Noa came into the room where Akito was finishing up the preparations for her big day.

"Akito, you look so beautiful," she smiled when she saw the girl dressed in her strapless wedding dress. "Ayame really outdid himself with this one."

Mine adjusted the veil on her head. "My husband is a man of many talents."

"Yuta is so lucky!" Tohru gushed. "You both are!"

Akito looked back in the mirror and admired herself, her heart pounding in her chest. "Thank you, Tohru. I hope he feels the same way."

"I have no doubt he does," Noa assured her. "All right, bridesmaids, I will need some time alone with the bride, so if you please…"

All of the girls politely exited the room. Mine followed suit after making the final adjustments to Akito's dress.

"I am unbelievably happy for the two of you," Noa smiled.

Akito's face flushed. "Noa…what if something goes wrong?"

"We have everyone working to make sure today goes smoothly for you."

"No, not just today. But…what if something goes wrong in our marriage? What if he realizes I'm not the girl he wants? What if he ends up not loving me anymore?"

Noa gently took her hands. "Akito, when Yuta wants something, he will work tirelessly for it. When he gets it, he will do whatever it takes to hold onto it. And when he was dating you, I've never seen him work so hard to hold onto something. You are the most precious thing to him, and I promise that he will hold onto you for the rest of his life."

Akito smiled a little. She still felt nervous, but those words did give her some peace of mind.

Noa lightly tucked a loose strand of hair behind Akito's ear. "You have come such a long way since I first met you. I am extremely proud of you."

"I'm glad that…I'm able to call you my mother from now on."

"You've always been my daughter. This just makes it official."

Noa lightly kissed her on the forehead before tightly hugging her.

"Thank you…for never giving up on me," Akito said quietly.

Noa pulled back and took her hand. "Come on. We mustn't keep your future husband waiting."

Since Akito was the head of such a large family, the wedding was an incredibly huge affair. There were people there that even members of the former zodiac had never met or even knew were part of the family.

Hatori walked her down the aisle and gave her away once the ceremony began. Yuki and some of Yuta's friends from college stayed at Yuta's side as his groomsmen.

The second Yuta saw Akito in her wedding dress, he began to cry. She looked so very beautiful and it was hard to believe that she was about to be his completely. He loved her so much, and he felt like the luckiest man on the face of the earth. He didn't know what he did to deserve her.

Noa watched with tears in her eyes as the two young people she treasured so dearly came together as one.

Once the ceremony was over, everyone attended a reception filled with music and dancing. Akito and Yuta shared their first dance as husband and wife in addition to dancing with Hatori and Noa respectively.

At one point during the evening, Kureno pulled Akito aside away from the music.

"You look beautiful," he smiled.

"Thank you," Akito smiled back.

"Yuta sure is a lucky guy."

"Kureno…I know I caused you a lot of pain in the past, but I do really do appreciate everything you did for me. I'm sorry I tried to hold on for so long."

"It took a lot of courage for you to let go. For both of us to let go. But you did, and look what happened. You're happier than you ever have been."

"And you are too. Arisa's been telling me how much she enjoys being together with you."

Kureno smiled fondly. "I love her very much."

Akito smiled again as she hugged him. "You're a good man, Kureno."

From the side of the room, Yuki watched Akito dance and celebrate with the rest of their friends and family. A small part of him deep down resented Akito for being so happy. Why should she get to be so joyful after everything she had done?

The rest of him knew he was being ridiculous. Akito had worked tirelessly to make amends with everyone, especially him, and he knew very well that she wasn't faking. She had fully admitted she had been wrong and tried desperately to somehow make up for it all.

There were days he felt like it would never be enough and other days where he just wished his life wasn't so complicated.

Akito looked over at her beloved cousin. Noticing his distraught look, she slowly walked over to him and held out her hand.

"Will you…dance with me, Yuki?"

It took a moment for Yuki to process the words leaving her lips. Then he ever so slowly put his hand into her awaiting palm.

The two of them walked out onto the dance floor.

Akito let out a small chuckle as they began to dance. "You're so much taller than me now."

Yuki smiled awkwardly, not fully knowing how to react. It seemed like the person he danced with now and the person who had hurt him in the past were two completely different people. In a way, they were.

"Yuki…I know you probably have mixed feelings about this whole thing. I'm sorry it's that way, and I take full responsibility for it."

"Yuta makes you happy. And I know him. He wouldn't marry you if he didn't think you were a good person and working to change."

"I feel like I don't deserve him. He's far, far too good for me. But it all works. We help each other to be better people. I can only hope that you find someone who does the same for you."

"I…think I already have."

Akito smiled a little. "That's wonderful. I'm very happy for you."

Just a few years ago, if Yuki had confessed that he was in love with someone, Akito would've beaten the life out of him. And now here she was with a husband of her own and fully supporting her former zodiac members in whatever their paths were.

The song started to draw to a close.

"Hey, Yuki…I don't know if this helps, but…you tower over me so much now that even if I did try anything, you could easily overpower me. You're not the victim I once turned you into. You're strong and good-natured and I think you're going to do some really wonderful things in the near future."

Yuki couldn't believe everything he was hearing. Even after all this time of working to rebuild the extremely damaged relationship between them, she still managed to say things that completely caught him off-guard.

"Thanks," he said with a small smile. "And congratulations."

Towards the end of the night, Noa and Kazuma walked arm-in-arm along the gardens away from the rest of the festivities for a little peace and quiet.

She and Kazuma had been dating just as long as Akito and Yuta had. And she couldn't have been happier with him. He was the perfect gentleman in everything he did…with the exception of cooking. He was still terrible at that despite all of Noa's attempts to teach him.

But he made up for it in every other area of their relationship. He was very respectful of her past marriage and went as slow as she desired. It had taken them some time to get where they were simply because she never wanted to disrespect Kei. Over time, she learned to move on and accept Kazuma more readily as a part of her romantic life.

Yuta, of course, supported them all the way.

"I'm so happy for them," Noa remarked. "They've come a long way."

"They certainly have. I'm pretty sure a lot of us believed that Akito was never going to marry. And if you hadn't come into her life, she probably wouldn't have. Everyone would still be under the curse."

"You have Yuki to thank. He's the one who stopped by my house all those years ago."

"Well, I certainly am very grateful."

Noa smiled as he gently kissed her.

"You know, all this wedding stuff has gotten me thinking," Kazuma stated quietly.

"Oh?"

"Neither of us are getting any younger. And I love you so much. I want to be by your side for the rest of our lives. I've already spoken with Kyo and Yuta about it. So, if it's all right with you, Noa Kaneko, will you be my wife?"

Noa turned to face him and pressed her hand to the side of his face. "I would love that."

Kazuma kissed her deeply, and Noa felt on top of the world.

Yuta tightly clasped Akito's hand as they approached the small home they had rented for the next week.

"I can safely say that this has been the happiest day of my life," Yuta remarked. "I must be the luckiest man in the world."

"I know I'm the luckiest woman in the world. I did nothing to deserve you and you chose me anyway."

Yuta kissed his beautiful bride. "I love you so much, Akito."

"I love you too."

The groom scooped his bride into his arms as she laughed and he carried her into the house. They began kissing fervently while he slowly walked up the stairs with her. Passion growing, Yuta quickly closed the bedroom door behind them.

Kazuma and Noa entered the cemetery and walked to Kei's grave.

Though Noa had said it wasn't necessary, Kazuma insisted that he wanted to visit the man who had meant so much to her.

Kazuma politely kneeled in front of the grave to pay his respects.

"Mr. Kaneko, I'm terribly sorry you left this earth so soon. You've been greatly missed. While I would never set out to replace you, I love Noa very much and I am making a promise to you that I will protect and care for her from now until the day I die. I hope we can have your blessing."

Noa could feel tears forming in her eyes. She wasn't sure that Kazuma could be a better man if he tried.

She knelt down next to him. "I wish you were here to see how your son has grown. You would be so proud of him and our new daughter-in-law. I can only imagine how much you would've fawned over her and spoiled her rotten. While I too am not seeking to replace you, I'm glad I have Kazuma in my life to protect me. Please watch over the both of us."

Both of them lifted up silent prayers to Noa's late husband asking for him to bless their future marriage and to continue to watch over them in the days to come.

"You know," Noa said quietly to Kazuma, "that time I was trapped in the Cat's Room, I asked Kei to help someone find me. And the next day…it was you who came searching for me. Maybe that was his way of saying he approved."

Kazuma smiled at her. "I certainly hope so."

Kyo walked out of the main house where he had met with Akito to explain to her his plans to travel to a dojo with Tohru in order to train. To his surprise, he found Noa waiting for him with a warm smile.

It was hard to believe that in just a couple weeks, she was going to technically be his mother and harder still to believe that Kazuma had found someone to love after all this time.

But if his adoptive father was going to be with anyone, he didn't want it to be anyone but Noa who had done nothing but show him all the motherly love and acceptance he had been craving his entire life.

"Hi!" she said with a bright smile. "Ready to head out?"

"You didn't have to come all the way out here. I could've walked back by myself."

"I know, but that's no fun."

A group of middle-aged women nearby quietly began whispering to themselves loud enough for the both of them to hear their conversation. Noa didn't know if that was intentional or not, but she didn't like what she was hearing.

"Can you believe Akito is just letting the Cat do whatever he wants?"

"I heard he's the reason his mother died. He doesn't deserve to live a normal life."

"He even has a girlfriend now. How sick must that girl be to choose him?"

Noa clenched her jaw.

"Just forget it," Kyo said quietly. "They've always been like that."

He had had to put up with that garbage his entire life? Well, that was going to end today.

Noa turned around and faced the group of women as she took a few steps towards them. "Hey!" she called. "Don't you dare talk about my son like that."

Kyo's heart thumped a little. She had called him…her son.

"You have something to say, you can say it to my face. Anything else you'd like to add?"

One of the women smirked. "Please, he's not even your biological son."

Noa held her hands up. "Oh, so because he's not my biological son, I can't care about him? Because he's not my biological son, I can't feel like a mother to him? Because he's not my biological son, I can't protect him from people like you?" She took another step forward. "Blood doesn't make a family. He is my son, whether you like it or not. And I don't want to hear you talking about him like that ever again. Do I make myself clear?"

She turned around and started back towards an absolutely stunned Kyo.

"Oh, one more thing," she called back. "I don't know if you knew this, but my son, and since you're so concerned about this, my biological son, was the one who married Akito last month. Which technically makes me Akito's mother. I wonder what Akito, you know, the head of the entire Sohma family, would do if she knew how you were talking to her own mother."

A flash of fear crossed over each woman's face and they all quickly left Noa's presence.

Noa smirked and walked back over to Kyo.

"That was awesome," Kyo remarked.

"No one ever accused me of not protecting my kids. And it's not like Akito would do anything. But they don't need to know that. Come on, let's go home."

Kyo didn't know what to think. No one had ever stood up for him like that before. Sure, Kazuma and Tohru loved him to death, but they were both soft-spoken and extremely non-confrontational. He had never had someone actually call out the people who spoke so poorly about him.

If Kyo hadn't been sure about having Noa as a mother before, he was sure now. He may have hated her at first, but now, he couldn't imagine not having her in his life.

Kazuma and Noa married in a very small, private ceremony at the Sohma main house. Noa had Ayame design her a simple white dress that came down to her knees. Or…at least as simple as someone like Ayame could design.

All the members of the zodiac attended in addition to Kunimitsu from Kazuma's dojo and of course, Yuta.

Once the ceremony was over and everyone began taking part in the after-wedding party, Noa walked up to Akito.

"Congratulations!" Akito smiled as she hugged her mother-in-law.

"Thank you. And how's my grandchild?"

Akito rubbed her enlarged stomach. "Wonderful."

"Have you found out the gender yet?"

"Not yet. We're hoping to find out within the next couple weeks. Hatori hasn't been able to get a clear enough picture when we do the ultrasound."

"But things have been going well?"

"Yes, it's been a very smooth pregnancy. And Yuta's been really good about helping me out."

"That's so good to hear."

"Noa…Yuta and I were discussing it last night, and…regardless of what the gender is, we would like to name the baby Kei."

Noa smiled. "It's perfect."

Akito suddenly gasped and her eyes widened.

"What's wrong?"

"I…I just felt a kick."

"Really?"

With a small smile, Akito took Noa's hand and put it to her stomach.

Noa's eyes widened as well as she looked up at the proud mother. Just beneath her hand, she felt the little child inside moving.

Both women laughed with pure joy.

Tears filled Akito's eyes as she rubbed her stomach. "I spent so much time growing up destroying other people's lives. I didn't think I would ever…be able to create one."

Noa gently put her hand to Akito's face. "That was the old you. You are a brand new person who is going to be a great mother."

"I wouldn't be here if it weren't for you. I can only hope that I'm half the mother you are to Yuta…and to me."

"I have no doubt you will be. And you'll have so many people to help you out that Kei is going to be utterly spoiled."

"You know, I…I asked Yuki if he would be the godfather."

"Really? What did he say?"

"He…he said yes."

"That's great!"

"There's still a bit of tension between us, but we've been working really hard to move forward just like we promised we would. He just introduced me to his girlfriend, Machi, last month."

"She's a sweet girl, isn't she?"

"Yes, and the two of them make an adorable couple. It meant a lot to me that he allowed me to meet her. I think it was his way of showing me that he's somewhat accepted who I've become."

"I'm glad you're both on better terms."

Kazuma came up behind Noa and put his arm around her. "I hope I'm not interrupting."

"No, we were just catching up."

Yuta joined them as well.

"Yuta, feel this!" Akito said excitedly. She put Yuta's hand onto her belly and slowly moved it around until he could feel the movement inside.

Yuta gasped and laughed. "I just felt my baby kick!" he announced proudly.

Noa smiled fondly. It was so incredible to see her beautiful boy grow up into such a wonderful man and husband with a child of his own on the way.

As she looked at her new husband by her side and her son and daughter in front of her, she knew that life could not get much better than this.

And all because a sick eight-year-old boy who longed for a family had just happened to stumble by her house all those years ago

Thank you all for reading my story! I hope you enjoyed seeing Yuki and Akito having a "Mama Bear" to protect them. It was so much fun to write about not just Akito and Yuki's growth, but Noa's and Yuta's as well.

Farewell, Fruits Basket fans! :)