"Oh, hello, Miss Kaneko," Rina politely greeted.

"Hi, Rina. Is Akito in her room?"

"Yes, ma'am. But I think there's something wrong. She's been awfully quiet today."

"Oh? Thank you for letting me know."

Noa went up to Akito's room and knocked on the shoji before pulling it back. Akito's back was to her as she sat on the other side of the room where the door opened to reveal their garden.

She quietly came over to sit next to her.

Akito didn't say anything for several minutes, so they sat in comfortable silence.

"I want to release everyone from the curse," Akito finally stated.

Of all the things Akito could've said in this moment, Noa had not been prepared for that statement.

"You can do that? Why now all of a sudden?"

"The curse has been weakening for years. It's why Hatori's zodiac form is a seahorse not an actual dragon. And right now…Kureno, Momiji, and Hiro have all been released from it already."

"They have? How?"

"I don't know for sure. I didn't think it was even possible for it to be broken in the first place. Or maybe that was just me trying to hold on to something I shouldn't have. But I think…the time has come for me to say good-bye."

"Does it hurt when it happens?"

"Not really. I just feel…an overwhelming sense of…loneliness."

Noa nodded a little. Then she moved closer to the young woman. "I am going to be right here next to you the whole time."

Akito looked over at her, and Noa realized just how much the usually domineering woman seemed to resemble a scared child. "Promise?"

"I promise. I won't leave your side for a second."

"Noa…I don't think…I could do this without you."

Noa smiled a little. "Just go ahead whenever you're ready."

Akito took a deep breath and closed her eyes.

Good-bye…my precious zodiac…

Kyo stopped walking along the path with Tohru mid-step.

"Kyo?" she asked when she realized he had ceased walking. She quickly ran up to him when she saw he had tears in his eyes. "What is it? What's wrong?"

Without another word, Kyo took Tohru into his arms and hugged her tightly.

"Wait, Kyo, don't! You'll—"

She stopped when there was no poof! or transformation.

"…Kyo?"

Kyo said nothing. He only clung onto her tighter.

Tohru began crying as well as she wrapped her arms around him.

"Hey, boss!" Mine smiled as she came into the room. "I just finished making some tea! Want some?"

Ayame remained silent as he got off the couch and came over to her.

"Boss…?"

The white-haired man wrapped his arms around Mine and kissed her forehead.

"B-Boss?" Mine stuttered.

"I've wanted to tell you for so long, my darling Mine. I love you. I've always been in love with you."

Mine gasped lightly. She ran her hands through his long hair and looked up at him. "I…as well. My Ayame."

Ayame gently pressed his lips to hers.

A crash sounded throughout the house.

"Ritsu?!" Okami called. "What happened?! Are you all right?!"

A broken flowerpot lay at Ritsu's feet.

Tears streamed down his eyes of their own accord. He wasn't even sure why he was crying. This feeling was so…bittersweet. He had wanted to be free of this curse for so long, but now that he was, he also felt kind of…lonely.

Okami came up to him with a sad smile once she understood what had happened.

Then for the very first time, she got to envelop her son into a tight hug.

"It's all right," she said softly.

Ritsu clung onto her, using her touch to fight away the loneliness.

Two tears made their way down Akito's cheeks.

Noa moved closer to her and took her hand. Akito immediately started squeezing it tightly. Noa gently rubbed her thumb over her skin.

She wished the whole process wasn't so difficult for Akito, but it had to be done.

While playing with Hiro and his new baby sister whom he could now hold freely, Kisa started to weep.

"Kisa, what is it?!" Hiro exclaimed. "Are you hurt?!"

Kisa wiped her eyes. "No. It's just…good-byes can be so hard."

Immediately understanding what was going on, Hiro put his arm around the girl he loved dearly. He knew the feeling all too well of being released from the zodiac curse, and it was a confusing one indeed.

"It's okay to feel upset," he said softly. "But I'm here." He held up his little sister. "Hinata is too."

Kisa hugged the both of them tightly and wept onto Hiro's shoulder.

While walking down the sidewalk, Kagura suddenly felt tears rolling down her cheeks.

She gave a sad smile at the contradictory feeling inside her.

"It's finally time, is it?" she said to herself. "How…bittersweet."

Rin began to cry without fully understanding the reason why. It took a moment for her to grasp the strange mixed feeling in her heart, but once she did, she didn't fully know how to react. She looked at Hatsuharu across from her with wide eyes.

"The curse…" she said softly. "It's…gone?"

Hatsuharu said nothing.

Rin placed her hand to the side of his face. "Haru…we're free."

Hatsuharu opened his eyes and smiled at her. He lifted his hand up and wiped away her tears.

Rin threw her arms around his neck and wept tears of joy and bitterness. She couldn't understand why she felt somewhat sad about losing the bond after all the trouble it had caused her. But then, this bond was a strong one, and no matter how much she detested it, there was something upsetting about losing a bond such as that one.

It didn't matter anymore. She and her beloved Haru were finally free.

Hatori headed back to his office at the main estate.

Suddenly, he froze in his tracks and put his hand to his eyes as tears made their way down his cheeks.

It felt strange for him to cry since he was never really one to show much emotion.

"Such a strange feeling…" he mused as he leaned against the wall.

Akito let out a sob.

Saying good-bye to so many people at once…it hurt her very soul even if people had previously joked that she didn't have one when they thought she couldn't hear.

It hurt so much.

Noa let go of her hand and put one arm around the girl's shoulder. She held her tightly in her protective embrace as she continued to experience the pain of leaving.

Shigure walked down the path back to his home when he stopped. He put his hand to his chest as his heart ached.

He gave a small smirk.

"So, my dear Akito," he said to himself. "It appears you've finally learned to let go."

He continued walking down the path.

Yuki nervously sat on a bench as he waited for Machi to arrive.

Today was the day he planned to tell her about the curse. He really cared about her, maybe even loved her, but he couldn't hope to make her his if she didn't know the truth.

"President!" Machi called as she ran over. "I'm sorry I took so long! I hope I didn't keep you waiting!"

"No," Yuki smiled kindly. "I'm sorry to call you here so suddenly."

"It's fine. Did you have something to tell me?"

Yuki started to respond, but the next thing he knew, tears were pouring out of his eyes beyond his control.

"President?!" Machi exclaimed. "What's wrong?! Was it something I said?! Oh, I'm so sorry!"

"No," Yuki told her softly as he wiped his eyes. "I'm sorry, it's just that…I've said good-bye to someone I was very close to. I didn't even really like this person, and yet I'm crying like this. It's so strange."

"It's not strange," Machi said with a small smile. "Whether you liked this person or not, you were still close with them, right? Sometimes, it can be really hard to say good-bye like that. It's like…when someone you never really got along with passes away, you still feel the need to mourn for them."

Yuki smiled. This girl seemed to understand him more than anyone else, even when she had no idea what the situation really was.

He stepped forward and hugged the girl much to her surprise.

"You have no idea how long I've wanted to do this," he said quietly.

Machi blushed deeply.

Yuki pulled away and then took her chin in his fingers before giving her a gentle kiss.

Akito opened her eyes, tears streaming from them.

My Cat, my Snake, my Monkey, my Tiger, my Boar, my Horse, my Cow, my Dragon, my Dog, and you…my precious, precious Rat…good-bye.

Akito freely began to sob.

Noa quickly wrapped her arms around the girl and pulled her close. She gently started rubbing the back of her head.

"It's okay," she said softly. "I'm here. I'm right here. You did such a good job."

"Is it okay?" Akito choked out through the sobs. "Is it okay…to just be me now?"

"Of course it is."

Akito clung onto Noa tightly as she cried her heart out. The pain in her chest at losing the bonds she had built her entire life around was almost enough to overwhelm her.

Almost.

But Noa's presence was just enough to peek through the dark cloud of loneliness and isolation that hung over her which she had always done everything she could to avoid.

She wasn't sure when she stopped crying because of the painful lonely feeling.

But as she sobbed in Noa's arms, she continued to cry because she finally had a mother to hold her when it felt like her world had come crashing down on her and be there to tell everything was going to be okay.

She thought back to the conversation she had had yesterday…

"It's a pleasure to see you again, Mister Akito!" Tohru exclaimed as she bowed.

Akito smiled a little at the girl. "You can call me 'Miss'. I know Kureno told you my secret."

Tohru's eyes widened. "I'm so sorry, I know you didn't want anyone to find out! But don't worry, I haven't told anyone that I know! I promise!"

It appeared she had not changed much since their last meeting. Akito internally winced as she recalled that day. To Tohru, she had been kind on the outside but in truth, she had acted horribly, repeatedly calling her ugly and undesirable behind her back even though she knew it was the exact opposite of the truth.

And the things she had said to her precious Rat…

"Although, I would prefer we drop formalities entirely," she continued.

"If that's what you want, um, Akito. Um…may I ask why you wanted to see me?"

"I…I thought it may be better to meet under the new circumstances when you know who I really am. I was…not exactly nice to you last time."

"Oh, no, you were very polite! It was me who wasn't nice! I shouldn't have pushed you like I did!"

"I deserved it. And if Noa had seen the way I spoke to Yuki, she would've done much worse."

Tohru quietly giggled, only imagining the kinds of things Noa would've said to the young woman for scaring him so much.

"I was…afraid," Akito quietly admitted.

"Afraid? Afraid of what?"

"You were so beautiful. Inside and out. And I was afraid that…you were going to take everyone away from me."

Tohru looked at the young woman sadly. It was hard to believe this fragile girl had ruled everyone with twisted malice just months before. "Miss Akito…I mean, Akito…if I'm beautiful, then so are you."

Akito looked at her in surprise.

"I came into the Sohma family's lives and started to unintentionally break apart your world. It hurt you, and I'm very sorry. I think both of us were trying so hard to hold onto the past. But the thing about the past is that it will always stay in the past and no matter how hard we try, it won't be able to become the future."

Akito smiled a little. "Are you talking about Kyo?"

Tohru's face turned several shades of scarlet. "What?! Um, no! I mean, kind of? I mean…!"

"I know he has very strong feelings for you. May I ask…what it was you were trying to hold on to?"

Tohru gave her a sad smile. "I lost my mother a little over a year ago. I wanted her to always be the first person in my heart, but…time has passed, and I've come to see that…Kyo is slowly taking her place. I don't love her any less, but…I think it's time for me to let go and move on from the past."

With those words, Akito knew what she had to do.

Once Akito's crying ceased, she finally pulled away from Noa.

"I'm going to make a quick phone call, okay?" Noa said. "I'll be right back."

"Okay," Akito answered quietly.

Noa got up and went over to the phone in the main house. Then she dialed Yuta's number.

"Hello?" his voice answered.

"Hey, Yuta, I need a favor."

"Hey, Mom, name it."

"Akito's had a really tough time today, and I don't want to leave her alone right now, but there's somewhere I really need to go. Could you come spend some time with her for a little while?"

"Yeah, no problem. I'll be there in twenty."

"Thanks, hon!"

True to his word, Yuta arrived at the main estate in the specified amount of time.

He knocked on the shoji and pulled it back. "Hey, Akito," he smiled kindly.

She looked up at him before quickly looking away. "Why did you bring him here?" she asked Noa angrily.

She most definitely did not want Yuta to see her like this!

"If there's anyone who can cheer you up, it's him. I have to be somewhere, but he's going to stay with you for now, okay?"

Yuta came over and sat down near her. "I brought a new book for you. We can take a look at it together."

Noa rubbed her hair affectionately. "I'll be back tomorrow, I promise."

She got up and left the room so the two of them could be alone.

For now, she needed to go somewhere very important.

She headed over to Shigure's house. Once she approached, she saw Yuki just returning from wherever it was he had been.

"Yuki!" she called.

Yuki turned at the sound of his name. "Oh, Noa, what brings you here?"

Noa slowly walked up to him. Then she threw her arms around him and hugged him tightly.

"Noa…?"

"I know the curse broke. I wanted to finally be able to hug you."

Yuki's heart leapt in his chest. He put his arms around the woman who had become a mother to him.

How many times had he longed for this affectionate touch, to feel loved, to feel assured that she cared, to feel safe in her arms?

And now…after all these years, he finally got to experience it.

A mother's hug.