It struck Tohru suddenly and with force, a jolt right through her heart that overwhelmed all the pain and fear from a moment before. Tears welled in her eyes and spilled over, flowing down her cheeks, and she staggered back a step and fell to her knees.

She felt like she was flying and drowning all at once.

Akito's hand came to rest against her face again, a strangely delicate touch this time. Tohru almost imagined there was a tremor in the fingers that lifted her chin. "I see," Akito said as he crouched in front of her, something wild and unnamable behind his eyes as he stared into hers. "I see. Maybe now you'll understand your place." He smiled then, slow and cruel and pleased. "You're one of mine, now."

"So the maids have started their gossip," Shigure announced as he entered the room. "They think it's something to do with the blood, you know, when Akito scratched Tohru's face."

Hatori looked up and frowned. He placed a cigarette between his lips and lit it, taking a long, slow drag. "Ridiculous," he said at last, the word emphasized with a billow of smoke.

Shigure shrugged. "The bond is ancient, and blood is powerful. Who's to say what the rules are?" He paused to grin. "Strange for a cursed man to be a skeptic."

"It isn't that. If a bond formed every time Akito drew blood…"

"…we'd have run out of room at the banquet table by now," Shigure finished drily. "Yeah, I don't believe it either. But I don't have any better ideas. Do you?"

Hatori grunted but made no other response, and he let Shigure enjoy his moment of smugness. "Is this…" he began eventually. "…Does this play into your plans?"

Something almost like regret slipped across Shigure's face. "Do you really think this is what I want? One more person belonging to Akito?"

Hatori shook his head. He felt like he knew less and less about Shigure these days, but he still knew enough to recognize that rare bit of sincerity. "Then perhaps you should be taking this more seriously. You know Akito's not going to let a new possession go easily."

He gave another shrug, almost forcefully carefree. "Tohru's not even a Sohma. She's always been able to leave this mess of a family behind; she's just too good a girl to want to abandon her friends. What could Akito really do to keep her?"

The wedding was simple and quiet, not at all what Tohru expected. Not from her own idle fantasies of what it might be like to someday get married nor from descriptions she had heard of the elaborate Sohma banquets and celebrations. There were many people she did not recognize but also several she did. Shigure and Yuki were there. Hatori and Momiji and others from the zodiac.

Kyo was not permitted to attend.

For once, Tohru thought he might have considered himself lucky for that, as no one else seemed very happy to be here. She caught Yuki's eye in the middle of the ceremony and tried to send him a reassuring smile, to tell him she was fine, but he looked away, and his hands clenched into trembling fists at his side.

When it all ended, Akito stood abruptly and left the room. Tohru stared after in puzzlement, half rising to her own feet, unsure what she was expected to do, until a maid took her by the elbow with a sigh and led her out the same door.

Akito was standing in the hall with a man Tohru recognized, though only after a moment of thought. She had only seen him briefly, after all, just after Akito's nails pierced her skin, after that feeling of terrible connection overwhelmed her.

The man nodded in her direction, and Akito turned around. "Ah, right. I did promise to introduce you, didn't I? Since you all were so set on meeting her for some reason," he said, smiling unkindly. "Kureno, this is Tohru Honda– no, it's Sohma now, isn't it?"

You all, Tohru thought, staring up at the man. Was this the final member of the cursed zodiac?

Kureno frowned but dipped his head politely. "Nice to meet you."

"Oh! Y-yes, it's so nice to meet you!" she replied, startling from her thoughts and hurrying to return the greeting with a bow of her own.

"That's enough. You've met now," Akito interrupted with an impatient wave of his hand. "One of you show her to our rooms. Kureno, come with me."

He swept down to the end of the hall, and Kureno turned to follow, but he hesitated for just a moment longer. "I'm sorry," he told Tohru. "A girl like you shouldn't be here."

He was gone before she could respond, catching up to Akito and trailing close on his heels. The maid who had led Tohru this far gently took her elbow and guided her in the opposite direction.

Tohru assumed marriage would bring about some closeness with the mysterious head of the Sohma family, but she hardly saw any more of Akito now than she had living in Shigure's house. They slept in the same room, side by side, but he kept his back to her, lying far enough away that they never once touched. Akito rose late most mornings and came to bed late most evenings, and he was away from her most of the day.

Being at the head of such a large family would keep anyone busy, she reasoned, even without having to navigate the challenges of managing an ancient, secret curse.

Still, however little she saw of Akito, she always seemed to know when he was near.

Tohru woke early – one of the rare times she was not the first to rise– to the sound of Akito's soft voice just outside the room. It was the bond, she supposed, rubbing at her eyes as she lifted her head, that made her now so aware of him. She could hardly even hear the other person he was talking to, though they were both just beyond the door.

Whatever was said must not have been pleasant, because soon Akito's voice rose to something that would easily awaken anyone, bonded or not. "Are you… rejecting me?" came the harsh demand, pitched up in outrage.

"No, it isn't that." That voice was Kureno's, Tohru realized after a moment, calm and steady, only rising to be heard against Akito's sudden fury. "You're married now, Akito."

"What? You're worried about what that ugly creature thinks? She's mine now, the same as any of you. I only married her to keep her from meddling."

Tohru felt herself flinch. Akito had spoken about her in such harsh words before, but now they seemed to strike right through her heart. Another piece of this strange new bond.

"But you made a promise." Kureno's voice continued, becoming softer again. "I don't mean this as a rejection, but– "

"Shut up! Enough! Just stop talking and get out, if that's what you want!"

The door opened suddenly as Akito stormed in, then slid shut with enough force to rattle. He did not seem to notice Tohru at first, pacing angrily back and forth with his head in his hands.

Except, it wasn't simply anger. Tohru could see something else in Akito's contorted expressions, some real hurt or sorrow. "Um, Akito-san," she began quietly, sitting up and putting her hands out in a show of concern, "are you… are you feeling all right?"

Akito stopped abruptly, turning to glare at Tohru, though that strange sense of pain did not quite fade from his eyes. He smiled. "Kureno's right. We're married, now." He crossed the room quickly and dropped to his knees in front of Tohru, and it took all her effort not to lean away. "Should I kiss you, then? Since you are my wife?"

"E-eh?" Tohru felt her face grow hot, but that was silly, wasn't it? A kiss was something normal and expected between married people. It was stranger that they hadn't yet. "I… Y-yes, if you want."

Akito's hand came to rest on Tohru's cheek, surprisingly gentle, and he leaned in.

Tohru closed her eyes, unsure, but the slow press of lips against her own was soft and pleasant. She made a quiet, muffled sound of surprise when Akito made the effort to part them, but that too was a pleasant feeling, the slide of tongue against her teeth that made her heart beat harder, her breath come quicker. On instinct, she reached out, hands hovering awkwardly in the air for a moment before settling on Akito's sides in the dip above his hips.

Then Akito jerked away suddenly. He stood, face red, lips parted, expression strange and unreadable as he stared down at her. He turned and left the room without a word.

That night, they slept as they always had so far, side by side but distinctly apart. But an hour into the evening, Akito's arm stretched toward her, and his fingers brushed against her back and stayed there until morning.

She saw a little more of Akito after that night. Not much, but more than she was seeing of any of her friends within the Sohma family. He ate meals with her sometimes, even stayed and talked to her sometimes, mostly about the history of the Sohmas and the importance of the bond and how little Tohru could ever understand of it having grown up an outsider. It seemed to be exasperation more than anger now, like Tohru was a slow student frustrating Akito's efforts to educate her properly.

They kissed sometimes, too, though Akito always held her at a firm distance, stopping abruptly and leaving without a word if that distance ever slipped.

The person she saw most, other than silent, sneering maids and staff, was actually Kureno. They were both kept away and apart from the others by Akito, and that limited them to the same small space when not with Akito.

It was almost inevitable, then, that Tohru would eventually discover the reason Kureno was held apart like she was.

Standing in the gardens of the main house, Tohru watched as a flock of sparrows startled and scattered at Kureno's careful footsteps, and her brow furrowed in confusion. "Oh," she said, "but I thought…"

His smile was sad and distant. "It's exactly what you're thinking. My curse broke long ago," he told her. "I would hold you to prove it, but I'm not sure any of us would change in your arms anymore."

That halted her puzzled train of thought for a moment. What else did the curse mean for her? Would she now change into some unknown form if the wrong person embraced her? She shook her head before delving too deep into that idea. "So, it can be broken? How? How did you do it?" she asked in a rush, stepping forward eagerly.

"You want to be freed already? I can't really blame you."

"Ah! Oh, yes, I suppose that does seem selfish of me, to sound like I'm complaining when everyone else has been suffering for so much longer. But… But really, it's the others I was thinking of. Yuki and Kyo and everyone…" She trailed off, and her thoughts drifted to Akito, that strange pain and fear she saw sometimes in his eyes. She looked down. "But maybe that's selfish of me as well."

Kureno was silent for a moment, then he reached out and gently ruffled her hair. "I'm sorry," he said, withdrawing his hand, "but I don't know how to break the curse. It happened on its own, and I still don't understand why."

"I see…" Tohru replied, subdued. "But… if your curse is broken, then why do you stay?"

"It's something I think you understand. The bond may not be there, but Akito still needs me, needs us. Akito is still…" He stopped himself, frowning. "Well, I guess in your position, you deserve to know this secret better than anyone."

It was odd being around Akito now, knowing what she knew. Tohru kept noticing little things she had not before, wondering if they were always so obvious or if they only seemed that way to her now.

She always had thought the head of the Sohmas was strangely beautiful.

More than her appearance, it was the way Akito so strictly kept her distance from Tohru. Perhaps it was merely lingering dislike, but Tohru now understood other reasons she would want to keep from pressing too close.

When next Akito kissed her, leaning close and stroking her hair, cupping her cheek, Tohru tried again to reach out. And when Akito pulled away, Tohru took hold of her wrist. "Akito-san, it's okay. You don't need to run, I… I know about –"

Akito jerked her hand away, eyes flashing. "You know?" she demanded. "You mean you were told. Who? Who decided it was fine to just tell you anything?"

Tohru put her hands up in alarm, suddenly fearing she had gotten Kureno into trouble. "Th-they knew I would know someday, being your wife, and they thought it would be okay. I-I understand this secret is important to you, and I promise I can keep it! I've kept the Sohma secret, haven't I?"

Akito did not look appeased, and she snatched up Tohru's wrist in a grip just tight enough to make her wince, and then…

Tohru did not feel it when the curse weakened once again, but she felt the pain and terror that shot through Akito, even before she saw it in her eyes and felt the tremble in her hand.

She rocked back away from Tohru, sitting down hard, and grabbed at her own face with her hands. "No!" she screamed, tears forming in her panicked eyes. "Why? Why again? Why now?"

"Akito-san…"

Her eyes darted suddenly back to Tohru, and she scrambled toward her on her knees. "You. You won't leave me, right? You're the only one who's come to join me instead. I don't have to worry about you, right? You won't abandon me?" Her hands grasped at Tohru's sleeves, dragging her close.

Tohru could do nothing but hold her close. This was what Kureno had meant. I want to break this curse, she thought. I want to free everyone, even you, Akito-san. "No," she whispered. "I won't."

And after a time, the tears slowed. And after a time, Akito smiled.

When the next piece of that ancient bond crumbled and fell away, Akito was not home with Tohru, and she had to go out and look for her, following that desperate panic and loneliness that tore at her heart like it was her own.

She soon found her alone in the gardens, crouched in the dappled shadows beneath the largest, oldest tree, curled in on herself with her head clutched in her hands. "It's all ending. It's coming so fast," she was muttering. "I'm not ready. I'm not ready!"

"Akito-san…"

She flinched as Tohru kneeled down beside her but slowly pulled her hands away from her face, giving Tohru a hesitant, frightened glance. "I'm not ready," she repeated plaintively. "Living out there with no promise. Living with strangers."

"I know it's scary," Tohru said, placing her hand on Akito's back and leaning close, "and I know it's lonely. But you won't be completely alone."

She jerked away from Tohru's touch. "No. You're part of it too, now. You'll get tired of me when it ends. You'll hate me. You'll abandon me!"

Tohru tried again, shifting so she was in front of Akito and reaching out to take her hands. "But we have another promise. We're married, aren't we? That was a promise we made on our own, not one made for us a long time ago. Start with this promise – start with me."

Akito still looked uncertain. "You'll want to leave."

"Maybe," Tohru said. "And maybe you will, too. But we'll both be here when we find that out."

It ended with a sigh, a held breath and slow, shaky exhale as Akito finally, painfully let them all go.

It was a strange feeling, even for Tohru, who had only known the bond for a short time. She couldn't even imagine what it was like for the others, who had lived with it for years and years, or for Akito, who had been bound up tight with so many people for so long. To give that up all at once…

Tohru stayed nearby as Akito summoned everyone to speak with them, to tell them all the ways they were free from her.

And after each one left to make their choices, Tohru stepped into the room, where Akito sat hunched and shaking, hands clenched tight together on the table in front of her. Tohru touched her shoulder gently, then her cheek when Akito looked up, uncertainty and suspicion in her eyes.

Tohru reached out with her free hand, and that expression slowly faded. Akito pried her hands apart and took Tohru's in both of hers, holding tight.

Neither was breaking this newest promise just yet.