Curse Me

Disclaimer: I don't own Fruits Basket, or the song: Sun, by Mae.

A/n #1: It's been just about a year since I updated this, huh? I know I have no right, but I apologize an infinite amount of times for how long it's taken me to get my groove back. I was hoping the summer vacation would help me... but then school just seemed to get more and more difficult with my advanced classes. Imagine that, right? Ha.

A/n #2: I feel as if I no longer reserve the right to do the old review replies for this chapter because of my terribly, horribly, maddeningly increasing absences from this story. I'm so sorry you guys. I hope people out there might still plan to read. Thank you sooooo much, babes. X3333

A/n#3: And. I would like to apologize in advance for any extreme OOC-ness in these characters. I've been writing too much fiction for my own good, and though it comes more naturally to me now than fan fiction, I'd really, really like to try for you guys to finally finish this crappy thing. But that DOESN'T, by annnnny means, mean I'm going to rush this.
Like, seriously. At all.

Recap

—And there was a large poof of smoke that surrounded both Uo and Kyou.

Both Saki and Yuki watched indifferently, disappointment flashing in the boy's eyes. Arisa eyes were like saucers when Kyou's clothes floated down into her lap, and an orange cat burrowed out of his black t-shirt. He laid his head on his paws, his face deadpan. "Oh, shit."

-

Still on the floor, her head knocked against the cabinet one last time, and her head fell into her lap in agony. Another tear leaked out of her eye and she fisted her hands in the masses of silky, brown locks on her head. "What is this? Make it stop." She breathed, tears streaming down her cheeks. "Help me." No one was around, though.

Chapter Eight

I'm a mess, I guess.
It's what I asked for, it's what I needed.
Well, you know me better than that,
or at least you did and something happened.
But once again something's happened.
The confidence you held in us
is the rope we almost hung ourselves with.
At times I wonder if we really took the steps
to break right through it.

Yuki watched Uotani-san scramble away from the orange cat in her lap in horror a few seconds later, his pale face stony. This was bound to happen sooner or later. But he couldn't help but wish it hadn't happened so soon. Poor Honda-san. She had only just taken on the burden of the Sohma clan, and already she would have to deal with the most difficult situation he could imagine.

Her friends. He didn't want to see how she would take this. What if... What if she were forced to take her friends' memories away? Yuki couldn't imagine Tohru's guilt.

However, his eyes suddenly flickered down to the orange cat, which only Yuki presently knew as Kyou, and he started. His eyes widened a fraction, a memory flooding him.

A small Yuki ran with the other children of the Sohma family, coincidently family members that had no knowledge of the Zodiac curse that Yuki was under. He was having so much fun. He couldn't recall the last time he was allowed out to have fun with children his own age.

Even though he knew he had to be extremely careful in this game of tag that he was partaking in, he couldn't help but enjoy him self, laugh a little.

But, suddenly, practically the moment he closed his eyes to blink, a child collided into his back, fell backwards on their rear and looked around in bewilderment as a colorful puff of smoke and a 'poof' erupted around them.

Groaning, little Yuki felt the uncomfortable sensation of his being reconfiguring itself in seconds take place. When the smoke receded, a little, gray mouse was all that was left in the pile of Yuki's garments.

Children turned to stare at the disturbance... and took off running. Screaming for their parents. Crying. Wailing.

Yuki, like the children, scurried off desperately, in the other direction. When he heard another shriek... of pain? From... Akito's abode? The rat scampered towards the nearest window, and scaled the rough siding. With much effort, he was able to push away the wooden shutters framing the window slightly enough for him to squeeze through.

Akito was sitting cross-legged on the platform he was practically always found sitting on, his heads in his hands; his knuckles were white with the tightness of the fists he had in his dark hair. He certainly looked to be in pain—

Yuki felt the tingle in his entire body that was to mean that he was transforming back and he had no time to get away. He had just hopped of the windowsill when another rather noisy transformation took place, and once the colored smoke fled out the window, Yuki found himself shivering on the cold floor of Akito's dwelling.

His leader looked visibly comforted by this transformation, although he didn't seem to have even registered the sounds around him; his fists had loosened from his hair and fell to his lap and a long sigh of relief had fallen from his lips the moment the smoke cleared, though his breath was quick and rather irregular.

The other boy looked up at Yuki rather harshly, menacing-looking even with his fatigue clear. He raised an accusing finger his way.

"You—you did this!"

Yuki broke away from the memory before the torture he was put through could come back to mind.

He looked towards the house. If Tohru was now the leader, then... could she...? She wouldn't be going through what Akito had, would she? Yuki cast a quick glance at Kyou and Arisa, who barely took notice that he was a cat anymore and was screaming at him again, and then to Saki, who didn't look surprised at all at these happenings. As if she already knew. And with the dark, rather meaningful look she shot him a moment later, shivering, Yuki knew his guess was right.

Seemingly casually, he made to go inside, wondering if Tohru was, indeed, suffering through this moment.

As he stood frozen in the kitchen doorway, seeing Tohru in a heap on the floor in pain, he heard the faint sound of Kyou transforming from his cat form. Oh Lord, that would mean he was naked by now.—And here it came... He heard Uotani-san shriek, probably from the horrors of Kyou and naked being put together in the same sentence. He was embarrassed for his cousin.

Guilt came over Yuki when Tohru didn't immediately stir after wilting with relief when Kyou transformed back. He made to kneel in front of her, worry overcoming him. Why did this have to happen to her, of all the people he cherished close to his heart, why the nicest he'd ever met?

He had to do something.

Finally thinking enough to react, Yuki scooped the girl up and carried her up to her the room where she used to reside. Her bed still lay there, unused but still in good condition. Yuki laid her down there, kneeling at her bedside.

Why, of all the Sohmas capable, did he and Kyou have to be the cause? Thinking back, Yuki knew he had had the perfect time to stop everything, to prevent the transformation. He didn't want to be put the blame for this, for hurting Honda-san.

Staring down at her lidded eyes, Yuki closed his own just long enough to imagine Tohru's beautiful blue depths sparkling with laughter again. His dark eyes opened to see tear streaks still marring her cheeks and he had the sudden urge to thumb them away. His hands reacted to the temptation before his mind had the common sense to tell him not to.

Her eyes blinked open the moment his thumb brushed over her soft lips, an action that he had taken forever to convince himself he wouldn't do. Her sapphire beauties for eyes flickered his way and he could do nothing but to blink back at her.

"Sohma-kun?"

Yuki finally, slowly pulled away from Tohru's face. "Good morning, Honda-san," He greeted softly even though nightfall was fast approaching. Did she remember what happened? Could she explain to him what exactly happened?—Why? "Are you feeling well?"

Tohru barely nodded, humming an unintelligible answer that he could only interpret as 'yes.'

Yuki tilted his head at her when she let her eyes fall closed again; good, she should rest. Perhaps she was wondering how she traveled from the cold kitchen floor to her warm, cozy room that Shigure had supplied for her when she moved in permanently. Or, so they had hoped was permanent. His fingers itched to trail the soft curves of her face once again, but her resisted, placing his hands in his lap and waiting patiently for her eyes to inch open again.

To look at only him. To deny her duties at the Sohma estate. To come back to them. Spend time with them. Time with him.

He missed her so. They all did, here at Shigure's. One can only tolerate the dog for so long. Yuki leaned over the edge of her bed, his head in his hands and posture slack and nearly nonexistent, sighing.

I know that there were better days,
but to see the light and to feel the rays.
Life was always back and forth
and we were idling or making useless progress.
Waiting for the rain to stop.
Destination: beautiful.
Seems that I'm still waiting for the sun.
Someday will come back to us, if you're willing let it go.
Why won't you just let this be your sun?
It seems like yesterday we had the world our way.
But some day we're heading for destruction.

Suddenly, there was a thundering through the house, and moments later, a half naked Kyou, struggling to pull his shirt over his head, dashed by with horrorstricken features. And Yuki started in surprise, rising immediately when he realized what a state that Hanajima-san and Uotani-san must both be in. With one last look at Honda-san, he left the room, letting the door softly click closed behind him.

I'll ask you "What in the world should we do?"
This light is green our break is through.
Are we not trying or are we trying too hard?
Well, you know I never want to miss,
I hold on tight and reminisce.
But it's bittersweet to me.

He raced down the stairs, after he made sure that Kyou was gone, out of sight, and safely away from the terrible clutches of Uotani- and Hanajima-san, and right into the pandemonium downstairs.

Uotani-san was barely a step away from strangling and doing away with Shigure, who had his hands raised in innocence, as he'd obviously missed the mayhem that had only just occurred. Saki was at Arisa's side, though she did nothing to stop the heated words that dripped like poison from her blonde friend's lips.

"You're one of them, too?" Arisa was demanding of the Dog, who looked confused and rather fearful for his life. Yuki, however, had a feeling that Shigure had an idea of what Uotani-san was speaking of, by the horror on his face.

"Now, now..." Shigure attempted to say, fumbling over his words. Yuki observed how he took careful, discreet steps backwards, clearly fearing Arisa's wrath. The rat understood well how he must be feeling.

"Uotani-san?" Yuki interrupted, bravely stepping between the high school student and the cowering dog.

"You..." Arisa acknowledged the dark-haired boy. She took a step back, as if she felt outnumbered by the two Sohmas before her, but quickly regained her ground. Saki, beside her, did not join her as it seemed that Uo would have liked, and never let her eyes stray from Yuki's face. They bore in to him and unsettled him, made him feel as if she could read his mind, something no one would feel comfortable with—obviously.

"I always knew there was something about the Sohmas." Arisa was saying. "I always knew you guys were freaks! The signs were always there. Is it all of you? Do you all turn into cats—like a freaking magic trick or something!" She was backing away again, slowly and cautiously, as if she was a cornered animal ready to pounce. "Does she know! Does Tohru know what freak shows you are, you and the Orange Top and—?"

As if on cue, Tohru stumbled through the rice paper door, one hand on her head. A cherry red Kyou was on her free hand, his eyes anywhere but on the occupants of the yard.

"So the cat got rid of his ears, huh?" Uo spat scornfully, despite Tohru's weak protest from across the yard. Kyou fumed beside her, but did nothing. "Get out of the way, you freak of nature," Arisa hissed at the orange-haired boy, and for a moment, Kyou held his ground in between the two of them, until he felt Tohru's hand at his elbow. He moved out of the way, only because Tohru obviously wanted him to.

Arisa and Tohru came face to face, and while Tohru struggled to smile cordially at her fuming friend, the blonde only observed her pained, exhausted features.

Uo's arms immediately flung around her friend a moment later, as if she hadn't seen Tohru in years and years. "Tohru-chan, what did they do to you? You look terrible!" She pilled away from Tohru only slightly, held her at arm's length. Her hands gently gripped each side of her best friend's face. "Tohru-chan? You're coming home with me. Now."

And without another word or glance at the Sohmas, Arisa led Tohru from the porch and down the path with Saki, Tohru too weak to resist and the Sohmas too shocked and confused to do anything to stop them.

When time stands still as it's trapped inside
the letterbox you gave back to me.
But I'm the one who keeps on reading.
But I'm the one who wants to let it go.
I'm the first to speak.
You're the last to know.
Another scene that we're creating,
I need to know if we're still making useless progress.

A/n: Yeah. I know. It's totally short. But it's finally what I wanted from this chapter, so I dare not change it.

Happy Valentine's Day, loves. X3