Chapter 33: Day Three

Princess Sango

Both subjects had split away, but that didn't mean they didn't want to communicate. Both wanted comfort, but they weren't exactly sure how to do this. Keiichiro was afraid of Kyoko's dad, and Kyoko didn't want to get close to anyone. So how do you get these two together? Simple, both of them claim to go out, but they have the same place in mind. Kyoko was wondering one of the major gardens and saw the small tombs farther up ahead to where her brother's body lay. Running there, she knelt down to his grave stone and hugged it.

Knowing no one would hug her back sent her into tears and then left in a run only to bump into someone, and of all people, Keiichiro. Looking up she wiped her tears and tried to get away but before she could Keiichiro reacted and hugged her close. She struggled but soon surrendered and started crying again, but it was more like she was reluctant to cry. Keiichiro found a bench that was positioned in front of a pond and just held her.

When Kyoko had finally stopped crying she looked up at Keiichiro, "Thank-you."

"No prob Kyoko-san, anytime," Keiichiro answered, his voice a little light. She didn't pull away from his warm embrace.

"It's hard on me you know. To know he's gone, and he won't ever come back. I can't say much but I did know the real cause of his death. It was all my fault, and he didn't even blame me!" Kyoko yelled slightly, and Keiichiro's embrace strengthened and she stopped and looked up at him.

Hazel eyes looked at her crimson one's, "Then don't blame yourself, Kyoko-san, one of you got live. I bet he wants you to live for both of you. He doesn't want you to mourn over him, he wants you to live life, become something. Not a nobody, become someone."

She softened slightly but then asked, "How would you know?"

Keiichiro gave her a small smile, "I just know it, and something tells me so."

Kyoko looked up at him and then gave an appreciative smile before sighing, "Maybe you're right, even after four years I've been hanging onto my brother's ghost, and everyone else is moving on. Heck, mom and dad have gotten married and have had another child."

"You see? You should move on too Kyoko-san," Keiichiro answered, trying to make her see what he was hinting too.

"I know, but it's hard for me, at school I play a different role, you know that. Here, I'm just myself but the secret I've carried is so much. It's depressing if you think about it," Kyoko answered, staring at her fingers which were on his chest.

"You don't have to talk about them, if you don't want to," Keiichiro answered, looking down at her.

"I-I need to tell someone, someone on the outside, but I don't know if I can. Trust doesn't come easy to me," Kyoko answered, taking a deep breath of air, "but I need to, so I can move on."

Keiichiro smiled at her and loosened his hold slightly, "Can you tell me?"

Kyoko looked up at and stared into his eyes, and only saw the purest intentions in his hazel eyes and nodded, "Yes, I think I will tell you. Promise me though, that you won't tell anyone what I'm about to tell you. If this got out, the Sohma family could be in a lot of trouble with society."

With no hesitation he nodded, "I promise."

Kyoko smiled and started, "Well, I guess you need to know the curse first. Well the curse is that, do you know the zodiac characters?"

"Of course I do!" Keiichiro answered her but then looked away, "Sorry, please continue."

"Well the god said he was having a banquet, and that every animal was invited. Well, the rat told the cat the banquet was the day after the actual one, and he didn't go. The rat came first, and then followed the rest. For some odd reason, the zodiac was placed upon our family, and it's been going on for generations. Yet, their was another twist, in a certain amount of time the Elites will be born and their names are Hope, Despair, Destiny, and Fate. Are you catching on?" Kyoko asked, looking up at Keiichiro, whose eyes are slightly glazed over.

He looked at her expectant crimson ones, "Yes, I think I am."

"Good, well Hope and Despair had to be born twins. I happened to be the rabbit spirit and my brother was the dog, we were both twins and elites. I was Hope and he was Despair, and when we turned ten, the two elites had to fight it out, to the death. Well Hope won this time, sometimes I wonder if Despair let me win. Now, for four years, I've been keeping it all to myself, no one understands the power I was born with, maybe mom and dad, but not as much as Despair, my balance," Kyoko whispered.

Keiichiro looked at her and then smiled, "So you killed him? Your brother, you killed him?"

Kyoko shut her eyes, to block out the vision of his clean face, "Yes, I did, and I've had to live with it, for four years. I can't stand remembering that day, our own birthday! Don't you think it hurts me so much? I didn't mean to, I-I didn't m-mean too…"

Kyoko started crying again and Keiichiro held her tight, "It's okay, you had no control over it, I don't blame you."

"You don't have to lie to me, tell me how you really feel," Kyoko answered and then sobbed again.

"No, I would never lie about something like that, you're a great person, and it hurts me, believe it or not, me to think about you being upset," Keiichiro whispered into her ear.

Kyoko looked up at Keiichiro and smiled, a smile of gratitude, "You mean it?"

"I really do Kyo-" came his strangled voice as he collapsed to the ground, bringing Kyoko to the ground too.

"Keiich-" came Kyoko's voice as she lapsed too.

Luckily Hatori was watching nearby and ran over to treat the two teens.

TBC…