Chapter 25

TT: Hey, everyone – I hope you had a happy Christmas. Now, we've got a new year started, so I'm starting by updating in an attempt to appease you all – I hope you enjoy this chapter!

Thanks to everyone who's reviewed, both this and my Christmas special – I'm glad you liked it.

Tohru-kun09 – I'll do my best to fit her in.

Karen – I feel the same way, I wasn't looking forward to Eris being revelaed, but the rest of the Sohma had to learn about her eventually – the reason no one ever knew the cat could see ghosts before was because the cat never got any closer to the dead than the living.

DragonLady - …You're better now though, right?

Hippo Thief – A bang and boom? Uhh… scratches head I'll try?

Funny little request to any artists out there (because my own meager skills can't do Kyo justice) – Anyone who wants to do a picture of the photo in this chapter, I'd really love to see how it comes out!

Kyo woke up early the a few days later, with the strangest feeling that someone or something had woken him, though for the life of him he couldn't have said what. For a moment he was still, before he rolled over onto his back and stared up at the ceiling, watching the colours of the early morning light flitter across it.

Finally, he sat up, giving the empty room a quick glance over. His eyes rested on a framed photograph, sitting proudly on his bedside table. His legs slid off the edge of the bed as he reached over to grab it, looking it over carefully with a half-smile.

Flashback

"Uh, um, Kyo?"

Said teen looked away from the stars, finding Tohru climbing the ladder onto the roof beside him. She held something – some sort of packet – to her chest, a strange expression on her face.

"Kyo, these are some photos I've taken, I had them developed, but…" She took one of the photos from the packet, and held it out for Kyo to take.

Kyo studied the picture for a moment, trying to determine what was wrong with it, other than he didn't recall it being taken – it was an image of him, sitting on the porch, one knee tucked under his chin and arms wrapped around it, the other leg hanging off the edge. One check leaned on the knee as he looked to the side, smirking as a half-laughing Eris attempted to tickle his face with the end of her brown ponytail.

Then he remembered – Eris was dead, she was a ghost, and as far as he knew, she wasn't supposed to be seen in photos any more than she did to most people.

Tohru pointed to Eris, "Who is this? I don't remember seeing her before."

Kyo didn't look away from the picture, he felt to chill of Eris' fingers on his shoulder as she leaned over him to look at it as he answered, "She's a friend – a good friend, and I'd like to introduce you to her someday; just not now." He paused, "Can I keep this?"

"Uh – Oh! Of course, Kyo, if you want – I'll give you the negative sometime, too, if you want."

Kyo looked up at Tohru, smiling, "Thanks." He got to his feet, "I'm going to put this somewhere safe now, alright?"

It was only a month later, when Shigure had boredly wandered into Kyo's room while the cat was a school, that he spotted a photo in a frame, sitting proudly on top of bedside table Kyo had. Wondering if he was in it, Shigure picked it up to study the framed photograph. There, in the center of the picture, was Kyo, sitting on his porch, but looking more open and content than Shigure could remember seeing him, and was even smiling at the mischief of the strange, unknown girl that was next to him in the picture.

Shigure frowned in confusion, and turned the frame around. A piece of paper had been taped roughly to the back, with two different sets of handwriting on it. The first, which he recognized as Kyo's, had written a date (from several months ago), and the small phrase 'Me and Eris'. The second handwriting, just a little bit neater, and written in the same handwriting style that Shigure's grandparents had once had, had crossed out the word 'Me' on Kyo's note, and replaced it with a single word – 'NeKyo'.

Shigure flipped the framed photo over again. For a moment, the girl – the fabled Eris, he assumed – almost seemed transparent in the picture, but only for a single moment - causing Shigure dismissed it as a trick of the light.

End Flashback

It was with the utmost care that Kyo placed the photo back on the table – Tohru had been, hesitantly, introduced to Eris, but the girl seemed wary of the thought of a ghost, even with the reassurance that this particular spirit was anything but scary (Kyo pointedly refrained from mentioning the incident with Akito). Eris, for her part, tried to avoid doing anything to scare the girl, acting around the living girl the same way she had when Kyo had been the only one aware of her. It was one of the almost-sacrificing acts of keeping peace that Kyo was grateful to the specter for.

Speaking of which… Kyo glanced around the room again – Eris wasn't there. Curious, Kyo got off the bed and left the room, wandering downstairs.

The house was quiet – no one was up yet, but that was common Kyo was usually the first up, followed by Tohru. Eris didn't count, she didn't sleep.

Kyo found Eris in the living room, lying upsidedown on the couch, feet in the air and head over the edge, watching the TV. The fact that all that was on was early-morning news appeared to be irrelevant.

Kyo sat down next to her, and changed the channel.

"Nekyo! I was watching that."

"You weren't even paying attention to what was on, were you?"

"I was to! It was the weather."

"The weather finished ten minutes ago – the sport was on."

"… Well in that case, thanks for saving me the effort…"

"What are you doing down here, anyway?"

Eris was silent for a minute longer, then sank through the couch, instead lying flat on the ground, looking up at the cat, "Do you remember Kyoko?"

"Tohru's mother? What about her – I think she was in here last night, but it was pretty late and it might have been a dream."

"No, she was here – She… She moved on."

Kyo stared at her, not certain if he'd heard the ghost right, "What?"

"Kyoko, she moved on – she came to see Tohru again, really quick. She came – I wondered into the room about 3 minutes after she appeared – then kissed her on the forehead. Then she sorta hesitated, like she was about to back out. But then gave me this weird nod, and just… left, I guess. She moved on, she's not here anymore – not a ghost."

Kyo leaned back heavily on the couch, "She's been ready to move on for a while, we both knew that, she just kept hesitating – I suppose it was about time she let go." He looked down at the ghost near his feet, "So what are you really thinking about – she's not the only ghost you've watched move on."

"I was just thinking – Kyoko's only been dead a few years. But I've been dead a really long time – so how come I've never moved on? I know there's a level of control to when you do, but before we became friends, I don't see why I was still here."

Kyo felt like someone had put a frozen lead ball in his stomach, "You… want to move on?" Shewanted to leave him alone?

Eris waved her hands frantically, "No, no! Not now – just, before, way before, like when it suddenly hit me that everyone I'd ever known had died and moved on, and I just wanted to go to, but I never could. You know, they say a ghost can't move on while they still have something left unfurfilled, and I never thought that I had any reason to stay. I don't want to leave you NeKyo, I was just remembering."

Kyo calmed down at the ghost's sincerity. It almost worried him, how dependant he'd become on her friendship.

Eris suddenly smiled at him, hazel eyes meeting red, "Hey, NeKyo, I think I know why I could never move on before. Can't just go and leave my best bud behind now, can I?"

Kyo blinked and looked down at the ghost, "What?"

Eris' smile became a mischievous smirk, "I have to wait for you."