Author's note: Wow...44 reviews...FOR ONE CHAPTER? Oh my effing Kami! I didn't think I'd get that many reviews! LOL. You guys really liked the first chapter, ne? Well, I enjoyed writing it! And since I loved all the feedback I received from the first chapter, I decided to present this second chapter to you all! With just as much length as the first one!

Also, I noticed some reviewers say they haven't read the manga or even seen the anime. Well, just to let everyone know, I've read the full manga from start to finish (even though that was like, four or five years ago). I know Akito is female in the manga, but I decided to make her a male just to fit my preference. But for now, this fanfic will be completely AU. Disregard the current story you know about Furuba and Inuyasha and lets take a dive into a completely new universe. Keep in mind though, it is good to at least have seen the Furuba series and the Inuyasha series. And while I prefer the manga over the anime, as long as you are familiar with the characters, I'm all good.

As for the setting and character ages, all I'm willing to spill right now is the fact that Kagome is eighteen years old and it is currently a week before summer break ends.

Things to note: While I know Japan and America have different school systems, let's just pretend, for the sake of the story, that Kagome is a third year in high school. That is all. (Oh and, sorry this chapter took so long. Heh heh. I work at Macy's so...yeah...it's been a busy Christmas for me.) Also, I have NOT beta'd this chapter, so pllleeassee excuse the grammar, spelling, and punctuation mistakes!

"Talking." 'Thinking'. "Speaking in another language."

Disclaimer: I do not own Fruits Baskets or Inuyasha. Just for future reference, if you don't like the direction in which this story will be going in, do not read it! Okay?

Chapter two – Getting back to normal Part II

It was such a nice day. The bright ball in the sky, the birds singing melodiously, the sweet scent of flowers in the air, the children playing in the park, and Kyo hiding in the tree –Wait, what?

Yuki Sohma sighed, his dark grey irises half-lidded with boredom. Really, the damned cat was just a big nuisance to him. When would he learn, that the fool was just no match for him? And here I thought it was to be a pleasant day. Sometimes, the light-haired male would often wonder just how in the world they were related. Not only did he have to constantly deal with an annoying elder brother from time to time, but he also had to deal with an annoying, orange-haired cat to boot. His cousin was simply mental.

Why couldn't he at least have five minutes of peace? Just five measly minutes?

"Hahhhhhhhhh!"

And just like that, his peace was interrupted in the form of a flying orange blur headed his way.

Yuki blinked his grey oculars once before stepping to the side to avoid a head-on collision with his rather idiotic cousin of his; Kyo Sohma. He inwardly shook his head and watched with mild fascination as Kyo stood up, dusting himself off in the process, and proceeded to come at him again.

"Damn rat! I'll defeat you, today for sure!"

Such poor form. Said rat had to sigh, shaking his head slightly as he twisted his body to dodge Kyo's swift kick. He allowed his eyes to take in the facial expressions that were flitting across the cat's face, and had to keep back the smirk that was just above the surface. There was confidence, cockiness, and of course he didn't miss the slight worry which was visible beneath his orange orbs. It was practically written all over his face! And by that time, Yuki was done dodging and avoiding his sloppy kicks and hits.

With one fast movement of his leg, Yuki effectively swept Kyo off his feet, catching him completely off-guard.

The orange-haired boy winced his eyes shut and cradled his head within the palms of his hands, feeling a stinging feeling creep over his features. He tried to shake it off, but it seemed to just make everything even more worse. Now he was seeing his whole world shake. And just as his vision seemed to be letting up, he could see Yuki, standing in front of him with a bored expression on his face. "I sometimes wonder, just how much more humiliation can you suffer?"

Kyo stood up with a scowl placed on upon his lips firmly, eyes heatedly glaring at the still form of Yuki. "Shut the hell up, stupid rat!"

A slender, grey eyebrow shot up in silent question. "It amazes me how big of a vocabulary you have, idiot cat." A satisfied smirk adorned his lips just then, seeing the rude boy's face grow red with anger.

"Keh! I'll show you! Damn Yuki! -wait, where the hell are you going? Fight me! Now!"

And just like that, Yuki turned on his heel sharply, completely ignoring the loud shouts that Kyo was screaming at him. His plain orbs looked forward as his feet carried him across a small bridge and back onto a familiar dirt path.

He could still hear Kyo shouting and cursing a ways back, but he paid it no mind. The blubbering idiot was a fool and would always be a fool in his eyes. Today was perfectly fine...until he came and ruined it. Yuki sighed once again, shaking his bob of light grey hair.

All he had wanted to do today was take a nice walk in the park, with no interruptions whatsoever. He had started his day out early, making sure to tell Shigure before he left the house, and took a nice long walk around the block. He had stopped at a bookstore momentarily –since he loved reading novels and short stories- and then found himself upon the happy sight of a serene park. It was still within the area of his home, only a ten minute walk if he took the short way home.

All in all, today was a pretty eventful day; with the exception of Kyo. It seemed as if every where he went, the damned cat was sure to follow.

Sometimes, he briefly wondered just who the hell was the monkey in the family –Ritsu? Or Kyo? Yuki decided to not let himself find an answer to that question and instead focus his attention back onto the dirt road.

Ah, today was such a beautiful day. He had nothing to worry about. No Kyo, no curse, and no Akito. Absolutely no Akito.

But at the mention of Akito, Yuki couldn't help but stop in his tracks, hand going up to touch at his temples. His head always hurt when he spoke of Akito, and even the thought of the man would make his head throb with pain. He could always distantly remember his past with the violent and crude man. His face was everywhere and anywhere, haunting him with those piercing black orbs. It nearly gave him nightmares every night, making it hard for him to sleep.

Yuki Sohma shook his head at that moment, trying to rid himself of his current thoughts. His pale fingers trailed down from his temples to cover part of his face, mouth parting to let out a soft breath of air. I...should get-

"Look out!"

And before Yuki could finish his sentence, he was being pushed down and into a small river, a soft, yet petite body landing on top of him.

The rat hissed in slight pain, as his back had met with the tiny rocks and pebbles of the water in which he was currently in. His eyes closed shut upon landing, hands shooting out to touch the thing that was on him.

"Oww...that really hurt..."

A female voice met his ears and Yuki immediately opened his eyes. But he wasn't exactly prepared to be met with a pair of bright, blue orbs.

Because there, right in front of him, was the most beautiful female girl he had ever seen in his life. She was slightly wet, as her black hair was dripping with droplets of water. It clung to her face, and every inch of her exposed skin. And the clothing in which she was wearing only gave his eyes access to her every curve. At that specific realization, a light pink blush spread across his cheeks.

Here he was, laying in some river water with a girl on top him and all he could do was stare at her...well-developed chest area?

And then, another realization hit him at just that moment. She was a female. And he was a member of the cursed Zodiac's. A male.

His whole body stiffen just then, and he knew he was dead meat when he transformed. Because then, the girl would scream and then she'd have to be taken to Akito. Oh Kami, he wanted nothing more than to avoid all that.

Yuki swallowed a hard lump that got stuck in his throat, his eyes still staring into those endless cobalt pools. Those orbs of mysterious intent. And then, he waited for the scream. Waited for the girl to wince her eyes shut and scream holy hell that she saw a grown boy transform into a bloody rat.

But none came. A few seconds had passed and Yuki was still laying there, clothes wet and hands still placed firmly onto the girl's hips.

A minute later and he was still in the same position he had been in not fifty seconds ago. She was staring at him just as much as he was staring at her.

He was effectively shocked out of his wits. His body was shivering by now, eyes still wide and uncharacteristically big. What was happening right now? He's supposed to have transformed! Why wasn't he transforming?

Something has got to be wrong. Either he fell down too hard or he was just dreaming.

"Yuukkiiiiiii!"

"Yuuukkiiiiiiiiii-saaannnnn!"

And before Yuki could ponder on it any longer, two familiar male voices began shouting at him. He tilted his head to look up, noticing a blur of yellow and white coming towards him. His mind instantly clicked and registered it as his two cousin's; Momiji and Hatsuharu. They seemed to be coming at him at a very fast pace, and also seemed to be shouting at him for something. But the light-haired male couldn't for the life of him, determine what. He was still trying to sort everything out!

"Yuki-san! Stop her! Don-"

Whatever Momiji had said got cut-off by the sound of splashing and feet slapping against the water as the raven-haired girl moved into a sprint. Her eyes had widen just a fraction before she had disappeared into the crowd of moving people by the park's entrance.

He stood up shortly after, shock still evident in his bones as his mind kept trying to relay the events which happened only moments ago.

And by now, Momiji and Hatsuharu had approached him, both breathing heavily and looking like they just ran a whole mile.

The blonde clutched at his stomach while he rested his other hand against his thigh. His eyes were shut close and his back was hunched over slightly. Haru, being the more athletic one, seemed to have catch his breath more quickly and was already making sure Yuki was not hurt.

"Are you alright, Yuki?" He placed a hand on Yuki's shoulders, making sure the older male was okay before trailing his eyes in the direction the girl had ran off in.

Yuki nodded his head at the question, wringing out some water from the corner of his silk shirt. He began stepping out of the river bank and back onto the dirt path of the park, Haru by his side.

"Awwwwwwww! She got away! Haru-chaann~ She got away!" Momiji laid himself against the grass near the river, fake tears plastered against his face. He was still breathing a bit heavy from all the running he just did, but was slowly calming down already. "How could she have gotten away?"

"Who was that girl you were chasing after?" Yuki had a frown upon his flawless face, a line of water dripping down from his side bangs.

"A beautiful and wonderful girl with the most beautiful blue eyes!" The blonde Sohma shot up from his place on the grass, two big round hearts in his eyes. "And also the love of my life!" He clasped his hands together and drifted off into a pleasant day-dream about the ravenette. All thoughts of catching his breath long gone.

Yuki turned a confused eyebrow in Haru's direction, noticing how the multicolored male was in deep thought before he finally spoke.

"Momiji had hugged her..." There was a slight pause in his words, grey pools widening in surprise before Hatsuharu continued."...and didn't transform..."

Those words would be engraved into his mind days from now.

- 999 -

Ha! Finally lost them. I swear those two were really persistent. Especially that blonde one, though the punk-rocker guy almost caught up to me. There was a sigh before a satisfied smirk made it's way onto a slightly pale face. Kagome stretched her arms up and placed them behind her bed of black hair, but soon cringed when she found her hair was slightly wet. Though the smirk was effectively etched onto her features. Sure, she may look a bit cocky doing so, but she had to pat herself on the back for being able to delude two crazy teenage boys.

Kami only knows the amount of testosterone running through their bones. Especially with the blonde male's over enthusiastic attitude towards her. Because really, who the hell hugs a random stranger?

It had been only minutes before she met the strange teens, noticing their rather foreign looks –but also some admiring and jealously being done on her part- before the miko found herself in the awkward embrace courtesy of the blonde eccentric. She found them to look so odd, so out of the ordinary. And while Uotani was foreign herself, it wasn't very common feature among Japanese. And their heights, they were so tall! While she had seen tall youkai before, most Asian's weren't taller than five foot five. And the two foreign-looking males were, in fact, taller than that. Their like giants. Big, big giants.

And did she mention one of them looked like a zombie? Again, the guy looks like he's been deprived of sunshine.

Shaking those thoughts away, Kagome silently glanced behind her, as if making sure the two males were not following her. Again. Sure enough after her little "embrace", she fled like the parting sea. And thanks to her adventures in the Sengoku Jidai, she had successfully escaped their clutches. For they had immediately gone after her not minutes before standing in the middle of the street, looking like two human statues.

She thought they looked stupid just standing there, eyes wide and in shock. And also thought the golden-haired male to be quite rude for simply hugging her without her express permission. She didn't even know him and he had entered her personal space! Not even her brother did that to her!

Kagome simply shook head her at her inner musings, her mind going back to the light-haired male she had fallen onto only minutes after meeting the other two males. He was equally odd, with his light grey strands of hair and same light grey eyes. At first, she was admiring how oddly beautiful his eyes were, but she didn't have enough time to take in his appearance for the persistent males from before were busy chasing after her.

For what? The miko did not know.

Inwardly, she found herself feeling bad for the male she had suddenly fallen onto. Since he had landed in some river water and gotten wet. And while she got wet herself, at least only her hair, hands and feet had gotten into the water and not her entire backside. I should have apologized to him, but nooooooo. Those two...weirdos kept running after me. The blue-eyed miko shook her head once again, idly noticing her surroundings becoming familiar to her.

Rows of houses came into view and the sweet aroma of flowers filled her senses. She inhaled the wondrous scent, a smile littering her features before her ears picked up the faint noise of someone calling her name.

"...gome!...Kagome! Kagome! Ka-go-me!"

Said girl stopped in her tracks, smile gone and a frown set in place. Who was calling her?

"Kaagoooommmee!"

She turned her head around, eyes searching wildly for the source of the voice before she felt something poke her cheek.

Dark purple met a vivid blue and it was then that the miko found herself face to face with her younger cousin, Saki Hanajima.

"Ah! Saki-chan! You kind of startled me a little."

Hanajima retracted her pale finger from Kagome's cheek, face as lifeless as ever. She blinked her eyes at her elder cousin and watched as Tohru and Uotani came strolling down, smiles present upon their faces.

"Kagome!"

"Nee-sama!"

As they had finally approached Kagome, Hanajima noticed the immediate change in her waves. There was happiness, surprise, and just a tinge of curiosity lingering in her aura. Whatever she had been doing before must have been eventful for the different waves she was giving off. Even more so than her usual strange waves she emitted. It was always a big roller coaster ride with the elder girl.

- 999 -

"I swear Shigure-san, Haru-chan looked so lost! You should have seen his face!"

"I believe that is a bit farfetched, Momiji-san."

"No it's not, Haru-chan! You were lost, completely lost."

"...No I was not."

"Yes you were! Admit it!"

"I will not."

"Oh stop being such a baby and admit it!"

"..."

"Yuki, Haru-chan gets lost a lot, doesn't he?"

For the most part, Yuki had tuned the entire conversation Momiji and Haru had started, his mind still going back to the ravenette he had bumped into before. He was never really listening to what his two cousin's were saying, since it was mostly Momiji's babble. But that didn't mean he wasn't entirely tuned out. He could hear them talking, see the wild gestures the blonde was making and the indifferent expression Haru had on.

But he still couldn't help but be focused on that girl with the blue eyes. And how he hadn't transformed upon contact with her. Especially after the news of how Momiji hadn't transformed when he hugged her as well.

It was simply mind-boggling.

(A/N: I've always wanted to use that word. LOL )

After he and cousin's had met up, they briefly discussed the current events in which involved the strange girl. They didn't exactly know what to do about the situation since each of them were equally surprised and confused. But one thing was for sure: telling Akito was out of the question. And finding out about the girl was top priority.

So curiosity killed the cat. Good thing he was the rat of the Zodiac.

"Yuki-san? Are you alright?"

The voice of Shigure met the boy's ears, startling him out of his thoughts. He blinked his eyes once before meeting Shigure's calm gaze. He seemed to be contemplating saying something with how stiff his shoulders and back were. Ever since the three boy's had come home, each one seemed a bit...off. More so than usual. Either it was Akito or something drastic happened that would make them this way. No matter how good they hid their emotions, they could not hide it from him.

"Shigure, is it possible that there's another member of the Zodiac outside our family?" Yuki kept his expression stern, face seemingly blank.

The elder man seemed a bit shocked by Yuki's sudden question, but didn't show it on his face. It wasn't every day Yuki began to question the curse. Or even say anything in-regards to it. "Hm. I believe it's possible. But then again, only Sohma's have proven to have acquired the curse. Why do you ask?"

By now, all talking between Momiji and Haru had stopped. They turned their gazes upon the androgynous male and saw some flicker of confusion within his grey irises before it disappeared completely.

"It's nothing..." And just like that, Yuki stood up and walked off towards his room, still in deep thought. Inside, he knew something was different with that raven-haired girl. And he would make sure he figured out just what.

No matter how long it took him.

"Yuki must be really tired. He had a very...interesting day. Right, Haru-chan? "

Shigure turned calculating eyes towards Momiji, noticing how the boy had enunciated 'interesting' a bit too much. As if he was trying to get at something or other. A slight smirk adorned the blonde's lips, his eyes lidded with mystery. There was a sense of mischief about him, one that made the man arch an eyebrow to. What was he trying to say? Or better yet, what exactly had happened?

"Momiji..." Hatsuharu started in a warning tone, laying his cold eyes upon the mischievous male. "I think it is time we leave..." He stood up after, eyes still on a smirking Momiji.

In an instant, the blonde's mood changed and his usual childish grin was set in place. "Of course Haru-chan! Tell Yuki and Kyo-kun that I said byeee!~ We'll see everyone on Wednesday!"

After Haru bowed to Shigure, he and Momiji stalked out of the house, leaving the eldest Sohma to his thoughts.

Of course, he would find out what the those two were hiding –since it was obvious Momiji was trying to get at something by the tone of his voice. Only time would tell just when.

- 999 -

Kagome rolled her round blue eyes at the short woman yelling at her; imaginary fumes steaming out from her ears.

She had just walked into the house only moments ago when she was bombarded with countless questions of her whereabouts from her mother. Not only that but her clothes were a bit muddy from the fall she had earlier, so one could only imagine the dread that filled the elder woman just then. Her mother completely ripped her apart, because those were brand new clothes she had gotten her. So, after getting her ear pulled and practically shoved into some new clothing, Kagome was seated in her Aunt's living room where her mother gave her a good talking to.

Oh yippity-freaking-doo.

"I've told you repeatedly Kagome, if your going somewhere then just make sure you tell me or even Souta. And how could you get your new blouse all wet? I..."

And the rest of Kun-loon's rant went unheard or ignored as Kagome shifted her attention onto something a bit more interesting...like that shiny thing Souta was showing Megumi.

Huh? Isn't that?...-Oh snap! Not the jewel! Making a mad dash out the shogi screen doors, Kagome immediately snatched the pink trinket from her brother's hands and glared heatedly at him. Flames practically igniting within her orbs. Her misty blue eyes shot daggers at the innocent forms of Souta and her youngest cousin.

"Souta..." She began in a deathly low tone. "What do you think your doing?"

If one could see the size of Souta's eyes and how wide it went, they'd be amazed it hasn't already popped out of his skull. "I-I...u-uh...see ya!" Before things took a turn for the worst, Souta shot up from his spot next to Megumi and ran off down a nearby hall. Completely ditching his fellow brother-in-arms. Sorry Megumi, but one of us has to survive.

"Why that little-"

"...so strange..."

Kagome teared her eyes away from the cowering form of her brother running down the hall and onto the stoic-looking boy before her. He was sitting down on a patch of plain grass, a row of shrubs to his far left. His dark pools seemed to be staring at the jewel in her hands, watching how it shined and twinkled within the dim light of the sky.

"...What is it? Kagome-san?..." Megumi tilted his head to the side, question present within his passive pools. He swore the jewel was very mysterious. And it seemed so...wrong. But he couldn't quite place his finger on it.

Well, that really threw her off. "Uhhh...It's nothing, don't worry about it." Placing the thing around her neck, Kagome patted Megumi on the head before stalking off toward her room. Yeah, nothing you need to worry about. It's best if few know of it; before it ends up in the wrong hands.

"Ka-go-me!"

And just like that, the rest of Kagome's afternoon went down the drain.

With a sigh, Kagome dragged her reluctant body towards her awaiting mother –who seemed to still be a bit peeved from before. "Ughhh. Coming, Kaa-san!"

This must be some kind of bad karma. I've been getting that a lot today. Ugghhhhh. Stupid little brother.

She narrowed her eyes at that thought, inwardly plotting all the ways she could make her brother's life a living hell. So that sounded a bit...mean. Who care's? She could be mean once in a while.

"Yeah, hurry up, Kagome-chan. Teguchi-ji-chan said he needed your help with something." Popping his head out from his mother's waist, Souta grinned a sly grin. "I hear he's making that parfait he made last time. And he wants you to taste test it."

Curse her brother. Curse him to Kami.

- 999 -

That night, he couldn't sleep. He couldn't. When he closed his eyes, he expected sleep to take him. Let himself be embraced by his nightmare's. Those frighteningly realistic nightmare's that he had every single night.

All around him, he could see monsters. Ugly, ugly monsters. They were so bright, so happy. Smiling and laughing above his huddled form in the corner. His dark eyes would stare wide at the people surrounding him, all talking in hush voices. All looking down at him with various expressions. But they would continue to tell him lies.

Lies he would chant as a mantra. "We love you Akito, we love you. We love you Akito, we love you." Oh how he hated those monsters. Those bright creatures.

They could go and die for all he fucking cared. He hated them. They weren't like him. They weren't...alone and tainted like he was. But it was okay. It was fine. Because he had others who were tainted just as much as he was.

His precious Zodiac. Their all mine, just mine. No one shall have them. No one.

A sinister smile crept onto Akito's lips, his teal-colored eyes looming with a dark intent. No one would attain his precious Zodiac. No one. They were to love him and stay with him for the rest of their miserable lives. Forever.

"Yes, they love me. They all love me."

A ghostly hand swept across his face, a deep chuckle resounding throughout the room. Akito couldn't help but feel ecstatic; ecstatic at the thought of having his Zodiac to himself.

But somehow, Akito had this foreboding feeling deep within the pit of his stomach. It had occurred today, just around mid-morning –maybe a bit after twelve or so. He had woken up from a short nap, his face drenched in sweat as his body reeked a horrid stench. His eyes were so wide and his heart was beating wildly within the ribcage of his chest.

He felt so afraid at that moment. So utterly afraid.

At first, he thought it was probably just another nightmare. Just another one of his 'vivid dreams' he had when he went to sleep. He had gone to Kureno and tell him of what he felt, hoping to Kami that whatever he felt was just another foolish emotion his body let him feel.

But, he later learned that the feeling only got stronger later in the day. It was so strange. Inwardly, he wondered if maybe his body was going through some changes. But that couldn't be, for he was already a full-grown male adult.

He spent hours within the confines of his estate, searching his mind for the reason why he felt so afraid. It was almost as if he was afraid that something was...changing.

Yes...that had to be it. Something was changing. And it was changing fast.

Well, that simply wouldn't do. He didn't like change. Any changes made were always run by him or made by him. And him alone.

He controlled everything and anything. He was god. The god of the Zodiac.

Author's note: Annnndddd, that's a wrap people! I swear this was longer in MS word. But, I guess not! I know, not much happened in this chapter. But if anything is confusing to you all so far, don't hesitate to PM me. I will answer any and all questions you shoot at me. But! Since this is just the beginning, I have to set things up so that everything else will flow evenly and well. Okay? Expect things to be a bit light in these first few chapters. Read and review!