Disclaimer: I do not own Fruits Basket. If I did, I would probably just sit and say to myself, "Now what am I supposed to do…"

Listening to the birds chirps in the afternoon sun, Kyo sighed as the cool March wind brushed past him. It felt good to be outside rather than cooped up in the classroom learning about the last few things that Sensei was trying to squeeze into the students' heads before graduation in four days. Four days…

"Here you go, Kyo!" Tohru exclaimed happily, handing him his bento full of food she had made the night before.

Kyo smiled as he looked at Tohru, taking it from her extended hand. I walked to school holding your hand…

Tohru's cheeks pinked as he smiled at her. A blush spread across his own cheeks as well.

"My, what do we have here?" Hana asked.

Kyo and Tohru, brought from their moment, looked embarrassedly at Hana. She was peering into the bento that Tohru had brought for her as well.

"You made all of this, Tohru?" Hana asked, her gaze slowly spreading from the bento up to Tohru's face. "For me?"

"Yes! I made everyone's favorite foods. I knew that since school was ending soon, I wouldn't get the chance to make everyone their favorite foods until… I don't know when!" Tohru said happily, smiling brightly at Hana.

Arisa's eyes filled with tears, and she sniffed dramatically. "Tohru… so selfless… damned it…"

Yuki smiled over at Tohru. "Thank you, Honda-san."

…even though I had to share the moment with that damned rat, I got to walk hand in hand with you. Kyo was surprised when his thought about Yuki didn't carry much malice. It hadn't even bothered him when Tohru had stopped him to turn for Yuki to be included. It had felt… right. Watching as Tohru was engulfed by Arisa and Hana in a simultaneous hug, he felt his heart crackle with happiness as he saw the person who had thawed his heart smile brightly. Looking over at Yuki, he saw that Yuki was mirroring the same contented expression that he knew that he himself carried.

Looking down into his bento, he saw that Tohru had indeed made all of his favorite foods. For some reason it made him think of Kagura and what she had said at the pre-graduation party on the rooftop, "The miso soup that Tohru made is wonderful! I know it's one of your favorites…"

"Whoa, Hana, I never knew you as a reader," Arisa commented, bringing Kyo back from his thoughts with curiosity.

"Hana-chan! That's so great!" Tohru squealed happily.

Hana continued eating and said softly, "It's for extra credit. I am failing. My mother is quite distressed."

Everyone but Hana was plunged into their own thoughts. Failing? In her last year?

"What book are you reading?" Arisa asked, trying to pry it from underneath Hana's food without disturbing her bento.

"It's about the Chinese Zodiac. My brother said that it was interesting because it deals with curses. You know how much he loves books about curses."

Yuki, Kyo, and Tohru's blood froze in their veins, while simultaneously the hairs on their necks stood straight.

"Wow that does sound interesting Hana. What's it about?" Arisa continued, not noticing the reactions from Yuki, Kyo and Tohru as she glanced that the now freed book.

Hana slowly chewed her food before continuing. "It starts off with the god and how it loved all the animals, but had a few that he loved even more dearly. One of those animals was the rat. The god appointed the rat to let the animals he cherished know about a banquet he was going to put on for the chosen ones. The rat took down the names and went off to let the lucky animals know that the god had taken a particular liking to them."

Pausing, Hana placed some more food in her mouth. Yuki shifted uncomfortably on the ground.

"Now," Hana continued slowly. "the rat noticed that the god named off his best friend, the cat—"

"EH?" Tohru cried out, shocking everyone. Yuki and Kyo both blushed furiously.

Hana nodded, "Yes, it does seem as though it could be impossible now, seeing as how we know the ending. But the rat knew that if the god invited the cat, that the god might begin to favor the cat more than himself. The rat liked being in the god's favor, even though both he and the cat were best friends. So in an act to preserve his position in the god's eyes, he lied to his best friend saying that the banquet was the day after it truly was. The rat felt horrible about lying and excluding his best friend, but went on with his rounds of informing the other animals about the god's banquet. The banquet went on without a hitch, and the rat was forever seen as favorable in the god's eye.

"Once the cat woke up and found out about the banquet being the night before, his fury was untamable. He was more hurt by his best friend than actually missing the banquet, and vowed to forever hate the rat. The god became furious with the cat, seeing as how the rat was his most loved. The god then laid a curse upon the cat, claiming that the cat's anger will forever make him ugly and repulsive, until the day that he could forgive the rat. The twelve animals that had come to the banquet were then told to look down upon the cat, as the anger the cat felt deformed him from his usual furry self into something much more monstrous..."

Silence engulfed the luncheon, and Yuki and Kyo's hearts both hardened. Best friends? HA! I could never be best friends with that

"I can't believe you actually read a book!" Arisa laughed, breaking the silence while patting her now full stomach.

"As I said, it's for extra credit," Hana explained, putting the last of her food into her mouth.

Tohru's face was flushed. They had been best friends? Looking over at Yuki and Kyo, she felt the sudden need to protect them.

"DID YOU KNOW THAT THE ANIMALS WERE NEVER A PART OF THE CALANDAR?" Tohru blurted out, startling her friends. Yuki glanced up at Tohru, suddenly remembering that he had once informed her of this fact.

"Th-they were added later. No one knows why," Tohru stammered on, her face bright pink.

Hana nodded. "Interesting."

Soft chimes filled the air, signaling the end of the lunch break.