Disclaimer: I don't own Fruits Basket but I do own Shue!

Authoress Note: The first little part was in another place and month before now.

It was only a day away from New Years Eve and the Sohma house was alive with activity. The house had become a victim in a recent violent fight between an enraged Kyo and Black-Haru leaving it in very bad shape. Shigure, Hatori, and Haru were hurrying around trying to keep the house from falling apart. They ran up and down the stairs, hammers and other tools in hand. Haru was repelled down the side of the house to fix the huge hole in the wall.

Inside, Yuki, Kagura, and Momiji packed up everyone's belongings for when they transferred to the main house for the celebration. Every once in a while, Ayame would snatch one of them from their work so he could mend their outfits for the Zodiac banquet with some help from Tohru and Kisa. Everyone was busy and excited, except for Kyo. In the stories, the cat was forbidden from the banquet, so, naturally, Kyo was left out. He sat on the roof of the house trying to ignore all the exhilaration. He hated New Years and always had.

"I hate this, I hate them, this house, everything," he whispered to himself as a breeze ruffled his orange hair. "But most of all, I hate being the cat." He wrapped his arms around his knees and bowed his head. His temper was building and it took all his concentration to keep from screaming.

"Cats are marvelous creatures, you know." A soft voice pulled Kyo from his thoughts. He looked over to see a girl standing on the roof not too far away.

"Wha . . . Who are you?" She looked about 18 and was dressed in a black, sleeveless, oriental style shirt with gold embroidery. Her black skirt flowed to her ankles and had slits up to the mid-thigh. It to was embroidered with gold and flapped in the gentle wind.

"Cats are special and not to be taken lightly. They're swift, stealthy, powerful, mysterious, and, in your case, temperamental." She chuckled at this remark, back flipped through the air and came to stand beside him.

"That wasn't my question, lady. I asked who you are and while I'm at it, what are you doing here?" He rose to his feet and glared at her. Her black hair was down to her chin and bangs fell over her eyes. As the sun peeked out from behind a cloud, her eyes, thought at first to be black as well, sparkled with brilliant gold and green tints.

"I saw you sitting here and thought I could help, but it seems that you don't need it. Maybe I can help with something inside." Stepping over to him, she slipped a raven's feather behind his ear and smiled. Then, in one, swift movement, she jumped and landed gracefully on the ground. She was about to open the sliding, rice paper screen door, when Kyo appeared next to her. He had a hateful glare in his eyes and his fists were at the ready.

"Who do you think you are, lady, no one just waltzes themselves into MY house!" His left arm made a jab for her face but was calmly blocked by a simple movement of her hand.

"I thought you hated this house, I heard you say it." Chuckling and smiling, she patted him on the head. "That's a good kitty, nice kitty."

"Get your hands off of me!" he screamed as he threw blow after bow at her.

Everyone in the house peered out windows and doors as a huge crash shook the area. Yuki burst through the front door just in time to see a hard blow dealt to Kyo's cheek. He fell to the ground and lied there for a while until he finally managed to get up.

"Are you done yet?" she asked, standing over him. The smile on her face was one of pride and superiority; a look that Yuki had seen once too many times. Her calm and pleasing face had disappeared and was replaced by shadow and anger. When he didn't reply, she knelt down beside him. Grabbing his hair, she lifted him up. Straining no to yelp in pain, he squinted at her with one eye, growling.

"Oh, are you angry, well here!" The speed of the strike was incredible, and before anyone knew it, Kyo was on the ground, unconscious, blood streaming from his mouth. She looked away with a regretful expression.

"I apologize."

A young girl ran out the door to aid her fallen friend. Tears were streaming down her face as she turned Kyo over.

"What did you do that for?" She looked up at the girl, pleading. "What did he do to you?" There was only a thud as the girl dropped to her knees, hands over her face.

"I'm so sorry, I . . . I don't . . . I don't know why I do this. I just . . . can't stop myself." A gentle hand was felt on her shoulder. She looked up to see a boy that looked about 15 with black and white hair smiling at her.

"It's okay, I know how you feel. Kyo will be fine in a little while. Why don't you come in the house?" He offered a hand to help her up and led her through the front door.

After an hour of being upstairs in bed, Kyo had joined the rest of them who were sitting around a low table. They had all introduced themselves. There were three older men, Shigure, Hatori, and Ayame; an older girl, Kagura; three younger boys, Yuki, Hatsuharu and Kyo; a 15 year old who looked and acted 5, Momiji; the teenage girl, Tohru; and a young girl named Kisa. She sipped gingerly at her tea as they went over the little presentation.

"So, what's you name, I'm sure it's lovely," said Shigure, giving her a loving stare.

"It's Shue," she replied softly. The one named Yuki had been looking at her with a faint expression of hidden terror ever since the fight.

"An elegant name for such a beautiful and mysterious woman." Shigure rose charmingly to his feet and spun once on his tiptoe. After this little . . . humiliation, he took her hand gently. "You're the inspiration I've been looking for. My period of writer's block has ended." She snatched her hand back and forced a fake smile.

"I'm flattered." Shigure sat back down and picked up his cup. An awkward silence followed and Shue noticed Yuki staring at her.

"Yes, is there something wrong?" she asked addressing him. He quickly looked away, turning his attention to his cup.

"No, nothing."

Slamming her glass on the table, she stood up and walked over to him. He looked up to see her glaring down at him. As an immediate reaction, he backed away a little.

"When you have something to say, say it. You can't hide anything from me," she said menacingly. He backed away a little more. She reminded him so much of how Akito used to stand over him, whip in hand. How he would lecture him on how useless he was. But how could she have such an expression.

"You just reminded me of someone," he replied sheepishly. Smiling, she sat beside him and put a gentle hand on his shoulder.

"I'm sorry if I scared you. I just wanted to know why you looked at me in such a way, when I have done nothing to harm you." She paused to move her tea. "But now I can see why. It must have been terrible for you, I pity you." Everyone looked at her in disbelief.

"What do you mean, you can see?" Haru asked from the other side of the table. Shue didn't reply, only closed her eyes as she sipped her tea.

"I know of your family's curse," she said shortly.