Fruits Basket Fan Fiction / Ranma 1/2 Fan Fiction ❯ Neko's Healing ❯ Breaking ( Chapter 20 )

Disclaimer: I don't own `em, I'm just borrowing `em...and I'm gonna have to return `em soon, darn it! Guess I'll just have to borrow them some more in the future. <g!>

 

Oh, look--Yuki's back! Heh. I'm on a roll--this is the first Saturday in a long while I haven't had to work.

 

Enjoy!

 

Chapter 20 - Breaking

 

Yuki looked up from his homework when the phone rang. He blinked, his mind reluctantly leaving off from trying to figure out the arcane intricacies of the combination of numbers and letters known as algebra, as the ringing continued. It took him another moment to remember that Tohru was at work, so she wouldn't be answering--and Shigure was “working” in his study, and apparently couldn't be bothered.

 

Lately, it was possible the inu was actually writing, instead of merely hiding from his editor--or at least researching. He was no longer hiding his work towards breaking the Jyuunishi curse from his house-mates; the inu was devoting nearly every waking moment to his task, and even asking Yuki and Tohru to help with fetching books from the library, and even sometimes looking things up.

 

Kyo had called them every day since his peculiar marriage, to reassure everyone that he was okay. Yuki had been worried by the first call; Kyo's voice had been--peculiar. The neko had been quite obviously distracted, and was unable to hold two thoughts in his head at once--he couldn't even remember what he'd said less than a minute before! Yuki hadn't known what to think of the neko's unusual rambling, and had been working himself into a state of full-fledged panic.

 

Shigure had grabbed the phone when he saw Yuki's alarmed expression, an amused glint in his dark eyes, and immediately asked how things were going with “the so-beauteous, luscious Shampoo...” Yuki had easily heard Kyo's more normal scream of “IT'S NONE OF YOUR DAMNED BUSINESS, HENTAI!!” as the inu had been smart enough to hold the handset at arm's length--aimed carefully away from his inu-sensitive ears.

 

Yuki had been forced to squint, feeling like his hair was blasted sideways, as he'd ended up ground-zero to the sound exploding from the phone. His ears kept up an unpleasant ringing for almost ten minutes.

 

Shigure then held the phone out to Yuki, stating rather smugly, “Kyo-kun should have himself together now. Don't be too hard on him, Yuki-kun; he's on his hon-ey-moon, after a-a-all!” His voice ended up in that so-annoying sing-song, all his teeth showing in a huge grin.

 

Yuki had glared and bopped the hentai lightly over the head, since Kyo wasn't there to do it himself.

 

The neko was able to talk almost normally with Yuki, after that--until Xian Pu's voice could be heard in the not-so-far background, practically purring his name. Yuki swore he could actually hear Kyo's brains dribble right out the neko's ears...and he'd suddenly realized just exactly why Kyo was having such difficulty concentrating. Yuki had been there to witness the Amazon's first meeting with the neko, after all--his mind was quite capable of imagining some of the things she was likely doing, to--distract him--so much. What she was actually doing was probably a whole lot more intense, too--it wasn't like Yuki had much knowledge in that area, thanks in large part to the kuso Jyuunishi curse.

 

The nezumi had blushed scarlet and hastily ended the call, mentally calling himself six kinds of idiot for not considering--that! Shigure had snickered for an hour straight.

 

Thankfully, Kyo's daily calls had gone much better after that, though Shigure's snickers and teasing didn't let up a bit. It was a good thing Kyo wasn't there to bear the brunt of it, or the family would be awaiting the birth of a new inu!

 

After the first week of calls, it became obvious Shampoo was teasing the neko unmercifully whenever he so much as touched the phone. After a few days, Kyo started learning enough control over his own hormones to yell for her to cut it out, thought the laughter so heavily lacing his tone pretty much defeated his purpose.

 

Yuki was relieved to hear how well things were going for the newlyweds, and especially pleased to hear in Kyo's voice the growing bond between him and his new wife. Yuki couldn't ever remember hearing Kyo laugh with anything like the happiness the nezumi was now hearing. The neko's unexpected marriage seemed to be working out amazingly well.

 

Elder Cologne had even started training her new Son-In-Law in the restaurant business, so he could help out during the evening rush. It had been Yuki's turn to snicker for an hour, after Kyo told him about that. He'd had the most hysterical image of Kyo as a waiter, yelling and cussing out the customers as they ran from the restaurant...! He'd hoped, for the Nekohanten's sake, that the Elder would quickly discover that Kyo was a more than decent cook, and consign him to the kitchen!

 

That was before the nezumi actually went and saw the serving methods used by the Amazons.

 

Yuki didn't feel any more urge to snicker once he'd seen the way the food would literally fly right through the air on serving plates, straight from the kitchen into the hands of the martial artists tending the tables; to be unerringly guided to land in front of the patron who'd ordered it--all without spilling a drop, and usually with several plates to different patrons all at once. The obvious flinch towards ducking under their tables told the difference between regular patrons and newcomers.

 

The quiet joy on Kyo's face, as he leapt and dove and danced about the common room as a part of the so-intricate teamwork with Xian Pu, Mu Tse and Kho Lon, convinced Yuki more than anything else that the Amazons were the best thing to ever happen to the neko. Kyo was not pretending to any sort clumsiness any more; he moved with a natural, fluid grace that Yuki hadn't known a human body was capable of.

 

Kyo's working costume also managed to show off his sleek form very well; a shiver rippled through Yuki at the thought of his brother Ayame catching sight of it, the hebi would go into ecstatic fits. Combined with the neko's Sohma-handsome features and unique coloring, Kyo gave the female patrons something to drool over while their male companions were occupied with admiring Shampoo.

 

Not ogling, mind you; the purple-haired Amazon was now very happily married. To a rather possessive young man with eyes in the back of his head, and quite the intimidating battle aura.

 

Kyo's outfit consisted of a sleeveless, high-necked, thigh-length silk tunic of snug fit, fastened up the front with carved ivory buttons; and matching silk kung-fu pants, tied at the ankle. The outfits were usually either pale lavender, or black. There was also a sash and slippers, of the exact same shade of orange as Kyo's hair, and black leather arm-bracers.

 

Yuki, Tohru, Shigure, and Kazuma had all eagerly accepted Kyo's invitations to eat dinner at the Nekohanten several different times, and were always amazed by the ever-changing marital arts “floor show.” They heard a couple customers grumbling that they would miss watching Mousse's blind antics as he forever chased after Shampoo, mistaking patrons and even furniture for his “beloved.”

 

Mousse and Kyo got along well enough, as the Jusenkyo-cursed, near-blind Amazon knew very well that the neko was definitely treating Shampoo right. He tried very hard to find other night-time lodgings, though. Being legally blind, Mousse's hearing had improved a great deal in order to compensate--and there were some sounds he most certainly did NOT want to hear, during the night!!!

 

A couple times, Saotome Ranma had been working at the Nekohanten when the Sohma group stopped by, in his girl-form--and she, Kyo, and Shampoo regularly got into a competition to see who could give the fastest, most flamboyant service. Mousse didn't seem inclined to join in, instead concentrating on keeping ahead of the dishwashing duties on those days. The other three would leap and flip about, balancing up on tables and the backs of sometimes-empty chairs with one or both hands, or feet; sometimes doing sustained hand-stands, using their feet to balance and pass along filled plates. Those had been absolutely amazing displays of strength and dexterity, earning a great deal of applause and laughter from the regular patrons, as well as gape-jawed looks of awe from newcomers.

 

Their first time there, Shigure had mostly appreciated Shampoo's too-short Chinese dress...at least, until the sudden heat of a battle-aura from directly behind him informed the inu's highly developed sense of self-preservation, that Kyo was Not Amused to find the notoriously hentai inu so-obviously ogling his new wife. Yuki had nearly choked on his noodles, laughing at his suddenly petrified older cousin, even as Tohru wavered between concern for the baka hentai and suppressing a giggle.

 

It was amazing how quiet Shigure had been, for the rest of that evening!

 

The first time Ranma had been there, his stunning female form in a short-short red Chinese dress of the same cut as the pale lavender dress Shampoo wore, the pig-tailed martial artist had made a point of marching right up and glaring up straight into Shigure's eyes before they were even all the way in the door. A sweat-dropping inu had been made to swear, on the hope of his continued good health, to keep his eyes where they properly belonged.

 

Luckily for the inu, Ranma hadn't caught the two times Shigure's eyes had strayed to her. Yuki had been too amused to, well, “rat him out.”

 

Kyo had ghosted up beside Shigure the second time, though. The iron-hard grip of his hand on the hentai's shoulder startled the inu into looking up, directly into hard, glittering red eyes that just didn't really match the otherwise amused smirk on the neko's face. Shigure had easily guessed that Kyo was once more Not Amused with his hentai antics.

 

The faint red haze of Kyo's battle-aura had been another “subtle” giveaway...

 

Shigure had gulped as he read the anger in that gaze, smiled sheepishly, and concentrated very hard on his plate for the rest of the meal. He'd managed to remember to behave himself properly every time they'd gone since then, too.

 

The house had been much too quiet, without Kyo's presence to liven things up...the nezumi had found, much to his chagrin, that he even missed the fights the neko used to pick with him. Yuki let out a tired sigh, pulling his thoughts from his musings as the ringing continued. Who could possibly be calling, that would wait so long for someone to pick up?

 

Yuki sighed and pushed himself up to go and answer that so-annoying phone. Whoever it was had kept on the line for more than fifteen rings while his mind was wandering; it must be at least somewhat important--and it could, just possibly, be Tohru calling from work. Kyo's call wasn't due for another five hours; he always called after the evening crush at the Nekohanten was over, not in the early afternoon.

 

Unless...there was some sort of problem. A frown slipped onto his face as his hand reached for the receiver.

 

“Moshi-moshi...”

 

“Hey. Yuki.”

 

Yuki blinked, recognizing Hatsuharu, and waited. His eyebrow started to twitch as the silence continued for a whole minute. Finally, he sighed in frustration.

 

“Haru. Why are you calling?” He tried to keep his voice calm, suspecting his control over his temper was about to be tested to the limit.

 

“Did you know Kyo got married?”

 

Yuki closed his eyes, counted to ten, and opened them to glare at the phone. If this was all that Haru had called about--! “Actually, yes, I did. I witnessed the--ceremony. If that's all you--”

 

“'Cause he's seeing Akito. Right now.”

 

The phone nearly fell from suddenly nerveless hands. The color drained from the nezumi's face as he stared in shock at the hand-set. Kyo--had gone to see Akito?! In the names of all the kamis, why?!! The whole point of his marrying Shampoo was so the Amazons could protect him from the Clan Head--how could they do that, if he went and saw Akito face-to-face?! He could have let Akito stay ignorant of his marriage at least until graduation! Why was he forcing the issue?!

 

Damn that neko's hot-headed nature!! The familiar surge of anger lent Yuki the strength to stay on his feet, to fight off the surge of icy fear that threatened to drown him. He didn't want to think about how Akito was going to react to the neko's marriage! His mind outright blanked when he tried. His body shook, tremors of fear rippling from head to toe.

 

Haru was still talking in his slow, methodical way. The nezumi yanked his thoughts back to listen; there might still be something he could do. “--with his new wife, three other people about our age; and this little old gnome-like lady, who hops around on this big, gnarled staff--“

 

“--Yes, that's Elder Cologne; I know her, I probably would recognize the others, too--what are they doing? Are they in audience, this minute?!” Yuki's knuckles were white on the creaking hand-set, his nerves strung taught. He'd thought everything was settled--that Kyo was safe, now. Seeing Akito in person--anything could happen! Thank all the kamis that at least Elder Cologne was with him--

 

“...Are you all right, Yuki? You sound stressed...”

 

A soft growl answered Haru, who could be heard to sweat-drop at the other end of the connection. He thought he'd made a reasonable observation! He didn't want Yuki to get so upset he had an asthma attack, after all!

 

“Haru. Where is Kyo, at this exact moment!!” Yuki was all but yelling at the oushi.

 

“...Hatori's leading them into Akito's house, right now...”

 

Face tightening with panicky determination, Yuki paused only long enough for a quick, “Arigato, Haru. I'm coming,” before the phone was slammed back into its cradle. He glanced at the door to Shigure's study, debating with himself for a brief moment, before darting over to bang his fist impatiently against the frame. The inu was the only one of them to have any dependable influence whatsoever over the Clan Head; Kyo might need his help.

 

The door slid open and Shigure's head popped out remarkably quickly. He must have heard the phone earlier, even if he didn't want to answer it in case it was his editor. “Yu-u-u-uki-kun, do you know how hard it is to--“

 

“Shut up, baka! That was Haru--Kyo's seeing Akito; right now!!”

 

Shigure's face went shocked as he gaped at Yuki; then his expression went calculating. He glanced back into his study, dark eyes narrowed with swift thoughts, then down at his stocking-clad feet. He turned back to Yuki--

 

--who was already at the front door and slipping on his shoes, obviously intent on heading straight to the Honke as fast as humanly possible. The inu yelped and dashed after him, dancing about to slip his own shoes on as Yuki shot off down the lane. His wail chased the racing nezumi as he set out in hot pursuit; it would absolutely not do for the boy to beat him to the Honke! Yuki wasn't going to be thinking straight enough to sweet-talk his way in to even see Akito, let alone stem the Clan Head's wrath in any way!

 

“Yuki-i-i-i-ku-u-un!!! Wait for me-e-e-e-e--!”

 

-.-.-.-

 

Everyone watched in surprise as Kyo's jaw all but clanged to the floor, his eyes nearly popping out as he stared unblinking at Cologne. He seemed completely speechless, not even able to cuss.

 

Shampoo hadn't been as surprised by her Hiiba-chan's announcement; she'd been hoping for this, especially as hard as they'd been trying for it this past month! Her face lit up with a smile that all but glowed, even as she casually caught her husband by the arm to keep him upright. It looked like a faint breeze would knock him right over.

 

Hatori quirked an eyebrow, wondering for a moment what had been said. He had a suspicion, based on a couple different facts: newly married, for a month now; the new wife all but glowing, in a very special way...the Elder's pleased smirk...

 

...the new husband's obvious total shut-down of all conscious brain activity, apparently due to extreme shock...

 

If Kyo hadn't just learned he'd become a father, Hatori rather dryly decided he was going to be very disappointed in their neko. One corner of his lips quirked briefly, as he suppressed an urge to smile.

 

His eyes wandered over to the other three young adults--what had been their names...? Oh yes--Ranma, Ryoga, and Akane. They were staring at the Amazons and Kyo in confusion, obviously not having a clue as to what might have been said. Hatori suppressed an even stronger urge to let an amused smirk loose on his face as he looked back to Kyo, who'd regained enough control over himself to close his jaw and question the Elder. The look of stunned incredulity that swept over his face as he looked at his wife, his eyes dropping to her widespread hands as they gently cradled her abdomen, seemed to confirm Hatori's guess--Kyo must have just learned he was now a father.

 

The remarkably tender way he cupped Shampoo's cheek and gazed lovingly into her eyes, before thoroughly kissing her until they both were breathless, erased any last possible doubt.

 

The tatsu watched, almost spell-bound, as Kyo pulled back and shared a long, speaking look with Shampoo. Then the neko grit his teeth and hardened his face with determination, collecting himself. He turned and walked slowly back over to Akito, with one last, reluctant look back, his eyes clearly showing sadness.

 

Hatori frowned slightly, troubled; wondering why that had the feeling of a goodbye. His gaze caught for a moment on two pairs of yellow eyes in the far corner of the room, the light reflecting eerily from them. A faint, almost subliminal rumbling tickled the edges of his hearing. He dismissed it from his mind as Kyo started talking to their Clan Head.

 

Hatori listened in growing wonder as the boy calmly described to Akito the heretofore unknown healing ability of his bakemono form. Wonder turned to horror as the tatsu heard the consequences to the neko...and the only way to reverse them. There was no question why no previous neko had ever mentioned this ability before; Hatori couldn't imagine being stuck in that form, until death, if the beads weren't re-energized!

 

Kyo had pretty much been the most accepted of all the Neko-cursed Sohmas that had ever lived...and that wasn't saying much. Hatori knew to his shame that none of them would have risked helping him escape the fate Akito had planned for him, even if all it meant was telling a lie to cover for him if he ran away. They all feared their kami too much.

 

How could Kyo ever trust any of his family enough, to risk healing one of them? He could almost depend on them betraying him!

 

Horror crawled through his nerves and nestled into his heart when Hatori realized, with a jolt like electric shock--Kyo was planning on healing Akito. In spite of the risk that Akito wouldn't re-energize his beads. In spite of his new wife's pregnancy, and the good life that was now assured him, whether Akito approved of it or not!

 

The tatsu took a step towards the boy, before catching himself and staring in sick horror at Akito's stunned face. The Clan Head's eyes were wide with pinpoints for pupils, glued to Kyo's. Her fingers were spread wide at her sides, trembling like feathers in a breeze.

 

The blood drained from the doctor's face and the room went clammy, when Kyo continued talking--speculating, as Akito remained damningly silent, on the nature of the Clan Head's portion of the Jyuunishi curse. The spark of pure, unadulterated hope that sprang up in her eyes affirmed the neko's guesses.

 

Hatori had never even considered the curse working in such a manner; hadn't ever speculated that it could be doing anything other than causing her mysterious illnesses. The Clan Heads had always been sickly, and always died young--over the centuries since the Sohmas became cursed, family lore came to believe that that was just how the curse affected the “core.”

 

The thought that the curse had been affecting her very mind, and the minds of all the previous Clan Heads, all along--that the capricious, cruel temper; the sadistic acts; all of it, had been directly because of the curse...had not been from any kind of mental illness, or error in rearing--that all of their previous Clan Heads had arranged for their own deaths, in an effort to protect their family--!

 

Hatori found himself shaking, and dropped heavily to his knees as a roaring started in his ears. A small, gnarled hand on his shoulder startled him into looking straight into the saddened, understanding eyes of the wizened Amazon Elder. She nodded slowly, staring deeply into the tatsu's anguished gray-green eyes, as his mouth opened and closed soundlessly a few times. He couldn't find his voice, struck mute by horrified realization.

 

The last Clan Head had been Hatori's own father...

 

Cologne sighed and closed her eyes, bowing her head briefly while gathering her thoughts. Looking back up, she murmured softly, “Do not blame yourself, young one. Whoever is responsible for casting this curse on your family must have had a true understanding of black arts, and a powerful grudge.” Hatori couldn't look away from her wise eyes as he desperately clung to the hint of forgiveness about her words.

 

“It's not my fault! It's not my fault!!”

 

The memory of the furious, anguished protests of the orange-haired little boy he'd overheard, as Kazuma spoke to him right after his mother's funeral, echoed tauntingly in Hatori's ears. It hadn't been Kyo's fault. Other than Kazuma, who among the Jyuunishi-cursed had ever bothered to say that to the neko? How many of them had simply chosen to believe it was his fault, simply because he'd been born the Neko? How many had not bothered to even think about it at all, too wrapped up in their own pains to be bothered with anyone else's?

 

Why should any of the Dobutsu no Jyuunishi be excused their willful ignorance of the curse's effects on their Clan Head? Especially when the one most shunned and ostracized, turned out to be the only one willing to see?! The one who had the least reason to harbor any good will towards any of his own family--was the one willing to sacrifice his one chance at a happy life, all to help the very one who hurt him the most!

 

The Jyuunishi-cursed had turned willfully blind eyes to anything their “kami” did, excusing the most horrible things as right and proper--because the Clan Head would die young, supposedly because of the curse's weight. More fool them, to not realize the weight of the curse's core was actually driving their Clan Heads to elaborate suicide--not killing them directly! Why had they never suspected the curse might be manipulating them?!

 

Cologne squeezed his shoulder, drawing Hatori's attention out of his black introspection. She had more to say.

 

“The one Neko-cursed is probably the only one who could suspect the truth of your curse's core; and the traditional ostracizing of the neko would keep that one from getting close enough to suspect anything. That was very likely arranged by the one who cursed your family. The core's very nature would keep others from caring enough about its host to be a threat to its existence, if they were never given reason to suspect its manipulation.” Her wise old eyes bored into his. “It truly is not your fault, young one. It is a part of the curse, that those cursed cannot see it on their own.”

 

Hatori, breathing heavily as he fought an overwhelming, almost physically painful wave of guilt and depression, grit his teeth and almost glared back at her. His hands fisted at his sides. “Then how--“

 

Cologne lightly bopped him on the head with her staff, surprising an almost comical, dumbfounded look onto his face. She shook one finger at him, close enough to nearly make his eyes cross.

 

“Do not go blaming yourself or your fellow Jyuunishi-cursed! If you want to know how Son-In-Law has been able to figure it out--were you not listening to him? He has the spirits of all of the previous Neko-cursed Sohmas, speaking in his mind! That's a vast amount of actual experience for him to draw on, limited as some of them may be. He is also the first of the Jyuunishi-cursed to ever be trained in advanced ki techniques--including ki-sight. How could any of you have seen something that needs extensive training to be noticed at all?”

 

Hatori found he couldn't get a word in edgewise, even if he could figure out what to say. The Elder's voice was still whisper-quiet, but very impassioned; her eyes were intense, trapping his gaze. He found a spark of hope lightening the depression that was trying to drown him.

 

“Even so, it was only today that Son-In-Law finally thought to actually scan your Clan Head's ki for the first time. Once he did that, I'd wager all the pieces just fell together in his mind, as his was the only mind that now had all of the pieces.” She stared hard into Hatori's eyes for another few seconds, then glanced back at Kyo and Akito, who were now staring at each other in strained silence. Kho Lon gave the tatsu one more look as Akito gave Kyo a slow nod, before the Matriarch backed away towards her great-granddaughter.

 

“It is about to begin. I would suggest you pray to all the kamis for Son-In-Law's success...”

 

Hatori looked, and saw the softening of Akito's expression as she sank slowly to her knees, still staring into Kyo's eyes. The neko knelt in front of her. He reached a remarkably steady hand to pull off his bracelet, hesitating only the barest of moments as his fingers touched the beads. He tossed it without looking straight to his wife, who casually plucked it from the air with one hand, her eyes fastened unwaveringly on his back.

 

Three nekos slunk out of the shadows to settle quietly at the Amazon's feet, eyes also fixed on Kyo. The soft, rumbling purring of the now swiftly gathering nekos was gradually becoming audible to everyone in the room, though they weren't consciously noticing them yet. More and more of the creatures were leaping gracefully in through the circle window, and slinking quietly in through the door. They gathered in the shadows about the edges of the room, all staring intently at Kyo and Akito.

 

Even as the transformation took him, Kyo reached to gently bracket the sides of Akito's head, never once looking away from those desperately hopeful black eyes--

 

-.-.-.-

 

Oooooh, the end's getting closer! Just a couple-three more chapters to go.

 

Egads. It's time to start thinking about the next one! ::sweat-drop; covertly eyeballing the original work languishing in the next directory:: Well, maybe in a month or so I'll start up another one. Unless one pops up and demands attention like this one did...