It felt warmer than normal to some, but to some it felt colder especially to Tohru Honda who lost her last parent, after the funeral she went to her grandfathers to live, only to have it be a short time until he went to live with his daughter until the renovations of his house were completed, until the Tohru's original plan was to live in a tent out in the wilderness.
Meanwhile in front of her mother's grave a young man stood with a European long sword in his right hand, suddenly he knelt down on his left leg and placed the sword in the ground before saying something quietly "I hereby pledge to protect her and make sure her happiness is true and pure. If something upsets her I will deal with it, if she is angry I will deal with it. I will be her knight; this is my pledge to you" he said standing up and sheathing his sword before placing it on his back. "And now to uphold my pledge of the knight of Tohru Honda" he said smiling as he walked away in the fresh spring air. "Spring: a time for rebirth" he said smiling walking along. "I wonder what's happening to her now" he said
Tohru Honda was currently leaving her work place, with her knight secretly followed her home. 'She works there?' he thought wrapping the leather strap of his scabbard around his right arm and carried it 'Why does she work there?' he asked flipping the hood of his crimson coat up so he could hide his face from the girl and crowds. "She seems happy about the arrangement, but something worries me. If she has family then why she not staying with them?" he asked wandering after her. "The woods; wait no that's where they live. The Sohmas, interesting" he stated following her through the woods.
Her knight followed her home unknown to her, once she got to her tent she went inside "Hey mum I'm home" she said to a picture of her mother Kyoko Honda, one that was in a goofy pose. She grabbed a towel so she could wash up in the nearest river, only to find two men standing outside her tent. These two were Yuki Sohma and Shigure Sohma; they were on their way home from eating out and had discovered her on her way back to her tent. "Miss Honda?" Yuki asked. "Um" she said startled as Shigure laughed at the situation, Tohru's Knight stood back a bit out of the way of the trio who ended up headed back to Shigure's house. 'It's about time you found her' her knight thought before looking over to the house. 'Well who do we have there?' the knight thought going to investigate.
"You can stay here" Shigure said "Thank you, it will only be until the renovations are finished" Tohru said "of course" Yuki said as he barely heard soft footfalls of the roof "I'll pay you of course" Tohru said. "Not that will be alright" Yuki said. "How about this in return for board you help us with the chores and cooking around the place?" Shigure asked. "Okay, that sounds fair" she said before hearing a howl. "There's been a landslide somewhere" Shigure said "Do you think it was at my tent?" Tohru asked "Possibly" Shigure said as Tohru ran out
On the roof the knight approached a teenager; he stood crouched on the roof, his fiery orange hair stood out in the moonlit forest that surrounded the house. "I haven't seen you in an age" the knight said to the teenager. "Yeah you too, so what are you doing here?" the teenager said. "Protecting her" the knight indicated the girl who ran out of the house. "So she's here is she?" the teenager asked. "Yeah she is" the knight said. "Who would have thought that one day the three of us would meet up with each other again" the teenager said "Yeah who knew" the knight said sadly, it had been an age since all three of them played together, then something happened to break them apart. "So how's your mother?" the teenager asked. "She's good" the knight said "Cool" the teenager said lying on the roof. The knight continued to stand at his post on the roof as the group came back with Tohru on Shigure's back. "Poor girl" he said pulling down. "Sleep tight my friend" he said before going over and sitting down on the roof next to his friend.
"Oh mum" she murmured awaking up and seeing her mother's picture next to "Huh?" she asked shocked at the fact her mother was right there "Ah Miss Honda you're awake" Yuki said carrying in a couple of bags "Yuki, you're filthy" she said "Yes I spent last night digging your belongings out of the landslide" he said. "But who did you?" she started to ask "It's a secret, anyway I'll take these upstairs, there is a spare room" Yuki said "Oh and Yuki, lend her some of your clothes" Shigure said.
"I apologise for the smell, we've had this room closed off for a long time" Yuki said leaving the room after Tohru got changed into the clothes he lent her. The sound of the roof above their heads creaking "No way" Yuki muttered as the roof crashed in. And there was the teenager from earlier "YO! Rat boy, time to pay the piper" the teenager said "I thought he would send someone tougher then you to collect" Yuki said "Funny, but now I'm going to wipe that stupid look off your pretty boy face!" the teenager growled as Tohru went to stop them "No wait stop!" she cried before slipping on a broken piece of wood and colliding into the teenager. "Oh shit!" was all the teenager could say before he disappeared in a puff of amber smoke covering the room. "Um, Yuki please tell me that wasn't what I think it was" Shigure whimpered. 'Good going' the knight thought looking down.
"I'm so sorry," Tohru started before seeing that instead of a teenage boy in her hands was an orange cat "Er" was all Tohru could get out before a plank of wood hit her on the lead causing her to collapse into Yuki and Shigure 'CRAP!' the knight mentally cursed as two more clouds of coloured smoke exploded outwards from the two guys she crashed into. To say Tohru was dumbstruck was an understatement; she quickly grabbed all three and raced downstairs. "Well time for school, better stop at the old homestead and get changed" the knight said walking away.
Tohru quickly ran downstairs with all three of the Sohmas in her arms "Help, we got to help them" she panicked. "Delivery; Mr Sohma?" a deliveryman said as he held up a package of food for Shigure; "They're all animals!" Tohru panicked to the delivery guy "Yes, yes they are" the guy said "So are they yours or Mr Sohmas; anyway that will be 1600 yen" the guy said as Shigure brought the guy his wallet which had the exact amount needed. "Wow; that is a neat trick" the delivery guy said "Have a nice day miss" he said leaving.
"Great now how are you going to explain it!" the cat shouted out "Don't you dare shift the blame you stupid cat!" a rat said sound like Yuki "What did you say you damn rat!" the cats hissed. "You heard me you stupid cat" the rat said again "Hey!" the dog barked. "Come down here so I can kick your ass" the cat said "You two!" the dog growled. "They talk?" Tohru stuttered. "Well looks like the cat's out of the bag, so to speak" the dog said looking over at the cat who glared back at him. "Tohru, I'm a dog well actually the dog, Yuki here he's the rat and that sour puss over there is Kyo and he's the cat. You see the reason we're like this is because we're cursed" Shigure said "Oh by the way, we're naked" he added not fussed about it suddenly changing back revealing three naked men causing Tohru to spaz out, before Shigure explained the curse. "You see, the Souma family is under a curse, and that curse is when our bodies are under stress or hugged by a member of the opposite sex we changed into the twelve animals of the Chinese Zodiac, and the cat" Shigure said "And each generation of who receives the curse is at random so we don't who it will be ahead of time" Shigure said. "Now we better get to school" Yuki said "OH NO! We're late!" Tohru panicked
"Where is she?" the knight asked standing outside the school gates "There is she" he thought "But why is wearing a dirty uniform. The landslide last night?" he asked himself before picking up his sword and entering the gates. "Hopes the washers are clear so she can use them" was all the knight said before entering the building while preparing his permit for his sword so he can carry it and if time comes namely in an emergency situation use it in defence of others. "Well I better get going" he said entering the school building.
A while later Tohru was nuzzling her clean uniform "I'm glad they allowed me to use the school's laundry room" Tohru said "Yeah but why was your uniform dirty?" Uo asked brushing her blonde hair "Well I fell into a puddle on my way here" Tohru said as her friend Uo was about to ask when over the loud speakers came "Would Arista Uotani and Saki Hanajima please come to the gymnasium, again would Miss Uotani and Miss Hanajima report to the gymnasium" the announcement said "Damn" Uo said "Are you going to be okay Tohru?" Saki said "Yeah I'll be fine" Tohru said as her friends left.
"You already washed your clothes, pity, the dirty look suited you" said a member of the Yuki fan club, "So now why are you talking to our prince Yuki?" she asked backing Tohru into a corner 'um, we're friends" Tohru said "I don't think so" another member said "And I think you should back off of her and deal with your problem" a voice shouted out "And who are you?" the leader asked seeing a teenager with blonde hair, eyes the colour of gold and the last two prominent features; a red coat and a longsword. This boy was the knight who had taken to protecting Tohru "Edward?" Tohru asked as the fangirls backed up a bit as Ed got closed. "Hey Tohru; my, haven't you grown?" he asked smiling "So have you, but what's with the sword?" she asked. "Oh this?" Ed asked indicating the sword over his right shoulder. "Oh an uncle gave it to me for a present and he also gave me a permit so I can carry it with me and use it in an emergency; such as" he said drawing the blade making the fangirls squeak "Now you were saying?" Ed asked smirking evilly "Nothing" they said dashing off. "So the Sohmas huh?" he asked. "You know about them?" Tohru shyly asked.
"Yeah I do, everything from who they are to what they do, especially when stressed or hugged by the opposite gender" Ed said making Tohru pause enough to stick her head out revealing her white bra. "Really, how long have you known?" Tohru asked before realising her state of dress. "A little while now, they don't know I know of course, well except for one of them; Kyo" Ed said "You know Kyo?" Tohru asked. "Yeah, he's an old friend, but not just me but yours too; from a long time ago" Ed smiled as Tohru walked out in full uniform. "Really?" Thoru asked as Yuki came up to them "Aah Miss Honda, I hope you didn't tell your friends about us" Yuki said "Don't worry she didn't" Ed said leaning against the wall "Ah, Edward Elric; what a pleasure to finally meet the only friend of that stupid cat" Yuki said "Hello Yuki" Ed said sighing "So, miss Honda I hope what Edward said was true" Yuki said "No I didn't; mum use to say telling another person's secret was the worst thing to do" Tohru said getting frantic "Oh boy" Ed murmured "If you can keep our secret, there be the chance your memories will be erased" Yuki said sounding said "Over my ice cold rigor mortis suffering corpse" Ed said.
"You see when he was young Yuki was kid, he was playing with some others behind the Sohma house and a little girl accidently hugged him; turning him into his rat form. Later that day their memories were erased because they were exposed to the secret" Ed said with his eyes closed, 'the only Sohma I don't know of is their mysterious leader who torments them' he thought "Anyway I can't go behind his back, so I'm sorry Miss Honda that you had to get involved with the Sohma family" Yuki said "WAIT!" Tohru said reaching out for Yuki "Er, Tor" Ed said as a puff of smoke signalled what he knew was the transformation of Yuki Sohma. "I'm such an idiot" Tohru cried as Ed dumped Yuki's shirt on his rodent body "Nice play" Yuki said turning back "And don't worry about miss Honda, nobody saw" Yuki said dressing himself. "But you have to be careful" Ed said playing look out for them. "Alright, but if my memories due become erased please remain my friend" Tohru said bowing. 'I hope it never comes to that Tohru, for you see the memory erase is like hypnotism, you simply forget anything relating to the Sohmas, even you deep crush for Yuki and I suspect you already have forgotten something' Ed thought as Tohru fixed Yuki's tie. The rest of the day pasted without incident.
After school Yuki and Tohru headed for Shigure's house "Hello we're home" Tohru announced "Shigure? Huh he must be out" Yuki said "Anyway I'll go and put my stuff away" Tohru said walking up to her room only to see Kyo fixing the hole in the roof where he crash landed with Ed on the outside "Just a little more, Oh hey Tohru" Ed said from the roof as Kyo handed him another piece of wood up from the floor. "We're just doing a quick patch up job until you get someone else to come and fix it" Ed said jumping down as Kyo place a tarp up and stuck in place with some kind of tape. "Look, I'm not with people especially when I'm angry so this morning" Kyo said gripping the tape. "Easy Kyo" Ed said looking at the pair. "So about this morning I'm" Kyo said. "Tohru, Yuki I'm Home, Kyo you aren't doing anything stupid up there, especially with Edward, Yes I know you're here too Ed" Shigure cried out in a cheery tone making Ed dumbfounded. "How did he?" Ed asked as Kyo stormed out of the room.
"So I talked with Akito and he says that if Tohru can keep the secret she can live with us and her memories are safe; just like Ed and his family since they've been intertwined for a while now" Shigure said making Tohru happy and Ed smile. "And another thing is that Kyo must live here with us now, which won't be so bad if Ed keeps popping in for a visit" Shigure said "Whoa, back up I have to live in the same house as that damn rat?!" Kyo shouted. "I'm afraid so and you know his decisions can be changed." Shigure groaned "Shigure, you and Akito aren't planning something involving Miss Honda are you?" Yuki asked "How can you say that Yuki, we are doing no such thing" Shigure said making both Ed and Yuki more protective of Tohru "Thank you for letting stay here" Tohru said bowing with a smile on her face "You're welcome" Shigure said "And it's nice to meet you Kyo" Tohru said "WHAT WAS THAT?" Kyo barked. "Be Nice" Ed said before Kyo was sent flying through the door "HEY! I just fixed that door" Kyo said as Ed just stood there.
The next morning Shigure dragged Kyo out somewhere while Yuki went as well. While the three boys were out Tohru and Ed stayed at the house, Ed wore a long sleeved shirt and black gloves, black cargo pants and his usual black combat boots. "I don't know where to start, but I never go back on my word" Tohru said suddenly springing into action, while Ed was stopped whenever he tried to help who went back to standing against the wall.
"I'm back" Yuki sadi walking into a clean kitchen "If I didn't know any better I would say this was a different house." Yuki sadi as Tohru welcomed him back. "We have a rice cooker?" he asked confused. "Yeah who knew right bud" Ed said "And I take it you didn't help out?" Yuki asked. "Heavy lifting duty" Ed said before Tohru asked. "Why are your arms covered?" she asked innocently "I was in a bad accident, so I became self conscious of my arms and decided to hide them whenever possible" he said holding his right arm "Sorry to hear that" Yuki saod as the two boys set the table. "The table's ready Miss Honda" Yuki said.
"Wow, you made this?" Yuki asked. "Yes I did" Tohru beamed with happiness "Hey before you went out didn't you so where did yougo?" she asked. "Shopping?" she added "No just out back to my secret base" Yuki said seeing Tohru light up "really a secret base" she started "You mean like a fort or an underground bunker?" she asked. "It's not that elobrate Tohru" Ed said "I don't I'm happy just to be going to one
"Forget it!" came Kyo's voice 'what did that dumbass canine do to him now?" Ed thought deadpanned on his face "Don't be like that" Shigure shouted dressed in a suit "Do you enjoy messing with me?" Kyo asked snapping "You know we have an agreement with Akito" Shigure countered "Screw him!" Kyo barked "Welcome back dinner is" "I'M NOT HUNGRY!" Kyo shouted "Come on Kyo don't take this out on her and use the front door not to mention take your shoes off!" Shigure said taking his own shoes off. 'What happened?' Ed thought leaving the room. "What happened?" Tohru asked concerned "I took him for an entrance exam at your school" Shigure said "Drop the food, get out!" Yuki said "I knew you would be upset, but this is for the best"
"So your training in the mountains placed school on the back burner for you huh?" Ed asked appearing on the roof next to Kyo "Shut up!" Kyo said "I'm guessing it wasn't fighting bears or meditating under waterfalls if your training was anything like mine" Ed said "Shut up" Kyo snapped. "So you still want beat Yuki huh? Like the old legend say the rat tricked the cat and now the two are enemies, but look it like this way, it could be fun having my friend there" Ed smiled bringing Kyo out of his sorrow and making him smile.
"Where is he?" uo asked taking notice of the group of fan girls of Yuki's taking to him asking questions about Yuki 'just chill man, no need to make a scene here' Ed thought seeing Kyo becoming pissed off "LEAVE ME ALONE!" he shouted flipping one of the fangirls before jumping out the window and running "Crap, I'll get him, Yuki come on" Ed said running off to look for his friends.
