Shizuka leaped into Hatori's arms, and he spun her around in a circle. "Thank you, Hatori, Thank you so much!!" She cried. "it's the least i could do," He replied, setting her down. "Come on, let's leave now!" She said, excitedly. "Now now, you have to give them time to prepare for your stay. Why don't you watch a movie or something before you go to bed?" hatori replied. Shizuka nodded, and ran off to watch her favorite action movie. But even after that, she couldn't sleep a bit. She was going to see her Aaya!

Ayame woke up in the morning feeling refreshed. Shizu-chan was coming today, and he was ecstatic. Even though she was 9 years younger than he, they were best friends. The last time he had seen her was a year and a half ago, but it was only a short isit to Akito that almost resulted in violence. The last time he really got to visit with her, she was only 13. Now, she was 16, and he would finally get to spend some time with her. Ayame smiled as he thrust open his window, a small green snake slithering onto his hand. He decided he would stay there until Hatori's car showed up. Downstaris, Yuki was rubbing his eyes as he wearily walked into the kitchen. Kyo was eating rice balls, and Shigure was reading his newspaper and smoking as usual. Tohru stepped into the room, and said "Hatori-san is here, at least his car is in the driveway." Right about that time, Ayame was coming down the stairs, grinning in a way no one had seen from him in years. He pushed open the front door, and watched Shizuka leav the car, before tackling her into the grass. "Aayaaa!!!" she laughed, rolling on the lawn with him. "Shizuka-chan, it's been too long, far too long for us to be apart. But i just knew fate would bring us together again," Ayame proclaimed. "They stood up, and hugged, then entered the house, Ayame's arm draped over her. "Shii-kun! Wonderful to see you," Shigure said kindly. "But how are you hugging him? Shouldn't he have transformed by now?" Shigure was puzzled. "Akito gave me this pendant, the one on my ankle, as a gift last year. It enables me to hug all of you without you transforming." Shizuka replied, still smiling. Kyo left the room, unnoticed. Yuki shook his head, but then extended his hand politely. "I'm Yuki. Ayame's younger brother, of 10 years. Pleased to meet you," he said. "You are so different from your brother, man," was her reply. 'Yes.. and that doesn't honestly bother me," he said, a little annoyed. "We don't get along." he said. Shizuka nodded. "So Shigure, where's my brother?"

Kyo ran as fast as he could, to Shishou's dojo. 'I can't belive they gave me one god damn day's warning about my sister i didn't know i had coming to live with us! Even more I can't believe that no one told me about her before!! Shows how much i can trust those bastards...' Kyo thought, tears streaming down his face, no matter how he fought them. When he arrived at the dojo, he burst in on a little kids' group martial arts lesson. Shishou saw him, his eyes wide with surprise, and took Kyo into the equipment room. "Kyo, what brings you here like this?" he asked with concern. "Th-those bastards!!! They never told me. Why the hell didn't they tell me! I know they knew about it, I bet every inside Sohma did! And only one day's warning too... Shishou, I hate them, every last one of them. Especially her." Rage was in his eyes. "Calm down, Kyo. Tell me what happened, and who 'she' is. Until then, I cannot help you," Shishou said, remaining calm. "Yesterday, Shigure told me that someone named Shizuka was coming to stay with us today. He also added that she was my sister. Everyone knew this but me! She arrived this morning, and i didn't even say hello. I just ran here. I'm not going back, Shishou, no matter what Akito says this time!" Kyo explained. "Kyo...i know you will hate me too if you do not listen to all of what i have to say next. promise me you will hear me out." Shishou said seriously. Kyo nodded. "Kyo, I knew about your sister. In fact, I know her personally a little too. She was sent to live with Akito at the age of 5 months." Kyo clenched his fists, but listened. "Your mother was heartbroken when Shizuka was taken by Akito. But there was nothing she could do. Another catch was that no one could tell you she existed, or you would be killed." Kyo looked like he understood. "Akito's wish now is to force her into your life without warning, to see what you will do, and how you will treat her. This is not anyone's doing but his, kyo, do not hate anyone but him if you must hate." Shishou finihsed. Kyo nodded, bowed, and silently left the dojo.

Meanwhile, at Shigure's house, Shizuka was in the room prepared for her, crying. Her brother ran from the house as soon as she arrived. Why did he hate her? Akito had told her that Kyo loved her, even though they'd never met. She punched the wall, which was audible to Ayame, since his room shared that wall with hers. Soon, he appeared in the doorway between their rooms, pushing the sliding door open. "What is wrong, dear Shizu-chan?" he asked, sitting next to her. "..." "Come on Shizu...you can tell me. You can always tell me." he said. Shizuka leaned up against his chest, still crying. He was right. She could always tell her Aaya. Anything she ever needed, she thought to herself, was right here in front of her, touching her, holding her. He smelled nice, like some kind of exotic flower, which was usual for Ayame. She closed her eyes for a minute, until the soft voice of the snake brought her back to her senses. "Tell me, what's on your mind?" She sighed. "It's Kyo..." she trailed off. Ayame nodded knowingly. "I feel the same thing, though." He said. "Yuki rejects me. He is embarassed by me. Sometimes i think he would rather have me die and not bother him anymore..." Shizuka looked up at her friend. "You never told me before..."she said, and he nodded. "I almost never saw you, Shizu, it would be terrible to upset you during our time together. But i really should have told you, shouldn't I?" he said, shamefully. Shizuka didn't respond. She sat up for a moment, then fell over on her bed, asleep. "Everything will be fine...it's not too late for you and Kyo" Ayame said, although she couldn't hear. He stood, and retired to his room for the night.