I really don't like this computer right now. In fact, I'm hating this computer right now. It won't let me on the Internet!! Argh…anyway, this means I'll get some time to work on this story, and I'm very fond of it…I'm just frustrated that I can't talk to anyone, due to horrible connections. Grrr…. Maybe it'll let me on later tonight or something, although it's been like this all day. Actually, by the time I post this, I will have given up on venting my rage against the beast, but right now…nobody cares! Whoo!
Anyway, last chapter, Sasurai and Kyou got into a leek fight, and the former even got to meet meek little Kagura!
Shigure: …Meek? Are we talking about the same Kagura?
Kia: …Yes. We are. So she met Kyou's violent little stalk--
Shigure: You just said she was meek. Really, Kia-chan, you'll just confuse your readers if you continue typing like that. And so many of them are high-school girls and we really don't want to scare THEM off, do we?
Kia: …
--Two Minutes Later--
Shigure: bound and gagged
Kia: -.- I could've gotten Hatori…or Hatsuharu…or Yuki or Momiji…but noooo, I got Shigure for a muse!
Shigure: Mmpreh serph, serph, Kimprhranph! ((Que sera, sera, Kia-chan!))
Kia: Indeed. Moving on…considering this Author's note is ANCIENT…
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"Yuhi you yamani…teru-teru Momiji…"
Momiji was bored. And when he was bored, he sang. And, as it so happened, the song he was singing was his very own song that he had made up all by himself. He consoled himself by thinking of his companions while he skipped to Shigure's house. Hatori was there today, and so didn't pick them up as usual.
Yuki had had to stay after school for a student council meeting. Tohru and her two fun friends were playing badminton with a reluctant Kyou and Arai. Hatsuharu had been forced to stay after for detention after trying to beat up one of the upperclassmen for making rude comments about his hair, and Sasurai was having a talk with her guidance counselor about the death of her family.
"It's basically me trapped in a room with some big-eyed woman who keeps cooing like some sort of diseased pigeon every time I say the words 'death', 'dead', or mention anything ten feet under," she had tried to explain to a confused-looking bunny. "And then she makes me draw pictures of how I feel. I could draw a RAINBOW in a field of flowers and she'd think I was too grief-stricken to go on!"
"Draw a bunny!" Momiji suggested, smiling up at the girl innocently. "That makes everybody happy!"
Sasurai had decided not to comment and merely tweaked his nose before heading for the condemned counseling office with the air of a prisoner trudging to the guillotine.
"Konnichi--" Momiji stopped singing, having bumped into somebody. With a small squeak of surprise, he stumbled backwards, gaining his balance before he fell over. He looked up, wondering who he had bumped into--and continued to look up…and up…and up.
Glaring down at him with an irritated scowl was a lanky boy dressed in the Kaibara school uniform, his arms folded against his chest. Brown eyes so dark that his pupils couldn't be seen glared down at the short Sohma. "What the hell did you hit me for?!" He demanded irately. "Are you stupid or something?"
Momiji was at a loss for words, blinking repeatedly at the taller boy. He looked familiar…
Thick dark eyebrows furrowed when the other realized that Momiji wasn't going to answer him. "Well? Don't you know who I am, you little punk??"
Then he remembered. At last, a question he could answer! "You're Koujiiiiii!" The bunny answered cheerfully. "You're the one that Haru got mad at!"
"Koujiiiiiii"'s scowl, if anything, darkened. "You KNOW that bastard?"
"Hai, he's my cousin!" That word "bastard"…he'd heard it before…but he couldn't remember what it meant. Ah, well. It had a nice ring to it, so it couldn't be all that bad, right?
The boy took a closer look at Momiji, a strange flicker in his shadowy oculars signifying his recognition. "You…you're that little Sohma kid! The one who runs around in a girl's uniform like a pansy!"
"Pansies are flowers," Momiji corrected him. "And it looks good on me!"
Kouji sighed. "In any case, this will help me vent my frustration--"
"Oi, Kouji! 'Sup with the kid?"
Both males turned. Two more boys were ambling towards them, one short, but powerfully built, and the other being of a more average build.
"This here is one of the Sohma brats," Kouji told them. "I was just saying how nice it was that he showed up, because now I can show that Hattie Haru--"
"HATSUHARU," Momiji chided him. How many times did he have to correct this guy?
"WHATEVER. I can show him what happens when he messes with the likes of Arashi Kouji!"
Poor Momiji was even more puzzled now. "But Haru's not here!"
Kouji turned on the little blonde, leering. The other two, who seemed to be his friends, smirked. They knew what was imminent.
"He'll learn when he sees your bloody body."
---Three Minutes Later…---
"Oh, you poor thing!" The guidance counselor launched herself at Saurai, who stood frozen like a stricken animal trapped in the headlights.
Run, every nerve in her body screamed at her. If you value life, God damn it, run for it!
Too late. The counselor already had her in a tight grip, causing the brunette to let out a choked wheeze as her lungs cringed from the suffocating force of the hug.
"Ohhhh, I should have known it would still be too hard for you to discuss! But for you to have drawn a bunny…my dear, you must be strong!"
"A bunny has nothing to do with my family," Sasurai said impatiently, trying to free herself.
The counselor begged to differ. "You must have had a little rabbit for a pet, and then the fire destroyed it, burning its fur to blackened, scorched flesh, searing its eyes, making it die a horrible death, twitching and convulsing inside its cage until blood spewed forth from its mouth like a crimson fountain!"
Sasurai was glad she had never owned a bunny…otherwise, she'd be feeling pretty ill right about now. "Umm…I have to go…I need to get home and…help make dinner."
"But dear, you've only been here for five minutes!"
The girl grabbed her schoolbag and fled. "That's more than enough!" She tossed over her shoulder as she escaped.
Was anyone else done? No…the others had said they'd probably stay an hour or so after school…but maybe she could catch up with Momiji and walk home with him!
With a relieved smile, Sasurai broke into a run, hoping to find the little half-German Sohma.
Unfortunately, she'd hoped to find him under more desirable circumstances. Having seen a flash of blond hair just up ahead, she'd quickened her pace--and happened onto a very unwelcome scene.
Momiji was getting soundly pummeled by three of her classmates. Two were holding him down and preventing him from escaping, while one was kicking and punching at the downed little boy. Every so often, they'd rotate. Through it all, the bunny's large brown eyes were dazed and teary, and he kept crying out in pain, trying to curl into a ball to protect himself.
Sasurai knew that members of the Chinese Zodiac would transform when hugged by the opposite sex or weakened. If this kept up, Momiji might change into his rabbit form. She also thought about that horrible graphic image her counselor had produced when she had talked of that burned bunny that she had never owned. But there was only one main reason why she was spurred into action-- NOBODY hurt one of her friends and got away with it.
"GET AWAY FROM HIM, YOU BASTARDS!"
Through the muddled fog of Momiji's mind, that voice and those words registered. Sasurai…? And she'd used that word too. However, though it had a ring to it when Kouji had said it, the word used in Sasurai's tone of voice sounded just plain BAD.
Kouji must have thought so too, for his eyes widened at the sight of the livid girl racing towards them, her schoolbag swinging like a crazed pendulum. He had time to yell briefly before Sasurai was upon him, smacking him over the head with a bag full of two dictionaries and a math book. The minute he fell to his knees, she turned her baleful attentions on his two lackeys.
For the nonce, Momiji couldn't move, even though the other two boys had released him in order to defend themselves from the shrieking fury that had descended upon them. But slowly, he pushed himself up, balancing uncertainly on his feet.
Sasurai was starting to have problems. Sure, she'd had the advantage of surprise and anger-fueled adrenaline, but there were three of them and one of her. Kouji ripped the schoolbag from her hand and sent it flying, grabbing her arm in a rigid vice-grip. Realizing that both she and Momiji were going to be in big trouble, the girl raised her voice.
"Run, Momiji! Get out of here!"
"But--"
"GO!!"
Hearing the desperateness in her voice, the petite Sohma took off. Behind him, he could hear a sharp cry from two people--Sasurai, who had been elbowed in the stomach, and Kouji, who had been punched in the nose.
Momiji quickly put on speed and ran. But he didn't run to Shigure's house. He ran to the one person who could help most.
---Chalalalala…---
Sasurai fought like a woman possessed, but she had finally been overpowered. The brief fight had escalated into a full-blown melee, with all of them suffering. Kouji had a bloody nose, most likely broken. Of his two companions, one had his eye swelled shut, and the other was suffering an indignity to his…manhood, so to speak. As for Sasurai, she was now being held up by the arms by the two boys. She'd had two ribs fractured from a well-placed kick by Kouji and she was having trouble breathing.
"You could've stayed out of it," Kouji said thickly, trying to stem the flow of blood from his nose with his sleeve. "I don't like fighting girls."
The brunette glared at him with fiercely-bright hazel eyes, with the green dominating most of the warm brown color. "You should've known better than to pick on someone smaller than you, you pompous jackass."
"That's it, you bit--"
A hand seized his collar from behind, and the next thing Kouji knew, he was flying. And then he knew no more, having performed a less-than-elegant dive onto the pavement.
Sasurai blinked and looked into the cold gray eyes of Black Haru. Momiji hovered anxiously behind him as the taller boy moved menacingly toward her captors.
"Let her go. Let her go RIGHT NOW."
They hesitated. Haru charged. They fled. For a moment, he considered going after them, just to pound some fear into their big heads, but then he heard a thud and Momiji's worried voice.
"Sasurai!! Sasurai, get up!"
Hatsuharu approached the girl lying on the ground, kneeling beside her. "How badly are you hurt?"
She slowly lifted her head, wiping some blood off a cut on her left cheek. "I'm fine."
"Which means you're too stubborn to admit you hurt like hell." He sat back on his heels, thinking. "I'd carry you, but then I'd transform…but that only happens if you hug me, so…"
He was silent for so long that Sasurai began to grow wary. "What are you…?"
Without warning, Hatsuharu grabbed her arms, causing her to yelp in pain. "Momiji, get her legs. We'll carry her this way."
"Hai!" The smaller boy hurried to do as he was bid and soon Sasurai was lifted off the ground quite awkwardly.
"PUT ME DOWN!"
"If I did that," Hatsuharu said logically, "you'd crash to the ground and then you'd get hurt again."
She had no reply to that, so settled for glaring at him.
---A little While Later…---
"Sasurai-san!" Tohru ran to where her friend was sitting unhappily, wincing as Hatori lightly ran his fingers over her ribs.
"You've got two fractured ribs," the doctor said gravely, checking her bandages and making sure all of her minor cuts and scrapes had been tended to. "Momiji told me what happened, so…thank you."
Sasurai blinked. She'd been expecting a lecture, not gratitude! "Huh?"
"Momiji cannot defend himself. If you hadn't stepped in, he'd be in much worse shape than he is now. As it were, he only has a few bruises. However…" And the look he shot her made her shrink down, intimidated. "Do not get into any more fights. I can't keep fixing you."
"Yes, sir," she squeaked, staring at the ground.
"Akito's waiting for us at the Main House, so Shigure, take care of her, understand?"
"Hai, Ha'-san! Don't worry, I'll be the best nurse Sasu-chan has ever had!"
Sasurai grabbed Tohru's hands in hers, looking up at the girl with urgency in her eyes. "NEVER LEAVE ME ALONE WITH HIM."
"H-hai…"
"Sasu-chan, you don't have to be so mean!"
"You are a pervert. I'm not letting you touch me!"
"She's right, you know."
"I agree with the baka neko, for once."
"STOP ACTING SO STUCK-UP, you damned nezumi!"
"Tohru-kun, they're all being mean to meeeeeeee…"
"DON'T GO TO HER FOR HELP, IDIOT!" THWACK.
"Itaiiiiiii…"
---The Main House---
"Ah, so there was a fight…" The voice was low and silky, but there was a tinge of ice in the tone, making stoic Hatori suppress a shudder.
"Hai. Momiji and Asamoya-san have several injuries, but nothing too serious. Hatsuharu is completely unharmed."
"Hmm. I see…I think the time grows close to when I must meet this girl for myself…I must see if this Asamoya Sasurai-san is worthy of knowing our secret…"
---OOC---
Yay! I'm done! -dances around- It's fun to write when you don't have distractions! Anyway…please review and Mai-chan is evil for making her fans turn on me, because she's not updating her fic 'til I post another one of mine. O.o Eviiiiiil. NEXT chapter!
- It's a trip to the onsen! Can Sasurai handle meeting the extremely apologetic hostess?
- Kisa shows up! Yay for tigers!
- Behold the ping-pong tournament that turns into a brawl…especially when Yuki and Kyou are involved!
Anyway, last chapter, Sasurai and Kyou got into a leek fight, and the former even got to meet meek little Kagura!
Shigure: …Meek? Are we talking about the same Kagura?
Kia: …Yes. We are. So she met Kyou's violent little stalk--
Shigure: You just said she was meek. Really, Kia-chan, you'll just confuse your readers if you continue typing like that. And so many of them are high-school girls and we really don't want to scare THEM off, do we?
Kia: …
--Two Minutes Later--
Shigure: bound and gagged
Kia: -.- I could've gotten Hatori…or Hatsuharu…or Yuki or Momiji…but noooo, I got Shigure for a muse!
Shigure: Mmpreh serph, serph, Kimprhranph! ((Que sera, sera, Kia-chan!))
Kia: Indeed. Moving on…considering this Author's note is ANCIENT…
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Yuhi you yamani…teru-teru Momiji…"
Momiji was bored. And when he was bored, he sang. And, as it so happened, the song he was singing was his very own song that he had made up all by himself. He consoled himself by thinking of his companions while he skipped to Shigure's house. Hatori was there today, and so didn't pick them up as usual.
Yuki had had to stay after school for a student council meeting. Tohru and her two fun friends were playing badminton with a reluctant Kyou and Arai. Hatsuharu had been forced to stay after for detention after trying to beat up one of the upperclassmen for making rude comments about his hair, and Sasurai was having a talk with her guidance counselor about the death of her family.
"It's basically me trapped in a room with some big-eyed woman who keeps cooing like some sort of diseased pigeon every time I say the words 'death', 'dead', or mention anything ten feet under," she had tried to explain to a confused-looking bunny. "And then she makes me draw pictures of how I feel. I could draw a RAINBOW in a field of flowers and she'd think I was too grief-stricken to go on!"
"Draw a bunny!" Momiji suggested, smiling up at the girl innocently. "That makes everybody happy!"
Sasurai had decided not to comment and merely tweaked his nose before heading for the condemned counseling office with the air of a prisoner trudging to the guillotine.
"Konnichi--" Momiji stopped singing, having bumped into somebody. With a small squeak of surprise, he stumbled backwards, gaining his balance before he fell over. He looked up, wondering who he had bumped into--and continued to look up…and up…and up.
Glaring down at him with an irritated scowl was a lanky boy dressed in the Kaibara school uniform, his arms folded against his chest. Brown eyes so dark that his pupils couldn't be seen glared down at the short Sohma. "What the hell did you hit me for?!" He demanded irately. "Are you stupid or something?"
Momiji was at a loss for words, blinking repeatedly at the taller boy. He looked familiar…
Thick dark eyebrows furrowed when the other realized that Momiji wasn't going to answer him. "Well? Don't you know who I am, you little punk??"
Then he remembered. At last, a question he could answer! "You're Koujiiiiii!" The bunny answered cheerfully. "You're the one that Haru got mad at!"
"Koujiiiiiii"'s scowl, if anything, darkened. "You KNOW that bastard?"
"Hai, he's my cousin!" That word "bastard"…he'd heard it before…but he couldn't remember what it meant. Ah, well. It had a nice ring to it, so it couldn't be all that bad, right?
The boy took a closer look at Momiji, a strange flicker in his shadowy oculars signifying his recognition. "You…you're that little Sohma kid! The one who runs around in a girl's uniform like a pansy!"
"Pansies are flowers," Momiji corrected him. "And it looks good on me!"
Kouji sighed. "In any case, this will help me vent my frustration--"
"Oi, Kouji! 'Sup with the kid?"
Both males turned. Two more boys were ambling towards them, one short, but powerfully built, and the other being of a more average build.
"This here is one of the Sohma brats," Kouji told them. "I was just saying how nice it was that he showed up, because now I can show that Hattie Haru--"
"HATSUHARU," Momiji chided him. How many times did he have to correct this guy?
"WHATEVER. I can show him what happens when he messes with the likes of Arashi Kouji!"
Poor Momiji was even more puzzled now. "But Haru's not here!"
Kouji turned on the little blonde, leering. The other two, who seemed to be his friends, smirked. They knew what was imminent.
"He'll learn when he sees your bloody body."
---Three Minutes Later…---
"Oh, you poor thing!" The guidance counselor launched herself at Saurai, who stood frozen like a stricken animal trapped in the headlights.
Run, every nerve in her body screamed at her. If you value life, God damn it, run for it!
Too late. The counselor already had her in a tight grip, causing the brunette to let out a choked wheeze as her lungs cringed from the suffocating force of the hug.
"Ohhhh, I should have known it would still be too hard for you to discuss! But for you to have drawn a bunny…my dear, you must be strong!"
"A bunny has nothing to do with my family," Sasurai said impatiently, trying to free herself.
The counselor begged to differ. "You must have had a little rabbit for a pet, and then the fire destroyed it, burning its fur to blackened, scorched flesh, searing its eyes, making it die a horrible death, twitching and convulsing inside its cage until blood spewed forth from its mouth like a crimson fountain!"
Sasurai was glad she had never owned a bunny…otherwise, she'd be feeling pretty ill right about now. "Umm…I have to go…I need to get home and…help make dinner."
"But dear, you've only been here for five minutes!"
The girl grabbed her schoolbag and fled. "That's more than enough!" She tossed over her shoulder as she escaped.
Was anyone else done? No…the others had said they'd probably stay an hour or so after school…but maybe she could catch up with Momiji and walk home with him!
With a relieved smile, Sasurai broke into a run, hoping to find the little half-German Sohma.
Unfortunately, she'd hoped to find him under more desirable circumstances. Having seen a flash of blond hair just up ahead, she'd quickened her pace--and happened onto a very unwelcome scene.
Momiji was getting soundly pummeled by three of her classmates. Two were holding him down and preventing him from escaping, while one was kicking and punching at the downed little boy. Every so often, they'd rotate. Through it all, the bunny's large brown eyes were dazed and teary, and he kept crying out in pain, trying to curl into a ball to protect himself.
Sasurai knew that members of the Chinese Zodiac would transform when hugged by the opposite sex or weakened. If this kept up, Momiji might change into his rabbit form. She also thought about that horrible graphic image her counselor had produced when she had talked of that burned bunny that she had never owned. But there was only one main reason why she was spurred into action-- NOBODY hurt one of her friends and got away with it.
"GET AWAY FROM HIM, YOU BASTARDS!"
Through the muddled fog of Momiji's mind, that voice and those words registered. Sasurai…? And she'd used that word too. However, though it had a ring to it when Kouji had said it, the word used in Sasurai's tone of voice sounded just plain BAD.
Kouji must have thought so too, for his eyes widened at the sight of the livid girl racing towards them, her schoolbag swinging like a crazed pendulum. He had time to yell briefly before Sasurai was upon him, smacking him over the head with a bag full of two dictionaries and a math book. The minute he fell to his knees, she turned her baleful attentions on his two lackeys.
For the nonce, Momiji couldn't move, even though the other two boys had released him in order to defend themselves from the shrieking fury that had descended upon them. But slowly, he pushed himself up, balancing uncertainly on his feet.
Sasurai was starting to have problems. Sure, she'd had the advantage of surprise and anger-fueled adrenaline, but there were three of them and one of her. Kouji ripped the schoolbag from her hand and sent it flying, grabbing her arm in a rigid vice-grip. Realizing that both she and Momiji were going to be in big trouble, the girl raised her voice.
"Run, Momiji! Get out of here!"
"But--"
"GO!!"
Hearing the desperateness in her voice, the petite Sohma took off. Behind him, he could hear a sharp cry from two people--Sasurai, who had been elbowed in the stomach, and Kouji, who had been punched in the nose.
Momiji quickly put on speed and ran. But he didn't run to Shigure's house. He ran to the one person who could help most.
---Chalalalala…---
Sasurai fought like a woman possessed, but she had finally been overpowered. The brief fight had escalated into a full-blown melee, with all of them suffering. Kouji had a bloody nose, most likely broken. Of his two companions, one had his eye swelled shut, and the other was suffering an indignity to his…manhood, so to speak. As for Sasurai, she was now being held up by the arms by the two boys. She'd had two ribs fractured from a well-placed kick by Kouji and she was having trouble breathing.
"You could've stayed out of it," Kouji said thickly, trying to stem the flow of blood from his nose with his sleeve. "I don't like fighting girls."
The brunette glared at him with fiercely-bright hazel eyes, with the green dominating most of the warm brown color. "You should've known better than to pick on someone smaller than you, you pompous jackass."
"That's it, you bit--"
A hand seized his collar from behind, and the next thing Kouji knew, he was flying. And then he knew no more, having performed a less-than-elegant dive onto the pavement.
Sasurai blinked and looked into the cold gray eyes of Black Haru. Momiji hovered anxiously behind him as the taller boy moved menacingly toward her captors.
"Let her go. Let her go RIGHT NOW."
They hesitated. Haru charged. They fled. For a moment, he considered going after them, just to pound some fear into their big heads, but then he heard a thud and Momiji's worried voice.
"Sasurai!! Sasurai, get up!"
Hatsuharu approached the girl lying on the ground, kneeling beside her. "How badly are you hurt?"
She slowly lifted her head, wiping some blood off a cut on her left cheek. "I'm fine."
"Which means you're too stubborn to admit you hurt like hell." He sat back on his heels, thinking. "I'd carry you, but then I'd transform…but that only happens if you hug me, so…"
He was silent for so long that Sasurai began to grow wary. "What are you…?"
Without warning, Hatsuharu grabbed her arms, causing her to yelp in pain. "Momiji, get her legs. We'll carry her this way."
"Hai!" The smaller boy hurried to do as he was bid and soon Sasurai was lifted off the ground quite awkwardly.
"PUT ME DOWN!"
"If I did that," Hatsuharu said logically, "you'd crash to the ground and then you'd get hurt again."
She had no reply to that, so settled for glaring at him.
---A little While Later…---
"Sasurai-san!" Tohru ran to where her friend was sitting unhappily, wincing as Hatori lightly ran his fingers over her ribs.
"You've got two fractured ribs," the doctor said gravely, checking her bandages and making sure all of her minor cuts and scrapes had been tended to. "Momiji told me what happened, so…thank you."
Sasurai blinked. She'd been expecting a lecture, not gratitude! "Huh?"
"Momiji cannot defend himself. If you hadn't stepped in, he'd be in much worse shape than he is now. As it were, he only has a few bruises. However…" And the look he shot her made her shrink down, intimidated. "Do not get into any more fights. I can't keep fixing you."
"Yes, sir," she squeaked, staring at the ground.
"Akito's waiting for us at the Main House, so Shigure, take care of her, understand?"
"Hai, Ha'-san! Don't worry, I'll be the best nurse Sasu-chan has ever had!"
Sasurai grabbed Tohru's hands in hers, looking up at the girl with urgency in her eyes. "NEVER LEAVE ME ALONE WITH HIM."
"H-hai…"
"Sasu-chan, you don't have to be so mean!"
"You are a pervert. I'm not letting you touch me!"
"She's right, you know."
"I agree with the baka neko, for once."
"STOP ACTING SO STUCK-UP, you damned nezumi!"
"Tohru-kun, they're all being mean to meeeeeeee…"
"DON'T GO TO HER FOR HELP, IDIOT!" THWACK.
"Itaiiiiiii…"
---The Main House---
"Ah, so there was a fight…" The voice was low and silky, but there was a tinge of ice in the tone, making stoic Hatori suppress a shudder.
"Hai. Momiji and Asamoya-san have several injuries, but nothing too serious. Hatsuharu is completely unharmed."
"Hmm. I see…I think the time grows close to when I must meet this girl for myself…I must see if this Asamoya Sasurai-san is worthy of knowing our secret…"
---OOC---
Yay! I'm done! -dances around- It's fun to write when you don't have distractions! Anyway…please review and Mai-chan is evil for making her fans turn on me, because she's not updating her fic 'til I post another one of mine. O.o Eviiiiiil. NEXT chapter!
- It's a trip to the onsen! Can Sasurai handle meeting the extremely apologetic hostess?
- Kisa shows up! Yay for tigers!
- Behold the ping-pong tournament that turns into a brawl…especially when Yuki and Kyou are involved!