Kittens

TT: Hey guys, how are you all? Sorry it's taken me so long to do start these cut scenes, but I've been really busy with school. It is my last semester and all, and I want to go out like I went in – working my butt off.

But anyway; I had a little extra time today, once I'd given my history speech, so I decided that now was a good as time as any to start things off; you've all been so good about me not posting, and all.

So I'm starting this selection of ficlets with the scene, mentioned in chapter 44 of EOTC, in which Kyo finds a group of kittens whose mother has died.

For people who are here, but haven't read my fic 'Eyes of the Cat' - READ MY FIC FIRST, OR YOU'LL BE CONFUSED!

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The sky was dark; it had been threatening to rain all day, and that had left Kyo grumpy. Eris had given up trying to have a conversation with him in this sort of weather – he'd only respond with irritable, tired grunts. She was somewhere just behind him, humming one of those songs of hers, as he walked towards home.

Then, all at once, he stopped. Eris walked through him before she could slow down; Kyo ignored the chills that went through him, head tilted to the side and he strained his ears.

Then, he heard it again.

"Mew." 'Mummy…'

"Hey, NeKyo, what's up – I thought you wanted to go home?"

Kyo didn't answer. He was already moving towards the alley, somewhere to their left, where the sound had come from.

"NeKyo, wait for me!" She caught up to him in moments, walking beside him and leaning her head forward to see his face, "What is it, NeKyo?"

Kyo stopped suddenly, turning to the side and squatting down. Half-hidden by a soggy cardboard box, was a group of three, tiny kittens, their ears and eyes still tightly closed, meowing pitifully for their mother, who lay not far from them, stiff and cold to Kyo's touch.

Kyo didn't hesitate; he lifted all three of the kittens into his arms, close to his chest for warmth. They squirmed for a few moments, letting out tiny little sounds that meant nothing, before stilling, falling asleep against Kyo's warmth.

Their fur was so soft… It always amazed Kyo had these tiny things could grow into cats; creatures that could be very dangerous when they wanted, so independent and needing no one. There had been times when he wished he were as strong as the cat he was seen to be.

Eris stared at them, cooing at how cute they looked, but not touching them – as if afraid that her icy touch would freeze them to death. "What are you going to do with them, NeKyo – we can't take them home, can we?"

Kyo was already walking away. No; the Sohma house was no place for cats, much less newborn kittens. But that didn't mean they had to leave them, out there in the cold, with no chance of survival.

It was at that moment that it finally started raining.

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The pair were out there for an hour – Eris following Kyo, worried, and occasionally making a comment that they should wait somewhere until the rain stopped; what if he transformed or collapsed? Kyo had simply ignored her – something that infuriated Eris like nothing else – until Eris was about ready to pull her own hair out.

Then, close to the forest that was a part of the Sohma grounds, Kyo found what he had been looking for. A young cat, with a single kitten of her own, sheltered in the hollow trunk of a tree. The cat had looked up at the pair, and meowed once to Kyo, a little sleepily, as if asking what he wanted.

Kyo had slowly and carefully placed the three chilled kittens beside the cat's own. The cat – a wiry, black creature, had sniffed at the three carefully for a few minutes, as Kyo and Eris watched, quiet and anxious, before she suddenly began to wash the face of the kitten closest to her chin.

Kyo's knees shook in a combination of relief and exhaustion. For a moment, he'd been worried that the cat wouldn't adopt the kittens – but mother cats always were unbelieveably maternal, and willing to adopt nearly any young creature under the right circumstances.

It had always been something Kyo had envied, just a little bit, in his heart.

Eris put a hand of Kyo's shoulder, and the orange-haired teen turned to her. Red eyes met hazel.

"Come on, Kyo – lets get back before you get even sicker – because if you transform and I have to carry you, you'll probably get pnemoumia. Do you have any idea how dangerous that would be!"

"Eris, not many people die from pnemoumia anymore." He smiled, glad that she was looking out for him all the same.

"Not many means that some still do! Come on, let's go home now – Tohru can take care of you!"

"I'm going to hit you, now."

The pair walked off. Once she was sure that they were gone, a ghost cat leapt onto the edge of the hollow tree, looking down at the kittens, before meeting the protective gaze of the mother-cat who had adopted them.

Satified, the cat who had died in that alley, perhaps six hours before, jumped back down to the ground, flicked her tail, and walked off, before fading away.