Title: Our Secret, Our Curse.

Rating: PG-13 (probably won't go up near the end but hey, you never know)

Genre: Drama/Humor (I guess)

A/N: Gomennasai! It took so long to update but I have loads of exams coming up and I had to clean up my room completely. Sorryy...

Err, right. The third chapter. I added separators to this chapter because apparently FF doesn't accept normal douple spaces I normally use. So, when you see () mark, there is some kind of an transport, time (short or long), POV or place. Reviews, onegai!

Vocabulary:

Daijoubu - okay, be alright

Anata - You

Boku - I

Hajitemashite - Nice to meet you

Yoroshiku - Actually an answer to "Hajitemashite"

Ecchi - blush well.. something along "nasty" and "perverted"..

Hentai inu - Perverted dog
()

Kuso! Where did that girl come from? I didn't realize her at all.. how I'm I going to.. now wait a second. Yuki opened his eyes. The girl who had bumped on him was staring down at him. Then she suddenly startled and bounced up again.

"Gomennasai!" she cried, "I.. I weren't supposed to bump on you, I'm so sorry, I slipped on the stairs, I hope you didn't get hurt or anything!" Yuki smiled a stunned smile.

"Iie, I'm okay. Nothing to worry about." What the heck? She literally bumped on me but.. I'm still a human.. He opened his mouth to speak but then a girl's voice came from the stairs:

"Oi! Hino-chan, you okay?" Arameda looked worried, still remembering to glare at Jelora. Marande walked down the stairs to Jirohino. She stopped before her and looked her in the eyes.

"Daijoubu ka?"

"Hai! Daijoubu desu."

Marande looked over Jirohino's shoulder at Yuki. She gave him a small smile:

"Eh? Anata wa daijoubu desu ka?" Yuki stared at the girl a moment. Then he said, in a slightly insecure voice:

"Hai.. Boku wa daijoubu desu..."

Marande turned back to her sister.

"Come on, let's get going", she said, leading her sister away.
()

"I told you!" Kyou said to Yuki when they stormed down the corridor. Yuki was still stunned:

"But how! That's the question! They aren't Soumas, I know that!"

Kyou nodded:

"And even if they were, they don't have the zodiac curse.." he muttered. Yuki stopped abruptly. Kyou stopped, too, and looked surprised at his cousin.

"We must find Haru and Momiji", Yuki said.

"You mean we can hug them! Whee!" Momiji bounced around, making Kyou slightly peeved. Yuki sighed and lovered his head a bit.

"Yes, as what we know. Both me and Kyou bumped in one of them and nothing happened." Hatsuharu scratched his head.

"Do you have any idea why is it like that?" he asked. Yuki raised his head.

"No", he said, "That's why we're going to ask them."

()

Arameda stretched herself and yawned widely. Their day was finally over. She gathered her stuff to her bag and waited her sisters to join her. They had just stepped outside when someone called their names:

"Ano.. Arameda-san? And.. Jelora-san, Jirohino-san, Marande-san?"

They stopped and turned around. Arameda smiled.

"Ohayoo, Tohru-san." Tohru smiled and Marande tapped Arameda on her shoulder.

"Eetoo.. who are they?" she asked, referring to the girl and a group of boys standing behind her. Arameda answered:

"Well, the girl is Honda Tohru, the others I don't know."

Tohru smiled to them and started in an unsure voice:

"Ano.. we were just wondering.. not that we would want anything bad to you.. we.."

She was cut off by a boy with orange hair:

"We need to talk to you for a moment. So could you all follow us for some way?"

Jirohino paled a bit, Jelora tapped her on her back in a "no-need-to-worry" way, Marande looked suspicious, and Arameda nodded:

"Yeah, sure."
()

I really hope we're not getting into trouble, Marande thought. They were now in a disclosed street, some way away from school. Everyone seemed very irritated, and no one said a word. Marande raised her eyes from the ground when she heard Tohru's voice:

"Ano.. I think.. I think you'd maybe want to hear who they are.." She gesticulated at the boys standing next and behind her. Jirohino nodded silently. Tohru drew breath:

"So.. this is Kyou Souma", the orange-head nodded, "Yuki Souma", the girlish boy with big violet eyes smiled, "Hatsuharu Souma", the stone-faced teen waved his hand, "and Momiji Souma", the small blonde boy bounced around a bit. Marande nodded and smiled. She pushed herself away from the wall she was leaning.

"I suppose this means we also have to introduce", she said and looked at the Souma boys.

"I'm Marande."

"Arameda", her red-haired sister stated.

"Jirohino", just a small whisper.

"Jelora", her third sister said, "Hajitemashite."

Again a silence. Then Marande cleared her throat a bit:

"So.. why are we here?"
()

Kyou bit his lip. How on earth are we going to explain this.. He looked at the four girl before them. He opened his mouth:

"Se.. it's just.. there's some little thing you'd better know about us.. uhh.."

"Get to the point, baka neko."

Jelora looked at him confused:

"Neko?"

Kyou grimaced a bit:

"Yeah, that's about the point. You see.. we have this.. curse." He glanced at his relatives trying to find out was he doing this right. He continued:

"Yeah.. so it's about when we're somewhat stressed and anyways under a great pressure, and when we're hugged by person from the opposite sex-"

"Who doesn't have the curse as well", Yuki noted. Kyou nodded:

"Yeah, so when that happens, we turn into the twelve animals of the zodiac."

The girls were now completely nonplussed. Hatsuharu opened his mouth for the first time after they got to the street:

"For example, Yuki-kun here turns into a rat, I into an ox-"

"It's a cow", Kyou muttered under his breath.

"Momiji into a rabbit and Kyou into a cat."

Arameda frowned a bit.

"But there isn't a cat-"

"In the zodiac, I know", Kyou finished her sentence with a shadow of bitterness in his voice. Nobody said a word for a moment. Then Yuki spoke:

"That's why we brought you here. You see", he looked straightly at Jirohino,

"When we bumped into Jirohino-san, we didn't transform. That's what caught our attention."

Arameda stuttered:

"So..you're saying.." She couldn't finish her sentence because she was so confused. They all startled when they heard a loud squeal from Momiji's direction:

"I wanna hug!!" enjoyed Momiji, bouncing alarmingly towards Marande. Kyou grimaced:

"Now wait a second you little-!" Hug. POOF!

As the result there was a very confused Marande holding a small rabbit. The girl was trying to get some words ouf from her mouth.

"Ano.. nani..eetoo.." She looked at others for some advice. Everyone else was staring at her with what-the-heck-look. Then Kyou bursted out:

"How- What..?! Why did he transform now? But when we.. we bumped at Jirohino.. we stayed in our human form."

Marande shook her head:

"I.. I don't know.."

Kyou looked like he would explode at any moment possible. Then he took few steps forwards without warning and hugged Jirohino. Nothing happened.

"See?" he exclaimed when he released the furiously blushing girl.

"Nothing! But why did Momiji transform?"

Yuki shook his head.

"I don't know." Then he looked like he just realised something:

"Um, we better move Momiji into a more privace place, ne?" Kyou frowned a bit and then grabbed the rabbit and Momiji's clothes and carried them to further off from the girls. Arameda frowned:

"Why's that?"

Suddenly every boy seemed rather irritated.

"Eetoo.. you see, when we transform into animals our..clothes don't transform with us.." Yuki explained blushing slightly, "So when we transform back, we're-"

"Yeah, yeah, got it already", Jelora interrupted.
()

I don't like this silence at all, Jirohino thought at herself. She was rather uncomfortable when everyone were wondering why the Souma boys stayed human if they hugged her. She was starting to feel depressed. "When we're hugged by person from the opposite sex.." A person. A human. Only just because half of my body belongs to that monster, we've gotten into this..

"Ano.. I think.. would you.." Tohru looked at Jirohino and her sisters, "Would you like to come at our home for some while? So we could sort this out?"

Jirohino looked at Marande who was standing next to her.

"Let's just go", she whispered to her, "It'll be all more easier that way."

Arameda nodded and forced a smile on her face:

"Hai, we'll come."
()

"Ahh! You little rascals came finally home!" Shigure greeted them with a big smile. He looked curiously at the unfamiliar girls on his doorstep.

"And who are these young ladies?" he asked. Kyou glared at him:

"Don't start thinking any ecchi things, hentai inu!" Shigure looked offended:

"Me? Now please, certainly not me.."

All four sister glanced at each others. Doesn't sound too good for me, Jelora thought.

Yuki looked at them and then to Shigure:

"May I introduce you", he pointed at the grinning inu in his kimono,

"Shigure Souma, our cousin." He turned to the girls, still looking at Shigure:

"Our classmates, Arameda-san, Jelora-san, Marande-san and Jirohino-san."

"Hajitemashite", Jelora nodded. Shigure waved his hand.

"Yoroshiku."

Jirohino looked at the black-haired man.

"So you're the dog, right?"

The change of Shigure's expression was so sudden it was almost amusing. He looked terrified at the fragile girl, then at her sisters and then at Yuki and Kyou.

"Wha-? What have you-? How could she-?" he stuttered. Yuki stifled a snicker.

"We told them", he said. Shigure opened his mouth again, but Yuki stopped him:

"Now, before you say anything, I say we had our reasons."

He turned to Jirohino who looked at the ground.

"We both, me and Kyou, bumped into her, but we didn't transform."

He looked again at Shigure.

"Wouldn't that make even you suspicious?"

Shigure tried hardly to fade his amazement. He shrugged.

"I don't know. It's just.. you just go and blurt it out.." He shook his head.

"Wondering, what Akito-san will say about this."

Coldness landed into the room. Yuki gulped.

"You..You're going to tell Akito?" Shigure sighed.

"What do you want me to do, Yuki?" He held his hands up in the air.

"You think you could do something like that without Akito to know about it?"

"Not if you don't tell him", Yuki said in a cold tone. Shigure stood up and looked Yuki straight into the eyes.

"Please, don't force me, Yuki." And with that he left the room.
()

Marande gulped. She was a bit startled by the coldness that had suddenly filled the room. She watched Shigure-san leave the room and hesitatingly turned to Yuki.

"Ano.. who is Akito-san?" Yuki lowered his head as he answered:

"Akito-san.. is the head of the House of Souma. He.. decides everything what happens with us and outsiders." After a short silence, Kyou said a thought his cousin seemingly didn't want to say:

"He decides can you keep your memory."

Marande gasped. She swirled around and looked demandingly at Kyou.

"Our memory? You don't mean we'll lose our memories!"

Yuki sighed deeply. His voice trembled a bit:

"Gomen.. We didn't think it would lead you into this."

Arameda threw her arm around Jirohino's shoulders when the girl was starting to shake violently. She shot an angry look at the Souma cousins, her chin held high.

"And you're just going to do it like that? Without any questioning?"

"We cannot go against what Akito-san demands."

Arameda clenched her fist.

"After all we've done.. all we've gone through and found out to seal away that-"

"Arameda!" Jirohino interrupted her sister's speak when she realised what she was speaking about. The red-head gathered her thoughts again and pulled herself up.
()

Yuki noticed the girls' hesitating. He turned to them.

"I have started to suspect were not the only ones with a secret", he said. The girls seemed very nervous, which confirmed Yuki even more.

"If I'm right, I wish you would share it with us. After all, we've exposed our curse to you."

"Ano.." Jelora stammered. Yuki smiled warmly at them.

"If you're lucky, it could even turn Akito's decicion of erasing your memories."

The girls looked at him incredulously. Arameda turned to whisper something into Marande's ear and her sister nodded.

"Very well", Marande said, "But I demand you not to tell anyone about this!"
()

They all were sitting around the table. Marande cleared her throat.

"What it comes to us.. and our secret. We have.." She hesitated a moment, looking for a right word.

"..we have powers", she stated, "to control the Elements. I have the power to posses water, as my Element."

"And as I have the Fire", Arameda said.

"I the Earth."

"The Air."

They were silent for a moment, to see how the others reacted to their secret. Kyou scratched his head in confusement.

"So.." he started, "You can control the elements? What does that mean.. you know, in practice?"

Arameda raised her forefinger in the air and screwed her eyes for a moment. There was a small flame flickering on her finger-tip. Suddenly everyone was staring at her. The flame disappeared as quickly as it had appeared, and Arameda sighed a bit:

"Quit staring, it isn't that big thing."

Yuki sat back a bit and raised his hand on his forehead.

"Well.." he said, "That sure is... pretty incredible."

"But what does that have to do with.. with that we don't transform?" Kyou exclaimed and pointed at Jirohino. The girl took aback and fell silent.

"Yes, that is still a mystery. Your powers are the same level as with your sisters, so that couldn't be the reason." A pair of amethyst eyes locked on Jirohino.

"Do you know, and can you tell us the real reason?"

Jirohino opened her mouth and shook her head.

"I..I don't...know." Yes you do. Shut.. up!
()

Tohru didn't like the pressure that was reigning the room. She jumped up suddenly.

"I.. I think I'm going to make some tea! Who would like to have some tea, ne?"

There was a general murmur of agreement. Then Jirohino stood up.

"Tohru-san, I can make the tea."

Tohru stared at her amazed.

"Ano.. It won't be a problem for me-"

"No, please, I ask you. I can make the tea."

Jirohino walked to the door.

"Just tell me where you keep your cups and stuff!" she said, smiling. Tohru blinked. Then she too smiled.

"Hai, if you please. It's in the upper shelves, second on the right."

"Hai."
()

Phew. I got out. I just wonder when they would have started questioning even more. And I really really don't wan't to talk about it. It's none of their concern.

Jirohino slid open the kitchen door and stepped in.

"Huh?" she uttered. She smiled.

"Oh, hello Shigure-san", she said, a little worried about his reaction. After that cold speech in the living room.. He isn't really like that, is he? The inu turned around and noted the girl.

"Oh, hello there", he said warmly. Jirohino let out a mental sigh of relief.

"Ano.. I was just going to make some tea-"

"Good idea! May I help you?"

Jirohino blushed slightly.

"Iie..I'm fine."

She turned to the cupboard and started gathering the cups while Shigure chatted merrily behind her:

"Our introduction was rather poor. So you're Tohru-kun's classmates? Ah, I thought so. Are you new? Good to see new faces in here. So.. Have you got along in here?"

Jirohino nodded, then realized Shigure probably didn't see it and said:

"Hai, we have. It's very nice in here."

"Yeah, what can you say? It is a nice town. Say, I don't know you very well, so.. well, could you tell me, please?"

Jirohino froze at her position. She stammered:

"Uh, well I.... Eetoo..."

"No need to be embarassed. Tell me." He looked down on his newspaper but stopped reading when he heard a gasp. He raised his eyes again at the girl.

"Are you okay, Jirohino-san? What's wrong?"

After a moment the girl turned around.

"Nothing. Absolutely nothing is wrong, Shigure-san."

Shigure smiled to her, and the frowned a bit.

"Hey, what's wrong with your eyes? I coulda sworn just a moment before-"
()

In the living room the air was still heavy. Marande just wished Jirohino would finish that damn tea soon.

"Ano... I was just wondering-" Tohru started but they never found out what Tohru was wandering. There was a loud crash from the kitchen, followed by muttering, and a thump. They all looked at each other and then Jelora got up and went to the door. She slid it open, froze still and started running. Marande also stood up and ran after her.

"Jelora! What now?"
()

"Wow, slow down. What's wrong with you?" Shigure asked in a shaky voice as the girl approached him. He felt his back facing wall and the girl smiled cruely. He felt his hair sticking up when an electring current was brought near his face.

"Do you know that an electric shock as strong as this can kill a human almost instantly?" she asked him like she was talking about the weather.

Kca-chachh. A door slid open.

"Stop!"

In the corner of his eye, Shigure could see the figure of Jelora standing in the doorway, accompanied by Marande. The girl holding the electric shock in front of him, turned her head and smiled to the two other girls.

"Oh, hello", she said, "You came just in time. I'll just finish him off and then take care of you."

"NO! STOP IT!" Jelora screamed. The girl chuckled.

"Nu - duh." Fire hit her side. She stepped back from Shigure and grimaced a bit.

"You son of a b-!" Her voice trailed off and the electric disappeared.

Jirohino was back again and she collapsed on her knees.
()

"Hino-chan!" Jelora shouted and ran to her sister. She grabbed her by the waist and lifted her to her feet. There was a moment, when there were only quiet mumbling sound from Jirohino and Jelora, then it was broken by a stunned voice:

"Wha- What the hell was that?!"

Jelora sighed and looked at Marande with a morbid look on her face.

"I guess..we cannot hide this anymore. Arameda", she turned around to look at her sister on the doorway, "Give Jirohino her medicine and then..we'll talk."
()

"So..." Marande ran her fingers through her hair, ".. You want to know what happened, right?"

Everybody nodded. A silence. Marande cleared her throat:

"Yes, as I told you, we are the possessers of the Elements. But.. I don't know should I call it a curse or what.."

"It's a curse", said Jirohino silently. Her back was turned to the others. Marande sighed a bit:

"Yeah.. see. Jirohino has.. a twin. A dead twin. She.. When they were still unborn, they had to fight for living. And Jirohino won. Fairly. Because her twin didn't completely die, only her body died, but her.. soul.. moved into Jirohino. And so", she glanced at her sister, who hadn't moved an inch:

"And so.. at certain times that twin emerges. She takes their body to her possession and.. As you probably noticed, she can use electric. She's really powerful, and.. and we're afraid someday Jirohino cannot anymore fight back. That's why we have all these years trying to find out how to seal her away."

Marande stopped speaking and silence fell into the room. Arameda looked at Shigure:

"You are really lucky, you know? A mere minute more and you would be in a condition between life and death." Shigure gulped loudly. He got up, shivering a bit.

"I think it would be a good idea to call to Hatori", he said and Yuki and Kyou turned to look at him, a warning look in their eyes. Shigure held his hands in the air.

"I have no ulterior thoughts." He looked at the four girls sitting around the table.

"But I think Akito would like to have a word with you."
()

"And you are sure you didn't have anything to do with this?" Hatori asked from Shigure with who he was talking in a phone. He frowned,

"Hai, I understand. Mm-hmm. Hai, I'll inform Akito about this. Sayonara. I'll come around in there in half an hour or so." He put down the phone and massaged his temples a bit. Kami-sama, how did Shigure always mess up with things like this? Hatori pulled himself together and left his room.

He arrived to the Head of the House's room and called quietly:

"Akito-san? May I come in?"

There was a short silence. Then a calm voice floated through the door:

"Hai, come in Hatori-san." Hatori opened the door and stepped in, closing the door behind him. He kneeled on the floor and waited for Akito to say something.

"So, what do I owe for this visit? I've had my medicine already."

Bitterness, Hatori thought. He spoke in a deliberate and calm voice:

"Shigure-san called me. He said there has been a slight leak about the curse to outsiders."

He saw Akito reacting a bit. He turned his head to look at Hatori:

"And about how serious leak are we talking about now?"

"Four persons. They're sisters. They.." Hatori hesitated a moment, much to the displeasure of the Head of the House.

"They what?" Akito demanded in a warning tone. Hatori took a deep breath:

"They aren't -at least that's what Shigure-san said- as normal as they could be. A small peculiarity."

Akito's eyes flashed.

"Tell me about this 'peculiarity'."
()

Marande looked suspiciously at the man standing before the car.

"Akito-san has been informed about your visiting", he said, his voice not showing the slightest sign of emotion. Marande made a mental note, I don't like his voice, and stepped into the car, next to Jirohino. It was quite a task to make 8 person to fit in a car planned at most for 5 person.
()

The journey was spent in an uncomfortable silence. Marande sighed in relief when they finally arrived to the Souma estate. And immediately sighed in unbelieveness.

"Ano.. How big did you say the Souma family is?" she asked, still dazzled about the size of the place. Yuki walked past her:

"Pretty big, though there are only 14 persons presently under the curse."

Marande looked at her sisters, who all looked back at her. Marande tried to smile.

"Daijoubu", she whispered to them. Hatori gesticulated to them.

"This way." They all followed him.
()

Finally they stopped at a large rice-paper-door and Hatori called in:

"Akito-san? They're here."

The voice that came from the room made Marande shiver:

"Oh? Please lead them in. I've been expecting them." Hatori shot a slightly nervous look at the girls and opened the door.

The room was dark, there was only one source of light coming from an open door in the other side of the room. There was a man standing in the doorway.

Hatori kneeled down on the floor and motioned the girls do the same. They all obeyed and waited for something to happen.

One silent moment passed. Then another.

The man in the doorway turned around.

"Very well, Hatori. You may leave now."

Hatori flinched a bit, though it was hard to notice it in the darkness.

"You.. You want me to leave?"

"Yes." The word itself wasn't an order, more like the tone it was said. Hatori bowed slightly, got up and left the room.

Marande felt a cold lump forming in her stomach. She was scared, as much as she hated to admit it. The man turned at them.

"Well, I think we have something to discuss about."