Gengaku Sohma's Story

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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.

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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..."

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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.

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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?"

Gengaku Sohma

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.

---

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)

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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!"

Gengaku Sohma

*You can't put on some pants??!

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Casting a smirk over he shoulder at Gengaku, Callista opened the front door.

"You know that I find pants constricting. Without them, I can actually sleep. Which is why I don't wear them to bed," she said, as if it were a normal thing for girls to go half-naked while sleeping in a house with a man who was nearly a decade older than she was.

"Besides, you and I both know that your perverted nature is being put to the test right now. 'Does he dare defile a woman so much younger than he? Is he truly a cradle robber like everyone says? Will he give into his sexual fantasies and tie her to his bed with ropes and chains?'" she joked as they climbed into the little Honda. Snapping on her seat belt and starting the car, she flipped on the American artist Lindsey Stirling, immediately filling the car with electronic, dub-step violin.

They rode in silence the entire way to her little shop. The police were still taking care of the accident that had occurred, so they were forced to take a detour and loop around the entire block.

Parking behind the building, Callista climbed from the car, turning it off as she moved. She flipped through her key chain until she reached the shiny silver key that went to the restaurant's back door.

"Alright, first we have to put the bread into the prepping oven. While it's rising, we need to," the door popped open as she was speaking, and she walked through without pausing, "Prepare muffin mix for ten dozen muffins, doughnut batter for twenty dozen doughnuts, and also prepare two dozen orders of each sandwich on the menu. In addition, we need to prepare enough cookie mix for twenty dozen cookies, and bake three cakes of each type that I offer. Once we're done with that, we need to make coffee, tea, smoothies, and milkshakes," she said, flipping on light switches as she walked.

Disappearing through the door that separated the front of the store from the back prep room, she retrieved a menu from the stack on the counter. Once she was back in the prepping area, she placed the menu on the counter that he would be working at.

"Oh! And we need to make four of each type of pie I offer, too. Here's the menu* of treats I offer. We have until nine o'clock to get this done - that gives us a little less than three hours."

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*Menu*

White Bread
Muffins
Blueberry
Apple
Poppyseed
Cinnamon Apple
Chocolate Chip
Doughnuts
Long and Circled Chocolate-Frosted with & without sprinkles
Long and Circled White-Frosted with & without Sprinkles
Long and Circled Caramel
Circled Plain
Glazed Long and Circled
Sandwiches
BLT
Turkey Club
Ham and Cheese
Cookies
Chocolate
Snickerdoodle
Sugar
Monster (Half Sugar, Half Cocolate)
Peanut Butter Chocolate
Pies
Coconut Lemon Cream
French Silk
Pumpkin
Apple
Strawberry Cream
Custard Sprinkles
Cakes
Vanilla
Marble
Red Velvet
Chocolate
Oreo Cheesecake
Plain Cheesecake with option of strawberry, vanilla, chocolate, or caramel drizzle

Gengaku Sohma

*Challenge accepted.

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The hours ticked by quickly for them after that. Callista had turned on some upbeat music to keep them going, and somehow over the course of them making all of the food, she ended up with flour all over her face, and Gengaku ended up with baking soda on the front of his kimono - and on his ass. Casting a glance at the matching hand prints on his butt, she snorted and popped a few trays of cookies into the oven.

"Well, I think that's the last of the food," she said, brushing her hands together. She moved over to the sandwiches that they had finished making and picked up a large knife, immediately beginning to portion out the sandwiches for what she gave per order. "Now all we have to do is put half of them away for when they need to be filled, and put the other half in the show-Ow!" she squeaked, jerking her hand back suddenly. Scrunching her face a bit, she cradled her hand against her chest.

After a moment, she opened the hand that held the injured one, only to find that she had made a good, solid slice into the meaty part of her thumb.

"Dritt*," she muttered, wincing as she moved quickly to the sink. Switching on the water, she ran it for a solid couple of minutes before it began to run off of her hand clear, her thumb no longer bleeding. "Drittsekk, that hurt," she hissed out. Taking quick strides to the medicine cabinet she kept in the room, she flipped it open and removed several bandages, along with anti-bacteria ointment.

Once she had bandaged her hand up, she returned to the prepping area, adjusting the tape as she did so.

"Sorry, you know how clumsy I can be, Geng-"

Drawing up short, she barely stopped herself from colliding head-first into his chest. Squeaking, she took a small step back in surprise and slowly tilted her head back to look up at him.

Callista gulped, her eyes wide and her lips turned in a way that showed that she was either embarrassed or thinking.

Well, I can't say anything bad about his looks, that's for sure ... Wait, why am I thinking about that right now? Dammit, Callista! Stop those thoughts right there! You swore off of people, especially men, after what your family did to you. Why would you start thinking in any way about someone, least of all Gengaku? He's a pervert, remember!?

Shaking her head roughly, she patted at her cheeks, only to cry out and yank her hand away, a fresh spot of blood beginning to appear through the bandages.

*Dritt ~ Shit
*drittsekk ~ Son of a Bitch

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Gengaku Sohma

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Callista held him under a steady gaze as he tended to her hand. If there was one thing you could say about her, it was that her knowledge in the medical field was that if someone was hurt, she'd suggest a band-aid and Neosporin - and that went for any type of injury, no matter how severe.

The throbbing in her thumb subsided a bit as he turned away, but her eyes remained on him.

Since when did Gengaku the pervert have a gentle side?

With an inquisitive brow raised, she returned to the sandwiches she had been cutting, fetched a clean knife, and got to work.

Talking out in the restaurant part caused her to raise her head, and she was just lowering her knife when Kaze popped his head through the curtain that separated the main room from the back rooms.

"Hey, Callista! How's your morning been? Good? Good. Need help? What can I do?

Yellow. His voice is yellow.

Smiling and ignoring the yellow aura that surrounded his body and face, she set her knife down and used her hand to wave him over.

"Well, I was just cutting these sandwiches for the day. Did you maybe want to do that while I go up front and start making the smoothies, milkshakes, tea, coffee, and hot chocolate? Besides, I heard the door open behind you. I would imagine someone came in after you, than, so I should probably take care of them." Handing him the knife, she grabbed his wrist and held it above the sandwiches. Cut them six inches apart from one another - that way they'll be perfect squares. One you're done, cut the squares in half, and then portion them out onto these plates, which will then be placed on these trays," she instructed, motioning to the items she spoke of.

Leaving him to it, she walked towards the main room, ducking through the curtain. She found Gengaku out front with a young woman, who currently stood at the door. From the greeting Gen gave her, she found her name to be Turi, and when she narrowed her eyes, she nodded.

"You must be the Turi that Gengaku's told me about," she said with a smile, wiping her uninjured, flour-covered hand on her apron as she approached the side of the counter. She was completely oblivious to the high tension coming off of the young woman - or so it seemed. Instead, she was just choosing to ignore it. "Good morning. My name is Callista. It's very nice to meet you, Turi," she said, bowing forward a bit, as was custom in Japan - something she had found out the hard way.

When she was once again straightened, she moved behind the counter and beamed a smile at the young woman, who had just recently plopped down in one of the chairs. When she moved, the soft sound of her clothing sent a greenish hue into the air, causing Callista to tilt her head to the side. The woman steps sent up a brownish-red color.

"You're a darker person - I can already tell. But that's alright - so am I," she laughed, bending down to open the back of the display case. "Your boss already called about the cupcakes and told me you were coming, so I have them boxed up down here," she explained, removing a large box with about a dozen chocolate cupcakes, which had swirling brown or white frosting, and a large array of sprinkles on top of them. Setting the box on the counter, she added a smaller box, the contents of which unknown.

"Alright, so the cupcakes will come to $15 even, and the smaller box is just a little something for the trouble that I know for a fact Rose puts you through. You aren't the first person she's sent here, and you certainly won't be the last. Let her know that I wish her little boy a happy birthday, okay?" she asked, punching several buttons on the register. She slipped the bill into the register and counted out the change, plucked up the boxes, and walked them around the counter to where the young woman sat. "You know, if you aren't feeling well, you really shouldn't go out in the rain again. Why doesn't Gengaku drive you back to your work? I know he's been dying to drive my car ever since he saw it," she said with a playful wink at the girl. Looking back over her shoulder, she beamed a smile that was sickeningly sweet - and extremely evil. "Isn't that right, Gen?"

Gengaku Sohma

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