(Everyone hates foxes, apart from one, Tohru. Why is everyone against foxes? Is Tohru the only one who doesn't? And Will Kurai know this? Find out!)

Chapter One: The Midnight Visitor

"This is the third time this week-" Tohru said, sighing as her azure eyes glazed over the torn open rubbish bags, strewn all over the garden. Yuki stood beside her, not quite knowing what to say about this situation. This had only started happening a few days ago, and every night so far the bags Tohru put outside into the garden would be torn to pieces. It was obviously an animals doing.

"Maybe it is some sort of animal?" Yuki queried, looking thoughtful. He wondered what kind of animal would do this on a regular basis. Tohru's face was scarred with sadness, it took her a lot of time to clean up the mess that this animal had left behind every night. It was a tedious chore.

"I wonder why it tears the bags to pieces?" she asked, looking up at Yuki. The moonlight shining down on him, illuminating him enough for her to perceive him. Yuki shrugged, it was getting late now and it was soon time for them to retire to bed as they had school in the morning.

"Well, I have no idea. I'll talk to Shigure about it tomorrow Ms. Honda. How about you get some rest now? We have got a big day tomorrow" Tohru nodded and smiled;

"I know, I am so excited! We get to make our own film trailer. I still don't know what I want to do yet-" Her face transformed from happy to sorrow, as she contemplated ideas. Yuki smiled;

"I suggest you rest and think about it in the morning" She weakly nodded, it was the best option, sleep would be beneficial. She took one last look at the rubbish scattered all over the lawn and sighed;

"Okay Yuki, I'll head off to bed now then. Goodnight"

"Goodnight Ms. Honda" She hastily left the garden and headed up to her room as Yuki continued to watch over the garden. His dark eyes narrowed. He had an idea of what had caused this, talking to Kyo might clear things up. Luckily for Yuki, Kyo was still awake, he was on the roof as usual. It was time to talk about this issue and Yuki decided now was the best time.

He left the garden to find the orange haired boy. This matter was serious, it concerned every one of them, even if Yuki detested Kyo. As Yuki finally discovered the hiding cat he felt a wave of relief wash over him, at least his instincts were right and Kyo was not asleep just yet. The orange haired boy turned around to the intruder; "What you doing up here?"

"I need to talk to you-" Yuki muttered, easing himself warily onto the roof. Kyo's eyes kept their gaze on Yuki, it was apparent he had something troubling him. Kyo looked away and grumbled;

"About what?"

"Have you been told of the late night visitor that raids our rubbish bags?" He asked, raising an eyebrow at Kyo. Kyo's face portrayed confusion, maybe Tohru had not enlightened him on this issue.

"Nah, why?" Kyo replied, not quite understanding what Yuki was talking about. He sighed;

"Well, every night since Monday the bags have been torn to shreds and it is an animal's doing" He kept his eyes focused on Kyo who still seemed confused.

"Where are you going with this?" He complained. Yuki sighed once more and muttered;

"What animal are you aware of that raids rubbish bags? Think long and hard about this-" He took some time to think, he was not aware of an animal that had mischievous antics. The only animal he knew of that commenced in trickery was none other than…

"A fox?" He said finally, his eyes wide in shock. Yuki weakly nodded;

"Yes, I think that is the culprit-"

"But-" Kyo started, now realising the reason for Yuki's worry and apprehensive look. "-Does this mean he is-"

"He is back? That could be the case" Yuki mumbled, looking down at the garden from his perch on the roof. Kyo combed his fingers through his hair, it was apparent, he was just as worried as Yuki.

"So, what are we going to do about it? Tohru doesn't even know about him"

"Exactly, we must find him before Tohru does, this could all end up in tears if we don't-" Yuki mused, thinking deeply. Wasn't he captured by Akito? This meant that he had escaped, and recently too, and this posed a problem for the other members of the family. Kyo sighed, trying to think;

"Okay, but wasn't he locked up?"

"Yes, he must've escaped somehow-" Yuki returned, hoping that the creature was far away now. If Tohru came into contact with the cursed animal it would result in problems. Kyo nodded and mumbled;

"Yeah, I guess this means we have gotta make sure Tohru keeps away from the garden and stuff, right?" Yuki nodded, it was the only thing they could do, this cursed creature was more of a threat than they were aware of. Akito had told them all what he was capable of, the animal associated with devilish trickery, the power to deceive humans and lull them into a false sense of security before deceiving them. Tohru was far too naïve to make contact with a creature of that description.

"Okay, starting from tonight we will search for him, we need to get him back to Akito before this all goes out of hand" Yuki mumbled, actually having a decent conversation with the orange haired boy without cursing or swearing. It made a pleasant change. Kyo nodded. It was time they retired to bed and so they both left the perch on the roof and hastily retreated to their rooms. They were not aware of the culprit listening in on their plan, out of sight under a tree. A smile scarred his face as he allowed himself to flee, he would return however, he would live a normal life even if everyone tried to prevent that. Just because he was a fox did not mean he was different.

Morning, it was a beautiful spring morning. The birds were singing loudly outside and the aroma of flowers in the garden was the best smell of spring. Tohru happily preoccupied herself by making breakfast. It was a chore she enjoyed. Shigure had joined her in the dining room, reading a newspaper as he waited for breakfast.

"Ah Tohru, that smell is divine-" he mumbled as he continued to read through the mass of news that scarred the page. She smiled shyly, compliments were hard to deal with in her case.

"Thank you Shigure, did you know of the midnight visitor?" she asked, preoccupying herself. He placed the newspaper down almost immediately. His eyes wide in astonishment.

"Midnight visitor?" He repeated. She nodded;

"Yes, an animal keeps destroying the rubbish bags outside. Yuki told me to tell you about this" Shigure went mute for a moment. He knew what could be the cause, but Tohru could not be aware of this. This would result in severe problems. He resumed to reading the paper as he lied;

"It is probably nothing, just ignore it for now" Tohru sighed, she had an idea to what could have been causing the destruction. She was aware of an animal that did this on a regular basis.

"I think-" she mumbled, still preparing breakfast "-it could be a fox" Shigure almost fell out of his chair at her words. How was she aware of that creature? He coughed uneasily, trying to get composed once more.

"I don't think that is the culprit-" he lied once more, turning the page hastily.

"Why do you say that?" she asked curiously, now turning to face Shigure. Her azure eyes focused on his uneasy form. He attempted to conceal his face behind the newspaper but it failed, she wanted answers and now. He sighed;

"Foxes don't live around here, there have never been any reports of a fox's den around here so I don't think it is that" Tohru looked away, the idea of having that sweet animal living nearby had given her some happiness. She knew the characteristics of this animal, how cute it was, how mischievous and devilish it was. That did not seem to matter, it was still a vulnerable animal.

"That's a shame-" she muttered quietly, alerting Shigure. Did she perhaps like foxes?

"Do you… like foxes Tohru?" he struggled to ask, trying not to give anything away. She paused, well they were cute even if they were a nuisance.

"They are cute" She answered, breakfast was almost done. That was a relief. Shigure stopped reading the paper and thought. She would think differently if she actually met THE fox, he wasn't cute in any way or nice. That was the reason for him being locked away. He swallowed hard;

"Foxes are not nice creatures, they kill animals like chickens, cause trouble and destroy rubbish bags. They are nothing but a nuisance" Tohru seemed saddened at Shigure's dislike to the animal, after all not all foxes were classed as devious were they?

Tohru was alerted to the sound of feet pounding the stairs. She smiled, Yuki and Kyo were finally awake and just in time for breakfast too. As she started to prepare the plates both Kyo and Yuki entered the dining room, giving each other a weird look before sitting down. Shigure now rested his newspaper down flat on the table as he seemed jollier than usual;

"Good morning Yuki, Kyo, sleep well?"

"Yes fine, why?" Yuki asked, knowing that Shigure's behaviour was different to normal. He shook his head, trying to divert the attention from him. Kyo remained silent, keeping an ever watchful gaze on both his cousins.

"No reason, Tohru has enlightened me about the midnight visitor" Shigure started, changing the subject. Kyo and Yuki looked at each other before any more words were spoken. Yuki looked at the table;

"Yes, the bags are ripped to shreds, it has been happening ever since Monday" Kyo now turned his eyes to Tohru, who was placing the food on the plates, blissfully unaware, at least he thought so. Shigure looked thoughtful as he placed a hand to his chin;

"Yes Tohru thinks it could be a fox"

"A fox?" Kyo said, louder than he originally planned. His eyes looked across to Yuki who gave him a cursed look.

"Foxes don't live around here do they?" Yuki said, trying to hide the fact that they all knew the intentions of this animal. Shigure nodded, keeping an eye on Tohru. She was not paying attention, it was okay.

"I have said that but Tohru thinks it is a fox, she also... likes foxes"

"I didn't say I like them-" she interrupted the conversation, turning around with plates full of food. She placed them on the table as she continued. "-I just think they are cute"

"Cute?" Yuki repeated, not quite believing what he was hearing. She nodded and smiled as she placed the last plate down in front of Shigure. She eased herself into a chair beside Kyo as everyone's eyes burned into her. Was it such a shock?

"I think foxes are horrible-" Kyo added in, looking away from Tohru. Her face portrayed confusion, she had no idea why everyone was so against them, it all made no sense.

"Anyway-" Shigure started, trying to change the subject. "-lets eat, I am starving!" Everyone nodded and commenced in the morning meal, leaving Tohru confused and bewildered. She would find out why they were so against foxes. It was not normal or natural. Foxes were animals just the same, even if Shigure's natural instinct was to hate foxes due to him being a dog it did not give the others a reason.

Once breakfast was over all three of them waved goodbye to Shigure and started their daily routine of walking to school. Tohru remained silent, the boys were acting strange this morning. Ever since the midnight visitor had started they had been on edge and behaving differently. She had no idea why but she was determined to find out.

"Yuki-" She started. He turned to look at her;

"What is it Ms. Honda?"

"Why are you all against foxes?" Kyo looked across at Yuki, giving him a stern look. Yuki looked away, not knowing what reasons he could give.

"They are just devious creatures-" He managed to say without giving away the real reason. Tohru looked downwards, they still did not clarify anything, they were avoiding the real question. She decided it would be beneficial if she found out this little secret on her own.

"Tohru do you know that foxes kill other animals? They are nasty, filthy animals. Why do you think they invented fox hunting?" Kyo started. Tohru looked across at the orange haired boy, her eyes portraying a sadness.

"Kyo that is horrible. Fox hunting is cruel, killing any animal is cruel and it should be stopped. I don't care if you all are against foxes, I am not"

She took a stand, feeling more confident than ever right now. The boys looked at each other, shrugged and continued their walk. They walked past a dark part of the forest where the atmosphere seemed to get increasingly worse, almost choking them. Tohru felt herself get slightly cold as the breeze whipped up violently. It tugged at her hair and clawed at her face as they walked past. The silence continued for the majority of the way. Tohru did not know what to say to them, their hatred for the animal was unreal. As they left the vicinity of the forest a figure emerged from the cover of the trees. He stood out in the sunshine, illuminating his slim figure. His spiked red hair shining in the sun's rays, his soft hazel eyes watching the fading shadows of his haters. He thought, that girl, she did not hate his existence, she actually defended him. Kurai stood motionless for some time. He had the idea now, he would get in contact with that girl. At least she wouldn't abhor him, detest him or hate him like his own family did. He smiled, a trip to the school seemed like a good idea right now and so he darted into the forest, out of sight, out of mind, as if he was not even there. As is he were a mirage. Tohru was blissfully unaware that her own opinions would result in something greater, for the cursed fox-child to be drawn to her and she would meet him eventually. The school beckoned them, the time to alter fate was upon them…

(Thank you all, please read and review this. Is Kurai bad? Why do the Sohma's hate him so much? )