That was...strange.

I couldn't focus in class today. My mind kept being drawn back to my encounter with Kyo Soma that morning. Even at lunch, I forgot to make a snarky comeback at the kids making fun of the way I looked, the way I was, who I was. They seemed rather surprised, but shrugged and moved on.

After school, I could look down at the front gate from the window of my classroom. After a few moments, a boy in the black uniform with a mess of orange hair stood there, watching his surroundings, looking for someone. I watched a few moments more. Even after everyone else had gone, the boy waited.

I hurried to the back of the school, to see the other boy. The mean one that made me meet him everyday. If not, he would hurt me. He could hurt me. He was stronger. But I was working hard. I'd be stronger than him soon, and then wouldn't he be surprised when I took his place in the gang and I was ordering him around for once?

"Hey, look guys. Told you she'd come. This is my girl, Rintori."

"What is with her? Is she an alien or something? She almost doesn't even look like a girl!"

"What do you want, Soru?"

"Just introducing you to some of the guys. Why? Is there a problem with that, babe?"

"Don't call me babe as is you even have the mildest of feelings. I am not your girl, and we will never be together. I despise you. You treat me like shit, and I don't want anything to do with you. Guys like you, they only irritate me. So why don't you just send your buddies home and tell me what you really want?"

One of the guys whistled. The other laughed. "You sure picked a weird one. Feisty, too. Bet that makes things a little kinky."

"What the hell is that supposed to mean? Just because I'm not the kind of girl you prefer, that automatically means that I'm only good for sex? That I have no standards? That I couldn't possibly have a meaningful relationship?"

The guys backed up a step or two, before they laughed again. "What kind of mess did you get yourself into, Soru? What kind of girlfriend is she?"

"Well, I will say...she is definitely a little kinky…"

The other two grinned, taking the implication of Soru's words and believing that he was telling the truth. They got real smug and walked over to me. "So, Soru. Would you mind if I took her for a test?" the one that had whistled earlier asked.

I stopped thinking. I punched him in the eye, back kicking the other in the gut. I broke the first's nose, and kicked the other a second time, this in the groin. Then I grabbed them each by a leg and threatened to break their legs until they begged. They lay crying on the concrete, begging for me to stop. Begging me to have mercy. Begging me to forgive their stupidity. I picked each one up by the leg I held and threw them over the fence. When they landed on the other side, one had a busted arm. The other a rather severe looking cut on his forehead. But neither paid attention to their injuries as they scrambled over each other to get away, as far away from me as they could.

"You keep getting better. You've been practicing, haven't you? That's my girl. But you'll never move any higher in the gang. You'll never be able to best me. Thanks for taking care of them, though. I wanted to show them what one of our weaker members could do, just so they would know what would happen if they fought a stronger member."

I stayed silent, breathing heavily and glaring at where I had thrown the two boys into the dirt.

Soru was unimpressed by my quiet, and grabbed me by the chin, forcing me to look at him. "What do you think you're going to do? Why train, when you'll never beat me? You're too weak."

I laughed. "And when I do beat you, I'll remember all the times you've told me I never will, and I will laugh all the more for it. Now let go of me, and stay away from me. One day, I'll be the one using you as my errand boy.

I turned to leave, but Soru grabbed my wrist. "And where is my goodbye kiss?"

"You know better than anyone that there isn't even such thing as a goodbye hug between us. Get lost. You've had your time with me for today."

"Oh, no. I'm not done with you. I still need another fifteen minutes or so."

"What's that supposed to mean?" I yanked my hand away from him, but he grabbed me by the shoulders instead.

I kept trying to get away, until he had backed me to a wall. "Let go of me, you asshole!"

"Not yet. I'm going to see if you really are so strange. I'm putting you to the test. I don't like kinky, I like painful. So hopefully this will be pleasant."

I fought him as he reached for the bottom of my shirt. He had my knees pinned with his own against the wall, or I would have kicked him. My arms were held over my head in one of his hands. Perhaps…

I strained both arms against his grip, and his hand opened. I tried to slip to the side and get away, but he put his arm in the way, trapping me.

"I think she said let go of her, asshole!"

Suddenly there was a blur of motion, and orange and brown mixed as they rolled on the ground. When they stopped, an orange-haired guy was pounding Soru in the face. I saw when Soru went unconscious, but the orange-haired boy showed no sign of stopping. I ran up to him and pulled at his shirt. When he raised a fist, it hit me instead, and I fell back. My cheek stung a little, but I jumped up and tackled the boy off Soru instead.

"He's unconscious. You've won! Stop it!"

There was a split second when I saw Kyo under me in my tackle, and then there was a poof of smoke and I was sitting on top of his clothes holding an orange cat. I stared, not believing my eyes for a moment. "K-Kyo? Kyo Soma? I don't understand...I mean, I tackled you off Soru, and now...you're a cat."

"Yeah, I'm a cat," he grumbled. "Just grab my clothes and let's go. Make sure you don't stop hugging me."

"Why?"

"Because if you do, I'm going to transform back."

"But wouldn't that be a good thing?"

"Sure, except I'll be naked."

"Oh." I stuffed Kyo's clothes in my bag with the rest of my stuff, and picked Kyo up, hugging him over my shoulder.

"I know this is comfy for you, but it ain't for me."

"Oh, I'm sorry. Is that better?" I asked as I readjusted so that I was hugging him in one arm while he curled up in a ball in my other.

"Um...yes, actually. Thank you."

I walked out the front gate, following Kyo's quiet directions. He normally had such a temper, but now he seemed very mellow.

"You seem to be taking this rather well."

"What? That you transformed into a cat? Well, you kind of hinted at it earlier, when you asked if I liked the cat from the story, so it wasn't quite as bad of a shock."

"Oh, right…"

"And the rat...he tricked the cat, and they never got along again. Yuki isn't a rat, is he?"

Kyo's eyes widened, and he avoided my gaze for a moment before looking at me again. "Yeah, he is. He gets on my nerves a lot."

"Mine too. Which makes sense, because I never did care for the rat in the story, or the personality associated with it. And, this older cousin...you said he likes dogs. He wouldn't happen to be a dog, would he?"

"Right again."

"So, here's what I don't get. Why do you turn into animals?"

"A curse."

"Curse?"

"There is a curse on my family, the Soma family. When we are hugged by a normal person of the opposite sex, or when our bodies are under a lot of stress, we transform into our zodiac animal. But there are only thirteen zodiac members, as there are twelve zodiac animals and the cat. The majority of the rest of our family doesn't know about the curse, and those that do fear that one day, it might be their grandchildren that are given the curse."

"Is there a way to end such a thing? I mean, how did it start?"

"No one knows. At least, no one alive. Those that did know probably forgot, or just didn't tell anybody. Jerks."

"Okay, but you didn't answer my other question. Is there a way to break the curse?"

"If there is, I don't know it. You'd be better off asking Shigure, my older cousin."

"The dog. Right…"

After a few more steps of silence, I asked, "So how do Toru and Yuki have a relationship? I mean, this is obviously not anything just anybody knows. It's a family secret for a reason. So, I imagine Toru would know. But how does that affect their relationship?"

"I wouldn't know. I...uh...I've never…" Kyo looked away again. "Damn it…"

"What is it? What did you want to say?"

"I've never had a girlfriend, alright?" he shouted.

He squirmed in my arms, but didn't try to jump away. It was quiet for a while again, and Kyo told me to turn down a dirt road.

"Guess I seem pretty lame to you now. First, I can't even have decent conversation with you this morning. Then I turn into a cat before your eyes when you tackle me to stop a fight. And now you've learned that I've never even had a girlfriend."

"I don't know, Kyo. I think it's kind of...cute." I smiled, a real genuine smile. I realized it had been a really long time since I last smiled.

"I think that's the first time I've seen you smile," Kyo commented, echoing my thoughts.

"Yeah? Well, what would you know? I just moved here."

"That was a couple months ago. But in all this time, I don't think I've actually seen you smile."

"Please. You didn't even know I had no friends. How would you know whether or not I smile?"

"I watch you in class. People don't talk to you much, but even when they do, there is no smile on your face. I just assumed you had friends in your grade you were close with, and that's why you didn't really care about making friend with the third years."

"No. I don't have any friends. And I don't smile for several reasons."

"Okay, look, I don't want to hear your life story. I was just commenting on the fact that you smiled, alright?"

"Sure, whatever."

Kyo sighed. "You shouldn't be so 'whatever' about it. I...I was commenting on your smile because you have a really pretty smile. And I didn't mean that, about your life. I mean...I'll listen, if you want to talk."

"But I don't want to talk about my past. That's why I didn't mind you saying you didn't want to listen."

"Is your past really so terrible?"

"Probably not as bad as yours. I mean, I can't imagine growing up fearing that I'll transform into a cat if a guy hugged me. But...well, it's probably a lot worse than a lot of kids around here have it."

"And you're okay with that?"

"If I were okay with it, I probably wouldn't be the way I am. I'm not saying my life is awful or anything. I'm glad I'm able to go to school, and that I could talk to people, if I wanted to, and that I have an okay job and a place to stay. But...well, when school is a lonely place filled with jerks and annoyances, and that okay job is...unmentionable, and that place to stay is at your tormentor's house...well, life can't be too great, either."

"Tormentor's house? What does that mean?"

"Um, well, that guy you were beating up? His name is Soru Herraity. He's actually a really nice guy, when he isn't drunk. But, well, ever since he was fourteen, he's been drunk or hungover almost twenty-four seven. No one has been able to get him to stop."

"Okay? What does he have to do with it?"

"Well, he's a third year, like you. He's seventeen. And, he has his own house. I had no where else to go, so when he offered me a place to stay...I accepted."

"You're living with that asshole? He was about to rape you!"

"I don't have any other choice. I have no where else to go."

"What do you mean? Go back to your parents, you idiot!"

"I have no parents to go back to."

Kyo froze in my arms. "Wh-...what happened to them?"

"They were both in the military. My father died months after I was born. My mother died when I was six. I was quite a sight. A sobbing mess accepting my mother's honor medals and shroud. I was sent to stay with my grandparents for a while, but they moved out of the country when I was eight. Then I was sent to my other grandparents, but they aren't in the best of health. So, when I was eleven, I ran away. No aunts or uncles wanted to take me in. I know, because my grandmother had already called all of them before I left. For a couple of years I lived in a box in an alley, eating scraps. My whole life was hell then, but I still managed to go to school. Then I met Soru. He found me one night, sobbing in my my box, screaming about my horrible parents, who couldn't keep themselves alive so that I wouldn't be alone. So that I could be a normal kid, and grow up without having to worry about food or money or my home. I hated my parents, because they had left me to fend for myself. But then Soru came. He told me that I shouldn't be angry with my parents. I should be proud of them. They died doing what they thought was right. And when Soru said that, it was kind of amazing. He was about to go when it started to rain. He stood there, watching me as I tilted the box on its side so the inside would be sort of dry and I could lay in it. He asked me why I was staying in the box, why I didn't go home. So I told him why I was in the box. And he went away for a few minutes. He came back with an umbrella, picked up my few belongings in the box and put them in a backpack, slung the bag over his shoulder, and pulled me against him under the umbrella, to protect me from the wind and rain. He took me home with him. His parents wouldn't let me stay there, so Soru asked if I could stay in the shed, if not in the garage. His parents laughed. They hadn't used the shed in years because it was in such poor condition. But Soru just asked again, and they said sure, why not. So Soru put my box on the porch for the night, so I'd be dry and a little warm. The next day when we got back from school, we worked on fixing the shed up. It took us three weeks to get that shed fixed, but we did it. No more holes, bugs, snakes, or anything. I had my own key and a little space to call home. When it became clear I wasn't going anywhere, Soru's parents started letting me at meals with them, and allowing me in the house during the day. At night, I still stayed in the shed. Last year, Soru finally got sick of his parents' cruelty to me on one of his sober days, so he rented an apartment and moved the two of us there. I don't know how he keeps his job or earns most of the money for rent, but he does. I pay for food and what few bills we get."

Kyo stared at me. I had stopped walking to tell him all of that. His silence kind of scared me. But then he crawled up and put his arms over my shoulder again, hugging me in return. "Sorry I lied to you earlier about this being uncomfortable. But this is the equivalent of me hugging you in this form, so it was emotionally uncomfortable, not physically."

I squeezed him lightly, and he purred, rubbing his head against me.

"So, where is your house?"

"Not much further. In fact, if you look up ahead, you'll probably see a little turn off. That leads down to the house."

I followed his directions, surprised when I saw the cozy looking place Kyo called home. The whole time, I occasionally gave Kyo the opportunity to stop hugging me, but he never did. He seemed content as he was. When I stepped onto the porch, Kyo still wouldn't let go.

"Why won't you stop hugging me?"

"Because if no one else is going to hug you, I'm going to. I doubt you've ever had many hugs."

"Well, no...not really."

"And you deserve better than that, after going through hell just to survive."

"Kyo? Is that your voice I hear?"

The door slid open in front of me, and guy that looked to be about twenty-five stepped out. When he saw me, he froze, looking utterly confused. Then he noticed Kyo, transformed into a cat, purring in my arms.

"Oh dear…Kyo, what kind of mess have you gotten yourself into, now?"

"What did Kyo do?" another male voice asked. Another door opened, and Yuki peeked out. "Oh…"

"Why is everyone standing at the door?" a girl's voice asked.

Shigure stood aside, and Toru was looking out at me. "Oh, Kyo!"

"Um…" I backed away a step, now very nervous to be anywhere near them. Kyo rubbed his head against my neck, a comfort.

"Everything will be alright. We just have to tell them what happened."

"Um…" I could feel my cheeks heat up with a blush. "I don't suppose I could take him to a bathroom and leave his clothes in there so he could change back, could I?"

Yuki face palmed. "Stupid cat. Sorry for the trouble, Miss Nakunishi. Please, follow me."

Yuki led me to a bathroom, and I left Kyo's clothes on the counter. He let go of me rather reluctantly before hiding in the bathroom. I stood against the wall by the door, unnerved at the thought of going anywhere in this house without him. It wasn't long before I heard a poof, signaling Kyo's transformation. When the door opened, Kyo seemed surprised to find me waiting.

"What're you doing?"

"Um, well, I don't really know Yuki or your cousin or Toru…"

"Well, come on and meet them, then. I'm sure you'll like Toru and Shigure, even if you don't like Yuki."

I followed Kyo into a comfy room with a table, cushions, and a TV. Yuki, Shigure, and Toru were all seated around. There were two cushions beside each other left open. Kyo plopped down on the one by Shigure, and I tentatively sat between him and Toru.

"So, what all has Kyo told you?" Toru asked.

"Secrets I'll take to the grave," I said defensively. If Toru somehow didn't know about the Soma's zodiac curse, she wouldn't hear it from my lips.

Kyo laughed beside me. "She already knows the secret, Rintori. No need to be so serious."

"Oh, right. You're the transfer second year student, Rintori Nakunishi, aren't you?" Toru asked.

"Um, yes, that's me."

"I've heard several rumors that you're quite the dangerous little rebel," Yuki commented. "Is that true?"

"Who are you to judge, you damn rat!" Kyo yelled.

I poked his knee, and he started, meeting my eyes and then looking away, embarrassed by his outburst at Yuki.

"If you're referring to the one regarding whether I'm the leader of a gang or not, then that is partially true. I am a part of a gang, but I am not the leader. I'm a third tier right now, and that's not even close to the inner circle."

Yuki and Toru stared, mouths agape at me. Shigure laughed, and appeared to be reminiscing something. Kyo gave me a serious look.

"So why don't you get stronger, so you can take care of that drunk jerk Soru?"

"I have been trying to get stronger. But when Soru isn't drunk, he talks about how happy he'll be to see me graduate a lot. I don't want to disappoint him, but studying takes a lot of time."

"Who is Soru?" Yuki asked.

"He's kind of like a brother to me, and I'm staying at his house."

"Is it safe?"

"Has been so far."

Kyo watched me closely as I said that. Suddenly, he grabbed my wrist and dragged me from the room for a moment.

"So it isn't safe there. What did he do?"

"Nothing major…"

"Does whatever it is happen often?"

"Oh, no, no. Only once, and Soru was absolutely horrified by what he'd done."

"What was it?"

"Well, after work one night, I went home. Soru had been drinking more than usual, and he was frustrated already from a phone call with his parents. So, when I got home, he just kind of lost it. He threw a bottle at me and hit me a couple of times. I didn't care about the hits, they didn't hurt. But the bottle shattered against the door and a lot of big pieces got stuck in my arm, one really big one in my thigh, and a couple in my cheek. The most painful ones though, was the one that scratched me from my temple to my jaw, and another that went behind me and cut my back. Those two left the most obvious scars. Soru had rushed me to the hospital in tears, horrified of what he'd done. He stayed sober for three months, endlessly apologizing and always doing things for me. Eventually, his grief became to much, and he started drinking again, trying to forget the pain he caused me."

Kyo turned my face to the left, then the right, where the scar was. He traced it with his finger from my temple to my jaw. He turned me around, finding the start of the scar on my back peeking out from over my shirt. He turned me to face him again, and looked at my hands, noticing the little white scars from the smaller pieces that got in my hand. "There's so many…"

"The bottle did shatter," I reminded him.

"Who does he think he is, treating you like he did today?"

I shrugged, uncomfortable under the scrutiny.

"What are you guys talking about out here?" Yuki asked, coming out into the hall with us.

"More reasons I'm glad I kicked Soru's ass, and plan to do it again!"

"Oh, no, Kyo! Please, don't do that!"

"Why not? He deserves it!"

"I know he hurt me, but, well...he's all I have."

Yuki looked between us, entirely confused.

"What do you want, you damn rat? Leave us alone!"

Yuki opened his mouth to respond, but Kyo raised his fist.

I didn't think as I tackled him and Yuki both. I just didn't want them to fight.

There were two poof sounds, and then I was falling, my shadow covering a rat and a cat. I closed my eyes, praying they weren't crushed. Then a force rammed into me, sending me the opposite way, and I landed on my back holding a dog.

Toru stood in the doorway, looking at the mess of clothes and the three animals all looking at me.

"Shigure, you're kind of a big dog, and you're really heavy. Could you get off, please?"

Shigure stepped off of me carefully, so as not to use me for a spring board. He looked at me with his head tilted to the side, as if considering me. Then his tail started wagging.

"Why are you so happy?" I asked.

"No particular reason. I just think that our family has been blessed with another person we can trust and get close to without fear."

"Why would you be scared of me?"

"Well, despite your appearances, it's so much that we are scared of you, but of getting close to you. If Akito decides...nevermind. I'll spare you the horror."

"She needs to know. She doesn't need to deal with more stuff. She's already had it rough. So just tell her straight up. You don't have to tiptoe around her like you do Toru," Kyo spat.

I didn't know what I'd done to make him angry, but it made me a bit upset.

"Alright. Well, you see...Miss Nakunishi, was it?"

I nodded, and he continued.

"Well, you see, most people that find out about our family's curse...well, they have to have their memories wiped."

My past rushed through me, up to this moment. There were very few memories I had that I never wanted to forget. A memory wipe didn't seem to bad.

"So, I would forget everything about myself?"

"No. You would just forget anything you knew about our curse, any discussions you've had with us about the zodiac, those days would be wiped from your mind."

"So, it would be like today never happened."

"Correct. Our dear Toru here was fortunate in that Akito decided to let her keep her memories. I'm not sure how lucky you will be, but I am required to alert him that you have learned of us."

"Why?"

"He is the head of the family. He is in charge of matters like this."

"If I don't tell anyone, why does he have to know? You can trust me. I don't spill others' secrets. Nobody could torture it out of me."

"I have no doubt you're telling the truth. But I'm afraid the decision lies with Akito. It is the way things are done."

Yuki was strangely quiet. Kyo couldn't meet my gaze.

"Kyo?"

"What?" he asked angrily.

"Are you mad at me? Did I do something wrong? Or are you just upset that I learned your secret?"

"No. It's nothing like that. I just...I'm sorry for getting you mixed up in all of this. You've already had a lot to deal with, and dealing with us? Well, it isn't easy."

"My life has never been easy, so why would this be any different?"

There was a poof noise, and Kyo, still in cat form, jumped to me. Instinctively, I caught him in an embrace, closing my eyes and burying my face in his fur. There was another poof shortly after, and the sounds of Yuki and Shigure dressing.

"Alright, you won't see anything you don't want to see now," Shigure said quietly.

I lifted my head and opened my eyes, seeing Shigure and Yuki back to their usual selves standing in front of me. I still held Kyo gently to my body. When he looked up at me, all I could see was regret.

"Are you sorry you met me?" I whispered, bracing myself.

"No. I'm glad you came here, and I'm glad I got my first chance to talk to you today. I'm glad to have finally gotten to truly meet you. I'm just sorry for dragging you into all of this, knowing it might be all pointless and you'll probably forget."

"I don't think I would want to forget today. Even though it's only been one day, I'm glad I can call you a friend. I don't suppose I'm your friend?"

"One of three. Only three. And all three are in this house."

"Excluding me in that three, of course. We will never be friends," Yuki said coldly. He went back into the sitting room, flipping on some cartoons. Toru gave me a friendly smile before following him, sitting beside him. They whispered quietly together, and I wasn't sure, but I thought they were holding hands.

"I'm glad I can be one of those three, Kyo, and I wouldn't want to forget that," I said, squeezing him lightly.

"Yeah. Now, can we cut the mush? As much as I want to hug you for all the times you've missed out on hugs, I also like being human."

"Sure. Do you want to dress in the bathroom again?"

"That would be best."

"Alright." I gathered up his clothes and took him to the bathroom again. He rubbed his head against my neck again before letting me put him down and closing the door.

When he stepped out, he seemed vaguely annoyed.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing. I just don't like this dumb uniform much, and I've been wearing it all day."

His words made me glance out the window, and I saw the sun was almost down. Twilight was settling. My favorite time. But I also needed to get home.

"Uh, okay. Well, you can go change in your room, wherever that is. I have to go. I don't know if I can find my way back as is, and I need to get home…"

"To that jerk, Soru?"

"Well, yes…"

Kyo glared at the wall for a moment. "Come on. I'll walk you home. And tomorrow, we'll go to your place after school. I'm gonna scope out the scene, see if you're really safe there. Maybe talk some sense into him."

When I didn't respond, Kyo grabbed my wrist and yanked me after him, outside, and up the path. The trip seemed much shorter leaving than coming. Probably because Kyo and I didn't speak. But the silence wasn't awkward. It was rather comfortable.

At the corner of my block, just a few feet my from my house, Kyo waved goodbye, and then he was gone in the night.

I stepped inside, hearing Soru's snores. I covered him in a blanket. I thought long and hard before the next thing I did. But still, as risky as it was, I thought it was necessary. I threw all of the alcohol in the house out. Even the secret stashes Soru thought I didn't know about. All of it, gone. Then I went upstairs to my room, and went to bed.