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Fandom ❉　lacuna＊: fruits basket










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The Dog



Kaede.













mood

panicked











outfit

outfit











location

her room











interactions

saki, ai











tags

leviohsa leviohsa peachiepalette peachiepalette
















Questions swirled in Kaede’s mind, a myriad of worries jumping to the surface. Something bad had happened. That much she had gathered in the commotion. Death…was not something she handled well, and she fought desperately to keep her thoughts focused. Yet, glimpses of her childhood, her mother, and her life before this, blinked into her mind, disappearing just as quickly as they manifested, leaving a wave of guilt in its wake.

Kaede looked towards her two friends, who had settled into her room and gnawed at her lip. She had never seen the compound in such chaos before—maybe it was the additional dread that lingered in everyone’s minds. Things would change, whether it would be obvious or not, she couldn’t say, but now that the tension had broken, a new type of uncertainty hung in the air.

Kaede moved to sit next to Saki, a box of tissues in her hands. Careful not to overcrowd Saki, although her heart demanded she provide comfort, Kaede moved to wipe the tears from the older zodiac’s face.
“Saki-san…” she started carefully, “please be kind to yourself. You are not a hypocrite for struggling with…our new reality.”


Comforting others was never something she was partially good at. Calming words and phrases laced with wisdom seldom come from an overemotional puppy.

But for Saki, she would try. Kaede's heart lurched as her eyes met her "big sisters". Just how much had Saki been going through by herself?

“Things may be different now—we may be different now,”
Kaede said, grasping Saki’s hand within her own.
“But you are still our Saki, right Ai?”
she said, glancing over to Ai, who crouched before them.
“You are always so strong. You always are there for everyone else, but now it’s your turn to not be okay, and that’s okay. Please, let us be there for you this time.”



♡coded by uxie♡
 



the horse.





kenta.















The air crackled with an almost palpable tension as Arashi's piercing gaze bore into Kenta, stripping away years of carefully constructed defenses. Of course, Arashi saw right through him. The God had always known where to strike, where it hurt the most.

Playing pretend. The accusation rang with a terrible truth that threatened to shatter the fragile illusion he'd clung to for so long. Kenta had been doing just that, fooling himself all these years. Running from the curse, acting like his life could be normal, believing that if he could just escape far enough, he might find a way to break free. It was a desperate charade, one he'd clung to with every ounce of strength. A child's game of make-believe, doomed from the start.

“Everything I do is for you!” Arashi's voice cracked like thunder, each syllable a dagger twisting in Kenta's gut.

For the briefest moment, Kenta thought he saw a crack in the God's hardened facade—a flicker of vulnerability, a ghost of the boy he'd once loved. It was gone in an instant, leaving Kenta reeling, his emotions a maelstrom of fury, confusion, and a traitorous spark of longing that refused to die. He met Arashi's gaze unflinchingly, refusing to back down even as the God's words battered against him like a hurricane.

“I did what needed to be done. I don't get to run away from this place, and soon enough neither will you.”

Something inside Kenta snapped. Years of pent-up anguish and rage burst forth, his voice raw and trembling with the force of it.
"Why not say anything then?"
he demanded, the words tearing from his throat.
"Why keep it all a secret?"
His fists clenched at his sides, nails biting into his palms as he struggled to keep from lashing out physically.
"Why pretend that everything is going according to your plan when you're just making it up like the rest of us? What makes you so certain that your way is the only way?"


The dam of Kenta's restraint finally burst, unleashing a torrent of questions and accusations. His voice rose, raw with fury and desperation.
"Maybe if you'd deigned to talk to us, to treat us like equals instead of pawns in your grand plan, we could have prevented this nightmare!"
He took another step forward, close enough now that he could see the flecks of blood splattered across Arashi's cheeks.
"Did it ever occur to you that we might have valuable input? That together we could have found a solution that didn't end with someone fucking murdered?"


The rain lashed against Kenta's skin in icy sheets, soaking him to the bone. Lightning split the sky, briefly illuminating the anguish etched across his features. He paused, his chest heaving with the effort to control his breathing.

"Why,"
Kenta choked out as his voice dropped to a hoarse whisper,
"why make me hate you all these years and never mention any of it?"


The silence that followed was deafening. The rain pounded down, soaking them both, but neither moved. The tension between them was electric, a storm within a storm, threatening to break them both.











 



arashi.
































"Why make me hate you all these years and never mention any of it?"

God scowls,
“You chose to hate what you did not understand, do not put that on me!”
He hisses,
“I have been raised since birth to receive your devotion and to offer my love in return, and I have been rejected since I was hardly more than a baby!”
Arashi's voice raises, scratched and broken.
“I do not treat you as equals, because I am your God! And I have never been given even a moment to forget that! I have been blamed for everything, at every fucking turn, so it should come as no surprise that I wouldn't trust you all to want to protect me!”


A strained sigh escapes them. Exhaustion weighs on them. Arashi is tired of yelling, of always having to fight to protect himself. He shivers and bites back a whimper.
“Being the God whose life is constantly under scrutiny has some benefits,”
he murmurs. Regret washes over his anger.
“Drugging me is one thing, but it would be unwise to bruise God. What would the public think, were they to see me come to harm?”
His pale eyes fall to the muddied ground.
“But a Zodiac... If it comes to it, they will always do what they feel needs to be done.”


Arashi feels his throat burning as his entire body shudders from the cold, relentless rain.
“I saw it in their faces, but I ignored it. I thought you were as untouchable in that regard as I was.”
He can't bring himself to look up at Kenta again.
“Every time we sat too close, or stared too long, they noticed. They were disgusted.”


“I did what needed to be done,”
God says again.

































glimpse of us



joji










♡coded by uxie♡
 



The Dragon continues her search


Zhou Rui Xi








Rui Xi left for the courtyard, feeling assured of Nova's intentions. By now both of The Dragon and The Snake's teeth had sunken into in; even if her words were suspicious, The Tiger had no way of escaping.

The spiritual connection between the hosts outweighed that of their families of origin, both with the God and with each other. She could have easily drowned Arashi when they were young or ripped him apart whenever she turned into a dragon, but the curse. The curse created the circumstances behind their enmeshment and in turn, kept her from taking that bite. She could have specialized in criminal law and convicted U-Jin, but that would have meant jailing one of three two people she could embrace (something that not even Murasaki could provide her).

She let the water splash onto her boots as she rinsed away the blood, paying extra attention where the body fell. Luckily for everyone, the grass had done a good job absorbing In her mind's eye, the hose was a gun and the blood pool, the doctor's cowering form. Two bursts of water knocked the dry bits from the dirt, allowing it to run away with the rest of the blood.

That only left the sedated, old bat. Rui Xi dragged the hose over to Inori, the nozzle pointed directly at her face.

"Such a pity that I couldn't be the one to do it," The Dragon sneered, "I would have been far more private."

She squeezed the trigger, drenching the shivering servant before tossing the hose down and dragging Inori by the back of her collar.

"The curse began with us together, and it will end with us together," Rui Xi hummed as they reached the front door.

Who knew that would include the servants as well?


mood | Too old for this
scroll

location | The Compound

outfit | Black, gradient overcoat and casual wear

tag | U-Jin buckybaernes buckybaernes Nova Shadow Alpha Shadow Alpha





/* ------ credit -- do not remove ------ */

© weldherwings.
 






the horse.










kenta.






































































all i wanted
































location


the compound




















interactions


arashi












tags



























Kenta felt the weight of Arashi’s words crash over him, each accusation hitting like a hammer to his heart. The rain poured down, relentless, cold, and merciless, but nothing compared to the chill of realizing how deep Arashi’s pain ran. He took a shaky breath, feeling his anger melt into something far more painful—guilt and sorrow.


"Do you really think I chose to hate you?"
Kenta's voice was softer now, almost pleading.
"Do you think any of this was a choice for me? I was a kid, Arashi. We both were. We didn’t know any better."
He swallowed hard, fighting back the lump in his throat.
"All I saw was someone I lov—"
he caught himself,
"—someone I cared about more than anything, pushing me away. And I didn't understand why."



Kenta's voice grew stronger, fueled by years of pent-up emotion.
"You talk about being raised for devotion, for love. But what about us? The rest of the Zodiac?"
His hands clenched into fists at his sides.
"We were raised to serve, to follow, to never question. But we did question. We wondered why the person who was supposed to be closest to us, seemed so distant, so untouchable."



He stepped closer, rain cascading down his face, ignoring his cold pyjamas clinging to his frame.
"I didn't hate you because you were God, Arashi. I hated you because I didn't understand why you let everyone believe you didn't care."
His voice broke.
"If you had just... let us in... "



Kenta sighed, raising a trembling hand to push away the wet strands of hair clinging to his forehead.
"You say you were rejected, that you never had a moment to forget your role as God,"
he continued, his voice hoarse from yelling.
"But I... we felt rejected too. We needed you, Arashi. And instead of explaining, instead of trusting us, you let us think we're doomed to our fates, as if you knew this would happen all along."



He shook his head, drawing in a shaky breath. The cold, the rain, these new revelations coming to light... it was all too much to bear. For a fleeting moment, Kenta contemplated turning his back on everything—the compound, the Zodiacs, Arashi... all of it. The temptation to walk away and live out the rest of his days in peace, free from this suffocating destiny, was almost overwhelming.


Instead... he reached out a hand tentatively as his fingers brushed against Arashi's.


"I am sorry that I made you feel that you couldn't trust me. That you always had to make the hard choices alone,"
he said.
"But we don't have much time left. And I think things need to change if you... if we truly wish to break this curse. You can't do that alone going on like this, Arashi."



He raised his hand to place it on Arashi's shoulder, his thumb rubbing circles onto his skin as he continued.
"You're not untouchable. None of us are. And pretending otherwise... it's killing us all,"
Kenta said softly.
"Whatever comes next... whatever we have to face... we need to face it together. No more secrets, no more lies. Just... us. Flawed, broken, but still fighting."



Kenta held out his hand, palm up—a peace offering and a promise all at once.
"What do you say? Are you willing to try?"
Acutely aware that this moment could change everything—for better or for worse, the sound of his heartbeat was only drowned out by the rain continuing to fall around them.





















 










Yori






scroll
































Yori studied the look in Konishi’s eyes, seeing that she was far more sheep than human than he had realized with his first glance. For a moment, he felt the need to comfort her, as he often did in the past in his role as one of the guardians, but then he was registering her words and his tight smile turned to a small frown. She had known? What did that mean? His grip on her wrist tightened slightly (though he was unsure if it was still in comfort or in restraint) as he gripped his cane hard and the roots of his hair turned slowly to a more blonde color, “When did you…? What do you…?”

“Don’t.”

His head snapped over to who had interrupted them, reminding him that there were others in the area. Takumi’s desperation seemed almost tangible with the word, so unlike anything he had seen from the other man that it completely threw him off. The world that he’d woken to was so off center that he was starting to think that maybe he was still dreaming. Everything just seemed… off. Yori quickly released Konishi’s wrist but didn’t move far from her, still unsure of what her words meant but slowly becoming aware enough of their situation that a clear head was needed before anyone made any rash decisions.

He allowed Takumi to usher them towards the other side of the compound, where the more lush gardens were. Taking the spot beside Konishi, he was quiet other than the additional click in his gait from his cane. Over the years the garden area had slowly changed. As each new zodiac came in, a part of them had been added, flowers and plants their caretakers had thought matched each of them. It used to resemble how well they all looked together, a peaceful place he would go to admire the symbolic beauty of their bond. But over time as each of them grew and most of them left, Yori had seen the servants remove their parts from the garden until only a few remained. Naturally, his eyes shifted to where he knew his pink hyacinths grew, currently dormant but showing signs of budding. He briefly hoped that he would be able to see them in their full glory before the curse took over.

The small group moved further into the garden towards the gazebo in its center as the sky opened up and the rain started to pour. It was comforting yet disorienting at the same time that the world continued on as normal despite everything that happened; it made him wish he could stop time just so he could process just… everything. Their steps were quick (or as quick as Yori could handle) as they neared the seating area, and as soon as he was close enough he sat heavily on one of the benches to stretch his leg out with a wince. Lazily, he tucked his cane against him as he looked between Takumi and Konishi, wanting to bring up what the sheep had started to mention earlier, but not sure how to with the Ox’s presence.

Inhaling deeply, he took in the scents of the rain and plant life around them before he blew out a harsh breath as he tilted his head back and closed his eyes. A crack of thunder startled him enough to cause him to jump a little, bringing a humorless smile to his lips. “Is it too early to say I’m tired?” he asked before looking back at the other two.















click for more










































♡design by minajesty, coded by uxie♡
 
“Hurry.” Focused on Yori, Konishi blinked stupidly at the outstretched arm, a sudden barrier that she couldn’t go around. She looked up at the word, don’t and paused. She shrank back at the frown that crossed the ox’s face, instincts still in the forefront, but still, she listened. “But Kenta hurts.”

Still, like a good little sheep, Konishi followed as she was shepherded away from the scene. With each step, her ovine characteristics bled away, letting her begin to think more than feel. As her arms grew bare, she wrapped them around herself, her meager, torn nightgown not enough to block out the rain. Her hair was a mess. Unbrushed the night before, even if she’d slept on the silk pillow the compound provided, it would have been wild. Now, it clumped in a mass, leaves and sticks stuck within.

She was surprised as they entered the garden, it looked little like she’d last seen it. Her eyes searched for the massive bushes that would hold the huge blue hydrangeas every June through July. But they were gone. It felt like a blow, though she didn’t understand why.

As the two led her to the gazebo, she stayed quiet, taking a seat, and tucking her hands under her thighs, her legs swinging. She didn’t look at them, instead wondering at the rain still running down her face. It couldn’t be tears, could it?
Yori said:
“Is it too early to say I’m tired?”
Click to expand...
Konishi turned her head to face the monkey, her brow creasing as she took in his pained state. Maybe they shouldn’t have walked so far. Knowing he disliked pity, she forced a smile on her face, closed mouth to hide the fact she was missing her front teeth again. “I don’t think any of us have been sleeping well.”

Then unprompted, she looked away, down at the wood floor of the gazebo. “The year I lost my family was hard on me. I felt I had nothing to live for.” Her voice was quiet, monotone. “I couldn’t care about school: only the fear of the servants beating me like they beat Reiji kept me going. But it wasn’t always enough. I skipped a lot of school in those days, wandering in random directions, uncaring. One of those times, I came back to the compound. I don’t know why, but some urge pushed me in that direction. I snuck in, not wanting to be caught by the servants, but I didn’t see any. I heard a commotion, someone screaming and things breaking. I’d heard whisper of Their tantrums, but I’d never been there for one. Why I went forward instead of running, I still don’t know. Looking back, there was no chance of me being heard, not over the screaming and bangs, but I still crept down the hall.”

She looked up, over at the spot that once held her Hydrangeas. She’d felt like they were a secret. A heartfelt apology from one of the servants. A gift to her family from the Emperor himself. She never knew, but she pretended.

With a sigh, Konishi continued, “He was trying to kill himself, or maybe someone else, I don’t know. He had a knife: he held it against his throat and swiped at some of the servants around him. When he attacked one, the others came from behind and sedated him--with a syringe, like today.” She turned to Takumi. “I always thought the oldest of us knew. That they were drugging him. But with U-jin’s reaction, I doubt that now.” Now, her desperate eyes turned to Yori. “That’s why it’s my fault. I knew, and kept it a secret like everything else! Maybe, maybe if I hadn’t, he wouldn’t have killed anyone. Maybe he would have been helped.”

Then back at the floor, she hugged herself, rocking, “I hated him. Maybe I still do. For taking away my family, for hurting us. But I didn’t want anyone hurt.” Now she was crying for real.

peachiepalette peachiepalette Skryeb Skryeb
 











Ai Koba


The Rooster










Mood:


freaking tf out







Location:


Compound Courtyard







Outfit:


one click pls








Tags:


leviohsa leviohsa ven ven













Kaede could keep her arms wrapped around Saki all she wished, but Ai kept a tentative distance as to not trigger a transformation. The Rooster remained surprised that Konishi had been the only one to transform, but the poor Sheep had dealt with more than her fair share of The God's disfavor. And now things were crumbling. The Dog was more calm and centered than she, offering Saki words and touches. Ai was stiff. Hand on the knife, steel colliding with flesh, a scream. Her heart quivered. She hung her head a slight, fringes of her pale pink hair brushing against her face. For the first time in her life, there was a tightly wound ball of anger inside of her. Anger, an emotion which scared her. Anger, the only emotion that defended the psyche from being treated unfairly by others -- if used in moderation.

I hate them. What God are they? What God cannot save us? She bit the inside of her cheek and tasted copper. Tasted bitter.

Ai was still pitifully The Rooster. An animal bound by her curse. But that day, she was free of fear and sympathy for Arashi.

"Yes," Ai agreed with her treasured friend quietly, the stiffness dissipating from her posture. Her eyes softened. She leaned forward and touched Saki's hand.
"Have more faith in us, Saki-san. This is the least we can do for all the strength and grace you have shown us all these years. Especially... when we first arrived at The Compound," Ai managed a weak, sheepish smile. She had been especially prickly -- borderline cruel -- to Saki whenever she moved there. Sweet Saki, who only wanted to help her.

"I imagine you must not have had anyone showing you such reliability. At least not consistently. And partially, it's your fault. Stop being so headstrong all the time," Ai said softly, giving her hand an affectionate squeeze. Ai's other hand went to hold Saki's, and she held them, fingers running soothingly over the back. And then, something possessed her. As if she was not even speaking. Something else, something beyond her.

"The time to transform... is now. Even if that may seem futile."













♡design by stardust galaxy, coded by uxie♡

 










scroll
THE CAT





mood: read and see.





interactions: e v i e v i leviohsa leviohsa





location: compound kitchen










Pale hands set aside chopsticks, curling around the pink teacup that Akane presented him. He held his tongue in favour of listening, though he suspected his feelings were obvious about the appalling color. When Akane’s words took a moment to arrive however, Reiji’s conscience whispered doubts; With Kazue present, he wondered if he’d crossed a line with his earlier questioning.

”—The Rat was in the wrong.” Came the Rabbit’s final answer, and he felt a breath escape him, one he didn’t realize he’d been holding in. His relief unfurled like a butterfly once caged— a realization that shocked him, to know how much he cared for Akane’s opinions.

Reiji held her scarlet stare. Asking her such a heavy question was a gamble in and of itself, but it was not unpleasant to see that she was finally waking up from her reverie. It was time to shatter rose coloured lenses, and that fact was made all the more clear as she continued to speak.

He took a sip of tea in lieu of responding. Honeyed, floral, warm. The golden liquid glided down his throat with ease, dampening his earlier struggle with his senses. It was a small distraction from the now heavy atmosphere— for in the few minutes of silence that followed Akane’s words, the tension seemed a palpable entity. No one spoke. Kazue only stared, speechless, perhaps. A gossamer shroud of quiet could so easily be broken, but none dared to commit.

Blue eyes followed Kazue’s form as he then stood up. With tension now lingering in the air, Reiji wondered how Kazue would add fuel to the fire. The words that finally fell from the Rat’s lips however, were not of outrage or grief, they simply spun a tale of his past.

Involuntarily, his fingers tightened their grip on the cup. Reiji didn’t know the kind of life the Rat had lived before all this. But any and all empathy he shared for the tale died as the story continued.

“—will you live your life as a Rat or a Cat? Will your suffering bring you closest to God or farthest away?”

Might as well ask if you’ll live as a sinner or a saint. Reiji grit his teeth. Why? Why was that a question? He did not suffer for the sake of their god. And who would willingly choose to subject themselves to the life of The Cat— The answer was no one. Kazue’s line of inquiry only solidified Reiji's looming gloom. It seemed to confirm the notion that Reiji’s existence was synonymous with the worst possible fate. That suffering the fate of The Cat was the zodiacs' nightmare.

“-know your suffering has taken you both places. Close to God, far from God. And I'm sorry. But the truth is, they’re not really a God at all. They’re just a person, controlled by their desires to hurt you, to be inside of you… aren’t they?”

❝ But that doesn’t change the fact that they’ve stood idly by as we’ve suffered. It doesn’t change the fact that your god abandoned— ❞ The word ‘me’ went unsaid. Reiji kept his voice from cracking, but the words felt sour in his mouth as they died. He didn’t want to think of the boy he once loved like a brother. No. The man he knew now was an entirely different person altogether, a cold and unfeeling god, untouchable. They could not be compared to the boy who laughed with the carefree abandon of a child, running through the compound courtyards with all the flight of a crow guiding a kitten.

But— he wasn’t really a god. Even that incident in the courtyard was a clear indicator of how far from divinity Arashi really was. As much as Reiji loved to mock Arashi’s helplessness, admitting that their god was just as weak as them, felt more like defeat than victory.

❝ You’re right, Arashi is not just a god. In fact, the god is a puppet being strung about by the whims of fate, pathetic in their helplessness, in their inability to do anything for their beloved Zodiacs. ❞ He stood abruptly, slamming his cup down and grimacing in the way it caused the tea to spill. He felt his emotions reflected in the act, like a tsunami trapped in a bottle, just barely spilling over the edges.

What feelings shone in the Rabbit and the Rat’s eyes went unnoticed by Reiji as he looked to the spill. He merely cleared his throat. His hands — not shaking — but stiff, as he cleaned up the small mess.

❝ Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to take breakfast in my room before I lose my appetite any further. ❞ With that, Reiji turned towards the door, trying his best to leave the conversation behind in the quiet of the morning.



♡coded by uxie♡
 



















u-jin



the snake













As he looked at Nova, so brave and yet clearly so scared, who had done her part beautifully despite having no training and no idea what awaited her when she woke up this morning, U-Jin felt the betrayal of the servants even more keenly than before. He wanted to embrace her, put an arm over her shoulder and comfort her; to tell Nova that everything would be alright. That she did a good job, better than anyone could have expected of her and she should never have to do this again. But he couldn’t. And at this rate, he would never be able to. The fury of that thought caught him off guard.

Yet his hand was still gentle as he rested on Nova’s shoulder.
“You did well.”
He settled on instead.
“I’m proud of you.”


They couldn’t be done, though, not when Rui Xi was waiting for them with Inori. So U-Jin gave Nova’s shoulder a final squeeze and led the way back out of the bathroom and towards the courtyard. At least now, the house was mostly quiet. Everyone having ran off at the sight of the death in the courtyard. U-Jin had expected to find Rui Xi in the courtyard, but was far more amused to find her dragging Inori, who was dripping wet, into the house.

“Seems you’re a step ahead of us, let’s take Inori somewhere private,”
U-Jin suggested, reaching out to grab one of the woman’s arms so Nova didn’t have to.
“Nova, can you get a pitcher of cold water? I think we’re going to need it.”
Inori didn’t seem fully conscious yet, after all. Then it was just a matter of dragging the woman into a private room in the compound without windows. Easy enough to do. For a place meant to house the zodiac family, it certainly had a number of rooms that looked far more suitable for a prison. U-Jin dumped Inori on the ground once they were inside of the room, wiping his hand off on his pants in disgust.

Reaching out with his foot, he roughly shook Inori from where she lay on the ground. It seemed that started to do the trick, but he still nodded for Nova to dump some of the water on her. Inori’s eyes opened with a start, whatever drugs that were in her system not standing up to the constant bombardment. U-Jin stood over Inori, his eyes cold as he lit his cigarette. He did not seem uneasy by the notion of what he was about to do. There was a mechanical quality to his movements and words. This was far from his first time leading such a questioning.
"Inori-san, we have questions. I think you know what they are. So either you start talking, or you will leave the same state as the doctor."


Inori shook her head, groggy as her bodies resists the drug's effects. "Your fate is sealed. We witnessed it." She struggled to lift her head. "You are wasting your time, U-Jin."

Gritting his teeth, U-Jin knelt down and let the cherry red end of his cigarette hover uncomfortably close to her face.
“We?”
He asked, jaw clenched in anger.
“Who is this we, and what exactly did you all witness?”
He kept his voice as even as possible, but the anger in his tongue was growing the more he listened to Inori. His self-disgust in once respecting this woman welled up, making him feeling as though he needed to vomit. How could he have ever respected such a woman?

"God's faithful, the servants blessed with Sight to witness the fate of each Zodiac," Inori spat, flinching away from his cigarette. "God wished for His friends to stay with Him forever, but never before has every Zodiac shared the same the same lifetime as God until now." She looked away, head spinning. "We were overjoyed to witness the birth of the Rat, the final Zodiac. God would finally be surrounded by His friends. But then we witnessed the truth: God was never meant for this fate, nor are the Zodiac." Inori's lips curled into a sneer. "God will receive an end to His loneliness by other means."

The beginning of Inori’s rambling speech was nothing he hadn’t heard before. The same drivel about the Zodiac finally coming together that they’d all heard since Kazue was born. But what Inori said after that, made his blood run cold. That was nothing but a threat against Arashi’s life, in his ears.
“I don’t think you understand the situation right now Inori. I will do anything for my family. Anything. Especially if it keeps Arashi and the other zodiac alive and together,”
U-Jin explained as he reached out to grab the woman’s hair and lift her head, where she struggled to keep it up. The end of his cigarette hovering precariously close to her cheek.

“Now, you have a lot more explaining to do.”
U-Jin stated, looking up at Rui Xi and inclining his head so that she could join in on the questioning of Inori. He knew in his anger, that he might miss an important question that needed ot be answer. He hoped that Nova would leave, should she wish. For U-Jin did not need her to witness what he was going to do to this woman who threatened so easily the safety of his family and his God.

By the time they were done, the room smelled of burnt flesh and U-Jin’s hands were trembling with barely suppressed rage. Inori lay on the ground, injured but far from dead as U-Jin wished her to be.

"When the final Zodiac returns to their original state, God will be released from His eternal loneliness. Arashi will die." Inori finally admitted, still slumped on the ground. Whether from pain, the sedative or something else was hard to say. U-Jin didn’t care much either way.

He raised his eyes to Rui Xi, terror clear in them. He wanted to walk over to the older woman, to seek comfort and reassurance from her. Yet, he knew that he could not. Right now, they needed to keep their heads on straight. They had to fix this problem, somehow. Losing it now would only waste more time.

“Gather everyone!”
U-Jin shouted, turning to look at Nova.
“Get everyone together, now.”
He demanded, reaching out to help Rui Xi to her feet, clinging to her hand desperately as his only show of fear in this terrible situation.

“We are going to stop this.”
U-Jin said out loud, mostly for his own sake. Keeping hold of Rui Xi,’s hand, he walked out of the room and left Inori behind on the ground.












































♡coded by uxie♡
 






takumi

scroll

mood
Useless but trying

location
Compound Courtyard

outfit
no thank u ✻✻✻[/url]

tag
Lost Echo Lost Echo Skryeb Skryeb



Despite all the love that coursed through him for the particular name mentioned, the Ox could feel his face harden as Konishi spoke: “But Kenta hurts.” It might have been the truth, and be that as it may, he resisted the urge not to remind her that Kenta had, in fact, chosen his own path.

Even as he turned away to usher them somewhere safer, he gave a small reply that left a bitter taste on his tongue. ”We all hurt right now.”

– – –

The garden stood to be their safe haven for the time being, the earthy scent of the rain mixing with the barely there florals giving a sort of calm to the tensed muscles of Takumi’s frame. It had once been a place of refuge for him whenever he had skipped school, a field of inspiration for art pieces, the place where he dwelled the most other than his room. Now, it was a particularly lonely area. Missing arrangements had been skillfully replaced by greenery at the servants hands, little blips of lives gone as each Zodiac member had moved out. Only having moved down the street, even his own flowers had been snipped away as if the Ox had never even been part of the compound.

”They’ll probably clear the garden when we all turn into animals, like we were never here…” He whispered, finally tearing his eyes away to focus on his counterparts.

A million reasons should have kept him from laughing, only one thing allowing the half scoff and chuckle that exhaled from his lungs as Yori commented about being tired. Regardless of all that had happened, he still had a face to preserve, a front to put up for the others of someone who was completely okay. Unafraid and unworried in the shadow of cowardice, Takumi fell into the nature of presenting himself as steady as always in a pathetic attempt to deliver peace to everyone else.

As an uncomfortable silence settled over the group, Takumi felt himself consumed by the rawness of the situation as the burning in his eyes forced him to blink rapidly. His own thoughts were providing quite the discomfort, and he found himself wishing for anything to end the quiet. That is, until Konishi began speaking.

She had his undivided attention, but the more she mused the more his face contorted into disgust.

Konishi seemingly wasn’t pointing any fingers, and the atmosphere didn’t warrant a reaction, but there was a tinge of dislike in her words and that he felt almost like she was lumping him in with ‘the oldest of us.’ He supposed he was up there compared to some of the others, but he was hardly pushing 35– That was besides the point, anyhow. It was with a pointed gaze at Konishi that his eyes darkened as he considered the truth to her words, picking apart their upbringing and the treatment of Arashi as he tried to decipher the feelings prickling his chest.

Pity. it was something that most everyone hated, and yet a feeling that seemed to eat away at all of them at some point in their destructive journey.

Takumi found himself speaking aloud his musings in a scrambled mumbling of words: ’Was it that I had never known, or was it that I’m so alike to everyone else who was willing to ignore it?’ Both options had a talon-like grip on his subconscious and the Ox dug the heels of his hands into his eyes as if blurring his vision would make the whole thing disappear. “We’re all so fucking stupid.” The bluntness of his words again surprised him, though for a being that so often hated beating around the bush, it should’ve been expected. “This whole thing is fucking stupid. We’re always going around in circles and nothing is ever going to change.”

But damn, did he wish it could.

Never once wishing that they could break the curse, never having hope, trying his best not to wish for what could never be his – only now did he find himself wishing for anything to change their fates.

“It’s not your fault, Konishi. We’ve all just been put in this situation, and there’s nothing anyone could’ve done. Not any of us, and not Arashi. We were all fucked from the start.”

It was with the finality of his words that he finally plopped down beside the other two, a sardonic smile on his face. There was nothing to be happy about, yet he found himself dreaming about a way out of this mess. To protect everyone, Arashi included. To stay as humans. To have a full, deserved life. To love and not have lost.

To break the curse.





/* ------ credit -- do not remove ------ */
 





/* ------ left side ------ */




/* ------ left side info ------ */
mood just peachy

location kaede's room

outfit here

tag answer here


Nakano Murasaki




/* ------ right side ------ */
Murasaki listened to the two young women console her. And, as much as she tried to, her eyes couldn't look away from her digits... hands belonging to The Boar. The tears that fell down her cheeks were wiped away by Kaede, "Please be kind to yourself. You are not a hypocrite for struggling with…our new reality."

She was so good, so kind. She didn't understand that Saki being there for them was an escape. A therapist who does not look inward is laughable. Pitiful. And, when giving oneself the role of a "Pillar", it is unacceptable. It made her stomach twist in guilt and slight shame, that she let herself be painted as a Guardian. Despite the words of reassurance, Saki's eyes remained on her digits, until Kaede spoke up again.

“But you are still our Saki, right Ai?” This made the older woman look up. How does she explain that 'their' Saki is a fake. Someone who fixates on others, and looks away from the problems that are staring her right in the face? Her mouth opened to speak, to clear the air, until Ai chimed in.

"...Stop being so headstrong all the time." Murasaki snorted, giving Ai's hand a squeeze in response (well, as good of a squeeze as she could muster). Her snort, while sounding playful, was paired with warm tears, her heart betraying her once again. Her chest was tight with the fear of the unknown. Ai and Kaede were right, in that she is allowed to... feel. To be distraught.

"The time to transform... is now. Even if that may seem futile."

The words sounded so unlike Ai, that it made Saki take a deep breath, "You're right. But please, do not make me transform.." She half-joked, "I... I have spent my life deflecting. It is easy to pretend that your life is seamless when you are constantly worried about someone, or something else." The sharp knife of guilt hit her, fear twisting it deeper into her chest, "I do not know who I am... not really. Your Saki... is someone I created. I... I don't even know how I'll start to undo all this, if there's even enough time-"

Fear, guilt, grief, shame, all tugged at each other until all she could feel was a snap. They were gone, replaced with... nothing. The unspoken prescience within her was gone. She was alone now, even sitting there next to her friends. It made her brow furrow, looking around as if she'd somehow find the missing piece somewhere in Kaede's room. "I'm sorry, I just-" Her words were cut off again by the sight of her hands. Ten fingers. She immediately went silent, eyes wide as her fingers wiggled, reaching out to pat down both girls who sat beside her. Then, patting her head, to find that her pointed pig ears were gone too. Tail, gone.

The weight that crushed her had dissipated. It left her still, brown eyes looking between Ai and Kaede, as if they'd magically have the answer to her unspoken question. Saki's eyes watered with tears of a different kind, "I... oh, this is a strange feeling." Without another word, she extended both her arms, wrapping them both in a hug on either side of her; a final test of her sanity.

She was thankful, and suddenly felt a sense of loneliness. No transformation. No curse.

No connection.

More tears fell, as Saki spoke up again, "Oh, thank you girls. I'm so scared but, you both... you saved me." Two manicured hands held each of the girl's faces, before they fell to Saki's side.

She couldn't ignore this feeling of loneliness. It hung onto her heart, and it willed her to stand up. This incessant need to see Arashi flooded her mind, and it forced her to speak up again.

"I'm sorry, but I have to go. I'll be back, I promise. Just, be safe.. alright?" She didn't leave much room for response, her feet moving faster than her mind. She ran outside again, her voice urgent as she called out,

"Arashi!" Her voice boomed, harsh against the stillness of the now empty courtyard. All that could be heard now is her feet hitting the pavement beneath her, her legs pushing her to find the boy she so desperately wanted to save, all those years ago.

If her curse was released, then why was she so unsure? So scared? Questions plagued her mind as she raced through the different sectors, passing confused servants. All she knew was that she had to see Arashi.



/* ------ credit -- do not remove ------ */

© weldherwings.
 



arashi.
































Despite the cold numbness that has sunken into his skin from the onslaught of rain, Kenta’s fingers brushing against his own causes Arashi to shiver. The Horse’s apology, and the frankness of his words, weighs heavily on God’s shoulders. It is not so easy for them to give up what little control they have left.

"Whatever comes next... whatever we have to face... we need to face it together. No more secrets, no more lies. Just... us. Flawed, broken, but still fighting."

Arashi stills. His eyes become transfixed on Kenta’s hand. An offering of peace, he realizes. When was the last time he felt Kenta’s palm in his hand? Years of heartbreak have blurred together. Arashi longs for that feeling again. But with it comes a price.

Despite their differences since their break up, they know Kenta is not trying to lead them astray. He is willing to try, but what of the others? What if they reject him? What if they continue to blame him for everything? What if the only true path to love and acceptance is to be the lone hero in their stories? That’s what he has told himself for weeks now. If being their God is not enough, then surely freeing them from this curse is.

"What do you say? Are you willing to try?"

God blinks, drawn out of his thoughts. Try. He swallows hard, eyes falling to the muddied cobblestone beneath their feet. The clock is ticking. At this point, Arashi begins to understand, all any of them can do is try.

“I want-”
Arashi raises his hand, but his voice breaks.

And something inside of him snaps.

In an instant, God is seized by intense sadness and confusion. A gasp escapes him, one after the other until once again they are breathing in rapid succession. Tears pool in his eyes. Before they can attempt to stop them, they are spilling down his cheeks. Panic rises from within him.

Under the pear tree, God waits for the Boar who will never come.

“I can’t-”
Arashi slurs, pushing past Kenta.

God runs as fast as he can. He slips on the wet stone, scraping his knee, but still he presses on. Their heart beats rapidly in their chest, eyes wide and darting in every direction in search of the Boar. He can’t feel her. She’s gone, she’s left me again.

”Arashi!”

His breath hitches and Arashi comes to an abrupt stop, straining to hear over the pouring rain. That voice. Saki is still here, but he can’t feel her. He follows the voice to the courtyard.

“Saki-chan!”
A sob escapes Arashi the moment he sees her, long brown hair clinging to her face.
“Saki-chan.”
He stumbles towards her, body trembling as he cries. Arashi has never felt such pain before. It feels as though he has lost a piece of himself. Saki stood before him, but their souls were no longer intertwined.

God collapses at her feet and wails,
“Please, don’t leave me again, Saki-chan, please.”


































glimpse of us



joji










♡coded by uxie♡
 








lacuna

72 DAYS REMAINING




scroll





2PM MONDAY
FEBRUARY 13TH

In the last 48 hours, the atmosphere in the Zodiac compound has changed. The cursed Zodiac must put their future into perspective as new truths come to light. The Boar has broken her curse. Their God is dying, and has not left His room since the incident. How will they proceed?






♡coded by uxie♡
 



The Dragon continues her search


Zhou Rui Xi








News of both Arashi's imminent death and The Boar--Saki breaking her curse left the compound awash with inner turmoil, but none more than Rui Xi (to her knowledge at least). Maggots of discontent slithered beneath her skin, tracing the outbreak of scales across her legs. She hadn't bothered to scrub them away, choosing instead to cover herself with a wrinkly, olive robe--an absolutely awful color on her. Per her estimate, Rui Xi had spent twelve of the last forty-eight hours (not counting the time left forging the servant's death certificate) in and out of the very bathtub Nova and U-Jin butchered the corpse in.

Though Saki's freedom abated the fire in her heart, she could not help but feel a jealousy towards the former Zodiac. They grew up together; they took care of Arashi together; they promised each other they would escape together.

Was she the one falling behind now? Prior to The Rat turning eighteen, Rui Xi was the one with the higher paying job, the long term relationship, and a car that was paid in full. She had damn near everything she could ask for. That was not to say that she looked down on Saki nor that the other woman hadn't built her own castle--rather that where they once walked side by side, now The Dragon wondered whether her closest friend would slip from her grasp.

No-she wouldn't allow herself that indignity. Rui Xi stepped out of the bathroom, not bothering with any of the routines she normally imposed upon herself. She took a few breaths to calm herself as she marched to Murasaki's room. Even if it had been only two days since her curse broke, The Dragon needed answers--Saki would know that too.

"So, now that you're human again are you planning on giving me back those gloves?" Rui Xi asked once Saki opened the door.
mood | Conflicted
scroll

location | The Compound

outfit | casual wear

tag | Konishi Lost Echo Lost Echo Saki leviohsa leviohsa





/* ------ credit -- do not remove ------ */

© weldherwings.
 






takumi

scroll

mood
Bruuuuuhhhhhh.

location
Compound Gates

outfit
no mask


tag
nyxievous nyxievous



Slow, lackadaisical lumbering steps took the Ox across the compound yard, his footwork heavy with the weight of his Zodiac spirit trying its best to escape. If he let it out more than he already had, he wasn’t so sure it could be reigned in once again. Grass lined his pockets, fistfuls of crumpled green that he had ripped up for a snack later, once he got to wherever he was going.

Without a sense of direction, he strolled leisurely, inadvertently giving way to the brain of the animal he knew so well. If one were to take a look, they might assume that he had no thoughts left in that head of his as his mottled ears flicked, his earrings lining the soft velvet of a cow’s, along with the pointy little horns buried in his hair somewhere. However, behind unlit eyes, there was plenty to turn the old gears.

It had once been nearly impossible to believe that the curse could ever be broken. Though hope had dwindled beneath the surface, Takumi had known better than to obsess over unfeasible dreams, but now he supposed that was entirely null and void. Saki had broken her curse. The cycle had been broken. That news had actually lifted his spirits, all until things came shattering down around the compound again, a broken image of happiness. Arashi’s oncoming death loomed heavy in the air when those desperate for an escape might have rejoiced. This was never the escape they had planned.

And speaking of an escape…

Takumi came to a slow stop in front of the gates of the compound, finding a familiar face fleeing the scene.

“Kenta–” His eyes traveled downwards to a packed bag in the Horse spirit’s hand, and his jaw set hard in his features. Even now, he was trying his best to contain himself, and finding it more and more difficult to do so. Taking a deep breath in through the nose, the Ox held his breath deep in his lungs until his chest burned from the action and he finally released his sigh and words. “Where are you going?”





/* ------ credit -- do not remove ------ */
 



arashi.





































  • mood



    numb, hopeless
















In the aftermath of it all, God succumbs to his melancholy.

Arashi curls in on himself, ocean eyes dull and tinted red as they stare unblinkingly past the Rat's shoulder. Not a single word passes through their lips, not since he lost consciousness in the Boar's arms. No. Not the Boar, just... Saki. His tie to her has snapped. Her promises to remain by their side echo in his mind, but Arashi holds little faith. He is too tired for hope.

Never before has Arashi put into his question their own mortality. He was a young God, destined to be born again in another lifetime. Now he is nothing.

God's pale, tired eyes shift upward to regard his companion. Kazue has hardly left his God's side in the last two days. The loyal, unwavering Rat. Arashi's fate was sealed the moment he was born. He raises his hand and brushes his fingertips along the curve of Kazue's neck. If he were to stop breathing, could Arashi stop their world from unraveling? His fingers trail across Kazue's throat. Would he try to stop them? Or is the Rat willing to die for his God?

His fingertips twitch, but Arashi moves away to cup Kazue's cheek. He brushes his thumb against the corner of his lips before finally allowing their hand to fall. Arashi's breath hitches. His gaze falls back to the corner of the room as tears pool, staining his cheeks.

































glimpse of us



joji










♡coded by uxie♡
 











Ai Koba


The Rooster










Mood:


it's now or never







Location:


a Compound garden







Outfit:


one click pls








Tags:


Shadow Alpha Shadow Alpha













It had still been chilly out, enough to warrant a large puffy coat, but Ai took no such precaution. It seemed as of late, she was struggling against the tide of nothing matters. Until Saki. Arashi. As The Boar was reborn, Boar to woman, their God was sentenced to death. No one had seen them since the news, and no one had seen The Rat. If Ai were poetic, she would have found some beautiful irony in it. The one animal imprisoned the longest, the last of the Circle leaving it. And the youngest, who had lived the least, been imprisoned the least, a cornered Rat. If only Ai were poetic.

Instead, she was stuck between those lines.
Nothing mattered.
Everything mattered.

She called Nova that morning to meet her in one of the Compound gardens at around 2. The plants, once vibrant in the Spring, submitted anxiously to the chill of February. She deliberated all night in her head, in her bed, tossing, turning, hyperventilating. Almost as if she cried and worked all the anxiety out and was now a blank slate of calm. Acceptance. For if nothing mattered, there was nothing to lose. If everything mattered, she could not possibly live or die without saying it. Without looking into those gorgeous fire eyes and telling her that painful decade-long secret. She sat on one of the benches and when she sensed The Tiger come, she rose to greet her.

"Hey," she said softly, trying to discern if Nova was in the right headspace. Ai could not be selfish with this. With the news, the Curse, Nova had her fair share of suffering. Ai was older, so Ai felt it was best to take the lead. She gestured for The Tiger to sit beside her.
"First off, how are you feeling?" she asked gently, tilting her head to look into Nova's eyes.













♡design by stardust galaxy, coded by uxie♡

 









scroll








The Rat



Kazue Himitsu













location

Arashi's room











outfit

click!











xx

xx











xx

xx











xx

xx















Kazue was sure if he rose from his kneeled position, he would be embarrassingly unsteady. His joints diligently locked in place that way, and he had barely moved. The room was dim, and Arashi was a pile of hopelessness and tears in his futon. The loss of The Boar. Kazue silently regretted all the times he joked in his head (and with U-Jin) at turning Saki into pork belly. If only he knew how devastated The God would be when that frayed thread finally snapped. He stayed by his bedside. On the first day, Kazue touched his curled up form, coaxing him softly to eat, to go on a walk perhaps, to even speak. Arashi laid in tragic silence. So, The Rat would wait hand and foot.

When Arashi rose late into the second day, The Rat remained a stone as the grief swirled in the love of his life's eyes. How lost and broken he was. How incapable. At first, Kazue only stared back like a disassociated tool -- and he considered himself to be so with pride -- but when he truly stared into The God's fragile eyes, he recognized something otherwise common. His lips parted slightly as Arashi's fingers trembled over the surface of his skin. Their hands fell, as did their gaze as it centered on the corner of the room.

What did they grieve over? The Circle leaving? His life?
Kazue was sure each bridge burned would kill The God.

The Rat was sure Arashi was in no position to give command. How Kazue's head used to dip in deep respect after every order from The God. But you are such a fragile thing now. We are the key to kill you, Kazue thought. He re-positioned himself closer to The God, and his hands reached out to pull them by his face. To look Kazue in the eyes. Tears rolled down the back of his hands, his knuckles.

But what could he say to them? The curse could be broken, and Arashi was to die. There was a pressure, now, in his heart. A terrible weakness, a bone-deep self-loathing. All he could say was his only beautiful truth. The rest was so ugly. And that was why The God was delirious with grief.

"Arashi-sama, I... I will not leave you. I told you from the beginning. Whatever you wish me to be, I will become that," he promised him, stern and feathery.
"Tell me-- tell me what it feels like, tell me your pain, so that I can do everything in my power to never make you feel this again. Please," Kazue requested, his fingers brushing away any tears that may fall.


♡co
[/bo
 






the horse.










kenta.






































































love, or the lack thereof
































location


the compound




















interactions


takumi

































It is in a horse's nature to run. Especially one with a spirit as untamed as Kenta's. The confrontation with Arashi, the earth-shattering revelation of his impending death, Saki breaking the curse—they all blended into a cacophony of thoughts that he desperately wanted to escape. The compound had become suffocating, every corner haunted by memories that clawed at his heart.

He needed to get away, needed to clear his head, to find some space where the burden of the curse, of his emotions, didn’t weigh down on him so heavily. The bag in his hand was his only anchor to reality, a physical manifestation of his desperate need to flee.

But his hurried escape was interrupted by the sound of footsteps—heavy, deliberate, unmistakably familiar. Kenta slowed his pace but didn’t stop until Takumi's voice reached him.

“Kenta—”

Kenta’s heart sank as he heard the Ox’s voice, low and strained, the weight of their shared burden palpable in every syllable. He didn’t want to look back, didn’t want to see the expression he knew would be on Takumi’s face. But when Takumi’s gaze fell to the packed bag in Kenta’s hand, the tension between them thickened like the air before a storm.

Takumi’s question, simple but loaded, cut through the air like a knife: “Where are you going?”

Kenta stood frozen, his fingers clenched around the strap of his bag so tightly his knuckles turned white, as if it were the only thing keeping him from shattering into a thousand pieces. For a moment, he didn’t answer, his back still turned to Takumi. His thoughts were a mess, an incoherent tangle of fear, anger, confusion, and guilt.

Finally, Kenta let out a shaky breath and turned around slowly to face Takumi. His eyes were red-rimmed, his expression caught between defiance and despair. He looked at Takumi, taking in the sight of the Ox’s worn and weary face

“Where am I going?”
Kenta repeated the question, almost to himself, as if trying to figure out the answer. His voice was rough, edged with exhaustion.
“I don’t even know anymore, Takumi.”
He took a faltering step backward, as if retreating from the crushing reality that pursued him relentlessly.
“I thought I could run, that I could escape it all, even just for a little while. But now… it feels like there’s nowhere left to run.”


The raw vulnerability in his voice was a shock to them both. Kenta, the one who faced challenges with a defiant grin, was crumbling before Takumi's eyes. His chest heaved with each ragged breath, the weight of everything he'd tried so desperately to bury threatening to suffocate him.

His hand loosened on the bag as he searched Takumi’s face, looking for some kind of understanding, some kind of solace that he knew he wasn’t likely to find.
"I just... I can't stay here,"
he choked out.
"Not after everything—after Arashi... I can't keep pretending that I'm strong enough. I can't just sit around and wait for him to die."


“I’m sorry,”
Kenta whispered.
“I don’t want to leave you all behind. I just… I don’t know how to stay.”


In that moment, Kenta was no longer the proud, spirited Horse of the zodiac. He was simply a man, broken and lost, teetering on the edge of an abyss, silently begging for someone to pull him back from the brink.





















 









scroll








The Dog



Kaede.













mood

contemplative











outfit

outfit











location

location here











interactions

akane, yori











tags

leviohsa leviohsa Skryeb Skryeb















The breaking of the curse—even if only Saki had managed to do it—had changed everything. The tense air of cloying helplessness no longer felt suffocating, lightened by newfound hope. No longer were the questions of if they could break the curse, but how? The notion left Kaede with an odd sort of feeling. Suddenly, the curse no longer weighs on the shoulders of fate, but her ability to find the missing piece to break it.

It was easier to lock away these thoughts. The answer wouldn’t come in dwelling. A vibration had her look at her phone, and Kaede couldn’t help but cringe. She had been slacking on her Idol responsibilities, and while her manager would never risk dropping her, their annoyance was evident. They had been badgering her about setting up a meet and greet, most likely wanting to cash in on as much money as possible before Kaede’s inevitable transformation.

Declining the call for her manager, she resigned to deal with that issue later. When later would be, she hadn’t decided, but it wasn’t something she was ready to deal with now.

She wondered if Akane also struggled with this. Comparatively, the rabbit was the better idol. She took it far more seriously than Kaede ever had. Even without the curse, Kaede was certain, Akane could have made it in the industry. Something she wasn’t sure she could say for herself. Sure, she was a talented singer and could dance well enough, but she sometimes felt more like a spectacle than a performer, as if her worth was in her curse and not her talent. Still, maybe Akane felt the same. She hadn’t spoken out about it, but neither had Kaede.

Kaede fidgeted with her fingers, picking at the flesh around her nails. Maybe Akane would spend the day with her. They could go shopping and finish the day with drinks and karaoke. It might be nice to invite Yori as well. Kaede hadn’t spent much time with them recently, but if everyone was going to be breaking their curse, it would be important to nurture these friendships while they lasted.

Her message to both was quick and sweet, “Spend time with me today? Shopping, karaoke, drinks?”


♡coded by uxie♡
 
















scroll me!







Interactions
e v i e v i




Location
Designated Garden Meeting Spot











Nova Torazawa

The Tiger










Nothing felt real at this point for Nova. Her thoughts often coasted between questioning what little humanity she had left and the fragmented instincts that fought for control. The loss of Saki was not one of true sorrow for Nova, with her release she came to the conclusion that their curse could be broken and yet no one knew the exact formula. She had lived her life desperately grasping at the shredded straws of a potential cure or some way to revert into a normal human. On the first day, she hungered for answers and wracked her brain for anything that would trigger a similar experience as Saki. It was all pointless as nothing of worth ever entered her mind throughout the day. She was more than content to spend time in her animal form as if it provided a barrier from the incessant human worries that plagued her.

'The Irritable Tiger' is what a few of the servants would whisper as they passed her living quarters. Baring her fangs at any that attempted to get close as the pit of hopelessness within her threatened to swallow up what remained of her individuality, leaving behind a simple-minded animal husk. '...Maybe being consumed by the curse would be better than holding out hope.' Nova's, now common, huff seemed to bounce around the empty space around her until she picked up on a familiar scent. She had noticed that Ai had been passing her doorway quite often for the pass few hours with no idea on what she was planning. The pacing reminded her of the time she discovered that a chicken's body could remain in motion even if the head was removed. She finally seemed to have built up what little confidence was needed to inform Nova that she wanted to see her in the morning and didn't seem to wait for an appropriate response as she skittered off.

The following morning was one filled with confusion as Nova didn't have a single clue about what was going on in the redhead's brain. She was finally beginning to feel more like herself as she dressed herself for the meeting. Going through the motions seemed to settle a piece of her that had been restless for the past few days. As she made her way to the designated garden, there was the slight scent of unease on the air that she had assumed was left over from the revelation that Saki had exposed throughout the compound. It was dampened enough that Nova had decided to pay it no mind. It wasn't long before Ai came into her field of vision and the woman seemed to be restless in the way that she was shifting her weight from foot to foot.

The eyes that met Nova's curious gaze seemed to swirl with a mixture of anticipation, anxiousness, and what could possibly appear as some base level of burning attention. The simple greeting she received seemed to settle Nova back into her usual carefree status and allowed her to relax, "Well, besides our entire world being turned over into shit and true freedom being within our grasp, I've been content lazing around as a tiger. Eating, sleeping a majority of the day, and not being consumed by humanistic thoughts has been a fun reprieve. I've also come to appreciate the few bonds I've managed to make in my time as the Tiger." Nova found herself showing a genuine toothy smile to Ai, "Even if I never break my own curse, I'm happy that we were brought together Ai because who else would be willing to stand up to my playful teasing without getting mad." She looked into the slightly wavering grey eyes and cocked her head to the left, "Did you really plan this whole meeting just to ask me how I was doing? Ya know you could've just walked in my room to talk, it's not like I would've just gobbled you up. I'm not a complete animal yet."

1724986901472.png









♡design by neon reverie, coded by uxie♡
 



















u-jin



the snake













Everything still felt so hollow after learning what he did. Even as he pulled out a cigarette and brought it to his lips, the usual stress relief from the nicotine did absolutely nothing. Frustrated, U-Jin squished the box in his palm and threw it down onto the ground, his cigarette following soon after. He put out the butt with the heel of his shoe, smashing it into the dirt with far more effort than was necessary.

“Fuck me.”
He groaned, running his hands over his face, pressing the heels of his palms into his eyes as if they might relieve the headache that had formed there. The pressure did nothing, instead it just left U-Jin alone with his thoughts and the haunting image of all of them turned to animals with Arashi’s rotting corpse in the middle of them.
“Fuck!”
He cursed against, dropping his hands and stomping back to the main compound.

He knew what needed to be done, but in his state, U-Jin didn’t trust himself to handle it alone. As he started to look around, he watched the others pairing up and some falling apart. He knew that some of them he simply couldn’t involve in his tasks. They didn’t have the constitution for it. Then his eyes found Reiji, who seemed impassive as always. There were none who hated the institution that they were a part of more than him. He was perfect.

“Reiji, I need your help.”
U-Jin said as he approached.
“If the curse is completed, Arashi will die and we will be stuck as animals for the rest of our days.”
There was no time to be gentle, to use kid’s gloves to explain how dire their situation was.

“I don’t have time to deal with any of the unresolved teenage angst about this situation right now, we can deal with that later. But I do need your help, please.”
U-Jin explained, voice not unkind but clearly having no intentions of dealing with a rejection for his requests.
“The attendants have been keeping things from us, they know more than they are letting on and I am sick of it. We are going to break into their archives and figure out a way to fix this.”
He’d send a lot more attendants to their graves if he had to. He hoped it didn’t come to that, but he was prepared for it.

“And when we’re done, if you want to burn their stuff or piss on it, feel free. They deserve it, it is think it is time they stop hiding from us.”
With that U-Jin turned and walked towards a part of the compound that he was the most unfamiliar with, the attendant’s quarters. It was filled with bedrooms, offices and various other rooms that none of the zodiac had ever really had access to. But that ended today.

A few attendants were already there, guarding the door to Inori’s office. “U-Jin please, you don’t want to do this.” An older woman pleaded, her face familiar as one of the attendants that had been here since he arrived.

“Step aside Haruka-san, I do not wish to hurt you but I will if you stand in my way.”
U-Jin said softly, nudging the old woman out of the way and nudging for Reiji to take the first steps inside Inori’s office.













































♡coded by uxie♡
 











Ai Koba


The Rooster










Mood:


omg omg omg







Location:


a Compound garden







Outfit:


one click pls








Tags:


Shadow Alpha Shadow Alpha













Ai had a script. The words she would say to Nova. She stood in her room last night and rehearsed them. She clumsily scrambled the words and sewed them on her tongue. She would be damned if she forgot them. As always, Ai kept an even face. She listened to Nova. Her lips were moving, and on them, the pink-haired woman's eyes remained. The Tiger talked a lot. She always did, and that was what the quiet Rooster wanted in her life. She normally would have listened, would have hung on every word, but the script, the hurried stepping of her heart consumed her. She only heard a few words. True freedom. Almost. Eating. Sleeping. New bonds. Curse. She's happy... she met me. That one, Ai definitely caught. Her lips parted, but nothing would come. Not the stiff script.

What am I really here for? Nova directly asked. Of course, something completely different came out of her mouth, but it was all in the way her head tilted, the way her brows furrowed. Ai's lips were still parted. The script. Why hadn't the damned script not come to her? She must have said it over one-hundred times last night, but the presence of The Tiger cleared this slate of love. Ai was empty. Hopeless. She tore eye contact and watched the flowers as they hung their thin heads. Ugly. Rigid. Silence filled the growing space between them. She hung her head eventually, and she clamped her mouth shut. I should just go. I'm not...

But Saki. That day. Her emerald eyes widened, and she snapped up to look Nova in the eyes. Say it. I have to say it. If I don't say it, I might die.

"I love you," Ai stated, harsher and colder than she intended. Then, softer --
"I... I love you. I've always loved you. Ever since I saw you at-- at the first banquet," she said softly, tears prickling her eyes.

"I know that-- I know that I-- I'm not your cup of tea. I have always watched you... looking at someone else. And that someone is the complete opposite of-- of me," Ai murmured at her lap, the heartache leaking into her voice.

"But no matter how you feel now, I can't die with regrets. Do you understand?" she asked the puddle of tears in her lap. Then, she looked at The Tiger, smiling as the tears fell down her face. As if she, too, had been freed like Saki.












♡design by stardust galaxy, coded by uxie♡

 






takumi

scroll

mood
Bruuuuuhhhhhh.

location
Compound Gates

outfit
no mask


tag
nyxievous nyxievous



Standing opposite of each other, the former friends looked tense among the atmosphere, each with their own ailments coming to the surface. The stoic Takumi, the stubborn Ox who refused to run from anything, perhaps to his own detriment. It was a stark juxtaposition to the person standing in front of him: the Horse who fled everything. He had already known that Kenta was on the run, attempting to escape everything that didn’t include his own thoughts, but he intended to hear him out nonetheless.

Everything in him braced for the run, the possibility that Kenta would flee before him, burst out of the compound gates from his frozen stance that painfully resembled a deer in the headlights. The white-knuckled grip on the bag caught his attention, his brows furrowing with concern. Had he… taken it too far? Pushed him away and over the edge? He supposed the escalation could all come to a halt with a screech, come tumbling down in shards of broken glass around them. Just one poorly placed question might have been it for them. It was when Kenta turned to face him that Takumi held his head a bit higher, staring at the other man with an unreadable expression in the discomfort of their silence as he pieced together the thoughts in his own head.

"But now… it feels like there’s nowhere left to run.”

Nowhere left to run? Had there ever been far enough he could've gone to outrun it all? He couldn’t picture a world where the curse wouldn’t have followed, no matter the distance.

“Then stop running.”

Takumi couldn’t miss the way that Kenta sounded, his voice weathered and worn, unlike himself in a way that rocked the Ox to his core. It made his heart ache, a little crack in the beating vessel that proved the care that he had already suspected.

“Things will happen no matter where you go. If you run, the world still turns– We could still break the curse, Arashi could still die, everything is going to play out whether you’re at the compound or not. You might as well stay and get through it with the rest of us.”

Voice wavering past the bland face he was putting on, his throat cleared to rid itself of any tones – nothing to hint his emotions while he could still hide them. Already begging his heart to coincide with his brain, Takumi tore his vision from the Horse spirit, staring past him towards the gates. Once again he found himself begging for Kenta to stay, in the same place he’d been many times before.

“Kenta– You can’t keep running.”

That was it. His voice cracked to prove its defiance to his stability, causing an outward cringe. But he was too far in now, his emotions already on display in a fragile glass case for Kenta to view. A step away from the last time when he had cried, Takumi was holding it together for the time being, but his intonations were betraying him while his words were harsh. Empathetic to the situation and more than aware of Kenta’s delicate will to stay, the Ox still couldn’t help but speak his mind.

”I don’t want your apologies. I want you to learn how to face shit instead of running away. We’re all here, why are you the only one who can’t be?”





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