I started this story years ago, and coming back to it now, I realize how shoddy the writing and formatting is. So I've decided to modify and re-upload the chapters. Enjoy!

Chapter 1: Flowers

I was walking down the alleyways beneath the sakura trees. I had to admit it; this WAS a nice place, just like Ayame had said. Still, I missed Kaibara high and the little house in the woods. Now, I lived in a cramped apartment downtown, more alone than I had been in a long time. Even breakfasts with Yuki and Shigure at the same table seemed enjoyable to me now, but they had found a new life now that we weren't bound together anymore. Freedom came at a great price. I could walk in big crowds without worrying, and didn't need to wear my bracelet anymore. I could love anyone I wanted freely, but inside myself I knew there would be only one person I'd ever love. Tohru Honda.

She left, just after graduation, when the curse was lifted. I guess she felt like her purpose with the zodiac members had been fulfilled, or maybe she just wanted to move on. In any case, I hadn't seen her since. Over five years had passed: I had grown even more, and somehow my hair had turned from fiery red to dark auburn. Much easier for socializing, it still felt like I had lost a part of myself.

But at the bottom, I still was Kyo Sohma. The cat? Maybe. I had a cat at home, which I had stupidly enough called Tohru. Pathetic, really, but it made me feel better to come home and call her name, and have somebody respond. Even if it was only a cat.

Suddenly, I bumped into a lamppost. DAMN IT! Thinking about Tohru had made me space out, I realized, frowning.

"Oh are you all right…?" I heard a concerned voice next to me ask.

"Ugh…yeah…I suppose…" I answered with a shrug, rubbing the bruised spot on my forehead.

"Oh, I am so relieved!" the person gushed, true relief in their voice. "But I forgot to introduce myself! My name is Suzuki Umenohana. But people just call me Umi because it's shorter and easier to remember!" I turned around to find a girl about my age beaming at me from her 5'2. She had short brown hair and large blue eyes. I realized I was staring at her and turned around. "My name is Kyo". I didn't say my last name, which seemed to puzzle her, but instead of asking me about it she said, quietly: "I knew a 'Kyo' once…"

I looked at her, and saw profound sadness in her eyes. Suddenly, I wanted to comfort her. I searched through useful sentences I had heard Tohru say, and found one that would fit the occasion: "People you loved might be gone, but you should keep them alive in your heart forever…!" I said to her.

"OH!" she exclaimed, her eyes sparkling. "My mother always used to say that when I was sad about someone gone". I took in her wide smile with awkward pleasure.

"So, do you like it here?" she asked enthusiastically.

I looked around at the large European-style building, the huge lawn, the stone steps leading to the College and the sense of neatness and order. "I guess I do…". It was a nice place, and I felt oddly at peace here, despite the hustle and bustle that surrounded us.

"I like it a lot!" Umi laughed, spinning round and round before running up to a bed of flowers, crouching next to them and leaning down to inhale their sweet scent.

I stood aside, staring at her with wonder. So carefree. So light. I suppose that's the way all normal girls were. I'd have to get used to it, I thought, looking around again. The buzz of voices, hilarity, delighted shrieks and all kinds of other sounds made the place so lively and filled with energy. When I turned, Umi was by my side, also examining our environment.

"Do you know anyone here?" she asked, glancing at me with tentative curiosity.

"No", I answered shortly, wondering if she did. The answer came pretty fast.

"Oh, me neither! I'm keen on meeting new people though!" she said with a small and, it seemed to me, sad chuckle. "All my friends moved into the big cities. They're so ambitious!" I watched her gazing sadly into the distance, and thought about my own family. Yuki was somewhere finishing university and moving on to the higher levels of the business world. Shigure still lived in his writer's universe, Ayame's clothes boutique had become popular, and was springing up pretty much all over Japan like mushrooms. Hatori was still a doctor, and Shishou ran his dojo like he always had. I still visited them from time to time, as well as Kagura, who seemed extremely keen on keeping everything between us identical to five years ago. All the Sohmas had settled down into normal lives, and I was starting to as well.

'I didn't really have any friends…' I assessed with a twinge of regret as I remembered the dark days of being teased or ignored by anyone who knew anything about me.

"Eh? You didn't?" I heard her ask, surprised.

DAMN IT! I had said my thoughts out loud! I was trying to find an excuse for that when Umi spoke again.

"Everybody has people looking out for them, even though they might not realize it. I'm sure you had some too."

'I did', I thought, this time for my ears only. 'I had Tohru!' I realized with pleasure. And those two, the psychic and the Yankee as well, maybe. Maybe even Yuki, at times, when we managed to have a civil conversation. And Kagura, when she wasn't violently demonstrating her love. I DID have friends back then, Umi was right. Unaware of my mental deliberations, Umi continued.

"And if you don't mind, I can be your friend now, too!" she told me with her large trademark smile.

I smiled back.

"Sure! Let's be friends", I agreed with a small bemused laugh, and it felt like the best thing on earth.