This one may be controversial...

Why?

Because I am god. Because I can. Because I hate you, Kyo.

I remember things. You were Kyo, the monster; Kyo, the disgusting; Kyo, the horrific; Kyo, the grotesque. You are the family ogre, a leviathan of stinking meat and disfigured, disjointed limbs. You even drove your own mother to suicide. Tradition dictates that you be kept from ceremonies, that you are to remain downtrodden and secluded, and, first and foremost, that you cannot ever – ever – love.

You understood, once, that you truly are a monster, and your mother's death served to reinforce that. You aren't the same way, now.

You have enjoyed freedom long enough, my grotesque cat.

And now, here you are, come unwittingly and of your own volition into my grasp. I will not allow you to leave the Sohma complex, ever again. You will be mine.

Forever.

"Hello, Kyo." Red eyes, cat eyes, searing and radiating and filling me with the hatred you feel. Your fangs are bared in a growl; everything about you is primal, animalistic.

And you wonder that you are a monster, a beast.

There is a comfort in absolute rage, but you know that, don't you, my grotesque cat? Warmth consumes me from the center of my chest to my feet. I allow the fury total control of my body, and feel my mouth moving. What am I saying?

My vision swims, as I barely register that you have taken a swing at me. Mesmerized by the liquid fire in my veins, my arms lift, and it feels like I'm dancing-

"Dammit!" you scream, wrenching me out of myself, as your body collides with the solid wall. There is a painful-sounding thud as you hit the ground.

"Hmm? Oh, did I do that? Apologies," I almost choke on the word, the flames running through me still distracting, "my mind was elsewhere."

Why? Why do I care so much, instead of just killing you? It has been done before, in the past. The grotesque cat, unworthy even of life.

When would I ever feel this rage, then?

I don't get angry like this with the other juunishi, the real juunishi. This feeling of unbridled freedom hasn't been available to me since my health began deteriorating. I would, perhaps, lose an entire part of myself. I wouldn't feel alive, as I do now.

Perhaps, to me, you aren't merely the grotesque cat.

I have lost myself in the feeling, different than rage, but still all-consuming. What is it? Gravity is twisted, turning me irrevocably and exhilaratingly. Have my feet left the ground? Fists, clenching the fabric over my shoulders, lifting my weight.

Your face appears. I can't think, can't move, but I do anyway, my hands against your cheek, my lips against yours.

My lips against yours?

Your eyes are wide with shock, and you yell something, and throw me down. Footsteps, felt through my cheek on the floorboards; you're leaving. My heart turns over, I feel sick, and I close my eyes. I think of you as I faint.

My eyes fly open. There is a light, and a rough silhouette. Hope fills me.

"Akito?" It's not you.

"Hatori?" The outline nods, the light turns off.

I try to sit up, find myself weak, and require assistance. "What happened? Where did Kyo go?"

"He went home, I expect. You had a fever. Why?"

At the thought of seeing you, adrenaline rushes through me. I turn sharply and stalk out of the room.

I need to be alone.

I think I might actually love you, Kyo.