Yuki and I had almost finished weeding the garden, and he said he'd finish the rest himself. I headed back towards the house, taking my gloves off and sticking them in a pocket. Then, I saw something ahead of me on the trail. I jogged up to find a pile of closed with a small, sleeping snake inside.

"Okay, you've seen professionals do this before. You've got this," I quietly whispered to myself. I quickly and carefully grabbed it right behind the jaw, holding its mouth away from me, and it gently wrapped itself around my wrist. Then, I realized two more somethings.

One, who did these clothes belong to? Two, I had no idea what to do with a snake.

"Uh, hey Yuki?" I called.

"Yes?"

"Correct me if I'm wrong, but there's a snake in the Zodiac, right?"

"Yes, why?" he said, his voice closer.

"Because I think I just found it," I said, turning around to find him standing right behind me, not looking very elated. He gathered up the clothes and we began walking toward the house. To be honest, I'd always liked snakes; I thought they were really cute. Yes, I am aware that it's weird to think snakes are cute, but I do. "So does he or she have a name?"

"Oh, my apologies. This is Ayame Sohma," Yuki said, still not smiling, and I just nodded. He obviously wasn't very happy about the unexpected arrival, so I wouldn't push it.

We arrived to flying food, as a bowl with miso and leeks flew by as we walked in, and I jumped with a yelp. Yuki set the clothes down and took the snake and practically threw him at Shigure. "Take him."

"Hey, be nice," I said with slightly stern look, and he just gave me a small smile. "I swear, you all have half-manners."

"Half-manners?" Yuki said, looking confused.

"At times, you guys can be super nice, but others times, it's like you don't have any manners. So, half-manners," I explained. "Hikaru has them too, and that's where I came up with it." I hadn't thought about Hikaru in a while. I guess I'd just tried to avoid thinking about him kissing me, so I had stopped thinking about him. All it did was make things complicated, and I really didn't need any more complicated in my life.

"Came up with what?" Kyo asked, obviously not having been paying attention.

"Nothing important. We have a guest."

"Hmm? Oh, him," Kyo said with obvious dislike when he saw Shigure smiling as he held Ayame.

"Hey, I just went over this with Yuki. Be nice."

"Yeah, whatever," he sighed.

"Excuse me?"

"Nothing."

"That's what I thought you said." I realized I was sounding like a mom, but I'd warned them that if they acted like kids, I would treat them as such. "Now be good boy and play nice with the other children."

"Well I wouldn't call myself a child, per say." I squeezed my eyes shut when I heard the poof, but Kyo had been close enough that he'd put his hand over my eyes. "But I do love other people! Sorry, for the surprise visit, but I felt like it would be rude if I didn't visit the renowned Arisu!"

"It's still rude…" Yuki mumbled.

"Mannerisms," I said, accentuating each syllable.

"Sorry," he said, like child who'd been reprimanded for not listening. I heard Kyo snickering from where he was standing.

"Hey, you too," I said poking his side, and I felt him jerk a little. This was interesting…

"Sorry," he sighed.

"Yes you are."

"So you have as much of a way with them as I've heard! I'm delighted to hear that someone has been such a positive influence on my younger brother! So you really do exist; the princess I've heard so much about. A single blooming flower trapped in a house of stinking men! Are they treating you well, princess?"

"Uh, yes. Younger brother?" I raised a brow in Yuki's general direction even though Kyo still hadn't moved his hand. He removed it a moment later and I saw a tall man with long silver hair pulling on a red coat. He looked just like Yuki; you know, except for the hair and eye color and clothes.

"Oh, Lucky Kyo, I heard you were staying here."

"I told you before! Stop calling me that!"

"Lucky Kyo, you haven't changed."

"I said stop!" he shouted, but I was still lost on the, 'younger brother,' thing.

"It's been too long, Shigure," he said in a tone that piqued my interest. I had no clue what was happening, so I decided to just stay quiet.

"Yes, it's been quite some time, hasn't it?"

"What a shame, you haven't forgotten about me while we were apart, have you?"

"Not a day has gone by that you haven't been on my mind, Ayaa." I was so entertained.

"Yeah!" they said together with thumbs up, and I was sad because my entertainment had ended.

"Hello, Princess." I saw that the attention had been turned to me. "I'm sorry about earlier, I am Yuki's older brother, Ayame."

"I'm Arisu, but you can call me Ari. It's lovely to meet you," I said with a smile.

"So, Princess, how about you bring us some tea? And lunch would be nice," he said tapping the table.

"Okay," I said with a shrug. I was going to make lunch anyway.

"Don't let him treat you like that!" Kyo shouted at me, but I waved him off.

"Do you prefer any kind of tea?" I asked from the kitchen.

"Green, if you have it," he said, and I smiled.

"Yep, coming right up." Green tea is my favorite. I looked around for something to make. I wanted to make something nice since we had a guest and all, and I managed to whip together a few things. I took the tea out and set it at the table where Shigure and Ayame were talking while Yuki and Kyo sat, occasionally glaring at Ayame.

I was able to make a decent chicken katsu with tonkatsu sauce with some rice. I think it turned out pretty well.

"Okay guys, dinner's done." I brought it to the table with a few plates and silverware in one hand. I realized I probably looked just like a waitress. They all gazed for a moment. "Well come on, I didn't make it to look nice. Are we eating or not?"

"Seems kinda fancy for just an ordinary dinner," Kyo said, but used a fork to put some on his plate anyway.

"Well sorry for trying to be a good hostess," I said in a joking tone.

"Well I think it's delightful, dear Princess. Thank you ever so much for making this for me," Ayame said with a smile. I swear he looked exactly like Yuki when he did that.

"It was my pleasure," I said with a smile. I meant it; it was nice to meet him, even if him and Yuki didn't seem to have the best vibes going on, if that made any sense. They were totally different people, but I think they could get past that if they tried.

I peeked at my IPod in my pocket to check the time; it was about four, so Tessa would be over in an hour. I'd already asked Shigure this morning, and he said it was fine that she spent the night, as long as I was careful to keep an eye on her. I hadn't expected Ayame to be here, but I doubted that would change anything.

We finished eating for a while and Ayame announced that he would be spending the night, and they decided he'd sleep with Shigure. Yuki and Kyo looked kind of creeped out at first, but I gave them a look and they stopped. I heard the doorbell ring a moment later, and Tessa had arrived early.

I almost died when I opened the door. Aunt Emiko and Uncle Zack were standing with her. Shit.

"Um, one moment guys," I said in English, and closed the door and hurried back into the kitchen. "Okay people, minor emergency: my aunt and uncle are here, so you need to be pleasant gentlemen and be nice." Yuki looked like he was about to make a comment, but he held it in. "My aunt speaks Japanese, so she'll understand everything; my uncle will understand a majority. Okay." I ran back over before they could say anything and opened the door and smiled. "Hey guys, sorry about that. Come on in. They all came in and took their shoes off, and glanced around, my aunt and uncle looking slightly confused. "Did you guys already eat?"

"Yes, we're fine," Uncle Zack said. "Nice place." Uncle Zack built houses and then Aunt Emiko would do interior design, and then they sold them. I knew Aunt Emiko would immediately begin tweaking things once she got to look around the place. I led them into the kitchen. "Guys, this is Yuki, Kyo, Shigure, and Ayame Sohma."

"It's great to meet you all," Uncle Zack said, looking a little lost.

"It's a pleasure to meet the family of our little Arisu," Shigure said, standing up to shake his hand. This probably wasn't going to end well.

"Arisu, darling, may I talk to you for a minute?" Aunt Emiko asked, and I nodded, trying not to cringe. I lead her to my room upstairs so this would be private. I was also worried what would be going on downstairs. "Now, what's going on?"

"I'm staying here now. Not with mom anymore."

"I can see that, dear, but why?" My mom and aunt spoke in similar ways, both of them used endearments like darling or sweetie, but my aunt meant it genuinely. For my mom, it was all an act.

"Because I'm tired of dealing with her!" I said a little louder than necessary, hopping off the bed- knocking a book off my nightstand in the process- to pace back and forth. "I'm sick of pretending like everything's alright, because it wasn't! I like it here, and everyone's really nice, and… and I don't think I could leave if I wanted to. I love it here." I heard knocking on the door behind me. "Yeah?"

"Can we come in? You okay?" I heard Kyo say.

"Yeah." He and Yuki walked in, looking a little concerned.

"We heard a thud. Are you okay Ms. Takahashi?"

"I'm fine, I was just being clumsy," I said, reaching over to pick the book up, but Kyo did the same thing and we bonked heads. "Ow, haven't we done this before?"

"Crap, yeah." He grabbed the book and handed it to me.

"Sorry, like I said: clumsy." I set the book back on the nightstand and saw Aunt Emiko smiling.

"This is a good place for you to be," she said, switching to English to keep our conversation private. "These boys care for you very much, and they aren't too bad looking either," she said with a wink, and I felt my cheeks heat up, and the guys both raised an eyebrow at me. "Don't do anything you wouldn't do if I was here."

"Auntie!"

"Just saying," she said with a laugh. I had no clue how her and my mom were related. She gave me a quick hug and headed back downstairs.

"What'd she say?" Kyo asked.

"Nothing," I said a little quickly, and he gave me a look.

"Wait, what did she say?"

"Nothing. Nothing at all," I said, quickly retracing my aunt's steps.

"Hey! You tell me what she said!" I heard Kyo coming out behind me, and I jumped down the last of the stairs, and hurried into the kitchen, standing next to Tessa

"Hello," I said with a smiled as Kyo appeared behind me. He stayed a little farther away since Tessa was closer to him. "Tiss, let's bring your bag up to my room."

"'Kay," she said, following me up the stairs past Yuki, and I noticed she slowed and turned so she could view from all angles.

"Tiss!"

"Hmm?" she said, not taking her eyes away.

"Not. Your. Type," I said, grabbing her arm and pulling her along behind me until we reached my room. "Ta da."

"I like it. It's simple," she said, sitting on my bed.

"Yeah, but it's better than what I used to have," I said with a shrug as she changed into booty shorts and a tank top to sleep in. "You are such a whore."

"I am aware of this," she said with a smile. You might think I'm being mean to her, but that's just how Tessa and I work. "Oh, and by the way, Maiko told me to tell you she and everybody are coming over tomorrow."

"What?"

"Yeah, they came over on your b-day, but you pretty much disappeared so they couldn't hang out with you," she said with a pointed look.

"Hey, I texted you and said I was sorry, didn't I? It was a bit of an emergency," I said, and was glad she just nodded and didn't question it, because I had no clue what I would have said. "Well at least I won't be surprised tomorrow."

"Yeah, that would be hectic. Who was that guy downstairs who looked like Yuki? I was trying to follow the conversation, but they were speaking too fast."

"That's Ayame. He's Yuki's older brother."

"That would explain why they look so similar. Do you guys have ice cream?" she said, easily changing subjects, and I smiled.

"Yeah, come on," I said, and she bounded after me down the stairs. Shigure and Ayame had disappeared and Kyo and Yuki were just lounging around. I was surprised they weren't arguing yet. I dug around in the freezer before pulling out a carton while Tessa found two bowls and spoons. After we dished it out, we headed back threw the dining room to head to the stairs, but we paused. Yuki and Kyo had both fallen asleep under the kotatsu.

"Watch out, watch out when there are markers about," Tessa said quietly, and I grinned. We were so doing this. We ran back into the kitchen and set our bowls in the freezer so they wouldn't melt while we were busy. We grabbed markers of multiple colors from a drawer filled with odds and ends and went about our careful work.

Tessa had to lay on the table to get a good angle on Yuki as she drew a monocle. I was on the ground as Kyo received a very curly mustache. When we finished our dirty work, Kyo had his classy mustache, a triangle beard and glasses while Yuki had his monocle, a goatee, and freckles. We quickly grabbed our bowls of ice cream and ran upstairs and collapsed laughing on my bed.

"They're going to flip a bitch when they wake up!" Tessa said a little too loudly and I covered her face with a pillow.

"Shh! You'll wake them up from their beauty sleep!" We broke out into another round of laughter which we smothered with our pillows. "Okay, some on, we need to get sleep so we can be prepared to die in the morning.

"Fine. 'Night Ari."

"Goodnight Tessa," I said as we slipped under the covers.

We woke up to shouting which wasn't very surprising.

"Wake up you damn rat! I know you did this!"

"What the hell are you talking about?"

"Look at my face!"

"I'd rather not. It's too early for that." Tessa and I quickly got dressed and headed downstairs and peeked around the corner to watch. Yuki still had his head in his hands, so you couldn't see his, 'beautiful,' face yet. He sat up, but his hair was still in his face, but when he finally looked up, I think all three of us burst out laughing. Tessa and I fell over each other and were exposed while Kyo was too stunned for a moment to do anything, but soon joined us. Yuki looked lost, but then went into the kitchen. I could barely see him pull out a large spoon and look at his reflection.

"Time to run Tessa. You don't want to see him angry. Run!" we both bolted for the door. I barely saw realization cross Kyo's face as he knew who the culprits were. We hauled ass as fast as we could before we rounded a bend in the round and literally ran into Hikaru, Hikari, and Rin. Maiko danced out of the way and avoided being smushed. "Hey guys."

"Damn girl! Where's the fire?" Hikari asked from under me as we got up.

"Oh, it's almost here. Prepare to be amazed," I said with a grin. Kyo and Yuki came dashing around the corner a moment later, but we'd moved so they almost ran past us. "Hello boys."

"I'm gonna kill you!" Kyo shouted.

"Are you sure about that? Because that would ruin my whole day," I said in a calm voice.

"You're going to have to go through me, guy, before you lay a hand on Ari-chan's pretty head," Maiko said in an equally calm voice, but you could hear the malice in it, and Kyo paled a little.

"That's some pretty amazing art work you got there," Hikaru said with an approving nod, obviously trying not to laugh. It was then I noticed they were all carrying bags.

"What are those?"

"You'll see," Rin said with a smile as they all began heading back towards the house and we followed.

After Yuki and Kyo washed their faces off, we all crowded into the living room and my friends demanded I be situated in the middle. I was pretty sure I knew what was going on.

"Open it!" Maiko said, handing one of her bags to me. They were doing this again.

"Guys, I told you that you didn't need to do this last year, and the year before. I don't need so many presents. I don't need any, period."

"And you think we listened? Obviously you don't know us very well," Hikaru said with a smile. I rolled my eyes and opened Maiko's bag as she grinned. It was a new sketch pad, and I could tell it was one of the pricey ones.

"Ta da! It took me forever to pick out a good one."

"I would know. I was stuck with her," Rin said with a smile. They always insisted on getting me multiple presents just because they knew I hated my birthday. I'd gotten half the clothes I own from them. Maiko handed me a card which had an all of us drawn on the front, even Yuki and Kyo.

"'To our favorite bitch I mean bestfriend, Ari.' Aww, I love you too!" I said, reaching out to give her a hug.

"My turn!" Hikari said, handing me a wrapped box. I opened it to find a super cute outfit. "You're gonna be driving all the guys crazy in that!" I tried not to roll my eyes.

"Sure."

"Hey, don't doubt me. I figured everything out, it'll fit your body type and makes those pretty eyes pop," Hikari said with a smile. "I have one more." She held out another box, but this one was smaller. I tore off the wrapping and found a new set of drawing pencils in it. It was awesome! "Maiko and I collaborated on that one."

"Me next," Rin said.

"Why do I have to go last?" Hikaru complained.

"Because, youngest first and ladies first. Both say you go last. Deal with it," Rin retorted.

"Maiko's older than me."

"Yes, but I'm a lady, so too bad for you, you poor baby," she said with a sarcastic grin, and Hikaru finally relented.

"Here," Rin said, handing me a sparkly silver bag filled with purple tissue paper. I pulled it out and found a photo album. It was covered with denim like material on the outside and the pages were different colors as you flipped through. The first page was already taken care of; the first one was of the twins and I at their house with me squished in-between them as they each held one side of the camera. The next one was of me and Maiko at one of her bring-a-friend dance classes, both of us wearing leotards and large tutus and making sassy faces at the camera. The last one was Rin and I sitting on the swings at the park; I wasn't sure who had taken it, but neither of us was aware of the photo being taken and it looked really nice. "I bought the album, but we all pitched in a picture."

"You guys are the best, you know that?" They always tried to outdo whatever they'd gotten me last year and sometimes it got kind of crazy; they really were way too nice.

"I believe my turn has finally come," Hikaru said, and I raised an eyebrow at the jewelry box he pulled out.

Kyo…

It was irritating how they all knew about her birthday and she hadn't even bothered to tell them. She hadn't even wanted them to know, so all they'd been able to get her was a crummy cake.

What was even more irritating was this Hikaru guy.

"I believe my turn has finally come," he said, brandishing a small, rectangle jewelry box that looked pretty expensive. With just a look at the guy, you could tell he had money; with his pretty boy hair and pretty boy clothes and smile that looked like a smirk and belonged in some dumb ass boy band. "Open it."

"Really? I never thought of doing that." Ari said with a grin. She opened the box and her eyes widened. Knowing her, she probably just thought he was using the box out of convenience, like it was the right size for something, not that it actually had jewelry in it. "Wow, I-"

"Here, let me," he said, moving to sit in front of her and pulled a bracelet out of the box. It had a silver chain that looped around and through eleven cloudy white stones. It was similar in shape and style to Kyo's own and he began absentmindedly playing with it. Hikaru took the bracelet out and put it on around her right wrist.

Kyo couldn't tell if he was satisfied with her reaction or with himself. Either way, it was all he could do not to reach over and punch him.

"Happy b-day kid," he said quietly before retaking his seat. Ari's cousin quickly leaned over to get a better look at it.

"Hikaru, I think we gotta go," his twin said, looking at her watch.

"Aw, okay. See you guys later," he said and they both waved. They left to a chorus of goodbyes, and there was a knock at the door shortly after they left. Shigure and Ayame appeared out of nowhere to answer it.

"Oh yes, Arisu's right in here," Shigure said, leading her aunt in.

"Hi Auntie."

"Hey Auntie," her remaining friends said with matching smiles.

"Hello dears."

"Auntie, what are you doing here? I thought you'd be here to get Tessa later," Ari said, raising a brow and looking a little quizzical. She tended to do that a lot. He cousin started babbling in English, but she looked like she was begging. After placating her, Ari's aunt switched to a language he could actually understand.

"I was going to give you your birthday present yesterday, but your uncle and I realized it wasn't quite finished. Here you are, sweetie," she explained, holding out a plain white envelope. Ari's eyes widened as she took it and as she opened it, her expression went: surprise, excitement, confusion, realization, and extreme excitement.

"Oh my god! Auntie, thank you so much! This is amazing! I can't believe you did this!"

"It was my pleasure sweetheart."

"If you don't mind my asking, what is it exactly?" the damn Rat asked.

"Look!" Ari beamed, holding them in front of the Rat's face, but she was bouncing on the balls of her feet so it was more like waving. "They're plane tickets! Four of them!"

Arisu…

I would love to describe how I feel right now, but that would be pretty hard. The tickets were for Kyo, Yuki, Shigure and I to go to the U.S. with Tessa, Auntie, and Uncle Zack! That's like, a super big deal, and it would be really expensive. But I'd feel bad about it later.

"Why do ya need four plane tickets?" Kyo asked, obviously not seeing where this was going.

"Honestly, how stupid are you?" Yuki asked, and I gave him a look.

"Only stupid people are stupid enough to feel the need to insult others by calling them stupid, so think before you speak," Auntie chided. Auntie tolerated name calling about as much as I did, but she was better at handling it.

"I do believe I felt that burn from over here, Auntie," Maiko said, fanning herself. I'd almost forgotten her and Rin were still here.

"Thank you dear."

"To answer the original question, it's because we're going to America!" I exclaimed, holding my excitement in until the last four words. I noticed Shigure thanking my aunt and Kyo's surprised expression. "When are we going?" I was good at English, but I was too excited right now to try to translate it.

"It will be over your summer vacation," Auntie answered. "I would have done it sooner, but they were cheaper than I had expected them to be, and plane tickets aren't as cheap as they once were."

"Please, ma'am, you must let the Sohma family reimburse you and your husband-"

"Please, let me do something nice. I don't get to see my niece very often, so I don't get to do nice things for her often enough, so I must insist you let me do this," Auntie insisted.

"Thank you very much madam." I had a feeling Yuki was going to be her favorite. "I don't know how we'll repay you."

"Please, call me Auntie. And you're quite welcome dear," she said with a smile and a hand on his cheek. "Make sure to put those somewhere safe, honey. I need to go; your uncle and I are going sightseeing. I'll leave Tessa here. Bye, dearies!"

"Bye Auntie!" Rin, Maiko, and I called together as she let herself out.

"I think I have to go too," Rin said. She gave me a hug, then whispered in my ear, "Remember, let them help." She let go and smiled at me.

"She's my ride, so I guess I gotta go too. See ya!" Maiko said, hugging me too, before following Rin. Everything was quiet for a second.

"Well that was exciting."

Okay, so I feel like a super terrible person for taking so long, but it's longer than most of my other chapters, so I hope that makes up for it. In case anyone still cares, I still have a poll up on my page about who you want Ari to end up with. You can vote twice and the choices are Yuki, Kyo, Haru, and Hikaru. Yuki is currently winning by one vote with six, Kyo has five, and Haru has two. No Hikaru love, huh? Yeah, I kind of expected that. What else did I need to say…? Hmm… Well, I think that's it. Bye! ~Stormy:3