Disclaimer: Chaos is mine, Fruits Basket characters aren't….Understood?

Chapter 8: Hopes

                Kyo sped downstairs,

                'I have to get out of the house before those two get here. I do NOT want to run into that psychic… or the yankee…' Kyo had been up on the roof just after breakfast but when he saw Tohru's friends coming over for a visit, he thought it best to stay away from them…especially the psychic…he never could figure out what she was thinking…whether she meant good or ill…whether she knew about the family's secret…

                Tohru was walking out of the kitchen when Kyo was walking in, both not paying much attention…and they collided, then POOF! Tohru had been knocked down and when she sat up and looked for whoever had bumped into her, she saw a gray mouse getting up out of Yuki's clothes.

                "Yuki…" Kyo just looked up at her with a,

                "Huh?"

                "I'm so sorry!" she gave a little bow as she said this then went to find Shigure after putting Yuki in his room. After a little searching she found him as he was going into his room.

                "Shigure, I'd like to talk to you about something…do you have the time?"

                "Sure do. Just come and have a seat while I put these papers away, then you can start." As soon as he had put a stack of papers in a folder she began,

                "You said you couldn't tell me what you were hiding from me and I thought I found it out last night…but now I'm not so sure." She looked up at Shigure to make sure he was paying attention before she continued, "I fell on Yuki after he tried to cheer me up and…he didn't transform…"

                "Yes…He told me a little about that last night," Shigure winced a little at remembering how Kyo had thrown him out of his room then directed his full attention back to Tohru.

                "Just a little while ago, He bumped into me and he…transformed into a mouse-"

                "WHAT!?" when Shigure received a questioning look from Tohru, he quickly regained his usual composure. "I mean, it's just that…I thought he wouldn't transform anymore…Look. Tohru…this is over my head…Kyo, Yuki, and myself don't even know what exactly is going on."

                "Is that why you wouldn't tell me anything?"

                "Yes. I can't and won't tell you anything except…To not look into it too hard. We are trying our best to find out what is going on…and don't worry. If Hatori can't find anything wrong with them, then there isn't anything to worry about, right?" He gave her one of his goofy smiles, got a nod and a smile in return before she got up and left the room. 'I wish that were true…AHH! What in the hell is going on here!?' Shigure rubbed his forehead as he continued to worry about the boys' dilemma. 'If this keeps up, there's no telling how bad this will get…It started out harmless but this is getting more serious day by day! I hope Hatori has the results already…'

                Chaos watched with joy as he saw the normally happy dog overcome with worry and misery. 'Don't forget! I'm still here…and I'm not finished yet!' his eyes began to glow for a few moments then faded back to normal as another one of his eerie smiles came across his furry face…and he resumed his ever watchful eye on the household.

                Yuki watched as Tohru walked away from the house with her friends on either side of her. They were going to the mall to see some chick flick…That would give the other two men and himself enough time to talk about everything that had happened so far… 'While she's gone, Shigure can call Hatori to see if he found anything yet. We can also talk about what has been happening with the curse.'

                "Yes…I see…Well, thank you for trying anyway…I will…Bye." Shigure hung up the phone then turned towards the two boys who looked like they had just been sentenced the death penalty. Yuki was the first to speak,

                "He…Hatori didn't find anything?"

                "No…He said he checked everything three times or better…and that the results meant that you two were very healthy and there was nothing out of the ordinary."

                "Did he try everything? Isn't there something else he can do!?"

                "I'm afraid not, Kyo…He sounded like he was pretty sick over the phone. That's the worst I've ever-"

                "I'm home!" Tohru called up the stairs as she walked into the kitchen. She was half way done fixing lunch when the three came down stairs. Shigure came in the kitchen with his usual attitude while the other two just sat down at the table. When she finished cooking and set the food on the table, she gathered up the courage to ask why they were looking so down,

                "Is everyone alright? Are Yuki and Kyo coming down with something?" Yuki just let his head fall on the table while Kyo answered,

                "No…we're just a little depressed. How was the movie?"

                "Oh, the movie we originally wanted to see was sold out so we chose a different one."

                "Tell us about it, Tohru. Maybe it will help cheer the boys up." Shigure said as he put on one of his happier faces to convince Tohru that it wasn't anything too serious.

                "Well basically, it was about these two rivals that woke up in each other's bodies…" Kyo snapped his head up and asked,

                "So what happened? Did they ever switch back? What was the cause?"

                "I'm not really sure what the cause was, someone pulled the fire alarm just when the movie had started, and they did eventually switch back…but we didn't find out why it all happened because something made the camera mess up…"

                Kyo looked back down at the table,

                "Too bad. It sounded interesting. You should have asked for a refund." 'I wonder if that information would have helped us out?' He picked up his spoon and began to eat. He blocked out the rest of the conversation as he continued to think about the movie Tohru had seen.

                Yuki had thoughts of what Tohru had said going around in his mind too. 'Kyo and I will have to go and check out the movie…just in case it will help.' That was really the only option they had at the moment. Their hope of Hatori saving the day was dashed to pieces earlier today. After every one had finished eating Yuki found Kyo on the roof and they both agreed that they would go see the movie tomorrow just a few hours after breakfast. They also devised a plan to keep Tohru busy for a while and they wouldn't have to keep Shigure busy since he would be teasing his editor tomorrow.

(AN: Good? Bad? (Did I get it right this time? The lady is his editor, correct? (Let's see…her name is…Mii…? My brain just doesn't like her name…-_-;)) Just to let you know, the fire alarm bit has happened to me at the theaters before. Some jerk pulled the fire alarm just as Spiderman was starting…anyway, please review to let me know what ya think. Sorry I cut the story off here, but I didn't want it to be too much longer than the other chapters…)