Bonds of the Zodiacs

Dark Ox

"Good morning, Kana." Tohru said, bounding down the stairs, smiling like every morning.

I sipped my tea and nodded, Kyo's bond kept me up most of the night, fretting about this stupid race in gym class today while Yuki was irritable, dealing with a cold or something. I looked over at my cousin, his cheeks were pale and he coughed once more, "you need more medicine." I muttered. Today was not going to end well, I could feel it down to my bones.

Shigure handed him a box of cold medicine, "you need to be careful today, you don't want to transform in front of your classmates."

I nodded in agreement and then yawned.

Tohru ran over to Yuki and put a hand on his forehead, "oh no! Are you sick? Colds are no laughing matter. You should stay home from school today and rest!"

I rolled my eyes and yawned again, Kyo was never going to let that happen, especially after last night. His bond was like a child that consumed a mountain of sugar, bouncing up and down; begging for my attention, while he tossed and turned in his sleep.

"You don't look so good either, Kana-Chan" Tohru said, now lying a hand on my forehead.

I shook my head, "no. Kyo was just very excited about the race today." I stood up and grabbed my jacket, "we should start heading to school, Kyo left already. He wanted to get a good warm up in before the race." I grumbled. My body hurt from the lack of sleep, the frustration built in my core. If I would have been a few miles away, maybe it wouldn't have been this bad but since he was just one room over, sleep completely evaded me the last two nights.

The walk to school was exhausting, Yuki was worn out from the walk, I was sleep deprived, and Tohru was wafting waves of concern. This race was the only thing that we had planned for today, all the teachers know we won't pay attention after this event, so they excuse us from class because of it. We were the last of our classmates to arrive, everyone was gathered in groups, chatting while stretching. My brother was sitting by himself, glaring at Yuki.

"Tohru, let's go by Hanajima, I think the girls race is going to start soon" I said, willing myself some distance from the boys.

Hanajima looked just as bored as I felt. Her long hair was tied back in a braid and black sweater was replaced with the gym uniform.

"Your waves are particularly solemn today." She commented and then turned to face Tohru.

"Let's do our best!" Tohru announced, causing Hanajima to smile.

Our gym teacher announced the beginning of the race, allowing me to take off ahead of the group, gaining more distance from the boys. The jog was peaceful, my lungs began to burn from the fresh air; but I welcomed the ache. My legs carried me forward, the excitement from Kyo and annoyance from Yuki faded with the distance, allowing me to relax for the first time in days.

"Wow you're fast!" Tohru gasped, catching up with me. Sweat poured down her face as she struggled to keep up.

I slowed down to match her pace, giving her a small break from the effort. "Yeah, sorry. I was enjoying the break" just as the words escaped my lips, another bond began to tighten. I looked around, looking for the culprit.

"Is that an elderly person?" Tohru asked, beginning to run down the hill where Haru was lying.

Such a simple girl, just because a person has white hair, it doesn't me they are elderly! The girl cut the corner and started running down the hill, almost falling on her face in the process.

"I'm so sorry, I thought you were an elderly person with that white hair!" Tohru gushed, cheeks redder than an apple.

Haru was calm, not phased one bit by the girl. I sighed and dropped to my knees, the exhaustion from lack of sleep and now a third bond added to my agenda took its toll. "Where are Yuki and Kyo?" Haru asked me, kneeling down in front of me, "you've looked better, maybe you should try and get more sleep."