"Shut up you damned rat!"
Shigure sighed as he heard Kyo's loud voice, angry as usual. He shook his head in mock dispair, looking up to see Yuki, Kyo and Tohru enterring the house. Ren was still upstairs cleaning. By this point the dog ears and tail had disappeared from Shigure and now he looked as normal as he could manage.
"You stupid cat, you're giving me a headache" Yuki muttered, irritated by the lack of a mute button on Kyo. The two boys glared at each other whilst Tohru stood looking at them as if she was scared they would tear each other apart. This was more than likely.
Upstairs Ren heard the commotion and frowned as she wondered who on earth could make such a lot of noise so quickly. She recognised Yuki's voice and this made her even more worried. Her friend was usually so placid. What could make him so mad?
Trailing down the stairs she stood in the hallway observing the back of a ginger boy and an unknown brunette girl. With them was Yuki and Shigure. Ren watched for a long moment before stepping into the room, looking concerned.
"Um, what's going on?" she asked. As she spoke Kyo turned around and Ren was startled to see her handsome stranger stood in the same room as her. Her green eyes widened a little but she soon managed an expression of indifference.
"Who the hell are you?" Kyo asked in his usual irritated way, but when it finally registered that this was the beautiful stranger from before he was silenced, staring at her until he collected his senses and opted instead for a smirk.
"I could ask you the same thing" Ren retorted before ignoring him and practically pouncing on Yuki. With a loud bang and a puff of smoke the two teenagers emerged hugging, both sporting rat ears and a tail. Kyo stared in shock. She was... a rat? His heart thudded in his chest. There died every chance he had. She was a rat and he was a cat. Though how this was he did not know.
Tohru had almost feinted with shock at this point. Her eyes widened as she stared at Yuki and Ren who had just released each other from a welcoming hug.
"Um, why do you both have ears and tails of a rat?" she asked quietly. Ren turned to her with a warm little smile since she was in a good mood.
"I'm cursed this way. My siblings and I are thirteen cursed people, like the Sohmas I guess. When we feel strong emotions or when we hug anyone we partially transform into animals. The same applies for the person we hug if they happen to be a Sohma" Normally Ren would not have divulged this information but she saw in this girl's eyes that she knew. This was the gift of the rat; she could read a person's soul through their eyes.
"What if she hadn't known about us?" Kyo snapped suddenly, angry once more. This girl could have just revealed their secret!
"I'm not stupid" Ren said in a visciously quiet tone. She glared at Kyo with venom. With a sudden bang both she and Yuki returned to normal. Yuki looked unamused at he too glared at Kyo.
"Leave her alone you stupid cat" Yuki said threateningly. He always felt protective of Ren. He had seen her go down in flames too many times before. He knew she was more fragile than she let on.
"You're the cat?" Ren asked cautiously, eyeing Kyo carefully. So he was the cat... Now he truly was beyond her reach. Her gaze hardened as she viewed the redhead in front of her. "You are the reason my life is hell!" she spat out the words before turning and running up to her room. Kyo was stunned and livid. Without asking anything he slammed his fist into the wall, bruising his knuckles severely. Without another word he turned and stormed off in anger.
"What just happened?" Torhu muttered, dazed and confused.
"You just met the unwanted member of the Harota Zodiac" Shigure sighed softly. "Let me explain a few things now Ren and Kyo are gone..."