A/N: Well ! I ground this one out finally! What with exams and everything, I'm glad it's done! And I'm leaving on vacation in a week, so I'll try to get in another chapter before that. There's only three days left now, after all!

Ok, review, guys, cos' that's what keeps the wheel tunring, the stoy going, the pen writing, etc etc..:D

DISCLAIMER:  Fruits Basket doesn't belong to me, cos' if it did, I'd have Kyou and Togru together in bed by now.

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"Hello! Anyone home?" The wooden door to the house slid open and a short curtain of dark hair swung around the face that popped around the frame. "Kyou-kun?" The pretty girl stepped into the living room and looked around.

"Kagura!" The girl turned to see Shigure smiling at her from the entrance to his office. "Sorry, my dear. Kyou left a while ago to help Tohru with the shopping."

"Oh! Kyou-kun's not here?" Kagura looked downcast. "I came to bring him some candies we made in school today."

Shigure grinned. "Candy! Kagura, can I get some? You know I love getting candy from pretty girls!"

He waited as Kagura stared at him for a full second, and judging his moment before she hit him for being a pervert, he held up one finger.

"Kyou-kun and Tohru should be back soon. Why don't you wait for them?"

Kagura paused, her mind diverted again. "Oh...ok, thanks Shi-chan!" Kyou-kun, I'll be waiting when you get home, she thought, blushing as she moved passed Shigure and carelessly punching him hard enough to send him flying. "Shi-chan, you pervert!"

Shigure slammed against a wall and slid to the floor, lying where he'd fallen to rub his sore head.

"I guess I got off lucky," he muttered.

Kagura moved away, walking out onto the verandah of the house, lost in thought. Before she realized it, she had walked a short distance from the house.

"Kagura."

She looked up to see Yuki, kneeling in a vegetable patch, digging a small hole. He smiled at her.

"Are you here to see Kyou?"

"Yes!" Kagura walked around a small tree and came to hunker down next the vegetable patch. "Today we made candies in our baking class, so…But Kyou-kun is out."

"You'll wait for him?" Yuki smiled, knowing the answer already. Kagura was one of his favourite cousins, though slightly more distantly related than Kyou. Well, as far as Kyou was concerned, Yuki had always been of the opinion that his cousin was related to a different species altogether.

Kagura grimaced. "It feels like I've been waiting for him a long time."

Yuki turned his attention to the stubborn weed he was pulling. "Some things are worth waiting for," he said, frowning. To imply that about Kyou made his gorge rise. Yes, that had to be what was causing the unpleasant feeling in his chest.

Kagura took off her little backpack and let it flop to the ground. Then she leaned back on her elbows and tipped her head back, looking up at the sun."I've been having strange feelings for the last few days," she said.

"Strange?"

"I can't…really describe them."

Yuki paused in his weed-pulling to watch a small ladybug crawl clumsily over the clumps of earth under his hands. Carefully, he pressed his index finger into the damp earth, waiting until the ladybug crawled onto his nail.

"Were they disturbing?" he asked, as he gently raised his finger and set it down further away so the ladybug could move away unharmed.

Kagura had turned her head and was observing him now, her head propped on one fist. She smiled when the ladybug suddenly took flight.

She was so much calmer when Kyou wasn't around, the purple-haired boy though idly. Kyou always seemed to bring her most extreme emotions surging out of her, so that she had to physically work them out or simply explode.

"Ladybugs were always my favourite insects," she said, looking down and pulling up a long stalk of sweet grass to chew on. "I always thought mum was teasing me when she said some ladybugs were male." She bit the end of the stalk thoughtfully.

"Are you happy here, Yun-chan?" she asked suddenly.

Yuki was startled by the question.

"Happy?" he asked.

Kagura laughed a little and sat up. "I'm sorry," she said. "It's a silly question. We're cursed, after all. What would…?"

She stopped in surprise when she felt Yuki's hand on her hair. She looked up into his violet eyes smiling down at her.

"There's grass in your hair," he said. "And no, it's not a silly question. The jyuunishii have the right to be happy, too."

Kagura was so nonplussed by this announcement that she absentmindedly watched Yuki carefully pick pieces of grass from her hair.

"The right…" she said finally. "You think so, Yun-chan?"

Yuki smiled down at her self-consciously, ran his hand through her soft hair to make sure it was grass-free, and sat back.

"I admit it's a novel concept for the jyuunishii, but sometimes…people can make you hope." People like Tohru, they both thought silently.

"Let's go back." Yuki stood and pulled Kagura to her feet, and helped her resettle her floppy backpack around her shoulders. He carefully brushed grass from her dress. "Kyou and Honda-san must be back by now."

They weren't, but Shigure did have a message for Kagura.

"Your mother called," he said. "She wants you home for something."

"Oh, the pickling!" Kagura gasped as she remembered. "I forgot! Bye then, Shi-chan, Yun-chan!" She sped off, waving to them both as she ran.

Yuki and Shigure watched her go.

*************

Kyou and Tohru were on their way back from the market. Tohru was smiling to herself as she thought of all the food she'd stored away for Kyou's birthday dinner. Unfortunately, she'd forgotten a few ingredients.

"You don't have to come with me," she'd told Kyou that afternoon. "I can go by myself." He'd grasped her by the arms and lifted her till their noses were almost touching. The feel of her feet dangling and being so close to Kyou had made Tohru laugh breathlessly.

"Tohruuu…" Kyou had said warningly, his orange eyes warming with displeasure. "You're not going alone. And I want to spend some time with you, anyway. That damn mouse has been hanging around all day!"

Tohru had blushed and stuttered, and Kyou had looked satisfied.

She snuck a peek at him now from under her eyelashes. He was holding a bag of groceries in one hand and her hand in the other. She blushed, so happy she could hardly see straight. And so scared that her knees shook. There was no way this could last. After all, she was just a little onigiri, and Kyou was so full of life and energy. Would he continue to want her? The thought of the night before warmed her cheeks again.

Kyou stared ahead, lost in thought, yet a part of him was deeply aware of the small, trusting hand in his. He didn't want to ever let anything hurt Tohru, but the night before, he had dreamed about the cat demon again. What on earth did it mean? Was the demon really growing stronger? Kyou knew the urges he'd had recently were not something he'd experienced before. Every time he saw Yuki, he wanted not just to defeat him, but to bash his rodent head into the wall until blood ran like paint.

I don't want to kill anybody, he told himself repeatedly. I don't want to kill Yuki. But something inside me does.

The itching hadn't happened again, and he was grateful for that. Because if it started, he might just grab Tohru and throw her up against a wall again, ruck up her flirty little uniform skirt, and…Kyou's imagination speeded up and a series of images flashed through his mind at this point.

That's it. I need to go work on some katas, or go train under a cold waterfall again, he thought. He glanced at Tohru. How much he cherished her.

Someone screamed.

"What's that sound?" Tohru asked, her head coming up.

"Someone screamed," Kyou said shortly, looking around for any signs of danger.

"No, that other sound…"

And then Kyou felt it. All his cat senses leapt to alert, screaming warning at him. The feeling made his skin crawl. Whatever was coming, his cat-self didn't like it. Kyou gripped Tohru's hand harder. They turned together…

…to see a giant tidal wave of water, a tsunami, bearing down on them. They were already in its shadow, and they watched in astonishment as it bore down on them.

Kyou had a split second to say, "Watch ou…!" Then it was as though a giant brick hit him and sent him sprawling. Stunned, he was unable to react as he lost Tohru's hand and was swept deeper into the narrow alley they had been walking in. Masses of water gushed and poured around him, creating waves and small whirlpools. The current was unbelievably strong, tossing him around like a windblown leaf. Still, he began to fight it as he looked around for Tohru. Another wave of water engulfed him, and he screamed in his mind.

Help me.

Help me.

Help…

He felt his consciousness slipping away and fought the blackness that came in its stead.

I have to find…Tohru…

How long the powerful waves battered him he didn't know, but he felt something firmly grasp the back of his neck and pull him out, choking, out of the water. He hit something hard and grainy. It seemed to be a wall so he brought his hands up to grasp the rough edge of the brick.

Gasping, he leaned against the support of the wall, kicking his legs to keep afloat, and flung his wet bangs out of his face to look around. The sight that met his eyes was incredible. The alley had filled completely with water, so that it was like a very large canal now. The water lapped at the tops of the walls of the alley, which Kyou remembered as being a good foot or two above his and Tohru's heads as they'd walked.

And things got even weirder. Lining the tops of the walls were cats of every description and size that Kyou had ever seen. They sat, they prowled, they batted the water with their paws, but on both sides of the canal, cats covered every dry inch he could see.  Many of them were yowling and screaming.

Kyou looked up to see who had rescued him, and found himself staring into the golden eyes of a large, Bengal tiger.

"Aack!" He nearly leapt back into the water. The tiger was regarding him with bright eyes, and when he made a sound and moved back, it leaned its great shaggy head in and rubbed its jaw against his shoulder.

Deep inside, he felt the magical affinity he had with the tiger that had pulled it, along with every other feline in the area, to his aid. Shakily, he placed a hand on its giant, dinner-plate sized paw.

"Thank you. But I have to find Tohru." The tiger's gaze moved away from him, and Kyou looked around to see another tiger swimming in the canal, hauling an unconscious Tohru by her sleeve. The tiger had almost reached the other side.

"Tohru!" Kyou dove back into the canal, which had rather calmed now, though the water was as deep as ever. He reached the other side in a few powerful strokes, and gently pulled her from the tiger's jaws.

"Kyou! Is that you?"

He ignored the shout to gently grasp her chin and shake her face. She stirred, and moaned.

"Tohru." He bent closer. "Sweetheart, I'm here. Please, wake up."

"Oh my God, what happened?" He recognized Haru's voice but didn't look up. He shook Tohru again and she opened her eyes, sat up, and vomited water all over him. He could have kissed her.

Nami watched from a faraway spot. So, the cat had escaped the water trap. He'd have to report back to Izumi, who wouldn't be happy. It would be up to the others now.

**********

Shigure sat in his office, typing up a few more pages to his novel. The radio was turned on and he listened idly as the newscaster talked about the weather.

"We're expecting warmer weather today," the tinny voice said. "A heat wave will be welcome after the cool spring we've had."

"Not to mention…skirt season!" Shigure cackled to himself, leaning back in anticipation. "Ahhh, short skirts, long skirts, sarongs, minis, pencil skirts…I'll be happy to see them all!"

"Shigure! Come quick!"

The young author shot up straight at the urgency in the call. What had happened now? He stood and hurried out of his office. Exclamations and sounds of shouting could be heard. On his table, the radio continued to cheerfully chirp on.

"Warning! We've just received word that two of the tigers have escaped from the Conservation Zoo! Please be careful. Call this number if you spot these valuable animals. In other news, the city canal experienced a sudden water shortage today as all the water somehow…"