Fruits Basket Fan Fiction ❯ Two Families, One Curse ❯ Chapter One: New School, New People ( Chapter 1 )

For those who don't know, I have used the name Armatage before in another fanfic that I have made titled Life Through a Dragon's Eyes. It's in the Yu Yu Hakusho section if anyone cares to read it. Anyway, the character I used in that story was my original design for Armatage. The one I'm using now has her basic features, with a few things missing. Dragon wings for one thing. Anyway, I just wanted to say that so anyone who'd read the aforementioned story would understand.

 

Chapter One: New School, New People

 

 

A new school, a new place, and most others would say something like they were going to make new friends, right? I'm not most people. I won't make new friends, I don't want them anyway. I'm Armatage Matsuki, the outcast, the loner, the….you get it by now.

 

I walk through the doors of my new school on my first day. It's actually the middle of the school year, but I had to transfer somewhere after I got kicked out of the last one. It was some of the other kid's fault too. Okay…so I beat them up a little, it's not like I killed them or anything. I wanted to, but I restrained myself.

 

As I walk through to the halls, I come to a stop at the classroom I'm supposed to be in now. I open the door and walk in; everyone in the class looks up to see who the new person in their school is.

 

Some of them look surprised, probably because of my appearance. I'm not wearing their stupid girly uniform for one thing. I don't plan on wearing in the future either. My normal clothes are fine. I wear a black T-shirt and black pants, that's usually it; nothing fancy. My hair also has dyed blue streaks in it. The rest is black. My eyes though, their usually the first thing people notice about me. Their gold, and with the way I glare at others, they tend to scare people.

 

“Sorry I'm late. I got lost on the way,” I tell the teacher as I take the only empty seat in the classroom.

 

“Miss Matsuki, why aren't you wearing your uniform?” the teacher asks.

 

“Uh…would you believe that these huge, uniform eating moths came to my house and ate it?”

 

He sighs, obviously already giving up. Aw, that's no fun. I enjoy torturing the teachers my first few days of school.

 

“Never mind then.”

 

The teacher then continues to drone on about whatever it was that he had been talking about before I came in. I don't pay attention as usual. I don't care enough to do that.

 

As he speaks, I scan the room for opinions on my new fellow classmates. No one too interesting in this school. Pity, looks like it's going to be a pretty boring time here, at least until I get kicked out of this school too.

 

I get through the rest of the school day as I normally would. Annoy a few teachers here, scare a few students there, it's all so very….boring. I need some excitement, something new. I probably won't find that here though. This school is practically the embodiment of boring.

 

Once the last school bell rings, I head for the door to get out of here. As I walk, I forget to pay attention to where I'm going, and bump into someone.

 

“Sorry,” I mumble, hiding my surprise as I look up to see who it is that I've walked into.

 

I believe he's one of the other students in my class. How do you forget someone with bright orange hair after all? Nothing happened to me when I walked into him though. His eyes are just as wide as mine with surprise. He apologizes as well and I return on my way.

 

“I didn't transform, why?” I whisper to myself.

 

Oh yeah. I probably forgot to mention it, but I come from a family that is cursed. You see, when one of us is hugged, or if we become really weak, then we turn into one of the twelve animals of the Chinese zodiac. All with the exception of me; I'm the cat.

 

With my being the cat, I'm not exactly everyone's favorite person. It's the opposite actually. Just about everyone hates me. I don't let it bother me too much anymore. Let them hate me if they really want to.

 

As I walk back home, I continue to wonder why nothing happened when I bumped into that boy. I live in an apartment by myself. Luckily, the landlord there will actually let sixteen-year-olds do that. Most of the rest of my family lives at Matsuki House. I just up and left a few months ago. I couldn't take living there anymore.

 

As I walk I once again forget to pay attention to where I walk. I really need to learn to do this when I'm in deep thought. I walk into a man on the street, transform with a puff of black smoke, and all that's left is a black cat with golden eyes. I run away and hide behind the nearest building before someone notices.

 

::Kyo's POV::

 

That girl….who is she anyway? Nothing happened when she walked into me. That shouldn't be possible unless she's part of the zodiac, and I know she's not. Our teacher said her last name before. It was….Matsuki I think.

 

I don't tell any of the others about what's happened, wanting to find out for myself first. I decide to take a walk after school, hoping to clear my head, and to get away from that damn rat Yuki.

 

As I walk I see her. She looks the same as before, almost lost in a way. I walk faster towards. I'm determined to get the answers I want no matter what. Suddenly, she walks into another guy and I see that familiar puff of smoke that always comes when one of the zodiac transforms. As the smoke clears, I see a black blur speed past me and hide behind a tree.

 

“You're kidding,” I mumble as I go to pick up her clothes and walk in the direction of the blur that I had seen.

 

When I get there, all that I see is a black cat. It has the same eyes as that girl, those piercing golden eyes. It has to be her.

 

I pick the cat up. She protests, trying to squirm out of my grip, but I hold onto her tightly. Once she stops moving, I begin to walk quickly away from the spot, trying to find a suitable place for her to transform back in, and hoping that she doesn't transform while I'm still holding her. That would be way too hard to explain to people.

 

I find an alley with a dumpster in it, place her behind it, and quickly step away just in case.

 

“You can stop acting like a cat now. I'm not stupid you know,” I say as I wait.

 

“How….how did you know? Why didn't I transform back at school? Who the hell are you?” I hear a feminine voice ask from behind the dumpster.

 

“So I was right. You're that girl from before. What's your name?” I ask.

 

“I asked you first.”

 

“Kyo Sohma, now it's your turn,” I reply.

 

She hesitates for a second, as if telling me her name could be life threatening to her.

 

“Armatage Matsuki,” I hear her say right as she transforms back.

 

“You're new at school huh?”

 

“Yeah...uh, Kyo,” Armatage says as she sticks her head out from behind the dumpster.

 

“Yeah, what is it?”

 

“Can I have my clothes back now?”

 

I look down at the clothes in my hand. I had nearly forgotten that I had brought them with me. I feel myself blushing, quickly turn my head the other way, and hand Armatage her clothes. She takes them from me, whispering words of thanks.

 

Once Armatage is though dressing she steps out from behind the dumpster.

 

“You still haven't answered the rest of my questions yet Kyo Sohma,” she says.

 

“Oh, right. Well, I knew because….I have the same curse as you, and that's how I knew that it was you when you transformed before,” I reply.

 

“Your family has the zodiac curse too?”

 

“Yeah, we do, unfortunately for us,” I tell her, her eyes light up with excitement as I say this. The look seems rather out of place in her.

 

“What animal are you?” she asks enthusiastically.

 

“I'm the….cat, like you are.”

 

“There's a whole other family that we didn't know about. Wow, I never thought I'd see the day,” she whispers, I'm not sure if she's only talking to herself, or to me as well.

 

A serious look comes on her face when she looks into my eyes again.

 

“You can't tell anyone about this. You know that, right?” she asks.

 

“Yeah, well, I'll keep your secret, if you keep ours,” I answer, putting out my hand for her to shake.

 

“It's a deal,” she replies, shaking my hand and sealing the deal.