Author's Intro:

I was reading through the books again, and I realized how much the art's changed. At first, when I saw the art in Vol. 9, I was almost devastated! I hated the new changes. They seemed so out of proportion to me. But now, looking back, I like the changes the Takaya-sensei has made in the art. It's all so inspiring!

I got a "Full Collection of Poems and Stories" by Edgar Allan Poe book. I love his poem, "Lenore". I finally understood the line:

"A Dirge for her, the doubly dead, in that she died so young,".

Do you?

Onwards!

Ayame spread the news of Tohru's confinement very quickly. It was almost like a wildfire. Everyone who heard had a mix of feelings going through their heads.

Anger, frustration, sadness, and surprise was all mixed into one heavy, burdening thought.

And each and every one of the Juunishi was determined to see the Cat before she left. They knew that without a "free" leader, meaning that they were free willed and could stand up against Akito, the members of the Zodiac could not prevent Akito's plan from taking place.

They all formed a group, discussing what to do. The decision, they knew, could take many hours, or even a day. There were so many traps that their God had laid, and not many ways to dodge it.

The rest of the Juunishi could revolt against Akito somehow, someway, but they knew that that plan would either go well, or horribly. And though they would suffer when she was gone, they all knew that it was her decision, her sacrifice, and her love towards the Cat that had driven her. Nothing could change that, and though it was a shame, it didn't feel right to prevent the isolation from happening.

And yet, the girl had not really known what she was getting herself into when she had made the decision to switch with Kyo Sohma. Though Tohru Honda was so involved with the Curse, she could not fully understand the burden and pain of being one of the Juunishi until she had experienced it.

That led them to wonder what she was feeling at that moment.

If only they knew….

Tohru felt a huge pang of sadness as she swatted away the one who she (supposed she) loved, and saw his blood cut into the sky. She buried her head into the mud, so that she could not breathe.

Kyo got up again, and nearly fell down. Looking at his chest, he saw blood flowing down him, staining his pants and the remains of his shirt. He cringed, but starting to walk, once again, towards the girl.

This time, she looked towards him. Kyo saw nothing of her left in those eyes. No kindness, just sadness from an indescribable burden. It made him want to burst into the tears that he had been holding back.

But he would only allow one or two to escape from his eyes then. There was still more to do.

Another step…and another step…

Yuki was still crouched, but he heard footsteps behind him. Who was there?

He glanced behind him. Akito.

The intense black hair and eyes was unmistakable, even in his condition. The Rat quickly became petrified. What would the God think, seeing his "precious" Mouse lying like that on the dirty ground? Had the Head already smelled the terrible stench of the Cat's True Form?

He would assume so. Who could NOT mistake the putrid smell of the "Monster" of the Juunishi?

Yuki quickly scrambled up, and quietly made for the clearing that was straight ahead of him. He could already hear the noise of Tohru, and now Kyo.

How did he even find out? The answer couldn't wait. Yuki tore into the clearing, but neither Kyo nor Tohru took much notice.

The Rat DID notice Kyo's torn bloody, torn shirt, though. He winced at the sight; it had to have been painful. And yet, he couldn't imagine Tohru to have done such a thing, though he knew it had to be true. Where else would you get a gash like that?

"Tohru, I'm not leaving without you. I don't care if you're going away soon. I don't care if you may hurt me. I just want…I-I want to see you again," Kyo continued, blushing like crazy. The Cat had turned towards him, giving Kyo her full attention. "T-Torhu, I-I l-lo—"

"I see you have experienced the Cat's True Form. I was hoping to get to that when it's just you and me, in that special room…" Yuki, Kyo, and Tohru turned to see Akito, standing on the edge of the clearing. He was looking with interest at the "monster". "She's so…ugly now. Hehe…not that that changed anything…" he continued, inspecting his outstretched hand. Both Tohru and Kyo's eyes narrowed.

"How dare you…yo—" he yelled, but was again interrupted by yet, another voice.

"Tohru-kun?" everyone's, including the God's, attention was drawn to the new appearance: Shigure and Hatori. Shigure was the one who had spoken. "I-is that really you?"

Hatori's visible eye was wide open. She was usually so gentle, and, he admitted, cute, but like this…it was heartbreaking. But Akito didn't seem to care about the new people; he just continued insulting Tohru.

"You don't even deserve to be near the others….your filthy shamelessness is enough to make me gag," he spoke, seeing the negative affect in the girl's eyes. She was nearly catatonic. His words were just like spears and daggers.

All Akito would allow himself to think was 'She needs to pay. She needs to pay,' as he threw more burdens onto her.

"YOU DON'T EVEN DESERVE TO LIVE!" he yelled. The phrase that pushed the Cat over the edge had been spoken, loud and clear. Everyone present knew that the words had hit her, and hard.

But, all the same, everyone seemed to know that Kyo would, in the end, ease her fears and get the girl back into her human form.

Yuki stared hard at the bracelet in his hand. He felt the bone-like material smooth against his hands.

He didn't want to give up Tohru; he loved her and he knew it. But…….it seemed that the decisions had already been made. He knew that, at this point, it would only help Tohru to help Kyo as well.

"Kyo. Here," Yuki spoke, his head down. He threw the bracelet over the boy, who caught it with one hand. He looked at the Rat with wide eyes.

The Rat had just helped the Cat.

Kyo wasn't the Cat anymore, though. Did that mean that one day he and Tohru would be rivals? Yuki hoped not.

Tohru squeezed her eyes shut. 'Shut up, shut up, shut up, shut up..' she screamed in her head, over and over again. "SHUT UP!" The Cat finally snapped. She, instead of taking her anger out on her God, the one who she could not blame anymore, she crushed her head on the nearest rock.

Akito smiled, and started to walk towards her, preparing to touch her nasty flesh and wound her more.

Kyo watched, angered more and more at Akito. But he couldn't do anything…he couldn't….

'But I'm not in the Zodiac anymore. Akito Sohma is NOT my God. I don't have to follow him.' Realization struck him, and the orange-haired boy ran forward, towards the "God".

But he did not stop for Akito. He kept running, all the way to Tohru.

"Don't listen to Akito! We all need you!" He yelled, catching her attention. The girl was too discouraged to say much. But she did speak.

"You heard him, though. Everyone did. You may say you need me, but you can't deny that I am a monster."

Kyo stopped. What was he to say? To say that she wasn't currently a monster would be a lie, but he wasn't about to say that she was. He knew that inside of the monster lay Tohru, no matter how deep she was buried. He couldn't waste any more time talking to the "Monster" in front of him.

"I-I know that Tohru is in there somewhere. I want to talk to her, not the sight in front of me. I want to see Tohru again. I don't care if she is cursed."

Akito watched all of this in horror. The Cat was being healed right before his eyes. Why didn't he do anything?

'I won't let her be healed!'

"Hatori! Take Kyo away. Now!" Akito yelled, pointing to Kyo, who was now holding the Cat's "arm", and she looked to be comforted. He could tell that she was going to change back soon.

Hatori stood still. Would he obey Akito again? He felt himself moving towards Kyo. Like a trance, he grabbed the teen and pulled him away from the Cat. But the trance soon ended upon hearing the boy speak.

"What are you doing, Hatori?" Kyo asked, looking up at him. "Do you really want Tohru to be in pain like this? Let me go."

Hatori's eyes widened, and he let go of Kyo Sohma.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING, YOU STUPID DOCTOR?" Akito yelled, leaving a red brand on the Dragon's cheek, and on his own hand.

Kyo ran to Tohru, just as she transformed back to her human self. He caught her, and wrapped her dirty, bleeding body in his arms.

(A/N: The blood is specifically from her bashing her head into the rock. Just to let you know.)

"What have you gotten yourself into, Tohru?" He asked, sadly smiling. The girl was nearly unconscious, but, none-the-less, Kyo gave her a light kiss on her forehead. He turning around to see Shigure and Yuki watching him, grinning slightly, as Kyo's face became tomato red.

"Damn bystanders."

Akito's fury grew. "Hatori, GET THE WENCH AND GET IN THE CAR," the man breathed, looking at the Seahorse.

Hatori did obey this command; he needed to mend the girl's wounds anyway.

"I'm sorry, Kyo. I need to take her now," he mumbled to the boy, gently lifting her out of his arms.

He carried the Cat out to the vehicle that had brought them there, and slipped himself and Tohru into the car. Akito closely followed, along with everyone else.

The God got into the car, and Hatori stole one more glance of Kyo, Yuki, and Shigure before driving off to the Main House.

Author's Closing:

I think that this chapter was the longest I've ever done. Wow. That's something to say….

I hope it was good and interesting. I read a depressing and overly done fic, and was afraid that it would corrupt my writing too much.

Thanks for reading!

E.