Disclaimer: As always, I own absolutely nothing.

A/N: Well, here it is. I think this might be the last chapter of this story (but I'm not completely sure). I hope you enjoy it.

Shadows of Intrigue

Chapter 26

It didn't take nearly as long as Tohru would have expected. Within a couple of days preparations had begun to move Kyo into position as the head of the family. Hatori had said that the quicker they could make the necessary arrangements, the better it would be. Tohru was talking with Kyo about this a few days after he had made his decision, "I would have thought they would want to wait to make everything official until you finished high school. I mean, it's not that long."

"Well, Hatori says it will cause the least disruption to everyone else's lives to make the change as quickly as possible. And I don't have to drop out of school or anything. It won't really change much except that it gives me a lot more power in the family. That, and I'll be moving," Kyo replied with a shrug.

"But won't you be really lonely?" asked Tohru, "You'll be living in that big house all by yourself, won't you?"

"Well, I invited Kazuma to come live there. I think he's kind of tempted but it would take him away from his dojo. But, um, even if he comes, I was kind of hoping that, um, maybe you would agree to come. You did say that you wanted to stay together," Kyo added the last part rather hastily.

Tohru just stared at him for a moment and Kyo began to fear that she would turn down his offer. Then a smile slowly broke out on her face, "You want me to come to the main house with you? Oh, of course. This is so exciting. No. Wait. What about Shigure and Yuki?"

I suppose they can come if they want. If they don't want to, I'll work something out for them. Maybe they could hire Kagura or something. Or Rin. She hasn't been having a great time at home lately. Or, maybe, now that the curse is broken, Shigure will run off and marry that annoying editor of his."

Tohru looked surprised at this. Kyo gave her a strange look in return, "Oh, come on! Don't tell me you haven't noticed it. Even I can see that the two of them are interested in each other."

"I kind of noticed," admitted Tohru, "It just kind of surprises me that you did, too. It's not the kind of thing that a lot of guys pay attention to."

"It's kind of hard not to notice when the two of them are together," Kyo grumbled.

Tohru sweatdropped, "Yeah, I guess you have a point. Oh, I heard that Hatori and Aiko are already becoming a serious couple. It makes me happy to hear that. Hatori deserves to be happy. He's been through a lot. I'm glad he gets a happy ending."

Now Kyo's face grew red as a blush crept across his features, " And what about you and me? Are we going to have a happy ending , too?"

"I would like that. I meant it when I told you I that I love you. I also meant it when I said I would stay by your side. For as long as you want me to, maybe longer."

"No, not longer" Kyo told her with and unusual tenderness in his voice, "because I there will never be a time that I won't want you by my side. I love you, too, you know."

"Then I will stay by your side forever and for always," Tohru said with a huge grin.

"Well then," mumbled Kyo, "Can I ask you something else?"

Tohru nodded.

"When we finish high school, do you want to get married? To me, I mean."

Tohru's eyes grew wide with surprise and then filled with tears. Kyo momentarily thought he had done something wrong until he saw the smile beneath the overflowing eyes. Tohru launched herself at him, trying to throw her arms around him while still being careful of both their wounds. She was semi-successful. They both ended up wincing, but neither seemed to mind that much. They were alive, together, and happy. And they finally could embrace. It was hard for either to imagine things getting better than that moment.

The months that followed that moment showed them that things could indeed get better. There were a few rough patches, to be sure, but for the most part, neither Kyo nor Tohru could remember a time in their lives when they were happier.

When they settled into the main house, Kazuma agreed to join them until their marriage, to avoid any rumors of a scandalous nature. They had invited Yuki and Shigure to join them as well but both had declined. Yuki declined on account of the bad memories he had of the main house. He had spent his whole life trying to escape and now that he finally could, he wasn't about to go back. Shigure's response hadn't gone over very well with Kyo. He had stated that he preferred his quiet, country living before adding, with a wink, "Besides, a nice, happy young couple such as yourselves, don't need an old man like me hanging around. I wouldn't want to be in the way, now."

In reply, Kyo had turned about twelve shades of red before finally exploding, "YOU SICK BASTARD!"

Their day to day lives had not changed much. Shigure and Yuki had hired a new housekeeper. At the main house, Tohru continued to do most of the cooking and cleaning and refused to give up her part time job. She and Kyo continued to go to high school. Even the time spent at home wasn't drastically different. Sure the location had changed and they were living with Kazuma instead of Shigure and Yuki but the basic routine was the same. Now that the curse had been broken, Kyo's responsibilities as head of the family weren't as great or as time-consuming as he had feared they would be. Many nights, after dinner, he and Tohru would still sit up on the roof and gaze at the stars together.

Some activities did change as the young couple prepared for college entrance exams and started planning for their wedding (the announcement of which had taken all their friends and most of their family by surprise). Neither had ever gotten so much advice (good and bad) as they were receiving about their wedding. That was a bit new as well.

Perhaps the biggest difference, though, was the deep, heartfelt sense of happiness both were feeling. They had been through their share of hard times in the past and neither could ever be entirely sure about what the future held, but in the end it didn't really matter. They were together. They could face anything. With that confidence in each other as their support and guide, they were able to put their worries aside and blissfully plan for a long and happy future together.