Fan Fiction ❯ Silver Tear ❯ The Forgetful Zodiac Rabbit ( Chapter 9 )

The Forgetful Zodiac Rabbit

"Wow!" Sukura smiled as she looked around. "The view up here is awesome!"

"Yeah… I guess so." Hoku said.

"No wonder why you like climbing these." Sukura said as she sat down on the tree branch and stared at all the little orange fruits that hung from the branches. "I'm glad you brought me up here."

"Don't get any big ideas." Hoku said as she leaned back on her branch, which was even higher than the one Sukura stood on. She then looked down. Hoku didn't feel like talking to anyone. Especially to Kit. She still hadn't forgiven him for helping her when the tiger attacked her the other day. How could he?

"I wonder when lord Kitasato is coming back…" Sukura said.

Hoku ignored her. Kit had gone to a nearby village to pick up a few things, and that was just fine with her.

"Umm… Lady Hoku?" Sukura asked. "Are you and Lord Kit fighting?"

Hoku nearly fell off her tree branch.

"What gave you that idea!"

"Well, you've been acting strangely…" Sukura said. "I was just concerned."

"Look." Hoku said. "I don't need any of your concern. We're just fine, and even if we were fighting, it's none of your business anyway."

The two were silent for a moment. A gust of wind blew a trio of leaves through Hoku's long blue hair.

"I understand." Sukura said with a smile. "I'm sorry. You and Lord Kit have been nothing more than nice to me, even after you found out that I was sent to kill you. I should show a little more respect…"

Hoku gasped. For a brief moment, Sukura looked sad. Hoku recognized it as the same face that Sukura had given her the day she confessed to being jealous about not being a demon.

"Hello up there!!"

Hoku and Sukura both looked down to see Kit standing at the base of the tree.

"Did you find what you were looking for?" Sukura called down to him.

"Yeah!" Kit replied while holding up a large sack. "And I also met some nice women!"

At that moment, a little orange melon collided with his head.

"I WAS ONLY JOKING HOKU!!!"

"Idiot…" Hoku hissed as she stared down at him. "I suppose you want me to jump down into your arms now."

"Well… if you insist…" Another melon broke on his head. "Oww… okay, I'll quit with the jokes. Can you come down already?"

"But I'm so way up here!" Hoku let out a fake cry while putting her hand on her forehead like she was about to faint. "I need someone to rescue me from this terrifying tree!"

"Someone rescue me from the psycho…" Sukura sighed.

"Are you still angry about that?" Kit asked. "Look, I'm sorry okay. If I knew that you wanted him to HUMP you I wouldn't have interfered."

Hoku reached for another melon, but just when she was about to throw it, a gust of wind picked up and a scent came to her nose. She stood up and peered around.

"What is it?" Sukura asked.

"Nothing…" Hoku said. "Come on, let's go join the idiot."

Sukura rode on Hoku's shoulder's while Hoku jumped from branch to branch the whole way down. When Sukura climbed off, she wobbled around a bit.

"So, what's in the bag?" Hoku asked Kit.

"Funny you should ask." He said as he reached into the bag and pulled out a carrot.

Hoku and Sukura stared at it for a moment.

"And, what the hell is that for?" Hoku asked.

"It's bait." Kit smiled. "I'm going to catch us a rabbit for lunch."

The girls practically toppled over in disbelief.

"Come on." Kit shrugged. "I was bored."

"Idiot…" Hoku sighed.

Hoku climbed back up the tree. She couldn't believe how much Kit wasted her time. They were supposed to be hunting the dog demon Marrowind, not a rabbit.

Hoku sighed. Then again, she did like rabbit meat. She wondered if Kit somehow knew that.

"Do you think one will come?" Sukura whispered.

"I hope so." Kit smiled. "I'm hungry."

The two were sitting in a clump of bushes watching the carrot that had been strung from a low hanging tree branch. The little orange vegetable was a few inches off the ground. Sukura wondered how Kit could catch a rabbit, so she wanted to watch too.

"I hope a rabbit finds us before a demons does…" Sukura sighed.

Kit tapped her on the shoulder, when she looked at him, he pointed at the bait. There was a little brown rabbit sniffing at the carrot. It had its back to them so it had no idea it was being watched.

Kit reached over his shoulder and grabbed a hold of his staff. Then, like a flash of lightning, Kit dashed out and slammed down the staff right over the rabbit's head.

Sukura covered her eyes.

"Kit!" she exclaimed. "You could've warned me about it."

Kit was staring down at his kill. He had that expressionless look about him again, showing that he was deep in thought.

"Kit?" Sukura asked while walking up to him. "Is something wrong?"

"I just made a mistake…" he said. "This is a Zodiac demon…"

Sukura gasped and stared down at the small animal. She noticed a little symbol on its forehead.

"Did you kill it?" She asked.

Kit kneeled down. He placed his hands on the rabbit's side.

"No… it's still alive." he said. "I suppose that since it's a demon, my blow merely knocked it out."

"Should we just leave it here?" Sukura asked as Kit stood back up. "Maybe it's a bad demon. It might attack us when it wakes up."

"I don't think so…" Kit said. "The Zodiac rabbit has always been known for its gentleness. I think we should keep an eye on it until it wakes up."

"So…" Hoku said as she hopped out of the tree. "I see you got one. Good job, now let's roast this puppy!"

"I'm afraid not." Kit said. He had the little rabbit in his arms. "This is not an ordinary rabbit."

"That's a Zodiac!" Hoku exclaimed when she spotted the mark on the rabbit's forehead.

"Indeed…" Kit said.

"No way!" Hoku hissed. "You know how I feel about other Zodiacs Kit! There's no way in hell I'm going to keep that thing alive."

"But it's so cute!" Sukura said. "Come on, look at those bright little eyes… wait!"

Everyone stared down at the rabbit in Kit's arms. It's eyes were indeed open. They were soft brown like its fur. It sniffed around for a moment, then its ears shot up, and it began to glow. Moments later, Kit was now holding a woman in his arms. She had long brown hair and matching eyes. They made her look kind and gentle. Her outfit was a different story for it was a red, very open, leotard with matching gloves that went up to her shoulders. There was a maroon ribbon around her waist that tied in a huge bow in the back. She stared up at kit for a moment, then raised her hand and slapped him across the face.

"Put me down freak!" she exclaimed.

Kit didn't want to drop her, but he really didn't have much of a choice. He fell on his backside and the rabbit landed on top of him. Both their cheeks turned red.

"Are you okay?" Sukura asked as she helped them both up.

"Yeah…" the rabbit said as she brushed herself off.

"I'm sorry about that…" Kit said while rubbing his head. "I didn't know you'd transform right there in my arms."

"It's okay." the rabbit bowed. "It was my fault for reacting."

"Excuse me." Hoku said. "As you can see, she's just fine now. Can we move along already?"

"Hoku…" Kit said with a smile. "That isn't very nice. I just bashed her over the head. You can't just expect me to walk away without a proper apology."

"Fine, apologize…" Hoku hissed. "And then we'll go."

"Oh… you're impossible." Kit sighed.

"Umm… who are you?" the rabbit asked them.

"Oh, I'm Kitasato, the human over here is Sukura, and this is Hoku." Kit said. "And who are you?"

"Well…" the rabbit looked confused for a moment. She then looked around. "I don't know…"

"What do you mean by that?" Sukura asked.

"She's a moron…" Hoku sighed.

"Do you know where you come from?" Kit asked with a serious expression.

The rabbit shook her head with a smile.

"Nope!!" she then rubbed her head. "But my noggin sure hurts!"

"I was afraid of this…" Kit sighed. "She's got amnesia. She can't remember anything."

"That's just great…" Hoku hissed. "Now I suppose you'll want to help her until she gets better."

"Good idea." Kit said.

"Uhh…"

"Would you like to travel with us until you can remember?" Kit asked the rabbit.

The rabbit stared at him for a moment, then slapped him again.

"WHO ARE YOU!?" she exclaimed. "Get away from me!"

"Not again…" Sukura said. "We aren't going to get anywhere if we keep having to introduce ourselves."

"On second thought…" Hoku grinned as the rabbit slapped Kit again.

They didn't travel too far that day. The rabbit kept forgetting what was going on. Kit's face was turning redder and redder with each strike. Hoku was angry that she was being held back. She didn't like this rabbit too much either. She didn't understand how Kit could take so much. He seemed so understanding. Hoku detested this.

That night, Hoku laid up in a tree. She kept peering down at the group that laid beneath her. She was mostly keeping her eyes on the rabbit girl. She didn't trust her one bit. A gust of wind blew. Hoku peered out at the bright moon. Pink cherry blossoms blew around her. She was reminded of the nights when she and her mother would take walks together. Hoku peered down again.

"Damn…" she hissed when she saw that the rabbit was gone. "Where did she go?"

"I'm here." the rabbit said.

Hoku gasped and looked out and saw her standing on a thick tree branch.

"How did you get up here?" Hoku asked as she stood up. "I find it hard to believe a rabbit can climb trees." Then again, she remembered that Kit could climb too.

"I didn't climb." the rabbit said. "I jumped."

"What do you want?" Hoku asked.

"I'm sorry if I awoke you." the rabbit said. "My head was hurting and I couldn't sleep."

"Do you remember anything?" Hoku asked.

"No…" the rabbit sighed. "I try to think… but I can't. My mind is so clouded."

"I can't imagine what it feels like not to remember stuff." Hoku said. She figured it wasn't too bad to open up to her. She probably wouldn't remember in the morning anyway. "Don't get me wrong." Hoku hissed. "But you're lucky it was Kit who nailed you and not me. I detest Zodiacs."

"What's a Zodiac?" the rabbit asked.

"That's what you are." Hoku said. "You're a Zodiac rabbit."

"I wish I could remember…" the rabbit sighed. "I wish I knew who I was…"

"You can't even remember your own name, can you?" Hoku asked.

The rabbit shook her head. She lowered it and stared at her feet.

"I'm sorry, I should leave you be…" she said. She then turned and dropped from the tree. "Goodnight!" she whispered from the ground.

Hoku sighed as she watched the rabbit walk away from the tree.

"She's an odd one…"

The next morning, Hoku awoke to find everyone still asleep. The sun wasn't completely up yet, making the sky blood red. Hoku leapt out of the tree and landed quietly by Kit who was asleep on a blanket. Something inside her mind told her to kick him, but then something else told her to wander around and leave Kit alone. Hoku wondered why her brain was being so specific that morning. She decided to take a morning walk so she turned and nearly tripped on the rabbit. Hoku straightened up and wondered why she was sleeping so close to Kit. Perverted thoughts crossed her mind as she strode past them and entered the woods. She decided to ignore them. Kit's affairs were no concern of hers.

The sun came up a little higher as Hoku walked on. The scent of water came to her nose, telling her there was a stream nearby. She thought about having Sukura catching her and Kit some fish for breakfast. Suddenly, a high-pitched scream mad Hoku jump. She turned and ran back to the camp site where she found Kit lying on the ground. It looked like he'd nearly been knocked out. Standing above him was the rabbit with a plank of wood in her hand.

"Don't come near me!" she exclaimed. "I'll hit you again! Who are you??!"

Poor Sukura was hiding behind a tree. She looked pretty startled.

"Okay," Hoku said as she placed her hands on her hips. "What happened now?"

"This man tried to touch me Hoku." the rabbit exclaimed.

"She-she remembered your name!" Kit exclaimed while sitting up. He had another goose egg on his head.

"I kind of wish I was this forgetful…" Hoku sighed. "Rabbit, you remember my name?"

The rabbit nodded.

"Of course!" she said. "You're Hoku, the cat demon searching for Marrowind, the dog."

Hoku froze.

"What was that?" she asked. She then looked at Kit. "Kit, did you tell her that?"

Kit shook his head and looked at Sukura, who had the same reply. They all then looked at the rabbit.

"How do you know about that?" Hoku asked her.

"Well… uh, let me think." the rabbit said thoughtfully. "Oh, yes. I heard about it from someone else."

"Can you remember who?" Kit asked.

"I DON'T TALK TO STRANGERS!!" the rabbit wailed as she hit him again.

"You could answer his question." Hoku said. "Then hit him."

"Okay." the rabbit said. "Anyway, I can't really remember who…"

"Figures." Hoku hissed. "Well… I suppose it is important to keep her around until she can remember."

"Goodie!" the rabbit smiled while clapping her hands together.

Kit stood back up.

"Let's keep going." He said. "She's bound to remember some time. Amnesia isn't permanent."

"Having second thoughts?" Hoku asked.

"On what?" Kit frowned.

"Bringing her along. I'm sure you don't want to beaten every morning."

"Well… to be beaten by a beauty isn't that bad… OW!"

Hoku had grabbed the plank of wood from the rabbit and took a hit at him.

"Okay." Kit said while rubbing his head. "Maybe it isn't all what it's cracked up to be."

"AND WHAT'S THAT SUPPOSED TO MEAN!" Hoku hissed.

"So, who are you again?" the rabbit asked Sukura.

Sukura took her eyes off the fighting duo and at the rabbit.

"Oh… me?" she said. "Well… You know what? I want to be knocked out too just so I can forget about traveling with a group of weirdoes."