Pet Shop Of Horrors Fan Fiction / Fruits Basket Fan Fiction ❯ Long Denied ❯ Blood and Bone ( Chapter 15 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

Long Denied
Chapter 15 Blood and Bone



Kyou-


"You mustn't pass the line."

Kyou was dreaming. At least he thought he was dreaming; it felt very real. He was cold and wrapped his arms around himself, but the cold seeped into his bones. He felt as if he were freezing. "I have to get out of here, it's so cold."

"You know what will happen if you pass the line."

The darkness that surrounded Kyou was broken only by the velvet voice that seemed to come from every direction at once and, barely a step away from his feet, was a strand of black and white beads. "My beads?" Kyou followed the strand of beads with his eyes and found that they went in a circle around him. Even in the pitched blackness, Kyou could see the beads easily. It was as if they were lit from within and glowed.

"No." The velvet voice giggled. "MY beads." As Kyou kept his eyes on the beads that encircled him he saw something that made his insides freeze. The black beads slowly changed into dark red. It just looked so wrong to see the one constant in his life change. The bracelet had always been black and white. The velvet voice continued to speak. "My beads, created out of my own body. You should be honored that I would gift such a thing to you."

"I-I don't understand." Kyou felt helpless. He didn't recognize the voice, but he felt sure that he should. If only it was a bit warmer, Kyou could maybe think a little better. "They should be black."

"Tell me, child, what color does blood turn when it has aged?"

"Blood? It turns black."

"Yes. Black What color does bone turn when it has aged?"

"It doesn't change colors. It's always white."

"Blood and bone." The velvet voice sounded very satisfied. "To seal away such power, one must use great power." The voice seemed to come closer, though Kyou could still see no one in the darkness around him. He could see nothing but the beads at his feet, not even when whoever was speaking whispered in his ear and Kyou could feel the person's breath on the side of his face. "Why do you wish to be with them so much? They don't love you."

Kyou winced at the words. He knew who the voice was talking about. "They're my family. If I don't belong with them...I don't belong anywhere." And that thought terrified Kyou more than he wanted to admit, even to himself. He might be the outsider, the freak among the freaks, but at least he had a place in the Souma family. A poor place it might be, but really, where else did he have to go? At least he wasn't entirely alone.

"Ah...but you are mistaken." It seemed that a hand reached out and touched the back of Kyou's neck, but Kyou couldn't take his eyes off the red and white beads at his feet. The touch was like a frozen knife, an icicle that would kill him if it was held to his skin for to long. "You do belong somewhere. You belong with me."

"I don't even know who you are." Kyou hated his voice as it came out in a whimper. He was afraid. Sickeningly afraid of the voice. He shouldn't be afraid, he was strong! His master had always taught him to be strong and brave!

"You simply do not remember, child. Long ago, you were stolen from me." The hand slid around Kyou's neck. "I can give you a home where you will be appreciated for what you are. I can give you purpose and a valuable place." The voice sighed. "You will be the pinnacle of my collection."

Kyou opened his mouth to speak, but he never got the chance. Another voice, sounding exactly like the first, spoke.

"You overstep yourself again, my child."

The deadly cold hand released Kyou's throat. "You!?"

Kyou fell to his knees, safe within the circle of beads, and squeezed his eyes closed and hoping that Yuki would never find out he cried in fear.

"I forgave your last attempt to steal this child. I will not be so merciful a second time. He serves a purpose."

"YOU HAVE NO PLACE HERE!" The voice screeched furiously. "YOU CAN'T BE HERE! GET OUT! GET OUT!"

"I will have my say, infant." The two voices now paid no attention to Kyou and he was glad for it.

Kyou was shaking now, his cheeks soaked with tears. 'Please,' Kyou thought, 'Please, let me wake up! I can't stand this, I can't! This has to be a nightmare. I swear I'll eat leeks for a month, I'll take Kagura out to the movies, I'll help Tohru with the wash, dammit, I'll even french kiss Yuki...just get me out of here!' He couldn't move. Every muscle in his body felt paralyzed. His throat was clenched tight, suppressing the scream Kyou wanted to let loose. 'Please, please...' A hand touched the top of Kyou's head and he wanted to cringe away from it. 'Don't touch me, I don't want to be touched! Get your fuckin' hands off me!'
"This is not your fight, kitten, nor do you belong here. " The voice was softer, yet colder, and Kyou knew it was the second voice, the one arguing with the first. "Time to leave."




"Kyou? Kyou-kun, wake up."

Hands on his shoulders shook Kyou awake and he woke to see, first Yuki's pale eyes and then Tohru standing right next to Yuki. They both looked worried. Yuki sat on the edge of Kyou's bed and looked puzzled, as if he were seeing Kyou for the first time.

"What...what are you doing here?" Kyou licked his dry lips and winced at the sting. He realized his lips must be bleeding, they were so dry. His throat hurt when he spoke and every part of him hurt.

"What are we doing here?" Yuki echoed, scowling and sat back, away from Kyou a little. "Don't you remember anything?"

"What are you..." He stopped talking when the effort to speak became to much. What was Yuki talking about?

"You were screaming, Kyou-kun." Tohru knelt beside Kyou and took his hand in her tiny ones. "We all woke up when you started screaming and you wouldn't stop." She looked as if she might cry, herself. That wasn't a surprise. Tohru cried when she thought someone else was hurt or in trouble. "You...You'd locked your door so Yuki had to break it." She glanced over her shoulder and Kyou followed her eyes. The door was indeed destroyed, cracked right down the middle with large pieces of wood splintered off and littering the floor. Shigure stood in the hallway, just at the doorway, shadowed in the darkness and silent. "Were you having a nightmare?"

Nightmare? Was that all it had been? If it was just a nightmare, why did his neck still feel cold where the man had touched him? Had he really screamed? How damned embarrassing.

"It sounded like you were being murdered, stupid cat. You scared Honda-san half to death, you know!" Yuki looked at Kyou angrily, but then his expression softened. "It must have been a terrible dream." Kyou used to sleep on the roof of the house, until Shigure had cleaned out one of the unused rooms for Kyou use, and he'd often slept directly over Yuki's bedroom. In the warm months, Yuki slept with his window open and Kyou remembered hearing Yuki cry in his sleep from the nightmares that plagued him. Yuki had nightmares, too.

"You look terrible." Tohru put a hand on Kyou's forehead. "Oh, Kyou-kun, you're burning up and so pale! Maybe you're sick, I should get the thermometer."

Kyou wanted to protested, Tohru shouldn't worry so much, but his throat hurt so badly. Screaming...yeah. He'd screamed himself hoarse. "Not sick. Not much, anyway." Kyou muttered, catching Tohru's wrist before she could run off to mother him. "Just...just want to rest. I'm tired."

Tohru bit her lip, obviously trying to decide what to do. Silly girl always put everyone else first, even when it wasn't necessary. "Well, if you say so..."

Kyou nodded, but hoping they wouldn't leave. It was still dark outside, still night, and Kyou was afraid he'd fall asleep again. The last thing he wanted was to risk a nightmare like that again. He struggled to sit up. "What time is it?" He swallowed hard, hoping to ease the pain in his throat. "Gotta train before school." It was one of Kyou's rituals and comforts, training every morning.

Yuki rolled his eyes. "It's barely past midnight, you don't need to train right now. If you're sick, you need to sleep." Yuki pushed Kyou back down onto his pillow. "Honda-san's right, you don't look well. If you push yourself, not only will you worry Honda-san and make yourself sicker, but you'll risk transforming at school. You should stay home and rest."

A lot had changed between Yuki and Kyou in the passed few days and the note of compassion in Yuki's voice was proof of it. Before that rainy night when Kazuma had forced Kyou's transformation right in front of Tohru, Yuki never would have sat at Kyou's side and done even this little to comfort him. Something had changed between them, but Kyou couldn't say exactly what it was. Yuki had grabbed hold of his arm, even when he knew this was the one time Kyou was stronger and fully able to kill Yuki.

Kyou still felt faintly ill when he thought about that night. He'd wanted to throw up when he saw the horror in Tohru's eyes at his transformation. She was afraid of him, the one person Kyou had never wanted to hurt was afraid of him. She'd been right to be afraid, he'd hurt her even when she'd come to take him home. He'd battered Yuki when Yuki had swallowed his pride and come to take him home. Kyou wouldn't go so far as to say that he and Yuki were anything like friends, but...something had definitely changed between them. Yuki had risked his life against Kyou's monster, and it wasn't for Tohru's sake. She hadn't even asked Yuki to come along, or so Tohru told Kyou later, Yuki had made the choice on his own. He'd risked his life to bring Kyou home. Kyou had hurt them and yet Tohru and Yuki had both wanted him home.

It truly humbled Kyou to know that not only did Tohru care about him enough to fight passed her own fear, but that Yuki was strong enough to get over his arrogance that night. They had both seemed so strong.

So, for once, Kyou didn't try to fight. He lay his head down on his pillow and looked from Tohru to Yuki. "I can't sleep again. I gotta do something."

"Maybe something...a little easier than training?" Tohru suggested. She smiled hopefully at Kyou. "You could help me today? Having you cook probably wouldn't be a good idea, since you aren't feeling well. Maybe...you could uhhh...."

"Study." Shigure spoke up for the first time, stepping into the room with a smile on his face. "The grades on your last exam weren't exactly sterling, Kyou-kun. Maybe studying a little algebra would be good for you. I'll call the school in the morning and make your excuses for you. If you still don't feel well by dawn, I'll call Ha-san and ask him to stop by."

Kyou nodded weakly. His head was starting to throb and his stomach was upset. Being sick obviously brought on the nightmare.

Yuki and Tohru both left, back to their own rooms to sleep down and Kyou was left alone with Shigure. Kyou didn't like being alone with Shigure, he always felt like Shigure was looking at him a little to closely. 'Stupid Shigure...he's so weird.' Kyou rolled over, away from Shigure and stared at the wall while he hoped Shigure would leave him alone. As soon as he was alone, Kyou planned to get up. He would do some exercisers quietly in his room or maybe get a little reading done, but he sure as Hell wasn't going to fall asleep again!

"What was your nightmare about, Kyou?" Shigure asked. The weight on the bed shifted and Kyou knew Shigure had sat next to him.

"Get off my damned bed." Kyou said with as much rancor as he could muster. The nightmare had really worn him out.

"Now, now. Don't be angry." Shigure spoke as if he was amused, but it still struck Kyou as odd that Shigure would hang around. He was normally so lazy that Kyou though Shigure would be the first one to run off back to bed. "I was just curious. It's not like you to wake the whole house, plus more."

"More?" Despite himself, Kyou rolled back over to look at Shigure.

Shigure smiled. "We've got every cat for miles around prowling around the house. They were howling like mad when you were screaming your lungs out."

Kyou imagined the noise and felt guilty. "Sorry." Not only had his screaming woke everyone, but they'd had to listen to cats screeching, never a pleasant noise.

"Don't worry about it." Shigure replied easily. "I just wanted to make sure you were all right. You tend to put on a strong face in front of Yuki and Tohru, but they were right. It's important that you rest."

Kyou looked away, not wanting to lie right to Shigure's face. "I know, I will."

"Good." Shigure patted Kyou's hand as he stood to leave, then paused and frowned at his hand. "Kyou? What happened to your wrist?"

"My..." Kyou raised his hand up and looked at his wrist. All around the bracelet blood stained Kyou's wrist. It was dark and warm, but Kyou knew he hadn't been hurt. It didn't even hurt.

Shigure took hold of Kyou's wrist and brought it up to his face.

"What are you doing?" Kyou tried to pull his hand away from Shigure, but found that he didn't even have the strength to do that.

"Hush." Shigure muttered before he sniffed at Kyou's wrist. When Shigure did release Kyou's hand, he didn't look at all happy. "You don't now how this happened?"

Kyou shook his head. "No." Why would he have blood all over his wrist? His wrist didn't hurt anymore than the rest of his aching body.

There was a moment of silence and Shigure seemed lost in his own thoughts, not even really looking at Kyou. The phone rang suddenly and rudely brought Shigure out of whatever thoughts he was buried in. He was immediately back to his old self and jumped to his feet with a cheery smile. "My, oh my! I wonder who's calling so late at night. Make sure you wash your wrist and then get right back to bed. If you worry Tohru, Yuki won't forgive you." Then he was gone, supposedly to answer the phone.

'Stupid dog.' Kyou thought, watching the door close behind Shigure. 'Stupid, stupid...I wish I could understand him, sometimes.' Still, Kyou did as he was told. He washed his wrist off in the bathroom, carefully making sure all the blood was off the bracelet. As he ran the bracelet under the water, Kyou studied it carefully. One disturbing aspect of the dream bothered Kyou more than anything else and he wanted to make sure the black beads hadn't turned red. It was silly, but Kyou needed the bracelet to stay the same. It was really the only stable thing in his life. Everything else changed. People died or left. Homes and schools changed. Friends never lasted long. The bracelet, though...the bracelet was always the center of Kyou's world. He sighed with relief when he found not a speck of red on the bracelet. 'So much for all that nonsense about blood and bones.' Kyou managed a grin, the first since he'd woken up. 'It was just that, nonsense. A stupid dream and I was stupid to think it was something more.'

Still, if it were nothing more than a stupid dream, where did the blood come from? Kyou watched the dark blood wash down the sink, made paler by the warm water mixed with it and cleaning the bracelet.

'I didn't even get hurt in the dream, so...no. I'm not going to start thinking like that! You don't get hurt in real life if you get hurt in a dream. It wasn't real! I don't know where the blood came from and I don't care. Knowing stupid Shigure, it's probably one of his dumb-ass pranks!' Kyou slowly made his way back to bed, turning off the light as he did. He lay down, trying to forget the blood and the dream and everything else. As soon as he was laying down and covered up, his body still aching and his throat raw, Kyou happened to look up at the only window in his bedroom. What he saw made him whimper and pull the blanket up to his chin, as if that might protect him.

It was a rabbit with bat wings. Two tiny horns protruded from it's head and it stared at Kyou with shining black eyes.

"Oh, God..." Kyou whimpered, knowing that the little thing couldn't be real. It was impossible. "I'm still dreaming. I never woke up."

The little thing squeaked, "Kyu!" before it stretched its wings and fluttered down into Kyou's room. The window had been closed, Kyou was sure of that. It flew directly down to Kyou and landed on the footboard of his bed with its webbed feet, like those of a tiny duck. "Kyu! Kyu!"
Kyou felt his eyes get very heavy and he began to fall asleep. He couldn't hold his head up any longer and he had the terrible feeling that it was all the fault of that little rabbit thing that was still staring at him.

"Yuki." Kyou's call for help sounded pitiful, even to him. "Shigure. Toh...Tohru." No one answered him. Kyou felt like he was drowning when he finally couldn't help himself and closed his eyes and found himself in another dream.



Again, he was in a dark room and, again, he stood in a circle of his black and white beads. The beads seemed to glow with power from within, but that was the only light. It was just like before.
"You need more sunlight."

It was the voice again, but Kyou couldn't be sure which voice from before. Was it the first voice that yelled and screamed or was it the second that had told him to wake up? The darkness around Kyou moved and he focused on the movement. It stayed just out of his sight for a moment before moving close enough that the glow from the bracelet allowed Kyou to see him.

"Who are you?" Kyou asked. The person was dressed in a billowing cloak, hooded to shadow his face. Kyou was sure the person was a man, even though he wore dark lipstick, because of his deep voice. Men wearing lipstick wasn't really all that odd. After all, Ritsu wore lipstick and so did Ayame. Kyou had even seen Shigure wearing lipstick once, though that was from a bet he'd lost to Ayame. "Were you in my dream before?"

The cloaked person didn't answer, but raised a hand and Kyou saw darkly painted fingernails that were far to long to be practical for anything. As soon as the stranger raised his hand, a window appeared in the darkness. It was a barred window, but a bright light shone in through the bars and cast four narrow rectangles of sunlight on the floor, just a foot in front of the circle of black and white beads.

Kyou repeated himself, determined not be scared this time. "Who are you?"

"It is warmer outside." The stranger held out his hand and put it into the beams of sunlight. "So much warmer than in here. The sun is a vast power."

Kyou shivered and realized that it was just like before. He was getting so cold all of a sudden. "How do I get out?" He was having trouble breathing. The air tasted bad.

"There is fresh air out there, too." The person went on as if he hadn't even heard Kyou.

"I can't breathe." Kyou insisted, one hand clutching at the shirt at his chest as he heaved for breath. "I have to get out!" Was this how Yuki felt when he had an asthma attack?

"Then leave." The man told him carelessly. "It is simple, is it not? Shall I help you?" He waved his hand and the barred window grew until it was the size of a normal door. The bars were widened, so Kyou would have been able to easily squeeze between them to the warm sunlight beyond. "You see? I've done as much as I can. You must take the first step."

Kyou raised his foot, but put it down almost immediately. He was still in the circle of the beads. He couldn't leave, if he did, he'd become the monster again. He'd hurt people. He might kill. Hell, if he'd hurt Tohru, he might kill someone he didn't like. He had to stay in the bracelet.

"Is there a problem?" The cloaked man asked.

"I...I can't."

"Do you not wish to leave?"

"Of course I do!" Kyou answered with more fire than he'd felt since these weird things had started. "I want to leave, I can't stay here! There's nothing for me here!" Kyou felt like his lungs were filled with cotton and the air tasted foul.

"Nothing? That's harsh thing to say. Are we nothing to you?"

At the voice, Kyou turned away from the stranger and but his frustration died at the sight of the previously empty room.

"Nothing?" Akito sneered the word again as he leaned against Kureno and peered at Kyou from under his uneven grey hair. "What are we? Dust beneath your feet?"

Kyou's mouth went dry and his throat froze. When he was able to speak again, Kyou spoke with as much aplomb as he could manage, "You don't want me around, anyway. I can leave if I want to."

"It's not a question of what you or I want." Akito looked up at Kureno and stroked his face gently. "It's a question of where you belong and you belong with us."

"Since when?" Kyou couldn't believe what he was hearing. Akito hated him, always had. He went to great pains to remind Kyou that he wasn't one of the real family. "You're the one that wants me locked up."

Akito moved away from Kureno, and made his way to Kyou. When they were less than a foot from each other, Akito spoke in a near whisper. "You are NOT Junikyu. You never will be, you might as well accept it. The family will never accept the cat, but you ARE a Souma. When you broke your leg falling down that flight of stairs, it was Hatori who took care of you. When your mother killed herself because of you, it was Kazuma who took you in and loved you. When you didn't have a friend in the world, Kagura took your hand. When you needed a home, Shigure gave you one." Akito reached out and touched Kyou's cheek, as he had Kureno, but reared back suddenly and slapped Kyou. "So ungrateful for all we've done for you. The world would kill you. Normal humans would dissect your hideous body to see what kind of monster you are. No matter what you think, you have a family here. How dare you even dream of deserting us?!"

"Would you really leave us?" From behind Akito, Hatsuharu spoke up and Kyou's eyes went to him. "Who would I have to fight, Kyou?" It wasn't just Hatsuharu, but everyone else emerged from the darkness and the dark empty room was filling up with the shadowy figures of the Junikyu. Ayame stood closely to Hatori and Hatori had a hand resting on Momiji's shoulder. Hiro and Kisa held hands while Rin stepped forward to stand by Hatsuharu. The last two to step out of the darkness were Shigure and Yuki.

"Kyou!" Kagura stepped forward but, strangely, didn't launch herself into Kyou's arms. Instead, Kagura stopped next to Akito. "Please, you mustn't leave us!" There were tears in her eyes and Kyou felt immediately guilty. He hated to see Kagura cry. "I know I'm not as gentle or lady-like as you deserve, but I love you. I love you so much I can't stand it. You're the only man I'll ever love. If you leave..." She choked a little on her tears. "If you leave...I think I'd..." Rin took Kagura's hand and quietly pulled her back to stand with the rest of the family.

Everyone stared at Kyou and he felt his resolve start to fade even more. He couldn't leave them. He belonged with his family. It was just like he'd said before. Whether they liked him or not, he belonged with his family.

"Be certain of what you want." The stranger said, a warning tone in his voice. "Do you want your family or your freedom? Perhaps you can not have them both."

"What kind of choice is that? I can't chose between my family and my freedom!" Kyou looked back at his family, down to the beads at his feet, and then at the cloaked stranger. "Who are you?!" Kyou demanded once again. "Why are you doing this? This is just a dream! Leave me alone! There is no escape, there is no way out! I'm stuck like this forever!"


Shigure-


The blood wasn't Kyou's.

"Moshi-Moshi?" Shigure picked up the phone, his mind still on Kyou's odd behavior and the mysterious blood. As a cat, Kyou should have recognized that the blood wasn't his from the smell alone. In fact, Kyou had the second best sense of smell in the entire family, right next to Shigure and the only reason he probably hadn't realized the blood wasn't his was because he was sick and half-asleep. Shigure didn't know if it was just a nightmare that had upset Kyou or if he were really sick, but something was definitely wrong. Not only did the blood not smell like Kyou, it didn't even smell human. Of course, it also didn't smell like any animal that Shigure had ever seen or hunted. So, the big question was, where had the blood come from?

"Good evening, Shigure. I'm sorry to call so late."

"Ha-san!" Shigure smiled, hearing his friend's voice. "What's up? I didn't expect to hear from you, though I'm glad you called. I was going to give you a ring..."

"Shigure, umm..." Hatori's interruption didn't last long and he fell silent. It lasted so long that Shigure prompted him,
"Ha-san? Are you still there?"

"Yes. Forgive me, I'm a bit distracted." He did sound a little odd. Jumpy, almost. "I have an...odd request."

"Well, ask away. You k now I'm your devoted servant." Shigure teased, hoping to ease Hatori's mind a little.

"Could you come to Aya's?"

"What? You're at Aya's?" Shigure's dirty little mind flashed over images of why, exactly, Hatori would be at Aya's shop in the middle of the night and he had to stifle a nosebleed at the pleasant visions. "I don't suppose you're going to tell me any sordid details, are you? Only, I need a new scene for one of my books..."

"Shigure! Get your mind out of the gutter, this is important!"

"I'm listening, don't burst anything."

"Look, just come to Aya's. He's got a few guests and they'll be staying for a while. I need to get your impression of them, one of them in particular."

"I thought you were a pretty good judge of character, Ha-san. What do you need me for?"

"I need your nose."

"Ah. I see." Though he was also puzzled. "You've made me curious. I'll be there as soon as I can, but I need you here. There's something wrong with Kyou and I don't want to leave him alone. He woke up screaming from a nightmare and that just doesn't happen. When he woke up from the nightmare, he had blood all over his wrist, but I couldn't see any wound. He's also got a fever, I think."

Hatori was silent. It was the first time Shigure had ever known Hatori to hesitate about coming to the aide of one of the Junikyu and it worried him. What could be more important to Hatori than the health of his family?

"Ha-san?"

"I'll come, but you must get to Aya's as soon as possible. It's already so late, I don't want him to leave before you get here."

"I'll leave now, I'll only take me a few minutes if I get a hug from Tohru."

"...You be nice to that girl, Shigure." Hatori's tone was dangerous...well, as dangerous as Hatori's voice could get. Shigure knew that Tohru reminded Hatori of Kana and that was one of the big reasons Hatori tried to take care of the girl.
"I'm hurt! Don't you know I'm always nice?"

"Don't push me tonight, Shigure. I'm having a rough night."

After hanging up, Shigure made his way to Tohru's bedroom. 'Forgive me.' Shigure said silently, putting his hand on the doorknob. Tohru probably wouldn't mind and Kyou was sick, but if Yuki happened to find him sneaking into Tohru's room in the middle of the night...well, there would be more than a few lumps in it for him. 'Ah, well, life's nothing without excitement, right?' So Shigure pushed opened the door quietly and crept over to where Tohru was already soundly asleep in her bed.

She really was very cute, even if Shigure STILL hadn't figured out what she was. Definitely female, or the transformation wouldn't have worked. But she wasn't human, so it shouldn't work regardless of sex. After all, Shigure wouldn't transform if he hugged a bitch, nor would Kyou if he hugged a female cat. It only worked with humans, but Tohru wasn't human so...

There was so much to think about! Tohru not being human and the blood on Kyou's wrist that didn't belong to anything known, now Shigure was being called out to smell a stranger and by Hatori of all people! There must have been something remarkable about this person if Hatori thought him unusual enough to ask Shigure to smell him. After all, anyone who looked human, was human. The only people who weren't, were the Junikyu. 'Except for Tohru, I suppose.' That took him back again. Tohru was a great mystery. She'd done so much for the family and Shigure felt that, through her, the family was strengthening. Not as much as Shigure would have liked, but at least Yuki was now strong enough to put his expected hatred for Kyou aside and brave enough to stand up to Akito for Tohru's sake. Kyou was learning to control his temper. Yuki was learning to tolerate Ayame and Hatori was just starting to get over his loss of Kana. None of that changed the fact that Tohru wasn't human.

'I don't have time for this.' Shigure shook his head free of the questions that never lead anywhere but to more questions and took Tohru's hand, hoping that he wouldn't wake her. As gently as he could, he hugged her arm and instantly felt the transformation take affect. As a dog, he could make much better time than if he ran as a human.


Sofu D-


Sofu watched from his secreted place in the child's room. He watched when the boy woke from what he thought was a nightmare and watched while his family soothed him. The rat, a sharp eyed boy who so resembled his ancestor, a nightingale, and a dog. They rat, cat, and dog were all so different from the originals, yet he could see what they were supposed to be. Of course, he was surprised when he saw the nightingale enter, but it wouldn't have been impossible for his grandson to have sold pets here in Japan. The youngest D was here only a few short years ago, though it was a bit of a coincidence that the pet should end up in the hands of the Junikyu.

'I had not thought so many changes would have happened in just a few years.' Sofu thought, saddened by the amount of human blood running through the veins of this once great family. He remembered when it had all started, just a few short years ago.

A few short years. A Kami's notion of a few short years was far different from that of any mortal. The years since the Junikyu had interbred with humans had passed so quickly. Sofu knew his beloved grandson could remember more than four hundred years and his son was well over a thousand years old. In truth, Sofu D hadn't expected his son to reproduce so young in his life. He'd been more than a little surprised when he'd visited his son and found the infant Kami.

In the room of the orange haired cat, the dog, the rat, and the nightingale left the boy alone and Sofu emerged from his hiding place to face the boy again. It was such a pity that this once grand family was so reduced. With human blood in their veins, it was no surprise that their power was nearly nonexistent. How wonderful it would be to restore this family to their greatness of the past, but that was not why Sofu D was here. There was something the cat had that Sofu D wanted.

That bracelet.

The bracelet of blood and bone.

It was necessary that the bracelet be returned to Sofu's grandchild.

Such a pity that Sofu's child had visited the cat first. 'If he hadn't been made so afraid by my child's influence, then it would be far easier." Indeed, the young cat nearly had hysterics when he saw Sofu, as Q-Chan, fly into the room. No mortal is meant to be dragged into the mind of a Kami, which was exactly what Papa D had done. It had been to much for the child's mind and would have broken him if Sofu D hadn't interfered. That was why, when Sofu spoke with the child, he went into the child's mind. It was easier on the child and he would be more likely to listen. Sofu hadn't counted on the child's locality to his family, however. Still, that was one of the strengths of the Junikyu family, their devotion to each other.

It wasn't possible to just take the bracelet. If he did, the poor cat would likely lose his mind. His entire life had been built around the bracelet, and its disappearance would do great injury to the child's mind. Besides all that, Sofu couldn't help but feel more than a little guilty about what had happened to the Junikyu. After all, it was his child who had done this to them.

Sitting on the end of the child's bed, Sofu kept his eyes on the black and white bracelet and thought back to how it had come to be.


Flashback-

It was the last day he would be known as Papa D. It was the day Papa D became Sofu D.

"What have you done!?" Sofu D looked down at the infant in horror. It was...defective.
Its chest had been opened and Sofu D could easily see the infant's innards. It didn't cry, Kami rarely ever cried as animals did when in pain, but it looked soulfully up into Sofu's face. His eyes, gold as his sofu's and purple as his papa's, were filled with pain. His breathing was haggard and, though his body struggled with the instinct nature to recall his blood into his body, it was clear that the infant was not yet old enough to control his body and he was bleeding to death. The child was Kami, no doubt about that, but there had been no care taken in his creation. Normally, reproduction for a Kami was a time consuming, painstaking effort and not lightly done. Great care was taken to create a perfect creature, a replica of the original. This one failed miserable. Its eyes were mismatched, an obvious, visible deformity.

"There is no need to yell, papa." The younger Kami smiled beatifically, obviously not seeing what the problem was as he stood over the dying body of his own child. There was an expression of great satisfaction on his face. He looked almost smug. "I only needed the raw material. I'll destroy that thing now that I am finished with it."

"You will not." Sofu D bent and lifted his grandson into his arms. "This is your child, my grandson! You will not do anything further to injure him. Deformed or not, he is a Kami. He is my blood as well as yours."

"Papa...?" The long haired Kami gave Sofu D an astonished look. "What are you saying? That thing is no child of mine. I only needed the blood and few bits of bone."

"That was your reason for reproducing?" Sofu D had never felt as if he'd failed so greatly as he had in that moment. Sofu D laid a hand on his grandson's chest and closed the wound for him, in the process he saw what his son had taken from his grandson. He looked at his son, horrified. "What have you done with his blood? What have you done to your own child?"

"It's not really your concern, papa."

But it was not so simple to lie to a Kami. It was nearly impossible to lie to the Kami that was your parent. Sofu could see what his child had done and it made him ill. He saw that his child had taken a unique family and imprisoned them in a drugged sleep. He saw that his child had taken the newborn cat of that family and he saw that his child intended to keep the cat as a pet. That was no terrible thing, acquiring a new pet was one of the greatest joys in a Kami's life. What was horrible was the way he intended to do it. He would keep them drugged and the cat immature.

It was jealously, pure and simple.

They were a powerful family and Sofu's child did not like that. He had never liked the notion of a peoples with so much power over the creatures of Earth. They were not, of course, as powerful as the Kami, but the Junikyu had power in their own right. While the Kami could command the obedience of any creature of Earth, the family of the Junikyu inspired the love of their particular animal. Any and all cats would love the cat. Any and all sheep would love the sheep. They would obey out of love, not compulsion. It was a subtle difference in Count D's eyes, but it was a difference. In all the world not a single creature could rival the power of the Kami except these Junikyu and it was the cat that made it possible. It was the cat that gave the family power.

Sofu would have to put a stop to all this. "If you needed to create this life simply to use it, you should have used your own body." Sofu D began to dislike his own child, his own creation he'd once thought so perfect.

"But I did. Do you not understand, papa? That thing was created out of my own body, therefore it is me. I will destroy it now, it has no more use." Papa D reached out for the infant in Sofu D's arms. "When the time comes, I will create a child you will be proud of. This was not meant to be anything..."

"You will not touch this child again!" Sofu D thundered, allowing his emotions to control him for once. "How dare you cause injury to your own child? This is no creation, no mere thing. This is a Kami!" He glared at his child and was pleased to see the doubt in his child's eyes, the barely hidden fear. "This is your child, but you will not have him. I will never allow you to be alone with him again. You have lost your claim to this child and if you try to reproduce again, before your death, I will take that child from you, also." He was so enraged, he honestly didn't care what the bracelet he'd seen in his child's mind was used for. He would simply have to get it back at some point. It was the body of his grandchild and belonged with the grandchild.

Sofu D knew he could easily kill his child and take the bracelet, but despite what a horrible, thoughtless thing his child had done, Sofu still felt attachment to his child. His child was his greatest creation and he loved his child. He did not wish to kill his own child, no matter how monsterous. "You would condemn your child to a life being less than perfection?"

"That thing is not my child. It is nothing more than spare parts." It was said in such a cold way that Sofu had no choice but to believe it.

The bracelet, the missing part of the infant, would have to be recovered at a later time. The Junikyu, sleeping somewhere within the petshop, would also be dealt with later. First he had to get the infant away from the petshop and safely hidden. Then he would return to release the Junikyu. It would all have to be handled delicately, or the results could be disastrous. If a battle were to break out between Sofu and his son, it would likely destroy the Earth. There was a very good reason why battle between Kami was forbidden.

Sofu knew that he would have to get the child safely away before he was able to help any of the captured Junikyu. If he risked a battle, the sickly infant would be killed. If he tried to free the captured Junikyu before hiding his grandson, the child's papa would kill him. It was Sofu's first responsibility to protect and guard the newest Kami. Then, he would return and try to help the Junikyu. It would have to be done subtly, though. If his child knew what Sofu was going to do, he would likely do something foolish that might end up in the deaths of the most unique family on Earth.

End Flashback-


Now it was time to help the Junikyu. Sofu's grandchild was old enough to keep himself safe and they were close enough to the Junikyu, polluted as their blood was, that it would be a pity NOT to help them. Besides, it looked as if Sofu's child was intent on getting his hands on the cat again, now that he'd finally located the boy.

Sofu was very pleased to see the bracelet on the wrist of the cat was bleeding. That meant that under the dry, black blood on the surface, the blood was still alive and still trying to get back where it belonged. Now that the youngest of the D clan was in the near area, the blood could no doubt feel him nearby. He had been worried that, after so many years, the blood and bone used to make the beads of the bracelet would have died.

Sofu watched while the boy while he toss and turned in the dream Sofu had given him. He would give the boy a choice and, if the boy had the courage to do it, he would save his family. That is, if he wanted to. From what Sofu could see, the boy might not want to save his family.


Hatori-


By the time Hatori got to Shigure's house, it was nearly dawn and Hatori was exhausted. Not only had he driven Ritsu home and then spent most of the evening trying to make polite conversation with an American who obviously disliked him for some reason, a girl trying in vain to fight off Mine-chan's advances, a hyper-active Ayame, and a man who scared the willies out of Hatori, but now he had to make a house call. It was his own fault, he was the one who'd asked Shigure to take a sniff of the stranger who was only known as Count D and Shigure was right to want someone in the house to keep an eye on Kyou. The house was still and dark, showing that no one was awake, yet, and Hatori was grateful for it. The last thing he wanted was to have to explain to the children why, exactly, he'd had to call Shigure away from the house.

There was no point in waking anyone, so Hatori quietly made his way though the house to the room Kyou now used with his black bag in hand. Once at the door, Hatori knocked softly, though he really didn't expect an answer. If Kyou was as sick as Shigure seemed to think he was, the boy had probably fallen back asleep. "Kyou? Are you awake?" There was no answer, so Hatori opened the door and let himself in. The room was dark, but for a shaft of moonlight that shone in through Kyou's open window and onto Kyou's face. Even in the darkness, Kyou didn't look well. He was sweating, and that was a good sign. People normally didn't sweat if they had a fever. Kyou moaned in his sleep and his hands gripped the blankets covering him very tightly.

'I may as well just let him sleep.' Hatori closed the door behind him and settled himself into a chair next to Kyou's bed. Kyou didn't wake up, not even when Hatori turned on the light and took Kyou's temperature. Kyou flinched slightly when Hatori gave him an injection of medicine, but otherwise didn't acknowledge Hatori's presence. It was strange. Kyou normally would have been wide awake the moment someone had walked into the house, he was that alert. That he could sleep through Hatori's ministrations so easily was a sure sign of how sick hew as. Kyou didn't simply get sick, he was extremely healthy, probably due to his active lifestyle. That he would suddenly fall sick enough to make Shigure worry, worried Hatori.

"Leave me..." Kyou muttered in his sleep. "Leave me alone." He started shaking in his sleep, trembling all over.

It was disturbing, to see Kyou shake like...well...like a frightened kitten. "It's all right, Kyou. You're safe." Hatori took Kyou's hand and held it, hoping that it would do something to reassure the boy. "No one's going to hurt you." He remembered a fever that Momiji had suffered though and felt a pang of fear. Momiji wasn't as strong as Kyou and the fever had taken a great toll on Momiji's little body; it had nearly killed him. Hatori's brain knew that Kyou was in no real danger, but he couldn't help but associate any fever with those few days he sat by Momiji's side and waited for the hare to wake up. He'd never felt so helpless when none of his medicines could do anything to stop the fever. When Kyou settled, Hatori turned the light back off and simply waited. There was little else he could do.

It was when he turned the light off that Hatori saw it. It was a sharp, fast movement that caught the attention of Hatori's one good eye. He wasn't sure what he saw, but he saw a small animal fly out Kyou's window. Something with bat-like wings.

"What...?"

"Hatori?" Kyou was awake all of a sudden and looked at Hatori with bloodshot eyes. "What are you doing here?" He was still shaking uncontrollably.

"Shigure asked me to see you." Hatori replied quietly. "How are you feeling?"

Kyou didn't answer with his usual flippant or rude remark. "I'm still cold. Why can't I warm up?" His voice sounded small. "I need to leave."

"Leave? Don't be foolish!" Hatori pulled the blankets up a little closer to Kyou's chin. "You're cold because you caught a fever, you'll be better soon."

"You don't understand."

"I understand that you need to sleep." Hatori put the animal that had flown out of Kyou's room out of his mind. It wasn't important, so long as he could make Kyou well. He had more than one worry and couldn't afford to think about a bat living in Kyou's bedroom. Not only was Kyou sick, but he would have to find out where that mysterious Count D lived and take his memory. No matter who or what Count D was, he knew about Ritsu, somehow, and that could not allowed to continue. Hatori would do what he always did and ensure the safety of the family by taking Count D's memory. Even if he was afraid to look at those mismatched eyes.

"Hatori?"
"Yes, Kyou?"

"Are dreams real?"

It must have been the fever speaking, Kyou normally wouldn't ask such a question. "Have you been having dreams?" Hatori smoothed Kyou's hair away from his forehead. Kyou looked so young, more helpless than he'd looked since he was a small child, hiding in the darkness of his mother's house.

"Weird dreams. Scary dreams." Kyou's fingers closed around Hatori's and a desperate look came into his eyes. "Please, don't let me fall asleep again. I'll do anything, just don't let me sleep again."

"Hush." Hatori soothed. "You don't have to sleep, just rest." He knew Kyou would eventually fall back to sleep, given the darkness and his exhaustion. From the look of him, Kyou had slept, but not peacefully. Hatori hoped that Shigure returned soon with news of the stranger, Count D. With luck, it would be after Yuki and Tohru went to school, though. There was no need to worry the children.


At Ayame's-


Shigure was very glad he'd thought to carry his clothes with him. Not that he'd be terribly embarrassed to run around town bare, but it wouldn't be good for the Souma family name. In the middle of the night, it was unlikely that anyone would have seen him and Ayame would have gladly lend Shigure some clothes, but Hatori would have been very unhappy if Shigure had been arrested for running naked through the streets of Tokyo and hadn't been able to get to Ayame's shop.

He pulled open the front door of Ayame's tailoring shop, seeing no need to knock since Ayame was used to him coming and going any time he pleased, and made his way to the back room. It was more like a sitting room than a work space. Set out with comfortable chairs and two couches, a radio and a large fish tank, it was a very nice place to work. The first thing he saw was Mine-chan, Ayame's charming assistant, trying very had to sit on a young woman's lap. The young woman was a few years older than Mine-chan, perhaps twenty three or twenty four years old, and had eyes full of fire even as Mine-chan smiled sweetly at her.

"Don't touch my fuckin' gun!!!"

"Awww...but it's not very pretty." Mine-chan cooed. She reached up and touched one of the young woman's freckled cheeks with a look of adoration in her eyes. "You'd look so much cuter with a puppy in your arms." It seemed that Mine-chan had found yet another victim and Shigure was pleased for her. She was a sweet girl and deserved a bit of fun. "Please, let me help you into something more comfortable. I have a lovely green gown that would fit you beautifully..."

"I'm allergic to dogs and I don't wear dresses, now leave me alone!" The unfamiliar young woman had her arms cross over her chest and was glaring angrily at Mine-chan. Mine-chan was, as usually, dressed in one of her own creations. This time, she was in her favorite nurses' uniform, the one with the skirt that was barely more than a belt and white stiletto heels. She wore the complete uniform, even the little hat, which told Shigure that she'd dressed up especially for this visit. Maybe this was more than just a bit of fun for Mine-chan.

"Come on, Jill-chan. At least let me hold your gun, I've never even touched one before." Mine-chan's voice turned deep and throaty and she looked at the young woman, Jill, with eyes that were more than a little seductive. "Please, just once...let me touch IT." Leave it to Mine-chan to make something completely innocent sound so dirty. Shigure thought he might like to use that line in his next novel.

Jill blushed dark red and didn't answer. Instead, she turned to look at a blonde haired man who sat with Ayame on the couch. "Leon! Aren't you going to help me out here?!"

Leon leered back. "Are you joking? After all the crap I took from you about my own love life? Hell, I think I'd like to see you in some hot woman on wom..." He was hit in the face by a pillow.

"You've got a filthy mind, Orcot!" Jill yelled as she kept trying to fight off Mine-chan.

"Now that's the pot calling the kettle black." Leon laughed. "I ain't helping you anymore than you helped me!"

Just then, Mine-chan apparently grew impatient with the fighting game. She stood up and put both hands on Jill's shoulders. Jill was to stunned to move or protest and just sat there with he mouth half opened before Mine-chan leaned in and kissed her soundly on the lips. Mine-chan ended the kiss by turning around and dashing up the stairs that led to the apartments upstairs, giggling like a schoolgirl the whole way.

For a moment, Jill just sat there, her eyes wide with shock. Then, with a growl, Jill jumped to her feet and charged after where Mine-chan had gone. "I'LL KILL HER!" Then, they were both gone and Shigure silently congratulated Mine-chan. It was nice to see her get what she wanted and there was no doubt that it was Jill that Mine-chan wanted. It would be interesting to see what happened now that Mine-chan had gotten Jill where she wanted her, upstairs in the bedrooms. Jill's voice floated down the stairs. "Come back here you twit!"

Ayame's eyes lit up the moment he noticed Shigure. "'Gure!" He cried and jumped up to give Shigure a hug. "What a nice surprise! What brings you here?"

Shigure kept smiling, though he was confused. This meant that Hatori hadn't told Ayame that he'd asked Shigure to come over. That, in itself, was odd. "Oh, I just thought I'd stop by. I was in the area."

"At this time of night?" The blonde man spoke up and looked at Shigure suspiciously. "You go running around town in the dead of night?" His Japanese was a little hesitant, marking him as a foreigner.

"You'd be surprised what I get up to in the dead of night." Shigure winked at the blonde man and was rewarded with a horrified blush. "Awww, how cute." Shigure laughed. "You're shy!"

"Damn, Aya, what kind of friends do you have? First that cold bastard now this freak?" He nearly sneered with disgust.

"'Gure-san's not a freak, Leon!" Ayame protested. He pranced back to the couch and sat next to Leon, patting Leon's knee affectionately as he sat. "He's my dear, sweet cousin. You give him a chance and you'll like him. Besides, 'Tori's not cold. You just don't know him well enough, yet."

"Humph! Not sure I want to know him. I know the way he treats you and you deserve better!"

Shigure had the distinct feeling he'd walked in at a bad time. "So," he said in an effort to change the conversation. "You're the famous Leon I've heard so much about?" From then on, the conversation turned more friendly and Shigure learned all about what was going on. He'd known that Ayame's penpal was coming from American, though no one hadn't expected he'd bring his coworker. He learned that Leon had met up with a friend, unexpectedly, when he arrived at the airport and that the friend had opened a pet store not far from Ayame's. Leon commented that he wasn't sure where the petshop was, yet, but that he would find out in the morning. However, he didn't learn what had made Hatori so upset that he would ask Shigure to come over.

"Would you mind stopping by the estate, 'Gure?" Ayame asked later when Shigure was getting ready to leave. He excused himself from Leon and walked with Shigure into the front room so they could speak quietly. Ayame put his arms around Shigure and held him closely. "I think something's bothering 'Tori, but he wouldn't say anything to me. He took Ritsu home and then came back here, but he was very quiet. Even quieter than he normally is. I'm really worried, 'Gure."

Shigure liked the feeling of Ayame's body against his. It was familiar and comfortable, so he held Ayame. "Was it something to do with Leon? He didn't seem to fond of Ha-san just now." Ayame loved Hatori more than anyone else and it would hurt him deeply if his friend didn't like Hatori.

Ayame flushed. "Well, I may have mentioned just a little something about 'Tori in my letters to Leon and...it's not my fault...I'd never do anything to make 'Tori look bad...but..." He sighed and looked terribly guiltily. "Leon seems to have gotten the idea that 'Tori's been leading me on for years and that he's just playing with my emotions. I didn't mean for him to get that impression, honest..."

A woman's voice screamed, from upstairs, "What the Hell do you think you're doing?!"

Ayame smiled at the scream. "Mine-chan is very fond of Leon's friend, Jill. Mine-chan tried to get Jill to dress up, but Jill refused. She said she didn't like dressing up like a doll. I think Mine-chan was a little unhappy about that, so she had to find another way to get attention from her. I hope they get on well, Mine-chan's been lonely without anyone to dress up."

Shigure wanted to get home, to see how Kyou was faring, but he still had business to wrap up for Hatori. "Has there been anyone else here, Aya?" Shigure asked, putting one hand on the top of Ayame's beautiful white hair. Hatori had hinted that one of the guests was unusual and that he wanted Shigure to smell him out. Jill was a regular woman and Leon smelled like a normal man. Nothing to be suspicious about. Hatori wouldn't have gotten upset over someone who might dislike him, there were lots of people who didn't like Hatori on first meeting. He was a hard man to like, but Hatori knew that and made allowances. Normally, he didn't care what other people thought of him.

"Oh, yes, but he left just after 'Tori did."

"Do you know where he is?"

Ayame frowned. "Why so curious? I don't know where his shop is, I didn't bother to ask. He's Leon's friend, Count D. He said he had to get back to his shop, as he'd left Leon's brother in the care of a nanny and wanted to get back."

The true horror of what Ayame had said didn't strike Shigure until after he'd left Ayame's shop and when it did, his eyes widened in horror. His hands began to shake and he was so afraid that he felt like he was going to throw up.

D.

Count D.

Shigure could only vocalize his emotions in two words. "Oh, shit."


To be continued...


Next chapter: Hon Ron makes an appearance.


Evil Little god of Writing: Hee, hee. I told you I'd picked someone to play with.
Little Demoness: You just HAD to do that to poor Kyou, didn't you? Hasn't that darling kitten suffered enough in the actual manga?
Evil Little god of Writing: No, he hasn't. What a silly question to ask. Besides, you wouldn't let me have Shigure, so it's your fault Kyou gets a few nightmares.
Little Demoness: A few nightmares? That's a mild way to put it. You only made him question his entire existence and his lifelong dream of being accepted by his family. Then his own subconscious gets him confused about whether he wants to escape the bracelet. By the way, did Cousin D tell you the big secret of the bracelet?
Evil Little god of Writing: Only that it's made from the body of a Kami, Count D to be specific. Why? What have you been told?
Little Demoness: Ha! I know something you don't know!
Evil Little god of Writing: Awww! Come on, tell me!
Little Demoness: No way, you'll have to wait, just like the readers.


Till next time