Do not own SC characters. I hope you like the character's chemistry in this one :)
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Chapter 3: Moving in…? Part 2 Family Issues #2
Taki shifted and ruffled her sheets in her sleep as she clutched her pillow closer to herself. The moonlight outlined her Asian features and feminine figure through the sliding glass door that she faced to the city skylines.
'Ruffle-bump…'
Taki murmured in her sleep as she felt something soft and furry bump and brush against her neck and upper back. She pulled her body lazily to become less than a foot away from the edge of the bed.
'Bump…bump…'
She groaned as the warm being kept brushing and pushing against her and thus pulled herself closer to the edge until she felt herself fall. She felt her head hit a clipboard full of papers that she had laid on the nightstand next to her last night and finally felt herself hit the ground with a small yelp.
"Grrr… What the hell…?" Taki, who was covered in a mess of papers that was her old essay, growled in frustration as she pulled herself up to take a look at the intruder now that she was fully awake and feeling a slight ache in her back. The sand-colored cat purred and curled up into a ball on top of the pillow that Taki had once rested and clutched upon. She narrowed her eyes at the now partially-snoring and care-free cat that slept soundly on her bed. "… Spoiled little fur-ball." She muttered as she pulled herself out of the puddle of papers that she didn't care for at the moment, stood up and looked at the mini digital clock that sat behind where her clipboard was.
She raised an eyebrow at the time it read: "Seven-fifteen in the morning? Hm, Sophitia must be gone by now." She mumbled to herself as she decided to get herself ready since her own classes would be starting soon.
Used to getting ready with her room in darkness that was sometimes disturbed by the dull city lights, she did as she always did every morning. Stepping out of her room only with brushed hair put up in its usual ponytail, the rooms and hallway were still in darkness and seemed undisturbed since last night. She glanced over to Sophitia's room at the end of the hall, curiosity now nipped at her the longer that she stared at it. 'I don't see how it would hurt…' She shrugged slightly as she crept over. With the knob in her palm she gently leaned in, trying her best to prevent a 'squeak'-like sound that did occur nonetheless but hardly noticeable anyway.
The room was about the same size as her own only a bit bigger in dimensions. Its main colors, which concerned the bed, walls and floor carpeting, were that of blue, white, silver and a touch of gold here and there, so it was quite charming to Taki's eyes, especially with the dark wood chair and desk at one corner of the room.
She did a double-take as she noticed that something was moving inside of the bed and a rhythmic rising and falling in its middle. She gulped as she noticed that there were blonde strands sprayed about a pillow outside of the blue and white sheets with a silver lining.
"He-hey, Sophitia?" She called hesitantly in a small voice as if she was afraid she might wake her even if she did call her name.
There was a low groaning sound coming from the bed. "Yes? What do you need?" She asked in a rather careless manner as fidgeted in her sheets slightly.
"Um, I don't know your schedule, so I may be wrong… but…" Taki was afraid of how this would turn out. "It's seven-fifteen. Don't you leave around six?" She asked as she leaned forward slightly.
"Wha-what are you talking about?" Sophitia asked in a yawn as she rolled over to her digital clock that was much larger and brighter than Taki's and took a hold of it as her eyes focused onto it. Her eyes suddenly snapped wide as she finally saw that Taki was right. "Oh gods!" She yelled in alarm and panic as she threw her sheets off of her and bolted towards her dark wood drawers, searching frantically through clothes. "Why didn't you tell me earlier?" She asked in a scolding voice, which Taki lowered her eyebrows at.
"Hey! I just woke up myself! So don't blame me! You must have forgotten to turn your own alarm on." Taki stated as she watched that panic stricken girl with slightly amused grin.
Sophitia sharply turned to her. "Oh really?" She shouted sarcastically as she quickly turned back to collect the last of her clothes for the day and hugged them into her arms. She ran out the door with Taki quickly stepping to one side to let her pass. She ran into the bathroom which was opposite to Taki's room and slammed the door shut. Taki raised an eyebrow as she heard several sounds such as 'clutter!', 'sprinkle', 'bang!', "Ouch!", a deep growling sound of aggravation and five minutes worth of the blowing of a hairdryer. Taki couldn't help but snigger as she tried to stop herself, knowing it was quite mean.
Sophitia stumbled out of the doorway fully-clothed in long dark jeans, turquoise-colored v-neck and a close-fitting, collared dark blue sweater and neatly made hair with small canisters and brushes falling to the ground and rolling out slightly into the hallway. She ran towards the counter of the kitchen as she came out of the hallway and grabbed her book bag from the middle of three tall lightly-colored wooden chairs placed at the counter's side for breakfast-eating among other things. Of course in her rush, as she grabbed her bag, the chair nearly came down to the ground had she not caught it at the right moment.
"I'll see you when I get home; I'm usually here on Tuesdays because I don't have a class today that always gives a lot of homework, bye." With that, Sophitia ran out in haste with a slam from the door.
"Sure, fine." Taki just waved slightly even though she was already out the door. She knew that if Sophitia wasn't here then she'd be at the library, so she didn't worry if something urgent should ever come up on Sophitia's class schedule. She chuckled at Sophitia's hasty self as she turned to head back into her room to finish changing. "The girl's a hazard area in the morning." She smirked as she closed the door behind her.
Not less than twenty minutes and Taki was half-way dressed when she heard the front door swing open again, which startled her slightly as her gaze snapped to her own closed door.
"Taki!"
Taki sighed and closed her eyes in aggravation as she recognized Sophitia's upset voice. Taki just turned back to finish dressing herself in her long dark blue jeans with a black belt and a strawberry-colored t-shirt with Chinese letters on the front and a black vest before she would walk to the door to meet the angered gaze. "What?" Taki called back as she opened her door to look straight into what she had anticipated.
Sophitia stared at her in not a gaze of anger, anymore at least, but to a gaze that was very focused although somewhat annoyed onto her own brown eyes. "You left the keys in my car last night, my locked car." Sophitia informed with a raise of the eyebrows at the word 'locked' and spoke in an amazingly clam voice yet seemed very serious as well, which had Taki a little more nervous especially after remembering her mistake.
"Oh… Yeah… Sorry… 'bout that." Taki spoke in simple sections as her words came to her. She looked down then snapped her eyes back up to Sophitia's gaze that looked like she was awaiting something. "So… what do you want me to do?" Taki asked as she rubbed her nape slowly. "Want me to give you a ride on my motorcy-"
"No!-no-no-no thank you!" Sophitia's eyes went wide and took a step back as she waved her hands frantically in front of her for emphasis as she spoke her rejection. "I'll just take the subway, so if you could give me two dollars for me to take it, it should be enough of a return while I pick up an extra set later." She exclaimed as she raised a palm that was already ready for payment.
Taki muttered to herself as if she was already annoyed as she reached for her wallet. "Why are you so afraid of motorcycles? They won't bite you, that is unless you handle them improperly or if you get hit by one of them, which has slim chances." Taki noted as she pulled out a dollar bill and a dollar in quarters and handed them to the younger amazonite-eyed girl, who gathered it in her hand and stuffed it into her pocket.
"I'm not afraid of them, I just don't like them. That's all!" Sophitia couldn't find the words to better explain, of course then again she didn't have time as she backed herself towards the front door.
"Yes well, perhaps I'll help you to not not like them." Taki crossed her arms over her stomach as she spoke and raised an eyebrow as she waited for a good reply from her roommate.
Sophitia opened the door and stepped through. "Um hm." She replied in an unmoved tone as she shut the door but was still able to look at Taki as she spoke. To her surprise, the door opened behind her again to find Taki with her form being outlined slightly by the light that came through the balcony's glass doors that were at the opposite end of the room. "Problem?" She raised an eyebrow as she looked at the taller girl that came to where she stood with her backpack in hand.
"No, I'm just ready as well so might as well follow you." Taki exclaimed as she threw her backpack upon her shoulder and headed towards the elevator with Sophitia behind her. Taki thought about Sophitia's living standards now and was pretty neutral in opinions. She turned to the blonde with a raised eyebrow as they stepped and waited in the elevator. "You have a car yet you seem to use the subway most of the time?" Taki asked in bewilderment, not seeing a point.
Sophitia's gaze shifted from Taki's to the blinking red numbers of the floors in the elevator. "Sure; faster, on time, and chances of getting into a crash is slim." She turned to the ebony haired senior. "That's why my car insurance isn't the best." She smirked slightly as Taki did the same.
"I see your point." Taki chuckled as the elevator doors opened into the garage. Taki came to her toy and swung her leg over the seat, watching as Sophitia just rolled her eyes as she passed onto the sidewalk. With her motor running she came up to the junior who was now back into her hasty self. "Well, see you at home after your 'detention for tardiness' at school." She grinned at Sophitia's glare and with that she took off like a bandit into the streets and the morning sunlight reflecting off of her motocross helmet.
"Geez…" Was all Sophitia could mutter as she shook her head slightly. "At least she's not going on the subway with me. Gods, that will be the first and last time that what happened will ever happen again!" Sophitia declared as visions of the embarrassing moments came into her head, which she tried to push out. A feeling came into mind howeveras she seemed to have 'temporarily forgotten' to push away; the feeling when her hand landed on Taki's firm but soft abdomen. To her, it was quite impressive for any girl to be diligent enough to have such high strength in that area. 'Wait…' Sophitia mentally stopped herself as her wide eyes snapped up with sudden concern. "'Firm but soft'? 'Impressive'?" Sophitia shut her eyes tightly as she felt like she could kick herself. "What is happening to me?" She ran her fingers through her hair at the top of her head in aggravation as she asked no one in particular, even though some did glance oddly at the girl who seemed to be speaking to herself.
'B-ring!'
She jumped as the "Canned Heat" by Jamiroquai ring tone of her, what she considered, 'outdated' cell phone startled her out of her own concerns. She sighed and rolled her eyes at her own jumpy actions as she reached for her phone and flicked it on.
"Yes-what?" She asked impatiently as she tried to calm herself at take control over her own thoughts again.
"Well 'good morning' to you too, caring sister!"
The caller's voice was quite sarcastic and was one that Sophitia knew well, which made her sigh even deeper as she rubbed her forehead with her hand as she replied in a slightly calmer tone. "Hello Cassie."
"Much better." Cassandra sounded as if she was critiquing something. "Now, sis, if you don't mind, I have to come by and pick a few things up for father. He wants to have some of his figurines back, only the gods, the goddesses he wants you to keep." She informed simply.
"Sure, I'm not doing anything and I should be home by late in the afternoon, so you can come by then." Sophitia stated informingly as she headed down the staircase towards the subway station, she could feel her calmer-self setting in.
"Alright. I'm surprised I caught you now since I know you have school, I was planning to leave a message. I'm sure you're late to that university of yours so I'll ask how you've been when I come by." Cassandra spoke as if it was a positive suggestion.
"Heh, sure." Sophitia couldn't help but smile that her seventeen-year-old sister still had concern over her elder sister's well-being. "I'll see you then. Erm, sorry for snapping at you when I answered, I've just had a lot of things on my mind, odd things." She explained sincerely as she rubbed her nape nervously, hoping Cassandra would understand.
"Mm. I believe that. So what're the things? Schoolwork?" Cassandra asked out of curiosity.
"Eh-heh." Sophitia had no idea how to answer it, nor did she even want to for that matter. "It's… uh… it's difficult to explain." She stated, hoping it would be enough.
"I see." Nope, wasn't enough, Sophitia could tell. "Well, let me know how it goes when I get to your apartment, okay? I'll see you later." With that, Sophitia bid her little sister goodbye in return and went back to paying the toll with her roommate's money. She cursed herself as she remembered that Taki was going to be there, but she shrugged as she thought that she would tell her sister later when she wasn't late for school.
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"Hi." Taki let her backpack drop upon the desk that was right next to Mitsurugi, who was playing the games on his cell phone with his head propped up on his arm until class started.
"Hey." He replied in a careless and tired manner. He turned to her with a raised eyebrow as if slightly surprised. "You're here early." He noted as if it was a new event.
Taki actually smirked at his note, making him become curious. "Yes, well, I had a rather busy and interesting morning." She stated as she zipped open her backpack. Her focus slowly dimmed as she heard familiar footsteps of thick heels coming from behind her and stopped right next to her. Taki slowly looked up to see her math teacher; Professor Mau, who was a woman perhaps only around six years older than herself and unmarried, so which Taki heard. Also the fact that Miss. Mau was of Egyptian origin, which could partly be seen in the facial features, tan skin and long curly ebony hair. She turned to her other long-haired pupil that was Mitsurugi and coughed warningly, telling him to put his phone away. Mitsurugi staggered and coughed apologetically as he stuffed his phone into his pocket.
The professor turned to her other Japanese pupil. "Taki, we have to talk about your grades." Professor Mau stated as she sat herself upon the desktop, which Taki and many of the other girls figured was a bad idea seeing as to how she was wearing a skirt, but of course none of the guys in the room were arguing.
All Taki did in reply was mutter the words 'Oh boy.' Taki sighed as she turned up to her teacher. "Yes, what about them?" Taki asked even though she knew what her young teacher was going to say.
"They're not the best. I think I may need to recommend a tutor for you." The professor stated as she laced her fingers together and laid them in her lap. Taki's head shot up at the mention of 'tutor'.
"T-t-tutor? B-but I don't have time for it! I-I'm already living with someone from NYU and that's time-consuming enough, believe me!" Taki tried her best to get out of this, knowing that if she couldn't, she would just have to live with having a tutor. "I'm part of the 'University Exchange'." She added just for the information for her teacher.
Professor Mau looked at her in surprise for a moment. "Really? Well, who is this person you're living with? I teach some classes over at that university." She leaned forward to hear Taki's answer better out of her own curiosity.
"Sophitia Alexandra." Taki answered simply and obediently.
The dark-haired professor pulled back slightly in even more surprise then slowly smiled. "Oh really? Huh, she's one of my best student's, top in the class and in many others, and for a junior that's pretty impressive." She noted just for extra information as she looked down to the floor in thought and Taki waited. The professor's amethyst eyes came up to hers. "She'll be your tutor then." She suddenly stated, making Taki's gaze snap straight to her own.
"W-what?" Taki had become absolutely speechless. "But-I-how?-Are you serious?" She staggered.
"Do I look like I'm kidding?" She asked with a raised eyebrow while Taki slumped in her seat in defeat.
"O-okay. If I must." Taki nodded obediently but knew that this was going to be difficult; how would you ask someone you've had numerous fights with to suddenly help in tutoring you? She had no idea.
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Taki knocked upon Sophitia's door, grumbling to herself about how she didn't have a key of her own. To her surprise, Sophitia answered the door and stood aside to let her in with a small 'Hi.'.
"No detention?" Taki asked with a smirk as she came up to the kotatsu and dropped her bag next to where she sat underneath it and noticed that the heating blanket was turned on. She looked up to see her roommate give her a glare as she sat opposite of where Taki sat, which was facing the balcony doors.
"For your information, I hardly am ever late so I didn't get a detention but a warning." She stated as she leaned her folded arms onto the table top as she leaned forward. "So… I have to tutor you?" She informed in a small voice as if she didn't like the idea herself.
"Uh, yeah." Taki's eyes darted slightly in nervousness of what Sophitia's answer might be. "Professor Mau told you?" She asked, suddenly wondering how she knew.
"Yep, after school." Sophitia answered with a simple nod. "And you really need it, I mean even look at you now: your grades are the worst I've seen in years and you hardly have a penny to your name! So which I can tell, anyway." Sophitia's voice was low on her last sentence as if it was a mental note. "And it's not only one subject but half of them that you keep failing!" She spoke as if the were incredible feats.
Taki furrowed her eyebrows at her even though she was slight wide-eyed from Sophitia's statement as it was all true. "How do you know about my grades?" She asked suspiciously.
"The professor pulled them up for me to look at." Sophitia stated bluntly. "So I think that tutoring may be a good idea for you. I'll see how it goes, if you can really pay attention to what I tell you." Sophitia's statement made Taki pull back in surprise then smile faintly.
"Sure, of course. Better grades mean that my opportunity to get into NYU will come closer. Now if only I could remember that during the boredom of my classes." Taki noted as she ran a hand up and down the side of her face as the memories of her classes came to her.
"Yes, that may be helpful." Sophitia raised an eyebrow as she spoke with criticism. "Do you have your things so that we could possibly get started?" She asked as she massaged her own collarbone, trying to get the pain from carrying her heavy backpack out of her shoulders.
"Yep. Some stuff." Taki answered in a sigh as she reached inside her backpack.
'Knock-knock' "Hey sis! You home?"
Sophitia's eyes went wide with worry as she heard her youngersisterthrough the front door that didn't open. "Uh-erm, just a sec!" She called back as she hastily took Taki's backpack and hid it behind the couch.
"What're you doing?" Taki asked in bewilderment. Sophitia suddenly clasped her hand over Taki's mouth.
"Shhh. It's my sister; I completely forgot that she was coming over today." She informed in a low voice.
Taki raised an eyebrow at her. "So, what's the problem?"
"She lives with the rest of my family and she likes to give away information. My dad likes to know everything about what I'm doing and who I might be living with and I can't stand it. He doesn't really trust a whole lot of people and I don't want to put the burden on you. So you have to hide underneath the kotatsu for me until she leaves." She explained, worried that her sister might be growing impatient.
"What?" Taki tried to keep her voice low. Sophitia places a hand on Taki's face and her other hand on her shoulder as she pushed her underneath the small table.
"Just get under!" She shouted in a forced whisper as another knock on the door was heard. "It's open!" She called as she sat herself underneath the kotatsu in a nonchalant fashion,although she couldfeel her legs touch Taki's curled body.
"Hey." Cassandra waved slightly as she came through the door, wearing her usual rather tomboyish attire with at least a feminine top. "So where are the figurines?" She asked as her gaze swept across the room as if she already knew where they were.
"In the cupboard next to my desktop." Sophitia answered, trying to settle the struggling woman underneath the table.
'Geez it's hot under here! She likes this thing way too much! I can hardly breathe!' Taki thought as she fought against Sophitia's long legs. 'Man, where's that dial? I need to turn the heat down a few dozen notches.' As Taki slowly became dizzy and breathless from the lack of air, her fingers went towards the closest opening to feel around the blanket to find the round dial. She didn't care as she felt her knuckles brush against Sophitia's legs as she continued to search.
"W-wh-what the?" Sophitia stammered in a low voice as she felt something lightly brush against her shins then lower thigh. 'What is she doing?' Sophitia questioned with darting eyes.
"You sure they're in here?" Cassandra suddenly asked as she searched through the small cupboard.
"Oh yes, just keep looking." Sophitia answered a bit too quickly as her mind was more focused on Taki's traveling fingers through her jeans. She tried to hold back her small blush so that her sister wouldn't become suspicious if she happened to look at her. The room was a little dark but had its lights on so she knew that her little sister would notice something amiss.
'Argh! Where is the damn thing?' Taki was slowly becoming fed up with aimless searching. She reached for the spot at her side that she would've remembered it to be and hit something but it certainly wasn't the dial as Sophitia's legs, which were perpendicular to her own body, suddenly tightened around her top half, crushing her slightly and becoming even more cramped within her small space.
"Ah!" Sophitia gasped and blushed profusely as she felt something weakly jab high into her inner thigh and gave her the reflex of hunching over slightly while her eyes widened and her hands snapped down towards where the feeling occurred. She felt Taki's hands which were quite warm due to the heat beneath and let out a low, deep growl in embarrassed anger.
"Sis, are you alright?" Cassandra's question made Sophitia's eyes snap to hers. Her younger, short-haired sister looked at her with concern. "You look kind of … uh, flustered." She noted as she cocked her head to one side and furrowed her eyebrows with question.
"Oh s-sure, heh, I-I'm fine! Never b-better, swear!" Sophitia stammered as she tried to push Taki's hands away, although the Asian woman trapped around her legs seemed to be reluctant to bring her hands back, it was as if Taki wanted to keep embarrassing her like this.
'What's she doing now? I only want to turn the damn heat down!' Taki complained to herself as she fought against Sophitia's fingers that held her back from finding the dial. 'Ugh! That's it! I'm going to get some air.' Taki pushed her way through where she figured the dial was as she knew that going out through the other sides would mean Sophitia's sister catching sight of her.
Sophitia gasped again as she felt Taki push towards her then at the same time watched her sister draw near as well. She saw the top of Taki's long ebony hair emerge from beneath the blanket and quickly pushed her hands down upon Taki's head to keep her beneath the blanket. The sports-lover seemed so determined in breaking through to the outside that Sophitia had to cross her legs tightly over the Asian's head to give her hands more weight.
'Gah! Get back under there!' Sophitia yelled in her head at the 'gopher' of a woman beneath her who tried to pop out. Her attention turned as she felt Cassandra place her hand upon her shoulder.
"Uh, you know sis, if you have to go to the bathroom, don't let me be the one stopping you just because I'm here." Cassandra smirked as Sophitia shot up to look at her with her wide eyes. She looked back down to notice the position she was in.
"I-it's not that; I'm just a little cold that's all." Sophitia lied in an uneasy voice as she looked away and hunched over even more to hide her hands from being seen upon jet black hair.
Taki felt her face being pressed into the carpet by Sophitia's hands. 'C-can't breathe! What in the hell is she doing?Is shetrying to suffocate me?' Taki shouted angrily in her head as she fought against Sophitia's hands and legs.
Sophitia silently gasped as she felt Taki wiggle and move her head roughly against her and in a place that she would've never have picked if it were up to her. The harder she tried to hold the Asian woman down, the rougher Taki became. Sophitia could feel her face being to boil as she blushed horribly; her head almost looked like a cherry. 'Taki stop!' She almost shouted aloud as she closed her eyes tightly and tried to calm her own rapidly beating heart until she felt her younger sister place a hand on her forehead.
"Well no wonder you feel cold Sophie; your head is getting warmer by the second! I think you're getting a fever." Cassandra stated as she moved her hand to check the side of her elder sister's face.
'Gee, I wonder why.' Sophitia thought sarcastically as she shot a terrible glare towards Taki's direction.
"Let me get you a cold washcloth to put on your head." Cassandra suggested as she went off into the kitchen.
Sophitia found this as the right time to perform a proper scolding as she raised the blanket cover to find the sweat-covered face of Taki gasping in what air she could as it seeped into the kotatsu. "What in Hades do you think you're doing?" Sophitia whispered harshly as her face was still in a flush even though her expression looked almost insane with embarrassment and panic as her sister was opening and closing cupboards looking for a washcloth.
Taki looked up at her furiously. "Well excuse me if I happen to be tangled between your thighs and I can hardly breathe within this volcano of a study tabl-Ack!" Taki yelped as Sophitia suddenly shoved the heel of her foot into Taki's face to hide her again as Cassandra came over to with a damp washcloth and gently wiped her forehead with it asthough she was the protective and caring elder sister.
"I got all the figurines and I guess I should just leave you be to get better." Cassandra stated in a soft tone as she looked at her sister with worry in her eyes.
"Don't worry, I'll be fine." 'Please leave, please leave!' Sophitia thought hopefully and ecstatically. Cassandra came up and hugged her elder sister gently, which made Sophitia soften in her arms as she wrapped her arms around in return but keeping her legs upon Taki's head in case she had any sudden impulses. "I'll see you later." She spoke as she rubbed her little sister's back.
"Alright." Cassandra returned as they broke apart and she headed for the door, carrying a shoebox full of white and colored figurines. She waved once as she walked out and shut the door behind her.
'GASP' Taki suddenly sprung out from underneath the kotatsu with a gasp so deep it was almost equivalent to the gasp that she made when Sophitia showed her her brother's dirty magazines. The older woman suddenly looked like she lost all strength and fell on top of the smaller girl below her.
Sophitia gasped as Taki fell on her and as she fell to the ground due to Taki's weight. She moved and struggled slightly underneath the somewhat listless woman. "W-w-would you mind getting off of me?" Sophitia asked with a raised eyebrow, feeling the taller girl heave from the lack of air she was previously given. All she heard in return was a groan as Taki rubbed her rapidly swelling cheek, which was caused by Sophitia's heel.
'Click-crreeaak' "On second though sis, maybe I should stay just to keep an-…"
Both Sophitia and Taki froze as the door was opened and the younger of the Alexandra sisters came in again, who stopped as she saw her older sister and a strange Asian woman half-underneath the kotatsu and half-lying on top of her sister. Cassandra just blinked her wide eyes then slowly grinned deviously and so widely that it began to look Cheshire. " Heh heh. Looks like I should keep an eye on you for more than one reason, dear and innocent sister." Her tone was very deep and mischievous as she spoke. She shook her head slightly as if disappointed. "This explains your flushed face, the positions you were in and how shifty and jerky you were. Wow, what a dirty older sister I have." She chuckled evilly.
Sophitia's mouth dropped open at what her sister seemed to be thinking. "It's not what you think! I swear I'm not like that!" She defended as she forcefully pushed Taki off of her and waved a hand frantically in front of her as if she thought it would help.
Cassandra seemed unmoved as she raised the eyebrow of her evil eye. "Uh huh, so tell me sis, were you just reaching your climax? Would you like me to wait in the hallway while you finish up?" She asked calmly as if it didn't bother her.
Sophitia's eyes went wide. "How dare you think that? I-I-I-we-we weren't doing anything!" She stammered yet proclaimed in a horror-stricken tone as she noticed that Taki was leaning up beside her and seemed to be just noticing what was going on. She had it in mind to slap Taki on the back of the head for just noticing this.
"Okay, okay! I heard you the first time, Geez!" Cassandra rolled her eyes as she came forward. "I just love to tease you. I knew you'd never do anything like that and I already knew that you had a roommate since yesterday." She explained as she began to stare at Taki's swelling cheek, whichAsian held it beneath her fingers.
"You knew? How?" Sophitia looked at her in bewilderment. How would this information be obtainable was a question that she didn't think anyone would be able to answer.
"Mina." The short-haired blonde answered simply with a faint half-smile.
"Oh." The older Alexandra sister was quite speechless as she looked up to the ceiling in thought but didn't move her head. 'I should've seen that coming; she loves to say more than she should at times.' Her thoughts were interrupted by Taki's groan.
"Did you have to kick me so hard?" The brown-eyed woman groaned as she rubbed her cheek painfully. Sophitia sighed slightly as she stood up to go to the kitchen.
"Sorry about that, I didn't mean to." Sophitia spoke honestly as she pulled out a steak to help Taki's cheek heal better and faster. "Don't tell father about Taki yet, Cassie. I'll tell him later; I don't want him to go snooping about in my apartment or Taki's life just to make sure that I'm safe." She explained as she softened up the meat under hot water and came back into the living room to find both Cassandra and Taki watching her as they both sat at the kotatsu being across from each other.
Cassandra raised an eyebrow at her then suddenly furrowed both of them as if suddenly upset. "Don't trust my mouth or my judgment, big sister?" Sophitia looked at her with concern and soft eyes as her dear younger sister seemed a little hurt. The face that her sister would give her when she became this way always tore her apart; she never wanted to see her sister hurt, especially when she herself was the cause.
"Cassie, I just don't want you to start something that would be between father and myself; you know how traditional and picky he can be. It has nothing to do with you, I swear it." Sophitia's tone was so soft and so sincere that Taki believed that the most mistrusting person in the world would believe her. The elder Alexandra gently brushed the younger's bangs behind her ear. Cassandra hesitantly looked up into the green eyes that were a little lighter and vibrant than her own and nodded.
"Alright,asthe older sister I trust your judgment." Cassandra stated as she looked back down to her feet. "I just wish you'd trust me just as much." She added in a small tone that still caused what felt like a dagger piercing into Sophitia's heart.
The elder sister sighed softly before she inched her way over to her sister who just seemed to ignore her until she wrapped an arm around the short-haired girl's shoulder. "I do trust you, and to make you feel better I promise that I'll never hide anything from you except the clothes from my wardrobe that you always liked to sneak in and 'borrow'." She added with a raised eyebrow as her sister looked at her timidly by apologetically as she mentioned that fact.
Cassandra brought up the courage to look her sister in the eye and smile faintly. "Thanks, I guess." She chuckled slightly as she finished and let her caring sister scoop her up into her arms and into a hug.
"Aw, wow. Now that's cute." Taki suddenly spoke up with a grin that was difficult if not impossible to keep in. Cassandra just looked at her and blinked with semi-furrowed eyes as Sophitia glared at her and her remark, making Taki pull back slightly as if Sophitia had the idea that she was being sarcastic. "What? I wish my little sister and I were like that." She stated in her own defense as it was true anyway.
Sophitia softened slightly and didn't say anything as she released her sister, scooted over towards Taki and slapped the meat lightly upon the Asian's red cheek and eye. Taki yelped slightly at the impact and slowly relaxed as she glanced at Sophitia, who held the steak in place as she laid a hand gently over the Greek's as if to support it in holding the meat.
"Well anyway, as I was saying before I… interrupted you two, hem-hem." Cassandra teased as she smirked at Sophitia's wide-eyed reaction. "I think I better stay here, it's late anyway. Is that alright with you, sis? Even though I may actually need to borrow some of your night clothes for tonight?" She raised an eyebrow in a rather confident fashion.
Sophitia nodded slowly; now back to her patient self. She turned to Taki with a raised eyebrow. "Is that alright with you?"
Taki merely shrugged; it's not like she had a choice in the matter anyway, that she knew. "Of course; she's your sister, it's not like I can just turn her down." She stated as she took full control of the steak before Sophitia thanked her with a nod and led Cassandra to her temporary room. Taki placed her unoccupied hand behind her head and leaned backward slightly as her gaze swept across the room. "Well, that was an interesting tutoring session." She smirked.
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Taki tried to ignore the throbbing and burning sensation within her cheek as she tried to make herself fall asleep somehow. Sophitia and Cassandra went to bed half an hour before, which she spent watching 'anything good' on the television and laying on the couch. She smirked slightly at the look Sophitia gave her before she went to bed; it was a suspicious or questionable one as if she was afraid that she would try and steal something from the apartment.
'What is there to steal anyway?' Taki thought with a confusedly raised eyebrow. 'And why would I? I live here!' She thought it over for a minute before she ultimately shrugged as she closed her eyes, held her sheets closer to herself and rolled onto her side.
The memory of Cassandra and Sophitia flashed into her mind, making her open her eyes again in a soft and dreamy-like fashion. 'That's the first time I've seen her act so… sincere and caring, it's rather nice and easing when you see her that way. It's almost charming and sweet in a way.' Taki thought as Sophitia's face when she looked at her sister came into her mind.
Her thoughts were suddenly pushed aside as she heard her door creak open then unevenly-taken steps across the carpet and felt the chill of the air as the covers were raised to let the… whatever it may be… into her bed. She jumped as she felt the being press against her back.
'W-w-what the…?' Taki raised an eyebrow out of panic as the being rubbed against her. 'Could it be that damn cat? Lord, will it never let me rest while I'm here?' Taki's original idea was scratched as she realized that the person was against the whole of her backside and their hands were roaming along her sides and back. 'W-who could be…?' Taki gasped as another thought came to her. 'Sophitia? Could it be her?' Her eyes began to dart as she thought for reasons and explanations. 'It has to be her! I mean, would that be the reason why she looked at me earlier? Did she want to know what it was like to be in bed with me? A Japanese sports-lover?' Taki was now thoroughly confused; it didn't make sense; Sophitia didn't seem that impulsive.
"Ack!" The person pressed herself harder against Taki, making her eyes go wide in panic as she gasped. 'That's it!' Taki suddenly turned herself over and raised herself above the intruder. She looked down at a blonde-haired girl with furrowed, serious eyes. "Sophitia! Is there a reason why-…?" Taki stopped as she noticed that the girl's hair was much shorter then the other girl whom she had anticipated. "Cass… Cassandra?" She was now beyond confused.
Indeed it was Cassandra, though Taki could tell she was asleep and still rolling around on the bed while murmuring something in a sweet tone. 'She was asleep the whole time? Why'd she come into my room? Surely she was looking for Sophitia's room.'
Her thoughts were abruptly pushed to one side as her door flung open with Sophitia in its frame. "What in the world are you yelling abou-…?" Sophitia stopped as she stared with eyes that seemed as of they didn't believe what they were seeing.
Taki froze at the way Sophitia looked at them and at the position Cassandra and she were in; Taki's leg was in between Cassandra's while her eyes were closed in a peaceful sleep. Taki snapped up to see that Sophitia's eyes were now dangerously furrowed. "It's… It's not what you think. R-really." The masculine older woman slowly became nervous at what Sophitia might do.
"Really?" Sophitia didn't seem very moved from what Taki said as she cocked her head to one side as if she was about ready to criticize. "Well it can't be very far from what I'm thinking!" She proclaimed angrily and almost vengefully.
Taki pulled back as she got off of Cassandra. "I wasn't doing anything!" She defended loudly.
"Mmm. Love you, big sister." Cassandra suddenly murmured as she rolled onto her other side and clutched a pillow close to her while not waking up, much to their surprise. Taki slowly looked up at Sophitia, who's eyes were incredibly soft as she kept her eyes upon her younger sister. Her eyes darted as she looked back up towards Taki's, who waited for Sophitia to say something because she had no idea what to say herself.
"Could… Would you mind…" Sophitia couldn't get the words out but Taki had already understood as she nodded and gently lifted Cassandra into her arms. She carried her into Sophitia's room and placed her into Sophitia's bed, where she would stay for the rest of the night.
Taki hesitantly looked up to Sophitia, who stood at her bedside next to her sleeping sister. "Does she do things to you while you're asleep, or at least try to?" Taki asked out of curiosity.
Sophitia nodded slightly. "Like cling to you? Yes, but there are reasons." Sophitia glanced at her, as if suddenly timid. "I'll explain in the morning. Sorry about nearly accusing you of… well, you know, with my sister." She suddenly mentioned in a small tone but sincere nonetheless.
Taki glanced at her as she turned. "No problem, these things seem to happen all the time lately, so I'm used to it." She winked at Sophitia as she walked out the door, noting Sophitia's small smirk as she did so. She sighed heavily as she closed the door behind her, only to become tense again as she noticed that the laid-back sandy cat was sprawled across her bed, purring away. "Great… just great." Taki rubbed her hand along her face tiredly as she spoke in a low and pitiful tone.
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The next few chapters will be fun to both write and read :) The next chapter for ANE will come out soon, after all, it is a bit longer and I need to make sure that everything important fits together nicely within the chapter. Sorry if the whole Taki-under-the-table scene was a bit much to read, but I hope it was funny for you :) I also hope you liked how I put Cassandra's character and the feelings she had for her sister.
To Witch-Hunter 51: I hope you liked this update :) I'm glad you liked the magazines, I thought they'd be a good addition to the comedy.
To cococashu: For Yunsung, I've already had a few ideas for him in the story, so I hope you like them when I bring him in. The arguments between Taki and Sophie will have a reason as I will make them show and tell why later. By the way, just because you don't have any medals, it doesn't mean that I think of you as a loser in any way :) I thought people would like the magazine bit and I'm glad you did. The whole Kitsune thing will be brought in by the next chapter and I'm hoping that it'll get a big laugh by what Sophitia's reaction will be. I hope you liked this one :)
To Lokiador: I hope this chapter was satisfactory if not good and funny for you :)
To mentalretard: The name Haitani and the subway scene did come from Love Hina as the meaning and idea of the Japanese word Kitsune as well. I know, I love that manga/anime as well; I have all the mangas and dvds. As you may have noticed, scenes from Love Hina were in this one as well, but that may be the last of it; I don't want to copy too many things. I'm glad you liked the last chapter and I hope you liked this one as well :)
To reika45: More funny and meaningful scenes will come so that should make the story more interesting to read for you and the others. I'm glad you liked the subway scene, I thought the reactions would be funny for the reader. I hope you liked how the characters worked in this one.
To Rain54: The arguments, I understand how you feel about those, so for the other readers as well as yourself, the arguments will be 'softened' so to say, the characters will explain their reasons for acting the way they do in later chapters. But I hope you liked this one :)