"What are you eating?""Ravioli," she blatantly responded.
"For breakfast?" Her eyes shifted from the lasagna to Haru. He tilted his head and shot up his eyebrow
"What about Momiji?" They both glanced over to Momiji happily chomping away at a piece of chocolate cake."
"That's different. We're used to him eating sweets for breakfast."
"Hmm, right."

Her chopsticks lightly clattered on the white plate. Miya stretched her arms, groaning as her muscles loosened. She hated waking up early to work. Tsuki had her working morning shifts lately since she began hiring more people. Her knees popped as she gathered her plate and took it into the kitchen for the chefs to clean. Haru kept flicking a penny into the air as his own form of entertainment before walking to school.

"Come on, you guys, we're all going to be late," Miya said.

Haru stood up and followed Miya out the door. Momiji heaved one last piece of cake into his mouth before bouncing after them as well. Smiling, he licked off the bits of chocolate icing from his fingers.

Oh, chocolaty goodness! Momiji couldn't help himself. Chocolates and sweets were his path to enlightenment and eternal joy. Chocolate truffles, raspberry cakes, lollipops. Yum! He'd have to remind that maid, Fumika, to get him some more candy from the store. She always knew exactly what he wanted. Humming, he failed to see Miya and Haru stop outside.

"Hey Momiji, what-OOF!" Miya stumbled back. The cloudiness cleared to reveal a Momiji with rabbit ears.
"Sorry about that, Miya. I guess I was daydreaming again."
"It's okay," she giggled. "Besides, I love it when you change. You're so cute!" Momiji's eyes gleamed as he hopped into Miya's arms.
"Momiji, you should be more careful. At least we weren't in plain sight. Now we have to go." Haru took Momiji into his own arms.
"Bye, Miya. Bye!" Momiji waved as best he could with his tiny arms. Miya set off in the opposite direction to Ato Hana Yume.

Miya grunted as her face hit the pillow. Her morning shift seemed to drag on, thanks to that new employee Tsuki hired to manage the register. His name was Taoru Yamamoto and at first glance, he seemed to be a typical Japanese guy. He had brown, shaggy hair and sported a red polo, khakis, and white sneakers. For her entire shift, he hounded her with questions such as, "How long have you worked here," "what does this do?", "what type of flowers are these?" On and on, he never stopped unless it was to ring up a customer. Then he strolled right back to her and let the questions roll off his tongue.

Well, at least I'm home now.

A light rap on the door brought Miya's face off her pillow. She treaded over the door and slid it open to reveal none other than Fumika.

"Hello Miya."
"Fumika. What's up?" She stepped out of her room.
"I just wanted to see if maybe you'd like anything from the supermarket."
"The supermarket? Yeah, can you get me some candy, like the Hello Kitty chewy gum things? Or maybe some pocky?" Fumika giggled.
"Of course."

Rapid footsteps caused Fumika and Miya to turn their heads as a maid ran in between them clutching her hand. Miya saw splatters of blood covering the girl's hand and parts of her sleeve. Her shed tears left spots on the floor.

She knew the only person known for hurting staff was Akito and his room wasn't that far away from her own room. The same went for Hatori's office. When she first moved in, it seemed like both rooms were far because she'd gotten lost. But she found out they were a lot closer than they appeared.

"I wonder what that was about," Miya said to Fumika.
"I don't know," she mumbled, failing to hide the worried look that came over her face.
"I'll be back soon, Miya."Bye." Fumika left Miya walking down the hall to Hatori's office.

Hatori grabbed a hold of the maid's hand lightly with one hand while the other circled the bandages around it. The maid winced as the bandages became tighter. Hatori sighed. The damage consisted of a large slice on the top of her hand, making her the third maid to be injured by Akito in the past two weeks. The young man needed to learn to control his temper. The maids and servants didn't need any incentives to quit.

"There you go. I'll excuse you from your duties for the next couple of weeks.""Thank you, Master Hatori." Just as soon the maid left, Miya entered his office.
"Hatori." He glanced at the doorway.
"Miya. What can I do for you?"
"Is that girl okay?"
"She'll be fine. The cut wasn't fatal." He rolled up the excess bandages and placed them in his white jacket.
"I wonder what crawled up Akito's ass today to make him do that." Hatori didn't answer her. Instead, he opted for sitting back in his lounge chair. "Anyway there's another reason why I'm here. I needed to tell you something."
"And what's that?" Miya walked closer to Hatori. She leaned down so her face was directly in front of him. Hatori raised up an eyebrow at her strange behavior.
"I'm. Bored.".
"Is that all?" Hatori sighed aggravated.
"What do you mean 'is that all?!' It's important!"

Hatori got up out of his chair and opened a nearby file cabinet. Pulling out a few files, he sat back down at his desk again and exercised a trick he'd known how do to do since childhood. Disregarding stupidity. He openly ignored Miya's cries of 'Hatori, I'm bored!' as she flailed her arms around like an idiot. Hatori had to thank Shigure and Ayame for their antics when they were kids; otherwise, he would have never learned how to block out Miya's randomness. Those two loved the over-dramatics. He smirked and peaked out of the corner of his eye at the girl. With her flailing arms and crooked smile, Hatori had to admit that he honestly didn't mind it. Only when Shigure and Ayame double team did he ever get annoyed. Shigure obviously rubbed off on her. Idiot. That didn't sound right…

Miya eventually grew tired of waving around and crashed on the floor. Hatori rejoiced at the peace. He continued evaluating his files one by one, making sure the patients' progress was updated and whatnot.

Hatori's office door suddenly banged opened!

"Hatori!" they heard as the figures entered the room. Miya put a hand over her rapid heart and gulped while Hatori kept writing, seemingly undisturbed by the unwelcome intrusion.
"May I ask why you two are here?"
"We just had to come see you, Hari. We missed you so! Oh, who is that?" a deep, smooth voice asked.

Miya's mouth kept her mouth unhinged as she slowly stood on her feet. Who was this guy? A long red robe held a poised, lean body. His lone silver hair shone while his golden eyes seemed to stare into the very depths of her soul. In his presence, she felt as though she was standing in front of an aristocrat, a man who carried himself with as much grace as that of a woman. She had to admit, Ayame was cute. Very cute.

"Oh! I didn't know you were here, Miya. Let me introduce you to Ayame Sohma. Aya, this is the infamous Miya Horugaka.""Pleasure to meet you." Miya politely bowed, but Ayame had other ideas. In a flash, her hand was nestled in his own, cradled like a delicate flower.
"Shigure, why haven't you introduced me to this lovely rose earlier? My dear Rose, I am Ayame Sohma. Tell me, Rose, has he been treating you as well as the lovely Princess Tohru?"
"Uh, yes. Shigure's been very good to me."
"Has he, now?" He sent him a sly look, almost resembling a snake. Miya's hand flung back to her side as Ayame extended his hand out. "Shigure, have you forgotten about me? Have you now set your passions on Rose instead of me?"
"Aya, you know you're the only one for me!"
"Mon chere!" They reached out for each other.
"Mon amour!"

...I think I'm gonna be sick…

"Ayame," Hatori sternly called out.
"Yes?" Ayame answered, as innocent as possible.
"Out. Now."
"Hari!" he whined.

She chuckled under her breath. It was obvious those three were very close, despite what Hatori thought. Ayame was the overly-dramatic troublemaker; Hatori, the authority figure; and Shigure, the middleman. They balanced each other out quite well. The question had already popped into Miya's mind. Was Ayame also a member of the zodiac? And if he was, which one could he be?

"Hari!" Ayame pouted.
"Both of you, out."
"But Hari-" Hatori cut off Shigure by slamming the door closed.
"Hmph! How rude!" Ayame crossed his arms.
"I'll say. But why did he kick me out?" Miya asked.
"Whatever you did pissed him off too."
"So what now?" Aya wondered aloud.
"I know what I'm doing," she stated.
"What?" Aya asked.

Miya threw herself at Ayame, quickly wrapping her arms around his lean waist. POOF! What stood in Ayame's place was not what she expected. A gray snake lay coiled on the floor, his head looking up as Miya absorbed his new form.

"Oh boy," Aya groaned.
She giggled. "Sorry about that. I wanted to see if you were a zodiac member. And you are! You're the snake!"
"A beautiful snake, if I might add" Aya gleamed.
"Yes, well, I have to take this beautiful snake home," Shigure said, scooping up Aya into his hand and letting him wrap around his wrist.
"Bye guys." She waved goodbye.

Akito gulped down the two red pills once held in his hand, feeling them fall down his throat. He followed with a cup of water and then handed it back to Hatori who stood patiently beside him

"Be sure to get a good night's sleep, Akito."

The young man nodded and the doctor steadily exited the room. Akito winced at the aftertaste left by the pills. They were meant to waver off the recent wave of insomnia he'd been enduring for the last couple of weeks. With the lack of the sleep, he found himself more irritable and lethargic during the day. It reached a breaking point with that young maid. He snapped at her for the most insignificant thing and left her running for Hatori's office, clasping her gushing hand. He didn't remember how he hurt her, only that she bothered him at an inopportune time.

Akito's feet led him outside onto the porch. Like the many days and nights before, he perched himself against the wall and looked out into the garden. Hmm. What would the other servants think once the maid told them her story? Probably what they already thought of him: a vindictive, resentful sadist in firm need of a straightjacket and a swift kick in the ass.

He restrained his laughter. Their anger really amused him because he knew he could easily have them starving on the street if he wished. He could have them sink lower than the very scum on the street. He could very easily injure them…he's already proven that.

"What are you so happy about?"
"None of your damn business."
"As always."

He ignored the idiotic statement and continued to relax. A couple of minutes flew by without either one saying anything, both enjoying the comforting view before them. Akito felt Miya slide down next to him. Slowly, what seemed to be a stick came into his sight. It was roughly the length of a hand and was dipped in chocolate.

"What is that?"
"Pocky. One of the maids bought it for me when she went to the supermarket." He cocked his head to the side and looked at her straight in the eye. "Think of it as a peace offering."
"Or as a way for you to poison me."
"Now why on Earth would you think that?" He gave her a look of disbelief. She merely smirked.

Akito grabbed the stick from her and bit off one end. Surprisingly, he didn't cough blood or start spewing his intestines. In fact, the pocky was quite tasty, consisting of a biscuit stick with chocolate. Miya placed the pocky package in between them and indulged in relaxing with him. Of course, who could really relax with a sadist currently enjoying a pocky stick? Apparently, she could

"What's your favorite color, Akito?"
"What kind of a question is that?"
"A good one. Now answer it."
"Blue."
"Every guy picks blue. Why is that?"
"Because if we pick any other color, we're gay." She giggled. Nervousness grew in the pit of his stomach. He'd never been able to make anyone laugh before.

Time and again, a question crossed his mind. Not a question, more of a thought really. Why was she being so nice to him? What's worse was that he was being nice in return. Never in his life had he been like this. He couldn't recall a time when he was this friendly with anyone. Shigure and Hatori were the exceptions, but even they weren't at the level she was at. Miya was considered an acquaintance, someone he conversed with occasionally. Friendship was non-existent, a faint whisper in his mind. He didn't need something so weakening as friends.

"What are you dazing about over there?""Nothing."
"Okay. You know Shigure and Ayame stopped by, right?"
"Yes. Shigure visited me before he left."
"Keeping you updated on the goings-on of his house." He nodded and picked up another pocky stick. "Akito."
"Hmm?"
"Why are you so talkative today?"
"Trust me, it's not that I want to be. Hatori gave me red pills earlier. I guess they make me more relaxed."
"I see."
"Don't get any ideas, Miya."

She burst out laughing. He spoke the truth. As soon as he finished talking, she began formulating to steal some of those red pills from Hatori. Problem was that if she got the wrong medicine, Akito could end in the hospital, or worse, die.

Hatori would kill her. Simple as that. Well, plan B anyone?

"Miya?"
"Yeah?"
"…What's your favorite color?"

The question left his mouth before he could stop himself. Why did he ask such a thing? Why did he even care? Those pills affected him in ways he never thought possible. Hatori informed him of the side effects, such as drowsiness, but not to a point where they made him…normal.

Akito shuddered at the thought of himself being mellow. He made the decision to tell Hatori to change his medication immediately. He wouldn't bear the effects of it any longer, of him being so talkative and…out of control.

"I'd have to say red."
"…Why?"
"Because red represents two different emotions that can lead people to dangerous things. Passion and anger. And besides…" he glanced at her, "it's a beautiful color."

Of course, she was always open with him or with anyone who cared to listen. She never hid her true emotions from anyone and always spoke her mind, despite the consequences that might arise.

Akito wished to be like that sometimes. He never dared tell anyone that. But for once, he wished to tell someone of his feelings or the thoughts churning in his mind, however dark they may be. His eyes trailed over to a serene Miya. He smiled to himself. If she insisted on being open with him, it's only respectful to do the same.

"Miya."
"Hmm?"
"We ran out of pocky sticks," he spoke softly.
"That's okay." She reached into her blue purse. "I've got more." She placed the pink pocky box on top of the other. Akito reached in and pulled out a pink-covered stick.
"Strawberry."
"Yup." He sucked on the end before completely biting it off. "Good, huh?"
"Somewhat."

She laughed again and Akito reveled in it. The two continued their small talk on the porch, unaware of the presence lurking at the entrance.

Ren watched Miya and Akito in escalating fury. Unable to bear the sight anymore, she stomped away to her room in a far corner of the house. She immediately dropped to the floor, her black hair shielding her narrowed eyes.

How long had this been going on in the house? Hatori or Shigure should have notified her of such things. Those ignorant bastards. Nothing was kept secret from her. Nothing. Perhaps they truly weren't aware of Miya and Akito's…budding friendship.

Akito. That sniveling child. That fucking bitch probably didn't even notice the small smile on his face that appeared whenever she laughed. He didn't deserve happiness, after all he'd done. It was his entire fault. He destroyed her happiness. Why? Why did Akira look at him that way? With gentle eyes and open arms? Wasn't she first in his heart? She used to be first in his world, his reason for living, and no one else could take her spot, that is, until she gave birth to that abomination. Akira lavished Akito with attention and called him "his special boy" because of his "godliness." Even on his deathbed, he still favored Akito over her, throwing her away like a ragged doll. His presence still lingered in the house, torturing her, forcing her to watch Akito embrace the happiness that was wrongfully ripped from her.

No. More. Ren wouldn't tolerate this. She stumbled over to her vanity and stared at her reflection. Same eyes, same color hair…In an instant, she curled her slender fingers and punched the mirror, watching the shattered shards of Akito fall onto the vanity. With a wicked smile, she held up her bleeding hand. Yes. Generating distrust between them shouldn't prove to be too difficult. She'd have to provoke them a little more, but the result was still the same.

She giggled evilly and laid down on her bed. The blood flowed from her knuckles, splatters appearing on her sheets. She felt the pain dissipating and her eyes slowly closing. Ren couldn't wait until the time that that worthless existence she knew as her son would realize just how easily people changed.