"Get out of the way!"

I looked up in time to see a boy on a skateboard flying down the street toward me. I plastered myself against the wall surrounding the main house and tried to make myself flat against it. When the skateboarding kid flew past me, I exhaled and relaxed my tense muscles.

"I'm sorry." I turned and saw that the boy had managed to stop and was now looking at me. He picked up his skateboard and started walking toward me. He had a huge grin on his face that reminded me of Kami's. "I'm still trying to get used to stopping on this thing." He nodded to the skateboard. "That's why I'm practising here. Usually, nobody comes along this road."

I looked at him with an emotionless stare. "That's because this entire block is a private estate." I informed him.

"Oh, I know that." He said, nodding quickly. Then he looked up at the wall. "It's the old, abandoned Sakura house." He looked back at me and grinned. "My friends say that it's haunted, by the ghosts of the people who never really got a chance to call this place their home."

I blinked at him in surprise a few times. "Abandoned? Why would anyone think that it was abandoned?" It seemed like an absurd thing, since nearly fifty people lived there. It was just a little community cut off from the rest of the world, very far from being abandoned.

The boy looked around, as if making sure that nobody else could hear us. Then he leaned in and whispered. "I've heard that, every night, thousands of rats come from all over the city to feast on the overgrown gardens, and any birds that have flown over the house and died."

I felt my ears twitch, a strange thing that sometimes happened to me since I was the cat. "Rats?" I repeated. I suppressed a laugh. I knew exactly what he was talking about. I guess to anyone who didn't know, it would look like the place was abandoned. But the truth was that the head of the family was also part of the curse. He was the rat, and every night he would call other rats to come and keep him company.

The boy nodded. Then his face brightened. "I've got an idea!" He cried. "Some friends and I are going to stake this place out tonight. You know, see if we can confirm that the stories are true. Why don't you come too?" He gave me a lopsided grin. "You're the only girl I've met who isn't disgusted by the thought of thousands of rats."

I stared at him in surprise. I had never done anything with anyone other than Kami. Because of the curse, I had been really cautious about making friends. If I became friends with boys there was always the chance of getting too close to them and transforming.

But someone had just invited me to spend time with a group of people. It was something completely new to me, and a part of me really wanted to say yes. The word was on the tip of my tongue, but I just couldn't say it. If I was the only girl who wasn't disgusted by rats, that meant that the group of his friends was a group of boys. I couldn't think of a more dangerous situation.

He was still waiting for a response. I swallowed hard and managed a kind smile. "That sounds like fun." I told him. Then I looked away slightly. "But I don't know if I can."

"That's okay." He sounded a little disappointed. "Hey, if you can come, we're all going to be meeting right here at about 10. Feel free to just show up." He set his skateboard down and I knew that the conversation was over. Then he held out a hand. "I'm Tohru, by the way. Tohru Kimura."

I shook his hand and smiled widely. "Kari." I didn't want to tell him my last name, since that would probably destroy the invitation. I just smiled and waved as he got on his skateboard and started off down the street.

I watched as he moved away from me. I felt almost sad when I couldn't see him anymore. It was a strange feeling and I was angry at myself for feeling it. He was just a normal person, so it wasn't like he was someone I could talk openly with. That alone meant that we couldn't be friends.

I sighed heavily and turned back to the bushes. I crouched down in front of them, glanced both ways, and parted them. The hole in the wall was still there, and I could see the bushes that grew on the other side as well. I smiled and pushed my way through the opening and into those bushes. The ones on the outside of the wall bounced back into place and I was completely hidden.

I liked it there, just crouching in the bushes. It was actually very comfortable. I breathed in deeply and enjoyed the smell of the flower gardens nearby. I didn't want to leave the safety of the bushes, but I knew that just sitting here was worthless.

I slowly parted the bushes and looked around. Nobody was in the garden, and I couldn't see anyone at the windows of the nearby houses. I silently crawled out and stood up. I shook my head to get some straggling leaves out of my hair, and then I turned in the direction of the family head's house.

I ran swiftly and silently through the trees that grew between the houses along the way. Usually I would have climbed one of the trees and jumped from branch to branch to get around, but today I stuck to the ground. This was the first time I had come in my school uniform, and I just didn't feel comfortable with the idea of jumping around in a skirt. Even though I knew that nobody was around, I couldn't shake the idea of someone walking by underneath the trees and looking up at me. Just the idea make my face grow hot.

I reached the family head's house and stood against the wall. There wasn't much cover, and my ears were pricked for the sound of anyone coming toward the house. I slowly turned my head so that I could peer in though the circular window.

The head of the family was seated to the right of the window, and I could see him the best. Then I saw that Kami and our mom were seated to the left of the window. Both of them where crouched with their heads bowed.

I turned away and stared ahead of me, not wanting to risk any of them glancing over and seeing me. The window was just a hole in the wall of the building, and I could hear what they were saying perfectly. I listened intently to the conversation.

"-sixteen now, right?" I heard the end of one of the family head's sentences.

"Yes, sir." Mom responded.

"Have you spoken to her yet about what we are here to discuss?"

"No."

I heard the family head exhale thoughtfully. "Kami?" He addressed my sister. "Do you know how special you are to this family?"

I felt my hands clench into fists. Inside the room, I knew that Kami's were doing the same. All our lives, every time we met someone from the family who knew about the curse, they had always commented like that. Nobody could ever wait to tell Kami just how special she was.

"Yes, sir." Kami muttered. I could tell that she was forcing her voice to remain calm.

"We all want the best for your future." The family head continued.

Kami remained silent.

"That's why you are here." He continued. "We must discuss how we plan to guarantee that future."

"How is that, sir?" Kami asked. I could tell from her voice that she was genuinely curious.

"Through marriage." Came his response. "Arrangements are being made for you and I to marry after you graduate high school."