I don't own Fruits Basket or any of its characters. Though, you know, we all wished we did. ;)

I hope this suffices as a disclaimer thingy. I really don't get the point though. LoL we all know who the real author person was.

Umm... read and review? Is that what R&R stands for? This is my first time publishing anything. You can review it if you like it or if you don't like it. I'd love to hear your opinion either way.

Oh and italics are thoughts apparently.

He curled up into a tighter ball on the cold futon. His back was cramping up from being in that position for so damn long. But it was nothing compared to the excruciating pain in his head that was slowly blinding him. Passing out seemed like an almost pleasant thought, frankly he didn't even care if the kuso nezumi beat the living shit out of him. But, no matter what, Kyo was not about to give the little rat any satisfaction of victory. The cat shifted closer to the window letting the cool breeze wash over him. There was lump on the back of his head and the pain was making him see spots. Shishou had taught him well but Kyo realized that he was just too stupid to learn properly. Well, that's what his behaviour and Yuki's skill and judgement lead him to believe. Kyo remembered the evening's events surprisingly well despite the state he currently lay in. The cat and the rat had, as usual been arguing about something when, quite unexpectedly, Yuki had said something that Kyo knew would haunt him for lifetimes to come and add to his woe.

"Hurry up and give up already, I've had enough of your moronic behaviour! You're such a waste of time, space and money, baka neko." Kyo remembered looking into those cold violet eyes.

Yuki's harshness had surprised even him. Yuki hadn't thought he'd lose control in this way. He was better than that wasn't he? Well, in any case, the baka neko never took things at heart so he'd be back to his idiotic self in no time. And with that he let his tired lids fall shut. The nezumi had slept a mere hour before a singsong voice floated up the stairs.

"Yuki-kun, Kyo-kun, dinner is ready!" Tohru called the two boys as sweetly as she could. She knew they were feeling more than a little unfriendly. Tohru and Shigure had been out shopping and when they'd come back, they'd had the pleasure of witnessing a pale neko stomping up the stairs. Yuki had refused to tell either of them what had happened but judging by his livid face, it was quite obvious the two had partaken in another brawl. Yuki stumbled down the stairs rubbing the sleep out of his eyes and settled at the dinner table but the stupid cat was nowhere to be seen. Tohru looked stressed and worried but she covered it well as she served the nezumi and the inu. Shigure dug in with delight and Yuki watched the dog stuff himself. He couldn't bring himself to eat whether it was the feeling of having gone too far or the fact that he was just really tired. He figured it was just the fatigue. It was, after all, a Friday and they'd just finished one of their last exams today. For Tohru's sake, Yuki forced down the first couple bites, complimenting the girl on her cooking and then politely excused himself from the table. Trudging upstairs, he tried to pinpoint the cause of the heavy feeling in his chest. That night, Yuki lay silently gazing at the full moon outside. It was beautiful night. But as time progressed, Yuki watched the dark clouds begin to mar the cool, clear night. There would be a storm tonight. Yuki listened to the wind pick up and the first droplets of rain patter outside on his window. As much as he tried to stop thinking about the baka neko, his mind insisted on wandering back to that idiot neko. He was less than a minute away from committing suicide when Yuki heard a soft mewling coming from Kyo's room. Kyo never mewled like that. Or purred. It was sad, sweet, and sickening all at once. The rat climbed out of bed in a foul mood and pounded on the baka's door telling him to keep it down.

Kyo writhed under the covers. He hurt everywhere and he could feel the lethargy sinking in. If hefound him this way, the rat would never let the cat live it down. Kyo would live in Yuki's shadow for the rest of his life. Reaching up as far as he could without moving his arm much he tried to shut the window. Unfortunately, it didn't take his sore shoulder long to remind him of the fight that had taken place not a couple hours ago. Eventually, he became drenched along with the sheets on his bed and he just lay there shivering until the exhaustion forced him to take the form of his animal. Kyo's orange fur was drenched and his kitten form was shaking as he tried to burrow into his sheets. He couldn't help but let out a few desperate mewls as he had no control over his protesting body. What else could possibly go wrong with this damn day? Kyo thought miserably and it was just then that the rat decided to pound his door to kingdom come.

"Baka, shut up! I'm trying to get some sleep. Dumb cat, stop it!" Now isn't the best time...Kyo thought glumly and somewhat desperately... I'm being as quiet or are you too full of yourself to see that you damn rat...Yuki tapped his foot impatiently wanting nothing more than to strangle the orange-headed idiot. When the piteous noises didn't stop, Yuki barged into the room seeing something flit out the window.

Everything ached, but Yuki would wake the house if he didn't stop the yelling and the banging so he did the first thing that came to mind: Kyo took a leap and launched himself out the window just as the rat came in. For the first time in many years, the cat did not land on his feet. He fell without grace and tumbled into the bush under his window. Great! he thought Tomorrow they'll complain about me tracking mud into the house...Kyo curled up into a small ball and promptly passed out.

Yuki glared at the apparently empty room. Walking over to the bed, he shut the window grumbling about the wet clothes, the wet floor and the soaking sheets. Where are you, stupid cat?! Yuki mumbled rubbing his hands to warm them – You know we're grounded for the day when we fight! That sick dog will tell Akihito and you'll just get us into more trouble. Stupid Kyo run off after being a complete nuisance...Yuki raged quietly stomping back to his room and letting the door thunk shut. The next morning, everyone had a wonderful breakfast and they began making plans for the weekend. No one mentioned the disappearance of the fiery redhead. It was common knowledge that when Kyo and Yuki fought, Kyo would disappear to his Shishou's for the weekend. Recently, Kazuma Sohma called every once in a while to talk to his adoptive son. That was perhaps the only thing that kept Kyo from going crazy.

This week, however, Tohru was quite surprised when Kazuma Sohma called wanting to talk to Kyo as she assumed the cat had already left for the dojo located deep in the mountains. Shigure called the main house but wasn't surprised to find that Kyo was not there. Tohru went out to search for the hot-headed disaster in the city but turned up empty handed that evening. Even Kazuma-sama didn't know where his son had gotten to. So, that left Yuki who'd been forced to search the woods. Yuki knew the woods best so when even the rat came home with no news of the cat, the family began to worry. Shigure and Tohru searched the house all over again and Yuki spent the evening outside checking the roof and the area around the house, all the time calling the cat some of the foulest names he could come up with.

Kyo felt like he was in terrible dream, there was someone yelling and someone else crying. He recognized the two voices, one was Tohru's and the other sounded oddly familiar. ...Yuki...Kyo winced at the name, the memory driving a hot shard into his chest reopening wounds that had healed over when Shishou had taken him in as his own. Yuki saw the rose bush shake and the stupid noise from the night before. UGH!!! All that time spent outside looking for the ungrateful creature and here he is napping under the roses.

"Baka neko!" Yuki cried kicking the sluggish cat and launching him into the wall. The impact with the foot and the wall left more than a couple ribs bruised.

"Get your dirty self inside! We need to talk!" Kyo moaned as he struggled to stand up. Yuki didn't wait for him but left to get himself a cup of tea. Tohru's crying came to an abrupt halt when she saw a shabby looking kitty limp into the kitchen. Shabby didn't even cut it; there were random twigs in the orange fur, a couple scratches, bumps and bruises. Kyo felt terrible, he wanted to comfort Miss Honda-san, she looked sad. So sad. He tried hard to give her an "it's okay" look as he forced himself to limp over. Tohru was just about drowning in pity and sympathy when she picked up the cat as gently as she could but Kyo shook until she cradled him avoiding too much contact with his sore ribs. Even the dog felt as if he should help out. Shigure emptied the carton of milk in a bowl and set it in front of the cat. Kyo looked at the bowl with longing and settled back down on his tummy turning his head away from the liquid. Shigure was so surprised that he choked on his tea. Yuki raised an eyebrow and walked over to the counter to take a closer look. The neko flinched, his eyes going wide with fear as if he thought someone was going to hit him. You know, Kyo thought to himself, its almost like that time mother came home from the estate that evening she killed herself. She'd been so violent and then father, he was... The prince turned away only more disgusted by the rejection. Tohru took the kitten and wrapped him in a small blanket as Yuki called up Hatori. The cat actually purred at the warmth enveloping him eliciting a laugh from the master novelist. Kyo's orange turned a light pink around the cheeks and he stopped immediately.

Yuki sat with his book trying to focus on the intriguing story unfolding before him. But despite the extreme hatred that his being emanated for his cousin of the zodiac, the confused nezumi just couldn't pull his attention away from the adjacent room where Hatori could be heard talking softly and soothingly. The rat had not heard the cat complain or try to explain anything. Kyo silent suffering was taking a greater toll on the rat than he showed. Tohru had carried Kyo upstairs laying him in his newly made bed and sat with him until Hatori came by. Now that Yuki considered Kyo's situation, he realized that there was really no one for Kyo except Tohru and Kazuma-sama and maybe Hatori. Though, the doctor remained neutral to the whole 'excluded from the zodiac' situation for the cat. Hatori acted polite and comforting with everyone. It was his job so maybe he really didn't count.

Kyo had been dropped off on his soft pillows by Tohru and she'd been trying to comfort him just before Hatori came in. He appreciated her love and attention but he didn't think he deserved it; he was the cat after all. Had it really been his fault that he was born the cat? He supposed he was just unlucky. Kyo's eyes filled with tears as Tohru's hand stroked his damp fur providing some solace in his miserable state. Tohru was shocked when the cat turned his head away as she stroked him. She'd thought he would be relieved. After some time, she felt the cat breathing somewhat quieter despite the uneven and irregular rhythm. Kyo had nodded off during Tohru's visit with him and the girl had wisely left the neko so he could get some rest. Hatori sat down the bed watching the small cat snoozing on the pillow. As the neko shifted unconsciously, the sharp pain in his side brought his eyes wide open. Hatori was reading a book in a chair across from him. Kyo tried to straighten out his blurry vision shaking his head as slowly as he could.

The dragon looked up at the rustling of sheets and walked over to the cat. In a soothing voice, Hatori asked how he was doing. The edges of the cat's mouth pulled up and he smirked. "Wonderful..." he muttered sarcastically. His foul mood had recharged itself during the nap and Kyo felt better, much more like himself. Hatori smiled; his cold eyes had softened with sympathy for the boy. Slowly, he began to examine the cat. Deep down, the dragon knew, that all Kyo wanted was someone to care. As he saw the extent of the wounds, a sprained paw, possibly fractured ribs and a bloody bump on the back of his head, Hatori realized that this fight hadn't been a regular one. When Kyo changed back under the covers, the dragon could see his eyes full of pain under the nonchalant exterior. The doctor didn't waste any time trying to convince the cat that 'it was okay' or 'it's not going to hurt one bit,' instead, he spoke soothing words as he cleaned and bandaged the wounds. Kyo showed no emotion whatsoever, and if he was in pain, he didn't mention it. By the time Hatori left, the afternoon had dimmed to evening and supper preparations were in full swing downstairs.

Tohru had insisted that Hatori at least stay for dinner but the dragon had had to get back to Akihito as soon as possible. This would be like all the other times the rat and the cat fought; everyone would go back to normal. So, Kyo decided it was about time he came to terms with himself. Yuki was right after all, Kyo was nothing but trouble but now the cat was going to work to change that. Maybe he could earn the respect of the other zodiac members in this way and they would allow him to be a part of the family. Then, maybe they wouldn't look down on him as a monster and a waste. Forcing his sore body out of bed, he tried to put some clothes on. He managed to look presentable in under fifteen minutes regardless of his injuries. Downstairs, Yuki was finishing up the novel from this morning when he heard a soft thudding noise behind him. From the corner of his eye, he saw the neko pausing every couple steps to lean heavily against a wall or gather support from furniture nearby. The rat wanted to sneer at his weakness but found himself in awe of the cat. Straightening to his full height, the neko stalked into the kitchen with his mask of nonchalance in place. Grabbing a sandwich, he informed the family that he was going for a walk and would be back sometime later.

Not one person, not even Tohru, bothered to stop the seething cat as he slunk out of the house. Maybe they assumed that his injuries weren't as ghastly as they'd first appeared. But the nezumi knew better. He'd heard Hatori telling Kyo to rest for a couple days or he could end up in a lot of trouble. He read the last few pages of the novel and tossed the book aside telling Tohru he'd be at the secret base and dashed out the door with an umbrella. It wasn't hard to follow the baka neko as he stumbled to the park and the nezumi wasn't even trying to be stealthy.

Kyo sat down on a swing and rocked back and forth serenely. He loved coming here on slightly windy days when the wind rushing through his hair felt like someone was there with him, caressing his face, making him feel loved. Kyo closed his eyes and let his head fall back basking in the glory of false love ignoring the pain that made him gasp every time his body bent to and fro to the gentle swinging. He would give anything to have someone. And if that someone wasn't there, then a false hope would have to do. As night fell, Kyo watched the stars begin to twinkle side by side. He slid off the swing and made his way over to the house type structure above the slide. He glared at the small space (that he was positive he wouldn't fit in anymore) and chose to take refuge under the slide. He had pleasant memories here. This was his place like the roof of Shigure's house. When he was little and his parents had beat him or insulted and humiliated him, he would come here and tell all his problems to stray cats or whatever stuffed animal he'd managed to sneak out of the house. Ever since he was little, he'd had a weak spot for cats. When he found a cat, Kyo always petted it because the acceptance and joy each found in the other was a mutual state of being. Tonight, he was in luck; an orange tabby strolled up to him and began mewing quietly as it nudged against him. Kyo let out a little laugh as he picked up the cat.

Yuki was surprised; the baka neko never laughed, he only sneered. This was like a whole different Kyo because there was no trace of that temperamental idiot. The neko sat there and told the tabby about his day and how he was glad he had family that damn well cared about him. Even through the tough times, he could count on his new family to have his back. This shocked Yuki. Firstly it may have been because of his own harsh actions toward the boy just that morning. Secondly, because no one had bothered to ask Kyo any questions that may have indicated their concern for him. Lastly, because today even more so than most days the so-called family had avoided acknowledging his existence. They had to lay low and avoid being friendly to the cat; no one wanted to be close to the cat because they would find their families at the mercy of Akihito if anyone sheltered the cat.

Eventually, the first couple drops of rain began to fall. Kyo looked at the sky with disdain, his shining stars had disappeared, another indication to his time having run out. But the baka neko just sat there. The orange tabby gave him one last nudge and left him in the dark. Kyo sat unmoving as if still considering what to do. Today had been a good day...

"Kyo!" he heard a desperate voice call out from the dark. Sitting up quickly he looked around in surprise. He'd thought he was alone here tonight. Yuki shook the rain out of his hair and told Kyo to hurry up and come home before the rain got any worse and they were both soaked. Kyo watched the asthmatic rat wheezing and shot up into a defensive stance. It hadn't been raining long but the cat was already beginning to feel lethargic. Yuki watched the fear and the mistrust play across the neko's weary face. The cat was afraid of what the rat may have seen out here and he didn't really trust the rat to keep his mouth shut about it. So, given his frustrating situation, the cat settled for a look of pure annoyance at someone stumbling upon his temporary sanctuary. Yuki threw a deadly glare in the cat's direction.

"What the hell are you here for?" Kyo said in a murderous voice.

"You need to stay at home, baka neko. Whenever you decide to get yourself lost out here, I am forced to come look for you. It's like I told them, you're a complete waste of time!" Yuki spit out. Kyo was startled. His face was a pasty white and his eyes looked watery. The nezumi believed he'd finally made the cat cry. But Kyo didn't cry and he wouldn't cry. The neko took a deep, angry breath and spun on his heel breaking into a dead run straight for the house.

Yuki stood in silence for a moment, only remembering his umbrella moments before it started to pour. Kyo's eyes were blurry, his head ached and he couldn't make out the sidewalk through his tears. Running proved too much when his foot slipped and he fell forward. Unfortunately, the cat had stuck out both hands to break the fall and he'd managed to cut the hand with the sprained wrist. The pain was severe. The rat watched in sad silence as the neko slipped up ahead and face-planted into the sidewalk. That would leave a mark. Yuki started running towards the cat but by the time he'd reached that spot, Kyo'd already left. Yuki wondered where he'd gone wrong. What was Kyo's problem? Why did he have to assume the worst and act like a jerk towards everyone? You know, he could be likeable if he acted like he gave a damn about the world. Reaching the house, Yuki shed the umbrella and trudged upstairs. As he was crossing Kyo's room to get to his, he saw the cat through a crack in the door. Kyo was sitting on the edge of the bed without a shirt, a wet towel draped over his head. He had only his cargo pants on and a big bandage wrapped around his ribs. The cat was unwrapping another bloody bandage from his left wrist. The rat watched as the cat tried, unsuccessfully to wrap his own wrist again—in the bloody bandage—cussing when the cloth slipped or when he pushed too hard on the swollen hand. The sympathy for the poor creature overtook the violet-eyed beauty and he ran to get a first-aid kit. Knowing Kyo would only get angrier if he were to offer help: Yuki set out to find Tohru. Eventually, Tohru was sent up to Kyo's room and she fixed up the crazed cat.

Late into the night, Kyo sat with his back propped up by the pillows wondering what had gone wrong that evening. He'd tried to pray to Kami-sama and thanked him for all the good things disregarding the bad. Then why had it turned out like this? What had gone wrong? The neko spent all night trying to fall asleep and keeping his frustrated cussing to a minimum. The bottle of painkillers lay abandoned at the foot of his bed. Hatori had told him to take some whenever the pain became unbearable but Kyo was strong and he wouldn't resort to the pills. They were for weaklings. That kuso nezumi had to go and make him trip. The cat's eyes watered when he tried to move his wrist and he knew these next few weeks would be true hell.

The next morning it seemed Kyo's health had taken a turn for the worse. Though he wouldn't agree to it, he was sick. He sneezed at least a thousand times on the way to school, he was burning up and he couldn't stand straight to save his life. He was late for almost all his class and after the first half of the day; he'd already gotten three detentions for either his tardiness or his lack of interest in schoolwork. The day had started out simple enough, with breakfast and their walk to school. But once in the hallway, Kyo's throbbing head had prevented him from getting his locker open in time making him late for class. When the teacher had asked for his excuse, in his delirious state, he hadn't been able to come up with a coherent answer and so the teacher had kicked him out of class after administering a couple "smacks" to the knuckles on his right hand. Kyo kept the left hidden as well as he could. Yuki had watched in silence as his cousin took the punishment silently and winced when the teacher pushed Kyo outside. Next class, many of the students remarked on Kyo's odd behaviour, normally he would've gladly picked a fight with anyone willing enough. But today, he was so out of it.

One of the girls whispered to her friend with wistful eyes, "Kyo-kun looks terrible. He looks so down. I wonder what happened..."

"What does it matter, it's not like he's social anyway..."

"He's such a loner – you remember that time he jumped out of the window..."

If Kyo heard the children, he ignored them. Normally, Kyo would have had the rude guys in a strangle-hold had he'd heard what they'd had to say. Many of the teachers disregarded it when Kyo didn't respond to them or refused to answer a question by remaining mute. They assumed that he was just being disagreeable. At the end of the day, Yuki walked Tohru home while the cat was forced to stay behind and serve two whole hours of detention. The rat was amazed, he was sure his cousin had broken records today for the most detentions gotten in one day. Kyo looked longingly at the door from his spot in his chair. Migari-sensei looked furious. He'd been late for class and then he'd fallen asleep and now he was to clean the counters, the blackboards and help the janitor in detention. The cat had finished all the work as fast as he could but it was getting a little difficult to stay standing. His shoulder was killing him and so when the teacher left he settled onto a stool for less than a minute. But unfortunately for him, she came back sooner than expected and he was in a shit load of trouble. In the end, when she'd started lecturing him forcing him to do sit-ups, push-ups and whatever else popped into her mind, Kyo finally collapsed.

The nezumi wasn't concerned until an hour and a half after school. One of the teachers called Shigure. This is what the rat heard, "Konnichiwa Migari-sensei!" Shigure greeted. There was a long pause and Shigure's mouth fell open. All the nezumi heard was, "B-But Kyo was fine this morning; how can he just pass out?" When the confused inu got off the phone, he turned to see the nezumi standing right behind him waiting with the oddest expression on his face. It turned out that during detention, as Kyo'd been cleaning the blackboards, he'd sat down to take a break when the teacher had left the classroom. When Migari-sensei came back and saw Kyo slumped over the stool, she'd been very angry and had punished him severely. When he'd been dealt the punishment, the cat had passed out leaning against the chalkboard. At first Migari-sensei hadn't known what to do and then of course, the school nurse had been called and they figured Kyo wasn't being lazy, he was really sick. Of course, Hatori was called in and Kyo had to endure another adult reminding him to watch himself. At around seven in the evening, Kyo was finally allowed to go home.

On his way though, he stopped to pick some flowers and he'd taken them back to Migari-sensei's home [who was crying and apologizing profusely for being so heartless] to tell her everything was okay. Kyo merely smiled a small smile. He didn't really mind the teacher but no one could see this soft side of him except a select few people and Migari-sensei was pretty trustworthy. Shigure, Hatori, Yuki and Tohru had returned home for the evening, none of them too interested in his health once they'd known he'd live except perhaps Tohru, but she hadn't been informed of the extent of his injuries. So it was seven thirty and Kyo was sitting in Migari-sensei's living room feeling more than a little uncomfortable. The woman was barely twenty five and she was great teacher. Migari-sensei felt awful for her behaviour towards the poor seventeen-year-old. He looked forlorn slumping on her couch, his eyes drooping.

"Kyo," Migari-sensei said gently.

Kyo's head snapped up and his eyes became wide and alert. He was scared of her and she could see him mentally wince every time she moved closer or said his name.

"Kyo, why didn't you tell me?" Migari-sensei asked gently sitting down by the boy. Kyo looked away in silence.

"Kyo, tell me. Why did you not inform me of your condition?" The cat looked torn between the need to tell the truth and keep the secrets to himself.

"Because, I didn't think you would believe me." Kyo muttered more to himself. Migari-sensei's eyes filled with tears when she realized the truth of the words. Everyone took Kyo to be a strong, well-built boy, so when he complained about some injury, no one paid any attention. They simply did not believe him. It was impossible for Kyo to be anything but trouble. When people got into fights, it was Kyo's fault. The neko was at the middle of any fray. Naturally, the blame always ended up with the orange-headed boy.

"I gotta go now," Kyo said in an almost inaudible whisper. Migari-sensei leaned in to stroke his cheek and the cat shied away from the touch. He didn't need to turn into a cat in front of this woman. And women had this tendency to wrap themselves around creatures they pitied. Sensei nodded and the cat made his way home after muttering a gentle "sayonara."

When Kyo got home, they looked at him with eyes full of sympathy and they were watchful almost as if they were waiting for him to fall over. Then again, Kyo smiled more to himself than anyone else, maybe that's what they were hoping for. Yuki watched orange-top down the last of the milk and wondered what was going through the baka neko's mind. There was no rational thought that was for sure. Laughing at his little joke he took over the TV for the night. Usually, Kyo would have fought, argued, whined or complained. Today, he just glared at the remote in Yuki's hand and stomped upstairs to his room. Kyo realized that maybe Yuki had been right. Maybe he was a waste. He would show them, he would be a good person. He would give them what they wanted and he would be nice, kind, and considerate of everyone. Well, maybe. Perhaps for now, he would give Yuki and Shigure and Tohru what they wanted.

That night when Tohru walked by the cat's room to get to her own she was surprised to find it open. She loved the cat deeply. She was saddened and grieved to no end for the outcast and she wished she could comfort him. After all, the cat was her favourite. Though the open door was taken as an invitation, she still knocked. When the dazed cat nodded slightly she entered the room slowly. Her face was flushed at the strange feeling. She never came into his room. No one ever did. Kyo shifted on the bed so she could sit and continued to stare off into nothing. When she greeted him, he forced a small smile. He was genuinely trying but the ache in his chest both inside and out along with everything else that was sore kept him from so much as extending an arm out to someone.

"Kyo-kun, I'm sorry," Tohru felt as if she had to apologize for what was happening to the poor cat. It really wasn't his fault.

"Whatever the he- I mean, it doesn't matter. It has nothing to do with you. It's the damned rat's fault." Tohru let out a breath she didn't realize she'd been holding in. She was glad Kyo was somewhat back to normal. She didn't like the Kyo that was quite and not mean. She wanted her old Kyo back. He stayed up all night trying to think of all the things he could do to show the others that he could be a legitimate part of the Sohma household. The baka neko, no matter how stupid this idea would be, would stop fighting with Yuki and then the house could stay in one piece. Even if that meant he'd be locked away. He figured right now his goal would be to keep his current family happy. He would walk away when Yuki drove the cat nuts. This was easier said than done.

As the week progressed, Shigure and Tohru became more and more worried. The rat became more and more irritated by Kyo's sudden lack of enthusiasm. Yuki was unsure about this new Kyo, who surrendered or fled from fights. It made the hairs on the back of his neck rise. What was that stupid cat planning? Kyo hadn't said a single word to anyone for days. It was almost as if he wasn't there. The nezumi watched the neko come home later and later every night. He wouldn't watch TV wanting to train in the yard instead. The stupid cat hadn't even picked a fight in the last couple days so what the hell was he training for? At school, Kyo's sympathizers had died out one by one and now everything was back to normal except for Kyo's insolent comments. The cat continued with his silent treatment of everyone.

"What's up with orange-top?" Uo-chan asked Tohru one day. Tohru merely shrugged, not knowing what was wrong. She'd thought everything was okay. Kyo was a perfect angel to her and the rest of the family. He'd even started working some evenings handing over the extra money to Tohru. One Friday afternoon, when Tohru had gone over to Hana-chan's house for the weekend, life at the Sohma household took a turn for the worse.

Shigure had decided to entertain Ayame that weekend and had gone over to the snake's store to check out the hottest new designs that his 'buddy' had come up with and have some fun. This left Yuki and Kyo alone for the weekend. Tohru had been kind enough to leave enough food for the three. But Shigure, being the dirty dog that he was, had stuffed himself full of food and hoarded the rest for his lover. That night, when Kyo came home dead tired from work, he found himself in a kitchen with no food whatsoever and Yuki sprawled out on the couch devouring the last bag of potato chips.

"Isn't there any food at all?" Kyo asked oddly. He had a splitting headache. He knew he was coming down with that damned cold everyone seemed to be passing around. He smiled a little, at least he only swore in his mind now. Yuki looked up from his book and his bag of chips at the exhausted cat swaying in the kitchen.

"Where were you, baka?" The cat raised an eyebrow and ignored the question, knowing full well that Yuki knew about his part-time job. After some time, not really knowing what else he could do in an empty kitchen, Kyo dragged his feet upstairs on an empty stomach. He'd really been looking forward to Tohru's cooking; it always made him feel better.

Yuki was so confused. Kyo's stomach had been growling, no one could ignore something like that. Personally, the rat thought it would have driven him crazy. When night fell, Yuki went upstairs. He'd lost count of all the days that Kyo had avoided all forms of confrontations. Life had become quite boring so the rat decided it was time to do something fun. He would see how far he could push the cat before the neko finally fought him. Yuki had to admit that deep down inside, it felt good at times to feel his fists whistling through the air and colliding with some part of Kyo. It felt good to emerge victorious after every fight. But what felt awesome was the passion for the fight dancing in Kyo's angry eyes. Tonight, Kyo's crimson eyes had appeared dull and lost. Dazed. As Yuki dashed up the stairs and barged into Kyo's room, what he saw caught him off guard to say the least. The baka was curled up around another orange tabby like him. Both nekos were sound asleep. Yuki glared at Kyo. Kyo stayed asleep. The rat wouldn't leave without a fight. His sanity was on the line.

The door slammed shut and Kyo woke with a start. The tabby was out the window in a flash leaving poor Kyo confused and all alone with a raging Yuki.

"Get up and fight, dumb cat!" The neko shook his head and backed up against the wall. Yuki's violet eyes had gone cold and Kyo knew that there was no reasoning with the rat. He also knew that he wouldn't really fight because, as the rat had reminded him just a couple weeks ago, there really was no point. The rat always won.

"I want to sleep, Yuki" Kyo said quietly looking out the window to try and find the tabby that he'd brought home with him. Yuki yelled and cursed scaring the mellow cat. Tight-lipped, white and trembling, the cat rose unsteadily on his feet. He felt faint without proper nourishment. Today had been very tiring indeed.

"Attack me," Yuki growled between teeth, his knuckles fisted so hard that they were turning white. His body ready to pounce at the smallest hint of the beginning of a fight. The cat refused obstinately but when Yuki began nearing, he went for a meek right-hook. Before he'd even made contact, he felt himself flying back through a door. Groaning, he stood, staggering back to his opponent, too determined to turn down the challenge. By the end of the first ten minutes or so, Kyo had a bloody nose and had lost the fight by a longshot.

Back in his room, Yuki rubbed his red knuckles easing the hurt. He'd beat the cat up cruelly today. For once, he didn't feel the satisfaction of a victory fill his mind, body and soul. He felt only guilt as he remembered the frightened crimson eyes. Their lifelessness had been replaced by one and one emotion only: fear. In the next room, the neko expended enormous effort to get up onto the bed. Yuki could hear all the scrambling, shifting, groaning the cat tried to hide. When all the noise subsided, Yuki decided that perhaps he should go check up on the cat.

There was a dim glow coming from Kyo's bathroom. He heard the cat throw up quite violently. Hurrying into the room, Yuki felt nothing but sympathy at the sight that greeted him. Kyo's hair was dishevelled as he leaned over the toilet barely having the strength to hold his body up to prevent falling into the toilet. Hearing the door burst open for the second time that night, Kyo feared the worst and looked around with a look of complete terror on his face. Yuki never got to see his cousin's face properly because not a millisecond later, Kyo was back to barfing up whatever breakfast he'd had that morning. Yuki walked slowly and deliberately towards the cat trying not to scare him further. Oh how desperately the cat wished that the nezumi would leave him be. There was no point in fighting now. He was sick and inept. He wouldn't even put up a good fight. Yuki, please, Kami-sama knows I can't fight right now. Not now, please not now. Kyo begged as he stared into the thoughtful violet eyes. What's happened to you Kyo? Yuki wondered desperately placing his palm on the cat's forehead. Soon as he touched the flushed face, the rat flinched back.

"Baka neko, you have a fever," Yuki stated regaining his composure.

"I told you, rat, I can't fight. Now go away..." Kyo muttered bitterly wiping his mouth clean. Yuki leaned nonchalantly against the door, quite aware of the fact that Kyo was in no condition to put up any kind of fight.

"I'm not leaving, Kyo, until you tell me what you were doing at the park." The nezumi watched with interest Kyo's sickly face go even paler.

"W-w hat are you talking about, kuso nezumi?" Kyo swore for the first time in days.

"It doesn't concern you! Now leave me alone, you stupid rat." The rat just wouldn't give up; well rather, he couldn't give up. Tohru had come to him in tears, begging he do something to bring Kyo back and make him talk to everyone. She'd finally come to the rat that morning; somewhere deep inside she knew that what was happening was not at all normal. The cat shot to his feet rinsing his mouth in the sink and looked at the rat with eyes narrowed in anger.

"I don't know what you want, rat! Because, far as I'm concerned, I've already done what was asked of me!" Yuki was flabbergasted by this. So Kyo really had taken him seriously, when all those days ago, he'd told the cat what a waste he was. Kyo tried to push past the rat. He knew he could move around all he wanted now because he'd already thrown up everything inside of him thanks to the well-aimed kick to his stomach by his overly-intelligent, violet-eyed cousin. But that didn't stop him from feeling queasy all over again. When Yuki didn't grant him access to his room, Kyo gagged off to the side and leaned back against a wall, sliding down it so he sat slumped on the floor.

Yuki looked down at the mop of orange hair with fleeting concern for the cat. He knew he should try to be nice to the neko even just to be human. He really didn't deserve the torture. At that moment, though, Yuki needed answers and he was determined enough to try and force them out of the cat. Interrogating didn't go very well, but that wasn't really a surprise.

Kyo's head spun at the questions Yuki asked. His problems, his fears, his hopes and dreams were personal and Kyo had always been an introverted person. He couldn't do the whole 'let's share memories' thing because their resurfacing in him brought nothing but heartache. He couldn't tell the rat his mother had killed herself because of him; nor the fact that his father had often abused him and left him crying in some corner of the room; not even the part about how he wished every day that he would find someone to come rescue him. And Kyo couldn't ever tell anyone about the special bond of father-son between him and Kazuma-sama lest Akihito punish his adoptive father. What he really wanted was his nice warm bed and some milk. That was all he asked.

When Kyo was finally frustrated enough to warrant silent tears rolling down his cheeks, the rat let him go. Kyo scrambled away on his hands and knees and lay down on the futon. Once Yuki had shut the bedroom door behind him, Kyo let go. He cried and cried and cried until he could cry no more. All the while, Yuki silently listened to the stifled sobs ensuing from behind the door. When all was quite once again, Yuki pushed open the door a mere crack and peeked in. Kyo was curled around one of his pillows with all the blankets drawn over him despite the warm weather.

But Yuki was adamant on receiving the answers he'd come for. Being as quite as he could, Yuki searched the drawers in his cousin's study. He was looking for the ultimate key to his thoughts. Kyo's notebook. He'd often seen the neko write things in there and sometimes draw pictures. He found the book at the bottom of his middle drawer. Yuki quickly tidied up leaving no trace of his search and escaped with the little orange book. Maybe... the rat thought with a hint of a sigh in the voice of his mind, Just maybe this book will elaborate on the stupid cat's myriad problems. Then everyone will be able to enjoy some peace and quiet.Kyo always kept the diary well hidden and only recently had the book been brought to the prince's attention when Kyo had, not a couple days ago, fought violently for the book. Despite the hits the cat had taken that day, he'd been more than relieved to escape with the notebook unopened by the rat's hands. Yuki flipped open the cover of the book to reveal the cat's hideous scrawls that he supposed passed as writing in the neko's world.

Scanning the pages he looked for any clues of recent confrontations that the cat had recorded in the book. But all the nezumi was able to find were newer and older recollections of the cat's best times. These included the days his mother had acted normal, when Kazuma Sohma praised the boy or when Tohru said some really funny. Even his meeting with Kyoko was mentioned in the little journal. Yuki noted with a sinking feeling that none of the 'best times of the cat's life' ever mentioned the renowned rat. As the rat neared the end of the notebook, he noticed one page that had been folded towards the coils as if to hide the content. Yuki Sohma gently unfolded the piece and was met by his own violet eyes staring back. Kyo had taken care to draw Yuki with his small, all-knowing smile. In a note near the bottom, Yuki found that the one thing that the cat wished most for was the acceptance of the zodiac but his greatest fear was the disappearing of the small smirk off the damn rat's face when he pummelled the cat. Yuki eyes watered when he found more writing near the back. Kyo's scrawls were somewhat messier here as if he were upset when he wrote this. From what Yuki could make out, Kyo had written his feelings down on Hatori's recommendations claiming that the expression of his emotions in a productive form would cool his temperament. The damn rat! Who does he think he is telling me I'm a waste! I'm not, I'm not! It's not my fault! I didn't do anything! He doesn't know... he has everything. Tohru. A secret base. Love. Acceptance. The Sohma Family. What more does he want? I'm trying... Yuki stopped reading.

This was ridiculous.

What was he doing invading the cat's privacy? The stupid cat. You know, the rat thought, I shouldn't act this way. I assume he's stupid without giving him a chance. Maybe he needs a break.Tiptoeing back into the cat's room, Yuki returned the diary to its place and took in the sleeping cat. The orange tabby he had with him the other day. That was mentioned in the diary, wasn't it? Shaking his head, Yuki thought deep and hard. Kyo'd written that that kitten would make the perfect present. He'd sounded ecstatic. What had he been referring to? No one's birthdays were in the next couple weeks, were they? Yuki muttered to himself as he crossed off the people one by one. Suddenly, it hit the rat. It was Kyo's birthday in three days. Akihito celebrated the birthdays of all the zodiac members at the main house. But since Kyo didn't count, he'd always been left out. No one had really bothered to find out when the cat's actually birthday occurred. Who would? His own mother had been too concerned with making sure the bracelet stayed on her son's wrist and Kyo was kept away from the others for he was considered unfortunate and a danger to the other Sohmas. It dawned on Yuki how lonely the life of the cat must've been. The previous cats had been shunned in much the same way but some had been lucky enough to have an accepting family. A mother, a father and perhaps even siblings had cared. Yuki knew Kazuma Sohma would probably know of the birthday but he was also aware of the fact that Kyo would have forced his Shishou to keep it quiet. The only reason Yuki knew of the birthday was because it had been mentioned in the first couple pages of the diary.

Every couple of years or so, Kyo found something to amuse himself and if it happened to be in the vicinity of the day he was born then he'd have a mini-party in his head. The rat quietly left the Sohma house in search of something earth-shatteringly important. The orange tabby Kyo'd been snoozing with had been adorable. Even though Yuki himself wasn't very fond of cats as they were extrememly dim-witted animals, he still imagined Tohru's glee at the new pet. Trying to convince himself it was for their sweet Tohru, Yuki spent the rest of his weekend in search for the damned animal that always just escaped him.

On Kyo's birthday, no one was informed.

No one said anything.

No cards were sent.

No gifts received.

Kyo was feeling just a little moodier than usual confusing the family a tad more but everything else proceeded in the usual manner.

But a surprise awaited Kyo in the middle of the night. He'd never suspected a thing and everything was almost back to normal between the two cousins. Events of that fateful night long forgotten. Kyo walked into his room and was met by the sound of a soft purring coming from his bed. The neko's eyes were the size of onigiri as he took in the prince lounging on his bed stroking the kitten. Yuki looked up at Kyo with a smile holding out the cat to his cousin.

"Happy Birthday, Kyo." The nezumi said softly taking in Kyo's shocked form. Kyo didn't have words to describe what he felt. There was anger at the invasion to his privacy. There was sadness and grief at the fact that the rat would no longer be considered an enemy, at least in his mind. But most of all there was joy, at being accepted. Accepted in a small form that held great meaning. For Kyo, this meant that the rat thought he was human. Someone that deserved the same respect as everyone else.

For Kyo, this meant that he would no longer be an outcast. His birthday had been celebrated by a member of the zodiac. It didn't matter that it was in secret.

Kyo stammered a moment before muttering something, "Thanks, you damn rat." To Yuki, the soft voice of his cousin sounded full of joy and he knew he'd done the right thing.

"No problem, stupid cat, you know I do care," Yuki replied moving closer to the cat. The neko and the nezumi mock glared at each other and burst out laughing. Tears of joy fell as they were enveloped by a bright light and the evil tendrils of their curse unwound themselves from the two boys.

Acceptance... That was what had started the whole thing and that is what finished it.