ohmyy god! im an entire week late! noooooooooooooooo! to make up for it, this is a loooong chapter. and im gona try to postch. 6 up tomorrow or over the weekend sometime. if i dont, feel free to nag and complain. in fact, please do!

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Disclaimer: no, it is not mine

The Circumstances of Life

Chapter 5

"Huh?" what was going on? I was standing in the doorway still, a little dumbstruck. Everyone in the room looked serious. Hotaru and Ruka were staring at me with agitated faces while the other guy just sat there completely silent.

"Good going. Now she ran away without telling us anything," then Hotaru took out her baka gun and aimed it at me, "you've got the worst timing ever." She shot it.

"Ouch!" I got up and rubbed my swollen cheek, "What did I do?"

Hotaru aimed again and was about to fire again when the new guy began speaking in a low voice, "It was," he paused, as if considering what to say anew either or not he should be saying it, "It was…her…stepfather."

After he said that held a horrified and disgusted face while Ruka was just plain old shocked. Ok, now I really wanted to know what was going on. Before I could ask, the new guy got up and exited the room. I watched him walk down the hall, his hands in his pockets.

"Huh. What the hell's going on so early in the morning?" it was sorta freaking me out, "and who were they?" when I first saw them, I had thought they were new renters that moved in, but that was probably impossible. The rent was crazy expensive and no one had moved in for years. Other than Ruka, I was the only one living there, and that was only because was given a really big discount due to my….condition.

"That girl that ran out when you first came in, she's a client. Came here last night asking for help." Well, that explained some of it.

"What'd she need you for?"

"None of your danm business. But I will tell you that she came here for a similar reason you're here." Oh. Wow. That explained a lot. But…not enough to be satisfied.

"What curse?" she glared at me, hinting that I was crossing the line. I took the warning and decided to ask a different question, "So, who was that guy? Another client? Or was he with the girl?"

Good. It looked like Hotaru didn't mind this question, "Her pet…I think. To be honest, I'm not too sure myself; I never bothered asking."

Ruka and I looked at her funny. Ruka spoke up for the first time that morning, "Pet? What do you mean pet?" Well said, Ruka. Exactly what I was thinking.

"Oh. Right, you didn't know. Lets just say he's also cursed, in a way," The hell? That didn't explain anything. I looked at Ruka. He showed milled comprehension, but still looked confused. "Well, no matter. You'll understand soon enough."

"Oh….key?" This was getting harder and harder to follow. I sat down and started eating. The food was cold.

"Tsubasa, mind going to room 54? Greet her properly and apologize for being you," Hotaru was weird….I couldn't help but get the feeling she was plotting something. My suspicions were confirmed when she smirked after I agreed to go. What was she thinking?

I trotted down the plush carpet in bare feet while counting doors. I was still drowsy. It was early in the morning and I was amazed everyone was up and far more awake than I was. Reaching the door with the number 54 on it, I knocked.

"Come in," was the muffled reply of a girl. I opened the door. Inside the room sat a lone bed. Hotaru could be a cheapskate sometimes. On the bed sat the brunet I had seen earlier with a black cat in her arms. Her eyes were puffy and red, from crying probably, and she looked really worn down. The cat looked like it was in heaven as it clung to the girl's chest, clawing at her clothes and purring to show his pleasure as the girl stroked its silky black coat and scratched behind its ears.

Wait. Didn't Hotaru have a rule against animals in the house? I remembered that one time Ruka brought an injured rabbit home and wanted to keep it. Hotaru let him treat it, but afterwards literally kicked it out of the house and said if he wanted to keep it, he had to keep it outside. Why would she let that girl keep her cat?…oh! Could this be what she meant when she said id find out soon…? And the pet thing….so that means….HA! that guy from before was a cat!

I burst out laughing, leaving the girl to look surprised and startled and the cat to glare at me. After my laughing fit that involved pounding the ground with my fist and rolling all over the floor, I realized I was being stupid and embarrassing myself. I got up and made myself stop snickering.

"Sorry about that. I was just remembering something funny that happened yesterday," nice. Now they know you were laughing at them. I changed the subject by jabbing myself in the chest with my thumb and saying, "Hey, I'm Tsubasa. Nice to meet you. I live here; 'renting out the room down the hall. Of course, everything's down the hall, now that I think about it. Isn't the layout of this place weird? Just one really long hall. But seriously, how does the hall fit into the house? I've tried to find out, but was never bale to find the answer. I guess that's just Hotaru for you. HAHAHAHAHAhahaha…," great. Now I was rambling. The cat glared at me again and I felt a little uneasy.

The girl looked bewildered, "I'm…Mikan. Nice to meet you, too," Mikan, huh? That was a nice name, I guess. I started relaxing.

"Well, I just came by to tell you hi and welcome you to the Imai household. Like I said I'm just down the hall if you need anything. Room 60 to be exact," that's better, "Actually, you're probably the first person to move in here since I came along. Rent's so expensive it could make you cry. It's pretty exciting to get a neighbor." Ah….you're talking too much again.

"Yea?" she smiled slightly, "I guess it is. My old house was pretty big, and I didn't go out much, so I never really met my neighbors," oh…did I hit a soft spot? Careful, Tsubasa. Don't wana hit too many buttons. You know what happened last time you did that…

Of course, my curiosity got the better of me. Let's just hope it wouldn't kill the cat…..god, that was a bad joke. Terrible taste, "So…..I hear you're cursed. What d'you have?"

Her smile faltered. The cat looked pissed. Crap. I should have kept my mouth shut. Most people have a hard time talking about their curse. I should have known. It was time to patch it up. I laughed awkwardly, "You don't have to tell me, I understand! Sorry that question made you uncomfortable. Eheheheh. Actually, I'm cursed, too."

"You…you're cursed?!"

"Yup! A former friend cursed me cuz I tried to steal his girlfriend. Don't regret it, though. Managed to get them apart, and the girl and I are good friends now." Hopefully this would distract her; otherwise I was out of ideas.

"Heheheh. What kind of curse? It must be pretty bad," she stopped as if realizing a mistake, "Sorry, I shouldn't ask without being willing to tell you about mine…"

"Nah, its ok. I'm sure talking about your 'problem' brings back painful memories. I, personally, don't mind talking about my curse. It's pretty pathetic, really. It's called Demon Syndrome."

"What does it do?" she was probably overestimating the curse. That or I was underestimating it. The later was more likely. I sat down at the edge of Mikan's bed. Standing was starting to get uncomfortable.

I grinned. She would probably get a kick out of this, "I have sensitive skin."

She blinked, "What?"

"Well, to put it more accurately, my body is sensitive to temperature. I can't handle extreme temperature, and almost all temperature is extreme to me. You could also see it as like being cold blooded and relying on outside sources for heat, though it's a little different. But I can't be in the sun for long periods of time or in an air conditioned building. I've been forced to wear winter clothing in the summer and shorts in the winter before. This place is pretty evenly heated, though, so I don't have to worry much here." Coarse, I forgot to mention the fact that the tattoo on my back in the shape of two bat wings and a tail ate away at my life, slowly killing me. Nope. After all, the seal on my cheek took care of that problem a long time ago.

"That's it? Why would he give you that kind of curse?" Cuz he wanted to kill me without it being traced back to him. But, she didn't need to know that. Or the fact that the curse was worse than it sounded. After I got the curse, I spent a year in the hospital with a high fever. It wasn't until I met Imai that I could finally leave the hospital. I couldn't enjoy doing some of the things I loved to do the most, either. Like swimming or gym. I was also held back in school a year. It kinda sucked.

"How should I know? Maybe he decided on this curse when he read the name, thinking it was perfect, and never bothered reading the description." This brought a giggle out of Mikan. I checked my time piece. "Ah. It's about time I get ready for school. Sorry, gota go. Let's continue our conversation later, k? Bye!"

"Yea," she looked a bit disappointed, but what could I do? I couldn't afford anymore tardies or unexcused absences and it'd take forever for me to get ready. Don't ask why.

As I was exiting the room, I remembered something. I turned and popped my head back into the room, "Oh yea, and sorry for being me." And so, I left Mikan's room and continued to my own, rather happy to make a new friend. Of course, that cat boy probably wasn't so happy about it. I laughed.

"oh yea, I forgot to ask for his name."

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well? how was it? what yo nk? please letme know!