To Love's End | Shigure Sohma

Prologue

Tohru had just recently begun living with the Sohma's at Shigure's home. She had accidentally learned of the family curse that ran from generation to generation and she wished to help Kyo, who was cursed as the cat. He didn't belong in the zodiac nor in their family. But she kept a positive outlook on life. She was slowly befriending Kyo and Yuki, who was always so kind.

Shigure was very friendly and helped her out whenever she needed. He had his immature moments but he tried his best to keep them all together. He was also the one who had to inform Akito that she knew of their secret. Thankfully, Akito had allowed her to keep her memories as long as she didn't tell anyone.

She felt a lot closer to Yuki and Kyo, especially since they all went to the same school together. But she didn't know a lot about Shigure. All she really did know was that he was a writer, he was the dog of the zodiac and he was the eldest of the zodiac members. Other than that, there wasn't really much else.

It was her day off from school and work, so she decided to clean up the house. Shigure was out doing some grocery shopping, Kyo was in his room and Yuki was studying. Tohru had cleaned pretty much the entire house but there was still one more room to go; Shigure's office.

She opened the door and saw his desk and part of the floor covered with books and papers. She didn't want to move anything important but she opted to just clean up the desk a little. As she moved some books, something dropped from behind it.

Panicking, she quickly picked it up and examined it to make sure it was still in one piece. It was a photo frame and thankfully, it was absolutely fine. She was about to place it back but became drawn to the photo. It was of a girl.

She was smiling brightly and she seemed so carefree, so full of life. Her eyes seemed to sparkle even through the picture.

"Tohru?"
She gasped and glanced over her shoulder. "Oh! Shigure, I'm sorry! I wasn't sneaking through your stuff! I promise! I was just cleaning and I-"
"It's alright," he cut her off with a gentle laugh. "I honestly don't mind at all. I was actually aiming to clear some of this stuff up today so you'd be doing me a favour."
She relaxed and smiled. "Oh, then I'll be glad to help."

As Shigure began moving some stuff around, Tohru looked down at the photo again. She was curious as to who she was. There weren't any other photos in his office, which made her wonder if she was someone special.

"Shigure?"
"Yes, Tohru?"
She held up the photo frame. "Who is she?"

Shigure saw what she was holding, causing him to freeze for a brief moment. He wasn't expecting to be asked about her. It had been three years after all. He reached out and took the photo, gliding his fingers over the girl's face.

"I'm sorry," Tohru said. "I didn't mean to pry."
"Don't be sorry." He smiled and sat down, his eyes gazing longingly at the photo. "Amai. That's her name."
"She's beautiful."
"She is," he agreed happily.
"Where is she?" she asked, fearing the worst.
"She's around still. She's a teacher now."
She breathed a sigh of relief. "Is she someone special to you?"
He nodded. "Extremely. She's the love of my life..."
Tohru smiled. "Awww! I can't wait to meet her one day."
He looked at her. "That won't be possible, Tohru."
Her smile dropped. "Why not?"
He returned his gaze to the photo. "She doesn't remember me."

Suddenly, the office door slid open, causing them to lose their trail of conversation. It was Yuki.

"Oh, there you are, Miss Honda," he spoke softly with relief. "I was looking everywhere for you."
She smiled. "I was just talking with Shigure."
"About what?" He then noticed the photo in Shigure's hands. "Oh..."

And then Kyo appeared, shoving past Yuki.

"Is she in here?!" he shouted.
Yuki frowned in annoyance. "If you use your eyes, you would see that she is perfectly safe."
Kyo sighed in relief but then held his fist up at him in anger. "Then why didn't you tell me?!"
"Can you stop shouting?" Yuki said, still in a soft tone.
"Why should I?! I can shout all I want! Who do you think-"

Yuki then quickly grabbed his arm but didn't attempt to fight him. That confusion was enough to make Kyo become silent. Yuki sighed and motioned towards Shigure, who had gotten up and quietly went to open the door to the veranda. He stepped outside and sat down, still holding the photo.

"Oh..." Kyo said quietly now. "Amai?"

Yuki nodded. Tohru became even more curious about this Amai upon seeing their reactions to it as well. She got up and went to Shigure, the boys following behind her.

"If you don't mind, can you tell me about her?"
He took a deep breath and nodded. "You might want to take a seat. This is going to be a long story. A story of my Amai..."