Kyo's POV

I had one of the most wonderful rests in years. Sleeping next to Tohru, practically holding her in my arms, will stay in my mind for a long time. Waking up to see her angelic face, feeling her hand wrapped in mine, it was as close to heaven as I will ever be. I fluttered my eyes open, I couldn't help but have a warm smile to greet her. I had to kiss her one more time. Just once. She was an addiction. She was my ecstasy.

In sweet satisfaction, I kissed her cheek. It was warm against my soft lips. She grunted and rolled over as a response. My smile got wider as I flipped onto my back. My happy moment was soon punctured when I saw Shigure, Yuki, Yumiko, and Makino standing over me with odd looks.

Blood rushed to my cheeks. How the hell was I supposed to explain this?! How long were they standing there?! That damn rat was going to kill me. Shigure and Yumiko wouldn't let me live it down, and Makino would just avoid me and think that I was a pervert or something. I felt my body grow hot and nervous as my thoughts were clouded with what if's. I stuttered in awe for a few moments before Yuki grabbed me by the arm and dragged me up to his eye level.

"What did you do to her, you stupid cat?!" he hissed viciously into my face.

I wriggled my arm away from his tight grasp and snarled back at him.

"Nothing! What the hell did you think I would do?!"

At that, I got a sinister idea, my face cracked into a devilish grin.

"And besides, what if I did do anything? What would you do about it?" I taunted smugly.

Yuki's face contorted into a look of rage as he made a grab for me, Shigure took quick action by grasping him around the waist as they crashed to the ground. I stepped back and cackled as Yuki took another swing at me. Why play with him anymore? It wasn't really acomplishing anyting. I let out a big sigh.

"Yeah well, you don't have to get worked up. We just watched a scary movie and she got all freaked out, so she wanted me to lay down with her until she fell asleep. I guess I fell asleep in the process," I explained whilst making my way towards the door.

"Oh, so, I guess your shirt fell off then?" Yumiko pointed out smiking.

I pretended not to hear her as I made my way downstairs. No one had to know how I really felt about her. But had they seen the kiss? They might've, but just not told me anything about it. But maybe they hadn't, I mean, if they had Shigure and Yumiko would be gloating and bantering about it. Strangly, they had seemed a bit out of it that morning.

I opened the fridge and began to chug down a carton of milk. When I realized you can't really chug a half a gallon of milk wthout spewing it back out, I ran to the sink and began rejecting mouthfuls of milk, and a few chunks of the meat pot I had last night. It was pretty disgusting, but that is unfortunately what happens when you try to chug milk.

(A/n: Yes, a true, milk-chugging story, except it was me who did it, not Kyo.)

I heard everyone (with the exception of Tohru) bounding downstairs. To avoid anymore confrontation about Tohru, or why there was a pool of vomit in the sink, I crept silently outside. It was a gorgeous day, the breeze blew lightly through my auburn hair. I stuck my hands carelessly into my pockets and stared into the distance.

It was still mid-morning, even though it was summer, it was quite chilly. I sat down on the back porch, and I was going to stay there until I had heard Shigure and Yumiko leave the kitchen. I had just sat there in my boxers, I didn't really care, considering all of this land was Sohma property and no one could come randomly strolling by. I could run around naked, screaming bloody murder if I really wanted to. However, that wasn't really top on the list of priorities.

It was so easy to get lost in a stare and forget your purpose of the stare in the first place. I was originally looking into the woods (where Tohru had once lived) for a reason, but I forgot. That makes me sound so smart, doesn't it?

I felt someone's presence behind me, but I remained stoical. If they saw me in my boxers, boo friggity hoo. They can deal with seeing a little skin. The only person that it would bother me a little bit is...

"Good morning Kyo! What would you like for breakfast?"

I cringed as my head slowly turned around. As I dreaded, it was Tohru. I smiled nervously.

"Yeah, I'm not really hungry." I replied quickly shooing her off.

She didn't take my hint and sat down on the porch next to me. I blushed and turned my head away from hers. She smiled and looked at me, I tried as hard as I could not to look back. A light sigh escaped her lips and the breeze carried it away.

"It's a beautiful day, " she stated to no one in particular.

"Huh? Oh...yeah, I guess," I replied slowly.

It was amazing how she could appreciate the little things. How she would notice the sky and how cloudless it could be, a faint rainbow in the distance, or how the birds sang more cheerfully that day. It was also incredable how she could miss things entirely. Mostly the things she was oblivious to, were the things about herself. She was so giving and kind to everyone, that it's almost as if she forgot about her own feelings. But that's impossible; No one can really discard their own feelings. Can they?

"So did you sleep well? I mean, you seemed pretty freaked out after that movie," I asked, trying to hide the concern in my voice.

"I slept okay, I did wake up a few times and made sure that the TV was unplugged and that there were no messages on the answering machine. But otherwise, I was fine," she reassured me.

Maybe the movie had affected her more than I had thought. I made a memo that next time we went to the video store to rent 'Free Willy'.

I decided to parry away from this subject.

"So, Yumiko and Shigure seem a little out of it this morning. Any ideas on why?" I asked casually.

She made a choking noise as blood rushed to her face and her eyes grew wide. I looked at her questioningly. What was she hiding? She knew something that I didn't. I put my hand under her chin and then jerked her head towards mine so she was looking me directly in the eye.

"Spill," I said forcefully.

Tohru averted her eyes to the ground and bit her lip. I raised my eyebrows. She knew that I wouldn't let go until she told me.

"Well, you see, I was going downstairs to unplug the T.V. at about 3:00 in the morning. And when I was walking past Shigure's room I heard muffled voices. I wondered if maybe he was keeping Yumiko awake because he likes to write around then, and I thought I heard something...kind of like screaming, but not loud enough to be screaming. And...Kyo I shouldn't be telling you this! I mean, it's none of my buisness! Seeing what had happened was an accident! And it's not right to gossip!" she cried.

"It's not gossiping, they're my family, I deserve to know." I explained tersely.

She glanced up at me a few times before continuing.

"Well, I opened the door just a little to see what was going on. And when I looked inside...they were...they were..." she stuttered.

"Let me just take a shoot from the hip here, they were screwing around?" I cut her off.

She looked at me questioningly, apparently she had never heard the term before.

"They were having sex." I said nonchalantly.

She nodded quickly and then looked the other way after I had realeased her chin from my grasp. It was disgusting. They had never even gone out, and here they were having sex in a house full of impressionable teenagers. Tohru might be scarred for life, she might never recover. But then it hit me. The gears began to turn in my head as I got a sinister idea. Blackmail.I now have BLACK-FREAKIN-MAIL!

Hotori always had tons of information on Shigure, but he never told me any of it. And Shigure had known me since I was a little kid. So he had a ton of crap on me. Oh, but the tables have turned now!

"Promise you won't tell anybody!" Tohru cried desperately.

Crap. There goes my fun. It went down the drain, got run over, it died, it was shot it rolled over and then was shot again, it...you get the idea. Well, I couldn't tell anyone who didn't already KNOW about it, right? So Shigure and Yumiko didn't count. YAY! BLACK MAIL IS OKAY IN THIS SITUATION!

"Okay..." I replied, a bit dissappointed.

"Thank you Kyo, I feel really bad for walking in on them...and I don't want to make things worse by having them know what I saw," she explained worrily.

Okay, no blackmail. This sucks. I've never gone back on a promise, especially one I made with Tohru. Then again, I hadn't really made a lot of promises with people. I have made promises with myself, however. Was it just me or did that sound weird?

Tohru stood up abruptly and had me rather startled.

"Well, breakfast isn't going to make itself! I better get back inside. You can come in and eat with us anytime Kyo," she informed me brightly before walking into the house.

I stared at her until she had gently closed the sliding door. The picture of her walking away still lingered through my thoughts. I made my way inside after a few minutes and wisked past the table, where everyone was in deep discussion. I payed no attention to them as I bounded upstairs to put on some clothes.

Before I could even get to my room, I heard Shigure's voice calling me from downstairs. I walked back down a couple stairs and stuck my head out from behind the wall to show that I was listening.

"Kyo, someone is coming to visit you today!" Yumiko said in a sing-song voice.

"Yes, she is coming all the way from the main house, just to see you," Shigure said in an impressed voice.

I had to think about it. Then it hit me. It slapped me hard across the face, it fell on my head, there was a huge flashing-neon sign before me, the smoke had cleared, it had...wow, I'm having a lot of fun with writing these. Kagura Damn it.

NO! She would ruin it! Me and Tohru'ss relationship was starting to blossom and then, here comes the acid rain! Why must Kagura bring me unhappiness? If she really loved me, wouldn't she just take a hint? If she knew me as well as she claims she does, then how doesn't she recognize that I hate her?

I sprinted upstairs and jammed a shirt over my head and put some pants on. The last thing I wanted Kagura to see, was me half-naked. She would get ideas. Bad, not good, immoral ideas. I shuddered at the thought. However I was surprised at my own behavior, rather than running away from Kagura, I was accepting the fact that I had to see her. No matter how much she bugs the hell out of me, she cares about me. And thats more than anyone else can say.

No sooner than that, I heard the door downstairs be practically torn off of the hinges and Kagura's heavy, rapid, footsteps making their was up to my room. I braced myself for the pain that was about to be brought upon me. What did I ever do to the woman??

"Kyo? Kyo! My love!" I heard her call desperately as she ran towards me.

I didn't say anything but gritted my teeth and closed my eyes in frustration.

"I missed you!" She cried, practically strangling me with her arms around my neck.

I flailed my arms about and wriggled to get away from her tight grasp, but from my squirming she had gotten the wrong idea and just sqeezed even tighter.

"Get off of me!" I yelled defensively thrashing my arms in every direction.

"KYO! YOU SHOULD BE NICER TO YOUR FIANCE ! YOU'RE STARTING TO MAKE ME ANGRY!" she exploded punching me repeatedely in the face.

"DAMN IT KAGURA!" I yelled back trying to run away.

Forget what I said earlier. I hate her. I could care less if she loved me. She would kill me before our honeymoon, that is if we got married.

"When will you get it through your thick head?! You're not my fiance ! I don't love you! Hell, I don't even like you!" I bellowed whilst running away.

She stopped dead in her tracks. Her lip began to quiver, tears welled up in her grey eyes.

"Kyo..why would you say such mean things to me? I thought...you loved me...WHY DON'T YOU LOVE ME?!" She screamed, charging towards me again.

"Oh...Hell no!" I groaned

"Why did you not want to speak to Ms. Honda yourself, Akito?" Hatori Soma asked, whilst sitting next to Akito's bed.

Akito's face cracked into a twisted, delusional, smile.

"I was afraid I might burst into laughter. That would ruin the effect of what I was going to say, don't you think?" He said.

Hatori turned his head to the side. He had no idea what Akito was talking about. Had he perhaps gone insane? Had the curse really driven him down so much that it had led him to become crazy?

"Yes, it's only a matter of time. Ms. Honda has only begun to sink herself deeper and deeper into the miseryof the Soma curse." Akito muttered happily.

Hatori stood up and stared into the eyes of the dying man. He didn't look insane, just...lost. Lost in what though? Lost in toughts? Anxiety? Dreams? Wishes?

"Akito...what did you have in store for Ms. Thoru Honda?"

Akito tilted his head as his sinister grin grew wider and wider. That smile, the look in his eyes, could cause a grown man to have nightmares for days. He looked livid, malicious, and strangely proud. He was enjoying every second of this mixed feeling. The glint in his dark eyes was devilish. And to Hatori's surprise, he began to laugh. At first it was soft and eerie, like a silent chuckle. Then it grew louder and louder, until it roared like thunder. The high-pitched, maniacle, laughter that sent chills down Hatori's spine.

Akito was rolling in his own twisted joy. He found amusment in Hatori's worried look. Then after a few sharp gasps escaped his lips, he fell back onto his pillow, dead. A small trickle of blood poured down his cheek. The smile still on his face, the laughter still in his eyes.

"I'm sorry that I broke your door Shigure..." Kagura apologized, hanging her head down shamefully.

"It's alright, I can get it fixed up quick!" Yumiko replied cheerfully putting a roll of paper on the wooden frame of the broken door.

"No, it's not alright! Kagura broke it, she should fix it!" I screamed angrily trying to get Yumiko to sit down.

"Kyo..." Shigure began to object, but Kagura quickly interuppted.

"No, he's right. I've practically ruined your house twice now, Shigure. I'm sorry. I really am." she said softly.

Tohru put her hand tenderely on Kagura's shoulder. Kagura lifted her head and smiled to see Tohru sitting beside her.

"It's okay, Kagura. It's easily fixed. Here Yumiko, I'll help." Tohru offered, making her way over to Yumiko and grabbing a second roll of paper.

I jerked my head the other way. Tohru was so selfless. I hated it sometimes. People could easily take advantage of her, and she was so niave that she wouldn't even know it.

"So, what brings you here?" Shigure asked changing the subject.

Kagura sighed heavily, she looked as though she really didn't feel like explaining.

"Well, I was talking to Akito yesterday. He said that I should come to your house and stay there for four days, or until Tohru had opened the letter he had written for her. Then he said that she would probably need my help for something." She explained.

Shigure seemed nonplussed by her cryptic response.

"Akito wrote me a letter?" Tohru asked Shigure, puzzled.

Shigure looked like this was the first he had heard of it. I knew better than that. Knowing Shigure, he was the one in the possesion of the letter. I did feel a bit relieved though, at least Tohru didn't have to face Akito in person. God knows what he would've done to her...

"Who did he give it to?" Tohru inquired.

Shigure began to whistle innocently and roll his eyes in a different direction. Yuki slapped him on the back side of his head. I couldn't help but snigger. Fake tears rolled down Shigure's cheeks.

"Tooohhhrrrruuuuuu! They're being mean to me!" he whined.

"Shigure. It's not the time to screw around. Give Tohru the letter. Akito should be good and dead by now," Yumiko said sternly, putting her head in her hands.

Yumiko and Shigure must've stayed up really late. I mean, she was clearly pissed. And the only way she would be so pissed off is if she was tired.

Shigure stuck his tongue out at Yumiko and then searched in his Kimono, until he pulled out a folded up peice of paper.

The tension and suspense in the room began to highten as she took the letter in her trembling hands. Everyone gathered behind her in curiosity, including Yuki. She began to unfold the paper slowly, dreading the words that were written inside. As soon as the paper was flattened out, a silver amulet with a thin gold chain fell to the floor. No one was interested in the necklace that had just fallen from the letter, our eyes got wider and wider as we read the letter further and further. In Akito's loopy handwriting, were words I never thought I would hear:

Dear Miss Honda,

I must apologize for not being able to speak to you in person. My time is short.You have lived with the Soma's for two years now. You know our curse, you accept our curse, you've expeirenced our curse through seeing Kyo in his disgusting form. You have done much for the Soma family. And I know how attatched you are to Shigure, Yuki, Kyo, and all of the others. But could you do a favor? One last favor, is all I ask of you Miss Tohru Honda. Could you break the Zodiaz Curse? I know how. I have known for a long time now. The knowledge has been passed on through the generations of the people who bear the weight of the curse. But I havn't found a single person who could break it, except you. You will need three other Soma's to go on the journey I am about to trust you with. The twelve spirits of the Zodiac rest in twelve people. Not Soma's. They are the descendants of those who have cursed us. You must find them and exorcise the spirits from their bodies. I have enclosed an amulet in this letter, this will be used to locate the people whose bodies are posessed by te spirits. It will emit a golden glow when a spirit is near. Kagura and the others will also feel strange when a spirit is near. How toexorcise the spirits, you will learn how to in time. Do this for us. Save the Soma's. Let our family, live again.

Akito