Kami hummed as she walked out of her house towards the store. She was planning a big dinner to celebrate the beginning of summer break. "Let's see…. I'll need lots of veggies… meat…" Kami paused part way as she noticed a light on in Yukio's small house. It was the house where he entertained guests, or where he talked to members of the curse. She slowly walked towards it, wondering why he was in there and who was with him. She slowly turned around and spotted Miyako looking down at her lap as she sat in a chair. Yukito was standing up, drinking a glass of cider, his favorite drink.

"You have to be careful Miyako… If those children had been adults or teenagers your secret would have gotten out."

"I know…" Miyako whispered weakly. Judging from the multiple empty bottles of cider on the counter it looked like the two had been talking for a while. Kami couldn't wait any longer and walked in.

"Hello." She smiled.

Yukio and Miyako looked at her silently. "Kami…" Yukio said calmly.

"Sorry, I was just looking for Miyako. I needed help carrying home some groceries for a big beginning of summer party I'm throwing tonight." She smiled. "Can I take Miyako with me?"

"Very well…" Yukio said calmly, sipping his cider. "I hope you are planning on inviting me." He smiled gently.

"Of course." Kami smiled. "I'll get some cider tonight; do you have a certain type of cider you want?"

"Any kind." Yukio toasted his glass calmly. "I will speak with you later Miyako…"

"Alright…" Miyako nodded and slowly got up. She quickly followed Kami out. "Thanks." She whispered once they were a little bit away from Yukio's small house. "I hate it in there." She sighed.

"I know. I'm sorry." Kami gently placed a hand on Miyako's shoulder. "So what happened to get you invited there?"

Miyako looked down. "I was walking home yesterday and I happened to get lost." She looked down. "I was alone for an hour and couldn't figure out what to do…. I couldn't help it, I transformed. A few young children saw me and rushed to tell their parents. I overheard them talking to their parents… Luckily the adults just thought their kids were playing a game and had overactive imaginations…" She looked down. "I'm sorry."

"It's okay; I know it wasn't your fault." Kami smiled as they walked. "And I'm sure Yukio won't do anything… He won't lock you in there. He knows children have the least amount of revealing what happened to you."

"I know… but I still am scared… what if he does lock me in there… I can't stand that." Miyako shivered.

"I'll talk to him if he decides to do something like that." Kami smiled gently. "Don't worry."

"Thanks Kami… I miss us spending time like this together." She laughed as they walked. "I wish we could spend more time together."

"I'm sorry, but it's summer now so we should be able to."

"That's true." Kami smiled.

"So… How is it going with you and Hatori?" Miyako smiled. "Natsuki told me."

Kami smiled. "It's going good; we already have a plan to go out again tomorrow night… We want to spend as much time as we can during summer break."

"That must be nice… having a boyfriend." Miyako smiled gently. "I wish I had one."

"You just have to find the right one." Kami smiled and gently rested a hand on Miyako's shoulder. "Come on, we better get the food and drinks. Everyone in the family is invited."

"And by that you mean those who know about the curse and those who have a strong connection to us."

"Yeah." Kami chuckled. "It's going to be a big party. You won't have to feel lonely."

"Thanks Kami…" Miyako looked down. "I really hope I don't get stuck in that place…."

"I'm sorry Miyako…. I hate the way Yukio treats us."

"We all share those feelings… and we all have those feelings of wanting to run away." Kami sighed. "I myself almost ran away when I was young…"

"What stopped you?" Miyako asked.

"My mother fell ill." Kami whispered. "I couldn't leave her. I laid at my mother's side as a fox for a week before I finally was able to turn back human for even a little bit…. After that I realized I couldn't run from who I was…" Kami sighed, a few tears dripping down her face.

"I'm sorry Kami!" Miyako looked up.

"It's okay; it's not your fault." Kami whipped her eyes and placed a hand on Miyako's shoulder. "Come on Miyako, I'm going to need all your help deciding what we need."

"I'll love to help." Miyako smiled.

Miyako watched as Natsuki and Shouta started a small fight. She smiled slightly, but froze as she noticed Yukio. He was standing off by himself, drinking his cider. He was watching Kami talking to two girls. One had black hair, the other had red hair. Miyako recognized them as her older cousins, Hitomi and Raine. They went to college a little bit away and hardly showed their faces since they lived on their campuses.

"Guess they decided to come to the party." A fourteen year old girl with brown hair said walking up. She looked at the group of older girls silently. "The whole family is here…"

"Hey Meiko, I'm surprised you're here." Miyako smiled.

"Only for the food." Meiko said coldly. "Then I'm going back home and reading a book."

Miyako sighed. Meiko's emotion was happiness, and so she had pushed as much chance as she could from ever having that feeling. Meiko avoided others and acted coldly, but Miyako had seen the girl happy before. A small duck running around after her big brother Tai. It was well known that Meiko hated Hitomi and Raine the most because they got to see Tai more than her. The only time Meiko accepted her curse was when she was around her brother.

"Enjoy the party." Meiko growled and then stormed off.

"The curse really is horrible…" Miyako sighed. She looked back towards the party and noticed Yukio talking to the three girls. Hitomi and Raine didn't look comfortable around him, but they didn't move. "They won't run… none of us can…" Miyako whispered. "We have nowhere to go…" Miyako paused as she found herself thinking of the Sohmas. They knew about the curse and accepted Miyako even knowing it. Miyako watched as Kami spoke politely and cautiously around Yukio. Even Kami who was the strongest of the cursed couldn't run from him… "But maybe I can…" Miyako quickly moved away from the party and towards her room. "I'm going to do the impossible… I'm going to run away!"

Miyako hurried silently to her room and began to pack up a few things. She planned to leave and never come back. Once she had everything packed up Miyako left the area. She hurried towards the Shigure's house. I wonder if they won't mind me coming… I hope they let me stay with them… Miyako shook it off and sped up.