A/N: Sorry this one took me longer. I sort of lost my drive with this one for a while, and I'm still trying to gain it back. I just haven't been feeling very encouraged with this story, my own sister hasn't read it!! How mean it that? But it's alright, it's all good. (MEAN SISTER MEAN SISTER!!)

The chapters are getting a lot shorter, which is good because it spaces things out the right way. Sorry if this one seems rushed.

But thank you anonymous reviewer : PhantomSaint

Oh I forgot to disclaim the song so here: I don't own any one republic songs, if I did that would be so awesome!

Chapter 19: Three Days

A small bit of moonlight shone through the barred up window as Kyo lay quietly in his bed. He was in the Cat room and hating every second of it. He had been there for about three days and he had not had a proper shower or bath since Monday morning before school. The room was like a small bedroom that had nothing but four bare brown walls, a small bed for him with only a sheet that was in the far right corner near his window, that did not have bars when he first arrived, but then he tried to escape Akito had ordered them on. There were lights but Akito ordered him not to use them, and the sliding window was the only thing that could entertain him in the least.

"Errrr…" He groaned and got up, kicking the sheets away from him and walked over to the open window. He slipped his arms through the bars and leaned on the ledge with his elbows, not caring about anything but the outside world. He looked down at his clothing; a baggy black hooded sweater and some gray sweat pants that were stained a bit. Akito had given him these clothes the second he had arrived and had his school uniform thrown out.

But, none of this mattered, because the only thing that was driving him crazy was the fact that there were two crazy lunatics running around Japan, determined to kill Tohru and anyone who might get in the way. He was scared out of his mind; now that he was locked up he had no way of watching over everyone. Yeah, Yuki could take care of himself and so could Haru, but what about Momiji? Hiro and Rin had already been beaten up and what about Kisa? Even though he would never admit it he feared what would happen if Shigure would come across one of those people. Clearly the adult had no way of defending himself.

Then there were the other girls; Tohru, Catalyna, Uo and Hanajima. Even though Uo and Hanajima had little to do with the entire thing, if they stood up for Tohru they would definitely not stand a chance. Catalyna was already in enough danger since they are her damn family and if she made one wrong move Kyo had a hunch one blow would finish her off. But Tohru….she stood no chance in hell alone.

He shook his head as his thoughts floated to the girl. She had kissed him and even said that she loved him, and he hadn't said it back. I'm so damn stupid…that might have been my only chance to ever tell her how I feel since now it looks like my life is over….damn I'm so stupid!

He looked out at the dark houses and surroundings of the Sohma Estate. He was determined to get out no matter what, even if it meant that Akito would kill him, he just had to…do his best to protect everyone….

This isn't right…

The hunched over form of Catalyna was sitting on a bench outside of the high school after the bell had sounded and signaled the end of the day. About thirty minutes had passed and she did not want to go home or be around anyone. It was Thursday, three days after Kyo had been taken and she had only spoken to everyone a few times. In class she was polite to them and refrained from conversation when Tohru would try and attempt talking to her. She did not want to ignore everyone, it was just too damn painful to look them in the eye after she had watched Kyo being dragged off.

"Lyna-kun?"

Oh, great. The one person she had tried to avoid most now came over and sat on the bench next to her, turning his head full of blonde hair toward her. Catalyna reluctantly looked up and looked in to the sad eyes of Momiji, immediately regretting it when she felt the urge to cry. She held back her tears and choked out a response. "Hi, Momiji-kun."

Momiji rubbed her back and tried to comfort her, not quite sure what he could do to soothe her. He felt her tense up and removed his hand, assuming he had offended her in some way. He decided he would try to talk to her a bit in hopes of seeing her smile, or at least be angry. Anything other than the frown and sad look in her eyes.

"Lyna-kun, I like when you smile."

Catalyna sat up straight and sighed. "Really?" She asked, hoping he wasn't just trying to get her out of her sad-stupor. She seen him nod and felt a small blush creep over her cheeks. "Well, I like when you smile too."

Momiji gave her a quick smile, then immediately turned serious. "Will you talk to me…?"

The black haired girl shivered; he was dropping his little boy voice and using his more mature one again. I wonder if he only uses it in private… For some strange reason, even though he seemed to be very…um 'in touch with his feminine side', Catalyna was very drawn to him. She turned toward him and sat up straight and then lowered her forehead to rest on his shoulder.

"Uh…Lyna-kun?" Momiji asked uncertainly.

"I feel so bad about it." Catalyna lifted her head and looked him in the eyes. "It's not fair that Tohru confessed her love to him and then he's taken away without fair warning."

"I know, it's not fair." He placed his hand on her shoulder awkwardly and the other on her cheek. "But, this is just how our family works. Akito is in charge and there's nothing we can do about it."

Catalyna furrowed her brows. "But, why does Akito have to be in charge? It's wrong to lock Kyo up like that, he's a human being." She stood up suddenly and Momiji pulled his hands away from her. She grabbed her back pack off of the floor and swung it over her shoulder.

"Where are you going?" He too stood up and faced her.

"I want to talk to Tohru-kun," She said in a low voice. "I haven't spoken with her very much these past few days."

Momiji nodded. "Well, she's at the hospital, talking to Rin."

Catalyna nodded and smiled weakly. "Thank you, I'll see you later."

And with that she turned around and set off for the hospital, while there the troubled brunette spoke with the stubborn Horse.

"It wasn't supposed to happen this soon."

Tohru sat on the end of Rin's hospital bed as the two spoke quietly about Kyo's confinement. During the few days that had passed since Kyo had been taken, Tohru had put on her happy face and tried to push away the pain. But, everyone knowing her the way they do, knew that this was an act and that she was definitely hurting the worst of all. And so now she sat with Rin, talking openly about it for the first time with anyone since Monday and ready to respond to Rin's words.

"I know," Tohru said as she hung her head to hide her frown. "I was told he wasn't supposed to go until after graduation…"

Rin watched the breaking girl closely, knowing all too well that the pain she felt was close to her own. When she broke up with Haru, she felt her world fall to the floor, like everything was over. That must be what she's feeling…since she loves him and all…

"Isuzu-san…do you think…?" Tohru trailed off and looked up and in to the fierce eyes of the Horse. "…Do you think it's possible…Akito would let him go?"

Rin shook her head, hating to have to answer truthfully. "No, I don't think so." She looked away and out of the window, watching the sidewalk below. She would usually brush off people walking by but the girl with curly black hair caught her eye; mainly because she was pacing near the entrance.

"Who's that…?" She asked aloud.

Tohru turned to the window and squinted for a moment, then tilted her head to the side. "Lyna-kun?"

"Who?"

"Catalyna…she's my friend." Tohru stood up and walked over to the window, looking down and watching as the girl seemed to be debating on whether or not she should go in.

"What is she doing here?" Rin asked defensively.

"Err…well," Tohru turned to Rin and smiled nervously. "She kind of knows…about the curse…and stuff."

Rin grew wide eyed at those words. "How… what do you-?"

"She's a great person!" Tohru dashed to the unsuspecting girl and kneeled at her side, speaking in a begging tone. "She's related to Angelo and Vanessa…they hurt her in the past."

Rin's eyebrow rose suspiciously and then she sighed and turned away from the pleading face of Tohru. "Look, I know this is out of no where, but you need to be careful."

The confused expression slid over Tohru's face. "I know…but…"

"Akito." Rin said firmly. "Don't go near him, he's going to try and trick you…"

Fifteen minutes later Catalyna sat on the ledge near the entrance of the hospital, still debating on going inside or not.

"This is stupid." She said to herself. I shouldn't even be here, it's not my place.

"Lyna-kun?"

"WAH!" Catalyna leapt up quickly and wheeled around to find Tohru standing behind her and smiling. She sighed in relief. "Tohru, you scared me."

"I'm sorry." Tohru smiled apologetically. "What are you doing here?"

"Uh..I.." Catalyna drew a blank in her head. Thinking for the last …however long it took her to walk to the hospital and then debate to herself, had thrown off her trail as to why she had come.

"Did you want to meet Isuzu-san?" Tohru asked hopefully. "She's really nice!"

Catalyna shook her head immediately. "N-no, it's fine." Her mind suddenly clicked as to why she had come. Oh that's right, the reason you've been upset the last few days.

Tohru nodded and motioned for the sidewalk. "Did you want to come over for dinner? I'm making Shougayaki! But, no leeks because of-"

Catalyna seen her eyes grow wide as she cut herself off. She understood why immediately; she had heard Kyo yelling at school about how much he hated leeks.

"I, I guess I can use them now….since he's gone." Her eyes shrunk to their normal size and she tried to hold back tears that were threatening to surface. "Do you like them? Do you like …pork and vegetables…?"

And then the tears fell and Catalyna pulled the girl in to a comforting hug. "It's okay to cry Tohru, you don't have to be strong all the time."

She let out a sob. "I know…I just want him back!"

Back…Come back…

Without warning Tohru suddenly pulled away with a determined look in her eyes. Catalyna looked at her in concern. "What's wrong..?"

"I.." Tohru trailed of as she wiped her eyed furiously and straightened herself. "I have to go!"

She turned around and ran off to the sidewalk, confusing Catalyna without any reasonable explanation.

"It's not right, Akito."

The Sohma Estate was quiet, much to the shock due to the very close events. First the father of the Cat is murdered and then the Cat himself is imprisoned? Yes, the Sohmas all took their time to think things over. Akito, though, had plans to follow and things to do, being the head of the family and all. At the moment Akito was sitting out on her porch next to Kureno, who looked dead and ready to hit the pillow. Akito turned to the former Rooster with a smirk at his words.

"I don't care." She said in an icy tone. "This Angelo and Vanessa seem to think that beating two of my zodiac and sending them with the message, and I quote Hiro's words; 'They want to meet with her in one week from Today.'"

Kureno looked away, knowing that this plan of Akito's would definitely go wrong. "You can't just hand her over to them, you can be arrested for doing that."

Akito snickered. "I am the head of the Sohma family, they can't touch me. And I will have her meet with them whether she likes it or not."

Close…so close…

Somewhere in the bushes of the Sohma Estate the distressed brunette lurked, hiding from being thrown out for trespassing. She peeped her head out and seen Momiji's house; it looked empty.

I'll find him myself…

She set off, ducking behind trees and crawling on all fours as she searched for the Head of the Family. She hadn't thought about everything thoroughly, but was determined to speak with Akito as soon as possible. Rin had informed about the so called 'message' that Angelo and Vanessa had given them and was ready to meet with them. But, Rin had also informed her that Akito would try to manipulate her in to meeting with them so they would leave the zodiac alone.

I have to do this, for everyone…

At that moment something caught her attention; on the porch outside of a small house Akito sat with Kureno as the two spoke. She watched for a moment and waited, then Kureno got up and walked off toward some other house nearby; now was her chance.

She watched as Akito got up and went inside the house and closed the sliding door behind him.

Okay…charge!

And she ran full speed, straight for the door. No time to think or feel anything but the adrenaline pumping through her blood. With one strong tug, she slid open the door and gasped at what she saw.

"Akito…san?"

The robe was open and slumped down to the elbows of what Tohru had previously thought was ….a male. But no, this was definitely not a male. The bare breasts, the unmistakable hip curve and the lack of the male genitalia said it all.

"Oh, Tohru Honda…" Akito smirked as she pulled her robe up and covered her nudity. "What are you doing here, stupid girl?"

Tohru was speechless; Akito was a woman? She had never suspected this, never ever. She swallowed and registered the question and answered shakily. "I…want to talk to you.."

Akito rolled her eyes and motioned for Tohru to sit at the table in the middle of the room. The brunette did as told and Akito stood before her. "So, now you know my secret, what are you going to do with it?"

"I..uh…" Tohru swallowed again. "I won't tell anyone, only came to talk about Kyo-kun."

"Humph." Akito turned around and pulled something out of the pocket of her robe. "I'm guessing you want to know what you could do to release him, right?"

Tohru nodded slowly, an expression of fear taking over.

"Okay." Akito tossed something in to her lap. "Read it."

Tohru looked down at the crumpled up paper. She shakily picked it up and pulled it out of the mess it was in, smoothing it out to make it easier to read. She scanned it and then began at the top of the page:

Kyo,

Don't get the wrong idea from this letter; I still hate you. I'm only writing this because my time is near and to leave you believing everything was your fault is wrong, when it so obviously was not. Your mother did love you, but she couldn't handle everything. The whole suicide thing is half-true and here is why:

A long time ago I met some really horrible people who are from another country. Let's just say they like to make business deals and they try to 'keep it in the family'. I screwed them over big time, and they wanted revenge. The only thing they knew was that I had a wife who I loved very much. Naturally they would go after her, and they did. She wanted to kill herself and from what I was told she was going to do it, but they showed up and did the job for her.

Now, they're here again and they're after that girl Tohru Honda. I told them all about the curse and her, so they know where to find you. They don't care to go after you; only if you get in their way. Believe me when I say this; that girl doesn't stand a chance.

In all reality it could never truly be entirely your fault; I was the one who screwed them over. The only reason they never went after you is because they didn't know about you. I will not say sorry; it's too late for that crap. I only write this letter because I can't die knowing that I blamed you for your entire pathetic existence for the death of your mother. I'll be out of this world forever in some short minutes here, and I have no regrets. Not one.

- I won't sign 'your father' because I never wanted it that way

Tohru looked over the letter; so this was from Kyo's father? How could he hate him so much?

"So you see," Akito said as she sat down across from the young girl. "He was the one spilling our secrets, and now Kyo has to be punished. He is the man's son, and I will not risk having someone of that blood run around with our secrets."

"But, Kyo-kun would never tell anyone about the secrets!" Tohru felt her heart begin to pound against her ribcage. "Please, Akito-san, you have to-"

"They want to meet with you, will you go?" Akito cut her off, trying to control her temper long enough to make her say yes.

Tohru nodded quickly. "Yes, I was told and I will go! I have to go I don't want them hurting my friends anymore…not because of me."

Akito smirked, relieved that it had not taken much for her to say yes. "I will go with you, to make sure you are there and ready to heed to their every wish."

"Yes, Akito-san."

"Come on…it's almost time for it…"

The night had come quickly and now the Cat room was plunged in to darkness; the only light shiny through was from the open window. Kyo sat on his bed, waiting patiently and running a plot through his head.

Through the bars, through the bars…run…

CLICK.

The lock on his door being released caught his attention and he lay down innocently. Well, as innocent as he could possibly stand. The woman who had been assigned to take care of his food stepped in and set a tray of down on a small table some four feet away from the bed. She looked at him and seen he made no movement to start eating, and so turned around to leave the room.

As quickly and as quietly as he could he leapt off his bed and ran up behind the woman. He grabbed her shoulder with one hand and then with the other pinched a spot somewhere between her neck and shoulder.

She froze immediately and fell backwards; he caught her at arms length, keeping himself from transforming. He dragged her to his bed and sat her limp for down, studying her face to make sure she was unconscious. Sure enough her eyes were closed and her mouth was open slightly.

I can't believe that worked…

He looked around and listened, making sure no one thought to come and check on her. A few moments passed by and no sound came from the other side of the door, and so he immediately put the rest of his plan in to action.

He looked at her awkwardly and then laid her backward until she was a few inches above the mattress. He took a deep breath and quickly hugged her.

POOF!

The orange cat leapt off of her chest as she hit the mattress with a soft thud. He quickly gathered his juzu beads in his mouth and ran across the room.

Don't get caught, don't get caught!

With one leap he landed on the window sill and slipped through the bars, not seen or heard by anyone and with only one goal in mind…

….I have to help everyone…whatever it is that I can do….

A/N: Again sorry if it seems rushed. My spoiler was going to be the whole thing about Kyo's mom's death and I just couldn't do it because 1. I'm not entirely sure if it's out or what volume that chapter is in so I would be spoiling nothing if it was and 2. I don't remember that chapter itself. It might have been one of the one's that was missing out of the online manga. I'll try to have another up soon okay so hang in there with me!!

Review if you get the chance!