The members of the Sohma family watched, knowing there was nothing they could do. There would be no time to get to the couple before she fell into the circle of Hatori's arms and prevent the transformation they knew would follow within seconds of her contacting him.

In those moments of slowed time, out of the corner of his eye, Hatori saw Shigure moving towards them. He knew he wouldn't make it. His hazel eyes fell closed as he felt Tohru's warmth impact his chest and the loud pop filled his ears. Gasps filled his ears as he waited for his impending transformationand waited, and waited. A slight pain in his knees caused Hatori to open his eyes and look down into the shocked blue green eyes of the woman he held. Her small hand clutched the material of his shirt tightly as she shook as if cold.

Arisa looked around the room in confusion at the reactions of the people around here. Did she miss something? "UmTohru-chan is okay, right? I mean she just tripped." She asked, looking over at Saki, whose eyes seemed a bit glazed as she observed the pair before her.

Hatori barely heard the question as he looked down at his Tohru. Tentatively, his hand moved from her hip to encircle her completely with his shaking arms, and still nothing happened. He tightened his grip on his beloved and felt his eyes burn when she buried her face in his chest. For so long he had wanted to hold her like this, to feel her in his arms and be wrapped in her warm scent and now that he had her, he could hardly believe it. "Tohru" He whispered and was answered with soft sobbing coming from her.

The doctor scooped her up into his arms, holding her close as Tohru held her face against him, still crying. He ignored the slight pain in his knees and looked to the worried faces of her friends and grandfather. "I'm going to take her to her room to make sure she didn't injure herself." He said and watched as they bought the half truth, nodding in understanding.

"I'll help you with the door." Shigure offered and led the couple out of the room.

"Everyone stay put," Ayame gave them a reassuring smile before rushing out after his cousins.

.:-o-:.

Ayame caught up to them as Hatori entered Tohru's bedroom and slipped into the door, closing it behind him. Taking a seat next to Shigure on the edge of Torhu's desk, they watched as their cousin held the small female close. It warmed them greatly to see them together like this. No cursed Sohma had ever been able to do what Hatori was doing with a woman or man outside of their family.

The hebi folded his hands together to keep from fidgeting as he broke the silence. "Is this really happening, or is this just my imagination? Maybe the caterers used the wrong kind of mushrooms and I'm hallucinating?"

Shigure snorted. "If it is the mushrooms, you should ask them what kind because this hallucination isn't that bad."

"D-do you think this might be a one time thing?" Tohru asked, her head resting on Hatori's shoulder.

"That's a good question Tohru-chan. Could this possibly be a fluke?" The inu added.

"Could be," Ayame tapped his lip, "maybe we should do a test. Tohru hasn't left your arms since she tripped. Maybe she should try hugging you again to start with. Then we'll go from there."

Hatori smiled down at her though on the inside, his nerves were on edge. What if once she left his arms, she wouldn't be able to return to them? What if this truly was a one time thing? He didn't want to lose one of the many things he had dreamed about having with Tohru. However, he knew that this was something he had to do.

Carefully, he helped her too her feet and stood before her, looking down on her smaller frame. He reached a hand out to her and smiled when she took it, returning the smile with slightly reddened eyes thanks to the tears she had shed earlier. Pulling her close, he hesitated for a moment and though neither realized it, both closed their eyes as he wrapped his arms around her once more.

Nothing happened.

Hatori hugged her tightly to his chest once more and Tohru sighed with happiness when she felt him tracing soothing circles on her lower back. She couldn't help herself. With a blush staining her pale cheeks, she moved to her toes and placed a kiss on his lips before giving him a reassuring smile as she felt him shiver as he pulled away.

"They're so cute together!" Ayame cooed as Shigure nodded with a grin.

Hatori placed a hand on her shoulder. "Would you mind hugging Aya and Shigure? We need to know if this is just something that effects you and I, or if it affects all of the males to start with. We'll have to test the females as well. I believe Kazuma can test that."

"I wouldn't mind." Tohru said with a smile, looking to the inu and hebi.

"While I would love a hug from Tohru-hime, couldn't it be possible that if she can hug us without activating the curse, that it could be only Tohru who can hug us without transforming? Or maybe it's just the males and not the females that are affected."

"It's always a possibility," Hatori said in agreement, "but we'll cross that bridge when we come to it. We'll take this one step at a time."

The three of them nodded and Shigure opened his arms to the young woman who was like a niece to him. Though his face didn't show it, his heart was thundering in his chest with the hope that maybe things could finally be changing for his family. He watched as she moved close and he wrapped his arms around her and felt the knot of tension in his belly release when he heard no tell-tale popping sound. He placed a kiss on the top of her head and was graced with a warm smile from her.

"My turn!" Ayame said and swept forward with flourish. There was no hesitation in the silver haired man as he hugged her then earned a surprised yelp as he lifted her off her feet, spinning her around the room. Tohru laughed as he dipped her, mindful of her healing muscles. Bringing her upright, he spun her gracefully back into the arms of her doctor.

Hatori let out a chuckle and sat on the bed once more with Tohru beside him, his arm around her slim waist. "Well, its confirmed that at least the three of us can hold Tohru with no transformation."

"Yes, that's confirmedbut now that I think about it, what was the pop we all heard when she fell into your arms?" Shigure asked.

"Oh, I think I can answer that." Ayame started. "When I was leaving the room, I saw something red on the floor by the lamp. Think one of the balloons popped."

Hatori nodded, having seen some of the balloons in the corners of the room. The heat from the lamp could have popped the balloons if it had gotten close enough. He'd wait to see it for himself before calling that matter said and done.

"To be sure of any of this, we may need to enlist some help. We have at the very least, two unrelated females and one unrelated male out there. We could ask them to help us out in a test of sorts."

"But that also means that we'll have to tell them about the curse." Ayame finished for the inu and the group fell silent.

"Uo-chan and Hana-chan are reliable and won't tell anyone about the family's curse. I know my grandpa would never tell the secret." The blue eyed girl stated, placing her hand on Hatori's as it rest on her hip, rubbing soothing circles on his warm flesh.

Anxiety flowed through the doctor at that statement. For so many years they were taught that no one was to know about the curse. To do so would be dangerous to their family's well-being as well as their status. He remembered the pain he caused Yuki and the other children of the curse when he had to remove their memories of their interaction with the Sohma clan on the orders of Akito.

But Akito wasn't alive to order him to do so.

Another thought entered his mind. The three of them had been able hug Tohru, but did that mean that all of the abilities that they gained with the curse were also gone? Hatori could feel his Seishin kesu ability still within his soul, ready for his use. He was hesitant to test his ability on Tohru and there were no doragons for him to call, but there was another way to see if they retained their power.

"Shigure, go to the window and see if your call still works." He asked.

They all watched as he moved to the window and opened it. The author's eyes fell closed, a look of calm graced his features. A few moments later, the howl of two dogs was heard in the distance. He let out sigh. "There's a couple walking two golden retrievers near the area of the landslide." He ran his hand through his hair.

"Ayame?"

At Hatori's question, the silver haired man closed his golden eyes and as they watched through the window of her bedroom, soon a single four-lined rat snake slithered out of the bushes long enough to be seen before going back into the brush. The doctor nodded his thanks to his cousin.

"We do need to test this with females outside of the family. We can discuss this matter with Hanajima-san, Uotani-san and your ojiisan, Tohru. I'll explain that its of a sensitive matter, but we want to keep the number of outsiders to a minimum. We'll have to find a way to get Mine, Hisoka and Remi out of the house for a short period of time while we test this." Luckily Tohru's tutor had to leave the party shortly after she took her turn at Karaoke with promises to visit her student later in the week.

"Well, I can have Mine return to the shop to pick up something." Ayame suggested and smiled at Tohru. "There's this dress that I just finished that is perfect for you! I meant to bring it but didn't have time."

That caused Tohru to smile. She knew it was practically useless to argue with Ayame when he was determined to add to her wardrobe. "I'm sure its beautiful!" She replied as Hatori gave a single nod, a slight smile tracing his lips.

"I'm sure that we can have someone from the main house page Hisoka and Remi. One of the cooks at the main house, Mayumi-san, suffers from Migraine headaches, which we usually treat with acupuncture once she feels the aura beginning. I'm sure that I can have her go in to the clinic. Hatori usually treats her for it and Remi assists." He looked up to his cousins. "While I hate to have her feign a condition, it this instance, it is needed." In the time that Remi and Hisoka had worked for him in the Sohma Clinic, they had only witnessed Yuki, Rin and Kisa transform when a case of the chicken pox struck hard against those cursed. High fevers had weakened their body's ability to maintain their forms. With each of those transformations, he had been forced by Akito to use his Seishin kesu to remove the memory of those occasions.

"I'll call Mayumi for you." Shigure pulled his cell phone from his pocket.

"And I'll go send Mine off. I'll be right back!" Ayame disappeared through the door.

Hatori looked down to his love as she sat beside him, still in the circle of his arm. "You know that I'd never harm your friends or family."

"Of course! I trust you, Hatori." She said softly, giving him a reassuring smile. "I trust your judgment but I know that you wont have to use your ability. They'll never tell anyone your secret and if they don't think they can go without it accidentally slipping, they will be truthful with you."

Hatori nodded and kissed her temple as Ayame entered the bedroom, closing the door behind him. Out of the pocket of his pants, he tossed something to the doctor, who caught it easily. Tohru looked at the item and blinked. "So it was a balloon."

Ayame nodded. "I managed to grab it before I sent Mine off. She'll be gone for at the very least, a half an hour, a bit longer if she decides to wrap it. Everyone is worried though so I don't think we better stay back here for too much longer."

"Well, lets go back." Shigure slipped his phone back into his pocket and pushed off the wall he was leaning against. "Mayumi called the clinic and Rikku was about to page Hisoka-san."

Hatori stood easily and pulled Tohru up with him, taking her hand in his. He watched as she took a deep breath to steady herself. He didn't blame her. After the shock they had just received along with the hopefulness that was strong within their hearts, he almost felt dizzy. Closing his eyes for a moment, he nodded to his cousins and followed them back into the living room.

.:-o-:.

Everyone looked up when the four reentered the room. Momiji, though still a bit shell shocked at what he had just seen, spoke first. "Tohru-chan, I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to trip you."

"It wasn't your fault, Momiji-kun!" She shook her head and gave him a smile. "I should have been watching where I was stepping. I hope I didn't hurt you when I tripped."

"Not at all!" He said and gave her a small smile, scooting to the side to allow the couple to pass.

Tohru and Hatori reclaimed their seats as Shigure and Ayame stood at their backs. Hazel eyes moved across the room to see the nervous and confused looks in the eyes of his relatives. Taking a deep breath, he made sure to meet the eyes of those of whom he spoke to.

"Honda-san, Uotani-san, Hanajima-santhere is something that I need your assistance in. It's a rather delicate matter" He looked over to Kazuma. "Though you're family and probably know what this will be concerning, we will need your assistance as well."

.:-Author's Notes-:.

Seishin kesu = mind erase

I don't know if his technique was ever named, but that's what I'm calling it, lol.

Migraine Aura: Well, most of us know what Migraine headaches are. They're a bitch and a half and bring some people to their knees. I have them quite often and they suck ass. Migraine Auras happen before the migraine attack. Some people see things, some experience numbness, some people hear things and some even have slurred speech. Usually people who get auras know that a migraine will soon follow. When I get them, my vision blurs in certain spots and just recently, I went partially blind in my left eye, but thanks to a shot and a lot of meds taken all at once, it was back within a few hours. My vision is not the greatest anyway, so it's just an added pain in the butt. If you want to see more about auras and how they work, the mayo clinic website has a great video that show's what auras are like and the various types. Just google Migraine Aura and it should pop up.

I did something a bit special for chapter and for all of you wonderful readers that have stuck with my little story up until now. I managed to commission one of my most favorite artists, starlightdevil, to create a piece for this particular chapter. She is an amazing artist that I've commissioned before to draw an original character I created so I had to get her to do something for this. I'm actually thinking about going back and having her do an image for each chapter or every other chapter in the future, but I haven't decided. If I do though, I think I might do what I was thinking about doing last year and submitting it to Kumoricon.

So big thanks to starlightdevil and you guys should go check out her gallery on deviant art! She's absolutely wonderful to work with and keeps you informed on the status of your projects.

Anyway, go look at it! If you go to my livejournal (the link is in on my profile page) you'll be able to view the art! I also temporarily put the art she did for my oc up so you can see the hotness that she created from my description of my boy (he's a lycanthrope!).

Thank you all again for being so absolutely wonderful and sticking with me. You're all the best and I thank you for your continued support. I'm thinking that there is going to be a few more chapters to the end.

No guarantees though!

Ezzie