Disclaimer: Sekaiichi Hatsukoi and Yokozawa Takafumi no Baai are owned by Shungiku Nakamura and Fujisaki Miyaki. I own nothing. This story was inspired by Disney's Beauty and the Beast.

Songs Listened to When Writing: I See You by Luke Bryan, Siuil A Run by Celtic Woman, Moments Like This by Reamonn, The Elixir of Life by Peter Gundry, The Beauty and The Beast Prologue Instrumental

*For anyone who is confused: In this story, Yukina and Kirishima are brothers. They don't have the same last name because Kirishima took his late wife's surname when they got married.

**Also for anyone who is confused, the two biggest rooms in Kirishima's house are the ballroom and the kitchen. They are both across from eachother and have a courtyard in between them. Hope this helps!

Blue eyes, wide and shining, looked up at her as she ran her fingers through his soft hair. Her copper irises sparkled as she pet him, her golden brown hair swaying to the soft hum of the salty summer breeze. His white ears twitched as he heard the familiar sound of waves crashing before a contented noise left his throat when she scratched a particularly wonderful spot behind his ear.

She giggled, the sound warm and comforting. "You are so cute! What's your name?" Her hand stopped it's stroking for a moment. "Oh! My name's Kirishima Hiyori. It's nice to meet you." Her smile was dazzling, reaching up to her beautiful eyes and making them shimmer. "Let's be friends, ne?"

Her fingers continued their caress then as his ears perked up, mimicking her happiness immediately. He could feel everything that she could as if the two of them were attached by a spider's thread. When she was happy, he was as well. When she was angry, he felt enraged. And when she was miserable, so was he...

The sound of ticking droned on heavily in the background as aged copper eyes stared unseeingly at the screen before them. Their owner sighed to himself, nails drumming on the desk in the irritating quiet of the room.

Kirishima Zen turned his gaze down towards the clock at the bottom of his computer screen before shifting to the side to glance out the window towards the driveway. Forcing his eyes back to where they once were, he reached up, typing a few words onto the screen before the cursor stopped.

The crackle of tires driving against paved asphalt caught his interest and he got up from his seat, stretching his stiff arms. He briefly had to think twice about his feet's movements as he made his way down the confusing hallways to the front entrance.

"Took you long enough, Kou." His words were light and teasing when he opened the door, leaning up against it's frame as he lazily watched the scene before him.

"Sorry about that!" One of the new arrivals said over the heavy noise of the doors to the car slamming shut. "Kisa-san's GPS got us lost a bit."

"Yea, sorry." The other man in the car said, getting out. "I didn't get a chance to update it before we left."

"Well I can't blame you, really." Kirishima said, pushing himself off the door and approaching the car. "We are in the middle of nowhere." The man wasn't at all surprised to find himself pulled into a hug suddenly.

"It's been so long since I've seen you, nii-san." Yukina Kou said before letting his elder brother go. The sun's rays were practically sparkling against his fair complexion as he smiled.

"Likewise. Glad you two could make it."

"It's good to see you too, Kirishima-san." Kisa said as he shut his own door to the car.

"Just call me Zen." The elder of the three said, clapping the blackette on the back. He laughed when Kisa almost fell forward from the gesture. "You and Kou have been together so long, we're practically family. Speaking of which, are you two ever going to tie the knot?"

Yukina's expression sparkled as Kisa sputtered, his baby face turning red. "W-why would you ask that all of a sudden?" He asked, only to get a shrug from the owner of the house.

"Just wondering. Am I not allowed to wonder?"

"I never said that..." Kisa muttered in response.

"Anyways," Yukina said, stretching out the word some as he made to change the subject, sensing his lover's unease. "I still can't believe you actually moved into this place." The sound of something hefty hitting the asphalt could be heard as he unloaded the trunk.

"Well mom didn't want it, that's for sure. She said the ocean air would ruin her complexion or something like that." Zen shrugged.

"So I guess you really lucked out, huh? Yukina told me you didn't have to pay nearly anything for it." Kisa's ebony colored eyes were turned up towards the massive house.

"It does have it's downsides, truth be told." Zen admitted as he came around to help his brother unload. "It's really too big for us. Hiyo's tutor is living here with us now too, but even so..."

"Speaking of Hiyo." Yukina perked up at the mention of his niece. "Where is she?"

"Probably outside in the garden. She loves it out there."

"I'm surprised she's not in the new kitchen." The younger brother laughed, closing the top of the trunk and locking the doors. "She wouldn't stop talking about it last night on the phone."

"Well there's that too." Zen said as three of them took up their luggage to head inside. "C'mon. I'll give you the grand tour."

"Uncle Kou! Uncle Kisa!" A small voice as sweet as honey shouted as a small girl with golden brown pig tails flung herself at the two new arrivals.

"Hiyo-chan!" Yukina laughed as he knelt down and caught his niece in his arms, hugging her to him tight.

Kisa scoffed from his spot beside the two of them, crossing his own arms. "You two just spoke to each other this morning."

"It's not the same!" Yukina berated his lover as he snuggled the precious girl in his arms, causing her to giggle.

"I missed you, Uncle Kisa!" Hiyo said, pulling away from her uncle to jump into Kisa's arms next.

"We missed you too." The blackette said, a small smile present as he hugged the little girl to him.

"Ricchan and I just finished making dinner. You'll love it!" Hiyo's eyes were bright as she spoke a mile a minute excitedly. "I made nikujagu, and lots of pastries for dessert. Oh and also-!"

"Whoa whoa." Her father cut her off, holding up his hands. "They just got here. Let them settle in first."

"It's alright," Kou said as he got up from the floor. "It has been a long time since we've seen her, after all. Ne, Hiyo?"

"Mm!" The little girl nodded.

"Who's Ricchan?" Kisa asked after the conversation turned down some.

"My tutor." Hiyo explained, smiling. "He lives here with us and helps me with all sorts of things in school. He's really smart and very nice!"

"We've known him since Hiyo was in elementary school, and this place is so big, so I figured why not? I needed someone to be with Hiyo after school anyway." Zen filled in. "He just got another job in the literature department of my company, so he can't be with her always, but his schedule is definitely more flexible than mine."

"I see." Kisa said, looking down Hiyo when she grabbed onto his arm to pull him in the direction of the kitchen.

"I'll introduce you!"

The sound of leaves rustling could be heard almost as soon as she entered the small clearing. Hiyori pulled a few loose strands of hair that were tossed about by the warm sea breeze behind her ear as she approached the noise. Her feet sank into the ground some as the grass of their backyard was starting to transition into sand.

"There you are." She giggled and crouched down when a little white head poked out from behind the brush. "Come here." She called softly, placing the bowl of blue berries she had brought on the ground in front of her.

Big, bright blue eyes stared up at her for a few moments before furry little legs ran up to her, barreling into the ceramic bowl. She laughed and smiled as he gobbled up the berries, staining his white fur with the juices.

The unexpected sound of someone else's laughter stopped her own and Hiyo's copper toned eyes looked behind her at the beachfront, where three figures were passing by her father's private property.

"Mama!" A little boy called, waving his arms up high. "Pick me up! Pick me up!"

"Alright alright." His mother teased him before swooping her child up into her arms easily. "Jack! Don't go in the neighbor's beach!" The woman called out to their dog, who came to her when called.

Hiyo's eyes caught with the little boy's as his mother turned around to start the long trek back to their own house. The boy coiled his arms through his mother's long hair, hugging her tightly before hesitantly reaching a hand up to wave at her.

Hiyori tried to give the boy one of her normal smiles but failed to do so as she gave a little wave back. She didn't notice how her white furry friend had his ears down low, small noises of distress leaving his throat as his tiny body started to fade away for the briefest of moments.

"So...like this, Ricchan?"

"That's a good start. But if you change this here..."

"Oh I get it!"

Voices flittered through the foggy evening air out to the deck, where Kirishima absentmindedly cracked open a beer. Fireflies fluttered to and fro and crickets chirped from their hidden spots in the grass as his copper colored irises stared out at the beachfront a small distance away from his new house.

The taste of bitter tang slid down his throat easily as he took a swig of his drink, barely hearing the screen door open and close behind him.

"Hey." Yukina greeted him as he sidled up to his brother, mimicking the older man as he rested his arms against the railing of the deck.

"Hey." A comfortable silence fell between them as twin pairs of copper eyes observed the waves crashing against the shore. "...Where's Kisa?"

"In your study." Yukina nodded back in the direction of the house. "His boss called him earlier."

"That's Takano-san for ya. A real slave driver." Kirishima hummed around his beer can.

The younger brother sighed heavily, turning around to lean his back against the railing. "I know. Sometimes I seriously wonder how you guys get around labor laws. It's a miracle we even got this week off to come visit."

The older man shrugged. "Well we're not too far from the city. It takes less than twenty minutes to drive Hiyo to school, and around twenty five to reach the office. He can head in if he needs to."

"That's not the point though." Yukina whined, only allowing himself to be needy in the presence of his family. "This was supposed to be our vacation."

"It still is." Kirishima said, casing a sidelong glance at the younger man. "Quit your bitching."

"I know I know." Yukina relented, chuckling some as that prince-like smile made it's way onto his face. "So how's Hiyo been doing? She working on her summer book report?"

"Yep." The older brother took another swig of his beer. "This one's about a mom and her daughter or something like that. Apparently it's got a really sad ending. I even came home one day to find her tearing up over it. "

A hum came from the younger of the two before it became quiet again for a few moments. "Do you think..." Yukina started hesitantly, gaze downcast. "It wasn't just the book that made her so upset?"

Kirishima let a sigh out through his nose as he brought a hand up to lean his cheek against his palm. "I have thought about that." He admitted quietly. "Truthfully, she's been a little distant after reading that book, and she's been spending nearly all her free time in the garden. She's never disliked the outdoors, but..."

"Has she said anything to you about Sakura?"

"We've had long talks about her before. Hiyo was so young when it all happened. She never even really got to meet Sakura, so I've always answered anything she's asked of me about her."

"Maybe she's feeling lonely." Yukina frowned as he watched his niece go over her paper with Onodera through the window. "You do work a lot."

"I've thought of that too, and I've been spending as much time with her as I can. Ritsu's usually with her when I can't be, so I don't think that's it." Kirishima sighed. "I think...maybe she really wants a mother figure in her life."

"Well that's all on you then." Copper colored eyes looked side long at the other man.

"Yea." Kirishima rubbed the empty spot on his ring finger absentmindedly. "I know."

"Hiyo, it's time to get up." Kirishima yawned as he rapped on the door to his daughter's room before letting himself in. Pinks and purples assaulted his still foggy morning vision as he put a hand to his stomach, thinking maybe he shouldn't have had those extra beers last night.

The handsome father blinked when he found his daughter's sheets made up and completely empty. Zen frowned and scratched the back of his head as he made his way downstairs, glancing at the clock incredulously as he did so.

"Morning." Ritsu greeted quietly, looking up from his book as Zen entered the kitchen. "You're up early." His green eyes swept over the older man's appearance in confusion.

"Yea..." Zen said, looking out of sorts. "I thought that Hiyo said she wanted me to wake her up early so that we could make breakfast for everyone together yesterday..." He pondered, opening up the fridge and looking inside.

Ritsu snorted at that, taking a sip of his coffee.

"I heard that." The older of the two closed the door to the fridge, offended. "And I'll have you know that I can make a pretty damn good omelet when I want to."

The brunette shook his head, green eyes downcast again to his novel. "Anyway, Hiyo was just here a few minutes ago. She grabbed some strawberries and ran outside for some reason... She wouldn't tell me what for, though."

A golden brown colored eyebrow rose at this. "...I'll go find her then. Can you wake up Kou and Kisa? Those two will sleep like the dead if you let them."

"Sure."

The door to the backyard slide open quietly as Kirishima got on his shoes, pulling his pajama pants up higher from their loose position around his hips as he made his way outside. A grimace found it's way onto his face as the morning dew on the grass wet the bottom ends of his pants.

"Hiyo!" The father called out for his daughter. "Hiyori!" He tried again, frowning when he received no response.

Sudden laughter from a child caught his ear and he turned in that direction. "Hiyo...?" He called again, pushing away some branches from a few of the numerous trees on their property before his copper eyes came to rest on his daughter.

"Oh!" The little girl turned around, startled. "Hi Papa!" She looked up at him but his wide copper eyes were looking down at her furry white companion in her lap. "I was just about to head inside to find you, but it seems we lost track of time, ne?" She smiled down at her animal friend.

"Hiyori, what are you doing?" Kirishima's tone was icy and hard, back tensing as he took on the front of an angered parent. "Why is there a bear cub in you lap?" His eyes darted up to the scorching sun, to the beachside on their property and then back again. "And a polar bear at that? How in the hell-" He cut himself off.

"Oh I um...found him a few days ago. He looked really sick so I gave him some fruit." Hiyo voiced hesitantly, her smile gone as she slowly got up from her spot on the ground, dusting off her sundress.

"Hiyo, you should know better than to go anywhere near an animal like this."

"But he's just a baby, papa." Hiyo tried to defend herself, arms spread out as she stared up at her father.

"Baby or not, he's still dangerous." Kirishima scolded his daughter, taking one of her small hands in his own and pulling her away from the animal. The baby polar bear tottled closer to the two of them, small noises leaving it's throat, and the father backed up in response.

"But he needs me!" The bear's cries grew louder, matching Hiyo's voice, which grew in desperation.

"He'll be fine." The father chided, copper eyes looking every which way frantically. "His mother should be around somewhere. Which is exactly why I don't want you going near it!"

Hiyo's face fell and she looked down at her feet, her copper irises widening when she saw the little cub there. He was pawing at her sandals and crying. His voice was low and miserable, making frantic calling noises, but it wasn't her that he was yearning for.

"What...what's wrong?" Hiyo asked, kneeling down over the bear cub. "Do you...do you want your mama?" Her voice shook a little as she brought a hand up to her chest, abruptly feeling a dull ache there.

She looked down at the bear cub once again and gasped suddenly, bringing a hand to her mouth as her gaze met with glowing white ones. The little girl watched helplessly as the small animal started to suddenly disappear right before her eyes.

"Hiyo get away from there!" Kirishima yelled as he pulled his daughter away.

"But! Papa! He's hurt!"

"Don't go near it! It's-!"

The world suddenly stopped as an ear shattering roar ripped through the air. Hiyo frantically covered her ears, a startled scream of her own leaving her mouth as her father winced. The sound of loud sniffing and scratching followed the noise before the same roar sounded again at a lower volume.

"Papa..." Hiyo whimpered, hugging him tight as the sound grew closer and the ground underneath them began to shake.

Kirishima didn't answer her as he stood rooted to the spot, coming to recognize what animal that roar came from. He vaguely heard the worried calls from his brother as the rest of the occupants to the house ran outside, but his mind was elsewhere.

"What the hell's going on out here?"

"What was that?"

"Quiet!" Kirishima ordered his family behind him suddenly. "Listen..."

All were silent, listening, as the heavy sound of footfalls approached, all the while terrifying roars and bellows sounding. Trees parted way easily as if they were bending by their own will to welcome the newcomer forward.

Kirishima held his daughter tightly to his side, a shiver running it's course down his back as he stood paralyzed, the baby bear at his feet answering the huge roars with little ones of it's own, drawing the creature to them.

"Nii-san!" Yukina grabbed his brother's arm, his golden brown hair whipping frantically in every direction as the wind suddenly began to pick up and the sky started to darken above their heads. "Get inside! Now!"

The younger man's pulling against his arm did nothing to move him as Kirishima's body refused to move. Just when Yukina turned back to ask for help from Ritsu and Kisa, Hiyo suddenly gasped from within her father's arms.

"Look!" The little girl suddenly shouted as she pointed between the trees, her voice shaky from tears as the last piece of wood parted.

Time stood still as a hulking mother bear moved through the brush, her mass so tall that the tips of her ears reached the tallest trees beside her. Her enormous jaws could swallow a man whole and her paws alone were big enough to crush a car if she so desired.

The mother bear's entire body was made of nothing but water from the sea, and her insides swished as she stopped before them. Numerous corals from all over the world filled her legs and stomach with their radiant colors as hundreds of colorful fish swam every which way. Bigger sea creatures such as turtles, rays, manatees and dolphins swam up near her shoulders and back, some even daring to jump out of the water before landing back inside. An otherworldly glow surrounded her as she stood there, her burning white eyes staring down at the tiny humans.

Hiyo brought a hand to her mouth as she saw that the mother's eyes matched that of her bear cub's. Copper irises looked down instinctively to where her small animal friend had just been. "Papa!" The little girl called, her voice broken as tears fell from her eyes.

The little white bear cub was now suddenly made of sea water just like its mother. Tiny clown-fish swam around inside of the bear as it looked up at Hiyo with those cold, glowing eyes. The little girl pulled away from Kirishima, breaking free easily as her father's own copper gaze was focused elsewhere.

"No! Come here!" Hiyo called out to the little bear cub, running over to him. She touched his small head hesitantly, pulling her hand back as her fingertips became wet with salt water. "No..." She hiccuped, tears streaming down her face as she looked down at her animal friend.

Through her hazy vision, Hiyo was able to see a reflection of herself against the cub's watery texture. Her face was red and puffy in the mirror image, and she could see how miserable her own expression was, but couldn't believe it. "That's...me?" She whispered before the baby bear looked up at her, catching her copper gaze in his burning white.

The image of the mother and child she had seen yesterday flashed by her mind against her will, forcing her to watch the two of them smile and play together. More tears welled up in her sight as the image faded away and she looked down at the baby bear once again, finding that the sad reflection of her eyes matched the bear's own expression completely. She blinked some of her tears away then, watching as the cub did the same, mimicking her and her expressions.

"Zen! Hiyo!" Her uncle's terrified voice broke her out of her stupor and she turned to look at him just as her father pulled her up and away from the baby bear again. Yukina's normal happy smile was now gone and replaced with a horrified expression as his gaze fixed itself on the mother bear. Kisa and Onodera had similar expressions, completely frozen and captivated by the glowing animal spirit.

Meanwhile, the mother bear's gaze was focused on Hiyori, who was now perched in her father's arms. Her burning gaze traveled from the little girl downwards to her precious baby. The clown-fish inside of him were sluggish with sorrow and seclusion as he called for her again, forced to voice the silent yearnings that were not his own.

Burning white eyes turned back to Hiyo before looking down to the cub and then back again, finding the same yearning in her as she saw in her baby. She took a step forward then with one of her massive paws, watching as the humans scurried back away from her.

The little bear cub ran to his large mother then without a moment's hesitation, his ears perky with joy as he barreled into her watery paw, the outline of his body dissolving instantly.

"No!" Hiyo shouted, squirming in her father's arms as the clown-fish that had inhabited the baby bear's body dispersed, no trace of the little animal's existence left over as the mother bear absorbed him. The little girl turned back to her father and buried her face in his neck as she cried.

Meanwhile, Kirishima squinted his copper gaze, watching as the clown-fish swam all the way up to the mother bears eyes slowly. As the last fish reached the burning white flames, they lit up brighter than a thousand suns, forcing him to turn his gaze away.

As the glowing in her eyes reached their highest peak, the sea guardian let out a roar louder than anything she had ever done before. Hiyo screamed and covered her ears again, hiding in the protection of her father's arms as the wind ferociously whipped at them from the fury of the bear's bellow.

The calm blues, greens, oranges and yellows of the mother bear's coral turned red in that moment as she roared. Sharks, sea snakes, electric eels, lion fish and orcas suddenly filled the mother bear's waters, blood gushing into the raging waves as the docile fish were consumed.

Onodera covered his ears as Yukina ran to Kisa, pulling the shorter male into his arms as the blackette shut his eyes, trembling. Hiyori and Kirishim clung to each other as the force of the roar knocked all of them backwards onto the grass. The mother bear leaned over the father and daughter, roaring once again and plunging them all into darkness.

Auburn colored irises opened slowly as Kirishima came to, blinking as the dark orange of the sunset up above him assaulted his vision. The handsome father slowly sat up, bringing a hand to his forehead, a pained expression on his face.

"...What?" He whispered to himself, his vision swimming as he tried to recollect his thoughts.

The sudden images of churning salt water and burning white dead eyes flashed before him and he sat up straighter, looking around at his surroundings. The backyard was eerily quiet, there being no signs that the mother bear had been there whatsoever.

"Hiyo?!" Kirishima called out for his daughter first, tone trembling as he got up, turning his gaze this way and that. His vision caught the sight of a little girl lying down in the grass a few feet away from him and he froze.

Red consumed Hiyori's entire head, and he immediately assumed the worst, rushing to his daughters side, panicking. Kirishima hovered over her on his knees, his expression so full of emotion as tears welled up in his eyes. Could he even touch her? Would it only hurt her instead of help her?... Was she already gone?

Kirishima then noticed that the red he was now seeing was indeed, not blood, but instead looked like hair. The handsome father hesitantly turned his daughter around, his eyebrows turned down in confusion as he saw that Hiyori's normal honey brown strands were now a dark, deep red. Rose flowers stuck to the colorful strands like accessories, holding her hair back away from her face.

The little girl's face was pale as she slept on. "Hiyo." Her father called, smoothing a few stray strands away from his child's face. How did this happen? Was the light playing tricks on him? Kirishima traced his gaze down further over his daughter, his confusion growing ever stronger as he caught sight of what else had changed about his little girl.

Hiyori's feet were brown as if she had spent too much time playing in the mud. Green stems with random protruding leaves trailed from her ankles all the way up her sides, down her arms and up again, ending just behind her ears. The stems and leaves were grooved against the girl's skin, as if someone had professionally tattooed them onto her.

"Hiyo?! Hiyori!" Kirishima called out to her, smoothing a hand over her face. She was still breathing, but appeared to be dreaming. Her father screamed at her, even shook her hard, but she did not awake.

Kirishima breathed heavily as he picked up his daughter's motionless body and stood slowly, legs shaking. "Kou?! Kisa?! Ritsu?!" He called out for the other occupants of the house, voice trembling.

His eyes landed on Ritsu first as the brunette lay only a few feet away in the grass. Aside from appearing to be unconscious, he seemed to be alright.

"Ritsu, get up!" Kirishima called out desperately, putting Hiyo down for a second to attend to the younger man.

Green eyes fluttered open as Ritsu was shaken awake. "Kirishima-san...what?" He asked, frowning up at his land lord when he saw the older man practically panicking. "What's going on?" Ritsu's gaze suddenly widened. "What happened? Where's that bear?"

"I don't know! Get up! And stay with Hiyo!" Kirishima ordered, tone frantic as he ran over to the last two occupants of the house. Yukina had his arms around Kisa, the both of them asleep as they clung to each other.

Kirishima grabbed onto his brother's shoulder and shook him awake, calling out his name. Some relief swept over the older brother like a small wave when Yukina's copper colored eyes peeked open. Kisa was shaken awake next, his own onyx irises blinking.

When Kirishima was sure everyone was fine, the father wasted no time in running to his daughter, picking her up once again and heading inside.

Yukina watched his brother disappear into the recesses of the house, blinking as he tried to get his still sleep hazy mind to clear. He turned his gaze to his left as Kisa sat up, placing a hand over his eyes. "Kisa-san? What's the matter?"

Kisa sighed, massaging the creases of his eyes with his thumb and index finger. He shook his head as Yukina placed a hand over his.

"Are you two alright?" Yukina looked up as footsteps approached, finding Onodera looking down at them. The brunette looked a little confused, but otherwise fine as he stood there, one hand cupped over his right ear.

"I think so." Yukina said, getting up. He placed a hand on Kisa's shoulder as the blackette removed his hand from his eyes. His lover refused to look at him, so the art student turned his attention to the brunette for the time being."Are you alright, Onodera-san?"

"Yes. I'm fine." Ritsu nodded, frowning some when the action made his head spin. He looked like he wanted to say something more as he stood there, massaging the skin just below his ear, but the tutor remained silent.

"Why did nii-san run inside? Is everything okay?" Yukina avoided any questions about the bear for now. It could wait until he knew that everyone was safe.

Ritsu shook his head. "I'm not sure but I think something's wrong with Hiyori."

Yukina's copper eyes widened and he immediately got up at this news, ushering everyone inside after his brother.

Kirishima paced in his daughter's room, his phone in hand as he searched through recommended emergency numbers for their area, unsure what to do. The curtains were drawn, dimming the usually bright pink and purple colored room.

The worried father passed a glance at his daughter as she remained unconscious atop her bed. He hadn't noticed it before in the light outside, but Hiyori was radiating a mysterious pink glow around her, much like that mother bear had. When he noticed this, Kirishima had proceeded to try and wake her again, fearful eyes begging her to wake up, but the little girl remained sleeping.

Kirishima's breathing was labored and his entire body felt like it was suddenly tingling as he searched through his phone. His eyes shifted suddenly as his brother burst through the door, panting.

"Nii-san is everything alr-"

Yukina cut himself as his copper gaze landed on Hiyo. His face fell, eyebrows turned up in devastation as he stared at his niece. "What happened?" The artist approached the little girl, falling down to his knees at her bedside as he looked her over.

"I...I don't know." Kirishima ran a hand through his waved locks. "But she won't wake up no matter what I try." He came to stand next to his brother, Yukina's presence alone calming him a bit. "I don't know what to do."

The sound of Kisa and Ritu's hurried footsteps could be heard, and the two brother's turned to look at them as they ran into the room.

"What's going on!?"

"Is she okay?!"

Yukina held up his hands, trying to smile some to calm everyone down, but failing to do so. "She's fine! She's fine! She's just sleeping."

"The hell she is!" Kisa berated his lover, and angered look on his face as he stared up at his lover.

Meanwhile, Ritsu had approached Hiyori's bedside and was looking down at her with a pained expression. "Is she..."

"No!" Kirishima answered immediately before the brunette could finish his sentence. He did not want to hear that word associated with his daughter. Ever. "I'm going to call the police, and a doctor."

"What good will that do?" Kisa frowned, moving to sit on Hiyori's bed and pushing back a stray piece of hair from her face. "You really think that anyone would believe something like this? Look at her!"

"Then what do you want me to do?!" Kirishima snapped, feeling more angry at himself than anyone else in the room. His entire body was beginning to itch now, his skin pulsating as what little light in the room dimmed, the world outside turning into night. "I have to do something! My daughter...she's..." He paused, bringing a hand up to his face and pinching the bridge of his nose. His eyes were screwed shut as his brow furrowed in pain.

"I know." Yukina said, placing a hand on his brother's shoulder. "Just calm down. We'll figure something out."

"I can't!" Kirishima clutched onto his brother's arms tightly, causing the art student to wince. "I can't...let her..."

"Hey! Nii-san!" Yukina called out to his brother as the editor collapsed onto the ground. "What's wrong?! Hey!"

"Kirishima-san?!"

"Zen!"

Voices surrounded the father, but they all sounded distant and murky, as if he were underwater. His vision was fuzzy as the other three adults in the room surrounded him. Sweat dripped off of him in waves as every vein in his body pulsated, rising to the surface of his skin. Kirishima opened his mouth to say something, but no words came out as the itch in his skin intensified. Hair follicles in his skin abruptly rose up to the top layer before they burst, causing him to scream.

"ZEN!" Yukina watch helplessly as his brother writhed on the floor in front of them. Kirishima clawed at one of his younger brother's hands in desperation, leaving deep slash marks on the art student's hands as he tried to hold him down. "Someone call the police! Please!" Yukina's distraught voice called out as distressed tears trickled down his cheeks.

Kirishima's screams grew louder as he thrashed around on the ground, the sound of bones popping out of place filling the room. Long, auburn strands of hair forcibly pushed out of the father's skin as he clawed at the floor, the shallow markings from his fingernails soon becoming deeper as his nails grew dangerously long. Anguished, pained cries left him as he felt his bones shifting underneath his skin: his legs became longer, his hands became larger, his ears grew, and his teeth sharpened.

The father pressed his palms to his face, feeling the bones moving underneath. He arched his back, tears leaving him as he both felt and heard his own face rearranging itself. The worst came, however, as the feeling of something sharp and hot pierced through his lower back, the skin breaking through, making him arch further in pain as agonized screams left him. The feeling of his own spine elongating outside of his own body was too much pain to bare as Kirishima's vision faded in and out, the last thing he heard being the sound of his own pained screams turning into terrified roars.

"...Papa! Papa, wake up."

Copper colored eyes peeked open before closing again. Fuzzy sploshes pinks and purples entered his vision before focusing upon red.

"Papa!" Hiyori called out again, putting a tiny hand up to her father's cheek. "You're finally awake. Thank goodness! You really scared all of us." She sighed in relief, using her other hand to press a cold cloth against his forehead.

"Hiyo..." He called to her, his voice raspy as he pressed a hand over hers.

Copper irises widened as realization sank in and he sat up quickly, taking in the form of his daughter. Hiyori was no longer radiating that otherworldly pink glow as she stood by her bed, where her father had previously been laying. Red hair cascaded down her back and shoulders with those roses remaining intertwined within the strands, keeping half of it up in a tiny ponytail. Twining stem tattoos were still at her sides and her complexion was still pale, but she otherwise seemed to be perfectly fine.

"Never mind that. I'm just glad you're alright." Kirishima brought a shaky hand up to his daughter, about to touch her new red locks but froze.

Silence stretched on for a few long moments before the little girl broke it.

"I can't understand you, Papa." Hiyo frowned, looking from her father's hand back up to his eyes. Her mouth opened and closed a few times as she rung her hands together. "...I don't speak lion."

Kirishima's copper orbs widened in confusion and he suddenly got up from the bed. His legs were shaky as he carried himself across the room. The editor grabbed hold of Hiyori's vanity mirror, hesitating in place before slowly turning it to face him.

The bold face of a male lion stared back at him. The lion's mane was wavy and golden brown, like Kirishima's hair used to be, with the ears of a fox resting on top. The coloring of the mane traveled down his back and stomach, fading to white on his chin and chest and stopping just before the torn remnants of his pajama pants from this morning.

The distraught father brought a shaking hand up to touch the mirror, noting that he now had black fur covering his forearms and calves. His hands and feet were both replaced with fox paws, but his fingers were still human-like in the fact that he could still articulate each one individually. Kirishima flexed his new digits before his attention was drawn downwards, noticing something fluffy brushing against his legs.

The father turned around to look over his shoulder and grimaced as he hesitantly grabbed hold of his new brown and white fox tail coming out of his lower back. It twitched in his hand, startling him. The father slowly let the tail go and turned back to the mirror to take in his new image once again, every muscle in his body tensing up.

…

"Papa, calm down!" Hiyo called, running to his side and throwing her small arms around him, sensing her father's distress before he even acted upon it. "You're okay!"

In the end, Hiyori's reassurance did nothing as Kirishima screamed, the sound translating as a loud, angered roar as he panicked, pulling at his new features as he begged that they weren't real.

"Papa!" Hiyori called, reaching her hands out to her father as he stumbled out of her arms, knocking into her bookshelf as he continued to roar.

"Papa!"

"What's going on!?" A new voice shouted as Yukina soon ran into the room upon hearing his brother's distress. "Nii-san calm down! Nii-san!" The younger brother yelled, trying to grab Kirishima's attention as the lion-fox continued to panic and roar.

Without thinking, the art student took up the closest thing to him, a stuffed teddy bear from Hiyo's toy collection , and threw it at Kirishima, hitting him square in the nose.

That seemed to work as Kirishima brought his clawed hands up to his nose, holding it, as Yukina approached him. The younger brother's eyes firm as he stared up at his sibling, pieces of golden brown hair falling in front of their gaze. "Calm down." Yukina commanded, his tone icy as his featured hardened.

Kirishima only stared down at his younger sibling in shock, slowly rubbing his sensitive nose as he made a small, distressed noise.

"Sit down." Yukina pointed to Hiyori's bed, ignoring his brother's call for the time being.

The lion-fox did so sluggishly, before standing up again, surprised, as he looked over his shoulder at his flattened tail. Kirishima sat down then, this time carefully maneuvering his new appendage.

"Now, are you alright?" Yukina tone returned to normal as he inspected his brother by poking and prodding at his new features, checking his sharp teeth and paws. When the art student went for his ears, Kirishima lightly batted his brother's hands away, making a small irritated roar. "Are you hurt?"

The father shook his head, calming down some as Hiyo sat beside him. "You really scared us Papa! I'm glad you're alright." She said, looking up at her father with glassy eyes. "I woke up while you were screaming. I thought..." The little girl stopped herself, hugging her father and burying her tiny face into his fur. "I thought you were gonna..."

Kirishima quickly shook his head, placing one of his black paws on his daughter's back, pulling her closer gently.

"This is all my fault, Papa. I'm so sorry!" Hiyo teared up, her small arms trembling as she hugged her father as hard as she could. A large clawed hand was placed on top of her head, causing her to look up at him. Kirishima wrapped his arms around his daughter, hugging her affectionately.

"We could never blame you for this, Hiyo." Yukina filled in for his brother as he raked a hand through his golden brown hair, sighing. "But can you please tell me what happened now that your papa is awake?"

Hiyori bit her lips, her copper eyes turning to her uncle and then back to her father before she nodded hesitantly. She pulled away from Kirishima, one of her small hands still entangled within his fur. "I met the baby bear a couple of days ago. I found him just as I finished reading my book." Hiyo looked down at her lap, biting her lip. "He was crying, and I thought that he had gotten separated from his mama, so I left him be so that she could find him. And...the next day he was still there, though. So I gave him some fruit from the fridge to help him. But he wouldn't leave after that, so I fed him every day after lunch and I even read to him from my book." The little girl had a small, sheepish smile on her face. "I had just finished feeding him, Papa, when you found us. I've never seen his mama before today, though. And I don't know why she would..." She stopped, looking upset as she gestured down to herself and to her father's appearance.

"Is there anything else Hiyo?" Yukina pressed gently when the little girl stopped.

"Well..." She hesitated, looking up at her uncle and father. "Um...I think he was...mimicking me. I'm not sure though."

"Mimicking you? How so?"

"Like... when I read him certain parts of my book he would get really sad and start calling for his mama again. And... this morning, when I picked him up right before he ran to the mama bear, he had the same expressions that I did, and I think..." The little girl paused. "I think...I saw a picture of a um... of a mama and her baby in his eyes."

The two adults were silent as Hiyo finished, letting her words sink in. Quietly, Kirishima got up from the bed and pointed a clawed finger at his daughter, causing her to blink. He then pointed to the bed , causing her to shake her head. "But Papa, I'm not-!" The lion-fox repeated the motion, expression stern, and she very hesitantly nodded.

Kirishima placed a clawed hand gently upon Hiyo's head and ran his fingers through her hair affectionately before motioning for his brother to follow him out of the room.

A large, black, clawed hand hovered hesitantly over a beer, the sound of ticking being the only thing in the kitchen as the clock reached four am. Very carefully, Kirishima maneuvered his new hands to try and open the smooth cylindrical can.

"I said that I would get it for you." Yukina sighed as he sipped his own beverage, watching his brother's struggle. The only response he received from said lion-fox was an irritated grunt.

Yukina sat back in his chair at the breakfast bar, his gaze directed at the floor. "Nii-san...about before..." His copper eyes glanced up at Kirishima, only to have them widen. "Nii-san!" The lion-fox had proceeded to take out all the beer in the fridge and had set them on the kitchen table, trying to open them all. "You don't need that much!"

Kirishima paused, his copper eyes hard as he stared at his brother. He gestured to his new appearance angrily before proceeding to try and open a can, only to have one of his sharp claws pierce through the top.

Yukina sighed once again, the bags under his eyes becoming prominent from the gesture. "Nii-san...I'm sorry." Confused copper eyes met his as Kirishima took a drink of his beer, holding the can gently with both hands. "We contacted the police after you passed out but... I couldn't let them in when they arrived. I knew that you could have been seriously hurt, but I just couldn't bring myself to do it." Yukina bit the inside of his lip. "What if they took you and Hiyo away from us?" He shook his head. "I just..."

Silence filled the room before Kirishima moved to go sit with brother at the bar, looking at Yukina fully. The art student had his elbows on the table, resting his forehead on his linked hands as he frowned. He looked twice his age as he sat there, the stress probably eating him alive all this time that Kirishima had been unconscious.

Eventually, Kirishima tapped his younger brother's arm gently before gesturing to the hallway that led to all the bedrooms. The younger brother looked confused at where the lion-fox was pointing for a moment. "...Hiyo?" Yukina asked, remembering that the little girl's room was down that way, but Kirishima only shook his head. "...Kisa-san and Onodera-san?" The father nodded.

"They're fine, for the most part. Onodera-san said something about his ears hurting him, but I think that was just from the mother bear's roar..." A pregnant pause passed between them for a moment before Yukina changed the subject. "I think something's bothering Kisa-san too, but he wouldn't answer me when I asked him." He frowned. "We were all taking turns watching over you while you slept. You were...completely out for a few hours." The art student rubbed his thumb against the white surface of his mug. "Hiyo's been up ever since you passed out. When I told her to go sleep in my room, she said that she wanted to stay to make sure you were okay."

"I...was very scared. We all were." Hazy copper eyes turned to Kirishima. "What's going on, nii-san? Why is this happening to you two? What was that bear? Is everyone...going to change? Like you and Hiyo?" Yukina was looking to his older brother for answers, but the lion-fox just shook his head.

Yukina put his face in his hands silently as neither one of them had any answers about why this happened or even how to fix it. The art student blinked when a clawed hand grabbed for one of his own. The younger brother frowned in confusion as Kirishima took one of his hands, inspecting the scratch marks he found there.

"Oh..." Yukina looked away. "Those were from...when you..." He couldn't finish his sentence.

Kirishima frowned, letting his brother's hand go, the fox ears on his head down low. "I completely forgot about them, to be honest." Yukina gave a dry chuckle. "They don't hurt at all."

Kirishima's frown deepened at this, looking over the red skin and deep slash marks that surely should be throbbing and burning. The lion-fox's gaze turned to the steaming cup of coffee that Yukina had previously been holding, his brow's furrowing.

The father abruptly let his brother's hand go and touched the white mug, pulling his hand back instantly as the hot cup nearly burned him. Kirishima watched, disbelieving, as Yukina picked up the mug easily and took a sip. "What?" The younger of the two asked.

Kirishima was silent for a long time before he carefully took the steaming mug from his brother. Yukina didn't protest as the lion-fox ushered him up and pushed him gently in the direction of the hall leading to the guest rooms.

The art student's tired eyes glanced from the clock on the wall to his brother, hesitating. "You...promise that you'll be here when I wake up?"

Kirishima nodded immediately, eyes hard.

"And Hiyo will too?"

Another nod was the editor's only answer.

A long moment passed between the two of them, twin pairs of copper eyes just staring at each other before Yukina sighed. "Alright. I'll...see you in the morning." He relented, taking one last look at his brother before disappearing into the hallways of the huge house.

When he was finally alone, Kirishima went back to the beers on the table and proceeded to poke a hole through the top of the can easily. At least there were some perks from this form...

The next morning awoke Kirishima abruptly as the bright rays from the sun assaulted his eyes. The editor groaned, bringing a hand up to shield them as he turned around. He stretched his arms above his head as he got up and walked into the adjoined bathroom connected to his room.

Copper eyes glanced at the mirror briefly as Kirishima washed his face, lost in the fog of his usual morning drowsiness. He brought a hand up to his smooth nose and rubbed it as he saw a red mark there. Did Yukina really hit him that hard last night? He contemplated about t his as he ran his fingers over the smooth skin of his nose.

All of a sudden, the editor slammed his hands down against the sink, looking at the mirror as he came to realize that his own human face was staring back at him. He reached up and touched his cheek hesitantly. "I'm..." His voice sounded raspy, but it was there all the same.

Sincerely hopeful that all of that had been a dream, the father ran out of his room and rushed to his daughter's, but the sight that greeted him crushed all dreams as reality sank in its cruel teeth.

Hiyori lay upon her bed, sleeping as that cursed otherworldly pink glow surrounded her. Her father staggered over to her, hugging her and burying his face in her red hair as she unconsciously slept on, he not even having to check to know that she was unconscious and unable to wake up...

Hey guys! Thanks so much for reading this! The idea came to me when I watched Disney's Beauty and The Beast and the rest just came together.

I chose to have Kirishima be a lion-fox hybrid because I've always thought of him as being a fox if he was going to be any animal, and I have seen him drawn as a lion before so I just decided to mix the two. I didn't want him to be too beastly because the curse wasn't really aimed at him, it was aimed at Hiyo. But I'll get to that later. Also, all questions about the specifics of the curse will be answered in the next chapter as well.

I really wanted to do a story with these two ever since I first read about them, so I hope that I did them justice. I tried to keep them in character as best I could, but this is an abnormal situation after all. Anyway, as always feedback is forever appreciated! I hope that you enjoyed reading! Ja ne!

Next time: Yokozawa appears and makes a few discoveries.

~Migoto Nami

~Random Short~

Takano Masamune blinked to himself as he sipped his morning coffee during his morning commute with Onodera when a sudden message appeared in his snapchat. A grin found it's way to his face when he saw that it was from Kirishima.

Ever since the editor-in-chief of Japuun and his best friend had started dating, the two of them never really saw eye to eye until they promised to at least try and be civil and talk with each other for Yokozawa's sake. That's where snapchat came in.

Takano's neck jolted and he almost spit his coffee out in laughter as he saw an image of his best friend appear on his phone screen. Yokozawa was spread out amongst the pillows half hazardly, hair every which way, clearly shirtless with drool falling out of his open mouth.

The caption underneath said: "When bae don't know he beautiful." with a princess crown emoji next to it along with some sparkles around the image.

"What's so funny?" The editor-in-chief looked off to his side to see Onodera looking at him with curious green eyes.

"...Nothing." Was all Takano chose to wisely say, watching as the other man shrugged some and got up from his seat to throw his coffee away, unaware of how his boss quickly started to film him.

Masamune couldn't help but snicker as he took a small video zooming in on Onodera's scrumptious ass before captioning the video with five peach emojis and sending it off to Kirishima, cackling all the while.

The chief editor had to wait until they were almost to work before he got his next response from Kirishima, but the wait was so worth it.

The editor-in-chief of Japuun sent a video in response of just him felling over onto the floor, knocking things every which way in his office before looking all disheveled up at the camera and saying one word: "Dayum."

Takano shook his head in laughter as he went to take another video, this time of himself with the bee voice changer emoji to rant about his boyfriend's fine ass when he got a snap from Yokozawa.

Masamune laughed uncontrollably as he saw it was just a picture of Yokozawa looking at Kirishima as if the man was crazy with a caption asking: "Do you know what the fuck is wrong with him?" It was all Takano could do send a pic of himself back shrugging with a straight face, deigning to keep his snaps with Kirishima a secret for as long as they could.