Summery: The spirits have it in for the Sohmas! Instead of being forever free of the curse, trying to break it seems to have only made it stronger for future generations. The rules have changed and the ones cursed by the original Chinese Zodiac are now also cursed by the Greek Zodiac. These additional changes increase both the chances of outsiders discovering the curse and the God's stress level. sigh There goes any hope of a social life.

Authors Notes: First of all, I would like to make it clear that I tried to be as original as possible with all of my new characters (yes, they are all mine). The fact that some of them may closely resemble their Takaya counterparts or another character in the Fruits Basket series is either coincidental or necessary for my plot. There is also the chance that a few of the incidences are in place because I thought the original story had it right the first time, but I wont get into that now; no doubt I will explain those as I go through the chapters.

As you can tell already, I am not Natsuki Takaya, so this author's note is also my disclaimer. While I am at it, I will also take the chance to disclaim any involvement I may or may not have had in corrupting my 6-year-old neighbor into thinking the king of sewer rats is out to get him.

Double-Edged Curse

Cursa

Chapter 1

Saku Yagi stayed in his seat as the bell rang and the rest of his class filed out. There were a few other stragglers, mostly those who had fallen asleep during class and were now drooling all over their note books, but as much as Saku wanted to be one of them, he couldn't. Instead, he was scribbling frantically, trying to finish as much of the assignment as possible before he left the building, running his hand through his light brown hair in concentration.

Three years ago, he and his little sister Kata, who had been four at the time, were orphaned after a freak accident claimed their parents' lives. Not yet old enough to live by themselves, Saku and Kata were put in their uncle's custody. Their uncle, busy with his own life, decided sending them a monthly check was sufficient enough. Instead of spending it, however, Saku invested it so Kata could get into a college. Because of this, he juggled 3 jobs, schoolwork, and Kata in order to make ends meet.

"Common, Saku-kun!" Kin urged him from the doorway. The raven-haired teen leaned against the doorframe, in perfect position to glance both into the classroom and out into the hallway, his entire body relaying his impatience to go home for the day. "The bell's already rung."

"Coming," Saku answered, spilling the rest of his books into his book bag and walking swiftly to the classroom door. The hallway was only partially full of bustling students, seeing as Saku had stayed after the bell yet again.

"You have work tonight?" Kin Kawasaki asked as the two stopped at their lockers.

"Yeah, at the pool. Thinking about stopping by for a visit? Maybe pretend to drown to give me something to do?"

Kin grinned. "We're not that good of friends."

"Saku-san!"

Still laughing at his friend's joke, Saku looked to the left of the sidewalk and spotted Hisano Sohma waving at them from beside the girl to whom she was giving the hand massage.

"Hey San-san!" Saku called out in greeting. In spite of the formal ending, the name was more of a nickname than a show of respect and was used comfortably by friends and acquaintances alike.

Waiting for them to get a bit closer, Hisano squirted more lotion into her palm and started on the girl's other hand, stopping briefly to wipe a sandy brown strand of hair way from her face with a pinky finger. By the time she looked up again, the two friends were nearly upon them.

"Saku-san, are we still meeting at the library after school tomorrow?" she asked, turning her head to follow the guys with her gaze as they passed. "You never got back to me."

"Oh, right," he said, trying to remember when he had agreed to the rendezvous. In truth, Saku had completely forgotten about the speech the two of them had to present the next week. "Uh, yeah. I have to work for a few hours after school tomorrow, so ill meet you at the library around six."

"Okay!" the Sohma answered cheerfully and with a quick 'See you then!' she turned back to her task as the two guys drew further and further away, leaving Kin to stare pityingly at Saku.

"What?" he demanded almost defensively as they left the school grounds.

"You have been paired up to do a project with the cutest- and most popular- girl in school, and you haven't even noticed yet, have you?" Kin asked with such certainty it made Saku suspect it had been more statement than question.

Saku raised an eyebrow for an answer.

Kin shook his head in mock disbelief. "You need a life, Yagi-kun. Do you know how many guys go to this school who would kill to be paired up with Sohma-chan?" When Saku didn't respond to this, he continued with a sigh. "This opportunity has been completely wasted on you."

Saku, on the other hand, hadn't been listening since the first question. "Uh-huh," he agreed vaguely as he glanced at his watch. "I have to get to work, so ill stop to pick up Kata around nine. Sound good?"

"I'll make sure Mom saves some dinner for you," Kin called after him as they parted ways.

Sitting in class the next morning, Saku couldn't help but yawn widely. It had been 10 o'clock by the time Saku unlocked the door to his apartment, an exhausted Kata in tow. As promised, Kin's mother had saved some leftovers for him and Kin, who had gotten caught up in a card game with Kata, waited for his friend to finish eating so they could work on their homework together.

"Oh, hey," Kin started as he took the seat next to his friend. "I can't baby-sit for you tonight. Sorry, man."

"It's okay," Saku assured him. There were times when the Kawasakis weren't able to watch Kata while he was at work. Luckily, his boss was pretty laid back and allowed for his kid sister to tag along on such an occasion. He would just have to remember to bring crayons for her to color with while he and Hisano were studying.

I know, I know- this chapter was kind of a snores-vile; no action what so ever. However, I wanted to give you all an idea of what their lives were like before they became involved with the Sohmas. Next chapter, all hell will break lose. I promise.