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Demigod

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xxx Hotaru Miyamoto :: The Cursed Cat
:: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: ::
xxx Like a picture with a cracked frame.
xxxxxxx Fragile, but never tame.
                                                xxx Hotaru trailed behind the odd pair in front of her silently, looking all the world how a cat would be curiously following a random stranger. She even paused here and there to inspect a few things as she went. A fresh vase of flowers placed haphazardly on the edge of a table caught her attention, and she took a minute to push it back to safety and rearrange them into a better formation. Flowers were a better part of her life, and she wasn't about to leave them unattended, but now she had lost sight of her earlier companions and she scampered away to catch up to them. She didn't bother to return the saucer she had been using, leaving it for the servants to pick up as a sort of revenge she supposed, and was content to pad after her family and the new girl. Upon entering the kitchen she briefly wondered if it had been a mistake, as blue eyes darted about the room and took a quick count of who was in there. She must have taken longer than she had thought, as Umeki had already returned to the kitchen and various other members of the family were now crowding around. Casimir and Tamiko had already moved into the middle of the kitchen, and Kouyou was not too far off. Kisei had made an appearance as well, and was settling down next to Umeki. The cat herself was about to enter, when another person made themselves known and she paused with one foot halfway through a step.

                                                ... .•:´¨•☆ •.¸¸.•´´¯`•´❤


                                                xxx xxx


                                                xxx Yasu, the keeper...the jailor. He had been behind Kisei, but now he was making his way over to Tamiko. That smile on his face made Hotaru frown, and she watched with narrowed eyes as he reached out to lift Tamiko's chin. She could once again feel the hair on the back of her neck raised at that, and a low growl almost escape her lips. This was the first time anyone from the outside had gotten in, and if Yasu was about to mess that up then she was willing to say something about it. But...nothing happened. Almost. Hotaru let out a quiet gasp, when the keeper seemed to recognize the girl and for a second her stomach dropped. What if this was just another one of his little ways to keep everyone tied down. She wouldn't put it past him and the elders to come up with some scheme of introducing an 'outsider', when all they were was a spy. No, the girl seemed too sweet for that. Shaking her head and swishing her pale locks back and forth, Hotaru ventured further into the kitchen. No one said anything to her as she moved along the floor. Those who had already been in the kitchen ignrored her and it seemed like the ones she had followed had forgotten her. It was nothing new. Keeping quiet she headed towards the stove, where a small stack of French toast was waiting. Finding herself a second plate, she picked up three of the sweet treats and headed for the fridge to grab a jar of grape jelly and some whipped cream. After scooping out a spoonful of jelly and applying a healthy dose of the cream onto her toast, she closed the doors to the fridge and set about swirling the two condiments together all over her food.
                                                ... .•:´¨•☆ •.¸¸.•´´¯`•´❤


                                                xxx xxx


                                                xxx Her attention was taken away from her task, when Yasu made an extremely loud comment to Cas, and she looked up to find him pushing Tamiko out of the room by her shoulders. Thinking that he was about to kick her out, she would have followed after them. Unfortunately her path was blocked by Cas as he made a detour for the French toast, and she had to step back so he wouldn't run into her before he followed after the two. She was about to put down her plate and follow them again, when an entirely different set of noise other than what had already been in the kitchen caught her ears. Someone else was coming, and when she turned to look she spotted three very recognizable characters entering the kitchen. The first was Cheiko, whom she had no interest in at all, who made a straight shot for the food and barked about everyone eating. Hotaru ignored her and looked back at the other two who had entered. Akatsuki and Toshi. She nodded her head politely at Akatsuki, noticing the fresh bruises and other injuries that he was sporting. Come to think of it, she had noticed a few on Yasu as well. So all of the yelling that she had heard earlier had been the two of them. She closed her eyes for a moment and sighed, before opening them again to see that Toshi was once again in his monkey form. Was that why Yasu had practically shoved the outsider out of the room. Most likely.
                                                ... .•:´¨•☆ •.¸¸.•´´¯`•´❤


                                                xxx xxx


                                                xxx "Hello Akatuki-san." she called out in greeting, though she doubted if she would be heard over the noise of the others. Still, it would have been rude not to address the god, like some others would do. "Hello Toshi-san." she moved on to address the obvious monkey in the room. "May I what happened?" she continued, leaving the question open ended as it was so as not to possibly irritate the other. If he wanted to answer then he would, and she wasn't going to go any deeper than that. Looking down at her plate again she used her fork to cut her three pieces of French toast into little squares, rolling them around on the plate to soak up the little concoction on top. When she was sure that everything was coated enough she speared one of the squares with her utensil and popped it into her mouth. It was delicious, and a soft smile graced her lips. Whoever had cooked them had done a great job. They were a far cry better than the pop-tarts that she had eaten earlier. A sudden movement behind her dragged her away from breakfast again, and if she hadn't noticed it she would have been run over by Kouyou as he stomped his way out of the kitchen once more. Curious eyes followed him, but didn't say anything as she returned to her meal. Not that she would have wondered long, as the tiger came back only a few minutes later with a handful of groceries that she recognized belonged to Tamiko. At least someone had remembered to grab them, albeit a little late. Watching Kouyou put a note on the bag and put them into the fridge, the cat just stood there and ate her breakfast. No one seemed particularly interested in speaking with her at the moment, and so she just watched.
                                                ... .•:´¨•☆ •.¸¸.•´´¯`•´❤

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                                  • Tamiko began to feel more at ease the longer she was around all these people, maybe not completely, but slowly. The French man who led her into the kitchen had been kind enough to introduce himself as Casimir - what a unique name. She didn't understand him when he had spoken French to her, but upon seeing him take her hand and kiss it, Tamiko felt her face grow hot. Was this for real? Taking a seat at the table, the brunette sat there quietly as she watched Cas go about preparing a dish for her. The scent of the food was enough to make Tamiko's stomach growl a little louder, covering her stomach with her arms in hopes of muffling the sound. Goodness how embarrassing. Her brown eyes blinked in surprised though as Cas set down a plate for her, only to see his pet bird suddenly dig into her food. Seeing Cas yell at his bird, telling it that it was rude, made Tamiko suddenly giggle in delight over the comical sight. It was quite amazing though how close Cas and his bird were, as if they had a bond that only they could understand one another. Tamiko never had a pet, but she had seen people create such strong bonds with their animals that it seemed unusual but amazing none the less. The girl couldn't help but watch as Cas and his bird, Jacques, before the found of footsteps caught her attention.

                                    "Now, who's our new friend here? Are we adopting strays now?"

                                    Strays? Was someone talking about her. Her body tensed up at the feel of someone grabbing her head, somehow getting the feeling like her head was in the mouth of a deadly predator. Feeling her head tilted back, she looked to see the face of yet another male. Upon looking more closely though at the young man's face, she realized that she had seen this guy before. It had been some time since she had seen him, but she recalled seeing his face outside the high school. Tamiko had a bad habit of bumping into the poor guy...a lot; how foolish she made herself look when she would spill her books all over the floor because she was careless enough to not look where she was going. It seemed he recognized her as well, which made Tamiko relieved that he wasn't angry for her being here. Before she could greet the white haired young man, he had grabbed her shoulders and pushed her out of the room, mentioning something to Cas about coming with him to check on Ai and that Tamiko herself could come with. The poor girl just couldn't seem to get a break with finding a moment's peace to eat even just a little something, but she was worried about Ai. If she was sick though, shouldn't they let her rest in peace? Ai was her friend though, so she didn't mind checking in on her friend to see if maybe she could lend a hand to help.

                                    It was then that she stared at the plate with the french toast held out to her, looking to see Cas smiling at her. Tamiko only shook her head, as if to say that it was no trouble before she took a piece of the bread and bit into it. Her taste buds lit up with the taste of the food; how delicious it was. At least for now she was finally able to quiet the rumbling in her stomach, just until she went home. Looking out the nearest window though, she was dreading the idea to walk home in the rain with her groceries. Speaking of groceries, she hoped that hers were still fine. She only meant to stay for a couple of minutes, but somehow she got dragged into staying longer. Oh well, it wasn't like she had to rush home anyways, since she still got no word from her father. A small frown played on her face as she bit into the bread, wondering if she was going to end up spending the day alone because he was once again swallowed into his work.

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xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxW H O ; The rest of the family members W H A T ; "They really are stupid" W H E R E ; Kitchen

                                        As Yasu slipped off his bloody shirt Eri couldn't help but stare at the numerous scars that was sprawled all over his body. Eri could only imagine how many of those scars would be on the zodiac's bodies if it wasn't for their keeper. The snake girl quickly averted her eyes not wanting to be caught staring at her shirtless friend. As he went to go grab his clothes that was previously left in her room she could smell the sweet aroma of french toast coming in.

                                        Eri was practically gleaming when Yasu came back in the bathroom declaring they go get breakfast. Eri normally hated when people touched her, but when Yasu placed his hand on her back she felt nothing but comfort and security. Eri beamed a little smile to herself as he carefully stuck close to her side.

                                        "Don't take too long" Eri pouted to the keeper as left to go check on his sister. Eri knew he couldn't help but be doting, but she really hated having to deal with all her family members in one place by herself. Eri could already feel herself getting a headache as she headed to the kitchen and she saw Cas and his chicken making a ruckus. Eri stopped and gave a puzzling look she saw who Casmir was talking to. She had no idea who the little brunette intruder was or why she was around so many male members of the zodiac. Eri wasn't even going to think about it too hard seeing as Yasu was going to come in quite shortly and surely handle the situation.

                                        Eri simply walked past them, uttering a dry 'good morning' to everyone in the room as she went immediately to the french toast. After filling up her plate quite a bit with french toast, Eri went to the table and sat across Umeki where she watched as more people poured into the kitchen. Spotting Yasu finally enter she watched as he examined the unknown girl and immediately had a face of worry before he bolted out the room with her and Cas. Eri could understand why they left the room, but Yasu had looked as if he just saw a ghost and she couldn't help but wonder why? As soon as Akatsuki, Cheiko, and Toshi walked into the room Eri knew instantly why Yasu had that look on his face.

                                        "Well that is just so fantastic" Eri thought sarcastically to herself as she thought about when Aka said how Yasu wasn't needed even though he just prevented a major situation. Eri silently drowned her french toast with syrup and took slow bites of it wanting to savor the taste. Noticing Kisei gasping for water she carefully slid her glass that she had gotten prior to him.

                                        "Y'know Kisei you should be more careful when your eating spicy things", Eri grinned sounding completely harmless and innocent. "I'm not sure Cheiko-san or Aka-chan would no anything about being careful though, seeing as how they let a giant ape arbitraily walk into the kitchen while a strange was here" Eri remarked casually as she had under-handely insulted them. The snake girl just continued to munch on her french toast as she waited to gouge out her families' reaction.


    xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxO O C ; I aspire for Eri to become a sas master

    Garbage Waffles

                        CHOUKOCHOUKOCH███████ ████████ ██ ██ ███████ ████ ███ █████
                        choukochoukochoukochoukochoukochoukochoukochoukochoukochoukochoukochoukochoukochoukochoukochoukochoukochouko

                        █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ ↘↘ BRAVE STALLION r i d e . . . //
                        choukochoukochoukochoukochoukochouk i am not the p w n i am the q e e n i am not the p w n i am the q e e n
                        ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ don't forget me, im here
                        choukochUser Image User Image User Image
                        chouko
                        choI • • can't ; * ˟ ▇▇ EVEN s e e . . & & . . . her . : : ╲╲ ANYmore ₀₀
                        chchSHE WEREN'T EVEN HERE IN THE FIRST PLACE chchochoSHE WEREN'T EVEN HERE IN THE FIRST PLACE chchochSHE WEREN'T EVEN HERE IN THE FIRST PLACE ch
                        choukoch❖❖❖━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
                        choukochoukochouko " ;;That I was doing ► . . ஐ ; ; People watching - Talking with Rin
                        choukochoukochouko " ;;That person with me ► . . ஐ ; ; Rin Miyamoto
                        choukochoukochouko " ;;That what I'm feeling ► . . ஐ ; ; Tired - Hungry - Slightly in pain
                        choukochoukochoukochoukoIRON ON THE INSIDE, PORCELAIN ON THE OUTSIDE she said ¤ ¤ ▇▇▇▇▇▇▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬
                        choukochoukochoukochouko▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄
                        choukochouko
                        chou ♥ ▒▒▒ ' I dreampt I was a butterfly and I flew away .
                        chou ♥ ▒▒▒ ' I dreampt I was a horse and i ran away .

                        choukoch██ but ██ they ██ were ██ just ██ dreams ██
                        ██ ↗ ↗ CHOUKOMIYAMOTOchoukocho
                        choukochoukochoukochoukochouko please find mechouko

                                            choukochoukochouko
                                            It seemed that from where she was standing, many missed her as they passed by the other hallway at the end. She was thankful for it, her appearance was rather lackluster compared to what her family was used to. Beautiful and vibrant colored kimonos paired with her signature overally decorated headdresses were Chouko's look, it was a unfortunate incident that Kisei had to see her so plain and normal. They passed through the small opening and she saw many of her cousins pass by, Umeki cheerfully calling those for breakfast, Cheiko, Akatsuki and Toshi paired by the hip, Kouyou, and many others that she had not honestly expected to be awake at this hour. A small pang of pain shot through her stomach, Chouko ignored it as always and continued to watch the others walk down. Many she had hurt before, guilt and regret was always hanging over her as she watched her cousins have a merry morning. They screamed of waffles and sweets, a delicious aroma flowed through the hallways. Umeki had called out to her to come and enjoy them but she wouldn't dare. It was a happy morning and she knew with Kouyou in the room, it would certainly dampen his mood. He was so quick to anger whenever he saw her, understandably but he looked...good today. Still had the face of a tiger but he was much softer in the face today, it made her happy to see him pass by. She sighed and started to pace much more slowly, making herself more emotionally drained than anything else.

                                            A strange companion that struck out to her seemed to be Tamiko, a worker at a nearby flower shop that Chouko frequented. She was a friendly girl, it was easy to get along with her but what was she doing here? Yasu was close and she knew that he would get mad. Chouko quickly shook her head out of her thoughts and realized that Akatsuki was out and about, meaning that her room was free of any one unnecessary. 'Finally, I can get ready..' she let out a breath of relief.

                                            She looked through her phone to check the time to see that she had gotten a message from Rin a while ago. Letting out a huge sigh, she regretted not looking through her phone much earlier. This would be a problem, Rin had sent the message a while ago. She was about to turn back around when she heard a familiar voice singing out “Chou-chan~. I know I'm late, but I didn't think you'd be that antsy to get new kimonos.” It took her completely by surprise that Rin was standing right there that she had to put her hands to her mouth to muffle her shock. The sight of a close friend almost brought Chouko to tears. Rin was one, if not, the only one who truly knew of her circumstances. Her father's murder, the elder's pressure to be marry Akatsuki and have kids, and her true concern for her mother and her cousins, Rin was the only one who knew. Rin understood her pain for she had experienced the same pain under the elders. A smile on Rin's face brought a smile to her face, it was one of the few things that brought a genuine smile on Chouko's face.

                                            “Rin-chan!” Chouko exclaimed with happiness “I'm always counting down the days to meet with you, you know,” Many would have been surprised by Chouko's in-formalities with Rin considering their positions and Chouko's extreme manners but this was Rin after all. There was nothing to hide. “Let's go to my room, I swear I just need like twenty minutes,” she joked, pointing out her undone appearance, immediately she took on a serious tone but still with a smile on her face, Chouko asked “And I'm sure you're curious about the fight you heard passing by, no?” Yasu and Akatsuki's words still rang through her mind, the pain coming back remembering the past ten minutes. The entire scene was still clear in her head. 'But you selfishly choose to ignore tham and endanger them, thinking you're leading some sort of god damn revolution' 'The only “revolution” I lead is one to free those I love from the tyranny you so viciously protect, that the elders so vehemently maintain. For that, I would lead a thousand revolutions if it meant you would never set eyes on them again, never torture them again.' Such heroes they were, the other zodiac members probably thought nothing of their fight and wrote it off as an another fight but it was much more than that. Yasu and Akatsuki were at war. It wasn't that she hated her fiancee, he was a kind man and a good friend, one she accepted with time but his hatred of Yasu ran deep. The two would use her cousins and her as pawns if it meant to win against the other but she wouldn't accept that. She would only accept the queen, her eyes met Rins and it soothed her.





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    Sweetheart

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    ❝𝖒𝖞 𝖆𝖈𝖙𝖎𝖔𝖓𝖘 𝖘𝖍𝖔𝖚𝖑𝖉 𝖈𝖔𝖒𝖊 𝖜𝖎𝖙𝖍 𝖆 𝖜𝖆𝖗𝖓𝖎𝖓𝖌 𝖑𝖆𝖇𝖊𝖑❞


    xxx The way to the main estate was slippery and wet, as was the rest of the world. It was made slightly more dangerous by all the puddles, and some of the earth had shifted a bit long the path. Ira didn't really much care for it though, and just stomped along like he normally did on any other given day. The last idiots of the early morning had been passed some time ago, and now he found himself alone and listening to the rain splatter down across his umbrella. It was a down right dreary day, and it just itched Ira's mood on further. Luckily the main house wasn't that much farther away, and he soon found himself stomping right on up the front steps and onto the porch. He closed his umbrella and dropped it where he stood in favor of pounding on the door with a heavy fist. Bang, bang, bang! Nothing. Not even a measly hello. So he did it again....and again...and again. Finally the door was thrown open and a very angry looking woman stormed out onto the porch. "How many times have I told you to stop doing that you delinquent?" the overly plump old lady shouted, giving Ira the ugliest glare that she could muster. Really, it wasn't that much different from her normal face so he couldn't tell either way. Rolling his eyes at the woman he just moved on past her, not wanting to get into it with the staff today. But of course the old woman just couldn't let it go that their least favorite person had just shown up and had to open her big fat mouth. "Honestly, I don't know why they keep letting a Neanderthal like you on the estate in the first place."

    xxx Oh now that got his attention. Scowling like a mad man the tall brunette whirled around to face the woman, spinning so fast that he actually scared her. "I don't understand why they let old hags like you her either, especially useless ones who are rounder than they are tall." he said, sneering down at her with such a look that she actually tried to shrink down. Deeming her scared enough when she started to shiver a bit, he gave a final 'keh' and turned back to head into the house. Having narrowly escaped an even worse dressing down, the old woman scurried off to lick her wounds with her tail between her legs. 'Serves her right, old hag.' Ira thought to himself as a few other staff members skirted around him. Hardly any of the staff cared to have him around, and the feeling was mutual where Ira was concerned. Looking around the room he noticed how unusually empty it was. Normally there was always one cousin or the other wandering about. Turning his head he waved at another servant that happened to be passing by. "You, where's the family?" he asked, not mentioning which family he was talking about. Luckily for the servant, he understand which ones he meant.

    xxx "Um, Miss Umeki, Cheiko, and Hotaru as well as Mister Akatsuki, Toshi, Kouyou, and Kisei are in the kitchen sir." the servant explained, and Ira was cocked an eyebrow at the mans form of speech. It was obvious that he was not Japanese, since he did not use any of the proper titles, which was odd. "And Mister Yasu and Casimir have taken the young guest that arrived earlier to attend to Miss Ai." the other man went on to finish and now Ira was really interested in what the male was saying. Something had happened to Ai? "What do you mean, attend to Ai?" The tall brunette ground out, and the other bowed to him in apology. "Sorry sir, but Miss Ai had fainted earlier and Miss Cheiko took her off to attend to her. I believe she is in Miss Cheiko's room now." And with that the other left before he was dismissed. It just showed how little the staff respected him, thanks to the elders. Growling the tall brunette decided to forgo his trip to the kitchen where most of the others had gathered and instead turned back to head up the stairs. He would never admit it, but he was worried about Ai. The girl was one of the zodiac that he cared for more than the others, not that he didn't care for all of them that is.

    xxx His feet thudded heavily as he made his way up the stairs. He wasn't stomping as he had been before, incase he somehow woke anyone that was still sleeping. Not that he had been exactly quiet with the staff downstairs. But this was the place where everyone sleep, and Ai was up here too. So he slowed his pace a little, and as he reached the top landing he was down to a pretty quiet volume. Looking around he didn't see anyone and decided that those who weren't in the kitchen were still asleep, and so he took to the left hall and headed towards Cheiko's room. At least, he hoped it was Cheiko's room. This was one place he normally didn't go to all that often, and as much as he disliked doctors he always made it a point to avoid anything to do with that woman. Shaking his head he turned down another corner and was surprised, not really since he had been told about it but kind of forgot, to see Yasu and Cas standing around with a plate of French Toast and a girl that he'd never seen before. He came to a stop three steps later and blinked three times as he looked at the girl. She was unfamiliar to him, someone that he hadn't seen before, and by the looks of her she had to be one of those sweet types.....and kind of cute. Shaking his head at that thought he moved closer, keeping it quiet still until he was within hearing range.

    xxx "Oi, Yasu, what's this I hear about Ai passing out?" he said, a little bit of anger sliding around in his tone. Really, did no one go through the day without some sort of injury, or fainting, or something. His eyes slid back over to Cas for a moment and nodding some sort of a hello to the other tall man. His eyes dipped down to the plate he was carrying and remembering that he hadn't eaten yet. His stomach gave a lurch at that, but stayed otherwise quiet and he decided to deal with it later, promising himself to raid the fridge after all this was done up here. Right now there were more important things to deal with, like the fact that Ai wasn't up to par and this strange girl was standing there in the hallway eating a piece of French toast. "And Who's this?" he asked, pointing his thumb at the brunette over his shoulder without looking at her. Honestly, he didn't know what to think about her, so he was trying his best not to. Instead he put his gaze back on the white haired male before him, something he wasn't to keen on doing really. Not that he outright hated the guy, ok sort of, but he had an annoying job that just got in Ira's way a lot. Still, he let that go in order to stare him down for some answers for the time being.


    I R A xx M I Y A M O T O
          _ ↓ ↓↓ ↓Take it or 〈 Leave It 〉 cause I'll send you to your grave
          __________ DON'T x go xGetting any bright ideas I'm not the hero in this S T O R Y
          ______________________Oh No // You can't get away from this T E R R I B L E // C O N F L I C T
          ___________________________________________________☣ ☣So don't even try to Run ∝╬══→
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                                                  • Aka quickly found Chieko and himself being nudged down the hallway by the mandrill. It was quite effective too, seeing as his choice of placement was right on their bums. He couldn’t help but smile though at his remark about biting Yasu’s ear off.

                                                    “Tongue would be better. That way he couldn’t annoy me with that voice of his.” Then laughed at the mental image of a monkey with a towel for a cape going at the white-haired man’s mouth. “Or maybe not…” He retracted, still chuckling a little. He had to admit though, a punch to the neck would be an excellent compromise if, sadly, a temporary one.

                                                    As they closed in on the kitchen, the smell of breakfast wafted out to greet them, and it made Aka realize how hungry he really was. Being around Toshi and Chieko had already brightened his mood considerably, and the prospect at sharing a delicious breakfast with them and, hopefully, other members of the family, only did so further. He had already put his fight with Yasu behind him. He realized long ago, ever since he was a child, that the little feud he had with Yasu wasn’t going anywhere. They would constantly be against each other, and there was no point in holding on to past grievances when new ones were just around the corner. It helped reduce a little of his stress, at least.

                                                    As they entered the kitchen, and Toshi graciously decided to leave their bums alone for the time being in favor of holding Chieko’s hand, which was adorable even to Akatsuki’s eyes, the smell of French toast really hit them. However, toast was the furthest thing on Akatsuki’s mind now. Naturally, his eyes had gravitated towards that splotch of white hair on the other side of the room, which he had seen far too recently to be comfortable, but that wasn’t what he cared about. What he did care about however, was the current object of Yasu’s attention. It was a young girl that Akatsuki had never seen before, and immediately he knew she wasn’t a Miyamoto. ‘An Outsider? Here?’ How did she get here? How long ago for that matter? For the moment, he completely forgot his friends by his side as he watched the girl for the brief moment he had been able to see her, because Yasu and Casimir had whisked the girl away. He had heard Yasu mention Ai, and going to check on her. That added another layer of worry for the God. He adored Ai as though she were his own sister. Had something happened? Well, seeing as Chieko was right by him rather than with her, he figured it mustn’t be too bad, but he made a mental note to see her soon to make sure she was well.

                                                    But he wondered… Did the Outsider know Ai? They seemed to be about the same age, it actually wouldn’t have been all that surprising… As Akatsuki thought about the girl, something of an idea began forming slowly in the back of his mind. He let it simmer there, letting it mold and form before he was jolted out of his reverie be the sound of his Monkey’s voice. He looked down to see Toshi looking at him expectantly from behind Chieko’s legs. "I will let you eat only on the condition that you promise to give Yasu a shot in the a** the next time you treat him. Aka back me up," The God steeled himself against what he had just been thinking, and then immediately forced a smile. It was always harder faking his emotions to his dearest friends, but he was distracted now, and he didn’t want them catching on. Not yet anyway… not until he’d had more time to think on it himself. “Absolutely. Use one of those big needles I hate.”

                                                    As Chieko ran off to put a god-awful amount of sriracha on her toast, as she did for everything, Aka glanced around the room again. He saw Kisei, who he nodded to and greeted when the boy acknowledged him, but felt grateful when the Dragon began preoccupying her time with him, because that meant she would be distracted. And that was a good thing, because there was one other person in the room he couldn’t help but notice, especially when she called out a greeting to him.

                                                    The God moved a few pieces of toast onto a plate for himself, but before moving to a seat, he walked over to the fridge and opened it as he heard some commotion over on the other side of the room. A smile touched the corners of his mouth when he realized Chieko must have managed to get Kisei to try sriracha. He busied himself with pouring a glass of milk. As he went to return the carton to the fridge, he made sure to grab a bag of cherries that he’d managed to obtain a day or so ago. Balancing the plate, the glass and the cherries, Aka came up behind Hotaru and placed the milk in front of her, and the cherries on her plate. “Good morning, Hotaru-chan.” He took the seat next to her, hoping the Cat wouldn’t mind, and knowing Chieko would throw a fit if (when) she saw, but she could chastise him for it later. As Hotaru questioned Toshi, he turned his head to see Kouyou enter the room, grumbling and looking in a foul mood. He knew the Tiger disliked him… well, dislike was probably too weak a word. But that had never hindered Aka in the past. He turned to him. “The girl. The Outsider. Who is she?”

                                                    Then, he heard another female voice and recognized it as the Snake’s, and he’d heard what she had just said. He knew she was trying to rile him, she often did. But she didn’t have the spark in her that Yasu did, the one that angered him so much. When it was Eri, it usually just exasperated him. Still, he turned his head ever so slightly to look at Eri out of the corner of his eye, catching her gaze. He held it for a moment, his eyes and face suddenly turned dark. He would have to find her later…

    Wheezing Explorer

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                                                                                where: kitchen tab with who: Eri, Cheikio, Hotaru, Aka, Kouyou and Kisei tab feeling: full / content tab


                                                                          A few people came into the kitchen and left, and some stayed. Umeki barely payed attention to those who had left the room. And honestly, if there was left over french toast, she knew it would be eaten later. Umeki was deep in thought as she ate quietly when she had heard someone address her; it was Cheiko, thanking her for breakfast. Giving a gentle smile after she had swallowed her bite, Umeki spoke up. "You're welcome. Any time." Umeki really didn't mind making breakfast for everyone, as long as they enjoyed it. Umeki looked around the kitchen after that, and it seems a few people had stayed in the kitchen, which she enjoyed, whether those people got along or not. Umeki didn't even get along with everyone, but she still enjoyed her family and the nice times they were able to spend together.

                                                                          A few thuds and clicks here and there, Umeki eyes traveled to where she heard them from. It was Kouyou, carrying some groceries. Were they the outsiders? She was a friend of Ai's and she knew they cooked together, and she didn't know of anyone in the family going shopping yet. He was angirly moving about and even wrote something on the bags so no one would touch them, setting them in the fridge. It was quite amusing. In the mean time, Cheiko was forcing Kisei to try her french toast that was drenched in sriracha. Umeki had tried a sriracha drenched food item of Cheikos before and it burned like hell. Umeki was up for anything, but would never do that again. She chugged almost a whole gallon of milk.

                                                                          Hotaru had even joined them, which Umeki enjoyed. The two never talked much, but Umeki didn't particularly dislike her. Honestly, she felt bad for the cat. A monent later, the snake, Eri, had come into the kitchen and grabbed something to eat, sitting down across from Umeki. Umeki liked the snake and they got along but didn't talk much. Eri's comment kind of irked Umeki, but she let it slide, giving back a joke as an answer. Besides, it was a good time to joke with the monkey, as the two did quite often. "We'll say he's my pet." Did she actually want to tell the outsider that? No. It was a joke. But if it would work, then okay she guessed. Umeki stood and began to carry her empty plate to the sink when she stopped next tot Toshi for a moment. One of Umeki's hands came up and plugged her nose, giving a slightly disgusted face. "Smells like my pet needs a bath." A slight smirk played on her face as she continued to look at the monkey, but then she continued to the sink to wash her plate. If Toshi had a joke back, bring it on. In the mean time, Aka had sat down to eat as well after grabbing some breakfast.

                                                                          Umeki washed her plate and out of the corner of her eye, watched Kouyou dump every condiment, besides sriracha, in existence on his french toast. She decided to ignore it. Kouyou was rough around the edges, but she could generally tell when he was in a bad mood; this was one of those times. "Good morning." It was all she said, trying not to upset him more.

    Demigod

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    xxx Hotaru Miyamoto :: The Cursed Cat
    :: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: ::
    xxx Like a picture with a cracked frame.
    xxxxxxx Fragile, but never tame.
                                                  xxx Sitting in the kitchen with her cousins, eating breakfast, was always a strange affair. Mostly because more often than not she hardly ate with them at all. Though she had to admit that times like these were nice. The clink of a glass being set in front of her made the young woman blink, and she turned her head to the side to see that Aka had set a glass of milk there. A few cherries also found their way onto her plate as Akatsuki returned her greeting, and her softest smile was given to the male as he sat down beside her. "Thank you, Akatsuki-san." she whispered in a thankful tone, reaching out to touch his hand lightly. Of course she knew that Cheiko would object to this, but at the moment she didn't care and if anyone noticed that she moved just a little bit closer towards the male then so be it. Everything seemed to be just a little more bearable with him around, and when he turned away again to deal with the events around them she didn't mind at all. Even so, she herself could not help but listen and watch as she picked up a cherry and twisted off the stem slowly.
                                                  ... .•:´¨•☆ •.¸¸.•´´¯`•´❤


                                                  xxx xxx


                                                  xxx Blue eyes watched the scene playing out before them, pale lips set in a thin line. It was not something she hadn't seen before, but it still felt odd to be around so many members of the family. Hotaru could only hum something along the lines of a content tune as she sat the table, trying to avoid the crowding going on around her. She glanced over her shoulder briefly to see what those who were still standing were doing, before turning back to quietly munch at her own breakfast. A little diagonally from her poor Kisei was having a little trouble, probably about to breath fire as the siracha burned through his mouth. Her eyebrow quirked at that. "That stuff is too hot, how can anyone eat it?" she said, more to herself but it was clearly audible around the table. Why he had tried it was beyond her. Didn't he dislike spicy food anyway? She was about to stand up and grab him something to drink, but she was beaten to the punch as Eri took a seat across from him and slid a nice cold glass across the table towards him. Her eyes narrowed at the sweet words that poured from her mouth, warnings about being careful, and if it weren't for years of practice she might have even hissed at her when she threw in her insults.
                                                  ... .•:´¨•☆ •.¸¸.•´´¯`•´❤


                                                  xxx xxx


                                                  xxx She didn't though, and she just sat there staring as she popped a cherry into her mouth. The tension that had lessened in her shoulders had come back, and she could once again feel the hairs on the back of her neck rising. It seemed that this day was going to be just a never ending scenario like this. Sighing, she glanced from the snake back to the man beside her and she could see the dark expression on his face. It was not a good sign for the young girl, and no doubt she would be in trouble later. Not that the snake cared, as it was obvious that she disliked Aka very much. "It must be the rain." Hotaru mumbled to herself, reaching out to grab her glass and pull it to her lips before taking a long drink of her milk. Blaming the rain was something that she had always done as a child, since most every bad thing that ever happened did so while it rained. So the dreary weather was obviously the culprit. Finishing off her seventh sip, the young cat gently set the glass back down on the table in favor of taking another bite. The strangeness of the situation did not escape her, and she couldn't help but want to shrink away from it all. Would anyone notice if she slipped away? Would anyone care? Aka probably would, but right now he was otherwise preoccupied.
                                                  ... .•:´¨•☆ •.¸¸.•´´¯`•´❤


                                                  xxx xxx


                                                  xxx Thinking of taking that chance, pale fingers reached out and took hold of the edges of the plate. The other five slid around the body of her glass, and with as much grace as she could muster she pulled herself away from the table. "If you'll excuse me." she said, nodding to those in the room whom she'd had a decent morning with and ignoring the ones who hadn't given her the light of day. With that she scampered away, not being one for overly large crowds. Once she had made it out of the kitchen and into the hallway, she slowed her scamper down to a light trot and soon she was padding her way back into the hallway that led to the front door. She forwent her earlier spot by the door and instead chose to climb the stairs this time, coming to a stop on the eleventh step and turning to sit down. Balancing her milk and her plate in one hand she used her free hand to tuck her dress down under her legs before sitting and reclaiming the milk with the same hand. Letting out a sigh, the white haired girl set the milk down on the stair beside her leg as she put her plate down on her lap and plucked a cherry up off of it. "Sometimes I wonder why I bother?" she muttered to herself, twisting the stem off of it and popping it into her mouth. It wasn't that she didn't like the rest of her family, well most of them anyway, but she had never done so well in crowds. Especially crowds with that much tension. She always had to run away, and here she thought she had been given a chance to....do something out of the ordinary. She wouldn't go as far as to say they could have bonded, but it would have been something different. A piece of jelly covered toast followed the cherry, and the cat sat alone to finish her meal.
                                                  ... .•:´¨•☆ •.¸¸.•´´¯`•´❤

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                                                        Yasu should have been used to this by now: scooping up transformed cousins, rounding-up all those who saw and all those who had been told second-hand, getting Chieko to erase countless memories. But why was his heart beating so fast? This Tamiko... She was just a simple girl. She had taken it upon herself to infiltrate the estate and make acquaintances with his cousins. Really, she was more of a threat now, and if it was anyone else, Yasu would have thrown her out on her a** and told her it's probably a good idea not to come back. But Tamiko was Ai's friend. And his dear sister had spoken about her often, so she was obviously important to her. Tamiko even knew where Ai lived, which meant that they were probably close. And even though Yasu knew having the girl around was a bad idea, he now guided her down one of the long hallways. It was all for Ai. Everything he did was always for Ai.

                                                        The white-haired male's mind had wandered, but was snapped back to focus when he heard the beautiful accent of Cas addressing the young girl. A sheepish glance swept over Tamiko and his cousin as he watched the two indulge in their breakfast “on-the-go”. How thoughtful of Cas to grab enough for the three of them. Even Ai might be able to have some if she felt up to it. He also mentally thanked the French male for being so polite and charming towards the possibly confused Tamiko. Social cues were definitely not Yasu’s forte, and after giving it some thought, he supposed pulling the girl out of the kitchen so suddenly without proper greeting was not very kind of him. Reaching over Tamiko’s head to snag a piece of toast from Cas, Yasu caught a thankful look from the male as he continued to speak to the short brunette, “Ah, but you get to zee Ai-chan, no?” Cas’s use of honorifics in his French accent made Yasu smile, but he decided to chime in with his own apology with a mouthful of egg-battered bread, ”Yes, I’m sure Ai will be more than happy to see you.” Okay, so not quite an apology, but good enough. Another glance at Cas and the white-haired male noticed his dark eyes focused on his injured face. Pressing his lips together, fingers instinctively flew up to check and make sure the bandage was attached. No doubt that Cas had heard or seen the fight between him and the God. He wondered briefly how much he might have heard of their arguing, but was interrupted by a familiar, but annoyed sounding voice.

                                                        Why were ninety percent of the greetings in this family hostile?

                                                        Swallowing the last bit of French toast he had grabbed, Yasu passively turned to face the owner of the voice. Ira Miyamoto was a disappointment to Yasu, in the way that Yasu was disappointed that the two couldn’t be friendlier towards each other. The male was one of the few of the family that led a normal life, but was still privy to the knowledge of the curse. Yasu could never remember why he had been inducted into the secrecy of the curse, but he was never in any place to question the orders of the elders. Since he knew Ira, Yasu had a feeling that the two were very similar in personalities and interests, but Yasu’s job as keeper seemed to bother Ira. He sided with the opinions that the zodiac were oppressed, rather than protected.

                                                        Yet he was concerned about the well-being of Ai. ”Yes, Ai fainted,”Yasu wasn’t quite sure what Ira was asking. He kind of answered his own question in the same instance. The Keeper cocked his head slightly as he examined the irrationally angry man. Oh. He probably wanted more information. Honestly, even Yasu was unaware of his sister’s current state. A small ball of anxiety formed at the base of his brain, nagging him as he tried to remain calm. "And Who's this?" Ira asked, as if the person in question wasn’t standing right there. ”This is Tamiko Amasawa,” (how the hell did he remember that?) ”She was a classmate of Ai’s in high school and stopped by to see her. Unfortunately my sister has fallen ill from being outside in the rain. Cas and I are escorting her to Chieko’s room where she has been resting.” Ira’s stomach growled as Yasu wrapped up his explanation. But he didn’t have time to offer the dark-haired male some toast from the plate in Cas’s hand.

                                                        Remember that nagging bit of anxiety in the back of his mind? By now it had crept up to his frontal lobe and the more he thought about Ai, the more restless he grew. He noticed how he had been wringing his hands as he spoke to Ira. Deliberately forcing his hands to his sides as he turned on his heel. He knew his usually blank expression was laced with worry at this point, but he didn’t want Ira or Tamiko to see. So instead, he lookd towards Cas and instinctively placed a hand close to Tamiko’s back, like a western gentleman would, guiding her in the direction of Chieko’s room in this labyrinth of an estate. ”You should join us,” Yasu said simply without looking at Ira. Terrible thoughts flooded Yasu’s mind as they neared the doctor’s room. What if Ai had transformed and was getting worse? What if she actually needed to go to the hospital and Yasu had been futzing around the kitchen instead of running straight to her when he heard the news from Eri? What if she was really sick? Chieko’s door loomed before him. Yasu took a hold of the handle and slowly opened it, peering inside before allowing his company to see what was behind the door, in case Ai had in fact become a rabbit.

                                                        It was as if a weight lifted off Yasu as he saw Ai’s human legs hanging off the bed in the dark room. Without speaking, Yasu pushed the door the rest of the way open and walked swiftly to Ai’s side, sitting on the bed and placing a hand immediately on her forehead. ”Ai-chan,” Yasu said softly, happy to feel that any fever she might have had was not as bad as it probably was before. He helped her sit up took both of her cheeks in his hands, leaning over and pressing his forehead to hers. This had been Yasu’s signature replacement for hugs when it came to his sister. And though it didn’t happen often, now was definitely a time that Yasu needed to express how glad he was that she was okay. Pulling away from his sister, he noticed dried tear tracks on her cheeks. Pushing a lock of hair behind her ear, Yasu used his thumbs to rub her cheeks dry and then stood. He was never one for many words, but his aura was visibly lighter, even with those few moments he silent spent with his Ai.


                                                            ooc: oops i had to rush the end of this post and it's not good. D: I am also at my aunts house for the next two days, so no posting until wednesday night. can read tho. <3 ...

    kuropeco's Husband

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                                                                If it had been anyone else, Kouyou would have laughed when they went screaming and flailing about the hot sauce -- but it was Kisei, and so he bit his lip and watched tensely as he waited for someone else to do it. Someone would take care of him, right? It wasn’t like this was just anyone they were burning up here; with their luck, Kisei would find a way to slam his fat head against the table and turn purple for weeks on end.

                                                                He resisted the urge to snarl out his annoyance when Eri went ahead and just gave him a glass of water. Really? - did neither of them know how spicy worked? Water wasn’t the worst thing or anything, but come on! Really, when it came to the snake’s comment, he wasn’t sure whether to laugh because giant ape was actually kind of priceless (and any jab against Aka was a good one), or throttle her for insinuating something about Cheiko. Throttling was winning; as much as he hated Aka, he loved Cheiko more. His fingers clenched tight around his fork, bending the frail metal in his grip, as snarl bubbling in his throat, and -- then it happened.

                                                                Akatsuki was moving, and even if only from the corner of his eye, Kouyou never took his eyes off the god when he was on the move. But in the same token, he hated looking at him. Every hair on the back of his neck bristled, and all he could see was the Chouko from his childhood staring back at him. No, maybe Aka himself hadn’t been the one to oppress her. That had been made clear a thousand times. But he also hadn’t stopped it. He hadn’t freed her. His birth, his very being, were the whole reason she was trapped in a doll’s world in her would-be porcelain body.

                                                                Did he blame him on some level for his father? No -- that burden wasn’t Aka’s to bear. Kouyou’s mother had always made it very clear that the only reason his father was gone was within himself, and the tiger, as a cub, had easily accepted that as a truth. Even if he wanted to resent Aka for it, he’d just been too young, the memories too unclear. But he had plenty enough reason to despise him already; one more burden wouldn’t have made the grudge any more potent.

                                                                When he realized Aka was getting a glass of milk, Kouyou felt both surprised and suspicious at once. Was he doing that for Kisei? -- what did he want from the little pig? There had to be a reason. Or maybe it was just his way of showing Eri up. That wouldn’t be the worst case scenario; he’d still be using Kisei as a means for his own ends, but at least it would be more or less harmless and --

                                                                Oh, wait. No. No. The tiger slumped to the table and ran his fingers through his hair with a sound that was halfway between a haggard sigh and a growl. “My family’s a bunch of ******** sadists, “ he mumbled to himself, pushing back his chair with a screech and stomping back to the fridge. He grabbed the milk and snatched another glass, every ounce of his body language stiff as he went about getting another glass of milk for the stupidest little pig he’d ever met.

                                                                Which was why, when Aka actually turned to talk to him, he nearly knocked the glass right off the counter. He glanced back at the would-be god over his shoulder for a few fleeting seconds, his eyes narrowed like he was debating whether or not to even bother dignifying that with an answer. “Tamiko… Amasawa, I think.” His tone wasn’t as coarse as he wanted it to be; that happened more than once when Aka was involved, and that just pissed him off that much more. “She’s Ai’s friend, “ and that sounded more convincingly gruff as he all but threw the milk back in the fridge.

                                                                He whirled on his heel, just in time to hear Umeki completely diffuse the situation. The tiger grinned in response; and rather than greet her back in any normal way, he just declared loudly, “Seriously~ I’ve never seen a more smelly-a** baboon in all my life, " as he trailed back to the table and all but slammed the glass of milk down in front of poor Kisei. “Drink this, stupid, “ and again, really didn’t mean he was stupid; but it was stupid to eat that, come on! Anyone could see that! “Learn some ******** self-preservation already, would you?”

                                                                Then he went back to his seat -- the tiger paused for a minute to stare almost blankly at his bent fork. Oh yeah, that's right. He pushed it away from his plate with a disgruntled grunt and a scowl in Eri's direction before he went ahead and started shoveling food into his mouth bare-handed.

    Ruthless Saint

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    tab tab tab tab tab tab tab tab tab tab tab tab
    tab tab tab tab tab █████████████████ :: Kisei ! !
    tab tab tab tab tab xxxxx✖✖ A Troubled Kind Of Mind
                              WHEN ALL OF YOUR FLAWS AND ALL OF MY FLAWSxxxxxARE LAID OUT ONE BY ONExxxxxALL OF YOUR FLAWS AND ALL OF MY FLAWSxxxxxTHEY LIE THERE HAND IN HANDxxxxxYOU HAVE ALWAYS WORN YOUR FLAWS UPON YOUR SLEEVExxxxxAND I HAVE ALWAYS BURIED THEM DEEP BENEATH THE GROUND
    tab tab tab tab tab tab tab tab tab xx xx xx I'm not crazy, am I?


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    xxx:: Kisei had no idea what was going on in the kitchen around him. Any and all conversation was lost on him as he tried miserably to cool off his aching mouth. Seriously, he was about to breath fire! How could Cheiko eat this stuff? Waving his free hand, having dropped the fork ages ago, he tried to fan the imaginary flames as though that would do anything at all to ease his burning mouth. It didn't work of course, and he was on the verge of drinking his own tears, when a glass of water was slid his way. It dawned on him briefly that it was Eri who had supplied the glass, and he shouted out a quick thanks before taking it and downing it all in one shot. For a minute his mouth was cooled and the pain fizzled out, but the tingling that usually came before the pain was already tickling his mouth before he set the empty glass back down on the table. "Gah, Cheiko I don't know how you can stomach that.....it's way to spicy." the poor brunette said, trying to be nice while at the same time sticking his tongue out in defeat. The searing heat was slowly creeping back into his mouth, and he worried that the flavor would stick to the metal ball that was currently being drenched in excess saliva.

    xxx:: A small whine escaped his lips as he pulled his aching tongue back inside, rolling it around in hopes of trying to take some of the pain away. Really, this sucked. Shaking his head he closed his eyes and tried to think of cold things. Ice, ice would be good...or snow, yeah snow worked too. Maybe a nice cold creek and a Popsicle. Ooooh Jello, nice yummy jello. He was startled from his imaginings by the sound of yet another glass being set down hard on the table in front of him. Jumping a bit he opened his eyes to see Kouyou scowling at him. Really, how he hadn't broken the glass with the force he had put behind it was a mystery. “Drink this, stupid," Kisei frowned at the rude comment. Really, was there ever a comment that wasn't rude or full of sarcasm that came from the red head? “Learn some ******** self-preservation already, would you?” Ok, now that was just plain mean, but Kisei kept his mouth shut in favor of taking the glass of milk in hand and mimicking what he had done to the milk. Only this time he had to take a break halfway through, as it was harder to chug milk than water. But as he finished off the last few drops of the delicious, white liquid he was able to let out a sigh of relief and his prior discrepancies with the tiger were lost.

    xxx:: "Mmm, thank you Kouyou! You're my hero." he said with his big goofy smile just a little bit bigger towards the other male, glad that the flame in his mouth had been doused. There was still that annoying tingle and a dull ache left behind, but now it was bearable and he was sure that he could speak without burning the house down. "No offense Cheiko, but I don't ever want to eat that again." he said, reaching up to rub the back of his head as he smiled at the doctor sheepishly. Really he didn't want to hurt her feelings, but he did want to live to see another day too. Laughing lightly he brought his free hand down to take hold of the ice pack that the dragon had been holding on his sore wrist the hole time, and gently lifted it away. The nasty bruise was still there, and was going to be there for some time in the future. Probably a month or two if he was lucky, more if he wasn't. But at least now the aching that had made him flinch earlier was down to a dull throb and he told himself that he would be alright for sword practice when the time came. Speaking of which, the young brunette turned to look at the clock hanging on the wall above the stove and took note of the time. he still had some time left to visit, if only for a short period.

    xxx:: Looking around the room again, the brunette was surprised to see that so many people had left. Then he remembered that Yasu and Cas had left with the outsider when Toshi had gotten there in his animal form. Looking over to the monkey, Kisei couldn't help but smile. It was always funny to watch him move around like that. He just liked monkey's really. He kept looking around the room and noticed that Hotaru had disappeared as well, and quietly wondered when the white haired girl had left the room. Oh well, it wasn't any of his business really even though he was curious. "So, now that that little mishap is over..." he started only to slow down to a stop as he realized that he really didn't have anything to say. He really didn;t know how to finish that sentence either. So instead he just turned back to Cheiko and smiled at her. "Thank you, for helping with my wrist." He knew it was lame, as she would have helped him come hell or high water. It was just the way she was, but Kisei had been raised to give thanks where it was due and so he did. Roku would be so proud of him. Speaking of which, he wondered if his brother was alright. He still hadn't heard anything from him and was just a little bit worried. A small frown appeared on his lips as he began to wonder what the dog of the zodiac was up to, hoping that no one would notice as he put the ice pack back over his bruise for just a little while longer.

    Sweetheart

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    ❝𝖒𝖞 𝖆𝖈𝖙𝖎𝖔𝖓𝖘 𝖘𝖍𝖔𝖚𝖑𝖉 𝖈𝖔𝖒𝖊 𝖜𝖎𝖙𝖍 𝖆 𝖜𝖆𝖗𝖓𝖎𝖓𝖌 𝖑𝖆𝖇𝖊𝖑❞


    xxx Somehow or another Yasu's face was just irritating him. Maybe it was the calm way that he appeared to be looking at him, but it was really getting on his nerves. Though, judging by the way he was wringing his hands he was really worried about his sister. How could he not, when the two were practically attached at the hip and Ira was pretty sure that Ai had a seriously unhealthy bond to her brother. But that was a different matter, and this was important. ”Yes, Ai fainted,” Those words set Ira's eyes to narrowing again and he wanted nothing more than to push his way past the three, manners be damned. "Don't tell me this is the first time that you're checking up on her." he glared at the other, wanting nothing more than to stomp off and barge right on into Cheiko's room to check on the little rabbit. He was derailed as Yasu went on to answer the rest of the questions that he had asked earlier. "This is Tamiko Amasawa." Oh lord, what if she really was a rabbit when they went in? That would not end well. Dark eyes turned back to the stranger in their midst and Ira barely heard what Yasu said about her as he ran through all the scenario's that could happen in his head. Really, there were a lot. There was even one with a rope and a mafia hit, don't ask. "Cas and I are escorting her to Chieko’s room where she has been resting.” It was only when the white haired male trailed off that Ira actually caught onto what he was saying and all the thoughts in his head increased tenfold. He grunted, signaling that he had been paying attention even if he had been somewhat distracted. At least he knew what was going on now.

    xxx It was all getting on his nerves, so much so that he wanted to punch Yasu in his stupid face when he turned away from him. Though it looked like someone already beat him to it judging from all the bruises and cuts he had. Looked like someone had used him like a punching bag and he was pretty sure that someone's name was Akatsuki. He smirked at that, knowing that the other probably deserved it. ”You should join us,” and like that Yasu was leading the Tamiko girl away and towards Cheiko's room. Grumbling to himself, but not wanting to cause too much of a scene Ira just shoved his hands into his pocket and walked on past Cas with a grunt. It didn't take long to make it to the doctors room, and god did he ever not want to go in there ever again, as they had been pretty close to begin with. Yasu went in first of course, it was his sister after all. Ira gave them a good ten minutes of alone time, deciding to hang back just to give Ai some room. He might have been worried about her, but he knew that she would do better with her brother around.

    xxx Of course this didn't stop him from stomping into the room when said ten minutes was up and looking all the world like he was about to throw some s**t down. Luckily Ai was still in her human forms and all of the strange thoughts that he had been having earlier went poof and were never seen again. Though his tact seemed to be just the way it always was, barely existent at all. "Oi, beansprout, what's with all this fainting?" he called out in his usual gruff voice that he used with all of his family members. It may have sounded mean to an outside point of view, but to most of the family they knew to take it as a sign that he cared. "Weren't you supposed to be baking a cake or something today? What are ya doing lying around for?" He was joking of course, trying to pick up the mood. Unfortunately he just wasn't all that great at the whole friends thing. His nice was just a little bit on the scary side sometimes. Moving closer to the bed and reached around Yasu, ignoring any complaints the other might throw at him, and put his large hand to Ai's forehead. She was still pretty warm, but it wasn't the dangerous kind of warm. He was glad that she was alright. "Let's try not to give everyone a heart attack anymore, alright?" he asked, voice just a tad bit softer than what it had been when he came into the room. It was hard to tell the tone from his regular tone, but those close to him that he cared about could tell. Just like the one in front of him. He will forever deny it, but Ai was one of his favorite family members.

    xxx Flashing a quick smile, so quick that it was almost nonexistent, he straightened up and took a step back before looking over his shoulder. "Oh yeah, you got a visitor waiting for you out there." he said, thumbing over his shoulder to point at the door. "Some Tamiko girl, and she looked pretty worried about you." he went on to say as though the sight of an outsider was pretty normal around her. In reality he was worried, but then again he was kind of glad that she was there. It brought something fresh to the table and his cousins really needed a change of pace. If that meant risking secrets, then so be it. And if he didn't know the girl personally, well there was always the chance to do so if Yasu didn't drag her through the mud before ditching her like a last weeks garbage. Right now, the girl was safe. With Ai still not up to par and she being her friend and all that would at least buy her some time. What happened after was another matter entirely. "Might want to tell her you're alright." Ira finished off, looking back over to Ai once more. There was no use worrying about things like that now, so he was just going to put it on the back burner. If that meant urging Ai to get up and move then so be it. Lying around wasn't going to make her better. Ira believed in taking care of yourself and was an even greater believer in moving about to do so. Getting over a cold or a fever was always easier when you were out and about after the worst was over.


    I R A xx M I Y A M O T O
          _ ↓ ↓↓ ↓Take it or 〈 Leave It 〉 cause I'll send you to your grave
          __________ DON'T x go xGetting any bright ideas I'm not the hero in this S T O R Y
          ______________________Oh No // You can't get away from this T E R R I B L E // C O N F L I C T
          ___________________________________________________☣ ☣So don't even try to Run ∝╬══→
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                              ▉▉▉▉ ▉▉▉▉▉▉▉▉▉▉▉▉▉▉▉▉▉▉▉▉
                                    * s - set mexxFREE
                                    leave me bexxxleave me bexxxleave me bexxxleave me bexxxleave me bexxx
                                    xxxxxxxxxx i don't.WANNA f - fall
                                    xxANOTHER M ✿ M E N T INTO!YOUR
                                    g - gravityxxxxg - gravityxxxxg - gravityxxxxg - gravityxxxxg - gravity

                                    "Yachan."

                                    No one would ever understand her relationship with Yasu. So many people think that their bond is strange for a brother and sister, and Ai honestly doesn't understand it sometimes either. As her brother entered the room the Rabbit could feel her entire body relax and her mind fill with relief. There was a fullness in her heart that she could not explain even if she tried; it was like a child reuniting with their parent after decades. Except Yasu was not Ai's parent, and she knew that it was selfish of her to expect that from the young man. When it came to him she was selfish and impulsive, and he allowed her to be that way, so she let herself rely on him time and time again. Ai closed her eyes and felt her brother's gentle and cool hand on her forehead. The room was dark but she knew that he had been worried, as he always was when she was sick. She could picture her brother feeling anxious and creating worried scenarios in his mind, and somewhere in Ai's heart she felt glad that he cared enough to worry so much. Then there was a piece of her that knew she was part of what was holding him back. He had dedicated so much of his life to caring for her that he didn't get to live what little life the elders allowed him to have. How much longer could she keep her brother tethered to her?

                                    Fresh tears formed in the corners of her eyes as Yasu pressed his forehead against hers. She held them back, and took a calming breath. A mixture of her dream and wandering mind had made her emotional, but she knew it would worry her brother even further, so she smiled and pulled her head away from his. She gave him a kiss on his forehead, as she has done since she was little, and let him wipe her dried tears away. Yasu didn't ask about the evidence of her crying, and so Ai didn't say anything. He probably already knew all of the possible reasons, and didn't want to upset her further. There was nothing that she could hide from him, even if she tried to. He saw through her instantly, and although it was nice to be understood completely, it made her anxious that she couldn't reciprocate that full understanding. Ai's brown eyes followed him as he stood up, and for the first time since he had entered the room she noticed the bandage on his face. A small fire lit inside her stomach and she quickly sprang off of the bed and pulled Yasu's face toward hers for further inspection. It didn't seem to be a big wound, and it was carefully cleaned and bandaged, but the Rabbit still felt a shock of anger run through her. Her small body tensed and her expression tightened. The normally calm and collected Ai felt angry, and her brother was one of the few who could make her feel this way. "Who did this to you?" She knew who the culprit was before she even finished asking the question. This was most likely the result of the confrontation between Yasu and Aka that she had witnessed earlier. The fire in her belly was replaced by bricks, and she brushed her precious brother's white locks out of his eyes. "At least it's all taken care of." A soft smile played upon Ai's lips, and she released her brother from her grasp, feeling torn. She knew that there was nothing she could do about her brother and the God hating each other, and she didn't want to pick sides. After making sure her brother was okay, there was now a part of her that wanted to rush to check on Aka too. With a sigh, the still recovering Ai flopped back down on the bed once more, half smiling at Yasu.

                                    The silence was split by the gruff voice and rough entrance of Ira Miyamoto. The Rabbit perked up in her seat, excited to see him. Ira was not very popular in the Miyamoto household, mainly due to his rough nature and "lack of manners" (as the elders said). However, Ai had quite the soft spot for him, as he did for her. She knew that in his heart, Ira cared very much for his family members. A sweet smile played upon her lips as he expressed his worry for her in his own way. She closed her eyes when he felt her forehead, as she suspected every one would e doing for the rest of the day, and wiggled her nose a little bit. "I'm sorry I worried you Ira-kun..." she spoke softly, and gently held his large hand in her two small ones. The Rabbit didn't like worrying her family members, least of all Ira. He could get so heated when it came to the family, and she felt bad when that happened. Always the mother duck to Ira, despite the age difference, she playfully ruffled his hair. "No Hello Kitty band aids for you today Ira-kun?" Trying to lighten the mood, and push Ira's worries behind him, she laughed to herself and patted him on the head for good measure. She wondered if she could make up for his distress over her with a warm chocolate cake, which was probably the reason he had come to the estate in the first place.

                                    The next piece of news Ira delivered made Ai's throat suddenly become dry. She shook it off and laughed shakily. "Oh, Tami-chan's still here, is she?" The Rabbit suddenly felt anxious; the clumsy Tamiko who always ran into Yasu? Here, in the estate full of males, without Ai to guide her away from them? Her small fingers ran through milk brown hair and she sighed. She could still feel Yasu next to her, and knew that he wouldn't be here beside her if something had gone wrong. The moment of anxiety passed, and Ai's signature smile came back into play again. "I feel bad that I left her stuck here for so long!" There was a look of playful regret, but she knew that Tamiko would be well taken care of by her cousins. Rough and rude as they were, they were genuinely nice people...well, most of them. At Ira's unspoken command, the Rabbit reluctantly got to her feet. Legs still aching and her mind still groggy, she forced herself to stand and stretch. She reached her arms up, up, up to the sky, and then down to her toes, and wiggled her nose and she felt better. She would ask Yasu if she could take some cold medicine to stop her sniffles and coughs, but she would be better in no time. Ai grabbed Ira's hand, and then Yasu's hand, and grinned at both of them. "Why don't we do downstairs and I can bake us something yummy?" Without letting either party answer, she gently tugged them out of the room, feeling her normal happy self for the time being.

                                    ooc: ai has too many feelings ; n;


                                      ┅ ┅ ┅ ( HERE ) iam &x&' I.S-STAND
                                      xxxxxxxxxxxxs - so tall! s - so tall! s - so tall! s - so tall! s - so tall!
                                      xxxxxjust!the W - WAY ⇡'MSUPPOSED to bex!
                                      but you're on to mexxxbut you're on to mexxxbut you're on to mexxxbut you're on to mexxx
                                      but you're on to mexxxbut you're on to mexxxbut you're on to mexxxbut you're on to mexxx

                                      xxxxxxxxxxxx A - AND allover me
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                                                    • Akatsuki let the name roll off of his tongue, mildly surprised that the Tiger had even responded to him. “Tamiko… Amasawa…” It sounded vaguely familiar, but Kouyou did mention her being Ai’s friend, so perhaps he had heard her name in passing if Ai had spoken about her. Still, he couldn’t remember anything Ai might have said about her. He watched the door the girl, Casimir and Yasu had just exited through, not expecting them to return any time soon. Aka sat quietly as his family performed their daily shenanigans around him- he was only slightly aware of some painful yelling and someone going to the fridge to grab some more milk. But his thoughts were elsewhere.

                                                      He did noticed however, when Hotaru excused herself and left. He sighed as he watched her retreating back, her long white hair flowing down to her legs, and he rested his chin in his hand. He supposed he shouldn’t have expected any less from the young girl. Crowds had always made her nervous, and he knew why. Still, he would have liked to have spent a little more time with her, even if there wasn’t much he could say or do with so many of their family members, Chieko not the least of these, in the vicinity. But this was normal behavior for her, and Akatsuki wasn’t made nervous or concerned by it. He also knew she didn’t like to be seen to close to him publicly. Generally, he respected her wishes, so his thoughts turned back to where they had been before she left. An Outsider… a friend of Ai’s. He would certainly have to think on this a little longer…

                                                      --

                                                      It was later in the morning when Akatsuki had managed to break away from the kitchen, and from Chieko and Toshi. He had wandered a little, letting his thoughts run away with him. He thought perhaps he might see if he could find Hotaru, but if the girl was hiding, then he wasn’t likely to find her. Then, as he was beginning to pass by the front hall of the estate for the umpteenth time, a flash of brown caught his eyes. He looked out of the window to see the very person his thoughts had been so focused on, the Outsider, Tamiko. Whether this was perfect or horrendous timing, he didn’t bother to figure out. She looked as though she were leaving, bags and everything in hand, heading for the gate leading into the estate.

                                                      Akatsuki moved to open the door and step outside. Fortunately, they were the only two in the area at the moment, and he called out to her. His voice was soft and calm, but it carried well. “Excuse me, if I may have just a moment.” He approached her, and waited until he was sure he had the girl’s attention. He stood about a foot away from her, then stopped. His blood was already starting to run cold. He had never liked Outsiders. They were… unpredictable. However, he didn’t let any of his true emotions show to the girl. His ever-present mask did its job of hiding them oh so well. Instead, he put on a warm smile. Tamiko Amasawa? It is a pleasure to meet you. I heard from the others that you’re a friend of Ai’s, coming to visit her. She talks about you often.” As far as Akatsuki knew, it wasn’t a total lie. The members of the family did seem to recognize her name at least. Besides, he needed to make himself convincing. Akatsuki might have hated Outsiders, but there was a certain set of people within the family that he hated so much more. The lesser of two evils? Perhaps. He knew he was gambling, he had never done something like this before, but he was running out of patience, time, and restraint. Nothing wagered, nothing gained. “Forgive me, I forgot to introduce myself. I am Akatsuki Miyamoto, the head of this family.” He thought for a moment about offering his hand, but thought better of it.

                                                      “Since you’ve been such a good friend to my dear Ai, I would formally like to extend an invitation to a festival being held by my family two days from now. It would mean much to both myself and Ai if you were to come.” Perhaps Ai had already invited the girl herself, but now that it was coming from him… the girl seemed to be too well-raised to refuse an offer from him. A friend was one thing, the head of a family was another. “I do hope to see you there.” With that, he left it rather open ended. He bid the girl farewell and a safe trip home. He even walked her the rest of the way past the gate, as a proper gentleman should. As he watched her leave, shivers ran down his spine, but he ignored them. The lesser evil, he reminded himself, always the lesser evil.

            TWO DAYS LATER


            Two days have passed since Tamiko's first visit to the Miyamoto estate.

            In that time, the elders have made an announcement. A festival is to be held
            in dual celebration of the cherry blossoms, and the engagement of Akatsuki
            and Chouko Miyamoto. It is during this festival that the official date of the their
            wedding will be announced! The festival is a family only affair, (including perhaps
            a certain, brown-haired Outsider), and will consist mostly of the clan members
            who live at the Estate. The Fourteen Juunishi and their Keeper, however, are the
            only presences that are absolutely mandatory, by word of the elders.

            This celebration will occur at a family-owned park that sits on the estate's lands.
            An evening-to-nighttime festival, lanterns have been erected on poles and in trees,
            with lights and torches, and ribbons and all sorts of decoration abounding. The
            music and food are prepared and waiting, and we meet again with our characters
            when the evening hours begin to set in, and their preparations for the festival are
            being made and finished.

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