Chapter Four: The Curse

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So sorry about the delay...but here's the next chapter! ^_^ Hope you continue to support me with your reviews...enjoy!

~Maeven~

"And then what happened?" Uotani demanded.

"The worst mistake of my life," Kyou snapped.

/FLASHBACK/

Kagura coughed weakly, sputtering up water. She opened her eyes and blinked confusedly. She was back on the deck of her family's sturdy wooden boat. An orange haired boy sat across from her with his legs crossed underneath him; his hand was propped up securely in his palm and he glared at her, his scarlet eyes blazing furiously. The golden sunlight framed his well-built tanned body and her eyes began to glaze over.

"Stupid girl...how the hell did you managed to fall off a ship on a nice clear day? It's bad enough you people keep barreling through our waters and disrupting the peace...now you plan to litter the sea with your bodies! How - uh, what are you...oi. Oi! Get off me, wench!" Kyou struggled to pry the girl's arms off and turned pale as Kagura looked up at him with shining eyes.

"You saved me! My hero! My own prince in shining armor! You saved me!" She squeezed the boy to her.

He yelled, panicking. "It wasn't like I had a choice!" Kyou tried to edge closer to the railing, where he could make his escape safely to his haven, the ocean.

Kagura, however, refused to be put off and clung to the boy. "It's love at first sight! Oh, this is so romantic! So beautiful!"

"Baka! You don't even know me!" Kyou screamed in frustration.

"Hi, I'm Princess Kagura! What's your name?"

Kyou groaned desperately and mumbled, "Kyou."

"Kyou! My darling! Don't worry...we'll have the rest of our lives to get to know each other more..." she beamed. The boy gnashed his teeth. [Humans are the craziest things created and I'll be damned if I have to spend a second more with this lunatic...]

"What's going on here?"

They turned to stare at a thin lavender haired boy, who raised an eyebrow back at them.

"Yuki! Come! I want you to meet my fiancé, Kyou!"

"NANI?!"

Yuki ignored the other boy's outburst and glanced over Kyou, quickly assessing him. He folded his arms and to Kyou's irritation, he stated, "Honestly, Kagura, I think you could do way better than this. For gods' sake, he's bare-chested...probably some primitive cave-dweller..."

"NANI?!"

"YUKI, brother dear, what's happening? All this ruckus disrupted my rest time with Gure and Tori..." A long white haired pouting man appeared with two dark haired men.

"I don't even want to know," a sullen boy came up on deck followed by a tall expressionless boy and another short, bouncy one.

Yuki drawled, "Kagura says she's getting married to this wet and half-naked guy here."

Silence. "Oh, that's...nice," Momiji offered.

Kyou jumped to his feet. "Wait a minute, you sickos! I don't think this whole thing is "nice" and I sure ain't marrying this loony bin here!"

The ship erupted in an uproar.

"LOONY BIN?! KYOU! HOW COULD YOU BE SO HURTFUL AFTER ALL THE THINGS WE'VE BEEN THROUGH TOGETHER!!"

"BAKA! WE SPENT 15 MINUTES TOP WITH EACH OTHER! WHAT KIND OF A RELATIONSHIP DID YOU HAVE BEFORE??!!"

"So Kagura isn't getting married?"

"NO!"

"YES!"

"Oh, Kagura, forget about him...did you just fished him out of the water or something?"

"Listen, you prissy boy! I've had it up to here with your insults!!! And for your information, I was the one who fished her out...not the other way around...stupid humans..."

"What was that, Kyoukichi-kun honey? I didn't catch your last words!"

"WHO THE HELL ARE YOU?! I DON'T EVEN KNOW YOU!!"

"Ah, well, please to make your acquaintance. I'm the lovely, dashing, charming Prince Ayame, your future cousin-in-law!"

"SHUT U -" *BAM*.

"Yuki-kun, that wasn't nice. He was talking."

Yuki shrugged, brushing his bangs from his eyes. "He called me prissy."

In a flash, Kyou was back on his feet, his eyes flashing dangerously. "You little -"

BOOM! A flash of light shot down from the sky and enveloped the ship, rocking it hard. Everyone crashed to the floor, stunned. "What's happening?!" Kagura screamed, holding a hand up to her eyes to block the harsh light. The boat careened crazily over the water and everyone clung on to the deck desperately. And then it was over.

The boat swayed gently on the waters, the sky once more a light blue color. Everything seemed normal again...and yet, something felt different. Kyou looked around confusedly. Why did everything seem so...so...small?

"AHHHHH!!" Kagura screamed. Everyone whipped their heads around to look at the girl...but found a tiny brown pig instead. The little boar was staring into a puddle of water on the deck and its small jaw was hanging open in disbelief. She wailed, "I'm a pig!! A pig!!"

Kyou blinked and walked forward...then blinked again and looked down. With a yelp of surprise, he raised his mini orange paws and waved them in front of his eyes. "Oh good god! What the hell?!"

The ship was once more in an uproar. Everyone ran about in a panic over their new bodies. A monkey suddenly bounded up from below deck and screeched, "GOMEN NASAI!! GOMEN NASAI!!! THE GODS PROBABLY DECIDED TO PUNISH ME ONCE AGAIN AND CURSED ALL OF YOU TOO!!! GOMEN NASAAIIIIIII!!!! WE'VE BEEN TRANSFORMED INTO THE JUUNISHI ANIMALS!!! AHHHHHH!!!"

"Shut up! Stop running around! If we pause to think about this completely irrational occurrence, maybe we can find a solution or something! Maybe...maybe this won't be permanent," a seahorse, lying on the ground helplessly, stated.

POOF! Everyone was back in their beloved human forms...minus clothing. Kyou struggled into his pants as he stumbled to the railing. With a heave, he jumped over the side of the boat and back into his home. He screamed back his goodbye, "Humans are already all messed up...but you Sohmas seem to go beyond!! I hope I never ever see your sorry little faces again!!"

/FLASHEND/

"But it was permanent...and we never did found out why it happened," Hatori sighed, folding his arms.

"It was the baka neko...as soon as he stepped onto our boat, we got cursed," Yuki said dryly.

"Hey, don't blame me, kuso nezumi!! If anything, it was you and your stupid family!!"

The two boys stared daggers at each other. With a snort, Kyou tossed his head and grabbed Kisa's hand. "C'mon, we're getting out of here."

The Sohmas all leaped up. In a reflex action, Hiro grabbed Kisa's other hand and yanked hard. "Hold on! What do you mean you're leaving?!"

Kagura pouted, "Kyou! Where are you going?!"

Kyou barked, "Well duh! We're going back home! C'mon Yankee, Denpa, Onigiri."

The three girls blanched at their nicknames; Uotani opened her mouth indignantly when Hatori interrupted quietly. "I'm sorry...but our King has yet to decide whether to release you girls...especially now that you learned our secret. Please continue to stay for a few days as our guests."

"Guests?! You're holding them as your prisoners!!" Kyou yelled furiously.

"Hardly, baka," Yuki snapped. "Honda-san, do you mind staying? I'll really appreciate having your company...the palace can be so boring. I'll love to have you here as my guest...as my friend." He smiled softly.

The girl flushed and murmured shyly, "I'll love to...if it isn't too much trouble."

Kyou gritted his teeth in disbelief and unconsciously stepped closer to Tohru. "Oh, c'mon. We don't belong here...you know that as well as I do, Tohru."

The girl bit her lip. "I - I suppose you're right, Kyou-kun." The merprince smirked triumphantly at the dark-faced Yuki.

Uotani spoke up, "But I do think it'll be fun. I think staying for just a few days won't matter much." She grinned indolently at the enraged Kyou. [Stupid idiotic sister.....traitor!!]

He looked down at Kisa hopefully. "Kisa, you agree with me, don't you?"

The small girl blushed, darting a look at Hiro. "Actually, onii-chan, I would also...like to stay...just for a short time."

Kyou groaned inwardly. [Great, the whole family's betraying me!] He turned to the stoic Hanajima and then thought better of it. The girl was already standing by his sister's side.

Ritsu jumped in enthusiastically. "Yeah! You should all stay!! Make yourself feel right at home!!"

"Stupid monkey," Kyou growled.

The man's face fell and he started screaming in the boy's face. "I'M SORRY!! I'M SORRY!! I WON'T SAY ANYTHING ANYMORE!! OH, I'M SUCH A DISGRACE TO ALL MONKEYS EVERYWHERE!! I'M NOT FIT TO BE LIVING!!" The man ran to throw himself off a balcony when Shigure stepped in cheerfully and poked him in the side, successfully shutting the panic mode down.

"All right, we're staying but I know I'm going to regret it later," Kyou snapped.

"You're always welcomed to leave...no one's keeping you," Yuki suggested.

Kyou stepped forward, clenching his fists tightly when Tohru suddenly crumpled to the floor. Everyone ran to her side and Kyou brushed her hair away from her face gently. Her eyelashes fluttered gently and she gasped weakly.

"Kyou, she's turning gray. What's happening?" Uotani said worriedly.

"Her health was always very weak...she probably couldn't stand all this excitement in one day. She needs water," Kyou said grimly.

"Someone get a glass of water!" Yuki barked to the servants.

"Not that kind, baka!" Kyou snapped. "Someone get her dress!"

Everyone blinked in surprise but a maid quickly returned with Tohru's light orange dress. Kyou gingerly scooped up the girl and the dress into his arms, careful not to hold her too close. "I'm going behind the castle. Through the woods, the sea's there. It's perfect, completely isolated. Uotani, you stay here with Kisa and Hanajima...you all know what to do."

Yuki quickly got up to his feet and tried to follow but Uotani quickly stepped in front of the prince, her arms folding in front of her chest. "Sorry, Prince...Kyou can take care of Tohru...you don't need to worry. How about telling me more about your kingdom?"

The boy stared at the back of Kyou as he walked away. "Shouldn't we let Hatori check her out? Honda-san -"

"Will be fine," Uotani finished firmly. She repeated, "Kyou can take care of her."

Yuki clenched his jaw and turned around, his long silvery mauve tresses hanging in front of his eyes. "He better be able to."