A/N: I hope to make this story at least five or less chapters long, and it's amazing that I'm trying to set a limit for myself. Ha.
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"Stop trying to touch me, Neko-bozu!"
"Stupid Cat, stop trying to kill Chiyo."
"She started this mess!"
"Toohruuu!"
"Stop trying to kill Momiji-kun as well, please?"
"I'll touch you if you don't shut up, you damn Rat."
The group sat at the table, Yuki was drinking his tea shakily as Kyo was glaring daggers at Chiyo. The former dead girl was ignoring Kyo as she was taking part in Tohru's leftovers from dinner yesterday. Her stomach felt like a bottomless pit and she felt that she hadn't eaten for a century – which was practically true. Momiji just watched with fascination and Haru looked untroubled by all of this, sipping his tea as if this was a normal day; the initial shock of Kyo's death had worn off.
Tohru was dizzy with this new change in the lives of the Sohma family. Whatever that woman did, she meant to kill her but instead used the fact that Kyo and Chiyo tried to help her and switched their curses. Kyo was now Death; with his beaded bracelet now acting as the container of his soul, and Chiyo was alive! She was alive but now possessed with the vengeful cat spirit. They had witnessed her first transformation when Tohru needed to visit the supermarket to get some food. The woman had accidentally tripped and fell behind a man and poofed into a black cat with green eyes. Tohru had to hurry and pretend that it was her bumping into the man, quickly kicking Chiyo's clothes behind her while babbling on that her 'pet cat' jumped out of her arms. The cat had hissed when Kyo stepped up to her, stunned by seeing the curse on someone other than him. It was a good thing that they were alone when the cat on Tohru's shoulders changed back into Chiyo – smoke covering all the right parts.
Yuki, possessed by Katsu at that moment, caught Haru (in his black mode) grinning at the sight and began to attack him with one of the grocery sacks. It took all of Tohru's energy not to giggle.
Now there they sat, while Yuki was explaining everything to Shigure while he sat there looking more than interested. He would dart glances back at both Chiyo and Kyo as Yuki kept talking.
"Days go by and there's never a normal moment." Shigure commented while Chiyo was trying to sit away from Kyo as far as she could manage; the cat spirit within her riled up at the sense of Death right next to her. Kyo tried his hardest to keep himself from ripping off his gloves and giving her a handshake. An ability such as a touch of death was something that Kyo shouldn't have.
Kyo grunted. He should have known something this weird would happen.
Chiyo sighed, something that made her blink in realisation. She was breathing again! The girl tried not to breathe fast just to enjoy the feeling.
Kyo glared as the girl next to him discovered breathing, looking down at his own unmoving chest. Is this what it's like to not need any oxygen to keep you alive? It was eerily calm. He glanced at the food in front of him; not having a need to eat it was also something that annoyed him.
Chiyo grinned inwardly as she took a sip of miso soup, it was too delicious! It made her feel warm inside, unlike before when she wouldn't feel a thing. Suddenly she shot up in attention, "Excuse me!" She said before exiting the room to use the bathroom.
This was agitating. Hell, he'd rather have his curse switched with the damn Rat if it meant going back to normal again. He could probably handle a voice inside of his head better than what he was going though now.
"That's it." Kyo grumbled to himself, getting up and going outside. He stopped once he shut the door and looked outside. It was raining. Yes, winter rain, hooray. Wait… he didn't feel a thing. Now there was a slight upside. Usually the rain would make him feel like shit, and cold for an added measure. He walked out from under the security of the veranda to come in contact with drops of water. It was something almost surreal, being affected by the rain for your whole life and suddenly it was about as harmless as…
He shook his head, water falling from his wet hair and he looked up. Something as trivial as the rain made him feel a bit better.
"Kyo-kun!" Tohru watched as Kyo became soaked by the rain, a warm smile on her face. "I never had seen you in the rain before without an umbrella." She said, motioning to the one she was holding. The girl had hurried outside to give it to him if he decided to go anywhere, but now as she was seeing such a unique sight, she figured that it was unneeded.
Kyo only nodded, letting himself smile a little. "Kinda strange, isn't it?" He asked her.
Tohru didn't answer, the warm smile staying on her face. She placed the umbrella down and ran over to him, wrapping her arms around him in a hug. She didn't care if she got herself wet as well.
Kyo was surprised at her sudden action. The feeling was completely amazing, having to be hugged (by someone other than Kagura) without changing. Kyo's eyes were wide as Tohru just stood there, keeping herself close to him as she silently cried. Too emotional, he thought with a smile, while wrapping his arms around her and hugged her back. "Let's get you inside before you catch a cold." He said while taking her hand and walking her back into the house. Maybe this change wasn't so bad after all.
The thoughts were almost completely different for another as Chiyo sneezed, sitting on the roof above Tohru's room and shivering. The cat within her was becoming bitchy as she insisted to sit in the rain. The rain, something that she used to love to sit though has now become her worst elemental enemy. That and for the first time in her life, she felt cold. This was bad! She hated it. Her lounging spot was ruined now, since she always laid on the rooftop at night, enjoying the sky above her. Chiyo shook her head, the raindrops running from her black locks and sticking themselves to her clothes as she gave up and climbed back into Tohru's window – only to be confronted by a stern looking Yuki who was holding a couple of towels.
"Someone told me you'd try doing that." Yuki said while watching the drenched woman with her arms wrapped tight around her shivering person. He sighed and started to pat her dry with the towel. "At least you can be touched without accidentally killing someone now." He mused.
"I'm—fre-fre-freezing." She answered as the other towel was wrapped around her. "St-st-stupid-body." She continued.
"You're going to catch your first cold in a long time," He told her. "It wasn't bright of you to actually go outside and test this new change."
"Shut it, Katsu." She murmured.
"Now how did you know it was me talking?" He smirked while drying her hair.
"You like to mock me." She replied, "Nezumi-san is more modest."
"Yuki thanks you for the complement." Yuki, or should I say Katsu, replied.
Chiyo felt a little warmer and followed Katsu's instructions to change into dry clothes and crawl into Tohru's bed. The warmth of the comforters engulfed her and it felt better than anything she could imagine. She looked up as Yuki stared down at her; she wanted to say something but the warmth was too comforting. She wanted to move and try to tell Yuki something; something…that she just forgot about. The bed was too warm to remember anything right about now. She let it pass, whatever it was could come back into her mind tomorrow if it was important enough. Before she drifted to sleep, she could feel a hand caressing her cheek; the first real touch she received since before she died.
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Morning came and Tohru woke up to a pair of arms wrapped around her waist. She panicked and shot up to see Chiyo trying to pull Tohru closer into a cuddle. Tohru giggled after a while, it was odd to see the former Death need someone close to her. Of all the days she known Chiyo, she was only close to Yuki, and that much was a hand hold when Katsu would be in control, and that would only last for a short moment.
Tohru silently got out of the bed and changed into her school uniform, watching the girl tangle herself in the sheets. Chiyo then began to cough, and Tohru went over to check her forehead. Yuki came down into the sitting room last night to tell her and Shigure that he found her sitting on the roof, possibly thinking that she wouldn't feel the affects of the weather. Tohru removed her hand and went to tuck Chiyo into the bed; she was running a slight fever and had probably caught a cold.
With tea in mind, Tohru nodded to herself and went downstairs to the kitchen. There, she could hear an argument.
"What do you mean; you're banning me from going to school now?" Kyo shouted.
"I mean that with your sudden condition," Yuki pointed at Kyo's covered hands, "that you shouldn't be going to school right now."
"Why don't you just come out and say it, Rat – or is it the other one that's talking to me right now?" Kyo glared.
"What's wrong?" Tohru decided to break up the argument before it started to get worse.
Kyo turned to her and pointed at Yuki, "He wants me to stay home until I get back to 'normal'." He ranted.
"We don't want him accidentally killing anyone!" Yuki countered. "He also needs to stay and keep an eye on Chiyo now that she—"
"Since when is she Chiyo now?" Kyo interrupted. "I think that one in your head is getting far too comfortable in there."
Yuki stopped; he hadn't been using any honorifics since yesterday. Katsu used it normally towards her so he'd become used to it. He blushed and looked away, "It sounds normal to me…"
"Yuki-kun's been acting different since the accident." Tohru mumbled to herself. Which was a little true, noting about Yuki's growing attachment towards Chiyo. Yuki even went back to watch her sleep after he informed them about how she had discovered how alive she was.
"If you're so worried about her then you stay home. I can take care of myself." Kyo growled.
"You two have to stay together!" Katsu took over Yuki at the moment, "I know this demon that did this to you two and you will be in danger as well as Chiyo now. Shigure-san will be home and he said he'd keep an eye out, but the rest of the protecting has to come from you. You have her powers now, and you won't be any help if you're over at school."
Kyo thought for a moment, "What sort of powers?"
"Stupid Cat," Yuki muttered under his breath before thinking, "You will be able to cast a few ancient spells, but you will have to ask her for the right incantations in Latin. That and you have control over the scythe …even though I bet that demon bitch took it." He raised an eyebrow when Tohru took a sharp intake of breath at Yuki's sudden blunt language. "What?"
"You—oh…Katsu-san, sorry." She blushed a little.
"Ah! Excuse me, Honda-kun." Yuki finally got back in control and hung his head in embarrassment. Kyo just snorted with a smirk; it was amusing to see Yuki this way.
"Maybe you should stay home as well, Yuki-kun." Tohru suggested, it wasn't good to let Yuki go around school when he's someone else most of the time. It'd be bad for him, and worse for those who had to work with him.
"Honda-kun, I thank you for your concern but I have a meeting to go to today." Yuki bowed, "I have to be there…unless I want to return to chaos…" He added with a dark tone.
"Ah—that's right, I forgot about them!" Tohru laughed nervously, the other members of the Student Body that worked with Yuki (Kakeru, Machi, Naohito and Kimi) were a peculiar bunch.
Yuki nodded with another foreboding look on his face, trying not to imagine what they'd do if he wasn't there. He'd just have to try and keep Katsu from making an appearance as long as he can, which was difficult. He began to feel like the other man's spirit began to accept Yuki's body and decided to make the best of the situation, rather than a week ago when Yuki had splitting headaches when Katsu had first appeared – he wouldn't stop being restless.
Yuki sighed and went to make some toast. "We better get going soon then, Honda-kun." He turned to glare at Kyo, "You stay here."
"I'm not going near that woman—"
"You won't have to, Kyo-kun!" Shigure walked in with a smile. "I will be taking care of the poor girl while she's lying there, weak and helpless like a newborn lamb! I shall treat her with the utmost care, just for her beloved Katsu-san!" He grinned, taking out a can of soup.
"Perhaps I should just call Hatori-san…" Yuki trailed off.
"Yuki-kun, you know better now. I highly doubt Haa-san would come over after what happened. He just recovered from the shock!" Shigure wagged a finger at Yuki, "That and we don't need him to know about our little guest."
Yuki gulped, "Oh…never mind then."
Shigure began making soup to the best of his abilities as Tohru and Yuki left with a fast breakfast consisting of buttered toast. Kyo decided to sit on the roof and the house became quiet.
For a while.
SMASH!
Chiyo fell from the doorway to Tohru's room and clung to the hallway walls, inching herself down the hall and soon crawling over to the stairs. She was dizzy and her head was clouded by the cold she had; but the mission on her mind still took priority and she couldn't take a day off just to 'get better'.
Shigure, hearing the breaking of some sort of ceramic object, ran up the stairs just in time to see the former Death trying to climb down them. "Chiyo-san! You shouldn't be up in your condition." He took her by the arm and helped her back up the stairs, "What would Katsu-san think?" He tisked in a mothering way.
"I can't stay here." Chiyo tried to wave him away, "I have to get Yuki…"
"He already went to school with Tohru-kun."
"He shouldn't—!" The woman yanked herself away from Shigure and stumbled back down where she wanted to go, "I have to get him—AH!" Her foot landed on a step wrong and she headed down the stairway, tumbling down until she landed at the foot of it. "…ow."
"Chiyo-san!" Shigure ran after her, "You could have killed yourself! You need to get back in bed!"
"I CAN'T!" She whined, "It's an emergency—"
"What is?" Kyo asked, walking in after he had heard the loud noises. He saw Chiyo sprawled out in a heap at the foot of the floor, glaring at him and trying to get back on her feet.
"It's…Yuki. I noticed something last night—but I couldn't tell him." Chiyo sneezed, covering her nose with her hand. "It has to do with Katsu, he is starting to settle into Yuki-kun's body."
Shigure helped her up, looking at the girl with concern, "Is it bad?"
"Very—a spirit that possesses the body too long gets used to it…and soon Yuki-kun and Katsu will be one person. If the spirit isn't strong enough, it will merge with the one it possesses."
An eerie silence was interrupted by a sneeze and then a poofing sound. The two men looked down to see a mound of clothes that a black cat was lying under, sneezing cat-like among the fabric.
"You're too weak to go out like this." Shigure sighed as he collected the sick kitty in his arms. "Kyo, go over there and tell Yuki to come home. I'm going to try to get this one to get better fast before she wants to go out and search for her lover's body again."
Kyo nodded and left the house. He had no idea what to think about the turn of events now. Hell, he didn't like Yuki one bit but then if something happened to him, Tohru would be affected emotionally. He wasn't about to let her worry.
Another thing he found nice about his new 'curse' was the ability to hide himself among the shadows, whatever the area was. He could just step into the shadow itself and use that to mask his appearance, making it easier to travel if he didn't want to run into anyone while he was going to the school. He smirked to himself, with that and when Tohru hugged him last night made him feel much more content about the accident. It almost made him grin inwardly to the fact that that woman was going though a hard time now that she was the Cat. His suspicion was confirmed; being dead was turning out to be better than being possessed by that damn Cat. He wasn't restrained by the curse anymore. Hell, he could probably walk up to Akito right now and smack him around a bit – something that he could do now that he wasn't bound to 'God' anymore. He wasn't the monster now! That would show him, Kyo thought with a snarl. If what he heard about the Banquet from Hatsuharu was true, then he really could hold one over Akito.
Kyo smirked, feeling more than a bit better after that.
God and Death were equals.
It was then a giggle fluttered into his ears, sending a shiver down his spine. The sound was familiar; such a giggle full of sugary poison was not made by anyone sane.
Kyo turned to where the giggle came from, his eyes trailing up a street light to see that demon woman from before sitting on it. She was smiling devilishly at him, her eyes full of malice while her expression was all too sweet to be innocent. It was astounding that one could pull off two different looks and make it seem sweetly evil. It made him uneasy.
"What do you want?" He demanded.
"Oh…just getting a look at the new Death…you seem more promising than that little witch." The woman, whom she called Devilyn, drawled with a voice that was like honey drenched with toxins.
Kyo glared, the way that she stared at him with interest was disturbing. He now had an idea why those two didn't care for the demon. "Go away. Whatever you want, the answer is 'no'."
"Aw..." The demon woman pouted playfully, reaching out her arm that held the scythe in her steel grip. "You sure you don't want to at least try it? It would be most fun for you." She watched as he ignored her and continued to where he was going. Red eyes went black; no one ignored her.
"If you won't go quietly then I think I may have to force your decision." Devilyn said while jumping down from the light and running towards him, but Kyo's reflexes were faster and he turned to see the scythe come down at him, reaching his arm out to grip the weapon with his hand. The move seemed right at the moment, until he saw the smirk on the demon woman's face as she let go of the weapon. She waved mockingly as his eyes widened. The weapon in his grip began to melt and cover his fist, the blackness shrinking back and expanding onto his arm, starting to cover it like a coat of sticky tar.
"WHAT THE—" Kyo tried to shake it away but the sticky blackness kept expanding, spreading to cover his entire body to the point where he couldn't move.
"Let us take you home shall we?" The demon smiled sweetly and pulled out a small dagger from her right boot, saying a few words in Latin and grinning as it expanded into a scythe. The real weapon used by Death. "I love this thing." She cooed to the object while twirling it and slamming the blade into the ground beside them. The ground began to crack open and Kyo watched in horror as a deadly red glow began to show itself from the opening. He started to shout and curse, his body refusing to move now that the black substance solidified itself.
Devilyn ignored him as she kicked the partial Kyo-statue into the crevice, smiling at the sound of his screams as he began to fall into her world; the underworld. "I love recruiting." She said cheerfully as she jumped into the opening after him.
The ground resealed itself afterwards.
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Ah…I'm torturing Kyo? I have no idea, but if I am, I apologize...well, not really. That and to the many Yuki lovers out there. Poor things. Stuff is gonna happen now that the curses have been switched (on both ends). I like to write chaos, and do excuse me if I write OOC, I doubt I am, but excuse me anyway. I have 1-14 of the manga and I've been re-reading them for this fic, mostly for the honorifics.
Well, enough babble on my part.