Kitten Tears Chapter 3

NA: I apologize for the VERY late updates. I now have my dear friend on my case to update it, so I hope updates will be more frequent but no guarantee. Fortunately, summer's coming up. And luckily, I'm half-way through the story

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Shigure glanced over at the clock, his eyes glowing with curiosity. "It's been so long. I wonder if Kyo has made it there on time."

"Why are you worrying, my dear Shigure?" Ayame asked, still prancing around as if he owned the place. The dog smiled at the snake. Normally, he would have joined in and made a joke, but serious times called for serious… well called for being serious.

"Aya, if Kyo had made it to Ha'ri and Kazuma-kun, then our dear dragon would've called and yelled at us to death. It's not that I WANT that to happen, it's just that that means Kyo might be out there shivering like a lost puppy, er… cat, and he might be worried! DYING!" Shigure replied, holding his head as if his face were just injured. Serious times may call for being serious, but Shigure didn't feel like answering. Just then, the door opened again. The dog jumped over to it instantly, expecting it to be Kyo. However, he was confronted by the tiger. "Kisa? What are you doing here?"

"I'm here to see sissy!" she noted, smiling. However, her smile turned into a frown when she saw the dog's depressed look. "Is Sissy not here?"

"No, she's in her room with Kagura-chan and Yuki, feel free to come in," Shigure replied, holding the door open for her. The tiger obliged, still worried about the dog. Once she had vanished up the stairs, Shigure turned to the snake who was currently making himself a bowl of miso soup. "Aya, could you watch over the house? I'm going to go to Kazuma's to see if he's okay."

"Sure thing, my darling!" Ayame replied as he somehow made a mess. Shigure sighed and walked out of the door. It wasn't long before Aya heard a car leave and then instantly dashed upstairs to torture his brother. Halfway to inflicting havoc on his brother (but not on purpose), the phone rang. Ayame paused and stared, picking up the phone slowly.

"Hello?" Ayame asked the phone.

"Where is Shigure?" came the voice on the other end. It was Hatori.

"Not here! He went to see you!"

"…" The only proof that Hatori had gotten off the phone was the deafening click. Ayame stared at the phone, hung up and dashed up stairs to hug his brother and tell him of his new founding of… something.

Meanwhile, Kyo had been seated at a table grumpily. Hatori walked back over to the cat, the portable phone in his hand. "Well, apparently Shigure is coming over here."

"So? What does it matter to me?" Kyo growled angrily. He currently was not allowed to see Kazuma. Hatori sighed and sat down facing the cat. They stared at each other, not making a sound.

"Ugh…" a voice called from the room over. Both Kyo and Hatori stood up out of their gaze and dashed over to the room.

"Kazuma?" Hatori asked, staring inside the room. The martial artist was sitting up in his bed, obviously having just woken up. His skin was pale and his eye barely focused, but he was conscious. Kyo could only gasp as his master turned to Hatori and him.

"G-Good morning," Kazuma noted, attempting a smile. He waved a hand to them. "Kyo, what are you doing here?"

"I'm here to check up on you! What else?" the cat shouted back, but somehow managed to keep his yell quieter than normal.

"Kazuma, how are you feeling?" Ha'ri asked, cutting in between the two.

"I'm feeling fine. Thank you, Hatori. It's just a small fever right now, and I'm afraid that I can't see you guys too well," Kazuma replied, brushing back a loose bang.

"Well, that's good!" a voice called out from behind Kyo and Hatori, making the two jump. Shigure smiled at them. "Hey! How about we go out for ice cream to help out our friend's little fever?" The dog laughed heartily, trying to lighten the mood up.

Hatori glared at the canine. "He just woke up, Shigure! Walking around is not very good for--!"

"I think that would be great! Thanks for the offer, Shigure. I'm in the mood for chocolate, anyway," Kazuma interrupted with the same bright smile. Kyo stared at him and then back at the dog.

"Yeah, me too," Kyo growled. Shigure smiled.

"Okay! Three against one! Hatori loses! We all go out for ice cream! Hatori's treat!" the dog cheered as he ran out the door and into his car. Hatori stared and turned around to help Kazuma out, but was beaten to it by the cat.

"Come on, sensei," Kyo instructed the sick man. Kazuma stood up slowly, putting most of his weight on Kyo. It was hard to stand for him, since he felt so dizzy. Fortunately, Kyo led him to the car while supporting the weight.

Hatori watched as the two ventured into Shigure's car. Shigure beamed back at the dragon and honked the horn. "Hurry up, Ha'ri! Or we leave you behind and you'll still have to pay for it!"

"And how would you accomplish that?" the dragon asked.

"I have your credit card!"

Hatori gave the dog an odd look. "They have ways of preventing people from using it."

"But who says I can't forge your signature?"

"That's illegal…"

"Oh… well get in anyway!"

Hatori slowly obeyed, climbing into the car. He didn't really want to go, and Shigure couldn't really threaten him, but he was worried about Kazuma. Kyo stared at Hatori's back, having taken the back seat with his 'father'. Hatori glanced back.

"Yes, cat?" the dragon asked.

"Nothing," Kyo hissed, turning away. Kazuma laughed.

"Now, now, it isn't the time to fight you two. We're going out to have ice cream," Kazuma chuckled. Shigure nodded as the car drove across the gravel.

"Yes! And maybe there will be a few girls there from Tohru's class so we can say hi!" the dog added. All three passengers rolled their eyes as Shigure drove on. Kazuma smiled at them and leaned back, closing his eyes.

Thank goodness it was all a dream, Kazuma thought. But what if it wasn't? What if Kyo did hate him or something else had happened? The gray-haired man didn't want to think about it. For now, he was going to enjoy chocolate ice cream with the his son and two good friends.