Disclaimer: Do I own Fruits Basket? Let me check again…. Nope.

Author Note: Ok. So wee, I'm back again. Yes, um… Unfortunately… I do not have a long author's note to bore you with today… so… I guess I'll just give ya'll the story.

Book of the Cat

Chapter 5

"Ha-san, will he be alright?"

"Yes Miss Honda, Kyo will just need to rest for a few days. The rain always makes him sick, and I'm guessing he caught a small virus. He'll be fine in a few days."

"A virus! I hope it isn't my fault!"

Kyo's muddled brain seemed to finally make sense of the noises he was hearing. He opened his eyes, wincing at the light.

"My little flower! It is certainly not your fault."

Kyo could make out Shigure, Tohru and Hatori standing around his bed. He seemed to be in his room at Shigure's home. He sat up, and a wave of dizziness fell over him.

"Easy there Kyo!" Shigure's voice chirped.

Tohru smiled to see Kyo awake. "How are you feeling Kyo-kun?" She asked.

Kyo seemed to find his voice, but it came up raspy. "I'm fine!" He snapped. Hatori frowned at his rudeness, but turned towards Shigure.

"I must be going back, make sure he gets rest." Hatori bowed to Tohru, and Shigure followed him towards the door. Tohru looked at Kyo.

"Thank goodness you're awake! We were all so worried! You'd been gone for hours, and then Shigure came in with you and you were so pale! I have never seen Shigure look so serious! What were you doing out there?" Kyo suddenly remembered his book, and whipped his head around, trying to ignore the sense of vertigo. Tohru noticed his change in demeanor and she stopped his searching. "Are you looking for your package? Shigure left it on your desk table." Kyo stared at her.

"You didn't look at it, did you?" His voice seemed urgent.

"Oh, no, Kyo. I would never invade your privacy like that!" Kyo leaned back against his pillows, feeling sleepy once more.

"Good," he murmured. "…I'm glad you're…you." Kyo passed out and Tohru smiled. She fixed Kyo's blanket, than left to make dinner.

Kyo slept all day and night. He woke up around eight in the morning on Sunday. His stomach growled. He was hungry, so he stood up. The room started to spin, but he ignored it. After putting on a pair of sweatpants and a t-shirt, he made his way to the kitchen. Tohru was nowhere in sight, probably out doing the grocery shopping. Shigure was probably in his study.

Kyo made a beeline for the fridge. He wrenched the door open and smiled as he saw the full carton of milk awaiting him in the fridge. He put it to his lips and almost sighed with happiness as the cold, smooth, liquid ran down his throat. After a few minutes of pure bliss, Kyo felt a presence watching him. His eyes narrowed when he saw the rat.

"Hungry?" Yuki chuckled nervously. Kyo's gaze was steady and unnerving, but he continued drinking. Yuki cleared his throat, something he rarely did except when he was embarrassed. Kyo glared at him.

"Listen, Kyo… what I said yesterday was completely wrong. I really have no idea why I said it. I don't think that about you at all. I hate you, but I never meant to say that." He paused. Kyo continued drinking his milk, showing no indication that he intended to respond. Yuki continued. "Yea, so I guess what I'm trying to say is… I'm sorry."

Kyo made no movement besides the swallowing of more milk. After a few minutes, Yuki tried to break the silence with a joke.

"Hey, don't finish all the milk. Hah, Tohru's still got to use that." Kyo stopped and removed the carton from his mouth. He wiped his mouth on the back of his hand, and walked over to Yuki.

Yuki wanted Kyo to throw a punch at him, or try to hit him with a kick. Anything was better than this death glare. Kyo came closer, and Yuki almost smiled at the prospect of a fight. It would mean that Kyo had forgiven what he said and that things would return to normal.

Kyo stopped in front of Yuki and said in a calm, hatred filled voice, "Here." And he jammed the milk carton into Yuki's chest. Without one more word or glare, Kyo left the room, leaving Yuki with a nearly empty milk carton and a feeling of supreme guilt.

When Kyo approached his room, he was shaking with anger. He collapsed on his bed, feeling his energy drain from anger and from sickness. He rolled himself onto his back and stared at the ceiling, his mind replaying everything Yuki had said the other day. His fists clenched and his muscles tightened.

Kyo looked around the room and his eyes fell on the book again. He crawled of his bed and stumbled towards his desk. The book lay in its plastic bag. Kyo slowly removed the plastic, careful not to touch the book. He finally was able to look at it and he shuddered slightly.

The book had that brownish coloring his true form took. In gold, ornate lettering it said "Zodiac Book of the Cat." Kyo reached a hand out and gently touched the cover. He shuddered and the feeling of nausea came back. He continued to touch it though because he knew if he pulled away now, he might never have the courage to touch it again.

With a quivering hand, he pushed the cover open and stared at the first page. Musty book aroma floated through the air. Kyo stared at the old faded, yellowing pages and knew that he got more than what he paid for. He turned the page and found the mysterious symbols again, and just like before, he was able to read it. He softly whispered the words outloud.

"Never learning true delight,

Living in neither dark nor light,

Those that can read this forgotten text,

Holds the key to end this ancient vex.

In exchange for those that sinned,

We will learn to live again."

Kyo stared. 'What the hell is this crap?' This doesn't mean anything. It was someone's stupid attempt at rhyming! He sat down on his bed again, pushing his back against the wall. He had wasted 25 cents on this junk? He felt anger rising through his veins. Sure, 25 cents wasn't a lot, but he could've bought Tohru a gumball or something. Stupid librarian and her stupid books.

Then he felt it. A prickle over his spine. He jumped up from his bed and turned around. The room looked misty and he felt an extreme sense of vertigo.

A blinding headache erupted from nowhere. He grabbed his head and the nausea in his stomach increased.

He felt like someone was holding his head under water while they lit him on fire. He broke out into a cold sweat, the pain increasing every second.

Then he passed out again.

Author Note: Yes, short, short, short. More will follow soon; just keep checking back! Now let me acknowledge some more of my loyal reviewers:

The Cheshire Katt: Haha, yes sorry about the mega gross-out factor for the last chapter, but I'm glad I got the desired effect!

Missalissa (Ichigo): I'm glad you liked the last chapter! More to come very soon!

kawaii kitten: I'm glad its creepy! And yes, Yuki was a jerk in that chapter, but don't worry, ALL will be solved soon. Everything will make sense towards the end. And yea, the book… gross right? You bring up a good point about how they need to kill the cat to get the skin for the book. I wasn't going to explain that originally, but now that you mention it, I'll try to explain it in a later chapter! I hope you enjoyed this chapter, look out for the next one coming soon!

And As Always, Thanks to my most faithful reviewer:

Narutofreak22: you rock! You review to every chapter… that's just so…wow… Yea, you rock.

To all the silent viewers: I hope you enjoy as well. Don't be afraid to drop a line, even if you just want to say "I like the color green." (Which is an awesome color, might I add).