Kyo hummed as she sipped her fruity drink, sitting at a table with Kyoya. She certainly didn't expect Kyoya's family to own an indoor pool resort, seeing as they were known for their hospital and medical involvement, but she wasn't complaining. After the events of yesterday at the grave site, Kyo was more than happy to not face Tohru any time soon. Of course, she would have liked a warning that this was happening. She and Haruhi had been ambushed as soon as school let out, and while the hosts were hesitant to manhandle her into the car like they had done with Haruhi, they did badger her until she broke down and got inside the car.

So she was here, sitting in a swimsuit as she sat in the shade, not that it was needed while indoors. She had no plans to get into the water, no matter how much Hani begged, but it was either the bikini or stay in her uniform, since Haruhi had chosen to wear the only non-swim attire there was.

"But what does Kyoya senpai's family do for a living?" Speaking of the devil, Haruhi had awoken and arrived at their spot, Tamaki latched onto her like a leech.

Kyoya grinned, setting down his drink. "Businesses here and there. Well, it's management anyway, and if I had to think of something in common between them, wouldn't you say they are 'recovery related'?"

Haruhi's face showed exasperation, turning away.

"Haruhi! Let's go play in the water!" One of the twins shouted, coming out of the pool.

"Hey, why aren't you wearing a swimsuit? We left three options to choose from."

Haruhi shrugged. "These kinds of places aren't really fascinating to me. Plus, I don't really feel like swimming and I don't want to change."

"But Kyo's wearing a swimsuit and she doesn't want to get in the water either!" Hikaru crossed his arms.

Kyo rolled her eyes. "It was this or my uniform. You would have done the same."

"In any case, playing in a plastic pool is just fine for me." Kyo's lips twitched up as Haruhi fought for her life, trying to explain to the twins and Tamaki what a kiddie pool was. Of course these rich bastards had never seen or heard one before. "Kyo-senpai, you've used one too, right?"

Kyo nodded. "Like, once."

"It's still a boat." Kaoru deadpanned. He got pulled away by Tamaki, getting scolded on how they should let Haruhi believe what she wanted.

Hani came up to Haruhi, clinging onto her arm. "Haruhi! There's a pool, let's play~"

"You can't swim, Hani-senpai?" Around his waist, there was an inner tube littered with rabbit patterns.

Hani gave a hum, giving a twirl to show off his tube. "I can, but it just looks cuter this way, right?" He made his way to Kyo, hand circling her wrist to tug gently. "Come on Kyo-chan, let's go to the pool? You can sit next to it if you don't want to get wet!"

He pulled at her wrist without any strength, and Kyo sighed, finally giving in. She stood up, letting Hani take her to where Mori was swimming against the current of the lazy river. Letting go of her, Hani jumped into the water, laughing as he climbed onto Mori's back to sit. Mori didn't flinch, continuing to swim. Kyo laughed, sitting down at the edge of the pool to watch them. Sometimes these idiots weren't all that bad.

She turned to look at everyone else, cupping her mouth to be heard. "Guys! Look at this!" She shouted, pointing to Hani and Mori.

Hani giggled, waving. "It doesn't go forward!" He added.

Tamaki and Haruhi were amazed, but that was short lived as the twins attacked them with water guns. Kyo snorted, giving her attention back to Hani. She blinked as she realized he was now floating in the water by himself. Mori standing next to her, water dripping off him. Kyo cursed when droplets hit her body, and he patted her head in an apology. Smacking his hand away, she scowled at his retreating form.

She tuned out the yells of Tamaki and the twins, meeting Hani's gaze. "What?"

"...Are you sure you don't want to get inside the pool? The water's heated so it's not cold!"

"No thanks, I don't really like water." Kyo paused as she heard a loud thud, followed by a low rumble. It was ominous, and she didn't like the sound of it. She tried to glance back toward the sound, knowing it had something to do with Tamaki, but waves that became aggressive, stole her attention. "Hani…" She frowned, hand reaching out to pull Hani to the edge. They should get away from the water.

Hani reached his own hand out toward Kyo, clasping it tightly. It was hard to pull him from where the current wanted to drag him away, but Kyo refused to let go. Seeing and feeling the current get even harsher to the point where waves were forming, Kyo shouted as a giant wave pulled Hani under the current, which dragged her into the water. The grip around her hand tightened, and out of desperation, Kyo clung on. She could only hear water rushing through her ears and she tried to break through the surface to take a breath. Opening her eyes, Hani was struggling right beside her, the current too strong for the both of them. For the first time in a year, Kyo felt true fear run through her, fearing they would die from this.

The waves threw both of them around, only their locked hands keeping them together. But soon Kyo felt her body slam into Hani, the air leaving her body as she transformed, leaving her small cat form to be pulled in every which way. She lost grasp of what was up and what was down, gasping for breath every time her head popped out the surface. It felt never-ending, and when the river spit her out at the end of the pool, she pressed against the concrete floor. Her form trembled, trying to get back the lost oxygen.

She tried to get up, but she only fell back down, coughing out water from her lungs.

"Kyo…?"

Kyo's eyes snapped open, head twisting to find Hani feet away from her, staring at her in horror and confusion. Of course he would. Everyone else that found out the secret always did.

"Kyo, is that you?" Hani continued, coughing before inching toward her. She wanted to dart away into the bushes, to hiss at him to warn him away, but she was tired. She was so tired and unable to move.

"Don't…" She whispered, black spots appearing in her vision. The last thing she saw before the darkness took her was Hani's hands reaching out.

.

.

.

Hani was a little more terrified than he'd like to admit. Being swept in a harsh current wasn't his plan, nor was it for Kyo to be with him. He wishes he would have just told her to back away, then she wouldn't be here, passed out in his arms.

That was another thing. He looked down to the orange cat in his arms. When the river spit him out, he had to catch his bearings for a moment before searching around for Kyo. He had felt it when their bodies hit one another, and suddenly the tight grip between their hands had disappeared. It had terrified him, but there was nothing he could do meanwhile he fought for his life. But seeing a cat laid to him, it put him off guard. He felt silly calling it Kyo, but as the cat responded to him and even spoke, he had to accept that this cat was Kyo. He didn't know how it was possible, but there was no other explanation.

Hani had ignored Kyo when he realized she fell unconscious, cradling the cat in his arms to provide warmth and standing up. Giving a glance to their surroundings, they were in a completely different section of the resort, only trees in sight. He had no idea how far they had gotten but he knew his friends would be searching for them. Seeing a glimpse of black in his peripheral, the now calm river pushed the top part of Kyo's swimsuit down the current. Hani bent down to pluck it out of the water, holding onto Kyo with one hand as he began to search for the bottom. He didn't know if Kyo would become human again, but having clothes for her would be one less issue to deal with.

With the bikini held in his hands, he started to follow the river in the opposite direction of the current, deciding that would be the best course of action. He was the eldest and conscious one out of the two, and he would protect Kyo in this vulnerable state, even if he didn't understand why she was turned into an animal.

.

.

.

Kyo felt warm. She was rocking back and forth, and a warmth surrounded her. It felt familiar, a feeling she had felt once before, with Tohru. *

Opening her eyes, palm trees greeted her. Slowly the memories trickled back to her, the resort, the waves pulling her in the water with…Hani. Moving her gaze up, she was met with Hani's face looking right back at her. She jolted in shock, and then fear as she realized she was in her cat form.

Jumping out of his arms, she stumbled as she hit the ground, but hissed at the boy.

"Kyo!" Hani shouted, his arms dropping to his side.

She noticed her swimsuit in his hand, and she knew the jig was up. Hani knew her secret.

"Kyo please…" He whispered, going down on his knees to be closer to her level. "I don't know what's going on…why are you a cat?"

"Why aren't you scared?" She asked instead, not lowering her defensive stance.

"...I am. I'm scared that you and I were going to drown, I'm scared because you suddenly became a cat. I didn't know if you were going to wake up, or where the others are." Hani shook his head. Right now he wasn't putting on his lolita act, his face was serious and looking like the eighteen year old he actually was. "But I'm going to get us out of here, even if you stay a cat forever."

Kyo's shoulders dropped, even as the tension in her body stayed. "I'm not going to stay a cat forever." On cue, she transformed back into her human form, the smoke clouding their vision. "Can I have my clothes back?" She covered her chest, cheeks flushed. As the smoke cleared she could see that Hani's face was equally red, eyes closed as he offered her swimsuit out. Grabbing them, she quickly put them on before sitting down. This was going to take a minute to explain.

"You can open your eyes now." She told him, pulling her knees up to her chest.

Hani stayed where he was, waiting patiently for her to start talking.

"Look…what I'm about to tell you, what you saw today, you have to swear you won't tell anyone, not even Mori."

"But-"

"No one can know about this. I'm risking everything by telling you the truth, to keep you, me, everyone safe. If Akito finds out that you or anyone else knows, things won't end well." She stressed.

"...I swear I won't tell anyone." Hani promised.

Kyo took a deep breath. She would have to trust him. "Me turning into a cat, that's normal. My family, the Sohmas, we've been possessed by the thirteen zodiac animals. It's been a curse for centuries, a never ending torture. We keep it hidden to not reveal it to outsiders. Not even every Sohma knows about the curse, only those in the main estate."

"But there's only twelve zodiac animals." Hani softly pointed out.

"There's thirteen." Kyo grit her teeth, fists curling up. "No one remembers the cat and they don't care. It was a race to get a spot in the twelve Zodiacs, and the stupid cat missed its chance because of the rat. The cat was supposed to get included!" She stopped as she got too upset, covering her face for a moment. "...We end up changing when we get hugged by the opposite sex, or get weak."

"That's why you don't like to be touched by us."

"Yeah…It's dangerous to find out the secret."

"What happens when someone does?"

Kyo looked up, staring at Hani with unease. "They get their memories erased. If Akito finds out, he'll erase yours and the other's memories of me and I'll be taken back to the estate." She held up her hand as Hani looked like he was about to argue. "This is why I need you to not let another soul know about this. I'm going against Akito's orders to report this to him, because I won't be able to fight him if he decides he wants your memories erased. I…I want to keep going to Ouran and stay with you guys."

"I want that too. I don't want you to leave." Hani inched closer to her, laying his hand onto hers loosely. She didn't pull away, and he took that as his chance to hold it properly. "Your secret is safe with me, and I'll help you hide it."

Kyo stared at their hands, the second time it happened. She felt a flutter in her stomach at the contact, and she looked away, flustered. "We should get back to the others." She stood up, slipping out of his hold and beginning to walk away. Hearing no footsteps behind her, she looked over her shoulder. "Come on Hani, we gotta get out of this jungle."

Hani got up, hurrying to her side. "Mitsukuni."

"Ah?"

"Call me Mitsukuni."

Kyo scratched her cheek. Only Mori called him by his first name. "Mitsukuni." She repeated, testing the name out.

Hani smiled, pleased and facing forward.

"Say, why is it that Mori calls you that instead of Hani?" She wondered, tilting her head.

"Takashi and I grew up together! We're cousins so we never call each other by our last names." That was a surprise to Kyo. "The Morinozuka served the Haninozuka for generations up until there was a marriage two generations ago."

That would explain why Mori was always around Hani-Mitsukuni like a bodyguard. "Mori must be worried about you."

"He probably is…but we'll get back in no time!" He assured her.

They continued walking for a while longer before Mitsukuni stopped, the sound of stomping reaching their ears. Kyo frowned, peeking through the long tree leaves to see armed men running past them. "One of the targets is sighted with a tall suspect! Prepare to arrest him!"

"Takashi…!" Mitsukuni whispered, seeing him in the distance with Haruhi in his arms, the guards surrounding them with guns aimed at them. "I have to go help them!" He looked around for a moment before beginning to climb the nearest tree.

"Wait, Mitsukuni!" Kyo hissed.

"Stay here Kyon-chan!" He pointed at her before climbing further, the leaves hiding him.

Going back to looking through the leaves, Kyo could see the men getting agitated, about to attack Mori and Haruhi. However, when they dared to touch Haruhi and try to pull her out of his arms, things began to get more chaotic.

"Takashi! Haruhi! Move out of the way!" Mitsukuni yelled out, swinging out of the trees on a vine, making Kyo's jaw drop. He swung down to kick the guard in the face, effectively protecting his friends.

Landing on the ground, Mitsukuni's eyes darkened as another guard approached him. "What do you think you're doing, you small brat-!" His words got caught off as he was thrown over Mitsukuni's shoulder, quickly moving to take out the rest of the guards.

Haruhi's face was filled with pure shock and horror, seeing Mitsukuni's face returning back to his usual lolita mask. "You dare to be so noisy when you can't even fight properly! If you mess with my friends, you're done for!"

Tamaki burst through the bushes, out of breath as he zoned in on Haruhi. "Haruhi! Are you alright?!"

"Ah? Hani senpai?" The twins and Kyoya trailed after. "Where's Kyo-senpai?"

Standing up, Kyo sighed, getting their attention. "I'm here."

"Senpai!" "Kyon!"

Kyo sent a glare to Kyoya, who seemed very nonchalant about everything. "I do hope you know we almost drowned in that stupid river."

"Yes, I've already sent the feedback to the engineering team about this." He pushed up his glasses, opening his notebook again.

"That's all you have to say, not even a sorry?"

"Saying sorry would imply us being at fault. There was no way I could have known Tamaki would trip and trigger the wave system."

"Maybe you shouldn't keep it out in the open then!" Kyo squawked, indignant. She deflated, exhausted mentally and physically. She just wanted to go home.

"H-hold on, how did Hani-senpai…?" Haruhi stuttered, still shaken by the men still on the floor.

The twins looked at her. "You didn't know? The Haninozuka are renowned for their martial arts. Not only have they helped train the police and SDF forces, but they also worked with several overseas militaries."

"Hani-senpai in particular has been called the dreadnought of the Haninozuka family." Kyoya continued, staring at the small third year. "By the time he was in middle school, he'd become the national champion in both Karate and Judo."

Kyo looked over to Mitsukuni as well, feeling awe at that accomplishment. She knew that his family was known for martial arts, it was impossible not to know with Shishou being a master of Karate, but she hadn't known his own personal achievements.

When Mitsukuni looked over to them and met her eyes, she instantly looked away, feeling her cheek flame at being caught. Mitsukuni smiled, turning around to Mori.

"Takashi, good job at protecting Haruhi~ You weren't too lonely without me, right?" He grabbed Mori's hand, pulling him down to pat his head.

Mori looked away, stoic. "Not really."

Mitsukuni only smiled wider, happy. He moved to climb onto the taller's back. "Carry me to the exit!" And off Mori went, dutifully following orders.

The twins sighed. "We didn't get to have fun properly. Maybe it was a mistake to come after school." "Next summer we'll go to the ocean!"

Tamaki rolled his eyes. "Idiots, Haruhi isn't interested in that kind of-"

"Ocean…" Haruhi cut him off, finger to her chin. "If it's the ocean, I'd like to see it."

The three freaked out in confusion, talking over one another, not that Haruhi even cared to listen to them. "It's just not interesting if it's in a plain place like this. But the ocean is different."

Kyo shook her head. "Just let me stay at home next time."

A/N:

*Kyo hugs Tohru with less hesitance because they are both girls. She has only allowed by consent for her to hug her.

So not long after I posted chapter 5, I finished 6, but I forced myself to not get ahead of myself and wait a bit to post 6. I wanted to give myself a chance to keep working on the next chapters so I didn't go years without updating.

Kyo has now revealed the secret to Hani! There was a slight difference I could have done to reveal the transformation, but I thought crashing into each other was the most logical.

I also finally did chart to figure out the exact lining up of the timelines. It's very tricky and I have to sacrifice some scenes/episodes to make it work, but I've gotten up to a certain point until I need to think about the next steps. I also decided I need to get further into the ouran manga to catch up to the timelines with furuba.

Feel free to ask any question you have about the story or characters, and I'll try to answer if it's not a spoiler to the plot!