(Enjoy another chapter!)

I blinked slightly, staring down at the orange cat, petting his head, and said, "You're cute when you're not in your human form, ya know?" He freaked out over that, and yelled, "Hey, I'm not cute, I'm an angry bastard right now, let go of me!" I raised a brow, and let go of him, it was early in the morning and he tripped over me while I was sleeping, and he turned into a cat. I got up from my spot besides Torou, and sighed, looking up at the sky, knowing I had to go to school and work today. I didn't want to go to work, since I get stressed easily over it, and it's bad enough that I work out every morning and afternoon, considering I jog to school, along with work.

I sat outside of the house, staring up at the sky, seeing that Yuki had retrieved all her things. If only he would've let me help him, he would've caught some z's... I sighed and glared down at the ground, angry with myself, but then heard Torou's yelp of surprise, making my head turn towards her direction. "Who got mom out of the landslide?!" Torou yelled, and Yuki came in just in time, saying, "I did, Ms. Honda. I thought I could get your stuff for you, also, is this all of it?"

Torou looked through the bags, saying, "And you did this for me?! I'm so sorry if I'm a burden to you, really!" I sighed, took off my hoodie, and started to walk to school, my uniform not necessary to me, since the school knew how rebellious I was to wearing the girl's school uniform. I hated skirts, they were so hard to move in, along with dresses, when you try not to show your underwear to the world, which means that I stuck with pants my entire life, even if I did had to wear a dress a couple of times. I heard Torou's voice yell, "Wait, Naomi, where are you going?!" "To school. I will catch you up on the lessons when I get back from work, alright?"

I said plainly, and continued walking, hearing footsteps behind me, and poofs, making me turn around, seeing a rat, a dog, and Kyo. Oh, Torou must've accidentally tripped and hugged them...great. I sighed, and started walking towards the house, petting the dog's head, seeing his eye color, I think it's Shigure. "Shigure, can you speak along with Kyo? I mean, probably, but I'm just making sure." I picked the rat up, his eyes staring blankly at mine, and I glared back at the eyes, hearing Torou's rants of getting a doctor.

The mailman came up, and Shigure took the mail, and I silenced Torou, having a sweatdrop. "You have a very talented dog, miss! Have a good day!" I sighed and waved, saying, "Shigure, speak. Explain, and everything will be alright." Shigure nodded, and dropped the mail from his mouth, and started speaking. "Ah, yes, well, you see Torou, we have a curse in the Sohma's, and it concludes of us getting hugged by the other sex, we turn into our animal form. Such as, Yuki turned into a rat, I turned into a dog, and Kyo-"

"Turned into a cat, I get it, I discovered this yesterday." I interrupted, and started petting Kyo's soft head. Kyo purred, but swatted my hand away, and growled, a purr still evident on his voice. "Stop petting me, silence! What do you have, magic touch towards cats?!" He yelled, and I sighed, nodding. "I used to have cats, but then my...never mind, that'll be saved for another day." I said sadly, and looked down at the ground, feeling Torou's hand on my shoulder, making me look up at her, seeing a grin on her face.

"You should get to school, you two, right, Yuki, Naomi?" I nodded and got up, grabbing my bag, and sprinted towards school, fast as a roadrunner. I panted near the school's entrance, and walked to class, hearing snickers and whispers, probably since I was in their presence. I sighed, and sat down in my desk that was near the window, looking out of the window. I placed my headphones over my ears, getting my iPod out, and started playing some music, ignoring the world around me. I felt a tap on my shoulder, and looked up, seeing Yuki's face, making me scowl slightly.

"Don't you have somewhere better to be? Besides around me? I'm just an irrelevant person in everyone's presence..." I said quietly, and then looked back down at my desk, taking my headphones off, my music blaring out to some nearby people, who looked at me like I was someone crazy. "Well, I was just wondering, do you have any other friends than just Ms. Honda?" He asked quietly, and I shook my head, placing my head on the desk. "No...it's like, I'm a rice ball in a fruits basket, it's where I don't belong...but I do believe I belong somewhere, just not here....and I just haven't found it yet..."

Tears pricked my eyes, but I wasn't going to cry in front of him, not ever, not even if he would offer being one of my friends, probably out of pity. Yuki placed his hand on my shoulder, making me flinch slightly, and he said, "I want to be your friend, even if you don't trust me, Ms. Akiyama... I want you to find a place where you do belong, Naomi." My eyes widened, and I looked up at him, my headphones blaring Crossing Field by lisa, making it such a coincidence to what was happening right now. I stood up, and looked down at the ground, knowing I couldn't just hug him, since he would turn into a rat. I shuddered and shook my head, saying, "You're doing it out of pity....go to your slutty fan girls, and leave me alone...."

I walked out of the classroom, running to a place where no one has been able to find me, even if they searched the entire school. I sat nearby the Sakura Trees, their blossoms floating in the air, Let It Burn by Unknown playing the Nightcore version of it, matching my emotions right now. I looked up at the sky, whispering, "Where are you when I need you, mother, father...where are you...?" Tears streamed down my face, and I buried my face into my arms, sobbing quietly, but went silent when I heard nearby footsteps walking towards me. I froze in my spot when I heard Yuki's voice saying, "Ms. Akiyama....I'm not offering to be friends out of pity, I actually want to be friends with you...."

I wiped tears away from my face, staying silent, knowing my voice would be raspy if I spoke. "Please, Naomi...come out, please..." Yuki's voice spoke again, and I shook my head, standing up, keeping my back towards him. I kept my eyes on the ground, not bothering to look at him. I felt his hand back on my shoulder, and heard him, "Please, look at me, I know how hard it is not to have many friends, Naomi." I refused, and whispered, "But you haven't experienced my pain, have you? Never, will any feel my hatred, my pain, and I will never again feel happiness, even if I wanted to, Yuki. Have you ever had that happen to you?"

I turned towards him, my unusual red eyes piercing his purple ones, tears stinging my eyes once again. "Have you? That's the question I want you to answer me." I sprinted off towards class, making sure my face isn't puffy and red when I get back to class, my mind focusing on getting all my notes and showing them to Torou. I sat in my seat, my breathing uneven and my eyes had mix emotions, and if anyone noticed, I still had tear stains on my cheeks, so I waited till lunch to get cleaned up.

(Time-Skip Towards Lunch)

I sat on the roof edge, looking out towards the sky, everyone else around me probably creating rumors about me, making my heart ache slightly from the huge erupts of sadness running through my veins. I wanted to scream out who I really am, but at the same time I want to keep things locked, keep them to myself. I felt a presence nearby, and looked to the side to see Yuki sitting besides me. "What do you want, mister popular-with-the-ladies?" My voice was a bit raspy, but I still had a strong voice enough for him to hear. I felt eyes glaring holes into me, and I looked behind me, seeing the Yuki Fangirl Club staring at us, doing their routine of the Yuki thing.

I sighed, and got up, starting to walk away, when Yuki gripped my wrist and said, "Wait, Ms. Akiyama, please, don't go...I want to get to know you better, please." I sighed, and shook him off, saying, "No one can match my pain, no one..." I ran off, tears stinging my eyes. Why won't he just give up? Isn't it obvious that I'm an outcast, an idiot to everyone?!

Why won't he just leave me alone?! I growled and kept sprinting, knowing I could've just run a marathon with my stamina I had on me right now. I sat down in my classroom, panting quietly, and looked down at the ground, sitting at my desk, staying silent as I ever was, placing my headphones over my ears, blasting my music so I didn't hear anyone else, awaiting the end of the day to get to work.

(Time-Skip To Work)

I sprinted towards the restaurant, adrenaline pumping through my veins to get there on time. I got into a fight with some popular people, and it got me off track of my usual routine, making my steps go even faster from my original running speed. I got through the doors, seeing I still had time to get changed into my work clothes, which consisted of an apron, a black button up shirt, and some white shorts. I walked into the kitchen, got my long hair back up into a ponytail, and slipped it under a hat so I wouldn't get hair into my customer's food. The day was long, and busy, but I was sprinting towards the Shoma's, knowing today was Friday, meaning tomorrow was my day off. I panted quietly when I opened the door, seeing Torou sitting in the kitchen, looking exhausted.

"Torou...I have the notes, and I finished work, do you want to work over the material?" My voice was like ice, and it seemed to scare her when she heard my voice. "O-Oh, Naomi, you're back! And yes, I would love to go over the material!" She got up from the floor, dusting herself off. "Have you eaten? I can make us some snacks so we can work." Of course, I haven't eaten in a few days, but I was still going to refuse. "No, I'm fine, let's just get you caught up." I didn't notice that the three men that were in the house were staring at me with some questioning looks, but Kyo was the first to whisper, "Why is she home so late? I know she has work, but where does she work at?"

I had Torou's mind confused in just a matter of seconds, making me sigh, and Yuki replied, "She kept rejecting my asks of friendship....I wonder why..." Today was June 5, which means that their deaths was in four days, and I had a day off from that day, since I explained to my boss about that day. Shigure then whispered, "I don't know, but I sure do want to find that out!" In four days of work and school, I sat down in my apartment with my head on the table, my mother and father's pictures placed in front of me, with a candle lit, and had some sushi nearby. It was our favorite meal to eat as a family, and ever since they were dead, I would eat sushi on this day, every year.

I was crying silently, until I heard my door open, and looked up, seeing Torou with Kyo and Yuki. I wiped tears away from my eyes, and looked down at the table, refusing to have them see me in this state. "Naomi...are you ok?" Torou asked quietly, and hugged me, and I stayed quiet, until I spoke, "Why are they here, Torou. You know I hate it when some people I've only met is brought here, ever since you brought the other two into my apartment without my knowing. I hate people seeing me in this state....and I hate this day..." "Well, I came to wish you Happy Birthday, and I also wanted to pay my respects to your mother and father..."

"How can I have a happy birthday if it isn't?! It's just another date to my book..." I said quietly, the other two giving quizzical looks. "Hey, what happened? Today is your birthday, right? Shouldn't you be happy?" Kyo asked, and I scowled, standing up. "How could I be happy on my birthday, if my parents died on this day?! I didn't mean for them to die, I didn't mean for them to get shot, I didn't mean for us to go out to have a fun time! It's that stupid gang that has created this hatred among myself and others!" I yelled, tears streaming down my face without my knowing, and I went outside, not wanting anything to do with the Sohma's at the moment. Torou sighed, when the other two were planning to go after me, and she said, "She needs some space...just give her time, she will eventually be friends with you, I promise." Time...time is just a small thing that you are given, but it will just last forever, on a non-stop journey around the clock...

I sighed, walking to the place where my parents had died, near a fabric store, where I sometimes visit on this day. I sat in the alleyway where they got shot, looking at where I exactly fell, a stain of washed away blood where I fell. I looked down at my leg, a scar there from where I got slashed at by a knife, and it was so deep also, but I didn't die. If I did die, I would've died fighting. My eyes swelled up by tears, until I heard footsteps, and looked up, seeing worried blood red eyes along with violet ones.

I glared at them, and looked down at the ground, refusing to look at them. Kyo started speaking, saying, "You know, it's ok to cry, especially something over this....it's ok." I shook my head, tightening my jaw in anger and sadness, hearing Yuki talk. "It's ok, I promise, I want to be friends with you, because you seem trustworthy, and I like to see that in people, especially since I haven't seen anyone like you." I looked up, tears going down my cheeks, and they hugged me, my eyes widening in surprise from the affection, and sat there, dumbstruck.

Kyo then said, "It's ok to cry, it's ok. It's normal for someone to show that they are sad, you don't need to lock yourself up anymore. We're hear to listen." I placed my face into his shoulder, crying silently, the rain starting to pour down. I got up, and wiped tears away, even if they were rain droplets, and started walking home with them, looking up at the sky. "So, what now?" I asked, and Yuki said, "You can stay at our house, since you live alone, it seems like you are pretty lonely..." I nodded, and said, "But I'd have to repay you somehow, I just can't live there without doing something in return..."

"I would like to see a smile for once, if it isn't too much. It seems it'll let out a lot of frustration." Kyo said, and Yuki shook his head, and said, "We'll have Shigure think about, for now, just try to get some stress out of your system." I nodded slightly, and kept walking, a spark of happiness sparking in my heart and eyes.

Sometimes, it is alright to cry. That's what I have learned today, and that it's not impossible to get friends, even if you push them away, and you know that they'll listen to your troubles...I wonder what'll happen later on during the year...