Valentines Day Special

TT: I had a request – or at least, I took it as a request – to do a chapter specifically for Valentines Day, and change my 'Christmas Special' into a set of 'Holiday Specials'. Can't leave my reviewers disappointed, can I? I do live to serve, after all. So – this is for you, DragonLady! A little unorthodox, but what do you expect?

Kyo was halfway through breakfast when Eris suddenly rose up through the middle of the table, looking somewhat panicked. The water that had condensed on the milk cartoon on the table froze.

Kyo barely had time to blink at the fact she was wearing a shirt with pink hearts on it before Eris waved her arms in the air, almost frantically. "Run Nekyo, RUN! She's coming!"

Kyo stared at his friend blankly for a moment, "Wait, what? Who?"

"Her! She-who-must-not-be-named, she's coming for you! She's coming, and she was humming, and wants to kidnap you and make you dress up in a penguin-suit that the albino snakey designs and force you to go to some candlelight dinner because - " The ghost took a deep breath, one that was obviously for dramatic pause, as she didn't need to breathe, "It's St. Vallie's day!"

Having been friends with the ghost for close to a year meant that Kyo could understand many things about her speech patterns that would confuse anyone else. It took him only a matter of seconds to translate from Eris-nese into a language that made sense to other people.

Kyo froze a moment longer, the colour draining from his face, "It's Valentines Day?" He asked weakly, hoping that he was mistaken.

The ghost nodded, "Uh-huh."

"And… Kagura's coming?"

"Yes! She-who-makes-NeKyo-hide-in-trees-like-a-kitten-in-a-thunderstorm!"

Kyo paused to give Eris a slightly exasperated look, "Can't you can't just call her by one name like you do the others?"

"But they'd be no fun in that." Suddenly remembering how serious the situation was, Eris waved her arms, "But she's coming! …So are the sugar-bunny, and the albino snakey, and maybe some other people I forget, but they're not important. We must flee!"

Kyo grabbed the last of his toast as the ghost grabbed him by one hand, and dragged him out the doorway. The cat was only grateful that the door was open – when Eris was in one of her overly dramatic moods (which were, thankfully, rare), she was inclined to forget that she was the only one that could walk through things…

Shigure, Yuki and Tohru remained seated at the table, staring in the direction that Kyo had abruptly left.

It was Tohru who broke the silence, "Umm… I think we missed something."

Kyo and Eris had only just gotten out the front door when the cat was suddenly tackled and pulled into a hug. "Kyooo! You came out to meet me, because you know I was coming, didn't you?" Kagura rubbed her check against the cat's chest fondly, seemingly unaware of the fact that her love was desperately trying to breathe.

Eris watched helplessly as Kyo was dragged back inside by Kagura, Momiji and Ayame following behind her, calling out happily to the group inside. The ghost shook her head, and followed, "I hope NeKyo's still breathing…"

Tohru held a small bunny in her arms; smoke slowly dispersing throughout the room. Eris spotted a heart-shaped box of chocolates at the Tohru's feet and rubbed her hands together, lifting the lid to grab one. She grinned and popped it into her mouth. There was a pause, before the ghost pulled and face and swallowed, "Orange cream – ick."

Eris looked around again, humming as she moved to float over the table, safely out of the way. Ayame had just given Yuki a box of chocolates on behalf of Haru – why the 'psycho, punk-haired ox' wasn't there, Eris didn't know – and was know trading chocolates with Shigure. By the sounds of it, the pair was planning to collect Hatori later that day, forcefully drag him away from his work and get him drunk with them – or so she gathered, something about not letting the doctor-dragon/seahorse wallow in self-pity.

Then she looked towards Kyo, still trapped and nearly choking in Kagura's arms. Eris tilted her head slightly, "Hey NeKyo, should I give her a brain freeze?"

The cat made a frantic signal with one, nearly free hand, that Eris had learnt meant 'No! Don't you dare! You'll only make it worse and get me killed!' or, at least, something to that degree.

Thoughtfully, the ghost plucked a flower from the bouquet that Yuki's fan club had presented to him at school, and placed it into Kyo's hand. Catching on, the cat attempted to catch Kagura's attention to give her said flower.

It was as Kagura squealed about how nice Kyo was to get it for her, and release Kyo to fawn over the flower, that Eris and Kyo escaped.

Yuki, who found himself being interrogated by his brother on what his plans to do for Tohru were, wished that he could have followed.

"What's with the shirt – since when can a ghost have a wardrobe?"

"Oh, I don't – I just picture wearing what I want to wear, and I seem to end up wearing it until I change it. You didn't think I had pants and purple sneakers when I died, did you? No – skirts and dresses were all a girl was allowed. Anyway - are you sure its safe to be out here? What if your fan girls try to kidnap you?"

"The you have my permission to… do you're 'lookit me, I'm a scary ghost' routine – I can't believe you actually call it that."

Eris ignored that last comment, instead grinning in a distinctly evil fashion, rubbing her palms together in front of her face and letting out an evil chuckle, "Ooooh, the possibilities!"

Kyo looked at her out of the corner of his eye, and pointed to the other side of the street they were walking down, "…I'm going to go over here until you get over your vengeful spirit tendencies."

"Hey, Kyo, wait up! You can't go without me, I've got to be your bodyguard today and protect you from being kidnapped and brainwashed!" The ghost followed to cat, completely ignoring the car that suddenly drove through her.

The cat snorted, "And you say that I'm paranoid about ouija boards?"

"I've been dead for at least 40 years – I've seen the way girls get guys to act after Valentines, year after year, for all that time – they really do brainwash you. They make you buy them gifts, but what you don't know is that the gifts release a hormone that makes guys into zombies."

"And you'd know all about that, being a girl yourself, wouldn't you?"

Eris paused and looked thoughtful for a moment, before leaning her elbow on Kyo's shoulder, "Changing the subject, I got a little bouquet of flowers and put them in Tohru's room, with a note saying they're from you."

"WHAT!"