The shadow souls of the Zodiac spirits were weakening. The promise they made so long ago had become diluted and almost unrecognizable. They were now monsters trapped inside shells. Their minds laced with dark and bitter thoughts. Their "eternity" had become miserable and most thought that misery was inescapable. Kyo allowed those dark and bitter thoughts to fuel his self-hatred. He was the outcast and looked down upon by every member of the family. He was the sacrificial lamb meant to make them feel better. But, when Tohru Honda arrived, the very foundation of the Sohma belief system crumbled. The final threads of the bond began to break once Akito realized she could let go. That she no longer had to be God.

The day they were freed, the Sohmas felt a mixture of emotions. Suddenly, for the very first time, they were within their own bodies. There was no force telling them how to feel or who to be loyal to. There was nothing left to alienate them from society. But the bond had also been a piece of them that they had just lost. They cried. Then they remembered another missing piece.

Akito asked Tohru when she was visiting her in the hospital, what she could do to make it up to her. Tohru, of course, did not blame Akito for anything. They had both been caught in a whirlwind and neither of them could see straight. Instead, Tohru offered Akito her hand as a sign of good faith. Akito took it. But, a little later, Tohru did say she had one request: that her memories of the Sohma family be erased.

Tohru once said she wanted to live with the good and the bad. But, that was before the accident. After, she couldn't bear the bad. Tohru knew what it was like to love. She had loved her mom, and they were always together, even if it was only in her memory. She clung to that love. It was the most important thing to her. Until that awkward boy, with wild ginger hair and an even wilder temper, showed her a different kind of love. This kind of love had her lost in an amazement she couldn't quite explain. There was a tenderness there more tangible than the memory of Kyoko. Which scared Tohru, and, ultimately, came to destroy her.

It was selfish. Tohru knew that. She knew that, to some extent, she would be abandoning all the friends she had made within the Sohma clan. She thought, maybe, she could train herself to smile and forget how badly her heart hurt. But every time she closed her eyes all she saw was Kyo standing in the rain disillusioned by her confession. The more she saw it the more she wanted to forget it.

There was a big row, not only between Tohru and Akito but among the adult members of the family. Hatori suggested she go of another MRI. Ayame had to be barred in a room away from any phone as he threatened to call Yuki. Shigure, who's opinion Akito held above anyone else, simply said if it is what Tohru wanted, let her have it. Akito agreed. Hatori refused. But, eventually, Hatori understood that Tohru was feeling an unshakeable sadness similar to Kana.

While it was argued that there should be some warning given, Tohru didn't want anyone else to know until it was already over. The Sohmas came and went from her hospital room and never had any suspicions. Everyone honestly thought that Tohru and Kyo would work it out. They were caught in the worst kind of misunderstanding but that did not mean Kyo could not step up and fix things once he saw her. Kyo, however, never even got to see Tohru before it happened.

Uo and Hana were told just hours before that, once Tohru left the Sohma General Hospital, she would not recall her time with the family. Instead, she would remember an apartment she had got all on her own. An apartment that was all set up and ready for her to go home to. Uo objected and thought she was being rash. But, Hana couldn't see passed the turmoil coursing through Tohru's mind. She winced and became teary-eyed at the mention of Kyo's name. If Tohru wished to forget, perhaps they should let her.

Finding out the Tohru they knew and loved was gone was one of the most painful things the Zodiac had endured. Most of them had spent their entire lives learning to live with loss and had experienced every stage of grief one hundred times over. But it didn't make it any easier. She was also the most resilient person any of them knew. It was almost impossible to understand her choice.

Nonetheless, they chose to respect it.

Overnight, the boys Tohru had once spent countless hours with soon became strangers. Haru and Momoji were suddenly just lowerclassmen. Yuki once again became the mysterious Prince. Sometimes, members of Prince Yuki Fan Club would ask Tohru what happened to their friendship and she would assure them they were mistaken since she never even spoke to him before. Uo and Hana would never let anyone push past that.

Tohru had once asked Yuki to still be friends if her memory was erased, but he knew it wasn't safe. Like Momiji's mother, Tohru's memories weren't actually gone but repressed. Therefore, even being around Tohru, ran the risk of her remembering.

Kyo removed himself from Kaibara and enrolled in another high school entirely. Yuki had, quite calmly, explained that Tohru's connection to him was too strong. That kind of connection, despite being repressed, doesn't just go away. It was a sacrifice Kyo would have to make if he wanted Tohru to be happy. Kyo complied.

Kyo could have been ostracized by the family worse than he ever had been before. He knew that. Everyone loved Tohru in their own way. She was so kind-hearted and her warmth radiated like the sun. Tohru was precious to everyone. He wondered if they pitied him. Not only was he the former cat, but he had lost almost everything. It was a good guess. Even Uo and Hana, despite only trying to protect her, had apologized to him for not letting him see Tohru sooner. They wished things had turned out different. He did too. He didn't think the last time he saw Tohru would actually be the last. Without closing his eyes he could see her fingertips reaching for his cheek and feel her shallow breath on his lips.

When he was still possessed by the cat spirit, Kyo had accepted the fact that he would be confined. All he wanted was to spend what little time he had remaining with Tohru. When Akito told Kyo he was free he couldn't help but think of his future with Tohru. Now that future was gone. A long time ago, Kazuma Sohma thought if Kyo lost Tohru he would never recover. But, Tohru had written a letter to each member of the Zodiac to say goodbye and good luck. The longest letter was to Kyo. She urged him to live life to the fullest. No longer cursed as the cat, Kyo could go wherever he wanted. Tohru wanted him to follow his dreams. She did not want him to blame himself for her choice. She hoped, even if her mom said she wouldn't forgive him, he could eventually forgive himself. Kyo wanted to do that for her.

The moment he graduated, Kyo went as far away as he could from Tokyo, to become a disciple at another dojo. He worked hard. He learned and taught others. Soon the years without Tohru overtook the number Kyo had spent by her side. He thought about all the things she had said and now forgotten. He put himself to sleep at night remembering everything. He sometimes wondered if she'd changed as time passed. Tohru's kindness was unshakeable but had she overcome her mother's death? Did she still get embarrassed about the strangest things? Kyo knew he was tormenting himself by asking things he'd never find the answer to. He never expected to see Tohru again.

So, imagine Kyo's surprise when he saw her standing at a bus stop in Takayama so late at night.