There are 13 people... I can't see them... They seem so familiar... They're holding out there hands out to me... I want to go, but I can't... something bounds me...
I wake up in a cold sweat. This dream has been plaguing me for the past few weeks. I always walk up when the figures hold out their hands... They seem so familiar...
I shrug off the dream and start to get ready for my day. When I get down stairs, Kyo is there eating cereal. He sees me and stops chewing. He stares at me for a few seconds and then swallows. He wipes his mouth before he speaks, "What's wrong?"
"Wrong?" I ask. "Nothing's wrong? Well, not that I can think of anything right now... Why do you ask?"
"You were mumbling in your sleep again," he said. "When you mumble, that means something's wrong."
I started to blush as I made Shigure, Yuki, and my breakfast. He watches me sleep.
Yuki then came down. He was a little groggy, it seemed, as he picked up his breakfast. "Thank you," he muttered.
After breakfast, Shigure then came down. "Are you leaving already?" he asked. We had begun to get our bags, and put our shoes on.
"It's always so lonely, eating alone," sighed Shigure, looking at me.
"Well, I guess I could stay a little longer," I started to say, but Kyo put himself between me and Shigure.
"We have our own lives. That little pervert can eat by himself," Kyo said angrily.
"Oh, you're so mean to me Kyo. Tohru, Kyo's being mean to me!" whined Shigure.
Kyo put up a fist. "You sound like that idiot baby Momiji!"
After a few minutes of this constant fighting, we finally left for school.
"Geez, that Shigure..." mumbled Kyo.
"At least I can stand to be in the same room as him," replied Yuki.
Kyo glared at him. "What's that supposed to mean?"
I laughed. It was so funny seeing them fight. That seemed to be the only way they could communicate.
When we finally got to school, I couldn't seem to concentrate. My mind was on my dream. The familiarity of those figures... It was like I knew them! The whole school day seemed to pass by in a blur. At the end of the day, when I went to my locker, Yuki seemed to be mumbling something. He didn't seem too happy.
"What's wrong?" Wrong. That word seemed to keep popping up.
"Oh, it's nothing," said Yuki. "I just got a note from the office, which was from Akito, saying I have to stop by the main house for some family business."
"I'll come with you," I offered.
Yuki's face seemed to brighten. "Okay!"
Kyo didn't walk home with us. He was going to Kazuma's dojo today with Kagura. It was always odd when Kyo wasn't with Yuki. They seemed to complete each other.
When we reached the gates of the main house, Momiji greeted us.
"Tohru!" he shouted. He leapt up and hugged me. He then changed into a rabbit.
"Momiji," said Yuki in a harsh whisper. "You should be more careful!"
The little bunny looked ashamed. "I'm sorry."
We then entered into the courtyard. Since it was spring, the trees were in full blossom and looked very pretty. I could see Akito by a tree pouring himself some tea. When he saw us, he waved.
Ever since we found out Akito was a girl, he, no she, seemed to be a lot nicer. I liked this new Akito a lot more than the old one.
We sat down across from her and bowed our heads. Akito laughed. "You don't have to bow to me."
"So," said Yuki, as Akito started to pour us some tea, "you said we needed to discuss some family business."
Akito took a sip from his teacup. "The Hanajis are coming."
Yuki dropped his cup from his hand. As it fell, the tea spread and stained making it dark. He stood up. "What do you mean, 'they're coming'?" He was very upset.
Before Akito could answer, I asked, "Who are the Hanajis?"
Akito seemed to hesitate before speaking.
"We let her know about us, she should know about them," said Yuki.
Akito sighed. "Very well then. Tohru, let me tell you a story:"
"A long time ago, God invited 13 animals to a party. As we all know, 12 animals succeeded in coming but the cat stayed behind, tricked. And with the 12 animals that came he blessed them with a gift, to be immortalized forever. But when the spirits of those animals, plus the cat became angry at their immortal lives, they inhabited the lives of a particular family, the Sohmas."
"But before the great animal party, there was another party. In that party, God invited the 13 stars. Like the animals, one was tricked in to not going. With the twelve that came, God gave them immortal life. Again, when the immortal stars and the 13 became angry, they inhabited the bodies of another particular family. The Hanajis."
"The Hanaji's are our haunt us. They hurt us. They hate us. But, since both our families exhibit the immortalized spirits, we are bound together. And now, they are coming to visit."
Akito looked grim. It seemed as though the sky had darkened. Yuki was silent. He also looked troubled.
"Tohru," Akito started, "When the Hanajis come, do not go anywhere near them! They will hurt you in the end."
I nodded. "I promise."
"We should go now," said Yuki. He reached his hand down to me. I grabbed it and he pulled me up.
As we started to walk away, Akito shouted, "Be careful!"
We left.
As we exited the main house, it started to rain. We started to slosh through the mud. The only sound that we could hear was the pounding of the rain on the leaves. After a few minutes of silence, Yuki stopped walking. He put his arm out in front of me, stopping me from walking.
"There's someone here..."
I looked around. I couldn't see anybody except Yuki. Then, I saw him.
There was a boy, about Yuki's age sitting on top of some branches. He had about medium length, green hair. He had amber eyes, and was wearing a turquoise kimono. He jumped off the branches and landed in front of us. He bowed.
"Hello, Yuki."
Yuki glared at him.
"Hello, Fuyu."
Yuki then looked at me. "Tohru, this, is Fuyu Hanaji."