A/N - I won't do this disclaimer anymore. Let it be known from here on out that I do not own Fruits Basket or anything you recognize from Fruits Basket. There, I've said I and I ain't sayin' it no more! Enjoy the fic!

Chapter 6: It Was A Dark And Stormy Night….

"Is everything alright, Kikyo?" Tohru asked. She was sitting at the dining room table, getting ready to serve dinner for everyone. Three places had been added and the little table was beginning to look rather crowded.

Kikyo smiled reassuringly. "Everything's fine. Mom had to talk my ear off as usual, and Grandpa was curious about my visit with Akito-san this afternoon—"

"What were you doing with Akito?" Kyou demanded. He was leaning against the door frame leading in from the kitchen, and his hands here clenched into fists on his shirt sleeves. His expression was surprisingly dark and Kikyo found this mood of his to be rather alarming.

"I was asked to see him by my Grandpa." Kikyo told him. She moved into the dining room past Yuki who shrank back from her as though he didn't want to be touched. Kikyo glanced at him with a tiny frown of confusion and moved to the dining room table to pass bowls to Tohru to fill with the delicious smelling white miso soup. 'Why did he shrink away like that?' She wondered silently. "You know I was training to be a miko while I was in Hokkaido, right?" She glanced to Kyou to catch his nod. "Well, I am now living and working at home, home being the Hondachi Shrine. And I'm working as a miko. My Grandpa got a call for aid from Hatori-san asking that I come to see Akito-san immediately. And it's a good thing I did. He was in very poor condition."

"What was wrong?" Hatsuharu asked. He had just stepped in from the entry way, his hair still dripping and his soaked shirt clinging to his leanly sculpted chest. Kikyo had to look away or become transfixed.

Blushing she passed Tohru another bowl and said, "Well, I really shouldn't say. Confidentiality and all that…"

"You may tell them." Hatori said. He came into the room followed by Momiji who jumped across the room to sit beside Tohru.

Kikyo narrowed her eyes at Hatori for a moment, as if trying to ascertain why he would allow it. Finding nothing in evidence, she nodded slightly and sat back on her heals. "There's a curse on the Sohma Family."

There was a mixture of gasps around the room and an uncomfortable silence to follow. They all knew. Kikyo could see it in their eyes, read it in their posture. What's more… it was affecting all of them in much the same way. She had known almost since she met Kyou that there was a dark curse on him, but she'd had no idea that the curse extended to the rest of his family. Looking around the room she could see it in all of them. Even Tohru…

"I was not able to lift the curse." Kikyo said after a moment, looking at each of them in turn, doing her best to smooth the hesitation and doubt from her voice. "Something this far-reaching and powerful is beyond my power to heal so easily. It will take many hours of research and a lot of trial-and-error before I can even hope to come near a solution. This curse has been on your family for generations and I hope… if there's anything you know, anything at all that might help me find the solution faster, please… tell me." She made sure that she looked each and every one of them in the eye, implying without words that she knew they knew and that she hoped they would approach her with their information.

As she met their eyes, each of them looked away. All of them, except Tohru who nodded earnestly. Kikyo smiled at her cousin. Tohru was the most pure-hearted, kind, loving person in the whole world; she was the kind of person who would catch a moth in the house and release it outside rather than killing it, the kind of person who put other's well-being before her own. She took the greatest pleasure in helping others find the answers to their problems, and in helping them find little lost pieces of themselves; pieces that they sometimes didn't know they had. Tohru was a nurturer. If there was anything that she could do to help, Kikyo knew that Tohru would do everything in her power to see it done.

"It is not going to be something done easily." Kikyo picked up a filled bowl and set it at its place. "But I won't give up. I can see it in all of you, this curse... I will do everything I can possibly do to see it gone. Believe in me, help me if you can, and it will happen sooner."

Kikyo looked at them all one last time, meeting Shigure's eye out of them all and finding an odd little smile in place on his lips.

"But that is enough of that." Kikyo said, smiling gently and reaching to place another bowl where it belonged. "Dinner is getting cold. Come; sit."

Silently everyone moved to occupy a seat at the table. Momiji immediately plopped herself beside Tohru and caught a handful of Tohru's shirt in her fist. Kyou sat down on Tohru's other side, at the corner between Tohru and Kikyo. To Kikyo's right Yuki moved to sit beside her, but was beaten to it by Hatsuharu. The two shared a dark look that confused Kikyo slightly, and finally Yuki sat down beside Hatori, leaving Shigure to occupy the space beside Momiji.

"So, Kikyo," Shigure said as he accepted the bowl of rice she passed him across the table. "Where will you be going to school now that you're living in the city?"

"I'm not sure, actually." Kikyo said, handing a bowl of rice to Hatori. "Up until now I've always been home schooled. Though I would like to attend public school, just for the experience, my parents are afraid that it might interfere with my duties at the Shrine." Kikyo passed another full bowl of rice to Yuki, who gave her a polite nod of thanks and a tiny smile that made her blush. "I don't agree; I think I can manage both quite nicely." She passed the last bowl of rice to Hatsuharu, whose hand brushed hers as he accepted it. He gave her a polite nod just as Yuki had, but there was something more in his colorlessly grey eyes, something that sent chills up her spine and made her blush even more. "I think it would be fun to go to High School just like every other girl my age."

"Well, it would certainly be an experience worth having." Hatori said.

"I know! You should come to Kaibara High with me and Yuki and Kyou and Tohru and 'Haru!" Momiji exclaimed, clapping her hands excitedly. "It would be so much fun! You should come! You should come!"

"Calm down, ya little brat." Kyou grunted. He reached for the soy sauce and sat back again, drizzling it onto his rice. "It's her choice and you won't talk her into it by whining, so just quit it."

"Oh, but Momiji's right, Kikyo." Tohru said, smiling brightly. "It would be so much fun to go to school with you."

Kikyo smiled back. "I'll definitely consider it. But it's not me you have to talk into it, it's my parents."

"Well, que sera sera." Shigure said, waving his chopsticks in the air. Yuki swatted them away when they drifted too close and went on quietly eating his soup, glancing darkly at 'Haru every once in a while.

Kikyo was puzzled by Yuki's mood. He had been so nice and polite in the hall and before, while they were shopping. Something must have happened to sour his mood…

Halfway through dinner there was a flash of lightning outside that made the lights flicker, followed immediately by an explosion of thunder that shook the house to its very foundation. Despite herself, Kikyo dropped her chopsticks and clapped her hands over her ears, wincing. It was silly, really, but ever since she was a child she had been… less than fond… of thunder. She knew that it was just the superheating of the air caused by the bolt of lightning, but for some strange reason it had always frightened her.

Another flash and another dangerously close crack of thunder and Kikyo couldn't help but curl in on herself slightly, fisting her hands in her hair over her ears and shuddering time with the ear-splitting noise.

"Honda-san, what's wrong?" Yuki asked.

Kikyo opened her eyes and looked up at him, glowing with embarrassment. "I… don't like thunder…"

Tohru gasped. "That's right! I'd forgotten that." She got up and moved around the table to kneel down next to Kikyo, putting a gentle hand on her cousin's shoulder. Kikyo leaned into her embrace and closed her eyes, shuddering again in rhythm with the vibrations of thunder that sounded anew.

"This is getting intense." Shigure said. He was looking at the door as though he could see the storm through the paper. "Let's turn on the TV and see what they have to say. Momiji, would you mind?"

Momiji was the closest to the television and so she spun on her knees and clicked the power button, sitting back so that everyone could see.

The same news crew that Yuki had had on earlier was on again, reporting about the weather. "…looks like Typhoon Sareno has decided to swing north after all. Takaya-san, what are we looking at?"

"Well, Inomi-san, it looks like that is indeed the case." A pretty meteorologist was saying from in front of a green-screen. The map digitized in behind her was covered in red and yellow polygons, showing warnings and watches out for areas affected by the storm. "The worst of the winds are here in Shokugan Prefecture and it looks like they're heading northeast towards Tokyo. We're actually seeing winds up to 120 to 130 kilometers per hour which is unusually high for typhoons as you well know, Inomi-san, and they're really starting to cause some damage. There are trees going down all over the place, taking power lines and even a few houses with them. Rain again, not as big of a deal at this point. We'll probably only see about two to three centimeters in most areas. With winds this high, of course, the real danger is that they may spawn some tornadoes as well. We strongly urge anyone in the path of this storm system to move to a basement or inside room of their home, one without windows. Stay on or below the ground floor of your house, towards the inside of the structure. Make sure you have candles and matches nearby in case the power—"

"Takaya-san, I'm sorry to interrupt but there are some new warnings out for the following cities; Ise, Toba, Hamamatsu, Shizouka, Kaibara, and Ito. Ise till 8:25, Toba till 8:30, Hamamatsu till 8:45, Shizouka till 9:00, Kaibara till 9:05, Ito till 9:15. It looks like this storm is running right up the coast. If you are anywhere in the path—"

Another brilliant flash of lightning and the power went out like a snuffed candle.

"Alright, everyone head for the basement." Shigure said. "Tohru, don't worry about the food and plates, please just run to the kitchen and get us a few candles and some matches." Tohru was up and gone before he finished.

Kikyo reached a hand for Momiji, who was looking around with enormous brown eyes that were shining with the beginnings of tears. "It's okay, sweetheart. We'll be fine."

Momiji nodded, biting her quivering bottom lip, and stood with Kikyo to follow Shigure down the hall. Yuki was right in front of her and she didn't want to bump into him so she reached out a hand to rest lightly on his back. He reached back and caught her hand in a reassuring grip and Kikyo found herself blushing again. 'I don't blush this much. What is going on with me? I wonder… exactly what is the Sohma curse?' Thinking about that and feeling her hand burn where Yuki was rubbing gentle, reassuring circles on the back of it with the pad of his thumb, Kikyo followed them all into the basement.

It was little more than a cellar, really, with shelves from floor to ceiling on three sides and a well stocked wine rack on the remaining wall. "Even I am not without my vices." Shigure said in response to the looks he was getting for his wine rack. "This is the best place for us to ride out the storm. I have a battery operated radio around here somewhere, as well as some flashlights. Tohru, come here with that candle."

Tohru carefully wove her way through the bodies and held out one of the candles she had found and already lit. She passed the others off to Kyou and held out the lit one for Shigure to see by.

"Let's see… hmm… ah! No, wait… um… there it is!" Blowing some dust and cobwebs off of it, he passed it to Hatsuharu and reached back in to grab a few flashlights. "Here we are." He selected one of the procured flashlights and popped it open so that it was more of a lamp and set it on the edge of the shelf. "How's the radio coming, 'Haru?"

In response Hatsuharu flipped on the power button and the radio crackled to life. He scrolled through the stations until he landed on one with news. They never heard what the news had to say though.

At that moment there was another earsplitting crack of thunder and Kikyo jumped, clamping her hands over her ears again, and lost her balance. She couldn't stop herself from falling into Yuki…

She was expecting to be caught and righted. She was therefore rightfully surprised when she felt his arms close around her and his chest against her back for a split second before there was a sound like a muffled explosion and a puff of grey smoke. Suddenly the support disappeared and she fell the rest of the way to the ground, scraping her elbow raw on the wall as she did so. 'What happened?' She asked herself silently, wincing and shifting off the box she'd crushed in her fall. "Owww… What was that? Yuki, are you okay?"

She looked around at the faces of the other people around her and saw varied levels of anxiety and horror. Getting a bad feeling she twisted slowly and looked behind her.

Sitting on a pile of clothes… the clothes Yuki had been wearing… was the cutest little grey mouse Kikyo had ever seen in her entire life. Realization dawned on her. "Yuki?"

The little mouse sighed and hung his head, then answered with Yuki's voice. "Yes, Honda-san. It's me."

Resisting the almost overwhelming urge to seize him in a death grip and rub her face on his glossy looking fur, Kikyo nodded slowly and looked at the others. "This is the curse?"

Hatori sighed before sinking down on a crate in the far corner. "It's a part of it. The most apparent part." He dropped his face into his hands and said nothing more.

"We call it the Zodiac Curse." Shigure said. "Thirteen people in the Sohma family are possessed by the vengeful spirits of the twelve animals of the Chinese zodiac plus the cat. Yuki's the rat, I'm the dog, Momiji's the rabbit, 'Haru's the ox, and Ha'ri is the dragon. You know the story I'm speaking of?"

Kikyo nodded silently. She looked back to Yuki in his tiny little mouse form and couldn't resist the urge any longer to at least touch him. She reached down and offered her cupped palms to him. He looked down at them and up at her again and stepped forward into her hands. Raising Yuki up to eyelevel she looked him in the eyes and said, "You're talking about the banquet held by God for all the animals. The rat tricked the cat into sleeping through the party and rode to the banquet on the back of the ox. Kyou, you're the cat, aren't you?" She asked looking at him.

He grimaced but nodded. "Yeah. How'd you know?"

"I've known almost since I met you that you were under a curse." She said. She shifted Yuki into one palm and moved the other to run one finger along the top of his tiny soft-furred head. She looked back up at Kyou. "I just know. It fits, somehow."

She let her eyes slide closed and concentrated. Maybe it was something to do with his altered state, maybe it was just the fact that she was holding his tiny little mouse body, but Kikyo was able to feel something more in Yuki's aura than she had before. It was something dark, sinister… evil. It lay under the surface like a monster lurking in the depths of a murky pond. It was a part of his aura without being connected to who he was as a person. Kikyo didn't know what to think. "This is helpful. In this altered form it's much easier to feel the curse. I will need to be able to delve each of you in your altered states. It will go a long way towards helping me find a solution." She opened her eyes and smiled at Yuki. "That is of course, if you wouldn't mind exposing yourself to my scrutiny."

With another puff of grey smoke and a muffled explosion she was suddenly face to face with a very naked Yuki. Her eyes went round and she went red to her hairline. Choking slightly she snapped her eyes closed and turned her face away from him. What she had seen was forever burned in her memory. 'Oh my goodness… Oh my… Oh…' Shaking, she tried to ignore the sound of him getting dressed.

"After a while we change back." Yuki said. "The time varies a bit. You can… uh, it's safe to look now."

Kikyo looked back and met his eyes. He was as red as she felt. Suddenly she laughed, and in an attempt to lighten the mood, said, "That's not what I meant when I mentioned exposing yourself to my scrutiny."

Shigure was the first to chuckle, followed by Tohru then Momiji, and Kyou, Hatsuharu, Hatori, and finally Yuki himself. Kikyo looked him in the eyes again and found gratefulness there for her lightening the mood. Glad she hadn't embarrassed him anymore than that she sat back and looked around the room again.

Considering the animal she had been told each of them changed into, she suddenly realized the reason for their odd colorings. Yuki, as the mouse, was grey-haired with violet eyes. Momiji, as the rabbit, was golden-haired with soft brown eyes. Hatsuharu, as the ox, was predominantly white-haired with black underneath and grey eyes. Kyou, as the cat, was orange-haired with scarlet eyes. And they were all unbelievably good looking. She kept coming back to that thought. Instinct was telling her that their looks were somehow connected to their curse. She wasn't sure how, or why, but she felt it.

Hatsuharu was able to turn the volume up loud enough for them all to hear the end of the news cast. "…warnings for Hamamatsu, Shizouka, Kaibara, and Ito are now expired. The storm is passing on up the coast. New warnings have been issued for Tokadai till 9:20, Nemoutsu till 9:30, and it's going to move into the south side of Tokyo Proper by 9:45."

"It looks like we're in the clear." Shigure said. "Let's all head back upstairs and inspect the damage."

Haru turned the radio off and set it back on the shelf as he stood, then moved to Kikyo and offered her a hand up off the floor where she was still sitting form her fall. Kikyo looked up at him and accepted the offered hand, pulling herself to her feet with his aid. He gave her a smile that sent chills up her spine and made her blush again. She didn't think her face would ever return to its usual color after this night. "Thanks, Hatsuharu-san."

"No need to be so formal. Please." He smiled again.

"'Haru-kun." Kikyo said, smiling shyly. "Thank you. If you'll please excuse me, I should go help Tohru clean up the rest of dinner." She slipped past him and went around the corner that led up the stairs to the main floor of the house.

Because of her hasty departure she missed the intense scene that was left in her wake. Yuki growled at 'Haru as though he had fangs to bare.

"What are you playing at?" Yuki demanded.

'Haru smiled slightly. "I don't know what you mean, Yuki." He said mildly.

"You know damn well what I mean, Cow." Yuki snarled. "Stop it."

'Haru's smile grew slightly. "What if I don't want to?"

"I'll put a stop to it myself." Yuki couldn't contain himself. He was so upset he wanted to knock 'Haru out the same way he would Kyou. Nobody but Kyou could make him this mad. Why was he so angry?

Now 'Haru was outright grinning. "Yuki, you know I could never refuse you anything. I'll back off… for now." He brushed past Yuki and moved on up the stairs. At the top he turned and looked back over his shoulder. "Let me just say this…" His voice drifted down to Yuki where he stood in the dark. "May the best man win."

Yuki stood there clenching and unclenching his fists. He didn't dare go upstairs until he had calmed down. With the mood he was suddenly in he was liable to kill someone. 'What is happening to me? I'm not like this. This is what Kyou is like, not me. Just… the way 'Haru is acting… I could cheerfully strangle him. … Kikyo… I can't stop thinking about her. Is it sorcery? No, I can't believe it of her. She's too kind to seduce me by sorcery. Who am I kidding, I barely know her! Does sorcery even exist? Ahhh!'

Forcing himself out of his strange thoughts, Yuki went to walk up the steps. The door at the top opened just before he reached for it and Kikyo stood illuminated from behind in the light of the hall. Standing there, three steps above him, surrounded in the warm golden glow of the hall lights… Yuki swallowed past the sudden tightness in his throat. The warm knot that had existed in his stomach since he met her pulsed once, sending warmth and tingles across his skin and bringing a flush to his cheeks.

"Yuki-san, are you okay?" She asked. Her eyes were glowing an amazing, vibrant emerald color. "Why are you standing down here in the dark?"

For a moment Yuki was unable to speak. Finally he summoned the will power and said, "It was nothing, Honda-san." His voice sounded strangled even to him. He walked up the last three steps and smiled down at her. "Would you like to call your family again, and make sure they're alright?"

Kikyo's face fell a little. Her gaze dropped to her hands and she sighed. "I've already tried. Their number is disconnected."

Yuki felt sympathy swell in his chest. "Honda-san…"

Suddenly she smiled and looked up at him again. "I'm sure it's nothing. A tree probably just felt on the power lines somewhere." Her forcibly bright smile did nothing to hide the glossiness of the worried tears standing in her eyes. "I'll try again later."

Her smile, though forced and insincere, still had the power to make Yuki blush. He realized suddenly that they were standing in very close proximity, just the width of the doorway against each of their backs. He could feel her warmth on his skin and her scent, like sun drenched lavender, rose to his attention. Feeling suddenly very uncomfortable, Yuki ducked out into the hall and took a breath of unscented air.

Kikyo watched him, puzzled slightly by his actions, then sighed and stepped out of the doorway as well, swinging it closed behind them. "Is something bothering you, Yuki-san?"

Yuki swallowed and focused on the floor at his feet. Something was bothering him… Remembering Akito's words so long ago, when Yuki had asked, 'Am I strange?' Akito had replied, 'Of course! A boy who turns into a rat; that's very strange. You're a freak. You're all freaks!'

"Honda-san…" Yuki said softly. "It didn't bother you at all to see me change into a rat?"

Kikyo tipped her head to the side with a little frown. "I can't say I wasn't surprised. It's not everyday you meet people who turn into animals when hugged. It's just… odd. This curse… The whole thing is odd."

"I'm sorry, Honda-san." Yuki said, suddenly angry with himself for asking.

Kikyo must have heard the anger in his voice. "I didn't mean that you're odd, Yuki!" Yuki, surprised at her lack of honorific, looked up from the floor and found her standing very close again. Her hands were clenched together at her waist and her eyes, still bright with tears of worry for her family, were wide and focused on his. The knot in his stomach pulsed again, making him want to shiver though he resisted giving in to the impulse. "There's a lot about you that's different, but different is good. Being different is what sets everyone apart and makes us unique. When I said it was odd, I only meant the curse."

Suddenly realizing that she was too close she blushed again, a delicate mauve that blossomed across the bridge of the nose and onto her cheeks. She stepped back a bit, but didn't break eye contact with him. "The curse is something separate from who you are." She explained, her voice a bit quieter, hesitant, as though she were searching for the right words to use. "It's a part of you, but not at the same time. If I were to describe your aura as a lake, the curse would be a monster living in the depths. It exists within you, within your aura, without being a part of it. When girls hug you, it brings the curse to the surface and causes the change." Her voice was getting softer and more reflective, as though she were thinking aloud to herself, and not trying to assuage his fears. Her eyes wandered from his face to the air around him as though she were looking at his aura. "It's there all the time. That's why your coloring is so strange. Grey hair and violet eyes… it's a permanent emulation of the curse. But why does it get stronger with each passing generation? Why does it affect your looks? Why do you have this curse?"

"That's something none of us knows."

Kikyo jumped at Shigure's voice. She had been so lost in what she was thinking that she didn't hear him come up.

"I'm sorry I startled you, but it's getting late." Shigure said with a smile. "Were you able to reach your family?"

Kikyo shook her head. "The number is disconnected. I'll just have to try again in the morning."

"Alright." Shigure gestured down the hall towards the stairs that led up to the second floor. "Tohru-kun is upstairs drawing a bath. You should try to get some rest."

Kikyo nodded. She glanced at Yuki once more before moving on down the hall and up the stairs.

Yuki and Shigure watched her go. "She's amazing." Yuki said in little more than a whisper.

Shigure's smile turned a little perverted. He opened his mouth to say something undoubtedly inappropriate.

"Save it, Shigure." Yuki growled before his cousin got the chance to say something that would make Yuki break the house. "I'm not in the mood."

Shigure's dopey smile grew to nearly a full-out grin. "I wasn't going to say anything."

"You'd better not have been." Yuki sighed and straightened. "I'm going to bed. Where are 'Haru, Hatori and Momiji staying?"

"They're going to stay in the living room. Tohru's already pulled out blankets and pillows for them." Shigure said as he leaned against the wall. "Are you alright?"

Yuki frowned at him. "I'm fine. Why do you ask?"

Shigure shrugged nonchalantly. "You just seem a little on edge, that's all. I think this business with Tohru-kun's cousin has us all a little riled up. Another outsider has found out about our secret."

Yuki smiled slightly, brushing his hair back off his face. "She knew about it before she bumped into me. If she's really going to try and lift it she would have found out about it eventually."

"Still, I can't help but think it a little bit too big of a coincidence that she just happens to be related to Tohru." Shigure pushed off the wall and moved to walk past Yuki. He stopped right next to Yuki and looked down at the younger cousin. He seemed to hesitate slightly before he spoke again. "When coincidence becomes too convenient, I prefer to call it fate." He rested a hand on Yuki's shoulder for a moment. "Goodnight, Yuki."

"Goodnight." Yuki whispered. Shigure moved off down the hall and Yuki moved to the stair and up to his room. Somehow he doubted he would get any sleep this night.

(A/N) - Sorry it took me so long to update again. I just can't write unless I'm inspired to. Plus I had a lot of stuff going on with school and all that jazz, so I never know when I'll have the time to write, much less the inspiration. But, it's extra long to make up for the delay! I hope you enjoyed it. I'll udate again as soon as I can! Please leave a review!

Thanks guys!

-Rae