"Yeah, it is..It's especially nice to see the ones that split off from the family and moved far away.I always get worried about Haru's mother though, the cow of the last generation..She always has bruises.." Tatsuya said, sighing."I wonder if she's abused by her husband.I've never liked him."

Shoji blushed, hugging Takeshi tightly."I thought he still had his parents?"

"Yay!And maybe we can say hi to Kioshi, if he passes us!" Kichirou giggled.

"I guess its possible, I mean, I've never met the guy before but my mothers told me what she thinks of him and.. he doesn't seem like a nice guy. Couldn't your dad do something about it?"

"He does, but only just. They left him here and they've moved abroad. His parents had a.. brush with death a few years ago." He replied, resting his head in the crook of Shoji's neck.

"Yeah! He'll probably be out jogging about now." Madoka paused. "I don't know how he can jog so far or so much though.. he must wind up getting really, really hot"

"He can.I'll talk to him about it..If Haru isn't already preparing to bring his mother to a safe place.He always come back from visiting his parents with bruises." Tatsuya said, sighing."So he must go through the same, or a similar thing as his mother."

"What happened?Car accident?" Shoji said, curiously looking up at Takeshi.

"Yeah..At least he USUALLY takes a shower afterwards.Usually." Kichirou giggled.

"Perhaps Haru already has a plan to get his mother free." Aya finished off her tea and placed the cup back down onto the tray. "I think that perhaps his mother goes through worse.. I mean, she lives with him. Haru just visits."

"No." Takeshi sighed and rolled onto his back, keeping Shoji close. ".. my grandmother."His grandmother was a nasty piece of work and a very large tiger. She'd attacked Kazuki's parents many years ago purely because.. she could.

Madoka grinned. "Perhaps we should get the hose pipe and save him the bother of having to shower?" The rabbit giggled playfully.

"Yes, and she might get worse treatment, in..The bedroom, you could say.Already abusive husband, might do something even worse at night..So I am getting her out of there tomorrow.My father is a lot more..Angry than me, but he's still got a bit of a kind heart." Tatusya said, chuckling."As unbelievable as it is."

"Not your Father..Not even your grandsfather..But..Your GRANDMOTHER?SHE'S a tiger?Wow..I ahvent seen her in forever.Problably for a good reason, I'd bet Tatsuya's grandmother gave her a lecture for that one.That old dragon has never liked me..Can't imagine yours..My grandparents are nice, though.They still look pretty young, surprisingly.." Shoji said, eyes widening when hearing who nearly killed Kazuki's parents.

Kichirou giggled."As long as we don't get trampled by a horse, sounds fun."

"Your fathers a great man." Aya didn't really want to think about what happened in the bedroom, but she knew living with Haru's father must be hell. "Where will she go?" The sheep asked, looking upto the dragon. "She could come here, she'd be safe enough, right?"

"Yes. She's the only female tiger in the tiger line and because of that, she thinks she's special. Used to bully my parents no end." It was thanks to his grandmother that his mother had walked out. "You don't want to meet her. My father and Tatsuya's grandmother have always worked together to keep her away from here. She's not right in the head, more so now that she's old." Tilting his head, he looked down to Shoji. "The years have been kind to them."

The thought of suprising Kioshi with a hose shower was an amusing one. "We'll just have to make sure we're faster than he is."

"Yes, she could come here.And there's also Mikio's parent's house, they're surprisingly nice, for the snake line.Takeshi's father also lives there, so she'd be very safe." Tatusya said, thinking a bit."What about your parents?She might actually feel safer in a place with less..Predatory animal families surrounding here."

"I remember her being cruel to me when I was a child, remember, I lived nearby her?I remember pulling so many pranks on her..I still have a scar, I think, from the aftermath of one of my pranks on 'the crazy old tiger'." Shoji said, laughing."It's somewhere on my left leg.."

"Then he'll turn back naked in the middle of the garden, if we surprise him enough!" Kichirou giggled mischievously.

"Well I guess she'd either feel less safe or more safe. Takeshi's father isn't afraid to get his hands dirty if need be. He'll make sure Haru's father stays away." She blinked. "My parents? Well.. she'd be very safe but.. I'm not sure if she'd be able to put up with my mother. She's constantly out shopping, pampering herself and doing anything to spend my fathers money." She just enjoyed the good life, thats all there was to it.

"Mhm." The tiger murmered, listning to the males words though his eyes had closed once more. "I remember my father having to try and restrain her from coming after you. An angry tigress isn't pleasant." A scar? "You'll have to show me sometime."

Madoka nodded furiously in agreement and slowly started out from the room and towards the garden. Now.. to find the hose and Kioshi!

"I know, but I jsut thought she'd be around someone that could keep her mind off of things..I heard that she's been saving up to move away, so I figured that she might want to take a little out of that and go shopping to get her mind off of what's been going on." Tatsuya said, drinking the rest of his tea.

"It's on the back of my lower leg, barely visible since it's from, like, 13 years ago..Can't remember what I did, but she transformed and bit my leg I think..I was in the hospital for a similar incident, I remember."

"Now, I wonder where the hose is.I haven't been out in the garden in a while." Kichirou giggled.

"Well that sounds like a good idea. I'll ask dad and see what he says. I won't tell mother just yet, she'll only go and blab at the party." Aya sighed softly and rubbed the back of her head. "Mother would certainly make sure Haru's mother was well groomed and dressed, that would surely take her mind off of things."

"Hm. You don't really have to do anything to annoy her. If she doesn't like you, she'll attack. Its the way she's always been. Thankfully, no one's seen her for a while so we should all be safe."

"I don't know either. Lets check the shed, might be in there!" The gardening was something he'd never done before, so he had no idea where the hose would be. Still, the shed seemed like a logical place.

Takeo soon walked in, after lightly knocking on the door."Hey, Aya, Tatsuya?Someone won't stop knocking at the door, they've been at it for quite a while now..every minute or so they knock a bit louder.."

"You could have answered it, you know.." Tatsuya sighed."Oh well..Aya, can you get the door?"

"Oh, yeah, I know..Now I remember what got me into the hospital that time.I was just walking past with Haru and Takeo one day and she nearly ripped my leg off, broke a good half of the bone.She was friggin strong, at least back then." Shoji said, shuddering."That's how I got this thin scar on the back of my leg, that's from stitches from back then."

"Okay!" Kichirou giggled."I've only done garden work a couple of times..And even then, I think Hanako got the hose, or someone did..Can't remember."

((=O Who's at the door?))

Aya looked up and over to Takeo. Someone was knocking on the door? Why had the rooster come and informed them rather than answering the door himself? The sheep raised a brow though soon nodded her head. "Of course. I'll go and see who it is." Standing herself up, she bowed and quickly excused herself from the room. Rushing at almost full speed, she headed to the front door and with a cheery smile, she opened the door. "Hello?"

"I'm suprised she attacked you and not the other two. Haru's a cow and Takeo's a rooster. Both would be more appetising than a cat." The tiger sighed. "Though I suppose no one really knows how her mind works anymore. Atleast you still have your leg, thats a plus."

"Hm." Madoka searched through the shed and found nothing. "Aw.. well.. perhaps we should go ask Hanako where she left the hose?"

(Haruka, Haru's mother.)

At the door, was Haru's mother.She had long black hair, with white strips in it, that looked rather messed up, and she had behind her, two suitcases with wheels. Her chocolate brown eyes looked extremely scared, and she was shaking in her beautiful white kimono."I-is Haru here?Please tell me he is.." She said, her bruised hands shaking so much she almost dropped one of her suitcases onto the ground."I'm very scared..Haru's father..He saw that I was packing up to get otu of there and he just went insane, throwing things at me.."

"Eh, I had done a nasty prank on her earlier that week, I think I put a bucket of water over a door or something so it would spill on her, and something else.." Shoji said, laughing."I was a mischievous one.If cats have 9 lives, I'm problably down to 3 due to your grandmother and Haru's father.I'm surprised HE'S not the first male cow in the family, he acts like a bull."

"Yeah, we should.She's always out here when she has free time." Kichirou said, smiling."I'll go ask her..Oh, there it is!It's on a roll thing, nailed to the side of the shed.Found it!"

Aya saw the female cow and blinked. She didn't look too good. Biting her lip, the sheep stepped to the side to allow her in. "Yes, Haru's here. Please, come in."Poor thing, she looked like she'd had a bad morning. "Its okay, you'll be safe here. If you want to make your way through to the lounge area I'll go and make a fresh pot of tea for you." She said, trying to keep smiling. "Kazuki-chan, can you please go and tell Haru he has a guest."

The young rat, who had just poked his head around the door to look up at Haruka, squeaked softly and then did as he was told. He skitted off to Haru's room and knocked almost inaudibly on the cows door. "Haru. Haru in there?"

"Sounds like you were a mischevious one, though it also sounds as though you were tempting fate when pranking her." Takeshi opened his eyes and looked to Shoji. "Haru's father? What did you used to do to him?"

Madoka was about to turn around and head inside when his brother informed him he'd spotted the hose. "Oh! Okay! I'll go and plug it onto the tap thing!" Heading into the shed, he grasped hold of the hose and pulled it from the roll.

"A-alright..Thank you, Aya." She said, weakly dragging her bags behind her as she headed into the lounge.

Haru opened the door a bit, revealing that he had just gotten out of his bath.He was in a bathrobe, and was drying off his hair."Yeah, I'm here.What is it, Kazuki?"

"Eh, included Haru into most of my little schemes, even though he's much older than me, he still followed me, so did Takeo.I also did some little pranks on him before, I think I just made it worse for poor Haru though, but I didn't realize it back then." Shoji said, sighing.

"Careful when you do it, looks like it's got a few little kinks in it, that might make it whack you in the face or something when the water's turned on." Kichirou said, giggling."We don't need our genius plan backfiring."

Aya bowed her head and closed the door behind Haruka. She also locked it. "Well, make yourself at home, I'll go make the tea." The smile still there. "I think we have some cake left over too.. providing Satoru hasn't gotten his mits on it" She mused aloud as she headed into the kitchen.

"Kazuki didn't mean to interrupt Haru's bath." The rat said, still holding onto the flowers he'd pulled up earlier. "Haru's mother downstairs."

"Poor Haru." Takeshi said, watching the male as he spoke. "Atleast you realise it now. No harm seems to have come to Haru from it." The tiger stretched once more. "So you really were a trouble maker when you were younger."

"I'll be careful!" Handing the end of the hose to his brother, Madoka took the other end and moved to attach it to the tap not that far from them.

Haru pretty much slammed the door, got on his clothes as fast as he could and put on his house slippers, then running into the lounge right as Haruke sat down and hugging her tightly."Mom!" He said, kissing her cheek and smiling."Are you alright?"

Haruka nodded."As fine as I can be..I finally got out of there, at least..Before I got killed by flying objects for packing up."

"He started throwing things?I wish I ahd come sooner.." Haru said, sighing."What's important is that your okay..Are you cut anywhere?Or is it just bruises.."

"Just bruises, Haru..I'll be fine, as long as you stay with me and as long as your father stays away.." She sighed, relaxing and smiling at her son.

"He has ended up being beaten by his dad.I think he mentioned it back then, but I never really payed attention to it." Shoji said, sighing and scratching behind his own ear.

Kichirou took the side of the hose and smiled."Now, don't turn on the water yet or I'll get sprayed."

Kazuki stood there, watching Haru dash off. With a blink and a sigh, he vanished into his own room.

Aya stepped back into the room a few moments later with a try containing a fresh pot of tea and plate with several slices of cake. "Here we go. Lemon tea with lemon cake." She set the tray down on the small coffee table. "Hm. Perhaps I should bake another cake.. chocolate this time. "She mused to herself as she slowly moved from the room, leaving the two cows in peace.

"Well, you were a lot younger back then." Was Takeshi's responce before he seemed to slowly start sitting himself up. The sun was slowly starting to set.

Madoka looked over his shoulder to his brother and smiled mischeviously. He turned the tap on atleast half way. "Hold on tight~"

Tatsuya walked past Aya, hearing something going on in the lounge, and he stopped her by lightly placing his hand on her shoulder."Who was at the door?"

Shoji kept clinging to the tiger's chest as the larger male up and he blushed as his head ended up directly on the other male's upper torso."We're losing our sun..Oh well."

"Ooh, here he comes!" Kichirou saying, giggling as he pointed the hose at the oncoming horse-boy.

Feeling the hand on her shoulder and hearing the question, Aya stopped and looked upto Tatsuya. "Haru's mother with her belongings. Looks like she's finally managed to leave her husband."

Takeshi sat there, looking down to the cat still clinging to him. "We are. And I don't particularly want to end up moon bathing, do you?" He asked, lightly running a finger across the males left ear.

Kishio, unaware of what was going to happen, continued his jog through the grounds.

Madoka grinned and moved to stand beside his brother, waiting for the perfect oppertunity. "Get ready.... now!" The bunny said right as Kioshi passed in front of them.

"Oh, good..Well, I'm heading off to take a bath.Alright?I'm getting tired early tonight, I stayed up too late last night.." Tatsuya said, yawning.

"No..But we'll be so suspicious inside, what if Tatsuya sees us together like this?" Shoji said, sighing.

Kichirou turned on the hose and giggled as Kioshi ran right past."We got 'im!"

Aya bowed her head to Tatsuya. "Alright then, I'll leave you in peace. I have a cake to bake. Enjoy your bath."

"We wouldn't be suspicious, not if we went into one of our rooms." Takeshi replied.

Kioshi came to an abrupt stop and found himself drenched from head to toe - he didn't look too pleased either.

Madoka giggled at the scene. "Yay! Poor Kioshi!"

Tatsuya smiled."Alright.If you need anything, just find me and make sure to knock." He giggled, walking off to his bathroom.

"Alright..Tatsuya's problably taking a bath or something anyway, he usually does around this time." Shoji said softly, looking up at Takeshi and blushing.

"Aww, he didn't transform!I thought we would shock him enough for him to turn into a horsie." Kichirou said, dissapointed.

"Of course." Aya bowed her head once more, watched Tatsuya leave to have his bath, then headed into the kitchen.

"Looks like we'll be safe for the moment, then." Takeshi's left ear flicked and he looked down to Shoji. "So then.. my room or yours?"

"You soaked me just to try and get me to transform?!" The horse snorted in annoyance.

Madoka sighed in disappointment too, though soon came up with an idea. "Kioshi! Your clothes have gone all see through!"

The horse, snorted again, though did look down at himself. Indeed, his clothing had gone see through thanks to the water. There was a brief blush before he transformed into his horse form.

"Your room, please.." Shoji blushed, cuddling Takeshi's chest.

Kichirou giggled."Don't wear white, then that might not happen!Or at least it'll be less noticable."