It hadn’t been a good week at all for Ruki. She was the Rat, so naturally she was closest to Raiden. But he had been cranky all week. After Toshihiro, the Rooster, and Ayame, the Horse, had gotten married and taken Toshihiro’s younger brother and sister, Nagisa, the Ox, and Kosuke, the Boar, with him and Ayame to live in Tokyo, Raiden had been super angry at everyone that came to visit him. He wanted to stay in his room all day and not eat or anything. Even though Toshihiro, Ayame, Kosuke and Nagisa come to visit every other day, he refuses to talk, just hit. “Lady Ruki, Raiden is still asleep. But you may wait in there until he wakes,” a maid came up to Ruki, causing her to lose her train of thought. “Thank you … Um … do you know if he has calmed down at all?” Ruki knew it was a long shot asking, but it was worth it. “He hasn’t calmed much,” the maid said, rubbing a bruise on her arm. “But I think seeing your beautiful face may fix that.” The maid’s were always so nice to her, but this maid was so nice it was unbelievable. Roya, the maid, had told her what all the other family members said about her. That the Rat was the most primped and polished and adored of them all, the Zodiac that was. So it made them even more angry that she spent most her time by Raiden’s side. And at school, some of the family children said that she was always drawing the attention of outsiders. “And after this, I hope you have a wonderful day at school,” Roya said. “Thank you, and you have a good day yourself.” Ruki made her way down the hall to Raiden’s room, but when she had gotten to his door, she hesitated for a moment. When she entered, there was a slight chill that brushed over her. “Your not really asleep, are you Raiden?” A dark figure moved across the room from the bed to the window. “How did you know, Ruki. Am I that predictable,” Raiden said. Ruki only slightly knew that was a comment and not a question. “I know you to well … Raiden. Just as my father did. You have to understand,” Ruki started before Raiden was across the room, an inch away from her. “Your father was a terrible rat. He was defile and listened to no one! He was arrogant in every way. You can’t tell me that your father knew me at all.” Ruki quickly looked down, scared she might have to go to school with another scrape. “I’m sorry Raiden. But he is my father.” Smack, the sound echoed through the room. “And oh how I wished you weren’t. You are nothing like that beast. You are much, much more precious to me.” Raiden bent slightly and kissed Ruki where he hit her on the cheek. “Alright, come back immediately after school. I wish to talk more. You were late today, so we couldn’t talk as much.” With that, Ruki was out the door, running towards the school, preparing to put on a good act.

Living by yourself was tough, and not even knowing who's supporting your house apartment is even more confusing. Ai groggily arose from his bed, to rub away the sleep in his eyes. Despite having to live alone, he was actually quite comfortable. It was a 2 bedroom apartment, 750 square feet, and 2 bathroom. It was nice for a housemate, or a guest coming to visit. Crawling out of his bed, his back slouched, he walked to his closet and slammed it open. Mornings weren't the best for the little rabbit, since he was more hostile than cute and cuddly in the morning. He hated waking up, and hated it even more that he had to go to school ontop of it. What if girls try to hug him? What if he accidentally trips and falls onto a girl? There's so many bad flukes that could happen each day, which would worry him dearly. He's a bit scared of Raiden, and what he might do if Ai messes up. Of course, Ai doesn't want anyone's memories to be flushed away in the toilet of time, but at the same time, it was painful for someone to know of this curse. Especially the poor cat: Ai felt sorry for the poor cat, and even though he's basically labeled in the rodent family, same as with guinea pigs, and different rodent-like creatures, he has a mental bond with the cat, even though the cat probably doesn't with him.

Ai slipped on his normal clothing: simple collared shirts with simple jeans and converse. Never something real fancy, since he tries his best to look drag so he won't attract females, but apparently it never exactly works. There's always that one female, that one girl who is just head-over-tail for a boy. Anyways, Ai headed towards the bathroom and fixed up his pitch-black hair and groggily made his way towards the living room to snatch up his backpack. Those blue squiggy lines, and a blue tint appeared on him wherever he went this morning: and the morning only. Oh, how he hated mornings like how Kyo hated leeks. It was a very strong hate for mornings, they annoyed him so much he wished he could eat the sun. Well, of course Ai would glow yellow and burn to a crisp so that won't ever happen.

The boy slammed open the door of his apartment and leaving passerbys stopped to raise a brow at the boy. "Morning," the boy said, almost in the form of a growl. His neighbor, Mr. Kawashi, exited the apartment and patted Ai on the shoulder.
"Come on, kid. Stand up straight and proud. I still wish I was as young as you, lucky bunny." A sweatdrop fell down Ai's face. Did he know about his curse? His train of thought broke as the man spoke again. "You look just like a little bunny to me."
Sighing a sigh of relief, he broke away from the man and continued walking, his head lowered a bit and the squiggly lines and blue tint lingering over his head. Once he got farther out, he saw Ruki in the distance and decided to catch up with her. Instead, well, Ai just dropped his head and laid his forehead on her shoulder.
"Morning, Ruki," he said warily.

Mikuo woke up in pain. Same as normal then. Just a normal day, for a person who was anything but normal. He sat up, his muscles complaining, the dark purple of fresh bruises already formed on his skin. Just another day. Reluctantly, he got out of bed, being as quiet as possible. He didn't want to wake his uncle. Then again, considering how drunk the older man had been the previous night, it was unlikely that would happen. Still, he couldn't risk it. He couldn't afford to take another day off school. He couldn't afford any more questions from the school about his physical condition. The bruises were hard enough to hide, he didn't want to have to explain the scars as well. That would just make things worse. Much worse.

Good thing my normal school clothes have long sleeves... he thought sadly as he got dressed, his body protesting as the fabric rubbed on his bruises and half-healed cuts. He held back a whimper, biting his bottom lip so hard that it drew blood. Not enough to be noticed much though, which was the main thing. As long as no one noticed...

He snuck out of the house, quietly closing the door behind him. He hadn't had breakfast, he couldn't risk stealing anything from the fridge. His uncle would notice, and then he'd be in for it when he got home. And then there was definatly no chance he'd get anything to eat for a while. He'd learned to cope with that though. He'd had to. He was the Cat, he'd had no choice but to endure this. Like the rest of the Sohma family, he was cursed, but he was more so than even them. An extra curse, in a way. As if he didn't have it bad enough.
Shut up. That's selfish. The cat deserves it. So that means, I deserve it. he thought, repeating in his mind what he'd been told so often before, by various family members.

The cat is worthless.

The cat is evil.

The cat should die.

That was what he was always told anyway, so much so that he just believed it now. It was just a matter of time.

Moving stiffly, his body sore, he trudged towards the school, bag slung over his shoulder. A small cat, sensing Mikuo's emotions came over and rubbed itself against his leg, and he crouched down to stroke it properly.
He liked cats, he could talk to them better than he could humans, he could tell them anything.
"Hi there. Come to cheer me up, huh?", he asked, his voice quiet and sad, while stroking the cat's ears. The cat, a gray female tabby, lifted her head into his palm, to indicate where to pet. Mikuo obliged, earning a satisfied purr from the tabby. "At least I've made one person feel better.", he said, a tiny smile appearing on his face.

Continuing to walk and not be an idiot by just sulking on Ruki's shoulder, he broke away from the rat and continued walking in isolation from other students, whom saw him and sweatdropped. He sighed and continued his way, thinking about different thoughts about the zodiacs and what he felt about them, but unfortunately he was interrupted as a girl came charging for her friends whom were way ahead of her. Being a foot away and going full speed, the boy moved out of the way quickly and watched the insane girl chase after he friends like some lunatic who is getting chased by Chucky.

He stopped to sweatdrop a bit in confusion, soon shaking his head and glancing over his shoulder to see if there's any more idiots running his way to cause some problems. Instead, he saw a crouching figure way in the distance, so he turned to walk over and get a closer look. Hiding behind a rather large bush, he recognized the cat. "I wonder if I should talk to him," he whispered to himself. "He does look rather lonely."

Ai tapped his bottom lip, for which seemed like minutes before deciding. He walked out of the bush and waved to Mikuo. "Hi Mikuo." He said, trying to forget his morning hate. He was still really, really tired.

Miku tensed at the voice, and he looked up, eyes wide. The cat scampered away into the bushes, also startled by the new person.
It was the Rabbit...Ai, Mikuo thought his name was. Why would he be talking to him? What did he want? Or...was he just trying to be friendly? 'Friendly'...that wasn't an emotion that Mikuo was familar with...

"H-Hello...Ai...Good morning...", he replied quietly, simply out of courtesy for the younger boy, standing up and starting to walk past. Or he would have, had an injury not decided to flare up and he stumbled a bit. Panicking, he looked down at his right leg, hoping that the long cut down it hadn't reopened again. It hadn't, he was safe...for a while.

"I'm sorry...I have to go...", he continued, resuming his escape from the rabbit boy. It was painful though, and he bit his lip again, hoping to distract himself from that.

The alarm clock went off and Umeko reached over to turn it off, she had enjoyed her summer holiday but was glad it was time to go back to school again. She sat up in her bed and looked out the window as the sun was just starting to peek over the horizon. She soon dressed in her school uniform did her hair and was down the stairs, "Ohayō boku shōjo" said her mother who was already working on the meals for the day. "Breakfast is on the table dear" she said Umeko sat down at the table grabbed a piece of toast and an egg. She quickly ate and drink a glass of water, Umeko wanted to leave early so she could pass by the beautiful Sohma home. As she had done every day since she was old enough to walk to school. She didn't know what it was about the Sohma house but she had always been drawn to it.

Once when Umeko was just a little girl not much more then four or five, she had been on an outing with her parents. They were taking a walk to the little noodle shop that had just opened up. As they did every time they took a walk to town they passed cautiously past the Sohma house. Umeko got distracted by a squirrel gathering something just past the fence, and didn't notice that her parents had moved ahead without her. It wasn't long before she noticed that she was left behind, not able to see her parents anywhere she began to cry. The only thing she could think to do was go into the gates of the Sohma house to see if she could get help.

Thats when she saw a older boy who was out in a court yard feeding some bread crumbs to a flock of little sparrows. "Please I lost my mommy and daddy can you help me", the boy was pale and looked like he was sick. He walked up to Umeko and looked at her with cold eyes "Just leave and sit out there your parents will come back for you, it was stupid for you to come in here". "But I don't know where they went" Umeko sobbed, "Stop crying you foolish girl, crying isn't going to help anything" he grabbed her by her sweater at the shoulder and pulled her back to the gate. He opened the gate and it creaked, "Don't ever come in here again, Just sit there by the gate and your parents will come" he said as he closed and locked the gate behind her. Umeko just stood there wide eyed as the pale dark haired boy walked away and into the house. It wasn't long before her parents came running back and picked her up and carried on to the noodle shop

Umeko never told her parents about the encounter she had with the odd boy inside the Sohma residence and her parents have told her over the years to cross on the other side of the street when she goes that way to school. She never understood why until she spoke to her grandparents about it, they owned a little bookstore in town and Umeko often worked there after school. "The Sohma's are cursed, I don't know the exacts but the family has married into each other for years" said her grandmother as she stacked some books on a shelf. "It's best if you just stay away from that house and everyone that comes from it, said her grandfather as he sat at the register and smoked his pipe. Umeko made sure she didn't mention that she had been inside the gate and escorted out by someone.

"Bye mom" she said as she slipped on her shoes and grabbed her backpack at the door. Her mother handed her bento and smiled "Have a good day at school dear and learn lots of things" she said. Umeko smiled "I will mother bye" and she closed the door behind her. It wasn't long before she stood looking through the fences of the Sohma residence. It was beautiful in there, gardens, flowers, trees, it was like a totally different world in there. Umeko also wondered if she might catch a glimpse of the young boy she encountered years before.

Ai watched the boy stagger away. Cocking his head to the side, he sighed and his invisible "bunny ears" popped out of his head and flattened, whom only Ai can see. Retracting back into his head, he silently followed behind like some kind of stalker, but he followed on the other side of the road towards school, even though stalking is wrong.

The boy's gaze shifted away from Mikuo for a moment, towards the school. He wondered if Mikuo is all right. He always seems in pain, as if he has constant wounds all over his body. Well, of course he'd be in pain. He's the cat. The cat is always put down.

The cat is an evil being, hated for being what it is.

Ai doesn't understand. He doesn't understand why they're so mean to him. Truthfully, he thinks cats are the most adorable things in the world, well besides little fluffy rabbits. They're the second cutest. Oh! The third cutest would probably be a puppy. Fourth, maybe a baby bird. Oh, sorry. Anyways, Ai continued walking, still keeping a distance away from Mikuo but watching him. Ai liked the cat. It's just, no one seems to give the cat to speak his words and how he feels, because everyone tells him he's bad.

Ai frowned at that thought, and decided to go back to Mikuo. He snuck up behind the cat then began walking next to him. He looked up, with almost a worried expression. "Mikuo," he said with respect. "Are you okay? You seem...down. Pained." The little rabbit asked.

{Ichiro}

Ichiro hung another one of his paintings in one of the hallways in the Soham house. Most if not all of the children had left for school. he looked at his watch. " well I guess i should make Raiden his breakfast. So Ichiro went in to the kitchen to make something. Ichiro Hummed as he cooked. '' needs some sesoneing.'' he grabed servreal spices. and thrown into the meal. Was it was done. he tried to dress it up to look fitting for the head of the sohma family. '' there.''

he took the dish down to the wing of the house where Raiden resided. as he walked out he saw as small High school girl looking at the house through the fence. he stood starring back at her for a moment. then continued to the next wing. Just as Ruki was walking out with a slap mark on her face. Ichiro sighed and shook his head. as he was afraid Raiden was angry once again. He took a deep breath and went in. '' Raiden.....Raiden I made you some Breakfast. Are ya hungry.'' he sat the plate down. the crouched down on his knees in respect. '' Made ya some eggs. Tost and some hash browns. hope you like it.''

Umeko saw a young man pass on the porch of the house, he looked at her for a moment and then moved into another part of the house. Umeko sighed it was time for her to go on to school. She adjusted her backpack on her shoulder and started on her way to the school, it was large and there were many students that went there. Humming to herself nothing in particular as she walked, she noticed two boys walking ahead of her but she wasn't sure who they were.

She walked to her small locker at the entrance took off her shoes put them inside and then put on her school shoes. "Umeko your here!!" cheered a voice from behind her, it was her friend Aiko, they had known each other since they were children and were the best of friends. She sat down on the bench next to her. "Too bad are locker aren't next to each other this year" she said. "Yeah thats too bad" said Umeko she said as she sat down next to her friend. "Whats wrong with you, your really off in space this morning", Aiko said. Umeko bit her lip, "Yeah I guess I am" she said, Aiko put her hand on her hip "You haven't been roaming around the Sohma house again have you" Aiko scolded. "I walk past everyday twice a day it's not like I have a choice Aiko" Umeko wined. "Yes you do you can just walk past it and not stop but you sit there and daydream it's kind of creepy. What do you see in those weirdos anyway" Aiko was getting frustrated. "Nothing... nothing Aiko. Hey we need to get to home room lets go" Umeko stood up and Akio walked next to her.

Mikuo jumped when Ai started talking to him again. He wasn't used to this, people being so nice to him. And being so concerned about him.
"I'm...fine...Just...sore today...That's all. ", he replied, not making eye contact. Eye contact was a bad thing. He winced as he put weight on his leg, and his wound protested. He hid it though, he didn't want Ai to see that he was in pain.
"I mean it, Ai-chan...I'm okay...", he repeated, pulling his sleeves down to hide the bandage around his left hand. A bandage that went from his hand to the middle of his arm, covering yet another wound, another large cut.
He had mixed emotions about Ai being there. On the one hand, the longer the rabbit was around, the more likely it was that his secret would be discovered. On the other...he liked the idea that someone cared about him. It was...nice? Whatever it was, he didn't want the younger boy to leave...

Ai looked up at the male, and sighed. "There's just no trying with you. You're so stubborn," he said with a chuckle, but the concerned look lingered in his eyes. "I can tell you must be hiding something. Because when someone says they're okay, they aren't, usually. What made you sore?" He asked. The boy wanted to know what happened, this moment now. He was a determined little rabbit, he wanted others to be happy, to the point where he didn't even care about his own happiness.

"I know you rarely get to speak your mind," he said as they continued walking. Ai's gaze shifted straight, watching the sidewalk. His black hair covered parts of his eyes as he spoke. "And I know many of the zodiacs have a grudge against you, just because you're you. The cat. They think you're bad, evil, unworthy to be part of the zodiac. The way some of the other zodiacs act, even Raiden, it makes me to the point where I don't even want to be part of the zodiac. I know my rant probably doesn't even make sense, but what I'm saying is, I don't understand. You have people around you Mikuo, who will listen to you, for example..me. Why don't you just let your feelings out for once, instead of bottle them up? All of us need to cry, otherwise emotions would be unstable," he said, taking in a deep breath to continue. Ai was ranting like some kind of parrot, telling basically Mikuo about how he felt and what he believed the cat should do. "heh, I know it's probably really stupid for me to be saying this. I'm serious though, I'm one hundred percent sure there's something wrong with you at the moment. There's more than to "just sore". Of course though, you don't have to listen to me. I'm just saying what I think about you." Ai put his arms around his head and continued walking, his gaze now towards the sky.

Ai smiled a bit, trying to cheer them both up, and try to get Mikuo to speak his mind. Which, was indeed, probably difficult.

Tora lays in his hammock hung between two sakura trees {Cherry blossom trees}. His eyes shut tight as he snores loudly, His book over his face and his arms behind his head. His black hair and clothes dancing in the wind. His eyes burst open as he hears a whisper in the wind. He stands up slowly and sighs, Putting his coat back on as he walks inside. A smirk coming over his face as he senses his tail flickering in the back of his mind, Thinking of his true form. "Its a good day to be alive, I think I shall take to the streets for a run" He says to himself before running of through the grass. Jumping over a low wooden fence and flipping over the top of a garbage can before running down the street.

~Raiden~

Raiden was sitting by the window when Ichiro had entered. "I'm not hungry. Don't you think you should ask someone if they are even hungry before making something for them. What a waste of food!" Raiden got up and kicked the plate across the room, shattering it everywhere. "First, little Miss Rat comes in here and 'brags' about her stupid, arrogant father. Then you come in here and expect me to eat. Do you know how hard it is to eat when your upset!" Raiden faced the window again and sighed. "I'm thinking of having everyone come here later day. Some haven't come and seen me in a while. Ruki is a good girl and comes to see me everyday, even twice or three times a day. But tell me why that is, Ichiro. I could tell some of the others to visit me that much and they will just 'forget'. Tell me why you and Ruki are the only good ones." Raiden walked over to Ichiro and sat next to him. "If you see any of the kids today, tell them I love them and that they are all to be here tonight. Even that damned Cat."

~Ruki~

Ruki was about to say hello to Ai, but he ran off to talk to someone familiar. The Cat. Oh dear. It's him ... should I hide, Ruki asked herself. But it wasn't long before a group of girls swarmed around her. "Hi Ruki! How are you today," Ruki's friend Yurri asked. "I'm fine. Same old, same old. How about you? How are things going with Jiro?" Yurri began rambling on about her boyfriend, and about a minute later, every girl in the group got quiet. While Ruki had been off in her own world, a boy had come up from behind, confidence glowing, and confessed his love to her. Ruki turned around and hid all nervousness on her face and smiled. “I’m very sorry, but I don’t … um … do that kind of thing, you know? I’m sure you understand.” Ruki then turned back around and left the group of girls to drool over the guy who stood there blank faced. “Nice on Ruki. Why do you do that? I mean … he was really cute,” Yurri said as she caught up with Ruki. “You know why. I’ve told you before. I don’t date anyone. My dad has set me in an arranged marriage. Therefore, I can’t be disloyal and chase after other men.” “But Ruki,” Yurri whined, “You so gorgeous, and it’s not like your dad would have to find out! Oh, that would be so romantic, forbidden love and all! Please Ruki!” Ruki let out a sigh. Her father hadn’t really decided on an arranged marriage, but they had agreed that would be the cover up story. “No, Yurri,” Ruki said in a firm tone and glanced over to where Ai was. “See you later, Ai!” Then she looked quickly down, trying to avoid the glare she thought the Cat may have been giving her.

{Ichiro}

Ichiro looked at Raiden as he sat down with him. " Well Raiden. I for one understand and respect your position as head of the family. I could make the arrangements for the rest of the family to meet you. But If its not to bold to say. I would Appreciate if you would let me know If you need something.'' Ichiro gets up and cleans up the mess that once was breakfast for Raiden. '' so if you upset, maybe you should. y'know tell me about it. I'll listen to will listen to what ever you have to say. That's why stay living here. Unless you prefer Rukis company.

he collected what remains of Raiden's breakfast. '' Well I just leave you to your thoughts then. I'll pass you message on to the children. Seeya raiden.'' He begins to walk out

Arisu had woken early, as usual, but still not early enough for her parents. They'd left ages ago, but she was used to that too. She would head out to the shop soon. She was wearing her favourite white dress and it flowed around her as she moved.
"Kyoya, are you ready for school?" She called down the hall.
"Yeah, yeah, I'm coming," Kyoya grumbled, as he made his way to his sister, "Can't I just come to the shop with you?"
"No, you have to go to school," Arisu responded calmly, "Besides I may visit Raiden today. See if he's calmed down any." Kyoya gawked slightly at his sister, but didn't comment. He'd rather go to school anyway, not that there was anyone interesting there. The rest of the zodiacs were a lot older than him and, unlike Arisu, he preferred not to hang around with anyone who could get him in trouble. Arisu didn't want to visit the head, but it was best to visit him when possible otherwise his temper got worse. Why did Toshihiro and Ayame have to run off?
Kyoya headed off for school and Arisu made her way to Raiden's room. She moved calmly but swiftly through the other people. She had some new designs to work on today, a fair bit to do.

Tora runs through a large crowed of people. He suddenly slows and sniffs the air. Turning to look upon Arisu, Having smelled the snake. He smiles warmly at her "Good morning Arisu" he says warmly as he looks upon her. "How have you been?" he asks as he stops jogging in place and calmly walks with her.

{Sorry for the short post. im Trying to work myself into the Story now}

"Hello, Tora," Arisu replied, looking him up and down, old habit, "The usual, where are you heading?" She preferred not to talk about her family, and it was rare anyone asked directly about work. Especially if they actually knew her. She didn't have ay problems with Tora but she wasn't the type to go out of her way for other people, so she continued on her way, assuming Tora would follow if he wanted to keep talking.

Mikuo didn't want to look at Ai, he knew what the expression on the younger boy's face would be. Concern. Worry. Possibly annoyance at Mikuo's reluctance to talk to him. And Ai had called him stubborn...the rabbit was just as bad. Pestering him about what was wrong, even though he knew that Mikuo would never tell anyone how he was feeling. What could he possibly say? He couldn't tell anyone about what was happening. Not a soul. If he did, it would just make things worse, and make people even more worried about him. Why should anyone even be worried anyway? He was the cat, a monster. Someone that nobody would ever care about.

Not even Ai.

So why then, did he like the fact that the little rabbit was concerned about him?

"I told you, I'm fine. Why won't you believe that? Please...just accept that...I'm okay...It's better if you do...please, Ai-chan...", Mikuo pleaded, though his eyes told a different story. They told of sadness, pain, and infinite lonliness. And yet, also worry about Ai. If the rabbit kept asking, Mikuo might just tell him about what had been happening. And then it would just make things much worse for both of them. Mikuo wouldn't have that. Not at all.

"I'm sorry...I want to tell you, I really do...I just...I can't...I'm sorry...", he trailed off, quickening his pace, heading for the school. He knew he should be moving so quickly, and the pain it caused him was almost unbearable. But he had to get away from the questions.
It wasn't just physical pain he was feeling though. He was walking away from the only person to care about him. That carried it's own pain, one that wasn't sharp or any kind of pain you would expect from an injury. It was a different sort of agony, one that ate away at him. And it was more painful that any of his injuries ever were.

((Ignore this accidental pre-post))

Bright and beautiful was this morning for all those living in the land of Candykingdom. Up in the beautiful peppermint palace sat the Monkey King on his chocolate throne. He balanced a golden foil scepter on the palm of his hand. "Should I eat you now or later?" he asked the inanimate object. Suddenly the scepter started to vibrate wildly. It began to glow and grow into a horrible giant stick monster with two tree-like arms. The monster raised its head an let out a high pitched roar. 'AIIIIIIEE AIIIIIIE AIIEEEE'!! The monster swung one of it's massive arms and knocked the king through a window causing him to fall do his death. As he fell all he could say was. "You could of just said noooooooooooo."

BLAM!!! Yang fell head first onto the floor of his room. It was a rude awakening for him after a good dream turned into a nightmare. The horrible screeching noises were coming from his alarm clock on the corner of his desk. He reached up and quickly hit the snooze button. Checking the time he noticed that it was 7:30.......wait 7:30 he was gonna be late!! He hurriedly scooped up some school clothes and tossed them on as he stumbled down the hallway to the bathroom. He only stopped for a few seconds to grab some mouth wash and keep going until he got to the kitchen. He spat out what he had swished into the sink and stuffed two pieces of bread into his mouth. In a mere five minutes he was dressed and out the door speeding down the street to get to class.

Oh why hadn't I taken the offer to stay at the family house? he thought to himself as he ran. It was true that the Sohma house was closer to the school than his parent's home but he had not seen a need to move there yet. But if he was going to keep being late like this he might have to consider it. Soon enough he blazed past the house with a trail of dusting behind him. On might have thought he was the horse with the speed and energy he seemed to be going. He even passed by some of the others as he ran. He almost ran into Ai and Mikuo but quickly side stepped and spun around them. "Sorry!" he yelled back over his shoulder. He passed by a group of girls and other students as he started to get closer to the school. Soon he came upon the school grounds so he slowed his run to a brisk walk. Breathing heavily he used one hand to wipe some sweat from his forehead. He got to his locker and started to open it when he reached into it and stopped. It was then that he realized that he had forgotten his backpack at home. He grabbed both sides of his head and screamed. "NOOOOOOOOOOOooooooooooooooooooooo!" He sank to his knees then fell completely to the ground and started to rolled around. In his back pack was his history report that was due today. If he went home now to get it he would be late for the third time this week and have to spend the next month on clean up duty by himself for his class as a punishment. But if he didn't turn in that assignment he would have to do an even longer report to make it up which would kill his writing hand.

Its a choice between the loss of one hand or the loss of my freedom. Yang thought to himself. Or I could just fake sick in class and then turn my report in tomorrow......Let's see what excuse haven't I used yet. He though of all the numerous excuses and sickness he had lied about having to get out of class and only there was only one he had not used yet. But it was a dangerous one that could out his secret in school. But this was an emergency of sorts. He slapped himself on both cheeks to psych himself up. "Yes! I will do it!" he said with bravado to no one in particular causing some of others around him to through his sidewards glances. To many of the student body they knew Yang to be a bit over the top in some areas so they mostly ignored him. All I have to do is find a girl from the family or one of the girly looking boys in school to help me out. If I get them to set off a 'reaction' to my disorder I could head off to the nurse and be scott free. Yang nodded up and down congratulating himself. Once he was done patting himself on the back for yet another 'brilliant plan' he placed both hands around his eyes like binoculars scanning the crowd to check for suitable candidates.

Ai watched him walk away rather quickly.

Stupid cat. I'm only calling him stupid because he won't tell me anyways.

The rabbit boy ran after him, grabbed his arm and looked up at the cat, mainly in the eyes. "The pain that hurts the most is the pain in which you won't tell me. The pain from not telling me will go stronger inside, because then I can't help you. Not trying atleast to help someone is the worst, and knowing that your friend is in pain even though they won't tell you hurts me the most."

Ai stared at the cat with nearly pleading eyes. "Because I am your friend, even though you might object. Mikuo," he said, narrowing his eyes so he can try to register this in the cat's head. He really did feel this about him, though. "I admire you. Ignore them. Ignore all the idiots whom think you are a monster. They're the monsters in this predicament, and you're just the lonely cat. Your other form isn't that bad anyways. Heck, even though it smells bad, it looks pretty cool to me. And, Mikuo," he said, his eyes glinting.

"Knock it off with the act. Tell me what's wrong, cause if you don't, that's real pain. I'll bite you if you don't tell me," he said, half serious and half joking, but by the looks of his face, Ai seemed almost serious.

~Raiden~

Raiden watched as Ichiro cleaned the mess then left. "They have to listen to me when they arrive. I'll tell them to visit more and they will. It's our way of life. No matter what or how, they will have to listen to me." Raiden had always been touchy on the subject of the Curse. The Curse is yours and the Zodiac's to share. No one else's to worry about or even think about. Don't ever let anyone get in the way of it, Raiden was told by the previous head. That was what he had lived by his entire life, and how he plans on living for the rest of it. Just him and his Zodiac.

~Ruki~

Ruki and Yurri had been talking until they had gotten to their lockers, once again by each other. "Look, all I'm saying is that you should socialize with more guys. They might start thinking you ride the other road ... you know what I mean," Yurri said. Ruki was about to respond when she saw Yang, another one of her family members. "Hi, Yang. How are you?" Ruki wasn't really used to anyone responding to her. Not even nicely, but she always trying to communicate with the other Zodiac. "I haven't talked to you in a while. Where have you been? I never see you around the Sohma Estate. And Raiden has been wanting to see you. He's been wanting to see everyone. I can kind of understand how you wouldn't want to though," Ruki said, unconciously rubbing her cheek. "He really misses you."

Tora smiles warmly "I am out for a morning run after a long nap. When i saw you i just had to take the pleasure of having somebody to talk to" he says with a warmth in his voice. Snake was not his favored person but he dident completely dislike her. and was always happy to talk to her.

Too slender, too tall, too fat, not a girl, not girly enough, a bit too girly. His binocular scanner scoping out suitable candidates. When he heard a female voice call out to him he turned around to face whoever it was. It was Ruki the rat one of the family and the closest to the Head out of them all. She was perfect for his plan. All I need to do is get her to agree. It shouldn't be too hard......but I don't know what she likes or want. He thought to himself. He only half caught what she was saying as he tried to think up of a way to get her to help him. The only thing he had retained from what she said was that someone missed him. Did she say she missed me? Gosh I need to stop zoning out so much. But if that is what she said then perhaps I can trade a favor for another.

"You are right it has been a while." Yang clapped his hands together and threw on a smile. He slid in-between the two girls and leaned close to Ruki whispering to her. "Hey I need a huge favor. If you can do this for me i'll take you out on a nice date." He explained the rest of his plan in a hurried whisper to get himself out of class. "All you have to do is come with me before class starts and 'accidentally' fall on me causing a scene. Then I'll be able to head off to the nurse's office." After finishing he threw on a gigantic grin. He hoped she went for it because she might be his best shot. But then again she technically wouldn't get too much out of this deal.

"Nice date? What do you take me for?" Ruki rolled her eyes before Yang began to explain his plan. "All this to get out of class ... Are you sure that this isn't some joke your playing on the Rat?" Ruki shook her head and laughed, brushing the thought aside. "Sure," Ruki put on a smile and laughed again. "I'll help you, that's what family is for, right?" Ruki looked over to Yurri, who was drooling over Yang. "Eh ... Yurri, this is Yang. He doesn't live on the Estate, though." Yurri looked over to Ruki and pouted. "How come everyone in your family is gorgous! Everyone in my family has a big nose or big thighs. You are all perfectly shaped and everything." Ruki laughed again, but thought, It's a curse ... not something to be proud of. "Yang ... I swear ... you owe me big. Nowlet's get going so I'm not late to class." Ruki thought for a minute before speaking again. "You should come see Raiden after school with me."