Well
here we go, the next chapter to my Zodiac tales. This one was inspired by the
song All Tomorrow's Parties by Rasputina ^.^
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Kyou
and Yuki lay on Yuki's bed, a peaceful ease draped over them like a warm
blanket of calmness. Kyou was curled up against Yuki, purring as Yuki petted
his head. The sound of Haru walking around in the hall was like thunder in the
silent night. The door slid open, finally, and a lost looking Haru stepped in.
"Roan.
Where is his room?" Kyou felt himself smile against Yuki's neck. He was
relieved to see that Haru hadn't changed in the two years he'd been gone. The
two sat up and looked to Haru who was standing patiently in the doorway, waiting
for a response from one of them.
"Last
door on the left." Yuki watched as Haru nodded and walked out, shutting
the door after him. Kyou laid his head in Yuki's lap so he was looking up at
him. He smiled as Yuki entwined their fingers together.
"Speaking
of Roan, how is it that you came to know him?"
"Akito
was taking me to the room he was going to lock me in when a girl named Mira
approached him. She told him that I could be helpful to her, and asked
permission to take me to where she lived. Akito agreed, and Mira took me to her
house. As it turns outs, Mira is the head of the Kauz family." Kyou
watched as Yuki nodded. He smiled and sighed, which would be uncharacteristic
for him two years ago. Yuki noticed, however, that there was something that
Kyou was neglecting to tell him. He looked down at the cat and gave him a
quizzical look.
"What
else is there? Why didn't Akito mention to Shigure that he had a half
brother?"
"They
are Zodiac. Like us, they transform when hugged. I've only seen Roan transform
in the two years I've been with them. Mira, during the daily training session,
Roan and I were sparring in the dojo while Mira practiced ballet with
Neesa-chan. Neesa-chan is the Aquarius of the Zodiac, she turns into a swan.
"Akito
was supposed to visit, I'd forgotten completely about it. He walked into the
dojo and became enraged when he saw Roan and I getting along. Akito… He smacked
me and pushed me to the ground. As I fell, he pulled the bracelet off. I
transformed and Neesa ran out screaming, followed by a very pleased Akito. Roan
tried to approach me to help me… He didn't care about the way I looked or that
horrible smell… He wanted to help me. I was so confused, I lashed out at him
like I had Tohru when she saw my true form. Mira jumped in front of Roan and
spread her arms out. A strong wind knocked me back, but I fought against it.
Mira grabbed Roan to save him, he transformed into a phoenix and flew to
safety.
"The
next thing that happened surprised even me. Mira walked over and embraced me
into a warm hug. Suddenly, large white wings spread from her back and covered
us both. I turned back into human form…. Yuki… I've never had to wear the
bracelet since then…" Kyou held out a naked wrist to prove his point. Yuki
blinked as he ran his fingers down Kyou's arm. He stared in disbelief. Kyou's
true form had been locked away by Mira, something that no one had been able to
do. Yuki brought his head down and kissed Kyou's wrist.
"I
take is you liked living there?"
"Not
really. I liked the Zodiac, but not living there. They weren't allowed to leave
the compound. The younger ones were bitched at for asking to go to a private
school." The door suddenly slid open for the second time that night to
reveal Roan. As he stepped in, he bowed, then slid the door shut after him. He
apologized for disturbing the two, then walked closer to the bed.
"Kyou-kun,
Yuki-kun… I just got off the phone with Mira-san. She said that she has used
her power as the head of the family to allow the Zodiac to come here with her
for a visit."
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Mira
smiled as she hung a protection scroll above the arch of the Kauz residence.
Haein and Ash approached her, both watching with curiosity. Mira turned to the
two and smiled to them.
"Please,
pack your bags and tell the others to do the same. We are going to visit Roan
and Kyou, and meet the Juunishi."
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Roan
woke up to the smell of breakfast. He sat up on the mattress and stretched.
Yuki had insisted on having Roan sleep in the room with Kyou and him. He looked
onto the bed; Kyou was still asleep while Yuki was gone from the room.
Roan
smiled as he stood and walked out of the room. He made his way down to the
kitchen, humming as he walked. He entered the kitchen to find Yuki struggling
to make breakfast with Haru trying to help him. Roan grinned as he walked over
and turned the heat on the stove down.
"If
you try to hurry it by cooking it at a high temperature, you'll kill the food.
May I please help?" Roan, still grinning, took over cooking duties.
"The
phoenix, a fighter, Akito's half brother, and a cook."
"Kyou
told you, ne? I hope he's only told you the good stuff." Roan looked over
his shoulder and watched as Yuki sat down beside Haru. Haru was starring at
Roan, trying to figure the newly known family member out.
"I'll
admit, Yuki-kun, that I was very happy that you let me sleep in your room. I've
grown very fond of Kyou's company. The others said I was stingy with his
company… I guess the main reason I was happy I got to sleep in there was
because I was so used to sleeping in the same room as Kyou…" Roan sighed
as he fixed his eyes on the food, not knowing exactly what Yuki was going to do
to his very open admittance to liking Kyou. Haru stood and walked out of the
room to give the two time to talk.
"Why
did you share a room with him, if I may ask? Isn't your house large enough for
everyone to have their own room?" Yuki watched as Roan nodded slightly and
continued cooking. Roan kept his eyes on the food as he prepared a careful
answer.
"Because
he deserved the room I was in. It was big enough for two, maybe even three,
people with three times the amount of crap I had in there."
"Thank
you, Roan-san." Roan looked up from the food, startled by Yuki's response
to his statement. What was Yuki thanking him for? And, did Yuki really think it
necessary to call him 'Roan-san'?
"Nani?
What for?"
"For
being there for Kyou when I couldn't."
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"Ash
and Addie, sitting in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G!!!" Kailin giggled as she ran
ahead of the victims to her teasing. Neesa laughed as she walked between Hato
and Ky. Hato had short red hair with orange eyes, was pale in skin color, and
was age eight. Ky, at the age of ten, had chocolate brown hair and black eyes.
Mira sighed as she repositioned Kunhui on her hip. Kunhui was nine, but
appeared to be only four. He also appeared to be a girl, large blue eyes were
almost completely covered by long, draping blond hair that reached the middle
of his back while pulled into a loose ponytail. Leigh, the eldest female next
to Mira, sighed as she tried to calm the kids down. She was, as Kyou had called
her when they first met, a Yankee. She had short, cropped blond hair and boyish
blue eyes, the opposite of her little brother Kunhui. The eighteen-year-old
looked to her best friend Megami, who was just a year younger than her. Megami
had multi-colored hair that would remind one of a calico cat that reached her
knees. She had amber eyes that were shaped like a cat's. Megami began to hum a
song, her sweet voice calming the children down. Thirteen-year-old Yukaisha
held onto fourteen-year-old Kurai's shirt as if he were her life. Yukaisha had
shoulder length blue hair and equally blue eyes. Kurai's dirty blonde hair was
chin length in the front and faded as it went back so it was almost like a bowl
cut in the back, his brown eyes sparkled out fro under thick, girlish lashes.
The
group suddenly stopped outside of Shigure's house. They stared at the house for
a few minutes before walking up to the house. Mira placed Kunhui on the ground
and let him walk up to the house first. The door was open for some reason, so
the young boy walked in.
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"SENPAI!
You have to go to this conference! It is expected!" Mit-chan clung to
Shigure's feet, begging him to come to the conference. Shigure looked down at
her and laughed slightly. It was amusing to him to see a grown woman act the
way she did.
"Mit-chan,
I have an important guest!"
"That's
just an excuse!"
"Excusez-moi?
Est-ce que c'est où Roan-niichan et Kyou-niichan restent?" The small boy
who spoke was chewing on his bottom lip, looking at the two with large blue
eyes. He had both arms tucked behind him, and one leg bent behind the other as
he twisted back and forth. Mit-chan let go of Shigure's leg and scooted to the
boy.
"Senpai,
do you… know this child?" Mit-chan watched as the boy looked at her
quizzically. Neither of the adults could understand what the young boy had
said, but they were able to establish that he had spoken in French.
"Do…
do Roan-niichan and Kyou-niichan live here?" The boy spoke again, this
time in Japanese. His words were covered in a French accent, but perfect
none-the-less. As the boy stared, Kyou walked down the stairs, rubbing his eyes
to remove the sleep from them. The boy squealed in delight as he ran past
Mit-chan and Shigure to Kyou.
"NIICHAN!"
He jumped up and glomped Kyou, knocking him to the ground. As Kyou looked up,
the young boy beamed a large smile down at him.
"Kunhui-chan?"
Kyou looked up at Kunhui as Roan and Yuki walked in from the kitchen. Haru
walked in from some mysterious portion of the house to see the kid giggling on
top of Kyou. There were four more squeals, followed by four more small bodies
jumping onto Kyou.
"Neesa,
Hato, Kunhui, Ky, and Kailin. Get off of Kyou-kun now." Mira stood, her
arms crossed over her chest. The other seven stood behind her, each watching as
the young children complied and crawled off of their beloved 'Niichan'. Neesa
looked around, then finally spotted her beloved Roan. She scampered to him and
latched onto his waist.
"Roan-san!
I missed you!"
"Neesa-chan,
I've only been gone for a day."
"But
the house is so boring without you there!" As Neesa complained to Roan,
who was laughing and smiling at everything the child was saying, Yuki was
walking over to Kyou and helping him up. Mira watched as Yuki took Kyou's hand
in his, a small smile played on her lips.
"I
hope you aren't mad, Kyou-kun. I sent Kunhui to see if you were here, the
others four ran after him." Mira smiled as Kyou shook his head no and took
his hand away from Yuki so he could pick said boy up. Kunhui grinned and hugged
Kyou as if it were the first time he'd seen him in forever.
"Kawaii!
Kyoooooooooooou! I didn't know Kyou like kids!" Momiji appeared behind the
members of the Zodiac who were still in the doorway. Haru's ears perked at the
sound of his genki boyfriend's voice. Momiji looked at the Zodiac members and
smiled as he bowed.
"Guten
Tag! I'm Sohma Momiji, half Japanese and half German!"
"Mit-chan,
as you can see, I can't go to the conference, I have a bunch of guests!"
Shigure smiled as Mit-chan started to cry. He patted her on the back as she
made her way out of the door, the Zodiac and Momiji moving carefully out of the
weeping woman's way.
"You
must be Shigure. I am Mira, head of the Kauz family, and these are the
Zodiac."
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And
what costume shall the poor girl wear
To all tomorrow's parties
A hand-me-down dress from who knows where
To all tomorrow's parties
And where will she go and what shall she be
When midnight comes around
She'll turn once more to Sunday's clown
And cry behind the door
And what costume shall the poor girl wear
To all tomorrow's parties
Why silks and linens of yesterday's gowns
To all tomorrow's parties
And what will she do with Thursday's rags
When Monday comes around
She'll turn once more to Sunday's clown
And cry behind the door
And what costume shall the poor girl wear
To all tomorrow's parties
For Thursday's child is Sunday's clown
For whom none will go mourning
A blackened shroud, a hand-me-down gown
Of rags and silks, a costume
It's fine for one who sits and cries
For all tomorrow's parties