A/N: I do not own Fruits Basket or any of the characters. I do not know how long it will be before I can post another chapter, but I promise it'll be good. I apologize for the delay. Love ya all! ^^

To silence another, first be silent yourself.

~Latin Proverb

Shigure got home just as school was ending. Miyako wanted to ask about her living in the house but Shigure didn't give her a chance to speak.

"I'm sure the others will be home soon," he said, settling down at the table with a book. As if on cue, Miyako heard the door open and the boys raising hell outside.

"Hello Miyako," Tohru said in greeting.

"Hi, did you have fun at school?" Miyako asked. The boys stormed in, drowning out Tohru's reply. Someone slammed the door.

"You damn Rat! I'm going to kick your ass!" Kyo snarled. Yuki didn't look amused.

"Bring it, you can't even lay a hand on me," Yuki said, his eyes narrowing. He glanced at Miyako and flashed an apologetic smile.

"Greetings Miss Hayashi, forgive me as I must teach this wretched Cat some manners. Kyo glared at him, hackles raised.

"What was that asshole?" he growled.

"Now, now," Shigure said, not looking up from his book.

"I don't want you breaking the house, and besides, is this anyway to welcome our newest housemate?" Yuki looked at Shigure suspiciously.

"Did you see Akito today?" Yuki asked in a loathing voice.

"What?" Kyo cried in outrage.

"Don't we have enough girls to deal with?" Kyo fumed pointing at a bewildered Tohru. A very pissed Yuki slapped Kyo's hand away and kicked him through the shoji. The door shattered and Kyo bounced once before tumbling into the bushes. Miyako was amazed and horrified at the same time.

'Wow…how did he kick him that far?' she thought, studying Yuki and the door.

'He doesn't look like he has the strength for that…' A low groan from the garden reminded Miyako of the beneficiary of Yuki's kick. Miyako ran to Kyo on a sudden impulse, reaching him just as he got up.

"Kyo, are you okay?" she asked. Kyo turned and glared at her.

"I don't need your pity too! I'm not that pathetic," he said fiercely. Miyako blinked in surprise and smiled sadly.

"I understand," Miyako said, her eyes tearing up a little. Kyo looked at her, regret replacing his anger. Miyako looked away shamefully.

'No, stop it! I'm not going to cry in front of him… I don't want his pity either…' Kyo looked like he was about to say something but was interrupted by Shigure.

"Kyo, quit being an ass and fix the door; you can make it up to the girls later," Shigure said in a matter-of-fact tone. He smiled cheerfully and returned to his book. Everyone looked at him appalled, save for Tohru, who just looked confused.

"Whatever, I'm leaving! Girls and that damn Rat; I can't stand this house!" with that, he was gone. Tohru and Miyako watched him go. Shigure shrugged.

"He'll be back, he secretly likes girls," Shigure said, an enthusiastic grin on his face. Miyako was reminded of a quote she once heard.

"The more I see of man, the more I like dogs," she said, staring after Kyo. Everyone flinched mentally when Miyako had said 'dog' but she was too concerned about Kyo to notice their reactions.

'Does she know?' Tohru and Yuki thought simultaneously.

"Quite a quote," Shigure said nervously.

"Madame de Staël right?" Miyako nodded.

"Yeah I think so…" she said, an odd look on her face.

'Why does Kyo distance himself like that? Even I wasn't that bad… of course it was dangerous for me to be close to others… I don't want to transform…' Miyako wondered what kept Kyo away from everyone.

'Or maybe it's everyone keeping Kyo away from them…'

"Umm, Miyako…" Tohru said, cutting into her thoughts.

"Yes? What is it?" Miyako asked.

"I know you're sick, but do you feel up to a little shopping? I'm sure you could use some new clothes seeing as we had to throw away your old ones," Tohru looked at Shigure, an apologetic and pleading smile on her face. Miyako snorted in amusement.

'How can she have so many emotions on her face at once?' she wondered.

"If Shigure thinks I'm well enough to go; sure, I'll come," Miyako said, glancing at Shigure, who just shrugged.

"I'm no doctor, if you feel up to it, by all means go." Tohru and Miyako smiled.

"Just be careful, I don't want our precious young flowers to disappear."

"I guess I'll go then," Miyako said, ignoring Shigure's comment. Miyako stood, heading for the bathroom, clean clothes in hand.

"Just let me change then we'll go," she said. Soon the girls were on their way to the store. Seeing as Miyako had no money, Shigure had given her some. She had promised to pay him back, but he just shook his head.

"Que será, será, whatever will be will be," he said.

"Pay me back if you feel that will make you happy." Miyako was happy with taking the money and using it but planned to pay him back as soon as she got a job.

'I don't want to owe someone I'm living with; I'm already staying in his house!' Miyako thought as Tohru handed her another shirt over the changing booth. They had decided to get Miyako her clothes before they did anything else.

"Here, this one's smaller," Tohru said. Miyako took the black shirt and pulled over her new bra. She turned and looked in the mirror. She had a pair of dark gray khaki pants on and a new pair of black sneakers. Miyako smiled and walked out to show Tohru.

"See? Now I look just like Kyo," Miyako said. Tohru laughed.

"You look good like that," Tohru said with a smile. Miyako returned the smile.

'I finally feel like I belong,' Miyako thought happily.

"I think I will get this outfit, I always wanted khaki pants," she joked. Miyako was amazed at how easy it was to talk to Tohru.

'I just wish that I could talk to everyone else this easily…'she thought sadly, picturing Kyo's reaction to her staying at the house.

"Don't we have enough girls to deal with?"

Miyako shook her head, clearing it of the image. She didn't understand why he hated her so much. They had only met this morning!

'He did seem regretful after what he said; I think he doesn't know how to deal with people yet…' The thought raised her hopes a little.

"Um, Miyako? Are you okay?" Tohru asked. Miyako smiled.

"Yeah, I think I'm ready to go now; we still have to get dinner!" Both girls laughed.

"Alright then, let's go check out," Tohru said.

Miyako left with five shirts; two blue, one red, one green, and the black shirt, three pairs of jeans, the khaki pants, black shoes, and a school uniform. Shigure was going to get her enrolled tomorrow and she would start school the following week.

"You know, I always hoped I could find a place to belong," Miyako said suddenly. Tohru looked at her in surprise. They were on their way home, and the walk had been relatively quiet. Both girls felt a little awkward but neither would admit it.

"It's hard for me to get close to anyone," Miyako explained, looking at the sky, watching the clouds.

"My family has always thought of me as an eyesore…" Miyako looked up, afraid she had given her secret away by accident.

"For various reasons of course," She said, recovering quickly. Tohru nodded in understanding.

'It's because of your curse…how sad…' Tohru thought silently.

"I'm glad to have met you all," Miyako continued.

"It makes me happy to know there are people who still care in this world…I thought they were all gone…" she hung her head, admiring her new sneakers. Tohru smiled at her.

"I think you are brave person, Miyako-chan." Miyako glanced up at Tohru.

"Not many people can survive on their own, but many people still try to…" she trailed off, lost in thought. Miyako smiled a little.

"Thanks Tohru…" she said. Tohru looked at her in question.

"Just for being there, that's all I need right now…" Miyako sighed lightly.

'Maybe I can find someone to be there forever…'

Back at the house, Shigure and Kyo were in the living room; Shigure working on his novel and Kyo was fixing the door Yuki kicked him through. Yuki himself was upstairs doing homework. The Cat and Dog sat in silence for quite some time.

"Shigure," Kyo said at last. Shigure looked up from his notes.

"Do you really think I will get better at dealing with people?" Kyo asked, avoiding eye contact. Shigure looked thoughtful for a moment.

"No." Kyo looked up from his work, incensed.

"What? After all you said about practicing and getting better?"

"You can only get better if you are willing to get better; how people treat you is their karma; how you react is yours. True words Wayne Dyer…" Shigure said with a sigh. Kyo looked at Shigure, frustration all over his face.

"People will act as they wish, just as you act in return." Shigure translated. Kyo still looked a little confused.

"It's all a matter on what you want back from that person." Shigure added. Kyo nodded slowly, thinking.

'I guess it can't hurt to try to be nicer…' Shigure smiled a little.

'Maybe there's some hope for all of us…' Shigure considered, returning to his notes, glancing up occasionally at Kyo.

'We'll just have to wait and see…'

"We're home!" Tohru called. Both guys looked up. Shigure caught Kyo's eye.

"Here's your chance, he whispered as the girls came in.

"Welcome home!" Shigure said happily. He turned to Miyako.

"Ah, Miyako-kun, you look lovely in your new clothes! Absolutely beautiful! Kyo agrees too don't you Kyo?" Shigure said with a smile. Kyo glared at Shigure before looking at Miyako; she was still dressed in her 'Kyo outfit'.

Miyako blushed and looked down as Kyo stared at her, his face turning pink.

'Crap! I forgot to change…' Miyako mentally scolded herself.

'What is she getting at? Is she making fun of me?' he thought, still staring.

"Miyako, do you think you could help me make some snacks?" Tohru asked.

"Dinner's going to take longer than I thought."

'I will forever be in your debit,' Miyako silently thanked Tohru.

"I'll be there in a sec, I have to put my clothes down," she said, running upstairs. "I'm glad Tohru agreed to share her room with me,' Miyako thought, setting her clothes down by the bed. She smiled to herself and ran to help Tohru.

"Kyo," Shigure said.

"Why don't you help Tohru with the snacks?" he hinted.

"Yeah, sure," Kyo sighed, getting up. Apparently Tohru had finished making the snacks and was heading out of the kitchen just as Kyo and Miyako were heading in to help her. There was a crash and a loud poof.

'Oh boy…' Shigure thought, massaging his forehead.

'This is going to be interesting…'

"I am so sorry…" Tohru started; the scene before her cut her shout.

'There are two piles of clothes? That means…'

"Damn it all!" Kyo growled, crawling out of his shirt. His tail twitched irritably.

"Why did you have to go and do that?" Kyo shouted. A black cat jumped in front of Tohru, its hackles raised and green eyes blazing.

"Shut up Kyo! This wouldn't have happened if you hadn't run into me! You…" Miyako stopped; the two Cats stared at each other in amazement.

'She's…'

'He's…'

"You're a Cat?" they said in unison. Shigure snorted, and then exploded into laughter.

"Haha! You…you two should see…the look on both of your faces! Hahaha!" Yuki came down the stairs and eyed Shigure with distaste.

"What's all the noise…" he saw the Cats and sweat-dropped.

"Oh."

The Cats continued to stare at each other in disbelief, Shigure's laughter in the background of their thoughts.

'I…I'm not the only Cat…but what is she?' Kyo thought.

"What…what's going on?" Miyako asked.

'Kyo…we have more in common than I thought…'

With a loud and unexpected poof, both Cats changed back into humans. Once the black and orange smoke cleared, Miyako and Kyo looked away from each other, both their faces bright red.

'We're the same…'

After everyone was dressed and had calmed down, Shigure brought everyone in to sit at the table. The snacks had been saved, and Tohru was nervously passing them out. The room was strangely quiet.

"So," Shigure started. Everyone was silent.

"I can understand why this came as a shock to both our Cats," Kyo gave Shigure a death glare and Miyako stared at the table.

"Now, as you can see Miyako," Shigure continued.

"Our family is under a curse. When our bodies come under great stress, or we're hugged by the opposite sex, we transform into one of the twelve animals of the Zodiac…" Shigure said. Kyo cleared his throat.

"…Plus the Cat. Yuki and I are also cursed, myself with the Dog and Yuki with the Rat. What we don't know is the whereabouts of your curse…" Shigure studied Miyako, waiting for any answers she had to offer.

"You saw me transform…when I first got here…" Miyako said quietly.

"That's why you were acting like that…" Shigure nodded.

"Yuki, Tohru and I saw you transformed; Kyo was upstairs sleeping at the time, otherwise he would have know sooner…" Kyo huffed and turned away.

"In all honesty, I don't know much about my curse, but I transform when both male AND females hug me…I can't be touched…" Miyako said sadly. Shigure looked thoughtful. Yuki caught his eye.

"There is one exception to our transformation," Yuki said. Miyako looked up, hope shining in her eyes.

"We can hug the opposite sex if they are cursed with a Zodiac animal as well."

Miyako's eyes wandered from Shigure, to Kyo who was avoiding all eye contact, to Yuki. She stood and walked over to Yuki, wanting to avoid the perverted look on Shigure's face, and awkwardly hugged him.

'I need practice hugging…how sad…' Miyako thought, before realizing the effects of her hug. Nothing happened.

"Ah, so you can hug the other members as well…interesting…" Shigure said. Miyako sat back down.

"I'll tell you what I know of my curse; it's not much but it's what I've lived off of for sixteen years now…" Miyako sighed.

"My curse is the curse of the Black Cat; I bring bad luck to everyone, or so the curse goes. My father's homeland viewed cats as an apparition of evil."

"Where is your father from?" Tohru asked.

"He's originally from Ireland, but my father came here to Japan to work; my mother is Japanese and my father Irish, it's from him that I got the curse."

"That's funny, you don't look Irish at all," Shigure cut in.

"It's the curse that does it," she explained.

"I have the black hair and green eyes of a common black cat. I believe it work s the same way with the Zodiac curse; Kyo doesn't seem like the type to bleach his hair." Kyo flinched when Miyako said his name. Shigure waved his hand dismissively.

"Enough about our curse, I'd like to here more about yours."

"That's all I really know about the curse, but I do have a theory; your curse is based on the story of the banquet, I think mine may be related to a similar story." Miyako paused, looking thoughtful.

"I just need to find the story first. Maybe then I'll at least be able to understand my curse better…" she sighed, her story done. Everyone sat quietly, thinking.

'This girl not only suffered from a curse, but suffered alone from the sound of it, how horrible…' Shigure thought. He wondered what happened to Miyako's parents.

'I wonder where her curse came from…' Tohru glanced at Miyako, then at the clock. It was almost midnight. Miyako seemed to have noticed as well.

"You know, it's late…I had a long day and need my sleep," Miyako suppressed a yawn, causing Yuki and Shigure to yawn as well.

"I'm going to bed too," Tohru added.

"I have to work in the morning. Goodnight everyone!" Tohru said happily.

"Goodnight Miss Honda, Miyako-kun," Yuki said between yawns.

"Goodnight," Shigure said.

"Sleep well girls." Yuki and Kyo glared at him as the girls went upstairs.

"What's that supposed to mean?" they asked in unison. Shigure shrugged, making the boys turn away in anger. They both headed up the stairs.

"Remember the fragileness of both our flowers," Shigure called after them, making them pause momentarily. Neither looked back. Soon Shigure was left alone with just his thoughts to keep him company.

'I wonder what kind of fate that girl has…' he contemplated silently.

'And what she means for the rest of us…'

A/N: Whoo! Drama! I love you all! ^^