Chapter 6

Anzu knocked on Momiji's door for the fifth time and stood outside his house, rocking back and forth on her heels. She had a big blanket in one arm and held a bowl in her free hand. Today was Saturday and it was time for their weekly ritual - cereal, couch, and cartoons. Lately, Anzu had gotten Momiji hooked on watching Looney Tunes so they would laugh together a lot. Usually the boy would open the door before she could even knock, but it felt like no one was home.

She didn't know how long she waited for him, but eventually she sat down on the front stairs leading to his house and laid her head against her knees. Maybe he had gone out early or stayed late somewhere and hadn't come back yet. With a sullen sigh, she grabbed her things and dropped them off at home before heading out to Hatori's office. As always, the male was quick to speak first.

"This is still an office, you know. Knocking would be the polite thing to do."

Anzu plopped down on the couch and laid across it with a frown. Hatori was typing something on his computer and although he didn't look in her direction, he always knew whether it was her or Momiji walking in.

"How does your cheek feel?"

"It's not swollen any more." She answered. "It still hurts a little bit when I touch it, but I'm fine."

"I'll give you some cream to help with that, but it's normal to feel sore."

"Thanks." She murmured and grabbed one of the pillows, clutching it to her chest as she got comfortable. "Do you know where Momiji is? He wasn't home this morning."

Hatori stopped typing and let out a small sigh. "He's in Germany with his father."

Anzu immediately sat up in shock and confusion. "Germany? He was just here yesterday when everything happened. He didn't even tell me he was leaving..."

"He usually goes on a trip to spend time with his father once a year, however this time they did it a lot earlier." Hatori turned to her. "I'm sure he didn't know he'd be gone so soon, but he'll be back before school starts."

"Did Akito say something to his father to make them leave faster?"

"Why would you think that?"

The girl frowned and sunk back into the couch. Was it safe to say that she was on Akito's bad list now? Although she was very upset and angry at how everything went down yesterday, part of her felt guilty for inciting the Sohma head. She couldn't wrap her head around why she was feeling like this despite what was done to her, but it probably had something to do with the curse.

"Has Akito always been like that?"

The older male watched her sulk as he contemplated answering her. Akito had been worse. For a first attack on her, it was pretty mild in nature. He'd learned not to dwell on Akito's behavior however, so he decided to tell her to do the same. "I wouldn't worry about that. Just focus on getting ready for school."

"Can I really go to school?"

"Momiji told me what you said to Akito. I'll help you take care of any necessary paperwork." Hatori answered. "If you really meant it, then I'll help you."

Anzu immediately smiled and jumped up to hug the male. She knew she would need to give him a gift or something because he's done so much for her. "Thank you, thank you, thank you!"

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The days felt like they were dragging as Anzu was left by herself. It had been a week and she knew she couldn't bug Hatori all day because he still had a job to do, so she roamed around the main estate before her feet found their way outside of Akito's house. Regardless of her decision, a part of her still longed for Akito's approval, however she couldn't find it in herself to step inside and say something, fearful that she'd get hurt again. Quickly turning around before she could be seen, she lost her footing and fell on her butt on the ground.

"Hey, are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm-" The redhead looked up and immediately froze once she realized who it was. The polaroid picture kept flashing in her mind as she stared at him in shock. Finally, the person she'd been looking for was now right in front of her and she couldn't even speak.

"You're?" He tilted his head in confusion.

"I-I'm okay." Anzu scrambled to her feet and brushed the dirt off her shorts. "U-Um, do you recognize me?"

The male studied the girl's features, but nothing seemed to ring a bell. Puzzled, he shook his head. "I'm sorry, if I've met you before, I don't remember you."

"Wait, let's start over!" The redhead immediately shook her head, realizing that she asked the wrong question. Her excitement took a hold of her too quickly. "Your name is Kureno, right, and you're related to a man named Kohaku? I'm his daughter."

Kureno's eyes widened in realization once he heard his older brother's name. It had been a long time since anyone had mentioned him and the longer he looked at the girl, the more he started to see the most noticeable similarities - their big, soft brown eyes. Taking a cautious step towards her, he hesitated before giving her a hug. A cloud of red smoke appeared and he looked down, his brain taking a moment to register that he was now holding an equally shocked hen in his arms.

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It took a moment for Anzu to change back, so in that time, Kureno moved them to somewhere more secluded so they could have a private conversation. They now stood on a small walkway bridge over a pond in the main estate's garden. The female gripped the railing of the bridge as she thought about what else she wanted to say. Besides the obvious elephant in the room, there was so much she wanted to know.

"Were you and my father always close?" She started off. "Mom had a picture of the three of you at their wedding."

"Kohaku was very hands-on and self-sufficient, unlike me." Kureno spoke as he looked down into the pond. "He was like a protector for me - always making sure I was okay and playing with me when I was lonely. A lot of me wanted to be like him, but at the same time, I felt like a burden to him because I knew our parents told him to always keep an eye on me. I was so happy for him when he got married and decided to move away."

Anzu looked up at her uncle and noticed the sadness in his eyes. She couldn't share that same sentiment since she had no personal relationship with her father, however the longing for him wasn't fulfilled. "Did he ever tell you about me?"

Kureno shook his head. "The day of his accident, he called me before he boarded the plane and told me he had something important to tell me. I kept trying to figure out what it was, but I couldn't. Now I think I know what it was."

There was a bit of awkward silence as the two stood by each other. The wind blew softly, causing blossom petals from the trees to fall into the pond below. The crimsonette fiddled with her fingers nervously and stared at her reflection in the water.

"Everyone says you're the rooster of the zodiac, but I was the one that changed when you touched me. Is someone lying or-"

"I drowned."

Anzu's head sharply turned to look at him, but her uncle didn't move from his position and kept talking.

"Back when I was in high school, I went to a pool with a friend. We were playing around and, apparently, I slipped and hit my head. I don't remember much about the accident, but he said I wasn't breathing for a couple of minutes and I didn't have a pulse. No one outside of us knew about what happened, but after I graduated, we never talked again. Since I technically died, I think that may have caused a transfer."

"Then you decided to stay?"

"What do you mean?"

Anzu leaned against the railing and looked back down at the pond, her eyes tracking a school of fish swimming along. "You don't have to feel like I feel. You're free to run along and do whatever you want without looking over your shoulder to see if it's okay. That makes me jealous." Her expression became pained as the thoughts came out of her mouth faster than she could stop herself. "I came here wanting to get answers about my dad's side of the family, but I got way too much than what I bargained for. I feel weird because I appreciate having a home here and the people I've met, but at the same time… I hate this. I can't even hug my own family properly…"

Tears dropped into the pond as the female quickly wiped at her eyes. She couldn't figure out where the rush of emotions came from, but it felt like everything from the moment she stepped off the plane to now had just crashed down on her shoulders. She'd been moving so much and discovering a lot since her mother's death that she hadn't had time to really process it all.

Maybe if it hadn't been for his accident, she wouldn't have turned out like this. She could've lived a normal life with her mother and maybe they could've met on different terms. Who was really to blame for all of this? Ultimately, he wished he could do something for her. Placing his hand on the top of her back, he tried to soothe her in the midst of not knowing what to say. Right now, all he could do was empathize with her.

"For some reason, I can't help but feel guilty about what I said to Akito. Something hurts, like I'm feeling someone else's emotions." She continued as she clutched her shirt over her chest and sighed. Whatever it was, it didn't feel like it would leave until she cleared the situation up. Looking up at her uncle with puffy eyes, she silently pleaded to him. "Can you help convince Akito to let me go to school?"

Kureno looked down at Anzu. This was the first time he'd truly met his niece and, although he made a choice to stay by Akito's side, the least he could do was put in a good word for her. "I can try."

"Can I ask you another favor?"

"Anything."

"Can you show me where my father is? I need to introduce myself."

Kureno nodded with a somber smile. "Of course."