"Better times perhaps await us who are now wretched."
Virgil

Reminiscence

"Talking"

'Thinking'

Memories

Stressed

"This is going to be the best day ever!" Momiji cheered as he hopped off the bus.

Tohru softly laughed at this and chuckled as Momiji grabbed her hand and pulled her along. Kyou scoffed at Momiji and he glared at the blonde. Yuki rolled his eyes when he noticed this. Tohru turned around to face them and smiled warmly. Yuki smiled back and Kyou nodded with a slight frown. She still held Momiji's hand despite the growing pit of warmth in his stomach.

"Hurry up!" Tohru teased as she ran along with Momiji.

"They must love each other's company," Momiji teased as they both glared at him.

"Brat," Kyou growled under his breath.

Yuki glanced at the orange hair boy and scoffed. It seemed that his cousin was jealous. Yuki softly smirked at this; his cousin was so weird. He let his own violet eyes travel to Tohru and he closed them with a sigh. Tohru was special to him and he knew that, but she was different. He loved her, but he wasn't in love with her. He heard another growl and knew that Kyou was about to explode.

"Behave," Yuki coldly said.

"Leave me alone," Kyou hissed as he began to walk away. Yuki frowned at this and grabbed Kyou by the forearm. He tightly squeezed and Kyou was about to punch him. Yuki grabbed his fist and frowned.

"This is Honda-san day," Yuki began, "don't ruin it with petty jealousy."

Kyou froze and Yuki released his grip. The prince then stepped back and walked forward. Kyou frowned even more before he sighed. He stood there in silence before his eyes widened at the sudden realization.

"It can't be…" Kyou mumbled before he walked off.

"Kyou-kun! Hurry up!" Momiji called out.

"I'm coming," Kyou called out and he walked a bit faster to catch up to them.

They arrived at the front entrance and before they could knock, the door creaked open. Tohru held her breath waiting for Ookami-san to answer. A young male opened the door and Tohru's eyes began to swirl. His light brown hair and brown eyes immediately clicked in her mind. Tohru softly smiled and noticed his Kimono. It was a powder pink woman's kimono with Sakura blossoms on it. The obi was a golden color.

"What happened to Ookami-san?" Momiji questioned as he tilted his head in confusion.

Yuki and Kyou both groaned as they watched the male-dressed female-eyes go wide. He flung himself to the floor and began to hit his head to the floor.

"I'M SO SORRY! I AM SORRY FOR GRACING YOUR PRESENCE WITH MY OWN!"

"Ritchan-san, it's alright!" Tohru assured as she began to panic.

"NO! I AM UNWORTHY OF YOUR COMPANY! I WILL PUNISH MYSELF FOR THIS DISGRACE!" Ritsu declared as he stood up.

As he stood up Tohru leaned over and their heads collided. They both stared at each other and blinked. A moment passed and a look of horror crossed both of their faces. Momiji blinked and Tohru and Ritsu both reached forward and grabbed each other by the front of their shirts. The both tried to shake each other but fell to their knees.

"I AM SO SORRY FOR HITTING YOU!" Tohru shouted as her eyes watered.

"I APOLOGIZE FOR BEING CLUMSY AND HITTING YOU!" Ritsu shouted.

"PLEASE FORGIVE ME FOR ABUSING YOU!" Tohru sobbed.

"I DO NOT DESERVE YOUR FORGIVENESS! I WILL PUNISH MYSELF SEVERELY FOR THIS!" Ritsu declared.

"What is going on?" A calm voice questioned.

"Guten Tag Ookami-san!" Momiji happily greeted.

"Ritsu…what are you doing?" Ookami-san questioned.

He quickly turned to her and his eyes watered.

"I'M SORRY FOR WAKING YOU!" Ritsu shouted as he stood up.

"Where's that spot?" Yuki questioned to himself.

He walked forward and poked Ritsu in the side. Ritsu fainted and fell to the floor with a calm expression. Tohru blinked and Ookami-san face grew worried. She rushed over to Yuki and began to shake him uncontrollably.

"YOU KILLED MY BABY! WOE TO ME FOR HAVING SUCH A HORRIBLE SON THAT SOMEONE HAD TO PUT HIM TO DEATH!" Ookami-san mourned.

Kyou snickered at this as Tohru watched with a dazed expression. The monkey's spirit had been subdued for now. She watched as Ookami-san began to shake Kyou.

Tohru sighed as they finally entered their rooms. Ookami-san had given up on apologizing once Yuki had asked for their rooms. She then began to apologize for being a bad host. Three hours later and they were finally in their rooms. Tohru placed her bag against the wall and smiled. She had stayed the same room in before. Her gaze turned to Momiji and she wondered if he would ask to stay with her. She softly chuckled and shook her head. Ookami-san had left to show Kyou and the other boys their rooms. Tohru kneeled next to her bag and pulled out a picture of her mom. She stared at the photo with a smile.

'So much is happening again,' Tohru softly thought.

"Tohru!" Momiji called out.

She looked over her shoulder and saw that Momiji had already slid the shoji door open. Kyou growled and began to give him a noogie. Yuki sighed at the two but smiled at Tohru. Momiji protested against his treatment, but couldn't escape the neck hold.

"Honda-san, are you ready to go?" Yuki calmly asked.

"Yeah, I just need to grab my Yukata," Tohru quickly said as she searched for the summer kimono.

Tohru smiled when she found and grabbed a towel before leaving her room. Momiji quickly pushed Kyou away and began to walk next to her. Kyou silently fumed as Yuki enjoyed watching his cousin become angered. Ritsu met them outside and led them to another Onsen. They were all shocked when they read the sign. Momiji just cheered and ran in the changing room without a care. Tohru and the others stared at the sign as if it was a foreign object.

"This is a mixed onsen," Yuki softly said.

"What the hell is going on here?" Kyou shouted as his face turned red.

"The other onsen were reserved, the mixed was the only we had left," Ritsu explained as he felt the panic welling up.

"We can't share…she's a girl!" Kyou protested.

"I am so sorry for this!" Ritsu began his rant.

Tohru quickly shook her head and grabbed Ritsu's hand. She gently held them andhe quieted. Ritsu stared down at her as she softly smiled up at him.

"Ritchan-san, it's okay…I'm fine with sharing an onsen with Sohma-kun and Kyou-kun," Tohru confidently said. Deep down she, felt terrified, not of them, but of herself.

"Are you sure?" Ritsu softly asked.

"You did a wonderful job of being our guide," Tohru firmly said. "I want you to go and do something nice for yourself."

"I don't deserve—"

"It would make me happy if you did something for yourself," Tohru kindly said as she smiled at him.

"Hai, I will do something for myself," Ritsu said with a bit of confidence.

"Thank you Ritchan-san," Tohru said with true happiness.

Ritsu bowed and then walked away with a new air of happiness. Tohru then walked into the changing room and leaned against the door. She didn't know how she was going to enter that Onsen. Normally she would be fine entering the onsen, but the problem was…it was Kyou. She didn't want him to see her body. It was considered rude to enter the onsen with a bathing suit. Tohru slowly stripped her clothes and placed them in a basket. She wrapped her towel around her self and looked down at her arms. The small random scars were there.

Tohru stopped and gazed into the full-length mirror. She opened the towel and stared into the mirror. There were random scars on her body that looked similar to claw marks. She reached up and traced one of the scars on her breasts. They were from her first transformation and first realization. The person cursed with cat had not been born human. She bit back the tears and sighed. Her nails dug into the scar and she brought her hand down to trace the long mark. It had hurt her that day…the day she had changed.

Tohru closed her eyes and rested her head against the mirror. Her breath fogged the mirror as she let a few tears fall. She slid to her knees and sobbed. The bracelet clinked against the mirror as she gripped it and assured that she was still safe. The memories were coming back in flashes as she continued to cry.

Pain. It felt like every nerve was fire. Her skin stretched and she could feel it rip in certain places.

Tohru gripped the bracelet and squeezed it tight. The transformation wasn't like the other ones.

Her ears moved up to the top of her head and she felt them stretch. Joints snapped and bones lengthened as she howled in pain.

Tohru took a deep breath and shuddered. Her eyes strayed to the Juzu beads and she could just hear them hitting the ground with a soft clink. That soft clink signaled the transformation. She closed her eyes and watched the memories.

The stench of rotting flesh floated to her nose as she stood up and tried to scream. She fell back to all fours and growled as her senses became sharper. A guttural growl left her throat as she tried to exhale the stench of rotting flesh from her nose. Her eyes locked on the mirror and she roared.

Tohru hugged herself as the sobs slowly began to stop.

She reached up and shattered the mirror in one hit. The monster stared back at her in broken pieces. Desperate to get rid of the image she brought her claws down on her body. Blood painted the floor in drips as she continued to claw at herself.

Tohru sighed as she stood up and tightly wrapped the towel around her body. It would be okay, the bracelet was on and the scars were faint and few. She walked toward the entrance to the onsen and pushed open the door.

Kyou frowned as he sank into the hot water with Yuki. Momiji laughed and jumped in. Yuki and Kyou both protested as the water hit them in the face. Momiji began to splash around as Kyou crossed his arms over his chest and closed his eyes. Yuki just scowled and leaned against a stone.

"Tohru is taking a while," Momiji softly said as he turned to look at the woman's changing room door.

"She's probably washing off," Yuki suggested.

"She seems sad," Momiji mumbled.

"Honda-san did lose both her parents," Yuki stated as he noticed Kyou open his eyes.

"I know…but she seems sad about something else," Momiji pointed out with a thoughtful look.

"Tohru is fine," Kyou grunted as his eyes closed.

"She acts like she's hiding something…her smiles are warm, but her eyes are sad," Momiji softly said as he raised his hand and let the water drip on the surface.

Kyou and Yuki remained silent at this. They both knew what she was hiding. Kyou watched Momiji sadly smile and gaze at them.

"I know I'm being silly, but I worry for her…she's always distant."

"Momiji…Honda-san just has a hard life," Yuki tried to explain.

Momiji sighed but replied while glancing at Kyou, "She seems happier…she used to tell me that she missed her friend,but she smiles around you."

"Sorry I took so long," Tohru said as she smiled.

They could all tell it was forced, but they didn't know exactly why. Yuki closed his eyes and looked away. Kyou growled at Momiji before he covered his eyes and closed his own. Tohru quickly dropped the towel and stepped into the water. She sighed in contentment as the water soothed her muscles. The boy's faces were going red and she felt her cheeks going red.

"You can look," Tohru said.

"Are you okay Honda-san?" Yuki questioned, as he still didn't make eye contact.

"Yeah, I just got…distracted," Tohru assured.

"Nobody bothered you?" Kyou questioned. Tohru turned her gaze to him and noticed his cheeks were slightly red.

"Just myself," she assured with a smile.

"Tohru, did you hear that we learned about poetry?" Momiji changed the topic.

"Really?" Tohru questioned with a smile.

"I wrote a limerick for you!" Momiji declared.

"That's so sweet," Tohru softly said.

"You haven't heard it," Momiji sighed.

"And we don't want too," Kyou mumbled.

"I wanna say it!" Momiji angrily said.

"Please recite it," Tohru quickly said.

"There once was a girl that always smiled, a certain event left her beguiled, she said 'I love you', and their hearts flew, but their love was only reviled," Momiji did his best to rhyme.

"That was…depressing," Yuki mumbled as Tohru sat there with wide eyes.

"I'm sorry if I made you sad," Momiji apologized as he began to panic.

"No…it was wonderful," Tohru softly.

"Momiji…come help me set up the room," Yuki calmly said as he gave Momiji a look.

"See ya later," Momiji said as Tohru closed her eyes.

She heard the movement in the water and knew that Momiji and Yuki had gone. A tear slid down her cheek as she covered her face.

"You don't have to hide your tears," Kyou gently said.

Tohru stopped her crying and removed her hands. Her eyes were glistening with tears as she met his gaze. There was something in his eyes that raged with an unknown passion and it confused her.

"It's okay to cry…you try and act happy…but if you don't let the sorrow out you'll be even more miserable," Kyou explained as he smiled at her.

Tohru wiped her tears and smiled at him. Another tear escaped and she let it hit the water. She gazed Kyou and her features softened with look of longing. Kyou began to look around suddenly feeling a bit nervous.

"Kyou," Tohru whispered.

"Yeah?"

"You're…you're cute," Tohru softly said.

His eyes widened and that's when he got another memory. He couldn't see the person in his memory, but he could hear her voice.

"...I was so happy when mom told me I was cute. Because it meant...she was saying, "I love you so much!"

'I can hear a voice…I'm sitting on Shigure's roof looking at the empty spot…but no one's there. I know someone's there,' Kyou thought.

"Tohru…you're cute too," Kyou seriously said as he softly smiled at her.

'I know someone's there…maybe it's her,' Kyou thought as he watched her blush and begin to stammer.

Author's Note:

I get so tired of author notes when I update all at once(sighs)
I hope everyone had a safe and happy new year(I did)
Please leave a review!