The day he came into our lives, everything changed.

Every day was the same as the last. I woke up, went to school, came back home, and fell asleep. Nothing would ever change.

In mid-September, I woke up earlier than I usually did. It'd be a waste to go back to sleep. I packed my bag and took the longer way to school.

The air was thick with humidity and the sun was still wet from last night's storm. Leaves were beginning to fall and the sun was shining bright.

The path ahead was clear. No cars were being driven on the road. People were still sleeping, so no one would be walking. The silence on the street was somewhat comforting yet overwhelmingly lonely.

I checked my watch and I had about twenty minutes before school started. As I walked, I saw a small park filled with green trees and park benches.

I set my bag down on a bench that was underneath a tree so there was shade. I sat down and leaned back on the wet wood.

It was quiet and peaceful. The sun struggled to get in between the leaves and branches. It was quiet until I heard rustling in the tree behind me.

There was a noise somewhat high up. The branches moved quickly and suddenly a body fell down.

The body was that of a girl who looked about my age – fifteen. She stood up and brushed the mud and leaves out of her hair and off her uniform.

Her shirt was white with long sleeves. Her skirt was short and black with red suspenders attached and black stockings underneath. She spun on her heels with her black flats topped with a bow. On her front, she had a red tie and a headband that was black with circles on it that kept her long, lilac hair out of her face.

"Toshiro-senpai?" the girl said.

I suddenly recognized the uniform as my schools and I then remembered the girl.

"Yumiyuki-san. You know we're in the same class. I'm not your senpai," I said.

She looked at me with a confused face and the bowed. "I'm sorry, senpa- I mean Toshiro-san!" she said. While she bowed, she looked at her watch. "Oh! It's almost time for school! Should we walk together since we're already here?" she asked quietly.

I just nodded. It's not like it could hurt. Her eyes were bright and looked like the morning sun. It didn't help that they were yellow. She smiled at me and practically led the way.

Yumiyuki pointed at things she thought were cool like cars and the animals in trees. Yumiyuki seemed to be very strange, very different. It seemed somewhat nice to have her next to me.

"We sure got here early," Yumiyuki said. I looked at the streets and only honor students who come first thing in the morning were walking.

"Is that bad?" I asked.

"Eh? Ah-! No! Not at all. Hey! Maybe we'll be the first ones in class!" Yumiyuki said. She grabbed my arm and dragged me through the empty hallways. Usually, I am the first one in class so I didn't really understand why it was so important to get there first. But, Yumiyuki did seem to have a habit of coming to school late.

Just as she predicted, we were the only ones in the classroom. "Wow! First place belongs to me today!" she cheered playfully.

Yumiyuki sat in her seat and I sat in mine. Within minutes, the rest of our class entered the room and classes began and ended.

Instead of focusing on the lessons, my mind seemed to find a way back to the purplette. She seemed so happy, full of life. It was…different.

The last bell rang and teens flooded out of the room. I stood up, turned around, and saw the chipper girl standing inches away.

"Um, Toshiro-senpai, it was really fun to walk with you this morning. W-Would it be okay if we walked back together?" she asked me timidly. There was a slight blush on her face, but I thought nothing of it.

"Sure. Where do you live?" I asked. Judging by where I picked her up, it must be closer to school than my house.

Yumiyuki's face turned pale and she looked upset. Did I step on a landmine?

"I uh, don't have a home, per se," she softly muttered.

"Per se? What do you mean? Are you homeless?" I asked. With each question I asked, she got more and more upset.

"Never mind! Please forget I said anything!"

With that, Yumiyuki ran out of the room with tears forming in her yellow eyes. I had to follow her.

She was fast. By the time I reached a hallway, she was at the end of it. I chased her out of the school, but she got faster. Luckily, I was faster too because of the straight road.

Yumiyuki started slowing down when we were close to the park, but I just got faster. When I caught up to her, I grabbed her by the wrist and pulled her into a hug.

"Senpa-"

Before she could finish saying her word, a purple cloud of smoke engulfed the both of us. When it cleared, she was gone.

Instead, a small purple mouse stood in my hand and my school's girls uniform was on the ground.

The rat looked terrified and somehow I knew it was Yumiyuki. I opened my bag and gently shoved her in, along with the clothes.

I ran. I ran down streets and roads. I surprised I didn't get us hit by a car or bike.

After more running, I finally reached my house, ran inside, and shut the door. I opened the bag and the mouse jumped out. She looked at me and then another purple puff of smoke engulfed her.

Once the smoke cleared, the long purple haired girl appeared again…with her clothes still in the bag.

She sat on her knees and her hair was behind her ears, making it impossible for it to cover her chest.

Her blush returned as she screamed and scrambled to get her clothes out of the bag.

I turned away so she could get some privacy.

"U-Um, you can look now."

I turned back to see she only put on her shirt and skirt. "I think you have some explaining to do," I said.

"Ah, yes. Whenever I get hugged by a boy, a curse makes me turn into a rat. I can't really explain it much more than that, but it's all I know."

"Yumiyuki-san, do you know how to stop it?" I asked. She shook her head.

"And you have no home?" She shook her head again.

There was a half rat, half girl without a home in my house who was also my classmate. So, I asked her the only thing I could.

"Do you want to stay here?"

Yumiyuki's eyes lit up. "Would it be alright?!" I nodded. She jumped off her knees and hugged me. Purple smoke transferred her into a rat again.

"This'll take some getting used to," I said.

And with that, my boring, average life, became so much more interesting.

Author's Note

My first Fruits Basket story. ^_^ I is so excited! I love Fruits Basket. It's like Clannad - beautifully tragic. I don't know what it is with me and gender benders. I think this is my third gender bender story on FF...I think I have a problem Anyway, I hope you like this story in the future. ^_^

Until next time, sayonara~!