A/N: Heh, I wish I owned Zombie Loan, but no... This here be the last chapter.

Yomi is smiling down at me. It is a sad smile, but the tear that runs slowly down her cheek is a tear of joy. My cheeks grow red hot as the reality of what I just did sinks in. Embarassed, I turn my head so that I do not have to look at her.

The bright red numbers of the digital clock flash before my eyes. 11:25 PM. The cat sleeps no more; she has woken up to her master's voice. I have obeyed Yomi's every command, like the pet that I am.

I can feel tears welling up in my eyes. Tears of anger. I violently push her off of me, trying to forget that any of this happened. Trying to pretend that it was all just a nightmare, and that I will wake up soon. Lying to myself again. I've grown rather good at that lately.

I run out of the room, afraid to look back. I can still see her in my mind's eye, though. She is sitting there on my bed, looking back at me. Tears roll down her cheeks. They are not tears of joy.

But I am so angry at myself, I don't care that I've made her sad. It was her fault; she came on to me. But I let her do it. I let her make love to me. And for that, I am the guilty one. I am only human, and we humans have such fragile hearts. I should know better than to expose my heart to a monster.

I do not know where my legs are taking me. Suddenly I come to a halt and look around. It is the same place that I came to earlier today, with Chika and Shito. Once again, my eyes are drawn to a ledge where a cat sleeps. It is the zombie cat. Somehow, it is exactly what I expected to see. I walk up to it slowly, but it still senses me. It gets up suddenly, arching its back and hissing. Its eyes are a blood red color; its teeth are longer and sharper than normal.

I am quite calm now, although I could not explain why. I continue to move towards the cat. It continues to hiss and growl, but I am not alarmed. I am now a mere foot away from the cat. It does not run or attack; it just stands there, hissing at me.

I reach towards it in a daze, vaguely hoping that it will attack me. I wonder what happens to people who are killed by zombies. Is it like in the movies? Do they become zombies too? I realize how little I know about everything. Why didn't I ever ask Chika and Shito about things like that? Well, I suppose I am about to find out…

"Neko," The voice does not belong to me. As I look up at her, I feel like I am snapping out of one spell and being overtaken by another.

The cat is no longer hissing; in fact, it seems to have gone back to sleep.

"Yomi, what are you doing here?" I ask angrily.

"I could ask you that same question, Chiruchiru," Yomi replies.

"I just… Needed some fresh air," I retort hastily.

But that isn't the real reason. The truth is, the incident with Yomi made me realize something… Something that I can't handle. Something that could not be covered up by mere lies…

To my surprise, Yomi chuckles. She reaches out and hits my glasses off of my face, making them fall in the dirt. I glare at her angrily, but the look that she returns makes my frown melt away. "No more lies, Chiruchiru. Okay?"

Somehow, I can't help but smile. I steal a glance towards the cat on the ledge. It is sleeping peacefully; the black ring around its neck has vanished completely.

I sigh deeply, trying to release all of my tension in that one breath. I look down at my glasses on the ground. My lies, my crutch. I bring my bare foot down on them, shattering the lenses. Glass shards cut the soles of my feet, but I don't care. I can handle the pain. I have learned that what does not kill me will only make me stronger.

The truth is more powerful than lies. I used to think that the truth was just a weapon that could be used against me. I was too weak to wield it. The truth is a double-edged sword. However, in the hands of a skilled swordsman, it can be wielded.

I was never that skilled. I was weak, so I hid behind lies. I wove a web of lies to protect me from the truth. It was not until I met Yomi that I realized I have been tangled up in my own cat's cradle of lies.

But now, I have decided to try to wield the truth. Of course, there will be pain. But I've found that lies actually hurt the wielder more than the truth does. Usually.

I hug Yomi affectionately, then pull back, staring deeply at the black ring around her neck. Thoughts of Chika and Shito pop into my head. What would they think if they saw me like this? I am smiling as I whisper in her ear. "No more lies… I would be lying if I promised that. But I'll try, Yomi. I'll try."