Chapter One: Moving In
"WELCOME HOME!"
The welcoming committee to the little house I own at the edge of the Sohma estate was probably not wanted at the time – although it only consisted of one silver haired man. He was sitting comfortably on one of my two and only two lounge chairs, looking at me with the mad hyperactive gleam in his eye that he usually had.
Aya, as he was known within the Sohma's, was a frequent visitor to my house, and we'd been friends for many years. Well, as long as I can remember, and that's not very far. However, tonight, I wasn't in the mood, so I shot him a rather rude glare as a welcome.
"Well, so-rr-y."
As usual, Ayame was quick to exaggerate anything that made him feel the least bit uncomfortable, but there was an evident smile still etched across his girlish face. Annoying people was one of Ayame's favourite hobbies.
"I HAVE DRESSES!"
"Dresses?" My brow arched at his hyperactive yelling, which I was sure would drive my neighbours insane, Ayame was good as good as driving people insane, as I was chopping people up.
"Yeah! For you to try on! I spent two weeks on them!" He stated, digging out of a bag that I hadn't noticed at his feet, and pulling out two, rather revealing, uniforms; one a maid, the other something resembling a Police Uniform.
"Not tonight, Aya." I said flatly, glaring towards both uniforms, causing Ayame to give an almighty pout of his lower lip. But, honestly, trying on perverted clothes was about the last thing I needed that night.
"Well, somebodies cranky." He pointed out. Well, so much for pointing out the obvious, but I could probably tolerate something like that, and so he couldn't persist with either the Dresses or the fact I was upset, I changed the subject.
"How the hell did you get in here?" That was probably the first thing I should have asked him, but of course, when you see somebody you've known for a while in your house instead of some pyromaniac with a gun, well you don't feel like you're in immediate danger.
"Your door was unlocked."
"Unlocked?" I blinked. That was probably the first time I'd left it unlocked, in well, forever. Then again, things like that did happen – and it really did freak me out. So, other than the fact that I'd received stress over my order of Akito's, more stress had been dumped on my shoulders, because now I had to check if my things were missing. Then, with Ayame sitting like a prince on top of that, well, I was in for a rough time, just thinking about it made me give a rather glare-like side-glance toward him.
"So. Why're you angry?" Surprisingly, he moved back further into the arm-chair, making himself more comfortable, while all the time staring up at me with some sort of 'tell me or I'll break your neck' kind of wonder.
I sighed, walking to the other lounge chair – which happened to be right in front of him, and sat in the way that the average Father would after a days labour and was silent for about two minutes.
After which, I had thought in my mind the perfect way to tell him my assignment from Akito without getting possible, gasps, laughter, or fake choking noises from Ayame.
Ayame knew possibly every assassination that I've ever done, every mission that Akito has personally called upon me for – he even knew about my relations to Kyo – and surprisingly, didn't tell a soul. Although he originally found out my accident, and I had to make him promise not to tell by sticking the tip of my sword to his throat.
Still, he hadn't told – and that was what counted.
Slowly, I told him everything that had happened with Akito, leaving out the part where he had physically abused me, but hey – no point in worrying over something that already happened.
My speech plan happened to work – in fact, he looked almost serious, when I told him that I was moving in with Shigure (although he looked ready enough to protest that he wanted to move in with Shigure, and why should I get the honour), and in fact, what happened after that came as a complete and utter surprise.
"I'll help you move in, and help you adjust and all the brotherly things!"
"…" I was utterly speechless. Ayame hadn't done much for me, other than hold a helpful ear when I needed it – he'd never actually suggested doing any brotherly things on my account.
"You're going to go and try to 'bond' with Yuki again?"
"That too." A sheepish grin formed on the face of the normally hyperactive man, "But, seriously, what are friends for?"
This friend-lovey-dovey crap really pisses me off, so I couldn't help but twitch a little at his little 'what are friends for' suggestion. In fact, it almost made me shudder. He just grinned at the disgusted look that was clearly planted on my face.
"Well then!" He said, his eyes boring into mine, "How about we fix up this packi-"
"SHIT! MY STUFF!" I had completely forgotten to check my house for stolen objects, although I highly doubted that there would be anything worth checking, I had nothing of value anyway. Although I hadn't forgotten about my newest assignment, having Ayame help me – although I'd never admit it to anybody, made me have a small bubble of hope inside my small stomach, and for a few square moments – while I was searching – I forgot all about the depression of seeing Kyo again.
The next morning was a completely different story, however. Not only had Ayame helped me pack the night before, but because of that – my suitcase would barely close. He made sure that he threw in ever single dress he'd ever made me, well, almost all of them (which I removed when he wasn't looking, and put in my more 'boyish' clothes), but he'd made me try on the clothes he'd brought over in the first place, and we'd stayed up late doing that – so, along with a heavy suitcase, I was extremely tired.
I ate my breakfast, got dressed, all the usual things that girls do every morning, which in my case took an hour and a half, far less than the four hours it would normally take a normal girl. Well, all the girls I know anyway.
Once ready, I shut up my little house – making sure to lock it this time, so that last nights incident wouldn't repeat, and put the keys in my pocket. My clothes were ordinary – for my anyway, an ordinary coloured shirt (white), with normal coloured jeans (blue). Nothing out of the ordinary.
My rollie suit case in hand, I began to walk all the way to the Sohma entrance, a good twenty minute walk from my house, and of course, the winding between other peoples houses and yards didn't help me much either. It amused me to watch children play as early as it was, and it amused me even more that, although there were shady people in the Sohma family, Mothers still let their small children out to run around the estate. But, if there really were somebody after the Sohma family secret, it wouldn't be safe to let children do that for long.
It was so strange, how everybody seemed to be so happy, so peaceful, even with the Sohma curse, and even while living with those who were cursed. How they could forget the discrimination that they admitted to those who were cursed, the disappointment in themselves to have given birth too a member of the zodiac – something that Ayame had tried to explain to me time and time again, but something that I never understood.
Dwelling on my thoughts of how the cursed of the family were treated, it seemed like no time when I reached the gate. I even looked up at it and blinked a few times, trying to register the fact that yes, I was at the edge of the Sohma estate, and I wondered how on earth I'd gotten there so fast.
From there, I boarded a bus – and because I'd dwelled on my thoughts of how I'd gotten to the gate so quickly, I missed my spot no more than three times.
I was actually walking up the driveway to the small house that Shigure owned three hours later than I'd planned to arrive there.
By the time I was walking up the drive-way, not only Shigure was waiting for me, but the Tohru Honda that everybody spoke about at the estate, the only girl to know about the Zodiac curse, the pretty boy Yuki, and of course, Kyo – who I avoided eye-contact which. To add to that, slung over the shoulder of his younger brother (who was trying his hardest to detach his lethal grip), was Ayame, who last night, had agreed not to know me.
"Ah! So you're Aezume, right?" Shigure asked, stepping forward from the row that the five people had formed, and walking towards me, holding his hand out in the normal 'shake' like fashion that was 'hip'.
"Yeah." I stated, shaking his hand reluctantly. If he noticed, he didn't show it – he still had that friendly grin plastered on his face.
"And, this is Yuki," Yuki was much too busy trying to get Ayame off of him, to even notice that Shigure was introducing us.
"And Miss Tohru Honda," Tohru bowed in a greeting, and gave me one of those smiles that I've heard so much about. "She's kindly agreed to let you share her room."
"Thank you, Miss Honda." I said before anything, bowing in her direction.
"You're welcome!" She answered cheerfully, and we probably would have had a heated conversation if Shigure hadn't tapped my shoulder for his attention.
"And this is Ayame," He said, pointing to the man slung over Yuki's shoulder who I already knew, it seemed he'd kept his word and not said anything about knowing me.
"And, last but not least, Kyo, who is going to take anger-management classes next week."
"I am not!" Kyo yelled, his brown eyes narrowing on Shigure – I was sure he was about to maul him, and I had to suppress a chuckle.
"Now that we're all introduced," Shigure said, clapping his hands together, "Lets go and have some tea!"
"Oh! Let me make it!" Tohru said immediately, and without even waiting for an answer (although I was sure that Shigure gave a small nod), rushed back into the house and into the kitchen.
"Kyo, help her with her luggage." Shigure said, grinning in Kyo's direction. The orange-haired Kyo really did look like he was going to maul Shigure, but sighed, strolling over to me.
"Gimmee that." And, in the Kyo fashion, he took it out of my hand, and began walking with it toward the house. I must say, I was a little disappointed he didn't recognise me.
I followed him; I had nothing else to do anyway.
"So…" That was my attempt at starting conversation with my younger brother, although it was obvious that I didn't have a topic to discuss. Kyo seemed to notice that too, because he turned around with a glare and stated, "What?" Before pausing, "… Don't I know you from somewhere?"
"Not that I know of." I lied. So he had recognised me after all, well, not really 'recognised', but noticed… well, sort of anyway. He knew that he had met me at some point in his life, or at least, and that was a start, although I wasn't sure that I myself, was even ready to tell him my relationship with him.
"Right." He answered, turning back away from me, and stopping in front of Tohru's room. "Here. You can take it now."
"Alright," I said, stopping next to him, but I think I'll have to put my bag inside the room with Tohru present, otherwise it'd be rude, wouldn't it."
Kyo replied with a shrug of his shoulders, and head back the way we came. All I did was follow.
"So… She's living there is she?" The binoculars of the particular person in the shrubbery were lowered from their eyes. "Right where Tohru Honda is. What on earth is Akito thinking…"