Chapter 7

"It all started centuries ago when the Sohmas and my family were close friends. Since my family worked for them, they basically knew about the curse laid upon the Sohmas so were allowed to work very closely with them. One of my great grandmothers fell in love with a Sohma and they vowed to wed one day no matter who opposed them. But the jealous head of the family forbid the marriage, forcing the two lovers apart and causing great distress between the families. Without realizing it, the couple began to sneak out to be together and had planned to run away forever to be with each other. If it weren't for the head Sohma's miserable drone, they would have been free of both family's influence over their futures. Alas, when they were found out, the head of the family laid a curse on my ancestor, bonding her to all Sohmas as a whore to satisfy their pleasures however they pleased, as a punishment for defying orders. She was also cursed with long life, she couldn't die until the day she turned 100, so she would spend the rest of her old life alone and miserable. Soon after the curse was made, all the Sohma men raped her in front of her fiancé as a punishment to him for disobeying and as a testament to all who came after to never fall in love with a woman of my family lest they suffer the same fate. Ever since that day, every woman in my family was born with the curse of servitude to the every whim of any Sohma man, no matter how horrible that may be." Kyou stood in awe of the story he was just told, not aware at all of such a thing happening within his own family.

"Why didn't I know about this?" Kyou asked, still looking shocked.

"The cat never knows, why give him the satisfaction of enjoying himself as well?"

"But Yuki didn't know about you either…"

"Some Sohma don't know, it's only those close to Akito that really know or find out on accident."

"So…does that mean you…"

"Not yet, surprisingly I've managed to evade such a fate but I don't know how long I can hold out. When I was 13, I was ordered in by that dog to pleasure him but I was too afraid, I wouldn't let him touch me. So, as a replacement, my mother took my place and he raped her in front of me, I guess to teach me a lesson or something."

"Shigure? I knew he was a pervert but…"

"There's a lot you don't know about the Sohmas…there are many dark secrets that I have learned and been sworn to keep lest I be punished for telling." She said gravely, her head bowed in dejection.

"But…that still doesn't explain why you attacked Yuki." Kyou noted, starting to look concerned as he cocked his head to the side to see her face.

"Over the years, the curse has grown worse and worse to the point we've also donned a demon of our own. The vengeful spirits of my ancestors before me seem to live within me and get out if I'm not careful. All the anger of all the centuries of torture have built up inside me to the point that when I even SEE a Sohma, I want to make them pay for what they did, guilty or not. I couldn't control it, it just took over every time…" She began to cry into her hands, her tears mixing with the rain and washing away. Kyou's brow furrowed and he touched her quivering back gently, trying to console her in the only way he knew how. She took a sharp breath, choking out, "I never meant to hurt him, I actually care about him. I guess…I guess it was my ancestors' way of reminding me of the curse…telling me to forget about him…"

"You…like Yuki?"

"Ever since I saw him as a child being Akito's slave, I felt like we had something in common, you know? We never met but I knew…I knew one day we would and I actually looked forward to that day but now…" She began to sob again.

"Did you even know you were doing it before now?"

"Yes, I knew but I…I tried to save him, I really did! I begged him to ask for you to save him, I tried to reach out through the darkness in me and stop myself before it was too late. If you hadn't come when you did…"

"I understand, I have a dark side too…" Kyou looked sympathetic to her dilemma, suddenly forgetting that he was standing in the rain fully clothed. Slowly, the girl leaned into him and wept on his shoulder.

"Please, don't let him find me…" She sobbed, half muffled by his shirt. Kyou looked uncomfortable, never confronted by a situation like this before. What does one do when a girl cries on you? He finally pushed her away gently and said, "Alright, I'll help you, but I don't know how I can convince Hatori to disobey orders."

"Just you being there is enough for me…thank you, Kyou." She hugged him, giving him a warm feeling that he'd not felt before from a girl.

Gee, I'm used to Kagura's glomp attacks. So this is what a normal girl's like…boy I hate this curse. Kyou thought, hugging her back briefly before saying, "I should get back inside. In the morning, meet me on the way to school so Hatori doesn't find you before I do." She nodded and turned to leave when he said, "By the way…what's your name?"

"It's…Jesiku. Hikaru Jesiku."

"I'll see you then, Jesi." Kyuu said with a slight smile, waiting for her to leave before returning to the house. He avoided passing through the living room and went straight to his room to dry off again and change, all the while thinking about everything he learned about the Sohma's past.

After getting ready for bed, Kyou went in to find Tohru sitting with Hatori watching some random sitcom on the TV.

"Oh, Kyou-kun, there you are! We were wondering where you went off to for so long after your bath!" Shigure chirped, looking all jolly and innocent.

Don't put on that goody goody act around me, you bastard. Kyou thought to himself, hiding the evil glare he was mentally giving him.

"I was doing some exercises in my room since it's raining outside." Kyou responded, wandering toward the kitchen.

"Oh, I'll make you up something, Kyou-kun!" Tohru hurried after Kyou. Inside the kitchen, she began to gather things to heat up when Kyou whispered, "Tohru, I need to ask you a favor again."

"Yes?"

"Can you make sure Shigure stays there and doesn't wander toward Yuki's room?"

"I guess…is something going on?" Tohru asked, looking concerned.

"Nothing for you to worry about, just distract the dog." He grabbed the milk out of the refrigerator and popped it open, wandering casually back out into the living room. As he chugged it, he went back to Yuki's room and snuck in, quietly closing the door. Yuki was surprisingly awake and blinked at him curiously, muttering, "Kyou?"

"Look, try to keep your voice down, I have something to tell you." Kyou knelt next to Yuki's bed and explained everything to him that Jesi had told him. After the explanation, Yuki looked quite surprised as he said, "She…likes me?"

"Yeah, something about a connection and slavery, whatever. I don't know how long I can hold Hatori off but you have to convince Shigure that you wanted her to torture you."

"What?" Yuki hissed.

"Maybe if he thinks you knew about her and wanted her to…beat the tar out of you, then he'll call off the hunt!"

"If I tell him that, he'll think I LIKE being with Akito!" Yuki snarled, looking quite put off.

"Hey, it's your decision! Risk being Akito's play toy again or condemn Jesi, it's your choice." Kyou stood up and headed for the door, pausing to say, "If I were you, I'd take my chances…" With that, he left Yuki to feverishly ponder over the recent developments.

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"Kyou-kun, is everything alright?" Tohru asked sheepishly as the two teens walked to school together, "I know you told me not to worry about it but I can't help it!"

"It's fine, Tohru." Kyou assured her mildly.

"Is Yuki-kun going to be okay? Is that girl going to come back again?"

"I don't know, but know that you mention it…I have something to tell you." Before he could warn Tohru, Jesi popped her head out of the bushes along the sidewalk, hissing to Kyou in a low call. Tohru nearly screamed but Kyou clapped his hand over her mouth, saying quickly, "It's okay, she's not gonna do anything!" Cautiously, Jesi stepped out of the flora and bowed her head shamefully, clutching at the leaves behind her. Tohru stared at her in fear and said, "But…she…she…!"

"I know, you need to trust me on this one. There's a lot going on you don't know about and I'd love to explain it but right now we have Hatori after her and no time to waste with details."

"Hatori…?"

"Do you trust me?" Kyou asked again.

"Y-yes…" Tohru eyed Jesi nervously and Kyou let out a sigh, saying, "Good. She's gonna follow us-well, me-to school and from then on who knows, I guess it all depends on how long it takes Hatori to get there."

"Does he know you know?" Jesi asked suddenly, stepping up to them.

"I don't think so, if Shigure's clueless than we're safe. He's got a big mouth." Kyou grumbled before starting to walk again. The three went on together to school where they met up with Uotani and Hanajima, pretending that Jesi was just a friend they had made along the way.

"So, Kyou-kyon, is she your girlfriend?" Uotani teased, giving him a jab with her elbow.

"What! No way! Shut up, Uotani!" Kyou yelled. As the group of friends quarreled and chatted as usual, Jesi kept a close eye on the crowds, making sure Hatori didn't sneak up on them while their guard was down.

"So then he comes and he says-hey, what's up with her?" Uotani broke off in mid story as she stared at Jesi who was clutching at Kyou's sleeve and staring out into the crowded hallway.

"Huh? What is it?" Kyou asked Jesi, looking the direction she was. There, not 15 feet down the corridor, was Hatori.