Chapter Seven: Meeting
Kyo.
The True Form.
Those two thoughts were the only things running through my head. It was him.
He was here… in the True Form.
I tried to sit up and groaned. And when I did, he turned to face me and we locked eyes. His were wide and a deep violet as I'd seen twice before.
He bolted for the exit.
I was knocked over by the sheer power of him running past and slammed into the cave wall. "Wait!" I called out, pushing myself to stand up. I got on two feet and ran for the exit.
I looked down and saw him on a ledge nearby. I was afraid... but I was afraid of losing him, not facing him.
"Kyo!"
He stopped. I was breathing heavily. I wasn't sure whether he would attack me, run, or what. And we were alone.
"Kyo... please come back." His long, green ears perked up and I knew he was listening. "I want to help you!"
He didn't move and his ears went down. I could tell he was listening... maybe thinking about it.
He slowly turned his head, not looking at me. "Please, Kyo. I just want to help you." He looked up at me and we locked eyes again. I stood there, shaking. I was sure he could sense my nerves. He turned his whole body toward me. "I will help you. I promise."
He climbed up higher again and followed me slowly back up to the cave. I backed myself against one wall of the cave, opposite the leaves. Once I sat, he came up over the edge. He watched me for a second and then moved toward the bed of leaves. I watched him as he spun and laid down in the leaves. The fire was small and smoking slightly between us. But he kept his eyes on me, and they bore into me.
"You don't know me," I started. My voice was a little calmer now but wavered. "I'm Nicolette Mente, but my friends call me Nick..." I trailed off, trying to find the words. "I was summoned to Japan by Akito... You can probably tell by my American accent. Akito had a vision after you... left, and they sent me because-"
"Stop."
I stopped.
Kyo had spoken to me through the True Form. His mouth didn't move but the voice was there in the cave. It was echoed but not by the cave itself. It was by the True Form, and it gave it a demonic sound.
"You can't help me."
I thought for a minute about what to say. "If you think you're so terrible in this form, then why would you help me stay alive in this cave? And why would you take me away in the first place?"
He stuttered. "I... I don't know. I acted on... some kind of instinct. The monster wanted you. So I took you."
The thought sent a chill down my spine.
"Once I realized I needed you, a new instinct came over me to kill you. And I didn't think I could control it. So I stayed away from you... to protect you." he explained. Kyo was still in there. He wasn't trapped; he was fighting back the instinct to kill. "I don't want to hurt you… or anyone else."
I paused, letting him calm down. "You're not a monster. It just lives inside of you. You just need a way to fight it."
"No!" he roared. "It's a part of me!"
"Kyo," I said, slowly. Using his name seemed to calm him down. "You've been hurt. I want to help you."
He roared again and stood up. "No! I can't be helped!"
"Yes! Yes, you can be!" I was shaking sitting there.
"I can't!" he roared.
"I will help you!" He just stopped and stared at me. Something I said must have gotten to him.
"I'm hopeless."
"You're not."
Finally, he sighed and sat back down. He looked out the entrance of the cave. "You're not giving up, are you?"
"I won't give up on you."
He sighed.
"I'm going to help you." I insisted.
"Good luck." He said, rolling his big violet eyes.
"I will."
He turned away again. "You really think you can try to help me...? Even though I'm like... this?"
"I'm sure of it." I offered him a small smile.
"Fine... I guess I'll try." I smiled at him.
"And that...is the first step." He sighed again. "So you're the one that's been bringing the fish, huh?"
"Yeah... I come up here and check on you whenever you sleep."
"Wait... every time I've slept...?" He was quiet. I felt my cheeks flush. I remembered falling asleep under the jacket.
"I didn't see anything," he said. I pictured him rubbing the back of his neck in his human form. "I just made sure you were alright."
"Thanks..." I said slowly.
There was a pause and we just sat there for a few minutes.
"Nick?"
I looked up at him.
"Do you want some fish? I cooked it for you. I figured you'd be hungry."
"Yeah, thank you." He crawled closer, to the fire between us. I backed up slightly.
"See? Even you can't stay near me." He tended the fire and then ripped the scales right off the fish with a swipe of his claws.
"I'm sorry. I'm not afraid you, I just... I don't know how to respond to it, I guess."
"Don't be sorry. I'd be afraid too."
"But I'm not-"
"Sure."
"I'm not!" I shouted. "I want to help you!"
"That doesn't mean you're not afraid... I'm afraid." He held out his claws with the fish skewered on one claw. I slowly reached over and pulled it off.
"I'm going to change that," I insisted. "Nice cooking by the way," I said, biting a piece off.
"It's basic. I can't cook anything other than rice balls."
"Neither can I," I said with a laugh. He didn't even smile. "You're not gonna eat anything?"
"No," he said. "I went hunting a few hours ago." A chill went down my spine but I covered it up. I pitied whatever it was that he got to. "Are you tired?" he asked.
"No, I'm actually feeling a lot better now. Thanks." I paused. "I wanted to take a bath later, but I don't have to..."
"No, I'll leave, it's-"
"Don't leave!" I felt a panicked knot in my stomach.
"No, I meant for a few minutes so you can bathe. I'd go fishing or something."
"Oh... alright." I breathed a sigh of relief.
I thought for a minute. "I can bring you something other than fish if you want."
"Oh... yeah, thank you."
"What do you like?"
"I like anything."
He sighed. "Gonna try to be as simple as possible to make my life easier, huh?" He leapt out of the cave.
My throat caught.
I realized why he wasn't smiling. I reminded him of Tohru.