A/N: Hey guys, I hope you all had a very Merry Christmas ^_^ Consider this extra long chapter a Christmas present from me to you, you already gave me one because, drum roll please...
THIS STORY HAS 200 REVIEWS :D :D I don't even know how to express my gratitude to you all, I never thought this story would do as well as it has ^_^
Thank you all so much for your support, I hope you enjoy this chapter, as always please leave a review telling me what you think of it and what you think might happen soon ^_^
Review Replies:
Kaylee-Sempai: Haha, I think I'm a bit young for marriage, more like social commitments like going outside ^_^ Well send Sunstar writer my regards, she's got a talent for writing, just like you ^_^ I missed you too ^_^ I'll try not to disappear again
Protagonist of Life: Oooohhh, I do like oranges, who knew plot twists paid ^_^ I hope you liked it, I've been cooking it for a while
Fantasyanimegirl283: Thank you for being my 200th review ^_^ Thanks for being understanding, you guys all rock ^_^ Thank you, I was trying to keep it fast paced and high toned ^_^
Irgoomer: You're most definitely, right, there's no excuse for doing the things Osamu has done. Though I am glad that you're feeling kind of bad for Kira, he's a little deeper than just a bully, but there will be a bit more on that later ^_^ I've never tried sleeping pills, I don't want to be reliant on them, you know? I don't have insomnia anymore, thankfully, but I did when I was younger. Now I just have sleeping problem, which are not a whole lot of fun ^_^ Just a show in college that I was doing, it was shown the week before I posted the last chapter but the whole thing was put together in about two months so it was busy, busy, busy ^_^
AniMags: *Furious fist shaking* Thank you for the compliments, I'm glad that people look forward to my story and thank you for saying such sweet things about my writing ^_^ I'm so glad to be creating things that other people can enjoy ^_^ Thank you for your support
MagicalPillows: Woop woop! The tiger is back! Haha, well we still have a few story lines to tie up so you needn't decide just yet if you want it to end ^_^
Without further ado, here's chapter 36
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Kaida swung open her bedroom door to see Hisao standing there with a smile on his face. It disappeared instantly when he saw the bruises on Kaida's face and throat.
"Kaida, your face-"
"Where is she? Is she still in the infirmary?" Kaida demanded, cutting him off. Hisao frowned at her, his sapphire eyes clouded with concern. He nodded at her,
"Yeah, she only woke up about twenty minutes ago, I ran here as soon as Nami told- " But Kaida was already pushing past him and sprinting down the hall.
"Kaida!" Hisao called after her but to no avail. She didn't so much as glance back, Kyo imagined she couldn't, not when her mind was solely focused on Anju.
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Kaida practically kicked the infirmary door open in her haste to enter. Once in she paused just a second to glance around wildly, her tangled mass of red hair and dilated pupils showing her anxiety.
"Anju! Get back into bed and let us exam you!" A woman ordered down the corridor. Kaida turned her head to the voice and immediately began to sprint in its direction.
"Get the hell away from me! That includes you, cat groupie!" The retort was sharp and clear in a voice all too welcome to both Kaida's and Kyo's ear. Kaida rounded a corner into the hallway outside of Anju's room just in time to see Nami and Anju's doctor fall in a heap on the ground. Paying them no heed she leapt over them into the room to see a hospital gown clad blonde standing in the middle of the infirmary room. Her hair hung in a shaggy mess around her pale, sweat sheen face. Her shoulders rose and fell rapidly as she stood in her fighting stance, barefooted. Brown eyes met golden and the shorter girl's face softened considerably.
Anju.
"Anju!" Kaida breathed, crossing the room in an instant. She pulled her into her arms and held on for dear life, as though if she let go Anju would slip away again. Anju wrapped her arms around Kaida just as fiercely, burying her face in the older girl's shoulder with uncharacteristic vulnerability.
"Kaida, you're okay." Anju murmured against Kaida's skin. Kaida frowned against the top of Anju's head, where her cheek rested.
"Me? You're the one people were worried about, you stupid brat." Kaida said affectionately.
"You were burnt, I remember, you were burning and I couldn't save you, the fire came and-"
"What? Anju?"Kaida pulled back a little so she could look at her.
"You died in the fire. I remember that, you can't, you can't be the dragon forever and not burn." Anju whispered, her eyes widening suddenly. Her grip on Kaida tightened and the redhead involuntarily hissed when Anju's nails turned claw like and dug into her skin.
"Anju, Anju look at me. It must have been a dream, a nightmare, I'm alive. Anju! Look at me, I'm alive, I'm fine." Kaida reassured her, trying to catch the gaze of Anju's golden eyes.
"The whispers... the whispers told me..." Anju started muttering.
"What? What are you talking about, what whispers? Whose whispers?" Kaida asked her. Anju looked up quickly, meeting Kaida's eyes with clarity.
"You're too strong, Kaida." She whimpered. Kaida's brow puckered.
"What?"
"You're too strong! You're too strong!" Anju started screaming. She pushed herself away from Kaida, her hands tangling themselves in her hair.
"You're too strong. Tears, tears, falling. Eyes like the sky, raining grief. And the dog, the dog and the mountain!" Anju screeched. Kaida stood frozen in shock, only moving when Nami and the doctor shoved past her.
"She going into shock!" The doctor shouted. He grabbed at Anju and attempted to hold her down but she started thrashing. He wasn't able to hold her properly without setting off the curse so he had to make do with holding back her arms.
"No! No! Burning! The forests, the mountain, everything is burning!" She screamed. Nami scrambled to get a needle, filling it with sedative. Between the doctor and her own efforts, she was able to plunge it into Anju's arm.
Anju threw them off her and they fell to the floor again. However the effect of the sedative could clearly be seen by the way she stumbled forward. Anju hands splayed out, grasping the front of Kaida's top.
"You're too strong Kaida." Anju stumbled a little and Kaida caught her in her arms.
"But you're not strong enough..." She murmured.
Anju closed her eyes and fell asleep.
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"What the hell was that about?" Kyo demanded. Kaida sighed.
"Anju had nightmares, vivid nightmares, when she was asleep. Coming out so suddenly, seeing me injured and scared, it brought them all back at once, her mind was fragile enough at that point, it couldn't handle that much fear at one time."
"Is she... Will Anju be okay?"
Kaida smirked, glancing up at him fondly, "You think Anju would let something like her own mind beat her? Have you learned nothing of her stubbornness from watching my life?"
Kyo scowled, "That's not an answer."
Kaida laughed and looked away from him. "No. No I don't suppose it is."
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The younger Kaida sat by Anju's bedside, calmly reading a book. Hisao sat on the other side of her bed, glaring at her with his sky blue eyes. The light from the setting sun cast odd shadows on his mismatched hair and told Kyo that a few hours had passed since the last memory he had seen.
"You can keep looking at me like that all you want, I'm not going to talk about it."
"You expect me to just ignore your injuries? It looks like you used your face to smash blueberries."
"My, my, you do know how to compliment a girl, don't you Hisao?" Kaida replied with a smirk.
The cat growled and let out a huff. "I know you've had a pretty awful day with Anju waking up and going ten kinds of crazy earlier so I'm going to let you keep your secret for now. But tomorrow I'm putting whoever did that to you through a wall."
"And what if I did it to myself and just don't want to tell you so I don't seem a complete fool?"
"Well then I will throw you through a wall."
"Really? I don't get any special treatment?" Kaida asked with wide eyes. Hisao pursed his lips and considered her question before giving her a small smile.
"I'll let you pick the wall."
Kaida nodded, "Seems fair, I suppose."
"Glad you agree." Hisao said smoothly, he rose from his seat and walked slowly around the bed. Kaida's gaze flickered from the pages of her book to him and back again, her cheeks colouring faintly pink.
"Now, let me inspect you." He ordered, his hand gently stroking her cheek. Kaida stilled under his touch. Hisao leaned down to her, their faces coming close together but not making contact.
"Hmm, looks like you broke your nose..." He muttered. "Not too badly though, it seems to have set okay." His fingers moved under her chin and he gently lifted it upwards. Kaida watched him curiously as his brow furrowed.
"These marks on your neck... They almost look like fingers..." Hisao scowled, "They're on your jaw too. Like someone grabbed you."
Hisao sighed and looked her in the eye. "Who hurt you, Kaida?" He asked intensely. Kaida sighed and shook her head,
"Not here, Hisao. Not now."
"So does that mean you will tell me?" He said, though he sounded unconvinced.
"Hisao-"
"Well, well, well, aren't you two bloody cosy."
Hisao straightened abruptly and looked to his left where the grumbling voice had come from. Kaida did the same, a small gasp coming out of her lips.
Anju groaned as she straightened into an upright position. She rubbed at her eye with the heel of her palm.
"Anju, you're awake. How are you feeling?"
The blonde blinked a few times and gave her head a slight shake. "Groggy, like my head is full of clouds."
"That would be the effect of the sedative." Nami said, appearing in the door frame. Anju frowned at her, her golden gaze struggling to focus on the new comer. "Sedatives? Why, why am I on sedatives?"
"Just a precaution. We don't want you moving around too much, too quickly." Nami explained smoothly. She took a step forward and pulled a light down from the ceiling, shining it in Anju's eyes. The girl winced at the light but Nami held her lids open with expert but gentle fingers so she could inspect her pupil dilation.
"Can you tell me your name?"
"If I do will you buy a drink? Anju muttered. Nami paused and gave her a look that clearly said she wasn't in the mood for jokes. Anju sighed,
"Sohma Anju."
"Good, that's good. Now, how old are you?" Nami asked, turning the light off, satisfied with Anju's pupil reactions.
"Sixteen last I checked." Anju answered, blinking rapidly at the dramatic change in the room's brightness.
"What animal do you change into?" Nami asked measuring Anju's pulse.
"How many of these questions do you have up your sleeve, Nami?"
"Just answer, Anju." Hisao pressed. Anju rolled her eyes,
"The tiger. I have big black stripes and sharp teeth and I like to climb trees." Anju replied sarcastically.
"I suppose I should take the attitude as a good sign." Nami muttered.
"Final two questions for now, Anju, then I'm going to let you rest for a bit."
"Rest, I just woke up." Anju complained. Suddenly the blonde frowned, "Wait, why did I just wake up? Why am I here?" She glanced around, "Where is here?"
"You were in an accident. This is the infirmary, I would have thought someone with your appetite for danger would be well acquainted with it by now. What's twenty take away twelve?" Nami said with a smile. She began to message Anju's muscles to test her reactions.
"I'm good at danger, means I don't have to come here too often. And eight." Anju said cockily, Kyo thought she seemed to be coming clearer and clearer in her speech. The sedatives must be wearing off, he mused.
"You're reactions seem to be good. One last question just to check your cognitive abilities, can you tell me your sister's name?" Nami asked, scribbling some notes on her clipboard.
Silence. The room went still for all but Nami's writing as she waited for Anju's answer. When she realised she wasn't getting one, Nami frowned.
"Anju? Your sister's name?" She glanced up from her clipboard to see Anju staring into the distance, her breathing speed increasing rapidly.
"Anju?" Nami said again. Kaida rose from her seat but Hisao stuck an arm back to block her.
"The last time she saw you when she was like this she was even worse. Stay back." He said quietly.
"Anju, do you remember your sister's name?"
"Don't." Kaida hissed, Hisao and Nami looked at her in confusion.
"Don't... mention... Ha-" Kaida struggled to say the words, as though something was stopping her. "Ha-" She coughed, a frown crossing her features. She tried again, "Ha-". Kaida doubled over, coughing.
"Kaida? Are you alright?" Hisao asked in concern.
Osamu ordered her not to tell anyone about Haruka's involvement, Kyo realised with a shock. She can't tell them, can't even hint at it.
"Yeah... yeah I'm fine." Kaida wheezed.
"Haruka."
Three heads snapped up to look at Anju in surprise.
"My sister... her name... is Haruka."
Anju glanced up at them, "That's right, isn't it? Haruka. My sister, my twin."
Nami nodded slowly, smiling, "Yes, that's right, Anju. Very good. Now, how about you lie down and-"
"Sisters are supposed to look out for each other, right? Supposed to defend each other?" Anju asked in a shaky voice, staring off into space.
Nami looked unsure as to how to answer that but she nodded calmly, her hand slowly reaching into her coat pocket. Kyo caught the gleam of a needle peeking through. Nami was getting ready to sedate Anju if she needed to.
"Yes, that's right. Sisters look after each other, just like siblings are meant to."
Anju's gaze snapped onto Nami. "Then why did mine leave me in a forest to die?" She hissed out.
Nami's eyes widened, "Anju, take a deep breath, you've just woken up from a head trauma, you might be having some trouble with what's real and what's not real."
"No! No, she did it. I remember, I remember looking into her eyes! I thought, I thought, I was wrong when I smelled her, thought maybe she had been attacked too. But then I saw them, I saw her eyes! Staring into mine!" Anju screamed, sitting up sharply in her bed.
Nami crossed the room in an instant, pulling the needle from her pocket. She was attempting to knock out Anju before she fell victim to another fit.
But this time Anju was quicker and there was only one of Nami. The tiger growled, slapping the needle out of Nami's hand, causing it to fly across the room. Anju dived to the side of the bed to get away from Nami, Hisao and Kaida. She stood there, her muscles tense as she watched them.
"Don't you dare try to knock me out again!" She snarled.
Nami splayed her hands wide, "Okay, okay, I'm sorry Anju, I just want to help you."
"Help me?" Anju barked a laugh, "Help me? My sister tried to kill me and you want to help me? Tell me doc, do you have a medicine I can take to make me immune to homicidal family members? Or, I don't know, maybe you can go stick a needle into Haruka, keep her lying in bed like a vegetable, ruin her life. Maybe then she'll stop trying to end mine!"
Hisao took a step forward, leaning over the bed, "Anju, come on, it's us, you can trust us, we won't let anyone hurt you."
Anju laughed, "Oh really? Cause Kaida's face tells me a different story. It looks to me that the dragon isn't strong enough to defend herself!" Anju froze suddenly, her golden eyes clouding over.
"Isn't strong enough... Kaida... You're not strong enough..."
"Oh god." Kaida breathed. "She's remembering her nightmares again, this is what set her off last time."
"Doctor!" Nami called out. Anju fell against the wall, her clawed nails ripping the wallpaper from it. "Doctor, please!"
"Not strong enough... Going to burn. The dragon is going to burn. Everything is going to burn, forests and houses and the mountain..."
The doctor appeared in the door frame. "You there, help me hold her down." He said, pointing at Hisao. Hisao faltered but nodded, moving in on Anju alongside the doctor.
"No!" Anju screams merged into a roar and Kyo knew what was going to happen an instant before it did. A puff of smoke appeared around the blonde, a low growl emanating from it. When it cleared it revealed an almost fully grown tigress, her teeth barred and long.
Horror covered the doctor's face and he stumbled back in shock. Although as a Sohma doctor he knew of the curse and no doubt his patients form, Kyo imagined it was very different to be staring down one of them.
"Anju, calm down." Kaida begged. Anju ignored her, growling at Hisao who still barred her way to the door. The teenage boy swallowed but held his ground.
"Here kitty kitty?" He said unsurely. Anju snarled again and he licked his lips nervously.
"I guess not."
"Anju, listen-" He began before being cut off by a new voice.
"You always were cranky in the morning." It said. Kaida glanced over to see Shun standing in the doorway.
"I heard you woke up, kitten. Trust you to do it so dramatically." He said softly, walking into the room without any fear. He stood at the foot of the bed, his storm grey eyes never leaving Anju's. The tigress seemed surprised by his appearance, she fidgeted a little, looking from Shun to Hisao.
"Missed me?" He asked softly. Anju growled at him but it held less ferocity than the growls she directed at Hisao. Shun laughed,
"I'll take that as a yes. You know, you can speak in this form."
Anju just snarled in response and leapt onto the bed. Shun raised an eyebrow, "Does this count as you giving me the silent treatment, because the way I see it, this basically is the same as you grunting at me repeatedly. Which for you is pretty normal, good to know you didn't suffer any brain damage."
Anju roared and leapt at Shun, claws extended. She knocked him to the ground and Nami let out a short scream as he when down. Shun wrapped his thick arms around Anju's midsection and squeezed. Anju stilled instantly.
"There, there, kitty, I know you're frightened. But no one's going to hurt you. Not now, not while I'm here." He told her, stroking her back. He sat up, Anju's front paws over his shoulders.
"I saw things Shun, I saw so many horrible things." Anju whispered lowly. Shun nodded, kissing her neck as he continued to run his hands soothingly through her thick fur.
"I know, kitty, I know. But they were dreams, I won't let them hurt you."
A strange whimpering sound came out of the animal before a poof of smoke turned the noise to sobs. Anju clung to Shun desperately, and he pulled her small body into his, pausing only to yank a bed sheet over them.
"You'll be safe with me, I promise."
Anju looked up at him and swallowed. Shun met her eyes and his jaw clenched a little. He broke their gaze to kiss her forehead.
"Like I need you to protect me." She muttered, her voice thick but far lighter in Shun's presence. He laughed and pushed her blonde hair back from her face.
"That's my girl."