Chapter 17
TT: FRRRRREEEEEEEEDDDDOOOOOOOMMMMMM! WONDERFUL, WONDERFUL FREEDOM! Birds all over the city take flight in fear at the sudden cry
Eris: Well, we're back, guess what that means, go on, guess.
TT: No more study, no more stressing over how horribly I'll do, no more attempting to memorize quotes, no more cramming, no more guzzling caffeinated soft drinks… Err, maybe still the last one – I'm probably addicted now.
Anyways, I'd like to thank everyone for your wonderful reviews, and your understanding and patience over my exam period. So help me, sometimes I wish I didn't have a life outside fanfiction, but I can't help the fact I do. (Just no social life. Meh, shrugs what you going to do?)
This is my first time at attempting Akito, and I haven't had a lot of experience with the character, so apologize for how OOC he probably is. Also, sorry if you think Kyo's not acting right for the situation – let me know how you think he should, and I'll see about how I can alter his dialogue correctly, agreed?
GirlWaterShaman: I've thought about having Eris' possess Kyo, but I haven't found a place where that'd happen – Eris wouldn't possess Kyo without permission, and probably wouldn't do so anyway in normal circumstances. We'll see, okay?
Sora: …wordlessly hands Sora a cricket bat
Kat: Eris may well have had people like this in her life, but its equally possible she didn't. Thing is, she's been around so long, and seen so many things in her after life, that she's forgotten a lot about her life – she only remembers some of the major events.
Hippo: No! None is better than Australia at any sport! None! Eheh, sorry, feeling patriotic. Funny thing is I don't even follow the sport… shrugs Oh well.
Raine: No, no more ghost buddies, just Eris. It's a good idea, but I don't really feel entirely comfortable with added more than one OC to a fanfiction to the extent Eris is, as it would just make it more difficult to focus on the original FB characters. …Besides, I'm not entirely certain Eris' wouldn't act ridiculously possessive if I did that. ;;
The hallways of the main house were quiet. Normally, the orange-haired boy would have enjoyed the silence, but here, in this house, with nothing to distract him from his imagination of what Akito wanted, the quiet only unnerved him more. He watched Eris, from the corner of his eye, diving through walls and doors, peering into different rooms curiously at a rapid speed. They past a dining room, the door to which was open, and he spotted Eris unscrewing the lid on the saltshaker, snickering to herself. The sight made him smile the slightest internally, but was quickly consumed again by his growing unease.
Within moments, Hatori had lead him into a dark room – the windows were covered from the outside, and the only source of light save the doorway were the small, flickering candles set in the corners. Standing in the center of the room, only just illuminated, was Akito, eyes resting on the cat. Kyo swallowed heavily under the gaze of the older teen, the malicious feelings towards the cat seemed practically tangible.
"You may leave now, Hatori." The Head's voice was quiet, even in the silence, but it still made shivers run down Kyo's spine.
The dragon didn't need to be told twice, he bowed respectively, before walking out and closing the door behind him, leaving the room in near-complete darkness. If he glanced back at Kyo, the cat hadn't spotted it – but then, Kyo found himself hard pressed to take his eyes off the older teen, who could make him feel threatened simply by watching him.
The cat jumped slightly when Eris walked through the door, standing next to him and peering at Akito curiously, head tilted slightly as she tried to study him. For a moment, Kyo felt a pang of resentment – she could be curious all she wanted, because Akito, even if he had known about her, couldn't do anything to her – she was already dead!
Akito walked forward quietly, purposeful strides heading towards the cat, who tensed even more than he already was. For Kyo, the moments seemed to stretch forever, until the older teen was right in front of him. Akito reached a hand out; Kyo barely restrained the flinch, but instead of touching Kyo, flipped the light switch beside the door.
Light filled the room. But instead of making the atmosphere lighter, it only made the entire situation seem more real. Akito stepped back again, studying the teenager in front of him, and felt a pang of rage for how healthy the cat seemed, despite his fear.
For a long moment, there is silence, and Kyo forces himself to restrain his fidgeting. Eris was standing next to him, also silent and still, her presence giving Kyo a feeling of companionship that he is grateful for.
Finally, Akito speaks, voice still quiet, edged with malice, "I've been hearing rumors lately, Kyo. About you acting… different, recently."
Kyo finds he has to force himself to speak – "Different, Akito-sama? What do you mean?"
"Quieter, spending less time alone than previously… No longer fighting against Yuki." Akito took a step, perhaps two, forward, "Don't tell me that you've given up our little bet?"
Kyo shrugged, "Not given up, just lost interest." Even before he said it, Kyo suspected that it was the wrong thing to say.
"Have you? Does that mean you're ready to be locked away already?" The sharp edge to Akito's voice became colder and sharper than Kyo thought was possible. When Kyo didn't answer other than a glare, Akito continued, "Tell me, Kyo, did you hear what happened the other night?"
Kyo's shoulders tensed slightly, "If you mean the noises, Shigure said that Ayame mentioned something."
"Really? Is that all you know?" Akito's dark eyes narrowed, "So, I suppose you weren't aware that the noises came from the cat's house? It has everyone rather upset."
Kyo swallowed, "No, I didn't know that." He barely finished the sentence before Akito struck him, his head flying to the side by the force of the blow, a loud crack sounding as flesh met flesh. Eris gaped, then glared at Akito, even though she knew he couldn't see her, and yelled at him.
Naturally, Akito didn't react, instead moving his head so it was closer to Kyo's. "Now why don't I believe that?" His voice had become a dark hiss, every word punctuated with a harsh punch in the stomach, "You've been acting very oddly lately, Kyo. The way you've been staying by yourself so much, one might almost think you'd found a friend other than that girl." Kyo didn't have to ask to know that the girl in question was Tohru. Akito grabbed him by the hair; yanking it so hard the cat was surprised it did come up. The older teen forced him to look up at him, now practically snarling, "But then, who'd befriend a monster?" With that, he flung the boy away, causing him to crash into the floor in the middle of the room.
Kyo pushed himself to his knees, but froze when he spotted a familiar black-and-white beaded bracelet held in Akito's hands, said teenager looking down at him with hatred.
For a moment, Kyo felt the icy hands of Eris on his shoulders, but then he was distracted by the sharp and sudden pain of his body shifting and changing on him. People didn't seem to realize it, but changing into his 'true' form hurt – it wasn't a suddenly change and a puff of smoke like with his cat form, instead it was his body shifted and changing in on itself – bones shrunk, extended, and shifted positions under his skin, dragging muscle with it, his entire body twisting and changing. Oh, the entire process only ever seemed to take moments to the watcher, but to him it often felt like eons, and at times he was sure that a bone was going to snap or get caught half way through shifting. It was all he could do not to cry out at times.
Kyo was certain that he could hear Akito's voice, mocking him no doubt, and reminding him what a monster he was, but he couldn't focus on it, his attentions forever being diverted back to his transformation. A part of him wanted to reach out, or at least call out to Eris, seek the comfort that only she, and perhaps Tohru, had ever given him, but he couldn't make his mouth work.
Akito watched Kyo writhe on the floor as he transformed, feeling a sick sort of contentment in the fact, as he continued to remind Kyo that he really was a monster – somehow he didn't think the cat was listening.
Kyo suddenly gasped quietly in pain – Akito's eyes narrowed, he was almost certain that, in that sound, Kyo had attempted to say something – to call out to someone, perhaps?
But the train of thought was interrupted, as there was suddenly a loud, practically inhuman shriek – similar to the ones that had been heard a few nights ago. The entire room dropped several degrees as the doors suddenly fell open, revealing several of the other zodiac that had, as it seemed, been listening outside the door.
Then, at the precise moment Kyo's transformation ended, all hell broke loose.