Author's Intro:

I'm back on Deviant Art, so I definitely won't be updating everyday.

When Kyo walked out of the store, groceries in hand, he noticed something lying on the ground in the aisle that Tohru had run into him. Curious, he trudged over to it, examining the object.

Lying at his feet was a small purse, decorated with a single flower. Picking it up, Kyo unzipped it, hoping that whoever owned it wouldn't be mad for him snooping. He didn't really want to look through a girl's purse anyways; he had heard various rumours of what sat in them. And though they were usually far-fetched tales, he couldn't help but pay a bit of attention to them.

But this one didn't contain anything near what was in those stories. He kept looking, hoping to see some sort of I.D.

Fingering through materials, he felt a picture-like substance, and pulled it out from underneath everything else.

Soon Kyo was holding a small, wallet-sized photo of a reddish haired woman. The name on the back of it read "Honda, Kyoko".

"Come on, Spunky. A man's promise."

"I think I may of made her sad."

"Oh? Then I'll call you Jari!"

"Jari-brat!"

"Jari….I can't find her….please…"

"Don't forget your promise!"

What Kyo saw was her face….Kyoko's. And his own. But he looked to be still very small.

Who was this woman?

Either way, he somehow knew right away that the bag belonged to Tohru Honda.

'Why does that damn girl keep showing up?' he growled, zipping up the purse fiercely and stomping out of the store after paying.

"Shishou!" Kyo yelled, slamming the door to his "master"'s home. "Where does that Honda girl live?"

"Tohru-san, you mean?" Kazuma smiled, walking into the room. "She lives at Shigure-san's house."

This answer caused grumbled cursing from Kyo. He had heard and seen Shigure Sohma, and from what he witnessed, the man was a perverted, childish author. Then he lived with another boy…Yuki Sohma.

Kyo didn't like him at all. He wasn't quite sure why, but a gut feeling deep inside him said plainly, "Yuki is bad".

'He's too perfect,' Kyo decided, clutching the purse at he walked towards the Dog's house.

"I'll see who it is!" Kyo heard Tohru call through the house. But then he heard another voice.

"No, Honda-san, don't worry. I will get the door."

Kyo could recognize that voice from anywhere. Yuki. He stood at the gate, waiting expectantly for the door to open.

When it did, Kyo was greeted by a surprised face, whether it was a happy surprised or not.

'Maybe just genuine shock,' he concluded, walking into Shigure's house. The moment he stepped in the door, flashbacks flooded his brain, causing the Cat to remember his first meeting with Tohru….

"You're too weak."

"I'm gonna beat you this time, damn Rat!"

"Wait, no, please st—aah!"

She toppled over on him, and a big cloud of smoke appeared, along with a "Poof!" Standing up, he saw Tohru pick something up from his pile of clothes…a CAT.

All this time, Kyo had just been standing there, staring off into space….or the living room.

"I said, what are you doing here?" Yuki stated loudly, annoyed that Kyo hadn't answered him the first time. He waved a hand in front of his face. No luck. The Rat sighed. "Honda-san! Kyo's here!"

"Eeehh!" Snapping out of his trance, Kyo could hear her voice from there, and he could also easily hear a huge "Crash!", and a "thud". Tohru had apparently tripped down the stairs.

"Are you okay?" Yuki called, rushing over, and helping Tohru up. Kyo simply stood there, thinking, 'What a klutz.Idiot.' Tohru had a bit of a bruise on her leg as a result of her accident.

"I-I'm fine," she vaguely spoke, still a bit out of it.

"A-are you sure?" the Rat spoke again, holding out his hands in case she fell. 'You don't look okay…'

"Yes! Ah, Kyo-kun, what brings you here?" Tohru smiled, bowing. She wobbled a tiny bit.

"Er….I came to give you your purse. You dropped it yesterday," he mumbled, handing it to her. She opened it, fumbled around in it, and started to panic.

"M-mother! She…she's gone!" the Cat cried, digging through her bag franticly. "Oh no! Mom…!"

"Hey…chill. I have her right here," Kyo quickly called, surprised at the girl's actions. He handed her the picture. "This is your mother? You look a bit like her…" he concluded. "Do you look more like your father?"

For a second, Tohru had a troubled expression on her face, but she immediately composed herself, an odd expression on her face. Only someone who knew her well would guess that it was bittersweet sadness, rimmed with loneliness.

"No. I….I don't look anything like him."

Kyo frowned slightly. "I bet you do," he spoke simply, and walked out the door, leaving Tohru and Yukiconfused, still standing in the living room.

That meeting didn't go as he had planned.

Author's Closing:

Sorry for the long wait….I just finished with Volume 20! Now I know what they're saying….hehe…. (sweat)

Hope you like this chapter. I did.

Laterzzz.

E.