Update 09/01/2018: I actually had some serious issues when rewriting this chapter—mainly because of how awful I thought it was before, but that's besides the point. I decided that it needed to mean more than just "shopping and a cute scene," so I added a few important things, like everyone finding out that Skylar and Aly have been adopted as well as Natsu (who's real name is Natsuhiko, fun fact; Skylar just likes nicknames) finding out that they live with the Sohmas~

—A Shopping Trip (and Some Mischief)—
—Third Person—

Kyo stretches his back without opening his eyes. The sun shining through the cracked door is bright, making him want to bury his face in the tatami flooring under him.

As he goes to roll over, though, something presses against his back, snuggling up against him.

He freezes, confused.

What the hell…?

The only time cats surround him in his sleep is when he has one of his bad nightmares—the ones that wake him up in attack mode and keep him up for the rest of the night—but he doesn't even remember dreaming, let alone having a nightmare, so why would any of the strays around the house crowd him?

Slowly, he turns his head, trying to see without bothering whatever it is.

His eyes widen.

Skylar's laying on her back next to him, her face turned towards him. She's so close, the tip of her nose is against his hoodie, her left hand curled into the curve of his back. All of her hair is a mess of knots behind her, reaching all the way to Aly, who's practically cuddled against Yuki.

He lets out a breath, relieved, and tries to extract himself without waking her up, but the moment he sits up, she whines and grabs onto part of his hoodie, locking him down.

He looks at her, trying to figure out how to get out of this mess, when she lets go of him and rolls over onto her side, strands of blonde hair falling on her face.

Shaking his head, he moves them out of the way.

Yuki wakes up at that moment, though, lifting himself up and rubbing his eyes. Kyo freezes in place, the tips of his fingers ghosting against Skylar.

"What're you doin'?" Yuki mumbles sleepily, blinking as his eyes focus and refocus.

Kyo glares. "What the hell does it matter to you, ya damn rat?"

He opens his mouth to retort, but his eyes catch a glimpse of brown hair, distracting him. "When did they get home?"

The cat shrugs, removing his hand. "I don't know—they were here when I woke up."

Yuki smiles. There's something charming about the sleeping brunette, a softness that's not there when she's awake. He notices she has dark circles under her eyes, though, like she's not getting enough sleep.

"I wonder why…" he murmurs.

Shaking himself out of it, Yuki looks away from her to see Kyo getting up, careful not to wake Skylar.

"Just what were you planning on doing to her?" he demands, disgusted.

Kyo's fist twitches. "What're you getting at?"
"How crude." Yuki gets up as well.

Kyo scowls. "You got something to say, pretty-boy?"

He doesn't retort at first, fixing the collar of his shirt, before he crosses his arms, looking at Kyo. "Stupid cat."

He clenches his fists. "Don't call me stupid!"

"Then don't act stupid, stupid!"

The girls stir, making the cat and rat stop moving.

Skylar rolls over again, sleepily snagging the bottom of Kyo's pant leg.

"Kyo…" she breathes, snuggling into the floor.

Kyo's fists relaxes, and he runs a hand through his hair. "Ah, whatever," he mutters, deflating.

What the hell am I doing?

—x—
—Skylar—

Breakfast is awkward.

For some reason, Kyo's quiet. Like, not "angrily stewing" quiet, but more of a "deep in thought" quiet, which is more unnerving. In the manga, it takes him a while before he's "deep in thought" quiet, so I'm a bit thrown off.

Did I do something? Is that why he won't look me in the eye?

I mean, I guess Aly and me ended up sleeping under the kotatsu longer than we meant to—neither of us are very good at waking up early, and the kotatsu's blanket is thick and warm, which is the perfect thing to cover up with during a cold front!—so they managed to wake up before us, but I don't think that's it.

On cue, Kyo ruffles his hair roughly and gets up without a word, leaving the room and heading for—what my guess is—the roof.

Yuki shoots him a cold look that Kyo barely registers before getting up as well. "I'll take the stupid cat's bowl into the kitchen."

As Yuki slides the door closed behind him, me and Aly share sympathetic looks, both of us completely lost.

Shigure smiles reassuringly. "Don't worry, you two! I'm sure Kyo and Yuki are just tired~"

I look at him and try to smile.

I doubt it, Shigure. I really doubt it.

I shove a chopstick-full of rice in my mouth and force myself not to sigh.

"Okay, guys, I've got to be going now," Tohru says, joining us in the room. "I pulled some meat out of the freezer like you asked Aly."

Aly smiles. "Thank you, Tohru. That means it'll be thawed by the time we get back."

Tohru looks at us apologetically. "I'm really sorry I couldn't come with you guys today."

"Don't worry about it~" I reassure her. "You've got work~ We can always go together next time~"

"If you're sure…"

"Just go," I say, waving her off with a smile. "We'll be fine here."

She nods. "I'll be back late, so don't wait up."

"Have a nice day~" Shigure sings as she leaves.

When the door slides close, he looks at us. "So, where are you two planning on running off to this evening?"

"Shopping for clothes," I say mindlessly, taking another lazy bite of rice. "We're in serious need of clothes."
"Not that we don't appreciate all of the kimonos you've lent us," Aly says quickly. "It's just—"

"We can't wear kimonos everywhere," I say.

Aly smacks me. "No," she says, giving me a look. "It's because we can't rely on you for everything."

Shigure chuckles. "I understand~" he assures us before pretending to be deep in thought. All of a sudden, his eyes light up. "How about you ask Yuki and Kyo to come with you?"

"I don't know about that," I say, looking at my bowl. "They seem… distant."

"Well, in that case, how about I go with you two?" Shigure suggests, smiling innocently.

Too innocently.

"Are you sure?" Aly asks. "We wouldn't want to get in your way."

He waves it off. "Don't worry—spending a day shopping with two pretty high school girls sounds so much more fun."

I chuckle. "Alright, then~ You can come~"

Aly stands up, collecting our bowls. "I'll do the dishes and tell Yuki."

"Okay," I say, standing up too. "I'll tell Kyo, then~"

Shigure snickers. "Make sure to tell them that I'm going with you two—wouldn't want them to worry."

I stop, looking at Aly.

He is planning something!

She shakes her head—a sign to ignore it and just continue what I'm doing—so I shrug, giving up, and head upstairs.

Kyo is—of course—lying on his back on the roof, hands behind his head. He has a dark look on his face, like he's conflicted or something, and it makes me want to wrestle the information out of him.

Instead, though, I climb up loudly, making sure he hears me, and tilt my head. "Kyo?" I try when he doesn't look over at me. "Are you alright?"

He finally glances at me, but it's only for a second and then his eyes are back to staring at the sky. "Fine," he answers. "What do you want?"

"Just…" I start as I sit down, but then I think better of it and shake my head. "No, it's nothing. I just wanted you to know that Aly and I are going shopping," I say. "Do you want to come?"

He's quiet for a moment. "Go ask that damn rat."

As expected~

I shake my head, smiling. "No, Shigure already said he'd go with us, so—"

That gets his attention. The orange cat ears practically pop up on his head, and he sits up, looking at me. "The damn dog?"

I nod slowly, a little confused.

"Damn," he cusses, standing up. "I'll come too."

I look up at him, blinking. "But, uh, why?" I wonder.

"Like I can let that damn dog have his way," Kyo says, glaring. "I bet he even planned it out too, the stupid mutt."

I know his words are harsh, but the expression on his face is such a relief—annoyed and worried, but not conflicted: his normal, perpetual look. I actually chuckle as he steams.

"What?" he demands.

I shake my head, smiling. "Nothing~ I'll meet you downstairs~"

—x—
—Aly—

Yuki is leaning against the counter, his cheek resting against his hand as he stares out the window. His expression is void, though, like he's not really seeing the outside scenery.

I clear my throat, trying to make sure he knows I'm here.

He glances at me and smiles softly, turning around. "Hello, Miss Marsh."

"Hey," I return, smiling.

The conversation kind of flops as I place the dishes in the sink and turn on the water, rinsing them off.

"Skylar and I are going clothes shopping," I say, breaking the silence. "Would you like to come?"

His eyes drift off, as if his mind is elsewhere, and he shakes his head. "I'm sorry, Miss Marsh—I'm afraid I have a lot of gardening to do."

I try to keep the disappointment from showing on my face. "It's all right—don't worry about it. Shigure said he would go with us anyway."

Yuki tenses, eyes narrowing suddenly. "Shigure did?" he checks.

I blink, confused. "Yes, why?"

He lets out a breath before smiling. "Actually, Miss Marsh, I think I'd like to get out of the house today after all."

"Are you sure?" I ask, turning to him. "If you're busy, I don't want you to feel like you have to go."

He smiles warmly. "I want to," he assures me.

I return the smile. "Okay! Then I'll meet you at the door."

He nods. "I'll finish the dishes for you, so go ahead and get ready."

"Thank you."

—x—
—Skylar—

"Shigure, I don't think we can afford this store," I mutter, looking at all of the silk blouses and extravagant dresses.

"Nonsense~" Shigure says. "This is my treat, of course!"

Aly looks at a price tag and squeaks. "But, Shigure, these prices are—"

He cuts her off. "Hatori was right when he said I should buy you decent clothes," Shigure says, grinning, "Besides, you two are part of this family, so it's only natural that I buy you some necessities."

"Because four pairs of tennis shoes and two pairs of heels and three pairs of sandals are necessary," I mutter.

I'm not joking either: off to the side, Kyo and Yuki are carrying seven bags in each hand. Most of the bags have more than five outfits in them, except for two, which have a ridiculous amount of shoes instead.

Aly shoots me a look before continuing her conversation with Shigure. "Seriously, Shigure, we can't just accept all of these things."

"Don't worry about it," he says, waving her off again as he hunts through a rack of cashmere items.

Aly sends me another look, one that says help me out here, so I look at Shigure.

"I'm gonna have to agree with Aly, Shigure. I mean, we don't need this much—" I try even though I know it's useless.

Like Aly, I had already tried convincing him not to spend so much money on us when this adventure first started nearly two hours ago, but I gave up after the sixth outfit because arguing with Shigure is like arguing with a wall—nothing happens because he pretends like you aren't talking.

"Wow! This is perfect for you, Skylar!" Shigure says suddenly, interrupting me and proving my point. "Try it on~"

I blink, confused, and take the clothes he's holding out to me without thinking, heading to the nearest changing room.

Because we haven't been able to keep him from spending money on us, I decided a few stores ago that I'd try on whatever he wanted to make up for it a bit before we make enough money to pay him back—at this rate, it's looking like it'll take me and Aly our entire high school career to pay him back—but then I look at what Shigure had handed me, eyes widening.

No. Way.

"Uh, Shigure…" I start.

"Yes, my dear?"

"Are you sure you handed me the right thing?"

"Beautiful, isn't it? I think it'll be a nice thing to wear when you and Aly officially meet the family~" he says, chuckling.

Meet the family? More like enter the family!

Shigure had handed me a wedding dress, the sly dog! And it's not something he just "happened" to pick to shut me up, either. It fits far too perfectly to be a whim, which means that man actually looked and thought about what would look nice on me.

I cringe, regretting my decision to go along with him so much right now.

Yuki, however, is distracted by what Shigure said. "Officially?" he repeats.

Shigure nods. "Aly and Skylar are being adopted into the Sohma family. Didn't you know?"

"What the hell're you talking about?" Kyo demands.

"Well, they're alone, right?" Shigure explains. "And they know the secret. Plus, they're already living with us, so it only makes sense."

"Does that mean the five of us will be related?" Aly wonders, and I cringe in the dressing room.

I don't want to be related to Kyo!

As if reading my mind, Shigure chuckles. "Not necessarily~ You'll be adopted by Akito personally, so you won't be related to any of us directly. Of course, this means you'll technically be Akito's daughters."

I tense, hands balling the fabric in my fists.

Daughters? We'll be Akito's daughters?

"They're gonna be that bastard Akito's daughters!?" Kyo barks at the same time Yuki says, "What!?"

"It's in their best interest, boys," Shigure assures them. Maybe it's my paranoia, but he seems a little too pleased by their reactions. "Skylar and Aly need officially documentation and an entire background to be here, so Akito's helping with that."

"How very… kind of him," Aly says, somehow managing to sound like she actually means it. "I can't wait to meet him."

I can.

Shaking my head, I look in the mirror.

Weirdly enough, the dress does look good on me. The white is more of a pearl color, hints of blue in it when the light hits it just right, with a delicate trim halfway down that reveals the soft, baby pink color of the slip I have under it. It's almost strapless, except it has sheer sleeves that hang off of my shoulders.

He even has a choker necklace in the pile of clothes that has the same design as the trim, and a pair of pearl gloves that reach a little past my elbows!

"Skylar~" Shigure sings. "We're waiting~"

My arm twitches, and I glare at the door.

I can't believe he actually wants me to come out like this!

I take a deep breath, mentally preparing myself to be thoroughly embarrassed, and open the door.

Aly gasps, covering her mouth as Kyo and Yuki's eyes widen.

Shigure, of course, claps. "What a lovely flower~" he says mischievously.

I'm gonna kill him.

Aly isn't helping, though—she's just standing there, gaping at me.

"Als~" I whine. "Please stop staring at me like I have another head and say something~"

"I just… I... Wow," she manages to stammer out as she comes over to me. "Skylar, you look… You look…"

"Beautiful? Radiant? Stunning?" Shigure offers.

Aly just nods her head. "All of them," she says. "How'd you know this pink would look so… And this white is just so…"

"I do have talent, don't I?" he says with a smug smile. "Call it: writer's intuition."

I laugh despite myself.

"You do look striking," Shigure compliments. A devious smile flashes across his face, and he's suddenly wrapping his arm around my waist with a dramatic smile. "You look so beautiful, I could kiss—"

Kyo whacks him upside the head with his fist, steaming. "Stop touching her like some creep, ya damn mutt," he growls.

I chuckle, giving Kyo a mental thumbs-up for hitting him when I couldn't.

Kyo looks at me, face heating up as we make eye-contact, and I can practically see the familiar cat ears popping on his head.

Aly snickers, but I ignore her.

"You, uh, you look, uh… nice," Kyo mutters, fizzling out as he rubs the back of his neck.

I smile. "Thanks, Kyo~"

Yuki rolls his eyes, and Aly chuckles under her breath.

"Well, I think that's enough shopping for one day. How about you guys run along and have fun? It's not everyday we visit Tokyo, after all~" Shigure suggests, rubbing his head.

I look at him. "Are you sure? I'd hate to leave you with all of the bags."

He smirks, and I know I've made a mistake. "If you're that worried about it, you can always pay me back with a—"

Kyo gets him in the head again, sending him flying into the shelves.

This time, I laugh openly as Aly shakes her head.

"Go get changed," Kyo orders. "I'll wait for you."

"Okay~" I say happily. I get to spend the rest of the day with Kyo!

"We'll come with you two," Aly says.

I tilt my head, looking past her to Yuki, who looks like he's already regretting all of his decisions in life.

"With Yuki?" I wonder.

She shrugs. "I said I wanted to hang out with you, and he said that it was fine since he'd already spent this much time with Kyo."

I nod. "Good~ It's been a while since we got to hang out since our cat and rat don't like each other, so I'm glad Yuki is so understanding~"

"Can't say the same for Kyo," Aly says, nodding to the cat.

I smack her. "Be nice to him—he tries his best too!"

She smirks. "Yeah, I saw him try his hardest to give a certain blonde a compliment."

"Hush~" I say. "I'm going to change out of this—I'll be back~"

"You really do look pretty, by the way," she says, smiling.

I return her smile. "Thanks, babe~"

Despite the compliments, the dress weighs a ton, so I'm glad when I finally get it off. It's a relief to put on my red and white striped tank top and blue jean shorts instead. For fun, I had picked out a pair of lime green, thigh-high socks to go with the colorful belt I wanted to wear this morning, but now I'm regretting it because it's annoying to pull them all the way up my leg before I can slip on the white converse that Shigure bought me—they have a cute bow pattern on them, so I decided to change into them after he paid for them.

I step out as soon as I'm done and meet an angry Kyo.

"Why do I gotta put up with that damn rat?" he demands.

"It'll be fine, Kyo~" I say. "You've put up with him this long, right?"

"Yeah, you stupid cat. Stop trying to ruin everything," Yuki retorts.

Kyo opens his mouth to say something, so I step in. "Let's explore some of the stores," I say quickly.

Kyo is still glaring at Yuki, so I shake my head with a smile and grab his hand, tugging him.

"C'mon~" I say.

"What're—"

I just smile at him as I force him out of the store. He grumbles unhappily next to me but doesn't make any move to take his hand back, making me grin as we wander through the mall, looking for something interesting.

"What?" he demands, looking at me.

"Nothing~" I say innocently.

Suddenly, Aly brightens, tugging my sleeve. "Skylar! Look!" she says, pointing.

I look away from Kyo and follow her finger to an antique store that has "Sword" spelled out in English letters with shiny swords.

Of course Aly manages to find the one antique store in Shinjuku Mall that has a sword theme of all things.

"Can we check it out?" she asks Yuki.

He nods. "Sure."

She rushes in without thinking, too excited to bother keeping Yuki at her side, and I laugh.

"She… really likes swords," Kyo says, a little weirded out.

"She likes the history of katanas," I explain, "not the sword itself."

Kyo makes a face. "The history?"

I nod. "Aside from English, Aly's a history nerd."

"How cute," Yuki says, smiling as he heads into the store.

Kyo rolls his eyes, and I chuckle.

"Well, look who it is~" a voice says, pulling us from the rat. Natsu smiles at me. "What're you two doing here?"

Kyo groans as I return his smile. "Hey, Natsu~ We were shopping for clothes, but now we're just exploring. What're you doing here?"

"We had a game here today, so the coach is letting us hang out for a few hours before we go back," he says.

"Did you win?" I wonder.

"Naturally~"

I laugh.

He smiles, proud of himself, before his eyes hone in on our hands, a smirk forming. "Well well well~ When did you two become official, Kyo Kyo?"

Kyo's face turns beet red as he rips his hand away from mine. "Never! We never became official!" he hisses. "And don't call me Kyo Kyo!"

"No need to be shy now~" Natsu teases. "I won't tell anyone~"

"We're not together!"

"You're awfully red for someone who's not secretly dating the famous foreign student~"

"I told you I'm not!"

"Could've fooled me~"

"Screw this!" Kyo finally gives up. "I'm going back to the car!"

Natsu laughs as Kyo storms away, and then he notices I'm giving him a look.

"Don't glare at me~" he says. "It's not my fault he's too easy~"

I sigh, shoving my hands in my pockets. "Do you always have to tease him? We were having a good time, you know."

Natsu grins. "Upset 'cuz I ruined your date?"

"It wasn't a date," I say. "We're here with three other people."

"Really? Who?"

"Yuki and Aly are in the antique store over there, and Shigure's probably at the car, waiting for us."

"Shigure?"

"Oh, that's right! I didn't tell you~" I rub my head. "Actually, me and Aly live with Kyo and Yuki. Shigure's their cousin, and he's technically the guardian of the three of us."

His eyes widen. "What? No way!"

I nod. "Yeah~ That's why we're here, actually: Shigure tricked us into spending time together."

"I like this Shigure guy already," Natsu decides, grinning. "I can't believe you live with the Prince and Hothead!"

"It's pretty amazing~" I agree.

"That explains why you and Kyo Kyo seemed to get close overnight, though," he says thoughtfully. "I was actually being a little serious when I asked if you two had started dating."

"Nope~ I just lack boundaries~"

"Like most Americans." Natsu grins.

I swat at him just as Aly comes out of the store with Yuki.

"Woah~ Speak of the Prince himself!"

Yuki shifts awkwardly. "Hello, Natsuhiko."

"Where's Kyo?" Aly wonders.

"Natsu made him angry, so Kyo's waiting for us at the car."

"Stupid cat," Yuki mutters.

"Welp, I've done my duty, so I'm gonna head out," Natsu says. "Want to come with me? We could get lunch or something~"

I eye him. "What're you planning on doing after lunch?"

He grins.

"No thanks," I decide, shaking my head. "I don't make a good wingwoman~"

"Alright~ If you insist~" he says.

"I insist," I assure him.

"Then I'll see you at school tomorrow~"

"Have fun~" I say, earning a wave from him.

"Why would you be a wingwoman?" Aly asks as soon as he's out of earshot.

"Oh, Natsu likes to play around," I say. "In more ways than just one~"

She understands instantly. "I didn't know he was like that."

"Yep~ That's why Kyo calls him a flirt so much~"

"Huh," she says. "I never would've guessed."

I wave her off. "Don't worry about Natsu; he's harmless~" I grin. "Did you get anything?"

She nods, smiling. "Look!"

My eyes widen as she shows me the shiny blade. "It's a miniature katana!" I say.

"They're called pocket knives, Sky," she deadpans.

I blink. "Oh, right~" I laugh, rubbing my head. "Whoops~ My bad~"

She rolls her eyes. "Idiot."

—x—

BLAH BLAH BLAH:
Woo! The first time a third person PoV is introduced in the main story line~ Honestly, I don't know why I decided to write this chapter~ Someone wanted to know what Kyo and Yuki thought when they woke up, so I decided to make a "next day" type thing. Besides, Skylar and Aly needed clothes anyway, so it works out~

Also, I recommend reading this story on Wattpad (I'm on there under the same name as here) because I added a picture of Skylar in the wedding dress as soon as she walks out—I even made it look like what I thought the scene would look like if this was a doujinshi or something. I even captioned it the way mangas often do (because it's fun and why not? lol).

At any rate, tell me what you think, cupcakes~

Happy reading~(: