When She's Gone

Kyo was just about to ride his other horse, Mitsubishi to find Kagura when he heard the familiar sound of the carriage. He paused and saw Kagura being assisted down by a prince he recognized that he met some months ago.

"Thank you for the most wonderful afternoon together, Princess Kagura," said the prince, bowing down to kiss her gloved hand. "I will see you tonight in the ball."

"Don't mention it," said the princess softly. "Goodnight, Prince Sakuya."

The man bowed again before he mounted on the coach once more and was whisked away.

The princess was just about to go into the palace when she stopped dead on her tracks.

Right in front of her was Kyo, looking at her with an unreadable emotion in his face.

"You came back…finally," said the prince wearily.

Funny, but that was what I was going to say. Kagura carefully hid her emotions too. "D-Do you need something from me?" she asked.

"W-We need to talk," he said, voice tight.

"About what?"

"About the ball tonight…the engagement."

Her face hardened. "You have nothing to worry about. I will not rope you into it, Prince Kyo. You have no obligations to me."

Kyo's heart fell.

Hatred?

Tohru was let in once again to the king's private space. Knees buckling, she approached the king who was busy looking out at the window.

"Your Highness?" she prompted, curtsying dutifully.

He didn't turn to her, even to acknowledge her presence. Instead he kept on staring at the open space before him.

"Your Highness?" she repeated.

"Honda Tohru, how astonishing. You made it back to the palace even without my knowledge. How did you do it?" he suddenly asked, voice calm.

And that what scared her even more. "Y-Your Majesty, i-it was not my wish. Prince Momiji asked me to stay."

"I don't believe you," said the king. "The soldiers will not obey any other prince except those that I clothed with my authority." He finally faced her. "And these are Hatori and Yuki. I for one do not imagine it possible that Hatori would like you around, so…"

She choked. What is it in his smile that frightens me so?

Then it hit her.

Yuki-kun is the prince next-in-line for the throne. That is such a special favor to be bestowed upon by a king. Therefore, Prince Yuki and King Akito…

Akito smiled. One full of poison. "I told you before about the rules of our clan, right? I gave you the chance to flee for the sake of Yuki, but you didn't listen to me. Well, this time you will."

Her heart froze.

What is he going to do?

"I had enough!" said Kagura. "You don't have to rub it in my face. I understand fully that you cannot love me. I know that now. But you coming back her to take pity on me…that is too much!"

"I didn't come back for that, Kagura!" he said, voice rising. "In fact, I came here to apologize-"

"Damage done!"

"Then let me make up for it! Ditch that prince! I'll take his place!" he bellowed.

Her eyes widened.

Ayame was stunned when he saw his brother in front of his doorway.

"Um, Yuki, this is my room," Ayame had to remind him reluctantly. Perhaps Yuki smashed his head on the wall and had temporary amnesia. He forgot that he hates me to pieces.

But to his surprise, Yuki shrugged. "I know. May I come in?"

"S-Sure!" The elder Sohma had recovered from his initial shock and was happily pulling him into his room.

On the other hand, Yuki was busy rethinking whether following Shigure's advice to talk to his brother is a good idea.

Temporary insanity, maybe. But it's too late to back down, he thought as Ayame shut the door, the bang resounding with finality.

"Did you come here to bond with me, dear brother?" asked the snake excitedly.

"Um…"

"Good! Then I'll order the water hoses so we can give each other baths and some nice back scrubs-"

Yuki's face flamed. "Idiot! I didn't come here for that!"

"You didn't? Well then, we can at least do the back scrubs-"

"Onii-chan, please be serious," pleaded the Ice Prince.

This got Ayame. "You called me…big brother?"

Yuki's eyes widened. "W-We'll talk about that later. Right now, I need your help."

"Sure! I'll do anything to help!" said the designer eagerly.

"For tonight's ball, I'm finally going to choose myself a wife."

"And you want me to design for her a wedding dress?"

"Maybe later. But you have to give her a ball gown first."

Yuki got a blank look from his brother. "Can't she afford it? All your guests are fine ladies, and-" He stopped. "Oh!" Ayame's hand flew dramatically to his mouth. "Y-You mean…?!"

Yuki nodded. "I will marry Honda-san, but she will be in a disguise of a princess, just so I can get off Akito's hook easily."

Ayame's eyes welled with tears. "Oh, dear brother, I'm so proud of you! You followed your heart! At first I was worried when Kazuma-san told me that you are made of ice that you yourself amassed. I didn't believe him. I knew that deep inside…" A tear finally dropped down his cheek as he hugged his stunned younger brother. "My dear brother, you stood up for love! Mama and Papa will be so proud!"

The young prince smiled. The warmth of his brother's embrace…all these years he had longed for that. He tried to convince himself after Ayame rejected him years ago that he was tough. He didn't need a sibling. He could take care of himself.

But then in the end, after feeling how it was like to be embraced by someone who genuinely loves you…

…he felt like he needed his big brother now more than ever.

"So will you do her dress?"

"Absolutely, my brother."

"Good, now let go of me."

"No way! I've wanted to hug my little Yuki all these years so I will not let you go even if you hate me again!" declared Ayame.

Yuki smiled to himself. "Idiot," he muttered fondly.

"Kagura!" cried Kyo, alarmed when he saw his fiancée collapse on the ground weakly. "What's wrong?"

" Tell me, Kyo. Do you really enjoy hurting people? Can't you see that I'm trying my best to forget you?" she asked tearfully.

"F-Forget me?"

"Yes. Forget you. Move on with my life. I've accepted already that you cannot love me. Tohru proved it."

"What? How the hell did she get involved here?" asked Kyo, confused.

"You love her, don't you?" she accused.

He blinked, then groaned. "Fine. I was attracted to her. A bit. But that's because I was getting frustrated with our relationship already. You're suffocating me already. So when I saw her, I couldn't help but fool around a little."

"So if you don't love her, what or who do you really love then? The forest? The jungle? Your freedom?" she asked.

"I thought those things mattered most to me at first," said the neko with surprising gentleness. "But then when I lost you, I realized that all this time I've been searching for the things that can make me happy, the one I'm looking for has been with me all the while."

Her eyes widened, especially when Kyo knelt down beside her, eyes intense with…

Could it be?

"I love you, Kagura, and I have always did," he confessed.

"Y-You're lying," she said softly.

"I'm not. Because if I was, why would I bother swallow my pride to come back here?" He looked at her intently. "If you do not love me, then I will teach you again, patiently. I'm willing to wait, just to feel the love you have given me ever since childhood."

"K-Kyo…"

My moon, my stars, my sun. They will always be yours. Especially my heart. Always. Forever. Yours.

She hugged him, crying.

"Let's get married tonight," said Kagura.

"OK."

"So we can start early on the fifteen children. You know, while my ovaries are still healthy."

Tohru was thrown by the guards into a dark cell.

"King Akito's orders are strict. Do not let that girl out of the prison until the party in the palace is over, understand?" barked the head of the guards.

"Yes Sir!"

Tohru, meanwhile, was frantic.

I have to get out of here! Akito knows about the stunt Yuki wants to pull off. I can't let Yuki suffer Akito's fate!

She remembered Akito's words before she was seized by the palace guards.

If Yuki cannot choose his wife in tonight's celebration, the throne will go to Hatori, and the insubordinate prince shall be exiled to a faraway kingdom, as the forbidden book of laws in our clan states. He will also become his Juunishi form forever, doomed to never be a human again.

The maid looked around.

I have to get out of here and save Yuki-kun. To hell with my pride and my heartache!

Outside the palace servants are getting ready for the big celebration happening in just a few hours…

tsuzuku