Little Tiger

Ko the author

I was living at Shigure's house. The second bedroom on the left belonged to me now. I spent most of my nights in Shigure's room, but having my own room gave me a place to escape to when I wanted alone time. 

Shigure was concerned about my well-being after I showed up to his house, passed out on the floor. I suppose he had every right to worry about me. Hatori handled most of the details with my lease and landlord. He felt guilty for keeping the news of my nightmares a secret, it was painfully obvious. Despite what he thought, I was hardly upset with him, but I didn't plan on telling him that. It was nice to have someone do everything for me. 

Hatsuharu went back home after Hatori found out where he was hiding. It was best for him to stay with his parents, so I didn't fight Hatori's wishes, and Hatsuharu didn't seem to mind either way. He wasn't the type to run away and mean it. 

Momiji went home as well, though he was only staying with me because Hatsuharu was there, so he didn't mind moving back in with his father. 

I hadn't told Ayame or Shigure about my recent discovery. It was easier to keep it to myself. Sometimes, I could tell just about anyone the unimportant news about my life, but when I had big news, I was prone to keeping it entirely to myself. It was like I didn't want to startle anyone with my big news, so I saved them from the torture. 

Living with Kyo, Yuki, and Tohru wasn't as bad as I originally thought. They were not incredibly loud, messy, or rude--especially not Tohru, which, for some reason, irked me. Kyo and Yuki got in arguments and sometimes fist fights, but it never bothered me directly so I wasn't too upset. I didn't talk much to them, really. They went to school during the day, then Tohru worked afterwards, and either Kyo or Yuki would pick her up and walk her home. By that time, it was late into the evening and Shigure and I were already lounging on the porch or in his bedroom, reading. Then I had started working late at the salon, so my time with Shigure was cut short. After my fainting spell in the salon, Ayame decided that being the hairdresser was too much for me to handle. I couldn't have argued with him about it, even if I wanted to. Now, the makeup station was temporarily closed and so were Ayame's outlandish fashion designs. I was back to being the receptionist, Hatsuharu and Kyo relieved from their duties, Toya was the hairdresser, and Ayame did the tailoring. Sometimes, Ayame would cut hair as well, if there were multiple customers at a time, but other than that, our new system was working great. I wasn't entirely sure what I offered to the salon, but I felt that I was helping in some astronomical way, like I was a vital component to the salon's functioning. I suppose I was, being the receptionist, but my role felt bigger than answering phone calls and scheduling appointments. Maybe it's because the three of us had become very dependent on each other at the salon. We were three chain links that couldn't function without the help of one another. 

"I can't believe we don't get to walk home with each other anymore," Toya said one day while sitting in the salon chair with his leg crossed over the other. We had hit a particularly dry period in the salon. I believed that it was due to the article's negative review, but Ayame assured me that it was just because the weather was gloomy so people didn't feel like coming outside much. "I was sort of getting used to having you around. To be honest, I get sort of scared walking home alone at night." 

I laughed a little, my eyes glued to the computer screen as I color-coded the calendar. "You should have Aya walk you home, he'd do it," I suggested teasingly. 

Toya didn't seem all that willing to laugh with me today. He swiveled the salon chair in short semi-circles, exhaling softly. "It's not the same. I miss having neighbors." He rubbed his hands over his face dramatically, disheveling his hair. 

"Get a girlfriend. You'll have something better than a neighbor," I remarked evasively. 

"Hmm..." he mused with his finger pressed to his lips. "I've never had one before. Girls think I'm too much. They don't like that I talk a lot, or that I get comfortable around them too fast."