Chapter 2: Angel of the Ladder

The woman set Haruka down as Haruka stared at the young woman in a mixture of shock and awe.

She had rather unkempt dark, brown hair that was tied up in a messy ponytail. Her bangs parted in the middle, baring her forehead. Sitting comfortably on her face were a pair of oval-shaped glasses that were placed in front of wide brown eyes. She wore a simple, yellow buttoned-up shirt with the sleeves rolled up and light gray jeans that were slightly worn on the bottom. She was a little taller than the average woman and stood several inches above Haruka.

Realizing she was staring, Haruka blushed in embarrassment and quickly bowed. "T-thank you for saving me!"

The woman smiled and waved her hand in front of her. "It was no big deal really."

Haruka glanced to the side and was horrified to see that the person who had nearly been blown into her now lay crumpled in a pile of rubble on the front porch of the house. Broken, wooden floorboards were strewn all over the place and the person was hunched over amongst the wreckage, unmoving. He looked as if he were...

"Is...is he…?" Haruka stammered, trembling in horror.

"Haruka!" Natsume cried as he rushed out of the house. "Are you alri-"

He visibly froze when he spotted the person lying in a pile of rubble. His eyes widened in alarm and he quickly glanced over at Haruka. However, an expression of confusion and surprise came over his face when he noticed the other woman.

"Hanji?"

"Yo!" Hanji said as she gave a wave with a flick of her wrist.

Haruka glanced from Natsume to Hanji and then back at the unmoving figure in front of them. Why were they acting so calm when someone possibly was dead in front of them? She desperately wanted to say something, but her voice was caught in her throat. Her heart hammered wildly in her chest and she broke out into cold sweat.

She suddenly felt someone put a hand on her shoulder, causing her to flinch. Haruka glanced over to see Hanji who gave her a reassuring smile. She watched as Hanji calmly walked over to the unmoving person and stood beside them.

"Hey, you should try to be a little more careful when other people are walking around. Especially since you almost knocked out an outsider." Hanji said with a soft smile.

Hanji turned in the direction of where the other combatant flew off and cupped a hand on the side of her mouth. "Same goes to you! Be more aware of your surroundings!"

Haruka nearly jumped when the person let out an annoyed groan. Before she knew it, the person who was seemingly knocked out moments ago sat up and rubbed their head, cursing under their breath.

Now that she was close enough to see, Haruka saw that the person was a young man that seemed to be around the same age as her. He had short, messy pink hair with thick-framed glasses over reddish brown eyes. Haruka also noticed a couple piercings on his left ear and that he was the one wearing the jacket with a hooded pullover underneath.

He pulled himself up from the pile of rubble he was in and craned his neck to the side, cracking it. He flicked his eyes over to Haruka before quickly looking away with a deep frown. Haruka suddenly realized that while he looked rather banged up and his clothes were torn in several places, he wasn't bleeding or didn't seem to be suffering from any broken bones.

Haruka's thoughts paused. How was that even possible? He had went flying at an incredible speed and crashed into a building. How was it possible he didn't have any severe injuries? How was he able to just stand up and walk around as if nothing had happened?

"How…?" Haruka said under her breath, catching Natsume and Hanji's attention. "How is he not severely injured...?"

Natsume opened his mouth to say something but immediately closed it. He glanced over at Hanji, silently asking for help. Hanji let out a sigh and rubbed the back of her head.

"Well this is problem. Why don't you two come to my place to have some tea?"

Hanji poured a couple cups of tea and placed them in front of Natsume and Haruka. They were currently sitting at a low, sit-down table in Hanji's living room. Though Haruka wouldn't exactly call it a "living room," considering the state it was in. Papers were strewn all over the floor and piles of random objects stacked on top of each other lining the walls.

"Aha, sorry about the mess. But I never find any time to clean." Hanji said with a laugh as she sat down on the other side of the table.

"Or lazy." Natsume grumbled as he took a sip of tea.

However, he immediately winced and quickly pulled back the cup from his lips while muttering "bitter" under his breath.

"Sorry about earlier. Those two have always been the most rambunctious out of everyone here." Hanji said in a well-humored tone.

"Speaking of those two, where are they?" Natsume asked, crossing his arms.

"I told them to help fix up what they broke since their ranks won't help pay for the damages," Hanji said. "Besides, I'm sure they can benefit from doing some manual labor."

"I can't argue with that," Natsume muttered.

"Ah, I don't think we've had proper introductions yet," Hanji said as she extended a hand towards Haruka. "I'm Hanji Zoe. Pleased to make your acquaintance."

"I'm Haruka Nanami. It's nice to meet you." Haruka replied as she took Hanji's hand and shook it gently.

"And I'm already aware of who you are, Natsume." Hanji said as she looked over at Natsume.

Natsume narrowed his eyes, trying to fight against the impulse to roll his eyes. "Likewise."

Hanji chuckled before she turned her gaze back over to Haruka. "Now that the introductions are out of the way, I'm sure you have a bunch of questions about what you just witnessed."

Haruka hesitantly nodded. So many questions were whirling around in her head that she had no idea where to start. Thankfully, Haruka didn't have long to brood over things before Hanji started speaking.

"Are you familiar with the Chinese Zodiac?"

Haruka blinked. "The yearly cycle represented by the twelve animals?"

"Hanji!" Natsume said, raising his voice. "Why are you telling her this?"

"It's fine. She's already seen it anyways," Hanji said while waving a hand dismissively in front of her.

Natsume gritted his teeth but made no further comment. Haruka glanced anxiously between the two, unsure of what to make of the situation. Hanji cleared her throat, catching back Haruka's attention. When Haruka looked back at Hanji, she was surprised by how serious her expression was.

"What would you think if I told you that we hold the spirits of the twelve animals of the Chinese Zodiac within us?"

All thoughts Haruka were immediately put on hold. Did she say that animal spirits were inside them?

"What...do you mean by that?" Haruka asked slowly.

Hanji shrugged, a carefree smile making its way back onto her face. "Exactly what it sounds. Twelve families have been cursed to each bear a host of one of the twelve animals for unknown reasons. For the sake of keeping it a secret, all of us are forced to live in this small little world of ours whether we're aware of the reason or not."

That explained the amount of security this place had. It must have been done to keep a close watch over all the Zodiac hosts.

"This gated community also upholds a ranking system. Whoever bears a spirit of one of the Zodiac animals are blessed with special abilities. Because of this, those who are hosts are expected to use them in battle against each other for higher ranks, which affect the living conditions of their respective families. The higher the rank, the better off you are. Which is why the two earlier were fighting."

Haruka glanced down at her cup. That was a lot of information to take in. Not only did these people have animal spirits inside them, but they supposedly had supernatural powers and were forced to fight each other for ranks. What kind of place was this?!

"The battles however never put anyone in serious harm though, despite the use of some pretty dangerous weapons." Hanji added.

Haruka looked back up at her in surprise. "How is that possible?"

"Even I can't fully understand it," Hanji said, a thoughtful expression crossing her face. "I guess you can call it 'Divine Protection' in a way.

"Considering the battles are mostly done using the energy and power coming from the Zodiac spirits, it's almost as if the battles are fought on a spiritual battlefield. In which case it prevents any real physical harm done to the host's body. Even when they smash into buildings or crash into the ground, I believe the Zodiac spirits do something to buffer the damage. So while it doesn't hurt per se when they get hit, the force of the impact is still there and drains our body's energy.

"Despite the battles being on a different plane of existence, they still have to exert energy and once that energy is exhausted, the battle is over. So in a way, it's almost like-"

"Hanji," Natsume cut in and motioned towards Haruka with his head. "I think you lost her."

Haruka was staring hard at the table, seemingly trying to process everything that was said.

"Oh, ahaha! Looks like I started to ramble, oops!" Hanji laughed as Natsume let out an annoyed groan.

While Haruka was able to grasp the basics of the whole Zodiac concept, she was at a complete loss when Hanji started going into more depth about the reasonings behind it. While it sounded outrageous, she couldn't deny it considering she witnessed someone crashing into a house with almost no injuries first hand. Not to mention she did see someone with animal-like characteristics earlier too. Who exactly were these people?

"Haruka."

Haruka was pulled out of her thoughts and back into the present upon hearing her name. Hanji smiled at her and held a finger up to her lips as to emphasize her point.

"This is a pretty big secret of ours, so it'd be best to keep quiet about this."

"Could you not act so flippant about this topic?" Natsume said in mild annoyance.

"What? I'm being completely serious."

To have such an intense secret thrown at her so suddenly. It seemed like an awful lot of responsibility to be entrusted to her. Haruka wasn't sure what to make of the situation. After all, she was just trying to find a place to live and now all of this happened…

However, while she may not know what may happen next, if they were entrusting her with such an important secret, she will make sure to keep it. It was the least she could do after the inconvenience.

"Don't worry! I promise I won't tell anyone of this place's secret." Haruka said in the most serious expression she could muster.

Hanji smiled widely. "Good to hear."

Haruka relaxed a little. However, there were questions that still nagged at her. Why would a place like this exist? How did these people get here? Though, she was sure that she wouldn't be getting these answers any time soon. Especially since she wasn't even a part of the gated community.

"May I ask you something?" Haruka said as Hanji leaned back, awaiting her question. "If you live here, does that mean… you're part of the Zodiac?"

Hanji grinned. "Yup! One of the twelve Zodiac hosts in the flesh! Though I guess I'm not the first one you've met today."

Haruka probably could have guessed considering she was the one who swept her out of danger's way. She glanced over at Natsume, causing him to raise his eyebrows curiously and cock his head to the side. Haruka wondered what his ties to this place was. It was obvious he knew what kind of place this was prior to this visit considering his reactions. Could it be that he was actually a-

"No, I'm not part of the Zodiac." Natsume suddenly replied in an almost offended tone.

Was he suddenly a mind reader?!

"How did you..?!"

"Your expression said it all," Natsume said, his eyes flicking down at the table. "One of my older brothers lives here."

Haruka's eyes widened in shock. She should have pieced that together as soon as Hanji mentioned that members of the Zodiac lived in the fenced off section of the gated community. The more she thought about it, the more it made sense as to why there was always one Asahina brother missing at all the get togethers their families had. It should have also tipped her off that they literally went to his living quarters earlier as well. After everything that happened, she wasn't exactly thinking clearly.

"Anyways, now that we've addressed the elephant in the room, what were you guys doing here in the first place?" Hanji asked.

"I was just here to drop some things off. We weren't planning on staying long." Natsume replied.

"We were in the middle of trying to find a place for me to live before the new school year started. Sorry that I caused you problems by coming here." Haruka said with an apologetic bow.

"You're trying to find a place to live around here?" Hanji asked, her eyebrows raising in interest.

Haruka nodded. "I decided to go to high school in the area and was hoping to find an apartment close by but I haven't decided on one yet."

Truthfully, Haruka wasn't sure if she'd be able to settle on a place anytime soon. Would she ever be comfortable living in a place all on her own? The thought honestly scared her.

Hanji tapped her chin thoughtfully. "Hmm… Why not live here then?"

The room went silent as Haruka and Natsume stared at her incredulously.

"E-Excuse me?" Haruka stammered as Natsume's face paled.

"Why not live here in the Zodiac estate? I have a spare room and if I clean up the place a little, it'll be fine, right?" Hanji said with an excited smile.

"That's not the main problem…" Natsume said.

"Aw, it wouldn't be that bad. Besides, it's not like we have fights every single day."

"Even if safety wasn't an issue, this place would never allow someone who wasn't even part of the community to live here." Natsume argued.

"I'm sure I could pull a few strings to ensure her stay here." Hanji said, not deterred at all from Natsume's previous statement.

The more they argued, the more Haruka felt out of place. Maybe it would be best if she just left.

"Then how about this?" Hanji said, raising her index finger. "I can probably make it so you can stay for about a year, giving you more time to decide and look for another place afterwards. As for rent, the gated community pays for my living space, so you won't need to worry about it. You won't find a better deal than this."

Haruka blinked in surprise. Would this really be okay? Haruka thought. She didn't even know this person or the other people living in the area and she was being invited to stay with them. Not to mention that random fights would break out between the members of the Zodiac from time to time.

On the other hand, this way she wouldn't be living alone. It would also be a great opportunity to meet new people, no matter how eccentric her new neighbors might be.

"I don't like the idea of her living here," Natsume said, his expression firm. "I think it would be best for us to keep looking at more apartments later-"

"Natsume." Hanji suddenly cut in.

Natsume paused and both he and Haruka were surprised by the stern look Hanji was giving him. While she didn't look angry, it was obvious she was tired of the constant back and forths in their arguments. Her eyes were brimming with a certain strength yet pleading that Haruka didn't quite understand.

"Let Haruka think and answer for herself." Hanji said, silencing Natsume's further complaints.

All eyes were now on Haruka, awaiting her answer. She could feel her anxiety rise being the center of attention. But whether she was comfortable or not, she had to give an answer.

She didn't want to inconvenience Hanji and the rest of the people living here, but the deal did seem very compelling. Especially since it would give her more time to make up her mind on where to live for the rest of her time attending high school. It would probably also be easier for her to ease into this new environment if there were others she could talk to were around.

She glanced over at Natsume. He looked apprehensive and had a look that seemed to plead for her to not agree to this. While she understood his concern, this may be a good opportunity in its own way.

"I…" Haruka said carefully before looking up at Hanji with a confident expression. "I'll take you up on your offer to live here. Thank you for having me."

"Great!" Hanji said excitedly as she reached over and took Haruka's hands into hers. "It's a pleasure to have you."

Natsume's shoulders drooped a little before he ran a hand through his hair.

"Aw, it'll be fine, Natsume. I promise I'll keep her out of harm's way." Hanji said, trying to be reassuring. But judging from Natsume's expression he wasn't convinced.

Haruka gave Natsume a sympathetic smile. She greatly appreciated his help today and was grateful to Natsume for taking the time to help search for a place. In a way, she felt as if she was disregarding his efforts by choosing to live here. But in the end, she had made her decision.

She reached over and tugged the fabric of his sleeve. Natsume glanced over at her with a weary expression.

"I'm sorry, Natsume-san. But I do really want to try living here. It'll only be for a year." Haruka said, trying to reassure him that she would be fine.

Natsume breathed deeply through his nostrils before giving Haruka a small smile. He reached up and ruffled her hair like he always does, causing her to squeak in surprise.

"If that's what you decided, I will respect it," Natsume said. "Just try to stay out of trouble."

Haruka smiled brightly up at him and bowed once again to Hanji. "Thank you so much for everything, Zoe-san."

"No need to be so formal. Just call me Hanji," Hanji said as she waved a hand in front of her. "I'll make the arrangements so just let me know when you plan to move in."

"Okay!" Haruka said excitedly.

While Haruka chatted happily with Natsume, Hanji turned her gaze up towards the ceiling. She narrowed her eyes and frowned. However, when Haruka turned back towards her, Hanji wore a happy-go-lucky smile as if her expression had not changed at all. As the three talked, a light footstep on the roof went unnoticed.

The sun had already set over the horizon and the last remnants of the winter turned the air cold. Haruka and Natsume bid Hanji farewell as they walked out the door and towards the parking lot. Hanji waved back with a large grin on her face.

When the two were out of sight, Hanji stretched her arms over her head. Several parts in her shoulders cracked due to how stiff she was before she lowered her arms back down and sighed. She closed the sliding door behind her and set off down a dirt road that lead deeper into the estate. As she walked, she could feel several people's stares boring down on her despite seeing no one being around. She chuckled, thinking to herself how unsubtle they were being.

Word always seems to travel fast here. Sometimes it felt impossible to keep a secret considering there were way too many eyes and ears all over the place.

The dirt road eventually became pavement as she came upon what seemed to be a nicely built mansion. Hanji didn't even pause as she allowed herself through the front door. She walked up a flight of stairs and down a long hallway that was lined with several expensive looking items such as vases and paintings. The floorboards underneath the soft carpet squeaked in a select few areas until Hanji stopped in front of a nicely furnished door. She knocked a couple times before letting herself in without waiting for someone to answer. The door creaked as she opened it, revealing a well-organized and tidy office.

There were several bookshelves lining the walls with a work desk set near the back with Japanese flower decor sitting on top. A large window overlooking the outside took up nearly the entire left side of the office. A young man with short, spiky hair sat in a comfortable chair next to the window with a one-legged side table next to him. There was a cup of freshly brewed tea sitting on the table, the hot air visibly rising from cup.

The young man was currently leaning against his knuckles that were propped up on the armrest as he gazed disinterestedly out the window.

"I heard there was an issue earlier."

Hanji let out a sigh but her smile remained as she closed the door behind her.

"Nothing gets past you, Mr. Sees All. But that's what I'm here to talk to you about."

The young man finally turned to face her with a look of interest in his heterochromatic eyes. "Oh? Tell me then."