( Hello, ladies and gents. I will be writing this story alongside writing another one, so new chapters won't be particularly close together. But they will come! I promise! Anyway, this is my first Furuba fanfic, and I really hope it pans out the way I imagined it to. Either way, this should be an interesting ride. This is mostly a MomijixOC story, though I will incorporate most of the original pairings as well, along with inviting some new characters of my own invention. This is a story about love—not that there won't be action and drama too, but the core basics of this is about love. So if you wanted blood and war, shoo fly. _ You're not getting one, no matter how much I love you. So comment, critique, compliment...whatever floats your boat. Reviews, reviews, please! )

Five years. He hung his head, severely depressed, just like he was every time he thought of Kyo and Tohru together for that long. Although he'd given Kyo the ok for taking her away, that had never, ever meant that he had given up, that he stopped loving her. Every time they met, he smiled just as he always had, banishing his sadness to some far off place, and made sure he was a pillar of support for her to lean on. Hoping she'd realize he loved her. Hoping Kyo would slip up and lose Tohru. These thoughts made him feel terrible, but Sohma or not, Momiji was a man, and men got jealous. They had wants, they had needs. They fell in love. Normally Momiji didn't get like this—depressed, that is—but for Tohru? She could make him feel anything, just because it was her. I'm still in love with her. I thought that I'd get over it. I gave her to Kyo, I knew she wanted him. But...even so...He raked a hand through his sunny yellow hair, agitated.

"Momiji!" From where he was sitting, Momiji jumped, turning his head toward the voice. "I have gossip. Lots and lots of gossip!" He looked up, blinking, as his dorm roommate burst into the room. With strawberry blonde hair, bronze freckles splashing his cheeks and nose, and vibrant green eyes, Jinka Tsunade was what most people would call "handsome" at the very least. If Momiji didn't know any better, he'd suspect that Jinka was a Sohma. They'd been roommates since Momiji had come to the university, both of them being freshmen in college. Thinking back to the day they'd met, Momiji grinned, his bad mood already being wisped away.

Without knocking, just as he would every day to come, Jinka burst into the room. His green eyes were wide and shining. Momiji turned his head, looking up from the ground, a picture of the Sohma family (plus Tohru) in his hands, looking surprised. He'd been the first one to get here of the three others he was meant to be rooming with, and had been setting up the part of the room he'd decided would be is. At the time, Jinka's hair had been slicked into spikes. Momiji, sheltered as he was, had never seen such an alternative hairstyle before. He had no idea how to react. So, he simply breathed out, "Oh my God."

"Actually, contrary to popular belief," his roommate drawled, eyes dancing, "I'm not God, though people say we look alike."

Momiji laughed, and Jinka smiled back. "That's funny! So you're Jinka then, right? Jinka Tsunade?" asked the Sohma cheerfully. Even after all these years, he still acted like a child.

Jinka nodded. "Fact! Since you know me, I will assume that makes you Momiji Sohma." These two had gotten into contact the moment they realized they were to be roommates. The other two boys that were to be staying here were "too cool" to do such a thing. So Momiji and Jinka knew they would hit it off. Jinka looked him over, decided something, and nodded to himself. "You will definitely make an interesting friend." Momiji smiled. Besides Tohru and his little sister Momo, he'd never had any completely normal human friends before. This would be a nice first. "We will most certainly become the heart breakers of the school!"

"EH?!"

The memory made Momiji giggle, eyes arching into half moons. Then he stood up, stretched, and walked over to his friend, chipper as always. "Really? You do? Oh, cool! What is it, Jinka?" inquired the Rabbit, beaming, clapping his hands together with obvious energy. Jinka grinned at him. Momiji had come to suspect that Jinka merely loved compliments, having his ego stoked, and having somebody as easily excited as Momiji was around to keep his creativity levels high. Those, however, next to gossip (Jinka was the editor and president of the university newspaper, after all!), were the only things he enjoyed. Otherwise, he was the essence of indifference.

Behind Jinka, a light Irish voice spoke up. "Oi! Beanpole! Lemme through, ya great lug, or I will do unspeakable things to you!"

The strawberry turned; behind him was a short, stocky youth who looked a little like a Viking with the muscled build, red hair, long facial hair, and petite(ish) stature (for a guy). They actually called him Viking a lot, too, though his name was actually Shigeru Arisaka. Momiji and Shigeru had met during Calculus as freshmen, and Momiji and Jinka had moved him in with them the following year, having hung out a lot since. They were all inseparable now. It rather reminded Momiji of Tohru and her two best friends, Uo and Hana. "What kind of unspeakable things?"

Shigeru opened his mouth. Then he closed it again. Defiance flashed in his eyes. "The kind you can't speak about," Viking grumbled, irked. Jinka laughed. Evidently, Shigeru hadn't planned out his "unspeakable things" yet.

Momiji waved, elated. "Hi, 'Geru!"

"Hey, Goldie Locks. How's it hanging?" the Irishmen asked, butting his way into the room. Then, without waiting for an answer, the hazel eyed Viking cast Jinka a sidelong glance. "So...what's the 'gossip' you heard about, Jinks?" They'd based Jinka's nickname off the English word, 'jinx', which sounded the same way. And, honestly, it was rather fitting for Jinka, anyway.

"There's a new girl at the school!"

Momiji grinned. "Are you sure she's not just a freshmen you just haven't hit on yet?" The blonde chuckled. "There's no way you've met them all already, anyway. It's plausible."

Lifting his index finger, he shook his head grimly. "I'm sure. She's new, and she's in a higher grade level than us! She's past her senior year!"

Shigeru and Momiji exchanged glances. He knew Jinka pretty well by now, and he knew that he only hit on younger women. Always. So Momiji now didn't understand why Jinka cared about some new girl. His brown eyes widened, and he cocked his head to the side in a childish manner, mouth in a tiny 'o' of confusion. "Hm? Alright...so what?"

"But she's our age!" Jinka finished triumphantly.

Momiji gaped, as if this was the most important anything he'd ever heard before, eyes huge, cheeks flushed. "Wow! She's a genius!" gasped the male, stunned and impressed simultaneously. "Oh, Jinka! We must meet her! She's skipped grades, and therefore will fit in wonderfully with us! Let's adopt her!" Shigeru bobbed his head up and down in agreement, mute. Things like this did not happen at this university. Interesting things, that is.

Jinka grinned broadly, slinging an arm around Momiji's shoulders. "Way ahead of you, brethren!" The word 'brethren' made Momiji laugh, eyes becoming half moons again. His roommate was so weird. But he loved him anyway. "Already found her room number. 231, the building over. C'mon, lets go introduce ourselves!" With endless amounts of energy, the three spun toward the door and made a break for it, bursting out (somehow managing to all fit through it). This done, the dynamic trio ran like Olympian runners out of their dorm room complex, down the stairs (too antsy to wait for the elevator), out the door, across the street (diving cars left and right), and into her building. By the time they reached the second floor, they had to stop, winded, catching their breath before proceeding.

Then they were standing outside of it now, brown, green, and hazel eyes stretched wide, wondering what type of girl would be two years in advance in relativity to them, yet be their age. She is probably one of those really pretty smart girls with glasses and pigtails, with the really innocent faces! I bet she loves ice cream. We'll probably be good friends. Momiji considered, before all three of them reached out their arms, plagued by the same thought, and rapped smartly on the door in unison before smiling at each other. Then they sat back and waited, watching her door like it was going to jump out and bite them. They gulped, beginning to perspire with nervous energy.

The door opened, and a fifth year girl stood there, one named Serena, with dark skin and hair in dreadlocks. She had big caramel eyes and white teeth, along with a somewhat star-shaped birthmark under an eye, tiny and hard to see unless one stared at it for a long time (which Momiji had, after Shigeru insisted that it was a star). Shigeru had had a crush on her for the first two years of college, but now insisted he was over her (not that anybody believed him). An eyebrow crawled up her forehead. "Huh? What are you three doing here?" Serena asked, perplexed.

"Is the Green Bean here?" Jinka asked, grinning flirtatiously at her.

Serena blinked. "'Green Bean'?"

"Oh, you know. The newbie. She's your roommate, isn't she?" Jinka continued, waving a hand expressively. "The girl our age?"

The light bulb came on. "Oh. Little Miss Alternative," Serena mumbled before nodding. Momiji brightened immediately. "I'll send her out." Looking over her shoulder, she bellowed, "KAEDEKUSAKITHEREAREPEOPLEHEREFOR YOU!"

A beat passed. Then another. Then they heard footsteps, and a voice piped up, the body too small to be seen from behind Serena. "What was that? I'm sorry, I couldn't hear you, I was too busy summoning demons, doing drugs, and repainting your room-"

With a squawk, Serena whirled around and sprinted toward where they assumed her room would be to check to see if it had survived. Jinka and Shigeru laughed, though Momiji thought what the new girl had done was a little mean. Oh well. It wasn't his place to say, really. Then the door opened all the way, and the three boys couldn't help but stare. There stood a girl, barely an inch taller than 5", wearing a tank top, lots of arm bands, jeans, fuzzy boots, and a fox hat (not made from fur, just knitted to look like a fox). She had pasty skin so pale that Momiji could see every vein dark and clear, pale pink eyes, and short, unruly green hair. Seeing that there were three boys there, she blinked, startled. Then her expression became cold.

No glasses. No pigtails. Not a particularly innocent face. Probably not an ice cream lover. Scary. Momiji felt like all his hopes and dreams had been shoved down his throat. Then the girl cocked her head to the side, thoughtful, and extended her hand to all of them, who each shook it numbly, staring at the odd female. "I'm Kaede Kusaki. I don't keep friends, so if that was your plan, tough nuts. But, if you want a drinking buddy, I can definitely hold my own."

Momiji, Shigeru, and Jinka gawked at the lady, but she just stood there, chewing her lower lip in an adorable fashion and dropping her hand to her side when they had all finished shaking it. Then they all let out a collective sigh.

What had they just gotten themselves into?

Jinka was the first one to redeem himself. "I'm Jinka Tsunade. This is Shigeru Arisaka, also known as "Viking", and Momiji Sohma." He jerked a thumb at each of them in turn, grinning at Kaede. Or, rather, grinning at her extremely bodacious breasts—it was hard not to notice, since her indigo tank top was a little small on her, exposing her perfectly sculpted stomach muscles on one end and a fair amount of cleavage on the other. At least a double-D, the boys would have to guess.

"Well, hello there, little monsters," grinned the greenette, rosy eyes gleaming at the prospect of prey. And it was like they really were prey, too—she watched them like a hawk, eyes wide and wary, her smirk lopsided and almost feral. She was like a wild animal, tame when she wanted to be, but with a switchblade temper she couldn't control. Momiji inspected the predator, a desire to understand her ways burning within him, drawn to her like opposite magnets. "Come to take a bite out of old Kaede, ne?"

"Absolutely," Jinka responded immediately, a Cheshire cat grin springing across his face. Momiji's cheeks darkened a little at the implications his friend was giving her.

But Kaede wasn't offended in the least. Instead, she threw her head back and laughed. "I'm gonna like you guys, I can tell," Kaede chuckled. She had a very laid-back, almost lazy way of speaking, slow at deliberate, as if she was speaking to a child, stressing every word, every syllable equally. However, it was just as obvious that she wasn't doing it to be condescending. Not at all. She simply had strange speaking mannerisms, much like Tohru..."So, what year are y'guys?"

Shigeru finally got his voice back. "One below you—seniors. Though we're your age...you're...ah, you're twenty-one, right?"

"Right you are, Viking!" Adopting the nickname in a stride, as if she'd been present while they invented it, she shot a wide, shit-eating grin at them. "Got into college early. I plan on being an author, y'see. I'll be famous one day! Went to a four year college in a different continent, and I'm finishing up my last two years here." Bright eyes landed on Momiji, seeming to be speaking directly to him. "What're you guys here for?"

Again, Jinka took over. "I am majoring in theater, and minoring in directing—if I can't act myself, I intend to direct said actors! Viking is majoring in crafts, folk art, and artisanry—wants to be an art therapist—and minoring in German. Why the Irishman wants to learn German, I will never understand. And Momiji here is majoring in music—he plays a mean violin! Wish he's try some fiddle music too, but he's more into classics."

Kaede had been watching Momiji this whole time, a vibrant sunset meeting the rich earth, unblinkingly. One of her pale silvery eyebrows lifted up elegantly. "..And his minor?"

"None. That's all he wants to do. Doesn't even have a plan for what he wants to do once he's done here. All he knows is that he wants to play the-"

Momiji, on a spurt of hyperactive energy, threw himself on Jinka and tackled him to the floor. The boys wrestled, and Momiji, spurred by his distaste for humiliation, somehow ended up on top. His acorn eyes flickered up to Kaede, pleading with her to leave the conversation at that. She, for her part, couldn't seem more uninterested. Already her eyes were half lidded, and she was masking a yawn. "Well, 'Rena is pretty boring. So d'you mind if we carry on the conversation at your place?" Without waiting for a reply, she stepped out into the hallway, barely giving them enough time to scramble back to make room for her, and slammed the door shut behind her. "Thanks."

Their trek back to the boys' dorm room was uneventful. None of them talked much. Just the usual "How is the weather?" "Fine. Nice day?" "Yeah." Nothing important, nothing major. Though Momiji couldn't imagine how they intended to carry out a conversation with Kaede, who seemed entirely unmotivated by life. How had she made it five years in college? She acted like she didn't care!

When they opened the door to their complex for her, she strode in like she owned the place and threw herself down on Shigeru's bed, face-down. Momiji blanched, knowing how Shigeru was about his things, and looked over at the redhead...only to sweat-drop when he saw that, instead of blowing a gasket like he did any time THEY so much as touched his bed, was admiring her shapely butt. Which made Momiji want to look at it, not because he was a pervert, but merely because he was wondering why Jinka and Shigeru were so fascinated with her body.

Then she spoke. "..This bed smells like Old Spice cologne."

Shigeru blushed, and Jinka laughed out loud, walking over to a swivel chair and plopping down onto it, lounging. "Sounds like Viking. He loves the stuff."

Her eyes slowly shifted to Jinka. "..Why do you always answer for Shigeru and Momiji?" This left Jinka thoughtful. But then he smiled and blustered his way through it with a lying technique any normal boy would be jealous of. Jinka could talk his way out of anything!

...Except Kaede, apparently. Her attitude of complete and utter nonchalance continued as she rested her face onto Shigeru's pillow. After a few minutes of Jinka rambling, not realizing he wasn't being listened to, she got up, and plopped herself into Jinka's bed. To herself, she muttered another cologne name, something in another language (probably French, knowing cologne titles). How many boys did she hang around with to memorize the brand names of every type of cologne out there? What a strange girl.

Then she went over to the bed by the window, the third bed in the room—Momiji's. She laid spread-eagle upon it, staring up at the ceiling. Then she turned onto her side, away from the wall the bed was up against, leaving room for a whole other person on it. Curling her arms under her head, she stayed still, inhaling sharply. Kaede was silent. Then she frowned. "..Don't recognize," she breathed, closing her eyes and appearing to concentrate. Completely baffled by this point, Shigeru, Jinka, and Momiji exchanged glances, curious and weirded out simultaneously. Kaede looked over at the lot of them. "Whose bed is this?" She asked, tone bland.

Shigeru and Jinka jerked their thumbs at Momiji, who rolled his eyes. Traitors. He shrugged, a lighthearted smile on his face, expression childlike.

Kaede, for the second time that night, was staring at him. But this time, there was approval in her eyes. "Individuality," she began, voice appreciative, "is the number one thing society today is lacking. Material things shape us, who we hang out with defines us, and being different is a bad thing. There is no way to win in this world. We are not ugly. Society is ugly."

Jinka was the only one who understood the reference. "Marilyn Monroe," he said, smiling.

Without smiling back, she nodded, eyes intensifying as her gaze moved to him. Though they didn't realize it, all three boys leaned toward her, giddy with anticipation for her next words. "'Tis true." Then she looked back at Momiji, something strange in her eyes. What was it? It looks, Momiji mused, surprised, a bit like hope. He would know. His own eyes had been lacking it lately. "You don't use cologne, yes?" He nodded. Kaede watching him, as if trying to read his soul, before dipping her head in acknowledgment. "You smell nice. And thank you for being different." This stated, she wiggled up and rested her cheek on his neon yellow pillow, still staying as far from the wall as she could.

Momiji was stunned, breathless with amazement. Here he'd been, trying to be the same person he'd always been for Tohru, following Jinka and Shigeru around like they were his only chance at survival, and trying to push himself as far away from the Sohma family as he could in an effort to be normal, to blend in, to be like everyone else. Although he treasured his ties to his family, particularly the ones whom had suffered from the Curse, he knew that it marked him as different, a freak. Yet here was some girl who hardly knew him, praising him for his originality. Thanking him, even! He didn't know how to deal with this. He was torn between elation and revulsion. Elation because of her unconditional acceptance, and revulsion because it was somebody like her (somebody who chose not to care and somebody who was his polar opposite) who was giving it. But happiness won over, and he found he was unable to repress his massive grin.

"Also," she piped up after a moment, eyes having closed as he was thinking to himself, "I am sleeping in this bed for the night."

Momiji's eyes widened—there was NO way the administration would allow a girl to sleep in there for the night! The other two voiced their opinions, indignant for Momiji's sake. "W-what? What about your room?" asked Jinka, outraged.

"And what about Momiji? Where is he s'posed to sleep?" grumbled Shigeru, crossing his arms.

Not even bothering to open her eyes, she waved a hand expressively. "Eh. Did I say he wasn't allowed to sleep here too?" Then, answering her own question, she raised her voice to say, "No I did not. There's room. Y'see?" Kaede twitched her body in a miniature spasm toward the space on the bed closest to the wall. "And, although I didn't notice at first, I forgot to bring a room key, and Serena goes to bed early every night. Plus she is nasty to wake up. So, for the sake of me living another day, I vote that I say here. Savvy?"

By this point, Momiji's cheeks were a little red. Sharing a bed? With a girl? For whatever reason, Momiji had never assumed this day would come, and now that it had, he had no idea what to do. Should he tell her to leave? Should he get ready for bed? After a moment of indecisiveness, he chose the latter, turning toward the bathroom to get into more comfortable clothes to sleep in. He heard rumblings from the other three, arguing for his sake. But he didn't really mind that much. Momiji just wanted to sleep—it didn't matter too much if it was with somebody as unappealing as Kaede. Then, however, he chastised himself mentally. He was being far too hard on her! Sure, she acted a little odd, but really, were any of them any different? She was special in her own way, too! So, feeling a lot better about these sleeping arrangements, he tugged on boxers and a shirt (usually he slept shirtless, but with Kaede here, he was feeling low on confidence) and walked out of the room.

His roommates had passed out in their beds, not even turning the lights off. They must've fought until their bodies gave out, Momiji realized, watching them fondly. With a small laugh, he flicked the light switch and wandered around piles of dirty clothes and miscellaneous objects Jinka and Shigeru definitely didn't need, somehow finding his bed without stubbing his toe. However, it slipped his thoughts to be mindful of Kaede's location, for he bumped her upper thigh on his way to the front of his bed. Although she couldn't see him in the dark, he blushed. "S-sorry, Kaede!"

She was silent. Was she asleep? His blush receded, just beginning to relax, when she spoke up. "'S fine. Did you know that those are the first words you've spoken to me so far?"

Already his cheeks were flaming again. "What?" Momiji whispered, shimmying under the quilt and sheets. "What do you mean?"

""S-sorry, Kaede!"" She imitated him, much to his chagrin. He imagined her smiling. It was a lot better of a picture than the sneer that probably lined her delicate features. "Pitiful impression, really. Though, what do first words matter, anyway? First impressions don't really mean anything. Last words and final impressions hold all the power, I think."

As Momiji considered this, and what she meant by it, Kaede flipped over to face him, shifting forward. His breath caught in his throat, eyes wide as her body was suddenly pressed up against his, her skin cool while his was hot, her breath moist on his neck and smelling faintly of cinnamon. For a moment, he thought she planned on kissing him, and he'd be lying if he said his heart didn't jump for joy at the idea. He'd never been kissed before, not on the lips. Nor had he contemplated it since Tohru had fell for Kyo. But Kaede didn't, and although Momiji had originally relished at the thought of it, he was relieved. He wasn't ready. And he didn't want his first kiss to be this type of girl. "What are you doing?" he asked, voice soft.

"I'm cold. You're warm. Like all humans in this sort of situation, I am drawn to body heat," she stage-whispered in reply.

His body shook with laughter, smiling broadly now, eyes arching. "Makes sense," he sniggered, still keeping his voice low.

He heard the smile in her voice when she replied. This time, he wasn't just imagining it. "Doesn't it? I'm glad you think so, Momiji Sohma." Then, her voice quieter this time, she drowsily added, "I think I'm gonna like you, Momiji."

Blinking, he stared at where her dark form was, astonished. He hadn't expected her to say something like that to him. That was a large shock. "Oh yeah?" Momiji asked, still being happy-go-lucky about this entire development. But she didn't answer, and he realized she'd fallen asleep. Momiji smiled at her for a moment, a silly expression on his face. Then he laid his head down on the pillow as well, still facing her, still smiling. Kaede, though she was a piece of work, was still an interesting person after all. And he was determined to find out what, exactly, Kaede Kusaki cared about.

When the boys woke up the next morning to the sound of their alarm going off, Kaede had already left, not even leaving a note. Momiji could still smell her scent of lemongrass and ginger on his bedside, and couldn't help but breathe it in, recalling how warm he'd been beside her...and deciding he'd probably never get as fitful a night sleep again as he did that night.