AN: I couldn't bother...but...

Chapter 2: Family affairs, gruel with shallots & 5hrs of complements.

It took me a day to regain consciousness. In fact when I woke up, I was in a hospital bed in a private room. And that woman was there.

"ARGH!!!!" I leapt out the bed and tried to run for it again, except that woman grabbed me and held me down with her iron grip. Ouch...

"You've been unconscious for a day already," she said looking oh-so-sincere. I wasn't impressed by that. "You should rest and regain your energy..." She actually looked truly sincere...but I wasn't fooled. I live with Shigure.

"No I'm not! I'm gonna leave, and..." I couldn't exactly move...I was too tired...dang it. "...alright...maybe I can't go...but someone can pick me up..."

"Just stay still..." She tried to hold me down. I backed off.

"No! Don't come near me!"

"Kyou? You woke up!" Tohru came into the room. She had that cute smile on her face and...*sigh*...anyway, she came over to my bed. "We were so worried! Your mother stayed with you the whole time! She didn't sleep a wink!"

"She ain't my mother. My mother is dead." I said bluntly. Tohru was shocked.

"Kyou! Don't say such things! Your mother is right here!"

"No! She's not my mother! My mother is dead! She died because of me!!"

"WHAT?! So is that what that little brat said..." Laina said, punching her fists, growling. "...Akito...I'll get you...and I'll chop you into shreds of chicken jerky, finely spiced..." Tohru was shocked again.

"That's not nice!" then she changed her expression into something sinister. "...of course, I don't mind..."she whispered "He's always so mean to Yuki..."

"What the hell is going on?! Look, I'm the confused one here! My mum is supposed to be dead, but then some woman claims to be her! WHAT IN THE LORD'S NAME IS GOING ON?!!!" I shouted at the top of my voice. Then I just got tired 'cos of all that effort just to scream...not good, I need to work out more...

"Now calm down, squirt..."

"Squirt?!"

"...I don't know what that bird-brat Akito said to everyone, BUT I AM NOT DEAD!!! And he knows that. In fact I went on a trip straight after I felt you could be left with others. I went on a trip to find the method in making a talisman that will make the Souma curse ineffective..." Laina reached for her neck and pulled at an exotic looking necklace of some sort. It was pretty, but I ain't gonna let anyone know that I think that.

"It's so plain."

"Shut up, boy. Anyway, I found the method, and I could make that talisman. This is it. Notice why I can hug you and nothing happened? It's this talisman. The problem is it's hard to find the things needed to make it these days..." She handed me the necklace. I looked at it and fingered the intricate designed. "You can keep it, Kyou, I made it for you. It can protect you even from that beast you may become, it's better than that bracelet." Then it hit me. She knew about the beast. That I could become one. And my bracelet..."

"How did you know...?" I was stunned. She just shrugged.

"I'm your mum. I should know these things."

"M-me...?" I stuttered. Tohru looked at the both of us. She broke into that smile of hers...*sigh*...

"Well, you both surely look similar...like the brown eyes, and the hair, they're just different shades of orange..." she commented. Now that I look at Laina, I notice that her eyes were the same colour as mine. But that could be just a coincidence. Yet, her knowing my secret definitely was not. Could she really be my mother...?

"You still don't believe me..." Laina sighed. "Well, I would blame you after all that bull that chicken-turd-Akito created..."

"You like to diss Akito a lot, don't you?" I asked her. She looked at me in a matter-of-fact way.

"What do you think? Don't you wanna choke that brat into cheese strings?"

"Yeah...but don't tell him I said that..." I whispered to her. She grabbed me and gave me a noogie.

"Of course not, we're allies in this together. And I'm your mother, even if I *cough* loved that little punk, I wouldn't tell him."

"You're not gonna give up on this whole mother thing, are you?"

"No."

"Well, since you're so persistent...I guess we can trial this mother-son thing..." And seeing she's so tough, she might fill up for the father position, too...So why am I changing my mind about this whole affair? Well, I gues since I've been deprived all my life, I might as well try it, and see what it's like. To actually have a parent. Of course, I didn't count on her trying to make up for all these lost years and overdoing the whole thing...

***

We got home, and the first thing I did was go to bed, still tired from my lost of consciousness. I flopped onto my bed like the lazy cat I secretly really am. Yes, I may really work hard and everything, but it's...all...FAKE!!! HAHA...Ahem. Yeah, I only wanna beat Yuki and actually get accepted into the family. The whole thing about banishment and so on is sooo old, but no, traditions are IN in the Souma house. I mean, check out that Shigure. Perfect example. Let's start with that kimono...

"Kyou! I'm bringing you food!!" Now, since I really am tired, I didn't noticed that the voice wasn't Tohru, but Laina, my "mum". This needed getting used to.

"Now, sweetie, sit up and I'll spoon feed you." She knelt down next to my futon. I could have jumped in fright.

"No! I'm too old to be spoon fed! Anyway, what's with the 'sweetie', now? Wasn't it 'boy', or 'squirt'...?"

"Shut up, sit up, boy. Or else..." and squinted her eyes. Scary woman...

"Okay." I said and sat up immediately. I swear, Mum could pass as a dictator of some sort. She's got it, her bark is worse than her bite. I was spoon fed the gruel she made, it wasn't bad tasting gruel, but there were traces of shallots...I felt my head spin.

"Shallots...die..." I squeaked.

"Shoosh up, shallots are good for you." I finished the bowl of gruel. "Now I want you to get better, and then we can go Akito-bashing. I have to deal with that brat...but not until you're better."

"I'm old enough to look after myself...you can just go..."

"NO! I WILL LOOK AFTER YOU!!!" Then she laughed, rubbing her hands together. I raised an eyebrow.

"Is this becoming an obsession?" I asked plainly.

"Yes." For some reason, I actually expected that answer.

***

Laina exited Kyou's room. She slide the door close, then walked down the stair, and into the the kitchen, placing the bowl into the sink. Shigure entered.

"Laina, so how is he?" he asked. Laina shrugged.

"Well, he's fine, just needs rest, that's all. This time, though, I'm gonna be there for him." Laina turned on the taps. "Shigure, did that chicken-arse Akito tell everyone that I was dead?"

"Basically. He managed to get Hatori to wipe everyone's minds of the time you left, and he told them you died. He even made a funeral and all. Only Hatori, Ayame, and I remember, 'cos Hatori couldn't stand wiping our minds. We may have been so young, but I still remember it as if it were yesterday." Shigure explained. Laina clenched her fists.

"I'll get him...Kyou has always been shunned because he's a cat, and a monster, but Akito made life for him worse, and influenced people to support that. Akito will pay..." Laina growled. Shigure laughed.

"You growl better than me." Shigure said. Laina flapped in flattery.

"Of course, I've learned much in my trip. Hey...so is there a missus in this house?" Shigure pretended to look forlorn at the question.

"Nope...unfortunately, I'm still a bachelor, and aging quickly..."

"Oh no you're not, you still look like a twenty year old, you freak."

"Well, you still look like what you did when you left. Not even a wrinkle in sight."

"Oh shucks, but you've grown tall, and wiry..."

"No, slender, use the correct term..."

"Okay then, slender...and you look successful to Shigure, especially your romance novels..."

"Of course typically..."

They went on complementing each other for a full five hours.

AN: Okay, people reckon it would be good fun, so I decided to load another chapter. This one ain't as good, but the action hasn't, yet. Secure them seatbelts ;-)

Next chap soon...why don't you read my other fics, or go to my site http://www.geocities.com/wildcomets where all my original stuff is there, and my drawings, too (don't worry, my pictures aren't horrendous, I reckon I can make a career out of drawing manga.)