* - * - *

She bit her lip and peeked at him from the corner of her eye, unable to stop herself from worrying. He'd seemed preoccupied for some time now, and she wondered what he was thinking of. Judging from the shadows in his eyes, it couldn't be all that good.

She sighed. It had been impulse that led her to give him the flower earlier as an attempt to cheer him up. Well, he did smile; she couldn't have mistaken the way his eyes warmed when he accepted her little offering, but after a while, he ended up looking even more pensive than before. She'd caught him staring at her several times, but each time his expression grew more and more troubled. Neither did she miss the way his gaze sometimes drifted toward the tower, as if to remind himself of something unpleasant but necessary. He seemed to be wrestling with some difficult decision; or else, having come to that decision, was now trying to find the words to say it. A stab of dread went through her. She could only think of two things that could weigh so heavily on his mind. He was either going to ask her to give him the Sun Stone, which would then confirm everything Kyo warned her about him, or else…or else he was going to ask her to leave.

Her fingers clenched tightly against the folds of her skirt. She didn't want to leave. At least not yet, and certainly not without him and Kyo and Ritsu. It had seemed so simple when Kyo asked her last night, but this was Yuki. If she knew it would make him happy she'd do it in a thrice, but not to leave him, not like this. She didn't want to hear it from him.

Beside her, the small silver form lifted his head. "Honda-san, there's something—"

"Anoo, what was it that Rit-chan said he had to do back at the tower?" she asked quickly before he could complete his sentence.

"I asked him to fetch some food and clothing for you. I think he's got an old cloak stashed somewhere that would fit you. It's for your—"

"W-when did you ask him this, Yuki-kun? I don't think I heard you say anything like that."

His whiskers twitched in amusement, as if he knew what she was trying to do. "It was when you were chasing after that idiot cat to keep him in the clearing."

"Oh," she said miserably, remembering how she'd stood at the edge of the clearing for several minutes calling for Kyo, whose only response was an indignant glare before he disappeared into the forest on whatever mysterious errand cats had to do. She felt a light touch upon her knee, and looked down into Yuki's grave little face.

"Honda-san, I'm trying to tell you that you have to leave. Today, in fact. It's just a little past mid-day, so there's still enough time before twilight. I can take you to the barriers at the edge of the forest and try to keep the monsters off you. Do you think you can do it?"

Mutely, she shook her head.

"I think you've recovered enough from your fever. Let me deal with the Sun Stone. Don't worry," he assured her. "I won't take it from you, but I can make sure it won't kill you, either."

His words made her feel like crying. Oh Kyo-kun, you're wrong about him, you know.

"Honda-san, please listen to me," he went on, the note of urgency rising in his voice. "You can't stay here, it's too dangerous. You don't know Akito the way we do; he won't hesitate to kill you or worse. You don't belong here in any case, not in a forest full of monsters, curses and dark sorcerers. This is no way for anyone to live."

"You don't belong here either, Yuki-kun," she pointed out before she could stop herself. Yuki barely reacted, but she could almost feel him retreat behind his mental walls again, the way he did when she'd said something that hurt him. "I'm sorry," she said in a tiny voice.

He shrugged away her apology. "Honda-san, I can't protect you," he said, the words sounding as if they'd been wrenched from in his gut. "None of us can, not even Kyo. I—we just want you to be safe, and from what you've told me about Kyo, I think he'd agree. Ritsu will be back any time now. Please, Honda-san. You must leave."

Instead of replying, she reached down and traced her finger along the soft fur of his back, half-afraid that he would draw away from her. He went stiff for a moment then relaxed, leaning into her hand. "Will you come with me, Yuki-kun?"

He pulled back in shock. "What?"

"Will you come with me?" she repeated. "Out of this forest, I mean. You see, I'm not leaving without you. I'm taking you and Kyo-kun and Rit-chan with me. I'm not leaving any of you behind, so—so will you come with me? Please?"

"Honda-san…" He trailed off, his body quivering with emotions he'd lost the ability to articulate.

"I can carry you in my pocket," she added hastily, just in case he was wondering if she'd thought this out at all. "And I can carry Kyo-kun in my arms. I think he'll let me, now that he knows who I am. Please, Yuki-kun. Please come."

"Honda-san, I—I can't," he said in a voice that wasn't quite steady. "I'm sorry. And to be honest, neither can Kyo nor Ritsu. You're the only one who isn't burdened with a curse, and with the Sun Stone inside you, you're the only one with enough power to get through the barriers. You're the only one who has a chance to escape."

"Oh." Her spirits fell when she realized that he was right. There were still Yuki's and Kyo's curses to consider, and she wasn't sure if Ritsu would agree to come with her. She couldn't very well force the kitchen-boy into something he'd rather not attempt, could she? And although she couldn't see anything particularly deadly about Kyo's cat form, Yuki seemed convinced that his own curse was a threat to her. She recalled the desolation in his eyes when twilight fell, and had to quell a shudder. There were so many things she still didn't understand about him. Why was he so afraid for her? Could it be—could it be Kyo was right?

Mother, what do I do? I can't leave them behind, but I can't stay here, either. Kisa-san is still waiting for me. What do I do now?

She felt a gentle pressure on her hand where Yuki had laid both paws in a comforting gesture. "Honda-san, if things had been different," he said haltingly, "if I had been different, I would have followed you anywhere, to the ends of the earth if you wanted me to. I just want you to know."

Warmth flared inside her again, helping soothe the fear that she would have to leave without him. She smiled at him, and resumed lightly stroking his back. "Yuki-kun, will you tell me about the transformation?" she asked after a while.

He tensed, but she continued to pet him until his body relaxed. "Why do you want to know?"

"It's just that I've seen Kyo-kun in both his forms, but I've only seen you in this form. I—I just want to know."

He looked away before she could catch a glimpse of his eyes. "What I become at night is something I hope to gods you never have to see, Honda-san."

So much pain, she thought again, her heart aching for him. "Kyo-kun said something strange the first time I met him. He called you a 'conjurer' and…a lot of other names. He seemed surprised when I told him about Akito, as if he'd never heard of him before. When I explained about your curse, he said something even stranger. He said—he said that you and Akito were one."

The silence stretched thin and taut. "Unbelievable," Yuki commented with a humorless laugh. "The idiot cat finally figured it out."

Tohru went cold. "Then—then it's true?"

He nodded slowly. "As I said before, Akito invested a lot of his power into creating this realm, and it drastically weakened his body. He was wasting away when he found me, and he needed another body for his soul to inhabit or he would die. However, it also takes a lot of energy to take over another body while the original soul is still connected to it, so Akito can only stay inside my—his new body at night, occupying a more easily dominated form during the daytime to recoup his strength. Hence my curse."

Despite his impassive narration, Tohru could feel horror rising up within her. Akito stole Yuki's body every night? She could hardly bend her mind around the concept, much less accept the fact that Akito virtually owned Yuki. The memory of the creeping darkness and the image of the silver-haired boy watching from the tower returned to her, making her shiver. So it had been Akito she was seeing, but it was Yuki, too. Yuki's body with Akito's soul. The very idea turned her stomach. "What happens to you then, Yuki-kun?" she asked the stiff little form in front of her.

"I disappear," was his soft reply.

Her eyes filled with tears again. This is wrong. This is all wrong. She thought about Kyo, whose untamed spirit demanded to be free, locked in a dungeon at night and sealed within a small, unthinking shape during the day. About Ritsu, whose body was his but whose mind was shackled by such paralyzing fear it was practically a curse in itself. And Yuki, sweet, gentle Yuki, who had had everything stolen from him, even his own body. How could anyone do this to them? What kind of person would take three innocent beings and torture them like this?

The kind of person who would shatter a kingdom because he believed it was right.

Akito.

Without a word, she picked Yuki up and set him on her shoulder before heading toward the lake. She stood on the shore again, staring at the tower. Akito's dark presence was nearly tangible, pressing down heavily upon her. "Yuki-kun?"

"Yes?"

"How do you break the curse?"

She'd surprised him again, she could tell. "It can't be done," he answered. "Only Akito can do it."

And Akito would never do it, was the unspoken thought between them. Tohru frowned. Everything began and ended with Akito. She tried to remember everything she knew about the sorcerer, which, she had to admit, was limited only to the story her mother told her and Yuki's and Kyo's warnings. She knew that Akito was powerful, but his power was dark and cruel and different from that of the mages in the old kingdom. His mother was a witch-woman of the Forbidden Tribe, but he grew up in the palace because his father was—his father was the king himself. A small gasp escaped her. "Yuki-kun, Akito is your brother, isn't he?"

For a moment, she thought Yuki would refuse to answer her. "Yes," he said, the solitary word falling between them like a stone on the surface of a lake, a tacit admission of Yuki's true identity. The king's first-born son…Yuki's brother… yet he would do this to him, to his father's kingdom? She drew in a breath to ask him another question when Yuki cut her off.

"Don't, Honda-san," he told her. "Akito isn't just some villain from a children's story. Far stronger people than any of us have gone up against him and perished. He may have been weakened physically, but his power has been growing for the past two hundred years. He won't be swayed, and he can't be defeated. Thinking he can is a mistake that will only get you killed."

"But—"

"This realm isn't all that it seems to be. This lake, this forest, the barriers—Akito created them not to keep anything out, but to keep something in. This realm is a prison before anything else."

"I don't understand."

"Honda-san, Ritsu, Kyo and I aren't the only ones imprisoned here," Yuki stated grimly. "Do you remember the story? When Akito came to the palace, he brought with him not just an army of demons but something else as well. Something dark and terrible that should not have been summoned into this world. Ever since then, this being has been sealed underneath the tower, waiting for its chance to break free and finish what it started, and the only person who can send it back into the netherworld is Akito himself. He's the only one who can control it. If he should weaken too much…" He took a deep breath. "Honda-san, Akito can't be defeated because he's the only one who stands between your world and this thing. A city had been devoured before; if this being should ever break free of its seal, it won't ever stop at that."

Tohru made a small, whimpering sound. There seemed to be no solution to this tangle at all. If Akito should weaken, then this terrible creature who seemed to frighten even Yuki would lay siege to the world, and to keep this from happening Akito needed Yuki's body. Yuki was trapped on all sides. "But why does Akito need Rit-chan or Kyo-kun?"

"Ritsu's job is to tend to the seal beneath the tower. And, well, Ritsu stays for reasons of his own. As for Kyo…" He shook his head. "I don't know what Akito plans to do with him. One thing is certain, though. Akito will never set any of us free."

She bowed her head in defeat. I don't have a choice at all, do I, Mother? I'll have to leave them behind. Kyo-kun, Rit-chan…Yuki-kun…

She felt a tiny paw touch her damp cheek. How strange, she didn't even know she was crying. "Honda-san, don't," he whispered, agonized. "Please don't cry. Nothing here can be worth your tears."

She sniffled and brushed ineffectually at her tears, trying to ignore the hollow ache inside her at the thought of abandoning her friends. It shouldn't have to be this way.

What did you think you could do?

"Ritsu's here," Yuki announced wretchedly. "It's all right, Honda-san. You won't have to stay here any longer. You'll be free."

She shook her head again, reaching for him to hold him out in front of her. "Not yet, Yuki-kun. Please? Don't send me away, at least not yet."

"Honda-san—"

"Please?" she begged, cutting off his protest. "One more night. Please let me stay here just one more night. I want to say goodbye to Kyo-kun, and I—I just want to be with you today. First thing tomorrow I'll leave, I promise, just please let me have one more day with you."

A tiny part of her registered movement beyond them. Ritsu had rowed the raft ashore and was now creeping uncertainly toward them, a small sack and a cloak held at his side. Her entire being however was focused on the little silvery-white form in front of her, pleading with him with everything she had. Yuki trembled, and his eyes were wide and unblinking, the violet depths filled with such fear and anguish and desperate longing that it made her breath catch. She nearly gave in then; she was only hurting him more with her stubbornness when all he wanted was to keep her safe, but then Yuki tore his gaze away from her, drawing in a shaky breath.

"Y-Your Highness?" Ritsu called questioningly.

Yuki glanced at him over his shoulder, then turned back to Tohru. "Honda-san—"

A spasm of pain shot through her. He's going to refuse.

"All right. Just one more night," he relented, almost in a whisper. He gazed up at her with a sad, rueful little smile. "Nobody ever told me I'd have to learn to refuse someone like you."

Her heart leaped, and Tohru smiled through her tears, the smile widening into a grin and finally into a peal of happy laughter as she brought Yuki closer and rubbed her cheek against his back. Ritsu beamed and surreptitiously dabbed at his eyes with the cloak, and from her peripheral vision, Tohru saw a small, orange shape wend its way through the grasses. She took them all in, her strange and now beloved friends, and laughed again, determined to hold back the coming sorrow for as long as she could. A voice inside her informed her in no uncertain terms that she was being stupid and selfish again, that another night spent here wouldn't make a hint of a difference, but somehow she couldn't bring herself to regret it. Tomorrow she would leave and continue on her way to Ryuukama, but today would be hers.

One more day and one more night would be hers.

* - * - *

He should have resisted. He shouldn't have given in so easily to her pleading. Nothing good ever came out of delaying the inevitable. But how could he? Yuki stared up into her bright aquamarine eyes, reveled in the sound of her joyous laughter, and with a sigh of defeat acknowledged his weakness: he would do anything to keep her looking like that. Anything at all.

Oh, he was selfish. Selfish and weak. Little by little he'd been dying inside when he'd told her she had to leave, but now he felt as if he'd been given a reprieve. Guilt followed not too far behind. It wasn't for her that he'd agreed, it was for him. He couldn't lose her, not when he'd just found her despite the impossible odds. But he also knew that the longer she stayed here the more her life was jeopardized. He knew she could never be his. He had to let her go.

Tomorrow, his heart insisted stubbornly, foolishly. I'll let her go tomorrow.

And so he watched her, memorizing her smile, the sparkle in her eyes, the way she bit her lip when she was thinking, the gentleness of her hands, the fragrance of her hair. Something to hold on to when the darkness surrounded him. Tomorrow she would leave, but for now, for a few hours more precious to him than all the treasures of the world, he would have this.

One more day would be his.

* - * - *

The fire-colored cat sat down in the patch of grass he'd claimed as his own and watched the trio with only the slightest interest. The two tall ones seemed happy enough, despite the fact that the both of them were leaking salt water, particularly the tall one who smelled of flowers and sunshine. The irritating little creature he'd been pursuing sat atop her front paws and appeared to be in danger of getting cuddled to death by the tall one, although the creature didn't seem to mind at all. The cat flicked his ears back disdainfully. He didn't care if the little pest did get the life squeezed out of it; right now he didn't care much about anything as long as he could curl up in this comfortable nest away from the rest of the forest and its murderous inhabitants. Besides, he liked being near the tall one who smelled like flowers. She felt friendly and safe, and the cat didn't question his instincts about things like that.

But somewhere behind the slanted crimson eyes, the soul that lay dormant within the small, feline body stirred. Red-orange ears cocked forward again, and strange thoughts drifted through the cat's apathetic mind.

Daylight. I—I'm awake? Tohru is here…and the mouse. She's…smiling. So beautiful.

What the hell is going on?

Something flickered in the crimson eyes, just before the cat turned and began to idly wash itself.

They're talking. What're they saying? Dammit, look at them, will you?!

The cat blinked as the alien voice in his head raged impotently at him. They're talking about leaving. She's—she's leaving? No, she can't leave…

But she has to…

I'll never see her again…

The cat watched as the tall one continued to pet the annoying creature, then decided that he too wanted that kind of attention. He stood up languidly, sauntered over to the tall one and wound himself around her legs, informing her of her lapse. The tall one made a pleasant, breathy sort of noise and reached down to scratch him behind the ears. The cat purred his approval.

She's not leaving yet. She's going to stay…one more night. What the hell? That damned stupid mouse, send her away! She can't stay here. She can't stay…

I can see her again tonight.

I can be with her.

I can say goodbye.

Tohru.

An insect hopped onto a nearby rock, drawing the cat's attention. Crimson eyes watched alertly, then pounced on the insect, which somehow managed to jump aside at the last minute. The cat gave chase, strange thoughts and alien voices completely forgotten.

One more night. The voice faded away as the enchantment cast its sleeping spell upon the trapped soul once more. One more night would be mine.

* - * - *

One more night.

He smiled to himself. They were playing right into his hands. Dear Yuki, the child of sorrow…and the girl. He watched her as she laughed and played with his brother, his sharp, dark eyes piercing the distance. They looked so happy. She looked so happy. The silly, stupid bitch.

He would show her. He would reveal the truth to her. His plan was unfolding, and it would begin with her. Poor little would-be savior. He wanted to see the look on her face when she found out what secrets her precious friends were keeping from her.

And then she would die.

The immense black hawk sitting upon the rooftop of the tower stretched out its wings and opened its beak wide in a silent, exultant cry. It would all end tonight.

Just one more night, and they would all be his.