Sorry, I know the last chapter was short. I'll try not to let it happen again! I know, I know, I've been really bad with my updates, but that's because for the past couple weeks I've only had like, an hour of free time per day because of play rehearsals. (We're doing M*A*S*H, the old war show!) Anyway, hope you enjoy this one!

Chapter Eleven

"M-momiji? What in the world…" I trailed off, staring in amazement as the yellow smoke cleared and I was able to see. I must've fallen over, because I was now kneeling on the floor with a small lightly colored bunny on my lap. Momiji was nowhere to be seen.

"Hang on, hang on, you still haven't told her, Kyo?" Momiji's voice emanated from the small furry creature. I gaped down at it in disbelief.

"Told… Told me what?" I inquired, ripping my gaze from the bunny to stare up at Kyo with wide eyes. He refused to look at me, staring off to the side.

"About the curse!" The Momiji rabbit exclaimed.

"Curse? You have a curse?" I shook my head hard, not quite believing what I was hearing.

Kyo reluctantly turned to look at me, nodding slowly.

"Just tell her everything, already!" Momiji demanded.

Kyo sighed. "Alright, but we should move to somewhere more comfortable. It might take a little while." He offered me his hand and I slowly took it, allowing him to pull me up while keeping one arm around the rabbit that I now realized really was Momiji, somehow.

Kyo led the way upstairs and started heading down the hallway to his room. "Mine and Tohru's room has more places to sit," I pointed out, pausing at the top of the stairs. Kyo hesitated, nodded and turned to follow me into the room I shared.

I took a seat on my bed, absently stroking Momiji, who sat in my lap and twitched his whiskers. Kyo took a seat on Tohru's bed, across from me.

"Well, you've heard about the twelve animals of the zodiac, right?" Kyo started, and paused for me to answer.

I nodded my head. "Yeah. God had a great banquet and invited the twelve animals of the zodiac, but the Rat tricked the Cat into thinking the banquet was the day after the real one, so the Cat didn't make it and isn't included in the zodiac," I summarized.

"Exactly," Kyo muttered with a scowl. I raised an impatient eyebrow at him before he continued. "Anyway, that story is real. The Sohma family is cursed with the zodiac. Whenever we're hugged by someone of the opposite gender, we change into our zodiac animal."

I sat quietly for a moment, letting it sink in. How was that even possible? I mean, I'd believed in magic and such things as a kid, but I'd pretty much grown out of that. Now the childish belief was being yanked back into my life, and it was making my head hurt.

"So… Momiji is the rabbit of the zodiac…" I muttered, stating the obvious. Momiji's nose wiggled in affirmation.

"And there's twelve?" I asked to make sure, running through the Sohmas I already knew in my head.

"Thirteen, counting me," Kyo muttered, scowling again.

I stared at him in confusion until it dawned on me. "You're the Cat." Momiji's nose wiggled again and Kyo just nodded.

"That explains a lot," I thought aloud. "I've always liked Cats. So what about Shigure and Yuki? Is Haru one too?" I hurriedly babbled to cover up my cat statement.

"I bet you can guess Haru," Momiji's voice came from my lap. "It's the reason he has naturally weird hair!"

I tapped my chin as I thought. "Let's see… His hair is black and white, right? What zodiac animal has… Oh! He's the Cow, right? Or the Ox. Whichever he prefers, I suppose."

"Yuki is the Rat!" Momiji called from my lap, yelling to get my attention. "And Shigure is the dog!"

"Cool, cool," I murmured, allowing myself more time to take it in. Then another thought popped into my head. "Hey, what about Hatori? Is he in it?"

Kyo snickered and nodded. "He's the 'Dragon'" He told me, putting air quotes around Dragon.

"Why the air quotes?" I asked, tilting my head in confusion.

"His zodiac is more of a half-baked version of its former glory," Kyo explained with a roll of his eyes. "He turns into a Seahorse."

I felt my jaw hang from it's hinges as I stared at Kyo incredulously. "A Seahorse?!" I exclaimed. He nodded, and I burst into a fit of giggles, imagining creepy, stoic Hatori as a little Seahorse.

Poof.

I blinked in surprise as I was once more blinded by yellow smoke. I waved a hand in front of my face in an effort to regain my vision, and in a few moments it cleared. A full sized, boy shaped Momiji now sat in my lap.

I blinked again at his smiling face, and against my will my gaze traveled to his bare torso. I shrieked and averted my eyes before I got any farther.

Before I knew it, Kyo had flew across the space between the two beds and jerked Momiji off my lap, throwing a blanket on top of him.

I shook slightly and let myself look at Momiji again, now swathed in Tohru's comforter and plopped on the floor. "So... You're, um, naked when you change back… huh?"

Momiji laughed happily and nodded. "Yup!"

Kyo smacked his forehead, obviously making an effort not to beat the kid to a pulp, since he knew I'd get upset.

"Right… Um… Note to self, don't hold zodiac animals..." I muttered. It was then that another thought came to my mind. "Wait a sec, I've hugged you before, Kyo. How come you didn't change into a Cat then?"

Kyo's eyes widened in surprise, and he quickly glanced away from me. "I don't know," He said mechanically, obviously lying. I narrowed my eyes and stared at him until he looked back at me.

"Yes you do," I said pointedly. "It's happened more than once, so it can't be a fluke. It's got something to do with me specifically, right?" He nodded slowly. "Then I have a right to know."

"I know, I know," He sighed, running a hand through his hair. "I'd really like to tell you, but… I can't."

I snorted in disbelief. "I don't believe that."

"Really, Shigure wouldn't even tell me at first, until he was sure that… Sure of something," He quickly reworded. I stared at him suspiciously. "I can't tell you until I know something."

"Know what?" I practically snapped. "Just ask, I'll tell you. I don't keep secrets."

"Then how come you haven't told any of us what happened on the night I found you?" I could tell he was stressing out, because his words came out harsh.

I flinched and outright glared at him. "Because nobody has ever asked!" I yelled, and stormed from the room, tears prickling my eyes. Did he have to bring up such a painful subject? He had to have known my parents were dead, why else would I still be here? Not to mention that now he was keeping things from me.

I stomped outside and to the nearest tree, then moved around it so that I wouldn't be easily visible from the house. I leaned my back against the trunk and slid down to a sitting position, arms wrapped around my knees. In the time that I'd spent here, (had it only been two weeks?) I couldn't help but feel that Kyo and I had… Well, we'd grown close.

What is he keeping from me? What does he need to know? I blinked furiously, trying to fight back the upset tears welling in my eyes. I was probably overreacting, and I knew it. It was just one of those things that I couldn't seem to help. I could understand why he'd kept the secret of the curse from me. That wasn't entirely his to tell. But this… this was just about him and me. There had to be something strange between us to make his curse ineffective around me. But what?

I hitched in a breath and held it, hearing the soft sound of the front door swishing open from the house. I quietly let the breath out, trying not to attract attention to my hiding spot.

"Rei!" Kyo called out. I resisted the urge to peek around the trunk to see his expression, figuring he'd probably see me. I managed to hear the tiniest bit of a sigh from my distance, and imagined him running his hand through his hair. "Rei, come on! I'm sorry, okay?"

I bit my lip to keep back another wave of tears. I battled viciously, but one damp warrior managed to slip past my defenses and roll down my cheek. I wiped angrily at it, thankful that at least I wasn't wearing makeup at the moment.

"Rei, please come out? Rei?" I closed my eyes tightly and clenched my hands into fists. He sounded so sincere! But I couldn't help but think that he could be faking it. He could be faking a lot of things.

But why would he fake things? A small, hopeful voice inside of me whispered. He cares about you, why should he hide things? What is there to fake?

I mentally swatted aside the sweet little ray of hope. How should I know why he would hide things? All I knew is that there was something he wasn't telling me, and he wasn't even bothering to hide the fact.

Because he couldn't hide it, the little voice murmured, returning. He's no actor. He couldn't possibly fake any emotion. He may keep secrets, but he's a horrible faker.

I bowed my head slightly, giving in to that bit of logic without a fight. Why would I fight against what I'd like to believe?

I stood up and moved to the side of the tree so I could view the whole house and yard, leaning my side against the trunk with my arms crossed. Now that I watched, I could see something just a bit catlike in Kyo's slightest movements, see it in the way everything he did seemed to be smooth.

It took him a moment, but soon enough his gaze swept to my tree, past me, and then back in disbelief. He'd probably already looked in this direction and was surprised by my sudden appearance. He sighed in relief and jogged in my direction. I didn't move a muscle.

"Rei!" He called as he got closer and finally stood in front of me. "Hey, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to snap like that or anything."

I thought back to the first day I'd gone to school with them, and Tohru and Yuki had left us alone. He'd snapped at me that day, then tried to say he hadn't meant to. I'd told him off for it. I would do so again, but I felt no need to be redundant.

"I don't care if you snap at me or not," I muttered coldly. "I care that you bring up things that tear me up inside, like some jerk, instead of thinking before you say crap."

He sighed and looked down, scratching the back of his head. "I know, I'm sorry Rei. It's just that, I've been kind of wondering about what happened, you know, before you met us, but I didn't want to upset you by asking or anything."

"So you decided to upset me by being an ass about it instead," I rolled my eyes, totally skeptical.

Kyo seemed at a loss for words. He'd probably expected me to just forget about it after the first attempt, but if he wanted to keep me in his life, he was going to have to make an effort. He'd learn that eventually.

"Rei, I'm sorry!" He exclaimed again, voice pleading. He gazed at me with wide, begging eyes that reminded me of Puss in Boots from Dreamworks' Shrek.

"Whatever," I muttered, crossing my arms and glaring off to the side so I wouldn't have to see those eyes. "Just use your partially existent brain before you say something stupid from now on"

He didn't answer, unsure whether I had forgiven him or not. I glanced at him and forced a small smile to reassure him that I'd let it slide. He grinned and held out his hand. I hesitated before taking it and letting him lead me into the woods.

We walked in comfortable silence for some time before he spoke. "So… what did happen? You know... On that night."

"There was a fire," I said quietly.

"I could tell by the burns," He murmured, squeezing my hand slightly. "How did it start?"

I closed my eyes, my head hanging, sure that he'd guide me away from anything I could trip over, or at least catch me if I did trip. "It was my fault," I muttered, the words hardly recognizable even to myself. I cleared my throat and went on. "I left the burner on… Dad left the paper near the stove."

Kyo stopped walking, I could tell by the slight tug on my arm. "That's… not good." He didn't really know what else to say.

"No duh."

"So why did you run?"

"It was that or be put in some stupid foster home," I snorted, gazing away again. "The choice was obvious. As if I'd let some desperate wimps who aren't brave enough to do 'it' try and replace my parents."

I knew that wasn't really true, that most people who adopted kids did so because they couldn't have any of their own, but I didn't care.

I took a deep breath and tilted my head back, fighting tears again. Just thinking about my old life hurt, but not because of the reason I thought it would. It hurt because, now that I allowed myself to really look at it, I could see how little I really missed it. Yeah, I wanted my Mom and Dad back, their loss hurt like hell. Besides them, I didn't really care about much back then.

"You can cry if you want, you know." Kyo spoke quietly. I shook my head hard. I still didn't want him to see me that way. "How many times have you let yourself cry about it?"

"Too many," I choked. "I've cried too much lately." It was true that I'd only cried a few times since the night of the fire, but compared to how much I used to cry, it might as well have been a thousand times.

"You've had good reasons to," He pointed out, giving my hand another squeeze.

"I look disgusting when I cry."

He seemed to find this amusing. "Then I won't look." He pulled me closer to him as he spoke, tucking my head under his chin.

"I'll get your shirt all wet."

"It doesn't matter, it'll dry."

I scrambled in my head for another excuse, but I knew I couldn't explain my need to stay strong to him. I'd always been the girl who never showed weakness, but was always accepting to the weakness of others. The one who lent a shoulder to cry on, but never needed one. The one who would stick up for everyone and help them through their worst times. Now all those roles were reversed, leaving me dazed and confused.

My breath hitched in my throat, and all my carefully constructed walls burst to let out the flood. My shoulders shook to the rhythm of my sobs, and I clung to the front of Kyo's shirt. He didn't make a sound, just kept his arms firmly wrapped around me, giving me an occasional soothing rub on the back.

I wondered briefly how I would've gotten by without him. Back in the old days, I was the girl that would be nice to anybody, despite my sometimes snappy attitude. Even though I never needed comfort, I knew that I could go to a number of people in case I ever did. Since the fire, it was like all those people had vanished from my life, all of them being replaced by my new family.

If Kyo had never found me, if it had been anyone but a Sohma, I couldn't even begin to imagine how much harder coping with the loss of my parents would have been. What if I'd been stuck with someone who didn't care, who didn't understand?

Before too long my sobs quieted gradually into little sniffles, and I wiped at my face. Kyo tried to pull me back so he could look at me, but I clung to him and refused to pull away. I still wouldn't let him see what I looked like when I was completely overcome with tears. It was definitely a sight.

Once I was convinced that I was calmed down enough, that the red in my eyes had faded, I pulled away, wiping at my face one last time.

I took a few more deep breaths before meeting his eyes. He just stared down at me, and I scrambled to name his expression. Kind, fond… Loving? His eyes were soft, and his mouth was turned up on one side in a crooked smile, almost like a smirk, but without the cruelty. I'd never seen him like that. He looked so… well, sweet. It made me choke slightly on the lump that hadn't quite left my throat.

He pulled me closer again; our faces were only inches apart. I could feel his breath swirl against my skin, cool against the leftover damp from the tears. He leaned closer. Three inches left, two, one. My lids were half shut in expectation, lips slightly parted.

"Kyo! Hey Kyo!" a familiar boyish shout came from somewhere in the woods. I jumped in surprise, knocking my forehead against his. I cursed and jerked away just as Momiji rounded a tree and saw us.

Kyo was glaring at him, and I shuddered. If looks could kill…

"Momiji, what are you doing here?" I asked in a smooth, calm, and professional voice. I almost surprised myself with my acting. I should be a quivering, emotional mess by now.

"Well, when Kyo left he promised he'd be back in like five minutes, because he was just gonna go find you. It's been way over five minutes, so I came looking, just in case you guys were mauled by a bear or something!" He explained cheerily.

I sighed silently, labeling Momiji as too innocent for me to really get mad at.

"Alright, fine. Let's just go home."

Well, that chappy was pretty long (I think, heh) and it hasn't been too long since my last update, right? I think I deserve a couple of reviews… Thanks for reading!