Like Akito, his grandfather was cold, sinister and utterly fearfully respected. However, oddly enough, Shigure was the only person he had ever shown care and concern in.

"My time… is limited," Shigure saw his grandfather strained to breathe heavily and it ached Shigure's heart to see his grandfather struggle painfully, "Do you… know how to break the curse?"

"Wakaranai…" Shigure said softly. His grandfather coughed again, "The Gods chosen in the Jyunishi… suffers a very great deal, even more than the ones cursed with the animals, with that, they are borne with a fragile body, prone to illnesses and diseases, and…" His grandfather turned to look at him. Shigure could tell that with every movement his grandfather made, he felt pain all over his body, but nevertheless, tried to cover it up and pretended to be strong. "Oji-chan!" Shigure called out aloud. "With that, all of the Gods in the jyunishi are also given a power to control the animals too… but in exchange, a heavy burden… a grudge was lodged deep inside their very hearts… as long as this grudge is still with them, they would never be free… Only an Outsider who knows of this secret could free them…"

Shigure held his grandfather's hand and gave it a squeeze, "yes… an Outsider who accepts us wholeheartedly and willingly, who would love the Cat in the jyunishi which carries the heaviest burdens of the animals in the jyunishi… an Outsider who must free the God from its grudge, its burdens…When I die, your parents would no longer be cursed with the animals of the Jyunishi… but once the new God is reincarnated… a new set of people would be cursed again… the cycle repeats over and over until one could get sick of it… thankfully, I don't live that long… So when the new God is reincarnated, take care of him and try to make his tormented life, at least, less painful…" A long pause.

"They must be very happy…" He finally spoke and wheezed as he laughed, "To see me dead," He coughed again, "They must be…"

Shigure felt his grandfather's grip loosened, "Oji-chan…!" Shigure shook the body anxiously. "OJI-CHAN!" He hollered but the body did not move. It will never be.

"Though Kana accepted the Souma as it is, she did not love the Cat and her wanting to forget us told us that she had not accepted us wholeheartedly…" Shigure folded his arms again, "It happens like this…" Shigure said. Tohru had already finished cooking the meal, she passed a plate of chicken teriyaki to him, gesturing for him to help her serve.

"Ah Tohru-kun!" Shigure said and whiffed in the delicious smell of the chicken, his stomach rumbled, "It's been so long since we've eaten your meals!" Shigure was back to his old self as he smiled at her. She smiled back. As he went out, his back facing, he told Tohru, "I beg of you not to break it, it… is for your own good, even if you can't break the curse, we Soumas will never blame you, we are already thankful you are here with us," Tohru regarded Shigure's back and smiled softly.

As he took a step, he heard Tohru mutter softly under her breath, "Thank you… Shigure-san." Even though she meant to say that softly, he had heard, and his heart filled up with relief and glee. Thank you, Tohru-kun…I have kept this in my heart for 20 years…

He stepped out of the kitchen, only to find Yuki caught in the act of eavesdropping. Yuki blushed, then walked back into his room, not saying a word.

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[After Word]

That's it for chapter 6, this time, I broke it down to 3 parts. Wow… imagine if I had clumped them all together. O.O scary… hope it's not too bad and corny for you to take it… Next chapter would be… Tohru would visit Kyou again! XD! More Kyouru scenes! Woot! Also, Hatori, Ayame and Hatsuharu appears in the next chapter as well. All that's left is Kagura and Ritsu to appear. And Uo and Saki. ;

Wakaranai – I don't know.