I whined loudly and obnoxiously as Hatori dragged me up to the house in which I'd be staying. Akito had decided that he didn't want Hatori to waste his time with me anymore, as Akito's health had been steadily declining. Due to this, I was to be removed from the Sohma estate and move into some guy named Shigure's house. I didn't know the guy all that well, only that he, too, was a part of the zodiac, and that he and Hatori had been school friends.

Hatori knocked on the front door loudly before opening it and entering. "Wow, nice manners there, Sea Dragon." I muttered under my breath, still letting him drag me wherever he was going. "Hush, Minako." Hatori's voice was annoyed but affectionate. "Why do I have to be here? I miss it back on the estate where nobody knew I existed! How are we going to explain to them what I am?" I said, causing Hatori to pause in his steps. I wasn't prepared for this and bumped into the back of him, causing us both to stumble. He, being the more graceful of the two of us, regained his footing and stayed upright. I, however, fell directly on my face, causing a loud crashing noise to resonate throughout the house. "Kyo, Yuki, back so soon? I hope you're not fighting again!" A sing-song voice calls out. A man poked his head out of a sliding door in front of us, looking around before his eyes landed on us. "Hatori!" He yelled over-enthusiastically. "Shigure. I've brought Minako, the girl I called you about." Shigure looked down at me and I gave him a sheepish grin and wave from my spot on the floor. Shigure laughed and invited the two of us to sit down and have some tea.

"So, Hatori, does Minako know?" Shigure asked, trying to seem inconspicuous. "About the curse? Yes. In fact, she's under it herself." Hatori replied, taking a long drag of his cigarette. "You know, Hatori, you'd think with your being a doctor and all you would realize that smoking is very bad for your health." I interjected, trying to change the subject. "Oh really? That's strange, I thought all the animals from the zodiac had been accounted for in the family. Which one is she?" Shigure and Hatori ignored my comment. "Would you like to explain, Minako?" Hatori asked, turning to look at me. I let out a long groan, slamming my head down against the table. I could practically feel Hatori rolling his eyes at me.

Sighing, I lifted my head back up and began. "Okay, so you know the story of the cat and the rat and the party and God and all the animals, so I'm not even going to tell you about that. The part that not everyone knows about is the part about the panda. See, pandas are naturally very lazy and sleepy animals. Well, when God sent out the invitations to the animals to come to this big dinner party, the panda wanted to attend, especially since there was going to be food. The panda got ready to go, but it knew it still had some time left before it had to leave for the party. So, it decided that it would take a nap, so that it was refreshed and full of energy in order to dance the night away with the rest of the animals. But the problem is, once the panda fell asleep, it didn't wake up until the next day, after the party had started and ended. The panda was very sad, and it went to God to explain what had happened, but God told the panda that since it was lazy and slept through the party, it wouldn't be a part of the zodiac." Shigure was staring at me in bewilderment, but I continued. "Nobody knows why the panda is even a part of the curse, but it probably has something to do with the fact that it was one of the 14 animals that were invited to the party. And well, just like the cat, I'm an outcast. I'm okay with it though, I've always lived on the Sohma estate, and I rarely leave my quarters, so I've never really had to deal with any problems."

Our story time was interrupted by two boys storming into the house, yelling at each other. Well, one was yelling, the other one was just replying with animosity. They were followed by a girl, who looked like she was in an immense amount of distress. She was hopelessly trying to plead with them and get them to stop fighting, but it didn't look like they were giving up any time soon. "You listen here, you damn rat! You just wait until I'm through with you! You'll be sorry you ever spoke to me!" One of them with bright orange hair yelled. "Don't worry, stupid cat. I already am." The other one said, his voice low and cool. "Kyo, Yuki! You're back! And Miss Tohru Honda! Did you three get what you needed from the store?" Shigure asked brightly, ignoring the insults the two boys were throwing at each other. "We sure did, I'm going to make dinner here in a bit." The girl gave Shigure a cute smile. My stomach growled loudly at the thought of dinner, which caused everyone to stop and look at me. "Who is she?" The ginger asked, rather rudely in my opinion. "Kyo, don't be rude. This is Minako, she's going to be living with us." The boy looked at him in outrage. "What?! Why?!" I frowned and stood up, my hands on my hips. "Look, I don't want to be here anymore than you do, you orange haired ass!" He looked at me, practically seething. "I'd much rather be back at the Sohma estate, in my room, sipping tea, and reading a book! It's not my fault that the asshole who is Akito forced me to come live here so don't treat me like it's my fault!" I yelled, narrowing my eyes dangerously. "Akito? So then... are you-," The other boy, who I assumed by process of elimination, was Yuki started. "Yeah, I have the curse. But surprisingly enough, I'm not a member of the zodiac. Or at least, I'm not treated like one." I explained, sitting back down. "What's that supposed to mean?" Kyo asked irritably, stuffing his hands in his pockets.

I told them the story of the panda, and for awhile it was quiet. Then, Tohru started to cry. "Why are you crying?! Are you okay?! I didn't say anything to upset you did I?!" I asked frantically. She shook her head. "N-No... it's just so sad that the poor panda didn't get to go to the dinner with the rest of the animals!" I patted her shoulder comfortingly. "Hey, it's okay. It was it's own fault. Honestly, it wouldn't have ever learned it's lesson if it hadn't missed the banquet." I said, trying my best to console her. This only made her cry harder, which caused me to freak out some more. "Please don't cry, I didn't mean to upset you even more!" She wiped her eyes and shook her head once more. "You didn't upset me, I'm just amazed that you're not upset about it. Didn't they exclude you like they did Kyo?" Kyo turned red and started to yell at her, but I covered his mouth with my hand, sending him a glare out of the corner of my eye. "Sure they did, but I didn't mind. Unlike the cat, the panda missed the banquet because of its own fault, not because some nasty rat tricked it." I told her. "I don't mind, really. At the New Year's banquet, I just have a bunch of food brought up to my room and I eat it all by myself and it's so delicious-" I stopped talking about it as my mind began to think of all the amazing food I used to eat.

Kyo shoved my hand off of his mouth. "Don't touch me!" He growled, glaring at me. I snapped out of my trance and glared back. "Don't yell so much then!" He stood up, practically shaking with anger. "Who are you to tell me what I can and can't do?!" He yelled, which was only proving my point. I stood up and crossed my arms calmly. "Yelling doesn't fix anything. Often times, it only makes the situation worse. Unless you're yelling at a competition or a game or something of the sort. And then it's only really good when you're yelling support for the team you like and-" I started going off into one of my many tangents. "This girl is crazy!" Kyo cut me off before storming out of the house, kicking the door down in the process. "Kyo! Please try to stop destroying my house!" Shigure called out, looking pretty desperate. "What's his problem?" I asked, frowning. Hatori finally spoke up from his spot, putting out his cigarette in an ash tray. "I think he's having trouble comprehending that there's someone else like him, who isn't a part of the Chinese zodiac, but still suffer from the curse. And what's more, you're excluded from the rest of the zodiac, like him. I think he finds your carefree attitude about being treated that way somewhat frustrating."

I wonder why that is... I though to myself, staring off into the direction Kyo had just stormed off in.