Memories
By: HeavenlydemonxXxo

Yo yo yo. I can't and wont own Fruits Basket.

With a note in hand, Yuki glanced at his watch. He wasn't sure if this was the right time or not. People passed by him, some lingered their gaze on him, but most still moved on. Soon someone punched him on the back.

"You came! I was starting to doubt that you would." grinned Kumiko. He stared at her outfit in amazement. From never seeing her in anything but the school uniform makes it seem strange to see her other clothes.

"Are you playing gothic?" Kyou commented lazily, as he walked to join them. His eyes met with Yuki's. Static shock buzzed between their glares. "So you came too, girly man?" he scowled.

"And you still can't beat me." Yuki remarked.

Kyou turned away and muttered, "Damn it."

Kumiko took both their hands and put them together. "Mmm. If I was a stranger, I'd think that you were an old couple, bickering with each other nonstop."

Darkness fell on both of them. 'Is she saying I seem gay?" were their thoughts.

Her black veil fluttered. She turned to see the clock tower. It said 12:15. "We should get going now." She led them to Aki's grave. A little mound, next two other a little bit bigger mounds.

"Where's the others? I mean, isn't this a funeral?" asked Kyou.

"Her formal funeral was yesterday. I didn't want to disturb her family." She pondered for a moment. "I was too scared to meet with them." She picked up a smoking rod and lighted the two candles on the grave. Yuki and Kyou watched as she talked to the picture of Aki. Teardrops splashed onto her lap and shirt. Then she clasped her hands and prayed. The intensity of the awkwardness surrounding the two boys made them fidget. Finally she stood up, wiping her eyes. Stretching her arms, she yawned and pounced onto Kyou.

poof.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" screeched Kyou.

"Mmm, I always wanted a cat, so I thought that I'd hug you and keep you forever."

"WHAT?!"

"Just kidding. Wow you're pretty scary." She snuggled him. "Do you want to go eat at that new popular restaurant?"

"Sure." smiled Yuki. Kumiko held on tight to Kyou, and headed for the cemetery gate.

"Kyou fell for the girl..." said Hatsuharu as he popped up behind the bush.

The cat hissed.

"What the hell are you doing here?" asked Yuki, irritatedly.

"I stopped by your house, and sensei told me that you were cheating on me with a girl at the cemetery. But I see it was a lie, since you were obviously helping out Kyou on his love life. Now don't have sex on your first date."

The two of them and the cat stood there silent in shock. The cat rawred, revealing claws and leaping to Haru. He blocked the cat with his arm, scratching his skin. He stared at the blood coming out of the wounds. Then stared at Kumiko's torn sleeves. "You hurt your girlfriend... That wasn't smart."

"Ahaha, it's ok. Not a big thing really." she said while covering her arms. "On the other hand, who the hell are you? Are you another Sohma? You sure do look like one."

"Well, considering the fact that I know about the Zodiac curse, I suppose that you could say I'm a Sohma."

Kumiko flicked her eyes to Yuki. "Zodiac.. curse... ?" she said with hesitation.

Yuki looked down in shame of Haku. Sighing, he said, "Can we talk about this at lunch?"

"The zodiac... 12 animals, 12 years, I myself am a rooster. But a cat? I never heard of them... Mm.. Maybe that's just me.." babbled Kumiko.

"The cat is the outcast." stated Yuki.

"It wont be, soon enough!!" shouted Kyou.

"Hi, I'll be your waitor for today, are you ready?"

"Mmmmm, I'll take the mandu, ramen, rice cakes, some rice, maybe jjam bbong, anddd a little bit of egg in the ramen please." ordered Kumiko.

"You eat alot." remarked Haku.

"Healthy girl, big stomach." she answered, contentedly. "But about the curse, was it? What's that supposed to be. No, wait. The Sohmas have the spirit of their zodiac animal, and when hugged by the opposite gender, they'll change into that animal!"

"Yeah, that's pretty much it."

"How lucky can you be? Pretty, handsome, beautiful, and have the power to change into an animal when they want."

The three Sohmas couldn't help but feel a pang of hate towards her. Kyou pounded on the table and stood up.

"No, we're not lucky! What would you know?! You've never been one of us. You don't know what we have to go through!" Turning over the chair, he dashed out. Yuki soon followed, excusing himself. Haku was the only one left. He politely dabbed his mouth with a napkin and threw some money on the table and walked out.

Kumiko sat there dumbfounded.