The paper screen slid shut with a snap, announcing the arrival of yet another member of the Sohma family in Tarou's house. He sighed quietly, shaking his head. His house was almost never this full. Usually it was just Nori and himself. But they had a new arrival coming today, some girl whose parents Riko had killed. But he wasn't supposed to mention that. She didn't know that yet. She thought they'd had an accident. It could be called that, he supposed. Their accident. Their mistake for angering Riko. At least, that was what Riko had said, how he had explained it. Riko was not one to admit that he was a murderer.

The bastard.

Tarou shook himself rapidly. It was not good to think about the God that way. It would get him killed, the same way that man had murdered the poor girl's parents. He could imagine how distraught she would be. It was a tragic irony that she was being delivered to this house in her time of grieving. This house, where no one could put their arms around her and comfort her when she cried. Where no one could offer her sympathy, because everyone had problems which could conceivably be worse than her own. And had had those problems all their lives.

He looked up, gazing across the table at Nori. The boy had hardly reacted to the smash of a close-to-broken paper door, except to reach up and straighten his glasses on his nose and then turn back to his book. The two of them knelt at the table together, as they did most afternoons, never speaking. Speaking was to be left for dinner. Other things were to be done at other times. That was the way the pair of them lived.

Unfortunately, their current house-guest did not observe those rules.

Kichirou came into the dining room like a storm-cloud, all flaming eyes and angry words. Tarou had no idea what he was complaining about this time. He got the feeling another girl had tried to hug him. That was always a problem when you were cursed and handsome all at the same time. It made Kichirou tense; that and the fact that nobody liked the cat, so he had always been shunned for his zodiac curse, even by the other members of the zodiac. But it didn't bother Tarou. The boy had a right to be angry, to shout.

Nori thought otherwise. Tarou knew that he would keep reading for a while, but if Kichirou went on too long, the house-guest would arrive to find a house in pieces, and the two teenagers fighting not quite to the death.

Tarou looked up at the screech of tires in the driveway, raising his eyebrow slightly. He completely ignored the falsely cheerful banter being tossed back and forth by Nori and Kichirou. They were both too absorbed in their petty rivalry to notice what they were hearing, but that did not matter to Tarou. They could bicker all they wanted. He had heard the car pull in...
And then away again.

He frowned. It would have been normal for the social workers to come in and make sure this new girl was settled, but he knew why they fled. Their house was outside the Sohma estate, but it was also close to the border of it. Much too close. Even normal people who knew nothing of Riko's godliness were aware of the fact that he was dangerous, and would want absolutely nothing to do with him, or for that matter with the whole of the Sohma family. It was nothing remarkable that the social workers had dropped her and fled.

That did not change the fact that it was remarkably cruel of them.

The voices behind him rose in volume then, breaking into his consciousness. Tarou whipped around, eyes flashing slightly.
"Kichi-kun, Nori-kun, be still," he commanded, and it was only the sudden sharpness of the calm man's tone that cut the argument off. Not even Riko could get those two to stop once they really got going. "Our guest has arrived."

Kichirou hissed quietly, remarkably like a cat, and turned his face away from the door, staring at a wall in childish determination. Tarou knew of the boy's misplaced hatred of women. He understood Kichirou's logic; they're dangerous. If I can't love them, I have to hate them, or I'll be tempted to love them all the same. Tarou had gone through that phase, himself, back when he lived away from the Sohma estate, with his parents and unaware of Riko. Back when he thought he was the only man in the world who became an animal when a woman; even his mother; hugged him.
Back before he met Riko, lost his family, and became wiser to the ways of the zodiac curse.

"We should go greet her," Nori murmured, always faster to come down off the high of his own anger. He spoke with quiet composure, eyes even an impossible to read. That mysterious politeness had made him remarkably popular at his school. 'The Prince', they called him for it. Forever fawned after, forever out of reach. Ruling over the student body with his quiet grace and kindness.

Tarou just thought it was remarkably sad. But as usual, he said nothing, shifting to his feet and walking silently to the door. He slid it open, looking down upon the pink-haired girl who had come so suddenly into their house and lives.

"Hello," he murmured, giving the girl a very small, quiet smile. "You must be Nanami-chan."

"I certainly hope so," Tarou answered calmly. "Because I have seen you before."

It was then that Nori's hand appeared, tapping lightly across the back of Tarou's head.
"Don't confuse her, you horse," he commanded in his quiet voice, and then pushed the older man gently out of the way, straightening his glasses and looking down at Nanami. He smiled slightly. "Hello, Kogo-san," he murmured, bowing ever-so-slightly, as everyone knew was customary for the school's young Prince. "We have met at school. Do you remember?"

"Of course she remembers," Kichirou ground out from where he still sat at the table in the room beyond. His comment was generally ignored.

"Please, come inside," Nori murmured, stepping aside and pushing Tarou back into the house. The older man simply went along with the flow, following Nori's instructions in serene silence. He may have been older, but there was no doubt that it was Nori who was really in charge in this house. "I would be glad to show you around."
He took another step back, unblocking the door completely, and revealing the rest of the house to Nanami. At the low table crouched Kichirou, watching Nanami with unconcealed distrust, his eyes flaming. He scowled at her for a moment, muttering under his breath.

Nori rounded on him.
"You, baka-san," he called Kichirou in a tone which was slightly less pleasant than the one with which he had addressed Nanami. Kichirou's eyes flashed, and he turned to retort, but Nori beat him to it. "Why don't you go do something useful? Pick the garden. You're wasting space."

"I.. I. Oh." She didn't really have anything else to say, but her shock turned to discomfort at once once she saw who really owned the house, who really lived in it. Nori-kun. She turned pale for a moment, finally working up the courage to smile at him and nod. She was embarrassed, and completely mortified by this turn of events.

"I do remember you. Everyone remembers you." The pale skin of Nami-chan turned a startling red as she said what she shouldn't have said. Sometimes she could be so blunt that she embarrassed herself to horrible measures. The redness soon faded and she looked up at Nori-kun, before stepping lightly inside of the house. "I'd appreciate that." She added, when he offered to show her around. Probably out of pity, she thought to herself.

But that wasn't the most unnerving part of this predicament. She recognized Kichi-kun to some measure, but she felt that he was glaring at her. In fact, he was glaring at her. She seemed to stiffen for a moment in that time, but in the end she began to scowl back, her eyes turning back towards his. She realized that this may not have been the best thing to do, but she felt also that he had no reason to hate her like it seemed he did right now. She caught herself, and let her brow relax, before she shook her head, breathing shakily.

"Well.. I suppose this is better than I thought it would be.." She remarked lightly to Torou-kun. Biting her lower lip gently before nodding her head. She tapped an invisible rhythm on the palm of her hand, and remained quiet. As quiet as a mouse.

Tarou gave a light laugh at that, smiling unashamedly at the girl.
"That's because you've just walked in the door," he observed almost cheerfully. "You have no idea what these boys are capable o-"

And then he was cut off by a great shout from the room beyond.

"WHO'S A WASTE OF SPACE?!" Kichirou shouted, leaping to his feet and upsetting the table on Nori. Or at least, he would have upset the table on Nori, except that Nori took one neat step back and completely avoided collision. "YOU'RE THE WASTE OF SPACE YOU USELESS RAT! NOBODY WANTS YOU AROUND!! THE ONLY REASON YOU'RE STILL PART OF THE FAMILY IS RIKO LIKES YOU!"

"You're shouting," Nori observed evenly, seeming perfectly calm, except for the sparking in his eyes. "You're too noisy. Stay quite for Kogo-san. She doesn't want to hear your annoying voice."

"WHO'S ANNOYING?!" Kichirou shouted. He looked about ready to pounce on Nori.

Tarou sighed quietly, shaking his long, dark ponytail like a horse's mane. He reached out, gently gripping Nanami's arm and drawing her away from the room.
"I'll show you your room," he offered, or rather, insisted, as he dragged her up the stairs.

'Ah. Well..' She looked rather startled by the loud voice coming from the kitchen. Though she accepted the tugging of her arm as Tarou pulled her away from where the voice were emanating. She watched, transfixed for a moment, before being obedient and agreeable, and finally giving into his insistent dragging of her body up the stairs. She seemed slightly puzzled by their conversation, though she had heard her name once in it.

'Do they always do that?' She asked in a quiet voice, as she observed and repeated what Nori-san and Kichirou had said in her head. She knew it was something rather important, and that Nori was going to stay calm no matter what. But she still didn't understand quite as well as she wanted to.

'Answering your last statement..' She struggled for conversation, 'They're capable of great things, are they?' She spoke gently, nearly mumbling all the words. But surprisingly the clarity of her voice cut through the air with startling precision. She smiled, and felt very out of place, she just wanted to curl up against a tree in the forest and sketch to her heart's content. She couldn't help but wonder still what the fight was about.

Shaking back dark pink locks, she pressed Tarou no further with questions, but trotted along side him, as he guided her to the room she was meant to reside in. This house was pretty, yet cozy in it's own way. She rather liked it. Pushing back her mane of pink hair, she pursed her lips, before sighing softly and looking down at the smooth, polished floors.

Tarou gave an easy laugh.
"No," he answered calmly. "They're capable of exactly what you see them doing there. Shouting, fighting, beating each other to pieces without actually causing each other any harm. It's all quite entertaining, though I rather wish they had waited until you were settled into the house..."
He shook his head with a sigh, stopping by one of the doors and sliding it open.

"Here's your room. It's not much, but I'm sure it'll get homier as you add your own touches to it."

Indeed, it wasn't much. A very nice bed, a bureau, a mirror, a private bathroom; tub and all. But it was very nice, especially for such an unexpected visit.

But there wasn't much time to admire it. Downstairs, there was a resounding crash as someone flew through a wall. Tarou jumped sharply, turning to stare back down the hall.
"Ah... they broke the paper door again."

'Oh, I see.' She couldn't help but laugh with him. And as she looked around the room curiously, she already took quite a liking to it. Dropping her bag on the floor near the door, she placed her sketchbook on the top of the bureau and turned to look at him, the small grin widening gently.

'It's very nice. I appreciate you allowing me to come here on such short notice.' She spoke slowly, carefully, and clearly to Tarou. As though afraid that he would throw her out in the split second she said something wrong.

She looked around the room, already planning to change it to just the way she liked it. She hadn't brought all of her things with her. Most of her things were going to come later, luggage bags that were giant indeed. She liked the way everything was neat and tidy. She was just about to get settled before she heard the startling crash as well. Blinking, she looked towards where it had come from, and agreed with Tarou's assumption.

'It sounded like it hurt..' She mused to herself, before walking up and standing beside Tarou. She sighed softly, before tilting her head to the right, rubbing her left arm with slender, delicate fingers. She was rather cold right now, but not too cold, that is. Her eyes were warm and gentle, and her hair was tangled.

"They're always breaking the house..." Tarou complained quietly, shaking his head. "I swear I spend more time fixing this place than living in it."

He sighed quietly, turning to Nanami once more.
"I'll have lunch made in about an hour," he told her. "If you want to be alone, we won't bother you, but feel free to come down and talk to us."
He flinched again at yet another resounding crash, followed by the shattering of several dozen dishes. He gave an exasperated sigh. "I'm going to go stop them from knocking the house down around us. Feel free to join me."

And he turned and ran off down the hall.

'Hey, wait for me!' She glanced around the room once, before turning on her heel and gliding after him, giggling softly behind the back of her hand. Her eyes were bright and glowing. This was the first time in a while that she had lauhed.

Following him down the hall, she was slightly confused, and maybe just a bit amused by this sudden and startling fight between Nori-kun and Kichirou.
Lunch sounded great to her, but the other crash she had heard, and the smashes afterwards had her pause for a moment, before she followed Tarou just a bit slower, taking her time in looking around the house for a moment.

Finally, she had caught up with him and began to walk beside him, her eyes sparkling and bright, and the smile around her lips no longer tense, but relaxed and smooth.

'I take it this happens often?' She inquired.

(Sorry for the absence. Massive power outage. Can only leech internet at the library. Posts will be sparse until power returns.)

"All the time..." Tarou muttered, gazing across the kitchen to what had formerly been a shelf full of dishes. That shelf now lay on its face, the dishes scattered in dozens of pieces across the floor...

Kichirou lay underneath the shelf, scrabbling at the floor and glaring at Nori. It didn't seem to have occurred to him to stop struggling and actually lift the shelf off of himself, a feat of which he was no doubt capable. He certainly looked strong enough...

For his part, Nori stood a few feet away from Kichirou, just out of reach. He stood with his arms crossed, one eyebrow raised in sardonic amusement as he watched the brunette scramble for him. His eyes glittered with unnatural malice; certainly not an expression he would have shown at school, where they called him the Prince.
"Having trouble, baka-neko?" Nori asked frigidly.

"WHO'S HAVING TROUBLE?!" Kichirou snarled.

"You are."

Kichirou probably would have jumped up and attacked Nori again, if a shoe (yes, a shoe) had not come flying across the room to strike him across the head.

"Enough," Tarou called, his voice perfectly calm, the other shoe in his hand, grabbed from the mat by the door.

"Huh." She seemed to find it rather amusing. These two really did deserve their own comedy sometime. She blinked, noticing all the crushed dishes, and immediately her embarrassment was lost, and she slid over towards Kichirou, unsure of whether to approach him. She was not sure whether he even wanted her in this house, it didn't seem like it at all. Her eyes were full of confusion, and maybe just a hint of pain she had been feeling before this.

Blushing, she took a step back, bashing into Tarou's chest, before finally maneuvering around him, and leaning against the wall, dark pink hair falling across her face, with the single braid in the back swishing lightly. "I'm sorry." She blinked, "Is it my fault?"

She didn't want to say anything else, but she couldn't help but laugh when the shoe hit Kichirou. But it immediately disappeared. She had always wished she had had cousins that lived near her, or even siblings.. But now..

"You guys are awfully intent on killing, or maiming, or seriously injuring each other." She spoke softly.

"Yes," Nori answered evenly, giving Nanami his usual small, gentle smile. But there was ice behind that smile as his eyes immediately snapped back to Kichirou.

"They have been since they were little kids," Tarou observed, calm, perfectly straight-faced. "When they were babies they used to crawl around on the floor at family reunions and beat each other with their rattles."

"YOU WERE A KID THEN TOO!!" Kichirou shrieked, glaring at Tarou. His pupils seemed to narrow in his anger, though if one were to look more closely, the change would have disappeared. "HOW COULD YOU REMEMBER, BAKA-UMA?"

Tarou blinked slowly, and shrugged. He didn't seem concerned that Kichirou was shouting insults at him. "You're still stuck under a shelf, you know."

Kichirou snarled in frustration and surged upwards, and in that instant it became clear that the shelf was not offering him any hindrance at all. He slammed the furniture back onto its feet, scarring the wall behind it, and rounded on Nori.
But Nori wasn't there to be rounded on.

For one wild instant, Kichirou glanced wildly around, searching for the dark-haired boy. And then Nori's knee came smashing into him from the side, slamming against his cheek and carrying him clear out of the kitchen, through the sliding paper door, and out into the garden. Kichirou hit the ground hard and did not get up.

"Ah..." Tarou sighed, as though relieved. "You finished, Nori?"

"Mm," Nori made a sound of agreement, turning to smile once more at Nanami. "Sorry you had to see that. Are you hungry?"

"Well. I suppose I am." She would have to get used to this kind of treatment the brother's gave themselves. It was rather confusing to her, for brothers to hate each other that much. But she ignored it, and attempted to return Nori's smile. It turned out more like a grimace right now. Clasping her hands behind her back, she sighed gently.

Looking around the destroyed, and mangled kitchen she couldn't help but frown at Kichirou. Then again, Nori had been just as much apart of it as Kichirou had. She still didn't understand what had brought this on. Was it her? But she knew that Nori didn't hate her, and that Kichi did.

"I feel like an intruder in this house." She said simply, her eyes glistening sadly as she backed out of the kitchen, and into the hall. She wanted to get away from all three of them. She wanted to cry, but she didn't want to do it in front of these people. Turning her back, soft hair flew up as she twisted and walked out of the doorway, breaking into a run.

Kichirou already hated her, and Nori seemed to pity her. Tarou was nice enough, but there was something different about him. The trees were a soothing, calming green blur as she began to run, faster and faster. Finally she was out of breath, and she slumped against a tree, breathing heavily. She smacked herself on the head when she remembered she had forgotten her sketchbook. Groaning softly, she didn't turn around. She didn't want to go back to the house with the three of them, it would hurt too much.

Her eyes gleamed, and she felt calmer as she looked up into the tree tops. It was like her parents were looking down on her. A small smile raised her cheeks up, and she looked happier. But not too much happier... There was still the nervousness, the sadness, and the nostalgic feeling for the two best friends she had had just a few weeks ago...

A small twig snapped on the other side of the tree, the only announcement of the arrival of another being in the clearing. There was a snuffling sound, the thump of paws in the grass...
And then a little, dark-furred puppy rounded the corner. He stopped at the sight of Nanami, giving a little yelp of surprise and skittering a few steps backwards away from her. His fluffy gray tail tucked a bit between his legs, pointed ears flattening out.

And then he realized that it was just a girl. She wouldn't hurt him. He could tell. He could always tell with humans.

He gave a little yip and his tail came up, wagging furiously. His tongue lolled out, bright pink as he panted in eagerness, trotting forwards to snuffle at her hand. His tail started wagging faster, eager to make a new friend.

Nami-chan was completely taken by surprised, and she jumped for a moment as she heard the bark of a dog. Smiling at the small, fluffy puppy she patted it's head. She was always good with animals, and right now was no different. She picked it up, and set it in her lap, a sad smile on her face as she began to stroke the puppy's soft fur. She couldn't help but love this little dog right away.

"You're so cute." She murmured gently, the smile growing brighter, and the sadness seeping out of it as she laughed in delight. She tapped the puppy on the nose, and snuggled it with one arm, gently, fondling it's velvety ears, and grinning all the while. This little dog had befriended her so quickly, she hadn't even known that she had made a new friend.

"What's your name?" She checked for a collar, speaking again to the small dog. It was so cute.. But no one would abandon a puppy this cute.. Where had it come from?

No collar hung about the puppy's neck, no name could be seen. He whuffed happily at her attentions, stretching up to lap at her nose and her cheeks, covering her in wet little puppy kisses. His tail beat furiously against her leg, thumping on the ground behind him as he scrabbled up higher on her, reaching for every inch of her that he might be able to reach. He made little noises, quiet whimpering sounds. Happy whimpers.

And again, a twig snapped. The puppy hardly moved, glancing off to the side for an instant before returning to licking and squirming all over Nanami.

Out of the trees came a figure. Not one of the Sohmas, at least not that Nanami had met before. A woman, tall and graceful, with hair paler than the face of the moon and eyes a brighter silver than silver itself. She paused when she saw Nanami, a tranquil smile flitting across her face, an expression which warmed her features to brilliant beauty. She tipped her head slightly, letting her hair slide around her as she considered the girl.

"Hello," she murmured simply, in a voice like a dream.