Written by Miyu, Vampire Princess

AUTHOR'S NOTE:
AU to the furuba universe...more so here than in the first 7 chapters. It's the beginning of Sierra's second year in Japan with her estranged family. In this chapter, Sierra returns to school only to be confronted by a new fan club. Oh, and there's more info on some loose ends too. ^^ Please enjoy. Comments always welcome. Standard Disclaimer follows the chapter.

Chapter 9 - Fangirls Unite!

I am NOT a morning person.

Of course, it probably didn't help that there's no noise to wake me up in the mornings. No more Yuki and Kyo. No more cat and mouse fights. Occasionally my uncle would stick his head into my room and tell me it's time to get up. That morning he decided to do it a half hour before I had to be at school.

The beginning of a new semester.

On the bright side, I don't have to fight anyone to get into the bathroom now. I managed the fastest shower on record before donning my school uniform and heading downstairs.

The downside to not having Tohru around was having to eat my uncle's cooking. Shigure had prepared oatmeal. Enough for the two of us. Now don't get me wrong, my uncle's oatmeal is very much edible. He's got the process down to an art after several hundred failed tries. But it gets old after a while. Of course, if I'd been awake, I would've been the one making breakfast.

I had taken over many of the duties Tohru used to do. Cooking. Cleaning. With just myself and my uncle, it's not nearly as bad as it was. Still, if I got too lazy, it showed. Piles of laundry. A sink full of dishes. Some days I wondered how Tohru managed.

Luckily I had just finished cleaning a few days ago...before Akito had stopped by. Right out of the blue. I had just retired to my room when he knocked. Or rather, when Kureno knocked. The man is like a shadow. And he always looks so...stoic? I want to say depressed...and maybe he is. At any rate, Akito came by to see Shigure. Apparently my uncle had missed his weekly visit to the Honke.

Shigure no baka!

My uncle wasn't very upset, considering I thought he didn't want Akito to know that Tohru was missing. He welcomed them both into his home with no fuss at all. Things seemed very calm and friendly. With my uncle and his guests preoccupied, I took a relaxing bath. My arms hurt from all the scrubbing I'd done earlier that day. The warm water was so relaxing I nearly fell asleep in the tub.

But Akito's voice stopped that from happening.

"Well then go upstairs and get her!"

"She's probably sleeping," I heard my uncle say. "Why don't I send her to you tomorrow--?"

"I want to see her RIGHT NOW!"

Akito's words sent a chill down my spine, even with a tub of warm water surrounding me. He sounded very much like a spoiled brat. A child used to getting his own way. I quickly climbed out of the tub and dried off, just in case he stormed upstairs and into the bathroom. Did I even lock the bathroom door?! Without my cousins at home, it had become a bad habit.

"It is late, Akito." Kureno's voice -- it couldn't have been anyone else -- was smooth, calming and gentle. A stark contrast to Akito's. I wrapped the towel around me and waited at the bathroom door. "You have an early meeting to attend. Sierra can meet with you for lunch."

But Akito was not to be deterred. "She's a member of this family, and she will do as I say. If I want to see her right now, she will appear RIGHT NOW! She belongs to me, Shigure. Do you understand that?!"

"I understand," Shigure replied, although he didn't sound happy about it.

"Then bring her to me."

"It's late," Kureno restated.

"I don't care!"

"Stop acting like a child."

My heart stopped. The sound of my uncle's voice was so serious, so intense, so...cold. And frightening. That's what it was. His voice was frightening.

"Shigure!" It was Kureno who objected.

But Akito laughed.

And then he left without another word.

I did have to go see him the next day. Thankfully he was called on for business and I didn't have to stay long. I spent the rest of the day with Momiji, listening to him play the violin. He's really good.

But I'm getting off track here.

This is all about the start of year two!

"Sei-chan! If you don't hurry you'll be late!"

"See you later uncle!"

Haru and Momiji met me at the road to walk to school. Either they were running late too or they had waited a LONG time. Still we walked to school, talking just as if everything was normal. It felt...odd...without Tohru, Yuki and Kyo. Neither of us mentioned Tohru. It was just better that way. But I did ask about Yuki and Kyo. They had appeared to be doing okay when I visited several days before, although I have to admit I was surprised by the...cage...where Kyo was staying. A wooden hut with bars in the windows and very few necessities. It was heartless and cruel in my opinion, not that my opinion matters much.

He, along with Yuki -- who swore those bruises were from falling down and hitting his head, yeah right -- appeared content nonetheless. Troopers, both of them. I found a greater respect for them, even if I was worried as hell.

"Yuki's classes begin today," Momiji explained, adding a bounce to his step as we walked. "He says they're going to be really tough. And Kyo's doing well. I think Kazuma is coming to visit him today."

I'd only heard the name once. Kazuma had been Kyo's martial arts teacher. The man that raised him. His father. I've never had the pleasure of meeting him, but he sounded like a very sweet man.

"I got a postcard the other day," Haru said out of the blue.

Momiji and I both looked at him, confused. "From who," I asked.

The strained look on his face was all the answer I needed.

It was from Rin.

My stomach knotted and my uncle's oatmeal suddenly tasted sour. This was a gray area I still didn't want to deal with. I liked Rin, don't get me wrong. But here I was, with her boyfriend. And I wanted him to be MY boyfriend. He practically was. What a triangle! Hmm...I wonder if my uncle ever wrote a story like this one.

Pushing down my illness, I grabbed Haru's hand unconsciously and squeezed it tightly. "What did it say?"

Haru sighed. "That she's okay and that she wants to see me."

Momiji added, "But...."

"But," Haru said with a wry smile. "She's not ready to come home." His hand squeezed mine tightly. "She still needs time."

"No idea where she could be?" I asked.

Haru shook his head.

"She'll come back," Momiji said matter-of-factly. "Rin likes her space. She's the horse after all. But she won't stay away long. She'll come back."

Momiji sounded so sure of himself that I believed him whole-heartedly. I think Haru did too. It showed in the smile he flashed to both of us before we entered school grounds. He squeezed my hand again, leaning over to kiss me on the cheek just as my friends Sakura and Chidori arrived. Gods did I catch hell for that later.

But again, I'm getting ahead of myself.

Haru parted ways with us when we met up with Sakura and Chidori. Momiji walked with us to our new homeroom, happily chatting with my friends. And was it my imagination or were my friends flirting with Momiji?

Well, Momiji had grown up ALOT. He was taller by a good four or five inches. His hair was still unruly, but there was a definite style to it, something shorter than the longer look he used to wear. The most striking difference of all...was that he was wearing the boys' uniform.

And I hadn't noticed until he left Chidori, Sakura and I at our homeroom. Sierra no baka!

Classes were not much different from year one. I had a different set of teachers but that was about it. Almost everyone in my class seemed familiar. There were a few students from Class C that got bumped up to Class A. One of them, Kimi, sat next to me in homeroom. If I remembered correctly she was one of our class reps in student council the year before.

"Ohayo," she said happily, taking her seat. "Kimi desu."

"Ohayo," I answered. "Sohma Sierra desu."

"Ah, you're a Sohma?!"

I nodded. "Hai."

"How's Yun Yun?"

Who the what? "Yun Yun?"

"Yun Yun...Yuki," she repeated with a smile, adding the clarification for me. "How is he?"

"Oh!" What a strange nickname for my cousin, but I suppose it fit. "He's fine. He's starting classes at the university today."

"So cool," she said with a sigh. "I so wish I could've graduated. I could be going to university too."

"What would you study?"

She hummed in thought then smiled happily. "I have no clue."

Everything up until lunch moved in slow motion. I ate a quick meal with Chidori and Sakura -- they were nice enough to share since I'd forgotten to pack anything -- before going off in search of Momiji and Haru. It wasn't until I reached the third year rooms that I realized I had no idea which class they were in. With a sigh, I knocked on the closest door in hopes that the upperclassmen would be nice enough to direct me.

"Excuse me," I started as the door opened. "I'm looking for Sohma Momiji or Sohma Haru. I don't which classroom--?"

"Sei-chan! Over here! Over here!"

The upperclassman stood aside so I could see Momiji waving to me. I thanked her -- yes it was a girl who answered -- and excused myself to move over to my cousin. He was surrounded by his classmates. Actually, I think a few of them were MY classmates.

And they were all female.

A few of them smiled and waved while others gave me the evil eye. I avoided their glances almost expertly. Carefully I stepped up beside Momiji and said, "I just wanted to see how things were going."

"They're going GREAT!" he replied with a smile. "Oh let me introduce you to my fan club."

I tried to hide my surprise behind a smile. "Fan club?"

"Yep. I have a fan club." Momiji stood on the desk, his smile growing. "Isn't it cool?!"

Momiji had a fan club.

Kami help us all!

"Can I have your attention everyone?!" Momiji called for attention, waving his hands in the air wildly. "I'd like to introduce my cousin, Sierra." He pointed down at me and I waved politely to everyone. "Take care of her, onegaishimasu!"

"HAI!"

I tried not to wince at the loud, unanimous response. Instead, I plastered a smile to my face as Momiji climbed down from the desk. "Ano, Momiji-kun?"

"Hai?"

"Isn't this a little...dangerous?"

He nodded. "Yep. But I think it'll be fun. I just have to be careful." He tilted his head and looked at me curiously. "Have you eaten lunch? I noticed you didn't pack anything this morning."

"I've eaten, thanks."

"Ah! How about a round of Rich Man, Poor Man?!"

Several of the fangirls readily agreed. I waved to Momiji, squeezing through the crowd to leave. "I have to get back to class. I'll see you after school."

Momiji waved back and replied with a smile, "See you then!"

I sighed, glad to be free of the sea of fangirls. Without looking up I reached for the door. To my surprise, it opened before I could touch it. I paused, but the person on the other side of the door didn't. He -- yes, it was a he...Haru to be exact -- came charging at me. I don't think he meant to, but then again, he didn't look happy.

"Haru!" I practically screamed, reaching my arms out in front of me to prevent an accident.

But he didn't stop coming.

I saw him up close and pretty personal, but we never actually touched. Instead he grabbed my hands, whirling me around so that I followed him back into the room. He led me to the opposite side of the room from Momiji and his fanclub. It wasn't until he stopped and turned around that I caught my breath. I looked up at him like he was insane, and for a moment he looked the part. What had happened to make him so mad?

"Haru...daijoubu--?"

"Shhh," he said. "I'm being followed."

"Nani?"

True enough a group of guys followed him into the room. The front man looked like he'd taken a sucker punch. I looked up at Haru, then at the group of five as they closed the door behind them.

The fangirls started to get worried. You could hear them whispering amongst themselves. There was going to be a fight. It hung so heavily in the air you had to be careful to breathe. Momiji stepped from the group and asked politely:

"What's going on?"

"None of your business," one of the boys said with a snicker. "This is between us and Mr. Split Personality over there."

Mr. Split Personality, huh? He really had no clue. I looked worriedly at my cousin.

"Haru?"

"Stay back," he bit out through clenched teeth.

"Ne, Haru...what did you do?" Momiji asked.

Haru replied calmly, "They said something they shouldn't have is all."

"He hit me," the front man screamed. "The son of a bitch HIT ME!"

"You probably deserved it," I muttered.

"HEY!" One of the boys screamed at me. He took a step towards me, but Haru stepped in between us.

"Oh he deserved more than that," Haru added. I could feel -- FEEL! -- the evil in his voice.

"Why you--!" A second boy growled, lounging at us.

"Haru, don't!" I saw him raise his hand, his fingers tightly balled into a fist. His other hand swung around in a defensive maneuver. He stepped back, so close to actually touching me I had to take a step back to keep a safe distance between us.

And I tripped.

Gods how stupid!

The sensation of falling was more like that of a brick than a leaf. I went down fast, bumping two desks, a chair and my head in the process. I saw the look on Haru's face before he threw his punch. I heard the punch connect to the other boy's jaw. A loud, sickening crack, that was. I heard Momiji calling my name, saw several of the fangirls as they all ran over. But then my mind turned to lead and a curtain of black fell on the show.

"Sei-chan? Daijoubu desu ka? Sei-chan!"

I woke up in the nurse's office. It had to have been much later, because my stomach was growling again and the school itself seemed very quiet. The nurse came over to check on me as I forced myself into a sitting position. My temperature was okay. My eyes were dilated properly. It would be a day or so if there were going to be any lasting effects from my fall. The only thing that remained was the large knot on the right side of my head. I rubbed it gingerly as I pushed myself from the bed to stand.

"Careful."

I lifted my head quickly -- too quickly -- at the sound of Haru's voice. I started to lean backward and make to sit down again, but he caught me. With his help I steadied myself. Taking a deep breath, I asked, "What time is it?"

"The final bell rang about ten minutes ago."

"What are you still doing at school?"

"I have detention."

Okay. That must've been some fight I missed. "Then why are you in the nurse's office?"

"Looking after you."

"Nani?"

"That's my detention."

I looked up at him curiously. That's a strange detention if I'd ever heard of one. "Say's who?"

"Say's me."

I sighed, using his arm to keep myself steady as I attempted to walk across the room to get my schoolbag. The nurse was busy filling out some paperwork and counting medication. "It's not your fault, Haru. Those boys shouldn't have been picking a fight."

"How do you know I wasn't the one picking the fight?"

"They're the ones that said something to you first, right?" He looked away and nodded. "Then it's their fault." I paused in thought, picking up my schoolbag. "Do you really have detention?" He nodded and I slapped him lightly with my free hand. "Then you better get back to the detention room."

He smiled then, a small but genuine smile and nodded a third time. With a wave of his hand, he walked from the nurse's office. I watched him walk away, feeling like an idiot. It was really sweet of him to watch out for me, but I didn't need an older brother.

Then it occurred to me that I hadn't asked what the boys had said.

It was just that kind of day.

Momiji was waiting at the school gate. With Hatori and Shigure. Wonderful. Apparently the school nurse forgot to mention she called my uncle when she handed me a small package of aspirin. I put on my best smile -- which seemed weak even to me -- as I approached them. I expected my uncle to make the first dramatic speech.

Hatori beat him to it.

"Sierra! How are you feeling? The nurse said you hit your head pretty hard. You'll have to let me take a look at it. You may have a concussion. You seem to be walking fine. Are you tired? Extra-sensitive? It's a good thing the nurse called."

"The nurse called you, Hatori-san?"

"Actually, I called him," Shigure said. "The nurse called me to tell me about your fall." He pouted. "Those boys were so mean, threatening my niece like that."

"S'all right," I told him, dismissing his comment with a wave of my hand. "It was a simple misunderstanding, uncle."

"Sei-chan is so brave," Momiji said, snuggling as close as possible without transforming.

"I still want to check you for a concussion," Hatori said. "But I can do that at Shigure's. Let's get you home."

"Can we stop at the take out on the way?" Shigure asked.

Hatori looked at him as if he were mad. "What for?"

"It was Sei's turn to cook dinner, but I don't want her holding a knife if she could pass out at any moment." That, and he was just dying for sushi take out. He looked pleadingly at Hatori. "Onegai, Ha-san?"

"Food does sound good," I agreed amiably.

Hatori sighed. "All right. But don't take all night. Sierra should be lying down and resting."

"And doing homework," I added.

We piled into Hatori's car -- Shigure, Hatori, Momiji and myself -- and headed over to the take out shop. Momiji ordered dinner for me because I fell asleep in the back of the car.

I woke up to find myself in my room, comfortably snuggled under my bedcovers and still dressed in my school uniform. I had enough presence of mind to walk to the bathroom, brush my teeth, walk back to my room, and change my clothes. I ignored my raging stomach afraid of making myself sick. I hate vomiting. Then I passed out in bed.

And that's where I stayed until the good doctor woke me the next morning.

Hatori came to check on me. It was a good thing too. My morning bowl of rice would become two or three if I blinked too quickly. And my fish doubled in size! The doctor ordered me back to bed and that's where I stayed for the next two days, sleeping happily and carefree. Momiji would stop in before and after school to see me. Haru actually SKIPPED school to see me. Sakura and Chidori stopped by to drop off assignments. And the teachers had been merciless. Ouch!

Shigure checked on me like clockwork. I'm not sure if it was Hatori's orders or his own sense of dutifulness. I think he used it as an excuse not to work on his manuscript, but I hardly cared. All I wanted to do was sleep. It was like a really bad case of mono, only without the depressing, sick feeling. I slept like a baby most of the time, only to be awakened by my own internal clock. Enough to eat, go to the bathroom and carry on a five-minute conversation before blissfully falling under the blanket of darkness.

By Thursday I was well enough to go back to school, although I felt seriously out of the loop. Momiji's fanclub was kind enough to leave flowers in my locker...although they were half-dead till I got them. One of the boys who had been fighting with Haru also came up to me and asked how I was doing. I wonder if Haru or Momiji had something to do with that. Or maybe he was a nice guy after all.

Friday, after school, I had a surprise waiting for me. And not necessarily the good kind of surprise.

"Oh my god, did you see the guy at the gate?"

"He looks like a university student."

"He's gorgeous!"

"Doesn't he remind you of Yuki?"

"I wonder if they're related."

I had wondered what my friends had been talking about as we left the school. They had been oogling over a young man standing by the school gate. My surprise.

Akito.

Actually I was more surprised he was alone. No Kureno. No Hatori. No one.

I excused myself from my friends and paced myself as I walked up to him. A stone seemed to settle in my stomach and my throat suddenly felt parched. My eyes looked around for Momiji or Haru, but found no sign of them. I plastered a small smile to my face as I greeted him.

"Konnichiwa, Akito-san."

"Konnichiwa," he greeted in return, adding a small bow for effect. "How was your first week of school?"

"All right, I guess. I was only here for half of it."

"So I understand. How are you feeling today?"

"Better," I said honestly. "Tired, but better."

He smiled -- a small, somewhat forced gesture. "May I walk you home?"

"You walked all this way to walk me home?"

"Not really. Kureno dropped me off about a block or so away."

"Why not have him wait?"

"Because I wanted to spend time with you...just the two of us."

Well, if that didn't make me feel warm and fuzzy...wait, it didn't. Instead, the stone ball in my stomach got heavier. Still, the smile plastered to my face grew just the tiniest fraction. I should be a professional actress.

"All right." I allowed him to lead me away from the school, walking the same familiar path. But the smile on my face wasn't from Momiji's antics or Haru's bad jokes. I think it was permanently stuck there out of fear. Once we were out of sight of the school, I asked, "How are you doing today?"

"I've been ill the past few days," he answered, taking a deep breath of fresh air. "It feels good to finally get out of the house."

"You don't...get out much, do you?"

He laughed. Okay, so it was more like a chuckle, but there wasn't anything...sinister...behind it. "You could say that."

"Have you been...like this...all your life?"

"Hai."

"That sucks."

"It's my curse...to be the way I am."

I looked up at him immediately. It was the first time he'd ever spoken of his curse to me. I knew it had something to do with the family curse...and the zodiac. But I didn't know any specifics. Akito had never spoken of it before, nor had he seemed this open to talking about it.

"Why?" I couldn't stop the question. I probably should've kept my mouth shut and I waited for a rebuttal from Akito.

A rebut that never came.

Instead he chuckled again. Sadly, it seemed. "That's just the way it is." He sighed. "That's what it means to be head of the Sohma household. What it means to be a god."

I looked at him as if he'd grown a second head. "That you have to be constantly ill?"

He nodded. "That I have to die."

I shrugged. "We all die sometime."

"I have a year or two left...perhaps less." I stopped dead, watching his back as he kept walking. He stopped several paces in front of me and turned to look at me curiously. "Do I have something on my back?"

I shook my head. "Why are you telling me this? Do the others know?"

"The jyuunishi know. I'm certain they look forward to my passing."

"But why--?"

"You're family now," he said, walking those few short steps to stand right in front of me. "It's important you know." His left hand reached up, his fingers lightly caressing my cheek. "I have to admit I was against allowing you to come to Japan. To live with Shigure. To go to school with Yuki and Kyo."

"But...here I am," I said, somewhat nervously. My brain was trying to process information at too high a rate and the conversation kept jumping from place to place to place.

"And I'm glad," he replied, one finger tracing an invisible line from my cheek down my neck. "Shigure practically begged. Not something I expect of him, but you are his kin, and I suspect he wanted to meet you. He may have at any rate. Even if you didn't come to Japan." He paused, his finger hooking around the chain of the necklace I was wearing. "You still wear this?"

"Of course," I said indignantly. "It was a gift." Even if it was from him. And it was pretty.

"I am even more glad," he said, his finger tracing the line of the chain around my neck until he stopped at the pendant. "It belonged to my mother. She gave it to me last year. I had intended to give it to someone else." Then he released the necklace, allowing the pendant to fall against my chest. "But it looks even better on you. Shall we continue our walk?"

I nodded, not trusting my voice to answer.

The conversation on the way home from there was seriously lacking. It was mostly my babbling on about school. Did you know Akito didn't go to a public school? He went to a private school up through junior high and had a tutor for high school. He thought it was pointless -- the tutor and all -- but at least he got an education. He wanted to go to some high-class university -- like Yuki -- but his constant illness just didn't make him a prime candidate.

Shigure was most surprised when I walked up to the house, Akito watching us both from the path. He waited until we were inside until he let out the barrage of questions. Quite the mother hen my uncle's turning out to be. He wanted to know what I was doing with Akito, how long we were alone, what we talked about, etc.

Not long after I finished answering his questions than Momiji and Haru burst through the front door -- didn't even knock, those idiots -- and started yelling questions and acting all excited. I told them there was nothing to get too excited over and reiterated my explanation to my uncle.

Seemingly appeased, I invited them to stay for dinner. I volunteered to cook since my uncle had done most of the cooking while I was unwell. Momiji asked for an American dish so I rummaged through the cabinets and found a box of macaroni, pulled a pound of beef from the freezer and cut up some cheese. Okay, so it wasn't Hamburger Helper, but it came close...and it tasted much better.

I had the strangest dream that night. It involved Yuki...and Akito. I was there too, but it was more like I was on the outside looking in. I could hear screaming and yelling. Sounded like someone was getting beat too. Kyo's voice rang out a few times, but I had no idea where he was. Before I could try to jump in to help whoever was in trouble, this hand grabbed me. Stopped me. I screamed for help, but my lungs suddenly filled with water. I couldn't breathe!

Thankfully I woke up, breaking the surface of the water in the tub and sucking as much air into my lungs as possible. But the feeling of the dream stuck with me. I made a promise to myself to check up on my cousins over the weekend. Oh yes, and there was a postcard from Tohru. I had left it on my desk with the intent to read it, but with all the sleeping I had done...and all the sleep I still wanted to do...I hadn't read it yet.

"In the morning," I told myself, pulling the covers up to my chin. It took a few minutes for sleep to take me again. At least this time I didn't dream.

But there were more surprises waiting for me.

~TO BE CONTINUED~