Author's Note: Finally! I've started the second half of the story about the Souma family. There were a lot of unanswered questions in the last story, so we'll find a few answers here. This first chapter is basically just a recap of what happened in the last story for anyone who didn't read it. There are some changes.

Long Denied II: The Difference

Neither Fruits Basket nor Petshop of Horrors are mine. Pity.
Fruits Basket Crossover Pet Shop of Horrors

Prologue-

The cursed Souma family had suffered for generations under the vengeful spirits of the Chinese Zodiac. At least, that was what they'd always been raised to believe.

The Souma's curse of the Zodiac was…well, not lifted, but explained thanks to Count D. Shigure could almost feel Count D watched them all. He'd followed them out of the forest room - or whatever it was - out to the front parlor. Though he'd proven that he wasn't an enemy, Shigure still didn't feel safe with the powerful kami at his back. He wanted to leave very badly. It was Count D who'd told the truth about what had happened so long ago in the ancient land of China. The curse wasn't a curse at all. It was nature.

When Count D's father, another powerful kami, had wanted the power of the Zodiac's cat for himself, he had captured the Zodiac family for the sole purpose of possessing the cat. Once they managed to escape his clutches, the Zodiac family went into hiding amongst humans in far away Japan. They'd interbred with humans, tainting the bloodline and, therefore, creating the curse. When one of the Zodiac would be embraced by a human of the opposite sex, they would take the form of the animal.

It wasn't that Shigure WAS a dog, exactly. He lived under the curse of the vengeful spirit of the dog. Just as twelve other members of his family lived under the vengeful spirits of the other Zodiac animals. The rat, rabbits, snake, sheep, tiger, dragon, cow, pig, monkey, horse, and rooster. They were all the Zodiac, but they weren't the whole curse.

One member of the family was born under a far worse curst than simply to be turned into an animal when hugged by a person of the opposite sex. In every generation there was the cat. Now, anyone who knows about the Chinese Zodiac knows that there is no cat in the Zodiac. That was part of the curse. Souma Kyou, an orange haired boy with a fiery temper was the cat of his generation. Though Kyou did transform into a cat when hugged by a female, he had an additional curse Young Kyou would turn into a monster if the beaded bracelet he wore was taken off.

That curse had driven Kyou's mother to kill herself because she couldn't bring herself to love the monster that was her son. It was Shigure, just a teenager himself, who'd found Kyou hiding in a closet after he watched his mother shoot herself in the head.

Though Kyou's story was sad, it was hardly the only sad story of the Souma family. Everyone had at least one tragedy in their life. Yuki's dismal loneliness. Ayame's foolish loss of his brother's trust. Hatori's lost love. Rin's hate at the world for the doom of her family and Hatsuharu's feelings of inferiority that had led to his split personality. Sweet Momiji had lost his family when his own mother couldn't accept what he was. Kisa and Hiro, both so young, only just learning the fate of any of the Zodiac who dared to love. Ritsu, the frantic monkey, who honestly believed he was a failure at everything he tried. Kureno who willingly gave his life to serve and protect Akito, who had bought him out of slavery. Then…there was Shigure. Shigure loved the one person he probably shouldn't have. He loved someone doomed to die.

The saddest of all the stories of the Souma family, to Shigure's mind, was that of Akito, the head of the family. Akito, who was born just to die for the family he couldn't help but love. Akito, who's mind had been twisted not only by sickness, but by the cruel teachings of a woman who'd been entrusted by the Junishi to raise him.

It was for Akito's sake that Shigure had betrayed the family he loved and placed them at the mercy of the mysterious, terrifying Kami, Count D.

Chapter 1: Fresh Beginning

Count D's Petshop-
Shigure-

The Petshop was a place of miracles…a place of hope…most of all, it was a place of the unknown.

'Prisoners.' Shigure felt numb as the word drifted though his mind. 'We're prisoners, again.' And, worst of all, it was Shigure who'd brought his family to this fate. He hung his head covered his face with his hands. There had been no alternative. It was either put the fate of his family into the hands of the dangerous Count D or they would slowly, miserably, waste away. The suicide and young deaths in the Souma family were becoming more and more frequent over the years. Shigure was only twenty-seven and the oldest of the Zodiac, the Junikyu, alive.

Shigure sat in one of the many hallways of the Petshop with his legs crossed and his head bowed low. The door at his side was of the utmost importance. Rather, what lay behind that door was of the utmost importance. Only hours ago he'd given up his family to the devious Kami, D. He didn't understand what Count D would do to his family, only that the Kami was their only hope of having the curse broken.

'I gave them up.' Shigure thought miserably, not for the first time. 'I betray Akito-chan.'

He really didn't know how long he'd been sitting in the hallway, whether it had been hours or days, but those two thoughts consumed him. Not only had he doomed his family to the will of Count D, but he had betrayed Akito. He had gone against the will of his god, his dearest love. There was no forgiveness for such a sin. All of his little infractions, going behind Akito's back to get things accomplished for the family, the disobedience of living away from the family compound, and sheltering the children were all nothing compared to this. If Count D were to be of a mind, he could wipe out the Souma family without any effort at all.

'And I'll have helped him. Maybe they shouldn't lock up the cat. They should have locked up over-clever dogs, instead. This never would have happened.'

For the most part, Shigure was undisturbed in the dim halls of the Petshop. There had seen people and animals passing through the hallway, but not one had given Shigure much thought. A few looked at him and some even smiled, but not one of the people spoke to him and none of the animals bothered him. There were people who looked like animals and animals that resembled people. Soon enough, Shigure stopped trying to tell them apart. They were all residents of the Petshop and, thus, a class of their own.

Shigure had seen both people and animals passing through the long, dark hallway of Count D's petshop, but not one had given him much thought. A few looked at him and some even smiled, but not one of the people spoke to him and none of the animals bothered him. Shigure had, every now and again, peeked into the room he was guarding, but there was no change. Hatori, Kureno, and Akito still seemed to be sound asleep. So Shigure would sit back down and settle in for another few hours. He was starting to think he would go mad.

When his legs would start to ache from being crossed too long he stood up and pushed open the door he was guarding. There was no change. The room was smoky, lit by braziers hung on chains. Hatori, Kureno, and Akito still seemed to be sound asleep, completely unmoving. 'Wake up, 'Tori. Just for a minute. Just look at me so I know you all aren't dead.' But Shigure didn't have the courage to go into the room. The incense in the air, he believed, would put him into the same deep sleep that had trapped the others. If he fell asleep, then who would guard them? 'As if I can do much good if Count D decides we're worthless to him.'

Shigure let the door close and he sank back down to his seat on the floor. Where he expected he would wait for another few hours. He was starting to think he would go mad.

"You don't look happy." There was a man squatting in front of Shigure. He had a pleasant smile and fair hair. He looked like any ordinary man one might see on the street. There was nothing odd or exotic about him. "What's the problem, friend?"

"What makes you think we're friends?"

The man's smile brightened. "Because Yuki speaks of you often. He's really very fond of you, you know. No matter what he says, he is grateful for what you've done for him. He realizes what you had to do to save him."

Shigure looked at the man closer, but he was sure he'd never met him before. He'd have remembered someone Yuki would trust enough to confide in. As far as Shigure knew, only Tohru was trusted that much. "How do you know Yuki?"

"I've known him for a long time. You look like someone just kicked your kitten."

"I made a mistake." What a simple statement. Long ago, the cat before Kyou, Toma, had given Shigure a gift. It was the diary of all the dogs in the Souma family starting with the original inu and had told how the Souma family had become cursed. It was the Kami, Count D, who'd cursed them and he'd done it by tricking them into his home and making them sleep. Just as Akito, Hatori, and Kureno were now sleeping just behind the door Shigure was leaning against.

"Are you sure?" There was something knowing about Michael's smile when he said that.

"No." If he was sure he'd made a mistake by letting Akito be brought here, then he could work to change things. He could barge in there and rescue Akito and Hatori and Kureno. But he wasn't sure and this was the only solution he could think of. Right or wrong, Count D was the only one capable of saving Akito.

Michael stood up and stretched his arms over his head. "Would it help if I told you not to worry? The Count takes care of everyone here. Nothing bad will happen."

"Bad is a point of view."

"I suppose that's true." Michael laughed. "You'll have to excuse me, but I really should go. My time's running a bit short. I just wanted to see Yuki before I left."

Shigure watched him go and idly wondered how Yuki knew the man, or whatever Michael was. He wondered what Yuki had told Michael. There was so much to think about. Eventually, despite himself, Shigure fell asleep and into a dark, frightening dream.

Dream-

It was dusk when Toma sat beside Shigure in the cat's garden. Toma was old. So old that his back was bent and his face lined. His orange hair was streaked with silver, but his smile was the same kind smile Shigure had known from his earliest memories. His hands were soft and kind when he touched Shigure's cheek.

"Happy birthday, koinu." Toma hadn't lived to see Shigure's tenth birthday, so Shigure knew it must be a dream. Nevertheless, it seemed very natural to sit with Toma in the quiet of the cat's home. "I have a present for you." His smile faded just a little. "I'm sorry. It's not a very nice surprise. In fact, it's a burden." He handed Shigure a heavy package wrapped in brown paper and tied with twine. "Go ahead. Open it. It's important. Not just for you, but for the whole family."

Shigure didn't open the package Toma gave him. How different would things have been in Toma hadn't died? Maybe Yuki wouldn't have been so miserable his whole life. But if Toma hadn't died, Kyou never would have been born and Shigure thought the world would be a lot duller without the fiery cat. Still, it had been one of the greatest pains of Shigure's life to lose Toma. "I miss you."

So completely different in personality than Kyou, his successor, Toma gently put an arm around Shigure and held him close. "You don't have to. Family is forever. Open your present."

"I already know what's in it." Shigure didn't want to open the dog's diary. He knew what would happen. He'd find out all the horrible things that had happened to the family over the centuries and he'd ready about how the Kami had betrayed the family. The diary, the huge, leather bound book had been written by the dogs of the Souma family since the beginning of the curse. It was always given to the cats to guard and then handed to the dogs so each generation could add in the history of the family. Shigure had already long since written in the names of the new Zodiac family and their own personal pain. "Do I have to look again? Can't we just talk? So much has happened. We might find an end to the curse. I'm not sure. Maybe I did something wrong, but…"

"Koinu," Toma interrupted softly. "Whatever you did, you did to protect the family. Correct?"

"Yes."

"Then what you did was the right thing." He put the palm of his hand on the brown wrapped package. "This is yours. It is just as important as the family, you must protect it for without history, we are lost. You've found the Kami and you fear him. One of the Kami tricked our family into his house where he kept them all prisoners and he mistreated our cat. He trained the cat to be a killer and he is the one that truly cast the curse upon us all. Now, you have hope." Toma lifted his hand and the package unwrapped all by itself, the thick brown paper unfolding after the twine untied itself. When the book lay open on Shigure's lap, he started at the hand drawn image of the Kami who'd done so much damage to the family. Shigure hated that face.

"I want to kill him."

Toma said nothing. The pages began to flip and Shigure, somehow, took in all the information at once. What should have taken hours took only minutes and Shigure was reacquainted with the information. It didn't make him feel any better. How the Kami D had come to the family's home in ancient China and invited them to spend a night of the New Year's festival with him. The deception that had led to their capture and the escape that led to the family's desperate hiding. The last few pages, Shigure recognized as his own handwriting, but he didn't remember writing it. He read about the three Kami coming to his home. His own terrifying confrontation with one of the Kami while another had stolen into Kyou's bedroom and nearly killed him. A third had taken poor Tohru away. He read right up until he read the words about him sitting in the hallway of Count D's magnificent Petshop.

When he'd come to the last written word, Shigure looked up at Toma. "I didn't write this."

"But you will. Everything must be recorded. The future generations will want to know."

"Do we have a future?"

"Our family is jaded and sick, but we have always survived. Yes, koinu. There is a future for the Souma family. I have to die, now. Take care of everyone."

The world wavered and shifted until Toma was gone and Shigure was older.

"You know you can't beat me."

"I have to try. You're dangerous."

In the garden outside Shigure's house, he faced Count D, ready to fight and ready to kill to protect the children in his home. Yuki, Kyou, and Tohru were in the house, completely unaware of the danger lurking in the front garden. He couldn't let them be hurt.

'This all happened before.' Shigure thought as he lowered himself into a fighting stance. Despite what the younger generation of Souma's thought, Shigure could fight quiet well. The fact was that he didn't fight. Bad things happened when Shigure let himself get angry enough to start fighting. Bad, bad things happened.

Count D was perfection in every sense of the word. He was unreal, somehow, not quite of the same world everyone else lived in. At the same time, he was ultimately more closely connected with the planet than any other living creature could be. And this creature, this almost-god, stood silently in Shigure's garden with his long, pale hands closped together, as if he were waiting for Shigure to speak first. This wasn't the Count D who'd hurt the Souma family, that had been Count D's father. It didn't matter. They were both Kami and, therefore, untrustworthy.

"I can help you." Count D had said.

"Please," Shgiure crouched down, ready to strike. He was ready to kill. The desperation in his voice and honest words were a shock even as he spoke then. "Please, help. I don't know what to do. I'm scared and everyone's hurt. I have to protect them, but I don't know how." Funny. Shigure was sure hose were the words he'd spoken the last time he'd faced Count D in the front garden. "Everyone's hurt and I don't know how to protect them!" He leapt.

Count D was gone and Shigure was in the Main House.

Kureno was holding Akito. Dying Akito who could barely move. These were the last moments of Akito's life and Shigure couldn't accept that. Anything that could sustain Akito had to be tried and that anything included Count D's unbelievable offer. That he could heal the Souma family, including Akito. Shigure stood before the gathered family and didn't care what they would think. "Please, you have to go." Last time, Shigure was sure he hadn't begged. "You'll die if you don't go. I love you. You can't die. You must go with Count D."

But Akito scowled and turned his face away from Shigure even while Kureno carried him out of the house with Hatori following closely behind to where Count D waited. "I hate you."

End dream-

Shigure woke to find Count D standing just a few feet away, looking down at him with that unreadable expression. It was like a mask, that cool indifference and painted on smile he always wore. "Good afternoon."

"Is it?" Shigure felt exhausted. His dream of what had led up to his family being trapped within Count D's petshop was nearly as exhausting at the real events. The sleep hadn't done Shigure any good, not with the dreams and memories of what had happened. His body ached terribly. His arms and legs were filled with cramps from sleeping in such an odd position. His neck was still and hurt just to look up at Count D. "I think I've lost track of a day or two." Maybe three, he admitted to himself. He'd have to check on Akito again, just to make sure everything was alright. If Hatori was awake, he'd have him give him a massage. Hatori always gave the best massages.

"It is two weeks to the day that I brought Kyou to this place. Precisely two weeks."

Shigure's eyes widened. "Ah." He thought for a moment. "Then...it's time? Finally?" The two week mark was when Count D had promised that Kyou would emerge from whatever transformation he was enduring and that he would be able to save Akito.

"Yes. It is finally time for your family to be renewed, restored to what it once was." When Shigure moved to stand, D took the larger man's arm and helped him to his feet, though Shigure cringed at the touch. "Kyou is in his final form at this moment, all that is left for him to do is to break out of his cocoon. I wonder if you will even recognize him."

Shigure wet his dry lips and rubbed the back of his neck. "He's safe, then?"

"Of course he is. This transformation has done him nothing but good."

"Yuki told me what happened to him, that man who looked like you..."

"My papa did what had to be done. If he hadn't, I would have. Of course, I would have done it painlessly. It is very simple and my papa could have done it that way, also. He chose not to. Please, I assure you that Kyou is far better off as he is now. I can tell by your expression that you want to ask something."

"I do. What does this mean for the rest of my family? The diary said that they were able to control their transformations. Will Kyou have that talent?"

"Yes."

"Is it possible for the rest of us to have that?" If only they could have one miracle. If they couldn't be rid of the curse, then a modification would be just as good. If they could restrain the curse, surely that would be the greatest benefit to everyone. "To control the transformation?"

"Possible, yes. However, whether or not your family will chose to go through the process is an individual decision."

Shigure's face was still, he was skilled enough at the game of deception to let nothing show, not eagerness or the nearly unbearable weariness he felt. "Tell me more, please."

"What curses your family is not your dual nature, but the way of it's activation. The embrace. That can be corrected." It sounded as if D were making his voice sound as seductive as possible, but maybe Shigure was just delirious from lack of sleep. "It is such a simple course of action. No pain, no risk, and it would only take a few moments. The rest of your family will not even have to endure what Kyou had to, the cocoon stage. That stage is unique amongst the cat of your species. You could all go home, tonight, together, and completely changed. Your family would no longer need to worry about the risk of being discovered, at least by the embrace, by humanity. Such a small price to pay, also."

"A price?" Shigure echoed,.

"There is a price for everything. Surely, you know this. In your case, you may not see it as a disadvantage, but I assure you this will turn out to be a burden on your family, possibly as great as the one you already endure. The true Junikyu family does not age beyond maturity. You would not ever age again. Your children would age until they become adults and then they would stop aging. The only way that one of the Junikyu family may die is..."

"By violence or disease. Yes," Shigure nodded. "I read all that in the diary. It sounds like an ideal life. No old age or death. No more funerals or grave yards. They all lived together in a house deep in the wilds of China before they escaped to Japan. Rarely they ventured out, to protect themselves and keep themselves secret. I know the risks."

"You do not understand." D interrupted and brought Shigure back to real life. "You can not live as your ancestors did. That is not possible in today's world. You must live with humanity, as all creatures must. Perhaps you may find solitude in the deep of Australia or close to the edge of the world in Alaska. There are so few places on Earth left untouched and uninhabited by humanity. This should not be such a difficult adjustment, your family has had to hide its differences for a very long time. This is just another difference to hide. You are still to be cursed, but by eternal youth. People will notice after five, ten, thirty, fifty years. They will wonder why you never change. The people in your extended family, the rest of the Souma family, how will you keep this a secret from them? There will be many problems to solve. In the passed, the Junikyu lived alone. Just fourteen people, completely alone, isolated in their home in the wilderness. They were happy with their lives. Can you say that your family would be happy with the same? Will your entire family be able to give up all outside contact? I am certain that you have friends, co-workers, and family who are not apart of the Junikyu. Are you willing to give them all up to rid yourself of your human blood?"

"I don't know."

"What about the rest of your family? Your ancestor, Inu, chose this path for your family. He was the one to introduce human blood into your family. It was a good choice, at the time, and necessary to the survival of your family. Whether you accept my offer or not is no concern of mine." Count D's voice was cold as winter wind. "I will keep this offer open, for as long as your family exists. For eternity, if need be. I must warn you that this is a one way street; once I have taken your human blood, it can never be replaced, at least not in you. You will be in your original form for the rest of your life. Also, if you chose to breed with a human, then your child will be as you are now, fated to change shape at an embrace, if they happen to be born one of the Junikyu. You must take time to think this all over. Now, I will wake the head of your family. I am sure he will wish to be present when Kyou breaks free of his cocoon." D swept passed Shigure.

"Count D?" Shigure spoke before Akito had opened the door to Akito's room. "You keep saying that Kyou can heal my family. How?"

Count D seemed to find the question amusing and smiled. "With a kiss." Then he went into the room and closed the door firmly behind him.

Akito-

"Tell me your dreams."

The voice floated at Akito through a pleasant dream, though he didn't know what the dream was about. Perhaps the voice was apart of the dream. All Akito knew was that he was happy and it seemed like such a novel experience. Dream? Maybe it was all a dream. Maybe the dream was real. Akito couldn't tell. All he knew was that he felt pleasantly sleepy and he didn't want to get up.

Soft fingers stroked Akito's face and he grudgingly opened his eyes. He saw the eyes first and was reminded of something, though he really wasn't sure what he was reminded of. Purple and gold, the colors of sunset. Or maybe the sunrise. Purple clouds over a golden sun. Sunrise...sunset...did it really matter?

Akito woke for a second time, feeling better and more at peace than he had ever felt in his life, to find someone looking down at him. At first, he couldn't place the face. It wasn't an attractive face. Akito thought the person was downright ugly. After all, this person wasn't one of his Junikyu. At least the bird had been pretty.

"Are you quite awake?" The person with the sunrise eyes asked and Akito remembered him suddenly.

Akito tried very hard to roll away from that man and the gentle hands touching his face, but his body wasn't listening to him. That was when he remembered everything that had happened. He was dying and he couldn't move. At least he felt nothing and could expect to just wait until his body just shut down. His heart would probably stop beating first and then he could just fade away. Ren had told Akito about the many horrible ways to die, including how Akira, his predecessor, had died, screaming and foaming at the mouth. This seemed much more peaceful.

The man looked as if he might laugh at what Akito was thinking. Akito was sure that the ugly man could tell what he was thinking and it frightened him. "You are not dying. Not yet."

Not dying? That got Akito's attention and he focused on the ugly man with two mismatched eyes. It was just cruel for this man to say such a thing. Akito's mouth wouldn't move and he couldn't speak, anymore. It was cruel to try and raise Akito's hopes, but Akito wasn't going to pay any attention, anymore than he had at his own house when this ugly man had somehow convinced Shigure to betray him.

That was what happened.

'Shigure must have been fooled. He's clever, but even he can be tricked. There is no cure for the curse or for me. Shigure must have been trying to help and he let himself have hope. It wasn't really Shigure's fault.' Akito felt a sudden, overpowering guilt for what he'd said to Shigure, but brushed it aside quickly. 'He'll forgive my harsh words. I forgive his betrayal, after all, so he'll forgive me. If I'd been thinking clearer I wouldn't have said such things to him.'

When Akito let his eyes fall back on the man who held him captive, he saw that the man was smiling. "Child, you are not dying, not unless you truly wish to. Very few animals wish to die, not when life is possible."

Animal! Akito wasn't sure whether or not he should be insulted. He had always wanted to be an animal, to be one of his Junikyu. How much simpler life would have been if someone else had been born to be the head of the family and if he were just one of the family. Then Akito could have danced at the banquet with everyone else. This ugly man also didn't speak as if he were insulting Akito. He was a thin man and Akito knew if he could just make his body work, he could wrap his hands around the man's throat and strangle him. Then he could escape back to the estate.

Rolling his eyes, Akito took a good look at the room he was in. It was very empty. He saw Hatori and Kureno fast asleep several paces away. Now that just wasn't right.

'What's he done to them?' Akito wondered. What was keeping them asleep? Pills? Hatori often gave Akito pills to help him sleep. Akito knew that Kureno would not sleep if Akito was in a dangerous situation and Hatori had proven, over the years, that he could keep himself awake for several days if necessary. 'Are they hurt? Are they dead? I can't see them breathing. There's a smell in the air. Where is everyone?' Akito remembered his hateful words to Shigure, just before this ugly man had taken him away from the estate. Perhaps Shigure hadn't followed behind, as Akito thought he would. Perhaps Shigure now hated Akito because of what Akito had said. 'I didn't mean it. Well, I did mean it when I said it, but I don't mean it now. Where's everyone else?'

The ugly man followed Akito's gaze to Hatori and Kureno and then looked back at Akito with his ugly, mask-like face. "They are merely sleeping. They will wake when I wish them to. Speaking of wishes, what do you wish? What do you wish for, more than anything else."

There was, of course, one thing Akito had always wanted to do. Every year he saw the rest of his family dancing, at the Zodiac Banquet and he'd never been able to join in. Besides the perpetual weariness, Akito just wasn't strong enough. While he was plenty strong enough to walk around, but it would have been impossible for Akito to keep up the pace of a dance. Even a very slow dance would be too much for Akito. Therefore, he had always sat on the side and watched everyone else.

"I can make your dream come true." The ugly man whispered. Count D. Yes, that was the ugly man's name. Both of Count D's hands were on Akito, now, stroking his hair and petting his face. Akito didn't like it. He didn't like it at all and wished he had the voice to tell Count D to leave him alone. "How would you like to dance with your family at your New Year's Banquet?"

Tears of fury sprang to Akito's eyes. He was sure he hadn't said anything of the kind and still Count D knew what he was thinking. It wasn't fair.

"Do not be angry, child." Count D soothed. "You have had a tiring life. Is it now time for you to be able to enjoy life alongside your family. I asked you before and I will ask again: do you dare live for your family instead of merely dying for them? Dying takes no courage at all, it simply happens. To live with the people you love takes far greater courage. The choice is for you to make. Your blood is polluted and it is that pollution that curses your family. I am able to remove that pollution and turn you into what you were meant to be. One of your family, your cat, has already been through this process and he is nearly completed his final transformation. You, and your two guards," He looked briefly at Hatori and Kureno. "Will be with him when he emerges and you will be there to see the magnificent potential of your family."

Akito didn't want to go anywhere near Kyou. He feared Kyou more than anyone else, because he knew what the cat of the Junikyu turned into. He had seen Toma's monster and been haunted by nightmares of it for the rest of his life. He hated the smell and the sight of the monster cat. However, the idea that Kyou was in the hands of Count D irritated Akito.

'A monster he may be, but Kyou's MY monster!' Akito thought of what might have happened to Kyou and wondered if there was anything he could do to protect his cat.

To dance was nothing more than a worthless dream. To live, now Akito could appreciate that. It was his duty to protect his family from any threat and he definitely saw Count D as a threat. His family was separated and at the mercy of this Count D. If only he could move...

A deep, almost painful groan caught Akito's attention and drew him out of his daydreams. Hatori was waking up and he focused his eyes first on Count D.

"Why do I keep falling asleep when I run into you, Count?" Hatori rose from the sofa he'd been laying on and stood, putting one hand to his forehead as he steadied himself. "You have a bad effect on me, Count."

"Not at all." Count D also stood up, it was the first time Akito noticed that the Count had been kneeling beside him. "You were most tired and I think you did not rest enough when I encouraged you to sleep at the hospital. That reminds me," The Count looked again at Akito and his serene smile warmed slightly. "I must thank you for the consideration you showed to Mr. Orcot. Oh," He gave a look of feigned surprise. "I forgot, you are too weak to speak. Do you wonder who Mr. Orcot is? You gave him a first-class room at the hospital and the use of your personal doctor. He will be most grateful when you meet again."

So, now Akito knew that blonde man was connected to Count D. From the look on Hatori's face, Hatori didn't trust Count D at all. "Well?" Hatori said, at last. He walked over to Akito and knelt down on one knee before he took Akito's wrist in his hand and carefully felt for the pulse. "You've brought us all this way and, from the taste of the air, you've drugged us. How long have we been asleep and what are your plans for us now?"

Just like Hatori, always so direct. Akito hadn't forgotten that it was Hatori and Kureno who had, in a way, betrayed him by obeying Shigure instead of him. Still, they were family and Akito would forgive. Shigure had been tricked, somehow, and had, in turn, tricked Hatori and Kureno. They would all have to be punished.

"You have slept for two weeks and the drug, as you call it, was merely a scent. Nothing more. My plans? I have none but to reunite you with your family. You will find, Kureno-san," Count D didn't even turn to where Kureno had woken up and was silently putting a hand inside his jacket. "That your weapons have been taken." That hateful smile again. "This is a petshop, after all, and we mustn't let any harm come to my innocent pets. They frighten so easily."

The door opened slightly and a white fox poked its head into the room. It looked at D for a moment before D said, "I see. Thank you, Ten-chan." Then the fox backed away and the door closed again. "It is time. Shall we go?"

Kureno picked up Akito and held him closely when they followed Count D out of the room. To Akito's surprise, Shigure was waiting outside the room. He was leaning with his back against the wall opposite of the door and when they came out Shigure looked at Akito with half-lidded eyes. He looked awful. His face was unshaven and he was pale. Dark circles under his eyes made his face look even paler. He looked sick. Shigure didn't say a word as he went to Kureno and held out his arms.

Perhaps Kureno understood Shigure better than Akito did, but neither of them said a word. Kureno gave Akito over to Shigure and then stepped backwards a pace or so and walked behind everyone. It made Akito feel safer to know Kureno was at his back and that Shigure had forgiven his thoughtless words. He must have. He was here and he was holding Akito.

'If I could speak, I would apologize.' The smell from the room was beginning to vanish as they followed Count D through the corridors of the petshop. 'Apologize?' Akito's thoughts began to turn darker. 'No. No, never apologize. Aren't I god? They owe me everything, their very heartbeats are mine!' Akito could hear Shigure's heart, thudding in a slowly, even rhythm. He couldn't move his head away from Shigure's chest, even if he wanted to. 'How dare Shigure go against me! All these years I've been fooled into trusting him! He's turning them all against me. I'll never forgive him!'

"Akito-chan," Shigure whispered, bending his head in a terribly awkward angle to whisper in Akito's ear. "They are all waiting. Everyone's here." Shigure's arms tightened around Akito. Akito had the strangest feeling that Shigure wanted to say something more, but that he didn't.

Akito didn't want to hear it. He didn't want to feel Shigure's breath on him. If only he could talk or push Shigure away! As it was, Akito couldn't so much as give Shigure a dirty look.

Shigure-

Shigure stared at the closed door. He wanted to go in. He wanted very much to throw open the door and inform the great Kami that anything that had to do with Akito should involve Shigure, too.

Shigure did nothing.

'I brought Akito here for this. If I interfere now, it might all be ruined.' Miserably, Shigure wrapped his arms around himself and stepped back until his back was against the wall. 'He has to be alright.' Though he told himself this over and over while he stared helplessly at the closed door, Shigure was shocked at how relieved he felt when the door opened and he saw Kureno holding Akito like a baby in his arms standing behind Count D.

Kureno gave Akito up to Shigure when Shigure held out his arms. He didn't have the right, he knew that. He who'd betrayed the family worse than any other Souma who'd ever lived…no. Shigure had no rights. Certainly Kureno shouldn't be giving Akito to him.

Though Akito's eyes were open, he didn't speak. He was limp as a rag doll and felt terrifyingly vulnerable in Shigure's arms.

"Akito-chan," Shigure whispered, bending his head in a terribly awkward angle to whisper in Akito's ear. "They are all waiting. Everyone's here." Shigure's arms tightened around Akito. If nothing else, he should offer some sort of comfort. 'I love you.' Shigure looked down at Akito's deathly still face. He had no expression and even his eyes were dull and lifeless. 'If I dared, I could tell you now and no one would hear. How could I be so cruel to you?' To tell Akito something so...intimate would only confuse Akito. Perhaps it would frighten him.

Shigure held his tongue and was comforted by the shallow rise and fall of Akito's chest. He was alive. That was all that mattered. Shigure held Akito tighter and squashed his doubts. Without Count D, Akito would be dead now.

No one spoke when Count D took started walking and led them deeper into the petshop. Hatori and Kureno, both as silent as graves, followed behind Shigure who trailed behind Count D. What could they say, really? They all knew what was going on. They knew that now, taken from the safety of Count D's influenced sleep, Akito would probably die and then the family would suffer all the more. However…they all also knew that there was a chance, just the briefest of possibilities that Akito might not die. They knew that Count D might keep his promise.

It wasn't long before Count D stopped at a door, that looked like any of the other dozens of doors they'd passed, and turned to face them. "Your cat awaits inside. It's almost time." His eyes glimmered with eagerness. "Be ready."

"Ready for what?" Shigure asked.

"Change."

The doors flew open behind him and the first thing Shigure realized was that the family was in that room. It wasn't just a room, but forest with bright sunlight and the smell of evergreens. More overpowering than the evergreens, at least to Shigure, was the scent of family. He could see them just a short distance away, all clustered around something. The something was quite large and white, but for a short moment Shigure couldn't figure out what it was. It was quite unlike anything he'd ever seen before.

"It's his cocoon." Count D's voice seemed to whisper to Shigure, though he several feet away. "I told you, you cat needs to mature. That is the root of your family's difficulties. Once he is mature, he will be able to prolong the life of the head of your family. He is about to emerge as something wholly inhuman." There was great pleasure in Count D's voice, as if he knew this was the best thing that could have happened to Kyou. "He will be unique and powerful, completely free."

There were more questions Shigure had for the Kami, but he siad nothing. Questions didn't matter.

Everyone had seen them by that time and it was Momiji who broke the silence. He jumped to his feet and hurried away from Hatsuharu and Rin. "To'ri!" Momiji made a beeline for Hatori and threw him arms around him without any sign that he'd even seen Shigure, Akito, or Kureno. It wasn't all that surprising. "Where have you been? I was so worried about you!"

Whatever Hatori might have said, Shigure didn't hear it. Of course he was happy that Momiji and Hatori were reunited. He could see the relief in Ayame's eyes when he saw Hatori and wished he'd been able to search for the family and tell them that everything was fine instead of letting them worry. It did cross his mind that he could have done just that. After all, he hadn't really been needed to sit outside the door while Akito, Hatori, and Kureno slept. The thought passed quickly. No. Shigure couldn't have left that door. To guard the family was to guard Akito and that was his most important duty.

Shigure continued on, knowing that Count D didn't follow him up the hill to where everyone was waiting for them. Just as Shigure drew near, he saw the cocoon that Kyou was encased in tremble.

Tohru-

In the room within Count D's Petshop, a room that was filled with a mountain and a bright sun overhead, Tohru felt out of place again. The ongiri in the fruit basket.

They were her friends, of course, all the Souma's. It was so rare that she saw them all at once and it felt a little daunting. In fact, Tohru realized, she'd never seen them all together. Watching from an outsider's place, Tohru could clearly see relationship she hadn't realized were there, the family structure. They weren't disjoined at all, but seemed very interdependent.

They'd all entered the forest room together, though there were some missing. Hatori and someone named Kureno were with Akito, though no one was quite sure where Akito was. They'd thought that by coming here they'd find Akito, but had been led, instead to this room. There was no hope for it. Once everyone was in the room and realized that Akito wasn't there, someone tried to leave. The door was locked again.

Amongst the people that Tohru had met before, there was one girl Tohru had never seen before, a beautiful girl with long black hair, like waves of ink. Her eyes were dark and searching and when she saw Tohru, they darkened. Tohru could almost imagine that the girl was wondering what right Tohru had to be there.

"That's Isuzu, we call her Rin." Yuki told Tohru when he saw her looking at Rin. Rin had come in carried by Hatsuharu and, from the looks they shot at each other when they thought no one was looking, Tohru could see that they were very important to each other. "She's my third cousin on my mother's side. I think." Then Yuki frowned as he and Torhu watched Hatsuharu gently set Rin down on a soft patch of grass. "I wonder why she's being carried. She's the independent type and doesn't like to depend on anyone. Please, excuse me, Honda-san." Yuki walked away, but he didn't go to Hatsuharu and Rin. Instead, Yuki eased his way to Momiji and whispered something to him. Momiji whispered back and Yuki nodded his thanks before coming back to Tohru.

It had turned out that Rin had suffered a fall from a high window and her back was still badly hurt. Yuki told her that Hatori was going to be angry that Rin was even out of the hospital. For the walk to the Petshop, Hatsuharu had carried Rin the entire way.

Now, all these days later, Tohru still watched them all in fascination. Though Hatsuharu stayed close to Rin, Momiji never strayed far from Hatsuharu. Ayame, the oldest one of them present, seemed to be trying to keep eveyone's moral up. He went around to everyone, rarely stopping to rest, just talking to everyone. Eventually he came to Tohru and Yuki. To Tohru, poor Ayame looked very sad, despite his usual smile.

"Well, it's nice to see you both safe and sound. Dear brother, you seem to have been taking good care of the princess." His teasing words lacked his usual flair and even Yuki didn't snap back at him.

Yuki, sitting on the grass near Kyou, just let his chin rest on his knees. "How did you find us, Ayame?" Ayame told them everything that had happened since Yuki had left Shigure and it finally felt as if they had all the holes in the story filled in. "So," Yuki said after Ayame had finished talking. "Shigure's still at the estate? He knew all that, all this time?"

"He was trying to protect everyone." Ayame said, gently.

"Of course."

It was one of the more civilized conversations Tohru had ever heard between Yuki and Ayame.

"Princess?" Ayame looked at Torhu with his strained smile in his attempt to keep everyone's mood up. "How are you feeling? Do they give you enough to eat?"

"Oh, yes." Tohru answered, brightly. She could see what Ayame was trying to do and she appreciated it enough to play along. "Ten-chan brings food all the time. I suppose he'll need help. Maybe Michael will help him." Of course Ayame had no idea who Tohru was talking about, so he hastened to explain. "Ten-chan's a magic white fox who can turn into a red haired boy and Michael is a friend of Yuki's." She remembered what Michael had told her when he'd brought her back to Kyou's forest room not long ago. It brought a smile to her face.

Yuki looked away. "He's no friend of mine. I've never met him before we came here."

"Trust me," Tohru put her hand on Yuki's arm. "He's a friend. I just know it."

Ayame's tongue flickered out of his mouth and he licked his lips. Tohru had never seen him do that before and it seemed like such an odd habit. Ayame's eyes widened. "Princess?" He leaned closer and licked his lips again. "Has anything changed for you, lately?" At that moment, a commotion broke out between Hiro and Rin with Ritsu trying frantically make them stop fighting. "Excuse me!" Ayame jumped nimbly to his feet and dashed away to help Ritsu.

"Ayame noticed you were a bird, I think." Yuki commented quietly. "I wonder why he never noticed before? He smells with his tongue, just like a real snake. He's also got fangs. Little ones, but they are real fangs. It's like that for most of us. Shigure's got an amazing sense of smell. I've heard rumors that he used to hunt with a wolf pack when he was a child. It's probably just one of his lies. Did you know that?"

For some reason, it frightened Tohru to know that Ayame knew she was different. What would everyone think of her when they found out she wasn't human? What if they disliked her? 'No.' Tohru told herself. 'They're good people, they wouldn't do something like that. I'm really no different than I was before.'

Yuki was thinking along another line. "Why should he notice something today? He's seen you often enough before, but he never thought anything of it. I wonder if it's because we're in this place. There aren't any real humans around, so you wouldn't smell like them as much as you did before." He thought for a moment. "Yes. That makes sense, I suppose."

"Do you think they'll all find out?" Tohru looked around at all the Soumas as they mingled around, trying to get used to the idea that they were locked in.

"Yes." Yuki answered without hesitation. Then he smiled sweetly. "You've kept out secret for more than a year, Honda-san. We will keep yours. You have nothing to worry about. Now," Yuki looked around, all business, at his noisy family. "We still have to protect Kyou. Count D said Kyou couldn't be disturbed, so we'll have to try to keep everyone quiet and away from Kyou."

And so, two weeks passed before Tohru was woken by Yuki shaking her shoulder. "Honda-san." Yuki moved slightly away from the cocoon and to where Tohru was sleeping on the other side of Kyou. There really wasn't any better place to sleep, but the grass was cool and soft and actually made an adequate bed. "Honda-san?" Out of habit, Yuki was hesitant about touching her. After a moment of reminding himself that he didn't have to be so careful with Tohru and that he should start to think of her like Kagura or Rin, Yuki shook her shoulder. This sudden change in reality was nerve wracking. "Tohru, wake up."

"That's the first time you've used my given name." She smiled at that thought, finding great pleasure in such a simple thing. "What's going on?" Her attention was taken quickly from Yuki to Kyou's cocoon. The other Souma's were starting to wake up and everyone crept closer to the cocoon.

Yuki could only shrug. "If I didn't know better, I'd say that he's hatching. Or whatever it is that cocoons do." The surface of the cocoon began to bulge outwards, as if someone were pushing on it from the inside.

"Kyou's trying to get out." Tohru said, watching the cocoon as it wiggled slightly and parts of it would start to press outward. "Should...should we help him?"

It looked like Kyou was having trouble finding his way out, but Yuki shook his head. "He's managed well this far. I think we have to leave him alone. We'll trust him."

All this time, Kagura had kept silent vigil over Kyou, unwilling to let him out of her sight. Her bright nature seemed in a terrible shadow and it was no mystery why. She must have felt awful to know that something so drastic was happening to Kyou and there was nothing she could do about it.
The door of the forest room opened and in came the rest of the missing family. Count D leading the way with Shigure, carrying Akito, coming next and Hatori and Kureno last of all. The door closed behind them, by some unseen hand. While the Souma's continued up the hill to where everyone was watching Kyou's cocoon, Count D slowed his pace until he stopped a fair distance away.

No one spoke.

Kyou's cocoon moved a little more.

Kyou-

Kyou could feel them, all around him. He was warm and safe and he could hear their hearts beating. No. That was his own heart, echoing in his ears.

'Home? Am I home? It's time to wake up, isn't it?" Kyou felt warm. Wonderfully warm, like he'd been sleeping in a ray of sunlight. "Where am I?' Kyou stretched his body. He was bound. Something held his whole body stiff, like he was wrapped tightly in bandages. Kyou tried to open his mouth to speak, but even his mouth couldn't open. His eyes were sealed closed. Kyou stretched again, as much as he could, trying to break whatever held him bound. He didn't like this. He was too confined. 'I can't see a thing. What's going on? I want out!"

Kyou managed to shift himself just enough so both of his hands were at his chest and he pressed upwards. For the first time, he felt a surge of warm strength and the wrapping around him moved, stretching upwards. 'Yes!' Kyou thought. 'Free. I will be free. Are you out there?' Kyou didn't really know whom he was talking to, only that he was talking to THEM. The important people. He was glad they were around. They were waiting for him.

Kyou pressed against his prison again, this time his claws scratched against whatever it was that held Kyou and he could feel strands of it tear.

'Claws? I'm human now, aren't I? No, when I fell asleep I was the monster. That doesn't feel right. I'm not the monster now. I'm different.' Kyou used his claws to scratch again and felt more of the whatever it was beak above him. He'd be free soon. 'Soon. Very soon. Must get to the warmth. Must get to where the important people are.'

Scratch.

Claw.

Tear.

Closer and closer, Kyou fought his way out of...of his cocoon. Yes, that's what it was. It came from Kyou's own body. It was the way it should have been. He felt stronger than ever before. Kyou become almost hysterical in his effort to get out of this shell that confined him and kept him away from where he needed to be.

Rip.

Sunlight. Kyou could see sunlight streaming though the last layers of threads that kept him from freedom. He heard familiar voices and he heard people calling his name. One last dig with his claws and Kyou was free, sucking in deep lung fulls of fresh, clean air for the first time in what felt like days. He gasped for breath, sitting up in the torn cocoon, his hands grasping the sides of the ruined cocoon. Painful, beautiful air! It hurt at first to fill his lungs, but the air tasted so sweet.

"K-Kyou?"

Kyou wasn't sure who was speaking, but when he looked up he found everyone looking at him like he was a stranger. "Yes?" They were all here. Everyone in his family, everyone who was important except... "Master? Where's master?" Their last meeting came back to Kyou and he felt terrible about what he'd said.

"He was at the estate, the last time I saw him." Shigure said in a hushed voice. He looked paler than usual. "Kyou? How do you feel?"

Such a simple question, but no simple answer. Wonderful. Strong. Everything at peace. Why didn't master come to see him? So much energy, like insects crawling on his skin. The sun was so bright...so beautiful.

Kyou stood up and stepped out of the cocoon. Why was Yuki suddenly so short? Hadn't he and Kyou always been the same height? Kagura was staring at him with her mouth open and her hands bunched into little fists. Everyone looked short. But the sun was so warm that Kyou couldn't keep his attention on them for long. He looked up at the sun and was entranced.

Shigure-

Shigure had never imagined that Kyou would change to dramatically. He was no longer the monster that all of the cats had been doomed to be, but his form, his true form, was magnificent. Kyou was much taller than he had been, several inches taller than Hatori, even. His hair, now laced with threads of bright red and gold, was longer, hanging to his shoulders. His face was stronger, with the look of a man rather than the softer lines of a boy. His body looked ready to burst with muscles that Kyou hadn't had just two weeks ago. It was as if he had aged several years in just a few days.

"Kyou?" It was Momiji who'd spoken. Momiji stepped away from Hatori, for the first time since they'd been reunited, and cautiously approached Kyou. Momiji was far from being timid, but even he was daunted by the new Kyou before them.

Kyou looked down, away from the sun. Even his eyes had changed, with vertical pupils, like a real cat, instead of the round ones humans had. "Yes?" Even Kyou's voice was deeper. Kyou looked down at his hands, massively powerful looking hands, that weren't quite human. His hands, as well as most of his body, was covered in thick hair. Orange and red, just like the hair on his head. His fingernails had vanished, to be replaced by inch long claws that looked lethally sharp.

Momiji took another step closer until he was looking up at Kyou with a stunned expression that most of the family wore along with him. "Wow." Momiji gasped. "Just...wow. You look so..."

Kyou smiled when Momiji couldn't seem to find the words to express himself and showed off two rows of needle sharp teeth. "Yeah," Kyou answered. "Wow." He looked back up at the sun that hung magically overhead and seemed entranced by it for a very long time. "I feel 'Wow'." Kyou stretched his arms out and kept his face tilted upwards, a satisfied smile making his face glow and it seemed as if he completely tuned the rest of them out.

Shigure couldn't help but wonder what Kyou was seeing with his new eyes.

One by one, everyone came closer to Kyou, half-afraid and half-hopeful. The awe was nearly touchable, the silence…frightening. People began to touch Kyou when they could and Yuki, Tohru, and Kagura were the first ones to go to Kyou. It wasn't all that surprising, they were the ones closest to him. Kagura looked as if she would cry. She even bit her lip when she put both her hands on Kyou's chest, but he didn't acknowledge her. Kyou didn't seem to notice anyone touching him. Kagura's gentle fingers brushing against his hand.

It seemed that Count D hadn't lied to them. There was hope to lift the curse.

The rest of the family began getting up from where they'd been sitting on the grass and moving to Kyou, touching him as if they couldn't believe what they saw. Ritsu, always anxious around Kyou's sharp temper, reached out hesitantly to put a hand on Kyou's back while Hatori, as concerned as always, took Kyou's wrist to check his pulse. The family pawed at Kyou, unashamed. Everyone touched him, running their hands down his bareback or over his arms. It was as if they couldn't quite believe that this was Kyou until they actually touched him. Even as everyone crowded around him, but Kyou didn't appear to notice. On his face was an expression that Shigure had never seen before. Rapture. Pure bliss.

Shigure held back from rushing to Kyou, though that was exactly what he'd wanted to do. Still holding Akito, Shigure just watched. Kyou looked so happy for the first time in a very long while. Whatever was going on with Kyou, Shigure was glad for him. There was a change, a subtle shift in Akito, making Shigure looked down. Still the lifeless, staring eyes Shigure had seen when Kureno handed Akito over to him, but... "He's stopped breathing." Shigure felt his whole body grow cold.

Hatori was with him in an instant and grabbed Akito's wrist. His typically serious face became even more drawn. Hatori released Akito's write and put his fingers on Akito's narrow throat. When he finally let go, Hatori's face was ashen and he looked up at Shigure with pity. "He's dead."

Everyone turned to stare at Hatori, dumbfounded. A dreadful hush replaced the awe that everyone had felt at Kyou's unique rebirth. They all knew what the death of the head of the family meant. Hard times would be coming.

All of a sudden, there was a rush, the sound of feet across grass, and Shigure looked up just in time to see Kyou charging at him. With unbelievable speed, Kyou seized Akito and ripped him away from Shigure. When Shigure tried to grab Akito, Kyou gave him a single shove and Shigure was thrown backwards several yards, coming to a rolling stop. He wasn't hurt, but dazed enough that it took a few moments to recover himself. Kyou had Akito...Akito's corpse on the ground and was kneeling, straddling him with his back hunched like an animal over it's kill.

No one dared to move or speak. Shgiure half-proped himself up on one elbow, but didn't want to risk even getting to his feet. Kyou was no longer serene or calm, his lips were curled back and Shigure could easily see rows of frighteningly sharp teeth that were only inches from Akito's face.

"After the way he has treated you," Count D spoke for the first time since entering the forest room. "I am certain that you would want dearly to hurt this man. You are too late, if he is dead. This is your choice." When Count D spoke, everyone listened. Even Kyou looked up at the man who was walking very slowly towards them. "It is also your choice whether or not to save your family. You know what to do. It is an instinct with your species, or so I believe. No one here is capable of stopping you, should you decide to rip apart that body."

Kyou turned back to Akito's body with fury in his eyes.

'All the insults. All the hurt. It's understandable, but don't do it.' Shgiure shifted himself and drew Kyou's attention to him. "Kyou," Shigure started, moving just enough so he was on his knees. "He's gone. There's no reason to…you mustn't." Shigure wanted to scream, 'He's dead! He can't hurt you anymore, just leave him alone!' Count D was right, though. Not one of them was strong enough to stop Kyou. Perhaps Kureno could, if he was armed, but Shigure knew Count D had taken Kureno's gun. 'Please,' Shigure's fingers dug into the hard earth. 'Please, leave him alone. Don't do what everyone thinks the monster should do.'

Everyone watched with tense silence. Tohru was clutching onto Yuki's arm and looked terrified. Yuki, strangely enough, was shaking and looked angry. Momiji clung to Hatori's sleeve. Ritsu was rocking back and forth on his feet, his arms tightly wrapped around himself. How he was keeping from making any noise, Shigure had no idea. Worst of all was poor Kagura. Kagura's fists were clenched at her sides, so tightly that her fingernails bit into the palms of her hands and even from where he was, Shigure could see blood dripping from her hands. Kagura was deathly pale. What must she be thinking? Seeing her love ready to do such a monstrous thing, Kagura must have been sickened.

To everyone's surprise, Kyou did not rip Akito apart. Instead, still straddling Akito's prone body, Kyou reared up and tilted his face up at the sun, again. It seemed to last a very long time. Kyou looked back down at Akito and put his clawed hands on the grass on either side of Akito's head then he kissed Akito.

It wasn't a passionate kiss, but it was enough to shock the family. Jaws dropped like lead weights. Right full on the lips, Kyou kissed Akito for no apparent reason.

Akito's eyes flashed open.

'He's alive!' Shigure felt elation run like electricity over every nerve in his body and he slumped to the ground, tears running freely down his face. Shigure was so overcome that he couldn't even really think straight. 'Thank you. Thank you. However it happened, thank you!' Kyou would save Akito with a kiss. That was what Count D had said. A simple kiss.

For a moment, Kyou pulled slightly away from Akito and everyone saw a strange, gold light running from Kyou's mouth and into Akito's mouth. Then Kyou ended the kiss then and jumped up, away from Akito. Hatori and Kureno rushed in close, Hatori focusing on Akito and Kureno keeping his eyes on Kyou.

"You shouldn't worry about me." Kyou said, grinning. "Everything's all right, now. I understand." He laughed and, as he laughed, Kyou changed. His entire body shifted, growing smaller and leaner until he was the Kyou they all knew with the exception of the lack of anger in his eyes. "Don't you understand?" Kyou's body shifted again, this time into the small orange cat. Even Kyou's cat self grinned at them. "I'm...myself. Akito will be fine now, too." He shifted back to his normal teenage self. "I'll help take care of Akito from now on. I'll take care of my family."

Akito blinked and was breathing in heaving gasps for a long time. His hands latched onto Hatori's sleeves and he sat up. It was as if he'd never seen any of them before, the way he took time to study each face of the family around him. Like his eyes were opened for the first time in a very long time and he saw the beauty of the world around him. Akito pushed himself up onto his elbow and then to sitting up with Hatori's worried help.

"Help me." Akitio told Hatori. "I want to stand." When Akito stood he looked down at his own body, as if amazed that he'd managed such a thing. HE turned to Hatori, his expression darkening. Akito reached up and touched Hatori's face, gingerly, running his fingers across Hatori's dead eye and a sad moan escaped his lips. Then he looked at Rin and his face filled with even more remorse. He stepped away from Hatori and looked down at his own body, again, like it was a stranger to him. After his eyes had touched everyone else in the gathering, Akito looked at Kyou. "Thank you."

"Perhaps," Count D spoke up. "You would like to know the details?" He made it into a question, but started explaining before anyone could answer. "Your family is NOT cursed. It is merely a little polluted. Shall I tell you the whole story, or would you like to do it, Souma-san?" He looked directly at Shigure.

Shigure never could resist the chance to tell a story. "The diary of the dogs in our family tells it all. Most of you already read it when Rin-chan found it in my house." He noticed she didn't look at all ashamed of what she'd done and he thought better of her for that. "Our family was once far from human. We lived alone in the mountains of China long ago and we were able to control our ability to change into animal form. When Count D's father invited our ancestors to celebrate New Years in his home we went, all but the cat. The cat realized he was late and went to the Kami's home, but he was murdered by the previous Kami. A new cat had to be born and that new cat Count D took from our family to raise it apart. We escaped to Japan and to hide ourselves from his sight, we had children with humans. Diluting our blood with human blood seemed to work, that Kami never found the family, until now, but we became cursed with the human blood. We lost control of our power to shape-change into our animal form."

Count D nodded approvingly when Shigure stopped speaking. "Very good. You left out some details, but I suppose they are not important at the moment. You all have a choice to make."

Shigure had heard this before. To chose eternal youth and then spend the rest of their lives hiding from humanity or to stay with the curse that had brought them so much pain.

"I will warn you that this is not a choice to be made lightly." Count D continued after he explained it to the rest of the family. "Kyou did this to save his life and the lives of all his family. He had very little choice." Count D looked around, making sure that they were all listening, all but Kyou who was still very busy staring at the sun. "I am able to take the human blood from you, thus removing the curse, as you call it, put on you long ago. However, once the human blood is gone, you never will be as close to being human as you are now. You will stop aging once you've hit maturity and, after that, only disease or violence will be able to kill you. You will have no further place in human society and it will not be the transformation that endangers you, but your endless youth. People will notice, as the years pass and it will be more difficult to hide this curse."

"'Gure," Ayame tugged on his sleeve slightly. "What's wrong?" Ayame, like the rest of the family, couldn't take his eyes off Count D for more than a moment at a time. Whenever Ayame did look away from Count D, he was looking at Yuki who was holding Tohru's hand. It was a big step for Yuki; an act of courage Shigure had feared Yuki would never be able to make. Then again, so much else was going on that maybe Yuki had forgotten that Akito was just a few feet away from him.

Shigure shook his head and Ayame took the hint, dropping the subject. He would ask again later. Maybe later Shigure would have a good answer. Right now he didn't know if he was alright or not. They weren't human. They weren't supposed to be even remotely human.

'But I knew that almost from the beginning. What about the others?' He chanced another look around at his family. It frightened Shigure, their utter focus on Count D and the looks of rapt, desperate hope. He didn't want his family to be dependant on anyone, let alone someone with the power Count D wielded so easily. Shigure turned to look at Akito where he stood near Hatori and Kureno. 'He's stronger, now. More…aware. He's focusing on what's being said. Count D was telling the truth.' Akito's remarkable return to health was Kyou's gift. A gift no one had thought Kyou would be able to give. A gift no one had thought he would want to give. Why should Kyou want to save Akito?

"Kyou did this to save his life and the lives of all his family. He had very little choice." Count D continued, making sure that they were all listening, all but the newly altered cat who stood nearby with his head tilted up towards the sun. "I am able to take the human blood from you, thus removing the curse, as you call it, put on you long ago. However, once the human blood is gone, you never will be as close to being human as you are now. You will stop aging once you've hit maturity and, after that, only disease or violence will be able to kill you. You will have no further place in human society and it will not be the transformation that endangers you, but your endless youth. People will notice, as the years pass and it will be more difficult to hide this curse."

Yuki spoke, and Shigure realized he'd have to get used to the changed Count D had brought to the Souma family. Since when did Yuki speak in front of crowds? "Kyou's transformation is remarkable, but his bedroom was soaked in blood. We heard him screaming all over the house." Was it Shigure's imagination or was Yuki indignant for Kyou's sake?

"That was unnecessary and regrettable. I do not cause pain."

Human blood. The pollution which cursed them and had nearly destroyed them. It was the human blood that needed to be removed. Kyou had already had his, rather forcibly, removed.

Shigure's eyes went to the cocoon, now laying empty on the grass just behind Count D. It was starting to fall apart and Shigure guessed that it would be completely gone in just a few hours. He wanted to see what it was made of. He wanted to know where it had come from. How had Kyou survived wrapped like a mummy in that stuff? Surely, he couldn't breathe though it. What about food? Had he eaten? No. It just wasn't possible. Yet there Kyou stood, worshiping the sun with a radiant smile, looking as healthy as ever and happier than Shigure had ever seen him.

For once, Shigure kept his mouth closed and he forced his eyes back to Count D. As much as he hated to admit it, the Kami terrified him. He didn't want Count D involved with his family in anyway, even if it was for the best.

"What is Kyou, exactly?" Kagura asked. She hadn't once taken her eyes off Kyou. Her pain was so deep that one could almost feel it when one met her eyes. No doubt she thought that anything she might have had with Kyou was now impossible. "He brought Akito back from the dead. What kind of power is that?"

"The sun is a vast power. Perhaps it is the greatest." Count D told her. "Kyou, and all the cats of your species, are able to absorb the power of the sun. That power is then given to the head of your family who feeds it to the others. The head of your family is NOT meant to give up their life for the family, they are meant to be a... a conduit for the power to pass through. You see? Only the cat is able to absorb the sun's power, enough power to keep your family alive and healthy. Only the head of your family is able to give that power to those who have needed it. Since the cats of your family were trapped by that bracelet and by the pollution of the human blood, the cats were unable to reach full maturity, the stage where they would be able to use this power. Thus, to keep their family alive, all the heads of your family have been unconsciously giving up their own lives. He is still Kyou," He said this directly to Kagura, almost as if he were comforting her. "Now he has a different outlook on life, he is no longer a child, no matter what his outward appearance may be. He is in control of his body. I should add," He looked around at the Souma's gathered around him. "That you should think hard about how you treat Kyou. He is not bound to stay with you. You are dependent on him."

Akito's brow was drawn together in concentration as he listened intently.

"I will do it." Kureno said without hesitation or explanation. He never was one for small talk.

"Me, too." Kagura said, determinedly stepping forward to stand beside Kureno. "I want to stay with Kyou. If he's already going to be young forever, then I don't want to grow old without him." To Kagura, it didn't matter that Kyou had never actually said whether or not he loved her. He had always neatly avoided the question. Kagura loved Kyou and that was all that mattered to her. She would follow him anywhere.

It went on like this, everyone declaring what they would do. Momiji would not. He still had his family, mama, papa, and Momo. He wanted to be near them, even if mama and Momo never knew him or if papa wouldn't speak to him in public. Hatsuharu couldn't decide. Rin would. Ayame was undecided and said that he didn't want to just leave Mine-chan behind along with his shop. Hatori said nothing either way. Hiro and Kisa agreed that they wanted to stay with their families, so no, they would not accept the Count's offer. Ristu thanked the Count very politely for the offer, but said he couldn't possibly leave his mother, just like that. This wasn't a trip he could come home from, it was a one way journey. Yuki, also, declined the offer. Very deliberately, almost as a challenge, Yuki took Tohru's hand and held it tightly. "Not yet, anyway." Yuki added and Shigure was sure that he saw Yuki's eyes trail over to the still naked Kyou.

"You, too, are allowed to make this choice." Count D told Akito. "You are apart of this family, also."

"No." Akito shocked everyone with his answer. "Don't look at me like this. I'm not so blind as I was. I can see what I've done over the years." He swallowed hard and leaned back, against Shigure even more. "I know what harm I've done to everyone. I...I don't want to live with this guilt. My thinking is clearer now than ever before, thank to Kyou. I understand I was sick, but I can't stand the thought of near eternity with the guilt of what I've done."

Hatori spoke quietly. "No one blames you, Akito." It was true. They all knew that whatever Akito did, it wasn't his fault. He was just sick.

"I blame myself." Akito answered. "No. I will grow old and die in due course. When I die, you will be able to raise your next head of the family properly. No mistakes, the next time. Count D, I want you to finish this business up as soon as possible. My successor will be pureblood. I want no more sickness to infect my family."

Hatori, stiff and formal as he always was, spoke up. "Is it possible for you to change all of our family, though? There are hundreds of Souma's who have no idea about the curse and they would need to have all their blood neutralized also, wouldn't they? Not to mention the ones that do know, such as the children's mothers. If one of us were to die, wouldn't we run the risk of getting a half-human child, again? The timing would have to be perfect, but the chances are there. With how many Souma's travel the world every year I am forced to think that this is an impossible task. If even one Souma were to escape you this would all be for nothing. What will you do to them? We all share the same blood. If one of us dies tomorrow, someone else with Souma blood will become pregnant and the whole problem will start over again."

"I will simply put the Juunish blood in the veins of the rest of your family to sleep. If they have children, it will not be inherited and it will die with them. I can do this without alerting or alarming anyone thing. A simple touch. They will never know."

"I don't believe in what is too good to be true." Hatori certainly had no reason to be optimistic. "I don't believe what you say is possible." After all that he'd seen here, with Kyou, Hatroi could say that and mean it. It amazed Shigure. He was ready to believe anything, at this point. Tohru was a bird. Kyou was a battery. Akito would live. Anything was possible.

Count D looked as if he might laugh at Hatori's disbelief. "Possible and impossible are human concepts and do not apply to your family. In the past, males of your family would change gender if there were no available females or if all the females were children and unable to survive a pregnancy. Let me take care of the rest of your family. The solution is quite simple, from what I have been told. You still gather your family at New Years, do you not? It will be taken care of then. I suggest that all of you return to your home now. The immediate danger to your family is over and my debt is paid. Think long and hard about what you want and then come to me; this is not a choice to be made lightly. I plan on being in Japan for quite some time. In time, as more of you die and your spirits are reborn, your family will become completely without trace of human blood. It is only a matter of time." Count D spoke with that unearthly voice of his. He was not human, no more than any of the other creatures in the petshop. He was small, but had a way of looking like the biggest person in a room. His hair was so dark that it looked almost purple. "This choice will affect you for the rest of your life and the entire future of your family. You may change and become what nature intended you to be. Junishi, the zodiac. You will stop aging once your adolescents has ended." He said this to Kisa and Hiro. "You will be able to control your transformations. Eternal youth is the price for this change. You will have to deal with this new curse."

There was a heavy silence from the assembled. 'Eternal youth is a curse. I always thought so.' Shigure stifled a laugh that would have been highly inappropriate. How many people wished for eternal youth? No one ever considered the pain they'd be in when their friends grew old and died. They'd have to stay away from people or risk being found out. If anyone noticed that they weren't quite normal, they'd have to leave their home. 'Forever young, but no friends outside the inner circle. No real career. How could we work if we had to change jobs every couple of years? The neighbors would notice.'

Count D continued after giving them a moment to think. "On the other hand, you may chose to remain as you are. You will age as any average human would. You would have to avoid the embrace of humans opposite of your own gender, but that has been done by your family for generations. It would prove no difficulty for you. Count D bowed, gesturing to the door. "I suggest that none of you make up your minds, yet. There is plenty of time. I will proceed with this for years, if necessary. Of course, there will be a price." His eyes seemed to turn darker at that. "My duty to your family ended when Kyou emerged from the cocoon. All other services will have to be paid for."

"The family can pay…" Akito began to say.

"I am not interest in money. For every service, I will demand a price from that individual. I suggest you all return home to rest and think. Please, this way to the front door."

Kyou-

Kyou was proud of what he'd done. It had been so tempting to be petty and hurt Akito, but Kyou hadn't done it. He'd done the right thing and now his life was set on another path he hadn't chosen, but was glad for. He was important, useful to the family.

Tohru caught Kyou in a tight hug when everyone was done talking and started to get ready to leave. "Kyou! I'm so glad you're all right!" She cried, holding him tightly.

It was amazing to be able to hold her without worry. Kyou hugged Tohru back, something he'd longed to do, almost since the day they'd met. She was just as he'd imagined her to be, soft and small. She felt so perfect in his arms. Kyou put his cheek against her hair and took a deep breath. It didn't seem surprising that she was a bird. Kyou could smell that almost right away. Nothing should surprise Kyou anymore.

"I'm glad to see you, too." It seemed so inadequate. How could Kyou ever find the words to tell her that without her, he would have spent every moment of the last year or so in misery. She'd made his life so much easier to bear and he was delighted that she was going to be in his new life.

Over Tohru's head, Kyou saw Yuki watching them, awkwardly. He wondered how Yuki felt, watching them. He didn't want to make Yuki jealous, that wasn't his intention at all. So Kyou released Tohru and went to stand in front of Yuki. "You came, too. Just like in the forest."

"Of course I came." Yuki wasn't afraid to meet Kyou's eyes, but he looked at him like he was trying to figure Kyou out. "Did you think I wouldn't?"

"I wasn't thinking much when I got here." It seemed very pointless to fight with Yuki, now. In fact, Kyou wanted to laugh at himself for all the silly fights they'd gotten into over the years. It seemed so childish, now. "Yuki," Kyou put an arm over Yuki's shoulder and drew Yuki in close to his side, happy to see Yuki's shocked expression. "I'm very fond of Tohru. How about you?"

Yuki flushed bright red and Kyou thought it was cute. Just a short time ago, he'd never have been able to ask Yuki something like that. He would have died of embarrassment before he'd say something like that, especially right in front of Tohru. Tohru seemed as if she might faint so, to save her, Kyou put an arm around her, too, and pulled her in close, just like he'd done to Yuki. He liked this: warm and close. It felt very comfortable. Now all he wanted was get sweet Kagura added into the mix. "Everything's done now and everyone's going home. I think Shigure will stay at the estate with Akito tonight. Let's get Kagura and then all go home together." He had a sudden urge.

Tohru, as innocent as ever, didn't suspect anything, but pulled away from Kyou. "I want to thank Ten-chan and Michael-san for their help, first. I'll be right back." Then she dashed off.

Yuki was not nearly so innocent as Kyou and seemed to hear something nefarious in Kyou's suggestion that they all go home together. He pulled away from Kyou and fled after Tohru. "Wait, Tohru! You shouldn't go off alone!" It was obviously an excuse to get away from Kyou. At the open doorway, they bumped into Kagura, spoke to her for a moment, and then the three of them went off together.

Kyou found that he was the last one in the forest room alone with Count D. "I can never thank you enough for what you've done." Kyou told him, giving Count D a low bow. It was a first. Kyou only ever bowed to Kazuma and Akito.

"There is no need for thanks. This is the repayment of a debt." Count D looked after where Yuki and Tohru dashed through the now open door and into the rest of the petshop. "The doors of my petshop are locked tightly, they will be able to go nowhere but to the front room and then out into Japan. Your friends will find Ten-chan just down the hallway."

"And Michael?" Kyou wasn't sure who Michael was and wondered if he should be jealous that Tohru was so eager to meet someone. Somehow, he didn't think there would be much to worry about as Yuki was with her.

"He will not be there. His time grows so short. He wanted to see Yuki one last time, but now he's gone back to his home." There was a terrible sadness in Count D's voice. "Michael will not live much longer."

"He's sick?"

"No. It is his nature. He did not want Yuki to know. You see, Michael is one of Yuki's plants, from his garden in the forest. Every day Yuki would visit his garden to make sure they had enough water and that the weeds were pulled out. He spoke to his plants while he was there and they learned everything about the Souma family and how miserable Yuki was. All of his plants cared very much for Yuki. How could they not? Yuki cared very much for them. Michael's gone back to the garden now. He did not want to concern Yuki with who he was, so he quietly slipped away. So, may I ask what you plan to do with those three? You sounded very eager a moment ago."

"There's no reason why I can't have all three of them." Kyou said, defensively. What would have seemed immoral and impossible a few days ago now seemed like the most natural thing in the world. Why not?

"None at all." Count D agreed and smiled gently, putting one hand on Kyou's face, looking at him like a teacher who was pleased with his student. "Whoever heard of a cat in a monogamous relationship? You feel your heart torn in several directions, it is only natural to act upon it. Very few animals keep a single mate for life. You may have a difficult time convincing them, though."

Tohru, Kagura, and...Yuki. There it was, out in the open. Kyou had never dared to think about it before, but now...there was a new calm in him, now. It didn't frighten him to think of himself as being bisexual. It was as if all the fear and uncertainty he'd been feeling for so long had been cleared away. He fully planned on seducing all three of them in short order. Kagura would be willing, but Tohru and Yuki would take more time. No matter. The hunt made the capture more thrilling and, now, Kyou had all the time in the world.

Kyou's eyes roamed from Count D to the world around him. This all seemed so perfect, right out of his memory. The hills, the river, the cabin, the... Ah! Kyou's eyes fell on the table where his bracelet still lay. He'd almost forgotten. "I owe you this." Kyou ran to the table and fetched the bracelet back, holding it out to Count D. "This is what you said you wanted. It's all yours."

D-

D studied the bracelet in Kyou's hand for a long time. He didn't move closer, but kept his eyes fixed on the bracelet. The white of D's bones as the white beads of the bracelet shone in the bright sun and he could feel his own blood calling out to him. D reached out for the bracelet at the tempting call of his body trying to return to itself.

"Go ahead, take it. It's yours." Kyou smiled. "You were right, I don't need it anymore."

There it was, being offered to him. D could take it and no one could dispute his right to it. Papa would never be able to claim the Souma family again without another similar prison and Sofu had promised long ago to make sure Papa did not make anymore children just so he would be able to retrieve the parts he wanted.

D swallowed hard. Not all change was good.

"Thank you." D gave Kyou a slight, polite, bow before he pulled a small pouch from one of his long sleeves. It was one of those convenient talents D had. "Please, put it in here. I will find a safe place for it."

Kyou did what he was asked without question, slipping the bracelet into the black pouch and handing it back to D who slid it back into his sleeves. He wouldn't risk touching it. Not yet. For now, D would put the pouch somewhere safe.

Time was not stopping, after all. Leon was continuing to grow older every moment that passed. One day, Leon's golden hair would turn grey, then silver, and finally white. His handsome face would wrinkle with age and his strength would falter. He would die.

'When my Leon is dead - when he is taken from me - perhaps I will have no more desire to love him. If the pain of living without him is too great, then I will let myself feel nothing more.' D couldn't imagine trying to live without Leon's constant presence. Surely, he wasn't strong enough to bear it. If Leon's death made D incapable of caring for the Earth and its people, as was his responsibility, then D would hold the bracelet in his bare hands and allow himself to become a 'true' Kami as Sofu wished.

"What are you going to do with it?" Kyou asked, seeing that D had little intention was wearing the bracelet.

"It is a treasure. I will put it somewhere safe. I may want it in the future."

Before everyone left, D had one more thing to discuss with them. Rather he discussed it with Kureno and Akito. "The Black Scorpion will come looking for your children. Before you came to my home, you searched this city for Kyou. You found him in a place where children were kept - killing one another for the entertainment of customers. It was you, Kureno, who rescued those children and brought them to your home. I warn you that the ones who had trained those children will not give them up easily. A friend of mine learned that you brought many of them to your home and he rescued the rest of them. The last I heard, he left them at your home and a man, Kazuma, took the children away from your estate to protect your family and the children. They fear that the Black Scorpion will send assassins to kill not only the children, but anyone in your family who has had contact with them."

Akito took the news calmly. "Kureno?"

"I'll take care of it, Akito." Kureno nodded and looked at D. "May I speak with this friend of yours? He may have information I can use. I will destroy them at their source." This wasn't bragging and he didn't have any particular pleasure in his voice when he said it. This was just business.

"Of course." D agreed. Leon would be so pleased with him. With the power, influence, and money of the Souma family, plus the children and those little disks that Leon said miss Jill had, it would be simple for them to find and crush the Black Scorpion. "I believe he was looking of you, also. Please come by tomorrow and he will be here." Of course Leon was at the petshop right at that moment, but D wasn't about to tell Kureno that. Leon and Kureno would want to go hunting Black Scorpion right then and there. D had other plans for the coming night, now that he was feeling better.

"Of course." Count D agreed. "I believe he was looking of you, also. I will have him go to the Souma estate in the morning." He looked then at Tohru and smiled very gently. "You come here tomorrow and we will begin your lessons." He took his hands in his and patted them lightly. "A nightingale must know how to fly."

"It's still hard to believe. Are you really sure there isn't a mistake? Oh no!" As she usually did, her happy smile was broken by a comical look of panic. "Tomorrow? Oh, I'm so sorry, I can't!"

"Why ever not?"

"It's Monday. I have school."

And everyone knew that Tohru did not miss school for Hell or high water. Even Yuki put a hand to his mouth to hide his smile when Tohru said that. Kyou laughed outright and asked why bother? She didn't have to follow those kind of rules, anymore.

"Oh, but I do!" Tohru insisted. "For mom!"

For mom. Always for mom.

Count D seemed to understand and how better than him? He offered, "After school, then?"

"I work." Tohru's eyes filled with tears and she wrung her hands together. "I want to come, really! But…but after work I have dinner to make and…"

Kagura interrupted Tohru, shaking her head. "You go after work. I'll make dinner for the boys." She hugged Tohru and the two girls pressed their cheeks together. "You deserve some time off, anyway. Just promise you'll show me how well you fly."

It was all too much for Akito, who was scowling just like his old self by that point. "Enough!" He snapped, his good humor completely used up. "I'm tired! It's time to go home!" He turned quickly and began striding down the halls of the petshop with Kureno at his side and Hatori right behind. Everyone else followed in relative silence. Hatsuharu made a point of carrying Rin and telling her sternly that it was Hatori's orders she go right back to the hospital. Momiji stayed a step behind Hatori, watching him carefully, while Hiro and Kisa, of course, walked side-by-side. Tohru and Yuki shyly held hands and Kagura walked confidently at Kyou's side.

'She's gonna explode any minute.' Kyou couldn't help but think. 'She's never gone this long without beating me. I don't think she'll make it much longer.'

But Kagura was showing no signs of her usual over-emotional fits of love. She looked calm and composed even as she took his hand and held her head up proudly. Finally…Kyou was apart of the family.

Shigure-

Hiro lingered a little, his hand stil tightly closed around Kisa's. Shigure slowed his pace until he'd nearly stopped walking so he could keep an ear on Hiro. The boy's big mouth would get him in terrible danger one day and the last person Hiro needed to be mouthing off to was Count D.

"What about Honda-san?" Hiro asked. His voice was just a touch more subdued than normal. It wasn't a surprise that he couldn't quite manage his normal arrogant attitude. At eleven years old and nearly the youngest of the Zodiac family, Hiro had more attitude than the rest of them put together.
Souma Shigure was the dog.

They passed the parlor on their way to the front door and there was Leon Orcot, Count D's friend. He was sitting on a sofa, but looked up sharply at the parade of Souma's. Very quickly, his expression turned from surprised to angry. "You son of a bitch." Leon looked right at Shigure. "Said they weren't here."

Shigure shrugged lightly and felt his mask slip back into place. "Oops."

"Damned idiot." Leon crossed his arms over his chest and put his feet up on the coffee table. "You cause a Hell of a lot of trouble."

"I've been told that more than once." Shigure smiled back with his usual good-humor.

"And you!" Leon spotted Ayame trying unsuccessfully to hide behind Ritsu. "You could have at least given me a call. You could have let SOMEONE know where you were. I got the run around from your family and even Mine-chan didn't know where you were. Do you have any idea how worried I was?" His eyes slid to Kyou. "Hey. You look familiar, brat."

Kyou bristled, but kept civil, a miracle to everyone who knew him. "I don't think so. I don't know any Americans."

But Leon was undeterred and thought with a frown until a smile lit his face as he obviously remembered. "Yeah. I've seen you. Kyou. You go see your old man. Kazuma's been looking for you. Worried him half out of his mind."

"You met master?" Kyou, for the first time since he'd broken out of the cocoon, focused on something other than himself and the sun in the forest room. Kyou had changed, for better or worse. Though he looked like his ordinary teenage self, there was something different about him. A new calm. It was good to see Kyou's eye open wide with surprise, like that. He looked like a normal teenager again.

"Master?" Leon gave Kyou a funny look. "Don't know about that. I met your old man, though. He's worried sick. Said he was going out to some hot springs." Lean sat up a little and shook his finger at Kyou. "Better go meet him or he'll give your backside a warming!"

Kyou didn't respond, but looked worried. When Akito snapped for the family to keep moving, they all did as they were told, moving along in a silent, thinking procession. Leon was left muttering to himself even when Ayame offered him a soft, "Sorry! I'll call tomorrow, I promise!"

Behind all of them, deep in thought, Shigure was walking very quietly.

To be continued…