Daisuki Daiyo Neko-Kun
"What do ya think you're doin'?"
Risa slowly opened her eyes and glanced at the fiery red head looming over her with a gloomy frown. It took a moment or two for her to register who it was above her, but realization soon struck and she abruptly sat up.
BONK!
Both teens held their heads in pain as their foreheads already started to turn red.
"Oww… The hell are ya doin'?!" the boy cried out in fury.
"Me? What are you doing just standing over me like that?! That's kinda creepy!" Risa fought back rubbing her red flesh.
"I'm not creepy! I wasn't just standin' there for no reason! You're in my spot, damn it!"
"You're spot…?" Risa glanced around. All that her eyes caught glimpse of was the empty roof top with the chain fence and the many birds hopping around looking for forgotten crumbs. They flew away in a hurry however as small kittens began to swarm the roof and play amongst each other. Where did they come from? She thought to herself.
"HEY! Move already!" he shouted once again.
Rise glared at him now. "I don't have to if I don't want to! I don't see your name written anywhere around here!"
"You want to pick a fight with me?!"
"Yeah! I think I do!"
Both moved in closer, foreheads now touching and glares sparking electricity.
"Risa!" a female voice called out as she peeked her head from behind the roof door to inspect the nearly empty building top.
Risa jerked away from him, face flushed from annoyance and anger. "You are infuriating and-and-and a meanie!" she ran to the familiar voice and pushed her from the roof.
"Meanie? What the hell kinda insult was that?" the boy grumbled and took a seat before the wire fence.
"Whoa, Risa! What's up with you?"
"I don't want to talk about it, Uka!" she exclaimed as she stomped through the halls.
"Did you have a bad nap…?" Uka hesitated to ask.
"No! I met a jerk on the roof!" she complained while turning the corner.
So much for not talking about it…. Uka thought. "Well, what happened?"
"That Kyo guy told me to get out of 'his' spot! Some nerve! I didn't see his name written anywhere!"
Uka shook her head and allowed her friend to brood over her experience.
Risa parted ways from Uka on their way home from school with a simple wave as she still felt the anger boiling in her body from earlier that day. The whole way home she grumbled and mumbled to herself complaining about meeting Kyo on the roof. It had been their first official meeting, but she knew who he was; they were in the same class. Kyo certainly wasn't quite in class, but he did not enjoy speaking to others. He preferred to be left alone at lunch, although he was seen quite often with Tohru and Yuki. Risa did not have anything against him before this day, but because a fight had broken between them, she felt a grudge settling in her belly.
"So rude… I can't believe it… I thought he might have been a pretty nice guy…" she continued to grumble as she turned into an ally to get 'home'.
The buildings slowly morphed from decently built and painted houses to shabby, crumbling buildings that had been abandoned for years. This district was called Risa's home, as she had no others to live with. Although she lived in a crumbling building missing a roof and chunks of walls taken out of the walls, she called it her true home. She ducked under some of the structure beams and hopped through a hole in the wall and found her usual sleeping and dining area. She placed her bag on the ground and removed her scraps of food for the night and her homework that would be due the next day.
Although it was not the life of luxury, it was the only life she knew.
Risa was curled under her blanket and shivered as the moon continuously rose in the sky. The night proved to be one of the coldest nights in quite awhile and Risa did not have all of the necessities to protect her from the chill. She tried to force her body to sleep, but it would not comply as it focused on the cold air surrounding her.
In the middle of the night, a large crash was heard deep in the destroyed field of houses. Risa's body jolted forward at the sound and she frantically searched around for the source of the noise. More rustling was heard outside causing Risa to rise from her makeshift bed and cautiously peek around the corner of a pile of rubble. A dark silhouette glided through the night barely lit by the moonlight; Risa shivered at the sight of the eerie figure and glanced to the ground looking for a way to defend herself. By her feet lay a long broken and splintering wood plank most likely used at one point as the walls of a house. She took it in hand and slowly moved forward towards the now still shadow in the dark.
The head of the figure snapped up and gazed in the direction of Risa; she immediately froze in her tracks board raised above her head. Her body would not permit her to move any farther than she was as the ghostly form continued to eye her. Her body, although frozen with fear, told her to get ready to defend herself; she raised the board slowly, though it was already high above her head. If the figure made a move, she would bring her makeshift weapon crashing down on its head.
"What are you doing here?" came a familiar voice.
Risa's body froze again as she recognized the tone and gruffness to that voice. It was someone that she knew; not a complete stranger. "K-Kyo…?" she managed a whisper.
"What are you planning on doing with that? You wanna pick a fight?"
"N-no… I-I…" her body was beginning to feel dizzy now. The adrenaline had been pumping through her veins when it thought of the danger, but now it was settling down; to her dismay her body had reacted too quickly to the excitement and did not have enough energy to expend causing it to become very weak from the lack of a healthy lifestyle.
"What's your problem? You gonna answer me or what?"
Risa's head spun wildly around as her weak arms lowered the board and her body staggered. It could no longer hold her up on thin legs and came crashing to the ground. Before she lost her hearing a voice was calling out with a specific tone to it…. Was it… Concern?
Light slowly came into the world as her eyes fluttered open. The ceiling seemed very plain and when glancing to the left she noticed a traditional Japanese sliding door. She had not seen this environment before; where was she? Her body felt warm; comfortable warmth from the embrace of a blanket, and her head was nicely supported by that of a firm pillow. Even her back had a comfortable mat underneath it. This was an alien feeling to her; had she died and gone to a heavenly place? Where she lived she would never feel these comforts.
She sat up from her laying position and took in more of the room. Warm, sunlight filtered into the room from the paper door. She also looked down and noticed her old, dirty uniform still attached to her body. Perhaps she had not died and moved onto a better place…. But if that was not the case, then what had happened to her?
"Oh good! You're awake! You had us worried!" a sweet, friendly voice rang from Risa's left.
When she turned Risa found Torhu in the doorway. She knew her from school, but it wasn't often that they talked. Torhu gave a warm, comforting smile and set a tray of food on the ground. Risa eyed it suddenly wondering what was on it and if she was allowed to have any.
"How are you feeling this morning?"
"Ummm… Fine, I suppose…"
"Kyo had us worried last night when he brought you here! You where looking really sick!"
"I-I was…?"
She nodded. She also noticed Risa's gaze on the contents of the food tray. She giggled to herself and held a hand out to the food. "Feel free to eat anything! I made it just for you!"
"R-really?"
Torhu nodded again and that was all the initiative needed.
Risa lunged forward and grabbed a bowl of rice. She shoveled the sticky grains into her mouth and immediately dived for a meaty looking substance. The tastes happily melted in her mouth and her stomach seemed to growl with content. Torhu gave quiet giggles as Risa devoured the food before her with a smile and enthusiasm.
She finally finished and gave a relieved sigh while lightly patting her stomach. Tohru gave another giggle. "I'm glad you liked it!"
Risa nodded enthusiastically. "You're cooking is amazing!"
"Thank you, but I can't take all of the credit! Kyo actually made the rice balls!"
Risa's eyes widened. "Kyo did?"
It was Torhu's turn to nod.
Risa found it hard to believe that Kyo was able to make something so tasty with the bad attitude that he had all of the time. The fact he was able to make something look nice and taste just as good, almost baffled her.
There was a knock from the frame of the door. "Hey, how long are you going to stay in there, Tohru?"
Risa knew this voice; she had heard it just last night, but it didn't seem the same as she remembered. There was something different about it last night… but what was it? She remembered an urgent tone in it before she lost consciousness. What would she call that tone, that emotion? Was is concern; was he afraid for something?
But even so, his voice was different now.
"I made you and the others breakfast Kyo, was it not enough?"
"No, there was plenty. You've just been stuck up here for awhile."
Tohru stood now and took the empty tray. "I was just making sure that Risa was alright!" She managed to slide the door open and reveal Kyo's face.
Risa felt embarrassed suddenly as she noticed his amber eyes glancing at her. Her eyes darted away and she began to fiddle with her fingers. Her cheeks glowed with a light heat behind her skin.
"Oh yeah," he started. "Well, what's the verdict?"
Tohru turned to Risa and smiled. "You can ask her yourself!" and she left the room, leaving Kyo standing in the door way.
Risa merely glanced at him once before feeling the heat behind her cheeks and glanced away again.
Kyo leaned on the frame with one arm and gazed at Risa waiting for an answer. There was an awkward silence between the two, but neither wanted to say anything. Kyo was getting irritated and started to throw daggers at Risa's back; he tried to create that tense atmosphere to force Risa into talking. She, however, did not take that hint; she was too busy rambling inside her own head.
Kyo finally growled and let his voice roar from his chest. "Would you say something already?!"
Risa jumped at the sound of his voice. She was too afraid to say anything, but she was also afraid not to say something. "S-say what?!" she asked dumbly with her brain in a jumble.
Kyo growled and pushed himself from the doorway and headed downstairs. "Forget it!"
Risa sat in silence for a few moments as she let her heart slow to a normal pace once again. Although hesitant at first, she stood on her two feet and tip-toed to the door to peek around. She was definitely alone, but she was feeling bold all of a sudden and decided to trek forward for a little exploration. Around the corner there was a flight of stairs in which she slowly and cautiously descended to the sounds of shouting.
"Damn Rat!"
"Stupid cat."
Peeking around at the foot of the steps she only saw a long hallway with a few doors on each side. The arguing sounded close, but as Risa walked down the hallway it grew even louder as she stopped in front of the second door on the left. She was about to slide the door open, when the screen to her left split violently and a body came crashing into the wall. She let out a squeak of a gasp and turned towards the body.
Kyo lay slumped against the wall with a swollen cheek and fists clenched. He glanced up with flaming red eyes and a scowling face. Risa was not sure what to do; she wanted to go over and make sure Kyo was alright, but the look he gave frightened her. Yuki suddenly stepped into the doorway with a triumphant smirk.
"You never can win can you, Stupid Cat?"
Kyo snarled at Yuki and stood from the ground only to take off running down the hall. Risa was surprised at his actions and still did not know how to react. Yuki glanced in her direction with a more welcome smile now taking refuge on his lips.
"Good morning, Miss Risa. Are you feeling any better?"
"Umm…" She began with a stutter. "I-I think so…"
"Oh, you came down!" Tohru called from inside the room. "I'm sorry, I should have brought you down myself!"
"N-no! It's alright! Kyo seemed upset after he left…" She stated changing the subject. "Do you think he'll be alright?"
Yuki chuckled. "He'll be fine. He's just pouting right now, that's all."
"Well… maybe someone should go talk to him… make sure he's okay…" Tohru contemplated as she went towards the door to follow Kyo.
"I'll go." Risa said without thinking and her body moved on her own to follow in Kyo's direction.
She searched for long minutes, but to no avail. He was not found in the house neither upstairs nor downstairs. She contemplated on where he could have gone when Yuki found her deep in thought outside.
"Miss Risa, why don't you come inside? If Kyo does not want to be found then chances are you will not find him."
Risa sighed and nodded knowing that he was probably right. She followed him inside and found that Tohru had prepared a fine meal for lunch. It was at this meal that Risa met Shigure, the owner of the house, and listened to him complain about all of the people out to destroy his house. He made Risa giggle at his antics and how flamboyant he could be. It was not until after dinner that it was suggested that Risa stay with the Sohma household. She was quick to decline trying not to be a bother to them, but they all insisted; even Tohru. Risa was very hesitant and continuously tried to think of excuses as to why she could not stay, but Shigure and Tohru had a counter for every problem she could have presented. They said that Kyo had brought her to the house and he had explained that he found her in the abandoned, crumbling neighborhood; with that information the Sohma family and Tohru were not willing to let Risa go back to her 'home.'
Finally she sighed and caved into the persistence. "Fine… I'll stay here… But for only a day or so!"
"Until you are able to find a real home!" Shigure protested.
Risa mumbled under her breath, "Where I was before wasn't that bad…"
Shigure perked up as he heard her voice softly. "What was that?"
"Oh, I was just thinking that I should go back and retrieve what valuable items I do have!" she gave a somewhat nervous giggle.
Shigure gave a nod. "That would be best. Take Yuki with you then."
"I don't need him to accompany me! I can get there on my own!"
"Shigure is just worried about your health Risa, I'm sure that's why he wants you to take Yuki along." Tohru stated with a soft tone.
"And I'm thankful that he is worried, but I would like to go on my own. I would like to retrieve my belongings on my own and take a last look at my home before I leave it."
Shigure hesitated for a moment, but eventually gave a nod in understanding. "Alright, Risa. Just please return. It breaks our hearts to know that you do not have a dependable home to return to."
Risa gave a smile and nod of understanding back and made her way back to the crumbling buildings that she use to call home.
She ducked and jumped over debris like every other day that she came back to this place; it was like second nature to her. The familiar open space of rubble filled her eyes and caused pain in her heart. This had been the only place she had known as home for a long while and she was just expected to leave it so suddenly. Although it would have been a dream come true for any other person in her situation, she was happy living in the rubble as long as she wasn't a burden to anyone else. Now she would be leaving her seclusion to join the world once again and she was afraid of becoming a nuisance to the Sohma family and Tohru, but at the moment they were not giving her much of a choice.
She would join with reality once more and blend in with human society.
"What are you doing back here?"
Suddenly Risa's eyes caught sight of Kyo.
"I could ask you the same thing. In fact, I could ask you what you were doing here last night." She retorted.
"Like that's any of your business."
"It is when you scare me half to death. And technically you were sneaking into my home. So indeed it is my business!"
Kyo scoffed. "You call this a home? What the hell have you been smoking?" He kicked some stone to the side and shuffled his foot through the debris.
"If you don't like it then why were you even here?"
"I didn't say I didn't like it… I just wouldn't call it a home."
Risa stared at him waiting for a better answer to her questions. Kyo caught glimpse of her eyes and glared slightly.
"Alright, fine! I like to come to places like this; where no one else is around. I like the seclusion from the world; the time to be by myself."
"That sounds pretty lonely…" she finally commented.
"Like you're one to talk! You lived here! And it's not like you have much of a social life at school! Who's the lonely one now!?" He pointed an angry finger to her.
Risa's eyes drifted to the ground sadness filling her body. "You're right… I guess I really am all alone…"
Kyo lowered his finger and his glare softened into a surprised look.
"I just know that if I get to know anyone closely that I may become a bother to them; that I'll just get in the way. That's why I decided to live here away from everyone else. No one would have to give up space in their home for me and they wouldn't have to worry about feeding me or providing me with clothes or anything like that. I figured I would be alright; that I could take care of myself. I didn't realize that I would leave myself in such isolation… but…" tears dripped from her eyes and her voice shook with sadness and helplessness.
Kyo took hold of her arms hesitantly and gave her a light shake. "H-hey! There's no need to cry; cut it out!"
Risa could not find any more words inside of her instead her tears spoke for her in the middle of what use to be her home. Kyo panicked at her alarming reaction to their seemingly simple conversation. He couldn't find the words in his brain while watching her tears flow… so he decided to speak from the heart.
"Hey, stop it already. No one's completely alone in the world. I mean, there are lots of people out there that feel the way you do… They feel they don't fit in; that no one likes them; that they're too different. And it's those people that you need to talk to because they know what you're feeling deep inside. And when you talk it makes you feel better… right?" Kyo's cheeks blushed slightly at his unusually gentle words. "So stop crying okay? Because I know how you feel… being alone is no fun, but sometimes you just feel it's better for you and the people around you, but really it only hurts them. We just need to branch out to others to make ourselves happier. I've been learning that lately… and it looks like you need to learn that too."
Risa looked up in shock at the boy that was normally hot tempered and distant. The words that he spoke were not that of the typical 'badass' Kyo, but of a much softer, gentler one. Seeing his cheeks dyed a light pink caused a smile to rise to her lips and his embarrassed features urged that smile even further.
"I get where you're coming from; about being alone and it's really no fun to always be alone. You don't have to be alone anymore… okay?"
With a bright smile Risa gave a nod in understanding and acceptance. Kyo cleared his throat and his cheeks flashed a deeper color of pink. This earned a laugh from Risa.
"Come on already; get your stuff and let's head back to the house."
"Okay!"
Murmurs floated down the hallway at the passing couple. Tohru could only smile as she watched them walk together. Others were amazed to see the two together even after a few weeks.
"Isn't it odd that Kyo got a girlfriend?!"
"I know! I never would have thought anyone would be brave enough to put up with his temper!"
"And who would have thought Risa would be the one!"
Risa smiled as she heard some of the conversations and Kyo merely grunted every-so-often. Risa giggled at his hard exterior and swung their hands a little higher as they continued down the hall. At the end waited their friends with smirks and smiles at the odd display of affection.
"Hey Kyo! Kiss the girl already! You've been together for a few weeks and all we've seen are you two holding hands!"
Kyo blushed bright red. "Shut up!"
"Don't be a scardy cat, Kyo!"
"Yeah, do it already!"
The girls giggled at the couple's flustered look and Kyo's growing anger.
Kyo growled low and loud. "FINE!" he swooped down and crashed a kiss onto Risa's unsuspecting lips.
He pulled away and gazed at her for a moment before turning back to everyone and growling insults at them. Risa smiled as she watched her favorite cat hiss and growl at their friends. "Kyo…"
END