Chapter Two: The Sohmas

~ ~ ~ Thanks to all who reviewed...Alexandra-Kyoko (congratulations for being the first to review...can this chapter be your "prize" then hehe?), xyz, /.?.../, Mizu (I like ur stories too ^_^), Sailor Panda (u're one of my favorite writers!!), and Azn Chibisweetpea (lol...thanks for liking my stories...hehe, ur Kyou appears in this chapter but um, I don't think u'll be satisfied...sorry! As for ur question about which relationship I'm a fan of...hmmm, I'm a little wishy-washy myself...Kyou's so cool!! And then Yuki is so wow!! But then Kyou's so adorable!! And then Yuki's so nice...to sum it up, I'll try to make up my mind sooner or later...but for now, I'm just going to give both boys fair treatment ^_^) Thank you all for reviewing and I hope u continue to do so...I'm happy u all found it funny!!

~ Maeven ~

"Eh, Yuki, you're here too? Guess your image of heaven is the same as mine! Wow...never imagined it," the black haired man winked devilishly.

The boy called Yuki began looking around.

"Are you looking for your clothes? If this really is my version of heaven, then there's really no need," the man grinned as he leaned back lazily on his elbows.

"No. I'm looking for a rock to smash your head in," Yuki snapped.

Tohru had kept her eyes trained on a point far out in the sea while keeping her hands clasped over Kisa's eyes. "W-what's happening, onee-chan?"

"Nothing an underaged girl should be seeing...Uo-chan!! What are you doing? Turn your head around!!"

Uotani grinned indolently, "What? Can you blame me? They're both humans and males...I'm merely taking this opportunity to examine this species, you know, to further my knowledge and wisdom..."

"Really? Can I further my education too?" Kisa asked curiously, the "scenery" still blocked from her by Tohru's hand.

"NO!" all the older girls screamed. Hanajima shook her head, "Uo-chan, you're a bad influence." The blonde haired girl smiled sheepishly.

Suddenly, a cart drawn by two white clopping animals came barreling into the beach, spraying sand over everybody. A short blonde hair boy jumped out and ran towards them. "YUKI! SHI-CHAN! RITSU! HARU! YOU GUYS ARE OKAY!! WE WERE ALL SO WORRIED WHEN WE GOT THE NEWS THAT YOUR SHIP CAPSIZED!!"

The black haired guy spitted out a mouthful of sand, "So I guess since we didn't die in water, you decided to drown us in sand?"

The boy beamed, "Oops! Oh wow! Pretty girls! And you guys are all naked! What have you guys really been doing?"

The dark haired man tapped his chin thoughtfully, "Well..."

"NOTHING! NOTHING!" Yuki cut in hurriedly. "These girls fished us out of the ocean and saved our lives...accidentally transforming us in the process..."

"Darn...and I thought I had reached paradise," the other man snapped his fingers.

"Yea right, a pervert like you belong in hell, roasting along on a barbeque skewer like a humongous hot dog..." Yuki muttered. The man pouted. "Oh, Momiji, do you have any clothes with you? Uh, we sort of lost them in the sea..." The purple haired boy flushed as he darted a look at the girls.

"Oh, yea...but they're all in my size..." the boy grinned merrily.

Yuki flinched and sighed, "It's better than being nude, I guess."

* * *

Two hours later, they reached Yuki's home. Despite the girls' protests, the overly energetic Momiji quickly drove them to submission.

"Ta-da! May I present the Sohma palace!!" Momiji leaped out. Tohru stepped out of the carriage and gaped at a gigantic sparkling white marble castle with fluttering blue banners at the tips of the towers.

Uotani whistled and crossed her arms, "Humans are sure nice at architecture, aren't they?"

Yuki smiled and stepped out; Momiji's green pants reached his shins and his small shirt clung tightly to the mauve haired boy, sleeves not quite reaching his wrists. The black haired man sulkily clambered out afterwards, the pants only reaching his knees and the shirt a bright pink color. The other two men were still out cold, slumbering in the wagon.

"YUKIIIIII!!"

The boy cringed. A long silvered hair man came dashing out of the golden doorways in a long flowing red uniform. "I WAS SO WORRIED!! MY DEAR LITTLE BROTHER, NEVER EVER SCARE ME LIKE THAT AGAIN!! I SIMPLY CAN'T LIVE WITHOUT YOU!!!" The man sobbed and held open his arms, running towards the boy. *SMASH* The man crumpled to the floor, courtesy of Yuki's punch.

"Never ever scare me like that too! If you ever try to hug me again, I'll drown you first!!" Yuki snarled.

The black haired man sniffed and crossed his arms. "Aya, shame on you! Completely forgetting me like this!! I had a near death experience too!!"

The silver haired man leaped back to his feet and smiled tenderly. "Oh, Gure...how can I ever forget about you? You know my heart breaks every time you sail away...I pass each day slowly, yearning for my dear sweet doggie!!"

"Oh Aya! How could I ever doubt you! I, too, have been longing for you, my darling snake!!"

"Oh Gure, you always make me blush!"

"Oh Aya!"

"Oh Gure!!"

The girls stared at the scene, unsure on how to react. A vein throbbed in Yuki's forehead. "Jeez...the bakas are back," a sarcastic voice broke the love fest. A small scowling boy leaned against the doorway. "Well, of course, how could anyone believe you idiots would just die? God makes up for your stupidity by bestowing you with extreme good luck instead."

"Enough, Hiro. The kingdom should be rejoicing," a tall man with long dark bangs that covered his left eye completely appeared besides the boy with a short brown haired girl in tow. "Yuki...it's nice you're safe and sound. The King's happy." The boy nodded curtly in response. "Uh...that goes for you too, Shigure...I guess."

The tall stoic man then turned his eyes to the girls and as he gazed at her, Tohru shivered involuntarily. "Yuki, who are they?"

"They saved our lives," he responded softly. "...and they know about the secret."

The man nodded slightly and turned around to head into the building. "They are our honored guests. We will welcome them warmly...oh, and all of you should definitely think about getting a change of clothes."

* * *

"Miss...please, can you give me your dress?" a maid inquired politely.

Tohru panicked. "Why?"

"We want to wash it...don't worry, you'll get a nice clean dress to change into."

"Uh - but - um, okay," Tohru resigned reluctantly. "BUT you HAVE to make sure to return this to me, okay? It's, um, very important to me...uh, been with me for years." 'Yea, ever since I was born!! If I lose this, I can never get back my tail and return to the sea.'

The maid nodded confusedly, "Um, sure...don't worry."

* * *

That night, the girls filed down solemnly to have dinner. Tohru said hesitantly, "Well, it's awfully nice of them to treat us so kindly..."

"They have to...we saved their lives," Uotani responded. "But did they really have to insist on washing our dresses? I feel so naked without my beautiful yellow tail."

Hanajima said in her usual monotonous voice, "No matter what, we can't let them know we're mermaids...we can't afford to raise their curiosity...and suspicion. It's far too dangerous...you know what happened to..." The girl trailed off and glanced at Tohru.

The brown haired girl smiled brightly. "It's okay. I know...it happened half a year ago...I'm used to it already." Kisa frowned worriedly and reached up to hold Tohru's hand in her own little warm one. Tohru smiled reassuringly at the little girl, but tightened her hand.

* * *

"We thank you for rescuing our family members," the tall man from before declared clearly in the dining hall. "It is unfortunate that our king couldn't meet you...but his ailing health prevents him from doing so. I will represent the royal highness in expressing his gratitude. May we know your names, my ladies?"

Uotani cleared her throat, "I'm Uotani...this here is my little sister, Kisa, and these two girls on my other side are my dear friends, Honda Tohru and Hanajima Saki. Um, may we know your names too?"

The tall man raised his eyebrow. "You don't know us? Then I'm guessing when you saved them, you weren't expecting a reward?" All four girls look bewildered and shook their heads. "Hmmm, how interesting. Very well, we are the Sohmas, the ruling family of the kingdom of Hanako...I am Prince Sohma Hatori, also the royal family's head physician. The people you saved are Prince Shigure (the black haired man waved jauntily), Prince Hatsuharu (the black and white haired boy nodded emotionlessly), Prince Ritsu (the brown haired man bowed furiously) and finally, Prince Yuki...the heir to the throne." The lavender haired boy smiled pleasantly and Tohru flushed.

"The blonde haired boy you met is Prince Momiji. The rude little boy at the doorway is Prince Hiro and this is Princess Kagura." The brown haired girl smiled prettily at them.

"Oh, it's very nice to meet you all," Tohru smiled gently. "But, um, can you tell me why you all transform into, uh, what did you call it? Animals!"

Kagura sighed, "To be honest, we don't know ourselves. A year ago, on a nice summer day, we went out sailing...that's also the time when I first encountered my beloved...and suddenly in what appeared to be a freak storm, a flash of light enveloped us and from that moment on, as soon as anyone of us gets hugged by the opposite sex... *POOF* we're animals. It's incredibly distressing to a young girl like me...but luckily, all those who were cursed that day can embrace without transforming...like my own darling *sigh dreamily* ..."

"So what animals are you all?" Hanajima asked quietly.

"Well...," Kagura began ticking off on her fingers. "We basically form the Jyuunishi circle...Yuki is the mouse, Hatori-san is the dragon or at least, seahorse, Momiji is the rabbit, Hiro is the sheep, Haru is the cow, Shi-san is the dog, Ritsu is the monkey...and I'm the boar! Not a very nice animal for a girl to be, is it? For some reason, my sweetie is the cat...I don't know, maybe it's because he's not part of the Sohma family..."

Hiro sighed, "All right, stop yapping. Your jarring voice is enough to make my eardrums commit suicide..."

"NANI?!"

The boy got up and ignored the princess. He started to stalk off when Kisa blocked him. "Hmmm?" the boy raised an eyebrow.

The normally shy girl stuttered but she finally managed to say, "H-hiro- kun, you really shouldn't be so mean..."

"And what? Just because you're our supposedly honored guest, I'm supposed to listen to you? Just because you're a girl, I'm supposed to completely change myself to accustom you? Do you even know who I am? I am a prince and am I supposed to listen to you? You're just a little girl who can't even say two words without trailing off...am I supposed to hear you? Or were you just mumbling to those tiny organisms living on your skin? Come to think of it, did I actually hear you correctly? You're accusing me of being mean? Do you know the definition of mean? You don't know mean until I say I'm being mean, you get my meaning? And how am I mean when you're the one accusing me? If you don't know the palace business, then stay out of ..." the boy trailed off and to his shock, tears began rolling down the girl's face. "H- hey, d-don't think you can get me to back off b-because you're crying! Hey! Hey!" The girl sniffled and tears continue falling.

Hiro panicked, "O-oi! I - I didn't mean it! Jeez, I'm like this to everybody! Nobody ever cried! Sure, they glared at me, ignored me, insulted me, threatened me, and even tried to beat me up...but no one ever cried! Hey...you...please stop." He sighed in frustration as the girl buried her face in her hand and heaved a hiccupping sob. Uotani jumped up and began rolling up her sleeves; Tohru tried desperately to hold back her friend.

Hiro grumbled and shuffled his feet. He darted a look around and leaned in, whispering conspicuously out of the corner of his mouth. "Oi...listen...I - um - I'm sorry. You better stop crying now...do you know how hard it is for me to spit out those words? It's the first time ever...come on, stop crying now." The girl paused and peeked at the boy's concerned face; she beamed at him and he softened. He looked away and then before he realized it, he pulled out a handkerchief and began drying the girl's tears. "God, I don't know what's wrong with me today but for some reason...I don't...hate...you as much as I do with other people. Maybe it's because you seem so damned innocent and cute - ahem, I mean naïve. You should be more careful though, it's stupid to be like that...get taken advantage of and stuff like that..." He grudgingly smiled at her as she continued to grin at him.

"OI! YOU LITTLE BRAT! WHAT THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING TO MY LITTLE SISTER?!"

Everyone spun around to gawk at a tall tanned boy with fiery orange hair and flashing scarlet eyes standing in the entrance. He was bare chest with loose dark blue pants; droplets of water trailed down his neck from his damp hair.

"Sohmas," he spat out. "I should've known."