CHAPTER TWO
"…Yuki?" A voice whispered from the door.
"Hmm..?" Yuki mumbled, half asleep, as he lay in front of the television, two blankets covering him.
"Please… Come out here. Just for a moment or two," The whisper became more vibrant but serious.
"Um, okay," Yuki agreed, as he untangled himself from the blankets, and stood up, wobbling a little. He walked to the door, and someone grabbed his hand, dragging him into the woods on the side of their house.
"K-Kirema!" Yuki blinked nervously, seeing how stunning she looked in the moonlight.
"I need you to let me stay here tonight. Akito told me to meet you secretly. She wants to make sure you guys don't tell that brunette about Kureno's curse…" Kirema's voice sternly rang through Yuki's mind, her serious complexion making him almost melt on the spot.
"It's… Already been told… I'm sorry. I'm so sorry," Yuki raved quietly under his breath.
"You… You… YOU TOLD HER?" Kirema shouted, her teeth growing sharper. "I should've ended this a long time ago! Akito was such a fool, like she always is. Letting someone from the outside live with the Sohma's! You put everyone in danger. You put Akito in danger. Most of all, you put me in danger… I can't forgive you, Yuki. From now on, we're enemies. Tell Shigure I'm not coming home," Kirema snarled at him, her eyes turning away from his. She turned around, but stopped in her tracks. "Oh, and Yuki…"
"…Y-Yes?" Yuki swallowed, frightened, his whispering voice soft and shallow.
"If you even dare tell Tohru about Shigure and me… I'm going to tell Akito everything I know about you," Kirema snickered as she stalked off, her teeth becoming blunt again.
The next morning, as Tohru awoke from her slumber, she trudged down the stairs.
"Ah! What a pleasant morning," She happily said to herself.
"Oh, Tohru-chan! You're finally awake," Shigure smiled up at her from his place on the floor. "Be a dear and make me some breakfast, please?"
"Of course, I'll get right on that now," Tohru grinned back at him as she skipped into the kitchen.
Yuki walked in through the main door, shaking his head and looking worried.
"What's wrong, my prince?" Shigure sniggered, trying not to burst out laughing at his little nickname.
"…Kirema threatened to never come back. I'm sorry, Shigure… She is your," Yuki stopped mid sentence as Tohru returned with some sushi, eggs, and onigiri.
"What?" Tohru asked, confused. "Did I do something wrong? Is the food bad? What?"
"No, no. The food is perfectly delicious!" Shigure commented her then gave her a flashy smile.
"Okay, that's good! Thanks!" Tohru cheerfully walked out of the living room, and up the staircase to call and check up on her grandfather.
"Yuki… Are you sure? She is my…" Shigure's voice trailed off as the screen door slid open, and Kirema stepped in.
"Hello, father," Kirema said, breaking the silence of the atmosphere.
"K-Kirema…" Shigure stood and bowed to her. "Long time, no see, yes?"
"I'm not here to play games, father. I want my revenge. Where is Honda?" Kirema growled, her teeth growling abnormally sharper, and dog-like.
"Calm down. We can't reveal your secret to her, too," Shigure attempted to relieve her pain and angst, but it didn't work.
…Poof!
"What was that?" Tohru gasped, as a dog lay at Shigure's feet. "A black dog? Why is there a black dog there?"
"That's… Kirema," Shigure anxiously said, closing his eyes and scrunching his face as the dog bit his ankle. "Bad dog!"
"Kirema. Leave, now," Kyo hissed angrily at her, as he shooed her out of the house and closed the door.
"Doesn't she need her clothes?" Tohru asked, picking up the kimono she was wearing.
"She'll be fine. She can shift in and out of her form. She's the second dog in the Sohma family. Yes, there are two of them," Shigure explained to Tohru, as she treated his bite wound.
"So are you two…" Tohru pried, looking closely at Shigure's face.
"…She's my daughter," Shigure muttered, embarrassed.
"You're… Daughter?! How old is she?" Tohru blinked, looking very confused.
"She's about a year older than us, Honda-san," Yuki stuttered, as he shivered because of the draft coming through the hole in the door.
"So… There are two rats then, too?" Tohru cocked her head to the left as she looked at Yuki.
"No. This is something that Akito cursed Kirema with. Kirema is… Akito's daughter, too," Yuki gulped, looking especially frail and distant from the two others.
"Akito's a… Girl?" Tohru gasped, shrinking back at the thought of someone having a child with Akito, since she was so mean and heartless. Yuki just nodded, and sipped his cup of tea.
"Akito gave birth to Kirema, and I didn't know until recently. She was named after my mother, Karin. Akito thought of the name, and it stuck. But Kirema would always disobey Akito, so Akito punished her with the same curse her father, me, has. Akito has never forgiven me, but at the same time, she knows it's the best gift I could've given her, since… Well, when Akito passes away, Kirema will be the goddess of the zodiac. You must treat her with respect, you two. Kyo was destined to be with Kirema but, Kirema hates Kyo with a great passion. So, I guess he's up for grabs," Shigure explained further, mocking Kyo as he walked past and into the kitchen.
"Shut up, you old man!" Kyo hissed, blushing.
"Don't call me old, I'm barely thirty!" Shigure wailed at him, squinting hard because of embarrassment.
The sliding door slid open. Kirema stepped in, completely naked.
"Kirema! Show some dignity," Shigure said, covering Yuki's eyes, as he turned away.
"Honda, please, don't touch my things," Kirema coldly growled, swiping the kimono away from Tohru.
"I-I'm sorry…" Tohru apologized to her, a tear dripping from her eye.
"Don't cry. Crying won't get you anywhere in life. It's a useless feature that humans have," Kirema snarled at her, her teeth growing sharper than Shigure and or Yuki had ever seen.
"Kirema…" Shigure began, but was cut off as Kirema turned into a dog and ran off.
"She's under a great deal of stress. She shouldn't be pushing herself so hard. I'm going to go find her," Yuki offered, leaving Shigure and Tohru gawking at him as he left.
As Yuki walked into the thickets of trees outside of Shigure's house, he wondered whether or not Kagura knew about Kirema, since most zodiac members never came in contact with her.
"Yuki-kun, why are you out here?" Hatsuharu screeched at him from behind. "You might get hurt!"
"Haru, I'm fine. I'm trying to find… Someone," Yuki mumbled under his breath.
"Who're 'ya tryin' to find?" He said in his slang.
"Kirema. Akito let her go, since she's almost eighteen. Akito said that a girl her age should be able to roam freely, as long as she returns each year for the New Year's festival," Yuki clarified for Haru.
"So, that little puppy isn't locked in her cage anymore?" Haru said, guffawed at her, as she slunk out from behind one of the bushes. "Isn't that her?" Hatsuharu blinked, pointing at Kirema.
"Kirema. Kirema… Please, Kirema. Come home with us, Kirema. Your father is worried, Kirema. He wants you to come and live with us… With Kyo… With him," Yuki softly purred to her, gently bending down and picking her up. "Haru, help me carry her back."
"Sure, sure, hand her to me," Hatsuharu nodded, grabbing Kirema, pressing her tightly against his chest so she wouldn't be dropped.
"Let's just hope she doesn't trans-…" Haru muttered, just as Kirema turned back into a human.
"…Sorry, Haru! I can walk the rest of the way if you'd like," Kirema apologized, her face turning a pale pink, making her look even more stunning.
"It's okay. I promise I won't look at anything. I'll carry you though, since it's kind of rocky and I don't want your feet getting hurt," Hatsuharu smiled down at her, as she just blushed more.
"You're so cute when you blush, Kirema!" Shigure buzzed, walking off the porch in his slippers and night kimono and embracing Kirema tightly.
"Uh… Shigure?" Hatsuharu and Yuki gawked silently at him.
"Ye-e-es?" Shigure sang out, as he looked over his shoulder at them.
"…She's naked," Haru pointed out sourly, seeing as Kirema looked like she was in pain because of his tight hug.
Shigure just stood there, looking at the two men before him. He slowly turned towards his daughter, quickly letting go and running into the house. He slammed his door hard, as Kirema stood there and blinked.
"It's not like he hasn't seen me naked before…" Kirema mumbled to herself as she looked at Kyo, who was standing in the door way of the house.
"What's she doing in our front yard?" Kyo asked, raising an eyebrow.
"She was under a great deal of stress, so she transformed, and now, she's naked. Look away, Kyo, just look away," Hatsuharu muttered to the orange-headed man at the door, as he picked her up and walked into the house with her in his arms.
"Ah, whatever!" Kyo growled at Haru, stalking back into the kitchen.
Later that night, as Shigure emerged from his room, he saw Hatsuharu and Kirema lying on the floor together.
"Ah… You two are so cute together," Shigure snickered to himself as Hatsuharu twisted around and hugged Kirema, still sleeping.
"…Father," Kirema whispered, her face turning a pale color.
"Kirema, I want you to come with us to the lake house," Shigure whispered, so that Hatsuharu wouldn't hear him.
"Why bother? It's not like mother wants me. She told me to get out of her life," Kirema sniffled, a single tear streaming down her face and dripping off her chin.
"I want you to live here. I want you to stay with me, Kirema. I love you so much, Kirema. You've truly blossomed into a passionate young woman, and I would like you to live with your old father. I'm sure you and Yuki will get along," Shigure explained further into the matter.
"…Okay," Kirema looked up at her father, as he sat on the floor, stroking her hair gently. "…Father?"
"Yes, my dear daughter?"
"…I love you, father."
"I love you too, Kirema…"