Letting out a deep breath, Tohru made her way down the stairs and to the kitchen. What was she doing? She hated herself for being so weak. If she didn't do this now, she may never be able to bring herself to, and then what? Could she really live with herself after what had happened in her past life? No, for the sake of her mother and unborn child, this time, she would do all in her power to correct the errors she had made all those centuries ago.

Tohru bit her lip as she began filling up the iron kettle with water, her hands shaking. The pot slipped from her grip, falling into the sink with a loud clatter, and she picked it up again. She had to calm down. Setting the pot on the stove, she turned the heat on high and went to the cupboard to pull out two teacups, one pink and one blue. This was what she had to do, right? This was her atonement, her final act of vengeance for her family.

Opening two tea packets, she placed one in each cup. Then, she pulled out a small white packet and tore it open, spilling the pale powder into the blue one. The kettle behind her had already begun to whistle loudly and she took it from the heat, carefully filling the cups with the hot water. Setting the pot back down, she turned off the stove and took several more slow even breaths. She could do this. She had to.

---

Yuki pulled his pants on as he sat on the edge of the bed, wondering what was wrong with Tohru. Why on earth was she crying? Had he offended her somehow? He had told her he loved her, hadn't he? So what was making her so sad? As he finished buttoning the top of the jeans, he let out a sigh, leaning forward and resting his elbows on his knees. There was obviously still something she wasn't telling him. If she could just tell him what it was maybe he could figure out why she seemed so depressed and help her put an end to it.

The door to the bedroom opened and Tohru came in, carrying a little tray with a pink and blue tea cup on it. Her hand felt along the wall by the doorway, flicking on the bedroom light. "Its already getting so dark outside," she commented cheerfully as she came toward him. "I made us some tea."

"Thank you," Yuki replied as he took the blue cup she handed to him. He watched her take a seat beside him, her own cup in her hands.

Tohru lifted it to her lips and took a long sip. "Mmm, that hits the spot," she murmured. "Tea always makes me feel so calm." Nodding, Yuki took a sip from his own cup. He suddenly found himself becoming aware of the sound of rain hitting glass and pattering against the outside of the house. Rain again. "I can't stand it," Tohru said quietly, taking another sip of her drink. "The rain... It makes me feel so uneasy."

"Me too," Yuki agreed. "I never liked it much."

"That's not a coincidence, you know," Tohru commented in amusement. "There's a reason for everything in this world, just like there's a reason why we were reborn again like this. It was raining just like this on that night... But of course you don't remember... You don't remember anything, isn't that true?"

"What do you mean?"

Tohru began to laugh a little, tears coming to her eyes. "How ironic that it would be raining tonight as well," she continued. "Tonight of all nights. And you, you don't even have any idea what I'm talking about." She turned to look at him, setting her cup down on the floor, and climbing to her feet.

Lifting a large cloth napkin from the tray she had carried up to the room, she revealed a long, sharp butcher's knife. Yuki watched in shock as she wrapped her fingers around it, grasping it tightly and holding it up before him. "That was the night," she whispered softly. "That I promised that when we were reborn again, I would kill you. You remember the angel's story, don't you? But we were wrong... True love isn't the only thing that can bring two souls together again... True hatred works just as well..."

Yuki could feel his mind spinning. What was she talking about? She wanted him dead? But he had thought that she loved him. It didn't make any sense. He tried to stand up, but his muscles felt stiff. Furrowing his brows, he attempted to move his arm, but found that he couldn't. The cup he had been holding fell from his fingers as his hands fell limply to his side, and landed on the carpet with a soft thud, rolling several inches from his feet. His body felt completely numb as he fell back on the bed, watching Tohru as she hovered over him.

"The tea," she explained softly. "Paralysis powder." Climbing onto the bed, she crawled closer to him, pressing the knife to his cheek, her mouth curled into an angry scowl. "I trusted you so much," she cried, tears streaming down her face. "I loved you with all my heart. Even when you pushed me into that river to drown me, I still trusted you like some naïve child. Even though I knew that all you wanted was this damned gem, I still had faith that deep down you really cared about me." The knife fell from her hand, landing on the mattress beside him and she covered her face with her hands, sobbing uncontrollably. "Why did you have to kill my mother... Yuki-kun? Why did you have to let our baby die...?"

"T... Tohru..." Yuki choked, struggling to speak. Surges of memories came flooding into his mind, washing over him, enveloping him completely. That's right. That was why he hadn't been able to remember his past life. He hadn't wanted to remember. He had locked the memories away so that they would never haunt him again. He was the bad guy. He was the one that deserved to be punished. But she was wrong about one thing. His love for her had been no lie. His betrayal however... that had been real.

The woman's shoulder length red hair lay sprawled around her head, like an auburn halo as she lay there in the damp soil, the rain falling onto her body. Her skin had grown pale, and her eyes, still wide open in a look of terror as they stared up blankly at the stormy night sky. Around her neck, her skin was blue and black with bruises, a vein bulging from the tender flesh where she had been strangled to death. Yuki looked down at his hands, the hands that had squeezed the life out of Tohru's mother, Kyoko.

Just like that time. He had lost control just like that time. When his relationship with Tohru had still been new, and he had felt overwhelmed by his feelings for her, knowing full well how wrong his love for her was, he had pushed her into the river in an attempt to end it. He had told himself the only reason he was with her was for The Eye of the Dragon. With her out of the way, he could get to it easily. But seeing her, helplessly splashing around, on the verge of death, he had realized just how real his love for her had been, and had ended up jumping in to save her. His heart had never faltered again since that time.

Akito was standing behind him, a look of approval on his face, but his eyes gleamed with delight as they eyed the jewel still clutched in Kyoko's powder white hand. "Its about time," he muttered with a smirk. "The Honda family has held on to The Eye of the Dragon for far too long anyway." Yuki nodded slowly, unable to move his gaze from the dead woman on the ground. He hadn't had any choice. This was the only way they could get the jewel back... right? If only she hadn't resisted. If only she had just handed it over, he wouldn't have had to kill her. What would Tohru say when she found out? She would hate him...

"Yu..Yuki-kun..."

Looking up in horror, he saw Tohru standing in the distance, her white nightgown billowing behind her in the wind. Rain dripped from her soaked hair as she slowly stepped toward them, mud covering her bare feet. "Honda... Honda-san..." he murmured in shock. How long had she been there? Had she seen? Had she seen what he had done?

"How could you," she cried, shaking her head as she began running to her mother. She kneeled over her mother's body and began to hug her tightly, her tears mixing with the drops of rain spilling down her face. "I trusted you," she sobbed. "How could do this to us..." Her eyes fell on the jewel in her mother's hand and she took it in her own, wrapping her fingers tightly around it, her entire body shaking. "For this," she whispered tearfully. "You killed her for this..."

"That's right," Akito replied with a little chuckle. "But it seems only fair that we should take back what's ours from a family of thieves. And wasn't our darling little Yuki here such a wonderful little actor. You'd almost think he was in love with you. But he did manage to gain your trust and I must applaud him for that."

"No," Yuki murmured, his eyes wide as he took a step back. "That's not it at all." I loved you. You have to believe me. This was never my intention. I had no idea it would turn out this way... But he couldn't seem to say it. The words wouldn't come. And the knife... he saw it a split second too late, when Akito drove it into her back, and Tohru's body fell limply over her mother's. "Akito!" Yuki shrieked, running to him. "What did you just do! Why did you do that!"

Akito turned to look at him, his eyes narrowed. "What do you mean, "why?" The thieves were meant to die. Surely you knew that when we set out to find the jewel."

"You bastard!" Yuki shouted, kicking him across the face. The man flew back, his head cracking hard against the ground. Tears began to well up in Yuki's eyes as he punched him, again and again, unable to hold himself back. So much rage. He felt blinded by it. The rage surging through his veins as he beat the man laying before him to a bloody pulp. He'd kill him. He'd kill him for hurting her.

"Yuki..."

Yuki stopped, breathing heavily. Twisting his head behind him, he could see Tohru cough, blood spurting out of her mouth as she lay in a crumpled heap over her mother's body. "I... I'm coming," Yuki panted, climbing unsteadily to his feet and stumbling toward her. He collapsed beside her, kneeling over her and gently taking her into his arms. "Honda-san..., I'm so sorry..." he whispered, unable to hold back his own tears as he held her tightly, blood dripping from his raw knuckles. "Tohru...," he tried to smile, brushing a strand of hair from her face. "See... You're going to be fine. You're going to be all right..."

Tohru looked up at him silently for a moment, her eyes glazed over as she placed a hand over her small belly. "Yuki... next time..." she whispered weakly, "when we're reborn... I'll avenge my mother and our child... and I'll be the one to kill you..."

Our child... What did she mean...? Had she been... She couldn't possibly mean that... How could he not have realized? Why couldn't she have said anything? "No... wait... Don't close your eyes, Tohru," Yuki begged. "I'll take care of you, don't worry. I have a cousin... he's a doctor... he'll take good care of you..." He trailed off as he realized that she was already dead, her head hanging lifelessly to the side . The jewel that she still held in her hand began to glow a bright red color, before slowly sinking into her palm and disappearing beneath her flesh. Yuki watched it in amazement, not quite sure what was happening, and soon the jewel had completely disappeared.

What was he going to do now? What would he do without Tohru? There was no way he could possibly live with himself after what he had done. Perhaps, there was only one way that he could be with her again. Lifting her up in his arms, he made his way to the river, and closed his eyes. She had said so herself. They were going to be reborn. And this meant a chance to start over, a hope for a better future, and maybe this time, they'd get it right. Perhaps she would even make good of her promise to kill him, and that was okay too if it meant that she could be happy. He just wanted to see her one last time.

And when he fell in, his first thought, was that the water was cold.

That's right... That was the past that he had forced himself to forget. And now, Tohru was here, making her promise a reality. She was going to kill him for all that he had done to her. And it was the right thing to do really. Someone such as him deserved to die... Tohru... she didn't have to cry like that. He understood now. He should die, and she should be the one to kill him. Maybe then they could finally rest in peace and not be forced to live this same tragic hell again and again.

"Ironic, isn't it," Tohru continued quietly, her hair hanging over her face as she sat curled beside him, her eyes staring down at her lap. "That you would end up killing my mother in this life too... Even though it was an accident." She looked up wearily at him, a thin smile on her tear streaked face. "That was an accident, wasn't it?"

Closing his eyes, Yuki waited for the final blow, for her to plunge the knife deep into his corrupt heart and end both their suffering. He could feel the affects of the tea already starting to wear off. But it didn't matter now. He didn't plan to struggle or try and escape anyway. She deserved this. She had waited five hundred years for it, after all.

"You remember everything now, don't you," Tohru asked with a small chuckle. "Yes, I know you do... I can tell..." Wrapping her fingers around the knife handle, Tohru lifted it again. "So let's just finally end this for good..." Closing her eyes, she stabbed it down as hard as she could, lodging the knife deeply into something solid. Letting go of the handle, she began to cry again. "So why can't I do it," she murmured. "Why... why after all this. I wanted you to trust me as much as had I trusted you all those years ago. I wanted you to love me as much as I had loved you. All just for this moment so that I could betray you and take your life... But now, now that the time has finally come, I can't do it..."

Yuki just watched her in wonder, the knife only inches from his head from where it had been stabbed into the mattress. "Why can't you do it?" he asked finally. "I won't stop you. Nothing's stopping you."

"Yes, something is," Tohru cried out. "I wasn't planning on falling in love with you again. I promised myself that this time, I wouldn't repeat the same mistake as in my last life... But just look at me. I'm so pathetic..."

"The Eye of the Dragon!" came a voice loudly from behind them.

"Wh... what...?" Tohru asked in confusion, turning around. A bullet went whizzing by her head, grazing her cheek, and Yuki watched her as she lifted a hand to her stinging flesh in shock. Blood dribbled down her fingers, a drop landing on Yuki's shoulder. Wincing, he pulled himself weakly up, the affects of the paralysis almost completely gone now.

Before them stood Akito, barely even able to stand on his own two legs, yet there regardless, his eyes crazed as he pointed a gun at them. His limbs shook and trembled, as if even just living was an effort in itself. Narrowing his eyes at them, he pulled the trigger again, the second bullet lodging itself into the wall behind them. "Give me that damned jewel!" he shouted angrily. "I need it! Can't you see how much I need it!"

"Stop it Akito!" Yuki demanded, climbing unsteadily to his feet, aware that Tohru was watching them in shock. "Give me the gun."

"You're hiding it from me, aren't you Yuki," Akito spat though gritted teeth. "I should have known. You knew where it was all along but you didn't want me to have it!"

Diving on the man, Yuki tried to grab the gun from him, but Akito pulled the trigger several more times, and Yuki could feel the impact of the bullets as they lodged themselves into his chest. He looked down at his wounds, his eyes wide, his breaths becoming short and fast as he gasped for air. Snatching at the gun, Yuki knocked it hard against the side of Akito's skull, and the man when limp on the floor.

"Y...Yuki-kun..." Tohru stammered softly from the bed. "Are you all right?"

He turned to look at her, his hand clutching the bullet wounds on his bare chest, the dark crimson blood making a stark contrast against his pale skin. Smiling weakly at her, he could feel a thin trail of it running down his chin from the corner of his mouth. "Yeah... I'm fine..." Yuki managed to murmur finally before collapsing on the floor. "I should have done this the last time," he mumbled to himself.

"Yuki-kun!" Tohru cried. She jumped off the bed and kneeled before him, her eyes falling on the the shredded flesh of his torn chest. She began to cry uncontrollably as she lifted his head in her arms, pulling him close. "No, please don't die," she sobbed. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry for everything, Yuki-kun. I don't want you to die."

"I guess we really messed up, didn't we," Yuki laughed lightly, wincing as pain coursed up and down his body. "Both times..."

"No, but it doesn't have to be over, right?" Tohru asked, trying to smile. "We can still be together... We were born again in this world just so that we could meet each other again... That's why, I... I don't understand why it always has to end this way..." Tears began to spill from her eyes over her cheeks, and she hugged him tightly, his blood seeping into her jeans and shirt. "Everything can still be okay, can't it?"

"No... I think it's a little too late for that..." Yuki murmured, his eyes growing heavy. The pain was becoming a bit unbearable. He wasn't sure how much longer he could stay conscious. "Maybe next time... We'll try again next time..."

Tohru smiled weakly, nodding. "That's right. Can you imagine Yuki-kun? Not just one lifetime together but more than that... We'll just keep being reborn again and again and each time we'll fall in love with each other just like now... It'll be so romantic, won't it."

"Yeah," Yuki whispered, closing his eyes. "Something like that." It was growing dark. This might be the last time he would ever get the chance to tell her. "I... I really did love you... you know that, don't you?" he breathed quietly.

"Yes, I knew." Tohru replied softly. The image of her was fading, as if his eyes were refusing to see properly. He could feel her hand as she touched his face, gently caressing his cheek. She looked so sad just now. Please, he didn't want her to look that way. "Goodnight, Yuki-kun... We'll see each other again, I promise." Her voice... so far away... like singing... her gentle songs from long ago... "Sweet dreams, my love."

---

Epilogue

100 years later

Frowning, a young woman with long dark hair turned around, her eyes roaming over the floor. Her wallet had to be here someplace! All of her money was in that wallet! Her ID and credit cards and... and ... photos... and stuff! Looking around, she tried to think of all the places she had been. Well, let's see... she had gone to the store to pick up some groceries, stopped at the mall to pay a bill, grabbed a bit to eat at a cafe, returned some books at the library and... well... so basically, it could be pretty much anywhere.

Tohru groaned, slapping her forehead with her hand. This was just great. Now what was she going to do. If the wrong person got a hold of her wallet, they'd know everything about her, and make her poor too while they were at it.

"Excuse me miss," a voice called from behind her.

Turning around, Tohru found herself looking up at a tall man with silvery hair and violet eyes. Her heart instantly began to beat faster, and she could feel her cheeks begin to heat up. How strange. What was it about him that was making her react in this way?

"I think you dropped this," he continued cheerfully. In his hand, he held a blue, leather wallet, and Tohru nodded as she accepted it from him.

"Th... Thank you," Tohru blushed, smiling shyly at him. He was so handsome it was breathtaking. And he seemed so nice too.

"By the way," the man began, putting a hand to his chin awkwardly. "This may sound like some kind of cliché pick up line... but... do I know you from somewhere?"

Tohru shook her head. It was definitely a little strange though. She too felt the weirdest sense of recognition... as if they had known each other for a long, long time somehow. "No, I don't think so," she replied. "But my name is Tohru Honda. Its nice to meet you," she said smiling broadly.

"Yuki Sohma," the man stated, returning her smile. "The pleasure's all mine..." He looked away for a moment, before adding. "By the way, I was just on my way to get some coffee... Would you like to join me?"

Nodding, Tohru could feel her face growing even hotter. "I'd love to."

---

Writer's note I had this plot in my head for a long time. However, it took me awhile to formulate a story that I liked enough. I had the end planned out before I even began writing this, so everything I wrote was pretty much leading up to the ending I had in my head from the very beginning. My hope is that you guys will read this story again in its entirety when you get the chance, and now that you know the conclusion, all the little clues and events leading up to it should make more sense.

The main theme of this story was hope. The story of the angel represented two points of view (thus the two versions of the story), a pessimistic outlook on life and an optimistic. In the pessimistic view, life is just a repeat of the same mistakes over and over again, without anyone ever learning anything from then and therefore doomed to spend an eternity miserable and repenting for their sins. The optimistic point of view is that there's always hope for the future, a chance to learn and grow from those mistakes, and eventually, find happiness. The ending of this story encourages this optimistic outlook on life, showing that they managed to find what they were looking for, despite all the hardships they were met with trying to get there.

Lol, well anyway, thanks for the encouraging reviews everyone! They really make me happy

hot chocolate- I love happy endings! I hope you liked the way this one ended too. Thanks!

Kerri- Thanks so much! Yup, I decided this story was complicated enough without mixing the zodiac curse into it, so I thought it would be easier to just omit it. Thanks a lot!

C.B.- Lol, I know, this fic is just a swirl of heavy emotions. I wanted to ending to be happy though. Thanks!

Lady Indigo Star- Thanks a lot! Hey, you were pretty close there with your guess about what he did in the past. I hope you liked the ending )

Jadefinn- Thanks so much! Yup, Tohru was pretty mad at him, but as you can see, she still loved him after all that time.

Misaki the Assassin- Thanks! Lol, sure, you can have Akito. I sure don't want him. I'll just take Yuki XD

Grrl N- Thanks a lot! Wow, I'm glad this fic had you thinking. But sadly, Tohru's daughter died before she was even born. Sob, I love kids, so it really made me sad to have Tohru die while she was pregnant, but it was necessary for the plot. You're right though, it was actually good Yuki didn't remember the past, it was too depressing. Thanks again!