Ugly Duckling (HatsuHaru Sohma Love Story)

Chapter 12 - See You

Previously on UD...

"Ox." Haru blurted out, stating his Zodiac Animal

"A Ox? You mean-"

"Yeah." Haru confirmed, trying his best not to scare me. I sighed in relief, a smile braking out

"I'm glad that you were there to catch me and not somebody else." I stated, leaning over and bringing him into a hug. His arms slowly wrapped around me, careful that I wouldn't break like a porcelain doll. I was content to be in his arms again, after so long of not seeing him. This was refreshing

"Duckling..." I muttered but I knew he heard me because I felt a smile break out against my neck, his hold tightening

"Duckling and Ox, huh?" I nodded, burying my face deeper into the croak of his neck. Now Haru knew part of the truth.

Akira's POV

After that me and Haru spoke for a little bit, telling each other our experiences with the curse, many of the experiences he had told me I already knew because I was right beside him, only he didn't remember that part of the memories

"So your whole family is cursed?" I asked him and he shook his head

"A selected few are, not everyone is cursed like us. How about your family?" I shook my head, knowing that I had to tell another little white lie

"Just me, when I was 10 I was cast out of the family as a disgrace for being different, they were afraid of me, calling me names and doing whatever they could do to get to me. So, after I was kicked out of the family house, I went to this open field and started building a little cabin, big enough for me to live in. At first I didn't want to go to school, so I taught myself from books people were giving away for free. This is my first year of ever going to public school so I never really spoke to anyone, I was more muted than anything else until I met you." I told him, telling the white lie of my family not being cursed like I was, but everything was true, the honest truth

"That sucks, you actually remind me of somebody."

"Who?" I asked him and he chuckled nervously, a small smile appearing on his face

"Well, he is my cousin but we both get on one another's nerves a lot. His name is Kyo, he has the curse of the cat. He was allowed to live at the HouseHold until he could take care of himself and so the person that is the head of the family, kicked him out and is never allowed to come back until he could defeat another one of my cousins, Yuki, who has the curse of the rat." 'Kyo, he was still there at the HouseHold when I left, he must have left shortly after I did.' I thought to myself before nodding

"Oh! He also goes to our school along with Yuki as upperclassmen. But there is also this girl that knows about the family curse and is a good friend of the family's. Her name is Tohru Honda, but don't go and ask her many questions or rumors will spread-" I gave him a look, raising an eyebrow at him

"I don't talk much."

"Oh yeah." He laughed before I looked down at my watch to see it was almost 10 at night

"You should probably get going before your family gets worried about you." I told him getting up from the couch, him following, patting my shoulder and nodding

"Yeah I should huh?" We walked over to the door, him slipping his shoes on and putting on his white winter coat with fur at it's collar. He turned around to look at me, a childish grin spreading across his face reminding me of the days when we were younger

"Get plenty of rest, Akira. Keep warm and hydrated and-" I rolled my eyes, crossing my arms

"Okay, okay. I will take care of myself. I will see you tomorrow." I told him chuckling. He nodded before pulling me into a warm embrace. I smiled before whispering in his ear

"Don't get lost now, I have heard Oxes have poor navigational skills."

"Hey!" I giggled, enjoying the expression plastered on his face. He sighed before nodding, the smile returning

"See you tomorrow, Duckling."

"Ox."

To Be continued