Hiding Tears

[Tomomi]

Tomomi bit her lip and looked at her. Mei wouldn't promise, but she was a trusted friend.
Tomomi sighed a spoke, "It was four years ago...My mother and father had died in a car crash and it was me and my three brothers who were left to fend for ourselves." She sniffed, "A year later, we went bankrupt, and my brothers were working double time...." Tomomi had tears in her eyes, "And I got sick with the flu. I had no idea what my brothers were doing for work, but I knew it was taking them a long time. They bought me medicine with emergency money we kept. When I was well, our house was taken away, our car, and then we had to sell our dog." Tomomi cried, "And I found out that my two younger brothers were selling drugs to earn money." Tomomi wept, "My two younger brothers had changed. They must have been doing drugs. My oldest brother and I ran away to a Police Station and they found us jobs." She sniffed again, "But they were in different places. My brother was to work in a factory near Hokkaido, and me in a warehouse near here." Tomomi burst, "After a month, I sent him a letter of complaints..." She paused, "I was such an idiot Mei! He sent me all of his earnings and paid to get me here and in Tama."
It seemed like Tomomi shrivled the more she spoke, "All the things I've said about my brothers and their great jobs are all lies! I don't even know if my brothers are even alive anymore!" She whispered, "I sent my brother a letter awhile ago, as if I was writing to my family...But I haven't gotten a reply."
Tomomi's tears fell like a mini waterfall at that moment and she looked at Mei, "It's all my fault! The reason why my parents were even in a car was to get me some candy!"
She held her face, "I was such a spoiled little brat. I act like one now just to have a feeling of my old life, but now it's gone. I'm an orphan, a brat, and a lier!"
Tomomi wanted to run off, but she was so paralyzed with sorrow and despair, she couldn't have even lifted a finger. She wept as though she'd never stop.

[Yonutsune]

Yonutsune stared. Just stared. Tomomi...the childish, care-free, somewhat klutzy, all-smiles-girl, was just acting out her entire life. She could be a completely different person than Yonutsune had known. She should've guessed. Nobody was always happy.

Though Yonutsune hated giving advise, she wanted to be straight out with Tomomi. She would tell her just how she felt about the situation, whether it helped or not, she still wanted to tell Tomomi something.

"Though something like this has never happened to me, I can see why you would guess something horrible has happened to your brother, or brothers," She began, not in a bitter voice but calm and a little kind. "But jumping to conclusions will just make you panic and fret. You should try to go see him, if you know where he is that is. And to your other brothers to see how they're doing as well. As for your remorse and grief, save it for when you find the answer." She took a breath in, exhaled, and followed her actions with a long pause. "It doesn't have to be...horrible..." She said, pushing back her own tears, remembering once again that she had repeated that to her so self so many times, and tried to make it as real as possible.

But right now wasn't the time for her own problems. Right now, Tomomi was suffering more than Yonutsune ever had.

[Tomomi]

Tomomi stood, angry and still wet with tears, "I told you! I don't know where they are!"
She turned away, "But I know I'm an orphan. I'm always going to be one."
Tomomi turned to Mei, "I don't even have a home to go back to for the holidays!"
Tomomi held herself, with her eyes closed, "Do you know how that feels? How it feels to have nobody waiting and praying and worried for you? Do you know the pain of having your house taken away? To sell a dog that had been with you since you were born? To know a sibling or two of yours has to sell illegal items just to get you medicine?!"
Tomomi paused and bit her lip and felt bad for screaming out just like that. She looked down, her voice now calmer and quieter, "I...I'm sorry...*Sniff*...But have you? Have you ever had to face any of those troubles?"

[Yonutsune]

"Everybody has problems." She began while still sitting, not angry nor sad for Tomomi yelling at her. She still felt calm. "Some different or worse than others. In my case, no. I have no money problems, and that's the truth. No, my siblings never had to worry about me because it was always taken care of. No, I never had to have my home taken away because I never really had a home. And no, Seibo and Chido have always been with me. They've never left me. However, if I had no clue where my siblings were...if Akura and Yukadai were missing, if I had no clue where to begin, I would begin anyway. No matter how horrible the situation. If I felt so weak that I didn't want to go on, if I felt as if my life were falling apart, I would look for them because they're important to me. I would search for them because I know they would want me to, because they would want me to be strong and because I'm important to them. If we truly value such things as siblings or houses or pets, then we would be strong. And we would continue." She stopped then, waiting for Tomomi to say something. Or maybe she would walk away, angry at Yonutsune for not showing the most of compassion. But the truth was that, Yonutsune still had her own guidelines. And whether Tomomi would believe them or not, she had to say it because she really didn't know any other way to help Tomomi.

[Tomomi]

Tomomi burst again, "You're right! I never thought of it but now, now I see I have to search for them! If they are dead, I'll continue. If not, I'll continue."
She thrust herself to Mei, "Oh, Mei. Thank you so much!"
Tomomi let go and sniffed, brushing away stray tears, "Please don't tell anyone about this. Okay?"

[Yonutsune]

Yonutsune smiled, and nodded, then brushed a tear from Tomomi's cheek. "I won't tell anyone, it's your secret and I understand that." She explained. "Well now, I believe we both have things to do. Just ask me if you need help with anything." She said, and bowed out of habit. "Sayonara, ne?"

[Tomomi]

Tomomi wiped her eyes and smiled, "Yes. Thank you so much." She bowed.
"If you need me, I'll be in the library working on the computers in search of my brothers!" Tomomi stated, dashing off the second she finished speaking.

[Yonutsune]

Yonutsune smiled lightly as Tomomi dashed off, glad that she was able to help the pink-haired girl with her problems.

Now the only question that was left was, 'What should I do now?' She thought, then sighed and walked far away from the Temple.