"Flashback warm nights
Almost left behind"
(Cyndi Lauper)


Poof Goes The Girl

"Talking"

'Thinking'

Memories

Stressed

Tohru sighed as she waited at the swings inside the park's gate. She had told Kyou that she would meet him at the park the other day. Today was the day that she would meet him and she wondered if she was doing the right thing. Her eyes traveled to the bracelet around her wrist and she thought of everything that could go wrong. A leaf fell to her feet and she released another sigh. Sighing was becoming an addiction that annoyed her to no end. Tohru felt the curse beginning to act up as she became nervous. Her green eyes spotted Kyou walking towards her with a small smile. A little kid ran over to him and pushed him to the ground. Tohru panicked as she felt the curse take affect in her. Poof

She squeaked and grasped her outfit in her tiny little paw. Tohru dragged the clothes into the bushes and took a breath. She glared at Kyou as he stood up and helped the kid up. Tohru began to wonder what he really wanted, she shook her thoughts clear as the spirit began to take control of her thoughts. She had become so flustered with her thoughts that she had transformed.

"Tohru!" Kyou called out as he looked for her.

She sighed when she noticed her ribbon on the ground. Kyou kneeled down to pick it up. Tohru gasped and lunged out of the bush. Kyou yelped as a chestnut colored rat bit his hand. He pulled his hand back and watched the rat scamper into the bushes with the ribbon.

"Stupid rat," Kyou growled as he studied the bite. The rat's teeth didn't even break the skin. "Hope I don't get rabies or the black plague."

Poof

Kyou's eyebrows rose as he heard a noise and some rustling. He walked over to the bush and yelped again as Tohru's head collided with his chin. Tohru yelped and grasped her head in pain. Her eyes opened and she sheepishly smiled at Kyou.

"Why were you in the bush?" Kyou asked. Tohru tensed and let out a loud laugh.

"I was…I was hiding from you…so…um…boo?" Tohru mumbled.

"You are strange," Kyou muttered with a smirk. "You're ribbon's crooked."

"Oh no!" Tohru whined as she began to fix it. "Everything has to be perfect!"

"It's okay…considering you were in a bush," Kyou tired to calm her.

"No!" Tohru snapped. "Everything has to be perfect…what good's a mess?"

"You look fine," Kyou mumbled as he looked away.

Tohru looked gazed at him in awe before smiling. He noticed her grinning and his blush became more prominent.

"I'm going to make you the best dinner ever!" Tohru stated as her generosity kicked in.

"You don't have to," Kyou mumbled, even though it sounded nice. Yuki couldn't cook and Shigure's idea of dinner was a bowel of random vegetables.

"Please, it would be no trouble," Tohru shyly said as she winked at him.

'This girl has weird mood swings,' Kyou thought as he nodded to her.

"So," Tohru mumbled, "what do you want to do?"

"I just wanted to hang out, or would you prefer the mall?" Kyou asked with slight worry.

"I don't like the mall…to many people," Tohru quickly said.

"Good, I don't like the mall either," sighed Kyou with relief.

Tohru nodded as turned around and walked to the swings. She sat down and began to lightly swing. Kyou tilted his head as she softly swung with her head against the chain. He walked over to her and stood behind her. Before his hands could push her, she jumped off the swing and glared at him. He froze as her temper rose.

"What's your motive?" Tohru demanded.

"I just wanted to push you," Kyou growled.

"You never talked to me before…why the sudden urge to know me?" Tohru demanded as the rat's spirit roared to life.

"I just want to know you…is it a crime?" Kyou snapped back at her.

"It is when you ignore someone for two years!" Tohru shouted.

"What's your problem?" Kyou snapped at her.

"My problem is that I have a carrot head following me!" Tohru shouted.

"So now my hair color is making you mad!" Kyou growled.

"Maybe since your outfit doesn't match," Tohru dryly said. The spirit was really pushing her to bring negatives to the surface.

"What? You want to dress me?" Kyou asked as he smirked.

"Maybe," Tohru whispered as she smirked at him. Kyou blushed at this and looked away from her.

"You're such a freak," Kyou teased with a grin.

Tohru froze and her world shattered. Kyou tensed when he watched her face fall. Her eyes watered as she darted off into the park. Kyou cursed his words and ran after her. Her chestnut hair flew behind her with each step. Kyou shouted at her to stop and she kept running.

"I'm not a freak," Tohru chanted as she ran.

"Watch out!" Kyou shouted to her.

Tohru slammed into a little boy and she gasped.

'Not now,' Tohru thought.

Poof

Smoke covered the area as the little boy shrugged and continued on his way. Kyou ran over to the area and his left eye twitched. Her clothes were on the ground along with the hair ribbons.

"Is she running around naked?" Kyou mumbled.

"No you igit," Tohru muttered in defeat.

"Tohru?" Kyou questioned as he looked around for her.

"Look down," Tohru's voice squeaked.

Kyou's eyes narrowed as he looked down at the ground. His eyes widened in shock when he noticed the little chestnut colored rat waving at him. Kyou's mind went blank as he struggled to think of something. The rat sighed as traced a pattern in clothing with its little foot.

"Do mind taking my clothes and walking me home?" Tohru asked. Kyou blinked at this as he scooped up the clothing and rat.

"Tohru is that you?" Kyou asked. Tohru glared at him but nodded.

"What happened?" Kyou asked as she sat on his shoulder.

"I'll explain it when we get to my place," Tohru stated. Kyou then noticed people giving him weird looks. He glared at them as they walked back Tohru's place.

Tohru sighed and remain silent on her way back home. She was surprised that Kyou hadn't freaked out about her change. Tohru wondered if he remembered any of his changes. She knew it was far fetched, but anything was possible since she received the curse. They arrived outside her apartment door and she climbed off his shoulder and down his leg. His garnet eyes stared down at her as she tapped her little foot.

"What are you waiting for?" Kyou asked.

"When I change back—"

Poof

"I'm naked."

"Gahhh!" Kyou shouted as he covered his eyes.

Tohru grabbed her clothes and searched for her keys. A jingle, a soft click, and the door opened to her. She ran inside and locked herself in the bathroom. Kyou followed her after hearing the door click shut. He heard a rustle of clothes and chose to sit down on the cushion she had. He noticed that she was taking her time getting dressed.

'Why did she change into a rat?' Kyou wondered.

The door creaked open and Tohru stepped outside and into the kitchen. She was back in her original outfit save for the robe she had around her. Tohru walked over to the fridge and pulled out the milk carton. She set the carton on the small table and glared at it before deciding on the best course of action. If need be, she could always erase his memories. Tohru sighed not really wanting to erase his memories, but if it would keep him safe, she would make another sacrifice.

"What happened to you?" Kyou asked as he gazed at her. Tohru took a drink from the milk carton and sighed.

"Obviously, I changed into a small rat," Tohru dryly said as Kyou growled at her.

"I could see that you igit!" Kyou growled at her.

"Sigh," Tohru whispered.

"Are you going to explain?" Kyou asked, as he was already annoyed.

"As you can tell…I'm cursed," Tohru simply said as Kyou kept rain on his anger.

"Details," Kyou growled.

"I am possessed by all twelve spirits of the zodiac. When I am embraced by the opposite sex, or amsick, weak, or flustered I transform into one of the animals," Tohru clarified.

"All twelve?" Kyou asked with some shock.

"While, fourteen actually," Tohru muttered as she glared at the milk carton again.

"Fourteen," Kyou repeated.

"I also have the spirit of the cat and the spirit of the god or emperor that invited the animals to the banquet," Tohru explained.

"So…how do you…you know," Kyou asked in confusion.

"You pervert!" Tohru shouted at him.

"NO! I mean which animal do you change into and why?" Kyou shouted as he backed away from her.

"Oh," Tohru muttered in embarrassment. "I change into the spirit that is mostly prominent in my mood."

"Is this why you push everybody away?" Kyou questioned.

"I have no other choice," Tohru whispered.

"Do you think people would fear you or something…I don't," Kyou confided. Something seemed familiar about this situation.

"People naturally fear and hate what they don't understand. It's in their nature to, but I don't hide because I know people would fear or hate me," Tohru softly said.

"Then why hide?" Kyou asked.

"I hide to protect them," Tohru softly said.

"Protect them?"

"So much hate, anger, and grief comes with this curse, but I want to protect them from it," Tohru explained with a soft smile. Kyou scoffed at this and Tohru looked at him in confusion.

"Don't be so righteous," Kyou scolded. "You push people away to the point to make yourself a saint."

"Jerk," Tohru mumbled as she glared at him.

"You don't have to be alone if you're cursed," Kyou continued.

"I'm sorry, but people would want to lock me up and do experiments…personally I don't want to be a lab rat," Tohru growled in one breath.

"That was a really bad pun…but are you willing to stay alone forever?" Kyou seriously asked.

"I said yes once, and my answer hasn't changed," Tohru sighed as she put the milk carton back.

"It's okay to say no, it's perfectly fine to be selfish," Kyou explained.

"I can't be selfish when it comes to this curse," Tohru sadly said as she locked gazes with him.

"Whatever, it's your choice," Kyou mumbled as he stood up.

"I think you should go," Tohru mumbled.

"What about dinner?" Kyou suddenly asked. He didn't want to leave so soon, he wanted to stay.

"You can stay, I'll make Miso soup," Tohru happily said.

"Whatever you feel like," Kyou softly said, he was relieved that he didn't have to go.

"Miso's only good when it's in soup," Tohru repeated what he said so long ago. Kyou perked up at her words and grinned.

"Finally!" He shouted. "So one who understands the right way to eat Miso!"

"I try to avoid Miso when it's not in soup," Tohru admitted. It was true; ever since she had learned Kyou didn't like Miso, she began to avoid it.

"Miso is almost as bad as leeks," Kyou added with a look of disgust.

"The guy that I loved hated leeks with a passion," Tohru reminisced the time Yuki had shoved the leeks into Kyou's mouth.

Kyou quieted as he listened to her hum. She stood silently over the stove cooking the soup and thinking about happier times.

"He hated leeks with a passion…he had a passion for hating leeks, Miso, and loving marital arts," Tohru softly rambled in thought.

"What happened to him…did he leave you because of the curse?" Kyou asked in interest.

He would never leave someone like her just because she poofed into an animal. Kyou was surprised at the strong feeling he had with the thought. He stood by the thought; something was up with the girl.

"No," Tohru softly answered as her eyes watered. "I wasn't the one with the curse when I was with him."

Kyou's eyes widened with realization as he thought about this. The passage from her book flashed in his mind. He could hear and see the words that she wrote.

He pulled her to his chest and a cloud of smoke covered them. She held in her arms an orange cat with garnet eyes. The cat purred as she continued to embrace him.

"He was the one cursed," Kyou mumbled in realization. Tohru looked over at him with a bit of sadness.

"He was cursed, but I loved him despite the curse," Tohru continued, it felt good to tell him this even he thought she talked of another.

"Which zodiac was he?" Kyou asked, as he got a bit angry with the guy.

'Guy must have been a real ass. I mean to leave a girl like that,' Kyou thought as Tohru finished the small dinner.

"The cat from the zodiac," Tohru said with a smile.

"Figures you'd fall for the outcast," Kyou mumbled. "You went for the bad boy."

"Who said he was a boy?" Tohru teased as she watched Kyou turned red and choke on air.

"I kid, I kid," Tohru laughed at him.

"Igit," Kyou mumbled as she glared at him.

Tohru passed him a bowel of Miso soup with a smile. They ate in silence with the soft clicking and dripping of soup for comfort. Tohru was lost in memories that tore her apart with each scene replay. Kyou was lost in his thoughts about this mysterious love of Tohru. He couldn't help but feel a bit jealous of the guy.

"What happened to him?" Kyou asked Tohru. Tohru dropped her spoon and soup splashed onto the table.

"He forgot about me," Tohru whispered.

"You broke up with him?" Kyou tried to clarify. Tohru looked up at him and finally let a few tears loose. Kyou started to panic at this.

"I mean what I say," Tohru dejectedly said.

"He got amnesia," Kyou guessed.

"Once he was released from the curse the spirits of the zodiac were full of rage," Tohru began. "They blocked his and the other cursed family member's memories for revenge. They then possessed me."

"That's not fair!" Kyou shouted.

"I did it because I wanted him and his family to be free," Tohru whispered.

"But…but that leaves you alone," Kyou whispered.

"I'm happy if he and the others are happy," Tohru stated with some content.

Kyou stood up from the table and walked over to Tohru. She looked over at him in confusion before he pulled her to his chest. She closed her eyes and let a few tears free before she transformed.

Poof

Kyou grunted as he supported the weight of her zodiac form. He had figured she'd turn into a small rat again. Green eyes watched him as he dropped the animal to the floor. She landed on her feet and tilted her head in thought. Kyou scratched the back of his head in nervousness as he watched her.

'Wow, a tiger,' was his thought.

"Looks like the tiger was the spirit in control," Tohru said as she sat down.

"Interesting," Kyou mumbled as he sighed.

Author's Note:

She turning into the Zodiac animals based on how she is at the moment. The rat is supposed to be charming, a perfectionist, and a bit suspicous of others. Tigers are supposed to be sensitive and emotional. I'll mix in what the Zodiac says and what the original cursed members acted like.
Please review!