"About time," snorted Hiro, looking at Kyo and Tohru on the roof. He and Kisa had just arrived because the young girl wanted to see "Onee-chan", and what should they find but a pair of lovebirds perched on top of the house.

"What do you mean, Hiro?" said Kisa in her quiet voice.

"Tch. If I had to sit around and watch that stupid cat keeping his feelings to himself much longer, I'd have killed him," the young boy said, trying to sound manly. "He almost strangled me the last time I told him to ask her out."

"Yes, that does sound like Kyo," Shigure said with a self-suffering smile.

"Stupid cat," came an irked mutter through an open window. Shigure sighed heavily.

"Yuki, cheer up a little!" he called.

"Why should I?" was the boy's retort. "He's just going to change his mind in a couple of weeks, and she's going to be a wreck."

"Don't be like that," his guardian insisted. "I really do think that they're serious."

"We can hear you idiots!" Kyo shouted down at them.

Everyone glanced up to find him scowling fiercely, holding a fist at them like he could punch them from where he was. He actually looked like he was ready to jump off of the roof and try, but Tohru had caught the back of his shirt and was trying to restrain him. More than any arm strength she might have had, the others were pretty sure Kyo wasn't pulling any harder because he was afraid she would fall if he did. It was a…valid concern, to say the least.

"They weren't trying to keep secrets, you stupid cat," Yuki said, voice quite cold. "Now will you keep it down? I'm trying to work out a plan for the student council. My vice president is a nut job and won't get anything done himself, so it's up to me."

"No one asked about your problems, ya damn rat!" Kyo snarled, his hair bristling.

"Shut up, stupid cat."

"Kyo-kun, you really shouldn't be so close to the edge of the roof," said Tohru.

Some of the tightness left Kyo's shoulders, and he sighed heavily, turning to look at Tohru over his shoulder.

"Quit worrying so much," he told her. "I'm fi—"

He didn't get to finish, because as he turned, his foot slipped on a loose shingle, and straight out from under him. He didn't have time to do more than let out a startled noise before he was falling. Tohru cried out as well, in shock he thought, but when he felt a pull on his shirt, he realized that she was still holding onto him.

"Tohru, let go—" he started, but he was already over the edge of the roof, and she tumbled after him.

Landing on his feet wasn't a problem for Kyo. He was part cat, so of course he landed easily. Tohru wasn't so graceful. She landed in a heap on top of him, knocking him to the ground. A poof of smoke later, and a small orange cat was trying to wriggle his way from beneath her.

"Tohru, you idiot!" he snapped, poking her face with one of his paws. "Why didn't you let go? Are you hurt? Are you alright?"

"No, I'm fine," she said, wearing a typically dazed expression. "Really, I'm okay."

"Onee-chan!" Kisa cried, running to Tohru's side and dragging Hiro by the hand. "Onee-chan, are you okay?"

"Pah, it's her fault she fell," Hiro said dismissively, but even he looked just a little worried.

"Hold on, I'll call Hatori," said Shigure, and he disappeared inside. They could all hear Yuki speaking to Shigure, finally pulled out of his room by the commotion.

"What's going on, Shigure?" Yuki demanded. When Shigure relayed what had just happened, and had gone for the phone, they could hear Yuki exclaim "What?! Is she okay? That stupid cat just let her fall?"

A second later, the door was thrown open and Yuki stormed out, zeroing in on the small congregation just below his bedroom window. Kyo was prodding one of Tohru's ankles, looking as worried as a cat could, with twitching whiskers and lashing tail. His ears perked up when the door opened and he looked around, just to have a feline growl start in his throat. He laid his ears back, but Yuki didn't even spare him a second glance.

"Miss Honda?" he said quietly, kneeling down beside her. "Are you alright?"

"Oh, I'm fine," she said at once, though she still sounded stunned.

"No you're not!" Kyo snapped. "Your right ankle is almost twice the size of the left one. You've definitely sprained it."

"I'm okay," she denied. "I'm really alright."

"Bullshit," said the cat succinctly, and poked the ankle in question. Tohru gave an involuntary wince as pain flared up, and there was no way for her to cover it up.

"See?" said the cat. "You need to see Hatori."

"So you hurt her to prove something?" Yuki snapped. "You really are stupid."

"What's that?" Kyo said, bristling and holding up a paw, claws unsheathed. "You wanna go with me, ya damn rat?"

"Tch, shut up. In case you forgot, you're a cat right now. I can just step on you."

"Boys, please, stop bickering," said Shigure, coming back out looking worried.

At once Kisa ran up to Shigure, tugging insistently on his yukata and asking when Grandpa Hatori would come to see Onee-chan, because Kyo said that Tohru had sprained her ankle. What was a sprain, anyway?

"It's when you hurt a tendon or muscle or something," said Hiro at once. "Like pulling it, or twisting it, 'cept it hurts more."

"Onee-chan, does it hurt really bad?" asked Kisa, her eyes beginning to tear up.

Tohru smiled and shook her head reaching out for Kisa's hand.

"No, I'm really fine," she answered the little girl.

"You are not!" Kyo repeated, then he turned to Shigure. "You called Hatori, right? When is he coming over?"

Shigure frowned, fiddling with his thumbs.

"Well…" he said hesitantly. "He can't leave the Sohma residence right now. Akito's health is…delicate at the moment."

Silence fell under that name. Kyo was the first to break it.

"But then—who's gonna look at her ankle?"

"We could take her to a normal hospital," Shigure pointed out. "She's not in danger of transforming into an animal if she gets a doctor of the opposite sex."

"Oh, no, I couldn't possibly go to the hospital," she said at once, trying to stand. "I'm really fine, and anyway, I can't afford it."

"Don't be silly, Miss Honda, we'd be more than happy to pay for you," said Yuki, catching her and guiding her back to the ground when she nearly fell over.

"I couldn't possibly let you do that," she argued.

"She'll never let us take her to the hospital," Kyo sighed, shifting so that he sat very close to her side.

More silence followed. Then—

"We could…take her to the main house."

Five sets of eyes all fell on Hiro, who shifted uncomfortably.

"Well, we could," he said defensively. "If Hatori can't come here, why don't we just go see him?"

"Because Tohru's not part of the Junishi!" Kyo shouted at once. "You really think Akito's gonna just let her waltz in so that Hatori can take care of her? She's not even supposed to know about us!"

"Technically, she can't waltz anywhere," Hiro muttered, referring to her injured ankle. When Kyo looked ready to claw off his face, he hastily continued. "Akito doesn't have to know that she's there. We can just ask to borrow Hatori for a little bit, just long enough for him to look at her ankle, then we can be gone, and he'll never know."

"Nothing's ever that easy," Yuki muttered.

"I'm fine you guys," Tohru insisted. "I don't want to be any trouble."

"You're not," Kyo said at once, whiskers twitching irritably.

"Well, unless Tohru changes her mind about the hospital," said Shigure, "Hiro might be right. We may have to risk going to see Hatori. And Akito."

Yuki's face darkened, but he didn't protest. Kyo was unconsciously bristling at the thought of going back to the main house, ears laid back and tail fluffed up to about three times its actual size, but when he looked at Tohru's swollen ankle, he slumped down. Hatori needed to look at her, and there was no way that he could let her go to the main house without him. He'd rather put up with the stares and whispers than risk her getting hurt because he wasn't there.

"Alright," he sighed. "Give me a chance to transform, then let's go."

"Doesn't look like there's any choice," Yuki said, for once in agreement with the stupid cat. Shigure looked back and forth between the three of them, then shrugged.

"Looks like it's decided, then," he said. "Alright, Kyo, change back quickly. For now, I'll get some ice on her ankle. Yuki, could you help her inside?"

"Yeah," the rat agreed easily. He pulled one of Tohru's arms around his shoulders, and after checking for permission, wrapped an arm around her waist, pulling her to her feet.

"Hey, be careful," said Kyo, not sounding quite as angry at Yuki as normal. Tohru smiled down at him, then hobbled into the house with Yuki to lean on.

"Onii-tan?" said Kisa, looking at the cat.

"Yeah? What?" he said, rising to his paws and stretching.

"Do you want me to take your clothes inside?" she asked. The cat blinked, surprised.

"Uh, yeah, sure," he said.

"I'll do it!" said Hiro at once, taking the clothes before Kisa had a chance, and hurrying inside. Kisa smiled and skipped after him, leaving the cat alone outside.

Left to himself, Kyo let his ears and tail drop. He didn't want to take Tohru anywhere near the main residence, for a multitude of reasons. Of course, he already had an aversion to the damned place, and he didn't want to be any closer to Akito than he absolutely had to, and he didn't want to be held under the scrutinizing stares of everyone inside those walls, but there was a reason much more important to him than any of that. All of that he could stand if he needed to, for Tohru. What he wasn't sure he could handle was her being there, already injured, and having Akito find out about the two of them.

His stomach was twisting itself into knots the more he thought about it, but somehow, he couldn't bring himself to go inside, to find some form of distraction. Could they really avoid Akito if they went to the main house? Could it, just for once, really be as easy and simple as slipping in, and slipping back out again? Was it possible that they could smuggle Tohru under the family head's nose? They were going to take the risk, but what if it turned out that they couldn't do it? If Akito got wind not only of Tohru's presence, but of her and Kyo's newfound bond…

Kyo knew that, sooner or later, he would have to face Akito, and be prepared to take whatever punishment Akito had in store for him, but somehow the thought of it happening so soon made it hard for him to breathe. He'd wanted time to think things over, to figure out what he was going to say. More than that, he'd wanted to muster up his courage, because as it stood presently, he was so scared of something—no, everything going wrong that, if he had been human, his hands would have been sweating and his knees would probably have been knocking together.

"Kyo?"

He looked up. Tohru was sticking her head out the door, still being supported by Yuki. When she saw him, she smiled warmly.

"Come inside," she said. "If you change out there, you'll catch a cold."

Always worrying about everyone else. Kyo shook away his unease and trotted up onto the porch, twining around her legs like a true cat before entering the house.

What would happen would happen. There was nothing that worrying would solve, so Kyo pushed it to the back of his mind, instead focusing on what he was sure of. Tohru was hurt. She needed Hatori. They would go to see Hatori shortly. Those things were all certain, and those things were what he would focus on.

Well, that's what I've got so far. I hope this is going to your liking! I got several requests for a sequel, as well as ideas for it, so I took a chance. Now, for the real question: Does Akito find out, or not? What do you think?