DISCLAIMER: This is a work of fan fiction produced for entertainment purposes only. It would come faster, if I got paid for it, but I certainly do not.

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Horizons

Chapter 4 (part 1)
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Itsuki violently squished the alarm button on his clock. Grumbling, he rolled over onto his back and spent a few seconds just blinking stupidly at the annoying device sitting on his nightstand. Why was the alarm going off? It was Sunday. He never set the alarm on Sunday. It was the only day he got to sleep in. After a moment though, his mind woke up enough to remind just why he had set the alarm for six in the morning.

Not bothering to dress, or even comb his hair, he wondered out into the chilly hallway. Itsuki followed his nose to the kitchen. It was there he was met with a truly strange site.

"I must still be asleep," He slurred out, falling it to the closest kitchen chair.

"It's about time you got up!" Haruna stood over a frying pan at the stove. Flour was smudged on her cheeks, and hands. Tied tightly over her blue bunny pajamas was a firry, pink apron.

"Ah, and she cooking, must be a nightmare." Itsuki rubbed his eyes with his palms, and laid his head on the table, "Maybe if I go to sleep, I'll wake up," he mumbled to the wood.

"Quit talking like I'm not here, and set the table."

Itsuki grunted. He wondered over to the cabinets, and started pulling down anything in easy reach.

"We need three of everything. I called Tsukasa, and told him he is having breakfast over here."

"Why? You want to poison him too?" Itsuki yawned. Haruna mental smacked him. "Ow!" Itsuki pulled another plate down without further conversation. A few minutes later the buzz of the doorbell sounded though out the house.

"Oh no! He's already here!"

"So?" Itsuki watched his sister franticly tried to remove knot in the back of the apron.

"I can't let him see me in my pajamas!" She said, before flying though the door.

"I guess that means I get the door," Itsuki sighed. He dragged himself from the warm, cozy kitchen into the hall. He shivered as his foot hit the cool wood floor, "Who knows, baggy pants might embarrassed Tsukasa more than short school uniform skits," The door bell buzzed again, "Alright, just a second."

'Don't be rude, bother.'

'Its just Tsukasa.'

Itsuki clicked though the locks on the door, and jerked it open. "Good Morning Itsuki-kun," And there stood Tsukasa, cheery as ever. No wonder Haruna likes him so much...Morning people...

"Morning, Tsukasa." Itsuki stepped away from the door, so Tsukasa could come in, "Food is in the kitchen. Haruna lost her mind. If you deicide to make a break for it, I'll cover you."

"Thanks Itsuki-kun," Tsukasa said, taking off his scarf, "but I would rather take my chances with you sister, and some food, than with the snow outside."

"Eh? It's snowing already?" Itsuki sighed, taking Tsukasa's coat, and scarf, as the blond sat down to take off his shoes, "Hey, isn't this Tomonori's?" He held up the long, blue scarf.

"Yes," Tsukasa blushed, "I lost mine, and he wouldn't let me leave without one."

Itsuki smirked as he turned to hang up the coat, and scarf, "I have to say I'm surprised he let you come here at all. I think, he thinks, I'm trying to corrupted you," he laughed.

"I kind of told him I was studying with Haruna-san today." Tsukasa murmured from the floor.

"Ah," Itsuki rubbed his head. Tsuaksa sound guilty already. It would only be a matter of time before it all got to him, and he told Tomonori. Maybe I should draw up that will now..."Time for poisoning-oh I mean breakfast." Tsukasa laughed, following the other to the kitchen.

Haruna was standing over a plate of streaming something (Neither boy was sure of what), when they entered the room. She was dressed now, and Itsuki wondered why she couldn't get ready so fast all the time.

"Good Morning, Haruna-chan," Tsukasa greeted merrily.

"Good Morning!"

Itsuki groaned, and lowered himself into a chair. Cheeriness overload…

"Now," Haruna said, walking towards the table with a bowl full to the brim with some unknown substance, "It's my first time making it, so I can't guarantee it'll be good or anything."

"I know." Itsuki muttered as he sat down.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Nothing, nothing…" Itsuki mumbled placating. He was sure he heard Tsukasa stifle a laugh though.

Haruna sat a big bowl of steaming, white mush in the middle on the kitchen table. She smiled down at it like it was a mother would her first child, "Well, who's first?" she said expectedly.

Itsuki starred at the blow in fear. He wasn't going to volunteer. Tsukasa was the nice one.

"I'll try some, Haruna-chan."

Ah, good ol' predicable Tsuaksa.

Haruna dipped two big spoon fulls of the white mush on to Tsukasa plate. "I have to make a foreign food for my home economics class. I found the recipe on the Internet, and it sounded easy."

Tsukasa dipped a spoonful of the chunky, steaming mush, "Ah, okay, what is it?"

"Grits." Haruna grinned proudly.

"Grits..."Tuskasa took a deep breath, and jammed the spoon in his mouth. Itsuki cringed, and looked away. Haruna clasped her hand together excitedly.

"So? What do you think, Tsukasa?"

"Mmmm..." Tuskasa nodded, and gave a painfully, weak looking smile. Haruna, who took this as a good review, squealed, going over to counter, picking up a plate of burnt toast.

"I knew I could make a good breakfast."

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"I can't believe you ate it."

"I can't believe you didn't! She's your sister. She worked hard on it," Tsukasa shook his head wearily. They had been arguing over this for almost twenty minutes on the walk to his 'job'. Itsuki had refused to tell him (with a rather evil grin) where they would be going, and what he would have to do. He said it was best for it to be a surprise. Tusaksa was less and less sure of how much he wanted to do this.

"And it tasted like glue."

"Eat a lot of glue, do you, Itsuki-san?"

Tsukasa turned to see a small, old woman walking up behind them. She was slightly hunched over with the weight of the grocery bags she held. Her coat was hot pink, and her gray hair was tied back with a matching ribbon. She stood out like a flower in the snow.

"No, Cho-san. My sister's cooking. It rages from glue to cement, and some times she throws some undecipherable thing in there."

"Still you must eat glue to know what it taste like. Though, it sounds like my girl's cooking. I don't know how the family keeps from starving," The old lady gave a good-natured chuckle, as she thrust one of the heavy bags into Itsuki's arms. He took it without complaint. Tuskasa opened his mouth to offer to take the other, when her sharp, blue eyes turned on him. He squirmed under her intense gaze, all words (and ability to speak, for that matter) gone. "So, this is the one."

"Sure is," Itsuki put his free hand on Tuskasa shoulder, "Cho-san meet Amou Tuskasa."

"Very nice to meet you," Tuskasa mumbled.

"He's awful scrawny," the woman stated in a matter of fact tone, "Pretty too. I'd have thought he was a girl, had you not told me otherwise. Do you really think he can do the job? My boys don't like girls, and they can get kind of rough."

"He wouldn't be here if he couldn't. Right, Tuskasa?"

"R-right." Tuskasa agreed, caught off guard. His mind was still dwelling on the being mistaken for a girl comment.

"Well, if you say so." Tuskasa suddenly found a grocery bag in his arms, "Let's get these into the kitchen, before we all freeze."

While they walked up to the doorstep, Tuskasa leaned over to Itsuki's ear, "Just, what am I doing exactly?"

"Oh, just a little babysitting."

Tuskasa began to mentally hyperventilate.

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Xi-Shin carefully unplugged his phone from the wall. With equal care, he placed it inside the kitchen's cabinet. His cell phone was already buried under the pillows on his bed. He had told everyone he could think of that he would be out of town for the next two days. For the next forty-eight blissful hours, he could have uninterrupted study time.

He smiled. It was the prefect plan.

Until, his doorbell rang.

Mentally promising many horrible things to whoever was on the other side of the door, he yanked it open.

"Eep!" Mana had fallen back in surprise, when the door opened. Itsuki had caught her, but they still managed to make a tangled pile of limbs on the floor. She had quickly gotten off of him, blushing, and apologizing.

He quickly ushered the pair inside. Checking again and again to make sure Mana was fine as he apologized for starling her.

For once, Xi-Shin was thrilled to see Itsuki. He couldn't possibly do the horrible things he had been planning to his master, but he could to Itsuki. Maybe twice. It'd be fun.

"Um, Senpai, I thought you weren't going to be home this weekend?" Mana looked up at him with her big brown eyes, and he felt like he had just kicked a kitten out of a window into a busy street. He hadn't actually told Mana he was going out of town. He had spent fifteen minutes staring at the phone, when he even thought about trying to lie to her. So, he had called Haruna to relay the message to her. Another good plan gone to waste all, because of the grinning brat standing behind Mana's shoulder.

"See, Mana-chan? It's just like I said. The bus schedule I saw had all rides going north canceled due to weather. Isn't that right, Senpai?"

"Uh…Yeah…" No, it didn't matter that Itsuki was helping. He was still going to kill him. Several times. Painfully. This was, no doubt, all his fault.

"Oh, here," Mana held up a plastic bag, "Itsuki-kun thought you would be home, so I thought it would be fun to have lunch together."

"Great idea," Xi-Shin walked to the kitchen in anticipation. Maybe this wasn't so bad. He was a horrible cook, and whatever was in the bag smelled delicious, "You got Thai?" He lifted the take-out plates out on the counter. Thai was his favorite! In any case, it sure beat the ramen he was planning on eating for lunch.

"Yes," Mana answered from the living room, "It was Itsuki-kun's idea."

So the brat had brought good food, it still wasn't enough to save him.

"Oh, look in the bottom," Mana stood in the kitchen door, smiling, "Itsuki got something else too."

Xi-Shin pulls out a small box of dango, and sighed. Now, he'd have to let him live.

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I got a beta reader. I e-mail them the chapter, and waited for 3 weeks. After three whole weeks went by, I e-mailed again. The whole chapter is only 15 pages how long could it take? I was e-mailed back that this person simply didn't have the time anymore. She apparently didn't have the time to tell me sooner either. –glare- So, I checked this part, and am checking the other part. Hopeful I will have it up soon.

I've joined Fanfic100 on LJ so that is taking up a lot of my time too.

Juvenile: I promise this isn't going to be a romance. Sadly, due to tons of subplot cutting this has a forth of the action I planed it too. There is something coming up. And two fairly big show downs to towards the end.

This was always going to be a novel fic. With the lack of sub plots now it won't be anywhere near 50,000 words but it will still be very long.