Noa lay on the floor of the small cramped 'house' in agony. She hadn't had anything to eat in at least a day, but she had lost track of time after about a week locked up. For all she knew, it had been longer than a day since her last meal.

She was sick and hungry and tired. And cold. So, so cold.

She had forced herself to hold on for Yuta and Akito and Yuki's sakes. She needed to be there for them.

But she could only hold on for so long. And it was getting harder and harder to keep holding on.

Voices sounded outside. She had long since given up hope of any of those voices hearing her. Some genius must've made the Cat's Room soundproof.

It wouldn't matter anyway. She no longer had the strength to call out for anyone.

Down below a mere fifty feet away, Kazuma entered through the main gates.

"Master Kazuma," Shima greeted with a polite bow.

"Hello," Kazuma replied. "Where is Akito?"

"In his room."

"Thank you."

Kazuma went to the largest house on the estate and approached the shoji to Akito's room before politely knocking on it.

"Akito?"

"What is it?" Akito snapped. She turned to look at Kazuma and gave a small smile. He noticed that it wasn't like the usual sadistic smiles Akito gave. This one was…tired. "Oh, Kazuma, what do you want?"

"I haven't seen Noa recently, and Yuta mentioned to me that it looked like she hadn't been home for a while. I was wondering if you'd seen her at all."

"No. That stupid woman stopped visiting me. It appears she was mistaken. She would not always be by my side after all."

"Akito, do you honestly believe that?"

Akito looked out of the window in the room and didn't answer. She really didn't know what to believe. After all the work Noa put into caring for her, it didn't seem like her to just up and stop coming to see her with no warning. But the other more dominating part of Akito's brain told her that she wasn't worth Noa's time and that her departure from her life was inevitable.

"I think something's wrong," Kazuma stated. "No one has heard from her in several days. Not me, not Yuki, not you, not even her son."

"Well, what do you want me to do about it?! If that woman chooses to abandon us, then she is no longer any of my concern."

"You really think she just up and left."

"Well, what else could she—"

Akito suddenly stopped speaking when she noticed something outside the window. A servant carried a tray of food…towards the Cat's Room.

Without a word to Kazuma, Akito rushed out of the house and outside to the servant. By the time she reached her, the servant had already made it up to the solitary room secluded from the rest of the estate.

"What are you doing?" Akito asked sharply.

The young female servant nearly jumped out of her skin at the sound of her 'master's' voice. "Oh, M-Master Akito…"

"Why do you have food, and why are you bringing it here? This place is off-limits."

"Uh, of course, sir."

"No one is supposed to be in that room. No one in their right mind wants to be in that room."

"Yes, sir."

"So who is in there right now?"

"Uh…"

The young girl looked about ready to pass out from the anxiety of getting caught by the head of the family.

"Give me the key to the room," Akito ordered.

The girl quickly put down the tray of food and handed Akito the small silver key. It was the only one in existence so that only one person could be in control of the Cat.

Kazuma came up the steps behind Akito, his eyes going to the shaking maid.

…It couldn't be, could it?

Akito unlocked the door to the place and opened it.

Her eyes shot open in horror as she raced inside.

"…Noa?" she said quietly as she knelt down next to the woman.

She looked awful…

Her face was deeply flushed and it was clear she had lost a good amount of weight. Akito placed a hand to her head. She was burning up.

Noa's eyes squinted in the harsh new light. She looked up and smiled weakly. "Akito. Thank goodness."

Akito felt a rage boil up inside of her unlike anything she had felt before which was saying something because she had spent most of her life feeling angry.

"What is this meaning of this?!" she screeched to the servant.

"It wasn't me!" the maid pleaded. "It was…it was Shima! She ordered us to do this!"

"Why did you go along with it?!"

"She said it was what you wanted!"

"Why would I want this?!"

The maid finally burst into tears. "I was just following orders!"

Kazuma rushed inside and went to the other side of Noa. "Akito, we'll deal with this later. Go get Hatori. We need to get her some help."

Akito was never one to take orders very well, but for once, she did as she was told. She ran outside the horrid room and went to find her beloved cousin who always seemed to know what to do in any situation.

Akito slammed open the door to his office. "Hatori!"

Hatori turned expecting to see Akito as angry as she always was, but he was thoroughly surprised when he saw that she was crying.

"Akito, what's wrong?"

"It's…it's Noa! You have to help her!"

"What happened to Noa?"

"She was locked up in the Cat's Room! I don't know for how long, but she…she looks so sick…"

Hatori quickly ran out of his office and up the long set of stairs that led to the isolated place.

Sure enough, Akito's words were true. When he walked inside past a sobbing servant, he found Kazuma cradling Noa in his arms. She looked extremely pale and feverish. She must've been trapped up here for weeks. How was it possible that no one had noticed a person locked up mere feet away from them?

"She needs a hospital. We'll take my car. Hurry. Be careful with her."

Kazuma wondered how Hatori could possibly be so calm in a situation like this, but he supposed it was doctor's job to stay calm no matter the circumstances.

Kazuma carefully lifted Noa up into his arms and exited the Cat's Room.

Her head weakly fell against his chest, and he could feel her slightly trembling in his hold.

Just how long had she been forced to suffer like this?

"I'm so sorry, Noa," he said softly as he carried her to Hatori's awaiting car. "Just hold on a little bit longer."

For the first time in a long time, Noa felt beautiful warmth. She could feel the warm sun touch her skin along with the heat from Kazuma seeping through his yukata.

She was vaguely aware of someone putting her inside the backseat of a vehicle, but after that, her mind knew no more.

Noa slowly opened her eyes and found herself staring up at a white ceiling. She started to sit up when a deep familiar voice said firmly, "Careful. You have an IV."

The woman looked at her hand and found that she did indeed have an IV inserted into it.

"Don't move. You're still weak."

Hatori gently pressed on her shoulder to get her to lie back down.

"You're inside a Sohma-owned hospital. I've been monitoring you since you were admitted yesterday. Are you feeling any better?"

"I…I need to see Akito," Noa mustered out.

"I can't allow you to see anyone right now. You're still in pretty bad shape."

"Please."

Hatori sighed heavily. "All right. But only for a few minutes."

The young doctor left the room. Shortly afterwards, the door opened and Akito slowly stepped inside.

Noa smiled weakly. "Hey, there."

Akito looked at the floor and avoided eye contact with her.

"Come over here."

The young woman slowly approached the bedside and finally looked up. "Why aren't you mad?"

"Akito, this was not your fault."

"Yes, it was. When you stopped showing up, I just thought you had abandoned me. And the whole time…you were locked up inside that horrible room."

"There was no way you could've known I was trapped in there."

Tears started to form in Akito's eyes. "I should've! A family head is supposed to know everything that happens on the estate." She wiped away a tear that had fallen down her cheek. "Please, just…yell at me. Hit me! Do something! You have to be angry with me!"

"Akito, calm down. It's okay. I was partially to blame for what happened. In a family who relies so much on tradition, I think I was trying to change things too fast."

Akito nervously rubbed her arms.

"You know, I'm actually…rather proud of you."

"You're what?"

"I was pretty out of it, but I did see how you handled the situation when you discovered where I was. You used your words and didn't immediately resort to violence when you were angry. That's good."

"I…I wanted to though. I wanted so badly to hit that girl."

"But you didn't."

"I don't understand you."

Noa smiled again. "I still care about you. Nothing you could ever do will make me stop caring about you."

Hatori stepped back inside the room. "Akito, it's time to go. Noa needs rest."

Akito backed away from the bed to let Noa return to her sleep so her body could continue to heal from all of the trauma.

"Master Akito?" Shima called through the shoji.

"Enter," Akito answered.

Shima pulled back the door and entered the room. "I was told you wanted to see me."

Akito lay on the floor with her back to Shima, but she slowly stood up when the door closed. "You locked up Noa in the Cat's Room," she said lowly.

"I did it to protect you from her."

Akito furiously spun around. "Protect me?!"

"You were running things just fine around here before that stupid woman got involved in your affairs! I had to intervene for your sake."

"You almost killed her!"

"It was only a temporary arrangement to ensure her compliance."

"One more day in that hellhole and she might've died! She was sick and starving!"

"The old you never would've defended someone like that. I only did what you would've ordered me to do."

Akito gasped lightly. Shima's words pierced right through her heart because…they were true. The old Akito would've done something like that to another person. Maybe not to such an extent, but she would've done it.

That sickened her.

"Get out."

"Excuse me?" Shima exclaimed.

"I said get out! You are now forbidden from ever setting foot on Sohma property! I never want to see your face around here again!"

Shima glared at her. "You are making a mistake."

"The biggest mistake I ever made was listening to my mother and to you."

"Master Akito—"

"No, you know what? From now on, it's Miss Akito."

"I have lived and served at Sohma house for decades. Where will I go?"

"That is not my problem."

"Master Akito—"

Akito threw a vase at her which just narrowly missed her head. "Just get out! NOW!"

With one final glare, Shima exited the room.

Yuki held his head in his hands as he anxiously sat in a chair in the waiting room to hear news about Noa's condition.

Yuta sat in the chair next to him, leaning back against the wall with his arms crossed.

"I'm so sorry…" Yuki said quietly.

Yuta looked over at the boy in confusion. "For what?"

"I was supposed to look out for her. When you left for college, you told me that it was my job since you wouldn't be around as often. I worked so hard to do that…but I failed."

"Yuki," Yuta said gently. "That's not true. The one to blame is me."

Yuki looked up at him with wide eyes. "What?"

"I'm her son. I should've gotten in contact with her sooner or realized something was wrong when she didn't answer the house phone several days in a row."

"You couldn't have known about this. You didn't even know that place existed at the main estate. I did."

"And Hatori said that it's always been abandoned. Besides, you're never at the main estate anyway. Look, Yuki, don't blame yourself for this. Mom won't want you to, and you know that." He uncrossed his arms and leaned forward so he could look him in the eye. "You took great care of Mom. It's been three and a half years since I started attending university. And ever since then, my mother has had you looking out for her. I couldn't have asked for anyone better for her." He put his arm around the boy's shoulders. "You know, Yuki, I've kind of always thought of you as the little brother I always wanted. I hope that's not too weird."

Yuki couldn't believe what he was hearing. He knew he had an older brother of his own, but things had been so rocky between them for their entire lives. Ayame hadn't wanted him at all years ago, and while he was somewhat trying to make amends now, he still came off much too strongly.

But for Yuta to say that he thought of him as a younger brother…? It took their friendship to a completely different level, and he might've cried if he wasn't so overjoyed.

When Noa once again opened her eyes, she looked to her right and found Kazuma sitting in a chair against the wall.

He quickly went to her side when he saw that she was awake. "Hey, how are you feeling?"

"Better," she answered softly as she sat up a little. "How is everyone? Is Yuta okay? What about Yuki and Akito?"

"Shh, calm down," Kazuma said gently as he took her hand being careful to avoid touching her IV. "Everyone's fine. They're all just worried about you."

"You…you came looking for me."

"I'm so sorry I didn't come sooner. I should've known something was up when you didn't come to the dojo. I just assumed you were busy and couldn't find the time."

"I waited so long in there…and no one came. But you…you were the one to look for me." Noa felt a tear slide down her cheek. "You found me."

Kazuma gently wiped the tear from her face. "You're okay now."

"I was so scared. I…I thought I was going to die in there."

He wrapped his arms around her as she cried. How long had it been since she cried? How long had it been since she'd cried in front of someone?

Because she was a single mother and because of her heart for others, Noa spent so much time taking care of everyone around her. Kazuma wondered how long it had been since she had had someone to hold her and comfort her and tell her things were going to be okay.

Suddenly, he never wanted to leave her side. He wanted to always be there to hold her when she cried and wipe away all of her tears. He never wanted her to be alone and scared ever again.

Kazuma resumed sitting on the chair and clasped her hand in both of his own. "Please forgive me for not realizing something was wrong."

"It's not your fault. Thank you for bringing me back into the light." She took a deep breath and then said quietly, "Kazuma, there's something I have to tell you."

"What is it?"

"I…I know about Kyo."

"What do you mean?"

"I know about the zodiac curse and that's he been cursed with the spirit of the cat."

Kazuma looked at her in surprise. "You know?"

"I've known ever since I first met Yuki. I promised to keep it a secret so that Hatori wouldn't erase my memories. But I told Akito all about it, and he allowed me to keep all of them. So I think it's only fair to the both of you that you know I'm aware of the whole thing."

Kazuma smiled fondly at her as he lightly ran his fingers over a strand of her hair. "You always continue to amaze me, Noa Kaneko."

Noa smiled back at him.

He stood up from the chair. "Yuta and Yuki are outside. Would you like to see them?"

Noa's eyes brightened. "Yes!"

"I'll go get them then."

He left the room and Noa sat up a little and wiped her eyes so the two boys wouldn't realize she'd been crying.

Not a moment later, the door slid open and Yuta and Yuki rushed inside.

"Noa!" Yuki exclaimed, resisting every urge to throw his arms around her.

"Mom! Are you okay?"

"Did Akito do this to you?"

"I should've known! I'm so sorry!"

"I should've looked for you!"

"Boys," Kazuma said quietly but firmly. "Don't overwhelm her."

Noa smiled a little at the two boys in front of her. "I'm fine. Everyone keeps blaming themselves. What happened was Shima's fault and Shima's alone."

"Shima?" Yuki said in surprise. "Our maid did this to you? Why would she do that?"

"She believed I was interfering too much with the Sohma family. She told me I was changing Akito and he was better off before he met me."

"That's ridiculous."

"I have to agree."

Yuta was confused that his mother referred to Akito as a male until he recalled that neither Kazuma nor Yuki knew her true gender. "When are you getting out of here?" he asked.

"Hatori said I can be discharged in a couple days once I get my nutrients back and start eating well again."

"I'm glad you're okay."

"You can't get rid of me that easily. I'd like to speak with Yuki alone."

"Yeah, sure."

Kazuma and Yuta left the room while Yuki sat in the chair next to her bed.

"Akito had no knowledge of this whatsoever," she told him. "He's been responsible for a lot of things, but not this. Don't blame him, okay?"

Yuki wanted to find every reason to blame Akito, but he couldn't do it. He didn't know if it was Noa's words or the curse itself that made him unable to be mad at Akito for what had happened to her.

"I need to tell you something. I told Akito I know about the zodiac curse."

Yuki's eyes widened in horror. "What? Why would you do that?"

"Because he needed to know that someone outside the Sohma family cared about him, curse and all. And you know what? He still allowed me to keep all my memories. Even if he hadn't, I wouldn't have let Hatori get close enough to remove them."

"Why would he let you keep them?"

"When he stayed with me, I think I managed to get through to him just a little bit. You should've seen his face when he found me inside the Cat's Room."

Yuki couldn't imagine Akito being horrified at anything other than someone refusing him.

Noa put her hand to the side of his face. "He's changing. He's not the same Akito you used to know. I'm not saying that I expect everything to be okay between you two now, but he's slowly beginning to see that what he did to you was wrong."

He found it hard to believe that someone was capable of changing the hard-headed Akito, but at the same time, he also found it hard to believe that someone could come in contact with Noa and not become a better person afterwards.

Everything she did, even the hard things, she did out of love.

For the thousandth time, he wished he had been born into her family instead of his own.

One of the younger maids working in Sohma house, Rina, carefully exited the estate, making sure no one saw where she was going.

"Why did you need to meet with me?" she asked the older woman once they were a good enough distance away from the main house. "I could get in a lot of trouble if someone finds me out here with you."

Shima's face hardened. "You agree that Miss Kaneko needs to be dealt with, don't you?"

"If this is anything like what you did to the poor woman for the last month, I'm not interested. You took things way too far."

"Maybe I did. But it was for Master Akito's own good."

"That line is really blurring for you. And she wants to be called Miss Akito now."

"Just listen to what I have to say. I know a way to get Noa out of Master Akito's life forever without harming her."

"Well, what about her son?"

"You must deal with the root of the problem before taking care of the weeds."

"…I'm listening."

"This is what you need to do."