My System of The Twelve Zodiacs

RING RING!

RING RING!

RING RING!

The sound of a clock vibrated against the hard surface of a desk, knocking things over from its constant quivering.

A young boy with long black hair, and green eyes was laying in bed, unable to hear his own alarm that he sat for tomorrow.

He was going to miss his big day if he didn't wake up anytime soon!

"Kinzaki, are you still asleep!?" A woman wearing an apron with green eyes, a long ponytail, and rolled-up sleeves, had made her way inside the young man's room, glancing at the alarm clock on the table.

"Nnnn. Just five more minutes Mom…" The young man's name was Kinzaki Urato, a high school student in his senior year of school. He was always late to things such as school, his part-time job, and other important locations in his life.

"It's been over thirty minutes since your alarm clock started ringing; I thought you would be ready by now dear. Isn't today your special day?"

Kinzaki widened his eyes and rose up from the bed, with the cover over his head.

Quickly reaching his hand out, he slammed it on his alarm clock, yanking the covers off his head to catch his breath.

"M-Mom, why didn't you warn me sooner??" Kinzaki swiftly got out of bed and stepped on a Lego, causing his leg to jolt up in pain. Holding his foot, he hopped forward. "Ow… ow ow! What is a Lego doing on the floor? Did the neighbor's kid come over today?" Kinzaki hopped forward and fell to his knees.

"Oh dear, I should've cleaned that up, I'm sorry Kinzaki, just watch where you're going."

"I-I'm not the one who left a Lego in front of the bed!" Kinzaki proclaimed.

"And I'm not the one who slept over an alarm clock for thirty minutes. Now hurry up and get ready, your school leaves on their field trip in an hour, and you have yet to even take a shower." The mother closed the door shut, leaving Kinzaki to himself.

"Iyaaa, she's angry." Kinzaki stood back up and glanced behind him, noticing a mess of toys sprawled out across his floor. His room was naturally clean, so seeing something like this did irk him. "It would suck not being the only child, I mean, look at this mess! If this is what I had to deal with every day with another sibling, I would rather hike a volcano." Kinzaki stood up and went inside his closet, picking out his clothes for today.

Inside a kitchen, the smell of bacon was cooking on the stove. Two eggs were also laid on a plate, having the perfect texture of Sunny-Side-Up eggs. Pancakes were stacked on top of each other, resting on another plate, with syrup next to it.

The sight alone would make anyone's mouth water unless they were a waffle lover.

"He's always like this, being late to school! He rarely goes outside, he's always stuck on that phone of his. It isn't healthy at all you know? When we were growing up, life was much harder than it is for him." The mother was frying bacon on the stove as she held her spatula, and used her other hand to speak on her phone.

"Well geez Noelle, that's called progress! It's a reason that things are much easier for the new generation, and it's called progress, and improvement. It sounds to me that you want our child to go through the harsh things that we went through?"

"N-No, of course not, Mark, I'm just saying; If he learned a little bit of responsibility, he could be more reliable for certain things."

Mark sighed over the phone.

"That's our child, Noelle, he's a late bloomer. It will take time for him to adapt to certain things, but it will happen, for certainty. He's had it rough over these past months, ever since Lola died."

Noelle closed her eyes, nodding her head.

"Yes… I remember. His bunny rabbit, Lola, it's sad that she died that way, she was the closest thing that Kinzaki has ever had. We offered him replacements, but he declined."

"I'm sure he'll get over it soon, it's only a matter of time." Mark proclaimed.

"Yeah, I couldn't agree with you more, dear."

KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK!

Three knocks plunged into the door, notifying Noelle of their arrival.

"Oh! Someone's at the door, honey! I'll call you back when you're taking another break from work."

"Alright Noelle, I love you, and take care."

"I-I love you too Mark, do take care of yourself."

"I always will."

Noelle smiled as she hung up her phone, sitting it on the table whilst simultaneously taking the bacon out of the skillet, and throwing it on the plate.

"That must be Kinzaki's friends coming to get him from home." Noelle approached the door and twisted the doorknob open, meeting with three individuals.

"Good morning Theodore."

The one she spoke to was a young man with blue hair, and blue eyes, wearing his school uniform.

"And good morning Ashley."

The one standing in the middle was named Ashley. A shorter young man with blonde hair, and hazel eyes.

"You too, Bennett!"

Bennett was on her far right. He was a young man with white hair and red eyes.

"Good morning Mrs. Noelle, how are you doing today?" Ashley waved with a heartwarming smile on his face, showing his glistening eyes that magically sparkled.

Being labeled as "handsome" was impossible for the three of them. They all looked gorgeous, having feminine features that would make anyone question their gender.

Noelle smiled. She smiled as she closed her eyes, obtaining a visible blush on her cheeks. Her hands went up, resting upon her chest.

It felt like flowers were blooming around her~!

"Such a sweet smile~! I'm positive that all the kids in your school would die for those looks, wouldn't they, Ashley?"

Ashley rubbed the back of his scalp, tilting his head down, responding, "I-I wouldn't say that Mrs. Noelle…"

Theodore poked Ashley's cheek. "You know, you should start taking Mrs. Noelle's comments to heart, Ashley. She gives you one every day."

"Stop touching my cheek!" Ashley grabbed Theodore's finger, throwing it to the side. "I do take her comments to heart, they're just… unexpected!" Ashley turned back around, facing Noelle. "Sorry Mrs. Noelle, can we come in?"

"Of course, you three, make yourself a home."

The three high schoolers walked into their friend's house, showing visible comfort. They've been here so many times, that it feels like a second home to them. They could tell if anything inside the house was brand new, or misplaced. You could technically call them siblings in some way.

"Kinzaki!!! Are you ready to leave yet? You know we'll be late if you don't hurry up! We'll miss the field trip!" Bennett yelled as he cupped his hands around his mouth.

They could hear feet pattering against the floor, as they looked up to see Kinzaki standing over the balcony, with a comb in his hair, unfinished black-painted fingernails, and a toothbrush in his mouth.

"Hehhhy guysh, derd ru come to pehck me up?" Kinzaki waved over the balcony upstairs, talking in gibberish.

"Huh? What did he say?" Asked Theodore.

"Yeah, we came to pick you up. We wanted a rematch on our last race when you beat us again; this time we're ready to outrun you!" Ashley looked up at Kinzaki while crossing his arms, and puffing out his chest, speaking in his feminine voice. "We've been doing track for this past week, together." Ashley nodded his head, taking pride in his work.

"Really? Track? You guys went so far to beat me, that you even signed up for track?" Kinzaki laid his arms on the balcony, leaning his head off to speak to them.

"You've been winning races against us ever since elementary school! Of course, we're ready to make a change, and win against you once and for all!" Bennett proclaimed.

"Ahahaha, you guys sound like a bunch of cliche manga protagonists! Alright then, this should be fun. Let's see how fast you guys have gotten over the course of this week."

Noelle looked from the kitchen at their conversation, smiling until her cheeks felt locked in place.

"I always told Kinzaki about his talent. He always loved to race ever since he was a child; he outran every kid on the block, all the way up to now. No one has ever beat him on foot before."

Theodore, Ashley, and Bennett all glanced at Noelle, nodding their heads in agreement.

"That is true Mrs. Noelle, no one has ever beaten him… that's why we'll be the ones to make that change from now on!" Ashley clenched his fist and stood up on his feet, thrusting his arm into the air. "I will be the one who's called Godspeed on the battlefield today!"

"Ashley… you make everything sound so dramatic." Proclaimed Bennet.

"Do I really?" Responded Ashley.

"Yes, you do, dear." Noelle said.

"Alright, I'm finally ready!" Kinzaki came running down the stairs, hopping off the last three. He had his bag around his shoulder, with his school uniform on, and his fingernails painted in his favorite color.

"…Is it me… or are you painting your nails to look more pretty for Atticus?" Theodore crossed his arms, questioning Kinzaki's intentions, which also made everyone else question as well from the visible looks on their face.

"Hey, shut up about that!" Kinzaki covered Theodore's mouth.

"Who's this… Atticus person? Is that why you're staying up so late at night? Are you texting them, Kinzaki?" Noelle placed her hands on her hips in disappointment.

"Uhhhh, l-later mom!"

Kinzaki opened the door, running outside in haste while the others followed behind him.

"Hey, get back here, I was talking to you!" Noelle ran out the door, watching them all run off as she sighed to herself, failing to stop them. She couldn't keep up with a group of athletic teenage boys. "Once he gets home, he'll have a list of chores to do, I'll be sure of it." Noelle walked back inside, closing the door.