A/N: No Koji and co. this time. I guess it makes up for the first lot where there was no Koichi. :)
The Curse of the Cat
031. Belong
That sunny day was the last in awhile; winter was fast upon them all, and school broke up for New Year. Everybody had mixed feelings about it: Koji wasn't looking forward to the Zodiac Banquet, particularly as it was his year to do the dance with a distant cousin. His father wasn't looking forward to it, since no-one worked at New Years and he would, like every year, miss the chance to spend it with his family. Zoe was ecstatic; she was going back to Italy with her parents to visit their extended family. Tommy was half-thrilled; Yutaka was coming back from college but that also meant there were more opportunities for brotherly squabbles. Takuya was…Takuya. Nothing really changed with New Years, except he got his favourite food.
Koichi was another story, but of course the other five had no knowledge of that. After all, the Cat did not belong with the Zodiac; they simply carried the part of the curse that relieved the rest. Koji didn't even know who the Cat was, and if Koichi had his way things would stay like that.
But to stand outside in the snow, watching the banquet from afar and wishing, just wishing, he was a part of that family…
But the only way was to fight his brother. His twin. And he couldn't do that. He just couldn't.
032. Choke
Fuyuno stared impassively. Koichi didn't turn to him; he'd bundled himself up as best as he could but the cold still chilled him to the bone. And it didn't help that the Head of the family had come out; he was a silently imposing figure, and the lack of feeling in his eyes chilled most who met his gaze to the bone. And for someone who lived off warmth, it was even more effective.
The sheep followed; Risshun, with her long fluffy pigtails, pale skin and shaky grip. She always followed Fuyuno; between all the Zodiac members, she was the most closely related to him. A half-sister, as opposed to cousins sometimes with enough distance to lose the Sohma family name in the maternal lines. She brought an umbrella, which she held above the elder's head. The snow fell upon her own hair, dusting it white. Koichi's hair also provided a landing ground, but his hair was too dark to ever look so pure or so innocently beautiful.
Within the hall they all could hear the sound of music being played. The dance to welcome the New Year would soon begin. Fuyuno looked at the Cat; he looked back, resisting the urge to fiddle with the charms around his wrist. Nothing travelled between, hence why it was such a shock when the Head stepped forward and grabbed the other's collar.
'When will you stop this foolishness?' There was little fervour in his tone; it seemed the other had only yanked the other to his toes so the height difference between them was absorbed. That way, he could see the other's eyes better; to Koichi though, it made no difference in the least.
Whether it mattered to Fuyuno or not was only known to him; he released the other and turned. Koichi, as unexpectedly released as he was seized, to slip on the icy ground beneath him.
Dazed, he blinked up at the wavering sky, a mix of white and black and grey…and was that a hint of red?
033. Reach
'While I admire your stubbornness, you can be a real idiot you know that?'
Koichi blinked, trying to assemble the input his eyes were giving to some degree of order. A blurry and somewhat annoyed face hovered over him. There were mixed smells as well; dye mixed in with chicken soup and the coppery tang that could only be blood.
'Honestly, you don't have to listen to him. You know that.'
Koichi blinked again, this time gaining a little footing. 'Teruo?'
'Yeah,' the other said, a tad affectionally. 'Your dear cousin who takes it upon himself to look after you, seeing as you never do it yourself.'
'You're a part of the Zodiac,' the Cat mumbled, apparently forgetting they'd already had that conversation. 'You'll get into trouble.'
'So I should have let you catch hypothermia out in the snow with a concussion from falling against the steps?' The other raised an eyebrow. 'And remember I'm the Cow. Considering I hate the Rat and all, I don't think anyone else really thinks twice about me being friendly with you.'
'I think you're supposed to hate me more.'
Teruo clicked his tongue. 'Want me to?'
'…no.'
'Good. Now shut up and go back to sleep. You're also running a fever, in case you didn't notice.'
Koichi hadn't. And Teruo informed him a little too late, as he was already out like a light by the time the brunet finished his statement, leaving the Cow alone to grumble as to the unfairness of it all and relieved that the other was now within reach, and would be safe for a time.
As members of the Zodiac they were cursed, but it was the Cat alone doomed to never find happiness. At least they would continue to live, if under their God, and one day it would be their only life and bring that fulfilment. But for the Cat there was only the dark room with no escape and no hope. And even now, there was nothing below the Cat, who himself was below everybody else.
And even Teruo, as fond as he was of his cousin, was not perfect in that. And if he was truly honest with himself, he tended to the other now not for his sake, but his own. Because to do so meant the other was reliant on him, needed him, instead of him needing his God as things always stood.
There was no avoiding that hierarchy. That curse.
034. Difficult
The cold had really done a number on Koichi, and the concussion had simply complicated matters. Teruo's mother wouldn't let him leave their home for weeks, but it lay inside the compound and his mother, not a Sohma by blood and living outside the compound herself, could not try to visit. Not only would she be turned at the gates, but it could possibly cause Teruo and his parents some problems.
The internal affairs of the Sohmas were a very complicated business, and despite having married one she was kept separated from them. It didn't help too that, together, they had sired two children cursed by the Zodiac, and worse still the two who were fated to be the worst of enemies to eternity. She hadn't realised how horrible that was though; she didn't mind they changed when she hugged them. It was simply another part of them, and she loved them just as much as she would have any other children. And because of that she couldn't condone it – any of it.
And so, in the end, she had taken Koichi and left that life forever. But it wasn't as simple as that, because while she was free Koichi was still tied up in the affairs of his father's family, and there was no escaping that blood…or that curse.
035. Heat
Koichi shifted restlessly under the covers; there were few times wherein he said he was hot, but the current circumstances invited it.
'Hush.' A cool hand petted his forehead before replacing the blankets he'd pushed aside. 'You need to sweat off that fever.'
But it was uncomfortable. He could barely think. He couldn't even eat; his stomach churned at the smell of anything. But through all that, he was restless.
No. Restless wasn't the right word. Uncomfortable may have been closer to the mark. Because of New Years. Because he was in the Main House, so closer to…
…and because the end would be coming far too soon. Soon enough for him to know he probably wouldn't be seeing another New Years.
Teruo's mother clucked her tongue, a little impatiently although worry laced the undertones. 'No, keep the covers on! You do want to go home to your mother, don't you?' She added immediately: 'Not that we mind having you here, but I do wish you would visit your aunt on your own steam.'
That was a little hard to do as well, being the Cat of the Zodiac and all. He was only allowed in when Fuyuno requested his presence, and that was generally to stand outside in the snow for New Years while the banquet continued on within.
'Oh dear. Your eyes are so red.' Fingertips forced his lids closed. 'Do try to get some sleep.'
And Koichi obeyed his aunt – his father's first cousin actually – and slept.