A/N: We're past 200 hearts, thank you everyone. I'm happy everyone loves this story. This was only a passion project that I wrote on my own at first. I wasn't expecting so many people to actually like it. But I'm thankful. This chapter took me about... an hour? Might be another one that makes some cry, I don't do it on purpose. I just write without thinking much about it.
"Rain… Looks like it's about to stop!" Yuki said taking his hand out as he watched the sky.
"Golden week was fun." Minami said and thought back about the happy and loud aura that was around them. She was definitely feeling better and was planning on visiting Masuru once she returned to Shigure's by the rain wasn't letting up.
"I'm happy you seem better." Yuki said and gave her a closed eye smile.
"The same to you, and Kyo of course." Minami said. "Too bad midterms are coming right when we come back. They're going to be selecting the new Student Council President, right? Are you planning on doing it?"
Yuki leaned over against the wall, with a defeated look on his face. "President Takei-san has already decided that I should become the next President… But I don't think it fits me."
"I think you'd do just fine. You've been hanging out with some of the Council right?" Minami said. "I think you worry to much."
"That person.. And everyone else, I don't know what they expect of me. I don't want… everyone to misunderstand. The truth is.. I'm more…"
"Weak?" She stated and he stared at her in shock for a moment.
"Sometimes I forget how blunt you can be." He said.
"It's my strength and my weakness." Minami said and smiled. "I know you, I know what to expect." She grabbed both of his hands and held onto them tight. "I bet you'd make an amazing President. You might mess up a few times, get angry, but once you get into your stride and open up to more people. You'll do great."
"Thank you." He said.
"What a nice atmosphere." A voice said making them jump and release their hands. "Yuki… Minami.."
"Hatsuharu?" Minami asked and noticed he was holding a white blanket and was soaked to the bone.
"Haru.." Yuki said.
"What are you doing here?! It's still raining!" Hatsuharu said and gave her a one arm hug which she returned.
"I wanted to ask you the same question." Yuki said.
"What's in your arms?" Minami asked.
"I was looking for something…" Hatsuharu said and un-bundled part of the placket and showed who she could only guess as Kisa. She was a cute little baby tiger, with golden and black stripes. "I was… looking for this…"
"Is this a Sohma?" Minami asked and they nodded.
"Your sixth sense is really good." Hatsuharu said and Kisa peeled open her eyes and showed her large amber colored eyes. "Minami-chan, this is Sohma Kisa, the tiger. It would hurt a lot if you got bitten by her."
"She's so pretty." Minami said and looked at the small big cat in awe. She resisted the urge to pet her. "I love big cats, though jaguar's are my person favorite."
"Too bad we don't have any of those." Hatsuharu said and they walked back to Shigure's with Kisa staring at her with a mixture of anger and curiosity. She could see the cat;s eyes go to her physical appearance in confusion. Once they sat down and got to Shigure's Kisa ran out of Hatsuharu's arms and ran off to the corner.
"Kisa you shouldn't be rude." Yuki said. "You should introduce yourself."
"Yuki… Kisa cannot talk." shigure said.
"Why?" Minami asked. "Do her vocal cords not work?"
"Ever since she entered junior high school, suddenly… Hatori said that.. It's a sickness of the heart. She locked her speech away. From not wanting to talk in the beginning to not wanting to go to school, then finally, she doesn't even want to go home." Hatsuharu explained.
"But that's dangerous, even is she's in her tiger form." Minami said. "Someone couldn't snatched her up."
The tall boy nodded. "That's why I came out to find her. By the time I found her, she had already turned into a tiger. It gave me a scare."
"Did she bump into someone?" Miami asked.
"It looked like it was only from weakness." Hatsuharu explained.
"Pretty bad day to run away from home." Minami thought and looked at Kisa who ignored her. "If you wanted to run away, you should've done it on a nice day, not a rainy day."
"She shouldn't run away at all." Yuki said looking at her in surprise.
"I'm just saying." Minami said. "I bet she didn't bring anything with her either. What was she planning on doing? Hiding somewhere until she got hungry?"
"That's besides the point. We can discuss how bad her planning was later." Shigure said, trying to muffle a laugh at her explanation.
"Then.. why did she become like that..? What had really happened to her?" Yuki asked.
"Oh?" Hatsuharu said.
"It's it obvious?" Minami said. "She was bullied." It was the only logical explanation. In an instant Kisa had her hand in her tiger jaw.
"Kisa!" They yelled and Minami ignore the pain and looked at her.
"What? Is it a secret?" Minami asked the cat and she dug in harder and she winced as Hatsuharu and Yuki tried to get Kisa off of her. "You're mad a me? I'm not the one you should be angry at. You should be angry at the people who bullied you, not at the people who are trying to help you."
Hatsuharu was able to get Kisa off of her, but also received a bit. Minami ignored her bloodied hand and her stained clothes. 'Seems like some things stay Canon. Like injuries… Though Tohru's wasn't nearly as severe."
"Don'y you know how much we worry about you?" Hatsuharu asked annoyed. "Your parents are still looking fro you right now!" Kisa sprinted away and ran out of the open door.
"Let's bandage that up." Shigure said.
"I'm sorry that happened." Hatsuharu said.
"Kisa's usually so kind and quiet…" Yuki said as he helped rise her hand off and bandage it. It was her dominant hand do. Minami popped two pain relievers in her mouth and swallowed some water.
"I should probably go after her." Minami said and pushed herself off with her other hand.
"You shouldn't go anywhere." Yuki said. "Not with that injury."
"Well there's a little girl, lost and scared. I'm sure my pain isn't remotely equal to hers." Minami said and looked around the house to find Kisa. It took some time but eventually she found her. "Kisa." She said and the tiger bit around and got her other hand, though it wasn't nearly as hard of a bite. "Does hurting me make you feel better?"
She didn't say anything and looked up at her. "Please return home.. Kisa…" A voice said and a woman bent down. "Kisa…?" A woman with pale skin, almost sickly pale, and straight, free falling brown hair with bangs that coerced her forehead was beside her. She had a pair of tired and dull light brown eyes. Minami felt her heart ache, she reminded her of how Kyoko was when Katsuya first died. Tired… no exhausted.. One more push and she looked like she was going to fall.
"KIsa… Kisa.. It's mother…" Her mother said and looked down at her daughter with the same dull and calm eyes. "Shigure-san… He allied just to tell me." She sighed with her whole body. "What are you doing? Why do you always bring the people around you so much trouble? What are you really thinking? You made mother so worried, are you happy about this?" She paused. "Hey… Why didn't you tell mother someone has been bullying you? Why did you run away from home? Why do you refuse to talk?... I'm already… very tired… I can't.. Take it anymore…"
Minami stared up at the woman, who she couldn't help but feel sorry for and then down at Kisa who was looking at the ground ashamed. It almost felt like she was looking at Tohru and Kyoko, from before. It made her eyes sting, she knew she wasn't fully healed yet, and people who acted so similar to them… Made her heart ache. "I… I don't think.." Minami took a deep breath as Kisa looked up at her. "Kisa.. Means to cause you trouble… She doesn't mean to hurt you.. Sometimes.. It can be so hard to… express how we feel… When we're sad.. When we're angry.. When we're depressed."
"Because, we feel pathetic, weak and worthless." She took another deep breath. "Sometimes the only way we can get the attention we need… is to hurt people. Because it's a cry for help. A cry for someone to notice… To not just brush it aside… To look at us and tell us that it's not something we have to do alone…" She looked down at Kisa who looked her she was about to cry. "People tell us that we're not alone, that other people go through the same thing, that after a few years we'll get over it and look back at this time with happy memories. But that isn't how it always works… It probably never works that way."
"She didn't tell you.. Because she knew how you, how her family was going to react. The same way they always do… they give fake advice and never face the problem head on… Sometimes we get so deep in our heads that we can't even remember why we're sad anymore. Maybe that's who Kisa feels right now.. Sad and alone…"
She placed her dominant hand, that was still covered in bandages, on Kisa's head lightly. "But that's okay…" She smiles at those sad eyes and feels tears run down her face. "It's okay to be sad… It's okay to be alone… It's okay to not like yourself… Once you accept these feels and know that they're okay and are willing to share them… Then maybe… After some time, maybe even some years, you'll feel better."
There was a loud pop and a heavy gust of smoke and Minami felt arms hold her close and she returned the hug and smiled. She looked over at her mother, who also had tears in her eyes. "... Hmmmph…" Kisa's soft voice said and Minami felt her eyes soften. Kisa who was only a few inches smaller than her, felt small in her arms. Her slender build and pale skin contrasted against Minami's, Her straight, neck length hair and straight golden-yellow hair in a bob with a scruffy fringe and two long strands that framed her face.
Kisa's mother walked away and Yuki walked over with what appeared to be a long t-shirt that could definitely fit Kisa. Minami placed it over her and Yuki carried the girl inside. Once she got her other hand bandaged and cleaned she joined Yuki. Once she got upstairs to her room, Kisa immediately gave her a hug, her head reached her neck. Yuki helped Minami sit on the ground and Kisa fell asleep with her arms around her waist.
"... She's asleep?" Yuki asked.
"Yep." Minami said as she played with some of Kisa's hair.
"She really seems like she doesn't want to leave your side at all… But you must be tired and in pain…" Yuki said.
"No I'm fine." Minami said, the pills had kicked in.
"... How nice… Kisa.." Yuki said and he leaned his head on her shoulders.
"Seems like I'm everyone's pillow today." Minami said quietly and Yuki chuckled.
"For a little white, let me… stay like this.." Yuki said and he feel asleep just as easily.
Minami looked down at Kisa and then at Yuki. Minami couldn't help but be reminded of Tohru whenever she looked at Yuki and Kyo. Her eyes softened and she looked back at Kisa. It was funny to think that at the age she was mentally now, thirty, how young Yuki and Kisa felt to her.
"Little siblings…" Minami whispered and smiled. "I could use some more."
A/N: So I couldn't help, when I looked at the manga and saw Kisa's mother, really feel bad for her. She looks so tired and she's trying so hard. Just because Minami is getting better at dealing with the loss of her family members, doesn't mean that she's ready to just let go and move on. Grief is a process and so is depression, sometimes the smallest of things or thoughts will set you off and make you cry for a bit. I didn't want her to pity either of them, so I just wrote from the heart and thought of these characters as real people. Minami is a part of my personality, in case you couldn't tell, we even look alike. So like with all of my characters, I write from the heart and try to answer it to best of my abilities and their's.
I just deleted one of my stories (Sorry to everyone, I know I said I was going to update, but I lost the motivation). I wanted to put more focus on the stories that I feel motivated for and passionate for. Hope everyone likes the chapter.
PLEASE: Comment, I love seeing comments as long as they're nice, I really appreciate it and you guys don't know how much it lightens up my day. Which is why I try to respond 99 percent of the time, to everyone. Hope you enjoyed the chapter. Another Kisa chapter coming up soon. Comment everyone, you guys are amazing and I love writing this story so much. One of my bests.