Alright, here it is. Last chapter before the epilogue. I was thinking about making it two more and the epilouge so it would be exactly ten chapters, but didn't have enough material to stretch it out...

--

Three Little Indians...

"Isu... Isuzu-san," Tohru sobbed quietly, trying to get control of herself. Sure, her friend was dead, but the killer (or was it an accident?- It couldn't have been.) was still roaming around, and was going to try and kill her, Kyo, and-

"H-Hatori-san!" Tohru just remembered that he was at the house by himself. How could they have let him go. There was no doubt that if Akito was crazy enough to try and kill nine people, then she probably had a gun, or some other weapon. She had probably thought about having to subdue someone bigger than her if she was smart enough to pull off all of the murders so far. "He's up at the house by himself. Akito-san must be there, too."

Kyo had already changed back into a human, and put his clothes back on, and now looked back toward the house. He couldn't figure out what had happened about the curse. It had broken, he had felt it, but then-

He realized that Tohru was talking about Hatori. He had been thinking about it, too, and was wondering if they should even go looking for him. "Tohru, don't you think... Maybe... Hatori might be working with Akito?"

"What?" Apparently she hadn't been thinking that.

"Well, he's the one who had the idea of coming out here by the cliff, and he just left us her to fend for ourselves. He might have planned it with Akito? It might be a bad idea to go back inside the house."

Tohru was silent for a minute, considering what Kyo said, then, looking a little embarassed, said, "I still think maybe we should go look. And... If they do try to attack us or something, I have this." She reached into her pocket and pulled out the knife she had picked up earlier, pushing the small button under the butterfly that released the blade. "I... Um... saw it on the ground and thought it might be useful later."

--

Walking In The Zoo...

With some protection in hand, Tohru and Kyo set out on the relatively long walk back to the house. Tohru had insisted that Kyo hold the knife, because he would no doubt be better at using it. Both of their hearts started beating faster when they climbed up the steps to the front door, and Kyo's hand was sweating while he turned the door knob.

The inside of the house was dark and quiet. The two exchanged glances, but didn't say a word. They crept as quietly as they could through the hall and went into the first room they came across, the sitting room.

It was clear from the gruesome scene inside that Hatori was not working with Akito... At least, not anymore.

--

A Big Bear Hugged One...

Neither Tohru nor Kyo screamed, or even made a sound. The looked at each other and wordlessly communicated the thought to each other to run. And fast. Both of them turned and dashed, as quietly as they could, out the door and back outside.

They finally stopped and collapsed to the ground after they had reached the beach they landed on the first day.

Panting, Tohru said, "A big b-bear hugged one."

Kyo nodded, also out of breath, and added, "We've been... In the zoo all along."

Hatori had been run through with a fire poker. They ran from the scene as fast as they could, but not fast enough to miss the statue of a bear that served as the poker's handle.

Then There Were Two...

--

Two Little Indians...

That was it. They were the last two. If part of Akito's plan was to drive them insane, it was working. Kyo had been pacing up and down the length of the sand for a good half hour, looking out for any sign of a boat. Tohru was standing and watching behind them, in case Akito tried to sneak an attack.

The knife lay in the sand, forgotten.

The suspense was almost unbearable. Kyo almost wished that he would just hurry up and show himself, just to end all of the waiting. Then, after a confrontation, it would all be over, or he and Tohru would be safe.

"Hey, what's that?" Tohru jumped when she heard Kyo's voice, she had almost forgotten he was there. Her mind was concentrated on what she would do she saw Akito coming. A scenario where Akito had a gun was just flashing through her mind (she had decided she and Kyo would have no chance then) when she heard Kyo.

Tohru stood next to him and looked out at the sea. Kyo pointed to something a short ways out, in shallow water, but too far too see clearly. It looked like a log or some other driftwood at first, but when they looked for longer, it was plainly a person. Black hair sent the thought of Rin through their mind, and Tohru said quietly, "It would be horrible to leave her out there."

Kyo nodded and they started wading out toward the body, intent on pulling it back to the shore. But when they reached they body, it was defiantly not Rin. The hair was too short, she was wearing a kimono, but this body looked like it had been in the water for the same amount of time. Too long to have killed Hatori and then fallen in.

It was Akito.

--

Sitting In The Sun...

"You?" They asked at the same time, slowly looking away from the body and into each others eyes. Kyo and Tohru jumped away from each other, still staring into one another's eyes.

"How did you manage to to kill Hatori?" Kyo said, starting to walk back to the shore- He had just remembered the knife- while Tohru asked:

"Were you working with someone else?" Is that how he came up with the story about Hatori and Akito working together?

How could they have not seen it before? The signs were so clear, at least, now they seemed to be. Tohru followed Kyo carefully, seeing what he (could he even be considered a he now? That implied humanity, and a person who killed his whole family was more of a monster, wasn't he?) was doing and was trying to figure out how she could stop him.

Kyo could see the knife's blade glittering out of the corner of his eye- He was almost there, but he had to keep Tohru distracted. "So... You cooked up some story about Akito being gone, and threw him into the water thinking no one would find the body?"

"You're asking me?" Tohru asked, sounding genuinely surprised. But Kyo couldn't trust that any more. The couldn't trust her any more.

Neither one of them would have believed the other would do something like this... But with the proof right in front of them, it was impossible not to.

Kyo felt the water receding from him and knew if he just turned around and took a few big steps he could get to the knife before Tohru did. The whole idea of what he was doing was making him feel queasy (he tried to tell himself he had to be prepared to do anything), but he did it. He turned around, grabbed the knife, and held it out at arm's length, pointing at Tohru.

"K-Kyo-kun," She stammered, "put th-that down... Please," she added as an afterthought. She tried to edge around him so she could run, but Kyo, thinking she was trying to get at his back, stepped in front of her.

Tohru stopped, and realized she was going to have to get the knife away from him if she wanted to live. She didn't know if would be able to (in fact, she was fairly certain she wouldn't be able to) win against Kyo in a fight, but she was desperate. Hoping to distract him, Tohru acted like she was moving to the left, but then lunged at him instead.

And then...

--

One Got Frizzled Up...

Kyo looked down at Tohru, horrified at what he had just done. The knife was sticking out of Tohru's throat- He had reacted on instinct when she jumped at him, and she never had a chance. Blood was running down her neck and into the oncoming waves, and her eyes were glazing over. She had been a murdered (She must have been, he thought), but he never thought he would have to kill kind, gentle (maybe not actually either of those) Tohru. It was enough to make him sick.

So, still unable to tear his eyes away from her, he doubled over and was.

And Then There Was One...

--

One Little Indian...

Kyo staggered back toward the house, wiping his mouth and eyes (under normal circumstances he would have tried to convince himself he wasn't crying, but what was normal? He couldn't help but cry right now) and feeling rediculously light-headed. One thought was slowly creeping into his mind. It overpowered the thought of being a murderer (To protect yourself, the still-rational part of his brain tried to convince him), and the thought that he was the only living thing left on the island.

Kyo was alive. He was safe. He was... Overpoweringly tired. He hadn't eaten since... When? That morning? The day before? It didn't really matter though, all that did was that he was totally and utterly alone.

--

Left All Alone...

Back in the house, Kyo had the absurd thought that he should look at the Indian figures. Tohru wouldn't have had a chance to get rid of Hatori's statue, and she definitely couldn't have gotten rid of her own. Picking up the two (something had happened to the third, but Kyo didn't have the energy to question it) remaining Indians, he tossed one to the ground and, after hearing it shatter, left the room with the other.

Kyo walked through the sitting room toward the stairs, not bothering to wonder where Hatori's body had gone, and kept the thought of sleep in his mind. However, other thoughts kept getting in the way.

You've killed everyone who ever meant anything to you.

Wouldn't it have been better if you died instead?

No matter absurd it was, however, those thoughts didn't mean anything at that point.

He wanted to sleep...

--

He Went And Hanged Himself...

Kyo trudged up the seemingly endless stairs, his eyes already drooping while he imagined the nice, large bed that was waiting in his room. He turned left at the top of the stairs and... Stopped.

What was that? Who had put it there? Maybe...

His mother.

Kyoko.

Tohru.

It was fitting, of course. Why should Kyo live, when everyone else had died (Had he killed them? No, not everyone, but some. One on the island, but that wasn't all there was, was there?)? How hadn't he noticed that big black hook before? After taking in the chair, and the noose hanging above it, the hook was all he could look at.

And he kept looking at it, thoughts running through his mind while he climbed on the chair.

It felt like a dream.

He deserved this, didn't he?

This was his fate- Death, he meant. Dying alone.

Kyo put the noose around his neck, effortlessly kicking away the chair.

The last thing he was aware of was the sound of the final Indian breaking as it hit the floor.

And Then There Were None.