The next morning I was awoken by Hatori. I heard him walk to the window. Sleepily, I opened an eye. "Hey", I said, surprised. "You're already up?" He turned to me. "I'm sorry", he replied, smiling. "Did I wake you up?" I shook my head, as I sat up. "No, it's okay."

Now, I also noticed that Hatori was fully dressed. I looked up, a bad feeling rising in me. "Did you plan to leave without saying good – bye?", I asked.

Hatori paused, before he answered. "I have to get back", he tried to explain. "When my family will see, that I hadn't spent the night in my house …" He stopped. I just nodded.

I didn't understand. What was happening here? Hatori didn't even want to look at me!

I watched, as he went to the door. "Did I do something wrong?", I wanted to know. He immediately turned round to face me. "No, not all!", he assured me. "Then I don't understand what is going on", I replied, knowing that I sounded hurt. Hatori sighed. Slowly, he sat down on the bed next to me. "You were perfect, Kari-chan", he repeated. "It's …" He paused for a moment, searching for the right words. "I never did this", he tried to explain. For some reason, I knew that he didn't ment spending the night with a woman with that.

"I doubt, any of my family members ever did something like that", Hatori continued. "You are talking about the curse", I realised. Hatori nodded.

"Never, has an outsider ever known our secret", he told me. "Even most of our family members don't know about the curse. Me, being here with you now is unacceptable."

The hardness of these words hurt. "So, you mean you have to leave?", I asked, scared of the answer. "I should", Hatori answered. "I should have never let you in my life", he added, each word causing pain for me. "At the moment you found out about the curse, I should have gone", he said. I think he must have noticed, how hurt I looked, because he grabbed my hand and looked at me apologetically.

"I'm not saying this, because I want to leave you", he told me seriously. "But maybe, because it would be the best for you."

I didn't understand. "I'm not scared of this curse", I assured him. "I don't care! And you know, that I would never tell anyone about your secret, if this is what's bothering you!" "I know!", Hatori nodded. "And it's not that …"

He went silent. "There is something, you still don't know about me", he said. "I wanted to tell you, but I … I never found the right words." I snuggled closer against him. "You can tell me everything", I replied softly. Hatori thankfully squeezed my hand.

"You have no idea about the effect of the curse on our life", he began, his face gloomy. "About what it means to leave among our family. It is not fun or pleasant … it is dark and evil." Evil … I didn't know what to say to this. So I stayed silent, and listened, as Hatori went on.

"I have a power, in addition to my zodiac form", he told me. "It is a power that has been in my family for ages. Its skills have been passed on from my grandfather to my father and to me."

I looked at him, a bad feeling taking hold of my heart. "What power?", I asked, my voice sounding small. Hatori waited a second, before he answered.

"I can erase people's memories", he said. I looked at him, dumbfounded. "You mean you –" "If someone from outside our family finds out about the curse, it is my duty to make them forget, they ever met us", Hatori repeated. "It works like hypnosis", he explained, as he noticed my confused face. "You fall asleep and when you wake up, you have forgotten everything that has something to do with the Somas."

I swallowed. "Outsiders … you mean people like me", I realised. Hatori avoided my eyes. "As I already mentioned, normally, I should have never allowed to let you come this close to me or my family", he said. I cringed slightly.

"So, why didn't you erase my memory?", I wanted to know. Hatori smiled sightly. "Because I am a selfish person, I'm afarid", he answered. "I fell in love with you, Kari." He blushed, as he said this. I would have found it cute, wouldn't we had been in this situation.

"And what happens now?", I asked, my voice barely audible now, afraid of what he might say. Finally, Hatori turned to look me in the eyes. "I will go and speak with Akito", he replied. "Akito?", I wondered. "Akito is the head of our family", Hatori told me. "I will talk to him and explain everything. Of course …" He broke off, looking away from me again. "I cannot disobey Akito's orders."

"You have to take my memories if he wants you to", I understood. "Yes." Hatori nodded. I felt the pain, taking hold of my heart at this thought. "You mean, I'll forget that I ever loved –" "You will remember, that you loved me", Hatori said quickly. "I can not erase your feelings. But … you will forget that I loved you back." "Which means that I won't remember the time we had together, or the moments we shared, everything …", I replied, trying to fight back the tears. "Yes …"

I knew that it hurt Hatori, to tell me all this. "You'll be fine", he promised me, his voice shaking. "It won't hurt …" "And what about you?", I wanted to know. Hatori turned to me, surprised. "Me?", he asked. "Of course!", I replied.

I grabbed his hand. He shivered. "I am not scared of what will happen to me", I continued. "I am scared, that you will be lonely again." Tears started to run down my cheeks. "I want your eyes to sparkle with joy, Hatori. You deserve to have this happy glow …" I sniffed, Hatori gasped, unable to talk. "If it is the best for you and your family, you can erase my memory … It's just … I don't want to forget our love, what we shared …" Hatori gently leaned his forehead against mine. I saw that he was crying too. "Me neither …", he whispered.

We both went silent. Finally, after a few minutes that we needed to regain our compusure, Hatori got up. I smiled, whiping away a tear. "I am scared that I will never see you again", I said. Hatori, who had reached the door by now, turned to face me. "We will see each other again", he promised. "Somehow or other."