Ai Sohma's Story

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Mikuo had to suppress a whimper when Ai grabbed his arm. The little rabbit was unknowingly touching a particularly sore bruise, and was currently hanging onto his arm. Add in the fact that he didn't like people touching him to begin with, and you had a very awkward situation for Mikuo.

Ai's speech made him feel guilty though, he hadn't considered that his reluctance to explain was causing the other boy pain as well. All he had been thinking about was keeping the abuse a secret...In a way, he was trying to protect the younger boy.
Gently releasing his arm, and rubbing at the sore spot, he met Ai's gaze, a rare thing for him to do.
"...Alright...if you really want to know...meet me on the roof of the school, when everyone else has gone home...I'll tell you then...or rather, it would be best if I showed you. There aren't really words to describe it...", he said finally, realising that there was no way that Ai was going to let up with his questioning.
He glanced at his watch, school would be starting soon. He didn't want to be late.
"Come on...we're gonna be late. Let's go.", he said, his hand moving from where it had been on top of his bruise, then forming a soft grip around Ai's hand. He wasn't sure exactly why he had done that though, it was just something that happened. Maybe he just needed someone close? Whatever it was, the feeling of another warm hand in his was...strange...but oddly enough, not exactly unwelcome. It was...almost nice...

Ai smiled softly, his invisible "bunny" ears emerging from his head. "Good." His gaze shifted, and he saw a girl looking at them. His invisible ears retracted into his head, and he cocked his head to the side and waved. "Hi!"

He yelled happily, then began walking again with Mikuo, both hand in hand, but Ai tried to quicken the pace so they wouldn't be late. Once they were close to the door, he smiled and let go of Mikuo's hand to ram the door and hold it open for the cat. "Kitties first," he said, but rather quietly so no one would hear. His gaze aimlessly shifted towards that girl who looked at them. Curiousity took over him, and he just stared back with his forest, deep eyes.

"...Thank you...", Mikuo muttered to Ai, then realised that someone else was talking to him. A brunette girl. Wait, a girl? That wasn't good. Well, to tell the truth, other people were bad news for him anyway, regardless of gender.
She had gotten his name wrong as well, not that he really cared. Ai was probably the only one who referred to him by name anyway, or anything besides 'The Cat'. It was frustrating though.

"It's Mikuo...and I'm fine, Tsukamoto-san.", he said, his voice low. Why was everyone so worried about him today? This really was weird, he had long accepted that no one would care whether he lived or died. Either that, they hated him. So having people asking if he was okay was a new feeling for him.
He tugged on his sleeves again, paranoid about this girl seeing the injuries under them. Being the centre of her attention was making him uncomfortable.
"...I should go...I'll see you later, Ai?", he muttered as he shifted his bag on his shoulder and walked to his class.
He hesitated at the door, he was already late. On the first day back as well. This was a great start, wasn't it?

Ai smiled, somewhat understanding why he left. He waved, and yelled across the hall. "Bye, Mikuo! I love you! In a friendly way!" He added, and he actually really meant it, as he stuck his tongue out playfully and then his gaze shifted to Umeko. "Hello, Miss. Umeko Tsukamoto. You've no need to worry about Mikuo. He'll be fine," he reassured her with a warming smile.

"What are you doing wandering the halls?" He asked. "Class has already begun." Ai's smile faded to a faint smile. She's never really talked to the Sohmas before except now. Why now all of a sudden?

Ai crossed his arms as they walked, and he listened to every detail. "Why would you be interested in us?" He asked, and then added a bit at the end, but mainly a whisper and to himself. "we're just outcasts, people who no one enjoys except eachother,". Hoping she didn't hear, he changed the subject and threw his arms behind his head.

"The Sohma Main House is indeed beautiful, passed on generations and generations." He went silent when she went into detail about a little boy. His gaze shifted downwards and he murmured under his breath. "Raiden, or...?" He trailed off, and the air caught in his throat. He coughed a bit and then smiled. "No, it does not make you sound stupid. Just never go near him again. Try not to see him ever again. Don't let him touch you, ever again. Never." He said a bit ominously.

Ai smiled as he saw her classroom also. "I might just skip class today. I mean, I'm normally not a class skipper, just it's interesting talking to someone who's actually into us. Normally, we're the weirdos with the different colored hair and the odd appearance, and how we constantly push girls away, and for girls, boys, which makes it difficult for people to love us." He said, having a tint of sadness to his tone. "I admire you, breaking the rules to talk to us. It's kind, and that you know inside, that we could be different." Ai said, his voice soft as they walked.

"Most people would shrug us away. Basically all we have is eachother: our parents usually completely forget us and abuse us, or are overprotective and won't let us have a life, because we're the odd Sohmas." Even though Ai felt like he was giving away too much personal information, he continued on. He felt his lips twitch into a fake smile.

"Most of us are the unlucky ones, we get abused. Rarely do I see a Sohma with a parent who is overprotective. Also, you're welcome, about worrying about you. I do it for most people's safety," he said, stopping there for a moment as he went silent for a second, he continued walking. "I guess I'm just a generally kind person, despite how people act towards me. Us." For a quick moment, he felt like hugging Umeko, just because she was just hanging around him, but he remembered that he'll transform if he does.

"I feel especially worried for Mikuo, though. I mean, he's the ca-" he stopped, his heart racing 5,000 mph as he almost blurted out the secret. "He's the mail carrier, and so I'm worried he might get hurt." Ai said, trying not to show his relief. God. What would happen if he told?

"I don't care about my well-being anyway. I'd like to die knowing I worried about someone, and tried to help them. Kindness is key for me," he said with a curt nod.

~Ruki~

Ruki had been wondering the halls after Yang left her when she saw Ai talking to someone. "I feel especially worried for Mikuo, though. I mean, he's the ca-" Ruki heard him start before he caught himself. Hanging around Raiden to much made her overprotective about their secret. So she launched herself from around the corner and to Ai's side. "Ai, what do you think you are doing. Our family buisness is our family buisness. Why are you talking so closly to someone?" She looked over at the girl, slightly confused why Ai was opening up to her. "Do you know what might happen if you slip up," she whispered to Ai.

~Raiden~

Raiden looked down at Kyuzuki as she began digging the glass into her arm. He knelt down and grabbed both her hand. "You can come in, Arisu," he said, still looking at Kyuzuki. "I love all the Zodiac. I love the Dragon, I love the Dog, I love the Rat, I love the Monkey, I love them all. You are the Dragon, through and through. There is no one bit of you that isn't. Don't think any different or your just like the rest of them." Raiden took his sheet from his bed and wiped the blood from her neck and arms. "Maid, bring a first-aid kit and clean up this mess," he yelled at a maid that was supposed to be near by all the time. Small footsteps made their way away and back. The maid appeared with a first-aid kit and a broom. "Sweep that up," he said as he worked on Kyuzuki's injuries. "It's disrespectful to do such things in front of me. Especially on my floor. Ruki has bad hemophobia, and if she sees the littlest bit of blood, she faints. I'm going to make you clean it up," he said. "So Arisu, it's been a while," Raiden glanced up her and notice Tora too. "And hello to you, too."

"Miss Umeko, please go," he said, pushing her away lightly. "We'll speak later." He said as he grabbed Ruki's hand and stormed down the hall until they were a distance away so no one would hear. He stopped and stared at her.

Ai cleared his throat and winced when she pulled his arm. He yanked it away and yelled. "He has to live with the nuisance of a SECOND curse! How would you feel if you turned into a monster like him? A smelling lizard-like creature, and constantly fear that what if you fall and the bracelet comes off? Hell's hell then! He's in a state of mind where he thinks everybody hates him, and it's because of the constant pain which he dwells in. Others whom aren't a part of the zodiac will not accept the way he is, because he must test others and see if they judge him. Most of the time, they run off, the times I've seen. He's not intentionally making people hate you. Ruki, I don't hate you," he said, his voice going soft again and quiet. "You're not a sleezy, arrogant rodent. It's just you need to socialize more. Talk to others. Let them know how you feel, and maybe they'll try to make everything better."

"I'm sorry about bringing the cat into this conversation." He said, his gaze shifting to the left, and near a window. "It's just I get protective over him. I don't want anyone to hurt him. I don't care if people hurt me." Wrapping his left hand around his right arm, he clenched the skin on his arm and then his gaze shifted towards the ground. "Ruki. You're oblivious about other people's feelings. You're not the only one going through pain, you know. Many other zodiac are probably in worse pain than you, because there's a chance that is happening. One could be be born right now, stabbed through the heart knowing that they have to be an outcast. The first time they face an act of exclusion, the first time they face abuse, is so shocking that it isn't even funny. Ruki, no one will hate you if you just show to them that they shouldn't hate you."

"I'm probably not even making sense." His head lowered solemnly to where his black bangs covered his eyes.

"Ai, I love you and I know I'm a lot better off than most the other Zodiac. But that's what makes it a lot worse for me. The Rat gets everything, and has no worries. The truth is that ... I want to know more about the Cat. My dad has only told me horrible things about the Cat. But it's just not really possible ... because I get this feeling whenever I see him. I'm not sre if it's hate or pity or what. I want to run away." Ruki never really heard mch about the second curse, she was kept rather in the dark about that. "But if people get to know him, they do start hating me. Isn't it obvious? You and the other Zodiac may not, but people see what I did to him ... I turn into a monster. I just want that to go away. This curse ... makes everyone of us suffer ... God, why did the Rat have to go and do that! I-I ... don't know ... ugh. If I try and talk to him, I'll probably get shunned. But if I keep ignoring him, then it's more of a bad reputation for me ... Ai, what am I supposed to do. You know how loyal to my father I am. But you also know how mch he hates the Cat." Ruki shook her head and rubbed her eyes. Life without the curse would be so easy ... hate wouldn't be so present in the family. "I'm getting a headache."

Ai hugged her for a moment, glad that he didn't poof. "Maybe he'd understand if you'd just talk to him. I mean, I just started talking with Mikuo today, but in that same day I realized he's just a shy person whom really has no one. I've been watching him from a distance, you could say, because I've always been interested in the cat." He stopped for a moment and began mumbling. "I don't know, but I guess you could say I secrectly love him? Not that it matters right now, I just needed to say because I dislike bottling up emotions. Ruki," he said, looking up at her.

"How about you and I go speak to him later?"

Mikuo nodded to himself. He couldn't avoid this forever. He would have to face class, and the humiiation of being late, at some point.
Maybe not yet though. Maybe he could skip his morning classes, and show up after lunch or something?
Yeah, that's what he would do. He needed rest anyway. Hands stuffed in his pockets, he walked in the opposite direction from his class, then paused as he heard voices.

"... guess you could say I secrectly love him? Not that it matters right now, I just needed to say because I dislike bottling up emotions. Ruki,"

That sounded like...Ai? And Ruki? As in, the Rat? Damn, he couldn't go this way, it would mean walking past them. Were they talking about him? Ai...loved him? That was a new one on him, it had to be said. He had never heard anyone say that about him...

Seeing as he couldn't go any further without Ai and Riku noticing him, he leaned against the wall, eventually sliding down it, his knees against his chest. The movement made his injuries protest, very violently in fact, and he let out a small whimper as a few cuts reopened. He would be okay though, for now. He had bandaged himself up fairly well. It still hurt though. Hurt a lot, truth be told.

Ai smiled and grabbed her hand. "Come on, just so we can cheer both of us up a bit, let's take a stroll. I know it's pretty stressful right now, Ruki, but I like to make people smile. I don't care about my well-being. I care about you all," he said warmly, and began walking off down the hall until he saw a crouched-looking figure. Squinting to see, he noticed white hair and immediately muttered.

"Hey, is that Mikuo? Come on, like I said, let's talk to him! Might aswell do it now since we ran into him." He waved and yelled Mikuo's name. "Mikuo! Hi there!" He said happily as he tightened his grip on Ruki's hand and ran down towards Mikuo, basically not making sure if Ruki was following, or just dragging on the floor. Ai fell on his knees and slip down the hall, and stopped with friction when he was sitting very close to him.

"What 'cha doin'?" He asked, while looking up at Mikuo. His gaze shifted towards Ruki and he shrugged one of his shoulders towards Mikuo's direction, as if telling her to talk to him.