Chapter 50
TT: Hey guys; I'm back from visiting all my relatives! A couple of people thought that I'd finished this story, but don't worry – there's still two more chapters, and one plot twist left, right here!
That said… Pleasedon'tkillme!
Essence-of-Dreamz – You picked up on that, did you? Well, just keep reading to find out!
Dark-Inu-Fan – Haven't I told you people to stop revealing future plot-points to the rest of the readers?
ShadoWalker – Yes, there probably will be an epilogue… Once I finish! Mwahaha! I can still write one more chapter!
PenKittyChan – Easy there, save the temper-tantrums for chapter 51
Irene – Believe it or not, I do proofread; I'm just very good at reading what I want to see, instead of what I do. What the Holy Grail of Pranksters really is shall never be revealed; it's the secret of pranksters everyone, and I'm not privy to it.
Klove – Akito's no longer the god, and its having an effect on his personality. Well, that's my excuse.
GirlLoki – Sorry, no. The curse is broken, so now they're just normal people.
Dukoro-chan – Yes, I'm afraid it is. I'm aiming for it to finish next chapter; exactly a year since it started, or that's my plan.
Chaos Tears – I wanted the curse to stay unbroken, but an author must accept that s/he isn't as in control of the story as we claim to be, and the story will progress how they want, regardless of the author's feelings.
The disappearance of the cat from inside Kyo didn't give the same sort of pain as the death of the God; instead, it hurt more on a spiritual level. A feeling of completeness Kyo didn't know he'd had disappeared, leaving him feeling empty and strangely depressed, as if he wanted to cry. He didn't know how he knew
He wandered home slowly, mulling over the most recent events in his head, occasionally saying something to Eris, who was giving him the silence he needed right now, hovering somewhere behind his shoulder like she always did.
Kyo entered the house he'd come to think of as 'home' in silence, the sound of the door closing making the other residents, who were all in the living room, glance over. Kyo walked in, and smirked at the sight of the Band-Aids on Yuki's face. The rat glared back, humiliated that he'd been beaten in front of Tohru.
Tohru, oblivious to the tension between the boys, beamed at Kyo, getting to her feet, "Oh, Kyo! Where were you?"
"Just… out."
"Oh… Its getting dark out, weren't you cold? I'll make you some tea, that will warm you up – don't worry, I'll put milk in it, just how you like it!" And, before anyone could say another word, she was hurrying over towards the kitchen.
Except, she tripped over a magazine on the way – Shigure looked at the ceiling, attempting to appear angelic – and slipped across the floor, flying into Kyo's arms and sending the both of them sprawling. There was a pause, as the other two waited for the puff of smoke that would indicate Kyo's change in form.
…And continued to wait as nothing happened. Tohru lay, stunned in Kyo's arms for another moment, before realizing what had happened, and getting to her feet, apologizing profoundly to the cat, who rubbed his lower back where's he'd fallen with a small groan.
Then, unable to believe what had just happened, Yuki walked over and pulled Tohru into his arms in a hug. Shigure made a comment, Kyo threw a shoe at Shigure and yelled at the rat, but other than that, nothing happened. He hadn't transformed.
For another moment, no one moved, as if afraid they would wake up at any moment. Then, eyeing Kyo suspiciously, Yuki muttered, "The curse; it's broken?" Kyo met Yuki's gaze for a moment, and then, feeling a sudden moment of comradeship with the former-rat, nodded his head to confirm it.
Everything was still for a moment more, and then Shigure ran from the room, shouting something about needing to call Ayame and Hatori. Tohru slowly pulled herself from Yuki's arms – the boy's grip slack in shock, and unresisting to the attempt – and went to the kitchen, to make tea for the visitors that would, undoubtedly, be appearing soon.
Kyo found himself grateful that no one had thought to ask him for an explanation; he felt too tired to give one. He had to glance out the window, to make sure it wasn't raining, before walking up to the roof, where he could reflect on the events in peace, with little chance of being disturbed by anyone – well, except Eris, but she didn't count.
He sat there for perhaps an hour, Eris sitting beside him just out of his sight, simply enjoying the breeze that blew across his face and ruffled his hair, letting the sounds of the many people below wash over him. Eris was humming, one of the songs he knew so well that he could almost hear them when she finally was silent.
"I can't believe that it was so simple…" Eris didn't answer, undoubtedly waiting for him to continue; so he did, "The entire curse is just gone, just like that. All that was needed, was ever needed, was for Akito to just say I, the cat, wouldn't be confined. That's all that was ever, ever needed. It was so simple, and yet the curse remained unbroken for so long." He let his head hang a little, staring at the ground far below him as he asked a question that had rested in his mind for quite a while, "How is it that the cat could be so hated; that the God would rather he and the rest of the zodiac rest inside humans, just so that the cat could be caged. Am I – was I, really that despicable?"
The was a coldness on his shoulder, that seeped into every corner of his body in a way that was as familiar and comforting as it was near painful. Kyo found himself smiling slightly, despite his previous mood, and he glanced to the side to look at Eris.
Or, where Eris should have been. Where his friend should have been, there was nothing but empty air, the icy feeling on his shoulder never disappearing.
Kyo jumped to his feet, suddenly afraid, "Eris! Eris, where are you - " He stopped in his panic as two unseen, cold hands held his face, making him look straight ahead into vacant space. In his mind's eye, Kyo could picture Eris, standing right in front of him, looking confused and perhaps worried, meeting his red eyes with her hazel ones. He could practically hear her voice, asking him what was wrong, what was going on, what was happening. Almost, but not quite.
Words, spoken in that voice, such a very, very long time ago, suddenly floated through his mind. Everyone knows that cats can see ghosts.
Kyo's eyes widened he realized what happened. "No… No! Not now; not after everything that's happened!" Tears of desperation and aspiration appeared and slid down his eyes unbidden, freezing to his skin when Eris, unseen, touched them, most likely trying to wipe them away.
Everyone knows that cats can see ghosts.
"Eris…" His voice broke, emotions he hadn't felt since that nightmarish day a few months ago flooding back into him ten-fold. "Eris, I – I can't– I'm not the cat anymore! I, I can't see you, can't hear you, can't…" He trailed off. It was all he could do to not brake into broken sobs. After all that had happened, all that they had seen and suffered through together… It was this that broke them…
It was in Kyo's greatest victory that, for the first time since he met her, Eris seemed dead.