Chapter Four

Haruko woke up to an empty house once again. She sighed as she prepared herself for another day of training.

"Haruko-chan, ganbatte kudasai!" she said as she looked in the mirror.

Afterwards, she sat on her roof, waiting for her crazy sensei. She wondered why he said what he did yesterday.

"Why did he ask if he could adopt me? That was stupid. I hope he was joking; it would be weird to live with him…" she thought.

She waited a long time; at least an hour passed before she guessed he wasn't coming. She decided she'd visit Kaizen; they would look for her there when they were ready, she was sure of it.

"Ohaiyo gozaimasuu!" Tanaka-sensei beamed as he brought a tray to Kaizen's room.

"Sensei, some of us just woke up. Not so loud, please," Kaizen replied.

"Ahh gomen nasai. Naa, where's Haruko-chan?" Tanaka-sensei asked he put down the tray. "I have ramen for her, I do."

"She's not with you?" Raisuke asked.

Suddenly the door slammed open. Haruko stood in the doorway, panting.

"You left meeee! You meanie!" she cried, closing the door.

Haruko suddenly tripped and hit the table.

"Oww…" she said as she sat up.

Everyone began to stare at her bleeding forehead.

"Uhh...Haruko-chan? Your forehead is bleeding, dear," Tanaka-sensei said.

"What? Whaaaaaat?!" Haruko began to freak out.

Tanaka-sensei grabbed her arm and sat her down. He took out a small first-aid kit and smiled.

"Now, now, stop worrying. I have ramen for you," Tanaka-sensei replied as he cleaned up her wound and bandaged it.

Haruko blushed as she sat there quietly.

"Arigatou…Sensei…" she mumbled.

Tanaka-sensei just smiled and handed her a bowl of ramen. Soon, everyone was finished eating.

"Haruko-chan, don't you think that Kai-chan is so cute when he's injured?" Tanaka-sensei asked.

Haruko blushed and looked to her empty ramen bowl.

"Will you quit calling me cute? It's unnatural!" Kaizen yelled.

Haruko looked at him innocently. Her face was red, but she smiled at him. He then retreated under his blankets, his face red as well.

"I'm not cute…" he mumbled.

"Come on, Kai…" Raisuke said, trying to pull the blankets off.

Haruko stood up and walked over.

"Kaiiii-kun, don't act like that, please? Come out of there…" she said, gently tugging at the blankets.

Kaizen came out and sighed. Haruko kissed him on the cheek and ruffled his hair.

"Aww! So cute! Kai-chan had his first kiss!" Tanaka-sensei clapped.

Haruko glared at him and threw a kunai towards his face; he easily dodged it, smiling as usual.

"I think Tanaka-sensei is crazy…or on drugs…" Haruko whispered.

Kaizen nodded in agreement.

Dinner was quiet as usual. Haruko couldn't look at her mother, but her father smiled to her to rid her of the uneasiness she felt. After dinner, Haruko went outside. She played her small wooden flute as she looked to the stars. Her father suddenly came outside, clapping as she finished.

"Otousan…?" she was surprised as she looked back.

"Haruko, you've become even better. I didn't realize how smart and beautiful you had become. I know…we aren't around much, Haruko. I apologize…" he said as he sat beside her.

She smiled at him.

"Otousan, I'm fine. I can live on my own…"

"Haruko, you miss your friends, don't you?"

Haruko suddenly looked down; her smile began to falter.

"Otousan, I can't forget. You took me from my home, my friends. I don't belong out here. I…I wanna go home…back to my real family, back to Tanaka-sensei…Kuro…Raisuke…and…and…"

Haruko burst into tears; she couldn't control her sobs any longer. Her father hugged her gently and kissed her forehead.

"I'm sorry, Haruko. We just…want what's best for you…" he whispered.

"Oi, Haruko-chan! I thought you were over that whining thing?" a voice suddenly yelled.

Haruko looked up; she knew that voice anywhere.

The rain fell hard. The thunder boomed loudly overhead, drowning out her screams as they attacked her. She couldn't defend herself; they continued to beat her up until she could barely move.

"Stupid Haruko-chan, you suck as a ninja!" one of the boys yelled.

"Yea, just give up! You'll never be a good ninja, no matter how skilled you are!" the other yelled while kicking her one last time.

As they left, Haruko began to cry. She couldn't move; there was no one to save her. She was in pain and her clothes were soaked. As she closed her eyes, she heard a noise; it sounded like footsteps. Haruko opened her eyes to see a black cat sitting in front of her. It mewed and licked her wet cheeks.

"Kuro…neko?" she asked.

The black cat just mewed. Haruko smiled weakly and closed her eyes.

"Just what I need…a cat…" she said.

The black cat licked her cheek again as she seemed to lose consciousness.

Haruko woke up in a hospital bed. She was bandages almost everywhere, but at least she didn't ache. She couldn't move around much; she felt too stiff. The black cat was beside her, sleeping peacefully near her pillow.

"Are you happy? Now we're even," Kaizen said as he moved next to her bed.

"Kai…zen…" she sobbed.

Kaizen sighed. He somehow managed to make her cry.

"Haruko…don't cry. It's all right. You'll be fine," he replied.

"But I'm…I failed as a ninja…" she replied.

"No, you haven't, Haruko. You just…" Kaizen didn't know what to say.

He didn't' want to make her upset, but he couldn't say anything.

"You just need more training, Haru-chan," Tanaka-sensei came in the room with a bunch of flowers.

"Haru-chan, you scared me! I thought you'd go back to heaven after that! You're lucky Kaizen showed when he did; you were worse than he was. That was some fall you had, wasn't it?" he asked, smiling as usual.

Haruko managed to sit up. Her eyes watered as Raisuke waved to her.

"You…you guys…I…I…thank you…so much!" she cried.

The black cat woke up and rubbed against her arm.

"Kuroneko… Are you going to be there, too?" she asked as she held the cat.

It mewed and purred. Haruko smiled through her tears.

"We're all together…Kuro, Raisuke, Tanaka-sensei, and Kaizen. We'll always be together… I'll never be alone again…."