Disclaimer: I do not own Samurai Deeper Kyo nor Fruits Basket.

VII

Yuya woke the next morning with a slight pain in her forehead. She rubbed it gently with her palm and stretched her arms up high, working the sleeping muscles and aching bones. She wasn't a morning person, in fact she had very little energy to do any of the basic tasks such as making breakfast, taking a shower, or getting dressed without taking a slight nap in between. After finally getting a bite to eat and slipping on her school uniform she made her way to her door, gripping the handle gently before pausing a moment to recall the events of the previous afternoon.

The blonde shook her head, thinking it was all a dream and decided to proceed out the door as if nothing had happened. It's just a typical morning, Yuya. She thought to herself, waving to several of her neighbors who were either making their way to work or simply collecting a newspaper that made its way to their door earlier in the morning. I'll just walk to school. She nodded at the mailman who smiled at her in greeting. Go to my classes. Yuya evaded a cyclist, pedaling along the sidewalk, most likely to work. Have lunch with Uo and Hana. She glanced up at a crosswalk light, waiting for a signal to continue on her path. Then make my way back home. She sighed. Just like always... Not paying any attention to her surroundings, she bumped into the back of another pedestrian.

"G-gomen! I wasn't paying any attention to where I was going!" Yuya bowed in apology and glanced up at the victim of the accident. "A-Akira-san?"

Akira smiled, that sweet, angelic smile that most of the girls swooned over, and nodded at Yuya. "Good morning, Shiina-san."

"Ohayo!" She smiled, then noticing they were inhibiting traffic on the sidewalk, stepped aside and bowed once again. "Well, I'd better hurry up! I don't want to be late...again..." She blushed and tried to slip away, but failed for Akira gripped her arm gently but firmly.

"Why the rush, Shiina-san? We have quite a bit of time left before the bell rings." Akira pulled Yuya through a bush and led her down a narrow pathway in the forest. "Come. This is usually the way I travel to school in the mornings anyway."

Where'd this come from? Yuya glanced up at the trees filtering sunlight throughout the pathway, creating a gentle and peaceful atmosphere. I never knew this place existed. She glanced back at the beautiful, blonde boy walking along side her. If Uo and Hana ever found out I went to some place so secluded from everyone else with a boy... She shivered at the thought. Her friends were very protective of her...it was probably because...

"Shiina-san." Akira interrupted Yuya's thoughts. She snapped her head up immediately in reply, causing a harsh pain in her neck.

"Ow, ow ouch!" She rubbed her neck, cringing in agony.

Akira helped ease the pain by rubbing her strained muscles, giggling at the same time. "Must take talent to give yourself whiplash." He smiled. Oh Kami, that smile!

Yuya blushed, again but shook her head in response. "It's one of the few talents I wish I didn't have." She giggled as well, still rubbing the slight pain that remained on the back of her neck. "Anyway...what was it you were going to say, Akira-san?"

Akira stepped closer, creating a distance of merely and inch apart between the two, causing Yuya's face to turn slightly pink. Wh-why does have have to be so close? Couldn't he just tell me from where he was standing before? She tried to look at his face, but the distance caused her heart to beat too fast she couldn't handle it. So, she focused on the protruding root of a tree instead. He, however, made matters worse and decided to hold her chin with the tips of his fingers and guided her eyes to meet his face. "Do you truly intend to keep our secret hidden from everyone else?"

Yuya snapped out of her little fantasy world and fell back into reality, hard. So last night wasn't a dream... She nodded, not necessarily in response to Akira, but more so to herself. Of course...he is the most sought after boy in school. Why else would he want to associate himself with the likes of someone like me

Akira took her nod as an answer and smiled, obviously giving away his relief that their curse would remain a secret. Or was that really what he was worried about? Yuya decided to ignore all other possibilities. A sudden realization kicked in. What the hell are we going to do about the egg? As if knowing exactly what she was thinking Akira smiled and placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder. "Don't worry, Shiina-san. Kyoshiro-san will have it all taken care of."

"Oh! But--"

"He told me he was going to settle the matter. After all...we can't tell them exactly how the egg broke, now can we?" He smiled once again, causing Yuya to smile as well. Akira blushed, sensing her sudden relief and wished that he could see her face. However, there was no turning back from his decision to be rid of his sight forever. He shuddered from the sudden flow of painful memories that washed over his mind in a matter of seconds.

"Akira-san?" Yuya gripped his shoulder concerned. "Akira-san?"

Akira gently tugged on his hair, trying to relieve some of the pain inflicted on his mind. "I'm fine, Shiina-san. We'd better hurry or we might be late."

Yuya nodded watching Akira's back as he made his way along the path. It seems that I'm stuck knowing their secret. But really...I think this could be a really good opportunity to make new friends. And maybe one day... Yuya ran to catch up to her new friend. ...I can understand what makes Akira frown when he isn't smiling.

Kyo sat on the porch of Kyoshiro's home, staring at nothing in particular. He was simply thinking, like always. Thinking about how he ended up in this situation. Not just with the girl, although she did play a huge factor on his thoughts at the moment, like how he woke up that morning outside of her apartment. Thankfully he left before the Shiina girl woke, or he would've probably ended up at her school too. He growled, wonder why the hell he was thinking about her anyway. However, one element intensified his anger even further. He gently stroked the bead bracelet on his wrist, memories from his childhood flowing into his thoughts.

There was a story that someone told him. He didn't exactly remember who. He faintly remembered long, silky hair that tickled his nose as he lay on his back, soft, pale hands that brushed gently along his forehead, pushing back his bangs, and most of all gentle, chocolate orbs that stared down into his crimson, easing his loneliness until there was no more. Kyo only saw her once, but her story lasted forever in his mind. He truly wondered if it was true or not, and if the story was some sort of key to a lock that would free him from this curse.

A young woman smiled, the sound of a crackling fireplace resounded in the background. Her jet black hair framed her beautiful face and fell in long, elegant strands onto a warm bed. A boy with bright crimson eyes lay in said bed, looking away at the woman uncaring. He knew no one cared for him, so why would he care what she did for him? She still smiled and sat there staring at him. Sensing that he didn't wish to speak she decided to speak instead, "Kyo, I have a story for you..."

Kyo snorted, still uncaring. This caused the woman to giggle. "You don't have to listen if you don't want to, but I love telling it." She rested her head on her arm that lay on the boy's bed. "It's a story about you."

This got Kyo's attention. He shifted his body to face hers and rested his head on his pillow, waiting for her to continue. She sat up from her position and prepared herself for her story. Her voice was gentle and brought life to her words.

"There goes a story that one day, God decided to throw a special banquet for the all the animals and sent word for all to attend the following evening. However, upon hearing the news, the rat decided to play a trick upon his neighbor the cat, and told him that the banquet was not the following evening, but the night after.

The night of the banquet all the animals attended, except for the cat, who slept through, missing the whole thing. At this banquet God made a promise to all his creatures, saying that they would always be together, and that nothing and no one would come between them. It is said that all the creatures which attended the banquet became a part of the Chinese Zodiac. Thus, the cat is not included in the zodiac and has grown to despise the rat for his trickery."

Kyo let the gentle voice of the woman flow over his mind, the story replaying itself in his head over and over. Eventually he felt the world gently disappear around him, as he feel into a deep slumber...

"Oi."

Kyo snapped out of his trance and at the intruder. He lowered his eyebrows in irritation and growled, "Hotaru..."

Hotaru stepped closer, but came to a stop before the edge of the porch. He held no particular expression on his face, like always, and decided just to stand and stare at Kyo.

Kyo grew impatient, his red eyes flashing as his irritation rose. "What do you want?"

Hotaru pointed in the direction where Kyo had followed Yuya and responded, "Who was that?"

Kyo scowled, shifting his gaze somewhere else, trying to ignore what the stupid blonde was saying. Still feeling Hotaru's stare on him, he stood up and walked away, leaving the wondering boy standing there. This all wouldn't have happened if she hadn't come here! Kyo stomped off, brushing by Kyoshiro, the last person he wanted to see right now, well...other than that girl of course.

"Kyo!" Kyoshiro had to speak, receiving a death-like glare from the red head. "Ahhh..." he waved his hands, trying to avoid physical confrontation, "...there is no need to resort to violence, Kyo. You know that."

Kyo snorted in a 'you better as hell leave me alone before I rip that stupid smile off of your face' manner. However, Kyoshiro insisted, as always, to get Kyo's thoughts out of him. "That friend of Akira's was a very sweet girl, wasn't she?" Kyoshiro's face blushed immensely at the thought of Yuya's beautiful smile, her emerald eyes, and her nicely shaped—

Kyo growled and stormed off into the woods, not wanting to think what Kyoshiro was imagining right now as his face began to contort into strange positions. Hopefully that stupid kid doesn't bring her back again. I'll just end up being her escort home like yesterday. Kyo stopped dead in his tracks. His eyes widened as he ran into a clearing, bending his knees to skid to the ground.

"Tokito?" He inspected the creature lying on the ground, her once elegant, white mane now covered in clumps of mud and leaves. Her eyes were half open, half seeing, apparently unconcious, but still in pain. Shit...how the heck am I supposed to carry this back to the house... Kyo stripped off his jacket, laying it on top of the girl in her weakened state, trying to rebuild her energy so she would at least transform back into a carriable form.

Then finally, her eyes shut as her body grew warmer and she eased into a gentle sleep, rebuilding some strength to at least shift back into a human. Kyo quickly gathered her clothes, bundled her up as best he could, and carried her back "home."

Author's Note:

I promise more movement in the storyline next chapter, I'm still trying to clear up some Fruits Basket stuff for people who haven't heard of it before. Yes, the story of the cat being left out of the zodiac is still the same (and it fits Kyo very well IMO).

Next chapter more information on Yuya's past will be presented. What she fears, why she's alone, etc. etc. I'll introduce more characters next chapter as well, look forward to familiar faces:)