CHAPTER 95

By the time Keigo had gotten home it was nearly 7.30. Ryoma hadn't appeared back in the house and Mitsu had fallen asleep on the arm chair. As he made his way into the lounge, Sei, Syu and Gen were all on the sofa cuddled up watching a tennis match. "Hey, where's the brat?" Gen looked over to see the other soaked to the bone.

"Is it raining?" He asked feeling slightly concerned about Ryoma. Keigo huffed and folded his arms.

"No, I just fell into a pond." Gen rolled his eyes. "But if you really want to know the obvious then yes it is. Ore-Sama got drenched from just walking from the end of the driveway to here. Why?" They both turned when Mitsu shifted in the chair muttering something that made no sense. Kei smiled at it as Gen felt Syu moving his head in the direction of the Seigaku captain as well.

"You would never think he was a strict captain with the way he acts here." They all nodded. "Anyway Ryo-Chan will be probably avoiding all of us for a while and the last thing I heard was that he had gone to the top of the garden to the tennis court."

"Really, it's raining cats and dogs outside. Will he be alright? From what I heard it was going to start thundering tonight as well." Kei looked to the sliding door in the lounge seeing it was already quite dark outside. Gen pushed himself up. "What are you doing?"

"You need to go have a shower and get change so you won't catch a cold. I'll go get Ryoma and bring him in." He left the lounge to stick some shoes and a coat on before walking back in and looking at both Syu and Sei. "You two can order the pizzas. Please, Syu remember that we don't have the same taste buds as you." With that he existed though the sliding door to the back garden pulling his coat closer to his face as he tried to cover from the rain and wind.

It had been about 20 minutes when Keigo had come back downstairs from his shower he sat on the arm of the armchair, smirking at Mitsu's sleeping face. "So what did you order?" He looked at Syu hoping he really did get something that was edible to normal humans.

"I asked them for all the ones that contain meat." Just as he was about to carry on Gen came back in without a certain cat. The Rikkaidai vice-captain wasted no time.

"Kei was Ryoma upstairs?" Frowning the Hyotei captain replied.

"What! You said he was outside. Ore-Sama heard nothing. So does that mean... We should call Tomo." Just as he was about to pick up the landline it started to ring. "Well, Ore-Sama found that spooky."

"It's only creepy if it's about Ryoma." Sei commented as he picked the phone up. "Hello... Oh, thank god, he's with you! Is he okay?" They all heard a moan coming from the armchair.

"Well, it seems our Mitsu-Chan has woken up from his slumber." Syu said with slight amusement in his voice now feeling completely calm knowing their tiger was safe. Mitsu yawned as he looked as Syu blinking a couple times as his eyes got use to the light.

"Where's Ryoma?" He searched the room. "Is he still outside?"

"Okay, thanks. Someone will come and pick him up. Sorry for the trouble Momoshiro." Sei hung up and looked to Gen. "Ryoma went to his friends house with nothing to hide his features. So Momoshiro brought him up to his room." Mitsu stood stretching after being in an uncomfortable position for so long before looking at Sei.

"Me, Gen and Syu will get Ryoma. Kei and you can stay here. When's the pizza meant to be here?"

Momo hung up and made his way back into his room where the cat was sitting on his bed, still in the soaked clothes he arrived in. The trickster did offer some of his, but Ryoma didn't answer just sat there. He couldn't help though, but feel relived that he himself was the one to answer the door. When he looked towards the boy he froze. Ryoma was just staring at him. It wasn't just that though, it was the fact that it looked like he wasn't even realizing he was.

His eyes were clouded. His arms were trembling and Momo could only guess that it wasn't from the fact that he was soaked from being out in the rain. "Ryoma..."

(Flashback / Ryoma POV)

I was chained to a wall. My hands above my head as the cold metal held them in a bruising grip. I watched as a baby, practically a new born was injected with needles. The crying got louder as more and more were poked into his skin. Something was happening and I didn't know what.

"Beauty." I looked to the side barely able to keep myself together. I hate the crying and I hate the screaming. I hate to see others suffer just so master can make me into his perfect object. "Now, now. Don't feel upset. It doesn't matter anyway. He has no one so why should anyone care."

"Can... Can I care for him?" I asked timidly. Master was in one of his strange moods again. One where he could either be kind or would shout at me. Sometimes he would hit me, but I knew that I deserved it. I should learn to behave better.

"No, Beauty I want you to watch and I want you to learn what is going to happen to his body. I want you to be able to understand how it works so you know how to fix it. You're a very smart boy. You already know how to speak four languages and that's just from listening to the others." So I did as I was told. I watched and tried to come up with a solution to cure him. "A beauty who is really a beast and what was going to be the beast is really a beauty." I moved my head to looked at my master.

"What do you mean? Am I the beast." The man chuckled as he went over to the 3 month old child. The baby had cried so much he had fainted from not getting enough oxygen in his system.

"There were meant to be two. You were meant to have a partner in all of this. Someone to go though all of this with and know what you're going though. He was meant to be called beast. A cat, they say is beauty. An elegant creature, but has claws. Would not hesitate to stab someone in the back when something better comes along. While a beast is a dog, scruffy and a beggar, but loyal and forever pleasing his master. So tell me my child. Who really is the beast and who really is the beauty?" I tilted my head in thought. I was going to be the beast, while the one that was meant to be by my side was meant to be beauty.

"Who was the beast meant to be?" I asked. I get curious when my master speaks in riddles.

"I had a son, who taken from me. He was meant to be the dog. Both of you belong to me, even if I no longer have control of one. Both of you will always somehow end up with each other. Almost like a magnet. Two opposites will attract. Even if those two opposites have so much in common." With that master left me, telling me to keep an eye on the baby on the table and to see if I notice any changes.

I'm 7 years old. I am Beauty... Or am I the beast. I wonder what master meant when he said that me and his son will always end up together?

(End Flashback / Normal POV)

Slowly coming back to reality he blinked a couple of times and noticed more people in the room. Two younger children. A boy who looked about 10 and a girl who was about 6. "Takashi, is he a kitty?" The girl asked as she went towards the bed and pulled herself up onto it. She looked at Ryoma with excitement. "Can I stroke your ears?" As Momo was about to scolded her for saying that, he stopped when he saw Ryoma lower his head for her to touch. "There pretty. What is your name?" By now even Momo's younger brother had join and was stroking Ryoma's tail neither of the children caring that he was soaking wet.

"You can call me Beauty." Just as the trickster was about to correct Ryoma, he heard his mother shouting from downstairs.

"Takashi! Some friends of yours are at the door." His mum shouted. With a sigh he left the room knowing his younger siblings would be alright with the cat.