1Chapter 9

"WAKEY WAKEY IT'S MOGETA TIME!" the phone blared as it's alarm. Hiro opened an eye slowly, and reached into his pocket, pulling out the phone and shutting off the alarm. He looked over to the window, and from the crack of sky he could see, he could tell it was just starting to turn gray. He turned back to Kisa, and shook her lightly. "Hey, wake up..."

Kisa slowly opened her eyes and yawned cutely, looking up at him sleepily. "Time to wake up?" she asked in a small voice. Grumbling softly, she buried her face against him again, wanting to fall asleep again.

He blushed lightly, and removed himself from the bed. "Yeah... there's something out there I found a couple days ago that I promised myself to take you to once we got you out of that cage!"

Kisa looked up at him sleepily and nodded slightly, noticing another pair of clothes left by Tohru next to her pillow. Taking the clothes lightly in her arms, she looked up at Hiro and blushed deeply.

He turned a little pink, too, and walked towards the door. He set his hand on the doorknob, and looked back at her. "I'll... wait by the back door..."

He opened the door quietly, and slipped out into the dark house. He managed to find his way to the back door, and grabbed his shoes before slipping out into the cool pre-dawn air. The sky was just starting to lighten. He had picked the right time...

His heart suddenly began to beat fast at the thought of what he was about to do... he was going to show her that wonderful dawn... and...

Kisa dressed quietly and walked out of her room, bundled socks in her small hands. She was currently dressed in a light blue blouse and a blue knee length skirt. Walking over to the back door quietly, she slipped on her socks and slipped her feet into her shoes, knocking them lightly so she didn't have to untie and tie them again.

Walking outside, she accidentally bumped into Hiro and looked up, smiling and somewhat awake now.

Hiro turned back to her and smiled. "Great, come on..." He reached down and lightly grabbed her hand, before leading her back and into the vast forest surrounding Shigure's house. "This place is really nice, but it's a bit of an uphill walk... will your foot be alright?"

"I think..." she muttered as she walked with a slight uncomfortable limp.

Hiro smiled broadly before turning back forward. They walked for a while until after a small uphill slope that took them halfway up some of the smaller trees, they came to a relatively tall cliff. There was a section that had eroded and landslide out of the cliff wall, and made a gentle slope up to the top.

Hiro motioned towards the top of the cliff. "Up there."

Kisa sweat dropped, panting slightly from the walk. Though she continued walking, eager to see what he wanted to show her.

Hiro walked slowly into the dirt slope, his feet sinking in about an inch. He kept a firm hold on Kisa's hand as he scaled the odd slope towards the top. "It'll only take a minute now..." He turned back, and found the sky a pale gray just beginning to be touched by streaks of pale gold and orange. "Ahhh... timing couldn't have been better."

Kisa followed his glance and looked at the sunrise in awe. "Wow... pretty..." she muttered as she stared at the sky in amazement, standing at the top of the cliff.

Hiro sat down at the edge, dangling his legs off the side of the cliff and smiled. "Isn't it, though?"

Kisa nodded and sat down next to him, still watching the sunrise in awe, her eyes glimmering and reflecting the colors of the sky. Hiro kept glancing back and forth from Kisa to the sky. He couldn't decide which one he thought prettier, but either way it was nice.

After a moment passed, a bright scarlet color filled the sky and the golden colors began to deepen and grow, but the odd bright orange seemed to take precedence, and it gave Hiro and idea. He watched the sky for a moment more, trying to gather his courage, and lower his heartbeat so it didn't sound like he had just run a marathon.

Kisa looked at the clouds in a distant manner and tilted her head slightly as she looked through the shapes curiously, spotting different things they had formed.

Hiro took one more deep breath before standing up, and backing up a couple of steps. "Kisa..." He hesitated, why was he so nervous? "C... could you stand up for a moment?"

Kisa looked up at him curiously and stood up, wobbling slightly at first and then resting a little bit of weight on the toes of her injured foot, where she wasn't injured.

Hiro had to stop for a moment as the light had exactly the effect he thought it would. The orange managed to catch her hair, and it flared brightly behind her. It made his next task slightly easier. He walked up so he stood right in front of her, and looked down into her eyes, trying to gather his courage again. He swallowed hard and it was enough for him to overcome his paralysis, and lean forward... enough so that their lips touched softly.

Kisa's entire face flushed as their lips touched and her eyes turned towards his, and she smiled gently.

Hiro squeezed his eyes shut in concentration, and briefly pushed harder into the kiss, before backing up and looking at the sky. The sun was now spilling over the horizon like an ill-cooked egg, and the sky was losing the spectacular deep shades of red and orange and dark gold. Hiro hoped the pale colors would lighten the blush on his face.

Kisa stood there, in shock as she looked forward at Hiro. "H-Hiro-kun..." she mumbled as she smiled softly, still blushing deeply.

Hiro took another deep breath and held it, trying to will away the odd weakness in his knees, and the slightly light-headed feeling he got. If he got this from only a kiss...

He tried twice before he found his voice, and even then it shook uneasily. "I... I have a question... and it might sound really selfish..."

Kisa watched Hiro curiously and tilted her head to the side slightly, the blush in her face simmering down a little.

Hiro faced her once again, and grabbed the front of his shirt, adjusting it nervously. He looked down, to the side, everywhere but at her face for the few precious seconds he needed to form the right words. "I... I want you to stay with me... by me... forever..." he laughed softly, and rubbed the back of his head. "It's a really childish thing to say, I know. But I mean it."

Kisa blushed again and fell to him, wrapping her arms around him. "Of course Hiro-kun..." she said in a happy tone. But then she thought about Haru and a large sweat drop formed on the back of her head.

Hiro smiled gently and returned the hug, letting a sound which may have been a sigh of content leave his throat. But before too long, her realized how long they had been out here.

"Oh..." he shifted so he could pull out his cell phone, and looked at the time. "People should be waking up pretty soon... we should head back."

Kisa smiled softly and released the hug, holding her arms silently behind her back. "Thank you Hiro-kun..." she muttered as she continued blushing. Hiro looked at her, raising an eyebrow. "Why are you thanking me?"

Back at Gure's

Hiro was right... the others were waking up one by one. Tohru was already in the kitchen, preparing breakfast and actually managing to stay awake.

Momiji snickered as he walked up to the door. Maybe Yuki was right and he really had been spending too much time with Shigure, but when midnight had rolled around and Hiro still hadn't returned, Momiji got very suspicious.

He pulled out the camera, and slowly cracked open the door to the room, getting ready to snap the picture; only to find the bed slightly messy and no one there. "Vas...?"

"For... caring..." she muttered simply as she smiled again and looked around in silence. "But... what about Haru-kun?" she asked with a slight tilt of her head.

Hiro stiffened up at the mention of Hatsuharu. He bit his lip and sighed. "There's nothing I can do about him..." his shoulders slumped and he looked oddly defeated. "There's nothing I can do about that..."

Kisa laughed softly and hugged Hiro again in a comforting way. "I'll try to convince him..." she mumbled as she looked up at him with her soft orange eyes.

Hiro smiled only half-heartedly. "I... thanks..." He crossed his arms and stiffened up. "Why is it that I'm only awkward around you? Everyone else I can deal with, but you, noooo..." He was just being defensive of himself now, and trying to hide the fact that he wasn't acting like his usual self.

Kisa smiled again. "I feel weird around you too..." she said in an abrupt and straight to the point manner. Bending down, she pretended to be focusing on something on the ground.

Hiro followed her gaze and laughed softly. "All right, enough of this, let's go back before someone has to come looking for us. We've both had search parties sent out for us in the last few days, we don't need them searching for the two of us together."

He held out his hand, smiling down his arm in the most heart melting way he could. He was getting enough practice with it anyway.

Kisa smiled as she held her hands behind her back with a mischievous look on her face. "Here Hiro-kun... have a mud pie..." she told him as she placed a big wad of mud in his extended hand and pursed her lips, trying not to laugh too hard. She had been around Momiji and Haru too much lately.

Hiro didn't look offended. Instead, he smiled evilly, and grabbed her, picking her up awkwardly by the waist and holding her over his shoulder. "Don't make me let go!"

Kisa clung to him tightly. "Hiro-kun!" she yelped as she continued to cling to him, mud dripping from her hands. Her head began to hurt again and she closed her eyes, pausing and not doing anything for a little while. Please... don't... she thought, but it was too late. With a loud popping noise, she transformed into her weakened tiger form.

Hiro held the furry creature away from him, and smiled apologetically. "I didn't mean to get that rough... gomen nasai."

Kisa smiled softly back at Hiro as a small fever was felt from her forehead. "It's okay... Hari-san said I should rest... and I guess I didn't listen..."

He smiled, and picked up her clothes, before carrying both them and her to the edge of the cliff. It was an uneven surface, with random ledges jutting out here and there. The straight drop was easily almost forty feet. Hiro smiled slyly at Kisa, then looked off the edge of the cliff. It was almost the same place he had leapt down earlier. "Let's head back to Shigure-san's shall we?"

Kisa's tail twitched slightly and she turned her gaze towards the view again, sighing before burying her head into Hiro.

Hiro moved his foot so he looked like he was about to step right off the edge of the cliff. Truth was, he just might do it, too. "Oh Kisaaa..." he said in a voice that could only be described as a wicked purr.

Kisa looked out again and looked down curiously. Letting out an uncomfortable squeak, she dug her claws lightly into Hiro's shirt and growled. "Hiro-kun... Why do you have to be so mean?" she whined slightly.

"Because the slope is over there..." he nodded way off to his right. "And Shigure's house is there" he looked to his left. "Don't tell me the tiger is afraid of heights?"

"N-No..." Kisa muttered as her ears swiveled around slightly and she growled. "You're so mean..." she muttered as she closed her eyes and tried to relax again.

He leaned down and whispered softly in her ear. "Only this once... I'll only do it once, but remember that you started it..."

He lowered himself down, and sprung lightly off the cliff.

Kisa hissed loudly on the way down as her rear end lifted into the air, for she was too light. "H-Hiro!"

Hiro landed lightly on his toes, balancing easily on a ledge that was barely three inches wide. "Yes Kisa?" He shifted his grip so he held her quite firmly in his arms, and leapt for the next one, almost ten feet to his left, and about six below the current ledge.

Kisa panted slightly as her stomach felt like it was traveling in circles around her. Turning slightly pale, she clung onto Hiro the best that she could and felt the headache redeeming itself.

The next ledge was wide enough for him to set one foot on sideways, but not enough for him to put another one in front of it to stop him. He craned back expertly, stopping them both before leaping backwards this time onto another ledge, and finally another before leaping off and landing easily on the ground.

He lightly stroked the tiger behind her ears and smiled gently, the odd look on his face from earlier gone. "We're not going to be giving Hiro-kun any more mud pies and hurting his feelings again now are we?" His voice came out gentle and soothing, in a soft low tone that seemed to be very mature from a 12 year old.

Kisa looked up at Hiro with an undecided face. "I-I c-can't... p-promise a-anything..." she muttered shakily as she closed her eyes again, as if she was going to be punished for saying that.

Hiro's smile once again turned slightly wicked. "I know where there's a higher cliff that I just love hopping down, would you like me to introduce you to it?" He began to walk towards Shigure's house, very slowly, trying hard not to jolt her in any way.

Kisa shook her head violently, which gave her yet another headache. Closing her eyes tightly, she waited and hoped that the pain would subside.

His gaze turned very concerned. "Don't shake your head like that..." his tone of voice had returned to normal, even if it did sound slightly strange, even to him. He placed a hand on top of her head, and rubbed it softly. "You're going to give yourself another headache."

Kisa's entire body seemed to relax due to the comforting rubs, which actually made her purr. She fell limp slightly as she fell into a light sleep.

Hiro didn't stop with his hand until he arrived back at the house and had to open the door. Upon entering, he was stared at.

He suddenly realized it; they couldn't see Kisa; all they could see was Hiro walking in to the house with a slight blush, carrying her clothing.

Hiro suddenly wanted to kill both Momiji and Shigure for the looks they were now giving him. Yuki was just looking very serious, and walked up to them, finally finding Kisa in Hiro's arms.

Kisa's breathing was somewhat abnormal and her fever had risen again, which meant it was time for the medicine again.

Shigure looked at the clothing closely. Hmmm ... Girl underwear... he thought, feeling a bit more perverted than usual as he stared over at Hiro.

Momiji stood up with a grin and pulled out the camera. There was a dazzling FLASH just as Hiro turned his glare on the rabbit.

Hiro growled low under his breath, and handed Kisa to Yuki before running off after Momiji and the camera.

Yuki looked down at her and sighed before going to get the medicine. He poured it quietly after setting her back down on the bed, and then shook her lightly before offering it to her. "Here you go Kisa," he said softly, ignoring the loud crash and the following curse, which was obviously from Hiro.

Kisa growled softly at the smell of the medicine and knocked it over abruptly, refusing to take it as it began to spill.

Shigure sweat dropped. "Don't destroy my house! ... Again!"

Hiro finally had Momiji where he wanted him, trapped in a corner. The blonde haired boy looked very nervous, and Hiro smirked, it was probably natural instinct from someone who shared instincts with a rabbit, even subliminally.

Yuki sighed and picked up the cup quickly before all the contents could run out, and then leaned out the door. "Hiro-chan! Kisa won't take her medicine, and you're the only one who knows how to make her do it!"

Hiro stopped stalking after Momiji like a fox instead of a ram, and looked back at Yuki. Momiji took the opportunity to slip away, grinning in triumph.

Hiro walked back in to the bedroom, and looked at Kisa. With a sigh, he reached down, and touched her forehead. "You have to take the medicine, Kisa."

Kisa shook her head again, which brought on a very large headache. Growling softly, she pawed at her own head and remained with her eyes closed, refusing to take the medicine.

Shigure looked over at Momiji and almost started laughing. Tohru was just standing there when it happened, totally oblivious.

Momiji flashed Shigure a wicked smirk, and waved the camera. "All we need now is almost something more."

Yuki shrugged, and walked out of the room. Hiro sighed, and reached for the medicine. He placed two fingers under Kisa's chin, and lifter her head up so she would look at him. He waved the medicine bottle. "You have to take it. That way, you can go back to being in your human form... and..." He stopped, and shook his head. "Just take the damn medicine."

Kisa pressed her head down lightly when she heard him curse at her and looked at the medicine, growling objectively. Finally, she tipped the medicine over again and swallowed it in a disgusted fashion as she curled up into a small ball, trembling and heat radiating off of her.

Hiro sat on the bed, then laid back, placing his arms behind his head as he stared at the ceiling. "I know it's nasty. But it really is for the best..."

Kisa growled softly again and wandered next to Hiro. Sitting there silently at first, she stared at him. Finally she pounced on top of his stomach, pacing in a small circle before lying down comfortably and closing her eyes once again.

Hiro "oomfed!" quietly at the sudden weight on his stomach before smiling broadly. He laughed softly as a thought occurred to him. "Don't change back like that..."

Kisa fell asleep quickly with her head just above his belly button.

Hiro shook his head and stretched largely, yawning as he did so. If she were to change back... he blushed slightly. He just hoped Momiji wouldn't catch that.

He laid his head back and closed his eyes.

Kisa's fever slowly began to drop, and even Hiro would be able to feel it. Her heartbeat slowed and her breathing went back to somewhat normal. Sleepily, she turned her ear to his stomach and listened to his heartbeat.

Hiro's lips twitched up slightly, as he let himself drift comfortably through the land between sleeping and waking. Once again his hand began to semi-consciously stroke her fur.

Kisa purred softly and fell back to sleep.

Shigure snuck silently over to the door of the guest room and slowly cracked it open, looking over at the two "love birds".

Momiji walked up behind Shigure and was about to say something, when both of them were suddenly in pain, care of Yuki's fist. "Back in the main room you two."

Hiro yawned, momentarily breaking his odd trance before glancing back down at the cat on his stomach. "I hope I do a better job this time..."

He leaned back and closed his eyes, falling back asleep.