Chapter 2: New hope

"Tohru?" I looked at the sound of my voice being called to see Sage standing there, looking at me worryingly. "Will you be alright here by yourself?"

I smiled at him warmly, trying to reassure him that I would indeed be fine. "Yes. Don't worry Sage-kun. If anything happens, I'll be sure to call you." I smiled once more before crossing the small space between us and kissing him lightly on the cheek. "Goodnight,"

As I watched Sage leave, a feeling of emptiness filled me. I inhaled deeply and headed towards my room. I was used to living alone. I had been alone ever since my mother passed away. Living in a tent till I graduated high school. Lying to Poor Uo-chan and Hanajima.

And then I met Sage. I was working at a small book store, one of my part time jobs, when he came in looking for a book. It was five minutes before close, and he apologized frantically to me. I had just laughed, and told him I'd stay till we found the book he was looking for. It didn't take long, maybe five minutes or so. And when I went to go and let him out of the store, he asked me if he could treat me to dinner for being such a pain and causing me to have to stay at work later then I'd normally have to. At first I was reluctant. Not knowing if I should go with a complete stranger or not. I was afraid mother wouldn't approve. And there was also something else. Some strange feeling I felt the moment he asked me out to dinner.

It felt as if I was betraying someone. But who, I thought to myself at the time. My mother? No. She'd be so happy for me if she could see this right now. Uo-chan and Hanajima would be happy for as well. They were always telling me when we were back in high school that I needed to find a boyfriend. Back then, I would get this same strange feeling. As if I was betraying someone.

But this time, when I looked at this man with beautiful sky blue eyes, I didn't want to say no. So, I choke back that feeling and with a smile, said yes. From that night on, Sage would come to the store at the end of every night I worked and would take me out to eat. Its been six months now since that day, and he's been perfect to me. But no matter how hard I tried to get rid of it, that betraying feeling always snuck back up on me. And because of that, Sage and I were still a little distant from one another. More then I knew he'd like to be.

I sighed heavily and headed to the kitchen to grab the trash that was full of packing paper and boxes. "Guess I'll throw this out," I grabbed a hold of the trash bag, and headed outside. "Oh, hi!" I smiled brightly at my neighbor that I had seen earlier. He looked at me, and I swallowed hard.

He looked…sad. So scared and lost. Maybe even a little hurt. His bright orange hair blew slightly to the side from the small gust of wind that went through our small complex. His crimson red eyes stared at me. It was as if he was seeing right through me. I should've found this awkward. Maybe even a little scary. But for some reason it didn't make me feel at all uncomfortable. Instead, it gave me a throbbing emptiness feeling. Just like when Sage left. The expression on his face turned from sad to realization.

"Erm…" He coughed lightly and turned his face away from me, looking off of the small balcony our apartments were on. "Kyo," He glanced at me from the corner of his eyes. "My name is Kyo Sohma."

"Sohma…" the word rolled off my tongue as if I was meant to say it. "Its nice to meet you," I smiled at him before throwing my garbage away into the garbage can. "I'm sorry about earlier, Kyo-kun." I bowed lightly. "I didn't mean to disturb you. Um…if there's anything I can do. At all, please…" my voice trailed off. Why was I apologizing and offering to do something for him in return? All I did was accidentally slip.

"No," He said it so quickly I winded up taking a step backwards. "No thank you, I mean." He stood there for a few seconds more just staring at me, before turning and entering back into his apartment.

The moment he was out of sight, a sob came from the back of my throat. I rushed back into my apartment and ran into my room. I let my body drop down onto my bed. I felt sick. Horribly sick to my stomach. I thought I was going to throw up but I couldn't seem to move myself from my bed. What was happening? I didn't understand. Why did I feel as if someone was tugging at my heart? Why did I feel as if I had hurt Kyo in a way that on one would be able to forgive? It didn't make sense. I didn't even know him. Why was I feeling like something huge was missing from my life?

I let the sob turn into tears. Tears of complete confusion. I let my tears fall until I fell asleep.

I awoke the next morning to someone knocking on my door. I groaned and reached my hand to my small night stand to grab a hold of my phone. I flipped it open and looked at the time. 11:45 AM. "Oh!" It was probably Sage. I flung myself off the bed and shouted 'one moment'

I rushed into the bathroom and, taking one glance at myself in the mirror, new it would be a little longer then one moment. I grabbed my brush and yanked it through my long and knotted hair. I rinsed my face off, then ran across my room to some boxes at the end of my bed. I rummaged through them quickly, and managed to find a tan skirt with a feathery belt and a white lacy tank top. I sighed. Not exactly what I was looking for, but it'd have to do. I threw my cloth on, and tossed my hair up in quick messy bun. Then rushed over to the door and flung it open, with a huge smile on face ready to great Sage.

"Good morning,"

I blinked twice before realizing it wasn't Sage. "Oh. Good morning Kyo-kun!" I had to look up when talking to Kyo, I realized. He was taller then me by a lot. And definitely taller then Sage. His red crimson eyes didn't hold a sad look this morning. Just curiosity. "Can I help you?" I said when he didn't say anything else.

"I just wanted to apologize for yesterday. My…behavior. Was…erm…" He was cut off by a loud growl that came from his stomach.

I couldn't help it. I laughed. "Kyo, have you eaten this morning?" He stared at me for a moment before saying 'no' I smiled at him. "Please, come inside. I'll make something for breakfast as a thank you for apologizing."

What was I doing? This is something I would normally never do. But, for some odd reason, it felt right inviting him in for breakfast. When I smiled at him as he walked past me into the house, it once again felt right. I thought of Sage getting mad. And yet for some unknown reason I didn't care. What was wrong with me?

It didn't take long at all to cook up some eggs and fry some bacon. While I cooked, I asked Kyo to look through a box that set on top of the counters in search of plates. He found some and quietly set them on the small table Sage had supplied for me. I served breakfast and we both ate in complete and utter silence. When we were done, I took both the plates and moved over to the sink to wash everything. I grabbed the pan I had fried the bacon in. It was heavier then I remembered when I first started making the bacon.

Accidentally, I let it tip to the side on grease fell all over the floor. "No!" I groaned at my own clumsiness. I heard a laugh behind me and turned to see Kyo laughing softly. He stopped the moment I looked him. A look of sudden seriousness crossed his face and he abrubtly stood up.

"I should get goin-"

A bang come on my front door again. "Tohru?" It was Sage.

"A-Ah…" was all I managed to get out before I took the wrong step to the left and slipped in the grease I had let spill all over the floor. I saw the side of the marble counter, and closed my eyes so tightly ready for the impact of my head hitting the counter.

That's when it happened. I felt Kyo's arms wrap around my waist and yank me to the side. It was so fast I felt my food almost come back up. Then I hit the floor with a thud, landing ontop of what felt like a small pile of cloth. I scurried to my feet as fast as I can to thank Kyo. And than I saw it. Or rather him.

An orange cat lay on my floor. The same orange of Kyo's hair color. My eyes grew wide and without hesitation or even a second thought, I scooped the cat up. He opened his eyes and looked at me. Red crimson cat eyes. "AH! OH NO! I TURNED HIM INTO A CAT! WHAT DO I DO? WHAT DO I DO? HOSPITAL! HOSP-"

"Tohru? Tohru are you okay? I'm coming in!" I heard the front door open, and Sage was in my kitchen just a few moments later. He took one look at me before laughing. "Tohru, what're you doing to that poor cat? He looks petrified!"

I looked down at my own hands. I was squeezing Kyo so hard I thought his eyes were going to pop out. "OH!" I gasped and pulled him close to me, almost against my chest. "Sage," I practically breathed out his name. "Ah…um…could you, er…go and buy me some cat food?" Yes! Score one for Tohru, I thought. "I found this cat while throwing out the garbage last night. He looks…er…hungry. Yes! Hungry!"

Sage laughed and complied. He left the house within seconds, saying he'd be back within the next 30 minutes.

The moment he was out the door, I pulled Kyo away from me and stared at him. "What to do?" I groaned and set him down on the floor.

I should be panicking. Completely freaking out right now. Was I insane? No. He was a cat. I paced back and forth for a few seconds, then kneeled down in front of Kyo. "I'm so sorry!" I reached my hand out to touch the top of his head, and with out knowing what was happening a giant cloud of fog appeared in front of me, and then Kyo was standing within it. "AH!" My face turned beat red and I turned on my heal, facing away from him.

"K-Kyo I'm so sorry. I don't know how it happened. I don-" Everything went black. My mind went blank. I felt sick; dizzy. I heard my name being called but I couldn't seem to reply to it.

"Tohru, Tohru whats wrong?" My mother lay beside me in my bed. She had just told me the twelve zodiac story.

"The poor cat!" I was crying now. I stood out of my bed and looked up at the ceiling, tears sliding down my face. "I know! From now on I don't want to be the dog anymore; I want to be the cat!"

My mother laughed, and told me lay back in bed.

"The cat…" I turned around to face Kyo. He had his pants back on, and was fighting to get his shirt back on while saying my name again. "The cat…K-Kyo Sohma…" My eyes filled up with tears. It was back. Everything. All of it.

Everything I had ever forgotten. Kyo, Yuki, Shigure. All laughing at the table. Risa one-chan, hugging me and smiling a beautiful sweet smile. Momiji, oh Momiji…the sweetest boy I had ever met. Hatsuharu, Miss Isuzu, Hatori, Hiro, Kazuma…Everyone.

Akito. The black room.

I sobbed and coughed so hard I almost fell forward. "Kyo! Kyo!" I remembered. I remembered everything. Tears poured down my cheeks. They flowed like they'd never stop. I saw him look at my, and realization hit his face.

He moved forward once, and then stopped himself so quickly I thought I was seeing things. I could see his eyes fill with tears, and then he was running. Right to my door. Faster than I've ever seen someone run.

Why…why was he running?

A/N: Yep, that didn't take long, did it? I felt like this was a little bit better then the first chapter. Maybe a little rushed as well. But I've got the 3rd chapter started already and its not rushed. Its gonna be good!

I'd appreciate it you could review. I'd like feedback! :) Thank you!