Wow! That was a lot of reviews for just one day! Thank you to…

mistress of the west, Petit-Hana, The Cucumber Lady, kuro-chan, x Fade x To x Black x, and Edakumi!

AHH! MY WASHING MACHINE IS MAKING STRANGE NOISES! AH! IT'S THE WASHING MACHINE MONSTER!

Just kidding. Tee-hee.

Anyway, thanks to those who reviewed "The Sohma Game" too. I took the author's notes out of that one because I thought it would take away from the story. And be MYSTERIOUS! That's the first time I've ever done that too! I ALWAYS have author's notes! Especially elongated ones like this!

On to the story… ANGST! This is the second to last angsty chapter, I swear!

Kaze no Namidawa: The Diary of Isuzu Sohma

Entry Seven

A week later, I was surprised I wasn't DEAD.

I'd hid in the bushes, crying, sleeping, and dying internally. I had barely moved, I hadn't eaten, and nobody had found me. I doubted they had even looked for me.

Although I felt really gross, I hadn't changed out of my muddy school uniform from a week before. Bleh. I had clothes in my backpack; I was just in too much internal and external pain to care.

Saturday morning it was drizzling, and I finally decided to stand up and walk around. If I was going to be a hobo, I might as well find a cardboard box, I though. Or some hobo buddies.

But when I stood up, guess who was standing right in front of me?

B

B

B

First I'm like "SHIZ!" because she was staring at me like you would stare at a hobo, but then I just couldn't take it anymore, broke down, and CRIED.

"Isuzu?" she asked, like she didn't believe this dirty, crying, smelly, shit-hole was me. I couldn't answer through my crying, so instead of waiting for an answer, she grabbed my wrist and led me somewhere… to her house.

She allowed me to use her shower (THANK GOD) and borrow some of her clothes because mine had gotten all damp in that week. Once I was all clean, and dressed, she wrapped a blanket around my shoulders and gave me a cup of tea and a plate of muffins.

I tried to eat, but…

I threw it up.

Great. I probably had an eating disorder on top of it all.

Motoko got her mom to come check on me. She took my temperature and all that crap, and it was 105 degrees. They told me I could stay for a while, as long as I needed. I muttered a 'thank you' and fell asleep.

I woke up this morning and still felt shitty, but I didn't feel sick, really. I only felt the sick feeling you get from sadness and too much crappy crying.

I opened my backpack and fished through the stuff. Somehow, my cell phone had survived. In the around eight days I had been gone, I had a total of 453 missed calls, most of which were from Hatsuharu and Hatori.

"Hi," Motoko came in with a cup of tea. She set it on the floor next to me, and I put my cell phone back in my bag. "Do you feel better?"

"I guess so," I replied, shocked at my own voice as I cleared my throat.

"I don't want to pry… it's your business and you don't have to tell me… but why were you out there? Did you run away?"

Ha. I guess I had.

"Kind of… I mean… my cousin's mom kicked me out and my other cousin wouldn't let me stay with him… so I just stayed in the park for a week until you found me."

"So that's why you didn't come to school…"

Shudder.

"That's awful, Rin…"

The next ten minutes were like a blur.

Motoko's mom came in. "Isuzu?" she said. "You have visitors."

"Visitors?" I repeated. Who would know I was here?

"Rinny… please don't run away again."

It was Hatsuharu, trying to act like he was older than me and knew what he was talking about, with Yuki following awkwardly behind.

I became angry as it dawned on me. How much of an IDIOT could I be?

"I looked at your cell phone," Motoko said. "I found their numbers and told them everything. They were worried and wanted to see you, so I let them come. I hope you don't mind?"

Motoko didn't care two shits about being friends with me. She just wanted to be friends with me because I'm Yuki's cousin.

Through me, it would be easier to get to him.

What a two-faced witch.

"Motoko Minagawa," I said, my voice rising as I stood and picked up my bag. "You are the biggest two-face bitch I have ever met, in my entire LIFE!"

"What--?"

"How dare you take advantage of me just because you're an obsessive whore! Shit head!" I yelled, spitting on her feet.

I grabbed Hatsuharu and Yuki by the wrists and pulled them out of the bitch castle.

"Rinny, I'm sorry… I couldn't find you…"

"You wouldn't have HAD to find me if you would have just let me stay!" I began to cry again. Haru pulled me into a hug I didn't want and Yuki stood there like an idiot.

"Let's go home," Haru whispered quietly.

"You don't understand," I cried. "I have no home!"

"You can come with me," Haru told me.

"Oh, so after the 450th call you decide it's okay for me to stay?"

"Haru…" Yuki said, and Haru looked up over my shoulder. "I think Rin is still a little upset… don't you think maybe you guys should spend some more time apart? You know? To calm down?"

It was the most useful thing I could recall him ever saying.

Haru didn't say anything at that, but let me go. No goodbye, no kiss, no anything. Yuki rested his hand on my shoulder and we walked silently to Gure-nii's home.

-RIN