Chapter 2

Tohru had come back downstairs, and now they were all waiting in silence for the girl to come back downstairs. That's right. Silence. Not a single word. Not a peverted comment from Shigure. Not a fight between Yuki or Kyo. Not a cheerful word from Tohru. It was dead silent. No one knew what to say at this point. So they all did what they knew how to do for sure. Sit there and be quiet. However, this silence was created by tension of not being sure what to do, so it was very awkward. Tohru knew it would be best to break the silence.

"So...how old do you think she is?" Tohru said, smiling. Really, she was curious.

"She looks about Momiji's height. And considering you don't usually see 15 year old teenagers with that height wandering around, I'd say she's probably younger than Momiji. Probably closer to Kisa's age," Kyo muttered.

"You can't really judge people on height, you stupid cat," Yuki muttered.

"You know, Yuki, Kyo does have a point. I haven't seen anyone other than Momiji be 15, much less older, and only 5"1," Shigure said.

"Jeez what's taking her so damn long anyway?" Kyo muttered, resting his chin on his hand.

"I don't know, you want to go find out?" Yuki muttered, narrowing his eyes at Kyo.

"WHAT!? NO. I'M NOT PEVERTED!" Kyo yelled, face getting red.

"That's what I thought. Just sit there and be patient, you stupid cat," Yuki muttered.

"Rrr..DON'T CALL ME STUPID YOU DAMN RAT," Kyo yelled back.

"I couldn't find much of my clothes that were really her taste. Then I remembered I had something from when Mom was a teenager, and she seemed to like it enough, so I let her borrow it. Plus, she did speak to me. She said it might take her a while to get down because her hair was so tangled and she struggles with getting out knots," Tohru said, desperate to change the subject before Yuki and Kyo started fighting.

"Still...," Kyo muttered, "This is a really damn long time for a shower."

"Kyo you have to remember she was pretty scared. She may need some time to calm down before she faces us," Shigure said.

"Oh what do you know!?" Kyo yelled angrily.

"I've been standing here for a while...," A voice came from the door way.

They all looked, and saw the girl standing there. She had her wet blonde hair braided over her shoulder, and her black bangs over one eye. She wore a white tank top that clung to her figure, and black jacked over it that was short-sleeved and had studded-buttons. She had long black jeans on.

"Oh," They all said in almost perfect unison.

"...That was very creepy, I'll have you know that...," The girl murmured quietly, the fear in her eyes almost gone, instead a very distant look was in her eyes.

"Would you mind answering some questions for us...?" Tohru asked hopefully.

The girl shrugged, "Shoot."

The girl walked over and sat down, waiting for a question to be asked.

"Umm..first off...what's your name!? Yeah! I don't know your name!" Tohru said cheerfully.

"Sage..My name is Sage Night."

Sage fiddled with her braid, messing with the hair-tie that held it there, tempted to just take it out. She was never very fond of having her hair in a braid.

"How old are you?" Tohru asked, figuring she'd cover all the basic questions and leave the more complicated ones for later.

"I heard you all debating about that. I know I'm short, by the way, thank you very much. You all were completely wrong. I'm 17. And I'm 5"2, not 5"1," Sage said, finally pulling out the hair-tie. She pulled her hair back into just a ponytail and put it up like that.

They all...just kind of stared at her in complete shock. She was the same age as Yuki, Kyo, and Tohru? Sage stared at them back, unaffected. She waited silently for some other question.

"Oh...okay...um...what...were you doing running around by yourself? Don't you have a home? Your parents must be worried!" Tohru said sadly.

"If I had a home I'd go to it! Trust me! I have no parents, don't even worry about that...," Sage muttered, "I was looking for a place to stay. I have no where else to go anymore. I refuse to go to an orphanage, and I'm not emancipated so I'm still under the legal requirement of needing a guardian."

'I probably shouldn't do this...but...,' Shigure thought to himself before he spoke up and said, "Stay here. I'm a legal guardian, and if you need a place to stay it wouldn't be a problem."

Kyo glared at Shigure with a, 'What did you just say' look. Shigure went wide-eyed and slowly slid into the other room. Yuki hit him in the head.

"Stupid cat, you really expect us to let her outside again? At the risk of her passing out again? Or never finding anywhere else to go? Is that what you really want, you cruel stupid cat?" Yuki muttered.

"GOD DAMMIT THAT'S NOT WHAT I MEANT. I DIDN'T EVEN SAY ANYTHING. YOU KNOW WHAT JUST-NO! AGH! I'M GOING TO THE ROOF," Kyo yelled, getting up and walking off to the roof. "Is the meany Kyo gooone~?" Shigure said, walking back in.

Sage nodded, wondering to herself if he was really the guardian. She sure hoped not.

"Then it's official. You'll just stay here!" Shigure said cheerfully.

Tohru stood up happily, "That's so terrific! Let's go get you set up in a room! I can take you shopping for new clothes of your own if you want! We can be friends!"

Tohru drug Sage off. Sage wasn't sure what to make of all of this. Oh well, this was one thing out of many things she could handle. Tohru took Sage up to an empty room and got a temporary bed set up in no time flat. Tohru walked over to Sage, smiling cheerfully.

"Want me to take you to get some clothes?" Tohru asked, smiling brightly.

"Um..sure...," Sage muttered, not sure how she felt about going to a public place.

They left the house, and held somewhat of a conversation. It was more of Tohru doing most of the talking, and Sage nodding her head occasionally to show she was listening. Of course, she made minor comments here and there. Sage kept her hands in her pockets as she walked. Tohru seemed like a very nice girl to her. It's not that she wanted to be quiet and seem rude, it's just Sage really wasn't good at conversing. It wasn't as if Tohru minded, she took up the rest. If she asked a question, sure, Sage would answer. If they got onto a topic Sage knew about, she'd make up for it. Besides, once she warms up to everyone she'll be okay, right?

"Where are your parents, Tohru?" Sage suddenly blurted the question out, not intentionally doing it. It was SUPPOSED to be just a passing thought, but it didn't end up that way.

"Oh..my mom died recently in a car accident. And..my dad died when I was little. He was sick, and just couldn't get better, I suppose. I can't really remember him too well," Tohru said, continuing to walk. A sad look in her eyes appeared, and Sage sighed.

"Sorry. It must be a touchy subject. I shouldn't have brought it up," Sage muttered.

"Oh no! No! Don't feel like you upset me! Don't worry about it! I'm fine! I swear!" Tohru said, suddenly flailing about with a panicky expression written on her face.

"Um...maybe you should calm down a bit...," Sage said.

"Huh? Oh, right! On it!" Tohru said, smiling as they continued to walk.

Eventually they got to the store, and Tohru walked with Sage as she browsed. Sage had her own money on her, so outside of her budget she wouldn't get much, she didn't want to do that to Tohru. On the walk over she had learned about Tohru working her own job to pay for tuition at the school. If Sage made her pay for very much at all, it would make her feel like she was stealing. And she hated feeling that way. Sage spent most of her time browsing the darker colors, mainly black. However she kept an open mind to some lighter colors, depending on how it looked on her and all that. Sage let Tohru ramble on just like she had on the walk over.

"I'm sorry. Am I bothering you by going on like this?" Tohru murmured, noticing Sage didn't seem very prone to responding.

"No, that's not it at all. I'm just not much of a person for socializing. Keep talking, I don't mind," Sage said, "Besides, I'm just not used to being around you. Eventually I'll be a bit more social with you and the Sohmas."

"Oh, okay!" Tohru said, smiling.

After a while of browsing, the two girls went up to the check out. Sage had been right, by the end of their shopping trip, she seemed much more social to Tohru. As they walked, they talked about things from books to movies, and then on to music groups. They may have been very different in tastes, but it didn't mean they didn't get along while they walked and talked. They each respected each other's opinions. Sage was more into the harder core music, for instance. It just went to show the two girls it wasn't impossible to be friends with someone you had very little in common with.