Authors Note: This is my first fan fiction, so I'm sort of winging it right now. REALLY hoping I don't majorly screw up. Please let me know what you think. Thanks! :D

Prologue: Thinking Back

Tojin Sohma sat and stared out his window, thinking. He and his cousins were leaving for the states tomorrow.
Gazing up at the stars, Tojin thought about his life, and his family, and most importantly, the reason he and his cousins were leaving Japan.

When the curse of the zodiac had been broken, everyone had assumed that that was the end of the unusual happenings of the Sohmas.
Though there had been some residual nervousness when the women of the family all seemed to find themselves with child within the same three years,
the children had been healthy and normal, and concern had eased.
For a while. However, around the time when Tojin's aunt Rin and uncle Hatsuharu were expecting their second child, the Sohmas came to a shocking conclusion.
Something of the curse had been passed on to the children. It was nothing nearly as drastic as what their parents had once had, and it wasn't even anything that you would normally notice.
It was just that each child had at least one almost superhuman ability or natural talent that was somehow tied in with their parents old animal spirit.
The former zodiac members held a meeting. They even called Akito and patched her in through the phone. In the end, it was decided that Akito would give the main house
to Hatori, and the former zodiac members would all bring their families to live at the main house together. There was some unease about that at first.
After all, they had all worked so hard and waited so long to be free of this place. The main house didn't hold good memories for anyone, not even Akito.
But all the zodiac members with young children eventually came. All but one.

Perhaps it was residual wariness towards a place where he was very nearly permanently imprisoned, but Kyo flat out refused to leave his dojo for the Sohma main house.
Every adult Sohma pleaded, persuaded, and cajoled Kyo and Tohru both. But Kyo stood firm on the issue, and Tohru stood by her husband.
The other Sohma's finally had to be contented with a promise to visit and leave Kyo and his family be. Yuki had spent a good two weeks muttering about 'that idiot'.
The children were, of course, curious about why their uncle didn't want to live with them. That was when their parents explained about the zodiac curse.
After the children knew about the curse, their parents began to tell them stories about some of the things that happened to the zodiac members.
It became a tradition for the parents to take turns telling the children tales of their zodiac days. As the main house became a place of warmth and family memories,
some of the other zodiac members came to live with them and joined in the story-telling tradition. It was shortly after Kagura came back to live in the main house that Yuki's son
single-handedly revolutionized the tradition. Tojin had always known that his uncle Kyo and his father were arch-rivals. All he had ever had to do was mention his uncles name and his normally
quiet father began emitting frightening dark energy in large enough quantities to frighten even uncle Haru's black side. But the boy had never understood why the two of them seemed to have
such a strange relationship, and he began to wonder if the zodiac might have anything to do with it.

So one night, when it was Kaguras's turn to tell the children tales, Tojin asked about it.
That was the first night that the children were told a story about Kyo. He was still a difficult subject for their parents to deal with. However, there were so many stories about Yuki and Kyo that
after that first night they often told the children their exploits. Then the children began to ask for stories of Kyo themselves. Stories with Kyo and Yuki in them swiftly became their favorites.
Even when they began to get older, they would still stop and listen eagerly to the stories of the former rat and cat. The former zodiac members were all quite taken aback
when they realized that the children adored Kyo. It was him they cheered for, and when a story ended with Yuki beating him up, poor Yuki would find himself the target of sudden and almost comical ire.

To the children, Kyo was a hero who defied not only the forces of evil, but also the more frightening forces of the inscrutable uncle Yuki. Even Tojin was impressed by that feat.
They also thought it was obvious that uncle Kyo should have married aunt Tohru. After all, didn't the hero always marry the princess?

Tojin had always looked forward to his uncle and aunts visits. Aunt Tohru always brought treats for the children, and his uncle Kyo was always willing to teach them new martial arts moves. Tojin could clearly remember their actions, but his memories of the people were blurred by time. His legendary uncle was a towering figure with a mop of bright orange hair over flashing eyes.
His aunt, beloved by all the Sohmas, was a warm hug, a flowery dress, long brown hair, and the smell of cookies. And his cousin. In reality, Tojin and most of the other Sohma children had no real siblings.
Only uncle Hatsuharu and Rin ever had a second child. But the six cousins had lived together all their lives, and they viewed themselves as being brothers and sisters.

The only child of a former zodiac member who had never lived with the others was uncle Kyo's daughter. She was named Kyoko, but to Tojin and the others, she was forever remembered as 'our cousin'. The only outsider in their circle. The only cousin who was not a sibling. Tojin remembered her only as a shadowy figure in pants sitting up in a tree watching them. At the time, Tojin and the others had been shocked. After all, the girls always wore yukatas. Not pants. They were lady-like, quiet, and functioned as the little groups conscience. This girl was loud, brash, blunt, and boyish. But then, this was the child of uncle Kyo. Different from us. So they had ignored it and gone back to playing, leaving the 'cousin' to her tree.

Tojin frowned. Thinking about it now, he wondered why they had never talked more to her. Surely it wasn't just that she wore pants, was it? He sighed. Whatever the reason, he would probably never know.

When Tojin was 5 years old his uncle's family had vanished. The police had contacted the Sohmas to let them know. Tojins father had told him that the dojo where his uncle
had lived and taught showed the signs of a big fight, and a message had been painted on the wall. The cat has been sealed. Tojin knew from his aunts and uncles that the cat
was the only cursed Sohma who was not a member of the zodiac, and the only one who could take two forms. He also knew that the cat had always been hated.
That was why the adults believed that someone who knew about the zodiac had been involved. But things were different with uncle Kyo. Tojin knew that his father missed his rival.
Sometimes, when the adults thought the children couldn't hear, they would discuss the disappearance in low voices. Tojin often heard his father mutter at some point
"They didn't leave so much as a body! They even took the child!" Tojin knew that the lack of bodies was the only thing that had let the adults believe that his uncles family might still be alive.

Tojin and his siblings of course, believed beyond a shadow of a doubt that uncle Kyo and aunt Tohru were alive somewhere. And if 'cousin' was with them, how could she be anything but safe? So the children made a secret pact among themselves. That they would one day find their hero and bring him back to their parents. Four years had passed since then. During those four years, the children had researched everything they could about the zodiac and its relationship to uncle Kyo. They had eventually decided that uncle Kyo was most likely 'sealed' somewhere in the west. And if they were thinking west, what could be more obvious than America? Their high school had a two year exchange program with a high school in the U.S.A. for accomplished students. All the Sohma children had high grades. They qualified. So Tojin and his brothers and sisters had decided it was time to make good on their promise. After much pleading with their parents, they all attained permission to go, on the condition that they came to visit on at least one holiday. They signed up the next morning. The Sohma children were on their way to a co-ed boarding school in California, U.S.A. The west.

Tojin looked out at the courtyard where he and the others had played so often when they were younger. His bags were packed. Tomorrow, he and his siblings would board a plane for the states. It was time to make good. "We're coming, Uncle."