Okay, chapter three. Back to Iori. Sorry if the time sequencing on this is a bit hard to figure out. Just take the few clues I drop and don't think about it too hard and maybe, hopefully it will all make sense. Warning: this chapter is a little gross in some parts.
From his perch in a tree Iori watched Kyo drag himself home. On the branch above her human Snox twitched her tail, amber eyes fixed on a sparrow. Iori blew a strand of hair away from his face, but it settled back. How he loathed this. Kyo's bleeding brought an odd mix of disgust, triumph, regret, elation… His stomach twisted as Kyo nearly smacked into the tree he was concealing himself in. The dark-haired man looked down at his reflection. Iori leaned back with a silent prayer that he did not appear in the image the puddle showed. Kyo simply wiped blood from his face and stared with bowed head into the water, submerged in thought. Iori's guilty heart beat an irregular allegro rhythm as Kyo finally raised his head a bit and continued his journey. A subtle moan slipped into the evening and caused Kyo to look dully about. Finding no one he moved on, shoulders hunched. Iori clamped his eyes shut and bit his tongue.
Snox dropped onto his right thigh with a proud but muffled meow. Iori opened one eye and stared for a moment at his cat. Both eyes flew open as he tried to bat Snox and her gory prize away, lurching back and nearly toppling from his branch. The mangled ball of feathers in Snox's mouth fluttered weakly. Iori made a sick noise and covered his mouth with one hand. "Get off, Snox," he commanded weakly, poking her with one finger. Snox leapt lightly out of the tree and carried on her play with the sparrow. Hooded eyes dull with misery followed the tabby's movements as her claws slashed at the crippled bird. She pounced and caged it between her paws, head bent low over the prey. The bird struggled feebly as tiny but effective jaws closed; a crack rent the blanket of quiet; one wing flapped its last. The crack, added to recent injury, guilt, and last night's cheap liquor, turned Iori's stomach. An unusual hiccup jerked the muscles in his belly and throat; his eyes went wide and he leaned hastily across the branch. Snox was intent on her sparrow and took no notice of the contents of her human's stomach being regurgitated in a stream of textures and colors. After a time Iori wiped the back of his hand across his mouth and sat up. "Let's go home, Snox," he whispered. Snox looked up, bits of blood and bone clinging in the fur on her muzzle. Iori shuddered and slid out of the tree. Snox picked up what remained of the sparrow and trotted to catch up with Iori as he staggered through back alleys.
Snox sniffed at her human's hair. The only response was a muffled "Mmph," from the lump in the bedcovers. Snox twitched an ear and hopped off the bed, leaving Iori to his misery. The man seemed to be trying his best to pretend he was back in the womb. Curled tightly in a fetal position in the warm dark under blankets with only a few strands of hair showing he squeezed his eyes shut and tried to control his breathing. Tried to bring his breathing back to a regular pattern from the jerking, heaving rhythm that threatened to break into sobs. He hated himself for this. This was weakness, this was wrong, this was breaking the vows of generations, this was not tolerable. He believed Kyo had some inkling of his feelings; he had caught a knowing flash in the dark eyes that stung through his consciousness and lodged in his heart. That flash told him not only that Kyo knew, but that Kyo did not reciprocate. Iori lost his struggle and a sob tore from him, grating against his breastbone. Tears soaked the sheets as his shoulders jerked. Kyo knew and hated it. Kyo could live hating his enemy, but how could anybody live loving their enemy, hating their love? Eventually the sobbing stopped and was replaced by uneasy sleep filled with dreams.
In a landscape of blood and hurt he wandered, forsaken and purposeless. Rivers of vermilion flowed down mountain ranges like scars on the terrain. Rifts in the land oozing tar-like substances yawned at his feet like putrid sores. A rain of tears misted the dreamscape and settled in his hair. Under a sky of despair he sank to his knees with a silent howl. Carried on a wind of sighing misery Kyo's faint taunt drifted and wrapped itself mockingly about the forlorn man in the waste.
Oh Lord, I actually wrote all that? I guess I shouldn't be alone all day. Well, it was longer. Slightly better I hope? (Though don't honestly suppose.) Please review.