Hello again everyone! I have not abandoned you, never fear! I just moved back into my dorm at the university and have just completed my first week of classes. So after having to jobs and working 16 hour days all summer, I feel pretty relaxed right now J. Anyway, as usual, apologies for the long wait and please enjoy the story! We're in the homestretch now!

GONE…?

Chapter 20- Letting the Monsters Out of the Closet

Kyo sat bolt upright as he heard a muffled noise on the floor below him. He carefully peeked over his blankets to find it was broad daylight. Shocked that he had been able to sleep at all in this creepy house, the boy lowered the blanket warily. Again he heard the noise, a thumping of what sounded like slow heavy feet on the staircase. The clock on the wall told Kyo that no one should be in the house but him. Hana and her brother would be at school by now and the Hanajima's parents both had day jobs. That could only mean one of two things. There was an intruder in the house or the monster from the front closet had somehow gotten loose and was wandering the house. Neither of these appealed to Kyo's interests: mainly his interest to live. He glanced around for something to protect himself, but found the room empty of anything save the futon he slept on and the clock on the wall. Swallowing the lump that had formed in his throat, Kyo stood and paced silently to the door. Hoping it was just an intruder, he listened at the door. The footsteps had stopped. With a deep breath, he opened the door and found… nothing. Kyo grit his teeth in frustration. Fine. Hide and seek it would be.

………………………………...

The train ride had been a quiet one. Though Saki Hanajima lived a good distance from the school, the conversation was limited. Yuki wasn't about to voice his opinions in public, for fear that someone might still be following them. Uo was frustrated that Yuki wasn't talking and still had the muted urge to punch him for abandoning Tohru after he had promised to take care of her. Hana had no interest in revealing her thoughts as she knew anything she said from this point on could tip the balance that destiny had laid out for all of them. Tohru was the only one who wanted to say anything. She wanted to speak with Yuki, to ask how the Sohmas were, if Kyo was all right, how he had been able to find her; the list was endless, but the expression he gave off stilled the questions threatening to cascade from her eager lips. Even as they entered the Hanajima house, no one spoke. It was not until they entered Hana's bedroom and softly closed the door that someone spoke.

"All right Sohma, spill. What the hell is going on?" Uo demanded hotly, glaring at him from across the room. She was sitting on Hana's bed cross legged and her mood seemed to match the gloom of the décor nicely.

Yuki sighed, knowing this was going to take some time, but wanting to make sure it was told properly. He began with how Kyo had disappeared from the estate and continued from there. He told them about Shigure's incident with Akito, and ended at his escape from the Sohma house. He did his best to avoid discussing the curse and anything that related to it. But that was rather hard and he knew it would be brought to attention later.

Tohru's eyes were wide and filled with tears. Her lips quivered as though she would start sobbing at any moment. Yuki gazed at her with sympathy. Finally she said, "This is all my fault! I've caused so much pain, I'm so sorry Yuki-kun! How could you ever forgive me?" There was silence for a moment as Yuki tried to find a way to console the girl and tell her it was not her fault. As he reached to put a comforting hand on her shoulder, the was a loud CRACK and the door burst open. Uo and Yuki were on their feet in an instant. There in the doorway, his orange hair tousled from sleep and his fists dangling uselessly at his sides, was a very surprised Kyo.

"…Oh…" was all he could manage as he found three of the four sets of eyes staring at him as though he had grown a third eye or something equally bizarre. Uo dropped her guard and stared at Hana in confusion as Yuki walked right up to the boy as though to greet a long lost friend. The façade ended only when Kyo saw too late the fist aimed for his jaw. Kyo stumbled into the doorframe from the power of the impact before shouting, "What the hell was that for you damn rat?"

Yuki just stood there glaring at him as though disgusted. "Do you have any idea the damage you have caused you idiot? They turned the whole Estate over looking for you and now we're all paying for your damn escape attempt. You… you imbecile!"

"Y-Yuki-kun…" Tohru tried to calm him down, coming to hover near him with a passive approach to easing the boy away from Kyo. Uo and Hana just looked rather bemused. "So Orangey's been here all along, huh Hana?" Uo asked with a half smile to her overly calm friend who was glancing at her nails as though nothing out of the ordinary was happening.

"He was lost," she replied. "I found him."

"Oh, I gotcha, like a stray cat," Uo teased. Kyo stood straight up and glared in her direction. "Go to Hell, Yankee," he told her menacingly, holding his bruised jaw.

"Oh don't be such a spoilsport Kyon Kyon," Uo whined, the grin never leaving her face. "Have a seat and stay awhile. Don't you want to know why someone's going to try and make an attempt on Tohru-chan's life?"

A pained look flashed across Yuki's still irritated features. How could Uo still believe this was a joke?

Kyo dropped his hands and circled them protectively around Tohru, who was still standing nearby, worrying over his swollen cheek. "What are you talking about? Why would anyone want to hurt her?"

Tohru flailed her arms a little, trying to make them hear her as she responded, "I really don't think that's the case, I mean, I'm not very important, and if I offended someone I'm sure I can make it up, perhaps this is just a big misunderstanding?" But inside she knew that Yuki would not lie to her. She knew that Akito may very well wish to kill her, and she also knew that she would deserve to be killed. She had broken the rules of the house and so must suffer the consequences. She had know the consequences when she had entered the Sohma property after her banishment. That being said, she did not wish to die. Her mission was not complete yet.

Uo however pointed to Yuki and said "Ask him, he's the one who dragged us all out of school ranting and raving about some guy named Akito (I think he's the Sohma family head, right?) trying to kill Tohru-chan."

Kyo ground his teeth together with a menacing growl at the name. Yuki sat down again and then said in a low voice deliberately avoiding Kyo's eyes, "I think Akito wants Tohru dead because he thinks she let you escape."

At this Kyo flopped down uselessly with a slow, "Oh… shit…"

"Why don't you guys just call the cops or something on this guy? He's obviously some kind of lunatic, even if he is the head of your family, you can't just let him abuse you guys like this or lock you into an Estate… That's completely insane!" Uo demanded in frustration. "You talk about him like he's some kind of dictator or god or something!"

Kyo glanced sharply at Uo and Hana, before turning to Yuki and Tohru and asking, "Just how much do they know? We can't trust them with this kind of thing! What if they blow our cover? They'll both end up stuck in this mess too."

At this Hana who had sat disinterestedly on her cushion stood up. "Kyo Sohma, Yuki Sohma. Whatever it is you are hiding from us, cannot be kept secret any longer. Uo and I swore, on the grave of Kyoko Honda, that we would protect Tohru-chan at ALL costs. If you interfere with this, or allow Tohru to come to harm because of your actions, we are breaking our oath, which is unforgivable. I found Kyo Sohma and brought him to my home because I knew the time was drawing near when Tohru-chan would need him. Whatever your purpose, I was sent to help. Tell us what you are hiding so that I may know better protect Tohru-chan and aid you in your mission."

Kyo would have argued, but something in the power behind Hana's eyes stopped him. It was almost as though someone was whispering in his head, 'This is what you've been waiting for. This is your only chance at freedom. Don't turn away.'

Yuki must have heard the same voice for he instantly turned to Hana and said, "I am the Rat of the Zodiac. I transform when I am hugged by someone of the opposite sex. Kyo and I, as well as eleven others in our family are cursed and forced to live as exiles, unable to live a normal life."

There was a pause as Uo made a strangled little noise before saying, "What you're serious?"

Kyo's response was to hug Tohru tightly. A small explosion made Uo jump onto the bed in fright. All of a sudden, Kyo was gone and an innocent looking little orange tabby cat sat on top of his clothes. "H-Huh? What the hell was that?!" Uo yelped. The cat bounded up to her perch on the bed and then growled, "Now does it look like we're joking? I'm the fucking Cat that was left out of the Zodiac. Cursed by a vengeful spirit for my whole life. And believe me, this isn't the worst of it Yankee." Uo's eyes were possibly the biggest Tohru had ever seen them. Even Hana had not expected such a result and looked a little shaken. The Cat returned to Tohru's lap and curled up, still glaring at Uo who was trying to formulate a coherent thought and was failing.

As part of her own test, Hana walked over to Yuki and sat before him. "May I?" she asked. He looked confused but nodded. Hana curled her arms carefully around the boy's thin shoulders and for a brief moment they embraced. Then came the inevitable explosion, and a little gray rat sat perched in Hana's hand. "I see," she told him. "That explains the strange aura of the Sohma's. You must have endured much pain in your lives because of this." Yuki merely nodded.

He finally heard Uo squeak, "Orange top?" as she looked at the ginger haired cat. "Is that really you?"

Suddenly, the cat moved from Tohru's lap. There was another explosion and both Tohru and Uo turned bright red and turned away with small yelps of surprise as Yuki and Kyo returned to their normal forms… but nude. Hana was quite unmoved, which rather perturbed Yuki.

Once they were dressed and seated again, Yuki took control of telling the whole story from the beginning. He told the girls of the original Zodiac, he told them of his family, of Akito's slow descent into madness, of the pain he had inflicted onto the family, of Tohru's arrival and her discovery of the curse, of her first trip to the main house, and her last sight of the Estate.

In the silence that ensued, Tohru decided that she could hide it no longer. She could not run from the Sohmas. At one point she may have had the choice. She could have left the Sohma house and never gone back. She could have gotten a new tent and lived in the woods alone. She could have never kissed Kyo or attempted to free him. She could have never gone back into the Sohma Estate looking for Kureno. But it seemed that destiny had taken control of her life. Sure she could stop right now and say she wanted nothing more to do with the whole thing, but when she looked into the eyes of her friends, the friends she had cherished so dearly through her young life, she knew what her choice would be. She would stick this through with them, no matter the consequences. If it meant that she could save them, she would give up her heart, her body, or her very soul to do so.

This in mind, she turned to Yuki and Kyo, her housemates and close friends, and said with quiet dignity, "I've been trying to discover the way to break the curse since I left the Sohma estate and I think I finally understand. I think I know how to break the curse. If I'm right, will you accept my help? I know I'm clumsy and not very bright, and I make mistakes, but I really think I know what to do… I can feel it in my heart. I can't do this alone, but if we all work together, I think we can free the Sohmas."

………………………………...

Hatori had been sitting in his office, quietly contemplating as he watched Shigure pass his window. It was around 10 o'clock that Hatori had begun to notice Shigure's…unusual behavior. He would casually wander to some part or another of the estate, pretend to be doing something or talking to someone about something, and then would suddenly scurry away as though afraid to be caught in the act. Shigure was never one to be so busy, so Hatori knew there must be something going on. He stood and walked to the window, summoning Shigure with a quiet call. Shigure stopped and turned, a carefree smile on his face. "Oh, Haa-san, it's you!" he said casually.

"Shigure… what are you up to?" Hatori asked, raising an eyebrow at Shigure's "innocent" act.

"Oh, the usual. Being poetic, raising havoc, opening the gates of hell, et cetera." he replied mysteriously.

Hatori grimaced his understanding of Shigure's little insinuation. "Just don't get caught. Anyone could tell you're not usually so active as today."

Shigure merely winked and continued on his way.

Just what is Shigure planning I wonder? What is the secret to breaking the curse and how does Tohru know it? No you didn't miss a chapter or anything (I hope), all will be revealed next chapter. Please feel free to review. I would actually really like some feedback on this chapter because it feels like it's missing something… I don't know, but if you coul please review with your opinion, it would be greatly appreciated.