Well, here we are. The last chapter. It's been a hell of a ride. I hope you guys like my ending. I think it suits the story.

- Im here to enkindle courage

Gone. He looked around his surroundings. He was gone from the ground in front of the Sohma table. Pure white surrounded him. Fear struck him immediately when he saw nothing in sight except for more white. Am i blind? No, i can see my hands. Does that mean... Am I dead?

"No, Kyo. You are not dead." Kyo turns around to find an old man standing behind him. The same old man who had first spoken to him in a dream. The man with bright orange hair and a wiry smile.

"You…It's you! The old man from my dream. You're the cat soul attached to my own soul!" Kyo backed away slightly from the man in front of him. "Why am I here? Where is here?"

"So many questions. But none are the right one." The old man smiles at Kyo. "You haven't realized it yet, Kyo? I think you have but you're in denial. You just can't believe it yet."

"Realize what?"

"You felt it right when Akito said those words. You knew almost immediately. What did he say? And what did you feel?" The old man continued to smile at Kyo and stepped closer to him.

"Akito said i was free. So weird, I guess. Lighter? Like I was carrying something heavy, but then it disappeared. What the heck does it all mean?" Kyo, in turn, takes a step back from the man.

"There we go. That's the right question. What does that mean, Kyo?" A step closer.

"That I'm allowed to live outside of the cat box?" A step back.

"And?" Closer.

"And what?" Back.

"Huh, I guess I really do have to spell it out for you. Your soul is young, but I figured it would get it." Closer. "Why do you think you feel lighter?" Kyo steps back again. "You feel lighter because your body is carrying less inside of it. The other soul, my soul, has been able to release you." Closer. "Kyo, you are completely free. No longer do you, nor anyone else, have the zodiac curse." Kyo stays frozen.

"Why am I free?"

"Remember when I told you that you had to realize things before you would be free?" Closer.

"Yeah."

"You figured them out." Closer.

"What?"

A sigh comes from the orange haired man.

"You truly are oblivious. Before the strings connecting our souls could be snipped, the cat soul, my soul, must be thanked by the host, your soul, three times. You thanked me, truly thanked me, for three things that I was able to give you in this life." Closer. "Friends that truly cared about you and enjoyed your company; ones that looked past the curse and saw the person behind it. These people would need to make you glad and make you see that the curse did not only cause pain; people who would help you when you are hurt; people who could carry you when you fall; people who want the best for you. People that could make you happy about who and what you are. Without being the cat, you would never have met Tohru, who in turn, introduced you to new friends that you may have never have gained otherwise. She looked past his curse and saw the boy behind it. You had found the one person who is the gate way to the world around you. And everyone who loved you, stood by your side in the very end. You thanked me for being there." Closer.

"Appreciation for the gifts that this 'curse' has given you. You must be able to see all of the good qualities that you are blessed with. Speed, strength, willpower, all these things must be looked at and observed by you. You must realize that without these qualities that you would not be who you are today and would not be where you are. By saving the lives of the friends you have gained, you saw that without you re senses, they would have been injured or killed. You thanked me for being there." Another step closer.

"And finally courage to look at your enemies and have the strength to fight a losing battle. Being born the cat, the being usually accepts defeat immediately. To have the strength to continue on toward you're impending doom, gave you the ability to beat you're doom. You must look past all of your faults, see yourself for who you are and fight for yourself; not anyone else. You must see that you, yourself, are truly worth fighting for, even if it looks like defeat. You had the courage to stand up to god, herself and kept fighting. You would not allow yourself to be beaten. You saw yourself as a person of note. You saw yourself a person with character. You saw yourself; your whole self, worthy of freedom. You beat Akito with your determination and courage to fight the known, to fight the impossible. And you thanked me for being with you; every step of the way." He took a step closer and now was only a foot away from Kyo.

"So now, Kyo, you can live your life as it should be, as a human." And before Kyo knew it, the man had turned around and started walking away.

"Wait!" Kyo yelled at him. The man turned his head back, a little confused.

"Yes?"

"Thank you. Thank you for everything." Kyo bowed and the man smiled.

"No, Kyo. Thank you. Thank you for allowing an old soul finally being able to rest." And the man turned back and continued walking until he was far from Kyo and turned to wave, before disappearing into the white. The white slowly started to fade to black.

Kyo opened his eyes to see Tohru crying on his chest and his family surrounding him as he lay on the floor, they were also crying. Akito has his head resting in her lap as she cried. God herself? That means Akito is a woman? How the hell did that go unnoticed? Realizing he was awake with his eyes, Tohru stopped crying and looked shocked. But before she or anyone could say anything, Kyo wrapped his arms around her and hugged her into his chest. Nothing happened. No poof, no cat. Just silence. Finally. Finally i can hold her in my human arms.And then, there were laughs and tears of joy that were shared with everyone in the area.

And so ends the tale of how freedom came to the prisoner. How the cursed became uncursed. Kyo finally realized that his true cage was not Akito or anyone else. The true cage that he had been afraid of his whole life, for all of his many lives? His true cage?

Well, my friends. His true cage had always been himself.

Whoa. Its over. Thats pretty crazy. It's been great guys. Thank you all for reading this and for making reviews. Thank you for giving me the courage to write something that i originally thought was silly. Thanks for everything you guys. I hope this story inspires you do something good. If you have the power to do good, you have the obligation to do it. Thanks again for everything. I've started working on some other stories that are not getting enough love :P You guys should head over and definitely let me know if they're any good. Thanks!

-Accendo Animus.