Monday arrived and I woke up early to ready myself for the jog around town that our gym class would be doing.

Monday had arrived more quickly than anticipated, but I didn't complain. I just grabbed my gym clothes and headed off to school like normal.

When I arrived, I greeted Yuki, Kyo, Tohru, and Tohru's friends, Uo and Hana.

Yuki came and talked to me privately, but that's when I noticed he was a bit off.

"Yuki are you feeling ok?" I asked sort of bluntly.

He seemed surprised and then spoke curiously, tilting his head, "How did you know?" he said smiling.

I shrugged my shoulders, "Just a feeling…" I said placing my hand over his forehead.

He looked up at my hand and then back at me, smiling sheepishly.

"You have a fever…" I said, furrowing my eyebrows in concern.

He looked a bit guilty.

I smirked, "You knew you were sick and still came to school?" I said teasingly.

He smiled slightly, but then, upon noticing my frown, he frowned too. "Please don't push yourself."

He sighed to himself, "Alright, this happened once, I'll prevent further worry by going home." He said, rubbing his head while still smiling.

"I'll walk you home, just in case." I said smiling back.

He nodded without resistance and allowed me to come with him. I was actually surprised and thought he'd persuade me to stay, but maybe he really did enjoy my company.

We told the teacher about the situation and he, thankfully, dismissed us for the day.

We said goodbye to Tohru, Kyo, Uo, and Hana while I grabbed my bag and we left just like that. I was surprised that it all went down without a hitch.

Yuki and I walked down the streets all the way back to his house.

He seemed a bit sluggish, so I had to help him several times, probably a result of his worsening fever. After a little more walking Yuki spoke up.

"I just need to sit down for a little…" he said, looking a bit pale.

I sat him down in the grass and allowed him to relax, frowning worriedly. At this rate I would have to carry him and god knows how sketchy it would be for me to stroll around with a rat and boys uniform in my arms.

Just then, a girl stepped onto the street.

She had short black hair and black eyes and was wearing revealing clothes with a pretty gothic style. She was the only person around and she seemed upset.

She was walking right past us before I heard Yuki speak again.

"Isuzu…" he said curiously, blinking at her.

Upon hearing Yuki's voice, the girl, or Isuzu, immediately turned to us in surprise.

I looked back and forth between Yuki and Isuzu as they gazed at each other quietly.

"Yuki…" she said, definitely surprised.

He simply nodded, but then, remembering that I was just awkwardly sitting there, Yuki introduced us.

"Oh, Miss Suzumoto, this is Isuzu Sohma, or Rin if you wish to call her that." He said calmly.

I nodded, smiling politely, "Hello Rin, I'm Ayumi Suzumoto…"

I stuck out my hand and Rin shook it delicately and just stared before she invited herself to sit with us.

That's when it got quiet.

The air was sort of awkward so I decided to ultimately break the silence.

"So Rin, are you a member of the zodiac?" I asked curiously, not exactly sure how she would react to my bold question.

She just nodded, much to my surprise.

"The horse." She said simply.

"Oh really! I love horses. They really are beautiful animals…" I said excitedly.

She smiled slightly, taking it as a compliment for herself I assumed, "Thank you…"

I nodded in a confident response.

Rin and I casually talked for a while like old friends, though she was pretty quiet compared to my more bubbly nature.

We got to know each other quite a bit, but then I remembered that I had to take Yuki home, but he had fallen asleep.

Rin insisted that she help me take him home since he was unconscious and that would mean me carrying him around in his zodiac form.

So she changed into her zodiac form, which was a pure black horse, however, I had no idea how she managed to change into her zodiac form on command.

She insisted she carry Yuki home so she got on her knees and I carefully pulled Yuki onto her back.

I lead Rin through the streets and I walked alongside her. Surprisingly not many people acknowledged, but that may be because they were too confused to say anything about a random girl walking a horse through the neighborhood.

"I've heard a lot about you…" she said bluntly.

I turned to her, "Like what?" I said curiously.

She shut her eyes, almost carefully thinking of what to say next.

"Your parents and some of your past sort of." She said curiously. "I envy that you can smile the way you do… even after going through all that"

"I'd like to get to know you more and maybe, we can be friends." she said softly, watching me carefully for my reaction, her almost black eyes sparkling.

I blinked in utter surprise.

"…Yeah, I'd like to get to know you too, Rin." I said smiling at her, subconsciously blocking out the rest of what she had said.

She smiled back, it was subtle, but it was evident.

We continued to walk and talk as I carefully tried to keep Yuki on Rin's back.

We finally came to the edge of the forest and I led her to the Sohma's home. When we arrived I told Shigure what happened and he and Haru, who had come to visit us, helped Yuki to his room.

I stayed with Rin until she turned back into her human form and gave her her clothes.

"I hope to see you again, I would like to be friends, Miss Suzumoto…" she said smiling again as she dressed herself

After that, just as quickly as she came, she left hastily before I could respond. Haru came to get me shortly after.

I followed him upstairs to Yuki's room and, when we got in, we talked a little about Rin.

"Why was she with you guys anyway?" Haru asked, obviously very confused and almost bewildered.

I told him about our meeting and he took in every word quietly which was so like him.

"Hm, how strange…" he said under his breathe.

He turned to me a shook his head, "Never mind, it's just not like her, that's all…" he said, immediately putting my questions to rest.

I nodded my head slowly and we both looked to Yuki, who was still unconscious.

Haru, changing the subject, smirked. "You know, Tohru opened him up a bit, but now that you're here… he's practically an open book."

I thought carefully about what he said.

Haru leaned into my ear and whispered, "I'll prove it. When he wakes up, try calling him by his nickname… I bet it'll cheer him up."

Just then, Yuki had woken up.

"Hey Yuki…" I said, turning my attention away from Haru's request, relieved that he had finally woken up and looked fine nonetheless.

He looked up, as if he was surprised to see me there, "Miss Suzumoto… Where am I?" He said sitting up in his bed abruptly before he gasped.

"That's right! I was… we were talking and… You and Isuzu had to carry me back here didn't you…?"

I shook my head, "It's alright Yuki, don't worry about me, how are you feeling?"

He smiled and shut his eyes softly, "I'm fine, but, really, thank you for helping me again. You're really too kind to me"

I smiled back at him, but I suddenly remembered what Haru told me.

"You're too good to me. Well I'm glad you're feeling better…" I paused, "Prince Yuki…"

His eyes were still closed, but he replied, "Yes, I hope I didn't-…"

He paused and his eyes widened as he blushed a brilliant red. Yuki gasped and kept stuttering before he transformed back into his rat from.

I couldn't believe it!

"O-oh screw you Haru…" I said trying to cover my blushing face.

Haru seemed pleased with himself and just smiled at Yuki in his rat form.

Yet another zodiac to meet! Some of you may be confused as to who she is since she didn't actually get into the anime ;-; so sad. But she is in the manga so go read that! :3 Anyways I hope you guys enjoyed the chapter!

Stay creative my friends~