Disclaimer: The usual drill. I do not own Fruits Basket.

The results are out! Yuki's sleeping with... (drumroll)

13. New Year Morning

Kyo overslept. Normally, he was an early riser. This morning, he overslept. The partying the night before had worn him out.

Momiji was the first to awake. He blinked and stifled a giggle. Yuki was sleeping with his head resting on Kyo's chest. Kyo had got his arm around Yuki. The blanket was pulled around them, but not high enough to hide the fact that both were naked under it.

The Rabbit switched on his video cam. He and Haru had been taking turns recording the party. Who says the Rat and Cat can't get along? Still grinning away, he filmed the pair.

Then Kureno awoke. He took one look and decided he didn't see anything. He went off to brush his teeth. Rin slid the shoji open and gasped in surprise at the sight. I'm not seeing this! Hiro's eyes bugged. He stole a quick glance at Kisa and was both relieved and dismayed to see her sleeping curled up next to Tohru. The pair was still asleep.

Kagura was waking up, rubbing her sleepy eyes. "Kyo…" Kagura whimpered. So that's why he's always running from her. He's…

They'd want him to erase the memories of all their witnesses later. Hatori thought wearily. Shigure shook Ayame awake. Who would've ever thought my little brother will make the first move… Ayame sniggered. It was that sound that roused Kyo.

Kyo was a little surprised to see almost everyone looking down at him. Has he lost his beads? No, they were still on his wrist… The still-groggy cat realized there was a weight on his body… A head of grayish hair…. Warm… someone…

It took a while for Haru to process what he was seeing. Then Black Haru stepped in. "Yuki!" Yuki blinked and opened his eyes. He was lying on something warm and soft. "YUKI!"

Angered, Black Haru yanked Yuki to his feet roughly by the shoulders and slammed him against the wall. "I said you're mine!" With a crazed look on his face, the Ox tried to… Yuki reacted. He punched the younger boy. Both Yuki and Kyo were wide awake by now.

They were both naked except for Kyo's beads and everyone was looking at them. "Kyo… Yuki… when were you guys an item?" Ayame's voice rang out. "How charming… Make love, not war, right, baby brother?" Baka! Yuki and Kyo glared at the Snake

"Don't deny it… Bunny here got it on tape." Haru, white by now and very amused, held out the video cam's screen and hit the PLAY button. Both Cat and Rat let out a wail of horror. "NOOOO!!!"

"Yuki? Kyo?" Tohru peeked out. Momiji showed her the footage he had caught earlier. "Sis…" Innocent little Kisa tugged at her sleeve. "They just sleeping, right?" The girl wrinkled her brow. Hiro slapped his forehead. Kisa, you're ever so innocent…

"I feel so violated…" Kyo glared at Yuki. He grabbed a towel and started rubbing his skin vigorously as if to remove any lingering feel of Yuki on it. "You sneaky little rat…" At least I didn't crawl into bed with him… He pulled on his trousers.

"I need a bath…" A stunned Yuki was busy wearing on a shirt. I spent a night, gulp, on Kyo's chest. "I smell like Kyo. No, I stink like Kyo."

"Stinking rat! I'll kill you!" Kyo roared charged at Yuki, who sidestepped him. Shigure gave a hoot of laughter as Kyo crashed into the wall.

I think this is a good time to erase everyone's memories of this regrettable incident… Hatori sighed. He really hated to do this first thing in the morning. Doing this mass always gave him a headache. Still…

A few minutes later, everyone was acting as if they had just awoken. Hatori rubbed his temples. Yuki was pulling on his pants. The Rat wondered why his back was hurting as if someone had slammed him into a wall. Kyo was bare-chested and looking for his shirt. Hatori was having a splitting headache. He staggered to the walkway where he met Kureno.

"Aspirin?" Kureno offered the family doctor the box of aspirin and a glass of water. He knew Hatori had erased the memories of everyone inside the room. Oops. Hatori had overlooked the Rooster.

"Arigato, Kureno," Hatori smiled. He popped a tablet in his mouth and swallowed it with a gulp of water. Then he erased Kureno's memory as well. Sorry, can't have you saying anything in front of Akito-san now, can we? Of course, Hatori had overlooked Momiji's video cam.

"Yuki, one question…" Kyo asked. He was feeling sore for some reason. "Why are you wearing my shirt?" Oops. Yuki looked at the shirt in innocence.

"Shrine-visit, shrine-visit…" Momiji sang as he skipped around the room. "Stop it!" Kyo howled in exasperation, forgetting his displeasure with Yuki.

Every banquet has an end. Not so the Sohma curse. So the party's finally over. It was good while it lasted. Next year, everything will be back the same way, right?

"The curse…" Yuki thought aloud as he buttoned his shirt. Yep, his shirt. Everyone sobered up at his words. "I was just wondering about this damned bond thing… Every generation has to suffer under its 'Akito-san'…"

"Not so, stupid rat," Kyo corrected. "Master's grandfather was the former Cat and he married. Master told me the clan head then was different, in fact, he was a decent guy."

"The strength of this bond…" Even Ayame was serious now. "Che, when did we realize it?"

"It's always been this way…" Yuki continued. "All twelve of us have to suffer this curse from birth till the day we die."

"Ahem!" Kyo coughed. "Okay, thirteen of us," Yuki corrected himself. Poor, pathetic bunch of idiots they are. "We can face it together!" Tohru exclaimed, "Right, everyone? Even though I'm not a Sohma…" She blushed and lowered her eyes. Kisa patted her hand in reassurance.

The others murmured their agreement. Then Kureno spoke. "Yuki, you left out someone." Yuki faced the Rooster. "Akito-san." Akito may be a creep, but he has somehow gotten himself a loyal friend in Kureno. "You all know he carries the full weight of the curse…He's destined to die young..."

"Everyone dies in the end, Kureno," Rin snapped. "We all know that. It's just that Akito seems to go out of his way to act like a total bastard… " Shigure closed his eyes thoughtfully. The bond of the curse tied them to Akito. And Akito had chosen fear to reinforce that bond.

Was it possible, as Kazuma had claimed, for those cursed to be bonded by love and respect? That will be a different kind of bond. One that gave strength and courage. One that was treasured and not dreaded or loathed. Then it will not be that bad a curse, will it?

Author's notes:

Sorry, not Haru... can't resist having him turn Black.

Sigh. The party's over.A visit to the local shrine's a tradition on New Year's Day in Japan.

Similarly, the Chinese have their own visit to the temple on the stroke of midnight on the Lunar New Year.The few more devout members of my family who worship the Goddess of Mercy follow this tradition. A few words of advice: Have paramedics on standby. Honest.