Hey sorry for the long wait! Enjoy!

Kagura decided she had picked the right crafts store to shop in. They carried a complete stock of yarn in every shade of orange imaginable, including the difficult to match hues of Kyo's hair and eyes. With utter concentration, she held up several orange locks of hair (which she had cut from Kyo's head herself) next to each spool of thread to make sure the one she chose matched completely. Then she moved to the felt section, where she took the same care to pick out fabric. The matching set of a cat-eared hat and cat paw mittens she was planning would be perfect, and Kagura thought they would probably be done by winter if she started making them now.

After picking out everything she wanted, Kagura pulled her wallet out of her cat backpack, paid for her purchases, and walked home on a cloud, going over every detail of her new undertaking in her mind. When she finally made past the huge gates of the Sohma estate, Kagura quit daydreaming enough to pay extra attention to every crack in the stone path that could conceivably trip her and unbalance her precious load of yarn and felt. She also made sure not to run into any of the people who had come to see Momiji.

Suddenly, as if thoughts of her new project had summoned her love to her, Kagura saw a flash of orange over the back wall of the inner grounds. She tried to hold her breath, reluctantly admitting to herself that Kyo might bolt if he knew she was there. There were thickets and bushes partially blocking the way, but Kagura saw him land gracefully. He stood up and seemed to be examining his surroundings when he suddenly turned in her direction. Kagura ducked behind the tree and nearly turned blue from keeping silent. Finally, she heard Kyo's light footsteps crunch further away. Kagura inhaled loudly and decided to let Kyo get a head start. The further away he got from the main-gate, she thought to herself devilishly, the further away he would be from escape. Kagura grinned at the chance of getting Kyo all to herself.

After several minutes, Kagura aimed herself in Kyo's direction, following his scent and her feminine intuition. She left here bags behind on a stone bench halfway through her journey, only taking a spool of yarn in case Kyo decided he wanted to run away. Sometimes it was better to make sure he couldn't get away rather than be disappointed.

As she crept further through the grounds, Kagura heard a voice drift through the trees, different from Kyo's…but still a boy's voice. A furtive 'shhhh' was followed by silence and eventually noises Kagura knew were not talking. She paused and held her breath again, listening to the sounds she had heard before coming from dark corners at movie theatres during the late night showings. Kagura thought she must have lost Kyo's track and stumbled upon one a secret grove used by one of the looser members of the family. She almost snickered to herself, but stopped herself just in time, realizing that it would give her away. But curiosity was undeniable, and Kagura crept closer in an attempt to find out who was making out on the main Sohma grounds.

When Kagura finally came close enough to spy on the scene, the sight in front of her caused all of the blood to drain from her face. She crouched on the edge of a grassy clearing that was surrounded by a grove of interlaced Japanese maples. A red-checkered picnic blanket had been spread over the grass, and Kagura found her eyes glued to what was happening on that blanket. Hatsuharu and Kyo were sprawled over the blanket. The remains of what had obviously been a picnic lunch were pushed to the side. It seemed to Kagura that they were more pleased to devour each other's faces anyway.

Kagura's stomach dropped, and she felt close to vomiting as she slowly backed away, hand over mouth and eyes wide in horror. Her rational thoughts ended when she was far enough away to break into a full sprint. Her world had just been torn apart, and she just wanted to get away as quickly as possible.

Akito paced back and forth on his porch, waiting for Momiji to come. He hadn't actually thought the rabbit would follow his orders from the previous day. And that was a strange thought, because Akito always expected his Juunishi to follow his orders. Shaking his head slightly, Akito stopped his pacing and looked out over the gardens. It felt wrong not having Momiji there.

And that thought was not only strange; it was frightening.

He breathed deeply in an attempt to calm himself. Akito was relieved he didn't feel a coughing fit coming; that would just make this day so much better. But even though Akito felt fit as a fiddle, a strange feeling was still pulling at the bottom of his stomach, and Akito doubted it had anything to do with his health.

After quickly tugging on his robe, Akito decided he needed some air. He needed to move. Momiji's visits had reminded him that there was so more to his life than the wooden porch of his little prison, and suddenly he wanted to take advantage of the little freedom he had. At least the trees allowed for an impression of freedom, if nothing else.

Initially, Akito simply wandered blindly, letting his thoughts shift to Momiji once again. But that train of thought turned out to be disastrous when he found himself almost in front of Momiji's house. He stood there for a second, actually considering going up and knocking. That thought was quickly squashed, however, and Akito turned away to take a familiar path from years before that led him to place he knew he could rest after a short journey. Akito wasn't sure how long he would feel in this good a condition. In the center of a circle of topiaries, Akito stopped and sat on the large boulder which marked the center of Sohma estate.

With a childish air, Akito crossed his legs and surveyed his nation. From where he sat now, he could just barely make out the outlines of Main House through the trees, but he still felt like a king. No matter what, a friendless king was still a king.

Akito didn't hear the soft sobs until a few minutes after he arrived. When the sound finally registered, he hopped off his perch with as much grace as he could manage. A quick survey revealed Kagura curled up against one of the stone benches that littered the paths of the Sohma gardens. She was cradling her cat backpack, and tears were streaming down her face. Now Akito was interested.

"Kagura, what's the matter, my dear?" he whispered softly as he walked over to crouch down to her level to look her in the eye.

Kagura's head snapped up, and she hiccupped in embarrassment as she hastily tried to wipe her tears away with a sleeve. Her bag dropped unnoticed into the dirt.

"Oh, he-hello, Akito. I wasn't expecting to see you here." Kagura made a quick bow with her head. With just a few quick movements, she was kneeling properly in front of him.

"I live here, Kagura. As do you."

"I'm sorry to intrude or interrupt," she murmured with a sniff while carefully keeping her gaze away from Akito's. But her hands shook as she wrung them together.

"You are never an interruption." Akito sensed what was bothering Kagura. She was a simple girl with simple emotions. He picked up her bag and handed it to her, carefully watching her reaction. Unsurprisingly, sobs immediately began to shake her body again when she took it back and clutched it.

"I'm so sorry Kyo has hurt you that way," Akito ventured.

Kagura stopped crying and finally looked at him intensely with shining eyes.

"You knew?" she whispered.

"I didn't want to believe it, for your sake. I couldn't force myself to tell you, and that is my fault," Akito said softly.

Kagura's face crumpled as she lost her tentative control. "I never thought…why did it have to be…" Akito moved comforting arms around Kagura, and she sobbed into his shoulder. Most of her words where muddled in her grief, but Akito understood the only ones he needed to know.

Why did it have to be with Hatsuharu...

Akito planned his attack almost immediately. His chance had finally come to strike at Hatsuharu. Once again the stupid cow had tried to become romantically entangled. And with the cat! That was just a delightful surprise. Akito could punish them both…without worrying about anyone else's feelings.

With a wave of fear and anger, he wondered if it was possible that others knew about this relationship and had hid it from him. He tried to ignore the feeling that Momiji had known, but Akito found it hard to believe Shigure wouldn't know everything going on under his roof. And if Shigure had known, then Hatori must be aware as well. Everyone was turning on him!

After a moment's hesitation, Akito called in the only person he could fully trust. Within seconds, the door to Akito's dark room slid open casting rays of sunlight onto the tatami floor. A tall, light-haired man meekly entered and slid the door shut, sending the room into darkness once again.

"Kureno," Akito whispered. "I have a job for you."

"Hello, Kagura. To what do I owe this pleasant surprise?" Hatori placed a bookmark in his novel and closed it.

Kagura smiled weakly as she leaned against his doorframe. Hatori noticed how worried she looked and got up to examine her more closely. "Are you feeling ill?"

She shook her head no. "I have a problem that I needed to discuss with someone."

"I'm not that kind of doctor," Hatori sighed, realizing his precious free time was about to get sucked away from him. He really didn't want to deal with her emotional problems at the moment. "I'm terrible at giving advice. If you'd like to talk to someone, Momiji or even Hatsuharu would be a much better listener."

Kagura's face wavered visibly at the mention of Hatsuharu's name. The pit of Hatori's stomach dropped, and he sat back in his desk chair, desperately hoping his fears weren't true.

"I'm sorry," Hatori said. "I'm being rude when you are clearly troubled."

Kagura sat right on the floor in front of him. "I saw Kyo and Hatsuharu…together in the gardens."

Hatori's knuckles turned white as he clutched the arm of his chair.

"Oh? I'm so sorry for you. That must have been a terrible shock."

"I…I don't know what to do."

Hatori stayed silent, waiting for Kagura to continue. She hastily wiped a tear out of the corner of her eye.

"Normally, I would crush anyone who even touched Kyo, but I don't think it would be right…killing Hatsuharu. Because I like him, and obviously Kyo likes him too. And, I should want Kyo to be happy, right?" Despite her brave (and somewhat psychotic) words, Kagura still sounded truly hurt.

"That's very adult of you, Kagura," Hatori said, grateful that her spite (or occasional maniacal fury) wasn't overcoming her judgment. "I'm glad you didn't do anything rash."

She smiled sadly. "Akito said the same thing."

Hatori froze. Seconds ticked by, and Kagura finally looked up at him, confused.

"You…told Akito?" he asked, trying to remain calm.

"Well, no. He already knew, and he seemed okay with it." Kagura gasped as she looked at Hatori. "You mean…you mean he didn't know! But…but he made it sound…" Suddenly she started shaking. "But Kyo…he's going to get into so much trouble. Oh god, and Hatsuharu too!" Kagura clutched at Hatori's knee as she leaned closer to him, tears collecting in her eyes. "I'm so sorry. I…I didn't realize."

Hatori felt a terrible calm settle over him as Kagura lost her composure. "It isn't your fault. Akito is quite deft at gaining information he wants to know. You'd better go home so I can try and do something." Hatori left out 'so Akito doesn't use you for something else.'

"Thhhank you, Hatori," she sobbed and left his office with her face in her hands. As soon as she left, the door to Hatori's office slid open. The doctor's face remained impassive as Kureno entered the room.

"Akito would like to see you."

"I'll attend to him immediately," Hatori said and briskly stood up.

As he passed, Kureno put a hand on his shoulder. "It's not good to cross Akito," he murmured.

"I can assure you that I'm doing nothing of the sort," Hatori answered evenly.

"We'll see about that." Kureno let him go.

"I'm sure you will."

As Hatori made his way down the hall, his only thoughts were of warning Shigure.

Hatori arrived in Akito's room only to find it dark and empty. Experience and fear told him to wait until Akito arrived or suffer consequences from their leader. Hatori reached into his pocket and experienced his worst realization of the afternoon. He had left his cell phone in his coat pocket, which rested happily on the back of his desk chair.

It was then that Akito arrived from the outside.

"So sorry to keep you waiting, Hatori. I was just enjoying another breath of fresh air."

"Yes, it is lovely out."

Akito nodded as he scrutinized the doctor under a heavy gaze. Then he moved towards the doctor and settled himself onto Hatori's lap, straddling it. He circled his arms around Hatori's neck and placed his head on his shoulder.

"How is Momiji?" Hatori asked nonchalantly.

"I'm sure he's fine," Akito answered just as leisurely into Hatori's shirt collar. "I haven't seen him since yesterday."

Now the doctor began to worry about Momiji. He hadn't seen him since yesterday either, and something must have happened. Momiji could be hurt…With effort, Hatori forced his attention onto the disaster at hand.

"What did you want to see me for?"

"Sometimes, I just enjoy your company," Akito said, leaning back with a fake smile. "I just like seeing you..." Hatori winced as Akito gently pulled on his tie. "…and reminding myself who is in charge."

"You are my leader, Akito. I obey you."

"Please say that again," Akito sighed as he snuggled into the crook of Hatori's neck once again.

"I obey you, Akito," Hatori repeated, without intoning his confusion at Akito's behavior.

"I know," Akito said and lazily rolled off of Hatori before standing up. "I would just like you to keep me company for awhile."

"May I ask why?"

Akito leaned down and put his fingertip over Hatori's mouth. "You may not. It's a surprise."

Because he thought he had proven himself, Hatori asked, "Could I finish one piece of work before…" His lips absently brushed against Akito's finger.

The look Akito shot him when he pulled his hand back was enough to tell Hatori he was not leaving anytime soon.

"Of course, you are more important than my other work, " Hatori sighed.

Akito only frowned slightly before forcing a fake smile on his face once again. He quietly turned to the porch and quietly asked, "Are you coming with me or not?"

"Anything you wish." Hatori followed Akito outside and sat next to him, silently cursing the leader for keeping him from warning anyone about the impending disaster.