The word around the mansion was that she would arrive today. Her name fluttered along the corridors in panicked whispers: "Morcant is coming, prepare the feast...Lady Morcant needs the lights dimmed, dim the lights!"

Kota watched the servants scatter like frightened ants as the screeching sound of a nearing car reverberated through the frontal walls. As much as he didn't want to admit it, he missed her. She didn't give him love or care about anything he did. She never nurtured him or told him anything about his past. But he knew she had a reason to be the way she was, and also that he was forever indebted to her in more ways than one.

He reached into his left pocket, retreating a single, silver whistle.

And it wasn't particularly uninteresting living in the Celts...it was dark and quiet. Silent.

Impeccably silent.

So as he brought the whistle to his mouth, even the quietest of critters crawling about the forest-green tiles raced for shelter when the bullet-clear screech rang all the way up to the mansion's 7th floor. Even Kota couldn't help but flinch and quickly threw the whistle back into his pocket.

"They should just be on time, really." he whispered.

They filed out of the rooms in an orderly fashion, trotting down the stairs in unison.

Kota shrank against the wall, letting them by.

Ivy, obviously fresh out of a light coma-like nap, glared at him. "You could just knock on our doors, you know?"

He gave her a half grin. "And risk getting yelled at?" he inched closer. "tough luck."

Ivy pierced her sapphire eyes through his forest green ones for a few icy seconds before settling into the semi circle of the other members of her Zodiac at the base of the stairs.

It's the way she liked to be greeted; Lady Morgan was one for scandalous welcomes and admiration and never ending adoration. She was a Goddess, after all. No one dared to question her. No one ever would, either.

Unlike the Chinese zodiac, the Celtic zodiac is based on trees that the Druids held sacred. They believed each particular tree held different and unique characteristics that could be applied to months of the year. This was done by connecting a tree to a lunar month using the Celtic alphabet. The consonants form the calendar of magic (seasonal,) and the vowels represent complementary seasons.

Tohru lowered the article unto the nearest surface. Kyo, standing a few feet away, picked it up.

"So...They turn into trees?"

Kyo looked over at her. "What do you mean?"

"You guys turned into your zodiac animal when hugged...do they turn into their zodiac tree?"

Kyo shrugged and threw the paper into the wastebasket. "That's a good question, Tohru." He suppressed a smile. "Imagine how stupid they'd look."

"Well we didn't particularly looked any less stupid, Kyo." Yuki reminded.

The three were gathered in Kyo's temporary room along the eastern side of the villa. It was a lively mandarin colour, along with a matching comforter and curtain set. Yuki's room was across the hall, and Tohru's would be in Akito's side of the property. "To keep temptations away" Shigure had said. Tohru had blushed even harder than with the hotel inquiry.

"Yeah but at least we moved." Kyo argued.

"You guys really were very cute, too." Tohru smiled at the memories; little Yuki running away from Kyo in an endless chase.

She looked up at Kyo, who shifted uncomfortably. "Glad it's over, though."

"I'm guessing their curse was different." Yuki mused, veering the conversation back towards the Celts. "Our curse was...bizarre, but it bounded us to Akito, the God. I'm guessing whatever their curse was, it was still a form of power."

Tohru sighed. What could they even do? What could she even do? Morgan seemed no one to be messed with, and according to legends, she was an Elder, one of the most powerful tree signs out there. They had no one of re instating the curse, even if they wanted-they didn't really know how it broke in the first place.

"I don't think we should take her that seriously, I mean, what just cuz she marched in here wearing lingerie she thinks we're going to listen?" Kyo sat on the edge on jthe bed, silently scowling at the fluorescent sheets.

"She didn't seem like someone who should be taken lightly, Kyo." Yuki sat on a love seat, hand resting his head. He looked up. "She also seemed to know you, Tohru."

Tohru's gaze snapped toward Yuki, then quickly away.

She felt Kyo study her.

"I had never seen her before in my life." she said. "But there was...I don't know. She just gave off a strong aura that's all."

"Are you sure?" Yuki asked.

"Yes." Tohru nodded. "I'm sure."

After a moment of silence, Yuki headed toward the door.

"Don't be late to the meeting tomorrow, Kyo. All the Sohma will be there."

Before completely disappearing, he looked back at him. "Don't want to be late a second time, right?"

Closing the door, Yuki's footsteps diminished down the hall.

Akito officially called a Sohma meeting merely minutes after Morgan had left. Even though she masked he'd fear well, Tohru saw through it and surely Shigure did as well. Even after she put down the phone, her fingers shook and eyes wandered around.

"Hey." Shigure pulled Akito close. "Don't be scared...that's kind of out of character of you." His voice was stern, but he gave her a gentle kiss on the forehead.

Akito looked down. " I don't want to gather everyone here. It reminds me of before...it'll remind them too." She pushed away from him. "Will they even listen?"

Shigure sighed and sat on the bed. "They'll have to. Not only were you threatened, but the whole family was. You have people standing next to and behind you, Akito."

He patted the spot next to him. " We will be on your side, even if they're not. And who knows? Maybe they'll have some idea about this."

A thoughtful glaze swept over his gaze. " If there really are more zodiac curses out there..."

"Do you believe it?" Akito sat next to him.

Shigure stayed silent. He had heard legends...but never more than that. Myths. Rumors.

Nightmares.

He grabbed her by the waste and pulled her unto his lap.

"Ah!" Unbalanced, she wrapped her arms around his neck.

"I don't know." he said. "The world is a big, big place."

Tohru decided to leave as they had their meeting. She would greet everyone afterwards, but she didn't want to be there meanwhile. As she got into the mustard yellow taxi, she pulled out her phone and anxiously dialed her two best friends. She figured one would be with the other, so she called Hana, hesitating a slight second.

It had been two years...would they be as happy to meet her as she was? They had protested intensely against her move with Kyo, and she didn't think they ever truly got over it. Kyo even insisted on staying; he didn't want to separate her and her friends. But Tohru knew they had to leave eventually.

So packing up that summer after the curse broke, they left to Kyoto, about five hours away from Tokyo. Tokyo had been a city of dreams and nightlife and even though she and the Sohmas had lived on the outskirts, you could still look out and see flashing lights amongst giant towers. Kyoto, on the other hand was stark opposite. Small village towns and a few fancy hotels hidden away between trees and breezes.

It was a change, but Tohru liked it and enjoyed the proximity to nature. Kyo, however almost constantly complained about the over population of rats.

"Where to, Miss?"

Tohru's attention snapped back toward the taxi driver. She looked down at her phone, realizing the call to Hana hadn't gone through. She sent her a text:

Hey , I'm in town for a few days...I miss you guys.

Going to Corner Mart, are you and Arisa busy?

"Corner Mart, please." She said with a smile.

The taxi driver nodded, and eased into the scattered traffic.

After five minutes with no reply, she slid the phone into her pocket.

"I'm sorry to have called such a short notice gathering." Akito kept her eyes fixed to the table, but her perhebital vision registered everyone's attention focused on her. Swallowing nerves and fear, she finally met the gazes she'd always avoided.

Shigure's was the first she met, as he sat directly across from her around the ovaled table. To the right of him was Yuki, and next to him was Kyo. To Shigure's left were Hitori Sohma and next to him Ayame Sohma, who where ridgidly focused. The line continued on to Momiji, Kagura and Hatsuharu. Akito figured at 17 Momiji and Haru should be included, however decided Kisa and Hiro should maybe hear a compressed second hand version of the information and left them out of the meeting. Ritso, Rin and Kureno seem vaguely uninterested, and Rin fiddled with her fingernails.

"And I wouldn't have if I didn't think think this was vital information to share."

Rin looked up at Akito.

Yuki looked away.

"Yesterday, a woman came here by the name of Morcant...Morgan." She leaned against her chair.

" She said she was the Goddess of the Celtic Zodiac and that she had found out about our curse being...broken."

"Celtic Zodiac?" Kagura asked softly.

Akito nodded. "We don't exaclty know much, but she threatened the entire Sohma clan if our curse wasn't 'reinstalled'."

The entire table buzzed with whispers.

"Why would we matter to her in anyway?"

"What she's saying doesn't even make any sense. She's obviously a scam artist or something."

"How did she even know about the curse in the first place?"

Yuki turned back toward them. " She didn't seem like a scam artist." He said.

Haru scoffed and pointed at him, " Yuki, do you expect a scam artist to tell you when she's scamming you?"

"She didn't ask for money, Haru."

"What troubles me," Hitori chimed in " is the fact she even knew about our curse."

The table silenced.

" I think that enough is a reason to give her some concern." He continued.

" And her aura was really no joke." Kyo said. " There was definitely something there."

"You met her, Kyo?" Rin asked.

"Tohru and I were arriving as she was leaving."

"When I traveled to China, I visited a Buddhist temple." Kureno said, as the attention shifted to him. "There, there were many legends of the Chinese zodiac and even some about our actual curse. And just like there were those, there were rumors of other zodiacs being physically materialized, like us."

"Where did you hear this?" Shigure asked.

Kureno shrugged. " It was a while ago. I don't specifically remember the name of the temple."

"Do they have animals in their zodiacs too?" Momiji almost whispered.

Kyo shook his head. "There's different signs and symbols. The Celts are dominated by nature symbols, so theirs are trees. But those trees have corresponding colors and animals too."

"So would they turn into trees or something?" Haru asked.

"We think it wasn't like out curse. It could've been different, but us breaking ours obviously severed the connection with their God somehow...considering how upset she was." Shigure said.

They once again fell silent.

" I will do research and try to find out the threat's legitimacy." Akito sighed. " I just thought maybe you guys should know. And please help if you hear anything or do research as well."

They all gave her a silent nod.

"Did she say anything else?" Ayame asked. " That...Morcant."

After thinking about it for a moment, Akito answered. " She said she'd be sending someone...to make sure I did what she asked."

"She also showed a strange interest in Tohru." Yuki whispered, almost to himself.

Kyo felt goosebumps at the mere memory and wished he was out with her. Something about the whole happening was making him uneasy. Like a constant worry at the back of your head that never really dies away.

"Where is Tohru now?" Momiji asked, alarmed.

Kyo grabbed his phone and dialed her number under the table. After several rings, the line disconnected.

"She was meeting Hana and Arisa, some friends."

"I think for now, let's wait and see if she really sends someone...let's not panic." Rin suggested.

Akito nodded. " I agree. Just please be cautious and let someone know if anything suspicious happens."

She stood. " Thank you for coming." She bowed her head slightly. Scattered amounts of heads bowed back as they stood.

Kyo pushed past them and sped towards the car.

Something...

"Oh?" Tohru patted around her body for her phone, then sighed in defeat when she couldn't find it.

Must've left it in the cab.

The day had started out sunny and warm, but had slowy turned gray and humid. The monochrome backgroud made the trees and buildings pop with presence, and the air hummed along stray leaves. People were everywhere, mothers with children, even children alone. Tohru smiled at them and was a bit disappointed ted when they didn't smile back.

She wondered if she should wait a bit longer for Hana and Arisa, or just go home. But with the bags of groceries and the stormy sky, she kind of didn't want to go back alone.

Suddenly, something collided against her shoulder, making her bgs drop and whole arm ache.

"Hm!" She grasped her shoulder and turned to see what had happened.

A boy stood next to her, maybe 18 to 20 years old. He had mahogany brown hair that cropped around his ears, and Tohru swore she could see specks of silver around his ends. His eyes were a flourescent green, and his nose was sprinkled with barely visible freckles.

Tohru gaped at him.

A foreigner?

"I'm sorry.". He said. He has an audible accent, but his Japanese sounded a lot better than she expected. " I didn't see you there...would you like some help with your bags?"

there was something about him. Something making Tohru want to run, but only to turn and look at him from afar. Something keeping her there even while knowing his being here with her wasn't a coincidence.

She shook her head. "No thank you, I'm fine." She bowed and turned away.

"Please let me help you." He insisted, grabbing the fallen bags. Before Tohru could protest, he grasped her hand and shook it.

"I'm Kota." He said with a radiant smile. "Nice to meet you."

THANK YOU FOR READING!

Xoxox