Sorry for not updating for the past couple of days. It's been kinda hectic with school and other junk… Anywho…. You probably already know by now, that I do not own Furuba…YET! World domination is a very successful business though…

Dark Heart

"It is beautiful! And so big!" Tohru's eyes widened at the sight of the mountain.

"My precious Flower, I have heard those words many times but they sound especially pleasing coming from you." Shigure gave a perverted grin, counting down the seconds until…

"YOU DIRTY OLD BASTARD! I AM GONNA KICK YOUR ASS!" Kyo pounced on top of him (…eww…) and started to beat him into pulp. "How dare you talk to her like that, you pedophile!" Yuki then threw himself into the brawl. Tohru just looked on in confusion.

After about five minutes Kyo and Yuki untangled themselves from Shigure's bruised body. Tohru still looked very confused but suddenly understanding floated across her eyes. "Yuki, Kyo, you didn't have to hurt Shigure. Infact, I think its great!" Everyone stopped what they were doing to stare at her. Even Shigure looked shocked, but excited. "I think that it is wonderful that Shigure is kind enough to take his friends up to the mountain for visits. It is so beautiful and I'm sure they appreciate it!" A wide smile spread across her face. Kyo and Yuki stared at her in shock of how naïve she was. Hatsuharu busted out laughing, Hatori chuckled quietly, and Momiji looked just as confused as Tohru had been.

"What's the matter? What did I say? Are you all ok?" Now Tohru looked even more confused. "It's 'gasp' nothing really 'laugh' Miss Honda 'more laughing'."

"You really should start to ignore anything that comes out of Shigure's mouth. Believe me…It makes things much easier." Hatori said calmly, but a trace of laughter was still in his eyes.

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After only an hour, they were deep into the mountains. Momiji made himself dizzy by running back and forth between all of the windows, trying to see everything at once. They could see snow on the highest peaks, although the weather said it was going to be a warm, early summer day.

Kyo seemed to be in a better mood once they had gotten into the mountains. He was familiar with them. Before he moved in with Shigure, the mountains were his home. The burden of Akito's words seemed to be lifted for a while. 'What was I so worried about anyway? Tohru seems happy enough…' "Happy" was an understatement. She was almost as excited about the mountains as Momiji was. She stared out the window with very wide eyes, making her look like a bug, until her eyes started to water from lack of blinking. She would close her eyes for a minute so that they wouldn't be so dry and then start the whole process over again. Kyo couldn't help but smile when he saw her. She was always doing something, whether intentionally or not, to cheer him up.

As if she could feel his eyes, she turned and smiled at him and then returned to her gazing. 'Maybe she could… What the hell! Since when did I start thinking about her so much…' Kyo shook his head, trying to clear his thoughts. 'Tohru is my friend…my first real friend. I am NOT gonna screw that up.' He rested his eyes on something else instead. Something that made his ears pound with fury. Yuki was leaning towards Tohru whispering things in her ear. She looked excited and started to jabber away again, while blushing. Kyo quickly stared out the window again. That damn rat was trying to ruin everything for him. His thoughts drifted back to Akito once again, but this time…his words made since.

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Yuki made a decision when he first found out about Tohru's birthday to make this the best time of her life. He wanted to see her smile and know that he was the reason. He needed to see her smile. It kept him going strong. If it weren't for her smile, he would probably already been dragged back into Akito's clutches. 'No…I won't ever go back, not that I know how great it is to be out.'

He made his way over to where she was watching the trees go by. "Miss Honda, how would you like to go for a walk later?"

"Oh Yuki! That sounds great! Do you think Momiji and Kyo could come also?" Yuki bit his tongue. He didn't want that stupid cat ruining anything for him. He looked over at him and almost felt sympathy. Kyo hadn't been right all day, he had been…quiet. "That sounds great Miss Honda." Then Tohru started to jabber about where they should go. Yuki was only half listening though.

"We should go somewhere everyone agrees on, since we only have a short time to be here."

'That baka neko is always ruining everything for me.'

"And I should make sure to pack a big lunch so we can spend more time outside."

'And exactly why is he so sad? I bet he's just trying to get Miss Honda's sympathy.' "Oh a picnic! I love picnics so much! Don't you Yuki?"

'He is so selfish…Trying to use Miss Honda like that. He hasn't heard the last from me.'

"Yuki? Are you ok? I hope you're not getting sick!" Yuki suddenly jumped when she put her hand to his forehead.

"Um…no, really. I'm ok. I was just thinking about how…" 'Oh God, what was she talking about? There goes that stupid cat again, ruining everything.'

"I was just thinking about how nice all of that sounds." 'Seems like a safe enough answer.'

"Oh I knew you would like that idea! Then it's settled…I'll start packing the lunch as soon as we get there!" She smiled brightly. 'Oh damn…What did I do? She is supposed to be relaxing! Crap…'

"Miss Honda that won't be necessary, I am sure that they will have maids that will be happy to do it."

"Well…if it isn't to much trouble…"

"Of course it isn't, don't worry to much."

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'Mom, it is so amazing! Look how beautiful.' They had finally arrived at the small mountain resort. Maids ran out to greet them and carry their luggage in. Yuki went over to speak with the head maid while Tohru looked around for Kyo. It didn't take her long to find him sitting on the top of the roof.

"Ah Kyo, there you are!" Kyo jumped about two feet in the air and screamed like a little girl. Then, realizing that it was just her, a deep blush settled on his face.

"What the hell did you do that for? Are you trying to give me a heart attack?" Tohru had learned not to take these kind of comments personally a long time ago. Instead she just smiled.

"Yuki, Momiji, and I are going to go for a walk. We are going to pack a lunch and have a nice picnic. All of us would love it if you came."

Kyo gave a raspy, sarcastic laugh, almost like a hiss. "Yeah, I'm sure that rat will just be heartbroken if I don't show up." Tohru, being her normal clueless self, just smiled wider.

"Are you telling me that you two have finally settled your differences? Oh! I am so happy!" She ran forward to hug him but he stopped her with his arms, but not without thinking about allowing her to hug him first.

"Don't be getting all happy about nothing! We will never get along, so don't get your hopes up so much. You're just setting yourself up for a letdown." Tohru was still standing mid-leap toward Kyo.

"Kyo? What's wrong? You haven't been yourself today…" Kyo turned away from her for a minute.

"It's just this damn weather! Now get away from me and go with that damn rat, before I say something I regret!" Tohru walked back over to the ladder, glancing at the clear sky. 'Sometimes I may be clueless, but no one can be THAT dumb. Something is wrong…'

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Dark gray eyes watched the two from the woods. He smiled and thought to himself, 'The monster hasn't thoroughly followed my advice. It's an improvement…but I must show him that I wasn't kidding.' With a dark smile, he sank back into the shadows, following silently behind the happy trio. (Man…if I weren't so damn nice I would leave a cliffhanger here. Hehe!)

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Humming to herself, Tohru, Momiji, and Yuki made their way into the mountains. Tohru was carrying a huge basket, full of various foods for lunch.

"Tohru, can we eat lunch now? Can we? Can we?" Tohru had a hard time refusing the boy, but Yuki interrupted.

"Don't you think we should wait until we are deeper into the woods? It would definitely be more serene." Momiji considered for a moment and then happily cheered, "Ok! But I get to hold Tohru's hand then!" He grabbed her hand, dragging her along behind him. Tohru gave Yuki a helpless smile.

Half an hour later, they were beside a beautiful stream. Momiji had insisted that they eat here for lunch. "Besides, we need to hurry and get home before-" Yuki gave him a glare that said 'spoil this and we are having rabbit stew for dinner'. "Before it gets to dark," Momiji finished, happy with his quick thinking.

"Tohru, this food is great. But it isn't near as good as yours!" Momiji gave her a huge smile and went back to eating his sashimi. Tohru immediately followed with her act of running about saying stuff like, "Oh no! I am really not that good…" and, "This food is much better than mine. There is no comparison!" Yuki and Momiji just gave one another knowing looks.

Standing up and stretching, they started to head back to the resort. When Tohru reached for the basket, she heard a twig break in the shadows right next to the path. As the dark figure came into the light, she stifled a scream. She tried to say something, anything, but her heart was in her throat. She opened and closed her mouth repeatedly before she managed to say one word, "A-Akito?" He smiled as she finally acknowledged him. She was only partially aware of the gasp and yells coming from her two companions.

"I see you were having a little picnic and forgot to invite me. I must say that I expected more from you, Tohru." She gave an involuntary shudder when he said her name. "Perhaps you need to be reminded exactly who is the head of this family, you ungrateful little hussy."

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Kyo drug himself off of the roof and headed in the direction that Yuki, Momiji, and Tohru had left in.

After thinking about it very hard, he came to the conclusion that no matter what he shouldn't be the one to ruin her birthday. 'Screw Akito, I need to make this a happy birthday for her. Besides, how will he ever know?'

But Kyo didn't know the danger he was putting himself and the others in when he made his way into the dark woods. He wasn't aware of the terrified screams and bloodshed coming from the heart of the woods.

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Now you see why I didn't leave you hanging at that other spot! I had a much better cliffhanger here! Mwahaha…I just love writing the dramatic parts. Its just so freaking awesome. Why don't you tell me how you feel about it? Criticism accepted. I will try and get another chapter or two up this weekend and as much in as I possible can during the week. Anywho… Tune in next time to see what is awaiting Kyo as he makes his way into the dark heart of the woods.(grins evily)