This is chapter 1 from my POV. Read it, read it good.
- Cheez
Chapter 1 - Sabrina
"Aargh" I growled in frustration, slamming the phone back into the cradle. Why couldn't the damn man just answer his phone or buy an answering machine? It would certainly spare me a lot of work. After a brief moment of thought, I realized I was going to have to go down there in person. Before I go on, this entire situation could use some explanation I suppose.
My name's Sabrina Miyagi, I'm twenty-five years old, the oldest of three. I live together with my youngest sister, Kimber. She's fifteen, ten years younger than I am, but we're still fairly close. We do have a sister in the middle, but we don't really talk. She went of to university and we rarely hear from her. It relieved me somewhat, every time she was around I got the vague feeling she didn't like me.
I work at home; being a book editor really doesn't require much of an office space. My newest client was a certain Shigure Souhma, which wouldn't be a problem, if I could contact him.
If I was to go to their house, I was going to have to wait for Kimber to get home. Which would be in- I chanced a glance at the clock – about ten minutes. Basically meaning I had some time to kill. I bit my lip. What to do, what to do?
I sighed, might as well go out to the garden.
I pulled on my shoes, which were red flats, and strode out into the garden. A smile twitched across my lips as the scent of blooming flowers surrounded me. Flowers and shrubs of various sorts surrounded the cobblestone path, leading to the front gate.
I suppose you could say our parents were…well off. I took a quick stroll around the garden, trying to calm myself down. I was still somewhat irked by the phone issue earlier.
Maybe if I tried calling again someone would answer. Thus I trudged back into the house, picked up the phone, and yet again dialed the Sohma's number.
One ring; I was counting, waiting for the forth ring. I normally would hang up after the forth ring, unless it was urgent.
Two rings; I hummed lightly under my breath.
Three rings.
Four rings; There we go.
I hesitantly began to pull the phone away from my ear. Looks like I was showing up uninvited.
"Hello. Souhma residence."
Or not.
The boy who had answered voice was light and calm, and vaguely blank. He also sounded young.
"Hello" I responded brightly, "Is Shigure there?"
"No" The boy informed me solemnly, "He's….busy. May I take message?"
"Just tell him his editor his going to be stopping by later on today for his manuscript" I said. That seemed simple enough.
"Alright, I'll do that."
"Bye" I chirped, placing the phone back into the cradle.
I shot a glance at the clock. Kimber was probably home by now, just sitting out in the garden.
I smiled. Might as well try and scare her.
I snuck out of the front door, gently closing it.
After a careful scan of the garden, I spotted Kimber sitting silently on a white bench with vines growing gracefully up it.
I slowly began to tiptoe across the cobblestone path. My foot hit a crack between two stones and I stumbled.
I saw Kimber tense suddenly and place a notebook beside her. She'd heard me.
So, I approached her with more caution, crouching down and walking on the balls of my feet.
Then, with no warning, I took off, tackling Kimber to the ground. I jumped up, quick as a bullet, so I couldn't crush her. I grinned down at her brightly.
She gasped for breath, breaking into a violent coughing fit.
My smile faded. "Are you okay Kimber?" I asked seriously, concern etching over my features.
"I'm fine, don't worry" Kimber said calmingly. She coughed one final time as she got up, brushing the dirt off of her skirt.
I furrowed my brow. Not worry? That wasn't going to work. After a careful moment of inspection, I dubbed her actually fine.
"We've got to go to one of my client's houses" I deadpanned.
"Who's the client?" Kimber inquired.
"Shigure Souhma" I responded, mentally scowling. I was still a little angry about the whole not answering the phone thing.
"And why must I come with you?"
I waved my finger in the air, "One; you'll probably burn down the house like you did to the kitch-" I was cut off abruptly.
"That was one time and-"
This time I cut her off. Kimber had, in fact, burned down our kitchen. I think the story was she tried to light a scented candle, and somehow the whole kitchen ended up in flames. We were just lucky that the firemen showed up before the rest of the house burned down. Sadly, we still couldn't find someone willing to repair a totally demolished kitchen.
"Second," I continued, "There are two boys and one girl your age there, so I figured you'd have fun. Besides, I figured it was about time you made some friends" I muttered the last part almost inaudibly. Kimber had always been an anti-social kid. One of my silent missions in life was to actually make her socialize.
"What'd you say?" Kimber asked suddenly, her eyes narrowed somewhat.
"Nothing!" I lied in a sing-songy tone.
Kimber heaved a sigh, stroking her chin like a man with a goatee would. "I suppose I could come."
"Good!" I smiled brightly, "'Cause I wasn't even going to give you a choice."
Kimber scowled crankily at me, and I grinned even brighter. I was sorely tempted to give her a hug, just to aggravate her further. She hated most forms of physical contact.
With that we began our valiant march to the Souhma house.
It was a long, arduous trek, but eventually we found ourselves standing in front of the house.
I raised my fist to knock on the door, hesitating as I heard voices from inside.
"It's all right" A male voice advised, "It's just two girls, they won't find out. Calm down."
There was a moment of silence and a confused frown twitched on my lips.
"Why isn't anyone calming down?!" The voice said, sounding panicked.
I shook my head, forcing any concerns to the back of my mind. I rapped my fit on the door with as much composure as we could muster.
After a few brief seconds the door was opened. A brunette man stood there, eyeing us curiously, wearing a kimono. I raised an eyebrow. Who wears a kimono around the house these days? I figured it must be Shigure, because I didn't think any fifteen-year old would be writing a novel.
"Hello Shigure" I greeted, a calm smile on my face.
"Ummm-hi…may I ask, who exactly, who are?"
I chuckled lightly. Right; I had completely forgotten to introduce myself.
"Sabrina Miyagi" I gestured loosely towards Kimber, "And this is my little sister, Kimber."
I saw a boy behind Shigure. He looked around Kimber's age, with light gray hair and a collected smile on his face.
Kimber gasped softly as she saw him. I frowned. Did she know him? Kimber waved shyly towards whoever-he-was, and she received a warm smile from him. A faint blush spread over the bridge of her nose.
"Come in" Shigure invited, ushering us in eagerly. We walked in, facing a table. There was another boy sitting there with short orange hair with dark eyes and a fairly menacing expression.
As Shigure plopped down, a young brunette girl with her hair in braids came walking in, holding a tray of rice balls.
Shigure made a smooth gesture for us to sit down. Kimber and I did so slowly.
"This is Yuki" Shigure introduced. The gray-haired boy, apparently Yuki, bowed gracefully
"Pleasure to meet you" He said smoothly, flashing a disarming smile.
I smiled back before glancing towards my sister. She had almost star-struck look in her eyes. I rolled my eyes. I shouldn't have let her read so many shoujo manga's.
"Kyo, Yuki's cousin" Shigure waved his hand towards the orange-haired boy. He looked away with a huff, obviously upset at being included in this whole thing.
"I'm going upstairs" Kyo informed us crankily, standing up and stomping up the stairs like an angry child. He had quite the temper.
"Kyo can be a little grumpy, you get used to it" Shigure explained quickly.
Kimber nodded warily while I sat still.
"And this" Shigure exclaimed, like it was the final trick of a magic act, "Is our lovely housekeeper, Tohru Honda!"
I blinked. They had a housekeeper?
Yuki reached across the table and smacked Shigure on the head.
I winced. Ouch.
Shigure rubbed his head ruefully as Yuki explained, "She's not really our housekeeper; she just has nowhere else to go and stays here doing housework."
Technically, if she did housework, she could be called a housekeeper. I wasn't going to mention that though.
"Your uniform, are you from our school?" Tohru inquired politely, smiling.
So she was classmate of Kimber's then.
"I go to Yuki's school, yes" Kimber informed her sounding somewhat embarrassed. So she did know Yuki!
"I've never seen you there before" Tohru mumbled, perplexed.
"Hm." Was Kimber's reply.
I rolled my eyes. Did she have a problem admitting she was sick a lot? She didn't have to say how sick, but 'hm' wasn't even an adequate response.
"Well, Tohru, you don't have to work anymore, you talk to Kimber, I'll speak with Sabrina in my office," Shigure flashed a smile.
I took this as a sign to stand up, and did so. Shigure stood up too and I followed him to his office.
It was a fairly small office, with a bookshelf against one wall and a small table with a laptop in the center. Oh well, its not like writing took crazy amounts of room.
Shigure picked up a large stack of attached papers from the table. "This is it" He boasted, sounding cheerful.
I walked over to retrieve the manuscript, but, on the way, my foot caught of the end of the table. I went sprawling forward into Shigure. There was a sudden puff of smoke and the paper hit the ground lightly.
I blinked as the smoke dissipated. Where'd Shigure go? My glance shifted downward, and at my feet I saw a gray dog sitting on Shigure's kimono, staring at me in a mixture of irritation and surprise. I kneeled down, patting the dog on the head gently.
"This is certainly….different" I said, unsure of what just happened.
After a brief moment of contemplation, I decided that Shigure was either some kind of magician or had himself turned into a dog.
A part of me prayed it was the second, because if it wasn't Shigure was somewhere else, not wearing clothes.
I stared at him blankly. "Does this happen often?" I asked, having officially decided it was the second one.
The dog bobbed his head up in down.
"You are Shigure, right?"
Another nod.
"Thank God" I sighed. Shigure tilted his doggy head to the side in confusion.
"Well, if I was just talking to a dog I would officially be crazy" I explained. Then I paused, "Unless I am and I'm just seeing things."
That would make sense of the whole thing.
"Trust me, you're not."
I flinched. So he could talk too.
"As weird as this is to say, you make a cute dog" I commented, scratching him behind the ears.
"You're talking about this oddly calmly" Shigure commented.
"It hasn't fully sunk in yet" I replied. In truth, I had already decided that I just wasn't going to think about it. I was just going to accept the fact Shigure Sohma turned into a dog, and leave it at that. No questions asked.
I noticed the manuscript lying on the ground and picked it up calmly. I skimmed through the pages casually, standing up in the process. It looked like everything was in order.
I turned my gaze back to Shigure. "You going to turn back anytime soon?"
"It kind of happens" – There was a sudden puff of smoke- "At random" Shigure finished, once the smoke had cleared.
I frowned having it suddenly noticed that he wasn't wearing a shirt. My gaze trailed downward. Or pants either, apparently.
"Alright, before anything, clothes…on!" I commanded looking pointedly at the ceiling.
I heard the door open in a panic. I shifted my gaze towards the door.
It was Kimber, whose face had turned a tomato shade of red and had a kind of deer-in-the-headlights expression.
"Why is Kyo a cat and why is he now nake-" Kimber trailed off as she took in Shigure. Her eye's widened momentarily before she clamped her palm over them.
"I…can explain…" Shigure assured us.
It took a while to restore enough order so we could sit around the table and listening to Shigure's explanation.
I listened patiently along with Kimber as he explained the whole 'family curse' thing.
There was silence as we allowed it sink in. It was, by far, the most far-fetched story I'd heard in a long time, but I had seen Shigure turn into a dog, and apparently Kyo had turned into cat.
Kimber had been blushing furiously for the better part of a half-hour now, and it didn't seem like it was going to fade anytime soon.
"Who wants to go out for supper?" Shigure asked, clapping his hands together cheerfully.
I stared at him dully. Was he kidding? He was just going to act like nothing had happened. Actually, I liked that idea. I liked it a lot.
"C'mon, let's go out" Shigure ushered.
Everyone stood up, albeit reluctantly, and proceeded out of the house.
The restaurant we had chosen to go was a fish-stick place. It was a rather strange place in my opinion. I was at a loss to why so many families would stop by a place called 'Palace O' Fish'; just to eat fish-sticks.
We found ourselves a table and almost immediately a bright-eyed waitress appeared. She pulled a pen out from behind her ear, smiling brightly all the while.
"What would you like?" She inquired happily.
I frowned thoughtfully. Just by looking at her I could tell that if you took the time annoy her, she would snap easily. I wondered how easily…..
"What do you guys want?" Shigure asked brightly.
Kyo and Yuki narrowed there eyes in irritation. Apparently Shigure was either oblivious, or ignoring the fact that all they would probably serve was fishsticks.
"Fishsticks" They deadpanned in unison.
"Oh! Good choice!" Shigure said with a warm smile.
"I'll have fishsticks as well" Tohru agreed.
"I'd like fishsticks" Kimber muttered meekly.
I quirked an eyebrow. Since when did Kimber like fishsticks?
"Do you have anything…other than fishsticks?" I asked, not all too fond of fishsticks myself.
"We have water?" The waitress offered with a smile and a shrug.
"I'll have that" I decided. I could always go pig out later back at home.
"No food?" The waitress asked, giving me a curious look.
"Unless you have anything other than fishsticks…" I let my voice trail off.
I saw a flash of irritation in her eyes. I smirked slightly; it was barely noticeable compared to my normal expression.
"Ma'am," –I decided then and there that I didn't like being called 'Ma'am'. Made me sound too old– the restaurant is called 'Palace'o'Fish' and it has a sign with a big fishstick beside it. All we have is fish!" -And water, apparently– "All we'll ever serve is fish!"
'And water' I added mentally.
"Let me get this straight..so….you don't have anything other than fishsticks?" I clarified a trace of amusement in my voice. All this time, and the girl hadn't stopped smiling. It was becoming more and more forced, but it still remained.
"We, only, serve fishsticks" She hissed, taking deep, calming breaths between each word. I noted that the calming breaths really had no effect, for she was now twitching.
I had a hard time keeping myself was either bursting out laughing, or just giving the waitress a vaguely patronizing smirk.
"So, that'll be one water and" Her eyes scanned everyone over, mentally counting them, "Five orders of fishsticks?"
I smirked deviously.
You sure all you have is water? I mean I'm kind of in the mood for iced tea,"
"All…we…have……is fish…and water. Fish and water! That's it! Nothing else!" She yelled.
I allowed an amused grin to show on my face. This was getting to be a very amusing day.
"Fish….and water? So the iced tea's a no then?" I clarified again, only sounding much more careful.
"Of course, it's a fucking no!"
"There's no call for such language in the company of children" Shigure scolded, reaching across the table to cover Kimber's ears.
Judging by the dull, somewhat annoyed look on Kimber's face she could still hear clearly.
"She's fifteen Shigure" I deadpanned.
Shigure lifted his hands away from Kimber's head slowly.
"Really? She looks much younger than that" He said, examining her face closer.
I nodded earnestly. "Yeah people say that." With Kimber's face being slightly rounder than your average fifteen year old and her shorter stature she was easily mistaken for someone younger.
"Mmmhmmmm. I would believe. She has a young-looking face."
"She gets it from our mother."
"I see."
"Could you please stop talking about Kimber as if she's not there?" Yuki said suddenly, causing me to flinch, "If you have something to say then ask her yourself, I believe she's bothered by your pointless banter."
I noticed Kimber blushing and had to repress the urge to tease her.
"Okay, so five orders of fishsticks and one water?" The waitress snapped, sounding angry.
"Yes, indeed, that is what we want."
"Aaalrighty!"
"Oh and dear, because I'm nice, I won't tell the manager about your little language problem" I whispered with a semi-evil smile.
"Uh-yeah, uh-huh" She stammered nervously, scurrying off somewhere.
The moment she was out of hearing distance Shigure burst into a fit of laughter.
"Tha-that waitress! Ah! Hahaha! You're a funny funny kid Sabrina" Shigure patted my head happily.
He sat back into his chair, still chuckling happily.
"It's not like she was particularly hard to annoy" I said dismissively. All in a days work.
Shigure continued to chuckle.
I raised an eyebrow. Was it really that funny?
Shigure continued to chortle for another minute or so, completely ignoring the annoyed look he was getting from both Yuki and Kyo.
I glanced down at my sister, noting dryly that she had a blank expression on her face as she stared at Yuki.
"It's nice of you to babysit your sister" Shigure commented.
Kimber scowled at the mention of being babysat.
"I'm not babysitting" I informed him, a vaguely confused look on my face.
"Then you just brought her along? That's nice of you" Shigure had an expression that made it look like he admired my nice-ness.
"Nah, I just couldn't leave her home alone." My thoughts wandered instantly back to the blackened kitchen.
"Alone?" Shigure tilted his head to the side, "What about your parents."
"Dead" Kimber interjected blankly.
"Oh!" Shigure exclaimed apologetically.
"Before you apologize!" I broke in hurriedly, "It's fine, you didn't know!"
I sighed in relief, as Shigure seemed to calm down. I hated it when people would apologize repeatedly after they asked a question like that. Maybe it was because it happened so often.
"How long?" Shigure asked in a gentle tone.
I blinked. He could switch moods faster then a PMS-ing, hormonal, pregnant woman.
"Uhm, about four years" Kimber guessed, eye's scrunching as she thought about it.
"How are you getting by?"
Oi, I sighed mentally, so many questions.
"Fine considering Kimber" I shot my younger sister a dirty glare, "Burnt down most of the-" I was cut off suddenly by Shigure.
"Stay with us!" He invited brightly.
"WHAT?!" Chorused around the table, everyone eyeing Shigure curiously.
Shigure remained oblivious and smiled like it was a genius idea.
"We're fine!" I protested.
"Oh, no need to lie" Shigure assured me needlessly.
"But I'm not!" I exclaimed.
"Don't lie. Besides, I think it nice that all you two have left is your sisterly bond!"
Kimber and I exchanged wary glances.
Sisterly bond?
"Nice going sis'" Kimber whispered dryly, "Your new client's a loony."
I stuck my tongue out at her before turning back to Shigure.
"But we have a house!" I protested, throwing my hands into the air,
"Yes, with us" Shigure elaborated for me.
I groaned loudly.
Screw it, I just wasn't going to argue with him anymore, it was giving me a headache.
"Just play along for tonight" I muttered to Kimber, flopping my head down on the table in exasperation.
Even though with my head on the table I couldn't see what was going on, I could things fine.
I could hear Kyo cursing under his breath. "More girls, great just what we need. Damn that Shigure bastard. He's such a damn idiot." On and on it went.
Tohru was chuckling nervously to herself, asking an occasional random question to Kimber.
Kimber, for some odd reason, was ignoring her.
Through my one open eye, I noticed her face turning bright red, and I knew she was trying to hold it back.
"Uhm, I-" I short cough erupted from the back of her throat. "Bathroom please…" Tohru quickly moved out of the way so Kimber could run off.
Meanwhile, Yuki and Shigure were talking in hushed tones.
"Shigure, what are you thinking?"
"I'm thinking that this food is taking a while."
"No, but inviting more people to live with us?"
"Oh come now, they clearly need a place to stay."
I tensed slightly. This was kind of pissing me off.
"But you know how Akito feels about letting people in on the secret."
"I'll talk to him about it."
I frowned into the table. Who the hell was this 'Akito' person?
"Oh, food's here!" Shigure exclaimed brightly. I heard his hands clap together cheerfully.
I raised my head my head off the table to make way for the food.
The waitress that was delivering our food was a different one than the one that had gotten mad earlier.
"What happened to the other girl?" Shigure asked politely.
"She claimed she had enough and took off early, leaving me with all her work" The waitress explained with an annoyed sigh.
She placed our food and my water on the table before scurrying off. Out of the corner of my eye I saw Kimber slide back into place, looking much better than before.
"You sure you don't want anything?" Shigure asked, snatching a fishstick eagerly.
"I'm not fond of fishsticks" I explained taking a slow sip of my water.
Kimber reached out slowly and grabbed a fishstick, biting into it with a uncomfortable face.
"Vegetarian?" Shigure inquired.
I raised an eyebrow. Why would he get that idea?
"No" I said, pursing my lips in disgust, "I just don't like fishsticks."
Shigure's mouth made an 'o'.
I sipped my water casually. This was going to be an awkward meal.
"You are aware I'm not really living in poverty" I pointed out for the seventeenth time. I was sitting at Shigure's desk, reading over the manuscript slowly. Shigure laid spread out on the floor lazily.
"You are aware that it doesn't matter to me if my editor is poor or not" Shigure replied, also for the seventeenth time.
"But I'm not lyin-" Shigure cut me off.
"Nonsense! Look at what you're wearing!" Shigure insisted, lifting his arm off the floor to gesture loosely towards my outfit.
I glanced down slowly. I didn't see what was wrong with an old T-shirt with Mario on it and a pair of jeans; it was comfortable.
"I like what I'm wearing, thank you very much."
"No no no, don't get me wrong! The thrift store is a noble place to shop!!
Shigure assured me hurriedly.
"But it's-!" I started to protest, but cut myself off with a sigh. I could clearly see he wasn't going to listen. I shook my head and turned my attention back to the manuscript.
Shigure stood up suddenly. "I'll go set up and extra bed in Tohru's room till we can decide on a better sleeping arrangement."
I opened my mouth to protest again, but realized that it was futile task.
A few minutes after Shigure had left, Kimber stuck her head in. "How's it going?" She asked.
I tilted my head to the side slightly, inviting her in. "Shigure is a stubborn asshole" I complained.
"Really?" Kimber cocked her head to the side while smiling sarcastically.
I stuck my tongue out childishly.
"We're only staying for one night?" Kimber inquired the look in her eye suggesting she wanted to stay longer.
It was because of that Yuki kid, wasn't it?
"Only one night" I said sternly, "I don't like the idea of freeloading."
Kimber nodded, a sigh escaping her lips.
"Besides, I do have other clients, and it's to much work to tell them I have a different number."
"Don't they only call to make lame excuses about escaping deadlines?" Kimber asked calmly.
I shrugged. I enjoyed listening to them, namely because some were very, very lame.
"Speaking of which!" I exclaimed, "I heard a new one that made the lamest excuse ever chart!"
"Really now?" Kimber seemed only mildly interested.
"Yeah…they said they had to catch their fridge" I informed, rolling my eyes, but smiling slightly.
Kimber cracked a slight smile.
"Sorry Kimber, you're welcome to stay, but I want to go through this a bit more before I go to bed" I informed him solemnly.
Kimber nodded understandingly before leaving.
That was the good thing about Kimber; she would leave me alone if I had to work. Although she normally amused herself by reading manga's. It's not liked I disapproved or anything, I had my own manga collection. It was just about time Kimber made some friends.
I had only started reading Shigure's manuscript when I heard a loud thud. I looked up at the ceiling. It sounded like it had come from upstairs. What the hell was going on up there?
"I'm okay! Nothing's broken!" Shigure called out loudly.
"No one's worried about you!!" I heard Kyo's angry voice snap.
"I am" Shigure shot back swiftly.
I rolled my eyes. This was one screwed up house.
The two bickered for a while, and I noticed that most of Shigure's comments were pointless. Then again, so were Kyo's, they just sounded more menacing than Shigure's.
Yuki was the one to cut them off. "I hate to interrupt" Yuki's calm rational voice rang clearly through the house, "But we do have a task to finish."
"Right right" Shigure's voice sounded just as clear in the office.
"Blame Shigure, that bastard" Kyo's voice was exceptionally easy to identify. Namely because he was always yelling.
"It's your fault too" Yuki deadpanned.
I frowned, feeling a strong longing for my office back at home. It was quiet there for the most part. Unless Kimber was coughing or had accidentally broken something.
"YOU DAMN RAT!!" Kyo shouted.
'Rat'? Is that the animal that Yuki turned into?
"Be quiet you stupid cat" Yuki complained irritably, his voice not raising in volume at all.
There was a loud holler and some violent scuffling noises. I raised an eyebrow at the roof above my head.
What the hell was going on up there??
I sighed and forced out the noises from upstairs.
A while later the noises subsided and footsteps slowly trudged down the stairs.
"Your room is ready, and you have a present" Shigure sang, popping his head into the room.
"A present?" I echoed, sounding wary.
"Come and see!" Shigure urged.
I sighed, standing up. Somehow, I didn't like the idea of the present.
The room I was led to had two beds and was fairly plain.
Kimber stood next too one of the two beds, blue book in hand.
I walked over, glancing over her shoulder at the gold lettering on the book.
I stared at the cover dully, thoroughly unimpressed with the book choice.
"Waterskiing: The Basics"
RAWR!
Do not fret or complain! I will (most likely) be updating LoD (Lances of Doom) soonish (soonish meaning today sometime) so LoD followers beware! More Madness coming your way!
Oh yes, chapter 1 from Kimber's POV will be up in a few minutes so don't complain about that either. :P we'll be releasing them in pairs.
Song to listen to: Killing In The Name by Rage Against The Machine
- Picklez
