Chapter 19

Hey everyone! I'm glad that everyone was happy with Eris' way of dealing with Akito – I know I am. If anyone was wondering, Eris got rid of all the heat in the room, lowering the temperature to below freezing point, all the water in the air was instantly frozen. Kyo didn't freeze because he's special. P Give me a few more days and I'm sure I'll come up with an excuse other than 'I said so', just as with the ice (I made that up just then! D)

And no one knows who Eris is yet – I'll imagine they're confused as heck about what happened, but the possibility of a ghost-girl defending their cousin hasn't come into their minds yet. (Wouldn't come into mine, either)

Dark Inu – I couldn't say for certain, but yes, I think that the ghost cat that appeared was the first cat to be locked away by the Head.

Sora – Well, making it seem as if the reader was there was the effect I was going for. Glad to know I got it!

Hippo – …I like writing cliffhangers.

To be perfectly honest, Kyo didn't remember much of what happened after Eris finished 'talking' to Akito. (But then, he didn't remember much of that either, at first. He'd been too distracted by the fact that practically all the zodiac had now discovered his shameful secret) He remembered how she suddenly collapsed onto her knees, and seeing what looked liked sweat dripping off her brow. But if anything else had happened, Kyo wasn't aware of it – in fact the last thing he remembered at all was moving his hand to protect his bracelet defensively.

The next thing Kyo knew, however, was finding himself lying on something soft, but seeing nothing but darkness. It was only after a minute of mentally freaking out over the thought that he was blind before he realized his eyes were closed.

Opening one eye hesitantly, he quickly closed it again when the light made his eye water. Opening it again slowly, the teen was able to recognize the ceiling above him as his own. Slowly, he opened his other eyes, and looked around, confirming his suspicions that he was back in his own room in Shigure's house – though how and when he'd gotten there he had no idea.

Had everything that had happened with Akito simply been a dream? Kyo used his elbows to push himself up a little, and winched at the pain in his chest the action gave him, where Akito had punched him several times. No, it hadn't been a dream then.

There was someone sitting on the end of Kyo's bed, not facing him. It took Kyo only seconds to recognize them – "Eris?"

The ghost stiffened in surprise, before turning around to face him. For a moment, she didn't move. Then she was hovering by his shoulder, hugging his as best she could – her arms going through him in the process, a wide smile on her face, "NeKyo, you're awake!" Kyo winced as her voice reached a squealing pitch.

"Eris." Kyo's voice was scratchy and slightly hoarse, his throat dry. He attempted to swallow once, before giving up, "What happened before?"

"Before the doctor-dragon/seahorse guy – "

"Hatori." Kyo's correction was automatic.

" – Yeah, him – took you back here? Um…" Eris rubbed the back of her neck and looked sheepish. "I sorta… lost my temper – just a little."

A memory flickered into Kyo's consciousness, "You threatened Akito!"

For a split second, Eris forgot to look embarrassed, instead grinning, "Yep! He was sooo scared; he was about to wet himself! I mean – " Catching herself, Eris poked her index fingers together, "I might have gone overboard a little."

"You threatened Akito."

"…I'm just going to wait until your brain gets off repeat, now."

"You threatened Akito!" Kyo's cheek twitched in the tiniest of smiles.

There were quiet footsteps outside Kyo's door, and it opened to reveal Tohru. Her eyes paused on Kyo, sitting up slightly in bed, before they lit up, and she beamed. "Kyo! You're awake!" For a moment, she looked as if she were going to rush over and hug him – making Kyo tense – before she restrained herself, instead walking over to stand over him. Eris grudgingly moved to the bottom of Kyo's bed as Tohru did so. "How do you feel? Are you hungry, thirsty? I could cook you some fish, or get you some milk. Oh, I'd better tell the others your awake now – you've been asleep since Hatori brought you back yesterday. Oh yes, he wanted us to call when you woke up, too! What happened to you, Kyo? Was there an accident? Was anyone else hurt?"

Kyo blinked once, and then a second time, and then a third, before he spoke, voice still hoarse. "Milk?"

"Oh, right!" Tohru moved towards the door again, "I'll get you a glass, and let everyone else know your up. Shigure will probably call Hatori. How about I cook you something, and you rest, I'll bring it in when it's done, alright?"

Wordlessly, Kyo nodded, and watched as the sweet girl left the room.

The cat lay back down, and closed his eyes, but it only took him moments to work out he wasn't going to be able to go back to sleep. His brain had decided that, no, it wasn't tired, and he still had to talk to –

"Eris?"

The ghost was back, sitting near his shoulder, almost before he'd finished speaking. She touched his shoulder – the icy chills had long since become a great and familiar comfort, "Yeah, NeKyo?"

"You don't think I'm… a monster?"

Eris laughed, not an 'you're an idiot' laugh, so much as an ironic one. "I'm a ghost, remember? I'm the monster here – ghosts are only a step up from vampires, werewolves and zombies, if that."

"But… Didn't you even see how I looked – "

"Trust me, my body looked worse after the accident." Kyo didn't have to ask for clarification.

" – How I smelt?"

"…I can't say that my brother's gym socks were worse, it's kind of a toss up. And there's no point in saying that my body probably smells worse, because I don't know… So how about, I don't care?"

"…" Kyo had to look away so that Eris wouldn't see that his eyes were getting misty. For some reason, Eris' almost indifferent acceptance to Kyo's other form made him want to cry. "Eris…"

Eris hugged him again, and for a long moment, there was a comfortable silence. Then Eris gave the conversation a needed topic change, "Wanna play 'go fish', seeing as you never play poker with me anymore?"

Kyo smirked, "That's because you rig the deck."

It was two and a half hours before Hatori finally came to check up on Kyo – who, according to the 'doctor-dragon/seahorse guy' (Eris complained that Hatori was too long to remember, and stuck her tongue out at Kyo when he pointed out her name for him was longer) had a broken rib, and two others were cracked.

"Akito has hypothermia." Hatori's voice was emotionless, not displaying the weariness that the Head's latest illness was causing him.

Kyo looked towards the doctor as his bandages were rewrapped, "He's still alive after what happened?"

"Barely." Hatori managed to successfully conceal any disappointment he may have had. "There's one thing I would like to know." He paused when Shigure came into the room, wailing about something trivial.

The cat growled irritably, glaring at the dog, "What?"

"Who or what was it that did that to Akito? That did all that damage, that froze the entire room?"

There was a very long silence, even Shigure had shut up when the question had been asked, almost holding his breathe. Kyo wouldn't have been surprised it Yuki was listening at the door, or if the rat had got Tohru listening as well. After a moment longer of looking at the blanket in front of him, Kyo smiled softly, "Eris did."