A/N: I'm really really really sorry about the delay in updating. Like I said, the two weeks before, I was on vacation, and afterwards, school started. I finally caught some time and so I'm going to just write as much as I can right now!

A "FLASH" indicates a memory, OK?

----- ----- -----

"Where are we going, Yuki?" Tohru asked breathlessly.

He gave her one of his smiles…a smile that transformed his face from handsome but cold to warm and even more beautiful, "It's a secret."

The path grew narrower as more and more trees appeared. Soon, they were all but surrounded by trees. And still he tugged on her hand.

Tohru was beginning to wonder if they were ever going to get wherever Yuki was taking her. Suddenly he stopped, and she kept walking, almost crashing into his back. Instead, she only squashed her nose against him.

"Oh, I'm so sorry, Yuki."

"It's alright, Miss Honda. Now look."

He pointed past the last trees and Tohru looked in the direction his finger pointed. She was surprised to see a small cabin nestled between two trees.

"What is a house doing here in the middle of the woods?"

Yuki smiled, "It used to belong to the Sohma's, but it's been so long since anyone ever used it that it's long-forgotten. I told you that Akito forbid me to dance anymore, but I couldn't stop. It's like asking me to stop breathing."

He looked half-determined, half-afraid, "It's the only time I ever disobeyed Akito…Kyo, Shigure, they've all but broken free from him, but I'm still like a caged bird. I have no freedom…except for this…I've never told anyone about this…I was afraid somehow Akito would find out and take this away from me.

He looked down and said softly, "I've never told anyone…except you."

How strange, to see Yuki, usually so sure of himself, so vulnerable, so helpless, yet so brave.

Tohru's heart went out to him, and she had to push her tears of sympathy back. She knew Yuki would reject pity. So instead, she smiled her brightest smile, "Don't worry, Yuki, I'll never tell anyone about your secret. If I did, it wouldn't be a secret anymore, would it? You can trust me, after all, we're friends, right?"

Yuki was struck by her words.

Friends, we're friends? I've never had a real friend before…

But he was wrong.

FLASH!

He heard someone crying…he ran to see who it was. He turned the corner and was surprised to see a girl his age sobbing bitterly. He quickly ducked behind the bushes…Akito had said he wasn't to talk to anyone. But her cries sounded so sad…he approached her slowly.

"What's wrong?"

Still sobbing, the little girl pointed towards the slide. A mean-looking boy was standing there, holding a ball and smirking.

"Is that your ball?"

She nodded and finally looked up. Her eyes glistened with tears…like stars.

Yuki made up his mind right then to get the ball back for her.

He ran over to the slide, his short legs trotting at a quick pace.

The older boy was still smirking. But five minutes later, he wasn't, after Yuki had delivered a flying kick to his head. Instead, he was the one crying, and the girl giggled happily as Yuki handed her the ball.

She gazed at him with her huge brown eyes and his amethyst eyes stared back.

"Wanna be my friend?"

FLASH!

Yuki dropped to his knees in the dirt and clutched his head. A searing pain had torn through his head, but it slowly passed. Tohru cried out, "Yuki!"

He quickly got up, and made an effort to smile reassuringly, "I'm fine, I just…uhh…tripped over that branch over there."

Ever gullible, Tohru nodded but still looked at him in concern, her brows furrowing worriedly, "Are you sure you're all right?"

This time, he really did feel better. He nodded and took her hand, "Come on, let's go inside."

----- ----- -----

He pushed open the door and it creaked a little. Flicking on the lights, Yuki smiled. This was home…this was where he could be himself.

Tohru looked around in amazement. The interior of the cabin was much bigger than it looked from the outside. The walls were hung with huge mirrors and the floor was glossy smooth. There were fluffy pillows thrown around the corners of the room and finally, a CD player along the innermost wall. Next to it were shelves stacked full of CD's.

"Did…did you do this all by yourself, Yuki?"

He said "yes" casually, but inwardly, he was very proud of this room. He had earned the money, which in itself was a very difficult task, since Akito was constantly following his activities. Through a few deft lies, he had managed to fool Akito, and saved up his money. He had bought everything in the room and assembled it by himself. He had not needed any help from the Main House. He had done it by himself... and so it was truly his.

Yuki strode over to the CD player and pressed the PLAY button.

Soft music flowed out. He then darkened the lights. Then, walking over to Tohru, he bent his head and whispered in her ear, "Dance with me."

Tohru's face blushed hotly at Yuki's closeness, and she was grateful for the darkened lights.

"I…I can't dance."

"Yes you can, you just don't know it yet. Dancing is from your heart, not your feet."

She hesitated, and then allowed him to take her hand and lead her into the center of the room. Tohru self-consciously realized that she could see herself and Yuki in the huge mirrors, but he whispered, "Don't look at those. Just close your eyes and feel the music."

Leaves are wings that cannot fly,

Wings are leaves that have floated to Heaven.

Loneliness is one person's madness,

Madness is everyone's loneliness.

All alone, I wander here and there…

Tohru leaned her head gently on Yuki's shoulder, careful not to get too close. This song…this feeling…it seemed so familiar.

FLASH!

She wondered who that boy was…he had left before she had a chance to ask him his name. No one had ever stood up for her like that…the kids at school made fun of her because she didn't have a mom. They never let her play in their games.

She heard a "Plunk" at her window and quickly got up to see what had happened. Tohru couldn't believe her eyes. It was the boy from the playground. He beckoned silently to her to come out. Without stopping to consider the fact that her bedroom was on the second floor, or that she was afraid of heights, or what her father would do if he found out, she flung open the windows and slipped her shoes on. There was a thick vine growing near her window and she grasped it firmly. Closing her eyes, she shimmied down the vine but in the middle, she paused to look down. Her head reeled and she almost cried out.

The boy's face took on an expression of alarm and he quickly climbed up the vine and offered her his hand. She took it gratefully and although he wasn't able to support her weight, his hand offered such comforting assurance that she was able to shimmy down the last bit of the vine. Giggling in exhilaration and excitement, she followed the boy as he started walking towards the playground.

The playground looked different in the moonlight, glowing almost as if it were magical. If she ignored the rust on the swings and the straggly bushes, she could pretend that this was a fairy-tale kingdom, just like the ones in the stories her daddy used to read her.

She tugged on the boy's hand, "Come on, let's go play!"

He didn't follow her though. Instead, he turned his sad eyes toward her and whispered, "Did you mean it? When you asked me to be your friend?"

"Of course I did, now come on!"

This time he did follow her, and soon, they were both laughing and shouting.

FLASH!

----- ----- -----

A/N: Ok, I hope that wasn't too confusing. From now on, since there's a new rule on how we can't post replies to the reviews in the chapter, I'll be posting them in my profile. Look for them in a couple of days! Also, the song/poem is my own version, translated from a song in Chinese with some revisions.