Year of the Cat
My name is Kyou Souma. My story is long and complicated, and my life is even more so.My family is cursed. We are possessed by the animal spirits of the zodiac. Whenever one of us is hugged by someone of the opposite gender who isn't part of the family, we transform into our true animals. For instance, my cousin Shigure is a dog. Yuki, he's a rat. I hate that rat. And Kagura, the psycho who's always after my love, is a boar. As for me, well... I'm a cat.
I know, I know... You think there's no such thing as a cat in the zodiac. To be completely honest with you, I wish it weren't. Unfortunately, that's me. Want to hear the story?
A long time ago, there was a banquet for all the animals of the zodiac. As we all know, cats and rats are mortal enemies. The rat, evil and conniving, convinced the cat that there was no banquet. Then, the rat rode the cow's back all the way to the banquet, and the cat missed it.
I'm not so great at telling stories, but you get the idea. Long story short, I don't fit in, and I don't think I ever will.
As for the Juzu beads, I can't tell you what those are for. Maybe if you're really lucky (unlucky, rather), you'll find out someday...