Chapter 3

"Are you finished with your lessons for the day?" Sango smiled as she watched her daughter run into the living room. She was currently reading the script for a new drama she was working on, however she placed the stack of papers on the coffee table so she could focus on her child.

Anzu grinned, her two ponytails flying around her head. "I've gotten really good at Japanese! Does that mean we'll go to Japan one day?"

"Would you like to go to Japan?"

"Yes! I read in a book that there's a big mountain, festivals, and shrines. There were also drawings of these really pretty flowers that grow on trees in the spring!" The seven year old gestured everything she said with her hands enthusiastically. "Can we visit the hot springs too? And an amusement park!"

Sango laughed softly and pulled her daughter into a hug. "We can do anything you want. We can even go visit your dad and let him know we're home."

Anzu looked up at her mother with an innocent gaze. "When will we be able to go?"

"In due time, Anzu."

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Anzu looked around the Sohma estate, taking in all of the scenery. It was like a city within a city. She was walking with her bag secure on her back behind Shigure. Earlier, they had split ways from Momiji since he had to get ready for school. It was explained to her that there were two sections of the estate and now the duo was in the main estate, which they had to pass through another grand gate to get to.

"I haven't seen the place where my parents got married yet." The crimsonette frowned as she studied the houses they walked past. If she had to be honest, her legs were hurting with how much walking they'd done to get this far.

"That was probably in the outside estate. We can find it later after your meeting." Shigure offered with a smile.

The two stopped in front of a large Japanese-styled home and Anzu's heart immediately sunk into her stomach. Was it normal to be this scared to meet someone? Clutching her backpack strap, she looked around uncertainly before following Shigure inside.

"Akito… I brought someone to meet you." Shigure stood in the doorway of the main room comfortably. After Anzu had taken her shoes off, she peeked around his frame curiously. The house they walked into was fairly dark with black walls everywhere. They had proceeded down a long corridor before arriving at this room. When the redhead looked in, she noticed someone in a black and white robe with short black hair. As they turned around, only one word seemed to formulate in her mind.

"…God…"

Akito turned around from her seated position and eyed Shigure in distaste before she locked eyes with her visitor. She felt an uncanny pull in the girl's direction, so she immediately stood up. Holding her hand out, she motioned for Anzu to come to her.

"Who are you?"

"Ah, well… My name is Anzu Fukushima…"

Akito grabbed Anzu's hand, then glanced in Shigure's direction. "I want to speak to her alone. You can leave."

Shigure obliged and walked away, leaving Akito and Anzu by themselves. Anzu looked down, focusing on the feeling of Akito's soft hand around hers. She didn't know what gender they identified as, but they were beautiful. Akito had her sit down with her and let her hand go, opting to feel a strand of her long red hair.

"You feel it, don't you? There's an undeniable bond between us."

Anzu fiddled with her fingers in her lap. "It's because of this zodiac thing, right?"

"A while ago, you were lost. I'm very happy that you were able to find your way back home."

So far, Akito seemed like a nice person to Anzu. The two spoke for a while about the curse and what their roles were, but one thing Anzu noticed was that she was being treated like a possession. The Sohma head would make sure that she was as close to her as possible and often played with her hair.

"If you don't mind me asking…" Anzu uttered quietly, trying to test the waters. "Will I be able to meet Kureno Sohma? I came here to meet him because my fath-"

Akito's grip changed and, for a brief moment, she almost pulled the younger girl's hair. Why would she ask about that when she's meeting with her? Just her being here should be the most important thing to her and nothing else should matter. This was her second chance though, so she couldn't risk losing the rooster again. Taking a breath, Akito petted the girl's head and smiled.

"What were you asking?"

Anzu wasn't relaxed anymore and she had stopped talking because she noticed Akito's change in demeanor. There was a sudden shift in the air and she felt very anxious now. As much as she wanted to avoid the question, this was the ultimate reason why she was here. In the end, the words escaped her lips before she could stop them, but they came out as a strained whisper. "W-When will I be able to meet Kureno?"

"In due time, my dear."

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Soon after, Akito made sure that Anzu had a place to stay in the Sohma estate after confirming that she was the rooster. Although Anzu was a little upset that she couldn't stay with Tohru and the others, she was grateful that she had a roof over her head for the time being, however unsettling it was that she had to be alone. The house that she lived in was small and bare as it only contained the basic necessities unlike the lavish house her mother owned. Most often, she would stay outside and wander the main estate so she wouldn't feel the emptiness.

So far, the only additional member of the zodiac she'd been able to meet was Hatori. Because Akito often asked for her, she happened to be in the room when Hatori came by to give the head a checkup. She hadn't been able to meet Yuki or Kyo since they lived outside and Momiji went to school, so she was alone during the day. Occasionally she saw Shigure, but overall, she was lonely.

While she was exploring one day, she decided to go to the outside estate to see if she could find where her parents got married, using the polaroid picture as her guide. There was a lot more activity here than in the quiet main estate as members of the family walked around and interacted with each other. News of her mother's death and her situation had died down since other stories took precedence, so no one paid much attention to her any more. She'd been walking for a couple of hours when she finally sat down on a bench with a sigh; this place was way too big to find anything.

"Zu-chan? What are you doing out here?"

Anzu turned around to see Momiji standing in his school uniform. He looked so adorable, it was still pretty hard to believe that they were the same age. The bouncing blond came over to her and claimed the seat next to her with a smile, eyeing the photo in her hands.

"I can't seem to find it."

The crimsonette frowned and her shoulders slumped. It had been a couple of weeks since she started living here and this was the first time she was able to explore. At first, she thought she'd be able to find all of her answers quickly, but everything seemed to be getting prolonged.

"Don't feel down! We can look for it together. If you show the picture to Haa-san, he might know where it is."

Showing a small smile, she looked over at the blond gratefully. Momiji had been the most friendly towards her since she came here. After finding out their houses weren't too far from each other, he would check on her every other day and tell her about the other zodiacs she had yet to meet. He would even invite her to come along with him to Hatori's house for dinner, although Hatori would scold him for not asking first. After the second week of Momiji's lack of courtesy, Hatori let it go and the three grew a little closer together.

Dark clouds started to roll in so the two decided to walk home together. Once Anzu was back at her house, she ate dinner on her own and watched the rain fall outside, growing heavier with every minute. When she finished taking a shower to decompress from the long day, the storm grew worse as lightning flashed and thunder clapped. The lights went out and another loud sound of thunder boomed, causing Anzu to scream out of sheer surprise.

Back at home, she was never alone so when there were storms, the housekeeper would often come and calm her down or distract her from the noise so she didn't notice what was going on. She didn't have a tv so she couldn't turn it on really loud, not that it mattered anyway because there was no power. Suddenly, the house felt pretty eerie and unforgiving. She still wasn't used to everything, which only made her more afraid.

Suddenly, there was a knock on the door. She could hear someone calling her name and, immediately, she opened it to see Momiji standing with an umbrella.

"Zu-chan, I was just making sure you were okay since the power went out. I'm pretty sure it will come back on soon, but-"

As the thunder rolled in, Anzu instinctively reached out and grabbed Momiji's hand. The boy noticed that her hand was shaking and, as he studied her a bit more, he realized that her whole body was shaking. She spoke softly with her head down, almost like a whimper.

"Please stay. I don't want to be alone."

Realizing she was the same as him, Momiji stepped inside and left his umbrella at the door. He hadn't realized it before because he'd either always invited her to go with him or he was at school, so he'd never seen her on her own. It was sympathy, or empathy, or maybe a mix of both. Considering everything she'd been through in the past month, going from her normal life to their shared hell, he should've been able to see this since he'd been here before. Maybe, with her, he had something new he wanted to protect.