This
chapter.... I was listening to Endless Sorrow by Ayumi Hamasaki too much ^^.
--Endless Sorrow--
Sakura leaves fell from the trees around the Kauz household in frenzy,
appearing to be pink tinted butterflies in the wanton wind. The playful winds
wrapped around the trees, leaves, and the petals as if begging for them to come
and dance. Nature seemed to pull at its offspring, almost violently, as the sun
died and buried itself in the ocean far away. A warm spring breeze nipped at
the stilling evening, begging for a flirtation in response.
Two young adults walked quietly together, the soft sound of their feet on the
pavement was the only sound that was unnatural. They approached the main house
and slid their shoes off. Quietly, they placed their indoor shoes on and walked
into the house. They stood, watching as the elders motioned for them to come
over to them. As they did, they looked to one another. Jade and burnt-red eyes
collided and caught each other in a stalemate as they sat.
"Do either of you know why we have sent for you?" The woman who spoke
looked at the two who shook their heads no.
"Akito has passed on, Kyou. You are now free to return to your family, but
only under one condition. You must take Roan with you; after all, he will
become the head of the family. He is, after all, Akito’s half brother."
------
Yuki sat on the roof of Shigure’s house. He’d come to visit, but Shigure had
begged him to move back in. He was considering it. He sighed and placed his
head in his hands, a family reunion had been planned for this very day, and
everyone would be arriving soon.
Yuki watched as cars began pulling up and members of the family started
arriving. And, as a surprise, Tohru had come wither her husband and newborn
daughter. Yuki found himself smiling, everyone had found peace. Haru and Momiji
had admitted to feeling for each other, Kagura and Ritsu had fallen in love,
Hiro and Kisa were finally together, Rin and Kureno were dating people outside
the family, Hatori had gotten stuck with Shigure and Ayame, and Tohru had a
nice family (and as a side note, the only reason Shigure allowed her to attend
the family reunion was because her husband was indeed a Sohma! O.o) Yuki
sighed, ready to join the others. He stepped onto the ladder and cast a wish...
no. Demand to a falling star.
"If there is a god, bring me back Kyou tonight!"
------
"Sohma-kun! Gomen!" Tohru bowed again and again, apologizing for
bumping into Yuki, transforming him into a mouse. Yuki sighed and assured her
that all was ok. Gentle hands suddenly plucked Yuki from the ground and cupped
him in their warmth. The hands brought the mouse to their owner’s face. Yuki
stared hard into foreign jade eyes.
"Why, konban wa, nezumi-kun. I am Roan Kauz-Sohma, I have brought myself
here to introduce myself to you and to let you all know that it will be I who
takes over as the head of the Sohma family, as Akito’s half brother." Roan’s
voice was a more delicate version of Akito’s, but it held it’s own secrets in
it. The room grew silent, in shock of the news that had just been handed to
them in such a manner. Roan brought Yuki to his lips and gently kissed the
mouse, then nuzzled him against his chin.
"Oi, Roan-no-baka, put Yuki down."
"Ah, Kyou-chan, as punctual as ever." Roan turned to see his object
of affection lazily standing in the doorway. Everyone, now recovering from one
shock, turned to see Kyou standing in the doorway and fell into silence induced
by a second shock. Kagura’s eyes filled with tears, then she went to hit him.
"KYOU! YOU JER---!" Roan, with Yuki now on his shoulder, grabbed
Kagura’s wrist and held it up above her head.
"As long as I am the head of the family, no violent actions will be taken
on each other. Kyou will no longer be cast aside, and I will not intrude on
your personal lives. Now, Kyou, I promised you when we first met that I would
make you happy, and would always make you happy.... It’s time to live up to my
promise... I am hereby stating that--"
There was a loud "pyon", signaling that Yuki had transformed from his
mouse form, back to his human form. Roan, not expecting Yuki to turn back, fell
on the ground from the added weight, a naked Yuki lying on top of him. Kyou
rushed over and helped the two up, taking his jacket off and placing it over
Yuki. Kyou smiled as he wrapped his arms around Yuki. He took no notice of the
look of jealousy that had befallen Roan's face.
-----
Roan sighed as he slid the door to his temporary room shut. He'd been given a
room separate from his beloved Kyou's. He shook his head and walked over to the
bed. His bags had been brought from his car, so he hadn't had to worry about
carrying them up the stairs. Sitting on the bed that was provided for him, he
picked up a small black bag and set it beside him. Gently, he opened the bag
and grasped something inside. He slowly pulled out a picture. He smiled as he
looked fondly at the picture.
Fifteen
humans ranging from child to teen posed for the picture, two of which were Kyou
and himself. He smiled as he lay back and stared at the picture. His delicate
fingers idly danced over the picture, lingering only seconds too long on the
image of Kyou. Kyou stood between himself and his best friend, the Goddess of
the Zodiac, Mira. Memories of the day Mira brought Kyou into the training
grounds of the Zodiac danced freshly in his mind. Wanting nothing more than to
escape and see the Kyou he loved without disturbing his reunion with his
beloved Yuki, he allowed daydreams of the first time they met to fill his blue
haired head.
***
Mira
guided Kyou into the main gates, she quietly whispered to the orange haired
bishonen. Her hands were filled with bags, adding an odd sense of normality to
the eccentric girl. Her shoulder length pink hair was pulled up into a bun with
a few loose hairs falling gracefully around her head. She wore a pair of dark
gray stockings with sneakers, a red vinyl mini skirt, and a shirt that covered
only her breasts. It was like a sleeveless, thigh length vest except for the
one black piece that stretched over her chest. Her left arm was covered in a
fashion of a sleeve, and a black studded belt was looped around her hips. The
light caught her gray eyes perfectly, giving her the illusion of an angel.
Mira
looked over at the thirteen Zodiac when she had realized that they had stopped
training and were watching them. She turned her face from the cursed ones and
continued to walk forward. Roan, being completely entranced by the new comer,
began to follow them. A young girl followed closely at his heels.
"Roan-san,
who is that boy with Mira-sama?" The young girl, the youngest Zodiac at
the age of five, looked up at her idle with a curious gaze. One could say that
the girl had worshipped the ground Roan had walked on since the day of her
birth. The girl, Neesa, grabbed Roan's hand and walked happily beside the older
Zodiac.
"I
don't know who he is, Neesa-chan, but we'll find out soon, ne?" Roan
looked down at the platinum blonde girl and smiled. Neesa grinned back, her
lavender eyes glowing with warmth. As they closed in on Mira and Kyou, Roan
picked a rose from one of the many bushes as they passed. He knew that Kailin,
the eight-year-old garden expert would yell at him, but it wasn't like she
didn't yell at him enough already. She, being a member of the Zodiac as well,
had a short temper and wasn't afraid to tell her sempai when he was in the
wrong. Kailin was graced with black hair with natural blood red bangs and deep
chocolate eyes, a true beauty.
The
procession stopped when Roan stood in front of Mira and Kyou and held out the
rose to his childhood friend, now the head of the family.
"Mira-sama,
a rose for the perfect flower." Roan smiled as the head of the family
looked to him dully, then smiled as she handed off the bags to Haein, the next
to the eldest male. Haein's hair was cut much like Kyou's, but it was brown
with silver streaks. He had deep gray eyes and a well-muscled build for a
fourteen-year-old. Mira accepted the flower from Roan and smiled.
"I
suppose you all came to meet the newest resident? Everyone, this is Kyou Sohma.
He will be staying with us for a while. I'll explain more at dinner. I want
everyone except Roan to go back to your training; you'll have to make up for
lost time of course. Roan, take Kyou's bags from Haein and follow Kyou and I to
Kyou's room please." Mira watched as Roan followed her order without
hesitation, and then sent the other twelve to go spar. She smiled, sometimes it
was annoying because they never did anything without Roan giving the OK on it,
but she also knew that they looked up to him because he was special.
"Kyou,
this is Roan. Roan, meet Kyou. The two of you are very alike in the aspect of,
your curse should, technically, not exist. Roan was born with the curse of the
Phoenix Zodiac from an old Wicca tradition, and Kyou was born of the Year of
the Cat from the legend." Mira smiled as Kyou and Roan stared at each
other. It was as if they were looking at opposites of themselves. Compared to
the fiery appearance Kyou had, Roan seemed very calm and sexy, much like Yuki.
"Your
curses, are they really things such as the scale or the centaurs?" Kyou
watched as a smile spread across Roan's face. The Phoenix boy shook his head no
with a smug smile.
"Our
curse forms are actually based on ancient Native American traditional animals.
Aries is represented by the ram, Leo by a lion, Sagittarius by a wolf, Taurus
by an ox, Virgo by the spider, Capricorn by a squirrel, Gemini is a cat, Libra
by a lizard, Aquarius by a swan, Cancer by the traditional crab, Scorpio by the
scorpion, Pisces by a poor little fish, and the Phoenix by none other than the
Egyptian phoenix. Tonight, at dinner, I'll have the others introduce themselves
along with their curse." Roan smiled as he moved closer to Kyou. He was
growing fond of him very quickly, and it did not go unnoticed by Mira. Mira's
smile strengthened as they stopped outside Kyou's room and Roan offered to help
him settle in.
"I
am very busy today, Akito-san is coming by to check up on things, Roan, will
you meet with him?" Mira watched as Roan nodded in response and slid the
door to Kyou's room open. Mira turned and walked away, leaving the two males to
their own devices.
"Kyou,
tell me… why did Akito-san send you here?"
"Because
I am the cat, I am expendable. No one cares… except for the person Akito is
obsessed with."
"Yuki?
But according to Akito-san, you hate Yuki…"
"He
talks to you about me?"
"He
only mentions you. But, he's mentioned you all… The Juunishi I mean, so much
that I want to meet them all. I guess I will when Akito-san passes away."
"Ne?"
"Didn't
you know? I'm Akito-san's half brother. I am to become the head of the Sohma
family when Akito passes away." Roan blinked under Kyou's stare. It began
to feel awkward as Kyou began to keep his gaze away from the younger teen.
Roan, feeling highly uncomfortable now, dismissed himself and ran to the
training grounds.
As
he ran, he yelled for his cousin Ash. Ash, a black haired boy with green eyes,
met him half way. Roan pulled Ash off to his private dojo and shut the doors
behind them.
"Roan-san?"
"Ash,
that guy Kyou… Gods he's so amazing. Handsome, strong, the cat of the Juunishi…
Ash, what does it feel like to fall head over heels for someone?" Roan
looked to his younger cousin who blushed slightly at the elder's questions. Ash
remembered when he'd approached Roan for advice on his own crush, Addie, the
other thirteen-year-old male in the Zodiac circle. Addie had brown hair that
was fashioned after Roan's and deep amber eyes. Ash stood, pondering what to
tell his older cousin when the dinner bell rang.
-----
Roan
was disturbed from his tranquil thoughts when he heard gentle knocking on his
door. He sat up and blinked, calling for the person on the other side to come
in. Haru walked in, a detached look on his serene face.
"There
is a phone call for you. Some girl named Mira. She said it was important."
Haru watched as Roan jumped up and walked to the door. Haru lead him down to
the phone, then leaned against the wall as the new head of the family picked
the phone up from beside the cradle and brought the speaker up to his lips.
"Mira-sama?"
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
^^
That ends that chapter!
Endless
Sorrow by Ayumi Hamasaki:
Tatoeba
hitorikiri de
Nani mo mienaku natta toshite
Tatoeba sore demo mada
Mae ni susumou to suru no nara
Koko
e kite kono te wo
Kimi
ni moshi Tsubasa ga
Hitotsu shika nakute mo
Boku ni moshi Tsubasa ga
Hitotsu shika nokotte nakute mo
Tatoeba
shinjiru mono
Nani hitotsu naku natta toshite
Tatoeba soko ni wa tada
Zetsubou dake ga nokotta nara
Douka
kono inori wo
Hane no nai Tenshi ga
Afureteru jidai de
Kimi
ni moshi Tsubasa ga
Nokosarete nakute mo
Boku ni moshi Tsubasa ga
Hitotsu demo nokotte iru nara
Isshoni...isshoni...