A/N: Just wanted to put something out there for all you readers who are waiting for The 26 ABC Kisses. Please read and review! Thanks!
-x-
It was one of those regular days. The everyday routine consisted of waking up, eating breakfast, walking to school, getting into a fight with Yuki, getting into a fight with Hatsuharu, go to class, eat lunch, fight with Yuki again, then go home, shower, eat dinner, finish homework and sleep. Lather, rinse, and repeat. But without the lather and rinse part.
"Damn it, stupid cat! Stay still!"
And here I currently am, in a fight with Hatsuharu.
"If you can't catch me, then you're no slower than a snail on a racetrack!" I shouted back and got a growl in response. I immediately smiled at the reaction. There was no way I'd get through to Black Haru without a fight. And his only way of communication were through his brash actions anyway. But he wasn't like this before. In fact, Haru was a bit useless back then, but a kind person nonetheless.
-x-
Flashback
I remembered the first day I arrived at the Sohma Estate. I was alone. I was shunned, or at least, that was what I was told by my beloved mother. It was a rollercoaster of emotions; from fear to anger and then to sadness. I soon found happiness when Kazuma took me in. He treated me like I was his own and I never sensed any doubt in his words or actions. He was as genuine as I used to think of my mother. I thought she loved me, but in the end, she didn't.
"Excuse me," a voice interrupted my thoughts. I looked up from the koi pond behind the Sohma Estate. We just had our introductions a while ago. So why would anyone dare talk to me knowing that I'm the cursed cat?
I surveyed the boy with dual hair and pale complexion. It was the Ox zodiac host I believe.
"Yes?" I answered slowly, in hopes of not scaring the boy away. The boy was anything but afraid. In fact, it looked as if he didn't care at all who I was.
"The bathroom. Do you know where it is?"
I didn't question the boy's lack of memorization of where the restroom was. I was like that too. We sometimes forget things. But as the years passed by, I knew it was of no coincidence. The Ox, Hatsuharu Sohma, was directionally challenged and he depended solely on me to take him around. I let him ask, I let him bother me when I'm busy, because he was the closest thing to a friend than anyone could ever be.
With every day we spent, a slow-building of new emotions began to take root within our so-called friendship. At first we didn't realize it; us being a couple of oblivious boys whose only focus was on martial arts; but then, we soon felt a spark during our many sparring matches together with him pinning me to the mat. It was, how do you say it? Love at first match was it?
"Sorry," the Ox had blushed and got up and off of me. I sat up with a blank look on my face,
"It's nothing. Good spar," I stated taking a gulp of cool, refreshing water from my water bottle.
The awkwardness only increased from there. With each passing day, I noticed tiny changes in Hatsuharu's behavior. It wasn't noticable at first, passing it off as puberty, but then it came to the point where I just couldn't help but question his mentality.
"Kyou? Is something bothering you?"
I looked up suddenly to see the Ox watching me with worry. I shook my head,
"No, nothing's wrong."
"Kyou . . . I . . . I have something to tell you," the whispered voice of the Ox floated to my ears. Something in me tightened at the words. Haru looked so serious, more than ever in his whole life. I swallowed,
"Wh-What is it?"
"W-Will you still love me, even if I lose my mind?"
End Of Flashback
-x-
For a split second, I faltered to which the Ox got the chance to land a hard one on my jaw. I stumbled, wiping the small trail of blood from the corner of my mouth,
"How could I still love you, if you get bothered so easily? If a fight or even a tiny combative phrase brings you out into this crazy person?"
"What are you mumbling over there, stupid cat?" Black Haru laughed. He wasn't the same boy I had known all those years ago. He just wasn't the same kind and caring person. Now, stood in his place, was a completely different person.
Will you still love me, even if I lose my mind?
I shut my eyes at the one phrase that continue to speak to me from the corners of my mind.
"If you close your eyes, how will I see the pain reflected in them when I hit you?" the Cow's sarcastic but dark voice said. How did things end up this way?
I threw a punch toward's the Cow, catching him off guard. Anger flared through me, I knew what had to be done. After this fight, after this moment, he would return; the very person that I've always known.
After this, I would definitely tell him the answer that I could not say back then. Because I know now, that whenever his other side breaks through to the surface, his gentle side is there underneath it all.
Will you still love me, even if I lose my mind?
I smiled as we both landed a punch to our faces at the same exact time.
Yes, I will.
OWARI
