A/N: Allright, I'm sorry but I'm revoking that choice. I'm going to turn this into a qaurtet, so instead of the whole choice thing, I'll just do a few alternate endings, but pretty much, this'll be the last chapter of Trickster, in the Coyote series.
Farewell
Kyo watched as the paremedics loaded his shaking, dying body into the ambulance, a nurse working on staunching the blood flow... He would die of blood loss and ruptured organs.
"I need an ER cleared, stat, and surgery prep ready when we get there!" A man shouted into one of the phones. Kyo watched as Hatori held down the shoulder of Miku, who was bleeding in one shoulder as Akito explained what had happened.
"She was practising shooting, for self defense, Kyo was coming back from a walk and..." His voice trailed off for a moment, black specking Kyo's vision. "She dropped the gun and shot herself in the leg from the impact..."
Miku was gasping, ringing out curses into oblivion as Hatori pressed a hand to her head. Kyo's eyes widened.
"Ha-Hatori... what?" Miku gasped out, her body spasming with pain, a paramedic handing him a bandage and calling for a second ambulance.
"I'm sorry, Miku... But Hatori ordered it..."
"I... Tell Kyo... I love him..." And her eyes closed, she watched as all of her memories flashed before her eyes.
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Kyo... I... I'm..." I started, feeling the wolfish sobs break through. I let out a light whimper/howl of my own emotional agony as I forced it out. "I'm so sorry... And if you... if you... hate me... I'll... I'll understand..." He scoffed, and I looked away, not quite noticing as I poofed back to human, my clothes gone. I blushed, but faced him.
"Idiot." he growled, turning to face me. He smiled slowly, a heartbroken, gutwrenching smile. "How the hell could I ever hate you?!"
I felt my heartbeat increase as he leaned forward, terrified, as if he would hit me...
And our lips met. He kiss me lightly, testing to see if it was allright, and ignoring my state, I kissed him back. He quickly pulled back, blushing and turning away. I blinked, then narrowed my eyes.
"Perevert!" I growled, wacking him on the back of the head. He just handed me a white yukata that was hanging nearby and I tied it around me.
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"I... Miku..." Momiji murmured. I turned around to glare at them all. Ayame was rigid, his body frozen as a tear streamed down his cheek. Kyo was standing in the center of the room, rage in his eyes. He glared at me, harshly, evilly, like the monster I was, before running out of the room, slamming the door behind him. Tohru flinched.
"Kyo!!" She cried, turning to run after him.
"Leave him, Tohru." Hatori said coldly. He rubbed his temples sighing, as he watched my pained, calculating gaze. He shook his head sadly, walking out of the room. Shigure's head was bowed, his eyes clouded in pity. Hatsuharu had averted his eyes, his body stiff, his eyes judging. Yuki stood up, watching me.
"Now, you wanna open your damned mouth again, Rat?!" I snapped, stepping forward. Then, it hit me. A burning rage that rippled through my body. I lunged at him, all instinct raging. He dodged, instinctively sending a kick, and I saw the hate in his eyes. I let out a feirce growl, falling through one of the paper walls. Tohru screamed, but Haru held her back.
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"I will request that none of you touch her without her spoken permission." Hatori said coldly. I felt him kneel down, and his hand brush the hair out of my face.
"Miku-chan... I'm so sorry..." He whispered.
"Why?" Yuki asked calmly, looking up from his breakfast.
"None of your damned buisiness, Rat!" Kyo hissed, getting to his feet.
"Calm down Kyo, I was simply worried about her sudden change of attitude. Since you seemed unwilling to ask."
"Don't you even dare." I growled, opening my eyes so that they were going yellow from my rage. I was starting to transform. I stood up, cracking my knuckles.
"Well... you seem to be feeling better." Hatori commented dryly, trying to distract me.
"Incase you forgot, Akito is dying, which means I'm feeling better than ever physically."
"What the hell does that have to do with your health?!" Kyo raged, turning to me. I froze, my eyes going wide. Of course... I had never told Kyo... I had never told him my curse... what seperated me...
"I... I guess it's time to tell you all the extent of my curse..." I said coldly, turning my back to them.
"Miku-san... you know better." Hatori said sharply. His voice stung when he used the formal prefix.
"Hatori, when have I ever cared about any of your guys' opinions?" I hissed. I nearly flinched myself at the cold sting of my words and voice. I could feel Kyo's heart break. I could feel Yuki's confusion. I could smell Hatori's hurt, and anger. I could smell and feel all of their pain, confusion and anger.
"That was uncalled for, Miku." Haru, who had walked in sometime ago, growled.
"Shut up, you damned unintelligent cow." I growled. I felt him flinch. "My name is Miku Sohma; holder of the coyote of the zodiac. The demon, the monster, the trickster."
"Looks like it picked right." I heard Yuki growl.
"Shut your damned trap, you fucking rat!" Kyo growled. "I don't care how she's acting, it wasn't her fault that Akito did this to her?!"
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Poke.
Poke.
"Gwo ammay..." I grumbled out, snuggling closer to the warm object on my other side. Something prodded me in the shoulder again, and I swatted blindly above me, until it connected with something solid.
"Owie!" Came the high-pitched whining voice. I groaned, pulling the covers over my head. The person proceeded to poke me through the covers.
"C'mon, Mii-chan! Tohru-chan made breakfast!" Momiji whined, now shaking my shoulder lightly. I slowly opened my eyes, appriciating the dreamy daze that I was in. Suddenly, though, reality came crashing down.
Momiji was close.
Too close.
"G-Go away..." I murmured. Momiji cocked his head, his eyes looking confused and acting as if in denial.
"Go away!" I repeated, more firm, scootching closer to Kyo. Said boy opened his eyes sleepily at my outburst. A very warm, and slightly frightening smile graced his features, but I didn't really care. He sat up, though, noticing that I was trembling, and wrapped his arms around my waist.
"Kyo-chan, did you have a sleepover with Mii-chan?" I frantically shook my head. I now felt confident and most importantly, safe, in Kyo's arms.
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And I felt Kyo aproach me from behind, like a fire in my blood, as he came up to shut the window, pulling me back inside. He nuzzled his nose against mine, making me squirm and giggle. He smiled, and sat down on the bed. I layed down, curling up in the blankets, as Kyo layed down beside me, gripping my hand in his.
I didn't want to be alone, and he understood.
"What I said earlier..." I murmured through the rain and thunder and lightning. "About Akito... Before I came here..."
"Hatori had said you had an asthma attack... he didn't say why."
"I did. The night before tonight... Akito called me into his chambers... He... he..." I broke into fresh sobs, and looked hesitantly into the eyes of Kyo. They were narrowed to a point above my head, fire burning in the glare.
"Please don't hate me..." I whispered, but before he could reply, I had passed out.
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"Still promise?" I asked softly, looking at Kyo. He watched me in concern, nodding, as I got to my feet. I went to the window overlooking the lake, looking out at the mountains that met up with the sky that cracked with thunder and lightening, as if the mountain tops were breaking into the heavens. She flinched when a bolt of lightening shocked across the lake, splitting it and charging it with electricity before fading.
I could feel Kyo watching me, the tears silently streaming down my cheeks as he stepped up behind me. I visibly flinched when his hand grazed my hip, and he pulled back.
"I want someone to hold me, Kyo... I want a hero... But after what Akito..." I broke into sobs, my face in my hands as I cried. And quickly, Kyo wrapped his arms around my waist, holding me tight against him as he rested his chin on my shoulder, holding me tightly.
"I don't know what that bastard did... But Miku, let me... And I'll be your hero." I smiled tenderly, wrapping my hands over his strong arms, and using one hand to wipe away my tears, as if ashamed of them. Kyo lifted on of his hands to guide mine back down.
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"No you won't sedate me, or take me back. You try and I'll kill myself." Hatori sighed. He knew I was good at planning suicide. When I was five I had made fifty bucks for teaching a teenager twenty ways to commit it without leaving a trace, they never saw her again. Only Hatori, Ayame, and Shigure know about this little incident. As Kyo was leading me and Hatori to a guest room he started asking questions.
"Okay, Hatori whats going on? Why does Akito need her, what animal is she and why the bloody hell is she talking about killing herself?!" Hatori siged. This would be complicated.
"My zodiac is the coyote. Hence the name Ookami. Akito-sama is afraid my animals vengeful spirit will take over and fullfill its goal. Thats why I was never aloud to talk to Yuki-kun or be alone with Akito-sama. What's going on is I ran from the mainhouse, risking my life to leave and I want to kill myself, if it hadn't been for Hatori I would have suceeded years ago." I broke into a violent coughing fit and collapsed on the ground.
"Hatori-san? Miku-chan? What's wrong with her?" Questioned a very curious Kyo, who was deathly worried about his best friend since eternity.
"Thats enough questions. Her condition is getting worse than Akito-sama's. If it was my choice she'd be in a drug induced coma for a few months by now. Anyways, curiosity killed the cat, kyo." Hatori growled the last part and hoisted me up in his arms. I instinctively cuddled to his chest and nuzzled the substitute rabbit fur lining his coat. He would have laughed at my behavior if it wasn't for my health condition.
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"Why? Why can't she leave Akito-sama? What did she do to deserve all these years locked up with him, let alone, have you been feeding her properly? She's tiny!" Exclaimed Kyo. I smiled up at him and then broke into a coughing fit yet again.
"She can't leave Akito-sama's watch. He doesn't need another reason, and yes we've been feeding her. She just has a small apetite and is VERY sick I might add." He directed the last comment towards me. I glared and flashed Ayame a pleading look he sighed.
"You know you have to go back. I don't want to risk it. Not again." My breathing hastened along with my heartbeat when he brought up the painful memory. I went to clutch at my side but Hatori swatted my hand away.
"I won't let you re-open that wound. Kyo, would you show me a guest room please. I need to examine her thoroughly." Ayame perked up and I blushed. "No, you can't come Ayame-chan."
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"WHO THE BLOODY HELL ARE YOU?!" He shouted. Causing a slightly worried Ayame and Yuki rush to the doorway. A heavily confused Kyo stood in the center of the small, and surprisingly clean, kitchen. I frowned and did puppy eyes. thoroughly scaring the shit out of him.
"Oh. Your mean, Neko-chan! Don't tell me you don't remember..." I whined. He looked even more confused as I aproached him. I leaned against him causing him to freak out. "Don't worry. You won't transform." I cooed, causing Ayame to giggle at my actions and Yuki to slap him.
"Who the bloody hell are you?!" He shouted, his voice slightly frantic. I frowned and forced a tear down my face. Just one, but still enough to make him pity me. Man, Im ruthless at times.
"Your just cruel. That settles it. The engagements OFF!" I shreiked. Causing him to become completely out of his wits. Ayame just grinned like a bafoon.To bad Shigure had to come and save Kyos sorry ass.
"Relax, Kyo. You where never engaged. Ookami-chan just likes to play with peoples heads." He said. Pulling me off of him.
"Who is she and why didn't I-" He began, but aparently, I'm in an interrupting mood today.
"Transform? I presume thats what you where about to say, correct, no?" I questioned, using complicated forms of speach I knew he wouldn't understand. I knew him too well.
"Why did he call you a coyote? And who are you?" He asked again. I sighed and gestured for us all to take a seat at the small table. Tohru joined us.
"My name is Miku Sohma. I know more about the zodiac then I would like, and think: 'Akito and several years in dark rooms sneaking chats with Ayame'; if you want my personality. Ookami is my pet name from Shi-shi-hime." I had called him my lover to freak out the teenagers and tease Ayame.
"You mean your cheating on me?" Pouted Ayame. Shigure slinked a sneaky arm around my waist. I just giggled and went along with the act. Then I received more questions.
"Which animal are you?"
"shi-shi?"
"Why can you hug us?"
"What the heck is going on here?"
I answered them all in one breathe. "I would prefer to keep my animal a secret, Kyo-kun might figure it out though, Honda-san. Shi-Shi is my pet name for Shigure-chan here, Kyo-kun. I can hug you because I'm part of the zodiac, Yuki-kun. And I'm not quite sure what's going on, but I doubt you'll tell Akito-sama, Kyo-kun." Yuki flinched when I said his name. My hand had instinctively reahed for my left side but Shigure's arm had stopped me.
"I know which animal you are." Said Kyo. Finally! He figured it out. "You're my old friend from the legend." Tohru and Yuki turned to him curiously. I smirked then Shigure spoke.
"No. Don't do it Miku-chan. I know what your thinking." Shigure stated sternly. I just flashed him a cheesy smile and dived at Kyo. I sat indian style on his chest. He just smirked and rolled over, making me fall off. I pouted and made my way to stand up but I got quickly engulfed in a wrestling match with Kyo. After several minutes of friendly insults, stares, and wrestling, a strong pair of hands pulled me up and said in a brotherly tone.
"Just what are you doing?" Questioned a nearly furious Hatori.
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Kyo sat under the slide in the Sohma Park Playground. He grinned at Miku, who was laying with her head sticking out in the rain, trying to catch drops.
"One... Two... Three... Shoot! One... Two..."
"Three... Four... Five..." Kyo started counting for her as he joined her, head beside hers. They continued to count and restart for well over a half-hour, stuck on the playground as they skipped school. Kyo grinned, holding water in his cheek, before spitting it all over her. She squealed in surprise before she started chasing him.
"KYO-CHAN!!"
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"C'mere, Mii-chan...!" Kyo called, he was sitting under a tree, traces of fear in his eyes. A smaller me smiled brightly and using my crutches (I had 'broken' my leg the other day after a 'visit' to Akito-samma) to wobble over to him.
"You know how everybody hates you and me, and our animals in the zodiac...?" He whispered.
"Yeah, Kyo-kun... Are you finally gonna show me your true form?" He nodded slowly.
"Close your eyes, Mii-chan." I nodded, smiling, and did as told. "No peaking." I pouted, but closed my eyes. I felt his bracelet slip around my wrist.
"I want you to always keep this, Mii-chan." I nodded. "Now open your eyes, please don't be afraid." I opened my eyes and smiled, hugging him.
"I could never be scared of you Kyo-kun."
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A six-year-old little girl, Miku -as she now demanded since her mothers death, was out in the woods, wandering around as she cried. It was the anniversary of her mothers death and Akito wouldn't let her go to the shrine. He had said: 'you don't need to visit that bitches grave just because it's the anniversary of when she left you'.
Ever since that night, Akito had no longer talked to her... Not even after those times he had said he loved her...
They were all lies.
Suddenly, it started to rain, and the thunder came down, and Miku couldn't hold back a scream, as memories of her mother overwhelmed her till she transformed. Just then, a five-year-old Kyo ran through the woods, until he saw her.
Kyo gathered the shivering puppy into his arms, and cradled her close as he stumbled back to the house he was staying in with Kazuma-sensei. He grabbed a towel and cleaned her off, only to find Miku crying and whimpering. He hugged her close.
"Miku-chan...? Why are you sad...?" Kyo asked softly.
"Because the storm... "She whimpered when another thunder clapped, "scares me, Kyo-kun..."
"Why? It's just sound and rain."
"Because my momma left me when it was raining... she never came home... she left me..."
"Then I'll hold you every storm, and I'll never leave you... I promise, Miku-chan."
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Five year old Kyo Sohma dashed around the trees in the large forest-like garden in the Sohma Main Estate. He laughed, as a silver blur tackled him down. The two children rolled around in the grass, wrestling and laughing.
"I found you!!" She squealed. He rolled his eyes.
"So! I wanted you too!" He argued playfully, flipping her onto her back. As he pinned her down, they silently looked into eachothers eyes before he collapsed beside her, grinning like a fool.
She so wants me, he thought.
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five year old Kyo sat on the bench outside Miku's house. She sat beside him, swinging her legs as she watched one of the neighborhood dogs playing with a chew toy.
"Kyo...?" Miku asked, turning around. But Kyo had been leaning towards her to surprise her, and when she turned, their lips met. Kyo flushed, but Miku pulled back, licking her lips in a confused fashion.
"Woops... Sorry Kyokun... Hmm... I saw Hatori doing that once!" She mused. Kyo nodded, still blushing. "You taste good."
"Uh-huh..." And a blushing Kyo grinned. "Wanna try it again?"
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A three year old Miku wandered down the streets, eyes wide and frantic. She clung harder onto Kyo's arm. The first time the two had been let out of the Main House, and they had gotten seperated from Hatori, Ayame, Shigure, Kagura and Kazume. She muffled a cry in his shoulder, and he hugged her from the side.
"Don't cry!" He scolded.
"Why?" She whimpered. "I wanna."
"Because, I'll rescue us!"
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And then they all faded away, being suppressed, locked away in the back of her mind where she might never find them again. Her breathing slowed, as the paramedics loaded her into the second ambulance.
Akito watched with an angry expression as the two ambulances sped away, Hatori still with Miku.
"Hmmm... now who's gonna rescue the damsel in distress, Miku-chan?" He whispered harshly, before turning around. Momiji stood there with a terrified look, a furious, black Hatsuharu beside him, a confused Shigure, a frightened and worried Ayame, a very angry and sore Yuki and a very frantic Tohru.
"What happened...?" Momiji whispered, his eyes watering with tears. Akito smiled, crouching down to Momiji's level. Haru tightened his grip on the boy.
"The little puppy made a mistake, and her and her kitty got hurt." Akito said sweetly. Momiji nodded, tears flowing down his cheeks as he turned and burried his head in Haru's stomach. Yuki placed a comforting hand on Tohru's shoulder, and Shigure and Ayame rushed to the car.
Akito just watched his animals, his precious, darling animals.
Hopefully none of them would make the same mistake.
"In order for us human beings to commit ourselves personally to the inhumanity of war, we find it necessary first to dehumanize our opponents, which is in itself a violation of the beliefs of all religions. Once we characterize our adversaries as beyond the scope of God's mercy and grace, their lives lose all value. We deny personal responsibility when we plant landmines and, days or years later, a stranger to us — often a child – is crippled or killed. From a great distance, we launch bombs or missiles with almost total impunity, and never want to know the number or identity of the victims."
Jimmy Carter, Dec. 10, 2002
"You can't say civilization don't advance... every war they kill you a new way."
Will Rogers, Dec. 23 1929
"For one human being to love another, that is perhaps the most difficult of our tasks; the ultimate, the last test and proof; the work for which all other work is but preperation."
Rainer Maria Rilke
"Whoever said 'all is fair in love and war' has never been in either. Both are hell, both kill, and both require sacrifice. We just choose the 'lesser of two evils'."
Lillian Durvie, in Survive: The Damned
