After school, I met Yuki and Toru outside by the gate. Rintori was nowhere in sight.
"Any sign of her?"
"No. We thought you would be with her. I mean, you're the one who invited her to stay with us and all. You've taken quite the interest in her," Yuki said coyly.
"Shut up! I was just asking if you knew where she was!"
"You know better than to get into tangles with humans."
"Yeah? Look who's talking!"
"Toru and I are different!"
"Yeah? I'd love to know how!"
"I am not held to a previous engagement," Yuki said coldly.
Those words were like a punch to my gut. I heard soft footsteps coming our way, and turned around. RIntori was coming down the walk slowly, struggling with her duffel bag and school bag.
I ran to her. "Oh, jeez. I'm sorry. I forgot you had this extra stuff to carry today," I muttered to her as I took her things from her.
"It's alright. I'm used to doing things on my own. You really don't need to carry my things for me," she replied softly, relinquishing her hold on her bags, knowing better than to protest.
Even with the tension between Yuki and I making it difficult to think, I could tell there was still some tension between Rintori and I from the stairway earlier.
"So, you'll be staying with us now, right Rintori?" Toru asked kindly.
"That's right. But I have a job, so I can pay rent or whatever. I won't be a burden to you all, I swear."
"Please, don't worry. I think it'll be nice to have another girl around the house. After all, staying with three guys can cause a lot of stress sometimes. Having another girl to talk to will be nice."
"But, then again, it may cause more stress, as we will now have to be more careful than ever that we don't accidently transform around the both of you," Yuki added.
"Sorry," Rintori murmured, grabbing her wrist behind her back and slowing her pace to distance herself from Yuki and Toru.
I kept my pace even with hers, even though it bugged me to be walking so slowly. There was a rumble of thunder overhead, and Rintori reached into one of her pockets, pulling out a white object. She messed with it for a few moments, and then it sprang open into and umbrella. It wasn't just white, but had music notes and symbols on it. So she must be a music lover. Not a second after she brought it up over our heads, the rain started to fall.
Toru had another umbrella, and she and Yuki pressed close together beneath it, since it was much smaller than Rintori's. Toru's umbrella was pink and had red strawberries on it.
When our umbrella began to drip, I pressed in closer to Rintori. I hated water. Beside me, Rintori giggled, and scooted closer so that the water couldn't touch me.
"What are you laughing at?"
"You're definitely a cat, Kyo."
"Yeah. You already know I'm a cat. What's the big deal?"
"Nothing, really. But sometimes you'll do something, and I'd swear you were in your cat form, except that you're still standing in front of me."
A gust of wind blew Rintori sideways with the umbrella, and rain poured down on me. I let a vague hiss-like sound escape my throat, and took the umbrella from Rintori. She huddled next to me, having gotten hit by more of the rain than I had, to the point that she was dripping water. Her body shook. She must have been freezing. I undid the buttons of my shirt and yanked it off, draping it over her shoulders. It wasn't much, but I hoped it would help, at least a little.
"Don't you need this, Kyo?"
"No. I'm perfectly warm. I just hate water."
"Oh."
"Let's get you home quick, so you can dry off. Do you mind if I carry you?"
"No. But you're already carrying my stuff, and, can you really carry me? I mean, wouldn't you turn into a cat?"
"Shut up, and hold still."
I handed Rintori her things and the umbrella, then picked her up like a princess. She put her things in the cradle of her body, and held the umbrella up over me. We were walking down a little street with cafes and stalls along it, and then we were racing along other streets so quickly the world blurred. Sooner than possible, we were running on the dirt road to my house.
We almost made it, too. I couldn't see past Rintori very well, and I tripped on a rock. Trying to save her from the fall, I pulled her closer to me, the arm supporting her legs dropping to wrap around her waist tight. There was a poof of smoke, and we were both standing under her umbrella in the rain. I hissed vehemently at the mud under our feet. Rintori had managed to keep hold of her bags.
"Come on, you idiot. I'd rather have gotten muddy rather than see you as a poor kitty in the rain."
She picked me up around the middle, being careful that the mud on my paws only touched her skin, and not her school uniform. She picked up my muddy pants and sopping wet shoes, and carried it all the rest of the way to the porch. She dropped me inside gently, then my clothes, including the shirt I'd draped on her. Finally, she scooted her bags to just inside the door.
Rintori took one last glance at the rain, and smiled. She laughed, and closed the umbrella, leaving it next to me inside.
"What are you doing?"
"Well, just because you hate water, it doesn't mean everyone hates it. I love playing in the rain."
"No! Come inside. You're shivering with cold."
Rintori looked down at herself for visual confirmation of this, and nodded. "Okay. You're right. I'll come in. I'd hate to make you worry about me, Kyo," she said, a teasing note entering her voice as she stuck her tongue out at me.
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"It means I think Yuki might be on to something."
"Huh?" I stared at her, completely confused, but she just laughed and pantomimed zipping her lips closed. "Wait, what do you mean? What might Yuki be right about?"
Rintori came inside, picked up my clothes, picked up me, and carried me upstairs.
"Which one is your room?"
"That one, the one on the right of the stairs," I told her, my voice betraying my annoyance.
"I don't care how mad you get. I'm not going to tell you until you figure it out yourself. Especially if I'm wrong."
She dropped me into my room, and left my clothes just inside, out of the door's way.
"Wait, where are you-"
The door closed behind her. I had to wait a few minutes this time before I transformed back into a human. I stuck my mud covered uniform in the laundry basket, and got some fresh clothes out of my dresser. It was much more comfortable than those dumb uniforms. No wonder Rintori refused to follow the dress code.
I heard the door downstairs open, and Toru calling out the she and Yuki were home. Shigure asked about dinner. I stepped out of my room to go find Rintori, and found that she was sitting with her arms resting on her knees next to my door.
"You were waiting for me?"
"Well, yeah… It's not like I call this place home yet. It's still your house."
"Has anyone even come looking around for you, or tried to show you your room?"
She shook her head and stared at the floor. "I think you might be the only person here who likes me, Kyo. Then again, I guess you don't even like me. Why did you bring me here?"
"Because I do like you. Look, what I said earlier was wrong. I was getting frustrated with Yuki talking crap on me again, and I took it out on you. I'm sorry. I didn't mean what I said."
Rintori nodded, staying quiet. I ruffled her hair, and she looked up at me, surprised, a wide smile spreading over her face.
Damn, that was a cute smile.
"Want me to get Yuki to take you to your room?"
"I'd rather if you showed me."
"I didn't get it cleaned up, so I don't know which room it is."
"Oh, that's okay. Yuki can show me, then."
"I'll come too...so I'll know where it is. If you ever want to talk, you know? All you've gotta do is yell for me."
She gave me that cute smile again before I called out for Yuki.
"What do you want?"
"Which room is going to be Rintori's?"
"The one I cleaned."
"Which one is that?"
"Down the hall on the left, first door on the right. It's right across from Toru's."
"Damn rat," I muttered under my breath, and Rintori giggled.
"Thank you, Yuki-senpai!" she called down.
"It's no trouble, but please, just call me Yuki."
I shook my head at her. "Come on, it's this way. I don't get why you try so hard with him."
"Well, it's sort of like why you fight with him so often. I want us to be friends, and to get along, since we'll be here together. You want to be rivals with him, and eventually beat him, although I have no idea why."
"Because I'm the stupid cat!" I yelled, and Rintori flinched. I calmed almost immediately, remembering that she'd come here to get away from abuse, whether it was verbal or physical. "I have to beat him. If I do, Akito will let me be like the other zodiacs. The cat won't be cast out anymore."
"Who is Akito?"
"Head of the house, like Shigure was saying yesterday. He's in charge. He's the one who will determine if your memory has to be erased, from learning our secret."
"Does it take him long to make decisions like that?"
"A few days, at least."
"Why would it take him so long?"
"He might want to meet you. I hope it doesn't come to that, but I will go with you if he requests your presence."
"Is Akito really that scary?"
I didn't answer.
"So, ready to go to your room?"
She nodded, and I held my hand out to her, the other shoved in my pocket, as if I couldn't care less. But I had a feeling she knew better.
She took my hand and I pulled her up. I didn't let go of her hand as I bent down and picked up her bags with my other hand. Then I tugged her along behind me, opening a door on the right after turning left off the main hall.
The room was plain, with bamboo floors and walls. A mattress on the floor was a bed. Other than that, the room was empty, but clear of dust.
"We'll stop by your house tomorrow and get some more of your stuff. There's a bathroom through the door on the back wall there. Go ahead and unpack what you can."
I pushed her a little further into the room, and shut behind me as I left. I went downstairs, smelling food. Rintori came down about half an hour after me, just in time for dinner, as Toru had just finished making it.
Toru was sitting across from me, Yuki beside her, and Shigure at the head of the table. Rintori took the seat between Shigure and I quietly. When Toru set food in front of her, she bowed her head politely before eating. When she was finished, she took her dishes to the kitchen. I heard the water running, although I didn't have a clue what she was doing. When the water stopped, I heard her creaking up the old stairs. Her door opened and closed, and that was it.
"Well...she's certainly not what I expected," Yuki commented quietly.
"She isn't a thug, Yuki," I said, annoyed.
"But she's in a gang."
I shrugged. Rintori hadn't gone into much detail about the gang she was in. Even I didn't know why she hung around people like that.
"I like her, personally. She's quiet and reserved in some aspects, but not afraid to stand up for herself. She's had a hard life, and I can appreciate when someone is strong enough to move on from their past and be whatever kind of person they want to be," Shigure commented.
"All I can keep thinking about is the rest of the family. Akito may not have had my memory erased, but will he do the same for Rintori, now that there have been two infractions of girls finding out about the Soma curse here?" Toru asked.
"There's no guarantee that Akito will erase her mind, or let her retain it. We will have to wait upon his decision. Until then, if I were you, Kyo, I would enjoy what time I had with her, on the chance that Akito does want to erase her memory," Shigure said, looking at me pointedly.
There was a soft sound from upstairs. I couldn't tell what it was, but then it came again.
I put down my rice and got up without a word, heading upstairs. I knew that sound. I knocked on Rintori's door softly. There was a sniffle, and then she said, "Come in," quietly.
"What's wrong, Rintori?" I asked, sliding the door open, and closing it behind me.
She turned around to look at me, but didn't answer my question.
"What's wrong?" I asked a little more forcefully.
"Nothing, really. I was just...thinking."
"What is it? You can tell me. I promise, I'll keep your secrets." I sat down beside her, half expecting her to lurch away in fear, but she didn't move.
Rintori took a deep breath, then opened her hands, which had been clutched in her lap. I picked up the now badly crumpled paper, and saw that it was a note from the government. The army, specifically. I skipped the introduction and such, and started reading.
Ms. Nakunishi, we are sorry to inform you that both of your parents' deaths have been confirmed. Your mother's remains were found, evidently protecting several hundred people within a building. Your father covered a bomb to save his comrades from the explosion. We also regret to inform you that each of your four grandparents passed away from various accidents over the past two years. We thought it was better to give you all of such sad news at once than have an officer stopping at your door every few months with updates. We are sorry for your loss, and offer our condolences.
"Rintori...this is...this is horrible."
"I don't have anybody left. My aunts and uncles are all countries away with children of their own to look after. I'm alone."
"I'm sorry. I…"
She looked at me and shook her head. She knew there were no words for this, no way to make it any better. I took her hand in mine and sat beside her as she tried to hold back silent tears that crept down her cheeks. Eventually, Rintori climbed on top of the mattress and let her grief put her to sleep.
I checked around her room and bathroom, and saw that most of what she had brought in her duffel bag this time wasn't visible. I mean, her toiletries were in order, and her clothes were in a neat little stack, but that was all I saw. So what else had she brought? I turned off the light, and it immediately became apparent what she'd brought. Her ceiling and walls glowed, and above her bed, on an old nail that had never been taken down, was her dream catcher. I smiled to myself and closed the door.