Chapter 2
"Shahanna!" a voice called, crashing through her unconscious mind. "Shahanna, are you awake?"
She bolted up right. "What?" Her mind was slightly fuzzy, she felt as though she had just fallen asleep scant minutes earlier, which was close to being true. She blinked in the soft morning light and saw Tohru standing in her doorway, wearing only a towel. She closed her eyes. Not something that I intended to wake up seeing. Shahanna thought.
"We'll be leaving in a little bit, you should start getting ready." She said and disappeared from the doorway.
Shahanna cracked her back loudly and glanced in the direction of her sister. Destiny had rolled over, but she was still asleep. Shahanna shook her head and sighed. Her sheets were everywhere, providing evidence of her restless evening. She straightened them until they looked slightly neat.
Shahanna got up and wandered out to the hallway, checking to see if the bathroom was vacant. It was. She grabbed her toiletries and uniform and walked into the bathroom, closing the door behind her. She washed her face and hands and brushed her teeth before changing out of her night shirt and into the uniform.
Shahanna wrinkled her nose at it. Wearing a skirt was bad enough, but that one was too short to be tasteful. For a moment she thought that probably Shigure had picked that length. She remembered how when she had become human again, Shigure had watched her. Perhaps it meant nothing, or perhaps Shigure was not as normal as he had attempted to look.
Shahanna had to smother her laughter at the sheer absurdity of it all. Of course Shigure wasn't normal. Neither was Yuki or Kyo. She and Destiny sure as hell weren't on the normal bus either. Shahanna pinched her skin, forcing herself to murder her mirth. It was no laughing matter to be cursed. And living in Shigure's house and going to school was not going to make it any easier. She just had more people to avoid…and for them to avoid her.
Someone knocked on the door, startling her. "Yes?"
"You almost ready to go?" The voice on the other side of the door sounded annoyed.
Shahanna knew who the owner of the voice was. Even though she had only been there one evening, she had already gotten a good impression of each of the Sohmas living in Shigure's house. Yuki would never so blatantly express his annoyance with someone he hardly knew, unless they really made him mad probably. Tohru probably didn't even have it in her to be annoyed. Shigure perhaps…but he would not be bothering her over going to school. This only left Kyo.
Shahanna tugged on the bottom of her skirt one last time before tying back her hair and leaving the bangs over her eyes. She opened the door and stepped out into the hall. She could hear the others downstairs, waiting. She stopped by her room and found a new backpack sitting on her sheets. She picked up, glanced at the still sleeping Destiny and left without saying a word.
Tohru, Yuki, Kyo, and Shigure were waiting by the front door. Tohru smiled as Shahanna approached. Shahanna returned the smile with her face alone. "Thank you for the new backpack." She said to Shigure.
She slung it over one shoulder and felt something inside it that she had not noticed before. She self consciously kept her hands by the edge of her skirt, in case she should have to hold it in place.
Yuki and Tohru led the way out of the house, Kyo a little behind them and Shahanna a little behind him. She glanced back once at her new home. It seemed so quiet and nice from where she stood. It was well hidden by the trees, hiding the deep secrets of the occupants.
"Are you coming?" Kyo called back to her, breaking her from her thoughts.
She turned away and jogged to catch up. "Yeah." Foolish of me to stand there and think like that. It's only a house; I don't need to get all poetic about it. She told herself. She walked among the others now, next to Kyo.
Tohru smiled and turned to speak to her. "You're going to love the school. I hope you'll be in the same class as us. You can meet Uo and Hana."
"Oh, yeah a real party." Kyo grumbled, recalling his first day in that school.
Shahanna shrugged. "School is school. It can't be that great." Especially if you have to wear skirts this short. I thought they had longer ones too. She thought. She brushed her bangs out of her eyes. Which was useless really, they slid right back into place. She never had trouble seeing through them though. She knew it made others uncomfortable sometimes when they couldn't see her eyes.
Tohru looked to Yuki now and smiled wider. Shahanna doubted the girl could ever frown. As far as she could see, Tohru was always smiling and happy. Not to mention clueless. "Hey, you tied your tie right today!"
Yuki looked surprised and glanced down at his white tie. "Oh. Yes, I suppose I did." He smiled softly at Tohru.
Shahanna closed her eyes. Perhaps Tohru was too friendly. Shahanna had certainly never met anyone like her before. She was just so damn happy and nice. So of course everyone got along with her. And for a moment Shahanna felt a twinge of envy flash through her. Of course she's happy. She has reason to be. She's not cursed. She doesn't have to turn into an animal anytime she gets too close to someone.
Shahanna shook her head. I'm being stupid. I am who I am. I can't change that. She refocused her eyes so that she was actually paying attention to where they were going. It was just so hard to focus. I'm just tired. That's all.
She was so spaced out she hadn't realized that they had arrived at the school. Students hung around the halls, chatting and joking around, or worry about a test. Shahanna's hidden eyes lingered on them and another twinge of envy washed over her.
"Come on Shahanna! I'll take you to the office get your class number and books." Tohru said, breaking away from Yuki and Kyo. Kyo was wandering in the complete opposite direction as Yuki. It was then that Shahanna noticed the Kyo did not wear a tie. After a quick glance, she saw that he was one of the few.
Shahanna turned and followed Tohru, wondering how on earth the girl managed to have that much energy. As she walked and got closer to the office, whispers reached her ears. Her eyes darted around and saw several people staring at her, whispering, and a few even pointing. She turned her face away and balled her fists.
"Hello. May I help y-" The lady at the front desk frowned. "Are you the new student? Owatomi Shahanna?" She was staring very pointedly at Shahanna's hair. "At least you wore the uniform, but this school has a strict policy against dying hair, even for girls."
Shahanna sighed. "This is my natural color." She stated. "I'm here to get my books and my class number."
The lady narrowed her eyes. "You class is 1-D and your books are over there, on that chair." She shuffled some papers. "You'd best watch you step in this school. We don't accept anything less than excellence."
"I bet the only way you got to even walk through the doors is because you work here then." Shahanna grumbled to herself. She picked up the numerous books and stuffed them into her back pack, careful not to squish what was already in there, which she discovered to be a brown paper bag.
"That was mean." Tohru said as they left the office. "You could get in big trouble in here. Especially if she had heard you." She smiled slightly. "Besides, they let Kyo keep his hair its natural color, and Yuki's too."
Shahanna did not reply. She was really starting to hate the skirt, the school, and the people who had decided her fate for her and sent her to live here. She would have crossed her arms, but she still kept them by the edge of her skirt. And worse yet, she didn't even have pockets.
"But this is great! We all have the same class!"
"Woo-hoo." Shahanna said without feeling.
If Tohru noticed her lack of enthusiasm she did not comment on it. She started walking a little faster as the hallways began to clear. "Here's our class." She said opening the door and letting Shahanna walk in first.
"Tohru!" Two girls called, fast approaching. "Where were you this morning?"
"Uo, Hana!" Tohru walked forward to them. "I was showing Shahanna around and helping get her books."
"Shahanna?" A tall girl with short blond hair asked. She was wearing a longer skirt than the others. "Who's that? Is she new?"
Shahanna nodded. "Yes. I am new to the school." She said emotionlessly. "You must be Tohru's friends."
"Shahanna, this is Uo." Tohru said, gesturing to the tall blond. "And that's Hana." The other girl was shorter with black hair tied back in a braid.
Shahanna nodded. "A pleasure." She glanced around, trying not to look lost.
"Ah! You must the new student!" A man said, entering the room with a briefcase. "Welcome." He wore glasses and had short brown hair. He stared at her hair for a moment. "Please, take a seat. Uh, over there behind Kyo, the one with the orange hair."
Shahanna nodded and silently walked over to the seat. The other students parted for her and sat in their own seats. She could still hear their whispers.
"I saw her walking here with Tohru and the Sohmas."
"Maybe she lives with them."
"But she's not a Sohma, is she?"
"No, it's Owatomi or something like that."
"She must be a good talker; they let her keep her hair like that. That's not fair."
By then, the whispers that she could hear, along with those that she couldn't, had turned her face a slight shade of red.
"I don't trust her. She and that Tohru girl are too close to the Prince."
"Perhaps we could get her to do us a few favors though. Surely someone like her would join our ranks."
Shahanna untied her hair and let it fall forward to better cover her face and fervently wished that the day was over. The whispers quieted as the teacher began talking. Shahanna tried to concentrate but her mind kept wandering. And she caught herself wondering how Destiny was doing on her first day.
She idly took notes on what the teacher was saying; she knew that she wouldn't remember it later. She doodled in the margins of her spiral notebook, drawing a cheetah and a wolf laying one either side of a campfire.
After a while the bell rang for lunch break. Shahanna stretched and pulled out the brown paper bag and rummaged through it. Kyo leaned back in his chair and munched on a plain rice ball. He glanced back at her but said nothing.
Shahanna turned her eyes back to her meal, a sand witch, an apple, and a rice ball. She checked the sand witch and found that it was ham. She ate that quickly and the rice ball was gone moments later. She was regarding the apple when three shadows fell on her desk.
Shahanna looked up, a sharp retort on her lips at being interrupted.
Three girls stared down at her. "Hello. Owatomi, is it?" One of them said.
Shahanna recognized the voice as one of the people whispering about her. "Yes."
"You recently moved into the Sohma house?"
"Yes." Shahanna tried not to show her annoyance.
One of the girls cleared her throat. "We are members of the Prince Yuki Fan club. We were wondering if you would be interested in joining us."
Shahanna resisted the urge to laugh. "Pr-prince Yuki?" She couldn't help the smirk that broke out on her face. She coughed back her laughter.
The girls, however, took the smirk for a look of actually liking the idea. "Of course, there are a few rules. No one is allowed to enter Prince Yuki's room alone, nor may they touch any of his stuff. And, since you're a first year, he is to be referred to as Prince Yuki Sohma."
Shahanna couldn't contain her laughter any longer. "Man, you guys are crazy." She tried to breath, her laughter making it difficult. "I wonder if he knows about this 'fan club'. Who knew that a gir-" She laughed harder, cutting off the rest of her sentence. When she managed to catch breath enough to speak she said mockingly, "'Prince Yuki Sohma', hah!" She burst into another fit of laughter.
The girls were staring. "Yo-you don't want to join?"
Shahanna shook her head, still laughing.
"Fine. But the Prince will never look at you, freak. Look at your hair."
Everyone in the room was staring at them, silently waiting to see how the new girl would react. Tohru, Yuki, and Kyo included. Tohru looked happy to see Shahanna smiling smirking and laughing. Yuki looked embarrassed because he had over heard the girls talking about his 'fan club', which was obviously the cause of Shahanna's mirth.
Shahanna's laughter stopped abruptly. Her eyes snapped open and blazed. She pushed her chair back and stood. Though, she wasn't especially tall, perhaps 5' 6" at the most, she was slightly taller than the 'fan girls.' She glared at all three of them, but especially the one that made the final comment.
She stepped forward, the other girls, excluding the one who had spoke, backed up. Shahanna saw that the teacher had stepped out for a moment and knew that she had the perfect opportunity to teach those fools a lesson.
"Are you a wise girl? Are you going to apologize?" Shahanna asked, iron control in her voice. She dropped her voice lower, so only the girl could hear. "Oh, and by the way, I'd have all the skin peeled from my body before I gave even half a damn of Yuki's opinion of me. The same goes for anyone else."
The girl did not reply.
Shahanna shrugged. "Have it your way then." She balled a fist, pulled it back and slugged the girl in the face. The girl slumped forward clutching her nose, which had begun to bleed. Shahanna elbowed her in the spine and shoved her away, disgusted. "A word to the unwise, learn how to fight."
Shahanna turned to glare at the people who had crowded around, some prepared to pull her away from the fan girl, though most just looked shocked. They stared, eyes going from the fan girl to Shahanna and back to the fan girl. A few even backed up a little. Tohru rushed over, followed by Uo, Hana, and Yuki.
Kyo, who had been watching, laughed. "Damn. I've been waiting for that to happen."
Tohru put a hand on Shahanna's shoulder. "You're going to be in big trouble now. Why did you do that? Oh gosh…this is not good."
"Damn good fight!" Uo said. "I'm sorry it wasn't me pummeling that girl. She's creepy."
And Hana is perfectly normal? Interesting. I suppose I should not judge them though. Shahanna thought. She shrugged off Tohru's hand. "I did what I had to do. She had it coming to her." She saw Yuki walk over and snickered, much to his discomfort. "Did you start that club?"
"No."
The fan girls had retreated to a corner of the room, the one holding a tissue to her nose and sporting a black eye. They glared at Shahanna and made a threatening gesture.
The other students spoke to themselves and a few of the guys walked over. "Where'd you learn to fight like that?" One asked.
Shahanna shrugged. "That wasn't even a fight. A dufus could have beaten her. It required no technique or power. Everything I know I picked up along the way of my life." She smirked slightly. "You tend to learn a lot when your only pastime is to sit around and watch martial arts dojos and barroom brawls."
"Man, who would have thought she had it in her. She looked like such a nice girl." Whispers reached Shahanna's ears.
"Yeah, not to mention she's skin and bones. Have you seen someone so thin? I wonder if she's anorexic or something."
The teacher walked back in. "Ready for more learning? I hope everyone was good while I was away." He was blissfully unaware, or perhaps pointedly so, of the disgruntled and injured fan girl who sulked in the corner of the room.
Shahanna sat down and put away her apple fighting back her grumbling stomach. Kyo half turned back around in his seat and the others returned to their seats. Shahanna reopened her notebook and turned ahead to a random page. She quickly wrote down all that happened since she had come to live with the Sohmas, including the fight.
The rest of the school day passed quickly and soon she was out the door walking with Kyo, Yuki, and Tohru.
Uo and Hana waved. "The sleepover's still on, right?" Uo called.
Tohru froze. "Wha? Oh!" She smiled worriedly. "That's right. With Shahanna arriving, I forgot all about the sleepover." She looked at Yuki. "I-Is it ok? Can they come over?"
He shrugged. "I think it'll be ok. As long as everyone avoids physical contact with each other." He turned to Shahanna. "Hana and Uo don't know about the curse. And we'd like to keep it that way."
Shahanna nodded as Tohru waved and shouted to Uo and Hana. "Yeah. Come by around four or five!"
They turned and started off toward the house. Tohru looked embarrassed. "I can't believe I'd forgotten that they were coming over. Man, I have a lot of cleaning to do to get it ready for tonight."
Shahanna was silent. She walked with her backpack over one shoulder and chewing on the apple. It was warm, but she was so hungry she couldn't care less. She sighed somewhat contently and listened to the others' chatter. The clouds had completely cleared, revealing a brilliant blue sky and making the day warmer than the ones previous.
As much as she hated admitting it to herself, Shahanna knew she was in a better mood than she had been in for a long time. She stretched and put her hands behind her head, inhaling the autumn air.
"You seem to be in a good mood. Did punching that fan-girl make you that happy?" Kyo, who was walking next to her inquired.
Shahanna grinned for a moment. "Well…it was nice to be able to clobber someone. But she wasn't a challenge." She eyed him out of the corner of her eye. "You wouldn't happen to know martial arts, would you?"
"Yes I do-" Kyo started.
"If you can call how he fights martial arts. I don't even think he can fight." Yuki commented quietly.
"Shut-up! I'll kick your ass when we get home!" Kyo yelled balling a fist and waving it in Yuki's unimpressed face.
"Would you mind fighting me?" Shahanna asked. "I've been in need some training. I haven't had a chance to fight seriously in a long time."
Kyo frowned. "Nah, I don't fight girls. Perhaps you should fight Yuki; he might as well be a gi-"
He was interrupted by Yuki smacking him. "Silence." Yuki said.
Kyo rubbed the back of his skull and grumbled under his breath. Probably the only thing from keeping him from fighting Yuki then and there was that he didn't want to potentially lose in front of some of the people from school.
Shahanna turned away from them abruptly. "What would it take for you to spar with me?" She asked frostily.
Kyo was quiet for a while. "I don't know. Ask that damn rat, I'm sure he'd be more than happy to teach you." He said quietly once they arrived at the house before clomping inside and up the stairs.
Yuki frowned and glanced at Kyo then at Shahanna before excusing himself and walking into the woods. Tohru rushed inside and promptly began cleaning.
Shahanna walked up to her room. Destiny wasn't home from school yet. She had neatened up the room and even washed their few clothes and folded them up separately. Shahanna smiled slightly. And searched through her clothes, pulling out a pair of shorts and a tank top. She closed her door and quickly changed, pulling on the black shorts and green tank top.
She put a spare shirt, towel, and a tiny bundle in a little black nylon backpack with silver flames on it and pulled the drawstring opening shut. She carried the backpack in one hand and wandered downstairs. She slipped out of her socks and stuffed them into her shoes at the door and caught Tohru as the girl was rushing by.
"Is there any clearings where a person can get some privacy out here?" Shahanna asked, somewhat impatiently.
Tohru thought for a moment. "I don't the surrounding area real well. Why?"
Shahanna chewed on her lower lip. "No reason. Curiosity I suppose. Do you know how far the Sohma property extends?"
"I don't know exactly, but there are little blue markers set up at intervals around the woods. They mark the end of Shigure's property; I'm not sure who, if anyone, owns what's beyond that." Tohru glanced at her watch. "Is that all?"
"Yeah, thanks." Shahanna walked out the door. "By the way, I'll be back later. Tell Dest that I went out, and not to come look for me. I hope to be back around when Hana and Uo show up." She waved slightly and walked out to enter the woods.
Shigure didn't have much of a backyard because of all the trees that crowded around. Shahanna figured that it probably kept unneeded attention away from them, as well as creating peaceful surroundings. Shahanna wandered around for a while before finally finding a secluded clearing, out of sight of the house.
There was a fallen tree to one side and Shahanna sat her backpack on it. The trees grew so large and their branches were so intertwined that the ground was still quite firm even after all the rain and even though most of the leaves had already blown off the them.
She rummaged through her backpack and pulled out the small bundle. She untied the strings to reveal to black fingerless gloves. She pulled them on and flexed her hands. There were little wrist guards on them and they kept her hands slightly bent. She punched the air experimentally and smirked in satisfaction.
She gathered some blocks of wood from the surrounding area and tied them together with vines she pulled from the trees. She took a particularly long and thick branch and plunged it into the ground until it held fast. She tied more blocks of wood to the top of the branch and put a ring of large stones around the bottom for added support.
Finished, she stepped back to survey her work with a critical eye. It looked like an extremely crude combat dummy. "Only one way to see if it'll hold up." She said and charged at it, sidestepping at the last moment and bringing up a foot to knee it in what would be a person's stomach.
There was a audible crack and the whole dummy shattered. Shahanna sighed. "Man. I need to get a professionally made one. I can't make a dummy out of sticks and vines." She pondered the problem, all the while staring at the remains of her work. "I'll need a job." She said to herself.
Shahanna backed away from the remains and took up a fighting stance. In her mind's eye, she saw her faceless opponent on the other side of the clear, waiting for her to attack. She charged forward and sidestepped again before leaping back to avoid an attack that wasn't there.
She kept her body light and evenly balanced on her feet and moved like she was on the defensive. She dropped to the ground and spun her foot, tripping any would-be opponent. She rolled to the side and leapt to her feet, falling back into her fighting stance.
When her breath came heavy, she stopped and dropped out her fighting stance. She walked over to the nearest tree and punched it experimentally. She sucked in a breath at the impact and mentally slapped herself at being so stupid. She ran back over to the backpack and pulled out two pieces of thick padding, which she tied over her knuckles.
"Hah!" Shahanna shouted and punched the tree again. This time she only felt a dull version of impact when her knuckles connected with the tree. She sprang forward and tried to punch the tree as fast as possible, while staying light on her feet and dodging imaginary blows.
Sweat poured from her brow and she blinked her eyes rapidly to keep them clear. But finally she noticed that it was getting later and she lowered her fists. She glanced at her watch and saw that the numbers read 5:45. She pulled off her gloves and packed them up in her back pack. She then slung that over her shoulders and took off at a dead run for the house.
When she made it to the front lawn she slowed to a stop and pulled out her towel. Shahanna unfolded it quickly, revealing a smaller one. She draped the large towel over her shoulders and wiped off her now dirty feet with the small one. When she was satisfied that her feet would not soil the floors when she entered the house, she wiped off her sweaty brow and walked up on the porch.
"I hear someone!" Tohru said from somewhere inside.
The front door had been left completely open and Shahanna cautiously entered, pulling her socks out of her shoes that were by the door and pulling them on.
Someone was running toward the door, not caring about being quiet. Destiny slid to a stop and nearly collided with her stunned sister. "Sha!" She demanded. "Where the hell have you been?"
Shahanna smiled. "I was out." She draped the towel around her shoulders again. "How was your first day of school?" She entered the house and ruffled her sister's hair as she walked by. She walked down the hall toward the living room, a disbelieving Destiny following. "Sorry I'm late." Shahanna said, walking in.
Shigure, Yuki, Kyo, Tohru, Uo, and Hana were seated around the table eating a few snacks and talking. They all turned to look at her. "Where were you?" Shigure asked. "And why do you have leaves in you hair?"
Shahanna turned a light shade of red. "Uh…" It must have come from when I rolled on the ground those few times…damn. She thought as she quickly picked out the offending adornments. "Out." She said, grabbing an empty spot. "Don't worry, I didn't hurt your property." She paused. "I hope I'm not interrupting anything."
"Nah." Uo said. "We were just talking and trying to decide what to do. Destiny's your sister right? She was worried about you."
"Yeah." Shahanna smiled at her sister as Destiny sat down.
Destiny only stared back skeptically. She crossed her arms and regarded her sister with a look of annoyance.
Shahanna turned away, understanding the implications of the look. A few smiles wouldn't make cheer her up, or make her believe that Shahanna was as innocent as she claimed.
"Hey, carrot top!" Uo said suddenly, grinning and poking a finger at Kyo. "You're awfully quiet. Is Kyo-Kyo sad?"
"Shut-up Yankee! And never call me that again!" Kyo yelled and glaring at her. "Do I have to talk to you!"
Tohru held up her hands. "Ok, ok. Umm, no fighting. Let's play a game instead."
Hana nodded. "I agree. We should let them settle their fight in a game of Rich man, poor man." She pulled a deck of cards out of a pocket in her heavy black clothing and placed them on the table.
"Prepare to lose Yankee." Kyo growled.
"On the contrary, I think everyone will lose to me!" Shigure declared. "I was the master at this game when I was in school." He grinned widely and pointed at the sky for no reason.
Tohru started shuffling the cards smiling. Once they were shuffled she dealt them out.
Silence hung over the table as everyone concentrated on their cards. Shigure looked extremely uncomfortable and finally he got up. "I just realized I have some stuff to do. I hope you guys have fun. Maybe next time I'll have time to beat you all." He grinned and crept out of the room.
Something beeped in the kitchen and Tohru bolted to her feet. "Oh! I forgot! I left the cookies in the oven!" She ran to the kitchen, sweating.
Uo shook her head. "That's Tohru for you."
Shahanna nodded. "She seems slightly absent-minded. But I guess she's a really nice person." She studied her cards closely and knew right off that her chances of winning were probably slim.
Uo opened her mouth to reply but it was cut of by a 'pop' and a gust of blue smoke. Yuki rolled his eyes and sighed. Kyo let his head slam into the table and grumbled. "Idiot dog."
"Tohru! Are you ok!" Uo and Hana called, jumping to their feet and running for the kitchen, Shahanna at their heels.
Tohru was kneeling on the floor looking utterly shocked staring at a large bluish black dog.
"Tohru! What happened! Did something catch fire?" Uo asked pulling Tohru to her feet. "Are you hurt?"
"And where did this dog come from?"
Tohru still looked unsettled. "Oh…uh. He's…he's Shigure's dog…he put him upstairs but I guess he got out…" She mumbled, barely making intelligible sentences.
Shahanna stepped forward. "Maybe he needs to go out." She leaned down and smiled brightly at the dog. "Does 'Gure need to go out and piss on a bush?" She asked sweetly. "Don't worry, I'll take him outside." She said to the others. She spied Shigure's robe in the corner and she swiped it as she walked by, wadding it up in her arms so the others didn't see.
She opened the back door and walked outside, Shigure running ahead. Shahanna shut the door behind her and sat down on the edge of the porch, tossing Shigure's robe over near a bush. She observed the dog closely. "So, you're the dog huh?"
The dog trotted up and sat down in front of her. "Yes." It said in a voice that sounded exactly like Shigure's. "And I don't appreciate that comment about peeing on bushes."
Shahanna shrugged. "I had to say something to make it seem normal. Tohru must not be very good at lying and making up excuses." She sighed and chewed on her lower lip. "This is very ironic…" She whispered to herself.
"What is?"
"Huh? Oh. It-it's nothing. Just an old legend or something or other. Nothing important." Shahanna said quickly.
Shigure lay down on the porch, near his robe. "On the contrary, it seems like it would be very important. I'm interested in old legends, especially since you and your sister will be living here for a while. Besides," He added, "We have time. I won't be transforming back anytime soon...I don't think so anyway."
Shahanna continued chewing her lip. "I dunno. I've never believed it before."
meanwhile, inside
"Sorry about the cookies everyone." Tohru said, coming out of the kitchen. In all the confusion that had followed Shigure's transformation, she had forgotten about the cookies and they had become quite burnt. She was walking with a platter of iced jelly doughnuts in her arms.
"It's alright Tohru." Uo said, breaking off from a shouting match with Kyo. "Shahanna's taking her sweet time with that dog." She added.
Tohru sweat dropped and closed her eyes for a moment. This turned out to be the stupidest thing she could do at the moment. She tripped on Hana's long coat and started to fall backwards.
Without think, Yuki jumped up and grabbed at Tohru to keep her from falling. Grey smoke erupted from where he had been and jelly doughnuts flew into the air.
Tohru had recovered her balance and was searching the sky frantically for Yuki. Uo and Hana looked suspicious and annoyed. Like they knew something they should know about but didn't was going on.
"Miss Honda?" a soft voice whispered. Yuki saw the ground approaching quickly.
Tohru snapped to attention and searched among the falling doughnuts for a little grey rat. "I can't see you. You must look like the doughnuts."
"I'm the one with eyes Miss Honda." Yuki said urgently. "And I do not look like a doughnut." He added.
Tohru closed her eyes and reached out, grabbing the nearest fallen shape in a death gripe. It squished and jelly oozed out onto her hand. Yuki, meanwhile hit the ground amid the remaining doughnuts and sat there, dazed. I'm glad that wasn't me, or I'd be crushed right now. He thought.
Tohru knelt down and moved the doughnuts out of the little rat-Yuki's way so he could run out of the house, slipping out the back door. Destiny had swept his clothes under the table, which was covered with a cloth, and out of eyesight with her foot.
Hana was staring at the fallen doughnuts in dismay.
Tohru turned red. "I'm sorry guys. Oh, I'm so sorry. Now we can't eat the doughnuts."
Hana picked one up and bit into it. "Says who?" She asked with her mouth full.
Uo nodded and picked several up. "Knowing how much you clean, Tohru, I doubt that there's even a speck of dirt on these." She ate one. "By the way, where'd Yuki go?"
"Uh…" Tohru blanked.
"Outside to get some fresh air, right Tohru." Destiny said quickly.
"Um, yeah. Yeah, he needed some fresh air." Tohru replied, smiling brightly suddenly. "Heheh."
back with Shahanna
"It was just some old legend…that my father told me." Shahanna said. "I still don't know if it's entirely possible…but some of the stuff adds up now." She ran a hand through her bangs. "Our great, great grandmother was a Sohma. They say that she was one of the few who knew of a deep dark secret within the Sohma family, that certain members are cursed by zodiac animals. Well, she married out of the Sohma family very quickly. She had been pregnant by another Sohma at the time, but it was the year of the dog, and both the dog zodiac and the cat zodiac were dead. So, she married another man to protect her children."
"Other people have married out of the Sohma, they never got cursed or anything." Shigure commented. He saw Shahanna's face grow dark and he quickly waved a paw at her. "Please, please continue don't mind me. I'll just shut-up."
"She had twin girls, neither cursed, but they were premature, and therefore very weak. One of them, my great grandmother had a daughter when she was seventeen and died in labor. The child, my grandmother grew up and married a Sohma. She too learned of the curse and divorced while pregnant, to marry someone else scarcely a month later. As far as any-"
Her words were cut off by a pop and an explosion of blue smoke. She turned her back on Shigure.
"Sorry about that." Shigure said moments later, human again and leaning against the side of his house. He pulled a cigarette and a lighter out of a pocket of his robe. "I'm surprised so many people actually knew of the curse back then. Hardly anyone, even Sohma's, know about it now. Akito usually has Hari erase their memories."
Shahanna shrugged. "I wouldn't know. Anyway, she supposedly had a son, then another son and finally a daughter inside of four years. No one knows what happened to the boys. It's like they just vanished. My grandma was going to try to move to America with my mother, to keep her away from the Sohma family. But my grandpa wouldn't let her so they stayed in Japan. As it was, my grandma forbade my mom to speak to any Sohma, even though she went to school with a few."
She was forced to pause because they heard Kyo shout some profanities from inside. "Well, when my mom grew up she married a guy, Owatomi. But he had actually had his last name changed, he was really a Sohma. They married…mom found out the truth but she didn't care. Then…I was born." She looked away. "And the rest is unimportant." She got up quickly.
Shigure stayed where he was sitting, staring out at his backyard contemplatively. "Is it really unimportant? Or do you just deny it, casting it aside and hiding from it."
Shahanna glared at him over her shoulder. "I don't know what you're talking about." She snapped and opened the back door and charging inside. She stared at her feet and didn't realize what was happening until it was too late. As she had entered the house, someone was heading for the back door.
"Crap." Shahanna muttered as black smoke filled the hall. She blinked and glanced around. A shocked and disgruntled Kyo lay in a pile of his clothes. Shahanna's ears perked, someone was coming. She saw what looked to be Hana's cloak start to turn the corner. She grabbed up Kyo by the nape of his neck with her mouth, turned and headed for the back door, sliding the clothes under the door to what she hoped was just a closet or something.
Shigure was opening the back door and he quickly stepped aside as a cheetah sprinted outside. She grimaced slightly, one cause was from carrying Kyo, and the other was the shooting pain up her left foreleg which was still quite sore. She dived into the bushes and dropped Kyo. "Sorry…" She panted. "My bad."
Kyo, who looked very traumatized by the whole experience glared. "Hell ya it is! Watch where you're going next time!"
Shahanna said nothing. She shifted her weight off her one leg and tried to see what was happening in the house. Shigure had left the back door open and she could see a little bit of what was going on within.
Yuki had become human again and was sitting in the living room, playing a board game with Uo, Hana, Shigure, and Destiny. Tohru seemed to only be playing half the time, she was mostly running around making sure everyone was comfortable and keeping her stories about where each missing occupant of the house was.
Shahanna sighed, seeing what was probably inevitable happen. Tohru tripped for probably the hundredth time that day and fell. Yuki, ever the gentleman, Shahanna supposed, reached out to break her fall. 1 down, 2 to go. Shahanna thought, mentally keeping score with who was transformed and who wasn't.
Everything would have been fine, except since Yuki transformed, Tohru was still falling. Shigure had gone forward to stop her; at the same time Destiny was trying to hide Yuki's clothes. Oopes, it's all over now. Shahanna thought, seeing red and blue smoke.
Thankfully Hana and Uo had been having a sort of argument on whose turn it was and didn't notice the chaos around them until it was all over. And by then, Shigure, Yuki, and Destiny had run off and Tohru had managed to hide all the evidence. But, now she was alone in the house with Uo and Hana, and forced to make up excuses for where five missing people went so quickly.
The bushes rustled as a small grey mouse joined them. "You guys too?" It sounded vaguely upset and soft spoken. The voice of Yuki. "Stupid cat…" He grumbled, very quietly. "Now Tohru must entertain our guests by herself. And Uo and Hana will defiantly suspect something now."
Shahanna glared at him. "Actually I suppose it's cats now, huh Yuki?" She snapped and walked over to him. She wanted look very imposing, but she limped slightly due to her injury and in her eyes, it ruined her appearance.
He backed away and mumbled an apology. "I forgot Miss Owatomi. You must forgive me, today has been stressful. If Uo and Hana discover the curse, their memory, as well as the memory of Miss Honda could be erased."
Shahanna nodded and glanced back at the house. She saw reddish black blur racing across the yard, running headlong for the bushes. She stepped aside quickly to avoid being run down and stumbled. Practicing fighting was not a good idea to do with a hurt arm. She scolded herself. Aloud, she said, "Hi Dest. Glad you could join us."
A large canine with red and black streaked fur bared her teeth. "That was not fun. I've had to cover for you guys. Jeez, am I the only one who can keep my distance from people?"
"So is everyone out here?" Shigure asked with a semi-false sigh. "Tsk, tsk. I thought you all were better than that. Tohru trusts you guys and this is how you repay her. Well, get ready because if Uo and Hana know about the curse then we'll have to get used to take-out, or someone will have to learn how to cook."
"Hey Shigure!" Kyo shouted. "You were the first one to transform!" He growled. "Besides, I'm sure Yuki would make a great cook. He could pass for a mai-"
"Shut-up." Yuki said.
Shigure trotted over to Destiny. "So you're a dog too?"
Destiny's fur bristled and she bared her teeth. "I am not a dog. I am a wolf." She turned her head disdainfully, her pride injured. "I don't look like a mere dog." She grumbled quietly.
Shahanna smiled softly before frowning; she could feel a sort of calling feeling. She felt that way whenever she was going to become human again. She closed her eyes for a moment and fought to suppress it. "Let's get back to the matter at hand."
"Which is?" Shahanna could practically see the question marks floating above all of them.
"Clothes." She said simply. "When we all transform back. I think Uo and Hana would defiantly suspect something if we all walk in the house naked. They'd probably force Tohru to find a different home."
Everyone fell silent for several moments. "Someone's going to have to run inside and get everyone clothes. Someone smaller, but large enough to carry clothes, and fast." Shigure mused scrutinizing everyone before his eyes came to rest on Shahanna. "Cheetah's are fast…"
Shahanna lay down gingerly. "True and I'm not one to brag about it. But, if Uo and Hana saw me it would look even more strange than if someone else does it, Cheetah's don't live around here. Also," She said looking down at her injured foreleg. "With this wound, I can't go very far very fast."
Destiny nodded, coming to sit next to her sister. "I agree. Shahanna's not up to the task."
"Then why not you?"
Destiny looked very much like she smirking behind that wolf face. "I am a wolf. Uo and Hana would freak out if they saw a wolf wandering around the house. Tohru might as well, since I don't think she really got a chance to see my other form. Also, I just moved in. I don't know where everyone's rooms are and where they keep their clothes."
Four pairs of eyes turned to Kyo. He glared at them. "Hell no. Don't even think about it. I am not going to go into that house and get clothes for you all." He turned his back on them.
Shigure voiced an exaggerated sigh. "Your choice then. I guess we'll all just have wait out here naked until Uo and Hana leave in the morning, or go into the house naked. If we go into the house and Uo and Hana see, it's good-bye Tohru."
Kyo froze. Shigure smirked, knowing that he had gotten Kyo. He had no choice but to go now. Even if Kyo didn't care whether Tohru left, he could be forced to sit outside nude, or to be humiliated to walk up to the house. And either way, they'd have to go inside some time, or get Tohru to come outside with clothes.
"Fine!" He snapped, darting across the lawn. "I'll get everyone some god damn clothes. You all'd better not be picky."
"Dest and my clothes are folded up in our room!" Shahanna called. "Get something…well…" Her voice faltered. "I…" Kyo was gone anyway. She voiced a soft sigh and stared at the ground beneath her.
"Get something, what?" Yuki asked, perched on a rock so that he could see what was going on a little better.
Shahanna shook her head fiercely. "It's nothing." She paused for a moment. "There wouldn't be any problems with me getting a job, is there?" She directed her question to Shigure.
"Not at all, I don't believe. But, if you help around the house a little, I'd be more than happy to pay for all you expenses." He replied, eyes on the house.
Destiny frowned and sidled up to her sister. "Are you sure you…want to try that again? And why do you- oh. I think I can guess why."
Shahanna nodded to her sister. "Yes. I'm sure. Tomorrow's Saturday, right? If anyone doesn't have any objections, I'm going to go see about getting a job then." She eyed her sister, almost daring her to say a word on the matter. But no, Destiny fell into a troubled silence.
Shahanna ignored pang of worry that came from deep within her. Destiny would speak her mind when she felt it right. The thought brought a slight smile to her face, remembering how blunt her sister can be at times, even though Shahanna had tried to teach her tact.
The minutes ticked by slowly, everyone dreading each moment that they had to stay outside longer without clothes. No one spoke a word, but stared expectantly at the house, waiting to see an orange cat racing toward them. But as time wore on, there was no sign of Kyo.
"Kyo sure is taking a long time." Shigure said finally, still staring intently at the house. "Do you think…?" He left his unfinished question hang in the air.
"He transformed back?" Shahanna finished. "God I hope not. I'd rather appreciate some clothes soon." That sense of her real body calling had returned with a vengeance and did not want to be quelled.
Shigure stood on all fours. "I'm going to go check on him. Besides, Uo and Hana have already seen me as a dog; they shouldn't take too much notice." He trotted toward the house quickly and darted inside, disappearing from view.
An awkward silence hung over the clearing. No one seemed to know what to say to the other, or if they were even sure they wanted to break the silence that became more and more awkward as time passed.
Finally, "So, Yuki, I guess that fan club of yours must create a lot of problems, since you're cursed and all. Did you know that they call you 'Prince Yuki'? It's amazing you don't have a bigger ego than….well. I guess I don't know anyone with a real big ego besides Dest."
"Hey! I don't-" Destiny blinked. "What's this about a fan club?"
Yuki sighed. "Yes. If you must know, it is rather…problematic. They have even tried to ambush me before." He glanced at her. "I suppose I should thank you for…attacking the one earlier, she might not come back to school for a few days which will leave me with one less person to worry about. But I know that it'll only make them more determined to make your life miserable. And they're probably going to try to involve me in it." He shook his head. "You don't know those girls. They're quite single-minded."
"I hope I never have to get to know them. No offense, perhaps it's because I don't know you, but-"
"Whoa, whoa. Hold up. First of all, who were you beating up on the first day of school Sha? Secondly, Yuki, I know Sha's going to make this sound all pretty-like, but when you get down to it, what she really wants to say it: 'I don't know what's so great about you.' Right Sha?" Destiny cut in.
Shahanna sweat dropped. "Dest." She hid a smile though. "I must apologize for my sister, she can be…frank when she's not thinking clearly."
Yuki shrugged it off. "It's ok." He looked like he would've said more, but at that moment Shigure came crashing through the bushes, bearing a irritated Kyo, who in turn was bearing clothes tied around his neck like many capes.
Shigure panted slightly. "Uo almost caught us." He said by way of explanation.
They pulled the clothes off of Kyo and were getting ready to sort through them when,
"He went this way!" Uo's voice rang through the backyard.
"It's ok guys, come on, let's finish watching the movie!" Came Tohru's response.
Uo, Hana, and Tohru appeared on the back porch as a very loud pop sounded from the bushes and five different colored smokes exploded outward.
The bushes rustled in a flurry of activity as five different people made a mad dash for their clothing. Shahanna grabbed a pair of pants and a shirt and dived behind a cluster of large hedges. When the smoke cleared she saw that she held pants that could belong to no other than Kyo, as well as one of her sister's shirts. She was slightly happy to see that it wasn't as torn as some of her other shirts.
She browsed over the surrounding area. Kyo was huddled in a bush a little ways away, holding a shirt and somebody's pants. He seemed to know he was being watched because his eyes turned in her direction before quickly turning away. Destiny had gone far back into the woods and all Shahanna could see of her was her hair through the branches. Yuki was closer than Shahanna would have liked but his eyes were closed. Then…
Then there was Shigure. He was just standing there, back to the house, holding Destiny's pants. He appeared to be humming.
"I.-is he naked?" Uo shouted.
Tohru started sweating. "Uh…maybe he went swimming… We should give him some privacy; it is his house after all. Let's go back to the movie!"
"Swimming naked!" Uo stressed the word 'naked'.
"This house is very strange Tohru…" Hana said quietly, and Shahanna could barely hear her words. The only reason she could was the wind was blowing in her direction, carrying every noise to her. "I'm not sure I feel comfortable with you living in a house filled with guys."
Tohru took their hands and practically pulled them inside. "But Shahanna and her little sister live here now. It's even, three guys and three girls. See?" She closed the door once they all were back inside.
Shahanna shivered in the cold wind. She looked at Kyo's pants contemplatively, considering wearing them. The woods, deathly still while Uo and Hana were outside, erupted into a great clamor of noises.
"Ok, who the hell has my pants?" Kyo snapped.
"I am not just 'Shahanna's little sister.'" Destiny grumbled and put the entirety of her anger upon Shigure. "GIVE ME MY FREAKING PANTS BACK NOW!" She bellowed. "There is something seriously wrong with you Shigure!"
Shigure grinned. "Nope, nothing wrong with me!"
"Damn it!" Destiny shouted. "If you don't give me my pants back now, I'll-"
She never got to finish her sentence. Shahanna had been carefully aiming Destiny's shirt, and since Destiny had poked her face above the bush, Shahanna had the perfect angle. She threw Destiny's shirt at her and grinned when it hit it's mark, right in the face.
"Damn it Sha! That's not funny!"
"Just give her the pants back Shigure. If we make too much noise, Uo and Hana might come back." Yuki said, a bit of urgency in his voice.
Shigure exaggerated a sigh and tossed Destiny her pants. He pulled his robes on. "I see that I'm not wanted." He said in mock sadness, walking back to the house.
"You're ri-"
"Dest. Don't push it." Shahanna warned. "Please."
"Umm…" Kyo held up a shirt and looked quite red. "W-whose shirt is this?"
Shahanna's eyes went blank as her face flushed. The shirt in question was a pale ice blue; there was evidence that there had at one time been a sleeve torn off the right shoulder. And the left sleeve had been torn short. She stared at the ground fixedly, her face turning bright red. "Mine." She squeaked.
The shirt was thrown to her and she pulled it on, also putting on her pants. Fully, clothed, she stood. She untied her hair and let it fall forward to hide her face. She kept her eyes trained only on the ground. She emerged from the bushes behind the others, her footsteps slightly faltering.
Destiny, who was already at the back porch, glanced back at her sister, her red eyes dark with worry. This isn't like her. I though she used to love that shirt…It was something…someone had given it to her… She thought. She rushed back to her sister and put her face underneath Shahanna's hung face so that she could see into her elder sister's eyes. "Sha…are you alright? I-it's not….you're not tired are you."
Shahanna closed her eyes. "I am fine." She said coldly and raised her face, and letting her hair slid back over her shoulders, all but the bangs that still hid her eyes and scarlet cheeks. "I-I will be going out early in the morning. I shall try not to wake you. I'm sorry that I won't spend the day with you."
With that she accelerated and hurried into the house, going up the stairs immediately, despite Tohru's calls for dinner.
Destiny watched her sister walked away, helpless to stop her. She sighed softly and sat down at the table with everyone else. Uo and Hana kept giving Shigure suspicious and weird looks while Tohru chatted away, doing her best to keep the mood light.
Kyo and Yuki glared at each other from opposite ends of the table. Destiny stared at her food and ate silently and quickly. She had hoped no one would call out her sister's absence before she could sneak off with a snack for Shahanna.
But, apparently the others had other ideas. "Hey, where'd Shahanna go? Isn't she hungry!" Tohru stood up. "Is she ok?" Her eyes widened. "Uh…"
Uo nodded. "Yeah. I thought I saw her come in, but I don't know where she went."
Destiny kept her eyes on her plate. "She's…upstairs." She raised her eyes and turned them to the Sohmas with startling brilliance. "She…might not be feeling well." Her eyes went from Yuki to Kyo to Shigure. "She is…worn out from….the transformation in her schedule, since she's living here now." She stressed the word transformation hoping that they would get her implications.
The Sohmas raised an eyebrow. "Well, is it something that can be dealt with…later?" Shigure asked. "Perhaps someone should take her something to eat when she's feeling better."
Destiny nodded. "That would probably be a good idea." Her eyes were half-lidded. "Though, she might not be in the mood for food." She sighed and toyed with her food. "May I be excused to take a walk?"
Shigure nodded. "Don't get lost. Oh, and watch out, there's been rumors of molesters running about." He paused. "I'd warn you about wolves, but I suppose you wouldn't listen."
"No. I wouldn't." Destiny stood. "It was a-nice to meet you, Uo and Hana." Destiny said as she left the room. She opened the front door and pulled on her shoes. She walked down off the porch and wandered out into the woods.
Shahanna slid down on her bed and stuffed her face in her pillow. Her stomach churned and head pounded horribly. "A-h. This sucks." She grumbled to herself. "The others must think I- No! I don't care." She forced herself to sit up. "I will not let myself get like sick. I am not going to hide away in my room all day." She stood up but the room spun widely and she was forced back down.
Her consciousness failed her and she slipped back down to her bed.