Chapter 4

"Momiji… I don't think that's a good idea…"

"Nonsense! Haa-san will be your chaperone so it will be okay!"

"Did he really say he would do that?"

"Well… no, but he'll understand!"

Anzu and Momiji were sitting at the dining table in the male's house, sharing oranges. It more so seemed like Anzu was doing all the work as she would peel the skin off the fruit and Momiji would simply eat, but she didn't mind. It made her happy that he was able to hang out with her seeing as he was her only friend inside the estate. Just previously, the male had excitedly slid a flyer across the table to her, advertising Kaibara High's annual cultural festival. He wanted to invite her to see what his school life is like, mainly because he hoped she might be able to attend school too.

"Do you really enjoy school?" Anzu asked as she ate a piece of orange and tossed the peel in the trash. "With all the movies that I've seen, the people don't seem that pleasant…"

Momiji's smile seemed to brighten as he answered her question with a lot of examples. "Of course! All of my classmates are really nice, the food tastes good when you eat with friends, and everyone's there! We have Tohru-chan, Kyo-chan, Yuki-chan, and Haru-chan!"

"Haru is… the cow spirit, right?"

"Yes! You'll see him at the festival too, hopefully!"

Anzu stopped eating, her mind focused on who all of the zodiacs were. Akito had told her it wasn't her time to be revealed yet, so only select people knew she was possessed. It felt like she was back home, hidden in the house for no one to know. As much as she wanted to go to the school, she couldn't help but feel like she shouldn't.

"You've been homeschooled all your life, right?" Momiji asked, seeing the sullen expression on her face. "School's really fun when you're with friends. I don't want you to feel lonely anymore so I think you should give it a chance, only if you're ready."

The crimsonette was still a bit uncertain, however she nodded in the end. "Okay, I'll go to the festival."

"Yes! Gut!"

"Gut?"

Momiji nodded enthusiastically. "Yeah! Have I ever told you that I'm half German?"

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Anzu sat in the car quietly with Hatori as she watched buildings pass by through the front passenger window. The male had reluctantly agreed to take her to Momiji's school, however she expected him to say yes as the two had grown closer as companions. Hatori was the only zodiac she knew outside of Momiji, so she would constantly hang out around his office if she wasn't with Akito. What had surprised her the most was that the Sohma head let her come out, being as she told her she had to stay in the estate before.

When they arrived at Kaibara High, the immense crowd of people caught Anzu off guard. She hadn't seen this many people in a school frame at the same time and she was starting to get nervous. She also couldn't help but feel a little overdressed as she put on a nice, flowy cream sundress for the occasion but everyone else either had plain clothes or school uniforms on.

"Are you having second thoughts?" Hatori asked once he parked the car.

The female immediately shook her head, moreso trying to shake off the anxiousness. She made a promise to Momiji that she'd come, so she wasn't going to let anything scare her off. Grabbing Hatori's hand, she walked with him inside.

The school hallways were decorated with streamers and balloons as banners hung from the ceiling. Students laughed and walked through the halls, escorting the general public and advertising their classes. Every classroom the two passed by, Anzu would peer in and look at everything in awe.

"Look at their outfits! Can we stop and get some cake please?" Anzu turned to Hatori excitedly. "And that sign over there says they're doing a dance performance. Can we go to that too?"

Around the corner, Momiji was running an errand for his classmates. As he passed out flyers for his class's game tournament, he moved down the hall to get out of the crowd he was garnering. Catching a glimpse of red hair, he immediately turned his head to see Anzu standing with Hatori. A sweet smile appeared along his features as he watched her pull Hatori along from room to room. The fact that she was comfortable enough to come and looked like she was having a good time made him the happiest.

"Why are you just standing here, Momiji?"

The boy turned around to see Tohru standing behind him. She was currently getting ready for her class play, but she noticed he'd been standing by the window for a while. She looked in the direction where he was watching and noticed a familiar face amongst the crowd.

"Isn't that Anzu? It's been a while since I've seen her. Did you invite her?"

"Yeah." Momiji nodded. "She looks like she's enjoying herself."

"Why don't you show her around?" The brunette asked. "I know! You can bring her to see our version of Cinderella! I'm sure she'd love it."

Tohru had to get back to her class so she bid the blond farewell for now. Momiji was about to head back as well before Anzu called out to him, having spotted him after walking out of one of the classrooms. She immediately ran over to him, letting go of Hatori's hand. A couple of boys were running through the hallway and nearly bumped into her, however Momiji quickly jumped in front of her.

"Are you okay, Anzu?" He asked, looking her over in case someone had accidentally touched her..

"Yeah, I'm fine-"

"You need to be more careful." Hatori reprimanded her as soon as he came over. "You always have to be conscious of where you are."

Anzu frowned and fumbled with her fingers, a nervous habit she'd picked up. "I'm sorry… This is all still a little new to me."

Momiji noticed this and grabbed her hand with a smile. "It's okay! We can see Tohru and the others now if you want. Their class is putting on a play."

The girl smiled and nodded before following after him.

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Anzu enjoyed every moment of the school festival from the time she got there until it was time to go. Being with all of her friends was her favorite part. She didn't realize how much she'd missed Tohru, Yuki, and Kyo until she was able to see them face to face. Although they had only briefly met before, she was glad to get closer to them and recognize friendly faces. Unfortunately, she wasn't able to meet Haru.

"It sucks that Haru-chan got called to the main house so suddenly." Momiji pouted. "You would've liked him."

"It's probably for the best." Anzu shrugged. "Akito said it's not time for me to meet everyone yet."

Momiji nodded, still not satisfied with how everything went down. For the most part, they saw everything he wanted to show her and even entered the game tournament his class had hosted. Somewhere along the line, Hatori had disappeared but the two hadn't even noticed until later on. They then met up with Tohru and the others and Anzu was introduced to Tohru's friends, but at last the festival was over and it was time to go home.

"Did you have fun?" The blond asked, tilting his head up slightly to meet Anzu's eyes. "You dressed up really nice. This color suits you."

"Thank you, and yes, it was my first time being in a crowd of people willingly." The crimsonette smiled sheepishly at him, a small blush creeping across her cheeks. "I was really nervous because I didn't want to do anything wrong, but I got too excited seeing everything. Still, I had a lot of fun having you show me around and going to all of the events. Experiencing this in person is so much better than watching it on tv."

"Great. I'm glad you enjoyed yourself."

The smile Momiji shared with her caused her cheeks to heat up even more and, for a moment, it felt like she forgot to breathe. As her lungs reminded her that oxygen was necessary for survival, she immediately turned away so he wouldn't be subjected to her coughing fit.

"Ach nein! Are you okay?" The worried male tried to help her, but every time he stood in front of her, she turned away so he wouldn't see her face.

"I-I'm fine."

Once she recovered from her sheer embarrassment, the two decided it was time to find Hatori so they could go back to the estate. Anzu watched as students were taking down the decorations and cleaning their classrooms. Seeing it all seemed to set in stone one idea in her head.

"Momiji, I want to go to school with everyone."

Momiji grinned, pleased that his personal plan had worked. "You'll have to ask for permission, but I'm pretty sure you can."

"Will you come with me to ask Akito?"

"Yeah I-"

Before Momiji could finish his confirmation, Anzu immediately wrapped her arms around him in a hug. This felt like the happiest she had been in a while. She'd spent so long in hiding that it had become her normal, however being able to see and live everyone else's normal had been her dream. From watching movies to reading books, she'd always been envious of the main character's life, but now she could get her chance. It was all thanks to Momiji that she could see herself like this.