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Chapter 1

Kisa closed her eyes as she rested against him. "I love you too... Hiro-kun..." she mumbled in a soft voice.

Hiro had to bite his lip hard now to keep from crying. He put his hands over hers, and sagged forward slightly, trembling.

Akito stood there, watching the two. Stepping forwards out of her hiding spot, she swung her fist towards Kisa's face angrily. "NO NO NO!" she yelled angrily.

Hiro moved quickly, stepping in front of the punch, and felt it connect with the side of his face painfully, he leaned hard to one side, and finally managed to right himself. "D- don't punish her... it was my fault, Akito-sama."

Kisa quietly hid behind Hiro, trembling slightly in fear.

"You hurt my hand you little..." she growled as she rubbed her fist sorely. "I told you not to get near her! AND YOU DIDN'T LISTEN!" she yelled loudly. Reaching behind Hiro, she grabbed Kisa's arm and began to drag Kisa away as Kisa obeyed.

Hiro rubbed his cheek and stepped forward. "That's right, Akito-sama. You told ME not to get close to her, and I did! Don't punish her because I disobeyed your orders!"

"BUT IT'S ALL HER FAULT THAT SHE LOVES YOU!" Akito yelled again as she dragged Kisa across the household, towards the cage she put Yuki in before.

Hiro took a step forward, and his knees gave out, tripping him. "But... but I loved her first, Akito-sama. I w- I was the one who said it first." His eyes welled up; once again he was unable to protect her... "And I'll never stop loving her..." the tears finally spilled over, and Hiro hated every minute of it.

"That won't change things... I punished you for loving her... now I must separate you two..." she growled as she opened the large cage door and shoved Kisa inside it. Kisa fell to the ground with a slight thump and then looked towards the door.

"Akito-sama... I'm sorry," she muttered, but Akito wouldn't listen as she shut the door to the cage.

Hiro continued to look down, sobbing quietly. "I hate Akito... I hate... I hate... I hate Akito..." He slammed his fist into the tatami matted floor. He stood up, and glared down the hallway. "I hate you Akito!" He screamed as loud as he could, his voice breaking.

Hatori turned the corner as Hiro yelled that and quickly shoved him behind him as Akito came hauling down the corner. "YOU WHAT!" she screamed angrily as she looked at Hatori. "Hatori... MOVE!" she screamed. Soon Kureno turned the corner and hugged Akito softly.

"Forgive him Akito... Forgive him..." he muttered.

Akito struggled for some time and finally settled down, turning and leaving in silence as Kureno followed after her.

Hiro continued to stare at the ground, his fists clenched tightly at his sides. He tried to stop crying but he couldn't, having other people protect him hadn't helped his ego, either, and he felt utterly useless at that moment.

Kisa looked through the cage bars. "I'm sorry Hiro-kun..." she muttered in a slightly hurt voice. Hatori looked back at Kisa with a sigh.

Hiro clenched his fists tightly, tensing up as much as he could, readying himself for the next part. "What do you have against love, Akito-sama? Why do you forbid it so passionately?" his voice came out small, weak and pathetic, but at least everyone could hear him.

Akito did not respond as she walked away silently.

Hatori sighed softly and walked towards Kisa, placing his hand through the cage. "Are you all right Kisa?" he asked. Kisa nodded slightly and went back into the farthest corner of the cage and pulled her knees to her chest as she sat there.

Hiro finally managed to beat back his sadness enough to stop crying, and finally looked up at the cage, although doing so was his undoing. He turned and fled, unable to stand the sight, and his weakness any longer. He ran into Momiji as he ran, and shoved the other Sohma out of the way with a halfhearted "Out of my way rabbit".

Miji looked up at Hatori. "What's going on here? I've never seen Hiro look like..." he trailed off as he saw what was in the cage, and for once, Momiji's happy exterior crumbled away. "Now that's not fair!"

Kisa looked up at Momiji's voice and raced towards the door of the cage. "Momiji-kun!" she cried as tears swelled in the corners of her eyes.

Momiji smiled brightly back at her, walking up to the door of the cage and hugged her as best he could through the bars. "Hold on, we'll try and get something worked out now won't we, Hatori?" The way he said it was friendly, but almost had a threat to it.

Hatori sighed softly. "Yeah..." he muttered, his brain scanning thoughts of how to get Kisa out of the cage.

"Only Akito-sama has the key, right? And we still need someone to go make sure Hii-kun doesn't hurt himself," Momiji said softly, reaching back into the cage with his hand, and holding Kisa's.

"Mo-kun.." she mumbled softly as she put her small hand in his. "No telling Onee-chan..." she whispered softly.

Momiji smiled back at her softly. "No, we won't tell her... and Haru-kun is out of the picture. He'd go black the minute he saw this..." He scratched his chin in thought. "Hari-san?"

Hatori looked down at Momiji with his plain, normal face and his eyes gave him a slightly frustrated look. "Yes, Momiji... We won't tell them... The others... especially Yuki is what I am pondering about..." he mumbled. Kisa looked up at Hatori with teary eyes and sighed slightly.

Momiji squeezed Kisa's hand lightly, and grinned back at her. "Don't worry... we'll get you out of this soon enough!" He looked back at Hatori, and managed to keep his smile. "I'll look for Hii-kun if Yuki won't and you can call Yuki down here to help her." He shrugged. "It'd be hard to get Shigure-san or Kyo down here without alerting Tohru, because they never leave the house."

"Hmm... you are right... I'll call Yuki..." he muttered as he took out his phone and spoke with Yuki. "Yuki... will you look for Hiro? We can't find him... and well... It's a bit complicated..." he muttered.

Yuki, back at Shigure's house, looked at the phone, slightly confused. He hadn't expected a phone call, much less from Hatori. "Complicated, what happened?"

Miji smiled, and leaned back against the cage. He would stand here with her until Akito came back to chase him off, he was sure of that.

"Kisa and Hiro... Akito getting mad... The usual... But.. I've not seen Akito like this for a while... He locked Kisa... in the cage, Yuki..." he informed him as he looked back at Kisa and watched her close her eyes.

Yuki went dead silent on the phone at the other end, and for a moment, one would think he hung up, until he managed a soft, "I'll be there." He hung up the phone, and headed for the door, just as Tohru swung out of the kitchen with a smile on her face. Seeing Yuki getting ready to leave, though, she walked up to him.

"Where are you going, Yuki-kun?" she asked, tilting her head inquisitively to the side.

He sighed, but turned around and flashed her the best smile he could muster at the moment. "They want me to do something for Student Council... I might not be home in time for dinner..."

Tohru looked disappointed, but didn't try to stop him. "Alright, I'll save you some leftovers."

Yuki smiled back, and hurried off as fast as he could towards the main Sohma house. Once there, he walked in solemnly, trying his hardest not to look at the cage in fear, and failing. "Something about Hiro-kun?"

Kisa looked up with half opened eyes towards Yuki. "Yuki-kun... Hiro left..." she muttered softly from the cage. For some reason she was having troubles staying awake.

Yuki raised an eyebrow. "Why would he leave her here like this?"

Miji shrugged as best he could. "I don't know, but he looked really upset..."

Yuki looked around, finally letting his eyes rest on Kisa. There was nothing but sympathy in his gaze. He looked back at Momiji. "You're always with him, where do you think he could've gone?"

Miji tapped his chin thoughtfully. "There's a park near here... he might have run there. I see him there a lot when he doesn't want me to," the last part he added with a smile.

Yuki looked out the door. "The park... I think I know where that is... and you two?"

Miji smiled. "I'm gonna stay here until we either figure out how to get her out of this cage, or Akito-sama chases me off..."

Yuki looked at Hatori. "And you?"

"I will do what I can to subside Akito-sama's anger... If he wishes to go on a rampage..." he muttered as he looked over at Kisa, who was now sleeping silently, leaning against the cage and still weakly holding Momiji's hand.

Yuki smiled softly, and nodded, walking back outside, and into the daylight, followed by about a half dozen rats. He turned and headed towards the park, walking swiftly.

Meanwhile... Miji just stood, leaning lightly on the cage, still keeping a grip on Kisa's hand, humming his song softly, and staring out at nothingness against the far wall. "I wish I had someone female and not related to me here to hug me. If I was a rabbit, I could get through the bars of the cage..." he thought, whispering only to himself in the now deserted hallway. He went back to humming his song, idly passing the time.

So far, no luck, Yuki sighed disgustedly. He sat down on a bench, and rested his face in his hands. Just then, a rat ran up to him and told him it had found something. Following the small gray creature he found a dark red, button-down shirt lying on the grass in a mostly wooded part of the park. He called the rats back, and they all searched out from that area. Finally, one led him to the rest of the clothes behind a nearby bush. Another rat scurried out from under it, and told him it had found the weirdest little fluffy creature under there. Yuki smiled, almost grinning. He pulled back the bush, and sure enough, covered in dirt and leaves was a small brown and white sheep.

Kisa slept silently. In the corners of her eyes, formed new tears. Waking up, she gripped Momiji's hand a little tighter and looked at him with half open eyes. "M-Momiji-kun... I don't want to be here..." she muttered softly.

Hatori looked over in silence and sighed softly. Frustrated again, he began to pace, trying not to show his worry. Bumping into someone, he looked down and saw Akito standing there, glaring at him. "Akito-sama..." he said in an honored voice as he bowed his head in respect. Akito shoved her way past him and noticed Momiji lying there.

"I know Kisa-chan no one does..." he said back softly. Upon hearing the footsteps, though, he looked up to see Akito standing there. He immediately dropped Kisa's hand, and backed away slowly. "Akito-sama! I erm... I'm sorry..." He backed away, his head bowed low, and apologizing profusely. He had learned how to deal with Akito a long time ago. "I didn't mean to... I'm really really sorry... she was a little lonely... I'll not come back if you don't want me to..." He was lying, and he told Kisa that with a very apologetic look.

Meanwhile...

Yuki jogged back towards the main Sohma house, if his luck was good, Akito wouldn't be there, and he could hand Hiro off to Momiji. He walked quietly into the corridor, Hiro in his arms like a fluffy stuffed animal. He looked cautiously around the corner, only to find in horror, Akito standing there. He cursed without sound, and hid around the corner, knowing Akito was too focused on Momiji to have seen him. He slumped silently against the wall. If he had any luck left, Hiro would not change back to his human form while they were standing there.

Kisa bowed her head politely to Akito and Akito just replied with a glare. "You are not to visit her again... No one will visit her from now on..." she growled angrily. "That is her punishment... To be simply forgotten."

Yuki gasped silently in horror, and looked back to his arms, hoping that Hiro was still sleeping. The good news was that Hiro wasn't going to transform back, the bad news was that Hiro wasn't asleep and had heard the whole thing. Yuki held on tighter as he felt the little sheep start to squirm pathetically in his arms. He was at a loss for words.

Momiji backed up, still staring at the floor. This time he was trying not to cry, and he had to try several times before he could answer. He nodded slightly, and his voice came out choked. "As you wish Akito-sama." He turned and strode down the hallway and towards the outside. As he walked past Yuki, he motioned for the older boy to follow him outside.

Yuki followed, still holding Hiro in his arms. When they were a safe distance away, Momiji tilted his head back and began crying.

"What is wrong with him? All this because the two of them are in love! This isn't fair, Yuki!" He whined, walking and making violent hand gestures. Yuki sighed.

"I don't like this any more than you do... but Akito-sama's word is the law..." he spat out the last word as if it tasted bad. Momiji calmed, and looked up at Yuki, unused to the older boy losing his temper so easily. "Let's just go back to Shigure's house... and... I'll talk to him. He's good with dealing with Akito..." He paused. "Momiji, don't tell anyone about this that it would affect profoundly... like Haru and Tohru, understand?"

The rabbit sniffled and nodded.

Kisa watched Akito in silence and closed her eyes, not willing to look at her face. Akito grinned and looked at Hatori, who excused himself and walked away silently. Akito walked up to the edge of Kisa's new home and continued to have that same smile. "You will never see them again... They have left you..." she muttered as she laughed and turned away, walking down the hall.

Kisa stood there, trembling slightly. What had she done? Her head bowed fully and she fell backwards onto the floor of her cell. She had given up already, for Akito's word was law... and she would never see them again. Shaking her head, she tried to rid herself of the thoughts and pulled her knees to her small chest, breaking out into a fit of tears.

And so she lay there, crying with no one to come to her aide… at least not for a little while. Her sadness forced her to transform into her tiger form, as she had so long ago. And there she laid... a small orange tiger surrounded by clothes.