I'm watching a Red Sox game (friggen Tampa Bay! -damns them-) so I'm a little out of it, sorry. I'd write a little bit about the chapter but we're only leading by one and it's gettin' good, so, enjoy the chapter, please review, and there's much, MUCH more to come, so get psyched! New batch of updates coming soon to a computer-with-internet-access near you!

KS:

Kaye laughed slightly as she attempted to think some more on her song, but the things that she wrote always came in some sort of… vision… a thought that just exploded in her mind, it had melody and she heard it being sung in her head, it was… a magical moment… such a magical moment…

Kaye snapped out of her little daze and stood up to find some comfy pajama's.

"Kaye looks happier than I've seen her in years," Shigure said, sipping on some tea he had made himself. It seemed that nothing would ever meet the heavenly taste of Tohru's cooking, but it wasn't disgusting either.

"Yes, so it would seem," Yuki said, finishing up some of his homework.

"But, since Kaye has revealed her true age, shouldn't she be with you guys?" Shigure suddenly thought, wondering what he would tell the principle.

Yuki stopped a moment, "Well, I would think so, she is really quite brilliant too, college level is what I've heard."

Shigure decided he would ask Kaye if she wanted to 'move up a grade' tomorrow morning, and if she said yes he would accompany her to school or something. He heard a thump upstairs and wondered what it might have been, but ignored it.

Kaye looked out the window after recovering from her scare. She had seen something out the window and fell over in fright. Kaye laughed a minute, figuring it to be nothing. She quickly tugged the short sleeved shirt she had leftover from soccer when she was three-ish, making sure she was fully covered and walked over to the window.

She opened it, and a gust of icy air rushed in, the cold caressing her body and flying through her short hair, leaving snowflakes.

"What? Snow?" Kaye re-buttoned her jeans and ran downstairs, throwing on her socks.

"It's snowing you guys! SNOWING!" Kaye danced through the living room and TV room, hands in the air in elation.

"Snow? This early?" Tohru mused, looking out the window to see that there was, in fact, snow.

Kaye grabbed her shoes and tugged them on, hardly caring to tie them. "I'll be out for a bit, be back later!"

Kaye ran out the door before any further questions were asked- not that they had the time to ask anything, it all happened so fast.

"Wait- Kaye! Where are you going!" Kyo shouted after her, running to the door.

"Hatori's house," Shigure and Yuki said at the same time.

Kaye took her bike and plowed through the streets, not caring if she got snow all over herself, not caring that her soccer shirt with the lucky number 13 on the back in a neon green color was still too large and that her coat was just a few sizes too small. She didn't care that she had grabbed Kyo's sneakers and that her face was wet with snowflakes.

She was energetic and ecstatic, she didn't know why, she didn't care, she just was. Like lyric making it was a magical moment.

'Thinking of which,' Kaye suddenly thought, 'maybe while I'm riding I could think of something…I know what I could name the song…Instinct… sounds cool…'

Finally, she made it to Sohma residence. Kaye parked her bike, still trying to think of lyrics with her suddenly uncreative mind.

Kaye ran to the front gate, leaped into a nearby tree and jumped over the fence, landing neatly in a "pfft" of snow. The wind picked up so Kaye ran to try and find Hatori's house in the blaze of snow.

She slid on frozen over Koi ponds, tripped over jutting out rocks and trudged on through the snow towards Hatori's house. Upon reaching it, she slowly opened the door and slid inside, silent as anything. She kicked off the black sneakers that were Kyo's and took off the old coat. Finding a random hat on the floor she put it on, curling her hair up and piling it on top as much as she could before putting it on.

She walked around with her damp socks and thought about where he would be. She walked into the kitchen and saw only a boiling pot with instant ramen inside. She tested the water and found it to be… quite warm.

"Yowch!" she shouted, nursing her poor burnt hand.

"Kaye, is that you?" came a disgruntled voice.

"Hatori!" Kaye sang and pounced on her adoptive father. "Where were you? I was looking for you!"

Hatori smirked, "Get off me, you're soaking wet, and I was sleeping."

Kaye stared, wide eyed, "Sleeping with ramen on the stove? Not very smart, Ha'ri. Tsk, tsk, tsk!" Kaye shook her finger in a scolding way that made Hatori laugh softly.

"What brings you here?" Hatori asked, dumping the chicken flavoring into his ramen and stirring it around with a frosting scraper.

Kaye smiled evilly and slowly removed the hat, "TAH DAH!"

IS:

Hatori looked as though he'd had a heart attack, but then he smiled quite warmly. "You know, I was the last one to see your true colors before you decided to drown them in hair-care products," he said as he approached her. Hatori embraced Kaye and ruffled her new hair. "I'm glad you've decided to come back, my Kaye."

Kaye snuggled in close to Hatori, the biggest grin ever set on her face. "It's good to be back."

Kyo stepped out of the bath, dressed, and threw an extra coat on. He made his way outside and clambered onto the roof to reflect. He'd just closed his eyes when he heard a shifting far below on the ground and he re-opened his eyes. His eyes were vulnerable to the falling snow and a few flakes fell upon his membranes. Kyo quickly sat up and cursed then looked around to find the source of sound.

"You've got to be kidding me…" Kyo muttered. He glanced at Tohru's window and saw shadow's moving behind the curtains. He blinked in realization. Could she be dressing? Getting into bed? He turned to glare at Axle once again who had now realized he had been spotted. "Get outta here you friggen lech!"

"What are you shouting at you stupid cat!" came Yuki's voice from somewhere not far below him.

"Come see for yourself you damned rat!"

There was the sound of a window opening and Yuki's head appeared out the window. He too, spotted Axle and glanced at Tohru's window. He caught a glimpse of shadows moving but then they grew fainter and the light shut off. He heard her leave the room and walk downstairs. He breathed a sigh of relief and he and Kyo nodded to each other, racing themselves downstairs.

Axle stood his ground as they approached him. "Before you two start in on it let me just say I'm not here for stalking purposes, I just came to talk to her. Get her out here."

"Are you crazy?" Kyo shouted. "Get the hell outta here or I'm going to have to kill you."

"Look, just-"

"Just leave Miss Honda alone Mr. Sullivan. You've upset her enough," Yuki muttered coldly as the snow continued to fall around them. Axle glared back at the boys indignantly.

"You two aren't the only ones who care about her, you know," he hissed. "And talking isn't a crime."

"She doesn't want to talk to you, take the hint and leave!"

Axle turned and narrowed his eyes directly at Kyo. "You. You are always getting in my way. Like today in the market you were guarding her like a hound." He smirked. "I can't decide if you two are afraid of a little competition or if you're jealous."

Both Yuki and Kyo tackled Axle at the same time, but the brawl didn't last long. Tohru and Shigure had been watching from inside and had rushed out, Shigure grabbing Kyo and roughly tugging him away and Tohru clinging to one of Yuki's arms. It didn't take long to get back on his feet. "Tohru, can I-"

"Come on Miss Honda, it's cold out here," Yuki said, giving her his coat and leading her inside. Kyo gave Axle a threatening look and he and Shigure entered the house and shut the door behind them.

Yuki and Kyo both watched as Axle disappeared through the storm through separate windows, then retreated to their rooms. Tohru put a kettle of tea on the stove for when Kaye came home.

"Did you notice the snow Hatori?" Kaye asked. He'd let her share his ramen with him, something she couldn't refuse even if she had already eaten. Hatori set down his spoon and turned his gaze to the window.

"Yes," he said softly. "I watched the first snowflake fall before my nap." He smiled. "Couldn't let it take me by surprise."

"I understand," Kaye said, and she glanced at the clock over the stove. It was getting late. "I should head back, Kyo will worry."

Hatori laughed. "Kyo? Worry? He knows where you are doesn't he? Surely he wouldn't object."

"Yes, you're right."

"Here, we'll put your bike in the back of my car and I'll drive you back. It's getting pretty cold." Kaye smiled relieved and they both stood up, grabbing coats and shoes as they proceeded.

As Hatori pulled in nearer to Shigure's house and Kaye hopped out to get her bike. "I'll tell everyone you said hello!" she called, waving back at him.

Hatori nodded and waved as he pulled out. "Thank you. Good night Kaye."

Kaye watched him leave and then went to put her bike away. She felt her skin begin defrosting immediately after walking into the house. Her teeth chattered and she gladly accepted the tea Tohru offered her, but decided to drink it up in her room so she could work on her song. 'Instinct'; what a great title. Now if only she could get the verses down to fit the title.

She didn't find out about Axle's visit until the next morning at breakfast.