Author's Intro:

Starting the next chapter already….it feels nice. (I started it the night I posted the last one.)

I've discovered a new good story, "The Killing Wind". It's FB, and takes place in the future (a looong ways off). The Curse has been broken, but is returning, stronger.

It doesn't have many readers, but the author updates WAY more than I do. Shweet. Check it out!

Fate seemed to be against Tohru and Kyo that day; they had created a frustrating pattern of nearly missing each other almost the entire trip.

One would walk into a new aisle, while the other would enter it, narrowly avoiding each other, with the less-than-frequent exception of Kyo seeing long, brown hair or a flowing skirt disappear around a corner. But, in that case, of course he thought nothing of it.

But it decided to give them a break; as she hurried to get to a checkout line, the clumsy Cat ran (literally) into Kyo, causing them to topple over.

Usually, Tohru's small frame wouldn't of affected his balance, but she had been running (trying to hurry to meet Arisa and Saki), and he had been lost in his random thoughts.

As the pair had collided, the eggs the Cat was carrying had flew out of her hands, causing the package to open, resulting in every single egg (with the exception of one) to land, conveniently, on Kyo.

Shattering the millisecond they reached him, the poor boy's hair was covered in yellowish, slimy yolk, while Tohru lay on his feet.

(Author's Note: I just HAD to put in a gag like that. Hee-hee.)

Neither of them moved for a minute; each were taking in what had just happened. Kyo recovered first, but Tohru was the one to say something.

"Oh my gosh! I'm so sorry, Kyo-kun!" she cried, attempting to bolt upright. She failed miserably, yelping slightly and falling back down, this time squarely on his chest. "Ow.."

As surprisingly relieved as Kyo was to see her, he was annoyed at the event.

"Dammit…." He grumbled, sitting up, Tohru still leaning against him. "Get off me!"

The Cat blushed, pushing off of him with one hand.

"I…I think I hurt my wrist…" she mumbled shyly, clutching her hand in obvious pain. Before Kyo could say anything else, a sales clerk came dashing around the corner.

"Oh my! What a mess! Are you two okay?" she screamed, dashing around, getting a mop and bucket. "Just go to the back….there's a spare sink…." She sighed, accepting Tohru's now-frantic apologies and looking down at her bruised and already-swelling wrist. "…And a First Aid Kit."

And sure enough, there was a small bathroom in the back of the store that read "Employees Only". The pair filed in, Tohru opening a cabinet to find a small box, apparently the Kit, while Kyo turned on the sink and started to wash the gunk out of his hair.

"I-I'm so sorry, Kyo-kun! I…I can't believe I was that careless."

Water dripping off of his orange strands, Kyo turned around to look at the guilty girl.

GOD

Kyo saw those words cut into her arm, but only for a split second.

His mind flashed to the night he left.

"I-I l-love you, T-tohru."

His eyes wide, Kyo snapped back into the presence.

'What the…?' he stared at the Cat, whoes pink face showed confusion.

"Eh? What's wrong, Kyo-kun?"

He finally choked out one sentence, which grew and grew.

"Who…who are you?" Kyo stammered. "W-why am I seeing these things? Ever since I saw you…I'd see scenes. Every time. WHO ARE YOU?" he finished, yelling the last phrase a little louder than he had intended to, causing Tohru to wince.

Even so, she was shocked. He was having flashbacks.

Smiling, the Cat softly spoke.

"I'm sorry, Kyo-kun." With that, she quickly finished bandaging up her wrist, and hurriedly exited the store.

After informing Uo-chan and Hana-chan that she needed to head home; her wrist wasn't in good shape (and they fretted briefly over her), Tohru quickly trotted home, trying to avoid anywhere that Kyo might have been.

And yet, the truth was that he was still in that small bathroom in the back of the store, simply staring at the mirror, thinking.

Kyo had washed all the egg from him, but didn't want to go out just yet. He needed to take a moment and let her words sink in.

"I'm sorry, Kyo-kun."

'Why did she say that?' he thought, grumbling to himself. 'What the hell could she mean?'

There definitely was more to Tohru Honda than he knew, but he couldn't help but think,

"Why do I seem to care about this…and her….so much?" There didn't seem to be an answer to that question.

Usually he didn't bother with girls; they were creepy, confusing, giggly, and stupid. And he knew that he didn't have a crush on her; he was more annoyed at her than anything.

But she seemed to have some connection with him. That frustrating lure to find out more had somehow overtaken him.

If Hanajima had been in his situation, she would of expressed the feeling that she knew Tohru before. But Kyo couldn't see things like that.

So, continuing to grumble, he quietly slipped out of the small room. Tohru had long gone home.

Sitting on her puffy, pink bed, the Cat whispered soft words to her mother's picture.

"Mom….I think that he had flashbacks. I heard from Momiji-kun that they can happen if the memories aren't buried deep enough. I'm so happy…but how will things all turn out? I wish….I wish that I could tell him…but afraid of what he'll say. What if he really didn't remember?" Tohru became frantic, stuttering incoherently. "G-g-g-ive me-e-e c-c-c-our-r-age, M-m-mother!" she cried, attempting to calm herself down, and forget all the "what ifs".

After spending some time with Machi, Yuki came home, tired. As he walked quietly to his room, he could hear Tohru's vague conversation.

'I'll just ask her what happened tomorrow…' he concluded by the panicked sound of her voice. 'It may be better, just for now, to let her alone to deal with her thoughts.'

The Rat knew how she would cover her emotions as not to be a "burden". How wrong she was in thinking that.

Author's Closing:

School starts in a week. That is pure 3v!l, I tell you. And it means that I won't be able to update as often, probably.

-sigh-

But I am going to try to take up the art of writing during school, though I'm always so self-conscious about people possibly reading over my shoulder. Ah, well.

Laterzzz.

E.