Zodiac
Prologue
-First Meeting-
"But Daddy I don't want to meet a whole bunch of new people." A small girl with two pink braids stated, looking up at her redheaded father. Gaara stopped in his walk and looked down to his eldest daughter, getting down on his knee and giving her a small smile.
"Satomi, it will be alright." he told her, resting his hands on her shoulders.
Another pink haired girl ran up next to them and nodded excitedly. She looked exactly like the other girl, and they were both wearing the same dress that only went over one of their shoulders and fell loosely around them, stopping at their knees. The only difference was the colors. The elder twin, Satomi's, was black, and the younger twin, Natsumi's, was white. "Oh come on Tomi! Don't you want to make new friends?"
Sakura stopped as well, with her twelve year old son beside her, who also looked excited. "Come on. It'll be fine." Toshiro said, smiling up at his mother. He had a large amethyst amulet hanging around his neck. Both of his sisters had amulets around their necks as well, made up of an aquamarine stone, cut in the shape of two yin and yang pieces.
The elder woman glanced back and sighed. "Yuki, please stop your sulking, and catch up with your siblings." The rest of the family glanced back to see the redheaded girl who was trailing behind. She had her hair up in a pony tail and her arms crossed over her chest. She was wearing a dress as well that was a light green and had an anklet made up of bloodstones.
"I don't want to."
"Whether you want to or not doesn't matter. Now come on." Sakura said.
"No." she snapped.
Gaara sighed and looked back at his wife. "I'll take Toshiro and the twins ahead and you can…deal with this." He said, looking back over to his youngest daughter. With that he stood and took both his twins' hands and led them off with Toshiro close behind.
Sakura walked back to her youngest daughter and squat down so that they were eye level. "Sweetheart, what's bothering you?" she asked, placing her hand on the little girl's shoulder.
"I don't want to go meet people. I hate them." She glared stubbornly.
"I know. But sometimes we just have to do things we don't want to do." The elder woman said. "Besides, we won't be there for that long."
Yuki still didn't move. "Everyone's going to like them better."
"Honey, you don't know that."
"Yes I do."
Sakura let out a sigh. "Yuki, there's going to be eight other people there. One of them is bound to like you better than your siblings. But you won't know unless you go."
"But I hate them." She reiterated.
"You can't hate people you don't know baby. That doesn't make any sense."
"Yes I can."
Sakura stood. "Well we're still going to go. Because I said so." She nudged the young girl forward. "Sometimes you just have to give people a chance. How else do you think your dad has any friends?"
"Dad hates everyone too." She protested, still trying to go back. Sakura took her daughter's wrist and dragged Yuki towards the large meeting room. "No!" she screamed out.
"Sweetie, you aren't giving anyone a reason to like you by yelling and acting stubborn." The elder woman said.
And so the tug of war continued, until finally Sakura managed to drag the young girl into the beautifully decorated room. Toshiro looked around the room, assessing all the people that were there. Because he would be interacting with these individuals a lot in the future, he figured he should try and make some friends. He walked over to a group of three boys and waved. "Hey. I'm Toshiro."
"I'm Shuhei!" a small blonde boy exclaimed, smiling brightly at the older boy, his vibrant blue eyes full of happiness. He had on a necklace with a ruby on it, and his clothes were bright orange. Another boy, a brunette with deep blue eyes, gave him a friendly smile. He had on a necklace made of a silver chain, an opal ring hanging from the center.
"Haru." He greeted. And the last one, a boy with ebony hair and deep green eyes just nodded to him.
"Akito." He said, sounding bored. His arms were crossed, and his right one had a gold band around the bicep with a fire topaz in the center.
Toshiro nodded. "Well, I'm the Aquarius. What about you guys?" he asked curiously.
"I'm the Aries." Shuhei said.
"The Libra." Haru told him.
Akito just sighed. "Scorpio."
The redhead focused on the darker one of the group and smiled. "So you're the Scorpio? I heard some pretty interesting things about you."
Haru snickered. "Well it's all true. He really is as depressing as he looks." This earned him a punch in the arm.
"I am not depressing. I'm just not as happy as you and Shuhei are." He frowned.
"You remind me of a…a…what's that word you taught me Haru-nii-san? Emo?" Shuhei asked, scratching his head.
Toshiro laughed, breathing out easy. At least it was much easier than he thought to talk to them. "So you all know each other?"
"Unfortunately." Haru sighed, getting another hit.
"Our parents are all friends and live close to each other!" the young blonde declared. "My big sister Mina is over there!" he pointed across the room, where a girl whose dark hair was tied up in a ponytail stood talking with Toshiro's sisters and a brunette.
He followed his finger and nodded. "My sisters are the two pink haired ones. Obviously they're the Gemini. And then my other sister is over there fighting with my mother, as usual." He gestured over to the elder pink haired woman and the young girl struggling with her.
Shuhei brightened up immediately, even more than he had been. "Wow! She has cool hair!" he declared, before running off towards them to go introduce himself.
"Freak." Akito muttered.
"He's in for a rude awakening." Toshiro smirked, knowing his youngest sibling would not take well to the energetic blonde. He looked back to Akito then and was about to say something before he was plowed over by an energetic pink haired girl who then tackled Akito to the ground.
"Oh my God!" she screamed excitedly. "I want to marry you!"
He just looked up at her, wide eyed. "Why?" he asked, extremely confused. He didn't even know this girl, much less know if he wanted to marry her. That was something for grown-ups, and people in love. His own father hadn't married his mother, so it was just weird to him.
Suddenly she was pulled off of him and held at bay by her brother. "I am really sorry…she's…easily excited."
"Lemme go Toshi!" she yelled, biting the arm holding her back.
"OW!" He yelled out, bonking her on the head. "Natty calm down!"
"It's ok." Akito said, standing and brushing himself off. He was tackled once more, only this time he wasn't knocked over. He looked down to see a head of brown hair, and had to force himself to hold in a sigh. This was not good.
"You can't marry Akito-kun! Because he's mine!" the girl declared, her icy blue eyes glaring fiercely at Natsumi as her grip on Akito tightened.
Natsumi blinked and looked from the girl to Akito and looked terribly sad. "Oh…"
Toshiro smiled down at his sister and pat her head. "It's ok Natsumi. You didn't even know him anyway, and you should be in love with someone when you marry them." He told her.
"I guess…" she said, sniffing, her gloomy expression only worsening.
Akito frowned at the girl's sadness, and then, remembering his predicament, grabbed Taka's hands and pried her off of him. "I don't belong to you Taka. And we aren't getting married." He stated, stepping away from her. Natsumi looked between the two, her brow scrunching in confusion. She ran over and hit Taka over the head angrily.
"You lied!" she scolded and then took Akito's hands in her own. "Hi! I'm Natsumi! I'm half of the Gemini and I can see dead people!" she told him excitedly.
He gave her an odd look. "I'm Akito. The Scorpio." He said.
"What's your gem do?" she asked nosily, tapping the topaz on his arm.
"Makes it so everyone else's powers don't affect me. And if I want you to do something I can talk you into it." he told her.
She gave him a skeptical glance. "But isn't that mean?"
He shrugged. "It's not like I use it all the time. I'm pretty persuasive without it. My father says I get it from him."
"Why would you want something from someone if they didn't want to give it to you willingly? Isn't it the thought that counts?" she asked, seeming very distraught about this.
He glared at her lightly. "I know. That's why I don't use it. Like I just said."
"Duh." Taka placed her hands on her hips and rolled her eyes at Natsumi, as if she should know this. "This is why you can't marry Akito-kun. You wouldn't be able to understand him."
Natsumi just glared back at the dark haired boy. "I was just asking. So don't be such a butt face. Though I guess you'd have to be a butt face to match your chicken butt hair." She snickered, crossing her arms with an accomplished smirk adorning her adorable face.
Toshiro looked a bit shocked and tried not to laugh. Akito's hair didn't really look like a chicken's rear end, but it was pretty spiky, and the thought alone was hilarious in itself.
"Well at least my hair isn't a stupid color. It's normal." He sneered, crossing his arm as well. Taka snickered at that, giving Natsumi a haughty glance.
Suddenly it was Akito who was punched on the arm. "Akito-kun, don't be so mean to my new friend! I think Natsumi-chan has pretty hair." The ebony haired girl that had previously been standing across the room said, her brow creased in a frown.
"Sorry Minako." He muttered, rubbing the spot on his arm where she had hit him.
"Don't apologize to me, apologize to Natsumi-chan." Minako instructed, pointing at the pink haired girl, who looked like she was about to cry.
Holding in a sigh, Akito looked to Natsumi. "Sorry."
The tears fell anyway and she ran off, clinging to her mother's leg, since she was now unoccupied by her youngest, who was currently being tortured by the blonde boy who ran after her. Toshiro sighed and looked over at Akito before the other pink haired twin walked up and glanced up at her brother. "Why's Natty crying?"
"Because Akito-kun was mean!" Minako declared, punching him again.
"Stop hitting me!" he said, glaring at Minako. Then he looked over to Natsumi and frowned. Sighing, he walked over in that direction, shoving his hands in his pockets. He stopped when he was before them, looking down at the ground.
Natsumi looked over at him, still attached to Sakura's leg, who had bent over to try and console her crying child. "I'm…really sorry about what I said. And for making you cry. I didn't mean too." He said, glancing up at her. "I like your hair." He admitted.
Natsumi just buried her face in her mother's stomach. Sakura smiled softly down at her daughter. "Natsumi, sweetheart, it's impolite not to say anything when someone apologizes." She said, stroking the young girl's hair.
She looked over, still looking upset, but nodded. "Okay."
"You don't…hate me now…do you?" he asked, his eyes expressing a vulnerability that could never be described with words.
"I guess not…" she mumbled, still holding tightly onto her mother. Then she noticed his eyes when she finally looked up and shook her head quickly. "No! I don't. I promise!" she released her mother and took his hands, smiling as if he had never hurt her feelings. "I forgive you. It's ok, so don't be sad!"
The corner of his mouth tilted in a small smile. "I'm glad."
"Good." She hugged him then.
He seemed shocked by her sudden contact, but slowly and hesitantly returned her embrace, his smile widening. "Your hair smells good." He said, and then his eyes widened when he realized he'd said it out loud.
Natsumi pulled away from him slightly and gave him an odd once over. "You're a creeper, aren't you?" she said seriously, though it was clear she was trying not to laugh.
"No." he huffed, his brow furrowing slightly.
"Creeper. Creeper. Creeper." She teased, twirling around him, smiling brightly.
He just crossed his arms and stood there, not really sure on what to do. Sakura chuckled and then looked over to where her other daughter was still running from the young blonde boy.
"Come back Yuki-chan! I wanna touch your pretty hair!" he exclaimed, reaching forward to try and touch it.
"Get away from me you psycho!" she cried, practically sobbing since Shuhei had almost ripped her hair out.
By now they had run around most of the room, making their way towards Toshiro, Minako, and Satomi. Yuki ran and actually hid behind her elder brother, and Minako grabbed onto the back of her younger brother's shirt and dragged him back before he could continue his pursuit.
"Shuhei, knock it off. You're freaking her out." Minako said, looking at the redheaded girl who was peeking out at her. She smiled kindly. "Sorry about my little brother. He's easily excited."
"Well I hate him." She glared at the blonde.
"Yuki." Toshiro scolded, shaking his head. "Hate is a bad and strong word."
"But I really, really like you. And your hair." He said, struggling in his sister's hold. She hit him on the head, making him stop and look up at her.
"Shuhei, you know what daddy says about being too energetic." She reminded. He calmed instantly, and when Minako released him, he just stayed put.
She looked back at the two redheads. "I'm Minako." She smiled, holding her hand out to the little girl. Before anything more could happen they all heard a call.
"Alright!" a loud voice called, getting everyone in the room's attention. When the group of kids looked over it was the elder redhead who was speaking and beside him was a dark haired man, who looked irritated.
"Be silent and let's get started!" He called, snapping and ordering for his son to take his place in front of him. In a jumbled mess, every child was in front of their parent or parents and they were all sitting around a massive pyre.
"Now. I think it's time to introduce the next generation to one another, don't you think?" Gaara said, stepping forward since Sakura was keeping an eye on their four.
Sasuke, the ebony haired man who looked a lot like Akito, stepped forward then. "As you all know, you have been chosen to look after this land we call home once you are older. This means you will all be undergoing special training, if you haven't already started."
Natsumi's hand shot in the air and she waved it around as if waiting to be called on. Sasuke glanced over and nodded to her. She put her hand down and smiled. "Hi Sasuke!"
The corner of his mouth lifted a bit. "Hi Natsumi." He said. Akito looked from her, to his father, and then back to the pink haired girl.
"You know my father?" he asked, confused.
She nodded, giving Akito the same smile. "He comes and visits us sometimes and brings presents."
"Oh." Then he looked to his sire. "How come you never took me?"
"I asked, and you said you didn't want to go." The elder Uchiha shrugged. "Now, back to business." He clapped his hands together.
Gaara nodded and then looked around. "Now we will just go in order to make it easier. So Shuhei, go right ahead." He gestured before heading back to his seat beside his wife.
"My name is Uzumaki Shuhei, and I am the Aries!" the blonde boy exclaimed with a bright smile.
The elder redhead looked annoyed and then sighed. "Shuhei. Your name, what you are, your stone, and what you can do. You must inform your new counterparts of your skill level."
"Oh. Right." he nodded. "My name is Uzumaki Shuhei, I'm the Aries, my stone is a ruby, and I can make a force-field to protect myself, and I never get sick."
Everyone's gazes then turned to an auburn haired boy, who was sitting next to Shuhei. He had an emerald earring in his right ear, and aquamarine eyes. "Terumi Vincent. Taurus. Emerald. I can see the future, but only if I'm touching the person."
"That's pretty cool." Haru said aloud.
Natsumi stood, dragging her sister up with her. "I'm Natsumi."
"And I'm Satomi." The elder twin sighed.
"We are Gemini. We each have a half of the aquamarine stone." They said together.
Satomi lifted her necklace. "I can control people's emotions and open the gate to the Underworld or Netherworld."
"And I can talk to dead people and ghosts as well as travel to the Underworld." Natsumi chimed in.
"That's weird." A dirty blonde haired boy said. "Who wants to talk to dead people? That's depressing."
Natsumi glared at the boy, but then smirked. "Well better to see them and talk to them, then not know what they are doing. Since currently, there's one right next to you, licking your ear." She pointed out.
The boy immediately covered his ears, looking around in paranoia. Taka rolled her eyes and opened her mouth to speak, since it was her turn. "My name is Taka. I'm the Cancer, and my stone is the moonstone." She pointed to the headband she was wearing that went across her forehead. It was made of silver, and had a round, white stone in the center. "I have good luck, and I can make people tell the truth."
Haru snickered, nudging Akito from his other side. "A lot of use that does. She gets the truth and ignores it."
Akito snickered as well. "I know right? Makes no sense."
The same blonde from earlier lowered his hands, since it was his turn. "My name is Kyo, and I'm the Leo. My stone is peridot, and it makes a really, really bright light. It's totally awesome." He smiled.
"Or totally lame." Vincent smirked, crossing his arms.
Satomi huffed and glared over at the auburn haired boy. "Be quiet. Don't pretend like you know every situation that something like that might come in handy. Everything has a purpose."
Kyo looked over at her, and it was like his eyes had been opened for the first time. "Thank you Tomi-chan!" he smiled brightly. "I think yours is really awesome too! And you're pretty!"
She looked over at him, utterly confused and then turned to her sister, since she was whispering something into Satomi's ear. The elder shrugged and they both started giggling. "What's so funny?" Kyo asked.
Satomi looked back over to him, smirking. "Apparently, the dead man beside you was a homosexual. And he's attempting to fondle you."
He screamed, which oddly enough sounded somewhat feminine, and jumped out of the way, hiding behind Minako, who was looking around innocently. Then she realized it was her turn. "My name is Uzumaki Minako, and I am the Virgo. My stone is a sapphire," she pointed up at the beautifully decorated barrette in her hair. "And I can read people's minds if I focus on them."
"Really?!" Natsumi exclaimed. "What am I thinking?!" she asked, bouncing up and down.
The ebony haired girl blinked and looked over at her new friend. Her brow scrunched a bit. "Um…well you were thinking about the ghost that's following Kyo-kun around, and now you're thinking about marrying Akito-kun when you're older, and as pretty as your mom. Now you're surprised, and your mind has gone surprisingly blank." She said.
"Whoa." Natsumi gasped, in utter awe. "That's amazing!"
"Thanks!" she smiled brightly.
Haru cleared his throat then and waved. "I'm Inuzuka Haru. I am the Libra. I have an opal ring." He gestured to the ring hanging on the chain around his neck. "And when I put it on I become invisible." He nodded, smiling at the group.
"Oh, so that's how you know everything." Shuhei said, since it had been a big joke to not tell the young boy. It was just so much fun to keep things from him.
Akito spoke up then. "Uchiha Akito. Scorpio. Topaz. I'm immune to everyone else's powers, and I can easily persuade people to do stuff."
Natsumi raised her hand. "What about the power of seduction?"
Gaara actually fell back, having slipped off his hand that was supporting him. Sasuke chuckled. "Yeah, she definitely takes after Sakura." He said, earning a glare from the pink haired woman.
Akito just blinked. "Um…I haven't really thought about it." he admitted.
"Well…do you think you are?" she asked, leaning forward.
"Probably." He shrugged. "If I wanted them bad enough."
She nodded and sat back, looking deep in thought. The ebony haired girl next to Akito spoke up then. She had blue eyes, and a small bracelet with a blue stone on it on her right wrist. "My name is Tomoyo, and I am the Sagittarius. My stone is turquoise, and I am very wise, and can overpower anyone else's gift. Meaning I can stop it if someone else is using it and stuff."
"You're pretty." Haru blurted out.
She looked at the brunette and blinked. "Um…thanks." She said softly, a light blush coming to her cheeks.
Haru turned a dark red himself, unaware that he had vocalized that.
Then, a brunette with long hair tied together at the base spoke up, looking bored. His eyes were a deep warm brown. "I'm Hyuuga Ryo. I am the Capricorn. My stone is the garnet." He gestured to the ring on his finger. "And I can dispel bad magic or any of the like cast upon anything."
"He's also mine and Mina's cousin!" Shuhei announced, smiling at the elder boy. Ryo simply sighed, obviously wishing otherwise.
"Well," Toshiro started since he wanted to get it over with. "I'm Sabaku no Toshiro. I am the Aquarius. The Gemini are my sisters, as well as the Pisces. My gem is amethyst. And I can stop both the respiratory and the circulatory systems from functioning."
"What does that mean?" the youngest blonde boy asked, scratching his head.
Akito looked over at him in boredom. "It means he can make your heart stop beating, or make it so that your lungs don't work either. Then you die."
"Wow." His eyes became the size of saucers and he looked back at the redhead. "That's cool."
Toshiro nodded, opening his mouth to comment but was cut off by an irritated voice. "We'll I'm Sabaku no Yuki. I'm the Pisces. And I have the bloodstone." She pointed to her anklet. "And I can bring someone back from the dead if they have died." She said smugly.
"Yuki-chan's is the best one!" Shuhei declared, pointing a finger in the air. "Not only is it really helpful, but the red in the stone looks almost as cool as her hair! Which is awesome!"
"Freak." Vincent muttered.
"You're telling me." Akito said.
"I think he's weirder than I am." Kyo blinked, surprised that such a person existed.
Yuki just fumed. "No one was talking to you, you annoying blonde twat!"
"Sabaku no Yuki!" Sakura gasped, giving her youngest a disapproving look.
"What." She growled. "He is!"
"That doesn't mean you have to say it out loud." The elder woman said, not completely disagreeing with her daughter.
The youngest Sabaku just crossed her arms and glared off, keeping her mouth shut. "Okay, now that everyone has been introduced, you kids can go back to doing whatever." Sasuke said with a dismissive wave of his hand.
In less than a second Natsumi tackled Akito to the ground once more. "Akito! We should play hide and seek! Or house. Or dress up!"
"I am not playing house or dress up. Ever." He frowned.
She blinked, appearing confused. "How come?"
"Because those games are for girls." He explained as if the answer were obvious.
"My brother always plays with me." She huffed, only getting more flustered.
"That's because he has to. He's related to you, and it's his job as your sibling." He told her.
She sat up and scratched her head in thought. "Toshi, do you only play with me because you have to?" she asked her brother, looking wounded.
The elder redhead came over and smiled at her, patting her head. "Of course not Natty. I love making you happy. And I have fun when you have fun."
Akito sighed. "Will you get off of me?" he frowned.
Natsumi stared down at him. "No."
"Why?"
"Why should I?"
His eyes narrowed slightly, and he actually called on the power of his stone to make him even more persuasive. "Because I am tired of being on the floor, and if you continue to sit on me, I may throw up on you, and ruin your pretty dress." He explained.
Her eyes dulled a bit and she nodded, getting up and only once he was standing did she shake her head a bit and look around. "What happened?"
"You were kind enough to get off of me." Akito explained, brushing off his clothes.
Natsumi looked back to him and her eyes widened. Then there was a loud smack as Natsumi slapped Akito across the face. "You used your power on me!" she yelled, tears welling in her eyes.
"So." He said, turning his head to look back at her, completely unaffected.
"I hope you get attacked by zombies!" she pointed at him, already crying. Toshiro was beside her then and picked her up around the waist, setting her down behind him so that he was a barrier between the two.
"I'm sorry about that Akito." He tried to laugh, but Natsumi only cried louder.
Akito just shrugged, his face a mask of indifference. "Not like I care. I don't see why she's so upset. She uses her gift all the time from what I've seen, and only tells people what's going on to freak them out. It's not like I hurt her or anything."
"She can't turn hers off. So…it's a bit different. But it's alright." He turned to his sister and pushed her a bit. "Natty, why don't you go find Satomi and calm down?"
Natsumi hit her brother's hand and ran off. "I hate you!"
Toshiro just sighed, shaking his head. "Your sister is the most annoying person I have ever met." The young Uchiha commented, his gaze shifting to the redhead. "Not to mention weird."
"Yeah…" The redhead nodded, crossing his arms. "Well, when you see and talk to dead people, you're bound to be messed up right?"
"That I would understand. But she's very bothersome and immature."
Toshiro shrugged. "Well there's definitely something wrong with her, but I think she's just one of those weird ones that'll blossom later on."
"Whatever." Akito sighed. "So…what do you do for fun?" he asked.
"Well my dad is teaching me how to handle a sword so basically that's it these days."
"Same here."
Just then Kyo ran up to them, dragging a reluctant Vincent behind. "Sup guys! I found this grumpy gus over by himself, so I figured he needed to make some friends." He smiled happily.
Vincent glared at him. "Freak." He said, snatching his hand from the blonde.
"You're Kyo right?" Toshiro asked, pointing at him. Then he looked to the auburn haired boy. "And Vincent?"
"Yeah." The auburn haired boy sighed.
Toshiro nodded and looked over when Haru ran up and tackled Akito, making him fall a bit to the side before regaining his balance. "Yo Akito!"
Vincent glanced over to the brunette and smirked a bit. "You're an energetic one."
"You bet." Haru snickered, releasing his friend and crossing his arms proudly.
"Hey, show us the invisibility thingy." Kyo asked the brunette.
Haru sighed and grabbed his ring, slipping it on his pinky so that it would fit while still remaining on the chain. The second it was fully on his finger he vanished. Kyo's eyes widened significantly, and Vincent's and Toshiro's only a little bit.
"That's awesome!" Kyo exclaimed, clapping his hands together in delight.
Haru appeared once more and bowed. "Thank you. Thank you."
"Pretty impressive." Vincent nodded. "So," he sighed meeting Toshiro's deep jade gaze. "What exactly does our future leader get as jobs? Other than playing king of the rock?"
Toshiro blinked and thought for a moment. "Well, I get the final say in the meetings if we are at a deadlock. I get to ok all the treaties and political stuff and present it to our council. And I have to mate everyone."
"Can I be put with Tomi-chan?" Kyo asked. "It would be the best thing ever."
"You already know who you want to be with?" Akito asked, raising a brow.
The blonde rolled his eyes. "Duh. Best to choose early than later on when they're more against the idea. I'm just saying."
"And have you actually spoken to my sister?" Toshiro asked curiously. When Kyo shook his head no, the redhead laughed. "Yeah. That's why you want to marry her."
"I'll go talk to her then!" he declared, pointing a finger in the air. Then he turned and began to run towards her. "Oh Tomi-chan!" he sang loudly.
The elder twin looked over from her crying sister. She blinked when the blonde stopped in front of them. Even Natsumi sniffed and began to calm, wanting to know what the boy wanted. "Will you marry me? When we're older?" he asked, sounding hopeful.
"No."
"Why Tomi-chan?!" he asked, throwing his arms around her in a hug. "I really like you! You're so pretty and nice, and you don't think my gift is lame." He said, rubbing his cheek against hers.
Satomi shoved him off her, giving the blonde an odd look. "You're a weirdo. And I don't want to marry anyone. If you haven't noticed there are thirteen of us. So one of us doesn't need to be married off. And I claim that spot."
"You can't, cause' there's more boys than girls, and there's no way in heck I'm gonna be a homosexual." He said. "So ya have ta marry one of us."
"No thanks I'd rather die." She huffed.
"I'll marry you Kyo if you can't find anyone else." Natsumi smiled, tugging on his arm. "You're funny." She laughed.
He gave her a small smile. "Thanks Natsumi, but I want to marry Tomi-chan. Besides, I thought you were gonna marry Akito." He pointed over his shoulder at the ebony haired boy.
She frowned and shook her head. "He's mean and he made me do something I didn't want to do." She sighed and hugged him. "But that's ok. I think you'd be another fun brother!"
"I'm not marrying him." Satomi said again, glaring at her sister for encouraging.
He chuckled, returning her embrace. "Well he is the Scorpio. Isn't he supposed to be a little bit meaner than everyone else? And I bet you're the only girl who's ever given him that much attention." He shrugged, reaching out and grabbing Satomi's hand, tugging her towards them and wrapping his arm around her shoulders.
"We can be one big happy family!" he smiled. "Cause' I've never had a family before."
"Apparently your grandfather doesn't count." Satomi grumbled, trying to claw her way out of his grasp.
He just looked at her, his hazel orbs actually somewhat sad. "You have to love someone in order for them to be family. And they have to return it, and treat you like family in return." Then his smile came back. "That's why you and I will be so great!"
"But I don't love you, you insane person. I just met you." She huffed, looking off since she had given up on trying to escape. Natsumi broke from Kyo's grasp and ran off towards Minako, since she'd already become bored with the situation.
"But you could love me some day, right Tomi-chan?" he asked, placing his hands on her shoulders, since he knew she didn't want him to hug her anymore. "I bet you have one of the most loving hearts in the world."
"I wouldn't place any money on that. But I suppose we'll see." She sighed.
He smiled happily. "You're the best, most prettiest girl ever Tomi-chan!" he declared, kissing her on the cheek before running back over to the group of boys.
Satomi blinked, shock the only visible emotion on her face. She touched her hand to her cheek where his lips had been, and actually blushed for the first time in her life.
"Hey guys, guess what?!" Kyo asked as he stopped in front of his friends. "Tomi-chan said maybe when I asked her to marry me." He beamed.
"Really?" Toshiro actually looked surprised.
"Yup." He nodded. "She said she might actually love me when we're older, so I think we're good to go. I mean, who couldn't love this?" he gestured to himself.
Vincent snorted. "Lots of people. You're a little annoying."
"Try a lot." Akito smirked, crossing his arms. "And strange."
"That just makes me lovable." Kyo stated.
Toshiro smiled, happy. "I think it's great. Well that solves one dilemma."
"I think it's kinda cute." Haru said, patting the blonde on the shoulder.
"You should go talk to Tomoyo. Then maybe she'll marry you too Haru." Kyo nodded encouragingly.
The brunette nodded and hit his fist into his open palm. "You're right!" he ran off then, sliding to a stop in front of the dark haired girl. "I would like to marry you when we are older! I can woo you and get you flowers if you wish. But I like you!"
"I dunno if I wanna get married." Tomoyo said, eyes wide as she clasped her hands behind her back and swung from side to side.
"But don't you have too? I mean…the amount of girls and…" he blushed then and bowed apologetically. "I'm sorry if I bothered you." He almost yelled out, running off before she could say more.
And when he got back he hit Kyo in the arm. "Horrible idea!"
"How was that a horrible idea? You ran away!" Kyo frowned, rubbing his arm. "You're supposed to stay and be persistent. Girls need a real man in their lives, that's what my gramps always says. Be a man Haru. Go get her." He nudged the brunette.
"I can't believe we're even having this conversation." Akito sighed, looking bored.
Haru looked over to his dark haired friend and scoffed. "Who are you to judge? You chase away girls that like you, and I doubt you could be committed to anyone anyways." He jabbed, walking back off in attempts to smooth over the patch he'd made with the girl Tomoyo.
Akito scoffed, looking off. "Whatever." He didn't see what the big deal was anyways. They were just kids, why did they have to grow up so fast?
All of a sudden they heard a loud yell, and everyone's attention was drawn to the exuberant blonde that was Shuhei.
"Yuki-chan! Be my woman!" he declared, throwing his arms open wide. Minako hit her forehead with the palm of her hand, wondering why she was given such an embarrassing younger brother, who was also a complete idiot.
"Go bite yourself ya crazy person!" she screamed, running away from him as he chased after her.
Toshiro followed the scene with his gaze. "This is going to be an interesting group isn't it?"
Suddenly there was a loud shrill scream and they looked over to Taka, who looked like she was about to explode. "It was just a little snip!" Natsumi gasped, running away from the frothing brunette who had a chunk of her hair missing. And in Natsumi's grasp was a bundle of brown hair and a pair of scissors laid on the floor.
"Why don't you stop running and let me give you a little snip you brat!" Taka yelled angrily. "Then we'll see how you like it!"
Natsumi screamed louder and ran faster. "You touch my hair and I'll make you regret it you nasty skunk!"
"What're you gonna do?! Talk my ear off, you annoying twit?!" she sped up, getting even closer to the pink haired girl. "Or blind me with your huge, shiny forehead?!"
Natsumi stop immediately, moving out of the way just as Taka passed and tripping her so she fell on her face. She moved to get up, but Natsumi slammed her foot on the girl's back, keeping her on the floor. "What did you say about my forehead?" she seethed, her expression completely different than before.
"You heard me." Taka glared back at her as best she could. Before Natsumi could do anything more, arms grabbed her from around the waist and lifted her off of the brunette girl.
"Natsumi, that's enough." Akito said.
She stiffened and shifted her glare back. "Let me go. Now." She ordered. Akito did as she wanted, setting her down away from Taka, who was now standing and glaring at Natsumi. Then she looked at Akito, and her face instantly became sad as she flung herself onto the ebony haired boy.
"Thank you for saving me from that crazy girl Akito-kun! She's being so mean!" she whined, laying her head on his chest. Akito looked down at her in slight disgust.
"You should not insult people if you cannot defend yourself from their retaliation." He said, easily brushing her off before walking away.
Taka huffed in a pout, and with one final glare at Natsumi, walked in the opposite direction. The pink haired girl went over to her father and looked up at him. "I want to leave now. I met them. Now let's leave."
The elder redhead sighed and nodded, looking around for his other children. "Toshiro. Satomi. Yuki. Come now." He called.
Satomi walked over to her father, as did Yuki, who looked glad to hear they were leaving. Toshiro looked back to his friends and smiled. "Well, see you guys soon I guess."
Everyone said goodbye, some more enthusiastic than others, and soon the Sabakus headed for home, as did everyone else. Walking down the road, Sakura looked down to her children. "So, did you kids have fun?" she asked, smiling at them.
"I did." Toshiro beamed. "I made a lot of friends."
"I hated it." Yuki fumed, crossing her arms.
Satomi shrugged. "I think I'm getting married."
Natsumi rolled her eyes. "Boys are stupid."
"Excellent." Sakura chuckled. "As could be expected." They continued on their journey home, where they would spend the next few years honing their abilities and learning combat, preparing to lead the land when they were of age.