Ch1- Countdown to oblivion

Tohru awoke with a yawn. She sat up slowly, rubbing her eyes with the back of her arm. She was exhausted. With the end of her senior year approaching, the future loomed ominously before her.

A future without the Sohma's.

For the past few weeks her sleep had become restless. She was plagued with a persistent sense of guilt and fear. Looking at the clock beside her bed she sighed; five forty-five; she scooted off the end of her carnation coverlet and into her fluffy pink slippers. Four hours ago she'd been staring, bleary-eyed, at the ceiling. Now she needed to prepare the house for the morning routines. Her alarm was set so that she would awaken early enough to not only ensure breakfast was prepared for Shigure, Kyo and Yuki, but also early enough to do some serious thinking.

She began preparing a traditional Japanese breakfast with all the precision of a mechanized automaton. Her hands flew with such artless grace an observer would have been awed. Not a single movement was wasted. However, Tohru's mind was not on the breakfast. It was on the family she had grown to love. The family she had claimed as her own- if not aloud for others to hear, then silently, in the warm sunlit places of her heart.

She'd been trying for two years to break the curse holding the Juunishi captive. For two years her attempts to unlock the secrets of the curse had come to naught. She knew with chilling certainty that at the end of the school year she would no longer be allowed to live with the Sohmas. Akito had made that quite clear. Her heart felt heavy as she slid into a chair at the table, absently sipping on the tea she had made herself.

As they often did her thoughts turned to the two males at the center of her devotion. Yuki had truly blossomed over the past couple of years. He smiled often now, that real smile that before had been so rare- and not just at her. She often found herself staring in pride at him as he graced a member of the student body government with one of those special smiles that had so long been reserved solely for her. Whenever he did her heart ached with the pleasure of it. She couldn't bear the thought of that smile locked away from the world forever; locked away to be given only to Akito, the cause of Yuki's many masks.

And what of the girls? She knew Kisa and Rin would also suffer, locked up on the Honke with Akito. For some reason Akito hated women, particularly women whom he felt got too close to the members of his Juunishi.

But most of all Tohru worried about Kyo. Her stomach did a slight flip flop and she took a deep breath to control the nausea. Her own boldness startled her even now. Just thinking of what she had done caused her to blush at her own temerity.

She had asked Kazuma to take her to see the house prepared for the Cat. She shuddered in remembrance…

"…Shishou-san…"

"Tohru!" Kazuma started in surprise. He turned around, noting her serious demeanor and the pallor of her face. "This is a surprise. Won't you come inside?" He gestured into his home. She shook her head, squeezing her eyes shut. Her hands were trembling at how forward she was being. But she was desperate.

"I… I have come to ask a favor of Kazuma-san… that is… if he's not too busy…" She blushed then looked up at him hopefully. Kazuma studied her thoughtfully before sliding his sandals onto his feet and stepping outside.

"I am at your service Tohru-kun."

"I… I need to see the cat's house." Kazuma drew back in surprise His eyes unwittingly glancing behind her, up the hill, to where the cat's house waited.

"Why?" He asked his voice expressionless. He was a bit surprised when her eyes filled with tears. Reaching toward her, he made to put an arm around her shoulders, and draw her close to him, but she stepped back, shaking her head. He allowed his hand to fall to his chest as she spoke to him through a voice broken and worn with fear and sorrow.

"I need to see the place where he will go when school is over. I have done my best. I have tried to break the curse, but I just don't know what to do!" Her hands fisted at her sides as her tears fell. "I don't want to lose them Shi-shou… but I feel time slipping away faster than I can find a solution. I need to know where to find him… because… no matter what Akito says… I will not let him be locked up. I will find a way to his side!" Her last words were fierce and full of a deadly determination that Kazuma was sure was a rarely heard note in Tohru Honda's voice. The long dying flame of hope burning in his breast flickered back to tiny life. Perhaps all was not lost after all. Nodding, he beckoned her to follow him up the hill. The two walked in silence. It didn't take them long.

The house was a small wooden building with wooden slats where windows would have gone. The plants around the house were left to grow slightly wild, red snapdragons and green ivy fought for supremacy around the front porch. Kazuma opened the door, which locked from the outside and Tohru followed him inside. The house was sturdy, but very simple. The floor was a plain dirt floor with bamboo mats laid out in several places. There was a simple cooking hearth and some wooden shelving on one side. In the back there was a sleeping space and then the only modern thing about the little hut; a recently added bathroom consisting of a simple standup shower, a flush toilet, and a sink. The worst thing about the place, Tohru decided, was the darkness. Kyo loved his daily sunbathing on the roof of Shigure's house. Without the sun he would slowly lose any hope he had until he died.

Alone.

Hopeless.

In the dark.

Tohru fell to her knees in the dirt and felt her entire body shake and tremble in nauseous fear for Kyo. Her tears flowed freely from her eyes as deep sobs and small mewling sounds issued up from her chest. The panic she'd been struggling to contain seemed to well up and explode and she could do nothing to hold on to it.

It was her fault.

She hadn't been able to free him.

He would be locked up in this horrible place and it was all her fault! She felt Kazuma sink to his knees beside her and wrap his strong arms around her. She felt so useless! She wished she was strong, like her mother, she was eighteen, practically a woman, yet here she wept like a babe in the arms of a man she hardly knew. Nevertheless she accepted his kind embrace, thankful she was not crying alone.

Kazuma held the girl tightly against his chest as she cried quiet, gasping, stifled sounds that pierced the dark place. Once he would have burned the house to the ground before seeing Kyo locked up there. Then Kyo went and made that stupid wager with Akito that if he didn't beat Yuki by graduation he would allow the family head to lock him up in the cat's house. Kazuma felt little fear for the Godling Akito, but he could not fight his son Kyo's will. Kyo felt it was a matter of honor to fulfill his end of the pledge. He would pliantly go and allow himself to be locked up if he didn't beat Yuki before graduation. Kazuma felt his own tears wet the hair of the girl he held. He had hoped she would be able to free Kyo from the curse as well. But perhaps there was no way to break the curse after all…

So now Tohru sat at the breakfast table sipping her tea trying to think of a way to save the men she loved. She loved Kyo. She loved Yuki. More than anything in the world she wanted to be with them both. She didn't quite think of what she felt for the boys in sexual terms, to do that might require her to make a choice and for her there was no choice to make. Her life without either one would simply destroy her. She accepted this as a fact and all she did was put into the singular goal of making them happy and seeing those rare, real smiles.

Tohru had similar feelings for the other members of the Juunishi, Momiji, Haru, Hatori, Kisa and even Hiro. She truly adored Ayame, Yuki's older brother and she really liked Kagura and Rin. Shigure was like an elder brother always looking out for her. She loved the Sohmas.

But Yuki and Kyo, they were special; they were hers. She didn't know when she began thinking of them, as her own but now it was as natural as breathing to her.

And Akito was going to take them from her.

Akito was going to hurt them again.

Tohru couldn't let that happen, not without a fight, though the very idea was so foreign to her nature she had to ponder over what that would mean to her. She brought the teacup to her lips and looked up as the back door slid open. It was Kyo. He had just finished his morning jog. His orange hair was wet against his head and his sun-darkened skin glistened with sweat as he pulled a water bottle from the refrigerator and began gulping it down. He watched her over the bottle as he drank and she couldn't help but smile at him. He pulled the bottle from his lips.

"What?" He grunted. She just shook her head and stood up.

"I made Kyo-kun breakfast." She smiled as she breezed past him to fetch his meal and lay it out on the table. As she passed him her soft brown hair slid over his skin, strands of soft sienna clung hungrily to his sweat before pulling loose as she walked.

Kyo watched her glide past. He doubted she had even been aware of it, but he had been. He was aware of everything about her. His cat curse heightened his senses as far as she was concerned. He could smell her as she came into the house and he knew at school when she was nearby. He knew the way the sun lit up her usually mousy brown tresses, bathing them in gold, and the way moonlight lent her skin a silver cast. When her hair touched him he felt it, every glorious nanosecond of it.

Kyo had never been held much as a child never touched just for the sake of touching. Even when he had gone to live with Shishou, he didn't often allow the man to hold him, unused to it; usually Shishou had to surprise him when he picked him up. But she was different. His body ached at the very thought that she might touch him. He lived for the times when she would slide her small hand into his. He still couldn't believe that she had accepted him- even after learning his true form. Not just pretended- she had been truly terrified- but his leaving had scared her even more. At that time, in that moment something long dead in Kyo's heart blossomed to life and he knew no matter what the future held, just knowing she was a part of the world would be enough to keep him hanging on. When did he start loving her so much?

He went upstairs to wipe down and change. He wouldn't bathe because Shigure complained at the amount of water he used, and besides, no one else was awake right now so that meant he had Tohru all to himself and didn't have to share her with that damn rat or stupid dog. A few minutes later he joined Tohru at the table and began eating the breakfast she had prepared for him.

He watched her from beneath lowered lashes as she studied her cup, seeming lost in thought. He noticed how pale her skin was and the dark circles under her eyes. Finishing his salmon steak, he placed a hand gently on her forehead. Her eyes widened and she looked to him in askance.

"Kyo…"

"Are you feeling okay?" He asked. "You don't look too well." Instead of getting flustered as she usually did whenever anyone worried over her she reached up and grabbed his hand in her own. She wrapped both of her hands around his and he was suddenly conscious of how close they were sitting together.

"I… I'm not really okay." Kyo gasped a shiver running up his spine at the thread of sorrow he heard in her voice. Tohru would never admit to anyone if anything was wrong with her. He remembered the time she had failed one of her tests in school and it took her passing out before she would admit that she wasn't fine. His entire body shifted toward her and his other hand came up to rest on her shoulder, concern registered in every line of his face.

"What's wrong?" He asked tightly, unsure if he wanted to know the answer, unable to bear the thought of not knowing.

"We will be graduating soon… Kyo-kun still hasn't beaten Yuki… I… I don't want to lose Kyo… I don't want Kyo to be locked up in that dark little house without windows. I don't want Kyo to leave me." Kyo gasped, his hand dropping from her shoulder as if she had burned him. He tried to pull away from her, but her hands, so comforting a moment ago, now cloying, refused to let his go. He looked away, his face flushing hot.

"How… How did you know?" He choked out.

"It doesn't matter," she whispered, her voice barely a breath, "I just know. Are you going to do it? Are you going to allow them to lock you away like you were some kind of…" and here she choked as if she had trouble saying the word, "a monster?!" Kyo couldn't look her in the eyes.

"Yes." He snapped, studying the hand so fervently grasping his own. "Yes I am. I gave my word. A man doesn't just say he will do something and then not do it."

"You could run away with me!" Kyo looked up startled at the strength in her voice. "I was accepted to Tokyo college thanks to Yuki's tutoring. We could go together. If you don't like Tokyo we could go somewhere else. You would not ever have to worry about Akito or the curse again."

"It's not that simple Tohru. Akito… he is the God of the Zodiac. I made him a promise. What kind of a man would I be if I broke it?"

"But Akito doesn't care about you! I do!" Kyo looked into her bright blue eyes. His heart, along with his cheeks, warmed at her words. No one but Shishou had ever cared about him before this girl. How could he ever let her go? He sighed, gently disentangling his hand from hers he stood..

"I can't run away. I made a promise to Akito and I intend to keep it. Besides," he glanced from beneath lowered lashes into Tohru's saddened face, "I never want to be the kind of man you could be ashamed of. When you think of me in the future, I want you to remember me with pride. I want to be that kind of man. The kind you can be proud of."

Tohru felt as if her heart would explode with her feelings. Instead she put her hands together in front of her as if in a prayer and said to him, "You already are Kyo-kun."

Yawning hugely, Shigure entered the kitchen. "Ahhh, my little flower, what have you made for breakfast to-" he paused noticing how flustered Tohru looked and the blush staining Kyo's cheeks. "Uh-oh, did I interrupt something?" Shigure asked playfully before leaping to Kyo's side and nudging him with his fan "Was Kyon-Kyon saying something naughty to our little Tohru? Hmmmm?" Kyo leapt to his feet.

"You know what Shigure, sometimes you really piss me off! I'm goin' to school!" With a huff Kyo ran upstairs to get his things and rushed out the door.

"What? What'd I do?" Shigure inquired innocently. Tohru smiled at him and went to get his breakfast. She brought him his newspaper and his coffee as well. As he flipped open the newspaper Tohru's breath caught. Soon all this would be over. Soon High School would be completed and Shigure, along with the others, would return to the Honke with Akito. The gates would be closed and she would not be allowed to bring Shigure his morning paper and coffee again. The sunlight poured in through the window, illuminating Shigure's strong profile. Shigure, suddenly aware that Tohru had not moved away, glanced up and his breath caught at the look of love? Longing? Wistfulness- He saw on her face.

"Tohru…" She smiled brightly at him. He was about to put down his paper but she placed a finger to her lips shaking her head no. What was she- he was quite suddenly shocked to his toes when Tohru, his timid little Tohru, leaned forward to lay her cheek on the top of his hair. His eyes widened as big as saucers as she gently stroked the hair on the back of his neck. After resting there briefly she knelt down beside him. Her eyes met his and he swallowed convulsively as she took his hands in hers. He allowed her to tug the newspaper from him and wrap her tiny, delicate hands around his much larger ones.

"I am so grateful, Shigure-san, so grateful that you have given me a home with you for all these years. I am so thankful that Shigure-san made me a part of his family. After mom died, I was all alone. I knew Grandpa loved me, but half the time he thought I was my mother and the other half he was always so worried. None of the rest of the family wanted me because of mom's history. I told myself it didn't matter, but it did. Here," and she took one hand and rested it on her heart, "here it did matter. Inside of me I was so scared. I didn't want to be alone. Shigure-San, you took away my aloneness! You, and Yuki, and Kyo, and the others, you gave me more than a home, more than friendship, you gave me a family. Shigure-san, I don't know what the future will bring, but I want you to know what you did for me. I will always be grateful to you, and so… I thank you." And she bowed her head clutching one of his hands to her heart as she hid the tears that had burst free on their own. Shigure looked down at the head bent over his arm and a strange little curl unfolded in his chest, his hand twitched and he was shocked to realize his own eyes had welled up. He placed a hand lovingly on her hair.

"Tohru, little flower, the honor has always been mine." He looked up to see Yuki slouched against the wall, a tormented look on his face as he gazed at the girl on the floor. "Come come little flower, your prince has arrived and he looks ready to eat." Yuki straightened up quickly, a mask of calm sliding over his features as Tohru looked up.

"G-Good morning, Sohma-kun."

"Good morning Honda-san." He greeted. Tohru bustled into the kitchen wondering how much of her confession Yuki had just witnessed. He must think her very foolish.

That day as Yuki and Tohru walked to school together Yuki kept glancing at Tohru. Her face was flushed but the rest of her skin was pale. He pondered over what he had heard her saying to Shigure that morning. It had to be graduation, he decided. She had to be worried about going to college and no longer living with them. Yuki tried to ignore the hollow feeling in the pit of his stomach at the unpalatable thought, pushing it aside.

"You'll be fine you know." The words were out before he could stop them.

"Eh?" Tohru questioned looking over at him.

"After graduation, when you go to college. You won't have to take care of us anymore so you can focus more on your studies." She didn't respond. Yuki looked over at her, trying to assess her mood. He gasped. His words seemed to light a fire in her eyes and she turned to look at him, effectively stopping their walk.

"I never would have made it into college without your help Yuki-kun. When I went to high school it was just to keep a promise to my mom. But now I have a chance for a real future, thanks to you. But I don't want it if it means I have to give up you, and Kyo, and Momiji, and the rest."

"Honda-san…"

"Is Sohma-kun returning to the honke to be with Akito after High School?" Yuki bowed his head.

"Akito has made his desires very clear." There was a wealth of bitterness in Yuki's voice. "He is calling for all the Juunishi after graduation."

"But you don't want to go… do you Sohma-kun?" He looked down at her face so fervent, looking up at him so expectantly.

"It… it's not like that. I can't disobey Akito, no matter what I want." Tohru was abruptly frustrated.

"And Kyo?" She asked softly, turning her attention to Yuki's white shoes. "Will you allow Akito to lock him up all alone in the cat house?" Her soft voice took on an unfamiliar edge. "Will you leave him there? Alone? For the rest of his life?" Tohru raised her gaze, lightning in her eyes. Yuki was agog, his mouth dropped slightly open. He'd never seen Tohru so upset. She was actually angry.

She was stunning.

"Well!" She demanded when he failed to answer right away.

"I can't stop it." He began slowly, as if measuring his words, "Akito…"

"Shut Up!" Tohru shouted, her chest heaving as she dropped her books and covered her ears. Yuki was struck speechless by her uncharacteristic outburst. "Akito! Akito! Akito! All the Juunishi always want to blame Akito, but you can't Yuki! There comes a time when blame ends and personal responsibility begins. If Akito locks Kyo up in that dark house you can't stop him, I know that! But you can go see him. You can talk to him. You can sometimes eat your meals with him, and maybe, just maybe, you can unlock his door one day so he can feel the sun on his skin. Akito can lock him up, but only you can decide if you will leave him there! I know you're better than Akito Yuki, I know it!" Before she burst into tears again Tohru blindly turned and ran toward the school.

Yuki fell to his knees watching her run. Her words echoing in his mind I know you're better than Akito, Yuki, I know it! But was he? What did she expect him to do? Yuki was abruptly angry. He was angry at Akito, angry at the situation, but most of all angry at himself for not being the man Tohru expected him to be.

A girl in black, bent over a water fountain, froze mid-drink, her long cascade of midnight tresses froze with her. She stood slowly and turned. Hanajima felt her before she saw her and what she felt made her shiver. She took a step forward struggling to find her voice. Arisa, ever alert, noted her friend's sudden pallor and abruptly began scanning back the way they had come.

"Tohru!" Hana gasped. There was a strange tone in her voice putting Arisa further on edge. Arisa pulled out her lead pipe, brandishing it like a sword, following swiftly on the running heels of her goth-garbed friend. Arisa Uotani knew if something were wrong with Tohru, Hana would know. Hana was connected to Tohru in a way Arisa couldn't explain. She suspected it had to do with the depth of love the girl felt for Tohru. Hana had told Arisa snippets about her life PT- pre Tohru. It was a dark and lonely existence full of guilt and despair. Tohru was more than a friend to Hana. She was Hana's highest reverence.

Arisa saw Tohru running blindly, uncaring of who she shoved aside, which was very uncharacteristic of her. She had her arms out and face down and was pounding down the sidewalk as if demons were chasing after her. Hanajima ran directly into Tohru, flinging her arms around the distraught girl. Arisa's eyes darted in all directions, searching for the source of Tohru's distress. She was completely unaware of the threatening picture she presented as she towered over the two girls huddled on the ground, her pipe resting lightly behind her neck as she scanned the crowded courtyard for threats.

"Are you ready to tell us Tohru?" Hana asked. Arisa looked down curiously. Tell them what?

"I… I don't know w-w-what you mean." She sniffled.

"Your waves have been holding tight to secrets since you moved in with the Sohma's. Lately the waves have been erratic, strangling your chi, you need to trust us Tohru." Hana took Tohru's face in her hands and tilted her head so that Tohru was looking into her still, silver eyes. "Trust us. We will help you."

"You know I've got your back, whatever it is, danger won't get a glance at you." Arisa's voice was low and menacing seething with visceral certainty. She meant it. No one would harm Tohru. Tohru looked into Hanajima's eyes and felt her resolve weakening. Inhaling a shuddering breath she nodded slightly.

"We can't go to class today." Hana and Arisa exchanged looks. Tohru would never miss school unless there was something seriously wrong.

"We'll go to my place." Arisa stated. "Its not far and dad's at work anyway."

Twenty minutes later they were gathered around the kitchen table in the two-room shack Arisa shared with her father. The living space, kitchen and dining area were all combined into one space, there was a bedroom where Arisa slept, and a small bathroom in the back. Her father usually camped out on the old lumpy sofa in the living area. Tohru sat stiffly in her chair her shoulders tense, her chin trembling. Arisa and Hana waited patiently until she was ready to talk. She began, haltingly, at first.

"In three months we will be graduating. I am supposed to stay in a dorm in Tokyo and attend college there. Yuki and Kyo and Shigure and the rest of the Sohmas will return to the main house of the Sohma family." Her voice broke; it took her a couple seconds to regain it, when she spoke again it sounded as though she were speaking through shards of broken glass. "I will never see them again." Hana and Uo both put an arm on Tohru's shoulder.

"Why would they do that to you?" Arisa demanded, outraged, "those assholes, you want me to kick their asses?" Tohru had spent the better part of High school taming Orange top and pulling the stick out of the prince's ass, not to mention making their house into a home and now they wanted to simply throw her away. She would not quickly forgive them!

"No. Don't hurt them." Tohru pleaded, distress clearly in her posture and voice, "I haven't told you everything. I can't tell you the real secret, but I can tell you that Kyo-kun will be locked away and never see the sun again. Yuki will be put somewhere just as dark. Their smiles will disappear and their hope will die and I… I don't want to be in a world without them." Hana pulled back, her eyes meeting Arisa's. In their silvery depths Arisa read darkness there she hadn't known the girl possessed. There was a low hum in the room. Arisa felt the hair on her arms stand on end. Suddenly there was a loud pop. Arisa and Tohru jumped in surprise. A bulb in the table lamp had exploded. Hanajima stroked Tohru's hair gently and the humming in the air slowly dimmed.

"Then we shall see that such a world never comes to pass." Tohru leaned into Hanajima's soothing caress. That's not all." She whispered. "Hatori…the day of graduation, you can't let him get me alone."

"Why?" Arisa demanded. "Hatori, that's the doctor in the Sohma family right?' Tohru nodded.

"Normally they would never do anything to hurt me but… on that day… I think Hatori might be forced to… take something from me." She turned tormented eyes to her two friends. "I'm so stupid. I've tried to help others. I tried to help my friends. They are about to be forced to a place that I cannot follow." She began sobbing in earnest, "It is because I was not strong enough. I couldn't fight for them like I wanted. I just wanted to see them smile. I wanted to help them… like they helped me. I… I… I wanted us to stay together always. But…I'm too weak. Mom wouldn't have given up. She would have fought harder. I never had to fight for anything. I just had to be myself. It was enough that they loved me, and I loved them. But that's going to end and I know… Akito will never let me keep… what's mine." She finished lamely.

"We will not allow them to harm our Tohru." Hanajima stated firmly.

"What do you want us to do." Arisa asked determinedly

"I… I can't go to college." Tohru whispered softly. Hanajima and Arisa's eyes widened at this, their mouths gaping slightly. Tohru clenched her fists at her side. "Akito would find me. He would bring Hatori… they would take what is mine. I have to go somewhere they would never expect me to go."

"Should we leave before graduation?" Arisa asked. Now that the decision had been made she could focus on what needed to be done. They would need supplies, some traveling packs, cash, a car if possible, food that would last a while, a first aid kit and some minor weapons.

"No." Hana said in her eerily calm voice. "Tohru promised to graduate. Her quest is not yet done. But on that day a new quest will begin. The quest to free the butterfly inside her and free the Sohma's from their prison." Tohru looked at Uo-chan and Hana-chan. They were already making plans to throw away their own goals and dreams just to help her with hers.

"I can't let you guys do this. Not for me. You guys have your own lives, Hana-chan, you were going to go to America for the summer and Uo-chan, there's your job. I can't ask you two to give up your dreams for the future just for me. It wouldn't be right!"

"Hey!" Arisa snapped, slamming her fist into the table. "Do you think I care about waiting tables at some damn restaurant when my friend needs my help? No way! My future has always been at your side. Ever since that first time when you and your mom called me Uo-chan. You guys gave me something I never knew I needed. You were my family. A family sticks together and helps each other through the hard times. There's no way I'd let you take off alone. Besides," she lifted her chin and brought up her lead pipe slapping it into her hand with practiced precision, "you said you wanted to be strong didn't you? Well I can teach you to fight. Then no one will mess with us, not even this Akito person!"

"And my dreams have always been about you, Tohru." Hanajima intoned calmly. "America can wait. You were the answer to my prayers back then. I was all alone in the dark. Then you came and pulled me out to the sun again. You taught me how to smile and I found my way to life again because of you. You said you cannot bear to be in a world where Yuki and Kyo do not exist, but I cannot bear to be in a world where my Tohru is not happy and smiling. If Kyo is going to be put into the dark, then I know you are the one who can bring him back to the light."

"Uo-chan, Hana-chan… Tohru's eyes shimmered with gratitude through her tears. "Thank you both. I am so lucky to have such good friends. Please, help me to become strong so I can save Yuki and Kyo."

The three made a plan. Hanajima would get some money from her family, her little brother Megume would help. Arisa would look for a car. They would go to Hanajima's grandmother's hometown of Hume. It was a small coastal village near the southern tip of Japan. It was very old world, but none of the Sohma's would know of Tohru's connection to it. Arisa would just let her father know they were leaving; he'd never cared too much one way or the other. They would leave two days after graduation the weekend before the summer break began. It made Tohru's heart break at the thought of leaving Kyo and Yuki, but there was still a chance they might change their minds and come with her. With their plans laid, Uo-chan headed out to her job and Hana-chan headed home.

Tohru walked quietly back to the house she shared with the Sohma's. She didn't have work today so she could relax at home and study a little. Yuki was waiting on her in the doorway, concern painting a mask of worry on his face.

"Honda-san, are you alright?" Tohru smiled, the first real smile she'd had all day.

"I'm okay Sohma-kun. Sohma-kun is so kind to worry about me." Yuki eyed her suspiciously, albeit somewhat relieved at the genuine smile she gave him.

"I was worried about you. I missed you at school today. After our conversation this morning…" He let the sentence trail off, unsure of what to say. Tohru laid a gentle hand on Yuki's arm. He looked into her forgiving smile, almost drowning in the caring he saw reflected in her eyes.

"Yuki-kun is kind. He is scared about the future. I had no right to become angry. You always try your best. I just want Yuki-kun to know how very much he means to me… how much I will miss him when I can no longer prepare his meals and talk with him." Yuki felt a warm flush steal over his face.

"You have made me into a better person, Honda-San. I will be able to bear being locked up because I will remember our days at the secret base, our moments together in this house, and the rare beauty of your smile. Your kindness has saved me Honda San."

"Then Yuki must not forget to smile when he is at the main house." Tohru whispered fervently. "You will not be alone there. I know you find your brother exhausting but he loves you Yuki-kun. And the rest of the Sohma's, Haru-san, Hatori-sama and Momiji-kun, they are your family. Do not deny them your real face. Show them your real smiles too and I will be happy." Yuki looked down at her. She was so serious, so earnest. Why did she care so much about his smiles? How did she know what he was most afraid of was being locked up and never having any reason for smiling again. He smiled right then, for her. She smiled back, one of her gentle and beautiful smiles that reminded him of pictures of angels he'd seen in paintings.

"There it is," she sighed, "that is the smile Yuki must never forget. That is the face I know Ayame would love to see." He stared bemused as she lowered her eyes and went into the house.

Inside she began a load of laundry before going upstairs. She thought of checking Kyo's room for him but she just knew he would be up on the roof sunbathing. As she climbed the ladder to the rooftop she smiled when she saw him lying there.

"Mind if I join you?" She asked softly.

"If you want to." Was his noncommittal reply. Needing no further urging she moved to his side. He was lying on his back, a white tee shirt hung off his lean frame and loose black track shorts clung to his thighs. He sat with his knees up, eyes closed as the sun bathed his skin in warm golden rays. Suddenly she had the strongest desire to touch him.

She looked down at her knees, flushing at the thought. Yet- soon there would be no more chances. Her hand began itching to feel him; his hair, his skin, just some solid piece of him beneath her palm. She looked at him again, he was breathing deeply, utterly relaxed. He looked so young, so boyish, so free. His normally angry eyes were smooth in sleepy repose. She slowly scooted herself higher on the roof so that she was slightly above him. Tentatively she lowered herself to her side, supporting her head with her arm resting its weight on her elbow.

She reached out with her free hand and with one finger gently stroked the hair resting on his forehead. She remembered when she was young her mother used to smooth her hair back when she was trying to rest. It had always been so relaxing. She waited to see if he would object, when he didn't she continued her tender ministrations. His orange hair was soft and silky, slightly damp at the roots from perspiration. His scent was very appealing and Tohru lowered her head to the side of her arm not only to relax more, but also to inhale the heady male fragrance of him. She felt an uncurling warmth in her lower stomach stretch lethargically, reaching warm ribbons of soft, itching, heat into her chest. Her skin felt strangely sensitive. She smiled. She loved being close to him like this. Instead of just one finger she slid her entire hand into his tangerine mane. It sprang up beneath her hand and she giggled softly. Looking to his face she caught him staring at her, a strange look in his eyes. Her breath caught and her hand stilled, but she did not remove it from his hair, they clenched reflexively due to her sudden nervousness.

"What are you doing?" He asked softly.

"I'm sorry. Mother used to do this for me. I couldn't help it. I just wanted to… feel you. Do you want me to stop?" She queried uncertain, her face a mask of contrition. Kyo pretended to yawn, though in truth her touch was sending his male hormones into overdrive.

"No, you can keep it up if you like, it makes no difference to me." He would burn in hell for that lie, he knew. His entire body hummed with pleasure as she ran her fingers through his hair. He was pretty sure if she knew just how much he really did enjoy what she was doing she would turn several shades of red and immediately flee the rooftop in terror.

He never reacted this way to any other female. All the girls at school, they were nothing to him. He had eyes for just one girl. The girl who lay next to him, drowsily stroking his head as if he were the cat he transformed into. He allowed his eyes to drift shut again. He blinked again only when her hand stilled its gentle petting. When he saw that she had simply fallen asleep with her hand entwined in his hair, he smiled. He moved his face closer to her body to inhale the smell of her. She was beautiful in every way, and for this moment only she belonged to him alone. For just a few minutes he could pretend…

If anyone had seen the naked longing, the desperate hunger, the shadowed despair, and total devotion that painted his face right then they would have fallen to their knees and wept at the power of his feelings. But no one did see. They never would. It was a moment in time that belonged only to the two of them. Kyo closed his eyes and he too fell into a contented sleep, breathing in her scent as he did so. Had it been possible in his human form, he would have been purring.