Her Otherworldly Smile (Kyo⨯OC; Yuki⨯OC)

「Chapter 04」

"Don't worry," Shigure assures us, though he sounds off. "We're fine."

"Oh, good," Aly says. "Anyway, come on, Skylar. We'd better go make sure that orange cat is okay too."

"Yes, ma'am~" I say, trying not to grin at the thought of Kitty Kyo while I step past the dog, who's still staring at us with an indiscernible expression.

We get downstairs in time to see Tohru in heap on the floor, clutching the cat in her arms like he might disappear if she lets him go. The delivery boy—a guy around our age with dark hair and matching dark eyes—is standing in the doorway, watching her.

"Look!" she says, pointing at the dog beside me and the rat on Aly's shoulder. "They're all animals!"

"Why, yes, those are animals," he agrees, staring at her. "Does Mr. Sohma have pets now?"

"No... that's not what..." she fades off.

He's definitely scared of her, which only makes me chuckle more. "Anyway, that'll be, uh, ¥1,600—"

Shigure trots past me into the living room, grabs his wallet with his mouth, and comes back to hand it to the delivery boy.

He laughs. "Wow! What a smart dog~ Well, thank you for your business~" he sings as he slides the door closed behind himself.

Poor Shigure collapses on the floor, tail falling behind him, as Tohru slides back down on her knees, staring at everything with confused eyes.

"Great!" Kitty Kyo hisses, baring his canines. "How are we going to explain this mess now?"

How cute! Kitten rage!

"Don't blame me!" Yuki retorts with a glare of his own. "You're the one who got us into this, you stupid cat!"

"Say that again; I dare you!"

"Stu—pid. Cat." Yuki pronounces each syllable slowly, emphasizing them.

"Easy to be all brave when you're on someone's shoulder, you—"

"Stop it you two," Shigure barks. "It doesn't matter who's fault it is, and it's too late to do anything but tell them the truth." He turns to the three of us. "Ladies, I'm a dog. Yuki there—he's a rat. And the cat over there hissing in the corner is Kyo. Don't let his temper scare you—he just has a bit of a chip on his shoulder."

Aly tilts her head as Tohru looks at each of them. "So, this is normal?"

"Strange choice of words, but yes. Our family has lived with this curse for generations," he says matter-of-factly. "Twelve members of the Sohma family change into the twelve animals of the Chinese Zodiac."

Kyo growls.

"Right. Sorry. Twelve animals plus the cat," Shigure corrects, sighing. "Anyway, although we don't get any special powers, we can communicate to our respective animals, and when we're under a lot of stress—and, for whatever reason, when we're hugged by a member of the opposite sex—we transform. After a little while, we change back, but the thing is, uh, we—"

He doesn't have to say anything else. Quickly, I scramble over to Tohru, turning her around just in time for another poof.

"—we're naked," Shigure finishes.

I hear Aly squeak, and I laugh. I forgot Yuki was on her shoulder!

She rushes over to me and smacks my arm as the three zodiacs start rooting around for clothes.