Edit : I mentioned it in the last chapter, but I'm going to mention it here too since I have to change her name in this chapter too. Rika's last name is no longer Eriju, which is completely fake. It is now Eiri, which I'm about 99.9 sure is real.

Chapter Three

"So, this is a curse that thirteen members of your family suffer from?" "Yes, that's correct. It's why very few people inside our family and nobody outside our family knows about it, because they would think we are freaks." Yuki explained solemnly. Rika gently stroked Momiji's hair, who had turned back and redressed a little while ago, and Momiji was happily leaning against her, careful to avoid hugging her or anything close to it. "Well, yeah, it's a little weird, but freaks? That's too harsh for kind people like you." She said, shaking her head.

"So, you're not freaked out by this?" Kyo asked, watching her warily. Rika shook her head again and smiled at him. "Nah, no way. I think it's pretty cool, to be honest." She said happily. "You think that it's cool?" Yuki asked curiously. "Yeah, sure. I mean, there's no one else in the world like you. You're truly, completely unique. And besides, I love animals." The blonde girl said happily.

"Well, there is a catch." Yuki told her, biting his lip. "Eh, what is it? And are you okay? You look paler than normal." She asked, leaning closer to him. "I assure you that I'm fine. But the thing is, you may have your memory of today erased." Yuki told her, watching her face closely.

She looked curious, but not frightened. "What do you mean? Is it even possible to erase one's memory?" She asked. "Well, it's more like the use of hypnosis to suppress a memory. And yes, it is possible. There's a member of our family who is very skilled at it, and when someone finds out about our curse, he's typically ordered by the head of our family to suppress their memory, so that they forget it ever happened." Yuki explained sadly.

"I guess most people don't react the way I do." Rika said, rubbing the back of her neck. "No, they don't. Most people freak out, and call us horrible things." Momiji said sadly. Rika looked like she wanted to hug the sad little rabbit, but she settled for pressing a kiss to his forehead. This seemed to cheer Momiji up considerably. "So, will that happen to me? Will my memory of today be suppressed?" Rika asked. "That's not something we can tell you. It's a decision that only the head of the family can make. But honestly, yeah, it probably will be." Haru told her, finally speaking up.

"That doesn't seem fair. I mean, I can understand if the person who found out was up to no good, or didn't handle finding out all that well, but what about people like me? I'm a good person, and my mama always told me not to talk about people's private lives or spread rumors about them." Rika questioned.

"You're right. It's not fair to people like you. Unfortunately, there are very few people in the world like you, and our family simply cannot afford to take chances." Yuki replied despondently.

Rika was quite for a moment before she sighed and raked a hand through her hair. "Oh well, what's done is done, and what will be, will be. That's what they say anyway." She said, shrugging. "You're not upset, or worried?" Yuki questioned. "Didn't ya just hear me? Ah, well, no, I'm not. Dad always told me that there are just something's you can't change, and you gotta accept that fact." She replied, laughing softly.

There was silence for a moment before Momiji spoke up. "But, I feel horrible that you may lose your memory of today. I feel like we could become best friends." He said sadly. "Who says we can't be friends? If I lose my memory, just reintroduce yourself to me. I promise you, that the only thing that will change is that I won't know about your curse." Rika told him, ruffling his hair playfully. "Really? You mean it?" Momiji questioned, smiling brightly. "Of course! A promise is a promise, and I promise to be your friend even if my memory has to be suppressed." The blond girl told him.

"Yay! I'm so happy!" The blond rabbit exclaimed, looking ready to jump up and down. The bell rang, signaling the end of lunch. Momiji raced ahead of them all, and Rika made to follow him but Yuki grabbed her arm and held her back. Kyo and Haru lingered at the door, waiting to see what would happen. "Miss Eiri, I know you mean well, but don't make promises you can't keep." Yuki told her.

Rika blinked once, then her face grew hard and stern, and she jerked her arm away from Yuki's grasp. "Don't tell me what to do. Besides, I always keep my promises, never broken one in my life, so what makes you think I can't keep this one?" Rika growled.

Yuki frowned. "Your memory will be suppressed, that's what makes me think that." He replied. "Look, I don't know what kind of messed up life you've had, but I was raised to be kind, and polite, and to give people a chance if they ask for one. So, even if I don't remember, I'm not going to break my promise to be friends with your cousin." Rika told him, turning sharply and marching past Kyo and Haru.

"Do you think she really will?" Haru asked, watching her go. "I don't know. She seems awfully sure of herself." Kyo said, and left, leaving Haru and Yuki standing alone. "Hey, Yuki? You okay?" Haru asked worriedly. "I just think that this is moving too fast. And, that maybe…" He bit his lip, cutting himself off.

"That we're replacing Tohru with Rika?" Haru finished for him. Yuki nodded. "I know that they're nothing alike, but, well, we lost someone who accepted us and was close to us, and now someone new walks into our lives who's accepted us, and just might get close to us if we let her." Yuki told his younger cousin. "Well, it's not as if she's a threat. In fact, she could become a pretty good friend." Haru replied as Yuki walked past him.

"I know, Haru. And that's what scares me. If we became friends with her, and we lost her, like Tohru, I think it would be more than this family could handle." Yuki murmured, heading solemnly down the stairs.

TBC…

Ooohh… What's going to happen next? In all honesty, I don't know either. You'll have to wait for the next chapter to find out.