ESCAPES

alright alright. This is almost done! I slept on my sofa last night. It was weird! And I had the most horrible nightmare! I'll tell you about it in my next note! Enjoys!

He rubbed his eyes. He was tired, and still half asleep. His feet were cold, and that was because he didn't have any shoes on. He didn't mind too much though. He picked himself up, dusting dirt off his jeans. He walked along the alley, hardly at all disturbed by some of the disgusting displays he saw.

The alley opened up to a cement courtyard. A couple of women in skimpy outfits stood there, not really paying attention to anything, or him. He wasn't afraid of them, but he was smart enough to stay away. He remembered asking his mother why the women dressed like that. A really love time ago.

"It's because they can't do anything else. Their forced to." he remembered the pitying look on her beautiful face as she hurried him past.

"Aww! What a cute little boy!" he looked up at three make up covered faces. Two of them were glaring at him, while the one in the center was smiling kindly, holding out a hand to help him up. "What are you doing in this part of town? Are you lost?" she handed him some candy, and a little bag of white powder slipped out of her purse. Her hair was bleach blonde, and her skin was dark.

"I'm fine..." he whispered. Though he wasn't really sure.

"Then hurry on to your mother. It's dangerous around here." she patted his head smiling at him.

"I don't have anywhere to go..." but he started off down the alley.

"Wait wait!" she called rushing after him.

"Hatsuna! Get back to your corner!"

"Coming!" she turned to him again. "I get off in a few hours. If you just wait for me in that big building right there, I'll take you anywhere you want to go, ok?" she patted his head again, rushing off and nearly tripping in her tall platform heels.

It was the late afternoon when he saw her again. He wondered why he bothered to wait for her at all. But she was a nice person. She watched him with a happy smile as he ate. "Where were you, before I saw you?" she asked.

"At a hospital."

"And you ran away? That's not very smart. Are you really lost? Don't you know where you live?"

"I can't go back." he started on his french fries, not looking at Hatsuna. "Even if my family misses me, I can't go back."

"Well then. You can stay with me. I've known a couple of people who've run away from a lot of things." she smiled at him. "I can't teach you much. I'm nothing but a crack whore. But if you'll put up with me, I can keep you."

He smiled at her too. A really true smile, the first one he'd given anyone since Hichigo had started eating him alive. "Thank you."

She kissed him on the forehead, and he could almost make out the sound of Hichigo in the back of his mind, yelling at her to stop touching him. "I've always wanted a son." she said.

I've always wanted another mother.

OWARI

alright. My dream was awful! Sesshoumaru went insane (and he was bald...) And he was trying to steal this fire thing from this old man. I can't tell you the full story, but it was still awful. Anyway. Please review! Finally! Next chapter ichigo is sixteen! Hee... and something else, but you'll have to wait for the next chapter to see what.