Chapter 31

TT: Heya! Sorry to anyone who expected me to update sooner – its been a busy week, and knowing my school its only going to get busier.

Hope you like this chapter, its meant to be a little sappier and more inclined to make you go 'aw' than some of the others – just another look at the friendship between Kyo and Eris… I hope.

Wooo, is it just me, or do I have a lot of replies for your reviews today?

DragonLady – Forum! o.O Err, not so far as I know – my story isn't so good that it would have its own forum, if you ask me… :Plays with fingers:

Essence-of-dreamz – You're making me blush, you know that? But yeah, I know what you mean about not liking OC – usually I feel the same. I suppose a little part of the reason I wrote this story was to see if I could create an OC that people could actually like, without making the actually series of Fruits Basket seem redundant.

Ja Ne, Kat – Tell your friends that I said thanks, and that I'm glad they like this story as well. And yes, Kyo's getting to be better with people – Eris probably pokes him when she thinks he's being too mean.

Shizmoo – Eris likes to tease Kyo about liking Tohru, but that's all it is – teasing. There isn't going to be any actual romance or pairings in this story. Sorry if you thought otherwise.

Beatrix Kiddo – Hehe, don't worry, I understand what you mean. Kyo's meant to change slowly, under Eris' influence, but he'll never stop being Kyo. It's pretty interesting to experiment with his slow changing behaviour.

SillyLittleNothing – know how you mean about it being a closed topic – it was an area I never thought I'd write in, until I suddenly remembered about how cats can sense the supernatural. As far as stories go – I read a lot of different kinds, from several anime. Strangely enough, I'm partial to angst stories a lot of the time. A far as inspiration – for a start, there's you guys! Yes, my reviewers help me get inspired. Apart from that, its hard to see. Sometimes I'll read a story and think that it would work better a different way, but usually it just hits me, like a pile of bricks.

BlueSilver-soul – Eris: Baa-baa black sheep, have you any wool? Yes sir, yes sir, three bags full - I don't know if Sheepy has that much hair.

Klove – Violet was meant to seem like someone you felt sorry for, because in the end she really is just what you said – very lonely. Here's a thought for you now: Eris is actually older than Violet (she just can make her clothes change), imagine how lonely she was before Kyo.

If someone had known that Kisa could see ghosts - similar to Kyo - and asked her what Eris was like, the girl would have stopped and thought about it carefully for a few minutes. Then, she might have said that Eris was the sort of person who would go out at night and dance in the rain during a thunderstorm, just because she could. And she'd probably be singing, too.

Storms were the only time of real conflict between Eris and Kyo. The cat loathed the wet weather, finding himself quickly exhausted and with no sign of the fatigue ending until the clouds dispersed. Eris didn't change; she remained as cheerful and as energetic as ever. Because Eris did, indeed, go out dancing in the rain, laughing and singing as she did so, for no other reason than that is 'seemed like a good idea at the time'. And Kyo would stay inside, curled up on a comfortable seat, occasionally lifting heavy eyes to look at Eris with a weary glare.

Alright, so it wasn't really a conflict, but it still infuriated Kyo endlessly. Usually, at the end of the day, when Kyo was tired and ready for bed, Eris had worn herself out too. Granted, she didn't sleep, but she grew quieter. During a storm, Kyo felt exhausted, but Eris acted the same as she always did, and Kyo found himself frustrated at her energy. On several occasions, he'd sent Eris off to play with Kisa while he took a nap.

Kisa found that she almost looked forward to rainy days. Hiro, however, was beginning to detest them. Now that Eris wasn't pranking Yuki – with the exception of April Fools, on which everyone but Kyo had suffered – Eris had selected him as her new victim. Along with anyone who Eris caught being cruel to Kisa at school.

One did have to wonder, however, where the ghost had gotten the fluro, glow-in-the-dark hair dyes in the first place.

On some rainy days, however, when Eris finally decided that Kyo needed a break from her altogether and she would vanish, Kisa did not see her. The small tiger had grown comfortable in the ghost's presence, but was too shy to ask. Kyo, too, knew about the habit, but never bothered himself with it – Eris always came back to annoy him some more after a few hours.

"See if you can find somewhere to park around here – it's just up ahead."

Kyo raised an eyebrow; the thing Eris had claimed to want to show him was on a highway? Nonetheless, he stopped in a nearby truck stop. Eris floated through the front windscreen, Kyo locking the door to the car as he followed her out. He'd managed to get his license about a month before Eris had suddenly decided that a little 'excursion', as she called it, was in order.

Kyo followed Eris down the turn in the highway, to where she had taken to leaning against a railing on the edge of the road, looking off into the distance. She looked up when Kyo came to stand next to her, and then motioned to a bouquet of fake, clothe flowers attached to the railing between them. The flowers were tattered, all the colour long since bleached out from the elements, but they looked as if they were meant to have been roses a long time ago. Hidden among the flowers, attached tightly, was a plastic apple, with still a hint of golden paint on it.

Kyo blinked thoughtfully at the apple. "The Greek goddess of mischief was supposed to have golden apples, wasn't she? Her name was Eris." He looked at the ghost suspiciously.

Eris nodded, turning to sit on the railing to stare at the road in front of her, "I died, just about there." She pointed to what appeared to be a random place on the road. "Loki was the one who had the apple put into the bouquet, I think; he used to spray paint apples gold for me to take to school when I was small. It was just one of those things…"

"…Is this where you've been going, from time to time?"

"One of the places. I wanted to show it to you. It's funny, but when the cars are all gone – like now – its so peaceful here. You wouldn't think it, would you?" She looked up at the sky, letting out a soft sigh, "My body's not here – its in America somewhere."

Kyo's head shot up in surprise, "America!"

"Yeah; we came from America, our parents were working here for a year. I don't know why, America and Japan weren't exactly on the best of terms at that stage. Actually, I think that's why they insisted that my body be taken back."

"I thought you said that you stayed with your brother until he died, a few years later?"

"Yeah, I've kinda… traveled a lot, since I've died. Lots of people seem to stay in the same area, even if the people they were staying there for move elsewhere. I guess I was just being a rebellious teenager, because I figured that, well, if I'm dead, that means no one can stop me from traveling around the world in first class for free!"

Kyo let out a snort of amusement, looking out at the view Eris had been watching just before.

"You know, Kyo, I never thought I'd show anyone this, not really. They'd think it was silly, and pretty pointless to keep hanging around here. Its funny, people drive past this spot everyday, and barely even glance at this thing – no one remembers me, but I'm still here. Its just… special to me, that's all. I don't expect you to understand."

Kyo didn't look at her. This was a marker of where she'd died, the greatest trauma in her existence, something she'd never be able to completely shake the pain from off. It reminded him of how felt occasionally, living at Shigure's, so close to the main estate and the tiny, dark room that he was fated to be sealed into. Sometimes, when he looked at the calendar, he realized how close the day to when he'd be locked up was coming, and he wondered why he chose to stay there, where it loomed over him.

But at the same time, he knew the answer. Because, somehow, he felt peaceful there. Maybe it was Tohru's presence, maybe it was a few other things, but when he sat on the roof and looked up at the stars at night with Eris there, he felt calmer than he thought possible.

He glanced over at the ghost, meeting her gaze. Neither of them said a word, they didn't need to. They both knew what he was thinking; Kyo did understand, after all.