Morning light spilled through the paper doors as Tohru and I folded our futons side by side. I still couldn't believe it last night, I'd slept under the same roof as them. Not as a ghost. Not as a watcher. But as someone was friends with them
"Misaki-chan!" Tohru turned, eyes sparkling like she'd just remembered a secret. "Shigure-san said we can move to our rooms now!"
My stomach fluttered. Our rooms. Like this was real. Like I got to stay.
We followed Shigure and Yuki upstairs, their footsteps quiet on the wooden stairs. Shigure slid open a door to a small, sunlit room with a low desk and a window overlooking the garden.
"Tohru-kun," he said, "this is yours."
Tohru gasped. "It's perfect!"
She hurried in, clutching her mother's photo and a small wooden box. With gentle hands, she placed the photo above the desk, then turned to us face glowing, eyes bright. "It feels like home already!"
I stood in the doorway, heart full. She's so happy. And she's letting me be part of it. welp that's how female lead's are suppose to be
Then - it hit me.
Wait.
OMG. KYO IS GONNA COME.
My breath caught. In the manga, this is when he crashes through the roof angry, wild, challenging Yuki.
I darted to the window, peering up at the tiles like I could summon him with my panic.
"What are you looking at?" Yuki's calm voice startled me.
"O-oh! Nothing! Just… taking in the -"
CRACK!
The roof exploded.
Wood splintered. Dust rained down. And through the chaos Kyo Sohma dropped into the room like a storm given fire.
His hair was wild, his eyes blazing orange with fight, his fists clenched like he was ready to tear the world apart.
Wow.
He's… magnificent.
My favorite character. Right here. Breathing. Real.
Tohru shrieked in surprise. "W-who are you?!"
Kyo didn't even glance at her. His glare locked onto Yuki. "You bastard! Let's settle this once and for all!"
Yuki sighed, cool as winter. "I don't fight weaklings."
"WHY YOU -!" Kyo lunged.
"Stop it, both of you!" Tohru cried, stepping between them.
But her foot slipped on the dusty floor.
She stumbled backward -
And instinct took over.
I lunged.
Yuki reached.
Kyo turned -
We collided.
A tangle of limbs, shouts, and panic
Then light.
A soft golden glow.
When the dust settled, Tohru and I were on the floor, dazed.
In Tohru's lap a small, trembling mouse.
In my lap a fluffy, orange cat wide-eyed, furious, and very, very real.
OMG. IT'S KYO. AS A CAT. MY DREAM.
I couldn't breathe.
Tohru gasped. "W-what is this?! Why are you -?!"
Shigure appeared in the doorway, hand on his forehead like he was fighting a headache. "Ah. Well. That happened."
But I?
I just stared at the cat in my lap Kyo, my Kyo and without thinking, I reached out and patted his head.
Softly. Gently. Like he was something precious, not a monster.
He screeched, fur puffing up like a dandelion. "DON'T TOUCH ME, YOU IDIOT!"
But I… I laughed.
Not mockingly. Not nervously. But with pure, awed delight. "You're so cute when you're angry!"
And just like that -
He stopped screeching.
His ears twitched. His big orange eyes blinked up at me, confused.
For one heartbeat, he just… looked at me.
Like he'd never been touched without flinching before.
Behind me, I felt a shift in the air.
Shigure's voice, quiet, sharp: "You knew."
I froze.
Slowly, I turned.
He was watching me not with anger, but with that deep, knowing gaze that saw everything.
My blood ran cold. He knows I was aware of the curse.
I flinched, pulling my hand back.
But before I could speak -
Tohru's voice, high with panic: "YOU ARE CAT AND A MOUSE?!"
The moment shattered.
Kyo the cat scrambled off my lap, hiding under the desk. Yuki the mouse darted into Yuki's sleeve.
Shigure clapped his hands. "Alright! Everyone calm down. Misaki -" he said, eyes still on me, "-why don't you help Tohru clean up this mess?"
I nodded mutely, heart pounding.
As I knelt to pick up broken tiles, I glanced under the desk.
Kyo's eyes met mine still wary, but… softer.
And in that look, I saw it
He wasn't just the monster he believed himself to be.
He was someone who could be *touched*.
Someone who can be seen.
Someone who might just let me get close to him.