A/N: I was second-guessing to write a part 2, but then you guys wanted it... and ta-da! I'm happy and excited to serve! Love you all! Enjoy!
It's been sixty-five days since Kyo's confinement.
Each day Tohru's patience runs thin. She wants to see Kyo so bad. Staring at his photos till she falls asleep isn't enough anymore.
Technically, she can go see him. By sneaking in. No one would notice. No one is guarding the door to the Cat's room. Even Kyo could run away if he wants to. But why he won't is a mystery to Tohru. Maybe it's the power Akito has over him.
It's her birthday today. Her nineteenth birthday. Without Mom. Without Kyo. She misses them both so much.
Just her two friends come over to her small rundown apartment to wish her with a birthday cake and Yuki wishes her through the phone. That's it.
None of the other zodiacs contact her anymore, and she doesn't either because she isn't supposed to know them anymore. Her memory alteration lets her remember Kyo and Yuki because she has enough photo evidences and they were in the same class and almost everyone at school knew about her dating Kyo and being good friends with Yuki. Therefore, she rolls with that information, pretending according to that.
Yuki lives in the main estate now and goes to a university chosen by the Sohmas. The same goes for the others. Tied by the tight bond of the curse.
Except for Momiji and Hiro. Of course, Kureno, but he still stays with Akito. Their curses are broken. And recently, while sneaking around the main estate, she heard whispers that Ayame's curse broke as well.
Tohru thinks it's slightly unfair. It's not that she's not happy for them. But Kyo's curse is the one that really needed to be broken before spring. Why is everything always so unfair for Kyo?
Even now, why won't it break? Even if did break, will Akito let Kyo go? No, she doesn't have to. Kyo can defy Akito then, he doesn't have to listen to her. That's why she needs to focus on breaking the curse for now.
No matter how much Tohru looks through the old Sohma documents related to the curse, there's nothing she can find about breaking the curse. She just wants—
"Okay, Tohru! Make a wish!" Arisa grins, holding the birthday cake in front of Tohru, while Saki smiles.
Tohru manages to smile and blows the candles, closing her eyes and clasping her hands.
I wish Kyo-kun would be free...
She has made the same wish three times now—on two new years eve and her last birthday. She wants to add another one this time.
And I want to see him.
Tohru opens her eyes and displays a bright smile for her friends.
While she hates any form of celebration at the moment, she can't disrespect her friends' hard work to arrange all these for her. So she cuts the cake and eats the takeout they brought for lunch, all the while never dropping her cheerful demeanor.
Since it's a weekend, Arisa and Saki had wanted to stay the night, but Tohru politely turned them down with the excuse of a headache. She can't keep her mask on for that long, and there's something she wants to do today...
So after they leave, Tohru stares at the leftover cake.
Taking a determined breath, she cuts a slice of it and sets it in a small box, putting it along with a fork in a small bag. She puts her hair in a high ponytail and sets out in the clothes she was already wearing.
She walks the six blocks distance at a brisk pace and reaches the small hole in the wall. Putting her lips in a thin line, she crawls inside.
She carefully goes through the path she regularly uses, passing by the back of the traditional houses into the bamboo forest which leads to a small cottage.
But this time, she doesn't hide in the bush.
She looks around to check if anyone is around. At this time of the day, no one should be, unless she's unlucky. The maid in charge only comes to deliver the three meals a day. Other than that, she's never around.
Tohru sucks in a deep breath and approaches the door. There's a lock on it. A rusted, rotting lock on a wobbling wooden shoji door.
If Tohru pushed it with all her strength, she might even manage to break the door. But she can't let anyone know that someone visited.
She fishes out a key from her purse and opens the lock.
A month ago, she had made a copy of the key that the maid carried. The maid obviously didn't know Tohru's face, so she had taken advantage of that fact. She bumped into her one day and stole the key. After making a copy of it, she returned it by sneaking into the maid's quarter and putting it on the maid's desk. It had been risky, but definitely worth it. She was willing to get arrested for Kyo too.
By all the sneaking around Tohru does nowadays, she might as well have become a ninja by now.
But then again, ninjas probably don't have nearly as much as scratches as Tohru does. She's clumsy, so accidents happen a lot.
Tohru steps into the house, the floorboard creaking with the step of her foot.
She can't help but shiver at the sensation she gets from here. It's scary like a haunted house. Spiderwebs decorating the corners, dust everywhere—as if no living being even lives here.
Her heart clenches.
She sucks in another deep breath and turns to her right. The place is mostly dark. She can't even see properly, except for the minimum sunlight coming from the closed shoji windows.
As the bars come into view, a hoarse voice comes out, "Is it dinner time already?"
Tohru freezes at the familiar voice, her heart thumping in her chest. Her hand tightens around her purse and the bag.
She's scared all of a sudden.
She didn't think it through while coming here. What if he doesn't want to see her? What if Akito asks him and he tells the truth that Tohru didn't forget anything? What if this time she forgets everything for real? What if—
"Tomone?"
Tohru snaps back to reality, looking around the dark room. She shakes her head and resolves herself again. She has come too far to go back now.
She will see him today, come what may.
She takes a few more steps, standing fully in front of the bars. Beyond those bars, she finally sees the love of her life.
He's lying down on his side on the tatami floor, facing the other way, his head buried in the crook of his elbow.
Her brown eyes rove over him. He seems cold. His toes are curled. He's just wearing a simple white yukata.
The weather is slightly cold today, despite being the end of May. He shouldn't be just lying on the floor without a blanket! Or do they not give him a blanket? That's just unnecessarily cruel—
"Tomone, why are you not—" He turns over in irritation, propping himself up on his elbow and instantly freezing. His lifeless eyes come back to life, a glow returning in them like a ray of hope is standing bright right in front of him and he can't believe it.
"Tohru..."
Goosebumps cover her body. It's been so long since she had heard her name from his mouth, and it sounds just as breathtaking as always.
"Kyo-kun..." Tohru tries to smile, but the tears are already making their way down her cheeks.
Kyo stands up, and through her blurry vision, she takes him in and feels her heart tighten again. His eyes are sunken, his face pale like a ghost, his lips chapped and red from biting, his nails are long, and there are red marks on his arms as if he has been scratching himself until he can draw out blood. His overall body seems extremely malnourished.
She had come here to see him today, and yet, she can't bear to look at him. Because it hurts. It hurts so much she can die.
But that's the length of her love. Even when looking at him in this miserable condition hurts, she will accept that. She will always accept all of him. Because it's him. It's still her Kyo-kun.
Tohru inches closer to the bars and reaches out her hand through them. She wishes she had the key to the inside of the cage, but she doesn't. Only Akito has that key.
Kyo is still standing where he was, just staring at her.
She can't tell what he's thinking. But she can't presume his mind even works normally after staying in this cage for so long.
"Kyo-kun... please hold my hand..."
At the request, he slowly walks to her and takes her hand.
Tohru rests her forehead on the bar and sobs, clutching his hand so tightly like a lifeline. She has missed his hand so much, his touch feels so unreal.
"Why..." Kyo utters quietly, and she looks up to meet his eyes again. "Why did you come here? You don't... remember me."
Tohru swallows the lump in her throat and replies, "I do, Kyo-kun. I could never forget you... because... I love you... and like I've said once before... nothing you say... or do... will change that."
That's all it takes for Kyo to break down.
He gasps as if he can't breathe properly, his grip on her hand way too tight. His long nails dig into her skin, but she doesn't care, rather takes comfort in it. His gasps turn into sobs as he closes the distance between them.
Now, their bodies are only separated by the bars in between. As for their souls? They were never separated, to begin with.
"I... have missed you... so much... Kyo-kun... It's been... unbearable without you..." she says, her words punctuated by heaving.
"Me too... It's so... scary here... I can't sleep, Tohru... There are these noises... As if someone's crying... They keep coming... The shadows... I get scared... Then I want to hold your hand... but you are not there... I feel so alone..."
He can't string his words together because he's so overwhelmed. But he wants to talk to Tohru, tell her about him. At least, she will believe him, right?
Every day, for the last two months, he hears someone cry or whimper out of nowhere, especially at night. He sees shadows from the window. When he said that to his caretaker Tomone, she said he's crazy.
Tohru reacts at his words and pulls away a little with wide eyes. "Could that have been me?" she asks in shock.
He gives her a confused look.
"I come here every night to see you from afar, Kyo-kun. I think... it's my cries that you hear..." She thought she was being quiet with her cries, but she had no idea she was being loud and was only scaring him.
Kyo sniffles and asks, "Why... Why did you come every night?"
"Of course, because I wanted to see that you were..." Alive... "...doing okay..."
Almost every night she would wake up with this nightmare. With Kyo harming himself. With Kyo leaving her forever to somewhere where she can never reach him.
Who could blame her nightmares for being that way? Tohru herself would never survive in an isolation. She can't imagine never getting to talk to someone, never having a way to pass time except just staring into oblivion, never being around her loved ones.
"Oh..." Kyo bites his lips and looks down. He doesn't know what to feel about that. His emotions are a mess. "What's that?" He motions at the bag in her hand.
Tohru manages to smile and say, "It's my birthday cake."
He looks back up at her with big eyes. "It's your birthday today?" She nods. "I'm so sorry I didn't remember..." he says guiltily.
Tohru's eyes scan around the room. There's no calendar or clock there. How could he keep track of days? "It's okay, Kyo-kun. It's not your fault."
He nods a little, probably not believing, but then he cracks a smile. "Happy birthday, Tohru."
Her eyes again fill with tears as she says, "Thank you, Kyo-kun. Would you like to eat the cake now?"
He looks thoughtful for a moment before nodding. He hopes his stomach can palate this, considering he has eaten nothing but bland porridge and crappy miso soup ever since he's been here.
Tohru wipes her cheeks and happily takes out the box. She takes the fork and takes a small piece before holding it out to him through the bar.
Kyo takes the bite and immediately feels sensitivity in his teeth due to the overloaded sweetness. "Mhmm, it's good," he says nonetheless.
She beams at him, "I'm glad! But I don't think you should eat more. You're not on a proper diet, so it might be bad for your health."
His smile gets a little wider. It's so Tohru. To just always know him. But... it's getting orangish out. He doesn't know the time, but he will guess it's around five. "Hey... I think you should go now."
Tohru looks at him in shock as if she hadn't even considered the possibility of ever leaving.
He gives her hand a squeeze and adds, "It was... really nice to see you. I'm really ha—happy."
"Kyo-kun—"
"Does anyone else know that you remember everything? The last time Akito came here, he said that you forgot all about me and were living happily."
He remembers feeling both happy and sad at the news. Happy—because that's what he wanted, for Tohru to live happily without him. Sad—because she forgot about him and all the memories that they had created.
And now that he knows that she remembers everything. He's again both happy and sad. For reverse reasons this time.
"No... No one knows... Only you," Tohru says quietly.
"Hmph. I see. Anyway, you should go now..." he trails off.
He wants to ask if she will come again. Will that be too selfish to ask? Or that he wants her to come? Because he wants to see her, even if she looks like skeleton-like she does now. But...
"And never come back."
He can't risk her getting caught. Akito will ruin her. He can't want that for her.
There's a painful silence between them after he finishes speaking.
"No," her steel voice cuts through the silence. She looks at him with determination. "No, Kyo-kun. I'll come back."
"Tohru—"
"And not just to see you."
"What... What do you mean?"
"Let's run away, Kyo-kun."
Kyo gapes at her in disbelief, then he shakes his head. "I told you we can't. Not back then, and definitely not now. It's impossible for me to get out of here."
"No, it's not. It's what you think. It's not impossible to get out. Just look at me! I'm here! I got in here so easily. It's just as easy to get out, trust me."
"Even if you say so, where will we run to? Akito will find us in no time. He will drag me back here, and I have no idea what he will do to you, but it's not gonna be good—"
"Akito-san can't find us, not if we run away somewhere far. Probably abroad. Maybe even change our names. We will never look back."
Kyo shakes his head vehemently and steps back, letting go of her hand. He instantly misses it, but he really needs to let go of her.
"We can't run away. Abroad? Not a chance. I don't have a passport, and as far as I know, you don't either. I definitely can't have it made now as well. Change our names? How? We don't have connections like that, unless we count the Sohmas. And never look back? Tohru, you have your friends. You have lived here your whole life. You can't leave that and... just never look back."
Tohru clutches onto the bars with her both hands and firmly says, "For you, I can leave behind everything."
Kyo's resolve falters a little at her determination, from the fire in her eyes, from her intense desire to be with him.
She sucks in a deep breath and continues, "Okay, if not abroad, we can run away to the farthest ends of Japan. Probably a countryside. We don't have to legally change our names, either. Or we can have the same name, who cares? No one will find us, trust me. We can live together, just the two of us. Even get married, if you want. We will start afresh—"
"Tohru, do you even hear yourself? You're being crazy!" he whisper-yells.
"No, I'm not!" she shouts in a low voice. "And I hear myself just fine! I'm not saying all these in the heat of the moment. I have been researching for a while now. All of it is possible. And... if you were willing... we could probably dye your hair into something more neutral, you know? I love your hair color, I really do. But... it really just attracts a lot of attention—"
"You're concerned about my hair? Seriously, Tohru? Do you not see the actual problem here?"
"No, I don't. What's the problem? The fact that you think you can't get out of Akito-san's clutches?"
"Yes, and the fact that I'm cursed! Do you think you can live with someone whom you can never, ever hug or hold close? Even sex is so hard for us! You can't marry someone like that—"
"It's not a problem for me! I love you and I'm willing to marry you, even if I can never hug you! Just being with you is enough for me... Please, Kyo-kun..." A sob wretches out of her throat. "Don't you see how much I need you? Don't you see..." Another sob. "... how unhappy I am without you?"
Kyo's heart breaks at her tone, so broken and so needy.
"You have left me once, Kyo-kun... Please don't go again... Don't chase me away... I need you... so much that it hurts... I don't care about your curse... I love you and I want to be with you... "
It's so foolish... the way she needs someone so pathetic like himself... And like always, it tugs at his heart.
"Okay."
Tohru looks up in utter shock. While she had been hoping he would agree, she definitely didn't think this soon. "What?"
He reaches out a hand through the bar, brushing his thumb over her cheek and cupping it. "I said okay."
"Do you... really mean that?"
He gives her a small smile and nods. "If you really want it..."
"I do! I want it so bad!" she insists strongly, her eyes so desperate for his belief.
"Then, yeah. I'll go with you, wherever you want to take me." It's selfish of him, to want to take her away from everyone and everything else, and just never look back—just like that foolish dream he used to have way early in the days. And it really is foolish.
His mind, every vein in his body, and the Cat spirit inside of him is screaming that they can't run away from Akito. But his heart wants to believe in Tohru and wants to be with her.
This time, he lets his heart dominate. He lets his heart defy his God and tune out all the screaming from the Cat spirit.
Tohru shifts to business mode, "Okay, then, Kyo-kun. I'll meet you again with all the details of when is the best time and where we will go and how we will manage. You don't have to worry about a thing. Just prepare yourself to run away with me whenever that time comes, okay?" It's actually a little funny to see her making plans since she's always been so bad at it, but he trusts that she will do alright.
He nods his head. He really wants his Shishou to know, but... that will be selfish to ask since Tohru won't be telling any of her friends.
"Oh, Kyo-kun, do you mind if I tell Shishou-san about our plan? I'll be extra careful and not even go near the dojo. Maybe I'll call him out somewhere else and talk about it. He has the right to know, after all, right?"
Tohru really is amazing.
"You're right. If you can... tell him that I miss him a lot and I will miss him even in the future."
She places her hand on top of his on her cheek. "I'll tell him that, don't worry. Everything will be alright, Kyo-kun. We will get through this together. Just a few more days... wait for me."
Kyo smiles hopefully. "I love you, Tohru."
"I love you too, Kyo-kun."
There's no point wishing through a birthday cake or during new years eves. Her wish... she has to make it come true on her own. Not any God. She will free Kyo herself.
"And also... just so you know, I'm still really mad at you for getting Hatori-san to try to erase my memories," Tohru says with a pout, and Kyo gives her that hopeless half-smile he had given her on the rooftop for the first time.
"I'll make it up to you, I promise."
She smiles fully and genuinely. "You'd better. Because you have your whole life ahead with me."
•••••
With meticulous planning and arrangements, one week later, Kyo and Tohru were on the bullet train, headed to the far south to Kumamoto prefecture.
Tohru had called out Kazuma to a distanced cafe to talk about everything.
Kazuma was surprised to know that Tohru still retained her memories and immediately agreed on her plans. He even volunteered money.
Tohru wanted to decline, but they really needed that money at the moment, for the tickets and to even stay somewhere when they get there. She had her savings from her part-time job. But that wouldn't be enough to cover all the initial fees. So she accepted it.
Kazuma even was the one who suggested the Kumamoto prefecture. He has a friend there who is looking to recruit in his dojo. Kyo can probably apply for a job there, if he wants to. Kazuma would have been happy to recommend Kyo himself, but that would leave clues that Kyo is connected to Kazuma, and the last thing they wanted was let the Sohmas catch wind of that. So Kyo would have to get the job on his own there, which Kazuma was sure that Kyo would manage just fine with his capabilities. Other than that, he even helped forge the fake documents that would be needed.
Kazuma even promised to never contact them on his own. Because he just wants the two of them to be happy and free. He doesn't want to be the reason they get caught by any chance—though he highly doubts they will since they're being so careful.
It was heartbreaking for Kazuma to know that he probably won't see Kyo in a very long time, not until the curse breaks on its own at least. But Kyo won't be living in a cage, all alone. So Kazuma will do everything to make sure that Kyo gets to have a life of freedom, away from the Sohma clutches.
So now, here Tohru and Kyo are, in the bullet train, hand in hand, thanks to Kazuma's help.
It's midnight since Tohru could get Kyo out only after his dinnertime, so they booked the last train from Tokyo to Kumamoto. Since she didn't have keys to the inner cage, she destroyed it with a woodcutter (where she got that insane strength is an amusing wonder to Kyo). It's their fault for blindly trusting in the zodiac bond that the Cat won't run away from an ancient wooden cage.
"I really can't get used to this look of you," Kyo says, looking at her brand new bob cut. She does look very cute, though.
Tohru giggles and reaches out to brush his black bangs. "What about you, then?"
Kyo snorts. "It's gotta look so weird on me."
"Weirder than orange hair?" she teases, and he narrows his eyes at her. She laughs. "Just kidding. It's going to take some getting used to... but I think you look really handsome!"
His face breaks out into a smile. "At least I won't have a reason to stand out anymore." Even his red eyes won't stand out. Cause he's wearing brown lenses. Tohru really thought this through. But she even cut her hair short so that he won't be alone in changing his appearance. He can devote his entire life to her, yet he won't be able to repay her or wrap his head around the fact that she chose him out of everyone else in her life. But he will try his best to make it worth it for her. He won't disappoint her.
"I'll really miss your orange hair, though," she says a little sadly.
He gives her a hand squeeze. "It's alright, Tohru. You are makin' a ton of sacrifices for me... I can at least sacrifice my outlandish hair color."
She chuckles. "It wasn't outlandish. It was beautiful."
"Only you thought so."
"Well, my opinion is the one that should matter to you," she insists.
"Whatever you say, goofball."
She giggles, but perks up after a moment. "Did you think of a surname yet?"
"Nah." He raised their adjoined hands and kissed her knuckles. "But we will cook somethin' up together."
They will keep their first names the same, but the Sohma and Honda last names have to go. While Kyo's last name removal is necessary, Tohru insisted that hers too. If Kyo is so paranoid about getting caught, she doesn't want to leave any loose threads.
She only sent a letter to her friends, stating that she was leaving Tokyo forever with someone she loves and maybe she will never be able to contact them. She added many more emotional stuff about how grateful she was to have them in her life. Last but not least, she loves them both a lot.
Tohru even feels bad for the other zodiacs who are stuck with Akito. But really, she had admitted to herself a year ago from now that Kyo was her first priority and the person she loved more than anyone else. While that felt bad, staying away from Kyo is worse.
Still, it was hard, and it's gonna be even harder from now on.
Tohru and Kyo will need to struggle a lot, financially and emotionally. But they will get through it. Hand in hand.
And someday... his curse will break... and he will truly be free. No, she has faith that it will break. Maybe it's taking some time, but it will break gradually like Shigure said.
Maybe the fact that Kyo agreed to come with her is a sign that the curse has weakened.
Now, all she hopes is that she can weaken it even more with her love. And even if it doesn't break, it changes nothing. She is glad that she didn't give up on him and proved that her love wasn't meaningless.
She loves him all the same and she will forever. No curse, no Akito, or any Sohmas will ever change that unshakable truth.