Akihiko Sohma's Story

---

Miyako stretched, she had received a fair amount of sleep so she was fairly happy with her more relaxed state. Shadow, her cat, meowed in protest to her moving around. "Good morning to you too, Shadow."

Shadow glared at Miyako, jumped off the bed and sauntered over to his food bowl.

"I'm sorry. I'll sleep on the floor next time." Miyako swung her legs over the side of the bed and into her slippers. "Time for school." Miyako started the day off with her usual routine. Shower, eat, clean out Shadow's liter box and let him outside. Shadow was 'officially' the cat of the Estate, going from house to house and getting cared for my practically everyone. But Miyako had bought him, raised him and loved him. She let him out when she got up so that if anyone came over, they wouldn't know she, the Rat, had a cat. The liter box was always clean and hidden, just like the food bowl.

If she could, she would let everyone know that she loved cats, but it wouldn't make the Head happy. And Miyako's entire existance was to make him happy. It was her 'position', her 'role'.

A glance at the clock revealed that it was about time for Miyako to head out. She decided to put her hair in a fairly loose side ponytail, along with a beige knitted sweater that was slightly big on her, a flowing mid-thigh black skirt, knee-high sock and a pair of slip on black shoes. With that and her shoulder back pack, Miyako was prepared for the trip to her university. Luckily, it was a very mild day, perfect for Miyako's delicate health. If it was too cold, she would faint. Too hot, she would faint. But today was perfect.

"Good morning Miyako!" One of the maids was sweeping the walkway in front of Miyako's house.

"Good morning," Miyako said with a wave. "How is everyone? Did Sona get over her cold?"

"Ah, yes! Thank you for the rice porridge! She loved it."

Miyako nodded, she was always happy to help. The walk to the front gate wasn't that long, maybe a minute or two. The Estate was huge after all, what would anyone expect. On the way to her university, Miyako passed parks, train tracks, children playing, other kids getting ready to leave for school and stores upon stores. She stopped by a coffee shop closer to her school for some coffee.

"Oh!" Miyako dug around in her bag, pulling out a small container that looked almost like a wallet. But it had her daily medications inside, for days that she left for school and forgot to take her medication at home. Miyako popped a few pills into her mouth, took a nice chug of coffee and continued on her walk to school.

---

---

Ren groaned as he rolled out of bed in the morning, why did school have to be so early? Rubbing the sleep from his eyes, Ren shuffled into the bathroom to get ready. Ren noticed that his hair was especially wild today so he made a mental note to wear a hat.

After Ren had finished in the bathroom he was much more awake, grinning to himself he skipped merrily to his closet before pulling the first things his hands came in contact with. Pulling on the horribly mismatched clothes, Ren chuckled at himself as he dug through his drawers for a pair of socks. Not caring that he looked like a blind person had picked out his outfit, Ren ran down stairs and turned on some music as he readied his breakfast and lunch.

Ren had never been a very good cook, so the runny mess that used to be an egg before it was brutally murdered didn't faze him. Hurriedly stuffing his face full of breakfast, Ren put his plate in the dishwasher as he skipped out of the now ruined kitchen. How it'd gotten so messy when he'd only made two eggs and some horribly burnt toast? The world my never know.

Pulling on some brown boots, Ren reached inside the downstairs closet and pulled out a stocking cap. Pulling it over his head and down to his ears, Ren gave a toothy grin as a few wild snow colored locks of hair poked out from underneath the black cap. Running out the door Ren breathed in the fresh air before his eyes widened and he ran back into the kitchen where he'd left his lunch and school bag.

Skipping out the door and into the crisp morning air, Ren waved at everyone he passed, sending a quick, "Hello!" before carrying on his way to the high school. Ren ignored the strange looks people gave him and smiled at the thought of seeing everyone at school. He couldn't wait to see his best friend Akihiko today! Grinning at the thought, he didn't notice the part of the pavement that was uneven until it was to late. Falling Ren couldn't help but let a squeak escape as he hit the pavement. Looking up, Ren noticed that his lunch had fallen out of the bag and was now all over the sidewalk. Sighing, Ren got up and dusted him self off. Picking up the little of his lunch that could be saved Ren couldn't help but frown, "Maybe today won't be such a good day..."

---

No ... It's too early to get up ... I don't wanna get up ... God, what's the annoying sound? Red. It's red. There's no way that's a part of my dream ... Oh ... Wait ... I know what it is ...

Slowly blinking her eyes open, Callista groaned, rolling over and tossing her arm out in frustration. The alarm clock was obnoxiously loud, sending red colors everywhere.

"Okay, okay, I get it! Now stop giving me red and shut up already!" she practically snarled, smashing a fist down on the alarm. It finally stopped ringing, causing her to grumble in relief. The red faded, giving her a reprieve of the color and sound.

"Damned Chromesthesia ..." she muttered. Snuggling into the covers for a moment, she cursed what was undoubtedly cold air that surrounded her bed, before tossing back the blankets. "Dammit, it's so freaking cold! Gengaku, why the Hell isn't the heat on?" she shouted.

Needless to say, Callista was not a morning person.

Sitting up slowly, her hand rose to rub sleepily at one of her eyes. Combined with her afro-like hair and gentle features, she looked much like a child who was slowly meeting the day. She sat there for a moment, plainly zoning out in her tiredness, before she hefted her legs over the side of her bed and pushed herself up, her slippers cool at first but quickly warming to the temperature of her feet. Her overly-large t-shirt fell to mid-thigh unless she stretched, which would then send it to a zone that was very iffy in appropriateness.

Walking from her room, she stretched her arms above her head, her joints popping and a small groan escaping her lips.

"God damn, it's way too early ..." she muttered, glancing blearily at a nearby clock. Six a.m. was an ungodly hour for someone to be up at. Seriously, why does it even exist?

Padding into the kitchen, she put on some coffee and easily began to fry some bacon. As those were making and cooking, she dropped several slices of toast into the toaster and started making a dozen eggs. One could never cook too much for Gengaku, who was like a bottomless pit when it concerned food.

As those were cooking, she padded down the hall to Gengaku's room, lifted a fist, and promptly began to bang loudly on his door.

"Gengaku! Get your ass out of bed before I drag it out! And we both know that you'd rather I not see you bare-ass naked!"

When this gained down response, she heaved a sigh. "I suppose there's no helping it, but don't say I didn't warn you!"

Turning on her heel, she strode back into the kitchen, dug out a soup pot, and poured half of the ice from the ice-maker into it. She then filled it halfway with water, hefted it up, and quickly made her way back down to his room. She tip-toed into it, an evil glint in her eyes as she did so, and as soon as she was beside his bed, she lifted it above her head.

"I warned you, no I'm making you get out of bed!" she sang, tilting the pot over and spilling the freezing-cold contents all over his upper body. Letting out a snicker of laughter, she danced back so that she would be out of his reach, and promptly scampered over to the doorway. "Get your ass out of bed, Gengaku," she laughed, slamming the door shut behind her and returning to the kitchen.

It didn't take her long to finish preparing breakfast, and she made out two plates and two cups of coffee for both of them. Taking the plates to their small table, she flipped the television to the local news, sat cross-legged on the floor, and sipped her coffee.

---

---

Aki scowled at the stove, slapping her hand down on the counter beside it.

"Seriously, why can't I afford a new stove? I swear, this thing is going to blow my house up," she grumbled. She turned to her lunch and quickly packed it, along with a bit extra in case Ren decided to pick off of it as usual, before grabbing a bagel and shoving it in her mouth as a holding area. She moved to the door of her tiny house, slipped on her brown shoes, and adjusted the skirt of her school uniform. Straightening the tie at her chest, she shook her hair out before fluffing it with her hands. The pink fluff around it was slightly restrained by several ribbons, making it a bit more containable.

Glancing at herself in the mirror, she nodded firmly before stepping through the door of her house. Locking it behind her, she started down the path that would take her to Ren's house.

It was a bit chilly outside for it to be so early in the school year, but the weather on the Sohma estate had always been contradictory, especially when it was about to rain. The clouds were dark above her head, and she grimaced at the thought.

It would be just what she needed for it to rain when she had forgotten her umbrella.

Glancing back down at the path, she quickened her pace. It was just as she stepped onto the porch and under the roof of Ren's house that she felt the first drop of rain. Immediately afterwards, it was like the sky had broken up and was releasing a large amount of water.

When a knock on his door gained her no response, she peaked inside. The lights were off, so it was quite obvious that Ren had already left. Perhaps he had planned to meet her.

Shrugging, she snatched up an umbrella that sat just inside the doorway, shut the door firmly, and started down the path.

It was when she turned a corner that she found Ren.

He was on his knees, his spirit apparently deflated. Biting off the piece of her bagel that had been in her mouth, she moved over to him, holding the umbrella above his body.

"Renny, why are you on the-"

It was only then that she noticed the splay of food on the pathway. Shaking her head, she leaned over just a bit, holding her free hand out as an offer to help him up. A small smile quirked up her lips.

"Come on. Let's walk to school together, okay? You can share my lunch. I packed extra. I have a feeling that this was going to happen," she said with a reassuring smile.

"Come on, Renny. If you don't stand up, you're going to catch a cold, and then we'll both be out of school because I'll be stuck at home giving you soup," she said. She held her hand closer to him. "Today will be fine."

"So let's walk to school together, okay?"

---

Kimi groaned as she heard her alarm go off. Reaching her hand out blindly, Kimi moved her hand around her nightstand trying to find the source of the horrible ringing. Grimacing as she felt her hand knock the alarm onto the ground, Kimi quickly jumped out of bed to make sure the alarm was alright. I swear Kimi if you've broken another alarm clock! But as the girl walked over to check on it, her foot caught in the bed sheets and she found herself face-down on the floor.

After Kimi had gotten herself ready, she walked into the kitchen in search of some breakfast. Opening the cupboards Kimi sighed, "Well...looks like it's bread and jam this morning...".

After a delicious breakfast of bread and jam, Kimi packed up her lunch and made sure she had everything in her bag before opening up the door and stepping outside. ...Only to find it was raining. 'Figures...', turning back towards the door, Kimi went to open it. "Seriously?!" Seriously. The door was locked and Kimi had forgotten her keys inside. Again. Kimi couldn't even begin to tell you how many times she'd had to ask the head to let her into her house after locking herself out. "Unbelievable..."

Deciding to walk on the side of the street with more trees, Kimi continued her walk to school in the rain without an umbrella. Kimi sighed as she looked down at her soaking uniform, each step her feet took a quiet squish sound could be heard. Looking up at the sky, Kimi took a deep breath of the morning air. Letting the raindrops hit her face Kimi smiled. Yes she'd most likely end up with a cold, but Kimi didn't necessarily hate the rain, so for now she'd enjoy it. Until a terrible thought struck her. Gasping, Kimi quickly fumbled with her school bag as she opened it. Looking inside Kimi breathed a sigh of relief, her sketch pad was ok. Smiling, Kimi continued her walk to school.

Reaching the school gates Kimi sighed. 'One more year' Kimi reminded herself, 'Just one more year...'. Stepping inside the gates Kimi made a beeline for the school, she'd been in the rain long enough. Feeling her face heat up as people stared at her soaked self in question, Kimi kept her head down and felt like things couldn't get worse. Until she slipped as soon as she got inside the school.

"Ugh..." Suzu groaned as the blaring alarm that sat near her bed came to life an assault of unpleasant sound. With the meekest amount of energy she could muster she rolled over and slammed her palm down on the device to shut the damn thing up. "Guess I stayed up too late with that game last night after all... Even though I told myself I wouldn't." Somehow, she forced herself to sit up despite the ever so enticing thought of simply returning to sleep. What kind of teacher would she be if she was late to school, on the first day no less? With a nod she reached over to the small carton of smokes that sat not from her alarm, a feeling of despair crept up as she felt the depressingly light weight of the carton, it was empty. A sigh escaped her lips as she crushed the fragile paper construct in her hand and tossed it aside, not particularly caring where it ended up.

With that out of the way she went about her usual morning rituals, her energy steadily returning to her particularly once she was out of the shower. She made an easy breakfast of scrambled eggs and toast for herself and decided to just skip preparing lunch, she could just go pick something up later after all. With a moment spent to double check that she had everything she left her apartment and locked the door behind her. It was short walk down to the garage of the apartment complex which housed the rather ordinary looking four-door car that she called her own. The only thing that really stood out about it was the red paint job. With a brief moment spent to turn on the radio she began the fairly short commute to school.

Along the way she drove by the Sohma estate as she always did on her way to school. She spotted a few Sohma's along the way but the only ones that particularly caught her attention were the pair of students that sat on the sidewalk, one of whom seemed to have spilled contents of their lunch. Not only that but, it seemed it was beginning to rain. With a sigh she pulled over next to the pink-haired girl and the white-haired boy and rolled her window down, "Hey! You two get in, I'll drive you to school so you don't get too wet." After saying this the sound of the doors unlocking could be heard.

---

---

Ren hadn't even noticed it'd started to rain until he felt the sky suddenly open up on him. Gasping, Ren stared up at the sky only to find it soon replaced by and umbrella. Turning around in curiosity, Ren found himself facing a very familiar pink haired girl.

"Renny, why are you on the-" Ren saw Akihiko's eyes take in the spilled food around him. Awkwardly, Ren pulled on one of the curls coming out from under his hat as he chuckled. "Oh! That! Heh heh, it's ok. I was just testing to see if my lunch could holdout if I fell! It failed...I'm so very disappointed in you lunch...".

Shaking his head in mock disappointment, Ren looked up to see Akihiko reaching her hand out to him with a smile on her lips. "Come on. Let's walk to school together, okay? You can share my lunch. I packed extra. I have a feeling that this was going to happen," Ren chuckled as he looked up at her, "I guess you know me to well. You even know when my annual lunchbox strength test is!" He looked up at her with his usual toothy grin on his face, not even noticing the water soaking into his pants. "Come on, Renny. If you don't stand up, you're going to catch a cold, and then we'll both be out of school because I'll be stuck at home giving you soup," Ren just playfully pouted as he crossed his arms "But I like soup! Plus, then we could spend the whole day together!" Throwing his arms up into the air he laughed as he watched Akihiko move her hand closer to him. Alright Aki! But tomorrow you have to make me soup! I'm craving it now..." Ren chuckled as he took Akihiko's hand and stood up.

Seeing someone run past the two, Ren looked up to see Turi running past. Grinning, Ren stepped forward as waved wildly at the cat's retreating form as he yelled, "Good morning, Turi!" Ren had never fully understood why people hated the cat so much, and despite the whole stereotypical dogs hate cats thing, Ren didn't hate her. Sure she could definently lighten up a bit, but really Ren had decided long ago that he'd be nice to everyone, hated or not.

Turning back to Akihiko, Ren frowned. Aki! I thought I told you not to wear your uniform this year! Ren had never worn his school uniform in the two years he's been in high school. It wasn't so much a rebellious thing, he just simply didn't like the dull and boring colors. The teachers had long ago stopped asking him to wear his uniform and Ren had been trying to get his pink haired friend to ditch her uniform forever!

Hearing a car pull up next to them, Ren turned in time to see one of the older Sohma's calling out to them. "Hey! You two get in, I'll drive you to school so you don't get too wet." Grinning at the tiger, Ren turned to his Akihiko, "We'll have to talk about this later. Now-" grabbing his friend's hand he ran towards the car, "hurry or we'll be late!" Opening the car door for Akihiko, Ren playfully bowed.

---

---

It was a while before Gengaku joined her at the table, but she wasn't worried about him falling asleep again. The man had cursed her name, but at least he was awake and there was no way he would be getting back to sleep after the cold water she had dumped on him.

Smirking again, Callista glanced up as Gengaku joined her. Pointing a yolk-smeared fork at his face, she nodded at the TV.

"Did you see this? There was a four-car pileup on the street that my bakery is on. Apparently four people were seriously injured and one even died," she said, completely ignoring his question, as per norm for her. Moving her coffee mug in a circle, she sipped at it, inhaling the aroma deeply.

It was only once she had finished her food that she answered his question.

"Well, you seem to have forgotten a certain promise you made me in exchange from me to come to your restaurant, kuk*," she said, rolling her eyes. "You promised to help me at the bakery today since I'm short on staff and I need to get some cleaning done, and since this is the only day that isn't the weekend that I don't have any classes and you're off, we can only do it today. Besides, we planned this last week, so it's not like I caught you off-guard - and you know what time I have to get to the bakery - cafe - whatever you want to call it - in order to bake all of the food, make all of the coffee and tea, prepare all of the sandwiches, and ... Well ... Get all of our food and drink products together," she said. She leaned over and tapped his nose with another eye roll.

Pushing herself to her feet, she gathered her dirty plate and looked down at him, completely oblivious to the view that he undoubtedly would have up her baggy t-shirt. Narrowing her eyes down at him, she focused in on his face. "And don't even think about skipping out on me, because you made a promise - and a promise is a promise," she snapped, already moving towards the kitchen.

It didn't take her long to wash her dishes and head to her room to shower and change. She soon returned with a towel wrapped around her body, moved over to his side, and glowered down at him.

"Gengaku, get your lazy ass moving. We need to leave in .." She glanced over at the clock on the wall, her eyes flashing open. "Ten minutes!" she squeaked out, turning and rushing back to her bedroom.

It took only five minutes for her to change into her jeans-shorts, tank top, and boots, and she was moving towards the door, purse, jacket, umbrella, and keys in hands.

"Gengaku, come on! I'm going to leave, and it's not going to be without you - so either you come fully dressed and willingly, or naked and against your own will," she shouted from the doorway.

(*kuk = Dick)

---

---

When he finally took her hand, Akihiko helped to pull him to his feet. Her brows drew together. He was pushing himself far too much.

Not very many people knew the true emotions that Ren felt, but Akihiko was one of them - mostly due to the fact that they had been best friends since they were babies. Born very closely together, they had been inseparable since birth, especially since they were both Cursed. This of course had brought them together - and they both live alone, which wasn't rare, but it was another thing that they had had in common.

Shaking her head, she opened her mouth to speak, but was cut off as she was bumped from behind by someone rushing by. Glancing after the person, she frowned.

How rude.

"Hello Turi!"

'Don't yell my name out you stupid mutt!"

Her eyes instantly hardened. She had never had a problem with the cat, and in fact had tried to befriend her - only to be rejected. She had recovered, but ever since then, the young woman had been nothing but outright rude to her. She didn't mind, however, because she was used to it, but for her to be rude to Ren, when all he had done was called a friendly hello to her, pissed her off.

Her eyes narrowing, Aki shoved her things into Ren's hands, completely ignoring Suzu as she offered them a ride. Striding down the wet sidewalk, she practically threw the umbrella into Turi's hands.

"You can be as much of a bitch as you want to me, but the next time that I hear you utter a single rude word to Ren-chan, I'm going to make sure you regret it. I don't care if you've had a shitty life - we all have. You aren't the only one who has suffered because of this damned curse. So stop acting like a pussy and taking your attitude out on anyone and everyone who tries to be nice to you."

"Now have a nice, God damned day, you bitch," she snapped, turning and storming off through the rain, completely ignoring the fact that she was instantly soaked.

When she reached the car, she grabbed Ren's arm and yanked him inside it after her, took her bag and the lunch that she planned to share with him, and settled both in her lap. She snapped on her seatbelt before leaning forward between to the two front seats.

"Thank you for the offer for the ride, Niisan," she said. Dropping back into her seat, she turned to Ren and dropped her hand down onto his wet hair.

"Hey, don't push yourself okay?" she said quietly, her eyes holding his. "If you aren't happy, than you can tell me. Don't push yourself to put on a happy face. I know you well enough to know when you're lying and when you're upset. So don't pretend around me, okay Renny?" she finished, brushing his bangs from his face. She leaned back from him and face forward, smiling at Suzu. "So what's on your To-Do list today?"

"Hey! You two get in, I'll drive you to school so you don't get too wet." Grinning at the tiger, Ren turned to his Akihiko, "We'll have to talk about this later. Now-" grabbing his friend's hand he ran towards the car, "hurry or we'll be late!"

Oh Lord. Suzu sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose as she watched Aki shout and all but assault Turi before shoving an umbrella into the girl's hands. She could understand Aki's frustration and anger considering Turi's usual rude nature but blowing up like that certainly wasn't cool. Then again, she was just a child, things like that are to be expected. Regardless, once the pink-haired girl had plopped down inside the car she shot her a rather serious look through the rear view mirror, ignoring her question for the time being.

Once her two passengers were seated and buckled in Suzu rolled forward slowly before coming to a stop near Turi. She glanced to the girl's side for a moment, uncertain of what exactly to say and not wishing to carry on the awkward air that lingered after her tussle with Aki. "Hey, uh, make sure you dry off well when you get to work so you don't get sick and... If it's still raining like this when you get off, gimme a call alright? I'll give you a ride back home." She briefly glanced to the back of her car at Aki, "And try not to mind her too much, she's just a kid after all." Suzu's lips curled into a small smirk as she looked back to Turi, "Anyways, try and have a good one Turi, I'll talk you later." With that done she gave the dark-haired girl a quick wave before rolling up her window and carrying on to school.

A minute or so later Suzu glanced up into her rear-view mirror to look at Aki for a moment. "I know you were just trying to stand up for your friend and all but, you went a little too far there you know? You let yourself act all nasty like that and you're no better than the person who you're being nasty to. Does no one any good to respond to unpleasantness with unpleasantness, everybody loses in that case." She wasn't even at school yet and she was already giving lectures.

---

---

Ren stared in shock as Akihiko yelled at Turi. Sure, Ren had seen Aki mad hundreds of times before, but it still never ceased to surprise him how hostile she could be when the pink haired girl was always so sweet to him. Ren felt himself frown as he watched the scene unfold before him. Ren should be the one that stood up for Aki, not the other way around! Ren sighed he was a sorry excuse of a man (well as much of a man as a 15 year-old can be). Ren flinched a little at the harsh words spewing from his best friends mouth, he'd have to remember to make her put money in the cussing jar after school was finished.

Seeing Akihiko shove her umbrella into Turi's hands and stock towards the car, Ren felt relief at knowing it was over. As the girl pulled Ren into the car he felt himself glance over at his now soaking friend. "Hey, don't push yourself okay?" she said quietly, her eyes holding his. "If you aren't happy, than you can tell me. Don't push yourself to put on a happy face. I know you well enough to know when you're lying and when you're upset. So don't pretend around me, okay Renny?" A small smile lifted Ren's lip as he nodded.

Reaching down, Ren rummaged through his school bag until he found what he was looking for. Pulling out the jacket Ren'd packed incase he got cold, he turned to Akihiko and grinned. "Enough worrying about me! Your the one who always gets sick, look at you all soaking wet! Now if you come down with a cold, I'll be the one making the soup, and we both know what a horrible cook I am!" Chuckling a bit, Ren reached over and used his jacket to dry his friend's hair. Wrapping his jacket around Aki's shoulders when he was down, Ren reached up and pulled his hat he'd been wearing off, shaking out his wet hair in the process. Pulling the hat over his friend's head, he chuckled as he pulled it down all the way over her eyes.

Taking Aki's hands in his own, he rubbed them together to bring the warmth back to their fingertips as he listened to the older Sohma's lecture to Akihiko. It was his turn to stand up for her, "It's really not her fault. It's mine for provoking Turi, Akihiko was just being a good friend..." Looking over at his friend he smiled, "Maybe to good a friend," he added with a chuckle.

Ren's eye's widened as he looked at the older woman sitting in the drivers seat, "Oh! I almost forgot! Thanks for the ride, and sorry for getting your backseat all wet...if you'd like I can clean your car for you after school's finished." Smiling at the woman through the rearview mirror, Ren still unconsciously grasped Aki's hands in his own.

---

Akihiko narrowed her eyes at the older woman, her lips curling up a bit at the ends. While she admired the woman, she didn't appreciate being berated by her for merely looking out for her closest and best friend - and honestly, one of her only friends, too.

"I get that you might be older than me, and that you're a teacher and all, but I'm not your student and I'm not a little kid. I might act like one sometimes, but I don't appreciate being lectured over me defending my friend. That stupid cat has been nothing but trouble since the very beginning and everyone knows that. She has no right to treat Renny like that and I'll be damned if I'll just sit back and let her," she snapped, sneering at the woman through the rear-view mirror.

"Enough worrying about me! You're the one who always gets sick, look at you all soaking wet! Now if you come down with a cold, I'll be the one making the soup, and we both know what a horrible cook I am!"

Aki had only just turned her face towards Ren's when her head was overcome by a jacket. It enveloped her hair and moved around it before dropping over her shoulders, and she had barely enough time to pat down her frizzy excuse of hair before a hat was pulled down, blinding her as it went over her eyes.

It's really not her fault. It's mine for provoking Turi. Akihiko was just being a good friend. Maybe too good a friend ... Oh! I almost forgot! Thanks for the ride, and sorry for getting your backseat all wet...if you'd like I can clean your car for you after school's finished."

Lifting her hand from where it was caught between Ren's, she pulled up the hat that Ren had pulled over her head, peaking out from beneath it. "You didn't provoke her, she's just a bitch," she said simply, raising a brow.

It was then that they finally pulled up to the school and the car stopped. Ushering Ren out of the car, she clambered out after him.

"Thanks for the ride," she said, her voice a bit cold as she shut the door. Pulling the hat completely up from her eyes, she waved at Suzu as they took shelter under the canopy hanging over the walkway to the school. "Let's walk to class together, Ren!" she said cheerily, linking her arm through his.

---

---

"Ahahaha... As tempting as that sounds, I think I'll just clean... Besides, Gengaku would probably kill me if I so much as touched you."

Watching him walk to the window, she straightened and crossed her arms over her chest, a slight pout appearing on her lips.

"Well, don't I feel unwanted and rejected," she scoffed out, moving behind the counter and opening the register. Parting her lips to ask Kaze a question, she was stopped by an abrupt onslaught of customers.


Collapsing into a chair, Callista pulled a napkin from the center piece of the table and tossed it over her eyes.

"Jeez, who knew running a store on your own could be so difficult ..." she groaned, slumping down in the chair so that she was nearly laying across it. She peaked out from under the napkin and focused an eye on Kaze. "Hey. Do you want a job? I could use the help and I can afford to hire an extra hand around here. Gengaku can't be here all the time," she said.

Frowning a bit, Calli felt tears threaten behind her lids. It really wasn't fair. She was left alone in the world, with very few people to call friends, and no one to call family. So she couldn't really call on someone to help her out on a daily basis, but instead was forced to look for someone to hire.

Not that she would mind having Kaze around, even if he was being paid to be so. Granted he had classes, but so did she, and a lot of his classes went during her off-time, and her classes went during his. So it would actually work perfectly to have him work at the store, since they could trade off and on in between classes.

Sitting up suddenly, she raised both of her brows. "Oh! That reminds me. What was that that you mumbled about Gengaku earlier? I heard you say that he would kill you, but I missed the second part. Care to share?" she asked.

When this gained no response, she jumped up from the chair and crossed over to him, smirking down at him. "Either you tell me or I'll make you tell me," she warned.

---

---

"... Getting out sooner or later, so we can stick to who we know is home."

Tomaya blinked her eyes open and sat up abruptly. Her eyes darted around the room in an effort to get her bearings, and when she realized where she was, she relaxed a bit. She hadn't even realized that she had fallen asleep, to be honest.

"It's settled. We're are going to see Miyako."

Turning her attention to Yamato, her lips turned down into a frown.

"Yamato, you shouldn't leave bed," she said, attempting to quickly leave the bed. Instead, she found her legs tangled in the sheets, causing her to fall face-first from the bed and collide loudly with the floor of the room. Grimacing, she untangled herself and sat up, rubbing at her face. Instinctively she knew that her nose would be swollen, but she pushed herself up as quickly as possible and crossed the room.

"Yamato, stop," she demanded, moving between him and the door, her arms spread wide to halt any attempt to exit the room. Her expression was stern and her eyes set. "You know as well as I do that with that cough you can't afford to go anywhere. If you do, I can't guarantee that you won't grow more ill."

Reaching out to grab his arm, she looked up at him with an odd desperation in her gaze. "Please, Yamato, don't go outside. It isn't safe for you. And ... And we can't live without you," she said quietly, tears glittering in her eyes.

---

---

---

Ren pouted as Aki pulled her hand free of his as she pulled his hat up so her eyes could peek out. Reaching over, Ren took a piece of her frizzy pink hair between his fore finger and thumb, twirling it absentmindedly as he listened to his friend's response.

"You didn't provoke her, she's just a bitch," Wrinkling his small nose, the boy pulled the piece of hair trapped between his fingers sharply before scolding her. "That's double the money you have to put in the cursing jar, Aki! Keep this up and I'll be rich by the end of the month!" He couldn't help but poke her in the ribs as he playfully stuck his tongue out.

When the car pulled up to the school, Aki ushered Ren out, causing him to stumble a little as his feet made contact with the wet concrete. As the boy and his friend ran for cover from the rain, Ren turned his head to look back at the car and waved cheerfully at the older Sohma. "Bye! Thanks again for the ride!"

Ren hadn't noticed the coldness in his friend's voice as she'd addressed the tiger, Akihiko was probably the only person who Ren believed to be completely innocent and harmless. Being friends practically since birth tends to do that to a person. Aki could slap Ren straight in the face and he'd just write it off as an accident. It never acquired to Ren how naïve he was with Aki, it was just somehow relieving to have someone to trust and confine in when you trusted little to no one else.

"Let's walk to class together, Ren!" Grinning at the pink haired girl, Ren happily linked arms with her as they walked toward the school.

Ren and Aki had shared the same class every year in their school lives. Mostly thanks to the fact that even if Ren had been placed in a different class, he'd make sure that he was switched to the one his friend was in. Walking into school, Ren grinned at the people who walked by and waved happily to the people he knew. Still keeping his arms linked with Aki's, Ren turned to the girl and smiled, "Aren't you excited? It's the first day of school and we aren't new this year! Although, thinking about it, I'll probably still end up lost..." Looking around the halls, Ren couldn't help but sheepishly scratch his head as he smiled warily at his friend.

---

Walking happily alongside Ren, Akihiko smiled cheerily at the people they passed. When one would wave, she would eagerly wave back, her stormy mood from earlier banished within moments of them entering the school. Letting out a giggle, she released his arm and skipped ahead of him, whirling around to face Ren.

"Aren't you excited? It's the first day of school and we aren't new this year! Although, thinking about it, I'll probably still end up lost..."

"Don't worry! If you get lost, I'll come find you, remember? I always do!" she giggled. Reaching out, she snatched his hand, pulling him up to her before removing his hat. She plopped it back on his head, seemingly oblivious to their close proximity - something that did not happen very often. Yes, they often stood very near each other, but never as close as they were now.

Beaming up at him, she danced back a few steps, her fingers still twined with his. "Let's go and check the class roster, Renny!" she exclaimed, tugging him down the hallway and near the main office of the building.

The papers that were lined neatly on the cork board were pinned up by thumbtacks, which were all the same color - white. Lifting her hand that wasn't clasped in Ren's, she traced her finger along the roster for their year, easily locating her name under Class 2A. When she was unable to find Ren's name on that list, she frowned. Immediately tears began to well in her eyes, and she whirled around to face him, her hand escaping his and both of them drawing up in front of her chest.

"Renny, we aren't in the same class this year!" she sniffled, her lower lip trembling. What would she do without her best and closest friend?

Immediately irritation settled inside of her. The school had an agreement with the Sohma family. The Sohmas who were in attendance of the school and of the same age were to always be placed within the same classroom. This way, if one Sohma were in danger of being hugged and/or revealing the family curse, then the other Sohma could step in and assist the first Sohma in covering their tracks.

"This is an outrage!" she seethed. Grabbing his hand again, Aki pulled him into the office, marching directly up to the secretary.

"We're in different classes," she said bluntly, her eyes annoyed and slightly angry.

The secretary glanced up and, upon recognizing the bunny-of-a-girl, she flinched, grimacing slightly.

"Miss Sohma, the reason for your different placements in class is due to each of your grades on the last school-wide tests. It would be unfair to-"

"I don't care who it would be unfair to, Miss Secretary Lady, whatever your name is! I have to be in the same class as Ren! The Sohmas have a deal with the school and you know that!"

The woman squirmed uncomfortably under the anger of the young girl. "Yes, I understand that, Miss Sohma, but as I was saying-"

"I don't care what you were saying. Make it happen!"

Grimacing a bit, the woman seemed to think it over, before slowly nodding her head. "I will speak with the attendance office. For now, both of you will be in Class 2A. I will notify your teachers immediately."

Nodding, Aki turn back around and tugged Ren from the office. Once outside, she was practically livid with irritation.

"Just who do they think they are! They can't just separate us like that, and they know it! Oh, I'm so mad right now!" she seethed, her lower lip going out in a frustrated pout.

---

---

Ren watched as Aki skipped ahead of him and turned to face the slightly taller male. "Don't worry! If you get lost, I'll come find you, remember? I always do!" Aki cheerfully said, causing Ren to laugh as he nodded his head. It would only take Ren a few minutes to remember the layout of the school. But who knows? Maybe he'd intentionally get lost a few times just to see how long it would take his pink haired friend to find him.


Ren smiled down at his best friend as Aki pulled them closer together, reaching up to pull off Ren's hat before plopping it back on his head. Only when Ren took notice of their close proximity did the young boy realize that his heart had started to beat a little faster. Ren could feel the slight red tinge his cheeks had taken on, tilting his head in curiosity, the boy got lost in his own thoughts.

The two had always been the best of friends, only growing closer after the incident in his past. Yet, Ren had never felt like this around Aki before. Lately he'd been more self conscious around the girl. And while Ren had always wanted to be around Aki before, now he felt as though he needed to be around her at all times. What was wrong with him? Why was he feeling like this all of a sudden?

Aki's voice brought Ren out of his thoughts. "Let's go and check the class roster, Renny!" His friend exclaimed as she took his hand once more and pulled him down the hall.

White was such a bleak color. Why couldn't the class roster be brighter? He'd suggested it to the principal last year and the man had just looked at him like he was crazy. Then again, Ren wasn't exactly what most people would consider normal. Ren watched as Akihiko searched for her name on the list. He didn't even need to look for his own, Ren already knew that they'd be in the same class thanks to the agreement the school and the Sohmas had.

Surprise overtook Ren as he heard Aki exclaim, "Renny, we aren't in the same class this year!" Head snapping up, Ren looked up at the girl to see her face change from sadness to irritation fairly quickly. "Wha?! How's that possible??" Walking closer to the roster to see for himself, Ren didn't have enough time to before Aki shouted, "This is an outrage!" and took of toward the office, dragging Ren behind her.

Ren shot what he hoped was a comforting smile at the lady sitting behind the desk as her saw her grimace as she recognized his seething friend. "Miss Sohma, the reason for your different placements in class is due to each of your grades on the last school-wide tests. It would be unfair to-"

The two's voices faded out as the gears in Ren's head started turning. Why was it only now that they tried to split them into two different classes? Ren highly doubted that the two's test scores from last year were so drastically different that the school would go against the agreement they shared. What had Ren gotten on his tests last year? That may have been valuable information to find out...

"I don't care what you were saying. Make it happen!"

The sound of Akihiko's voice once again brought Ren out of his thoughts. He really needed to stop dozing off.

Turning to his friend, Ren opened his mouth to tell her that everything was going to be ok, and that they should listen to the secretary, but managed to only get one word out before the secretary reluctantly nodded her head and said, "I will speak with the attendance office. For now, both of you will be in Class 2A. I will notify your teachers immediately."

Nodding, Aki turned around and once again took Ren's hand, now dragging him from the office. Turning his head, Ren managed to get out a "Thank you!" before the door shut behind the two.

"Just who do they think they are! They can't just separate us like that, and they know it! Oh, I'm so mad right now!" Aki seethed once they were outside the office, pouting in frustration.

A small smile played on Ren's lips as he sighed and gently patted the girl's head. "Don't worry, Aki! They said they'd take care of it."

Taking the girl's hand, Ren gave it a gentle squeeze as he grinned down at her. "Now come on! It's not good to start off the day in a bad mood!"

It was Ren's turn to drag Aki as he ran down the halls, hand still clasping onto Aki's. When they reached the stairs that lead to the roof, Ren turned to his best friend.

"We should do something after school. It'll get your mind off this whole thing!" Pushing Aki up the stairs and through the door at the top leading onto the roof, the boy grinned excitedly at the pink haired girl. "But for now, we need to get you into a better mood."

It was still raining, but not nearly as bad as before. Dragging Aki out into the middle of the roof, Ren couldn't help but splash around in the puddles like a little kid. Laughing in joy, Ren enjoyed the sensation of the water on his skin as he took Aki's hand and pulled her closer to him. Spinning her around in the rain as he laughed.

"These are my favorite days." Ren said as he breathed in the smell of the rain. "When it feels like nothing can go wrong..."

Even though everything can go wrong...