After she finished eating and getting ready, Haruko was out the door fully dressed and with her school bag in hand. Several students were also walking towards the school as she drew closer and closer. There were quite a large amount of new and foreign faces. From what she recalled, there was a large number of transfer students. Though, the reason for it was unknown.

She sighed. It didn't really matter to her in the moment at least. First thing was to not be late. Voices greeted the Japanese second year female, and she turned to see her friend waving at her as she was jogging to catch up. Greetings were exchanged followed by chatter as they walked into the school and to their class: 2-B.

Damn school uniform, so fricking annoying...

Kazoru had woken up a few minutes ago, and was now attempting to pull himself into the scratchy school uniform that he hated. It made him feel too uniform- too unoriginal, and he hated it.

Kazoru grabbed his navy blue hoodie, slipping it on over the uniform, "Better."

He stepped out of his shabby three room apartment, swinging a backpack over his shoulder.

I guess I'll go to school now, what a drag.

Beeping noises filled the room for a good minute before Haruko lazily rolled out of bed and onto the floor. Was it already morning? She wanted to sleep in, but by the looks of the sun that came raining down at her curtain, that wasn't going to happen. Her alarm appeared to be in agreement with the sun of making her get out of bed.

"I don't want to wake up yeeeeeeeeeeeeeeet," she whined and flailed on the ground for another good minute before actually getting up to turn off her alarm and get ready for school.

Her movements were sluggish, even after she got dressed and dragged herself downstairs with her bag she was dragging her feet to get breakfast. If no one made anything, she would whip up something fast, otherwise eat whatever was made. By the time she finished eating and was out the door, she had stopped dragging her feet and her eyes had stopped cringing at the light.

bifauxnenA cavernous yawn escaped the scarlet-haired teenager as the two Romanos strode down the street. Apart from the mop of dusky pink that adorned the older, taller male's head, and the vivid red that blessed his companion, the two were getting looks from females in particular. Every so often the redhead would seem to take notice, and letting equally crimson eyes slide over to the onlookers would give a charming smile and a wink. Eventually the pink-haired male stifled a laugh.

bifauxnen"Really, Levi, you really should stop leading people on. Both you and I know those girls think you're male," Benedict's soft lilting tenor made his mother tongue sound like music, and belied his faint amusement.

bifauxnen"And what's wrong with that?" came his sister's retort, also in Italian. "I'm not the only one getting googly eyes."

bifauxnen"Ah, but I'm the only one not fueling them. Really, weren't you always complaining about how your fanclub was getting out of hand and annoying you all the time?"

bifauxnen"Psh. Those are Italian women. Can't my inner man sample the Japanese culture? We are living here until Her Royal Pain in the Ass decides we'll move."

bifauxnen"Levina!"

bifauxnen"Whoa, hey, down. Okay, okay, my bad, okay? Geez, I swear Ben, you must be the only Zodiac who doesn't hate Rose's guts. And of course, I'm stuck being your younger sister..."

bifauxnenTo this, Benedict could only sigh at his sister. "And you know why I act like that."

bifauxnenThere was a long, heavy silence between the siblings, before Levina nodded once, her scarlet eyes troubled. ".....Yeah."

bifauxnenPresently they came in view of Levina's new school. Up ahead they could see several of their fellow Zodiac. Benedict's pace slowed.

bifauxnen"I'll see you after school. If I don't get lunch ready Rose will... well, you know."

bifauxnenLevina nodded, and giving her brother's hand a small squeeze she romped up to the others. "Gooooood morning, my fellow Italians. And how fares the jet lag?"

Chieri had woken at around six am that morning, just in time to catch a glimpse of the vibrant sunrise that had settled on the horizon fading away into a bright day. The twenty year old woman rubbed a sleepy eye, a small yawn escaping her cherry pink lips, "Nnn...morning already...?"

Slipping herself out of bed, Chieri plodded into the bathroom to ready herself for the day ahead. Combing her waist length snow white hair with a brush, tying a small portion of it in the back with a cute white ribbon. After brushing her teeth and washing her face, the female stepped out of the bathroom, and opened her closet doors to find an article of cloth that would fit her. Finally, Chieri decided on a lolita style peach colored dress, flats, and a cream colored sweater.

Grabbing her messenger bag, Chieri skipped out of the door, and to the Kaibara Shopping District, where her job at the Pet Store awaited her. Entering the store, Chieri called out in a cheery tone, "Mornin~"

starrysky"Mornin' ev'ryone~" the cheerful brunette greeted his co-workers with a one-handed wave.

starrysky"Morning Tagu-chi," an equally friendly young lady greeted him. "Just barely made it, ne? Tending to that garden of yours?"

starrysky"'Course I was! My li'l plants're impor'nt ta me, so I gotta take care o' 'em," he replied as he slipped behind the the desk to check his client list for the day. "Maa... let's see what 'wan'-chan gets ta have a 'wan'-derful time with me t'day~"

starryskyMost of the other employees knew of Tag's aptitude in English and his habit of using horrible puns mixing the language with his native Japanese tongue. A few of the clients laughed at the joke while his co-workers gave him a playful eye roll.

starryskyThe man donned his grooming equipment and took on his first client, an Akita. He smiled to himself knowing that he could understand the pooch, mainly because of his "personal" ties to that breed of dog.

starrysky"Let's get ya all pamper'd, na~?" he said to the pup as he carried her off to the back for her grooming.

"You wound me, Jack, and here I thought we were all part of a loving, caring family." The sarcasm was blunt and obvious, and lacked the usual subtlety of most of Magnus' jibes; he blamed that on the jet lag that was creeping up on him yet again. He'd been so certain his shower had washed it all away. Ah well, he could always nap during class.

He followed the triplets downstairs; they ignored him the whole time, not that he cared. Most of their family tended to ignore him, his personality got on their nerves. He told himself it was their loss if they wanted to be hostile, he preferred his own company anyway...and he certainly didn't want to hang out with a bunch of people who didn't or couldn't appreciate him. Even if they were his family.

trick&treatAlice and Abigail's free reign over Jack's chest area was interrupted by the click of the door opening. As one the ruckus died down, but the raven-haired youth felt his face grow even hotter when he realized who it was at the door. Ugh, of all people! Magnus was a proper womanizer, and his super-ego issues drove the older Romano male up a wall and then some. As Levina so aptly put it, the Scorpio was a pissing little sh*t and Jack NEVER felt safe with him around, most especially if he started nearing his sisters.

trick&treatAt least the twins had built up immunity to the blond's silvery condescending tongue, and were openly hostile to him on varying levels. Even now he could feel the tension in their bodies, ready to spring at him and maul that smirking mug of his to ribbons. Or well, at least that's probably what Alice would do. Jack was fairly certain Abigail might try to use Magnus and his various body parts for occult practices.

trick&treatStill, Jack was in no mood for any sort of conversation with Magnus (when was he was the better question) and sighed heavily through his nose, fixing the other Zodiac with a level glare.

trick&treat"I'll toss you into the ocean if you don't kindly get the fuck out."

trick&treatJack was never one to use foul language, but he really wasn't at all interested in being jeered at for his predicament at the moment, especially when today was a very important day for himself and much of the Romano household. He knew the curse would wear off well before he actually stepped out of the house but he had much left to prepare. Even as he thought that there was a puff of smoke and he felt his blazer stop constricting his chest as he lost his breasts.

trick&treatStanding up, brushing himself off, Jack turned to his sisters, intent on not speaking further with Magnus. "Alright you two, fun's over. Hurry up, we only have fifteen minutes before we have to leave the house. I don't want you late for school on the very first day."

"You've got your lunch?"

"Mm."

"And you've got all your books?"

"Mhm."

"What about your phone, it's fully charged, right?"

"Ava, stop."

Avalon stood with her arms crossed to stop herself from fidgeting with her new uniform. The new fabric itched a little, but scratching was not only unladylike, it would ruin the wrinkle-free state her clothes were in--a state that Avalon so rarely got to enjoy back at the villa.

In front of her, about a foot away, stood her brother, Lysander. While she was the epitome of prim and proper, Lysander, with his scruffy, silver hair and rumpled uniform, was quite the opposite. His gold eyes, which had once been level with her emerald ones, were looking down at her with a bored expression. He was tired of her mothering him all the time, and Avalon was having none of it. If she left him to his own devices, Lysander would never get anything done aside from schoolwork and chores. He would never make friends, he would never go out, he'd be a lonely hermit and where was the fun in that!! She couldn't help but trail after him, making sure he didn't flounder--oh, curse the person who had decided to put them in separate classes!

"I worry," she said in Italian, choosing to keep this conversation private.

"I know, but you shouldn't."

trick&treatThe entire way to school, Jack, now back in his regular male body, kept a sizable distance between himself and his twin sisters. Though it wasn't really needed - they knew the importance of keeping the Romano curse a secret and wouldn't dare tackle him in public - he was doing it as punishment of sorts. Plus, he wanted time to think on his own. It had only been a week since the entire main Romano family, complete with servants, had all followed the whim of the moody Starkeeper and moved to Japan. Rhoswhen never gave any rhyme or reason to it, but who were they to argue with the Starkeeper?

trick&treatZoning back into the world around him, the dark-haired youth noted the many cherry blossom trees. He'd never seen them before except in pictures, but seeing them up close and personal made him realize that those images didn't do the real things justice. The gentle spring breezes that tugged playfully at them sent some of the looser delicate petals drifting to the ground like white-pink snow, and wafted their soft fragrance seductively past his nose. It was gorgeous, breath-taking almost. Despite his earlier morning frustrations, the Italian felt the stresses melt away somewhat.

trick&treatA part of the bespectacled male wondered if anyone would find it strange for such a sudden influx of new students. Even though it was only just the beginning of a new school year, having random Italian students enter into the school, and a whole range of grades at that... It would be a little hard to make connections, especially since he and his sisters were already in their last year of high school. From what he knew of schools, most students came from elementary institutions in the area, which meant that people already had friends going into high school. Well... at least we still have the other Zodiac...

trick&treatNearing the school gates, Jack looked up as he noticed a rather unusual shadow overhead. Almost invisible against the bright blue sky, a white bird soared frantically towards the school. Most people wouldn't have thought any more on it, but he knew...

trick&treat"One of the kids must've gotten Gwen..." Abigail's monotonous and bored-sounding voice, surprisingly close. She too had noticed the shadow and the snowy owl.

trick&treat"Forget Ginny, check out that hottie right there~!"

trick&treatAlice was eying a particularly tall youth with two stark white streaks in his spiked-up hair at the gates. She had her arms around Abigail's shoulders with her head resting on her arm, and her syrup brown eyes were roaming the male's body with clear interest. A mischievous grin slowly spread across her face, the kind one would see on a cat that had just spied a particularly tasty-looking bird or a new form of entertainment.

trick&treat"Sexy," she remarked. "Wonder if he's taken~?"

trick&treat"Alice, really, you have no shame," her brother sighed, glad that they were speaking in Italian. Granted they were getting looks, but at least they were curious rather than critical. Which was what he was certain they'd be getting if they'd been speaking in Japanese. "Look, let's just go in and get to class before the bell rings. I'm sure there're plenty of other 'hotties' in the school."

"Hurry up, will ya!" Magnus pounded on the bathroom door again, slowly resolving himself to kicking whoever was inside if they took much longer. He had already slept through three of his alarms, and though he didn't mind being late for school, he definitely minded having to wait for his morning shower. Neas, who finally exited after another round of door-pounding, was greeted with an eye-roll and a growled "Good morning," before Magnus disappeared into the bathroom and locked the door behind him.

He took his dear, sweet time showering that morning, using the hot water and steam to wash away the last of his jet lag. Only when he was certain he was fully awake did Magnus get out, dry off, and follow the smell of food downstairs. On his way down, he passed by the triplets' room and, hearing the commotion coming from inside, decided he wanted to investigate (even though he was ninety percent certain he knew what had happened).

It turned out his hypothesis was correct. When he opened the door, Magnus found Alice and Aby sitting on top of a third female and groping her quite freely. He sniggered and crouched over the girl on the floor with a smirk on his face. "Morning Jack," he said. "Might I say that your eyes are an ocean today~. Your breasts are also an ocean, but I guess you knew that."

trick&treatFor someone who had horrendous jet lag and terribly low blood pressure, he had to admit that he was quite proud of himself.

trick&treatJack had purposely set five alarms for himself, all at five-minute intervals of each other, to ensure that he would wake up on time. That day, he had been able to wake up at the third one, managing to stop the last two from going off and probably angering the people who slept in the rooms beside him . . . twin sisters included. Still, he had still been half-awake when, after his morning routine, he'd gone to rouse them.

trick&treat"Alice, Aby, wake up."

trick&treatHe of course, received no reply, so with a sigh he took the spare key to their room (he'd wisely "lost" the spare to his own room to prevent random ambushes from the two rascals) and opened the door.

trick&treatAlice and Abigail were strangely different yet alike at the same time, and had no qualms in sharing a bed. He found the two curled up together in a tangle of blankets and limbs and pillows, still fast asleep. Another sigh, and he shook his head though a resigned smile leaked onto his features. Reaching out, he shook Alice's shoulder.

trick&treat"Oi, Alice, Aby, wake up. You're going to be late for school." Alice stirred slightly and groaned her retaliation, but otherwise didn't move. A grimace from their brother. "I'll leave without you two."

trick&treatThe series of events that happened afterward most probably woke whichever remainder of the entire household that was still asleep. There was a loud wail, followed by an equally loud thud. Followed by Jack's angry and exasperated voice.

trick&treat"DAMN IT YOU TWO!!!!"

trick&treatAs the smoke cleared, it revealed three girls lying in a heap on the floor of the twins' room. One of them was dressed in Kaibara's male winter uniform and did not look the least bit happy. Alice's eyes scoured her transformed brother's curvaceous figure with a slight pout.

trick&treat"Ehhhh~ Jaaaack, you grew bigger again~" she commented, shamelessly placing her hands on the other "female's" chest.

trick&treatThe brunette was rewarded with an incredulous splutter from her triplet and Jack's face turning beet red. "That's not something I need to know this early in the morning!!!"

trick&treatHis protests went ignored as his other sister's hands replaced Alice's. "Oh . . . you're right. I'm jealous, Jack. Care to trade?"

"STOP GROPING ME!!!!"

black&whiteThe studio was a good hour on foot away from the high school, so Kennosuke had to go back to grab his car. As his sleek black convertible carried him to his destination, the dark-haired youth was content to listen to instrumental music. As much as he enjoyed singing, putting on his own band's music for all to hear just felt like blatant advertising. Let the billboards and music producers and J.E. do that for him; he didn't need crazy fangirls chasing after his car.

black&whiteHe greeted the security guard seated at the front desk with a nod to his cheerful salutation, and made his way to the studio room. As he neared, he could hear his friends chattering away.

black&white"Ossu, Ken! There y'are!" Arabi was from the Kansai district and had the distinct accent. Nonetheless, "Wildfire" was still quite popular amongst their fans.

black&white"Ossu, Arabi... Are we just waiting for Onken and Toru?"

black&white"We're here, we're here!" came the voices and running footfalls of the last two members of their band.

black&whiteKennosuke smiled slightly and turned to the staff who were waiting for them there. "....Let's get started."

black&whiteHalf an hour later, the young man was on the street, a younger, much shorter girl at his side. It was clear from her uniform that she was a high school student, and from the way she acted one could deduce she was close to the male. Passers-by who saw the towering youth and recognized his hair or face scurried by whispering to each other, some out of excitement, others awe, others still apprehension. They fell on deaf ears.

black&whiteThe pair stopped at the gates of Kaibara High School, where a small band of first-years were waiting. Upon seeing the girl, several waved.

black&white"Mimi~! There you are! Oh, and it's Ken-sama too!"

black&white"Mmhmm~! Ken-nii promised to walk me to school today before going to practice!"

black&white"Right, the Sohma Kennosuke's little sister. How can we forget, you lucky stiff?"

black&whiteThe girl turned to the young man standing at a respectful distance away, and ran over to hug and smile up at him. "I'll see you after school, Ken-nii-chan."

black&whiteA soft smile as Sohma Kennosuke Michio patted his younger sister lightly on her head. "Mm. Have fun."

Though the rest of the Sohma mansion was turning into a hive of activity, inside the Zen Sanctum, all was quiet and still. A dark-haired young lady stared listlessly at the half-eaten breakfast before her while, beside her, a young man with flaming red locks wolfed down his own meal like it was the last he would ever have. He swallowed the last few morsels and nudged the girl's shoulder. "Come on," he said. "You've hardly touched your food, Hotaru-chan."

The girl--Hotaru--shrugged, "Ryuu, you worry too much. I'm just not very hungry right now, that's all." She leaned against him and nibbled at her breakfast once more, knowing that if he saw her eating again he would relax. It was their daily ritual; Ryuu would come into Hotaru's room in the wee hours of the morning and they would eat breakfast together, just like when they were little. Though it wasn't all the same as all those years ago. Ryuu had a job now, and a schedule to adhere to, and Hotaru... Well, she'd never been a terribly strong person to begin with, but her health had only deteriorated more and more in recent years. Some days were better than others, but that sense of exhaustion never really went away anymore and Ryuu, who was the closest thing to an older brother Hotaru had, had taken it upon himself to make sure she was okay--even if it meant making, in her mind, unnecessary sacrifices.

Rather than soothing his fears, her comment of "not being very hungry" only made Ryuu more anxious. "Are you alright? How do you feel?" He put his palm on her forehead, and Hotaru pushed him off a nanosecond later. "I'm fine," she said. "Really; today's a good day, I can tell. There's nothing wrong with me today."

Ryuu frowned, unconvinced; Hotaru often claimed to be "fine" only to throw up or faint later, and he had never been one to take chances. He opened his mouth to protest, and she stared at him, daring him to challenge her. Eventually he backed down, "Okay, fine, I'll believe you for now. But--"

"I'll call you if anything changes, I know. I'm a big girl, Ryuu, I can take care of myself for one measly day. Now shouldn't you get going? You're going to be late."

A puzzled and suspicious gaze met her words, but Hotaru held her composure together until that suspicion passed into acceptance. "Yeah, you're right," he said with a yawn and a stretch. "I'll see you later this evening, okay?" She nodded, said her goodbye for the day, and Ryuu dismissed himself, off to whatever photo shoot he had lined up for the morning and the afternoon. It had sounded fairly important, and scheming aside, Hotaru truly hadn't wanted her cousin to be late.

She waited there, by herself, for a few moments more, until she was certain that Ryuu was gone and she was alone. Then with an energy she had been building up for days, she dressed, grabbed her phone, bag, and shoes, and snuck out.

Neas jolted up out of bed and slammed the off button as soon as it blared off. His alarm clock was defective and despite him setting it down to quiet, it still screamed when it went off. He rubbed his temples and muttered insults at his clock under his breath for a minute. Lucky for him, he didn't start work until tomorrow thus had one last day of grace to finally get over his jet lag. It was mostly gone. Mostly.

There would be random periods during the afternoon where he would still get slightly sleepy, though for the most part he was still good. He sighed, and pulled open the curtains that drapped his windows before making his way to the bathroom to clean himself up. Moments passed, and he heard the sound of the others waking up. Some had school, others had work. A knock at the door interrupted his listening observations.

"I'm hurrying, i'm hurrying," he sighed putting his towel back in place before unlocking the door to let whoever was there in and himself out. A short 'morning' came from Neas as he passed by anyone that was awake on his way down to the kitchen. Pulling out ingredients and pans, he threw together a quick breakfast for whoever needed it. A simple bacon and eggs with toast on the side with their choice of jam, butter, or what not and a glass of milk or juice depending on their preference. Plates were set on the table with equal portions and empty glasses. After all, they were old enough that they could pour their own beverages.

starryskyAs the sounds of the high-school Romano faded out as each one departed, the college crowd began to stir. In particular, a raven-haired girl who finally decided to ooze out of bed after wallowing in her sheets for the past half-hour. Still in her sleepwear, Kami shuffled into the bathroom where she proceeded to carry out her daily hygiene tasks.

starryskyOnce she had finished showering and washing her hair, she went over to the sink and began to brush her teeth, avoiding eye contact with herself in the mirror as much as she could. At this moment, the normally happy young woman wasn't feeling too happy. However, by not looking at her physical reflection, the thoughts of that day came flooding back into her mind without notice.

starryskyThe expression on his face... the painful words he spoke to her. Everything about that bad breakup replayed countless times in her mind. A clatter from below snapped the youth from her horrible trance. Once again, she'd dropped her toothbrush into the sink's drain by letting her emotions get the best of her. A sigh escaped her as she let her head hang, frustrated at herself for allowing this to take as big a toll on her as it had.

starrysky"Looks like I'll need to pick up another toothbrush," Kami whispered in a tone as if she were about to burst into tears. "I'll do it after school..."

starryskyFinally looking up into the mirror at her own face, the Romano cringed at her current appearance. There were small bags underneath her eyes from staying up so late after tiring herself during the day. Her grey eyes, which would normally hold a hint of silver when she's in the sun, were just a dull slate color.

starrysky"I need my makeup kit," she declared to herself as she started to make her way back to her room to finish getting ready.

starryskyOnce Kami had finished with her preparations, she got dressed and gathered up all of the items she would need for the day and headed down to the kitchen before she departed the house, heading to the university that would give her the clean slate she didn't realize she needed.

starryskyIn a brand new place with brand new people, the Romano set off for new adventures.

starryskyThe day had already begun and the house was already stirring with the sounds of the school-aged Sohma getting ready to head off to their respective schools. However there were a couple of the older sort who were still around, one of which was already up and about.

starryskyTaguchi - nicknamed 'Tag' or 'Ta-gu' - slid around his room, drawing back the green and white curtains in his room to allow the sunshine to pour in. His warm, brown eyes looked to the section of his room that housed his own little mini garden and a frown appeared on his handsome features. A rose had began to wilt and it hadn't even reached it's full beauty. Making his way over to the depressed plant, he gave a little nudge as if he were talking to a person.

starrysky"C'mon now, beautiful," he coaxed while misting it with a special rejuvenation liquid. "Ya can't be dyin' an' ya haven't been put on display. Let's get ya betta so I can get ya outside. Tha' way, ev'ryone can see how gorgeous you are. How 'bout a li'l extra sun, na?"

starryskyCarefully, he picked up the flower and carried it to an area that was more sunny. Once he was satisfied with the pot's position, he picked up a small pair of shears and pruned it, keeping hold of what he'd clipped. Being a resourceful man, Tag recycled the buds he trimmed and dried them out to make fragrant potpourri for the ladies in the house... not that many of them took it, but it was still something he liked to do.

starryskyOn the man went with caring for the flora in his room, misting each one with a specific spray and adjusting their positions in the sun. He was preparing half of them to be transferred outside where he'd continue to maintain them. Yep, gardening was a passion of his and he had no qualms about expressing his love. Speaking of passions...

starryskyThe man looked at the clock and nearly panicked. It was just about time for him to start his shift down at the dog grooming studio. Luckily, it was just a couple of blocks away so he won't be completely late. He went over to the nightstand next to his bed and retrieved his cellphone, wallet, and his key ring before heading out of the door and making his way into the foyer. After bidding his farewells to the house staff, he bounced out of the Sohma house and jogged off down the path, greeting everyone who walked by with a huge smile and a wave.

black&whiteThe insistent beeping of a cow-shaped alarm clock that looked like it belonged to a child rang out throughout the dim room. Morning sunlight seeped in through the window, its power leached by the thin deep blue curtains that hung drawn over them. From beneath the covers of the midnight blue bed, a toned, slightly tanned arm reached out, groping for the source of the offending noise, and upon finding it, allowed the hand resting on the snooze button to relax, using its weight to shut the damn noise up. Now quiet, the arm withdrew back into the covers and the lump within stirred slightly.

black&white"Ken-nii~!! Wake uuuuuup!!" A girl's voice, muffled faintly by the closed door, drifted up from the floor below.

black&whiteThe only answer that was received was a few moments' silence. Then the blanket-shrouded heap in the bed stirred again, and the covers were peeled back to reveal a bleary-eyed youth. Blinking owlishly, he sat up, and after rubbing sleep from his pale gold orbs, shed the last of his blankets and dragged himself out of bed, shuffling over to the drawer on the other side of the room to grab clothes for the day.

black&whiteAiri, for her part, had been awake much earlier than her older brother. It was the first day of high school for her, and like most first-years, she wanted to make a good impression on the teachers by being punctual. Even though she was almost certain the welcoming ceremony would be boring. All of them always were. But still, being early or on time was a good thing to have going for you.

black&whiteSo here she was, downstairs half an hour earlier than usual, and helping her mom cook breakfast. Airi and Kennosuke were considered the lucky ones who had a relatively decent relationship with their parents; most families with Zodiac children tended to have parents who either totally shunned their cursed child or were overbearingly protective of them. Though in reality their own parents were leaning more towards the overprotective side, they at least weren't locking the Ox and Sheep up in the house and never letting them outside.

starryskyThe sky was clear and the sun was shining brightly. Yes, it was spring time and this meant that the weather would be lovely and summer school uniforms will be in full bloom People filed out of their places, many of them students of some form, and took their different paths to their destinations. Though, high above all of these people, there was something very off. It was true that birds were returning from their migration, but those who saw were shocked by the sight of a snowy owl soaring through the skies.

starryskyLittle did the spectators know that the beautiful owl they awed at had a little secret. She had another form, the form of a normal teen-aged girl. Her name: Guinevere Romano.

starryskyJust having arrived in Japan a week ago, she'd settled in the Romano house with the other 'cursed zodiacs' and was still working on her adjustment. In doing so, quite a few of the neighborhood children flocked to her and called her "onee-chan", making her quite popular with the young ones. However, there was one little boy who adored the young woman more than the others. This boy, Naoko, happened to catch Guinevere as she was leaving home to attend her high school's entrance ceremony and glomped her. His doing this made her take on her owl form and without thinking, she'd flown off. After realizing she was leaving her school bag ( which incidentally held a change of clothes ), she flew back for it and rushed off again. She was determined to make it to school before she transformed back so that she could rush off and change before anyone saw anything embarrassing.

starrysky"If I'm late, I am going to be even more ticked off than I am already," she mumbled, quite happy that she was flying above and no one could hear her.

starryskyLooking down below, she saw that she was almost to her destination and a wave of relief washed over her. This feeling was short-lived as she got that odd feeling that let her know that she was changing back. In a panic, she swooped down to the ground, flying past many surprise pedestrians and trying to reach the nearest alley or backstreet. It wasn't the classiest place to land, but she needed a secluded area to avoid peeping eyes.

starryskyThe snowy owl teen flew into an open storage house, feeling overjoyed that there was no one inside. Just as she landed on the high hurdle, her body returned to that of a normal girl and she stumbled a few times to catch her balance.

starrysky"Whew... safe," she whispered, immediately turning to the bag she'd dropped.

starryskyQuickly slipping back into her uniform, she fixed her golden hair and adjusted her black-framed glasses before darting out of the shed and over to the nearest door so that she could get to the auditorium before she was declared late.