Sorry, sorry! I need to stop making promises for when I'll update, because it never comes when I think it will… I posted as soon as I could! I know, not soon enough… -_-' Although, to make up for it, I did make this chapter even longer than the previous two, so forgive me? Just to warn people, unless you've read the manga all the way through, there are spoilers in this chapter.

*spoilers* Uo and Kureno have met, but Tohru hasn't found out that he's actually to one Uo met. Kureno doesn't know that Uo and Tohru are friends. Tohru doesn't know about Akito's gender. This information will prevent confusion later. Hopefully…

Hana has a sort of speech later in the chapter that I felt was kind of forced, but it needed to be said. If you can think of a better way for the scene to go, don't hesitate to PM me! (you'll know the scene when you get there)

Without further ado, I present to you the final chapter of Surprising Developments! Afterward, I'll go through and give the chapters actual names instead of just Chapter One, Chapter Two, etc…

"Come in," Akito's voice was soft, calling the three girls into the room. Shigure was forced to wait outside as they carefully stepped through the doorway and the door was closed behind them, cutting them off from the world outside the room.

"Ah, Tohru. It has been far too long since I last saw you. The circumstances were different, then," Akito said, walking over to Tohru and twirling a strand of her hair around his finger as she stood as still as possible. "Our bond, sadly, is not complete. Can you feel it?"

"I don't know what you mean," Tohru replied with a slight frown.

"The zodiac spirit inside you is disoriented. Suddenly switching bodies can do that, you know. It has yet to accept my role as its god, and you aren't yet bound by my rule. It won't be long yet, however. Please, introduce me to our newest little sheep," Akito commanded.

"This is Arisa Uotani," Tohru said, nodding towards the other girl, who was glaring at Akito. He spoke gently, but there was something definitely unlikeable about him. She couldn't put her finger on it.

"Uo," she corrected stiffly. Akito looked her up and down.

"I'm not one to let strangers into my family, Uo. I expect you to earn your place amongst my Juunishi," Akito informed her. "But worry not. I will love you just the same."

"I do not appreciate you intimidating my friends," Hana said coldly. Akito glanced at her.

"You must be Saki. It's a pleasure to meet you. I've heard interesting things about you. Tell me about your abilities," Akito demanded. At that moment, a back door to the room opened, with a figure silhouetted in the doorway.

"Kureno, you're late. When I give you the freedom to go out, it would do you well to remember that I expect you to return to me on time," Akito drawled, beckoning the man inside. The man bowed slightly and came into the room, turning to shut the door behind him. When he turned around, his face finally illuminated by the lighting in the room, Uo gasped, eyes wide. The sound drew all eyes, including Kureno's, to her.

"Arisa?" he asked incredulously.

"Kureno!?" Uo exclaimed. "What are you doing here!?"

"You two have met? Why was I not informed?" Akito asked dangerously. Kureno flinched slightly.

"I met her on one of the days you so graciously let me out, Akito. I was not aware that she was a person of interest to you," he replied, bowing.

"She wasn't when you met her," Akito replied. "You are forgiven."

"Uo, who's this?" Hana asked.

"Remember I was telling you the guy who reminded me of Tohru?" Uo asked. Hana nodded in understanding. Tohru glanced at Kureno.

"Really?" she asked. Uo nodded.

"Excuse me, Akito, but you said she wasn't when I met her. Please tell me, what has changed?" Kureno asked, eyeing Uo worriedly. Her expression darkened.

"When dear Kisa and Hiro were killed, the zodiac spirits were transferred into these two," Akito replied, waving vaguely towards Tohru and Uo. Kureno's eyes widened. There was an unexplained sadness in his eyes when he looked at Uo. "So, Saki. As I was saying, I would appreciate very much if you would explain your intriguing abilities to me. What can you do?"

"I read and control electro-poison waves. I can use them for many things," Hana replied curtly. Akito was starting to get irritated at her lack of detail.

"Yes, but what exactly can you use them for?" Akito asked angrily.

"Most often I use them to identify people. For instance, I can pick out Tohru in a crowd be feeling for her waves. They can tell me personality, motive, age…" Hana said, trailing off. Then she looked sharply at Akito. "Gender."

Uo noticed Hana's sharp glare.

"What are you looking at him like that for?" Uo asked. Sure, he wasn't likeable, but she wasn't sure he'd done anything to deserve Hana's death glare.

"She's been keeping herself bottle dup for a long time. Her waves are chaotic, and I find it unpleasant," Hana replied. Tohru jumped.

"She!?" Tohru asked, looking quickly at Akito, who looked furious.

"How dare you bare in here and mock me!?" she yelled, stalking forward as if to strike her. Kureno grabbed her wrist before she could.

"Akito, you shouldn't harm your guests," he said gently. Akito looked down.

"I did not mean to mock. As I've said, I can feel your personality inside of you. It confuses me why you do not act on how you truly feel. All the sadness and loneliness inside you, why do you turn it to bitterness and hatred? Why is it that you force your will onto others when you want so desperately to be accepted?" Hana asked. Akito's eyes widened. She almost looked scared.

"What is it to you!?" Akito screamed. "You're just making that up anyway! Why would I need anything but my Juunishi! You can't take them from me!"

"The word Juunishi… it scares you. Why?"

"It doesn't scare me! I'm not scared of anything!" Akito said softly.

"You are afraid of what it implies. Because they are Juunishi, you are afraid that they stay only because they are attached to you through the curse. You yearn for acceptance, yet you fear false loyalty. Why do you cling so hard to that which you fear?" Hana asked quietly, putting a hand on Akito's shoulder. To everyone's surprise, Akito didn't throw her off.

"That's…" Akito whispered, tears coming to her eyes.

"You're afraid of being alone, aren't you? You don't want to be forgotten. And so you cling to your fear of lies in order to cater to your need for friends. Why not try for both?" Hana asked softly. "Do you think it impossible? Inside, I can feel that's you're like a lost child. You're confused, scared. You need to be cared for, but you don't know where to find it." Akito was outright sobbing now, and suddenly launched herself at Hana, clinging to her tightly. Hana's expression softened, and she put her hand on Akito's head, stroking her hair.

"Won't you open up to us?" Hana asked softly, almost cooing. She ignored the other three, all staring at the scene in utmost shock. "Let yourself out of the cage you've locked your heart in. What do you think it is that's making you so sick?"

At Hana's last statement, Akito froze, then looked at her.

"But they'll leave me! They'll all leave, and I'll be alone! I would rather die than be alone," Akito wailed.

"Will they leave? Really? Some perhaps, but all of them? Kureno has already chosen to stay by your side, despite the fact that he is no longer held by the curse. He can see the you that you try so desperately to hide, as I can. Who is to say others won't realize it too?"

"Stay with me," Akito whispered. "I'm scared."

"I know," Hana whispered, hugging Akito again. "I know."

"You're not cursed?" Tohru whispered at Kureno. He shook his head, not looking away from Akito with a look of pity.

"I'm really confused," Uo whispered at Tohru, who shrugged, just as lost. Hana looked over at them.

"I think it would be best for me to stay," Hana said to her friends. "I will return to you tomorrow."

"No way, we're not just leaving you here!" Uo exclaimed.

"I am not leaving. This poor child needs someone. Anyone," Hana said softly as Akito cried on her shoulder.

"Then I'll stay, too!" Tohru exclaimed determinedly, rushing over and hugging Akito as well. "Akito, I'm so sorry. I never knew that all you needed was acceptance. I promise to be your friend, okay?" Akito nodded mutely.

"But Tohru, Orangetop will be worried if Shigure comes home and says you're staying here! He'll assume the worst!" Uo protested. "I can stay, okay? You need to go home."

"I can't just leave her!" Tohru protested. Uo noticed that Tohru was tearing up for Akito's sake.

"Geez, Tohru. Fine, let's see if she can come with us to Shigure's then," Uo suggested. Kureno was still standing unmoving in a shocked silence, but snapped out of it.

"I'll… get Shigure," he said weakly, and walked out the door, leaving the four girls to their group hug, two of whom were sobbing, one who was humming a soothing, though admittedly rather dark-sounding lullaby, and one who was just really, really confused. (I bet you can't guess who's who! ;P)

"What is it that you wanted me to see?" they heard Shigure asking Kureno as they approached the open doorway. Shigure stopped dead in his tracks. "Is that… crying? Did Akito hurt them!? But he promised…"

"No, nothing like that, Shigure, calm down. I would just tell you, but you wouldn't believe me. I don't even really believe it, and I was there," Kureno said. "Come on."

Shigure walked into the room to the huddled mass of emotion on the floor and stared at them blankly.

"What happened!?" he asked finally. Akito looked at him, tears still in her eyes.

"Don't leave me?" she asked. Shigure walked over quickly and took her hand.

"Akito, what happened?" Shigure asked, squeezing her hand reassuringly.

"I simply told her what she most needed to hear," Hana said. "Tohru and I do not wish to leave her alone, but Uo is afraid that Kyo would react badly to us staying here overnight. I would appreciate it if Akito could be included in our group for the night."

"Uh… sure," Shigure said, surprised. "I'll go tell Hatori to get the car ready," Shigure said, and shot one more questioning look at Kureno before running off to find the doctor.

"Akito?" Tohru asked. "You don't need to be alone anymore, okay? If you ever need anything, don't hesitate to come to me, okay?"

"Thank you," Akito whispered. Tohru felt something inside her reach out and intertwine her with Akito. She gasped.

"Is this…?" she asked. Akito nodded.

"The bond," she said sadly, twisting ever so slightly out of Tohru's grip.

"Akito, she accepted you without it," Hana reminded the broken woman in her arms.

"I liked it better without it. I want it gone," Akito said, clutching to Hana for dear life. "Can you get rid of it? Please?"

"I'm sorry, Akito. I deal in waves. There's nothing I can do," Hana said slowly. "However, I do happen to know someone who deals in curses. We'll go see him tomorrow, okay?" Akito nodded mutely. When Shigure returned with Hatori, the doctor raised an eyebrow, and Shigure shrugged helplessly.

Hana and Tohru held Akito's hands on the walk out to the car, and all four of the girls squeezed into the back seat, Akito's head leaning against Hana's shoulder. The car ride was spent in complete silence, but Shigure kept shooting the back seat an incredulous and confused look, which Hana ignored, Tohru didn't notice because she was too busy comforting Akito, and Uo was giving the other three the exact same look.

When the car pulled up to the house, Kyo was, predictably, waiting on the roof. He jumped down when Tohru got out of the car first, being the closest to the door.

"Tohru, you're back!" Kyo said, sounding relieved. "What did Akito want?" he asked suspiciously. "He didn't hurt you, did he?"

"I'm fine, Kyo," Tohru said distractedly, turning back to the car to help Akito out. She clutched to Tohru for dear life like a child who'd been reunited with its mother. Kyo's eyes widened almost comically. The rest of the group exited the vehicle and they went inside before answering any questions.

"We're back!" Tohru called to Yuki, who came walking around a corner with a relieved expression, which soon mimicked Kyo's shocked face to a T.

"Akito…" Yuki breathed, almost pained. "Shigure, what happened?"

"I wish I knew," Shigure said with a sigh. "I had to wait outside, and suddenly Kureno comes out and brings me back to these four hugging and crying on the floor!"

"Only these two were crying," Hana corrected, gesturing to Tohru and Akito. "I was humming, and Uo was just sort of sitting there."

"I think you four owe us an explanation," Hatori said quietly, eyeing the group. Uo shrugged.

"Leave me out of this. I'm just as confused as you guys, and I was there!" she protested.

"I will explain. When I went in to see Akito, she started asking me about my abilities…" Hana started, but was cut off by Kyo.

"Whaddya mean, 'she'!?" he exclaimed, his eyes going even wider as his gaze shifted to Akito, who was hiding behind Tohru, only her eyes visible above her shoulder.

"Don't interrupt," Hana instructed. "As I was saying, I starting telling her about my abilities. I told her I could use them to sense gender, but most importantly personality and emotions. I simply began speaking truths, and her barriers broke down. I don't believe she'll ever be the same," Hana said.

"She!?" Kyo repeated. Shigure sighed.

"Yes, Kyo. She," he said.

"Come on, Akito, let's get you upstairs," Tohru said, and began leading the other girl up to her room.

"Hey, do you think it's smart to leave them alone together!? Akito has a history of violence, you know!" Kyo hissed.

"For once I agree with him. I don't want Miss Honda getting hurt," Yuki said, glancing after them. Hana almost rolled her eyes.

"I just told you, the real Akito is nothing like the Akito you know. Tohru will be fine. If you'll excuse us, Uo and I have a sleepover to attend," Hana said.

"I wouldn't call it a slee-whoa!" Uo exclaimed as Hana grabbed her arm and dragged her up the stairs.

'Sleepover?" Kyo mouthed incredulously.

"From what I understand, they merely want to keep Akito company while she's so emotionally vulnerable," Kureno explained. "Also… tomorrow, if I heard correctly, they seem to be going out to see someone."

"What!?" Kyo exclaimed. Shigure nodded gravely, his face whitening just slightly.

"Yes. I think that was decided right after Akito begged Hana to get rid of the curse," Shigure said pointedly, waiting for the other two's reaction.

"WHAT!?" both of the teenage boys screamed.

"We can't be talking about the same Akito. Akito relies on the curse! The bond!" Yuki exclaimed. Shigure shrugged.

"Where do they plan on going tomorrow!?" Kyo exclaimed.

"I believe Hana said something about visiting someone she knew who dealt in curses who might be able to help," Shigure replied. "Regardless, I think we all should get to sleep. We've all had varying degrees of shock, and I for one could use the beauty sleep." With this he turned around. "Hatori, Kureno, you're both welcome to stay."

Unsure what else to do, the other four simply followed Shigure's example and collapsed onto the first suitable surface they came in contact with.

The next morning, Tohru woke up bright and early as usual and went downstairs to make breakfast. When she was finished, she set it aside and went back upstairs to check on Akito. She'd woken up by then, and was sitting up, hugging her knees and staring blankly ahead.

"Akito?" Tohru half-whispered so as not to wake the other two. "What's wrong?"

"N-nothing. I was just- waiting. Hana is still asleep," Akito said, standing up. "And I wasn't sure where you'd gone."

"I just had to make breakfast. Would you like to join me downstairs?" Tohru asked.

"I… don't know if I should. I've done awful things to them, they'll never be able to forgive me. I'll never be able to forgive myself," Akito said, her voice getting quieter as she spoke. She ended the sentence by clenching her fist and looking down. Tohru could see a single tear fall from her cheek.

"It's okay. You're just as much part of this curse as we are. It did things to your mind. They'll understand. Come on," Tohru pressed. Finally Akito nodded, and followed behind Tohru, gripping the cloth at the back of her shirt.

Akito was eating slowly, nibbling at her food, when Kyo woke up. He walked in, narrowed his eyes suspiciously at her, then disappeared into the kitchen to check on Tohru.

"I don't like this," Kyo mumbled, leaning against the counter.

"It's fine, Kyo. I promise. Trust me, okay?" Tohru asked. "I have breakfast ready. Uo and Hana will probably be awake and done before anyone else, so can you make sure everyone finds their food? We'll want to be leaving as soon as possible."

"You really think that whoever it is that Hana knows will be able to break the curse?" Kyo asked. Tohru shrugged.

"It's our best bet. We've got to try," Tohru said. At that moment, true to her predictions, Uo and Hana came down, and the four girls ate together while Kyo watched from the doorway of the kitchen suspiciously and protectively.

"We should go. I should call ahead so they're expecting us," Hana said. Uo rolled her eyes.

"Hana, they're always expecting you. You live there," Uo reminded her.

"I suppose," Hana agreed. "It's not too far to walk, but if you'd rather drive…"

"Walking's fine. Just as long as we can get rid of this stupid confining curse," Akito said. "And you don't leave me," she added in a half-whisper. Hana put a reassuring hand on her shoulder.

"I have no curse to speak of, so you must know that I am going nowhere. And based on what you know of Tohru, would she ever do something so hurtful? And Uo… well, she's with us," Hana said. Akito nodded.

The group walked in silence towards their destination, and the feeling of general anticipation grew with every step. Finally, they approached the front door. Before any of them could even reach towards the door, the object of their trip opened the door and looked up at them.

"It took you longer than I thought it would," Megumi said monotonously. Hana nodded her head in acknowledgement.

"Arisa slept later than I'd anticipated. Did you do what I asked?" Hana inquired.

"As soon as I heard your request. Come inside, I made tea," Megumi instructed, ushering the four girls inside and eyeing Akito quizzically.

"Megumi, this is Akito, the head of the Sohma family. Akito, this is Megumi, Hana's younger brother!" Tohru introduced cheerfully.

"It's nice to meet you. You really needn't have come, Saki. You knew as well as I do that it's just a matter of waiting, now," Megumi intoned. The three who weren't Hanajimas looked on in puzzlement.

"I am quite aware. However, I thought it might be best to have you reassure them. Not everyone understands our abilities," Hana reminded him.

"True," Megumi noted, pouring tea.

"Uh, I hate to state the obvious, but the rest of us have absolutely zero clue what you two are yapping about," Uo informed the siblings, who both glanced over at the other three simultaneously.

"Ah, you are correct. You see, Megumi is already working at getting rid of your curse," Hana said. "And he has been since around… six yesterday evening. But curses, both the starting and the ending, take three days for Megumi to complete. So the curse will break Tuesday evening."

"Just like that?" Uo asked incredulously. Hana shook her head.

"The work on Megumi's part is far more in-depth and complicated. I suspect he won't be able to go to school, as his time will be consumed with meditation, but I suppose for you, it will indeed, as you say, be 'just like that'."

"Thank you," Akito breathed, tearing up. "It'll finally be gone." Tohru squeezed her hand.

"As much as I'd love to stay and chat, we should go tell the others!" Tohru exclaimed. "They'll need to know. And besides, we're probably distracting Megumi!"

"Anything to help you guys, Tohru. As long as Hana keeps her end of the promise," he said with an evil glint in his eye.

"Of course. By any means necessary," Hana said seriously.

"What'd you promise him?" Uo asked suspiciously.

"That I'd get to see you in a miniskirt," Megumi answered automatically and unabashed.

"You are a lecherous little old man child," Uo accused. She shot a dagger glare at Hana. "And you shouldn't encourage him!"

"Just once, Arisa. It was the only thing he wanted when I asked him to help," Hana said. Uo grunted, but nodded grudgingly.

"After the curse is gone, and not a moment before," Uo agreed hotly. "Come on, Tohru, you were right. Let's get out of here. You coming Hana? Akito?"

Akito nodded hurriedly, but Hana hung back. "I will stay here. I will see the two of you at school tomorrow," Hana said, and showed them to the door.

They walked back with a considerably lighter mood, most of it emanating from Tohru, who was babbling happily.

"Isn't it wonderful, Akito!? Megumi's going to break the curse, and we'll all be free! And don't worry, I'll still be your friend! And everyone will be able to live a normal life! Oh, this is wonderful!" Tohru gushed.

"Yeah," Akito agreed with a half-smile on her face.

"You guys are back already?" Kyo asked, poking his head out the door and shooting a quick glance at Akito before quickly turning his gaze on Tohru. "Where'd you go? Where's Hana?"

"We went to Hana's house. She stayed there," Tohru explained happily, looking about an inch from bursting out and telling him the good news.

"I thought you were trying to get the curse broken or whatever?" Kyo asked confusedly.

"Megumi works in curses, remember, oh smart one?" Uo asked, rolling her eyes. Kyo's eyes widened.

"So… what happened?" he asked.

"Are Shigure and Yuki both home?" Tohru asked. Kyo nodded and shrugged.

"Gather everyone in the living room," Tohru instructed as they walked into the house.

"Yo, rat boy! Dog breath! Get in here a second, they're back!" Kyo called over his shoulder, and led them into the living room, perching on the arm of the couch. Within seconds the other two came in.

"What happened?" Shigure asked, quirking an eyebrow at them.

"All we have to do is wait," Uo informed the room at large.

"Hana got Megumi to undo the curse for us, and all we have to do is wait until Tuesday!" Tohru exclaimed happily. The other three looked taken aback.

"Really?" Yuki asked, his mouth hanging open slightly in shock. Tohru nodded enthusiastically.

"So… it'll really be gone? The zodiac spirit?" Shigure asked, sounding like he was trying to keep himself from hoping for it or daring to believe it.

"Yeah. Gone. Whoosh," Uo emphasized the onomatopoeia with a flamboyant hand gesture.

The room was silent for a moment, each individual stewing in their own private thoughts for a moment.

"Call the Juunishi together," Akito requested quietly. "They all need to know."

Less than an hour later, all thirteen Juunishi, even Kureno, whose curse had already been broken, were gathered together.

"Tohru, will you tell them? I just… I'm not sure how to face them now that I'm not… me anymore," Akito explained lamely, but Tohru understood the sentiment and nodded her understanding.

"We have some good news!" Tohru announced to the room at large. Those who didn't already know what she was going to say looked at her with sharp attentiveness, especially the ones who were still confused with Tohru and Akito's newfound friendship. "The curse… well, it's going to be gone by Tuesday evening!"

*crickets*crickets*crickets*

"What did you say!?" Haru asked, shocked.

"You heard her, dimwit, now shut up!" Kyo said tensely.

"Knock it off, you two!" Rin said, glaring between them.

"You mean I'll be able to hug Momo?" Momiji whispered to himself, tears flowing freely down his face. "I'm so happy!"

"I'm going to finally be able to expose my long, slender arms and legs to the sun and wear short sleeved shirts and shorts!" Ayame grinned. "A whole new world of possibilities opens up!"

"No, no, Aya… only I'm allowed to see you exposed like that," Shigure whined.

"Fret not, my Shigure, for I was merely jesting. You know that I belong solely to you," Ayame reassured.

"Yes!"

"Idiots. Now is not the time for this. This is serious," Hatori scolded.

"Quite right, Hatori. Such behavior is completely inappropriate in this tense and life-changing atmosphere!" Ayame declared.

"That was a quick change of attitude," Yuki commented.

The group quickly fell into their usual banter, and Akito watched on longingly. Tohru noticed and walked over to talk to her. Momiji aided her cause and opened up to Akito, slowly at first, but more and more when he noticed the drastic changes in Akito. The others gradually joined the conversation until Akito was talking freely as part of the group, no longer standing above the circle, but completely immersed in it. The whole story was explained bit by bit throughout the conversations.

Akito stayed at the main house that night when Tohru and the others went back home. Tohru went to sleep early, wanting to get some extra rest since she'd fallen slightly out of the habit of a school morning's schedule.

The next morning, the three teens went back to school.

"Ah, you three. Would you care to explain where you've been?" the teacher asked when they walked in.

"Two of our cousins died. Miss Honda was very close to them as well. We left for emotional reasons," Yuki explained. The teacher nodded.

"I'm sorry for your loss. I've made packets of the work you missed. Just make sure I get it by the end of the week, all right?" he instructed, and handed them their assignments.

Unfortunately, this was repeated in all of their classes, and they were soon buried under a mountain of homework. The next night, Tohru didn't get to sleep until three in the morning, but did manage to struggle through all of her makeup work. Kyo did similarly, while Yuki put it off and slept like normal, as he was the only one of the three who didn't have plans for the next evening other than getting the curse lifted, which, in his view, would be good no matter what he was stuck doing, so since he had a week to do the work, he could afford to put it off. For some reason, Tohru and Kyo seemed to think that if their homework wasn't done before their date then it would be ruined, or something strange and silly like that.

Unfortunately, this bout of late-night studying made the two teens sleep late, and a very annoyed, half-asleep Yuki woke up to find that Tohru hadn't gotten up and made him breakfast. After considering his options, he felt it would be best to allow her to sleep, and tried to make himself toast. His plan backfired, however, when he burnt the toast and accidentally set the fire alarm off, consequentially waking up the other residents.

After calming everyone down and assuring them nothing was actually on fire, Yuki sat down and waited for Tohru to hurriedly scrape something together, and the three teens walked to school. Well, halfway to school. After that, Kyo and Yuki walked alone, due to the fact that a black car pulled alongside them, someone in vary Halloween-y ninja clothes dashed out of the back seat, flung a shrieking Tohru over their shoulder, threw her into the back of the car, handed a stunned Yuki a note, jumped back into the car, and sped off.

Kyo let out a strangled sound, gaping after the car, as a very tense and worried Yuki unfolded the piece of paper, relaxed visibly, rolled his eyes, dropped the paper, and continued walking to school. Based on Yuki's reaction, he realized it must not be anything to worry about, but after a glance at the note the rat hat dropped, he had to disagree.

My Dearest Yuki,

Fret not, mon frère! Our lovely Princess Tohru is safe with me! She has a fitting for a dress to take care of before her date with Kyonkichi tonight, and I intend to spend the entire day shopping for additions to her wardrobe that will complement Kyo's usual attire! Also, anything that matches the dress that Kyo so diligently helped me design for her! I will be sure to return the princess by the time school is out!

-Your eternally loving and dedicated brother, Ayame Sohma

Although Kyo no longer worried for Tohru's immediate safety, there was one thing in particular that bothered him about the note.

"What the heck's he talking about, a dress!?" Kyo asked, dashing to catch up with Yuki, who merely smirked at him and kept walking. "Oi, ratboy! What dress!?"

"I'm not surprised you don't remember, stupid cat. After all, you were pumped full of catnip at the time. Didn't you ever wonder what you did while you were at Ayame's? You were complaining the next day that you couldn't remember, right?" Yuki said, still smirking in a superior kind of way.

"So Ayame gave Shigure the catnip idea? I'll kill him!" Kyo moaned, before realizing what else Yuki had said. "Ayame actually got me to design that stupid dress he wouldn't shut up about!?"

"Apparently. Or weren't you paying attention to what you were reading?" Yuki asked, rolling his eyes.

"Oh, shut up! What did he get me to do!?"

"How should I know, baka? It's not like I watched you two sketch! I was happily asleep at the time, if you'll remember!

"But you saw how I acted last time! He could've gotten me to do anything!" Kyo insisted, shuddering at the horrible possibilities.

"Yes, well, unless you turn into Shigure when you get high on catnip, then hopefully we don't have anything to worry about. Regardless, there's not much you can do about it. Let's just go to school and get it over with. And Kyo?"

"What?" Kyo asked irritably.

"Take good care of her," Yuki said, and hurriedly disappeared into the school building, leaving Kyo to wonder when the world had gone insane.

Meanwhile in Ayame's Shop…

"Tohru, cease dawdling and come inside! We have to have you fitted and accessorized in time for tonight!" Ayame whined, dragging Tohru behind him.

"But… but… Ayame I have school!" Tohru exclaimed, unsure what he meant by fitted and accessorized.

"I'm sure that Yuki and your beloved Kyonkichi will make your excuses for you! Besides, I must prepare you for your night of romance! All else is of little importance!" Ayame exclaimed.

"Night of what!?" Tohru exclaimed. "You mean my date with Kyo?"

"Why of course! Kyonkichi was kind enough to help me design a dress for you to wear tonight when he came over!" Ayame said happily. Tohru turned scarlet.

"He did? That doesn't really sound like Kyo…" Tohru said slowly. Ayame grimaced a little bit.

"Well, to be entirely truthful, I did have to… ah… persuade him a bit. I was the one who discovered the potency of catnip!" Ayame declared, pushing Tohru through the door into the shop and locking the door behind him. "Mine! I've brought her!"

"Perfect! Bring her back so I can dress her up and make adjustments!" Mine exclaimed from the back room. Tohru decided that when Mine was involved it was best to cooperate, so she walked into the back room without a fuss, though her apprehension grew with each step. Knowing Mine, this could be a bit overwhelming…

Tohru's hunch was found to be correct as she was wrenched into the back room by the over-eager cosplayer and promptly fussed over. Tohru allowed Mine her fun for a while, and eventually Mine had finished the part she was most excited about; dressing Tohru up.

"The waist could stand to be tightened a bit, but on the whole I think we did a good job!" Mine exclaimed, running an eye over a recently blindfolded Tohru. Mine's excuse was that she wanted the beautiful dress to be a surprise.

"Um… can I take this off now?" Tohru asked cautiously, gesturing to the blindfold.

"Not yet! Not until you're done!" Mine exclaimed, and went about tightening the waistline and letting down the hem just a bit. By the time Mine had finally declared that the dress was finished to her satisfaction, it could've been hours. Mine finally allowed Tohru to take the blindfold off, but wouldn't let her anywhere near a mirror until she'd done hair and makeup. After another hour or two, Tohru was finally deemed acceptable, and was presented to Ayame for a final once over.

"Oh, Mine you never cease to astound! She's gorgeous!" Ayame tittered.

"Now can I look in a mirror?" Tohru asked. Ayame grinned and dragged her over to a full-length mirror. Tohru's eyes widened.

"It's beautiful!" she breathed, glancing at the overall effect of the look. The coloring matched her skin tone well, and the way Mine had curled and braided her hair went well with the slight poof to the dress on the sleeves and below the waist.

"Isn't it strange to think of? Kyo actually has fashion sense!" Ayame exclaimed dramatically, as if this revelation signified the end of the world.

"Um, I still don't quite understand, Ayame. What exactly happened with Kyo… and the dress…?" Tohru asked, unsure how to phrase her inquiry.

"That, my dear, is a long story! And it all started with a text message!" Ayame said, going into epic story mode, which he usually reserved for regaling Yuki with stories of his youth. "You see, I was working in the shop not so long ago when my phone made the strangest of noises. It was similar to the sound of a bell, if I do recall correctly. When I let my gaze pass over the screen, what should greet my eyes but an alert that my dear Shigure had sent me a picture! So, without further ado, I whisked open the small device and read his message. One look at the picture he sent was all it took to make me firm in the resolve that I would have Kyo design a dress for your first date!" Ayame took a breath to continue, but Tohru interrupted quietly.

"Oh, well, I still don't quite get what the picture was of…" Tohru said weakly. Knowing Shigure, even the ever-trusting Tohru had fair reason to be worried.

"Ah! Of course! You see, I believe it was the day that you realized you were possessed! Shigure came up to your room to see you and Kyo in a loving embrace-"

"He saw that!?" Tohru exclaimed, mortified. Ayame's only response was a grin, and Tohru buried her face in her hands.

"And since your feelings had been declared, I took it upon myself to help Kyo with your first courtship present!" Ayame continued, ignoring Tohru's feelings of discomfiture. "So I sent my suggestion to Shigure. My patience waned rapidly, however, and when I could no longer bear the pain of waiting for a response, I took the direct approach and whisked Kyo away myself!

"Hours of tireless efforts, however, taught me that Kyo is too stubborn to give into reason, and my mind was suddenly bestowed with the idea of using catnip to help my purposes! So I rushed to the store, and afterwards Kyo was much more willing to cooperate!" Ayame finished his story with an elaborate gesture of his hands and a flamboyant bow, then grabbed one of the hands still covering Tohru's face and dragged her by the wrist out of the shop, Mine scurrying behind. At Tohru's questioning glance, he explained, "No outfit is complete without accessories, Tohru! Come, come! It's time to go shopping!" he sang the last word loudly, attracting the curious glances of many pedestrians going in the other direction. The extravagant appearances of all three did nothing to dissuade their interest.

After dragging Tohru from malls to jewelers to thrift stores to any random store they came across, Ayame and Mine finally decided that they had done enough window shopping, and went back to the stores that held their favorite pieces, Tohru all the while protesting that they shouldn't be spending their money on her and that the beautiful dress was more than enough.

"Tohru!" Ayame whined. "The dress is Kyo's gift! We want to get you something from us to congratulate you!"

"Oh, but…" Tohru began to argue, but Ayame had already turned to the register to buy the pink earrings and orange necklace that had brought them back to the jewelers. After insisting that she put them on and guilting her into accepting them, Ayame glanced at the clock.

"Oh, we're running out of time! Alright. Mine, you stay here with Tohru, I'll go prepare Kyo! I've taken the liberty of buying him and outfit to complement Tohru's! I didn't have time for anything hand-made, but they'll look quite the pair!" without waiting for either of the two's response, he darted off.

"Come on, Tohru! Let's go!" Mine exclaimed happily, taking over the job of dragging Tohru behind her.

"Uh… go where?" Tohru asked, sweatdropping.

"We should wait for them back at the shop! If plans change, I'm sure Ayame will call!" Mine reassured.

Meanwhile, at school…

Kyo was tapping his pencil on the desk in agitation, something he'd been doing almost all day, unable to stop himself worrying on Tohru's behalf. His mood didn't improve at all when there were loud exclamations of delight from some of the girls sitting by the window. He couldn't hear what they were saying, not that he was really listening, but their voices weren't helping with his headache.

"Stupid cat, stop glaring at the wall. I swear, you're going to burn a hole in it, and you're scaring the teacher," Yuki said, slapping Kyo lightly on the shoulder.

"Oh, shut up! You're way too calm about this!" Kyo retorted, running a hand through his hair.

"Ayame may be… enthusiastic, but he's relatively harmless. I'm honestly more worried about the quality of your mind when you get high. Who knows what you might've come up with for that dress," Yuki shuddered slightly. One of the girls by the window suddenly called out.

"He's coming inside!" She said excitedly. None too subtly, several of the girls in the classroom simultaneously asked to use the restroom. The request was denied, and the teacher tried to rally the students to some semblance of order before continuing with the lesson.

His triumph didn't last long, however. Within seconds of the class quieting down, the door burst open.

"Yuki! Mon frère! How coincidental that I should find you here! I merely came to collect Kyo!" Ayame exclaimed.

"Idiot, you already know my schedule, don't think I didn't catch Shigure copying it for you. You knew perfectly well that I would be in here," Yuki groaned.

"He's your brother!?" the girls shrieked. Yuki sighed unhappily. Kyo, on the other hand, was looking pointedly at everything in the room except Ayame, hoping to escape detection, as if his hair wasn't enough of a giveaway. His meager hopes were dashed a moment later when Ayame put his hand on Kyo's shoulder.

"If you will excuse Kyo, he has important business to take care of elsewhere, and I will be taking him to prepare," Ayame declared, bowing respectfully to the teacher.

"Now wait just a-"

"Thank you for your cooperation! That will be all!" Ayame declared, and whisked Kyo away, kicking and screaming, before anyone could react.

"I do apologize for my brother's behavior, sensei. He's a bit… odd," Yuki sighed. "There's not much we can do."

"Come now, Kyo! You need to stop flailing about, or Tohru will think you don't want to see her!" Ayame scolded. Kyo froze up.

"We're going to see her now!? I may not be experienced at this, but there is no freaking way I'm going on any sort of date in my school uniform when she's dressed up! How lame is that!?" Kyo said hotly.

"Do you know where you're taking her?" Ayame asked, ignoring his question. Kyo's eyes narrowed.

"I had a couple ideas. I was going to let her decide what we did," Kyo said, without giving any details. Ayame sighed.

"Well, at least you're not completely hopeless. Anyway, Kyo, you should have more faith in me! I would never allow you to wear that on your date! The colors would clash terribly!" Ayame said with a shudder. Kyo felt his energy and patience slipping away with every word out of the older man's mouth.

"So let me go home to change!" Kyo said, twisting his arm out of Ayame's grip.

"Don't be silly, Kyonkichi! You can't even remember what the dress looks like! I have chosen an outfit to complement! Come, come! Let us be off!" Ayame instructed, and Kyo grudgingly stomped after Ayame, who was prancing off in the other direction.

Ayame seemed to be heading nowhere in particular until he finally turned off the road…

Towards Shigure's house.

"What the heck, Ayame!?" Kyo shouted, annoyed. "Why'd you drag me all over town just to go to Shigure's when that's where I suggested we go in the first place!?"

"The ladies aren't expecting us for another hour! We had the luxury of time, so we went the scenic route!" Ayame explained with a smile. Kyo's dark mutterings didn't affect his mood at all as they walked up the forest path. Shigure was waiting for them outside the door.

"Shigure! I've brought him! Did you get what I sent you?" Ayame asked excitedly.

"You mean the package you had Mine deliver to me this morning before you took Tohru to the shop? It's sitting on Kyo's bed!" Shigure said cheerfully.

"You knew about this!?" Kyo asked. "Keh. You would."

Shigure grinned at Kyo's pained expression and ushered them inside. Ayame pushed Kyo up the stairs and into his room, then told him to change into the clothes on his bed. Closing the door and standing guard outside, Ayame waited for Kyo to finish.

Inside, Kyo was seriously considering escaping out the window, but something held him back. As long as it's nothing too obnoxious… Tohru'd probably love it if we were made up to look well together.

Full to the brim with apprehension, Kyo nudged open the package on his bed, and sighed in relief. If this goes well with the dress, it can't be anything too bad.

Five minutes later, Kyo emerged in dark-blue-almost-black dress pants and a dark green button-up shirt, though the top two buttons were left undone. He hadn't bothered to tuck his shirt in, and the blue tie he'd been provided was hung lazily around his shoulders, untied. He hated confining neckwear.

"Kyo!" Ayame gasped in horror. "Your general state of untidiness is inexcuseable!"

"If I have to wear this ridiculous outfit anyway, I might as well make it comfortable," Kyo commented. Ayame frowned.

"I suppose there's nothing I can do. Even if I tried to fix it, you'd undo it. Could you at least make it look like a fashion statement by tucking half your shirt in? It gives it a sort of on-purpose feel," Ayame pleaded. Rolling his eyes, Kyo obeyed.

"There. I'm done. Let's go," Kyo said, turning to leave.

"I don't suppose I could convince you to gel your hair?" Ayame asked, half teasing. At Kyo's horrified look, he laughed. "I kid, I kid! Come, let us reunite you at long last with your Tohru!"

They walked all the way back to Ayame's store, and Kyo was getting more and more nervous.

"We're back!" Ayame sang as he walked in the front door. Mine ran to greet him.

"I had her wait in the back room! I thought we were going for a dressed-up look for Kyo?" Mine questioned, eyeing Kyo up and down.

"He wasn't willing to cooperate, but I fell this fits his personality better, anyway!" Ayame nodded. "Now, we shouldn't keep them waiting! Go on, Kyo! Run to Tohru! Embrace he-"

"Oh would you SHUT UP!" Kyo yelled. "I swear, you're just as back as the dog!"

The yelling she recognized so easily from nearly daily experiences caught Tohru's ear, and she peeked her head out the back room door.

"Oh, Tohru! Come out! Give Kyo a fashion show!" Ayame instructed. Kyo spun around, wide-eyed as Tohru stepped fully into the room, looking at the floor self-consciously. She was blushing profusely, and Kyo wasn't much better off. Kyo cleared his throat.

"Uh, you look great," Kyo said gruffly, looking off to the side. Ayame clapped his hands in glee.

"Okay, you two! Enjoy your night!" Ayame instructed happily, and shoved a confused couple out the door.

"I see they got to you, too, Kyo!" Tohru said cheerily, laughing a little at the expression on Kyo's face.

"It's a miracle that either of us even survived." Kyo said with feeling, shaking his head and leading Tohru away from the nutso's store.

"I had fun!" Tohru smiled. Kyo smirked.

"Yeah, coming from the girl who enjoys housework. Come on, Tohru. I had a few ideas, but is there anywhere in particular you'd like to go?" Kyo asked. Tohru thought for a while, then shook her head.

"I don't know… There's just so many places we could go, it's overwhelming!" Tohru said with a pained expression.

"You're not much of a decision maker, huh?" Kyo asked with a smile. "Let's go take a walk in the park or something, I guess. Give you more time to think."

The walk itself was more Tohru's thing than Kyo's. Kyo didn't bother with the scenic stuff, and he didn't walk, he ran. However, despite this, Kyo enjoyed the walk. Mostly due to the fact that Tohru saw it fit to hold hands. She trailed just a bit behind him, chattering away about anything and everything, distracting him to the point that he couldn't even remember exactly when her hand had ended up encompassed in his.

Eventually, Kyo decided to take over the decision making process.

"Why don't we go to dinner? I know it's still a little early for it, but knowing Ayame he probably forgot to feed you," Kyo said with a scowl. Tohru smiled sheepishly as though it was her fault, and Kyo started taking her to get dinner.

It was a moderately nice place, although their clothes would've been out of place almost anywhere. And, of course, Tohru always looked on the bright side. Of everything.

"Oh! I love it!" Tohru said, drawing short of the front door and clapping a little in excitement. Kyo rolled his eyes.

"You would've loved fast food. You're really easy to please, you know that?" Kyo said with an endearing smirk. "Come on, let's save you from Ayame's negligence."

After a pleasant dinner where Tohru remarked over everything from the delicious food to the decorations, Kyo dragged her off again. Before he could take her anywhere, however, Tohru froze. Kyo turned around to find Tohru crying with her hands over her eyes, and automatically started freaking out.

"Was it something I said!? Whatever it is, I'm sorry, okay!?" Kyo said. Tohru shook her head.

"N-no. It's not that," Tohru said, and looked up out of her hands, showing her brilliant blue eyes. "I think my curse just broke."

"Then why are you crying?" Kyo asked her like she was crazy.

"Two reasons. It kind of feels like something's missing, but I can't tell what. Also, because you would have noticed if yours had broken yet, you're still cursed. Which means I can't hug you yet," Tohru pouted. Kyo chuckled and put an arm around her.

"I just figured it was my lack of good ideas for our date," Kyo murmured, and Tohru grinned, squeezing him fiercely back.

"Thank goodness," she breathed. Kyo extracted one arm from around her and carefully took off his beads. Nothing happened, and they both let out a breath they hadn't realized they were holding. Kyo was about to throw it as far away as he could, but Tohru stopped him.

"Um… could I have it?" she asked, biting her lip.

"Uh, sure," Kyo said, handing her the bracelet. Although confused as to why she'd want the thing, Kyo was instantly gratified by the joy on Tohru's face as she slipped the bracelet on. Unfortunately, it didn't last long, because Tohru soon adopted her worrying face. Kyo sighed.

"Wanna go home?" he asked. Tohru jumped.

"No, it wouldn't be right! There's no reason to cut short our fun to check on everyone else!" Tohru said, clenching her fist and accidentally confirming Kyo's suspicions.

"You're not going to be having fun if you spend the entire time worrying. Besides, the great thing about this? It's not a one-time occurrence," Kyo said. "Breaking the curse sort of is."

Tohru nodded mutely, so Kyo took her jogging off towards Shigure's. They weren't too far, so it took them maybe ten minutes to get to the forest path and another five to get to Shigure's. Kyo knocked on the door, and the door was opened by a rather smug-looking Hana.

"Well, Megumi seems to have done good work," she commented dryly, noticing Tohru's return to her natural eye color.

"What are you doing here?" Kyo asked bluntly.

"Merely making sure. It's not like Megumi's an expert. Who knows what could have gone wrong?" Hana asked. Kyo's temper was rising, so Tohru stepped in to prevent conflict.

"Are Yuki and Shigure both…?" Tohru asked Hana, successfully diverting Kyo's attention. Hana nodded.

"As are the others. Shigure got a call from the main house not long after I got here," Hana reassured Tohru, who calmed down a little. "I was just on my way home to congratulate Megumi on his success. Go on inside and celebrate or whatever." With a swish of her black cloak, she was off down the road. Tohru and Kyo went inside.

"Yuki? Shigure? You guys okay?" Tohru called.

"Tohru! You're back!" Shigure exclaimed, and he and Yuki both came out into the hall to greet them. Yuki looked relieved after a quick glance at Tohru, and Kyo crossed his arms, having a feeling that he knew why.

The foursome gathered in the living room and sat down in various positions around the room.

"It feels so… different," Yuki said with a frown after a long, awkward silence. Shigure nodded.

"It's to be expected. We've lived one way all our lives only to have it torn away. Of course it's different. It will probably take some getting used to," Shigure sighed.

"Different's not the right word," Kyo said smugly, moving over to stand behind Tohru. Yuki raised an eyebrow.

"Oh?" he inquired. "What is the right word?"

"Better," Kyo said confidently, and wrapped his arms around the girl he was no longer kept from by the curse.

"Definitely," Tohru agreed with a smile. "Much better."

The End.

(I may be tempted to write an epilogue. It depends on reviews!)