Authors note: Hey everyone, hope I didn't keep you waiting too long… I've got a list about a mile and a half long of all the things that kept me from the computer, the fact that my computer didn't have access to the internet for awhile didn't help… no not really… -p. ah but anyway! All that's in the past, and here and now… well we finally have chapter eleven! First off though, thanks to Crazyfangirl for the tackleglomp, and to gabby; I do fence foil but I prefer saber Also I just want to say thanks to all my readers and reviewers. Thanks for sticking with me through my first story you have all been the best aw man now it sound like I'm ending the story or something doesn't it? You know 'thanks for everything bye' kind of thing huh? –Sigh–
Kiarina: Wait, this isn't the end is it?
T-Chan: It can't be the end; do you know what kind of adventures and things we could go on! And it's not like you could fit things like that into one singe chapter.
Author: Calm down the both of you, everyone will have to wait till the end to see whether or not this is the last chapter.
KT: Aw man no way!
He was a Totetsu, one of the legendary immortal beasts. His life would extend beyond time much like the phoenix and the dragon; he would live to see the rise and fall of many of the human eras. And while he was still considered to be a young Totetsu; he had already seen more than any one human could hope to in one life time. Many human life's had been but an instant in his, mere flickers of dying light around him. It was almost hard to accept the fact that Kiarina would be the same way. She was human, and thus mortal. She would fall prey to old age long before he would look like he had aged another year. But that didn't seem to matter to him, or perhaps he was simply telling himself it wouldn't matter. She would be a brief shining moment in the many centuries that he would live, and true, he would probably stand before her grave many years from now looking the same as he did just then – but again he wouldn't let that matter. He loved her, and she loved him back, and that was all that mattered. He had resolved to take care of her and love her even when mortality had stripped her of her soft beauty, it was Kiarina he was in love with anyway, not her looks. He wasn't some stupid fickle human male who only liked the pretty girls who didn't have an ounce of wit about them.
T-Chan sighed and lay back on the sofa in the pet shop. Not long after Kiarina had sat down on the couch she had fallen asleep from mental fatigue. He couldn't really blame her, how often had she been threatened with a gun then see someone have their heart ripped out. He had resolved to sit in front of the couch and watch over her as always when he had heard a soft knock on the door. Not sure what to do T-Chan went over to the door and looked out through the small round glass filled hole in the door. Seeing the Count, T-Chan opened the door quietly and let him in. Once the door was closed behind him Count D turned to T-Chan with a small smile on his lips, and that all knowing glint in his eyes.
"Tell me, how is she T-Chan?" The Count asked T-Chan softly.
"She's alright, just tired I guess." He stated simply, making sure to keep his voice down. Kiarina just looked so peaceful sleeping; he didn't want to wake her.
"Have you had a chance to talk to Kiarina?" The Count asked, a smug smile creeping onto his lips. T-Chan gave a silent snort; he knew D already knew the answer to that.
"Yeah… yeah I did."
"Wonderful." Count D said with an approving nod. The Count was up to something… T-Chan hadn't been living in Count D's shop for so long not to know when he was up to something.
"Hey Count –" But D shook his head before T-Chan could finish.
"Not just yet T-Chan, you will find out what I am up to soon enough. But for now I need to make sure Kiarina is alright. Will you please return to the pet shop and make sure everything is alright?" T-Chan frowned deeply at the request; he stood there for a moment looking at D, but when he made no move or inclination to do anything T-Chan took one last look at Kiarina and headed out the door closing it softly behind him. Whatever the Count was up to it was making the hairs on the back of his neck stand up. Growling to himself T-Chan walked back to the pet shop at a quick pace. It wasn't that he didn't trust the Count… and besides, he only turned people into animals or gave them to an animal to eat when they had done something that deeply displeased the Count. Like that one girl who was mean to her dog… nearly ended up a dog herself. But Kiarina had not done anything wrong – so he had nothing to worry about… right?
-
"What'cha thinking about T-Chan?" Looking to the side he saw Sai-Chan sitting beside the sofa looking at him curiously. T-Chan was lying out on the couch as usual staring at the ceiling still trying to figure out what Count D was up to; he just didn't like being kept in the dark like this.
"Nothing." He said simply looking back up at the ceiling.
"You sure? You certainly look like you've got something on your mind T-Chan." Sai-Chan waited a moment for the totetsu to reply but when it seemed he had simply lost himself in thought again she slinked off to go find Pon-Chan.
-
Kiarina blinked her eyes open tiredly. In her dreams she had been falling again, just like when she was in the hospital, but this time it was a little different. The shattered pieces of the mirror were falling down around her and sometimes slicing her skin. As she tried to protect herself, she looked at the mirrors. Each of them held a different image. Some held her friends at the pet shop, while others held pictures of animals both common and legendary. As she looked she felt something strike her head in two different places. Clutching her head trying to massage the pain away she found that it only kept growing until it became so great it forced her from the dream world to the waking world. Sitting up slowly she rubbed her head idly only to found the pain was real and not just something of her dream. She inhaled sharply and clutched her skull with both hands.
"The pain must be terrible," Looking up quickly Kiarina was surprised to see D sitting on the chair to the side of the sofa. "I wish I could help ease the pain, but that is simply apart of the process… I apologize." He said simply with a smile, as if he had accidentally stepped on her toe or something rather than this skull splitting headache she was suffering from. But why was he apologizing to her anyway, it's not like he could actually have given her this monstrosity of a headache. She moaned in pain as she held on to her head tighter, unable to think about anything other than the pain. She felt D's hands slip under her own so that his own hands were on her head.
"Try not to press down, you will only hinder their growth, and I'm sure you want this to be all over as soon as possible." She wanted to ask him what he meant and why he was being so calm at the moment, but a second wave of pain struck her causing her to nearly pass out.
"D… D why – AHHH!" She would have fallen off of the couch to the floor had the Count not taken her hands and pulled her to her feet. Everything was swimming around her; she tried to ask D to let her sit back down but a second wave struck her causing her to see white. For a moment she thought she had lost consciousness. She felt weightless… like she was in her dream, but this felt real as well.
Count D gently held the girl as she slumped forward unable to stand anymore. D smiled to himself, it was only a little longer, then it would all be over, and there would be no need to worry anymore.
She couldn't tell how long it was till her vision began to clear. Raising a hand to rub her eyes, she saw Count D was still holding her up. Not only that, but he had an odd expression on his face. He was smiling down at her like he was holding something really special.
"I trust the headache is gone." He said gently still smiling.
"Y…yeah, I think I'm alright now." She said as she righted her feet under her so that D wouldn't have to hold on to her to keep her up. Raising a hand up to her head to make sure it didn't actually split or anything; she ran her fingers back through her hair till they hit something on the top sides of her head. She froze for a moment, and then felt what seemed to be coming out of her skull. It was hard, whatever it was, like bone. Feeling up and along she then gave the growths a tug and found whatever it was firmly attached to her skull. Stumbling into her bedroom she flung open the wardrobe door with the mirror on the inside and stared at her reflection in disbelief.
"Kiarina, how would you like to stay at the pet shop?" D asked simply.
"Huh?" She couldn't quite hear what the Count was saying; she was too busy trying to figure out what in the world was going on.
"There are many animals there, and I am certain that your expertise and knowledge on many different animals would be of great help… and I am certain T-Chan would be happy to see you everyday too."
"D…? What… I mean…" D chuckled.
"Perhaps I should explain a few things to you first. As you know I am an expert at selling dreams at my store; I sell pets that help people reach out and touch those dreams. Since the first time I saw you enter my store I knew you were a guest, a guest with a very… shall we say difficult dream." Kiarina turned to look at the Count feeling very confused. What in the world was he talking about? She thought to herself, D always talks about selling dreams and stuff… but this still isn't making any sense, I don't even know of what dream I want. The count smiled and continued "Perhaps I should start with telling a little more about the pet shop I run, and then you might understand everything a little more." Kiarina gave a small nod as she sat down on the bed rubbing the base of her newly grown horns still not able to quite grasp the fact that they were firmly attached to her skull.
-
T-Chan sat on the couch elbows on his knees his chin resting in the palms of his hands as he stared into space. The talk of the other animals around him went completely unnoticed, even when they mentioned his name he didn't look up. He kept wondering what Count D was up too; true he trusted the count… but he still didn't like being left in the dark about certain things. Somewhere in the depths of his thoughts he heard the door open and close. Just some customer, he thought to himself. The shop was suddenly filled with complete silence; everyone was facing the door eyes wide as if they could not believe what they saw. Rolling over on the couch T-Chan lifted his head to glance over the back of the sofa to see what everyone was staring at. It looked like Kiarina… but it couldn't be… she wasn't or more, she couldn't be…
T-Chan hoisted himself over the back of the couch and walked over to Kiarina who was standing in place almost as if she was too nervous to move. T-Chan stopped in front of her just from looking at her he could feel the small glow of golden life from her that all immortal animals carried.
"You see T-Chan, I always give my customers what they want, not an easy one this time around…" D said simply as T-Chan ran his fingers through Kiarina's hair to her horns to give them a light tug. "But as you can see, it seems that everything is as it should be."
"But I don't get it Count." T-Chan whispered looking over to the Count, its not like he wasn't happy that Kiarina would now live as long as he would, it's just that… "You asked Kiarina before what she wanted and she said she didn't know, so if she didn't know how did you? All you're customers before have always known in advance what it is they want." D gave a casual smile.
"It was easy to see actually, even if Kiarina could not see it for herself. While she loved to travel she longed to find a place where she truly belonged, and also to find someone she cared for deeply… and of course some one to care for her in return. All these things can be found here at my shop. Many different and exotic creatures that she loves to learn about, and of course there's you T-Chan, some one she cares about, and who cares for her."
-
It was almost two weeks after Kiarina had moved into the pet shop. Leon had asked Count D where his niece was and then made him swear that he hadn't turned her into a cat or anything to which D simply replied no so Leon dropped it.
"I just don't really get it that's all D." Leon said as he flopped down on the couch as he pulled a cigarette out of his pocket and lit it. "It's not like her to just up and vanish like this, she usually calls or I call her… come on D what's going on here." D simply smiled as he lay out the tea and treats for that afternoon.
"Well Leon I'm certain you will be able to see her soon. But that really does all depend on you." Leon was going to ask D what he meant by that but he knew he would never get a real answer so he simply picked up one of the cookies on the tray in front of him and tried to think of another way to question D about the exact location of his niece. Sure he knew she was living at the pet shop now… but he had learnt a bit ago that this place was ten times larger than it looked. At that moment as Leon sat contemplating two pairs of eyes looked out from underneath the couch.
"T-Chan are you sure?"
"You bet this will be fun! He's bound to jump fifty feet in the air, and I'd sure like to see him run with one of us attached to each leg."
"Well alright… but no lethally wounding bites or anything ok?"
"Ok going for the skin and not the muscle. Now on three; one, two…"
"KIYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!"
"My dear detective was is the meaning of…" D looked over to see Leon leap out of his seat and barely miss falling over onto the table. Arms flailing he managed to land on the floor and twist around to try and grab the two furry things attached to his legs.
"GET THEM OFF D! GET THEM OFF GET THEM OFF GET THEM FUCKING OFF OF ME!"
"Mr. Detective there is hardly any need for such language." D said with a small scold in his tone as he was more trying not to laugh at the detective then be angry at him for swearing. With little to know effort he managed to pry the two pets from Leon's legs.
"Dammit D, those things totally shredded my jeans, bloody man-eater got more leg than jean no surprise." Leon said as he looked up at the count. The scowl left his face when he saw what Count D was holding. One was T-Chan, the other looked just the same but instead of pink and red fur, it seemed to have a simpler brown coat with light bronze streaks. "Two of those Toeten… Tentwo…"
"Totetsu, my dear detective, the word you are looking for is Totetsu." The count explained before Leon could butcher the word anymore.
"Right, Tutensue. When did you get two of them? Never mind that… why do you have two of them and why is this one also bent on tearing me to shreads!" He asked looking at the brown one curiously.
"This is K-Chan, a female Totetsu, she moved into my pet shop just a few weeks ago."
"Huh… about the same time as my niece hey D?"
"Yes detective… around the same time." D put the two down on the floor. T-Chan simply lay where he was while K-Chan propped her paws on his back resting her head there. She looked up at Leon and the Detective got the creepy feeling he had seen that thing somewhere before… but maybe it looked a little different… or maybe it used to be a human or something… Damn it! Leon thought to himself. Too much time around the count, too much time! Leon stomped back over to the couch, but didn't sit back down before making absolutely certain that there were no more pets under any of the cushions or under the sofa itself.
"Hey Count, since you've got two of those things am I going to be finding a lot more mutilated corpses around or something like that? I'd like to know ahead of time if I'm going to get a bunch of papers dumped on my desk that lead here then to nowhere leaving me with zip to pin you with."
"My dear detective, I assure you that these two are very well behaved Totetsu's." Leon simply snorted while the two in question tried not to laugh.
"T-Chan? Do you think uncle Leon will ever be able to see me again?" Kiarina asked as she looked up at her uncle.
"Probably." T-Chan replied with a light shrug. "The Count say's the detectives very close to breaking through his mind barrier." He said simply. Mind barrier? Kiarina wondered to herself. Oh that's right, Count D said that some people can't see the pets here as people because there's some kind of mental block they put up to prevent it.
"Do you think he'll be able to see me again before we leave?" T-Chan didn't have to ask what she meant, once the count was no longer able to stay here they would have to all leave to a new shop somewhere else.
"You bet he will, even if I have to step in and do something about it." Kiarina giggled. T-Chan had already promised not to try to devour her uncle anymore, although he had never said anything about gnawing on his legs…
"Hey T-Chan, where are we going to explore tonight?" Kiarina asked leaning over to whisper in T-Chan's ear. T-Chan smirked and twisted slightly so that he could reach behind him to wrap an arm around her waist to pull her down next to him.
"Tonight's a full moon; there are many truly fascinating places to explore on a night such as this. Tonight we will go outside to explore a part of Chinatown that can only be seen on the night of the full moon." Kiarina shivered in excitement and anticipation as she nuzzled T-Chan's neck kissing him softly there causing T-Chan to wrap his arm around her a little tighter pulling her nearly right under him.
"I'll follow you wherever you go; I know I'm going to be safe if you're around." T-Chan chuckled.
"You're a Totetsu now… more than a match for anything these foolish mortals could possibly throw your way."
"So you say… but still… I wouldn't be here if it wasn't for you." She whispered her lips less than an inch away from his ear. T-Chan lowered his head to kiss her collarbone. There was still a faint scar trailing down from where she had been cut.
"Don't remind me… I nearly lost you that night. But as for tonight; there is a true marvel to be seen, most of the magical creatures who live hidden here come out to greet the princess in the moon." Kiarina remembered her mother once reading her a story when she was little about a girl in the moon; but she had always thought it to be just a story… Kiarina chuckled. She had realized that most of the bedtime stories she knew were actually true. "What's so funny?" T-Chan asked. Kiarina just smiled.
"I'll follow you wherever you go." She said again smiling as she nuzzled her head to his chest. In the past two weeks she had seen a side of this shop and Chinatown she had never imagined possible. Life was now one big adventure, and she had someone to share it with, forever…
Authors note: Well… hate to say this, but this would be the end of this story… -dives out of the way as T-Chan tries to tackle her- hey now stop that! Again thanks go out to all my readers who stuck with me through my first fan fic, without you this story would not exist now while this story is over I am planning to pick it up again, you know make a part two I suppose you could say… but its only a thought. I do hope that you will still RR and tell me what you think of my first story as a whole and if I should make a second chapter to this story or not or just give up on the whole fan fic writing in general -p. I'd really appreciate it, thanks again everyone! Till next time
