Author's Note: Sorry guys...Things will be back to normal, I promise. I've got the next 4 chapters done and I'll post them every Tuesday :) Happy Holidays everyone!

I wake up to near silence the following morning. There's no birdsong, no blaring car horns, no sounds of people as they start their day, nothing. A light breeze blows through the broken window causing the blinds to clack lightly against the wall and disturb the quiet but that's it. Honestly I prefer the hospital noise over this unnerving silence. Beeping of machines, the hiss of the blood pressure cuff, annoying nurses chatting, I'd take all of that over this and I never thought I'd think that.

I look towards the blinds to try and figure out what time it is. None of the clocks work and I don't have a watch. I can't tell how late in the morning it is with them closed but clearly the sun has been up for at least a little while with how bright the light is against them. I sit up, pulling the blankets with me to keep out the frigid morning air. Kuro lifts his head to give me a sleepy glare for disturbing him.

"What? It's cold!"

The demon cat rolls his eyes from his spot at the foot of the bed. He gets up, pads over to my pillow, and flops back down, burrowing into the warmth. He give a lazy flick of his two tails in my direction dismissing me. I give him a quick scratch between his horns before moving to climb down from the top bunk.

I haven't slept in one of these since Yukio and I were four. Dad had gotten us one when we out grew the toddler bed we shared and we immediately loved that old bunk bed. We converted the bottom part into a fort and slept on the top one together though, kinda defeated the purpose of it. Dad had tried to get us to sleep in the separate beds but gave up after a week because Yukio would climb up to the top one after he left, we weren't ready for that yet. During the day we would pull the covers down and spend hours on the bottom part. The beds were perpendicular so I claimed the bed part with my toys. I'd hung a net to keep them all together and put posters on the wall. Yukio had shoved his little bookshelf into the floor part and piled extra pillows to make a reading nook. We would spend hours in there together. We didn't necessarily talk or play together the whole time, but it was nice to be close while we did our own thing. It stayed that way until we were six and couldn't fit in the top part together anymore. We took apart the fort and Yukio began sleeping on the bottom bed. Another two years later and we got separate rooms. To be honest, I miss that bunk bed and all the memories with it.

Ok maybe not so much now, my back is killing me just going down the small ladder. The small mattress clearly wasn't made to support my weight because I can feel where each of the bars pushed into my back during the night. I stretch when my feet hit the ground, groaning with relief when my joints let out a series of cracks.

The bottom bunk is empty, covers pulled neatly into place and pillows fluffed. Of course Yukio made the bed, even when we break into a home and sleep in a stranger's bed, Yukio makes the bed. I roll my eyes at the gesture but I still smile to myself. At least some things about my brother haven't changed. I haven't had a chance to talk to him since he looked at my side yesterday. When I came back to the room a few hours later after his outburst he was already asleep, or at least pretending to be. I heave a sigh, maybe/hopefully we can talk later.

I head out to the living room, covers still wrapped around my shoulders. I realize about half way there that my side isn't hurting that much, just a dull ache now that I'm moving. I hadn't even thought about it this morning when I woke up. I don't bother lifting my shirt to look though, the apartment is freezing with all the windows open. Fall seems to be approaching fast now and I really hope we're not stuck dealing with winter like this. I shuffle into the living room trying to warm my numb toes on the carpet. The light is minimal with everything the guys put up last night so I reach over to the nearest window and yank on the blinds.

"Shit Okumura was that really necessary?!"

I jump and realize Suguro had slept on the couch. He yanks his pillow over his head to block out the light I had just blinded him with.

"You're still sleeping? Also, why are you on the couch?"

He groans and readjusts. He's way too tall for it and his socked feet are hanging over the edge even with his knees pulled up. A blue blanket I remember from the hall closet is mostly on the floor exposing the white undershirt and purple sweat pants he'd slept in. He blindly grabs at the blanket to try and cover himself back up.

"Because, genius, there's only 2 other bedrooms. The girls got the master so Shima and Koneko took the full sized bed in the other room. I'm too big to share a full with someone so here I am on the couch." His grumpy voice is muffled by the pillow.

Well that makes sense, guess I didn't think that one through. "Well…aren't you usually up at a ridiculously early time every morning?"

Suguro groans even louder before lifting his head out from under the pillow. He squints at the light from under his wild bed head. The longer blonde part of his hair nearly covers his eyes and it's all a mess from old hair gel he slept in. "I get up at 5:30 every morning to go run. But I can't exactly go do that in these circumstances so I forced myself to go back to sleep."

"…That sounds awful."

He chucks his pillow at me and flops face first back down into the couch. "Go bother someone else, like Sheimi, she got up for water maybe an hour ago."

Yeesh what a grouch. I shuffle into the kitchen to try and get ideas for breakfast. Since I'm not opening the fridge again (though I'm sure nothing is salvageable in there anyways), I'm really limited on options. There's a few bananas but they're a little over ripened, three oranges, a grapefruit, and some apples in the designated fruit basket. Ok fruit salad can be one thing. I dig through the cupboard trying to come up with other things, letting my warm blankets fall to the floor so I can use both hands. Bran cereal, gross and we don't have milk anyways. Pancake mix, no eggs or milk again. One, two packets of instant miso soup. Not much but it's something so I put the packets on the counter next to the fruit.

After about five minutes of digging I heave a sigh. "Ok spit it out." I whip around to face Suguro. His eyes are wide and there's a slight blush on his cheeks from what I can see, most of his face is still hidden behind the couch cushion. I've felt him staring at me the whole time I've been in here. I have an idea what's going on and I don't want to talk about it, but feeling him watching me is really creeping me out.

"I don't know what you're talking about." He turns away from me and I can see his ears are red too.

Stubborn, prideful, jerk. "Is it the tail thing from last night?"

I can see him tense up and his blush darken. Of course it is. Now I REALLY don't want to talk about it.

"Great, the one time you're not oblivious." He mutters, still looking away from me.

"HEY!"

"Yes it's about your stupid tail!" He whips around to glare at me again, blush still staining his cheeks. "What's the deal with it? You freaking MOANED yesterday!"

I cross my arms and glare at the bowl of fruit like the brown bananas are the ones who betrayed me. I can feel my own blush darkening too. Best to just to get this over with I guess.

"I told everyone else at the hospital some stuff but you and Shima weren't there. I'm also assuming Yukio and I are the same in this just because everything so far has been, I haven't exactly asked him and don't plan on it." I take a deep breath before diving into an explanation similar to my last one. "Our tails work great for counter balances with fighting, especially because we can run faster, and jump a lot higher and farther. It also is kinda cat-like with reflecting how we feel instead of being like a monkey's and working as another arm. You probably noticed how Yukio's was puffed up and whipping around last night with his outburst." I pause and hear Suguro make a noise of understanding.

I don't want to explain this part but I know he won't let the subject drop now, not after I started it. I hadn't even found about this until a few months after my demon blood awakened. It's not something you think about trying, it was a total accident. I had been fooling around one night Yukio was away on a mission and my tail had wrapped around my wrist at some point. I hadn't paid attention to it, it just happened like it had a mind of its own. I had yanked my arm away to readjust and was nearly blinded by the bolt of pleasure that shot through me. I had moaned obscenely loudly, curled my toes, and arched my back into the feeling, reveling in the sensation that shot through my entire back. I didn't even pause to process what had happened after I came down from it, I just moved onto my side and started pulling some more. It wasn't hard, just keeping my tail wrapped around my wrist would trigger the feeling every time I moved and god was it amazing. I experimented that whole night, just hours and hours of trying new things. I found that pulling on it with other sensations made things feel even more intense, especially when I slipped a few fingers inside me and added to the pressure at the base of my spine. I also discovered that rubbing the point where my spine and tail connect was pleasurable. Not nearly as much as the pulling, but really relaxing and blissful. I had done that with one hand, my thumb pushing slow circles into the joint as I stroked myself slowly with my other hands, letting everything build slowly like a wave instead of rushing over me like a storm with the other sensations. I lost track of how many times I came that night, just starting up again once I came down from that blissed out high. I know I showed up to class dehydrated and exhausted after only a few hours of sleep but it was so worth it.

I heave a defeated sigh and just spit out the rushed sentences. "The best way to describe it is like getting your hair pulled. Too much and it hurts but with the right amount of pressure or rubbing the base…" I trail off not wanting to actually say it, just hoping Suguro fills in the blanks. I know that it's basically a kink and I really hate admitting this. I take a few panting breaths, my heart racing in my chest and blood roaring in my ears. I know I'm bright red from embarrassment from that confession and I dread what his reaction is.

It's silent. It feels like it drags on forever but I know it's only been a few seconds and I can't take it anymore so look at him, deciding the silence is worse than anything else. He's staring unabashedly at the fluffy end of my tail. It's curled up and in on itself behind me so he can't see much from his angle but I have a feeling that if I had my back to him he'd be staring at the point where it connects under my sweat pants. He's still blushing but now he just looks…curious. Head tilted to the side, one eyebrow arched, nose scrunched as he just keeps staring at my tail. I don't even think, I just wrap the appendage around my leg, the tufted end brushing the top of my foot.

"Touch my tail and I'll break your hand."

He snaps his gaze up and his curious look morphs into a glare. "I ain't messing with your tail, freak! What gets you off in the bedroom is your business!"

"You're the one who asked!" I yell back, feeling my fur puff up. I instantly picture an angry cat and curse Izumo for putting that image into my head back at the hospital.

He sits up on the couch, hands braced on the arm. "Yeah, because of what happened yesterday! I wasn't about to let that go, it's weird!"

"Not my fault, I can't control it!"

"Great, less than 24 hours stuck together and you guys are already fighting." Speak of the devil…Izumo walks through the living room and into the kitchen. She's still in her pajamas, a pair of plain blue pants and a white tank top with fuzzy socks. She walks up to the sink and yanks open the cabinet right next to me, nearly bashing the side of my head.

"Hey watch it!" I cry out as I duck away.

Izumo just fills her glass from the sink tap, ignoring me until she's taken a sip. "Look, we're going to be stuck together for a while so it would be in EVERYONE'S best interest if you two didn't fight like little kids. Got it?" She shifts her glare between us with her threat heavy in the air. I really don't doubt that she'll kick our asses for fighting. She takes another sip before sauntering away towards the hall. "Moriyama is about to get into the shower, I'm next. Quick ones only since 7 of us are fighting over the hot water!"

I hear the door slam at the end of the hall and glare back at Suguro only to find him glaring back at me already. This is going to be a long day.

By the time everyone has finished showering it's early afternoon. The hot water tank is small and only allows us two showers before running out and taking another hour to heat back up which left a lot of tempers short. Especially since most showers ended with someone swearing as the water switched to frigid.

Yukio came back about a few hours after I got up, apparently he 'just wanted to think' and had escaped to the roof. He didn't say much more then that but no one really pushed him for more. He just nibbled on some of the fruit salad I had put aside for him and went back to our bedroom. He showered before me and now he's on the couch thumbing through some manga he found. Konekomaru and Izumo are working on a puzzle at the kitchen table, hardly any noise coming from their general direction except the occasional snick! of puzzle pieces clicking together. I honestly have no idea what the others are doing, I stopped paying attention a while ago.

I've been entertaining myself by using my tail to play with Kuro. He had been lounging in the sunlight until I got bored and started pestering him. It took a bit more taunting than expected but he finally caved and started playing. He manages to snag a claw in the fluffy part and I tug him a few inches along the floor. I really have no idea how people managed to not die of boredom before having things like TV and cell phones. I never was the type to spend hours messing with my phone or channel surfing but what I wouldn't give to play some dumb game on my phone right now instead of just lying here.

We're all waiting, however impatiently, for Shura. Last night everyone had explained how she had been the one to send us the warning to run, that the Grigori had made their decision on how to handle the fallout from everything with the portal. True Cross had been keeping her on a short leash and under observation, but apparently she had an informant feeding her information she couldn't get ahold of directly. Not surprising because there have been "private meetings" going non-stop since the incident with only a few select people attending at a time, Shura having only appeared twice. Once to give her statement on the events and the other with their lackeys to give ours.

I honestly wasn't surprised to learn Shura was the one helping us. She'd made it clear she didn't always agree with True Cross or The Vatican and went rogue from time to time when we first met. Supposedly, though, they often overlooked her actions since she was still on their side most of the time and one of their strongest for the Japan branch. She'd said she'd been on "probation" from time to time with escorts (explains the muscle during the interviews), but nothing more than that. She also said she never trusted tech which I originally thought was paranoid, but now I owe her an apology. Konekomaru said True Cross had been tracking our movements through the GPS on our phones for days. Hence Suguro smashing ours.

Shura is supposed to meet us here as soon as she can but she said not to wait more than 48 hours, to move to the next location and wait again. Nobody knows what to do next though, they'd been relying on her to make the plans for all this.

So we wait.

The air is a bit tense, but I think it's mostly because nobody knows what to do with the silence. All of us are so used to the city noise it's just unnerving to not have it in the background but at the same time none of us know how to fill it. Which leaves us with the occasional sound of a page turning, puzzle pieces clicking together, and an occasional noise from Kuro as we continue our game.

I flick my tail just out of Kuro's reach when the demon cat makes another swipe. His own tails are twitching madly in his excitement with the game. He shifts his weight back and forth between his hind legs, preparing to pounce. I'm about to lift my tail when suddenly he freezes. His ears shoot back and he whips his head around, eyes wide.

I don't even have a chance to ask him what's going on when I hear Sheimi's ear splitting scream from the bedroom.

Thanks for reading!