"But Sir…"
"Yuki calm down…" Kagura patted him but he brushed her hands away.
"HOW CAN I CALM DOWN?!" he yelled. For the fifth time, Yuki called all the officials to help him in his search. In the Sohma's memory, this was the first time she saw him very angry.
"But Yuki, it's 4 in the morning." Haru added. "Nobody's awake at this hour---"
"I don't care! Tohru's out there and she needs me!!!" he said angrily. "YOU!"
"Y-yes.." an official bowed lowly.
"Get your men and search every house in the place and---"
"YUKI!" Kagura yelled. "Stop this! This is not you!"
"How can you tell?!" Yuki turned to stare at her.
"Because you are never this angry before."
"And now you can see me like this, you should get used to this." he mumbled.
"Then tell me, once you find Tohru, what are you going to do?" she asked. "Tell her to come back to the mansion?"
Yuki opened his mouth to say something, but no words came out. He thought for a moment and soon, ignored Kagura's question. "Go now." He ordered the official. "I want your report by noon."
"Yes." The man said.
"What about my question, Yuki?" she pressed. "What are you going to tell her?"
"Please Kagura, I don't have time."
"And neither does she." Kagura said softly. "Yuki, she's hurt… and she needs to be alone… somewhere far…"
"I know but… I just can't…"
"Let her go, Yuki…" she patted him. "Let her go."
Because of this, Yuki released his anger and dismissed his officials.
Kagura smiled at him. "It's your birthday today." She said softly. "Try to keep a happy mood, ok?"
"…ok." He silently replied.
"Ne-san?" Kisa knocked at the door. "Ne-san, are you okay?"
There was no reply.
"Ne-san, Aya-san wants to talk to you. Can you please open the door?" Kisa called softly.
There was still no reply. She backed out from the door and stared at the man beside her. "I'm sorry. I think she can't hear us."
"It's alright, Kisa…" Ayame patted her head gently. "I understand her. Even though we don't know what happened, I believe she felt so bad about something that forced her to leave the mansion."
He sighed loudly. "I wondered what happened."
"I know." Shigure stormed inside the house.
"Gure-san! Where have you been?"
"I dropped by at Mit-chan's house and at the mansion to fix some things. Then I met Haru." He said seriously. "And, believe me, without asking him, he told me everything that I need to know."
"What happened?" Kisa tugged the novelist's sleeve.
"Ahh, Kisa-chan, I believe we should sit down and talk about it…"
"You're looking for Tohru?" Uo asked again.
"Yes…" Yuki replied calmly.
"Wait a minute, you're the guy that I met a few days weeks ago." Uo wondered. "You're the guy who's also looking for Tohru!"
"Where is she?"
"Beat me." She shrugged. "She hasn't returned for the past few weeks."
"She's…" Yuki stood still. "…not here?"
"Tohru's a person who intimately likes adventures. She's a type of person who does a lot of exploring without anyone knowing." Uotani flipped her hair. "So, who are you anyway? Are you her boyfriend or something?"
Yuki stared at her. Boyfriend? He slightly chuckled. "um, no. I'm her… um…"
"Cmon, I haven't got all day." She said crankily. "Who are you to her?"
He kept his face down and wondered deeply. Who am I to her? Why can't I just answer that question?
I'm her friend. I'm her companion.
I'm…nobody…
"Thanks anyway…" he left.
"WAIT!" Uotani called out. "I haven't got your name yet."
"You are the only one." Shigure said firmly.
"Why me?" Hatori asked as he sat lazily on the couch.
"You caused everything to be like this." Aya pointed out. "Why can't you just apologize to her?"
"Why did you even punched a defenseless woman in the first place?!" Kisa yelled.
"Quiet Kisa."
"I… it wasn't my fault." He shook his head. "I got carried away---"
"GOT CARRIED AWAY?!" Kisa stood up.
"Kisa…" Ayame warned her. "Hatori, what has Tohru done to you?"
"… nothing. I just…"
"Please, we need your help." Shigure pleaded. "She won't come out her room."
"She won't come out her room if I called her out." Hatori said firmly.
"But the only voice that got stuck in her head is yours." Ayame reminded his cousin. "Besides, we really need your help as a doctor."
"Why?"
"She dressed her own wounds." Kisa replied calmly.
"Please…"
…it's even my fault in the first place. "Alright." He nodded. "I'll do it."
Uotani approached the table and fully drank her coffee. "I can't believe that guy!" she mumbled. "I met him twice already, asked me the same question, and left me without even telling me his name!"
She banged her fist at the table. "I demand respect! Besides," she glanced at the clock. "It's 5:30 in the morning, for crying out loud!"
"Cease yourself, Uo-san…" Hana said calmly. "I also sense the same aura in him… he has never change…"
"Yeah, whatever." She replied lazily. "Hey, has Tohru called you up or anything? She seems to be missing again."
"I see…" Hanajima stared at her cup. "I see inappropriate patterns in the tea leaves." She sighed. "I fear… that Tohru is in deep sadness."
"Is she hurt?"
"Yes… but it cannot be seen." She nodded.
Uo sat back at her chair and stared at the ceiling. "I can't believe that I'm actually believing you but… I feel like Tohru needs our help…"
"But where she is…." Hanajima said sadly. "…is something that I cannot foresee."
"You're right…" Uo nodded. "Hey, let's talk about the ball of the Sohmas this evening."
"Not again…" the other mumbled.
Hatori sighed and knocked at the door at the end of the hall twice. "Honda Tohru?"
He heard a slight crash inside. "Can you open the door please?"
He leaned his ear against the door. He heard nothing but some crumpling and whirling of the wind. Papers… open window… she must have wrecked the room and even broke the glass window.
"I don't mean any harm." He whispered. "It's 6:00 in the morning. I just want to start the day right."
For good sakes, Ayame, I need the key---
"Found it!" Ayame shouted as he ran towards the doctor.
"Could you please try to be a bit civilized?" Hatori mumbled.
"Here." He handed the key, "Please do apologize!"
"I will, I will…"
Hatori pushed the key inside and turned the knob. As it opened, Ayame backed out two steps. "Good luck." He whispered.
Hatori forced himself to walk inside with his medicine bag. To his surprise, the room was completely clean. The bed wasn't touched and the appliances were not moved. He saw the cabinet door swaying back and forth, with white clean sheets hanging loosely on one side.
Another noise behind him made him jump on his place. He searched and saw papers on the desk "move" as the wind blew gently. So that's where the noise came from.
At the end of the room, his eyes focused on the balcony, where he saw a strange figure dressed in white cloth. As he moved towards it, the moonlight shone and the figure moved.
A woman turned around and stared at him.
His visions came back and forth in his mind.
Kana…
Before he knew it, a stroke of pain rushed in his mind and his body failed to catch him. He then collapsed on the floor.
But before that, he felt a hand reach out and grabbed his.
"Hatori-san!"
