"Love waits for one thing- the right moment."

-Unknown

Kyo

…

"Did you enjoy the martial arts club meeting?" Tohru asked once I was in the door.

"I'll bet Ari beat him." Yuki smirked and I glared at him.

"Yeah, and she could whip your skinny punk ass too." I glowered.

"Oh, good, you two have made up! I'm just glad you didn't transform while you were fighting." Shigure said. I didn't tell him about how I should've transformed. I figured it was just a onetime fluke.

"I'm going upstairs," I said, taking the steps four at a time. I dropped my bag in my room and went onto the roof.

Ari was amazing, that was true enough. She was spontaneous and funny and she wanted to know me, Kyo because of who I was, not because I was Yuki's cousin. She was different, but she was still a normal human… though as far as normal humans go… she was pretty damn awesome.

…

Ari

…



I started walking once Kyo couldn't see me anymore, tucking my cross safely inside my shirt so it wouldn't rust. I loved the rain. It made me feel so peaceful.

I couldn't help but think of Kyo on my way home. All my life I had learned to be guarded and careful around boys so I wouldn't transform, and whether he realized it or not… he was knocking down all my barriers. I completely forgot about my transformation when I Took Kyo down, and I could only guess that it was a fluke that I didn't transform right there. He made me laugh and he made me forget that I wasn't like the other girls. He made me feel human… and I liked the feeling. I'd just have to learn to be more careful around him if I wanted to keep him around.

…

Kyo

…

I tried to be careful around Ari from then on, but whenever I was around her I just kinda forgot that I was so much different than her. I found it easier and easier to laugh around her, and when I wasn't around her all I wanted to do was find her and be with her. I didn't even have to be talking to her. Just walking beside her or sitting near her made me smile. When I wasn't around her I was just about always thinking about her. I wasn't used to feeling like that… but I liked it. She gave me her number after a week or so and I thought my heart was going to pound out of my chest the first time I called her, but once she was on the phone we didn't get off till three in the morning when Yuki got pissed off at me for laughing so hard and waking him up and disconnected the phones. At the next Martial Arts club meeting I did much better now that I knew just how seriously I needed to take Ari. I didn't win, but neither did she. Everyone was amazed 

that I could hold my own against her, After fighting for twenty minutes we decided to call it a tie.

"Thank God it's Friday!" Ari yelled the next day after school.

"Do you have plans?" Tohru asked Ari as we walked to the lockers.

"Nope. Got something in mind?" She asked.

"Yuki said that there's a new pizza place opening in town and thought it might be fun to go try it out and maybe see a movie afterwards. Uo and Hana, and Kyo and coming with us, so would you like to join us?" Tohru asked. This was the first I'd heard of it, but I was glad Tohru had just assumed I was going.

"Yeah, just let me go home and change. I only tolerate a skirt as long as I have to," Ari grinned.

"Uo and Hana and me are meeting at Yuki's house," Tohru said, phrasing it so it sounded like she didn't live with us. It would be bad if someone just overheard her talking about living with is. Tohru would probably be killed by the fan girls.

"I have no idea where that it," She laughed.

"I can walk you home… and take you to Yuki's house if that's okay," I said, and I was pretty sure that's what Tohru wanted to begin with. She thought we'd make a cute couple, and had told me so before.

"That works," Ari grinned as she closed her locker. "We'd better go ahead and go. I lost my house key and my Aunt said she was leaving at 4:30 to get me another one made so we've got to get there before she leaves," Ari said, looking down at her watch. "Shit, it's 4:10!" She yelped.



"We'll see you later," I said to Tohru as we ran off, Ari in the lead. She was a fast runner, with long, even strides. She didn't even look like she was getting tired at all. "How far away do you live?" I asked her as we ran.

"Not too far. Just a few blocks more," She smiled, going a little faster. We went two blocks more before turning right onto Sakura Avenue, a street lined with blooming cherry blossom trees. "And here we are," Ari said, stopping in front of the biggest and most ornate house on the entire street. She unlatched the wrought iron gate and held it open for me.

"Holy shit," I blinked, taking in the large home.

"Yeah, I live with my Aunt. She's a fashion designer, and a good one too. She's got boutiques in a lot of large cities," She explained and I nodded. It was hard for me to imagine that a wild scrapper like Ari lived in, what honestly looked like, a mega size Barbie dream house.

"Aunt Kaori!" Ari shouted once we were inside. The insides of the home were ten times as elegant as the outside, with marble tiled floors, a crystal chandelier hanging from the high ceiling and a coat hanger that looked to be carved out of gold, and that was just the foyer.

"Hey, hon. Good, now I can leave. I've got to get your key made and then drop these sketches off at the post office. Lady Manon, the one who runs the boutique in Paris, wanted some of the original sketches to show a few customers," Ari's Aunt said, coming from a different room into the foyer. She was beautiful and young. She couldn't have been older than thirty and she was wearing designer blue jeans and a silver shirt that shimmered when she moved. She had black hair too, but it was short and layered, with streaks of brown in it. "Who's your friend?" She smiled when she saw me.



"This is Kyo Sohma. He's a friend from school. Me, Kyo, Tohru, Yuki, Uo, and Hana are going out. Probably won't be back till late." Ari said and her aunt nodded.

"Alright, fine by me. It's nice to meet you Kyo," She smiled, shaking my hand. "I've got to go, though. Love you, Ari, have fun," she added, hugging Ari before heading out the door.

"I love my Aunt." Ari laughed as she went into another room and up a set of stairs. I wondered what happened to Ari's parents, but I wasn't going to ask her. Parents were a touchy subject. I followed her up the stairs, admiring the home and still trying to figure out how a girl like Ari grew up here. "This is my room," Ari smiled, opening a large door. I laughed when I walked inside. This was much more… Ari-like. The walls were Navy blue and covered with posters. Her bed sheets were a mixture of different shades of green and tan and there was a lava lamp on her bedside table. She had a decent sized stereo and a large stack of CDs beside it. There was a lap top computer on her desk, though it was covered up with mounds of paper and books. Her floor was strewn with pillows and clothes, but it looked lived it, not dirty. There was a small TV across the room and a PS2 hooked up to it.

"Cool room." I grinned.

"I'll be right back. Look around if you want," She said as she dug in her closet, pulling out some stuff and disappearing into her bathroom. I stood up and looked at all the posters before rifling through her CDs. She had good taste in music. Ten minutes later she emerged wearing baggy blue jeans with holes in them, a tight fitting black T-shirt with green paint splattered on it, black converse shoes and her stormy green eyes were lined with more eyeliner than before. Her long, black hair was down, billowing behind her when she moved. She looked beautiful, in a dark, modern kinda way. "What'cha think?" She grinned, spinning around as she modeled her outfit.



"…you're…cute." I managed to get out, face turning a little red. Cute wasn't right. She looked hot.

"Thanks," She grinned, walking towards me.

"We need to get going," I said, glancing down at my watch.

"Yeah, thanks for walking me home," Ari grinned, stretching a little and pushing the hair on her left side behind her ear. She led me downstairs again, locking the door behind her as we made our way outside and to my house, walking slowly this time.

"So where do you live?" Ari asked me.

"It's not too far from here, I guess. It's out in the middle of the woods." I shrugged.

"That sounds cool." Ari smiled as I led to way to my home.

…

Ari

…

Kyo led the way as we made our way to his and Yuki's house. We talked about all kinds of stuff. Kyo was a very easy person to talk to.

"And here we are," Kyo said, stopping in front of a cute little house with a nice yard and surrounded by woods. "Not as nice as your Aunt's place, but it's alright."

"I love it," I smiled as we walked up to the door and walked in, taking our shoes off at the door.

"Tohru, Uo, and Hana are upstairs." Yuki said as we walked in.



"Is that her? Is that her? Is that her?" an overly excited sing-song voice asked.

"Yes, that's her," Yuki said, looking irritated with whoever was asking. A man in a plain, tan robe jumped in front of my, bouncing around like a child. "Ahh, you must be Ari! I've heard so much about you! Why, you're just as beautiful as I thought you'd be!" He smiled.

"Shut up!" Yuki and Kyo both yelled at the same time but I laughed.

"Boys, be nice, I am simply complimenting our lovely guest on her beauty. I am Shigure, Yuki and Kyo's older cousin and guardian," Shigure smiled and I shook his hand. "Oh my! I'll never wash my hand again!" He sang, looking at his hand as if it were a gift from the gods.

"Idiot," Kyo muttered. "I'm going upstairs to change. Don't let him mess with you," Kyo said before walking away.

"I am offended," Shigure sighed. "So, Ari, tell me a little about yourself," Shigure smiled happily.

"Umm, I love sports, I run the martial arts club at school and I work at the Black Cat café downtown. Good enough?" I asked.

"Not quite. I have one question," He said and I thought he was going to ask me something serious. "What's your favorite color?" He smiled.

"Lime green," I laughed.

"Lime Green… interesting. Definitely a lively color, an exciting one. Very youthful. That tells me a lot about you," Shigure nodded.



"Sorry that took so long. We're ready to go," Tohru smiled as she, Hana, and Uo walked into the dining room where we were standing. Tohru had on this cute little yellow sun dress, Hana was dressed in a knee length black dress that looked like it had been snatched out of medieval times and it looked stunning on her. Uo had on a plain, long white dress that was cut down the sides and blue leggings underneath. Yuki really did look like a prince with his blue silk shirt and black jeans. I began to feel very much underdressed until Kyo came down in tan cargo pants and a black shirt that just barely showed his stomach. I wasn't going to say it out loud, but he looked hot. I was glad I wasn't the only one dressing casually.

"Ready to go?" Kyo grinned, making his way over to me and standing close enough that our arms brushed against each other. Shigure had this little 'I told you so' grin on his face and Yuki was smirking.

"Yeah, I'm ready," I smiled back, putting my shoes back on and walking outside with Kyo.

"Have fun! Be safe! Kyo, don't do anything stupid!" Shigure called and Kyo glowered at him.

'Interesting family,' I laughed to myself as we walked into town.