Here's the much awaited chapter 3. K'van and I have finally worked out some details to put into the fic – talk about torture!

Heirs of the Clans: Chapter 3

Barely four days after Seiun and Seishin joined the Sumeragi-Sakurazuka household, the two children found themselves enrolled in the nearby grade school, much to Seiun's disgust.

"Why must I go to school?" Seiun glared at Seishirou, who was calmly sipping his mug of breakfast coffee. "Can't it wait for another week or so?"

Seishirou placed the mug on the table. "Subaru-kun and I have already done the paperwork. Seishin-kun and you are going as siblings."

Seiun frowned then grinned. "That sounds like fun, seeing that both of us don't look alike at all. Then again, wouldn't our names give us away?"

"You are going to be called Sumeragi-Sakurazuka while Seishin-kun will be Sakurazuka-Sumeragi." Seishirou smirked as he noted the sweat-drop on Seiun's face as she heard what he said. "Subaru-kun and I decided that a combined name was better than having the two of you with different surnames."

Seiun's reply was a muttered "the old bat's really going to love this…"

: You are a cruel person, Seishirou. : The Tree snickered. :' Your surname alone was bad enough. Can't you pity the teachers of their school? ':

: Not really. And for your information, my surname is your fault. :

: Sure, blame everything on the Tree… :

"Seishirou-san, can you send the kids to school?" Subaru's voice emerged from their bedroom. "I have a job in an hour. I can't join you without being late."

"And whose fault was that?" Seishirou teased his lover. They had woken up only a bare half hour ago, due to a rather… busy night. It had not helped when Subaru refused to let go of Seishirou later.

Seiun snickered. "So sweet. You two look so loving."

A frown from Seishirou was enough for Seiun to mime a zip across her mouth. Four days in the Sumeragi-Sakurazuka household was sufficient to teach the girl that when Seishirou threatened something, he meant it. Therefore, it was unwise to even try anything funny.

"Uncle Seishirou?" The voice that spoke this time belonged to Seishin, evident by its diffidence. "Will we have to come back by ourselves?"

Seishirou sighed. Really, Seishin was far too timid for his own good. "I'll be fetching you two for this week till you know the way to school. Next week, you're on your own."

"Thank you." Seishin bowed, to Seishirou's annoyance.

"Sei-kun, I'm your uncle. There's no need to bow…"

"Seishirou-san, where's Seiun?" Subaru's appearance distracted Seishirou.

At the arrival of another who refused to stop being informal, Seishirou stifled another sigh. Subaru had stuck to habit, still addressing him as 'Seishirou-san' despite the years together and their intimate relationship. With Seishin added to the 'family', Seishirou could not help but feel as if this was the heavens' private joke on him.

"She was…" His words broke off as Seishirou looked around the now vacant kitchen for the Sumeragi in question. "Where did she go? Seishin, do you know where she is?"

Seishin frowned in consternation. "She was here a moment ago."

Subaru groaned. "I knew I heard her. Where is she?" He stalked to the bedroom Seiun and Seishin shared and peered inside, searching for the wayward Seiun. "She isn't in there." He groaned again. "I know she doesn't want to go to school but this?" Subaru heaved a sigh as he turned to Seishirou. "What's her reason for not going again?"

Seishirou smirked. "She didn't want to wear a skirt."

Subaru ground his teeth in frustration. "Seishirou, I'll have to leave first. Can you try to…" His words were muffled as Seishirou pulled him into a gentle kiss.

"I'll find her." He assured the flustered onmyouji. "You go get that job done."

"Okay." Subaru still had a slight blush on his cheeks as he rushed out the door. He just was not used to being kissed when there was an audience, even if the only spectator around was Seishin.

"Seiun-chan, even if you can hide from Seishin and Subaru-kun, your illusions aren't that good." Seishirou said calmly as he looked at the chair where Seiun had been sitting on earlier. "I know that you haven't moved. It is hard to keep yourself hidden when the level of tea in your cup has been decreasing."

Seiun reappeared with a mutinous scowl.

"Come on, time to go." Finishing the dregs of coffee left in his mug, Seishirou washed up and moved to the door.

Seishin and Seiun followed him, albeit slowly. The former was looking nervous and the latter appearing bad-tempered.

"Be nice," Seishirou warned as they entered the school building. He wanted to reinforce the message before he passed Seishin and Seiun into the care of their form teacher. "I don't expect you two to cause problems."

The answer to his comment was from two extremes. Seishin bowed slightly and murmured a promise to be good and not disappointing Seishirou while Seiun stuck her tongue out. Clearly, she had little intentions of adhering to Seishirou's advice.

:' Nice, isn't she? ':

Seishirou plastered a patient smile on his face – one that Seiun recognized as a warning. : Stay out of this, you overgrown fly trap. :

: There's no need to resort to insults, Seishirou. :

Aloud, he said, "Seiun, remember that you are not to use any magic. Onmyoujitsu or otherwise."

Seiun glared at her pseudo-parent as they walked towards the staff administrative centre. "I made a promise. I intend to keep it." Then her voice dropped an octave. "'Kaa-san made me promise the same thing anyway."

"Good." With that, he knocked softly on the door of the teachers' staff room then opened it. "Excuse me…"

"Oh, you must be Sumeragi-san!" A bubbly voice answered and Seishirou lost his balance for a moment as he was nearly pulled into the room when the woman grabbed the door and swung it wide open. "I'm Michihiro Ayako. No worries about your children. They're in good hands." She turned to the startled pair behind Seishirou and giggled. "I'm Michihiro-san. You two must be Seishin and Seiun. I'm sure we'll get on very well."

: Seishirou, if I were you, I'd worry about the teacher and not the kids. : The Tree interjected. : The kids should be just fine. :

Maintaining a pleasant smile on his face, Seishirou carefully answered the teacher's questions, all while keeping a stern eye on Seiun, who was squirming restlessly at the inactivity. "No, I'm afraid you're mistaken, Michihiro-san. I'm Sakurazuka Seishirou. My spouse is at work."

Michihiro's hands flew to her mouth as she blushed. "My sincerest apologies, Sakurazuka-san. I… just saw the names of your children and… I'm afraid I jumped to conclusions." She giggled once more.

: Are you sure she's a good teacher? Because I don't think she is. : The Tree added snidely. : She might teach them to chew grass or something. What a giddy-goat. :

Seishirou concealed his amusement with a pleasant expression. The Tree would add Its comments. "It's alright, no matter." He said mildly. He too was getting tired of Michihiro's constant silly laughter and was fighting the temptation to silence the woman. Permanently.

"Your children will be placed in class 3-2. Would you like to see them settle in?" The sentence was followed by tittering.

"I don't think that will be necessary." Seishirou was having a hard time controlling his irritation. He was not surprised when he saw Seiun gagging at the teacher's words. Michihiro did not have a personality that would appeal to Seiun. Her expression immediately straightened when she realized he was looking at her.

"Class will be starting in ten minutes. I'll bring them there. Come along then, Seishin-kun, Seiun-chan." With that, the teacher reached out to take hold of the children's hands.

Seishin's response was to shrink back behind Seishirou, appearing to be shy. Seiun on the other hand, flashed a look of pure dislike at the teacher and backed away like an angry cat, her hands firmly behind her, refusing to have the slightest physical contact with Michihiro.

Michihiro frowned then giggled girlishly. "Not fond of strangers, are they?"

Seishirou looked at Seiun and gave the teacher an apologetic smile. "Sorry about that."

:' Do you know that stupidity and giggles are contagious? ': The Tree spoke suddenly.

:' Where did you hear that bit of information? ': Seishirou had to suppress a chuckle. The question sounded like something Seiun would say at the moment.

: You're right: The Tree agreed, confirming his thoughts as It read them. : I plucked that right out of her head. Apparently, it was something her mother was fond of saying. And just in case you're wondering, no. She doesn't like the woman you're talking to. :

: So I gathered. : Seishirou replied mentally. Aloud, he directed his words to Seishin and Seiun. "I'll meet you two at the gates after school ends."

His answer was a wordless nod from Seishin, who was looking somewhat resigned that he was stuck with Michihiro for a teacher. He got an agonized look from Seiun, whose expression was literally screaming 'you can't leave me here!'

As he walked out the door, he heard a bright "come on, children," from Michihiro and knew that Seiun would cause trouble.

Sooner rather than later.

"Class, we have two new students today. They're going to be joining our happy class. I would like you to make them feel welcome," Michihiro's voice floated through the crack in the classroom door, making Seiun wince involuntarily. "Come in, please."

Reluctantly, Seiun slid the door open and sauntered into the classroom, hands tucked neatly into the hidden pockets of her altered skirt. Seishin followed, head bowed as he directed his attention to the floor.

"Introduce yourselves, please."

Seiun sighed. "Nice to meet you. I'm Sumeragi-Sakurazuka Seiun."

Seishin bowed deeply before he spoke. "Nice… Nice to meet you. I'm Sakurazuka-Su…Sumeragi Seishin."

The response was deafeningly silent. Both Seiun and Seishin could practically see everyone's puzzled expression. Then a hand raised itself in the air. "Are you two related? Your names are the same… apart from being twisted around."

"Err… We're siblings… sort of…"

"Then why are your surnames different?" Another voice asked.

"Err… I've been adopted by my uncle, who's err… involved with Seishin's relative, who adopted him and…" Seiun's voice trailed off, her eyes glazing over as she lost herself in the confusing explanation. Frowning, she tried to skip to the heart of the explanation. "They wanted us to have both their surnames, so… we have combined names!"

"So what do we call you two?" The originator of the first question asked again.

Seiun's frown deepened. "I'm not sure…"

The class sweatdropped.

"Never mind, children. Seishin-kun, you'll be sitting next to… hmm… Eiji-kun, at the back." A skinny boy raised his hand as Michihiro spoke his name. "Seiun-chan can have the seat by Nanako-chan." She remained oblivious to Seiun's glare at the suffix attached to her name as the girl stalked towards the assigned seat next the wall of windows. "Alright then. Role call…"

As Michihiro called out the names of the students, the class in general observed and sized up the two newcomers. And thus began Seiun's and Seishin's first lesson.

Halfway through Mathematics, the second lesson of the day – unfortunately taught by Michihiro – Seiun became aware of giggles beside her. Pulling her attention away from the window where she had been observing a sparrow building a nest, she turned towards the source of the giggles.

Nanako, her neighbour was giggling as she admired her fingernails, which Seiun noted, were a glossy pale pink. When the girl noticed Seiun's attention, she giggled even more. "Pretty, aren't they? I painted them just now. Would you like me to do your nails for you?" She held up a bottle of nail polish.

Mentally rolling her eyes, Seiun shook her head. "No thank you. Aren't you afraid that Michihiro… sensei will catch you?" She whispered, fighting to keep her disgust out of her voice.

Her answer was another fit of giggles. "Oh, Michihiro-sensei doesn't care as long as we don't disturb other people with whatever we do in class."

"I… see." With a mental groan, Seiun returned her attention to the window. Since she already knew what Michihiro was teaching, she saw no point in paying attention.

She was abruptly jarred out of her daydream when someone poked at her back painfully. Reacting the way she had been drilled during her training lessons with her mother, Seiun turned and slapped the hand, pulling her blow at the last instant when she remembered where she was, reducing the vicious hit to a light tap – according to her standards.

The boy behind her yanked back his hand with a grunt of pain. "You hit hard! Girls are supposed to cry when I do that."

"Poke me again and I will show you what real pain is," Seiun grinned at him. "That wasn't even the hardest I could hit."

The boy muttered impolite comments under his breath as he glowered at her.

Seiun sighed and went back to observing the sparrow. This was why she hated coming to school.

Seishin looked uncertainly at the boy next to him. He seemed friendly. "I'm Sakurazuka-Sumeragi Seishin. Nice to meet you. I… I won't trouble you, will I?"

The skinny boy who had waved grinned back at him. "Ohara Eiji. You're no trouble. And you won't be in any trouble if you stay away from the bigger boys in the school. They like looking for smaller kids to beat up. And that goes especially for the new kids."

"Thank you for telling me." Seishin gulped and bobbed slightly as he tried to follow what Michihiro was teaching. "Err… What is she teaching?"

Eiji smiled sympathetically back at him. "To be honest, I'm not sure either. Michihiro-sensei's teaching can only be deciphered by Kosuke… over there." He pointed at a serious-looking boy near the front of the class. "The rest of us rely on tuition. Nobody likes Michihiro's class. She makes too little sense and makes all the girls giggly." Eiji made a face. "I hope your sister's not like that. We don't need any more of them around."

"Seiun's not like that." Seishin looked longingly at the other end of the classroom, where Seiun was sitting. "She's scary." It was hard to forget how Seiun had stood up to Seishirou when she had found out that she had to attend school.

There had been an explosion equal to the first day when Subaru's grandmother had visited them and had seen Seishirou there.

Seishin winced at the memory and shook his head to clear his thoughts. "Seiun is notgiggly. She may be a lot of things but she is not giggly."

Eiji's smile widened. "You two are close, aren't you?"

Seishin nodded. "We're like real siblings." He added with a shy smile.

Eiji nodded and handed him a book. "I know how that feels like. I've got two brothers at home."

"What's this for?" Seishin took it with a puzzled look.

"You're new. You need my notes or you'll never understand anything Michihiro-sensei teaches."

"Thank you. Why are you doing this?"

"Cause I was in your shoes once." Eiji grinned back at him.

The rest of the lesson passed in silence as they bent their heads to work.

Seishin looked nervously around him as the third lesson for the day ended and the students were shooed out of the classroom for break. Seiun had been escorted off by a group of chattering and giggling girls – unwillingly by the grimace on her face. His new friend Eiji had vanished into the teachers' staff room as he was the student helper for the day.

Cautiously, he sought out a comfortable niche in the shade of several large trees near the school fence. He liked trees in general, although Tree-san was a little more demanding compared to Its less animated kindred.

"Hey! Boy! What are you doing in our spot?" The loud, sneering voice jarred Seishin out of the peaceful, relaxed mood he had been feeling.

Seishin turned to see a gang of six older boys. : Oh no! This must be the group that Eiji was telling me about when he said that some the bigger boys like to beat up others! I'm in trouble. : He thought as he saw the leering, unkind expressions they wore.

"I'm sorry, I didn't know that," he began softly, wanting to avoid a conflict. He was interrupted by one of the older boys before he could say anything else.

"If you didn't know that this is our spot, you must be new…" A nasty smirk formed on the boy's face. "We always 'welcome' new boys here."

"I don't want to be any trouble…" Seishin said hastily, hoping to forestall any unpleasantness. "Really, it's not necessary."

"Oh, but we insist," the same boy was grinning cruelly now. "Which class are you in? And what's your name?" The last was added almost as an afterthought.

Seishin stayed silent.

"Tell us or the 'welcome' will be a little more enthusiastic," another of the group of six spoke.

"3-2. I'm Sakurazuka-Sumeragi Seishin." Seishin had to reply. He did not want to use any of the onmyoujitsu he already knew since he had promised Seishirou not to use his powers and most of his martial arts were meant to deal with a single opponent, not multiple enemies.

"Oh, the 'giggly girls' class. Ayako got another new one, eh?" The boy who spoke most often sniggered. He had to be the ringleader. "I'm not surprised. What with all the higher grade students requesting to leave the school if she ever taught them. No wonder your classmates were so noisy today."

"I'm… I'm sorry?" Seishin tried.

"Oh, I like you, Seishin." The boy smiled evilly at him. "You'll make a fine runner with the way you behave. That's it. You'll be my personal runner boy during break, you hear me?" The question was said as a statement. "Tell Eiji-kun that he's now Kudoh's runner. You belong to me (1). If any other six-grade boy claims you for his runner, tell them you belong to Fujita."

Seishin wanted to raise an eyebrow at the dubious honour but refrained for fear of aggravating the bully further.

"He's a silent one, isn't he?" Another boy stepped forward. "How about we make him talk a little more?" The emphasis on the word 'talk' indicated that the boy did not mean simple conversation.

The leader – Fujita held up an arm to stop him. "We don't thrash our runners. Unless they do something wrong, that is." He directed a malicious blue gaze in Seishin's direction. "He hasn't done anything wrong, yet."

"But…" The dissenter's whine was silenced with a glare.

Then a cruel smile spread across Fujita's face. "There's no reason for not giving him his 'welcome' though. Be quick about it."

Five boys advanced on the cringing Seishin with smirks on their faces when terrified screams sliced through the still air.

"What the…?" Fujita spun around, seeking the source of the unexpected screams and his eyes widened.

Dozens of girls were running towards them, led by several that Seishin recognised as the girls that had led Seiun out of the classroom. All were letting out earsplitting shrieks and running frantically away from whatever or whoever that scared them.

As the mob of screeching females neared them, Fujita and his cronies left with a warning for Seishin to 'report' to Fujita the next day the moment break began or face a heavy beating when he was caught.

Seishin let out a relieved sigh, thankful for the timely distraction that the flock of girls had provided, saving him from a beating. That is, he was thankful until he noticed the cause of the disturbance.

Seiun was walking slowly towards him, a slender snake wrapped around her hands like green twine and a puzzled expression on her face.

"Seiun, what are you doing?" Seishin asked, approaching his 'sister' warily. "Wherever did you get that snake and why are you holding it?"

Seiun smiled at him in delight. "Isn't it cute? I was bored while the girls were talking so I looked around a bit. I found it in the bushes near the garden seat next to the field." For one moment she looked even younger than she was.

Seishin stared. "Seiun, you scared away all the girls who saw you. Most people don't like snakes." He had grown used to Seiun's… unusual point of view and was comfortable in addressing some of the issues she often overlooked when dealing with normal people. Evidently, Seiun led a peculiarly sheltered life with her parents that left her rather ignorant of the general preferences of most people.

Seiun looked startled. "But it's so pretty. Do you think uncle Seishirou and uncle Subaru will let me keep it?"

Seishin gave her a skeptical look. "It's a snake. I doubt they'll let you keep it."

Seiun sighed. "Alright." She knelt down and released the snake close to a tree, a sad look on her face as she watched it glide up the trunk. Once it had vanished into the leaves, she stuck her hands into her pockets.

"Sorry, Seiun-chan. I know you liked it." Seishin said apologetically, looking at the ground.

"How about this one?" Seiun's bright tone interrupted.

Seishin looked up and sweatdropped at the tiny creature Seiun held now. "That's… a lizard."

"Yes, it is."

"Seiun!"

Seiun grinned at the exasperated air her adopted sibling had, his annoyance showing clearly on his face and posture. Really, Seishin was fun to tease. "Just kidding," she consoled Seishin and placed the diminutive reptile on the ground. "Shoo, little one."

Seishin groaned. "Seiun, you… are hopeless."

The cheerful expression Seiun wore altered abruptly. One moment she was smiling and in the next, she was frowning. The golden-brown eyes narrowed and the lips pursed slightly in a frown. The change was so sudden that Seishin found himself taken aback by the menacing aura that had permeated the surroundings.

"Seiun?"

"Why didn't you fight back?" Seiun's spoke in low, almost pleasant tones. "You know you could have beaten them easily."

Seishin swallowed. Apparently, Seiun had seen him talking to the elder bullies and had created the distraction to help him when it had become obvious that he was not retaliating. Also, Seiun was truly furious. The four days he had spent near her had given him the pleasure of experiencing her furor, although it had been directed at a boy beating a dog rather than him. The more furious Seiun got, the quieter and more pleasant her voice became. The pleasant tone was disharmonious with her coldly furious expression, giving rise to a spine-chilling ambience that could prove to be deadly.

"We promised uncle Seishirou that…"

His stammer was cut off by a single glare from his very annoyed 'sister' as he had come to regard her. "We both know that uncle Seishirou was referring to me when he made us promise not to make trouble." Her tone was still pleasant, but her expression was forbidding. "He also didn't say we couldn't fight back."

Seishin hung his head, unable to refute Seiun's logic.

Seiun rolled her eyes and sighed. "You really like being walked over, don't you?"

The bell rang just then, saving Seishin from answering the question as the both of them ran back to class.

When Seishin got back to his seat, he received a sympathetic smile from Eiji. Simultaneously, he also noticed that Seiun was glaring at him from across the room, time to time.

"I heard what happened to you. I'm sorry." Eiji whispered apologetically. "I should have told you where to go to avoid Fujita and his friends. I know about Kudoh already. He took the liberty of telling me about everything when I ran into him earlier."

"It's alright. I'm more worried about what Seiun is going to do to me." Seishin managed a wry but wan smile. He was dreading what Seiun would do. She was completely unpredictable and had a tendency to do things randomly. "She saw what Fujita was doing and she's really angry about it."

Eiji's sympathetic look changed to one of delight. "I heard what your sister did. She scared all the girls! Was the snake really huge? You can see that all the girls in class are afraid of her now."

Seishin glanced at his adopted sister as he absently answered Eiji's question. His sharp eyes noted that the girls surrounding Seiun had moved away as far as they could from Seiun without moving or changing their set sitting arrangements. He winced. With one act, Seiun had alienated herself from all the girls in class. Furthermore, he was responsible for it because the act had been for his sake and he felt obligated to apologise to her at the very least.

Impatiently waiting for classes to end, Seishin could barely concentrate on what the teacher was teaching. So when Eiji nudged him, he started in surprise.

"What?"

"Class is over, sleepyhead. What'd you do? Daydream?"

Seishin frowned. "I think I did."

"Your sister's leaving. Better catch up with her." Eiji gave him a sunny smile and left, whistling, his bag swinging over his shoulder.

Seishin stared for a moment and shoveled his stationery into his bag hastily, wanting to catch up with Seiun before she left the classroom. The girl was a notoriously fast walker. She could beat even Seishirou's long-legged walking speed when she felt inclined to do so, much to Subaru's amusement.

He was momentarily stymied when a book snagged on a buckle, halting the train of motion. Brutally, Seishin yanked the book free and stuffed it haphazardly into his bag.

Dashing for the door, he nearly bumped into Seiun's neighbour as he cut in front of her. "Sorry," he stopped to bow and make an apology to the girl before rushing after Seiun, who was much further along the corridor.

"Seiun!" He ran up to his startled but somewhat sullen sister.

"What do you want?" Seiun sounded irritated.

"Please don't tell uncle Seishirou about what happened during break. I… I want to deal with it myself. When… When I-I'm ready." He met Seiun's golden-brown gaze squarely, although there was some trepidation in his manner. "I… I don't want to disappoint him."

"Hn." Seiun snorted. Then her eyes softened. "Alright. I won't tell him. But if they bully you again, promise me that you'll at least try to fight back?"

When Seiun looked at him like that, Seishin was reminded of her relation to Subaru. Despite the difference in eye colour, both of them looked exceedingly caring and trustworthy when they had that particular expression in their eyes. Not that the expression appeared often on Seiun's face.

He nodded. "I'll try."

"Promise?" Seiun held out the little finger of her left hand. "If you break it, you'll have bad luck for the rest of your life."

Seishin was tickled by her choice of retribution; then again, he was not surprised. Seiun had a unique perspective of things (2). He hooked his own finger to hers. "I promise."

Seiun smiled. "Let's go home. Uncle Seishirou's waiting." She paused and the smile became a wicked grin. "Race you!" And she bolted.

"Not fair!" Seishin yelled and ran after his adopted sibling.

"How was school today?" Subaru asked the kids as they ate dinner. His job had ended earlier than expected so he had returned home to find that Seishirou and the kids had yet to return. As a result, he decided to prepare dinner while waiting for them.

"Dish find…" Seiun mumbled around a mouthful of rice.

"Don't talk with your mouth full," Seishirou instructed, helping himself to some nikuitame (3).

Seiun nodded then gulped down some tea and swallowed. "Sorry."

"I made a friend." Seishin ventured. A look of interest from Seishirou and the joyful expression on Subaru's face made him blush. "He… he was nice (4)." He stammered.

Seishirou fought the desire to roll his eyes. Really, Seishin was far too easily embarrassed. Although he found the trait cute and extremely alluring in Subaru, he objected to it in a Sakurazuka.

: It's not his fault: the rustling voice of the Tree said into his mind. : He's had very little experience with people. His mother was rather overbearing when she wasn't drunk. : It addedby way of explanation.

Seishirou sighed and helped himself to another ladle of soup.

"I fell asleep." Seiun added to the meager conversation. "Michihiro was boring." She stopped for a moment's thought before continuing. "And she made six mistakes in her working."

"Don't call your teacher by her name." Seishirou said absently, unsurprised that Seiun disliked her teacher. The woman was sufficient to irritate him with all his trained patience. Seiun was similar enough to dislike her and she lacked the patience Seishirou had.

Subaru, on the other hand, looked horrified. "Seishirou-san! How can you just say that? Seiun-chan," Subaru said sternly. "You must treat your elders with respect."

"If you saw her, you wouldn't say that," Seiun grumbled. "She giggles! A lot!"

Seishirou had the presence of mind to intervene before Seiun was riled up into one of her tempers. For a Sumeragi, she had an extremely short fuse. "Subaru-kun, their teacher is truly annoying. Seiun-chan, at least pretend that she is respectable. Don't be so rude."

Seiun subsided into silence and conversation ceased for a moment.

Trying to break the uncomfortable silence, Subaru spoke again, asking possibly the best question possible to pull Seiun out of her dark mood. "Did anything interesting happen today?"

Seishin stifled a smile as an image of the mob of girls running form Seiun popped into his mind. Unable to help himself, he spoke up. "Seiun scared a lot of girls today."

Both adults frowned at that revelation and directed their questions to Seiun at the same time:

"What happened?"

"What did you do?"

Subaru's worried 'what happened' clashed horribly with Seishirou's resigned tone and query.

Seiun smiled brightly. "I found a snake at school. It was so friendly." Though the animated tone did not change, the smile became a puzzled frown. "I don't know why the others didn't like it. It was so cute."

Seishirou choked when he heard the last comment Seiun made. Her words were completely unexpected. He had never known that snakes could be 'cute'. He saw them as elegant and efficient predators but cute? To make matters worse, he could tell that Seiun was serious.

"Seiun-chan…" Subaru said weakly, having choked on a mouthful of tea himself. "Most people, especially girls, don't like snakes." His words were almost identical to what Seishin had said earlier.

"But I'm a girl and I like them." If anything, Seiun's frown became more confused.

Seishirou coughed. "Normal girls don't like them." He smirked mischievously at the look of outrage on Seiun's face. "You're not normal."

"Seishirou-san!" Subaru looked and sounded horrified. "Seiun-chan, he didn't mean that…"

Seishirou cut in smoothly. "I wasn't done yet, Subaru-kun. You're not normal, both of you. You're special."

"Why?"

Seishin's timid question brought an amused smirk to Seishirou's lips. "You two are special because Subaru-kun and I are bringing you up. Isn't that right, Subaru-kun?"

Before Subaru could say anything, Seishirou pulled the onmyouji towards him and caught Subaru's lips in a swift kiss.

He heard a squawk and pulled away, to see the Sumeragi blushing and Seiun covering her eyes as well as Seishin's with her hands.

"Seishirou-san, not in front of the kids!" Subaru protested even as his blush deepened.

A 'chack!' sounded from the living room. Seishirou raised an eyebrow as he leaned forward slightly to look down the narrow hallway that linked the dining room to the living room and spotted a black shape flapping around.

"Seiun, no shikigami in the house!"

-end chapter 3-

Not that way you hentai! They're kids for crying out loud, kids!

Seiun's name means 'Star's Luck'.

Japanese food – stir fried meat.

Seishin is nine. That's too young for involved relationships.

FINALLY! It's done! Lalalalalala! Sorry, it's one am now and I'm eyeball tired. (Too long at the screen people!) The reason I'm putting this up now is because I promised K'van that she'd see her precious Seishin up on FF. net. I know I told you guys that I had exams last time Heirs of the Clans was up but guess what? I have another round of them to go through! Last time it was college papers. Now, it's national! You'd think they'd give me a break! Anyhow, Review! I'll try to get the next part up when I can. Give me till mid December. I promise, more smart-ass Tree and Seiun getting into trouble. Review! Please! I beg you all. (Not on my knees, mind.)