn't even falter. Either he was deaf or ignoring everything around him. He wasn't dressed to go to school, how did he get away with that excuse? His shoulders were hunched and his hands were shoved deeply into his jacket pockets. I could tell when someone was angry, and he seemed pissed. I don't know what kept me chasing after him and grabbing his arm. But I did. And his eyes turned to me with absolutely no recognition.