Chapter 4

I was sitting in my living room, reading my newest manga and petting my cat when I heard a sound outside my house. By now it had started storming, badly. I had a sudden mental image of someone lost in the woods in this storm. Fast as I could, I pulled a sweat shirt over my head, messing up my glasses as I did so. I took them off and sat them on the table. I grabbed a flashlight I had sat on the table incase the power went out and opened the door. I was hit by a rush of rain and wind.

This is a bad idea. You're going to get struck by lightning. Just go back inside. There's no one out here.

I closed the door behind me and walked outside. Already the rain had soaked through my cloths.

Go inside before you catch ammonia!

"This is stupid." I said to myself. "It was just a tree or something. There's no one out here.

Then, just as I turned to go back, the lightning flashed, and for a brief moment, I saw a tall, long figure sitting in the yard a few yards from where I was standing.

That was no tree.

"Who's there!" I asked, panicked. I grabbed for the flashlight and turned it on.

There it was, illuminated by my light, a creature the likes of which I had never seen. It was tall, a few good feet taller than me. It was an orangeish-brown color, with long ears. It looked like a cross between a dragon and a mutated rabbet. And, for some reason, it was wearing pants. Why in the hell did this… thing have pants?

And it smelled. It smelled like rotting flesh. It was enough I thought I'd be sick.

It turned to face me, purple eyes flinching a little in the light. It staggered towards me.

I screamed, falling backwards, the flashlight falling to the ground. It rolled far away enough so I couldn't grab it but still just barely see by its dim light.

I scooted away as fast as I could. It was hard to find a grip on the muddy ground. It kept following me, getting closer and closer. As it did, the smell got worse. It was so bad I could hardly keep from throwing up.

It leaned forward, its face almost touching mine. The first think I thought was: Monster, this thing is some sort of monster. But, when I looked into its eyes, they were soft, almost sad. It held my gaze for a moment, and I wasn't scared, at least for the time being.

It reached to put its huge hand around my waste. I screamed and kicked, until I realized it was just trying to help me up. After that, I allowed it to do so.

I couldn't stop staring at it. There was something in its eyes, they seemed so familiar. Fierce, but hiding something else just below the surface. Something that, if you didn't look very hard, you couldn't see it at all.

I reached up and touched the side of its face. The skin was rough, but still felt almost human.

What is this thing? I asked myself as I pulled my hand away. I forced a smile. "Can you understand me?" I asked. It nodded.

It raised its hand again, this time pointing to my wrist, the one the bracelet was on.

"You want this?" I asked. It nodded. Why in the hell did everyone want this bracelet so badly?

"H-here." I stuttered, handing it to the creature. "Take it." I placed it in his outstretched hand. Then I blinked, and it was gone. Taking its place was Kyo, lying on the muddy ground, passed out, right where the monster had been standing seconds before.

What the hell is going on here?

I bent down and shook his shoulder. "Kyo? Can you hear me?" He didn't move.

It was him. That… thing was Kyo. He's cursed, just like me. Just like I used to be.

Without hesitation, I leaned him against my right side, his arm draping over my shoulder. Clumsily, I stood, and, carrying Kyo with me, went inside. It wasn't easy. It was cold and rainy and I kept slipping in the mud. But somehow, I managed to get him into the house.

Once in the living room, I sat him on the couch and went to go turn on the light, so I could assess the damage. Looking him over, I could see that he had tons of cuts and bruises. His feet were swollen, and he was soaking wet. Nothing looked broken.

"What am I suppose to do now?" I asked myself. In the end, I decided to take him up to my room. Again, with Kyo's motionless body leaning against mine, I started towards the stairs. About half way across the living room, he started to move.

"What the…"

"It's okay." I said, "It's going to be alright Kyo."

"Where am I?" he asked. He sounded very tired and didn't lift his head as he spoke.

"My house." I told him. "I found you in the woods."

"The woods… but then you-"

"Shhhh." I said, calmly as I could. "You need to rest. Go back to sleep."

I don't know if he heard me or not, but he stopped talking as I carried him up the stairs.

He's not as heavy as I thought he'd be. But still, it was hard work lugging all that extra weight up the steps. After what seemed like hours, I was laying him down in my own bed, pulling the covers up over his bare, wet chest. It occurred to me that he couldn't just stay soaking wet all night, so I went to the hall closet and grabbed a towel. I took it back to my room with me and tried to dry him off. He didn't move as I did so.

He's cute, even when he's all beat up like this. I thought to myself. But, he hates me. And even if he didn't, I wouldn't stand a chance.

Why do I feel like this about someone like him! He's been nothing but rude to me since I got here, but I just can't get him out of my mind!

His eyes flickered open as I reached to dry off his cheek. They showed a mix of anger and fatigue. "What are you doing!"

"Trying to dry you off a little so you don't get ammonia." I said. I take him in and he treats me like this? Why do I even bother? "I'm going to get a first-aid kit from down stairs. Don't move!" I didn't wait for a response before bounding down stairs and digging the first-aid kit out of the medicine cabinet in my aunt's bathroom. I grabbed my glasses of the table before I ran back up stairs. Kyo was still there, shockingly.

"I'm back." I said, slipping through the door. I put on my glasses so I could read the print on the back of the box. "It says-"

"I'll do it myself!" he roared, snatching the box from my hand. "You go dry yourself off." He said the last part more calmly.

"Okay…" I grabbed whatever was at the top my dresser and went to change.

Now garbed in plain jeans and an old plaid button-up shirt, I went back to my room to check on Kyo. He was asleep in the bed, all patched up. The first-aid kit was on the floor next to him.

I walked over, it looked like he'd gotten it done right, better than I could have done anyways.

He's really good at this. I thought, rubbing a finger over the thick gauze on his right arm, where a particularly bad wound had been. I slid my desk chair over to the side of the bed and sat down, watching him, and for a moment, that was all I could do.

I wonder what my aunt would say if she saw I had a guy in my bed? I almost laughed at the thought. My aunt often made fun of my lack of a love life. The last time I had ever really liked a guy had been a few years after I had moved in with her. When I tried to tell him how I felt, he told me I was too weird and pushed me away. It hurts so much, to be rejected like that. That's why I push those feeling aside, because I know I'll get rejected again.

"They'll all leave me in the end." I said. "My aunt, Tohru, everyone. Kyo will have to go home again soon, then he'll never give me a passing glance, not ever again. That's how everything in my life is. Because that's who I am, even my name means 'estranged and separated'. I just don't belong. I never did. I'll never belong anywhere, not anymore." I could feel the tears welling up as I spoke the words, knowing they were true. Even living with the Nomura's, I'd felt alone. The only person who'd ever really accepted me, curse and all, was my mother. And now she's dead.

I reached over to the bedside table and opened the music box, letting the music fill the room. Without thinking about what I was doing, I slipped my hand into his, gripping it as hard as I could. I never wanted to let it go, I wanted to hold on to his hand forever, even though he'd never feel that way about me, and I knew that. But still…

I didn't want to feel this way. But I couldn't help it. I felt a strong… connection to him. One I couldn't quite explain.

You need to get some sleep. I told myself. You can figure out what to do about Kyo in the morning.

I rested my head on the side of the bed, still holding Kyo's hand. It was warm, despite the cold air in the room and outside, and made me feel safe somehow. As I dosed off, I sang along with the music box.

"Although the scars of yesterday remain,

You can go on living as much as your heart believes

You can't be born again, although you can change

Let's stay together always…"