Someone came in after Asuka fainted. He was a young boy, he looked to be about 13 or so. He hurried and knelt beside Asuka. "It's a good thing the rest of the Hanajins are deep sleepers," he said. "They would be really... annoyed if they found you were here."

As I looked at the boy, I noticed he had different colored eyes. One was turquoise and the other was yellow. The turquoise seemed to have a... brighter gleam than the yellow one.

"I'll take care of Asuka," he said. Shigure and I both nodded. "But on the way out, beware my brother..."

With that Shigure and I left.

While we were walking home Shigure asked, "I bet you're wondering why I went there, huh?"

I nodded.

"Well, to be perfectly honest, Asuka was reading my future. I always have it read when she comes to town. It was one of her fortunes that made me pursue the writing business, in the first place. If you haven't noticed, Asuka holds the spirit of Aquarius, the Water-Bearer, that's what allows her to read the future."

I was never one to believe in fortune-telling. I mean, why should I? There were a lot of cons in fortune-telling. I wanted to stay safe.

By the time we got home, it was 1:30. When I got to my bedroom, I just flopped on my bed and fell asleep.

That night, my dream was different.

I could see several people, bowing down to something. I noticed these people to be the Sohmas, and the Hanajins. As I looked up at what they were bowing at, I could see nothing. I mean there was something there, but it was just a black shape that I couldn't make out. I t was holding out its hand hand to me.

Come on, Tohru, it said. Let's rule together!

I woke up late that day and was almost tardy to school. And like yesterday, I couldn't seem to focus. My mind was still on my dream. What did it mean?

My mom always said that dreams mean something. They can show us either the present, the past, or the future. My dream just showed me how confused I was when it came to dream-reading!

Another thing that bothered me was Asuka's vision. He's coming! I couldn't get those shrieks out of my head.

Kyo and Yuki noticed something was wrong with me. They didn't say anything about it as we walked home, but I could tell what they were thinking. Boys are like an open book.

"It's okay guys, you don't have to worry about me!" I said in a chipper tone.

Both blushed. "What!?" they both exclaimed. "We're not- hey stop copying me! I am going to break your neck!"

I giggled.

When we got home, I started to do the laundry. A few minutes later, I saw Yuki outside.

"Yuki," I called. "Where are you going?"

He looked behind, and smiled. "I'm going to the secret base, want to come?"

"Sure!"

When we started to walk, Yuki looked at me. "You've been mumbling in your sleep. Is something wrong?"

Does everybody watch me sleep? I asked myself.

"I already told you, don't worry about me. I'm fine."

But the truth was, I wasn't sure. Was I truly fine?

When we got to the secret base, I noticed several new plants.

"You got strawberries and a plum tree?! Oh, Yuki, that's amazing!" I hugged him. I could feel him go hot.

"Yeah, I did. But the strawberries aren't looking so good. I think they need extra water. There's a little pond, just over there. Will you go get some?"

I nodded, and Yuki gave me a watering can. I was so happy about the new fruit, I almost skipped the whole way to the pond. When I got there, everything seemed to become shaded. Everything was surrounded by the trees' shadows. I knelt down by the water and filled up the watering can. When I rose up a heard a whistle. At least I thought it was a whistle until I listened a little longer. It was a flute.

I started to walk towards the source, until I found it. I sat behind some bushes, and looked through the leaves. I could see the boy that I had met the night of Asuka's divination. He was perched atop some rocks, playing a wooden flute. He was wearing a purple kimono and his blonde hair was always shifting as the wind blew through it.

At first I couldn't make out the tune he was playing. Then, I distinctly recognized it as a lullaby my mother used to sing to me. It was very pretty and reminded me of my mother.

When he ended, my heart gave a little throb. He jumped off the rocks and started to walk towards the bushes where I was hiding. He held out his hand. "Don't cry. I'd hate to make you cry. Please, come out."

I took his hand and stood up. I didn't realize the tears on my face until the boy had remarked on me crying.

"My name's Ryouichi. What's your's?" asked the boy.

"Tohru," I sniffled.

He smiled. "'Tohru... I like that name!"

I smiled back at him.

"You seem like a trustworthy person, doesn't she, brother?" Ryouichi spoke to someone behind him. I looked to see who was behind him. No one was there.

"Do you want to know a secret?"

I nodded.

"Then meet me here in say... two days. Okay?"

I nodded again.

"My brother and I will be looking forward to it."

And with that, Ryouichi left. As I saw him leave, I thought I saw a figure exit out of the trees and walk with Ryouichi. I rubbed my eyes and looked again. There was no one there.