How Can This Be?

ChipsAhoyPup

Disclaimer: I don't own Fruits Basket!

A/N Well, I'm not a fan of OC characters, but I had an idea recently. My OC charrie... zodiac but not... it's a confusing realization. You'll understand when you read this!

Also, this story takes place BEFORE Tohru. ^.^

"I can't believe Middle School's almost over," A short girl groaned, shifting her back-pack so that it scooted up to a more comfortable position.

"Yeah. I can't wait until we go to High School," Agreed a taller girl. "But we have Final Exams Monday, you know."

"Don't remind me." The taller girl got onto the bus and the short girl followed her. "I hate Final Exams. They make me want to punch myself."

"Punch? More like kill. God, don't be a goody-two-shoes." The taller girl slid into her seat, and the short girl sat down next to her, on the outer edge. She got off the bus first every day.

"I'm not a goody-two-shoes! I'm... I can be mean," Growled the short girl. "Watch!" She balled her hand into a fist and punched the taller girl lightly.

"Just so you know, that didn't do anything," Said the taller girl.

"It's not my fault you're a black-belt, Renn," The short girl scoffed.

"Yeah, not mine, either. You know my parent's said it was either that or a sport, Mel," Groaned Renn for the twentieth time.

"Whatever. Have a good weekend," Called Mel, getting up as the bus came to a complete stop.

"You too," Replied Renn, watching Mel get off the bus.

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Mel hummed a song that was currently stuck in her head, Funny Farm, while heading towards her house. That's when she noticed something. "This isn't my neighborhood," She said to herself. She turned towards the other people who'd gotten off the bus, ready to question them, but they were gone. "Huh, I could've sworn I'd seen an orange-haired kid and a kid that looked strangely feminine."

"YOU DAMN RAT!" Mel jumped as she heard a voice shout around the corner. She quickly raced towards the corner and looked over to see the orange-haired boy and a silver-haired boy fighting.

"Baka neko. Stupid cat," Replied the silver-haired boy, dodging the orange-haired boy's punch.

"Uh, I hate to interupt your fighting, but why are you calling each other a rat and a cat?" Mel asked. It really was strange. What kind of horrible name-calling was that?

The orange-haired kid looked over, eyes wide, surprised to see her standing there. The silver-haired boy looked kind of bored, as if this was normal. "Because he's stupid," Said the silver-haired boy.

"That doesn't mean anything," Said Mel, blinking. "Is it because of your hair?"

The orange-haired boy looked taken aback. "What? What do you mean, my hair?"

"Well, your hair is orange, like a tabby cat's fur. And his hair is grayish-silverish, kinda like a mouse. So, I get where you'd think of each other as a cat and a rat. Although, rat is a nastier term than mouse," Said Mel.

"Pssh. No. It's because--" Started the orange-haired boy, but the silver-haired boy slapped him.

"Shut up," Growled the silver-haired boy quietly. "No, you're right. By the way, I'm Yuki, and this idiot is Kyo."

"I'm not an idiot," Snapped Kyo, his hair standing up spikely.

"Pleased to meet you both. I think. Anyways, I'm Mel. I, er, seemed to have gotten off the bus at the wrong stop." Mel tilted her head in confusion. How had she managed that? The bus always stopped at her neighborhood first. And she was sure that the bus had stopped at her neighborhood, too.

"Oh. Er, uh," Yuki looked puzzled, as if he wanted to help, but didn't know how. "You can come to our house and call home if you want. Maybe get a ride to pick you up?"

"That would be great, thanks!" Mel had a cellphone, but she didn't bring it with her to school. She always left it at her house. She mentally slapped herself for not bringing the cellphone in case of emergencies.

So Mel followed Kyo and Yuki towards their house, wondering if their parents would be okay with a strange girl showing up on their front-step. Once they got to their house, Mel's mouth dropped open. The house... is made of bamboo and paper... How was that possible? Her house was made of bricks. This house looked like it belonged in Japan. Japan.... "Uh, where are we?" Mel asked, nervously glancing down at her feet.

"Oh, we're at Shigure Sohma's house," Said Yuki.

"No... I mean... what country are we in?" How stupid that question sounded. But it didn't matter. Mel needed to know.

"Japan, of course," Said Yuki, looking utterly confused. "Where'd you think we were? America?" He chuckled in amusement.

"Actually, yes," Said Mel quietly. She prayed they hadn't heard what she'd said. But Kyo had.

"What do you mean, you thought we were in America?!" Kyo looked pissed.

"I kinda live in America, if you want to know," Mel scoffed stubbornly. Uh oh... She realized that she had no way of getting home. And that Yuki and Kyo probably both thought she was insane.

"You said you were on a bus. How long would it take for a bus to drive you all the way to Japan?" Yuki asked softly, curiously.

"Well, Japan's halfway around the world, so I'd have to say about a whole week. But I was only on the bus for 3 minutes," Mel said. She was totally confused now. But then, before anyone could say anything else, the door swung open.

"Eh? Who's this?" Said a man with black hair who was wearing a kimono. Mel was surprised at how good it looked on him, but said nothing, just shyly stared at her feet, shaking in nervousness.

"Some girl from America," Kyo growled stubbornly. Mel awkwardly waved hello, wanting to crawl into a hole, away from these people.

"America? Can she speak Japanese?" The man asked, causing Mel's eyes to widen. I've been speaking Japanese? This was the most awkward thing in the world. She understood them, and could talk to them! That was crazy.

"Apparently. She's been talking to us the whole time," Said Yuki in his same soft voice. Mel could sense depression and loneliness in his voice. She wondered why, but was still frozen in her fear.

"She seems pretty shy," Commented the man. Shivers tickled Mel's spine; how many times she'd heard people call her shy was amazing. It was because she was practically the shyest person in the world. In school, she barely spoke to anyone, and sometimes, when she was talking to her friends in the hallway, people would gasp, "You talk!" That's how little she spoke.

Yuki agreed with the man by grunting. Mel cried out in surprise as the man crouched down and was just inches away from her face. "Hello, I'm Shigure Sohma," Said the man. Mel was too freaked out to speak, just kinda gaped at him. "I'm not gonna hurt you," Said Shigure, amusement tingling in his voice.

"H-h-hi," Whimpered Mel, her voice as quiet as a mouse. Shigure raised an eyebrow, grinning as if it was the funniest thing in the world. Then, to Mel's relief, he straightened up again.

"Don't intimidate her," Admonished Yuki to Shigure.

"Lighten up," Chuckled Shigure. "I wasn't doing anything wrong. I was just introducing myself." Mel was quaking in her shoes now.

"Why are you so scared?" Kyo snorted. "We're not gonna bite or anything."

"Shigure might," Commented Yuki. He chuckled a bit to himself, and Mel tilted her head at him in confusion. "Inside joke," He told her. Mel nodded. She and her friends talked about inside jokes all day every day.

"You're really short. What grade are you in, shrimp?" Kyo hissed. Mel's eyes widened, as she realized that they were a lot taller than her. She was shortest in her grade, so she understood Kyo's question.

"Uh, 8th," Said Mel in her usual shy voice. "I'm going into High School next year." She perked up a slight bit as she gave out the information she'd told every surprised person this year.

"Wow. You're really short for what grade you're in." Kyo's eyes narrowed, kind of suspicious. "When's your birthday?"

Mel nervously scuffed her feet against the floor. She hated giving out personal information to strangers. But she did know his name now, and it seemed that she may be staying here for a while. "August 24th," She admitted quietly.

"So, you're..." Kyo seemed to be calculating as hard as he could in his head. "...14?" He said after a moment. Mel opened her mouth to answer, but Yuki snorted.

"No, you dolt, she's 13. She'll turn 14 on her birthday. Duh," Said Yuki, coldness chilling his voice. Mel nodded in agreement, shivering from the icy voice of Yuki.

"Hmm, why don't we go inside?" Suggested Shigure. Mel jumped, having forgotten that the man was there. She nodded again. They all scuffled inside, Kyo and Yuki taking their shoes off. Mel looked confused. Should I take my shoes off? Is that some kind of Japanese traditional thing? She didn't know, so she just stood there, staring at their shoes questionably. Her face went red in embarassment; she had a feeling that everyone was staring at her. That was the worst feeling in the world to her.

"What are you waiting for?! Take your shoes off!" Snapped Kyo. Mel's red face brightened to a deeper red as she shoved her shoes off her feet and gently put them near Yuki and Kyo's shoes. She turned to look at them. They were sitting at a short table with no chairs. Confused, Mel came over and sat at the opposite end of the table. She stared down at her socks, which were still on her feet. She was glad she didn't have to take them off, too; she didn't like having her shoes off at some stranger's house.

"So, how are we to get you home?" Shigure put his index finger and thumb against his chin. Mel felt like a bother now, and still wanted to crawl in a hole. But she continued to remain speechless. "Like we said before, we don't bite," Shigure said gently. But Mel remembered how Yuki'd said that Shigure might bite, so she averted her gaze towards him.

"I was kidding," Yuki informed Mel, seeming to know why she was questioning him with her gaze. Mel nodded and turned to look at Shigure again. She took a deep breath, then:

"My name is Mel, I was on my school bus and when I got off at my stop, I found that I was lost here." Her face turned beet red and she glanced back at her feet again.

"That wasn't so hard, was it?" Shigure's voice was full of amusement again. Mel shook her head, still staring at her feet. "But I still don't see how to get you home. You're halfway across the world right now." Mel remembered telling Yuki and Kyo that right before Shigure had come out of his door. She wondered if he'd heard her say that, and that was why he was saying that now.

"Y-yeah," Mel whispered. She wasn't going to admit that she'd already known that she was halfway across the world.

"I know! You can live with us," Declared Shigure. Mel's head shot up. Live with THEM? B-but, it's already awkward enough, and how am I going to do my Final Exams? Mel worried in her head. I don't want to make them up over the summer! I'll have less sumer break time! And Japan doesn't even HAVE summer break, I don't think! How am I to go to High School?

"It'll only be for a while." Mel jumped. She hadn't realized that she'd been in a daze for so long that Yuki was behind her. She looked up at him, worried.

"I-I guess. I-I just... I don't have any clothes except for these, and-and..." Mel trailed off.

"You can borrow some clothes. Uh, I'm sure we have some clothes that'll fit you and look kinda girlish," Said Yuki, sweat-dropping. Mel saw the sweat-drop and was confused for a moment, but let it slide. Japan probably was just that weird that they had odd marks when people had different expressions.

"O-okay," Mel said. If they were offering, then she couldn't pass it down. That would be rude. "I-if y-y-you're sure."

"Don't worry, we'll keep an eye on Shigure," Said Yuki, laughing. Mel chuckled nervously, deciding it was the polite thing to do. "Let's show you your room."

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Mel sat down in her new room, feeling slightly depressed. I won't get to see Mom or Dad or my friends! Or my sisters and brother! I won't get to see any of them for a WHILE. She was wondering how long she'd be here for. She was thinking of trying to get her parents to give her money for a plane... but she couldn't call over that long a distance!

"Does the room suit you alright?" Mel jumped, as she usually did when she was in a daze and somebody talked to her. She looked up to see Yuki again. She shivered. He kept appearing out of nowhere. It was like he was stalking her.

"It's fine," Said Mel. "Thanks." She was getting a bit less shy, but still was hesitant when answering.

"No problem. It may be a while before you can get home," Said Yuki, looking slightly apologetic.

"Oh, uh, yeah," Mel whimpered, staring down at her feet. "I miss them already." She was referring to her parents, her siblings, and her friends.

"Yeah, I would, too." Yuki looked upset.

"Ah, I'm sorry, Yuki, I didn't mean to upset you," Mel said quickly. Yuki looked over and stared at her. This was the first time Mel had called any of them by their name. She stared back at him, face going red in embarassment as the staring went on. Uh, what did I do wrong? Then she remembered, from the animes she'd watched. "Oh, uh, I meant, Yuki-kun?" She said slowly, raising an eyebrow in question.

"Yuki-kun is fine," Answered Yuki before walking away. Mel groaned. Learning Japanese tradition was really hard. She decided to get ready for bed now, and talk to them in the morning. She hustled into her new PJs and got into bed. She then realized that she didn't know what time it was. But she could tell it was night, for the sun was down already. So she fell asleep.

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Mel awoke and got into her clothes. She yawned and stretched, again not knowing what time it was. But why should she care? She always used to wake up early, and the sun was up right now. Besides, if she was awake first, she could probably think without Yuki appearing like a stalker again. Deciding not to stay here, she walked down to the small table and sat down at the place she'd sat yesterday.

"Man, you wake up early." Mel jumped and looked over to see Kyo. She sighed in relief; the depressed, emo Yuki was someone she didn't want to see, so she was happy that it was someone else.

"Yeah, I always did in America. You wake up early, too," Mel said, then looked down at her thumbs, embarassed that she'd said something like that.

"It's... it's instinct, I guess," Grumbled Kyo, looking pissed again. "But the damn rat, he sleeps all day! That's so lazy!"

"My sister sleeps all day," Mel offered, so that he knew it was perfectly normal for some people.

"Well, your sister must be a lazy rat, too," Kyo hissed in annoyance.

"Rat?" Mel blinked in confusion.

"...Erm... rat of the zodiac?" Kyo's voice was now awkward, and kinda hoping, as if hoping she wouldn't find out about some kinda secret.

"....Oh! N-no, no, she's an ox, and so is my dad," Mel laughed.

"Haru?" Kyo whispered, narrowing his eyes.

"Eh, what?" Mel was yet again confused.

"Eh, uh, nothing!" Kyo snapped. "Do they seem hard to read for a bit, then suddenly go bl-- I mean, snap and get real angry?"

"Yep. All the time. Why?" Mel grinned a bit.

"Oh, just because... I read the... er... info off of each of the zodiacs... What one are you?" Kyo looked uncaring, like he was just trying to change the subject.

"Me? I'm a boar. But I always wished I was a dog," Mel admitted. Kyo opened his mouth to say something, but his gaze averted behind Mel. She slowly turned her head and saw Shigure standing behind her. She leapt nearly ten feet into the air.

"Now, why would you wish to be a dog?" Shigure asked her. Mel was too scared to say anything, just stared with wide eyes. "And why are you so scared of me? You talk to Yuki and Kyo all the time."

"It's probably because she already knows you're a pervert," Kyo growled. Mel's eyes went even bigger.

"I won't hurt a fly. Just tell me," Urged Shigure, ignoring Kyo's comment.

"Dogs are my favorite animals," Mel told him quietly. Her face went red again and she dipped her head to stare at her feet. Shigure laughed, causing Mel to peek up at him. "Eh?"

"Ahh, nothing, nothing," Said Shigure, waving his hand as if to wave a thought off.

"When did you wake up anyways?" Kyo said indigantly, glaring at Shigure.

"Not too long ago," Was all Shigure said.

"I-is Yuki... kun still asleep?" Mel nearly forgot to say the "kun" part.

"I believe so," Comfirmed Shigure, sitting down at the opposite end of the table. "So... you're a boar?" He gave Kyo an amused stare, though Mel knew he was talking to her.

"Y-yeah," She whimpered. Kyo grumpily turned away, as if to hide his expression from Shigure.

"I see," Said Shigure, staring closely at Mel as if to inspect her. Mel felt her face redden and she stared hard at her feet. "You definetly got the shy aspect."

"Eh?" Mel looked up and stared at him in confusion.

"Oh, we have a friend who's a boar like you," Said Shigure.

"Friend? She's just an annoying cousin," Growled Kyo, folding his arms.

"An annoying cousin who wants to marry you," Replied Shigure smugly. Mel's eyes widened as she thought to herself, Isn't that illegal? Or is that another one of the weird things Japanese people can do?

"She wants to kill me!" Snapped Kyo. Okay, this place is getting weirder and weirder, Mel thought, squeezing her eyes shut as she thought to herself.

"Doesn't everyone?" Mel's eyes popped open and she looked over to see a really drowsy Yuki lugging himself into the room.

"Hey, when did you get up, damn rat?" Kyo pointed a finger accusingly towards Yuki.

"Why does this matter to you? Are you afraid of getting beat up?" Yuki grinned a bit in amusement, but his eyes were drooping.

"No! I'll beat you! And I'll win and have a rightful place in the zodiac! Haha!" Kyo laughed, victoriously thrusting a fist in the air. Mel blinked.

"Place in the zodiac...?" She questioned. This caused everyone to whip their heads towards her and stare with wide eyes, as if she'd found out something. Eh? What does he mean by place in the zodiac? The zodiac was made years and years ago! Why does it matter? And, anyways, how could HE get a place in the zodiac? No one does! Just the animals from long ago...

"Ah..." Kyo's eye twitched, and he looked puzzled, as if he was trying to think of some sorta excuse. "You... see..."

"It's because he's born on the year of the rabbit, but technically, it's supposed to be the cat, and he wishes for the cat to be part of the zodiac instead, because he hates rabbits," Shigure answered.

"Oh, I get it. Kind of," Said Mel, nodding her head agreeingly. Everyone sighed in relief. Suddenly, Yuki started to fall forwards--right on top of Mel! "Ahh!" Cried out Mel, blocking by putting her arms up. Two loud poofs filled the air. She looked up. A rat was sitting on her head... and...

"OH MY GOD, I'M FURRY!" Screeched Mel, standing up. On four paws. That's right, paws. "HOW DID THIS HAPPEN?!" She wasn't as bristled about Yuki turning into a rat; the family had been strange enough as it was. But the fact that she was an odd-looking animal was... scary! Even Kyo and Shigure looked startled.

"Calm down, there's got to be an explanation," Said Shigure, but his voice sounded hesitant.

"NO, I LOOK LIKE A CAT MIXED WITH A DOG! WHAT THE FREAK?" Screeched Mel, and as she raced around the room, she smacked into a cupboard. "AHHHH!" The cupboard tipped down towards her, ready to crush her and kill her. Suddenly, she felt two pairs of arms shove her out of the way. And heard two poofs, before the crash of the cupboard smashing into the ground.

Looking over, she saw an orange cat and a black dog. And no more humans in the room. "I WANT MY SANITY BACK!" She sobbed, laying on the floor with her tears pouring down her face in an anime-ish style. Yuki was snoring on her head still, while Kyo was bristling angrily, and Shigure just looked weary.

"Listen. We were lying about the zodiac thing, okay? I'm the dog, Yuki's the rat, and Kyo's the cat. Oh, and, we aren't, ahhh, sure about what happened to you. This has never happened before," Sighed Shigure.

"Well, maybe I'm a weird creature of the zodiac that no one's found out about?" Mel suggested, though she knew how unlikely that sounded.

"Nah. If you were of the zodiac, we wouldn't have transformed when you hugged us, and neither would you. You've never turned into this creature before?" Shigure tilted his big furry head to the side questionably.

"No, not ever!" Mel's tail was bristled. She looked over and saw her reflection in a broken shard of glass. She looked like a wolf mixed with a big cat. Her nose was wet and black, while her eyes were glowing amber. Her tail was a cat tail, and her markings were quite strange. She was obsidian, with a white patch mark around her eye, and two smaller patch marks next to her eye. She had the same marks on her shoulders and hind-legs. Her paws were milky white, and her pointed ears were white as well. Her tail-tip was also white. And she was still wearing her shark-tooth necklace.

"That's quite odd," Shigure commented. Then his eyes widened. "Ah, turn around, turn around!"
"What, why do I--" Just then, three poofs sliced through the air. And in front of her stood human Yuki, Kyo, and Shigure. Except, one problem: they had no clothes. "OHMIGOD!" Screeched Mel, turning around and racing out of the room, still the wolf creature.

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Mel was sitting opposite of the table. Still a wolf creature. She'd been able to roar, and the others had said she sounded like a panther, so they'd decided that her creature was a wolf/panther. She also could howl like a wolf. It was creepy.

"This isn't... how we planned to tell you what we were. We knew you were going to find out at some point... but we hadn't known you'd transform into something too," Shigure explained.

"I was hoping no one would turn into any animals," Mel said. She wasn't as shy anymore, because she still was freaking out inside. "You sure I'm not part of the zodiac? It could've been a malfunction or something."

"No. At the very least, if you were the zodiac, and since you were born on the year of the boar, you'd have turned into the boar," Shigure told her with a sigh.

"How come you guys all changed back and I'm still... a... an animal!" Mel raised a paw to prove her point.

"Another unexplainable answer," Said Shigure. "We don't know why or how or what. We just know it happened."

"Will I ever change back?" Mel's eyes were wide, and Shigure, Yuki, and Kyo all exchanged a glance. Mel's tail lashed in fear. "Please tell me I'll change back!" But no one told her anything, so that night, she went to sleep curled up on the floor, as an animal.

A/N I had fun making this! Please review, and tell me if I should make another chapter. I want to know if I should leave it as THIS, or go along and make it so that you slowly find out how and why and what she turned into! ^.^