((I'm giving poor Hatsuhary-chan a break from this chapter (and all my nagging), so please excuse any errors!!
To Those Who Reviewed:
I'm so very, very, very sorry, but I'm not sure I'd be able to answer reviews this time!! It's been so long since I've even written anything, and I can't quite remember where the old reviews end and the others begin!
I promise I'll reply to this chapters reviews though!!
I would still like to thank every single one of you for your kind reviews!!))
Chapter Nine
"My dear little monster," She began, her smooth voice laced with its usual malice. "Are you happy in you new.. home?" The monster snarled. Pearly white fangs glistened in the dim light. Akito smirked. The cat was so touchy, like a bomb, reading to explode any moment.
"I saw your precious ox," She continued, watching the teen's fists clench. "He didn't ask about you." She sighed almost dramatically. Each word was drawn out, venom, as usual, dripping from each syllable. She almost didn't catch the look of pain in the younger boy's eyes, the tears that shined brighter than his pearly fangs, or how red and puffy his face looked. It was obvious that he'd been crying prior to their meeting.
"I don't think he cares about you." was followed by a long, fake sigh. "Of course, I'll always love you." She reached forward, her smile fading as the cat pulled away. For the first time that evening, their eyes met. Fury. Raw, painful fury burned through his crimson orbs and through her charade.
"You don't even like me!" He exclaimed, but his speech was cut short as sobs choked him.
'Haru' His mind called.
'Please.. be safe.'
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"You don't remember anything?" Hiro demanded, sitting cross legged in front of a very flustered ox. A certain ox that still hadn't gotten over his entire "potted plant" ordeal and was currently staring off into space. The ram shook his head, deeming his task of gathering information as useless and making his way toward the corner where Kisa sat quietly.
"Idiot," He muttered. "he should remember something."
Shigure broke into a fit of giggles, while Tohru fussed over the large lump forming on Haru's head. She felt so terrible for the ox. Not only did he have to deal with Kyo's disappearance, but Akito left him injured and confused! She felt useless, like she should have been there to help. (typical Tohru)
When Shigure'd recieved a phone call from Hiro, and the younger boy explained that Hatori left an unconcious Haru on his kitchen floor, she knew she had to be there. The situation reeked of Akito, she'd known from the start, but kept all negative thoughts to herself. Haru had enough to worry about.
"The monster is no longer in your posession." Haru spoke rather loudly. The room feel silent. "I'll do whatever I want to him." He ran a hand through his hair. He wanted to remember, he needed to remember, but the the painful pulsing in his skull was too distracting.
"Tylenol." He semi-demanded, glancing in Tohru's direction. The girl blinked in confusion, but soon realized what he meant.
..And after running into a few walls, asking Hiro where his mother kept the medicine, and almost breaking her hand over the child safety cap, Tohru handed the ox two small pills.
She'd never felt so proud of herself.
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Yuki sighed in embarrassment. What had he been thinking, asking an idiot like his brother to help him save something as serious as his cousins' relationship?
There he was, standing on the porch of Kazuma Sohma's home, banging on the man's door like the moron he was. The rat sighed again, wondering how many times that day he'd called someone an idiot.
"Kazuma-sensei, anyone home?" Ayame called. His exclaimation was followed by three loud knocks. He cupped his hands around his mouth, ready to yell again, but was pulled away by a blushing Yuki. "He's not home!" The rat seethed, smacking the man on the head. "He wasn't here the first nine times you called him, he's not home now!"
Ayame laughed, as if the entire task were a game, and pointed to the doorway where a very tired looking Kazuma stood.
"Yuki, Ayame," The older man drew out. "What a surprise." He smiled kindly, moving to the side and inviting the brothers in.
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He cried.
He cried long and hard, cursing everything and everyone. He hated them. He hated Akito, he hated Yuki, Shigure, and even Hatori.
But most of all, he hated the ox.
He hated the boy for loving him, for thinking he could be with such a monster. Kyo knew better, of course. The younger boy hadn't even seen his true form. Kyo flinched. What would the ox say if he saw what a monster his kitten became? What would he do?
and with that, the cat realized that he could never hate the white haired boy more than he hated himself.
He froze suddenly. He could hear someone outside his door. It gradually opened, revealing none other than the bastard who'd caused all his problems in the first place. He would have growled, or even cussed the man out, but by the look on the God's face, he wasn't in a good mood.
The cat smirked. He liked the idea of Akito's discomfort, while he sat in there in the dark Hell, the Sohma's dared call the cat's house.
His smirk would have deepened, if not for the glimmer of metal behind the sickly man's back. He shut the door behind him, but light from the outside still spilled through its cracks. He stepped forward, finally reveaing the long, sharp dagger hidden beneath his robes.
He reached for Kyo's arm, grasping the boy's beads, and yanking them off. His eyes gleamed with sadistic pleasure as the form before him twisted and churned, disfiguring the boy.
He raised his knife to the boy's rotting flesh, as the steam of his transformation faded away.
"We'll see how much that bastard love you when he sees how ugly you truely are." He spoke.
And through the dark of the night, every Sohma living on the family's land would swear they heard the cat's agonized screams.
