Part 17

I stared in shock at Isuzu, who was calmly sitting at the table sipping tea. My joy grew and grew until it exploded and I lunged at her, throwing my arms tightly around her.

"I can't believe it!!" I cried. "I didn't think I would see you again!!"

"Yeah, I didn't think I'd see me again, either," said Isuzu. "I had no idea where I was going when I hopped on the train. When I ran out of money I found myself in Akita."

I gaped at her. "Isuzu, I only had a few yen in that pocket! How did you get yourself on the other side of the continent?!"

"Quite frankly I have no idea. But I managed to find a decent job and a decent apartment. I settled into a regular routine, avoiding guys with surprising ease. Of course after some time Haru showed up on my doorstep. To this day I have no idea how he was able to track me when Akito didn't even know where I was!!

"He's still young and in high school, but he decided he wanted to stay with me as much as he could. So he got himself a job too and we pretty much lived like newlyweds.

"But…we could both sense something was wrong. Haru more than me, though. He could feel something was wrong with Yuki in particular. He was really serious about the whole thing, so…we came back. Haru came back naturally and I managed to sneak inside the compound." Isuzu snorted. "I never thought I would ever try to sneak back into this place. So…what's going on? Were we right, or was it paranoia?"

The reminder of the current situation easily wiped away the glow of having Isuzu back. The emotions overwhelmed me once again and I found myself sobbing all over again.

"Kagura?" asked Isuzu, looking very worried. "Is it…really bad?"

"It's horrible!!" I cried, burying my face into her shoulder. "I don't know what to do anymore!!"

"Shh, calm down. Tell me everything from the beginning."

"I…I…when you escaped Akito attacked me and I lapsed into a three week coma! When I woke up everyone was upset with me, but glad I was able to rescue you. And…oh God, Momiji had tried to save me and Akito broke one of his ribs! I'm sure he's healed up by now, but who knows the psychological damage he's suffered!"

Isuzu's face was a mask of rage, but she said nothing.

"And then Kyo-kun came to see me and we…kissed. But Akito saw us and assaulted him, Yun-chan, and Tohru! They didn't put up with it and fought back! And that sent Akito over the edge. He…he…"

"What, Kagura? What did he do?"

"He forced Hatori to erase Tohru's memories! He had Kyo-kun put into isolation early! And he forced Yun-chan to be with him at all times! And it's all my fault!!"

Isuzu remained silent as I sobbed into her shoulder. When I had finally stopped, she stood up.

"I'm going to go murder him," she seethed, heading for the door.

"Isuzu, no!!" I grabbed her wrist. "He'll kill you if he sees you!!"

"I don't care!! He's gotten away with a lot of shit, but he's not going to get away with this!!"

"Are you going to let my sacrifice be in vain?! Isuzu, Hatori had to put fresh stitches into my back!! My recovery period has stretched to two years! All this pain…if you're hurt, I won't be able to take it!! Please just stop!!"

Isuzu was silent for several minutes. Then she let out a loud sigh. "All right, Kagura. I'll stay put and leave him alone."

I let go of her hand. "Thank you."

Isuzu sat back down. "So…how are we going to remedy this situation?"

I gave her a surprised look. "What?"

"How are we going to help Yuki, Kyo, and Tohru?"

"I don't even know if we can! No one in the Juunishi has talked to me!! And Akito isn't about to let Yun-chan and Kyo-kun go!! And even if he does, Tohru doesn't have any memories!!"

"That's not a reason to not try. Look, sitting here giving up isn't going to help anyone. They need us! Well, Tohru might not at the moment, but Yuki and Kyo need us! We have to take action, even if it's by ourselves."

"I doubt Hatori would approve of this."

"Fuck Hatori!!"

"Isuzu!!"

"No, fuck Hatori!! I never liked Tohru much, but I'm not exactly gonna forgive him for that!!"

"Isuzu, the only reason he did it was because Akito threatened him with me!!"

Isuzu quieted for a moment then said, "That's a lame excuse! Hatori had enough power to stop Akito! It's just that he was too cowardly to make a difference is why things are the way they are now!!"

I swallowed a lump in my throat. "All right. Say I was to agree with you on this. What exactly do you have in mind to bring Tohru, Yun-chan, and Kyo-kun back in one piece without any of us getting killed?"

Isuzu scoffed. "Kyo-kun can get out on his own. All he has to do is yank off his bracelet and he's good to go."

I sweatdropped. "Don't you think Akito might've taken measures to prevent that?"

"I doubt it. If Yuki's back in his possession, then he'd be too thrilled to pay attention to anything. What matters is timing."

"Um, okay. And Yun-chan?"

"That's going to be a little more difficult. If Akito's keeping Yuki close by like he did with Kureno, then it'll be almost impossible to get him loose. Like before, that one requires great timing."

"So you don't have a set plan for him yet?"

"…No."

"And Tohru?"

Isuzu thought about it for several minutes before an evil smirk broke out across her face. I felt a feeling of foreboding wash over me.

"I got it," she said. "But it'll require some assistance. Tell me, is school still in session or is it a break?"

"No, school's in session. The weekend's almost up."

"All right. I'll need some help from some of Tohru's closest acquaintances in order for this to work."

"In order for what to work?" I asked, but I didn't get an answer.

"I'm home!" came Mom's voice. She walked into the room and did a double take when she saw Isuzu. "Oh my!! Isuzu!!!"

Isuzu jumped up and clamped a hand over her mouth. "Shh!! I'm not here!!"

I had no idea what exactly Isuzu had planned for Tohru. Any questions I asked got incomplete answers. I was a little nervous at what she had in mind, since she had a difficult time getting along with Tohru. I just hoped it wasn't too bad.

I was still amazed at how she remained out of Akito radarscope when she was on the family's compound.

One morning I had gotten my answer. I had been moping about Kyo, considering he was so close, yet he forbade me from seeing him. A little sigh here and a little sob there worked for almost no sleep at night.

At 6:15 a.m., with only three hours of sleep under my belt, Isuzu came to get me up.

"Get up," she greeted. "We have a busy schedule today."

I pulled the covers over my head. "Can't you show a little compassion for a cancer patient?"

"You're getting your strength back everyday. Besides, a little activity will do you good."

I poked my head out from underneath my covers. "You mean…you're doing whatever it is you're today about Tohru?"

"Yeah. But I need some assistance to get some recruits. So get up!"

Ten minutes later I was downstairs eating breakfast with a satisfied Isuzu and a worried Mom.

"Kagura, you didn't have to get up so early," she said. "You can go back to sleep."

"Don't worry about it," Isuzu answered for me. "We had something planned for today and she begged me to get her up extra early."

Mom blinked several times. "For the whole day? Is that really such a good idea?"

"Of course. I consulted Hatori about it and he agrees that Kagura needs the fresh air."

"Oh. Nevertheless, you better take care of yourself, Kagura."

"I will, Mom," I said, smiling. "I won't do anything too reckless."

A while later we were out the door. It was still fairly early for anyone to be up. But Isuzu kept a hood in front of her face so no one would recognize her.

"Did you really get Hatori's approval?" I asked suspiciously.

"Hell no. That guy can kiss my ass."

"Isuzu—"

"Don't worry! You won't do any of the dirty work, but I do need your assistance."

I didn't know what she was talking about, and I was further confused when I realized we were heading towards Hatori's house. "Um, Isuzu? If Hatori can kiss your ass, then why are we going to see him?"

"We aren't seeing him, Kagura. There's someone else."

As if on cue, we heard an overly cheerful, "I'm going now!"

Isuzu hid and directed me to do so as Momiji left Hatori's house. Despite the cheerful smile on his face, I couldn't help but feel for him. Who knew how hurt he really was, all because he tried to save me…

Isuzu acted quickly. As Momiji passed us, oblivious to our presence, Isuzu reached out and grabbed him. He nearly screamed, but she clamped a hand over his mouth. "Don't scream. It's only us."

Momiji stopped struggling and look at us. His face returned to its usual cheer. "Kagura!! And you're here too, Rin!! I thought you were disappeared!"

"I was, but I have a bit of business to take care of," said Isuzu, releasing him. "It involves Tohru. Will you help us?"

Momiji smiled broadly. "If it's Tohru, I'll help in any way." Then his smile faded. "But…weren't her memories erased?"

"Yeah, but we're hoping to remedy that. You in?"

Momiji looked sad for a moment longer before his cheerfulness came back. "Of course! Let's save Tohru!"

"Hang on, there's still one more person to pick up."

"Oh wait, Haru's waiting for me!"

"No, I already told him the plan."

"How did you?!" I interrupted. "I don't remember you leaving my house!!"

It took us awhile, but we managed to sneak off the complex without being detected. Just as we closed the gates, I spotted Kisa and Hiro a little ways away walking to school.

"Wait here," said Isuzu, jogging over to them. I thought for sure she was going to nab Hiro, considering how close she was to him. But what she did surprised me.

"Sorry," she said, taking hold of Kisa's hand. "But you're sick today and can't go in."

"Rin?!" cried Hiro. "You're back?!"

"Rin-san, I'm feeling all right," Kisa said in her quiet voice.

Isuzu tugged on her hand. "No, you have a dangerously high fever and can't go in. I'm sorry Hiro, but we have to go now." Isuzu led Kisa back to us. "Let's go."

We left a very confused Hiro behind, though I myself was very confused. We walked for a while until we came across a large black van.

"Hop in," said Isuzu, climbing into the driver's seat.

"How'd you get this?" I asked, climbing into the passenger seat. I noted the two piles of clothes in the back, along with a broken leash.

"I hotwired it, how else? Momiji, Kisa, get in the back. Change into the clothes that are back there."

"Isuzu, what's going on?" I demanded as Momiji and Kisa climbed in.

"I though it was obvious, Kagura. We're kidnapping Tohru."

My jaw dropped. "Kidnapping her?!"

"Yeah. It's not like we can go knock on her door and politely ask for her. To her we're strangers now!! So we might as well kidnap her!!"

"I don't think Tohru would like it," said Momiji as he pulled on the sweater and sweat pants over his school uniform. "It's not exactly the right approach."

"Hey, you're the one who said you'd do anything to help Tohru. Well right now she needs to be kidnapped and smacked around until—"

"Isuzu!!" I snapped.

"All right, all right."

Kisa pulled on the long sleeved frilly shirt and long skirt over her uniform. "If we kidnap her…will Nee-chan get her memories back?"

"I don't know," said Isuzu, touching the pulled out wires to start the car. "But it's worth a shot."

"What'd you tell them to do?" I asked worriedly. We were on the corner near Tohru's relatives' house. Momiji and Kisa were down the street with the broken leash. I was leaning against the parked van.

"I told them to act like their puppy was missing and to ask for Tohru to help them."

"Um, it's almost time for school. Do you really think she'd fall for it?"

Isuzu gave me a look. "Kagura, this is Tohru we're talking about. Of course she will."

I glanced out of the corner of my eye. "Heads up, she's coming."

"Okay. Alert me when it's time." Isuzu whistled loudly before climbing into the van and closing the door. It was the cue for Kisa and Momiji to fall into their routine.

I tried to act as casually as I could as I could see Tohru approaching me. It was so difficult to just stand there and not run over to her. She doesn't have her memories, keep it under control…

But when she was close enough, I felt a pain in my chest. She looked like she normally did; like nothing was wrong. It was hard for me to understand how normal she could be acting.

Before I could stop myself I said, "Good morning."

Tohru paused in her walk and looked at me. I thought for a brief moment she would remember. But she answered with a smiled and a polite, "Good morning," before continuing on. It was strange to know I was a stranger to her.

Kisa's wail reached us before Tohru pass the street. She stopped and looked down the road at Momiji and Kisa. Kisa was kneeling on the ground, her hands to her face, and Momiji was trying to comfort her.

"There, there," he soothed. "We'll find him. Don't worry."

"Onii-chan, he's not wearing his collar!! And without a leash he'll be picked up!!"

Tohru stared at the two for a while. I thought briefly that she would walk away. To my immense relief she turned and walked down the road towards them.

"Excuse me," she said politely. "Why are you crying?"

I thought at that point our plan would backfire. The expressions on Momiji and Kisa's faces when they saw Tohru were so heartbreaking. I felt tears come to my eyes when Kisa started crying for real.

"W-We were walking our dog before school," stuttered Kisa. "But the leash broke and he ran!!"

"Oh my!"

"We don't know where he went," said Momiji. He was twitching slightly and I knew he was fighting off the urge to throw his arms around her.

Tohru pulled out a handkerchief and dabbed at Kisa's eyes. "It's all right. If you want, I'll help you look for your dog."

YES!!! I almost screamed.

Kisa's eyes brightened. "You really will, Nee-chan?"

I choked a little when I heard Kisa's endearment for Tohru. But Tohru just smiled and nodded.

Momiji jumped up. "Yay! Let's hurry so we won't miss school!!"

"Which way did he run?" asked Tohru, taking Kisa and Momiji's hands.

"He ran down this way from there," said Momiji, pointing in the opposite direction. "So we think he went there." He pointed towards me.

"All right," said Tohru. "I value high school, but I'm sure my mom will forgive me if I'm a little late for helping you guys."

I tensed up as they started walking towards me. Tohru was completely unaware of what was about to happen. Isuzu was right; she was a little clueless at times.

"What's your dog's name?" asked Tohru.

"Oh, um, uh, Banjo," said Momiji.

Tohru laughed. "Wow, that's a unique name!! Do you know what kind of dog he was?"

"Golden retriever," said Kisa.

Wow, we didn't tell them to say that!! They're being really creative!!

When they were ten feet away, I knew it was time. "Isuzu, now!!"

The van door came quickly open and Isuzu literally launched herself out of it. Al three of them looked shocked to see her. Tohru tried to shove Momiji and Kisa behind her as if to protect her. But Momiji smiled sadly and pushed Tohru at Isuzu. Before Tohru could fight back, Isuzu had her in a tight hold and hit her in the head. Tohru slumped against her, unconscious.

"Hey, you never said you were gonna hit her!!" cried Momiji as Isuzu lifted Tohru over her shoulder.

"We got her and that's what matters," said Isuzu. "Now hurry up into the van before someone sees us."

I took this time to climb into the front seat. Momiji and Kisa climbed into the back through the widely open door. Isuzu tossed Tohru in after them none-too-gently. She climbed into the front seat.

"That was a little excessive, knocking her unconscious and throwing her in here," I said, glowering a little.

"All right, I'm sorry," said Isuzu, starting up the car. "What's important is that we got her."