It was dark, and unusually warm. Ayame's eyes drooped, but they opened to examine the room. He didn't recognize this place at all. He thought he might be in the fabric warehouse, but this place was much too dirty, and it was completely empty. He tried to get up and find some light, but he couldn't. He was strapped into his seat. Also he felt little tiny pokes on his chest, and they sort of hurt. He looked down on himself and found himself in some…needle vest? That's what it was. It was like old-fashion knight armor, but it was completely composed of sharp needles that poked his chest and back. He might actually have started bleeding a little bit. What happened to him? The last thing he remembered was Ritsu's punch. He had heard rumors about the punch, but he refused to believe the drink was harmful. Ritsu wouldn't hurt a fly, literally. When Ritsu was four, he smushed a bee, but spent the entire evening apologizing to the hive for killing their co-worker, and he even threw a funeral for the little bee. Now it was evident that Ritsu was making trouble, but why?

Suddenly, the intercom came on in the dark building.

"Good evening, my proud snake. I hope you enjoyed the refreshments." The voice said.

"A-Akito? Where am I? What's going on?" Aaya could recognize the voice anywhere.

"Well, if you really want to know. I've been in a playful mood recently. I like to play with my zodiac. You know, do little things that make them squirm and such. It's quite amusing. And now I want you to be part of the game!" Akito said over the intercom.

"What do you plan to do to me?" Aaya said a little confused.

"Well, as you've probably noticed, I've placed you in that nice little needle vest, and if you look down, you'll see that there are two sets of balls and chains attached to each of your legs." Akito said connivingly. Aaya looked down to see his legs anchored down by the balls and chains.

"How is this a game?" Ayame said looking at his suit of heavy metal.

"Let me finish. Anyway, what you have to do is get across this entire warehouse, all the way to the end of the path in front of you." Akito explained. Aaya saw the room stretch out into a deep dark abyss.

"Why should I cross that entire way?" Ayame turned his head and crossed his arms.

"I knew you'd be a tough cookie to crack, so I added something, a little motivation for you. At the end of the hallway are three locked chambers. There is one person inside each one, and I think at least one of them is important to you. Here, I'll play a little track from the security, see if you can figure out who it is." Akito played a clip from the security.

"Help! Somebody help me! AYAME! AAAAHHHH! What am I doing here?! Let me out of here! I'll do anything!" a young woman cried out.

"MINE!!! Let her out! She hasn't done anything to you!!!" Ayame rattled his chains, yelling at the intercom. There was no doubt about it, that voice belonged to Mine, Ayame's assistant and close friend.

"I knew she meant something to you. I really know my zodiac, don't I? That's not all, though. She's strapped to an electric chair right now. Don't worry, it's not going to deep fry her, it's just going to give her a little wake up shock. Every 10 minutes you take trying to get to her, she'll get another shock, each being more intense than the previous one. Your time starts now!" Akito finished and then turned off the intercom.

He would get to watch the whole thing from the security room. This old warehouse was Sohma property of course. It had been abandoned almost ten years ago, but he refused to let it be torn down, for he knew it might come in handy one day. He turned to the thermostat, and he raised it up to 100 degrees. That ought to heat up the little needles.

In a few seconds, the snake had managed to slip out of the chair. Aaya started pulling hard on his chains, but he barely moved the two large metal balls. It suddenly felt a little extra steamy. The needles on his chest and back not only poked him, but they burned him, too. It stung very badly, but he needed to get to Mine as soon as possible. He couldn't let her stay in that awful electric chair, he cared deeply about her! It wasn't often that Mine cried, but when she did it was unbearable for him. He hated to hear her cry, but he always tried to be there to comfort her. Now, it was hard to get to her, and every minute he wasn't there was only making her scream. He had only gotten a few dozen meters ahead before the first ten minutes were up.

"That's the end of round 1! That's one more shocking coming up!" Akito announced over the intercom. He tapped into the sound again and played the current track in Mine's chamber.

"OOOWWW! Ahh! Please! Let me out!" She cried.

"NO! Stop it! Leave her alone!" Ayame yelled.

"She'll be fine once you get to her." Akito reminded him. Aaya's knees felt weak when he heard her scream. He couldn't waste a precious moment; he needed to march forward. It was a lot harder than it looked. The heat was cooking him, plus those balls and chains were nearly impossible to move, and the needles were cutting his skin, leaving him bleeding. He continued forward, and this time he got halfway before the next ten minute bell rang.

"That's one more shocking for the woman. This time, I'll raise the power level." Akito announced.

"AAAAAAHHHHH! Ow! OW! Help me, Aaya! HELP!" Mine cried even more.

This really set off Ayame's adrenaline. It didn't matter now that his body was bleeding and burnt all over, or that the metal chains were chafing his legs. He ran to make up for lost time. Soon, he was able to see the end of the warehouse. As he approached the door to the chamber, the intercom turned on, yet again.

"Congratulations, Ayame. You've reached the end of the building. Now you can only choose one person to save. Mine or one of the two other people. Choose quickly, the next shock comes in thirty seconds." Akito said.

"MINE!! SAVE MINE!!" Ayame shouted.

"Don't you even want to know who's behind the other two doors?" Akito asked.

"I DON'T CARE! ALL I WANT IS MINE!!!" Ayame shouted as his knees fell to the ground.

"Suite yourself, snake." Akito said as he pressed the button to release one of the doors. As the door whooshed open, Aaya ran inside to find his dear lady terrified and strapped to a metal electric chair. He freed her from her chains. She fell to the ground, weak from her encounter, but she was still conscious.

"Ayame, I was so frightened! I was just closing up the shop when your cousin came up to me and attacked me! I just want to get out of here!" Mine cried on the floor.

"It's alright, Mine. I'm here now. Everything's going to be O.K." Ayame comforted her as he held her hand. The curse prevented him from giving her a shoulder to cry on. The intercom turned on again.

"It's alright now, miss. I don't need you anymore. You are free to go." Akito told Mine as he unlocked the door that lead to outside. She rushed out of the room with tears still in eyes from the pain and terror. Ayame was about to follow her, but he was stopped.

"Ayame, wait just a minute. I'm not through with you yet. I've decided to set free the other two people who you rejected in order to save your precious woman. Go in and see for yourself who they were." Akito said with a little evil chuckle at the end. The other two doors opened, and the other two hostages were immediately released from their chairs. They walked out, and Ayame gasped when he realized who he had rejected. There before him stood his two best friends, Shigure and Hatori!

Both of them looked at their "friend" with looks of hurt. Shigure was especially upset.

"'I don't care? All I want is Mine?' It didn't even cross your mind that those other two people might be us?!" Shigure mocked him and said with an angry tone.

"Shigure, I…" Ayame stuttered.

"Are we not important to you?! We are the Mabudachi Trio! We made a promise that we'd always BE THERE FOR EACH OTHER!!!" Shigure yelled with sincere tears.

"You don't understand." Ayame tried to explain.

"I understand! That woman must be more important to you than us! All you could think about was your precious Mine! You didn't even stop to listen to who the other two people might be! How could you do that to us?!"

"She was suffering, Shigure!"

"And do you think we weren't?! We were strapped to electric chairs, too! We were waiting for you! We were counting on you!!!" Shigure said.

"Shigure, I'm sorry!" Aaya tried to beg for mercy.

"No! I don't want to hear your apologies! I'm leaving, and don't even think about coming to my house again!" Shigure finished and stormed out of the warehouse. Ayame eyes wept tears of guilt and regret. He turned to look at Hatori, who had been silent the entire time.

"Hatori, please try to understand." He begged. Hatori just shook his head and turned his shoulder coldly and walked out the door, leaving the snake in his misery.

An hour earlier…

Shigure and Hatori woke up in two different rooms, each with a big bruise on the back of their heads and attached to electric chairs. They had been brought there by the monkey of the Zodiac, Ritsu. Neither of them had any idea why he would do such a thing. Shigure was struggling to get out of his chair, when a dark figure walked into the room.

"Good evening, Shigure. I hope you are doing well." He said.

"Akito, why am I in this chair? What the hell is going on here?!" Shigure asked in an irritated manner.

"Oh, you silly dog, we're playing a fun game! When Ayame wakes up from his nap, he has to come and save you, but he has to choose between you, Hatori, and that girl he works with." Akito explained. Shigure was a little intimidated, but he tried to hide it with pride.

"Well, Akito, it's pretty obvious he's going to pick either me or Hatori." Shigure said with a little chuckle.

"Oh? What makes you so sure he won't pick that woman from work?" Akito asked with a little smug.

"Well, I'm sure he cares about Mine a lot, but Hatori, Ayame and I have been together since we were in diapers. We're the Mabudachi Trio, and the curse only brings us closer. He'll choose one of us, trust me." Shigure explained.

"We'll see about that." Akito smirked as he closed the door and locked it.