Yes, I'm still alive:D The reason this took forever to post was because I had to split this chapter in half. If I didn't, you'd probably have twenty pages to read! Now you only have seven. :3
Also, any sights in Niagara Falls I write about are real. Except for Cascade. I made that up meself. :3
EnJoY!
Deep anger.
"Kyo!"
Blow after blow.
"Stop!"
Blind fury.
"He's. . .!"
The bed springs creaked under Kyo's weight he shifted onto his side, eyes staring soullessly out the window. "I have a strange feeling. . ." he murmured softly. "It must be going to rain soon."
"Kyo-kun!"
"WAH H?"
Tohru sheepishly hid behind the other side of the hotel door, peeking through the sliver of a crack between it and the wall. "Y-Yuki-kun, Shigure-san. . .and I are done in the pool and were wondering if you wanted. . .t-to come with us and explore the many stores lined up along the streets. . ."
"Y-. . .Yeah."
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As the four walked down one of the lively, Canadian streets, Yuki let out a tired sigh. Every girl he walked past immediately stopped in her tracks and stared lustfully at the beautifully lean boy in nothing but swimming trunks.
"Yuki-kun. . ." Shigure finally spoke up. "For your own safety, I suggest that you should put on my shirt, and in turn. . ." The middle-aged novelist ripped off his over-sized T-shirt and exclaimed dramatically, "All the young, pretty girls can look at me!"
The three teenagers, and also many of the formerly drooling girls, all sweatdropped. "That's something I would expect from Onii-san. . ." Yuki mumbled softly.
Shigure's eyes lit up at the word. "Speaking of Aaya. . ."
"DON'T EVEN THINK ABOUT IT!" the neko and nezumi roared in unison.
". .Eep."
Suddenly, a loud, cheerful voice boomed above the normal buzzing of the city. "IT'S TEEN NIGHT AT THE CASCADE DANCE CLUB! SNACKS, BEVERAGES, FABULOUS DOOR PRIZES, AND MUSIC BLASTIN' FROM SEVEN 'TIL TEN!" A woman in her early twenties was standing atop a wooden crate outside an ice cream stand a few feet ahead, passing out fliers all about the event to any random person passing by (and a few animals, accidentally), rolling up one of her own to project her voice as far as possible.
Yuki and Kyo stared at the woman with confused looks and an arched eyebrow.
""Teen Night". . .?"
""Dance club". . .?"
"Let's get closer!" Tohru chirped happily.
"AND I SEE THIS YOUNG LADY ALREADY HAS HER DATES PICKED OUT!" The three of them blushed as the woman handed a flier to Tohru. . .
"Arigatou gozaimasu!"
. . .Yuki. . .
"A-Arigatou. . ."
. . .and. . .
The woman's eyes grew wide and her arm froze, blood running cold. "Ky-. . . . .Kyo?"
Hands shoved into his pockets and eyes examining the ground the entire time, Kyo's head shot up in surprise at the name. When he saw the familiar face, surrounded by a bob of light brown hair barely brushing against her earlobes, his eyes widened, as well. "Emi!"
The latter's forest-green eyes slowly welled up with tears. "I. . .I moved all the way to Canada to forget about the past and start a new life, but. . .you just can't stand seeing someone happy, can you?" With those last words, she spun around and sprinted into an on-coming crowd. The confusion caused her to stumble over the many bustling feet. After being shoved by one of the strangers, she lost her balance and skidded onto the hard, concrete sidewalk.
"EMI-SAN!" Eyes wide, Tohru was the first to react, rushing over to the woman's side as the crowd obliviously shuffled on. "Someone call an ambulance!" she screamed. "Her head is bleeding!"
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"You may see her now, but I have to warn you, she may be a bit drowsy from the anesthetic."
"Arigatou gozaimashita!" Tohru bowed to the soft-spoken nurse and reached for the hospital room's doorknob. She then stopped and turned towards the two boys leaning against the wall beside it. "Um. . .are you. . ."
Kyo just stared straight ahead with cold eyes, arms crossed against his chest. After a moment of awkward silence, Yuki managed to muster up a smile and said politely, "You go ahead, Honda-san. We'll be with you soon."
With a slightly unsure nod, the onigiri then creaked open the door and stepped into the room.
Once Yuki heard the reassuring click of the door closed again, he spoke up with arms also crossed, "Well? How could such a dim-witted fool like you, who would rather choose fighting over friends, be familiar with someone in Canada?"
The neko's gaze lowered, but still kept its dark tone. "We. . .We met when I went training in the mountains with Shishou, alright? She was staying in a cabin nearby. . .and when Shishou sent me for firewood one day, we ran into each other."
"And I assume you simply acted like your idiotic self to get her to hate you so badly?" the nezumi replied harshly.
"NO!" Kyo screamed, tears forming in his eyes as he jumped off the wall to face his interrogator. Realizing he had let his emotions take control of him, he then clenched his teeth together and looked to the floor, trying to hide the tears from behind his bangs in shame. "She. . .was a lot like her. . ." he whispered hoarsely, eyes taking a quick glance at the still door.
"R r n n n n g h. . .!"
Kyo turned from the tree he had been chopping, startled to hear an unfamiliar voice in the middle of the mountains. Picking up his small pile of wood with one hand, he cautiously moved closer, step by step, inch by inch. . .until what he saw stopped him in his tracks. A girl slightly older than he was struggling greatly to lift an axe, and when she finally did, failed miserably at causing any harm to the large, sturdy tree standing before her.
"Rr. . .R r n n gh. . .KYAH H H H H!"
Kyo gasped as the stranger held the axe high above her head, its heavy weight sending her toppling backwards. Out of pure reflex, he dove for her.
After the dust slowly settled, he found himself laying on the forest floor with his cheek against the dirt, staring into a pair of shocked and confused, yet somehow showing pure innocence, deep green eyes. "What the hell were you thinking. . .?"
The eyes frantically darted every which way. "I-. . .uh-. . .um-. . ." She gasped when they fell upon the wound across his right leg. "You're hurt!" Her eyes then grew even wider and she jumped to her feet. "Omigosh, I made you get hurt! I am so sorry!"
Kyo also began to rise while brushing himself off. "I'm fine, it's just a-"
"No, no, no, injuries are never fine! They could get infected, you could have a scar. . . At least I brought this with me!" The girl whipped out a piece of cloth and wrapped it around his leg.
Kyo immediately stiffened. "I don't need some girl to help me, let alone one I don't even know!" he snapped, ripping his leg out of her grasp. The second he tried to walk on it, however, the pain was enough to make him wince. After a moment of pondering the situation over, his shoulders finally fell in defeat. "Dammit. . . Well, if ya gotta put that thing on me, at least do it quick!"
The girl couldn't help but smile. "Hai!"
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"My name's Emi, by the way. . ." she said with a light tint of blush on her cheeks while tying the bandage in a tight knot.
"Oh. Kyo," the neko replied, paying know real attention to her.
Emi smiled. "I know."
That caught Kyo's attention.
"I have a cabin in these mountains that I stay in when I just want to get away from everything. One day, I went exploring and came upon you training with your shihan. The way you could control your movements to go so fast, yet so precise was truly incredible. I found myself going back to watch you day after day, and I never got tired of it. . ."
"Are you done tying that thing yet?" Kyo asked with annoyance.
For a second, Emi was so caught up in her memories, she had no clue what the redhead was talking about. "Uh. . . Y-Yeah. . ."
Kyo suddenly stood up without warning. "By the way, it's shishou." He then spun around on his heel and walked away with hands in pockets.
Emi quickly stood up, as well, and called after him, "Well, the way he smiles when you're around, I can tell he really cares for you!"
The boy just walked on, and Emi looked to the ground with a sigh in hopelessness. Then, she noticed the pile of wood he had left behind. "W-Wait!" she called again, fumbling to pick up the large logs. "You forgot this!"
Kyo finally stopped and looked over his shoulder at her. "You can keep it! No use killing yourself over something so stupid, right?"
She watched with hot cheeks as he continued to walk out of sight.
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"That's enough for today, Kyo," Kazuma announced, handing the boy a towel. "I think you deserve some time to relax in the natural hot spring we discovered just beyond here."
"Yeah, I wouldn't mind either," Kyo agreed. After cracking his neck, he headed for the spring.
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A dark figure was perched on a high branch of a tree overlooking the hot spring. When Kyo entered the area and began removing his karate gi piece by piece, they let out a small gasp and froze stalk still.
Oblivious down below, the redhead began doing stretches. . .completely naked. The figure gripped the branch so hard, their knuckles turned white.
Soon, Kyo finished, and eased himself into the steaming water with a content sigh. After a few minutes, though, a cracking from above interrupted his peace. "Huh?" Just when he looked up. . .
"KYAH H H H H H H H!"
SPLOOSH!
Scared onto his feet, Kyo stared at the water with wide eyes. Slowly, a brown head broke through the surface, spitting out a gulp of the liquid taken during the fall. "Y-. .YOU!" Kyo screamed, hastily grabbing the towel and covering himself with it. "WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING?""I. . .told you I watched you every day. . ." Emi replied sheepishly.
"FROM THE HOT SPRING?"
"Eheheheh. . ."
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"I-I'm really sorry, I never meant for this to happen. . ." Emi mumbled with a bright red face from her seat on a rotting stump. Back facing her, Kyo simply pulled the top of his gi snugly onto his shoulders without a word.
Determined to get the boy to open up even a little, she continued, "I, uh. . .happened to notice that while you were in the hot spring, you still wore that strange bracelet, even though the rest of your body. . .w-was. . ."
Kyo grimaced.
"O-Oh, I'm sorry!" Emi jumped to her feet. "Did I bring up a sore subject?"
"Why do you. . .want to be around me so much?" the redhead asked softly. "Someone like you. . .should be hanging all over Yuki."
Emi's shoulders relaxed as she stared at him with confused eyes. ""Yuki". . . Is he. . .your rival?"
"That damn rat always gets everything he wants! HE RUINED MY LIFE!" Kyo screamed, clutching the sides of his head as he fell to the ground.
Ever so slowly, Emi crept closer to him.
Unaware, Kyo more calmly murmured, "Why do you think I'm here? It's because nobody wants me. . .nobody cares about me. . .in that place I'm supposed to call "home." But he. . . No matter where he goes, everyone wants to be around him!"
Emi crouched down next to him with eyes full of concern for someone that she barely even knew.
"But someday. . .I'll win."
"Win. . .a fight?" the girl asked quietly.
"He beats me every time. . . . . Even when he's holding back, he kicks my ass without a sweat. . ."
"Maybe. . .whenever you punch or kick at him. . .your mind is clouded with so much hate. . .you're destined to lose."
Kyo lifted his head and stared at the girl with wide eyes. "Maybe. . ."
With a warm smile, she reached for his hand. "It's good to tell someone how you're feeling. . .once in awhile."
But when her finger touched his, he immediately jumped up and screamed, "DON'T TOUCH ME!"
The air was silent for a moment, Emi's mouth open in shock while Kyo panted heavily, unsure of what to do. Then, the brunette gave him another smile. "There are some things you still can't tell me. I understand."
Kyo's gaze slowly fell to the ground. "Mom never tried to understand. . . Dad never tried to understand. . ." His voice began to quiver "They only thought of me as a monster. . . . ."
Tears welled up in Emi's eyes at his sad words. And before either of them knew it, she had pushed her lips up against his, yet made sure not to touch him with her hands. A second later, she went running off, leaving a very wide-eyed Kyo still staring straight ahead in shock.
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The next evening, after another long, hard day of training, Kyo went back to that same spot in the woods out of curiosity. He was half-surprised to find the girl sitting there on that same tree stump. . .smiling at him. He could only stare at her with a blank mind until she finally patted the ground next to her, signaling for him to come over. He did, and the two began to talk just like before, Emi never judging him by what he told her, but actually helping him sort out his thoughts.
He came back even the next evening, and found her sitting there, waiting for him yet again. Their private meetings became daily, and, without realizing it, Kyo gradually became fond of this Emi. She was the first person who actually cared
. .Then, he messed up. Big.
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Kyo calmly walked around the tree leading to the two's "secret spot". . .and found it empty. Quickly, he retraced his steps, thinking he had made a wrong turn, even though he knew the way like the back of his hand. When he came back to the same empty tree stump, he really began to worry. "E-Emi?" He walked past it, calling into the woods, "EMI?"
After a few minutes, the peak of a cabin could be seen above the treetops.
"I have a cabin in these mountains that I stay in when I just want to get away from everything."
With her words ringing in his ears, Kyo raced towards the building, his legs pumping violently. When the trees finally made way for an enormous clearing with a tiny, clear stream rushing along the edge, he skidded to a halt. His eyes widened when he saw Emi sitting next to a male stranger on a gently gliding porch swing - laughing
"Emi!"
The latter's green eyes widened at the shout, but immediately softened when she saw whom it had come from. "Oh, Kyo!" she exclaimed with a smile. "Sorry, I must have lost track of the time." She then jumped off the swing, the stranger easing himself onto two feet, as well.
Kyo ran to the porch steps and his eyes grew even wider. The hairstyle, the face, the female complexion. . . This man looked exactly like Yuki! "Who is this?" the redhead demanded.
Emi's smile broadened. "This. . .is Reito."
Kyo's heart was ripped apart when the two embraced. The second Emi took her arms away from him, a loud crack echoed through the mountains, sending a startled bird fluttering into the sky.
Reito's back slammed against the hard, wooden floor, blood spewing from his nose. Hands clasped to her face in horror, Emi looked up to see Kyo towering over him, hand tightly clenched into a fist and eyes dark with fury. "STAY AWAY FROM HER, YOU BASTARD!" he bellowed, pounding the man in the gut.
"Kyo!" Emi screamed, her face pale white. "Stop!"
"SHE'S MINE!" Kyo's ears shut out the rest of the world as he began pummeling Reito's face. "YUKI!"
Emi's eyes widened in shock. "He's my brother!"
The boy gasped just as his fist sent another bruise onto the smooth skin. He froze there in that position, unbelieving the whole situation. His words caught in his throat and choked him.
Emi was in tears, rushing over to Reito's side. "He's not breathing. . .!" she gasped. The glare she burned into Kyo was heart wrenching. Even more so were her words. "You really are a monster." The boy was about to say something when she interrupted, "Just. . .go away. . . NEVER COME NEAR ME AGAIN!"
Kyo sprinted back into the woods faster than he ever had before, until he finally ran into Kazuma. Demanding a rematch, the redhead punched and kicked with such speed and force that his shishou was taken aback a bit. However, Kazuma soon took him down like always. Holding his student's face in the dirt, he announced, "We leave here tomorrow."
Kyo limply fell against the hospital wall, sliding down to the floor with his forehead against his knees, hugging his legs to his chest. Yuki stared down at him, frozen in shock. He had never believed the baka neko could have gone through such a tragedy. . .because of him. It was beyond feeling dislike toward someone.
"K-. . .K-. . .Kyo. . ." he stuttered out awkwardly, reaching out a trembling hand. With slight hesitation, he rested it on the boy's shoulder. "It's. . .okay. . ."
.To.