I am so very sorry to you all for taking so long to update! Truth be told, college is very overwhemling! That being said, I have not in anyway abandoned this story. It's just going to take a little longer getting through this final stretch.

In any event, I am still very grateful to everyone who has read and those who have reviewed, as well! I hope you continue to enjoy! With that, I give you another session (finally!):

Patient – Sohma Shigure; Session #37

At a little after three o'clock, there was a knock at my office door. Over the last two hours, I had been reading over Professor Jammerson's project and falling in love with it the more and more I read it. By the time two thirty rolled around, I was all but certain that I was going to take up my old instructor's offer and return to America with him. After all, in the end Akito had been right about my failure to save my family, and she was probably correct in saying that I would never be able to free them from their "curse." It seemed as if they were doomed to live miserable lives in any event, because they refused to change or even attempt to change. At least if I returned to America I would be able to work toward a reasonable goal, not to mention that Professor Jammerson's project was an amazing opportunity to truly accomplish something quite extraordinary for the academic world.

However, as I leafed through the thick folder, my mind kept wandering back to Akito and our last "session" that afternoon (although, to be honest, I don't know if it's fair to call it one). I suppose it's just the psychiatrist in me, but I began to analyze her behavior, and while I did so, I almost forgot my anger. Impulsively, I would break off from immersing myself in Professor Jammerson's project and start to jot down different thoughts I had about why she had said one thing or did another. Perhaps her harsh refusal to let me leave, I reasoned, was her way of expressing that she in fact relied more on our sessions than she would admit. What's more, there could easily be resentment toward me on her part; while I had the chance to travel for eight fulfilling years, she would never get such an opportunity due to her constant ailments. And of course, her fear of abandonment was an obvious explanation for her desperate attempt to have me remain in Japan at her beckon call. These were all issues I could work with her on, but I had to help her off that false pedestal herself and our family had put her on first. Yes, if I could free her of that terrible burden and convince her that she was not a god but just a regular person, maybe then she could start learning how to enjoy life and be free of her "curse" once and for all.

Reflecting on it now, hope had once again gotten the best of me (which I'm sure Akito would also claim with one of her sinister snickers). Yet, as hard as hope tried to creep itself in, I was much more resistant. When I would start penning down some new idea in regards to her without thinking, I would soon regain myself and remind myself how mad I truly was at her. I told myself it was unwise for me to start trying to rationalize Akito's behavior, for it could all simply be explained away by the fact that Akito was a controlling, cruel, selfish, jealous, unforgiving person who truly believed she was a god. Admittedly, in many ways I was behaving like a child, but I refused to allow myself to succumb to my foolish gullibility anymore. Therefore, I absorbed myself in Professor Jammerson's work, so much so that when I heard the knocking I was rather startled. I glanced up and asked, "Yes, who is it?"

"It's Shigure," came Shigure's sing-song voice from behind the door. Opening it, he merrily skipped in and greeted me, "Why, good afternoon, Kazuki! Busy as always, I see."

"Shigure?" I questioned, puzzled, "What are you doing here?"

"I scheduled an appointment for today. You didn't forget, now did you?"

"Oh, yes, I'm sorry," I apologized as my memory came back to me, "I must have forgotten." To be honest, Shigure was (save Akito) probably the last person I wanted to see. Yet, despite this, I added, "But please sit down, and we'll get started."

"Sounds good to me," Shigure grinned. He walked over to the couch and plopped down. "I can't say I blame you - for forgetting that is - with all you've been through today."

"Hmm?" Shigure was prying as usual; it always did seem like he planned his whole sessions out in advance.

"Oh, you know, with your old professor coming here and asking you to return to America with him."

"You know about that?"

"Well, Akito's been quite unpleasant about it all afternoon, at least according to Hatori, anyway. He was by there just awhile ago giving Akito her daily check-up. Apparently, she's rather enraged." He let out a light, unsettling chuckle.

"I'm sorry to hear that," I muttered.

"So then, the question on everybody's mind is this - are you leaving?"

"I haven't made any decision."

"Oh no?" Shigure looked at me curiously, "Surely you're leaning one way or the other, right?"

"Well…" I trailed off. Half of me wanted to tell Shigure I was planning on going just so he would go back and tell the others. Admittedly, I took some pleasure in the idea of my family flabbergasted at my blatant defiance of their supposed "god." Perhaps it might even inspire some of them into also acting independently. The other part of me, though, wanted to let Shigure know as little as possible, because the more he knew, the more he would try to manipulate things for his own purposes, whatever they might be.

Noticing my hesitation, Shigure said, "Far be it for me to pry, though. After all, it's none of my business. I am, alas, just your insignificant cousin…"

"Shigure –"

"No, no, I understand Kazuki. Besides, if I was in your shoes, I'd be quite frightened to say anything, too. Akito can be rather violent, can't she?"

Instinctively, I replied, "I'm not frightened of Akito. I'm actually thinking of going." I knew I was slipping as soon as the words escaped my lips, but at the same time, I was determined to make it clear that Akito did not have any sort of control or hold on me.

"Ah, so you are going to leave us." Shigure smiled, eyes looking quite satisfied. "I knew it."

"I said I was thinking about it," I pointed out, "I still haven't made a decision yet."

"It sounds like it'll be good for you. But Akito will be angry to see you go, won't she?"

"I suppose she will," I answered curtly.

Shigure nodded and then was quiet. However, before I could start our session he simply said, "Still…there is the curse." He glanced over at me to see my reaction.

"Yes, what about it?"

"I'm guessing you've given up on trying to break it. Aunt Tomiko must be very disappointed."

"I was never trying to break it."

Shigure appeared surprised by this response. "You weren't?"

"No. I've never thought a curse existed in the first place."

"Oh, well then we must all imagine being transformed into animals," Shigure joked, "And to think all this time I've been avoiding the opposite sex for nothing."

I frowned and felt my face grow warm with a bit of embarrassment. "Of course that part is what it is. What I meant was I never thought that our family was cursed to be as miserable as it is or to suffer as it has."

"I see. But we all are pretty miserable- well, not all of us but a lot of us, that's for sure," Shigure remarked.

"Yes, but to just blame it on a curse? No wonder nothing changes – you can't change if you don't recognize the potential for change, and I, frankly, am getting tired of trying to help you all do so. As I see it, most of this family's suffering comes from the simple fact that members of this family make really bad decisions. You've all created these delusions about Akito, as if she's more than some mentally disturbed person and use Kyou as a way to ineffectively deal with low self-esteem. If you all just stopped treating yourselves and each other so terribly and started just taking responsibility for your actions, then maybe you'd all just be happier."

"But we'd all still be turning into animals," Shigure smirked.

"Yes, I suppose that's true. That being said, life is what you make it."

Shigure laughed and added, "You get what you get, and you don't get upset?"

I managed a sort of half smile, "Well, in a nutshell…"

"I can't say I don't agree with you on some points," Shigure began, "It makes sense. Still, the curse goes back a very long time…"

"It seems to me each generation brainwashes the next," I commented with bitterness.

"Maybe. But at least now I can see why Akito doesn't want you to go off on your own again. You certainly get ideas, don't you?" To be honest, I couldn't tell if he was being serious or not at that last remark. He went on, "Let me pose you this question, though – if you did believe that the curse was real, how would you break it?"

"I never really thought about it," I answered truthfully. Pondering, I continued, "I suppose, logically speaking, if the curse is derived from that old folktale about the zodiac, then the best way to rectify it is for the so called god of our family to call another banquet and invite all the animals to come. And of course, it would be up to the rat to make sure the cat attends. In other words, maybe it's about time everyone stops ostracizing Kyou."

Shigure smirked again at my response, but it was one of those rare, unsettling, dark grins of his that always made me shudder. He eyed me with intrigue before saying, "You're always looking out for him, aren't you?"

"No, it's not that –"

"You're a bit self-righteous, though, don't you think? I mean, it's not as if you're a member of the zodiac, yet you condemn us without a second thought."

"It's not my fault that it's wrong, and you refuse to admit it."

"Oh, I know it's wrong. But that's just the way it is. But Kazuki tell me, is it really simply just that which bothers you or does Kyou in some way remind you of yourself?"

"I don't -" I slowly started to answer. Yet, at once, I grew very rigid and stated, "Shigure, this is not a conversation we should be having right now. I don't mind if we have a session, as we had scheduled it, but I don't have time to sit and talk to you about my own personal affairs."

"Of course, of course!" Shigure quickly agreed, reverting back to his pleasant self. "I'm terribly sorry – I guess I just can't help myself!" He laughed heartily.

With that, we began a very artificial session. Shigure was obviously just going through the motions, for he had already gotten most of the information he wanted. As for myself, I think all Shigure had accomplished was reminding me as to why I wanted to leave so much and why it was pointless for me to keep staying. I had tried my best, but the constant pressure was becoming too much and dealing with people as dark and twisted as Akito and Shigure was more stress than I probably needed in my life. After all, I had blamed most of my family's misery on bad decision-making; I could easily see how my own choices were negatively affecting my life as well. Moreover, if my family wasn't going to do anything to try to make their lives better, I certainly could at least do something to make me happier. Why should I feel guilty, anyway? It's not like I didn't try to help.

And yet, in the back of mind, there was still hope trying its best to survive.