The night was clear and a sliver of moon shone in the sky. The wind, however, was quite strong and it whistled and howled around the house. Akito was unreasonably jumpy and continued to scold himself for being afraid of a little wind. Despite being very, very tired, he couldn't get to sleep yet. His mind was still stuck on what that damn Melody had said.

"Rest of my life, huh? I'll only regret it for about six months or so," he muttered. It seemed uncomfortably warm under these covers, so he threw them back. Instantly, he regretted that because he started shivering violently. Suddenly furious, he punched at his pillow over and over until he was panting and sweating. Ugh….his limbs felt so heavy. Why couldn't he get to sleep? He rolled over and buried his face in his pillow. Then, he screamed into the stuffing until he ran out of air.

"I hate her," he finally groaned. He wasn't sure how long he lay there, but he must have fallen asleep at some point, for what happened next could not be real.

His door slid open. Akito vaguely wondered who could possibly be there in the middle of the night. He saw Melody's familiar dark curls and dark eyes, unnaturally shiny in the shadows. She wore some kind of thin nightgown thing that barely covered her and left very little to the imagination. He opened his mouth to ask her what the Hell she was doing in here dressed like that at this time of night, but nothing came out. It was like his voice had suddenly gone. Melody came to sit down on the side of his bed. She said nothing either, just stroked his cheek with her fingertips in the same way that she did when he was sick and she'd healed him. There was something different about this touch, though. This one made him feel strange…goose bumps popped out on his arms and legs. Her fingers stroked his cheeks and ran through his hair, then traced the outline of his lips. His pulse jumped.

She gently peeled back the covers and slipped under them with him. There was something not right about this, but he seemed unable to protest it in any way. Her cool hands felt good against his hot skin. They slid beneath the robe where the smooth, flat plane of his chest was and slowly made their way down to his stomach. And heaven help him…he didn't want her to stop. He stopped trying to fight it. Her lips grazed his cheek first, then brushed teasingly over his. Something in his middle burst into flames and he was almost angry that she'd stopped. Seizing her around the back of the head, he yanked her back down, her lips crashing into his. Then, something extraordinary happened: the room itself burst into flames. Akito laughed; it was a harsh, ragged sound from the smoke and the lust. He was still half-convinced that it was still a dream when Melody disappeared. The flames were growing hotter and hotter. He called for her to come back, but she was gone.

At first, the heat had been pleasant against his now exposed skin, but now it was uncomfortable and sweltering. Akito grunted, willing himself to get up from the bed. He didn't like this dream anymore—it was too real. He could actually smell things burning and people screaming.

Then, with a jolt, the ability to move shot through him with a crashing sensation. Akito sat up, coughing. The snapping and hissing of flames was quite sinister and all too real. He looked around with wide eyes to realize that the whole room was ablaze!

"It wasn't a dream?" he asked stupidly, throwing off the covers and jumping out of the bed just as the flames reached them. He looked down. His robes were still fastened; so some of it must have been a dream. The real Melody would never behave in such a way. He looked at the open door, perplexed. There was no time to figure it out now, though—he must get out. He bolted through the sliding door out into the garden. Others, still half-asleep and confused with panic, also came running out. Many of them were struggling to hack the smoke out of their lungs. Children were crying and even some of the adults were shedding some tears. Yelling above the confusion, he was trying to make sure everyone was accounted for. Only one little boy was missing. The pieces came together for him then—she'd gone back to try and find him. Growling in frustration, Akito ran back into the flaming house without even thinking.

"MELODY!" he yelled. He checked her room. Then, holding the collar of his robe up over his face to keep the smoke out of his lungs, he continued through the house. Though the noise was immense, he heard a soft whimper and sprinted towards it. The fire was spreading rapidly through the surprisingly fragile house. He saw a pair of eyes and an open mouth, sobbing, as the child that she'd gone after tried to pull her by the arm from under a pile of wreckage. Melody's whole bottom half was pinned. Despite her efforts to claw her way out, she couldn't seem to do it. She was coughing so much that she couldn't get a breath in, either. When she realized that a pair of feet were walking towards her, she looked up with pleading eyes, red and teary from the smoke. Akito grabbed her hands and pulled steadily, backing up. Inch by inch, he freed her. It only took a few seconds, but it seemed like an eternity and she was HEAVY. He'd pulled so hard that she at last slipped free and he landed on his butt. Ignoring the pain that shot through his body, he snatched the kid up, grabbed her hand, and hauled her out through the nearest door. Half-blind by the smoke and oxygen-starved, it was all he could to do keep going. Behind them, they heard glass shattering and the sickening thud of the roof falling in. Someone took the toddler out of Akito's arms and they were both guided away from the house. Akito was coughing so hard he was pretty sure he threw up at one point. Beside him, Melody was making an ugly, harsh sound that was like she had a lungful of gravel. Someone slipped an oxygen mask over his face and the coughing slowly stopped.

"Thank you so much, Akito-sama!" A pair of arms wrapped around his thin frame—he recognized the nearly hysterical voice as the mother of the child he'd hauled out of the house. He wasn't strong enough to return the hug yet—the adrenaline he'd been running on was waning rapidly. He watched the mother hug her son tightly to her chest, then the father hugging them both. Their faces were streaked with soot and the tears they both cried washed it away in thin stripes. Akito felt oddly numb, as if he were watching this on TV or in a dream. His chest hurt, his arms hurt, his eyes hurt, and he was exhausted. Only the discomfort in his lungs seemed truly real. Hatori was kneeling beside him, checking to make sure he hadn't gotten burned. Melody lay beside him in the grass, her eyes closed. She didn't appear to have been burned; he'd gotten her out quickly enough. She wore an oxygen mask as well. The firefighters had gotten there just as they'd emerged and were now trying to contain the blaze. More people were being treated for smoke inhalation and minor burns, but no one had been seriously injured or killed. That in itself had been a miracle. Akito thought he saw a dark shape disappearing out of the bright circle of light that the flames cast and an ominous feeling cast a shadow on his mind. Just to confirm that his dream hadn't been real, he glanced over at Melody. She wasn't wearing a skimpy gown—she had on cotton pajamas that tastefully covered everything. Of course it hadn't been real.

Despite her eyes being closed, as they probably hurt, her hand sought his out. When he felt the warmth and the pressure from her squeezing it, he knew exactly what she wanted to tell him. She was saying thank you. He squeezed back, watching as the hissing arcs of water put out the red-orange flames bit by bit. The flashes of red and blue lights from ambulances, police cars, and fire-trucks made his head ache. As much as he just wanted to go back to bed, it was unlikely.

Shigure's car pulled up and he, Tohru, Kyo, and Yuki burst out of the car.

"What happened? Is everyone all right?"

Thankfully, the parents of the little boy explained it. Everyone gave an account of what they had seen or heard leading up to the fire. Akito looked at the smoking ruins of the part of the house they'd been in and his head began to ache worse.

"I know it's not going to be as spacious as this place," Shigure offered, placing his hand on Akito's shoulder, "but why don't you both stay with us for a few days?"

He could only nod. He could breathe well enough without the oxygen mask on now, but Yuki and Shigure helped him up. Once he was on his feet, he walked on legs as trembling as sloshing water to the car and got in. Melody got in beside him. It was a bit crowded, as now there were six of them instead of four, but nobody paid any mind. It was very late, at least four in the morning. The brightness of the lighting in the house seemed obscenely blinding after being in darkness for a while. There would be room upstairs, but neither of them made it that far. Akito didn't know where Melody was, but he face-planted on one of the couches and didn't move after that. Unsure of whether she should leave him, Melody had flopped down right beside him. By the time Shigure and the others made it inside, they were both already asleep or very close to it.

Tohru had to suppress a giggle. Shigure grinned. Kyo's jaw dropped, and Yuki's eyes grew wide.

"Well, they certainly look comfortable enough," Shigure whispered, "I was going to tell them we had room upstairs, but it seems a pity to wake them up."

He retrieved one of the throw-blankets and spread it over them. Suppressing the amused chuckle that bubbled up from his lungs, he signaled to the others just to go upstairs and not say anything.

The rest of the night and part of the morning passed dreamlessly. Akito was vaguely aware of dishes rattling, though everyone was trying to be quiet. At first, he couldn't remember where he was or what happened. His eyes slowly opened and the world was flooded with sunshine. He could see Tohru in the kitchen. Kyo was shaping the rice balls, pretending he didn't want to be there, but he wasn't fooling anyone. Shigure was sitting at the table talking to both of them, and Yuki was nowhere to be found. Akito heard Shigure say he'd gone out to his garden.

Akito tried to move, but he couldn't. Something heavy was pinning him. He moved his head to look and got a face-full of dark curls.

"Melody," he hissed in her ear, "wake up! You're crushing me!"

He shook her until she showed some signs of life. Unfortunately, she did so by rubbing her face in his chest.

"Mmmm…" she muttered.

"Melody!" he said more firmly. She opened her eyes. Her dark emerald ones met his dark sapphire ones.

"Oh!"

She sat up, her cheeks flaming.

"Sorry about that…"

They looked up to see all four of the regular household members standing in the doorway of the kitchen. Realizing they were caught, they all dispersed. Yuki still held the basket of vegetables on his arm. Kyo had still been holding a rice ball. Tohru had held the wooden spoon and Shigure still held his pen. Akito rubbed his shoulder and his arm, trying to get the blood flow going again. It prickled and pained him, having gone numb from Melody laying on it for so long. She was going to help him, but he pulled away from her.

"I didn't know if you were injured or not last night," she admitted quietly, "I didn't think I should leave you and I was just so tired…"

"So you took it upon yourself to use me as a pillow?" he asked acidly.

"Not at first, no," she admitted. If her cheeks turned any redder, they would be purple, he mused. He couldn't help but enjoy her obvious discomfort. He'd found the one thing that seemed to get a rise out of her.

"I guess I'd better go help Tohru," she said quietly, seeming anxious to escape.

"That would be best," he growled.

Once in the kitchen, he heard Shigure say: "Oh, don't mind him. He's always cranky in the morning."

"I'm right here!" Akito snapped.

A very exhausted Hatori came by and dropped off what things they had salvaged from house. Tohru asked him to stay for breakfast, but he politely declined.

"I think I should get back there," he said, "but thank you."

He did talk to Akito for a moment, though.

"They think it was intentional," he said of the fire, "they found a gasoline can in the wreckage—whoever did it must have counted on it burning or melting beyond recognition, but they were careless. I didn't get much, but there's a few days' worth of clothes for you both and some other things that you'll need."

He gave Akito two full shopping bags.

"I wouldn't put it past Ren," he sighed reluctantly.

"I wouldn't, either," Akito spat.

"What you did last night was very brave, Akito."

"I don't agree. I've never been so scared," he admitted, dropping his voice to a faint whisper.

"That makes you all the more brave," Hatori told him, "you didn't have to go back in there and no one would have faulted you for it. You saved two lives last night."

"I owed her," Akito said with a shrug, "at least we're square now."

After Hatori had gone, Akito went upstairs to take a shower. He still smelled of smoke and was eager to wash that away as soon as he could. The bathroom was small compared to the one at the main house, but at least there were two of them here and there was no pressure to hurry. The warm water slowly eased him into full wakefulness and he was in a much more pleasant mood by the time he dressed and combed out his wet hair.

Downstairs, he could hear singing. Someone had turned the radio on and Melody was singing along with it. Occasionally, he'd hear Shigure or Tohru join in. Someone dropped something with a loud clatter and they all cracked up.

"What is wrong with me today? I'm usually not nearly this clumsy," Melody sighed in frustration. Akito paused on the stairs.

"Your cheeks are all rosy, you're dropping things, and you're singing more than usual," Shigure pointed out, "I would venture to say that your problem's name is Akito."

Dead silence other than the radio. Akito smacked his forehead.

You just had to say that, didn't you, you dumb mutt?!

"I don't really think so," Melody argued, though she didn't sound very certain, "I just haven't had my coffee yet. And we did have a pretty rough night last night."

"I wish you could have seen the two of you curled up on that couch," Shigure persisted, "you actually inspired me."

CLANG!

Something hit the counter.

"I do wish you'd stop talking about that," Melody said, sounding vaguely annoyed, "he's upstairs, you know. He might hear you and I've upset him enough as it is. We're going to be in very close quarters and I don't want him mad at me."

"What would you like for lunch, Melody?" Tohru asked, helpfully trying to change the subject.

"Anything you make will be wonderful," Melody said, "although you must teach me how to cook. The last time I tried to make anything but coffee, I burned it to a crisp."

Ah….so Little Miss Perfect isn't so perfect after all, Akito sneered, I was beginning to think there was nothing she couldn't do.

"I'd be happy to show you," Tohru said brightly, "and having an extra pair of hands will really help!"

"I'll make sure the fire extinguisher is filled," Shigure teased.

Melody cracked up when they started telling the story of how Kagura had been chasing Akito around and then trying to do things for him and ended up catching the kitchen on fire.

"Poor Kagura! I know how she feels!" Melody sighed, finally stirring the sugar into her coffee. Akito decided to make his presence known then.

"Good morning, Akito! Well, actually, it's afternoon, but I suppose it doesn't really matter," Tohru chattered as she brought the serving dishes to the table. She politely declined Melody's offer to help because Melody had broken a lot of dishes already. Still red-faced, Melody sat down and wouldn't make eye contact with anyone.

What's wrong with me? I'm acting like a complete fool today, she thought shamefully, first he had to go to all that trouble and risk his life hauling me out of the fire and now I'm messing things up left and right…

She decided not to talk other than requesting that this or that be passed and ate quietly.

"Melody, are you feeling all right? You're awfully quiet," Tohru pointed out.

"My throat's a little sore from the smoke last night," she said quietly, "I shouldn't have sang so much earlier."

Akito almost said that it was a nice change, but he bit it back. Instead, he made a point of thanking the others. That was when Melody thanked him for hauling her out of the fire. He stayed quiet, not really knowing what to say. Then, Melody asked Shigure what book he was working on and the conversation went a little more smoothly. At last, the meal was over and Melody helped Tohru wash the dishes. Akito felt smothered in this tiny house and went outside. He felt a little bit better there—the wind was blowing even though it was warm. While the woods surrounding the house weren't nearly as beautiful as the gardens, it was something new to look at. He wandered around for a little bit, almost wishing he hadn't overheard the conversation earlier.

I wonder if it's true what Shigure said, he thought, she has been acting awfully strange the last couple of days. But I'm the god of this family…who wouldn't want me? They'd have a lot of advantages.

The truth was that he hadn't thought of girls much. They were always whispering, always giggling, and getting upset over the most trivial things. They were never happy with themselves and always seemed to complain about something. He thought they were a waste of time and space and some of them could be very mean and manipulative. Then they would grow into women…ugh…he despised women. He'd decided when he was very young that he didn't want anything to do with women after the way Ren had treated him. He was harder on women than he was on men. And then Tohru and Melody had come along…Tohru was like a chocolate with a diamond in the center. She appeared to be all soft and sweet and disgustingly mushy, but she had this unshakable faith in people underneath. And Melody was a lot like that as well…somehow, they'd both gotten to him.

So now what?

He examined his options. One, he could kick Melody out and force her to stay away despite the porphyria attacks. He knew he was going to die anyway, but his flesh cried out against that. Now that he knew he didn't have to live with that pain, he didn't want to go back to just trying to sweat it out while Hatori pumped him full of IV medicines. He could also just keep her at arm's length and hope she would eventually want someone else. Being the very jealous man he was, he really hated the idea of Melody with anyone—just as he did with any of them being with anyone. But would that not be better for her? It would be a challenge to keep her in his life without things getting complicated.

As he considered the third option, the wind suddenly swirled up around him, sending flower petals and leaves spiraling there for a moment. The idea made him feel cold and small and scared. His heart crashed against his ribcage as if trying to escape it. He remembered how Akira had been so affectionate to Ren despite how horribly Ren had treated him. He was always patient and kind and never snapped at her. Akito watched the flower petals dancing in the wind and thought: I could never do that…

Then, he remembered that he only had a short time to live. What would they do about that? Perhaps she could make the going easier, maybe even extend his time by a little bit, but there was no way she'd be able to break the curse. He'd die just as Akira had and she'd be alone again. It seemed as if his life had suddenly gotten much more complicated overnight. Why did he have to have that stupid dream?! For that matter, why had she cuddled up with him on the couch instead of using the other one? She'd have still been right there if he needed her. Instead, she'd twined her body around his as if they were lovers and rubbed her face in his chest as if she'd been doing it for ages. His first impulse was to be furious with her for doing this to him, but it faded quickly. The air left his lungs in an annoyed puff.

"I don't have time for this," he said out loud, "I have enough to deal with."

He crossed his arms over his chest. There was a presence there, though he knew he was alone. Feeling foolish even as he spoke, he said, "Why me? Why of all people would you do this to me? Haven't I suffered enough at your hands, if you're even real?"

Then, he sneered, daring it to answer.

"If you're real, show yourself to me, then."

The wind picked up and some dust blew into his eyes. Surprised, Akito staggered backwards and rubbed at them with the back of his hand. When he opened his eyes, everything seemed different, yet nothing looked different. The air felt different somehow…alive. It glided over his skin and through his hair, meandering like a living thing. It felt as if it had a breath of its own. The feeling of the presence grew stronger.

"I can see how the two of you are related," he said snarkily, "you both have a way of speaking in riddles!"

Something appeared at the edge of the woods. Akito, curious, moved towards it. He froze in place when the biggest lion he'd ever seen walked out of the cluster of trees. It was enormous—at least the size of a horse. Akito's heart was thundering as it drew nearer and nearer. He could see the golden hue of its eyes, the nostrils flaring as it breathed. The enormous paws could probably kill a full-grown man in one swipe. He hadn't a hope against this beast.

The creature opened its mouth and let loose a roar that shook the ground. All around him, Akito heard the cries of birds, wolves, and whatever else was in those woods answering it. Nothing scattered or fled; they seemed to know. The earth itself made a strange sound. The daylight seemed to grow stronger and the wind picked up, then died down completely. The lion came to a stop a few paces from Akito and tiled his head as if to say Well, now what?

He cautiously went closer. Curiosity overtook his fear now and one hand cautiously stretched out. As soon as his fingers made contact with the lion's fur, he cringed, waiting on the lion to take a chunk out of him.

"You're him?" Akito asked, feeling foolish. The lion gave a nod.

"You look…different…than last time," Akito blurted out. The lion almost seemed to smile.

Akito looked back towards the house.

"Why is this happening? I don't understand what we could possibly gain from suffering so much," he finally said. Though he'd been infuriated a moment earlier, he felt oddly calm. Then, something stung his leg. Akito let out a yelp and lifted the hem of his kimono. Embedded in his ankle was an enormous sticker. He hadn't seen the stupid weed plant there just a moment ago and it had caught there when he shifted. The lion dropped to all fours and stretched closer until his muzzle was pressing into Akito's calf. Though his teeth were enormous, scary, cruel-looking curved fangs, he pulled the thorn out as gently as if they had been human hands. It stung like crazy for a moment, but then the pain was gone. The lion exhaled a breath onto the broken skin and it healed instantly, the pain replaced by a pleasant cooling sensation.

Akito rubbed the spot where the wound had been just a second ago. He vaguely remembered how each time Melody had healed him, the pain had intensified the split second before it had gone away. The daylight seemed to grow more intense as he realized:

"The curse is going away, isn't it? That's why she's here and now you're here."

The lion's enormous head nodded.

Akito felt so many emotions overcome him at once. He glanced back to the house for only a second, but when he turned back around, the lion was gone and there was only a hollowed out space in the grass where he'd been sitting. Goosebumps emerged on his arms and legs…as big as that lion had been, it could have killed him. It could have swatted him, clawed him up, and even eaten him for his impudence, but he had not. Instead, it had helped him.

Akito wondered how long he'd been out here. Though it seemed he'd only just emerged from the house, he was ravenously hungry. It was also growing hotter and his mouth was drying out from thirst.

"Ah, there you are! We were deciding whether or not we should come and get you," Shigure said when Akito came inside, "you've been gone a long time."

Akito couldn't explain that it had only felt like a few minutes. His cheeks were flushed with sunburn and the good cold tea that Tohru had made felt good going down.

"Where's Melody?" he asked, noticing that she was missing.

"She's upstairs in Tohru's room getting settled in," Shigure answered, "did you need her for something."

"No."

Kyo, Tohru, and Yuki were playing some kind of card game. Shigure had gone into his "office" to write. Akito couldn't think of anything to do, so he just sat on the couch and brooded. After a while, his head tilted back and he fell asleep.

"Having him here makes me nervous," Kyo had admitted to Shigure, "I really hope the house is rebuilt soon."

"Yes…I'm afraid this is going to be harder on you and Yuki than anyone," Shigure said, "but we'll get through it one day at a time."

Yuki had hardly said a word to anyone since Akito's arrival and he'd stayed out of sight as much as he could. He'd tiptoed past Akito two or three times on his way in or out of the house. He didn't know what to do—he didn't want to stay gone and he didn't want to stay here. He almost had a heart-attack when Akito said without moving or so much as opening his eyes: "You're avoiding me, aren't you?"

POOF!

Akito raised his head to see a rat cowering in the collar of the white shirt where the human Yuki had just been. He reached inside and plucked Yuki-the-rat out easily. He could feel Yuki's heart thundering and the tremors that raced up and down his little body. Cupping his small, slender hands so that Yuki didn't feel so threatened, he held Yuki so that they were eye level with each other.

"I'm not going to hurt you, you know," Akito told him. Yuki didn't look convinced at all. Akito felt his tiny muscles twitching like springs that were compressed as far as they would go. The poor guy was ready to take off.

"It hurts that you don't trust me," Akito said quietly, "if I wanted to do something, I could have already."

It was true. Yuki shuddered, imagining the sickening thud he'd make as he was thrown against the wall or how easily Akito could break his neck. He thought he was going to faint.

"I can't say I blame you," Akito said finally, "I have been rather hard on all of you, especially you. Do you know what it's like to know that nobody will miss you when you're gone?"

Yuki stared, not sure what to think.

"No, I suppose you don't," he said finally, lowering Yuki to the arm of the couch and setting him down gently, "you'd have Shigure and Tohru and Melody and even Kyo though he won't admit it. Everyone likes you. You have the one thing I want and will never have."

Surprised, Yuki had stopped cringing. He tilted his head, wondering what Akito was going on about.

"It's always been easy for you," Akito finally said, "I saw those girls at school. I see how well you get along with everyone no matter what gender or what age. I wish I could be like that."

Akito rubbed the bridge of his nose. He was getting a headache.

"I don't suppose you can change back and tell me where the aspirin is," he sighed.

Upstairs in the bathroom cabinet, Yuki said, stunned, can't miss it.

Akito gathered up the clothes in one arm and picked Yuki up with his free hand. He placed both on Yuki's bed and was on his way out of the room when he turned back around.

"For what it's worth, I am sorry about all that."

With that, he closed the door. He heard the POOF as Yuki changed back, but he left him alone. He'd frightened him enough as it was. Oddly enough, he was as surprised as Yuki was about the apology, but he didn't regret it. Shaking the little white pills into his palm, he caught sight of himself in the mirror. Something had changed, though he couldn't put his finger on what it was. It was something invisible.