(A/N: I can't believe I'm writing a story like this, because I never thought I would. Retelling aren't really my thing, but lately ideas have been flying through my head like crazy. Ordinarily, I would never write a fic like this, but the plot bunnies won't leave me alone. As the title tells you, this is a retelling of Beauty and the Beast, as a Fruits Basket version. The idea just came to me, and everything sort of fell into place. Actually, I'm surprised no one else has done this already, or maybe they have and I missed it. Whatever, enjoy.)

Characters:

Belle………. Tohru

The Beast……….. Kyo

Gaston…………… Akito

Lefou…………. Kureno

Lumiere………….. Yuki

Cogsworth………….. Shigure

Mrs. Pots………………. Hitori

Chip…………….. Momiji

Belle's Father…………… Tohru's Mother

Wardrobe……………… Ayame

Stove…………….. Ritsu

Disclaimer: I own nothing

"BEAUTY AND THE BEAST: FRUITS BASKET STYLE"

Prologue

The Sohmas were a rich and powerful family that had lived peacefully for many years. But that was a thing of the past. After several generations of being well known in society, a curse befell upon the Sohmas.

It was a dark sorcerer who was responsible for it all. Jealous of the Sohmas, he cast a powerful curse on the children. This curse turned each child into an animal, the animal representing the zodiac they were. Twelve children with the intelligence of a human, yet the body and nature of an animal.

But there was one child who had a curse worse than the other twelve. The thirteenth child, who was born on February 29th, received a darker curse. He was cursed to become a hideous cat-like monster. And as time went by, his humanity slowly deteriorated, making him more and more monstrous and less human with each passing year.

It was this child alone who was the key to breaking the curse. If one were capable of seeing beyond the beast, opening his heart to love and the humanity he was losing, the curse would be broken.

But this would end once the child became of age. On his 18th birthday, he would become a mindless violent beast that would need to be imprisoned for life, and the other children would remain trapped in animal form.

Hope seemed lost. The child was already 16, and his 17th birthday was closely approaching. It seemed that all hope was lost. The Sohma family vanished from society, isolating themselves from the rest of the world, resigning themselves to their fate. Their bloodline would end with their children, and their family would die out.

Within the estate, the cat-like beast stormed by the other cursed children, eyeing each of them with envy, causing them to cower back. He growled angrily, his monster nature taking hold of him, causing his temper to skyrocket. He hated it when he was looked on in pity. He hated it, and he hated them. Didn't they know how lucky they were? He would give anything to have a curse like them. At least they their minds would remain intact. At least people could stand to look at them. He was becoming more of a demon with every passing year.

His eyes shifted to the small prison referred to as the Cat Room. Once he turned 18, and his mind was completely lost, he would spend the rest of his life in there, like some freaky animal on display at a zoo. The Sohma family's dirty little secret.

With an angry inhuman roar, he slammed his large deformed fist into the wall, creating a large hole. The others cowered away from him, worried his violent nature would take over and he would attack them.

But instead he leapt up onto one of the house, jumping from rooftop to rooftop. He wanted to be alone. He needed to be alone, it was just something he would have to get used to. After all, once he turned 18, he would always be alone. Then no one would have to see the hideous creature that he was.

This was what he told himself, but the real reason he wanted to be alone, the reason he wouldn't admit to even himself, was because he didn't want the others to see him cry.

(A/N: So, yeah, there's the prologue. Since this is a retelling, you all probably know how the plot is basically going to play out, but I hope you'll read my story just the same.)