Tokyo

It was morning, the sound of an alarm clock repeating a beep along the bedside of Yuusei Sohma, one of the eldest of the zodiacs, the dragon. A rather thin hand extended out from the covers, hitting the button several times even after the beeping had stopped. Mismatched eyes opened, the eyes blinking several times before the tall figure rose up in his bed, letting out a stretch and placing the back of his hand to his mouth as he released a yawn. Releasing a sigh the set of eyes looked at the clock, five o'clock in the morning was not early enough for the dragon, he did after all have to make his rounds..Checking up on each Zodiac by quietly peeking into their rooms as they slept, it may seemed stalker-like, but to him it was necessary. "Well, guess I should stop slacking." Yuu said calmly as he got himself up, and showered before getting dressed and walking to the edge of his room.

By this time it was seven-thirty in the morning, pulling a pair of glasses from his shirt pocket the dragon gently adjusted it on his face, clear vision..."Perfect". Casually walking down the hallway it would be another hour before he would be completed with his rounds, as some of the zodiacs did not live as close to each other as others. The very thought of walking completely around the estate caused Yuusei to release an agitated sigh, he'd get his daily workout just from making the first set of his rounds! Pulling a small flip notebook from his shirt pocket he looked at the list, the list was not of the names of the zodiacs, but what they transformed into. The list told him which route would be the quickest, and take the less time, last on the list...The Cat.. Why was it the Cat again? Oh, yes..."Ai" lived on her own in a little area of the estate..

"Yes, she is the farthest away..Siiigh.." Yuusei gently rubbed the back of his neck, the mismatched eyes turning as he reached one of the zodiacs rooms. Turning the knob he silently stuck his head into the darkened room, seeing the one sleeping silently he gently closed the door behind him, hearing the door click he pulled a hand from his pocket and checked off the first Zodiac off and continued his rounds. The hallways were dark, as were all the rooms he has checked on so far, it was officially Winter Break and most of the Zodiacs had pulled a late night the night before in celebration for the time off and were sleeping to regain the hours of sleep they had lost. It was something that only made him release another sigh, with all of them home the thought of him being more busy seemed to run through his mind, what would they do with the extra time on their hands? What made it worse, is that some of the people he TRIED to work with thought they were too good to accept his offer, he spent a bunch of his time just trying to get them to let him do his job, and check their health.. If they just worked with him, it would go ten times quicker! The very thought just made him give another agitated sigh, it could be so troublesome having his job.

Yuusei finally got to the last of his list...the Cat, her little part of the estate was mostly kept hidden in deep trees,with a koi pound nearby. He already knew that the, young girl would be the one to be up before everyone, that is why when he arrived to the room he wasn't surprised to already smell food cooking, classical and hear talking coming from the other side of the door.

"You can come in, Yuu-Sama" a soft voice said over the sound of classical music. The Doctor smiled to himself slightly before opening the door, and looking in the small room "So your up early...like always" Yuu said, adjusting his glasses slightly. Ai looked at him for a moment before going back to cook her breakfast, her favorite sunny side up eggs, bacon, toast, and herbal tea "Well I learned from the best, Yuu-sama...when I was staying with you, I had to get up to that stupid alarm of yours, until I got tired of it, and threw it against the wall" she let out a soft laugh,and got two cups, pouring some tea for him and her "It made me feel so guilty though, that I went out a bought you a new one the same day...and now I get up at the same time every morning" she finished explaining handing the tea filled glass to, the Dragon, and then taking a sip from hers.

Yuusei looked at the glass for a moment before smiling politely "Thank you, Ai-chan" he said sitting down at the table and drinking the tea "I only made enough food for me, Yuu-sama" Ai said softly, moving her hair from her face slightly after getting bugged by it for the last time "Please, eat I am not hungry" he said quickly hoping that she would go ahead and eat her food, and not worry about him "No I will wait, I don't eat yet anyway" Ai said with a small giggle before pushing her bangs back again...

Helios awoke to something warm and wet sliding up his cheek repeatedly. "Knight...?" he stated, more question then statement. He hoped it was Knight. It would be rather strange to wake up to someone else doing that. He slowly opened his eyes to see his furry friend standing next to him, wagging his entire back end. Helios rubbed his eyes and sat up in his bed, placing a hand on Knight's back and gently patting his. "Good morning." He said groggily to the little dog, then glanced at the clock on his nightstand. "And goodnight!" He cried before sinking back down underneath the blankets, pulling them up over his head. It was way too early, what was that crazy dog thinking?!

Knight's persistent barking and digging at the blanket had Helios out of bed in fifteen minutes. A new record! He blinked and looked around his room, frowning. It was a mess, books, clothes and shoes strewn everywhere, empty snack bags laying about. There was even an old bowl of milk and cereal souring on the dresser across the room. The only area in the room that was even somewhat organized was a desk that contained numerous photo books and a laptop, currently shut closed and off. He didn't like it, but he never felt like he had the energy to clean it himself. Better start the morning. He thought to himself and sighed. He didn't have to worry about studying, as he was between classes, but he still had to work later on that day.

The dog followed him to the bathroom and waited outside while he showered, then back to the bedroom where he laid and waited while Helios brushed his hair, then jumped excitedly at their bedroom door while Helios rummaged through some clothes piled at the end of his bed and pulled on a button-up shirt, sweater, and a pair of pants with a matching black scarf. "Are you ready boy?" He asked, kneeling down for a moment to scratch behind the dog's ear. As soon as he pulled open the bedroom door, Knight shot out and made a bee line to the front door where he waited for Helios. Once Helios opened the front door, Knight ran outside where he hopped through the snow like a rabbit, Helios following behind with his hands buried deep in his pockets as they made their usual route throughout the grounds of the estate.

Katsuko had been awake for hours. Three hours, to be exact. She always woke up early, when it was still dark, and went out into the yard to read and watch the sun rise. It had been a custom, for her, for as long as she could remember. She wasn't sure why. She just liked the open air, the quiet that came.
Before the rest of the zodiac woke up.
She grumbled a sigh. She could hear them now, rising all around her. Soon, it would be noisy and active on the estate. She didn't mind it, really. She liked the activity as much as she liked the quiet.
As long as she could have a little of both.
A dog started barking, and Katsuko swung to her feet. That meant Helios was up.
She usually timed herself by when Knight started barking. It meant it was time to prepare.
And to get Ryuu to come out of hiding.
Rising, she brushed herself off and headed back inside. She didn't bother to knock on Ryuu's door; she just walked in and tore the covers off of him.
Ryuu squeaked in shock and toppled from the bed.
"Up you get," Katsuko commanded, grinning at him. Ryuu yelped and jerked the covers back up, over himself, though his nightshirt covered him completely.
"Mou..." He complained, "Why do you always have to wake me up?"
"It's time to go to school," Katsuko answered calmly.
"I graduated already!" Ryuu whined.
Katsuko laughed softly, "You sure don't act like it."
Ryuu pouted at Katsuko.
"Oh, just get up already," Katsuko laughed, giving him a shove. With a yelp, Ryuu rolled off the bed. When he got up, his lime-green hair was completely tousled, "You may not have school, but you've got work to do!"
Ryuu continued to pout as he got dressed, keenly aware of the fact that Katsuko stood in the door with her back turned, waiting. She was not letting him go back to sleep.

Kata woke up as her fragile body slammed loudly against the floor. "OW!!!" She yelped loudly, squinting at her her clock.
It was pretty late, but she still had time.
Yawning still, she stood up and changed. Hearing a dog bark, Kat nearly jumped out of her own skin.
"eh. . . .It's just Knight." she sighed to herself, shaking her head as she quietly left her room.
Being the sheep, she was slightly jumpy but quickly got over what had scared her.It annoyed the hell out of her when people thought the sheep was scared of everything. Rolling her eyes, she let her hair out of the ponytail she normally kept it in overnight.
Black and red curls tumbled over her shoulder and cascaded down to her elbows as she shook out her hair.
As she flipped on the lights, her strange reddish eyes quickly adjusted, but she had to squint for a moment.
Yawning, she opened the door and sat on the steps, leaning her head back as she stared at the early morning sky.
This was routine for her, and sometimes one or two of the zodiac would join her.
More then often she hardly noticed if they came and sat by her. It wasn't that she didn't enjoy company, she really did, but this was often a time when she was just zone out, and stare at the sky.

God
The early-morning sunlight was just beginning to peek in through the slight opening of the round window of the Sohma family main house. In a nearby bed, something - or someone, rather - stirred. Assorted muffled grumbles and groans emanated from under the mess of uprooted bedsheets and then an arm slid out from under the covers, hanging lazily down for a moment before rising to search blindly for something on the bedside table.

"Yuusei..." a raspy voice moaned in a plaintive tone.
Apparently receiving no response, the speaker attempted one more time to summon the person he was calling out for, "Yuusei...!" Once again, no luck.

The form under the covers let out a final, loud huff of protest before a white bed-head appeared, followed soon after by a thin, rather frail-looking body.

"Honestly, what's the point of having servants if they make you do everything yourself?" the newly-emerged teenage male complained, rubbing some sleep out of his eyes. He yawned, all-the-while, and began looking around the room once he'd finished. He wasn't used to being awoken this early. He'd make sure that whichever nitwit that had left the window open the night before was punished later. Not only had the sun awoken him, but the temperature of the room probably had something to do with it, as well. It was mid-winter, for crying out loud! Naku was already feeling ill, from the start! Idiots. It'd be their fault if he suddenly died of bronchitis... or pneumonia, like his mother had many years ago... Getting sick just three days after his birthday was just his luck. Not that his birthday had put him in much of a good mood, either. In fact, he despised his birthday. He hated the noise of large crowds and the ordeal of it all. By now, at least, most of the servants had learned simply to leave him be on that day of the year - he would always be in a terrible mood, anyways.

Finally locating what he'd been searching for - a cell phone - laying atop a distant bookshelf, Naku dragged himself to his feet and teetered drowsily across the room. He walked huddled over himself in an attempt to use his long, white robes to retain some body heat. It was no use, though. By the time he reached the bookshelf, he was a shivering mess. Despite being born in winter, the fragile God just wasn't cut out for the season.

Stifling a rough cough, Naku picked up the phone and dialed a number: that of the Sohma family doctor, Yuusei. Judging by the time indicated by his alarm clock, Naku knew that the doc would be making his daily rounds to check up on everyone just about now. But that didn't matter; the doctor could make time to see him. He was [/i]"God"[/i], after all. And, thus, he should be catered to before all others that were subservient to him - zodiac or non-zodiac.

Katsuko waited, tapping her toe impatiently while Ryuu dressed. As soon as he had thrown on his shirt and pants, she seized his hand and jerked him out the door, completely ignoring his timid protests. She gave a blissful sigh as the sunlight hit her. It was a beautiful day.
Ryuu, in his turn, flinched in the sudden brightness.
"Katsu-chan," He complained, "It's too early. Can't you just let me sleep?"
"You have a job to do!" Katsuko returned brightly.
"But I can't! You didn't let me get my glasses!"
"They're in your pocket, Ryuu."
Ryuu paused, frowning and reaching into his pocket.
"Oh," He muttered, then slipped the glasses onto his nose.
Katsuko dragged Ryuu over to where Kata was sitting. Kata. The sheep. Ryuu's crush. He blushed and protested furiously as he realized where they were going. But Katsuko didn't much care.
Laughing to herself, she forced him to sit next to her, and then dashed off towards the sound of King's barking. Helios would be up. And he was a lot more fun than timid Ryuu, even though he was still much older than her.

Kata looked up [well, down] when she felt somebody sit beside her. "oh, hi Ryuu." She said softly with a yawn.
Brushing her dark curls over one shoulder, she gave him a small smile. "Aren't you up a little early?"
The timid snake was normally up later, she had noticed.
Her eyes closed for a moment as she leaned back on her elbows.
"But. . .the early morning is so pretty, don't you think?" She asked, without looking at him. It was surprising for her to be in such a calm mood.
Normally in the morning she would come out here and pretty much ignore everybody for a good hour before becoming her flirty self again.
Sighing, Kat sat up and opened her eyes.
Playing with her lace necklace, she glanced at Ryuu.
Her smile faltered for a moment before she put on the normal flirty smile that played on her lips.
Standing up, she swung her hips slightly as she turned back to him.
Holding her hand out to Ryuu, she tilted her head to the side as if wondering if he'd actually take it.
"I don't bite unless you bite me first." She reminded him with a soft laugh.

[sorry for the short post. =P ]

"A-ah," Ryuu answered, going absolutely bright scarlet. He stared down at Kata's hand, hesitating for a moment, before slowly taking it, letting her help him to his feet, "K-Katsuko-chan wouldn't let me sleep in."
It felt remarkably awkward, talking to Kata like this. He'd never tried very hard to get her attention. He'd just sort of watched her in silence, from various cool, shadowy corners. Like the snake which he became when a girl hugged him.
He dropped Kata's hand like it was a snake that might bite him. Or, he supposed that was how he reacted. He wouldn't know. He'd never been very afraid of snakes biting him...
They never did, after all.
Glancing away, still flushed in embarrassment, he fixed his gaze on a bird flitting in the grass a few feet away, desperately searching for a conversation topic. He wasn't good at this. At all.
"U-um... what kind of bird is that?" He asked hurriedly, out of sheer desperation. Katsuko had forced him to talk to her.
But now, he found he didn't want her to leave.

Eriko Sohma stirred. He sat up, blinking in surprise. When had he fallen asleep on the lawn? Oh yeah. Last night...He grimaced, realizing he was naked. He pressed his fingers to his temple, trying to remember what had happened. Oh yeah. The maid...she had....fallen onto him...He had turned into a rat (hamster) and she had run away....?

Eri sighed, gathering up his clothes. A simple gray sweatshirt over a pair of loose fitting jeans. He slipped his worn black Converse on, grimacing at the wetness of the dew clinging to the fabric. He stifled a yawn, realizing he could hear voices from over on the path. He moved over, grimacing at the stiffness in his neck. Damn, he hated waking up on the lawn.

He blinked, seeing Kata and Ryuu.

"Ohayou," he greeted them, his voice practically deadpan. He stepped over the bush, grinning lazily.

Ryuu jumped sharply when Eriko spoke. He whipped around, only to realize that it was just the rat. Another of their family. Not particularly threatening.
"O-ohayo..." He answered in a small voice, reaching up to ruffle his lime-green hair nervously. His glasses slipped down his nose, and he hastily shoved them up once more, "D-did you sleep well, Eriko-s-san?" He asked nervously.
It took way too much effort to make conversation, for Ryuu. He had flushed to the color of a beet, fidgeting slightly. He couldn't believe Katsuko had made him do this...

(sorry for the short post, Katsuko can't do anything until Helios does...)

Masako flew around her family's section of the mainhouse, like some kind of unstoppable whirlwind of excitment. With a thud, she slammed into her mother. So much for unstoppable. "Now, now, Masako. You know there is nothing to be gained by running around in your pajama's like some kind of crazy person." The tiger zodiac opened her mouth to retort, but her mother pushed a bundle of clothes into her arms. "Now go get dressed. Since your a transfer student, you want to make a good impression on all the other kids. But more importantly, the other zodiacs. After all, you haven't seen much of any of them..." Mrs. Sohma hustled away, caught up in thought. "I'm not a crazy person...", Masako mumbled before retuning to her room to get dressed.

Now munching a breakfast of cereal, Masako was wearing her trademark hat, scarf, and gloves with her uniform. Suddenly an idea popped into her head. And it was a very, very good one. Slamming her empty bowl onto the table, she called," Mom! If I can go to school, does that mean I can leave our section of the house to mingle with other people!?" After a short pause, Masako's mom shuffled in. Sighing, she replied, "Yes, I suppose so. If you cause any trouble though, that privledge will be revoked. Got it?" Masako leapt up and caught her mom in a giant hug. "Thank you, thank you, thank you, Mom! I love you!" And with that, she shot out of the house.

Standing in front of the paper-screen door that lead to the area Masako was never before allowed to enter alone. She remembered her father telling her to never, ever go through it. Ever. But here she was, and with permission! Taking a deep breath, the young zodiac pulled the screen open. There was a long, wide wooden corridor before her. It was completely void of life, but had more paper-screen doors along it's sides. Masako timidly put her bare foot down on the polished wooden floor. Glancing at her own floor, it looked inferior in comparison. Here I go... The girl slowly shuffled through the corridors, stifling her presence for some reason. A-am I intimidated by the Mainhouse!? Masako was horrified at the thought, but still stifled her presence nonetheless. Great, now I'm going to look like some lost schoolgirl who's wandered into the Sohma Mainhouse. I've only seen the other zodiacs a few times, so people might not recognise me. It could happen...

She glanced nervously at her watch. Hmm... I still have about 30 minutes left... I shouldn't need to head back for some time... I really want to meet another zodiac! Masako's mind was filled with images of rainbows and flowers, all surrounding the words: ~'First friend outside the dojo and that one time with God!~' Wow... first friend... The young girl shook her head, erasing the dazed expression on her face. But I need to find the person first!

Some time passed, and Masako still had not come across anybody in the corridors. Is everybody at some kind of special event or something...? Wasn't like she would know. The girl was wondering if she should try one of the doors, when a small beeping noise filled the air around her. Oh no! My watch! Upon checking it Masako discovered that her 15 minutes of exploring were up, and she needed to return to the 'Tiger Section' of the house. Her family's area.

Walking back, Masako's aroura was filled with the dissapointment of not finding that friend she was wanting. I wonder if any of the other zodiac has ever noticed me at any of the events I've been forced to attend... The tiger's turn for preforming at the New Year's festival was yet to come (thankfully), so it was possible that they haven't noticed her... But then again, only Zodiac were allowed to attend, so people have seen her before. Masako was always that shy little girl who clinged to her parents and never talked to anybody. Masako shook her head yet again, banishing those unpleasant thoughts from her mind. Now, If I turn here I'll be at the first corridor I went through... Turning, Masako stood in front of a long hallway that branched off into two parts at the other end. Oh no... The tiger was lost. On her first day of school, and she didn't know anybody else in the building beyond a few words.

Kata leaned forward to the bird. "It's a golden finch." She said, holding out her hand and allowing it to perch on her finger.
A light squeak escaped her as she whipped around to see Eriko. Shockingly enough, the golden bird stayed on her finger.
"oh. . .hello, mousey." She said softly, as if expecting it to be somebody else.
Shaking her head, she looked at the bird again. "Remember when we went to the petting zoo?" She asked randomly.
Kata had only been eight, but the sheep adored her. They had followed her around, affectionately licking her.
Those who weren't members of the zodiac thought she was giving them food or something, and looked at her a little funny when they realized she wasn't.
As a child, it had been common for her to get picked on, until she started to build up an attitude, despite her past.
Her cold words often kept people away, but there was always a brave person every now and they who would throw her backpack into a puddle or something. If she didn't teach them a lesson, when of the other zodiacs did.

[sorry for the short post. . .T.T]