Reviewer Replies:

PriestessLennoue: another reader:squee: I'm so happy! xD :joins you in glomping Kyo:

charriXD: woot, someone commented on the title :D now that just made my day. lol I'm not even sure how I came up with it xD Just figured it should have something to do with a cat and a fish, all things considered, so...yes indeed, Cat's Don't Eat Fishes just sorta popped out on the keyboard xD

faol-sidhe: Yes. Trust me, I wanted to let you read about Hana and Megu and Akito as much as you wanted to read about them! xD But, it just wouldn't fit. Information overload, really o.O Sometime soon, I promice :pats:

yes indeed. I think Uo actually quite enjoys him being a cat :D lol I know I sure as hell would enjoy it if I could turn my boyfriend into an animal xD a kitty, no less :3 hehe

Yeah, I've heard it called lots of different things. But :shrug: my cousin calls it Egyptian Horse Race, so...yeah xD I do too.

By the way, can you guys tell I like card games yet? xD hehe

chapter summary: Tohru and Yuki make their visit to Akito, while Arisa and Kyo have a talk with the Hanajima siblings, both fairly interesting and eventful affairs.

Author comments: gomen, gomen, gomen :bows: you must understand, I'm running on a schedule with four honors classes and the first two weeks of school are hectic while I'm trying to settle into the way things work o.O I wouldn't expect this to fall back into it's weekly update schedule anytime soon - seeing as I still haven't managed to build up a buffer - but I will do my best to get you guys updates in a timeframe that isn't too painfully long. Bear with me, and hopfully school will get a little less hectic once I'm into the swing of things. :kills honors classes:

...-...-...-...-...-...-

"Tohruuuuu!" the brunette was greeted in the morning by a cheerful and energetic Momiji, latching firmly onto her arm as she entered the school building.

"I heard, I heard! Ha'ri told me! Hana-san and Megu-san get to keep their memories! Isn't it wonderful!"

"ah...huh..." Tohru was still a little dazed from the heart attack that the bundle of joy had given her, when Yuki walked into the scene, regretting having left Tohru alone when he saw who had attacked her.

"Shouldn't we not be talking about this at school?" he said quietly, gently nudging the rabbit off of Tohru to give her some space to breathe.

"Cheh," Haru made his presence known by shrugging off Yuki's comment. "It's not like anyone around here knows what we're talking about."

"...that's sort of the point..."

"Yo." Arisa demanded attention as she and Kyo walked on the scene. Tohru smiled at the sight of them holding hands, but rather than a pouty, red-faced cat, Arisa gently tugged along a glowing pink Kyo. It was a wonderful thing to see him finally breaking through his shell, and she was happy that Arisa was the one to help him do that, even if she selfishly wished she could have had more of a part in it herself.

"Hi Uo, Kyo." Tohru cheered with a bright grin.

"Hullo!" Momiji cheered as well, while Yuki and Haru gave a somewhat halfhearted - or, perhaps, lazy - greeting, consisting of a dull "hi" and a lazily raised hand in place of a wave.

Arisa raised an eyebrow at the boys, sensing neither of them were quite at the energy levels they usually were, but shrugged it off quickly and turned back to face Tohru.

"So, you seen Hana today?" Tohru's smile dulled a little as she thought about it a moment, before shaking her head wide-eyed, unsure what to make of this revelation.

"N-no, I haven't. She-she usually waits for us here by the door or in the classroom, right?"

"Yeah, Orangetop and I checked the classroom on our way over here. Teach said Hana hasn't so much as poked her head in the door." Tohru was starting to get worried. Hana didn't skip school..and she was always to school before they were...she must be sick! Had her visit with Akito gotten to her? Was Megumi all right? What if something terrible happened-!

"Miss Honda..." Yuki knelt down next to the girl as she suddenly sank to her knees, looking rather pale.

"Hey, Tohru-" Arisa followed after - as did Kyo - and the blonde released her kitten's hand to free her own, for brushing back Tohru's hair and feeling her forehead.

"You all right? You got kinda pale there..."

"N-no, I'm fine-!" Tohru shook her head decidedly, waving her hands to say that they didn't have to worry. When Arisa backed off a little she let out a sigh, calming down.

"It-it's just that Hana...she-"

"Hey," Arisa shook her head sternly, "Don't you worry about Hanajima. I'm sure she just got a late start this morning. At worst, she caught a bug and'll be back tomorrow. It is starting to get a little chilly out, you know. We can go visit her after school and make sure she's all right, 'kay?"

"Oh, but-" Tohru looked sad, and glanced back to Yuki, who let out a sigh, apparently answering her question. "I-I mean, I'd love to, but I'm sorta busy this afternoon. You go without me and tell her to feel better, 'kay?"

"Alright." Sighing, Arisa pushed herself to her feet, checking her watch on the way up.

"We'd better start heading to class. Spent enough time mingling at the doors."

"Well, in that case-" Haru shrugged before being cut off by the energetic bunny that hopped in front of him.

"We'd better head to class too!" Momiji playfully leapt down the hall after Haru, waving happily back to the older quartet, while the cow marched lethargically down the hall in front of him, paying no attention to the rabbit's antics.

-/-/-

"Yuki,"

"Eh?" the silver-haired boy blinked as he emerged from the bathroom stall to wash his hands, finding Haru leaned up against the wall looking at him, rather seriously.

"I met up with Hanajima before Shigure took her home yesterday."

"Oh?" All Yuki could do was tilt his head and blink, while his hands instinctively started washing themselves in the sink.

"Yeah. She told me Akito had beckoned for you..." At that Yuki let out a sigh, turning his eyes from Haru to look down at the sink.

"Yes, that's right." Haru was quiet for a moment, the only sound echoing throughout the bathroom being the quiet water faucet pouring over Yuki's hands.

"That's what you're doing thisafternoon, right? And Tohru's coming with you?"

"Yes." Yuki wasn't quite sure where Haru was going with this. Haru had always been able to read him well, so he wasn't entirely surprised Haru had figured it out, but that didn't mean he knew what he was going to do with the information.

To tell the truth, Haru didn't really know where he was going with this, either. The cow reached up and rubbed a little nervously at the back of his neck, casting his eyes away from Yuki for a moment.

"You'll be all right?" Yuki took a moment to respond, but nodded.

"Yes, I'll be all right." Haru brought his eyes back to him, skeptically, and a little worriedly.

"I'll be in my room all thisafternoon and this evening ...I've got a shitload of homework to do... you come stop by if that bastard does anything. I don't like the thought of you-"

"Haru," Yuki walked up next to him, needing to get at the paper towel dispenser that hung on the wall next to him, but also to give the cow a comforting - albeit worried - smile. "I'll be fine. Miss Honda will be there with me, even if she can't be in the room by my side. But...I promise I'll stop by to say hello, okay?"

"You better..." Haru murmured, with a hint of playful sarcasm, but still rather seriously. "I'll see you, then," he smiled, waved his hand over his shoulder, and left.

Yuki lingered behind, taking far longer to dry his hands than he needed. He felt just a little warm inside, knowing that Haru was worried, and it was also good to know that there was another back he could fall on, just incase Tohru alone wasn't enough.

He was proud of Hatsuharu in a way, too. He was jealous, but he wasn't bitter. Not in his white form, anyway. Yuki smiled somewhat at the thought, that the young calf was growing up.

-/-/-

Hana didn't show all day. Every time the bell rang, Tohru looked eagerly to the classroom door, hoping that the psychic would appear, assuring Tohru that she hadn't fallen ill. But alas, she never came, and that had Tohru very concerned.

"Hey, don't worry about it." Arisa gave her brunette friend a pat on the back as they met up at the front door.

"I'm sure Hana's just fine. You and Yuki go have fun on your date, all right? I'll check up on her for you." Tohru blushed that Arisa thought it was a date that had her busy this afternoon. She wished she could look at a visit to Akito like that.

Arisa had seemed to have been expecting Tohru to be surprised at her comment. She shot the brunette a playful smile and a wink.

"Hatsuharu told me."

"O-oh," Tohru blinked, a little surprised. Had Yuki told Haru that that's what it was? "I see..."

"So I guess Hanajima never showed?" Kyo could only guess that's what this little pep rally was about. Arisa looked up to him and nodded - a little sullenly, although she still had a smile on.

"Yeah...I'm going to her house on the way home to check up on her. Hey...wanna come with?" Kyo blushed a little, pulling his hand up to scratch at the back of his head before shrugging his shoulders, seeing no decent excuse to get out of it.

"Sure, I guess." hopefully it would turn out that they went to Hana's house, discovered she was fine, and left within the minute. He doubted it, but he could always hope.

"Well, you two go on ahead." Tohru smiled sweetly to them. "I have to wait here for Yuki to finish up some of his student council things, and then Hatori's coming over to pick us up."

"Hatori?" Kyo suddenly looked suspicious. Arisa had told him that Yuki and Tohru were going on a date, but...why would Hatori be picking them up for that?

"O-oh! Well, yes...see, that is-" Tohru looked quite scattered, like she always did when she was nervous or caught off guard. She didn't want to lie to Kyo, but...she didn't want him to worry, either. She knew he wouldn't like the thought of her accompanying Yuki to go see Akito.

"Hatori was kind enough to offer us a ride to the restaurant we were headed to, since it's so far away from school." Tohru was relieved when a smiling Yuki poked his head into the conversation, glad to come up with a fib. He knew just as well as Tohru how upset Kyo - and possibly Arisa - could get, should they tell them where they were really going.

-/-/-

Arisa and Kyo left, and Hatori arrived soon after, silent while Tohru and Yuki shyly clamored into the back seat.

"Oh?" Tohru blinked as she got settled, and her eyes fixed on the empty passenger seat. Somehow she'd expected Shigure to be there.

"Shigure-san isn't coming with us?"

"No." Hatori quietly shook his head. Tohru was, ...well, surprised at how much she was surprised. She'd never really thought about it before, but she'd never pictured that they'd be going to see Akito without Shigure tagging along. He always tagged along.

"..oh."

The car was silent the rest of the trip; Yuki was nervous, Hatori was just being himself, and Tohru wasn't brave enough to start conversation.

When they arrived Hatori cordially opened the door for Tohru, while Yuki silently let himself out. The teens walked hand-in-hand to the house and down the hall, Hatori leading the way. The dragon gracefully walked up to Akito's door and gently tapped his knuckles against it, drawing out a muffled and snappy "Enter." from inside.

"You'll have to stay out here, Honda-kun," Hatori whispered to her. Tohru nodded and sat down on a bench next to the door. She and Yuki shared a last, almost desperate glance, before Hatori led the boy into the room.

-/-/-

"Leave us, Hatori." Akito instantly shooed the man out, leaving Yuki standing awkwardly in the middle of this vacant abode, while the sadistic tramp before him glared from his throne.

"That Hanajima brat told me everything." those words were enough to make Yuki visibly wince. Shigure had instilled some hope in him that it wasn't about this, but unfortunately, that didn't seem to be the case.

The black-haired young man rose stoically, something between a glower and a grin across his leering face as he strode towards the boy, tensing every nerve in Yuki's body.

"Everything, my dear Yuki." Yuki swallowed harshly as Akito grazed a finger under his chin, his mouth drawing awkwardly close to his cheek and neck and ear.

"About that bitch feline and his tramp, too." the glower melted into an eerie, leerful grin as Akito pulled away, looking Yuki dead in the eye. The boy let out a sudden breath and looked to the side, widening Akito's grin even more.

"She's here, isn't she? That woman, waiting to comfort you...turn you against me as soon as I set you loose..." Yuki said nothing, and Akito simply shook his head.

"You know, neither of you can be happy," he said as he made his way back towards his throne. "That cat, especially, but his well-being doesn't matter to me - not like yours does, my dear Yuki." Yuki couldn't help narrowing his eyes as he bravely watched after Akito, while the young man lowered himself into his chair. Still, he found no words to say. He never could, not in this room.

"My dear, sweet Yuki, you must understand -- we're cursed. I would have thought that would have sunk in by now. We're destined to be alone - all of us. Relationships like yours can only end in tragedy for both parties. I wouldn't want to see Honda-san get hurt like that. Would you?"

If Yuki wasn't so terrified of the man's reaction, he'd laugh. Did Akito think he was actually buying this? Akito hated that woman - there was no denying it. It was just even more sickening that the sadist wouldn't come out and admit it, but rather insisted on trying to play with their minds instead. He always painted himself to be the good guy, and that more than anything made Yuki sick.

"Would you?" Akito repeated with emphasis, making it clear that he wanted Yuki to answer.

"N-no..." Yuki looked down shamefully, his face burning up with hatred, embarrassment, and fear. He was glad for the darkness in the room to shroud at least that much from Akito's eyes.

"Of course not." Akito grinned, considering himself victorious in this little banter, especially after what he had to say next.

"And that's why I'm making this decision. For that woman's sake, for the monster's sake, and for you, Yuki. I'm doing this for you..."

-/-/-

The boy emerged silently from Akito's quarters, his eyes still shadowed by his bangs, and his tearstained cheeks now visible with the light of the hallway.

"Hatori!" came the screech from inside, inviting the older man silently into the room, and giving him no time to inquire into Yuki's tears.

"Yuki-!" Tohru panicked when her prince fell to his knees, his shoulders shaking violently while his arms grasped desperately at his stomach. Tohru stuttered out nonsense as she sank down after him, setting her hands hesitantly on his shoulders. The curse was crueler now than it had ever been. Why couldn't she hug him? Why couldn't she comfort her prince?

"Y-Yuki! What's wrong! What did he say?" she was crying now, too, worried beyond belief and lost as to what to do. She blinked when Yuki suddenly clunked his head against her chest, getting dangerously close to hugging territory.

"Hold me." he said softly, his shoulders calming just a little bit, now that he was in Tohru's grasp.

"B-but Yuki, you'll-"

"Hold. Me."

All Tohru could do was what Yuki asked of her. He was so desperate and vulnerable in this moment, she had to do whatever she could to help him. Even if she didn't understand why, she had to do this as he begged of her.

With a calm sigh she wrapped her arms around him, resting her head ontop of his until it faded into a puff of silvery-purple smoke, leaving the sniffling Tohru grasping onto a small rat, his clothes shuffled onto the floor.

The girl let out a squeal and jumped up against the wall as Hatori seemed to appear out of no where, standing over Tohru as she held the rat to her chest. The man sighed shallowly and bent over to pick up Yuki's clothes before turning and walking down the hall.

"Follow me." he said stoically, and Tohru did as she was told. She was far too flustered at this moment to even think of doing otherwise. She and Hatori were the only sounds in the hallway, their pitter-patter steps echoing coldly off the walls. There was a strange sort of anxiousness in Tohru. Hatori was colder than usual, and Yuki was obviously upset. How could she not be anxious?

"Sit." Tohru had been led into someone's bedroom - Hatori's, she could only guess - and the man motioned for her to sit down on a cot by the wall. She did so, still gripping onto Yuki dearly. The rat in the meantime was silent, taking in the warmth that Tohru showered, afraid that he'd never be able to feel it again.

Hatori knelt down in front of her, still not explaining what it was that he was doing. He gently reached out his hand and placed it on her forehead. Tohru blinked inward, trying to see it. She was still amiss as to what was going on.

"I'm sorry, Tohru." Through all the confusion, it finally hit. The riceball's eyes suddenly tore wide open and she drew in a sharp gasp, Hatori's gentle words somehow enlightening the situation.

"N-no..." her eyes softened and glazed over, full of a sudden, heavy despair. "He-...he can't...do this..."

Hatori closed his eyes silently, needing to concentrate on the procedure he had to go through. Tohru's breathing was shallow and full of vibrato, ready to burst into sobs the moment she lost her control. All Yuki could do was nuzzle himself into her shirt, as though hiding from Hatori's sight would make everything but Tohru fade away.

"Ha-Hatori..." There she lost it. She could already feel her eyes growing heavy, and her mind growing dim. Why was there nothing she could do to stop this? Was there nothing Hatori or Yuki could do, either? Why did they all have to bow down to this fate? It wasn't fair - it...it wasn't right!

"I don't want to...forget..." her eyes closed, sending tears rolling down her cheeks.

"I...love them both..." her voice grew quiet as she started to waver, "So much..." and finally she sluffed silently onto the bed, unable to fight against the dragon's spell any longer. Yuki crawled his way out of Tohru's limp arms, and sat down beside her, intent on watching his riceball until Akito himself made him get up.

Hatori let out a sigh. He, too, lingered by the bed, taking his time pulling his hand away, and watching Tohru silently. It was almost a shame that Yuki was so taken up in watching Tohru sleep - this could be the only time he'd had a chance to see Hatori shed a tear in his presence.

The man didn't linger long, though. He pushed himself to his feet, quickly drying off his eyes. No one would know he ever cried for Tohru Honda, and that's the way it had to be.

"I'll be in with Akito," he said, with a steady voice that gave not a hint of tears, "He wanted me to check in with him once this was done. Come and knock on the door when you're ready to take her home."

Without waiting for reply from the rat, the dragon whisked himself out of the room, leaving Yuki sitting silently beside Tohru's bed, reveling in the despair of never confiding in his onigiri again. One thing Akito knew all too well was how to be cruel. And this was among the cruelest of things that his god could do to him, was to make his riceball forget.

The only uplifter, was that at least Tohru could still be happy. Because of that, he could still have hope.

-/-/-

"That bastard..."

"...?" Megumi blinked up to his sister as she broke the silence with a murmur. They'd been sitting in Hana's room, dead silent while they both pondered over their encounter with Akito the other day.

Hana looked to her brother, sensing that he'd heard her muttered comment, but didn't get a chance to reply before their mother called up to them, drawing both the siblings' attention towards the door.

"Saki, Arisa and her friend are here to see you." On cue, the yankee appeared at the door, clutching onto Kyo's hand as he showed up after her.

"Hey," she said nonchalantly, before moving into the room and sluffing down in front of Hana and Megu. Kyo followed silently behind.

"So, what's the story? Tohru's been worried sick, you know."

"Yes," Hana sighed, "I'm sure she has."

"Where is Tohru?" Megumi asked innocently.

"Oh," Arisa grinned, "She's on a date with the Prince. I told them to go on ahead, since Kyon-Chan and I were going to check in with you anyway."

Although Arisa's answer kept her and Megumi occupied, Kyo's eyes had time to wander, and he noticed that Hana didn't seem concerned with where Tohru was, although she did seem to be glowering at something he couldn't quite see. And somehow, it wasn't until then, that he'd noticed something else about the girl...

She was dressed in yellow.

An off-white tanktop, rather, and yellow pajama pants. With clouds on them. And cute little chibi-angels.

He blinked wide-eyed at her, for lack of any other way to respond. He wondered for a moment if Arisa had seen Hana dressed in yellow before, or if it was just that she hadn't noticed. Hana wore it so...naturally, somehow, it hadn't been as obvious as he thought Hana in yellow would be. Still, now that he had noticed, he couldn't quite get used to the sight. He didn't think he saw a spec of black on her. Now that was scary.

"I see." Megumi broke Kyo's gaze as he calmly answered, nodding to Arisa. "So they're doing well, then?"

"Yeah. They're adorable together, actually. Damn, it's a good thing I pulled a move on Kyo, else they'd likely have sat blushing at eachother until they split at graduation." Arisa gleefully huggled onto Kyo's arm, sending the boy into a startled blush, but he didn't bother shaking her off.

"And you and Kyo," Hana finally decided to join the conversation, "How are you doing?" Kyo just continued blushing, while Arisa playfully - and carefully, curse considered - pulled him into a noogie, enticing a frustrated yelp from the cat.

"Oh, we're doing just fine. En't we, orangetop?"

"Yeah, yeah-" Kyo grunted as he flailed his way out of Arisa's noogie, his blush now five times more brilliant. Hana smiled lightly, cheered up a little as she was brought some good news.

"Well, that's good to hear."

"And how about you and Megu?" Arisa countered, starting to get a little more serious. "You guys don't look sick to me, why'd you stay home?"

"...Kyo," Hana said as she tilted her head towards him, "Would Arisa have to go to see Akito if I told her about my visit with him?"

"Hm? Oh, no. She already knows, actually."

"Know what?" Arisa blinked, earning a facefault from her orangetop.

"The curse, stupid!"

"Oh, right!" The blonde tossed him a playful grin, "So I guess this means Hana knows you're a feline, too?" Kyo stuck his tongue out at her, sensing she was trying to imply something derogatory by it. She just stuck her tongue out, too, and grinned.

"I see..." Hana brought their attention back to her, as she prepared to explain her reasons for staying home that day. "I'm glad; I wouldn't want her to have to see that monster unless absolutely necessary."

Kyo winced at the name. He knew she was using it to refer to Akito, but it still struck a little too close to home. Luckily no one noticed. Although, Megumi's eyes did happen to flash to him in that moment, but if he had caught it, the boy didn't say anything, and for that, Kyo was glad.

"In any case," Hana continued, "I staid home to think, in all honesty."

"We both did," Megumi added.

"Yes; our conversation with that boy was quite...thought-provoking..."

"Yeah, Shigure said you guys must've been having some conversation." Kyo murmured.

The air in the room started to get a little more serious and mellow as the conversation moved to Akito. Even Arisa lost her grin, sensing this was something not to be giggled about.

"I suppose." Hana gave a shrug, and Kyo shrugged back.

"Well, you came out bruise-free...that's usually a good sign. Last time... Tohru..." there was a thick silence. Arisa recalled the conversation she'd had with Kyo earlier that week, and saw no reason to delve into it further.

Saki's reason for brushing over the topic was unclear though; Arisa didn't normally know her to ignore a mention of Tohru like that, but she did.

"He is a sick man." she said dryly, and rather bitterly. Her eyes briefly flickered over to Megumi, who looked away. Kyo could swear he saw the boy's pale skin pinken a little, and his brow drew together in pity for him. Afterall, Kyo could only assume what the brief series of glances was about, but he'd been around Yuki enough to venture a fairly educated guess.

It wasn't that Yuki had ever spoken about it to anyone. No one spoke of what Akito did to them. But every Juunishi knew. Plenty of them had undergone something similar themselves...in that sense, Kyo was one of the lucky ones. But the fact that Akito had steered clear of him because he was a monster... well, it added a rather large bitter to the sweet. But how disgusted Yuki would be, if he knew Kyo was even jealous of him for that.

"He said to me..." Megumi said softly, drawing Kyo out of his train of thought. "that he would like for me to come back. Again, next week."

"He would like to see me, as well." Hana nodded back to Kyo and Arisa, "But he told us to come at separate times." with a sigh she looked back at her brother, who had scooted a little closer to her. "I'm not sure I can let him though. I'm loathe to let that monster alone in the same room with Megumi."

There was that word again. Kyo winced, but this time didn't even draw Megumi's attention. The conversation went on like his reaction didn't even matter. Arisa had finally decided to give a comment.

"..What did you guys talk about, when you were there?" Hana looked at Arisa with a glare, but not at her. Arisa knew her friend was glaring at the conversation, rather, and was unaffected by the slightly malicious gaze.

"The curse...mostly. I do believe Megumi and I are, in fact, a part of it."

"Curses are my specialty..." the boy shrugged. All Kyo could do was blink. The curse was supposed to be a family thing...why would outsiders be involved?

Then again, Tohru was an outsider, but was family to him now. Perhaps it's somehow a similar situation with the Hanajima children. He couldn't imagine the specifics, but he supposed he could keep an open mind about it.

Arisa was just plain confused, though.

"Well, what's that supposed to mean?" she asked, a little impatiently. "I mean I guess I've never really seen a guy hug you but...you don't turn into an animal, too, do you?" Actually, she was a little frightened, as well. If Hana turned into a rooster or something, she'd freak.

"No." the girl shook her head gently, calming Arisa at that.

"I think we're angels." the room blinked towards Megumi, who shrugged slightly at his own, admittedly naive-sounding theory.

"The curse is very much symbolic..." he went on, sensing that - now that he had their attention - he was required to explain. "Akito...is god, like from the Chinese folk tale. And then there are all the animals. Now look at the Western story, why god made the animals in the first place-"

"He was lonely..." Hana thought she might see where Megumi was going with this, and even Kyo watched the boy with a spark of interest. But poor Arisa was at a lack of reaction, and just sat there, letting this whole explanation go in one ear and out the other. This whole curse deal was just a bit over her head.

"Yes...god wanted companions. But when the animals weren't enough, he made humans..."

"...Tohru." Kyo was in shock of himself. What Megumi was saying, it...it was making sense. Perfectly.

"And when humans needed guidance, he made angels."

"Us." Hana concluded the story quite nicely.

"Hey," Arisa pouted a little as she brought herself into the conversation, very confused. "So, I don't get it. Akito's god? Who're the other animals?" Saki tilted her head a bit in confusion at Kyo.

"I thought you said she knew-"

"I guess I didn't really get a chance to explain it all to her." Kyo rubbed nervously at the back of his head, realizing he'd forgotten to mention that there were twelve others. He was pretty sure he forgot to mention the Zodiac, too. He was pretty sure he forgot to mention a lot. Smooth.

"Okay, so tell me now." Arisa pulled back her bangs and looked to him sternly. It was starting to get rather frustrating, how often she'd find out that Kyo hadn't told her something.

"Sorry, Arisa. It was just that- you know, I was stressed when it happened, I wasn't thinking through things and I just-"

"So. Tell. Me. Now." Kyo sighed, nodding.

"I'm not the only one that's cursed, Uotani."

"Apparently." damnit, she was in that mood again.

"Yuki and Shigure, they are, too. And so are ten others in the Souma family, not counting A-Akito."

"They all turn into cats?"

"No-no, that's not it. You know the story about the Chinese Zodiac? God invites-"

"Yeah, yeah, cheesy bedtime story, I've heard it. My dad wasn't that neglectful. What about it?"

"Well, I dunno." Kyo's rubbing of the back of his neck grew more fierce. Arisa was all too good at making him anxious. "I guess you could say we're kind of living it."

"How so?"

"Well, I'm-I'm like the cat, from the story. Sort of. Yuki's the rat, and Shigure's the dog...there are others. Haru and Momiji...they're cursed too. Cow and the rabbit...I dunno, the Souma family's been cursed for a long time now."

"Wow." Uo blinked for a moment, shrugging. "Your whole family is comprised of freaks. I guess this explains some things though. Tch, I've always wondered why you and the Prince are always so 'damn rat' 'stupid cat' all the time. Heh, that's kinda funny, actually, now that I get it." a grin suddenly slipped back on her face, and Kyo let his nervous hand drop to his lap.

"Yeah, I guess." he smiled sheepishly, finding it hard not to in the presence of Arisa's grin.

Hana and Megumi had been watching them silently, doing a good job of making the other two teens feel like they weren't even present. As Kyo's explanation came to a close, however, Arisa suddenly grew interested in the Hanajimas again.

"So, Hana," she said, eagerly looking over to her friend. "What's my part in this whole thing? I guess...if both you guys are angels...then I'm... what, a human along with Tohru?" Megumi shrugged, while Hana shook her head.

"I can't say."

"We haven't entirely worked out the theory, you understand." Megumi added.

"We really need to think more on it before it's final..." Arisa picked up Hana's subliminal hint.

"Well, is there anything else you need to tell us before we leave you two alone? Anything you want me to relay to Tohru?"

"No," Hana shook her head, standing while Arisa pulled both Kyo and herself to her feet.

"All right then, we'll leave you two to your thinking. Oh, and Tohru says to get well soon." Arisa tossed a playful wink and grin back to Hana, who nodded as her blonde-headed friend slipped out the door.

"Kyo." Hana timed her small but demanding call of the boy's name so that he'd just left the door, meaning that Arisa was out of hearing range by now, but Kyo was just close enough to venture back into the room, blinking puzzledly.

"What?"

"You're no more of a monster than I am. Understand this. Arisa's stubborn, but tolerant. One of these days, that bracelet is coming off. You have to realize that."

Kyo's eyes narrowed as he looked down to the beads around his wrist. Of course Akito would've told Hanajima about that. The last thing he needed was Akito trying to poison Tohru's friends against him, but it was already working.

"The sooner the better, if you ask me. She's not going to get any more accepting than she is now." Kyo gave her a huff and stomped out the door. He wasn't sure how he was supposed to respond to something like that. he didn't want to respond to something like that.

"...I don't understand it, Megumi." Hana sighed and shook her head as she sank back down by the table, several moments after she heard her mother bidding ado to her friends downstairs. "Why did we end up mixed into all of this?"

Megumi quietly made his way closer to his sister, standing so that he could wrap his arms around her shoulders, and lean his head affectionately into his sister's silky green hair.

"Because," he said quietly, "Akito-sama needs us."

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Ohhh, funness. :dies: Look at the bright side. After the long wait, you got a long chapter :3 now, then... :runs off to work on next chapter: