Chapter 2

"W-We need help, please!"

Tohru burst through the doors of her home and immediately headed straight for the living room after kicking her shoes off. She was frantic and her breathing was labored, which wasn't abnormal being that she ran up a hill to get here. Shigure, Kyo, and Yuki were in the room gathered around the chabudai when she entered and their eyes immediately traveled to the bulky bundle of clothes in her arms.

"Honda-san.." Yuki blinked in surprise. "What's going on? I was just about to leave to get you."

"I-I… we finished early so they said we could go home but-"

Kyo glanced around Tohru's body as he spotted a fluff of blond hair. "Momiji, what are you doing here? Shouldn't you be at home?"

The blond placed his hands on his knees as he caught his breath, his face flushed red from all the running. He was about to say something when the bundle of clothes moved. Tohru gasped as she couldn't hold on to the briskly moving clothing pile and dropped it on the floor. Feathers flew as a hen head appeared out from under a shirt.

"You...brought a chicken?" Shigure tilted his head in confusion. "I appreciate you making our meals, but I'm not sure if farm to table-"

"I'm not a chicken! I'm human!" The hen instantly started talking, catching everyone off guard. Anzu looked around the room, taking in the three new males, before her eyes landed on a familiar blond. Charging at him, she tried to smack him with her wings and peck him. "You did this to me! Change me back now!"

Momiji cried out and ran around Tohru as he tried to hide from her. "I didn't do anything, I swear!"

Suddenly, there was a large puff of red smoke and a girl with long red hair and brown eyes replaced the location of the hen. Due to the abrupt size difference, Anzu had finally gotten a hold of Momiji and tackled him down to the floor. As the smoke started to clear, she could see her body normally, however she scrambled off of the boy and huddled up in the corner, screaming in hysterics.

"What's happening to me?"

It took some time for Tohru to calm Anzu down and get her dressed again. The redhead wanted to believe that it was all a terrible nightmare and when she would wake up, her mother would be at her bedside and she'd be home in America, safe and sound. As time passed, it turned more and more into a fantasy as reality weighed down on her like gravity. Once she was finished and dressed, everyone sat around the chabudai.

"What's your name, sweetheart?" Shigure asked. Tohru noticed that, while the question sounded playful, his look was very serious.

"Anzu Fukushima."

"Has anything like this ever happened to you before?"

"No. Not that I remember."

Kyo and Yuki eyed Anzu as she wrapped herself in a blanket Tohru gave her. Every question that Shigure asked, her response was very dry. They could relate to her though as everyone in the room figured out what the elephant was. What she would do after this realization is what mattered the most.

"Are you familiar with the Sohma name?"

Anzu's eyes brightened at this and she immediately got up, dropping the blanket at her feet. "Can you tell me where the Sohma estate is? My father- Wait a second please!"

The group watched as she ran over to her backpack in the corner of the room. Pulling her hoodie out, she reached into the pocket and quickly returned with a polaroid picture. Placing it on the table for everyone to see, she pointed to the three individuals in the picture.

"This was taken at my parents' wedding. My mother, Sango Fukushima, is here on the left and my father, Kohaku Sohma, is in the middle. My mom told me he passed away shortly after I was born in an accident and his grave is inside the estate." Anzu explained. "But who I'm really looking for is the man next to him. He and my father seemed very close so maybe he can tell me more about him."

Tohru eyed the picture, confused. Anzu's mother and father were smiling in their wedding attire and the background looked very familiar to what she had seen inside of the Sohma Estate. The man next to Anzu's father had auburn hair and was also smiling with his hand on her father's shoulder.

Yuki narrowed his eyes. "Isn't that…?"

"You need to see the head of our family, Akito." Shigure determined, crossing his arms.

Anzu looked around the table as everyone's expressions seemed to change. The atmosphere felt very tense and their somber faces didn't help at all. Was there something wrong with this Akito person? "Who is Akito? Is that the person in this photo? Why can't anyone plainly tell me what's going on?"

"You've been cursed." Momiji finally said. "Long story short, the Sohma family has a curse where select members are possessed and can change into the zodiac animals if we're hugged by someone of the opposite sex. Somehow you've been dragged in, but something's not making sense."

"Isn't Kureno the rooster?" Kyo asked. "I've never heard of two people turning into the same animal at the same time."

"Neither have I…" Yuki trailed off as he thought about it.

Tohru glanced between everyone with a puzzled look. "Who's Kureno?"

"You haven't met him yet. He's the rooster of our zodiac." Shigure answered. "He's also the one that Anzu is looking for. I believe Kureno must be your father's brother, judging from this picture."

"So can you take me to him? He's the only family that I have."

"It's too late now, but I can take you tomorrow. Momiji, you'll stay here tonight and I'll take you with us."

Anzu frowned at this, but she understood. It was night time so the only thing she could do was wait until the morning. The good thing that came out of this was she found some clues and a guide faster than she ever thought she would. Thinking about what Momiji had said, she looked around the table. "Does that mean you're cursed too? What are you all?"

"Rat."

"Cat."

"Dog."

"Rabbit."

Tohru smiled sheepishly. "Oh, I don't turn into anything. I'm not a Sohma."

"Why don't you tell us about yourself, Anzu?" Shigure smiled, attempting to change the subject. "I've seen a lot of hear-say on the news, but as a writer, I know it's better to get information from the primary source."

Anzu sat back on her feet and picked the picture up off the table, holding it in her lap. "The news has pretty much said everything. All my life, I've only known the inside of my house. Mom was really busy with her career, but she always made an effort to see me or make sure she was near me. My mom's housekeeper and assistant were females and my mom never let anyone in the house besides them. When she died, her assistant tried to take me in but I filed for emancipation and came here instead after I overheard her trying to take advantage of my mom's money. I watched a lot of tv and movies as a kid, so that's how I figured some things out with traveling and, I guess, normal things for you all."

"That's terrible with how everything went down…" Tohru frowned.

"It happened." The redhead shrugged, not wanting to think about it. "I came here because I came across my birth certificate and this picture while in my mom's room. Mom didn't talk about Dad, so I don't know anything about him aside from his passing. Maybe this curse was why…"

Yuki nodded. "That could be a possibility. Taking care of a cursed child usually results in different parenting."

"There's plenty of time to go into that later. It's been a long day for some of us, so let's go to sleep." Shigure stood up with a soft clap of his hands. "Anzu, you can stay in Tohru's room, and Momiji, why don't you sleep with Kyo tonight?"

"Why me?!" Kyo immediately jumped up.

"Because I'm the head of this house." Shigure chuckled to himself and retired to his room before Kyo could complain.

Later on, as the girls got ready for bed, Anzu left to go to the bathroom and brush her teeth. Upon leaving the bathroom, she ran into Momiji in the dark hallway. In the shuffle of everyone heading to bed, she found out that the two were the same age, which surprised her a little. The blond was about to pass by her when she cleared her voice to speak.

"Momiji... I'm really sorry about blaming you earlier."

"It's okay. I know you didn't mean it." Momiji smiled brightly. Lowering his voice a little, he looked into her eyes. "Anzu… You should be careful around Akito."

The girl was stunned by his sudden words. It felt just like before in the room when everyone had suddenly gotten quiet. Was Akito a bad person? Were they dangerous? Seeing as maybe Momiji would explain more to her if she asked, she grabbed his hand as he had already turned to leave. "Are they going to hurt me? Have I done something wrong by coming here?"

The boy looked back at Anzu, his expression hard to read in the dark. "None of this is your fault, so don't ever think that." No matter the look, it was quickly replaced by an innocent, playful smile. "Besides, with a cute smile like yours, no one would do anything to you. Good night, Zu-chan!"

"Z-Zu-chan?" She blinked as the boy skipped off down the hallway. Her cheeks felt a little warm as she thought of the sudden nickname. Although she didn't mind that half of the interaction, in the back of her mind, she was nervous and wary of his previous advice.