Prettyinpinkgal: Hi! Get this: I'm moving! AGAIN! And I'm moving from Pennsylvania to all the way in Minnesota. Hee, I'm gonna be in the same state as Mall of America :)! I'm gonna miss my friends a lot, though. And in case any of my friends are reading this: YOU GUYS RULE! (coughs) Okay, got that off my chest. Anyway, here is the next chapter of "Troubled Love"! And thanks for reviewing! Here's some pie. (hands out pie) Okay, onto the story!

Disclaimer: ...Why would I be writing on FanFiction if I'm Natsuki Takaya...? So nope, I don't own Furuba cuz I ain't her! (yay bad English!) Oh, but I own Hikaru.

TROUBLED LOVE

CHAPTER TEN: CONFRONTATION

Yuki and Kyo walked with Tohru/Tsuki back to Shigure's place. It felt great to Tohru; here she was, walking with two of her best friends back to her old home. Only problem was, they didn't know her secret identity, and Shigure wouldn't, either.

Not to mention, there's that whole transforming-into-a-duck thing. Why on earth was that happening? And what about Yuki not turning into a rat?

Tohru sighed as she thought of the long, long day. When did my life get so strange? she thought.

Kyo noticed the sigh. "You okay?" he asked. "It's not like you not to be energetic."

"Oh. Kyo-kun," Tsuki said, being knocked out of her thoughts. "Sorry about that! I just was thinking about...things."

"Oh." That was all he said. It was probably the shortest thing Kyo-kun ever said.

"Now that I think about it," Tohru said, walking ahead and facing the two boys. "You guys look like you're thinking about things too. Is everything okay?" she asked, concerned.

The two froze. Then Yuki shook his head. "Everything's fine." And the three continued walking. Although Tsuki acted like nothing was bothering her, she hurt inside.

"That's right," she murmered to herself as her hair bounced with each step. "I'm not Tohru in their eyes."

Kyo looked at her. "Did you say something?"

Tsuki gasped. She had no idea she said that out loud! "O-of course not! I'm not the type of person to talk to herself. Ha ha ha ha ha!" She forced herself to laugh while Kyo raised an eyebrow and looked ahead again. She mentally sighed. At least he didn't actually hear me!

Finally, after traveling through the woods for about ten minutes, they arrived at Shigure's house. It was amazing how much seeing that building meant to Tohru!

"So, what do you think?" Yuki asked her.

"Oh, uh, it's wonder-I mean, awesome!" she stuttered. Sometimes it was hard being both the sweet Tohru Honda and the tough Tsuki Nekono.

They walked a little further and arrived at the door. Yuki pushed it open and cried, "We're home!"

Shigure popped his head in. "Welcome home, Yuki-kun. Kyo-kun." He then noticed the kogal at the door. "Oh, who's this?"

Tohru felt like she could cry. But she sucked in her tears and gave a confident smile. "Hey! I'm Tsuki Nekono. I'm a student visiting at Kaibara High."

Shigure gave his normal no-worries grin. "And I'm Shigure Sohma, Yuki-kun and Kyo-kun's cousin."

After the introductions, the three walked into the kitchen. Or, at least, what was supposed to be a kitchen. Without Tohru there, the Sohmas never really bothered cleaning it again. So, the kitchen looked almost as bad as when Tohru first came to live in the Sohma house. Almost.

"Do you want something to drink?" Yuki asked politely.

"Oh, uh, no thanks."

"All right then. Let's get down to work." They sat at the nearby table, Yuki helping Tohru and Kyo doing his own homework. The hours ticked by, and it was time for dinner. Of couse, no way were Yuki or Shigure cooking, and Kyo was sick of doing the cooking after only a couple times. So, they went to their usual resort: takeout. When it came, they all said, "Itadikimasu! (Thanks for the food, let's eat, etc.)" and dug in. After a bit, it was eighteen-thirty (six thirty). The teens had finished their homework, but they hung out for a while longer. Haru and Momiji came over, which they had started doing daily ever since Tohru left, for it made it feel like they were closer to her.

It was then that a knock came at the door. All six heads perked up, and Shigure slid the door open. "Hello," he said cheerfully, the most cheerful he'd been since Tohru left. Tsuki reminded him a lot of Tohru somehow (A/N Gee, I wonder why XP). Then his eyes widened.

"Hello, Shigure," the figure at the door said. The other five came over to the door to see who it was, but their eyes widened in fear when they saw who it was.

Akito.

"Hello, Yuki. Kyo. Haru. Momiji," he said, nodding at each person. Then he came to the girl standing there, trying to act confused. However, he knew exactly who it was. Her face was exactly the same as that other girl's. Her hair and clothes were different, but her face had a definite likeness to Tohru Honda's.

"Hello, there," Akito said with a "kind" smile. "Who might you be?"

Tsuki gathered her courage and acted like a stranger. "Tsuki Nekono. And you?"

Akito twitched. How disrespectful! Then he calmed himself and gave a smile. "I am Akito Sohma, head of the Sohma household."

Tsuki's eyes widened. "Whoa, seriously? That's so way cool! Oh, I guess I should be more polite, huh?" she said as she forced out a laugh. Bowing, she said, "Hajimemashite, Sohma-san (Pleased to meet you)."

Akito said, "May I speak to you for a moment, Nekono-san?" The other Sohmas' eyes widened.

"Akito-san, please--" Shigure began to protest.

"It's not like I'll do anything to her. I just want to speak with her for a moment. Is that alright with you, Nekono-san?"

"Uh, sure."

Kyo butted in. "Tsuki, don't..."

He was cut off when Akito grabbed Tohru's wrist and brought her outside, where the others couldn't hear. As much as the others wanted to keep Tsuki safe, they decided it might be better if they waited for her to get back.

Meanwhile, Akito turned and sent a malicious smile in Tohru's direction, making her shudder. "It has been a while, Honda-san," he said, spitting out her name.

Her eyes widened. "Uh...I'm not..."

"I know you're really Tohru Honda. I thought I told you to avoid contact with the Sohmas," snarled Akito.

"I tried! But I had no choice but to go to their school, and they ended up becoming friends with the new me. Please, Akito-san! Please don't hurt them!" she cried, bowing.

"Do they know?" she heard him ask.

"No. They have no idea who I really am," Tohru replied, still bowing.

"Then it's alright. After all, I did tell you that you could come in contact with them if you keep your true identity a secret." Tohru stood upright, grateful.

"Arigato, Akito-san! (Thank you!)" she cried. Thank goodness they won't be hurt!

"However, should they find out about your true identity, they will be punished. As will you," he added, with a evil look.

"I'll make sure that won't happen," she said bravely. Then, she remembered. "Akito-san. This will sound strange, but I turned into a duck earlier, like the Sohmas turn into animals. I was wondering if you knew what happened..."

She was cut off when a hard slap hit her. She stumbled backwards instead of being thrown back. Karate can be very helpful sometimes.

"Are you suggestion I would have something to do with that?" Akito barked.

"N-no," Tohru stuttered. "I was just...I mean, I transformed and Yuki-kun didn't..."

Akito's eyes widened and glared. "What happened," he said instead of asked, his voice quiet. Tohru explained what had happened earlier and Akito turned around. The girl blinked. By the way Akito was acting, it sounded as if he was...confused.

Finally, Akito spoke, Tohru unable to see his face. "I don't know what happened that made you transform. It didn't have to do with me. But I don't care about what happens to you," he said bluntly. "It's the Sohma Curse I'm concerned about."

"Eh?" Tohru asked.

"The curse shouldn't break as long as there is a head of the family alive. So it's impossible that the curse is broken. I...don't know what's going on."

Prettyinpinkgal: It was short, wasn't it? Yes, it's short. I'm sorry! TT And I think it was rushed! Wasn't it rushed? I think it was rushed :( (flustered) But...I don't want to take longer updating, so I'm going to give it to you guys as it is. Um, I really hope you guys enjoyed this chapter, even if it was short and rushed...(sobs and ends up sounding like Ritsu) I'M SORRRY! I'M SO SOOORRRRYYYY!

(coughs) Um, so, I'm going to quit complaining and I'm going to give you guys a chance to complain. Again, I'm REALLY sorry!