I've decided to repost this fic with a few changes in place, hopefully for the better ... or not. You tell me. :D The following events occur prior to the beginning of the manga/anime. Rated for language.

Disclaimer: this is a fanfic, nothing more.

Spirits Soaring

Kyo glared. He glared at the roof, at a dirty speck on the wall; he glared with those intense crimson eyes, throwing daggers. He directed a piercing stare at the world and at his life. Kuso nezumi. The blame, the vengeance of the cat, lay solely on a purple-eyed loser sitting on his dumb ass somewhere. Boarding call for Flight 234 to Okinawa at Lounge 10. Your flight is now boarding. That's Flight 234 for Okinawa.In fact, were it not for a grey-haired bastard, Kyo would not be glaring like there was no tomorrow. Two weeks! A fortnight away from Shishou, away from his roof, the dojo and the rat! Kyo chuckled drily. Although he would be rat-free for a fortnight, he was only training because of that damn nezumi. Instead of dwelling on that notion, Kyo closed his eyes and relished the thought of a defeated Yuki. Ah, his eyes would widen in shock, his mouth would begin to form the words baka neko, though in vain, as Kyo's critical punch would come flying straight for his snobby nose. Crunch. This would result in a broken nose, a broken Yuki and a broken curse. Kyo leaned against the wall, his hands in his pockets, with a broad stupid grin written all over his face.

A while later, having awakened from his stupor, Kyo contemplated his situation. Strands of orange hair fell into his eyes as he began to study his foot intently. Shishou was a great teacher. Would training with another, more renowned Takeshi-san increase Kyou's chances? Psch, Takeshi-san was not even a Sohma: what if... for one, Hatori would not be present to erase memories. Note to self, stay away from girls, Kyo concluded. Ah, but he was more familiar with Tokyo. The thought of two weeks in a city, alone... Kyo's eyebrows arched in annoyance. He was no wuss, unlike the sissy rat who constantly craved attention, Kyo did not need companions, he would be perfectly fine alone. But no one needs you. No one accepts you. No one wants to be with you. A little voice mentioned in his head. But that gives me all the more reason to flatten the rat, he retaliated at himself. Face it dude, no one likes you. Kyo frowned; this small, afraid yet bitter Kyo, had been hidden at the back of his mind. Or so he thought. Instead of wallowing in self pity/hate, Kyo began glaring again.

Boarding call for Flight 234. Shut up. Kyo cursed at the bloody pager. The line of passengers was basically at a standstill, besides the shuffling once a while. Once a long while. There was no reason to move now: Kyo was in no rush. His eyes moved back to the line, scanning for any familiar faces, though to no avail. However, he discovered three girls in the line giggling and glancing at him, or rather, at his conspicuous orange hair. Pissed, he glowered at them. The last thing he needed were girls fawning over him on this three hour flight. Fucking sissy boy would be used to it. He sighed. Though the thought of Kagura being miles away somewhat comforted Kyo.

As the line shrank to three people, Kyo stretched and wandered to the entry. Final boarding call for Flight 234.

"Ah… chotto matte... please wait," a voice pleaded from behind. Kyo turned around on instinct. A brunette teenage girl with large blue eyes behind him smiled meekly. "Am I late?" she whispered, fumbling through her bag. She looked so innocent and flustered. A slight grin passed over Kyo's face before the usual sullen look conquered again. "Oh no! My boarding pass… where is it?" she panicked. Tears were brimming, threatening to break out of their thin barrier. "I swear it was here… it was…" she looked frantically about, checked all her pockets and finally turned around to look behind her. "I must have dropped it somewhere… gomen. Gomen Nasai. I'm so sorry," she glanced timidly at a cross ticket collector.

"Young lady, would you please hurry up and find it?" the woman snapped, "we're running late and you're the last passenger after this man here."

"Ah, sumimasen. I'm very sorry," she was struggling to keep her tears on hold and bowing repeatedly, "but I really really need to go to Okinawa… please?"

"Begging me won't help. Perhaps you should look for your pass!" She glared at the girl.

In the meantime, Kyo had looked on blankly. This innocent girl pulling pranks? Yeah, right. If so, she was a damn good actor with that vulnerable look of hers. Droplets of tears had meandered their way out of her eyes, sliding down like her smooth skin. And this bitch of a ticket collector wasn't helping. "Yo woman. She's upset, okay," Kyo yelled at the glaring ticket collector. The girl promptly glanced up, surprised, her bright eyes glistening and searching Kyo's face.

"Oi, what are you looking at? Don't just stand there!" Kyo abruptly noticed that she had been cowering while he shouted. Sticking his hands in his pockets and lowering his voice, Kyo mumbled, "Hey, I'll help".

Kyo wondered what he did this time. His armpits weren't smelling too bad, he wasn't changing form but the girl looked frantic. "Ah, no! It's okay. I won't be a burden. You should board the flight. I'll be fine. Sorry for disturbing you!"

A confused expression passed Kyo's features. His eyebrows were raised, disappearing behind his fringe. She was apologising for troubling Kyo. What the fuck! Since when was he troubled? Besides the fact that he was unfortunately cursed, going on a stupid trip, sparring with a ... rat and constantly pissed. This however, did not concern a girl who misplaced her ticket. Kyo was lost for words. "What the f..., err. Ermh. Shit. Uh... Put it this way, if I help you find it, you won't be a burden to the rest of the passengers." Kyo thanked his brain for working so unexpectedly fast and reasonable.

The girl nodded and slowly smiled, "Thank you, you're very kind". She put her bags down and instantly began her exploration around the lounge. Kind? That was a first.

"Hey, idiot!" Kyo shouted. He didn't mean to sound so harsh. Strange, he actually cared about his volume? Firstly, he had offered to help, and then he had lowered his voice. Why, he was acting... Kyo shoved his thoughts away. "You haven't even been over there yet, maybe you should retrace your steps, this way."

The girl blushed a deep red and smacked herself mentally for being such a ditz. "Ah, gomen, I forgot," she walked back to Kyo then gradually stepped backwards, following her previous trail.

Kyo grinned, then checked himself for smiling. Boy, was she weird. Kyo gingerly held her shoulders and turned her around. "You can walk forwards, idiot," he mumbled.

"Aha... ha…ha…uh…" she coloured even more and grinned awkwardly "okay..."

The ticket collected cleared her throat noisily and frowned. Kyou shot her a fierce look. He was tempted to stick his ticket down her throat. Instead he muttered to the brown-haired figure, "Yo, we should hurry up." Without waiting for an answer he grabbed her hand, faintly aware that he was holding a girl's hand, and sprinted back through the terminal. With Kyo's feline eyes being ever so observant, he glimpsed a lone ticket lying on the ground. "Is that it?" In bold letters, the ticket stated: HONDA TOHRU.

to be continued