Title: So Much For My Happy Ending

Author: R. Tom Mato

Summary: Kyou is locked away. How does he deal?

Notes: My cat!muse got PO'd at me for writing too much Snake/Dragon and Monkey/Rooster, and not paying attention to him. So, he crawled in my lap and made me write. sigh

---

"Please! Don't go! You don't have to go!"

"I'm sorry."

"No! Kyou, please!"

"..."

"...!"

"I really do love you, you know."

A loud pounding on his door woke Kyou, making him frown as he opened his eyes. When the dull, dark walls registered in his mind he quickly squeezed them shut again. It hadn't been a nightmare, he was here. In That place. The room with the one window he used to walk by all of the time when he was younger, but Shishou would tug him away from as quickly as possible. He was there now, despite all efforts. Their looks the day of graduation when Akito had come to claim him...even Yuki had looked sad. He wondered why, they'd never cared for one another.

Tohru though...she had screamed. The quiet girl he'd come to love had taken one look at Akito and started screaming. She'd known. Tohru had been trying her hardest to break the curse so his bet with Akito wouldn't apply and they'd all be free. She had stood in front of him, arms out at her sides and just....screamed at Akito. Akito had yelled back, slapping her.

That was when everyone had learned Akito was a woman and that Kureno had been freed from the curse. Very unlike herself, Tohru had slapped Akito back, saying she was a 'cruel, sad girl' to be doing this to another human being. She was so cruel and sad that Kureno had been forced to stay with her even now, when he had a chance at living normally. Of course, this did not please the leader of their clan at all. She had raged, causing even more of a scene than Tohru had. This attracted Tohru's friends, but even that didn't calm Akito down.

"You have people who care for you, but all you do is hurt them!"

"You think they care for me?! They don't care that I'm dying for them, that I am living this half life for them!"

Finally, she collapsed. Just fell unconscious on the dirt right there without any warning. Kureno and Hatori had quickly checked her over, then took her home. Without knowing why, Kyou followed. This would have been the perfect chance to escape, to go into hiding until Akito gave up on him, but that would have been cowardly. He didn't want to be a coward for the rest of his life, so he went. Tohru had grabbed his arm, begging him to stay until she was in tears. Sadly, he gave her a kiss, a real kiss, told her he really did love her, and left. It was wrong of him to do so, he knew, but he couldn't leave without letting her know.

"What are you thinking about, monster?"

Kyou's eyes snapped open again like he'd just been shocked. Sitting up, he stared at the small, stick-like frame of Akito in the doorway. "Still alive, then?" he asked, glaring at her.

Her own dark eyes narrowed as she bared her teeth. It had only been two days since he'd arrived in here and during that time Akito had been 'recovering' from her ordeal. She still looked like she would collapse at any moment. "Stupid cat," she hissed. "How can you still be alive! You'll never see any of them again, not even that insolent, ugly girl. I had hoped you'd have killed yourself by now."

"Now why would I give you that satisfaction?" Kyou drawled, ignoring the stab of pain and anger the words caused.

"The first days are the worst," she continued, a dark smile crawling over her lips. "You wont be able to handle it."

Before he could say anything, she turned and left. While he heard her footsteps going down the hallway, someone else was replacing the lock on his door. He tried to figure out who it was, but they left quickly. With a sigh, he lay back down on the thin futon, the only thing in this room aside from himself. The sad thing was, he knew she was right. Already the walls of the too-small room seemed to close in on him, and the barred window was no relief for the claustrophobia.

---

The week passed slowly, each day an eternity and the nights even longer because he couldn't sleep. If it weren't for being able to tell the time by the sun through his window, Kyou surely would have broken as Akito had predicted. His meals were brought in three times a day by different people of the staff. Whenever they would come, it was all he could do to keep his mouth shut. The silence in the room was deafening and he wanted to talk to someone so badly.

On the eighth day, he had taken to pacing. Eight steps wide and six steps long. Always the same. The walls of the room, even the door, were a hard wood. They were so thick when he punched them with full strength all that happened was that he got sore knuckles.

By the twelfth day, Kyou was inspecting the walls. If there was a crack, a nook, he would find it. Just one weak spot and he could get out. He was starting to smell and the room was as well.

At the two week mark, three men came into his room. They stripped his clothing off and chained his wrists and ankles, then threw a large yukata over his exposed body. Two held him by the arms, half carrying him since he could barely move his legs, while the third led them down the hallway. They hadn't gone far when the third stopped in front of another door. He opened it and Kyou glanced around him to see a simple bathroom. Rage burned inside him. This had been here all this time, while he had been forced to use a chamber pot in the corner?!

Before he could voice his protests, he was shoved inside. The yukata was removed and the three men took positions around the room, seemingly as far away as they could get. The door was closed once they were all inside and Kyou glanced around nervously. He was to bathe in front of these people.

"You have five minutes." the one by the door told him, not even meeting his eyes.

A cold shiver ran over Kyou's skin. He wanted the yukata back, he didn't want to be naked in front of these people. Naked and chained like some twisted fantasy of that Akito's. Part of him wanted to cry, wanted to scream for Tohru, or Shishou, or...hell, even Yuki to come save him from this, but he'd closed off that part after the third day. With a small nod, he stepped into the pre-drawn bath and held back a hiss. The water was like ice, making him shiver again.

It took careful maneuvering to wash his hair without hitting himself in the face with the chains. The first few times he'd done it, the men in the room with him had laughed. Kyou's cheeks burned with shame, the only warmth he could feel right now. He'd washed as quickly as possible before climbing out, his whole body shaking as the cold air hit him. He looked around for a towel, but the men were moving again. They threw the yukata over him and quickly took him from the room and back down the hallway. His room had been aired out as well as it could in the five minutes, but it was a definite improvement. The futon was changed as well, though it was just as thin as the last.

The men unchained Kyou and left immediately, the sound of the lock clicking into place loud to the Cat's ears. He sat there in the middle of the room, yukata draped over his dripping frame, and waited for someone to bring back his clothes. He waited and waited, his hair sending drops of water over his face and down his neck. Inside him, his cursed spirit raged. It hated the water, and to be left dripping and cold was a great insult.

Finally convincing himself that no one was coming, Kyou shakily took off the yukata and dried himself the best he could. After he was done he wrapped the damp garment around himself, tying it tightly. The sleeves covered his hands completely and it dragged on the floor when he stood. It was far too big, but then...he supposed he would grow into it.