hey hey hey! hows everyones summer so far? good? Good! Im happee for all of ya! my summer's goin good too. but i've been extremely busy and havnt had time for anything. but im here now, so enjoy. kay? kay.

They looked around the beautiful grounds, admiring its beauty upclose. They went seperately, looking at things that interested them or caught their eye.

"Kyo, come look at this." Tohru said with excitement in her voice.

He walked from his side of the secret garden to where her voice was last heard, from behind some bushes.

"What is it?" He asked as he pushed one more branch that was blocking his view out of the way.

"I...I think it's a Wishing Stone." She said moving her frame out of the way so that he could see what was in front of her. What he saw was a light-pink colored stone, almost white. It was in a medium sized clearing which was surrounded by large brush, meaning it was hidden for a reason. Almost like it was a secret.

"It's a what?" Kyo asked looking at the beautiful smooth stone.

"A Wishing Stone. There's a legend that says if you and another person wish upon a Wishing Stone, it will grant your wish. But the catch is, that the two wishes must be the same, but you can't tell the other wisher what you are wishing for." Tohru explained with her index finger on her chin thinking back to when she heard the legend.

"How did you know all that?" Kyo asked with a smile.

She then smiled and looked up at him with a happy expression. "My mom told me!" She said excitedly like she always does when speaking of her mother. "So what do you say? You wanna try it?" She asked looking from him to the stone in the earth.

"Sure why not." He said walking over to the large rock which was embedded into the earth.

Tohru then closed her eyes and held her hands together and wished for all she was worth.

'I wish the Sohma curse was lifted and I could hold Kyo.' She chanted in her mind until her soul began to chant it too.

Kyo too closed his eyes and wished as well. He had his own version of her wish, but with a slight twist. (hehe)

'I wish the curse was lifted off us Sohma's...and it wouldn't hurt for Tohru to loosen up some.' He inwardly smirked at the last part of his wish, but he chanted it in his thoughts until it was echoing off of the inner walls of his mind.

Something flashed quickly and shone brightly through his closed eyelids and caused him to open his tighly shut eyes. What he saw was Tohru opening her eyes as well from the same position she was formerly in when he last saw her. She then turned to look at him. He didn't miss the disappointment in her eyes before she looked away again. He slowly walked toward her.

He had to know. He needed to know if it worked.

He walked until he was right in front of her. He slowly wrapped his arms around her small frame and hugged her.

And then...

POOF! (naw, j/k. that didn't really happen)

nothing. No poof, no smoke, NO cat. Nothing happened, he hadn't transformed.

"O-oh my Kami-sama." Tohru said with shock etched into her face as she slowly wrapped her arms around Kyo's built figure. "I-it worked?" She asked in disbelief. "It worked." She said to herself as if answering her own question and squeezing Kyo as if he was her only lifeline. In a way he was.

Kyo crushed her to him as tightly as possible without hurting her. In all of his life, he never thought he'd ever be able to hold a girl this close to him. It was a dream that would never come true. A privilege he never had the opportunity to earn. And now he was holding, not just any girl. But the girl of his dreams. Tohru.

"Finally. I thought I'd never be able to do this with you. It's almost too good to be true." He said quietly as he placed his chin atop her head.

"But it's real." Tohru said as she pulled away slightly and gently grabbed both sides of his face with her hands. "Kyo it's REAL! You don't know how happy I am!" She said before hugging him tightly around the neck. "I could stay like this all night." She said quietly. They stood there for what seemed like forever. But they didn't mind. They had waited forever to be able to do what they were doing now. Her eyes softened greatly from just being able to hear his heartbeat for the first time. It almost put her to sleep. But noticing her change in awareness, Kyo spoke, breaking the calm, comfortable silence.

"Hey you, you still awake?" He asked as he nudged her into a somewhat conscious state.

She laughed as she answered and pulled away from his embrace. "...barely."

He smiled at her as she looked up at him. "Come on, I bet everyone'swondering where we went off to. Not to mention by now you've most likely-"

ACHOO!

He smirked. "Gotten a cold."

She blushed prettily at him. "I haven't gotten a cold. I'm perfectly...perfectly-ACHOO!"

"Fine?" He smirked at her again.

"Eheheh..." She laughed embarrasedly.

"Come on," He said taking her hand and walking towards the frozen waterfall where they had entered. "lets get back before you get any worse." He took off his jacket and held it out towards her. "Here, take this. It'll help."

Tohru gasped. "Kyo no, put your jacket back on. You'll get sick!" She protested.

He nudged it to her, trying to give it to her once more. "I'll be fine. I don't need it as much as you do. Just take it so you don't get any more sick than you already are." He said as he put it over her shoulders for her. Once finished, he stepped back and looked at her. "Besides, it looks good on you." He said smirking at her with his jacket on her. It was way too big. The bottom of the jacket went to just above her knees. When she slipped her arms into the sleeves, he could barely see her fingertips.

She sighed "Alright. I give." She said too tired to protest.

He grinned at her. "Good." At that, he grasped her jacket-hidden hand and began to walk back through the crystal infested cavern. Once they got through that part of the journey, Kyo removed his hand from hers and placed his arm around her waist, holding her as they walked. Tohru looked up at him and smiled. When he smiled a smile at her of pure contentment, she layed her head on his shoulder and closed her eyes as she walked. Getting drowsier with every step she took.

Kyo noticed her falling asleep again and stopped. Tohru, not expecting him to stop, kept going until she felt herself not able to move forward anymore. She opened her eyes and looked at him.

"Is something wrong Kyo?" She asked him looking up at him with sleepy eyes.

Instead of answering her question, he scooped her up bridal-style and began walking once again.

At first she protested, but the sound of Kyo's beating heart in her ear once again served as her lullaby as she was once again pulled into sleep.

When Kyo arrived at the lodge, he found that he had been correct in suspecting that everyone had been wondering about what their whereabouts were. And once Yuki and Shigure noticed that it was Tohru who was snuggled up in Kyo's jacket in his arms, they sent him questioning glances and shock etched their features.

Kyo, who could practically hear the questions going through their thoughts, spoke first.

"I'll tell you in the morning guys." He said, and when he recieved a not from both Yuki and Shigure, began walking towards Tohru's room, leaving both Sohma's who were frozen in place from shock.

After Kyo had disappeared down the hall and was no longer in sight, it was Yuki who spoke first. His voice directed to Shigure.

"You saw that too. Right?" He said turning to his elder cousin who was next to him and recieved a nod. "I see." He said and looked back to where Kyo once was and his shocked gaze turned into one of happiness and contentment. He smiled sweetly and, as his back was still to everyone, he turned his head slightly to the side, showing his smile. "Goodnight everyone. I'll see you in the morning." He began to chuckle in the middle of his last sentence. At that, he too went to his room, as did Shigure, who also had a smile gracing his features. And for once, it was one of happiness, and not when he gets a perverted thought. No, he...for the first time really...was happy.

Once the two Sohma's had retreated to their rooms, Arisa, who was also in the lounge area when Kyo walked in with Tohru, asked to herself. "I wonder why those two were so shocked to see Orange-Top with Tohru?" She then got up from the sofa she was on and went to her room.

Meanwhile, in Tohru's room.

Kyo walked in and layed Tohru on her bed gently without waking her once he got her to her room. As she lay there, sleeping in his jacket which he decided not to remove from her, he thought to himself, 'wow, she really is cute when she sleeps.' He smiled and tenderly kissed her on the cheek before leaving her to sleep in peace. Unknown to the pair of eyes who had watched the entire sweet scene unfold. Saki smiled to herself before closing her own eyes and going back to sleep.

Well, what do ya think? hopefully noone has given up on this one. I know im not very good atkeeping this one updated, but i've had to rewrite it. hopefully you all dont hate me. but heres a peace offering. i really hope you like this chappie. its not very long, but i needed to give you guys something. i love you all! mwuah! kisses for all! throws chocolate kisses at you i'll see you all soon. (maybe) and in the next chapter, i might put my myspace. it makes it soo much easier to talk about fanfics and stuff. pluss its fun! haha. well all, i'll type to ya later. read and review. i love reviews. who doesnt! haha well, toodles all. mwuah again.

-heart- jessica