CHAPTER 25

*Main House, Present Day, The Gathering of the Zodiac plus the Cat, Fox, and Hedgehog for the Final Time*

Leiko took a deep breath and looked up at the gates. The familiar building that she had grown up in, fallen in love in, broken hearts in, it seemed foreign now. The atmosphere was no longer her childhood. The inside was no longer a place for the Zodiac to feel like they belonged somewhere. It had never been that for Leiko, since she was not part of the Chinese Zodiac. She had never been to a New Year's Banquet and knew that this invitation was not her chance. This wasn't a banquet, it was a farewell. Leiko could feel it. She knew all too well what goodbyes tasted like.

She glanced down and smiled at the little boy shaking by her side, clutching her hand. He looked up at her, wide eyed. "Mr. Akito doesn't like me."

Leiko pursed her lips. "Akito…I think he's changing, Rokuro. I'm not sure what's going to happen anymore, though. I used to be so good at that, knowing step two, but now, it's all up in the air." She tightened her grip on her son's hand. "Stay close."

He nodded and they started up toward the Main House. "Will Uncle Kyo be here?"

"Yes he will."

"Will there be snacks?"

They entered the house and Leiko shushed him, turning down the hall. Every member except Shigure was there. Leiko raised her chin, protectively. The news that Rokuro was Hatori's son had spread like wildfire. When Rokuro found out, his youthful spark had faded. He would only talk to Leiko, Kyo, and sometimes Tohru. Rin and Haru had visited one day and, even though the feud with Leiko and Isuzu had dwindled, Rokuro had hid up in Kyo's bedroom under the sheets until they left. He barely spoke to his real Uncle, Kazuma, and he would give Ayame no more than a smile. He could tell that people thought differently of him and one day asked Leiko what the word, "bastard" meant.

"Who called you that?" Leiko had snapped, enraged.

Rokuro hadn't answered because what bothered him was that he didn't know who it was. He had wanted a dad, not a father. Not a simple biologically scandalous connection, but a relationship. Being looked at like an animal was ironic, now. His curse had broken when he found out about Hatori and now he wished it hadn't. At least he would be able to rationalize through his thoughts, then.

In a soft voice, Rokuro asked his mom, "Is Dad here?"

Leiko blinked, surprised, and looked around the room. Sure enough, there was Hatori, leaning against a doorframe, talking to someone unseen. She took a slow, deep breath and turned around to find Ayame. She often did this, even as a child, to avoid the inevitable. Aya was her safe house. He was chatting up Kureno, who, when he saw Leiko, dispersed swiftly.

Ayame grinned at her and Rokuro. "Good afternoon!"

Rokuro didn't smile back, which was starting to unnerve more people than just Leiko. He glanced around the hallway. "Why is everyone so sad?"

"Not sad! No, never sad, my dear boy," Ayame said, shaking his head, dramatically. He sighed and turned toward the door that Hatori was leaning towards. "Just… anxious.'

"For what?"

"Akito's announcement," Leiko answered.

"What is he going to say?"

"I don't know."

Rokuro narrowed his eyes, suspiciously. He didn't believe her but remained silent. He sat down on the floor and carefully listened in on other conversations. He never realized how much he could have known before if only he had listened. Like, for example, how his father was right under his nose and wanted nothing to do with him. Sitting with these people he once knew as family, with their curses broken and hearts free, Rokuro felt utterly alone and empty. He glanced over at Kyoyo, but when the young man looked back and smiled, Rokuro turned his head out of shame. His curse had broken too. The Hedgehog was gone and so was Rokuro's perceived connection to his favorite uncle.

It wasn't long before the door opened and a lovely woman with short black hair in a kimono came out. Rokuro recognized who it was and understood quicker than his family members. There was a looming silence. Before anyone could think about speaking, the little spikey-haired boy raised his own small voice. "Good afternoon, Miss Akito," he chirped, casually. He wasn't patronizing Akito, just acting like this was an everyday occurrence. He even added a bow.

Akito looked over at him, surprised that he had been the first to speak. No longer scary or judgmental, Rokuro saw him—or rather her—as a normal human being. He gave her a soft smile, and became the catalyst for the whirl-wind conversations and accusations and exclamations encasing the room. While everyone spoke at once, Akito returned the smile. Rokuro plopped on the ground, resting back on his hands.

Leiko looked down at him and strayed from the crowd toward her son. She crouched down and smiled. "Ro, did you know about this?" she asked, softly.

He shook his head, simply.

"Then why are you …?" Leiko trailed off.

Rokuro pursed his lips and looked down at his fingers, lacing and unlacing them idly. "I think secrets are normal now. This family seems to like them so…why should I be surprised?"

Leiko's eyes flitted from Akito to Rokuro, and she decided to sit down next to him instead of going back to "God." She sighed, smiling sadly. "I am sorry."

Rokuro was silent.

Leiko scooted closer to him. "Do you not want Hatori to be your dad?"

Rokuro took a deep breath. "I don't…I don't think he wants me to be his, you know…"

Leiko bit her lower lip. She wasn't prepared for her son's raw honest intuition. She looked away, lost for words. "I doubt that," she answered, lamely.

Rokuro sighed as Akito began talking. She told the Zodiac and outcasts how "The End" was nearing and people spoke sporadically in response. Everyone had seen it coming, yet no one seemed as uninterested as Rokuro. This wasn't his home; America was. Leiko was, Uncle Kyo and Tohru was—not Sohma House. He looked over at the man who was his father and kept his gaze level until Hatori looked back. They stared at each other for a long time, and when Akito was finished and the room was silent, Rokuro jumped to his feet. All eyes were on him.

And he ran.

Hatori's eyes flitted from his son to Leiko. She stayed where she was, a soft breeze blowing her dark brown hair across her face. He blinked a few times and she raised her chin. Leiko narrowed her eyes and mouthed her command to him, "Go be a father."

When the group turned back to Akito, Hatori nodded and stood up. Akito didn't object as her doctor raced out of the room after his son. When he was gone, Leiko raised her hand like she was in class. Akito looked at her until the room was silent. Leiko didn't falter as she spoke. "You are right, Akito, the end is coming. It is most likely already here. This is a wonderful way to bid you farewell."

Akito nodded, understandably. She and Leiko had discussed this earlier, but Kyo shook his head. "You're leaving again?"

Leiko smiled, gently at her favorite student, her favorite Flame-Brain. "We have to-"

"But why?" he snapped.

"Because this isn't Rokuro's home, Kyo."

"It could be."

Leiko slowly rose to her feet. "No, it couldn't. Rokuro wants to go back to America and…so do I." She looked around and smiled warmly. "But I will miss you all and forever love you like I did when you first saved me. This curse has been a blessing in some ways too. Just look around at what it's done, what relationships it has created and destroyed. It is a bittersweet memory that can never be replayed. This is no accident nor is it a misfortune. We are cursedly blessed." Before anyone could reply, she bowed and left.

"Rokuro!"

The little boy didn't want to talk to his father. He refused to even think of him like that. It was too weird and strangely hurtful. He clung to the branch and pretended he was still able to transform, puffing up his chest like he still had spikes on his back, like he was still the Hedgehog. But he wasn't and he gulped down the sadness that realization brought him. It was the only thing that had ever made him feel special—and it was gone. He bit his lip as his father called out his name again.

Hatori walked out to the garden, remembering how Momji used to hide here whenever he was sad. Carefully padding along the path, he soon heard rusting from a bush near the edge of his own home. He walked over and paused at the shrubbery. He took a deep breath and the sound of his sigh made the rustling stop.

"Rokuro," he said calmly, clearer and louder than before.

There was a pause. The man got down on his hands and knees, begrudgingly. Leiko's harsh words were his only motivation. Go be a father. "Ro-chan, please come out-"

"Don't call me Ro-chan," he heard the small boy snap. He sounded just like Leiko when she was younger. Don't call Lei-chan, Hari!

Hatori sighed. This boy as too much like Leiko to be his son. He sat back on his heels, relaxing into a crouched-sitting position. If Rokuro was like Leiko, this could take a while. "Why did you leave?"

"I was bored," the boy lied, smoothly.

"I don't believe that."

"I don't care what you believe," Rokuro quipped. "I'm not trying to make you believe me; I'm trying to make you go away. Whenever you say that you're bored, adults think you're throwing a tantrum and leave you alone until you calm down."

Hatori sighed. This was child was very intuitive for being so young. "I see. Why do you want me to go away?"

"Because your curse broke."

Hatori widened his eyes, but didn't say anything.

Rokuro continued, "Mine did too. And Mommy's broke a long time ago. She says it broke when I was born and that I was a miracle. But still… Uncle Kyo's broke, Aya's broke, Shigure's broke…everyone's connection is gone." There was a shuddered pause and Rokuro sniffed. "And now you're stuck with someone you have no link to."

Hatori quickly parted the bushes and found the boy's face buried in his forearms. He was curled up in a ball, shaking. "I don't want us t-to be broken," Rokuro cried. "I just wanna go home!"

Hatori narrowed his eyes, sympathetically. The boy looked up with bright red eyes. "Will you come too?"

"Come where?"

"To Chicago," Rokuro said forcefully. "I mean we don't n-need you to, but… if you w-want…"

Hatori took a deep breath. "Rokuro, I-"

"Please say yes," the boy murmured, looking away from his father. "I know you don't like me but you like Mommy…"

Hatori reached out his hand and grasped his son's shoulder. Rokuro looked up and his father smiled at him. "Why would I not like you?"

Rokuro sniffled. "I am…i-inconvent."

Hatori furrowed his brow. "You mean, 'inconvienent'?"

The boy nodded.

Hatori sighed, loudly, and pulled the boy out of the bush. "That's ridiculous."

Rokuro stumbled into his father, but quickly wrenched free. "It's not ree…reedih…" He shook his head, frustrated with the language barrier and used a different word, "Silly! It's easy and mean and I hate you!"

Hatori stood up straight, looking down at his son. "I don't hate you."

"You don't like me," Rokuro grumbled, decisively.

"No I don't. I love you."

Rokuro's eyes flashed with childish hope, but he didn't let himself get carried away. Suspicious, he backed away. "B-But that's because you have to love me. If you don't…you'll…you'll get in trouble."

"Rokuro, I am not extrinsically motivated to love you," Hatori said, slowly.

"I…I don't know what that word means."

Hatori licked his lips. "It means that I love you because you're my son and you're Leiko's son. I love you because I have the opportunity to, an opportunity that I haven't known I had for six years."

Rokuro looked down at his feet. "I'm seven."

"Seven years, then."

Rokuro looked up at him, curiously. "You're not coming to America are you." It was no longer question. Rokuro knew the answer.

Hatori sucked in a quick breath and answered, "No." There was a hesitant pause. "I-I live here, Rokuro."

"Do you have a computer?"

Taken aback from abruptness of the question, Hatori stuttered, "Y-Yes, but…I can't come with you, Rokuro. Do you understand?"

"I understand."

"Then why the compu-?"

"So you can pretend to be there."

Hatori took a shuddered breath, surprised by the affect the young boy had on people, on cold snowflakes like Hatori, whenever he opened his small, innocent mouth. He cleared his throat. "What do you mean? I can't go with you."

"I know, I know, but we have emails and phone and video stuff like Skype and mail. At home we had pen-pals across the world with another kindergarten class and here at my Japanese school, we write letters to American kids. Maybe I could write you letters too?" Rokuro rambled.

Hatori nodded. "Yeah, sure," was all he could get out.

Rokuro pressed his lips together. "I left because I don't belong there."

"What do you mean?"

Rokuro paused in thought. "Mom calls me a…a serendipity. Yeah, serendipity. I don't know how to say that in Japanese. She calls me that like she calls me sweetie and Ro, but I looked it up and had Mr. Carnegy next door read me the definition."

Hatori knew what the word meant, but he let Rokuro explain it anyways. He settled down on the grass next to his son. A soft breeze ruffled the boy's spiked hair and his sleeve shuddered in the wind. Hatori felt like he belonged in this boy's life the way he once felt like he belonged in Leiko's. And yet he felt like the two would be better off without him. Rokuro continued, "It means 'happy accident,'" he murmured.

"That's good. 'Happy' is nice," Hatori remarked. "She's happy to have you. Why is that a bad thing?"

Rokuro sighed, dramatically. His father just didn't understand. "Because I'm an accident, Uncle Hari."

Hatori shrugged, feeling better that Rokuro used "uncle" instead of "Dad." It seemed more befitting. "I think we all were. Especially with the curse."

"That doesn't make me feel better. I'm still a mistake, curse or not."

"Mistakes and accidents are two different things. A mistake is something one regrets." Hatori glanced down at Rokuro. He saw his own pessimistic and skeptic nature in his son, dappled with Leiko's doe eyes. He put his arm around the boy, lightly. "You are no mistake, Rokuro."

Rokuro blinked and tears welled up in his eyes. Hurriedly, he tried to wipe them away, but they kept coming. Hatori so often forgot that this old soul was still a child. Abandoning all his ice, he wrapped his arms around his son and Rokuro clung to his father's neck. Still hiccupping through his weeping, Rokuro cried, "Why aren't you coming back with us?"

"I belong here-"

"But Mommy needs you!"

"Roku-"

"Mommy would c-cry a lot at night sometimes and I always knew it was because she missed you and I always thought it was my fault because I'm a happy accident to her and mistake to you and-!"

"Rokuro, stop."

"Don't you love us?"

Hatori didn't answer for a while. He simply held Rokuro's head to his shoulder. He looked up at the pink sky and took a deep breath. Wordlessly, he lifted Rokuro into his arms and jumped up. He stood there and held him for a while until the boy stopped crying.

Rokuro leaned back, frowning still, and sniffed. Hatori began walking back to the main house. "Rokuro?" he paused. "I'm sorry that I couldn't be there for you or Leiko before and that I can't be there for you two now, but it's because I need to be here and because I don't think you'll need me there. This is my home and America is yours. I won't keep you from your home if you don't keep me from mine."

Rokuro nodded. "Mommy will be lonely. She's always lonely."

Hatori shook his head, decisively. "No, she won't and isn't." When Rokuro looked at him oddly, Hatori smiled. "She has a new man to love. You."

Rokuro smirked and his father set him down. When they got back to the Main House, Leiko was standing in the doorway. When Rokuro grinned, she returned the gesture and he ran up to hug her around her torso. "I don't wanna leave Japan," he whispered, half-heartedly. He wanted to leave, but he had finally found a family worth salvaging. Was it worth it?

Leiko smiled at him. "You know how Uncle Kyo hates leeks?"

Rokuro nodded. "They taste yucky."

Leiko continued, "And you know how he eats them anyway now that he's older? It's because they're good for you in the long run." She paused and leaned down to his level. "This is your leek, hon. Sometimes, when you don't wanna do something, like eat leeks or leave your home or leave a potential home, you have to do it because it will help you move forward." She kissed the top of his head. "Eat your leeks, okay?" she joked before telling him to go find Kyo. Rokuro agreed, glanced at Hatori one last time, and then left.

Leiko's eyes returned to Hatori. She sighed, deeply. "Thank you."

He nodded. "It was no problem."

Leiko, still smiling, shook her head and started toward him. "No, it was a problem, and you fixed it."

"I actually think Rokuro fixed it, but that might be me."

Leiko nodded. "He makes me feel whole. He's my serendipity," she added with a gently smile.

"He thinks that means that he's a mistake."

Leiko looked at him. "But you set him straight." She seemed very confident in Hatori's abilities to be a good father. She was more hopeful than confident, though. She wanted it all to work out in the end before she left.

"Hm." There was a pause as he carefully studied her eyes. They weren't drowning in each other like they used to and he knew that. "I can't come to America with you, Leiko."

She nodded. "I know."

"You do?"

She smirked, ruefully. "No way Hatori Sohma leaves his comfort zone for some girl he knocked up."

Appalled, he advanced toward her. "You are not just some girl I knocked up, Leiko. You are the girl I loved, the girl I still love, the woman I will always love." There was a pause and he shook his head. "And it kills me that I was never there for you when you were crying alone and raising that boy alone and living alone…"

She smiled and took his face between her palms before pulling him in for a kiss. He returned it, but it was sweeter, gentler, and simpler than it ever was before. "I know. I love you too. But not like I did. It took me five and a half years and a short-term lease in Japan to figure out that all those tears were in vain. We aren't children anymore."

"Yeah," he agreed, understandably.

She pecked his lips one last time before letting go. No passion, no fireworks, just a dimly burning ember. "I won't stand in your way. Don't be afraid to love because I left you or because Kana forgot you. You have that teacher you love and I think she likes you back. You should give her a chance."

Hatori raised his eyebrows.

Leiko chuckled. "Aya," was all she needed to say."

Hatori smiled. "Ah. And you have Rokuro."

"Mm. And Kyo."

"Kyo?"

She nodded, grinning this time. "Kyo and Tohru want to travel so they've agreed to come with us to America. We'll come back to visit when Ro's older. And then Kyo and Tohru will find a new life here. They want to see the world, just like you and I once did. Only this time, they don't have the curse to weigh them down."

Hatori pressed his lips together. "So this is goodbye."

"For now."

They stood there in tragic silence. Hatori licked his lips. "And Shigure? You slept with him before you ran away, Lei, I cannot forget that." Fretfully he added, "You're sure Rokuro's mine?"

"Shigure's in love with Akito," she whispered. "I've always known that, deep down. They were meant for each other. And I already knew I was pregnant when I went Shigure's that one night. Neither of us longed for the other, we just detested being alone." She took a long, deep breath and shook her head. "No, Ro's yours."

"Okay. What about his illness, your illness?"

"It was the curse. Once free, we were both healthy as well. He's been worse off, but getting better. He's treatable now since he doesn't transform. I should have known his curse was weak because he never transformed when he hugged a girl."

"He said your curse broke…?"

She nodded. "The day I gave birth to him and held him in my arms, I didn't change and neither did he. I assumed one of two things: that my curse had broken or he had one as well. Both for right, though. It was confusing and difficult. After they took him away, I hugged the male nurse, just to test it, and I knew how to erase memories, you know?" She sighed. "Nothing happened. He congratulated me on my baby boy and later that night, I took him home to our crappy one room apartment. He transformed in his sleep the next morning.

"I'm glad the curse I broken, but he thinks that he's lost something. Whatever it is, there is no way the Zodiac gave it to him and I hope he finds it when he grows up." She looked around and smiled, ruefully. "I will miss this. I will miss you."

Hatori nodded. "I love you, Leiko."

"I love you too."

They looked into each other's eyes. Leiko let go of his hand. "Maybe love will smile down at us next time we met, hm?"

"Maybe," Hatori agreed, smirking sadly. He took her face up to his before she had a chance to leave, but merely kissed her forehead rather than the lips. "I wish you happiness, Leiko Sohma."

She leaned into his ear and whispered words that he longed to hear and they sent shivers down his spine. After years of winter, of Leiko and Akito calling him snow, of loving only those he could hurt…Leiko whispered to him his freedom. "And I wish you Spring."

A/N: This is not the end. There will be an epilogue in the near future, but I wouldn't count on it until next month or so. As always, please leave me a review if you have time and let me know what you thought of not only the chapter but the story. This was my first fan fiction and it was so wonderful to always get so many reviews! I currently (as in when I'm publishing this) have 52 for this story and that is such a blessing, I didn't even think I was going to get more than five, so thank you. I love you all and I hope you guys stick around for the epilogue, eventually, but for now, assume that this is the end. Have a wonderful week :)

~ Kit Koko