YES! We've finally made it! This is the final chapter (including an epilogue) of The Feline Curse! It's been quite a long time, but on the bright side, I got to finish this series before school started up again! w00t! Go me! (Actually, I start school tomorrow...) I had a pretty hectic week last week, so I'm sorry for not updating sooner, I kind of forgot about checking my reviews.
Thank you's:
TheSoulsDemise: I'm glad you liked this chapter; hope you like this one too!
Angelkitsune-Naomi: I'm so sorry for neglecting you! I'm going to try to get back on track now, though it might be a bit difficult with school starting and everything...I hope you'll forgive me! Thank you so so much for supporting me through to the end, I really appreciate it!
4-is-lovely: Yeah, it hasn't happened to me since then either...no, wait, I think it happened another time too...oh dear.
Vitanie Tora: Actually, I never killed off Catalyn's sensei. He just...disappeared. Explanations are all in this chapter. I have another thing to tell you, but that won't be till the end of the chapter, because it's a bit of a spoiler.
BluesDaughter: Thanks very much! I was hoping to surprise people with this!
Disclaimer: I don't own YYH, just The Feline Curse.
All right! Here's the last chapter plus epilogue!
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CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR – A NEW BEGINNING
Catalyn gasped as her sensei entered the room. "Sensei!" she almost shrieked.
He chuckled, smiling at her. "It's me," he said. "It's been a while, hasn't it?"
She was cut off from answering by Kuwabara, who leaped up and pointed, exclaiming, "Hey, isn't that the old geezer we –"
SMACK!
Catalyn had leaped out of bed and smacked him hard across the face, leaving him to moan in pain. "Don't you dare call him that!" she snapped. "He deserves respect!"
"For what, almost killing us?" Yusuke chimed in with a frown.
She couldn't answer him. "Don't worry," her sensei said. "I'm here to explain myself. You can even bring me back with you to Lord Koenma for questioning if need be."
"There won't be any need," Catalyn said instantly, even though she knew after she spoke that there was no way the rest of the gang would agree to it. She sat back down and eagerly awaited his explanation.
He cleared his throat and began. "Well, I'm sure you remember the day when the spirit detective and his partner came to my house, where I'd been keeping Junsei for almost two years. Of course, I didn't want you to take her in for questioning and get her in trouble, so I framed myself and spun a tale by making Catalyn and Junsei out to be two different people. Then I fled and tried to transport myself further away. However, I was in a hurry and my transportation went badly wrong. I landed in the demon world by accident. That's where I met Kashi, who was traveling to hone her skills. I agreed to train her for a while.
"While training her, I discovered that Junsei had made an agreement with the spirit detectives to work with them to find Kitkit, who Kashi then revealed to me was her mother. This was indeed a surprising turn of events, but I realized that I could use this information to my advantage and help Junsei from afar. Without some other form of outside help, from what Kashi told me of her mother I knew she would not consent to removing the curse. So I planned things in stages.
"The first stage would be to build a strong trust with the boys. Junsei, you never had many friends. But friendship is a very important aspect of life. You need to learn to support others and to allow others to support you. So I met with the leader of the Ten, Zankoku, and also Yami and Cala. I requested that I wanted you killed, which they agreed to do by luring the spirit detectives to come fight them. Of course, I never planned for you to be too badly hurt. So I had Kashi step in. More than once, actually, but you never knew of that. Junsei, throughout these battles with the members of the Ten, you became stronger and created strong bonds with the spirit detectives. You did splendidly, despite the setbacks of the curse, and completed this stage as I expected.
"During that time, I was already setting the second stage. I had Kashi meet with her mother numerous times to negotiate the business of removing the curse. Then Kitkit requested I meet her in person, and give her my full plan. I did. I had a much simpler task in mind for you to complete, but Kitkit wouldn't hear of it. She was absolutely adamant that we use her idea. Since everything was set, all you now had to do was find Kitkit and complete her test. I had Kashi befriend you and act as your guide to lead you to her. Why don't you explain yourself, Kashi?"
Kashi nodded and stepped up to speak where everyone could get a clear view of her. "I followed sensei's orders and went to befriend you. I knew you'd have a task to complete once you reached the top, but I had no idea what it would incorporate. When I blocked Yusuke and Kuwabara from entering the fight, I was acting solely on my own instincts. And eventually I realized that Catalyn would need a little motivation if she wanted to pass the test. I think Yusuke and Kuwabara must have realized it too, because if they had truly used their resources against me, they could have won. Am I right in saying this?"
Yusuke nodded smugly. "Damn right," he said.
Kuwabara just looked dumbfounded, but he said, "Sure thing," in a confused voice.
Kashi continued, "So to finish them, I used an attack that would be strong enough to knock them out for a short while, but that was also easily treatable. During the time they were unconscious, with sensei's help we fixed their injuries. He left before they woke up, leaving me to explain what I'd done. However, I had no idea my mother wasn't going to be faking." She shot her mother a nasty look and received a grin in reply. "I never thought she'd try to kill Hiei and Kurama and then leave Catalyn to save them with the little power she had left. As soon as I found out, I ran out to help her, only to find that she'd accomplished it on her own, though at a great cost of energy."
Catalyn's sensei took over again. "After that, I healed your friends of their remaining injuries without them knowing. And then, while you were still asleep, Kitkit removed the curse, as promised. So all's well that ends well."
No, Catalyn thought. Not just yet. She had a question to ask. "Kitkit, why didn't you make me human again?"
Kashi and Kitkit didn't look at her, but her sensei met her eyes directly. "Catalyn, you have a choice to make."
What now? Catalyn thought, but she remained silent and let her sensei talk.
"You must choose – between Junsei and Catalyn. Between human and demon."
"Well, isn't that obvious?" she said. "I want to be human again. You know that. I want everything to go back to normal again."
Her sensei nodded in understanding. "But if you go back to normal, you'll lose more than you think," he said.
Catalyn stared at him. "I don't understand, sensei."
He explained, "If you lose all of your demonic appearances and powers, you will lose most of your fine-tuned senses. Your calculating abilities and your fighting skills will also see definite drops."
She saw no problem with that. "I'll just train harder to get them better again, that's all," she said.
But her sensei shook his head. "If you go back to being human, you will never see these people again. You'll lose the friendships you've gained. So think about it for a while before you make your choice."
The second-to-last sentence struck something deep inside her. Did she really want everything to go back to the way they used to be? Did she want to lose her new friendships, not to mention her bond with Kurama? Sure, she wanted to return to the martial arts school and be respected by the boys again. She wanted to see her parents again, too, more than anything else. She knew her sensei knew it too, but he also knew how strongly she valued her new friendships. The new friendships he helped her gain. She couldn't just throw them away after all he'd done for her.
After a long, quiet debate, Catalyn had made up her mind. "I'll stay," she said finally, in a regretful voice. "Just as a cat demon, though."
"Not to worry," Kitkit said. "The fire powers are gone along with the curse. "
"Good choice," Kashi said with a grin. "You're the opposite of me."
But Catalyn was still sad about her choice. Still, she thanked Kitkit and Kashi for their help, and then left with the spirit detectives and her sensei to go back to the Spirit World.
-The next day, in Spirit World-
Catalyn's sensei stayed in Spirit World for a while, to talk with Koenma and to straighten things out for good. She just stayed quietly put in her room.
There was a knock on her door, and Kurama stepped in. Catalyn admittedly wasn't all that happy to see him. To begin with, she'd been expecting her sensei, and not only that, but Kurama had been to visit her a few times already but she was never in the mood to talk.
He sat next to her on her bed. "Catalyn," he began, "I don't mean to be pushy, but…"
"I'm okay," she told him tonelessly. "I just need some time."
"I'm sorry for the way things turned out," he said.
She turned to stare at him. "What do you have to be sorry for?"
He sighed. "I remember talking with you before we left to find Kitkit. You were so excited then. You couldn't wait to be human again. And now…"
Catalyn sighed, too, and looked away. "I didn't want to lose you," she said in a soft, shaky voice. "It means too much to me now. I don't want to lose you as a friend. I mean, sure, I really want to be normal and to be able to be with my parents again, but I – I just couldn't…I couldn't bring myself to do it."
Kurama pulled her into his embrace. "I understand," he said slowly. "And still, for some reason I was hoping you would choose this, even though I wanted you to be happy. And that's why… That's why I'm sorry."
"It's okay," Catalyn said, hugging him back. For some reason, she felt better knowing this. "You don't have to be. It's what I wanted too. I just need time to get used to the idea, that's all." She pulled away and wiped a tear out of her eye, managing a small smile. "Thanks for being here."
"You're welcome," he replied. He stood up. "Would you like me to bring you some tea?"
"That'd be great," she said, and he smiled and left the room.
Shortly after he left, her sensei entered the room to find her once again staring at the floor.
"Koenma's given you permission, you know," he said.
"That's nice," she replied dully. Then she looked up at him pleadingly. "Will you come with me? Am I doing the right thing?"
He smiled and hugged her tightly. "The answer to both questions," he said, "is yes."
-The next day, in Ningenkai-
Mrs Muzai looked wistfully out the window, having just put down the phone. She was able to fight back her tears, but her breaths came in shuddering sighs. Mr Muzai walked into the room and immediately noted his wife's tension. He asked, and she explained. His reaction was a mirrored image of hers.
"So that's it, then?" he said, though it really didn't sound like a question. "She's no longer there."
"I'm so worried about her," Mrs Muzai said in a trembling voice. "Why hasn't she come home yet?"
There was a knock on the door. Mr Muzai went to answer it. His eyes opened wide. "Come here, honey," he said hoarsely, his voice suddenly gone. She came. They looked upon the person at the door.
It was a girl of fifteen, with brown cat ears and a tail sticking out from the rear. Her eyes were yellow, but her amber hair was the same that it had always been. The face was weary-looking, uncertain and unrecognizable, yet they knew her immediately.
The girl spoke, but her voice was shaky, as if she was about to cry but was struggling desperately not to. "Mom…Dad…it's me…"
And then the tears came out, but at the same time, her parents burst into tears as well. "Junsei!" they exclaimed, and without another moment's hesitation, they flung themselves into each other's arms, weeping with joy.
The old man standing on the sidewalk in front of the house smiled with satisfaction. They had not forgotten her, and they had not shunned her for who she'd become. They still loved her, and always would love her, for who she was: their beloved daughter.
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EPILOGUE
Catalyn left her parents' home after a week. During her stay, she told them everything. The week was spent in bonding time, doing fun things together. But afterwards, she was obliged to return to Spirit World. Her parents developed a great respect for her sensei, who moved back into his little log cabin near Yusuke's hometown. He occasionally visited Catalyn in Spirit World and also kept in touch with her parents, acting as a mediator between them since she couldn't leave Spirit World very often. When she did visit Ningenkai, she had to be extremely careful to hide her ears and tail, but whenever she was with her parents, she was known by her original name: Junsei Muzai. Catalyn began to work under Koenma's employ and helped Kurama and the rest of the gang with their missions. Everything had worked out for her. She still had her parents, plus the new amazing friends she'd made. There was never a dull moment with the gang, and even though Hiei still seemed to hate her and she sometimes hated him too, she respected him. She still had to give Kuwabara the occasional slap for being stupid and had to put up with Yusuke's sarcasm. But she also started spending much more time with Kurama, and the two's bond only strengthened from there. Her powers changed greatly when she finally realized her true potential. She was able to heal her friends' injuries if they were hurt in the middle of a battle, and she still kicked butt! Now, she was truly happy.
THE END
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And we are done! So Vitanie Tora, here's my final point: I didn't want to do a huge thing with Kurama and Catalyn, as interesting as that would be. I don't like massive drastic changes, you see, I like to build on things. So I figured Catalyn and Kurama should have the time to build a close relationship. I hope you understand my reasoning.
Okay, now it's really done! It's hard to believe that my series is actually over already...it seems like it went by so fast, even though it really didn't. Thanks again to all my reviewers: those that got this story going, and those that pushed me to the end! I am forever greatful.
Now, I have one final thing to say. I do have a sort of sequel series planned, one that I've had the idea for for an extremely long time (two years, to be precise), and if you're interested and let me know, I would like to put it up on fanfiction. Here, I'll tell you a little bit about it: In this series, Catalyn is no longer the main character, but she is present, since now she works with the spirit detectives and joins them in their adventures. This new main character is really different in a sense, because she has no spiritual powers whatsoever and somehow gets herself caught up in the spirit detectives' adventures. Plus there's a really interesting twist... But I can't say. Anyways, please let me know if you want me to put the sequel up! Thanks again for everything!