(A/N: hey ppl, here I m for the next chapter of surprise! Okay ppl brace yourselfs for some MAJOR FLUFF! Lol I hope that you like it, plz no flames… but anyway Well I hope you enjoy!)
The week had passed by quickly and soon, it was the day before Golden Week, the day before Momiji took the group to the onsen. The family was still a little weird-ed out by the girls' curse, but nothing really changed. Arianna was out helping Tohru with the groceries and Ebony walked into where Shigure was peacefully reading the paper.
"Shigure-san." She said sternly as she slammed her fist down on the table. Her eyes narrowed. The sudden outburst caused Shigure to jump, he stared at her, confused at her sudden mood swing. Where her fist was, she had some money laid on the table. "Give this to that rabbit, tell him it was for taking us to the onsen." She said darkly through grit teeth.
Shigure looked from the money to her, blinking. "Um, sure thing Ebony-chan." He smiled warmly.
"Oh, and this is for you." She said, calmly, handing him another wad of money. "I know you've been paying for Arianna and I to go to school, and I know this doesn't cover the cost, but it's what I could afford." Ebony said her head bowed. Shigure blinked up at her and smiled. He placed his hand over hers and nodded his head.
"Thank you. You didn't need to." He said and lifted his hand off her hand and put a finger to her nose. "So that is what you've been doing these past few nights… You've been working. Oh you poor dear!" He said dramatically.
"It's fine." Ebony smiled and nodded as she left the money on the table. She stood up and went into the kitchen, going to get the dishes ready for dinner.
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Arianna and Tohru came in the room and Arianna had tears in her eyes. "What's wrong?" Kyo barked (A/n; he's the cat, and he barked! Lol I slay myself, anyway) he stared heatedly at the silver haired girl.
"She-she got leeks!" Arianna cried as she shoved the bag in Kyo's face, and sure enough, there were leeks. He wrinkled his nose in disgust as he reeled away.
"Nasty." He muttered and walked back outside to go up on the roof.
"I know." Arianna said, tears streaming down her face.
Suddenly lightning flashed and thunder crackled in the sky and it started to rain. "YAY!" Arianna yelped happily as the tears seemed to just disappear. Ebony sighed and shook her head, smiling.
"Some things never change…" She said softly.
"What do you mean?" Yuki questioned coming into the room.
"What I mean is, since Ari is water, the rain is her favorite, its like me with the sun, when its sunny, I'm happy." Ebony explained.
"I see." Yuki nodded his head and smiled slightly.
Suddenly there was a knock on the door. "Oh my, who could that be?" Shigure asked as he slowly stood up and went to answer the door. "OH! HATSUHARU! WHAT A PLEASANT SURPRISE! COME IN, COME IN! WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE?" Shigure asked loudly in false surprise.
"You invited me for dinner." Hatsuharu's voice came in calmly through the hall.
"What's Haru doing here?" Kyo asked rudely as he crossed his arms over his chest.
"He's here for dinner." Ebony said and smiled at the white haired boy, he gave a small smile back and Ebony turned on her heel and walked quickly into the kitchen. She grabbed Tohru's wrist as she was working on something on the stove. "Tohru, Hatsuharu is here." Ebony whispered excitedly a smile spreading across her lips.
"I know." Tohru said dumbly. Ebony sighed.
"You couldn't tell?" Ebony asked. Tohru shook her head. 'Well that's not saying much…' Ebony thought dryly. "I like Haru-kun." Ebony whispered.
"REALLY!" Tohru squealed as she jumped up, a smile across her face.
"SHH!" Ebony hissed, she could feel the blush on her cheeks. "They'll hear you!" She whispered harshly, but then smiled.
"Oh this is wonderful, I must tell Yuk-" Tohru started.
"NO!" Ebony shrieked. "Nobody can know…" She pleaded with Tohru.
"Oh, alright, I'll keep it a secret… Mom said that if you can keep a friend's secret, they'd keep your secrets." Tohru smiled.
"Thanks Tohru." Ebony said and hugged Tohru. Tohru seemed surprised again, but then hugged her friend back. "I think we better get back to cooking." Ebony smiled.
"Oh right." Tohru said and hopped up, scurrying back over to the stove.
When Ebony was chopping the vegetables, and Tohru was stirring something in a pan, Ebony smiled. "Hey Tohru?"
"Yes, Ebony-chan?" Tohru said, looking up from the pan.
"Thank you for being a great friend." Ebony said, not looking up from the chopping. Tohru smiled.
"You're welcome." She said and the two went back to cooking.
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"Rain, rain, come again, come down hard on me tonight." Arianna said in English, as she lie, outstretched on the roof, letting the rain soak her. "I'm probably gonna get a cold, but I don't care…" She smiled and let her element pound down on her, making her feel perfect.
"What the hell are you doing!"
She winced and turned her head to see Kyo with an umbrella over his head staring at her. "I'm laying on the roof, what does it look like I'm doing?" She hissed in Japanese.
"You're going to catch a cold, and then Tohru's gonna have to look after you…" He said rudely.
"You sticking up for your girlfriend now?" Arianna said with a straight face, her eyes somewhat sad.
"Tohru's not my girlfriend." He turned beet red. He shook his head. "Come on, you're going to get sick." He said and reached out a hand to her. "Plus dinner is ready." Kyo said passively, not looking at the silver haired teen.
"I can get down myself thank you." She said, stood up and walked to the edge of the roof. She jumped.
"ARI!" He hollered, his eyes wide. She was floating down to the bottom softly. "Oh." He said quietly as he blushed.
"I control air you moron." She hissed as she walked into the house, but not before taking all of the water off of her clothes and making an orb of water and splashing it out onto the already wet ground. Kyo came stomping in after her; he was dry, but mad.
"I hope you all enjoy!" Tohru said happily as everyone ate up. Arianna sat next to Yuki and Shigure, Tohru sat next to Ebony who sat next to Hatsuharu, and Kyo sat at the head.
At the end of the meal Arianna was still in her sour mood, even though it was raining. "That was good Honda-san." Yuki said as he wiped his mouth with his napkin.
"Very enjoyable." Hatsuharu said quietly. Tohru smiled.
"It was good." Arianna said with a small smile.
"Yes, very nice my lovely flower." Shigure winked at her.
"What, you're not going to say anything?" Arianna glared at Kyo. He looked at her with wide eyes.
"What's your problem?" He hollered at her, his eyes narrowing.
"My problem is you, cat-boy." Arianna seethed, clenching her fists.
"It was nice Tohru." Kyo grumbled, huffing.
"Why thank you Kyo-kun." She smiled warmly at him.
"See, was that so hard?" Arianna seethed. She stood up, Kyo was just about to pick up some food when Arianna snatched the plate away from him.
"HEY!" He hollered, slamming the chopsticks on the table. "I wasn't done!" He said and glared at her, reaching for his plate, she dodged his hand and took her own plate.
"Starve. I'm doing the dishes." She narrowed her eyes and stormed into the kitchen.
"What was that all about?" Shigure asked in a hushed tone.
"It's happening again…" Ebony sighed, leaning on her elbow.
"What's happening again?" Tohru asked curiously.
"Seventh grade, Bender Doug… he had to change schools." She shook her head. Kyo's eye twitched.
"What happened?" He asked harshly, wanting to know if what happened to this 'Doug' kid happened to him…
Ebony sighed. "Well, she--- she uh, beat him up…" Ebony said quietly.
"So?" Hatsuharu said.
"He was put in the hospital for three days…" She said simply.
They all stared at her blankly, their eyes wide. "Broken rib, broken arm, sprained ankle and ---- 6 stitches above his right eye." Ebony remembered, counting them off on her fingers.
"What did he do to her?" Yuki asked, concern and fear on his face.
"He was messing with her… taunting her, and uh, messing with her emotions…" Ebony said simply, standing up, taking her plate, Hatsuharu's plate, and Shigure's plate. They left the conversation at that, and Tohru brought in the last of the dishes. Arianna was scrubbing vigorously at the dishes in the sink and her shoulders were brought up to her ears. She made grunting sounds as she scrubbed.
"Ari-" Ebony started. Arianna whipped around and glared at her sister. "Calm down…" She started, half worried, but the worry went away. "I know why you're doing this." Ebony smirked, playfulness in her eyes.
Arianna turned red. "NO!" She insisted, turning away.
"Yes…" Ebony smiled as she walked over and nudged her sister. "you like Kyooo." She whispered so only Arianna could here.
"Eep." Arianna said and blushed deep red. Ebony laughed.
"See, I knew it! Admit it!" Ebony laughed, Tohru stood in the corner looking scared, not really knowing what was happening.
"Fine. But only a little." Arianna hissed. Ebony laughed harder and held her stomach.
"I know things." Ebony said happily as she went back into the dining room.
"DON'T TELL!" She squealed after her sister. Ebony turned around before she went in fully. She winked at her sister and made a 'zipper' motion across her mouth. Arianna sighed, relieved.
"Hey Kyo-" She heard Ebony say.
"EBBIE!" Arianna screamed as she raced into the dining room, tackling her sister to the ground.
"OOF!" Ebony grunted as she made contact with the floor. "What are you doing!" Ebony shrieked as she shoved her sister off of her.
"I'm uh- making sure that you--- um--- yeah. I'm just making sure you were Ebony…" Arianna said and stood up. "What were you doing?" She said looking at her sister, raising her eyebrow sinisterly.
"I was going to ask Kyo if he wanted anything else to eat…" Ebony said gritting her teeth.
"Oh… well, um… yeah." Arianna said and walked out of the room.
Ebony sighed. "Um, no, I'm fine." Kyo grunted as he stood up and walked upstairs.
"Ebony-san, are you done cleaning up?" Hatsuharu asked her politely.
"Um, yes I think so." She said and peeked into the kitchen, Tohru was just finishing up drying the last dish.
"Do you mind if we went for a walk?" He said.
"Oh, um sure." She said nervously, then as she smiled.
"Oh, children, you are going to catch a cold!" Shigure said, putting a hand to his chest.
"Not if we have an umbrella and dress warmly." Ebony said and looked at Shigure.
"Oh, alright. Don't stay out too late, ah, young love." He said and smiled, winking at Ebony. She turned beet red and Hatsuharu looked at bit uncomfortable.
"Um, okay…" She said and the two put on their jackets and he grabbed an umbrella and the two walked outside. They stepped outside, the rain had reduced to a light sprinkle and the two shared and umbrella. They were careful not to touch.
"So, why'd you ask me to walk with you?" She asked and admired the rain. She didn't feel what Ari felt when she saw the rain, but it still intrigued her. He held the umbrella and he looked straight in front of him.
"I just wanted to talk." He said and a small smile appeared on his face. She nodded. She had to admit, she looked like a dork in her yellow rain coat and yellow boots. Well, they were Tohru's and she didn't think Tohru would mind… "You look like a dork." He commented, like he was reading her mind.
She gaped up at him. "I may look like a dork, but I'm a cool dork." She said and smiled up at him.
"You think what you want…" He said and smirked.
"I will." She said and pulled up the hood to her raincoat and jumped out of the coverage of the umbrella. She skipped into a puddle and laughed as she was sprayed with the water. "The rain amuses me." She said happily.
"I can see that." He said and stood there watching her. She seemed so happy walking through the puddles.
"Come on." She said and reached her hand out to him. He looked at it hesitantly. "Come on." She motioned for him, smiling at him. He smirked as he closed the umbrella and dropped it on the ground. She laughed as he kicked the water up at her. She walked through another puddle, kicking the water up.
Her hood fell down and her black hair got wet, her bangs sticking to her forehead. His white hair dropped making him look even hotter then he was before. She shook her head. 'Don't think that kind of stuff.' She scolded herself.
He stepped over to her and he looked down at her, again, they were close, yet far enough not to be touching. "I don't know what it is about you." He said softly, reaching his hand up and touching her cheek. She felt the heat rise in her cheeks, her face becoming red. She gulped.
"I- um- Haru-ku-" She started, she was too dumbfounded to talk. "You- we- I- I –" She started.
"Those are all good pronouns." He chuckled softly, his face leaning in closer. Her heart beat faster and faster, she thought she was going to have a heart attack, or a stroke, or something that would cause heart failure. She put her hands against his chest to keep them from touching. Closer and closer, she could feel his lips coming closer.
"Hey Ebbie, guess what!"
Ebony cringed, and Hatsuharu pulled away. The good feeling was gone, her first kiss was gone, and Arianna would pay dearly. Ebony turned and glared daggers at Arianna. "Oh! Um- MY CONTACT! AHH!" She screamed and dropped to the ground patting the earth to find the nonexistent contact. "Here it is!" She hollered and held her finger up, mud covering it. She pushed her finger to her eye, her mud covered finger. "AHH!" She shrieked as she clutched her eye. "MY EYE!"
Ebony sighed. 'Yup, Ari is going to pay.' In the time that Arianna had found her "contact" and put it in her eye, Hatsuharu had gotten the umbrella and opened it again.
"I think we should head back." He said softly. 'Damnit Arianna, I was so close.' He thought as Ebony walked under the umbrella with him and the two headed back to the house. Arianna was still yelling about her eye.
She trudged back to the house, holding her eye behind the couple that almost became a couple. 'Oh shit, I'm in big trouble.' She sighed and snapped her fingers. The rain had completely stopped and she walked slowly up the path. 'I really screwed that up…' She scolded herself.
Ebony sighed as she walked through the door, she was dripping wet. "Oh my!" Tohru yelped as she saw them, she rushed through the house and a minute later she was back with towels. Hatsuharu and she took two and he put one over his head and Ebony flipped her head over and roughly towel-dried her hair.
"Thank you for the walk Hatsuharu, I'm going to go to bed now." She said and smiled at the boy, then bowed.
"It was no trouble. Thank you for dinner, Tohru-san." He said and bowed to both of them.
"Oh, it was wonderful having you." Tohru bowed to Hatsuharu. "Goodnight Ebony-san." She said sweetly and smiled as Ebony walked up the stairs.
"I'm so going to kill her." She mumbled as she held the towel around her. "Really going to kill her." She grumbled and shut the bedroom door behind her.
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Since the rain had stopped, Kyo decided he would go up on the roof, his favorite spot in this whole crazy house. He stretched out and put his hands behind his head, looking up at the stairs. 'Why does Ari hate me so much?' He wondered. It wasn't like he really cared what she thought… right? He shook his head, "nah." He muttered and continued staring up at the sky when he heard cursing.
"Stupid dumbass, how could you be so stupid and a dumbass." A familiar voice said as he heard someone climbing the latter. Suddenly Ari's head popped up and she looked surprised before glaring at him. "Oh. It's you." She said and looked down. "You mind if I stay up here for a minute or so?" She asked softly.
"Do what you want." He grumbled and she hopped up and sat a foot away from him. Her legs brought up to her chest and her arms wrapped around them.
"There's me." She said and looked up at the moon. He turned his head to look at her for a minute then, looked back up at the moon. "Aren't I pretty?" She admired the half moon, her long silver hair billowing in the small room.
"I guess." He said, admiring the moon. "I mean the moon, not you." He blushed.
"I know." She said sadly, then laying back on the roof. "You like it up here because you're the cat right?" She questioned, looking at him.
"Yeah, I guess." He said. "I come up here to think, or to vent when I'm angry." He said and stared up into the sky.
"It must be hard…" She said. "Being the cat, being the outcast… It's like me and Ebbie. Our parents were terrified of us. Rejected us." She said simply. He could tell she didn't want to go into details.
"It is." He said glaring up at the sky. "My mom, she was terrified of me too. And the family blamed me for her early death." He said, he was surprised that he had gotten enough courage to say that.
"Yuki told me you were training in the mountains with bears before this." She said and yawned. His eye twitched. 'That damned rat.' He thought.
"I wasn't training with bears." He said simply, sitting up. "I went up there to train, to get stronger, so that I could beat that damned Yuki. To show that I really do deserve to be in the Zodiac. To show everyone that the cat is better then the rat because when the cat was tricked in the old tale." He said and narrowed his eyes. Suddenly he heard light snoring, he turned and saw that Arianna was asleep.
His tense shoulders loosened and he slightly smiled down at her. "I guess you are pretty." He said softly as he tried to think of a way to get her down off the roof.\
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"I'M SO HAPPY!" Arianna smiled as she bounced around with her bag over her shoulder.
"I AM TOO!" Momiji cried as the two jumped around in a circle. "The bus that is taking us to the onsen will be here soon!" He said happily.
"Oh children." Shigure moaned as he came into sight.
"What now?" Yuki mumbled as he shook his head.
"Oh children, my editor called, and she wanted me to hurry and write before the deadline… I'm so sorry, I can not make it!" He said dramatically and Momiji sniffled.
"Oh, we were looking foreword to having you!" Momiji said. "Are you sure you don't want to come?" Momiji asked.
"Oh thank you Momiji-chan!" Shigure said and pat the boy on his head.
"No skin off my back." Kyo said and huffed as he crossed his arms across his chest.
"Oh Momiji-san, I want to thank you so much for doing this for us." Tohru bowed.
"Oh, it was no problem, it's my gift to you guys!" He said and wrapped his arms around Ebony's waist, just enough so he didn't hug her.
"Thank you Momiji-san." Ebony smiled at him. "It was nice that you invited Haru-kun too." She said and looked up at the white-haired boy. He was staring off into the distance.
"Here comes the bus." He said simply and the big bus pulled up.
"AIEE!" Arianna squealed and bounded towards the bus. "This will be so awesome!"
The driver came out and put all of their luggage onto the bus. Yuki let Ebony, Tohru and Arianna get on before him. "Oh, thank you Yuki-san." Ebony said and smiled. He nodded and then got on after her. Kyo, Momiji and Hatsuharu followed after.
"Have fun children! Don't do anything I wouldn't do! And control your hormones!" He waved goodbye to them.
Kyo glared at him from inside the window. Ebony blushed and shook her head. Tohru and Momiji waved goodbye to him and they all took their seats. "Well, that's not a lot. That pervert." Kyo mumbled as he narrowed his eyes.
"I'm so exciiiiiited!" Arianna sang as she bounced in her seat.
"Why?" Kyo asked, turning around and looking at her.
"Because I've never been to one." She said and narrowed her eyes at the orange haired boy.
"Oh." He said and smirked.
"What?" She challenged.
"Nothing. You'll just have to find out." He said and smirked as he turned around and chuckled to himself. 'ew!' he hollered in his head. 'No, I'm not perverted, I wasn't thinking like that…' He said. He wished he could wash his brain out with soap… but that wasn't going to happen.
After a few hours (A/N: idk how long it takes to get to the onsen…) later, they finally arrived at the onsen. "OH! WE'RE HERE!" Arianna sprinted off the bus and landed with a thud as she tripped over a rock. "OWWW!" She moaned as she quickly jumped up, too excited to feel the pain. Ebony sighed.
"Could you stop being a spaz for about ten minutes?" Kyo rolled his eyes as he got off the bus and helped the bus driver with their bags.
"Shut up." She hissed at him and she turned to look at the building in front of them.
"Wow, it's beautiful." Ebony said and admired the flowers and trees.
"It's nothing special." Kyo huffed as he walked past her with his and Tohru's bag.
"Oh Kyo-kun, I can carry my bag!" She insisted as she followed behind him.
"Wait for me!" Momiji cried as he carried his bag and followed behind Tohru.
"I've got your bag Ebony-san." Hatsuharu said as he had Ebony's bag over one shoulder and his over the other. Ebony followed him into the building with a smile across her face. Arianna walked over and picked up her bag. She sighed, trying not to show her depression.
"I'll carry your bag Ari-san." Yuki said as he slid his arm through the opening and took the bag off her shoulder. He gave her a small smile as he started to walk.
She kept back the tears and smiled at him. "Thank you Yuki-kun."
"It's no problem." He said and the two walked in together. "It's my pleasure." He said and gave her a gentleman's smile.
They stood in a line as they waited for someone to answer the door. It creaked open and Ebony cast a glance at Tohru, who was almost cringing. 'I wonder why's she's doing that.'
"Brace yourself…" Hatsuharu whispered to her. She squinted up at him, not getting what he meant.
"Wha-" She started, but was interrupted by someone yelling. (A/N: please forgive me… I searched through my mangas 1-9 and I couldn't find what Ritsu's mom's name was… so I just am gonna call her okami-san k?)
"I'm so sorry! I'm LATE! PLEASE, COME IN!" A haggard voice said as suddenly someone came right up in Arianna's face.
"AHH!" Arianna shrieked and fell backwards. Ebony's eyes were wide. 'Oh, this is what Haru was warning me about…'
"I'M SO SORRY ABOUT THAT! PLEASE, LET ME HELP YOU UP!" Okami-san said.
"DON'T TOUCH ME!" Arianna shrieked as she jumped up. Seeing the the old woman was probably going to die from insult and worry, she recovered. "I mean, it's okay. I'm fine."
"OH! I'm so sorry!" the old woman cried. "Please, follow me!" She said and led them into the inn.
"Haru-kun, I'm scared…" Ebony whispered, a worried look across her face.
"Don't be, she's just—like that." He said and gave her a small smile. She sighed, knowing that Hatsuharu was right.
"Here is the girl's room." She said and slid open a shoji door. Three gasps were heard.
"LOOK AT IT!" Arianna screamed.
"It's better then last time." Tohru said and marveled at the room.
"Wow." Ebony said in awe.
"And for the young master's, this room across the hall." Okami-san said and slid open a door for the boys.
"COOL!" Momiji cried as he bounded into the room.
"It's late, would you like to go into the tubs now? I can prepare them for you…" Okami-san said.
"It's too late for dinner, why not?" Yuki said with a smile.
"We can go together!" Momiji ran out of the room and latched onto Arianna's arm.
Everyone's eyes except Arianna's grew wide. "Um, Momiji, I don't think that's such a good idea…" Hatsuharu said and blinked.
"Aw, sure Momiji! It will be fun, let me get my bathing suit." Arianna smiled at him. Ebony decided now would be a good time to tell Arianna about the whole tub idea…She walked over and whispered in her sister's ear.
"EW! NO! NOBODY TOLD ME THAT!" Arianna squealed as she stared down at Momiji. "I-uh, I'm sorry Momiji, but that's not such a good idea…" She said and wrinkled her nose.
"Oh, okay! Well I'm gonna get ready, we'll meet you out there!" Momiji said and raced into the room.
"We'll meet you out there soon." Yuki said and they all went into their rooms.
"This will be so much fun!" Tohru said and Arianna, Tohru and Ebony did something that all girls should do once in their lifetime, no matter if they are preps, nerds, punks or Goths.
"AHH!" They all squealed and held hands as they jumped around in circles.
"This will be so much fun!" Ebony said and smiled.
"Let's get ready." Tohru said and they all got ready for the springs.
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"I don't like this." Arianna said, standing at the edge of the bath, the steam billowing up from the spring. She watched as Ebony and Tohru sunk into the tub, letting their muscles relax.
"It's not like anyone can see us…" Ebony said and sunk into the water up to her nose, so she could still breath.
"How are you doing?" Yuki hollered over from the other side of the big wooden wall.
"Fine." Tohru said relaxed as she too sunk into the hot water. "Come in the water Arianna-chan." Tohru said.
"You'll like it." Ebony put in. "It's your element."
"Fine. It is my element, but with a splash of yours." Arianna said and stepped into the water. "Ahh." She said and sunk in, too relaxed to argue.
Meanwhile… on the other side of the wall…
"I hate you." Kyo grumbled to Momiji as Momiji splashed around. He splashed some water onto Kyo and laughed as he dunked back under the water, bubbles coming up from where he was under.
"Momiji, do you have to splash?" Yuki sighed.
Momiji jumped up. "Oh, no I don't… but it's fun!" He cheered happily. He twirled his finger around in the water. "HEY EBONY-SAN! ARI-SAN!" He hollered.
"Yes?" Ebony's voice said kindly.
"WHAT?" Arianna snapped.
"Do you like the onsen?" He asked hopefully, waiting for them to reply.
"I LOVE IT!" They both said happily.
"Oh, Momiji if I could hug you I would, this is so awesome!" Arianna said happily.
"I thank you so much Momiji." Ebony said kindly from the other side of the wall.
"Oh! You're welcome!" Momiji said happily.
"I wish I could hug Hatsuharu too." Ebony whispered.
"AHH!" Tohru and Arianna squealed. Ebony's eye twitched as she blushed deep red.
"Sh!" She hissed.
"Oh, I'm sorry." Tohru blushed at her sudden change in character.
"It's alright." Ebony said and blushed as she realized that she was probably head over heels for Hatsuharu, but she knew it probably wouldn't last. He was a member of the Zodiac and could never hug her. She was the Sun and probably one day would have to give her life for the world to continue without problems.
She felt tears well in her eyes and she held them back. "Ebony-san?" Tohru asked, looking at the upset Ebony. "Are you alright?"
"What's wrong with Ebony-san!" Momiji's voice was heard.
"Yeah, I was just thinking. I'm fine." She said and sniffed. Arianna smirked, as she knew her sister all too well to let 'I'm fine' slip.
"Ebbie… I know what you're thinking…" She smirked and moved her hands up above the water, making weird motions with it. Suddenly an orb of water formed a heart. Ebony blushed deep red.
"Ari- no, I-" She started, trying to convince her sister other wise.
"Don't 'Ari- no, I-' me! I saw you the other night with Hatsuharu." She said quietly and raised her eyebrows.
Ebony bit her lip and blushed. "Yeah, you ruined it. I still need to thank you for that…" Ebony narrowed her eyes. Arianna's eyes widened into the size of volleyballs in fear.
"Ebbie- um, I'm sorry." Arianna tried to weasel her way out of it. "THERE'S A HOLE IN THE FENCE!" She cried, pointing at the wall.
"Where?" Ebony challenged, knowing there was no hole in the fence.
"Uh…. There." Arianna said and pointed to a vague spot on the wall.
"Oh, I see. The only thing I see is no hole in the wall." Ebony said and crossed her arms over her chest.
"Um--- MOMIJI! You wanna play ping pong with me!" She yelled over the fence and scurried out the spring.
"SURE!" Momiji hollered and they were splashing and the pitter-patter of feet.
"Well, I guess we might as well get out." Ebony said and stood up, grabbing her towel and wrapping it around herself. Tohru followed suit, gathering the picture of her mother up from behind the rock that it was.
"We got out." Tohru hollered to the boys.
"Alright, thanks for telling us." Yuki said and the two girls walked into their room and put on their beautiful kimono's.
"Oh, it looks beautiful." Ebony admired as she looked at the beautiful pattern. Ebony had a beautiful green and white flowered kimono and Tohru had a beautiful pink and white flowered kimono.
"Oh, may I brush your hair?" Tohru asked hopefully.
"Sure." Ebony smiled and sat down as Tohru got a brush and started brushing out Ebony's ebony locks.
"Hey. The guys want us to come out." Arianna said as she stepped in with a purple flowered kimono, her hair tied up in a bun with chopsticks sticking out, with a short lock dangling by her face.
"Oh, sure. But Ebony, could you brush my hair?" Tohru asked hopefully.
"Sure Tohru." Ebony said and she stood up and got behind Tohru and ran the brush through her hair. All of their hair was wavy because of the moisture from the spring. "Here." Ebony said and tied a lacy pink ribbon in Tohru's hair. Tohru picked up a hand mirror and looked at her reflection.
"You'll knock Yuki out of his shoes." Arianna winked at Tohru. Tohru flushed and shook her head. She quickly changed the subject.
"Well, what are you going to do with your hair?" Tohru asked turning to Ebony. Ebony pushed her bangs into the "swoop" look at shrugged.
"I was thinking this."
"No, no…" Arianna shook her head. "Tohru, what should we do?"
"Hm... what about a flower?" Tohru said. Arianna gasped and scurried out into the garden. She returned with a beautiful pink and white flower with light purple tips. Ebony gasped.
"Wow." She said as Arianna placed the flower behind her ear.
"Whoa, you look like a hot momma!" Arianna laughed. Ebony blushed. "Well girls, let's show these guys who's hot." Arianna winked and the three linked arms and walked out of their room to the common room.
"Whoa." Hatsuharu said under his breath as the three girls came into the room.
"Wow, you girls look hot!" Momiji laughed, all three girls turned red.
"Well, thank you Momiji." Tohru smiled down at him. Yuki, Kyo and Hatsuharu stared at the girls in awe.
"Don't just stare at us!" Arianna hollered, blushing. "Pervs…" She mumbled as she walked over to the ping-pong table with Momiji.
"Let's go outside Honda-san." Yuki said as he led her outside.
"Do you want to go for a walk Ebony-san?" Hatsuharu said and looked down at her. She nodded and the two walked out of the same door Tohru and Yuki did. Arianna held back the tears as she almost wished she could be like Ebony, or Tohru…
"Hey Ari, what's wrong?" Momiji could sense her distress, and Kyo looked up from his chair that he was currently sulking in.
"Nothing, I –uh, just think I should go to bed is all." She lied. "Night Momiji-kun." She said and hugged his head.
"G'night Ari." Momiji said as he frowned slightly as she walked out of the room. Kyo watched her leave and sighed.
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"It's so beautiful out tonight." Tohru said, staring at the stars, and the moon. "There's Ari." She said and huddled against the slight breeze.
"Where?" Yuki inquired. "Oh." He said and looked up at the moon. "Yes." He said and relaxed his shoulders. "So, do you like it here Princess?" He smirked as he held onto her ribbon and kissed the end of it. She blushed.
"Yes, I- really do like it here." She said looking up into his amethyst eyes. "It's so beautiful here." She said.
"Not as beautiful as you are." He said and looked into her eyes. She blushed and found herself at a loss of words. She blinked innocently up at him.
"Oh, Yuki-kun." She said and closed her eyes as his lips met hers in a soft kiss. A kiss that a true gentlemen would give. She probably would have fainted, but she kept her consciousness. He pulled back and smiled at her. "Thank you." She whispered and kissed him lightly on the cheek.
He held her cheek and the two stood there, looking into each other's eyes. It was nothing short of love…
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Hatsuharu and Ebony walked through the flower garden, Ebony admiring all of the flowers. "It's so beautiful. Everything here, the flowers, the stars, the hot springs." She said. "I can hardly get enough of it." She said and closed her eyes, trying to soak it all in. As they walked through, he gently grabbed her hand and interlaced their fingers. She stared down at their hands and smiled.
"I've only been here a few times a kid." He said and got a little closer to her. "But I like it the most now." He commented, not looking at her, just staring in front of him.
Suddenly, Ebony heard one of her favorite songs ever from back in America.
Speechless: by the Veronicas.
You leave me Speechless,
When you talk to me,
You leave me breathless,
The way you look at me…
"Oh my goodness." Ebony laughed as she put her head down. Arianna was defiantly behind this. She would have to thank her later… "This was my favorite song…" She said, and she translated it for Hatsuharu. He stared down at her and smiled.
"Really?" He asked. "Do you feel that way now?" He said and smiled at her. He leaned his head down and pressed his forehead against hers, his white hair hung in her face. Her heart clenched and the world was right, now was her chance.
"I might." She blushed and she pushed her head up and their lips met. She closed her eyes and enjoyed the moment. He got in a comfortable position and they moved closer, her hands on his chest, making a barrier so they wouldn't touch. They pulled away and she stared up at him. "I really do like you Haru-kun."
"I really like you too." He said huskily.
"I want so much to hug you right now." She said and a tear fell down her cheek.
"I want to hug you too." He said, a pained look on his face. "Even if it's for a second." He said and suddenly wrapped his arms around her and pulled her into an embrace. She wrapped her arms around him quickly and took in his scent, everything about it, then POOF!
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"Hm, she'll like that." Arianna chuckled as she set the cd player on the window sill. She pulled her knees up to her chest and hugged her legs. "Stupid Kyo. Stupid emo-kitty. Stupid hair. Stupid Doug." She said and started to cry. "But most of all stupid emo-kitty. Why do I like him so much? He's such an ass sometimes." She sniffled and wiped her tears with her wrist. "Stupid emo-kitty!"
"What did you call me?" A voice said from the doorway. She gasped and turned around.
"What are you doing here." She said and turned, trying not to let him see her cry.
"I wanted to see if you were okay. And it's probably a good thing I came." He said, looking up at the ceiling.
"I called you emo-kitty." She sniffled. He stared down at her.
"What?" He asked, staring at her. She shook her head, and he lowered his. "Why are you crying?" He asked, sitting down across from her on the floor.
"None of your business." She said, her hair falling in front of her face.
"Arianna, you can talk you know. If you keep it inside, it won't be good for you." He said and stared at her.
"You're one to talk." She sniffled and looked down at him.
"Come on, just tell me." He insisted, lying down on his side, his head propped up by his elbow. She stood up and walked over to the widow and placed her hand on the windowpane.
"I'm just sad… Ebony, well I think, she's found love." She said in admiration as she looked out and saw the two kissing. She resisted the urge to say 'aw' and shut her eyes. "I'm being such a sap." She said and chuckled, glancing down at her feet.
She suddenly felt a hand over hers and she looked up to see a white and black beaded bracelet over hers. "You can cry you know." A voice said into her ear. She let the tears fall down her face. "You don't have to keep it in." Kyo said softly and Arianna turned around. They were close… really close. She moved to the side.
"Why do you care?" She huffed as she crossed her arms across her chest, her back to him.
"Why shouldn't I?" He countered back; he was trying to be nice. Hell, he wanted to be nice to her for reasons unknown to him.
"You already have someone, you, Yuki, and Tohru are in that stupid love triangle." She said and closed her eyes.
"I thought I liked Tohru as more then a friend, but I don't know anymore!" He said angrily as he looked down to his right, clenching his fists.
"Well Kyo, call me when you've figured it out." Arianna said sadly as she walked out of her room into the hall.
(A/N: wow, that was the longest chapter I've ever written as an author… it was 14 pages… wow, that is pretty impressive for me… please, no flames… I'm just a writer… where was Momiji during all of this? He was sleeping! lol well I hope you enjoyed, and I hope you enjoyed enough to review… thanks to all who have reviewed, you rock! Swn)