The next day was rather awkward for both Aria and Yuki, not knowing how to react around each other after the events of last night. In fact, she was unable to get much sleep because of the interaction.

Replying the action back, she was convinced that she had just imagined the whole thing. Besides, her back was turned the entire time. Maybe what she felt wasn't his lips but rather his hand? Yeah, that had to be it. Because if that wasn't the case, she would be deep trouble.

Moving down the steps, Aria avoided his gaze and sat down for breakfast right next to Tohru who seemed about as happy as ever. "Good morning Aria!"

Accepting the food next to her, she replied. "Good morning."

Shigure entered shortly afterwards, newspaper in hand. "How I hate this time of year. Looks like it's almost time to clean up the house again."

At his words, Tohru jumped excitedly. "Oh, it isn't all that bad. I love helping out and cleaning, it will be fun, right?"

Her words were aimed towards Yuki but it seemed he had other things on his mind than paying attention. "Yuki?"

Snapping back, he pretended like nothing happened. "Huh? Oh yes, it will be quite fun Miss Honda."

Tohru seemed happy about this and happily hummed while eating, Kyo noticing that Aria was swirling her food around instead of eating it. "Hey, You're going to create a hole in that bowl if you keep stirring like that."

Realizing what she had done, Aria's hand stopped. "Oh, right. Sorry."

The dejected tone was not lost on the cat and he knew something was wrong. "What's up with you today? Are you catching a cold or something?"

Shaking her head, Aria tried to muster up the best smile she could. "What? No. Sorry Kyo, I just got a lot of my mind I guess."

Kyo stared at her, not fully believing her excuse but brushing it off. If it was something important then she would tell him.

So instead, he just reached his hand under the table and gently squeezed her own in reasurance. "You don't have to stew about it alone."

This brought a small smile to her face but she knew she wasn't going to bring up the whole Yuki thing to him unless she needed to. Like she said before, it was probably some sort of misunderstanding, certainly nothing to get him worked up over.

Aria squeezed back and tried to focus on her food instead. She would just talk to Yuki after breakfast and straight all this out.

Then everything would be okay, right?

Soon it was time to clean up and when Yuki offered to help, so did Aria. This would be the perfect time to clear up this little misunderstanding while Tohru started on the cleaning.

Standing at the sink, the two began washing and drying the dishes in utter silence, trying to figure out how to start this conversation.

Yuki seemed to start. "Have you been able to sleep a bit better?"

Grabbing one of the dishes, Aria sighed. "Not really. Seems my brain just doesn't wanna turn off these days."

He understood her words better than anyone. "I understand that. Still, you should try and get some rest before school tomorrow."

Looking at him sarcastically, Aria smirked. "What? Is the great Prince Yuki worried about me or something?"

Although, he just handed her another dish and sighed. "Of course I am. You seem to like to shoulder everything on your own, no matter how painful it is. Is it really so hard to trust me Aria?"

Aria thought for a moment before laughing bitterly. "Call it life experience. The people I usually trust always end up backstabbing me, so sorry if I'm not quick to jump at your offer."

A silence grew after that, either not sure how to reply to the situation at hand. This time it was Aria's turn to change the subject. "So, um, about what happened last night…"

The air grew thicker and she immediately tried to lighten the mood. "You really need to stop with those jokes of yours. One day someone will actually take it serious you know."

She laughed at her own words, lifting up another plate to clean it when he answered, causing her to freeze. "What would you do if I was serious?"

Staring into his eyes, she felt herself grow more panicked, trying not to overreact. This was just a misunderstanding, a joke. There was no way Yuki actually had feelings for her, right?

She stuttered out her words, trying to remain calm. "Oh come on Yuki, that's not funny. Saying you have feelings for someone like me? That's a good one."

Bringing up the sponge up, she gasped when Yuki grabbed onto her hand tightly, the soap and water coating his palm. "Is that a problem?"

Aria's eyes widened, losing feeling in her hands and the plate crashing to the floor into a million pieces. She had just heard wrong, right? It had to be. "W-What? Why?"

Staring into his eyes she found not even the slightest waver. She couldn't believe what she was hearing. Yuki liked her. It wasn't a misunderstanding.

Squeezing her hand, Yuki stared straight into her soul. "I don't know why either but I know you're important to me. I want you to know that."

She turned away from him but his grip was strong, almost pleading. "Y-You're insane."

Nodding his head, Yuki smiled. "Maybe."

Then, leaning down, the rat lifted her hand up to his before kissing it softly. It was like something out of a princess story book.

Not knowing how to process the situation, Aria closed her eyes in pain and ripped her hand away from the rat's, acting like he was poison.

Her cheeks were hot and fiery, a deep red filling up her entire face. "You must have lost a few brain cells last night or something. I'm gonna go help Tohru clean while you straighten yourself out."

Then, she moved away from the scene as fast as possible, not even looking behind her to see his expression. This wasn't real, this wasn't happening.

When she was out of site, Aria leaned against the doorframe and sighed heavily, putting up hand up to her face in anxiety. What was even happening?

Walking up to meet Tohru, Aria hoped she could get her mind off of whatever just happened in the kitchen. She already had far too much to worry about and Yuki's feelings were something that she didn't need right now.

She stopped when Aria realized that the light was on in her room with the door opened slightly at the end of the hallways. That was strange.

Aria moved closer to the light only to find a very familiar back staring away from her. Giving a breath of relief, she smiled. "Hey Tohru, what are you doing in my room…."

Pushing the door open, the girl gave no response. Aria was about to call her out on it when she realized just what had the poor girls attention glued.

Staring back at her was Aria's closet door, fully opened to reveal all of her upcoming plans and manipulation. Tohru had seen it all.

The human girl's voice came out small and afraid. "Aria? What is…"

Finally gaining feeling back in her hands, Aria ran up and closed the doors quickly before trying to talk to her. "Tohru, I can explain…"

Looking rather flustered, she started speaking over the white haired girl. "I didn't mean to look into your personal stuff. I was just trying to put the landry away for you and…"

Reacting quickly, Aria placed her hands of the girls shoulders and tried to talk her down. "Tohru, you can't tell anyone about this.."

Tohru shook her head, not understanding her words. "But Aria, what it said…"

Thinking for a minute she called past events and gasped. She remembered the letter Kagura received and what Aria had done that last couple weeks. "Wait, that letter wasn't really from Akito, was it? And Yuki's birthday party, you planned that? You really are doing it…You wanted to get all the zodiacs together, right?"

Feeling her own heart beat out of her chest, Aria shook her head. "I can explain, but you need to promise me not to tell anyone about this."

Shaking her head, Tohru cried out. "No, I can't. I can't let you do this. We have to tell Kyo and Yuki. My mom always said lying is wrong."

She turned to leave but Aria quickly clamped down on her arm, causing her to stop. "You can't! They can't know, then everything will be ruined. Tohru please."

Tohru thought for a moment before shaking her head again. She couldn't just walk away after knowing this. Aria needed help, no matter how much she denied it. "I can't. I have to..!"

Losing her grip in shock, Tohru took the opportunity and raced towards the door, calling out for the boys at the same time. "Yuki, Kyo!"

Aria's heart stopped, feeling everything slip away from her at once. She couldn't let this happen, she was so close. But she also knew that Tohru wasn't going to keep this secret, knowing how dangerous everything was. This was it.

Feeling her head spin, Aria felt lost on her own anxiety in fear. So much so, that in one move she grabbed Tohru and pushed her up against the nearby wall, pinning her so she couldn't escape.

Before Tohru could process what was happening, she was face to face with Aria's crimson eyes, staring into her soul. "A-Aria, what are you…."

Not understanding but feeling numb throughout her entire body, she let the girl's words enter her body and mind. "There was nothing in that closet. You saw nothing, do you understand? You will forget about the conversation we had here today and never question it."

Her mind grew hazy along with her eyes and in a blink of an eye, Tohru looked around, confused on how she got there in the first place. "Aria? What just…?"

But Aria was quick, switching back to her normal state. "You okay Tohru? You kinda zoned out for a little."

Bringing her hand up to her temple in a slight headache, Tohru tried to piece all pieces together but found nothing. "Uh yeah. Sorry. I was just..trying to do some laundry."

Nodding, Aria smiled and grabbed the basket next to her. "Oh, well I can take care of it. You should go lie down if you aren't feeling well."

Tohru thought for a minute before shaking her head. "Thanks for worrying about me but I'll be alright. I'm going to go get started on lunch though. Thanks Aria!"

The girl then skipped away like nothing had happened, Aria lifting her hand and smiling until she was gone from her sight.

When she was alone Aria sighed heavily and placed a hand to her temple, resting her hand against the nearby wall. She was so terrible. Tohru did nothing wrong and yet she had changed her mind for her own selfish purposes. Nothing had changed since the main house.

Closing her eyes in pain, Aria jumped when a voice echoed to her right. "Hey, what are you doing? You alright?"

Aria turned to find Kyo looking at her strangely. "N-Nothing, what are you doing?"

He eyed her in question but answered. "I heard Tohru call out for me and that rat so I wanted to see what it was all about."

Giving her best face, Aria lifted her hand up and smiled. "Oh that was nothing. We just needed help moving some furniture to clean but I took care of it. No need to worry."

Kyo looked into the room and was just about to turn around when he noticed Aria's left hand that she was hiding shake just slightly, almost like she was afraid. "What are you not telling me?"

Aria twisted her face and narrowed her eyes in question. "Whaa what are you talking about? There is nothing to tell."

Laughing a bit unconvincingly, Kyo reached down and held her shaking hand as evidence. "Then why in the hell are you shaking? You're afraid of something, right?"

She must have not realized it because Aria also seemed surprised by the action, opting to tear her hand away from him. "It's nothing. Don't worry about it."

But he wouldn't let her, instead pushing her back until her body was against the wall, trapped. "There is something you're not telling me. Don't pull that crap. I can't help but worry about you."

Aria's eyes softened, wanting to tell him about what had just happened but knew she couldn't. "Could you, kiss me?"

His eyes widened, obviously not expecting that question. "What, why?"

Letting her eyes fall, Aria decided to tell him part of the true, just enough to make her conscious feel better. "I can't tell you right now but I am afraid. So, I need you right now Kyo. Please."

He let her words flow through him and the cat wanted nothing more than to ask what was wrong but he also knew he wasn't going to get an answer. All that mattered was that Aria needed him.

Understanding, Kyo leaned down and kissed her, keeping his hands on the wall in front of him to not transform accidently.

Aria brought her hands up and cupped the side of his face, melting into the touch they were allowed. She needed a distraction, something to keep her away from the terrible things she had just done.

After a couple moments, he pulled away, wondering something new. "Hey so, did anything happen with that damn rat? You seemed really uncomfortable around him this morning. He didn't do anything to you, did he?"

Kyo was expecting her to deny his statement like she always did but she just remained silent which worried him more. "This is the time when you're supposed to tell me I'm being unreasonable."

Nervously scratching her arm, Aria laughed nervously. "Yeah well, about that, it seems you were, right?"

Trying not to overreact, Kyo tightened his fists at that. "What do you mean I was right?"

Aria avoided eye contact and replied half heartedly. "Ahh well you know how you said that Yuki might like me? Well, it turns out you were right. Heh."

At these words, Kyo went from 0 to 100 in a moments notice, moving towards the door in absolute anger. "I'm gonna kill him…"

Seeing him leave, Aria grabbed onto his arm and pulled him back. "Whoa kitty. Let's not murder anyone, okay?"

Yet it seemed his anger wasn't killed in the slightest. "How can you be so damn calm? Tell me, what did that bastard do to you?!"

Playing with her hair, Aria knew she had to give him an answer. "Ah you know, nothing really. He just, uhhh, kissed the scars on my back and then my hand?"

Kyo remained frozen at this, like he was trying to process the things she was telling him. When he finally did, though, he was pissed. "You idiot! How could you let that bastard do that?!"

He was fuming and Aria tried to calm him down. "I didn't tell him to do it, he just did…"

Shaking his head, the cat shouted back. "That's even worse!"

Because of his emotions, his voice came out a bit too sharp which caused Aria to flinch in fear at his tone. It must have triggered something within her

Noticing this, he immediately withdrew, his voice growing softer. "Ah sorry. I didn't mean to.."

She wrapped her arms around her body in protection and shook her head. "No, it's my fault. Force of habit I guess."

He hated that he made her think of Akito in this moment and tried to brush it off. "Still, I tried to tell you to be careful, didn't I?"

Nodding her head, Aria sighed. "I just didn't think it was possible for anyone to feel that way about me, especially Yuki. I let my guard down."

Kyo still felt enraged over the idea of that rat touching her but knew he had to think logically for her. "I believe it. You don't give yourself enough credit. Anyone would be lucky to be with you."

Blinking a few times, Aria smirked. "Okay, who are you and what have you done with my grumpy cat boy?"

Frowning, he replied. "Shut up. I'm being serious."

Aria smiled at this. "Ah, there he is."

Rolling his eyes, Kyo leaned towards her, speaking low. "Just, promise me you'll be careful now, okay?"

She took at step closer at this, tracing his face with her fingers. "And promise me you won't murder any rats because of this."

He had to think for a moment before nodding his head. "Fine."

This caused Aria to smile, grabbing his shirt and pushing his body onto hers, yet still keeping a respectable distance because of the curse. "Good."

Reaching for his face, Aria pressed her lips against his as an acceptance to their promise. This was where she felt the safest, silently wishing they could stay like this forever.

If only they could.

The next day came quickly and before they knew it, it was almost time for school again. The air was still extremely awkward between everyone involved and Kyo could sense it.

Yuki strolled up to her before grabbing his bag and pointing to the door. "It's time to go. Do you want to walk together again?"

About to accept, Kyo suddenly appeared out of nowhere and grabbed her hand. "She's going with me."

Yuki seemed confused but let it slide, opting for Tohru to join him instead. That cats jealousy was really something.

When they reached the school, Aria turned to Kyo and pointed to the library before whispering in his ear so the other students wouldn't hear. "I have to go return this book before class. I'll see you later."

He nodded his head, not wanting to leave but knowing he had to do so anyways. "Just be careful."

Aria looked at him in question before quickly writing something down in her notebook and showing him. Oh yes, gotta watch out for those papercuts. They are real dangerous.

Kyo seemed to get the joke and rolled his eyes. "Yeah yeah, just hurry up."

She smiled and turned around towards the library and away from his sights.

Exiting the library, Aria looked at the clock on the wall and noticed she had a couple minutes before class started. Perfect timing.

She moved down the hall but stopped when someone called out to her. "Miss Aria Kito? If I could have a word…"

Aria turned to find one of the teachers staring at her. Not knowing what this was about, she followed the teacher to a separate room.

Opening the door to the office, Aria froze when she realized just who was on the other side. It was a maid from the main house, Akito's personal maid to be exact.

The teacher pointed to the woman and spoke. "One of your guardians would like a word with you. I'll give you two some privacy."

She waited until the teacher left before it was safe to talk. Oh this was going to be good. "Guardian? Is that what you are calling yourself nowadays? Funny, I never got that memo."

The maid didn't seemed overly thrilled by her tone. "Lady Aria, I've come to fetch you."

Blinking twice, Aria scoffed. "Excuse me? I don't think so."

Standing up, the older woman answered. "Lord Akito is having an episode and has grown extremely unstable. He is calling for you Miss. He asked me to bring you to him."

Aria knew exactly what this meant. Sometimes Akito grew violent, going off the rails for whatever reason and she would always have to be the one to try and calm him down. But it didn't matter this time, she wasn't going back.

Shaking her head Aria replied coldly. "Well, you have fun with that. I don't care what Akito wishes, I'm not going back there, so you can leave."

She didn't make any move to leave so Aria did so for her. "Alright then. I'll leave."

Turning around, the maid called to the girl, stopping her in her tracks. "Wait. Master Akito said if you didn't come to him, then he would come to you."

Sharply turning around, her eyes darkened. "What?"

The maid jumped at the aura but carried on. "He told me that if I failed to bring you to him, then he would come find you himself, regardless of what the main house says."

Tightening her fists, Aria knew very well what his episodes looked like and she wouldn't ever let him get close to Yuki, Kyo, Tohru or any of the Sohma's like that for that matter. He knew exactly what he was doing, blackmailing her to agree.

But no matter how rage inducing it was, she knew what she was going to choose. "Fine. Let's go."

The maid bowed in gratitude and showed Aria to the nearby car in the front parking lot.

Looking back to the school, she sighed, hoping that this wouldn't take too long. They surely would be worried about her.

Aria got to the main house and sighed heavily before reaching Akito's room. There were guards there but none of them were brave enough to enter, only her.

Pushing the door back she found broken glass and overturned furniture from left and right. Whatever caused this, is must of been bad.

Aria moved closer until she saw his outline crunched in the corner, muttering something to himself and hugging his shoulders.

Standing behind him, she spoke. "Akito, you called me?"

At her voice, he seemingly sprung to life, turning around and racing towards her with brute force.

His body crashed into hers, wrapping his arms around her in death grip of some sort. His head rested on her shoulder, muttering out. "You're here."

Aria didn't speak but didn't have to as Akito lifted his head and traced her face with his finger. "You can't ever leave me. That's an order. You have to stay here with me forever. Anyone else but you. Anyone but you. Promise me."

She remained silent which made Akito grow in desperate, digging his fingers into her shoulders causing her to wince. "Promise me Aria!"

His hold grew tighter until she complied, whispering out. "I promise."

Seeming happy at that, he let go and sighed a breath of relief. "Good little songbird."

Aria was able to catch her breath for only a moment, when she felt his lips on her skin, desperate and hungry for some sort of positive emotion.

She gasped at the contact and his face found his way to her lips, claiming her as his own and smiling under them. "You have to stay with me. You promised."

She did, but that was only because he was threatening her. Not like it mattered though. The main house was his domain after all. Aria couldn't stop him even if she wanted to.

Closing her eyes in acceptance, Akito attacked her with his touch and breath, coating her every being and muttering that she was his under his breath once in awhile.

His touch was not the same as Kyo's gentle one, Akito didn't care about her wellbeing and just as he pleased, like he always did. She silently wished for her time with Kyo to come back as it did yesterday. But that was just wishful thinking.

When she awoke, Akito's hold was still around her waist, causing her to stay where she was. But of course, Aria knew how to avoid that.

Watching his sleeping face, she found the place under his chin and tickled it. This resulted in him lifting his arm away from her to scratch the itch that she had caused. It was a normal trick for her.

Once she was free, she quickly slipped outside the room and walked down the hallway, careful not to let anyone see her. The maids would surely rat her out.

After a couple minutes, she found herself next to two large wooden doors with guards on either side of the fence.

Strolling up to them, they shouted. "Who are you? You can't be here, this is a restricted area."

They reached into their back pockets when Aria blinked, her eyes turning that familiar shade of crimson. "Did you hear? It's your break. What are you still doing here? Look at your watch.

Growing hypnotized by her power, the boys looked down at their bare wrists and gasped. "Oh, it is. The time must of slipped away from me. Thanks!"

Aria nodded her head and watched the guards leave to their imaginary break and opened the doors behind her.

A voice echoed back almost immediately. "Oh, what a lovely little magic trick that was."

Narrowing her eyes, Aria stepped into the dark space and greeted the guest. "I wouldn't have to if you actually did what you were told."

The stranger smiled at this, stepping into the light. "Oh? I have no idea what you mean."

Aria grumbled and stepping forward to face her. "Please, I know exactly what you did, Ren. I never told you to torment Akito like that, just shake him up."

Ren Somha shrugged her shoulders and pulled a letter from her back pocket. "No, but your instructions were very vague. Maybe I just wanted to visit my dear son, did you ever think of that?"

Rolling her eyes, Aria scoffed. She knew very well she hated her son. "No, because that's impossible. Now let's stop with these games. Do you want to help or not?"

Ren thought for a moment, bringing the letter to her lips. "Hmm. this does sound interesting. I would like to be less of a caged animal. Although, I would have never thought his own fiance would turn against him like this. You truly are evil."

She expected to shake the girl up but Aria didn't looked phased in the slightest. "Don't tell me things I already know. If you are in then I suggest you stop playing around, or else I'm going to have to convince you another way."

Aria's eyes turned crimson in warning but Ren only laughed. "Oh so scary. Don't worry my little songbird. I understand."

At the name songbird, Aria finally cracked, reaching forward and grabbing Akito's mothers dress, forcing her to look at her. "Don't call me that, ever."

Ren was silent for a moment before smiling. "Yes yes, looks like I hit a nerve. Just wait until your little make believe family finds out what you've been doing. Oh how disappointed they'll be."

But Aria was already halfway out the door, ignoring the woman's comments. She was mentally unstable as it was, probably already planning to backstab her when she least expected it.

To bad she already planned for that.

I'm so sorry it's taken so long for updates. I got a job at Disney recently so all my time has been poured into that. But I hope you enjoyed this chapter.

So one of the letter's Aria send was to Akito's mom, Ren. Somehow she's involved in her big plan.

Don't forget to comment and like, It's my motivation to update faster!