Chapter 46

TT: Well, my exams are over… Is it a bad thing when you study chemistry AND read fanfics at the same time?

Now I just have to see how I did… No, actually, I don't want to know. I really don't want to know.

Dukoro-chan – Perhaps, but cats have 9 lives, so its alright.

Klove – I know what you mean; I haven't many alerts, but its still hard to find good fics you like daily.

Shizmoo – Hence why I deliberately made the 'attack' happen just before he turned the engine on.

SillyLittleNothing – I'm not sure yet; I'll have to ask him.

Edakumi – I seem to like making Tohru panic more than I should.

Chaos Tears – Just a cat being a cat. We all know what cats are like.

Kashuneko – Read and find out!

Kat – Nope, don't worry about that; Eris is not bound to Kyo, nor is her purpose solely to free the cat. We know what Eris is like; she's not going to leave until she's good and ready!

Lindsey – But of course! Mwahaha!

Eiri Touma – Aww! You're making me blush. I'm glad you like my story.

Chaos. Pure, absolute chaos. Almost as if a telepathic message had been sent between them, the zodiac-cursed Sohma's all made their way to Shigure's house, crying out to the first person they saw in panic.

It was Hatori who finally took control; dragging everyone into the living room and listening as – one at a time – the Sohma's explained the identical phenonomen. Many of them began to feel sheepish, because suddenly what had happened didn't seem to warrant the extent of panic it had caused.

And so, confused, but much calmer, Momiji decided to do what he always did when he was upset and the option was available – he hugged Tohru.

It was as the smoke began to clear that Kyo walked through the door from the kitchen, hands cupped together. He paused in the doorway, staring and the crowd in front of him.

Eris stood behind him, looking over his shoulder, "Oh! Hi Kisa, how are you? Wait… NeKyo, when did they get here?"

"Good question." Kyo paused for a moment, and then glanced at the tiny pieces in his hands - pieces that had once been his beaded bracelet - and then back to the rabbit that was Momiji, "Hold on…" He turned to Eris.

Reading the look on the cat's face with an ease that would leave most people gaping, Eris nodded, turning away, "I'll go see if I can find him." And with that, she ran through the wall and out of sight.

Kyo moved to sit down beside Tohru, hitting Momiji over the head, for hugging Tohru even though it was 'taboo', and watched curiously as Hatori carefully examined his cousins.

Hatori, for his part, was getting increasingly frustrated; there was nothing wrong with any of his family members, nothing to account for the pain that had overwhelmed them. That led him to conclude that it had something to do with their curse, but judging by Momiji the curse was working fine.

There was the sudden clanging of a hand bell, causing everyone to look over. There was, indeed, a hand bell, waving in the air on its own.

Kyo, however, saw Eris, a ghost cat walking in front of her towards him. Eris was singing in time with her bell, "Ding Dong! The God is dead!"

Kyo raised an eyebrow, "Where the heck did you get that thing – no, wait, I don't want to know. And what are you singing about?" He jerked in surprise and the first cat leapt onto his lap, sending chills down Kyo's spine.

It was the first time Kyo realize just had large the first cat was – he was much larger than a normal housecat, at least twice the size. Most likely, he had either altered his size himself – just as Eris did with her clothes ('You didn't expect me to wear a skirt longer than I had to, did you?') – or he'd simply forgotten how he looked originally, and his form at altered over time on its own.

The cat met his gaze, and for a moment Kyo's red eyes simply stared at milky, transparent ones. Then, the conversation began.

Having already heard the explaination, Eris floated over to Kisa, putting the frost-covered bell on the table as she passed, "Hi Kisa, what's up? Hey, I've got some really interesting news! Guess what, come on, guess! No, aww, fine; I'll just tell you."

Kisa found it difficult to hear ghosts; in fact, she couldn't recall if she'd actually heard Eris speak. However, time in the company of Kyo and Eris had left her with a talent for lip reading. This is why, as Eris spoke, Kisa's mouth moved silently on her own accord, mouthing the same words for everyone else;

'The god is dead.'

Kyo, however, wasn't paying Eris or his family any attention, instead paying close attention to everything the old feline in front of him was telling him.

The God was dead; some of the other cats had moved on because of this, satisfied that they had been avenged. But most, like himself, remained, because they were unsatisfied – there was still nothing preventing the cat from being locked up, despite the absense of the God. Only when the cat was freed would then think of leaving to see what awaited them.

Kyo held out the shattered pieces of his bracelet for the cat to see, who sniffed them once, not looking surprised.

Once, he told Kyo, the cat didn't have a third form, and yet he was still locked up; it was this injustice that created the terrifying monster. The 'true' form of the cat was nothing but an embodiment of all the anger, rage, humiliation, bloodlust, and all the other negative emotions that the spirit of the cat had collected as he was sealed away, time and time again.

And, like those 'kittens' who had left, this embodiment was satisfied with the descruction of the God. So, when the God had died, that embodiment had disappeared, and no longer existed. The cat's private curse was no more, at least for the moment.

"But the real curse isn't broken."

To that, the cat had no answer. Oh, he had theories, about how each of the zodiac creatures, like ghosts, had something that needed to be done or appeased before they were willing to leave, but no real answers. And, or so it seemed, he didn't truly care. After the great betrayl, he'd lost any interest he might've had in the needs, wants, or desires of those who succeeded in entering the zodiac.

Kyo nodded, taking all this in. The cat on his lap licked a paw for a moment, before jumping lightly to the floor and stalking out through a wall. Kyo was quiet, looking down at the pieces of his bracelet, lost in thought.

At least until a hand bell was rung in his ear.

"Gah!" Kyo jumped, falling to the ground, glaring at the prankster in front of him, "ERIS!"