Howdy all, sorry to have kept you waiting with that aweful cliffhanger. It was just too tempting. Not to mention that I've had to start looking up colleges for when I get out of HS.
But I'm back now. I'm still working on the chapters to come, but this is all im worried about now. so, without further adooo, welcome to my world of 'How?' chapter 12

Kyo had seen Yuki get up and head for one of the hallways with Shigure.

'Must be going to tell Shigure about Hana.' He thought to himself. 'I need to start thinging about the curse as well, and how to break it. But who could I go to for help? There's no way in hell I'd ever go to Akito. He wouldn't help me anyway, too hung up on power over his 'puppets'. Shigure would ask dumb questions, and Ayame, well, who knows what he would say. I guess I could go to master, and if I can't get any help from him, I'll go to Hatori.'

Tohru was currently sitting close to Kyo by the fire, shivering slightlyeverytime someone would open a door leading outside. Kyo noticed her shivering and slipped his jacket off, draping it over her shoulders to keep her warm. When she felt warmth on her chilled frame, she looked down to see what was keeping the chills away from her skin and found Kyo's jacket. She looked up at him and smiled.

"Thanks Kyo." She said quietly as she layed her head oh his shoulder, getting as close as possible without having him transform in front of everyone and causing an uproar. She then began to whisper words in his ear something only he was allowed to hear from her.

"Kyo, I love you." She said quietly, secretly wishing to hear the same words from him.

He grinned and tilted his head so that it was on top of hers. "I love you too you clumsy, ditsy, gorgeous, idiot." He whispered back huskily. (sorry guys, i had to add the clumsy and ditsy part. We can't have our little Kyo going COMPLETELY soft on us can we. But i made it up to you by adding the nice stuff.> Back to the story.)

"I want to kiss you Kyo." Tohru said innocently, still whispering.

P.O.V change

"Those two sure have gotten a lot closer over the past few months. Now they seem closer than ever." Uo said to Hana quietly, looking at the couple from a distance.

"Yes. I have noticed as well." Hana said. "They have gotten close toone another."

"I wonder what they're talking about. Us maybe? I mean they ARE whispering." Uo asked curiously.

Hana grinned inwardly, and for once not evily as if she were about to send out 'waves of death' upon the fangirls. Shehad seen them earlier that day, and had a pretty good idea that Uo's suspicions were incorrect. She had a pretty good idea what was being said. "Yes, I wonder as well."

Normal pov

"I do too, but we can't. Someone will see." He whispered back.

She then whispered into his ear quietly, so close he cold feel her breathing in his earsending shivers up and down his spine when he heard what words she had spoken. "I'm getting to the point that I don't care who see's."

He turned his head quickly to face her, only to be greeted by an unusually bold, hard kiss. She had half expected him to pull away and scold her for her actions, but the scolding never came. Instead, she got the strange yet wonderful sensation of his tongue envading her mouth as he captured her cheek with his palm.

By then, everyone was gawking at them. Uo and Hana were in a state of shock. Hana, not because she didn't know about the situation, but because she never in her wildest dreams thought that Tohru would ever initiate a kiss like that. And Uo was shocked because...well...TOHRU JUST KISSED KYO! She kept her cool though. Just like always.

"Wow. Didn't see that coming." She said cooly at first. But then got a confused look on her face. "But, I thought you had this big ass cru-" She then put two and two together and said. "Never-mind."

Then from out of the hallway that Yuki and Shigure were talking in. A strange man was sprinting at them. To Uo and Hana it was just some nutcase headed out for a run. But to every Sohma in the room it was who they considered the devil himself. Akito.

"YOU!" He screamed as he pointed at Tohru."You make me sick you little bitch! You can't love him, noone is allowed to love the cat!"

(This is where it gets wierd. Tohru isn't usually like this, but dammit its my story and I've always wanted her to act like this. So here it is folks. The abnormal Tohru. oo)

"Well I do!" She yelled standing up and facing the Sohma's worst fear. Kyo had stood up as well. "I always have and I always will!" She said with fire in her eyes and such force that even Akito stepped back half an inch from the determination in her words.

Kyo was at a loss for words. He had never seen her like this before. He and everyone else in the room looked at her with disbelief etched onto their faces. 'D-did I just hear her right?' Kyo thought to himself until she spoke again.

"I love Kyo, more than my own life. And there's nothing you could ever say or do to-"

SLAP

During her speech, Akito had walked up to her, stealthily slow until he was in front of her and slapped her across the face as hard as he could, knocking her to the ground where she collided with the ground.

By this time, Uo and Hana were now in front of this mystery man making sure he wouldn't lay another hand on Tohru.

"Who the hell do you think you are asshole!" Uo asked severely pissed. Hana was now on the ground with Tohru checking up on her to see if she was ok and to assess the damage inflicted.

"Bastard." Kyo said through clenched teeth, walking in front of Uo, blocking her and the other girls from view. "If you ever touch her again, I swear I'll rip your fucking head off." He said dangerously quiet.

"Heh, over my dead body." Akito taunted. He clearly didn't take Kyo seruously. His mistake. He would regret it later.

"I can easily help you get to that state if you ever come near her again." He said with more malice than he had ever used in one simple sentence. His fists he knew were clenching at his sides, drawins slight blood, but he didn't care. He looked Akito in the face and said in a deep dangerous voice. "You've been warned." With that, Kyo turned around and faced Uo, who had a shocked look on her face. She'd seen him pissed off before sure, but never to the point where he would make serious death threats. Any other time he would kid around with it. No matter how tough he acted.

"You can't protect her all the time. I'll get her again when you can't be there. I'll do much worse than what I just did." Akito said. "I believe I've done enough to suit my pleasures for now. I'll be seeing you soon Miss Honda." Akito said looking at the girl who had recently been thrown to the ground, and walked away.

"Who the hell-?" Asked Uo.

"That was the head of our family." Answered Yuki who had been watching the entire episode.

"That was the person you told me of Yuki?" Hana asked. "You were not mistaken or overexagerating when you spoke of him as evil."

"Tohru, are you alright?" Kyo said tuning out the others and their petty conversation to check on her.

"I'll be alright." Was her simple reply.

Just then Haru walked into the lobby. Seeing Tohru on the ground got him worried.

"What happened?"

"Akito." Kyo answered his simple question with a simple answer. That was all he needed.

"Come on, lets go for a walk. We need to talk." Kyo spoke to her.

'OH NO! I hope he isn't mad at me for what I did!' Tohru thought to herself, but replied with "Alright." She got up , stumbling slightly, but being steadied by Kyo's hands on her shoulders.

"Come on." He said grabbing her hand.

They went outside and walked along a path for a few minutes until Kyo stopped abruptly.

"Tohru I...I'm sorry." He said finally.

"Kyo, if this is about what happened with Akito, it wasn't your fault. It was mine. Really. I shouldn't have done that when I knew he could have been watching." She said trying to comfort the troubled cat.

"But I should've protected you!" Kyo exclaimed.

"Kyo, you did protect me." Tohru said to him.

"Then just what exactly do you call that?" He said pointing to her cheek which was now slightly bruised. "You didn't get that because I protected you. You got that because I didn't. So, I'm sorry." He said with true sincere in his voice.

"Alright, even though this is in no way your fault, I forgive you." She laughed slightly before gently kissing him on the cheek. When she pulled away, they just looked at eachother, enjoying the comfortable silence between themselves. As if they were the only people who existed. They stayed that way for a while until Kyo thought of something and smiled to himself.

"Hey, lets go for a walk. I want to show you something." He said eagerly hoping she would say yes. This might make her day a little better.

"Alright." She said. With her approval, he grabbed her hand and they walked slowly and quietly to their secret destination. Kyo then stopped and stepped behind Tohru.

"Kyo? What are you-OH!" Tohru squealed when she all of a sudden couldn't see anything.

"I'm covering your eyes. Just trust me." He said leading her away from the path.

"Alright. I trust you." She said. They had been walking the same way for about five minutes. Kyo behind her covering her eyes for her as he led her farther away from the path. She was beginning to get restless. "Kyo, where are we going?" She giggled. "The suspence is killing me!"

"If I told you, it wouldn't be a surprise would it? Besides," He lifted a treebranch that was sticking out in front of her. "we're here." He said pulling his hand away from her eyes so she could see.

When she opened her eyes, they were met with what seemed to be thousandsof ice crystals inside of a secluded cavern. The walls of the cavern were completely covered by ice crystals, and the ceiling which seemed like it was neverending, had holes in random places, making the cavern itself look like a home to a snow goddess from the moons glow that shone in from above.

"Kyo..." Tohru whispered to him as she took tiny steps forward into the crystal filled cavern. "its...gorgeous."

"I thought you might like it." 'Phew! Thank Kamishe likes it here." He thought looking at the beautiful girl as she inched her way into the cavern.

"How on earth did you ever find this place?" Tohru asked in complete awe that something so beautiful even existed.

"I got bored one day and went off the path, and came upon this place by accident." He answered her as he too walked around in the cavern, admiring its beauty silently.

"I wonder where it leads to." Tohru asked herself openly, her voice echoing slightly as she walked deeper into the cavern.

"I don't know. I never got very far inside." Kyo replied, looking towards the passage that lead deeper into the cave.

"I want to know where it leads to. Can we? I mean we don' t have to if you don't want to." She asked.

"Sure, lets go." He replied and then grasped her hand, leading her farther into the mysterious yet beautiful cave, not knowing where it would lead to. They walked, and walked. AND walked. But just as Kyo was considering turning back around, he quite literally ran into a dead end. Or so it seemed. The small light peering inside from above showed that there were two ways to go.

"Ow, damn that hurt." Kyo said holding his nose ashe spoke.

"Are you alright Kyo?" Tohru asked him. She hadn't seen him run into the 'dead end' but was slightly worried when he said 'ow'.

"I'm fine." He said turning to look at her to show he wasas he said he was. He then turned back to see where they could go. He saw two paths and just decided to take one. He took the left one and began walking the path.They came out of the cavern into the open. Apparently the 'dead end' wall Kyo had run into was actually a frozen waterfall when looked upon. The clearind they had come across was secluded, surrounded by walls of jagged stone. Yes, thsi place was a secret to the world. Human feet had not yet touched the earth they gazed upon. Perhaps it could havve been called a 'secret garden' because of the beautiful winter flowers which grew inside of the secret getaway, or the way everything seemed to grow, but neither Kyo nor Tohru knew just how special this place was, and how a certain something within the grounds would create a memory neither would ever forget.

end of chapter 11.

Sorry it took so dang long. but i had a bad case of writers block. sorry. but its here now. im trying to work on the next chapter. i have an idea with what it will be. so no worries. it will get there. well, g2g. I'll be seeing you in the next chapter.

P.S. I have a new email address. So if you want to email me, its Sissy1310. i'll still get your reviews, so no worries. i'll just read the reviews thing at the top of my stories when i update them. i'll c ya. bye.

heart Jessica