Disclaimer: I don't own any of them. They are the creation of the almighty, Takaya Natsuki.
A/N: Thank you to the reviewers who are still reading this and leaving me comments. Again, doumo arigatou gozaimasu!
Peering In From the Outside
Chapter 4: Kyo
Tooru was an early riser, and she had never been late in making a nice breakfast before heading out to school. Stranger still, it was she who had to wake up her cat each morning when it was usually the cat's job to be the earliest riser.
"Kyo," she poked at his stomach, "it's time for breakfast so you better get up." He peeked one eye open to look at her before stretching out lazily and sitting up. Tooru smiled at him and asked, "what would you like for breakfast today? Tuna?"
(Ugh.) Kyo meowed. "Meow."
"Then, salmon?"
"Meow." (Wrong again!)
"Sardines?"
"Meow." (Something besides fish would be nice. Geez, she acts like a cat eats nothing other than fish, and drinks nothing other than milk . . .)
It was like they understood each other on a completely different level. Tooru had come to learn that whenever he meowed after she asked him about breakfast, lunch, or dinner, she knew that it meant a 'no'. Kyo was getting rather impatient with his air-headed master, so he jumped out of his sleeping box and walked towards the refrigerator - he waited until she opened it.
"Hmmm, about the refrigerator, Kyo, it's almost empty and the only kind of meat I have left is salmon, tuna, or sardines." Kyo looked up at her with his large cat-like red eyes. (I forgot to go shopping last night when I was coming home from work. Gee, I wonder how I forgot to do something as simple as that?) "So, what will it be, huh, Kyo?"
(She's got to be kidding me . . .) Kyo merely stared at her; his tail barely moved back and forth, thus showing Tooru that he was displeased with her.
Kyo hadn't really thought about it when he was released, but sometimes he was really grateful that this nice teenage girl found him when she did. He was half-starved, forced to live the life of a cat, and was chased around by plenty of dogs while he was out prowling around the streets. Still, it satisfied him that he was no longer within Akito's control, despite the drawback of remaining as an animal for the rest of his life - this was more freedom than he had ever experienced in a really long time, and he liked it to some extent.
"Meeeooowwww." (Can we eat something already?)
"I know, I know," Tooru reached down and scooped Kyo into her arms, "you're really hungry and so am I. We'll settle for sardines for now, okay?" Kyo sweat dropped. "Sardines is the one you dislike the most less when it comes to tuna, salmon, or sardines. I'll make sure to fry it in peanut oil and add a bit of salt to yours."
"Meow . . ." (Makes me wonder how you can eat any sardines without any salt . . . It's not like they're naturally salty.)
Kyo hissed as best as he could while trying to stare down the terrier pit bug dog that was chasing him relentlessly around a small park. He managed to get up a tree, but now the stupid dog wasn't going to leave him alone until he got a bite out of his behind. (Damn dog, move!) Not only was he afraid of getting down, he was also hungry and was in desperate need of some nutritional food. It has been three days since he was turned into a creature and then into a cat, and disregarded as one of the Soumas by Akito. Kyo was never going to forget the angry look the foolish bastard had on his face when he defiantly told him he was breaking away from the Soumas. It was a satisfying moment indeed.
"You filthy cat, how dare you think yourself worthy to be a Souma to begin with?" Akito accused, cold blue eyes staring menacingly at the red-head.
"I never said I was worthy or unworthy," Kyo replied. "Hell, like I even care that you're going to disregard me from the rest. Be my guest; at least I'll be away from all of you annoying freaks residing within this mansion; at least I'll especially be away from you, Akito."
"You dare belittle me?" Akito struck Kyo across the side of his face so hard that he could actually taste his own blood inside his mouth. "You think I'm here for all show and no tell? Do you honestly think that I am not your God?" Akito struck him again - this time it was across the left cheek - the untouched side. "Don't you ever say such a thing about me! I am your God, and it is your duty that you stay beside me as an obedient piece of shit that has no value to me whatsoever!"
"A piece of shit, eh?" Kyo wiped at the side of his mouth when his blood oozed out. "Well, all right, this little piece of shit here you're talking to is about to hit the road, and I'm never coming back."
"You're not getting away that easily," Akito warned. "In order for you to prance away freely, it will come at a cost and it will most likely affect you for the rest of your life."
"I'm prepared for anything. Bring it on." Kyo was determined to escape no matter what.
"Kureno!" Akito shouted.
As if conjured up by magic, Kureno appeared from behind a screened door. "You called, Akito?" He looked over to Kyo for a brief second - no emotion was portrayed on his expression.
"Where's that damn bracelet you keep with you all the time?" Kureno reached into his pocket and handed it over to Akito. "See this?" Akito held it up in the air for Kyo to see. It was a variety of chestnut beads weaving in and out of blue colored string. "This has the reverse affect of that beaded bracelet you're wearing now," Kyo's eyes widened at the mere prospect of being trapped as a hideous creature, "and you'll have to wear this around your neck until the day you die if you wish to leave me."
Kyo looked to Kureno for some sort of sign, but none came his way. This decision was his, and his alone. Could he face the humiliation of being free, but roaming about in the forest only due to his hideousness? Kyo involuntarily gulped as he looked at the bracelet Akito held.
"I accept."
"A stupid choice you've made, but you were never very bright to begin with. Kureno," Akito waited until the man was standing directly beside him, "I want you to place this around his neck and remove the one on his wrist. That one belongs here with me."
The sad look in Kureno's eyes was almost too much for Kyo, yet, he knew that he had already made up his mind, and there was no turning back at this point. Lifting up Kyo's left hand by the palm, Kureno slipped the beaded bracelet off only to have Kyo transform into the hideous creature he was constantly hiding from others. He could see Akito smirking at him evilly when Kureno bowed before raising the other bracelet up to fasten around his neck like a tight choker.
". . . I'm sorry," Kyo whispered, just loud enough for Kureno to hear. The sad look in the rooster's eyes could've only meant one thing - he desired the freedom Kyo was receiving. Yet, the red-head wasn't sure Kureno would ever leave Akito, because he had been with him the longest, and who knew what sort of ties he had with the boy.
Kureno shook his head. "There's nothing to be sorry about." Kyo was surprised that Kureno could smile so easily. "You're free now."
(Yeah . . . I am free, but with a body like this I will live a lonely life by myself in the woods.)
"Go. Get out of my sight you hideous monster," Akito said.
Kyo growled, but he knew in doing so he was only fueling Akito's satisfaction of torturing him. A life condemned to be by oneself shouldn't have bothered Kyo as much as he thought it should. He had trained in the mountains for six months with little to no human contact, so why was it hurting so much to be alone now? Kyo was sure he knew the answer, yet he didn't want to admit it to himself. This was his decision and it was too late now to back down - even if he would never see his Master again . . . At least he did this for his own sake, as selfish as it may have sounded.
"I was about to. No need to tell me," Kyo replied, in a eerily gruff voice.
Something painful jabbed at his heart - the feeling of being alone - he'd have to deal with it. As soon as Kyo was outside of Akito's room he leapt up into the air and into the nearby bushes before disappearing completely. A person with startled chocolate-brown eyes saw the creature leaping away, and there was no mistaking it that that creature was Kyo. The eyes lingered on the bushes where they last saw Kyo, but they were soon transfixed to Akito's bedroom door when they saw him emerge from his room, with Kureno following closely behind him.
Out in the wilderness Kyo was blindly running and running; he never dared stop to catch his breath no matter how much he needed it. He simply wanted to get away from the Soumas' mansion as much as possible. Being cursed was a rude awakening to him when he was only a small child - his mother's rejection was felt, but not entirely seen. He hadn't realized it at the time when she'd usually finger the beaded bracelet he wore on his right wrist. He was too naïve to notice why she constantly did that. She did see him as the deformed cat once, but her shock did not last long and she did not treat him any more differently than she had before. All his life he was never let outside so it was nothing new to be locked away inside his own home like a prisoner; the only strange thing that occurred was the permanent wearing of the beaded black and white bracelet after he had transformed.
"Good, you still have your bracelet on. That's my Kyo."
"I'll keep wearing it as long as you want me to." Kyo looked up at his mother and smiled.
Kyo ran and ran until his ribcage ached. He stopped to rest underneath a tree, but that peculiar tree he went under housed a teenage girl up high in its branches. He didn't notice her presence until she jumped down to stare at him, wide-eyed with shock. It was apparently obvious that she had never seen such a creature like Kyo before.
"Hi," she said, a little nervous at Kyo's sudden glaring. Her eyes immediately steered themselves towards the beads the creature was wearing around his neck. She thought they look rather beautiful in their own little way, yet now was not the time to be admiring anything, really.
"Get away from me!" Kyo wasn't in the mood to be dealing with anyone, let alone a frightened girl. "I'm a monster, so if you don't want to die, get the hell away from me!" When she didn't move he only got angrier. "I said get the hell away! Now!"
She fled, then. Fear took action and made her legs run for her life. Kyo watched the girl's retreating form as she got father and farther away from him. When he first glanced into her emerald-colored eyes he was surprised to see that she looked oddly sad, more so than scared. However, that only lasted for a second before he could no longer see it.
The frightened girl ran to the edge of the forest's entrance before stopping to catch her breath. Little did she expect to run into a cat-like creature in her daily adventures beneath her favorite tree. She hadn't even realized that such creatures as him existed in the first place. What scared her most about him was his vicious fangs and angry looking red-colored eyes.
"I can't just leave him there . . . Besides, I was there first and that's my favorite tree. I even gave it a name. Daiki."
Kyo didn't linger underneath the tree for long; he was spotted by a human and he now knew that he did not go deep enough into the forest. He was just about ready to start walking again when he heard a man's voice from behind him.
"Wait."
"Master?" Kyo turned around to face him. It was indeed his Master, and within one palm of an outstretched hand he was holding a small vial of green-colored liquid. "What are you doing all the way out here?"
"I've come to give you this. You'll at least be more normal looking this way."
"How . . . How did you know about this?" Kyo asked, surprise clearly etched upon his face.
"Kureno told me; he was breathless when he came to me with the news."
"And I thought he'd envy me for my freedom, yet, if he told you about me, then I guess not." Kyo looked at his ugly hands for a moment. "Whatever is in that vial, Master, I don't think I should drink it."
"Don't act stubbornly, Kyo." Kazuma was dying inside simply thinking about Kyo being all alone out here in the forest. If he took the form of a cat he could at least roam around the residential areas as a stray - that was better than a life of solitude with nothing to comfort you, but the sounds of the forest as days would go by. "It'd make me feel better if I knew you were going to be all right. Being holed up here is going to drive you insane."
"It's really nice that you're concerned for me, however, I can't drink that to ease my burdens. I've abandoned Akito."
Kazuma placed the vial of green-colored liquid down on the ground before stepping away from it. "Think about it, Kyo. Despite what Akito's demands may be, it shouldn't matter so much since you've broken away from him; if he ever comes after you I'll make sure to come and save you. Besides, you may be a zodiac animal, but you are not marked like the others - there's still hope for you."
(Akito's hold on you is not as strong as you think, since you were not present at the banquet, Kyo.)
Kyo turned a light shade of red at the mere prospect of his Master carrying him within his arms, or something of the sort. It was all too embarrassing, and it'd definitely hurt his pride if such a thing were to ever happen. Kazuma said nothing further, and simply walked away. He could only hope that Kyo would make the right decision for himself.
Chapter 4: END
