Yay! I have returned! Sorry for the slow updates on everything. I will eventually get to it all. Thank you to all who reviewed; moifah, Angel-eyes56, FireyFlames, PhoenixIllusion, SessyLover180, and Jinx Chaos. They mean the world! I really do appreciate them!
Alright, after much debate, Raiden and myself have decided the pairings. Here they are! I will review the ages afterwards...
KyoTohru (I finished reading the entire series, and after the ending, I CAN'T seperate them. I apologize to anyone who wanted him with someone else.)
ReiHatori (I just liked it. Like Angel-eyes56 said... fire meets ice.)
HotaruMomiji (I can't explain it. I just think it's cute.)
AmiYuki (I WAS going to leave him with Machi... his manga gf/almost gf... but after many request and whatnot, I decided to not be a stiff and let poor Ami have him!)
MakotoKureno (As with Hotaru and Momiji, I just can't explain it.)
MinakoHatsuharu (Ok, this one was hard. I couldn't decide if I wanted her more with Haru or Ayame, but I picked Haru. I like him. We will just pretend that him and Rin/Isuzu did not get back together.)
UsagiMamoru (Shall not be seperated.)
MichiruHaruka (Same as above.)
Ages:
FB People:
Kyo and Yuki: 18
Tohru, Saki, Arisa, Haru, Momiji, Akito, and Kagura: 17
Hiro, Kisa, and Megumi: 12
Shigure, Hatori, Ayame, Ritsu, and Kureno: 23 (I made them younger, If you don't like it, too bad.)
SM People:
Rei: 18
Makoto, Minako, Ami, and Usagi: 17
Haruka, Setsuna, Michiru, and Mamoru: 21
OC's:
Aya: Freaking old.
MUCHO IMPORTANTE! Alright, the Outers plus Usagi & Mamoru will only be making sporadical appearances. I already have their curses picked out, and they will be made known to you all later. I will also be tweaking the FB timeline. Let's just say that the Sohma curse is already broken. In the manga, the curse was broken at the end of senior year in the spring, but here it is broken at the beginning of the term. Make sense, eh???
Raiden: It better!
Silence: Shut up!
Raiden: DISCLAIMER: I, nor Silence, own anything except for our own characters! Steal them and I will cause you bodily harm!
We Who Are Cursed
Chapter Three: You Cannot Love Me
Tohru stared at Rei as her unconscious form lay motionless on her bed, her eyes watering at the sight. When she had came home screaming for help, Kyo and Shigure had come to her aide, fearing something malevolent had befallen her. Instead, they were greeted with a spastic Tohru with a bleeding girl slung across her shoulder.
"Tohru, are you ok?" Kyo asked as he dashed forward, looking at the image before him. "What happened?"
Tohru's eyes were already full of tears and bloodshot. "She saved me! I almost got hit by a car and she shoved me out of the way!"
Kyo was hesitant to let Shigure take the wounded girl from Tohru, but decided that he ultimately didn't care. All he cared about was getting Tohru to settle down.
"I will put her in your room, Honda-san! Afterwards I will call Haa-san and he can come over to fix up your savior!"
They watched the bubbly man trot off to Tohru's room, almost tripping on the rug in the hallway.
"Ok, so please explain to me in more detail on what happened." Kyo took Tohru's hand and led her into the kitchen, where he got a rag and began cleaning her hands and arms, seeing that Tohru was entirely too shocked to do anything.
The brunette gulped and continued to stare mindlessly into space. "Well, I was on my way to the store and I began day dreaming, making myself almost crash into a cart full of oranges. I jumped out of the way and got into the road."
Kyo continued to scrub her hands and listen intently, secretly scolding the girl for putting herself in the situation.
"Well, I heard someone call my name so I turned around. Before I knew what was happening, a car was heading straight towards me. I was so scared I couldn't move. Then, right before the car hit me, Taisen-san jumped out and shoved me away, but she hit her head on the sidewalk." Tohru's eyes began to water again, tears falling slowly down her face. "I was the only person on that street. It was like she almost knew it was going to happen… just like the airport."
The orange haired boy quirked an eyebrow, looking at Tohru intently as he continued to scrub her palms. "What?"
Kyo had carried Tohru upstairs, taking her to his room, seeing that her bed was currently occupied. She had fallen asleep quickly, but fresh tearstains lined her cheeks.
"Kyo, can I have a moment?"
The boy turned his head abruptly as he walked out of his room, seeing Hatori standing before Tohru's room. His black hair was kept in its usual style, keeping his partially blind eye hidden. He wore a white, dress shirt and black pants, his glasses in his hands as he cleaned them.
"Uh, sure. What do you want?"
"I just have some questions. I didn't know if Honda-san happened to disclose the events to you."
Kyo followed Hatori into Tohru's room, the unconscious girl lying in bed. They both sat in wooden chairs, Kyo propping his elbows on his knees and Hatori sitting upright and straight.
"Do you know exactly what happened?"
"Uh," Kyo massaged his head with one of his hands. "To make it short, Tohru almost got hit by a car and this girl saved her."
Hatori just nodded her head solemnly, staring off into space. "Is that all?"
"Well, she did say something about her being the only one on the street and this girl came out of nowhere. Tohru asked her how she knew and she said the girl just laughed and told her that she wouldn't believe her even if she told her." Kyo cleared his throat, but did not fail to notice Hatori stiffen. "She said it was just like the airport."
"The explosion?"
"Yeah. There is a rumor that she tried to warn everyone and that not a single person listened. It turns out she was right." Kyo sighed. "Now everyone at our school treats her like a freak."
Hatori stood up and went to the bed, looking down at his patient. He took his hand and turned her face, looking upon the black bruise that tainted her cheek. The black haired man heard Kyo get out of his chair, opening the door quietly.
"Before you leave, can you tell me her name?"
"Taisen Rei… why?"
"Nothing." Kyo looked at Hatori's back suspiciously but then walked out of the room, not able to see Hatori's eyes grow wide.
Minako lay with her boyfriend, Ren Yuma, his arms draped lovingly around her. They had been together secretly for six months and everything seemed great. That night he had taken her out to eat at her favorite restaurant and to a movie, not forgetting to offer her a rose as well.
She could smell his scent and caring aura as they continued to lay there, her head lying on the soft pillow. In the back of her mind, she was really scared. Rei hadn't returned home after school that day and Hotaru had said 'they' were acting strangely. Anytime Hotaru said anything about 'them', Minako knew something was up, and it wasn't good.
She sighed and hugged her pillow tighter, stirring Ren awake on accident.
"What's wrong?"
"Nothing. I am fine."
He laughed for a minute, drowsiness still evident in his voice. "You're lying."
She frowned in defeat, her face still turned away from him. Ren knew her to well. "Well, I am just tired and I have a math test tomorrow."
He yawned and snuggled closer to her, holding her waist lovingly. "It will be ok."
There was a brief silence, neither of them saying anything. Minako believed that Ren had fallen asleep, but she was sadly mistaken.
"Goodnight, Minako."
She smiled weakly, staring out of the bedroom window as she did so. "Goodnight, Ren."
He squeezed her and kissed the back of her head. "You know I love you, right?"
With these words, Minako felt a lump in her throat, an indescribable pain lingering in her chest. She closed her eyes as she heard him begin to snore again, only to open them to let a lone tear fall, knowing that what he said was a complete lie.
No one can love me...
Ami put down her book, closing it and turning off her desk light. It was just Makoto, Hotaru, and herself at home that night. Minako had told her that she wouldn't be there and Rei had just simply not come home. Hotaru was acting really strange, only sitting in her bed and talking to Ami when she went to go check on her. The girl knew that she couldn't reply, but Ami decided it was just the comfort of having someone to talk to.
Before she went off to bed she decided to check on Makoto, wanting to make sure everything was in order. She opened her door slightly to see the brunette sleeping peacefully, a light smile donning her face.
I am glad to see that you can still smile, Mako-chan…
She lightly closed the door, making sure that not a sound was heard. As soon as she arrived in her bedroom, Ami collapsed onto the bed, wrapping her blankets around her cold body.
Maybe I can smile in my sleep too...
"Shigure…" Hatori opened the door to Shigure's study, the latter working on one of his new novels. "Does the name Taisen, mean anything to you?"
Shigure put down his current project and propped his feet up on a stack of reference books, looking up to Hatori in question. "No. Do enlighten me."
Hatori began to pace the room slowly, holding his hands behind his back. The novelist watched him trample over his scattered papers and scraps, frowning a little.
"Do you remember our curse?"
"Uh, yeah…" Shigure made a face at Hatori, trying to make him feel insignificant. "The curse just got broken a few months ago. How could I forget?"
"Well, as you know, the Sohma family was the lineage that carried the curse of the Zodiac." Hatori sat down in a chair that sat obscurely in the corner. "The Taisen family was the lineage that carried the other curse…"
Shigure bolted from his chair, his eyes wide and mouth agape. "There is another curse?!"
Not really surprised by the sudden outburst, Hatori just nodded, making Shigure feel stupid. "It is the 'counter curse'… the curse that was really meant to be a curse. Our predicament was forged because of a bond we made with God so long ago, after the race to seek placement among the Zodiac. This curse was actually intended to be a curse, passing down from generation to generation much like ours."
Shigure just stared, looking much like a small child did when being told a story.
"You are aware about the Rat's deceitful trick on the Cat, correct?"
"Duh."
Hatori cleared his throat but continued to speak soon after. "Well, another animal, one that did not participate in the race, knew about it… the Phoenix."
"Is that even an animal?"
"Well, is a Dragon an animal?"
Shigure scratched his head and then shook his head, confirming a 'no'. "No, but a seahorse is!"
Ignoring this comment, Hatori proceeded on with this tale, trying to keep Shigure's immaturity at bay. "The Phoenix overheard the Rat contemplating his plan and told its friends about it; the Firefly, the Swan, the Turtle, the Squirell, the Fish, the Bear, the Owl, and the Lizard. Those are the nine members of the Outcast."
"I think a swan would be suiting for me." Shigure thought aloud, but then realized that his friend was growing impatient. "Anyway, proceed!"
"The Rat found out that the Phoenix did this and confronted it, telling it that if it said a word, a terrible evil would befall it. The Phoenix didn't believe that the Rat could possibly uphold such a feat and it still gathered the other eight animals and decided to go to God. Unfortunately, they arrived just after the race, and the Rat had become the first official member of the Zodiac, which earned him great favor with God. The Phoenix, with the other eight animals, tried to explain what happened and that the Rat had been deceitful. The Rat then gained the upper hand, telling God they all spoke lies and that they were really trying to outsmart him."
"Ohh…."
"This made God angry, making him curse each one of them with a dreadful thing. Just like us they were cursed, but were forgotten until now." Hatori rubbed his forehead, looking at an impassive Shigure. "Was that a lot of information…?"
"Yeah."
A few moments passed, but then a loud scream could be heard radiating from the upper floor.
"WHERE THE HELL AM I?"
Shigure smiled and then began to wave off Hatori playfully. "It looks like your patient is up!"
End of Chapter Three