I opened the window to see the orange cat prowling around outside and muttering to himself. It almost made me smile but it didn't last as I grabbed the box to do what I had to do. I leapt from the window landing gently on the balls of my feet. The cat was puffed up and looked at me terrified. 'DON'T EVER DO THAT AGAIN!' He shouted.
I gave him another small smile, "You sound like Kyo-kun." He continued muttering but followed without any other remarks as I headed into the forest. I found a place far enough from the house and bent down to dig a grave for the kitten. The cat pawed at the box hissing at the coppery scent of blood. He managed to knock the lid off before I grabbed him and clutched him to my chest. His claws bit into my shoulder.
'What the hell?' He asked but I just put him as far from the hole as I could reach as I buried the kitten crying softly as the orange cat demanded answers.
I prayed and stood to leave. The orange cat dug its claws into my leg. I looked down at him with blurry eyes. "Daddy was sending his love." I whispered and left as the cat stepped away his jaw open with shock.
By the time I reached my room I had completely worked out my plan. I would go to Kyoto where a friend of my fathers lived and make my presence known. Hopefully then my father would believe I had gone from here and would leave these people alone. Maybe one day I could even come back here.
I called Ayame while I packed. "Hello Ayame-san! I need to reschedule our appointment I have to leave town for a few days."
"That's fine. Call me when you get back and when you do come bring my dear Yuki!" He laughed and hung up.
I sniffed as I changed into a dark shirt and pants. I tossed my bag beneath my window and clutched the bracelet Kyo had given me before crying my heart out. By the time I was calm it was just after dark and I grabbed my bag before jumping out into the night and sneaking away.
Kyo
Kyo was doing something he'd never done before. After grabbing a pair of pants from his room he went to where he remembered the garden being to seek out Yuki.
"You're not serious?" Yuki said standing and packing his gardening tools in a small shed he had built recently. It was beginning to get dark anyway so he wasn't upset with the interruption.
"Extremely. Her dad sent her a dead kitten." Kyo said. "What do we do? This guy is dangerous."
"I wonder why a kitten?" Yuki asked as if to himself then blinked rapidly as an idea came to him.
Kyo shrugged, "I am not sure. She knew why though." They started walking back together and Kyo had his hand shoved deep in his pockets. "So what do we do?
"Question her." Yuki said, "Maybe she'll tell us."
Kyo snorted. "She's terrified. She'd more likely…run…" He turned to meet Yuki's eyes and saw the same look in them. She was going to run away. They began to run as fast as they could. They slammed into the house and up the stairs leaving Tohru and Shigure to look up the flight after them.
"Shigure-san, do you know what's wrong with them?" She asked looking at him as he attempted to steal a bite of the food she was making.
Shigure shook his head and went upstairs after them. Amaya's room was the only open door and he stuck his head in with a grin. "Stealing kisses?" The next second he was on the ground with two angry boys standing over him.
"This is no time for your perverted jokes!" Yuki said angrily.
"Amaya has run away!" Kyo said turning back to the window and looking out desperately.
"Run away? What on earth for?" Shigure asked bewildered as he got to his feet.
"Her dad sent her a dead kitten!" Kyo said pointing outside. "I saw her bury it!"
Behind them they heard Tohru call out. "There's a mouse down here looking for something."
The three men all looked at each other. "Maybe it saw Amaya and came to tell me." The three of them hurried down stairs and as the door shut the cover on Ama's portrait fluttered to the floor leaving her angry, pained features bare to the room.
I stepped off the train and clutched my bag tightly. I was not very familiar with Kyoto but I knew where Mrs. Aski worked. She was my father's partner in Kyoto. I had slept fitfully on the train but I was to tense to be tired. I began walking as the sun began to rise behind me. I reached Takashi Incorporated's Kyoto location and hid around the corner of the building while I waited for my prey to arrive.
During the times I was awake I had come up with a plan. I would make sure Mrs. Aski saw me and make her believe I was a runaway in Kyoto. Mrs. Aski had been my fathers mistress while my mother had been on a stint of sleeping around. My mother always feared that the monster she birthed made her unappealing. I snorted, mom births a baby that she thinks is a hideous monster and SHE feels unattractive and unloved? That's what Mr. Mikage had talked of. He was one of her lovers. Mother had liked to flaunt them in front of me to reinforce her self-confidence and tell me that I would never have my own lovers.
I saw Mrs. Aski park and unzipped my backpack slightly before heading quickly across the parking lot in a path that would have me go by her. She wasn't paying attention to the teen striding down the street until we collided. I fell back onto my butt and my clothes spilled partly out of my bag. I met her eyes and saw the flare of recognition. Gotcha! I made my face show horror and fear before quickly pushing my clothes into the bag and ran back around the corner. I leaped over the wall separating the allies between the two office buildings and pressed my ear against the wood and waited. I heard her heels enter the alley way and then the sound of beeping as she dialed her phone. A second later I heard her husky voice purr into the phone. "Mr. Takashi darling. It's Kohana. I found something you might have lost…" At that point Mrs. Aski was out of range and I could no longer hear her.
I sighed and began to head back towards the diner I had noticed a few miles back. I entered and because it was just after work had started for most people there was one couple in the back corner, one waitress, and an old woman at the corner of the counter. I sat more towards the middle conscious of the older womans eyes following me.
The waitress was a bubbly young woman and she gave me a smile as she came up to me. "What can I get for you today?"
"Do you have any miso soup?" I asked smiling hopefully.
"Yes we do. Would you like tea as well?" She asked as she headed back into the kitchen.
"Yes please!" I grinned setting my bag at my feet.
The woman was still staring at me and I tried to give her a reassuring smile. Instead of making her look away she picked up her tea cute and moved to sit beside me. "Are you a run away?" She finally said.
I jumped startled at her blunt question. She was in her sixties at least and the lines in her face showed her age and pain. She looked as if she knew what I was going through by being out on my own. "Sort of."
"What are you running from?" She asked leaning onto the counter and looking at me.
I blew into my cup of tea thoughtfully. "The past…and the future."
"Two very different things." She said sipping her own tea.
"Yet they can hold the same problems." I muttered then thanked the waitress when she brought me my food.
"Want to talk about it?"
I shrugged giving her a crooked smile. "It's not that uncommon. My parents hated and rejected me. Now I'm afraid any new friends I make will do the same."
"I had a daughter once. She was wild; the top member of a large girl gang. I couldn't stand her behavior especially when she had been such a kind child. Eventually she ran away and I was glad. I never wanted to see her again at that point. But as the years passed I realized that I missed her. Without her my life was empty. The very things that I claimed I hated in her had been what kept me going. Determination, pig-headedness, guts…everything. I started looking for her but I never found her. I don't even know if she is alive or dead."
I gave her a smile. "I bet she forgave you. She is probably still alive."
She sighed. "I pray so everyday."
"What was her name?"
"Kyoko, but her gang called her 'the Red Butterfly'."
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