A storm was beginning to form and if he had gotten sick in the middle of his walk to his destination he would transform and then faint. Now we wouldn't want that to happen, would we? He despised how he looked so much like his zodiac animal right down to his hair, orange streaked with black. How stupid can this get? He wished every day that he wasn't cursed... maybe that heartless parent of his wouldn't have had her memory erased then.
It's not like they were ever close. He was closer with Hikaru's deceased father since he had never gave a damn about their curses... he'd hug Hikaru - she'd transform into a cat and yet he'd laugh as if it was something you see every day.
And then there's Colleen... Hikaru and Ryo's mother. She looks like Hikaru so much yet the bitch doesn't even realize it... he had disliked their mother since the day they've met. She always had this glaze in her eyes when she'd look at one of the kids cursed with the zodiac, so when she had erased her memory of her kids, he couldn't help but feel happy that he would never get to see her face around the main house again. Again.
That's when Hikaru had found out. She transformed into the true cat - Ryo just managed to calm her down before she could harm anyone but it was too late at the time because before he could fully calm the girl, she had lunged a hand of claws at Sora - marking his chest with jagged lines.
Hikaru would endlessly apologize for that sometimes with tears in her eyes. How someone so soft and gentle could cause pain and possibly death if he hadn't moved quick enough...
While Shichirou and Kari...? They were his best friends - they were always with him and never bothered him about really anything mostly because Kari would be too frightened to anger Sora and Shichirou would just try to be nice unless Sora had gotten Shichirou insanely mad he would have a fist in his jaw.
And finally there's Jake. An American teen who's Hikaru's closest friend and laughs when one of them usually transforms... mostly Sora. Sora in his tiger-form would try to launch forward and bite Jake's hand. It wasn't that he was mad at transforming it's how it was so embrassasing.
When you feel yourself transforming - that cloud of smoke forms around your once human frame, shrouding your figure as you become smaller or taller (depending which zodiac animal you have claimed) and your body shifts downwards usually. Teeth growing sharper, fur forming, your hands now paws... it's weird but it's quick. A few minutes later you are now back to normal sitting in front of that one person, half-naked with your clothes scattered across the floor.
That person would either laugh (Jake) or apologize.
The rain grew stronger and the mass crowd of gray clouds covered the morning sky. He walked up the cliff... he needed some daring action in his life, the adrenaline already pulsing through his veins traveling through his body. The waves crashing from below was tempting the tiger just to jump and feel that excited heart thumping in your chest.
Sora walks closer to the cliff's edge, the waves of the ocean thrashing violently from below. He begins to look casual and the adrenaline still swims through his veins - he edges closer to it with the slightest fear in his eye. He takes a retreating step backwards, scowling - the fear in his eye being replaced with that crazed adventure aura, frowns mar his forehead. "Well..." He says to no one in particular. "Here goes nothing..." He throws himself off the cliff with a mighty cry, he sinks into the water with a splash and sets of ripples form over the thrashing waves. His head appears over the surface within seconds as he grins proudly. "Wow... that was nice."
Two waves crash into his chest and knocks the wind out of him. As he tried to release a breath he is struck by one more wave that sends him underwater, his arms shoot forward as he - his vision becoming hazy, the surface was too dark with the storm to see - he no longer knew which way was up or down.
Goddammit! He's the tiger! He should know how to swim!
Another wave crashes into his chest choking out his breath and oxygen, water growing through his nostrils and mouth. Burning his lungs, arms wheeling, vision going darker.
"I have to stay awake!" He screamed to himself in his thoughts.
His attempts were growing weaker and he could no longer see anything visible. He gave up and fell limp, the darkness overwhelming him.
-x-x-x-
"I wonder how long it took to make these..." Ryo mused to himself gesturing to the lantern he held. The soft ball of honeyed light glowing, he looked completely fascinated by the modern invention. "I can't believe I don't have a flashlight..."
"I wonder about you sometimes, Ryo." Shichirou said lifting the lantern to the darkness to illuminate the area finding nothing but the mud and forming puddles. "I can't believe I woke up at nearly six in the morning to come find my dumb-ass best friend."
"Well..." Ryo said as the light broadened the area. "At least that shows how much of a good friend you are."
Shichirou shrugged. "Apparently not to him." He looked to the dirt to see footprints... "Are those Sora's?"
Ryo leaned closer to the dirt squinting. "Wait... yeah, I think so. They look similar to him." Ryo brought the oil lantern to the growing darkness, trails of footprints continued. "There's a trail here... let's follow them."
Once more Shichirou shrugged. "Might as well."
As they followed the trail the footprints began to get fainter the lantern poorly lit them. They made it to the top of the cliff and peered downwards, the waves still thrashed and jerked around violently pebbles from atop the cliff fell into the ocean below. The footprints disappeared once on the stone cliff, Shichirou noticed something sparkle in the corner of his eye as he leaned to the cold stone, he picked up something smooth and when he put the lantern to light it he saw what it really was.
A slightly heavy gold tiger-shaped pendant was held by a rough golden chain. A gift from his mother that he never took off. Ever.
Yet despite yesterday's events he might have had a reason to...
Shichirou looked from the chain to the water below him. Could he have fallen or jumped? How long ago was it? Sora was a good swimmer so he was bound to be fine... but yet...
...what if he wasn't?
-x-x-x-
The smell of brine and salt woke up Sora. His vision still hazy was now coming back to him, the storm had ended long ago and Sora lying on his back on the wet sand. His vision began to fully recover as he looked to the pale blue sky with dull eyes; he shut his eyes before he felt his heart skip a beat. He propped himself upright nervously and inspected his surroundings.
Sand, waves crashing against the shore, jagged rocks and pebbles and a throbbing pain ran up his arm. He flinched and when he looked to his burning arm, he saw it was wrapped securely in blood-stained gauzes. Jagged rocks and some glass shards laid by his feet, maroon colored with dried up blood.
His button-down shirt was also open revealing his scarred chest. His fingers ran along the diagonal scar across his chest before he got off the sand, his clothes still sticking to him in icy folds. He craned his neck backwards to look behind him to see nothing but hear the ravens crowing above his head.
He sighed. "Oh, Sora... I don't think we're in Japan anymore..."
"Oh! You are finally awake!" A voice from behind Sora chimed. He arched a brow and then looked back to his bandaged arm before turning behind himself a girl stood a few inches away from him. She had short amber gold hair with hazel eyes, the slightest freckles were spotted along the bridge of her nose she looked around his age, her voice musically soft and she wore a plain white blouse with a pair of worn slacks, tears in the knee and stray threads poking out from the ends. She looked a bit tomboy-ish and she wrinkled her nose at him. "But... you smell terrible..."
Sora narrowed his eyes. "Heh... you don't smell too pleasant either, sweetheart."
She arched an amused brow at him. "Is that anyway to talk to someone who saved you?"
Sora shrugged. "I guess not... where are we, girl?"
"Girl has a name..." The hazel-eyed female quipped. "We are in Japan, dumbass. Where'd you wash up from Mexico? Jeez... you should've known that..."
"I don't care to learn girl's name." Sora snapped. "I didn't ask you to save me... you didn't have to..." He pointed above to the stone cliff. "I jumped off that..."
"I'd say nice." The girl admitted. "But I won't because it was raining and you could've killed yourself, stupid. Don't you have a mother or father or sister or friends that care for you?"
Bringing back the subject of his mother made Sora want to jump off the cliff and drown again but he held the urge. "My mother died... my father divorced her many years back..." That part of his father wasn't a lie and the same with his sister... "My sister... a beautiful baby girl... I haven't really seen her in a while and... my friends... aren't really friends."
"Hey, hey..." She said noticing the sad look on Sora's face. "No need to get so emotional... I'm sure that it won't be too hard..." Her words trailing off at the end uselessly.
"Save it." Sora snarled sitting back on the sand. "Many told me that and yet stuff like this happens..."
"What? Like transforming into a tiger?" She asked out of the blue in fear Sora looked to her with wide eyes.
"What?" He shouted, his heart sinking into his stomach.
The golden-haired girl laughed. "I'm just kidding, relax. What were your parents and sister like?"
Sora saw the girl sitting beside him. "My parents... were terrible people... my sister... an angel."Another true fact he had the slightest similarities to his sister but she was much softer and polite then him. The only thing they shared was their hair color and skin tone.
"Sohwa! Sohwa!" Words of his younger sister Blake echoed in his mind. She could never pronouce his name properly so it always came out as "sohwa", her orange hair short and messy left in it's usual unkempt fashion. Petal pink eyes glittery, she ran to a fourteen year old Sora seeing as she loved to be with him.
Sora not necessarily bothered by her ten-year old lisp leaned back onto the wooden banister. "What do you want Blake?"
She pouted unfazed by the ice in his voice. "What? I can't come see my brotha?"
He sighed as he looked at her. "I will answer that with an honest no."
"You're so mean...!" She said with mock anger then she smiled. "But I still love you! Do you love me Sohwa?"
Blushing slightly Sora looked towards the koi pond. "Yeah... I do, Blake."
She brought her hands together and with a giddy smile. "Yaaaay!"
Sora smiled as he looked back at her a frown formed. "Aren't you supposed to be with your friends?"
She nodded. "Yep! But I wanna spend time with you Sohwa! I never see you!"
Sora went to her and patted her orange head. "Just go with your friends for a little, I'm not going anywhere."
Blake looked to him seriously. "Promise?"
He didn't believe himself for a moment as he said this. "Promise."
With a fit of giggles she ran off as Sora watched her until she disappeared into the horizon.
-x-x-x-
"An angel, huh?" The girl next to him now known to be Kana repeated. "Do you still see her?"
Sora shook his head. "It's been two years since I've seen her..."
"Oh..." Kana said unusually. "But... uhh, kid-!"
"Sora." Sora sighed.
She wrinkled her nose again."Whatever, why'd ya jump off the cliff anyways?"
Sora looked to the swishing waves. "I just didn't see anything else to live for..."
"You know Sora, you should never say that." Kana said with her words climbing. "My two brothers they were twins they were both in a car accident when I was younger... they loved life for all it was worth - they eventually caught tumors in their heads and eventually they got surgery to have them removed but they were never the same afterwards... they felt like losers... they... were my life." She looked to the sun peeking from behind the clouds.
Sora now intrigued leaned in closer. "And then what?"
"They died and I felt as if I lost everything... so my motto was live life to the fullest."
Sora still didn't move. "I've heard that before it's corny but nice."
Kana laughed uneasily. "Yeah, so you should do the same. For your sister and friends they must be good."
Sora nodded and surprisingly smiled. "They are great."
"Go see them I bet they would kill you if they found out you jumped off a cliff."
"I think they will kill me if they find out I was saved by a girl."
"Ehe, nice."
Before Sora could start to sprint back to the house, he turned back to Kana. "Will... I ever see you again?"
Kana gave him a reassuring smile. "You could count on it,"
And with an ending smile Sora ran.
-x-x-x-
Sora was walking down the grassy path back to Hikaru and Ryo's home in silence still in his soaked clothing, his arm still wrapped in those gauzes. Suddenly a cry of both sadness and relief broke out from the air. "Sora!" Sora looked to see who called him and saw Kari running straight towards him, her arms instantly wrapped around him and her head went into his chest. Before she looked up at him with teary butterscotch eyes. "I'm just so glad to see you."
Sora smiled and patted her head with his unharmed hand. "Nice to see you too, Kari,"
Shichirou came up from behind Kari holding the tiger pendant in his fingers. "It's good to see you're living again," He tossed the pendant to Sora who caught it with a shaky bloodied hand. He looked at Sora seriously suddenly."Did you...?"
Sora nodded. "I did." He un-round Kari's arms around him. "I'm glad to see you both but I have to do something." He began to walk back to the house as Kari and Shichirou just looked from him to one another and followed him.
When Sora got in he was greeted by many more friendly faces. Sora smiled at them before he took the golden chained pendant from his pocket as he came close to a waste basket and without second thought he tossed it in and went upstairs.
Jake watched as Sora disappeared down the hall and said. "I can honestly say I'm not surprised."
-x-x-x-
Jake, I don't think any of us are surprised. -_-
And here's another preview for a future chapter.
Colleen looks to Sakura with excited eyes as she looks to Sakura's slowly rounding belly. "Oh, God now! Are you pregnant?"
Sakura grins and winks. "You got that right!"
