Haru and Rin: Riku and Sora

Dweedle dweedle dweedle. Dweedle dweedle dweedle. Dweedle dweedle dweedle.

Growling, Hatsuharu rolled over in bed and reached blindly for the nightstand, trying to get his phone.

Dweedle dweedle dweedle. Dweedle dweedle dweedle. Dweedle dweedle dweedle.

Finally he found it, yanking it over to his face and giving it a glance before answering with a snarl.

"Do you have any fucking idea what time it is?"

Rin's voice on the other end was dry and annoyed. "Yes, it's almost one-thirty in the goddamned afternoon, Haru, so don't start with me."

He growled again, passing his hand over his face. "Yeah, and you know I only made it to bed five hours ago!"

"Well, whose fault is that?"

"I dunno, my damn job's? Should I've just stayed down in Osaka and slept there, instead?"

On the other end of the phone, Rin sighed, and her voice softened slightly. "Look, Haru, I'm sorry, ok? I know you got in late, and I really did want to let you sleep."

"-But?" He said, trying and failing to keep the annoyance out of his voice. In general, he was a pleasant person, well-known for his easy-going attitude. It was something that made him easy to be around, likeable, and definitely served as a contributing factor to his continued success in his career as a model. But there were exceptions to every rule, and Haru had never been pleasant after being woken up early.

Whatever time 'early' happened to be.

"I got a call from the school."

That got Haru's attention, and he sat up with a scowl. "Fucking hell, what's up their asses this time? Sora offend someone again? Or is it another goddamn academic probation thing? Or no...Riku got in another fight?"

Haru and Rin had never really thought they'd be parents, at least not with any degree of certainty. Rin had found out she was pregnant when Haru was away for a location shoot, and when he walked in the door five days later she'd broken the news with her typical calm grace: 'Hey, you dumbass, my fucking birth control failed and I'm fucking pregnant.'

It had been a stressful time.

But accepting they were going to be parents became a lot harder when they learned there was not just one baby coming, but two. Rin had been panicked and hysterical; it had taken all of Haru's substantial reserves to bring her around, and the whole time he'd been screaming himself on the inside. That had continued to be the pattern for the remainder of her pregnancy, and by the time her delivery date approached Haru had been at the point of cracking himself.

Somehow, though, they'd managed. And as they looked at their tiny newborns, babies they were both able to hold, Haru and Rin had sworn that they would do everything in their power to give their kids what they'd never had: a life filled with unconditional parental love, and unconditional parental support.

Sometimes, that love and support could be a little challenging. While there was never any question that they loved their kids, Sora and Riku could definitely be...challenging at times. Sora was a sweet girl, but definitely prone to think without speaking and never seemed to care who she offended, up to and including teachers and administrators. Riku could be stoic to the point of absolute silence, but he'd gotten in more fights than either of his parents could keep track of any more, often involving Sora. And then there were Sora's grades...

Being called be the kids' school was not a new thing, but it could definitely be damn inconvenient.

Over the phone, Rin's voice was terse. "The principal didn't actually say, just that he wants one of us to be there at 3:30 to 'discuss something with Riku.' He apparently had another call he had to take, so he hung up before I could get more details."

Haru was unimpressed and he growled again. "Seriously? That's all? Tells us to show up like he's calling a fucking dog and doesn't even say why?" He sighed, collapsing back against the pillow. "Probably another fight, I'm guessing."

"Probably." Rin's voice was disgusted, and Haru agreed with a snort.

"So you can't go, I'm guessing?" He said, trying and failing to keep the annoyance out of his voice yet again.

"No. I have a progress review starting at two and it's going to take us at least a couple hours."

Haru swore softly, then sighed. "3:30, you said?"

"That's right."

Making an annoyed sound, Haru forcefully stabbed an alarm into his phone. "I'll be there at 3:30. But before I go, I'm gonna try to get a little more sleep so I can listen to the fucking principal without wanting to rip his goddamn head off."

He could hear Rin's smile over the phone. "I love you, Haru."

"Love you too. Now fuck off and let me sleep."

When Haru walked into the principal's office at the twins' middle school that afternoon, he was feeling and looking a lot more pleasant. He'd only gotten one additional hour of sleep, but that was enough to allow him to at least be socially functional, and that was all that these things ever required.

He shot a glance at his son as he walked over to the desk. Riku was absolutely stone-faced, his head turned and looking out the window as Haru walked in, and Haru fought the impulse to sigh. Another fight, clearly, and Riku was as little inclined to talk about it as ever.

It would be so much easier if they just started bringing Sora to these things, too. She was always the one best able to fill Haru and Rin in on the details; Riku could be ridiculously close-mouthed when it came to protecting his sister.

Then again, Haru would probably have a tough time staying calm himself, if he was around to hear some of the things that provoked Riku's anger. Whether or not Sora started it, there were some lines that should never be crossed.

As Haru settled into his chair next to Riku, the principal gave him that painfully polite smile he always had, and Haru wanted to sigh again. Someone really needed to teach the guy how to look normal when he was smiling, it would make all of this a lot easier. As it was, Haru always got the impression when he was here that the principal was somehow trying to chastise him, not just his children.

Good luck with that.

"Thank you for coming, Mr. Sohma. It always makes things much easier when parents are prompt and involved when we have issues that needed addressing."

Haru waved him off. "Yeah, yeah, no problem." He glanced from the principal to Riku, then back to the principal as he leaned back and crossed his leg. "So what's this about? My wife said you didn't say," he said in his mild way, though he managed to work juuuuust enough accusation in there to make the principal shift uncomfortably.

Good.

"Well, Mr. Sohma, the truth of the matter is that I felt it would be best to discuss in person," Mr. Saito said, folding his hands and looking across the desk at Hatsuharu with the tiniest hint of apprehension. "And before we begin, I want you to understand that this is in no way meant to be a criticism of you yourself, or any of your...choices."

Haru didn't appreciate his tone, his phrasing, or the way his gaze had suddenly slid over Haru himself. Suddenly Haru was sitting straight up, his face and voice still mild but his eyes narrowed slightly.

Whatever else this was, he was pretty sure it didn't involve Sora.

"I'm sure it isn't, so why don't you just tell me what it is?"

Mr. Saito nodded, then took a breath. "Mr. Sohma, as I'm sure you're aware, this establishment has certain rules, rules we expect all our students to adhere to."

Haru agreed. "Yup. Pretty standard for schools, I'm sure."

Mr. Saito nodded yet again, clearly feeling relieved by Haru's composure. "These rules are essential for ensuring order and discipline, for helping our students prepare for high school and the world beyond. And while we understand that there are certain...exceptions," he said, again looking at Haru in that way he really didn't like, "there are generally expectations when it comes to an individual's appearance in the greater world."

Oh hell no.

"And this is part of the reason why we likewise have expectations and therefore rules about how our students look."

Haru turned his head from the principal to look at Riku, or rather, the back of Riku's head, since his son was still staring out the window. Haru suddenly understood with blinding clarity just why he was here, and it was suddenly harder that it had ever been for him to keep his temper with the pompous little man behind the desk, the man alternating between droning and judging.

"Now, Mr. Sohma, obviously you are free to make your own choices, particularly in your particular profession-"

Haru couldn't stop himself. "-Oh, you'll let me? That's so very generous."

Mr. Saito shifted uncomfortably again at the sarcastic tone in Haru's voice, lifting his hands and straightening up in his chair. "Yes, well, as I said, societal expectations will always have their exceptions-"

"Mr. Saito, we're both adults. And I'd appreciate it if instead of dancing around, you just got to the goddamn point and saved us both the time."

Mr. Saito gave Haru a disappointed frown, then steeled himself. "Mr. Sohma, I'm afraid your son's hair is completely unacceptable."

He knew it. He absolutely fucking knew it. And he was fucking pissed.

But Haru kept his face and voice calm. "Completely unacceptable, huh?" He looked once more at Riku, then back at Mr. Saito. "Is there a length requirement for boys' hair?"

That caught Mr. Saito by surprise, he could see, and the principal shifted again. "Well, yes, of course-"

"Is Riku's hair too long?"

The other man shook his head. "No, the length is perfectly acceptable; well within acceptable limits, in fact."

"Well, good. Doesn't seem to be 'completely unacceptable' to me, then."

Knife, twisted.

Mr. Saito paused, then inclined his head. "You're right, Mr. Sohma. Please excuse my poor choice of words. However, while Riku's hair meets the length requirements, we have very strict policies about our students' hair colors, and under no circumstances do we allow dyed hair."

Haru and Rin had wondered when this day was coming, ever since they realized that Riku had inherited Haru's extraordinarily unique hair color. For most of his life, Riku had preferred to keep his hair cropped close, and when it was very short, it was as black as his sister's. But once it got longer that a finger's width in length, it turned as snowy white as Haru's own.

It was a recent thing, Riku's longer hair. It was still laughably short, maybe half the length of Haru's own, if that, but it was enough. And as Haru glanced back at his son's silent form, he knew it was more than time for him to have this fight.

Turning back to Mr. Saito, Haru gave the principal his most charming smile. "Oh, I understand completely, Mr. Saito. Can't make exceptions to a rule like that, otherwise everyone's gonna want one, right?"

Mr. Saito gave him a relieved smile. "Yes, Mr. Sohma, so I'm sure you can un-"

"-Good thing that's his natural color, huh?"

That wasn't expected, either, and the confusion was obvious on the principal's face as he looked at Haru. "I beg your pardon, Mr. Sohma?"

"His hair. That's his natural color," Haru repeated, gesturing at Riku. "His, mine," he added, flicking his fingertips through the edges of his own hair. "I get that it's a little weird, but he's always kept it too short for the white to show before."

Mr. Saito was giving him a thoroughly unimpressed look. "Mr. Sohma, I can understand and appreciate the desire of teenage boys to want to emulate their fathers, but just because you've chosen the same modification yourself-"

"Are you even listening? Like I said, it's natural. Not dyed. Not a modification. Just our hair, growing in all on its own."

Mr. Saito's eyes were narrowed now. "Mr. Sohma, I appreciate your dedication to your aesthetic. But no matter how strongly you feel about it, even if you consider this...representation to be your 'true self,' that doesn't change-"

"-It doesn't change the fact that you're apparently a goddamn idiot who can't listen!" Haru's placid manner and voice were gone, replaced by a snarl so intense that Mr. Saito couldn't help but shrink away. "Clearly you've got a problem understanding me, so I'm gonna talk slowly and use little words."

Riku was still stoic and unmoving, still staring out the window, but Haru had Mr. Saito's alarmed attention and he took full advantage.

"It. Is. Natural. He was born with it, just like me. No dye. No bleach. Just time. Grows in black, turns white after about half an inch. Always has, always will too, probably."

Haru's voice was quieter, but the snarl was still there and Mr. Saito had to fight to compose himself enough to respond. "Mr. Sohma, surely you can hear how implausible what you're describing is?"

"Yeah, and life's full of implausible realities, isn't it?" Haru said, his voice levelling out more. "This?" He said, reaching up and touching his hair. "Is one of them."

Mr. Saito was still giving him a disbelieving look, and Haru scowled again. "You want proof? We can get you proof. Any picture of me from any time in my life, you'll see the exact same thing. You think you're the first person to think it's fake? Guess what, you're not, and I'll give you just as much courtesy as I've ever given anyone else who's gotten bent outta shape about it."

"Mr. Sohma, while I appreciate your commitment-"

Haru straightened up again and glared at him. "Are you saying you don't believe me? What, you think I'd doctor photos, given the chance?"

"I never said I didn't be-"

Oh yes you fucking did, when you started questioning it when I told you this is our natural hair color. I could show you proof right this second if you really wanted, but I'm not about to get a fucking sexual harassment charge because you're a goddamn idiot!"

Mr. Saito's eyes were wide again. "Mr. Sohma, I have no idea what you're implying, but-"

"I'm implying that it's my natural hair color, Mr. Saito, and that means everywhere, on every part of my fucking body. You wanna see proof, just say the word and I'll show you, right here, right now. Got it?"

At that, Mr. Saito did indeed get it, and he gave Haru a shocked look. Then he went silent, looking away from Haru to look stone-faced at his desk. Then after a long moment, he took a breath and turned that stone-faced look onto Haru himself.

"If you can provide the school with actual photographs of yourself as a child that clearly show this," he said, gesturing at Haru's hair, "is natural, then we will allow Riku to keep it."

"You're so generous," Haru said sarcastically, rising to his feet. "There anything else?"

"No, Mr. Sohma, that's quite enough."

Haru completely agreed, and he gave Mr. Saito a terse nod before turning to his son. "Riku, let's go."

Both Haru and Riku were silent as they walked out of the school and started for the station. Haru had calmed down by then, but he was still annoyed; annoyed, and incredibly pissed off.

It had been years since he'd struggled with his hair himself, though he understood a large part of that was due to the simple fact that people assumed he bleached it. But when he was younger, it had been a sometimes-daily struggle; the teasing from other kids, the censure from the adults. His gravitation towards his more rebellious aesthetic had been as much him leaning into the opinion people had of him as a conscious adoption of Rin's style, and it was only when he started to embrace all of it that he truly managed to stop it from bothering him.

Good thing, too, because Black Haru had never been good at pulling his punches.

But now it was happening all over again, with Riku instead of himself. And somehow, having it be Riku was almost worse.

Eventually, Haru spoke. "Well, I might've made things awkward with Mr. Saito now, sorry about that."

Riku shrugged. "Not like I care, we weren't exactly buddy-buddy either way."

Haru cracked a smile at that, and Riku suddenly did too. "Though having my dad threaten to show the principal his dick probably made it even worse."

"Yeah, well, he was the one being a fucking ass about it," Haru said, his eyes narrowing again. "Fucking asshole, calling me a liar to my goddamn face."

Riku nodded, then hesitated, giving Haru a look. "If it'd make things easier, Dad, I could just go back to cutting my hair shorter."

Haru scowled, then shook his head. "No fucking way, Riku, not unless you actually want to yourself. Yeah, it's a goddamn pain, but it's a pain I'm gonna take to get this dealt with. And your mom'd agree in a heartbeat. It's your hair, no one's gonna make you cut it or dye it if you don't wanana, even if it means I have to figure out where the hell to dig up pictures of me as a kid."

Riku chuckled at that, shifting his backpack higher on his shoulder. Then he paused, thinking for a second before looking over at Haru. "Do you ever wonder why we have this hair, Dad? Did you ever wonder, when you were a kid and having to deal with all the bullshit people said, why it grows like this?"

Haru answered automatically. It was the obvious answer, the only answer. How could he answer anything but the truth, especially when his son was asking him point blank?

"Oh, I never wondered. It's an annoying side effect of how I used to turn into a fucking cow. At least that part's done with, even if we're stuck with the hair."

Riku stared at him for a long moment, then snorted. "Haha, Dad."

Haru raised a brow. "What, don't believe me? Fair enough, that part's pretty weird. But that's why."

Riku shook his head, and the two of them lapsed back into silence as they made their way to the train.

"Rikkun was in the principal's office again? And didn't even tell Sora? That was so mean, Rikkun!"

Riku looked at his sister, who was sprawled across the foot of his bed and had been, ever since he and Dad had gotten back to the condo. He wasn't surprised his sister was surprised, and he also wasn't surprised she wasn't upset, at least about the actual going-to-the-principal part.

"It was dumb, Sora, the whole thing."

"Rikkun should have let Sora decide for herself! I am your big sister, Rikkun, that means you need to let Sora defend you!"

Riku snorted. While it was technically true that Sora was older, they were twins, so it wasn't like it was by any significant margin. Beyond that, she was smaller, shorter, and definitely the one far more in need to defending in literally all things.

Though he could appreciate the sentiment, at least, and he dignified her with a shrug.

"Like I said, it was dumb. Mr. Imura suddenly decided he had a problem with my hair, so he sent me to Mr. Saito, and Dad had to come deal with it."

Sora's eyes widened, and she stared at him in confusion. "Rikkun's hair? But it's your natural color!"

"I know that! But Mr. Saito was being a dick about it." Riku scowled, then chuckled. "Dad offered to let Mr. Saito see his, to prove it."

Sora's eyes widened again, then she cracked up. "Papa's so practical, isn't he? Did Mr. Saito do it? Sora always wonders if he's got the hots for Papa, he's always calling him into school and wanting to be alone with him."

Riku rolled his eyes. "He's always being called in 'cause of you, Sora."

"And you," she pointed out, and he shrugged.

"Anyway," Sora continued, "Sora wants to know what happened!"

"Dad got mad, Mr. Saito got all huffy. Dad offered to show Mr. Saito his dick, Mr. Saito said no, and Mr. Saito agreed to 'let me keep my hair,'" he said, rolling his eyes heavily, "if Dad can provide some pictures of himself as a kid with his hair."

"Aww, little baby Papa pictures! Sora wants to see them, he must have been so cute!" Sora beamed, then looked at Riku. "Rikkun is so lucky Papa can prove their hair color! People are always so mistrusting of Papa and poor Rikkun, it's so sad!"

"Yeah, well, it's not like it's common, having hair like this," Riku admitted with a snort. Then he chuckled suddenly, and Sora looked up at him curiously.

"Get this, Sora. I asked Dad if he ever wondered why our hair's like this, ok? And he doesn't even bat an eye, just looks at me and's like 'oh, I know why. It's 'cause I used to turn into a cow.'"

Sora looked at him with wide, curious eyes. "What?"

Riku was still chuckling. "Yeah. It was totally dumb, of course, but he was so weirdly serious about it. I could almost have thought he believed it, maybe he used to pretend he was a cow or something when he was a kid."

"Huh. Sora wonders why Papa never said that before!"

In the living room, Haru was just finishing explaining the meeting to Rin, who'd just gotten home from work. And as he expected, she was just as angry about the whole thing as he'd been.

"Ugh, that man makes me so fucking angry, he's such a smug little bastard. Every time I have to go in, he talks to me like I'm a fucking idiot, and I hate it," Rin said with a scowl, stalking across the living space to the kitchen to make herself some tea. Then she sighed, looking over at Haru. "I'm sorry you had to wake up and deal with him."

Haru shrugged. "Eh. This time, it was probably best I handled it. Though then you probably woulda got to hear about me and my 'questionable aesthetic choices' or whatever bullshit term he was using, insteada me getting to sit there and listen to it myself."

Rin sighed again. "So, were you able to sort it out?"

"I've gotta find some pictures of me as a kid somewhere to show the school I've always had this hair, and they'll back off of Riku. I offered to show Mr. Saito my dick-"

Rin bit back a laugh "-Of course you did."

"-But he said no thanks. I felt mildly insulted, to be honest. People've offered me a lot of money to see it."

"Don't I know it," Rin said with a chuckle. "Well, at least that's dealt with. And maybe we can actually make it an entire fucking week before either of us has to see him again."

Haru was nodding his agreement when suddenly Sora came flying into the room like a whirlwind, throwing herself onto the couch right beside Haru and wrapping her arms around his neck.

"Papa, it's mean to keep secrets, especially from Sora! Sora is supposed to know things before Rikkun, always!"

Haru chuckled down into his daughter's eyes, giving her a hug. "Hey there, baby girl. Who says I'm keeping secrets?"

"Sora! How come Papa told Rikkun he used to turn into a cow, but he never told Sora?"

Across the room in the kitchen, Rin froze in place. Then she slowly lifted her head and looked across at Sora, the amused expression she'd worn when Sora'd first tackled Haru gone and replaced by something else entirely. "What?"

Sora looked up and beamed at Rin. "Welcome home, Mama! Sora doesn't mind if Mama knew Papa used to turn into a cow, but Papa really should have told Sora before Rikkun. Sora is older!"

Rin lowered her hands to the counter and turned from Sora to fix Haru in a terrifyingly menacing glare. "Haru, what is she talking about?"

Haru glanced back over his shoulder to give Rin a surprised look. "Well, Riku asked if I'd ever wondered why we had this hair. What was I supposed to tell him?"

Rin couldn't believe what she was hearing. How many times had they talked about this, over the years? How many times had they talked about things like timing, and intention, and...

And Haru had just decided to casually drop he used to turn into a cow? Without her? Or even giving her a head's up?

"I can't fucking believe you, Haru," Rin snarled. Abandoning her tea, Rin turned and stomped across the living room and down the hall towards their bedroom, stalking right past Riku as he walked into the living room in the process.

"Hey, Mom."

"Hey Riku. I'm fucking pissed at your father."

"Figured."

As Rin slammed the door behind her, Riku walked out into the living room. "What'd you do to Mom, Dad?"

"Mama is mad that Papa told Rikkun he turned into a cow before he told Sora, too!"

Haru sighed and detached Sora's arms from around his neck. "Don't worry, I'll get this sorted out."

Following after Rin, Haru stopped at their bedroom door and experimentally twisted the knob. Locked.

"Rin, lemme in. We can talk."

"Why? You've already started talking, doesn't fucking seem like you need me."

"Started, yeah, but you know how I always like to finish with you."

The door cracked open and she gave him an incredulous look. "Seriously, Haru?"

His hand was already pushing the door open. "Worked, didn't it?"

She scowled at him, then opened the door enough for him to come in the rest of the way before slamming the door shut behind him.

In the living room, the twins exchanged glances, then both of them promptly scurried down the hall and into Dad's workroom, which was right next to their parents' room. Sore threw herself into the window frame, balancing against Riku's shoulder and reaching up to unhook the top locks while Riku went for the window sash, unlocking it and throwing it open, then the two of them leaned towards the screen and concentrated, listening intently to the sounds carrying from the window next door.

"Seriously, Haru, what were you fucking thinking? You just decided to drop that information on the kids without asking me, or even telling me you were doing it?" Rin was so angry she was in tears, and she couldn't even look at her husband just then. Telling their kids about the Curse was something they'd been discussing for years, ever since Haru had learned that Yuki's son Mutsuki had learned back during his first year of middle school three years prior. Since then, they knew that Tohru and Kyo's boys had also been told, on top of Ayame and Hatori's kids who already knew, meaning that their own children were the only ones out of elementary school who didn't know the truth.

Rin had honestly been stunned to learn Kyo had told his sons. As far as she knew, he'd always been resistant, and with admittedly good reason; the Cat, in particular, was a past hard to explain, or to admit. Yet they knew, knew all of it. Even that he was supposed to have been confined.

In comparison, she knew that she and Haru had had it easy. But 'in comparison' didn't mean jack shit, not when it came to something like the Curse, and as much as Rin wanted their children to learn the truth from them and not someone else, she was still afraid.

And Haru had just...

She shook her head in amazed and furious disbelief, her arms wrapped tightly around her body. "This was supposed to be our decision, Haru, ours. Not yours, not mine, ours. Something we decided, together, and did, together. Not you, all by yourself, because you were having a fucking tantrum!"

Haru was starting to realize the extent to which he'd screwed up, but he still felt compelled to defend himself a bit. "I wasn't having a fucking tantrum, Rin, I was answering a question. Riku's gotta deal with this hair, too, he deserves to know why! Besides, he asked."

"And you could have given him a million different answers other than that one!"

"I'm not gonna fucking lie to him, Rin!"

In the room next door, Riku and Sora yanked their heads away from the window and exchanged bewildered glances. Then they were once more pressed against the screen, listening intently.

"You didn't have to lie! You could have said you weren't totally sure, you could have said you were just born that way, you could have said it was a quirk of genetics, you could've said the world is full of mysterious truths...and instead you chose to say you used to turn into a fucking cow?"

"It made the most sense! It explains the colors, and that's what he was asking about!"

"So do a lot of other things! Rrrgh..." Rin brought a hand up to cover her face, then glared at Haru. "What was your plan after that, exactly? Drop that little piece of information and then never think about it again? Did it never once cross you mind that it might make him curious?"

Haru shrugged. "Honestly? He thought I was joking, anyway, so it doesn't matter."

"Doesn't matter? Don't you think that might be a bit of a problem when we actually fucking planned to tell them?"

Once again, Riku and Sora were exchanging confused looks.

"Planned to tell us what?" Riku whispered to his sister. "You have any idea what they're talking about?"

Sora shook her head, and the two of them went back to listening.

"Well, last I knew, we still didn't have a plan on that. Every time we've almost had a plan, we've changed our minds," Haru said, trying not to sound too exasperated. And Rin heard what he wasn't saying, or rather, what he'd chosen not to say: she had changed her mind.

"It's not that simple, Haru, you know that," she said, looking at him defensively. "It's not just something we can drop on them!"

"I wasn't gonna drop it on them, Rin."

"Oh? And what do you call what you just did?"

"Not thinking, ok? I get it, it was stupid. But we don't have to leave it like that."

"I don't think we can leave it like that," Rin admitted through gritted teeth. "Even if Riku thinks you're kidding, I doubt Sora'll let it slide now that she has the bit between her teeth."

"Bit between her teeth. That's pretty good, coming from you."

"Haru, I swear to fucking God that now's not the time for you to start with any fucking Horse jokes."

"Right, right." Haru dropped it, then looked at her with a sigh. "So what now?"

Rin sighed, too. "I don't know. Did you ever ask Kyo how they did it?"

"Yeah, but I don't think that really applies to us. Apparently Hajime'd worked out something was wonky somewhere along the lines 'cause Honda'd kept Kyo's beads, and between that and some other stuff Hajime started pushing for them to tell. Sounds like Kyo was basically over a barrel by the time they told him."

"Ok, that explains Hajime, but what about Katsuro? He hadn't even started middle school yet."

"I guess they decided he was old enough, since they'd already told Hajime? Though I actually kinda wonder if Kyo's shitbag sperm donor didn't play a role in the whole thing, too. With Katsuro looking so much like Kyo and them already having problems with him freaking out on the kids, I could see Honda pushing for him to know, too."

Rin gave him a frown. "Didn't you say Kyo beat the shit out of him after the last time?"

"No, I said I'd have beat the fucking shit out of him, if it were our kids involved. I don't know if Kyo did or not, just that he went to see him. Either way, it makes sense to me they'd have told, their kids gotta deal with more shit on the estate than ours do, and ours are very rarely there anyway."

Rin was shaking her head. "I wish we didn't have to tell them at all. If it wasn't for Riku's hair, there'd be absolutely no reason to tell them. Aside of New Year's, our kids are never on the estate; even if they were, it's not like either of us was the Cat."

"Yeah, but all the others know, Rin. You really think it's fair to keep ours in the dark?"

She gave him a shrug. "If Mutsuki managed to keep it from Hajime for two years with how close those two are, I doubt he'd leak. Hajime would never tell if he'd been asked not to. And none of the others are close in age to the twins, or as likely to let it slip."

Haru was looking at her with crossed arms. "But...?"

"But now that you've said something...we probably need to figure out a plan."

He sighed. "I really am sorry, I didn't think."

"No shit, Haru. But I guess I shouldn't be that surprised, either; you've never been good at secrets, especially not when you're stressed."

"Now you're just being generous with me."

"Not like you deserve it, but I've always had a soft spot for you."

"Yeah? Got anything else for me, maybe?"

"Well..."

In the room next door, the twins hastily but quietly closed and locked the window, then slipped out of the room and back through the living room to the other side of the condo and their own rooms. Riku opened his door and the two of them both went over to his bed, sitting down and staring at each other in abject confusion.

"So what the fuck did we just listen to?" Riku asked, staring at his sister.

Sora looked completely perplexed. "Sora's not sure, not at all," she admitted. "It was all so strange!"

That was an understatement. Riku steepled his fingers together, his forehead furrowed in thought, then reached over and snagged a notepad and pencil off of his desk.

"Ok. So, the things we know," he began.

"Oh! Mama is mad at Papa for telling Rikkun he used to turn into cow!"

Riku still didn't get that part at all, but he nodded and wrote 'Dad=cow?' on the paper. "Yeah, Mom was mad, because he told me that. And she was saying he shoulda told me something else, but he said he didn't wanna lie..."

"Which means Papa was telling the truth!" Sora chirped, and Riku nodded.

"Yeah, but maybe 'cow' means something else, like maybe Dad was in a gang? Except that doesn't explain the hair," he said, sighing. "So, what else?" He thought for a moment. "Whatever it is, it affected Mom somehow, too. At least, she was really pissed at Dad for saying something without her."

"Mutsuki knows, whatever it is. And Hajime, and Katsuro!"

Riku was nodding again as he wrote names on his paper. "Dad said 'none of the others' are close to us in age, or likely to tell us. So there's other people who know, too."

Sora was nodding thoughtfully. "And Sora thinks it's a Sohma thing, because why else would Mama say us never going to the Sohma estate mattered?"

"And it's other Sohmas who know, whatever it is," Riku pointed out.

They were both silent for a minute, then Sora said slowly, "Rikkun, do you remember Mama saying 'it's not like either of us was the Cat?'"

He was nodding, too. "Yeah..she did."

"Rikkun...if they weren't the Cat...what were they?"

Riku was thinking hard and said slowly. "Well, if Dad wasn't lying, then Dad was...a cow?"

A cat...a cow...

'now's not the time for you to start with any fucking Horse jokes'

"Didn't Mom say something...about a horse? She said something, Dad made a joke about her saying it, and she told him not to make horse jokes?"

Sora nodded, her eyes widening. "That's right! Rikkun is so smart, and good at remembering!"

Riku wrote 'Horse?' on his pad, next to 'Cat' and 'Cow.' Then he stared at the three animals, trying to make sense of them.

"So...a cat, a cow, and a horse? Dad turned into a cow, and because of that he and I have really weird hair. A Sohma secret of some kind, something that Uncle Kyo was so afraid of he didn't want to tell Hajime until he'd figured it out..."

"What does Rikkun think Papa meant about Uncle Kyo's beads," Sora asked him curiously. "What beads?"

"No idea," Riku admitted, looking at his list with a frown. He wondered just what information Hajime'd had to work with, that he was able to figure out whatever this was on his own; even with all they'd heard, he felt as in the dark as before. Sighing, he looked at his sister. "I've got nothing."

Sora was shaking her head, too. But then she looked up and gave her brother a look. "Rikkun knows what we have to do next, right?"

Riku cracked a smile as Sora continued, "Bluff!"

Sora and Riku remained together for a while, figuring out their plan. By the time they came out their parents had emerged again from their room, and Haru had even ordered takeout for them all.

"Gotta take advantage of all of us being home to eat together, right?"

And it had been nice, to all sit at the table and talk. Haru had been gone for the past three days for work, and tomorrow he'd be gone again for two more. Riku's friends had used to tease him about his dad being a model, but it had never bothered Riku; the only part of the whole thing that was annoying was the attention, even if their father wasn't nearly as busy as he'd been in the years before the twins had been born. But it could be annoying, the way Haru would be home, then gone, sometimes with very little notice.

That made it all the more important to get this figured out today, and after they'd all chatted a bit Sora and Riku made eye contact and gave each other almost imperceptible nods.

It was time.

"Hey, Dad?"

At Riku's question, Haru looked over at him. "Yeah?"

"Why'd you stop turning into a cow?"

Both Sora and Riku, as well as Haru, noticed the way that Rin immediately went rigid, her chopsticks dropping out of her stiff fingers. But Riku and Sora both simply kept watching their father, who hadn't changed his posture or expression at all, other than to look immediately at Rin. But then his eyes returned to Riku, and he asked in his mild way,

"Why the sudden interest?"

Riku shrugged. "I've had time to think, and I'm curious. You turning into a cow makes as much sense as anything else I can think of for this," he said, gesturing with his chopsticks to his hair.

Haru was looking back at Rin, wishing she could actually tell him what she wanted him to say. Clearly deciding they actually needed to tell the kids was correct; if only they'd actually decided how!

Now it was Sora's turn, and she looked over at Rin with wide-eyed innocence. "Did Papa stop at the same time Mama stopped turning into a horse?"

That one was a gamble, but after going over everything they did know, it somehow seemed the most plausible. And at Rin's terrified recoil, both Sora and Riku realized they'd gotten it in one.

Rin had gone pale, and was staring at Sora with wide, horrified eyes. "How did you-" She broke off, then stared at Haru with rapidly increasing anger. "'Just answered his question about the hair?' 'It only made sense?' How did this make sense, Haru? What did this have to do with anything?" She practically snarled, shooting up out of her chair and gesturing between herself and Sora.

"Whoa whoa whoa," Haru said, his eyes locked on Rin's. "I never said a word about that, not so much as a whisper. All I said is that the hair is because of the Curse, and that since it's gone, the hair's all that's left."

"Wait, there's a Curse? Sora didn't hear anything about a Curse before!"

Riku's eyes were wide as he looked at his parents, and Rin's angry expression intensified.

"Damnit, Haru!"

Realizing what he'd just said, it was Haru's turn to swear too, and he did, loudly and colorfully.

"Is it a family Curse? A Sohma family Curse?" Riku asked slowly, and Sora's eyes widened as they changed from delight to fear.

"Are we Cursed? Is Sora going to turn into an animal, too? Sora likes being a girl!"

Haru and Rin's eyes were boring into each other.

"I'd love to hear some suggestions, Rin," Haru said tightly, and she scowled at him.

"If you knew how to fucking censor yourself, you wouldn't need them!"

"Kinda too late for that, doncha think?"

"No shit!"

Sora was starting to panic. "Sora doesn't want to be Cursed!"

Meanwhile, Riku was thinking hard, trying to take this new piece of information and make sense out of everything with it. But he couldn't.

Except...

'It's an annoying side effect of how I used to turn into a fucking cow'

'it's not like either of us was the Cat.'

'Did you ever ask Kyo how they did it?'

Riku's eyes narrowed, think hard about Uncle Kyo. Like Dad, he had very unique hair, and very unique eyes. Ginger orange hair, and amber eyes that turned red when he was upset...like a cat's.

"Neither of you was the Cat, but Uncle Kyo was, wasn't he? Dad, you were the Cow, Mom, you were the Horse, and Uncle Kyo was the Cat?"

Sora, Rin, and Haru all turned and stared at Riku, then Haru turned and looked across the table to his wife. "Rin..."

Rin was still pale, and her hands were shaking. But even with as angry she was right then, at her husband, at the universe, even at her kids, she wasn't going to argue.

There no was she could, anymore.

Slowly, exhaling the entire time, Rin sat back down at the table and stared at her son, who was looking almost impassively back at her. Then, after a long moment, she said simply, "Yes."

"And no, you're not Cursed, baby girl," Haru said, looking over at Sora. "No one is, not anymore, and no one's ever gonna be ever again."

"But you were," Riku said quietly, trying to wrap his brain around that concept and failing. "How? Why?"

Rin and Haru exchanged a glance, and Haru smiled a little bitterly. "How? Ancient magic, or some shit like that. Why? Because we were 'lucky.' Lucky we were Sohmas, lucky we were born at the right time, lucky...that we got to be possessed."

"Possessed?" Sora asked, much calmer now that she knew she herself wasn't actually cursed. "Like with a ghost?"

"A spirit, actually," Rin said.

"A spirit of...an animal? Why animals?" Riku asked, looking back and forth between them. "And why those animals? A Cow, a Horse, a Cat..."

"Technically, I was an Ox, not a cow. The Ox, in fact," Haru said, looking at his son."

The Ox.

Suddenly, Riku felt something tickling in his brain. A memory, from a New Year's Eve party at the main Sohma estate back when they were still kids. He and Sora had gone exploring with Mutsuki and Hajime, and they'd ended up in a room with an entire wall covered by an elaborate mural of animals, all moving along in a line. He and Sora hadn't recognized it, but Hajime had, and he'd told them the story...

"The Zodiac," Riku said suddenly, and from the way Rin clenched her fists, Riku knew he was right. "That's it, isn't it? It's the animals from the Zodiac? Or no..." he corrected himself, thinking about Uncle Kyo. "From the story?

Haru chuckled. "You're making this easy on us, aren't you, Riku?"

Across the table, Rin gave him a furious glare. "Really Haru? Easy?"

"What, you don't think it's easier this way? Everything he guesses, we don't have to figure out how to explain!"

"Unbelievable. You are un-fucking-believable, Haru. How the fuck can you joke about this?"

"Sora wants to know, if the Curse was the Zodiac, does that mean there were twelve Sohmas who turned into animals?"

"Thirteen," Riku corrected her. "The Cat."

"Oh, right!" Sora nodded, thinking for a moment, then brightened. "Mutsuki knows! So Sora thinks Yuki must be one!"

Riku nodded and thought for a second. "Rat. Right?" Had to be, going off of the hair and eye thing.

Sora had steepled her fingers together, grinning. "This is fun! Who else do we think it could be?"

Riku was thinking, too. His parents had said 'the others' knew, so maybe other kids near their age or a few years older or younger...

"Ayame? He's got that weird white hair and those creepy eyes."

"Ooh, Rikkun is so smart! But Sora doesn't think Rikkun should call Chizuruu's eyes creepy."

"There was a snake, right? Or maybe dragon?"

Neither Rin nor Haru was saying anything, neither of them confirming or denying. And neither Riku nor Sora could come up with any obvious candidates anymore, either.

But none of that really mattered, not really.

"When you said you turned into a Cow, Dad-"

"-Ox."

"Right, Ox. Why? How?"

Rin sighed heavily. "It was part of the possession. Basically, the God and animals from the Zodiac made a pact somehow, don't ask me how because we don't know. But they'd be reborn as people in the Sohma family, generation after generation. Possessed people would have hair and eyes reminiscent of their animal, and share traits with them."

"You ever wondered why no one can outrun your mom, even when she's in heels, Riku, not even you when you've set middle school speed records? It's hard to beat a Horse."

Riku looked at his mom thoughtfully, then over at his dad. "And you...?"

"Are the most infuriatingly unflappable person imaginable," Rin said through gritted teeth. "Until someone waves a red flag in front of his eyes..."

Riku thought about his dad that day in the principal's office, at other incidents in their life.

Haru shrugged. "Yeah, well, I'm better'n I used to be. Before the Curse broke, I'd get so angry it'd trigger an entirely different personality, one you'd never want to meet in a dark alley."

Riku didn't want to think about that one too much.

"If you think about your Uncle Kyo, you can probably imagine a few Cat-like traits."

He thought about his uncle's love of milk, for which his own dad loved to tease him. How quietly he could move. How much he loved heights.

"But so you had all that...and you turned into animals, somehow?"

Rin nodded. "If our bodies got weak, or if we were held by a member of the opposite sex who wasn't also possessed, we'd turn into our animal."

"And it was a damned pain in the ass for your mom and I, I can tell you that," Haru said. "We had so many clothes ruined by transformations over the years. Everyone else transformed, and their clothes were fine. Us? We were so much bigger as animals, everything'd be ripped to shreds. Annoying as hell, expensive, and incredibly inconvenient. Imagine having to explain to your teacher why you're naked and don't have a uniform anymore."

Riku wasn't sure what part of this was the weirdest; the story itself, or the fact he was actually finding himself...believing it. If it was just their father telling them, he wasn't quite sure he'd accept it, but it was another story with Mom. Even just watching her reactions, it was clear that this was something deeply painful to her, something that had scared her.

And Mom had never been the type to lie.

"Sora wants to know how long you stayed as animals," Sora said brightly, looking back and forth between her parents.

"Depending on why we transformed, and varied in that. If it was because we were weak, then we'd stay that way until we felt stronger. Though I'm pretty sure your mom forced herself back into human form a few times by sheer strength of will," Haru said with a chuckle. "If it was because of human contact, we'd stay an animal as long as that contact was held. Otherwise, we'd transform back anywhere from a few seconds to a few minutes later."

"And you'd be...an Ox."

"Yup."

"Oh! Sora has a question!" Sora said, raising her hand. "Since you were both Cursed, does that mean you two could hug?"

Haru and Rin exchanged a look, and Haru grinned. "Yup. It was a hell of a lot easier for us than Kyo and Honda, I can tell you that."

"For a lot of reasons," Rin muttered, more to herself than anyone.

Riku was silent for a moment, considering all they'd heard so far. "When'd it break? The Curse?"

"My second year of high school, your mom's first year out," Haru said promptly. "After that, everyone was free."

"How'd it happen?"

Rin's voice was slow and thoughtful. "We're not entirely sure. But given the timing, we think the Cat's Curse breaking had something to do with the rest. His Curse was slightly different than the rest of ours," she said, but then her eyes narrowed and she gave each of her children a stern look, followed by Haru. "But that's his business, not yours. And you're not to ask him about it, either."

Riku and Sora both had to admit they were curious about that, but neither one of them was willing to cross Mom, especially not right now when she looked so incredibly intimidating.

"So..." Haru looked over at Rin, cocking his head to the side thoughtfully. "That's probably the most relevant bits, huh?"

Rin's jaw was set tightly, and she nodded. "That's right."

Riku had been thinking again. "Is that why you never go to the Sohma estate, except for New Year's, Mom? Because of the Curse?"

Rin sighed, then nodded. "It's connected to that, yes. You have to understand, Riku, that being possessed...it was pretty horrible. The Sohmas tended to say it was a good thing, but to be under that kind of control...to lose everything else in your life...it was terrible," she said, her voice shaking slightly. "Because of the Curse, I had..." Her eyes were sad, and Riku was stunned to see the barest hints of tears; his mother never cried, never. But after taking a moment to collect herself, she said more composedly, "I had nothing. Not really. Nothing except your father."

He nodded, then asked, almost hesitantly. "Is that why...your parents..."

Rin's voice and face got hard, and she simply responded "Yes."

The twins had been aware since they were children of the rift between Rin and her parents, and had known for a couple years now of the full extent. How she had been abused, and abandoned."

Riku's own voice was hard. "Bastards."

Haru was in total agreement. "Yup, they were. And they weren't alone. Zodiac parents tended to be pretty fucking shitty, or else crazy overprotective. I can only think of one that was kinda normal in any way," he said, glancing at Rin, who shrugged.

Sora had also been thinking hard. "So...Papa and Mama used to be Cursed and turned into animals, just like Mutsuki's Papa and Hajime's Papa and Chizuruu's Papa, and a bunch of other Sohams too. And that's why Papa and Rikkun and Hajime and Mutsuki and Chizuruu and their papas all have special looks. But you all got better, so now you're normal people and Papa can hug Sora without turning into a cow?"

Rin, Riku, and Haru all stared at Sora for a long moment. Then Haru started chuckling, a long, low chuckle that turned into rolling laughter. Rin joined in as well, and even Riku found himself chuckling, shaking his head in amazement as just how simple his sister could make things.

"Well? Sora wants to know," she repeated, looking around at them expectantly, and Haru was still chuckling as he reached over with one arm and hugged her.

"You've got it, baby girl."

Rin shook her head as her laughter wound down, then gave the twins a serious look. "Mutsuki, Hajime, Katsuro, Hibika, Chizuruu, and Kinu all know-"

"Wait, Kinu? Hatori was one, too?"

Once again, his parents neither confirmed nor denied, Rin merely continued, "And we'll let the others know you two know, now. If you want to discuss it with your cousins who already know you may, but only them. And under no circumstances should you ever talk about this with anyone else, am I clear?"

Riku and Sora both nodded.

"Alright," Rin said, exhaling deeply. "Now you two know."

"Now they know," Haru agreed.

Later that night, the twins were back in Riku's room, sitting on the floor with their backs against the bed.

"Sora had no idea we had a Curse in our family! It's pretty exciting, isn't it, Rikkun?"

"It's something, alright," he said, slowly.

A part of him was still honestly struggling to accept it all. It seemed too fantastical, and too farfetched. But it also explained a lot of things, including his own bizarre hair, and certain things he'd noticed and knew about his own relatives.

It also made him feel a damn sight better about how insanely fast Mom could run.

"I wonder what the story is with Uncle Kyo," he said, glancing over at Sora. "How it's different than the others."

"Sora could always ask Hajime! Maybe he knows!"

Riku considered, then shook his head. "I doubt he'd say, even if he did. But maybe later on, after we've proved we can keep the rest of it secret, Mom and Dad'll change their minds and tell us the rest." Because he couldn't help but feel there was more to it. He hadn't wanted to press, not with Mom looking the way she had, but there had been something in her face when she talked about 'being under control.'

Whose control? How?

One thing was certain; they might know things now they'd never known before, but the world was still full of many, many mysteries.