Saturday:

6:45 AM:

Sports Day:

"Good morning." Mamoru greeted Kaito, Haku, and Amaya.

"Morning." The three teens grumbled, grabbing some of Emiko's homemade egg muffins she had made last night. All they had to do was heat them up—which Mamoru already did.

"Why do you seem so chipper this morning?" Amaya inquired, watching Mamoru.

"I'm just excited to see you all participate in Sports Day this year. It's the first year with Emiko and Kaito in the family." Mamoru answered with a smile.

"He's up to something. I don't know what it is, but he's up to something." Haku accusingly spoke.

"Why, I never. I'm really just excited to see you all participate in Sports Day. And I know for certain that our dear, sweet Emiko is excited as well." Mamoru responded, offended, before becoming chipper again.

"This is true. She spent the past few days making stuff for today." Kaito stated, getting ready to head out.

"Have a good practice." Mamoru bid the three farewell.

"Warm-up, you damn idiot!" Haku yelled as they walked down the sidewalk.

"Right about now, I wish I had Emiko's abilities—with the ability to use them whenever I wanted. He's up to something; Mamoru hates Sports Day." Amaya noted with a huff.

"Hates? He detests Sports Day; he hasn't come to a single one since we started." Haku grumbled.

"Emiko's never been to one either." Kaito sighed, walking.

"She's not allowed to participate, is she?" Amaya questioned.

"Is she allowed to come watch you?" Haku questioned.

"No, Emiko isn't allowed to participate; it would put her in the hospital. Or worse—kill her. She's always welcome to spectate, but she never wants to. Taiki, Makoto, and Minako all participate, so Emiko's usually by herself; she really has no friends. She doesn't like being by herself in large crowds; it freaks her out. But she always feels awful that she never comes to watch me, so I think she begged Mamoru to take her this year. But I could be wrong." Kaito answered and explained.

"Oh." Haku and Amaya replied, not knowing what else to say.

Two & A Half Hours Later:

9:15 AM:

"Good morning, Emiko. How are you feeling?" Mamoru greeted Emiko with a smile.

"I'm ok—a little tired, I suppose." Emiko softly replied, looking for one of her egg muffins.

"Here. I made sure to save you two. I know those boys eat a lot when they have to prepare for something this—especially Haku. Amaya even took two." Mamoru informed Emiko, handing her a plate with two egg muffins.

"Thank you. Did you have any?" Emiko questioned, watching Mamoru.

"Yes, Ma'am, I did. I had three; they were delicious." Mamoru replied with a smile.

"Thank you." Emiko softly thanked Mamoru for the compliment.

"Is everything ok?" Mamoru questioned, concerned.

"Mmmhmm. I'm just a little tired; I didn't sleep very well last night. I'm also a little sore this morning. I was hoping to take a quick shower before we go." Emiko admitted.

"Oh, of course. Go ahead. You never need to ask to take a shower here." Mamoru replied with a smile.

"Thank you." Emiko replied with a smile before going upstairs to get her clothes.

"*Sigh…* That child. I hope today helps her—at least a little." Mamoru muttered to himself.

Thud!

"Is everything ok up there? Emiko?" Mamoru called up the stairs.

"Yeah! I just tripped over my feet. The phone is going to ring!" Emiko called back.

After she said that, the house phone started ringing.

"I'll get the phone; don't you worry about that. You just take care of yourself." Mamoru insisted, lifting the phone as Emiko made it to the bottom of the stairs.

"Ok." Emiko replied, heading to the bathroom.

"Sohma residence: how may I assist you?" Mamoru answered the phone.

"Do they know we're going to that sports day of theirs?" Ryo questioned Mamoru.

"What makes you think they don't?" Mamoru questioned with a stupid smile.

"Because I know you. Are we still meeting up at the school?" Ryo replied before inquiring.

"We are going, right, Mamoru?!" A male voice called.

"Right, Ruru?!" A female voice cried.

"Yes, we're still going. I wouldn't miss the chance to see my favorite twins, now would I?" Mamoru replied with a triumphant smile.

"You're so horrible. When and where are we meeting?" Ryo sighed, frustrated.

"Thank you. Well, let's see. Emiko is in the shower now. Wait a minute. I thought you said you'd bring the twins to the school between three and five." Mamoru started to answer Ryo before questioning.

"That was the plan, but you know the twins; they're beyond excited to meet the family's psychic—and her brother, the outsider. Don't worry; we won't call him that around Emiko. And we won't push any of them talk about that man." Ryo replied.

"Ok. Well, like I said, Emiko just got into the shower. I think we're planning on leaving between ten and eleven. If you want to show up around eleven, I'm sure we'll be there." Mamoru told Ryo.

"Any specific place you wish to meet up?" The male voice questioned, unable to stay quiet any longer.

"Wherever we meet up is fine. If you see me, just call out. If you see Haku or Amaya, make sure to greet and encourage them the loudest." Mamoru answered and then insisted.

"You truly are horrible. But we'll see you after a while." Ryo sighed before hanging up.

10:44 PM:

"I'm sorry." Emiko embarrassingly apologized—again.

"It's not your fault. Just keep walking. As long as you stay close, nobody should notice if I change back." Mamoru spoke, walking next to Emiko.

Fifteen minutes ago, Emiko tripped over a rug and landed on Mamoru.

A random breeze happened and blew the kitchen curtains onto the tea kettle and got stuck; there was a small fire. Nothing too serious. Just a small singe at the ends.

In all honesty, once he got the fire out and knew everything was going to be ok, Mamoru thought the entire ordeal was hilarious.

Emiko, on the other hand, ended up having a panic attack, stressing them out. And because Mamoru became stressed and concerned for Emiko, he turned into his dog form.

Another reason Mamoru turned into a dog was that he didn't handle the sight of blood very well: Emiko cut and burnt her hand.

"It's fine, Emiko. You weren't expecting that breeze. And hey, I was looking to get some new curtains anyways. Just because you're psychic with all sorts of abilities, doesn't mean you can see everything. I'm fine. How are you? How is your hand?" Mamoru continued to insist before questioning Emiko, looking at her hand.

"It still hurts. Kaito's going to be so mad at me. So disappointed. He may even hate me." Emiko cried.

"Kaito isn't going to hate or be mad at you. He's not going to be disappointed in you either; it was an accident. I'll explain everything to him; it was just a freak accident caused by a random gust of wind that wasn't expected. If anything, I think he'll be more concerned for you. It's all going to be ok." 'After today—and reading all I could about Emiyo and Tohru; I have deduced that Emiko is both of them rolled into one—with more aspects of Emiyo. Spazzes and is easily upset by many things. At least I'm not a very big dog.' Mamoru insisted before thinking to himself.

When he transforms into a dog, Mamoru changes into a Shiba Inu.

"Well, what do we have here?" A girl with long golden-blonde hair and green eyes stepped in front of Emiko and Mamoru, along with a girl with shoulder-length light brown hair and brown eyes.

"Huh?" Emiko responded, holding her hand.

"You're that Emiko girl—the one who thinks she can just hang around Kaito whenever she wants. And now Haku and Amaya Sohma as well. Just who do you think you are?" The girls demanded, glaring at Emiko.

'Who the hell do these girls think they are?' Mamoru thought to himself. Right now, he was also wishing they didn't need to keep who they were a secret.

"I'm confused. Do you know who I am or not?" Emiko questioned, confused.

That only angered the two girls even more.

"Don't you dare lay a finger on her!" Kaito yelled, running over.

"Kaito? Haku and Amaya? What are you doing here?" The girls questioned, aghast.

"Just who the hell do you two think you two are? Who we are friends with is none of your damn business." Haku demanded, pissed off.

"Thank you, for walking Cujo for us again. Oh, what happened to your hand?" Amaya thanked Emiko before questioning her.

"I'll take the dog to see if we can find his owner. Come on." Haku grumbled, taking Mamoru's leash from Emiko.

"What makes her so damn special? Why do you talk to her and not us?!" The girls demanded.

"Because you two annoy me; you're always trying to get in the way of my friendships with people you deem "unworthy." Apparently, that includes my younger sister, Emiko. Emiko Saito. She is my younger sister. That's one of the reasons she's so special to me. Aside from my best friends, Taiki, Makoto, and Minako, Emiko is my only family left. Stay away from us. Us as in Emiko and me. I can't speak for Taiki, Makoto, Minako, Haku, or Amaya. Now, as for you. What on earth happened to your hand?" Kaito answered the girls before dragging Emiko away.

"There was an accident in the kitchen. Some wind blew into the window and got caught the curtains a little. Mamoru said it was ok, but I got scared and panicked. I hit my hand on the burner and then a knife and then Mamoru changed into Cujo and fell over. He said the doctor would be here and that he could look at my hand." Emiko answered Kaito as he and Amaya looked at her hand.

"Yeah—Mamoru doesn't handle blood too well. The doctor? Ryo?" Amaya questioned, watching Emiko.

"What about that ass?" Haku questioned, picking at his ears as he walked over with a human Mamoru.

"It's good to see you too, Haku." A man with nape-length dark indigo-colored hair and violet eyes spoke, walking over with two teenagers:

One of the teenagers was male with shoulder-length dark wavy blonde hair and pinkish-brown eyes.

The other teenager was female with waist-length wavy yellow-blonde hair in high pigtails and pinkish-brown eyes.

"Jesus! What the hell are you doing here?!" Haku snapped, falling backward.

"I invited him and the twins a few days ago. I figured it'd be the best time for Emiko to meet our doctor and the twins.

"Hallo, ich heiße Sora Sohma." (Hello, my name is Sora Sohma.)

"Und ich bin Sakura Sohma." (And I'm Sakura Sohma.)

"Kaito, Haku: come on; basketball is about to start!" Makoto called from the right.

"Coming!" Haku took off right away.

"Be there in a minute! You're a doctor?" Kaito called before questioning Ryo.

"Yes. Specifically for the family." Ryo calmly answered.

"So, you can look at and take care of Emiko, right?" Kaito questioned.

"Yes." Ryo calmly answered.

"You do what he tells you. Basketball is over there if you want to watch. I have to go before Coach rides my ass again." Kaito told Emiko before taking off.

"I should head out as well." Amaya spoke before taking off.

"So, you're Emiko." Ryo sighed, watching Emiko.

"Yes. And you're the dragon?" Emiko replied, holding her hand.

"Yes." Ryo replied, watching her.

"Do you know what we are as well?" Sora and Sakura questioned, watching Emiko.

'This should be good. If she can figure them out; she'll easily be able to figure out all the others upon meeting them.' Mamoru and Ryo thought to themselves.

"Umm… Well, you are… And you're… Is it truly possible for two people to be one Zodiac spirit?" Emiko questioned, not knowing what else to say.

"Follow me. Let me see your hand." Ryo instructed, leading the way to an area where nobody else was.

"Huh?" Emiko was confused as Ryo took and held her hand in his.

"Wh-what?! What?! What happened?! Where'd it go?!" Emiko spazzed out when, after a few seconds, her burn and cut disappeared.

"She's excitable." Mamoru informed Ryo.

"Sure—we'll go with that." Ryo replied, flabbergasted as he watched Emiko.

"Ist das nicht verblüffend?" Sora questioned in German.

"Huh?" Emiko just stared at Sora, confused.

"She asked wasn't that amazing? Sora und ich sind halb deutsch und halb japanisch; Wir sprechen beide Sprachen und zusätzlich Englisch. Wir unterhalten uns gerne abwechselnd mit unseren Freunden auf Deutsch." Sakura clarified before speaking in German, confusing Emiko even more. Ryo and Mamoru could see the wheels spinning in her eyes.

"Ok. That's enough, you two: stop confusing her." Ryo put a stop to Sora and Sakura confusing Emiko.

"If you're wondering: Sora and Sakura are half German and half Japanese. They tend to go back and forth in what language they talk, forgetting that not everyone knows German or English. But they're good kids." Mamoru explained, watching Emiko.

"Sorry. We're just super excited to meet you." Sakura apologized before explaining.

"I'm sorry as well. It's just that we haven't had an outsider learn our secret in a long time and be able keep their memories. Not only that, but you're our family's psychic of the Zodiac Curse. We've been waiting a long time to meet you." Sora explained after apologizing.

"As for Ryo. Not only is he the dragon of the Zodiac Curse; he also has a few different abilities. He can alter people's memories and heal small wounds like the ones you had." Sakura continued explaining.

"Ok, you two. That's enough. I'm sure Emiko isn't interested in hearing about all that." Ryo stopped Sora and Sakura.

"Oh, no; it's ok. I don't mind; I like learning about my new friends—or in this case, family members?" Emiko shyly insisted, blushing a little.

For some reason, Ryo couldn't stop thinking about how cute she looked.

"Yes, family. And as for your earlier question. No, one spirit can't possess two people, but for some reason, with Sora and Sakura, they're both possessed by the spirit of the rabbit. None of us know why, but they're both cursed as the rabbit. As far as we're all aware, all the other spirits have possessed who they're going to possess. We just don't know." Mamoru replied and answered Emiko's earlier question.

"Maybe it's because they're twins. Have there been any other twins born under the curse before?" Emiko questioned, curious.

"We do have twins in the family, but as far as I'm aware, none of them have ever been born into the curse." Mamoru and Ryo simultaneously answered, scratching their heads.

Emiko was going to say something when they heard a whistle followed by a basketball bouncing.

"I'd love to talk more, but I want to go watch Kaito play basketball. You'll come over for dinner tonight, right? Then you can meet Kaito too." Emiko questioned with a smile.

"Can we?" Sora and Sakura eagerly requested, watching Ryo.

"I don't see why not." Ryo replied, watching Emiko rushing to watch Kaito and Haku play basketball. The girls played after the boys.

"Can we go watch with her?" Sora and Sakura questioned, watching Emiko.

"Go ahead." Ryo replied, rubbing his forehead.

"Yay!" Sora and Sakura happily took off after Emiko.

"Which one is your bruder?" Sora asked, watching the school's male basketball teams play.

"That's my big brother, Kaito. And those are my other big brothers, Taiki and Makoto. And over there: that's Minako; she's my big sister. Makoto and Minako are twins too." Emiko happily answered.

"Do you all have different dads?" Sora questioned, stunned.

"Uh-huh. And different moms too. Taiki, Makoto, and Minako are all Kaito's best friends; they've been friends for like ever now. They're so close that even though they're not related, they all consider each other brothers and sister. And they all consider me a little sister too." Emiko answered.

"What about your friends? Do you have any friends like that?" Sakura questioned, curious.

"I don't have any friends of my own. People don't like me; they say I'm a weird freak because of what I know—or what I can know." Emiko softly answered.

"Because you're psychic?" Sora and Sakura questioned, shocked.

"Yes. But that's ok. I have Kaito, my kitties, and Kaito's friends. Oh, and Mamoru, Haku, and Amaya have all been so kind to me and Kaito. So, I'd like to think I have them as friends too—even if it is because they're family." Emiko answered with a small smile.

"What about us? Can we be friends?" Sora and Sakura questioned, getting Emiko's attention.

"Me?" Emiko questioned, stunned, getting Kaito's attention.

"Oooh!" Everyone in the stands made a noise when a basketball collided with Kaito's face.

"I'm ok!" Kaito stood up and informed everyone, rubbing his head.

'Sorry.' Emiko mouthed to Kaito.

'We'll talk later tonight.' Kaito mouthed back, rubbing his head.

With Mamoru & Ryo:

"So, what was that I saw?" Mamoru questioned with a mischievous grin.

"What are you babbling about now?" Ryo questioned, watching Emiko and the twins.

"With Emiko. I saw how you looked at her." Mamoru insisted.

"Not a single word." Ryo ordered, annoyed.

"Ryo… This is a good thing—especially for you. No, just let me talk. I don't know what it is with your ancestors, but like Hatori and a few others, you deserve happiness. I don't know how Emiko feels or anything like that, but I can see that you like her. Come over more often and visit with her. Get to know her and see if she's someone you can see yourself with." Mamoru firmly told Ryo.

"I won't force her into anything she doesn't want. And I highly doubt her brother is going to let her date me—someone of my age. But, just looking at her, I can tell she's who I can see myself with for the rest of eternity. But not one word—to anyone. Do you understand me? You say nothing to nobody. No one." Ryo firmly told Mamoru, not taking his eyes off Emiko.

"Is everything ok?" Sakura questioned, walking over with Sora and Emiko.

"Yeah. Why? Is everything ok with you? Emiko?" Mamoru replied before asking.

"Can we go home now?" Emiko softly questioned.

"I thought you wanted to watch the others do their sports." Mamoru replied, stunned.

"Yeah, but it'd be silly to stay when it's going to get called off and rescheduled for a later time. It's going to start storming—badly." Emiko told Mamoru.

"It does feel a little muggy, but I didn't think it was supposed to start storming until later tonight." Ryo replied, looking at his phone.

"It's going to start soon." Emiko persisted.

"Ok. Let's get her home. Did you walk here? Or do you need a ride?" Ryo questioned, seeing a certain nothingness in Emiko's eyes.

"We walked. Yes, we'd like a ride." Mamoru replied.

"Can we still come over and hang out?" Sora and Sakura questioned.

"Of course." Mamoru replied.

Just like that, Emiko collapsed, holding her head…


Pictures on AO3