Chapter Two: Awake At Last

When the world says, "Give up." Hope whispers, "Try it one more time."
~Author Unknown

"Stay away from her; she's trouble!"

"I heard she beat some girl to a pulp because she looked at her the wrong way!"

"What a horrible person!"

"Who would be friends with her; I can't even look at her!"

"Anyone unfortunate enough to meet her is cursed!"

"No! I'm not cursed!" Miyako shot up, sweating, her long black hair sticking to her face. Her head ached horribly and her vision was blurry. It took Miyako a moment to clear up her eyesight, and once she did, she realized she was in an unfamiliar place.

'Where am I? Whose house am I in?' Miyako thought nervously, brushing her hair out of her eyes. She looked around, examining her surroundings.

She was sitting in a traditional living room; green carpeting covered the floor and the shoji walls were relatively bare. A small wooden table sat to her left and the sliding door was open, displaying the back garden. It was a beautiful day; fall was well on its way but the warmth had yet to leave. The wind blew in lightly, exposing her shoulder.

'That's strange; my shirt isn't that loose…' Miyako thought curiously. It was then that she noticed her attire.

Dread welled up inside her when she discovered a kimono had replaced her street clothes. She grabbed her neck instinctively; her necklace was still there, the single red bead on it glittered in the sunlight.

'So I didn't transform…good…' Miyako sighed in relief, tucking the bead away. If she did, she probably wouldn't be in this house, maybe outside, on the street.

'Why am I here anyway?' she wondered.

"Ah, so you're awake at last." The voice made her jump; she whipped around, fists balled and ready for a fight.

A young man, probably in his mid twenties stood over her, a pen and notebook in his hand. He had slightly shaggy black hair, kind eyes, and was dressed in a light blue gray kimono and socks. He smiled, studying her.

'He seems harmless enough…' she thought, relaxing a little but not letting her guard down; she didn't know if she could trust him.

"Who are you? How did I get here?" Miyako demanded. The man smiled calmly.

"I'm so sorry, my name is Shigure and this is my house." He waved his hand around, indicating the room they were in.

"What's going on?" The Sohma boy came in, followed by Tohru and another boy Miyako didn't recognize with bright orange hair. She wondered if it was naturally that way. Suddenly, an idea dawned on her.

"You!" Miyako said, pointing at Yuki. He looked bewildered.

'Whoa…he has…purple eyes…' Miyako thought, making a mental note to ask about it later.

"You and the girl, Tohru brought me here; why?" she asked.

"Forgive Shigure for not explaining," he said, shooting an irritated glance in Shigure's direction.

"You had a terrible fever last night and Miss Honda over there was worried."

"That's Yuki Sohma, my cousin," Shigure said to Miyako.

"We couldn't leave you there!" Tohru said, her eyes glistening.

"That's the girl you were referring to, Tohru Honda and that other boy over there with the orange hair and the stupid expression on his face…"

"Hey! Who are you calling stupid?" the boy said angrily. Shigure eyed him with slight disapproval and turned his attention back to Miyako.

"That is Kyo Sohma, another cousin. We all live here…"

"And you can live here too!" Tohru said happily, cutting in. Miyako raised an eyebrow. 'This place is kinda weird…' she thought, edging away. A small mew caught her attention.

'I know that meow…' Looking around franticly for the source, she spied her little black kitten on Kyo's shoulder.

"Amaya!" Miyako said, standing suddenly. The others looked at her in alarm.

"That's my cat, Amaya. I don't know why she's here though…" Miyako walked over to Kyo and took the kitten off his shoulder. The kitten purred happily and rubbed up against her face. Shigure, Yuki, and Tohru exchanged glances; they were all there last night when Miyako transformed into the black cat.

'I wonder if that cat came to her…' Shigure thought silently.

'…Because of her curse,' Yuki and Tohru finished the thought for Shigure. Everyone was wondering about her origins and what her curse, if indeed that's what it was, meant for the rest of them, especially the Zodiac members. Kyo had been left in the dark, but he secretly wondered about this girl too.

'She's strange, not as strange as us I'm sure, but still…strange…' Kyo eyed the girl with slight interest as she played happily with her cat.

"So," Kyo said nonchalantly, making everyone start.

"You got a name?" he asked, ignoring Shigure's mocking grin. The girl stopped and looked at him, her bright green eyes glowing.

"Miyako, my name's Miyako. Thanks for watching my cat. Kyo isn't it?" she said. Kyo shrugged his shoulders.

"No problem, I found her in my room when I woke up, Cats, they…I have a way with cats," he answered, Shigure's sharp glance cutting him short.

'That was close… got to be careful,' Kyo mentally scolded himself.

'Stupid Cat,' Yuki thought in irritation, shaking his head.

'It would be a problem if we let out the secret so soon,' Shigure considered. Miyako was well aware of this silent exchange and wondered what it meant.

'That's suspicious…' she studied everyone's face, trying to decide what they were hiding, but found nothing.

"Ahh!" Everyone jumped at Tohru's sudden outburst.

"We're going to be late! I'm so sorry Miyako! I have to go!" she rambled on as she ran out, leaving an uncomfortable silence in the room, broken only by Miyako's giggles.

"Wow, she's quite something." Miyako said, letting Amaya climb onto her shoulder. A notion struck her suddenly and she considered it.

'You know…' Miyako thought, studying the house and the people in it.

'Now that I think about it, this house might be the perfect place to start over… maybe I can finally have a family…' she smiled and turned to Shigure.

"Uh… I know this is kind of awkward and sudden, but I do need a place to stay… so… I'm willing to take you up on your offer." Shigure smiled in approval.

"Good! We need more women in this house!" he said cheerfully. Miyako stared at him, wondering if she should regret her decision.

"Now there is one condition with you living here; you must attended school, I can't have a girl your age constantly in the house." Shigure grinned.

"What? You're going to let another girl stay here?" Kyo asked, his voice full of malice. Miki stared at him in shock.

"Isn't enough to have one girl in the house? Why do we need another?" he growled, marching out of the room. Miyako stared after him, flinching when Kyo slammed the front door, a confused look on her face.

'He was so nice at first…I don't get it….'

"Foolish Kyo, he needs a serious lesson in self control; he will never ensnare a woman that way…" Shigure walked into the kitchen, shaking his head.

"Don't mind him, he's always like that." Yuki said. Miyako sweat dropped, she wasn't sure if Yuki was talking about Kyo or Shigure.

"Tohru left some clothes for you there," Yuki gestured, a small neat pile of clothes lay beside the mat she had slept on.

"Feel free to take a bath, bathroom is down the hall," Yuki said, motioning.

"I recommend locking the door with Shigure here."

"Hey, Yuki! I heard that!" Shigure called from the kitchen. Yuki turned to leave, but Miyako stopped him.

"Thanks for everything, but where are you going?" Miyako asked.

"The stupid Cat and I must be off to school, like Miss Honda said," Yuki answered with a smile. Kyo appeared through the open shoji.

"What was that you stupid Rat?" he shouted. Shigure popped his head around the corner, a peaceful look on his face.

"Please take your fight outside as I don't want my house destroyed Kyo-kun. Thank you!" he slunk back around the corner. Yuki sighed and walked out without another word, Kyo right behind him, shouting insults.

"Come on you cowered! Let's fight or are you running because you know I'm gonna win?" Miyako heard Kyo's complaints all the way down the street.

'Wow,' she sighed. 'I guess they don't like each other…but what was that…Kyo calling Yuki a 'stupid rat'? I wonder…' Miyako shook her head. 'No! That's a foolish thought! There's no one like me…that I know of anyway…'

Miyako stayed at the house all day with Shigure, reading books from his library. He said Tohru did all the cooking, cleaning and shopping, so there wasn't much left for her to do. Miyako offered to help Tohru in her chores, leaving Shigure beaming with joy at the thought of 'another Tohru' in the house.

"Now you're too sick to do any work right now," Shigure told her before he left. Apparently, he had to go to the main house to approve her staying.

"I got orders from our family doctor not to let you do anything until you get better." With that, he smiled and left to see the head of the family, leaving Miyako alone to entertain herself. As she sat on her mat in a borrowed kimono, her mind began to wander back to the morning and its hidden conversations.

'I'm wondering what passed between Tohru, Yuki, and Shigure; they were acting really suspicious…' Miyako sighed to herself. These people brought her in, gave her a second chance at life; how could she think about them like this?

'No, it's nothing important, and if it is, I'll deal with it when the time comes…' With that, she settled back down and returned to her book.