"Dinner is ready!" Tohru called from the kitchen. "Sakura-chan, will you get Yuki-kun and Kyo-kun? They should be upstairs."

Sakura nodded and left her two shinobi friends sitting at the table with Shigure, who was blabbering on about something strange.

"Yuki-kun? Kyo-kun?" She called, looking from room to room. Yuki poked his head out of one.

"Oh hello Haruno-san."

"Hello Yuki-kun, Tohru-chan says dinner is ready. Do you know where Kyo is?"

"Arrigatou, and try the roof."

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'Stupid people… comin' over for dinner like this…' Kyo thought, staring at the clouds. He heard a tap on the roof next to him.

"Yuki-kun said I'd find you up here." Sakura said, standing on the ladder. She had no expression on her face. "Tohru-chan says dinner is ready." And with that, she was gone. Kyo got up and stretched.

'It better not be leeks…'

"So Shigure-san, what do you do?" Sakura asked, making polite conversation. Once everyone had arrived at the table, Tohru had brought out the food (which to Kyo's relief, was NOT leeks.)

"I'm a novelist, actually." He said smoothly, pulling something out of his robe. It was a thick brown book that had intelligent writing on it. (A/N: I have absolutely no idea what intelligent writing looks like, for I am not intelligent at all!!!)

"But I write these in my spare time." Shigure pulled out of his robe another book, this time a smutty romance novel. Naruto and Sakura's jaws dropped, while Sasuke's eyebrow rose.

"Yuki-kun, may I ask you a question?" Sakura asked, trying to stay polite. Yuki looked surprised at this sudden change in subject.

"Of course, Haruno-san."

"Is Shigure-san what some would call a… pervert?" Everyone at the table (excepting the three shinobi) looked shocked.

"I suppose so..." Yuki thought for a moment. "Actually, yes. He's definitely a pervert." (Sasuke inwardly laughed at how he sounded so certain.) Naruto began to laugh out loud.

"We'll have to get him a copy of Icha Icha paradise, won't we?" He grinned, wiping away a stray tear. The Sohma's (and Tohru) looked confused.

"What's so funny?" The dog dared to ask, slightly afraid of the answer. Sakura put her hand up, grinning from ear to ear.

"Oh it's nothing. You just remind us of someone, that's all." She said, stifling a giggle. The Sohmas shrugged it off, but couldn't help wonder.

'Who in hell is like Shigure?'

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After dinner Naruto volunteered to help Tohru do the dishes.

"N-No!!!! You really don't have to!!!" She insisted. The blonde turned up the power on his eyes, making him look adorably irresistible.

"But Tohru-chan, I really want to help you." He pouted a little bit, and Tohru caved.

"I-I suppose if you really want to…" Naruto smiled genuinely, her stutter reminding him a little of Hinata when they were younger. Thinking of his girlfriend made Naruto slightly homesick. He couldn't believe he had to miss her ceremony, even if this mission was important. But what could he do?

Resuming his sunny attitude (only Sakura and Sasuke could tell he'd ever been sad at all) he followed Tohru into the kitchen. Sasuke and Kyo seemed to be in the middle of a staring contest. Actually, it was more like a glaring contest, with Sasuke winning. Kyo, finally needing to blink, stood up with a huff.

This was the chance Sakura had been waiting for. She stood up from her seat and accidentally bumped her head into Kyo's chest, while accidentally falling into Yuki's lap.

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"Naruto-kun, you're very efficient at doing dishes." Tohru marveled at the blonde's speed. Most of the dishes were done already, and it had only been five minutes. Naruto smiled cheesily at her.

"I've had a lot of practice. I used to do my own dishes at home, and still do sometimes."

"Your parents must be very proud." this made Naruto slow his pace. He smiled sadly at her.

"Yeah, they probably would've been." Tohru was confused.

"What do you mean?"

"My parents died before I was born, Tohru-chan. I live by myself."

"Oh!!!! I'm so sorry Naruto-kun!!! I shouldn't have said what I did!!!" Tohru scolded herself. Naruto patted her on the shoulder.

"It's okay Tohru-chan, you couldn't have known."

Suddenly, two loud POOF's were heard from the living room. Dropping their dishes in the sink, Naruto and Tohru ran out of the kitchen, their only thought being:

'Uh oh.'

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Sakura opened her eyes to find herself laying on two piles of clothes. She looked around to see Shigure, Naruto, Tohru, Sasuke, a very stressed Rat and a very angry Cat. Shigure ran toward her, turning her head.

"OH SAKURA-SAN LOOK OVER THERE, I THINK I SEE A FLYING ONIGIRI!!!!" He cried, pointing out the window. The rat sighed.

"Don't bother Shigure. She's already seen us." Sakura looked at him, pretending to be amazed.

"Yuki-kun? Is that you?" She gasped, and the boy-turned-rat nodded. Sakura looked at the cat. "Does that mean that this must be…"

"Yes, that's Kyo." Shigure said with a sigh.

"I KNEW they shouldn't have come over!!! That girl is nothing but trouble!!!!" Kyo hissed, back arched. Sakura glared at him, some of her hair casting a shadow over her face, her expression daring him to say that again. It was over all quite a scary effect.

"Would someone care to explain?" Sasuke spoke, jolting the awkward atmosphere. Almost everyone had forgotten he was there.

"Alright then, you should probably sit down. This may take awhile." Shigure said, expecting to shock and scare the three shinobi with what he had to say.

(A/N: I'm skipping over the part where he tells them the curse, because if you read chapter 1, or any of the Fruits Basket manga/anime, you already know this. All you need to know is this part involved a lot of fake surprise on the shinobi's part.)

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An hour later, Sakura, Naruto and Sasuke were completely filled in on the Zodiac curse. Sasuke turned to Tohru.

"I presume you knew about this?" The brunette nodded vigorously.

"After my mother died in a car crash last year, I was supposed to stay with my grandfather. But when he had to have construction done on his house, I was forced to live in a tent not far from here. The Sohmas found me and were kind enough to let me stay here as a sort of housekeeper. I've been here ever since." She smiled happily.

"So when do you guys turn back into humans?" Naruto asked with fake curiosity.

"After a while. But I can't figure out why we haven't changed-" Yuki was cut off by two loud poofs. Already knowing what was going to happen, Sasuke, Sakura and Naruto turned their eyes to the ceiling.

"-back yet." Yuki finished, looking at everyone apologetically. "As you can tell, we're usually naked when we turn back." He and Kyo quickly put on their clothes.

"Obviously you're not going to be wearing your clothing if it's a foot away from you like it was." Sasuke snorted.

"Well, now I'll have to tell Akito about this." Shigure sighed, standing up and leaving. Yuki twitched.

"Who's Akito?" Sakura asked. Yuki and Kyo both left the room.

"Akito-san is the head of the Sohma family. He will decide whether you are allowed to know about the curse or not. If not, your memories of the curse and of the Sohmas will be erased." Tohru explained, somewhat sadly. "Neither Yuki nor Kyo have very fond memories of Akito-san."

The three Shinobi exchanged a look. This must be the family head that they had been told about. But they had not been told that their memories would be erased!! The very thought scared Sakura a little bit. Sasuke gave her and Naruto a look that read, 'He wouldn't dare erase our memories. We're protecting them, after all.' That made Sakura feel a little better.

"Good news. Because it's not too late, Ha'ri said Akito would see you tonight. He said Akito seemed eager to meet you three." Shigure said, entering the room. "Ha'ri will be over in a minute."

As if on cue, there was a knock on the door. Tohru rushed to get it, and a man about Shigure's age walked in. He was very handsome, with black hair covering one of his clear grey eyes.

"I'm Sohma Hatori, the family doctor. And you are?"

"Haruno Sakura."

"Uzumaki Naruto."

"Uchiha Sasuke."

"Right. Well, follow me. I'll take you to the main house, where you'll meet Akito."

Yuki watched through his bedroom window, and Kyo from the roof, as their new friends were ushered into Hatori's big black car. They subconsciously prayed for them.

'Good Luck.

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Happy New Year!!!!!! 2008 finally decided to make it's appearance. I'm really sorry for not updating before Christmas, but things were insane for me, and we went on a trip the Friday before to see relatives. So this is the most time I've had on the computer since then.

Oooooo, so now they're going to meet Akito!!!! How exciting!!!!!!!!! I should be able to put chapter 5 up sooner this time, but I can' guarantee anything. Well, read, review, and Ja till next time!!!!