Chapter 47
TT: Woah… 700+ reviews… Amazing…
Eris: So thanks to the 15 and 2/3 or so people who review each chapter!
Kyo: Hey, isn't that my calculator?
TT: ……
Eris: :Pokes TT:
Kyo: I think all you people put her in shock.
Eris: :Produces a bucket of water: Leave it to me! I know just what to do! :Dumps water on TT's head:
TT: ……
Kyo: Yeesss, that worked perfectly.
Eris: :drops the metal bucket on TT's head as well:
TT: Ouch! What was that for? Oh, right, reviews. Yep, you people heard right – EOTC now has over 700 reviews to its name!
Eris: I'm loved!
Kyo: You're not going to think about starting a Hollywood career, like when we got 100 favourites, are you?
Eris: Don't be silly – Hollywood doth not deserve my talents.
TT: Moving on… Oh, and lets all say 'hi' to my mum – who I've discovered goes to my story to read my introductions. (Now, if she'd only read the story…)
Essence-of-Dreamz – Hey, good to hear from you again! But who ever said Akito was dead? ;)
Kat – Thanks for telling me; I'll go back and change it.
Chaos Tears – Kisa told them, since she's such a little sweetie. J
Fallen from the Sky – Here you go, then.
Dark Inu Fan – It'll take them a while to notice; the beads don't exactly stick out, and as its Kyo it just doesn't occur to them that the braclet might be gone.
Dukoro-chan – Akito's alive… Though I'm not sure he's happy about that fact.
Dark Flamingo – Thanks!
SillyLittleNothing – I haven't read any further than that, myself. I've never found an explaination as to why the cat has a third form, so I made up my own – tough luck if there was another reason.
Klove – as described in previous chapters, the first cat no longer has any colour to him. He was probably small once, but he believes he was large, so his form changed.
Pouasson – I think that the word you wanted was 'animals'. No, I'm not doing a sequel – but I'm considering doing a series of 'missing scenes' for the fun of it.
Cheeky Doggie – Plot? Actually, much of this is thought up as I go along; often inspired by my reviewers. Only the vaguest of planning comes into my stories, so they can change and evolve to become better stories.
Mousewolf – Duley noted, I'll corrected the error, thanks for pointing it out.
Annoying Little Twit – Go to bed; even Eris 'dozes' from 2-3 in the morning.
Kisa had just confirmed it. The spirit of the God was dead – though Kureno had been quick to 'reassure' his cousins that Akito had still been alive when he'd left. That left them with the conclusion that the God had passed on without its host, and it was very likely it would never return.
For some reason, the group didn't think it was fair; Akito's curse had still been broken, but theirs hadn't.
For a long time, there was silence between the twelve, and then, slowly, the conversation rose up again in soft, serious tones.
A short time after this, Kagura looked around, suddenly aware that Kyo had disappeared again.
Eris held the small, wooden box out as Kyo collected the bracelet fragments he'd missed before, putting them into the box with the rest of them. He felt naked without his bracelet, and strangely anxious.
He'd often wished, longed to be free of his bracelet, but at the same time the object was like a security blanket. He could reach out and clutch it when he was anxious, to check that it was still there – that he was still Kyo. Its absence would take some time to get used.
"I think that's all of them."
Eris nodded, "Hey, lets bury it in the forest, and make a treasure map to mark the location! You know; X marks the spot sort of thing." She closed the box and handed it to her friend. There was an odd expression on Kyo's face as he took it, and ran his fingers over the smooth lid; an expression Eris found hard to read. "Uh, NeKyo?"
"I'm still the cat."
Eris blinked, and tilted her head, confused and waiting for him to continue.
"People always called the cat a monster, because of our so-called 'true' form, and they locked us all up because of that. But, Eris, the first cat; he told me that my third form was created by the spirit of the cat, long after he was called a monster and locked away. It was just a side effect, because of that bitterness. It'll come back when I get locked up – and you know Akito won't give up just because the God-spirit is gone.
"But, that means that we cats weren't locked up because of our 'true' form; we were just locked up because they wanted to cage us. And I think that's even worse."
"Akito won't lock you up. I can be quite persuasive – just ask Yuki." Kyo found himself smiling, though whether it was at the comment or the fierce voice Eris used, the cat himself wasn't sure.
Eris hesitated, before putting a hand on his shoulder. Cautiously, quietly, Eris spoke, "NeKyo, there's something else the first cat told me – he said, that when the cat left, he'd be able to make a path; a path that the other zodiac could follow on. He said that the only way to break the curse of the zodiac, was the brake the curse of the cat."
Kyo looked up at Eris; her hazel eyes were wide and honest, and the cat could see the how hesitant she was in giving him this information, unsure how he would take it. Kyo looked at the ground for a moment, thinking the implications of that fact over carefully.
There were so many things that could mean – it could mean that the God had always known this, hence why he insisted on locking the cat away - hadn't the cat mentioned something about caging the host being a way to ground the cat to this world? It could mean that, somehow, the cat was responsible for all of the zodiac being trapped inside human hosts, or it could mean that someone else – possibly the God – had done it, and bound the curse to the one least likely to ever be in a position to break it. Or, it could simply be a testament to the powerful link cats had to the supernatural.
Kyo didn't say anything, and Eris didn't try to engage him in conversation. Instead, she began humming an old melody; a familiar background noise that Kyo found he felt tense without.
Then there were dramatic farewells between Ayame and Shigure, signaling that the others were leaving. Snapping out of his thoughts, Kyo looked down at the box again, before walking up to his room, with Eris at his heels.
Akito was very confused when he opened his eyes. There was a heart moniter, beeping in a most irriating fashion near him. A quick glance around told him that he was in his home, and yet he appeared to be alone; not a single attentent. Frustration and offense boiled inside him.
But that wasn't all he felt. He felt cold, and… empty, inside. He was missing something, something important, something vital, and yet something that, he almost thought he could rejoice the absence of.
Akito glanced at the clock, on the wall near a window. Judging by the darkness outside, he assumed that it was 1:25 at night, which would perhaps explain why he was alone.
And then, he wasn't alone. A figure was standing by the window, a small amount of moonlight shining through her, illuminating her like some kind of avenging angel. For a moment, Akito felt afraid – that in itself frightened him; since when was he, the God of the Sohma family, afraid?
The figure floated towards his bed, hovering a meter of the ground, until he could make out the face; it was familiar, though he couldn't place from where.
"You like confused, Akky – don't you reconise me when I'm not glaring or in someone else's skin?" Eris.
Akito narrowed his eyes at the ghost. She looked different, more serene than the last time they'd met face to face. There was no ice, and her hair wasn't doing strange things. And yet, somehow, that didn't make her seem any less terrifying to Akito. "What do you want?"
"To give you one last warning – third times a charm and all. You will not even attempt to place Kyo in that cage."
Akito glared at her, "I am the God of the Sohma family, he is bond to my will, if I want to cage that monster, I will!"
"You're not, you know."
"Not what?"
"The God of the Sohma family." She smiled, just a little bit viciously, at the look disbelief in Akito's face, "The cats killed the God – ripped him to shreds. There is no longer a God – just you. And you have no idea how lucky you are the cats let you off easy. But, the thing is, I don't really care about that – I'm glad the cats are happier, but its Kyo I'm worried about. Call him a monster one more time, and I'll do more than stop you from walking." She paused, suddenly, before grinning mischieviously, "Oops, you didn't know that yet, did you – I told you, the cats let you off easy. They could've chopped your legs right off, or taken away your arms as well or something."
"What are you - "
Eris waved towards the door, "Kureno'll probably be here in, oh, four hours – not sure why, its not like you were good company while you were in a coma. Although, maybe compared to how you usually act, you were good company. Anyway, think about what I've said," Her voice grew cold again, "Because I'm not warning you again. Bye-bye!"
And with that, the ghosts disappeared from sight, leaving Akito, weak, confused and alone in the dark room as, outside his window, a tabby cat prowled through the gardens.