Tohru sighed as she sat up, looking around her room in the Souma residence. Her long brown hair fell over her shoulders to pool in her lap. She flicked her bangs away from her cerulean eyes and stood, stretching her lean, yet well shaped body. Tohru, now a senior in high school, looked around her dark room. After spending much time at Hana's home with her friend, Tohru seemed to be taken with darker colors, and redecorated her room entirely. Her bed was now covered with red sheets and a rumpled black comforter and her furnature had been painted a beautiful mahogany color.
She walked over to the low, wide dresser on the other side of the room and opened the top drawer to retrieve some clothing for the day. She snatched a plain black t-shirt and changed quickly into it, and did the same with some loose-fitting jeans. She pulled her hair up into a braid that trailed down her back and walked down to the household kitchen to make breakfast for the five men of the house.
At the end of the past school year, Hatsuharu and Momoji had come to live in the two extra bedrooms in the house. Momoji had finally had enough of Akito and nearly begged to be taken in, while Haru came along at the blonde boy's request. Though Tohru's style of clothing had changed, she could not bear to refuse the boy's tears.
Tohru began making the morning meal of rice and eggs, humming quietly to herself, while Kyo yelled at the top of his lungs. "Damn it, rat! Shut the hell up!" right outside the kitchen door.
Tohru turned the stove burners off, having finished cooking, and peeked through the door way. She watched as Yuki skillfully blocked the erratic kick Kyo had sent toward his head. "Kyo! Yuki! Stop it now!" she snapped, much like Uo as Yuki hit Kyo in the stomach.
"I'm sorry for the disturbance, Miss Honda," Yuki said, looking politely ashamed, even though he was seething on the inside.
Kyo simply snorted and Momoji bounded down the stairs, his pink pajamas rustling loudly in the now silent house. "What's going on?" he asked, rubbing his eyes tiredly. Even though Momoji had stopped wearing girl's clothes a while back, he hadn't gotten rid of the sleeping clothes that Tohru had given him at Christmas. Tohru sighed heavily and closed her eyes.
"The usual."
She looked around as the phone rang and grabbed it quickly. "Hello, Souma residence," she said into the mouth piece.
"Tohru?" a feminine voice asked cautiously, "Is that you?"
Tohru blinked and glanced around as Haru joined the group of Souma boys at the base of the steps. "Yes, may I ask who this is?" she asked, trying not to sound rude.
The voice sounded rather happy as it traveled through the phone, "Do you remember your younger sister Kagome?"
Tohru's eyes widened. "Yes, what about her?" she asked, her voice gaining a dangerous edge that none of the Soumas had ever heard.
"Tohru! It's me, Kagome! I want to come visit, but Grandpa says that you aren't staying with any of the family. Can you meet me somewhere?"
Tohru squealed slightly, "Of course I can meet you! Do you live nearby?"
Kagome replied, "Yes, I live with a friend of mine, but he doesn't like guests much."
Tohru's brows shot up. "He?" she asked playfully, drawing growls from Yuki and Kyo.
Kagome laughed. "Yes, he. Anyways, can you meet me at the ramen shop near the high school? I've just enrolled there and I need to get acquainted with the town."
Tohru laughed. "Of course I'll meet you there! How does about twenty minutes sound?"
Kagome said, "sounds great to me! I'll see you soon!"
The two hung up and Tohru turned around to see four curious Soumas and one pissed cat. "Who the hell are ya' meetin'?" Kyo raged.
Tohru glared at him evenly. "If you must know, I'm meeting my younger sister. Is that all?"
"Our pretty flower has a sister?" Shigure asked in a sing-song voice.
Momoji laughed. "Can we meet her?"
Tohru smiled brightly. "Of course! I want all of you to meet her. She'll be going to school with us after all."
Momoji and Haru turned to head upstairs to get dressed for the day and Tohru turned to Shigure. "Do you mind if I drive?" she asked sweetly.
Shigure waved his hand in that flapping way of his. "Not at all!" he practically sang.
Tohru clapped her hands together and hugged him, momentarily forgetting about the curse. She closed her eyes and smiled sheepishly as Shigure turned into a dog. "Sorry," she said, taking his clothing and putting them in the next room.
Kagome smiled brightly at Shippo, who walked next to her as they made their way down the street. "I can't wait to see 'nee-chan again!" she said, tugging on a lock of black hair with one hand and nervously adjusting the belt holding up her jeans with the other.
Shippo smiled down at the black-clad girl next to him, his emerald eyes dancing with silent laughter. "'Gome-chan, if you keep messing with that belt, your pants are gonna fall down."
Kagome immediately stopped fidgeting with the leather belt and continued to tug on the innocent lock of hair wrapped around her finger. She blinked widely as Shippo gently tugged the poor strands from her grip and tucked them behind her ear and she smiled sheepishly.
She mumbled something about being a little nervous and looked down at her tennis shoes thudding soundly on the concrete. Her vibrant blue eyes followed the motion of her long legs as she walked, unable to focus on anything around her. Her erring attention was drawn upwards as a small bell tinkled somewhere just ahead of her and she noticed that they had reached the designated restaurant, where she would see her sister for the first time in a decade.
"Well, go on," Shippo said, poking her shoulder to make her move forward. "They aren't here yet and I don't wanna stand here all day to hold the door for them." Kagome simply cracked a grin at Shippo's rather childish comment and moved swiftly toward a low table in the back corner.
The two ordered their drinks- Shippo, a bottle of sake, and Kagome, a pot of hot, chamomile tea- and chatted amiably about anything and everything from Sengoku Jidai, to Kagome's sister, to the tacky wallpaper surrounding them.
Soon enough, the door chime rang again, signaling the entrance of five men and one girl. Kagome's eyes widened almost comically as she recognized who the girl was. "Tohru?" she whispered.
The girl smiles. "Ohayo, Kagome-chan."