Two Years Later

Yuta quickly slung his backpack over his shoulder. "Bye, Mom!" he said as he gave his mother a quick kiss on the cheek.

"Bye, Yuta! Good luck on your test!"

Yuta walked out onto the porch and hopped down the steps before taking took off outside of the gate. Noa crossed her arms to fight the chilly morning air as she walked to the gate to see him off still wearing her plaid pajama bottoms. She lightly tied her messy bedhead hair into a side braid and almost missed the boy with very familiar silver hair walking past her house.

"Yuki?"

The boy looked up at the sound of his name. "Miss Kaneko?"

"You can still call me Noa. Miss Kaneko makes me sound so old. Wow, it's been a long time. You've…you've grown up."

Noa observed the boy in front of her. He was different than the boy she had cared for a couple years ago. It was his eyes where she noticed the most change. They were darker and somewhat lifeless.

Not for the first time, she wondered what would've happened if she had decided to intervene back then and had not let Yuki go back to his home. Maybe his eyes would still hold the same innocence they had then.

"Not running away again, are you?" she asked with a small smile, attempting to lighten the mood.

"No. My mother and the servants are busy this morning, so I just decided to walk to school."

"By yourself?"

"Yes. It's not that far."

It was far enough that he really shouldn't be alone. But it was only a couple more blocks and driving him would just take longer and make him late.

"It, um, it was good to see you again," she told him. "Good luck at school."

"Thank you."

She watched as he continued on his way and ended up going to the primary school next to Yuta's high school. Sighing, she returned back inside, unable to get Yuki's hopeless darkened eyes out of her mind.

Around 3:30 after classes were done for the day, Noa went out onto the porch to wait for her son's return.

However, Yuki ended up passing by her house again before Yuta did.

"Yuki," she called.

Yuki turned and gave her a polite wave.

She once again crossed her arms and walked over to the gate. "Do you maybe…want to come stay with me for a few days?"

Yuki's eyes widened. "Why?"

"I just…think it would be good for you to get out of Sohma house for a little while."

He turned away from her. "Akito would never let me."

"You let me worry about that. Is that something you wanna do?"

He looked back up at her, and for the first time all day, she saw a little bit of light peek through the cloudiness in his eyes. "Yes."

Noa smiled warmly. "Great. Come on, I'll drive you home and see about getting permission to have you over."

She made the drive in almost no time, having memorized the route from before. Then she and Yuki got out of her car and approached the large set of wooden doors.

A servant different from the one before opened the door on the left. "Oh, Yuki, you've returned." She looked up at Noa. "May I help you, ma'am?"

"I would like to speak with the head of the household."

"Master Akito is in no position for an audience right now. He's fallen ill."

"Then let me speak with the next person in charge because this is important."

"If you are not a Sohma, you have no right to be making demands."

"It concerns a Sohma, so that's the next best thing, isn't it?"

The servant sighed and then opened the door to allow the both of them inside. "I suppose Master Hatori will have to do then."

Noa's heart skipped a beat. Hatori was the one who erased memories. But if Yuki had followed through, no one was aware she knew their family secret. She would just have to make sure she didn't let him get close enough to touch her.

The servant led her inside one of the houses. "Wait in this room. He'll be right with you."

While Yuki sat behind her, Noa took a seat on the hard wooden floor waiting for this Hatori person.

She was surprised when a young man of 20 walked into the room. She didn't know what exactly she had been expecting, but definitely someone a little bit older. She began to wonder how old Akito was.

"I was told I needed to meet with you," the man said in a rich baritone voice that made him seem much older than 20. He sat down on his knees in front of her.

Remaining wary of him though refusing to show it, she politely answered, "Yes, the servant said Akito was unwell, so I would talk to you instead."

"I don't have much authority over the household, but I'll listen to what you want and privately confer with Akito."

"Well, to put it plainly, I want Yuki to come stay at my house for a little while."

Hatori's eyebrows rose. "And why is that?"

"Two years ago, Yuki passed by my house having an asthmatic fit, and I cared for him before taking him home. I enjoyed having him over, and I would like to host him again when he is not feeling sick."

"We don't know you. Why should I allow this? Something could happen to him."

"I am a single mother with a son of my own at home who has grown up to be a fine young man. My parenting and hosting skills are not an issue. My son also attends the high school right next to Yuki's which is very close to my house so he would have someone to walk with in the morning. And since I know how to treat asthma since my son used to suffer from it, I will be able to care for him should he have another fit. He'll be in very good hands."

Hatori remained doubtful, but he also knew that with Akito's recent abuse that had only become worse as the days went on, it would be best for Yuki to get away from him for a little while. It wasn't difficult to see that everything Akito did was taking a large toll on the boy.

The only problem was that this woman had to have Akito's permission before taking Yuki anywhere, and the odds of that were extremely unlikely. And as much as he wanted to allow Yuki to go, it was physically impossible for him to disobey Akito.

Hatori stood up. "I will discuss this with Akito. Please wait here."

"I thought he was too sick."

"Too sick to deal with outsiders."

Noa raised an eyebrow. Outsiders? Did these people really think they were so perfect that other people were beneath them? Or was it perhaps just because she was not a member of the zodiac?

Yuki looked at the woman sitting in front of him. No one had ever made this kind of invitation before nor had they come to the house like this to request permission.

Of course, with Hatori going to ask Akito, it was likely he was going to say no, and there wasn't much Noa could do about that.

Hatori pulled back the shoji to Akito's room where the child lay resting on the bed.

"Akito, there's a woman here who wants to let Yuki stay at her house for a few days."

Akito glared up at Hatori.

"She's the same woman who cared for him that time he ran off on his own. It's safe for me to say that she only has the best intentions in mind."

Akito grabbed the nearest object, which ended up being a leftover dish from lunch, and tossed it in his direction. It hit the door and ripped the paper.

"And why should I allow it?" Akito growled. "Why should I allow my precious Yuki to go off with a stranger?"

"She said she wanted to host him while he wasn't sick."

Akito smirked darkly. "Tell that dumb woman there's no way she's taking my precious Rat away from me."

Hatori sighed as Akito flipped back over. He had had a feeling this way going to happen, but he had just hoped that maybe for once, Akito would have a bit of heart. It appeared that wasn't the case.

He returned to the room where Noa was waiting.

Yuki couldn't read Hatori's expression when he came back inside the room. Hatori had always been impossible to read.

"I'm sorry, but Akito refuses to let Yuki go and stay with someone he doesn't know."

Yuki's heart sank. He had been so close to a tiny taste of freedom, but all of his hopes had been quickly dashed. What had he even been expecting? Akito never let him have anything and now wasn't going to be any different.

"I'd like to speak with him myself," Noa stated.

Yuki was surprised she was still fighting this. Most people accepted Akito's words without a second of hesitation. Then again, Noa wasn't a Sohma. She had nothing binding her to what he said.

"Akito cannot meet with anyone," Hatori replied firmly.

"I'll speak with him through the door if it's such a big deal."

"It's not possible right now."

Noa sighed and leaned in closer to him. "I can tell that you want Yuki out of here for just a few days as much as I do. Just give me two minutes with him. That's all I'm asking."

Akito wasn't going to be happy, but it was pretty clear this woman wasn't going to take no for an answer. Maybe…just maybe she would be able to get Akito's permission if she talked with him herself.

"Come with me."

Yuki didn't understand why Noa wanted him to stay with her so badly. What made him so special? Why was she fighting so hard for him? It didn't make any sense!

Hadn't Akito said that no one would ever want him?

Hatori led Noa to Akito's room. "Akito," he said through the door. "Miss Kaneko wants to talk to you."

"Tell that stupid woman I'm too sick!"

Not too sick to yell and call me names, I see, Noa thought. She was stunned to hear that Akito sounded incredibly young. Just how old was this head of the household? He sounded like a child.

And if this Akito was indeed a child…well, then she knew just how to phrase things.

"Just me hear out, please," she told the person inside. "Yuki will only be with me for one week. That's really not very long at all. Just seven little days. And you know, he'll probably end up hating it there and then he'll come running back to you and realize that this is the only place for him. And then he'll never want to leave your side. I mean, you've known him his whole life. I've only known him for a few hours. Chances are that he's not going to like living with someone who doesn't know him."

There was silence inside the room. Then she could hear a small dark chuckle. "You want Yuki so bad? Then fine. Let him go with you. Then he'll see you for what you really are. And he'll realize that he is better off without anyone except me."

Hatori looked at Noa in surprise. He had no idea that she would be capable of changing the hard-headed Akito's mind. He felt like he needed a replay button so he could analyze what exactly had just happened.

While the reasoning behind the decision was rather twisted, at least it was an acceptance of the offer. Something Yuki direly needed.

He just hoped that this woman didn't find out their secret or he would have to wipe her memories, and he didn't know if Yuki could handle having that happen to him again.

"Thank you," Noa said politely. "Yuki will return in one week."

"Unless he decides to come back before then," the voice called back.

"Yes. Unless he wants nothing more to do with me."

Hatori and Noa returned to the room where Yuki anxiously waited for them.

Noa smiled when she came back inside. "Grab your stuff, Yuki."

Yuki's eyes widened and he quickly stood up in surprise. "What? You mean…Akito said it's okay?"

"Yes, he did. You're going to be staying with me for the next week."

A whole week with Noa? A whole week away from Akito? There must've been a catch! It all seemed too good to be true! Why on earth would Akito agree to this? Akito never agreed to anything Yuki wanted.

Noa helped him gather enough belongings for his stay then he eagerly took her hand, and together they walked out of the Sohma house.

Noa smiled at him as she tightened her hold on his hand. "Let's go home."

Home. It was the most beautiful word Yuki had ever heard.