Chapter 8 – The boy and the cat
Author's Note: I know this didn't go up when I had promised but I've been juggling 2 jobs and school, and this chapter wasn't coming together. Hopefully you all like it, not as upbeat as my other chapters. Thank you to James Birdsong, Kirorokat and Angelic Trinity for the reviews!
James Birdsong: Thank you very much!
Kirorokat: BAHAHAHA thank you for catching that, I thought it was well played :D
AngelicTrinity: I know I know bad meee~. I wasn't really getting reviews and I didn't know how to write the chapter, nor did I have time. It's up now so please enjoy! BTW you caught it, look at you spilling the beaners XD
Please enjoy!
The boy was staring right at Doumeki, his eyes unwavering. Pure malice, no longer in a smoke form, dripped slowly off of him, as if a cage made of honey to consume him. The boy's malevolent eyes were becoming more and more unnerving. Watanuki didn't know what to say, as he was mute with panic. Natsuki was breathing heavily, unsure of what the next move was going to be.
"So Haru. Thought you could avoid me eh? No matter. You'll PAY!" the boy screamed his voice crescendoing .
Glass broke on the houses behind them as the boy seemed to glide rapidly toward Doumeki. Natsuki screamed and pushed Doumeki out of the way as the boy barely missed hitting him and swerved upwards to float a few feet above ground, enough to be at level eye contact with them.
"Clever. You won't escape for long though Haru." The boy growled.
Doumeki still couldn't see the boy but he could hear him. He tried to level his gaze with where he assumed the voice was coming from.
"Oi. I don't know what you want from me, but why do you keep calling me Haru? My name is-" Doumeki started, brows furrowed, until the boy swooped at him again, landing a solid kick to his shoulder making him stumbled back.
"C-Can't you just tell us what you want?" Watanuki cried out, afraid for what damage this young boy could do.
"Pah! As if you all could fix the damage done!" the boy roared, tears of blood pouring from his eyes.
The boy had a surprisingly strong kick, and Doumeki was feeling his shoulder go numb. He had no idea why this boy seemingly wanted him badly hurt and it didn't look like they were going to figure out why anytime soon. Watanuki was shocked that there could even be an evil spirit on temple grounds, but if anything it seemed to make him stronger. How could a young boy hold so much malice in his heart?
The boy flew to Doumeki again, firing hits that Doumeki barely managed to avoid. He got kicked again in the same shoulder, so Doumeki put his arms up to block him. He couldn't block himself fully, so the kicks that hit him stung quite badly. He didn't know how much more of this he could endure. He didn't want to hurt the boy either. He hoped Watanuki or Natsuki would be able to do something. He gritted his teeth at his inadequacy to see what was right in front of him.
Mainly because... Natsuki and Watanuki were frightened and he didn't want them to be.
The boy, ghost he supposed didn't scare him all that much. Odd thought, when something supernatural is trying to take your life, but he was more worried about the other two. He could defend himself, but what if the boy turned on them? What if he couldn't help them? So he decided to subtly taunt the boy to keep his attention focused on him.
"I still don't understand why you hate me-" he grunted, blocking against the volley of kicks.
"Shut up, SHUTUP! Don't mock me Haru!" the boy yelled, increasing his strength.
The boy reared back to deliver a harder kick when a soft meow broke the tension.
He was so startled he stumbled backwards in the air as his feet touched the ground. He kept stumbling backwards until his back hit a tree. His eyes were wide, his lips parted slightly in surprise as he watched a cat nestled at Natsuki's ankle.
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Natsuki had felt one of her cats curling around her ankles, and the tinkle of the blue collared bell, but she had been too distracted to notice. She looked down and noticed it was the one she called Ange, short for Angela. The cat was white with charcoal grey spotting and blue eyes. Her fur was long and her tail luxurious, the tip of her tail being the same shade of grey as her spots. She was a pretty cat, and Natsuki remembered her fondly, a tiny thing abandoned on the street with its mother beside her, having just passed away after giving birth to this one kitten. She didn't know what to call her. Originally she wanted to call the kitten just Ange, French for angel but she felt that didn't quite suit her. So she named her Angela, still regal, but not bearing the same weight as the other name. Natsuki had no favorites as she loved all of her cats equally, but she remembered Angela's back story vividly. Her mother had been dead, with no resemblance to the kitten and the father was nowhere to be found.
Shion had jumped out of Natsuki's arms, and she bent over to scoop Angela up. Her bright blue eyes held mystery and she nuzzled her owners chin and licked her cheek before jumping out of her arms again. She looked at the boy head on as his voice cracked with emotion.
"Tenshi? W-Why are you here?" the boy continued, his eyes never leaving the cat.
Tenshi? Watanuki mused. That's a boy's name. While he wasn't well versed in the difference between female and male cats somehow he just knew with this one. Doumeki peered closer to where he heard the voice. There was a subtle change in the air and Doumeki started to see something strange. While he couldn't see the boy, he saw what looked like a malevolent pair of cat eye attached to the silhouette of what seemed to be a child.
The boy took a step forward and stopped. This cat was female. It looked like Tenshi, but it wasn't. No cat could ever be Tenshi. Tenshi his Angel. He turned back to Doumeki, the cat eyes wide open and luminescent, bleeding black and howled,
"YOU TRIED TO TRICK ME HARU! YOU TOOK TENSHI AWAY FROM ME AND YOU TRIED TO TRICK ME, I THOUGHT WE WERE FRIENDS HARUKA! YOU SHOT TENSHI WITH AN ARROW, HOW COULD YOU!" he screamed his voice permeating the air with hatred. Thicker black smoke was coming from him, coiling around and almost strangling him. He rose up and kicked Doumeki hard in the chest. The sheer force knocked Doumeki off his feet and he fell to the ground and the boy rose above him.
Everything fell into place for Natsuki and she and Angela took off towards him.
"WAIT!" Natsuki yelled, throwing herself in front of Doumeki. "Wait! Please!"
The boy was having none of it as he launched himself at Doumeki, with killing intent.
A streak of white flashed by Natsuki's face, as Angela propelled herself into the boy's arms.
Time seemed to stop.
The boy crashed to the ground as Angela would not move from his lap. He struggled until Angela licked the bloodstained tears away. He blinked in surprised and the cat eyes behind him seemed to diminish. Angela carefully kept licking his face, as the boy's demeanour seemed to grow less malevolent. It was like...Tenshi was there comforting him after his long day with the bullies...
Natsuki slowly walked over to him and knelt down. Stretching her hand out she stroked the back of Angela's head.
"Tell me...What Tenshi looked like." She murmured. The boy looked up startled, but she didn't meet his gaze. "Onegai?" she pleaded.
"White...with grey spots...and blue eyes... with-with-" he started.
"With a little grey on the tail?" she nudged slightly. He was unable to speak as he clenched his little fists. "What happened?" she prodded. "Haru..He..He..Took Tenshi away from me!" the boy cried, his river of tears breaking the dam, as he sobbed real crystal tears. Angela nuzzled closer to him and Watanuki noticed all the smoke was gone. Natsuki's eyes started to water as she held his cheek.
"Maybe Haru was looking out for you. Maybe Tenshi was sick and Haru didn't want to see his friend hurt so he took Tenshi away." She murmured. "Haru must have thought you'd hate him, but you don't right? Otherwise why would you call him Haru instead of Haruka? It must have been lonely, ne? After everyone left?"
The boy sobbed and clutched onto Angela, still comforting him.
"Daijobu... Tenshi is still here, in his daughter." Natsuki whispered in his ear. The boy looked up at her, childlike delight shining through his tears. No one hated him, Haru was looking out for him and he had Tenshi, no Angela.
"Maybe...You could call her Ange, to honor her father?" Natsuki said gently to him. He held up the small cat and looked at her. "Ange..." he murmured as she meowed in delight. The boy let out a radiant smile, and stood up, without a thank you or goodbye, ran down the street with Angela's spirit as they both disappeared.
It was an abrupt finish, Watanuki thought. He looked around as the only signs something happed was Doumeki sitting on the ground and the gathering of cats around Natsuki. He slowly walked over to her and stifled his gasp as he saw Angela's lifeless body in her arms. Doumeki had gotten up as well and made his way over to her. She was crying silently, lamenting her loss, as were all the other cats that had their heads bowed in silence, honoring their friend for the deed she did. Watanuki felt the sadness well up in him as he knelt down beside her. He had a thought. He recognized those markings.
"Natsuki...I know it's not much but...I mean I believe it was Tenshi...I-I held him in his last moments and he went peacefully. That's something right? In her last moments she received so much love, and..and..." he trailed off, not knowing what else to say. Doumeki knelt in front of her and put a hand on her head. "They're happy now." He murmured.
She looked at them, tears still running but she looked glad. They were right. But that didn't make the loss hurt any less. Her eyes met with Doumeki's and he gave a tiny nod. This is all she needed to cry.
Everyone has a purpose, but that makes you no less sad when they leave.
A/N : I'll try my best to get the next chapter up as soon as I can, do read and review.
