This chapter was just BEGGING to be cleaned up. I refuse to believe I let myself write such drivel. x.X; Ugh. This means I have to pick this story back up off it's sorry butt and improve it a lot.

xX Please forgive my negligence...

2. Chapter 1: Stolen by the Deviant

12 ½ weeks remaining

Kyo couldn't help but pace in his room, a frown upon his beautiful tan features. He paused, nothing good could come from wasting his remaining time. He sighed lightly, hearing the sounds from the downstairs dining room. He figured he might as well "grace them with his presence".Slipping down the stairs with cat-like grace, and into the room.

I've already taken the key, now all I need to do is learn to use it without getting caught.

"Kyo-kun, I was just about to wake you, are you feeling any better?" He nodded, giving the girl a pat on the head.

"Tohru," he grumbled, taking his seat at the table quietly. "Don't treat me like I'm sick." He twitched. "Ugh. Leeks…"

"She's just been worried about you, is all, you ingrate," Yuki shot with a slight glare. "You've been sleeping all day." The cat lethargically picked up his chopsticks and yawned lightly. All the thinking and plotting he was doing was making him sleepy, not to mention the rain. But he knew exactly what to do, and everyone would follow his script. The curse would be broken and best of all, he'd have his freedom. Pushing the nasty green vegetables around on his plate, he slammed his hands on the table and stood up. "Stupid. You shouldn't play with your food. Honda-san cooked this for us and we should eat it."

"I'm going to bed…" he muttered sourly.

"Baka neko! You just woke up!"

"Eat me!" he exclaimed, stomping up the stairs and back into his room. Tohru, though very confused and worried, got up and scrambled after him.

"Kyo-kun…" she opened the door to find him sitting at his desk, looking pissed. He quickly shut the book he had been scribbling furiously in and, looking completely frightened, looked up.

"What?" he snapped, making Tohru recoil a bit.

"I'm…" the brown haired girl bowed. "I'm sorry! I cooked leeks tonight, I should've known to have cooked something else for you! It's all my fault that you're angry, and I just want you to know that I'm sorry! I'm very sorry!" Getting up, he made his way over to the girl.

"Look, it's… okay? Okay?" he sighed, sometimes this girl was too much for him… "I wasn't very hungry anyway- I'm not angry with you… it's just…" He looked toward the window with tired eyes. "…you know…"

"Kyo-kun…" Kyo, in a hurry to get her out of his room, shooed her away with lies about getting some rest. And in closing the door, he looked at the notebook with loving eyes. Pulling something out from under his desk, he frowned lightly. It a rather large, dusty book. The cover was a thin, raggedy, piece of leather, the pages seemed to be fraying badly, and the binding was snapped, but he would have to make do with it. Gently putting the book on his desk, he set his head on it.

"I hope this will work…"

-

Akito was irate… Generally… when Akito was angry, everyone around him seemed to suffer. The raven haired beauty wouldn't calm down until he found it; but he'd been looking everywhere for the not-yet-mentioned object since early morning. High and low the poor, overworked family searched, but none of them found hide nor hair of what they were looking for.

"Where. Is. It?!" his infuriated voice rang out throughout the hallways. A rather brave Sohma woman (oh bless her heart), finally decided to tell Akito the whereabouts of the aforementioned, astray object. The servants knew that it was nowhere in the house, not even on the estate anymore… not a soul said anything, in fear of facing Akito's wrath. The workers were growing tired… and the woman could see that; everyone could… so it was time to confess.

"A-Akito-sama?" the woman quickly bowed, making sure she knew her place. "The missing… item- it's- it's no longer on the estate."

"What?" Akito replied, clenching his fists in fury, anger rising in those evil, dusty blue tinted eyes.

"Someone… made off with your book, my lord!" She was almost teary eyed as she looked up at the family leader.

"Someone stole it?!" The now very scared Sohma woman nodded, waiting for her punishment. A hand came down and the woman went flying. "Go find it! Go find it now! I need that! No one else can even so much as look at that! Do you understand me?!"

"A-Akito-sama… there's nothing… we can do!" she squealed from the floor, trying to scramble away from the fuming leader.

"Who ever stole my book will pay." Akito, obviously shaken by the missing book, stomped back to his room in a huff, not really caring who he had to shove out of his way. After slamming the door, he collapsed to the floor next to the window in exhaustion. This book held a powerful secret; who ever read it- or could even understand the complexity of it all, could break the curse! How did anyone find out about the book?! It wasn't even in the archives for that long! What's worse-

The book was written by the deviant who cursed the family in the first place.