Stir It Up - Book 2-

by Paper-Chain-Queen

Marley feels like the luckiest girl in the world, she has beautiful friends & family, Summer vacation is around the corner, plus her favourite dance studio finally got A/C. But surprises pop up & she wonders about the true nature of the curse & starts digging in. However, someone takes it upon themselves to show the outsider her place. How many more secrets could the Sohma's hide?

4. Come On, Baby

.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

.

.

The warm glow of the morning sun shined down on the Sohm Estate, but not everyone was enjoying its beauty. Some chose to hide from the sun's light, hidden away in their castle. The large room felt vacant like no life was there,

" Akito..." An auburn-haired man kneeled down on the floor where a small figure was lounging, her head resting on her arms.

"What do you want?" She asked without bothering to lift her head.

"You should eat something. I can have the kitchen-" Kureno couldn't get out a sentence before an agitated voice cut him off.

"I'm tired..."

" Here, just some water." Kureno insisted as he poured some cold water from a jug into a small glass.

" I. Said. I'm. Tired." Akito's dark eyes glared at her personal assistant. Kureno just let out a small sigh and placed the glass on the table. He bowed his head, excusing himself before leaving the room.

The moment Kureno stepped into the hall and slid the door closed behind him, he was approached by the head maid of the main house, her eyes narrowed on him.

"Still nothing?"

"I'm afraid not." Kureno felt like he should be apologizing, but he wasn't sure for what.

"Been like this all week. We'll just have to wait it out and make sure we are here for Akito-Sama's needs. At least you're by Akito-Sama's side, unlike the other Zodiac members." The head maid told scoffed before walking away to attend to some duties, a younger maid with short brown hair following behind.

Kureno sighed and looked out the window, noting how blue the sky looked, a few perfect fluffy white clouds in the distance.

Perfect for flying... far, far away.

A bright laugh brought him down to earth, and he noticed a flash of long white-blonde hair. Marley was walking along with Momiji, they seemed to be holding hands as the rabbit excitedly told her something and she smiled and bobbed along.

Hatsuharu was walking a bit behind them, his shoulders sagged a bit like a cloud was hanging over him. Marley would look behind her once in a while as if to make sure he was still there. The teens were all donning their school uniforms, to it was safe to say they were on the way to school. It looks like the high school kids were choosing to walk in the beautiful sunshine rather than take a chauffeur.

The Rooster of the Zodiac thought he might have an idea to help out Akito.

.

.

.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

.

.

Slipping on the old swimsuit was a lot more stressful than it should have been. With everything going on, she had almost forgotten about her class's day this week to spend at the school pool and rushed this morning to grab a swimsuit from her wardrobe.

The cute ruby red one-piece was a little tight since Marley's body had become a lot curvier in the last two years, her breasts looked like they were trying to make a getaway attempt.

It was times like these that Marley felt reminded how different she was to her female classmates, they were all small and petite. Marley was not considered all that tall back in America, maybe slightly taller than average, but here she towered over the girls and even some boys.

In her heart, she knew it didn't matter, but it left her feeling a little self-conscious now and then.

But that wasn't the only thing she was struggling with, Marley looked in the mirror at the surgery scar, a decently clean line in the middle of her chest, the scar was almost white against her brown skin.

Taking a deep breath in and out, Marley grabbed her gym T-shirt and threw it over, tying it into a fitted crop top. Marley fixed her hair in the mirror, taking a small purple scarf and tied it into a headband to keep hair out of her face. Marley did one last turn around in the mirror.

But my butt is looking kinda cute

The girl giggled at herself before finally walking out of the pool area, slightly squinting due to the bright rays of the sun.

I wished I had brought my sunglasses... oh well.

Once her eyes adjusted, she looked around the pool area, everyone was enjoying the pool, most of the girls were swimming, and others were just hanging out on the benches. Marley found Uo hanging out by the side of the school pool, looking like she was relaxing in a tub.

The spunky girl must have heard her footsteps cause she looked up and took her in from head to toe, smirking a little as she did so.

"Marley-Chan! Look at that ass, girl, where have you been hiding that." Uo teased

"From my Mama," Marley winked, and for that, Uo splashed a little water up at her. Marley only laughed and sat herself down on the ledge. She chose not to go swimming, just happy to dip her legs in and relax.

"Ahhh, this. This is what summer is all about! Yep, in summer, you gotta go to a pool." Uo, let out a relaxing sigh as she leaned back on the edge of the pool.

"This is paradise.." Uo moaned, making herself comfortable.

"Your acting like you're at home in a bubble bath." Marley giggled as she reclined back and enjoyed the sun's hot rays.

.

Not too far away from the blonde-haired girls were the members of the Prince Yuki Fanclub, gossiping.

"Don't they normally play hooky?"

"It's weird that such an old-fashioned delinquent like her exists in our class." Prince Yuki Club member scoffed as her, and her friend eyed the girls from their spot in the pool.

"Foreigners are always so slutty. What is she doing in such in something so skimpy." Her fellow club member scolded, glaring at the girl who was enjoying the sun's hot rays. Poor Marley was hardly wearing anything too different from the girls around her, she just filled it out differently.

" Why do they have to foul the school pool? You -" The two girls stopped their gossiping as swirls of black hair seem to float, and dark eyes stared up at them from the water-line.

The girls felt their blood run cold, and they swam Olympic level speeds to get away from the mysterious girl. The other students in the pool marvelling over their speed as they swam away.

"Hey, did you find your hair tie?" Uo asked as Hana approached the girls as she swam through the cold water.

"No... It must have floated away...This is a shame. The pool is no fun when my hair is like seaweed..." Hanajima lamented, looking woefully at her long black hair.

"Sorry, I can't help, all I have is my headband, but I can give it to you if you want?" It was more a small scarf then an actual headband and more decorative than functional.

" I would hate to ruin it, but I appreciate the gesture." Hana shook her head and stopped Marley from untying her scarf.

"You're really not gonna hop in?" Uo asked as she looked up at Marley, who was happily soaking in the sun's rays and just lazily kicking her legs back and forth in the pool.

"No, I really don't like all the chlorine," Marley admitted, she found it dried out her skin and hair, Marley would wait til a beach or lake trip to go swimming.

"Hana-Chan!" The girls heard a cheery voice, and all three looked to a triumphant Tohru returning with a hair tie in her hand. She was sporting a cute dark blue one-piece.

"I had one! A spare hair tie!" She announced as she came over and handed it to the dark-haired physic.

"Oh, I didn't know you were looking for me. I'm touched Tohru-Kun..."

"No Problem!" Tohru insisted, a bright smile on her face.

Uo was looking up at Tohru, a stricken look on her face and Marley even asked if something was wrong, which resulted in the fierce blonde breaking down and letting out a wailing cry.

"Uo-Chan!" Tohru cried out as she knelt down to see what was wrong. Everyone was looking over as the girls tried to help Uo, who continued crying, pounding her fists on the cement.

.

Uo finally calmed down enough to tell the girls what was ailing her.

"Oh! So that's a school swimsuit?" Marley had been curious about Tohru's swimsuit. It had her name written on the front, and Marley had found it a little... different.

"Yeah, they were mandatory in middle school, but now we get to wear whatever," Uo explained, her eyes still slightly red from her outburst earlier.

"I'm impressed she's able to have the same swimsuit for so long, ever since I got hit with puberty I've had to get a new swimsuit every year..." Marley subconsciously touched her chest, disappointed that she would have to say goodbye to another swimsuit.

"But your school swimsuit looks super cute on you, Tohru." Marley complimented, and Tohru blushed and thanked her.

"Yes, she does look very adorable in it." Hana popped in as she wrapped her arms around her dear friend.

"I'm not saying she doesn't look cute or that it's embarrassing over anything. It's just..." Uo started on this vast ramble about some elderly people she saw at her part-time job, and Marley felt lost as to what this had to do with anything.

"Arisa is easily moved to tears..."

"... yes, but what does an old man shopping at her convenience store for dinner have to do with Tohru wearing her middle school swimsuit?" Marley asked, but before anyone could help her understand, Uo bounced back and looked at the three girls with a giant grin.

"I know! I've got a great idea!"

.

.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

.

"We're going shopping for Tohru's swimsuit! It's going to be a 'present from everyone.' So all you guys pay up." Uo proclaimed as she stood in the living room of Shigure's home, the inhabitants all looking up at her from the floor.

"Huh?"

"Where do you guys get off decided how everybody spends their money? And on a.. on a- a swimsuit," Kyo struggled to get out the words, feeling like an old pervert for even saying the word.

" Tohru is always cleaning up after you guys, right? You need to show your appreciation for her once in a while." Uo pointed out while Shigure grinned in the corner.

"A swimsuit... Nice... I like the way it sounds. God bless summer." The novelist cheered as he pictured young women in scandalous swimsuits running around the beach, their cute laughs filling the air.

"See? The scribbler is into it."

"Leave the pervert outta this!" Kyo shouted at the girl.

"Listen. I think the idea of getting her a present is fine... but why a swimsuit?" Yuki asked, a small blush present on his cheeks.

"Oh, I guess you guys don't know...Tohru-Kun is still wearing her school swimsuit from middle school..." Hana revealed, and at that Shigure spat out the tea, he was just drinking, spraying it all over the table.

"THAT'S DISGUSTING SHIGURE!" Kyo hissed as he jumped away, making sure none of it had sprayed onto him.

"What are you doing?"

"Sorry... I kept you waiting-"

"Tohru-Kun! Go shopping! Let's get you a decent one!" Shigure practically begged the young brunette who looked a little lost.

"Okay?"

"He has a soft spot for Tohru-Kun, too, huh?" Uo grinned as she watched the scene.

" Huh, what do you need such a big bag for? Your just goin' shopping." Kyo looked at the backpack Tohru was carrying along with a purse. Now that he was looking, all the girls seemed to have a large bag with them.

"Us girls are gonna have a sleepover at Marley's. No boys allowed." Uo teased as she raised a brow at Kyo teasingly.

"A-As if I'd wanna! And does she even know that you plan on crashing at her place?"

"Of course she knows! We're meeting her on the way to the mall." Uo explained.

"Marley's is modelling for a third-year student's photography project," Hana mentioned.

"Oh, Hmm, I can just imagine... Yes, very nice." Shigure looked off into the distance, and the teens got a bad feeling.

"Alright! Let's go! I wanna catch Marley-Chan while she's still up in the air." Uo cheered as she marched off towards the front door.

"... HUH?" All three Sohma boys shared looks of confusion.

.

.

.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

.

.

The group had made it to a large gymnasium after talking to a woman at the front desk, explaining who they were looking for, and the older woman happily pointed them in the right direction but reminded them to keep their voices down.

The large room had high ceilings and lots of natural light flooded in from large windows and soft, pop-rock music filled the room. The singing was mellow but also felt uplifting, a familiar tune that made one hum along.

And I see your true colours

Shining through

I see your true colours

And that's why I love you

So don't be afraid to let them show

The teenagers walked into the room, not speaking as they looked around until they found who they were searching for in the far corner. All their jaws slightly dropped as they watched Marley high up in the air, suspended by deep red silk, posing as if she were in a renaissance painting, reaching out towards something they couldn't see.

Your true colours

True colours

True colours

Shining through

Third-year student, Kita Sawako, was standing on a ladder while her boyfriend, Ito Ryunosuke, made sure she didn't fall. The photographer snapped a bunch of photos before climbing down the ladder and moving around the mat, trying to get another angle.

" Wah! Marley-Chan looks like an angel!" Tohru gushed in a low voice as she brought her hands together and watched her friend go through her aerial silk routine, it looked as if she were dancing in the air, art in motion. Her tight black leotard flattering her figure and her long hair was contained in a top knot.

While Marley, for certain looked ethereal, Kyo saw something different. Her eyes seemed as if she wasn't here, something was missing.

"Can you do one more time, Marley-San? I just really want to capture a few more shots, and are you able to turn slightly towards the back? And perhaps a few more of those back-bend ones?"

Marley gave a bit of a forced smile and replied with a 'sure.' Kyo crossed his arms and let out a huff making Yuki turn to him and glaring.

" What? So impatient and idiotic that you can't enjoy the art?" Yuki scoffed, assuming Kyo was getting impatient already.

" Shut it ya damn rat, you don't know what you're talkin' about." Kyo spat back, and the two glared at each other for a moment till the music started up again, and they brought their attention back to the white-blonde beauty who was already up in the silks, sitting in a swing like position.

You with the sad eyes

Don't be discouraged

Oh I realize

It's hard to take courage

In a world full of people

You can lose sight of it all

And the darkness inside you

Can make you feel so small

Kyo continued to watch as Marley completed trick after trick, sometimes asked to pose for longer. Kyo imagined this was somewhat similar to what her showcase had been, and a feeling of regret filled him. She had been so excited to share this, but why was this look on her face made him feel like she wasn't even enjoying herself.

Marley climbed up to the top, wrapping the dark red silk around her as she rose. Marley let go of the silk that was holding her up, and her body fell, and Kyo felt his heart stop as she twirled swiftly to the ground. He had already started running forward, but she came to a sudden stop, her head dangling a foot before the blue mat. The silk wrapped around her waist, one leg that was pointed to the ceiling while the other leg kicked straight behind her, parallel to the floor. Kyo let out a sigh of relief but still moved forward, passing the girl with the camera.

" That's gorgeous! Maybe one -" The high school senior was about to ask but was quickly cut off by the orange-haired teen on a mission.

"Enough already. She's given you enough." Kyo ordered in a gruff tone as he walked past the third-year student and went straight for Marley, who was still hanging upside down in the silks. She had her eyes closed and seemed to be taking deep breathes.

Kyo squatted down so he could be at eye level with the dancer who hung upside down.

" Hey."

The greeting made Marley open her eyes and looked straight t into Kyo's orange eyes, and a smile spread across lips, happy to see the boy. Kyo felt something in him soften, the faraway look in her eyes was gone, maybe he had just been imagining things.

The two didn't even hear the snap of the camera from the third year who was capturing the moment. Too caught up in each other to notice.

"Kyo! When did you get here?" Marley asked as she looked into Kyo's saffron eyes.

"We've been here for song or two, now come on, let's go." Kyo huffed as he backed away a bit after realizing how close he had gotten, he could see the flush of her cheeks and the fullness of her dark lashes. Kyo could practically smell the soft scent of mint off her breath. His heart was hammering in his chest, and he could feel his ears go hot.

Marley nodded and lifted her body up, flipping skillfully out of the silks, and gracefully landing on the mats.

" I hope I was able to give you what you wanted," Marley said as she made her way to the 3rd year students.

"yes! Thank you so much! I'll send you all the photos once I've uploaded them." The girl bowed again, thanking Marley for her time and Marley insisted it was no trouble.

Ryu boasted that they were about to head out for a date while his girlfriend blushed, hiding her face as he laid a soft kiss to the Sawako's head as he cooed over how cute she was. Marley commented on how cute they were, and this only made the girl blush more.

Marley's friend walked, and Uo gave her a cheeky grin, commenting on Marley's flexibility as she threw an arm around the girl's shoulder while Hana gave a small smile and complimented her as well.

" I think Kyon-Kyon was disappointed he didn't catch you or something." Uo teased as he wiggled her eyebrows.

"What?" Marley asked, slightly confused over the implication as she started to take her hair out of the tight bun.

" He practically jumped out of his skin when you dropped from the ceiling." Uo laughed, sure she jumped a little too as did everyone else, but it was Kyo who had leapt forward.

" SHUT IT! I DID NOT!" Kyo shook his fist at the teasing girl, who only laughed harder.

"That's very sweet Kyo, thank you but you can trust me, I've been training since I was young. Sorry if I worried you." Marley smiled at Kyo as she released her hair from the bun, and it fell down to her waist. She let out a sigh of relief as she ran a hand through the waves in her white-blonde locks.

"... Whatever!" Kyo huffed and turned around, crossing his arms and tapping his foot.

"Marley-Chan, that really was amazing! You looked beautiful!" Tohru practically had stars in her brown eyes as she gushed over her friend, Marley slightly blushed over the compliment.

" Ah I'm so embarrassed, I feel like this wasn't my best, I made so many mistakes! Ah, but I hope you guys haven't been waiting long. I just need to change real quick, and I'll meet you out front." And with that, she ran off, eager to spend the rest of the day with her friends.

.

.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

.

Racks of swimsuits lined the store, various styles and a rainbow of colours were on display. All the choices were a blessing and a curse, how were the girls to decide?

It had taken almost forever to make it to the swimsuit shop as Marley kept getting distracted by other stores, continually looking in the window of shops and then insisting she wanted to take a quick peek. But she had such an excited look on her face each and every time. So her friends really didn't mind all that much.

"Hmmm.. I thought this would be easy, but there are so many to choose from.."

"I should go with a one-piece, right?" Tohru asked

"You should go with whatever you like." Marley winked at Tohru before she turned her attention to look back and forth between a one-piece and bikini, wondering what she wanted.

" Which one are you thinking of, Marley-Chan?"

"Ummm... I think I'm gonna try a bikini. I think I might be a bit tall for one piece." Marley joked, but it wouldn't surprise her if she had trouble finding something that properly fit her. There were things she loved about Japan, and then there were some things that tended to drive her wild, like the limited sizing the country had. Marley had learned this with many shopping trips with Kagura and Isuzu.

"Hey! Which do you prefer, bikini or one-piece." Uo yelled at the boys, enjoying watch them squirm as they stood in the far corner.

"You're so mean, you are just doing that to tease them." Marley giggled as she watched the boys seem to sweat and felt a little bad for them.

But it was also a little comical.

" Hey, don't ignore me! Get your asses over here and help." Uo barked, thoroughly enjoying seeing them so uncomfortable.

"Look, a guy's not supposed to help with something like this..." Kyo mumbled, but Uo still heard it.

"Then you shouldn't have tagged along." The spunky blonde scolded.

"You made us come for cryin' out loud."

"Hey, but we're all gonna for lunch after, and that'll be fun! Oh, this one's cute!" Marley called from where she was before she continued perusing swimsuit. The girl was there one second, and then she seemed to disappear behind the racks.

"It's not like I'm asking you to pick out a pair of panties." Uo sighed, shaking her head at the boy's behaviour.

"Have some decency! Please." Kyo begged, wishing that this day would end already.

His eyes caught sight of Marley again, who was carrying various hangers and holding them up to her body in a mirror while talking to Tohru. Her amethyst eyes caught his in the mirror and looked over her shoulder while waving a red swimsuit as if it to ask if what he thought, but he just blew up, redder than then swimsuit that she was waving around and turned his back to her. Muttering under his breath about being dragged here against his will.

Kyo heard her and Tohru giggle before diving into another conversation about swimsuits.

.

The white-blonde tired to make a choice for herself, but she heard Uo ask the boys about what colour would look good on Tohru. She then listened to the boys get into some sort of argument about colour, each boy putting down the favourite of the other.

Until Hana cut in.

"Pink... Pink is Tohru-Kun's colour." Hana simply put, as if it were obvious.

"Certainly, all colours would look good on her... But pink is the best." and then walked away to join Tohru.

"True... pink is Tohru's colour... That's what Kyoko-San said. Kyoko was red since she was the 'red butterfly,' and she said that her husband was white due to his clean-cut image. Put those two together, and you get pink." Uo declared, and while it was adorable how much she cared for Tohru, something about it made Marley feel uncomfortable.

" Well. All those are wonderful colours, and pink would certainly look very cute, but perhaps we should be letting Tohru pick out a colour for herself." Marley thought out loud, but it made Hana and Uo stare at her as if she had grown an extra head.

"..."

"Ah, it's just, clothes are such a personal thing right, and she's gonna be the one wearing it, it doesn't matter what colour 'suits' her, it's about what she likes. Right?" Uo and Hana both looked to one another, and Marley cursed herself for saying anything in the first place.

Couldn't just keep my mouth shut, could I? No, had to go and make things awkward...

"Marley-Chan, how about this one?" Tohru waved a swimsuit with polka dots in the air, an excited smile on her face.

" Oh, that's cute! Um, I was just gonna say, I imagine me and Tohru are gonna take a while, you know trying stuff on and everything, it might be boring for you guys, how about we meet you somewhere? Or you could go and come back here." Marley suggested, thankful that Tohru had broken the slight tension in the air.

"There's a bookstore just down the road I was hoping to take a look... will you be alright. We wanted to help pay for Honda-San's swimsuit." Yuki asked, but Marley just shook her head and smiled.

"Don't worry about it, I spoke to Dadaji, and the Sohma household is gonna take care of this one."

"... I need to grab new runners, I'll be back." Kyo walked off, and Yuki turned back as if asking for permission, and Marley insisted that they go off and get what they needed while the girls shopped around the store.

"Aw man, I was having fun teasing them, why did you send them away?" Uo whined as she crossed her arms. Marley just playfully stuck her tongue out at Uo before disappearing to look at more swimsuits. She was thankful that Uo didn't seem to hold anything against her.

The white-blonde found Tohru alone in a corner looking at swimsuits looking a little stressed.

"... I just want to make sure I pick out one that everyone likes..." Tohru didn't seem like she was having all that much fun.

"umm... well, what's important what you like..."

" But-"

" Mama would always say 'Titali, it's your body, and you're not gonna make everybody happy, so wear what makes you happy." Marley was having trouble remembering her mother's voice, but she could remember her words clearly.

".. Titali?"

"Oh, sorry, it means butterfly, she'd always call me that... or beta... anyway... You're the one that has to wear it Tohru, so what's most important that you like it and that you are comfortable in it." Marley tried to encourage, hoping that her words made sense.

" But there are so many, I don't want to take too long," Tohru stressed, but Marley just smiled and insisted it would be fine.

"Don't worry about that. How often do you get to pick out a swimsuit? Pick one that makes you happy. As long as you like it, what does it matter what we think?"

" Here, we'll start with these ones and go from there." Marley put a few items that Tohru had been eyeing and lightly pushed her into the change room, closing the blue curtain for her.

.

Tohru stood in the changeroom and felt the need to calm her self a little bit, she was blessed with great friends who always wanted what was best for her, and all she wanted was to make them happy.

She would slip one thing one and go through a list in her head. Was it somewhat practical? Did it fit properly? Would it make Uo and Hana happy?-

Do I like it?

It was weird asking herself that question. Tohru was usually so busy working, studying, saving up her money and didn't really pay attention to fashion. All her clothes were from sales and clearance and were bought for need not want, or sometimes her Mother would buy her something and gush about how cute she looked, and that had made Tohru happy. If her mother thought she looked cute, then what else really mattered.

But Mom isn't here...

" Just be yourself."

Tohru wished her Mom was here, it seemed natural to have her around when clothes shopping. When Uo and Hana would ask if she wanted to go shopping, Tohru would usually have the excuse of work. Another part just didn't want to. It was just another thing her mother wouldn't be around for.

But how long could she really put it off? And she didn't want to upset Uo by wearing her school swimsuit.

" Pick one that makes you happy. As long as you like it, what does it matter what we think?"

Tohru took a good look in the mirror, this swimsuit was very cute... a lot cuter than her middle school swimsuit. What would the other ones look like?

The brunette actually felt a little excited as she looked through all the swimsuits she and Marley had picked out, curious about what they would look like and which one she would like best.

In the other change room, Marley was trying to follow her own advice, but it was sometimes easier said than done. Marley kept trying on suit after suit, but all she saw was the scar on her chest. It was ugly to her. Unsightly.

As the girl traced the skin around her scar, feeling vulnerable in front of the mirror, she stepped back into a memory, unsure if it was a pleasant one or painful.

Large hands traced her bare body, the low lights of the room and the sound of soft music in the corner while a rose scent lingered from a burning candle. Marley hated the smell of roses, but it had been a kind gesture.

Desperate kissed trailed op from her stomach to her chest, and finally, her neck, Marley's hand clenched the sheets underneath her. She trusted this person. She loved this person.

" You're so perfect." His voice called to her.

"Princesa." Another kiss to her neck.

" Flawless." His hand traced her chest and all done her sides, leaving nothing unexamined.

"Stop, I'm not-" She tried to stop his praises, but he met her eyes, his green eyes searching her amethyst ones.

" I love you."

Marley retraced the scar, a reminder of how much had changed.

Guess I'm clearly not 'flawless' now.

Marley knew that she wasn't flawless, or perfect by any means, she never was. But she tried... cause she thought maybe if she did everything right, perhaps if she could make everyone happy then it all would have been worth it. Marley had only wanted to do something to repay all the kindness and love she received. If Marley worked hard enough, then everything would be okay. That's how she taught.

It didn't matter in the end, did it? But I still want to give it all that I can...

"Um... Marley-Chan? Can you help me, please?" Tohru tried to call in a hushed voice from the next door changing room, but it brought Marley out from her stupor.

"Oh, be right there," Marley whispered back, shaking her head and slapping her face lightly, telling herself to get it together.

.

.-.-.-.-.-.

.

Kyo came back to the store and looked around, but it was easy to spot the tall white-blond who was standing near the cash register. Tohru was with her, and they were deep in conversation that they didn't notice Kyo standing behind them.

"I think I'll have to come back..." Marley let out a slightly defeated sigh.

"Is something wrong? Is there none you like?" Tohru asked, surprised Marley was having trouble with finding a swimsuit. Marley was such a beauty and had a gorgeous figure, Tohru thought that almost anything would look good on her.

" No.. There's a lot of cute ones, I guess... I'm still a little self-conscious about my scar." Marley admitted, her earlier enthusiasm gone.

Kyo halts as he hears this and stares out, remembering the bandages that were on Marley's arm and shoulder not that long ago. Bandages that been because of him. Before the two girls even noticed he was there, Kyo walked right back out the store, ignoring Uo, who asked where he was going.

.

" I'll get a swimsuit some other time, I just need to think about which one. It's too bad some of those one-pieces didn't fit. And I can always look online too if it really comes down to it." Marley tried to pick herself up, she didn't want to worry Tohru over her own insecurities.

"But we got yours, and I'm so excited to hit up the beach this summer, and you can show it off."

"I don't know about that." Tohru blushed as she the swimsuit she liked best to her chest. A cute baby blue, pink and white triangle bikini with a plaid pattern.

" Come on, let's pay for this and round everyone up." Marley grabbed the swimsuit Tohru had picked out for herself and walked up to the counter, Hana and Uo tried to chip, but Marley insisted that it was fine.

" I-" Tohru was already trying to figure out she could pay for the swimsuit.

"Please accept it, Honda-San." Yuki gently smiled down at the flustered girl.

" Thank you... I'll treasure it!" Tohru held her package close to her heart, and her friends came in for a group hug.

"It's a token of our gratitude." Hana put her hand on her heart as she gazed at her dear friend.

"Technically... I guess it's from Dadaji..." Marley thought out loud. She had this nagging feeling like she was supposed to use the card to buy something else.

But what was it? Lunch? No, that's not it...

"Man, I can't wait to meet this 'Dadaji.' I'm picturing this old man who has a huge permeant grin and is just so sweet looking. Like Santa." Uo pondered while Yuki made a face that said otherwise and knew that the girl would be in for a surprise.

"... Hey... where's Kyo?" Marley asked as she looked around and saw no sign of his orange locks.

" He had a look like someone pissed in his cereal and stalked off." Uo pointed outside, but Marley didn't see him anywhere.

"... how about I meet you at the soba place," Marley suggested, and Hana quickly agreed, not wanting to put off food any longer, especially now that Tohru had been taken care of.

" you sure? I don't want to leave anyone behind.." Tohru wanted to help, but a part of her knew that Marley would be best at finding Kyo and bringing him along.

" I'm just gonna call him, I'm sure he didn't wander far, maybe he had to pick up something?" Marley assured as she brought out her phone. Hana and Uo told Tohru it would be fine, and the group wandered out of the complex towards the soba restaurant they had already picked out.

.

Marley clicked on Kyo's contact card, and it rang a few times before he picked up.

" What?"

"Where are you?" Marley asked as she walked around, keeping an eye out for the boy.

"Just... needed some damn air." Kyo muffled through the phone as Marley looked around to see if she could spot him. She finally caught his orange locks. He was sitting on a bench; his shoulders were slumped forward.

Marley clicked off the phone and walked over, gently placing a hand on his back. He jumped a little but looked up and saw her face. He shrugged off her hand and moved over on the bench.

" What do you want?" He asked, shoving his phone back into his pants pocket.

"Did... did I do something wrong?" Marley asked as she sat next to him.

Kyo moved his head and looked to the shoulder that would have been the place where his claws had left marks. But he couldn't see the scars due to the white t-shirt she was wearing underneath her slip dress.

" How bad are they?" Kyo asked as he watched her through his long bangs

"How bad are what?" Marley asked, completely lost as to what he was talking about.

".. the scars... From when I-…"

Marley reached out for Kyo's arm, hoping to comfort him, but Kyo, blinded by his rage and heartache, took his paw and pushed at Marley to keep her away, claws ripping through fabric, skin and a delicate silver chain.

"DON'T TOUCH ME!" Kyo screamed, baring his fangs at the struck girl. Marley stumbled back from him, her body falling backwards, and she rolled down the hill and into the murky water below.

She laid face down in the shallow water, and Kyo watched as she struggled to get up, her body shaking as she coughed up some water and brought a hand to her right shoulder. The sleeve of her blouse had been completely ripped off, and three scratches bled from her collarbone, shoulder and arm.

"When I hurt you." Kyo finally let out, and she realized what he was referring to.

From when I pushed you away

"Oh, it's fine! All healed up, look." Marley lifted back her sleeve, and there was no mark to be seen. Kyo looked relieved and actually reached over to lightly brush the skin himself as if to make sure there really were no scars. His callused fingers swept across the soft skin, her brown skin was flawless and soft to the touch, he felt a huge burden leave his shoulder.

He hated the idea of leaving her scarred because of his actions. Kyo didn't want to bring her any pain.

Not when all she did was take his pain away.

" But... Wait a minute. You just said that you were self-conscious about a scar?!" Kyo asked, and Marley raised an eyebrow at him.

"Where did you hear... I guess it doesn't matter." Marley put the sleeve back in place and ran a hand through her long locks.

".. So.. I don't know if you know um. But I was in a hospital because of a... well heart failure is the easiest way to put it." Marley explained, Kyo did know that, but other than the basic details he knew nothing, the girl barely spoke of her extended stay in the hospital or what had kept her there.

" And I was lucky enough to receive a new heart in time, but... the surgery left a scar in the center of my chest." Marley laid a hand over her chest, where the scar laid but could not be seen, her eyes staring at the ground as she played with her silver locket.

Kyo tried to think back and everything he had ever seen Marley wear, and he never really seen her wear anything revealing her chest. He looked at what she was wearing today.

It was a cute black dress that had little white and orange flowers and grazed her upper thigh, showing off her long legs. It had thin straps and was cut low in the chest, but she wore a white-t-shirt underneath. She looked like the cutest thing Kyo had ever seen and had thought so all day. He couldn't stand the fact that she was worried over some scar.

"C'mon." Kyo got up from the bench and grabbed Marley by her forearm.

"Wait- what?" The confused girl asked she let Kyo drag her around.

"We're gonna pick ya out a damn swimsuit. That's why we came, right?" Kyo told her, ignoring the strange looks they received from other shoppers as he pulled her back through the mall.

"Well actually-"

"Just... Be quick or whatever..." Kyo's ears where red, he didn't know why it bothered him so much. Why should he care if Marley was self-conscious over some scar? It wasn't his problem, there was nothing he could do about it.

But that uncertain look in her large eyes, her lips pressed in a line. Kyo hated it.

Marley really had no chance as Kyo pulled her along back into the store and followed her as she picked out a few and waited right outside the curtain of the change room.

Kyo then spotted a swimsuit across the store and walked over. He rubbed the back of his neck and looked around to see if anyone was watching before snatching it. Kyo awkwardly rushed back to the change room area and basically threw it into the change room, causing Marley to let out small surprise yelp.

" Oh! this is so cute?!" Marley called out as she looked over the cute two-piece.

"Why do ya sound so surprised?" Did Marley not trust his taste? For some reason, it had Kyo feeling self-conscious as he looked down at his own attire, his mended green cargo pants and simple black V-neck t-shirt. Nothing wrong with that, right? It shouldn't have mattered, why should he care?

She was the one to fix them in the first place... why shouldn't I wear them?

"Don't worry, you're so handsome, you look good in anything." Marley piped up as if she could read his mind, and Kyo felt his ears go red while he let out a huff and crossed his arms. But he couldn't deny that he felt relieved over the statement.

Marley took a good look at the swimsuit Kyo had picked out, checking herself out in the mirror. It was wrap halter bikini top with a slight V-neck in the front and slightly high-cut bikini bottoms. The pattern was a purple motif with many tropical flowers in white, pinks and blues.

It fit her really well and was absolutely adorable... but her scar was on full display.

" Whatever you get..it won't matter that you have a scar or not. That scar is proof, right? That you're alive... Right now." Kyo stood right outside the blue curtain separating them, Marley stood directly on the other side, hanging onto his words.

" And that's all that really matters...that you're here... with me." Kyo didn't even realize the last bit had slipped out, he had said it so quietly, but Marley heard it.

Marley placed her hand over her heart and whispered a small thank you, small tears building up, but she was smiling. It was a blessing, Marley had been given a rare gift, and while Marley still was slightly self-conscious about the white scar, she would also let it be a reminder that she was alive. And that someone was happy that she was.

I'm here... with you

"Are... are you dressed yet?" Kyo was starting to get impatient, and he could feel people look at him as they passed by the changing area.

"Yeah, I-"

"Well then let-" Kyo ripped open the curtain without thinking and then froze

"go..." Kyo finished as his eyes raked over Marley in her purple floral swimsuit. His heart was hammering in his chest, and his stomach was doing flips.

She looks way too adorable! What the hell?!

"Umm...so how does it look?" Marley nervously giggled as she turned a bit. She was blushing a little bit but was trying to wave it off as nerves.

"You can't get that one." Kyo simply put, and Marley dropped her jaw, astounded that that was the answer he was giving her.

"Why?!"

"..."

"Does... does it look bad?" Marley digested with her hair, twirling it a bit in her fingers as she slightly pouted. She really liked it and thought it looked cute on her.

"What!? NO!" If his blushing face was anything to go on, then he did like it, and Marley found herself excited.

" I'm getting this one." Marley smiled at him before closing the curtain.

"GAH! I'm leavin'!" Kyo huffed, and Marley could hear him stomping away, declaring he didn't care about swimsuit she got, but Marley just giggled behind the curtain, unable to wipe the smile off her face. Kyo cared a lot more than most, and that made her heart feel warm. Justifying to herself that she was getting it because she liked it, it was just a bonus that Kyo picked it out for her. Again, surprising her with his taste in clothes.

Maybe I should give him more credit... I still hate those cargo pants, though...

.

.-.-.-.-.-.-.

.

"Where's the other hottie?" A young girl with a mask over her face asked.

"How did we lose him?" A girl with dark hair to her shoulders looked around the restaurant to see if they could catch the orange hair of the handsome stranger they had seen earlier.

"Um... Excuse me. Just need to get through." Marley said to the three girls in school uniforms that were blocking the hallway in the small restaurant.

" A A- A foreigner. It's a foreigner!" A shorted girl pointed a finger and jumped back, causing Marley to raise an eyebrow and tilt her head.

"You got a problem?" Kyo asked as he glared down at the girls, and they all furiously shook their heads before moving out of the way and then letting them pass while Marley just smiled and thanked the strange girls.

.

"Hey, you two, what happened?" Uo asked

" Sorry, I changed my mind and decided to buy a swimsuit. Kyo actually helped pick out a really cute one. " Marley apologized as she walked up to their table and placed down her bags.

" Is that why's Kyo's face all red?" Uo snickered, enjoying how this day was turning into a 'how far can I push Kyon-Kyon event.'

"Oh, he-" Marley was cut off by Kyo, throwing a napkin at her face before she could tell them about the curtain incident.

"Don't" Kyo glared at her, but it only made her come up with a terrible lie.

"... ate something really spicy?"

"... idiot." Kyo scoffed.

" Who are you calling Idiot? Stupid Cat." Yuki was always quick with his

"Why I out-" Marley quickly spoke up to keep the cousins from starting as she put a hand on Kyo's shoulder, immediately stopping his tirade. But that didn't stop him and Yuki from glaring at each other.

"Anyway! Sorry to keep you waiting." Marley apologized as she took a seat on the floor.

" Uotani-San was just telling us how she met Tohru." Yuki explained as he made room for Marley, and Kyo sat to her other side.

"Oh! In middle school, right?"

"Yeah, you were still in the gang at the time, weren't you Uo-Chan?" Tohru pointed out.

" That's right! I made my gang debut in 5th grade!" Uo boasted proudly, and both Kyo and Marley let their jaws slightly drop over the information.

"You were in a gang when you were 11?" Marley asked she had known that Uo had been part of some sort of gang for a bit but had no idea she was so young when it happened. She couldn't imagine what Uo had been through during her time in a gang and was grateful that she had seemed to have gotten away from it.

Marley wondered how different gang life in Japan was to America. While she had never been in a gang, she had gotten a small look at it, there was some gang violence around her apartment complex. Marley grew up in a lightly questionable neighbourhood, so it wasn't really avoidable.

Her closest friend in America had been a part of gang life, and he had gotten away from it when they were 15, but she worried about him. Even if he refused to answer any of her messages, she was still confident that her friend had kept himself out of trouble. Or at least she hoped his big sister was there for him.

"You...you really were a delinquent?" Kyo asked, he had been calling her a delinquent as a joke, he had no idea she had been part of an actual gang.

"Oh yeah, all the way."

The waitress came by to take their orders, and conversation flowed back into Uo's life. Her life as a young gangster, all the anger she had, and her mission to meet her idol who had once been a gangster herself. Tohru's mother, Kyoko.

"My idol Kyoko-San had become a doting mommy. I was disappointed at the time. Not like it was up to me... but like I said, I considered her my hero. So when I met her in person, I was like ' she's not supposed to e like this.'" Uo told her story, only taking a break as the food got dropped off.

Kyo immediately took the prawn tempura off of Marley's plate, knowing she wouldn't eat it. Marley was too invested in the story to really notice. But Yuki and Hana caught it though and were about to say something but stopped when Kyo took the vegetable tempera off of his plate and placed it back onto Marley's soba bowl.

Marley's eyes travelled to Tohru now and then, checking how the girl was doing over the story of her mother.

There were times that she wished that she was around more people who knew her own mother so that they could reminisce about her life. But another part was glad that she wasn't brought up constantly. It was still hard to think that she would never see her mother again, she didn't want to be reminded by others as well. It was a complicated feeling.

.

The group left the soba restaurant, but Marley was distracted by something. Who were these three girls following them?

"Um... is there something you would like?" Marley asked, wondering if she had missed something. One of the girls pointed at Marley and spoke... some broken English, Marley couldn't really understand, and she tilted her head.

"... Was I not speaking Japanese to them?" Marley asked, wondering why the girls were attempting to speak English with her.

"They are just fools. Let me.." Hana preceded to place just a touch of 'pressure' onto the three girls that had been trailing the group of friends.

"Umm... maybe we should ask what they need? Maybe they're lost?" Marley asked as she saw the terrified looks on the young girls as Hana exercised her 'superpowers'.

"Oh, they're lost, alright." Kyo scoffed, he was exhausted, this day had just seemed to go on and on.

"They tried to stop us before we entered the restaurant, they apparently want to form an army of delinquents," Uo mentioned, more or less ignoring the three girls.

"Oh? Um... that's..." Marley really couldn't come up with anything to say on the matter.

"Ya... Ya scared ya foreigner?! Ya should be! Just cause you're a giant doesn't mean you scare us!" The girl with the short light brown hair shakily waved her fist at Marley, who was now distressed.

" That's enough." Hana put a bit more pressure on them, and the three girls shivered.

" I'm... I'm not a giant? Am I?" Marley was kneeling on the ground, drawing circular patterns on the ground with her ring finger. There was nothing she could really do about her height, but she didn't see herself as a giant. She was about the same height as Kyo and Yuki, and they weren't all that tall.

" Well, you're definitely not a midget." Uo teased as she couldn't help herself, but she was actually jealous of Marley's height.

"... It's not like I can lose height..." Marley pouted, puffing out her cheeks slightly. Kyo and Yuki seemed to sigh while Tohru knelt down by Marley to try and comfort her.

"You don't think I'm a giant, do you, Tohru?"Marley looked up at her from her kneeled position, her large eyes on the verge of crocodile tears.

"Not at all!" Tohru insisted.

"See! Tohru doesn't think I'm a giant." Marley claimed, standing up straight with a smile on her face over Tohru's simple confirmation.

"You're hangin' out with Momiji too much. The only 'giant' part of you is that you're a giant cry baby." Kyo sighed but a small smile on his lips, shaking his head at Marley, who giggled over his joke.

The three delinquents finally snapped, and one of them rushed forward to try and get Uo, but she simply put up her hand and placed it on the young girl's head, stopping her from landing a hit.

Uotani was able to give some words of advice, and it seemed to get through to the young gangster who then referred to her as 'Ane-San.'

" Later, boys! Try to survive one night without Tohru." Uo snickered, and Tohru laughed nervously and actually reminded them of the food she had prepared that was in the fridge and had even left instructions for them for heating it up.

"Tch." Kyo stuffed his hands into his pockets, not looking forward to walking home with the grey-haired boy.

"Have a good evening." Yuki wished goodbye to the girls as they parted ways.

" Oh! We should just stop by the bakery, I wanna grab bread for the morning and pick up some sweets for Dadaji." Marley mentioned as the girls walked in the direction of the Sohma Estate.

That must have been what I was forgetting!

.

.-.-.-.-.-.-.

.

"I'm home! And I brought my friends!" Marley called out as she slipped off her shoes and carried a small box of chocolate croissants.

"... These... are your friends?" The Sohma elder eyed the goth looking girl and the one who looked like she was fresh out of a gang. He wondered what kind of high school his granddaughter attended, and if he made the right choice. But then reminded himself not to judge, even if it was hard for the Sohma Elder.

"Tetsuo-San! Thank you for having us." Tohru repeatedly bowed, honoured to be in the large beautiful home.

"Honda-Chan, welcome. You are looking well." Tetsuo gruffly greeted the girl before turning his attention to the new faces.

" Dadaji, this is Uotani Arisa and Hanajima Saki. They're the friends I was telling you about." Marley introduced the girls, Hana gave a small bow while Uo threw up a victory sign.

"Sohma Tetsuo. Nice to meet you, thank you for looking after my grand-daughter." Tetsuo very slightly bowed his head as Marley handed him the box of chocolate baked goods she picked up from the local bakery.

"There's a croissant missing," The Sohma Elder pointed out, he knew this bakery well, and this package typically came with 6, there were only 5 left in the box.

"Oh, sorry, we saw Kagura on the walk back," Marley revealed, the 4 girls had run into the college student as she was just leaving the estate. Kagura was on her way to see Kyo actually, claiming that it had been too long since she had seen 'Her Love.'

Quick introductions had been made before Marley offered her a croissant before she skipped off, humming a song that Marley didn't recognize.

Marley imagined that right now, Kagura had latched herself to Kyo and was cradling him close. It made Marley feel... like something was off. It didn't really make sense.

Kagura's my friend, and so is Kyo... But then why-

"Dude... your grandfather looks like the leader of the yakuza or something." Uo pointed out, interrupting Marley's thoughts. Tetsuo certainly wasn't what she was expecting when she found out Marley lived with her grandfather, she was expecting more like Tohru's grandfather.

"Does he?" Marley asked, looking back at her Dadaji and wondered what Uo meant by that.

"Oh, Marley, did you pick up a dress for the charity gala?" Tetsuo asked as he came out

So that's what I was forgetting?!

Tetsuo could read the look on her face and rolled his eyes.

" I'll have my assistant pick you up a few choices." The old man told her, but Marley still felt guilty about forgetting.

"So... is there anything you guys wanna do?" Marley asked the three. Tohru had finally calmed down from being on the 'inside' of the Sohma Estate, and Uo and Hana wanted to look around the house. They were amazed that Marley had been living in such a beautiful traditional home all this time.

"This place is bigger than the novelist's." Uo whistled, really taking in the gorgeous home.

"How many bedrooms?"

"Um... 4, I believe?"

" Yo, old man, what do you do for a living?" Uo asked.

" Old man?" He glared at the girl, but Uotani was fired up and didn't look away, she could feel her delinquent self creeping in, and there was something about the energy the old man gave off that she fired up. Tetsuo stood up straight and tall over the ex-delinquent.

" Hmm... do you girls want to play a game."

" That's not an answer!"

"Uo-Chan." Tohru thought maybe Uo was getting a little too fired up with the elder, but Marley only giggled over the scene, it was definitely comical, and she knew her Dadaji well enough to know that he liked a good challenge.

"If you win, then I'll tell you." Tetsuo offered, if Uo wasn't so 'rude' then he would have told her, but he had to get his kicks from somewhere.

" Name your game." Uo took up the offer, a competitive gleam in her eye.

" Ladies choice." Tetsuo insisted, and Uo looked around the room and then caught sight of a particular gaming system.

"Mario Kart." And Uo had no idea what she had gotten herself into because Tetsuo had won many of the small tournaments that took place in the household.

Marley set up the system and then let them play while she got tea and snacks ready, placing the fresh chocolate croissants on a plate along with some cut up apples and pears.

I'm glad that everyone seems to be getting along, it's too bad Yuki, and Kyo couldn't come.

.

Marley and the girls were later hanging out in her room Hana and Tohru were both working on straightening Marley's long hair while Uo was screaming into a pillow about defeat. Tetsuo had wiped the floor, the only one who beat him was Hana.

" I can always just tell you, Uo." Marley offered, even though she wasn't entirely sure. Still, she knew her Dadaji was an influential man and owned multiple corporations while also managing the majority of the Sohma Estate's wealth.

"No, a loss is a loss. I'll get him next time. But man, you're so lucky you have such a kick-ass Ojii-Chan." Uo stretched as she got up off the bed and took a good look around Marley's room while the girl smiled wholeheartedly agreeing, she was indeed lucky. It was just too bad that it took so long for Tetsuo Sohma to open up to Chandra and Marley. Maybe things might have been different.

"Wow! All these clothes!" Uo was now going through Marley's closet while the white-blonde gathered all of her nail supplies, the girls thought it would be fun to do manicures and watch a movie. But first, they wanted to see Marley's room.

"Uh. Yeah. Dadaji might have gonna a little overboard at Christmas." Marley nervously giggled, embarrassed about how much she had been spoiled. Her grandfather tended to shower her in gifts, she just wasn't use to it and always felt a little awkward, but it was how he showed love.

" You have so many photos, Marley-Chan," Hana mentioned as her dark eyes looked over the various happy photos with many different people. She recognized Momiji in a few, there was even a photo of Tohru and Marley at a lake.

"Oh yeah, got a photo printer for my birthday, so I might have gone a little overboard." Her birthday had been back in the fall, but she had already printed out over 50 photos and only a fraction of those made it into frames.

Hana picked up a photo frame of her and her parents at what looked like a concert of some sort and then another of her, and what had to be her step-father sitting on a picnic blanket, he was holding an acoustic guitar while Marley was smiling.

" We never hear you really talk about your life in America."

"Oh, I'm sure it would be boring." Marley wasn't sure there was much to talk about.

"I would like to hear." Hana persisted as she made herself comfortable on the bed, and soon all three girls were looking at the immigrant.

"C'mon spill." Uo suggested as she grabbed the bucket of nail supplies from Marley and placed it on the small table in the bedroom.

"Um... Well.."

" I guess we moved there when I was about 8 or 9? To be honest, so much happened in those years that I can't really remember too much. We lived in an apartment that was maybe... 15-minute bus ride from the Strip." Marley started as she made herself comfortable on the comfy yellow chair she kept in the room.

"The Strip?"

"Oh, the Vegas Strip, that really crazy length of road with all the lights and hotels. Here." Marley picked up a picture of her and few ballet friends posing on the vegas strip.

" I had... Trouble making friends. I struggled with the language for a few years, and my looks really made me stand out..."

All three girls could agree that they had troubles as kids when it came to others and could empathize.

"Mama and Bapu both worked tough and long hours..."

When she was younger, her mother would sneak her into the dressing room and have her stay there during times when she and Bapu were working. They didn't live in the 'nicest' neighbourhood, and she didn't want to leave Marley on her own. They were able to bribe the other dancers to keep it a secret through bribes of food.

"Sometimes I would get to go with Mama to work, kinda, and her co-workers would teach me all about make-up and hair, even try to give me love advice. I would try to help by mending their costumes or whatever they needed." Marley smiled as she remembered all the ladies, fussing over her and all the beautiful costumes they wore.

"Costumes?" Tohru asked, curious as to what kind of 'costumes' Marley was talking about.

"Oh, Mama worked in a burlesque club," Marley mentioned, and all the girls' jaws dropped.

"That's so badass! I gotta see pictures!" Uo jumped up, not expecting that kind of twist to Marley's tale.

"I wouldn't mind seeing, I'm definitely intrigued," Hana asked.

"If you don't mind, Marley-Chan."

"Umm, no not all, let me just grab my laptop." Marley brought up a file and then let the girls go through pictures. There were pictures of her mother in various costumes from shows, silks, glitter, sequins, feathers, Chandra Bakshi was a queen of the burlesque stage. Or at least to Marley, she was.

"Oh, what's this."

"A taping of one of her acts, we can watch it." Marley had memorized every performance that had been taped, and she thought this would be a good one to show.

" Does... It have... Um." Poor Tohru wasn't sure how to ask if there was anything 'inappropriate' in it.

"Don't worry, the club couldn't do full nudity or anything, and Mama was always tasteful. But I'll stop it when it gets to the corset bit." Marley thought it was cute that Tohru worried about that.

Marley clicked play, and the host came on stage.

" Hope everyone's enjoying their night, it's a beautiful Thursday evening, and here at 'The Palace' we are lucky to have the most beautiful women in the world. Speaking of beautiful women, now treat your sweet tooth to this sweet delight, but careful, she's also got a little spice to her. Cinnamon Bliss!" The host introduced before he walked off, and the curtain rose behind him.

The jazz band started, and a woman with a dark purple dress and boa had her back to the audience.

Her long dark hair fell perfect retro waves, and she looked over her shoulder, her large deep chocolate eyes lined in black pencil, her lips were painted a dark red, almost black looking colour. She gave a flirtation wink to the audience, and they whistled and whooped before she started sultry strut to the rhythm of the band.

Her dress was high cut in the front showing off her long brown legs as she walked towards the audience and playfully slunk the boa off her body before slowly and seductively licking her lips.

"THAT'S your mother?" Uo gasped.

"Yep. That's Mama." A proud smile on Marley's face, she knew her mother owned that stage. To be honest, Marley's mother had looked for work as an aerial artist in some of the big shoes, but she couldn't seem to land a part, but someone suggested she could do burlesque shows and then, well she ended up loving it and the pay was decent.

" Damn, I'm sorry I'm not trying to be inappropriate or whatever, but. DAMN."

Chandra began taking off her silk gloves, slowly and really working with the music. The beautiful dancer went back to her starting point with the band, with her back to the audience, and she put her hands on her hips, looking over her shoulder and winking and giving them a dangerous grin while the band started up again with a new song.

"Annnd, I think I better end it there." Marley paused the video, not wanting to really expose her friend to her Mother, stripping the rest of her clothes and shaking her booty to the audience. Marley was sure that Uo and Hana would have been able to handle it, but she didn't need Tohru passing out.

"Aww, fine."

"But the club put a lot of her acts on YouTube, you just gotta look her up." Marley closed the laptop and put it back on her desk.

"Wow... that was amazing, and she's so beautiful."Tohru gushed, Marley's mother had looked like a goddess of some sort and even though

"You take after your mother a lot," Hana told her and Marley took it as a huge compliment. Her mother was the strongest person she knew and was so confident and beautiful. There was no one better in Marley's eyes.

"... despite the hair colour and eyes." Hana finished, and that only made Marley laugh, but on the inside, she really wished she had gotten her mother's dark hair and warm brown eyes. But Marley had ended up with her birth father's traits, and that was... fine.

"So, did you start dancing because of your mother?" Tohru asked.

"Actually, I got into dance because of movies, but Mama was the one who taught me aerial silks, she would do one aerial silk show every other night she worked." Marley had been in love with dance since the first moment she saw the movie 'Devdas' playing on her great-grandmother's T.V and was always trying to copy the movements.

When they moved to Nevada, there was no place for it, but Marley found ballet and wanted to float across the dance floor liked the ballet dancers had. Marley had fallen in love with it and spent much of her time training.

"What did your pop's do?" Uo asked as she lounged out on Marley's bed.

"Bapu was one of the bartenders for the club, I think he also liked being able to keep an eye on Mama, make sure no one got any ideas." The white-blonde laughed at how protective her Bapu had been, but who could blame him, they lived in a harsh show biz environment. Anything could happen.

As Marley got older, she was trusted to stay home alone. But it was lonely. So many nights eating dinners alone and trying to wait for them to come home. Even if it meant going to sleep and setting the alarm for 4 in the morning so she could get up and make them breakfast... or dinner in their case. Just to spend a little extra time with them.

Marley tried to take care of the house to they wouldn't have to worry, so she could feel like she could contribute something to make her parents' lives a little easier.

"So handsome..." Tohru had picked up a photo frame from Marley's dresser, and Uo wanted to check out what she had found.

"Oh, who is this?!" In the photo was a 15-year-old Marley in a simple pink gingham summer dress and with her was a tall, well-built boy with shaggy chocolate brown hair. His arms were covered in various tattoos, his eyes were a green colour, and he had a giant grin while Marley had more a small smile. He had a bit of devilish look to him, his well-defined muscles shown off in the simple grey crew cut T-shirt.

"Oh, that's Miguel." Marley took the photo and smiled down at it.

"A boyfriend?"

"Umm, hahaha, well..."Marley nervously laughed, while they had never officially dated, there was a short period where they kind of were.

"He was my best friend. He's back in Vegas living with his big sister." At least, that's what she assumed, they hadn't spoken since she left. He sent her a message, giving her his condolences about Marley's parents, but... a part of her knew that his sister had probably typed it for him.

They hadn't parted on great terms.

"Soo... Miguel." Uo was wiggling her eyebrows, and Marley tried not to laugh how they butchered her poor friend's name.

" I met Miguel when I guess I was entering junior high, and we shared a few classes. I knew about him before that, though, because he was the younger brother of one of Mama's co-workers."

"Miguel... he scared a lot of people away, he got into a lot of fights, and he didn't get along with his parents. But he had a really kind heart." Marley told them as she handed back the photo to Tohru.

A young 13-year-old Marley was doing the grocery shopping after her ballet class, it was late, but Marley felt confident that she could make it back before it got too dark.

" What should I make for dinner? Maybe some gnocchi with pesto, and what else?" Marley spoke to herself as she tried to come to a decision.

"Speak English, this is America." She spat, and it made the young teenager jump in her skin, she hadn't even realized she had slipped into her native tongue.

"Oh .. um I-I was just talking to myself and-"

"Why don't you shut the fuck up, cabrón." Marley looked behind her there stood a boy who stood tall over her and a large frame, a dark blue beanie and a dark grey hoodie with black jeans. His dark green eyes glaring at the woman who had spoken to Marley. Miguel Ángel Hernández Flores, who was supposed to be her science partner, but he was hardly ever in class, only showing up when he was forced.

The blonde women in her forties gave a sour look, but before she could say anything more, the boy stood in front of Marley, his towering figure sheltering her. And the woman eventually walked away.

"Um... would you like to come over for dinner?"

He had actually walked away from the invitation, but that didn't stop Marley from trying again and again. Eventually, he excepted the invitation to dinner. And many dinners after that.

"Sooo...did you two?.." Uo asked and Marley could tell what she was trying to insinuate.

"Your blushing! Tell us!"

" Well...Miguel was my first..." Marley blurted while also lightly blushing.

"Your first...?" Marley just blushed harder, and the lightbulb went on in Uo's head...and then all hell seemed to break loose.

"OH MY GOD! I thought you where just gonna say you guys kissed or something." Uo was practically shaking Marley back and forth

" HE WAS THE ONE WHO GAVE YOU HICKIES!" Uo laughed as she remembered a recent conversation about Marley's past romances, where she had kept a tight lid.

"But man, what a hottie." Uo whistled, looking at the photo that Tohru still held in her hands.

"He's probably out for summer by now, I'm already missing American summer vacation, 2 full months of no school." Marley joked while changing the subject, but it was kind of true, the start of their own summer vacation felt like it was never gonna come.

Tohru's brown eyes looked at the photo again, her eyes tracing the tattoo's and back up to the toothy grin and chocolate brown locks that looked soft to touch. Miguel certainly was handsome.

It was strange how much Miguel had come up today. Marley had tried to reach out, but she figured he was hurt. Or maybe Marley simply didn't matter to him.

Perhaps that's what I deserve

.

A meow broke through Marley's thoughts, and the large orange and white feline of the house padded into the room.

"Hey baby, I haven't seen you all day." Marley picked up the large cat and hugged him close to her chest. He meowed back.

"Were you out, patrolling?" Marley asked in a baby voice, and the cat seemed to meow back in reply.

"Aww, such a good kitty, keeping his territory safe, our tough warrior cat, Gimli." Marley cuddled the cat, holding him like a baby as she rocked him back and forth. Gimli didn't look all that impressed, but he put up with it.

"Pfft. Hahaha, you're such dork." Uo laughed, but Marley just smiled and continued to cuddle the cat.

"That cat... He quiet impressive. What kind is he?"

"Um, well, I found him in the street, but the vet thinks he might be a Norwegian mountain cat. Or a Maine coon." It was funny how the little kitty that once fit in her palm was now the size of a small dog. With all his fluff, maybe a medium-sized dog.

"Gimli, you wanna say hello?" Marley asked the fluffy orange cat who was busy kneading his paws into Marley's chest.

" He's so handsome." Tohru gushed and reached out her hand.

"Gimli, be nice," Marley told her cat who meowed and let the Tohru pet him. Marley let out a sigh of relief.

"Well, that's good. He's very picky. He even scratched Kyo." But maybe Gimli was getting better, he had let Kazuma pet him, and now Tohru. Marley would sometimes catch Gimli resting in Tetsuo's lap.

"Really? But Kyon-Kyon's the like the cat whisperer." Uo was slightly shocked, but also would she could have been there for the moment when the cat turned on the cat-king.

Both Tohru and Marley laughed nervously, as they were the ones who knew why cats flocked to the poor orange-haired boy.

" Man, I would love to see Kyon-Kyon's face when he finds out you have a super hot ex-boyfriend out there.." A huge grin was on Uo's face as she said this, clearly enjoying this too much.

"Huh?"

"C'mon, you two do nothing but flirt, we have a bet going on about how long it's gonna take for you to start dating." Uo teased as she winked at Marley.

"Wait, what?!" Marley's face. Had they been flirting? Marley doubted it.

" It is quite interesting to watch. Today at lunch, when Kyo switched out your tempera. Already seems like you two are dating." Hana pointed out, and Marley hadn't even realized that had taken place. She would have to send Kyo a text to thank him.

"Well, Kyo really likes shrimp... and he knows that I can't eat meat..." Marley pointed out, it was just an act of Kyo being kind. It didn't mean anything.

"Okay, and what were you two getting up to when we were separated?" Uo asked. Marley thought back to earlier that day in the changing room area where Kyo encouraged her, tried to make her feel better about her scar, that it didn't matter how it looked.

" And that's all that really matters...that you're here... with me."

" I really was just getting a new swimsuit..." Marley tried not to take Kyo's words too much to heart, he was just comforting her.

"And Kyo picked out this little number for you?" Uo reached into Marley's shopping bag and brought out the purple floral bikini.

"... Kyo has surprisingly good taste..." Hana nodded, she imagined the swimsuit looked lovely on Marley.

"You two kill me, seriously." Uo shook her head, wishing the two teens would stop this dance already.

"it's not like that between Kyo and me. He's a great friend. He doesn't see me that way." Marley protested, but the three girls couldn't ignore the girl's red face.

" Besides. Remember that gorgeous girl we talked to when coming into the estate." Marley herself was reminded that there was another reason she and Kyo couldn't be.

"Yeah, very cute, very girly." Uo thought of the pretty girl that had taken one of the chocolate croissants before running off, mentioning she was off to see 'her love.'

"Yeah, she's a friend of mine and.. she's in love with Kyo. She says they're engaged, but I'm a little uncertain of the details," Marley admitted. Kagura was definitely the ideal type, Japanese beauty standards, her pale skin, petite size, and good looks made her perfect. She needed to work on her... impulsive behaviour, but maybe Kyo was into that?

" So yeah, Kyo has Kagura, I hardly believe he would ever be interested is someone like me." Marley laughed, but an uncomfortable feeling seemed to coil in her chest.

"I should...make some chai and maybe grab some snacks. But why don't you guys pick a movie or something to watch? And I need to also find the nail polish remover if we're gonna do nails." Marley started rambling while she got up and left.

" I'm gonna help Marley-Chan." Tohru volunteered, following after the girl who had already left the room.

"I think … we might have pushed too far." Hana voiced, she could that Kyo was not ready for any real romantic entanglement, but he was certainly less chaotic then he had been a few months ago and that had to mean something.

Something was changing.

" You were pretty quiet when we came in, what do you think?" Uo asked for Hana's wave report.

"It's strange...when we walked into the inner part of this Estate. The air felt... thick, it's hard for me to even explain, but it felt like something... rotting. But-"

"But?"

" It was like the air cleared when we made it to Marley's home. Like the dead air was never there and replaced with warmth... a refreshing feeling." Hana voiced, but she would remember that there was something about Marley's waves that always made her pause, they were lovely waves but still. She could sense something odd, but she would blink, and it would be gone.

Hana was very curious about the many mysteries of the Sohma clan.

.

.

.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

.

.

"Marley-Chan?" Tohru called out as she walked into the kitchen, noticing her friend was zoned out as the water ran.

"Oh, whoops, wasn't paying attention." The kettle Marley was filling up was overflowing in the sink, and she had to pour some more water out before placing it on the stove and flicking the switch.

" I think... there was some rice crackers... or we maybe I should bring up these mango ice-cream mochi balls. They might go well or maybe some cookies."

" You know...Kagura doesn't really come by that often." Tohru told her, hoping maybe to sort out what could be a misunderstanding.

"Really? That seems odd." Marley commented as she put loose leaf tea in a steeper.

"I think... she's trying to put distance between her and Kyo." Tohru voiced, hoping she could say the right words. Tohru knew that even though Kagura called Kyo her fiancé, she knew from Kyo that it wasn't actually true. Did Marley not know? Or was she just trying to be respectful of Kagura's feelings?

"... I wonder why. She talks about him all the time. And isn't it kind of lucky for them, right? They're members of the zodiac, and they'll be able to hold one another... plus they would look adorable together." Marley started to ramble as continued to look through cupboards and bring out various snacks.

The brunette just watched and started to think back on all she had seen these past few months.

Tohru had really seen the change in Kyo, she had known him since last fall and watched him grow little by little, but the biggest thing she noticed was that Kyo seemed lighter then he did before, he smiled more.

It wasn't much of a mystery where the orange-haired spent most evenings, Tohru ended up being told not to bother saving dinner for Kyo for the majority of the week. And if Tohru did catch Kyo coming home late in the evening, he usually had a serene look in his eyes. If Tohru asked him how training was, it often led to Kyo blushing while he mentioned that Marley said 'hi.'

It wasn't just Kyo. Marley always smiled a little more and just seemed more at ease when Kyo was close by. It warmed Tohru's heart to see her friends so happy, despite all the cruel things that had happened to them.

"Sorry, I don't mean to be out... of sorts. I guess bringing up the past felt a little overwhelming. It's been a long day." Marley admitted, but she really didn't want to talk about Kagura and Kyo. Kyo was just a friend who was a really wonderful person, and anyone would be lucky to be with him. That was all. Right?

"So, what colour were you thinking for nails?" Marley asked Tohru, trying to distract herself from the growing weight in her chest. She couldn't begin to wonder about relationships, Marley didn't feel like she could be able to ever feel that way about another person, not after what happened with Miguel. Or maybe she was afraid. How many times can a heartbreak?

" The lilac colour was really pretty," Tohru mentioned as she looked down at her short nails.

"That would look really cute. I think I might go with the hot pink." Marley gave a big smile, but Tohru wondered what was going on behind it.

.

.-.-.-.-.

.

Marley woke up to a paw pressing against her face.

"Okay, okay, I'm up." Marley yawned as she raised a hand and petted Gimli's soft fur. Everyone else was still sound asleep, they had stayed up pretty late watching Pixar movies. It started with Toy Story where Hana straightened Marley's hair, Tohru and Marley cried during Jessie's song in Toy Stoy 2 and then all three fell asleep during the third movie.

Marley's bed wasn't big enough for four people, so they ended up camping out in the living room. Marley carefully stepped around the sleeping bodies and slowly slid open the porch door so that Gimli could go out for his 'morning patrol.'

The girl tip-toed across the room and disappeared upstairs, getting ready for the day, washing her face and slipping on a thin grey sweatshirt for the chilly morning. It was cold now, but it would warm up quickly.

The white-blonde stepped outside and closed the porch door behind her, taking in the morning air and stretching towards the sky. She figured she had some time before the others started waking up. Some morning stretches, and then she would get started on breakfast. Marley was excited to make a big American style breakfast for her friends.

She was only maybe 20 minutes in, working on some deep backbends when a gentle deep voice interrupted.

.

"I hope I'm not intruding." Marley turned and saw a familiar man standing just a few feet away from the porch, his soft auburn eyes looking slightly apologetic.

"Kureno?! Good morning, how are you? Is everything alright?" It was certainly odd to see the Zodiac member at her house, he was usually at the main house. With Akito.

" I'm good, thank you. And everything is.. Fine." Kureno told her, and this only made more questions rise, he could be a worse liar then Marley.

" Your eyes seem to be okay." Kureno smiled, relieved that Marley was okay after the incident at the main house.

"Oh, yes, nothing to worry about, they were back to normal pretty quickly."

" That is a relief, Akito will be happy to know that. You haven't been around very much." Kureno pointed, and Marley suddenly felt a little guilty. She and Akito typically had tea once or twice a week, but she hardly felt like gossiping with the girl this past week.

"Yes, well. Just been a bit busy is all." It wasn't really a lie, Marley really had been busy, as if she kept herself busy with anything she could. Marley was uncertain of where she stood with Akito, her hurtful words were hard to forget.

" You're an outsider! You have no right! You don't know anything! WE have a bond!"

But it wasn't like Akito was wrong. When it came to Zodiac affairs, Marley was just an outsider, and she didn't understand any bit of it. The only relief from that day was to learn that Kyo has some sort of deal with Akito to become part of the Zodiac, and Marley believed in him.

" I hope you know... that even if she can't say it. Akito really is sorry that she lost her temper." Kureno tried to apologize for the actions of another.

Was it pride that kept Akito from properly apologizing? Or was it that she had never been made to do so before, so she didn't know how?

" It really was an accident. I don't blame Akito for what happened. I think... things just got out of hand." But Marley was still very apprehensive about going back to the main house. Like her instincts kicked up every time she passed the large building.

"Mornin'" Another voice broke through, and white hair popped up behind Kureno, his hands stuffed into black ripped jeans and a black muscle tank, his custom silver jewelry on display.

" Haru! Good morning. Here for breakfast?" Marley asked as she smiled at her friend, and he nodded while also looking at Kureno, a small sense of apprehension in the teen boy's brown eyes.

"The girls are sleeping in the living room, but there's some fresh orange juice in the fridge if you'd like," Marley told him, and he nodded, but not before giving Kureno a weird look as he headed into the house.

" I know... that maybe it's not my place. But Akito holds your friendship very dear." Kureno was looking at her with such kind eyes, his words were so sincere.

Marley had trouble saying no to something like that.

" I'll make time. Maybe I'll try and stop by later."

"I'll be off then. Thank you for hearing me out." Kureno bowed his head and was about to turn around, but Marley's voice stopped him.

" Wait, why don't you come in? I'm about to get started on breakfast. " Marley invited him in.

" I don't want to impose."

" Please, the more, the merrier. I make a pretty good french toast." Marley held out her hand to the man. It was undoubtedly inviting, her bright warm smile and the open hand reaching out for him.

But Kureno couldn't stay. He could never be away from Akito for very long. She needed him, and he made a promise.

" Apologies, but I must be going."

"Oh... okay. Maybe another time." Marley smiled and wished him a good day. As he turned around the corner and disappeared, the porch door slid open, and there stood Uo, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes before she yawned out a lazy 'mornin'.

.

" Good morning. How did you sleep?" Marley asked, and Uo let out a grumble about 'damn morning people.'

" I'll get started on breakfast then," Marley said as she stepped back into the house, the other two girls were starting to wake up and wished her a good morning as Marley passed through.

In the kitchen, Hatsuharu was sitting at the table sipping on a cup of orange juice, he didn't even look at her as she entered the room.

"Kureno leave?" The stoic faced boy asked, placing down the glass and staring at it.

"Yeah, I guess he had to get back to Akito. It's too bad, I wouldn't mind getting to know him. I am the year of the rooster, maybe we have something in common." Marley joked as she started rifling through all the drawers to bring out all that she would need.

" He's always been kept away from us." The Zodiac member mentioned.

"huh?"

"Akito always seems to send him away whenever we come around. I dunno, he's just different."

" Different? How so?" Marley really wasn't sure what the Cow of the Zodiac was talking about.

" It's a zodiac thing. I wouldn't be able to explain." Haru's voice got a little lower, and Marley knew that was the end of the conversation.

"Oh." Again she was the outsider who couldn't understand the inner-workings of her family.

" Your hair is different." He pointed out, but she could tell he was just trying to make conversation.

" Hana straightened it last night." Her hair was brushing the top of her thighs now that the waves and curls and been ironed out. Honestly, Marley wasn't a fan of straight hair on her. She liked it when it was wavy with random curls. But she imagined that the boy wasn't here to talk about hair.

"How are you doing?" Marley asked, changing the subject. Hatsuharu could be on the quiet side, but lately, he seemed to be... lost. And Marley could hardly blame him. The girl he loved had broken up with him, out of nowhere it seemed.

" So, you know." Hatsuharu sighed. He figured that Marley was probably the first to know... other than himself.

" I don't know what goes through her head... I can never tell what she's thinking, but. I'm still working through it." Haru admitted as his shoulders seem to slouch.

" I hope you know that if you ever need anything or just wanna talk, I'm always here. Anything at all!." Marley gave his shoulder a squeeze, and he gave her a small smile, but Marley could see that even that took a lot out of him.

"The girls are getting up, how about you relax in the living room and I'll have breakfast out in a bit." Marley rubbed his back, hoping to give just the smallest bit of comfort. Isuzu was also hurting, but she doubted it would help to tell him that.

Plus, Zuzu would kill me if I told Haru that.

Hatsuharu made his way to the living room, and Tohru ended up helping her with breakfast. Whisking the eggs, making tamagoyaki and cutting up the strawberries and pineapple while Marley made french toast and applewood smoked bacon along with a small serving of her plant-based bacon in a smaller pan.

It was good that Marley had made so much because not to long after the girls woke up, Momiji showed up along with Kisa and Hiro. They ended up having to bring in an extra table, but everyone had a spot and enjoyed themselves. Even Haru seemed to relax a little, but he was still very quiet. But Marley was glad he was at least hanging out with them instead of stewing in his room or something.

Marley did remind the boys to be careful around Uo and Hana, but Momiji was honestly the only one she really kept an eye on.

"OH god, this is so good, Yo, Ojii-Chan, how about you adopt me and then I can eat like this every day." Uo teased, and the old man let out a scoff before putting more bacon on his plate.

"Next time Ojii-Chan! Imma beat your butt in Mario Kart, you're princess peach is going down!" Uo declared, and Marley's grandpa just smirked.

"It's too bad Yuki, and Kyo aren't here," Tohru mentioned, feeling like they were missing out on a delicious meal. Marley agreed with the girl, it would have been nice to have them here.

"Maybe next time." And maybe next time Marley could get Kureno to join in, recalling the lonely and lost energy he sometimes seemed to exude. While his smiles were very handsome, they never seemed to reach his eyes.

After breakfast, Marley walked the girls to the front gate and wished them a good day and said she would see them tomorrow. As she walked back, she noticed a familiar figure resting in a large circular window.

Well... no time like the present

" Hey." Marley tested, calling to Akito as if she were approaching a scared dog, shying away from human contact. Akito hid in the dark safety of the main house while Marley was bathed in the daylight, her hair almost giving a light glow off the sun's reflection.

"... what do you want." Akito looked... rough. Dark circles under eyes, and she looked paler than usual. Marley immediately felt guilty. She had pushed where she didn't belong. A big part of her heart was still disappointed with Akito for the way she spoke of Kyo's other form, but again, maybe there was hope for it all to change once Kyo won the bet and became part of the Zodiac. But right now, Marley needed to at least try and help Akito.

" Just wanted to say Hi."

Akito seemed to scoff and looked away, slightly stepping back into her room and away from the window.

"You've said your 'Hi.' Now you can go and hang out with all your friends." Akito spat.

They stood in silence, the only sound was the gentle sounds from the wind chimes now and then. Marley took a breath and decided to be the one try and break the seal.

" I know you didn't mean to hurt me." Marley decided to just get to it as she approached the window, now slightly leaning on the circular sill. She noticed Akito seemed to be shaking, and she reached in and was able to grab her hand.

The girl tensed a bit, and soon small sniffles could be heard, Akito brought her free hand to her face, hiding from Marley but she continued to hold her hand. There was so much Akito wanted to say, but she couldn't find the words. So the short-haired broken girl just cried with her back to Marley while squeezed her hand.

" Maybe... maybe next time you could join us for Saturday brunch?" Marley offered, and Akito was quiet but whispered a small maybe, before saying that she had affairs to attend to and Marley let go of her hand, wishing her a good Sunday.

The white-blonde wished they could have had more of talk, but maybe just a little at a time was what was needed. To be honest, a part of Marley still felt apprehensive about the tantrum Akito had thrown but decided that it wasn't fair to throw away a friendship over one incident.

It had been an accident.

Marley made it back to her home and took a seat on the porch, letting out a massive sigh as she leaned back and closed her eyes. Taking in the warm breeze and the chirps of the cicada. Summer was here, and she was looking forward to wearing her new bikini.

The one that Kyo picked out.

Marley felt her face grow warm at the thought and groaned, blaming Uo and Hana for putting something like that in her head. Marley covered her face with her hands and debated with herself, deciding that the girls were just silly.

Gimli hopped up on the porch, and Marley opened her eyes to greet him... only to see something in his mouth.

"Hey Baby, what do - Aye haye! Ae ki kar ditta tu hun?!" Marley yelped at her cat like a mother scolding a child as she spotted the small sparrow in the cat's mouth and immediately ran around the trying to catch her orange and white hunter.

Maybe it was a good thing that Kureno hadn't joined for brunch, he might have been offended by Gimli's catch.

" GIMLIIII! Please!" Marley continued the chase while Dadaji and Hatsuharu watched, enjoying the entertainment as they sipped their tea.

.

.

.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

.

Notes:

Tamagoyaki – Japanese omelet

Soba – buckwheat noodles, served chilled with dipping sauce or in a hot broth. Commonly served with tempura.

Sizing in Japan – many things in Japan is one size fits all. So if you have a bit of a 'different' body type then it can be frustrating shopping. Every time I go shopping in East Asia it's a trip XD I buy lots of cute tops/sweaters but they become crop tops on me, they're still super cute but yep...it is what it is.

Devdas (2002) - Indian romantic drama. After his wealthy family prohibits him from Marrying the woman he is love with, Devdas's life spirals downward. It's REALLY good! Highly recommend.

Burlesque – type of variety show that is both provocative and comedic.

Cabrón : Spanish – meaning dumbass or bastard... I think, forgive me, my Spanish is limited and I'm trying to learn

Aye haye! Ae ki kar ditta tu hun?! Punjabi – equivalent to 'Oh my God! What have you done now', man I heard that so much as a kid XD

Ane-San: respectful term for 'older sister' and includes older females for whom one has respectful or adulatory 'big sister' feelings, commonly used in female delinquent culture.

Song: True Colors – Cyndi Lauper

..

..

..Whew! Hello!

How is everyone doing?

Staying safe? Staying healthy? I hope so.

I know I've been slow with chapters, just been feeling down lately so it's hard to write.

I was hoping to reach the Hatsuharu classroom scene before the anime but darn it! They beat me to it. Oh well, maybe it'll be in the next chapter :p

A lot of stuff happening, a lot of stuff going on.

Nothing against Hana and Uo, but that swimsuit scene always drove me nuts but maybe that's because it sounds like someone dictating what's best for someone else without asking what they want and it always bothered me. And I feel like we see Tohru in a lot more whites and blues then we do pink, ANYWAY, moving on.

We learned a bit more about Marley's past back in America. Also snuck a little Kureno in there, I'm still unsure of his personality so forgive me if he seems OOC anywhere. I just don't know with him.

I hope this chapter makes your day a little more bearable. Also, there are some links below if you wanna check some stuff out kind of related to the story or referred to.

Thank you for those who have favourited and reviewed this story. YOU are the ones who keep me wanting to write and post so thank you, thank you, thank you.

To VampireSiren: Thank you for all your support and for the review. I love Marley and Isuzu's friendship and I'm glad that you do as well. Marley hasn't seen the last of the Yuki Fan club, they'll have interactions in the future. Marley has got A LOT to learn when it comes to the Sohma family and Akito, stay tuned. I'll probably include Chandra and Yuuto's love story down the road, it's pretty cute :p it ended up being a coincidence that A kanji for Tetsuo meant 'Iron Man' and I was like 'OMG' perfect XD. Also, we're fueling up the Kyo x Marley ship chapter by chapter lol

To ktbelle1313: Thank you for the review! I', so happy you enjoyed the chapter. Marley will see more secrets of the Sohma family soon, and she's not done with Akito. I live with someone who is high risk and I want to keep them safe but I'm definitely starting to feel the effects of isolation, but I'm hoping to come out of my slump soon. Stay safe!

To zikashigaku: Thank you for the review! Momiji and Marley make cute siblings, she's actually almost 2 years older than him, she's about a year older than the main gang (due to being held back in school). Marley's going to see a lot more of the Zodiac's curse and what it entails... it coming... eventually... And I think it's difficult for the members to really share information due to Akito being God so the curse has really messed everyone up. Marley is truly very forgiving of others and her eyes see the best in people, but how far can that go?

shop/faithfull-chaumont-bikini-bottoms?category=swimwear&color=059&type=STANDARD&quantity=1 - the pattern of the bikini I pictured Marley in.

shop/anthropologie-veronica-triangle-bikini-top?category=swimwear&color=053&type=STANDARD&quantity=1 - and this is what I pictured for Tohru

ca/en/p/aerie/bikini-tops/scoop-bikinis/aerie-wrap-halter-bikini-top/0753_1382_683?nvid=pdp_1382_789 - Marley's bathing suit type.

. ?dwvar_76502_color=18434 - the dress Marley was wearing but with a white t-shirt underneath, it's what she's wearing in the drawing of her on my tumblr.

watch?v=TzP7-liTgo4 - burlesque act, over 18 ( this is what I pictured for Marley's mother.)

watch?v=J6pBMjNJTf8 - a silk routine ( just a really nice aerial silk routine)

watch?v=Jbn39j-xa-k - dance scene from Devdas ( WATCH WATCH WATCH)